Part Ten: Love Grows
Tony woke the next morning with the fervent hope that Jeannie's magic had worn off overnight, and prayed that he would be his normal self again. He sat up in bed and looked under the covers.
No such luck. He was still as female as.. well, as Jeannie was. With a sigh, he got out of bed and wrapped his bathrobe around him, then headed for the kitchen. He stopped halfway there when he caught sight of Roger.
Roger was already up, and dressed similarly to what Tony had on under his robe -- a pajama top and boxer shorts. (The pants were much too long to be practical.) He was standing in front of the mirror in Tony's bedroom, gazing at his reflection with a strange look in his eyes.
Tony watched as Roger glanced around furtively, and then started to unbutton his pajama top.
He peeked into it, then undid the rest of the buttons and opened it fully, staring at himself in the mirror. There was nothing underneath it, giving him a complete and uninterrupted view of his new 'assets'. After another brief glance to the left and right, he began moving, bouncing slightly on his feet.
Tony rolled his eyes, and cleared his throat loudly.
Roger jumped, then clutched the top back together, covering himself.
"What were you doing?" Tony asked sweetly, his arms folded.
"Well, I was just.. you know.. I was.. " Roger sputtered. Finally, he shook his head. "Look, I couldn't help it -- I'm a guy. What do you think I was doing?" he asked in exasperation. "This may be my only chance."
Tony was still extremely dubious. "Your only chance for what? Jiggling up and down in front of a mirror?"
Roger sidled over to him conspiratorially. "To find out what women really like," he said, as it if should be obvious. "If I can do that, I'll be the world's greatest lover. I'll never have to worry about getting a date again."
"Oh really," Tony replied. "Well, just remember what happened the last time you were almost the 'world's greatest lover' thanks to Jeannie's magic. You nearly got yourself transferred, and you were almost beaten up by a bunch of jealous boyfriends."
"Hmph," he said, and went back to studying his image in the mirror. "You know, I bet I'd look really good in green. Tony, you didn't happen to steal anything green, did you?"
Tony pinched his eyebrows together, wishing that Jeannie would come home soon, before Roger got any more comfortable with his new appearance. It was starting to make him nervous. And he didn't want to think about what Roger might have been doing while he was alone in the bedroom all night..
"Hey, you said to think of it as a learning experience," Roger offered, seeing the look on Tony's face. "So I'm learning."
"Yeah, but learning what?"
"Oh, you're just mad because you didn't think of it first."
"Look, Rog.. just get dressed, OK?"
"I will, if I can find something green."
Tony fought the urge to bang his head against the wall. He settled for whimpering softly, and then went to get dressed himself. By the time they'd finally changed their clothes and had breakfast it was already late morning. Since their report was finished, they were trying to decide what to do until Jeannie returned. Roger was actually talking about going out when the doorbell rang.
Tony and Roger stared at each other, but didn't say anything. It couldn't be Jeannie; she would simply pop in (she did live there, after all). That could only mean..
"Major Nelson, open up -- I know you're in there, your car is here; besides, I can smell the bacon and eggs."
"Dr. Bellows," the two mouthed to each other, scrambling to get up from the breakfast table without making any noise. After bumping into each other, they raced for the stairs. At least on the second floor they couldn't be heard.
The doorbell rang again. "You can't hide in there forever, Major. So why don't you and Major Healey come out so we can discuss this.. change."
"He's right, we can't hide in here forever," Roger said worriedly, as they reached the top of the steps. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know, but we can't let him see us."
"Knowing him, he'll have some of the men from the base come and break down your front door."
"If only Jeannie were here.. "
"You called, Master?" the blonde asked cheerfully, materializing in front of them. "It is nighttime in Baghdad now, and I have returned from my visit with Mother." She looked back and forth between Tony and Roger, a bright smile lighting up her face. "Oh Master, you look lovely!" she exclaimed, taking a step forward and throwing her arms around him. "And Major Healey, you're adorable."
"That's me, good old adorable Roger," he replied, shuffling his feet a little.
Her smile got even wider as she continued her visual inspection of the two astronauts, circling the pair so as to study them from all angles. "When I did the spell, I did not realize how attractive you both would look," she murmured, immensely pleased. "I only saw you while you were sleeping, and did not want to disturb you. But now that I see you in daylight - "
"Jeannie, I don't want to interrupt you while you're admiring how well your magic turned out, but Dr. Bellows is at the front door, and if he sees us like this we're going to be kicked out of the space program," Tony said urgently.
"Well," she said, as if trying to decide whether to do as he'd asked. "I suppose, if you have both learned your lessons."
"Oh, we've learned them, we've learned them," said Roger. "But Jeannie, that was mean -- you made me get my.. my.. " He couldn't even say it without the pains coming back again, and he winced.
"But Major Healey, I merely wanted you to have a more complete understanding of what being a woman is like," she explained patiently, but there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Which reminds me -- before I change you back, I must know something. Did either of you.. " She gazed at them expectantly, but didn't continue.
"Did either of us what?" asked Tony, not understanding.
She folded her arms. "Did either of you make love to any men while you were in female form?"
"Jeannie!" Tony replied, aghast. Roger just stared at her in disbelief, shaking his head vigorously. "Of course we didn't." He glanced over at Roger. "You didn't, did you Rog?"
"Tony! Of course not! Besides, when would I have had the time to do something like that?"
"Well I don't know, I know how you like to try new things.. " He blinked, realizing he was getting off track. "Jeannie, could you please just turn us back into ourselves?"
"Um, Jeannie.. why did you want to know if we'd done.. that?" Roger asked hesitantly.
"Well, I would need to know if there was the chance of pregnancy before I could return you to normal," she explained. "If either of you were pregnant, I would not be able to reverse the spell until after the birth."
Roger staggered back a few steps, his hand over his heart. "Oh Jeannie, thank you so much for not doing *that* to me."
"Oh I could, if you wanted me to," she replied, her eyes wide and innocent. She blinked, changing herself into a tall, muscular man with shaggy blond hair. "Do you like this? I saw a surfer dressed like this when we were in Hawaii- "
"Jeannie!" Tony cried in desperation. "Change us back -- change us *all* back now!"
She grinned. "As you wish, Master," she replied, folding her arms and preparing to blink. She was interrupted by a loud yelp from Roger. "Oh no, Jeannie, wait!" he cried, grabbing her by the arm.
"What's the matter?" Tony asked, incredulous that Roger might want to delay this.
"Not yet -- just give me a minute -- I just have to run to the bathroom." He took off at full speed, sprinting down the stairs. He returned (literally) one minute later, with an expression of supreme relief. "OK, I'm ready now," he declared, wiping his brow. "Boy, I'm glad I didn't forget about that -- it's not something I want to explain at my next physical."
"Jeannie, now please?" begged Tony.
"Yes, Master," she replied. And she blinked.
Both men looked down at themselves at the same time. "I'm me again!" Roger proclaimed happily, patting down his uniform (as if trying to make sure that all the correct parts were beneath it). Tony was thankful that Jeannie had not only returned them to normal, but had blinked them back into their own clothes.
Tony took Roger by the sleeve. "C'mon, we have to go talk to Dr. Bellows."
They hurried back down the stairs, Tony in the lead, rushing to get to the door. Tony flung it open just as the man outside was about to ring the bell again.
"Hello, Dr. Bellows," said Tony calmly. "What can we do for you this morning?"
The psychiatrist gave him an odd look, then stepped inside. He looked the two officers up and down. "But I thought.. " His voice trailed off, and his expression became suspicious. "Why did it take you so long to answer the door?"
"We were upstairs, sir, finishing the report on the module simulation," he replied.
"That's right," added Roger. "It's very hard to hear anything up there."
"And where were you last night?" he pressed.
"We were working on the report then, too -- did you stop by yesterday evening? I'm sorry if we didn't hear you."
Dr. Bellows shook his head slowly, clearly not wanting to go into the details of being picked up by the police. "But Major Healey.. I saw a strange girl driving your car yesterday.. "
"Oh, that was one of my neighbors," said Roger. "I asked her if she and her roommate could pick up some groceries for me, since I was going to be busy all weekend. Nice girl, very helpful. Very attractive too, if I do say so myself."
"I.. see." Dr. Bellows still didn't look convinced, but he had his familiar 'I don't really understand what's going on here, but I'm going to drop the subject before I start to look crazier than I'm already feeling' expression. "Well, if everything's going well with your report, I'd better be running along. I just wanted to make sure you two were all right."
"Oh, we're all right, sir. We're perfectly fine," Tony assured him, escorting him to the door. "See you on Monday, sir." Roger waved to him as the door closed.
Tony sagged in relief. "Thank God that's over."
"Master," called Jeannie as she reappeared in the living room. "I have been thinking, and I have come up with a brilliant idea."
"What's that?" he asked, not sure he wanted to hear it.
"Master, if you were to be a woman all the time, there would be many advantages for both of us," she stated. "First, I would not have to worry about you being stolen by another woman. Second, you would be helping NASA by being lighter, so they would not need to use as much fuel to put you into space. Third, we would be able to share clothes.. "
Tony stared at her in horror, then grabbed Roger and headed out the door.
Jeannie just shook her head. "These men," she said long-sufferingly. "They simply do not know how to take a joke."
The End.
Tony woke the next morning with the fervent hope that Jeannie's magic had worn off overnight, and prayed that he would be his normal self again. He sat up in bed and looked under the covers.
No such luck. He was still as female as.. well, as Jeannie was. With a sigh, he got out of bed and wrapped his bathrobe around him, then headed for the kitchen. He stopped halfway there when he caught sight of Roger.
Roger was already up, and dressed similarly to what Tony had on under his robe -- a pajama top and boxer shorts. (The pants were much too long to be practical.) He was standing in front of the mirror in Tony's bedroom, gazing at his reflection with a strange look in his eyes.
Tony watched as Roger glanced around furtively, and then started to unbutton his pajama top.
He peeked into it, then undid the rest of the buttons and opened it fully, staring at himself in the mirror. There was nothing underneath it, giving him a complete and uninterrupted view of his new 'assets'. After another brief glance to the left and right, he began moving, bouncing slightly on his feet.
Tony rolled his eyes, and cleared his throat loudly.
Roger jumped, then clutched the top back together, covering himself.
"What were you doing?" Tony asked sweetly, his arms folded.
"Well, I was just.. you know.. I was.. " Roger sputtered. Finally, he shook his head. "Look, I couldn't help it -- I'm a guy. What do you think I was doing?" he asked in exasperation. "This may be my only chance."
Tony was still extremely dubious. "Your only chance for what? Jiggling up and down in front of a mirror?"
Roger sidled over to him conspiratorially. "To find out what women really like," he said, as it if should be obvious. "If I can do that, I'll be the world's greatest lover. I'll never have to worry about getting a date again."
"Oh really," Tony replied. "Well, just remember what happened the last time you were almost the 'world's greatest lover' thanks to Jeannie's magic. You nearly got yourself transferred, and you were almost beaten up by a bunch of jealous boyfriends."
"Hmph," he said, and went back to studying his image in the mirror. "You know, I bet I'd look really good in green. Tony, you didn't happen to steal anything green, did you?"
Tony pinched his eyebrows together, wishing that Jeannie would come home soon, before Roger got any more comfortable with his new appearance. It was starting to make him nervous. And he didn't want to think about what Roger might have been doing while he was alone in the bedroom all night..
"Hey, you said to think of it as a learning experience," Roger offered, seeing the look on Tony's face. "So I'm learning."
"Yeah, but learning what?"
"Oh, you're just mad because you didn't think of it first."
"Look, Rog.. just get dressed, OK?"
"I will, if I can find something green."
Tony fought the urge to bang his head against the wall. He settled for whimpering softly, and then went to get dressed himself. By the time they'd finally changed their clothes and had breakfast it was already late morning. Since their report was finished, they were trying to decide what to do until Jeannie returned. Roger was actually talking about going out when the doorbell rang.
Tony and Roger stared at each other, but didn't say anything. It couldn't be Jeannie; she would simply pop in (she did live there, after all). That could only mean..
"Major Nelson, open up -- I know you're in there, your car is here; besides, I can smell the bacon and eggs."
"Dr. Bellows," the two mouthed to each other, scrambling to get up from the breakfast table without making any noise. After bumping into each other, they raced for the stairs. At least on the second floor they couldn't be heard.
The doorbell rang again. "You can't hide in there forever, Major. So why don't you and Major Healey come out so we can discuss this.. change."
"He's right, we can't hide in here forever," Roger said worriedly, as they reached the top of the steps. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know, but we can't let him see us."
"Knowing him, he'll have some of the men from the base come and break down your front door."
"If only Jeannie were here.. "
"You called, Master?" the blonde asked cheerfully, materializing in front of them. "It is nighttime in Baghdad now, and I have returned from my visit with Mother." She looked back and forth between Tony and Roger, a bright smile lighting up her face. "Oh Master, you look lovely!" she exclaimed, taking a step forward and throwing her arms around him. "And Major Healey, you're adorable."
"That's me, good old adorable Roger," he replied, shuffling his feet a little.
Her smile got even wider as she continued her visual inspection of the two astronauts, circling the pair so as to study them from all angles. "When I did the spell, I did not realize how attractive you both would look," she murmured, immensely pleased. "I only saw you while you were sleeping, and did not want to disturb you. But now that I see you in daylight - "
"Jeannie, I don't want to interrupt you while you're admiring how well your magic turned out, but Dr. Bellows is at the front door, and if he sees us like this we're going to be kicked out of the space program," Tony said urgently.
"Well," she said, as if trying to decide whether to do as he'd asked. "I suppose, if you have both learned your lessons."
"Oh, we've learned them, we've learned them," said Roger. "But Jeannie, that was mean -- you made me get my.. my.. " He couldn't even say it without the pains coming back again, and he winced.
"But Major Healey, I merely wanted you to have a more complete understanding of what being a woman is like," she explained patiently, but there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Which reminds me -- before I change you back, I must know something. Did either of you.. " She gazed at them expectantly, but didn't continue.
"Did either of us what?" asked Tony, not understanding.
She folded her arms. "Did either of you make love to any men while you were in female form?"
"Jeannie!" Tony replied, aghast. Roger just stared at her in disbelief, shaking his head vigorously. "Of course we didn't." He glanced over at Roger. "You didn't, did you Rog?"
"Tony! Of course not! Besides, when would I have had the time to do something like that?"
"Well I don't know, I know how you like to try new things.. " He blinked, realizing he was getting off track. "Jeannie, could you please just turn us back into ourselves?"
"Um, Jeannie.. why did you want to know if we'd done.. that?" Roger asked hesitantly.
"Well, I would need to know if there was the chance of pregnancy before I could return you to normal," she explained. "If either of you were pregnant, I would not be able to reverse the spell until after the birth."
Roger staggered back a few steps, his hand over his heart. "Oh Jeannie, thank you so much for not doing *that* to me."
"Oh I could, if you wanted me to," she replied, her eyes wide and innocent. She blinked, changing herself into a tall, muscular man with shaggy blond hair. "Do you like this? I saw a surfer dressed like this when we were in Hawaii- "
"Jeannie!" Tony cried in desperation. "Change us back -- change us *all* back now!"
She grinned. "As you wish, Master," she replied, folding her arms and preparing to blink. She was interrupted by a loud yelp from Roger. "Oh no, Jeannie, wait!" he cried, grabbing her by the arm.
"What's the matter?" Tony asked, incredulous that Roger might want to delay this.
"Not yet -- just give me a minute -- I just have to run to the bathroom." He took off at full speed, sprinting down the stairs. He returned (literally) one minute later, with an expression of supreme relief. "OK, I'm ready now," he declared, wiping his brow. "Boy, I'm glad I didn't forget about that -- it's not something I want to explain at my next physical."
"Jeannie, now please?" begged Tony.
"Yes, Master," she replied. And she blinked.
Both men looked down at themselves at the same time. "I'm me again!" Roger proclaimed happily, patting down his uniform (as if trying to make sure that all the correct parts were beneath it). Tony was thankful that Jeannie had not only returned them to normal, but had blinked them back into their own clothes.
Tony took Roger by the sleeve. "C'mon, we have to go talk to Dr. Bellows."
They hurried back down the stairs, Tony in the lead, rushing to get to the door. Tony flung it open just as the man outside was about to ring the bell again.
"Hello, Dr. Bellows," said Tony calmly. "What can we do for you this morning?"
The psychiatrist gave him an odd look, then stepped inside. He looked the two officers up and down. "But I thought.. " His voice trailed off, and his expression became suspicious. "Why did it take you so long to answer the door?"
"We were upstairs, sir, finishing the report on the module simulation," he replied.
"That's right," added Roger. "It's very hard to hear anything up there."
"And where were you last night?" he pressed.
"We were working on the report then, too -- did you stop by yesterday evening? I'm sorry if we didn't hear you."
Dr. Bellows shook his head slowly, clearly not wanting to go into the details of being picked up by the police. "But Major Healey.. I saw a strange girl driving your car yesterday.. "
"Oh, that was one of my neighbors," said Roger. "I asked her if she and her roommate could pick up some groceries for me, since I was going to be busy all weekend. Nice girl, very helpful. Very attractive too, if I do say so myself."
"I.. see." Dr. Bellows still didn't look convinced, but he had his familiar 'I don't really understand what's going on here, but I'm going to drop the subject before I start to look crazier than I'm already feeling' expression. "Well, if everything's going well with your report, I'd better be running along. I just wanted to make sure you two were all right."
"Oh, we're all right, sir. We're perfectly fine," Tony assured him, escorting him to the door. "See you on Monday, sir." Roger waved to him as the door closed.
Tony sagged in relief. "Thank God that's over."
"Master," called Jeannie as she reappeared in the living room. "I have been thinking, and I have come up with a brilliant idea."
"What's that?" he asked, not sure he wanted to hear it.
"Master, if you were to be a woman all the time, there would be many advantages for both of us," she stated. "First, I would not have to worry about you being stolen by another woman. Second, you would be helping NASA by being lighter, so they would not need to use as much fuel to put you into space. Third, we would be able to share clothes.. "
Tony stared at her in horror, then grabbed Roger and headed out the door.
Jeannie just shook her head. "These men," she said long-sufferingly. "They simply do not know how to take a joke."
The End.
