[Blackwatch]

Part 2

Ailsa awoke about a minute later with a slight jolt. After shaking her head, she slowly sat up and managed a small smile. “Well, I’ve not melted,” she whispered groggily.

“No, but I don’t think the serum worked. You don’t look any different,” I replied.

“Oh, that’s normal. The first number of the sequence is zero after all. It’ll take an hour for anything to start happening,” she explained, her voice slowly gaining volume.

“It is. I definitely knew that,” I said, probably looking as distraught as I felt.

“What did you…? Damn,” she said, while opening up my poorly wrapped gauze around her arm. “Ok, well, ok,” she began.

“How is it OK?! You told me specifically NOT to do this!” I yelled.

“Well, both of your marks appear accurate, but we won’t know if I got any in my system for about an hour yet, right? Let’s not jump to conclusions,” she said, trembling slightly.

“Yeah, but what are we going to do if you did? I mean…”

“We’ll see when we get there. Look, let’s just try to unwind a bit, see if we can’t just sit here and calm down. We can start working in an hour, once we know what we’re dealing with,” she interrupted.

Trying to make the best of the situation, I sat down on the loveseat with her and held her. We just tried to chat for a while, talking about normal things. I only vaguely recall having a conversation to be honest. Most of it was spent glancing at clocks or just being near each other while Ailsa’s fate was working its way through her system, or not.

“I think it got warmer in here,” she said after some time, leaning a bit closer to me. Almost on cue, I could hear slight popping sounds coming from my girlfriend as her body warmed up by several degrees. I looked over saw her hair begin to lengthen, growing past her shoulder by an inch or two. The bottoms of her knees were now visible as her skirt seemed to shrink slightly and her blouse began to tighten overall, giving a slightly more detailed outline of her figure. She then began to cool down as the growth stopped.

“Let’s just get a tape measure to make sure,” she said, breathing heavily as she staggered up. I helped her move against the wall and made a small dot with the marker at the top of her head. After measuring, I said “Yeah, 5’1” after compensating for your shoes.”

“An hour on the dot,” she replied, checking a clock. “We know what we’re dealing with. Now I’ll just have to try to mix up a cure of some kind,” she continued.

“I’m really sorry; it’s all my fault,”

“Technically correct, but I should have made sure you knew nothing was to happen straight away. Anyway, I have my work cut out for me, we can sort out the rest later” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I could get you some coffee,” I offered.

“Tea, and make sure it’s the strong stuff, none of that latte swill,” she answered.

I managed to come back before too long and saw her seemingly writing a math textbook from scratch on the white board. I tried my best to pass the time, but there was little I could do in this situation. I decided that if she needed something, I would get it. Beyond that, I spent most of the time staring at my phone, trying not to pay too much attention to the clock’s steady march toward 1:30 and the next growth spurt.

My thoughts were interrupted when Ailsa slammed her marker on the floor. “Honey, what’s wrong?” I asked tenderly.

“I bloody well need more bloody uranium, that’s what’s wrong!” she replied. “You don’t happen to have a crate lying about do you?! I could really use some if you do!” she continued.

“Couldn’t we just take some more?” I asked.

“There damn well isn’t any bloody more! I used the last bit to… Whoa,” she said staggering. I glanced at the time. 1:30.

Her arms shot out to brace themselves on a workbench behind her as I saw her hair beginning to creep further down her back. Her breathing quickened as her skirt began to rise slightly again, revealing more of her knees. The most dramatic change came from her chest. Twice she breathed deeply, pushing her breasts outward, and twice they remained at the same position as she exhaled. They must have grown to full B cups by this point and as she turned around, I could see the buttons on her blouse begin to strain, showing hints of her quivering bosom through small gaps in the front. The outline of her bra was readily apparent against the tightened fabric. Her hair settled at the top of her shoulder blades and her growth seemed to stop once again. I rushed forward to support her, feeling her skin cool as her breathing began to slow.

“Are you alright?!” I asked urgently, half dragging her to the loveseat.

“My shoes are starting to pinch, but other than that, I’m lovely, thanks,” she replied in a slightly deeper voice than I was used to.

“Your, um, that is, your…” I began.

“Yeah, that’s a tricky bit. Occasionally the serum had the side effect of enhancing a recipient’s…sexual characteristics,” she explained as she sat down.

“Look, you need help. I can’t just sit here and watch this happen,” I said.

“You can help. No one else knows how this bloody thing works but me, but you can help me think outside the box,” she said. “I need a cure, and uranium isn’t the key. We have two hours before this starts getting mental. Please, the others will want to study me, and I don’t want that. You have to help,” she pleaded.

“Ok, I’m yours, as always,” I said sighing. “What do we do next?”

End of Part 2