7/5/99 The TG element in this story is fairly light, but I thought I'd post it anyways. I'd originally planned on this one being a bit shorter, but it sort of stretched out while I was writing. Enjoy. Anyone who wishes to archive this story may do so, on the conditions that it is unaltered, they do not charge to read it, and I am notified. SRU: The Cheshire Grin By Morpheus Betsy Clark let out a tired sigh of relief as she finished up with work, leaving the small store in the mall where she'd spent all day working as a cashier. Smiling, she gave a backward glance to the store then started towards the nearest mall exit, looking forward to getting home. Even if she did have to have to fix dinner still. The leftovers in the back of the microwave were beginning to sound rather good to her right about then. Though the thought of dinner helped ease some of the tiredness from her, when Betsy thought about her son Aaron, she felt a little worried. Though he was 16, she couldn't help but worrying about him. Betsy knew that he fairly responsible, but with her working all the time and without her ex husband Carl there, Aaron was often left home alone. Something she wasn't comfortable with, thinking about all the trouble teenagers get into nowadays. What with drugs and all. Telling herself to stop worrying, Betsy shifted the weight of her bag from one shoulder to the other, wishing that she weren't so old and tired. Though she was only 37, sometimes she felt twice that age, and unfortunately that was one of those times. Stopping suddenly in her tracks, Betsy stared across from her in disbelief. Lifting her glasses and rubbing at her eyes, she found that what she was seeing hadn't changed. There was a new store right there in front of her, where she knew good and well there wasn't one before. And the name.... A sign above the door proclaimed that it was called Spells R Us, which made Betsy gasp even more. The name Spells R Us wasn't completely new to her. She'd been working there in the mall long enough to have heard it mentioned. To have heard some stories about it that were unbelievable to say the least. Even the mysterious new gorgeous blonde girl at work had made brief mention of Spells R Us, though only to tell Betsy, " If you ever see it, run the other way." Still, even after hearing various unspecific warnings and stories about the place, Betsy had never believed it was real. She'd just thought that the place was one of those urban legends that you hear about. Like alligators in the sewers. But there, right in front of her was the store. Spells R Us. Betsy stared at the door for several minutes, her curiosity warring with her better sense. Part of her wanting to avoid the place, just in case the stories that she'd heard about the strange store and the old man who ran it were true. And on the other hand, she was extremely curious to know if the stories were real or not. Then almost without her even willing it, Betsy found herself walking towards the door. The sound of a bell ringing as she went through he door barely caught Betsy's attention. Instead she looked around, surprised to see shelves full of various things. And more importantly, an elderly looking man, wearing what looked to be some sort of bathrobe, standing behind the counter. " Oh God" she muttered aloud, beginning to suspect that she of the things she'd heard whispered about this place just might be real. Or this just might be someone's idea of a joke, she told herself. " Hello Betsy" The Old Man said politely, barely glancing up from what he was doing on the counter. To Betsy it looked like he was drawing scribbles onto a large sheet of paper, using one of those old feather pens and a jar of ink next to it. Betsy just stared at him for a moment as he continued his work. Then he stopped, holding the paper up for inspection and blowing on it. " That should do" He said, almost as if just musing aloud to himself. Setting the paper down to the side, he turned back to Betsy, " How may I help you, my dear." Stammering uncomfortably, Betsy said " I was just looking." " Nonsense" The Old Man said with a knowing smile, " No one comes here just to look." Still smiling, the Old Man said, " You want or need something, and I can provide it. That is my business after all." " I've heard stories" Betsy said cautiously, looking around skeptically. Though she'd heard a few mentions of the place, none of the stories she had heard were very specific. Sighing, the Old Man said, " You can't believe everything that you hear. I admit that sometimes my customers aren't satisfied, but that is usually their own fault for not following instructions." Then coughing slightly, the Old Man continued " But that's not important at the moment. What you are here for is." " And what's that?" Betsy asked curiously, finding herself interested in spite of herself. For a few seconds the Old Man fumbled around behind the counter then came up with something, setting it down on the counter in front of Betsy. It was a small crystal statue, standing about four inches tall and shaped something like a cat, though standing up like a human and with a grin on it's face. " A Cheshire cat?" Betsy said snorting, reminded by the smile of the character from Alice in Wonderland. " That's odd looking." Grinning himself, the Old Man said " You can't judge things by their looks." " But what do I need a little figurine for?" Betsy asked, thinking that it would look rather cute on her fireplace mantle. " This figurine has some rather special properties" The Old Man responded with a slight smile. " It grants wishes" Betsy snorted in obvious disbelief. " Yeah right." She realized that this was definitely all an elaborate prank someone had set up. Beginning to get rather angry, Betsy promised herself that she'd find some way to get even with whomever had set it up. Starting to look impatient, the Old Man said " This is no hoax. This.." he gestured at the Cheshire cat figurine, " can and does grant wishes" Looking slightly bashful for a second, the Old Man muttered " Of course there is a catch. It only grants wishes during a full moon, and then only one wish per person until the next full moon." Though Betsy listened to this with interest, she still wasn't sure that she believed it. Then looking hard at the Old Man, something told her that this wasn't a joke. Gulping nervously, she looked around the shop again then settled her eyes back on the Old Man, then the small grinning figurine. She could almost swear that it was grinning at her. Deciding that even if this wasn't real, she was going to act as though it were, Betsy asked " How much is it?" " Not so much that you can't afford it" the Old Man told her. Then in a quiet voice, he told her the price. Betsy frowned, mentally calculating whether or not she could afford it and deciding that she could. Sighing, Betsy started filling out a check, wondering as she did so if she were making a mistake. Once she'd handed over the check, the Old Man thanked her, handing her the grinning cat figurine in a small bag. " There's a full moon tonight" he told her with a smile. " Be careful with your wishes though." " All right" Betsy said uncertainly, wondering why she'd never seen Spells R Us before, and why she had this time. With another quick glance at the Old Man, Betsy hurried out of the store, relieved to finally be away from there. That place gave her the spooks. Aaron glanced out the window again, relieved to see his Mom finally coming home from work. The growling in his stomach was getting more demanding and if his Mom hadn't gotten back when she had, Aaron would was just about to dig through the fridge for whatever he could find. He grinned expectantly though, looking forward to the meal he knew his Mom would fix, even if he would have to wait just a little longer. As soon as his Mom came in though, carrying a small paper bag in one hand, Aaron knew that something had happened. She had a distracted and thoughtful look on her face, and she kept glancing towards the bag in her hands. Aaron didn't care too much, and called out " Hi Mom" making a point not to look in her direction or even move his eyes away from the TV. He didn't want her knowing that he'd been waiting for her to get back. After all, he was 16 and couldn't have his Mom thinking that he needed her every minute. He was perfectly capable of being on his own. Unfortunately Aaron noticed very quickly that his Mom was pulling leftovers out of the fridge, making him groan under his breath. He could have fixed leftovers on his own. Still, he was hungry and it would fill his belly. And taking a quick sniff, he had to admit that it certainly didn't smell too bad. Dinner was even quieter than usual and Aaron noticed that his Mom seemed somewhat thoughtful still. " What's up?" he finally asked her, trying not to sound too interested. " Oh nothing much" she replied with a slight smile. After a minute, she asked " Did you k now that there's a full moon tonight?" " No" Aaron replied slowly, and confused. When his Mom didn't say anything more Aaron let the subject drop, not knowing what was wrong. Was she seeing some guy or something? Aaron didn't know, but he couldn't help but wonder. When it came time for bed, Aaron told his Mom " See ya in the morning" and started for his room, hearing her call out a " Good night" back. Taking a quick glance back towards his Mom, Aaron frowned, wondering again just what was up with his Mom that night. Why was she so distracted? Shrugging, Aaron decided that it wasn't important and went to reach for the Hustler hidden under his mattress, grinning as he started to " read" it before going to bed. Once Aaron had gone to bed, Betsy pulled the crystal figurine out of it's bag and held it up to the light, staring at it intently. The catlike face was still grinning and Betsy could almost see a glint of mischief in it's eye. She chuckled at her imagination, wondering where the grinning cat had come from. And more importantly, if it would really work. Setting the little figurine down, Betsy frowned and stared at it curiously, then got up and went to the window, peaking out at the full moon. " I guess It's time to find out if I've been ripped off or not" she told herself jokingly. Going back to the Cheshire cat and picking it up, Betsy frowned, asking herself " How does it work anyway. That guy didn't give me any instructions." Glancing back outside, Betsy wondered if maybe being out in the moonlight would help it work better. " Well it certainly couldn't hurt" Walking outside with the figurine in her hand, Betsy frowned and looked up at the full moon yet again, then down at the crystal cat in her hand. It just grinned back at her motionlessly. " What should I wish for" Betsy asked herself, realizing that there were lots of things that she could wish for, but being unable to decide which was the most important. The Old Man had said she'd only be able to make one wish until the next full moon, and she wanted to make it a good one. But on the other hand, she looked at it skeptically, she wanted to make sure it even worked. " Maybe something easy" she mused aloud. " I know." Holding the grinning cat up to the light, Betsy announced " I wish........" She paused for a second then continued, " I wish that I could see good without my glasses." In Betsy's hand, the grinning figure seemed to wink at her. Suddenly Betsy felt a tingling in her hand where she was holding the figure, then a similar tingling in her eyes. Her vision blurred badly. Squinting, Betsy frowned her vision being worse than before. Everything was blurred badly now. " Oh no" she muttered, pulling off her glasses to rub at her eyes. She gasped as she did so, finding that as soon as she'd pulled her glasses away, her vision had cleared up. She was seeing everything clear, and without glasses. " Wow" she said in amazement, staring at the figure in her hand. She couldn't believe it. " It works" Betsy's mind was running as ideas for to wish for next kept coming to her. Then she remembered, " One wish per full moon." Sighing, she clutched the grinning figure tightly in her hand and started walking back inside, already trying to plan what she was going to wish for next month. During the next month, Betsy continued living as normal, excited by the prospect of the next full moon. That was something she was greatly looking forward to, still not decided on just what she was going to wish for. Briefly she wondered if maybe she should tell Aaron about the figure, that way they could get two wishes every full moon instead of just one. She knew that he was fairly responsible, but she wasn't sure that letting any teenager make wishes was a good idea. Deciding against it, at least for the moment, Betsy knew that she'd have to tell Aaron sometime. He was bound to notice that something was strange if she made many more wishes. Though Betsy kept an eye out for the Spells R Us store, she saw no sign of it, which didn't really surprise her too much. Eagerly she awaited the next full moon, and when it finally came, she impatiently suffered through her day at work and hurried home as soon as she was off. Aaron glanced up from the model Mustang he was working on, watching his Mom returning from work, and oddly enough, looking very excited about something. Aaron frowned slightly then asked " You got a date or something?" Blushing Betsy told her son " No. Not yet anyway" Then with that she set down several cartons of Chinese food in front of Aaron, cheerfully saying " Eat up. I didn't feel like cooking tonight." Aaron sniffed the pleasant aroma, already starting to dig in, putting the subject of his Mom's cheerfulness to the side for the moment. There were more important things for him to deal with, namely dinner. Halfway through dinner, Aaron remembered that he'd wanted to ask his Mom something. With his mouth still half full of sweet and sour pork, Aaron asked " Can I borrow the car tomorrow night Mom?" Aaron blushed slightly, trying to hide it, " I've got a date." " Oooh, a date" Betsy teased him with a grin, " Who is she?" Seeing the smile on his Mom's face, Aaron grinned himself and decided to have some fun. " His name is Bob" He burst out laughing at the look on his Mom's face. It was hilarious. " Actually her name is Sara." Betsy let out a sigh of relief, chuckling in spite of herself. Aaron had certainly gotten to her with that one. " I remember you mentioning her" She said thoughtfully. " She's the one in your math class, right." Aaron nodded, stuffing his mouth with egg roll. As they finished up with dinner, Aaron and Betsy continued to talk comfortably about one subject or another, but Betsy's mind wasn't fully on their conversation, but instead on the grinning Cheshire cat. On the crystal figurine and the wish she'd ask for that night. Once Aaron had gone to bed, Betsy took the grinning crystal figure down from the mantelpiece where she'd displayed it for the last month, staring at it and asking herself if maybe she should have told Aaron about it . She'd always been close to her son and trusted him before, and keeping this one secret from him didn't seem right. It left her feeling as if she'd been outright lying to him. Sighing, she went over to the window, promising herself to tell Aaron in the morning. By then she'd have the proof she needed to convince Aaron that she wasn't just making it up. Yes, she decided, that was what she was going to do. Seeing that the sky was somewhat overcast, Betsy hoped that it wouldn't effect the figurine. The bright image of the full moon was still visible through the clouds, just not nearly as clear as she would have liked. " Well I guess I'd better do it" Betsy told herself, feeling both enthusiastic and nervous. After going outside, Betsy ignored the crisp chill of the air, telling herself that a few minutes in it certainly wouldn't matter much. " Now, what to wish for" she mused aloud, still not certain what she wanted. All during the past month she'd made up her mind numerous times, and changed it again just as often. Did she want to be rich? That was certainly high on her list of wishes, but was it her highest? Feeling the slight ache of arthritis in her knee, Betsy decided that it wasn't. Not yet at least. Sighing, Betsy looked up at the full moon, seeing part of it poking out through the clouds. Then holding the crystal figurine up to the moonlight. Betsy smiled and announced " I wish...." Taking a deep breath, she continued " I wish I was younger." The grinning catlike face seemed to wink at Betsy and she felt a tingling in her hand where she grasped the figure. " I guess that's it" Betsy said uncertainly. She didn't feel any different. Any younger. But then again, she did notice that the ache in her knee seemed to be fading. Going back inside, Betsy looked into the nearest mirror, disappointed that she didn't look any younger either. " Oh well" she said disappointed, " I guess the clouds ruined it after all." Still feeling disappointed, Betsy decided to go to bed, knowing that she'd have to wait a whole month for another chance. In the morning Betsy crawled out of bed with much less effort than normal. Feeling more energetic than she could remember in some time, Betsy put on her robe and went to the kitchen to get her normal cup of morning coffee. Seeing Aaron sitting at the table eating his breakfast, Betsy cheerfully said " Good morning" " Morning" Aaron mumbled back without bothering to look her way. After pouring a cup of coffee for herself, Betsy sat down at the table across from her son, glancing down at the newspaper as she did so. After several minutes Aaron looked up, then gasped. " MOM?" he said looking confused. " What?" Betsy responded, wondering at the look of shock on her son's face. " What's wrong?" Aaron just stared at her, his mouth open, then he said " What happened to you?" Hearing that, Betsy realized that she had been feeling a lot lighter and energetic than normal. Remembering her wish from the night before, Betsy hurried to the bathroom, followed closely by Aaron. Stopping in front of the mirror, Betsy gasped in surprise. " It worked" she said, staring at a reflection in the mirror that she hadn't seen in years. She looked 10 years younger. At least. " Mom?" Aaron cautiously asked from the doorway. " What do you mean it worked. What happened?" He sounded curious, but also somewhat worried. Sighing, Betsy said " I'm all right." Then with a big smile, she added " I'm more than all right in fact. I'm great." Still smiling Betsy touched her breasts through her robe, seeing that they were both firmer than they had been the night before. With a curious Aaron impatiently waiting for an answer following behind her, Betsy went to the living room and picked up the crystal figurine. " This is what did it" she told Aaron, remembering her promise to tell him everything. Taking a deep breath, Betsy started to tell him everything. " Wow" Aaron said as he stared at the grinning figurine. He certainly wouldn't have believed a word of what his Mom had just said if not for her standing there in front of him, obviously younger than she had been the day before. And it did explain why she suddenly stopped wearing glasses, though he had assumed she'd just gone to contacts. " Real magic" After picking up the little figurine, Aaron suddenly announced " I wish I had a million dollars." When nothing happened Betsy smiled and told him " It only works during a full moon, remember." Aaron nodded faintly, wishing that it were otherwise. " A whole month" he muttered in disappointment. Putting the figure back down on the mantle, Aaron asked " So, how are you going to explain this to the people at work?" " Who said anything about work?" Betsy said with a grin. " I've got to go and get me some clothes that fit better." Aaron groaned, knowing just what was coming next, " I'm going shopping. And you are going to be late for school." Groaning, Aaron looked at the clock and seeing that his Mom was right. If he didn't hurry he was going to be late. " Bye" he called out, running to the door. After Betsy had watched her son leave for school, she started to examine her youthened body more closely. Once she'd examined herself thoroughly, Betsy felt satisfied with the results. Her firmer breasts and thinner waist particularly pleased her. Heading to her bedroom to get dressed, Betsy wondered just what she was going to wish for on the next full moon. " A million dollars? Bigger breasts?" Betsy mused aloud to herself, cutting it short though as got ready for her shopping trip. Betsy had a great time shopping, wincing however at the huge dent it was putting in her bank account. She decided that her next wish would have to be for money, though she reminded herself immediately that she could have Aaron wish for the money while she used hers for bigger breasts. Or perhaps something else nice. Once she'd finished, Betsy started on her way home, wearing some of the new clothes that she'd bought. Climbing into her car, Betsy shifted her new shirt which felt slightly loose. Freezing suddenly, Betsy realized that when she'd tried the clothes on just a little while earlier, they had fit perfectly. Something was wrong. Glancing into the rear view mirror, Betsy gasped in surprise, seeing an 18 or 19 year old looking back. Throughout the day at school, Aaron couldn't help but think about that little statue his Mom had shown him. He couldn't believe that it was real. But every time he started to doubt it, the memory of his Mom looking so much younger came to mind, smashing his doubts. " Just like a genie" he mused to himself, then suddenly remembering that some of the stories he'd heard about genie's and wishes weren't all that nice. He certainly hoped that wasn't the case this time. As soon as school was over, Aaron hurried home, wanting to look at the crystal figurine again. And his Mom. He just had to see the proof that it worked again for himself. Getting home, Aaron walked in the door, calling out " I'm home" Hearing an " In here" from the living room, Aaron started heading there. Poking his head into the living room, Aaron cheerfully called out " So how was your day?" " I need to talk to you" his Mom said back, making Aaron frown. He couldn't see her sitting in the chair with her back to him, but she didn't sound quite right. Cautiously walking over to the chair so that he could see his Mom more clearly, Aaron stopped and said " Holy SHIT" Sitting there in the chair was a 15 year old girl, who looked an awfully lot like his Mom. " MOM?!" he asked in shock, sure that his eyes were about to pop out of his head. She nodded sadly and Aaron asked " What happened?" " I don't know" she said, tears coming down her cheeks, " I just kept getting younger and younger. And I still don't think that it's stopped." Aaron stared at her in shock, while she continued " I don't know what went wrong....and I'm scared." Trying to comfort her, Aaron gave his Mom a hug, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the emotional display, but knowing that she needed it. Finally pulling away, Aaron saw that his Mom had calmed down a little. Trying thing think of what to do, Aaron asked her " What exactly did you wish?" Betsy looked thoughtful for a moment, then told him " I wished I was younger." Suddenly getting an idea, Aaron carefully asked " Did you say how young?" A thoughtful look crossed her face, then one of horror as she said she hadn't. " Then that's it" Aaron said slowly, and fearfully. How young was his Mom going to get? Though they tried using the crystal figurine, neither of them was surprised when nothing happened. Nervously they ate dinner, trying to come up with some idea, but nothing came to mind. Over the next several hours Betsy seemed to get even younger, making both Aaron and her more worried than before. Shortly, Betsy had shrunk enough that she had trouble reaching the cupboards and Aaron had to help her. Her rapidly youthening body really made him worry about her. She was looking so helpless. Knowing that there was nothing they could do at the moment, Aaron suggested that she go to bed early. Reluctantly Betsy agreed, crawling into her now larger seeming bed and looking just like an 11 year old. Aaron peaked into his Moms room again, frowning slightly as he saw her small body lying in her bed, looking so cute and helpless. It was so hard to believe that this was really his Mom. Shaking his head, Aaron closed the door to her room, going to get the crystal figurine. Glancing out the window with the grinning cat in his hand, Aaron noticed that the moon certainly looked full, or at least mostly so. Wondering if maybe the figurine would still work with the moon this close to full, Aaron decided that it was worth a try and went outside. Looking up at the bright moon, Aaron clutched the figurine tightly and said " I wish Mom were back to normal." However nothing happened. Not even the tingle that his Mom said came from the figurine. Sighing, Aaron went back inside, checking on his Mom one more time before going to bed himself. The next morning they awoke to find that Betsy had continued to get younger, and was currently a 5 year old. Betsy was scared and confused, feeling so small and helpless as she sat at the kitchen table, her feet not even touching the floor from her chair. Her own son seemed like a giant to her, leaving her even more unsure of herself. Fortunately Betsy was relieved that Aaron was trying to help her, obviously worried about her. Seeing the little girl across from him, Aaron could scarcely believe that this was really his Mom. She looked more like his kid sister than anything and he had to keep reminding himself that she wasn't. While still staring at her, something dawned on Aaron. She didn't seem to be getting younger quite as fast as she had been the day before. She'd only gotten 6 years younger during the night, whereas the night before she'd lost at least 10. " Maybe it's stopping" Aaron suggested hopefully. " I hope so" Betsy told her son in a tiny voice, sad but not very hopeful. She kicked her legs back and forth in her chair absently while picking at the bowl of cereal in front of her. Though she usually had coffee for breakfast, Aaron had suggested that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea at the moment. That it wouldn't be good for her child's body. As much as she hated it, Betsy had been forced to agree. After staring at each other for a few more minutes, Aaron suggested " I don't think I should go to school today. I don't want to leave you alone." Betsy nodded, not saying a word but looking thankful anyway. By lunch time, Betsy had shrunk even farther, looking to be between 3 and 4 years old. She struggled as she moved through the house naked, finding that no clothes at all would fit her. And as embarrassing as it was, she even had to have her son's help to go to the bathroom since she had gotten so small that she nearly fell into the toilet bowl. The experience frightened her to no end and she started bawling uncontrollably. Aaron gave her a comforting hug, unconsciously speaking to her as if she really were the child she seemed to be, saying " There, there. It's going to be all right." He didn't believe it himself though. " I'm hungwy" Betsy complained, tugging on Aaron's leg for attention. She hated being so tiny and was even beginning to have trouble talking clearly. And worse yet, she knew that it wouldn't be much longer before she couldn't even use the toilet at all. But at the moment, she was hungry and watched impatiently as Aaron fumbled around the kitchen, trying to fix something to eat. " How about this?" he asked uncertainly, offering Betsy a sandwich. " O.K." She said, reluctantly accepting the giant sandwich, knowing that she couldn't eat it all, but certainly willing to try. God she felt tiny, especially next to Aaron. And she could tell that he was having a hard time of it too, though he was definitely trying not to show it. At least, Betsy thought comforted, Aaron was trying hard to help her. She didn't know what she would have done without him. It wasn't too much longer before Betsy's prediction of not being able to use the toilet came true in a disgusting mess that dripped down her leg. Ashamed and humiliated, Betsy started crying again, unable to help herself. It was like she couldn't control it anymore and all her fears and frustrations came out at once. Again, Aaron rushed to her, hugging her and trying to comfort her, even though she had just wet herself. Obviously uncomfortable, Aaron forced a smile and tried to calm her down, though it wasn't easy. Once Betsy had regained some control over herself, she nodded unhappily at Aaron's observation that she needed a diaper. He winced himself at that, obviously not happy or comfortable with the realization that he'd have to be the one to change that diaper. Looking somewhat frazzled, Aaron said " I don't know how to handle this" then he hurried off to one of the neighbors to borrow some diapers. Feeling somewhat confused, Betsy squirmed as Aaron struggled to put a diaper on her. Giggling, she somehow thought it was funny that as soon as her diaper was on, she had filled it again, much to Aaron's disgust. " God Damn" he muttered, being forced to go through the whole messy procedure again, still not sure if he was even doing it right. By the time Aaron put Betsy to bed, she was just a year old, and he was very worn out. And very confused on how to deal with a little kid. " God, I'm a 16 year old guy" he muttered to himself as he went to bed early as well, " not some baby-sitter." As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep. By the morning, Betsy was nothing more than an infant, waking Aaron up with her crying. " Oh God" he said, seeing the crying baby on the bed that had been his Mom just a short time before. " We'll get you back to normal Mom" he told the baby as he picked it up and tried to get it to stop crying, to no effect. Confused and greatly stressed by the constant screaming, Aaron tried to get her to stop crying. Even after he changed her diaper, replacing it with one that was too large, she still cried. Then Aaron realized that she was probably hungry. " But I don't have any bottles" he said aloud. After borrowing a bottle from the neighbor he'd gotten the diaper from, and a little advice, he hurried back and fed little Betsy, relieved when she finally stopped crying and started sucking on the bottle instead. When she'd finished with that, she just went to sleep, which relieved Aaron. At least until she woke up again in just a little while, screaming loudly. Throughout the morning Aaron was run ragged, doing everything he could to deal with the baby. Though Aaron knew that he could change his Mom back again at the next full moon, he also knew that he couldn't deal with a little baby until then. Taking a quick break to eat lunch, Aaron winced badly as he heard the baby screaming again. " Oh God" he cried out. Shaking his head he muttered " God I need help" Just then Aaron heard a slight chuckling. " I'm definitely not God" a voice said, " But I just might be able to help." Turning in surprise, Aaron saw an old man wearing some type of wizards robes standing there in the living room, looking somewhat sad. " You....you're the guy that sold Mom the crystal " Aaron said, sure of it. She'd described the old man who sold it to her, and this guy in front of him certainly fit the description. " Correct." The Old Man said slightly. Feeling excited and hopeful, Aaron asked " Can you change Mom back to normal?" Sighing, the Old Man said " I'm afraid it's not that easy." " What do you mean?" Looking thoughtful for a moment, the Old Man told Aaron " She's been turned into an infant." Aaron nodded. That much was far too obvious. " She has a baby's brain. Baby's brains can't hold all the information from an adult's life." The Old Man looked pained. " You don't understand. Maybe if I'd gotten to her soon enough, but she's spent far too many hours as a baby as it is. I could turn her back to her real age immediately...." The Old Man paused, " But she'd still have the mind of an infant. She's forgotten everything." The Old Man explained to Aaron, looking saddened by the whole thing. " It would be much kinder to leave her as a baby now." Aaron stared at the Old Man in horror and shock. " Shit" he said quietly. Then he realized something else. " OH SHIT" he said much louder, " I'm only 16. They'll put me and Mom both in an orphanage." The thought of abandoning his Mom to an orphanage or foster home sent chills down Aaron's spine. Of course he'd be sent as well, but he seriously doubted he'd remain with her. Even if anyone believed his story. " Oh God, what will I do?" Aaron cried out, not even looking at the Old Man. Quietly the Old Man asked Aaron " You love her don't you?" " Of course" Aaron snapped back, annoyed at such a question. " She's my Mom" " Then you'd help her if you could" the Old Man said. Aaron just glared at him. That didn't dignify a response. Of course he'd help her. Nodding for a moment, the Old Man looked straight at Aaron, making him wince under the intense stare. " What would you give up to help her?" Sensing that the question was serious, Aaron gulped, then answered " Everything." The Old Man nodded. " Then I may be able to help. At a price." " What price?" Aaron nervously asked, willing to pay everything he had if it would help his Mom get back to normal, or at least keep her away from those foster homes where no one would love her. Smiling slightly, the Old Man answered " Everything." Aaron stared at the Old Man for a long time, then nodded his head. " All right" Pulling a bottle out of his robes, the Old Man handed it to Aaron. It was a small vial of a thick clear liquid, mixed with some sort of colored and sparkling glitter which moved around through he liquid in slight spirals. " Wow" Aaron muttered. " With this" the Old Man said quietly " You can take care of her yourself" " But I don't know the first thing about taking care of a baby" Aaron protested sadly, " I can't...." " Don't worry" the Old Man assured him, " This will take care of it" He gestured at the vial in Aaron's hand. " Just drink it. It's your choice." Then with that, the Old Man picked up the grinning figurine and stuffed it into a pocked, adding " You won't need this" Then with a puff of smoke, the Old Man was gone and Aaron was alone in the living room again, the sound of a crying baby clear to his ears. Staring at the bottle in his hand, Aaron said " I can't handle this" he was feeling very stressed, and full of worry about his Mom. About Betsy. Sighing, Aaron muttered " This had better work" then brought the vial up to his lips, drinking everything in it in one try. The sweet liquid filled his mouth and poured down his throat with ease, feeling slightly oily as it went down. When he was finished, Aaron absently dropped the vial to the ground, feeling slightly dizzy. Aaron looked around nervously, noticing a strange wavering along the far wall of the room. As it covered the wall, Aaron noticed that things were changing slightly. The picture hanging on the wall changed into completely different picture, and the wave seemed to be spreading around the room, changing things as it touched them. A flower pot was replaced by lamp, and the wave still came in. The couch was replaced by a different one, of a lighter cream color. Slowly the shimmering effect had covered everything in the room, starting at the walls and moving inward. Aaron stared in shock as it moved closer and closer to him, the circle of things that had yet to be changed slowly shrinking as well. Soon it had moved to his feet, changing all the furniture and even the color of the carpet, then it washed over him. Every fiber of Aaron's body and mind seemed to shift and blur in a wave of dizziness. He could feel his body rearranging, but that was nothing compared to the wash of information flooding through his mind. All new memories and knowledge soon filled him, and when the dizziness stopped, Aaron stood there looking down at himself in amazement. He had boobs. Not only that, but his body was definitely very female. He didn't even need to touch his crotch to know that it was fully so. Though the breasts on his chest felt slightly unfamiliar, there was also a sense of familiarity and comfort with them as well. Then Aaron thought about the information that had come to him. The new identity. Though all his memories of being Aaron were still there, perfectly clear, there was also new ones as well. He knew without a doubt that now he was Erin Carter. A 23 year old single mother, and she had all the memories and knowledge of always having been so as well. Hearing the cry of a baby, Erin frowned and hurried over to her daughter Betsy, gently picking up the infant and saying " There there Betsy. Mom's here" With a quick kiss to the baby's forehead, Erin smiled, guessing that she was just hungry. " I can fix that" she said aloud, pulling her shirt and bra aside so as to give her daughter access. " Here you go honey" she said while baby Betsy started sucking on her nipple, sending a wave of pleasure through Erin. Erin smiled pleasantly as her daughter fed, enjoying the feelings from her breast and knowing that her daughter would need to be burped afterwards. Thinking about what had just happened to her, Erin thought that it was rather ironic that her former mother was now her daughter. But on the other hand, she could also clearly remember giving birth to Betsy herself. " Since you raised me" she said quietly to the feeding baby, " I guess it's only fair that I raise you." Erin smiled at that, not sure if Betsy could understand anything that she said, but suspecting not. If anything of the old Betsy survived, it would be years before it was known. Sighing, Erin knew that her new life wasn't going to be easy. She was a single mother now, needing to both raise her baby and earn enough money to live on. But she also knew that it was worth it. She loved her mother very much, and she loved her daughter equally so. Smiling to herself, Erin shifted Betsy to the other breast, feeling eager to get on with her new life. The End