#thewritingbabe

in reality, he had everything to worry about.

a few months ago, Chris was on TikTok before bed, and had come across a video of a man making a video about how he calms his little down when they're having a tantrum. Chris was going to just scroll past it, but something about the video captivated him, and he ended up binging his videos until 3 am. he watched the man, who's name was Luke, talk about what age regression and caregiving was, why it was beneficial, and breaking the stigma around it. Luke also had videos of him and his little day to day and doing activities such as going to the park, going grocery shopping, and getting ready for bed.

the next few days consisted of Chris doing all the research he could about age regression and caregiving, and that's when he came across The Big and Little Society of Massachusetts. it was a small agency based in Boston that focused on breaking the stigma around age regression and ensuring that age regressors were with quality caregivers, and helping those who weren't. what intrigued Chris was that this agency had a foster program for age regressors who had recently left a bad relationship, as well as an anonymous tip line to use if someone was concerned about an age regressor or their caregiver.

Chris had just got off the phone with his accountant, planning to make a donation to the agency, when he decided to click on the 'Foster A Little!' application. he read through the application briefly, and decided to apply.

he completed the application, and a few days later he was contacted by one of the social workers. his application had been accepted, and he was moved to the next phase.

he went to all the trainings, interviews and meetings. he enlisted Scott and his mom to help him clean his house for the inspection, and two months after his initial application, he was an official Foster Caregiver. all he was waiting for was the call.

the call that he got yesterday while on set. they'd called and informed him that there was a young adult female little in need of a foster caregiver immediately, and Chris immediately accepted. they told him that as soon as she was discharged from the hospital, her social worker would bring her over, something that slightly worried Chris. they'd emailed him her file, and he had practically memorized it at this point, especially her little age.

he'd spent the entire morning shopping. he had bought a crib, bibs, and a TON of toys. he didn't know exactly what she would need until she got to his house and he got to know her, but it couldn't hurt to be prepared.

Chris picked up the lion stuffie that he had bought at the store, smiling to himself. he'd gotten all he needed in the toy aisle, and was walking passed the stuffed animals, when the lion caught his eye. he contemplated leaving it and letting her pick one out for herself, but something in his gut told him to buy it, so he did.

Chris glanced at the clock one more time and gulped nervously when it said 5:58. the social worker had called him around lunch time and told him that his new foster little had been cleared to go home, and they'd be discharged soon. they'd be picking up her prescriptions, and then heading over to his house. ever since the call had come, he'd been running around like a madman, making sure his house was in order.

his head shot up when he heard tire against gravel, and he placed the stuffed animal on the table. he called Dodger over to him, and placed him in his crate. Chris knew the puppy would get overexcited by the little, and based on the little information he had been given, Dodger would scare the crap out of her, and she'd been through enough.

he heard a car door close, and two people walk up to his house. he took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves, as the doorbell rang.

he gulped once more, before opening the door. the second the door opened to reveal you, his heart broke at how sad and utterly exhausted you looked. the whites of your eyes were red and watery, and your eyelids were fighting to stay open. you were shaking in the cold night air, your leggings and thin sweater barely keeping you warm.

"hi," Chris said warmly, and the social worker, Kayla, smiled back at him, before grasping your hand.

"this is Chris," Kayla said softly. "you're going to stay with him for a while, okay?"

you nodded so small that Chris almost missed it, and Chris could see your chin wobbling under your baby pink paci in your mouth. Chris moved to the side, and let you and Kayla in. he saw the black duffel bag on the ground, and grabbed it.

"I'm going to have to go now, but everything is going to be fine. you're going to be safe here, I promise." Kayla said rubbing your arm. "if you need anything, you can call me, okay?" she said, and you nodded again. she smiled at you, and squeezed your arm gently before turning towards Chris and handing him a white paper bag.

"here's her medication," she said. "she had her nighttime meds at the hospital as the discharge took a little longer than expected, so she'll probably need to sleep soon." Chris nodded.

"okay. does she take any in the morning?"

Kayla nodded. "yes. she takes 50mg of Vyvanse, and it must be taken before 10am, and must be taken after she's eaten. the other two prescriptions can be taken with it, but isn't necessary, its just anti anxiety meds and pain management." she said, and Chris nodded, reading over the medication names briefly.

"awesome, thank you. has she eaten?" he asked, and Kayla glanced at you.

"i got her a happy meal, but she didn't eat the whole thing, so i put it in this bag incase she wants the rest of her nuggets tomorrow," she said, handing Chris a plastic bag. "she probably wont eat anymore tonight, but will most likely be very hungry tomorrow."

"okay. anything else i should know?"

"just her doll. it's in her duffel bag, and she sleeps with it every night. i normally gift any littles i work with with a stuffy but i haven't had a chance to stop at the store, unfortunately."

"not a problem," Chris said with a smile. "i picked one up at the store for her."

"oh, thank you so much." Kayla said with a smile, resting a hand on her chest. "i was worried that she wouldn't have one. we're still working on getting her belongings from her old residence and she did have a few stuffed animals that we weren't able to grab in the 15 minutes we were there, and i didn't want her to be without them for too long. i'll bring the rest of her things by in a few days." Kayla said, and Chris nodded, seeing you looking around apprehensively.

"okay. thank you so much, Kayla," he said, and she smiled, looking at you as well.

"you're welcome. she's a sweet little girl who was not treated right, but i am confident that she'll be in good hands with you." Kayla said.

her and Chris exchanged goodbyes, and after she said goodbye to you once more, before leaving. Chris turned to look at you, and saw a tear running down your cheek.

'hi sweetie," he said to you, keeping his voice quiet and gentle. "you're going to be safe here, okay?" he said. "are you sleepy?"

you nodded, your paci bobbing in your mouth as you suckled on it.

"okay. i'll give you a little tour before we head upstairs as i want to put your food in the fridge. do you wanna hold my hand?" he asked, holding his hand out, his palm facing down, and you nodded, reaching out shakily. your palm, which was much smaller than his, wrapped around his pinkie, and let Chris lead you through the house.

he smiled when he saw the lion on the kitchen table, and grabbed it with his free hand.

"i got this for you, sweetheart." he said quietly. "Miss Kayla said she was going to come by with your other stuffies in the next few days, but i thought you'd like this one in the mean time," he said, and his heart squeezed, seeing your eyes light up, and reach out for the stuffy.

you cooed as you felt the soft fur, before rubbing it against your cheek. Chris smiled, fighting the urge to kiss your forehead. "wait here, okay?" he said, and he placed the food in the fridge, before leading you through the house. as you passed Dodger, who was asleep, in his crate, Chris stopped.

"this is Dodger, my puppy. he's sleeping now, but you can meet him tomorrow. do you like dogs?" he asked, and you nodded, your head tipping to the left seeing the snoozing pup. "well, that's good. he's going to love you."

he led you through the rest of the house, and into the bedroom, where the crib was standing next to his bed.

"this is your crib." he said, bringing you up to it, and letting you touch it. "when you're big, you don't have to sleep in here, but when you're little i want you to, atleast for a little while, okay?"

you nodded again, and yawned, your hand rubbing the soft material of the fitted sheet.

"let's get you ready for bed, alright?" he said, and you nodded. "what do you want to wear?" he asked, and you pointed to the duffel on his shoulder. Chris placed it down on the bed, and opened it. a Goldberger baby doll was laying on top, dressed in a red dress. "is this your baby?" he asked and smiled as you nodded and grasped the doll in your other hand. he lifted a weighted blanket out of the bag, and saw some sleep shorts on top. "these?" he asked, and you nodded.

"okay."

he helped you get dressed, and tried to take your new stuffy and your doll away just so he could get you settled into the crib, when you started crying and plopped on your bum, rocking slightly, shaking your head. Chris felt his heart breaking, and crouched in front of you.

"oh, sweet girl," he soothed. "i wasn't going to take them from you. they're yours, and i would never take them from you. i just wanted to set them on the bed so that you could get all snug in bed, and then i was going to hand them back, okay?" he said, and you slowly stopped rocking, and nodded, looking up at him nervously. you shakily handed over your doll, and then your lion, eyes following the two comfort items as Chris sat them on his bed. "there," Chris said. "they're going to watch us get all comfy, okay?" he said, and you nodded.

Chris lowered the crib bar, and turned to you. "can i lift you in?" he asked. "i don't want to touch you without your permission." he said, and you nodded, raising your arms.

Chris grabbed you under the armpits, and lifted you up, bringing you over to the bed and laying you down. he grabbed the weighted blanket, and laid it over you. you wiggled around as he grabbed the comforter at the end of the crib.

"do you want this one too?" he asked. "i'm guessing you're still a little cold, huh?" and draped it over you when you nodded, your eyes still locked on your stuffy and doll. "okay, sweetie pie." he said, turning and grabbing the items. "here's your doll," he said, handing you the doll and smiling when you gripped it tight and pulled her to your chest. "and here's your lion." he said, chuckling when he saw your legs kicking slightly in happiness as you snuggled the lion to your chest as well.

he crouched down near your head. "i'm going to be right there, okay?" Chris said, pointing to his bed behind him. "if you need me, just call, okay?" you nodded, eyes shutting, burying your face in your new lion stuffy.

Chris ran his hand over your back as your breathing evened out, smiling at your sweet face. "you're so beautiful," he whispered, his thumb stroking over your cheek. "you're safe here, okay? nothing is going to hurt you ever again, i promise."