✅2️⃣ Testing the Babysitter

Twenty-seventh Test: Assessing the Day

With Lorelei out of the room, Claudia gave a quick smile and darted across the room to join Adam on the couch. She put one hand on his knee before he could respond and he immediately reacted as he had been ordered, wetting his diaper again. Perhaps she wouldn't have noticed this time, but she had to have noticed the sudden increase in his embarrassment.

"Are you okay?" she asked him. "Sometimes it can be hard to tell if you're enjoying yourself or not. Little babies aren't that good at expressing themselves."

"I'm–" he started, and then realised he couldn't shape the word 'not'. He couldn't defy her orders. "I'm a little baby girl. And I'm fine, just a bit embarrassed. After everything, you know?"

"But you still want to be embarrassed more?" She reached out one hand and circled a finger around the top of the empty baby cup. "You seemed awfully enthusiastic about having another dose of St Jeremy's root. And as much as I don't like duplicity in normal life, I have to admire how skillfully you swapped the cups. Just to get nervous a minute later. Were you wondering what I might tell you to do?

"I was..." He still couldn't tell her some things, but he would tell her as much of the truth as he could. He didn't want to lie to her. "I noticed the taste of that stuff, and I realised what I was drinking. I didn't mean to swap them over. It was an accident."

"Really?"

"Really. I want to be... Well, I'm still not allowed to say it, after you told me to accept being called a baby girl. But I think you know what I mean."

"So... how would you feel if I told you that you're going to sleep like a baby tonight, and you won't be allowed to talk until morning?"

"I'd be scared. I don't know your plans. You can't send me back home like that, can you? And if I'm here, would we be in trouble if I oversleep? I don't know when your mum's going to be back. There's too many things could go wrong. I mean, if Lorelei – Lori? – if she knows I'm here she could tell me to do something else, and I don't know what."

"Trust me, she would never think of something more extreme than what I could come up with. But those are your concerns? Things that could go wrong, rather than the order itself?"

"I..."

"Hmm?"

"I don't know. I don't want to feel these things. But if you enjoy it that much, it's not like... Ugh, so hard to say this. But you saw how happy your sister was about getting to tease me like that? She loved it. And all I can think is I wonder if you're feeling like that. Giddy with power, just better at hiding your feelings."

"Maybe a little. I do love being in control, I think we found that out last time we were here. But would you really do something you're uncomfortable with to make me smile? Is that a compromise worth making? I know it's a hard question, and I wonder if I'd be better forcing you to answer, but I think that would be crossing a different kind of line.

"No, dont," he mumbled. "This is something I need to say myself. I need the strength to be honest, if I really want you to trust me. This baby thing is weird, and a little uncomfortable, but it's not like a real nightmare. Not when it's you in charge. If I could be sure that nobody else was going to interrupt, and that we weren't going to get in trouble, I would happily volunteer to drink your special tea, and do whatever you want to do with me. I don't know why, but I know that letting you play mad scientist is fun to me, it's something I like enough that I'd put up with being made to... you know."

"Really?"

"Yes. I'm sure about that. And it's not just because... because of some stupid teen hormones I'm not in control of yet. You have a way of making everything fun, even if it's totally embarrassing. And I really trust you."

"So if I enjoy lording it over you, bullying you, is that something you'd be okay with?"

"There's enough enjoyment there to make me happy. Don't ask me why."

"So is that why you were so willing to wet yourself, and to give me a clear sign you wanted to play?"

"I didn't!" he answered. Again, he couldn't stop the lie. "I really didn't have an accident." A part of him hoped she would realise that there had to be an order behind that, and demand the truth. But only a part of him, and that surprised him more than anything. Right now he was starting to realise that if treating him like a baby was fun for Claudia, he didn't want the game to end.

"Okay. Too proud to admit what a baby you are, but I still know what you want. Do you need a change again, before we go to check on Lori?"

"No!" he insisted automatically. You have to deny it. He thought he really should have said yes; he'd wet himself a little when she touched him. But he didn't have the choice, and it was barely noticeable in any case so he hoped she wouldn't know he was lying.

"Okay then. It's technically her birthday tomorrow, so she'll probably be excited by that. But I told her to get ready for bed, so hopefully she'll be calming down as much as she can. Even at low doses, the extract should make her a little more compliant with instructions. So, would you like to tuck her in and make sure she's ready for bed, or should I?"

"Yeah, but she didn't have her drink, did she?"

"I... I wasn't entirely surprised by that." For once it was Claudia that seemed uncertain and nervous. "I thought she might demand the big cup, because she always asks for it. And because it's her birthday tomorrow, I've been doing my best to not say 'no' to her today. Just a little treat, that she knows is only for one day. So... I put the extract in both cups."

"You..." Adam gasped, and then realised that it made perfect sense. It also meant that whatever happened, he would have been forced to obey after she'd specifically told him that she would be giving Lorelei the drug. But the more he thought about it, the more he realised that he had no problem with that at all. Claudia tricking him, as long as she had a reason, just made helplessness more exciting. The only part he could object to was the ongoing commands, but there was no way for Claudia to know about that. Any other time he would have been delighted to find out just how helpless he was; even if he didn't quite understand why.

"I'm sorry. I thought you might find it funny. And if you really want to stop, I won't give you any more instructions. I just wanted Lori to have a good day. You know?"

"I understand, and it's fine. Was there some in the brownies as well? Like, just in case she didn't finish her drink? Because I did wonder about the flavour there."

"Yeah. Just a little. And I suspect you did more than wonder, the flavour is quite distinctive. But Lori doesn't seem to have figured that out yet, which I'm glad of. Yeah, I tricked you. But in a way I had to. I did tell you what I was giving her, and I think I hinted enough about the brownies. So really, it was more a test of if you wanted to be helpless. I'd only tell you what to do if you knew and chose to eat them anyway, you know?"

"Yeah. But it really was... an accident. I didn't want to take the wrong drink." He hoped that she would get it, but in the circumstances there was little chance of that.

"Okay, baby girl. But while you've been so good, I've got another treat for you. I'll need a few minutes to get it ready, so maybe you can check on Lorelei. Just make sure she's ready for sleep, and tell her to calm down and sleep without making it too obvious. Okay?"

"Yeah," Adam said with a slight nod; wondering just what he should say to the girl who had been torturing him for most of the afternoon, now that she was the helpless one.