Chương 68: Day Sixty-Eight

Dear Diary, Last night was... nice? Yeah. Let's go with nice. After dinner Saffron and I stopped by the Infirmary to pick up Isnomi. I said hi to Grandma Aetos, and she poked me in the belly and said, "you need to eat more." Saffron and I looked at each other and started laughing. Her little crotch goblin even started doing that coo-laugh thing little kids do sometimes.

"I'll try, Grandma Aetos." Saffron spun to put herself between me and her little one.

"No eating Isnomi!" She barely got it out through her laughter. Grandma just threw her hands in the air and said, "I'll see you tomorrow night." When we got back to Saffron's room, I noticed that along with her fancy knife and goblet, Saffron had added a picture of a rampant bear. Not my thing, but it still looked pretty cool. She also had a cradle in the room. For a second I wondered at having a cradle but no crib, but only for a second.

The Spartan decorations in the room wound up being de facto baby proofing, what with everything being made out of really sturdy wood. I guess if she started toddling Saffron would have to maybe cover more of the floor so she didn't smash her head when she fell down. That's one other thing Saffron's room had over mine; she'd scored a big bearskin rug somewhere, and it covered most of the middle of the floor. So we sat up for a while talking about nothing much and playing peek a boo with Isnomi.

I tried to remember the section of my old Eastside Health class where we talked about child care, and did a few of the exercise things I could remember. That pretty much amounted to letting her grab my fingers and push and pull them around, and gently grabbing her chubby little ankles and moving her legs like you'd do on a bicycle. Saffron gave me a weird look at that, but Isnomi seemed to like it, at least at first. I mean, she didn't stop liking it, but Saffron and I both heard her fill her diaper.

Saffron sighed and pulled some cloths and a fresh diaper out of her armoire and tossed them to me.

"It's been a while since I changed a diaper, and I've never changed a cloth one."

"No time like the present to learn." After a moment, while I tried to figure out how to undo Isnomi's old diaper, she asked, "what did they make diapers from back home?" I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything I realized she'd been wrong about Eastside being 'home'. I didn't say anything to her about it, because not only didn't I know if she was ready for that conversation, I knew I really wasn't ready for it at the moment.

As I unfolded the old diaper and wiped little yellow baby poo curds off Isnomi's general butt region, I said, "mostly paper and plastic, I think. Like, really soft absorbent paper cloth, with special even more absorbent plastics in a waterproof plastic outer layer." Once I'd got the poo off of Isnomi, I handed the entire poo-infused bundle of cloth to Saffron, and she handed me the clean diaper.

"I think you've mentioned plastic before. What is it?" As I tried to fold the diaper up so it stayed on I said, "there are lots of different kinds. Some of them are flexible, some are hard, some in between. I think they're made out of oil? Like, crude oil?" She sighed.

"Sometimes the place you're from seems like a paradise."

"Oh, hell to the no. I mean, maybe it was for rich folks, but for us poor folks? Half the time we wound up buying cheap plastic shit every month, every year, because we couldn't afford to drop the cash to buy one thing that would last for years. Just a never ending cycle of poverty." By now I'd completely fucked up putting Isnomi's diaper on, and she'd started to fuss.

Saffron leaned in and folded the edges of the diaper in on themselves in some kind of Mom magic diaper origami, then lifted Isnomi up and, after loosening her shirt, attached her to a tit. I sat down behind Saffron, one leg to either side of her, and massaged her shoulders while she fed the little one. My left hand registered its protest by lighting itself on fire, but I summarily ignored it. After some incoherent noises, Saffron said, "if you keep that up, I'm gonna fall asleep right here."

"Oh, that won't do at all." But I kept the massage up until Isnomi made Ultimate Happy Baby noises; itty bitty baby snores.

"Heh. Do you think we should take the hint?" I whispered. Saffron leaned back into me and said, "probably." We sat there like that for a while, her leaned against me, my arms around her and Isnomi. Eventually Saffron shook her head and said, "can you help me up?" I managed to get to my feet without disturbing the crotch goblin enough to wake her, then leaned down and gently slid my arms around Saffron and lifted her in a princess carry. My left tried to shirk by exploding, but I wasn't having any of it.

She squeaked a tiny, stifled squeak and shot me an 'annoyed but not really' look. I set her on the bed then undressed her, one item at a time, careful not to move Isnomi enough to wake her. Once she sat there completely naked, I just stared for a bit. Other than getting dressed in the morning, I didn't often get a chance to just look at her. Eventually she raised an eyebrow, so I stripped down myself, then nudged her until she lay on her right side.

I went over and turned off the light, then lay down behind her before snuggling up. I couldn't resist a tiny little comment.

"We're like a set of measuring spoons. Tablespoon, teaspoon, quarter teaspoon." She snorted a tiny little quiet snort.

"Not like we could sleep any other way with three of us on a bed this tiny."

"Complaints?" If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Not a damn one. Good night, Goof. I love you." I must have been half asleep, because I didn't react to that other than to say, "love you too, Saffron. Good night." The only dream I had was one where I lay in the chest, mostly bored, but something outside sang soothing songs to me until I fell asleep and woke up. At that point, I woke up to someone chewing on my ear. Saffron, knowing my reactions to someone invading my ears, had done so once or twice on purpose while engaging in shenanigans.

She'd never drooled quite so much as whoever woke me up, though. I forced my eyes open to see the wireframe back of Saffron's head obscured by wireframe baby belly.

"Aaarrgh! Baby drool in my ear! Blech, blech, blech!" I kept my protests down to a conversational level, because I wasn't gonna scare the poor little thing on purpose. She started giggling, so I twisted around to slide myself out of bed, then picked her up and blew raspberries on her belly until she giggled loud enough to wake Saffron.

"C'n we get s'm light?" I picked Isnomi up as I stood, and by the time I'd slid the light open enough for us to get dressed, Isnomi had wriggled around enough to grab my ears and try nomming my nose. Saffron waved her arms in a 'gimme' gesture, so I detached the cute little crotch goblin from my face and handed her over. Saffron plonked her onto a tit and just sat there half asleep while Isnomi had her breakfast. Lucky little shitter.

Right as I picked up my clothes to get started with my day, Marie knocked on the door. I went over opened it up, and let her in. She had a single serving sized tray on her cart, which she shifted over to Saffron's desk. She turned to me and smiled, "Breakfast?" I shook my head, "Nah. I've got to get to class, and if I stay for breakfast, shenanigans may ensue." I then got dressed with both of them watching me. It's the weirdest mix of scary and awesome to have someone stare like that.

Scary, because it's a sort of one-way intimacy; awesome because I knew they both enjoyed the view too much to interrupt. Once I was fully dressed, Marie squeaked her cart out the door, and I bent over to kiss Saffron on the forehead, but she tipped her head back and met my lips with hers.

"Have a nice day in class, dear." I snorted, "In Remedial Celtic? That's asking a lot, but I'll try." Weirdest thing? I really did have a nice day. Lyman stepped me through making a really nice 'Saffron is Best Paramour', and by the end of class my signature looked signaturey enough for me to sign it at the bottom. I sanded that one and set it aside to dry; by the time lunch rolled around it had dried enough for me to fold it up and seal it. I took it with me to lunch and gave it to Saffron.

"What's this?"

"Present. Don't open it till we get back to our rooms, okay?"

"Rooms? You don't want me over tonight?" I flinched.

"Gah! You know what I mean. Don't open it until we get home tonight. In a room. Whichever one you like." She chuckled at me.

"I know that Goof. Just messing with you." So after attempting epic meal time on some Shoe Leather Beef, Saffron led me down to the Ladies' Infirmary. I mean, I thought we'd been going to meet Doc at the dorm entrance, but no, Saffron pulled me past the entrance, around the corner, and into the Infirmary, shushing me every time I asked where we were going and why.

"Good Afternoon Sister Siobhan!" Saffron announced us before I could sneak out the door. Sister Siobhan looked up with the big eyes and wide grin that reminded me far too much of her attitude on Court Martial day, and my left arm started tingling.

"Saffron! Good afternoon! I see you've brought our Heroine!" I tried to laugh that off.

"Nah, not till I graduate, and that's not for a while yet, I'm guessing." She shook her head and replied, "Tabitha, after what you did for Bill, all without flinching, I will always think of you so, no matter what else happens." I grinned at her.

"Even if I turn to the dark side and seduce you?" I have never seen someone's face get so red so fast before. She spluttered a while, before finally managing to say, "what can I do for you girls today?" Saffron answered before I had a chance.

"We were hoping you could examine Tabitha's arm again." Sister Siobhan shook her head, slowly and sadly.

"I will, but like I told you before, Saffron, injuries like that do not heal. Not short of divine intervention, at any rate." She led me to a stool, sat me down, and had me strip off the left side of my jacket and shirt. My left elbow exploded with the worst case of tennis elbow in history, but another quick blush from Sister Siobhan when she realized I had neither chemise nor corset under my shirt made it all worthwhile.

Once she had my arm bare, she bowed her head, said a short prayer, then ran the palm of her hand along my arm, starting at my hand and working upward. As her hand passed my elbow, she froze. My arm started tingling again as she pulled away, repeated her little prayer, then ran her palm over my arm again. This time when she got past my elbow she looked at me and asked, "has the pain in your arm receded?"

"I mean, my shoulder aches a little now and then, but that could be from me carrying my arm weird from the pain. I guess my upper arm is hurting less? But my elbow still tries to convince me it's burning itself to ash every time I bend it. Or straighten it. Or put any weight on it. Or use it in any way. Or anyone touches it." She didn't say anything, just stood there staring. I couldn't even see her breathing. As I stared back, her eyes rolled back in her head and her knees buckled.

I leapt off the stool and managed to get my left arm around her before her knees hit the floor, then scooped her up with my right and, despite the ongoing assertion of my left elbow that it had fucked off for the moon using rocket propulsion, laid her gently on the nearest cot. Her eyes fluttered open, and Saffron pulled me away from the bed.

"Sister, are you all right?" she asked.

"Miraculous." Sister Siobhan breathed the word out with a tone of voice I normally saved for post-coital bliss. My arm kept up the fucking tingling, although it lit itself on fire when Saffron pulled me toward the door.

"Sorry to leave so soon, Sister, but we've got to get going," here she looked at me, wry humor clear on her face.

"Before something just happens to make us late meeting Doctor Roberts." Of course, with Saffron hammering me over the head with it like that, I got her reference. Once we were safely in the hall with the door closed behind us, I whispered, "really, Saffron? Didn't you say she's got that vow of needing to be chased?" She snorted out a laugh and said, "Vow of Chastity, Goof. And I recognized that look on her face. Same one I had three Thorsday's ago." I counter-snorted and said, "Pfft.

You make it sound like I'm some kind of hot commodity or something."

"Of course not. Commodities are traded, and I'm not about to trade you."

"D'aww. You're so cute when you're possessive." She just rolled her eyes and draped herself over my arm. If not for the refractory fabric of her jacket, my arm would have been exploding between her tits as she said, "grr. Mine! Mine! All Mine!" I chuckled, "I think Marie might have something to say about that, no?"

"Mine too! All mine!" That got me laughing so hard I couldn't bring myself to care how much laughing with her attached to my left arm hurt, and feeling her purr through my arm was just the icing on the cake. Damn it feels nice to be wanted.