In-Between Prologue and Chapter 01 by Sofia Hammerstein

Cameron Sylvester has grown up always hoping he'll live up to the heritage of his mother's family height. She was a ten-foot-tall Big, after all, and his father was a tall Mid, which meant it shouldn't have been a question that he would grow out of the Little category of height early on. A bright student, he's been at the top of his class in science and math throughout his academic career! Looking toward his high school graduation and towards college, he's received scholarships to attend Emerson University. it's a question of inches if he'll be left to the fate of being a Little with a limited future or manage to make a future as a short 'Betweener.' Even as a Betweener, the question remains to be seen if he can be a normal adult or if he'll be left 'In-Between.'  (A Tale from the Diaper Dimension)

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The Legal Stuff: In-Between © 2020-2026 By Sofia Hammerstein
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
 
 

 

Part IV: Courting Disaster
 
 
Chapter 53: Birdies
 

I HAD BEEN curious about what would happen when Addy came to pick me up. If she had been in on the plot to shrink me, I figured there would have been some shock at my still being my regular size. Instead, she didn’t display any knowledge of what had happened as she picked me up that day. Somewhat suspiciously, they didn’t try to tell her that I’d had a ‘traumatic’ day or anything either…

Out in the car, she buckled me in, and unless she was an excellent actress, she seemingly didn’t have a clue about my day!

After dinner, I asked, “Mommy, can we go swimming?”

She gave me a surprised look but said, “Sure, Princess! Let’s go get dressed.”

We floated in the open part of the pool for a bit before making our way to the waterfall nook again.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Besides everything?” I glared at her. “Do you know what happened to me today at that daycare?”

“Something happened? They didn’t tell me something happened?!?”

She seemed genuinely clueless at that point. I wasn’t about to tell her about my immunity to hypnosis, so I skipped that part and only spoke about the playground, “A Little tried attacking me out on the playground with an autoinjector…” I filled her in and watched her face turn ashen first and then red with anger as I told the story. “So, if I’d been injected…”

“You’d be nothing but a tiny fake infant…”

I nodded.

“I can’t believe they didn’t tell me about this!!!!” She practically screamed, “Do you think my mother was responsible?”

I shrugged, “Seems like the most likely suspect to me, but he didn’t say who the ‘she’ was.”

“Well… no way in Hell you’re going back there before next week! I love having you in my life again, but I do not want you turned into some mindless baby!!!”

That earned a hug from me, and the two of us soon had to pretend life was our new norm. She did call the daycare and chewed out Doctor Chester loudly in front of me. The notification that she was fired was included in that call! The incident freaked her out enough that she decided to skip the meetings her mom wanted her at that next week leading to the hearing. Her mom had been pissed, but she had instead spent the time with me at home, shopping, and even a trip to the movies one day to see a regular film. She’d dressed me a little more mature again for that outing so no one would think I was being babied unless they saw the diaper underneath the skirt of the dress that I was wearing. Instead of being seen as an overly large baby that day, I looked like a very flat-chested Mid – not an uncommon sight.

Even though I felt absolutely embarrassed at being babied, hating the diapers, and hating the Little treatment in general, I had to admit that it was nice to have a human connection again. Being with Addy like this wasn’t the same, but she wasn’t actively trying to make my life miserable. While she continued to diaper me to appease her mother, she wasn’t infantilizing me in many other ways. The worst times were when Mindy was around since she expected me to be breastfed after every meal and before naptimes… She was insistent about ensuring Addy was being a good mommy! We left the house during the day and went to other places instead of hanging out at home to avoid her.

Finally, the day of my Maturosis Appeal was upon us. To my surprise, apparently, her mother had suggested through her attorney that she should dress me in a suit and tie like I usually wore for court. I figured she had a nefarious plan when she insisted to Addy that I should also be dressed in my typical style of adult underwear.

It was the first time I had been out of a diaper in two weeks, and I felt apprehensive that I might have lost some of my muscle toning already. I’d had clients and friends before that had suddenly been put back in real underwear, just to fail so their parents could justify the diapers… I made sure to use the bathroom before I met with David and Kendra for our pre-trial session! We had discussed motions and the case presentation for a few hours before another bathroom break and heading into the courtroom. I couldn’t help but note that while I felt much more confident and like my usual adult self, my clothes were stiffer and not as soft as those I’d been wearing the past weeks.

“Ready for this?” Kendra asked me as we sat down at the bench.

I shrugged, “As ready as I’ll ever be. It’s like dealing with a death penalty case… problem is it’s my death that would be happening…” I said morosely to her.

She squeezed my shoulder just as the judge walked in.

“All Rise!” As Judge O’Connor walked in, I heard, “Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye; the Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit Court is now open according to law. The Honorable Justice Robert O’Connor presiding.”

“You may be seated,” he told everyone.

The bailiff stood and said, “The first case on today’s docket is Case number 61584903 Sylvester, Benson and Stein, and Harlan Law School vs. State of Ames, SafeFoods, and Harris.”

“We began this case two weeks ago on an appeal of the ruling of Maturosis of Mr. Sylvester, who I see is dressed more appropriately to his past status? Mrs. Stein, I believe we had said we had to abide by the mother’s wishes on clothing?”

“Miss Harris dressed our client like this today, Your Honor. It’s a kind gesture that we do appreciate.”

“Fair enough. Remember that should any accidents happen outside of protective undergarments, it would be a severe strike against your client’s Maturosis status?”

“Duly noted, Your Honor,” She replied.

“Today, we have a representative from SafeFoods, who is also being contracted by Little Protective Services, supporting the ruling of Maturosis. I will allow for a fifteen-minute opening statement, consider the witnesses that have been requested, and then we’ll take a recess for lunch before continuing with arguments through this afternoon. In my opinion, everything about this case is highly unusual, and I will not tolerate shenanigans.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” all of the lawyers responded.

“Very well, Mr. Johnson?”

I sat quietly as he began his opening argument, supporting the motion that I required extra care. In addition to reading the court reporter’s transcript to demonstrate that I was rude in court, he also showed a picture of the dirty wipe that had been pulled from my butt when Aubry was diapering me. He then showed a video of the ‘fight’ from the daycare the week before. The odd thing to me was that it didn’t even seem to be nanny cam footage; more like someone was standing at the edge of the playground and recording. It was cut in such a way as to put me in a negative light like I had instigated everything. More footage was shown of the two blowouts I had experienced and an embarrassingly accurate pink princess-themed star chart with the number of wet and messy diapers I’d gone through each day.

I was sure that watching it in my suit was more embarrassing than it would have been in a frilly dress with a wet diaper underneath!

Thankfully their time was up for that phase. Doctor Chester and Miss Crystal then testified that I was a ‘needy’ individual who clearly fit in better with the students of their daycare than I would in a courtroom. Miss Crystal, in particular, talked extensively about my blowout while I was sleeping. She insisted that it clearly indicated that I needed diapers and care. She looked at me with concern since I was sitting there without one on.

“Doctor Nancy Dannigan” was called to the stand next. I found it quite interesting that the daycare workers were their lead witnesses. Not surprised, but definitely interesting. Aubry Harris was showing too many of her cards, in my opinion.

She was sworn in, and the questioning began. “Doctor Dannigan, please tell us about your background?”

“I hold a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis on Little Psychology. I have been practicing for three years now.”

“Your thesis work was based specifically on diagnosing Maturosis and aiding afflicted individuals with transitioning healthily to their new lives, correct?”

“Yes, I began my work during my master’s program at Emerson, where I was a Residential Assistant for one of the Littles dorms. I discovered I was passionate about the field and was fortunate that Emerson had such an amazing psychology program.”

“Indeed, it does!” Henry said smugly. “We need to keep this brief for the time of the court, so I want to first ask you what characteristics you typically see in a patient with Maturosis?”

“Certainly! There are traditional symptoms that most people tend to focus on with potty issues. One of the earliest symptoms of Maturosis is an individual having accidents in their sleep, daytime accidents, or even in some cases choosing to use their pants instead of asking to use the potty. Most people tend to dwell on that one alone. Still, there are other symptoms that we look for as well, including anxiety, depression, and difficulty controlling outbursts of emotion.”

“Thank you for that succinct description. As an expert in your field, do you believe Mids can have cases of Maturosis? It’s not just Littles who suffer this condition?”

“Certainly! It’s almost as common with them as with Littles, but we see more of a stigma of treatment for those individuals because they’re taller. I even know of a few rare cases of Bigs being diagnosed with this disorder as well.”

“You have had a chance to meet and observe Camille Harris, also known as Cameron Sylvester, correct?”

“Yes, I was able to observe Cammie for several hours remotely and met with her twice for therapy at the daycare she was enrolled in by her mommy.”

“Does she demonstrate the symptoms?”

I felt my face grow red as she nodded, “Most certainly! Pretty much every symptom has been observable in Cammie’s case. It started with her outburst towards Judge Taney. Soon after that, she was using diapers without ever asking for a chance to use the potty at the daycare.”

‘This is going to be tough to get past…’ I worried. Reassuringly, a hand touched my shoulder, and I realized Kendra probably planned for this testimony. I listened to her going on for the next ten minutes about all of the times I presented symptoms in her presence, as well as an overview of my probably legitimate problems.

“In summary, I believe that Cammie’s early loss of her mother, recent orphaning with the deaths of all of her close relatives, and failed engagement to a Little who also clearly suffers from a more severe case of Maturosis led to his developing a chronic case of his own.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Henry Johnson said as he concluded the questioning.

“Do you have any questions for Doctor Dannigan, Mr. Benson? Mrs. Stein?”

“Not at this time, Your Honor,” David said to my surprise, “We do wish to reserve the right to recall her at a later time, though.”

“Of course. Mr. Johnson, you have one remaining witness you’ve requested?”

“Yes, Your Honor, we would like to call Cameron Sylvester to the stand.”

“Your Honor?” David said then.

“This is a perfectly reasonable witness to call,” Johnson argued.

“Objection! We have concerns that this violates Mr. Sylvester’s rights, Your Honor,” Kendra said beside me.

“Your client may invoke his right to remain silent, of course,” Judge O’Connor said, “But he loses a valuable opportunity I believe to tell his side?”

Kendra looked at me, and I shrugged, “Withdrawn,” she said.

I stood up and was sworn in before being questioned. ‘It’d be nice to have a recess here soon… I really could use a bathroom,’ I thought as the questions began.

“Your name?”

“Cameron Sylvester,” I told Henry, curious to see where he would go with things.

“Chronological age?”

“I’m twenty-eight years old,” I responded.

“Former profession?”

“Well, my current profession is a lawyer.”

“You realize that a diagnosis of Maturosis disqualifies you from the bar association?”

“Only if it’s upheld,” I smiled.

“And just why wouldn’t it be? Clearly, you have behaved like a healthy baby girl the past few weeks?”

“It shouldn’t be upheld due to the clear criminal misconduct involved in getting that diagnosis. And don’t take my compliance with the treatment as a sign I need it; I was simply not fighting it because it would have been more cause to continue labeling me with Maturosis, wouldn’t it? The daycare room I was placed in didn’t even have a potty to have as an option to use if I’d asked.”

“Your Honor, the witness is being combative?”

“You were the one who called him Mr. Johnson, and you did ask the question. Move on.”

I looked at Henry’s facial expression and could tell he was annoyed. Clearly, he hadn’t expected to have to put up with me.

“Since you have been diagnosed with Maturosis, you have had an accident in your sleep, correct?”

“I wouldn’t fully label it as an accident. I was poisoned by one of the daycare workers, which resulted in that worker being nearly terminated.”

He scowled, “You pooped so bad in your sleep that it went out of the diaper, a blowout, correct?”

“Between the laxative, she fed me with a sleeping agent and the breastmilk in the bottle, I was unconscious as my body processed that, yes.”

“Is that the sign of a mature adult?”

“I don’t know many adults who have been forced to take that? Maybe you could undergo the same treatment to determine how a mature adult would show that?”

“Mr. Sylvester,” the judge said, “You are being borderline combative now.”

“My apologies, Your Honor; I was merely suggesting an experiment since Mr. Johnson is clearly known as an adult?”

I looked up at the judge and saw a twitch of a smile that he tamped down.

“Clearly,” he said, “Mr. Johnson, move on?”

“Mr. Sylvester, is it true that you were engaged to Elizabeth Fehler?”

I stiffened but nodded, “Yes, I was engaged to her until she was irreparably damaged by a client of yours through an unethical testing scam.”

“Your Honor?”

“My apologies,” I said. “Yes, I was engaged to Beth.” I squirmed a bit, thinking I really could use a bathroom soon. ‘Has my control gone that quickly?’ I wondered.

“Is Ms. Fehler a fellow Mid?”

“No, she’s considered a Little by two inches.”

“A Little currently treated as an infant and previously given a Maturosis ruling here in Ames?”

“She is…”

He interrupted, “And one whom you have had intercourse with?”

“She was emanc…”

“You know having sex with a minor is illegal, correct?”

“She was emanci…”

“Your Honor, Mr. Sylvester is admitting guilt here. I request the ruling of Maturosis be reinstated fully?”

“Hold your horses, Mr. Johnson! Mr. Sylvester, care to explain without his interruptions?”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” I said, hoping to get out of this without admitting to our first time. “I grew up with Beth living a few houses down from me. She went to college with me at Emerson, and I never considered dating her because of my fear of being seen as a Little. During our first weeks of college, Beth offered herself up to Student Services instead of demeriting out. Sadly I only realized when she had done that I had secretly loved her all those years. As you mentioned, the court designated her a minor and ordered her to undergo significant modifications. The order was placed as a deal for her to return home with her dad instead of the random rich woman who paid the university for her. Years later, when the restrictions lifted, her dad helped her grow up, and we spoke here in Ames frequently. While I went to law school, her dad moved with her to New Albany. He helped her earn a degree from a community college, and the State of New Albany granted her emancipation. She came to visit me, surprising me with that document, and then I asked the love of my life to marry me.”

“I heard a little birdie said you did have sex with her, though?”

I saw him smirk, and Aubry Harris, sitting in the courtroom now, also smirked.

I could just hear the voice, ‘I heard a little birdie went poopy! Be a good little Birdie and go poopy!’

 
 
Chapter 54: Reviews
 

I LOOKED UP at Henry Johnson and Aubry Harris, who were both smirking as if they knew my appeal and life were now over.

“The night she reappeared with the emancipation papers in hand, yes, I did have sex with her,” I told him with a smirk. “Instigated by her, completely consensual and legal.”

He looked at me oddly, looked back at Mrs. Harris and Doctor Dannigan, and said, “Well, I think the ultimate way I can prove your case of Maturosis is I bet you don’t have clean pants right now?”

“Excuse me?” I replied.

“You’ve been pooping and peeing your diapers for weeks now. I’m sure you’ve probably made a valiant attempt through this hearing, but I’d be willing to bet you haven’t made it through this three-hour hearing without needing to use the potty?”

I sighed, “I am clean, but would you like to check yourself?”

“Your Honor? May we have his mommy do it in front of us?”

“Objection, Your Honor! This seems rather prejudicial in nature?” Kendra said.

“I agree,” Judge O’Connor stated. “How about you perform the check – as much as I think it’s foolish, I agree that there may be issues after a few weeks of being in diapers?”

I grimaced.

A few moments later, I stood in front of the bench in the central area of the courtroom. I calmly pulled off my shoes and my pants. Kendra pulled my underwear entirely off and showed that they were perfectly dry and clean while I stood naked and blushing. My coat and shirt did okay at hiding things a little, but it was still the same public nudity that I had hated the past few weeks!

“Your Honor, are you satisfied?” David asked as Kendra helped hand me my shoes after I redressed.

“I believe I am, and I certainly hope the opposing counsel is too! That being said, I could use a potty break. Let’s recess for ninety minutes for lunch, and we’ll resume with testimony on behalf of Mr. Sylvester. Mr. Sylvester is to be remanded to the custody of his attorneys for this break. Ms. Harris, I ask that you please allow them time to consult without your presence.”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

With the strike of a gavel, the court was adjourned. I followed David and Kendra out of the courtroom, catching conversation from Addy’s mom as they hurried away in front of us, “What the hell did you do for the past two weeks?!? He should…”

“Let’s hit the restroom and get a bite to eat,” Kendra said, touching my shoulder.

“Thanks,” I said. It was an urgent need as David escorted me into the men’s room, but I happily made it into the toilet!

They had brought a packed lunch for the three of us due to concerns of someone tampering with our food at a restaurant. We found a room to meet, and after scanning for listening devices, Kendra and David began telling me their plans for the afternoon. I ate and drank very little during that time, hoping there would be less danger of accidents! ‘I had felt a slight urge to push…’ I thought nervously regarding the hypnotic suggestion.

The court was soon gaveled back into order. Judge O’Connor said, “We will begin with the rebuttal case for Mr. Sylvester this afternoon. Mr. Benson, Mrs. Stein, your statement? You have fifteen minutes, and then you may call your witnesses.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” David stated and went to the podium. “Your Honor, we heard testimony this morning from an attorney and others with a vested interest in removing our client from the rolls of adulthood. This vendetta is led by Mrs. Aubry Harris, Addison Harris’s mother–our client’s assigned ‘mommy.’ Years ago, Cameron Sylvester and Addison Harris dated throughout their college years. They were an unlikely couple, but one that clearly loved each other! Mrs. Harris disapproved of the relationship, even to the point of deciding she needed to push her daughter to break up with our client – which she did when he proposed to her just before Christmas of their senior year at Emerson.”

“Fast forward to the summer before Mr. Sylvester graduated from Law School, and you will see that his involvement in the legal field already became a thorn in the sides of SafeFoods and Aubry Harris. At that time, he provided invaluable assistance in a case to Judge Ruth Jones, whom he was interning with. With his technical expertise and growing legal knowledge, that case was ultimately returned to the lower courts to retry it. They lost the second trial and were ordered to pay a heavy price to the victims. Since joining our firm, Mr. Sylvester has been involved in six separate malpractice suits against this company and has won three. This has not been a vendetta against them, mind you; it’s simply been a case of a corporation that has consistently demonstrated a disregard for safety and ethical standards in how they test products. This criminal action led most recently to his fiancé, Elizabeth Fehler, and her mother, Ashley Fehler, being irreparably harmed – and we believe beyond any curative approach to restoring them to their adulthoods.”

He paused, “All of those actions showed more than enough motivation for Mrs. Harris to seek to remove him from the equation of our firm. Her actions showed far more, though! We have submitted the video and audio proof of Mrs. Harris clearly threatening our client with being declared a case of Maturosis. There is definitive proof of misconduct from Judge Taney, who sentenced our client to this fate, and it is now being actively investigated by Federal Investigators. We have no doubt that a campaign took place that merely started with declaring our client to be a victim of Maturosis.”

“In the past several weeks, she has put incredible pressure on her daughter, Ms. Addison Harris, to regress him to the point he wouldn’t be able to make it through the testimony earlier. She has insisted that her daughter breastfeed our client – which likely goes against the order against physical modifications since we know that breastmilk causes incontinence!”

“That wasn’t enough for her, though, Your Honor. In this exhibit,” he said, passing an item up to a bailiff to take up to the judge, “you will see Mrs. Harris talking to a woman who works at the daycare that Cameron was enrolled at while she forced her daughter to come into work – despite federally mandatory maternity leave. This woman, Kristin Nance, was approached by Mrs. Harris with the intention that she would help degrade the control of his bladder and bowels and attempt to instigate a tantrum that could be used against him as a strike on the Maturosis ruling. At the time, Mrs. Harris didn’t know that Ms. Nance was once a classmate of Mr. Sylvester’s in high school. They had a run-in the year they graduated where Cameron said some unkind things about her treatment of a former friend, and she held a grudge against him. Mrs. Harris helped convince a secretary at the school to place Cameron, ‘Cammie,’ into the class where Kristin worked as an aide.”

“We now know that Ms. Nance recognized Mr. Sylvester and took things quickly into her hands, administering ‘Little Go’ into a bottle of breastmilk, and waited for the predictable results. Unfortunately for Ms. Nance, she was punished for her efforts to poison Mr. Sylvester, and my understanding is that she is awaiting a competency hearing of her own next week following further maturity issues.”

David took a deep breath and paused. “This, mind you, was just one piece of the puzzle she was assembling. I am providing photos and video footage of a meeting between Mrs. Harris and Doctor Dannigan that occurred after the first time Mr. Sylvester was taken to this daycare. During this meeting, an electronic funds transfer was made from an offshore account into Doctor Dannigan’s account. Following that transfer, two things happened. The first was that a still unknown woman bribed a Little to attack our client with an autoinjector syringe. Fortunately, he avoided it, but the Little accidentally stabbed himself with it, and it became clear it was a regressive set of nanites that rapidly reduced him to infancy. We have no proof that this was Mrs. Harris at work, but it seems likely. Secondly, we have video evidence of Doctor Dannigan clearly disregarding both Miss Harris’s instructions and the court orders to attempt to hypnotize our client.”

David turned and looked at Henry. “This is something our opposing counsel was aware of because he attempted to trip it by speaking about a little birdie. The phrase was meant to cause Mr. Sylvester to have an accident in his pants. This is the final piece they attempted to use today, when Mrs. Harris instructed her daughter that Mr. Sylvester should be dressed in his suit instead of a cute girly outfit she might have otherwise dressed him in with a diaper. Highly unusual because she’s been dressing Mr. Sylvester in female clothing since the initial court date when Judge Taney told her she could either regress him to an infant or make him a toddler girl. By removing his original name, she hoped he would never be able to practice law again even if he could get free.”

The red light came on, “Thank you, Mr. Benson; you may call the first witness from your list. Please remember testimony is limited for time today.”

“Yes, Your Honor. We would like to call Doctor Holly Nickerson to the stand, Your Honor.”

The Little girl I had seen weeks ago that set everything off in the first place was now the first witness in my case. Once she was sworn in, Kendra got right to work questioning her, “Doctor Nickerson, at our initial trial, you were brought in as an expert witness to describe the medical diagnosis of the victims who are our plaintiffs. After initially supporting your testimony, Judge Taney suddenly threw out your testimony; why is that?”

Dr. Nickerson sighed, “I’m not really sure, to be honest. I did end up defecating in a diaper on the stand, but I was diapered, and there was no danger to the courtroom of the mess spreading.”

“Did you know having a Little testify in Ames is uncommon? Especially an adopted one?”

She nodded, “Believe me, I know all about uncommon. My ability to be a surgeon in this dimension was, and still is, an uphill battle at times.”

“Do you ever poop in surgery?”

She shrugged, “A stipulation of my hiring involves them giving me an allowance for the incontinence I suffer. It happens occasionally, but Doctor Nickerson, my mommy, and I work hard to make sure that I generally go in the mornings before work.”

“This seemed like a normal pooping incident?”

“No, not at all.”

“What was different about it?”

“This was clearly a drug-induced bowel movement. The contractions of my bowels were forced, and the stool was exceptionally runny and loose.”

“Knowing those symptoms, what did you do?”

“Well, after the craziness in the courtroom of the judge throwing out my testimony and then sentencing your client to babyhood, I immediately returned to the hospital and had my blood tested.”

“What did you find?”

“We found a large dose of bisacodyl in my bloodstream. It’s the most common main ingredient in laxatives and suppositories. Additionally, another chemical debetabierunt-phosphate was identified as well.”

“What is that one?”

“Both are commonly used in many of the so-called treatments that adoptive parents give their Littles to cause full incontinence. Debetabierunt-phosphate, in particular, is used widely in ‘Potty-B-Gone.’”

“Did you ingest this intentionally?”

“No, and I hadn’t had any food that could have been poisoned. We did identify a small chemical burn on the back of my thigh that had rested on the booster seat provided. My professional belief, along with several other experts, is that a contact burn showed they transmitted the chemicals into my blood system through something I sat on.”

“Any idea of why?”

“My testimony being thrown out would seem a good enough reason? Perhaps an intention to cause Mr. Sylvester to argue for it not to be? All I know is it took a full week to clear from my body, and if it wasn’t for treatment available at my hospital, it would have caused long-lasting effects.”

“No further questions,” Kendra told the judge. Johnson surprisingly declined to even consider a few more questions.

“Your next witness?”

“We would now like to call Doctor Ivy Nickerson to the stand?”

When Holly’s mommy was sworn in, David took over. He asked questions about her qualifications and her role with the hospital and just generally cemented her expert status. “How long ago did you adopt Holly?”

“She’s been my daughter for about ten years.”

“So, you would say you know her needs and habits quite well?”

“Certainly!”

“Her status as a doctor while still being an adopted Little is unusual, correct?”

She nodded, “She’s an unusual Little. Years ago, after she saved some lives in her daycare, we reached a compromise with each other that she would be able to work by day and be mommy’s baby girl the rest of the time.”

“You treat her like a normal Little elsewhere? Diapers, bottles, furniture, toys…?”

“Oh definitely, she has the best playhouse in the world too!” She smiled.”

“Do you breastfeed her?”

She looked embarrassed, “We do, but it’s limited to evenings and weekends.”

“Why?”

“It lets her control when she needs to go number two a bit better during the weekdays when she has surgeries scheduled.”

“So, when does she normally have a bowel movement?”

“She’s normally poopy in the early mornings at breakfast time, always before we leave for work, or just afterward on the commute into the office. Sometimes she’ll be a little poopy in the late afternoon on Monday when her body is still clearing her weekend nursing.”

“The hearing wasn’t on a Monday. Was it unusual for her to have the bowel movement she had?”

“Very unusual, and that’s why we hurried to the hospital to run bloodwork…” Specifics on the bloodwork and information on the impartial persons involved in the test were given.

She reinforced several things at that point from Holly’s testimony before being dismissed from the stand with no questions from the opposing counsel.

“We would like to call Professor Marshall from Emerson University as our next witness,” Kendra said.

I was a bit surprised by this tactic, but it seemed that, from what they knew, he was a pretty respected attorney in the courts in this circuit. As the gray-bearded Little man made his way to the stand, there seemed to be some deference from the bailiff that wasn’t present for any other witness. The suit he wore did a pretty good job of hiding the padding he wore beneath it. I knew he had been stuck in an adoption himself for nearly a decade, and control was something he had never regained.

After having him sworn in and introduced with credentials, Kendra quickly got to the heart of the matter, “Professor Marshall, you are an expert in the Maturity Laws here in the State of Ames, correct?”

“That would be correct – I have spent decades researching the laws, applying that knowledge in court, and teaching it at the university.”

“Was what happened to Mr. Sylvester considered normal?”

He shook his head, “Procedurally, it was about as abnormal as you could get. He’s seventy-seven inches tall, correct?”

“That’s a half-inch shy of his height on record, but yes.”

“Then the law states that he is not bound by the Little Statutes. If he had been under seventy-two inches, it would have been a very plausible action for Judge Taney to have taken. I myself am exceedingly careful in my conduct due to that concern. Since he is above the seventy-two-inch mark, a judge can still declare him a Maturosis case. Still, legally there is a requirement in Penal Code 339.39 that he should have had a separate hearing on that matter.”

“Just being declared in contempt of court shouldn’t have allowed for that?”

“Legally, in a court setting, he would need to have been convicted of this act of contempt should he have chosen to fight it. The charge is only a misdemeanor, not a felony, so his rights to adulthood should not have been immediately revoked.”

“What were Mr. Sylvester’s rights at the time?”

“Well, like any criminally charged individual, he had the right to a trial by jury, a right to an attorney, and every other right to defend himself. Judge Taney just immediately essentially ordered an execution without a trial.”

“Objection! There was no execution here!” Henry shouted.

“Your Honor, I would argue differently. If the injunction had been received one minute later at the hospital, my client would have had his gender altered forever against his will. He would have died as Cameron Sylvester and only existed as Camille Harris. That in and of itself legally would have meant his death.”

“Overruled,” he said, “Professor Marshall, please avoid too much of the inflammatory commentary here?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” he said with a smile.

There was further testimony from him showing that due process was not followed. That, to me, held more hope in this Court of Appeals than anything from anyone else. Appeals Courts were process based – though I hoped everything else was also helping my case.

“Sarah Lexington,” I heard David announce, and a tall woman, I guessed just over eleven feet tall, came to the stand.

After she was sworn in, “Mrs. Lexington, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a private detective,” she told him with a smile.

“Our firm hired you to ensure Mr. Sylvester’s safety after his adoption. During your investigation, what did you find?”

“Well, I managed to get my hands on many text messages and phone calls between Mrs. Harris and others involved in attempting to prevent Mr. Sylvester from regaining his adulthood.”

“You obtained this video?” David asked while a video showed me sitting in the egg chair at the daycare.

“Yes, I did,” she told him as I heard muttering from beside our table.

“How?”

“It was sent electronically to Mrs. Harris,” she replied.

“Objection! Your Honor, this was obtained without a warrant. Further, this video would contain footage of a medically necessary counseling session covered by patient privacy. I move to strike!”

“Your Honor, we believe the evidence is fully covered by a federal warrant that was obtained?”

“Do you have a copy of the warrant?” he asked.

A document was handed to the bailiff; after looking at it, “This is a properly signed warrant, Mr. Johnson. Now as to the question of the privacy of Mr. Sylvester…”

“Your Honor, as of now, Cammie Harris is still a minor ward of her mother, Addison Harris. She is the only one who can grant that exception to the privilege.”

“Miss Harris? Would you please approach the railing?”

I looked up at her, “Yes, Your Honor?”

“As Mr. Sylvester’s guardian, what is your decision.”

“I…”

I looked nervously up at Addy while her mother stared daggers at her.

 
 

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment if you did so and press the Kudos button! I should be posting a few times a week until this is fully posted here on BC. The full novel is complete (65 chapters plus Epilogue) and published on Amazon if you wish to be impatient though!

All of my published works have AI read audiobooks available for them. I’ve spent some time tweaking pronunciations, and they’re pretty good when you can’t afford thousands to pay for audiobook creation! They’re a $1.99 addon to the $5.99 price on Kindle. If you’ve already purchase the book it should come up as only $1.99. They’re also available on Audible directly, but that’s $9.99 versus the cheaper price! https://www.amazon.com/author/babysofia