Classified: A New Life

Chapter III: Day 2; Early Morning

"When I was a kid, a big glass of chocolate milk always put me right to sleep." Melody explains as she prepares Emory's bottle.

Emory nibbles on her thumb, wishing she hadn't forgotten her pacifier in her bed. She's never had a bottle before--or at least, not for a long time--and she's a little curious as to what it's like to drink from one. She'd thought that she wouldn't like her pacifier, but that turned out to actually be kind of nice...

"Alright," Melody says softly. "Come on." She lifts Emory up and carries her to her room. She sits down on Emory's bed, propping herself up against the headboard. She adjusts Emory so her head is resting in the crook of her elbow, leaving her other hand free to hold the bottle.

Emory fights off a yawn. It's actually really nice to be held like this, she realizes, but before she can figure out how to say that without embarrassing herself, Melody eases the bottle's nipple into her mouth. It feels pretty similar to her pacifier, but it's harder to drink out of than her cup. The chocolate milk is pretty good though, and Melody's gentle pats to her butt just might be making her sleepy.

"Shh." Melody whispers. "Close your eyes, sweetheart."

Emory makes a point of keeping them open, although that becomes exponentially more difficult as the bottle empties. She can feel Melody chuckling to herself.

"You're very stubborn, you know." Melody says gently, smiling down at her. "You won't have any energy to play with your Legos if you stay up all night..."

Emory loses the battle to keep her eyes open before she's able to finish the bottle, disappointed at the thought of not being able to play with her toys.

"Goodnight, Emmy. Sweet dreams." Melody says, from the edges of Emory's awareness as she gently gets her situated in bed once more.

Emory tries to respond, with a "Goodnight," of her own, but her mouth isn't cooperating, so it just comes out as gibberish. She drifts off just as Melody kisses her forehead.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

It's a little chilly for being so close to summer, but Melody's dressed her warmly enough that she isn't cold.

Emory is dressed in an oversized blue sweatshirt and jeans, although she'd discovered earlier that even though they look authentic and don't have snaps in the crotch, they also don't have buttons, just elastic around the waist. She suspects that that design choice is more for Melody's convenience than her own. Her shoes are just normal canvas sneakers, but they're comfortable enough.

"Are you excited for storytime?" Melody asks her.

Emory shrugs. "I guess." She rests her head on Melody's shoulder. She's perfectly capable of walking, and she feels sort of bad that Melody's carrying her and her diaper bag, but Melody hasn't complained about it, and it's nice to be held. "I'm a little nervous about meeting other Littles." She confesses. "And, I sort of feel bad that you're carrying me so much."

"You really don't weigh that much, Emmy, don't worry. You're not hurting me or anything like that. Besides, I enjoy it, and it keeps you from getting into mischief. Remember what I said about Caregivers putting on extra muscle during their Chrysalis time?"

Emory nods.

"So, it's no big deal. Why are you nervous about meeting other Littles? I'm sure they'll all be very nice."

"I don't know. It's just a lot. I don't mind being Little so much when I'm at home with you, but I don't know anyone here. And what if the older Littles think I'm dumb or something? What if I have a diaper leak and everyone sees? Oh, god, what if I poop while we're here?" Emory groans.