Eventually, and not quite.

Samantha curled up into a tighter ball and squeezed her eyes shut. She was aware enough to listen, but her mind still felt dull. She just knew standing up would be bad. She wasn't supposed to do that, wasn't supposed to make noise. Doing that would make the pain come back.

For a while nothing happened. Then she felt Tom's hand on her shoulder. "I know that must have hurt, but the collar is off now. Tiffany is locked up, and nobody is going to make you act like an animal ever again. You just have to stand up."

The hand left her shoulder and took hold of her arm. Samantha tried to get away when Tom started pulling her up, but he patiently waited until she calmed down and tried again. This time Samantha reluctantly let him help her onto her feet. When he let go of her she stood there timidly, arms wrapped around her midsection and her gaze locked on the ground.

After a while Tom prodded her. "Come on Samantha, just say something and this will all be over."

The naked young woman took a moment to ready herself, balling her fists by her sides as she prepared to speak. "My... My name is Samantha Smith. I'm a human being and a citizen of the United States of America. Look it up."

The AI's answer came promptly. "Premiere Resort does not have access to foreign citizenship records. Samantha Smith was checked into this resort as a pet. Airline records indicate she traveled here under pet accommodations. This confirms Samantha Smith is a pet."

Samantha whimpered. "But I can talk. Pets don't talk."

"Several domesticated animal species are capable of mimicking speech. It is logical to conclude that Homo sapiens petticus is one of them."

Samantha opened her mouth again to protest, but the AI beat her to it. "This pet was brought here to be identified and fed. If she is not being fed she will be returned to the kennel to wait for an animal specialist."

"For crying out loud!" Pete exclaimed while Samantha's eyes widened in fear. "Let's get her fed then. We got free room service, so help yourself. Uh, Homo sapiens petticus has the same dietary needs as Homo sapiens sapiens," he added for the AI, which accepted it with a "Very well. You may feed her here."

Samantha's eyes went to the mess of plates on the ground. Most of the food had fallen onto the carpet, but some of it had stayed on its plate. Before anyone could offer to order something fresh, she had crossed the room and crouched down in front of it. Resisting the urge to get on all fours again, Samantha picked up the plate and made herself as comfortable as she could sitting naked on the bed.

As she ate, the last effects of the veterinary **** wore off, allowing Samantha to think clearly again. While she focused on ordering her thoughts, Tom and Pete kept arguing with the AI. She tuned them out for now, having gotten used to other people deciding things for her.

When Samantha had eaten her fill, she got up to rejoin the guys.

"We got the AI to agree that letting us watch you is better than sending you back to the kennel," Pete explained when she asked what they'd been talking about. "And it says it's ok for you to wear clothes, so why don't we head down to your room where you can get dressed?"

Samantha's hands twitched as if to cover herself when she realised she was still naked, but she reminded herself that the guys had already seen all of her. Neither of them had made any moves on her, apart from Pete after they'd scared Tiffany out of the bathhouse. Still, she'd feel more comfortable and like herself if she had something to wear, so she nodded and told Pete she'd like that.

With that settled Pete started walking, and Tom and Samantha followed him out of the suite. Or rather, Samantha tried to.

"Alert! Pet exiting room without leash. Please secure pet with proper restraint."

"What?" Tom demanded of the AI. "We just went over this, the collar was torturing her!"

"And I'm not getting back in the carrier again," Samantha said bitterly.

"Alternative: manual restraint. You may carry the pet between rooms."

"Really? Alright, whatever," Tom said as he turned around, presenting his back to Samantha. "Hop on."