[GTSKate]

(Chapters 7-12)

Chapter 7

Carolyn awoke late again, to find her husband packing up the suitcase, and laying out her outfit for the day.
“You’ve been awfully domestic the last two days. I could get used to this, you know.” She said, as she tensed every muscle in her body in a cat-like stretch.
“Things will be different from now on, angel. You’ll see. No more fantasies for the romance books. I’m going to be able to base things on our life.” Jim smiled a wicked grin at his wife, and leered at her in the bed.
“Yeah, yeah, talk is cheap.” Carolyn replied. “Besides, I don’t have any secret former lovers, heretofore unknown family members, or evil twin sisters. So what could possibly keep the plot going?”
“Perhaps this is the happily ever after part?”
“We’re too young for that, Mr. Prescott.” Carolyn winked. She gave one last stretch, and then exited the bed, pleased that she could leave the making of it to housekeeping. She straightened her disheveled black hair, and tied the bulk of it in a ponytail behind her. As she was getting dressed in the jean shorts and t-shirt Jim had left out, she noticed the top was not so roomy across her chest as it normally was. Dismissing the clothing to a trick of the wash, she headed to the bathroom to finish “arranging” herself for the day.
Wistfully, she and Jim finished stowing their items, and checked out of the hotel. They took their time getting home, stopping for lunch at a cute roadside diner before completing the trip. Jim pulled the car into the driveway, and they opened the front door.
“Surprise!”
They walked in to discover a big banner saying ‘Happy Anniversary’ with Nicole and Scott underneath, standing with Alex and Dan!
Carolyn rushed forward to greet her best friend. Alex bent down to complete the embrace, and Carolyn asked, “What are you two doing here? Surprise is right! You didn’t call!”
Alex chuckled, and released her friend, as Dan and Jim clasped hands tightly. Alex smiled down at Carolyn and said, “Happy twentieth! Dan and I decided to surprise you for your anniversary! We’re in town for a few days…scouting out new home sites! Dan’s been offered a position with the Ann Arbor Police, and we really want to move! We’d love to be close again. What do you think?”
“That’s wonderful, Alex! I’ve missed you a lot the last few years! When you and Dan moved to Florida, it just wasn’t the same.” Carolyn beamed with optimism. Nicole and Scott jumped up and down, anticipating the return of cousins Dan and Alex, and everyone fell to celebrating.
After spending the day catching up, they all went out to dinner, and laughed the evening away. They reluctantly parted late that night, with Carolyn and Alex agreeing to meet the next day to check out some houses in nearby neighborhoods. Jim and Dan had enjoyed quite a few beers while reminiscing and sharing ‘wife’ stories, so Jim had fallen asleep almost the moment he and Carolyn went to bed. Carolyn gazed at her slumbering husband from her window perch. A corner of her mouth upturned as she watched his chest rise and fall in even breaths. She turned to resume her watch on the stars, reveling in the black wrapping of night, broken only by the spangles in the heavens. As she said a fond ‘good night’ to her rediscovered heavenly friend, she felt a shiver run through her, that left her warm and tingling, like a lover’s embrace.

Chapter 8

The next two weeks were filled with the summertime routine of house hunting with Alex, keeping track of her children’s movements from house to house in the neighborhood, and more quality time with her husband. July 4th was celebrated merrily as Alex and Dan found a house they liked, and began closing proceedings, and Jim neared completion of his new book. Carolyn had gone to the grocery store to pick up some things for the barbeque, and was putting them away. She stretched to put the canned peaches on the top shelf and bent to put the corn in the refrigerator, and straightened up suddenly and stiffly.
“I can’t put things on the top shelf…the can always rolls off my fingertips and hits me on the head…” She thought. Slowly, rethinking what had just happened, Carolyn reached up to the top shelf again, and grasped the can she had just placed. She gasped as she realized that she could actually wrap her hand around the can, instead of finger-rolling it to the edge.
She dropped the can in surprise and shock.
“What’s going on, here?” Carolyn panicked. “Jim?!” She shouted.
He came running into the kitchen, expecting to see his wife rubbing her head, instead finding her shaking and scared.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Jim was nervous. Carolyn never panicked, never lost control of a situation.
“I…I don’t know. I went to put the can on the top shelf, and …and…I reached it.” She swayed, unsteady.
Jim didn’t know what to say, or do. It sounded so silly, and yet, Carolyn had never been able to reach the top shelf of the kitchen cabinets. He took her shaking hands, and steadied them in his own. “Angel, relax. There’s a simple explanation, I’m sure.” He tried to be comforting, his first priority calming his wife.
Carolyn was on the verge of fainting, her face pale. “Simple, right,” she laughed in that hysterical pitch. “Simple, like I’m growing suddenly, right?” She continued shaking.
Jim held onto her, speaking in a low, soothing voice, “I’m sure you’re not growing. That’s impossible, OK? Here, you’ll see.” He reached into the ‘everything’ drawer, and pulled out a tape measure. He drew the tape up to Carolyn’s head and said, “See? Oh…my…unbelievable…” His voice trailed off.
Carolyn turned quickly to see her husband’s finger holding the tape at 5’2”.

Chapter 9

By the end of July, Carolyn had grown another two inches, standing at 5’4”. Although she and Jim had seen several doctors, no one had an explanation for what was causing Carolyn’s growth. As time passed, the sense of urgency and panic that Carolyn had was lessened. She didn’t seem to be suffering from any ill effects, and if anything, she felt a little stronger than before. Jim commented that his wife looked more toned, tighter, and maybe a bit more curvaceous, but he didn’t mind.
That night, Jim and Carolyn sat down with their children after dinner in the family room.
“I wanted to have a talk tonight, so that you guys know what’s going on. I’ve been going to a lot of doctors, but I don’t want either of you to worry that I’m sick or anything like that, because other than my size, I feel fine. But I’m still growing, so this affects the whole family. I love you both, and I want to know how you feel about what’s happening.” Carolyn braced herself for her children’s response.
Nicole, being older, took the lead. She glanced at her father, who nodded his encouragement. “I guess it’s kinda cool. I mean, I’ll miss the way you swear when you get hit in the head with a falling can…” Nikki smiled at her mom.
Carolyn was about to protest when Scott interrupted.
“Yeah,” chimed Scott, “it’s like you’re a superhero or something, and we know your secret identity! It’s cool having a super-mom! I mean, you’re growing bigger and stronger, just like you were one of the X-men!”
Carolyn snickered to herself, “I’ve really got to pay attention to those comic books he’s reading…” But out loud, she said, “You guys are really OK with this? You’re not scared or anything?”
“Naw, I mean, you’re not contagious or anything, right?” Nicole inquired. Carolyn shook her head with a wry smile.
“I don’t seem to be, but it’s hard to tell around your father, and cousin Dan, and Alex!” She laughed. Nicole shared in the giggle, while Scott asked, “So, how big are you gonna get?”
Carolyn’s twinkle left her eyes as she told her son, “I don’t know. I don’t know what made me start growing in the first place, or how long it’s going to last.”
Jim took his wife’s hand in comfort, and said, “We’ll get through this together.” Then he took a deep breath, and announced to his children that they were all going out for ice cream. While the cheers softened as the kids were ushered out to the garage, Carolyn paused for a moment in silence.
“How big will I get…?” She wondered.

Alex and Dan closed on their new house by the second week in August, and were set to move in on August 10th. Carolyn and Jim arrived in the morning to help with the unpacking of the moving truck. Nicole and Scott were running in and out of the house, telling Alex just what all the rooms should hold. Dan and Jim were moving the furniture, while Alex and Carolyn were handling the boxes.
“I guess this growth thing is pretty handy for moving, anyway!” joked Carolyn. “The way I’ve been getting stronger, I can actually be of help, instead of unpacking the silverware.” Carolyn hefted a box out of the truck, and started towards the house. She now stood a fraction short of 5’7”.
Alex grunted as she lifted her box. “I just can’t get over it! But you’re right! You’re sure a welcome sight today! But, damn, you’re really strong, Carolyn! I mean, these things weigh a ton, and you’re just tossing them like they’re nothing!” Alex shifted her box again as she struggled with it, making her way to the family room where she dumped it unceremoniously, glancing enviously at the way Carolyn easily carried her box and trotted upstairs. She couldn’t see the shadow cross Carolyn’s face as she only just realized her strength truly had increased disproportionately.
Upstairs, Carolyn paused a moment to ponder what Alex had said. “I hadn’t thought about it before today, but she’s right. I have been getting stronger than I should have for my size. If I can’t gauge my strength accurately, then…” Her thought was interrupted by the sound of Alex hollering up the stairs.
“Hey, what’s going on up there? Are you taking a break, shorty?” She playfully yelled.
Carolyn grinned wickedly, then quickly arose and bounded down the stairs in 3 steps. Pulling up chin to nose with Alex, with hands on her hips she said, “Whom are you calling shorty? You’ve only got 4 inches on me right now, Chambers.”
Alex beamed as she looked down at her best friend, “Ah, yes,” She spoke, raising a pointed finger, “but a very important 4 inches at the moment!”
The two women embraced and walked back out into the sunlight chuckling.
Unpacking of the truck continued for the next four hours, everyone but Carolyn sweating under the August sun. After a while, Carolyn went to the back to check on the kids, and the sounds of their play could be heard out front. Alex, Dan, and Jim took the opportunity to take a break. They sat out under the shade of a maple tree in the front yard, panting slightly.
The yelp of delight from Scott at whatever game he and his sister were playing with their mother echoed into the front yard. The three adults all glanced towards the back simultaneously. Alex’s eyes caught Jim’s as the moment passed.
“She’s not tired at all, is she?” (Pause) “Does she realize how strong she’s become?” Her eyes narrowed.
Jim looked away, across the street at some kids rollerblading up the pavement. After a second that was pregnant with unspoken meaning, he met her gaze again. Before he could speak, Alex realized, “You’ve been distracting her from it, haven’t you?”
Jim’s gaze dropped to the ground as he fiddled with a blade of grass he pulled up. “Yeah, I have.”
“Why?” She whispered, incredulously.
His blue eyes glinted defiantly, his eyebrow raised, meeting her stare. “Because you don’t see her when she wakes up. When she opens her eyes in the morning, there’s a moment of panic when she looks around the room and it doesn’t look exactly the way she remembers. The fear before her eyes completely focus, as she wonders how much she’s grown overnight.” His words sped up. “Last week at night, she thought I was asleep. She reached out her hand to touch me, and I could feel the hesitation! She’s so scared of herself right now, that I don’t want to make it worse. So I’ve downplayed her strength. Yes, I’m covering up the truth, Alex. I don’t want her afraid.”
Dan put his hand on his cousin’s shoulder in support. He didn’t speak often, but his silence communicated more than most people’s speeches. (Alex likened him to Batman when she was being mischievous: Tall, dark, and silent)
“Are you really doing her a favor, Jim?” She softened. “It’s only going to get worse, with her still growing. She’s got to adjust to this.”
“You don’t understand, Alex.” He sighed. “She’s trying to adjust all the time. But every day, her adjustment is wrong because she’s constantly changing. It’s taking a toll on her emotionally. Some nights, her tears have awakened me. She’ll be up in the middle of the night, sitting by the window, just staring out there. I know which damn star she’s probably looking at, and I catch the moonlight glinting off the tear stripes on her face. I heard her whispering a few nights ago. She was praying to God to take back her wish.”
Alex was following Jim’s tirade sympathetically until the last, when she was taken aback.
“Take back her wish? What is that supposed to mean?”
Jim tossed the blades of grass away. “She thinks she caused her growth with a wish.”
No one said anything as they all pondered the conversation.
Carolyn came stomping around the side of the house to the front, a child hanging off each arm outstretched, all three laughing. Her arms were fully extended and slightly raised, Nicole pulling on the wrist of her left arm, Scott on her right, both children held off the ground. She looked over to see her husband and family staring at her, each with unreadable expressions.
Shrugging (still with children laughing), her eyebrows raised in confusion, she said simply, “What?”

“I think it’s time we finished up the truck.” And when Dan spoke, as he rarely did, people tended to listen. The kids went back to their play, and the four adults fell to completing the task of moving.

Chapter 10

The school year began with the obligatory shopping trip for supplies, and new fall wardrobes. Carolyn was going through the kids’ closets, boxing what no longer fit, so as to be taken to Goodwill, and cataloguing the remaining items to determine how many new outfits would be needed. Carolyn’s own clothing for the summer had consisted of cutoffs (donated by Alex, “They were too small for me anyway.”) and t-shirts, and the occasional sweats outfit. With autumn approaching however, Jim noted that his wife could use some new apparel too, having outgrown all of her old clothing.
Jim leaned against the doorframe of Nicole’s bedroom, where Operation:Schoolyear continued. “Not that I mind you wearing butt-hugging shorts, of course, but I might be a little miffed if I had to fight off every guy staring at you.” He joked.
Carolyn blew a stray lock of her raven hair out of her eyes with a puff. She gave her husband the evil eye from on her knees and said, “You know, there are better ways of helping me with this than criticizing MY attire.”
“Nope. It says in the ‘Dad manual’: ‘going through children’s underwear is definitely the Mom’s job.’” He twisted to avoid a flying sock, laughing at the sight of his wife giving him the raspberry. “All kidding aside, angel, you have to get at least a few things. You’ve outgrown your old civvies.” He hated bringing up this subject, since he knew it would cause her to stiffen like she did, discomfort screaming through her body language.
“I wouldn’t know what size to buy.” She said meekly, suddenly still.
Alex pushed Jim out of the doorway with a flourish, sweeping into the room. “THAT is what I am here for!” She announced.

Carolyn looked up from her knees to see her friend grinning down on her. Defeated, she rose slowly to her feet, finally raising her head to stare at Alex eye-to-eye.
“I have been waiting for this! Now, I can borrow some of your outfits, so it’s in my best interests to make sure you look good!” Carolyn couldn’t help but smile at the joke, as Alex whisked her away to her car in the driveway, and off for a girls-day-out shopping trip.
Jim let out the breath he was holding. “I don’t know how I could have pulled that off by myself. Thank God for Alex.” He turned, surprised to see Dan leaning against the stairwell.
“That’s usually my line.” Dan remarked with a slow grin, in his deep bass voice. “And I hate to disappoint you, ‘Dad’, but my wife rewrote your manual today. You DO have to finish going through the underwear, then take the kids shopping today. With a little help, of course.” He chuckled, and joined his cousin in finishing the Operation, then executing stage II with the kids in the minivan.

Meanwhile, Alex drove Carolyn to some of her favorite haunts. “Get used to finding these out-of-the ordinary shops, girlfriend, because finding tall women’s clothing is just as hard as finding that tiny stuff you used to wear!”
Carolyn didn’t laugh. She remained silent, lost in her thoughts until Alex parked the car.
A small sob escaped from Carolyn’s lips. “Why are you doing this?” She said in a small and trembling voice. “Don’t you know I’m just going to outgrow all of it? It just doesn’t stop.” Her lower lip danced out of her control.
Alex gently stroked her friend’s hair. With a comforting smile, she whispered, “’Cause you look like the She-Hulk in all your clothes, and the ripped clothing look went out in the mid 90’s with the whole grunge thing.” Carolyn snorted a laugh, despite herself.
“Because I need some hand-me-downs next season.” Carolyn’s mouth moved towards a smile through her tears. Alex’s face grew serious. “And because I care about you very much. I can’t know what this is like for you, growing steadily. But now you’re my size, at least for a little while, and I can try to help you adjust.
“But, everything is changing. I keep getting bigger, and you’ll…” Carolyn trailed off.
“I’ll what? I’ll stay the same? I think I can deal with you being the tall one for a change.” Alex knew she’d hit a chord when Carolyn let out another sob. “Car, look, our relationship won’t change if I’m not the tall one anymore. You’ve said before, that’s not why we’re friends. If I have to deal with looking up to you, then I will. I’m not going away because you’re bigger. You’re stuck with me, Carolyn Prescott. You’ve been stuck with me, ever since we got in trouble in Mr. Sheldon’s class for telling that joke in first grade.” Carolyn laughed this time as Alex remarked, “You’d think they’d be impressed that we could remember one that long in the first place.”
“I can’t even remember the joke, anymore.” Carolyn said laughing, as she dried her tears.
Alex just raised her eyebrows, and looked over. “The little boy in the ice cream parlor?” She prompted helpfully.
Carolyn exploded in laughter in the front seat.

Chapter 11

By the beginning of October, Carolyn had grown to 6’3”, and had grown tired of constantly buying new clothes. Today, she wore one of Jim’s sweat outfits and tried to keep as much normalcy in the family’s lives as possible. She would take Scott to hockey practice, pick up Nicole from play practice at the high school, and maintain the house as usual.
Jim had finished his new book, A Time and Place for Us, and he and Carolyn were awaiting the results of the first week of sales. Alex and Dan had settled in a few blocks away, Alex enjoying her job at Parhelion Technologies as a programmer/designer and Dan as a detective for the Ann Arbor Police.
Nicole’s 15th birthday was next week, so Carolyn had sent out the invitations to her friends, and was shopping for the ingredients for the birthday cake, as well as something for her high school freshman’s birthday. She had begun to grow used to the stares she got from people who knew her, when they would see how much she had changed, just in the last four months. Everything still looked skewed and Carolyn still had an occasional clumsy bump as she would reach for things aiming from her former height of 5’. For the most part, her friends and neighbors were quite helpful and understanding.
In the grocery store, Carolyn reached across to the top shelf to grab a can of pears and misjudged the height. Her slightly upward reach bumped the can and caused it to fall on her foot.
“Ow, damn it!” She swore as she bent over to retrieve the offender.
She heard a stifled snort of laughter behind her and straightened, turning to see who found her situation so humorous. Kathy Peterson, a neighbor from two doors down, came up to Carolyn saying, “I’m sorry, Carolyn. I don’t mean to laugh, but you have to admit, some things never change.”
Carolyn glanced down at the can in her hand and smiled grudgingly. “I guess canned goods just aren’t my forte. But it’s better than getting hit in the head.” The two women shared a laugh.
“I hate to ask, but I’m understandably curious. How tall are you now, Carolyn?” Kathy asked from her height of 5’5”. Carolyn looked down at the woman who once stood five inches taller than her. For an instant she had a wave of disorientation (as was common lately, when focusing on how much she had changed) as she realized she stood ten inches above Kathy’s head.
“I’m up to 6’3”. At least as of this morning.” She sighed.
“Well,” Kathy had one of her lopsided grins on, “don’t let it get you down. You really shouldn’t be feeling so low right now.” And she chuckled. That was Kathy all the way, thought Carolyn. She loved puns, and Carolyn couldn’t help but shrug her shoulders and smile. It was sooo bad.
Kathy joined her in the rest of the grocery shopping, the neighbors chatting as they walked up and down the aisles. Kathy updated Carolyn about her son, the eight-year old Paul, and his various activities of the week, and Carolyn shared her daughter’s joy about being cast in the play at school, and Scott scoring a goal in his last hockey game. Kathy asked about Jim’s book, and Carolyn described the pins and needles while they waited for sales info.
When they got through the checkout and parted ways, loading their cars, Carolyn was struck by how normal the whole exchange had been. If one didn’t know that she was growing, it would have appeared to be just another normal day. Carolyn was grateful for friends like Kathy. The whole ordeal would have been worse if everyone around her were treating her differently.
When she got home, she unloaded the groceries, thanking heaven that this chore had gotten easier, at least. Perhaps it was a small retribution for all the times she’d gotten knocked in the head. Making sure the kids weren’t home yet; she retrieved Nicole’s gift from the car for wrapping.
She had gotten Nicole a very well stocked chemistry set, still surprised that her daughter wanted such a thing. Carolyn didn’t believe that her daughter was the science-geek type.
“But then, she’s been involved in a lot of things the last year.” She thought. “In fact,” a puzzled look knit her eyebrows together, “her grades in all her subjects have been all ‘A’s. Yet, being in the play, she’s been so busy after school, and I can’t remember the last time I saw her doing homework. Scott, too.” Carolyn thought she’d better have a conference with their teachers soon, just to make sure there wasn’t anything unusual going on.
She finished wrapping the gift as Jim burst through the front door, yelling, “Carolyn? Carolyn, are you home?”
“Upstairs, dear.” She called.
Jim came bounding up the stairs, two at a time, to grab his wife around the waist and lift her joyously in the air. He wore a huge grin that evolved into a full-blown smile, and showed her a copy of the sales reports for his book as he put her down.
She did a double take looking at the numbers. She looked slightly up (thankfully, still up) into her husband’s eyes with wonder.
“Are these right?” He nodded vigorously in response. “Your book set the new record for first week sales?” His lips parted, exposing his white teeth in the biggest grin Carolyn could recall ever seeing on his face.
“I really made a good one this time! The returns are very positive, and everyone seems to like my heroine.” Jim held his wife close.
“It was a very good story, Jim. She was well-written, and had a lot of great qualities.” Carolyn smiled back.
“I know. She was based on a wonderful woman.” Carolyn blushed and looked away. Jim gently brought her chin back up, gazing deep into the brown eyes that had been so troubled lately. He stroked her cheek gently as he told her, “You proof-read the book, angel, you must have realized who she was.”
Carolyn bent her head slightly to rest it on Jim’s shoulder as they held each other tightly. She had felt so awkward in everything she did since her growth began, but she was very thankful for how she fit her husband right now. Her size complimented his in all the right places, her breasts snug against his chest, their hips matching like jigsaw puzzle pieces. She could feel Jim’s excitement and desire, and smiled. Her head still tucked in the crook of his chin; she unclasped one arm to caress his pectoral muscles lovingly.
“I think I’ve forgotten how chapter 13 ended. Perhaps you’d care to go over the scene with me?” She whispered in her best sexy voice. She detached herself from his embrace and walked to the door of their bedroom with a gentle sway to her hips.
Jim growled a wolfish smile as he followed his disrobing wife into the antechamber.
He closed the door behind them and locked it, and quickly stripped down. When he turned around, his wife was naked on the bed and he paused a moment to savor every line of her body.
From her head to her toes, the distance mathematically was seventy-five inches, but that didn’t begin to describe Carolyn now. At 6’3”, her toes were but three inches from the edge of the mattress. The toes crowned two lengthy, delicate feet that tapered into an artistic balance of heel and ankle. Her silky-soft skin glowed from the now tightly toned legs that gave his wife half of her new size. Her calves were thick with unflexed muscle, her knees a perfect bridge to thighs containing powerful elongated sinews that spoke of strength even in their relaxed state. They gently flared into a most womanly rounding of hips that no longer carried the extra weight they had stoutly held onto from birthing two children. Carolyn’s hips narrowed into an hourglass waist and flat abdomen that held an elegant symmetry of muscle groups connected to a broadened rib cage. Compared to her original 5’ size, her torso had widened to create room for augmented musculature throughout her chest, including her breasts, which were practically screaming for attention from Jim. Her collarbone stood out in relief, framing the balance of her upper body, spanning the distance between her rounded shoulders, which bespoke a strength all their own. His wife’s head was cushioned upon a pillow up against the headboard, her beautiful raven hair splayed upon its surface, dazzling brown eyes deep with lust staring at her husband.
Jim approached the end of the bed, and began by placing his hands gently upon her legs, caressing every inch of velvet flesh, now and then stopping to allow his lips to stroke her well-defined lines, moving his way up her enlarged body. Jim gently kissed her midriff; Carolyn giggling slightly as his moustache tickled her sensitive skin. He straddled her body, careful not to put any weight on her, as he slowly moved up her topography to lavish sensual attention upon her amplified bosom. He delicately nuzzled each mound, working his way up to her neck, relishing the time and distance involved in each maneuver. Carolyn was not still during her husband’s exploration, her powerful hands running up and down his body as well. She delighted in the bulges of muscle throughout his back and chest and felt a thrill of electricity in every touch of his hands and lips.
Finally, he reached her mouth, with Carolyn’s questing lips connecting with his own, needfully. She began to pull Jim down on top of her, and felt him resisting. She opened her eyes and looked into his, realizing his apprehension. Jim had never been on top of his wife in twenty years of marriage. She had just been too small to bear his weight. Carolyn pressed her lips to his again, then parted to whisper, “I want to feel you on top of me. I want to know what it is to make love with you, not on you like a table.” And she pulled his body down again, using her irresistible strength to erase any opposition from his weaker muscles.
Jim suddenly had a first-hand experience with just how strong his wife had become. In the grip of her passion, he couldn’t have raised himself from her even if he’d wanted to. Her titanium embrace meant that she was in command, and Jim found himself drawn to her power. Although Carolyn had always been “in control” in lifestyle, Jim discovered that he had been the one to direct their lovemaking, and now that direction was solely at his wife’s discretion. Instead of feeling threatened, Jim found that he was more relaxed than ever, knowing that his Amazonian wife was as gentle as she was powerful and that he could finally be free with her. There was no possibility that he could hurt her any longer, so he gave himself over to her ministrations wholeheartedly.
After they both fulfilled each other’s needs, they lay next to each other. Jim was propped up on his elbow, admiring his wife’s prone form and gently tracing his fingers down the curve of her cheek. Carolyn was smiling back at her husband, running the back of her hand across his chest tenderly. They were speaking without words, using only their eyes in the way that deeply in love couples do.
Then the doorbell rang.

Both their eyebrows shot up in surprise, and they giggled like teenagers caught in the act at home in the middle of the day. Jim leapt off the bed and jumped into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to answer the door. Carolyn, faced with the usual proposition of her husband’s sweatpants and one of his t-shirts took a little longer to make herself presentable. She went into the bathroom to comb out her hair at least, still giggling as she looked in the mirror at her reflection. Sex had never been so wonderful! Maybe her new body had its advantages, after all.

She gave her hair a last brush through, then went downstairs to see her husband talking with a middle-aged woman, probably in her late 50’s, at the door. She looked to be about 5’6”, and Carolyn unconsciously thought the woman would be six inches taller than she used to be. The woman wore large glasses that somehow seemed to compliment her face. She had red hair, and was dressed rather casually. She looked past Jim to notice Carolyn coming down the stairs.
“…And this must be Carolyn.” She said. The woman smiled a polite smile and waited for an introduction.
Jim looked nervous as he held out his hand for his wife. “Carolyn, this is Dr. Jessie James from the University. She said she had heard about your growth and came to ask a few questions.”
Jim and Carolyn had discussed the possibility of media attention and a national search for help a month ago, but had not wanted the circus-like atmosphere in the house that they knew it would bring, so they had not pursued any. In a naive way, they had both hoped Carolyn’s growth would stop before things got really serious. Dr. James’ arrival meant that the possibility of outside attention was a reality.
Carolyn and her husband exchanged worried glances, and Dr. James could see the hesitation between them. “Please, let me assure you that I haven’t brought any news crews with me, nor do I have any intention of making you uncomfortable with any sort of National Enquirer headlines. I’m here because I’ve recently become the head of a rather unique project at the University, and your name is in our file connected with it. Now that I meet you, I can see why.”
Carolyn looked both relieved and puzzled at the same time. “What do you mean? Why is my name in your records?”
Jim had motioned the Doctor inside during Carolyn’s question, and they all were seated in the living room.
“Carolyn, you haven’t always been this tall, have you.” Dr. James said it both as a question and a statement, looking for confirmation that she knew to be true. Carolyn nodded.
“Up until about four or five months ago, I was 5’ tall.” She confirmed.
Dr. James sighed. “I’m sorry, Carolyn. I think I know what’s happening to you. I know why you’re growing.”

Chapter 12

Dr. Jessie James paused to let Jim and Carolyn process the bombshell she dropped.
“Well, let me clarify that last statement. I don’t know exactly WHY you’re growing, but I do know what’s causing it. Have you ever heard of Porphyrion?”
Carolyn shook her head, no, but Jim paused in thought.
After a moment, he replied, “It’s a name from Greek mythology, but I can’t remember who it is.”
“Actually, he was the King of the giants, but that’s not my reference. Most stars are named for Latin or Greek characters. Porphyrion is a star. Well, was a star. It went nova over a thousand years ago…” Dr. James began.
Awareness dawned on Carolyn as she interrupted, “…and it’s light is only now reaching Earth to the naked eye.”
“You’ve got it.”
“Ok, then I sort of get it. What I don’t get is why this is happening to me.” Carolyn grew agitated, and Jim reached out his hand to hers to comfort and calm his wife.
“Let me start over. As I said, I just became the new head of a project at the University called Nostrodamus. Its original goal was to discover the relationship between the stars and foretelling. As you may know, Michel de Nostrodame or Nostrodamus, as he’s commonly called, predicted a great many events that would later come true. Debatable, but the similarities between what he wrote and many events are undeniable. Indeed, even as he wrote the stanzas in his book, Centuries, he knew that these things would not occur until well after his own death. He foretold events, making specific references to either dates, or astrological positions of the stars as identifiers. Most of the events of World War II can be found in his writings. Our project set out to discover if there was a specific way of predicting more current events, and what exactly the relationship was between the stars and human destiny.
To that end, phase one of Project:Nostrodamus called for the careful observation of several specific stars. Porphyrion was one. We built a telescope that would record as much data about those stars as had ever been discovered. We would study age of stars, size, whether their systems had planets, radiation content and wavelengths. Our own star, Sol, gives off light and radiation that can be measured on wavelength scales. We wanted to compare our star to others and maybe have a basis for comparison.
Our telescope, Nostros, if the lens were adjusted properly, could be connected to a ‘solar wavelength collector’ that would essentially capture a sample of this light. This part is starting to sound familiar, right?”

Carolyn and Jim nodded, anticipating their entrance into this fairy tale.
“Things were proceeding slowly on the project. I was just a junior associate researcher, barely out of my first Doctoral program, but I saw so much potential in what we were doing. One of the older professors did not.
Dr. Frank Kelley was nearing the end of his career, and had to join the project to save his tenure. I’m sorry to say that it was he who left the collector attached to the lens that night that you came to use the telescope. We lost four years of data due to that accident. Dr. Kelley was dismissed, and the investigation shut down the project for several years.
That’s why no one ever followed up with you, Carolyn. The project was abandoned for five years while we went through all sorts of hoops to get reapproved. When we finally did, we had to start from scratch. The data that we had collected was now essentially worthless due to a five-year gap in the records.
Porphyrion was scrapped as a test star, but we kept all the data that we had gathered to that point, since it never hurts to have information. Your name had been entered in the file with Porphyrion, but no other records on you were kept.
Fifteen years ago, we began anew Project:Nostrodamus. The first five years involved selecting new star ‘test subjects’. Then, I was assigned to create a new collector system for Nostros, and to discover what had happened to the previous set-up to cause the accident. Ten years ago, I succeeded in creating a new and improved ‘solar wavelength collector’ that captures light quality, radiation, and wavelengths. Nine years ago, in duplicating the procedures from our original plan, we exposed plant life samples to some of the light samples we had collected thus far. Five years ago, I decided to go back to the original collector that had been destroyed for comparison. In going over the remains of the collector, I discovered that it had been overloaded with energy. The harmonic wavelength of the light and radiation from Porphyrion was so strong that the collector couldn’t contain it. As you know, matter, and therefore energy, can never be lost or created; that’s what Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is all about. I couldn’t figure out where that energy went and in what form until today.”
Carolyn slowly stiffened, and her eyes widened as she realized what Dr. James was saying. She paled, and began to shake slightly as she stated what the Doctor implied.

“The energy went into me, didn’t it?” She whispered. “It wasn’t dispersed at all.”
“That’s correct, Carolyn. That night, you became a living solar collector.”

[GTSKate]

Thanks so much for the kind words fritzcat!

Oh, and Alex–of course I promise to be gentle with the hugs  😉

Oddly enough, fritzcat, I was just remembering that story last week and pondering how  I would end it now.  I don't promise anything, but maybe I'll try to revisit it in the next month.
Thanks again for reading!
-Kate

[GTSKate]

Now that I've had a half hour or so to cool off, I will admit that my post came off a bit harsh.  However, it's quite jarring to see one's work stolen like that.  I'm sure you'd agree that it's not fun to be plagarized.

As for proof, no.  I don't have "proof" on the internet that it's my story, other than my own disc with a file date.  I can't prove that I posted it on ZZZ's Giantess Grows site in 2000, as that website had been purged many times over since then. 

So, I guess if you leave it up, I don't really have any recourse, other than to reiterate to anyone reading that I did not add the porno party that takes place in the middle of the story.

I would just hope no one else ever has the cruel shock of seeing their words twisted and claimed by someone else.

-Kate

[GTSKate]

Perhaps I shouldn’t say anything, but I don’t see that you’ve altered anything but the names in these stories…and although none of my stories are represented, I know how I would feel if you changed the names just for the heck of it in those works.

Although I’m pleased that you’ve chosen to share these stories on this board, I guess I’m a little bothered that you’ve made alterations in the first place, and I’m guessing without asking the original authors.

If you were going to change anything, I’d prefer to see the author’s permission, and then don’t just change names if you get that permission…make a new take on the story. Make it from a different character’s point of view, or how the core story affected someone else…that sort of thing. Otherwise, don’t change anything.

But again, I suppose that’s just me.

-Kate

[GTSKate]

Hmm, have to finish that one someday…don’t I?

Seems something always takes precedence over writing time at the computer. What’s it been now, four years? 😕

Thanks for the kind words, Alex 🙂 You’ve always been a gentleman!

Yes, I still lurk around from time to time, but my personal life went to hell in a handbasket the last few years and I’ve moved frequently. Still, it’s nice to be remembered.

-Kate

[GTSKate]

Come on…that’s a question? Of COURSE she should get more muscular! Stronger, bigger! That’s why were all here! 😀

Go Hazel!

[GTSKate]

Hmm, I don’t know about wearing you all as panties…I should think that would actually get a bit uncomfortable in the hotter summer months. 😉

My whimsy today suggests that all women should be between seven and eight feet tall, and that way, all you little men can look up to us all the time. You look quite cuddly at that size anyway. 🙂

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