Chapter Twenty-Six:

Maybe it was the car ride back to the hotel. Maybe it was the milk that flowed out of Betsy's breast. Maybe it was the way the bassinet - another new piece of furniture in the hotel room - swayed side to side. Whatever it was, I was out like a light before eight o’clock.

The whole day: the trip to the mall, the clothing store, the two salespeople at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, eating baby food in public, messing myself in the toy store, and getting changed in the women's restroom. All that crying, all that blushing, all that humiliation and shame, things I never thought I'd do, people I never thought would see me do them. By the time Betsy swaddled me in a blanket and laid me down for the night, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I couldn't fight... I didn't want to. I just wanted to sleep.

To say this week had been unusual would have been to undersell everything we went through together; from taking photos of a model who was in this business to make a few bucks, to waking up in the same room as that same girl who was asleep in a bassinet... it was a strange progression. Stranger still, were my feelings. My feelings for her. The way I'd protected her yesterday at the mall and did my best to keep her safe from Betsy’s machinations. I'd stood guard outside of the bathroom to stop others coming in. I'd planned ways to keep her safe from Betsy when we'd gotten back to the hotel. I'd keep her safe today too, even though it was still early. I'd show Leona that she could depend on me.

Jackie's phone rang. It was only six in the morning, and Jackie had woken up only a few minutes before. She checked the caller ID. Abe.

"Hey Julie! How's your morning?"

"Jackie," she said sourly into the phone, keeping her voice down as not to wake up Leona.

"Right, right. But here's the thing. We're planning a huge party for tomorrow, and I need Nurse Betsy on board. So you're going to babysit today. Don't worry - you'll get paid."

"You need me to babysit? And Betsy won't be around?" I held the receiver away from my ear as Abe scolded me for 'not listening, Jackie, you never listen, maybe you should try listening, Jackie', which only represented his total inability to pay attention to contextual questions. When I put my phone back to my ear to listen to him, I crept my way over to the bassinet and looked down at Leona. God, this furniture was ridiculous. Who made furniture like this? Gosh she was cute, though...

"One other thing. Jackie, you there? Hey!"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Good, now listen up. We still need footage for today, so you're on camera duty. Pictures. Videos. The works."

"I don't do video."

"Your camera has a video setting, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but--"

"Doesn't matter. Do it anyway. Amateur shit is all the rage. And you're part of the project now - we've got you on camera, right? Make it into a thing. Make it good. Make me money. Or you're fired." Then he hung up.

Or I'm fired? Yeah, he was going to fire me. How petty could that piece of shit be? Ugh. Before waking up sleeping beauty, I went over to my bedside and took my camera; it wouldn't hurt to get some snaps of her in the bassinet, would it? Maybe for me, maybe for Abe. Who cared, though, it was just pictures. Gosh she was cute. Click click.

Sunlight filtered through the curtains when I woke up. I wasn't sure where I was at first, and I had to struggle to pull myself out of the tight blanket wrapped around me. But when I struggled, I started to rock side to side. I froze in place until the rocking stopped before I sat up and looked around the hotel. Bassinet... I sighed, remembering last night. This was so fucking stupid. I managed to kick the blankets off me but getting out of the rocking bed was a lot harder than I thought.

"Hey Leona, how're you feeling? Want to get some food?" I decided that if I wasn't filming her actively, I damn well wasn't going to baby talk to her. I'd get Abe what he wanted, but I wouldn't go overboard to get it. "Here, let me help you out of that thing; for an adult that's gotta be a death trap."

"Thanks," I muttered, as Jackie took me by the hand and helped me step out of the bassinet. The diaper between my legs weighed down the onesie. I was wet? In my sleep? Or did I wake up in the middle of the night and decide it was best to stay in bed? A blush came over my cheeks and I shuffled from side to side.

"I, um... should shower before Betsy gets here..."

"You should, but she's not getting here until tomorrow so what's the rush?" I tugged down on the bottom hems of her onesie and smiled. "Oh you're so cute in your onesie, look at you." I had the realization when I did that... that she was wet. And that's probably why she wanted to shower. Maybe instead... "How about I draw you a bath? This week has been stressful as heck, and I could put some bubbles in it, wash your hair...?"

I pouted a little and shooed Jackie's hands away from my diaper. It wasn't any of her business! The offer for a bath was kind, but I ignored it for a much bigger concern.

"What do you mean, she's not getting here until tomorrow? She's not coming today? What about the documentary?"

"Well, Abe said something about a big event tomorrow to celebrate the end of the movie, and he needed Betsy to help with the setup. So I'm tasked with babysitting you today and he wants me to do some photos and videos throughout the day so we are still on the clock. But more-or-less, it's up to us how we want to go about things now." Which meant... "Which means, little sweetheart, that Auntie Jackie is giving you a bath."

Jackie went into the bathroom and started running the tub. I followed behind her in my frilly ankle socks. Ugh, I hadn't even noticed those...

"This is... surprising."

"A good surprise?" Jackie asked.

"Um. Yeah, I guess so. I just... didn't expect it." A day without Betsy. Hm. How lucky. "But you don't actually have to babysit me. We can just take some photos or something and you can take the day off."

"I'm going to take you on a date." I told her, surprising the both of us equally. Why had I said that? I didn't even ask her, I just said it! I said it smoothly and confidently, like there was no chance of her saying no. I said it like I was a parent giving out instructions, that's what I did.

"...oh." Well. "Um... I don't... really have any date clothes with me? If you wanted to stop by my apartment or something..." Not a no. Because I didn't want to say no. I wanted to say yes. But she hadn't asked, so I couldn't. Jackie poured bubbles into the tub and I stood awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot in my wet diaper.

"If you let me take you on a date," - still not asking - "I’d like to dress you." I unsnapped her onesie while I was talking, like it didn't matter at all to me that she was wet. "So I'm going to, if that’s okay." I thought for a second and then continued to undress her.

She unsnapped two of the four buttons between my legs before I pushed her hands away and took a step back.

"I can do it myself. And I still don't have any clothes here." Then again, I knew what Jackie liked. This baby stuff was right up her alley. Was she going to dress me up like this in public? I crossed my arms.

"I'm not going out in baby clothes again."

"I’m not going to embarrass you."

She unsnapped the next button on my onesie and I tried to push her hands away again.

"I said—"

"I know what you said. Come here."

I gave her a pensive look and took a half step forward. She'd see I was wet, if she hadn't already... ugh.

"I'm perfectly capable of doing this stuff on my own, you know. It's not a real documentary."

"And I'm capable of knowing that the girl I want to date can both be an adult and a little girl, and me treating her one way doesn't diminish her value in the other. So be good." Yup. She sure was wet. Really wet. Had she done this at night, when she was sleeping? She must have, right? She must have lost control? Gosh that was hot.

I thought about that. Being an adult and a little girl didn't diminish the other. It seemed like a paradox, actually. You couldn't be both an adult and a little girl, right? One was real, the other was an act. Jackie undressed me, naked as the day I was born, and plopped me in the sea of bubbles. She didn't say anything about the diaper, if she'd noticed. She had to have noticed, right? She was so different compared to Betsy…

"I want to take you somewhere fun today. You know the Faire down at the pier? I think I'm going to take you there, and we can hold hands, and ride rides, and win prizes, and have fun today." And the backdrop would make an excellent framing for any pictures or video, too. It was win/win, really.

A date at the pier. Actually, that sounded sort of nice... Jackie rinsed my hair and helped me put shampoo through it, though I didn't need the help. She scrubbed soap on a rag and started wiping down my arms and back.

"If you know I can do all this myself, then why are you still treating me like a baby?"

"Because I want to, and I think you want me to, too, or else you would have just stuck firm on 'no' and went to have a shower. I'm new at this, Leona, but you're really easy to figure out when you want to be figured out. Stay here." I stood up and dried off my hands; a few pictures in the bath would be good for the documentary.

I smiled for the camera, thinking about what Jackie had said. If I didn't want to, I would have said no. So when the photoshoot was done - playing in the bubbles, with the bath toys - I thought to follow up on my thoughts.

"So maybe you're right. A few days ago, Abe said that I had a pretty easy job if I let it happen. So I did. And he was right. I mean, except for the diapers and Betsy being a total asshole about everything she does. But the rest of it - being dressed and fed and stuff... that's not so bad. I don't mind you, uh.. bathing me..." I blushed.

I was so proud of her! I mean, it was weird to be proud, because she was an adult and I was an adult, and I wasn't her Mom or anything like that. She called Betsy Mommy and it burned me up every damn time. Auntie Jackie was a nice start, but I longed for her to call me Mommy, even if only for a very short time.

"I think being you should always be easy. It should always be something you like being."

"But the other stuff - the diapers and pacifiers and stupid frilly clothes and being bossed around - that's not me. That's just some character I play so I can get money." I crossed my arms in the tub, sinking into the water. Half the bubbles were gone and it was easy to see the tops of my small boobs. "The only reason I am agreeing to any of this is because of the documentary, and the second it's over, everything goes back to normal."

"Yeah? Is that right?" I splashed her with bubbles a bit and laughed. "Here I was thinking you liked it when I sat you on my lap in your diaper, or brushed you hair, or picked out clothes for you to wear, held you hand in public and talked to you like a little girl? Here I thought you liked having me change your diapers in the morning and before bed? The smell of baby powder, the feeling between your legs?"

I glared at Jackie, annoyance written all over my face. "If you are only interested in me because you've got a diaper fetish, then you should find someone else. Because I don't. I do this because it's my job. I'm an actress, not a character. Don't fall for some imaginary girl."

I splashed her again. "I"m not going to pretend that it's not fun for me, because it is. But if it were anybody else, I wouldn't care either way." She was so cute when she was pouty, trying to posture, trying to make a point.

"Listen. I'm into you, you dummy. And whatever makes up you. If it's this stuff or isn't, I'll probably be into that, too. It's like a kiddy pool; it's not that deep. I like you."

I gave her a skeptical look, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn't find any hint that she was lying. And I wore diapers for work anyway, so she'd get her rocks off on that, right? Couples had different sexual interests all the time. So did it matter if she had a diaper fetish? I sighed and gave up. Let it be easy, I reminded myself. Stop getting in your way.

"I like you too."