Joe_bates_saga

42 Joe_Bates_Saga________________________________________________________

1. Chapter

Joe walked through the quiet house to his room, listening for signs of activity from Linda. He heard no sound. Seeing the bed, he considered how wonderful it would feel just to lay down and sleep a while. The night had been long and exciting, but the few hours of fitful sleep just hadn't been enough.

It was still early, but Linda was in the bathroom, getting ready for work. She probably hadn't even heard Joe come in.

In one easy movement, Joe pulled the little top over his head. He reached between the cups and unhooked the tight fitting bra. It felt great to slip the dainty little thing off. He rubbed his breasts, partly because he liked to feel the softness, and partly because they felt so good when he massaged them.

Sitting on the bed, Joe unbuttoned the shorts and pulled them off. He left the panties on and lay back on the pillows, closing his eyes.

It would certainly feel good to get some more sleep. Almost twenty four hours had passed since he last showered, and Joe felt uncomfortably sticky all over. Bending to place his nose to his armpit, he checked for any sign of body odor. Nothing detectable.

Joe's body was now totally alien and yet surprisingly familiar to him.

Shaved armpits still seemed amazingly smooth, even now while they were beginning to show a little stubble. The soft sleekness still felt kind of neat.

But this chest... Joe looked at himself. Was he ever going get used to being like this? How could anybody? These things were real. It wasn't silicone in there. His own flesh and blood, though in a very different shape. Very different. What had once been a wide, fairly muscular chest had become soft. And round. Most of the change occurred over-night, but some was still happening. Complete feminization had left Joe with contours a real woman would be proud of. It was as if he had always been this way. But he knew that wasn't true. He had become a combination of unfamiliar changes, with many things that were familiar.

He moved his hand along the soft side of his left breast, inspecting the old, tiny scar where a broken mirror on his Honda motor bike cut him when he dropped it on its side. He was just sixteen. That was fourteen years ago. His future was so very different then. The skinny teenage boy with all the cuts and scrapes would have practically donated a kidney just to touch tits like these. Now, he didn't have to do anything. They were his own. A part of him.

Of course, it wasn't just breasts. He knew the other changes were probably even more significant. He ran a hand between his legs. No balls there anymore. His testicles, like his penis, had pulled a vanishing act. And Joe found the resultant reduction of testosterone alleviated the underlying sensation of sexual tension he didn't even realize was affecting him. But now, now that it gradually stopped, at least most of the time, Joe actually enjoyed the pleasant, the mellow feeling his new body chemistry usually provided. The intermittent flashes he also experienced sometimes were just his body trying to accommodate changing glandular secretions.

Joe's body had become female looking, that was plain enough. But his mind... that had certainly undergone changes too, but Joe knew he still remembered everything from before and, for the most part, still preferred the same attractions.

And some of those attractions were women.

That was difficult. It was completely weird to experience familiar male urges, but possess no way to consummate them.

In addition, this changed body seemed to have acquired new desires and needs. His brain might have a problem admitting it, but his new body liked men.

At first, simple curiosity caused Joe to experiment. His friend Jay had shown enough prurient interest in the strange phenomena that had changed Joe that he allowed the newly created woman to shamelessly use him as a sex object. It was probably mutual curiosity, but for Joe, it served to open his eyes to his new sexual needs and responses. And he could hardly believe what he discovered.

Although Joe found their quick, awkward, initial coupling a bit painful, it eventually became tolerable, and he couldn't wait to try it again.

A request for Joe to meet with the president of Honeybone soon gave him that opportunity. He easily talked Jay to fly along with him to Minneapolis. They met with Norm Peterson for a short time, and then spent the evening together in bed.

This time was much different. Jay was able to sustain his erection much longer, and Joe soon discovered the gratifying experience of multiple orgasm. Sexual arousal was now more diffuse, with powerful sensations all over the whole body, not just primarily the genitals, as it was for a male. Erotic excitement kept them at it much of the night and it was only the soreness of overuse that made Joe stop wanting more. Jay had performed amazingly, and Joe couldn't help but be impressed by his remarkable sexual endurance.

Joe never thought he would ever be so impressed with his pal's prowess, but he had to admit, allowing for short naps to recharge, Jay had actually outlasted him in their escapade.

There was a significant difference. Orgasm after orgasm, for Joe, there was no longer that feeling of tremendous fatigue following ejaculation. Rather than just a sudden, sharp increase in pleasure, soon followed by semen erupting from the penis, then a powerful urge to sleep, Joe discovered that his changed body now responded first with an intense need to be filled. That was the only way he could describe it. His crotch... with that little clitoris that seemed get rock hard, stiff as the biggest boner he ever had, though he had to look carefully just to see it, and then, lower down, his vagina, that unfamiliar new part of him, desperately begged for something inside to bear down on. It was a strange but wonderfully pleasing feeling. When presented with an actual firm penis for those new muscles to squeeze on, the overall sensation was exquisite. Another warm feeling in the pelvis and it was time to start over again, each subsequent climax feeling just a little better than the last.

Joe developed interesting ways to help Jay perform again and again. Finally, after ten or twelve lovemaking sessions, each resulting in at least one explosive climax for Joe, they reluctantly concluded. Jay was worn out, practically pumped dry. Joe found his new genital opening so painfully sore he couldn't even touch himself, much less tolerate Jay's much rougher pawing.

Finally, they actually attempted a few hours sleep. Joe discovered he actually enjoyed the weirdly pleasant, secure feel of Jay holding him in his arms as they both slept. It should have been embarrassing for them, but instead, it just felt right. And good.

Joe placed a hand on his soft, bare breast, imagining Jay touching him. Sometimes, when Jay was tired, he would caress Joe's body just right. Usually though, Jay just fondled Joe's new boobs as if he was inspecting for lumps or something. When he did that, it didn't feel good at all. But other times, when he used slow, gentle strokes, ending near, but not right on, the sensitive areola around the nipple, that now already familiar sensation of a direct connection from breast to penis, or clitoris rather, made itself known. Soon, Joe's vaginal area became wet as if he had urinated.

There was very little easily visible in that area. Joe found he needed a mirror to see everything down there, but there was certainly plenty of sensation. Joe loved the feel of his new genitalia. The nerves of his penis were generally still there, but now there was more. Lower down, new labia minora replaced, but still felt much like, his scrotum. The dark pink folds of tissue probably contained most of the nerves of his scrotum too. There was also the additional sensation of a vaginal spincter. Sometimes, usually, Joe couldn't even feel that. Only when he flexed the muscle, which he did by tightening everything as if attempting to stop the flow of urine, he could really sense this significant difference in his anatomy.

But there was still another difference.

Joe moved his hand back to his crotch. He traced the slightly raised prominence of the pubic bone. It felt so much larger now than before...when he was male. He moved his fingers lower, feeling the sleekness of his new shape.

The crisp feel of a panty-liner reminded Joe of the vaginitis.

It didn't hurt, itch, or burn anymore. Surprisingly, all irritation was gone, as fast as it appeared. Joe remembered Dr. Krell had advised him to apply the medication until it was completely used up, even if all symptoms completely subsided, or the problem might reappear.

He was way behind on another application already.

Joe moved his fingers along the panties narrow crotch strip. He just didn't think a woman's body should feel like this...so much like a man's... so male. There was no longer the bulge of a penis and all that, but really... it just wasn't all that different.

But there's a real vagina under this soft fabric. Joe slid a finger under the narrow elastic leg opening. He ran it along short, soft pubic hair, and then felt for his sensitive labia.

His thoughts and touch had already made him wet, and he touched the dampness of his body as well as the wet liner.

He gently probed upward until he found his throbbing clit. Touching it made him involuntarily move his knees back together for a moment. Keeping it on the tiny nub of flesh, Joe moved his finger almost imperceptibly. It was so darn sensitive there! As if all the nerves in the tip of his penis were compressed into that little button of flesh, and it seemed his fingers could touch every one of them just by barely moving.

This is how it is to be female...to have a woman's body, Joe mused. No wonder Norm wanted one so badly... Surely this was the way a human was really meant to be...to feel.

Joe continued, gently probing with his index finger until it was inside him to the second joint. Feeling brave enough to experiment, he felt the vaginal spincter contract strongly as he tried to draw his finger inside himself. One finger just wasn't enough, so he added another, and by doing so, he could exert a small amount of pressure on them. The sensation was good, from both sides.

What ever he had become, he wasn't a man anymore. Here he was, laying on the bed, fondling...fingering himself. Experiencing sensations no male could ever know.

Laying there, eyes closed, Joe relished the pleasure his body provided.

Suddenly, there was an almost imperceptible knock at the door.

"Joe. Joe, are you home?" Linda called.

Joe jolted awake as the door opened slowly.

He quickly removed the hand from his underwear.

Linda poked her head in the door.

"Ahh... You are here. I thought I heard you come home." Linda said, smiling.

She saw Joe lying on the bad, practically naked.

"My, you look comfortable." She teased.

"I hardly got any sleep last night." Joe said truthfully.

"Really? What was so important?" Linda asked.

"Norm Peterson." Joe explained. "He tried the cage, and now he's as female as you are. As WE are, I guess."

"Norm Peterson?" Linda exclaimed. "The President of your company? Now he's been changed too?"

"That's right." Joe admitted. "The cage works. And it works fast."

"Norm Peterson is fifty or sixty years old, isn't he?" Linda asked.

"That's right." Joe said. "But he doesn't look it anymore."

"You mean he's younger looking too, like you?" Linda asked.

"Yeah. I guess he looks more like forty or so, I guess. Large breasts too." Joe added.

"Large breasts?" Linda repeated. "Norm Peterson has boobs?"

"He's really not a man anymore, remember." Joe continued. "He's been changed female, just like the rest of us."

"How did that happen to the President of the Company. In the middle of the night?" Linda asked.

"He wanted to try it, and it worked." Joe said simply.

"He risked the possibility of having his gender permanently changed?" Linda asked incredulously. "Is he crazy?"

"He wanted it to work." Joe explained. "I think he really wanted to make the change. And he did."

Linda looked at Joe.

"Is being male really so terrible that a man would want to give it up any time they get the opportunity?" Linda asked.

"Some probably would." Joe answered.

"How about you, Joe?" Linda continued.

"I didn't ask for this." Joe countered, saying nothing else.

"But it happened." Linda retorted. "And now it looks like you might be female for a long time."

"Maybe forever." Joe agreed.

"Would you change back right now, if you could?" Linda asked suddenly.

Joe looked into her eyes. Had it become that obvious?

"I really don't know." He said truthfully.

"You really like being a girl, don't you." Linda continued.

Joe smiled.

"Maybe I do." He admitted. "Maybe I'm just starting to get used to the whole thing."

Linda looked down at this man, her fiancee, who looked back with bright eyes... That attractive, very feminine body... Those pert breasts, bouncing slightly when he/she spoke.

"Just where does that leave us, Joe?" She asked.

Joe stared into her eyes. He had been wondering the same thing for days.

"I wish I could answer that." Joe said. "But I don't even know all the questions yet."

"I love you, you know that." Linda continued. "But I know what I really love is the male you. The old you. I'm trying to accept what you are now... what you've become... but..."

"You think our relationship has become homosexual..." Joe interrupted.

"I don't know... I know it's still you... I know that... But... Look at you. What you've become... We can't be the same as before." Linda stammered.

"Yeah... I know." Joe agreed. "It's still me. You may not believe it, but I still feel like a guy sometimes." He smiled.

"I love you... I want you... Just like before." Joe continued. "I know it isn't the same. I'm not the same. Hardly."

"You may feel like a guy, but just take a look in the mirror. You sure don't look like one." Linda said.

Joe smiled. "I know what I look like." He said. "I look like a girl... a woman... and maybe I even feel like one too, I guess. But I also know still love you."

"But not like before, right?" Linda added. "Joe, I see the look in your eyes. You're a woman now, and you actually like it. You like guys too, don't you?"

"Sometimes." Joe conceded. "Sometimes I do. I guess it's the physical changes or something. I really can't help it."

"And neither can I." Linda reminded him. "Joe, I want a man too. Surely you realize..."

"What do you want me to do?" Joe asked. "I'll move out right now, if that's what you want."

"No... No, it's not that... I want you to stay. I like you here." Linda answered. "I don't want you to leave."

"Then, what do you want?" Joe asked. "You know I can't change what has happened.

Linda smiled.

"I know that, and I know this is hard for you." Linda said. "But I want things back the way they were."

"And you think I don't?" Joe countered.

"Do you have to be so damn cute?" Linda asked, cracking a big grin.

"Cute?" Joe repeated. "You think I'm trying to look cute?"

"Damn it Joe, just look at you." Linda complained. "I wish I looked that good in high school. Not an ounce of fat anywhere."

Joe swung his hip out so Linda could see.

"Look at these." He said. "They've been getting bigger each day."

"Hah!" Linda snorted. "You're thirty years old, remember? But now you're more like eighteen. Don't tell me about big hips. You've got a long way to go. Just look at those boobs. Just what do you want?"

"I'm a guy, remember?" Joe reminded her. "I'm not supposed to have these."

Joe pushed his breasts together with his hands, emphasizing moderate, but firm, cleavage.

"Of course, I guess they just might come in handy, now that I got this." He said, rubbing his right hand down his belly, over the panties, and between his legs.

Linda stopped and looked at him.

"I'm sorry." She said suddenly. "You're right. It's not you're fault, is it?"

"Well, nobody asked me, near as I can remember." Joe said, snickering.

"I'm sorry." Linda repeated. "I didn't want to hurt you, Joe."

Just like a real woman, Joe thought, blaming herself for everything that happens.

"Linda, stop that." Joe demanded. "What happened to me isn't you're fault. So stop apologizing for it."

"But I hurt you." Linda argued. "I was actually feeling jealous of you. Of how you look. I shouldn't have said those things."

"Hey, if I'm going to be a woman, I guess I'll have to get used to things like that." Joe said. "But women always apologize, and it harms all of you... All of us."

But... I was cruel..." Linda objected.

"Linda, you're one of the most self confident women I know... that's one of the things I've always liked about you." Joe cut her off. "But sometimes you're just like most women, apologizing for everything... stuff you have no control over."

"What do you mean..."

"Surely you can see you're doing it?" Joe teased. "I may not have balls anymore, but it won't make me start acting like that."

"Is that how you acted with Jay?" Linda shot back, referring to their night together, which she discovered, and Joe admitted to.

Joe felt the flush of embarrassment come to his cheeks.

In one quick movement, he moved his knees apart and placed his hand on his crotch.

"I just match the job with the tools." Joe joked, trying to recover his composure.

Linda shook her head in amazement and smiled.

"You are surely something, Joe Bates." She said.

"And cute, too." Joe added, gently shaking his breasts from side to side.

Linda came to the bed and sat next to Joe.

"What are we going to do?" Linda asked again.

"God, Linda, I wish I knew." Joe answered, suddenly becoming serious.

"If we can't be lovers, I hope we can stay best friends or something... I mean... we were planning to spend our lives together. That's got to be more powerful than my masculinity." Joe continued.

Linda bent down and slowly kissed Joe on the lips.

For Joe the feeling was familiar, but it lacked much of the old pizzazz. He wondered what it was like for Linda.

Before he could ask, Linda put her arms around Joe's back and pulled his body to her. His bare breasts pressed against Linda, who wore a seamless cup bra beneath a satin blouse. The soft slickness of her clothes felt good, even to Joe's somewhat sensitive, almost sore, nipples.

Linda's tongue probed Joe's mouth, and the animal eroticism of her actions were still capable of making him excited.

Joe allowed her toying, and calmly reciprocated. It wasn't as exciting as it once was, but still, the intimate closeness was quite enjoyable.

Linda suddenly pulled away and looked at Joe.

"Do you like it when I do this?" She asked.

"Of course I do." Joe replied. "Why shouldn't I?" He asked.

"You just don't seem the same...act the same." Linda explained.

"I'm not the same." Joe said logically. "You know that."

"Then it isn't the same for you?" Linda asked.

"No, not really." Joe conceded. "But I still like to do it, don't you?"

"I like being with you." Linda admitted. "But you are so different now. I don't know how you can do it."

Joe grinned.

"It's not that hard really." He admitted. "I just let my self go."

"But you're a woman." Linda countered.

"My body may have turned female, but my head can still remember what it's like to be a guy."

"You must be going through a strange kind of hell, Joe" Linda offered.

"Not really." Joe replied, trying to look smug. In fact, I find everything quite interesting." He put his hand to his breast, rubbing both his own and Linda's nipples. Her blouse felt so silky to his touch.

"I think I'm going to have to get a shirt like that." Joe commented. "I love the way it feels." He smiled.

"It's a blouse." Linda corrected. "And I got it at Goldwater's."

It was strange talking like this to Linda. One minute acting like a horny guy, the next talking about clothes. Linda was finding weird too.

"Norm wants to go shopping this afternoon, maybe I'll just get myself one." Joe said, only half joking.

"Why not?" Linda agreed. "Honeybone owes you all the clothes you need, right?"

"They'll reimburse me, I guess." Joe admitted. "And I do need to get some more stuff. I'm still changing, I think, and some things already don't fit very good already." He held up the bra by the strap, grinning sheepishly.

"You're still getting bigger?" Linda asked.

"Not a lot." Joe said. "But this thing sure feels tight."

"Next time, choose one with a little more Spandex." Linda offered, turning practical again. "It'll stretch better than that cotton one."

"Yeah." Joe agreed. "I'm learning... I'm learning.

"You're doing fantastic." Linda admitted.

"For a dumb girl, maybe." Joe teased.

Linda looked into Joe's eyes.

"Sometimes I think what has happened is my fault." Linda said. "You don't realize how many times I've wished this kind of thing on you."

She thought of the times when they had argued about the way males and females are treated different in our society. Joe didn't share Linda's feelings in the subject. Now, Joe truly was getting a chance to learn first hand.

"We now know exactly what caused it." Joe said. "And you may have got you're wish, but you certainly didn't cause it." He smiled.

"I'm sorry, Joe." Linda said. "I didn't really mean it."

"Yes you did." Joe corrected. "And realize I deserved it too."

"It must be so hard..." Linda went on.

"At first, it was." Joe stopped her. "But not now. When I watched Norm going through the change last night... Only then did I completely appreciate just what happened to me." He continued to idly stroke his breast as he spoke.

Linda backed away. She looked at Joe's body.

"You really like those things, don't you?" She asked, grinning.

"Hey, right now, I'd love to make love to you just like always, if I could." Joe objected. "But since that's impossible, I might as well make do." He grinned to hide his embarrassment.

"I've got to get to work." Linda said. "I have a showing this morning. What are you going to do today? Do you have to go to work?"

"I'll go in later." Joe answered. "Norm is still at Hillcrest. I think they'll let him out later, so he can get some clothes."

"It's so weird, isn't it?" Linda mused. "This guy... This sixty-year-old man... He sits in this little room for a few minutes, and now his life is changed forever."

"Yeah, it is a little hard to accept." Joe admitted. "But that's really what's happening."

"And today, you're going to take him out shopping... Joe Bates is taking SOMEONE ELSE shopping?" Linda asked incredulously.

"Yeah. That's a kick in the head too, ain't it." Joe conceded.

"For sure." Linda agreed.

Linda rose from the bed, and looked back at Joe, who still lay there, wearing only panties.

"Well Sleeping Beauty, don't work too hard shopping today." She advised jealously. "I wish I could go along, I'd love to see you two at it today."

"I wish you could go." Joe admitted. "When do you get off?"

Linda thought a minute.

"If things go real well, I might be free be a little after One. I'll probably take my clients to lunch." She said.

"I'll give you a call." Joe said quickly. "We sure could use your advice."

"You might be right." Linda said, walking out of the room. "See you later, Joe."

"Bye, Linda." Joe called out. For the first time, they had parted without kissing. Their relationship was truly becoming more "best-friend"... sister-like. The idea distressed Joe, but it was probably inevitable.

When Linda left, Joe lay on the bed a while, trying to decide if he should sleep a bit, or clean up first, then take a nap. He finally decided that he really wanted a shower, and besides, he needed to treat that yeast infection.

Joe went into the bathroom. He removed the panties and sat on the commode. After relieving himself, he stood and examined his reflection in the mirror. It was easy to tell that his pelvis was continuing toward the female shape. Perhaps his shoulders might be getting smaller too, but there was no doubt that his hips were wider. There could be no stopping his transition to complete femininity, but Joe no longer wanted it to stop. He was quickly becoming resigned to spending the rest of his life as a woman.

Or, at least a mature girl, Joe thought as he examined his new body. So young looking. It was difficult to admit, but he didn't look a day over eighteen, and his complexion grew smoother and softer each day.

Joe wondered how Norm would fare in the fountain-of-youth segment of the transition. He already looked much younger, though not as young as the others, who were actually not as old anyway.

Not yet anyway.

Joe went to the shower and started the spray. When it was warm, he stepped in and closed the glass doors.

The warm spray felt so refreshing. He turned around and let the water hit his body, covering his sensitive breasts with his hands as they were hit by the sharp spray.

Joe carefully soaped himself and then took the shower head from the holder. By strategically maneuvering the spray, he was able to rinse himself, and also enjoy the pleasant feel of the water as it lightly caressed the intimate areas of his body.

Closing his eyes, Joe held the wand to his crotch, letting the spray tickle his clit. The liquid massage felt good, but it wasn't going to result in a climax, he could tell, so he moved the spray lower and with his fingers, spread the opening to allow the spray to enter his vagina. That felt kind if strange. It didn't hurt though, and Joe thought it might help his infection.

At least he'd be really clean internally.

Finishing up, Joe turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He toweled off quickly, then took the tube of vaginal medication and its applicator from the counter top. Filling the applicator as directed, Joe inserted it and injected the medication into his body. When that was accomplished, he took the tube of anti-itch cream and rubbed some of that on his external vaginal area, even though it didn't itch anymore. Dr. Krell told him to use all the medication in the prescription, and he didn't want the terrible itch or burn to return, so he followed orders.

Done. Protected for another day. He hoped he'd never have this horrible problem again.

Joe went into the bedroom and opened the dresser drawer where he kept his underwear. Selecting a rather demure pair of blue cotton bikini panties, the last of his new ones, Joe took them into the bathroom to get another pantiliner. When he had that, he pulled the panties on and went back to the bed to get a little rest.

The shower left him feeling clean and refreshed. Joe lay down and soon was asleep.

He had probably slept a couple of hours when something made him wake up. He looked at the clock radio.

Ten thirty AM.

Should he get up?

He felt rested, and Joe knew Norm would be anxious to see him. Joe was curious as to how his new friend was faring.

Joe rolled out of bed and went to his closet, wondering what to wear for the afternoon shopping excursion.

Just like a woman, Joe thought.

As a guy, he never gave the clothes he wore much thought. Jeans and maybe a knit shirt, usually. Now it was different. What kind of underwear... Shorts... A skirt... What kind of top? A blouse, or maybe a T-shirt?

Joe wasn't ready for a skirt, so shorts it would be. He selected a pair of fairly short white shorts and pulled them on. They fit fine, but Joe examined them in the mirror, wondering if they were too casual for a shopping trip.

He decided he looked OK, but it was hard to concentrate while not wearing a shirt or bra. It was evident that even his own breasts were interesting to him. Joe wondered if real women found their own breasts as interesting. He gave them a quick, firm squeeze, then went to the underwear drawer to select a bra. Remembering what Linda said, Joe passed up the simple cotton ones and chose the sole remaining seamless stretch underwire that looked like one of Linda's. He liked it best anyway.

After deftly slipping the bra on, Joe decided on a red cotton sleeveless top. He was glad he had allowed himself to make some impulsive purchases on previous shopping trips. If not, he wouldn't even have the minimal choices he now enjoyed. Of course, he could probably raid Linda's closet, but he really didn't want to do that. Not yet anyway.

Now dressed, Joe again went to the mirror to check his appearance.

Yeah... Pretty good, he thought.

Joe took his brush and ran it through his short but lengthening hair, trying to make it look as feminine as possible. It would be better when it grew out a little more.

Joe was ready. Joe went to get a little handbag and checked that wallet and keys were in it. He was getting accustomed to carrying the little bag, no longer always feeling self concious to have it in his hand.

It was a little after eleven when Joe left his room, ready to drive to Hillcrest.

He drove over and went straight to Norm's private section of the small hospital.

Norm was there, as was Karen.

Karen still looked amazingly fresh. Joe wondered how she did it.

Norm's eyes lit up when he saw Joe.

"Joe. I'm glad you came back." He said cheerfully. It was evident that Norm Peterson had become a very happy woman.

"I took a shower and got a few hours sleep." Joe said. "I came back as soon as I could."

"Dr. Krell said it would be OK for me to go out." Norm said. "I'm dying to try some clothes on this new body.

The hours since Joe had last seen Norm had continued to change the man from an aging male, to a young looking female who was obviously continuing to get still more youthful looking. Instead of looking maybe forty, as he had when Joe last saw him, Norm wan now more like a woman in her thirties. His skin was even smoother than before, and almost all the lines had been erased from his face. Joe would not have recognized him if he hadn't known.

Norm Peterson probably looked more like he might be his attractive daughter than the sixty-year-old male he was.

It was almost unbelievable, and no one was more amazed than Norm himself.

The women's clothes Norm brought along obviously didn't fit, and it appeared that Karen might have loaned him some things. Loose fitting gym shorts and a print T-shirt served to hide Norm's ever more youthful curves.

But clothes didn't hide the wide grin on Norm's face.

"Just look at these legs, Joe." Norm said proudly. He had obviously shaved them, and they were smooth and shiny.

"Lookin good!" Joe said. He already had trouble relating to Norm as a man, his appearance had become so totally feminine, and he realized how others thought of him now too.

They both looked like women in every way. And they were women, at least physically.

"Are you ready to help me get some clothes?" Norm asked. "Karen loaned me these, but I simply can't wait to buy some of my own."

"Yeah, I'll go with you." Joe said, trying not to sound too enthused. In reality, he was anxious to see Norm try on feminine fashions.

"I'd go along, but Dr. Krell wants me to run some samples through the lab." Karen interrupted. "I'd love to go with you."

"Linda said she might be able to come along after one-o'clock." Joe added.

"Who's Linda?" Norm asked.

"Linda's my girlfriend... She was my fiancee." Joe explained. "I'm currently staying at her house. She's been trying to help me through this."

"Your fiancee is helping you adjust to being female?" Norm asked. "That's kind of strange, isn't it?"

"And just what about this whole thing do you feel is in any way normal?" Joe asked, the grin showing as he considered what Norm just said.

"I guess you're right." Norm conceded. "This is an extraordinary event, isn't it?"

Norm was so euphoric over what happened that he was unable to maintain the manner of the major company executive that he was.

"We should get the MRI images back in a few minutes." Karen interrupted. "I'm sure you'll want to see those."

"I certainly do." Norm agreed. He looked at Joe.

"Dr. Krell thinks I've become completely female, all the to my chromosomes."

"And how do you like it so far?" Joe asked, though the answer was obvious.

"My God, Joe, isn't it wonderful?" Norm said, almost singing, his new higher pitched voice obviously still unfamiliar to him.

"I think it is kind of interesting." Joe agreed.

If Norm found femininity this good already, how would he feel when his hormones adjusted to match his changed gonads.

"Interesting?" Norm asked incredulously. "Surely it's more than that."

Joe looked at the perky woman standing before him. It was impossible to think of her as the older man he was just last night.

"I guess it's a lot different for you than me." Joe said. "I'm still getting accustomed to the idea."

"Just look at this!" Norm exclaimed, sticking his chest out, making braless, youthfully firm breasts show plainly through the T-shirt.

"It's great to be female!" Norm continued. "And even better to feel young again!"

Joe suddenly realized the fountain-of-youth aspects of the change were probably a much larger part of the whole phenomena the older you were when it occurred.

Norm had lost at least twenty or thirty years from his appearance, and if the physical effects were anything like they were for Joe, his body had become much more flexible as well as soft and feminine.

A woman wearing a white nurses uniform walked into the open door and handed a large manila envelope to Karen. The MRI films had arrived.

They all went over to Karen, who quickly opened the metal clasp and slid out the X-ray like images.

The monochrome images were frontal and side views of Norm's lower torso, showing the internal pelvic organs.

A shadow-like outline showed the body, approximately centering on the crotch. Norm's new vagina was displayed as a darkened area, and even the uterus and ovaries were plainly outlined. They were obviously not the images of a male body.

Norm looked at this irrefutable evidence of his new femininity with great seriousness.

The films made it plain that the changes to his body were far more than skin deep. Joe saw Norm touch his crotch as he looked at the pictures. He had done the same thing when presented with his own pictures. It was sobering to be shown that you suddenly possessed the internal organs necessary to conceive a child.

"Well... It looks like my prostate problem is cured." Norm quipped, trying to break the sudden silence as they examined the films.

"I know what it's like." Joe said, wanting Norm to realize that the same thing happened to him and he understood.

Norm innocently cupped his vulva with his hand, and looked at Joe.

"That cage is a powerful thing, isn't it." Norm said very seriously. It was as if he had suddenly realized the extent of what had happened to them both.

"Sure." Joe agreed. "You better like what it does, because what it does is permanent, I think."

"Well, I like what it did to me." Norm said suddenly, as if the question had been raised.

"That's good, because, at least for now, it can't be undone." Karen interjected.

"And, since were stuck like this, maybe we should go shopping, and get you some new clothes." Joe joked.

"I can hardly wait!" Norm said excitedly. "This whole thing is like a dream. I keep waiting for somebody to pinch me and I'll wake up."

"I've been dreaming the same dream for a week if that's the way it is." Joe said. "I'm convinced it's real life."

"Well, let's get going." Norm said. "Where should we try first?"

"I think the mall would be best, don't you? Joe suggested. "That way we'll have lots of choices."

Norm looked down at himself. He wore gym shorts, loose T-shirt, and some old sandals borrowed from Karen . Pretty average grunge wear.

"What should I wear?" He asked.

"What you have on will do." Joe suggested. "We can get everything you need at the mall. I think you'll find it quite interesting."

"I'm sure I will!" Norm said enthusiastically. "I can hardly wait!" He repeated.

Let's get going then." Joe ordered, walking to the door.

Norm followed close behind.

"Should we use your car, or mine?" Norm asked.

"We can take mine." Joe said. "I think we'll have enough room for all the stuff we buy. If we don't, we can always make another load."

They went to the parking lot and as they walked past the nurses station, Joe could see the self concious look on Norm's face.

Norm generally looked like a normal woman in every way but his walk. In addition, his mannerisms sometimes seemed strange and often gave away the fact that underneath he had been male for almost sixty years. But his appearance was so complete, no one could have ever guessed that.

When they entered Joe's sports car, Norm obviously had a slight problem with the way the shoulder belt crossed his sensitive new breasts. He finally positioned the strap between the soft mounds.

Norm saw Jay watching and grinned sheepishly.

"I'm still getting accustomed to these things." Norm said, obviously embarrassed.

"Yeah, I am too." Joe admitted. "It's a little different, ain't it?"

"That's for sure." Norm agreed. "But I do love it. I simply love it."

Joe drove the short distance to the shopping mall. They locked the car and walked into the large complex. Norm walked slightly behind.

"Don't be nervous." Joe said calmly. "Everything will be OK."

"I'm scared to death." Norm declared. "What if they can tell I'm a guy?"

"No one can tell." Joe told him. "We've got the best disguise there can be."

It was hard to know if Norm believed him, but the newly feminized guy stayed close on Joe's heels.

They entered the mall at a department store entrance. Just in the door, they passed mannequins dressed in junior swimwear. Norm stopped to look.

Joe knew what was on his mind.

"How would you like to come over to Linda's this evening?" Joe offered. "We can sit around the pool and maybe have a few drinks."

Joe knew that suggestion would give Norm an excuse to try on swimsuits.

"Do you think I should get one of these?" Norm asked innocently.

He was obviously dying to try one on.

"Sure." Joe answered. "Why not. You're going to need one eventually anyway."

"What kind do you think I should get?" Norm asked.

"I don't know." Joe answered. "Do you like one piece, or two piece?"

"Hell, I don't know!" Norm exclaimed softly. "I've only had one piece before this."

Joe snickered at Norm's obvious attempt at humor.

"You'd probably look pretty good in either type, I think." Joe advised. "How about one like this?"

He took a simple tank from the rack. It had a scoop back and was devoid of decoration on its snug fitting, glossy, lycra-spandex black fabric.

"Would something like that fit me?" Norm asked, as if he didn't believe it was something he would, or could, wear.

"Absolutely." Joe insisted. "Why don't you go try it on?"

"Will you help me?" Norm asked hopefully.

"Sure, if you need it." Joe told him. "I might even try one too."

"Great!" Norm said, obviously glad for company in his self conciousness.

Norm went to the rack and grabbed the suit from Joe's hand. With obvious embarrassment, he held it to his body, roughly molding the shaped top to his new curves.

"This is too much." Was all he said.

Joe found a similar suit, but in a navy blue. They each took the garments to the fitting rooms, showing the attendant what they had. The young woman at the entrance to the fitting room smiled as they walked by, not suspecting a thing.

The stalls were quite large so Norm and Joe could both go into the same one. Joe had never been in a dressing stall with anyone else since he was a child, but there were three teenage girls in one of the other stalls, so it wasn't as strange as it seemed to him.

Joe hung the swimsuit on one of the hooks on the wall of the cubical.

Norm held his suit and watched Joe.

"Try it on." Joe ordered.

Norm hung his suit on another hook and slowly pulled the T-shirt over his head. He was obviously quite embarrassed.

"You might as well get used to it." Joe insisted. "We're going to be doing this a lot today."

Norm stood there in only loose gym shorts and no shirt. The nipples on his pert breasts had become hard as rocks.

"Kind of cold, huh." Joe declared, looking at Norm's sharply pointed breasts.

Norm said nothing, but slowly pulled the shorts over his hips.

"Should I take my underwear off?" Norm asked, smiling demurely.

Norm wore women's black nylon briefs. They were probably some from his transvestite days. They were slightly oversize now.

"No, I think you should leave them on." Joe guessed. He wasn't sure, but figured that was how it was done.

Norm left the black briefs on and grabbed the suit. As Joe watched, he was impressed at how totally feminine Norm looked. His body was very attractive.

When Norm had the suit on, Joe helped pull it into position, fitting the formed bra cups to Norm's upper body. The top part fit far too loose.

"I don't think this one's going to get it." Joe offered.

"Yeah." Norm agreed. "My boobs just ain't big enough for this thing."

Norm started removing the suit and putting his shorts back on, and then slipped the sandals under his feet.

"I'll try to find one a little smaller on top." Norm declared. "Why don't you try yours?"

"OK." Joe agreed, deftly slipping out of the little red top.

Norm went out, but quickly returned with another suit. This time the style was similar, but the color was an ivory white.

Joe was in panties, stepping into his suit. For the first time, Norm saw Joe's well formed body without clothes. He was obviously impressed with what he observed.

"Damn, Joe... You're gorgeous." Norm declared.

"I had nothing to do with it." Joe said, feeling embarrassed.

Norm may have wanted to be a woman... He certainly looked like one now. But staring at Joe, there was plainly masculine lust in his eyes. Joe knew the feeling. He felt the same old familiar stirrings as he watched Norm wiggle his new form into the stretchy, sexy swimsuit.

Joe's suit fit pretty good. It was the first time he had worn a one-piece, and it felt weird to feel the bra cups pulling at his breasts. It made him constantly aware of their presence.

There was a full length mirror on the door of the stall. Joe stood before it and examined himself.

The swimsuit fabric fit as if shrunk fit to his shape. There were no gaps or wrinkles, only sleek blue, snug as a second skin. Joe noticed that the high cut legs on the suit allowed his light blue cotton underwear to peek out on the sides. He also observed there was some type of plastic covering on the crotch of the suit, probably there to prevent soiling while trying it on. Joe's underwear and the pantiliner kept him from feeling the plastic.

Not something you normally worry about when looking at swim trunks, Joe thought to himself as he rubbed his palm over the softness where his penis once protruded.

As he struggled into his own suit, Norm watched with interest as Joe turned in front of the mirror, rubbing and stroking his curves through the slick fabric.

Both "men" were obviously aroused by what they were doing.

"This is quite an experience, isn't it." Norm said, very seriously.

Joe looked over at Norm and saw the grin on his face.

"It's been years since I've experienced an erection of this magnitude." Norm mused. "And now I can't even see it."

Joe had been feeling the same sensation. His clitoris felt like it could rip the crotch in the suit, but there wasn't even a bump showing between his legs.

"I know what you mean." Joe admitted. "I think I had the same feeling."

"I just don't think I'll ever get used to this. It's just too much." Norm declared as he rubbed his breasts and touched the places that had undergone the greatest change.

Joe watched him. He knew exactly what Norm meant, since he felt the same way. His own body was becoming so different, at the same time as he was adapting to its new characteristics. The sensation was both amazingly wonderful, and terrible at the same time.

Running his hands down his hips, Joe felt his developing feminine shape. Norm's skeletal structure remained mostly as it was when he was male. It was evident that the soft tissues were the first to adapt to the cell changes, but Joe knew that even his bones... the very structure of his body... even those were in transition. As his shoulders became smaller and narrower, Joe's hips continued to widen in the female fashion. With the rearrangement of body fat to his hips, Joe found his shape getting even more woman-like.

"I guess I'm really a woman." Joe said, looking at Norm, who was touching himself as he gazed at the reflection in the glass,

"Yeah... We both are." Norm agreed. "But really, you're a very young woman."

Joe laughed. He didn't know how to tell Norm... The same thing was likely to happen to him too.

"I didn't look like this at first." Joe corrected. It's been happening slowly, and it's still happening. You might experience the same thing."

"You think I'll get as young looking as you are?" Norm asked.

"Would you like that?" Joe countered.

"Why not?" Norm decided. "What's wrong with being young again?" He smiled at the thought.

"When you look like a teenage girl, people tend to treat you like a teenage girl." Joe warned. "And that isn't what you're used to, believe me."

"I don't care." Norm declared. "It's worth it, if you ask me."

Joe looked at Norm.

"You think so?" Joe declared. "You haven't been anywhere since the change. Let's see how you like it in a week... a month."

"Don't tell me you don't like it." Norm said. "I saw you looking at yourself in the mirror."

"Sure. Sure. Some of it is a lot of fun." Joe said. "But there's a lot more to it."

"We're stuck like this, in any case, aren't we." Norm offered. "There's no way back. So let's get on with getting used to it." He grinned and momentarily touched Joe's breast.

Joe Looked at the person next to him. Norm's touch was obviously deliberate. It was what Joe might have done if he was near Linda while they were alone. It was the touch of a man and a woman.

"Did you like doing that?" Joe questioned.

"I 'm sorry, Joe." Norm apologized. "You look so attractive, I couldn't help myself."

"I know." Joe said sympathetically. "I get the same way around Linda. I feel different, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, but the old urges are still there, waiting in the background. They didn't go away."

"Well, I can't do much with a woman looking like this, can I." Norm said thoughtfully. It was evident what was going through his mind.

"Nothing the world would consider heterosexual." Joe agreed. "But then, I'm not really a woman, remember."

"Oh yeah?" Norm objected. "Look in the mirror another time, my friend."

"Do you feel like a woman?" Joe asked. "Or do you feel like a guy in a woman's clothes?"

"This does feel a bit sinful." Norm agreed. "Like I'm not really supposed to be doing this."

"Same here." Joe concurred. "But we can't go back. We couldn't leave the room wearing guy's stuff, no matter how natural it might feel."

Norm pulled the suit straps off his shoulders and down, exposing his new breasts.

"But these don't feel completely natural either." He said. "At least not yet."

"It will get easier." Joe advised. "But I'm still getting accustomed to it too."

Norm looked directly at Joe's breasts as Joe pulled his own suit down.

"But you look so good." Norm said. "You're body is so perfect."

Joe looked into Norm's eyes, then at his nakedness. Norm was still in transition, but the already existing contours of his changed body left no doubt he was now a female. He still hadn't acquired as much softness as Joe.

"It'll probably happen to you too." Joe advised. "It takes time, that's all."

"Does that make us queer?" Norm asked innocently.

"I don't know." Joe answered. "I mean, we ARE guys, right... I mean, at least we were guys, anyway... once."

"Yeah, but... I mean... Joe, I've gotta tell you... You really do it too me.." Norm said smiling.

"I'm sorry, Norm." Joe told him. "But I know what you're talking about. I feel the same way. You look pretty good wiggling into that suit... What can I say?"

The two new "women" just looked each other in the eyes and laughed out loud.

"I think I've wet my pants." Norm declared.

"I doubt it." Joe exclaimed. "I suspect you've just been introduced to the rest of you're "hard-on."

Norm was probably experiencing the wet feeling that accompanied female sexual arousal.

"I was wondering about that." Norm said. "I think I've been feeling it for some time now. Is it always like this?"

"When it's best, it is, I think." Joe answered.

"Well, I'll be darned." Norm said, a his hand between his legs outside the suit.

"Just don't mess up the suit." Joe warned him, laughing. "Unless you want to keep it."

"What do you think, is it me?" Norm asked, turning around, attempting to mock a fashion model pose, but with the top of the suit pulled down, exposing his breasts..

"Not too bad." Joe decided. "At least it fits."

They both decided to buy the suits. Joe paid for his with his credit card, and Norm watched, then did the same.

"Your husband will like this." The young woman told Norm as she rung up his purchase.

Norm looked at Joe, who was trying to contain a laugh.

"I'm sure he will." Norm said, dead serious.

They left the store and walked down the broad commons. Joe decided that Norm should get some underwear before anything else.

"I think you need underwear." Joe declared.

"Yeah. I do." Norm agreed. "I don't have a thing that fits right on top. I need a bra, too. Like yours, I think." He mimicked.

Joe headed straight to Victoria's Secret. The shop was quickly becoming one of his favorite mall stops. He loved the clothes, and the tasteful decor.

"We're going in here?" Norm asked.

"You said you wanted underwear." Joe said. "I think you'll like this place."