The Awakening of a Vengeful Phoenix - Chapter 22 - Final chapter

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A man is feminized by his wife and his business partner and framed for embezzlement. Can he survive the humiliations his wife intends to subject him to and start a new life?
Thanks go out to Marina Kelly for her very valuable editorial assistance in improving the quality of this story.

Geri finished rinsing the final spots of soap suds from the sides of the car and shut off the water. She coiled the hose giving the car a few minutes to dry off. Her newly muscular arms made short work of the task and she went back to remove any water still on the car's surface to prevent water spots from marring the gleaming surface.

She bent and knelt as she moved around the car, she knew that she was putting on a show for Diana. The little shit always sat and had her morning coffee while she watched Geri wash and wax the car. To add insult to injury, she always insisted that Geri wear a string bikini. The skimpy thing made every one of her muscles in her legs stand out like cables as she worked. On top of that, the shortened tendons in her ankles required that she wear some form of high heel to keep her feet and legs from hurting. It meant that she was a Playboy centerfold strutting around polishing the car. The only thing missing was the photographer.

She kept her face from showing just how screaming mad all of this made her. It should be Diana out here doing this while she sat and watched! Even though she had intended this kind of humiliation for Rob and had even made him wash the car in a bikini of his own, she wasn't interested in what was fair and fitting. If that idiot Evan had just done his job properly, they would have gotten away with enough money to buy their own country. Instead, she was reduced to the status of indentured servant to the very people she had intended to screw over. And there was nothing she could do about it. Or was there? She wasn't ready to give up quite yet. She would just need Evan to play along with her.

That damned doctor had played with her mind; making her unable to disobey any instruction she was given. She found herself doing what she was told, regardless of how she felt about it. But…she had realized that being forced to obey didn't require her to act if she did not want to. She was sure that the others had not noticed that there were times where she could have helped around the house, but she had not. But that did not help her out of this prison. Even if she could bring herself to escape, she had no cash handy and it would take just a phone call from Sally or Diana to the Feds. If the Mob didn't kill her first, she would probably end up in prison, where her life would be worse than it is now.

She ground her teeth silently as she worked to finish waxing the car. The other thing that grated on her was that Evan seemed to have disappeared into the feminine form he inhabited now and was replaced with that damned girl Evie. He even thought of himself as a girl, of course the girlie voice he had only reinforced the whole image. But he didn't seem unhappy with his situation and wasn't trying to fight it the way she was. She wasn't able to punish him any more either, like he deserved. How do you debase someone who enjoys every degradation heaped upon him?

What really bothered her was that he didn't seem interested in her any longer. She wasn't sure if it was because he viewed himself a woman now or if she was just no longer attractive to him as a woman. That was the one thing that made her want to cry. She had made it clear to him that she was interested in sex last night, but she might as well have said that the sun was going to come up in the morning. He had brushed off her overtures later that night and had slept in the extra bedroom. Maybe Evan no longer found her attractive or saw her as a woman. She had to admit that she had changed.

Whatever they had done to her had robbed her of her natural beauty and made her look more like a female body builder. Her breasts had unquestionably shrunk as well. They made her wear a padded bikini top, when in truth with no top at all she would have attracted less attention. Why even her nipples had betrayed her, they had gone from luscious convex centers of pleasure to concave distensions. But she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing how upset it all made her.

* * * * *

Evie smiled as she worked her way down the hall. Six months ago, she had been a male chauvinist who was thoroughly disliked by the women at the investment firm. Acting that way was only a role he was playing to keep everyone at a distance, but one that he enjoyed. After being caught and "worked on" at the clinic, his world had been severely restricted as well as his self-image changed. As a result, Evan found that becoming Evie was harder in so many ways than his old life. The time to put on his makeup required him to get up an hour early, and the physical labor of a maid was tiring, but overall it was actually a much more desirable life. Evan had been a grifter from early in his life and only surviving. When he and Geri caught each other trying to con the same mark, they had fallen into a partnership that had been successful. What he hadn't realized is that he hated that life and that version of Evan. Becoming Evie allowed him to live as a happier person.

Life would be perfect if he had someone who could love him for the woman he had become. When he tried to talk to Geri about it, she merely mocked him. The changes in his wife bothered him. He had known that she was a cold bitch when they had married, but they still enjoyed being together and doing this as a couple. But Geri seemed to have become filled with anger and was likely to lash out without much warning.

Evie suspected that much of Geri's problem had to do with the changes in her appearance. She had noticed that Geri had changed physically, becoming leaner and stronger. She had tried to bring it up a couple of times but Geri had only snapped at her or hit her. So she had started keeping her distance to avoid any conflicts. She thought that Geri was probably happier exercising and lifting weights than talking anyway. Geri always seemed annoyed to be talking to her, but she wouldn't say why. As a result, any chance of friendship or intimacy between them slowly died.

Life here with Diana and Sally was not bad and much better than being a cocktail waitress. His life had been just as restricted as it was here but, if he was honest with himself there were parts of that life he missed. It was fun to strut around the club and to have everyone looking at him. When he thought about it, it was funny that Evan, the womanizer, actually loved being on display as a woman. He had worked really hard to ensure the only way someone would know that he was not the woman he appeared to be would be to strip him naked.

As a result, Evan was happy to drop the masculine pronouns and immerse himself in the feminine side. If asked he would never admit it but he was happy to be Evie!

Evie had quickly learned how Sally felt about her and she made sure to conduct herself carefully when she was nearby. Evie knew that her life would be hell and relatively short if she were to be turned over to the legal system and sent to prison. She didn't want Sally deciding to ship them back to the Feds.

While punishment of some sort was a very large stick to keep them in line, the carrot that Diana offered was respect and friendship. Diana's presence and thoughtful treatment of her was like an oasis to a dying man in a desert. Evie had jumped at the companionship that Diana offered, desperately needing someone to be able to talk to. Diana had confided that she understood what Evie was experiencing and that it did not have to be perceived as humiliation. Diana offered to help her deal with her feminization and to come to terms with her feelings. They took the opportunity when Sally wasn't around to enjoy some girl time. They would have makeup sessions, discuss hair styles and even swap shoes around. Even though Evan was several years older than Diana, Evie has come to view Diana as something of an older sister.

Still…Evie had learned that there were some limits to that friendship. When Evie had asked if there was something that could be done to eliminate the need to always wear five inch heels, even Diana laughed at her. Then Diana had apologized for sounding harsh when she had laughed. She pointed out that the doctor had told her that the damage that had been done to their tendons was permanent. They were doomed to need to wear heels for the rest of their life. Obviously, Diana liked her skyscraper heels because she used 'air quotes' when she said doomed.

Evie knew that part of how she thought and acted was due to the compulsions and programming implanted by the doctor. Hypnotic suggestions to be as feminine as possible and to always want to look nice. At least the Doctor hadn't implanted the desire for oral sex, but the threat at been there at one point.

Taken by themselves they could be seen as being cruel. But her life was a decent one now. She wasn't hurting people anymore and she could actually think about things other than how to cheat people out of their life's savings. It had just required a permanent vacation from the life of a grifter to show her that living could still be fun.

* * * * *

Diana sat at the breakfast table, finishing her second cup of coffee. From where she sat, she could see Geri working on waxing the town car. She could hear the vacuum cleaner running upstairs, so she knew where Evie was. She never worried about what Evie was doing; she always did what she was asked to do and did it without protest.

Evie had taken to the domestic life like a duck to water. At first, Diana hadn't been sure if Evan had been broken entirely by Winters' programming process or if there was a submissive housewife hidden somewhere inside Evan all along. Regardless, Evie accepted her position as housekeeper and maid without complaint. Diana saw enough of Evan's personality to be sure that the man had not been broken, just given a chance to live.

Evie's demeanor was in striking contrast to Geri's. Geri obeyed directions she demonstrated no willingness to work and had to be told what to do all of the time. If she finished a task and had no additional instruction, she would stand idly. There was always the sense that she was doing it because she had no choice. There was no outright rebellion as yet though...

As a result, Diana had made it her personal hobby to keep Geri active and productive whenever she was on duty, using her own experiences as Geri's maid and housekeeper as a model. Diana actually enjoyed watching Geri work; Geri probably had the same kind of experience.

She didn't go out of her way to invent things for her former wife to do, but she made sure that Geri had little free time. This morning, Geri had already driven Sally into work for a final question-and-answer session for the company turnover, which Diana had begged off from, and now Geri was washing and waxing the car. Her afternoons were then devoted to maintaining the grass and the flower beds. Diana wasn't sure what she would have Geri doing when winter came, maybe building snowmen in the yard. One of the things she had in mind might be to have her go to every house in the neighborhood and volunteer to shovel theirs walks and drive way. Some of those driveways were big ones too and just the thought made her smile.

It was fun watching Geri work in her bikini, as her muscles and tendons tightened with all of her stretching and bending. Doctor Winters had explained that Geri's changes were done now and that she would continue to look a bit like a female body builder. It would not be a permanent state though and she would eventually start to fill out like a woman again. The gotcha was that Geri would always need to be concerned about watching her weight and physical fitness to avoid running to fat and flab.

That revelation was one of the few vindictive actions Diana had enjoyed explaining to Geri. Her wife or ex-wife...Was she even technically her wife? Geri had always been proud of how attractive she was. If she wanted to be that way again, Geri would need to stay very active to maintain her figure. Diana even went so far as to outfit an entire weight room in the basement of the guest house so that Geri could stay active when she wanted.

The social order between the four of them had evolved slowly over the past months since Diana and Sally had moved into their much larger house. They hadn't brought Geri and Evie out from the nightclub immediately though. They had wanted to enjoy being alone together in the country before they did something like 'get pets' as Sally put it.

Sally had not felt reassured at all by Doctor Winters who had cautioned them to continue to reinforce Geri's obedience. Geri was the kind of person who might regain control of herself just by the virtue of the anger she carried. The woman would definitely benefit from psychiatric counseling, but he advised that they monitor Geri's behavior until that time for warning signs. This hardly made Sally feel any better but Diana assured her that they would make sure that Geri could not enter the house after lights out.

Sally had actually talked about chaining their pets up at night until she was sure that it was safe to have them around or make them wear shock collars. Diana had put her foot down on Sally's more draconian suggestions. They had agreed upon a good security system that they never failed to turn on at night.

To keep her out of the house, Geri had been given the responsibility for the 5 acres of lawn, the fruit trees and the flower gardens and the job of chauffeur. Evie had accepted the tasks of cook and housekeeper with enthusiasm, she had actually volunteered. She confided to Diana that Geri had become a real bitch to be around and she was thrilled to be away from her as much as possible. She had even promised to turn snitch and let Diana know if Geri's behavior seemed to get worse.

Things had changed between Geri and Evie almost immediately after the night where Diana had convince Sally that the two were being subjected to cruel treatment. Diana would have felt differently about keeping them at the club, but they were being forced to participate...just as she had been. The thought that they would be dancing and waiting tables because they couldn't help but obey made her physically ill. In addition, Diana wasn't sure that Geri was actually experiencing any kind of punishment. She had looked far too comfortable and happy on that stage, especially when she had been digging those spurs into Evie's sides. Diana still trembled at the thought that if Geri had her way it would be her up there in place of Evan.

She realized that their situations were not much different here than at the club, but it was the lesser of two evils, at least as she saw it. If their mental conditioning were undone, they would go to prison and possibly die there. This way, they could survive and be removed from society. Diana also realized that this essentially made her into their jailer / prison warden. She still tried to be civil and humane towards them.

She smiled when she contemplated Geri's reaction when Julie relayed the gist of Sally's request to her that stated that Geri and Evie would not be forced to be performers any longer but would now employees under personal services contract to Sally and Diana. They still were not allowed to leave the building, but they would not be treated like prisoners either. Diana wished that she could have been present at that point because Julie reported the Geri had actually screamed in frustration when she was informed that she would not be able to force Evie to take part in the pony girl act.

Diana stretched and gave a happy sigh of contentment. She felt so relaxed and happy, but cuddling and playing with Sally in bed had a way of doing that to her. She wished that feeling like this could last forever, even though it wasn't hard to get it back again.

She had gone from being the owner and manager of a very successful investment firm to a cocktail waitress / stripper with very real prospects of being sold as a sex slave. Then she had been saved from that life by friends who truly loved her. She considered the theft of her masculinity to be a small price to pay for the love and happiness she had found with Sally. While it helped to be filthy rich, she would willingly give that all up if it were a choice between money or Sally.

The night before, she had been trying to decide what she wanted to wear for their shopping trip. Sally had enjoyed the fashion show, lounging on the bed while she watched Diana try different colors and combinations.

"You are such a girly girl," Sally had said lovingly, once Diana had made her selections and crawled into bed with her.

"Yes, but I'm a girly girl with a 'little' something extra. You wouldn't want me any other way," Diana replied, giving her a kiss. Then a scared and worried expression crossed her face as she asked, "Would you? I mean, I'm only half a woman and not very much of man."

Sally sat bolt upright in bed at that. She looked at where Diana lay back on the pillow.

"Don't say that! Never say that!" Her voice was sharper than she really intended it to be. She pulled Diana up to be able to look her in the eye. "You are more of a man AS a woman than anyone I know. What you've lived through would have destroyed most people."

Tears filled Sally's eyes at the thought of how close and how many times she had come close to losing her lover.

"I'm incredibly lucky to have you in my life and I love you. I will do anything to make you happy."

Sally pulled Diana into a tight hug as Diana's eyes filled with tears. They found themselves lying beside each other again, cuddling and kissing. Hands roamed freely across their bodies, rubbing, brushing, and tickling at bit. Clothes were no obstacle and slid off legs and torso like magic. She enjoyed sex just as much as when she was Rob but when it involves a person you love it goes from good to incredible. The two of them had drifted off to sleep arms and legs wrapped around each other as if they were trying to occupy the same place.

Diana woke that morning with Sally moving out from under her arm. The bed still smelled of sex and Diana had come to love that aroma. Even though she felt a bit like a wet noodle and would have loved to lie in bed for another hour, the bathroom beckoned. Both for the call of nature and because she needed to brush her teeth and take a shower.

Which ended with breakfast here in the kitchen alcove they had decided would be a dozy place to have their meals. Pulling herself out of her flashback, she could see that Geri had finished the car and had probably gone inside to clean up and prepare for the trip into town.

Looking at the clock, she saw that it was time for her to get ready as well. Taking her cup to the sink, she rinsed it out and set it aside. Just because Evie was here to do the housework, she saw no reason why she couldn't clean up after herself a bit. Evie had enough to do in the house anyway. After all, a 6,000 square foot house with 5 bedrooms, a finished basement and 5 baths really should have at least two housekeepers.

Evie and Geri had been informed of the day's schedule, but she stopped as she passed Evie to remind her anyway. Diana and Sally had plans to meet downtown for some shopping and they were taking the girls along as well. This trip was really for all four of them. Their two captive servants couldn't be turned loose to shop for themselves, so Sally and Diana had decided to spend the day expanding everyone's wardrobes.

Going to their bedroom, she stripped off her robe and pulled on her pale yellow top and the royal blue skirt that she had fallen in love with. It ended just above her knees and showed off her legs to good effect. Add in the high heels that she had to wear; she had a body that would figure prominently in a lot of fantasies.

As she hurried down to the garage, she smiled at the thought Evie and Geri could carry everything to the car for her when the load got to be too much to haul from store to store. They were waiting for her at the car as she locked the house behind her.

Evie took one look at Diana's pony tail and shook her head. "You can't go out shopping with your hair like that!" she said with some authority. "People will think that you're some kind of soccer mom. Honestly, you need to take better care of your hair. Let me help you."

Diana bridled at Evie's comment that she looked like a soccer mom. After all, she was okay with that. After a moment's thought though, she realized that they were going to some of the more up-scale stores in the retail district today. Looking a bit more groomed would project a better image and she didn't want to embarrass Sally.

Diana's hair had been growing for quite some time so that it was brushing the tops of her shoulder blades now. She just never thought about hair styles. Evie knew just how to help her mistress. She was totally immersed in making herself a girlie girl and had become quite the amateur makeup and hair stylist as a result of the makeup sessions that Diana and Evie enjoyed. And a lot of study time on the web. It was probably the result of the conditioning the doctor had stuck her with and Diana reflected with some sadness that it was rather fitting that Evan be stuck with the same kind of compulsion that they had intended for her.

Evie crossed to Diana and turned her around. Taking out a brush, she removed Diana's scrunchie and quickly brushed her hair until it was straight and shiny. Her purse then disgorged a small can of hairspray that she used sparingly to prevent flyaways.

"There! Now you look presentable," Evie said.

Throughout the impromptu hairdressing session, Geri had stood on the other side of the car, watching the show silently and grinding her teeth. Just the way she held herself said that she found Evie's doting on Diana to be rather distasteful. There was also some jealousy and longing there as well. Her expression did not go unnoticed by Diana however. She was beginning to have an appreciation for how Sally felt about Geri, but she knew that there was some inner turmoil there as well. There were times when she felt really sorry for Geri, but she managed to get over it. She would have to talk to Doctor Winters about Geri's attitude to see if there wasn't something that could be done to help her be a bit more comfortable about life in general.

Both women were dressed for a day of shopping. Geri had been given permission to wear a dress instead of her uniform and she had opted for a white sundress. Something about her didn't look quite right and it took her a minute to realize that Geri's bust was larger than it had been. She diplomatically ignored the fact that Geri must have stuffed her bra. Obviously, guys didn't have a monopoly on stuffing things. Sadly, Geri no longer looked like a pretty woman in a dress; she had changed to look like a feminine man. Geri would probably need to see a therapist before she broke down emotionally at the realization that she was losing her femininity.

On the other hand, Evie looked nothing like the man she had started out as. She also wore a sundress, but it was a light blue that fell to her knees. Both Geri and Evie stood confidently in their four inch heels that caused their legs to tighten and forced their butts out. Their hair had been styled to the same length when they were 'treated' by the doctor. It was only now becoming obvious that Geri was styling her hair to be different from Evie's. Enough so that it seemed to give her a more masculine look. Diana wondered if she was truly aware that she was doing it.

The ride downtown was uneventful. The town car was a comfortable ride with plenty of room. Geri and Evie sat up front while she lounged in the backseat. Geri was used to being the chauffeur and kept her mouth shut these days. Diana relaxed and lay back with her eyes closed. A slight smile played across her face, not really at any humor or enjoyment, but she knew that Geri could see her in the mirror and she would think that Diana was laughing at her. And there was nothing that Geri could do about it.

Even though Diana felt sorry for her ex-wife, there was still enough hurt in Diana's heart that she couldn't resist tweaking Geri's nose, figuratively speaking. She knew that she herself might benefit from some talk therapy to help her over the trauma she had experienced. She made a mental note to discuss the need with Sally.

She hadn't been paying attention during the trip and realized that they had arrived downtown. Geri parked the car in a small private lot that could accommodate cars like theirs and the three of them set out for the restaurant. It was only about 5 minutes away and they arrived right on time.

As they were being led to their tables, Diana saw a couple at a nearby table that she thought looked familiar. She stopped to study them and walked over to them with big smile.

"Tanya? Jake?"

The couple was sitting across from each other, holding hands between the water glasses. They looked up at Diana, confused. After a moment, recognition crossed Tanya's face and she smiled as big as Diana.

"Diana!" She extracted her hands from Jake's and hopped to her feet to hug her friend. Jake looked up with a surprised smile as he recognized Diana as well.

He came around the table to hug Diana and he said, "It's good to see you! The last we knew, you were missing."

At that point, Sally stepped up to the group and said, "That is totally my fault. I'm sorry that we never contacted you again to tell you about Diana, but it kind of got forgotten in all of the chaos that has gone on over the past few months."

"That's all right," Tanya said, nodding. "We've been a little distracted ourselves." She held up her hand to display a modest wedding ring in its rightful place and pulled up Jake's hand to show the wedding band that adorned it.

Diana's eyes lit up. "You mean…?"

"Yes," Tanya said with a smile as she leaned into a hug from Jake.

"It was actually you who brought us together again Diana," Jake said, wrapping his arm around his wife. "If I hadn't been with you, I wouldn't have reconnected with Tanya. When you disappeared, we were both so worried that we spent quite a bit of time together. Then things just kind of happened."

"That's wonderful you guys!" Diana was beside herself in happiness. "How long?"

"About two months ago," Tanya replied.

"How are the kids?"

"They're doing great. David and April are in day care, actually ours. David hasn't forgotten you either."

"You're running a day care now? How is that going?"

"It's great. Jake is so good with the kids. We almost have too many families wanting put their kids with us."

Diana smiled at them, so happy to see her long-lost friends. The longer she looked at them, the more she could see that there was something about Jake that seemed different from what she remembered. Then she realized that his eyes were bigger. No...not bigger. His eyebrows were thinner. And...his lashes were fuller and longer. Was he wearing light-colored mascara? When she looked down, her eyes locked onto his hands. His hands sported an understated manicure. While the nails displayed a coating of clear polish, they had been shaped into ovals. She was willing to bet that Jake's toes might look very similar.

She frowned slightly and looked over at Tanya. Tanya gave her an innocent look, but it was offset by a bit of a smile. Tanya could have been a model for the next Mona Lisa. Diana raised her eyebrows and Tanya nodded slightly in response to Diana's unspoken question.

Jake continued the conversation, oblivious to the unspoken exchange taking place between Diana and his wife. "I had to shut down the garage. I was preparing to put things into motion to do that when you walked into the garage with your car trouble. I couldn't compete with the big garages when it came to all of the special equipment they need. When Tanya and I got married, we looked for a good day care for the children. We couldn't find anything we liked so we realized that opening are own day care was actually a good idea."

Diana's eyes widened as she recalled what had happened to her at the hands of Geri. She couldn't let that happen to Jake! Jake finally realized that Diana and Tanya were communicating with their eyes and slight expressions. Then he saw that Diana was glancing at his hands and face, trying not to be obvious about it. He looked at Tanya with pleading eyes, obviously begging that she not reveal anything.

The expression on Jake's face told Diana that something was going on. She put a hand on Jake's arm and squeezed gently and the look that she gave him was reassuring. Something told Diana that there was more to the story than they were telling her, but she knew better than to push.

Then she realized that she was being rude to Sally. She put an arm around Sally and said, "I forgot to officially introduce Sally. This is my future wife, Sally." Her eyes sparkled with happiness and her head would have split in two if her smile was any bigger.

"Tanya, I love your dress," Sally said. "Where'd you get it?

"Thank you. I'm rather proud of it," Tanya replied. "Jake made it for me. He decided to take up sewing as a hobby. He makes all of our dresses."

At that revelation, Jake blushed bright red. Diana could see that Jake was embarrassed to have it known that he had a hobby that someone might think that he shouldn't. She put a hand on his arm and told him that he had nothing to be embarrassed about. There were a lot of men who liked to sew, knit, or crochet.

She leaned over to Jake's ear and said, "Jake, the point is your masculinity or femininity is defined strictly by your own attitudes. If you're happy sewing or doing whatever, that is your business. You don't have to explain yourself to anyone."

Jake looked at Diana with a grateful expression. His smile was warm and broad.

They chatted for a few minutes more before the waitress brought Tanya and Jake's entrée. Sally explained that they needed to go back to the ladies that they had come in with as they couldn't be left alone too long. They quickly exchanged addresses and phone numbers. They promised to keep in touch. Diana really wanted to see David and April again.

When she sat down at their own table, there was a bit of a wistful look on Diana's face. Sally asked her if everything was okay and she assured her that she was. Sally let the subject drop and they both cheered up; but Sally filed away how her lover had looked when she had talked about Tanya's children.

Sally and Diana had a table separate from Geri and Evie. It gave their servants a bit of freedom and Sally still had strong feelings about them both and didn't want to socialize with them.

They chatted about Sally's last day at work and their shopping plans for the day. Sally related how everyone in the office had been there to bid her farewell and to share some of the traditional sendoff cake. She held up the gift certificate that everyone had chipped in for; pointing out that it was for a full day for two people at the spa.

Diana smiled at the sentiment that a simple gift certificate conveyed. Even though no one other that Wanda knew who she was now, they had still thought enough of her to include her in the going-away gift. She blinked back some nostalgic tears at the life she had lost and consoled herself with the thought that she had gotten an even better one in return. The gift certificate made her remember the day she had spent with Tanya at her spa.

Turning back to their menus, they all ate lightly, except for Geri who ordered a steak and baked potato rather than the chicken and a salad that the others ate. Geri got a couple of questioning looks from Diana and Sally, but she just shrugged. If her body told her that it was hungry, she was going to feed it damn it!

After lunch, the four of them made their way down the block toward their first appointment that Diana had arranged. They made for an interesting group, four tall women strutting down the sidewalk. Three of them wore pumps with heels that looked like the wrong step would break an ankle. More than one man on the street stopped work to gawk at them. It was like Victoria's Secret or Playboy had turned their models loose on the city.

Their first stop was for foundation garments. While Diana and Sally really did not need to add to their wardrobes, the still liked to shop and they found a few things that they wanted. Geri and Evie were a different matter and they each walked away carrying a large bag filled with merchandise.

Because it was the retail district, parking was at a premium. There were a fair number of trucks making deliveries and it was easier to stop at the corners of the block and to off-load merchandise to 2 and 4-wheeled merchandise carts. Everything was walked to the store from the truck by the driver's helper.

Both Diana and Evie had become flirts in their journey to become girls. All they needed to do was meet the stare of a lucky guy, give a little smile, and then look down. It didn't matter if their admirers were male or female, though the stares the women gave them was less admiring and more hostile. Anyone whose gaze lingered for too long and was caught at it ended up watching them walk away. Some closed their mouths with a snap when the realized that they looked silly and others just looked. There were probably more than a few fantasies started that afternoon.

Their attractiveness and flirting proved to be their undoing however. Evie passed a workman who was putting the finishing touches on loading a large bin with cases of merchandise and she gave him a wink and a smile. It was enough to leave the young man transfixed as the women walked carefully down the incline.

Because his helper was standing around like a statue, the driver barked at him to get back to work. The helper proceeded to jump and lose control of his bin which started rolling down the sidewalk.

The hill was not necessarily steep, but there was several hundred pounds of merchandise stacked in the cart and the mass quickly turned the bin into a juggernaut as it gained momentum. As what happens in most accidents, the rollaway brake on the cart failed to engage to stop its trip down the walkway.

The helper was young, probably just out of high school. He ran after the bin, shouting at the people in harm's way to move. He had to stop yelling though as he found that he couldn't breathe, run, and shout at the same time. As it was, he was losing ground because the bin was picking up speed. He started shouting again when he saw that the group of women he had been admiring was squarely in the path and had all of fifteen seconds to move.

Evie heard the shouting behind her and she and Geri turned to see what was going on. They saw the bin bearing down on them, with the delivery man giving chase behind it. Geri took a step back and moved herself safely out of the path of destruction.

Evie's quick glance back at Diana and Sally told her that they were too engrossed in their conversation to have heard the chaos building up behind them. The bin was going to hit them, whether Evie yelled at them or not. They would just stop and turn if Evie tried to warn them. At the speed it was approaching, it might seriously hurt them. With only seconds to act, she yelled anyway as she took a couple of steps and threw herself squarely between the two women, but pushing them aside out of danger meant she was now squarely in the path of the oncoming torpedo.

Evie's impact was like the cue ball striking a pair of billiard balls. They both stumbled away from Evie, ending up out of the line of travel. Because Evie was moving forward, the impact of the cart was not as hard as it could have been. A 175 pound person was no match to the hundreds of pounds in the cart. Evie was fortunate that most of her body was in front of the bin instead of to the side. The corner would have done terrible damage to her body. Instead, she was thrown forward before she staggered to the side. She was completely unable to maintain her balance on her stilettos and she fell to the pavement out of the line of travel. The young man ran past them to finally catch up to the cart and engage the brake.

A crowd began to form almost immediately around where Evie lay sprawled on the pavement, typical rubber-neckers wondering how badly she was hurt. She had fallen in the entryway of one of the stores and she had not gotten up. Diana pushed her way to Evie's side and pulled her skirt down to provide her with some modestly. Seeing Diana with Evie, those nearest to them began to force those behind them backward in order to make some space.

"Where are you hurt?" Diana asked. Evie had not tried to sit up as yet, she remained curled around herself on the sidewalk and it was obvious that she was in pain.

"I...I'm okay I think," Evie answered. She hissed as she shifted her weight. "Maybe not. My side hurts and I think that my arm is broken."

"Okay. Don't move," Diana said. If Evie were hurt, moving around might make things worse. She could see that Evie's side had a large blot of dirt and dust; there would probably be a bruise under that somewhere. She moved around Evie in order to get a better look under her. From what she saw, Evie was correct that her arm was broken...badly.

"Just stay still Evie," Diana barked. As some of the shock of the impact began to wear off, Diana could see that the pain was rapidly building. As Evie's eyes grew large with sensation of pain, Diana grabbed Evie's face and put her own just inches away. "Look at me Evie! It's going to be okay!"

Diana maintained eye contact until she felt Evie relax under her. Evie's behavior was nothing like what Evan Stevens would have been expected to display, it was almost as if he had given into becoming Evie completely.

In the background, there were multiple sirens sounding. 'Thank heaven for rapid responders' Diana thought.

She sat beside Evie while the crowd made space for police and paramedics. After making sure that she was conscious, they carefully immobilized her head and arm and got her onto a gurney.

* * * * *

In the throng of onlookers, Sally had stationed herself next to Geri. In case Geri got any ideas of walking away, Sally leaned over and whispered something to her. Almost immediately, Geri's look of satisfaction at Evie's injury and disappointment at Diana's escape changed to fear. Diana watched the exchange as she got into the ambulance with Evie and wondering what that had been about.

It took almost an hour for Sally to finish up with the police. There were witness statements to be taken and the deliveryman was interviewed. Once all of the particulars had been taken down and Sally had been given the information she needed, the officers released everyone to go about their business. There were not that many people to be released though. Once the police had arrived, the number of spectators had magically reduced.

The truck driver and his young helper stayed close and gave their statements to the officers. Once they were able to speak to Sally, the driver made sure that she knew who to contact about the accident. His helper was white as a sheet, afraid of how he had hurt Evie. Sally told him repeatedly that it was an accident and that Evie would be okay. She was honest enough with herself to know that she would have been ready to put the boy into the hospital himself if had been Diana and not Evie.

The final conversation Sally had was with the manager of the clothing store that was to receive the runaway delivery. The man apologized repeatedly for the accident and offered his hopes that Evie would be okay. At the end, he passed Sally his card and invited all four of them to shop at his expense when Evie was able to be out and about again. Sally smilingly thanked him for his concern. A sudden thought reminded her of the need for help with their bags that were piled in the entryway and guarded by Geri. The manager happily detailed a clerk to help them carry everything back to the car.

* * * * *

Evie was in the recovery room when Sally and Geri finally arrived. Because surgery had been required on her arm, they planned on keeping her a couple of days so that they could monitor the incisions and the bruised ribs she had received. She hadn't hit her head, so they were not concerned about a concussion.

"They can't put a regular cast on her arm because of the surgery," Diana was explaining to Sally.

Geri had followed Sally into the waiting room and looked like she did not want to be there. Her body language said that she found the whole thing a waste of time. She certainly was not acting like a wife worried about her spouse and Diana could not fail to see that.

On the other hand, Sally was concerned about Evie and not just because she was an employee. She had jumped between her and Sally to save them from being hurt worse than she had been. Sally had already realized that Evie was someone who deserved to be treated better than what she had been receiving from Sally. Evie had shown her that behind those massive tits there was more than just a con man in a dress.

"I saw that her arm was broken," Sally said to Diana, "but was it bad enough that it needed surgery?"

"They say that she had a compound fracture," Diana said. "The doctor said that the strength in her upper arm would be compromised because of the break. They made some small incisions to attach rods across the break. In time, they will bond to the bone and act like a permanent splint for the fracture area."

Sally nodded and grinned, "It sounds like she will always set off the metal detectors at airports then."

Diana returned the grin, thankful for a little tension release. She leaned close to Sally and told her, "I had a scary moment with doctor prior to the surgery though."

"You mean?" Sally's eyes went wide when she realized what the doctor's issue might be.

Diana nodded in confirmation. "He wanted to know why a man was dressed like Evie and why he looks better than most women."

"What did you tell him?"

"I explained that Evie was in the process of transitioning to be a woman and that she was toward the end of her real-life test."

Sally raised her eyebrows at that explanation and nodded because it made complete sense.

"I told him that I would have Evie's doctor contact him to confirm things," Diana finished.

"No problem. I brought the phone along today in case we might need it and I guess we do." She smiled as she pulled the special phone from her purse and went to an empty part of the waiting room. There was no point in having an audience to her conversation.

After a relatively long conversation, Sally returned to where Diana sat, trying to rest and took a seat beside her. "I spoke to an agent who had to familiarize himself with our case. They agree that you handled it just right and that they would have Doctor Winters follow up with the hospital. Everything will be fine."

"Did you happen to mention another issue?" Diana indicated Geri with a very slight move of her head.

"Yes," Sally said. "It's amazing how reactive they are about our case. He immediately contacted the doctor and they need to prepare accommodations for her. It shouldn't be longer than a few days and the doctor will call us tonight."

They were interrupted by a nurse who was waiting to take them to see Evie. Geri agreed to remain in the waiting area.

Evie had come out of most of the anesthesia and she looked fairly alert. She smiled as they filed into the room behind the nurse. Her arm was immobilized in some kind of inflated cast that looked like a large sausage balloon. The arm was bent at a 90 degree angle and stood out over her body.

"You look better than before they took you into surgery," Diana said with a smile. Ironically, Diana has become Evie's best friend and Diana was happy to be her friend. But Evie would never come between her and Sally and they all knew that.

"I'm better, I feel tired," Evie replied. Her head lolled to one side, making it clear that she was still a bit loopy. "I'll be alright as long as you don't put my Tylenol in my left hand." She pointed her chin at the hand that dangled over her face.

"I'm thinking more about an itch where your free hand can't reach," Diana teased.

Evie returned her smile and said, "I'm going to need back scratchers all over the guest house."

Sally stood next to Diana and watched the banter between the other two. She could see that some of the camaraderie that had existed between Rob and Evan in the past had translated into this new relationship, but she could sense that their friendship wasn't being forced.

She could see that she needed to re-examine her opinion of Evie. She had let he experiences with Evan in the past color how she treated Evie and it looked like Evie deserved some kind of second chance. After all, an unrepentant felon would not have thrown themselves into danger to save her jailers.

The nurse had been making herself useful on the other side of the room, keeping them from being able to speak freely. Now she returned to the bed to usher Diana and Sally out.

"Your friend is still dealing with the after effects of the anesthesia. She will be fine by tomorrow." The way the nurse emphasized the word 'she', made it clear that she was aware of Evie's status and the smile on her face made it clear that she had no problem with it. Sally and Diana relaxed somewhat to know that she would be in good hands.

They let themselves be pushed out of the room and picked up Geri on their way out. The trip home was quiet, the silence only broken by a decision of what to have for dinner. Geri was not included in the conversation because she had demonstrated in the past that she was constantly hostile. Sally wanted nothing to do with her outside of the duties she was assigned.

Geri was dismissed to the guest house for the night. They found themselves uninterested in the fashion show that they had contemplated when they were making their purchases. Even though they had talked about what to have for dinner, they ended up with an impromptu meal of cold-cut sandwiches.

Before they could begin a discussion of the day's events, the phone began ringing. Sally answered it and found that it was Doctor Winters. Sally put the phone on speaker and the three of them engaged in some casual conversation before he became all business. The first thing he wanted was to see how Diana was dealing with her new life.

"I'm doing pretty well," she answered. "I'm comfortable with who I am and I really don't miss being Rob. After all, I have someone who loves me and a happy life." She hugged Sally to show her how she felt.

"No sign of the other Diana making an appearance?"

"No sir!" Diana jumped in not giving Sally a chance to answer. The last thing she wanted was to lose herself in the submissive and hedonistic personality that had been excised.

"Well...I don't know," Sally said slowly. "Rob wasn't girly before all of this happened. You should see her trying to get ready in the morning. I mean, she's all girl, between the ears anyhow." Diana was scared to hear her say that and looked at Sally with a shocked look on her face. It was when she saw Sally's smile trying to break through that she relaxed. They ended up hugging again.

Winters joined in their laughter and then turned to the subject at hand. He had contacted the hospital and confirmed Diana's version for the reason for Evie's appearance. He would work on getting them a carry letter that Evie could use to explain her appearance, if it ever became necessary again.

Sally broached the subject of Geri and her apparent problems. It turned out that Geri had not received an intensive behavior modification like other subjects has experienced. She and Evan had received only enough to make them submissive and obedient, which was why he had advised Sally and Diana to reinforce that conditioning with constant direction.

The doctor explained that his teams were dealing with another project and would not be able to help Geri with her anger issues for several weeks. He promised to let them know as soon as they would be able to host her again. While that was hardly what they wanted to hear, they had no choice but to 'keep on keepin on'. The doctor ended the call by advising them to continue watching Geri and that he would be in touch.

It had been a very long day for them both and they had just enough energy to prepare themselves for bed before the collapsed and slept like the dead, but still cuddled together.

* * * * *

The three of them visited Evie every day and they were able to bring her home after a few days. Her inflated pressure cast had been replaced with a standard plaster cast with special gaps in place to allow the surgery site to heal properly. To everyone's amusement, her arm still projected out in front of her, bent at angle. She looked as if she were offering a salute of some sort.

"It looks like you're going to be sleeping on your back for a while," Sally said with a smile. Sally's attitude toward Evie had change virtually overnight. While they might not be best buds, Sally was according her some warmth and respect. None of them saw the cold expression on Geri's face from where she was located at the back of the room. It was a mixture of jealousy, anger, hate, and loneliness.

"With all this plaster, my arm could qualify as a blunt instrument," Evie joked back. The doctor had explained that she could walk and move around with a problem, as long as her arm was protected. Evie was going to be in a cast of one form or another for the next several weeks.

Evie was installed in a bedroom on the first floor of the guest house and instructed to not exert herself. Sally and Diana made sure that she had everything that she might need to occupy herself as well as a pager mechanism if she needed anything.

Geri was not pleased when she was informed that she was expected to prepare meals for Evie and to help her where she needed it. She was definitely not happy when she had to help her in the bathroom... Diana assured her that she would be helping as well so that Geri was not stuck having to do everything.

Things settled into a routine fairly quickly. Geri would fix a breakfast of sorts for Evie and put it on the table for her, whether Evie was ready to eat or not. During the day, Evie would make her way to the main house to help Diana where she could.

The first time that Evie tried to get to the house, she found that standing and walking in four-inch heels with thirty pounds of plaster hanging in front of her to be impossible. It would have been a difficult task even if she weren't wearing heels. Diana had gone to the guest house to check on Evie and found her sitting at the breakfast table, feeling sorry for herself. Diana refused to let her sit by herself and brought her a pair of heels with a chunky heel. It was fortunate that Diana and Evie wore close to the same size shoe and they provided Evie with enough stability she needed to be able to avoid teetering as she had with the stilettos. She quickly came to terms with her cast and was able to get around safely, as long as she did not move too fast.

It started out when Evie was back in the guest house by dinner time where Geri again practically threw her plate on the table in front of her before stalking away. After the first night, Diana and Sally had Evie eat dinner with them.

The relationship between Geri and Evie deteriorated rapidly. Evie was sleeping in a separate bedroom and eating all of her meals in the main house with Diana and Sally. Geri and Evie hardly saw each other anymore.

For her part, Geri barely spoke to anyone anymore. She did the work that Diana or Sally assigned to her and there was no complaint about the work that she did. Both Sally and Diana noticed that Geri was becoming withdrawn. Unfortunately, she reached her breaking point before they took any action.

It was after dinner and Evie bid her hosts good evening to go to bed. The guest house was dark so she assumed that Geri had gone to bed early. She made her way to her temporary bedroom and closed the door before turning on the light. As she turned, she was slammed against the door and held there by Geri's muscular arm across her chest.

"Hello, dear! Did you have a nice evening?" Geri's voice was low and harsh. "I've been waiting for you forever."

Evan had let himself become so submerged in Evie that it took him several moments to realize that he should be able to fight back. When he tried to do so, he realized that it wasn't only his mind that had become Evie. His body had followed suit and he found himself a great deal weaker than he had once been. Geri really was stronger than he was.

A real sense of fear and helplessness began to grow in Evan's stomach. As he opened his mouth to shout for help, Geri's free hand shoved in a wad of cloth. His mouth was so full that he was unable to try to push the gag out.

Geri continued talking, almost as if she expected him to be able to answer. "You don't want me anymore, but I want you! Every time I've invited you into my bed, you wanted nothing to do with me!"

When their eyes met, Geri's tear-reddened eyes scared Evie. There was anger there, but something else too. But Evan didn't know what loneliness looked like. Geri didn't seem to be crazy, but she sounded like she had reached some sort of breaking point.

Geri shifted her grip on Evan's free arm and forced it behind him. He found that the cast was useless as a weapon because Geri stayed where she wouldn't be hit. The grip she maintained on him also kept him from being able to turn at her.

Geri whispered in his ear. "I finally figured it out! They turned you into a girly-girl and made me want to be a guy. A muscle-bound hunk! But they also fixed it so that the only one I wanted is you." Her voice was breaking when she said, "But you don't want me!"

Evan could only mumble into his gag, trying to tell her that he did want Geri. But it was Geri's angry behavior that constantly drove him away.

Geri forced him to walk to the bed where she made him lie down. Once he was on his back, much of his ability to struggle against here was taken away. Pulling Evan's free hand above his head, Geri snagged it in a rope that she had put into place earlier.

"Like I said, I've been waiting for you my dear." Once his hand was immobilized, she moved down to his legs. She was careful to avoid being kicked as she used tape to tie Evan's legs down by fastening thigh to calf. Once she was done, the most that Evan could do was try to strike at Geri with his knees. Through it all, Evan tried to beg Geri to stop and let him go. He was sure that Geri was having a breakdown and that he could help her, if he could only talk to her.

"Well…Don't you look pretty and inviting," Geri said with a teasing laugh in her voice. "If I'm going to be the guy and you are going to be the girl, I'm going to treat you to a night you will never forget. Don't go away now." She smiled at her feminized husband and strutted out of the room. Evan watched her go, terrified. Geri's smile hadn't seemed to be cold or cruel, but there was an unyielding look on her face.

His widened and he redoubled his efforts to pull free when Geri reentered the room. She had stripped off her clothes and wore only her heels. What scared Evan was the other item that Geri wore. A large strap-on dildo and he knew that it could only go in one place.

"Do you like it?" Geri asked. "I picked it up on one of my trips into town to pick up Sally. It just occurred to me that since you wouldn't give me what I wanted and needed, I decided that I would give it to instead. After all we're trading places." Her voice started out in a conversational tone and ended in an almost angry shout.

Evan shut his eyes and tried not to be there for the following hour. He had never treated anyone this way and he was glad. Thankfully, Geri used a lubricant while she drilled into her husband, but it still hurt. Tears ran down Evan's face as his wife brutalized him and he screamed into the gag. He tried to relax so that the pain wouldn't be as bad. It never felt good.

He was in shock when Geri ended the rape and freed his arm and legs. The slamming of the bedroom door brought him back to consciousness enough for him to realize that he was free again. He pulled the gag out of his mouth and took a deep breath. The pager Diana had given him was on the nightstand beside the bed, so close but unreachable. He pulled it to him and pressed the button. Then the pain and humiliation doubled him over and he curled up crying.

In the house, the beeping from the pager confused Diana and Sally for a few moments. Evie had never used it before and they knew that something must be wrong. They were at her side in just minutes. The strap-on and the duct tape that Geri had used had been discarded on the floor and they were able to get the story from Evie between her sobs.

Evie's clothes were torn and her skirt was around her waist. Evidence of what Geri had done was obvious, but there was no obvious damage. The internal and psychological damage could be much greater though. Sally pulled Evie's skirt down to restore her dignity and sat down beside to calm her down.

"I'm going to look for Geri," Diana said grimly. Her anger at what her ex-wife had done appalled her. She knew that she was no match for Geri physically, especially if she was psychotic, but she needed to make sure the Geri had not hurt herself in some way.

"I don't think that's a good idea Diana," Sally argued. We should both go, but Evie needs one or both of use here. We should let the police deal with this."

"Sally, what are we going to tell them? That Geri raped her husband? If they arrest Geri, everything will come out and the Mob will know where they are. We should call the marshals."

"You're right," Sally agreed. "But you shouldn't go alone." Sally continued to stroke Evie's hair. It was as if she was trying to make up for lost time because of how she had treated Evie. "Check on Geri, but be careful and don't let her get close to you. Before you go, would you go after the phone for me and I'll make the call?"

Diana nodded and hurried back to the main house. As she went, she turned on every light around her. She knew that Geri needed help, but she was still afraid that Geri might come out of the dark at her.

The phone was on its charging dock where it belonged. Diana grabbed it and a croquet mallet as she passed through the patio. She hurried back to Sally and handed off the phone. The mallet wasn't much of a weapon, but it would slow Geri down enough to let her get away.

Finding nothing on the first floor, but expecting Geri to jump out from every corner, Diana felt her heart thumping away. Geri had to be on the second floor then. Diana knew that Geri had to be close by because the bracelet that Geri wore would set off alarms if she got too far away from the base station. The gates were locked for the night and would not open without a code that Geri did not have.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking up into the hallway that ran away from the stairway. There were only three or four rooms up there and Geri had to be in one of them. She didn't want to go up there, but she knew that it was necessary. She prayed the Geri wouldn't attack her as she went up, one step at a time. She was ready to run back down again if something went wrong, high heels or not.

The hall was empty and the bedroom door at the end was closed. Geri was probably in there, but Diana had seen enough scary movies to be paranoid enough to check the other rooms off the hall first. If she didn't make sure, she just knew that Geri would show up behind her.

She found nothing and closed each door as she went. It had only taken a few minutes to find herself standing before the bedroom door. Geri had to be in there for sure and Diana's stomach felt like it was alternating between cramping into knots and trying to spin at the same time.

The door wasn't locked when she carefully turned the knob and she wished that she had listened to Sally. She almost backed away at that point to run back to Sally and Evie, but her concern about Geri kept her going forward.

She knew that Geri had been more withdrawn lately and wished that she had done something about it before this. It was too easy to let things slide and think that a problem was just a passing incident. Diana knew enough that Geri's act of violence might be followed by some self-destructive act and she did not want to see that happen. Not when she might be able to prevent it.

She felt bad enough about what had been done to her former tormentors. While she had taken some satisfaction in seeing them punished in much the same way she had, she could see now that the penalty had been particularly cruel to Geri. A punishment should teach a lesson, not break the subject's mind and will.

She pushed the door open slowly and quietly. She waited until it was completely open before she glanced around the room. Sure that it was safe to go in, she carefully stepped in. Then she heard crying coming from the other side of the bed. Now she knew where Geri was at least.

She moved over to the bed and looked over it to see Geri on the floor and huddled into a corner. It looked like she was trying to curl herself into a ball. She was crying and gave out an occasional sob as she breathed.

"Geri?"

The woman on the floor didn't acknowledge her so the raised her voice. "Geri, tell me what happened."

Geri barely raised her head to look at her.

"Is Evan okay?" she asked, her voice distant

"I think that Evie is in shock," Diana replied, put some emphasis on the name. "I'm not sure that Evan really exists any more Geri. I think that the doctor only gave Evan permission released the person that he was inside."

The person on the floor was nothing like the silent, angry Geri that Diana had been seeing the past few months. This version was emotional and fragile-looking. Diana wasn't sure if Geri was putting on an act or not. If she was faking, it was a good performance. Regardless, Diana had no intention of letting her guard down and getting too close.

"I don't know why I did that to him," she said hollowly. "He was just so happy all of the time and he doesn't want to get away from here." She put her head back down on her knees and took a ragged breath.

"I don't know what to tell you Geri. The doctor decided to do to you what you did to me. He thought that you deserved at least that much after what you and your partners threatened to do to his family."

Geri nodded tiredly. This was just a re-hash of things she had been told before.

"I'm not sure if anyone explained to you that he actually did you a favor. If they had just put you into prison, you probably would have been killed in weeks. That's how the Mob works. The reason you're with us is because it turned my stomach to see the two of you forced to be cocktail waitresses and a floor show. I thought that it was only fair that you and Evie earn your keep here. There was no other place where you could live and survive.

"You should consider this to be a version of witness protection. The Feds allowed them to change you like this because you couldn't go to prison and survive."

Geri took it all in while she just looked up at Diana. It had probably been a year since they had engaged in a conversation this long.

"But no one likes me and everyone is mean to me." Tears ran down her cheeks. Diana noticed that Geri's voice no longer hit the higher registers when she whined, like it had when they were together.

Diana suddenly had an image of conversations that had taken place between Rob and his parents when he was growing up. She had never really envisioned herself as the parent of a teenager. Her voice took on a stronger tone.

"Geri, I won't deny that Sally doesn't like you or trust you and I have gotten some satisfaction out of your situation. But you get what you give."

She toned her voice down as she tried to talk reason the Geri.

"Don't you see? You've been giving off angry vibes ever since we brought you here. I've tried to be civil with you and I know that Evie has tried to talk with you about things several times. If you keep pushing people away, they will eventually stop coming. How do you expect to win Sally over if you keep acting like this?"

In her own way, Geri was probably in as much shock as her spouse was downstairs. But the sense that Diana was trying to make filtered through.

"What am I going to do?" Geri was still crying, but maybe not so much in self-pity now. "I don't like being alone."

"You're going to spend more time at the clinic," Sally said from the door. She had approached so quietly that Diana actually jumped in surprise. Sally's tone was the flat, disdainful voice that she had been using when she addressed Geri and Evie. It wasn't overly friendly either. It was a calm, authoritative tone that conveyed how things were going to be.

Geri's whole face conveyed the fear she felt at being at the doctor's mercy again. In her eyes, he was pretty much Dr. Frankenstein.

Seeing Geri's reaction and not really caring, Sally continued. "The doctor has already told us that you needed some counseling. I just got off the phone with him and he believes that he can help you both.

"You need help with your anger issues and some of your nasty attitudes and Evie will need some help after what happened tonight. I suspect that Evie has other issues as well."

Sally stood beside Diana and could see the naked fear in Geri's eyes. She took pity on her and said, "You have nothing to worry about Geri. He told me they will help you without changing who you are. The one thing that may happen is that neither of you will remember anything about what happened here tonight.

"Doctor Winters told me to tell you that he won't do anything to you without your agreement." She paused for thought and then said, "You can thank Diana for insisting upon that."

Sally looked over at Diana and said, "We should all go downstairs and spend the night together."

Diana frowned a question and Sally continued, "I spoke to the doctor. They will be sending a car for them in the morning. He's sure that he can help them come to terms with their problems without hurting them." Her explanation was intended to reassure Geri also.

The three moved to the downstairs bedroom where Evie was asleep. Evie didn't stir when they came in and Sally explained, "I gave her a sleeping pill. She needed to relax."

Geri stood as the foot of the bed, looking at her feminized husband, it was obvious that she didn't know what to say or do.

Diana continued to keep her distance from Geri and said, "Geri, we can either stand guard over you until they get here or you can take a pill too. Either one is okay."

It was obvious that Geri was really terrified of returning to the doctor's care. She really hoped that Geri would opt for a sleeping pill; it would make things a lot easier. If she didn't, it just meant that she and Sally would have to stay awake and guard Geri until the Feds arrived. Geri was probably scared enough that she would try to escape, regardless of the hopelessness of doing so.

Diana didn't give a sigh of relief until Geri actually took the pill and swallowed it with some water. They helped Geri get comfortable on couch in the living room and waited until she was asleep. Then they settled back to relax.

* * * * *

The buzz of the gate at the end of the driveway jolted them both awake. Diana found herself standing up before she was fully aware of what was going on. Sally wasn't quite as hyper and she stretched out some of the kinks that had formed in her back. Looking outside, Diana saw that it was still dark outside.

"They're here," Sally said. "Obviously." She smiled at Diana. Diana went to the control panel on the wall and keyed in her system password. Once she punched the admission button, she followed Sally to the bathroom. The Feds were standing at the door when they came back out.

There were at half a dozen people standing around the French doors when Diana walked over. In the lead was Doctor Winters. He smiled at her as she opened the doors to admit everyone. They brought in two gurneys and started prepping them.

"Is everything okay?" Winters asked.

"Yes," Diana answered. "They both took a sleeping pill and they're down."

"That's good to hear," he said. "It will make it easier to get them into the ambulance." He opened his case and removed some syringes. Neither Geri nor Evie even moved when he slid the needles into their arms.

"This will keep them out until we get them back to our facility and get them started on their treatment," Winters said, looking up at them. "I'm sure that we can help them both without turning them into robots or slaves. I'll make sure that Evie gets the gender counselling that she needs and I think that we can help Geri with her problems as well.

"It's going to take a few months though. We won't rush their treatment."

The special bracelets that the two of them wore were removed and they were loaded into the ambulance. Within an hour, everyone was gone again. The guest house suddenly felt very empty.

Diana and Sally trudged back to main house and collapsed in the breakfast nook. "What would you like for breakfast, my dear?" Diana asked. "I'll work on it in a minute."

"I'll help; I just need a few minutes to finish waking up."

Diana was quiet for a few minutes and then she said, "Doctor Winters said that he could help them with their problems."

"Yes, he did," Sally answered. "That bothers me a bit."

"Why is that?"

"He is going to help them become well-adjusted citizens right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"If they are well-adjusted and they don't remember what they did, are they really being punished?"

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Comments

Thanks for Continuing the Story

It's interesting that you didn't end the series with the punishment of Evan and Geri, but chose to explore the effects of that punishment on the people involved (both the punishers and the punished) and how the primary characters attitudes and behavior change over time.

Punishment

Do they still need to keep being punished though?

Vivien