chapter 12 - care

Beep...beep...beep...

Ash muted the monitor, her ears thankful for the reprieve. She squeezed her partner's chubby digits, and leaned back into the stuffy chair, furious at herself. Why did she play so hard into Daisy's fantasies? She knew how passive her partner was, she should have asked, she should have checked in. She never should have humiliated her love so cruelly, with such brash, and so…publically. If she hadn't *enjoyed* herself so much…

But why had she enjoyed herself so much?

Ash peered over to Daisy sleeping on the bariatric hospital bed. She was hooked up to countless wires and tubes taped over, under, and through her girth. It was here Ash was truly able to admire all of the now permanent changes she had molded into Daisy:

The features her face had when they met were completely erased, her hazel eyes barely able to shine through her cheeks which had risen like yeast into dough. Her shoulders spread wide to frame her large body, her flabby arms drenched in sweat around her pits. Her breasts melted into them, struggling against gravity to rest up on her chest. Her belly was now in two, the upper one more like draping and decoration to the wide ovoid below it. The only landmark beyond red, purple, and white stretch marks was a deep, cavernous belly button. Ash chuckled, remembering back to times where she'd tease her pet, sticking in unreachable candies that only became more encased as she feasted. Ash instinctively reached over to playfully slap her butt, the fat jiggling down thick wobbly stumps.

Daisy stirred into a moan.

"Mmmm...mmmmm," she yanked her hand out of Ash's, and massaged deep into the adipose encompassing her lower mass. The movement gurgled up belches, jolting the pig awake.

"MMMMM oooOooOoo! Oh Piggy good, Master, me piggy good! Eeeee! Oink!" She increased her speed, rubbing furiously around her body until breaking out into snorts.

"So that *was* Daisy I saw on TikTok; I barely recognized her." A woman in a white lab coat motioned to a nurse to sedate Daisy, "I'm Dr. Rivera," she extended a greeting to Ash, "are you her spouse?"

"Partner, yes. I'm Ash," she bolted up, "What's happening to Daisy, is she gonna be okay?" Daisy's snorts and grunts lessened as she drifted back into sleep.

The doctor sighed, unsure of where to start, "I don't know of how much you are aware, but your partner has Producing Inactive Glycogen Syndrome. It's a rare condition that usually results only in minor weight gain," she took a cloth to her glasses to clean away the room's humid fog. "The patient can no longer burn fat cells, so they become lethargic, but at that stage it's completely treatable.

"However, Daisy's case has worsened. There are only two published papers on this disease, both of which my colleagues and I had to translate before reviewing. The first known case was in Soveit Ukraine in the 1970s and the most severe case as well. Patient started as a 28 year old female, 51.0 kilograms 157.2 centimeters tall. By age 33, she had delusions of being a sow, and was found nude at 281 kg in a barn. She had to be committed for stealing food across the countryside from farm animals.

"The other case wasn't much different, a 37 year old male in the aughts from Quebec. His gains translated to 550 pounds in four years. His spouse committed him because he thought he was a milking cow." Dr. Rivera removed her glasses entirely, surrendering to sterile humidity.

"It is rare for major adverse effects to manifest, and rarer still for it to progress as quickly as it has in Daisy. We have her on medication that should lessen these symptoms, but I do not know how much can help in the long term. We simply need more data." The doctor paused to put an arm on Ash's shoulder, lifting then guiding her to the hallway.

"Several colleagues and I have a team and access to research grants. All of her medical treatments would be covered, and she'd receive a weekly stipend to live a comfortable life. I know this can be overwhelming and a lot to take in. Daisy could be moved into a care facility full time, all of her needs would be taken care of. No one would blame you if…" There was an awkward silence beyond Daisy's mild snoring in the background. Ash soon spoke to fill it.

"...if I left her."