Site Security begins to uncover Supervisor Hirsch's schemes, but the proposed action means that Marion must leave her apartment and stay with Belle. When she arrives, she gets a shock.

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Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2009 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

When Kristina arrived carrying her sports bag, Marion remembered that she had intended to take hers in the previous morning, but had been distracted by Belle's non-appearance. She fetched it from the bedroom ready. Trish appeared ten minutes later, and the three set off for the facility. They had to recount the robbery of the previous evening to Kristina, which alarmed her greatly. Once inside, Kristina showed Marion where to deposit the dirty washing, and then they changed and went of to their respective work places.

Marion got Alison to inspect her scraped hands and knees, and the doctor pronounced herself satisfied with the way they were healing before the two then made their way up to D Deck to do the morning's visiting of the sick. Afterwards Marion declined an invitation to visit one of the other Decks, since she had decided to try and make some impression on the backload of administration resulting from the visits she had already made - a situation not helped by all of yesterday's diversions. So, she was intent on her terminal when Sophia passed the office and spotted her.

"Marion! What are you doing here?"

"Working, Sophia. Should I be somewhere else?"

"Yes! I told you to make your shifts the same as Shepherd Marchand's. That means you should not be here today."

"Oh. That's right, isn't it? I'm sorry Sophia, I forgot. Yesterday had a few distractions. You heard I got involved in a robbery yesterday evening?"

"No." Sophia came into the office and took a seat. Marion retold her encounter with the three youths once more, pointing out that she would have come in today to get checked over, in any case.

"You visiting any Decks today?" Sophia asked.

"No, I thought I'd spend some quiet time instead trying to do some paperwork. The only thing I'd planned to do was to go up to E Deck later on this afternoon for a social visit."

Sophia considered. "Very well, I'll let you stay today. But I meant what I said, Marion. If I find you here tomorrow, I'll ask Site Security to escort you off the premises, understand?"

"Yes, Director. Although?"

"Although what? Don't try to wriggle out of it now."

"I was just going to compare the pot to the kettle."

Sophia reddened. "Ouch, that was a low blow, and perfectly aimed." She smiled. "You, of course, are perfectly correct, but I'm in charge, so what I say goes. I'll see you at lunch time, then."

Marion spent the rest of the morning bringing her journal up to date, along with fending off the usual torrent of unnecessary messages, before Sophia and Alison came to take her to lunch. She was picking through her tuna salad when Sophia asked, "What do you think you might do tomorrow?"

Marion opened her mouth to speak, and then paused, because what came into her mind then would have come out as a whine. Starting again, she replied, "I'm not confident about going out in public, Sophia, especially after last night. So I expect I'll probably stay in tomorrow. Why do you want me out of the facility so soon? I've barely been here four days, hardly enough time to get my feet under the desk."

"Yes, but try and look at this objectively. You've just finished six months out of touch with practically everything, and that period ended with a bit of drama when Director Pannal tried to do things to you, and now you've got to try and make sense not just of the outside world, but a new gender and a new job as well. Since you and Belle seem to have hooked up reasonably well I thought it would be a good idea if you two stayed close to one another for a while, and she could help you through the transition period. That's why I wanted you to sync your shifts with hers. As she's off at the moment, it seemed a good idea to me for you two to get together. I think she would be good for you, and vice versa."

"The problem is, Director, is that I feel a lot more comfortable inside than I do outside. What's going on inside the facility is, when it's not a known quantity, then at least bound by straightforward rules I can understand, and follow. That's not the case outside at the moment. I might look reasonably convincing as a female, but I still feel a total fraud."

"Really? Well, you're doing a most convincing job as far as I can tell." Alison nodded agreement.

"That's because you know me. You've known me since I came here. All my friends are in here, too. Outside, it's full of strangers who don't know me, and who expect something I'm not, and I don't know how to react to. At least, not yet, anyway."

Sophia's eyes narrowed. "There is something in what you say. But I still don't want you to be here every day, because if you do, it won't be much better for you than if you had still been detained, you'll still be institutionalised. Why don't you go and visit Belle, then, at her apartment?"

Marion felt an instant panic at the thought of travelling all that way on her own, but it subsided when she realised that she could do the journey by taxi.

"When I first came out, Belle didn't want to be with me all the time because she was afraid she'd smother me. She stayed a couple of nights, but said that I would adapt better if she wasn't there the whole time," she explained. "She did invite me back to her place, but I felt it was too soon after I was released. On the other hand, time has passed since we said those things, and I'll give it consideration. You're right, I don't have to stay in my apartment tomorrow, I could go and see Belle instead." She gave a faint smile. "When you suggested it, I felt panic, since I haven't been anywhere on my own yet. I think I'll give it a try, though. I have to be positive about these things."

"Hmm," Sophia considered. "Perhaps I was being a little hasty. If you go to Belle's, are you sure you can do it by yourself? Do you want someone from here to accompany you?"

"If I go, it'll have to be by taxi, in which case I should be able to manage it by myself. Thank you for asking."

After lunch, instead of accompanying Sophia and Alison back to Sick Bay, Marion went to the locker room and retrieved her communicator from her bag. Suddenly uncertain of the legality of using it in the facility, she walked into the lobby and asked the receptionist, who said that it was fine to use a communicator anywhere in the building that was outside the fence, but that it probably wouldn't go down too well in the canteen or either of the locker rooms. Why didn't the Counsellor have a seat in the waiting area here and make her call?

"Belle?"

"Marion? Is something wrong? I'll come in if you want me to."

"No, no, nothing like that. Look, Sophia's made me set up my shift pattern so that it coincides with yours -"

"Made?"

"Yes. Choice was not offered. She wants to push us together, I think, mostly to help me, but I don't think you'll object, will you? It's because of the, oh, no, I haven't told you about the robbery yet."

"Robbery? What happened? Were you hurt?"

"Scrapes to hands and knees, is all. I'll give you the full story when I see you, but I went up the corner shop with Diana Poulsen, you know her?"

"Diana, yes, of course."

"She's standing in for you, and she lives in one of the other blocks, so we went shopping, and three young unregistereds jumped us on the way back. Pushed me over, but the one that tried Diana had his arm pulled out at the shoulder."

"That sounds like Diana. She's extremely experienced, so three thugs would be no match for her. So, you're okay, then?"

"I suppose so. But why I'm calling is, Sophia wants me out of the facility tomorrow. She wanted me out today, but I'm just catching up on paperwork, so she let me stay. I told her I didn't want to be outside on my own, and she suggested that I visit you."

"You know I'd be delighted with that idea, but what about you? Do you think you're ready to come and visit me? How will you get here?"

"I'll take a taxi, I think. I can't do it all the time, but it'll be worth it to start with. When do you think I should come? Tonight? Tomorrow morning?"

"You can come tonight, after work, there's no big problem. I'll arrange an evening meal for the pair of us, then, to save you having to eat before you come. You can stay tomorrow night as well, and the two of us can travel in to the facility together the following day. Before you say anything, I'll have to come in to let Alison look at my dressings. How's your bottom?"

"Still throbs a bit, but bearable. Your address?"

"I'll send it to your communicator, and I'll let the gate know you're coming. I suppose I'd better let you get back to work now, as you've obviously just finished lunch. I'll await your arrival with great anticipation. Bye, love."

"Bye."

As Marion got up from her seat, the receptionist looked up.

"Counsellor Hillier, could you go to Director Khiskov's office, please? There's some sort of meeting, and I think they're waiting for you."

"Certainly. I'll have to put this away first." Marion held up her communicator.

She entered the Site Security Director's office to find Donna, Trish and the Proctor from last night's incident waiting for her.

"Service, citizens." She turned to the Proctor. "Is this about the robbery last night?"

Donna looked startled. "Robbery? What's this?"

The Proctor gestured to Marion, and she recounted the events of the previous evening as she found a seat and made herself comfortable. Donna frowned.

"No, I didn't know about that. You should really have made a report about it when you came in this morning, Counsellor, but as you couldn't possibly have known that was necessary I shan't complain about it. This time. No, this meeting is for something entirely different, the business with your apartment building. Proctor Todescu here is handling the civil and legal case, while we provide the technical assistance."

"You have a case, then?" Marion glanced at Trish, who gave her a smug look.

"Let's just say that we have barely opened the can of worms," said Todescu. "We have enough so far to warrant a full investigation of the whole set-up, though. Perhaps Technician Flanagan can tell us what she's found."

"I'll keep it simple," Trish said, "since I've barely had a chance to look at the files because we've had other problems inside the facility that have taken our time. But what I did find made me call the Director straight away." She paused to think out her explanation.

"I took a complete dump of the building's systems while you were out being robbed, Counsellor, as well as investigating the state of the monitors in your apartment. It seems that our Building Supervisor got someone to make a number of unauthorised changes to the systems. What was presented to the outside world was not what the internal sensors indicated. As the Proctor said, it looks like a can of worms.

"The first thing I looked at was the door logs, the real ones, and I discovered that the list of citizens who have been using their cards to gain entry to the building does not correspond to the list of citizens who are supposed to be living there. Oh, obviously there are going to be visitors, like myself, but it shouldn't work the other way. There are citizens supposedly living in the building who haven't entered the front door for many months, in some cases years.

"Turning to the logs for individual apartments, some of them have been accepting IDs from unknown citizens, and certainly not the persons who are supposed to be living in those apartments. That's about as far as I was able to get, but I decided it was more than enough to trigger an investigation."

"What you're saying," Marion thought out loud, "is that there are apartments where the owners haven't been out for months if not years? Are they dead?" Have I been living in a building with a mass murderer?

"No, Counsellor," replied Todescu, "It doesn't work like that. The building only logs citizens wanting to gain entry to the building, not when they leave. I think what the Technician is saying is, these citizens left their apartments a long time ago and never returned. The other side of this is that Supervisor Hirsch appears to be illegally letting out some of these apartments to person or persons unknown."

"That's what he's doing," Marion said slowly. "That's what he tried to do to me, to scare me out of the apartment. If I'd been an ordinary detainee with a record, I might not have wanted to hang around long with him nearby harassing me, I'd have gone off, maybe back to my previous haunts. And he played the heavy hand with me, too. I guess anyone who he scared away wouldn't be too likely to file a grievance." She looked at Donna. "Are there any facility staff, like me, or any support staff living there?"

"Apart from yourself, I think there's a Shepherd and several canteen staff living there, we'll have to do a complete audit now to find out who's actually living where. There are no professional staff who are supposed to support released detainees living there, I think." Donna frowned. "We should have picked up on that one. If we have detainees wander off without release assistance, that would probably not do the reconviction rates any good, either."

"Do you think the unauthorised residents are criminals?" Marion asked.

Todescu shook his head. "It's too early to tell." He looked at Marion. "I should warn you, that we plan to let him carry on today, and surround the building tonight when everything's quiet. Then we'll go through the whole building with a fine tooth comb. It will mean disturbing your sleep, I'm afraid, and there might be an element of danger if anyone inside is alerted."

Marion relaxed. "Actually, I shan't be there tonight. I'm going to visit a friend." She turned to Donna, "Shepherd Marchand."

Todescu nodded. "That's good. The Shepherd who lives there, I'm told, is working the Evening Shift, so probably will still be in the facility when we go in. That means that apart from the canteen staff mentioned, we can regard anyone we find inside as suspect. Can you stay with your friend for a while? We may have to close the building down for a few days to restore the systems. We are thinking of rehousing the facility staff who live there, once they've been cleared."

Marion thought. "I can do that. It's not quite what I had planned, but we'll work around the problems."

The meeting broke up and Marion returned to her office. She tried to do some more paperwork, but her head was buzzing with the afternoon's revelations and how she would handle the immediate consequences. Finally she gave up, turned off her terminal, and headed for E Deck.

Diana, of course, had told the E Deck crew what had happened the previous evening, and when Marion appeared at the watch station everyone wanted to offer sympathy and support. She spent some time discussing the recent events, including Belle's accident, before heading for the far lounge. The 'usual crowd' was in residence, and of course they had also heard what had happened. Marion was touched, but no longer surprised, when several of the women expressed their best wishes for Belle and hoped that she would soon be back on duty. How far they had all come in six months!

The discussion then turned to what Marion had been doing, both inside and outside the facility. A fairly detailed discussion of the previous few days events took place, and Marion kept her promise to discuss some of the things she'd encountered elsewhere on her rounds, mostly on D Deck. She received in return, amongst other things, a full recounting of the activities of Irina Tetsuskaya and the terrorist group that she had been part of, from some of the older women who remembered that time in some detail. She ended by telling them that she would be spending a few nights, and maybe some days, with Belle at her apartment. She had to word this carefully to avoid saying anything about the impending operation.

"It's a match made in heaven," declared Martha.

Jill pursed her lips in mock horror and said, "You can't say things like that! What if the Unapproved Speech Monitors should hear you?"

Martha grinned. "What are they going to do with me? Put me in a facility? Still, I maintain that you and Belle make a good couple, Marion. How far have you gone?"

Marion blushed beet red. "Uh, I don't know what's acceptable to discuss in this context," she said hurriedly. "I know what men discuss, and it's mostly made up on the spot, but I don't know what women do. You'll have to be my guide."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Marion, I keep forgetting. You're so much like one of us now that I have difficulty remembering your background sometimes," Martha apologised. "Let's see. Of course, I don't hear much of what men say to one another, but I guess we compare as opposed to compete. We're comparing our own experiences, of course, not what the silly men think they're doing. Does that sound about right? How far do we go? Well, depending on who you're with, it can get downright gynaecological. Women can be just as crude as men when they want to be, more so if alcohol is involved."

"I think I understand. You'll have to warn me if I go too far one way or the other, though. This being a woman thing takes a lot of concentration at the moment. As far as Belle goes, we slept in the same bed when she was there the first couple of days, but I was too tired to do anything. It was the shock of being outside, mostly. I know Belle has plans, and I'm beginning to feel some anticipation building for tonight, so we'll just have to see how it goes. My main problem is that I still don't really know which bits of me work any more, especially as some of them are new, as it were."

Martha eyed Marion's bustline thoughtfully. "Mmm. I think you're due for an interesting evening, but I shan't spoil it for you. Don't forget, as women we're more interested in the romantic side of any and every relationship, rather than the gory details, but gory details will do if they are interesting enough. We'll expect some kind of report when you get back, won't we, girls?"

"Ah, I'll have to be careful, here," cautioned Marion. "I don't mind opening up to you lot in here, but we have to remember that Belle's a Shepherd, and I have to make sure that I don't say anything that might bring her position into disrepute. That aside, I'll promise to report back as things progress."

The meeting continued until the chime went and everyone went their separate ways. Marion stayed with the Day Shift until Alex and Sandy turned up to replace them, and then they all headed for the lift in order to get changed. Diana had offered to see Marion home, and because Diana's locker was in the other locker room, she waited by the front door for her to arrive.

It was raining, heavily, and the sky was almost dark despite there being some hours of daylight left. Marion pulled her new umbrella out of her bag and looked at it. It was one of the new designs which folded up several times in order to fit into a modern woman's bag, and she puzzled over how to get the thing open. Fortunately Diana appeared and showed her the trick, and then the two women set off towards their homes, flimsy umbrellas held high. Marion was initially startled by the feel of rain against her bare legs, both coming down and splashing up from the pavement, but since the rain was relatively warm, she soon accepted it as something that was part of her new existence. At the entrance to her block, she said goodbye to Diana and hurried inside.

She had been thinking all afternoon about what to pack. A couple of nights with a day in between was no problem, but if her stay was to be extended she would have to take a significant portion of her available clothes. There was also the potential problem of washing, since presumably anything she left in the apartment would be trapped there until she could regain access. There were also the various feminine accessories to consider, like make-up, hair brushes and the like. And she only had one bag. It also occurred to her that if she took too much clothing, the Building Supervisor might think he'd made her go, and reclaim the apartment. He might not be able to do much with it in the time he had remaining, but Marion didn't want him pawing through her things.

In the end she made some fairly arbitrary decisions about what to take and what to leave, and stuffed her shoulder bag with the cosmetics and suchlike before wedging, carefully, her chosen clothes into the sports bag. Her washing went into a plastic liner inside one of the empty grocery bags. During this process, once she could see the end, she had called for a taxi, and she was waiting by the front door when it arrived. Hurrying through the rain with her bags under her arms, she gained the dry haven of the vehicle.

"Service, citizen. Filthy night. Where to?"

"Er, one minute, let me see. Block Four, Victory Gardens," Marion read from her communicator.

"You sure about that, citizen?"

"Yes, that's where my friend lives. I'm going to stay with her."

"If you say so, citizen."

The taxi took off and turned onto the boulevard down which the tram route led. Marion had been part of this way previously with Belle, when they had been shopping. Soon, though, the buildings either side changed as they entered an older part of the city. Marion knew roughly where their destination was, but had never approached it from this direction, and never had much need to go there previously. The taxi made a couple of turns and then pulled up apparently in the middle of nowhere.

"This is as far as I'm allowed to take you, citizen. I don't have clearance to take you inside the Enclave, and I'm guessing you don't either. You'll have to go inside the Control Post over there and get checked out."

"Control Post? Where?" The cabbie pointed to a white-painted building just visible through the pouring rain. Concrete posts prevented him approaching any closer. The Enclave? Belle lives in the Enclave? How on earth does she manage that?

The cabbie was speaking again. "Do you want me to wait for you, in case they don't let you in? I won't charge you waiting time, just for the ride."

"No, thank you citizen, I shouldn't think that would be necessary." What are they going to check me for in there? Better get going, this could take some time. I can always get another cab if there's been some mistake made. "Here's my card. Give yourself a standard tip, and thanks for the ride."

Marion struggled through the rain with her bags and pushed her way through the street door of the Control Post. Dropping her bags on the floor, she approached the desk.

"Service, citizen?" There was a man in a black uniform behind the desk, but his cuffs had a green stripe instead of Proctor purple. State Security. Whatever is going on?

Marion presented her card. "I'm here to visit my work colleague who lives here, Belle Marchand. She lives in Block -"

"I know where she lives, citizen. Is she expecting you?"

"Yes, this was arranged earlier today, although she's been trying to get me to come for a while."

The security man consulted a list and presumably found Marion's name on it, because he nodded.

"You've not been here before, then?"

"No, citizen. Is there a problem?"

"Not exactly. You'll have to have a full security check before we can let you in. It won't take long. Once we've done that, and verified you, you'll be added to a list and you'll be able to come and go with minimal delay. If you'd like to go through that door?"

The checks turned out to be a full biometric workover, including blood tests and life history. This, of course, turned up Marion's interesting ID record, and she spent a considerable time trying to explain to them what had happened. In the end she pointed out that if it was good enough for the Appeal Court, it should be good enough for them. They reluctantly accepted this, but still called Belle for additional verification. The verbal assault she gave them via communicator could be heard over the other side of the room, and the pair of security men who had grilled Marion looked sheepish when the call ended.

"Your clearance is good, citizen. We won't give you any further trouble. I'll call a buggy to take you to Block Four."

The buggy was a small electric vehicle used for patrolling the grounds of the Enclave, and Marion was glad of it's cover as it took her to the entrance of Block Four. This building, like the ones just visible either side through the rain, was at least a hundred years old. They were made of red brick, a building material long abandoned by Marion's day, with white stone facings to the windows and entrances.

Inside the entrance of the building, to her surprise, was a concierge who accepted her card grudgingly before feeding it into his machine. He called a young man who took Marion's bags and led her to the lifts. The walls of the entrance hallway were panelled in expensive looking wood, and all the floors had thick carpets on them, muffling all sound. Marion felt guilty at dripping rain all over them.

Marion and the youth got out on E Deck and she was shown to a door at one end of the corridor. This opened as they approached, and Belle immediately emerged and grabbed Marion in a big hug before accepting the bags from the youth and ushering her inside. Belle waved Marion through into the living room.

"I'm glad you've arrived safely. Have a seat, do! Do you want something to drink? A hot drink, perhaps, to help you dry out?"

Marion stood in the middle of Belle's living room, stunned. She had supposed, from remarks Belle had made when they had first gone to Marion's apartment, that Belle had lived in a somewhat similar, if better furnished, apartment to her own. This, however, was of an entirely different order.

The room was bigger than Marion's living room. This was mainly because Marion had a kitchen and dining area at one end of hers, whereas Marion could see a separate kitchen through an open doorway here. The room was panelled with wood, and the ceiling was twice as high as Marion's, as were the windows, which showed that the room was obviously in the corner of the building. Belle had drawn the curtains as it was mostly dark outside, and the curtains were rich velvet. Most apartments were lucky to have curtains or blinds at all. The furniture was all sumptuous wood, most of it obviously antique, and there was a dining table laid for two, with shining cutlery and sparkling china and glassware. There were sideboards, comfy chairs, and a bookcase which had a row of books on one of the shelves. There was even a fireplace, although it was empty at the moment.

"Belle," Marion said, raising her hands, "What's going on?"

"I knew you'd have to find out sometime," Belle said. "Some of the girls know, although I try not to let it be too freely talked about. This is a sort of grace-and-favour apartment, given to me to live in, out of respect for my father. He was a much-loved District Commissioner around these parts. I was brought up here, this used to be where my parents lived. When he died, I sort of inherited it. I don't really want to live here, it's much too grand for my tastes most of the time."

"Oh. You're up in rarefied sort of Party affairs I know nothing of, and want to know even less of." Belle nodded. "But, if you don't want to live here, why didn't you put in for a move? Somewhere closer to the facility, perhaps?"

"I tried to, when I first lived here on my own. It was gently explained to me that if I moved out, that could be construed as an insult to my father's memory. So I'm more or less stuck here." Belle shrugged. "It does have some compensations. Perhaps you'll see them if the rain's gone by the morning. In the mean time, what about that drink, and then I'll show you where to put your bags."

Marion looked doubtful.

"Look," Belle said, "I'm still the same Belle you know, just as you're the same Marion I know, and I know you're the same person, even though you used to be Marlon. Good grief, woman, what on earth have you got in this bag? Your entire belongings?"

"Ah, yes. Perhaps a cup of tea would be a good idea. I have a great deal to tell you. It seems I may be staying a little longer than anticipated, providing you'll accept me, of course."

"I'll get the kettle going, and also start dinner. While I'm doing that, I suggest you take your bags along to the last room on the left. It's the spare bedroom. You should unpack your bags and lay your things out over the bed so that the creases stand a chance of coming out. I'll be there in a few moments to sort out some hangers."

Marion took her bags along to the indicated room, noting that even here the floors were carpeted in such quality that made her want to cringe every time she put her wet shoes down. Like the living room, the bedroom was wood-panelled and well-furnished, but it was obviously little used otherwise. Pulling out her clothes from her bag, she attempted to smooth them out as she laid them over the bed. She found her house slippers and exchanged her wet outdoor shoes for them. Belle appeared as she wondered what to do with the bags.

"That's done, dinner will be in about half an hour or so. What's in that bag?"

"My washing."

As they walked back to the living room, Marion began to explain the afternoon meeting with Site Security, and then had to backtrack and explain the robbery attempt, followed by Trish's visit to her apartment, followed by the meal Marion, Trish and Diana had had together. Belle got very confused, but eventually understood what Marion was saying about her apartment and her clothes.

"That's it, then, you're moving in with me. We may have settled Supervisor Hirsch's hash, but you probably won't be able to go back to your apartment for a week, and if you live here for a week you might as well move in permanently. I know it wasn't quite what either of us planned, but it's the obvious answer to a number of different questions. What do you think?"

"It's a little bit soon, and maybe I'm jumping out of the pan into the fire," Marion replied, "but from a logical point of view, it seems to be the obvious answer. But," she said with a raised finger, "don't think I don't realise that it gets me just where you want me to be. Perhaps it's more like fly meeting spider." Belle had the grace to lower her gaze when Marion said this, as Belle had always made it plain what she wanted.

"Actually," Marion continued, "I'm quite looking forward to living with you, and I'd realised that this was what would probably happen, given the course of events. Although I never in my wildest dreams expected this." She gestured around her with both hands. "I never even realised such places still existed."

"Most of the Enclave is like this," Belle said. "It's a kind of island where the high and mighty can get some peace, I'm just here by accident of birth. Did I hear you say you're looking forward to living here?" Belle asked, the hope plain in her eyes.

"I'm yours, Belle," Marion replied, quietly. "The nights I've spent alone since I came out showed me that clearly. We still have much to find out about each other, as any couple does, but I trust you, as I've trusted you for the last seven months. Just, please," she pleaded, "don't spring any more big surprises on me for a while, will you? This place of yours is quite enough to be going on with."

The two women stood as one and went into an emotional embrace, tightly clasping one another as they recognised the bond between them. They looked into one another's eyes, and tenderly kissed, holding each other close. Marion felt definite stirrings within herself as the feelings built, and recognised that it had been over a year since she had had similar feelings. Perhaps it was time to start again.

Belle broke the clinch. "I have to tend to dinner, and the kettle will have boiled. Will you come and help out in the kitchen?"

"Gladly. Tell me, how are you managing with that hand bandaged?"

"There are one or two things it makes awkward, but Alison did a good job with the dressing. Having my finger sticking out is the biggest problem, but it only bothers me when I'm washing myself. Don't concern yourself, although I might need help to take the bandage off and put it on again sometime."

Marion sat at the counter in the kitchen with a cup of tea while Belle prepared vegetables and made sure that everything was proceeding according to plan, at the same time discussing in more detail what had happened to the pair of them the previous two days. Marion did lend a hand, but the meal was not complicated and Belle knew where everything was, and when it had to have anything done to it, so her actions were more symbolic than anything. Neither woman minded, since the atmosphere between them had undergone a significant change as both accepted their future.

Finally, the meal was ready, and they sat down to salmon with herbed butter, asparagus, new potatoes and peas with a small side salad. Belle produced a small bottle of wine which just filled their two glasses.

"I was saving this for a special occasion," she remarked as she poured. "I never expected to get to drink it quite this soon, though. Because of work, we Shepherds don't drink much alcohol, so this is an unexpected treat." She gave Marion a sidelong glance. "Of course, it's a different matter when we're out on the town. I hope we won't scare you the first time we take you out, we tend to be a bit raucous."

"I wasn't much of a party person previously," replied Marion, and they both understood that to mean Marlon wasn't, "but I used to go out at weekends with Anna, so I'm aware of what might happen. The new me might have different tastes, of course."

The meal was finished with some ice-cream Belle had dug out of the recesses of her small freezer, following which they cleared the table and sat down on the sofa with coffee to talk some more. Marion wanted to know if moving in with Belle would cause any problems.

"I shouldn't think so. You've had the full security workover - and I'm sorry for that, I completely forgot it would happen to you - so you should be able to come and go as you please. In fact, if you come and live here, it may make the local Tenancy Committee happier, since there would be two living here instead of one."

"Are there going to be any problems with two women living together? I know what the law says, but people's prejudices are a completely different thing."

"Heh. No, they won't complain, not to my face, anyway. They may mutter things behind our backs, but we shouldn't get any problems on that score." Marion couldn't figure out why Belle seemed so confident of that. Belle added with a smirk, "We should be able to shut them up when they get a look at your legal status, anyway. Once they discover you're legally male there could be all kinds of interesting side effects. In fact, I'd love to be a fly on the wall at that meeting. The looks on their faces would be priceless."

Marion said, "You're a nasty vindictive person, Belle Marchand, and I'm glad you're on my side." Belle grinned. "Tell me, will me moving in here have any financial implications? This place just can't be cheap, by any definition of the word."

"I told you, it's a grace-and-favour job. I pay nothing. Oh, I do pay a service charge, but I think they even discount that. These are fully-serviced apartments, you realise. There's a whole load of staff, cleaners, decorators and other tradesmen who are employed just to look after all the buildings in the Enclave. Because of who lives here, it couldn't be any other way. All these buildings are also on the Historical Register, so they require specialist upkeep in any case. That does mean that, from time to time, you may find strange workmen wandering about, and possibly wanting access to the apartment. Most of the time, of course, we won't see them because we'll be at work."

"This could take some time to get used to. I understand why you wouldn't want to talk about it much elsewhere."

After some more small talk, they went into the kitchen and washed up and cleared away all the dinner things. The kitchen window didn't have curtains, and so Marion was able to see a little of what lay behind Building Four. She got a glimpse, through the heavy rain, of a high wall topped with razor wire, and beyond that some trees being moved about by the storm, lit by a few street lights. She guessed the trees were on the edge of the park that Belle had mentioned before. By the time they had finished the evening had worn on and by mutual agreement they retired to Belle's bedroom.

"This used to be my parents' room," Belle said as they entered. "The other one was mine when I was growing up. What do you think?"

Like the other rooms, it was wood panelled. There were a row of doors along one wall, another had velvet curtains the entire length which implied a huge window, and a massive bed occupied a third wall.

"The bed's huge," said Marion. "I don't think I've ever seen one this size before."

"They are standard within the Enclave," Belle explained, "but, no, they aren't a size you'd have seen before. They are two and a half metres on a side. The bedding all has to be custom made. We have a small unit somewhere that handles all the soft furnishings, including bedding."

What drew Marion's eye were the two garments laid out across the bed, both nightdresses. Both were white and composed of several soft, filmy layers trimmed with lace. Marion looked a question at Belle.

"Well, I certainly wasn't going to let you wear facility issue in here," she said, "not when I knew your size anyway, and I had the opportunity to get something more appropriate yesterday afternoon after you called. Call it a welcome gift."

Marion's tears ran freely as she acknowledged the generosity of her friend. She clasped Belle and said, "I don't deserve this, any of it."

"Nonsense," Belle replied, "You deserve all of it. This is just what you need to adapt to something resembling a normal existence."

Marion had to stifle hysteria. "You call this normal? This is like another planet compared to what I'm used to."

"Maybe." Belle gazed directly into Marion's eyes. "Welcome to planet woman, finally."

Marion felt a shiver, but whether it was of apprehension or anticipation she could not determine. "Yes," she said in a small voice, holding Belle tightly. "Perhaps it's time I did. I'm a blank page, Belle. Write something special on me."

They began to kiss, and soon the emotions and the physical sensations began to build. They started to remove each other's clothing, depositing them in heaps on chairs at the side of the room.

Marion reached for a nightdress, and Belle said, "No." Marion thought she'd chosen the wrong one, and leaned over to pick up the other, and Belle said, "No," again. "Later."

Belle carefully released herself from Marion's grip and draped the two nightdresses over the chairs before returning and gently seating the two of them on the side of the bed. More kissing followed. Then, as Marion wondered what was going to happen next, Belle moved. She placed the heels of both hands lightly on Marion's nipples and then gently brushed her hands to the sides.

The explosion of sensation was completely beyond anything Marion had ever experienced before, and it took her entirely by surprise. She slumped backwards onto the bed, boneless, her head lolling to one side, her eyes half closed, as she absorbed the wave of intense pleasure that had begun at her nipples, filled her breasts and immediately spread through her upper body like hot lava. Her lungs released her breath with a low moan. Watching her response, Belle leaned forward to repeat the move as her own body reacted to Marion's actions, her breathing quickening. The next time, Marion's groan was louder.

I didn't know this was even possible! How can anybody even survive the intensity of these feelings? I'm lost, lost. Her arms, at the same time leaden and fiery, reached upwards until her hands touched Belle's breasts, and then Belle collapsed on the bed beside Marion as they fed off each other's responses. Marion's skin, super-sensitive, sent waves of feeling over her wherever they touched Belle's body, and she knew that Belle's body was reacting in the same way as her own was.

At some point they climbed properly onto the bed before continuing. Both Marion and Belle had had previous experience with women, but Belle was by far the most knowledgeable. The boredom of her army years had been alleviated with much experimentation, and she put all her skills to good use. Marion, on the other hand, had had a revelation. That was, for the first time she knew exactly what her partner was feeling, and just exactly how to produce the best response from Belle, especially when Belle showed her what to do on her own person.

But Marion finished the moves by doing something to Belle that Belle could not do to Marion, and that was to use her hand to bring Belle to orgasm again and again. Despite Belle's gentlest and most careful efforts, Marion's remaining masculine equipment refused to take part in the evening's activities. Finally the two fell exhausted on the bed in one another's arms.

After a while, Marion had to rouse herself. "Bathroom?"

"The door nearest the window," Belle murmured. "Don't be long."

Marion staggered, naked and shaking from the intensity of the experience, through the door and into a white-tiled bathroom. She cleaned herself up afterwards and looked at her face in the mirror. It showed a heavy flush and the pupils of her eyes were so large they were almost invisible. As she left the bathroom Belle passed her going the other way. When the two of them had reclined again, naked, on the bed Marion spoke.

"I cannot describe what just happened to me. It's impossible. I just don't have the words. I have never experienced anything like that in my entire existence. I didn't know it was possible to feel like that and not die." Marion leaned towards Belle and kissed her gently. "Thank you for introducing me to your world. Is this what all women feel?"

"Sometimes," Belle replied, returning the kisses. She placed her unbandaged hand on one of Marion's breasts, the sensation making the nipple feel like a hot coal on the front of Marion's chest. "It varies. I think there was a great deal of anticipation on both sides tonight, which definitely helped. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything more for you."

"For now, I think you've done more than enough," replied Marion. She looked deep into Belle's eyes. "And I can't wait for you to do it again."

Belle smiled warmly. "It's just what you needed, I think. You've had to be a monk - or a nun - for a year, so I definitely think you've got to the head of the queue. How are you feeling? Want some more?"

"Rather a lot of me is super-sensitive right now, I think I need to let things calm down a bit. We're not in any hurry, are we?"

"No, indeed not. We've all the time in the world. Let's put our pretties on and go to bed properly."

Marion had another surprise then, when she pulled the nightdress over her head, and she was enveloped by sensations from the fine fabric.

"Ooh, this is incredible. No wonder women wear such delicate-feeling clothes, if this is what they feel like to the touch. I've obviously still got so much to learn," she said. They climbed under the covers and Belle put out the lights. "And I just can't wait to learn it."

* For the metrically challenged, 2.5 metres is approx 100 inches = 8 feet four inches (or so).