Short Story: Microbrain (Complete)

"Microbrain" is just a working title. I have only three non-magical ideas for shrinking methods that don't quite involve breaking laws of physics as far as I know. One is an Einstein-Rosen bridge/wormhole which is what I had in my head for the method in Escape Artist after I decided to make it non-magical. The second is doll replacement, where the 'victim' is wired up so that they see the world through a robotic doll and aren't aware that their real body is somewhere else. Lastly there's nanotech, altering the body into a smaller state and replacing organs that can't operate at small size. This is based off the last one, and "Microbrain" is the in-story term for the nano-replacement for the brain.

I'm specifically trying to slow it down. I have a personal preference towards a faster shrink since it lends itself towards more variety, but I appreciate the reactions during the process and got the sense that taking the time to explore all the sizes along the way is whats expected here.


--------1--------
Staring at her image in the mirror screen, Doctor Tamanna Varanesse saw only the onset of wrinkles, tattered brown hair and a small chest. She could afford better, she knew, but something was just wrong to her about cosmetic surgery and beauticians. Not so much cheating as simply inferior and incomplete, not to mention dangerous. While she was far from ready to settle down, and really had no time to play the field with her work, it bothered her that no one even asked.

With a frustrated sigh, she picked up a brush and began roughly dragging it through her hair. She still had her work, and nothing brought her more joy than to see the progress they were making. As the university budget committee had told her just last month, her wireless neural node model for cooperation among nanobot was nothing less than astonishing in action. While the previous generation had been limited to simply replicating themselves and following basic instructions, her nanobots could create divisions of labor on their own, based on the task at hand. While it was something of a parlor trick, her demonstration of reconstructing a shattered palmtop computer in a matter of only hours had allowed her to not only increase her budget, but gain additional lab space in the process. She didn't feel the need to point out that it was almost a millimeter smaller from the energy needs of the nanobots, since it was so negligibly small.

The accomplishment was nothing compared to their eventual goal - a swarm of nanobots safe enough to enter the human body and finally mechanize a cure for currently untreatable cancers and quite possibly stem the tide of amateur viruses that were cropping up in every country that didn't successfully uphold the ban on so-called "home" gene sequencing technology.

Her hair in some semblance of order, "Tammy" picked out her lab coat from the wardrobe screen on her phone. Finished, she stepped out of her small apartment and into a pod standing by her doorway. A seat formed in the pod - a product of third generation nanotech. Seemingly advanced, it was merely a set of pre-programmed commands that were toggled on and off. It would never create anything but a red simulated leather seat that was invariably uncomfortable. Outside, the maglev engine whisked it from her doorstep past a long chain of dormitories, finally coming to rest in a space no larger than a broom closet under an alcove of the applied sciences building. One of the last vestiges of brick construction on campus, it was her least favorite part of her job. Today was no exception. When the door to the pod whisked open, she found once again that it had malfunctioned, pointing her directly into a solid wall. Reaching out, she pressed hard against the wall, slowly turning the opening towards the outside.

The main door to the building, however, chose to work today. It swung open at her approach, having already confirmed her identity, and sure enough, the lab coat she had selected earlier was disinfected and waiting for her just inside. She slipped it on abscently and headed for her lab.

As usual, Michael was already there working. She had hired him last year the same day she informed him he had passed his capstone project. While the nodes had been her idea, he had done much of the legwork in coding them, and she needed someone competent to assist her if she was going to stay on track to beat MIT to creating the next viable nanogeneration.

"Good morning, Doctor V." He called, not looking up from his screens.

She smiled, seeing him caught up in something already. "You didn't stay here all night again, did you?" She asked.

He flipped a switch on his console and the screens lowered, leaving him blinking to adjust his eyes. "Maybe." He answered tentatively.

"I assume it was worth it." She said glibly.

He scratched behind his ear and looked down at the floor. Dark matted hair at the back of his neck gave away that he had slept there at least some of the evening.

She knew his mannerisms and realized he was frustrated with something. "What's the matter?" She asked. "Maybe a fresh set of eyes can solve it."

"I was working on the neuron recording system. I actually got the microbrain to work, but now the mass loss rate is doubled." He sighed. "Worse yet, it's a constant since it's running the microbrain and it's interfaces with the subject's motor functions. We could hook it up to a lab rat right now and it would work, but the rat would be eaten away down to nothing inside of a week."

The microbrain, as they called it, was a construct the nanobots created when working on the brain to preserve it's functions until new neurons were in place to repair the damage. More space-efficient than a "wet" brain, the microbrain had the fatal flaw of extremely high energy demands. The only way to meet the demands was to break down carbon and iron in the host and expel the waste into the air around them. Over a short period, iron supplements and an increased appetite would be sufficient, but past twelve hours it would begin to scavenge body mass to keep the patient alive, doing so proportionally to avoid noticeable effects. What was most frustrating was that the energy demands outside a host were at sustainable levels. A 200mg iron supplement kept it running for a whole day. Something in their waste management design was flawed.

"So we do it my way and have the microbrain create a surface port. It's not pretty, but it should bypass our problem." She replied, knowing the argument it would start.

He shook his head. "It's not about aesthetics. We'll be called barbaric if we have something protruding from the skin like that. You remember what happened when they tried to bring back hypodermics."

While he was right, she knew that problem could be tackled by whoever picked up their patent and commercialized it, while they'd still bring in the funding and still be first to market. Still, it could backfire if the FDA deemed their tests invalid because of humanitarian concerns. She shrugged and sat down at her workstation opposite his. "Do what you want then." She flipped her own switch, bringing her screens up and making it clear to Michael that she intended to be just as stubborn.

On her console, though, her first task was hardly work related. She pulled up a biorepair schematic she had been playing with. Instead of a disease, this human model was taken from herself. The pattern had been changed through weeks of her tinkering with it, and now it showed red hair that flowed past her shoulders, a tightening of her skin that removed the worry lines from twelve years of stressful teaching and lab work, and most embarrassingly, the model's chest bulged out prominently, at least three cup sizes larger than the original. Other, more subtle changes were present, but what interested her today was the weight. Her bout of vanity this morning had been inspired by an extra three pounds on her scale's readout. Plugging in her change, she loaded the simulation, watching blissfully as her virtual self melted towards her ideal.

Leaving the simulation running, she flipped her switch, lowering the screens. It was her turn to prep the test subject today. A cloned rat by the name of Bess was up for today, scurrying in nervous circles in it's cage. The nanobots had already been introduced through her food, but until the programming was activated, they were inert. The same could not be said for Bess though. When Tammy lifted the metal door to transfer her into a portable plastic cage, she wrenched her head around and bit into the woman's hand. Cursing, Tammy shoved the rodent in and popped the cage closed. "I'm not going to sympathize with you at all if this test fails, Bess." She said bitterly. Dropping the cage into the test slot, she went for the first aid kit, allowing it to spray antibiotic on her hand automatically, and then slip a bandage sheath over it.

Sliding back into her workstation, she found an error on her simulation. Unfortunately, it seemed she had miscalculated something. The failure disappointed her, but she knew it wasn't really important, just a pet project that would never see daylight. She selected an option to reset to previous and reload the simulation. Minimizing it from her screen, she turned her attention to virtual Bess. Making her selection of today's test, she loaded the active framework from the server and told it to upload. Within minutes the program would be passed on to the nanobots inside Bess, and with the small body of the rat, they should see results by the end of the day.

***

That evening Tammy had changed her mind. The grusome way Bess had died, being ripped apart to make parts for something the nanobots had no hope of constructing - that wasn't what she had in mind when she cursed the poor little thing that bit her. Neither she nor Michael could figure out what had happened. It was almost as if it was trying to create a human heart out of the meager mass of the rodent. Rather than retrieve the inexpensive cage, both had opted to incinerate it rather than clean the miniature bloodbath off of it's walls.

Leaving Michael to finish up, she hurried out of the lab before the nausea could return. As she walked down the hall, she puzzled over why it had affected her so much more than usual. It crossed her mind that she might be coming down with something, but with no other symptoms, she dismissed it. The main door greeted her as she left for home, extending an arm for her lab coat. She shrugged it off and tossed it on the machine, and then proceeded to her pod. That was the last thing she remembered before finding herself in the pod slumped out it's opening in front of her apartment.

"How the hell..." She began, looking around. Her vision was a little blurry, and her balance was off, making it difficult as she tried to stand up. Using the pod to steady herself, though, she managed to reach her door and stand there until her vision cleared up a moment later. As it did, she remembered her nausea earlier. "I was right, I am getting sick." She explained to herself.

The balance and vision seemed to have cleared up, though, so she went inside, bolting the door behind her just in case someone had seen and thought to take advantage of her.

Before lying down, though, she made a stop in her bathroom, standing on the scale almost immediately. To her surprise, the three pounds that had worried her so much before were gone. Better yet, they had taken another two with them, meaning a net weight loss. Strangely, her belt also seemed a little loose, as if it had been let out half a notch. Attributing it to whatever illness she had contracted, though, she decided bedrest was the best solution. She would feel better after sleep anyway.

[qzar9999]

Interesting idea... I'll have to read the next part.

Thanks. I appreciate any feedback I can get.

I'm trying not to go too fast with her shrink, but if I'm overcompensating and going too slow, let me know. I do plan on it getting faster as she gets smaller, since there's less mass to deal with, but not to the point of "we've got 30 minutes before she shrinks out of existence, doctor!" with a big countdown clock and a heroic ending at .01 seconds.

--------2--------

The next morning, Tammy was feeling anything but rested. The alarm was blaring inside the headboard of her bed and her head was beginning to throb in time with the nose. Reaching a hand out from the blanket, she tried to hit the snooze alarm as she did every morning. A dull thump and pain in her fingers brought her fully awake. She had missed it by a good inch and a half and had hit her fingers on the faux wood instead. Sitting up, she stuck her injured fingers in her mouth and flipped the alarm off with her other hand. Another great morning had begun.

She slid out of her bedclothes, finding them a little cumbersome across her chest, but otherwise cooperative. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she slid off the bed and reached her toes to the floor. Still feeling a little out of sorts, she scooted over the edge a bit and onto the floor. "Shower" she said to herself. "No sense fighting Murphy's law until I've had my shower."

Already having shed her bedclothes, she trudged towards the bathroom, dragging her feet. At this point it didn't seem at all odd to her that the doorhandle felt somehow wrong in her hand. The shower was all she wanted to think about for now. With no effort, she stepped out of her underpants as they slid off at her barely coaxing the waistline. Her bra wasn't so loose, but she dismissed it as not shower related. Finally she stepped into her shower and pulled the curtain behind her. The initially cold water did help to wake her, but it did nothing for her coordination. She had barely begun when she fumbled for the shampoo, knocking it off onto her foot and following it with a curse. She was more careful with her soap, though, watching what she was doing this time, the success reassuring her for the first time the entire morning.

Moments later she shrieked and thrust open the curtain, ignoring the water pouring behind her and the soap dripping off of her. Frightened, she rushed to the mirror and stared, holding her chest with soapy hands. Sure enough, something had changed. It wasn't as dramatic as her dream, but they were noticeably larger. Where they had been a mere bulge before, there was defined shape and roundness, even the beginnings of a divide between them. Her mind raced as she looked over the rest of her body. She couldn't quite make out a difference, thought her complexion seemed clearer and she might have lost weight. The one change, though, that she couldn't deny was the roots of her hair. While the majority of her hair was a deep brown, nearly an inch of transition was clearly showing red beneath it.

Her program, at its earliest phases. There was no denying it. She tried to think back of who might know about it, but she had told no one. No one would have gotten onto her machine without Michael knowing about it... "Michael!" She was horrified. How could he have broken into her computer? How could he have experimented on her like this? How could...

"Calm down." She said to herself. This was no time to panic. So long as it didn't have to sustain nerve tissue, particularly the brain, it would just run its course and she might be a little hungry at worst. She just needed to get to the lab and shut them off. Frazzled, but at least beginning to grasp why she was so out of sorts, Tammy returned to her shower. Blushing, she took extra time washing her newly enlarged chest. The sensation of new flesh was unmistakable and all too addictive. Maybe it wasn't so important that she stop Michael's little experiment with her right away. It might be fun to see him squirm, wondering when he'd be found out.

After an unusually long shower, she stood admiring herself in the mirror. The red wasn't progressed far enough yet, but the color was exactly right. In fact, it seemed as though it had advanced nearly an inch while she had been showering, meaning the nanobots dedicated to that mission were working independently as she expected from the model. In terms of her hair color, that meant it would be fully red by the end of the day as the bots picked up speed with the root work already completed. From there they would be reassigned and her other "attributes" would take shape more quickly. Her underpants had been too large, she realized, because of the changes to her waist and bottom. Just a little cosmetic reduction, but enough to make them loose. To be sure they didn't fall down during work, she slipped them on and used a safety pin to separate out about an inch and a half slack, making the band at least feel tight. As expected, her bra was no loose fit, but strangely it wasn't too small either. Too elated by the change to think much on it, she finished getting dressed, taking out a ballcap from her closet for the finishing touch. She bunched her hair up into it and turned it around backwards, making sure to cover her roots well. Glancing at her belt, she counted two notches from the well worn notch she had used yesterday. That part was nearly finished, with only another notch before she reached her goal. It did seem strange that the rates were so off, but she didn't know how Michael had done it. Perhaps the method hadn't allowed for enough nanobots to start replication normally. Otherwise, she'd have expected the process to be half completed already.

With an immovable smile on her face, she left her apartment and stepped into her pod. The entire trip was spent trying to compose herself so she didn't let Michael know that she knew. She had needed to disuade him from a romantic interest when he was still a student, and it had occurred to her that they no longer had that restriction. Maybe he saw her construct and liked what he saw.

Her smile faded, though, when the main door balked at her entrance. She realized immediately that she'd forgotten to call up a lab coat, but the building should still have let her in. When it insisted upon alternate ID, she pressed her palm to the glass and growled. "Work, you outdated piece of crap, I was having such a good day until I ran into you."

With a chime, the machine responded "Within parameters", rather than it's usual "Match" status when it glitched like this. Once inside, she went to the lab, calling up a lab coat and resetting the destination as she did so.

Michael, hard at work as always, didn't look up as she came through the door. Seeing him there, though, brought back her good mood. His little prank was reckless, but she knew he had good intentions, and she was loving the result. Slipping in behind him, she yelled, "Wake up! No sleeping on the job!"

The surprise made him jump out of his seat. He looked up at her standing over him and grinned. "You're having a good morning, aren't you, Doctor V?"

Feeling generous, she decided the name was a little distant. "We're colleagues now, I guess I can let you call me Tammy." His head clear of the screens, she could see a little of what he was working on, diagnosing the remains of yesterday's fiasco. Realizing that was a side effect she hadn't considered, a knot formed in her stomach. Then again, if it was a risk, why hadn't he said anything? "Umm, what's the verdict on Bess?"

He shrugged. "Simple one, actually. A human profile was loaded into it rather than a rat's. It started at the core doing a complete reconstruct of the heart, and ran out of parts before it finished. Until we burned it, it was still keeping her mind alive in a microbrain, just unconscious. If it'd had enough material, we'd have seen a human walk out with all the experiences of a rat."

Both relieved and curious, she pressed for details. "Any idea how it happened?"

He smiled at her and didn't respond for a moment. Confused, she stared back. "You uploaded it. I think we know who botched this one. If that weren't enough, I looked at the model that was in the nodes still. I think I recognize the base model." He added, beginning to blush. "Though there's parts of it I hadn't seen before."

It still didn't sink in, till he switched frames on his screen, showing a familiar brown haired version of herself she'd seen yesterday, with black bars crudely drawn over key parts. Seeing his censorship, she caught on, blushing herself. "Thanks for that." Reviewing in her mind her steps yesterday, she realized her mistake. She had left her simulation running and had forgotten Bess's test wasn't loaded yet. Another realization hit her. "Wait, you've not seen this before?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Nope, but don't worry, Doc...I mean Tammy, your secret's safe with me. Everyone here has their pet project, and this skeleton in your closet is no worse than mine."

Briefly, she wondered what he was hiding, but now she was worried. Michael hadn't done this to her, so how had it gotten into her? Her fears played out on her face and she didn't respond.

Seeing her taking it more seriously than he expected, he frowned. "Is something else wrong?"

She nodded.

He prodded for more information, after glancing at her hat, loose clothing, and lack of lab coat. "Does it have something to do with why you're not in uniform today?"

She nodded again, but replied. "I thought you did it."

Now growing worried himself as the pieces fit together, he asked more directly. "Did what?"

She took off the hat, letting her hair fall out from under it. Unmistakably, nearly four inches were already red, just like the construct. Another inch was in transition, and it was clear from her face that it wasn't some sort of prank.

All he could manage was "Oh crap."

Again she nodded.

-----------------------

I've started posting these on DA (http://illun.deviantart.com/) and have posted parts 3-5 there. If you want, I can continue posting them here as well, but I felt uncomfortable bumping my own topic with just story updates.

[Sailordolly]

Please do continue it here!

Ok.
I haven't quite finished 6 yet, and I'm leaving in just a bit for Christmas, but I'll go ahead and post 3-5 here with the dashes between them:

Update: Added 6 now. Got done sooner than I expected.
Updated again: Got home from Christmas celebration and started writing again. 7 is now up.
Update the third: 8 is now up.
Update the fourth: 9 is now up.
Update the fifth: 10 is now up, 11 will be the final installment.
Final update: 11 is up. That's all folks. Any future appearances of these characters would be a new story (and one I haven't thought of yet). If you want to borrow them, just please bring them back safely when you're done.

--------3--------

With the realization that Doctor Varanesse had been infected with nanobots in uncontrolled circumstances, both she and her assistant were understandably worried. The previous day's malfunction left a clear example of what could go wrong, though the explanation was at least reassuring. It was her pet project, meant only for her. Since she was the subject, the nanobots should perform as expected, but it was far too soon for a human trial.

A drone arrived at the door, carrying the fresh lab coat she had ordered, but Michael took it instead, hanging it over her seat. Tammy was working in the opposite direction, taking off her clothes behind a pile of boxes and slipping into a thin patient gown. Dangling loosely around her, she was glad that one of her classes had required them, allowing her to order something more comfortable and discrete than the typical throw-over style. Unfortunately, her use was a little more serious than a first year class learning nanoinjection techniques on themselves. Finished, she stuck her head out from around the makeshift privacy screen. "Lock the door, I don't want any of my students walking in on this."

"Sure thing." He replied, knowing all too well how embarrassed he'd been in the class she used those gowns for. He palmed a glass panel by the door and waited for a digital click, letting him know the door had been sealed magnetically. He turned to find Tammy already seated and abashedly tucking the front edge of her gown down under her legs to avoid exposure. Not wanting to embarrass her further, he decided not to point out that he'd already seen more in her construct diagram.

Impatiently, she pulled the scanner over herself, positioning it over her hair where they had both seen activity. "Let's start it up, Michael. I don't want these things eating me alive without a dinner invite."

He smiled sympathetically, knowing her joke was to cover how she felt. He reached down to his desk and tapped an icon on his screen, starting the scan. "Started!" He replied. "Just be a minute."

A wave of soft green light passed over her face, and more importantly, her hair. She knew the light was just for her benefit, so that the patient knew what was being scanned, but it was still comforting. After only three passes, though, it was over.

Michael watched as the data filled in on his screen. "While I'm analyzing this, ask yourself the questions aloud. I'll listen in."

She reached over to the desk beside her and picked up a plastic sheet. Pressing the icon at the top caused it to turn opaque and the wording to appear as if it were a piece of old-style paper. Following his lead, she began reading. "History of negative reaction to... No. History of heart yada-yada. No. History of... I'll just skip the histories, we already know four of my relatives had cancer and my mother used to smoke before the ban. Recent symptoms - no on all the pain ones. No cough, nothing gastro, no shortness of breath. Hmm... Yes on nausea. I thought it was seeing Bess, but now I doubt it." She looked up from her reading and her face went pale with realization. "Oh shit. I passed out last night on the way home."

Before she could continue, Michael responded haltingly. "And I think I know why. The scan showed what we already knew, they are the nanobots designated for Bess, and they are loaded with your model. Fortunately, the angle was wide enough to show your head too. I'm... I'm sorry, Doctor V." He lowered his head.

"Tell me, Mike. Just say it." She insisted.

When he raised his head, he could barely look at her, tears already forming in his eyes. "I can't shut them off. There's already a microbrain. A big one at the base of your temporal lobe with ties to every nerve I could find. You're thinking from the microbrain, not your real brain."

Needing his help, she tried to reassure him. "You can fix it, Michael. You just have to upload a new command so they transfer everything back. I'll just be out for a little while and then they'll have me back together, good as new." Standing up, she reached for her lab coat, pulling it on over the gown. She tried to hide the shock as she realized her hands didn't reach past the sleeves anymore. "At worst," she continued, "I'll have to get a new wardrobe." Punctuating her point, she rolled up her sleeves.

Michael was still not convinced. Something was really bothering him. "Doctor." He began.

"Tammy." She interrupted.

He paused, taking a moment to breathe and compose himself before continuing. "Sorry, Tammy. I can't just transfer your mind back. We're fifty-fifty with that working on the rats, it uses too much energy too fast for the transfer to work reliably before your real brain has lost too much mass to function the same."

She nodded understandingly. "Then you need to fix the energy loss. If you do that, we're not on a time crunch anyway, and we can do this at a safer pace." She waited a moment expecting a reply. When it didn't come, she announced, "That's where we start then. And I don't want to hear anything about you not being able to do it. Farm it out to the students if you need help, but don't give up on me. Please!"

With a sniffle he nodded, then dried his eyes. "I'll do my best, Tammy. I just." He stopped, unable to finish. Hanging his head again, he turned back to his screens.

Realizing something more was going on, she walked around behind him again. Putting her hands on the back of his chair, she pulled him backwards so he looked up at her again. "You just what? Are you giving up already?" She gave him a playful smile, hoping to cheer him up before getting him refocused.

He gulped, then started to speak. Nervously, though, the words didn't form. He leaned forward, causing the chair to rebalance and slide out from under her hands. He turned and faced her, trying again. "I know you weren't interested in me, but I still... I still care about you. I just can't stand the thought of you dying from my failure."

So that was it. He'd held back all this time thinking about that, and now it was coming to the surface. Part of her must have suspected it, though. She had thought about it once already this morning herself. Her smile widened into a mischievous grin. "Oh my. Tell you what, loverboy. If I survive this, you've got yourself a date. We can talk about how to tell the difference between academic policy and a brushoff after that." With a wink, she headed back to her console. "Now hurry up. I don't think you'll make it to first base if I need a stepstool."

With new encouragement, Michael found it easier to smile. He immediately sunk back into his workstation, clattering hurriedly at the keys as he emailed their better students a new set of assignments.

***

Several hours later, Tammy got up from her station, yawning. By this point her hair was almost fully red, and she had rolled up her sleeves a second time, though she wasn't certain if it was from further reduction or just her fear of it. "It's closing time, Mike. Even you need your sleep."

Michael slid out from his console and looked up at her over the top surprised. "You're joking, right? I can sleep when you're not dying on me." He pushed his chair back and stepped out from behind it.

"Wow. You're really earning points today." She said, blushing at his concern for her. "I guess I should be more motivated too, it just doesn't feel like I'm that dire yet." She slid off her lab coat, revealing the gown from earlier. "Let me get changed at least, then we'll take a dinner break." Heading back to the pile of boxes and without looking, she added, "My treat, and I do insist."

Behind the barricade of stored lab equipment she untied the straps of the gown, letting it fall to the floor. Looking down, she confirmed what she'd felt for the last couple hours. Her formerly small breasts now were larger than her fist and even began to weigh against her abdomen. Sliding her hand underneath her left breast, she felt out how far it had expanded. Just a few more hours, she estimated, and she'd be the D-cup she had coded in her model. In the best case scenario, she hoped that the microbrain would return her consciousness to her real brain and that would be the end of it. Realistically that seemed doubtful, but she could at least hope. Realizing Michael might wonder what was taking so long, she stopped fondling her new breasts with a blush and reached for her undergarments. Unsurprisingly, she had to adjust the safety pin again, this time leaving it a tight fit around the band but just hanging around her below that. With her expanded chest, though, the bra was finally starting to feel a little snug, which lifted her spirits a bit. After pulling her shirt over her head, she was a little frustrated to see it already hung well below where it had that morning. Her pants were no help either, coming up past her naval and requiring another two notches since she last wore them. Her socks hung loosely around her feet as well, and her shoes were almost a joke.

Walking out feeling like a child wearing her mother's clothing, she tried to face Michael. "I don't think I'm going anywhere tonight." She said with a weak laugh.

"No," he agreed, "I don't think you are."

--------4--------

For their dinner, they agreed a pizza with all meat toppings was the best choice. Not only was it easy to find delivery, but there was some hope that the added iron and carbon might slow the nanobot progress. He had also asked one of the students to bring a bottle of iron supplements over, claiming it was for an experiment. Michael had only had enough appetite for a few pieces, but insisted Tammy stuff herself.

Drinking a small bottled water, Tammy complained, "I don't know which is making me sick at this point, the nanobots or your diet plan."

Smiling, but not looking up from his workstation, he replied, "Don't blame me, you agreed it was the best way. I need more time to solve this problem, and it might buy us that."

She frowned. He was right, but it wasn't what she wanted to hear. Most of the way through a large pizza, she was getting sick. She had spent the last several months on a relatively light diet, so her stomach wasn't ready for this onslaught. Making things worse, she was beginning to smell a peculiar odor that was less than pleasant. her best guess was the output of the nanobots digesting pizza, but it didn't help her stomach any. Abandoning the last two pieces, and not feeling particularly effective, she went to bother Michael.

After a few minutes of her standing over his shoulder, Michael gave in. "Ok, what is it?" He asked, looking up at her in annoyance.

She smiled. "Nothing, just looking for inspiration. I'm fresh out, and this part is your area anyway."

He didn't share her enthusiasm and resumed staring into his screen. "You know, we are trying to save your life here. Isn't that inspiration enough?"

"Inspiration and motivation are two different things, Mike. Motivation by itself gets people to do very uninspired things most of the time." Not realizing it, she was leaning her newly grown chest over the back of his chair. The sensation of his head leaning back against them, though, alerted both Tammy and Michael to the change. Started and embarrassed, she pulled away and wrapped an arm defensively around her chest.

Realizing what had happened, Michael stared at her blinking for a moment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's not your fault, I'm just not used to...umm." She waved at her breasts, not coming up with the right words. "They usually don't stick out so far." Both blushed at her last comment.

Trying to make herself useful, she took out a roll of masking tape and ran a line of it up a wall panel from the ground to as high as she could reach. Measuring off in six inch increments, she made a dozen marks on it. Above the eleventh, she marked the previous days date and an asterisk. Next, she turned her back to the wall and pushed the pen down against her head and back till it made a mark on the tape. Turning around, the weight of her predicament sunk in. Over six inches already were gone. Those last two pieces didn't seem so bad now.

Before she could tend to that, though, there was a knock at the door. She started for it, but Michael held up a hand to warn her, then shook his head. He was right, it was best not to have just anyone know what was happening to her.

Palming the door panel, Michael unlocked it, letting the student in. It was Gregory Mathis, the student he'd emailed earlier. Clean-cut and well dressed, it was clear his parents were paying his way at the university. He had still managed to impress Michael though, which said something. "One box, five milligram iron tablets, just like the doctor ordered." He sung jokingly.

"Thanks." Michael replied, holding out a hand to take them.

Gregory stepped through the doorway, but placed the box in Michael's hand. Looking around, he noticed Tammy standing off to the side, but with the hair color and size difference, he no longer recognized her. "Who's the new girl?" He asked, turning back to Michael.

Not sure how to answer, Michael bit his lip. "Why don't you ask me that next week?" He replied, trying to weasel his way out of coming up with an excuse.

"No way, man." The younger man argued, sliding past his teacher over to the woman. He walked up beside her, looking down at the shorter woman in what he supposed was a romantic pose. "So, why haven't I seen you around, miss?" He asked, lilting the last word to find out her name as well.

"Oh, you've seen me." Tammy replied sarcastically.

Immediately recognizing the voice, Gregory stiffened up and thought he was in trouble at first. "I...I didn't recognize you. Umm... your hair looks nice." He tried to soften his guilt with cheesy grin.

"Thanks." She replied curtly, trying to shorten the conversation while she could. "Now quit fraternizing with the faculty. I think you have a homework assignment due."

"Yes, Doctor V. I uh..." He stopped, then looked down at her again. "Wait a minute, you were taller before." He cocked his head back in confusion.

"Yes, Mister Mathis, but I'm sure you know better than to let that information leave this room?" She added sternly, not liking where this was going.

"Umm.. ok." He replied, still grasping for an explanation. Tammy almost winced when she saw the look of understanding wash over him. "So that's what the homework is about. You tried it on yourself, and it's not working!" He announced.

"But I'm sure you know better than to let that information leave this room?" She repeated poignantly.

Realizing her concerns, he agreed. "Oh, yeah. Of course not! But, like, let me in on it, will ya? I want to see what happens."

Michael interrupted. "Hopefully, nothing further will happen. That's why you have that assignment."

"But if it does, you'll let me see, right?" He asked Tammy, ignoring Michael.

She sighed. It was clear he wasn't giving up. "So long as I have clothes on that fit, fine, but if Michael says to stay out, don't come barging in."

"Ok!" He replied excitedly. With a brief wave of concern for how she felt, or more likely his next grade report, he added. "Hopefully it'll just be growing back, of course."

"Of course." She repeated.

Having overstayed his welcome, Gregory hurried out. Not wanting further interruptions, Michael palmed the door pannel locked afterward. "Good student." Michael commented. "Not too swift, though."

Disgusted, Tammy just shook her head in disbelief. "I went from 'hot new chick' to guinea pig in a few bats of his eye. I'd hate to be the girl that ends up with him."

"Not my expertise." Joked Michael. "Though I can see why you wouldn't want him working in my place."

"I told you when you graduated, there's no one better at what you do." She grinned, thinking of her promised date earlier. "And you're right, I wouldn't want anyone taking your place either."

He tossed the box of iron tablets to her, trying to distract from his pride at her compliments. "Take three. Anything more will make you sick. After that, why don't you lie down. You look exhausted."

"This from the man who never sleeps." She protested, tearing open the box. From the jar inside she removed a wad of cotton and then poured three tablets into her hand. She replaced the lid and went back to her makeshift dinner table where she had left her water. In a few gulps, the iron tablets were gone.

Ignoring her nonsense, he went back to his work. He could feel the soluton was there, but it wasn't coming to him. As he'd expected, none of their students was any help. Two had even said to pull the plug. The bastards might get an F just for that, he thought to himself.

Glancing up at her chart, Tammy worried again. This was happening, and after Gregory's comment, she knew full well that it was noticeable. By this time tomorrow she'd be in serious trouble. A yawn broke her train of thought, though. She was getting fuzzy, and knew that Michael was right. She was exhausted. With a little luck, she hoped vainly, this was the microbrain getting ready to shut down. She slipped off her lab coat and laid it down in the back for bedding, then lowered herself down, noting with frustration that the coat would soon be long enough. She slipped her arms out of her shirt sleeves, tucking them inside to stay warm in lieu of a blanket and tried to get comfortable. "Good night, Michael." She called out.

"Good night, Tammy." He replied, feeling a little awkward doing so.

The awkwardness wasn't lost on her either, but rather than let it lie, she added, "Don't try anything funny while I'm asleep now." Trying unsuccessfully to sound as if she believed he might.

"If I try anything, I'll wake you first." He replied, missing the joke entirely.

Sighing, she realized he really didn't think that way. It was something to think about. That could be both good and bad if he was supposed to be her boyfriend after this. Thinking of Gregory as well, she couldn't help but laugh. It figured that not a day after she lost a few pounds, two guys already were interested in her. That wasn't fair to Michael, though. He had stayed by her for years thinking he had been rejected.

As she drifted off, his face faded out, leaving her to think of her own predicament. Some time during the night, she dreamed of herself in the shoes of an old movie character, running from a giant cat and hiding in a dollhouse. Through the tiny plastic door a paw lunged in at her, grasping. Finally it reached, but rather than sink its claws in, it just shook her, mewing and hissing each time.

She awoke and looked up to find Michael kneeling over her with a panicked look on his face insisting she wake up.

--------5--------

Tammy batted at Michael's hand on her shoulder, "I'm awake, I'm awake!"

Relieved, he pulled his hand away and sighed. "I was worried. You were screaming for help. You even triggered the security system."

Embarrassed, she sat up to see if security had sent someone, but Michael, still kneeling over her, was the only one there. It was then that she noticed her arms still weren't through her sleeves, but had bunched up her shirt above them. She blushed, and dropped her arms quickly to her sides, letting it fall down around her waist in a heap. As it dropped, it tugged at her neckline, stretching it slightly and showing most of her shoulders and exposing clearly her bra straps. Feeling underneath, she could tell she was just barely touching the inside of its cups now. She looked up at Michael again and realized even he seemed a little out of scale. The first reassurance, meager as it was, came when she slid her arms through her sleeves and found the short sleeves didn't come down to her elbow just yet. "How long have I been out?" She asked, concerned about the progress.

"It's been about six hours." He replied, scratching his head.

Her eyes widened and she shoved herself up to stand, but stopped abruptly when all her clothes drooped at once. Her shirt, thankfully, covered her vital areas, but her now loose belt and even her safety pinned underpants had fallen victim to gravity and now rested around her ankles. She looked nervously behind her and saw Michael blushing with his head turned away. Her own face turned several shades of red as well as she hopped he hadn't seen too much. She reached down and removed the safety pin, then reused it on the middle of her shirt bottom, fashioning it into a makeshift one-piece. Next, she stepped out of her oversized clothes like a deep snow drift and kicked her underpants down into her pant leg and out of sight. "You can..ah..look now." She said.

Michael turned back around and saw what she'd done. Not flattering, but it worked, for now. "Why don't I call up a new lab coat for you?" He offered.

Still feeling awkward, her voice faltered as she spoke. "Yes, please do." Feeling even smaller, if that were possible, she hurried over the chart. Her rush was almost as much to distance herself from the incident as it was an interest in her new height. Looking up at her old mark, though, did not bode well. Picking up the pen again, she backed up against the wall and tried to think "tall" thoughts while pressing the pen against her head and the wall. Turning around, her heart plummeted. Another five inches already, meaning she was down nearly a foot. At four foot eleven, she might be mistaken for just being a little shorter than average, if she bought an entire new wardrobe to match. Much smaller, though... She didn't want to think about it. She'd need to be on the tips of her toes to kiss Michael if he solved the problem right then.

It hit her then. She didn't start thinking about him until after this had started. While she hadn't meant to reject him back then, this was the first time she could remember thinking about a kiss eagerly rather than with trepidation. "Michael!" She called out. "Can these damned things read the comments file?"

He puzzled, partly at her sudden question, and partly at why it was asked. "I don't see why not, they get the whole file, why?"

She glared at him and continued, "Any chance they'd try to take something out of there as an instruction?"

He put his hand up to his chin and thought a bit more. "They don't really have the processing power for that, it's not written in a form they understand. They'd need a human to translate it for them."

"Or just a human brain." She added, having made the leap.

"Not good." He replied, letting his chin drop. "What did you tell it?"

She tried to think of a way to reply without hurting him. The date was something he clearly wanted, and to yank it away would be too cruel. It's not as though she wouldn't have otherwise anyway, she just wouldn't necessarily have pried until he said something. "Let's just say I'm feeling a little more outgoing than normal." She answered, raising an eyebrow to make it clear what she meant.

With a blush, he managed an "Oh my."

"I don't remember exactly how I worded it, but something to the effect of 'now if only it could make me less afraid of relationships'. I don't know how it came to the conclusions it did from that, but I'm starting to realize I'm not fully myself right now."

He thought on that for a bit and began to look crestfallen. After a few minutes of silence, he forced himself to ask. "Then what you said earlier, about me..."

"Depends on which thing I said earlier. When I offered to kiss you if I didn't need a stepstool, that was the nanobots talking." The hurt on his face made it clear she had hit a nerve, but she wasn't finished. "When I said I'd go out with you, I probably wouldn't have had the nerve to say it myself, but I would have said yes if you'd asked me."

He was a bright student, and she wasn't surprised that he didn't believe her. "I did ask you, though." He said, choking on the words.

With a sigh, she walked over to him, barefoot and looking an unsettlingly long distance up at him, but determined to make him feel better. She took his hand and stared into his eyes. "I told you when you started working here, 'read the manual'. I told you a dozen times."

"And I did." He replied, feeling a brief irrational fear for his job at the mention of it. "I read the whole thing, twice since you kept insisting."

"Why do you think I kept insisting?" She pressed.

"I...I figured there was a test." He answered, not really having ever honestly understood why.

She let go of his hand and laughed at herself, covering her face with both hands and making him feel worse. "Oh no. I really botched that one I guess."

"You botched it?" He asked, now even further confused.

She grabbed his hand again reassuringly and tried to sweeten her voice. "What does it say about dating students?"

"Umm...Not to?" He answered tenuously as if it were a pop quiz he was unprepared for.

"And what were you when you last asked me?" She pressed again.

"A...oh. Oh!" Finally, he got it.

Despite realizing it was the nanobot's making her feel this way, she leaned up against his arm. "I thought you had given up on me already." Knowing she was making him uncomfortable from his tension, she backed down. "The real me was afraid to ask, and felt bad enough about it that she wrote that note in her construct. While the real me might not have done what I'm doing, she wanted to." Taking him off guard, she pulled him down by the arm and kissed him on the cheek, then let go and stood back while he recovered.

Shocked, he sat down on the floor beside her and touched his face where she had kissed. "Wow." He choked. "Over two years and I never once caught on that I might have a chance with you."

"You said Bess's bite was what caused this, right? How long afterward would you have been able to deactivate the nanobots in me safely if you'd known?" She asked, a mischievous grin forming.

"Several hours, with as small a dose as that. At least an hour even if you'd had a full dose." He replied calmly, his mind more comfortable with that sort of question.

"So if I bit you now, you'd have plenty of time?" She continued.

He looked at her oddly. "I guess I would." Almost laughing, he asked, "Are you planning on biting me?"

"Yes." She replied, grabbing his hand again and leaning over to kiss him, this time starting with the lips. Not knowing what to do in response, he let it happen, feeling the kiss go from the light contact of her lips against his and then progress into something more.

A moment later it was over. She smiled at him giddily as he blinked, slowly comprehending what had just happened. She just waited for him. Finally, he pointed off to his right. "I should get the scanner."

He sat down in the seat by the scanner and pulled it over his face. Pressing the panel on the side, he initiated the last scan. Once it had made it's passes, he went over to his console, picking up a metal wand as he went. The wand was silver, but tipped with a black plastic cap with a wire symbol drawn on it. At his seat, he stuck the wand inside his mouth like a toothbrush and began reading the results while moving the wand around inside his mouth. Nothing was coming up on the scans, but he didn't dare risk it, and continued using the wand to deactivate any invisible nanobots that might have migrated into him.

"Hurry dear," she teased, "I don't mind the hair, but if you start to grow out your chest, I might look at you different."

He looked back in confusion, but the sight of her giggling cleared the doubt in his mind. The new "Doctor V." was more intimidating, to be sure, but he still felt the same about her. Finally knowing where he stood, he took the wand out of his mouth and smiled back at her.

--------6--------

Michael was finding it difficult to concentrate. The problem, ironically, was that it was taking too much energy to vent the waste energy and mass, causing a spiral of added waste energy and mass. If the venting didn't occur, the body would overheat or be poisoned in a matter of minutes. He had an idea for a batch system that made use of the body's own functions, and he was having success farming the pieces out to his students, but the logistics were a nightmare. It didn't help at all that the man coordinating it all couldn't get his mind off of a simple kiss. Two hours and two inches in height had disappeared since then, deepening his worries. There was no denying the increased speed, nor how the change wore on her.

Seeing him staring up at her again, she smiled back at him. With her improved complexion and lost height, he could almost mistake her for a freshman. Her playful way of trying to help him only increased the illusion. As he watched, she got up from the box she had been sitting on and walked towards him. She was right below eye level standing there while he sat. That suited her, though, as she stared back into his eyes as if she was looking for something. "Earth to Michael." She finally said, snapping him out of his repose.

Startled, he missed what was said. "Huh?" The perplexed look on his face made it clear he was getting nowhere.

"You haven't slept." She replied. "I know it's only been a few hours since I woke you up, but it's time you got your rest too."

He started to argue, but couldn't find words. A yawn clenched it. She was right. "You win, Tammy." He conceded. "Just don't do anything I wouldn't do while I'm asleep. And don't open the door."

"Umm, where do you usually sleep around here? You're always awake by the time I get here in the mornings after your all nighters." She asked, looking around curiously as if a cot was hidden somewhere.

He sighed. "I usually don't, actually. If I sleep at all, it's usually from falling asleep working. I hadn't quite dozed off when you started screaming earlier."

Embarrassed, she turned her head away and commented, "I'd have been just fine if it weren't for that damned cat."

"Cat?" He asked, now growing confused again.

She shook her head, "Never mind. Just come with me." She marched over to where her lab coat was still lying next to her oversized clothes. Rolling it up, she stepped back. "Use that as a pillow and lay yours out here. It's no mattress, but it's better than you putting your back out in that chair."

Too tired to argue, he slid his arms out of his own lab coat, letting it fall to the floor. Before he could retrieve it, though, she had picked it up and was spreading it out for him. He smiled weakly and commented, "You really are too good to me."

She smiled back, reaching up to take his hand and lead him down. "I'd give you a goodnight kiss, loverboy, but I don't think you'd stay awake for the scan."

He knew she was right, but it was also exactly what was on his mind as he laid down and tried to sleep. His first kiss was nothing like he expected. He hadn't been cool, it hadn't been his idea. Hell, he was way past his teen years when he had pined over the thought of one. Somehow, though, it was better than he'd hoped, and it made no sense. If she hadn't refused, he might have risked the nanobots for another, but her wisdom prevailed. The racing thoughts began to merge and make less sense as he drifted off to much overdue sleep.

Amused, and feeling useless with the subroutines he was writing with his students for the microbrain, Tammy simply watched over him, sitting beside his makeshift bed. Part of her remembered a time years earlier when she herself still had the energy for that sort of dedication to a project. She was only nine years older than he was, but the last several had conspired to strip her of her youth and energy. Aside from the giddy feeling she got from thinking about her and Michael together as a couple after this ordeal was over, she still felt her age. The lack of support from her bra, and the added weight in front weren't helping her back either.

With that thought in mind, she slid her arms back in her sleeves again, unfastening the useless thing. She pushed her arms back through, then leaned over and tucked it in her pile of clothes, hiding it from sight. Wearing just a baggy shirt now, the thought crossed her mind that her "casual" dress code was getting out of hand.

Turning her attention back to Michael, she reached down and stroked his hair back from his face. He seemed very peaceful. With her problem looming, though, she couldn't afford to sit around like this or to give up and just leave it to him. While he was working on a software solution, she should be working on the mechanics. Chemistry and physics had been her field before the university had recognized nanotech as a separate field during her doctorate process, allowing her to make a few changes and be among the first with that degree, leading to her position here.

Forcing herself up, she walked over and picked up a tablet and stylus, then loaded the base model for the nanobots onto it. Starting with a few sketches of the problem and what needed to be done, she started tinkering with a virtual microbrain to find the solution that had eluded her student.

***

Hours later, Michael woke up to a light feeling of warm pressure on his stomach. Before he opened his eyes, he reached down until he felt the soft touch of Tammy's hair. Feeling guilty, but doing so nonetheless, he ran his fingers through it. He opened his eyes and looked down to see her face, this time sleeping peacefully against him. Digging into his side, though, he noticed a tablet sitting on her lap. "Good," he thought to himself, "She hasn't given up either." He slid his hand underneath her head, lifting it gently. It was disturbingly small and light, but he had expected that. After easing himself out from under her and putting the rolled up lab coat in his place, he sat for a moment longer watching her. He estimated she was now under four feet. Her shirt, which should have been somewhat fitted, now looked like a blanket wrapped around her.

Standing up, he pulled out his phone and dialed up a new lab coat, taking an extra few strokes to explain to the machine the dimensions of a three and a half foot tall physicist. He doubted he'd have a solution by then, but guessed that she'd need it soon after waking.

Glancing down at her again, the tablet caught his attention again. She had been working, maybe she was onto something before she fell asleep. Dropping into his workstation, he pulled up the network controls and tapped into the tablet, looking for shared folders. Sure enough, she had one sitting open in a folder he immediately recognized as her sense of humor. The "My Problems" folder contained two solutions, one that seemed abandoned, and the one sitting open. Pulling up the latter, he worked his way through her scribbled notes. She was going back to the design they had argued about before this had all happened, letting the nanobots tunnel to the surface and just vent like the doctors might have done in the early days of medicine with a barbaric needle. It was horrible, but she knew full well she was proposing this for herself now. The models had worked when she showed it to him before, at least virtually, but he expected there was more to work out, since they had never really worked through that route.

The model on the tablet was different, though. It had multiple small vents, spreading out the heat load so there wasn't a "hot spot" like he had feared. Still barbaric, but if it saved her life, he would try it. Despite the hour, he started making phone calls. His students weren't stupid. They'd know he was desperate to ask something like this, particularly at this hour, but he knew she was running out of time.

Tammy awoke to the sound of his voice on the phone. She yawned, pushing up from the pillow and not yet realizing she'd fallen asleep on him. Feeling the weight of the tablet on her lap, she slid it off to the side and onto the floor, the light clattering getting Michael's attention. He smiled and finished his call while she started to sit up and look around. The shirt slid down as she sat up, the neck now too large for her. She pushed it up over her shoulders, letting the weight hold it there. "Good morning, Doc. Or is it Sleepy?" He asked, clicking his phone off.

She yawned and looked up at him with a wry smile. "A dwarf joke? Really. Am I that small already?" Inadvertently, she answered her own question by standing up. As she did, the weight of her shirt shifted to where she had bunched it beneath herself. It tugged at the shoulders she had just pushed back up, causing them to slide down and pull away. With almost nothing in its way, the shirt picked up momentum and slid down her tiny frame, giving Michael more of a show than she ever intended.

After a moment's shock, he turned away sharply. "Oh my." He said, trying not to think too much about what he'd seen, but failing utterly to do so.

Her face bright red, Tammy reached down and pulled up her shirt around her, holding it up in front of her chest and no longer trusting it to her shoulders. "I think I need something else to wear." She announced calmly, trying to come to terms with what had just happened.

--------7--------

Tammy was thankful Michael had the foresight to dial a new lab coat for her while she was asleep. It was too small for her just yet, but that would change all too soon. In the meantime, she had wrapped her shirt around herself like a towel, using the safety pin to hold it in place again between her legs.

While she struggled with the task of keeping herself clothed, Michael had been busily rallying his students and implementing her design in code. It wasn't elegant, but right now she just wanted it to work while there was enough of her left to work on.

The door chimed, startling her. Growing increasingly afraid of facing her students, she ducked under her desk, pulling the chair in behind her. Michael had already warned her some would figure it out, and she didn't want to be a sideshow. A second chime got Michael's attention, and he pushed his chair back with a silent curse. Frustrated, he went the the door and palmed the lock.

In barged Gregory again, carrying a plastic shopping bag under his arm. Shutting the door behind him, he turned to Michael. "Where is she?" He asked, letting his eyes dart around.

Michael sighed. "She's indisposed right now. You read the homework, and since you already know what's going on, you know we need everyone working on that right now, even you."

Nodding, Gregory continued, "I know, but I figured you'd need some things. Tell her I'm pulling for her, and the other students would be if they knew." He shoved the bag into Michael's hand. "I'll get back to the computer lab, sorry she's umm... indisposed."

Watching as the boy left, Michael quickly palmed the lock again to seal it. He opened the bag and glanced inside, then shook his head. "Well, at least he's thoughtful, but I don't like his pessimism." He sat the bag down on a workbench and returned to his desk. "Coast is clear, by the way." He added as he sat down.

Tammy pushed her chair back and slid out from under her desk. Curious, she walked over to the workbench, standing on the tips of her toes to reach the bag and pull it towards the edge. Lifting it down, she opened it and looked inside. "That little... He wants to see me in this, doesn't he?" She asked, pulling out a box of assorted doll clothes. They were a name brand she hadn't heard of before, but she estimated the dolls must be six to nine inches tall.

Michael chuckled from his desk. "He's right, you know. Unless we get a breakthrough, you'll need those."

Her eyes widened, not having realized it would take that long. "What? I thought you said my idea would work!"

Looking up from his work, he explained, "It will, but it takes time to write the software for it. This isn't on the macro level like your construct, we have to tell it at the base level how to do what you wanted."

Grumbling, she crossed her arms and glared at him. "You'd better damn well have a breakthrough. I'm not going to wear doll clothes!"

He smiled, trying not to laugh at her. At her size, it came across as childish, even though he understood what she must be going through. He turned back to his work, but commented, "If you insist."

Tammy sat down on the lower step of a stepstool and put her chin in her hands, staring angrily at the floor. On the one hand, the news that her solution would work filled her with hope. She was finally not going to die. And yet, she was going to be a doll? She could just imagine her neice wanting to play with her. Her sister would let it happen too, she suspected. She glanced back at the box. When the time came, it would be too big for her to open. Sighing, she stood up and went to search her drawer for scissors to open it with.

***

As midnight passed, she decided to measure herself again, having had to adjust her wrap twice since putting it on. As she feared, she was already past the three and a half mark, meaning the new lab coat would fit now. Walking over to Michael, she tugged at his sleeve.

Feeling the tug, he turned and looked down. "What's up?" He asked, not thinking about the pun.

She felt shy suddenly, asking him. "I need...I need your help."

Seeing that something was bothering her, he leaned down and put his hand on her small shoulder. "Anything you need, just ask." He replied, hoping to reassure her.

She still wasn't happy, the request was hardly something she expected to ask anyone. She glanced down at where the lab coat bunched together at the bottom and the pin pierced through it. "I can't get this unfastened. I tried earlier and it hurt my fingers trying to push against it. I..." She trailed off, too ashamed to look up at him after what she'd asked.

He stood up, scooting his chair back with his legs. "Let's go over to the corner where you'll have some privacy." He suggested. "Then I'll just unpin it and look away, but I'll stay close by when you need it pinned again."

Still not able to face him, she nodded, and made her way to the stack of boxes. After she got there, she turned and sat down, spreading her legs out so he could reach the pin.

Michael followed her to her corner, waiting as she sat down. Sitting down himself, he reached over and pushed on the pin, being careful not to touch her in the process. He slipped the point out from the clasp and then backed away, leaving it in place but unfastened. He turned his head back to the room. "Ok, let me know when I can turn around."

Taking over silently, she reached down and slid the pin out, letting it drop to the ground in front of her. She untucked the edge of the lab coat from underneath itself, slipping it loose. She stood up, letting it slide off of her, then picked up the new lab coat she had placed there earlier next to the doll outfit she'd selected from the box. A lab coat wasn't really meant to be an only garment, but she'd already measured out a length of masking tape to solve that problem. She slipped her arms through the sleeves, then used the tape to seal the remaining edge. She looked up at Michael, who was sitting there patiently waiting for her to finish. He'd been a gentleman about it, when at this point there was little she could have done if he hadn't been. While she felt she could trust him already, she still admired his restraint. "I don't think I need the pin again." She answered, finally. "I don't think you can duck your head low enough to see up my skirt now."

He smiled at the fact that she was talking again, though she couldn't see with his back turned. "It would take a nanobot laden kiss to accomplish that." He joked.

Forgetting her embarrassment for a moment, her mischievous smile returned. "Turn around, loverboy, I might just do that."

He turned, still smiling. "Sorry, but I don't believe you." He taunted, hoping to goad her into it. To his surprise, it worked. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. To their disappointment, though, the size difference made the attempt awkward at best.

To make up for the failure, she held his chin and kissed the tip of it. "Call it an 'I Oh You'. And my insurance you'll make me big again." She smiled up at him, hoping she hadn't left him too disappointed.

He returned her smile, then stood up, towering above her. "I'll hold you to that." He answered. "As much fun as it would be to have you lecturing at a less than a foot high, I much prefer finding out what your kiss is like at full size."

His joke brought up a point she hadn't considered. She looked up at him worried. "I'm not going to have to teach like this, am I?"

He started to laugh but stopped himself. Clearing his throat, he replied, "We'll have to talk to the dean. I've got Judy covering for you now in your freshman classes, and she can continue that long enough. If he doesn't let you off, we can at least set up a cam in here and just greenscreen the background. If Doctor Keeting can vidconference his class from Egypt just to stay on his dig site, I think you can make an argument for the same privilege."

Somewhat relieved, she nodded. "Ok, I guess that's fine." She lowered her head and continued, "I just don't want to be a freak on display."

Kneeling back down, Michael put his hand on her shoulder again. "I won't let that happen, don't worry. I didn't let Gregory see you, and I won't let the others either."

She reached her hand up around his, then leaned her head against it as well. "Thank you. I can't thank you enough for protecting me and for fixing my mistake before it kills me."

"We'd better get back to work on that, by the way." He added.

She closed her eyes and pressed her face against his hand. "In a minute." After a few seconds, she let go, smiling up at him. "Ok, back to work."

--------8--------

Walking back from her chart, having placed a second mark below half her height, Tammy was growing anxious. Michael had been quiet for some time, buried in his work, essentially rewriting the nanobot's software control object to work with all the changes he had assigned his students in the various components. The glow from his screens reflected off his eyes as she watched him, flickering as he scrolled through lines of projected errors.

While he was using her idea she had scrawled out several hours ago on a tablet, at this point she was too preoccupied with her oversized lab coat. She had already moved the masking tape so that it wrapped more tightly around her, then added a piece with Michael's help so that the collar held around her neck. Now the bottom was dragging the floor as she walked and the sleeves were too long, but it was too thick of cloth for her to roll up without bothering him again. The thought crossed her mind that she'd soon be wearing the doll clothes Gregory had brought in. She wasn't prepared for that. Sitting down in the coat proved difficult, pressing under her arms as she tried to drop down faster than it wanted to go. Instead, she pulled in her arms and dropped down, letting her head slide through the collar as well. Sitting naked in her tent of a lab coat, she hugged her knees as it settled slowly around her.

Michael's spirits, however, were lifting by the minute. His students had came through. A few mistakes, but nothing malicious, and nothing he couldn't fix. Even Gregory had done his part, despite the fact that he'd been hovering near the lab all night. Running a cleaning tool again, he noted with a smile that the errors were finally in the double digits. "Ninety-three left." He announced to himself. As he corrected a few manually, the tool was able to better understand the code, pre-suggesting fixes for the remaining errors. For over an hour he continued checking them off and accepting most of them, but taking time to rewrite others. With the last one resolved, he let out a sigh of relief and stood up, rubbing his eyes and pushing back his chair. He reached back down and pressed a button to compile it and start a simulation run.

"Tammy?" He called out, not sure what she'd been up to while he was working. A muffled voice caught his attention, but it took him a moment to realize where it was coming from. Over by her chart was a heap of white cloth and masking tape - her new lab coat, wriggling from inside. Worried, he called out, "Tammy!" And rushed over. Reaching down, he lifted it up carefully by the collar.

Inside, the bunched up cloth had been stiff and confusing when she heard his voice and suddenly wanted to stick her head out again. After a few seconds struggling, everything started to lift around her and she could see the opening at the collar. She stood up, expecting to poke her head through, but only the top of her hair reached. It was enough, though. Michael had seen.

"There you are!" He exclaimed with a sigh. Lowering it down a bit so her head could slide through the collar, but holding it so it didn't continue, he looked down at her in amazement. At just over two and a half feet from the ground, her head sticking out of the lab coat reminded him of one of those grusom trophies tribes near Australia.

Glad to see his face and be free of the clumped garment, she almost wanted to jump out and hug him, but even kneeling over her, he looked so far away. Fighting back a tinge of fear from how massive he was looming overhead, she finally answered him. "I'm here. Thank you for rescuing me yet again." She forced a smile, wanting to encourage him, but not really feeling it herself.

His smile, though, was genuine in response. It turned into a childish grin as he explained, "I've got something I think you'll like."

She looked at him with a puzzled expression, then asked, "It's not something from Greg, is it?" The thought of another depressing present like the doll clothes sent a shiver of fear though her spine.

He shook his monstrous head. "He contributed, but this is from everyone. The program is done, it's running through the sim test now."

Finally, she had something to smile about again. She was so excited by the news that she cheered and jumped inside the tiny lab coat. "Thank you, Michael!" She yelled, closing her eyes excitedly as she continued, "Thank you, thank you, thank you..."

Michael chuckled. "Save some of that for the students, I didn't do it alone."

Still excited, her smile was plastered on her face as she nodded. "I will, but you're getting the most thanks." She winked, making clear her intentions.

"If only I'd had that sort of motivation in my degree program." He lamented jokingly, "I'd have finished it years early." Changing his tone, he added quietly. "What do you want me to do about this for now?" He tugged lightly on the lab coat he was still holding. "It doesn't seem to be working anymore."

She thought for a moment. The doll clothes wouldn't fit yet, and they really didn't have anything small or light enough around for her to wear. Briefly, the thought occurred to her to try to wear a sock, but doubted it would fit either. Finally, she looked back up at him. "Get me a couple tissues, then pass them in here."

He took a hand off of the coat and looked down tentatively, letting that side settle on her left shoulder. She nodded, letting him know it was ok, so he let go of the other. Thanks to the masking tape, it was tight enough not to slide over her shoulders yet, allowing her to watch as he hurriedly grabbed a tissue box and brought it over, taking out two and holding them out for her. She reached an arm through the collar, exposing the top of her breast unwittingly. Taking the first tissue, she pulled it down past the collar, then reached out again, taking the other. She then ducked down, disappearing beneath the collar as well and letting it drift slowly down.

He grabbed the shoulders again, pulling it up so it wouldn't pin her again, and waited. A few minutes later, a voice called from inside the coat. "Lift it up!"

Obediently, he slowly lifted it upwards, exposing her tiny feet beneath the coat and gradually lifting it until most of her legs were exposed. He didn't know if he should go any further yet, so he stopped there.

The tiny legs bent, pulling down a sort of makeshift bikini made from the tissue material. Her arm reached down under the edge and lifted it up as she ducked under it. "Not something I'd wear swimming, but it'll have to do for now." As she stood up, he could see that the top was more creatively done, twisted in the middle and sides to create the two halves and a strap in the back, leaving her cleavage exposed in the middle.

Michael caught himself staring and looked down at the ground. Realizing what he'd been seeing, she blushed, but decided to toy with him. "Hey, mister!" She called up defiantly, pointing at her chest. "I'm up here!"

He looked up at her face, readying himself to apologize, but recognizing the gesture, he realized her arms were in the wrong place. Seeing them down lower where he'd been staring earlier, he laughed. Looking back up at her face, he saw her smiling and smiled back. "Thanks, I needed the clarification." He stood up and changed the subject again. "Would you like to watch with me while the simulation runs?"

"Sure!" She called out, happy that this would finally be over. As fast as she could with the height difference, she ran along behind him, then waited as he sat down in his chair. Looking up, though, even the desk was over her head now, let alone the screen. "A little help?" She asked, looking up at him sweetly.

Nervously, he reached down his hands, putting them on either side of her waist gently. "Is this ok?" He asked, his voice almost muted.

Feeling uncomfortable herself, but realizing she'd have to get used to it for a while, she nodded. "Just go ahead. I'll let you know if it hurts."

Not having considered that aspect, he was more nervous now, but he slowly lifted her up like a child, then sat her on his lap over his left knee. She straddled the knee, putting a leg over either side and resting them against the chair and holding herself up with her hands on the knee in front of her. She considered asking for Christmas presents, but better of it, with the simulation looming in front of them.

Taking his right hand away, he reached up and expanded the output window, giving a better view as everything slid into place in the simulation. It would need to be tested on one of Bess's sisters next, but after that, she would finally be safe. As they watched, she found the touch of his oversized hand on her to be more comforting than frightening as he kept her steady on her perch there. She put her hand over his, barely covering two fingers, and continued to watch.

--------9--------

Michael had needed to help her during the simulation as her tissue-top came loose. She had grabbed it from the front as it started to slide down, but that left her hands occupied. The knot he tied would hold for a little while, but it would need retying again for her decreasing size well before it gave way. Longer than he'd hoped, the simulation ran for a full three hours before all the important tests greenlighted. As the "Complete" message flashed on the screen, he looked down at her, still resting in his hand atop his knee. The twisted tissue behind her was hanging loose again, but she had kept silent this time, simply holding it in front while he watched the simulation. It occurred to him that the pressure on his index finger around her waist must not be her hands then, as he looked at her size.

Not willing to turn around, Tammy simply held her makeshift clothing in place, staring forward and hoping he'd break the silence. Finally, tired of waiting for him to say something, she spoke up. "I need your help again." She asked with embarrassment.

"Oh, right!" He replied. He first considered letting go and tying it again, but she was no longer reaching the chair with her feet, so it didn't seem wise. "I'm going to set you on the desk first, is that ok?"

She nodded, still not willing to look at him.

Nervously, he moved his free hand in behind her, sliding it under her as he lifted her up. He then carefully sat her on the desk in front of him. It was obvious moving her that the two foot mark had passed by while they were watching the simulation. Once she was seated on his desk, he reached up and pulled her tissue top back towards him. "How's that?" He asked.

In front, the two "cups" had been pulled out of her hands and now slid to the side of either breast. Her blush returned as she replied, "Umm... this isn't going to work."

Letting go of the ends, he let the tissue rest back in her hands. "Ok, what do we do now?" He asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

She thought for a moment, but nothing came. "Just go run the live test. I'll...I'll think of something."

Her shrinking was becoming a frequent problem now, and he was feeling hard pressed to keep cheering her up after every little wardrobe failure. The new assignment would be a brief but welcome break. He pushed his chair back and stood up, stretching after the long wait. As he left, he made sure not to bump the desk, then headed for the cage system, selecting Cassy, the next test sample. They were actually named alphabetically, but a clever program he had written his junior year gave corresponding names to each. He had done it at the urging of a girl who later turned him down, but the naming system had been implemented in all their classes once Doctor V. had gotten wind of it. It restarted ever twenty-six specimens, but they were always working in single-specimen tests, so it suited their needs. Cassy was every bit Bess's twin, but didn't seem to have the urge to bite like her sister. Michael corralled her into the transfer cage without any problems, then slid it into place.

Meanwhile, Tammy pulled at her tissue clothing, trying to make it work. Pulling too hard, though, she managed to tear it right in front of her left breast. Adding to the disgrace, the bottom piece she had made simply slid off when she stood up. She grabbed for it, dropping the torn remains of her top and letting it fall. Frustrated with everything falling apart on her, she just let both drop to her feet and let out an angry growl.

Finished preparing the test, Michael returned to his desk, but stopped cold when he saw her, naked and dangling her feet over the edge of his desk. "Sorry!" He apologized, turning sharply around. "I thought you'd be done."

"I am!" She barked. "I'm tired of trying to make this crap work! I don't give a damn if I have to sit her naked, I'm not dealing with another fucking tissue!"

The string of expletives coming from his usually reserved mentor made him chuckle.

Standing up on the desk, she glared at him and demanded, "What?"

He stopped, realizing she thought he was laughing at her. In a sense he was, but he didn't mean anything by it. "It's just..." He began. "I've never heard you talk like that."

She slumped back down, hugging her legs. "I'm sorry, I'm just upset." Noticing he was still standing with his back turned, she added, "You can turn around. It's not like this is the first time my clothes have fallen off tonight."

Cautiously, he turned around, seeing her sitting there bunched up on his desk. With her posture, everything important was covered, but he could easily see the torn garment behind her. He returned to his chair and sat down in it, then slid forward alongside her. Before turning to her, he touched the icon to upload his simulation into the nanobots in Cassy. "Just a few more hours and we'll be able to stop this." He said, trying to change the subject.

Still in poor spirits from her frustration, she asked quietly, "What happens after we stop my shrinking?" The thought had come up a few times, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Well..." He started, then stopped to think. "First we'll need to create a new construct and have it morph towards growth as materials are available. I can probably work out some sort of fluid supply line to keep the growth constant and manageable, so you don't get disoriented. It would also make it faster, so you might be back to full size in a day or so after the program starts. After that, the microbrain hands your mind back to your real brain, and we shut them off and flush them out of your system. You'd be down for about two days while everything took place."

The explanation was encouraging, but the new construct struck her as a problem. More engaged this time, she asked a new question, "How long will the construct take? Mine I've been working on for years in my spare time."

He nodded, having already thought of that. "And thanks to it, we won't have to start from scratch. The endpoint is the same, and we just need to scan in your new size and stats for the start point. The time consuming part will just be the safety features so you don't start shrinking again if the flow gets cut off for any reason." He stopped to think for a moment. "I'd say two weeks if we were doing it for a grant project, but if we rush it like we did this, a few days might be possible. I'd have to give the students access to the construct, though. Including the parts you don't want seen."

That got her to the heart of the problem. Her voice wavered as she asked, "And what happens to me while you work on it? Am I going to be stuck in here the whole time?"

Sensing the concern in her voice, and seeing the worry in her eyes, he tried to smile again. "That's entirely up to you. You could stay here if you wanted, but I can let you stay with me, or drop you off with someone in your family if you'd like. Your sister lives nearby, doesn't she?"

Thinking back to her fears of being the toy of her niece, she stood up suddenly, waving her hands and shaking her head. "No! No! Not my sister! I'll..." She stopped, deciding between the two fates. "I'll stay with you, if that's alright."

Seeing her standing there, he was distracted, but nodded in agreement.

As soon as he nodded, she realized he wasn't looking back at her, but a little lower down. Her instinct took over for a moment and she closed her eyes, covered herself and blushed, causing him to blush also. The defiant statement she'd made earlier, though, came back to her, and rather than admit she was wrong, she forced herself to lower her arms. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him and realized he was looking away again. "I'm sorry." She said, halting to clear her throat. "I said I was going to sit here naked, and until the doll clothes fit, I will." Clenching her eyes shut again, she continued. "Go ahead, I can't blame you for staring."

When she opened her eyes again, he was looking back at her, but at her this time. He replied warmly, "As you said, I couldn't help staring, but don't think that's all I care about."

She felt better hearing his words, but couldn't help being a little nervous still, not being used to this sort of exposure. As the fear of it fell away, though, she began to feel a tinge of excitement. She was already far too small to do anything she might normally blush at, but other possibilities were coming into her mind as she looked up and down his massive form.

As far a range as she had to look over, he couldn't help but realize what she was doing. With a wry smile, he caught her attention with his index finger hooked skyward. When she looked up at his face, he commented, "If you're the one without clothes, why am I the one being stared at like a piece of meat right now?"

Tammy chuckled, then glanced down again. "You're just so... big."

Looking down where she was, he again blushed. After the show she had just put on, he had to admit, she was right.

--------10--------

Curled up on Michael's desk with a rolled up tissue under her head and another two over her as a blanket, Tammy was sleeping peacefully. Michael, however, was still hard at work. The live test was underway already, but Cassy could manage herself. She was doing just fine, scampering around the relatively expansive testing chamber and finding bits of fruit he'd dropped in earlier. Instead, he was getting an early start on the construct, designing a mechanism for the consumption shutoff. He was having more success than he'd anticipated, but since she had asked him not to involve the students on this part, he was taking shortcuts. The biggest timesaver was keying it to a "deadman switch" chemical that wasn't naturally occurring or toxic, so it would only be present while his stream was present. If it was gone, the nanobots would cease consuming matter beyond just basic operation of the microbrain.

His eyes drooping, he began to yawn deeply. While he was exhausted, he couldn't afford sleep at this point. It was doubtful Tammy could wake him as small as she was now, and the thought of oversleeping and waking up to find nothing left of her filled him with dread.

Feeling sleep about to overtake him, he stood up suddenly, hoping to jolt himself awake. The vibration managed to wake Tammy as well, though, who sat upright, looking around at her level for the source. When she remembered where she was, she looked up to see him stretching far above her. "Something wrong?" She called up at him.

Surprised, he looked down and saw her. "Oh, sorry. I just had to get up before I fell asleep."

She smiled up at him. "Can I help?"

Wary of her smile, he suspected she had an idea in mind already. For a moment he considered refusing just to foil her plot. With the risk of sleep, though, he was desperate. "Ok, I'll bite. What's your plan?"

"Set up an icon on your computer to play an air horn sound clip." She explained. "I can still press that at this size."

He saw how she might abuse it, but it made sense. He sat back down and began searching for the sound online. While he was busy with that, Tammy pushed off the tissue blankets and tried on the heap of doll clothes he had dropped on the desk beside her while she was sleeping. She settled on what were supposed to look like jeans and a jersey, but unfortunately were of much coarser material, from what she could tell. The pants were a tight fit, but she managed to squeeze into them. The jersey, on the other hand, wouldn't go down past her chest. She had chosen it as the least form fitting of the options, so it seemed pointless to bother digging through the rest. It felt a little odd, but it was better than her last few hours lying naked on his desk, and it would fit sooner than she cared to think about.

"All done." Michael announced. He looked up from his workstation and over to her, then broke out laughing when he saw her miniature jersey. "Having a little trouble?"

The embarrassment factor had worn thin after a night of exposure. She smiled back at him and complained sarcastically, "They're bigger than I'm used to."

He raised an eyebrow and answered, "A pity, that."

She walked along his desk in between him and his screens. After a few seconds searching, she spotted the sound icon. Her tiny hand darted for it as if she were up to no good, but a second later she dropped to her knees and covered her ears as the virtual air horn gave three deafening blasts.

Michael didn't enjoy the sound, but was just enough to get his attention. He was surprised to see it have such an effect on her. "I think we're going to have to drop this idea." He said, sighing and reaching out his hand for her.

She slowly uncovered her ears and looked up at him. "What did you say?" She yelled.

Thinking her hearing might have been damaged, he tried again, "I said, I think we're going to..."

"Say what?" She interrupted, this time having difficulty not smirking.

He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "Very funny. Here I am worried sick about you, and you're just toying with me."

As she laughed, the jersey slid down past her chest. The sensation stopped her cold. She knew the speed was increasing, but it had only been minutes since it wouldn't fit, and now it had enough room to go on without any struggle.

Michael saw her worried expression and sat back up. He hadn't seen her struggle to pull the jersey on, but he could tell it's movement was what got her attention. "What's wrong?" He asked, his voice betraying a sense of panic.

Looking up from her shirt, her eyes were wide with horror. "It's happening too fast. I'm not going to last till we're ready, am I?" Her eyes clenched together, miniature tears beginning to form in them, but simply gathering there, much larger than her proportions implied, from the water's surface tension.

He reached down and scooped her up, sliding one hand behind her and the other under her legs. The sudden action caught her by surprise, leaving her pushing the tears from her eyes and staring in confusion as the room rushed past. They were at the sample cage a moment later when he set her down on top of it. Cassy was attracted by the commotion nearby and squeaked up at them, thinking a treat might be offered. Instead, Michael disengaged the locks on the protective panels and reached in, picking up the transfer cage first, then sweeping it towards her until she was forced into it. He snapped it shut and then restored the panels. He sat Cassy's cage on top of the sample cage next to Tammy.

"What's going on?" She demanded, seeing the giant rodent placed beside her.

As he pulled out a second transfer cage and popped the lid open, he replied intently, "I'm calling the test early. When this first takes effect, it will draw a considerable amount of energy as it creates the exhaust network. You'll shrink more. A lot more. I can't risk waiting any longer, since I don't know how small you can get safely."

Looking into his eyes, she didn't doubt him, but the sudden change was frightening. More frightening, though, was the feeling as her pants noticeably became loose fitting. She would be shrinking fast enough to be visible soon if something wasn't done. Straightening herself up, she nodded firmly. "Do it."

He held the open transfer cage up and set it beside her. "I know it's a tight fit, but get in. I'll hand you a nanobot capsule next, but don't do anything with it until I tell you to. I haven't uploaded a pattern into it yet."

She saw the red capsule in his other hand, then nodded again. Climbing into the small cage feet-first, she backed in until her legs were all the way to the back, then pulled the rest of herself in, crouched over to avoid hitting her head. She stuck her hand back out, waiting for the capsule and announced, "Ready."

Seeing her hand, he placed the capsule in it, flinching as she lowered her arm under the weight of it. When her hand had disappeared back inside, he snapped the transfer cage shut and placed it in the test slot where it slid down into the center. A robotic arm rotated up as it passed, bracing the plastic door and ensuring the sample, in this case Tammy, could not panic and force it open prematurely.

Michael walked back to his desk and cleared the simulations, making sure to load only the one he wanted. He clicked the icon to upload it, and stood back up, hurrying to be as close to her as possible as it happened. "If you can," he called out, "open the capsule now. If not, it will start to dissolve on its own, so just hold it close to you."

Inside the cage, Tammy bit at the top and tried to pull it apart, but had no luck. Instead, she slid it up inside her jersey, wedging it as best she could between her breasts. Moments later she felt a hole in the capsule where it pressed against her skin, then more holes. Finally, the capsule began to fall apart, the jagged edges crumbling before they did more than poke at her skin. "It's working!" She called out. "The new ones are going in!" After that, she fell silent, realizing the cage was growing. Her clothes too. A burning sensation bored through her at the back of her neck first, then from her stomach and lower back, and then all over. In pain, she lurched forward, pressing futilely against the cage door.

Outside the test chamber, Michael had waited while the process began. When tiny screams of pain came from inside, his heart tore at him to open the chamber and stop everything, but he knew this was her only chance. While the test subject, Cassy, had seemed calm, she had been at her full size, with her nervous system not tied to the drifting nanobots that were shaping the new exhaust conduits. When the screams stopped suddenly, he sunk to his knees crying. What had gone wrong? He didn't have the strength to look, but instead sobbed against the base of the chamber.

--------11--------

As Tammy struggled, her jersey hung loosely around her, draping further towards her jeans, which were also proving to be too large. Her feet had already disappeared into her pant legs, and now the bend of her knee was pulling her forward in them, pressing the top of the jeans upward. The pain of the nanobot process was constant, but after the initial shock, she was able to control herself and sat upright. The jersey slid down, resting on the edges of her shoulders, then continued to slide as her shoulders pulled away from it. The friction of the faux jeans was beginning to hurt her legs in addition to the pain she already felt. The limits of the jeans were causing them to roll over her bent knee, until finally she stood up, letting them fall to the floor along with the jersey that had slumped in her lap. Naked again, she looked up around her and realized the cage was no longer as cramped. She was standing in what she knew to be only a four inch space. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be moving away, despite the pain. She thought about the pain again, and realized it was now localized to a few spots. Looking at the one on her stomach, she saw a dark spot there where the nanobots had bored to the surface. Feeling the back of her neck, she found a hard spot where she assumed another had formed. As she located more of them, the pain began to subside.

With her shrinking seemingly halted, she now had to deal with a new problem. At her size, there was no way she could budge the door even if it weren't braced. She was now totally dependent on a man she knew was too tired to function.

After several minutes, a tiny voice got Michael's attention. He couldn't make out what was said, but his heart leapt knowing that only one person could make such a tiny noise. Standing up, he fought off dizziness from his lack of sleep and the sudden movement, then rubbed his red, bloodshot eyes with the sleeves of his lab coat. With a sniffle and a look of hope returning to his face, he unlocked the panels and reached in, lifting up the transfer cage.

When he brought it up to his face, the little voice from inside chastised, "It's about time!" Unable to reply, he opened the cage with his other hand and then held it out for her to step off onto. As she climbed out, she saw his face and fell silent for a moment. Softly, she asked, "You were crying?"

He sniffled again and turned away, setting the empty cage next to Cassy's. Looking back at her, his eyes were tearing up again. "I...I thought I lost you."

Her heart reached out to him, not just because it had been his concern for her, but because she couldn't stand to see him hurting. She wanted to embrace him and tell him everything was alright, but with him filling her field of vision, that was impossible. Instead she leaned over and spread her arms across his hand, barely reaching each side, and squeezed as hard as she could. It was barely any pressure at all to him, but he understood what she meant by it.

Walking back to his desk, he lowered his hand to it so that she could step off by the bed she had slept in earlier. Fumbling, he opened the bottle of iron supplements that had been brought over earlier and took one out. He tried to hand it to her, but his hand was beginning to shake and he ended up dropping it on the desk in front of her.

Worried, Tammy picked it up, then looked up at him and caught his attention with her gaze. Sternly, she ordered him, "Lie down. You've done what you needed to do, I'm safe now. Rest!"

Nodding, he staggered away, disappearing behind his computer from her view. A tray clattered to the floor from somewhere in his direction and she ducked under his screen, running across the back of his desk to where hers met it. She jumped across the divide and tumbled onto her desk, bringing the other half of the room into view as she ducked under her own screen. Looking down over the edge, she saw what had happened. A workbench was pushed back and the trays on top of it had slid, the last falling off. A few feet away lay Michael, his head on the rolled up lab coat she had prepared before, and the rest of him sprawled out behind it. Satisfied, she turned back to her desk and wearily made her way to a half empty tissue box she kept above her drawer. The tablet still in her hand, she tried biting it, but couldn't get her mouth around it. Instead, she tucked it under her arm, hoping the nanobots would figure out what to do with it.

Climbing the seams in the box, she stepped out onto the plastic film that dispensed the tissues and let herself slide down into the box. She pulled down the one from the dispense slot and wrapped it around herself, then laid back on the soft mattress beneath her. After her ordeal, she wasn't ready to face the world either. Certainly not until Michael was awake and there to help her.

***

Sometime that afternoon, Tammy awoke inside the tissue box. Several small holes had appeared in the iron tablet, reminding her of a red, oddly shaped block of swiss cheese. She tossed it up through the hole onto the plastic film above her, then grabbed the sides herself, pulling it down until she could throw her leg up, dragging herself out of it. The tablet slid back towards her as she did, but with her leg secured above, she freed a hand to toss it back up and over the edge, tapping against the desk as it landed out of sight. Finally bringing herself to the top, she could see out across the room, and was comforted by the sight of Michael, still asleep. Using the box seams again, she lowered herself down, then picked up her tablet.

It was then that it hit her. For the first time in three days she had woken up the same height as she'd been before sleeping. A warm glow seemed to envelope her as she felt relief at last. She was still small, but as long as Michael was there, she was ok with that. It would only be a matter of time before he solved that problem for her too. She eagerly looked forward to rewarding him properly, once at full size.

For now, though, she had work to do. She might be too small to solve her biggest problems, but she had ideas for those blankets she'd used on his desk, and then the bottle of water she'd left on hers back when this began. Afraid of dropping it, she left the tablet on her desk and ran back across to his. The gap seemed smaller somehow the second time as she jumped across it, but she knew nothing had changed when she ducked under his screen and walked out where she'd waited with him for the tests. Finding the tissues, she went to work wrapping them around her and tapering them, then tying them off to form something that appeared like a gown around her legs. The top half she had to get help tearing, rubbing it against the rough edge of the computer casing, but managed to tear it off right above her bust line, making a pleasant but respectable display of her tiny cleavage. It was no Cinderella dress, but it was the finest in paper fashion as far as she was concerned.

Lifting the edge of her new dress, she made her way back across the gap and onto her desk. The nearly empty water bottle was a blessing, since it wouldn't flood out when she opened the cap. She carefully pushed it between her tissue box and computer, then tipped it over between them so it had nowhere to roll away to. Racing around to the cap end, she found the fall had knocked it loose, leaving it and several drops of water scattered on the desk beside it. "Perfect." She said with a smile. She stuck her hand into one of the water droplets, adhering a film of water to her hand. Taking that to her hair, she stroked it back, using both hands to work the water into her hair. Finally she swept it back, letting her long red hair drape down against her shoulders and cascade over the back of her neck and forward over her chest. The water weight kept it straight, but as it dried, she expected it might curl a little.

She took another drop of water in her hand, then brought it up to her mouth. The way it bubbled around her hand, she knew to be cautious, using her other hand to keep it away from her nose. She sipped carefully from it, using her tongue to break the surface tension and let it flow down her throat, making sure to swallow carefully. With what was left on her hand, she rubbed her face and arms, partially bathing herself. Looking down at her legs, she decided it was a good thing he couldn't see everything, as she didn't have a solution for how to shave at this size.

Suitably prepared, she went to her computer screen, pressing against it as hard as she could to get it to respond. When it did, she hopped down onto her keyboard, stomping on keys to type out her request.

***

About an hour later, Michael awoke, feeling less than refreshed, but better than he had in quite some time. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Remembering where he was, he called out "Good morning." and looked around for Tammy.

From somewhere on her desk, a tiny voice replied almost singing, "Good afternoon, sleeping beauty."

Michael smiled at her cheerful greeting. She was safe, and they both knew it. He walked over, still yawning, then looked down at her desk, trying to find her. "Ok, I give up." He called out. "Where are you hiding?"

From behind her computer, she walked out, a light curl to her long flowing red hair, wearing a low cut white dress and looking radiant. His jaw nearly dropped as she winked up at him. A grin stealing across her face showed that she had gotten the effect she was going for. "I do believe I promised you a date."

--------The End--------