Chapter 1: a day in the life

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE: PLEASE READ ***

I have written plenty of weight gain fiction in the past, but this is the first time I've gone public with it. This is one of my favorite stories that I've ever written. It takes a little while to build up, but I think it's totally worth it. I hope you think so too.

If you enjoy this story, please consider leaving a like and a comment. It will be very rewarding for me. If you don't enjoy it, feel free to offer constructive criticism.

Other than that, enjoy! :)

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Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Lindsay rolled over in bed groggily, staring at her alarm clock through sleep-encrusted eyes.

5:00 AM.

5 in the fucking morning.

Again.

She lifted a weary arm to shut off the alarm. Just a few more minutes...they'll understand if I'm a bit late, she thought.

Then a piercing wail tore through the comforter she had pulled over her head. Her hopes of a few more precious moments of sleep were shattered. The baby had been awakened by the alarm, and the poor little guy wasn't happy about it. He was probably hungry, too.

Lindsay's thoughts were a jumbled mess as she struggled to heave herself off the futon. Her long, thick mane of chestnut hair, once a source of pride in high school, now only got in her way as she stumbled around the darkened apartment. She tripped over last night's pizza boxes on her way to the light switch, and half of a remaining pizza slid out onto the floor.

Her little paunch of a stomach grumbled.

"Guess that's what I'm having for breakfast," the young mother told herself.

She rushed towards the baby's crib, shushing and comforting the little one as she gathered him into her arms. "Mommy's going to find a different way to wake up in the morning," she whispered in his ear. He snuggled into her soft bosom and began clawing at her breasts.

"Is my baby hungry?" she cooed.

Lindsay bared her breasts through her nightgown and settled herself on the futon. As the little guy suckled away, she closed her eyes and tried to gather her thoughts about the day ahead of her. Breastfeeding was sensual and relaxing for her, and this was the only time today she'd get a chance to de-stress before late tonight. For a brief moment, in the early-morning quiet of the apartment, she felt the longing again - a deep, powerful, instinctual craving which she had been experiencing for several years. She couldn't name it or describe it. But at moments like this, when her heart and body were connected most intimately to another person, it haunted her. There was something she wanted...something else out there...something bigger and better...

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The alarm clock faithfully snapped her back to reality.

"Shit," she muttered to herself. "5:10 already. I'm going to be late."

The baby's suckling was slowing down, and he was heading towards sleep again. Lindsay quickly nestled him into his portable carrier and dashed towards her dresser, rummaging frantically in search of her nursing scrubs. No time to shower and look pretty today, but Stannonford General Hospital didn't care how nurse's aides looked - they cared that she did her job. She shoved her plump little backside into her pants, buttoned her shirt around her soft tummy, and slipped her sneakers onto her feet while grabbing the leftover pizza off the floor. With the baby's carrier in hand, she managed to dash out the door and into her old Honda at 5:20.

"I'll have just enough time to drop the baby off at day care and make it to work," Lindsay thought, as she ravenously crammed the pizza into her mouth and drove away.

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It was 5:57 when Lindsay walked onto the floor of the intensive care unit at Stannonford. She made it, by three minutes.

The head nurse, a heavyset older woman with a sharp voice, greeted Lindsay immediately.

"Lindsay Vernon, you've got Wing C today. We've had several admissions already, so get hustling."

"Right away, Ms. Crenshaw," Lindsay replied.

Before she headed to Wing C, Lindsay stopped to greet the familiar faces at the main desk: Betsy, a red-haired veteran of Stannonford who was known to take the younger nurses under her wing; Kathy, a mischievous brunette who was as good at partying as she was at saving lives; Mary Anne, a blonde with a heart of gold who loved her patients; and sharp-witted, black-haired Vanessa, whose satirical impressions of Ms. Crenshaw provided the other nurses with some secret amusement. All were women who had endured the stressful environment of Stannonford's ICU for years alongside Lindsay.

"Hey Lindsay! Help yourself to some donuts, girl!" cried Kathy. "We have lots of food at the nurses' desk!"

"Morning, Lindsay!" piped Betsy. "Better get some fuel in that belly, girl --- long day ahead!"

The smell of greasy, sugary baked goods smacked Lindsay in the face. Her stomach started growling again, and her mouth watered.

More food, she thought to herself. Do these girls ever stop eating?

The ICU was usually overflowing with treats -- for whatever reason, the nurses had prodigious appetites and seemed to be constantly eating. Mary Anne was chowing down on a large breakfast sandwich, and Vanessa's cheeks were stuffed with muffins. They smiled and waved, absorbed in their food and early-morning charting. During her first few weeks on the job, Lindsay had noticed that the women of the ICU ranged from slightly chubby to enormously fat.

But right now, she didn't care. The high pressure environment made her very hungry, and having a full belly was relaxing and comforting.

"Mmmmmm...these smell delicious," Lindsay said, as she grabbed a handful of donuts from behind the desk. She stuffed one into her mouth, her cheeks bulging, as she grabbed her charting paperwork off the shelves. The warm, fattening treat tantalized her tastebuds and settled into her stomach. She let out a little sigh of contentment before dashing off to Wing C.

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It was finally 6 PM. Lindsay's weary arms strained at her medicine cart as she made her final rounds. Her feet were burning from exhaustion, and she felt ready to fall over.

Every day was like this. Every. Single. Day.

No matter how hard she worked, there was always something else to be done. Another wound to address, another admission to process, another patient going critical. The stress was never-ending.

She had wanted to be a nurses' aide --- she really did. She was a nurturing and compassionate person, and she had dreamed of wearing the nurse's scrubs ever since she was a little girl. But even she had limits to how much she could give of herself. And being a single mom just made everything harder. Unfortunately, she had little choice. She had to make ends meet.

She grabbed some more donuts on her way out to the parking lot. Eating felt good after such a long day. She let out a big sigh as she sat in her car, devouring more treats. She had lost track of how much she had eaten throughout the day, and she didn't care. It was time to pick up the baby and get home to make some dinner before another long day.

As she ate, her body relaxed, and her little belly spread a bit further forwards in her seat. But Lindsay didn't care -- she just wanted food.

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Late that night, Lindsay lay on her futon, staring at the ceiling. The baby was asleep. The cool summer breeze drifted through the apartment window.

The cravings came back, relentlessly.

What is it? Lindsay thought. What am I looking for?

The tired young mom drifted off to sleep. She would find out what she was looking for soon enough.