Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2010 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

Marion opened her eyes to view the early morning light. She was lying in her usual position, flat on her back, with the decorated ceiling in view. The difference this morning was that instead of being beside her, Belle was resting on her chest with her head nestled between Marion's breasts, her arms wrapped around Marion's waist. Marion put her own arm back around Belle's shoulders from where it had fallen earlier that morning.

It was peculiar, really. Just simple bodily functions that every single man and woman were capable of - at least that they were supposed to be capable of - and last night things had worked exactly as they had been intended to. Unfortunately, it was not that simple. Last night they had lain together for the first time ever as man and woman, and last night everything had changed. Marion sighed.

It was only when they were closely coupled that either had realised that this was not going to be just like any other night, not just a bit of fooling around and a mutual giving of pleasure. To the surprise of both, they had discovered that their union had a much deeper psychological effect, one which had bound them much more closely together.

That was the good news. Marion had exulted in the bonding of their relationship, but hadn't been prepared for the difficulties that might arise. For example, although her body had responded almost exactly as it had on numerous occasions previously, the resultant orgasm had been, well, for want of a better word, unexceptional. Marion supposed that might be because of the large gap of time since the previous occasion, or of the cocktail of drugs and hormones she had been given over recent months. Perhaps time would improve matters.

On the other hand, the problem she faced this morning would not be so easy to resolve. I can go back. Up till now she had taken for granted that her male organs would no longer function, and that she would placidly progress to being a full woman, possibly with or without surgery. Now, that whole idea was thrown into question. If it is possible for me to become male again, should I? I would lose my job, that's for certain. I would probably have to have surgery to have these breasts removed. Do I want that? If I can become male again, what would I do? Belle would probably stand by me, but would I lose all my other friends? If I choose to remain female, what will happen to my male functionality? Will I lose it again?

From a settled, sure course with a loving partner, all the old questions now resurfaced. I need some advice. She gently moved so that Belle awakened.

"Hmm? Oh, good morning, love." Belle moved and raised her head so that she could kiss Marion. Even the kisses felt different! Belle smiled, her eyes glowing. "That was a very special thing you did last night, darling, and I will never forget it as long as I live." She kissed Marion again, longer. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I was so right about you."

Marion hugged her partner tight, tears beginning to trickle from the corners of her eyes.

"Yes, you were, and I'm so glad you were. Not even the State is going to keep us apart from now onwards."

Soon their mutual cuddle was broken by the insistent call of nature, probably as a result of the previous evening's meal, and both headed for different bathrooms. Once refreshed, they dressed and made breakfast before gathering their coats and bags and leaving for work.

"Do you think you can do it again?" Belle asked as they walked to the tram stop.

"I have no idea," Marion replied. "I think I need to take some advice first. And, once we get home tonight, I think we need to have a long talk together."

Belle took a look at the serious expression on Marion's face and her comment died unspoken. Marion had obviously thought of a possible problem, and until she had worked it through there was no point discussing it. Especially not in public.

*****

"Service, Sophia."

"Oh, service, Marion. Take a seat. Aren't you supposed to be downstairs in the training room?"

"Not quite yet. I have a few minutes, so I thought I'd come and ask you something. I assume we're going to be busy this afternoon, so we might not get the time then."

"This afternoon? Oh, yes, Talya's hearing." Sophia stopped whatever she was doing on her terminal and gave Marion her full attention. "Go on, then."

"Belle noticed a couple of days ago that I have some fuzz growing on the top of my lip. I wonder if you can schedule me another session with the hair removal thingy. You did warn me that it was likely to happen."

"Yes, of course. You'll be busy the rest of the week with the course, so I'll fix you up an appointment early next week, will that be okay?"

"Yes, any time, I've been leaving my future diary free till I knew what the course would do to me."

"A wise move." Sophia turned to her terminal and paged through the department's diary. "There's nothing big going on, so any time you think suitable. Anything else I can do for you while you're here?"

"Yes." Marion took a deep breath. "Last night, I had penetrative sex with Belle."

Sophia sat up straight in her chair, the diary forgotten. She stared at Marion so hard that Marion could see the whites of her eyes. Suddenly, realisation hit home and Sophia's whole body slumped as she understood what had happened, although her reaction was a complete mystery to Marion.

"Oh, no," Sophia muttered. She turned back to her terminal while saying to Marion, "Sit there while I bring up your record, will you?"

She paged through Marion's file and then sat back in her seat, concern and embarrassment plain on her face.

"While you were detained here, you were on a course of several drugs and hormones, as I'm sure you remember," she explained. "Unfortunately, when you were released the hormone regime wasn't continued. If you remember, that was about the time I got bounced into this job. Added to which, you were exonerated, so that any existing treatment should have been reviewed and probably updated on discharge. It's my mistake, I really must apologise."

"But surely Alison would have spotted the error?"

"Obviously not. Why should she? When you first came into contact with her, you'd been out a week and as far as she was concerned you were just a new employee, albeit one with an odd history. No, I should have made sure your file was updated, but as I said I got made temporary Director the same day you were released. I would guess, from your hair growth, that your male hormones are picking up in the absence of blockers. We need to sit down and design you a proper course of treatment which is going to keep you stable in future."

"It's not that simple," replied Marion. "I thought that I would never be able to do it the - man's way again. I never realised that it was possible. I don't know what I want any more. That's what we need to have a talk about."

"Oh." Sophia looked at Marion for a long while. "What you're saying is that you don't know whether you should return to being male again, now that the possibility is there. What does Belle think about that idea?"

"I haven't discussed it with her yet. I want to know what's possible first. It's..." Marion hesitated. What she wanted to say was fairly personal, but then, Sophia was her physician, wasn't she? "It's drawn us much closer together. Before it was fun, and me exploring things I didn't know my body could do." Sophia nodded. "But last night was different."

"You think she might prefer the male you to the female you?"

"I don't know. She did say, before we got to that part, that she thought I was much the same inside as I was when I first came here, that it was just the outside that was," Marion blushed, "prettier."

"So it is," came the reply, "I just wish hormones would clean up some women's bodies the way they cleaned up yours. I've heard nothing so far which would indicate that you couldn't go on the way you are now. You are registered as a Shemale in any case, that includes male reproductive parts, functional or not."

"These hormones," Marion asked, "There's something else."

"Oh?"

"We had dinner yesterday evening with Minister Matteson. He was the minister who came to my exoneration hearing, and he invited us to join him for a quiet meal with his partner and daughters."

"Matteson? Yes, I know of him, although we've never met. A good meal, then? Is that what started your body parts off again?"

"I don't know. A good meal, yes. I wondered whether the Stun Wand exercise yesterday afternoon might have had some effect. Anyway, Sophia, they're a family, and we really enjoyed visiting them. It made both of us wonder about having our own children."

"Ah, now I understand," Sophia nodded. "Very well, it looks as though I've some research to do today. You can tell Belle what you think is best, but I don't think I'll have answers for you today. As you said, this evening is going to be taken up with Talya."

"Yes, Sophia."

"Do you mind if I discuss your circumstances with Alison? She'll probably have more time than I will today."

"By all means. I've nothing to hide."

"Thank you. Wait here a minute." Sophia got up and wandered into her treatment room, returning shortly with a small plastic screw-top jar, which she placed on the desk. Marion recognised it as a specimen jar, there were some in her own treatment room. She knew that because they were made in the millions and were essentially disposable they were not chipped like other items in the facility, but the label had a barcode, and she watched as Sophia scanned it in before writing on the label with a stylus.

"There," Sophia said as she handed it over. "Bring that in tomorrow morning and give it to the Path lab. I'd keep it in your fridge overnight."

Marion took the container and looked at it. "What do you want me to put in here?"

Sophia gave her a long look.

"Oh," said Marion. "I'm being dense."

"You'd better come into my treatment room. I'll take a blood sample while I've got you here. I can't do a lot with that," she pointed to the sample container, "but I can do the usual blood tests to determine your current hormone levels. That's one advantage of working in a female facility, we have more need to check hormone levels."

Sophia drew what seemed to be rather a large blood sample before she decided that she'd delayed Marion enough.

"Now, perhaps you'd better be getting off to your course?"

*****

Much later that afternoon, Marion walked in to the Controller's outer office. Already seated there were Elena and Talya, the latter looking extremely nervous.

"Counsellor Hillier," the Controller's assistant Marcie greeted Marion. "You're the last to arrive. If you'd like to go into the meeting room?"

Marion entered the room and closed the door. Seated around the table were Controller Brand, Site Security Director Khiskov, Sophia and a woman and a man in civilian clothes who Marion didn't recognise.

"Come in, Counsellor, have a seat," invited Brand. "You know of course Donna Khiskov and Sophia is your own immediate superior. This is Arlene MacIlvoy, who's from the Facilities Directorate. When a detainee is proposed for trusty status, there's always someone from Head Office, so to speak, who is able to provide an unbiased viewpoint during the hearing. Next to her is Dirk Wilders. Because this is a somewhat unusual hearing, the Justice Ministry asked him to come along as an observer."

"Citizens," Marion said as she sat.

"Now before we get to the meat of the matter it's been suggested that you lay out your own situation for the benefit of our visitors," Brand continued. "Although I have no doubt myself of the value you provide to the facility, it might be better if you tell them yourself what it is you do, and why you think you need some support for that that a trusty might provide."

Marion took a deep breath and began to tell them how she operated, giving examples where she was able to talk to detainees in a way that a Shepherd never could, and how she'd found out significant things by doing so. Of course, this raised so many questions that she was forced to backtrack and detail a significant portion of her history. She ran through her story yet again, part of her mind thinking of Talya slowly disintegrating outside while she wasted time inside, but she knew that it was all important to convince the ministry watchdogs that what she wanted was reasonable.

"So," she concluded, "I think that although my need is certainly for some secretarial assistance, my need is not so much for a trusty as for a particular trusty. That is, a person already known to me who I am fairly sure will do the work required in a reliable way, and who has the useful knowledge besides to assist me in resolving some of the detainees' problems, and who wants to give something back to people who have helped her."

"We'll talk about your candidate in a minute," said MacIlvoy. "Now, just supposing that this person was not acceptable for some reason, would you be prepared to accept a different trusty to do the work?"

"The proposed person was previously a Court Clerk. She has intimate knowledge of judicial procedure, and a truly amazing ability to find information on the facility databases, even when limited to a detainee's terminal. That's why I proposed her. If you can find me someone else who has the same abilities, I would consider her, but I don't know that another person would be any different to the one proposed. There would be the same reasons to approve or deny.

"If on the other hand you're asking whether I would be satisfied with just a secretary, then the answer would probably be yes, but I would still need to have access to somebody else with legal training in that case. A third possibility is that I could have a normal secretary who wasn't a trusty. That too is possible. I don't think I'm going to get anyone with legal training on the salaries that a facility could offer, though."

MacIlvoy nodded. "You present a good case. Now, you know that eventually your trusty, if we choose her, is going to complete her sentence and leave the facility. At that point you'll have to find a new assistant, since the law forbids anyone who has a criminal conviction from being employed by a facility. What will you do then?"

Marion shrugged. "As far as I know, she has two years left, although for one of those she will be eligible for parole. I've spoken to a charity law centre out at Oakenwood who say they would be prepared to consider her when the time comes. As for my own circumstances, a year is a long time and the situation will almost certainly be different by then. I don't see any point in planning so far ahead. After all, seven months ago I was a man who worked in a factory."

The man, Wilders, spoke. "How can you be certain that this detainee won't take advantage of her position? You intend to give her free rein over the facility's systems, as I understand it. Up till now, the status of trusty has usually been given to people who do manual work, not those who do office work."

"Because she still sees herself as being part of the forces of Law and Order," Marion replied. "She did a thing which affects anyone's judgement, that is she fell in love. As far as I can tell, it was the real thing for both of them, even though he was a minor criminal. The problems for her really started when her boyfriend got leaned on by his superiors. Even then, she didn't appreciate what she was getting herself into until it was too late. She's certainly learned her lesson, and what's the point of learning from your mistakes if you can't put that experience into practice? Her character is such that she will be scrupulously fair in everything she does. She knows that she'd be given a position of privilege, and she'll be extremely careful not to abuse it."

"There is another matter," said Brand. "She is detained on E Deck, and customarily trusties are not taken from E Deck. After all, the reason that they are up there is because they are at risk."

"It seems a shame to me," Sophia put in. "Other Decks get the opportunity to better themselves, and to earn a little credit for their parole, but E Deck is denied the chance. I don't think it will be a problem in this case, though. She'll be working in an office in Sick Bay, so the only contact she'll have with other detainees will be via the terminals. This particular person won't mind that, as she's quite introverted. In fact, it was Marion who managed to get her to come out of her room after nearly four years, she'd turned almost into a hermit. It will, in fact, give us the opportunity to improve her social skills gradually before she is released."

"You're putting up good arguments for your candidate," Wilders said. "As an independent observer, I can't see any obvious problems with what's being proposed. If this can be made to work, then it may provide a precedent for others on E Deck to be offered trusty status under certain conditions."

"Donna?" Brand asked. "Any questions in your mind, before we bring her in?"

"I don't think so," replied Khiskov. "Except, perhaps, her access to staff records. I'm not sure about that."

"She'll have to have a terminal of her own, won't she?" asked Marion. "We can't use the same one when I'm in the office as well." Khiskov nodded. "Then, would it be possible to program her terminal to only give access to detainees' records?"

"That still seems like she has access to rather a lot of information," objected MacIlvoy. "In theory, at least, she could use the information for blackmail purposes."

"She has that information anyway," said Khiskov before Marion could speak. "It's readily available from any detainee's terminal when another detainee approaches. The discs permit that, although not many detainees realise it."

"Yes," Marion added. "That's how she was able to crack my case. There is another matter you might like to consider, Director."

"Oh?"

"She'll have the run of Sick Bay, unless you can figure out something clever to do with the doors. That potentially means she'd have access to all of the equipment."

"I don't think that's a great risk, Marion," replied Khiskov. "I've been aware of the whole saga from the beginning, and I don't think that she is any great risk on that account, either of stealing equipment for others or or using equipment to harm herself. But you're right, it is something that will have to be borne in mind, especially once the precedent has been set."

Sophia added, "Of course, we do give some trusties access to Sick Bay, we have the cleaning shift that comes in every evening."

"Very well," MacIlvoy said. "Bring her in, then."

Marion got up and opened the door, beckoning Elena and Talya into the room. They both took chairs at the end of the table, Elena removing the cuffs at a signal from Brand.

"You are?" MacIlvoy asked Elena.

"Senior Deck Shepherd Elena Borthun," she replied, "Senior Shepherd for E Deck."

"And you are?" Talya was asked in turn. She licked her lips. She had used up a lot of nervous energy waiting outside, and the neckline of her dress was stained with sweat.

"Natalya Makrova, citizen," she replied.

"Can you give us, please, a brief history of yourself, and what you did to result in your being sent to this facility?"

Talya told them an outline of her past, how she'd grown up and wanted to work in law enforcement, but failed the physical requirements for active work and ended up as a court official instead because of her intellect and attention to detail. She then told them about meeting a man who seemed as if he was the one, and how they fell foul of his associates, and how she discovered what he was, all too late, and how she was pressured to 'adjust' vital documents and so got caught.

"Do you still think he was 'the one'?" Sophia asked.

"I'm not sure," replied Talya. "I've had lots of time to think about the whole affair, and he might have been. I can't communicate with him at all because he's in a male facility and that's forbidden. If we were both to be released and seek one another out, I suspect it would never be the same as it was before," she added sadly. "I've decided that he must remain just a part of my past life's experiences."

"So, you want to become a trusty," MacIlvoy said. "Why do you think we should let you?"

Talya nervously said, "With respect, citizen, I didn't ask to become a trusty. The Counsellor here said that she thought that I might be able to help her do her job."

"And do you think you could do that?"

"Yes, citizen. It's more or less what I've been doing up till now anyway. I know that it will take time for the work to build up, but I don't mind that. I just want to do something to help."

"And why should we trust you? She wants to put you in an office and give you access to everybody's most detailed records. How do we know you won't abuse the privilege?"

Talya gulped. "Citizen, I made a mistake. That's why I'm in here. That doesn't mean that I've spent my whole life making mistakes, or that I plan to make any more in the future. I just want a chance to prove that I can be trustworthy again. I have no interest in anyone's records except when they can help the Counsellor do her job."

"Shepherd? Do you have any comments to add?"

"For what the Counsellor requires, citizen, I think that Detainee Makrova will make an excellent trusty. I have nothing bad to report about her at all. The whole Deck is hoping that she will be made trusty."

"The whole Deck?"

"Yes, citizen, Shepherds and Detainees alike. Marion, the Counsellor that is, spent six months on E Deck, and we are all her friends. We have all been involved in her new position."

Wilders raised an eyebrow. "Shepherd, are you implying that there is some kind of unauthorised collusion or corruption happening on your Deck? What exactly did you mean?"

Elena looked serious. "I know to what you refer, citizen, and I can assure you that the operation of the Deck has at all times been carried out strictly in accordance with the regulations. However, we have the full trust of every detainee, and vice versa. This is partly Marion's - the Counsellor's - doing. We have little or no discord on E Deck since she came to us."

Wilders' other eyebrow joined it's mate. "Interesting." He turned to Brand. "Controller, I think I need a proper briefing on what's going on here. I don't think you have any cause for concern, but it sounds like there are lessons which could be learned from this episode."

Brand nodded. "Many, many lessons have already been learned, citizen, but you are welcome to stay behind afterwards and discuss it further. Are we satisfied with this detainee's answers? Does anyone else wish to question her? No? Detainee Makrova, you may return to E Deck. Shepherd, you may remove her."

After Elena and Talya had left the remaining group discussed the proposition.

"It's an unusual situation," said MacIlvoy. "I can't see anything that would obviously prevent the appointment."

"No," said Wilders, who was inspecting his datapad on the table, "There's nothing in the regulations either way. The combination of circumstances might cause a problem, though."

Marion put in, "Minister Matteson said that he suspected that a Certificate of Exception or two might be required to cover the circumstances."

"Matteson? You've spoken to the minister? When?"

"Last night, actually." Last night? Seems like a year ago. "We had dinner with him, a private affair, and it came up in conversation."

Wilders suddenly looked extra cautious. People who could have dinner with ministers had to be treated with care. Instead he just nodded and shut down his datapad.

"I don't foresee any great problem from my perspective," he said. "Assuming all the relevant processes are followed, I think it will be permitted."

"Yes," agreed MacIlvoy, "it's not the usual kind of trusty who will be working in the kitchens, or laundry, or cleaning or something like that. But if it gives us a way to award trusty status to Special Status detainees, I'm all for it. I'll have to go back to my office and review all that I've learned today, but I'll be sure and send you my decision before the end of tomorrow, Controller."

*****

When Marion returned to her office she found an anxious Belle waiting for her. Pausing only to pick up the sample container, they made their way down to the locker room to change.

"What's that for?" Belle asked, indicating the container.

"I saw Sophia this morning before the course," Marion replied. "She wanted a sample."

"I know, I can see the plaster on your elbow. What was that for? About what happened last night? You said you wanted to have a talk, is that what this is all about?"

"Oh, um, yes. I'm sorry, my head's full of Talya just at the moment," Marion apologised. "Can we leave this till we get home, dearest? I want your full attention when we talk."

"Sure. It's just that you seemed so serious this morning."

"Yes, we've got a lot to discuss."

"Okay, love." They entered the locker room, and started changing. The meeting had gone on so long that the room was nearly deserted. Marion realised that it must be well after seven. On the walk up to the tram stop, Belle spoke.

"What did you do to poor Talya in that meeting, anyhow? The poor woman was in such a state when Elena brought her back we practically had to put her in her room with a shovel. To cap it all, she was too late for dinner, and we had to call down to the kitchen for a special to be brought up. Are you sure she's going to be suitable for what you want? I'm not sure she's strong enough yet. Sure, she's now mixing with the others, but I think she's still fragile where strangers and open spaces are concerned."

"She wasn't in there that long," Marion responded. "The problem was, they wanted to know about me and my job so she had to wait a fair while before they brought her in. I don't think that did her any favours. I'm hoping she'll have settled down by the time they make a decision, then we can all help her transition into her new role."

"I hope she does get it. It's a waste of a brain to see her cooped up like that. Look! A tram."

They ran for the tram and made it. Although they were only half an hour later than usual, the tram was nearly empty. Even so, Belle didn't want to bring up what she thought was the important matter of the day, so instead she enquired about food.

"We're later than usual. What do you want to do for dinner, eat in, go out, or what?"

"How are we doing for food in the apartment? Enough for a dinner? I don't really want to go out tonight, you'll only have to wait before we can get down to talking."

"There's enough to scrape something together. We have to do some stocking up very soon, I keep forgetting that two eat twice as much as one does, and sometimes more. Eat in, then."

The meal was freezer surprise, and none were more surprised than they were when it turned out to be quite palatable. They took their coffees and adjourned to the settee, sitting so that they could face one another.

"Now, spill. We do something truly amazing last night, and this morning you go all funny about it. Tests from Sophia! Mysterious discussions threatened! A woman needs to know, so talk!"

Marion considered her words. The day had been quite busy, and she had not had much of a chance to collect her thoughts, but the basics would do to start with.

"Belle, you know that since I started this mad transformation, I've always assumed that I had a one-way ticket, and that where I am today is merely a stop on that journey. It had never occurred to me that there was any chance of going back. I was just some kind of strange beast with some body parts that didn't work, and I was quite content with that. I'm wondering whether that was a side effect of the drug treatment. Anyway, last night was as much of a surprise to me as it was to you. Both the fact that I could do it and what it's done to our relationship."

Belle smiled warmly. "Yes, my love, it was a surprise to me, too. I thought that I understood our relationship, it appears I knew nothing." She leaned towards Marion and the two exchanged a lingering kiss. When they broke, Belle said, "But that's not what this is about, is it?"

"Yes and no. You see, if the male parts of my body can function as intended, then I began to wonder if it were possible for me to return to being male, and in that case would I want to."

Belle contemplated her partner in silence. Marion suddenly had had unexpected options presented to her. Belle immediately understood that she would never part from Marion, no matter what she decided, whatever path she chose. But there were other considerations.

"What did you go and see Sophia for?" she asked.

"For that all to start working again, there has to be a reason." Belle nodded. "So I went to Sophia, and she immediately realised that of course I haven't been on the drug treatment since I've been released."

"Oh, no! Of course you haven't!" Belle gasped as she realised what had happened. "How did that happen?"

"I got released, Sophia got promoted, and the records didn't get updated properly. She blames herself, but I should have noticed as well. That's why I've been getting facial hair. Marlon's making a come-back."

"Marion, my love," Belle said earnestly, "You know that I will always want you whatever you look like, whatever path you choose."

This of course broke Marion up, and the two hugged and kissed each other, tears streaming.

"Thank you, my dear," she said softly. "But it doesn't change my basic problem. What do I want to be?"

"Why do you have to change?" asked Belle. "After all, you're quite settled as you are now. What's wrong with just carrying on?"

"Now that you know we can have man-to-woman sex, would you be satisfied if it were to stop again in the near future? I don't know if it's possible for me to remain active, as it were, once Sophia restarts the drug and hormone regime."

"Of course I wouldn't mind. After all, that's what we've been doing together up till now." Her eyes took on a faraway look. "I will of course, cherish every opportunity we have together as man and woman," she added, "but I don't think it's the end of the world, is it?"

"Possibly not. I must admit, I was disappointed with the results last night. Oh, not because of anything either of us did, but simply that the resulting sensations seemed so... pale in comparison with the feelings that you and Citizen Silver can conjure out of my body. I'm beginning to think that male orgasms are tremendously overrated, but of course most of the poor dears never experience anything different." Marion paused. "That's not the nub of the matter, still. The real question I have to ask you is, do you want to have children?"

"Well, of course, any woman wants children... you mean your children? Is that even possible?"

Belle found herself shocked by the intensity of the emotions which suddenly burst upon her. The question had simply never occurred to her, but once it had been mentioned she discovered that the basic urges of motherhood were there, and they were very strong.

"Marion," she said in an entirely different tone of voice, "You would do that for me?"

"If it were possible, and if it were necessary, then yes, I would. If you wanted my children, then I would do anything at all to make that possible. Anything."

Belle's tears came again, and she clasped Marion strongly.

"I don't deserve you, I really don't," she wailed, the emotions so strong she had no chance to control them. Marion just held her until she managed to stem the tide, and then they kissed again. "Oh, I am so lucky," Belle said, tightly wrapped around Marion. "So very, very lucky."

Once they had regained their composure, Belle asked, "So what did Sophia do, then? Blood tests?"

"Yes, she wanted to find out what my current hormone balance is. She's not simply going to continue with what was there before, she plans to work out a new course that will keep me stabilised. Now, if we want to have children, that may alter her proposed solution."

"Ah, a light dawns. So, in the mean time, make hay while the erections last, is that it?"

Marion shook her head. "I'm not sure. I don't think any of us has enough information, given my current condition, to say what might happen in the future. However, I think you'll have to be patient for tonight, since she wants me to provide a sample for her."

"A sample? Oh. That's what that little pot is for."

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Will you need any assistance, at all?"

"I don't think so. Every male has been practising that particular sampling procedure since time began," Marion said with an embarrassed grin.

"However," Belle said brightly, "once you've got your sample, there's no reason why we can't try for another, is there?"

*****

In the morning Marion took her sample, carefully wrapped in toilet tissue to keep it cool after a night in the fridge, to the Pathology lab in Sick Bay and handed it over. She then returned to the training rooms on B Deck for her last day of Shepherd Training. Like the previous day, the emphasis had been on psychological methods of guiding and controlling their charges together with scenarios played out by the group to illustrate particular situations they each might meet.

After lunch, it was a final session in the gym to show that they had understood all the additional techniques that Instructor Parkes had taught them, and for her to make a final check on the fitness levels in the group. At the end she pronounced them all satisfactory and wished them good fortune in their future careers.

Marion had returned to her office late that afternoon and was catching up on work much delayed by her presence on the course. Belle entered the room and sat down.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready? What for?"

"You haven't got that far down on your message list, then? We've been asked to go along to Sophia's office."

"Oh? Let me see. Yes, here it is." Marion looked at the clock on the terminal. "We won't be late. Let me finish this one, then we'll go."

They knocked on Sophia's door and walked in, each taking a seat.

"I've asked Belle here since, although this is technically a doctor-patient meeting between myself and Marion, it intimately concerns her as well. I assume you've no objections, either of you?"

"No, doctor," they both replied.

"Your blood tests, Marion, show elevated levels of male hormones, which is much as we suspected. Now I can prescribe you drug therapies which will control those levels, and also bring your female hormones up to a more acceptable level as well."

"I understand, doctor."

"Marion also mentioned that since she'd realised that her male parts still functioned, that the possibility of returning to being a man had occurred to her. If she wanted to do that, that situation would be the same as we discussed when we first discovered what was going on. Gosh, that seems a long time ago, doesn't it! Do you think you'd still be interested in considering that option, Marion?"

"I don't think so any more, Sophia. I've been thinking about it all today, and I've realised just how much I'd lose if I went back. Apart from having to have surgery to get rid of these," she patted her breasts, "I'd lose my job and contact with most of my friends. I've essentially been adapting for seven months, and all of that would be thrown away. I'd have to learn how to be a man again, and I find that the idea doesn't interest me at all. Although being a woman has been hard work, I'm beginning to appreciate the results, and I'm happy where I am. So, I'm not going back. I am not going back!"

"There is another aspect to this, however," Sophia continued. "Yesterday when Marion came and saw me she wondered, considering the increased masculine activity, whether she might be still fertile."

"Yes. We discussed this very point last night. We weren't sure if any drugs you might prescribe me might make me impotent again, and we decided that it wouldn't matter to us except in one respect. We talked about children. The possibility of having our own children."

Sophia nodded. "I wondered if you might, which was why I asked for a sample. Now, I'm not sure that you're any longer in a condition where I should be prescribing for you, to be honest. I think that it's possible to balance your treatment such that you can have a basically feminine body - much as you are now - but still be able to provide the appropriate genetic material for your partner, however, the drugs might affect said material. I don't know.

"I've looked at your sample under a microscope and as far as I can tell, you have active sperm swimming about. I don't have the training to tell whether it's defective, or if there's sufficient, or what, so what I'm going to ask you both to do is to go to a clinic that a friend of mine runs, where there are people who do have the necessary training. It's Fertility Clinic Two, and it's just down the back of the hill from you at the bottom end of Old Town. Would you go?"

Belle and Marion looked at each other. It was a bit sudden, but if things worked, then why not?

"You're asking both of us to go?" Marion asked.

Sophia nodded. "Yes, they'll give you both a full diagnostic working over just as they would any other couple." She leant her elbows on her desk as she leaned forward. "There is an advantage. They run a sperm bank. If it turns out that you can't have treatment and remain potent, then you could store some up before you start the treatment, just in case. Call it an insurance policy."

"What about the gender business?" Marion asked. "Won't that complicate matters?"

"Actually, it's why I thought of them, they handle some transgender matters as well, they just don't advertise the fact. You'll be in good hands there."

Marion looked at Belle, who nodded.

"Yes, we'll do it," she said.

"In that case, would you be amenable to going there the day after tomorrow? They have a cancellation. Otherwise, it would mean either sometime next week, which would mean during work hours, or the following week-end or even later."

"We're not in any hurry, are we?" Belle asked.

"Yes and no," replied Sophia. "I daren't start Marion on any drugs before she's been assessed, as it might affect any tests they do adversely. So, a few days won't matter, but I wouldn't want to leave it much longer. The longer she's off drugs, of course, the more masculine she gets. And, there must come a point where she'd not be welcome in the facility any longer."

"Ouch," Belle said. "I'd forgotten the job requirement."

"I hadn't," Marion responded. "We'll go day after tomorrow. Unless you'd other plans, Belle?"

"No, other than perhaps going to the park. No, we'd better get this situation understood properly. Thank you doctor. Is there anything else we need be aware of?"

"Not that I can think of," Sophia replied. "You'll get a message detailing your appointment sometime tomorrow. Thank you both for coming."

Marion's head was spinning as they walked back to her office, but Belle derailed her thoughts with a simple question.

"How did your course finish? Everyone pass?"

"Oh, yes. We all got through okay," she replied. "Parkes did say that some of us were a bit light in the fitness area, and it occurred to me that along with the drugs, I haven't done any proper exercise since I was released. No treadmill at the apartment, of course. Is there a gym in the Enclave, Belle?"

"Of course there is. You'll find it mostly full of State Security gorillas trying to keep their fitness up while they wait for the hordes of terrorists to break down the walls of the Enclave." Belle showed her disdain for the paranoia of State Security. The last known surviving terrorist was along the corridor in Sick Bay wing with throat cancer. "Most of the residents steer clear of the place, or have memberships of more select establishments. But, if I remember rightly, the original reason you went on the E Deck treadmills was that you were a runner before. Is that right?"

"Yes, but I didn't compete or anything like that. It was just a good way to keep fit. Anna ran as well, we kept each other company."

"So, you can join me, then. On the two days each cycle I'm not in here, I usually go for a run around the park. I try to make sure I do it one day at least, both days if the weather is good and my diary isn't taken up by shopping and all the other things we have to do."

"The park? You mean Victory Park? What kind of a run can you do in there? How far?"

"I run around the perimeter road. The total distance is about sixteen kilometres, although because we're at the highest point there's an evil kick on the way back up the hill. I have been known in the past to stop off at Luigi's on the way back if I'm not as fit as I thought I was, but I haven't done that for a year at least. Mind you, it's been a few weeks since I last went out for a run, come to think of it." She smiled fondly. "I've been distracted recently."

"Oh." Marion digested this, then realised that it would probably be perfect for what she needed. "Oh," she said again, and rolled her eyes. "I suppose this means I'll have to go shopping for running kit, then? I can't see me going round in facility gear, somehow. It's going to have to be bright pink or lime green, isn't it?"

Belle grinned wickedly. "I hadn't thought of that, but yes. Shall we go shopping tomorrow morning, and get it over with? I promise you won't stand out, there'll be too many others out there wearing similar gear."

"If you must."

They reached Marion's office and she looked at Belle.

"Do you have to go back to the Deck? I don't mind either way, but for some reason I like having you within sight at the moment."

"What time is it? Quarter to six. Yes, I think I'd better. Dinner will be served soon, and it's best if we're all on hand for that. Shall I come and find you as usual afterwards?"

"Yes, please."

Belle left and Marion returned to her clogged-up terminal. She soon discovered a priority message from Controller Brand, and she opened it to find that Talya had been accepted as a trusty, with certain reservations. Marion read through the details carefully before breathing a sigh of relief. She immediately shut down the terminal and climbed the stairs to E Deck.

"Service, all," she said to the group at the watch station. The Deck was currently quiet, all detainees being locked in their rooms prior to the evening meal being delivered. As yet, Alex and Sandy had not arrived for their evening shift, so there were only the four day shift Shepherds on duty.

"Service, Marion," replied Elena. "You came up quick, I can almost see scorch marks in the corridor. Talya?"

"Yes, she's been accepted, with some restrictions. I thought I'd run them past you before I talked with her."

Elena nodded. "I had a brief message from the Controller."

"Does she know, yet?"

"Probably. I can't see why they wouldn't tell her."

"Anyway, her conditions are going to be different to that of other trusties, for fairly obvious reasons. Instead of moving to G Deck or Q Deck to live with all the other trusties, she'll have to remain here. I think I prefer that, it's somewhere familiar for her. She'll be getting a brown dress in order to permit her to pass freely between this Deck and Sick Bay, which will be the only two places she'll be permitted. I understand that she'll also keep her green Special Risk uniform to wear on the days when she's not in the office. I don't expect she'll be working every day, I won't be. This means that both Shepherds and detainees will have to get used to seeing her in either uniform, and to see her coming and going as her job demands. I hope that's not going to cause any trouble."

"Not at all!" said Elena. "I think that everyone else will be happy to see her in and out of here. I don't think there'll be any resentment at all. They know what she'll be doing, after all. She'll be assisting other detainees."

"I'm also not sure what hours she'll be keeping," Marion added. "Do you think that will be a problem? I'm thinking mealtimes, now. Oh, and of course she'll probably be having her lunch at her desk. I'm not sure how the record keeping works in such cases."

"You leave that to us," Elena said. "It's a new situation, and we'll keep an eye open for any problems. You want to go and talk to her? You can just get in before the food arrives."

"Thanks. I'll just pop my head in the door."

Marion walked down to Talya's room, by which time her door had been released by the watch station. She knocked and entered.

"Service, Talya."

"Service, Counsellor."

"Oh, no. You call me Marion, okay? I won't have it any other way. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yes, of course. But it's going to be strange working for you."

"I don't doubt it, it'll be strange for me as well. But we'll take it slowly, we have to come up with an arrangement that functions for both of us."

Marion and Talya then discussed the details of her new job, and how they would manage the restrictions that had been imposed. Talya seemed to have come to terms with the idea that her life was about to change again, and Marion thought that was a good sign. They decided that, since Marion was going to be away for two days, that Talya wouldn't start till Marion's next cycle began so that they would both be able to spend a day together organising the office. That would also give Talya time to get her new uniform and for the various changes to be made which would allow her to move between E Deck and Sick Bay.

Their discussions were interrupted by Kristina, who opened the door to say that the food trolleys had arrived, and Marion withdrew to the watch station. By this time Alex and Sandy had appeared, so the six Shepherds spent the whole of the changeover period discussing what Marion and Belle had been up to for the past week, gory details and all. Finally, the meal trays had been collected and the day shift bade the evening shift goodnight and headed for the lifts. Marion joined them and they all merged with the crowd getting changed in the locker rooms.

"I could do with a quiet week round about now," Marion remarked to Belle as they squeezed onto a rush-hour tram.

"I know what you mean," Belle replied over the noise. "Our week hasn't quite finished yet, though. And I think the shopping is going to be the easy part."