A twenty-something slacker with no hope encounters the SRU wizard and grows up.

Foreword:

This is the first story that I have written that I felt worthy of being read by others. Your comments and criticisms are more than welcome.

I would like to thank Marina Kelly for her assistance in improving this story from its dry, clinical origins into is readable state. Her stories have been a valuable guide for me.

Thank you
- Monica Rose.

SRU — The Engagement Ring

Linda began to tear-up when the wizard told her, "I'm sorry Linda, but I can't do anything to help you. I told you to drink the red potion after the girl you loved drank the green potion. I even told you to read the instructions. I can see that you didn't do any of that and here you are." He gestured to her and put his hands into the pockets of his bathrobe.

"But I didn't mean for it to happen this way." She was starting to cry now. "She put her drink down for a minute and Jake picked it up and drank it. And this happened to me!" She held her arms out to display a very cute blonde girl, with rather large breasts. "Apparently Jake likes his women young with big tits. When I'm near him, I'm practically his slave and I can't stay aware from him for long before I have to go running back to him."

The wizard nodded. "That's the nature of that particular love potion. It makes the person who drinks the green potion become the dream lover of whoever drinks the red potion. It's one of my more popular items. Now the spell is very strong because it has just taken effect. I can't break the spell with anything in the shop so that you can turn back to Jason. As time goes by, the spell will get weaker though. I promise that I will try to find a counterpotion, but for now, you are going to have to accept that you are Linda, Jake's little love slave." His smile was not cruel, but it left no doubt that he appreciated how Linda filled her skirt and halter top.

Linda sobbed and left the shop crying. The wizard watched her leave, somewhat saddened by Linda's outburst. Even when people got into silly situations because of their own foolishness, it did not give him much amusement. The only real satisfaction he got was helping those who needed him and teaching lessons to those who truly deserved the adverse results from some of his spells. His attention jumped as he realized that he would need to move a little faster. His next customer would not be coming into the shop and he needed to go to him.

He studied the young man from the other side of the food court. Judging by the sparse whiskers that he had not shaved off and the softness of his features, his subject appeared to be just out of his teen years, The boy, and yes he could still be called that, looked to be about average height, blonde with light-colored eyes. The longer the wizard watched him; he could see that the young man was one of those who needed his help, rather than deserving his attention. The distinction between those two types of clientele was light-years apart. As the boy started to leave the table, the wizard could see that the time was coming to introduce himself.

* * * * *

Tom sat in the food court just staring at his soda. He was so far down that what little activity there was at this hour in the mall barely even registered.

He didn't know what to do. He was almost out of money and couldn't pay the rent on the apartment. His roommate seemed to have dropped out of sight and Tom couldn't find him. He wished that he had worked harder in high school so that he could get a job, but he could not get anyone to give him a chance to show that his paper grades were only one measure of his value. He couldn't go home, his mother really did not want him there anymore and she had already refused to lend him more money. She just acted like he had let her down and told him that she had nothing more to give him.

The more Tom thought about his lack of options, the more lonely and depressed he became. He was a failure as a student and a son, his roommate had apparently moved out without telling him, and he did not have a job that would support him. His mood deepened even further when he saw the crying girl that came running out of the queer little store across the mall and tears started to form in his eyes as well. Seeing someone that was having as bad a time as he was pulled on him somehow and he made his way over to her to see if he could help.

"Excuse me, miss. Do you need some help?" His voice was a little hoarse from his own crying.

As he touched her shoulder to get her attention, she jumped and gave an abbreviated scream. She pulled back from him, hiding her face in apparent shame. "Leave me alone! The last thing I need is some asshole hitting on me!"

Tom watched the girl stomp off down the mall. Even though he didn't know the girl, her words hurt. He couldn't even help somebody who obviously needed it. His shoulders slumped even further as more tears filled his eyes. He suddenly realized that he was standing at the railing of the food court, overlooking the shopping plaza three floors below. The longer he stood at the rail, the easier the thoughts came to him that all he would have to do would be to let go and this pain would stop. He wouldn't have to worry about what to do next, where to live, or how to support himself. The sadness that he knew his mother would feel barely pushed back at the black cloud that seemed to be edging in around his vision. He knew that she would be hurt; he hoped that she wouldn't take his death too hard. Actually, he wasn't thinking too much about her because he just was not thinking at the moment.

He hadn't realized that he was leaning so far over the railing until he was pulled back by a strong grip on his shoulder. "You don't want to do that, do you Tom?"

Tom's head snapped around to see an old man standing next to him, wearing what looked like a bathrobe. He could have been anywhere from sixty to eighty years old, the white hair and scraggly beard were almost like camouflage on him. But Tom's eyes were drawn to the old man's gaze. His clear blue eyes looked steadily at Tom and were definitely not the eyes of an old man and they seemed to look right through him.

The shock of the moment wore off quickly and Tom realized what he had been about to do. The stress and emotions of the past hours suddenly broke over him like a wave and he crumpled to the floor crying. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry," was all he could say. The horror of what he had been prepared to do almost caused him to pass out.

Giving Tom a moment to let the emotions peak and begin to settle, the wizard knelt beside him and put his hand on his shoulder. "I understand Tom. Why don't we go over to my store so that you can tell me what the problem is." He already knew what was wrong, between looking into Tom and touching him, he knew more about Tom than the boy did himself. Tom allowed himself to be helped to his feet and they walked around to the store that Tom had thought was so strange before. He did not notice that the few people already present in the mall paid absolutely no attention to him or the old man and acted like there had not been an almost-tragedy there a moment before.

As they entered into the store, a bell rang above their heads. Tom looked up to see it, but there was nothing there. "I thought that I heard a bell," he said.

The old man nodded and said, "Yes, I really don't need it, but people expect it when they open a door. So I have the bell ring when the door opens."

"But there's no bell up there," Tom said, pointing to the top of the door. "I know that I heard one."

"Are you sure?" the old man asked. A small smile played on his face.

"Yes, how do you get it to sound like there is a bell when there isn't one?" But when Tom looked back to the door, there was a bell dangling above the door. Tom was quite sure that there had not been a bell there before.

"Don't worry about it Tom, I was just showing off. Why don't you have a seat here and we'll talk," the old man gestured to a small table and chairs off to one side of the store. Tom was sure that they had not been there a moment before.

"Still showing off?" Tom thought.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." The old man was grinning at Tom's surprise.

"How did you do that?"

"Okay, I'll explain this to you once, so pay attention. I have a sign around here that explains it, but it gets lost every time I move the store. The reason why things seem to appear when they did not seem to be there before and how I know your name is that I am a wizard. A bona-fide, card-carrying, magical wizard."

Tom's sense of self-preservation kicked in suddenly and he realized that he was talking with a lunatic. Having just seated himself at the table, he began to stand saying, "Okay…That's interesting." He began to move toward the door. "Thank you for keeping me from making the biggest mistake of my life, but I need to get to work now."

The wizard did not stand or even move, but he said, "Tom. We both know that you have no job to go to. I know that you think that I'm a lunatic and that it scares you. You need to understand that I can help you with the problem you think you have. Please sit down." He gestured to the chair Tom had just vacated.

Tom was obviously reluctant as he sat back down and the wizard could feel Tom's nervousness and fear. "What do you want from me?"

"I don't want anything from you. I was drawn here by your aura of pain and frustration. Now, why don't you explain to me what the problem is." It was an old psych trick. Even if you know the problem, get the patient to tell you what the problem is so that they could acknowledge a remedy.

Tom almost started crying again. "I've screwed up my life! I wasted my time in high school and now I can't get a job or into college to work towards getting a job! I let my mother down and now she'll hardly talk to me and I have no way to survive! I wish that I hadn't been born!" Tom's voice seemed to get louder and tenser with each sentence he spit out.

The wizard sat there nodding, "I thought that was problem, but I needed to hear it from you. So…Let me make sure that I understand. What you would really like is to just to live a different life, correct?"

Tom sat there for a moment and said, "Yeah. I guess so. I really screwed up this one. I just think that someone else could have done a better job with my life than I have. I had fun growing up instead of applying myself and I've pissed everything away and now I'm stuck in a dead-end with no way out!"

The wizard smiled. Not necessarily a completely friendly smile, but more of a concentrating, planning smile. "I believe that the best thing for you is what I like to call a teaching opportunity." He went over to the counter at the back of the store and took out a small box. Bringing it back to the table, he set it before Tom.

Inside, Tom found a typical ring box that might be from any jewelry store. Inside that he found a woman's engagement ring. "What is this for?"

"That is a lady's engagement ring. The rest of the wedding set has been lost over the years, but this ring is still rather powerful." He stopped Tom from taking the ring from its resting place and said, "There is something that I need to do first." He took the box from Tom and folded his hands around the box. Closing his eyes, he concentrated a moment before opening them again and put the box back down before Tom.

"Now, I'm going to explain everything about this ring to you. Normally, I would just sell the ring to a customer and tell them to read the instructions. That is what I generally do to the customers who deserve my attention. You know: caveat emptor, buyer beware? However, I think that you will get more out this if you know exactly what this ring does and what it will mean to you."

From the moment you put this ring on your hand, you will be the woman that you would have been born as one. Reality itself will change so that Tom Andrews never existed. However, you will turn back into Tom for one hour every night at midnight. If you remove the ring and leave it off, you will remain in the form you are in at that time, which could be a problem if you take the ring off while you are Tom. Also, once you take the ring off and leave it off for more than one hour, it will not work for you again, so be very sure of what you are doing."

"Sounds a little like Cinderella," Tom said with a grin. The thought of becoming a girl was more than a little exciting. He had never told anyone of some of his fantasies along those lines. It didn't occur to him that the wizard might already know.

"Where do you think they got the idea for the story? Of course, they changed the facts around to make the story readable. Okay…for the hour you are Tom, no one will know you. Tom Andrews will not officially exist anywhere."

"This ring sounds like a curse."

"It used to be. It was created by a wizard whose daughter wanted to get married, but he didn't think that the two lovers were ready. He sold the ring to his daughter's fiancée who then presented it to the daughter. At that point, the ring's spell took effect: the two lovers changed forms every twelve hours. The intent of the spell was to make two of them see what life was like from the viewpoint of the other. Sadly, the engagement didn't last. Now, I was able to modify the spell somewhat. I have fixed it so that you will only change back for one hour out of twenty-four. If I try to do too much to the spell, it would stop working altogether. You should consider the use of this ring to be a loan for the next thirty days. At the end of that time, you need to bring it back to me and you will be able to decide whether that is the life that should have been lived or if you want to return to being Tom. I can restore reality to its current form if that is what you decide."

"What would I have to do?"

"Just put the ring on. You will become the person you would have been if you had born a girl. You and I will be the only ones who will remember that you were Tom. Keep in mind that there is much more to being a woman than looking pretty and wearing nice clothes. You are going to be a woman for the next month and you will be exposed to just some of what a woman will experience. Are you prepared for that?"

Tom nodded as he reached for the ring before him. "I just put the ring on?"

As he took the ring out of the box, the wizard put his hand over Tom's to stop him. "One last thing…I cannot warn you enough that if you happen to have sex while you are a woman and become pregnant, the spell will stop working. Meaning that you will not be able to return to your male form. At that point, you might was well think about using this magic ring as a real engagement ring."

Tom pulled his hand back and looked at the wizard. "If I have sex as a girl and get pregnant, I'll be stuck? I can't imagine that happening." He took the ring out and went to put it on.

When it did not fit the finger he was trying, the wizard said, "Try your left hand. After all, it is an engagement ring."

As the ring slid on to his ring finger, the small diamond in the ring began to glow. As the glow intensified, Tom could feel his body tingling with the spread of the glow. Inside the bubble of light, Tom became shorter as his waist thinned and his hips grew outward. His short, uncombed hair grew wildly and formed itself into shiny golden waves that brushed his shoulders. As his face shifted and lost its boyish appearance, Tom's appearance went from a young man to a young woman. Her eyes, still closed in ecstasy, were set a little farther apart, above a nose that was positively cute. Her face narrowed, with the cheeks smoothing themselves out and terminating in full lips. Her closed eyes clenched even further as her breasts formed and blossomed quickly from her chest, the nipples prominent as they pushed through Tom's shirt. Finally, Tom's clothes faded from sight as they were replaced with a neat cotton blouse and a skirt that fell to just above her knees. Tom's ratty sneakers were replaced with low-heeled shoes. Once the glow and the tingling had faded away, she relaxed and opened her eyes, revealing orbs of piercing deep blue. The ring on her finger faded out of sight.

All she could say was, "Wow!" Her voice was low, almost sultry, with a lyrical quality to it. Hearing her voice for the first time caused her to look at the wizard and then down at her own body. From her vantage point, she saw what appeared to be, to her at least, large breasts in a white blouse floating between her nose and a pair of shapely legs sticking out of denim skirt. Her now dainty hands grasped her breasts for a moment and brushed down to her skirt and exposed legs.

She looked up at the wizard and said, "I really am a girl?"

The wizard smiled and nodded. "My dear, you are beautiful. I'm afraid though that you present the image of a typical blue-eyed blond. You will shock a lot of people when they find out that you are anything but."

"I…I'm not sure that I want this after all," she said. "I didn't really believe you in the first place and I think that I was happy the way I was." She went to pull the ring off her finger and realized that it was not there. "The ring's gone!" The panic in her eyes and voice were very apparent.

"Yes. Part of the spell causes the ring to only be present on your finger for the hour that you transform back to your male form and for one hour after that. During that time you would be able to remove the ring. But…you will be locked in the form you are in when you remove the ring. The ring's spell as rewritten reality so that you do not exist as a guy, only as a girl. At the end of that time, you will automatically return to being Tom and reality will switch back to the way it was. But…only if you continue to wear the ring."

"But I don't want this!"

"I'm sorry, but now that you have triggered the spell, I cannot turn it off. That is how things work here. All you can do is work through to the end of the spell," the wizard said calmly. His attitude was helping to pull Tom down from his panic-driven mental ledge. "As long as you remember the warnings I gave you, you will be fine and no harm will come to you. Look at this next month as learning how to cope with the situation you found yourself in."

She took a deep breath and relaxed. If she looked at it from that viewpoint, it would be more like a vacation from herself, or was it himself? "This isn't really what I would have been like if I had born this way is it?"

"Well, it is for the most part. The spell also draws upon your image of what you want to look and sound like also. Seeing that you were also a guy, it's understandable that some of this is also your ideal of a girl. Even if you thought like a girl, you would still have been influenced by those stereotypes. Don't worry about it though. You'll get used to how you feel and you will actually project your own self-image over time. Now, tell me about yourself."

"My name is Paula Diane Andrews. I live at home with my mother," she stopped at that revelation, obviously surprised. "I'm starting a new job here in the mall today and I'll be studying nursing at the university in the fall."

The wizard nodded, acknowledging Paula's surprise. "Yes. In this reality, Paula Andrews understood the need to apply herself to whatever she worked at. I suggest that you do not try to tell you mother about all of this. She wouldn't understand and, besides, this is Paula's reality for the next thirty days.

"A word of advice about that. You should avoid letting anyone see you shift between Paula and Tom's forms. If someone does see you, you wouldn't be able to explain what is happening. I have found that most people reject the existence of magic."

The wizard handed Paula a purse that was now lying on the table before her and said, "Here is your purse. You have information on the job that you applied for in there." Paula smiled at the wizard and gave him a hug before she trotted out of the store.

"She turned out rather well, don't you think?" The wizard looked over at the stuffed wolf sitting beside the check-out counter.

The wolf turned its head and looked at the wizard. "Yes, she is very pretty. How do you think the next month will turn out for her?"

"I think that it will be both rewarding and educational for her."

* * * * *

Paula looked in her purse for the information about the job that she would be starting. Sure enough, she found that she had a job at the new Hooters here in the mall. She slowed down as she thought about the fact that she would working at a T & A restaurant. It was probably more of the wizard's teasing, like when he had been showing off. Well, it would allow her to become more comfortable with being Paula and she could always quit if she didn't like it. She paused for a moment when it occurred to her that she was probably thinking like Tom. She decided that she would give the job an honest try before deciding whether to quit it or not.

She made good time walking down the mall, looking for the restaurant and she was at the entrance in no time. She went in and looked around for the manager. She knew that she was early for her shift and that this was her first day. She saw the assistant manager, Dave, and went over.

"Ah, Paula." He looked her over and Paula felt a little dirty from the way his eyes lingered on her breasts and waist. "You're a few minutes early, but we can get you started with learning the register now if you would like. I think that we'll have you work the register today and start training you on being a server tomorrow. I've got someone else starting as a server today, so we can stagger the training for the next couple of days. Does that sound good to you?"

"Sure, that's fine with me. Is what I'm wearing okay for the register? I think that Steve told me that this would be okay for today."

"Yes, it's fine." Again, the way he looked at her let her know that he liked what he saw. "Just remember to wear the T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers when you come in tomorrow. I know that the uniform can make you feel uncomfortable, so you can wear something else to work and change in the back."

Dave was all business as he drilled her about running the cash register. Paula found that she had memories of previous part-time jobs where she had done similar work and she was able to draw on that information as Dave showed her what to do. It was obvious that her previous jobs had helped her get hired here. It was also obvious that her appearance had also been a factor.

Finally, Dave was satisfied that she knew what she was doing and left her for the remainder of her shift in order to handle other parts of the dining room. She handled the job easily and her comfort and confidence with the job came through to her co-workers and customers. Her warm smile and friendly attitude helped to relax some testy customers. After all, the first day for the restaurant was expected to result in a few foul-ups that needed to be smoothed over. She received a couple of compliments that were expressed to Steve and Dave.

When she was relieved to take her lunch break, Paula was surprised to find that the new waitress was the same girl that she had seen running away from the Spells 'R' Us store earlier in the morning. She decided not to say anything in case it might upset the other girl, but she tried to strike up a conversation anyway.

"Hi, I'm Paula."

Linda smiled back and said, "I'm Linda. How do you like being a hostess? You're really good at it."

Paula blushed and said, "Thank you. I've done something like it before and it's kind of fun. Dave told me that I'm supposed to start learning the server side to tomorrow. I haven't done that before, so I'm not sure what it will be like."

"Oh, it's not too bad. I was afraid of doing it too, but I was actually more worried about having to deal with being groped by the customers."

Paula said in surprise, "If you were worried about that, why did you come to work here?"

Linda shrugged and said, "My boyfriend wanted me to get a job and he knew they were hiring here. So he told me to apply."

Paula noticed that when Linda talked about her boyfriend, even a little, she tended to get a little dreamy-eyed. She found it to be a little creepy, but she explored it anyway. "What's your boyfriend like?"

"Oooh. He's a biker. He has all of these friends down at some warehouse where he works. He leaves in the morning to go down there and I'm always waiting for him when he comes home at night, just like he tells me to."

Paula was even more creeped out by the way Linda answered and she quickly changed the subject. They chatted about work and other subjects, but Paula made sure to stay away from the subject of Linda's boyfriend. Fortunately, their lunch break ended soon after and they both went back to work. Regardless of how Linda acted and talked about her boyfriend, Paula found herself liking the other girl.

Finally, she was able to punch out. Because the restaurant was just starting up in the mall, the managers were still filling positions. Paula had ended up agreeing to work a longer shift to cover for the shortage of other employees, as had a few others.

She was in the back of the store to punch out when Dave blocked her path out of the office. His look alone let Paula know what he had in mind and she wanted no part of it. "How about going for a drink?" His tone of voice let it be known that he was not expecting her to refuse.

"I'm afraid not Dave," Paula said. "I'm tired and I just want to go home and relax. I have to be back here tomorrow morning." She stood back and did not try to push past him in the close quarters. He was bigger and undoubtedly stronger than she was. For the first time all day, Paula missed being Tom. He might not have been tougher than Dave, but he could have done some damage, but then Tom wouldn't be in this situation anyway.

"Hey…Don't worry about having to work hard," he answered. He started to ease toward her. "I can help you out with the work load."

Paula had backed up to the wall away from Dave and had nowhere else to go. She was preparing to start yelling, kicking and scratching when a voice spoke up from behind Dave. "What's going on?" Even though she could not see her, Paula recognized Linda's voice. "Leave her alone!"

Dave turned to look at the other girl and growled, "Go away Linda. Paula and I were just about to go for a drink."

"No she wasn't! I heard her tell you that. I've seen you drooling after her all day. Now leave her alone!"

Dave backed up from Paula and turned toward Linda. "Linda, you're fired! Get out of here!"

Paula saw red at that point and stepped forward. Even though Dave was almost six inches taller than she was, she stepped up to him, put her hand against his chest, and pushed. Not expecting this behavior from someone smaller than he was, Dave backed up to the opposite wall in a sort of stumble. Paula ended up with her hand against his chest and her face thrust towards his. It did not escape the notice of either of them that her knee was between his legs and positioned to do major damage to his balls.

"No, she is not!" Paula said flatly. Any musical quality her voice had when she spoke was replaced by an intense, angry tone.

"She just stopped you from assaulting me and you are going to leave HER alone." Paula emphasized the her to acknowledge that Linda had just saved her also. "Now…We like working here and we're willing to forget this. But if you pull something like this again on anybody or try to take it out on Linda, I'll put you in jail where you'll have boyfriends doing to you what you wanted to do to me!"

Linda was looking on in awe that a smaller girl had taken a letch as big as Dave. There was some applause from across the kitchen from some of the other servers who had heard the raised voices and stopped to watch. Obviously, the exchange between Paula and Dave had not been as private as he had thought.

Paula stepped back from Dave and he relaxed, "Hey…I didn't mean any harm. I was just trying to be friendly and I got carried away." It was obvious that he was trying to smooth things over and make things seem less threatening.

"Okay," Paula said. "As long as we're all friends and this doesn't happen again." She walked out of the office and went out through the restaurant. Linda fell into step next to her and they headed down the mall. Paula stopped at a bench and dropped on to it. She was shaking a little and took a deep breath to relax.

"Are you okay now?" Linda asked.

"Yeah, now I am. I guess I wasn't thinking when I got in his face, but jerks like that make me mad. I'm lucky that he didn't take a swing at me!" Paula wiped some tears from her eyes.

"I know what you mean," Linda replied. "I know of some guys in school who had the same attitude. A friend of mine told them off and they eventually grew out of it. Fortunately, they didn't hang around together or they probably would have beaten him up." Paula nodded. She remembered those types from high school from her new memories and Tom's old memories.

Looking in her purse, Paula found car keys, which was a surprise as Tom had not had a car. The girls headed out to the parking lot where Paula found that she owned an older model compact car, she hadn't owned a car as Tom. She offered a ride to Linda and she discovered that Linda only lived a few blocks from the mall. Paula dropped the other girl at her apartment and headed for home, wondering what it would be like in this version of reality.

Paula was more than a little nervous as she pulled into the driveway of the house. This morning, she had been Tom and had been told that he probably should not come home again and now she was Paula, who lived at home with her mother. She found her mother watching the news recap in the living room, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Hi, honey. How was your first day at work?" Her mother smiled warmly at her.

After a moment, Paula said, "It was okay. I worked a shift and a half as the cashier and hostess. I already knew what I was doing though. Tomorrow, Dave plans on starting my orientation as a server and I'm going to have to wear the 'uniform'." She imitated quote marks with her fingers and she held up the required shorts and T-shirt that Dave had given her before she left work.

Her stomach growled loudly and she grinned. "Are there any leftovers from dinner? I ate something at lunch, but that was a long time ago. I didn't get a chance to eat anything after I finished my second shift." She debated about relating what had happened with Dave.

"I haven't eaten yet. I was waiting for you to come home from your first day so that I could find out how it went. Want to help me?"

She stood and headed for the kitchen with Paula trailing behind her. This woman was very different from the mother Tom remembered. Where Tom's mother had been quiet and withdrawn, this version of her was almost the opposite. Paula could not bring herself to believe that just having a daughter instead of a son could make this great a change in her. They prepared a cold dinner for themselves and sat at the table talking.

"Mom, did you ever imagine what it would have been like if I had been born a boy?"

"Paula, I have to confess that before you were born, I was afraid that you were going to be a boy. After all of the meanness that your father put me through before I divorced him, I really did not care for guys at all. The therapist that I've been seeing has helped me to see that and I have really made a lot of progress. I don't think that I ever thanked you for insisting that I see someone to help me." She put her hand on Paula's and squeezed.

Tears sprang to life and threatened to blind Paula as new memories suddenly flooded into her thoughts, reminding her that her mother had been like what Tom remembered up until the time she had started high school. Paula had seen that her mother was having emotional problems that had gotten worse over time and she had worked hard to get her mother to get help. She couldn't believe that she had been so blind as Tom to have not seen the pain that his / her mother had been in. This obviously explained why Tom had been treated the way he had…It was not necessarily his revelation that he felt he was more of a girl than a boy or his lackadaisical attitude to life…it was because his mother had been so damaged that she did not know how to deal with it.

The tears were flowing easily as Paula hugged her new mother and told her, "I'm so glad that you did. I'm glad that I was born a girl so that I could help you."

"Me too, dear." Her mother was smiling through tears as well.

They spent the rest of the evening talking about Paula's new job. Paula told her about how Dave had tried to make a pass at her and how Linda had stepped in. Her mother was concerned about Paula staying there until Paula explained how the whole confrontation had been resolved. While she relaxed somewhat, her mother did think that it might be best if Paula looked around for another job. Paula agreed that might be best and they moved on to making plans for shopping on the weekend.

Finally, Paula realized that she was tired and that she needed to be safely in her room before the midnight hour. The two women cleaned up what little mess they had made and said their good-nights. Paula was safe in her room and she knew that her mother had had time to go to sleep well before the time appointed for her retransformation was reached.

Right at midnight, the ring appeared on her hand and began to glow. The glow was not quite as intense this time and the tingling was just as pleasurable as Paula quickly became Tom. Once the transformation was complete, Tom found himself sitting on the edge of the bed where he had been seated as Paula moments before. He took inventory and found that he was wearing the same clothes that he had had on that morning in the wizard's store. It looked like he was going to be wearing the same clothes for the next month. By the time he had to return the ring to the wizard, he was definitely going to need a change.

Sitting back on the bed, he looked at the ring on his hand and reflected upon what happened over the day. The difference he had seen in his mother was surprising to say the least. As Tom, he had not seen anything unusual about his mother or her behavior. But as Paula, she had seen that her mother was in trouble and had had the wisdom and confidence to push her to get the help she needed. Had he really been that self-involved or had he been just plain clueless?

The other thing that stuck in his mind was how Paula almost being assaulted had made him feel small and vulnerable. He hated feeling like that and resolved that he would never let himself or herself be put in that position again.

Knowing that he could not safely move around the house without getting caught, Tom spent most of the hour exploring Paula's room. It was very definitely a girl's room. Not too girly, but then Paula was now a young woman and not a love-sick teenager pining over some heart-throb's poster. Paula did appear to like teddy bears, as she had a small collection of them on her bookshelves and a good-sized one on her bed. Tom shook his head as he could not picture himself cuddling with a teddy bear. Paula's reading interests appeared to parallel his own though as he saw several romance novels and college catalogs stacked on her study desk. Knowing that he would have the next month to explore, he spent the rest of the hour leafing through a magazine until the hour was up and he became Paula again.

As Paula again, she prepared for bed. She waited the full hour after her transformation and watched the ring fade from sight again. She felt her finger and could find no sign that the ring was present. Well, now she knew what to expect if she or Tom decided to end the wizard's lesson. She made a mental note to get more magazines and books so that she would not be bored for the hour that she spent as Tom. Even though she thought that the whole experience that she had been through for the day had her too keyed up for sleep, she was gone in minutes.

* * * *

Her mother had left for work by the time she woke the next morning. A note mentioned that she would be working a little later into the evening and asked that Paula stop by the grocery on her way home from work. She tucked the shopping list into her purse and headed out the door to her own job. She felt a little self-conscious wearing the abbreviated shorts, but she quickly adjusted as Paula's memories pointed out that it was similar to the bathing suit she had worn last year. She was still more conservatively dressed than that and she knew that she looked good and she relaxed.

At the mall, she took the time to stop by the Spells 'R' Us store as she wanted to talk to the wizard. She was startled that she could not find the store when she went to the food court. Not being able to find the store was even scarier than what she had already experienced. What if she could not find the store when it was time? Would she be doomed to remain Paula or would the ring just stop working and leave him in Tom's form in an even worse situation than he had begun? Even while she thought about this, she walked down the mall to work. The Paula side of her seemed to step up and take charge. She decided that she would just have to get through the next month and worry about what to do when her time ran out. If she ended up as Paula forever, she could think of far worse things to happen.

At work, she found herself assigned to being a cashier and hostess again, even though she had expected to be working on the floor as a server. It annoyed her somewhat that she was unable to begin earning tips and she suspected that her incident with Dave the previous day had something to do with it.

When she confronted Steve about it, he explained that it was something else entirely and that he just had not had the opportunity to speak with her. Apparently, the witnesses to the confrontation between Dave and herself and reported it after she had left. Because of that, Dave had been invited to seek employment elsewhere. It seems that this had not been the first time Dave had done this at other locations and he had finally exhausted his 'second chances'. Paula was actually assigned to work where she was because she was good for the restaurant and she had no reason to worry about the fact that she would not be earning any money tips.

She still had times when she had to go back to the kitchen and she realized that she had caught the attention of one of the guys working in the kitchen. He looked nice enough, kinda cute, (where did that come from? she thought). They only exchanged looks on that first day as her shift ended before his and she headed off to the grocery and then home.

She had everything ready for spaghetti (hopefully, still her mother's favorite) when her mom rolled in. In no time, Paula had everything prepared and on the table for them. They chatted for a while and then her mother begged off to get some sleep. After clean-up, she went to bed herself, making sure that her door was locked. She slept so soundly, she was not even aware of the shift between Paula and Tom.

* * * *

Very quickly, Paula settled into a routine. Get up, go to work or shopping, come home and have dinner with her mother, and go to bed. Work became even easier as time went on. She found that she was able to circulate through the dining room as a hostess when she was not working the register, helping servers with their tables and generally schmoozing with the customers. She became well-liked by her co-workers and customers who were quickly becoming regulars.

An exception to her routine was the date she had one weekend with the cute cook. He was nice enough and she surprised herself when she wholeheartedly participated in a necking session after the movie they went to see. She managed to regain control of herself when his hands started trying to travel into her blouse and up her skirt. She was able to break-off the necking session without making him angry by pretending to notice the time and tell him that she needed to check on her mother. The wizard's warning still rang loud in her ears.

She only had a few minutes before her deadline when he dropped off at her house and she found herself allowing him to kiss her goodnight. Her mother had already gone to bed so she quickly and quietly ran to her room. She locked her door behind her just as the change began. The thoughts that she was having about her date were a little out of place for Tom as the transformation finished.

The next day, Paula began to feel ill. Again, 'old' memories came to her that she wasn't ill, she was starting her period. For the next few days, Paula dealt with the discomfort that came from having a period, as well as the messy part that had, always, nauseated her. Her only respite was the hour she became Tom and he dreaded the switch back at the end of the hour. The very real thought went through her that being a girl might not be all that desirable if she had to deal with an ordeal like this each month. It also occurred to her that somewhere, the wizard must be laughing up a storm.

She was able to continue work without too much discomfort, all of the walking actually seemed to make her feel better and she had found some painkillers in her purse that were intended for just this circumstance. She wasn't sure if this was something that Paula would have done or if the wizard had been looking ahead for her. At the moment, she really did not care. She declined a couple of invitations from Jesse, the cook, to get something to eat and he accepted her reason that she did not feel well. It was amazing how quickly guys seemed to lose interest when you shared the fact that it was a girl thing.

* * * *

Paula had just started her night shift when everything changed for her. It was still pretty early and the place was just starting to fill when Linda came in, wearing her blouse and jeans. Paula took one look at her and knew that Linda would not be working that evening. The first thing Paula did was call for Steve and then she quickly hurried over to Linda, leading her over to the guest waiting area to sit down.

"Linda! Are you okay?" The side of Linda's face was a solid red, looking like she had a sunburn. Aside from the puffy lip she was sporting, her eye showed all the signs of preparing to become a major black eye. "What the heck happened to you?"

"I…I slipped in the shower and hit my head. I'll be okay, but I came in to tell Steve that I didn't feel like I could work."

"I'll say so! Do you feel okay?" Linda nodded as Steve came up.

"Whoa. That looks nasty. I agree...you can't work looking like that. Do you feel okay to go home or do we need to send you to the emergency room?"

Linda tried to smile reassuringly and said, "I should be okay. I took something for the pain and I just need to lie down."

"Well, you didn't get hurt here, so I can't send you to the emergency room on worker's comp. But I can make sure that you can get home okay. Paula, I know that you're scheduled tonight, but would you get Linda home and keep an eye on her? I'll find someone to cover your shift and don't worry about having to punch out. Just get Linda taken care of."

She helped Linda stand up. "Okay, Steve. Thank you." To Linda she said, "Come on. I'm not parked too far out tonight."

They were headed back to Linda's apartment when Paula asked, "You didn't fall down in the shower, did you?"

"No…I guess I made Jake mad when I told him that I had to work tonight. I know that I told him before, but he was mad when he wanted me to fix him dinner and I told him that I had to get ready. He yelled and then he hit me. He left before I got back up." Even while Linda was relating how Jake had hit her, the tone of her voice made it sound more like she was relating a story that had happened to someone else and not something that should have filled her with anger or embarrassment.

Paula looked over at Linda. "Where is he now? I don't think that I should take you back there if he's going to come back and beat you up again."

Linda waved Paula's concern away. "It's okay Paula. I think that he'll be gone until tomorrow." Linda's voice had dropped into the tender, creepy level again. "He gets a little out of control once in a while, but he really didn't mean to hurt me."

"Why do you stick up for him? He obviously likes to hit you and he could have killed you. I think that I should be taking you to the emergency room after all." Paula's anger and contempt for Jake literally dripped from her voice.

"Paula, I really appreciate what you're doing for me, but I won't get Jake into trouble. Please, just take me home. Everything will be okay."

"Okay. I'll stay with you for a while and make sure that you're going to be alright. But I need to leave at some point, okay?"

"That's okay. I just need to take a couple more pills and lie down. I'll be fine." Linda sounded a little depressed at that point.

"Why don't you give me your keys and I'll make sure that Jake isn't waiting for you in there." The tone of her voice made it clear that Linda did not have a choice. Paula pulled up outside the apartment that Linda and Jake shared. She could see that it was dark, which likely meant that Jake was not around. She made a quick pass through the rooms and satisfied herself that Jake was gone. She left the lights on as she went. Once she was done, she went back to the car and helped Linda into the apartment. The way Linda was moving, it was obvious that she was in more pain than she let on.

"Where else are you hurt?" Paula asked as she helped Linda to sit down.

"I fell over the table when he hit me, so I banged up my back and shoulders. They're kind of sore, but I should be okay." Linda had apparently decided to be honest about her injuries. Paula was happy about that as it saved her the time of dragging it out of her.

"I think that a hot bath will help you more than anything. I'll go run it for you. Go in and get ready and I'll call you." She had to help Linda stand and get moving toward the bedroom. She went through to the bath and got the tub filling. As the tub filled, Paula found what looked to be some bath salts and she poured them liberally into the hot water. The scented water should go a long way toward soothing Linda's bruises. Once the tub was filled, she called Linda into the bath.

Linda had stripped in the bedroom and entered the bathroom almost strutting. It was obvious to Paula that Linda was proud of her body. The nipples on her large breasts stood out like pencil erasers, centered in areolae that seemed to cover half the breast. The Tom half of Paula's mind seemed to be in charge at the moment and Paula found that she couldn't seem to take her eyes of Linda. She drank in Linda's body, from her rather large breasts down across her flat stomach to the smoothness between her legs.

Paula could feel her own nipples hardening and her own slit becoming wetter as she stood there. She was finally able to break her trance when she saw the ugly bruises across Linda's back and sides. They were definitely not from falling over some furniture. She struggled slightly to control her voice when she said, "You get in and soak. I'll see what I can find in the kitchen." Paula helped her into the tub and beat a hasty retreat to avoid embarrassing herself. There was little in the way of a meal to be found, but she discovered cheese, crackers, and juice that would do.

When she came back, she found Linda asleep in the tub, the water lapping around her breasts. The lines on her face showed that Linda was exhausted so Paula let her sleep. To make sure that she stayed safe, Paula sat beside the tub while she ate. Occasionally, she would drain out some of the cooling water and replenish the warmth. She was unable to keep her eyes off the other girl though and she found herself in an almost constant state of arousal.

Paula was thoroughly confused about why the sight of Linda incited such lust in her. Did she have lesbian leanings as Paula or was the part of Tom that was still within her driving this? She knew that she had enjoyed her date the other night with Jesse, so she was sure that she liked guys. All she could think was that if she were to have sex with Linda, she wouldn't have to worry about getting pregnant.

After having allowed Linda to nap for a couple of hours, Paula woke her and helped her out of the draining water. The hot water had helped to relax some of the soreness out of her and Linda was moving more freely. Before she could start to stiffen again, Paula helped her pat herself dry and she indulged herself somewhat in caressing Linda's body in the process. Strictly to help Linda of course. She installed Linda on the sofa in the apartment's living room and retrieved the remainder of the meager meal she had prepared.

"I'm not sure that Jake will be back tonight. Why don't you just head home?" Linda's voice was a combination of resignation to Paula's departure and hope that Paula would stay and keep her company.

Paula looked down at Linda. The other girl appeared to be comfortable and relaxed. "Well…How do you feel?"

Linda smiled. "I feel pretty good right now. I'm willing to bet that I'm going to be sore in the morning, but I think that I can move okay for the moment." It was obvious that she was tired though. She had to be under more stress than she was letting on.

She had been watching the time, but she was reaching the point where she was more and more tempted to not worry about it and just share her secret with Linda. "I could leave you now, but would you like me to stay?"

"I'd love it if you could stay. I don't get out much other than for work." Linda's sadness and loneliness came through her faked smile.

Paula froze when she recognized the same kind of hopeless behavior that she remembered from just before her meeting with the wizard. There was definitely no way she was going to leave her friend alone and she knew that any conversation would be better than letting Linda stew in silence.

To keep Linda talking, she said, "You're acting like you're pretty much in control of yourself. Not like when we got here. How come?"

"Well…the longer I'm away from him, the less ditzy I am about him, unless I talk about him for very long and start thinking about him. Then it all comes back."

"Then don't think about him. Tell me what's going on. Where are you from?"

"I grew up here. You won't believe this, but I'm caught in a magic spell." Linda looked embarrassed that she had actually told someone that she believed in magic and that she appeared to be the equivalent of a storybook princess.

Paula tried to be noncommittal. "Uh huh…What kind of a magical spell?" Because she had already seen Linda running from the Spells 'R' Us shop, she did not necessarily disbelieve her. Besides, she had her own story that she could tell.

Linda hesitated for a moment and said, "This is a little hard to explain…A couple of months ago, I met this girl at a party and I wanted to get to know her better, if you know what I mean."

"What, you mean that you go both ways? I would assume so, because you're living with Jake!" Paula's heart beat a little faster upon hearing this, maybe being with Linda was not impossible, if not for Jake.

"It's a little more complicated than that. I'd seen her around, but she really was not interested in me, and I wanted her to like me. So I happened across this weird little store in the mall and, for a lark, I bought a magic potion that was supposed to make me more likeable to her if both drank it."

"So you were going to turn her into a bimbo slave and it happened to you instead?" Paula's voice hinted at a little bit of scorn and anger.

"No! I am, or was, a decent guy! I only wanted her to like me and the potion was supposed to work on me to make me more desirable to her!"

Paula did a double-take. "What do you mean a decent guy?"

"What happened is that she was supposed to drink her potion first and then I was supposed to drink mine. That way, I would have changed to become her fantasy lover. Instead, I didn't follow the instructions and I drank my potion first. That apparently left me at the mercy of whoever drank the other potion. Somehow, Debra didn't drink her potion and Jake ended up with it."

Linda started crying as she explained, "Apparently Jake's fantasy lover is a sexy, slut slave with big tits. I have to do everything he tells me to and I lose any willpower whenever I'm around him or even think about him too much. Then I go all gooey inside. There seems to be a little bit of a safety switch built in that kicks in when I feel too down or I'm in too much pain. Of course, that doesn't help when he has me handcuffed to the bed."

"So you mean that you used to be a guy?" Paula was obviously stuck on that particular point.

"Yes, I was. When I was able to get my head on straight, I went back to the magic store and told him what happened. Apparently, those love potions are really radical when they are not used correctly. I've been stuck like this and he's still looking for a way to help me change back. I haven't even been able to get hold of my old roommate to tell him what happened to me. Every time I call our apartment, I get a wrong number."

"Have you tried to go over there?"

"No. I have to go from here to work and back again. The only way I was able to go into that SRU store was because it was in the mall with the restaurant."

"Well, I could stop by there and tell your roommate something for you. What's your roommate's name?"

"His name is Tom Andrews."

Paula's mouth literally dropped open in surprise as she turned to look at Linda. "Are you sure? Do you know anything else about him?"

"Of course I'm sure. Tom's mother threw him out of the house after he graduated from high school because he just wouldn't do anything. Wouldn't work around the house or go out and get a job. He thinks that she hates him, but I asked her as we were moving his stuff out. She doesn't hate him at all, she's just trying to get him to develop some kind of drive and she was hoping to having support himself would do it. I was trying to help him get going on it, but then I did this to myself. I don't know if he's okay or not." Linda's frustration with her situation was quite clear.

Paula had been watching the time throughout the evening and said, "Well, it's getting late and I was going to put you to bed and head out, but I think that I need to stick around and show you something instead. Do you think that we'll be alone for a couple more hours?"

"We should be. A lot of times, Jake doesn't come home all night. Of course, we spend most of the next morning playing." Her voice started to drift into creepy-land again.

Paula grabbed Linda's arm and lightly slapped her across the face. "Stay with me here! We have just a few minutes before show time, so let's get everything out to the kitchen and get this place straightened up."

The girls made quick work of cleaning up their mess and organizing the common room. "It's almost midnight." Linda said, yawning. "What is it that you wanted to show me? I may conk out otherwise."

Paula looked at Linda and said, "Okay. My watch says we have about ninety seconds and I've calibrated it pretty closely over the last few weeks. Now, just watch this."

She stood and held her hand out before her so that Linda could see the ring as it appeared out of nowhere. Almost immediately after it had appeared, it started to glow and the glow spread over Paula's body. Paula had found that the transformation seemed to go a little faster as the weeks had gone by. Of course that could have been her imagination she thought as the tingling on her body grew stronger. Almost as soon as the glow had covered her body, it began to fade away and Tom was left standing where Paula had been a moment before.

Tom looked down at Linda and asked, "Do you know who I am?"

"Tom? What's going on?" Linda was instantly on her feet, eyes wide in shock and the pain from her bruises forgotten.

"You aren't supposed to know who I am. The wizard told me that reality had been changed so that Tom Andrews never existed and Paula Andrews did."

"I don't know what to tell you. Maybe it's because I'm affected by a spell already and it keeps me from being affected by whatever spell you're under. Do you mean to say that you've been Paula since I've been Linda?"

"Not that long. You were gone for a couple of weeks and I couldn't find you. I got pretty down at one point and I almost killed myself. I was at the mall when I saw you come out of the SRU store crying. Before I could jump off the balcony, the wizard was there and he gave me this." She waved her hand. "It lets me be Paula, except for an hour in the middle of the night."

Linda's expression was a mix of joy and shock. "You mean that we're both victims of magic spells?"

Tom nodded. "I'm not really a victim as such, but I am stuck with changing back and forth for about another week. The wizard told me that I will revert to being Tom when I return the ring to him."

"Well…We're here for the time being. I've missed you. And I've been so scared." Linda started to cry with relief and remembered fear. "The wizard hasn't been able to find any way to reverse what happened to me and I've been stuck like this."

Tom sat down next to his transformed roommate and pulled her close. "I'll help you if I can. I'll talk to the wizard to find out if I could just take you away from here. I know that you're coming with me in the morning, before Jake comes home. I think that finding out who you are explains why I found myself so attracted to you. We've been best friends almost our entire lives."

Linda looked up at him and said, "And why should the fact that we're the victims of some gender bending magic spells change that?" She wriggled around to face him and said, "At least, I'm not breaking any laws when I do this." She leaned in and kissed him.

Tom found himself responding enthusiastically and they rather quickly found themselves progressing beyond simple necking. Totally ignoring where they were and that Jake could very well walk in on them, they moved into the bedroom. Their hands roamed over their bodies as they kissed and licked each other. Clothing seems to quickly disappear they found themselves rolling around together.

Eventually, Linda ended up straddling her former roommate. She wriggled slightly threatening to drive Tom wild with the sensations that were communicated to his trapped member. As she brushed her erect nipples across his chest, his penis seems to grow even larger, if that was possible. She continued her teasing by licking at his nose and finally kissing him deeply.

"I bet that this is something that neither of us thought that we would be doing together," Linda said as she reared back to look down at him.

"No," Tom answered. "I fantasized about it as Paula though. Two months ago we were normal guys and now I'm not sure what we are. But I'm having fun. Especially now."

Linda grinned and leaned down to kiss him again. "Yeah, me too." Her hips began to rock, setting off jolts of pleasure in Tom's groin. He reached out to caress her breasts before his hands settled on her waist.

Her pace increased at the same pace as their passion. Before long Tom was thrusting up to meet Linda as she thrust toward him. Finally, neither one could hold out against the incredible sensations and Tom found himself pumping what felt like a gallon of cum into Linda.

The finale ended all too soon and the two lovers collapsed together in a pile of love and sweat. Linda lay in Tom's arms enjoying the afterglow and the feel of Tom's embrace. They both had their eyes closed when the glow of Tom's transformation engulfed them both. By the time the light even registered, it was already fading and Linda found herself clasped in Paula's arms.

"I suppose that I should get off you, shouldn't I?" Linda said, looking down at her friend.

"I suppose you should, but you don't have to hurry on my account." Paula smiled up at her former roommate. "Does this make us lesbians?"

"I'm not sure. Does it matter?" Linda sat back slightly, looking concerned.

"No really, at least not to me. I think that I would love you whether I was Tom or Paula." Paula looked deeply into Linda's eyes and then her expression changed.

Linda began to look worried that maybe her friend was having second thoughts. "What's the matter?"

Paula started to struggle to get out from under Linda. "You're leaking on me! That can't happen!" She was becoming more panicked as she tried to get up.

Linda let her up, confusion written across her face. "What's wrong!" Now she was becoming as concerned as Paula.

Paula scrambled off the bed and ran into the bath. She grabbed a towel to wash the jism from her pussy, trying to determine if any had made its way inside.

"I…I'm sorry," she said looking up at Linda. She still looked panicked. "The wizard told me that if I had sex and got pregnant, I would be stuck like this and I wouldn't be able to change back to Tom, ever."

Linda looked shocked for a moment and then giggled uncontrollably. "That would be weird wouldn't it? Making yourself pregnant?" She went to Paula and hugged her tightly. "It doesn't matter to me if you're Paula or Tom. If you're going to have a baby and stay like this, I'll still love you."

Paula relaxed into the hug and then returned it. "I think that I love you too. Fortunately, we'll know by tonight whether I'm caught or not. If I'm going to be a mother, I won't switch back to Tom at midnight."

"Okay," Linda answered. "I'm not sure what to hope for. Look…I can last a couple more days with Jake. When he beats on me like this, he's usually extra nice to me for a while. Let's see if you're going to be okay and we can work on moving me out of here tomorrow. Besides, I should be moving better tomorrow."

Paula looked at her with a grin and said, "I'd say that you were moving pretty good a little while ago."

"Yes and I'm probably go to sleep like a log as a result." Linda returned the grin with a hug.

The two girls walked back into the bedroom still holding each other. They separated as Linda flopped onto the bed and Paula began gathering her clothes. It was a rather versatile transformation spell as Tom's clothes had become Paula's while they were scattered around the room.

Once she was ready, she kissed her new lover as if she never wanted to let go and headed out for home. Linda walked her to the door and closed it behind her. Neither girl noticed the motorcycle parked off to one side. Before she turned around, Linda nearly screamed when a familiar voice said, "Linda, my dear. Do you have a new friend?" She spun around to see Jake stepping out of the kitchen.

* * * *

Paula got home in good time and took a shower, making sure to wash her slit to clean it of any of her own sperm. Her mother had long since gone to bed, which was just as well. Paula had no idea how she could possibly discuss this subject with her without a lot of thought. She couldn't very well say, 'Mom. This is Linda. We were having sex while I was a guy but I changed back to a girl and some of my sperm leaked into me and I got myself pregnant. Surprise! I'm going to have a baby!' She fell asleep thinking about the possibility of having fathered her own child.

* * * *

When she woke the next morning, Paula didn't feel well. For just a moment she was afraid that she was going to need the toilet as a vomitorium, but the feeling subsided as she began moving around. She felt better after having some toast and a cup of tea, but immediately ran to the bathroom and lost her breakfast when she realized that this fit the symptoms of morning sickness. Finally, she was able to sit down and take some deep breathes. If she was pregnant, so be it, she thought that she could be a mother with the help of Linda and her own mother. If it was just a case of nerves, that would be great. She would need to wait until midnight to find out. To get her mind off the whole subject, she threw herself into catching up on her share of the housework and began to plan out a meal for herself, her mother, and Linda. She planned on helping Linda move in here until she was able to contact the wizard and work everything out.

About noon, Linda called. "Jake is planning on going out with his friends tonight." She was whispering because Jake was sleeping in the bedroom. "If you come over about nine, we can get everything packed up and moved. Does that sound okay?"

"Yeah. That sounds good. Will he be gone until we're done?"

"He should. Once he goes out, I usually don't see him until dawn. I gotta go! I'll see you tonight. Okay? Love you."

"I love you too." Both girls hung up. Paula's stomach was doing funny things and she wasn't sure if it meant anything bad as her nipples were hard and she felt herself getting wet with anticipation. It amazed her how she could feel this way about someone so quickly. But it felt so good.

She spent the rest of the day organizing her bedroom to make room for her lover. While she worked, she thought of different ways to tell her mother that Linda needed to stay with them for a while. She was sure that there would not be problem, but it was important to make sure that her mother was okay with it. She had not seen her mother by the time she needed to leave to get Linda, so she left the conversation to be had when both girls returned.

The lights were all on in Linda's apartment when she got there. Linda opened the door quickly and invited Paula in. The exchanged a long, deep kiss before they pulled back. The kiss promised fun later in the night; Paula just told herself that they would need to be careful.

They sat down for a few minutes while they planned. Jake had left a little while before and did not expect to be back until morning. They cuddled for a while and exchanged more passionate kisses before they decided to get Linda's clothes packed.

The two girls were carrying bags to the door when it opened practically in their faces and Jake stepped in. "Hello ladies. Where do you think you're going?" He had obviously been waiting for them outside.

The girls backed up to the sofa. Paula looked back and forth for a way out, but saw that she was trapped. She also noted that Linda did not seem to be panicked at all and was more or less just standing still. Paula found herself falling back onto the sofa as it caught the back of her knees. That immediately put her at a disadvantage as Jake towered over her.

Jake leered down at Paula. "I happened to come in last night to find my girlfriend on top of some guy. I was about to come in beat him to death when I watched him turn into you, so I hid to find out what was going on. Once you were gone, Linda was kind enough to tell me anything that I wanted to know." He grinned nastily at the two girls.

Linda hung her head in shame, even though both girls knew that she had had no choice but to tell him what he asked. "I'm sorry." Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"She tells me that you have a magic ring that lets you be a girl and a guy? He left the question hanging, expecting Paula to respond, but she only returned his look and said nothing.

Jake grinned nastily down at her and slapped her lightly. "You're going to tell me and give me what I want or I promise that you'll be sorry! I've got all night."

Paula held her hands up and said, "I don't have a ring, see?"

"I know. Linda told me that it appears and disappears. I want to know where you got it and how it works. Or I'll beat the shit out of you and you know that I will." He smiled in anticipation of hurting her.

Trying to save Paula from harm, Linda spoke up, "Please don't hurt her, she should change at midnight, maybe it will show up then."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" Jake snarled at her. "Go get me the rope from the kitchen!"

Linda hurried out of the room and came back with a bundle of rope. Jake grabbed the rope from her and pushed her down onto the sofa. Grabbing Paula, he held her roughly while he tied her hands and feet in front of her. "This way, I can see your hands if you change."

Looking at Linda, he said, "Go sit over there and stay there." He gestured to the armchair to one side of the room and she obediently moved to the chair and sat quietly.

"Well…I guess that we'll just sit here and wait then. Maybe we can amuse ourselves in the meantime." He leered at Paula's chest.

"I don't think so." She looked at him stonily. As she drew in breath to scream, the back of Jake's hand struck her across the face and she choked.

"I don't think so either," Jake said. He stuffed a cloth in her mouth and tied it in place. "I'll take this off when I'm ready for you to talk. If you try that again, I'll make it so that you can hardly breathe. Understand. ?"

All Paula could do was glare at him and nod.

The three of them sat looking at each other as the time ticked by. Finally, midnight arrived as they heard the town clock announce midnight in the distance. Paula's eyes grew wide as she realized that she had to be with child. As she started to come to terms with remaining Paula and becoming a mother, the transformation glow flashed into being. The clock must have been running fast. Paula, now Tom, did not know whether to be relieved or disappointed that the spell had not been broken. Jake stood open-mouthed as the ring stopped glowing. "That is fucking incredible. I saw you switch back at about one o'clock so you must be this way for an hour, right."

Reluctantly, Tom nodded in agreement. Jake took Tom's hand in his and pulled on the ring. His face was contorted in anger when he found that the ring would not move. "What is this? It won't come off."

"Maybe he's the only one who can remove it Jake. After all, it's a magic ring," Linda spoke up, again trying to save her friend some pain.

"Is that right?" Jake said to Tom. When Tom nodded to confirm it, Jake told him, "Take it off then." He stood back from his attempt to pull the ring off.

When Tom shook his head, Jake said, "I think that you're the kind of person who would let me beat him to a pulp before giving me what I want. How about I beat on Linda instead? I already know that you were going to help her get away from me, so you care about her. All I have to do is tell her to stand there and take it, and she will." Jake's grin was even more evil than before. "Now are you going to give the ring or do I get my jollies beating on your girlfriend?"

Tom's face fell behind the gag. He looked like he was about to break down in tears, but he glared at Jake instead. He moved his hands together, pulled the ring off his hand, and held it out to Jake. Jake slapped Tom lightly on his cheeks and said with a sneer, "That's a good girl. Now, I'm going to take your car and go down and sell this to some friends. Don't go away." He looked at Linda and said, "Keep him here until I get back!"

"Yes, Jake," Linda said, her voice almost made her sound like a pet hoping to be given a treat.

Jake took the car keys from Tom's trousers and walked out the door laughing. Once he heard the car start up and drive away, Tom held his hands toward Linda asking to be released.

Linda put her head in her hands in frustration. "I can't, Tom. If he tells me to do something, I have to do it. I guess that it's part of the spell." Tom struggled with his ropes, trying to get them loose. He was becoming frantic because he had less than an hour to get the ring from Jake and back on his hand or he would be stuck.

He had been wriggling around for most of the hour when Linda left the room and then came towards him with a knife. He tried to move away from her to keep her from hurting him, but the ropes kept him from moving very well.

"It's all right," Linda said, reassuringly. "I'm going to get you loose. Stay still so that I don't cut you." She sawed at the ropes on his arms.

Once Tom's hands were free, he pulled the gag away from his mouth and said, "What's going on?"

"I don't know. I suddenly didn't feel like I wanted to keep you tied up anymore," she said as she sawed at the ropes on his legs.

Tom stood and said, "Get some clothes. We need to get out of here before Jake comes back." No sooner had he given her directions, than they heard a car door slam. Tom swung around to look at the door and then he looked quickly for some kind of weapon to defend himself. "Dammit! He's here!"

Jake was either a baseball fan or used the bats for something else as Tom saw several of them in the corner of the room. He grabbed one and prepared to defend himself as the door slammed open and a petite blond girl ran in. Tom had been preparing for the fight of his life against Jake, until he saw that the girl was smaller than he was. Tom did not see anyone behind her as she hurried into the apartment and slammed the door behind her.

He realized that she only appeared to be smaller than she really was because of her massive breasts. They were full and round and it appeared that they were causing her problems to be able to stand straight. His attention was drawn to her face and saw that she had a round face with beautiful blue eyes, full lips, and a small nose. Framing the doll face was a thick, full mane of hair that fell almost to bottom of her mini-dress. Completing the picture were tanned, slender legs that ended in 4-inch heels. All in all, she appeared to be straight from the pages of a pinup magazine. . He let his guard down slightly, but he was prepared to do anything he needed to if it turned out that the girl was armed.

"Who are you?" Linda asked.

The girl looked at Linda and said, "I'm Jake! You have to help me! Julian was getting ready to chase me when I drove off!"

Linda pulled the girl over one of the armchairs and pushed her down. Tom stood over her and said, "Linda, get the phone and I'll watch her. If we have to, we'll call for help and try to keep anyone out until they get here." He kept an eye on the girl while Linda made sure that the door and windows were all locked. He knew that they would not keep a determined person out of the apartment, but they might slow them down if it came to that.

Tom kept an eye on the girl and listened for any activity outside. After a while, he relaxed. He looked at the girl who claimed to be Jake and asked, "Do they know where you live?"

"I don't think so. I always make sure that the people I do business with don't know where to find me. If they do, I just move."

"Then, unless they followed you, we're probably safe. What happened to you?"

"I went to see Julian to sell him the ring." She held up her hand, the left one of course, to display the ring. Tom noted that it had not faded from sight. "He didn't believe what I told him about it changing people back and forth and he wanted me to prove it. So I put it on to show him. I knew that he was far enough away that I could take it off again before he got to me. But I couldn't get it off again. I was able to kick him in the balls after he grabbed me and I got back here. Now get this ring off me!"

Tom could see that as the former Jake continued to talk, her movements became more fluid and sensual. In fact, by the time she was done talking, she was looking at him almost hungrily. Tom suspected that the ring had worked on Jake in a somewhat similar fashion as it had on him and that meant that Jake had probably become his own sexual fantasy girl. Tom could see that he might very well be fighting off a sex-crazed girl in a few moments.

Tom looked over at Linda who had been watching the exchange and noting the same thing. "Linda, would you help me tie Jake up? If I take the ring off her hand and he changes back, he'll probably try to attack me again."

"You don't have to tie me up, I'll be good," Jake said, "Unless…you know." She practically cooed as she looked at Tom.

"That's what I'm afraid of. That ring is cursed and I think that if we don't get her tied up, one of us is going to end up flat on our backs." This last was said to Linda. "I think that it's obvious that the curse turned Jake into a walking wet-dream from his imagination, kind of like what happened to you. I'll be very surprised if we can get the ring off her hand."

It turned out that Tom was correct. The ring remained attached to Jake's, now Jackie's, hand as if it had grown there. In addition, Jackie was a very turned on girl and she made it clear that she would happily do whatever Tom wanted her to do. Her arousal seemed to get stronger as time went on.

"I don't know what to do," Tom said. It was now morning and he and Linda were sitting in living room discussing their next steps. They had put Jackie in the bedroom and taken the most expeditious solution of using the handcuffs that Jake kept next to the bed and gagging her. She was totally co-operative as Tom had promised that he would come back in to her shortly.

"I can't switch back to Paula without the ring and it's been too long so the ring wouldn't work for me now anyway. We can't get back into the wizard's store for almost a week and I have no identity at all. All we can do is stay here and wait it out."

"We won't have to worry about food right away," Linda said. "Jake made me stock up yesterday and I know where he has cash. But I guess that we'll have to quit the restaurant. You can't go back at all and I only went there because Jake told me to get a job."

They had found that once Jake had become Jackie, the compulsion to be Jake's slave had faded away. Linda was finally in control of herself. Jackie was a different problem however. She had become a total slut and wanted nothing more than to have sex with a guy. It did not matter who, which was why Tom and Linda had tied her up. Left her own devices, Jackie would be long-gone with whoever she could find to have sex. It had been decided that Jackie would remain bound in the bedroom except for when she used the bathroom.

Also, they found that the ring's spell continued to work on Jackie the same way it had on Paula. For an hour every night, Jackie became Jake and he was just as nasty as Jackie was horny. Even though Jake was cuffed to the bed, Tom made sure to stand guard over a gagged Jake for that hour each night to keep him from getting away.
And so it went. For the next week, Tom and Linda stayed in the apartment and kept an eye on Jackie. The one time that they needed food, it was decided that Linda would go to the store so that Tom could keep control of Jackie. Neither one was concerned that Tom would give in to Jackie's pleading as Tom still thought more like Paula. Tom felt himself missing the time that he spent as Paula as she had been so confident and comfortable with herself, more than Tom had ever been.

To pass the time, they caught up on their mutual adventures over the past couple of months or watched television. Both of them came to hate daytime television. Knowing that there was no danger with having sex, the two lovers enjoyed each other's company as if they were newlyweds. While they knew that Jackie could hear them from the living room, neither was tempted to allow her to join them.

* * * *

Finally, the day arrived to return to the Spells R Us store. Tom stood by while Linda helped Jackie get cleaned up. They had allowed Jackie to eat and use the bathroom over the days that they had to wait, but they had kept a close eye on her. Jackie's sex drive had seemed to continue to climb as the days went by and they had allowed her to satisfy her desires while she was locked in the bedroom. They tried to ignore Jackie's screams of ecstasy and hoped that the neighbors wouldn't complain too much before they left. Neither of them planned on returning to the apartment and Linda packed what clothes she owned before they left for the mall.

They still had Paula's car and they drove the short distance to the mall. Linda sat in the back with Jackie to keep her from getting out of control, using the handcuffs and hiding them with a jacket. Once they reached the store, they hoped that the wizard could reverse the ring's effect upon her so that she would be able to control herself.

They entered the mall as close to the food court as they could, hoping that the store would be where they remembered it. Fortunately, the store was in the same location as it had been the first time Tom had seen it. Seeing only a few people around, they walked quickly to the store and went in. The tinkley bell sounded overhead as they came in. Tom did not bother to look to see if the bell was actually there, it wasn't all that important anyway. The wizard was standing behind the counter smiling at them.

"Well, I see some things have changed over the past month."

"Yes sir," Tom said. "I'm afraid that I ran into a little bit of trouble last week, and I was not able to finish out the month as Paula. But I did bring the ring back to you." He gestured to Jackie. "We felt it necessary to restrain her as the ring was making her a little crazy."

"Well, let's take care of her first and then we'll talk." He waved his hand at Jackie and she stood a little straighter. He lifted her hand, which was suddenly freed of the cuffs, and removed the ring from her finger. "There…That should help a little. Jackie, would you please take a seat over there? We will finish up in a few minutes." He pointed to one of the chairs that had appeared to one side of the store. Jackie quietly walked over to a chair and took a seat. She folded her hands primly in her lap and sat quietly.

"Okay, now for you Tom. It's obvious that you were not able to finish out the month as Paula, but I think that you had long enough to learn something. Did you learn anything?"

"Yes, I did. I found that Paula was a kind and considerate person. She was not afraid to work and when she saw something that had to be done, she did it. When I compare the person that she was with what I am, I have a lot to learn. I wish that I still had the ring, because I really liked being Paula." Tom's eyes filled with tears when he thought about what he had just lost.

"I know. I'm sorry, but the ring won't work for you again. It's one of those rules of magic. I can use it again for other guy, but the bond between you and the ring has been broken. All that I can do is restore reality so that Tom is real again."

"What about me?" Linda said. "Have you been able to find anything to help me?"

"I'm afraid that I have not been able to find another potion that will counteract the one that you swallowed. The good news that the bimbo part of the spell was broken when Jake became Jackie. You would be safe even if I restored Jackie back to being Jake again."

Linda slumped into one of the chairs at the table and began to cry softly upon hearing that she was sentenced to remain as she was. Tom put his arm around her shoulder. "Hey, we're best friends. You know that I'll help you." Linda leaned into Tom, sobbing.

"So you I assume that the two of you will be staying together?"

"Yes, if she'll have me. It never occurred to me that this would happen, so I never even thought to ask." Tom knelt beside Linda and looked into her eyes. "Linda, I love you. If we're destined to stay like this, would you marry me?"

Linda blinked away tears and smiled. "You're right. We're best friends and we have been for years. I love you too and I'd be glad to marry you."

The wizard looked on and smiled. "I believe that this is the first time I have had a couple get engaged in my store and I've been in business for a long time. If you are interested, I have something that will be useful for just this occasion." He went over to the sales counter and took out a package. Tom and Linda stepped to the counter to see what the wizard had to offer. Before them, the wizard had placed two ring boxes. Opening them, they found a full set of wedding bands, set with diamonds and sapphires.

"They're beautiful. How much are they?" They both wanted the set, but the cost was definitely a concern.

"Well…I'm going to need your help with Jackie here. Why don't call it even?"

Tom looked at Linda and nodded. "We would be glad to help, if we can."

The wizard looked at Tom and then Linda and held their gaze. "I want you both to understand me. These rings are enchanted. If you put them on as husband and wife, you will be bound to each other by the spell for the rest of your lives."

The newly engaged couple looked at the rings for a moment and then at each other. Tom looked up at the wizard for a moment, his eyes narrowed and then he smiled. He picked up one of the rings, looked at Linda and said, "I know that we still have to do this in front of somebody official, but 'With this ring I thee wed'" and he slid the man's wedding ring on to Linda's finger. As he had expected, Linda was quickly covered with a glow from the ring and suddenly Jason was standing before them again.

"What just happened?"

"The engagement ring I used to become Paula was designed to make me switch back and forth. I figured that these rings might be enchanted in the same way, so I took a chance."

The wizard smiled broadly and nodded. "Very good. These kinds of choices need to be made wisely and I felt that just giving you all of the answers was not necessarily in your best interests. Jason, I'm afraid that you need to finish the spell to make it permanent for you both."

Jason smiled just as broadly as he picked up the ladies engagement and wedding ring set. He took Tom's hand, looked into Tom's eyes as he slid the rings onto his finger and said, "With this ring, I thee wed." As they expected, Tom was enveloped in the transformation glow and was quickly replaced by Paula.

Paula sighed with relief, girl on girl sex was fun, he wasn't sure he could have consummated the marriage guy on guy..

The wizard clapped and said, "Welcome back Paula. This is the way reality should have been in the first place. Sometimes things take a direction they are not intended to and you have helped me to put things back on to the right track, for the most part that is."

"What do you mean?" Paula was enjoying having Jason's arm wrapped around her.

"Well, we need to do something about Jackie here. As Jake, he was pretty much a slimeball and I know that he was involved in several assaults and thefts. If I restore Jackie back to Jake, he would go back to that life. If I leave him as Jackie, all she would be fit for would be to work in a brothel, even if I removed the bimbo compulsion.

"Are the two of you willing to help me deal with this? I can promise that it would be worthwhile."

Jason spoke before Paula could. "Well sir. We both know what you can do and I know that I would rather say yes to you than refuse. I hope you understand." Paula nodded in agreement.

The wizard nodded, smiled and held his hands up in a placating gesture. "Don't worry, I understand how you feel. It can be an ego boost to have people afraid of you, but it also puts distance between people. Everything will be fine."

"All righty then." The wizard rubbed his hands together and turned to Jackie. "The only way that Jackie can have any kind of life is to start over." He waved his hand before her and she faded away. In her place, a basinet appeared on the chair holding the baby that Jackie had become.

The wizard smiled reassuringly as he said, "Jason, Paula…I would like you to meet your adopted daughter Jacqueline Renee. Now…you two have nothing to worry about. You will both know what you need to do for her and you will find that all of the paperwork is taken care of. But you will need to keep an eye on her as she grows up though. Her life as Jake might come through to her in dreams, but if you help her, those memories will fade away and she won't grow up to be anything like the person Jake was.

"I have arranged for you to have an apartment over by the campus and I believe that everything a young couple needs to raise a baby is there. And the income from your work-study jobs should be enough for you to live."

"What do you mean work-study?" Paula asked.

"You were already planning on going into nursing, so you will find that you started classes last semester." Then with a mischievous smile said, "You are specializing in prenatal care - something that I suspect will come in handy later in your life. Jason, I believe that you wanted to a med tech career and you are well on your way also."

Paula hugged the wizard tightly and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for turning us around. We were pretty much a lost cause."

"Like I told you, I help people who I think truly need my help and I deal with those that I think need to be dealt with. I'm glad that you both demonstrated that you were worth my time. Just be sure that you give Jackie the guidance that she needs and you and that she will not need to meet me again."

The new couple gathered up their new daughter and headed out of the store.

Once they were gone, the wizard leaned back against the counter in satisfaction. "That went well. We turned two slackers into a happy couple with a bright future and removed a sociopath from society.

"Let's go see what trouble we can get into next."

The wolf settled himself in front of the counter and actually laughed.