Rob woke slowly. It felt good to just lie here and relax. His whole
body felt like he had been working out at the gym for hours and it was
right on the edge of feeling tired and feeling like he was ready to go
for a jog. The sheets were soft and warm. He searched his mind for
someplace he had to be; but at the moment couldn't think of anything so
he just let sleep reclaim him for a few more minutes.
Finally, consciousness wormed it way into his mind and memory, or lack
thereof, came with it. His heart raced and adrenalin flowed through his
body as the awareness that he didn't know where he was or how he had
even gotten here, hit him. His comfortable feeling was replaced with a
coldness as he fought to understand what had happened to him. No matter
how hard he tried he only touched a blank spot in his memory.
Trying to move around on the bed, he realized that his movements were
severely restricted. There were cuffs and straps attached to his ankles
and wrists, as well as straps that kept him from even sitting up very
far. He was strapped down in a bed in a strange room and had no memory
of how he had gotten there. As he tried to pull his arms and legs
loose, he began to panic. His heart seemed to be pounding so hard in
his chest and he couldn't seem to catch his breath. He felt dizzy
because he couldn't breathe and his eyes stung as sweat rolled down his
forehead.
His chest felt strange as he moved around, as if it was shifting in a
different direction and then it would suddenly catch up with him. It
made him think about the girls he used to watch at the pool. The
behavior of his chest only barely impacted upon his thoughts though.
Feeling trapped in the bed and wanting out drove thoughts of anything
else out though.
His thrashing about brought his hand came into contact with the bed
control attached to the bedrail. Strangely, its presence served to
settle his panic a bit. The fact that he had the ability to raise and
lower himself on the bed meant that he had some control over environment
and was not an ordinary prisoner. What kind of kidnapper is going to
tie you to your bed and then let you make yourself comfortable? He lay
still for a few moments, while he panted and got his breath back. Once
his heart had slowed a bit, he turned his head to see the bed control.
Raising the head of the bed so that he was sitting, he looked around his
prison cell. In another shock to his system, the dark donjon he was
expecting actually looked a lot like an upscale hotel room painted in an
eggshell white with trim in pastel pinks. The medical equipment cart in
the corner told him that this was not an ordinary hotel room. The big
window with tinted glass in one was not standard in hotels either. In
addition, there were no other windows. He also could not miss the
camera that was suspended from the ceiling in one corner. He was pretty
sure that he was not in some kind of movie set though.
A fleeting thought caused him to think that this reminded him of a setup
for a porn movie of some sort. Once he had checked out his surroundings
he turned his attention to himself. He was dressed, if you could use
the term, in a hospital gown of some sort that he could tell was open in
the back. Wires snaked down over his should to connect to spots on his
chest. What was unnerving was that his gown was tented out in front of
him, as if to keep it from hitting his skin. The strange thing was that
he seemed to feel the gown brushing against him through his undershirt.
The shirt felt tight on his shoulders and chest though, almost as if it
there were more straps on him. Then the sensations he had noticed on
his chest surfaced in his thoughts again. He jiggled his chest and it
moved just as if he had breasts of his own. He knew that he should be
worried or upset about that possibility, but that emotion almost seemed
to refuse to take hold. What was confusing was why he was wearing an
undershirt, but no underwear.
Moving his head, it felt top heavy as if he were wearing some sort of
hat. Perhaps he had hurt his head or needed surgery of some sort. That
would explain whatever it was on his head and why he couldn't remember
anything. Maybe the doctor didn't want him disturbing whatever work
they had done and damaging himself in some way. That would explain why
he was strapped down too.
Finding a possible explanation to his situation was comforting.
Looking around the bed as much as he was able, Rob searched from
anything that would be a call button for a nurse. He was obviously in a
private room, so a call button would be a necessity. All he could find
was the manual control for the bed however.
He had been awake for about fifteen minutes so far, but he could tell
that he was hungry and he really, really wanted to use the bathroom. He
could feel that he was not wearing a diaper and he was damned if he was
going to wet the bed. He hadn't done that since he was a baby.
An increase in the lighting in the adjacent room told him that someone
must have been monitoring him, probably through the wires that were
attached to him. The light level appeared to be steady in the window,
but it was not bright enough to allow him to see through the tinting.
Looking into the blankness of the window, Rob called, "Hello? Is there
anyone there? I really need to use the bathroom. Can you help me
please?" His voice sounded strange to him, almost as if he had been
breathing helium. His throat didn't hurt, so he hadn't hurt his vocal
cords. He could only assume that his hearing was off in some way.
There was no answer, but the light in the room grew briefly and there
was the remote sound of a door closing. After a few minutes, the door
in front of him opened and older gentlemen in the standard white coat
came in. Before the door closed, Rob could see that the corridor was
not the stark whiteness that was normally associated with a hospital.
His brief glimpse again made him think of a hotel again.
With a stab of fear, he realized that this was not a hospital or a hotel
at all. He was in a hospice and he had had brain surgery. If he was in
a hospice, the surgery wasn't completely successful and he was going to
die! His heart started to pound and he began to hyperventilate as he
struggled to catch his breath. The doctor was quick to see that Rob was
in distress and he crossed the room in a shot. Rather than grab for an
oxygen mask and put it over Rob's face, the doctor opened a paper bag
and placed it against Rob's mouth. He had obviously seen a panic attack
before and knew enough on how to handle them.
"It's okay, Mr. Tanner! Just breathe into the bag and relax." The
doctor was looking directly into his eyes, keeping him from looking
elsewhere. The eye contact helped him to focus and Rob did what he was
told. After a few minutes of breathing from the bag, he began to
breathe normally and his heart didn't feel like it was going to explode.
Mopping Rob's forehead of perspiration the doctor asked, "Feeling
better?" Seeing Rob's nod, he took the bag away from Rob's face and set
it aside. Pulling up a stool he sat down so that Rob could look
directly at him instead having to tip his head back and look up at him.
"Can you tell me what happened to cause that reaction, Rob?"
"I figured out that this must be a hospital of some sort and I must have
some kind of tumor that was going to kill me."
He started to breathe faster again before the doctor placed his hand on
Rob's shoulder to reassure him. Just that little bit of human contact
served to distract him for sinking back into his panic attack. It
seemed like he hadn't been touched by another person in a very long
time.
"This is a type of hospital, but we have not performed surgery on you.
The doctor's expression as he made that statement confused Rob. It was
a combination of sadness, disgust, and untruth all rolled into one. It
was the truth, but not all of it. It wasn't a lie either. Whatever the
facts were, the doctor gave him the impression that he was not proud of
it.
"Why am I here then?" Rob asked. He was obviously a patient, but what
kind?
"You're fine, Rob, healthy as the preverbal horse I'd say," the doctor
joked, meeting Rob's eyes. "I'm hoping to be able to release you in a
few more days."
The relief that Rob felt was almost like an electric current as it
surged through him. Then..."If I haven't had surgery, then why do you
have me tied down?" More bad scenarios began to form in his mind, most
centering around insanity.
"Rob!" the doctor barked. "Just relax and let me talk. This will go
faster if you let me explain everything to you."
Rob took a deep breath, settled back on the bed as best that he could
and nodded his agreement. Before he began, he left the room for a
moment and came back with a glass of ice water for Rob. He helped Rob
drink as he said, "I have someone on the way to help me get you out of
this bed."
As he spoke, an orderly came in wearing standard medical scrubs. He was
a solidly built man, obviously well able to handle Rob if things got out
of hand, but also gave off a friendly vibe and Rob did not feel
threatened by him. The two of them made quick work of the straps, cuffs
and wires that were attached to Rob and he was free in just moments.
Rob just sat for a moment, rubbing his wrists where the cuffs had held
him down. Something about not being held down just felt good.
The doctor took a moment to marshal his thoughts before he began.
"My name is Michael Winters. I am a doctor of psychology and
microbiology. When I said that you had not had surgery, I meant on this
particular visit." He held up his hand to forestall Rob's questions.
"I know that you don't remember being here before and that is okay. I'm
going to explain everything to you today and help restore your memory
completely.
"First, you haven't done much walking recently Rob and Bill is here to
help you over the bathroom and back. You have nothing to worry about."
Bill gave Rob a friendly smile, but Rob could see in Bill's eyes that
there was a core of hardness that said that he was capable of using
force when it was required. Bill seemed to be evaluating Rob's
potential behavior to see if force would actually be necessary.
Rob didn't feel like he wanted to fight anyone right now. He wasn't
sure if he could even take on a sixth grader, let alone the powerhouse
that Bill seemed to be. There was no point in trying to escape when he
didn't know where he was or why he was here. He sat at the edge of the
bed and lifted his hands in mock surrender to demonstrate that he had no
hostile intentions.
When Bill saw Rob's gesture, his smile grew. It was better for everyone
when they didn't try to fight back. It wasn't like they could win
anyway. In this case, this patient wasn't a standard subject for the
clinic, he was a true patient.
"Don't worry, Mr. Tanner. I'm here to help you and to make sure that
you don't fall and get hurt. That's all. Now...can you stand and walk?
I can help you if you like."
Rob slid forward, the gown riding up his thighs, to stand erect. He
found himself standing on his toes, unable to force the heels of his
feet into contact with the floor. It was as if his feet were severely
cramped.
"I can't straighten my feet!" he said.
"That's okay," Bill replied. "I'm also a physical therapist. If there
is some kind of problem, we'll check it out and work on it. Can you
walk to the bathroom okay?" Everyone had instructions to help Rob if he
needed it, but they were not to volunteer information to him. They had
done this many times with patients and prisoners and they had gotten
good at handling them.
Bill indicated the bathroom door in the back of the room. Rob nodded
and walked over to it. There was no way in the world that he was going
let himself have an accident here, he'd fly to the bathroom if that is
what he had to do. His stride seemed to be a bit off, almost as if his
hips swiveled as he walked. He was distracted by the pain in the arches
of his feet, but standing on his toes alleviated that. He felt foolish
but walking that way made walking feel more normal.
The bathroom was a small affair with a commode and a sink, this was one
place where the room differed from a hotel suite. There also no lock on
the door. He saw that there was no mirror and Rob assumed that was just
a safety issue because broken glass was a danger to bare feet or could
become a weapon.
Lifting the toilet seat of the commode, he lifted his gown to do his
business. Taking his cock into his hand, it felt smaller to him.
Looking down to confirm what his hand was telling him, he saw that his
legs did not look the way they should. They were somehow thinner and
completely hairless. Looking at his hands, he could see that they too
were hairless and seemed somehow thinner. In addition, his fingernails
were longer and looked different somehow. Something was definitely
wrong! With his toes beginning to hurt, he pulled off the gown and took
a seat on the commode.
While he did his business, he inspected what he was becoming to think of
as his new body. Hair around his manhood was gone! He didn't remember
having that done! Without the gown hiding anything, Rob saw he HAD
changed. The question that ran through his mind was HOW and WHY? His
legs were thinner than when he had been in college and his whole body
shape was just wrong. Looking down at his chest, he could see that his
'swollen pectoral muscles' were just what they appeared to be. From his
perspective, looking down on his chest the thought hit him, 'My God I've
got a pair of Whopper sized Tits, hell they're Breasts!' What he
thought had been a tight shirt of some sort was actually some sort of
bra that held his new breasts in place. He felt no pain when he pressed
on them or squeezed them, it actually felt good. But not good enough to
distract him from Winters' promise to explain things to him. What had
they done to him?
He finished and washed up. There was no mirror in the small room, so he
touched his face lightly. He wasn't sure, but he thought that his nose
was different. What the hell had happened to him? And why didn't he
remember it? Before he pulled the gown back over his head, he made an
attempt to survey the rest of his body by twisting and turning. He
instinctively ran his fingers throw his long hair and thought 'good
heavens it looks like I haven't had a haircut in ages'. From what he
could see, he was now the proud owner of a dancer's body...a female dancer
at that. If it wasn't for his cock, his body was smooth enough and
curvy enough to be a girl completely.
When he looked back along his side, he could see that he now sported a
colorful tattoo the size of the palm of his hand. From what he could
see of it, it appeared to be some kind of a bird. The word phoenix
floated up in his memory, but he had no idea where it came from. The
longer he looked at the bird, the stronger the thought of a tall,
muscular man got. Other thoughts or impressions accompanied the man.
Feelings of being held and being kissed. Those feelings were exciting
and made him feel good. There was also the image of a woman. She was
smiling at him and he got the impression that she was surrounded by
others. Children? These feelings made him feel good too, but they were
all so confusing!
Rob finished putting the gown back on and stepped back out into the main
room. Now he wasn't sure if it was a bedroom, a hospital room, or a
rubber room in a funny farm. Could he trust the evidence of his own
eyes? Was he really in a she-male body or was he imagining the whole
thing? Where were his friends from work? Could he contact Sally at the
company offices? Something had happened to him or had been done to him.
He knew that he should be feeling fear or anger, but he just felt numb
at the moment.
The orderly was standing by in case Rob needed help, but kept his
distance as Rob walked over to where Winters was seated on a couch. The
room was set up a bit like a suite with the hospital bed in the
forefront to allow people to walk around it. The rest of the room was
set up with a small bureau, couch and armchair. Once Rob took a seat in
the armchair, Bill left the room again.
"I ordered something for you to eat," Winters offered.
"Eat! How can you expect me to eat? I just discovered I appear to have
grown a set of be hooters." Pointing to his chest he said, "I want to
know why I'm suddenly built like a woman. Why do I look like this? I
want to see a mirror!"
Winters held up his hand in an attempt to forestall Rob's outburst and
said, "Let's eat first then questions. It won't be a full meal, but it
will be enough for now and we'll bring a full meal when we're done."
Rob responded with a brief nod, his eyes never leaving the doctor. It
was obvious to him that he was in trouble and maybe danger. He had no
option other than to listen to whatever the doctor had to say. The look
on his face must have been enough to tell the doctor that something was
wrong, because Winters paused and looked at him closely. Being no
slouch, the doctor worked out quickly what must have happened in the
bathroom and why Rob was behaving strangely.
Winters leaned forward toward Rob and clasped his hands before him.
"I can see that you've made some discoveries. I should have foreseen
that, I'm sorry that I didn't because it just causes you to worry right
now. If you will bear with me for a few minutes, I try to put your mind
at ease.
"First off, you have been here for almost two months." At Rob's shocked
expression, Winters held up his hand. "I promise that I'll tell you
everything and help you through it all." Rob settled back, but his
agitation was quite obvious.
"The reason that you don't remember much is that we have caused you to
block out much of the recent past so that we could deal with other
problems you were having."
"Wh...What problems could be so bad that you had to remove my memory?"
Rob interrupted. "Is it because of what's been done to my body?"
"I'm getting to that, but it's a bit difficult. Let me try a different
approach. You haven't asked about your wife at all. Can you tell me
why?"
"Wife? I'm not married!" He looked at the doctor like he was crazy.
Winters opened a folder beside him and took out a photograph, which he
handed to Rob. It was a picture of himself standing next to a woman who
appeared to be the same height that he was. She was a beautiful woman,
with a fair complexion and a wide smile, framed by shoulder length
auburn hair. It was obvious that they were very friendly, Rob had his
arm around the woman's waist pulling her tight against him; but Rob
could not remember ever having met this woman.
"That is Geri Evans...your wife," Winters said. Looking on the back of
the picture, he read off a date. But it was months in the future.
"I don't understand," Rob said. "I don't remember having this picture
taken and I don't know who she is."
"Rob, this picture was actually taken three years ago," Winters said.
"We backed your memories up to before this picture was taken. The woman
in the picture is the girl you married a few months after that picture
was taken. Because the woman you married was part of the problem, we
took you back in time, so to speak, for that length of time."
"Why would you do something like that? What could possibly be wrong
that you would take two years away from me?" Rob's voice was starting
to rise with this confusion. "Is Sally okay? What about my company?
Is it okay?"
"Please, just listen. Everything is fine and I believe that you will be
okay. Those two years are not gone permanently; I just want to help you
remember them in a different way. To put it simply, you were
brainwashed over the past two years and it caused you to develop a
complete different identity. This personality was still superficial and
I determined that the best way to help you recover yourself was to
essentially reset your mind and memory to point before that personality
was formed. Think of the foreign personality to be like a computer
virus in your mind. We reset your brain to a point before your brain
was infected."
Rob nodded, but he only half understood what the doctor was saying. He
was still trying to grasp the doctor's claims that he had taken two
years of his life away and that it was a good thing! What had happened
in those two years that made him want to look like a girl? He wanted to
see what he looked like.
They were interrupted by a knock on the door and then Bill wheeled in a
cart holding water, fruit, and sandwiches.
"Bon App?tit," said the doctor as he pushed the cart so Rob could reach
it, "Here is your...let's call it lunch. It isn't a gourmet meal, but
is better than your average institutional meal." At the doctor's
suggestion, Rob only ate a little to address his hunger. When Rob
offered some to the doctor he said he wasn't hungry and sat back and
watched Rob nibble on his lunch. Rob found that he was actually more
thirsty than hungry and he downed a bottle of water rapidly.
After a few minutes, Rob felt a bit dizzy and sat back in chair with his
eyes closed until the spell passed.
"Rob? Can you hear me?" The doctor's voice was calm and it sounded
like he was now sitting directly in front of him.
"Yes, I can hear you." Rob's feelings of angst with the doctor seemed
to have drained away somehow. Now, he just felt relaxed. Nothing
seemed to bother him, even though he knew that he was concerned about
the claims that the doctor had been making and what had been done to
him. Whether they were true or not didn't matter right now.
"Very good. I'm sorry that I drugged you in this way, but it was
necessary," the doctor explained. "I'll apologize to you again when it
actually means something to you."
The doctor's words were like overhearing a conversation. The words
themselves had meaning, but the overall message seemed to slide away.
He wasn't worried about missing the point though.
"I know that what I'm saying to you means something at some level, Rob,"
Winters said. "I'm going to start telling you things that you have
forgotten and you will be able to remember more as you go."
Rob opened his eyes to find that the light level was dimmer now and
Winters was seated on his stool in front of him. He didn't look down,
but he felt that his hands were restrained against the armrests. Not
tightly, but enough to keep him from becoming physically violent.
Winters avoided telling Rob things, but asked him questions and lead him
through the last couple of months that he remembered clearly. As he
answered, forgotten or missing memories began to appear. These memories
pointed to others and they started to fall into place as the interview
went on.
As they progressed, Rob's memories of work, Sally, Geri, and Evan began
to come back as if emerging from a thick fog bank. The doctor showed
him more pictures that Rob was able to look at and study. The pictures
seemed to solidify the memories associated with them and he found some
of those memories to be rather distressing. He found that viewing the
memories rather than feeling them allowed him to see things that he had
missed or had intentionally ignored because he couldn't accept the truth
at the time.
He came to realize that Geri had been a domineering, conniving bitch
from the beginning, but he hadn't wanted to believe it. So when Sally
tried to talk to him about it, he had discounted her warnings.
He also saw how Sally looked at him in those memories. He wished that
he had been more observant to the things around them back then. Maybe
he wouldn't have ended up in this situation. He pulled up short when he
thought that. What situation?
The doctor saw Rob's hesitation and the confusion on his face. He
misread it as Rob having hit some kind of limit and decided to stop. He
really did not want to, but he also did not want to push Rob too far.
"Why don't we finish for the day?" Winters said quietly. He wasn't
expecting a response from Rob, but Rob was awake enough to understand
him. "We'll make sure that you can get a good night's sleep and we will
pick this up tomorrow."
Rob wasn't willing to wait though. There was a major mystery in his
life and he sensed that there was a hole in his memory to go along with
it.
"Please, doctor," he said, opening his eyes. "There is something
important that I need to know. We have to get to the end." Rob was
only half seeing Winters as he was still very much inside of his own
head.
"I understand," Winters replied. He really wanted to finish this
process today as well. He knew that memories were interlocked enough
that Rob had already remembered things that he did not know about as
yet. If they stopped now, Rob would need to be completely unconscious
until their next session. To let him sleep normally at this stage
invited dreams and flashbacks that could do damage.
"We'll need to refresh your medication though. The next session will be
difficult."
Winters might as well have been explaining things to a doll. Rob sat
still, not responding. He had a fair amount of self-control, but the
drugs dampened most of his ability to act or even think on his own. It
required great effort to get out from under the trance he was in. Once
Winters had agreed to continue, Rob had been pulled back into his own
world.
Rob's arm never even tensed as Winters slid the needle into the vein and
pulled it back out again. This last dose would keep him in the proper
state until they were finished. He could sleep off any residual
effects. He hoped that Rob was strong enough to deal with everything
when he came out of it, but someone would be with Rob continuously until
he was out of danger.
Once he was satisfied that the injection had taken hold, they began
again. Rob remembered his wedding to Geri and the wonderful two week
honeymoon in Cancun. He realized now that Evan had been at both the
wedding and reception, and he could swear he saw him briefly in Cancun
but that was ridiculous, what possible reason would he have to be on
their honeymoon, he just had not noticed it before. There were more
pictures that Winters had him look at. They showed Geri and Evan
together in Cancun. They could only have been taken when Geri was away
from him souvenir hunting.
The greatest revelation came when he recognized that things had changed
almost immediately after they returned from Mexico. Geri had started
him on vitamins and then on positive reinforcement tapes, supposedly to
help him with his self-confidence. Whenever he objected, she had
withheld sex. When they did have sex, it was great and that was how
Geri had gotten control over him. He could see that he had become more
cooperative and obedient with her after he started taking the pills.
"I was responsible for the pills and tapes, Rob." Winters said.
He knew that Rob would not respond to him, but his own self-contempt for
his actions still ate at him. "They were already using blackmail and
death threats to force me to help them. It was all a plan to turn you
into Geri's slave."
Standing on the outside looking in as it were, Rob saw himself changing
over the weeks and months. When Geri introduced role playing into their
bedroom and started getting him to dress up as a sexy maid, some sort of
shiver went through his body.
Winters had been watching for this kind of reaction and spent quite a
bit of time talking about the maid, asking for her name, what was she
like, what did she like, what did she think about, how did Rob feel
about her. Rob made an observation that surprised both of them. He
mentioned that doing mundane, routine domestic chores brought him a
great deal of personal satisfaction. When the doctor probed this issue
deeper, Rob said that, unlike his financial ventures that could take
years to come to fruition, household chores were something you could see
the immediate end results of your efforts. Seeing it through from
beginning to the end was very satisfying.
Some further questioning caused Rob to reluctantly admit that he had
found the cross-gender issues kinky and exciting. He had found that he
really enjoyed playing the subservient role to his domineering wife.
The doctor made a note to examine this issue further. It was possible
that Rob was dealing with a transgender issue that would be part of
Rob's core personality and not introduced exclusively as part of the
brainwashing sessions.
This is where he took an active role in guiding Rob's thoughts. It was
necessary to prevent Diana's artificial personality from corrupting
Rob's behavior again. Instead of allowing Rob to guess at Diana's
attitudes and behaviors to fill them in as how Rob thought they should
be, he skillfully got Rob to substitute his own thought processes. This
was intended to make sure that any brainwashing that Rob might recall
would be overridden by Rob's own personality.
There were episodes in Rob's recall that he felt ashamed of. Things
like his reaction to Sally's attempts to show him that she was concerned
about him, without stepping over the bounds of marriage. He had met her
initial conversation about Geri's behavior with rudeness. Other
attempts at conversation had been brushed off. He was thankful that she
hadn't taken his responses as the end of their friendship.
Another instance was when Evan had become a managing partner in the
business. It had been entirely at Geri's suggestion and then
insistence. He had been aware of how Evan treated everyone in the
office, but he had done nothing about it. Even in his relaxed state,
Rob felt a flush of shame; that kind of behavior in himself had hurt
everyone.
A flashback came while looking at a picture of his car; it seemed to
come out of nowhere and confused him. It was of some grease monkey that
was a stranger, but also familiar. When the mechanic leaned through his
car window and kissed him, he recoiled in his chair. When he described
the image to the doctor, he was questioned about how he felt.
It took the doctor quite a bit of effort, but Rob eventually admitted
that the episode was a happy one. Even under the drug's influence, Rob
insisted strongly that he wasn't gay. There was just something about
the stranger that made him feel safe and loved.
The next crisis arose when memories surfaced of the episode when Rob and
Geri were brought to the clinic and Rob was changed so radically.
Winters again took the time to get Rob to relax when he became agitated.
There was nothing that could be done to reverse Rob's new physical
characteristics and he needed to be prepared when he finally woke up
again as Rob Tanner.
As he moved in his seat, the folder in the doctor's lap slipped to the
floor. As it struck, papers and pictures fell out and slid across the
floor. Looking down, Rob saw a newspaper clipping held in a protective
sleeve. Associated with the article was a color picture of an
attractive blonde woman in a brief costume. There was something about
the face that seemed familiar to him. The clipping in its plastic
sleeve was snatched up and returned to its folder, but not before Rob
thought he saw a colorful design on the flank of the girl in the
picture. The headline over the picture read: "Rising Phoenix Saves
People from Fire". He could see the reference to a phoenix; the girl
seemed to have been wearing feathers. He knew that this girl was
important to him somehow.
When they reached the end of the session, Rob was still under. Winters
knew that Rob had seen the picture of Diana coming out of the fire. He
would just have to wait to see if it caused any problems for Rob later.
The drugs would start to wear off in the next hour. Once Rob was awake,
the hard work of getting the real Rob Tanner back on his feet would
begin.
Winters decided to take a break while Rob was still asleep and called
Bill in to watch over their patient. The standard procedure that they
followed meant that he would be called when Rob showed signs of waking
up. Rob would be watched continuously now until they were satisfied
that he was mentally stable again. The doctor lay down on the cot in
the observation room, hoping the Rob wouldn't hurry back to
consciousness.
* * * * *
Rob was suddenly awake. At first, he was groggy and confused and all he
wanted to do was lay back with his eyes closed. He really wasn't
thinking at the moment, he was just there. The feeling passed rapidly
and his awareness of his surroundings improved.
His head felt like it weighed a ton and all he could really do was roll
it from side to side. His body felt sluggish when he tried to move, but
he could tell that he was not restrained like he had been. When he
opened his eyes he knew that there was someone in the room with him in
the dimly lit room, but his eyes refused to focus properly as yet.
Trying to look around made him dizzy so he closed his eyes to let his
head clear. Rob found that closing his eyes only allowed his mind to
replay the last few hours to him. The images were almost like dreams
and they seemed to move and jump like them.
Being half-asleep meant that he was also half-awake and he watched
everything unfold and line up. In a rational corner of his head, he
reflected that it was look watching a travelogue about your own life.
All of the things doctor Winters had discussed with him were there and
many, many things that they had not talked about. Things started
linking together and Rob understood that his memory was coming back.
With his birds' eye view and the coaching winters had put him through,
rob was now equipped with a powerful tool: 20/20 hindsight.
He had been so hungry for companionship from someone who didn't want
anything from him that he had fallen into the clutches of Geri, who
wanted to take everything from him. She had almost succeeded too.
The experiences of the past months came back as vivid as they had ever
been, but they were no longer seen through Diana's personality. It had
been an emotional blow when he had finally discovered that Geri and Evan
were manipulating him. But there were happy moments mixed in as well.
Discovering Tanya and Jake, who both could be more than friends, if he
wanted. The mistreatment at the strip club had been tempered by even
more friends, Sophie and Julie. He remembered the erotic highs that he
got when had been dancing as Diana Phoenix.
Diana...Thinking about her did not give him a visceral thrill or fill him
with any sense of fear. She was a person that he had been, almost like
a role in a play. He could feel that everything he had done and felt as
Diana was right there, like a pair of gloves or a shirt to be worn. But
Diana was like an empty mask now, he felt no desire to want to find
someone, anyone, and give himself to them. He could see that Winters
had succeeded in his goal of deprogramming him and restoring him to be
Rob Tanner.
But he also knew that Diana had been part of him. The memory of saving
his fellow prisoners from the fire came back to him. Before he had
become Diana, Rob Tanner would not have had the presence of mind to take
control of that kind of situation and be able to lead them to safety.
Sadly, Rob knew that the loss of Diana had diminished him in some way.
The fogginess was mostly gone now and he actually felt like moving
around. His unseen visitor must have been watching him because his
movements elicited some conversation.
"Rob?" It was Bill. "How do you feel?" Rob had no idea how long he'd
been doped up, but it had to be quite a while.
"Good morning." Rob whispered. "I'm okay." His girlie voice sounded
hoarse to him and it hurt to speak or move his lips.
"Hang on a minute," Bill said. Rob hadn't opened his eyes again because
it still felt good to just relax. Between his head and his throat, he
felt like he'd pulled an all-nighter in college.
"Here," Bill said and a straw threaded its way through Rob's lips. A
little bit of suction rewarded him with a mouthful of cool water. It
was probably bottled, but it tasted sweet against his lips and throat.
He took a couple more swallows before he settled back against the pillow
Bill has slipped in there.
When he finally did open his eyes, Rob was glad that the lights were
turned down. He still squinted a bit, but the lighting was indirect and
his eyes adapted quickly. Bill stood beside the bed, looking down at
him.
"I've already called the doctor and he'll be here in a few minutes.
I'll bring in some real food and clothes after that. Does that sound
okay?"
Rob smiled and said in his unfamiliar girlie voice, "That sounds great.
I think that my stomach is starting to wake up too and I could do with
some food."
Bill returned his smile. "That's a normal problem. We needed to keep
your stomach empty in chase there were any problems. As soon as Doctor
Winters gives the okay, I'll bring you something more substantial than a
fruit plate."
About that moment, the doctor came in from the hall. He and Bill
exchanged notes, with Bill bringing him up to date with Rob's progress
in coming out of the anesthesia. Then Bill left the room to leave them
alone.
Winters stood by the bed, close enough Rob could have leaned forward to
touch him. Rob hadn't noticed until now that he was no longer
restrained like he had been in the beginning. The two of them studied
each other for a few moments. The doctor apparently trying to assess
Rob's progress in his recovery and Rob just looking at the man who could
qualify as this century's Doctor Frankenstein. Rob wondered how the man
felt about what he had done to him.
Rob finally broke the silence; he grabbed under his breasts and lifted
them up and said, "You did this to me." It was not a question and not
quite an accusation. It was more like a statement of facts and a
resigned acceptance of the situation.
To his credit, there was no pride on the doctor's face when he looked
down and away from Rob. When he looked back again, the shame and
disgust at himself showed. Before Rob could assume that the doctor's
expression was somehow a comment upon Rob, he said, "Yes, I did...I'm
sorry but I had no other choice at the time. The safety of my family
was at stake. I am not proud of what I did, but I had to make a choice
between transforming you or losing my family. I would give you back
your old body if I could, but that is not medically possible. All I can
do now is give you your mind back and help you to deal with who you are
now."
The doctor's statement seemed to strike a chord with Rob. Who was he
now and what was he? He wasn't sure. No one would believe his claims
that he was Rob Tanner. He only had a resemblance to his old self. He
was sure that a DNA test and his fingerprints would prove that he was
Rob, but it wouldn't matter. The need to prove his identify would
destroy his credibility in the investment industry and he wouldn't be
taken seriously again. Never mind what the truth might be.
Underneath the blanket and gown, he knew that he was still a man, but he
also suspected that he was a man by definition only. His mind and body
told him that he was stuck in the between the sexes now. On top of
that, he remembered everything that had happened to him over the past
months and what he had done. He couldn't blame Doctor Winters for his
situation because he had been just as much a victim as Rob had been.
"Doctor, I don't know what to say," he began. "I've spent most of this
past year dressing and acting like Diana, but I'm a guy. I shouldn't
like this, but I do." He felt like he was close to tears as he made his
confession.
Winters smiled gently at Rob's confession. "And you think that you're
some sort of impostor or pervert because you like looking and dressing
as Diana?"
"Doctor you don't understand, it's more than that. I am ashamed to
admit that I loved BEING Diana; she is more demonstrative and willing to
love, something Rob was never able to do. Being her, freed me from my
old curmudgeon self. In some ways she is a better person than the old
me. If I must keep her body, I hope I can hang onto that part of her
soul." Rob's his fear and frustration became too much and he broke down
crying. He tried to apologize to the doctor for his lack of control,
but it was hard to be understood through his sobs.
Watching Rob breakdown was difficult for Winters. He knew that he had
been instrumental in bringing this situation about and he was powerless
to fix it. As much as Rob might look like a pretty girl, that was only
a shell for his male personality. Trying to hold him and assure him
that they would help him would only trigger a stronger rejection of his
new circumstances. Instead, Winters put his hand on Rob's should and
squeezed just enough to communicate his presence.
"I'm sorry doctor," Rob wept. "I don't know why I'm crying so hard."
"It's all right Rob," Winters said. "Your body is dealing with an
imbalance of hormones and it's affecting your ability to deal with
things in the manner you're accustomed to."
He dropped his hand from Rob's shoulders and sat down so that they were
at eye level.
"I know that you're scared and confused about how to deal with this. I
promise you that we will do everything we can to help you."
"Can you undo this?" Rob gestured to himself. As much as he found that
he was comfortable, he would transition back to being Rob Tanner.
Because that was what he should do and he thought that is what he would
be expected to do.
"Yes, we could at least attempt to restore you back to your original
appearance, but there are limits. I'm afraid that anything we tried to
do for your voice would quite probably destroy your ability to speak at
all. Changes to your physical appearance could be close, but you could
end up looking like a very effeminate man.
"There are changes we can't fix as well. We used gene therapy in some
of your procedures. That means that your fat distribution has been
permanently changed, as well as how your body wants to move. In
addition, there are hormone packets in several locations in your body.
We injected them as slow-release capsules. Removing them surgically
would be painful and somewhat dangerous for you.'
His next statement seemed both ominous and horrifying at the same time.
"Even with a double mastectomy you would always have a woman's figure
with broad hips and large round buttocks. Right now, you look like an
attractive woman. If we attempted to restore you, the result would be a
woman trying to look like a man."
Rob listened as the doctor listed off the dangers and drawbacks to
trying to reverse his transition. His tears had stopped while the
doctor reviewed his case. As each new reason for not putting Rob
through the reversal process was detailed, he felt the weight on his
shoulders lessen a bit more.
"Your saying that I would be better off staying the way I am, aren't
you?" Rob asked. His voice did not even come close to sounding resigned
and unhappy.
"Rob, whether you want me as your doctor or not, I am now. I consider
it my job to help you and there is nothing that you need to worry about
telling me."
"Doc, I've been Diana for so long that I can't remember how to be Rob
Tanner. I just don't know what I'm going to do with my life as Diana
Tanner. I'm afraid."
Tears were starting flow again, Doctor Winter no longer saw a male
patient before him. He hugged the young distraught woman to console
her.
"Diana, everything will be okay," he said. His voice was calm and
level, it was pitched deeply to get his patients attention. "I can't
give you your masculinity back, I'm sorry. I have the resources and the
ability to help you build whatever life you want though. I want to
remind you of something though. In all of the memories you and I have
recovered, ask yourself how Sally fits into your future. Even an old
man like me can see that she cares for you. Those are not the normal
actions of a secretary concerned for her boss."
Rob stopped himself when his thoughts turned to Sally. In his fear and
self-pity, he had forgotten that Sally's treatment of him had never
shown any sign of pity or revulsion. Was it possible that Diana's
memories of Sally were accurate? Maybe she didn't care about what he
looked like and she might actually prefer him like this?
He looked up at the doctor, his expression confused and hopeful at the
same time. All that he could say in reply was, "I don't know."
Winters met his eyes and smiled. "Well, I want you to know that I've
been talking to her on the phone every day and I don't mean that I have
been calling her and making a report. She has been very concerned about
helping you recover yourself. She was able to provide me with the
pictures that you were looking at by going through your personal effects
in your house."
Rob just looked at the doctor, chewing his lower lip and twirling a lock
of hair with his finger and acting for all the world like the young
woman he appeared to be.
"So what do we do now?"
* * * * *
After work, Sally stopped by the club. The place had not been damaged
by the fire as badly as it had seemed and Julie had gotten the idea to
reopen it, all she needed was the capital. Jim had come to her with the
idea of Sally investing in the club. She had been doing most of the
work to run the club anyway and she only needed money to get things
restarted. It turned out that the building had only been leased and it
was easy to determine that the lease could be assumed or a new one
implemented.
Sally and Julie had kept in contact after their first meeting, something
that seemed to drive Jim to distraction. He really struggled with the
concept that his former girlfriend and his current one were friends and
constantly talking with each other. Not that they spent much time
comparing notes about Jim, he hoped. Sally had heard from Julie that
she was trying to reopen the nightclub and looked at her business plan.
Even without the criminal operations that the Mob had been running in
the back, the place had been a money maker. Using her personal savings
Sally was only too happy to make herself, and by extension, Rob partners
in the place. She'd had some bad moments at that point as she worried
about whether Rob would actually be able to appreciate the fact that he
was part owner in the burlesque cabaret and restaurant, where he had
been tortured.
The neighboring businesses had tolerated the presence of the club
because of their fear of the crime syndicate. When it became apparent
that it would be opening again, there was some resistance. That had
been overcome when everyone was assured that the members of the police
force who had allowed the prostitution and drubs to operate had been
arrested. No one had an issue with the fact that the club catered to
the LGBT community. As a group they were much more refined than the
average dance club attendee, so a number of the businesses in the area
fought for their business. In fact, many of the part-time performers at
the club also worked at businesses in the area as well.
In a matter of weeks, 'The Spread Eagle' was opened in the same location
as 'The Eagle'. Julie had turned out to be a whiz at organizing and
managing operations. She had been helped greatly by the fact that a lot
of the legitimate employees of the old club had come flocking to her
when rumors of reopening had begun to circulate. Sally's only
participation in the whole venture had been to write checks which were
drawn on Rob's bank account this time as her own account had been
quickly exhausted. Julie and Sally frequently got into squabbles over
spending. Julie was more of the get it now and cheap, while Sally
insisted on quality over expediency. Everything had worked out in the
end and the club opened by their self-imposed deadline. Sally and Jim
also helped with the applications for the many permits that were
required. Jim was particularly adapt and maneuvering through the
landmines of bureaucratic red tape.
When Sally got downtown to the neighborhood of the club, she had to
search a bit to find a parking space. She made a note that they might
need to look into purchasing a vacant property to use for parking.
Valet parking would move them upscale a bit too.
Almost the only thing about the old club that remained were the large
oak doors that signaled that the establishment was not an office
building or a retail store. Inside, she was confronted by a crowded
waiting area that fed into the new restaurant. The servers and chefs
were all drawn from the transgender community. No one was a caricature
drag queen; the she-males were required to pass Julie's inspection
before going on shift. Reverting back to her Catholic school days, each
waitress was required to kneel to ensure their skirts touched the floor.
The local food critic gave the restaurant a four-star rating but the
service was five-star all the way.
Julie had thought that adding fine dining to the club would set it apart
from what the old place had been like as well as help with its
popularity. She had been correct, but she hadn't anticipated how right
she would be. At first, people had come to check out the new restaurant
in the area and then they had started coming back because they liked it.
Their first customers had come from the LGBT community, but as word
spread the place was packed with a great cross section of people. In
fact the local radio station claimed they had the prettiest waitresses
in town.
Just so the Tguys weren't left out, the busboys were mostly biologically
girls. The local gay newspaper claimed they had the hunkiest busboys
and bouncers, this side of muscle beach.
It turned out that Julie knew a lot of people in the service industry
and one of them had been a top chef looking for an establishment like
what Julie wanted to create. She had given him a free hand in the
operation of the kitchen and it had paid off handsomely. Even thought
it was only the late afternoon, the waiting area was already half full
of guests waiting to be seated. Julie was actually considering a
reservation system. Sally was thinking that expansion might be
necessary if business stayed this good.
The hostess saw Sally from across the room and smiled as she waved her
over. Sally was almost as familiar a face here at the club as she was
at the clinic where she would visit a comatose Rob. When Sally got
through the crowd, Terri unhooked the velvet rope that closed the
cabaret off from the waiting area. The two of them greeted each other
with a loving hug and a kiss on the cheek and then Sally went through
the door to the other half of the club. The cabaret did not open until
late evening, considering that the entertainment that was provided was
adult-oriented burlesque.
The cabaret was advertised as being for adults only and LGBT-friendly.
This was something that it had in common with the old club. At first
there was a special section set aside for their LGBT patrons. But the
congenial atmosphere of the club quickly tore down those barriers. All
the patrons mingled freely and once the stereotypical barriers were
lowered the two groups frequently became great friends.
The entertainment was a mix of female exotic dancers and Tgirl
performers. The acts were all risqu?, but Las Vegas quality. There was
a strict rule that showing your melons was fine, in fact encouraged.
But under no circumstance was anyone to display their coconuts. While
it was known that the restaurant and cabaret primarily hired members of
that community, it wasn't a requirement however. Anyone who could
demonstrate the prerequisite qualifications was considered for every
opening. They were careful to not make it obvious to the patrons of the
restaurant. Any employee who took things too far was summarily
dismissed. There was also a zero tolerance for customer misconduct as
well. One incident and you were banned for life.
She stopped inside of the door to look around the room. It was a large
space, enough to hold a couple of hundred people at tables and the bar.
By the new stage that had been installed, she saw Julie giving
directions to her bartenders and servers. Of course, all of the servers
appeared to be well endowed women who filled out their brief dresses
rather well. Two of the waitresses caught her eye. They remained close
together, as if they were unsure of themselves and drew strength from
each other. Following Julie's instructions to the group, they moved off
with the rest to prepare the night's shows.
Julie saw her standing by and hurried over, genuinely happy to see her
friend. They exchanged hugs and Julie, rather than let Sally go, pulled
her back in for a quick kiss on the lips. A kiss that was more than
sisterly but less than passionate. Then she pulled the shocked owner
over to a table.
"Did you hear from the doctor today?" Julie asked. Julie's kiss had
gotten her motor revved up and she was slowly settling down again.
"Yes, he called about an hour ago," Sally answered. "He spent most of
the day with Rob, trying to give his memories back. He says that Rob is
progressing well and that he expects to have a final session tomorrow.
Then it will just be a matter of getting Rob used to his new
normal...again."
"You mentioned that before. Won't he remember everything?"
"He should," Sally nodded. "The thing is that he will remember it more
like a book that he has read or a news story on television. It won't be
completely real to him for a while." She got quiet when she finished.
Julie was already familiar with Sally's worry, they had discussed it
before. "Don't worry Sally," Julie said, trying to make her friend feel
better. "He's going to remember you and feel the same way about you
that he did before. You told me that all of his memories are still
there. You can forget or repress memories, but not feelings. That
means that everything that he went through with us will still be there
when he comes back to us."
"I really hope so," Sally said quietly. She wanted to cry, not out of
sadness, but because she was so unsure about what the next days would
bring.
"Let me tell you how our latest additions to the staff are doing," Julie
said, trying to distract Sally. She indicated the two waitresses that
had tried to remain in the back of the group.
They were moving among the tables, making sure that they were clean and
ready for the evening. They both moved well on their five inch heels,
not showing any of the difficulty they had displayed only a couple of
days before. Sally looked at how their feet seemed to be bent so that
they were practically standing on their toes and wondered if the shoes
hurt their feet. Her concern was short-lived as she told herself that
they were getting the treatment that they deserved.
"They're moving better I see," Sally commented.
"Yes, they are. I had them practicing all day yesterday. In fact they
spent 30 minutes doing aerobics in those heels. Based on their whining,
it must have been pure hell but I wouldn't let them stop. Toward the
end, Evie was even offering advice to his partner. They were told that
they would do it again today if they didn't get it right."
The transformed Evan and Geri almost appeared to be sisters now. To
compensate for the difference in height Geri was required to wear six
and a half in heels which made it appear like she was always on her
toes. Evie sported a set of 44EE breasts that would have looked
outrageous on a smaller girl, but his height and build made them look
right at home. In contrast, Geri's double-D's had been increased to
double-E's so that they matched Evie's. She still hated them. With the
heels they wore, Evie and Geri towered over all of the other girls and
were like lightning rods for attention.
"I let Evie take a break at the bar last night to shill for drinks and
he had a new guy hitting on him every three minutes. All he had to do
is sit there with his cigarette in his hand and someone would be there
offering to light it. Of course, they had to look like they were there
to order a drink so we sold alcohol almost non-stop while he was there."
"You allow smoking in here?"
"Just the electric ones. Evie uses this long jeweled cigarette holder
an admirer gave her. It's marvelous when he gets into character, you
would swear it was a reincarnation of Marlene Dietrich."
Julie smiled happily. "It was almost as good as a floor show Sally! He
would shoot one down and another would think that he had a shot and give
it a try. What was great were the looks on his face! He would be all
flirty and friendly with them, but you could see that he hated every
minute of it."
"Have you had any problems with their behavior?" Sally asked. The
doctor had assured her that Evan and Geri would do what they were
instructed to do and would do it happily. They had been allowed to keep
their memories and underlying personalities, so they must be in hell
every second of the day.
"No, not at all. They've been model employees so far. I like giving
Geri one of her lady cigars and watching her want to act all macho and
dominant. Then I tell her to go do something that I know that she will
hate. All she says is 'Yes, ma'am' and goes off to do it without any
back talk. Without the cigar, she acts like a normal girl."
Julie grinned ear to ear as she continued, "There was an incident with
the two of them last night that you will love though. Toward the end of
the night, I put Evie at the end of the bar again. There was a tough
guy trying to put some moves on Evie, even though he had said no. We'd
already cut him off for the night, but he thought that he was
irresistible and he wouldn't take no for an answer. I saw that Evie
wasn't able to handle him, but I was enjoying it. He propositioned Evie
offering to pay him for a quickie, but Evie said he was a lady and
didn't do that sort of thing. Before I could send a couple of boys over
to convince him to leave, Geri stomped over and decked the guy saying,
'No means no buster, she's mine now move on.' It was fun to watch Geri
punch out someone twice her size. All those male hormones she has been
gulping like candy are really taking effect."
Sally smiled at images Julie's story conjured. The Evans' has been
working as cocktail waitresses for the past few days. She and Jim had
reclaimed them from the clinic and brought them directly to the club.
The basement cells that Anders had used to hold his special prisoners
had been cleared away and replaced with a single bedroom apartment.
But, for all of its attractiveness and comfort, it was still a cell that
Evie and Geri were locked into every night. Julie felt that it was
safer to keep them under lock and key at night, despite the promises
from the doctor that they wouldn't even think about leaving.
Julie looked over at the two women and called for Evie. The she-male
came hurrying over to stand before Julie. "Yes, ma'am?" Evan's new
voice was a smoky contralto that Sally thought was just plain sexy.
Sally sat and admired the new Evan. He had been given large breasts
that fit his form perfectly. The shape of his face had been changed in
subtle ways. Anyone who knew the old Evan would recognize him as Evie,
but his face was definitely female now, high full cheekbones, thin
highly arched brows and full kissable lips. His body could not have
been farther from a man's shape now. Starting from his shapely legs and
going all the way up to his shoulders, Evan presented a figure that
would make a centerfold green with envy.
Sally reflected idly that Doctor Winters could make a fortune helping
runway models with their form. She was glad that he was on the side of
good because someone with his skill could create his own harem or make
them to order. It was a chilling thought.
"Get us some soft drinks Evie," Julie ordered. Evie curtseyed briefly
before turning and hurrying off to the bar. Julie looked at Sally and
said, "Watch this."
Winters had explained that most of what had been done to Evan and Geri
had been mental. While they had been made to look alike, with large
breasts, long curly hair, hour-glass figures, and dream girl looks, the
changes that were intended to punish them were mental.
Neither of them could have an aggressive thought that they could act on,
except toward each other. They had been 'taught' to be eager-to-please
anyone in authority over them and were almost childishly eager for
approval. When confronted with the master or mistress' annoyance or
anger their reaction was like watching a child who knows that a spanking
is forthcoming.
Evie returned quickly, carrying a tray on which sat two glasses of cola
in one hand. Even in his high heels, he seemed to flow across the floor
and the soda in the glasses on the tray barely moved. Julie looked at
the glass in front of her and then up at Evie.
"I wanted clear soda, not cola, Evie," she said making the tone of her
voice sound angry. It actually did not matter to her what kind of soda
Evie brought her, Julie was only putting on a show for Sally.
Sally watched the tall she-male before her as he practically dissolved
into tears. "I'm sorry ma'am. I'll get it for you right away." Evan
had been reduced from a proud, domineering man to a timid, eager-to-
please servant.
"Never mind Evie. I'll get it later," Julie snapped at him. She
maintained her angry tone, not because she was annoyed, but because of
the results it caused in Evie.
"Hello Evan," Sally said. Her use of his name was deliberate. He could
answer to it, but he could never use the name as his own again. When he
looked at Sally through his tear filled eyes, she saw none of Evan's
arrogance and disrespect. Evie knew who was in charge.
"Hello, ma'am, it's good to see you again." he said. When Evan and Geri
had been picked up from the clinic, their manner had been more defiant.
It was as if they thought their conditions and situations were somehow
temporary. The doctor and Sally had quickly disabused them of any hopes
of freedom or escape. Winters had even opened the front door of the
clinic and stood back. Sally and Winters watched as Evan and Geri stood
frozen in front of the door, unable to leave like they wished. When
Sally had asked why they didn't try to run away, Winters replied that
they did not have permission.
Winters administered a final lesson to them right there in the foyer.
It was that they should be very careful of who they pissed off with
their behavior. He had produced a paddle and handed it to Geri with the
instruction that she use it to make it clear to Evan that his attitude
was unacceptable. She had accepted the paddle and had almost literally
attacked Evan's behind with glee.
She had reduced Evan to a sobbing heap and he was begging her to stop.
Geri's reaction when Winters took the paddle from her and offered it to
Evan had been priceless. It was obvious that Geri had forgotten the
Golden Rule. Fortunately for her, he had been more reluctant to
discipline his wife, though he did deliver several firm swats.
It was two very contrite and tear-stained individuals who were strapped
into the back of Sally's car. Sally made sure that they saw that the
paddle was going with them to the club. Because Jim had not been able
to accompany her, he had made sure that she had restraints with her to
keep the couple under control, even though Winters assured her that the
restraints were completely unnecessary.
"Are you and your wife settling in okay?" Sally asked. She knew that
they were essentially husband and wife in name only now. Probably the
cruelest thing that Winters had done was to take away their ability to
have sex. They still wanted it mentally, but only with each other. The
problem was that neither of them could become aroused.
It was almost enough to make Sally feel sorry for them. The pity went
away when she recalled that Evan and Geri had been willing to destroy
Rob as a person and quite probably kill him.