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Giantess Wife 2 by Hi-Standard

Page history last edited by Oblimo 15 years ago

Continued from Giantess Wife by Hi-Standard

 

V.

 

 "I hope they finish these tests soon."

Ted nodded from his usual perch atop the broad windowsill in her room. Darlene sat opposite him on the edge of her bed, dressed in a hospital gown. The uncurtained window behind him allowed in the warm afternoon sun. Its light illuminated her and highlighted her lustrous, honey-colored hair.

Ted only half-heard his wife’s comment. He found himself looking at her over and over again. Darlene’s measure this morning was six feet, six-and-a-half inches tall and she weighed one hundred ninety pounds—a full head taller and just as heavy as he. The contours of her face had altered subtly as she had grown, her cheekbones just a hint wider, her jaw rounder than the previous day. Her long, supple neck led down to broad shoulders. Muscles were beginning to show under the skin of her shapely arms. Her torso was beginning to elongate, stretching her ribs and belly. Against the thin cloth of her hospital gown her round, full breasts now pressed strongly—wrinkles formed across her front each time she took in a breath. Her hips were broad against the bedcovers. Her legs were now so long that with her bare feet pointed to the ground her heels were well below the steel frame of her bed.

Darlene looked at Ted. Her face contracted into a frown. Ted looked up and noticed her expression. He blinked.

"Ah, what other tests does Zarcone want to do?" he asked belatedly. His wife’s frown deepened for a moment, then faded. She looked down at herself.

"They want to do a whole-body MRI," she replied. "Emily thinks maybe a magnetic x-ray will detect something the regular x-rays didn’t. Ted, I’ve never felt so—so examined before in my life. I think every specialist in this hospital has had a look at me." She sighed. Her inhalation strained her clothing. Ted could see her mounds brushing against her arms and each other. Darlene felt its tightness, too. She tugged down on the front of her gown. Her effort only stretched the cloth more. God, she was so big. Ted saw the outline of her nipples and aureoles through the flimsy fabric of the gown. He swallowed to ease the sudden tightness in his throat.

"Ted, can you help me with this?" Darlene asked. She stood up and turned her back to him. "Can you loosen the ties in back a little?"

Ted nodded. He slipped from his seat. As she rotated the outline of her firm-looking, full, big rear end came into sight, making Ted’s breath catch in his throat. Seeing her from behind gave him another surprise—for the first time today he noticed that her hair now fell thickly to the small of her back, obscuring all but two of the ties of her hospital dress. He gathered it in his hands, exploring its softness. Darlene felt his gesture and reached around her neck, drawing her tresses around to her front. Freed of concealment Ted could see the two ties across her upper back were pulled taut, stretching the cloth between them. He tugged gently at the knots in the ties and they came loose. The gap across her back abruptly widened, revealing her shoulder blades. Darlene breathed again, more deeply, and the gap widened still further. Ted pulled the ties together and re-tied them, one at a time.

"That’s better," she said softly. She spun on her heel to face him. Ted gulped again. With only a foot or so separating them the difference in their relative sizes was bluntly obvious. His eyes now came up only to her adam’s apple. Darlene’s shoulders and torso were now as broad as his own—if their places were reversed she would cast him in her shadow. He looked down and gulped again. With each breath she was taking her breasts nearly touched his shirt as she stood before him. Their sheer mass thrust out from her chest, forming a hill that hid her belly from his sight.

Ted’s eyes boggled. With a real effort he made himself look up into his wife’s face. Darlene looked frightened and anxious. She tried to smile but only managed a small grin that faded as they continued to look at one another. Ted knew that his wife was experiencing the same emotions he was. Her eyes were growing bright.

"This is terrible, Teddy," she whispered. "I-I tower over everybody, now. Sometimes I find myself not wanting to stand up anytime someone comes into the room. I think I’m the tallest woman in this hospital, and I keep getting taller. That’s the worst part of it." She paused. Her eyes grew brighter. "I-I really want to go home. I want to get out of here."

"You’ll be coming home soon," he replied. He grinned. "It’s lonely in the house without you."

Darlene’s expression brightened. Her smile reappeared.

"Thank you," she said. She reached out to touch his face. Ted brought up his own hand and pressed her palm against his cheek. He saw her eyes look from his to her hand and back again. They darkened. Immediately he knew why—her hand was so broad it now covered the side of his face from his jaw to his eyebrow. Ted struggled with the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him again.

This was Sunday. It was the second day he had awoken without Darlene beside him and he already missed her acutely. The night before and this morning had been depressing without her presence. Ted had found himself watching either of the three telephones in the house, hoping for a telephone call from his wife, or her doctor, or somebody, telling him what had been happening to his wife had finally run its course—Good news, Mr. Baldwin! Your wife remained the same size overnight. We’re releasing her today, come and pick her up. He soon found himself haunting the phones, hovering near them, his ears pricked to hear the first ring. When no call came he felt a palpable disappointment prior to retiring.

Ted had woken early and spent the morning cleaning house, a task Darlene normally performed. He was not accustomed to it and a niggling sense of resentment had cuffed at him as he washed dishes and stuffed the hamper filled with his dirty clothes into the washing machine. Once he had satisfied himself that the house would pass inspection he had sat in his usual chair in the dining room, looking alternately at his wristwatch and at the clock on the wall, marking the passage of time until he could wait no longer. He left the house early and drove to the White Plains Hospital and sat in his truck in the parking lot until visiting hours began. He was among the first visitors in the door at two o’clock. The elevator had seemed exasperatingly slow to the eighth floor and he had rushed out of it to Darlene’s room. Unlike the last day and a half Darlene had been in the room when he arrived, looking bored and depressed. From her seat on her bed she had held out her arms eagerly for his embrace and Ted had kissed her. Their conversation had also been newly familiar, and uninspiring—the latest tests Darlene had undergone, how she felt. Now, with Darlene standing in front of him Ted felt a new emotion suffuse him. He felt small in front of her, small and, more peculiarly, vulnerable—her hands and her body were so large compared to what he remembered, to what he was accustomed to. The sensation was so startling and overwhelming that a pang ran up his spine to the base of his skull. The pressure of her hand against his cheek increased. He looked up into her eyes. His emotions must have been visible in his face. A tear escaped her eye and began to course down her cheek.

"I’m sorry," she murmured. She choked on the end of her words. Ted spurned himself for his foolish emotional reaction—his wife needed comforting. He put his hands around her waist and drew her closer to him. He shook his head.

"No, it’s me who should be sorry, baby," he replied softly. He swallowed. "I-I guess I just can’t get used to seeing us like this. I guess I got used to being the bigger one in our family."

"God, Ted, I wish you were again," she replied. She was crying freely now. Ted tightened his grip around her. Her face was screwed up in distress.

"Shhh. Come on, now, sweetheart. I loved you before and I love you now. Remember what I said before? I love you. We’re going to be together in this."

Darlene nodded. She breathed deeply to dispel her tears and slipped her arms around him, pressing their bodies closely together, then put her cheek to his. Ted felt the plush warmth of her breasts spread across his chest, touching his arms and up to his shoulders. It was an amazing feeling.

"I love you too, Teddy," she said in his ear. Her face was still wet from her tears but a gentle, hesitant smile had lit up her features. It made her look preternaturally beautiful. Ted straightened as much as he could, but even with his heavy construction boots on he just was not tall enough for their lips to meet any more—not without her bending down to accommodate him. He saw her expression begin to change again. He acted quickly, angling himself up on his toes. Now his eyes were just above hers. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. They were soft and luxurious. He heard Darlene sigh. Her arms tightened around him still more, squeezing them together. Ted began to lean back away from her. Darlene followed his motion, her lips grasping at his. He felt his heart jump as their positions reversed and she began kissing him. The sensation of her lips against his was enticing and stimulating. Ted closed his eyes as he felt sparks running from his lips straight down his spine.

"Hmmm," he whispered. Darlene broke away from him after a moment. He opened his eyes. Darlene was looking at him. Her smile had remained and her eyes were half-lidded.

"I really miss you, tiger," she whispered. She leaned forward again and locked their lips together again. Ted felt overwhelmed by the stimulating pressure of her lips and the enfolding grip of her arms. It felt strange, a peculiar, thrilling allure, to be held in such a firm grasp by his growing wife. He returned her pressure and felt her smile under his mouth. Then to his utter shock she began rubbing her hips across his front from side to side. Her smile broadened as she felt his manhood leap under his denims.

"I’ve really missed you the last two nights," Darlene said, a wealth of suggestion in her voice.

"But-but we’re in the hospital," Ted protested weakly. Darlene’s smile faded into a grin and she nodded.

"Another reason to get out of here." She hesitantly loosed her hold around his back. Taking up his hands, she drew him with her as she returned to her seat on her bed.

"Did you read that contract Ikagawa left yesterday?" she asked. Ted nodded.

"Yes. As far as I can tell it’s exactly what that Callander woman said it was. It stipulated that in exchange for financial support you would transfer from here to Harmony Medical Center for treatment. There was nothing in the contract that excused Ikagawa of responsibility."

"I still don’t trust them," Darlene said darkly.

"Me neither, baby. They want you out of here and in their hospital badly enough to try to bribe you into it."

"I don’t know what they think they could’ve done to me that was any different from the tests I’ve gotten here," she replied. She extended her arm, revealing several small, deep bruises in the fold of her elbow. "They’ve taken enough blood to start my own blood bank." She paused. Her face fell. "Except that I don’t have blood, anymore."

"That’s silly, baby," Ted scoffed. "Of course you have blood. You can’t live without it—"

"I know, Ted," she replied evenly. She loosed his hand long enough to rub at the bruises. "But they still can’t figure out what’s happened to me."

Ted could see strain returning to her features. He reached out and stroked her cheek.

"I’m sorry," she whispered. "I’m not very good company."

"Of course you are," Ted replied. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a new article of clothing lying atop Darlene’s bed—a hospital bathrobe. Darlene followed his eyes.

"I’ve been complaining about how I don’t like having my butt hanging out in the breeze, getting cold every time they take me to some test or other—I’m a lot bigger down there than I used to be," she said by way of explanation. Ted nodded and smiled. He reached across the bed for it and handed it to her.

"Here," he said. "Let’s get out of this room for a while."

Darlene looked at the proffered robe. Her face fell.

"The hallway isn’t any better, Ted."

"Then we’ll find some other place to go. You know what? I’m hungry. Let’s go find the cafeteria in this place and grab a bite to eat."

Darlene’s eyebrows rose. She snorted.

"You certainly know the way to my heart, Teddy," she replied. She rubbed one hand across her stomach. Ted felt his emotions rise again. With her hand pressing the cloth of her gown against her flat belly he saw that her breasts were even bigger than he first thought.

"I’m always hungry now, even with the two extra meals I’ve been getting," she continued. "Emily is trying to arrange six meals a day for me."

The hospital cafeteria was located on the first floor. Ted held his wife’s hand as they went down in the creaky elevator. Darlene looked down at him. Her smile did not entirely hide her nervousness. Ted returned her smile. The elevator car rumbled to a stop. Ted wrapped Darlene’s hand around his arm and led her out onto the first floor.

"I can’t believe I’m doing this," she muttered as they paused in the middle of the hallway. Ted spotted a sign with the caption CAFETERIA in bright blue lettering. He looked down. Sure enough, there was a blue stripe running along the tile floor that went off to their right.

"Doing what?" he asked as he turned them and began to walk down the hall.

"Wandering around in a hospital with no clothes on," she replied.

"What? You’re dressed," Ted remarked.

"This is not dressed, Ted," Darlene snapped, gesturing to the robe snugged around her frame and the green plastic slippers on her feet.

"You’re in a hospital, baby," he offered. He pointed down the hall. "Everybody is dressed like you are."

"Not everybody."

"Well, okay, not everybody. But the other patients are. Nobody seems upset about them walking in the hallways dressed like they are."

He felt the pressure of her hand on his arm lessen. She began to take umbrage at his comment. Then her hand relaxed and held him more strongly. He looked up at her face. Distress creased her expression again.

"I can’t rest my head on your shoulder," she said softly. Walking arm in arm Ted saw that Darlene’s shoulder was indeed just higher than his own. He felt a sudden sadness at the thought that he would never have his wife’s head on his shoulder. Then, he grinned.

"But I can," he replied, suiting action to word. Darlene snorted in surprise at his move. They continued down the hall. Appetizing smells began to waft past them. Darlene’s stomach suddenly grumbled. She rubbed at her middle in embarrassment. A dozen people—orderlies or nurses, to judge from their attire—broke off their conversation to stare at Darlene as they walked past. A wolf whistle emerged from the group. Ted could see appreciative smiles on the faces of the males. Expressions ranging from incredulity and open admiration to distant hostility graced the females. Darlene stiffened as she heard the whistle. Ted squeezed her hand and put on an outraged face.

"Now I’m not so sure this was a good idea," he grunted. Darlene looked at him, and actually giggled for a moment, bringing her free hand to her mouth to muffle the sound. Then she sobered.

"That’s now," she whispered. "What will it be like tomorrow, or the next day, when I’m bigger?"

Ted raised his head to look at her. She was biting her lip again.

"You look as beautiful to me now as you did before," he said. Darlene turned to look at him fully. For a few steps she stared deeply into his eyes. Then she smiled and bent to peck him on the cheek.

"You’re a nice guy, sweetheart," she said.

Even though he was aware of how much his wife’s appetite had increased, Ted was still surprised by the sheer amount of food she consumed. Darlene loaded the equivalent of two full meals on her serving tray and balanced the load to an open table while he paused at the cashier to pay for the meals. She proceeded to shovel the food into her mouth with what seemed to Ted to be a reckless rate of speed. She noticed his stare as she stuffed an entire slice of pie in her mouth and swallowed it in one smooth motion. She shrugged. Ted fashioned a smile on his face and concentrated on the food atop his own tray. He was honestly surprised—for hospital food it was actually quite good. Darlene sighed happily as she wiped her mouth with her napkin and reached for her coffee cup. One hand strayed to her stomach.

"This was a good idea, Ted," she said. "I swear I’m always hungry now. If I don’t eat I get tired and sleepy. Now I feel better."

Ted nodded. Darlene shifted in her chair. It occurred to Ted that the chair wasn’t shaped quite right for her—the curve designed to support the lower back of a normal-sized person was just too low for her. She belched suddenly. Ted couldn’t help grinning at her as she covered her mouth and blushed in embarrassment.

With the ordinary noises of the cafeteria around them, Ted and his wife began to talk. It was familiar talk, talk they had become accustomed to during ten years of marriage. Ted found himself relaxing. He saw Darlene was doing the same. They sounded like any ordinary married couple. In the back of his mind he realized that he had not sat down and just talked with his wife in quite some time. Doing so stirred pleasant, romantic memories for him and, to judge from his wife’s expression, her as well. Ted regretted that the passage of time exhausted the usual topics of their conversation as they held hands across the table they had chosen.

"So, what does Zarcone plan for you after this MRI?" he asked. Darlene shook her head.

"I don’t know. I don’t think she does, either. I’ve had so many x-rays I’m lucky I don’t glow in the dark. They’ve tested everything, and found nothing."

"So far, at least," Ted added. Darlene looked at him. Her expression grew pensive.

"I don’t think they are going to find anything, Teddy," she said. Her eyes dropped to look down at herself. Ted followed her glance. He saw her eyes widen as she looked at her breasts, wrapped snugly within the folds of her robe.

"Holy cow," she muttered. "I had no idea I looked so—so big." She brought her hands up to the undersides of her breasts. Ted could not tear his eyes away as he watched her cradle them for a few seconds. "It’s funny, but I don’t feel the weight of these things. You’d think that as big as they are they’d weigh me down. I guess I’m getting stronger every day, too."

Ted’s reply was an inarticulate croak. A little voice in the back of his head warned him that if he opened his eyes any bigger they might fall from their sockets. Darlene started and dropped her hands to her lap as she saw her husband’s stare. Ted blinked and shook his head in mute apology. Darlene smiled slightly and looked down at herself again.

"I hope I don’t grow any bigger up top," she muttered. "Pretty soon I won’t be able to see where to put my feet when I walk."

Ted choked. Then he began to chuckle softly, bringing his hand in front of his face to muffle his laughter. Darlene looked up at him again. A smile began to crease her face. She snorted, then began to laugh herself.

"Or I might torpedo somebody if I walk into them. Or even poke their eye out," she continued. The two of them laughed for a few moments. Darlene sighed and wiped a laugh-tear from her eye.

"It’s funny," she said softly. "That’s the first time I’ve ever been able to laugh about this."

"I like hearing you laugh, baby," Ted replied. "I miss you very much."

A sparkle appeared in Darlene’s eyes. Ted felt himself warm under it. She reached across the table and took up his hand again.

"Better go back upstairs," she said. "They may decide I’ve tried to escape."

Ted laughed again and took his wife’s arm under his own. They fell into step as they walked. Ted looked up at his wife’s face. Framed by her long, thick hair, she looked younger than her true age. Ted paused. Darlene did look younger. In fact she looked exactly as she did when he had first proposed to her ten years ago. She must have felt his gaze. She turned to face him. Ted felt his smile broaden. Her eyebrows rose a little. She smiled back.

A familiar smell greeted them as they walked back into her room. Ted noticed a plastic serving tray decorated with shiny food covers. Darlene saw it too. She looked at Ted. He looked back. They both spontaneously broke into guffaws.

"What time is it?" she asked. "Guess I’d better watch the time more carefully." In an automatic gesture she looked at her wrist. It was bare. Her face fell and she looked up at Ted.

"I forgot," she said. Her frown deepened. "My wristwatch doesn’t fit me any more. The strap’s too small."

She loosed her hold on his arm and made her way to the small side table beside her bed. Ted looked at his own watch.

"Heck, it’s almost five," he said. "The time went by pretty fast today."

Even as the words left his mouth he realized the import of what he was saying. Clamping his mouth shut he looked up quickly. He felt himself flush—he must never cause Darlene to think that he looked upon his visiting her here in the hospital as boring or a waste of time. She had retrieved her own watch from the drawer of the nightstand and looked at it. She nodded and looked up at him.

"I didn’t mean it that way, baby—" he began. Darlene looked surprised for a moment, then her expression cleared. She smiled at him again, a bright, loving smile that warmed him right to his feet.

"It’s all right, Teddy," she replied. She patted her stomach. Another bass rumble emanated from her midsection. She blushed a bright crimson, then turned and looked at the serving trays.

"This is—I feel stupid," she muttered. Ted did not miss the look of hunger in her face.

"Shouldn’t let it go to waste," he suggested. Darlene breathed in deeply, then exhaled. Her arms fell limply to her sides.

"How can I be hungry again?" she asked aloud. "I just finished eating. But I want to eat again."

"Remember what the doctor said," Ted returned. "Right now you’re—you’re eating to grow. You shouldn’t starve yourself."

"Yes, I know, but this is—this is ridiculous," she protested. Ted nodded. He stepped up to the tray table and removed the cover off the plate. As he expected, it was the same food they had just eaten downstairs. He felt warmth along his arm as his wife came up beside him. She sniffed the plate. Her hands stole to her belly again.

"I-I don’t want to grow any more," she said plaintively. "I don’t want to get any bigger and—and heavier than I am now."

Ted could hear the tension in his wife’s voice. Her hands were shaking, her face tight. He thought quickly.

"Tell you what. Why don’t we share this one?" he asked. She looked at him for a moment. Relief flooded her features.

"Would you? I’ll-I’ll feel better."

Ted was again surprised to see his wife eat with such single-minded intensity. He had seated himself beside her on the edge of her bed. Borrowing her knife, he used it to pick at the chopped steak and potatoes while Darlene went to work with fork and spoon. It took her all of five minutes to clear the plate and start on her dessert. Five minutes later she had finished her tea and the small glass of water. She put down her spoon and cup and leaned back on her elbows across her bed. She belched again, loudly. Ted began to laugh as he pushed the tray table away from the bed with his foot. To his relief she joined him.

"Wow," she murmured. She patted her plainly distended belly, visible below the belt of her robe. "You can’t imagine this, Ted. I’ve never felt anything like it before. The more I eat, the better I feel. D’you remember the time we went to Aunt Sophie’s party, and I ate myself sick? Now I can’t eat enough."

Ted smiled and seated himself on the bed beside her.

"It’s pretty amazing, what you’re going through, sweetheart," he answered. He reached out and put his hand atop hers on her belly. She promptly put her other hand over his. She began to caress his hand, slowly, almost hesitantly.

"I’m really grateful for your company," she said. Ted smiled.

"I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else," he replied. He caught himself in the act of shrugging. "It’s-It’s very lonely without you."

Darlene’s eyes softened. She sat up. With arms and feet she shifted her place on the bed until her hip rubbed his. Ted noted their shoulders were level as they sat beside one another. He brought his arm up and wrapped it around her shoulders. She sighed. It was a gentle, contented sound. Suddenly she straightened and slipped off the bed.

"Be right back," she whispered, pecking him quickly on the lips. Ted nodded and watched as Darlene slipped quickly into the door to the room’s tiny lavatory. He heard water running, then heard the sound of flushing. After a moment Darlene reappeared, her bathrobe dangling from her hand. She dropped it on her bedcovers and came around the foot of the bed until she was standing directly in front of him.

"Come here, tiger," she murmured, holding out her hands. Ted smiled and obligingly rose to his feet. Darlene took up both his hands. A huge smile filled her face. Ted’s eyebrows rose until they met his hairline.

"I love you, Teddy," she said softly. She slipped closer to him, until her breasts just brushed his front. Her breath smelled like mint toothpaste and mouthwash. She smiled again.

"I love you, and I want you," she whispered. "Please."

 

 

VI.

 

Ted was astounded, but his wife gave him little time to think. Before he could form any words she bent and pressed her lips against his. She began to nibble at him, rubbing her velvet lips over his mouth. Each touch of her lips was urgent and incredibly exciting. Even as Ted began to come down from his surprise at his wife’s aggressiveness he felt her arms circle around him. He automatically put his arms around her waist. Their bodies pressed together. Ted felt her breasts spread across his front again. Her plush softness molded against him with every breath she took. Her tongue snaked from between her lips and licked his own. Ted’s first sense of surprise rapidly replaced by a sense of elation. His manhood began to swell inside his pants. She thrust her tongue between his lips. He opened his mouth and she thrust herself inside. It was disconcerting how deeply she could penetrate into his mouth—her tongue was so long he almost gagged. Darlene pressed herself closer to him. She felt his bulge. Leaning back, she loosed her hold around him and brought up one hand to caress his cheek.

"Make love to me, tiger," she breathed softly.

"B-but what if somebody comes in—"

"Shhh," Darlene said, quieting him with a delicate kiss. "I closed the door. Nobody’ll be coming in here for a while. Make love to me."

Ted pulled his eyes away from his wife’s beautiful, earnest face and looked over his shoulder. The broad wooden door leading into the room was indeed shut. It occurred to him that he had not heard the noises in the hospital corridor for a few moments—she must have shut the door on her way to her bathroom. He turned back to Darlene. Her body leaned into him again. She licked daintily at his lips. Ted felt passion begin to flood him. He looked up into her radiant, amber eyes. They were half-lidded. She looked euphoric and ardent. She kissed him again, long and hard.

Ted returned the kiss this time. He offered his tongue to her. She greedily accepted, sucking on it and massaging it with her own tongue. Carnal desire exploded inside Ted. He found himself wriggling in an effort to improve his aching organ in its confinement. Darlene’s hands began to caress him, running up and down his front. He pulled her close to him. She murmured in pleasure as her cleavage pushed up the front of her gown. She began to kiss him all around his face and jaw. Ted felt his wife’s hands grasp his own, drawing them from behind her back. She moved away from him until a few inches separated their bodies, then smiled and brought up one of his hands to her bosom. Ted was amazed—her breast filled his hand and more. As he touched her Darlene cooed softly. She placed her hand over his and began to press it into her flesh. Ted squeezed her gently. Her breast was soft and pliant. He struggled to keep his hand from trembling as he felt her flesh spread across his palm and between his fingers. Just the sensation of touching such munificence made his hard-on rage until he felt like he was ready to come in his pants. Then Darlene took his other hand, tracing it down between them to her middle, then lower down. Ted felt the bulge of her belly, then the gentle swell of her mons, then downward. He felt her heat, and the slightest hint of moisture through the thin fabric of her gown.

Ted tossed caution to the wind. Darlene quickly did the same. Forgoing the ties running up her back, she grasped her gown and pulled up, squirming as it caught on her hips and breasts. Ted was in the act of unbuttoning his shirt when her naked body was revealed. God, she was stunning: buxom, svelte, round—and big. She smiled and bent her incredible, long legs. He watched her long-fingered hands undo his belt. She drew his denims and briefs to his ankles, freeing his quivering erection. She paused, and Ted felt a gentle breeze across his member as she blew across its tip. The sensation made him try to dig his toes through the linoleum floor and he groaned again. As she stood up Ted’s waiting hands found her breasts and he cupped them. Darlene gave off a groan of her own. She wrapped her arms around him and crushed his hands between her breasts and his naked chest. Darlene began to shift and sway, moving her flesh against him. Her big, big hands roved up and down his back, pressing, caressing, rubbing. Then she moved to his neck, his shoulders, back to his face. Her pressure was gentle, her touch increasingly compelling. Ted was shocked and utterly enthralled. He could actually tell her hands were bigger just from her pressing them against him. The feeling of her big hands on his skin made his organ throb. He stood up on his tiptoes again and kissed her strongly.

"Hmmm, oh, yes," she murmured. "Yes. That feels so good."

Ted sank slowly until his feet were flat on the floor. His wife followed, bending herself in the middle to keep her mouth on his. He felt down her frame until he came to her generous, surprisingly muscular buttocks. Ted squeezed, and squeezed again. Darlene gasped, almost sucking the air from his lungs in the strength of her reaction. He felt her hand grasp his pulsating member. She drew on him gently. She began to pull upwards, guiding him inside her. Ted tried to hold back. His wife was having none of it. She began to stroke him with her hand, making him shudder in sheer carnal joy. Again she pulled upwards on his erection. Ted obeyed her instructions and lifted himself slowly onto his toes.

As he began to slip inside her she thrust her hips forward, burying his organ deep inside hers. Ted almost shouted in response. Her organ began squeezing and pressing and massaging him. The sensations were heavenly. He withdrew, then stroked again. Darlene gave off a long, shuddering cry of sheer joy. Her hands grabbed at his buttocks and pulled strongly. She thrust her hips forward into his at the same time. Ted had never felt himself push inside her so fast before. He could feel the strength in her hands as she half-held him up to keep their hips level. She relaxed her pressure, then pulled him in again, thrusting him inside her with amazing strength. Her expression contained a sensuality he had never seen before. Ted was amazed, and ecstatic, and even a little frightened—his wife was taking him, using him to give herself pleasure. It was the most incredible feeling he had ever experienced. He could never remember feeling so turned-on before in his entire life. He began to match her thrust for thrust. Darlene felt his reaction. Her eyes closed and she began to toss her head in the throes of delight.

Ted’s calf muscles were aching from his exertions to stay high enough to keep himself inside her. Darlene seemed to sense it, too. She bent her knees slowly as he descended, opening her legs wider, keeping them tightly coupled together. Ted stroked inside her again. Each thrust was easier than the one before—her lubrication was flooding around his organ, smoothing the way inside her. He pushed again. Darlene gave off a long, long breath and tossed her head in the air.

"Oh," she moaned. Her expression was so joyful it was almost giddy. She was gasping for breath. "So—so good. Give me more, tiger."

Ted was amazed and mesmerized at her reaction. Darlene’s hands were everywhere, touching, caressing, urging him on. Her voice told of the pleasure she was experiencing as he bucked his hips. Without warning she began to shift and turn, moving them both until her back was to her hospital bed. His own needs and the intense sexual pleasure Darlene was giving him were too much for Ted to bear any longer. He began thrusting faster and faster. He could feel her heat and his filling the space around them, warming the air. Darlene’s groans grew louder and louder. He was gasping for breath and he could feel his organ priming for its sexual explosion.

Suddenly Darlene broke away from him. She held one long finger over his lips to quiet him as she smiled in apology. Then she leaned back until she found her bed. She heaved herself onto the edge of the bedcovers, then gestured to Ted to join her. He almost jumped between her legs and thrust himself into her again. Darlene moaned in utter abandon. She lifted her knees high into the air. Her legs quickly enfolded around his middle. As Ted watched she pointed her chin towards the ceiling and began to hum with pleasure as he pumped. He had never imagined such ecstasy was possible. Darlene kept encouraging him, her voice growing louder and louder, her body beseeching greater and greater effort. He felt his own organ about to burst when Darlene suddenly gave off a long, staggering cry. His own orgasm detonated. He did not hear his own cry from the blood pounding inside his ears.

As he came down slowly from his rapture he opened his eyes. Darlene’s nose was only inches from his own. She was coated with perspiration. Her expression was contented and pleased.

"Oh, that was wonderful, Ted," she whispered to him. Ted felt an idiot’s smile crease his face. Darlene gently touched his lips with one finger. "You are a tiger."

Ted’s mouth and throat were parched. He swallowed repeatedly in an effort to try to get his voice to work. Darlene smiled, a broad, loving smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, long and tenderly. Ted returned her kiss with fervor.

"Wow," he croaked. Darlene kept smiling as she lowered her head onto his shoulder. Ted noticed that with his wife sitting and him standing their torsos were the same height. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her close to him. They stayed together as their breathing gradually slowed.

"Thank you so much, Teddy," Darlene said softly in his ear. "Thank you."

"For what, sweetie?" he asked. Darlene raised herself erect under his arms. She looked directly into his eyes.

"For giving me your love like this. I wanted to have you—while I could."

"While you could? Baby, you can have me every day," Ted replied. He began to rub his hands down her back to her hips. Darlene’s face clouded over.

"No. I mean, like this," she said. "Like tonight. I’m still growing, Ted. I-I can feel it. Here."

She drew his hand from her hip and placed it on her belly. Ted leaned back to see around her breasts. His eyebrows shot up. The evidence of his wife’s dinners was almost gone—there was only a slight swelling under his hand. Darlene nodded.

"Emily says that my body is using food more efficiently than ever," she said. She patted her stomach. "Letting nothing go to waste. Ted, that was enough food for three people I ate—what, an hour ago?—and now I feel hungry again."

Ted pressed his fingers against her lips as he shook his head.

"It’s okay, baby," he replied softly. "I told you I don’t care how big you get. You are my wife."

He cupped her breast again. Darlene purred as he brushed his thumb across her nipple. He smiled.

"I know it must feel very weird to be growing bigger like you are, sweetheart," he continued. "But as far as I’m concerned everything between us is still the same. Better, in fact. How did you—how did you massage me inside you like you did?"

Darlene almost giggled at the incredulous tone of his voice. She tossed her hair back and smiled.

"Did you like it? I read about it in Cosmo. Since I’ve been stuck in this place I’ve had nothing to do between tests, so I thought I’d practice what I read."

"Like it? God, I couldn’t believe it," he replied. Darlene began to giggle this time.

"That’s nothing," she whispered. "I can’t believe how good you are, and how sensitive I am now. I’ve never orgasmed so many times before."

"How many?" he asked. Darlene closed her eyes for a moment. Her smile threatened to cut her head in two.

"Five times," she said simply. Ted felt a warm, prideful glow rush under his skin. Darlene closed her eyes and hummed some more. "Number six is on the way."

"What?" Ted was baffled. Darlene opened her eyes. She looked down at his hands. He was caressing her breasts, teasing her nipples. Ted almost gasped in surprise. In his tired imagination he thought that her breasts had actually grown bigger since they began making love. Her aureoles were swollen and warm to his touch and her nipples were turgid. He thought he could almost feel them pulse with each beat of his wife’s heart. He brushed his thumbs over her nipples and Darlene hummed again, more loudly.

"Oh, that feels wonderful," she breathed. "I’m so sensitive."

Ted smiled. He began to move his hands faster. Darlene responded immediately, wriggling on the bed. He blew across the top of each breast, eliciting a moan. Having his wife’s incredible, big breasts in his hands quickly became too much for him. He bent and licked at first one nipple, then the other. Darlene almost barked in response. He clamped his lips over one nipple and began to suck. Her flesh tasted sweet and salty and delicious. Darlene wrapped her hands around his head to press him tighter against her. Ted sucked and licked with wild abandon. After a few moments he switched to her other breast. His manhood, still inside her, engorged again rapidly. Darlene’s breathing was becoming steadily deeper and faster. This time Ted felt her orgasm. Her organ worried at his, sending ripples of pleasure up his spine. He felt his own organ swell and stretch, and he came again. This time his orgasm went quickly, but no less powerfully.

"Ah—ah—ah," he moaned as his pumping diminished, and then stopped. He opened his eyes and swallowed to ease the tightness in his throat and chest from his exertions. Darlene ran her hands through his hair.

"That felt good, tiger," she murmured. She leaned forward to kiss him.

"Good? Good isn’t the word," he panted in reply. "Incredible is more like it."

His wife’s smile was tired. She let herself slip off the edge of the bed. As she rose to her full height Ted’s manhood slipped from inside her. He still ached from their second match of lovemaking. Darlene wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. Ted found himself too tired to move within her enveloping grasp. He contented himself with kissing the hollow of her throat. Darlene giggled again.

"That tickles," she said. Ted looked up into her face. Darlene’s skin was flushed and her eyes sparkled. It was funny, but she definitely looked younger than he remembered. She tossed her head to tame a few errant strands of hair and bent herself to kiss him on his forehead. She sniffed at the air for a moment.

"I want to hold you in my arms forever," she whispered. "But, I think we’d both better clean up. Anyone walking into the room right now would know exactly what we’ve been doing instantly."

By the time Ted had finished pulling on his clothes his wife had already dressed and left the room. "I need a shower tonight, lover," she had said playfully, running her hand across his cheek before she wrapped her bathrobe to herself and pulled her slippers onto her feet. Ted tugged his denims up and tucked in his shirttail. He inhaled deeply. The scent of their tryst still hung in the air despite the reopened door and the just-opened window. He felt a smile walk across his face at the sheer audacity of what Darlene and he had just done. He wondered for a moment if their noises had been heard by anyone outside. He seated himself on the corner of the bed furthest away from the evidence of their tryst, facing the hospital room’s window.

Ted rubbed at the back of his neck as a new thought occurred to him. It was strange, how erotic and attractive his wife’s increased size made her. He called up in his mind’s eye just how she looked when they were making love. Her broad shoulders and wide, round hips. Her long, long legs and incredible, massive breasts. God, she must be bigger than a D-cup, now. Ted held up his hand. She was so big her flesh overflowed his hands when he cupped her. He recalled the sensations of touching her, of holding her. His organ ached in sympathy to his thoughts and he shifted his seat. He grinned, then sobered. Each time Darlene had hugged him in her arms was amazing—how strong she seemed to be, and how strong she seemed to be becoming. He thought about just how substantial her thighs and buttocks were when he ran his hands over them, how powerful they had felt under his hands. It was weird, but it seemed to him that his wife just wasn’t growing longer as each day went by. It seemed more like her body was enlarging, proportionally and systematically, becoming not only bigger but wider and thicker and stronger. Ted found his thoughts disturbing. Would her strength continue to increase as she did? How much more would she grow tonight? Tomorrow? Right now he could kiss her on the lips only if they bent down or stretched to accommodate one another. What will they do if she keeps on growing? Ted felt himself getting dizzy as his thoughts chased one another around inside his head. He looked out the window at the diminishing light of the early evening, his eyes unfocused.

A touch on his shoulder shook him out of his reverie. Darlene had returned. Her hair was damp and unkempt, her skin clear and flushed. A used towel dangled around her neck. She bent and kissed his forehead. He smiled back at her and took her hand in his own.

"That feels better," she said. She picked up one corner of the towel and rubbed at her hair. Ted could smell the shampoo she used—not her usual one, but some sugary-smelling hospital variety. Ted looked her up and down. She was dressed in a fresh gown and her bathrobe. He could see her belly was flat once again—and her breasts did look bigger and rounder than when he first came into her room this afternoon. The hem of both gown and robe ended just above her knees. Darlene grimaced at the small wet spot that had soaked into her bedsheets. She sat on the bed beside him. Ted felt the mattress sag under her weight as she seated herself.

"So, what would you like to do now?" she asked softly. She waggled her eyebrows., and Ted laughed.

"Make love to you again—but, I don’t think I’d survive. Maybe there’s something on TV," he replied, a grin appearing on his face. Darlene made her mouth round with surprise. He grinned more, then sobered immediately. Had he offended his wife with his comment?

"Not that I wouldn’t mind making love to you again," he added. Darlene nodded and smiled. She finished rubbing her hair and pulled the towel from around her neck. Her eyes strayed to the nightstand beside her bed and her comb and brush there. As Ted watched she leaned over, stretching out her arm. The expanse of arm that extended out of her sleeve was startling. She grunted softly with the exertion as she took up her comb, then straightened quickly. As she turned back she stopped and look at Ted. He quickly flushed and dropped his eyes.

"I know," she said after a moment. She was staring at the comb in her hand like she had never seen anything like it before. She looked down at her seat on the bed, then turned to face Ted fully, locking eyes with him.

"Ted, I-I wasn’t able to reach the table from this spot this morning," she continued. Her eyes were becoming bright again. Ted quickly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. Darlene put her head down on his shoulder. He felt a quiver run through her frame as she sobbed and he felt damp on his shoulder. He opened his mouth to speak to her, but no words came out. He swallowed and cudgeled his brain for something to say.

"It-it’s going to be all right, baby," he finally spoke. He squeezed her tightly, one hand reaching up to caress her hair. "It’s going to be all right." 

 

 

VII.

 

It was a relief to have to go to work. Ted arrived early, a tall coffee in his hand. Mancuso’s bleary-looking eyes were deceptive—he spotted Ted immediately.

"Hey, Baldwin, how’s the wife?" he bawled. Ted shook his head.

"She’s still in the hospital," he replied. Mancuso’s scruffy grin faded. He shook his head.

"I’m very sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?"

Ted shook his head. He had spoken to Darlene just before leaving. She had been perceptibly tense on the telephone—he had interrupted her just as she was about to be measured that morning. It was obvious from her voice that her body had grown enough overnight to be obvious to her upon waking. Ted felt depression sweep over him again. What the hell can you say when your wife seems well on her way to making it into Ripley’s as the world’s tallest woman? He looked up as he realized his silence had gone on too long, and shrugged.

"There’s nothing we can do, right now," he replied. Mancuso’s shaggy eyebrows rose.

"Is it that serious? I’m sorry, Baldwin, I’m not trying to be nosy. I get concerned when my people have things on their minds other than the job. Men get hurt that way."

"Thanks, Mr. Mancuso. I’m okay, I can work. No, it’s just that—what’s happening to Darlene isn’t like anything the doctors have seen before." Christ, that’s an understatement. "They’ve been putting her through a lot of tests."

Mancuso nodded again. He clapped Ted on the shoulder.

"Okay, Baldwin. You need anything, you let me know, hear?"

"Sure, Mr. Mancuso. Thanks."

Ted worked steadily through the morning. At the call for lunch he swiftly gobbled his sandwich. It was a ham-on-rye with lettuce he had cobbled together after ten minutes of indecision this morning. Being required to make his own lunch reminded him again of how many things Darlene did for him without his thinking about it. The thought made him miss her more than ever. He sucked down his bottle of iced tea. Mindful of the oppressive heat—the humidity in the summer air was palpable, and the growing, darkening clouds overhead warned of the possibility of a thunderstorm this afternoon—he set a sedate pace out of the construction site towards the pay phone at the corner of the street. He dug out two dollars in quarters from his pocket and began plunking them into the phone’s coin slot one at a time.

"Hello?"

At the first sound of his wife’s voice Ted immediately knew something was wrong.

"Baby? Baby, it’s me. What’s wrong—"

"Oh, Ted, I’m so happy to hear your voice," Darlene replied. "It’s been a terrible day."

"Why? What happened? Are you all right?"

"Yes. No. Ted, there are these reporters and camera people here. They’ve been standing around me, asking questions and taking pictures of me all day. They keep asking me what happening to me. They won’t leave me alone."

Ted felt like steel bands had been wrapped around his heart. Darlene sounded hurt and scared. He almost dropped the receiver under his impulse to rush to her side immediately. He forced himself to take a deep breath. It helped ease the tension in the cords around his neck.

"Baby? Honey, it’s going to be all right," he said. "Listen, I’m going to get off work early and come over there. I should be there within the hour. If you don’t want to talk to those people you don’t have to. You understand? You don’t have to say one word. If they bitch about it, screw ‘em. I’ll be right there."

Ted raced back to the site. As he jumped over the barrier tape strung to keep out the casually curious he looked around, trying to locate the foreman. This time Mancuso was nowhere to be seen. Ted asked some of the other laborers, but they had no idea where Mancuso had gone either. Ted found himself looking at his watch repeatedly as he wandered from one area of the job site to another, looking for him. Ten minutes of searching got him nowhere. Ted felt his jaw tighten. Any other time the foreman would be everywhere at once, and now when he needed to speak to him he seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. Ted shrugged. He needed to be with his wife. He turned on his heel and ran back to the parking area, and his truck.

By the time he arrived in the hospital vestibule Ted was drenched with sweat. He wiped at his forehead as he entered its air-conditioned coolness. The receptionists at the front desk were as officious here as their counterparts at Harmony Medical—it took almost five minutes of arguing and the arrival of an administrator to allow Ted up to his wife’s room. Clutching at a familiar-looking hall pass, he willed the elevator to go faster.

The elevator finally groaned to a halt. As its doors rumbled open Ted slipped between them. He stopped abruptly, rocking on his heels. A crowd of people were at the entrance to his wife’s room. A low chorus of voices, rising and falling in volume like a tide, rolled down the hallway towards him.

"No, I don’t know. I said that already. What do you want me to say?" he heard his wife exclaim. Anxiety and anger immediately rose within him to compete for attention. He half-ran down the corridor until he came up against the press of bodies at the door.

"What the hell is going on here?" he said loudly. The nurses and other hospital personnel blocking his path started en masse. All turned to look at him. He looked over them into his wife’s room. It was even more crowded. The garish double lights of a large video camera sitting on someone’s shoulder threw sharp shadows against the wall. At the sound of his voice the sea of voices stilled. Several heads turned in his direction. One man brought up a large, professional-looking camera and snapped a picture of him. The flash of the camera’s strobe hurt Ted’s eyes.

"I said, what the hell is going on here?" he shouted. The acoustics of the hallway amplified his voice. It made his ears ring. To judge from the expressions of the people around him, their ears hurt, too. Ted thrust his way into the throng at the door. They gave way reluctantly. Low-voiced exclamations and curses made themselves heard as his shoving and pushing crushed people together.

Once inside, he was able to look around the corner to his wife’s bed. Darlene was there. She was hunched down, her shoulders folded inwards, her back bent. She had looked up at the sound of his voice. He saw damp on her cheeks.

"Oh, Teddy," she called out. She gestured around her. "These people won’t let me alone."

At first sight of her Ted felt an irrational anger erupt inside him. What were these people doing, harassing his wife? Ted balled his hands into fists. He thrust his shoulders forward and began to move. The crowd reacted slowly and two of the strangers felt the impact of his motion, one almost tripping off her feet. As Ted rammed his way through the crowd he detected two doctors, also strangers, standing on either side of his wife’s seated form. He felt his face grow warm with anger.

"How do you know this woman?" one voice called out. Ted recognized it almost immediately—it belonged to Shauna Brown, of News 12. "Aren’t you Mrs. Baldwin’s husband? Mr. Baldwin, what do you think of the circumstances surrounding your wife’s sudden increase in size?"

On cue every camera and microphone in the room oriented in Ted’s direction. The glare of lights and flashing of camera strobes was dazzling. Ted’s anger rapidly matured into a burning rage. Brown’s identification of him as Darlene’s husband was apparently enough for the other reporters. They loosed a torrent of queries that mixed together into a cacophony. It made Ted squint and he had to restrain himself from clapping his hands over his ears. Individual journalists among the throng added to the hullabaloo by raising their voices in an effort to be heard over their fellows.

"Mr. Baldwin? Mr. Baldwin, how tall are you in comparison to your wife? How do you feel now that your wife had grown taller than you?"

"Have the doctors been able to determine what’s causing your wife to grow?"

"Does it bother you that your wife is growing?"

"Mr. Baldwin, does your wife’s growing have anything to do with the industrial accident at the Ikagagowa facility a week ago?"

"How do you feel about what has happened, Mr. Baldwin?"

"Mr. Baldwin, do you think your wife was exposed to the same thing that killed Professor Ito at the facility where she works?"

"Have you any comment about the apparent lack of activity in the investigation of your wife’s accident?"

"How do you feel, Mr. Baldwin?"

One photographer slid through the crowd. He brought up his camera until it was a foot from Ted’s face. It’s flare blinded him completely and eroded the remnants of his temper.

"What the hell is wrong with you people? Do you bastards have any goddammed decency at all? Why the hell don’t you leave my wife alone? Who the fuck let you people in here anyway?"

Each challenge grew louder and more strident.

"We’re the press," a voice exclaimed from the crowd. "We’ve got a right to be here."

The bold cameraman snapped another picture. Ted grabbed at his camera’s lens.

"Hey, get off my camera," Bold said.

"Get your camera out of my face," Ted retorted. The cameraman was not impressed.

"Tough guy, huh? Touch me and I’ll sue your pants off," he called back, wresting his camera out of Ted’s grasp. Ted oriented on the two doctors. Both were still and silent. He could see their faces were red.

"What kind of fucking hospital you people running here, anyway?" he shouted. Both doctors jumped as if stung. As one they began to wave and shoo the reporters out of the room. The members of the press did not want to go, however. They continued to orient their cameras and microphones in Ted’s direction and more shouted questions were flung at him. Ted just managed to keep his fists at his sides as the reporters and camera people were slowly herded from the room. The questions and picture taking rose to a fever pitch as they were finally pushed out the door.

Finally the room quieted. Ted could still feel heat running under his skin. His hands were still clenched. As his heart began to subside he abruptly realized that for the first time in his adult life he had been red-faced with hysteria.

"Mr. Baldwin?" Both of the new doctors reappeared. "We’d, ah, well, like to apologize to you and your wife for that scene—"

Ted rounded on both of them immediately.

"What were you thinking, letting those people into my wife’s room? Is this a hospital or a fucking circus?"

The older of the two doctors raised his hands in a supplicating gesture.

"Now, now, Mr. Baldwin. I know you’re a little upset at what’s happened. Unfortunately there was nothing we can do. This is a public hospital. We can’t just lock the doors—"

"What kind—" Ted began.

"Teddy?"

Ted turned immediately at the sound of his wife’s voice. She was sitting on her bed as before. As he turned to face her she held out her arms to him. Ted felt his anger drain away.

"We’re going to have security on the door from now on, Mr. Baldwin," one of the two doctors continued, his tone placating. "I can assure you this will not happen again."

Ted ignored the doctors. He walked quickly around the foot of his wife’s bed. A smell intruded into his nose. It was the odor of a lot of people, pressed close together. It must have lingered from when the reporters were in the room. Apparently mouthwash and deodorant was not a priority among them. As quickly as he thought about the odor, he forgot it. He reached his wife’s bedside. Darlene folded her arms around him. Ted hugged her tightly. He could feel the quivering of her body as she sobbed.

"Oh, Ted," she said softly, "it was awful."

"What happened, baby? When did that bunch show up?" he asked.

"I don’t know," she choked. "I was just finishing my lunch when the first one showed up and started asking questions. Then another joined him, and another. Then the television people showed up. God, they were treating me like I’m some sort of freak—"

"Shhh. It’s okay, baby. I’m going to talk to these people. You’re not going to be bothered by them again. I promise."

Darlene lifted her head. Ted felt a hollow expand in the pit of his stomach. He could actually see that her face and head looked bigger than what he remembered from the day before. He saw his wife’s eyes widen. His reaction must have been obvious to her. She nodded.

"How—how much?" he heard himself ask.

"Six feet, ten inches," Darlene replied softly. She had grown over three inches taller overnight?

Darlene loosed her hold on his back. She slowly slipped off the edge of her bed until her feet reached the floor. Ted felt his heart catch in his throat as he saw just how little she had to lower herself to put her feet on the ground. Darlene bent forward, then stood up—and up, and up. Ted’s eyes rose up to his eyebrows. Standing before her the previous day, he felt small—now he felt totally, utterly dwarfed. Ted lowered his eyes in an effort to fight off the dizziness that suddenly tugged at him. Doing so only compounded his shock—his eyes were now level with her collarbone. Darlene had let her arms fall to her sides. It was obvious that her shoulders were now broader than his. As she fully straightened her breasts pressed into her gown so tightly they were spread across her chest, her cleavage foaming up into the collar formed by her gown and bathrobe. Darlene inhaled. A tinny, quick ripping sound suddenly made itself heard. Her gown suddenly loosened around her chest. Freed of their restraint her breasts visibly pressed out even more, pushing out the folds of her robe as they assumed a more rounded shape.

Ted closed his eyes and shook his head. Then he opened them and looked up again. The hospital gown looked child-sized on her, likewise the bathrobe. Her sleeves now ended at her elbows, revealing shapely forearms whose visible muscles twitched under her skin at the slightest gesture. Her breasts forcibly reminded him of melons—melon-sized, melon-rounded, and leaving virtually nothing to the imagination as they molded the cotton terry of the robe across them. The front halves of her robe sloped tightly from her incredible breasts to its belt then reached her broad, round hips. Its hem reached only to just below her upper thigh, revealing her massive thighs and incredibly long, athletic-looking legs.

As Ted watched Darlene brought her hands up to her face. Her expression was unlike any he had ever seen before. He realized he was staring at her so hard his eyes were probably looked like they were about to pop out of his skull. She was clearly horrified at his reaction to seeing her. Ted shut his eyes once more. The sound of his wife’s bed creaking made him open them again. Darlene had fallen across it. She began to sob, loudly. Ted saw her shoulders shaking with each gasp as she cried.

"Oh, God, you hate me. You hate how big I am. I’m so ugly now, I hate this!" she moaned softly. The anguish in her voice snapped Ted out of his shock. He slipped to his wife’s bedside and reached out to touch her arm.

"Honey? Baby, I’m so sorry," he said softly.

"You hate me."

"No, I don’t."

"I’m turning into an elephant."

Ted’s snort was sympathetic. "No, you’re not."

"I’m so big, now—"

"Stop that. You’re not ugly and you’re not turning into an elephant. Come on, now. Come here."

Ted pulled gently at her shoulder. Darlene lifted herself from the bed enough for him to wrap his arms around her. Ted hugged her tightly to himself.

"Shhh, it’s all right, baby," he murmured softly. Darlene began to relax in his grasp, her body sagging, slipping closer to his. Ted brought up one hand and caressed her along the line of her jaw. She sniffed loudly, then rubbed her finger back and forth under her nose. It was such a childlike act that he felt himself smile. After a moment she stopped sobbing. Ted felt her arm snake around his waist.

"There, that’s better," he said. "Now, tell me what happened. How the heck did those reporters find out about you?"

She raised her head.

"I don’t know," she said. She looked around. Soft footsteps intruded back into the room. She oriented on the sound. Her chin thrust out to point at the newest visitor.

"Those two doctors were with them," she added. Ted felt his anger return. He looked up and around. One of the two doctors had returned. Ted’s anger focused on the doctor’s pale, aesthetic face. As their eyes met the doctor came forward. He did not offer his hand or gesture in greeting.

"You got an explanation for this, Doctor—?" Ted demanded. The doctor raised one hand supplicatingly.

"As I understand it, Mr. Baldwin—you are Mr. Baldwin?"

"Of course I am," Ted snapped. "Who the hell would I be?"

The doctor nodded. "The hospital received phone calls from several news outlets this morning, Mr. Baldwin," he explained. "As I understand it they were all aware of your wife’s—condition—prior to their arrival here."

"So who told them?"

The doctor did not answer. As another figure stumped into the room he faded back away from Darlene’s bed. The new visitor was Dr. Zarcone, her solid frame thumping the floor. Her face was wreathed with concern. The other doctor suddenly excused himself. Zarcone paused to look at his retreating back, a puzzled expression on her face. Then she turned back to her patient.

"Darlene? Darlene, are you okay?" she asked, striding up to the bed. Darlene looked from out of Ted’s embrace. She sniffed again, loudly. Ted squeezed her in his arms. She looked up at him briefly. A wistful smile crossed her face. She looked back at Zarcone and nodded.

"I guess that gaggle of press people were here to see you?" Zarcone asked. Darlene nodded again. Zarcone looked sympathetic.

"I’m sorry that happened here," she said in her typical brisk, businesslike tone. She shrugged. "But it was bound to happen eventually."

"Why? Why the hell was what supposed to happen?" Ted demanded. He felt his wife stiffen in his arms. She slowly pulled herself upright out of his arms.

"Ted, it’s all right now," she said. Her tone was gentle but remonstrative. Zarcone offered them both a weak grin.

"Well, Mr. Baldwin, to begin, your wife is probably pretty well known in medical and scientific circles right now," Zarcone explained. "You see, we’ve sent out queries containing information about your wife's condition to just about every specialist we know or whose been recommended to us—in every major medical university there is, both in the U.S. and in Europe." The diminutive doctor’s frame visibly sagged and her expression grew pensive. "Unfortunately, I’ve gotten nothing positive back yet. Also, your condition is common knowledge here in the hospital. It was bound to attract some attention eventually."

Zarcone stopped as she saw Darlene’s face droop into a haggard, unhappy expression.

"Now, Darlene, please don’t lose hope," she said. "I’m sure we’ll discover the source of your growth soon—"

"What?" Ted felt his anger return. Darlene’s hand on his forearm began to exert an increasing pressure but he ignored her. "’We’ll discover it soon’? Doctor, what test haven’t you performed on my wife? Not for nothing, but you people haven’t got a clue as to what’s making Darlene grow."

"Ted," Darlene said. She tugged at his arm in emphasis. Ted looked rebellious for a moment, then subsided. Zarcone’s eyebrows rose during his outburst, then fell again.

"I can understand your being upset, Mr. Baldwin," she replied softly. "I would be, too. And you’re right—we’ve done every test I and my colleagues and think of. We haven’t found anything yet." Zarcone paused. Her tired grin returned. "Except for the fact that aside from her physical growth your wife is probably the healthiest patient in this medical center. You want me to come up with a cure for your wife’s growth, Mr. Baldwin. I do, too. Unfortunately, the answer is eluding us."

Ted opened his mouth to offer another sally. He stopped as he felt Darlene squeeze his arm again. He looked into her eyes. There was a loud, clear warning in them. He dropped his head and sighed.

"Emily, did yesterday’s tests reveal anything?" Darlene asked.

"Yes, and no. Your body is probably the most efficient biological machine on Earth—right now you’re using everything you eat or drink, and you’re throwing virtually nothing away. Your body’s even digesting cellulose, somehow. How, we haven’t determined yet. As far as finding what’s making you grow, no. Your growth is unlike anything ever seen before in the textbooks. In fact, Darlene, you’re not growing as medicine characteristically defines the term. It’s more like your body is enlarging, systematically and virtually proportionally. No one has ever seen anything like it before. I’m already arranging to have you put on the list for an MRI first thing tomorrow morning."

Darlene and Zarcone continued their conversation. Ted opened his mouth a half-dozen times to speak only to feel Darlene squeeze his arm or hand each time. After a few moments Zarcone’s expression grew satisfied, and she excused herself. Ted was mystified by the grin that suddenly appeared on her face.

"I think you two could use a little time together," she said. "I’ll instruct the floor staff to leave you alone until dinnertime. And I’ll shut the door," she added as her grin degenerated into a knowing smirk.

"Thank you, Emily," Darlene replied. A ghost of a smile had appeared on her face also. Zarcone waved and bustled out the door.

"What was that all about?" Ted asked. Darlene looked at him. Her smile broadened and she shook her head.

"Emily knows about what we were doing yesterday evening," she replied. Ted’s mouth dropped open in shock.

"What?"

Darlene nodded. She leaned forward and kissed Ted on the mouth. "She’s been asking me about our performance recently, so I told her."

"Sheesh," Ted snarled. Darlene squeezed his arm again. She looked over her shoulder. As promised, Zarcone had closed the door. She turned back to Ted.

"Honey, I need you to do something for me," she said. Her tone was entreating, almost urgent.

"Of course, Baby," he replied. "Anything. What is it?"

Darlene slipped her hand into her bathrobe pocket and drew out a slip of paper. She handed the paper to Ted.

"Please go and get these things for me," Darlene said.

Ted unfolded and began to read it. He couldn’t help a blush creep across his cheeks as he realized it was a shopping list of clothing for his wife. He was never one to keep track of women’s fashions, and previous efforts on his part to buy his wife clothing had usually been unfortunate. His blush swelled as he saw she wanted him to buy her a bra and panties—he had tried exactly twice to get her intimate apparel before, and both times had been disasters.

"Uh, sure," he replied. He felt his wife squeeze his arm again at the uncertainty in his voice. She leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek.

"Please, sweetie."

"Sure, baby. Would you like me to bring these to you tomorrow?"

"No, now."

"Now?"

"I’m going home, Ted. I’m sick of this place. I’m sick of being on display, of being poked and examined and prodded all day long. I’m going home. Today."

"Mrs. Baldwin, I really recommend that you speak to Doctor Zarcone before you do this."

The eighth-floor nursing supervisor was a small, slim and dark-complected. A battered-looking clipboard filled her hands. Attached to the board was a multi-part form freshly torn out of the nearby printer. Ted felt his wife tighten her grip on his hand.

"I’m leaving. Right now," Darlene said. Her tone was adamant but Ted felt the tiniest tremor of uneasiness in her clasp. He brought his free hand up to rub her forearm reassuringly. As he watched the supervisor gulped. It was an obvious gesture of apprehension. The supervisor’s chin thrust out from her neck as she craned her head to make eye contact with her.

"Look, Mrs. Baldwin, I can understand you are upset at what happened this morning," the supervisor began. Her accent made her difficult to understand. "I’m sure it was not very pleasant being interviewed by those reporters, but I really think you should reconsider. There are several other tests Doctor Zarcone wishes to have performed—"

"No," Darlene replied. "I’m sorry, but I’m getting out of here. I’m sure if Emily wants me to have more tests done she can call me. I’m getting out of here."

Darlene held out her hand. The supervisor seemed to gather herself to argue further, then shrugged.

"Very well, Mrs. Baldwin," the supervisor said—she actually pronounced the name "Bold-ween"—"but I think you are making a serious error here." After another moments’ hesitation she handed over the board and a pen. Relinquishing her hold on his hand Darlene reached out gingerly for the writing instrument. She took a few seconds to fashion a grip on the pen, her face wrinkled in concentration. To Ted her signature looked sloppy and shaky. Darlene offered the pen and clipboard back to the supervisor and was rewarded with a copy of her release form. She held the copy in one hand while her other hand reached for Ted’s again.

There were a half-dozen people standing in the hall as he and Darlene turned to make their way to the elevator. Ted could feel their eyes on him and his wife. The pressure of her grip told him that she noticed the stares too. As Ted looked up at his wife beside him he found himself mimicking the expression he had seen on the supervisor’s face a moment before. Standing side by side his head only came up to just above her shoulder. Her body’s proportions had continued to change along with her height. Inside the cotton lycra top he had bought her unsupported breasts (Ted had erred in buying his wife a bra—it turned out to be too small in the cups) were now two incredibly large erotic globes, bouncing and swaying on her chest with each step she took. Below the cuffs of her newly-acquired shorts her legs stretched down to her feet—and stretched, and stretched. Ted found his eyes roving up and down them as they walked. A sense of embarrassment cuffed at Ted, making his skin grow hot—he was staring at her just like the others. He forced himself to look away. Another of the patients on the floor, a bent, elderly man, stopped his shuffling, walker-assisted journey to stare pointedly as they approached. As Darlene came closer the man arched his back in an effort to observe her, his gray, unruly hair shifting on his head. Further and further back he twisted himself, his gnarled hands gripping the rubber handgrips of his walker until they began to shake. Ted looked up around his wife’s shoulder to her face. She was staring at the old man. She saw Ted was looking up at her and turned abruptly away. Ted glared at the old man. His mouth had dropped open, revealing a stained half-set of teeth. Ted could see the old man’s glassy eyes were wide in shock at seeing his near seven-foot tall wife.

Darlene breathed an audible sigh of relief as she saw the elevator was empty. She tugged Ted through the heavy metal doors. She ducked to go through the portal. She didn’t bend far enough. Her head rapped off the metal doorframe of the elevator with a dull thud.

"Ow!" she said, then stifled her exclamation. Ted grabbed at her forearm.

"You okay?" he asked. Darlene looked down at him. Her expression was trenchant.

"Let’s just get out of here," she replied tersely. She bent herself in the middle until her head was well clear of the door. They stepped inside the waiting car. Ted hear his wife sigh audibly in relief as the door closed and the elevator began to make its way down to the main floor. Ted looked up at his wife’s face. He could tell she was seething inwardly about something. She looked down at him. Her frowning expression forcibly reminded Ted of how his mother looked whenever he was caught in some act of mischief. He felt a sudden sense of resentment at his wife’s looking down on him like he was a small child.

"What?" he asked. Darlene looked at him fully for a moment, then looked away.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? You sure, now?"

She nodded.

"You want to talk about it?"

"This is hardly the right time and place to talk about it," she snapped.

"You don’t want to tell me what’s going on?" he asked softly.

"It can wait," Darlene replied.

Even though Ted had pushed back the passenger seat as far as it would go, Darlene still had trouble sitting in his truck. She finally twisted her legs and torso at an angle to allow her knees inside the truck cab without banging her kneecaps on either the dash or the side panel of the door. She pressed her rear into the bucket seat as far it would go. Ted saw that even with the seat set to its maximum position his wife still have to bend in the middle to avoid pressing her head against the fabric of the roof. Darlene raised both hands in a effort to press herself down deeper into the seat cushion. Ted ducked as her labor brought one of her elbows swinging into his line of vision.

Silence reigned inside the truck as Ted drove home. Darlene kept shifting in her seat, pressing against the overhead with her hands. Finally, she leaned towards Ted, angling her body until her hair just brushed the roof. Ted, looking into his rear-view mirror, was surprised to see the reflection of his wife’s amber eyes staring at him. Her expression was still unhappy. Ted felt a sense of depression enfold him. Darlene’s posture and expression told him that tonight was going to be unpleasant and noisy. He returned her gaze and offered her a smile. He thought he saw her eyes soften a little, then the sadness around them returned. Ted sighed and turned all his attention to the drive. They continued in silence as he threaded his way onto Route 117, heading south towards their home.

Ted stopped the truck in the driveway of their home. He put the truck in neutral and pressed home the brake. With its engine off the quiet in the truck became profound. Ted looked over at his wife. Darlene had twisted her torso in a circle until she leaned forward, peering out the windshield. Her posture seemed to make her breasts look even bigger than he remembered from when they first left the hospital. Ted gulped. Was it possible that she actually had grown visibly bigger since they left the hospital—Ted looked quickly as his wristwatch—forty minutes ago? He found himself shaking his head. It sounded ridiculous, but she did look bigger. Darlene was staring up at the sky. Ted followed her gaze. The afternoon clouds had continued to accumulate in the sky. It has grown steadily darker as the afternoon went by, and now it looked like the thunderstorm the clouds had been promising all day was about to begin. A soft, gentle rumbling made itself heard through the truck windows. As Ted watched, the tiniest flicker of lightning on the horizon caught his attention.

"It’s going to rain," he said. He turned as Darlene gave off a sharp intake of breath. She looked surprisingly nervous as she looked out at the clouds overhead. Ted knew that she did not like thunderstorms—when she was little her family’s house had been hit by a lightning bolt, and the experience had put her off thunderstorms ever since—but he had never seen her look so afraid of one before.

"We’d better get inside," he suggested. Darlene started and turned to face him. She looked like she had just woken from a trance. She blinked once, then nodded.

A louder rumble of thunder washed over their neighborhood as Ted led the way into their home. Darlene had paused at the threshold, looking doubtfully at the top frame of the door. She slowly advanced on it, one step at a time, her expression becoming increasingly downcast with each step she took. Ted unlocked and opened the door, then turned. He saw that Darlene had stepped up right to the threshold and stopped. From his angle all he could see was from her nose on down. His eyes were drawn to the twin mounds on her chest. God, she was so big that with her standing in the doorframe her breasts were in shadow. He saw her suddenly shake, once, then twice. She was crying. Ted reached out and grabbed her hands. He pulled downward gently, bringing down her shoulders and finally her head under the frame and into their house.

Ted tried to embrace his wife for comforting, but she pulled her hands away and stepped around him. Ted pursed his lips. With the now-dark sky outside the house was dim. He reached out automatically to the hallway light switch and threw it on. The twin hanging lamps in the hall flared brightly. Darlene started visibly at the light. She ducked instinctively to avoid rapping her forehead on the glass globe of the first lamp.

"Be careful, baby," Ted called out. His wife twisted herself to give him a withering look while still stepping down the hallway. She took one more stride and found the other lamp with her head. She ducked again. Her motion made her thump up against the hallway wall. She stopped there and brought her hands to her face.

Ted paused beside her. He reached up to stroke her arm. Darlene pulled herself out of his grasp. She turned and continued down the hallway until she reached the dining room. She reached out to her usual seat, moving deliberately. Ted watched her legs fold as she lowered herself onto her chair. With her legs bent deeply and her butt filling the entire seat she looked like she was sitting in a piece of juvenile furniture. He came up beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. Darlene looked up at him through tear-streaked eyes, then around the room.

"Oh God, Ted. Everything looks so small," she said. A louder rumble of thunder made her jump. She looked up at him, then down at his hand. With a jerk she pulled her shoulder away. A peal of thunder echoed around the house. Ted heard a familiar hissing noise that drew his attention up. It had begun to rain.

"Look at me," Darlene said suddenly. "I’m so-so big. Everything looks so small. Why did I have to marry somebody who doesn’t have a steady job?"

Ted looked down at his wife, surprised.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked. Darlene looked up at him.

"Exactly what I said," she snapped in reply. "Why couldn’t you be a teacher, or a plumber, or something other than a carpenter?"

Ted felt anger rise inside him. She was blaming him for what was happening to her?

"Honey, I-I didn’t ask for this to happen to you," he said.

"Well, it wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t at that-that damned place," she replied. Ted saw her face begin to twist again into tears. She was blaming him for her growing. Ted felt hurt sweep across him. He felt his face fall into a frown. Darlene jumped again as a peal of thunder rattled the windows of their house.

"You have no idea what it’s like," she said querulously. She looked down at herself, raising both her hands before her face. "Every day I’m bigger and bigger. Every day I have to get something bigger to wear because the things I wore the day before are too small. Do you know what happened today? Today I could actually feel myself growing out of my robe, getting bigger and-and—" her hands pressed briefly against her breasts, then her hips—"just—bigger. I’m a freak, Ted. I can’t even walk through my own home now without banging into something." She looked around the room again. "When I wake up tomorrow everything’s going to look smaller than it does now. It’s not fair. It’s not fair. If only I wasn’t at that place last week. If only you could have kept working over the winter. If only—"

A series of thunderclaps silenced her. She lowered her head and wrapped her arms around herself, her frame wracked by sobs.

"And you’re blaming me for this?" Ted asked. After a moment his wife looked up at him. Their eyes met. Her face was mussed with tears, her eyes were red, and a flush had brightened her cheeks. Ted was struck by how vulnerable she looked. He reached down and brushed away the worst of the tears from her cheeks.

"I just want it to stop," she said. "I want to go back to being normal. I want it to stop."

She slowly opened her arms and slipped them around his waist. Ted pressed himself closer to her. He began to stroke her hair. Darlene obeyed his gentle pressure and pressed her head against his chest.

"I wish I could make it stop, baby," he said softly. "I’m sorry."

Darlene sniffed but did not pull herself away from his grasp. Ted looked down at her. He couldn’t help gulping against the lump that rose in his throat. With her body pressed against him he found himself looking right at her cleavage as her breasts pressed against the fabric of her top. He inhaled to dispel the utterly inappropriate thoughts filling his head by such a vision and bent to deliver a gentle kiss to her hair. Another rumble of thunder—less loud this time—made her twitch. Ted clasped her tighter. Darlene looked up at him. He looked into her eyes. Her childlike sniff made him smile. He bent himself in the middle again to kiss her forehead.

"I don’t think I told you how pretty you look today," he said. She stiffened and tried to pull out of his grasp. He pulled back.

"Ted," she said. Her tone was commanding. He kept his hold on her.

"What, I can’t give my wife a hug?"

"Ted, you—do you still love me?"

"Of course. You’re my wife. I told you I don’t care how big you get."

"But I tower over you and everybody else I know."

"More to love."

"That’s stupid, Ted."

Ted kissed her again. "I still think you’re attractive."

"You do?"

"Uh-huh. What man wouldn’t think so?"

Darlene tried to pull herself out of his grasp again. Ted tightened his grip still more and held onto her. After a moment Darlene relaxed and let him crush her into his midriff. She leaned against him for a moment.

"Thank you, Teddy," she whispered. She cocked her ear. Ted did likewise. A mutter of thunder made itself heard.

"Sounds like the storm’s gone by," he said. He felt his wife shiver.

"I don’t like thunder," she said. Ted rubbed her shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked. Darlene looked up. To his vast relief a small smile crossed her face.

"Yes, I’m okay," she replied. Her hands stole to her middle. "My stomach hurts."

"Oh. You are hungry?" Ted said. His mouth opened in surprise. He had forgotten just how much his wife was eating now. His recent forays into their larder reminded him that Darlene had not been home to do the shopping recently and the cupboard was correspondingly bare. He thought quickly.

"We can fix that," he said in a businesslike tone. He hugged Darlene once more and kissed her head. "Be right back."

Ted looked across the dining room table. It was littered with a sea of empty cardboard containers. He heard his wife’s chair squeak on the floor as she pushed herself back from the table. He couldn’t help his smile as he noted her pleased, contented expression.

"Feel better?"

"Much," Darlene replied. She patted her belly. Ted carefully schooled his expression and kept smiling to hide his shock—she had eaten her way through two family-sized orders of chinese, distending her belly hugely. Ted thought she looked six months pregnant. Darlene sighed and looked down at herself, then at the cartons scattered across the table.

"Wow," she said. A grin appeared on her face. "I can’t believe how much I ate. It’s funny, but I can never remember feeling so good before just because I ate something."

Ted smiled. Darlene sighed in utter contentment. She looked across the table at him. Her smile increased.

"Come here, tiger," she said. Ted rose to his feet. His wife reached out with both hands to him. He compliantly came to her.

"I love you, tiger," she said. At her mention of her special nickname for him, Ted felt his eyebrows try to pop over his hairline. Darlene took his hands in hers. She brought each one to her mouth and kissed his palms. Ted felt a shiver run up his spine from the plush touch of her lips. Then Darlene took his wrists in her grip and turned his hands. She pulled him closer to her and put his hands atop her breasts.

"Now I want to do something for you," she said. Ted felt his knees go weak as he touched her soft skin. She moved his hands until he was cupping each breast—or trying to, they were so big and round, now. He felt a familiar tightness in his pants. He squished her breasts together. They were so big they almost popped completely out of her top. Darlene sighed and began to hum in pleasure. She stood up, ever so slowly, her eyes fixed on his, her hands holding his against her bosom. Ted looked up at her. He saw her concern for his reaction to her size. He smiled and stepped closer to her. Darlene’s relief was evident. She loosed his hands and encircled him in her arms. As they embraced Ted felt her soft, pleasant flesh flow across and over his shoulders. He bent his head until it rested on her breastbone.

"Let’s go upstairs, tiger," she whispered to him.

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