Doug Returns.

    Doug walked into the house and noticed that no one was up yet.
It was well past 10am, and he wondered where everyone was.  He 
expected Russel to be gone, but he had figured Laurie and Kim 
would be up by now.

    He walked into Laurie's room, only to find the bed empty. 
"Where was she?" he though.  He turned to go towards Kim's room.
There he found both Kim and Laurie, wrapped in each other's arms,
asleep.

    "Kim. Laurie. Wake up."  He gently nudged the two.

    "Huh, oh. Hi Doug," Kim said.  "Laurie was afraid to sleep
in her room last night."

    Laurie began to wake up.

    "Kim, I need to talk to Laurie."

    Kim rolled over in bed, pulling the covers over her head.

    "Alone, Kim," Doug said sternly.

    Kim rolled out of bed, and made way for the bathroom, stomping
the entire way in protest.

    "Laurie, I need to talk to you."

    "Okay," Laurie said while rolling her eyes.

    "First of all, are you okay?"

    "As well as can be expected.  I'm pretty beat up, but the doc
said I'd be okay.  He gave me some pills -- antibiotics."

    Doug nodded.  "I'm glad to see you didn't try anything -- 
didn't try to run away."

    "I stayed for Kate and Julie's sake.  Not my own."

    "I understand.  They're both fine.  You can see them later 
today.  Don't worry, I don't plan on hurting them -- or you."

    "Then why are you doing this to us?"

    "I really can't say.  I have my reasons, and you just have to
trust that I will take care of everything."

    Laurie rolled her eyes at the statement.  "Just like Russel 
took care of me?"

    Doug paused.  "Look, Laurie, what Russel did was wrong.  He
wasn't supposed to hurt you.  He won't be back for a few weeks.
Don't worry about him.

    "Now, I need to tell you some things. First of all, the 
shots -- they're a hormonal infusion, mixed with a mind-altering
drug.  It makes you more susceptible to suggestion.  I have to 
tell you that so when you go out, you can think a little more
before you do something.  You'll understand what I mean.

    "Second, I'm glad to see that you and Kim are getting along so
good.  Look, I know that I don't keep Kim very happy, and I need 
you to help take care of her.  That's going to be a large part of
your job.

    "Third, you need a job.  A real one.  I've got one lined up 
for you, but you can't start for a few weeks.  Until then, you 
have to stay in the house,  unless accompanied by either myself or
Kim.  That includes going next door to see Kate and Julie -- you
can't do it unless one of us is with you.

    "I've also decided that when Russel gets back, he is to have 
no unsupervised contact with you.  If he touches you again, he may
not live to regret it.

    "The basement will be yours, when you're ready.  It has a 
kitchen, living space, and two bedrooms.  You'll also have a new
car.

    "You're going to be going through alot of changes in the 
comming weeks.  Try and be strong, and trust me.  Do you have any
questions?"

    Laurie thought for a minute about the list Doug just read off.
Her biggest concern was about julie and Kate.

    "Have you seen Kate and Julie?  How are they?"

    "I went by this morning.  I have them on the same mind-
altering drug that you're on, but I administer it through food.
They huffed and puffed at me when I went over, but they're 
starting to cope with the new situation.  Anything else?"

    Laurie shook her head no.

    "Okay, I'll be off then." Doug turned and left.

    "Kim, you can go back now," Doug shouted from down the hall.
    
    Laurie and Kim, both now full awake, went into the bathroom
to make themsleves up for the day.  Kim carefully watch as Laurie
went through the feminine rituals, and corrected her when she made
a mistake. Finally, both emerged from the bathroom, wearing only
satin robes, and made their way to Laurie's room.

    "Laurie, we're gonna dress you up today -- make you look hot."

    "Okay..." Laurie said less-than-enthusiastically.
  
    "Come on! It'll be fun! Besides, it's not like we're not 
going out or anything."

    Laurie smiled as Kim rushed into the closet. Laurie followed
tentatively.

    "Let's start with the most important part," Kim said.

    "Underwear?"

    "No. Shoes, silly."

    Laurie rolled her eyes.

    "Here," Kim said as she hand Laurie a pair of leather boots.

    "You want me to wear those?" Laurie asked as she sheepishly
took the boots from Kim.

    "Yes. Now don't argue with me. You're gonna look hot when I'm
done with you."  Kim then mumble something to herself about 
finding Laurie a skirt and continued hunting for the outfit.

    Laurie studied the boots.  The boots were black and designed
to stop just below the knee. Silver rings held the front lacing,
running from the middle of the foot to the top. Laurie wondered
how long it would take to lace them, but noticed a zipper running 
down the side.  The toe was a rounded, yet somewhat boxy, a style
Laurie prefered (as a man as much as a woman) over the trendier
pointed toe.  The heels stood about 4 inches high; Laurie had 
practiced in heels that tall the other day, but still wasn't 
comfortable with the height.

    "Here!" Kim said, breaking Laurie's thoughts.

    Laurie reached for the skirt Kim was holding, and began 
examining it in the same amount of detail.  It was also black.
A quick check of the tag confirmed that it 100% genuine leather.
The short skirt was only about 16" long, and when Laurie held it
up to herself, she found it would fall in the middle of her thigh.

    "Kim, isn't this skirt a little too--"

    "Shh. Trust me. Anyway here's your shirt."  
    
    Kim handed Laurie a copper-toned corset top. It had leaf 
patterns on it, in a slightly lighter shade.  The front laced up,
but the sides had a panel between them.

    Kim made her way out of the closet, and went to the amoire.

    "Perfect! This will go great with your outfit," Kim said.
She placed the necklace on the nightstand. "Oh, one more thing,"
she said, opening the amoire back up and pulling a set of hoop
earrings out.

    Kim stood still, staring at Laurie. "Well, aren't you going
to get dressed?"

    "Underwear?"

    "Oops...  Lets see." Kim moved towards the dresser and started
looking through the drawers.

    "You'll need these, and you need something to... this will
work. And, finally...  Here!"

    Kim presented Laurie with falsies, a tiny pair of black thong
panties, and a frontline bra.

    "Normally, the shirt I gave would provide all the support
you need, but since you don't have real tits yet, you'll need the
frontline."

    "Okay." Laurie began to dress, putting on the thong first. She
stepped into it, then squatted down to tuck her penis under her.
She then closed her legs, keeping her manhood hidden away.  She
bent over, careful to keep her legs together, and pulled the thong
up.  It worked nicely, holding everything in place.

    Next she put on the frontline.  She was able to get the clasp
on this bra without a problem.  She put the falsies into the cups, 
and reached for the skirt.

    "Stop," Kim said. "This shirt shows a little cleavage.  Here."
Kim reached into one cup, and pulled out the breastform.  She then
pulled Laurie's own flesh up, and put the form under it. She
repeated the ritual on the other breast, and the proclaimed that
Laurie now had breasts.

    Laurie, taking the cue to continue, stepped into her skirt and
zipped up.  She followed by putting on the corset top, but asked 
Kim to lace it.

    After Kim finished, Laurie slipped on the boots and earrings,
and Kim tied the ribbon of the necklace she selected.

    Kim stepped back, and took a look at Laurie. "Damn! You are
H-O-T hot!  Come look!" she said as she grabbed Laurie's hand 
and dragged her to the mirror. Laurie stumped at the force, not
used to the heels.

    "See, I told you you were gonna be hot," Kim said with a 
smile.

    Laurie stared at her reflection. She was hot.  Some 
proportions weren't right, in the hips and waist, but she did
look better than most of the real women out there.  
 
    Then it hit. Like a train hitting a car on the tracks, a 
flood of emotions overwhelmed Laurie.  She burst out crying,
screaming, bawling.  She ran to the bed and buried her face in a
pillow.

    "Laurie, what the matter?"

    Laurie said nothing, continuing to cry.

    "Laurie, what is it?"

    "Look! Look at me! This is not me! I am a man.  My name is
Luke!  I am not a girl!"

    "Oh, Laurie." Kim reached in to hug her. "Everything will be 
okay. I promise."

    Laurie pushed Kim back.  "No it won't. My life is ruined.
I'm as good as dead!  I'm forced to be a fucking whore for the
rest of my life!  How can you say everything will be alright!"

    "Laurie..." Kim again reached in to hug Laurie. "I'm here.
I'm here whenever you need me."

    Laurie grabbed Kim, and embraced her tightly.  "I'll never
be myself again."

    "Laurie, it'll be okay.  You still have Julie and Kate. Doug
never planned to take them away from you.  You're still you. You
still have your memories, personality, and hopes.  That hasn't 
changed."

    Laurie continued sobbing into Kim's shoulder for the next 20 
minutes.

    When Laurie finally stopped crying, Kim suggested they get 
some food.  Laurie agreed, and the to made their way downstairs
for a late lunch.

    Laurie, still upset over her appearance, picked at the food
Kim placed before her.  Kim reminded her that as soon as her
bruises healed, she'd be back on the diet.  This made Laurie 
eat all of the frozen pasta Kim prepared, but Lauire didn't 
enjoy it.

    Kim tried several ways to lift Laurie's spirit throughout 
lunch, but nothing seemed to work.  Finally, Kim reminded Laurie
that Julie and Kate would be comming over later, and that made
Laurie forget about her other troubles.

    After the girls finished cleaning up from dinner, Laurie
asked "What are we going to do now?" She then got a sullen look
on her face and asked "More lessons?" as she rolled her eyes.

    "No, I have to run a few errands. I'll be gone a few hours.
The place is yours until then."

    "Okay, I guess I'll be in my room until then."

    Laurie sat in her room, reading a book she pulled off of the 
shelf: Dune.

    After an hour or so, there was a knock on the door. Laurie
placed her book on the nightstand, and open the door.

    "Doug. What's up?"

    "You have visitors," Doug said as he stepped back and motioned
around the corner.
  
    "Julie! Kate!" Laurie exclaimed, running to hug them. But the
two pulled back, reserved.

    "What's wrong?" Laurie asked, on the verge of tears. "It's 
me, Luke."

    Kate was the first to react: "Um, nothing...." She reached out 
and hugged Laurie.  Julie followed with another hug.

    "We're sorry. It's just that you ... look quite a bit 
different than the last time we saw you," Julie explained.

    Doug quitely slipped out.

    "I understand. I'm a freak now. I'm no one...." She began to
cry.

    "Awww, Luke, we still love you." Julie said, reaching in to 
comfort Laurie. Kate joined in the embrace.

    "If Doug is honest, we'll all be okay," Kate offered. "But 
there doesn't seem to be anything we can do other than trust him."

    "How can we!" Laurie screamed. "Look at what he's done to us!
We're all as good as dead!"

    "Luke, think with your head. We'll make it," Julie said.

    "I'm sorry... It must be the hormones I'm forced to take..."

    "We understand.  We're going to be here with you," Kate said.

    "I guess you guys are right," Laurie said, still sobbing. "So,
how have you been?" Laurie tried to change the subject.

    "Okay," Kate started. "We're still not allowed to leave the 
house either, but other than that, we've been okay."

    "The food Doug gives us sucks," Julie joked, trying to lighten
the mood.  "You look pretty hot though, Luke."

    Laurie began crying again. "Please, I'm not ... not Luke. 
Hearing Luke hurts..."

    Julie took Laurie's head into her shoulder.

    "What would you like to be called?" Kate asked.
 
    "All my papers -- my ids, credit cards, everthing -- says I'm
Miss Laurel Paige Lindsey, but they call me Laurie," she muttered
from under Julie's shoulder.

    "Okay, Lu-- Laurie," Kate said, "Laurie..."

    KNOCK. KNOCK.

    The three turn to the door.

    "Julie, Kate, I'm sorry, but I need you go now," Doug said.
"Its important that Laurie doesn't spend too much time with you
right now."

    "What!? We just got here!" Kate retorted.

    "I know. But I only brought you over to show Laurie you were
okay. She can see that now. If you spend too much time together,
Laurie could suffer severe psychological damage with the imbalance
of the hormones in her system.  You DON'T want that, do you?"

    "Kate, maybe we should just go."

    "No, I'm not leaving yet! I just --"

    "Kate," Laurie interrupted. "I'll be okay.  Don't make matter's
worse for any of us."

    "Fine," Kate huffed as she made way for the door. Julie didn't
follow immediately, but turned to Laurie and gave her a hug.
 
    "I hope to see you soon. By Laurie."