In the Summertime... This is my first story.. so please be gentle with me. I welcome all correspondence regarding this story, and would love to hear any criticism that you may wish to share! I think I have some interesting twists ahead for and it may not always be all that intense regarding diapers (rest assured though this is a diaper story. This just also has a really really deep plot too.) BTW I own this. It's my story. You may not distribute it with out my permission. You may do nothing but read it. You are also granted license to enjoy it. but that's up to you. Prolog: Pieces I kinda slowly faded into consciousness, as odd mechanical sounds grew more distinct and separated themselves from the sound *blip* of my own blood rushing through my head. My vision blurred into a smeary quasi focus that suddenly seemed to snap back in synch with the sounds around me. I suppose I tried to stir, but a firm hand pushed my back down to the surface I was laying on. *blip* I knew I was disoriented, but there was little I could do to sort things out amidst the haze that occupied my mind. "Easy fella, easy. Lie back and let us help" a voice floated down to me. My eyes searched the immediate surroundings looking for the owner of the voice. Perhaps it was the owner of the hand? *blip* Perhaps not. As my head cleared I noticed in an offhand sort of way that I was in no small amount of pain. I remembered to moan or groan or make some verbal communication that I was hurt as it was suddenly very important that I communicate my distress. *blip* "cut his trousers" a much different (and most defiantly feminine) voice rang out. *blip* and then nothing. Light! And voices again. This time the voices were gentle, without the tinges of stress I noticed in my previous sojourn into consciousness. The woods and the lake! The memory flitted by as if to tease me with its vagueness. I tried to pull that string that would weave the impression into memory, but found myself clutching nothing but empty air. And the voices again. Near, distinct, comforting. I managed to regain enough motor control to turn my head a bit and focused a few feet away at the bed next to mine. Greg! The flood gate of memory rocked at the assault, but yielded no more than before. I knew than that Greg and I had been in the woods near the lake. Happy for this small accomplishment of mental calisthenics I called out "you look like shit man" it came out dry and throaty and without my normal inflection .. Greg half heatedly called back to me that I fared no better. Rapidly I was feeling more awake and less hazy. I noticed a nurse bent over Greg tending to his legs. "you wa hurd, bit by dem bad bug.." The nurse informed me in a light island accent. "da doctors localized most of da poisons bafore it did ya too much bads." The floodgates broke then, and I only wish to unremember now. HA! If only that were possible. An odd sound got my attention as I ran by a fallen log. Leaves and dirt flew around my feet as I hastily scrambled to stop. We were on our way fishing, running full out with the unrestrained exuberance that is inspired by the combination of youth and the great outdoors. What was at the fallen log? My curiosity piqued as I bounded for the log. There was a opossum (dead- like almost any opossums one sees in the daytime.) Dead opossums are not at all unusual in the south.but this particular dead marsupial had the oddest sound emanating from it. I tentatively prodded the corpse with the end of my fishing pole. The husk exploded into a black mass of buzzing things straight out of a Lovecraftian nightmare. Greg had apparently noticed that I had stopped and came to see what had caught my eye. The swarming things enveloped us both as I felt simultaneous stings all about me at. Even as sudden burning pain tried to take my strength and force me to my knees, a calculating part of me shuddered at the unnaturalness of the insect like beings. ".know the nature of the toxins. The lab results will be back in the morning. We're just so glad your both okay" Greg's mom said, drawing my attention back to the present and to the end of the room, where the visitor chairs were occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Gregerson. "all done champ" The nurse said as she covered Greg up. "And now don't you fret none cause it surely be your turn" said our nurse as she turned to face me (Rosala I read on her name badge). I tried to scoot up a bit in the bed to a more comfortable position. "don you be pullin out dat IV I worked so hard to get into ya" (I have always had trouble with IV's and most related procedures, I don't make the easiest blood donor.) She took my temperature and vitals quickly and with well-practiced efficiency. "all dat jus fine. Jus fine indeed. Can you do me some exercise? Can you make a fis for me?" "good.. good. Can you make dat fis tighter like you gonna punch someone's ear?" I squeezed, doing my best to make a tight fist with my left hand. "Now wiggle you finger about: "good good" " She pulled down the sheet and I felt cool air my lower body. "now wiggle you toe too" She observed my toes. "all right. That's very good" Her hands worked their way to the bottom of the gown I was wearing and pushed it up to the middle of my chest. My ears were treated to the sound of ripping tapes. That's an odd sound I puzzled.. the feeling of cold air brought my attention to full bear on my genitals. Rosala's strong hands rolled me slightly to on side as she slid the sodden diaper out from under me. Diaper?!? Was that what she had been doing to Greg too? I started to freak a bit in my own mind. But before I could muster any retort Rosalie was wiping me down. I found it comforting and was so engrossed in the process that I was hardly bothered when she slipped a new diaper under me and liberally applied talc to my groin. Her hands worked quickly as she pulled the diaper up into my crotch. One hand spread the side down flat on my thigh while the other hand worked the tapes. Right side then left and she was done. "der now yall changed and dry.. now I wan you to get some rest sport, Dr. Anaerdas will be down here in da mornin to talk with you: so you jus rest and take it slow until then. You boys call me if der is anything you need" Greg's folks thanked the kindly woman as she left pushing a cart with her instruments and diaper changing supplies. The last thing I remember that day is the sound of the door shutting behind her. In the Morning: My next memories, at least the ones that were more coherent than fleeting impressions was of waking up the next morning as a duty nurse pulled the IV out of my arm. I felt dazed and odd, but almost at full mental capacity. The nurse smiled and greeted me with a good morning that I reciprocated with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. I've never been much of a morning person, and today was no exception. "How are you feeling, any numbness or tenderness?" She asked as she gently moved my arms, my exposed leg, and pressed lightly on my chest. "None. I feel a bit trashed, though." "You've been pretty sick so I think some `trashiness' is to be expected" She said trashy in such a solemn way that I couldn't help but smile despite myself. "Well Dr. Anaerdas is making rounds now, he should be in to see you very soon." I was busy looking around the room catching my bearings and I noticed that Greg still seemed to be out like a light. Greg's parents didn't appear to be around, perhaps they had been shooed away by the nurse, or maybe they were eating breakfast? Nurse Frankie pulled the sheet down to below my feet. "I need to see what your mobility is like, but I don't want you hurting yourself either. Don't over exert.. Can you lift your left leg? Good. Now your right. Great. Can you sit up for me? That's good, okay lie back down." She pulled the tapes at either side of my apparently soggy diaper, the cracking sound they made as they came free from the plastic front of my diaper being alien and familiar at the same time. Frankie rolled up the diaper and tossed it away. She used a large wipe to clean me up and the air felt kind of nice as I lay naked on the bed. "Okay I want you to try and lift up both your legs real high for me." I complied, allowing her to slip a fresh diaper underneath me. Four tapes later and I felt like a toddler. Perhaps she sensed my embarrassment, or maybe she just some how knew. "It's okay, it's a hospital, and you're not the first person I've diapered" "And hopefully not the last!" Greg who must have woken up in the last ten minutes joked at the nurse. Greg had a way of making the best of just about any situation no matter how bad. "Just hold your horses there. I'll be with you in a minute" She retorted with mock sternness. Greg, Frankie, and myself all laughed a little at this exchange. Frankie really put me at ease; she was professional with out being distant or stuffy. She even managed to evade my 15-year-old dislike of authority figures. Even considering the fact that I like her, I felt reluctant to ask her exactly what it was that brought us here, my memories of hideous insects seemed like a nightmare. Was I perhaps afraid to know? A quick repeat of exercises and a diaper change for Greg and Frankie left us to ourselves. "What's goin on man? Why are we here?" I asked of my friend. "Don't know. Last thing I remember we were headed out to do some fishing. And um. then " "..And then the bugs came?" I finished up for him. "Yeah. Weird bugs, I remember being stung and trying to slap them away, but there were too many. Their stings didn't hurt. At least I don't think they did at first. But something hurt, hurt bad. But I don't remember" "Same here. But I do remember pain. Lots and lots of pain. Quick and then gone and then nothing more.. I thought maybe it was a dream, but I guess not" I looked at my arms, where I remember being stung. Oddly though I could find no welts or evidence of being bit or stung or whatever the insects did. "Greg, how long have we been here?" "Mom and Dad brought us here last night.. I think." "Do you have any marks on you? I don't even see any welts on your arms" (not that my eyesight was all that good) "now that you mention it. No. That's weird, and I don't itch anywhere either." The door opened and in walked a short, bald, Indian looking man. Either a doctor or a 7-11 employee. I thought even as I chided myself for the slight prejudice. "I'm Dr. Anaerdas" he said in a flawless if not somewhat southerly accentuated English. Obviously American by birth or immigrated as a very small child. After shaking our hands and asking how we felt we both went through the arm and leg bending Olympics that every one seemed so intent on having us perform. "Do you boys feel up to some tests?" "I feel fine, a little weak and woozy, but fine all the same," I replied. "Well I know you boys have many questions, but I am afraid I am at a loss for answers. You were both admitted two afternoons ago after being found by.. Greg's brother. Freddie. You were both found in a semi comatose state in the woods, brought by ambulance to the hospital. When we removed your clothing we found several dead insects. I'm no etymologist, but these were unlike anything I have ever seen. A colleague collected some of the insects to send away for further study. Both of you were covered in sting like contusions. We administered several general antitoxins. The antitoxins did not appear to go to work, and your conditions worsened. When we thought things had taken a dire turn, your respiration was shallow, heart rate weak, and a rising fevers. Then both of you got better almost immediately. The welts went away within minutes, had we not had videotape of the incident it would be difficult to believe. Initial blood tests revealed unknown insect venom, but within hours even your prior blood samples showed no signs of toxins. Blood removed from the body does not metabolize toxins under what we understand to be `normal' circumstances. The antitoxins had no discernable effect either, later blood samples did not reveal any side effects that would indicate the anti toxin had interacted with anything. Normally they would react with the natural impurities in your blood. But your blood is the healthiest we've ever seen. Physically you show almost no signs that anything had happened. Some muscle capacity appears to be diminished. Both of you had convulsions and muscle spasms approximately 6 hours after admission and roughly eight hours after we believe the incident occurred. The seizure was over in less than two minutes. Both of you slept for about 24 hours with sporadic bouts of consciousness. During those 24 hours every test we have run has indicated nothing out of the ordinary." Pausing to gauge our reactions and to see if we had questions he soon continued. "What we did learn of the toxin from or brief glimpse at it seemed to point toward a muscular inhibitor of some kind. This could explain the convulsions, seizure and weakness in the muscles. We want to run some tests to see what more we can find, and if nothing worsens in your condition in the next two days we will see about letting you boys go home." "Gregg, your parents will be back shortly, they have already been filled in, we sent them to the cafeteria for some breakfast. We will be taking you boys for some neurological testing in about an hour. You'll be busy for much of the day, so I would take this opportunity to get some rest." In the Evening A dark green sedan pulled up close to the curb, paused for a moment to allow a man to exit from the rear passenger door, and then with no delay the car quickly sped away. The man paid no attention to the vehicle as it left, and really no attention to the hospital either. This man had seen a hundred places like this before, just another facility he might have thought to himself. Even as he approached the doors he was studying his own reflection, his hand moving unconsciously to straighten his tie. Visitors, patients, and even staff members took no notice this man. He knew he was what many considered to be handsome, but that was the trick of it all, he looked `handsome' not striking, not noticeable, just normal. The man went over the information in his head one last time as he navigated the corridors of the hospital. Ticking off his mental checklist as he walked. His sources indicated when the staff made their rounds, he even knew when the parents would be away, having gone home to freshen up and take care of their domestic duties before returning to `the facility'. His sources were indeed the best, better than even money could buy. He neared his destination and without slowing, and with no hesitation, he entered the room as if he had every right to do so. The man knows how to do things, and among what he likes to think of as his `tools' his most prized is confidence. He was intimate with the idea that most people when faced with confidence will back down rather question authoritative action, hell they often times won't notice a confident person, some one who may have a stronger will. "Good Evening gentlemen, My name is Blane Will, Dr. Blane Will." The man said in even and cultured tones. I looked up as a man walked into the room, the sound of the door opening bringing my attention to the figure in the doorway. The man introduced himself as a doctor, and I knew that I probably hadn't yet met this man, but oddly he did seem vaguely familiar. The Sherlock Holmes part of my personality lashed out with sarcasm that no we hadn't met yet or why else would he introduce himself? Faces tend to run together I countered to myself, after all, being poked, probed, and generally examined in every way possible by as many people as we had that day would make all those people nondescript. The doctor looked over our respective charts, making little ahem noises as he did so. After looking the charts over he pulled a chair down between our beds and sat down and leaned slightly forward as if he were a conversant guest on a talk show. "You two boys have been through a lot today I gather?" We both nodded our agreement. "I bet you fellas are ready to get back home?" Again we both agreed. "Great, then you will both be happy to know that you should be leaving here tomorrow afternoon!" He said with a great deal of enthusiasm in his voice. Then rather abruptly he stood, moved the chair back to its position in the corner, waved goodbye and exited the room. No sooner had the door closed than it reopened and a heavyset orderly entered the room. He busied himself with emptying the wastebasket and made a quick sweep of the floor to ensure it was debris free. Silently he finished, saluted us with a smile and he too left the room. I started to say something to Greg, but instead got lost in thought, something was out of place about the last few minutes and even as I tried to enlist the help of my own private Sherlock I lost the battle to exhaustion and drifted off to sleep. The man avoided eye contact with the approaching orderly; it would look out of place, and probably draw unneeded attention to himself. The man was confident that the orderly would do his job just as he had done his. Walking unhurriedly, he moved to the back of the hospital and exited to the covered parking deck. He smiled a bit to himself, as he fished the car keys from his pocket. The car was waiting where it had been arranged, deck 3 space 17. The man slipped behind the wheel, started the car and drove off into the night, humming along with the radio as they played Jefferson Airplanes "Ask Alice." The man even let his lip curl in just a touch of a smile.. Yes he thought to himself, "one pill makes you taller, and one pill makes you small" "but the pills that your mother gives you don't do anything at all" His grin widened as he reflected that usually that's the case, but not always. No, defiantly not this time. In the morning. Dr. Anaerdas wasn't happy at all with the situation. But what could he do against politics? The MCTS was pre- filled out and laying on his desk along with a note from Dan Ferran, the hospital administrator, that he would consider it a personal favor if Dr. Anaerdas signed the Medical Care Transition Sheet. The case was to be turned over to some state doctor. Jim Collins, state senator had made the request to Dan, and in no uncertain terms implied that the upcoming federal hospital certification would be a lot smoother if he could have this one favor. Why cant those executive bureaucrats bastards have any spine, Gary Anaerdas thoughtbitterly as he signed the paper. Feeling guilty, Anaerdas got up to go find the boys' parents and inform them that the case was being turned over to a specialist. Anaerdas also felt some jealousy, knowing that what was one of the most interesting cases of his career had just slipped through his fingers. They hadn't even got any of yesterday's test results back! He was sure that this Dr. Will was going to provide adequate care for the two youths. but to have the rights to publishing his findings, the journals, the lectures, and all those things that come along with such a rare set of symptomology was just more than his pride could handle. In the Afternoon. Greg and I had both changed into our normal cloths, sweatpants and tee-shirts. I don't think either of us bothered with shoes. Frankie wheeled us down to the car and although I could tell something was bothering her, she was careful to not let it really show. "Now you boys be good, I don't want to have to take care of you guys again, you hear?" She said with a stern lilt to her voice. "Yes Ma'am" Gregg and I both replied as Gregg's father helped us into the minivan.. Freddie shared the back with us, and in moments was waving his hand in front of his nose and complaining of the smell that was emanating from one or both of us. "Now Freddie, you can't give them a hard time about that okay? I thought we discussed that? Didn't we?" Greg's mom chided from the front seat. "Although you're right, it does smell as if those two are in need of a change." "Bill hon, why don't you drop us all off at Sherry's house? You can run to the store and get some diapers and supplies and pick us up when you're done." She suggested, The Greggersons lived a fair pace from any shopping and Greg's aunt Sherry's house was nearer to town. "You sure you wouldn't rather go? I mean I wouldn't even know the right kind to buy. " Asked Bill "You can buy diapers just as well as I can, Bill Greggerson! And besides I thought Sherry is not your favorite person, and I'd hate for you to be burdened with spending time with her with out me to act as a buffer. And your always saying that I take FOREVER when I shop.Well maybe I could use a few things.. and I do need to have my nails done." "No. I'll buy `em myself." "Whatever you think is best, dear," Phyllis said in her best `I've won and you know it' voice I always admired Greg's parents for their banter, it was easy to mistake for real jabs at first but once I realized that they just fenced with words and underneath it all they were just playing with each other. My own parents were much too solemn to engage with wordplay with each other, so I guess I really looked forward to my sometimes family's verbal sparring matches. In no time we were in Sherry's driveway and getting out of the van. Bill and Phyllis both offered arms to us to steady ourselves as we got out. Remarkably though, none were needed, and I felt a bit stiff having not walked much in the last four days, but as I moved I realized I felt great, I wanted to break into a run. A glance at Greg and he, too, was moving unassisted. Phyllis handed Bill a shopping list she had wrote on the last leg of the drive, and with a hug sent him on his way. Sherry had opened the door and admitted us to the living room. Greg's cousin Rob, who was our age, was sitting in front of the TV doing his best against the computer in one of my favorite games `Puzzle fighter'. Sherry's youngest Jarred, who at four and half years old was a continual hand full, ran into the room calling `Aunt Fillus, Aunt Fillus!' "Hey kiddo" Greg called to his younger cousin, who barley noticed us as he was tying to relate a story involving one of his play time adventures. Sherry waited a moment and then reminded the youngster that he had friends over to play in the back yard. Releasing his grip on Phyllis's leg he ran from the room at the same speed he entered. "Thanks for taking us in at the last moment. We didn't want to make the boys wait outside a store in case they felt bad, and we didn't want to test their stamina in a store just yet." "Oh don't think of it. Are you boys feeling okay? Neither of you two look bad. Well.. `cept Greg he's always looked bad, but you boys don't look sick." "I love you too, Aunt Sherry," Greg quipped. That's the thing I love so much about my sometimes extended surrogate family! My real family's far too traditional to engage in such verbal exchanges. "He doesn't smell good either!" Chimed in Freddie. Phyllis shot him a `don't push your luck' look at him, causing the annoying thirteen year old to wince. "Oh yes, I see what you mean." Sherry said perhaps noticing for the first time our bulging sweatpants. "Phyllis that isn't what you sent Bill out for is it?" "As a matter of fact." "Say no more," Sherry turned toward Greg and myself "Aunt Sherry to the rescue!" Sherry called out the back door for Jared to come in a moment. Looking somewhat confused he asked, "whud I do?" "Nothing honey, mommy just wants a favor, would you go get your night bag?" Panic set in over the Four year old's features "But its not bedtime.. and my. my friends." "Shhhh. Mommy just needs some things from it, that's all." Looking wary as if to be caught in some trap, Jared went upstairs. Sherry had gone into the kitchen and returned with two large disposables. "You remember Ellen Mctide?" Phyliss nodded "Well she moved to Phoenix about six months ago, and well her mom still lives up the street and she's not getting around these days like she used to. I try and help her out by doing some of her shopping when I get a chance. I was fixin' to drop off some groceries at her place when you called." Jared returned with a navy duffel bag which he handed off to his mom and immediately ran from the room back outside before she might decide to use the bags contents on him. Sherry opened the bag and produced from its depths diaper wipes, oil, powder and a vinyl changing mat. She laid the mat out on the floor and looked at Greg. "Well, boy, soggy diapers don't change themselves you know, so come on and get them pants off." Greg looked at his mom for help. "Now Greg your Aunt Sherry has probably changed your diapers almost as many times as I have. So go on and do as she says." Greg complied, partially, but Sherry, undaunted, pressed on. "I can't get your ankles apart with 'em around you calves like that, go ahead and take them off, you can put em back on when we're done," She said enjoying the beet red color Greg's face became. Greg laid down, pantless, on the mat. Sherry pulled off his diaper, rolled it up, and set it aside. Wipes, Powder and oil were followed by a new diaper. Meanwhile Phyllis had handed me my diaper to hold. Its was thicker than those from the hospital, it had elastic at the waist and a second set of elastic running down the inside of the diaper like a trough. "Todd, son, it doesn't do you any good if you just stand there and gawk at it," Sherry said to me, bringing me back from my wool gathering. I handed her the diaper and started to remove my sweats. As I pulled them off I noticed that I had some signs of leakage, which Sherry apparently noticed too. "Looks like you're really a wetter." I lay down, aware that I was a red as Greg had been a few moments ago. My diaper was pulled off, rolled up, and set beside the other dirty one. I was wiped, powdered and oiled. Sherry pushed on my butt indicating I should lift up, which I did allowing her to slide the diaper up under me. Instead of taping it up, she reached into Jared's `night bag' and pulled out a rectangular thing that looked like a diaper without wings. "It's a doubler, for added absorbency." She slipped put into my diaper, pulled it all up and taped it securely. While she was finishing up I noticed that Rob's interest in his game had subsided and he had watched us, or at the very least me, get diapered. I think I turned a shade redder. "What, you want one, too, boy? It hasn't been all that many years since you were having your little problem" She said to Rob who had suddenly rediscovered the Playstation. "Aw, come on," said Sherry to Greg and me. "It wasn't that bad, got to be better than wearing a wet saggy one. And besides.. I can say with confidence that both you boys will make some nice girl very happy someday." "Sherry!" "Oh relax, Phyliss. They are boys, and that kind of thing makes does make them fell better. You know.. just trying to help," to which both women laughed a bit. Sherry ordered a Pizza while Greg, Rob, and I played with the Playstation. Freddie was in the family room watching TV, he not being the video game type. The pizza arrived, and it wasn't until later that I realized that I had been sitting in the floor with no pants on when the driver came to the door. I still wonder what he must have thought. Jared's friends had gone home, and since it was a late dinner Sherry got Jared ready for bed almost immediately after eating. Bill got back in short order, proclaiming that the shopping was completed. So we piled in the van and headed for home. In the evening We got back to the Greggerson's home and helped bring in the shopping, the majority of which went up to the room Greg and I were sharing. Bill had bought two packages of diapers (one bag Attends, and one Tranquility ATN), two packages of diaper wipes, powder and oil. I wondered at why he bought two of each, and then realized the second set was for a `diaper bag' that thankfully turned out to be a fairly innocent looking book bag. He produced a waterproof sheet for each of two twin beds in Greg's room. The last bag held 10 pair of plastic pants (5 of which were snap ons) which he said the lady at the medical supply store recommended as they would help cut down on the diaper crinkle. Mrs. Greggerson put a waterproof sheet on each of the beds. It was getting a little late so neither Greg nor myself offered any resistance to the idea of going to bed a bit earlier than we would normally be accustomed to during the summer. Phyllis changed each of us once again; only this time we were each had pair of plastic pants added to the mix. After seeing us each in our beds, Phyllis paused a moment to wish us a good night before turning out the lights and shutting the door. As I lay awake pondering the many things that flitted through my mind, I noticed how odd the sensation of the plastic pants rubbing against the waterproof sheet was. I almost instinctively pushed my hips down into the bed enjoying the feeling as I pulled the blanket closer around me. It was odd, I didn't really like the idea of wearing diapers, but at the same time I didn't mind them too much either. I rolled onto my stomach and got an instant erection. The feeling was wonderful! The whole of my diaper shifting with the slightest movement against the cloth covered rubber sheet. Within moments I had orgasmed and spent I drifted off to sleep. In the morning. Morning arrived and I awoke to the sounds of Greg stirring, he was in process of putting on a t-shirt and looking for some shorts. Gravity was tugging his diaper down and I laughed a little at the way it sagged, he looked like a toddler in a diaper commercial. I rolled out of bed myself noting the lack of morning wood, I guess when your bladder just empties on its own accord there is no need to get an erection to keep from wetting the bed. Just thinking about it though brought nature to work and I popped a boner, causing me to franticly look for shorts and a t-shirt as well. Greg and I both descend the grand curving staircase to the main floor of his large house. Breakfast was being set on the table and I was famished! Phyllis offered us a diaper change before eating but we were both more focused on food than anything. Bacon, Eggs, Grits and Biscuits a staple breakfast in the south and it never tasted better. I think we both ate twice as much as we usually did and by the time we both finished eating Phyllis had the dishes done and the kitchen put back in order, "You boys go up and get your showers, we don't want to be late to see your new doctor," Phyllis told us. Upstairs I showered in the guest bathroom, and Greg used his parent's bathroom. Thankfully their plumbing was engineered to allow for plenty of hot water for two showers simultaneously. We met back in his room each clad in a towel. Mrs. Gregerson astutely arrived and proceeded to get us both diapered. She put us both into the overnight diapers to afford us some better protection should we be long between diaper changes. She produced plastic pants and snapped them onto us, which now in the daylight I could see were of differing pastel colors. Mine were an orangey yellow and Greg's were a light purple. I stood up and Phyllis handed me a pair of Jeans and a shirt to wear. As I pulled the jeans over my diapers I realized exactly how high the diapers rode up on my body. Although my pants weren't too puffed out, I was a bit concerned by the fact that if I even stretched a little there was a good chance that my shirt would rise up far enough to expose my diapers and plastic pants to the world. Phyllis looked into our diaper bag and made sure it was stocked with all the necessities. Satisfied with its contents she shooed us from the room. She called to Freddie that it was time to go and we all headed to the garage. We dropped Freddie off at Greg's Aunt Sherry's house, and continued on to our appointment. We almost drove past the clinic but Greg spotted the sign that read `Deerlick Medical' with enough time to point it out to his mom. The sign was small and nondescript, almost covered completely by hedges, and if I didn't know any better I would have assumed that they didn't want people to see it. We pulled into the parking lot of a small nondescript building. It was a rectangular squat structure comprised mainly of dark gray brick. The windows were tinted dark and had an almost mirror-like gleam to them. We parked the van near the door and walked to the entrance which glided open as we approached. We stepped into the lobby and the doors closed behind us with a slight hiss. I almost walked into the second set of sliding doors, but just barley was able to stop myself when I realized they had yet to open. Something went whirr in the background and the fluorescent panels on either side of second entrance popped to life. A small ding sounding much like an elevator arrival tone sounded as the main doors finally released us into the clinic proper. A young woman wearing a pleasant looking tweed suit and carrying what appeared to be a PDA of some kind smiled to us as we crossed the threshold. "My name is Amy, you must be Phyllis Gregerson," The woman said extending her arm toward Greg's mom who shook the offered hand. Amy turned to us and shook our hands saying "And you two young men must be Greg and Todd." We agreed that we were indeed ourselves. Amy led us to a small room that looked very much like the `ideal' American family room. It boasted two large couches, some wing back chairs, and a large screen television. The walls were papered tastefully in a blue floral print, the carpet real plush and not office carpet matched the color scheme of the room perfectly. Amy invited us to make ourselves comfortable. I sat in a chair that afforded me a view of the door (I've also felt funny sitting with my back to an open door...just a touch of personal paranoia to brighten your day!) Greg sat on the sofa next to his mom and Amy took a seat perpendicular to us. She produced two large manila folders seemingly out of nowhere and handed them to Greg's mom and asked her to review them for correctness. She opened the one folder and scanned the pages and handed it to me asking me to double check and see if I saw any mistakes. The first few pages were standard medical documents detailing previous major illnesses and surgeries (I had to have my tonsils removed when I was nine,) Allergies, Height, Weight, and Blood type (which I didn't know for sure.. but it sounded right). The next few pages were documents that allowed for my temporary guardianship by the Gregersons'. A legal detail that I'm sure must be taken care of before non-emergency treatment can take place. My father's signature was on the last page, the clinic must have faxed it to him I thought,, boy do they cover their ass. I handed the packet back to Phyllis who signed her acceptance of guardianship. Phyllis finished the double-checking the information on Greg. Satisfied, she handed both packets back to Amy. Amy smiled as she explained that Greg and I should follow her then, and that Dr. Will will see us now. She chuckled good-naturedly at her pun and then invited Mrs. Gregerson to make herself at home pointing out a small refrigerator in the corner and a coffee pot on a nearby counter. We were taken down a hallway and through a couple of doors to a large examining room. There were two examining tables opposite each other along with a set of scales, blood pressure meter and a lot of things I didn't recognize. Amy took two clipboards off a hook near the door and set one at the end of each table. "Okay lets see here, Greg why don't you go ahead and step onto the scales for me," Amy asked. "Lets see here... 6 foot, 160 lbs." Amy said as she wrote the figures down. "All right Todd, if you would please step onto the scales." I complied. Amy looked at the reading on its small digital display and read it aloud as she wrote "6 foot half an inch, 174 pounds. Great." "Now if you'll both remove your shirts and have a seat on the tables for me," she asked as she pulled over a small machine on casters. Like before she did Greg first, Attaching a small cuff to Greg's wrist and a small pad to his chest. "Breath deeply for me a couple of times. Okay.. great." She then pulled out small object that reminded me of a hot glue gun. She put an empty tube on the back end. "I need to draw a little blood, quick sting and then its over." She held the gun up to Greg's arm and silently the tube filled with crimson liquid. She popped the cylinder off, labeled it and set it in a pouch attached to Greg's paperwork. She removed the tip from the gun and produced a new one, freeing it from its sterile wrappings before attaching to with a snap to the gun front. Turning to me she repeated the process, I appreciated the fact that she didn't even seem to notice my diaper showing and she had not commented on Greg's either. Perhaps she was used to seeing it professionally, or maybe she had been briefed beforehand? We were asked to put our shirts back on, and we were led to another room with two cubicles. Each cubicle had a computer in it, and we were asked to sit at a terminal. Amy explained that we would each receive instructions through a pair of headphones and just to follow them. She said that she would be just outside in the antechamber and that she would return when we had completed the tests or earlier if either of us needed assistance. As she was walking out she showed us in each cube a small call button to alert her if she was needed. I placed the headphones on and as soon as I touched the mouse the computer sprang to life. A rich deep voice explained that I was going to be taking a couple of tests, mainly puzzles and number games. I'd taken an IQ test in school once, and this was pretty damn close. I finished up the first test and thought I was done, when the voice returned in the headset asking me to leave my hand on the mouse and click when ever I saw a red dot appear on the screen. It displayed a red dot and I clicked. The voice said that was good, that I should do just like that for the remainder of this test. Dots appeared on the screen, some blue, some green, some yellow, and some red. I clicked each time a red one showed up, and it seemed that the longer this went on the faster the dots appeared and disappeared. Suddenly the screen went still and the voice said I was now on the last test. My instructions for this round were to mimic the announcers' words. The announcer would read a passage from a book and I was to repeat it. The instructions stated that they would begin introducing background noise as the test progressed and I was to see how long I was able to separate the voice from the other noises. Like the test before this one went smoothly and wasn't all that difficult. I had a little trouble at the end when they had traffic sounds and two other voices reading dissimilar passages. When instructed I removed the headphones and set them on the desk. True to her word, no sooner had I done this Amy came into the room, smiled and thanked me for my cooperation. I looked at the cube Greg had been in, but he must have finished before me as he was no longer there. Amy saw my glance and she explained that he did finish about ten minutes ago and that she had taken him to see Dr. Will. We returned to the examining room, where Amy asked if I was in need of changing after sitting for nearly two hours. Two hours?! I thought to myself it felt more like twenty minutes. But sure enough I was wet, I'm surprised I didn't notice, I must have been really wrapped up in those tests. "I am a bit wet" I think I blushed a bit as I told her because she said, "don't worry about it, drop your pants and jump up on the table and I'll take care of you right away." I kicked my shoes off and unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them off. Amy took my pants and set them aside for a moment. I lay back on the table and Amy's hands pushed my shirt up to my armpits. She unsnapped my plastic pants and then pulled the tapes on my diaper, they made an angry ripping sound of protest as they came away from the plastic backing. Cool air poured over my genitals as she wiped me clean. She placed a new diaper up under me and taped it on, as she was fixing the last tape she explained that she went and got the diapers from Mrs. Gregerson figuring we would need them by now. She replaced my plastic pants and handed me my blue jeans. We went to yet another room and I was instructed to sit for a few minutes while the doctor finished up with Greg. I waited all of maybe five minutes when Greg came out of the adjoining room and took my place in the chair while I went in to see the doc. "Todd, nice to see you again." Dr. Blain Will said as I stepped into his office. He asked how I felt, if I was feeling stiff or sore, how my appetite was. He thanked me for having patience with all the tests today and assured me that they were to help make sure that we were indeed fine now." Yeah fine, I'm wearing a diaper and he says I'm fine I thought acidly to myself. "I know you must have a lot of questions, and I will do my best to answer them, but I'd like us to do that together with Greg and his mother so I can cover the same ground with all of you at once" And with that he showed me the door, he asked Greg to follow us and he led us back toward the waiting room. As we walked the sounds of our footsteps were mingled with the soft rustle of our diapers, if Dr. Will noticed he chose not to comment. We turned the corner and came upon the waiting room where Mrs. Gregerson was patiently reading a magazine. "Mrs. Gregerson, I'm Blain Will, I'm a neurotoxicologist and I was asked by the people at City to assume the care of your son and Todd.. Today we ran a series of tests both physical and mental to determine if there are any side effects from the venoms the boys were exposed to. I'm pleased to report each has a clean bill of health. Our own blood tests concur with those from City that indeed there is no residual toxin left in the boys systems. We are still trying to figure out the extent and cause of the bladder dysfunctions, and we won't know anything until the tissue samples from City are fully analyzed and the results disclosed to us. We can expect those results back by the end of the week. I would like to see these gentlemen again next week for a follow-up check and we will discuss our findings then. I can tell you in a best case scenario the incontinence will continue for at least six months, providing the damage was merely muscular, if however there was damage to the nerves controlling the bladder it could very well be a permanent condition." "Is there anything that the boys should or shouldn't do?" Phyllis asked "They probably shouldn't overexert themselves for a few days, but we feel they should be able to conduct themselves normally. Young people are very resilient, and had an adult been through what these two have they may feel it for a week or two, but kids bounce back. But if either of you two starts to feel tired or out of sorts slow down and take it easy, Okay?" "Sure thing," Greg and I answered back. In the afternoon. We piled back in the van and drove away, Phyllis called Sherry on the phone to let her know we were on our way back. Phyllis offered to pick up lunch for all of us. We pulled through Zaxbys and got chicken sandwiches. We sat around Sherry's table eating and talking. Jared had returned outside, and Freddie had retired to the living room to play with Rob's Playstation. Rob was away at baseball practice, but Sherry said she was expecting him home soon. Sherry and Phyllis chatted about the fact that we were looking down the barrel of a six-month minimum in diapers. "That's an awful lot of diapers isn't it?" Sherry asked. "Yes, thank god for disposables too. I'd hate to have to wash cloth." "Tell me about it. Since it's going to be at least until Christmas before they're out of diapers you should consider letting me modify their clothes a bit to make diapering a bit easier, after all I don't have any projects going right now." "That's a great idea! I'll get them some clothes this afternoon, if you don't mind watching them while I go shopping? What all will I need to buy?" The two mothers started compiling a shopping list. Greg and I had decided to go watch some TV, and were told to go watch in Robs room so Freddie could play games on the big screen. We were watching the Sci-Fi Channel when Rob came home. Without looking up Sherry yelled towards the door "Rob, go upstairs right now and change out of those filthy clothes." Rob entered his room and said hi to us. Apologizing as he stepped in front of the TV to get some clothes from his dresser. Without modesty Rob stripped off his baseball uniform which he kicked to the corner of his room. He said he was going grab a shower and started to offer us the bathroom before doing so when he realized that we probably wouldn't be needing it urgently anyway. Rob returned wearing nothing but boxers. I was a little envious of that and thought for a moment that maybe he was rubbing it in, but still he didn't seem like the type. He retrieved a pair of shorts off of the floor, which he slipped on, the cuffs of his boxers hanging below the legline of the shorts. He grabbed a tank top that was laying across the back of his chair and put it on. Rob asked "How'd it go at the doctors?" Greg told him that we were both okay, but would probably be in diapers at least six months if not forever. "That's sucks major big time! I feel for you guys." "My mom got us all lunch, you have a sandwich downstairs if you're hungry." "Cool, whad'ya get?" "Zaxbys," Greg said, and Rob quickly exited in search of the proffered food (I think he must have like Zax's spicy chicken as much as I do). Rob returned with Spicy Chicken in hand and in between mouthfuls asked, "where's your mom headed?" "Don't really know, your mom volunteered to do some sewing. I have no idea what were in for but mom needed to do some shopping anyways, so she went to pick up some stuff." Rob stifled a chuckle. "You gonna be over for the next few days?" "Yeah." "Cool, Tomorrow we can all go over the shack. I've got some bottle rockets and stuff stashed back there." We passed the afternoon watching TV and we played a little poker. We had been on a real big poker kick so far this summer, raiding Rob's change jar for playing pieces. I ended up just ahead by about 35 cents, but then everyone else ended up with more than they started with, too. Greg's mom returned and dropped off a couple of bags for Sherry. Promising to drop us off by 9 the next morning she herded us boys back into the van and took us home. I had ended up in the front seat this time instead of Greg. The sun felt great coming in through the windshield, contrasting with the cool air of the AC. The thrum of the engine lulled me into wool gathering and maybe I dozed off. The next thing I was aware of was the deceleration of the van as it pulled in the Gregerson's driveway. Phyllis had us each grab a bag or two from the back of the van to carry inside. I had two grocery bags that I delivered to the kitchen. The doorbell rang, disturbing the placid sounds of the just arrived in house. It startled me but somehow I managed not to drop the groceries. "I'll get it!" Freddie called out as he tossed his burden (which consisted of only a gallon of milk) onto the kitchen table. "Todd, would you mind putting those in the pantry for me please?" Phyllis asked as she passed by carrying our diaper bag and one of those super jumbo boxes of Tide. "Sure thing, Mrs. G," I replied. "Thank you Todd, I wish my own kids listened as well as you do," she said as she put the diaper bag down and headed towards the laundry room. I turned my attention back to the pantry and started to put the items away. I only had to look a couple of times for the correct place to put things. I knew the Gregerson's kitchen almost as well as my own. I smiled at the box of Jasmine rice, which probably meant we were going to get red beans and rice for dinner soon. Phyllis made the best red beans and rice in the whole world, or so I was convinced. I was putting the last of the dry goods up when Freddie and his friend Derek came into the kitchen. "Mom! Mom!" Freddie yelled until he realized she wasn't there. "Where's my mom?" Freddie asked. "She went to the laundry room," I told him. I noticed Derek was looking at me funny, all wide-eyed and gawky. It took me a second to realize my fear from this morning had come to pass. It must have happened when I was putting some stuff on the top shelf. My shirt had ridden up and instead of settling back down like a good shirt it had came to rest on the top of my plastic pants. "Don't shout like that Freddie, I'm right here," Phyllis interjected as she entered the room. I adjusted my shirt and made a quick exit, heading off to find Greg. I never much cared for Derek, I've always thought he was a bit of a brat, and I damn sure hated him seeing my diapers. "Mom can Derek spend the night tonight?" Freddie asked plaintively. Just say no. I pleaded with Phyllis silently in my mind as I hurried down the hall. My luck was poor because Phyllis agreed that Derek could stay as long as it was okay with his folks. Shit! That little prick will be here all night and Greg and I will have to tolerate him. Oh well, life sucks sometimes. I caught up with Greg as he was coming back down stairs carrying two laundry baskets stacked precariously on top of each other. "Grab one of these, man, it feels like the top one's gonna fall," he asked me as he tried not to drop the loads of clothes. I grabbed the top woven plastic basket and did a 180 and followed Greg back through the kitchen to the laundry room. Immediately upon entering, Freddie and Derek, whom had both sat down at the kitchen table, shut up in mid-sentence. They had been talking too low to overhear, but gauging from their sudden silence they had probably been talking about me or more to the point my diapers. We took the baskets to the laundry room and went back into the kitchen. Maybe it was just my paranoia, but the diaper rustle coming from Greg and myself had increased to about the rumble of thunder. Greg sat down, and when I sat down I noticed how wet my diaper had become, my weight forcing some of the fluid out of the diaper. Mrs. Gregerson came into the kitchen, almost as if on cue. Maybe it's just a `mom' thing, but she seems like she has some kind of diaper radar. "Todd, Gregg, you boys doing okay? If you need anything I'll be in the den," she said, trying her best at discretion. "I do, I'm soaked!" Greg fired out without the slightest bit of hesitation. "Well okay then, grab the diaper bag and come on." She apparently felt that discretion was a wasted effort in light of her son's coarseness. "Where's it at?" "I set it near the table earlier on my way to the laundry room," She said scanning the area, which prompted us all to look around. "Is this it, Mrs. Gregerson?" Derek said innocently as he retrieved the bag from the floor near his chair. The little brat knew it was. The bag wasn't even zipped up and there were several perfectly folded white disposables near the top. Derek's eyes were alive with evil glee; you could tell it was taking all his thirteen years worth of self- control to not out-and-out smirk. I didn't know which would be worse, admitting I needed a diaper change by trudging downstairs to the den or sitting there in the company of a self-satisfied little fink. What the hell, he knows anyway, I thought as I reluctantly followed Greg and Phyllis Phyllis laid out the changing mat while Greg fumbled with his belt. His pants got to his ankles when he realized his shoes needed to come off, too. He spent an awkward moment bent over trying to get his shoes untied. Finally his shoes and jeans were off, and he was being changed. Being the smart one of the group I took the time to get my shoes off first and by the time she was done with Greg my pants were off, too. She finished me up quickly, and like Greg, she did not replace my plastic pants, instead declaring that they had probably seen enough action for one day. She took our jeans from the floor and handed them to me, giving me instructions to add them to the washer as she had just started a load of denim. In the evening Dinner came and went, fish sticks. Yippie! Who wanted dumb old red beans and rice when you could have compressed `almost fish'? I know I shouldn't complain, the hospitality of the Gregersons was extremely generous and all, but I had hoped something would go my way. The box of rice must have been bought for the soul purpose of taunting me. Well, maybe not, but you never know. After dinner we found ourselves watching TV in Greg's room as Phyllis had commandeered the big screen for the purpose of watching some tearjerker `Drama.' Us four boys watched `I Still Know What You Did Last Summer', which surprised me as being better than the first one. I did get some small satisfaction in knowing that Freddie and Derek were both scared at several points. That fact, along with my natural leanings towards mischief, got my devious mind rolling over a way to get back at Derek for being, well Derek. After the movie we decided we were going to play Clue. While I was setting up the board Greg went downstairs to get us a bag of chips and some Cokes. He returned few moments later, still pantless (I had at least fetched a pair of shorts.) I had dibs on Plum, Greg played Col. Mustard, and Freddie quickly laid claim to Mr. Green. Poor Derek was left having to choose from Miss White or Mrs. Peacock (Miss Scarlet was missing from the set.) I won twice in a row, making me feel somewhat better about the day. Phyllis came upstairs and told us all to get ready for bed, adding that she would change Greg and I while Freddie and Derek brushed their teeth. Phyllis took some extra time making sure to apply baby oil thoroughly to our diaper areas. She also applied a diaper rash cream to both of us explaining that it was just preventative at this point. We were freshly changed into overnight diapers and pull-on style plastic pants when we were ourselves sent to brush our teeth. As the guest bathroom upstairs was usually shared by Greg and Freddie it had a double vanity, allowing us to both brush at once. It looked odd seeing both of us in the mirror and realizing we were both standing around in nothing but diapers. Rinse and spit. I turned around and started to leave when I saw it. I was mortified to see our plastic pants had been hung up on the shower rod to dry. Talk about feeling like a toddler. Greg noticed I had stopped. "What's up?" he asked. I just pointed. "Isn't that what your supposed to do with them?" He asked as if having plastic pants drying in the bathroom were the most natural thing in the world. I couldn't think of anything to say so I just headed off to our room. Freddie and Derek were there too, watching Leno, they were both there in just their underwear. Fate would have it that Derek was wearing blue boxer briefs and the plastic pants I had put earlier were also blue. I, of course chose not to comment on yet another example of life rubbing my nose in the irony that exists in all things Todd. Greg came in right behind me and told them, "get out, guys, Mom said we had to crash." "Like your going to sleep anytime soon," Freddie said. "Not so loud, numb nuts, if she hears you she'll yell at all of us." "Ah, come on, man, just let us stay for a while. I don't have a TV in my room." "Okay, just don't get us busted." We turned the volume down low and turned the lights out. Soon enough, Freddie went back to his room and brought back a big quilt and two pillows. I silently smiled at the fact that he and Derek must still be spooked from the movie. Maybe there is justice after all, and maybe I could help it along. I thought. My mind returned to my plans of a prank, but try as I might I just couldn't come up with anything worth doing and I myself drifted off to sleep. In the wee hours I woke up in a cold sweat and I was sure something was wrong. I felt really creepy and I knew I was being watched. I scanned the room, surprised at how easy it was to see in the pale illumination provided by the moonlight coming in through the window. Greg was not in his bed, and I saw no sign of Freddie or Derek. I slid off the bed and flinched at the sound of my diaper crinkling, I made a mental note to remember it's hard to be stealthy while wearing a diaper. Movement caught my eye and I spun to see the door to room move just a hair and stop, it was almost but not quite closed. I crossed the room to the door and reached for the knob to pull it open. I hesitated to grasp it because I knew there was something bad on the other side; it wasn't just fear but rather awareness. It took all my will power to tug at the knob. The door tried to will itself shut, yet I pulled enough to bring it open in a slow motion arc. I don't know weather I smelt it first or saw it, but I was assaulted by the sudden urge to vomit. Blood covered the walls and the floor even making small puddles in the carpet where the concentration was high. I heard a whisper of sound coming from the downstairs,. TSK TSK. I was drawn toward the curving staircase. Grabbing abjectly on to the banister I recoiled as I realized it had little bits of gristle and flesh clinging to its surface. I slowly descended unable to stop myself, my fear was mounting with each step. The hair on my body was standing on end and with each step I felt the thick air moving around me. TSK TSK.. The rhythmic sound drawing me forward. I sensed that he was down, down there waiting, watching, listening and smiling. I saw him silhouetted in the foyer, the gray man. I could make out no feature, no hint of definition, just his shape. He waited patiently for me to approach and I heard him chuckle as I reached the landing. "Hello child," I heard, but I don't think he spoke out loud. I was frozen in spot and couldn't move. In an abstract way I wanted to. I just couldn't get my muscles to work. "Don't be frightened young one, I'm here to help. Just think of me as Mr. Friendly. That's right, Mr. Friendly, friend. As your friend, I think you should go to the kitchen." My legs moved before I thought about it and I moved down the hall going to the kitchen. TSK TSK. the rhythmic sounds were louder now. I neared the kitchen and fumbled for the light switch, I could see fine but it was just habit. The switch clicked up and nothing happened. TSK TSK.. I peered into the room; Phyllis was there, broom in hand trying in vain to sweep a pile of entrails into a dustpan. She passed the broom across them pulling them into a neat pile then she stooped over grabbed at the dustpan, but of course by the time she was ready to scoop them up they had spread back out. "OH DARN!" She said as she set the dustpan down and reached again for the broom. She repeated this process a few times never seeming to understand the futility of her task. I laughed at this, the laugh sounding alien and hollow. I felt like I had laughed at a funeral. "Now Todd, this is not a laughing manner. He'll be here soon, and we want the house tidy for our guest," Phyllis admonished me. "Enough of that, child," Mr. Friendly called from the doorway. I had no idea he had followed me to the kitchen. "You have much to learn and little time do so. Unfortunately I don't have time to waste coddling you and making your education easy." He turned and walked down the flight of steps leading to the den. His shuffling footsteps stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "Come along, child, don't delay me any longer than necessary." The den was cold and ankle deep in water. Mr. Friendly had sat down on the couch and with a gesture invited me to sit across from him. He was idly playing with some small object that caught the light and flashed silver. "Lesson one; all is the mind, it is more `you' than the flesh prison you move about in. Lesson two; the body serves the mind. When the mind knows truth it is made manifest in the realm of flesh. For example, please observe the coin I am toying with." He held out the quarter to me in his featureless hands. Even up close I could see no lines on his skin, no wrinkles, no hair, no fingernails. The quarter sitting idly in his smooth palm blurred and melted taking on the shape of a. small molten gold colored ball. The ball flattened out and became hollow on two ends forming a ring. Mr. Friendly leaned forward holding out the object to me. I took the offered ring and became enraptured in its details, there was delicate scrollwork covering the inner and outer band. The detail was fine and intricate, almost animated. It was perhaps the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. "As your friend, I'll give you this gift. It's yours now, put it on," he urged me with the smallest hint of desperation in his voice. I looked at the ring and hesitated. Something felt wrong about this whole thing. Shouldn't I be upset about something? I pondered. I looked deeper at the ring, seeing the scrollwork was in fact a depiction of some sort of vine with little thorny outcroppings along its trunk. "It is beautiful, is it not? Very few are ever offered the retvelion, and the numbers of your kind have been even fewer. It is an honor to even see it, much less be allowed the opportunity to command it." With out thinking I slipped the ring over my finger. When the ring cleared the second knuckle the etched vines started to pulse and writhe across the ring's surface. I could feel the thorns digging across my finger as the pattern shifted about. The pain was terrible, but I only knew that in a detached manner, I couldn't actually feel it. Mr. Friendly nodded and stood up, pausing to brush himself off "Very good child, very good. We will talk further, yes, you and I will." Mr. Friendly was gone, but he didn't leave or disappear or go poof or walk away, he was just not there anymore. I stood up and noticed most of the water had gone away and only some residual dampness was left on the carpet making it squish as stepped. I made my way back upstairs, and I thought Phyllis was no longer in the kitchen until I stumbled upon half of her. It looked like she had been neatly torn in half, her torso partially hidden under the table. Odd I thought, I wonder where they put the other half of her? She'll be pretty angry if someone has hidden her legs. Nothing I can do about it now, I gotta get some sleep! I mounted the stairs and puzzled over how we were going to get the bloody footprints out of the carpet. I stifled a yawn as I got to the bedroom door. Didn't I leave it open? I tried the knob and it refused to turn. Somehow I had gotten locked out of the room, probably Derek. I knew he had to be jealous of my ring, and thought he would lock me out as punishment. Fine be that way. I'll just sleep in Freddie's room. His door is locked too? What the hell is going on here, don't these people know I'm special? I'll show them. I'll just. "Remember what we talked about?" Mr. Friendly asked although I couldn't see him. "Remember that the mind need only know something is true for it to be so?" "So all I have to do is know that the door is unlocked?" I said back to the empty hallway. "As your friend, I think it would be a good thing to try." I gripped the knob and turned. The door opened easily and I steeped across the room to my bed. I think that as soon as my head hit the pillow I was lost in sleep. In the morning "Wake up boys, rise and shine" Phyllis called into our room. I woke up with a jolt feeling very awake and not at all sleepy. I was a little confused and half expecting Phyllis to be a zombie as the details of my nightmare flittered about my mind, fading as I tried to get a grasp on any particular disjointed memory. I've always had terribly violent nightmares ever since I was little, and maybe last night's horror movie had gotten to me too? "Freddie, what are you and Derek doing sleeping in here? Why didn't you boys sleep in your room, wouldn't it have been more comfortable than sleeping on the floor?" Phyllis continued. "We watched a scary movie on TV last night and we didn't want to sleep alone," Freddie admitted. "Okay, well you boys get your showers, and I mean quickly, too! We overslept and I don't want to be late for work." "I can wait until I get home, Mrs. Gregerson, if that will help," offered Derek. "That would be great, Derek, thank you," Phyllis said. Score another point for ass-kissers the world over, I thought. Freddie had left to take his shower, and I elected to go before Greg did as he didn't seem fully awake yet. Derek had yet to actually get out his makeshift bed on the floor, perhaps not wanting to be seen in his underwear by Phyllis, so he was still in the room after she had left to attend to breakfast. I was a bit embarrassed about removing my plastic pants in front of him, especially when I saw how far my diaper was sagging without them. I undid the four tapes and rolled the diaper up taping it back up securely before tossing it in the trash. After my shower I returned to my room towel wrapped about me. Greg had apparently gotten the shower after Freddie was done, and I assume Derek had gotten dressed and gone home or was eating breakfast with Freddie. I grabbed a diaper from the bag and made an effort to get it on correctly, but when I sat up I saw I had done a lousy job and the diaper wasn't going to stay on well. Damn it! I thought, as I tried to redo the `refastenable tapes'. I only managed to rip the front of the diaper up in the process. Discarding the ruined diaper I sighed knowing what I had to do. I wrapped the towel back around me and went in search of Phyllis. She was downstairs at the table getting her papers organized for the day. "Um. Mrs. G? Could I get you to... ah. help me?" I asked trying not make eye contact with Derek or Freddie. Phyllis was dressed for work in a dark blue pinstriped suit, and I thought that despite her being about my mom's age she was still very pretty. She looked up from her papers, smiled knowingly and said, "sure thing. I'll be up in a jiffy." True to her word, she entered the room right behind me. "Okay champ, let's get you taken care of." As she was diapering me I thought about how it was that someone else could do so much of a better job with the diaper. Maybe I just needed more practice, or maybe you just couldn't diaper yourself with any great success. I lifted up so she could slide some plastic pants up under me, she was finishing snapping them up when Greg came in. "You're just in time," she told him as he took the place on the changing pad that I had just vacated. In mere minutes he was likewise diapered. Phyllis left us to return to her paperwork. I rummaged about in one of the drawers Greg had given up to me when I had come to stay for the summer (thankfully he had a large dresser.). I found a pair of jersey shorts and a tee shirt to wear, while Greg opted for some denim shorts and a tank top. It seemed to me that the denim was much more effective at reducing the diaper bulge than the cotton jersey of my shorts, but ultimately I didn't care enough to change. We went downstairs and ate a quick breakfast of cold cereal. Even running late, Phyllis maintained that you shouldn't skip `the most important meal of the day.' I finished up about the same time as Greg who took our bowls and deposited them in the dishwasher. "You guys ready?" Phyllis asked. We nodded our agreement. "All right then, Greg you go get your diaper bag, and Freddie, turn out the lights and check the back door and let's go." We were in the van and on our way when Greg thought to ask, "Why'd we have to bring the diaper bag? Didn't you get us some diapers for when we are at Aunt Sherry's?" "Yes, you have diapers at Aunt Sherry's, but what if she takes you guys somewhere?" "Ohhhh okay," he said as if she had explained a great mystery to him. Takes us somewhere? Great I thought, just what I want is to go into public wearing a diaper. Greg didn't seem to be bothered about it, but he doesn't ever get bothered about much. Maybe that's why we were such good friends he was so mellow, and I was so high strung. We were dropped off at Sherry's and ushered inside by Jarred who ran out side when the van pulled up. He was obviously excited that his older cousins would be spending the day at his house. Jared was still in his PJ's and it was clear from the bulge that he, too, was wearing a diaper. "Jarred Joseph Matthews, get yourself in here right this instant, you don't go out side in your pajamas," Sherry scolded him. "I'm sorwy. Gweg and Fweddie are hewe all day?" He asked his mother. "Yes, and Todd, too." She said looking at us. "Sorry, ya'll he just got up and ran downstairs. He's a handful sometimes." She stuck a finger down the front of his PJ bottoms and asked him "Did you have a dry night?" He looked down at his feet as she retracted her finger and just shook his head. "It's okay honey, momma was just curious, go get your clothes I laid out for you and we'll get you cleaned up." Jarred ran upstairs, probably used to the routine, and returned with some clean clothes. Sherry stripped of his bottoms and his diaper. She then cleaned him up with a diaper wipe and then handed him a pair of training pants to put on along with the rest of his clothes. "Greg, Todd, you guys okay or you need anything while I got this stuff out?" "I'm fine, thanks," I said, I was a bit embarrassed at being asked this in front of a small child. Greg, with his usual lack of well-chosen wording, just said, "nope, I think I'm still dry." This elicited a giggle from Jarred. "Gweg, you don't wear diapers, you're too old!" Jarred looked at his mom as if to say I know Greg is just trying to fool me. "Do too!" Greg said back. "Do not!" Jarred was quick enough to reply. "Do too!" It was like the `duck season' skit from Bugs Bunny. "Don't," Jared said back, but this time with a little doubt showing in his voice. Maybe he sensed Greg's sincerity. "Do too...and I'll show you!" Greg stood up and dropped his trousers right there. Jared's eyes went wide and for a moment he was speechless. "Todd does too, don't ya?" Greg said poking me in the ribs. Sherry was astute enough to come to my rescue "Jarred, go eat your breakfast before your cereal gets soggy." Which was enough to send the four year old dashing to the kitchen. Rob came downstairs with his bathrobe wrapped around him and saw Greg standing by the couch with his shorts around his ankles. This caused him to raise his eyebrows but all he said was something that might have been a growl or good morning I couldn't tell. I guess Rob isn't a morning person either, more power to him I thought. Sherry told Greg to go ahead and get his shirt off, too, indicating that I too should lose my clothes. She explained that she had some things for us to try on. Sherry left the room and returned a few minutes later with an armload of clothes. "I made some alterations to some stuff your mom bought, I thought that it might help you guys out a bit with your diaper situation" Sherry gave us each a tee shirt that was really long and had a flap with snaps in the crotch. I pulled it over my head and snapped it up. "See, that will keep your shirt from coming untucked and exposing your diapers." I hated to admit it, but it was a good idea, I also had to admit it was a onesie, but I could live with it if it spared me from showing my diapers off. Sherry handed me a pair of overall shorts, which I stepped into. I've always thought overalls were a bit redneckish but these were nice enough. Greg was handed a regular pair of jeans. Sherry explained "Those jeans have an elastic waist, that will help keep `em over your diapers and I put snaps on the inseam so you don't have to take them off to get changed. I did the same on those shortalls you've got on, Todd." Sherry did a great job keeping the snaps hard to see, I thought, and it does make sense functionality-wise. I sat down and looked at my crotch to make sure the inseam wasn't gapping and that the diaper wasn't showing through. Everything looked good. I thanked Sherry and gave her a big hug, not normally my style, but it seemed like the thing to do. "Thanks. I'm just glad ya'll like them, I'll get some more done over the next week or two." Sherry returned our normal attire to us so she could put the finishing touches on our new clothes. Rob had joined us in the living room and asked if we had any interest in going with him to the shack. The shack was an abandoned house in the woods where we would hang out and shoot off fireworks. Rob told Sherry we were going to the woods for a while. "You boys be back by lunch time, and don't you go getting into any trouble. Greg, Todd if you guys don't feel well or get tired you come on back okay?" "Yes ma'am" Greg told her as we headed out the door. The trail back to the shack was wide open and inviting. We made our way fairly quickly, my mind spinning ahead of my legs, eager to become occupied with bottle rockets and firecrackers. A glance over my shoulder showed a darkening sky as huge weighty clouds seemed to seethe and roll over each other like snakes. A storm was coming, but we had an hour or two before the squall got to us. The man sat in his chair tapping an ink pen absentmindedly against his forehead, not really looking at the output on his computer screen. The reports would collaborate with all the others, that much he was sure of, but without having any pre-exposure data on the two boys it would be a hard case to prove. This was such a great opportunity for the study, but the frustration level was high, working with kids and their parents was not the same as dealing with his own people and the study volunteers. His volunteers wouldn't ask questions the way these people might. And the short sighted powers that be have not yet given him permission to acquire the children. He fished at his cup of coffee and found it to be almost empty with only the cold bitter dregs left. Grimacing he swallowed anyway and reached for the phone. He had to report into the people who were in charge. He picked up the phone and dialed the number he was to use that week. Although the phone lines were electronically scrambled, one could never be too sure in this day and age. Considering who his employer was precautions were in order and the phone number changed each week. "Thank you for calling Autoshine, how may I direct your call?" A pretty sounding voice said at the other end. "I need a manager, please." "One moment, sir." The phone clicked as the line was transferred and voice checks were performed. "This is Ray, what can I do ya for?" "Hello Ray, I just brought my van in last week for cleaning." "I take it something is not to your satisfaction?" "No. Everything was just as I expected it to be and the price was in line with my expectations." "I just wanted to thank you for your service and was wanting to make arrangements to have my Mercedes cleaned." "Very good sir, where can we pick up your Mercedes?" "At the office, could you take a look at the carpet on the driver's side? Its particularly dirty." "We'll pick it up tomorrow morning and have it back by tomorrow night" "Thank you. Ray." The man hung the phone up, `what a stupid cloak and dagger way to communicate'. He felt like he was in a bad spy novel. Although the man was high up in his organization he knew that only meant he had a long way to fall if he ever made a mistake. Not following procedure was a very grave mistake in the eyes of his employer and the man had spent many years learning to avoid such mistakes. Amy popped her head in the office. "I'll be leaving for the day sir, is there anything further you require?" "No Amy I'll be fine, have a good day." Amy started to pull away from the door, but then thought better of it. "Did the tests conform to your projections?" "Yes, and then some. But we really need to observe them overnight, see if you can arrange that after their next appointment." "Yes sir." Amy said, unconsciously spinning on her heel as she left the office. The man known to the boys as Dr. Will looked back to his computer and started typing notes for inclusion in his next proper report. "Physical output is positive five to fifteen percent above nominal expectations for pserafine levels present in blood. Organ growth occurring as expected, however adolescent physiology may complicate. Further research needed to determine effects of puberty on pserafine production levels. To early to speculation on host organ tissue regenerative abilities. Unable to gauge psychological effects with out controlled lab environment." A double beep indicated to the man that there was incoming email. He saved his work, flipped to his email program and read with interest the two memos to make their way into his inbox. The first was a report from one of his colleagues on the study indicating that the black flag had been lifted and that all environmental hazards had been contained or destroyed. Dr. Will smiled knowing that black flag was referencing the escaped insects from the production control facility a few miles away. The other memo was also good news as far as Dr. Will was concerned. This one was from his newshound program that provided him with local news. A man was found dead in his upscale home, shot apparently in a drug deal gone sour. The article explained that the man was a doctor who had apparently been using his access to certain substances as a way to make a little extra cash. Preliminary inquiries revealed a sketchy past with huge amounts of debt to less than reputable sources. "We should get back," Rob said looking out of the broken window at the darkening sky. Not really wanting to go back I peered out the window myself in hopes of spotting a blue sky where Rob was seeing dark thunderheads. I was enjoying some of the first unmitigated freedom offered us since the accident and this newfound emancipation from authority was sweet even if it was short-lived. Turning around I surveyed the insides of the shack, the shadows deepening as sunlight faded outside. Gregg was crouched down beside a partially broken interior wall taping a group of bottle rockets together. The bottle rockets joined in such a fashion were a little device we called a cluster bomb. While in retrospect not total original our version of the age old classic involved using vinyl electrical tape to add some extra compression. "Okay we'll blow this one and then go," Gregg said placing the package on the ground near what might have one time been the porch. He placed a length of PVC pipe into the ground into a circular depression around the `DMZ'. The pipe sported a small cut away area at the bottom to allow lighting the fuse. The pipe thus positioned into the ground Gregg stretched a plastic bag over the top of the pipe and secured it with a rubber band. It was all routine for us, but it was the highlight of many a day when I was lucky enough to spend it with Gregg and his cousin. Lighting the fuse Gregg called out "fire in the hole." A moment later, there was a muffled thud as the bag billowed out at the top and then ripped letting out the acrid smoke in a small puff. We retrieved the pipe and secured it back in the shack with our meager supply of bags, rubber bands, vinyl tape and other sundry firework modifiers. Rob did, however, make sure to take our stash of `Class C's' on the off chance that some one else might find and pilfer our entertainment. We started the � mile trek to Sherry's in relative silence, each of us being thankful for the moment but already plotting ahead to what we might do to top today's fun. My stomach reminded me that we had been away all morning and that lunchtime was rapidly approaching. Just at the edge of the woods with the house in sight, the sky opened up and poured forth its contents in a warm but driving summer shower. The dark clouds dissipating as they delivered their moist payload to the dry ground below, creating one of those oddities of summer where it gets lighter the more it rains. In the time it took to cross the 150 feet to the yard proper we were soaked and our shoes were caked with mud. Stopping just long enough for Rob to deposit our fireworks in an old bin beside the lawn shed we trudged to the backdoor. "Don't ya'll get mud on my clean floor," Sherry cried impulsively at the first creek of the screen door. Thankfully the eve provided shelter from the diminishing down pour as we shed out shoes and stepped into the kitchen. Lunch was being put down on the table and looked to consist of some type of sandwich and soup. I noticed the absence of a place setting and decided not to comment and just be thankful that the table wouldn't be that crowded. "I know you weren't thinking of setting at my table wearing those muddy clothes were you?" Sherry admonished, stopping the three of us in our tracks. "You boys git out of them clothes and come downstairs presentable, and don't forget to wash your hands." In the afternoon. Upstairs Rob was kind enough to provide both Gregg and myself with a pair of shorts and t-shirt. I'm a little stocky by nature and the baggies were a bit tight around my diaper drawing my full attention to the fact that they were almost as wet as the clothes I had just removed. Still I had priorities and being fed was at the top of the list so my diaper could wait. We reassembled at the table, where Jarred was busy eating his sandwich sans crust and occasionally casting a disparaging glance at his soup bowl. The sandwiches were ham salad (made with a hint of coca cola to offer sweetness) and the soup was a roasted pepper puree served cold, a popular summer dish in these parts and one to which I am very partial to. Jarred, predictably, didn't want anything to do with the pepper soup and after finishing his sandwich raced off to the living room to continue playing in front of the TV until the outside had sufficiently dried out to allow him access to his playmates. I elected to eat Jared's soup not wanting the mellow soup to waste. Satiated I picked up on the conversation that I had unintentionally tuned out while gorging. "Tomorrow since the tickets were free," Sherry finished. Greg and Rob both seemed delighted at the prospect, whatever it was. I puzzled for a moment trying to pick the pieces to the conversation I had not paid attention to. "What's that? I wasn't paying attention," I admitted. "You never pay attention when foods around," Greg shot back. "We'll the soup was SO good" I said hoping halfheartedly to have scored brownie points. "Thank you, Todd," Sherry said beaming at the earnest praise, "I got tickets to Splashers tomorrow. Lucy next door came to visit and when she heard what you boys had been through she called her husband and he's bringing tickets home for all of us." Splashers is a water park and a place I genuinely enjoyed both for the water slides and for the scenic view of scantily clad members of the fairer sex. I was too busy thinking of past experiences to concentrate on what will surely be a new a very different one considering this time I would be diapered. Freshly diapered Gregg and I sat around the table playing cards with Rob. We were playing Skip-Bo and I was having to fight the good fight trying to prevent Rob from winning. Sherry called Splashers and asked for guest services. "Yes, I have tickets for tomorrow and I will have two boys in diapers with me."-- pause-- "No ma'am, I'm sorry I didn't make myself clear, they're not toddlers they're teenagers"-- pause-- "Ahheem, yes I see,..."-- pause-- "disposables.. yes"-- pause-- "Okay. At the information booth.. Yes I see. Thank you." My mind picked up enough of the conversation to wonder just how was it that I going to attract the attention of anything in a two-piece bikini when I was diapered? Scratch that, I thought.. Attract the favor of anything in a two- piece bikini. Attention would be the easy part. Knowing there was no way of getting out of going short of dying, which may be a bit too extreme for my tastes I figured it was but another step toward the ultimate of ironies that life seemed to dish out to me, each one more extreme than the last. Though even as I write these events a full twenty years later I am now grateful that life has never failed to disappoint or surprise me, it's just at that time in my life I was a bit melodramatic, but then again at that age aren't we all? In the Evening Phyllis made an appearance long enough to check up on us and to bring along a fresh bag of diapers in case we were running low as the original game plan only provided us to be at Sherry's until supper time and Phyllis did not want us to expend our backup supply of diapers. Phyllis admonished us to `be good' and was out the door after pausing a moment to hug Gregg and Freddie and to tussle my hair, Bill was returning tonight and they were going to make the most of their time without us kids around. Freddie and Rob sat themselves in front of the TV and contented themselves with a movie and Greg and I broke out a deck of cards for some more of our impromptu poker playing. Sherry was upstairs making sure that Jared washed behind his ears. The domestic tranquility of the evening was in such contrast to my own home life that despite my best efforts to just `be happy' I was forcing myself to examine my somewhat starched and sterile home life. In turn, I thought of my parents and their own troubles a half world away and could not do much to bite down the resentment I felt at them not putting me first. They could, if they wanted to, decry immunity and return home. My father's pride and my mother's vanity being enough to keep them on foreign soil fighting trumped up charges. Knowing that if the situation ever occurred with Sherry or Bill and Phyllis they would put their kids first and return to the US with all haste to be by their sides. Sometimes the realization that you never had something to begin with can be worse than losing what you already have. Gregg informing me that `I think too much' and I should just play the cards I was dealt because they were not going to change because I was staring at them. My gloomy introspection broken I played my hand and silently marveled at the wisdom of his words, however unintentional, as they related to my situation. Maybe that was his secret to getting the best out of life, maybe he just played what he was dealt and waited for the next hand. Nah, optimism sucks I reminded myself, cheered immeasurably despite my best efforts to remain morose. Sherry came downstairs, tote bag in hand with Jarred trailing behind, a towel wrapped around his waist. She fished a vinyl mat from under the couch and Jarred was powdered and diapered. Jarred stood and stepped into a pair of plastic pants, which he pulled up, and then Sherry inspected tucking the diaper in to the overpants in places. He stepped into a pair of PJ bottoms and pulled a matching shirt on over his head. Finished he climbed onto the couch and began to ask everyone in the room if they were going to Splashers tomorrow. Sherry told me to come over to the mat and my shorts were removed, as were my plastic pants. Sherry deftly ripped the tapes away from the front of my diaper and pulled it out from under me, rolling it up into a ball and taping it back closed. She grabbed a diaper wipe and went to work making sure I was clean. From our diaper bag she produced a bottle of baby oil and a tube of diaper rash ointment which she applied liberally. From my vantage point on the floor the unopened bag of diapers looked huge as Sherry ripped it open along a seam at the top. She pulled out a diaper and brought its wings open as she unfolded it, her fingers working down its length fluffing the leak cuff. "Lift up," she requested, I complied, feeling the air move as the diaper slipped under me. Her hands gently pushed my knees toward the carpet exposing more of my crotch as she brought the diaper up and wrapped the back wings forward, taping them to the front panel securely. She reached for my plastic pants and gave it a second thought as she noticed they had been worn all day. She rummaged through our diaper bag, finding no plastic pants she told me to sit tight, and she went upstairs. She returned with a handful of items including a few pair of plastic pants. She offered no explanation as to why she had vinyl pants large enough to fit a fifteen-year-old boy, but my mind settled on her comments from the other day reminding Rob about his little problem. The pants were of the snap-on variety and were adorned with farm animals, tractors and cartoon-like bails of hay. Thusly diapered she handed me a pair of striped pajama bottoms that appeared to be about knee length. I looked at them dubiously and Sherry said they were too big for Rob when they bought them and she was sure they would fit me. I removed my shirt and replaced it with the identically striped pajama top. I then pulled the bottoms up and over my diaper, the elastic waist of pj's disappearing under the shirt. I took my place on the couch making room for Gregg who had anticipated his turn and had already removed his shorts. The routine repeated and Gregg was given a pair of pair of overpants covered in red fire trucks. Gregg's Pj's were of the same style as mine only a size smaller. I noticed the fire truck print was showing through the seat of his pants and self-consciously looked down at my crotch to see if I could make out any farm animals, I could. Rob remained silent through the whole ordeal, only a touch of color rose to his cheeks at having his old problem paraded around the room. Gregg was surprisingly silent; I figured he would have complemented Rob on the cool fire trucks or some such, but I think he was being more careful of his cousin's dignity than he would be if it were only his own on the line. Sherry handed me the two spent diapers and asked me to thrown them out for here while she put away the diapering supplies. I padded into the kitchen cringing at the rustling crinkle sounds coming from my pants. The PJs were too thin to muffle the diaper sound and the vinyl pants that Sherry provided seemed only to add their own sound to the rhythmic crinkle that accompanied my walking. Seeing the diapers in the trash, I tried to bow my legs a bit as I walked back to the living room. The sound wasn't any less, just different so I reverted to my normal gait. Jarred was dispatched to bed, and Freddie who was sharing the room with him decided to turn in himself. Sherry told us three remaining boys to hit the hay as we had to be up early in the morning. We went to Rob's room and I noted the futon where Greg and I were to sleep had been folded down and made into a bed. The futon was perpendicular to Rob's bed and came close to blocking access to his closet. Rob undressed and to my surprise removed his boxers and threw them into his hamper. He opened his chest of drawer and pulled out what looked to be jockey shorts until I realized they were way too thick to be normal briefs. Rob pulled them up and told us sheepishly that he didn't normally wear them anymore, but his waterproof sheet had been removed to be used on the futon for us and his mom had insisted that he wear them `just in case.' I immediately felt bad for him and would have tried to offer an awkward apology for putting him out had Gregg not piped in that Rob should have just worn a diaper like real men do. "Real men wear diapers don't they Todd?" Greg asked. I tried frantically to think of the right thing to say, not wanting to piss off Rob while I am a guest of his, nor wanting to admit to anything as heinous as not being a `real man'. I noticed Rob was smiling, probably already thinking of a comeback, which put me at ease knowing he wasn't offended at Gregg's suggestion. "Sure do, I'm a real man and I'm wearing a diaper so it must be true. I can't fault your logic there," I said. "See Rob, it's true, real men wear diapers, Todd said so. Not that he's a real man either." "Hey! I'm wearing a diaper, so by your own logic I'm a real man," I retorted lamely wishing my wit were a bit sharper this late into the evening. "Girls can wear diapers, too, and they're not real men." Greg countered "See Todd, real men don't wear barn yard animals on their plastic pants. They wear fire trucks instead." "Fuck you, dipshit" Rob and I both said to him in unison. At that moment, I was truly okay with my plight, even a bit proud in a humorous sort of way. I resolved then to try not to be bothered by my condition when around Sherry, Rob and Jarred. Maybe I needed to be a little more like Gregg and just play the best I could with what I had. That was the first in a long series of lessons that would impart to me that the fellowship of ones peers as being a more effective weapon to deal with the obstacles of life than the contents of ones bank accounts (my parents favored tactic to solve all problems was to steady ones self and throw money at it.) I was happy for myself and sad for my folks who had never learned the value of friendships. As I drifted off to sleep, I was truly right with the world, if only for a few hours time. Morning came and I was the first to wake as Sherry knocked on the door calling for us to get up. I threw the covers aside and rolled out of bed catching a glance of myself reflected from Robs dresser mirror. I looked just like Jarred had the previous morning on our arrival; only I was bigger by about eleven years. I pushed Gregg's shoulder telling him to get up. Groggily he came awake and sat up in bed. "Morning." He told me. "Morning" I replied. "What time is it?" "A few minutes till eight." "Breakfast will get cold if you boys don't hurry," Sherry called from downstairs. Rob, having been woken by the commotion got out of bed, slipped a pair of shorts over his training pants, and padded out of the room. I headed downstairs where Jarred and Freddie were already seated at the table. "Morning all" I said to the room as I sat down. "Good Morning, Todd," Sherry said as she sat a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me. Gregg and Rob came into the room and soon we were all discussing our plans for the day. Freddie even seemed to be excited about the outing, his normal aloofness having been discarded at the prospect of a day at Splashers. During breakfast I felt my diaper flooding and knew it had to be close to its saturation point as the liquid was real slow to be absorbed. I shivered a bit as the warmth spread; Sherry noticed this and told me to get the first shower after breakfast. She similarly dispatched Gregg to the shower in the master bedroom. I got up from the table and put my dishes in the sink, rinsing them off despite the fact that the plate was free from debris. Sherry followed me into the living room and said she would go ahead and get me out my wet diaper. I discarded my shirt as Sherry pulled down my PJ bottoms and plastic pants. My diaper was sagging a Sherry had to hold it up to keep it from coming down as well. She undid the tapes and pulled the diaper free, she quickly rolled it into a ball and taped it close. I finished stepping out of my pants and headed off naked to find the shower. I stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain closed. The hot water felt great and by the time I was through I felt clean and refreshed. I toweled off a stepped over to the vanity to brush my teeth all the while I was busily peering in mirror trying to detect the growth of facial hair. My parents had gotten me an electric shaver that I sometimes used despite not needing it, I think they had purchased the razor for me not out of immediate need but because I was at the age where I would soon need one. I saw something that might be a bit of fuzz on my lip but I wasn't sure, the steam on the mirror grew back too quickly for me to tell. Wrapped only in the towel I turned over the bathroom to Freddie who was next in line and headed back downstairs. Sherry was finishing Gregg's diaper as Jarred sat transfixed by morning cartoons. I was next for the pad but rather than lay down Sherry took my towel and had me turn away from her so she could apply some Desitin to my rear. I was soon diapered in a standard enough fashion this time without plastic pants. "I laid your clothes out on your bed so you boys finish getting ready, we need to leave soon." We marched upstairs as she told Jarred to turn the TV off, as he too had to attend to getting dressed. I donned the shorts she had set out and appreciated the fact that they were a little loose which might help conceal my diaper a bit. I pulled on my t-shirt, looked in the mirror and determined that I could not tell I had a diaper on. In the meantime, Rob had returned from his shower and hastily got dressed. The three of us were walking out of the room when Rob stopped and ran back to his dresser and hastily extracted a pair of swim trunks. At that moment, the realization hit me that neither Gregg nor I had a bathing suit. We got downstairs to see Sherry tiding up before our departure. "Sherry, what are we gonna swim in?" I asked "We'll get you guys a suit at the park," She explained. Sherry grabbed our diaper bag and we made our way to her Taurus station wagon. Rob rode shotgun, with Greg, Jarred and me in the back seat. Freddie rode in the wagon portion of the car with instructions to sit with his back to the front of the car, The half hour car trip was over pretty quickly and with the passes provided by Sherry's neighbor we even got VIP parking near the entrance of the park. We still had about fifteen minutes until the park opened for the day and we joined the line of people waiting for admittance. We did not wait long before the line started moving to pre-admit people to the park. We got to the ticket booth and Sherry handed the ticket girl our tickets, the young woman handed us some food passes and explained that they were part of our VIP package. The ticket girl noticed the diaper bag and told Sherry that if she had diaper-aged children she would need to go to the information booth straight ahead for park policy information. The ticket girl looked a bit quizzically at Jarred but very quickly looked away not wanting to seem unprofessional. As we approached the information booth, I saw a bit of the plastic wing material of Gregg's diaper sticking out the waistband of his shorts and I had to wonder if the ticket girl could have remained professional if she would have noticed that. We got to the information center and Sherry placed the diaper bag on the counter. The lady who stood behind the counter was gorgeous! Her park uniform was a one piece swimsuit that was cut to not be overly sexy, but it failed miserably in its job. Gina, as her name badge pointed out worked for guest services. "I can think of a service or two," I thought wryly to myself as I felt a stirring in my diaper. Gina, seeing the diaper bag and apparently used to giving the diaper spiel many times a day stated "We have the following policy in place regarding children in diapers for the protection of all our swimmers. Plastic swim diapers are required for all diaper-aged children. If you need an extra pair or forget to bring them for your children, Splashers has plastic swim diapers available, at cost, at the merchandise shop or information center. Diapers may be changed only at designated, sanitized changing areas. If you intend to use your own swim diaper it must be approved to comply with park policy." Pausing long enough to breath, she continued, "Will you be providing a swim diaper?" "No I'll purchase, thank you," Sherry said. "Our Swim Diapers consist of a nylon swim trunk with plastic waterproof pant built in. The swim diaper is designed to be worn over either cloth or disposable diapers. The stripe going down the front of the diaper detects PH changes and will change color when in need of changing. Your child will not be allowed to ride any ride until the diaper has been changed." Gina held up a small pair of trunks and suggested that she felt these would be of the proper size. I knew what was coming and I wished to be anywhere else in the world, my resolve from the previous night melted away in the presence of Gina. Sherry leaned forward to speak to Gina in a somewhat softer tone. Jarred had apparently made the connection and started insisting vocally that he was a big boy and did not need to wear a diaper during the day. Gina having gotten the message one way or the other looked slightly embarrassed as she quickly made her way to the small stock room on the back of the information desk. She returned with two identically styled but larger garments, apparently having been given our sizes by Sherry. She handed the diapers over and managed to tell us "You'll find changing stations located conveniently throughout the park, the nearest is located at the main locker and shower area. Have a great day at the park," before helping the next customer behind us. We arrived at the locker rooms where Rob and Freddie with Jarred in tow went into the men's changing area. "Rob, if you guys get done before we do I want you to wait right here for us, okay?" Sherry called after him. Sherry led us into the changing area, which could accommodate two sets of parents simultaneously. The changing area had fold down changing tables on opposite walls and a bench seat running in front of each. The room was completed with a sink and a disposal unit. Sherry took Gregg's shoes and socks from him and lifted his shirt off. Greg dropped his shorts and handed them to Sherry. Sherry dropped a finger into the front of Gregg's diaper and pulled it out. "Geez, Aunt Sherry you could have just asked," he told her. "Sorry, hon, it's habit." She gave him the swim diaper and had him pull it up. She spun him around and checked to make sure the diaper was fully covered and that the internal plastic pant was covering all the diaper. During this I had seen fit to remove my shirt, shorts, shoes and socks. Sherry asked if I was wet, which of course I was. I nodded to her and she had me lay back on a changing mat she had placed on the bench.. She folded down the table from the wall and put our diaper bag onto it. She pulled out a fresh diaper, powder and a pop up tube of wipes. She was undoing the tapes on my diaper when the door opened and a woman with a toddler walked in. The woman did a double take and then somewhat awkwardly said, "I'm sorry, I'll come back in a minute." "Don't mind us, were almost done anyhow" Sherry reassured her. The woman folded down the table and placed her son on it, I couldn't help but notice the blue stripe on the front of his swim trunks was an angry orange in the crotch. Great I thought, bad enough to be in diapers, even worse to draw attention to the fact. Sherry had disposed of my diaper and popped the top on the diaper wipes. She pulled one free and shook the container. "Shoot I'm out of wipes," Sherry said. The other woman handed Sherry her flat pack and told her "You can use these if you like" I looked over and for once Gregg appeared to be a bit embarrassed too. Sherry set the Huggies natural care wipes on the table and proceeded to clean and powder my groin. She handed the wipes back to woman and thanked her. Sherry unfolded a new diaper and I noticed this one was a different kind than we had been wearing. These had a big blue center panel with internal leak guards running from front to back, the wings of the diaper were fuller as well. She slid the diaper under me and I noticed it was slightly thicker than the others, the crotch of the diaper really bunching between my legs. She handed me my swim trunks and I pulled them up and did my best to make sure they were right. Sherry still adjusted them slightly to account for the higher back of my new disposable. "Thanks again for the wipes," Sherry said out as we walked toward the door. "Don't worry about it," the woman said back as she finished her son's diaper and pulled on his trunks. I noticed the stripe in the front had reverted to its original blue coloration. A moment later two women and three boys in diapers walked out from the changing station.