Arrivals in the Maternity Ward

Chapter 11
Bonusending 4: Family

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Chapter Description: Two years after their daughter Emily was healed from the Mykor Anomaly by the heroic effort of her father, it needs to be dealt with again. Will Dylan make a surprising return or will things be different this time? Fourth of four Bonusendings for the original Endings! Based on a chat with an AI about the proper treatment of age regressed people ... I wasn't disap-pointed. Thanks to Areat for going through it and helping me with the polish.

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Stan and Maria sat in the doctor’s office, both feeling a dreadful sense of deja-vu.

 

“We dealt with Emily’s Mykor Anomaly two years ago,” Stan told the woman sitting in the chair in front of them. “We were told she would be fine.”

 

“Of course,” Dr. Xiao confirmed, her voice soft to calm the worried couple. “Please understand it is not a full return. It is merely a weakening of her immune system in a few areas due to the rapid changes of the body at this age.”

 

The parents were silent for a while, trying to not let these news overwhelm them. They knew the doctor spoke the truth, as well as they knew it wasn’t the whole truth. Even a partially weakened immune system could lead to problems, to suffering for their child. But there was an answer hanging in the air.

 

“I assume a bone marrow transfusion of a child her age would again be the best solution?” Stan finally asked, taking a deep breath.

 

“Indeed,” the pediatrician confirmed.

 

“And there is no current bone marrow donor in the files,” he added, a mix of determination and resignation in his voice.

 

“We still can wait,” she hurried to explain, knowing exactly what Emily’s father had gone through the last time to keep his daughter safe. “There are only mild symptoms and …”

 

“I will do it.”

 

Both looked to Maria.

 

“Maria, I …”

 

She shook her head, stopping her husband’s words.

 

“You have a busy week ahead of you at work. You were in the newspaper for it, and I can allow me some free time. Also …” Maria stopped, looking at him. “It is my turn this time.”

 

The couple looked at each other for a long moment, exchanging emotions the way only those close to each other could. Finally Stan sighed and pressed his wife’s hand.

 

“So double diaper duty for me, isn’t it?”

 

Maria gave him a wry smile.

 

***

 

Sitting on the hospital bed, wearing a hospital gown, Maria smiled. She didn’t feel like it, but Stan was by her side, pressing her hand to support her and this helped. More than that, it meant the world to her, but made her feel more anxious at the same time. She had never have the heart to tell her husband about everything that had happened in this very hospital two years ago. About the offer Robot Nurse Luna had made to her to let him stay a newborn … stay Dylan. This secret weighed on her, as heavy as being herself regressed in this very building the maternity ward was in. Yet, in revealing it, she would have to reveal that even for just a moment she had felt tempted to accept.

 

More than just a moment, Maria admitted to herself. One more reason for me to take the burden this time, besides being a two-year-old won’t be near as hard as what he went through.

 

While she tried to force herself to believe in this, the door to the room opened and Dr. Meyer entered. The man was looking no different to her than two years ago, either due to rejuvenation serum or just a trick of the memory. He was followed by … Maria pressed the hand of her husband tighter.

 

“Mr. and Mrs. Lockney,” Dr. Meyer greeted them. “I’m so sorry to see you again.”

 

“Not your fault,” Stan assured him with a sad smile.

 

Maria hardly heard them, instead she starred at the robot nurse in front of her, who returned the look with friendly blue eyes.

 

Luna, she thought, before reading the name on the uniform. No, Deli, but you are the same model. You remember last time, even if you weren’t present, do you? Of course you do! You share your memories. I wish I could forget it.

 

Maria turned away from the android, back to her husband and the doctor who had stopped talking and were looking at her.

 

“I’m sorry.” She smiled and tried not to look as shaken as she felt. “Lost in thoughts.”

 

“Naturally,” Dr. Meyer reassured her. “Don’t worry, we will handle it as good as last time.”

 

“I have full trust in you,” Maria noticed, focusing on the doctor.

 

“We both do,” Stan added.

 

“Ready then?” Dr. Meyer asked, presenting the syringe.

 

Maria nodded. She tried to be calm, but as she watched the man preparing the syringe, pulling up the serum from the vial the Robot Nurse Deli handed him, she felt a slight tremor going through her. Still she said nothing, wanting to be strong for her daughter just as Stan had been. She felt his hand pressing hers, on this primal way giving her part of this strength, as she extended her left arm, allowing the doctor to find her vein.

 

“It will be just a tingle all over your body,” the older man reassured her, as he pressed the serum into her body. “You better lie down for it though.”

 

Maria followed the instruction, feeling her heart beating strongly in her chest. For a moment she felt nothing, almost holding her breath, then the tingling began in her stomach.

 

“You can look into the mirror,” Dr. Meyer said, pushing one from a corner next to the bed. “It helps most of my patients.”

 

“Than …” She stopped, feeling the tingling extending to her whole body. “Thank you.”

 

In the mirror Maria noticed the changes beginning slowly. At first she could see her breasts becoming slightly more upward pointing and touching them they felt as firm and of the same size as before her pregnancy. There was no way to look now, but she bet the stretch marks on them as well as her belly, hips and tights were vanishing. Skin becoming smoother, softer, eyes a bit brighter, already she believed to have lost ten years. So quick? This had to be an illusion! Still, weren’t her legs slowly shrinking farther away from the end of the bed?

 

The progress of the regression definitely wasn’t an illusion though. Her face was that of a college girl. She touched it with hands which had lines softening and knuckles shrinking. She studied them and then looked back into the mirror and saw … a high school girl. Memories of her prom flooded her. She, Allie and Cindy going together. She had worn a blue dress. The memories were so vivid that it felt nearly like a journey back in time. She had become this girl again … but this wasn’t the truth, was it?

 

The memories of her blue dress made Maria even more aware that the hospital gown was loosening rapidly. Watching it, she saw it more and more becoming a tent, seemingly swallowing her legs. These weren’t the only limbs affected for her arms also shrank and became thinner, losing muscles.

 

The regressing woman looked back into the mirror. Her blue eyes seemed to gain a hint of grey and her nose seemed to become a big bigger. A testament to Stan’s genes, as she not just became Emily’s age, but her daughter’s sister and her husband’s biological daughter.

 

I won’t think of it this way, Maria promised herself, for just a moment looking at the robot nurse. Not one second!

 

Yet, this nose, these eyes, a subtle shift in her face … The girl in the mirror now didn’t resemble how she remembered herself as a teenager at all, but really was the blend of her and Stan’s DNA.

And even more changes had occurred. Still a high school girl, her lean features melted into something softer, as her regression brought her closer to puberty.

 

Looking at her husband she noticed how he looked stunned by the process, for sure remembering his own regression two years, ago. She felt her own hand was still holding his, only that it had become visibly smaller, practically vanishing in his. Still, she pressed it as hard as she could getting a strong return. They were in this together.

 

Returning her eyes to the mirror, Maria was shocked to discover she had now truly crossed the line to childhood. She was maybe twelve. A round face, innocent looking eyes. With her free hand she touched her chest, only feeling slight but firm rises which quickly melted away.

 

No need for a bra, she tried to console herself. I will get them back soon enough.

 

Watching herself still shrinking, Maria guessed she was ten, nine, eight … Looking down at herself, she saw her legs vanishing in the now totally oversized hospital gown. The neckline of it now nearly allowing her shoulders to pass through. No breasts left on her chest to hinder this. It would have fallen off her if she had stood. She felt the teeth in her mouth changing, being transformed to milk teeth even as she went over them with her tongue. Looking up at her husband she felt shocked at how large he suddenly appeared.

 

“You are doing great,” he promised her, upon seeing the panic in her eyes, holding her little hand now with both of his. “Just a little more.”

 

They both knew how much these few more years more meant though. In the mirror Maria saw a five year old girl, ready for Kindergarten. Four, three … a toddler already and still she was shrinking. Two … she had to be two and was still shrinking it seemed.

 

The android gave me a serum to make me a newborn!, Maria panicked, looking at the robot nurse. I will end up on the maternity ward just like Dylan … Stan … I have to tell him … I have to …

 

“And done!”

 

Maria looked up, noticing Dr. Meyer standing next to her … towering over her.

 

“Done?” She asked, feeling confused and shocked over the little voice coming out of her mouth.

 

“You are two now,” the doctor explained. “Just like your daughter.”

 

“You even look so much like her,” Stan added. “How do you feel?”

 

Maria didn’t know the answer to this question. She looked back into the mirror. Blond hair, small nose, round, rosy cheeks, plump and naturally pink lips, wide, innocent blue eyes with a hint of grey. Yes, the little toddler girl in the mirror … the little two year old she had become, really did look so much like Emily that they could easily pass as the fraternal twins they now biologically were. Pulling her hand from her husband she touched her face. Her face felt so soft, but still real. She kicked the legs under the oversized hospital gown now covering her below the neck like a tent.

 

“Fine?”

 

It was more a question than an answer, but it was all she could utter. This voice sounded so young and weak, even in her ears.

 

“Let us check you,” Dr. Meyer suggested. “Can we remove the gown?”

 

Maria nodded.

 

“Deli,” the doctor addressed the robot nurse. “Would you assist?”

 

“Of course,” the android replied in a perfectly friendly tone.

 

Before the regressed woman could say anything, the robot nurse had stepped forward, gently grabbed her and put her upward. She then gently opened the snaps of her gown, let it fall on the bed and picked her up.

 

“It is all right,” Deli told her in a warm tone, as she squirmed a bit. “Almost done.”

 

Indeed the android only removed the adult hospital gown from the bed, before placing the regressed adult back on it.

 

“I could have done it myself!” Maria protested, feeling her face growing red from embarrassment.

 

“Of course,” Deli assured her. “You are a big girl already.”

 

Maria felt her mouth hang open. This felt like something Luna would have said.

 

“You can go Deli,” Dr. Meyer ordered the android, sensing his patient’s feelings.

 

With a slight nod the robot nurse left.

 

“Can I check you?” The doctor asked.

 

“Yeth,” Maria swallowed upon realizing she had lisped in a way reminding her of Emily. “Yes!”

 

Dr. Meyer smiled, putting on his stethoscope and placed the plate on her flat chest.

 

“A strong heart,” he noticed. “Please take a deep breath!”

 

Maria obeyed.

 

“Good lungs.”

 

The doctor looked into her eyes, holding up his hands.

 

“How many fingers do I show here?”

 

“Four,” Maria answered.

 

“Your name?”

 

“Maria Lockney.”

 

“Spell it, please.”

 

“M-a-r-i-a L-o-c-k-n-e-y.”

 

“Age?”

 

“31.”

 

“Count to ten.”

 

“One, two, thwee, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.”

 

“Perfect,” the doctor concluded. “A healthy two-year-old body, but no sign of mental regression.”

 

“Will it stay this way?” Stan asked, a slight worry in his voice.

 

“With two years her brain is much more stable than that of a newborn,” Dr. Meyer explained. “Especially given the short time she will stay this way there will be no problem.”

 

“Thank you,” Maria said shyly.

 

She had tried to sound firm, but knew she had failed … everything was so big now!

 

“No need,” the older man assure them. “I see you in three days.”

 

***

 

When Dr. Meyer had left the room and Stan began unpacking the content of the rucksack he had brought with him. It was a pink overall, a white shirt, white socks, pink shoes and Huggies Pull Ups, pink ones with Minni Mouse in front of a xylophone. All belonging to Emily, except the training pants, their little girl just not being ready to start potty training, yet, so they had bought a package at a super market.

 

I won’t need even one!, Maria swore herself, as Stan began putting her regular clothes into the rucksack. Maybe I can even inspire her to give the potty a try.

 

Still, she had seen the logic behind this precaution. Deciding to get it behind herself she grabbed the training pants, marveling at how large they now looked, how Minnie seemed to smile at her now and how very real everything now looked …

 

“Shall I help?” Stan asked.

 

Maria snapped out of it, looked up at her husband and shook her head. She wanted to maintain as much independence as possible, knowing every little bit she could do for herself was a world more than he had had been able to do when regressed into a newborn. Grabbing the training pants she looked at the smiling mouse a moment more – so enthralling to a toddler for sure –, before pulling it up her legs and her private parts. Easy, though her hands felt a bit clumsy when grabbing the sides. Sitting down with it felt strange. The padding made the bed even softer. It crinkled and was one step closer to a diaper than she wanted to go. Looking in the mirror … just an insecure looking two year old girl, so very adorable in her training pants. The mother in her wanted to hug this girl.

 

Trying to ignore it, Maria grabbed the white shirt. It was harder to pull over her head than it had any right to be. The coordination between arms, hands and the head was a bit off. Maybe it was just due to the change in size, but she feared it was simply a change in her body coordination she would have to live with during this time. Indeed with a last pull, she had done it. Looking at herself in the mirror, seeing the flatness of her chest covered, made her feel better. The shirt was one of the few Emily possessed without a cartoon character on it and she could live with the frills around the arms.

 

Next she grabbed the overall.

 

“Socks first?”

 

Maria looked up to her husband, he was right of course, but ... was there a hint of patronizing in her voice he used when helping Emily? Probably not, still she felt slight irritation upon this correction. She didn’t need his help!

 

Grabbing the white socks the regressed woman quickly pulled them over her feet, before grabbing the overall again. She put one leg through, then she other and pulled … only to realize she couldn’t do it while sitting. The training pants felt thicker between her legs and seemed to restrict her movements … though part of her realized it was the natural clumsiness of her body, needing more concentration.

 

“Shall I help you stand?” Stan asked.

 

Maria looked up. At first she wanted to say no, but she realized there was no other way. She nodded and tried to stand up, but her husband already grabbed her under the armpits and lifted her up. This was surreal. He felt so strong and in control compared to her and as he smiled at her …

 

Maria forced herself to return the smile and pulled up the overall. She tried to close the buckles and … couldn’t do it. As much as she concentrated, her fingers, so small, weak and clumsy, just couldn’t do the job.

 

“Maria?”

 

The regressed woman looked up at Stan. How long had she tried it? Given his worried look a bit too long.

 

“Emily can do it,” she noticed, but still let go of them to allow her husband to help her.

 

“Sometimes,” he replied, closing her buckles with ease and then adjusting them a bit. “But she had a lot of time to practice in her body. You only had minutes. Take yourself time.”

 

Maria nodded. He was right. Of course he was. No reason to get frustrated about it like a real toddler. Still, looking at herself in the mirror she could see a little girl standing on a doctor’s bed steadied by her father.

 

“Do you want down for the shoes?”

 

“I can go down myself,” she replied automatically.

 

Stan nodded understanding and let go of his regressed wife as she sat down. Looking down, Maria almost regretted her words. The floor seemed so far away … Pressing her teeth together she slowly let herself slide off the bed and … the fall seemed to last far too long, still she landed of her feet and only briefly swayed.

 

Once standing secure, Maria grabbed the right pink shoe and tried to put her foot into it … only to sway a bit, as she lifted her leg. Again Stan propped her, though this time she tried to ignore it. She didn’t really need it, did she? The regressed woman first stepped into the right shoe, then the left and tried to close them … only to find she completely lacked the dexterity to bind the shoe laces. She knew the steps in her mind, but her fingers seemed to have forgotten how to move properly. These were Emily’s only shoes with laces and she had picked them precisely because they made her look more mature. Swallowing her pride which she knew wouldn’t serve her in the following days, she looked up at her husband.

 

“Could you?”

 

“Of course,” he answered, going on his knees and binding the laces.

 

Maria sighed inwardly. There was neither condescendence in his voice, nor too much worry. He just tried to help. Stan probably remembered too well the time in this very hospital, when he had needed help in everything, had even nursed from her breast.

 

Times change, Maria thought exhausted, touching her flat chest one more time.

 

***

 

The voyage home was surreal for Maria and at the same time uneventful, even normal, in an insanity-breeding way. Walking down the floors of the hospital was navigating through new, alien world. A world of giants. From doors to chairs, everything was made for giants. The ceiling was so high above her it seemed to be the sky. Everyone they passed was a giant, a friendly giant, as they occasionally smiled down at her, but still a giant. Worse still, she knew they were thinking she was just a regular toddler with her father by her side. Every smile made her feel her training pants more as she walked … nearly toddled in an effort not to feel them. Did they see them under her pink overall? Did they guess she wore a diaper? Despite having the urge to speak with everyone to inform them this wasn’t the case, she knew better and just continued the way to the car.

 

It was a long way, so much longer than the regressed woman remembered from the way into the hospital. She couldn’t even say if she could have found the way out again on her own. This doubt multiplied when they finally arrived in the parking garage. She didn’t know if to turn left or right, everything just looked completely different, so she just followed Stan who kept a comfortable pace.

 

Once they reached their car, Maria let out a sigh of relieve. A big step closer to home! Her husband opened one of the back doors of the car where Emily’s safety seat awaited her. The regressed woman hesitated – Stan not pressing a bit –, but finally stepped into the car. There was no way she could climb into the seat, so Stan wordlessly grabbed her under the arms and gently placed her inside. Instantly she tried to close the straps of the five point safety harness … only to realize putting it all together was very far beyond her current level of strength and dexterity.

 

“Stan?” She asked, relenting.

 

Her husband grabbed the straps and quickly put them together with no effort at all.

 

“On the plus side,” he noticed, “if you can’t handle it, there is no way for Emily to open it.”

 

Maria tried to cling to this idea, as Stan took place in the driver’s seat and started the car. Indeed she tried to cling to any idea which made her forget where she was. Going shopping? Work? Anything grown-up. Yet, the sensations of her body brought her back to reality. The strap between her legs made her feel the training pants more. All five held her secure in place, only it wasn’t security she felt, but restriction. Touching the opening-button in the center of the straps, she guessed Stan was right, for she heavily doubted she could open it even if she gave her best. The cushion surrounding her felt soft, warm and welcoming as the movements of the car pressed her slightly into it, she let her legs dangle just a bit.

 

The world outside the car’s windows looked even larger than the hospital floors or the parking garage. She had no idea where they were exactly and even if … it was a world she could easily get lost in on her own. So very easily.

 

Shuddering slightly, Maria pressed herself deeper into the safety seat.

 

***

 

Their car stopping in front of their house felt like a relief to Maria. Even her being unstrapped and lifted out of the safety seat by Stan didn’t matter so much anymore. Sure the way to the door was longer and everything looked two or three times larger than it had when they had left, but just getting home …

 

Stan opened the door, since Maria didn’t have any keys, as she only now realized, with hers being in the rucksack with her clothes he carried. The thoughts about getting them back were relegated to the back of her mind though, as when she stepped inside the house she immediately could hear the squeals of a little girl.

 

“Mommy!”

 

A second later, Emily came running around the corner, enthusiasm and energy personified. Maria already feared her daughter would run her over, but she stopped two meters from her and starred wide eyed. The innocent joy was replaced by confusion. Not that she could blame her little girl. The idea that the toddler she was now had been an adult a hour ago was confusing, even for adults and it wasn’t helped by the fact, that they looked so much the same. For sure, Maria was wearing an overall and Emily a white flower dress, with her thick diaper clearly showing beneath and yet … Same hair, eyes and nose … As she noticed in the hospital, not like identical twins, but fraternal ones? Easily!

 

“Hi,” Maria tried, giving her the largest smile she could muster. “I’m it sweetheart.”

 

Emily didn’t seem to believe it. There was something in her eyes which made her mother fear she would start crying any moment now. Maria wanted to hug her little girl, but them now being the same size … she didn’t know where to start and only managed to look awkwardly.

 

“Your mother is little now, just like you,” Stan stepped in, kneeling down to be on his daughter’s eye-level … on both of theirs. “And what do you call her?”

 

The little girl’s face turned from lost to thinking, as the trick worked and finally a smile appeared.

 

“Jane!”

 

“Right!” Her father agreed proudly. “Just for a little while.”

 

This did it. In a heartbeat Emily embraced her regressed mother tightly.

 

“Little mommy!”

 

Better than the alternative, Maria thought, not quite keen on hugging, as she felt her training pants meet her daughter’s diaper through the fabric.

 

“Yes, darling,” she noticed. “For a little while.”

 

“Oh who do we have here?” A friendly female voice noticed. “Another beautiful little girl? Good I made a snack for two!”

 

Mother and daughter turned to the source of the voice. Emily with a smile, Maria with a wry lifting of her lips. There stood an android in a white-blue apron, holding a plate with a salami sandwich, cut in half and with the crust cut off. It was their android, bought one year ago, since it was really easier to have her around to clean the house and do other chores. Maria had been hesitant, but after nearly all their neighbors got one it had been too hard to argue with Stan about it without telling him why. That it reminded her of Robot Nurse Luna and the choice she had been offered.

 

“Adala,” Maria addressed her, as the android knelt down to offer one sandwich half to Emily. “I do the cooking here.”

 

“Little girls don’t need to handle sharps knives,” the android noticed cheerful.

 

Maria froze.

 

“Adala, we have been over it.” Stan intervened. “Maria is still an adult, even when regressed.”

 

“Of course,” the android agreed, turning to her regressed master. “You don’t want to eat? You have so much growing up to do and it was such a long day!”

 

While Emily giggled, the couple exchanged a look. They had tried to make it clear to Adala, that she was to be treated and addressed as an adult, but it seemed something in her programming just didn’t let itself changed by them.

 

Maybe if we press more, Maria thought, but wouldn’t this affect how she treated Emily, too?

 

“Thank you,” Maria said, trying to make the best out of the situation and taking the sandwich half since she was really hungry. The blue eyes of the android seemed to pierce through her soul and the aura felt like pure maternity. “I assume Emily was fine?”

 

“Oh yes!” The android assured her. “She couldn’t wait to meet you and introduce you to her little friends.”

 

“Jane daycawe,” Emily agreed, talking excitedly while eating her sandwich at the same time. “And songs and stowys and … wike sisters!”

 

Again Maria and Stan exchanged a look. Her plan had been to stay at home while he was at work. They had discussed the daycare as an option since a loophole allowed the temporary admittance of a family member of fitting age in case of emergency, but spending days with a class of real two year olds wasn’t something she looked forward to … especially since it was a daycare run entirely by androids!

 

Maria turned to her daughter to explain to her this wasn’t possible, but looking in her little girl’s face she just couldn’t do it. The feeling of joy, so pure but so easy to destroy. It was clear Emily had already painted out a day of fun they would have together tomorrow in her imagination. Who was she to take this from her? Especially given they would have to spend at least three days in the hospital together in a few days. Her little girl deserved this joy before she had to be treated for the Mykor Anomaly, something she couldn’t even begin to understand. She would be all alone in the hospital but for a little girl she just met days before. Emily knowing her would make this all easier and if she thought of her as a sister …

 

Sisters, Maria thought, why not for a little while. After all she had a brother for a few precious days.

 

“Yes,” Maria agreed, swallowing a bite of the sandwich. “It will be fun!”

 

Again Emily practically jumped on her while embracing her regressed mother. This was quickly followed by her pulling her in the direction of her nursery.

 

“Let’s pway house!” She suggested enthusiastically.

 

Maria threw a last look at her husband who smiled slightly and then at Adala.

 

An android at home, androids in the daycare and androids in the hospital, the regressed woman thought. What can go wrong?

 

The end!

 

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