When Therese banged the apartment door shut, Carol knew that it had been one of those days.
Therese stomped through the apartment, tossing her bag down on the chair beside the telephone table and shucking off her coat, leaving it carelessly slung over the back of the chair. Her face was a thundercloud, and Carol knew that it wasn't just one of those days, it was one of those days.
"Hello, sweetheart," she said, looking up from where she was reading the newspaper on the sofa. Carol had gotten home from work a little early today, and she'd been enjoying the waning afternoon sun with a glass of wine. She was about to offer Therese one when the girl flopped down onto the chair opposite her, her face grumpy.
"Hi," she grunted, and Carol inwardly smiled.
"I suppose I don't really need to ask how your day was?" Carol crossed her legs, carefully watching Therese. Therese huffed and shook her head.
"You can ask, but there's nothing to tell. Just more people who don't seem to know what they're doing when they really ought to. I can't be hand-holding all day; I have my own work to do," complained Therese, her tone clipped.
"What do you mean, darling? Is George still giving you trouble?"
"He's always giving me trouble. Three weeks and he should at least somewhat know what he's doing, but he can't even remember where the developer is kept most days. I can't trust him with a contact sheet. I can't trust him to do anything!" Therese's voice rose a bit at the end, and Carol heard a plaintive, tired note. She knew Therese hadn't been sleeping well this past week - she had a lot on her mind with work and training this new man, George.
"Well, that sounds simply frustrating." Carol knew in these situations it was best for Therese to talk herself out. She also knew that Therese desperately needed to be little, but was having a bit of trouble letting go today.
"It's more than 'simply frustrating', Carol. 'Simply frustrating' is when the cafe gets your coffee order wrong, or when you miss the train by a minute or two. This is just asinine. He's just incompetent. I'm not sure why he was even hired." Therese pushed her hair back over her ear in annoyance and fidgeted, her hands twisting in her lap.
"Did you get any time to yourself today?"
"No, I didn't even get much lunch. We had a long meeting with Editorial this afternoon. Anyway, it's not like it matters, most of the work will fall to me as usual and I'll have to work overtime, anyway!"
Hearing the whine creep into Therese's voice, Carol decided she'd had enough of Therese's ranting. "Well. It certainly sounds like it was a trying day, darling. You sound positively fussy, and I can completely understand why." Carol let her voice slip into the special soft tone she used for Therese when Therese felt little, and watched as the girl's face softened a little. She still frowned, though.
"I'm not fussy. It's just frustrating, Carol, that's all. It's just a lot of work and I'm just tired." At the word "tired", Therese's lower lip trembled a little, unbidden, and Carol felt her heartstrings tug a little. Her darling little girl was exhausted and so very fussy.
"Oh, sweetheart. I know you're tired. I can see it all over your face."
Therese's lips curved down into a pout and her next words were plaintive. "I didn't sleep very well last night, and I haven't eaten since before noon . . ."
Carol held out her arms. "Oh, Therese. Come here, baby."
Therese got up and sat beside Carol on the couch, letting Carol pull her into a comforting, warm hug. She leaned against Carol and sighed gustily. "It just wasn't a very good day," she whimpered.
"No," agreed Carol. "Not a very good day at all."
Therese snuggled into Carol and after a moment, she looked up at Carol, her eyes longing. "Carol, I need you."
"I thought so," whispered Carol. "I was wondering when my little girl would tell me she needed me."
Therese nuzzled her face into Carol's shoulder and Carol kissed her hair and forehead and cheeks, watching Therese's dimples come out a little. Carol stroked her hair. "Are you wet?"
Therese nodded and Carol smiled. "I wondered if that might have been part of all this fussiness. And you're hungry, aren't you, sweetheart?"
"Yes," mumbled Therese. "I need you." She touched a button on Carol's shirtwaist dress and rubbed a finger over the nub of Carol's nipple under the cloth. Carol chuckled, but she chided Therese a little.
"What is it, Therese?"
"I want to nurse," murmured Therese. "Please, Carol?"
"Of course you can nurse," said Carol. "But first let's get you clean and dry. And maybe we should get you some dinner first . . ."
"No, no," whined Therese. "I can wait for dinner. Please?" They both knew Carol wouldn't budge on changing Therese first, and Carol knew that Therese was uncomfortable by the way she kept squirming. She kissed her little one's cheek and relented.
"All right. You can nurse before dinner. Come on."
Therese often had a hard time letting herself be little when she was still dressed in her work clothes. But as Carol undressed her, bit by bit, Therese's little side came out. She giggled when Carol tickled her tummy, a rich, sweet little giggle that had Carol bending down to actually shower kisses all over her tummy so that she could hear it again and again. Therese sucked her thumb, which Carol promptly removed and replaced with one of Therese's new pacifiers. Therese wasn't sure how she felt about the pacifier, but she sucked it quietly as Carol changed her diaper and helped her into a pair of soft cotton pajamas, yellow with pink flowers embroidered on them.
Therese sighed in relief when Carol removed her girdle and stockings and put on her pajama pants. Her diaper showed through adorably, and Carol couldn't help patting Therese on the bottom when Therese got to her feet. Her little girl flushed, but she knew that Carol loved how cute she was when she was finally comfortable, clean and dry, and she giggled again.
After Carol washed her hands and came back, Therese was starting to get a little bit whimpery again. She pouted and held out her arms to Carol, who cuddled her securely. "Goodness, someone is a little impatient, isn't she?" teased Carol, and Therese touched Carol's buttons again. She knew better than to undress Carol without permission, but Carol gave it to her today, on account of Therese's bad day.
"You can unbutton them, sweetie." She kissed Therese's hair and Therese complied, eagerly opening Carol's dress and struggling a little to unhook her bra. Carol settled them both on the bed and Therese latched on happily, her eyes closing in relief. Carol could almost feel the strain of the day leaving Therese's body. Therese sucked quietly, her mouth making a sweet little sound on Carol's nipple, her body curled comfortably around Carol.
Therese looked up and locked eyes with Carol, her eyes crinkling sweetly as she smiled around Carol's breast, and Carol tenderly stroked her hair.
"Well, now. There's my Therese."
And Therese relaxed fully into Carol's arms.