Dinah Date Night 1, Part 1: Conflicts, Emotional and Physical

Dinah

Dinah goes over her plan (and contingencies) for tonight as she waits for Tina to come unlock the door to the Master Suite. She feels torn, 2 conflicting goals raging against each other in her mind. One the one hand, she meant every word she said during the opening ceremony; she feels forever indebted to the professor and wants this **** relationship to blossom into something real, even if it is going to start very rocky. On the other hand, she really, really wants to get a pregnancy started so she can both get her best shot at hitting that 100 VP goal and playing the game properly with the women she actually wants to know in the physical sense. Sure, using the professor that way could be eventually smoothed over, but would I be forgiven before it impacts this fucking nightmare game?

She fiddles with a pleat in her cocktail dress while she thinks. It’s silky texture is soothing, distracting. I love this dress. She spent way too much of her first paycheck as a medical resident on it and it always symbolized in her mind that she was a real woman. Sure, it was on heavy discount and it’s burnt orange color doesn’t exactly scream fancy party dress, but she is an autumn. It hugs her curves in just the right ways while still being modestly elegant. The day she had to put it away because it didn’t fit anymore (moving from starving med student to well-fed doctor has the side effect of gaining some weight) was one of the worst in her life, oddly enough; that always felt like she was now just a woman past her prime, that she toiled away her youth on other people’s happiness. Now, thanks to this nightmare, the dress fits again. A second chance, if I can take it.

Her phone alarm goes off with Tina still nowhere to be found. With a huff, she slips off her heels and grovels before the door to open it. Hearing the lock click, she scrambles to her feet and gets inside before the doors close. She slips her heels back on and starts to take the room in; an eerie glow fills the room as the fading sunlight diffuses through the aquarium walls.

And there he is. She still recognizes him, even though she hasn’t seen him in half a lifetime. The hair is considerably longer, almost pretty, simply styled but in good condition. The same sad eyes. Reasonably healthy looking for someone beginning to leave middle age. Shouldn’t the de-aging transformation have done more? He dressed for the occasion, dress shirt with sleeves rolled just enough to entice a straight woman with his arms without looking showy, dark slacks pressed just so, the cowboy boots she remembers him always wearing.

“Wow. How could I have forgotten about you?” he asks, “I’m certainly not going to make that mistake again. Come in.”

Josie

Josie is rushing down the hallway, looking for the right door, cursing out the unknown staff member that left that note in a bowl in the cafeteria instead of just talking directly to one of us. Who knows when that was left for us to find. Who knows what could have happened in the meantime.

Josie finds the door and punches in the selection (perhaps a little too forcibly). Dungeons for Damsels. Fuck that name. Inside, she barely notices a bunch of stuff that would only appeal to nerds; she ignores it, making a beeline to another note bowl on the floor. Following the directions, she sees a series of stairs descending into dark, murky water. She takes but a moment to remove her shoes and rushes it. By the time she starts wading into the waist deep water, she starts to hear the muffled moans. She trudges as fast as she can.

She walks in to see 2 women tied to bondage frames: a zoned out Tina, wearing that fetishware outfit she put on this morning and covered in vibrators, and a frustrated looking Scarlet, shivering and soaked. Scarlet notices Josie first. Tina, apparently oblivious to everything outside of the buzzing sex toys, just moans into her gag.

“Get us the fuck out of here! What the fuck took so long?!?!?!?”

“Sorry, sorry! We didn’t see the note until dinner. I ran here as soon as I read the fucking bowl.”

“I’m gonna gut that fucking fish,” mutters Scarlet. Josie fumbles around with the handcuffs, but Scarlet’s hands are free soon enough.

While Scarlet fumbles to free her legs, Josie moves on to Tina. She starts to detach the various sex toys on her, ignoring her moans of disappointment. Once she removes the gag, her complaints become more understandable, “Aww, these toys are soooo much fun. I’ve been edging for what feels like days! Please put them back on.”

“Tina, if you want me to ever forgive you for all that has happened today, you will shut up right now!” an irate Scarlet bellows.

And Tina, to her credit, does. Scarlet, now free, walks over and grabs the key hanging on the cross by Tina’s hand. She fumbles with a chastity belt, unlocks it, pulls something out of it, and locks it back in place. The fuck?

A few minutes later, Tina is, very shakily, standing on her own two feet. Josie offers the bunny girl a shoulder to lean on. Scarlet, still fuming, hands Josie the key.

“Tina, I’m still so pissed off at you. We are NOT going in there again until we can successfully get not murdered by evil turkeys. Do you understand me? Just shake your head yes or no.”

Tina silently consents.

“Good,” Scarlet, only slightly calmer, exclaims, “Josie, do you mind dealing with her tonight? Don’t unlock her until you are absolutely ready. I got another fish to fry.”

And, before even waiting on a response, the redhead sloshes away.

Francis

I shouldn’t ask about why I don’t remember teaching a pre-teen college anatomy and physiology one summer, right self?

The woman across from him, perhaps sensing his confusion, responds, “As a side benefit, the monstrous harpy that kidnapped us shaved about a decade of life off me. Did Scarlet not mention that you have been given a de-aging transformation as well? I frankly expected it to be more apparent.”

Recalling that, he posits, “Well, 3 months of time off a piece will likely be sufficient by the end of this, but I haven’t actually gotten all that many triggers. I think, even if the weird hair thing was completed, I’d only have a few years shaved off.”

There is a pause in the room. “May I be so bold as to ask for a favor?” she asks, changing the subject.

“Tonight is for you,” he responds, pausing to swallow blurting out a pet name too soon, “Ask away.”

“For dinner tonight, may we try role-playing what life will be like once we get out of the situation we are in? I’d like to get a feel for our future.”

Hmm, interesting. “Why not? If I may be so bold as to make a request, may you first describe what you think life will be like, assuming we ever get out of here?”

The room goes quiet again. We both seem to be trying to size up the other here. This is certainly different.

“Well,” she begins, “I’d like to imagine that all of us hit that 100 VP threshold and, wherever we end up, are all able to function as adults in society still. I imagine we’d end up in Las Vegas, as, hopefully, you are accommodating to all of our goals and Tina is the only one with a clear goal that requires a specific location. Scarlet gets her student loans paid off and has finished pursuing her degree, with as big of a practice as she’d like in whatever specialty she desires. Both Josie and you each find new lines of work you enjoy. Skye’s goals are hard to discern, but I hope she splits her time with us and her family in a way that makes everyone happy; maybe she starts a desert greenhouse winery? We remember to feed and walk our obnoxious pet streamer. I move my practice to a local hospital, but I only work it part-time. We have a house big enough to hold everyone, several beautiful children, and a lot of love. It’s been several years, so everyone has settled into a good routine. You’ve figured out how to live as a woman in the real world and how to balance several wives/live-in girlfriends. We all find our happiness. That a good enough dream to shoot for?”

It’s now Francis’ turn to be silent. There are several flaws to that dream. All of those flaws should be apparent to her. Then again, some problems may have solutions that I just don’t know about yet. Perhaps a prod or two?

“And, in this dream, are we married?”

“I should hope so. We need to set a good example for our kids.”

“Did we adopt?”

“That should be a discussion we have after dinner. So, are you going to continue to over-analyze, or shall we give it a try? If the latter, my dear, may you please bring in dinner while I finish setting the table? As you said, tonight is our night together.”

He gets up to fetch the dinner plates, making a mental note about that dodge. Fillet medallions with parsnip puree and creamed spinach. A medallion on each plate has a plastic “doneness” steak marker. Presuming that Dinah would order “medium-well” (a minor food blasphemy), he serves that plate to her place as he, once again, moves the place setting from in front of the dinner throne to another seat. His “medium-rare” plate put in place, he moves over to help her sit.

“Don’t worry about that, dear. My feet aren’t that swollen yet.”

Chalking up another note there, he takes his seat.

“You may have a glass of wine if you wish, dear. Did you try the vintage Skye brought home a few days ago? I heard that it was quite lovely.”

Her play-acting is good, if more than a little suspicious. He pours a glass of water for Dinah, then makes one for himself. Might as well play along.

“So, how was your day, Mrs. O’Connor?”

“Are you confused, dear? You’re Mrs. O’Connor. I’m Dr. O’Connor-Hornblower.”

“Lo siento, mi amora. I’ll try again. So, how was your day?”

“Just lovely. Olivia is getting quite good at holding her crayons. She drew you a picture before her nap. And little Ophelia took her first steps! She made it like 3 feet before she fell. I’m so proud of them both. Auntie Tina watched them while I went to the office and did some check-ups on patients. I really need to hire another ob/gyn to help cover the load when this one is about ready to come out. You?”

The whole conversation, Dinah pantomimes what she would be doing. He play-gawks at the empty space representing a toddler’s drawing (he assumes) and puts on a smile. He gets a little wistful at the idea of missing one of his children’s firsts like that. The pantomiming patting a pregnant belly threw him off, even with the hints. Trying his best to avoid that minefield, he tries to turn back the conversation.

“So, is this fridge-worthy?”

“You’d think I’d let our 3 year old in that kitchen? We have a small army to feed everyday. We have a lovely magnetic whiteboard in the hall by her room that we hang her pictures on. And, of course it’s worthy to be displayed. Tell me what you see.”

So, that was like 2 mines I stepped on to avoid stepping on another. He considers his next words carefully. “Well, I like the sun. Always good to have a smiley-faced sun. She drew you playing (is that checkers?) with her. She really likes those pigtails you put her in, huh? And there’s Tina making flowers appear out of nowhere. She nailed how rosy Tina’s cheeks get when she’s fooling around with magic. Please don’t make me explain why that happens. Josie’s wrestling a bear, because, of course she would. But they’re both smiling, so it’s fun wrestling, not mean wrestling. Scarlet’s helping baby Ophelia walk. They look so cute together. Vix is shouting at the computer, tied up to her chair. Again, please don’t make me explain why that happens. Everyone looks happy. But where am I?”

“She said you were in the car, driving to work. She really wishes you would spend more time at home.”

“Like you said, we have a small army to feed everyday,” he notes. He pauses, then adds, “Am I a bad mother?” Not a question I ever thought I’d be asking.

“Of course you aren’t. You care for them so much. Just remember to not stretch yourself too thin. Our family is growing. Can you clear the table and grab dessert? I had Skye bake an apple pie for us. She is a really good baker, you know.”

He takes the plates, noting that dessert forks were part of the place-setting, and carries the used dishes to the sink. A couple of slices of warm apple pie await in the kitchen, each with a small dollop of ice cream. He walks back and serves Dinah first, then sits in his spot. The cook on the apples is just right. The thin slices of brie in the pie filling were surprising, but good. Dinah looks a little less appreciative of that modification.

“I think I liked that chocolate cake she made for her date better,” she finally states.

“Good. More pie for me,” To accentuate his approval, he grabs the last bite from his slice. Then, to continue the actual conversation, he adds “How can I be there for them better?”

“You’ll figure it out, Francis. I know you will. And you did well with this little passing dream we just played,” Dinah notes, standing to clear the table, “If you’ll join me on the couch, we have more pressing, less pleasant matters to attend to.”

Scarlet

Scarlet has been seeing red since she came to in that dungeon. She’s now a woman so driven by her wrath that, frankly, she’s just not capable of thinking rationally. She is on a mission. A mission for ****. Josie is saying something from down below, but Scarlet doesn’t want to understand it.

She makes it up to the still shopkeepless store with no issues. She, with some effort, pulls a battleaxe off of the wall. It’s heavy, she thinks as she gives it a test swing into a shelf. The ax lops off a meaty chunk of wood. And it’s sharp. Perfect.

She trudges over to the store counter, dragging the heavy ax behind her. She puts a lot of heft to overhead swing the ax head directly into the cheap little counter bell, shattering it and leaving a thick gash in the underlining wood.

“WINK!” Scarlet bellows. She pulls the ax back, ready to swing when the time is right.

And the time soon becomes right as the target of her wrath pops up to the counter. She swings the blade towards the mermaid’s neck, laughing almost maniacally.

A couple of surprising things happen in rapid succession (though maybe less surprising if Scarlet was in her right mind). The mermaid mutters some words that Scarlet would not understand even if she was in her right mind and a shimmering barrier completely halts her swing; the ax bounces off, making her lose balance. More words muttered and Scarlet’s world turns black before she hits the ground.

Behind the Scenes

Daphne nervously shimmies out from behind the counter and touches the stunned, frozen in midair Scarlet. The two disappear right before an exhausted looking Josie princess carries a very gropey Tina up the stairs. The clattering of the axe falling behind the counter startles the two of them.