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Kaeden's Commitment

by Draugr

Chapter XV: All Things Grow

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This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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A month later, Kaeden was continuing his slow march to progress. He'd shown steady strides, but still had a ways to go before some of the final tests could be administered. Today, like most days, he was spending the time between breakfast and lunch enjoying himself in the playroom. Ashleigh came in to give him some good news, but stopped when she found him clearly distressed. He'd scribbled all over in his coloring book, and Kaeden was normally_very_careful to stay in the lines. His eyes were red as though he'd been crying. She rushed over to him and picked him up, holding him in a tight embrace.

"Kaeden, puppy, whatever is the matter? Tell me," she said.

"I made a lot of mistakes," he said, glumly.

"I...I can see that, Kaeden," she said, trying to keep her composure, unsure as to what was going on with the enigmatic puppy. "Is something else bothering you?"

There was a long silence. "... No," he finally answered.

"Puppy... I know when you're fibbing to me. It's okay, you can tell me anything," she said quietly.

Kaeden let out a long, depressed sigh. "I...had an accident."

Ashleigh was genuinely confused. Out of everything to distress Kaeden... this?

"Oh... do you want me to change you?" she asked. Normally she would not change a charge immediately if they asked, preferring instead to check their diaper to see if they needed changed. This time, however, her pup was clearly distressed and she was willing to do what she needed to to make him feel better.

"No, no. I mean... I didn't do it on purpose."

"Well... that's why you're wearing a diaper, puppy. Puppies have accidents; it's nothing to feel ashamed about."

Kaeden sighed, irritated.

"No, Mommy, you don't get it. I don't even know how long it's been going on, I just... I didn't even know I was wet until... until I was already done."

"Oh, Kaeden, sweetheart, is that all that's wrong?"

He nodded, and Ashleigh turned him around so he was facing her.

"Do you remember what you asked me about Alex?"

"I thought he was having accidents, like, real ones. Like I had then, except mine were when I was sleeping."

"And I told you that would happen to you, eventually," she said. "It happens to most puppies in the program. You've been having accidents since before Alex left too, you know. Most puppies start having daytime problems long before you did. You didn't want to give up on your independence very easily, though."

"I... I've needed diapers for that long?" he said, incredulously. "How do you know?"

"Please, Kaeden, I've taken care of my fair share of puppies. I understand your body language, even if you don't know what's going on. You used to have this cute little twitch of your tail, and then you'd go real still when you wet your diaper. You stopped doing that at about the start of Alex's second week."

"How... how could I miss that?" he said, confounded.

"You've had a lot of things going on in your life, Kaeden. A lot of changes, and a lot of upsets. And you've probably just gotten so comfortable with using your diapers that you didn't even notice when it started to be less about when you chose to, and more about when your body needed to."

"I... I don't know how to react. I'm not even that upset anymore, I guess... I mean if it's been going on that long... seems kinda silly to get upset about it now, right?"

"You shouldn't be upset about it at all. It's kind of inevitable. Even puppies that have had short stays with me usually develop some minor issues. Once you graduate, you'll grow out of it soon enough, okay?"

"If you say so... "

"I do say so. Now take that frown and turn it upside down for Mommy, okay?"

Kaeden couldn't help but do exactly that at the childish command.

"Good. Now I can tell you the good news. Alex is coming to visit you."

"He is?"

"Yes, he is. As a matter of fact, he should be here in a couple minutes. I told him to let himself in when he gets here. So if you want to be presentable for your friend, maybe we should go get you changed."

She picked Kaeden up, and carried him to his nursery, laying him down on the changing table. "Is he going to... be grown up, while he's here?"

Ashleigh nodded. "While he accepted the benefits of the puppy mindset, I don't think he wants to return to that any time soon. He's done a lot of things with his life since you last saw each other."

"I can't wait," he said. Just then, they both heard the sound of a door opening and closing.

"Looks like you won't have to," she said, smiling, then turned to shout out the nursery doorway. "I'm changing Kaeden, we'll be out in a minute!" she yelled.

"Ohmygosh, Mommy, did you have to do that?" Kaeden said, flushing bright red.

"You're cute when you blush, pup. What are you ashamed of? You two shared a crib."

"Yeah, I know, but he's all grown up now."

"And you're not. He doesn't expect you to be potty trained, so don't worry about it."

"I... okay," he said, as she finished taping on his new diaper. She grabbed his shorts from his dresser, then pulled them up over his diaper, and after buttoning them up, helped him down.

"Now go say hello," she said, giving him a playful smack on the bottom, which sent a couple baby powder clouds 'poofing' out from his shorts.

Kaeden gave a surprised yelp, then scampered out to the living room, where he launched himself at Alex, giving the Dane a huge hug.

"Ooph!" Alex exclaimed. "It's good to see you again too, Kaeden."

"You kept your promise!"

"Of course I did! I wouldn't lie to you."

"I know, I just... I missed you a lot!"

"I missed you too, pup. Have you learned anything since I've been away?"

"Bunches! Mommy says I'm making progress every day now. She also said you've done a lot, too?"

"I have, actually. I have a new job, now - I'm actually working for Chainbreakers, interviewing potential clients."

"You pick the new puppies?"

Alex laughed. "No, not all Chainbreakers clients become puppies. That's just part of the whole picture. But it's a new situation many times each day... and I can just take it all with ease."

"That's amazing! You were even a bit nervous when you first met me. I don't think I could even do that, not yet."

"You will be able to soon, pup. If I can, anyone can."

"I hate to interrupt the reunion," Ashleigh said, coming in from cleaning up the nursery, "but it's Kaeden's lunchtime. Would you like to feed him, Alex?"

"If it's okay with Kaeden. I don't want it to be weird for him or anything... "

"I actually had something come up, so he doesn't really have a choice unless he wants to eat a couple hours from now." That was a fib, of course - this was just another new trust exercise that she wanted Kaeden to succeed at. Something small, but Kaeden had always needed baby steps for most of his therapy.

The Shepherd was flushing, but nodded. "Puppy food is in the fridge. Feed him three jars of something he likes, and one jar of the veggies."

Alex took Kaeden's paw, and led him out to the kitchen as Ashleigh left for her office.

"Mommy lets me sit at the dining table, now," he lied, as he got lifted into the high chair.

"No, Mommy doesn't," Alex said, smirking. "Otherwise you wouldn't still be getting fed, and you wouldn't be eating puppy food, and your high chair wouldn't be sitting out either. I went through this program too, remember?"

Kaeden blushed at being so easily caught. "I'm sorry... " he apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'd have probably done the same thing in your place," Alex said. He walked over to open the fridge, taking out one jar of the mixed vegetables... and another jar of peas.

"Hey! Mommy said I only had to eat one jar of veggies," he said, grouchily.

"And I bet Mommy has also told you not to lie to friends. This is your punishment for lying to me. Do we need to go discuss this with Ashleigh?" he asked, sternly.

"Geez, it's like you don't even remember being here... " he grumped.

"Keep up the attitude problem, mister, and you're only getting one jar of the stuff you like."

Kaeden gulped, but didn't respond.

"Now, what flavor do you want for the other two jars?" he asked, emphasizing the number.

"Um... I like bananas... and kiwi is pretty good, if we have any of that left," he said.

"We've got both," he said, after rummaging around for a moment. "Do you want to start with your veggies?"

"Uh-huh," he said. "That way the taste won't stick with me," he said, wrinkling his nose.

The Dane proved rather prodigious at feeding a reluctant pup. Very little of Kaeden's vegetables wound up on his muzzle, although he cleaned Kaeden up with a couple baby wipes before starting in on the fruits. As Kaeden was more eager to eat these, not a single drop wound up on the outside of his muzzle.

Alex lifted Kaeden out of the high chair after that, balancing the small dog on his hip. "Do you still get a bottle at lunch?"

The Shepherd shook his head. "Just when I wake up and when I go to bed."

"Interesting. Sarah had me weaned off formula by the end of my first month. I guess everyone does it different."

"I'm not a_baby_," Kaeden emphasized. "Just 'cause Ashleigh won't let me grow up as fast as you did. Besides, I think she just likes bottle-feeding me."

"And you don't like it?" Alex said with a mirthful smile. Kaeden answered with a sideways glance and a deep blush.

"Don't fret, Kaeden. I guess we're growing up little by little, aren't we?"

"Not fast_enough_," Kaeden grumbled. "You were already eating sandwiches with forks by now."

"Actually, I had graduated by now, but I also didn't tell fibs to my puppysitter."

Kaeden had to blush again at that, a bit ashamed.

"I said I was sorrryyyy... " he drawled.

"And that's very polite, but I think you'd get some more big boy privileges if you didn't do those sorts of things in the first place, don't you?"

"Yeah, probably... "

"Well, enough of that talk. Why don't we go play with blocks? I seem to remember promising you we could build a block tower our first night in the crib together."

Kaeden seemed much more upbeat at that prospect. Ashleigh checked in on them from time to time, pleased to see her charge so happy. She actually did have some progress reports to file, and although they weren't urgent like she pretended, she decided to get to work on them since Kaeden remained occupied with Alex - who had indeed agreed to puppysit for Kaeden.

A couple hours had passed in the playroom before Kaeden began to feel his tummy rumbling. He tried to ignore it, not wanting to... do_that_... in front of his best friend, but after months of answering nature's call with little delay, he didn't have quite as much control as he used to. Not even ten minutes after he first felt the urge, his tail involuntarily flagged, and he filled the seat of his diaper. He tried to be discrete about it, but Alex noticed what was going on - and if he didn't, he could certainly smell Kaeden's accident, judging by the wrinkled nose.

"Uh oh," Alex said. "Is someone a poopy puppy?" he grinned - but his face fell when he saw that Kaeden was crying.

"Don't tease me," he said, sniffling, keeping his head down.

"Kaeden, we went through the same things together. You don't have to be embarrassed around me. I'm sorry for poking fun, though, I thought that was something you'd be used to with all the teasing we did to each other."

"I just... I wanted to prove I could be a big dog. You're all grown up and adult and stuff since graduating, and I'm still... me."

"That's not true at all, Kaeden. I can see a lot of progress in you just since I last saw you."

"Really?" he said, looking up with reddened eyes.

"Yes, really. Now let's get you to Ashleigh so you can get out of that stinky thing."

Kaeden shook his head. "Mommy has to come check me first, remember?"

Alex grinned. "And I'm your puppysitter today. I'm responsible for your well-being while you're under my wing. I may be all 'grown up' now, but I'd hate to see what she'd do to me if I let you sit here in a dirty diaper."

Alex picked him up with ease, holding one arm around his back, and one under the seat of his diaper - accidentally pushing his 'accident' up into his fur. Feeling Kaeden jump, and hearing him whine, he apologized.

"Sorry about that, puppy. I didn't think about it - Sarah always just kinda... y'know. It happened anyway when she checked me for messy accidents."

"Gross."

"Yeah, gross. But you get used to it."

"Not really."

"Okay, not really," the Dane said, smiling. "Now, let's get you to Ashleigh."

Ashleigh made short work of cleaning up Kaeden and changing him into a fresh diaper, after which he was returned to the Dane for more playtime.

"Thanks... it's only been a month but I'd already forgotten how babies smell," he said, ruffling Kaeden's headfur. The Shepherd blushed, but seemed to take the jibe in good humor.

"They've got their good smells, too, though," Alex added, noticing a few white spots of baby powder on Kaeden's exposed tummy-fur.

Dinner was a repeat of lunch, with the exception of Kaeden getting his full three preferred jars of puppy food. After a little more time in the playroom, Kaeden's bedtime was approaching. Alex didn't even need his wristwatch to know.

"Alright, pup. I'm sure you need changed by now, and it's almost time for you to go to sleep. Let's get you back to Ashleigh."

"Aw, c'mon... can't I stay up a little later with you?" he whined.

"I don't think Ashleigh would approve of me keeping her pup up past his bedtime. Besides, you've been yawning every two minutes for half an hour. Whether you realize it or not, it's your bedtime."

Alex stood outside the nursery to give Kaeden some privacy during his diaper change. Once Ashleigh allowed him back in, she indicated he should sit with Kaeden in the rocking chair. She returned in short order with a warm bottle of formula, and left just as quickly.

"Bedtime bottle?" Alex asked. Kaeden nodded. He adjusted the Shepherd so his head was held in the crook of his arm, then offered up the nipple for Kaeden to nurse. It wasn't long before he had the bottle emptied - and upon noticing the time, ten minutes past eight, set it aside and tucked him into his crib.

"It was great to see you again, Kaeden, but I hope for your sake, the next time we meet you've graduated from the program. Be good for your mommy, and keep working on improving. Sleep tight, little one," he said, pulling the blanket over his former cribmate, and lifting up the side. He turned out the light, then went to sit in the living room for a bit with Ashleigh before he left.

"Thanks so much for arranging this, Ashleigh. It means a lot for me to be able to see him again. I had a lot of fun with him when I was here before."

"I love him bunches, but it was good to have a day to myself where I could get some work done. He's a really needy pup, and I love spending time with him, but... yeah. If you ever want to puppysit for him again... just call."

"My duties with Chainbreakers are keeping me pretty busy lately, but if I have a chance before he graduates, I'll give you a call for sure."

Alex got up as if to leave, but Ashleigh stopped him with a gentle touch to his arm.

"Alex, wait. I heard you, at lunchtime."

"Oh, um... I'm sorry," he said, blushing. "I wasn't sure what to do after catching him in a fib, but I figured you wouldn't let him get away with it, so... "

"No, that's what I mean," she interrupted. "You did good. You're a natural with puppies like Kaeden. I paid attention to how you interacted with him during the day. Have you ever thought about being a caregiver?"

"Can... can guys be caregivers?"

"We don't have many, Alex, but there are some. It's difficult to find men with the right sort of qualities we are looking for, who also have the desire and no other responsibilities holding them up. Some puppies like Kaeden have mothering issues in their past, but there are pups who enter the program who need to experience what it would have been like to grow up with a father."

"I... no, I guess I've never thought about that. I do like what I'm doing now, but it is pretty low level stuff. Would they even let me do that, with my history?"

"I'm not actually sure. I only know of a couple caregivers who are former charges, but they do exist, although it's really more about the individual. There's henchmen like Rashid, sure, but I don't think you're cut out for that kind of work. That requires a harder way of dealing with people than a gentle soul like you is capable of. But, maybe I could make a few calls and see for you, if you'd like that."

"If I can help even one person overcome their difficulties like I was helped... that would mean everything to me. I really did enjoy puppysitting for Kaeden, though. He's really sweet."

"He is, but he wasn't always like that. Remember, you'd have to deal with charges when they are much more rebellious, too. I doubt he told you about his first weeks here."

"He told me a little. They were a lot more... intense, than mine were, at least from one perspective. I didn't need any discipline, it just took me forever to adjust so that I could function and start to benefit."

"You think you could handle that?"

"Well, the only experience I have is Kaeden's little fib in the kitchen, but... I don't think that would be an issue for me. You delegated a lot of the more unpleasant things to Rashid, right?"

Ashleigh nodded. "I did, but I was still involved in his discipline. You can't simply shy away from things you aren't comfortable with doing. Sometimes it's necessary, and not even from a punishment perspective. For instance, Kaeden isn't the first charge I've had who needed 'help' using his diaper. Sometimes puppies will get sick, too, and just because they're ill doesn't mean you can... well, take their temperature like you would an adult's, if you get my meaning."

Alex grimaced. "Yeah, I get you. I wouldn't like doing any of that, but as long as I knew it was to help them, I'd be okay."

"That's how I do it, Alex. I'll make a few calls in the morning then, and let you know, okay? You might have to make the actual approach though, and ask them for the job - just because I'd like to see you take the initiative."

"That'd be great. Thank you so much, Ashleigh. For this, and everything you did for me while I was here."