There was always a baby in my house.  It’s an odd thing to say out loud.  My memory tells me otherwise, of course, but there’s a new set of memories.  Ones where I’ve never been alone in this place.  Ones where I’ve been taking care of this Little as far as I can remember.

It was only a few hours ago when I received the news in the oddest way.  In my bedroom, my sensible, unimpressive bedroom, there were a pair of striking blue eyes.  The deepest blue I’d ever seen, and if it weren’t for her pink wool and horns one could mistake her for one of mine.

She wasn’t, of course.  And besides, they may come from the father.  I couldn’t remember who he was, though.

I spent a good minute staring back at the mass of wool in the crib next to my bed, my boring, plain bed, painted a dull white as if it had been there for years.  She looked to be smaller than me, but that was to be expected- I was rather tall compared to most furs, but she couldn’t be more than five and a half feet, and a grown woman.

“I need a moment,” I said to nobody in particular.  I sat at my writing desk and stared at the empty screen.  Then to her.  That... thing, that little sheep who I swear hadn’t blinked since I entered our bedroom.  My bedroom.  Jesus, the place even smelled like she’d been here, present but vaguely not due to being noseblind.  I rubbed the bridge of my nose.  I needed a drink.

I grabbed to my right and grabbed my coffee mug.  Almost spat out the milk from the bottle.  When did that get there?  Oh, right, adult magic sheep baby.  This was great.  I wasn’t ready to be a mother, memories be damned.  But here I was, with a baby bottle big enough to fit a soda can inside, right after breakfast.

Instincts told me to feed her.  I sighed and sat up, spinning in my chair to face her again.  “Well.  I don’t know how you got here, dearie, but I suppose while you are, you’re probably expecting me to feed you.  Am I right?”

She didn’t respond, just continued to stare like some sort of doll.  

“Uh huh.  Right.  Well, let’s get this over with and we’ll find your actual parents.  If you have any, alright?”

She was heavy, but whatever magic that I was dealing with made me stronger, too.  Good thing too, because my memories told me that she loved being fed in my lap.  Memories told me she was also normally very cuddly, but the little lamb drinking down the bottle right now felt... stiff.  Cold.  Her wool was matted in places, and I could feel her ribs.

“Oh.”  A small pang of regret for my previous comment.  “You don’t.”

The rest of the feeding went by quietly, save for the quiet suckling sound and my breathing.  Far too many emotions rushed through me.  Yes,  I felt kind of used right now.  This strange magic sheep baby barges into my house and demands me to be her Mommy, but I couldn’t just say no, could I?  At least, not until she gets better.  Then we can have a talk about where to go from there.  I didn’t earn enough to care for another.

Right now, though, it was bathtime.

On the tiles, I took off her onesie- I didn’t even know they made such cute designs in that size- to find a diaper underneath.  She had urinated in it.  At this point I was beginning to get over the shock of it all, but curveballs like this were not helping.

“Sure.  Right.  Okay.”  It was easy enough to remove, the four tapes coming off with loud rips.  She was clean shorn down there.  Probably really sensible.  I cracked a nervous smile.  “Let’s get you into the bath.  You smell like a barnyard, dearie.”

I turned to the bathtub to find it empty.  Looks like this one was on me.  I looked around for bubble bath or something like that, but all that was there was my Epsom salt soak.  That would do, I think.  I poured some in while the warm water filled the tub made for me, and lowered her in slowly.

I hadn’t bathed someone before.  I felt awkward and slow as I massaged shampoo into as much of her as I could manage, making sure to not get any into her eyes.  They were pretty, and reminded me of mine, just sharper.  I tried to ignore the memories that kept creeping in.  I just needed to take care of her until she got better.  That’s all.  I couldn’t care for another fur.  The last time I had experience with taking care of something, it was in a Home Ec class with boiled eggs and my grandmother ended up eating the eggs.  I shuddered.

Melissa had given me a hug back then.

I blinked.  The tub plug was draining and I was rinsing her off without thinking about it.

“Is... is that your name?”  I asked tentatively, expecting no response.

To my surprise, she nodded.  Very slightly, but she did!  My heart skipped a beat as her eyes squeezed shut.  I was pouring water on her scalp, after all.

“Alright, Melissa.  Melissa.  Let’s get you toweled off, okay?”

It took a blowdryer, too, considering everything.  She was still very matted, but a shear and cut wasn’t anything I haven’t had to do before to myself, and she no longer smelled of the outside.  And now...

“Time for a diaper!”  I forced a smile.  I rummaged through the cabinet, and sure enough there was an already-opened pack of diapers in her size, along with the toiletries needed for a change.  There was another, bigger pack there, but I quickly closed the doors and laid her out on my towel.

I took full advantage of the memories for this.  I hadn’t ever changed a diaper before.  My arms did, however, and I marveled at the ease that I managed the powder, lotion, and diaper.  It felt natural, in fact, and I had to ask myself if it was the magic or some maternal instinct that had me feeling this way.

I had a few hours to think about it while I lifted her into the couch with me, facing the fireplace.  Melissa needed to warm up, after all, and I left her for only a moment to grab another bottle of sheep milk, this time warmed up in the microwave.  Her magic didn’t affect this place yet, but that was fine.

She surprised me with a hug.  Not a particularly strong one, but that didn’t matter.  It made me jump, tugging at my heartstrings.  It felt... nice.  To be honest, I lived a lonely life.  Writing stories for a news site, sometimes going out for a night on the town.  I hadn’t met anyone that really clicked with me, but Melissa?  This little lamb who coincidentally or otherwise, looked like my daughter?  I felt something for her.  I just wished I could tell if it was this crazy magic or if it was actual... you know.  Affection, love.  I sighed and shook my head.  Again.  I’m taking care of her until she gets better, and she’ll likely just poof out of existence or something as if nothing ever happened.  Maybe.

I honestly couldn’t tell if I wanted her to stay.