Alterations - Exchanged Book 3 (Diaper Dimension)

Chapter 14
Residual Effects

I HUGGED HER larger body for a few minutes unsure of what to do before Amanda came in. “What’s wrong Bella?” she cooed.

She just sobbed and wailed so she did the Mommy thing and sniffed, “Do you need a diapee change?” she said, “That’s no big deal, let go of Stacy and we’ll get you all clean,” she told her.

Bella didn’t initially want to let go of me for some reason, but we soon transferred her grip to holding Amanda’s neck. I watched Amanda hug her, kiss her, and bounce for a moment to try and get her calmed. Bella was playing down to the roll of sobbing baby quite well as Amanda laid her down on the changing table and put a pacifier in her mouth. Her sobs quieted a little as she sucked on the pacifier, but you could tell it wasn’t going to calm her completely. Amanda pulled the skirt of her dress up out of the way and began to work on her diaper. I could just hear the rip of the tapes as she began wiping her.

At that point I could feel myself need to go a bit so I let some urine into the padding of my thick diaper, but knew there was no reason to change it for hours yet.

“You poor thing,” Amanda continued to coo, “you’ve had an awful week, I don’t blame you for crying one bit.”

As soon as she had her redressed Amanda carried her over to the rocking chair and settled down with her while wrapping her protectively in a blanket. “Shhh…” she said for several minutes before I watched her sigh, open her blouse, and traded the pacifier in Bella’s mouth for her breast. She continued patting her on the back and rocking while I sat there awkwardly. Figuring that Bella probably would be taking a nap next I started picking up our dolls and accessories to put them away in the toy bin.

“Leave them out,” Amanda said quietly.

“Why?” I asked, “What if you step on them?”

She gave a pained look, “It just shows that you two are well taken care of and playing. The neatness of the nursery was almost a red flag to the LPS lady earlier…”

I nodded, “Okay then…” and just kind of put the dolls at least to sleep next to the crib. I climbed back onto my bed and opened my computer back up as she moved Bella to her other breast.

I began looking through some things online until she finished nursing, burped Bella, then laid her down in her crib. Without warning she came over to me and put her hand on my diaper. “That’ll take a lot more, huh?” She asked.

I nodded, “Yeah it will…”

“You want to come downstairs while your sister naps?” She asked me quietly.

“Can I just stay here in case Bella wakes up crying?” I asked her.

She smiled, “Sure… want a bottle at least to drink?”

I nodded, “Please,” while thinking what I really wanted was what Bella had just had.

She hugged me and said, “Okay, be right back.”

I did a few mundane things on my computer while I waited for her. She reappeared with a juice bottle pretty quickly and handed it to me, “Thanks Mommy,” I told her.

“Be good,” she told me as she left again. I quickly nursed about half of the bottle down and then got to work on my project.

I had been excited when I learned that part of the university privileges for students included access to electronic medical journals. I logged in through the university library and began searching for abstracts that involved studies on Amazon breast milk. Most of them were innocuous enough studies on normal Amazonian babies, especially pertaining to their growth and brain development. I read a couple of the abstracts on those and saw that just like in my world; they really did push breastfeeding’s benefit over formula. Unlike back home though formula seemed less driven by mothers who were unable to lactate enough. What few studies I glanced through seemed to indicate that was a non-existent problem in this dimension. Formula was instead driven by working mothers who didn’t want to pump, or by the mothers who didn’t like to be chomped on by teeth…

I managed to narrow my search to its effects on littles, and then found several research journals on the nutrition aspect of Amazon milk. They all indicated that an average little could be sustained solely on their mother’s milk if they fed every two to three hours. Any less than that and it was likely that a little would be at least somewhat malnourished. It also indicated that by feeding a little only on breastmilk you would get the result of a plumper, healthier looking baby. Several of the articles indicated that you could get away with less nursing sessions by using vitamins, supplementing with formula or baby food. When I finally found a comparison of the components of Amazonian breast milk versus littles, I was curious to note that the Amazonian milk contained a higher level of calcium and proteins per ounce, compared to the version Little mothers produced.

A few other studies showed that littles who breastfed were far more likely to be compliant and bond emotionally to their ‘mothers.’ Several psychological studies showed these ‘babies’ rejected the breast at very low rates once given at least one nursing session. I came across one study that took free littles and gave them breast milk unknowingly for a week before presenting the mother who had produced it in the same room. In all thirty cases the little instantly hugged the stranger and excitedly nursed at her breast. The study noted that there might a psychosomatic trigger caused chemically in the milk. Further study was needed they suggested, as it could be a separately synthesized substance administered to parents struggling to bond with their littles.

I squirmed at just how invasive and awful some of the experiments were. They were all written up in scientific language, but all I could picture were the Nazis in Germany under Josef Mengele justifying their horrific acts. I shuddered, but kept digging, just hoping I would find something more specific about the chemical mechanisms. The bottle was empty when I finally found a study linking their milk to urinary and bowel control.

‘Pathway to Control’ was the name of the study, and specifically looked at the usefulness of a specific Casein Protein E3 that was present in Amazon breast milk. Wading further through the technical terminology required several dictionaries and more research, but they named a Pontine Mictruition Center, along with the spinal cord, that controlled bowels and urinary release. The flooding of the body with the amino acid that made up the E3 Protein resulted in the buildup of chains right on the receptors of those two centers. Something about the little receptors bonded very easily with the E3, and they discovered a ‘clumping’ of those chains around them. The effect seemed to be that those centers were inhibited and constantly would give signals to the bladder muscles that it was full. It would also diminish the signal to the cortex of the brain that was used to indicate the status of the bladder. A similar process towards the center that controlled the anal sphincter seemed to occur too, causing the muscles to continually relax their hold while simultaneously blocking that signal from the brain’s receptors.

I read one paragraph that made me squirm, ‘Short-term studies show that the removal of the protein’s presence will let the centers recover and clear – returning full control to the little. Long-term continual exposure for at least a month seems to result in a residual structure remaining around the center. This seems to be damage that cannot be easily corrected. Littles rarely showed any control even when no longer exposed regularly to the protein.’

The study believed that the protein could be isolated and marketed as a medication to help struggling littles who were fighting the diaper training their ‘parents’ were giving them. Included within the study was a diagram of the specified mechanism and I wondered if I could use it to program the nanobots to clear the chains off the centers? Or make an immune response to attack the chains?

Amanda came in right then though and said, “Ready for din-din?”

I shook my head and quickly closed out of what I was doing before saying, “Sure.”

Bella was still fast asleep so Amanda said, “Bella baby, do you want to wake up and have dinner?”

She just groaned and said, “Don’ feel good... swweep pwease?”

I watched Amanda’s face turn into a worried frown, but she said, “yes you can. If you need something call out, I’ll have the monitor on downstairs.”

She just mumbled and rolled over. Amanda came over to me then and stuck her hand on my diaper, “Let’s change you after dinner?”

I shrugged, “I can’t really feel it in these, so that’s fine.”

She hugged me and carried me downstairs to my highchair. Some pot roast was cut up along with mashed potatoes on a plate for me. “Thanks!” I told her, “This looks great Mommy!”

A bottle of juice was placed on the tray too before she asked, “Okay, so what is it you’re working on…?” as she sat down.

Fred looked at me curiously too, “What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Our daughter here is most definitely up to something; I just haven’t figured out what it is. Seems she’s been messing around a bit with Mommy making her think she was on the web?”

“I have been on the web,” I told her.

“On sites that don’t exist in this dimension?” She asked with a smirk.

“So, it was you…” I smiled and stuck my tongue out at her, “I hoped it was…”

“Apparently you really are too good at this for your own good, most people wouldn’t have found that, let alone fooled me for a couple days here.”

I smiled, “I didn’t know who put it on… I’d rather have a secure system,” I told her honestly.

“That’s honestly really smart… now back to my question?”

I debated about lying, but decided there was no reason to. “I’ve been researching the causes of why your milk would make me lose control.”

Fred’s eyes went up a bit at that, “How?”

“I’m a university student, I have full access to the electronic library with journals of medicine and everything else.”

He nodded, “I have the same access, but haven’t really had a chance to sit down and look myself. Did you find anything?”

I looked around and mouthed, “We’re secure?” to Amanda.

She nodded, “I swept earlier and got rid of the four presents the LPS officers left.”

I sighed and looked at Fred, “I think so. There’s a specific protein that your milk has, but isn’t present in little’s milk. The research I found shows that it binds up inside a little’s body on two receptors…” I gave him as technical of an understanding as I had gained about it.

“Hmm… if you feed long-term though, those build up?” Amanda asked nervously.

“Yes… Kind of like plaque in arteries… There must be some clearing possible though? I mean clearly some littles who get away and are able to re-potty train?”

Fred looked thoughtful, “I know that probably ninety percent of them end up still wearing diapers though for at least occasional accidents. Whatever control they gain back can’t be that great?”

Amanda sighed, “I guess that means no more nursing for you.”

“Well…” I said.

“You can’t seriously be thinking of risking it?” Amanda asked.

“Not without some adjustments…”

“Adjustments…?”

“Give me a day or two and I’ll explain. I don’t want to get my own hopes up yet?”

She narrowed her eyes at me, “Nothing crazy, right?”

I just made the most angelic face I could, “Mommy I’m not cwazy… It’s not wike I came to another dimension to get adopted and become a baby again?”

They both laughed at that and we all finished eating. “May I go back to my room and work on my computer some more?” I asked.

“Let’s see what your sister is doing first,” she said, “and change that diaper of yours too. You probably can’t even waddle in that thing at this point.”

I poked at the padding through the weird panty and nodded, “Probably not…”

She laughed at me quietly and carried me upstairs. Bella seemed to still be asleep so Amanda was quiet as she changed me into a regular pamper. “Let’s take you and your computer down to Mommy’s lab?” she suggested in a whisper.

I shrugged but nodded and grabbed my computer and tablet from where I’d left them. When we arrived at her workroom, I asked Amanda, “How bad was the LPS lady to her? I can’t believe she’s slept this much…?”

Amanda looked at me thoughtfully, “I honestly don’t know why she’s crashed so hard…”

I felt my gut tighten then, “Are you sure she’s okay?” I paused, “Are you sure those were really LPS agents?”

The look of terror on her face made me think she hadn’t considered that. She hurried back down the hallway and cried out, “FRED!!!!!”

I just sat there in the highchair for a moment as I heard Fred’s footsteps pound down the hallway to our nursery. I looked at the harness I was strapped in with and pressed on the buckle release with all of my might. It took several minutes of trying many different ways before I managed to miraculously get the buckle to come loose. ‘Thank God I’m in a baby’s highchair and not a little’s…’ I thought to myself as I climbed down. I hurried to the nursery and found that the baby gate was open and forgotten. Fred held a limp Bella in his arms and was moving towards the changing table.

“Amanda call 9-1-1!!! Tell the operator she has a very weak pulse and is non-responsive.”

Amanda stood there for a second looking lost and confused, “What’s happening to her…?”

My phone was sitting right on my desk so I grabbed it and dialed the number myself.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency…?” The operator asked.

I looked up to see if Amanda looked like she could talk to the operator, but seeing her in a state of shock, so I took the initiative, “My little sister is unconscious and unresponsive. My daddy is a doctor and he said she has a very weak pulse and we need an ambulance to take her to the hospital…”

The lady impressed me by not questioning my squeaky high voice, “What’s your address?”

I had to think a few moments before responding with the address that I’d needed for some paperwork, “9387 Oak Lane.”

“Okay, the ambulance is on its way sweetheart, just stay on the phone with me until they get there. Does your daddy know what’s wrong with her?”

I looked up at Fred who was still watching her carefully. “The operator wants to know if you know what might be wrong with her?”

Amanda finally snapped out of her stupor then and asked, “Fred… what can I do…”

“Go get my emergency bag from the car,” he told her. “I have a crash kit in there. I hope we don’t need it, but she’s breathing shallower.”

She hurried out of the room and he told me, “I think she may have been poisoned. I don’t know what form it was. She was acting strange earlier, right?”

I thought back and nodded before I relayed that to the operator, “We think she might have been poisoned…”

“Poisoned? Intentionally?” The lady asked in shock. “Never mind that, can you give me as much information as you can on your sister?”

I told her Bella’s age, height, and weight then. I decided I didn’t know enough about what happened earlier to know if it was the LPS ‘agents’ or not. It seemed likely to me, but I didn’t mention it to them on the phone since I would just be guessing.

Amanda came back upstairs quickly with Fred’s emergency bag and handed it to him. I watched as he hurriedly opened it up to find whatever he needed inside. He attached some leads to a small square box, and then attached that to her bare chest. I guessed it must have been some sort of small AED, or heart monitor, as it began beeping irregularly. He grabbed a bag valve mask and placed it on her face, before he began gently squeezing it to help her breathe. From what I could tell she didn’t seem to be improving and Fred’s face looked increasingly concerned as every moment passed.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only five minutes at the most, the doorbell rang and Amanda ran downstairs to get the door. Paramedics followed her upstairs and assisted Fred in getting her on a small stretcher board. “I think she’s going into some sort of toxic shock. Do you have epinephrine?” I heard him ask as they carried her quickly downstairs to the ambulance.

As they carried her, I found Grandpa’s number on my phone and dialed it as the paramedics had arrived.

“Grandpa?” I asked as he answered.

“Stacy? What’s wrong?”

“Bella… something’s wrong with her! Daddy thinks she might have been poisoned. They’re leaving with her to the hospital…”

“We’ll be at your house in a minute!” He said and hung up.

I followed the group downstairs and stood by Amanda as we watched helplessly as they loaded Bella into the ambulance. Fred climbed into the ambulance and they were off a moment later. From what I could tell Amanda just couldn’t register much of anything in her shock. I walked over to her and hugged her legs tightly. Her only response was to reach down, pick me up, and tightly hugged me to her body while she cried her eyes out.

GRANDPA JOE AND Granny had to have broken every speed limit, and ran every red light, to get there as quickly as they did in their two vehicles. Both pulled into the driveway at the same time. Joe appeared to have come all of the way from the studio since he was still in his gi. “Oh, baby what happened?” Granny asked as she enveloped Amanda in a tight hug.

She just sobbed for several minutes, “Stacy… Stacy… and I were talking and… she asked if Bella was really okay…” She tried to get her sniffling under control but was failing miserably. “She had a gut feeling something was wrong… I went to check on Bella and she wouldn’t wake up… I kept shaking her shoulder and then found her pulse was weak…”

She lost it then and Granny hugged her and consoled her. Grandpa Joe squatted down next to me, “What do you think happened?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know… Bella seemed fine for a while… but then seemed kind of sick or tired. She could have just been traumatized from whatever that lady did to examine her… but she didn’t want to wake up for dinner… then she didn’t wake up even later… Something about it just seemed wrong when I stopped and thought about it…”

“I’m so scared Mama…” Amanda sobbed on Granny’s shoulder.

I walked over and hugged Amanda’s legs and found myself picked up again and joined in the crying session.

“Theresa, why don’t you take Amanda to the hospital. I’ll stay here with Stacy as they probably wouldn’t allow her into the NICU anyway…”

Amanda looked down at me and I could see she was scared and concerned for the girl that had only been calling her ‘mommy’ for a week. ‘I guess the maternal bonding of an Amazon doesn’t take too long to form…’

“I’ll be fine Mommy, go check on Bella. Grandpa and I’ll be fine here,” I tried to maintain a fake smile as I could for her sake.

“Come on Mandy,” Granny told her.

I was given a squeeze and then handed to Grandpa who watched them leave before bolting the door and carrying me to the couch to sit down. “So really, what do you think happened?” He asked me.

I shrugged, “That lady had Bella upstairs on her own before we came home earlier. From what little Bella said, it sounded like she was pretty invasive with her inspection for abuse and a diaper change - inappropriately so. She could have easily put something inside of her then or just used a cream on her before putting the diaper over it?”

His eyes narrowed, “That’s probably a good guess… did she have a diaper change after that?”

I shrugged, “I don’t keep track, but I think so?” I thought for a moment, “Yeah, she did…” I wrinkled my nose, “Just before dinner it was a poopy one that she was upset about since it was the first one that she didn’t know she had gone…”

“Come on, let’s go upstairs and see if we can find the diaper that she had on… it would be a good idea to have it checked out.”

“We’re digging through the diaper pail?” I wrinkled my nose and groaned as he hoisted me in the air and carried me to the nursery. Fred’s medical bag’s contents were still strewn about the room. He walked over to our diaper pail and opened it up. Amanda used a type of pail that made little pockets in a long plastic wrapper, sealing each diaper in it’s own smell resistant wrapper section as it was dropped inside. He pulled the tube of used diapers loose from the entry spot and began looking at them.

“That should be the one, right? She’s a lot larger than you in diaper sizes…”

He held it to where I could see the poop stains on the larger sized diaper, I grimaced at the smell that began to escape from the pail, “That’s hers alright…”

“I’ll be right back…” he said before he walked out. I heard his footsteps go down the hallway and he came back with gloves, a Ziploc bag, and a pair of scissors. I watched as he put the gloves on, cut the section of wrapped diaper out, and then placed it into the Ziploc. I wrinkled my nose as a bit of poop smeared against the clear Ziploc.

“I think it would be a good idea to get this to a friend of mine at the police department. They have a good lab and he should be able to test it quickly. Maybe if they can identify the agent, they’ll be able to treat Bella better…”

Just as he pulled off the gloves his cell phone rang, “Fred, what’s the word? Mandy and her mom left about ten minutes ago…”

I held my breath wondering what Fred would say…

“Not good then? They can’t identify the poison?” He paused, “Well I have a clue in my hands… it’s the diaper that lady changed her into. I’m going to run it to a friend on the police force. I think they might be able to maybe identify any foreign substance in their lab…?”

“Well… yeah I could take her there too while I’m at it… She’d be safe? Or maybe Megan can come pick her up?”

I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation and it was making me go a little bit nuts. ‘I need to boost the gain on my hearing or something…’ I thought while looking around my room. I just happened to glance up at the video baby monitor then and smacked myself mentally for not thinking about it before. I left Grandpa’s side and ran back down the hallway to Amanda’s lab, where my computer still sat on the tray of my highchair.

I hesitated for a second as it wasn’t the safest thing in the world, but I climbed up carefully into the seat that was a bit above my head, gathered the computer, and then began an awkward climb down. With my computer in hand I ran back down the hall to our nursery where Grandpa was still talking on the phone.

“Stay there with her, hopefully the treatment they’re giving her is the right one. You might have Amanda checked for anything too since she came in contact with her when she changed her diaper later? Stacy and I’ll go down to the police station to drop this off and then I’ll drop her off with Megan in her dorm.”

“See you soon, love you,” Grandpa said and got off of his phone finally just as I opened up my computer.

“How is Bella doing?” I asked

“Bella’s heart stopped a couple times on the ride to the hospital… She’s got an erratic heart rate right now, but at least it’s beating. The doctors are treating her the best they can for an unknown poison, but it’s going to be touch and go…” He said before noticing I had my computer at my desk and turned it on. “What are you up to?”

I pointed to the two cameras that Amanda had to monitor the nursery, “I think those record…”

“Oh…” he said. “You can get into that? Doesn’t Mandy have it passworded?”

I gave him a grim smile and then got to work. I quickly hacked my way back into that system and found that the system did indeed record a day’s footage. If I hadn’t thought of it though by tomorrow at this time it would have been gone… I quickly scrolled through the footage until I found Bella being carried into the nursery by the lady. I played it back and watched the lady take Bella’s clothes off. As she did so she said ‘let’s change that wet diapee while we’re checking you out!’ I noticed that after she put the strap over Bella’s chest she reached into her own purse for a pair of gloves and then a bottle of lotion of some sort. We watched as the video clearly showed her spread it all over her diaper area, chest, and legs like baby lotion before she put that bottle back in her purse and put the used gloves inside a Ziploc in her purse too. There would have been no point to her using her own though, because you could clearly see that there was a large bottle of baby lotion on the changing table…

“That’s pretty damning,” Grandpa said while looking over my shoulder.

“Yeah…”

“Download that, and put it in a few safe places?” He suggested.

“Done already,” I told him. “It’s on my computer, Amanda’s computer, and Fred’s computer. I also uploaded it to an online storage account I have and it’s on this memory stick,” I handed him one of the drives Amanda had given to me with an adapter on it that I removed.

“You are a nerd baby…” he said with a smirk. “Let’s run now and see if we can identify this poison…”

I grabbed my backpack, put my computer and power cord in it, grabbed my phone, and added my tablet to in there too. I stopped, “Grandpa, did I hear you say that you’re supposed to drop me off with Megan?”

“Yes, your Grandma and Fred think it would be a good idea…”

“Then I guess I better change into a uniform and grab some pajamas and extra diapers while I’m at it…”

He nodded, “You have your own diaper bag too, right?”

I pointed downstairs, “I think it’s where you set it down when we came home earlier still.”

I grabbed a few extra Pampers from the shelf that I could reach and put them in my backpack to be safe. Then I walked to the closet and pointed to one of my uniform sets, “Can you grab two of those to be safe?” I told him and then pointed to the footed pajamas I wanted next, “And that?”

He smiled, “You need a change first while you’re getting changed?”

I assessed how the diaper felt in my brain and nodded. He picked me up and sat me down on the changing table before quickly changing my wet diaper like a pro. As he started to pull my outfit off to change me into my uniform I asked, “Actually…Umm… would it be better just to make me seem like a normal baby to your friend?”

“Normal baby?”

“Put a hat on me and I look like an innocent three-month-old infant… he might not display as much prejudice?”

He looked at me thoughtfully, “Might not be a bad idea actually…” He grabbed the clothes he was going to put on me and folded the outfit neatly and handed it to me, “You have room in your backpack for that?”

I nodded and pulled the bloomer panties back on and stuffed the clothes as neatly as I could into the backpack. I kept my student ID on my neck, dangling it underneath my dress and walked over to the closet where Amanda had started a hat collection. I found a bonnet that matched my dress and carefully used it to cover all of my hair while he ran downstairs to find the diaper bag.

“You know there is something to be said for you being able to blend in like that… perfect spy…” he muttered.

I smiled, “I try!”

He put another spare uniform, a cute sunsuit dress, and a pair of my footed pajamas into the diaper bag. I made sure that I added several days’ worth of diapers, just in case. I didn’t want to rely on the dorms for diapers! Joe picked me up and placed me on his hip while I carried my backpack myself on my back. Meanwhile he held the diaper bag and the evidence in his other hand. He made a quick stop in the kitchen to grab a couple of clean baby bottles that he stuffed in the bag along with several sealed bottles of water, and a handful of small bottles of apple juice. “Be careful what you drink around the university,” he reminded me.

I nodded, “I know…”

He moved about then setting the house alarm, locking up, and placing me into his car that featured a new rear facing infant carrier car seat now. “When did you get a new seat for me?”

“Your Grandma dropped it off earlier… she wasn’t too happy with you being in a seat too big for yourself,” he said. “It’ll actually work really well though for your idea. I’ll just carry you in it and rock you back and forth. No way he’ll think you’re anything but the baby you appear to be.”

I nodded as he closed my door and walked to the drivers’ side. He started the car and I stared at my outfit and hands as he drove for a long while. I was missing the mirror that Amanda had put in the car for me to at least see what was in front of us. I was also missing Bella as someone to talk to at least...

Just like every time I was in a hurry back home, it seemed like you hit every red light that existed! I sat and thought about Bella and hoped that she’d be okay. Medical technology seemed to be far ahead of our own back home, so hopefully they had something – maybe even the nanites, that could help. I couldn’t help but think that ‘I came close to being the victim too…’ I wondered what the point of killing Bella even would be after everything… ‘I guess they could mutilate her body and get the chip they’re after…’ I kicked myself for not trying to hack it already myself.

At the police station Grandpa Joe separated the car seat from its base and carried me out of the car. “Grandpa, why don’t you give my pacifier?” I suggested. He set me down on the ground for a second while he dug through the diaper bag and found one to hand me. I plopped it into my mouth and smiled, “Fanks!”

He smiled back at me and closed the car door before putting the handle of the car seat under his arm and grabbed the evidence from what happened to Bella. I couldn’t see a lot from my vantage point, but the female officer at the desk smiled at me and cooed, “Oh my gosh, she’s such a cutie pie!”

“Right now, she is, but wait until she gets hungry or poops that diaper!” Grandpa joked. “I’m amazed how quickly she can go from being cute to a monster!”

“Oh, hush Joe, she’ll grow up with a complex!”

He laughed, “Maybe… Given the fact my daughter is her mother that may be inevitable,” he chuckled some more, “I’m here to see Bo in the lab?”

“Yes sir, if you’ll just sign-in here,” she said as she handed him a clipboard that he quickly signed before she handed him a visitor’s badge. “Your little cutie doesn’t need a badge yet!” she told him.

He laughed, “Thanks, he’s still in the same place, right?”

“Same cages for the lab rats,” she said with a joke back.

He swung me again from his arm and began moving down the hallway to wherever his destination was. He had to be buzzed in through two security doors before he finally sat me down on a table and began talking to this ‘Bo’ person.

“Hi Joe,” he said extending a hand. Swinging from his arm I actually had a good view of their conversation, seeing that he was quite a bit shorter than Joe - definitely scrawnier than average for an Amazon. I guessed that he was probably only eight and a half feet tall, so Joe easily towered over him.

“Hey Bo, thanks for letting me come in.”

“Yeah, no problem Joe, you said it’s an emergency?”

“Some asshat bitch of a lady poisoned my daughters’ new little girl she adopted. I think it happened when she took her off to examine her during a fake LPS visit. We have it on video that she rubbed some sort of cream on her, but don’t know what the agent she used was. This was the diaper she was changed into by the lady.”

I watched the guy wrinkle his nose a bit, “That’s a different piece of evidence… some might say it’s really shitty evidence…”

Joe gave a small grimacing smile, “The puns never stop with you…”

He shook his head and shrugged, “I aim to please. Believe it or not it’s definitely not the most disgusting thing I’ve had to analyze. What exactly do you want me to look for?”

“She rubbed the cream over her diaper area and her chest. I think that’s the substance we need to identify there will probably be more than slight traces inside the diaper on the lining. The lady used gloves when she put the diaper on, so there won’t be fingerprints left to analyze. My granddaughter has been in and out of consciousness and they’re barely keeping her going. If we can figure out the agent, she may have a chance…”

“And if she doesn’t make it?”

“Then I want to know what she did before I put her down for good,” he said angrily.

“What were the symptoms?”

“She was kind of cranky, seemed to have some loose stool – that would be in the diaper you’re holding, and then she became really sleepy. She wouldn’t wake up for dinner and when my daughter went to check on her discovered her barely breathing and non-responsive.”

“Shit… Well there’s a couple of things that could cause that off the top of my head… I’ll get right on it, maybe it’s a common substance at least with some sort of known treatment. My equipment can probably have an answer in an hour either way?”

“That’s about as much as I can hope for… I’m going to take my other grandbaby here to my youngest daughter to babysit for the night. We didn’t think it would be good for her to wait in the hospital…”

“No, it wouldn’t… If you drop her off then come back… I’ll probably be about done analyzing it?”

“Great,” Joe said and shook his hand, “Thanks Bo, I owe you!”

Bo shook his head, “No, I definitely owe you about fifty times this for saving my skin. This isn’t even close to enough to even the table. Erin would never have been able to raise our kids alone…”

“I’ll be back in a bit,” Joe said giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder before he picked me back up and carried me out to the car.

Once I was secured, he went into his door and I asked, “What did you do for him?”

“A few years back there was a crime scene he was on site investigating that was really just a trap by a bunch of cop hating morons. Five heavily armed guys attacked the investigating techs and officers with automatic rifles. They had Bo pinned down, and the rest of his crew was either wounded or dead... I just happened to be nearby having dinner and managed to take down four of them before an injured office managed to get a round off into the head of the fifth. All were wearing heavy body armor… Seven officers died that day. Bo was injured, but I managed to do enough care at the scene that they were able to patch him up in the hospital and send him home to his family.”

“That’s amazing,” I said, “I had a feeling you were a bona fide hero the second I met you. You remind me a lot of my own grandfather…”

I felt a bit sad at missing him back home.

“I’d be honored to meet him some day,” he said to me with a voice that left no doubt that he was sincere.