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MAU: The Other Side of the Fence Part 5 Redemption Part Two By MR.20 INCH BICEPS Sunday January 5th 2009 It was three o'clock in the morning and my head was spinning! Did I just hear right? Did Jack really say what I thought he said? I looked at Claudia who obviously had been crying for quite some time. Jack was still seated on the sofa, I could tell he was tense, spent, and had called me to attend their little party. I would bear witness to whatever was about to take place. My heart was beginning to pound frantically in my all too muscular male chest. "What the hell is going on?" I asked as I threw off my winter coat and collapsed into a recliner opposite from Jack on their sofa. "We've been discussing... 'things'" explained Jack as our eyes met. "Claudia insisted that you be present" he added with a grimace. "Damn right I did!" she snapped. Jack's eyes darted in her direction and I'm afraid mine followed. "How could you do this?!" she cried. Jack just looked at her like a deer caught in a poacher's light; paralyzed and unsure as to what to do or say next. "And you went right along with him!" she added as she glared at me with fire in her eyes. I raised both my hands as I asked: "Along with what? I don't even know what it is the two of you have been fighting about!" "Oh, don't play innocent with me, Mr. Gray! Or should I say, Miss Gray?" I felt the blood leave my face as I stared at her a few steps from me. I looked at Jack and for the first time I felt like my big brother wasn't going to be there to help me out - even though he was right there in the same room with me! Somehow it was all of a sudden every so called 'man' for himself! "Claudia I-" "Hold it, hold it right there!" she said sharply, "You better think before you speak! And it better be the truth, because I'm pregnant again and the mother of 'his' child!" she added. As she pointed at Jack she had said the word 'his' like she was talking about some bug she found squashed on the sole of her shoe. My arms fell back down onto my lap as I considered her words. She'd given me an ultimatum; a fork in the road is what it really was. I looked at Jack who sat there so silently it was deafening. There was not a clue as to what he wanted me to say in response to his wife. I thought of little Hannah asleep in her crib and suddenly I felt a hurt so deep that it surprised me. I'd met a fork in the road indeed! Would I see her again after this night? I swallowed hard and looked back at Claudia who still looked at me with her eyes ablaze. I thought of Doctor Z and my therapy with him suddenly; living from the inside out suddenly seemed a luxury I couldn't really afford. My, our, secret was just too great to reveal! I mean, it was a lot to lay on someone. It would change their entire concept of - "What's taking you so damn long to answer you son of a bitch?" she shouted. I'd never heard Claudia so angry before in my life! I jumped; I was so startled by her tone. She was totally in control of the situation I suddenly realized and I looked at the mute Jack once again. "Help me out here, Bro!" I suddenly blurted out. I truly didn't know what to do! "Isn't that sweet," she remarked sarcastically before Jack could answer, "You think of each other as brothers!" I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Jack truly was a pussy whipped man I realized. It didn't matter that he was built like a huge Mack truck; Claudia was the boss! The silence was damaging and the longer it went on the more so it was. "Claudia," I said, "please try to relax." She laughed until she started to cry as she stood there in front of the both of us. It hurt me greatly to see her in such pain. Claudia crumpled to the floor and sobbed. I wanted to go to her and hold her in my arms but something told me not to. I looked at Jack. He had tears running down his face. How had this happened I thought? Life had thrown us another curve ball, the only thing was this one involved an innocent child, and it knocked the air out of my gut. "Jack -" I pleaded, as I tore my eyes from him and looked back at Claudia lying in the fetal position sobbing so uncontrollably on the floor. I heard him move his big body from off the sofa and approach her. I watched as he knelt down beside her and tried to comfort her. She jumped when he touched her forehead and her sobbing seemed to gain momentum; but then it slowly began to subside. Claudia sniffled suddenly. "I want to know the whole story! Don't I deserve at least that much?" she cried. She sniffled again and her breathing began to slow down. Jack brushed his huge hand through her hair and said yes. I felt awful. I wanted to crawl away somewhere and hide. Who were we really? What right did we really have to involve an innocent woman in our lives? Claudia had been hurt beyond belief - literally. Who would believe our story - the truth? I sighed as I heard Claudia sniffle once again. She was falling asleep on the floor I realized with relief. It would give me, us, time to think. I looked at the clock; it was all of three thirty in the morning. Jack waited patiently until he was sure that his wife had fallen asleep and then he picked her up carefully and put her on their bed for the night. I sat in silence in their living room as he covered her with blankets and then checked on his daughter. The stress of the past few hours I could see plainly on not only his face but in the way that he carried himself. He moved like a man defeated; like the war had already been lost. I watched him as he went to the kitchen and came back with two bottles of beer. He offered me one and I took it after a brief moment of indecision. If ever there was a moment for a beer this was one! "What the hell happened?" I asked not realizing I'd just repeated my question word for word. Jack opened his beer and took a long guzzle. I suddenly understood he had no intention of answering me at the moment and I opened my own beer and followed his example. I felt very grateful for the biting taste of a great beer! The silence didn't last too long fortunately. "'Things just didn't add up' she said," explained Jack as he started to fold himself back down onto the sofa. I furrowed my brow and looked at him for a moment. They'd seemed so happy together. I thought they'd be married for the rest of their lives. "What do you mean, Jack?" I asked. He took another drink of his beer and gave me a long look. "She said that she'd always known I was a little bit different somehow; but she just attributed it to the listening to a different drummer; bodybuilders, she added, certainly did listen to a different beat" he explained, without really explaining anything at all. I nodded and I sighed and took another drink from my bottle of beer. "How did she find out Jack?" I finally asked. He shrugged, which surprised me. "Claudia is very observant, Justin," he said, "and she's not stupid either." I never thought she was, but I didn't say so. "And?" I said. Jack gave me a look of such sadness that I can't describe it here without - without crying myself. "She thought it so very odd that Doctor Z insisted on checking Hannah out himself. And then it didn't help that I was so complicit with his request to leave the clinic and go to a hospital in a waiting car! What was I supposed to do, Justin? I had my back up against the wall? If I'd declined he'd have pulled out his heavy artillery and we both know it!" I nodded in silence and continued to listen. "And of course I have been very a -" Jack stopped talking for a moment and took another drink of his beer. "Very what?" I asked. "Dutiful, proud, overjoyed, curious, and even a bit jealous husband," he admitted. "Jealous?" I asked, not sure of what. Jack nodded. "Of what?" He sighed heavily. "Of her giving birth, Justin." I nearly dropped the bottle of beer I was holding in my hand! "What!" I replied in a harsh whisper. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Jack grimaced and swallowed another gulp of his beer. "I'm afraid I don't understand, Jack!" I exclaimed. "Oh, come on Justin! You of all people know how badly I've always wanted to have children of my own!" True. I did know how badly; but that was then this was now! "I guess I just asked her one too many questions about what it all felt like that she began to pick up on some sort of a vibe" he explained. "She told me tonight that most men would never ask such questions; they'd rather not know". "I see," I said. Mistake number two I noted to myself. "But still..." I added. Jack nodded and shrugged again. "Sondra having overheard the doctor's remark about my daughter didn't help matters at all," he said flatly. "But I thought you'd explained that all away so very well," I said. And really I did, I almost believed it myself. Jack chortled and looked at me. "Have we been men for so long now that we've forgotten how intuitive women are?" he asked, suddenly angry with himself. I gasped. Had we? It was a damn good question. It was certainly a good question to ponder for later. I filed it away somewhere in the back of my brain and looked at Jack. "Didn't you pick up on how cold Claudia became at the company Christmas party, Justin?" he asked. I did. It was why I had chosen to get up and go to the bar at the time and I reminded him of it. And then the other shoe dropped. "I've been so stressed out over this whole are we human; is my daughter human thing that I have been talking in my sleep, Justin." I gasped again. "Oh. My. God!" I said. "What have you been saying?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. "She's pieced it together I'm afraid. She told me tonight that I scared her with my angry words." "What words?" I asked, not sure I really wanted to know. "You have to understand Justin I was dreaming when she woke me up and told me this." I nodded impatiently. "Well," he said, "I threatened Doctor Z with bodily harm if he ever told Claudia that -" Jack turned and looked out the living room window for a moment and then back at me. "That I used to be a woman," he finally said. "That would do it!" I said. Jack nodded and finished his beer. "So," I said, "she woke you up to confront you?" Jack nodded again and stood up. "Want another beer?" he asked. I looked at my beer that was only half finished and said sure. It was going to be a long night anyway. "You said she pieced it all together," I said as I took the second bottle of beer from him. "Yeah," he said, "she did." "Well, what has she pieced together exactly?" "Just about everything." I was stunned. "She knows about the machine?!" Jack nodded. "But there's nothing we can do about it now, Justin," he said. "Does she want a divorce?" I asked. Jack winced. "I don't know, Justin," he said, "I don't know." "Oh my god, Jack! This can't be happening!" He just sighed and opened his second beer. ****** I heard Hannah start to cry from within Jack's bedroom; a sweet muffled sound. I smiled. She was awake. I looked at the clock on the living room wall. It was nearly seven a.m. I'd managed to get only a few hours of sleep after I'd finished my second beer. The chair I'd made my bed for the remainder of the night made my lower back ache. I looked at Jack sprawled out on his sofa. He looked comatose, spread eagle, and he was wearing only his boxers. Neither of us slept with any blankets; we'd simply fell asleep right where we were. I heard, or I should say it this way, Hannah stopped crying. Claudia must be breast feeding her I thought. I wondered what on Earth could possibly happen next. I didn't dare leave Jack now! Not after last night. Besides, we really were brothers; and he'd looked after me when I could barely function. I owed it to him. I wondered how long he would sleep on the sofa. I wondered how much sleep he'd actually got. I wondered what Claudia would be like this morning. The only thing I knew for sure was that I still loved them and it would kill me not to be able to see Hannah grow up! I wanted to be able to watch her learning to walk, run, and explore her world with the wonder of a child - the child of God that she really was. I vowed right then and there on that recliner that I would do whatever it took to make sure that I was present in her life. If I had to involve Doctor Z I would! If I had to call in an Agent I would do that too! I wasn't going to let our world fall apart. It would kill us both! I shuddered to think of Jack losing them both! He is my rock of stability. I don't think he could survive and still be the Jack I've come to depend on. And there really is no rebuilding what he has now. Losing them would take away all reason for Jack to go on living. I sighed and looked away from him on the sofa so sound asleep. Sleep hard brother, I thought; because my gut tells me you're really gonna need it! ****** It was just after nine a.m. when Jack woke up. I'd been awake since seven, used the toilet, munched on a piece of fruit, and helped myself to a glass of milk. He stretched his massive frame for a moment and then looked at me sitting on the recliner. The look on his face was plain. "No, Jack," I said, "it wasn't a dream." He sighed, nodded, and looked away. We were silent for several moments before he finally spoke. "Have you seen Claudia?" he asked. "No," I said, "but I did hear the baby cry a bit until Claudia quieted her," I explained. Jack nodded and then noticed his tented boxers. His morning woody was crying out for attention and he swung himself up to a seated position on the sofa. He looked at me with an expression that was all at once pathetic, undeniably full of pain, and so very torturous for me to continue to lay eyes upon. He stood and went to the bathroom. From my chair I heard the shower start momentarily; it would help to wake him up I thought to myself. I was jarred from my thoughts by the sound of Claudia's bedroom door being opened. She emerged carrying little Hannah in her arms and looking about warily. When she eyed me in the living room she let out a sigh and seemed to relax. She went into the kitchen and began to pack a bag for Hannah. "Tell your brother," she said sarcastically, "that I'm taking the baby and going to my parent's." My mouth fell open. "Claudia," I said, "you can't do that!" She stopped what she was doing and looked at me angrily. "Oh yeah!" she said. "Watch me!" I jumped up out of my chair and bolted towards her. "No," I said, "You can't do that!" I towered over her as she stood in the kitchen looking up at me. "Of course I can, Justin! And I am!" I took a deep breath and let it out. "No, you don't understand! You really don't want to do that!" I explained. "Are you threatening me, Justin?" she said accusingly. I rolled my eyes. "Of course not!" I said. "I love you, all of you! But you don't want to do that! They wouldn't like it!" I added. Her face screwed up in a question mark. "What are you talking about?" "He's talking about the Feds, Claudia!" I heard Jack say and spun around to see him standing behind me with a towel wrapped around his midsection. He was soaking wet! He'd apparently heard Claudia and me from the bathroom. "I don't give a shit," she said, "I haven't done anything wrong!" "True," said Jack, "but it won't matter to them! They won't take the risk!" "And what risk is that?" she demanded. "You'd be a security risk, Honey!" explained Jack. "And why is that?" she asked. It was a fair question that deserved to be answered. "You know too much," I said. Claudia whirled around to face me again and looked into my eyes. I could see the furtive look for refuge, safety, and peace for her and her child in her eyes. It hurt. "And just what do I know, anyway?" she asked. "You can't hide from them. Even if you promised not to say anything to anyone else ever, they wouldn't trust you, Claudia" said Jack. "If they thought you wouldn't cooperate in the least little bit they'd either kill you or put you somewhere where nobody would ever be able to find you." "They'd use Hannah as a weapon," I said flatly. "You might not ever see her again." I saw Claudia's back stiffen from where I stood behind her. She hadn't thought of that. And then I saw her posture slump as I heard her ask Jack what we had gotten her into again. 'Isn't this where I came in last night?' I thought. Claudia looked at her baby crawling around on the living room carpeting. She went to her child and lifted her up into her arms. It was then that I noticed her start to cry once again. "I want the whole story," she said, "and I want it now!" ****** So that's what we did, we told her the truth! While Jack finished dressing, I started making breakfast for us all and began our tale. "It all started out so very innocently, really" I said, as I made Jack and me some scrambled egg whites on the stove. "We found a shiny black metal box on the way out to have some drinks" I explained. I filled her in on the box's unusual qualities and how I really thought nothing of it; as nothing more than an odd shelf decoration really. "But?" said Claudia as she tended to Hannah at the kitchen table. "I got curious!" said Jack as he walked into the kitchen dressed in jeans and a white tank top. His hairy chest and unshaven face reminded me that anyone looking at him would never ever believe that - "What did you do?" asked Claudia warily as Jack approached her and suddenly stopped. The tension in the room was palpable; I do hate to say it but you really could have cut it with a knife. "I got the damn thing to open up somehow," Jack explained. "What?" I didn't have to look at Claudia's face to know she didn't believe Jack. "It didn't just open up like some sort of Christmas present, Claudia," I added. "No," Jack said, "it grew!" I heard Claudia say as I tended to our eggs, "Oh, come on! You don't expect me to believe that, do you?" "You wanted to know the truth!" I said without looking at her. "But -" "But nothing!" Jack snapped. "We're telling you the truth!" There was sudden silence and Jack began again. "The damn thing grew so big and so fast it scared the shit out of me. I was literally paralyzed with fear! It soon was the size of a telephone booth before it finally stopped growing. On the outside it had a computer screen with levers and knobs alongside of it." "Breakfast is ready," I said to no one in particular. We ate while Jack continued on with our story. "I was the one that discovered what the damn thing could do; totally by accident, honest!" Jack smiled, but Claudia was not amused. He cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway," he said, "I soon figured out that whatever image I conjured up in my mind found its way onto the computer screen and I could become it." "Just like that?" she asked. "Pretty much" replied Jack as he shoved another forkful of egg whites into his mouth and began to chew. "Claudia," I said, "this is going to take a long time to explain. Your attitude is not helping." There I'd said it! "My attitude?" she replied calmly, as she looked at me. I nodded but that's as far as it got. "Alright you two; I believe I was the one talking!" Jack snapped. I jumped and gave him a look that said I was sorry and he began to talk again. "I'd transformed myself into this voluptuous woman and was checking myself out when Justin here discovered me in our living room". I chuckled a bit at the memory and felt my dick start to harden. Suddenly I was brought back to reality - Claudia laughed. "What were you doing; playing with yourself?" she asked. Stunned; I looked at her aghast. She was making this very difficult for the both of us. "No, I wasn't!" shouted Jack as he shot her a look that could kill. That's when I started to add to our tale again. "I didn't believe it was my friend Gloria," I explained. "So that's your real name, Gloria?" she asked. Jack looked at her and nodded his handsome head. "I'm afraid so, sweetheart," he said so meekly from within that huge body he wore it was both hysterical and absurd. "And yours?" she asked me suddenly. I paused momentarily. "Justine," I said finally as I looked her in the eyes. Claudia nodded and looked at Jack once again. "So, Jack here had to prove it to me by transforming himself into a copy of Justine" I explained. "And that's when she - I mean he - passed out" Jack added playfully as he nodded in my direction. The tension was beginning to lift from the room as we continued on with our story I noticed. I was beginning to think that just maybe things would work out all right. Claudia looked at me from across the table and gave me a small smile. "I think I would have, too" she finally said. ****** So we spent the rest of the morning explaining to Claudia how we spent several days trying on different bodies like you'd try on dresses, or fur coats. We told her about going out as two of the most gorgeous women you'd ever seen and getting laid by some guys. We told her we thought we were having fun and not really hurting anyone at all. And we were and weren't until Gloria's boyfriend beat her up. This got Claudia's attention immediately and she looked at Jack with a look I couldn't really read. We didn't go into all the bloody details of course; but it helped to underscore how we transitioned into experimenting being men. We told her about using a 'Playboy' magazine to compile our perfect male bodies and then assume them. We told her how different it was to go out in public as two gorgeous guys instead of two gorgeous women. We told her how emancipated we both felt! How high! I told her about all the guys I tried on; Mr. Handsome with the athletic body; Mr. Gay Guy, and boy was she ever shocked when I told her I'd even got some as a gay man! I surprised her further when I told her I'd tried out being black; a big black man. But it didn't surprise her when I explained I couldn't handle it; especially after what happened in Harlem. She asked how we ended up as bodybuilders and Jack started doing more of the talking. "That was my idea, I'm afraid" he explained. "I went out and bought a muscle magazine after some gay guy came onto me at a gym!" he added. "So!" she exclaimed. Jack blanched. "I'm afraid," I said, "that my friend here is a little homophobic." Claudia rolled her eyes but seemed to understand. "The guy's face I was wearing was somewhat famous!" Jack snapped. I nodded when Claudia looked at me with a questioning glance. "It turned out the famous model was - no - is gay!" I shrugged, "Claudia," I said, "Jack couldn't handle it in the least little bit! It has to do with his upbringing." She sighed and nodded. "So, its all beginning to fall into place..." she announced. That is until Jack admitted how he'd made the choice of not wanting to be a woman any longer. "But why?" Claudia asked sadly. "I was miserable as a woman, Honey" he replied. "I was always looking for something, or someone else to fix me and solve my problems. Being a man all of a sudden was so intoxicating! So liberating! You have to understand. As a man I didn't have to worry about my personal safety anymore; I could go out and not look behind my shoulder. I grew up in a very oppressive environment and was sexually abused by my own father -" Claudia's body jerked back against her chair. "What!" she said abruptly. "You never told me that!" Jack looked at me and then we both laughed. Claudia looked at us both angrily and asked what was so damn funny. "Claudia," I said, "Gloria here couldn't tell you because she's Jack now!" I explained. I could see by her expression she still didn't understand. "Claudia," I said, "there's a lot he can't tell you because he's a man now! Don't you see? It would have made you suspicious; we men don't express ourselves like women do! Trust me! I know the difference because I'm actually living it!" Claudia's eyebrows arched. She looked at Jack, her husband; a big muscular bodybuilder who badly needed to shave his face and I noticed something unspoken cross her features. "Nobody's going to ever abuse you again as long as you're in there. Is that right?" she asked Jack. I'd always known it but never discussed it with Jack. I didn't need to really; it was just something unspoken between us. I understood it much like he understood my need for his support after being transformed into Justin unwillingly. Jack nodded his head so very slightly as to be nearly nonexistent. "I see," said Claudia so softly that it was barely audible. The silence that ensued was awkward to say the least. I got up to clear the table of dishes and when I was done I went and took a shower. I figured it was time for a break. ****** So as I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror after my shower I wondered how the third act would go. I was thankful for the lessening of the tension in the room; it made it so much easier to tell our story. And I wondered when Claudia would be happy that she'd heard enough. I opened the door of the bathroom and immediately heard the two of them talking to their daughter as ordinary parents would. I listened for a moment. I never wanted it to stop. And I knew that Jack certainly didn't. I sighed and left the bathroom. "Are we ready for round three?" I asked as I walked back into the kitchen. They both looked up at me with completely different expressions. Jack looked anxious and Claudia looked surprised. "There's more?" she asked. "Yes," I said calmly. "Or have you forgotten about the good Doctor Z?" "Oh," she replied with a somewhat embarrassed look on her face. I was about to start again when Claudia looked at me and motioned to Hannah in her high chair. "She's ready for her nap, Justin. Give me a minute" she said as she removed the tray from in front of my niece. "Sure," I said, "but first let me give her a kiss nighty-night." To be quite honest with you this was a test to see where Claudia stood. As she picked Hannah up out of the chair she turned to me and surprised the hell out of me! "Here," she said, "why don't you go ahead and put her to bed for me. I'm kind of tired," she explained. I couldn't help but show my shock; nor could I hide the tears that began to swell in my eyes. I took my niece from her mother and gave her a hug. "I'd love to," I said, "come with Uncle Justin! It's time for your nap." I quickly turned and padded my way to the baby's crib. When I'd returned to the kitchen from putting Hannah down for her nap; Claudia was making us all coffee. "Justin," Claudia said, "Jack tells me it's his fault that you're a man. Is that true?" I stopped dead in my tracks! "Why did you say that?" I asked Jack. "Because it's true!" he replied without a moment's hesitation. "No it's not!" I said. "I could have changed back the night before and you know it! But I was just being lazy and the next morning that's when the machine stopped working!" "It's still my fault," he said, "if I hadn't wanted us to go out again that night and play pool you wouldn't be in this mess!" "Haven't we been through this enough, Jack?" I asked. "I mean, really, talk about beating a dead horse with a stick! Do you know what Dr. Z said about all of this?" "No," he said. "He told me 'God makes no mistakes' and He doesn't Jack." They both looked at me like I was nuts. "Yeah, that was my reaction too!" I said, "But let me explain: If God knows all and He doesn't make mistakes then that means that He knew what the outcome of our using the machine would be, Jack! Don't you see? We are as God meant for us to be at this point in our lives!" True it was the short form of my very long and painful conversation with Doctor Z; but it would have to suffice. "But that was an alien machine!" Jack exclaimed. "An alien machine?" Claudia asked; stunned. Ooops! There was mistake number three. Not thinking before you speak. I sighed heavily and looked at the coffee maker on the kitchen counter. "Is the coffee ready yet? I could really use some," I said. Claudia looked at the pot and took the hint. "Sure," she said, and got up to fix us each a cup. I gave Jack a look that said 'fucking great' and remained silent. Jack obviously hadn't yet told her that the machine was of alien origin. Claudia returned to the table with our coffees and sat back down. "So now you're both tellin' me there's such a thing as aliens?" she asked calmly. "I'm afraid so," I said. "This just keeps getting better and better!" she remarked as she sipped her coffee. Jack gave her a look out of the corner of his eye. What that meant I had no idea, but I'm sure it was something that passed for silent communication between married couples. I let it go. "Well," I said, "we're pretty sure of it anyway. None of the agents have told us definitively yet, however" "Agents?" she asked. I nodded. "Yeah," said Jack sharply, "the one's that would take Hannah away if you'd didn't cooperate" Claudia shuddered and took another sip of her hot coffee. "That's not going to happen!" she said, as she put her coffee cup down onto the table top. Jack sighed and took another sip of coffee. There was silence again for a moment between the three of us. But then Claudia surprised us all again. "So has anyone seen these aliens?" she asked. That was our Claudia! She just put it out there! "I think I said we're not really sure, remember?" I said. Claudia's brow rose slightly as she said, "Oh, yeah! Sorry. It's just that there's so much to process!" I looked at Jack and looked down at my male self. "Tell us about it!" I said. Claudia's jaw dropped and she looked at Jack. "Sorry," she said suddenly realizing what she'd just said. "This is going to take a little bit of getting used to" she added. "Claudia!" I said, jokingly. "Well," she said, "it is!" "Tell us about it!" This time it was Jack who said it and not me. Suddenly the kitchen was filled with our laughter. I looked at my brother and realized that I'd left him hanging on the hook so to speak for my transformation for way too long; despite my best efforts at trying to persuade him otherwise. "Jack," I said, "really, my being a man isn't your fault, not in the least bit. What Doctor Z says, I believe to be true, - we're all His children, even aliens!" Jack just shook his head in disagreement and I knew I'd have to let it all go once again. You can bring a horse to water but you can't make it drink. I sighed again and picked up my cup of coffee once again. "So this machine just stopped working all of a sudden?" asked Claudia. "Yep," said Jack adamantly, "it did." "I remember you got so damned pissed off you threw it out of the window after it shrank itself down to book size once again" I said. Jack remained silent and sipped from his coffee cup. "So, that's how you both ended up being bodybuilders? The machine just stopped working one morning and that was that?" I looked at Jack for a second and knew that this was something he'd rather not we elaborate on. "I suppose we both could have very well ended up as anyone else really" I said, "But of all the bodies Jack had tried on that he felt the most comfortable being, was well, Jack! So I put on my bodybuilder body too, to accompany him out that night and we went out and played some pool. He's my best friend, Claudia, so I relented, and changed into Justin from my original form of Justine even though I had to go back into work the next morning" I explained. Claudia nodded in silence and sipped some more of her coffee. "So then what happened next?" she asked. I smiled humbly. "That's when all hell really broke loose!" I said. "Why's that?" she asked us both. "Well, think about it!" Jack said. "We suddenly had no identification, no access to our money, credit cards, jobs, no place to live, and no people we knew. Nobody! Just me and him!" he added with a nod towards me, "Me, and him." "We're so tight it's scary!" I said with a smile. Claudia smiled. "I always knew there was a damn good reason for the two of you to be as close as you are." "Well, now you know," said Jack flatly. Ouch! I thought to myself. Jack was getting irritated as our conversation continued. I'm sure it bothered him that his fa?ade of being the alpha male had been broken. And I wondered where that would take him next. The color suddenly drained from Claudia's face and she looked at us gravely. "What?" I asked. "Jack has always said his family is -" "They're not dead, Sweetheart," he interrupted. Claudia looked at me and gasped. I looked at Jack. He'd rather not elaborate further. "For all intents and purposes they may as well be dead," I explained. "Mine too," I added softly. Claudia gasped again. "Oh. My. God!" she exclaimed. "Exactly," I said, "we're brothers Claudia, whether you like it or not." "I'm so sorry," she said, "that's got to be hard." I grimaced but didn't say anything. What was there to say, really? There was more awkward silence between us for a few moments. More coffee please... "So you just forgot about your families?" she asked us gently. I looked at Jack; again I knew he didn't want to answer. I swallowed and went through the door. "In a manner of speaking, Claudia, yes; what other choice did we have?" She nodded her head in silent understanding and sipped from her cup of coffee. Then I opened another door. "I did go back to see my parents one last time as Justin," I said. "What? How?" she asked thoroughly confused. "I couldn't stand them not knowing what had happened to their daughter. So I made up a story about how Justin crossed paths with her. I told them that Justine was fine, that she'd been a witness to a serious crime and was now in witness protection with the federal government. It seemed to do the trick," I explained. "Ingenious!" she replied. "I bet they were relieved. Have they ever tried to contact you again?" "No," I said, "they have no idea how to. Plus, I told them it would be very bad for both Justine and me if they ever tried to." "I see," she said. "Good for you!" I smiled wanly as I thought of my parents and my last visit with them. "My father passed away without ever seeing me as Justine again," I said softly as I looked into my coffee cup. "I'm so sorry," I heard her say. I shrugged one of my massive shoulders. "It's OK Claudia," I said, and looked up at her, "I went to his funeral anyway. I just made sure my mother never saw me." She nodded again in silence. And after another moment of silence between the three of us she decided to bring us back to an earlier point in our story. "So what did the two of you do in New York City in bodies that were so foreign to you with no identification and no resources?" asked Claudia. I took a deep breath and let it out. "We got jobs!" I said. "Jobs?" she asked. "Where?" "The gym," I replied proudly. She looked at Jack who only nodded in silence. "That damn machine not only transformed us into men, but into real bodybuilders. It gave us all of the knowledge we'd ever need to work as bodybuilders and professional personal fitness trainers for the rest of our lives," I explained as I pumped up my huge chest just the littlest bit with pride. "Amazing..." she remarked, "absolutely amazing!" I smiled and got up to get us some more coffee. I poured us each some more and sat back down in my chair. "But where did the two of you live? Sleep?" she asked. "At the YMCA," Jack answered. I nodded my head in agreement. Claudia's eyes grew big. "With all those other men?" she asked. "Why not? We were suddenly men too, Claudia," I said. "If only in body," Jack added. "Oh my god!" she remarked. "That had to be horrible with all those other smelly guys?" "Actually," I said, "it wasn't that bad. We smelled too, Claudia," I said with a smile. And it was the truth! We did smell. And it was the smell of musk, testosterone, and fear! I remember a hell of a lot of fear. "But-" she said. "But what?" I said, "Sure it was cramped in that little room we shared. And sure it was a real adjustment to learn to shower in a room full of other naked guys," I added. "What?" she asked. "There's no shower stalls in men's locker rooms Claudia. It's usually just one long wide hallway with at least two dozen or so showers lined up on the walls," I explained. "Oh. My. God!" she said. I chuckled softly and looked again over at Jack. "It wasn't so bad really," he said. "We learned by watching the other guys groom themselves, Claudia. Sort of like 'monkey see monkey do!' We didn't know what size underwear to buy let alone how to shave our faces!" Claudia rolled her eyes again in amazement. She nodded and looked at her husband again before speaking again. "How long did you two live there?" she asked. I looked at Jack and he looked at me. "Until the Agents caught up with us," I said. "This truly does just keep getting better and better," she said, as she shuffled in her chair. "You have to understand Claudia that the Agents can be dangerous. They seem to show up out of nowhere and seem to know everything that is going on. Jack and I think we are under constant surveillance at least." Claudia looked at the ceiling for a moment. "Bugs?" she asked softly. "Probably," I answered, "but like I said, as long as you cooperate everything will be just fine." Jack nodded his head but didn't say anything. He knew, like I did, what the Agents were capable of and it was also obvious to us both that the surprise visit by Doctor Z to examine little Hannah had been a setup by and through the Agents. We simply had to be under observation of some kind. One thing Jack and I both knew we could never tell Claudia about was the compound. That revelation would surely bring the Agents down on us full force! There was no need for Claudia to know of its existence. And ironically it's most likely where she would be living to raise Hannah if all else failed and she found out about it. "But how did they find out about you?" she asked us. I shrugged my shoulders. "Claudia," I said, "they're worse than the Secret Service! Jack threw the damn box through the window and it fell over six floors down onto the street! It got traced back to our apartment. When they took us in to their headquarters, blindfolded by the way, they told us how they'd canvassed the area and asked people questions. Look at us! We stick out like-" "Like two big bumps on a very smooth log!" she said. "Yes!" I said. "And people noticed us as we emptied our place of everything of value we could pawn. Our neighbors had never seen us before. When I stop to think about it I'm surprised the neighbors didn't call the police then. The Agents put it all together; really when you think about it - it wasn't all that difficult to track us." "In the end," Jack said, "we were grateful that they'd finally caught up with us." I nodded in agreement. "Yes," I said, "they gave us each twenty-five thousand dollars, identification, passports, birth certificates, even our degrees in physical education to be able to start over in society." And then Jack added. "This was only after Dr. Z examined us both and found us both to be -" "Human?" Claudia asked, as she put a hand on Jack's muscular forearm. He nodded but he did not look at her. Claudia removed her hand and picked up her cup of coffee again and brought it to her lips. More silence between us I'm afraid; but it passed. "We rented the apartment I still live in" I finally said. "It's been sort of weird not having Jack around since the two of you got married." The sudden guilt on Claudia's face was plain. "I'm sorry Justin," she said, "but there was not anyway for me to know." I nodded. "It's OK," I said, "really, it is! I was so happy when the two of you got married out in Las Vegas!" I immediately regretted what I had just said. The look of discomfort on Claudia's face made me uncomfortable. I'd obviously opened a door that hadn't yet been unlocked. I sort of muscled my way right through it. Oh well, I thought, what was done was done. I looked at the clock. It was nearly three in the afternoon! "You're not going anywhere" Jack said. "While you were in the shower I called in to work for you and got someone to cover your evening shift tonight, Bro!" "But-" I said. "No buts!" he snapped. "I need you here." I gasped. Jack had never really allowed himself to be so vulnerable since he acquired a dick and became an Alpha male! I was stunned. Apparently 'GI Joe' needed Barbie's handsome 'Ken'. "All right," I said, "I'll stay." ****** And stay I did. It proved to be a very interesting afternoon. While little Hannah slept, we continued to converse... "So what happened after you two got settled into the apartment?" Claudia finally asked us after Jack's announcement and my agreeing to stay. I looked at Jack and smiled. "You want to tell her or should I?" I asked him. Jack looked at me with a sheepish grin. "Go ahead," he said, "I don't care, it's in the past!" And indeed it was in the past. "We went on vacation!" I announced. Claudia actually laughed. And then we all did. "What the hell!" she exclaimed. "I would have! Where'd you two go?" she finally asked us. "The Bahamas!" I replied. "Aren't they great?" she asked no one in particular. "Yes!" we both answered nearly in unison. So I told her about our adventures in the Bahamas! How we learned to prance about nearly naked as guys on the beach in 'Speedo' swimsuits. How we met up with Joy and her girlfriend and were inseparable. I even described to her about our being pressured by the two of them to go skinny dipping in the warm Caribbean waters. She'd laughed long and hard when I'd confessed our brief concerns about our, um...raging erections before we'd removed our swimsuits and dived into the water to join the girls! I also shared my New Year's Eve ordeal of wearing a tuxedo for the first time and being so completely dressed up as a man. "Damn, my brother looked hot!" Jack suddenly said and laughed. "I'm sure he looked dashing," Claudia said as she looked at me with a look of confusion on her face. "I'm afraid he meant that quite literally," I added. "I was very glad to finally get on board that cruise ship and into the air conditioned banquet room" I explained. Jack chuckled again. "It's the same tux I wore when I took you out for Valentine's Day," he said as he looked at her for the first time in some time. Claudia nodded and looked at Jack. "We had a nice time that night," she said. Jack nodded. "Yeah, we did," he remarked as he took another sip from his coffee cup. "So, you went to the Caribbean and had a great time. And when you got back?" she pressed. I shrugged my shoulders. "Life happened," I said. "I started to fall in love with Joy. Well, you know this part Claudia!" I exclaimed. "Yes, I do," she said, "but there's something neither of you have said anything about and I've been around the block a few times, you two; but this takes the cake!" I looked at Jack and he looked back at me. "What's that?" I finally asked. And then it hit me when I recognized the look on her face. It was the same look Ella gave me when she wanted to know about... "What's it like to have a penis?" Claudia blurted. ****** I sighed and Jack actually jumped! We both looked at each other wondering which one of us was going to answer her. "Here we go!" I said as I brought my big hands up and covered my face in sudden embarrassment. "What?" she asked us both. "What's wrong? If I suddenly grew a penis wouldn't you want to ask me about it? You two not only grew penises, you each also got a new chassis!" she said. She had a point there. And of course we both would have asked! And of course her logic was inescapable; the only problem was this was Claudia! I suddenly thought about my conversation with Ella. That conversation was something that I could put away and in fact leave at the compound since friendship with Ella had been nixed. Having the same conversation with Claudia was vastly different! We'd been, - I mean, Jack most certainly had been sexually intimate with her at least once! We wouldn't be able to leave the conversation anywhere. This was - well, this entire conversation was definitely life changing for the three of us. Scratch that! All four of us! "Jack -" I said, with my hands still covering my by now red face; hoping he'd take the hint and get his wife to let it all go. "Honey -" I heard Jack plead, "I'll tell you later." "But we're really just three girls here talking!" I heard her remark boldly. "No, we're not! Not really," he said, "and you're embarrassing the hell out of Justin!" "I suppose I am," I heard her say, "if you're turning so red is any indication, Justin?" I then felt myself turning even more beet red and I suddenly wanted to hide under the kitchen table! I really didn't want to take part in this part of Claudia's tutelage of our past. In fact, learning to be the 'fucker' and letting go of being the 'fuckee' had been probably one of the most challenging aspects of our transformation! I thought of all the women Jack had been with before he met Claudia. If she only knew how much effort went into learning to be a great fuck! Indeed! Great fucks weren't born, they're made - and with lots of practice I might add! The damn machine made us both men; but we had to learn to be great fucks! Jack and I have had many a conversation about the uses of our penises to pleasure women. In fact, we shared notes! But it somehow seemed wrong to me for us to dissect such a remarkable function of the male anatomy like we were discussing the breeding of prized cocker spaniels! I was relieved really when I heard Hannah awake in her crib. I dropped my hands away from my face and didn't wait for an answer. "I'll go get her," I said, as I quickly got up and left. ****** I took my time getting Hannah up from her nap. I changed her wet diaper and dressed her. At almost seven months old she was the spitting image of her mother. Of course I recognized Jack in her facial features as well; there was no mistaking her mouth, which was definitely Jack's; both in its physical make up and it's use! Hannah had a way of letting you know just what she thought; when she was ready of course! Just looking at her makes me smile and feel all warm inside. I love her so much! I picked her up, sighed, and padded my way back into the kitchen. What Jack and Claudia were now discussing didn't really surprise me at all; it seemed like a natural progression of her...um, question. "So, you like being a man?" I heard her ask as we turned from the hallway and joined them back in the kitchen. "I love it!" Jack said without hesitation. "It's great!" Claudia looked at me as I handed her daughter to her. "Thanks, Justin, for changing her," she said. I smiled and patted the top of Hannah's head. "Anytime," I said with a smile as I looked from Hannah to Claudia. "Jack was just sharing with me some of his observations on being a man. Care to comment?" she asked me. I smiled again and looked at Hannah. Jack was her father, he was Claudia's husband, and he was my brother. What could I say that he hadn't already elaborated upon? "Has my brother been telling you more of his stories?" I asked playfully. In all honesty I hoped that the two of them would continue on with what they had started - their conversation I mean. "What stories?" Jack suddenly said annoyed. "It's all true! The hard times at the YMCA, the lack of money, of family and friends, of -" "Everything?" I added as I sat back down in my chair. "Yeah, everything!" he said. "Can you really blame us for wanting a little companionship?" he finally said. And it was a question in need of asking! Claudia stiffened and then her body relaxed as she considered the question. "No," she said, "I probably would have done the same thing in your place actually." Jack looked at her and a soft smile formed on his lips. He put his hand on hers and looked at his little girl still seated on her mother's lap. "I try to put myself in your place though and I can't. I can't seem to get beyond the fact that the two of you used to be women. I look at the two of you and my brain tells me one thing and my eyes tell me something else all together different," she said, "but I love you Jack. I couldn't have asked for a better friend, husband, and father for Hannah." OK, here is where I start to tear up myself. You'll have to forgive me if my account from this point on gets at all confusing. I am doing my best to remember the words... I actually saw my brother Jack shed tears for the first time in our very short lives together so far as men! He didn't say anything in response to Claudia's words. He just sat there in his chair and cried. Claudia abruptly put Hannah down on the floor and gave Jack a hug as he sat and cried. "I thought I was going to lose the both of you," he said through his tears. I lost it at that point and picked Hannah up from the floor and went into the living room with her. It seemed like the right thing to do. It's not really important what they said to each other at that moment in time for this account. I suppose you'd have to go look for Jack's journal (If he kept one!) because I really have no idea what they said to each other as Hannah and I eventually went into their bedroom and closed the door for awhile to give them some privacy. We were in there for at least ten minutes when Claudia knocked on the door looking for her child. "Thanks again, Justin," she said, "I'll take over from here." "Sure," I said. "Everything OK?" I asked. "Everything's fine!" she said. "Come on back out to the kitchen. Jack has something he wants to say to the both of us." 'Oh, great!' I thought, 'now what?' I followed Claudia back out into the kitchen where Jack still sat at the table. I could still see the remnants of the tears he had shed on his face. He looked at me with reddened eyes and smiled. Claudia sat back down with Hannah on her lap where she had been before. "What's up, Bro?" I asked as I sat back down at the table with them. Jack looked at me a moment in silence. "I'm sorry I've been so selfish," he said. I flinched and looked at both him and Claudia. I wasn't at all sure what he was talking about and said so. "What do you mean?" I asked. "I've - well," he said, "I've been sitting here thinking about all that has happened to us Justin. I don't think I've been a very good brother to you," he added. I'm afraid I flinched again only this time my mouth fell open. "What are you talking about Jack?! You've always been there for me!" I exclaimed. I really didn't have any idea what he was talking about. "Still," he said, "I could have done more simply by being around more instead of being such a..." "Man?" Claudia suddenly interjected sarcastically. Jack nodded his head in silence but didn't look at either one of us. He just sat and looked straight out the kitchen window. I thought about the tough time just after our transformations. I thought about feeling so totally alone except for Jack. How great he'd been to help me with whatever problem I'd been having with whatever it was; shaving my face, suggestions on how to approach a woman, our many conversations about the use of our 'tools'! How could he be saying this to me now? "You're wrong!" I said. "This is just your guilt talking about my being stuck as a guy Jack and nothing more! Let go of it!" I added. His eyes darted in my direction. "Let go of it!" I repeated once more. "Justin's right, Jack," Claudia added softly as I looked at Jack in the eyes. I didn't look at Claudia; for a moment it was just Jack and I in the world. "But-" "But what?" I said, "I'm not going to tell you again, Jack! I could have changed back the night before but I was just being lazy! And you couldn't have known!" He looked out the window again for a few seconds. I watched him closely as he processed what both Claudia and I had said. He turned and looked at me. The look in his eyes was still filled with sadness and perhaps guilt. "I'll try," he said. ****** I wish I could say that our conversation ended there with Jack's promise to try and let go of his guilt; but it didn't. Claudia had said she wanted to know it all and continued to unlock as many doors as she possibly could despite Jack's successfully diverting her from discussing our erector sets between the three of us anyway. Still, I was stunned when she asked us what we missed most since becoming guys. I blanched and looked at Jack who rolled his eyes. It was just another way to ask us about sex of course. Did we prefer to be pokers, meaning men, or did we really miss being an innie, meaning women? "Claudia," I said, "the machine has made us both heterosexual men right down to the last cellular detail. Of course we both have memories of owning vaginas and we both know what orgasms are like for women; but with each passing day those memories grow dimmer." Jack nodded silently but added nothing to my explanation. "Oh," said Claudia softly, "I didn't realize. Since you put it that way I suppose it is not only sad, but rather cruel of me to be asking you about it." I shrugged and looked at Jack. He knew it best how curious Claudia was. "It's alright," he said as he looked at her with a crooked smile on his handsome face. "We'd be asking you the same questions if positions were reversed," he added. Claudia's face brightened at once with her husband's remark and she looked at him and smiled. It was one of the first moments that I truly felt that things were going to really be OK in our world - at least for the time being that is. "OK, then," she said, "tell me what you hate the most about being a guy?!" Jack and I both started to laugh as we looked at Claudia. "Now what did I go and say?" she asked rather loudly over our laughter. "Oh, Claudia!" I said. "What do you think it is?" She looked at us both for a few seconds and started to turn red with embarrassment. "Really," she said, "do we have to keep coming back to that?" I looked at Jack who looked back at me and we laughed again. "What?" she asked. "Why is it so funny?" "Honey," said Jack finally, "you're turning red cuz' you think we're gonna say our dicks and the way that they seem to govern a guy's life; but the real answer to your question is shaving! We both have to shave everyday! I have to shave sometimes twice a day to be presentable you know that!" Claudia soon recovered from her embarrassment and looked at Jack. "So you actually like having that thing between your legs, then?" she asked him. I swear she was like a dog with a bone on the subject of our penises. Jack looked at her for a moment and then he looked at me and winked. I could see the wheels turning in his head. He was weighing the words he was about to speak. "Sure we do, sweetheart!" he said. "Especially Justin here, why he's hung like a horse!" he added in a false southern drawl. I almost fell out of my chair! "Jack!" I shouted, as I looked at him. I gave Claudia a quick glance and saw that her mouth was agape. I suppose you had to be there; because when I think about it now it is way funny. Claudia reddened yet again as she tried to hide her embarrassment once again by holding onto Hannah tightly on her lap and looking down at her rather than at either one of us. Of course I wouldn't have minded his remark so much if it hadn't been true! I really am hung like a horse! Thanks to the machine of course I get constant offers to be the next latest and greatest male porn star! But I digress, Claudia, to be fair has always suspected I was quite large but she has never really seen me in anything other than jeans, our workout shorts for our jobs at the gym or a pair of Bermuda shorts I sometimes wear. She has seen me in swim suits, and underwear; but in catalogs and such for menswear which can be somewhat misleading. And she's always been Jack's woman so I have always been aware not to show too much male skin when she's around. Now that the two of them are married I don't see it any differently - she's still my brother's woman and it would be way inappropriate for me to - how shall I put it - put myself on display? "Sorry Justin!" I heard Jack say suddenly. "I couldn't resist!" I smiled at him and immediately forgave him. It was so Jack! I was just so glad that we were all laughing together again I didn't give a shit if it was at my expense. "I owe you one, brother!" I said wide a devilish grin, and boy, did I ever! Tuesday January 7th 2009 Although I had plans to go on back home to my own apartment yesterday morning I didn't make it. I was surprised they were so polite as to knock. It was bright and early yesterday morning at seven a.m. when the door bell rang at Jack and Claudia's place. I of course was asleep out on their couch and was awakened very easily. I pulled on my jeans and padded my way to the door. My mouth fell open when I opened the door and my eyes finally focused on a pair of Agents. "Mr. Gray, we're Agents F and G" he said, "Please collect the others. We have to bring you all downtown ASAP!" he bellowed as he looked at my naked torso. "What?" I asked as I rubbed the sleep from my still all too tired eyes. "Would you like us to do it, sir?" the other Agent asked. "Wait a minute!" I said. "They're all asleep at the moment!" Agent F shrugged his black suited shoulders. "No matter," he said, "if you'd prefer we will wake them up for you?" The Agents started to make their way inside and I put out a beefy arm to stop them. "Like I said, they're sleeping," I said, "but if you insist, I'd rather do it myself! You two will wait right here!" I said very loudly hoping that Jack and or Claudia would hear me and wake up. I closed the door and nearly fell over my own shoes as I made a quick bull's eye for Jack and Claudia's bedroom. Damn, their door was closed; that meant they most likely hadn't heard me at all. I knocked on their door and waited a few seconds. I listened intently but there was no response. I sighed. "Jack!" I said, as I knocked on the door once again. "You've got to get up, now!" I stopped knocking for a moment and listened again. No sounds emanated from the other side of the door. I knocked again, harder. I was shocked when it was Claudia who finally opened the door. "What the hell is it, Justin? It's only seven in the morning; are you trying to wake up Hannah?" she snapped. I gulped and looked at my sister in law in her sheer nightgown. Claudia was a very attractive woman, even at this hour in the morning without any makeup on. "I'm sorry Claudia," I said, "but it can't be helped! We're all in trouble! You have to wake up both Jack and Hannah now!" I added. Claudia's face formed a question but I put my hand up to stop her. "No time for questions I'm afraid" I said, as I pushed my way past Claudia and walked toward Jack still asleep on the bed. I shook him hard as I spoke. "Jack, wake up! The Agents are here!" I said. "Oh my god!" Claudia squeak from somewhere behind me. "Yes," I said, in response without looking at her. "You better get dressed and fast!" I said, "They're out in the hall and they're not going to wait long before they come in here" I added. "Jack!" Claudia shouted. "Get the fuck up, now!" That seemed to do the trick as the big man began to stir. He opened his eyes and focused in on me. His face screwed up in confusion and he blinked. "What are you doing in my bedroom, Bro?" he asked. "Jack, the Agents are here!" Claudia shouted. Jack looked at me suddenly with a start. I nodded. "Afraid so, Bro," I said. "What do they want?" he asked as he sat up in the bed. "Us," I said, "all of us." "Even Hannah?" Claudia asked as she grabbed some clothes from a dresser drawer. I nodded again and said yes. "Well," said Jack, "I guess this proves our suspicion was correct. They have been listening in on us all along" he added angrily. Jack threw the blankets off of his body and turned and put his legs onto the floor. I looked at Jack as he sat there on the edge of his bed. His black chest hair glinted in the early morning light from the windows as he took a deep breath and heaved his huge chest. His blue boxers he wore strained to contain his massive thighs. I smiled to myself. My brother had started to wear boxers to bed since he married Claudia. He told me it was just a part of being married; well, his marriage anyway, especially since Claudia had got pregnant again! "Tell them we'll be right out, Justin," he said, as he stood up to start getting dressed. I nodded and turned to leave. "Wait!" said Claudia from across the room. "Here," she said, as she flung one of Jack's huge tee shirts at me. "At least it's clean," she added with a small smile on her lips. "Thanks," I said, as I caught it in midair and quickly left the room. I paused a moment out in the hall and pulled on Jack's form fitting blue tee shirt. And when I say form fitting I ain't kidding. You'd think it was made out of spandex instead of cotton! I shrugged my shoulders and felt the tight cotton pull against the underside of my pecs. 'Great,' I thought, 'could it really get any worse?' When the door swung open before I reached it I'd answered my own question with a resounding 'Yes!' The Agents obviously had grown tired of waiting out in the hall and decided to let themselves in. "Hey!" I hollered. "What do you think you two are doing?" I stomped my way towards them as they stood in the entryway and just looked at me. "Our jobs!" replied Agent F. "Well," I said, "they will be right out!" Agent G nodded his head. "They've got exactly two minutes more," said Agent F, "until we go in there and get them!" I pumped up my impressive chest in Jack's blue 'spandex' cotton tee shirt, and made fists of my hands. "I'm afraid you'll have to go through me first!" I exclaimed, as my heart pounded underneath my chiseled pectorals. The Agents looked at one another and then back at me standing like a proud peacock in the middle of Jack's living room. They smiled; then it was Agent F who pulled out a gun. "That won't be a problem, Mr. Gray" he said as he looked at his gun to be sure it was loaded. "Put that away!" I heard Jack yell from behind me. "We're ready to go!" Relieved, I turned and looked behind me. Jack was dressed in jeans and a black tee shirt. Claudia wore jeans as well with a white pull over sweater. She held little Hannah in her arms. Hannah was still dressed in her pajamas. I noticed the baby's diaper bag hanging from Claudia's shoulder. The look on her face was grave. I didn't have to wonder what was going through her mind; I already knew. I knew she was praying for the safety of her child. I also knew she was more than just a little bit scared. I looked at Jack again. He made eye contact with me briefly before walking past me in the living room. His face was pale; his expression grim. "Gentlemen?" I heard him ask as he walked towards them. "Mr. Gray," said Agent F, "You must all come with us. You're due for a meeting at exactly eight a.m. at our headquarters. And you mustn't be late" he added hastily. "What is this all about?" asked Jack. "You already know what it is about, Mr. Gray," explained Agent F with an evil smile. Jack turned and looked at us. "Told ya'," he said with a shrug of his broad shoulders. That gave me little comfort! Knowing what it was they wanted to talk to us about had nothing to do with the outcome! I grabbed my jacket off of the living room chair and pulled it on. I helped Claudia with little Hannah as she dressed her in her snow suit. When I had looked up Jack was alread