Always His Baby

Chapter 16
Young Love

Chapter Description: Can Sheridan's boyfriend save her?

Seconds pass and Jake is still gawping at her. His mouth moves wordlessly like a hungry fish while his eyes refuse to blink.

"’Kay, some words would help right now." Sheridan speaks, still annoyed at her squeaky tone while at the same time overjoyed that she’s found her words again. And that Jake can understand her.

He doesn’t seem to believe it anymore than her; "You...you just spoke?"

"Yeth...Yes!" She tries to improve her dictation, a difficulty when she has so few and little teeth in her mouth along with a silly tongue; "You’re the only one I’ve been able to speak around. You need to help me."

Jake shakes his head and looks between the talking baby and back at his sister talking to Sheridan’s father.

Sheri tugs on his shirt; "No! Don’t say anything. My dad...he’s the one who did this."

"Did what? What the ’ell is going on?" Jake asks, baffled; "...Am I being Punkd?"

"No. You are not being Punkd." She always hated watching that show with him; "This is real, I pwomise. Jake, my dad used magic to make me little! M’not really a baby. I’m ’sposed to be the same age as you. Do you remember?"

Jake blinks again, frowning a little. He almost looks like he’s about to be sick. His hands are holding Sheridan’s middle rather unsteadily at arm’s length. As if she were at risk of infecting him with whatever strangeness that’s occurred.

He always was rather dumb. It was endearing to Sheridan at the time but now, with so much at stake, it’s intensely infuriating.

"You have to remember! We were boyfriend and girlfriend!" She insists, which almost makes the lad laugh until his expression shifts again.

Does he remember? Oh god, please say so.

"I...You’ve always been a baby, as long as I’ve known you." He says, as if on auto-cue; "But...I remember you being in my class as well. I remember you being...old enough to go to school. Kid school and in my class...fuck, it’s giving me a headache."

Sheridan wants to snipe back and ask how the hell does he think she’s been feeling lately. Though the mixture of memories and confusing thoughts haven’t been painful so much as nauseating. A little claustrophobic. Leading to so much freedom and relief when she just gives in.

Right now she remembers everything. And the world is spinning around her. Jake is the only lifeline she has to crystal clear sanity - as sane as this world can seem anymore.

"You just have to...Oh shit." She curses.

Jake can’t help chuckling at seeing a baby swear. She swats his arm.

"No, stop it, Dad is watching! You’ve gotta look like you’re playing with me...Stand with your back to ’em." She advises, not wanting her father to come marching over and separating her from the one chance she has at regaining her maturity.

Jake gives a sigh and looks over at the others to give a smile and a wave. A sign of everything is fine. He then turns back to Sheridan and positions her on the pony to make it look like he’s minding her properly.

"Wow...this is wild." He gasps; "You say your dad did this? How? Is he some sort of wizard?"

"No and don’t sound so impressed, this is serious." She chastises; "My grandma got him in touch with a genie. He made a wish. He wants me to be little again."

"Why?"

Sheridan shrugs; "Dunno. So he can control me? ’Cause he’s insane? Why does it matter, you just have to help me! Please, babe. You’re the first one other than my dad who’s been able to remember, that must mean somethin’. You’re the one who’s ’sposed to save me."

"Uhm, okay...How?" He asks, not sounding all that confident.

"You have to kiss me!"

Jake has to hold in a burst of laughter; "What? Okay, I’m definitely being messed with."

Sheridan screws up her face. She has an urge to start screaming right here on the pony’s saddle. Jake is being useless.

"You’re not! You have to kiss me. Tw-true love’s kiss will break the curse! It always does." She explains as if talking to an idiot; "Kiss me. Now!"

"I’m not kissing a baby. Especially not in public, I’ll get arrested." He puts his hands up and Sheridan has to throw her arms around the pony’s fake mane to stop from falling off. "Besides, how do you know it will work?"

Sheridan catches her breath; "I...I don’t. N-not for sure. It’s just what always works in stories, ain’t it? Please, Jake. Just one kiss and I’ll be back to normal. I’ll be fifteen again and...we can be like we were, yeah? I can get away from my dad and we can move in together."

Jake’s eyes widen. He looks back at his sister to check they’re a fair distance away before turning back to the talking baby. An mother in the playground is staring at him a bit though. He puts his hands on Sheri again to sit her up properly.

"Slow down, yeah? I know this has gotta be weird as fuck but don’t get ahead of yourself." He says, awkwardly.

Sheridan bats her hands against the plastic. She doesn’t have time to ’slow down’. It’s so frustrating that Jake isn’t treating this as an emergency. He seems more...amused than anything else. He should be scooping her up and taking her far away from her bad daddy. He shouldn’t just be. Standing there.

She hears the bell chimes from the church across the road. She wonders how late it is. She can’t be out of time yet.

"It has to be you. You have to kiss me." She repeats.

"Why me exactly?"

Why him?? Why is he asking that?

"True love’s kiss! It has to be a kiss of true love!" Sheridan proclaims, struggling not to raise her squeaky voice at him; "You love me. You said so...Remember? The night we..."

The night she gave him everything.

It had hurt. It had been incredibly uncomfortable. But it was special because she knew it was with someone important. Someone who loved her. And that way it would get much better in the future. That’s what all the girls said. No one really enjoys their first time. What matters is that you’re with the right guy. He was her right guy. He was her first and only. Surely he felt the same. He had said so after all, his eyes full of sparkle and promise.

Except that’s now how his eyes look now. The complete opposite.

"Right...yeah, I remember." He clears his throat; "Look, kid...I mean. Sheridan. That was a great night and, yeah, we had a lot of fun together. I really do remember. But...this is just too much for me to handle."

Sheridan feels her chest tighten; "Wha...what is too much?"

"You. You being...a baby. I mean, you’re wearing a nappy right now, right?" He checks her waist to feel the padding through her romper. "I take it you’ve...had to use it, right?"

She blushes and looks away. She knows her breakfast and lunch is making its way to her colon right this moment.

"So? I’m a baby now but...if you kiss me then things will go back to normal." She says, her voice a bit quieter. Afraid.

Jake laughs a little; "Yeah, even then, I’m not sure I can get past the thought of you being like this. It’s...icky. And anyway, the two of us, c’mon. It wasn’t supposed to be anything that serious. You didn’t think it was, did you?"

"I..."

She’s never felt so small.

"That’s why I liked you. You weren’t one of those clingy ’forever’ girls." He says, still putting on the charm; "You were smart. Funny. But y’know, we both gotta try other flavors of ice cream. Can’t stick with vanilla all our life."

"Ice cweam?" Sheridan blinks, feeling the upset causing her mind to fizz like a bath bomb.

She could do with some ice cream right now. Not vanilla. Something sweet and fattening like cookie dough or double choc-chip. Something cold to numb the ache that is growing in her heart with every careless word out of Jake’s mouth.

He gives her a pitying smile and pats her head.

"You’re probably too little to understand." He says, tutting; "Y’know, maybe you’re better off this way? I remember how you were before. You were starting to become a bit of a moody bitch. I really don’t think I’m the one to turn you back but...hey, you sure are cute like this! Such pretty pigtails!"

He tries to talk brightly in the same way his sister does when she’s babysitting the children. Sheridan is almost used to being spoken to like that by now. But she never thought Jake would be one to talk to her like she’s nothing but a stupid baby.

Her bottom lip wobbles and she looks up at him with wide, watering eyes.

"You...You’re not gonna hewp me?" She squeaks. Desperate.

Jake sighs and rubs the back of his head. He looks back at his sister again. He seems ready and waiting to run a mile from this.

But he turns back and gives her a smile.

"Of course I’ll help you, silly!" He beams and pushes the pony forward a bit; "Here."

"Wait, wha-"

The pony starts to move up and down ever so gently. Jake’s hands lightly hold her sides as the motions cause her once coherent thoughts to become so jumbled once again. There’s automatic music being played with the motions of the pony that also start to cloud her thoughts. This isn’t helping her.

This is condemning her.

She starts to cry. She wants to beg and plead for Jake to let her go but her mouth won’t co-operate with her anymore. She waves her little hands in the air helplessly.

"Sta...Ja’ Jay! Sta!" Sheridan babbles, caught between excitement and terror as the park and the sky bob constantly around her with every movement. "Ga-aff...Ja!"

Her stomach is about to cramp. She can feel it coming. She’s going to mess herself while in her boyfriend’s...ex-boyfriend’s hands. She clenches her cheeks as hard as she can but it’s becoming so hard to focus on anything. Even the upset of having her heart broken by the one last person she thought she could trust is a slippery concept to hold onto.

All she wants to think about is the pony and the fluffy clouds and the butterflies and the duckies. Everything that is soft and innocent.

Her breath hitches as a coo and a giggle escape her mouth. Why is she smiling? She doesn’t want to smile, damn it. Stupid pony. Stupid Jake. She wriggles and squirms as the pony keeps on rocking, encouraging her to let go of everything, both physical and mental. Just sink into uncomprehending contentment.

"Look at the little cow-girl! Giddy up, kiddo!" says Jake with a smile; "Weeee!"

A much bigger laugh explodes from Sheridan, causing her to ignore her sphincter loosening as she sits there, filling her nappy silently. She’s a cow-girl riding far away from everyone! Her horsie is a flying pegasus that can take her into the fluffy clouds and towards the sun!

The ride begins to slow down as Robin and Daddy approach.

"Had a fun ride with Uncle Jake, cutie?" Robin smiles, tickling Sheridan’s cheek.

Jake picks her up and lifts her, sniffing her bottom for a second, before handing her towards her father.

"Oh dear. I think that means she’s all yours, Mr. Tyler." He says, a bit cheeky.

"Why thank you, very much." Daddy says, patting Sheridan’s bottom. "Did baby make another big poo for Daddy? Did she?"

It’s only then that she feels the squish of another warm mess in her chunky nappy. She hadn’t even realized she was pooping when on the pony, she had been so over-excited. She squirms and whines with embarrassment. No wonder Jake would find it too difficult to be with her again after this. It was just as she feared. Sheri sticks her thumb in her mouth and turns her face towards her dad’s chest.

She doesn’t want to look at the mean boy anymore.

"You kids take care now. Tell your parents I said hi." Daddy says goodbye to Robin and Jake.

They start to leave; "See you later, Mr. Tyler. Bye, bye Sheri!" Robin says.

Daddy guides Sheridan’s hand to wave at the teenagers.

"Good luck, kiddo." Jake wishes, and Sheridan pokes her head out in time to see him give her a wink. And, maybe, a flash of a guilty look on his face.

He knows what she has lost.

Sheridan sniffs, almost going limp in her father’s arms. She says nothing as he takes her to the public park toilets to change her nappy and clean her up. She doesn’t respond to his cooing or his soft tone. She just lies there, sucking her thumb, avoiding eye contact with him as much as she can. Because she knows that the second she looks at him or anyone else, she’ll start crying and she won’t ever, ever be able to stop.

When it’s time to go home, she sits in her push-chair and lets Daddy pop her dummy into her mouth without making the slightest fuss. She has tried. She has failed.