Arrivals in the Maternity Ward

Chapter 10
Ending 4: Family

---

Chapter Description: The moment for Stan to be returned to his real age and genetic code is there! But will reclaiming his status as adult, husband and father be easy? Fourth of four endings of the main story! 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.

---

Stan was excited being wheeled down the hospital floor. Still a newborn and still in his transparent crib, he knew every step on this journey was a step in the right direction. The removal of the security tag from his left ankle had been the first of these steps, one which already left him feeling freer. Sure, he was transported like any newborn by the robot nurse towering over him and the people looking down on him as they were passing by, were smiling at him as they would on any newborn, but even this couldn’t diminish his good mood.

Soon I will walk again, Stan thought with a smile. And no one will ever mistake me for a baby again.

Luna pushed him into the room where he noticed Dr. Meyer waiting for them.

“I grew worried it took so long,” the doctor complained.

“You have to be careful when transporting a newborn,” Luna told him.

The regressed man swore himself the next time he would be referred as such, he would order the android to shut down.

“Well, we don’t have to worry about this for any longer,” the man noticed, turning to Stan. “Hello Mr. Lockney, I hope you are all right?”

It had been so long since he had been addressed as an adult with his real name that it brought a smile to Stan’s face. He nodded with a bit of effort.

“Good!” Dr. Meyer said. “Time to bring you back to normal.”

This sounded like music in his ears.

“Place him on the bed and undress him, please,” the doctor ordered Luna. “Also, why haven’t you removed the plastic identification wristband?”

“To keep him safe during the transport,” the robot nurse answered. “And to prevent a mix-up.”

Stan found this answer weak but true at the same time. He could see no way he could have gotten lost on the way from the maternity ward to this room, but then again, the few times he had been able to see himself in the mirror he had felt a strain on his sense of self upon realizing how much like Emily he looked … or any other newborn for this matter.

“In a few minutes, he will be able to tell everyone who he is,” Dr. Meyer noticed, very much to Stan’s agreement. “Remove it with the rest.”

Luna did as ordered and Stan felt the now familiar conflict of emotions as he was picked up. The instincts of his body told him it was good to be held, that it was the place he should be, while at the same time he felt embarrassment and the loss of freedom. Being placed on the hospital bed, he found relief in the knowledge that it was the last time he had to feel this way. As he was undressed, finally free of onesie and diaper, he felt another wave of relief wash over him even as he lay there naked. The android even tore off the plastic identification wristband with its false data and freed him of this sign of an identity not his own.

Goodbye Dylan, Stan thought, not quite rationally.

Yet, Luna still held the wristband in her hands, looking at it, clear for Stan to see, as Dr. Meyer held up his ankles to clean a part of his buttocks to put the needle in it. Only then carefully, nearly reverentially, she placed it into the transparent crib he had been brought into the room with. Her blue eyes were watching him. He knew she still categorized him as one of her newborns in need of protection and as such most likely did not agree with him returning to his proper age.

Good robots have no say in this, Stan thought, else she might have made me stay a newborn.

The sudden realization that this was most likely true was like a sharp sting, a feeling of danger caused by a sudden understanding sending shivers through his little body. In this moment he felt another sting as the needle of the syringe entered his buttock. He twitched and part of him wanted to cry out as response to these two sorts of pain, but he controlled himself. It was almost over.

Or was it just beginning? For Stan instantly felt a tingling in his body. He believed he felt warmer and somehow stronger. Still everything looked as large as before, but … A bit of stretching in his jaw, not even a pain and suddenly he felt teeth in his mouth. First the lower central incisors, then the upper ones, followed by the canines and molars. Just touching them with his tongue felt like a ton had been lifted from his shoulders …

It really seemed to be the case, for as Stan tried to move, he found he could do so easily. Moving his head, arms and legs … the latter no longer twitching by the slightest bit of excitement, but fully under his control. He looked at his hand. Still pudgy, but he could control each finger, knew he could now hold things again. He touched his head and felt strong hair once again covering it … brown as he hoped, instead of the golden of his wife and daughter, as it would mean he would have his own DNA back.

I’m at least two, the regressed man thought with a smile. I am able to walk again!

Not that Stan tested it, knowing very well that he needed to lie down and let the serum do its work. So he tried himself in patience and looked around. The room seemed to become smaller, as he grew rapidly. Dr. Meyer and Robot Nurse Luna still towered over him, but looked less like giants from fairy tales.

No fairy tales for me though, Stan thought. I can’t wait to watch tv again.

He stretched himself, surprised at how lean his body already looked and how dexterous it was ... he was the age of a grade schooler now at least. The energy raging through him was so strong he had to fight against the urge to jump up and run around. Of course at this age he had to sit at the desk, learning letters and numbers, sentences, addition and subtraction.

Or algebra, Stan corrected himself, as he watched his hands becoming larger and leaner. I’m at high school age already.

The rapidly aging boy touched his face and discovered fist stubbles. As he looked at his genital, he noticed hair growing there, too. And it growing. A sudden dizziness overcame him and as he closed his eyes. He thought at Maria again. Along with this came a longing he had missed over the last days. Puberty came and seemed to pull a veil from his brain which had covered parts of him so central … separating childhood from adolescence and adulthood.

I nearly forgot how good it feels, Stan thought, but tried not to think too hard about it. No boner now please!

Trying to fight this off, he concentrated more on other parts of his body. His arms and legs became more muscular and as he touched his face he discovered more lines in it. No one would look at him and think of a child anymore, not to mention a baby … no one would even wonder if he told them he had a baby of his own.

Mary, Emily, Stan thought closing his eyes. I’m soon with you again!

He opened his eyes to find Dr. Meyer studying him more closely.

“How do you feel Mr. Lockney?” The doctor asked.

“Uh.” Stan took a deep breath, looking at his hands, then touching his face, feeling the stubbles. “Good! I mean, I feel like me again.”

“Let me help you up.” Dr. Meyer gave Stan a hand to help him into a sitting position. “Dizzy?”

“A bit,” Stan admitted, though it was nothing compared to how it had felt when his brain had gone through puberty in high speed.

“You were lying the whole time. This is normal,” the older man assured him. “Let me check you through.”

Stan nodded and the doctor began his examination. He checked his vital signs, engaged in a conversation about dates, family and politics to assess his mental state. Stan wondered if this was the normal test for people having undergone age-regression and deep down he feared the older man would find something … what if his time as a newborn had already robbed him of something of his adulthood? Something he couldn’t remember?

“Everything is normal! You can dress yourself, now. I will get you a syringe with vitamins to stabilize and then you can finally go to your wife,” Dr. Meyer told him to Stan’s total relief and turned to Luna “Please give him his clothes. Also, could you organize the syringe?”

“Of course,” the robot nurse replied.

There was nothing unusual in her tone, which was completely polite as usual, still Stan couldn’t help but sense that the android sounded as if she was disapproving, as if she felt this was wrong. Looking at her blank face with those blue eyes he wondered …

“Goodbye Mr. Lockney,” Dr. Meyer told his patient. “With your wife and daughter being released tomorrow I don’t think we will see each other again. I wish you three the best.”

“With Emily safe it will be,” Stan replied with a smile. “Thank you for everything Dr. Meyer.”

With this the doctor left and Luna placed Stan’s clothes orderly next to him.

“I will help you,” the robot nurse offered.

“No need,” Stan assured her with a wry smile. “The times I needed someone to dress me are over.”

True to his word, he grabbed his underpants, stepped into them and pulled them up. How good it was to no longer wear a diaper! No padding at all. Jeans, shirt, socks, shoes … a part of him had feared he wouldn’t be able to dress himself, that his time as a newborn had robbed him of the necessary skills and dexterity, but he managed to do it without help and in little time.

“This feels so much better,” Stan commented now fully dressed.

He stood up and swooned for a second. Luna rushed to offer her hand or grab him, but he brushed her off.

“I told you I don’t need help,” he reminded her, his tone a bit rough, frustrated that he wasn’t yet fully restored. “You can leave. I will find the way back to the maternity ward alone. Just tell me where I can get a coffee.”

“Fresh coffee is served in the cafeteria downstairs, or a coffee machine on the floor,” the android told him dutifully. “But I must advise against taking caffeine!”

“Caffeine is just what I need,” Stan replied, enjoying the feeling of standing and being bigger than the robot nurse who had held him so often in her arms during the last days. “Besides it will wash the taste of … of other stuff out of my mouth.”

He had to stop himself from saying more. Breastmilk. Maria’s milk. It hadn’t tasted bad, not all. He believed he could indeed still taste it … and didn’t a part of him still desire it? Fleeing from this desire and feeling a sudden need, he walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. The sight of the toilet greeted him like a long lost friend.

“Mr. Lockney, I must insist you unlock the door,” Luna told him from the other side of the door. “Your body just went through a lot of stress and you need supervision.”

“Dr. Meyer said I’m fine,” Stan reminded her, feeling annoyed as he walked to the toilet. “Just leave. I can take care of myself.”

With this he pulled down his pants and sat down on the toilet. What a feeling! Nearly like a toddler sitting on the training potty the first time …

“I really must advise you to unlock it for your safety,” Luna tried once again.

Stan didn’t bother to answer. He was an adult again, so his safety was no one’s concern but his own!

Worried about my safety while I’m on the toilet, the man thought. These Robot Nurses really need to be tuned down … does she still think me a newborn?

These thoughts quickly gave way to planning. Going to the cafeteria would need too long. He would get himself a quick coffee from a machine. It didn’t need to be a good one, just enough to feel more himself again and no longer have the taste of breastmilk in his mouth. Then he would visit Maria and maybe have a snack with her in the cafeteria. They would talk again, after all this time. Finally he would go home and prepare things for her and their daughter’s arrival.

Emily, Stan thought with a smile, grabbing the toilet paper. Daddy will hold you, speak with you and see you the first time with my own eyes … It will be as it should be. I promise.

Once done, the man stood up and washed his hands. Strong hands, ready to hold his daughter and not the pudgy things he hadn’t even been able to control. Stan looked at himself in the mirror over the washbasin. It was himself. Gray eyes looking at him, brown hair covering his head. Nothing left of the baby blue and the golden strains or a near hairless head. Every bit of it was as he remembered it. There were even stubbles on his face instead of smooth skin. Time to leave … he had already lost too much time.

Leaving the bathroom, Stan noticed Luna standing in the room holding a syringe.

“You have the vitamins?” He asked. “Good, just inject them and I can go.”

“It would be better if you sat down on the bed for this,” Luna advised him.

“I prefer standing,” Stan explained truthfully. “The whole time I was lying … I missed using my legs.”

The Robot Nurse didn’t seem to agree. Yet, after a moment of hesitation, she injected the content of the syringe into his arm. The memories of him being vaccinated as a newborn days before rushed through him. Still he forced himself to smile to fight this unwanted association. Yet, the similarities and memories of helplessness overcame him as he suddenly swooned, feeling weak again.

The Robot Nurse grabbed his arm, propping him. Stan instinctually grabbed her arm, only to instantly wanting to let go again … but why would he? To proof his adulthood? Instead he allowed her to prop him and took a deep breath.

“These days of lying left their mark,” he admitted, swallowing his pride, as he didn’t want his reunion with his family be delayed because of an accident. “Can you show me the nearest coffee machine?”

“Of course,” Luna promised.

“Thank you!”

Together the man and the Robot Nurse left the room.

 

***

 

Maria rested on her bed and listlessly watched tv, when she heard the door open. Her heart stopped, but she only saw Robot Nurse Luna entering. Had something gone wrong? Would she push in the transparent newborn crib with Dylan … Stan, any moment? Instead her husband walked in after the android, smiling widely. A part in her felt disappointed and she hated herself for it.

“Stan,” she called him, in what she hoped sounded relieved, but felt so weak.

Her husband didn’t seem to notice, for he rushed to her and embraced her. His arms strong as she remembered them and his breath smelling of coffee. She returned the embrace, only for a moment remembering his little newborn body in her arms, before fighting the memory down. She looked in his lean face, seeing his eyes, grey instead blue and went through his brown hair instead the faint golden hair he had had as a newborn.

“I missed you,” she told him and knew this was true enough to not be a lie. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes,” he gave her a soft kiss. “Now it is.”

For a moment the couple just looked at each other, enjoying the moment and slowly getting back into the reality of being the partners they were meant to be.

“Luna told me Emily is supposed to come back from the newborn nursery in half an hour,” Stan noticed. “Shall we eat something in the cafeteria and discuss your release?”

“I would love to!”

Hand in hand both left the room to make the first steps as new parents.

 

***

 

In the cafeteria the couple bought coffee, sandwiches and croissants, the quality which the hospital’s regular meals just couldn’t match. With many people around, they chose a table by the window which was still free.

“It has been too long,” Stan noticed as they had sat down.

Maria nodded, seeing him grabbing his sandwich and taking a large bite. Part of her wanted to tell him to eat slowly and chow, but she held her tongue, not too sure if this came from a misplaced sense of motherly care. She wanted to believe this wasn’t the case, yet, she remembered that it was just the time Dylan had regularly been fed. Maybe this was why Stan felt this hunger … or was it the rapid aging he had gone through? Maria couldn’t decide, but a part of her briefly imagined the newborn hungrily nursing from her breast, his warm weight secure in her arms. Her decision had robbed her … them of this. It had been right, but … Fighting these thoughts down and ignoring the itching in her breast, she bit on her croissant.

“Anything you want to me to buy?” Stan asked.

A second crib, Maria heard herself thinking.

“I think we got everything …” she answered instead, recalling what they had left in their house. “Maybe some fruit and vegetables. Is the milk still fresh?”

Stan hesitated a moment, swallowing.

“I’ll buy new one,” he promised, grabbing his sandwich and taking a bite.

“You know,” Maria began with a slight smile, sensing his unease and knowing where it came from. “Mine is always fresh.”

This made her husband swallow hard and nearly choke. She smiled and grabbed his hands.

“Just a small joke!”

For a moment he glared at her, then he lightened up.

“I guess I’ll have to live with this for a while,” he noticed, returning her smile.

“A little while!”

“As long as I don’t need a diaper I can live with it,” Stan noticed. “Don’t be mad at me for preferring a sandwich. Emily has all your milk for herself now.”

Maria smiled, seeing him take another bite.

“Don’t let the baby eat this!”

Stunned the couple looked around for the source of the voice. This turned out to be a mother admonishing her grade school kid holding a candy bar near his maybe half a year old baby brother who was trying to grab with his pudgy hands. Stan was left for a moment stunned with his mouth open, while Maria laughed loud and with all her heart, not caring what the people thought.

 

***

 

They had just entered the hospital room, when Luna pushed in Emily. This was very well timed, making Maria suspect the robot nurse had watched them enter the maternity ward via one of her robotic sister’s eyes. Either way, she enjoyed seeing the love in her husband’s face, as the transparent crib stopped in front of them.

“Your daughter has missed you,” Luna noticed. “She looked around all the time.”

“Did you?” Maria asked, bowing over the newborn looking at her with a scowl. “Did you miss mommy and daddy?”

Or your brother Dylan?, a tiny voice in her asked, even when it was a weak one. Best you forget, but don’t worry, I will remember him.

She picked her squirming newborn up and carried her over to the bed, gesturing Stan to take place besides her. Then she carefully handed him his daughter. Emily stopped squirming, looking at him with eyes wide from wonder. The little girl was totally captivated by this new sight and the smell of the deo, shower gel and aftershave still in the clothing, as well as of coffee in his breath. He was a whole new world for her …

“Hey Emily,” Stan greeted his daughter. “Your daddy is finally here … yes he is!”

There was the hint of a smile and Maria embraced her husband as he held Emily. The memories of Dylan might remain, but now, after this trial, she felt all right.

They were the family they were supposed to be.

 

To be continued …

 

---