"I..." Leah fumbled, "I want to be a toddler... All the time, but-"
Tina gazed back at her stepdaughter through the mirror, watching as a blush began to rise in her cheeks. She looked so cute in her little uniform.
"Well?" Tina prompted, "'Spit it out."
"I don't want to lie to the daycare workers." she said, gazing at her knees. The uniform's skirt was short enough to leave them, and a decent amount of thigh, bare and the socks only went a small way up her calves. "It wouldn't be fair to them... not knowing who I really am... even if I'm..."
"Even if you're not acting your age?" Tina teased.
"Yeah."
Tina drove along for a while and let the silence grow. As Leah shifted awkwardly in the booster seat Tina would catch glimpses of the training pants she wore. They were quite yellow. Tina estimated that they could only take one small wetting, anything more and they would leak. She would have to plan ahead for that. She though about the usual diapers the daycare provided and knew they wouldn't be enough either, Leah may look like a toddler but she had a teen's bladder. She would need something thicker.
As Tina turned onto the street leading to their house Leah ducked down as far as she could in the restrictive booster seat.
"The windows are quite heavily tinted you know." Tina observed. "I doubt any of our neighbors could see you even if they walked right up."
"I know, but... I just don't want to take the risk."
"Didn't you tell me that you wanted people to know?"
"Only the daycare workers!" A note of panic was rising in Leah's voice, "I'll only really see them at daycare and they don't really know me, you know, outside, in real life."
"You think daycare isn't real life?" Tina asked, bemused, "Besides you also said you wanted to be like this at home too. I can't make any promises that the neighbors won't notice eventually."
"Please," Leah whined, "I'll burn that bridge when, IF, we come to it. I'm just not ready for people I know to see me like this."
"Fair enough."
Tina pulled the car into the garage and waited until the door was fully closed before opening the rear door of the car and letting her stepdaughter out of the booster seat. Leah clambered out and stood shivering on the concrete floor.
"Are you alright?" Tina asked, slightly worried.
"Fine." Leah squeaked out, "Training pants are just a little cold."
"Oh dear. Let's get you inside where it's warmer."
It had been a long day. As Leah was led into the house she let out a sigh of relief. Home. Comfort. Safety.
She relaxed too much. With an audible trickling sound her training pants began to leak and run down her legs into her shoes while also dripping directly onto the tiled floor. She looked up at Tina with tears in her eyes. This was just too much.
"It's okay sweetie," Tina said with a sigh, "I knew this would happen. These training pants were made for young children and as much as you resemble one you still are a bit more developed than them. Here, I'll take your clothes so you don't drip on the carpets. You go and take a shower. I'll have something more appropriate prepared for when you're done."
With Tina's help Leah carefully stripped off the daycare uniform and sodden pullup before scurrying off to her bathroom. Tina watched her go, smiling.
'That girl really is just a child,' she thought, 'Even if she is already 15.'
Tina threw the used training pants into the trash and took the uniform through to the laundry room. Only the socks and shoes were wet so she threw them into the wash with a couple of towels and hung the rest of the outfit up before heading back to the garage. She'd had a hunch that something like this might happen after their trip to the shop, but she never imagined it would go so far so fast. From the trunk of her car she retrieved a box of clothing and supplies she had set aside at the daycare. She would need more, but for now this would do. Carrying it back inside she began preparations for when her stepdaughter was done with her shower. Looking through her options she decide that Leah would be...