Hush, Little Penguin

Durably Diapered

"It's the nuts."

Kwazii gently pushed past Shellington, and peered into the microscope. "Oh, yeah."

Koni lay on a hospital bed, sleeping. On the side table was a medicine vial they were trying on him.

"What do you mean, nuts?" Barnacles inquired. Shellington turned. "He has a major obsession with Leechy Nuts, which are native to islands such as Madagascar. They scramble his brainwaves." Tweak chuckled. " How about that? The nuts make him nuts."

Barnacles rolled his eyes. Peso had spent the night at the hospital, and they were finishing up his surgery, trying to fix his internal injuries. So, here they were, finally discovering the reason Koni was messed up enough to do this to his own son.

"Does this mean we have to like him now?" Barnacles smiled fondly. "No, Kwazii. Feel free to hate him all you want, but try to hate him quietly." The nurse entered the room, scribbling on a clipboard. "I'm afraid you all have to leave. Security will escort him out."

"You can't cure it?" Kwazii asked. The nurse shook her head. "No. He's consumed too many." Tweak muttered something about 'should be illegal,' as they left.

They returned to the waiting room, and sat in silence. Kwazii squirmed, impatient. Barnacles glanced at their worried faces, and considered telling them to go home and rest., when Dr. Galen's friend, Dr. Oach, exited the room. "I have good news, and bad news."

Peso squirmed. These sheets felt foreign. Heck, they felt like actual sheets, and not the cold, hard, uncomfortable floor he'd fallen asleep on. How long had he been out? He felt like he'd been sleeping for days.

Either way, it was comfortable, and warm, but he didn't feel safe. Where was he?

He blinked, trying to open his eyes, feeling so tired even though he knew he'd been sleeping a long time.

'Do you  think he'll sleep more?'

He knew that voice.

'Look, I think he's waking up!'

Peso reached up, and rubbed his eyes. The once foggy voice became clear;

'Peso? Peso, can you hear me?' Peso shook his head a little, and the dizziness and fogginess in his head dissipated. He looked up, staring into the face of his friends. He visibly relaxed. It had been a nightmare. Barnacles stroked his cheek. "It's good to see you awake." He smiled, and spoke in such a soft voice. Softer than Peso had heard it.

"Did I oversleep?" The Octonauts glanced at each other. "Um...Peso...that wasn't a dream." Dashi informed him. Peso glanced sleepily around the room. An IV...was that a medicine chart?

"What am I doing in the hospital?"

"We found you passed out in Koni's cellar." Barnacles informed him. "Do you feel anything?" Peso squirmed a bit. "Can I have some water?"

Kwazii went to get him something to drink, while Peso took everything in. He tried to sit up, and felt something press against his tummy. Why was he diapered in public? And why did these diapers feel so much more...different?

Kwazii held a hospital bottle of water to Peso's beak, and helped him drink. Peso's flippers were shaking like mad. Dashi set Snow Bear down next to Peso. "Hear. I thought you'd miss him."

"Why am I in a hospital bed?"

"You had a surgery Peso. They could fix almost all of your internal injuries."

"Almost all?" The Octonauts looked at each other again, before leaving. The captain stayed behind, knowing the others just wanted to give them some time.

"Well....there's one they can't quite fix...safety-wise, I mean. If they tried, it would've been worse." Peso glanced down. "Why am I wearing a diaper?" Barnacles gave him a smile. "On the bright side, at least you're used to them by now." Peso fixed him with a stare. Barnacles fiddled with his compass for a moment. "Peso...I have some bad news. You're going to have some problems going to the bathroom, diapers or otherwise. It's going to hurt. A lot." Just as he finished the sentence, Peso clung to his shirt, whimpering. The bear checked his diaper, and felt it grow increasingly warm. "Don't worry, Peso. They'll bring in something to fix it." They stayed like that for a while. Peso learned he wouldn't leave until he got some strength back, and they checked his mental state. He was virtually okay with it. He was encouraged to drink water, and eat some food, even thought he didn't want too.

"No." Barnacles stated firmly. "There has to be some other way."

"I'm sorry, sir, but this is it. Any other method would take years to create." Barnacles pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd never seen Peso in so much pain, and wanted to end it for him. And yet, the only way to do that was by hurting him even more.

Peso looked up from his book when the captain entered. The bear held a baby bottle half-full of pink liquid in his paw. "This should be tasteless, Peso." He informed the younger Octonaut, sitting on the edge of his bed. The rest of the conversation was not that much fun.

"NO!" Peso squirmed even further away. Barnacles sighed. He knew it wouldn't be easy. Wearing diapers in private was one thing, but having to wear them around the clock was quite another. And Peso had only been a little for a couple of weeks. He wasn't all that used to it!

"Peso, I know you don't want to do this, but I don't want tom see you in pain every time you use the latrine. You could get sick from that, too!" Peso pulled the covers tighter over his head. "No!" His voice was growing weaker. Barnacles scooped him up, sat him in his lap, and tried to get him to open his beak. Peso turned his head, and pushed the bottle away. "Mm-mm! Mm-mm!"

"Listen, Peso." Barnacles softened his voice. "I know, this will be hard for you. But, if we don't numb you, it'll be worse. You'll be sick, and in pain, and have a higher risk of infection. This medicine will help you. Being permanently diapered seems like a small price to pay, doesn't it?" Peso shook his head, frantically.

"I'm sorry, Peso. If there was another way, I'd take it." Peso started to cry, helplessly allowing the medicine to roll down his  throat. It was tasteless, but he could feel a tingling in his lower half. While he could still feel it, he could feel his barriers slowly melting away.

Once the bottle was gone, Peso pulled the covers over his head, and refused to speak. Barnacles patted his shoulder. "Get some sleep, Peso."

The next day, Peso wouldn't see him. He understood why he did it. He just wished he didn't. He wore diapers in private, and it hadn't even been that long! He wasn't used to them yet! And now, he had to wear them all the time! Around the clock! In the Octopod, in public, everywhere!

"Peso?" Peso curled up into a ball, and didn't answer. Dashi sighed in sympathy. "I know, it's hard. But-!"

"I don't want to hear about it." Peso grumbled. Dashi sat on the edge of his be, and placed something down. It was a little plush octopus she made, in hopes of making Peso feel better. "Why won't you talk to the captain? He's worried about you." Peso scoffed and muttered something Dashi didn't quite catch. The dog sighed. "Honey. I get it. I know you understand why it had to happen, and I know you still wish it didn't. But it did, and sulking isn't going to help."

"That isn't either." Dashi turned to face Tweak in the doorway. "Leave him alone, will you? He doesn't need to hear all that right now." The rabbit took Dashi's place on the bed, and watched her leave. "Ignore them, Peso. They just don't know what to say."

"It's not fair." Tweak nodded in response, hearing tears in Peso's voice. "I know. But, sometimes, not everything in life is fair."

"But, why does it always have to be my life?" Tweak lifted Peso, and hugged him tight. He'd been bullied, abused, and neglected. He'd been kidnapped, forced to wear diapers by hid father, forced to grow up by his mother, forced to be responsible by his little brother-all Peso wanted was a break.

"Peso?"

"Yeah?"

"If this happens again, I will  throttle the person responsible."

Peso had been through enough. He didn't need to hear about how there was no other way. He needed to know he was supported and understood.