"I can't believe how bad it stinks in here! I think I'm starting to feel a bit sick."

"Now you know what we had to deal with for a couple of years, Marinette. Looking after babies isn't just like in the commercials, you know. There's the crying, the vomiting, the teething…"

"Whatever Mom, let's just get her changed! The way things are right now, they just might have to fumigate the bakery 'til we're ready to open again."

"Alright dear, let's just pop her down over there, and see what we're dealing with. I can't believe your father chickened out on doing this with you! So much for being a 'big, strong man'! Let me tell you Marinette, find yourself a husband who's prepared to share all chores with you equally, then lock him away, because that guy's a keeper…"

"Priorities Mom, priorities!"

"Oh, of course. Well, I'll lift her out, and you have a rummage 'round in the basket for anything useful. Like for instance, fresh diapers. Here we go then… alley-oops!"

With Tom promising to contact the police instead of his wife because 'girls are better at taking care of other girls' (a blatantly sexist diversionary tactic if ever there was one) it had been left to Sabine and her faithful assistant Marinette to do the 'dirty' work (pun not intended) of sorting out the crying baby's bathroom needs.

Having transported their loud cargo to the more peaceful retreat of Marinette's upstairs room, Sabine and her daughter wasted no time in attempting to rectify the ongoing smelly situation. The first step was obviously removing the baby out of the confines of the basket, which afforded both caregivers the first opportunity to get a proper look at her.

The modest growth of blonde hair on the head would indicate the young one was at least a few months old, if not yet a year. She wore a snug yellow onesie which matched the color of her blankie, and a quick look inside her mouth (easy enough due to all the constant screaming) indicated her teeth were only just beginning to show signs of growth.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever come across a baby quite as fidgety as this! Little help here please, Marinette?" Sabine was quite taken aback by how much the young one struggled whilst being held aloft, and not wanting to drop her, requested urgent back-up.

"C-Coming…!" Marinette stammered, feeling overwhelmed already. She'd already had a look inside the basket, and was surprised by how much stuff the absentee parent had managed to squeeze in there. Ignoring everything else for now, she simply grabbed a spare diaper and ran over to where a major scuffle was beginning to take place.

"We'll need more than that! Some fresh wipes would be nice!" Sabine commented urgently, clinging onto the squirming baby as though her life depended on it. "Also a changing mat, if you can find one."

"Uh, okay!" Marinette trekked all the way back to the basket, and quickly found a pack of wipes… but no mat. "Um… do you think we could put her on a towel, or something?"

"Yes, I suppose in this emergency that'll have to do." Sabine rolled her eyes, before remarking. "Just make sure it goes straight in the wash when we're finished!"

Having set everything up on her table, Marinette watched as her mother gently laid the soiled infant onto the furniture, trying to remove her outfit after doing so.

"I swear Marinette, even though you had your off days… you were never as uncooperative as this!" Sabine growled out loud, for as she tried stripping the baby, it seemed to protest more than ever. "Anyone would think she was embarrassed to be in this situation, which of course is impossible. Oh well, either way, we can't have you going around all day smelling like a sewer. Not to mention the dangers of diaper rash… come on, here we go!"

By excising a bit more effort, Sabine was finally able to unpeel the onesie off the baby's unsettled form, until she was clad in nothing but a yellow diaper. Very odd, this 'yellow' color scheme she's got going on… maybe it was her mom's favorite, Marinette noted with a raised eyebrow.

No matter. Next came the most difficult part (as if things hadn't been tough enough already) which was the change itself. First, the rather messy removal of the diaper, which resulted in even more tantrums and tears (not to mention a lot of gagging) until said sodden garment was safely tossed into a nearby trash can.

Now that the baby was naked (yup, definitely a girl, Marinette noted) it was time for the big clean-up operation to commence. This involved more input from the blunette, as she had to hold down the baby in a non-forceful way as Sabine did her utmost to clean thoroughly all around the baby's legs, bottom and private area. Not the most pleasant of tasks, but what must be done.

Finally (and thankfully), the slipping-on of the fresh diaper itself, which for some reason the baby abruptly calmed down for, almost as if she was glad to be covered up once again. Strange, thought Marinette, but just a coincidence surely. After all, like her mom implied, infants have no shame when it comes to nudity.

"Okay, that'll do for now…" Sabine exhaled deeply whilst dabbing her brow. "Let me tell you, Marinette… if I ever get nostalgic for motherhood again, all I have to do is think of this experience to put me right off the idea! I'm just gonna go and wash my hands and put this onesie and towel in the machine, you watch our 'guest' to make sure she doesn't get up to any mischief. And there was me thinking the most stressful thing today was selling those leftover bagels… sheesh!"

As Sabine marched out of the room to begin her own cleaning routine, Marinette stared thoughtfully at the baby, who now seemed to have stopped crying and regarded her surroundings with a mixture of curiosity and bafflement.

"Well little one, you've certainly given us quite the headache this morning! How can someone so cute cause so much trouble!" Marinette smirked amiably, as she went to pat the baby's head. "I wonder what the next surprise will be on this weird day… hey!"

The infant, upon seeing Marinette's hand approaching, went out of her way to dodge it, before backing as far to the edge of the table as she could without actually falling off.

There was something chillingly familiar about the look she gave Marinette too, in her big blue eyes. Almost a look of pure… hatred?

I'm just being silly, babies can't hate. R-Right?!

…

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yahoo! I met my deadline! I'm so happy! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the way things are looking now, the next one to follow in short order. Until then, bye! :