Work before play

After the hug fest had ended, Zoe picked up the tablet that Chloe had previously been using, swiping through a few things. "Chloe, if you don't mind, you'd be able to more easily examine Emily to make sure she's not going to run into any issues."

With a **** look on her face, Chloe tugged at your arm and motioned you over to the couch again, examining the injection site on your neck and then looking carefully at your eyes, your ears, down your throat, giving you a careful head exam. "Any headache, tension, blurred vision, or other unusual sensations or pains?"

You shook your head. "I'm totally fine. Honestly, if it wasn't for the initial weirdness with the nanites, I probably wouldn't have even known they were doing anything at all."

Chloe lightly prods at the base of your skull near the injection site with a finger. "Tell me more about that, what initial weirdness?"

"Just had a few moments of strange thoughts, sensations, all random and uncontrollable. It didn't last very long though."

Chloe nodded, glanced over at Zoe and Ela--who were conducting a similar exam, where Zoe had a flashlight looking at Ela's eyes, even if they were just shapeshifter constructs they must behave like a human's might, you figured--before turning back. "Alright, I'm gonna speed this up for us, but it's going to involve some of my slime and it's going to be weird. But, I have the perfect distraction for that, I think you'll enjoy what I've got in store for you."

"What exactly do you--" your sentence was abruptly interrupted as Chloe leaned in for a deep kiss! Her lips connected with yours, and immediately you were awash in a bit of a buzzy feeling, surprised by the contact but very much welcoming it. Dr. Walker was incredibly beautiful, of course, and her lips were so soft... her hands braced at your waist, and all these sensations combined to hide the other sensation of the slimy tendril entering your mouth and flowing up into your head. You definitely noticed the weirdness, but you were focused on Chloe's body at the moment, how it felt as she pushed against yours.

In the moment, you wanted to go further, even with the others present in the room. You were so quickly lost in the world of the kiss, the rest of the room had no meaning to you right then. You imagined reaching up, taking hold of Chloe's breasts, rubbing and squeezing them... you and Chloe were both startled out of the kiss when you heard a yelp come from Zoe. Both of you turned to look to see what was the matter.

Zoe had her hands up, the little flashlight from her exam still in her grips, while Ela's hands were firmly planted on Zoe's chest, fingers digging deep. Ela, for her part, didn't even really seem to think twice about how she was playing with Zoe's body in front of the others. Zoe turned to look at you two, having seen the kiss but starting to piece two and two together as she looked at the blush on your face. "...I think we can chalk this one up to the remote suggestibility working as it should."

"Why, did something happen?" Ela asked, a concerned look on her face. She didn't even register that her groping was out of the ordinary, or whether it was inappropriate. But she was definitely acting out what you had previously wanted. "How can you tell about that? Are the nanites working?"

Chloe grinned, turning back to you. "You little gutterbrain! Maybe I'll give you a peek later. You think you could get Zoe out of Ela's clutches, though? Let's finish gathering data before we start having fun."

Your face turned beet red as you focused your thoughts, trying to 'want' Ela's hands to let go of Zoe. To your amazement, she seemed to drop them into her lap without hesitation, or even acknowledgement that any of that had even occurred. Ela just sat still, awaiting the remainder of the exam, which Zoe eventually started again.

Chloe cleared her throat, and then sat back in her seat. "I gave you a good look inside and out, I don't see any adverse effects from the nanites, they're all present in your synaptic pathways and are intercepting and broadcasting signals. Your nanites shouldn't get any feedback, just due to the amount that was used on you they're not really strong enough as a cluster to both receive and transmit, so they are really just taking care of that."

"I, uh... about that..." Your eyes stared down at the floor, as your fists clenched tightly in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it. Zoe and I like you plenty, and like we were saying earlier, sex and affection and attraction don't really mean the same to us. The physical aspect can be enjoyable but that's typically more true with a host, which Zoe currently does not have. Technically, you are Ela's host, I guess you could say... even though her body isn't human, she now has a human sex drive since you have a sex drive and your hormones will lead to brain signals which Ela will interpret as part of the motivation and behavior routines."

"Even if I'm not actually thinking about, uh, that stuff?" You asked. You weren't entirely sure how that breakdown worked.

Chloe nods. "What you did before with directly transmitting your thoughts, you'll have to learn how to control it, but that's the only real conscious control you would have through the nanites. The rest is subconscious--Ela will find meaning in the things she does because you do the same, or you'll take pride in your work, so she will as well. You probably want to have relationships, now she'll want the same kinds. You've got things in your head that when you wake up, they inspire you to not just go back to sleep, and it's more than just eating food to survive. Ela might interpret them differently, but those motivations are there now, and they are a lot like a compass to help orient the rest of her mind. Preferences and other behaviors too, those might be picked up by her. We'll see in time if she ends up in to the same music or fashion or TV shows or hobbies as you."

You tap your chin, thinking a little as Zoe and Ela finish their own exam, and then embrace each other in a hug. "And... if that connection is severed or broken temporarily?"

"If she loses a connection to you, then her nanites will allow her to still function, but she'll just be highly suggestible to verbal stimuli again. She won't want things, essentially, other than what is needed to survive. Likely, if she wasn't in danger or lacking basic needs, she'd probably just sit around and wait for the signal from your nanites to be restored. You sort of complete her, Emily, please keep that in mind. And I know that seems like a big burden right now, but I think you'll find that a very cooperative person like Ela will help find ways to ease that trouble."

Zoe and Ela step over toward you two, and Zoe sits down next to Chloe to talk about results. Ela, seemingly of her own initiative, took a seat next to you, looking into your eyes. "So strange to think that part of me is really part of you, behind those eyes... but I really feel so much... better, I don't know how else to describe it! So, thank you, Emily. I'll do what I can to make your gift benefit you as much as it benefits me."

After some whispers and nodding from the two doctors, they eventually look up. "Seems everything's in order now," Chloe said. "Well, what's next on the agenda? Maybe a bit more thorough of a demonstration of Ela's abilities? Or maybe more tests with the remote control?"