Chapter Fifteen

It was just too much for Theodore. After everything Mom had done, after all the trouble she’d given him, all the responsibility she’d laid at his feet - now she wanted him back in diapers? The rational explanation didn’t cross Theo’s mind for a moment. It didn’t matter to him that Mom thought he was three; it didn’t matter that he’d woken up in a completely soaked-through diaper; it didn’t matter that he probably did need diapers in this strange messed up universe that the computer, or nanobots, or some crazy magic had created. All he knew was that he was furious with his Mom, and he was going to let her know about it.

“NO!” Teddy shouted at the top of his lungs. “I won’t, I won’t, I won’t I WONT!” he ranted. He managed to wriggle free from under his Mom’s grip, standing up on the couch with his fists scrunched up furiously at his side. “I’M NOT A BABY!” he yelled directly into his mom’s face.

The boy braced himself for the scolding of a lifetime. As soon as he finished yelling, he was certain his Mom would drag him across his knee and spank his bare bottom until it was bright red. Instead however, she barely blinked. In fact, she actually smiled! She put a finger to her lips, simply gently gesturing for him to keep his voice down.

“Shhhh….” she cooed. “Inside voice, sweetie. It’s still very early.”

Theodore blushed, embarrassed. He suddenly felt very guilty, a wave of empathy and affection for his mommy washing aside his prior rage. Why was he acting like such a brat? “I’m sorry…” he mewled. He showed her a sad devastated pout. “But…but I don’t wanna wear a diaper!” He complained.

“That’s okay.” Mom reassured. “You’re a big boy, huh?”

“Yeah…” Theodore nodded.

“Well then you can wear your big boy undies.” Mom confirmed. “You just need to promise to tell Mommy or another grown-up if you have to go, okay?”

“Okay.” Theodore nodded eagerly.

“Alright.” Mom said, reaching back down towards the laundry and producing a pair of blue and white briefs featuring Woody from Toy Story smiling goofily on the butt. “Are you gonna be a big brave cowboy for me today?” she joked.

Teddy cringed, looking down at the pile of laundry hoping for a better option. “I dunno…” he said skeptically.

Mom however was already in the process of getting him dressed, pushing him down on the couch again and pulling the underwear swiftly up to his belly button. “There.” she praised, ruffling his hair. “One rootin’, tootin’ cowboy. Now all you need are your boots and your hat!”

Theodore gasped, giving her a scandalized glare. “I need other clothes!” he insisted.

Mom rolled her eyes in amusement. “Of course sweetie.” she said, but left him there in nothing but his undies all the same. She reached down and picked up her laundry basket. “Mommy will help you get dressed before we head out. I just need to go and put the rest of this laundry away.”

Afterwards, Mom swept Teddy back up into her arms and took him to the kitchen where Uncle Rob was manning the stove. The sound and smell of crispy bacon sizzling in the pan wafted in the air. Mom placed Teddy into a booster seat, before pulling a strap across his belly and clicking it into place - securing him to the seat before pushing the chair as close to the table as it would go. Theodore knew that protesting would only be dismissed, and given his new height he really did need the extra boost to sit at the table. What he wasn't okay with was when he saw his Mom approaching with a bib in hand, no doubt meant for him.

“No, Mommy!” he squealed, trying to move away, which wasn't very far at all - not even realizing how naturally he had just called her mommy again.

“What's with you today?” Mom asked, befuddled by his reaction to something so normal.

“No bib, please.” Teddy said, his big baby blue eyes filled with a pleading look that even Mom couldn't resist.

“I guess you aren't wearing a shirt,” Mom said with an adoring smirk as she placed the bib back on the counter. “Mommy forgot you were trying to be a big boy today.”

“There you go pardner,” Uncle Rob said in a terrible approximation of a southern drawl, setting a plastic plate in front of Theo - who gave his Uncle a side eyed glance at the strange greeting.

“Noticed those undies of yours.” Uncle Rob chuckled.

“Oh yes,” Mom tittered. “Teddy wants to be a big boy cowboy today. I guess I'll have to find something for him to wear to go with that.” Theo felt an ominous dread from her comment. He could only imagine what sort of cutesy atrocity she would produce for him. Anything was probably better than the outfit he had been presented with before, but was it really necessary for her to treat him like her little dress up doll?

“It doesn't hafta be cowboys.,” Theo muttered.,

“I probably don't have a whole cowboy outfit for you.” Mom said with a smile as she patted his head. “But I think I'll find something that will work so you can feel like a big cowpoke today.”

Theo grimaced a little. That wasn't what he had meant at all. Theo was about to say something more, when his Mom's face sort of lit up as a thought came to her. “Rob, didn't you say you had something for Teddy?”

“Oh yeah!” Uncle Rob said, grabbing a box off the counter as well as a sippy cup out of the fridge as he came and sat at the table next to Theo. “This will be perfect for you - especially since you've decided to be a big kid today.” Uncle Rob said as he opened the box. He took Theo's wrist and wrapped a blue plastic strap around it. At the top of the strap was a small square display screen that looked like a smartwatch. Uncle Rob brought out his own phone and made a few swipes before the screen on Theo's wrist lit up.

Theo watched with interest. There was a picture of a sunny blue sky and a green field. Then a simple pastel approximation of a little white bunny came hopping into view from the side.

“Are you Teddy?” the bunny asked in an eager enthusiastic voice that played out of the watch.

“Go on, answer him,” Uncle Rob directed.

“Um yes,” Theo said, still not sure what this thing even was.

“That's such a cool name,” the bunny cheered as the background lit up with rainbows before returning back to normal. “I'm your integrated training assistant, but you can just call me Buddy!” the bunny said. “Hi Teddy, nice to meet you!” Buddy waved. Theo stayed silent as he watched the animated bunny continue to wave.

“Teddy, aren't you going to say hi?” Uncle Rob asked, motioning with his hand.

“Hi Buddy…” Theo said, still a little put off.

“I can tell we are going to be great friends,” Buddy said. “I know! Let's sing the friends song!” Theodore wrinkled his nose as tinny music began to sound out of the speakers, the lyrics displayed in a bubbly font on the screen that for some reason he couldn’t quite decipher. He looked away in embarrassment, waiting for the stupid song to end.

“Buddy is going to help you out with lots of things,” Uncle Rob told him, not seeming to notice his total lack of enthusiasm. “Pretty neat huh?”

“Yeah I guess…” Theo said, still a little gobsmacked by the pure babyishness of what he had just witnessed. Uncle Rob chuckled, mussing up Theo's hair before going back to the stove as Mom went up the steps to get herself ready for the day.

Teddy began to eat his breakfast of bacon and scramble eggs with his hands as the rest of the kids filed in. First was Jessica, who cuddled him affectionately before kissing him on the cheek. Theo moved his head away as she went and made herself coffee. It was incredibly weird to be treated like that by her, since they were the same age - even if Theo was the only one who knew it.

Luke was the next to make an appearance, coming down in a pair of monster truck themed pajamas as Charlie followed close behind. Charlie sat down and gave Theo a cheery smile. Luke took a seat right next to Theo. As he sat down, he spied the watch on his wrist.

“Is that a Buddy watch?” Luke exclaimed as Uncle Rob set a plate of food in front of him.

“It sure is,” Uncle Rob answered for Theo. “Teddy decided that today he is going to be a big kid.”

“You have one too?” Theo asked Luke, hardly comforted by the news that he and Luke were now once again on more equal footing.

“Sure.” Luke said. “But mine stays in the bathroom. He helps me brush my teeth.” Luke said. He burst into a song set to the same lame annoying tune as the ‘friendship song’, albeit with lyrics about brushing your teeth. Teddy covered his ears.

“That's great, Teddy,” Charlie said, talking over Luke's somewhat obnoxious singing. “Guess that's why you got your undies on.” He added with a laugh.

“I thought Teddy wore diapers” Luke commented, pausing his song. He smirked with superiority as he emphasized the word. “Cuz of his axey-dents.”

“He does most of the time.” Charlie confirmed, reporting in a neutral factual tone as if it were no big deal. “But Mom lets him wear undies sometimes when we're at home - she says it's good practice for him.” Charlie explained before turning to Theo. “But my little brother is going to keep his pants dry all day today, right?”

Theo looked away as his cheeks flushed a little. He wasn't even going to dignify a question like that with a response. Ewan then came shuffling into the kitchen wearing only a pair of sweatpants as he sat down at the table.

“You and Teddy match!” Luke giggled, pointing out the fact they were both shirtless. Ewan looked across at Teddy and smirked.

“I have pants on at least.” Ewan said. “Plus I got to show off my muscles,” He held his arms up and flexed showing off the burgeoning signs of a well toned physique. “Teddy's still all tubby .”

“I'm not tubby…,” Theo protested..

“It's called baby fat,” Ewan retorted, putting extra emphasis on the last word. “Look at that pudgy little tummy you got.”

Theo took in a deep breath as he looked down at his belly. His adorable toddler’s tum was emphasized even more being pushed out a little thanks to the strap of the booster seat. Before Theo could even think of a good retort, Mom came back into the kitchen and unstrapped Teddy from his seat - lifting him up into her arms.

“Ready to get dressed, big guy?” Mom said in a sweet tone as she whisked him away up to the room he was sharing with Charlie. She set him on the ground in front of the crib he had woken up in. “Okay honey. I did my best with what we have here with us.” Mom said before picking up a white t-shirt that had big black spots all over it like a cow. “I know it's a cow and not a cowboy, but I also found a bandanna you can wear around your neck so you'll look like you're ready to go rustle up some horses!”

Theo found himself smiling as he lifted up his arms. His Mom went and pulled the shirt over his head. It's not like he had actually asked to be a cowboy, but the shirt itself was innocuous enough. In fact, it was probably the closest thing he had to normal clothes. He remembered the winnie the pooh themed shortalls that his Mom could put him in if he refused. She then helped him put on some jeans, although Theo realized that the fly on the front was fake and the elastic waistband clung to his waist just below his belly button. Mom then took a red bandanna and tied it around his neck.

“Oh Teddy, you are every mother's dream. No matter what I dress you in, you always look adorable.” Mom said, taking a step back to admire her work.

“Moommy,” Theo whined. Her cloying comments were starting to get a little annoying.

“Sorry dear - I forgot you were being rough and tumble today.” Mom said apologetically. They walked out into the hallway where Luke was coming out of the bathroom.

“You look like a cow,” Luke laughed. “You know what sound a cow makes right?” Luke asked as he started to poke Theo's tummy.

“S-Stop it,” Theo stammered, taking a step back.

“Luke honey, Teddy is a cowboy not a cow.” Mom said patiently. “We just don't have any cowboy themed clothes.”

“A cowboy…” Luke said with some intrigue. “I can help!” the boy said as he bounded towards his room. A few moments later, Luke came running back out holding a brown bundle in his hands that he handed to Mom.

“They're from my costume box.” Luke said proudly - as if he had done something really worthy of praise.

“Oh Luke they're perfect,” Mom exclaimed as she showed Teddy that Luke had given her a brown faux leather vest and a tan cowboy hat. She put them on Theo, fussing with the hat so that it perfectly sat upon Theo's now completely blonde tufts of hair. “What should you say to your cousin Teddy?” Mom asked.

Theo pursed his lips - he was a little miffed to be honest. He felt he had gotten away with not being dressed in a completely ridiculous outfit for once, until Luke just had to shove his nose in. Theo concluded that when Luke got involved that's when things always got to be their worst - after all, it was Luke's fault that he had ended up in that stupid teddy bear costume a few days ago.

“Teddy, be polite and thank your cousin for letting you borrow his stuff.” Mom said, her voice tinged with just a bit of sterness.

“Thank you Luke,” Teddy mumbled. Mom was about to make him say it nicer, yet it seemed good enough for Luke who responded with a ‘you're welcome’ before skipping merrily off.

Back downstairs, Mom sat down on the couch with Theo on her lap - holding him with her arms around his tummy before turning on a cartoon while she looked at her phone. At first Theo wanted to protest a little - but for some reason whenever she sat with him like this it seemed to fill him with a warm fuzzy feeling of security. He let himself sit back, putting the back of his head against her chest. Luke came down now fully dressed. He took a seat on the couch to join in on the cartoons.

Mom then got up to go and make a call, setting Theo on the couch next to Luke.

“Lukey, sweetie. Can you watch Teddy for me? Just make sure he doesn’t get up to any mischief.”

“Uh-huh!” Luke agreed, eager to show how big and responsible he was.

Theo however found the situation to be so completely mortifying that it seemed to jolt him right out of whatever toddler daze he had been caught up in. He looked over to the basement door, remembering what he was supposed to be doing. He wanted to get up and try to get back into the basement lab, but there were too many people walking around for him to be able to sneak down. Not to mention Luke was right next to him.For perhaps the first time in his life, the five-year-old had been put in charge over someone - and he was no doubt eager to prove himself.

Theo let out a little grunt, seeing that he was stuck - at least for now. He let his gaze turn back to the cartoon, and a few moments later his attention had been captured entirely by the tv.

Mom came back some time later, announcing they were almost ready to leave. She led Theo over to a bench by the door where everyone's shoes were lined up. She grabbed a pair of shoes with a turtle motif complete with velcro straps, moving to put them on Theo's feet.

“Doesn't Teddy need boots?” Luke asked “Since he's a cowboy and all?”

“Well, we don't have any boots for him. So he’ll just have to go without.” Mom dismissed, talking with a sort of forced smile that seemed to suggest that Luke's comments weren't exactly helpful at that moment.

“He could borrow mine!” Luke said, grabbing a bright yellow pair of rain boots and setting them on the ground. “They're my old ones actually, cuz Daddy said my feet got giant over the winter.”

Mom puckered her lips, but nodded her head, appearing to be mulling something over in her head.

“Those will work just great,” Mom said, smiling as took the boots and slipped them on Theo's feet. She then grabbed his hands, putting him on his feet. Theo took a couple of steps forward. The boots were slightly big on him, and he could feel them shift on his feet slightly as he walked. As Theo looked at Luke he certainly didn't seem to be big for his age - which only made Theo feel all the smaller. How little had he gotten that the boots that were too small for Luke were slightly too big on him?

Mom reminded Luke that if he wanted to bring any toys to the park then he needed to go and get them now, which sent Luke scampering off. Meanwhile, Mom told Theo to wait and they would be leaving very soon. Theo stood waiting as he looked over at the basement door again. Everyone else was still rushing about, but just maybe Theo could sneak over and figure out some way to get the door open?

That was until he felt some pressure in his bladder. Theo was a little taken aback by how fast the feeling had come on. He felt for a moment like he could hold it while he tried to figure a way into the basement, but remembering the events of yesterday at the fair something told him it might become a more urgent need sooner rather than later. Theo decided to not risk it - figuring that he should take care of this lest he had another accident. Hecame up to the bathroom door and stood on his tiptoes, grasping at the handle, but found it wouldn’t budge. The door was locked, and he was far too short to reach the thumb pad to unlock the door - just as he had been at six.

Suddenly, Theo remembered the password. With some grumpiness, he dutifully squeaked ‘ I gotta go potty!’, yet the red L.E.D. light on the door did not change as it had the last time. Theo cocked his head, had the password somehow changed? Just then, the Buddy watch sprang to life on his wrist, and Buddy the Bunny appeared on the screen.

“Do you need to go potty?” Buddy prompted. Theo rolled his eyes – of course this stupid watch worked with the house. Why should he have expected anything different?

“Yes!” Theo said, rather annoyed as he looked at the cartoon bunny on the watch staring back at him.

“Need some help?” Buddy prompted.

Theo watched as the screen split. On one side was a picture of Charlie's smiling face and on the other was his Mom - the same as their profile pictures Theo had seen on the computer the night before. His eyes went wide as he realized what the watch was asking him. There was no way Theo was actually going to call for help like this. To actually have to ask for help in the bathroom was humiliating!

“No!” he insisted aggressively, but the watch ignored him.

“Need some help?” it repeated, not even seeming to recognize the word.

Theo thought that he could probably just hold it until they got to the park where there were no smart locks on the doors. It might actually be the better choice. He could show his Mom that he didn't need her hovering over him all the time. Yet Theo was starting to doubt if he could even hold it another minute, let alone an hour or so. If he did have another accident, his Mom might put him back in a diaper. As humiliating as it was to wake up in one, it would be ten times worse to have to wear one out in public. The thought of his Mom having to change him on a park bench or something filled him with dread.

Theo grimaced. He couldn't risk it, not today - given what the outcome might be at failing to keep his pants dry at this age. With great ire, Theo made his decision.

“Charlie.” Theo said. As much as he hated to have to call on his younger brother, at least he didn't need to worry about Charlie being too overbearing. With how his Mom had acted this morning, he knew she would take it upon herself to do everything for him in the bathroom.

“Okay!” Buddy agreed as a simple little tune began to play out of the watch. A few moments later Charlie came around the corner with his phone in hand.

“Is this you?” Charlie asked with a confused look at Theo as he showed him his phone screen that had a message notification on it.

“I need to go po...I mean the bathroom.” Theo said as he unwittingly had a hand against his crotch. Charlie merely smiled as he used his thumb to unlock the door. Theo slipped in quickly just as Charlie began to open the door, before spinning around and slamming it shut before he headed for the toilet. Much to Theo's chagrin however, the door opened back up as Charlie walked in closing the door behind him. “Get out!” Theo shouted.

“Teddy, you know someone has to help you in the bathroom.” Charlie said with a sigh.

“I can do it myself.” Theo said, puffing out his cheeks and furrowing his brow at Charlie - who looked unconvinced. Theo needed to do something different. No one would ever take his statements seriously anyway. “Let me try.” Theo begged, looking up at Charlie while he stuck out his lower lip. Charlie rolled his eyes.

“Okay but I'm staying in the room.” I

“Turn around!” Theo insisted.

“Alright, alright.” Charlie said as he turned to face the door away from his brother. Theo was going to take what he could get. He stepped onto the stool in front of the toilet and pulled down his pants and underwear. He was going to have to remember the trick with his lip later -maybe that was his ticket into the lab?

***

Soon enough, the family was at the park for a picnic. Theo whined a little as his Uncle threaded his arms through the loops of the orange harness he was currently being fitted with. Theo felt Uncle Rob pull the straps together in back, clicking them together with a definitive snap. Theo looked down, seeing the reins across his chest. They were no different than the reins parents sometimes put their children in to keep them from walking off. Yet curiously there was no leash attached to this harness.

“Daddy, why do I have to wear this?” Luke mewled as he pulled at the harness he had also been fastened with. “I'm not a baby like Teddy.”

“Because Luke, I need you to help me today.” Uncle Rob said as he dug through a bag in front of the boys. “Teddy is going to help me test these out to make sure they work for the kids who need them and you, Lukey, are my stress tester. And what is your job?” Uncle Rob asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow as Luke's eyes lit up.

“To break it!,” Luke exclaimed, hopping up and down.

“Atta boy,” Uncle Rob said as he mussed up Luke's hair.

“And what pray tell are you using Teddy as your guinea pig for?” Mom asked as she watched, clearly a little apprehensive about letting her sweet baby be used for the whims of her brother's experiments.

“Tetherless child reins,” Uncle Rob said as he pulled two objects out of the bag. They looked like the plastic handles of retractable dog leashes. Where the button to control the leash would be however was a square touchscreen that looked like a smartphone. As Theo looked at it, he could tell this product was still very much a prototype. He wondered if Uncle Rob himself had built them in the lab back at home. Uncle Rob flipped a switch on both handles and typed on the touchscreens for a moment before nodding his head.

“Okay Teddy, Luke - you see that tree over there?” Uncle Rob said, pointing to a tall tree off in the distance. “I want you both to run to it as fast as you can.” Uncle Rob then raised his hand into the air and gave a three count before bringing his hand down swiftly as he shouted go.

Theo at first was not going to comply, yet upon seeing Luke take off the only thing he could think of was trying to keep up with him. He had this strange idea in his head that if Luke was doing something, he wanted to copy it. He wasn't exactly sure why - it just seemed perfectly natural. As if he needed to prove that he could do it too. That he wasn’t a baby. Keeping up with Luke was easier said than done however. Theo's short chubby legs didn't seem to want to run in a full stride like he was accustomed to, and the fact that he was wearing slightly oversized boots made him feel completely off balance.

However, about halfway to the tree, Theo saw Luke come to an abrupt stop. It looked like his feet had suddenly glued themselves to the ground despite his best efforts to try and move forward, almost as if he was pushing against something. Theo thought for a moment that he could now overtake Luke! He smiled. Everyone would think he was so great to have beaten the bigger boy e to the tree! Yet a second later Theo found himself coming to a stop too - as if he had run into a wall. He bounced back a little, yet he felt no pain. It was more akin to running into the side of a giant balloon.

Theo tried to push through, but he found he just couldn't do it. He looked over to see Luke looking a little red faced as he huffed and puffed with a look of determination on his face. Theo tried to give one hard push, before he felt the harness tighten ever so slightly and he felt himself be pulled back. It wasn't rough, just enough to propel Theo gently backwards. However, walking backwards in the boots proved more difficult than forward, and Theo soon fell back on his butt - sliding backwards on his bum for a couple of yards until coming to a stop at Uncle Rob's feet.

“Looks like it works,” Uncle Rob said, rather pleased with himself.

“Oh Rob, don't drag him across the grass on his butt like that!” Mom said as she got Teddy onto his feet,brushing off his behind a couple of times with her hands. “It'll stain his pants.”

“Sorry, just wanted to make sure the retracting feature wasn't too jerky,” Uncle Rob chuckled. “Right - so Ewan you get Luke, and Charlie you get Teddy.” Rob said, turning to the other boys as he handed them the handles. Ewan looked at it somewhat derisively.

“Do I really have to walk Luke around all day on a leash?” Ewan asked, as if he was somehow being inconvenienced greatly.

“I'm not a dog!” Luke protested.

“Quiet mutt.” Ewan said, pulling the handle quickly - which caused Luke to stumble a little forward.

“Ewan, knock it off!” Uncle Rob grunted before taking on a serious posture in front of Charlie and Ewan to show he meant business. “If I hear that either of you are using these things to pull these guys around like rag dolls, there will be serious consequences. Neither of you are too big for me to put these harnesses on you.” Uncle Rob said.

“Maybe you should just put it on Ewan now and be done with it,” Jessica said snidely from the sidelines.

“Shut up.” Ewan sneered, glaring at his sister.

“Enough.” Uncle Rob said, putting a hand up to silence any bickering. “Now look - you don't even have to have them tethered to the receiver, you can just set it to a perimeter.” Uncle Rob said as he showed Ewan and Charlie how to set that function on the receivers. “Now while me, Aunt Deborah and Jessica go set up the picnic, why don't you two take Luke and Teddy to go play and set the area to the perimeter of the playground. In fact I don't want you guys enabling the tether function at all unless it is completely necessary,” Uncle Rob instructed.

Theo followed the rest of the boys as the groups separated, yet not before his Mom instructed him to mind Ewan and Charlie - and told him that they were in charge. Theo could only grumble at the reminder that his Mom saw no issue putting him under the supervision of his little brother once again. Stepping onto the wood chips of the playground, Ewan and Charlie began to fiddle with the receivers.

“Alright Luke try to walk away.” Ewan said. Luke tried to walk off the wood chips but just as with the test with the tree, he began to push against something invisible.

“You too Teddy.” Charlie said. Theo crossed his arms with a scowl that looked more like a petulant pout. “C'mon Teddy, remember we're helping Uncle Rob test this out.”

Theo let out a little groan as he rolled his eyes. He took a step towards the edge of the wood chips before he was stopped. However, he did not continue to try to break free as he took a step back - only doing the bare minimum so that Charlie would get off his back.

“Looks like it works.” Ewan shrugged. “Okay, you little kids can go play while me and Charlie do big people stuff.”

Luke protested that he wasn't a little kid, yet before Ewan could even retort he walked off towards the play structure. Theo stood planted in his spot, feeling grumpy. The desire to follow along with whatever Luke was doing did not manifest itself again.

“Aren't you going to go play?” Charlie asked. Theo shook his head as he crossed his arms.

“Oh c'mon,” Charlie prodded, assuming that Theo was just nervous of the few other kids on the playground. “I know, I'll go down the slide with you.” Charlie offered as he took Theo's hand and began to lead him towards the steps up the play structure. Theo at first wanted to pull his hand away, yet as they got to the bridge leading towards the tall tube slide at the top Theo almost felt himself get giddy at the idea of Charlie taking him down the slide.

Upon getting to the top, Charlie pulled Theo into his lap before shooting them off into the tube. For a split second Theo felt a rush of exhilaration, but as they came to the bottom back in the daylight, Theo immediately went and sat cross legged on the wood chips - a little taken aback by the waves of emotions that had just overwhelmed him. Charlie asked him if he had thought the slide was fun, yet Theo only gave a little whine in response.

“I want to go down the slide too!” Luke insisted, having seen what had just transpired.

“Then go.” Ewan said snidely with a flick of the wrist.

“I wanna do it like Teddy - I want you to go down with me!” Luke said, pulling on Ewan's arm a little before the older brother shirked him off. “Pleeease.” Luke pleaded.

“Fine, but only once.” Ewan said, clearly a little irritated as he followed Luke over to the steps.

Afterwards, Charlie tried to get Theo to do something other than sit - yet Theo held firm in his refusal. Giving up, Charlie and Ewan retreated a little and began to play on their phones with one another while Luke busied himself in the sandpit. Theo listened as Ewan and Charlie chatted about topics that he had joined in on so naturally yesterday. He found he wanted to go and try and join in again, yet knew that at his reduced age Ewan would probably just shoo him away. He bunched up his legs in his arms, content to sulk.

He mused on what could have gone wrong. How had he ended up younger than ever, especially since yesterday he had actually gotten older? It didn't seem to make sense, and he couldn't seem to find any pattern to it. Adding to his frustrations, he couldn’t seem to come up with any sort of plan of how he was going to get back into the lab. Uncle Rob would never trust a three year old in there, and it didn’t seem like he’d be getting older any time soon.

Theo found his thoughts drifting as he became increasingly bored. He looked around, spying Luke, who seemed to have made friends with another kid around his age. Eventually, the two of them wandered over to him, much to his annoyance.

“This is my cousin Teddy,” Luke said, pointing at him. “I have to help take care of him because he's little.” He boasted proudly.

“You do not,” Theo growled, standing up just to make their height difference less noticeable.

“Yes I do.” Luke replied, sounding somewhat confused. “Your Mommy made me watch you on the couch this morning.”

“You were not watching me!” Theo shouted back, insulted by the insinuation. As far as Theo was concerned, they had only been sitting on the couch together - it's not like Luke had any authority over him whatsoever. “I'm older than you…” Theo said, forgetting for a moment that he was the only one who even knew that.

“Nuh uh,” Luke shook his head. “I'm five and you're three.”

“Five is bigger than three.” the other boy joined in, holding one hand up with five fingers and another with three. “Don't you know how to count?”

“”He probably doesn’t.” Luke agreed. “He’s only in preschool.”

“What's going on here?” Charlie asked.

“This is my friend Mason,” Luke said. “He's in my class! We were teaching Teddy how to count since he thought three was bigger than five.”

“I see…” Charlie chuckled a little. Just then, Theo felt a rumble on his wrist. He looked down to see the image of Buddy Bunny pop up.

“Do you need to go potty?” Buddy asked. Theo felt his cheeks flush red as the two younger boys snickered. Theo jammed his hand into his pockets to hide the watch, yet the question repeated - only this time much louder.

“He's just going to keep asking until you answer.” Luke said in a knowing tone. The watch repeated its question again, louder than ever.

“No!” Theo spat out quickly, thankfully his answer seemed to satisfy the watch enough for it to cease its meddling.

“Why's he dressed so weird?” Mason then asked, pointing at Teddy.

“I'm not weird,” Theo protested, his cheeks flushing a little. He knew he stuck out like a sore thumb, but it's not like he had been able to pick out his clothes.

“Teddy wanted to be a cowboy today.” Charlie laughed as he pushed Theo's hat down a little, causing his hair to go in his eyes. “But he doesn't have a cowboy outfit, so we had to improvise.”

“That's my hat and vest,” Luke chimed in. Theo grumbled – as if it was in any way important where he had gotten the clothes from! “If he didn't have that he would just be a cow.” Luke giggled.Mason joined in too.

Theo seethed at the pair of kindergarteners laughing at him. It was really starting to get to him, calling up memories of his lowest moments at Holyoke. Theo’s instincts told him to go and hide behind Charlie. In Theo's mind at that exact moment, he only saw Charlie as his big brother, his protector who could save him from the teasing in the same way as he had done at the kindergarten ceremony. Yet that seemed to vanish as Theo became cognizant that he was in fact the oldest kid here. He couldn't run and hide, especially since his tormentors at the moment were nothing more than a couple of kindergartners!How could he ever live down the shame of running away from them?

Hide behind Charlie
Show Luke whose boss