Melanie (surprise)
I feel myself jerked around a bit and pop my eyes open with a gasp after I bite down on my thumb that was in my mouth. Ouch! Why was my thumb in my mouth? I haven't done that in years. That really hurt though. I shake my hand a bit to possibly shake the pain away. I try to look around me to figure out where I am but that proves to be difficult for a few reasons.
The first thing I notice is that it's very dark. I feel like I've woken up from a dream but that dream felt very real and not necessarily like a... dream? You know? I don't know. Not the first time that's happened to me I guess. I shrug the notion away.
The second thing I notice is that I seem to be restrained in some way. I tug and pull at the straps that are restricting me but they don't budge. Why can't I move? Why is it so dark? I hate the dark! I begin to hyperventilate and then proceed to make myself calm down as quickly as I panicked. Panicking isn't going to get me anywhere in this situation. There has to be a reason I'm here... in the dark... alone... unable to move.
I hear some loud talking or possibly yelling for a second but I'm far too disoriented at the moment to hear what was actually spoken. I strain my ears hoping to hear something that could help me to figure out what is happening. But all I'm met with is an eery silence. I know I heard someone though. It sounded like 2 people actually. It sounded like 2 men... and they sound somewhat familiar.
And then I remember it all... the kidnapping or whatever you want to call it... being taken to a hospital room of some sort... and then I changed into what? A baby? No that's impossible.... right? Oh God my head hurts trying to decipher all of this.
No... absolutely not.. it had to be a dream? But then wait a minute. I try to think of the last clear thing I remember and that was being in a car... in the dark... So maybe this all was a dream and I'm still in the same car I was in when this nightmare happened?? That wouldn't necessarily be a good thing but at least I would still be a teenager I guess. Not that that would be much fun either. My life has been pretty shitty for as long as I can remember. It might be okay to relive it again... if that were even possible... and it isn't. It can't be. But I honestly don't feel the conviction of my thoughts as much as I should. I must be going insane. For some reason, that thought doesn't sound as bad as it should. At least it would explain everything that has happened so far.
Ugh everything is so confusing. My headache starts to finally diminish and then I notice another pain... coming from my mouth? Now that I think about it, my mouth really hurts and feels a little different. I let out a small groan, why does everything hurt? And I'm extremely thirsty and hungry, I don't remember the last time I ate anything.
I lick my lips that feel insanely dry and try to speak but nothing is coming out the way it should be.
"Wha... wha..."
I know in my head what I'm trying to say but my mouth doesn't want to form the words.
I frown, why are my words not coming out correctly? And why does my mouth hurt so much?
I run my tongue around in my mouth and my eyes widen. I don't feel teeth anywhere.. I only feel small bumps where my teeth used to be. And in the front of my mouth I feel a couple sharper points that I'm assuming are what bit down on my thumb.
This all becomes too much. The dark... the fact I can barely move.. the pain that seems to be coming from everywhere.. my speech... and now my missing teeth!?
I don't think anymore. I just let out an earth shattering scream without thinking twice about it.
The next thing I know, the complete darkness disappears. I stop screaming but I can't seem to stop shaking.
It's still dark but I can at least make out that I'm in a car. A very nice car from the looks of it.
The other thing I notice is there is a guy staring down at me. He looks familiar but I can't place where I would have seen him.
Although this guy doesn't look mean, he seems much bigger than me and that alone is enough to scare me more than I already am... if that's even possible.
I can't take my eyes off of him even when he turns to say something to the person next to him... so there is two of them. He turns towards me again and says something but my ears are ringing and I'm too scared and shaky to comprehend what he's saying.
The car comes to an abrupt stop and I jump... looking around frantically. Where are we? What are they going to do?
I hear more talking and then 2 doors opening and shutting. I shrink down into my seat.
I have no idea what's happening. I only hope whatever they're about to do is quick and painless.
Liam
I glance at Zayn and he is wearing the same expression that I feel is mirrored from my own.
"Oh fuck," we both say at the same time. Any other time we might laugh at having said the same thing but right now, the last thing on our minds is to laugh.
I glance to the back of the car trying to decide on the best way to confront this turn of events.
Should I act like I didn't just hear her or confront the situation? I glance at Zayn again but I don't think he's going to be much help right now. He has his eyes pinned on the road and seems to be muttering about something.
I sigh and turn my body towards the back seat raising the blanket up and away from Melanie who has taken a couple breaths but is still screaming. I can't let the poor thing make herself sick.
She jumps startled when she's no longer covered by the blanket and promptly shuts her mouth. She looks up at me tearfully wide eyed, shaking, and her lower lip trembling. Her face is pale and it doesn't take a genius to know that she's scared. I stare down at her for a moment. She doesn't say anything but I'm not entirely sure she has the ability to even if she wanted to. But based on her facial expression, she is pretty far from the infant mindset that she was in earlier today.
I glance at Zayn and he has his hands gripped on the steering wheel, his jaw working like it does when he is stressed or panicked. He looks to me briefly and then back to the road, it's like he doesn't have a clue what to do.
Which I find shocking because of his intense medical degree and his uncanny ability to take everything levelheaded. Zayn always knows what to do in tough situations but then again, this is all new territory for both of us.
I take a deep breath, this is the last thing I wanted to happen before we even got her home where we would be more comfortable and better prepared in this situation ideally.
I turn back to Melanie who hasn't taken her eyes off me. She isn't screaming any longer which I take as a good sign.
I clear my throat, "hey there cutie. You're alright." My words don't sound convincing to my own ears and I inwardly groan. How am I supposed to make her feel better when I'm struggling to do the same for myself?
I try to keep my voice low and calm like I've seen Zayn do so I don't scare her more than she already is. She doesn't give much indication that she understood what I said or she just doesn't care or believe what I said. Not that I really blame her.
I glance to Zayn again.
"Babe can we find a place to pull over? I think it will be best if we try to talk to her about what's happening and that's not very easy when we are up here and she's in the back."
Zayn nods, "yeah that's fine. There is a rest stop a few miles up. Just hang tight."
I'm not sure if he's talking to himself or me or Melanie when he says the last part but I nod in affirmation.
Melanie still hasn't tried to say anything but I have a feeling that is less to do with her being in an infant state of mind and more to do with fear and possible inability to talk. Right now it's hard to say because she just woke up.. screaming.. and hasn't spoken. I leave her be, I don't want to scare her even more than she already is.
Zayn puts his blinker on and exits towards the right of the road and I notice the small rest stop area. I'm pleased to see it's deserted. I would prefer not to obtain any unwanted attention.
Zayn pulls into a parking spot and runs his
hands through his hair sighing. I run a hand over his shoulder trying to comfort him as best I can. I don't think I've ever seen him so out of sorts.
"Babe it's alright. We knew there was a possibility of this happening."
He nods, "I know. I just wasn't expecting it so soon." He motions around the car, "and on the way home no doubt in a car. Our resources are a bit limited out here."
I jerk my head towards the back.
"Well let's just see what we're dealing with before we lose our minds just yet."
Zayn smirks at me, "funny. Usually I'm the one saying that to you."
I grin back at him, "oh I know."
We both turn our bodies slightly to look at Melanie. She is looking around wide eyed, noticing the car has stopped and probably trying to figure out where she is and what we're doing. I motion towards Zayn to get out of the car with me.
He nods in agreement. It's cold outside so he leaves the car running. We open our separate doors and shut them.
Our security pulled in next to us and we wave to indicate everything is fine.
We take a deep breath before getting into the back with our new daughter. We each take a seat on either side of her and she jumps when she hears the doors close.
She leans back into the car seat, pushing herself as far as she can be allowed, staring at us in shock and fear. Her whole body is shaking and I glance to Zayn frowning. The poor thing is absolutely terrified, not that I blame her.
I'm not sure what she remembers about the past 24 hours or however long it's been since she was taken. But when you think about it, it would be scary to not remember anything. And also scary if she remembers being taken and God knows what else that has happened before she was put in our care.
She probably feels like she's in a shitty situation no matter how you look at it.
I look back to Melanie, despite how scared she is, she is absolutely adorable. She has big brown eyes, her skin is a fair complexion, and she has pretty brown hair put up into 2 pigtails on either side of her head. It's interesting to me that although she has no biological relation to Zayn or myself, she has features that resemble us both.
I try talking to her again.. "Melanie can you speak at all? Huh? Can you try talking to me?" Trying to keep my voice as calm and steady as possible.
She licks her lips and I hold my breath. Her tiny tongue poking out of her mouth. She's so precious and I have to stop myself from cooing. I can tell she's having an internal battle with herself and she's very much not in an infant headspace based on her body movements and facial expressions.
She opens her mouth tentatively, "who... who awe you?" She frowns at the change in her voice and the way her words are coming out.
I want to coo at the way she sounds but I don't in fear of upsetting her more.
I can tell she's struggling to get out those few simple words and her speech has most definitely been affected by the medications and growth reduction.
I sigh and glance to Zayn not sure how honest we should be with her. He nods his head. Giving me the go ahead.
Alright then. Here it goes.
"Well my name is Liam and this is Zayn. We adopted you from an auction house a bit ago. Do you remember that at all?"
No point in giving her our last names, I don't feel that that's necessary right now.
Her lower lip wobbles and she gives us the briefest of nods, a lone tear making it's way down her cheek.
"I.. it.. wa.. wasn't a.. d.. d.. d.." she frowns clearly upset that she can't get the words out. I can tell she's getting more agitated and a few more tears roll down her cheeks. She let's out a heart wrenching, anguishing cry.
My heart practically melts and I bring up a hand to wipe her tears away. She yelps and flinches turning her head to the side, raising her hands up and squeezing her eyes shut. I gasp and I drop my hand as quickly as humanly possible. Dear lord did she think I was going to hit her? Just the thought of anyone hurting her makes my blood boil. I feel a rage that I didnt know was possible. I look at Zayn and he's just as upset as I am. Both of us have decided that we aren't against spanking but that's only if it's absolutely necessary. And it will only be used to correct bad behavior, not to cause physical harm.
She continues to tremble, keeping her eyes shut, her breathing coming in short choppy waves.
I sigh and take off my gloves and run a finger over the crease in her forehead caused by her insistence to keep her eyes firmly shut. When she feels the softness from my finger with so sign of anything bad happening yet or any pain being inflicted, she blinks her eyes open a couple times and looks up at me cautiously. I remove my finger and give her a small smile which I hope comes off as friendly and non threatening.
She licks her lips again and weakly shakes her head from side to side looking confused. She takes a shaky breath.
"Wh.. why.. m.. me?"
Hmmm well that's an interesting question... why was she kidnapped? Why is she an infant? Why did we adopt her? I'm sure there are more "why" possibilities but my guess is that those are the top 3.
I sigh and look to Zayn to see if he is going to be helpful at all. I can tell he's exhausted and in need of sleep and this is probably the last thing he wants to be dealing with.
I decide to handle this one on my own and look to Melanie once again.
"Alright Melanie... I'm going to try to answer that in the best way I can."
She looks up at me with what I can assume is hope and I pray I don't let her down... ever. I clasp my hands together and sigh.
"I don't know why you were taken. We aren't the ones who did that to you so we aren't able to answer that question."
I am careful to say "we" because even though Zayn has gone practically mute next to me, it's important that she knows Zayn and I are a "we."
She frowns at my answer, and I'm not sure if she understands what I'm saying or not. She can speak but barely. I decide to go on, I told her I would answer her and I will.
"We were told about the adoption auction and a friend of ours told us a bit about you in particular and we became interested. We have been wanting to adopt a little girl for quite some time and when we saw you, we knew you were the one we were waiting for."
I take a finger and light run it over her forehead and down her cheek. She stills but doesn't try to turn her head away or worse, flinch or cry. She hasn't taken her eyes off me once which I also see as a good thing.
I want nothing more than to hold her but I'm not sure that's the best for right now. She still looks very apprehensive, not that I blame her obviously and I don't want to destroy any possible headway we've made with her by going too fast.
She licks her lips again and I mentally tell myself to give her something to drink ASAP. Zayn notices also and bends down to the floorboard where her bag is. Glad to see he can physically move even though he's become nonverbal.
Melanie once again tries to speak. "Why am I... wike... dis?" She winces at the way her words are coming out and her eyes briefly water. She blinks it away... it's like she's determined not to cry. It also seems that the more I talk to her, the more she is slipping back into an infant mindset.
I know exactly what she means and
I nod my head in understanding at her question and take a deep breath. This was the one question I was most nervous about. But I said I would be honest with her and I will, I'll just try to make it as easy on her as possible... and on us for that matter.
"Because of the nature and wealth of the adoption agency, they have the ability to transform a person back to an infant state. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing --"
Melanie cuts me off by shaking her head like she's trying to block out what I'm saying. She squeezes her eyes shut and begins to panic once again. She then covers her ears with her hands. She is breathing like she just ran 5 miles and I get worried for a second that she's going to pass out.
I look to Zayn wide eyed. Not sure what to do from here. She's having a panic attack and although I wasn't not expecting this, I don't know the best way to help her. And I don't want to upset her more if I confront this situation in the wrong way. But she does need to calm down.
Zayn hands me the bag he was rifling through and I take it from him with a questioning look.
He nods his head at the bag, "I was going to get a bottle ready for her. She's thirsty and probably hungry, she hasn't had anything since she's been with us."
Zayn jumps into action when his hands are free and gently grabs hold of Melanie's hands and pulls them down from her ears, gently but firmly. Her eyes pop open and she stares up at Zayn.
Zayn speaks in a low, calm voice.
"Melanie listen to me."
Her breathing has mostly gone back to normal except for a couple shuddering breaths now and then. She tries to pull her hands out of Zayn's grip.
Zayn shakes his head, "unh unh. None of that."
She frowns at him, not liking being told no apparently and I can't help but smile to myself. Even without being in a 100% infant mindset I can tell she is going to be stubborn. I also see her and Zayn butting heads. Zayn just stares back at her and I'm curious to see who will break eye contact first. It's no contest when Melanie's face falters and she looks away, glancing back at Zayn a couple times probably to check if he's still staring.
I purse my lips to keep from chuckling and busy myself with finishing her bottle. We brought some purified water and after adding some powdered formula, I shake it up making sure to put my finger over the top of the nipple. The last thing I need right now is formula spilled in the new car.
Zayn glances at me and mouths "hold on" when he sees the bottle is ready. He turns his attention back to Melanie.
"Now Melanie please.. listen to me for just a moment."
She looks up at him and her silence and attention urges him to go on.
"Daddy and I know you're scared and this is new and confusing for you... we get that. But I do know the adoption agency doesn't kidnap people unless there is a vital reason. Perhaps they saw your life was far from perfect and that you would be happier in this lifestyle. Or maybe there was a whole other reason, I don't know. Sadly, we may never know. But what we do know is that we will always keep you safe and that we love you. And if you allow yourself, you will come to love us and your new way of life. We promise, don't we?"
Zayn looks over at me and coughs to get my attention.
I was hanging onto his every word so it took a second for me to realize he was talking to me. Melanie blinks up at Zayn and then looks to me for what I assume is confirmation and assurance.
I nod my head quickly, "Melanie he's absolutely right. We both love you so much and I can honestly say with confidence that you will be much happier if you just let go and don't fight us on this one thing."
Zayn gently rubs her hands with his fingers while we both wait, watching her, to see how she'll take this.
She won't look at either of us and I don't want to rush her or push her into this. That will just make things harder on everyone. She stares down at her feet like they're the most interesting thing in the world with a deep frown on her face. She closes her eyes and shakes her head a bit before opening them and blinking. She tugs at her hands and Zayn releases them. She rubs at her eyes and whimpers, kicking a foot out.
Zayn takes a hand and gently traces his finger lightly down her nose while he hums a soft melody. I can tell he's trying to get her to a more calm state. Melanie fusses and turns her head but Zayn keeps up with his humming. After a few minutes, Melanie seems to calm down more and blinks up at us. She rubs at her eyes and makes soft fussing noises causing us both to coo.
I look to Zayn and he is staring at Melanie before turning his gaze to me. We give each other a smile because we are pretty sure Melanie went back to her infant state of mind, but we aren't 100% sure yet and neither of us want to say anything in case we're wrong.
Melanie brings her hands down from her eyes but continues whimpering and then proceeds to put her thumb into her mouth calming down completely. Her thumb is definitely a coping mechanism and it's not going to be easy to make her stop.
For once I am thrilled to see this though because I know she is back where we want her to be... an infant both physically and mentally. Zayn chuckles and shakes his head. I can tell he's not thrilled about her being a thumb sucker but right now he's as relieved as I am. It is much better than the alternative of having her asking difficult questions that we can't necessarily answer.
After a few seconds, she begins to fuss once again, snapping Zayn and I out of our happy trance.
"I'm going to take her out and feed her. I'm dying to hold her and it'll be a good bonding moment for us both." Zayn gives me a chuckle and a shake of his head.
I hand Zayn the bottle and begin to unstrap her from the car seat. She looks up at me wide eyed while I undo the chest clip and gently pull her arms through. I undo the other clip between her legs and hold my hands out to her, seeing if she'll reach for me. It's a long shot but I thought I would at least try. She stares at my hands but doesn't make a move. She reached for me earlier but I'm not sure if she remembers doing it.
I grin. "Not ready for that yet huh?"
She whimpers and kicks out her feet growing impatient, apparently not impressed.
"Okay okay, I get it. I'm sorry." I put my hands under her arm pits and gently lift her up and out. I hold her in front of me and give her a quick kiss to the nose and she shakes her head with a small smile.
"Hey there, pretty girl. You're awfully cute, you know that?"
She gurgles back and reaches a hand out to grab at my nose.
I grin back at her and Zayn gives me a quick peck to the cheek.
I lay Melanie down in my left arm and grab the bottle from Zayn when he offers it. She puts her fist to her mouth trying to bite at it. I chuckle and shake my head, tugging her hand away and replacing it with the nipple of the bottle.
"How about we try this instead?"
She lets me put it into her mouth but doesn't eat. "Hmmm come on Mel. You've gotta be hungry."
I tilt the bottle up more, knowing the pressure will cause some of it to go into her mouth. Zayn and I stare at her holding our breath, silently begging her to eat. After what feels like forever, she starts to make sucking sounds and we breathe sighs of relief.
Once she realizes she likes what's in the bottle she suckles harder. I bring the bottle back down so that she's not getting so much at once. She places her tiny hands onto mine, as if assuring herself that I'm not taking her food away.
I smile down at her. "Don't worry Mel, I wouldn't dream of taking it away."
Zayn glances at his watch. "We really need to head home babe. It's late and we are all exhausted."
I nod my head still focused on Melanie who has started to suckle at a more normal rate and from the looks of it, is starting to fall asleep. She is fighting it though and when her eyes begin to close she jerks her head and opens her eyes once again.
I lean down and place a kiss on her forehead getting her to close her eyes. I lift my head and her eyes stay closed but she continues eating.
I look up at Zayn, acknowledging what he said.
"I know babe. Let her finish eating and then we will head home. I want to ensure she gets a full stomach and ideally she will sleep the rest of the way home. I don't know about you but I'm exhausted and ready for bed."
The bottle finishes and I gently ease it out of her mouth and notice she fell asleep. She makes little sucking motions in her sleep and my heart feels like it could melt.
I hand the empty bottle to Zayn for him to put away and bring Melanie up to my shoulder.
She whimpers at the change of position and curls her legs up into her stomach trying to get comfortable. I put an arm under her butt and rub and pat at her back with my other hand. She lays her head on my shoulder and falls back asleep.
I sigh and Zayn frowns, "what's wrong babe?"
I shake my head "nothing really. I was hoping to get a burp out of her but she fell back asleep. And I'm fairly sure her diaper is wet but I want to let her sleep."
Zayn nods in understanding. "Well we are almost home. I think she will be okay until we can get her home, changed, and into some pajamas."
He places a hand onto her bottom. "From the feel of it, her diaper isn't that wet, if at all. She will be fine until we get home."
I nod back. "Yeah you're right."
I put a hand on Melanie's neck and head, my other hand cradling her butt and carefully ease her back into her car seat. She whines pitifully at the loss of contact but stays asleep. I can't help but smile down at her as I put her arms through the straps and make sure she's snug. She brings her thumb up to her mouth again and Zayn shakes his head.
I put her blanket on her legs and up to her chest. I want to be sure she's warm but I don't want to cover her so she's completely in the dark. I have a feeling she doesn't like the dark.
I go to get out of the car to move back to the front seat and stop when I see Zayn about to pull her thumb out of her mouth.
I whisper yell at him, "what are you doing? Let her sleep."
Zayn looks at me a bit startled and then bristles, slightly angry.
"Liam she needs to stop. I've seen so many kids and adults with messed up teeth because they were thumb suckers. She either uses the pacifier or I will put mittens on her hands so she doesn't have access to her thumb."
I shoot a glare at him, "Fine. But if she wakes up screaming, you can deal with it."
He shrugs and gently tugs Melanie's thumb from her mouth. She whines in her sleep and Zayn slides a binky into her mouth.
She turns her head to the side but Zayn keeps his index finger pushed to the binky to effectively keep it in. She whimpers and flails her fists for a second before starting to suck at the binky. Zayn keeps his finger on the binky for a couple more minutes before feeling happy about letting go. He gives Melanie a quick kiss to the side of her head before sliding out of the car.
I grin and roll my eyes, he's going to be wrapped around her finger in no time. I get out of the car, moving to the passenger seat while Zayn gets into the drivers seat.
I sigh, "alright! Let's see if we can get home without anymore incidents."
Zayn nods and smirks before putting the car into drive and making his way back to the highway.
I glance back at Melanie about 15 minutes later. She's sound asleep... with her thumb in her mouth. I cough and bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.
Zayn glances at me and frowns, "what's your problem?"
I shrug and turn my head to the side.
Zayn rolls his eyes and glances to the back seat and groans.
"Good thing I already bought mittens. That's going to stop."
I freely laugh. "Whatever you say babe."
After what feels like forever, we pull up outside our gated home and Zayn plugs in the number to open the gate.
He drives up our half mile heated driveway with trees covering the side of the road. It took us years to find the perfect home and when we did we fell in love with the land and with the home.
Zayn drives around the half circle driveway, choosing to not use the garage tonight. He pulls up outside the steps that lead up to the front wooden double doors.
Our security team heads to their own private home that is located on another part of the property.
He puts the car in park and pushes the ignition button, turning the car off. We undo our seatbelts but stay rooted to our seats. He sighs and looks over at me, giving me a rueful smile.
"You ready babe?"
I smile back and nod, "it's now or never."
We both turn our bodies to the side, towards Melanie. I lean down and give her a kiss to the top of her head while Zayn rubs a finger lightly down her arm.
Zayn must have known what I was thinking because he spoke with me...
"Welcome home Melanie."