Chapter 3

Irina felt something jump inside her as her nipples pricked up, becoming erect in thick impinges through the fabric of her maid’s outfit. This nurse, Sarah…her words…and the casual yet matter-of-fact manner in which she had just spoken to Irina, it made the housekeeper feel a surprising array of emotions. She couldn’t identify them specifically, but she did know that Sarah’s words had caused her to hold Warren’s body to her a little tighter. Irina felt her E-cups squish over Warren’s shoulders as she continued rubbing his back, looking past him at the nurse. Once again, Irina was struck by how Sarah was steadily regarding her, those sea green eyes unblinking. In the professional setting of the doctor’s office, this kind of eye contact was not normal, and Irina was beginning to feel uneasy because of it…but strangely, she felt a raw sense of intrigue as well.

“So…he, um…he wouldn’t be safe just, out in the world, then?” Irina asked as she continued comforting Warren.

“Oh no,” answered Sarah softly, slowly shaking her magnificent mane of wavy blond hair. “The degeneration from the virus will increasingly weaken him, both physically and mentally, and if he was wandering about, without protection, there’s no telling who would snatch him up.”

Irina couldn’t be sure, but she thought that she saw an energetic gleam in Sarah’s eye as she finished her answer…but Irina blinked, and the gleam wasn’t there anymore. Irina’s sense of unease only grew, though, when Sarah again extended the tip of hr tong red tongue and deliberately licked her top front teeth…a muted, harmless gesture in and of itself, but in the context of the situation, Irina couldn’t help but get the sense that if she hadn’t been there, this nurse would be taking advantage of Warren.

“Do you…uh, are you…protecting anyone?” Irina found herself asking. She knew that this kind of question was inappropriately personal, but the quiet gravity of this nurse’s behavior was making her feel a bizarre kind of desperation, a strong desire to know what was going on in Sarah’s head.

“Oh yeah, I’ve got one at home,” Sarah remarked, her full lips turning up at the corners into a quiet smile. “And that’s all I’ve got for now.”

“For…now?” asked Irina, leaning forward a little. She didn’t understand, but Sarah’s words were stirring something deep within her subconscious.

“Well there’s no telling how many poor, frightened, short, skinny little men are going to be loose on the streets before long,” Sarah said dryly. “As much as I would like to think that wives and girlfriends will do their duty and take care of their ailing partners, well…” — and here Sarah let out a sigh, inflating and deflating her huge chest as she did so — “I know that some women will not be able to stomach having the alpha role hoisted upon them. It’s a sad but true reality that a number of men are going to find themselves alone as a result of this pandemic…and that’s not even taking into account the myriad numbers of single men. This could be quite a dire situation.”

“I…I see,” nodded Irina, holding Warren a little tighter to her still. She could tell that his breathing had normalized, but she still didn’t want to let go of him…not with Sarah in the room.

“S-so,” continued Irina, “You’re…uh, you’re going to take some of these men in, then?”

“We’ll see,” replied Sarah, that slow, mysterious smile still etched across her gorgeous face. “If certain men seem to be of the correct…disposition…then yes, I might start a little collection at home.”

Irina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This nurse was talking about these men…these virus victims…like they were some kind of collectables, like they were objects to possess. And she was talking about it with such slow, easy confidence that Irina didn’t know whether to feel repulsed or fascinated. She knew that she should be feeling put-off by Sarah’s words, but instead, she couldn’t avoid realizing that she wanted to know more about Sarah’s attitude, her approach. The deep, internal, and unnamed stirrings continued.

“Well let me run that blood test,” said Sarah with warm professionalism. “And if the results come back positive, I’ll be asking you a few questions, Irina.”

“Me?” Irina asked, surprised.

“Well yes,” said Sarah pleasantly, turning to leave, her huge ass bouncing alluringly in her skin-tight scrubs, “As I’m sure you’ve been hearing on the news, this virus can affect women as well, although obviously not with the deleterious effects that it has on men.”

“I…I thought that was just, uh…hearsay,” said Warren, surprising Irina with the clarity of his voice. He was sitting up straighter on the exam room table, and looking straight towards Sarah. Irina didn’t know why she was feeling a sudden burst of erotic tension. She saw that Warren’s jaw was set, and that his cheek muscles appeared to be tense. Was he…facing down this nurse?! Irina couldn’t be sure. But she turned to look at Sarah, and saw with another jolt that the nurse was blinking softly, slowly, as she tilted her head slightly to the side, her smile widening. Sarah wasn’t making it any secret that she thought Warren was the cutest little thing — and in her expression was the soft, voluptuous condescension that made Irina so confused. She was upset that this nurse was treating Warren like a little kid, but she was also just…well, intrigued by the gentle power of Sarah’s disposition.

“Oh you wouldn’t be saying it was hearsay, little guy,” said Sarah softly, turning back around and taking a step towards him, “If you had seen the things I’ve seen. It hasn’t caught on yet in the media, but it will.” She looked back up at Irina, her expression quickly changing, becoming more normal and “adult-like.”

“Anyway!” chuckled Sarah, breaking the tension of the moment and turning back around, “I’ll do that blood work-up. You all sit tight — I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Irina and Warren found themselves alone a moment later. Once Sarah had left the room, Irina had loosened her grip on Warren without realizing it. After a few seconds of awkward silence, they made eye contact. They were searching each other, and neither of them knew what the other was thinking. Irina thought that Warren might have been feeling self-conscious about her touching him, so she let go of him completely and took a step back, disguising her motion with a light little sigh.

“Well! Uh…hmmm,” she said, simply wanting to fill the void of silence in the room. “Are you…um…how are you feeling, Warren?”

“Better than I was initially,” he answered. “Thanks for helping me not have a freakout there.”

“Haha, well! It’s…of course, it’s no problem,” said Irina warmly. She was trying her best to ensure that her voice carried the respect for Warren that had been plainly lacking in Sarah’s tone.

“I…I don’t really know about that nurse,” said Warren, shaking his head and looking at the closed door.

“Yeah!” returned Irina, happy that Warren was speaking about all of this out loud. “The way she was speaking to you…”

“Yeah…” mused Warren, furrowing his brow. “I…I didn’t like it.”

“Neither did I,” said Irina quickly, nodding her head. But in truth, she didn’t really know how she felt.

“I think…I think she’s scary,” declared Warren, sitting up straight and looking at Irina.

“Haha, what? Scary?” laughed Irina, her big breasts jumbling and jiggling together as she fought through her internal agreement with Warren. “What’s scary about her, Warren? Haha, I think she was just, you know…maybe a little bit of a flirt, is all.”

“No,” said Warren, shaking his head, still looking at the door, “There’s something going on with her. Something wrong…something dangerous.”

“Aw, I think you’re being a bit dramatic, ok?” said Irina kindly, reaching out and rubbing Warren’s shoulder. “I know all of this probably feels like it’s moving so quickly and everything, but…but Warren, I just want you to know that, as long as you have me on, you’ll never be one of those…one of those men that she was talking about, with no one to take care of them.”

“Thanks Irina,” said Warren, his brow unfurrowing as his lips cracked into a smile. “Maybe…uh, maybe I was going a bit overboard there, haha.” His face fell a little as he shook his head again. “I just knew I had the virus…I knew it.”

“Now, you know, there are already treatments prescribed for it,” said Irina, hoping that he wasn’t about to descend back into a kind of panic. “It’s not a death sentence by any means.”

“No, but…” ventured Warren, as if he didn’t want to speak it into existence, “But I am going to get smaller…and weaker…just like she said.”

“Well, some men are affected more than others,” said Irina diplomatically, still rubbing his shoulder, “And anyway, look at it this way — if you’re smaller, it’ll be that much easier for me to take care of you, haha!”

“Heheh…yeah,” chuckled Warren, looking around at the floor, and then back up to her. Their eyes locked together again, and for several seconds, they stayed that way. Warren was struggling through feelings of panic and dread that were thankfully beginning to subside, but as he locked eyes with Irina, he felt an inexorable sense of helplessness, as if his power and independence were draining out of him…he thought about how small he could get…how weak…how pathetically helpless…and how much he was going to have to depend on her. But the accompanying emotion to these thoughts was not the dread and panic that were subsiding within him. Something else was there, something that felt almost…excited, in a twisted way. But that wasn’t true — he wasn’t excited! How could he be!? Warren blinked and shook his head, looking away from Irina as he chuckled nervously, his eyes indistinctly looking down at the floor.

For her part, Irina knew this time that she was definitely feeling that strange prickle of deep, subconscious instinct that was bubbling up inside. What was it!? Something…maternal-like, maybe? It was hard for her to place it; all she knew was that in this moment, she had a sudden vision of bathing a naked Warren in a bathtub, gently sponging his small, skinny body as her huge, inflated breasts wobbled and jiggled gently under her ministrations. He was the size of a child…not much more than 3 feet tall…and she had grown enormous and buxom, absolutely gigantic compared to him.

She felt her clit twinge as she blinked, snapping out of the vision as she came back to the doctor’s office. What was going on!? She didn’t want Warren to shrink like that! She wanted him to recover…to get better. But why was she struggling with these bizarre feelings of…looking forward to him shrinking? After a few seconds, Irina decided that it must just be the unprecedented oddity of the situation that was making her think like this.

“But I’m…uh, I’m sorry your fever’s worse!” said Irina, putting her hand up to Warren’s forehead. “Are you feeling bad?”

“Not bad, really,” said Warren, shaking his head, even as he felt another little pleasant shudder that accompanied Irina’s touch. He felt a bit too much like a juvenile when she touched him like that, but at the same time, he liked the tactile feeling of her soft, warm flesh on his own. Like Irina herself, Warren was struggling with competing emotions. “Just…uh…heheh, yeah, a little warm, is all.”

“Well when we get home I can make you a nice cool drink,” said Irina, taking her hand away.

“I…yeah, that sounds nice,” said Warren. He kind of just wanted to sit in front of the TV and watch his favorite programs — he wanted to take his mind off the reality of what was happening. But a cool drink made by his housekeeper sounded nice too…in his mind’s eye, he saw her E-cups swaying back and forth sexily as she bent down, offering him the drink as he lounged on the sofa. Her huge jugs were in his face…their sweet scent softly descending into his nostrils…now they were enveloping his face…his entire head, in their soft, warm, pillowy embrace. Warren inhaled through his mouth and blinked a few times rapidly; his cock had gotten a little hard. What on earth was happening to him!? Why was he thinking these things?? He made eye contact with Irina without meaning to, and they both laughed nervously.

A short knock sent both pairs of eyes darting to the door, which was already opening. The wavy blond mane of the amazonian nurse appeared from high behind the door, with the rest of her curvy, buxom figure following close behind. Irina and Warren both felt their breath catch in their chests as they stared; this woman had a way of locking attention onto herself by simply moving about…by simply existing.

“Well, he’s positive,” announced Sarah casually, speaking directly to Irina, “No surprises there. But it’s just good that we have official verification.”

“That’s…that’s ok,” said Irina, putting her arm around Warren without thinking as she massaged his shoulder. “We expected that. It’s ok Warren…we’ll get through this.”

“Th-thanks…Irina,” muttered Warren hollowly as he stared down at the floor. His face had gone a little pale.

“You absolutely will,” declared Sarah, nodding her head as her eyes glanced down at her clipboard. “As long as he takes his medication as prescribed.”

“Oh yes…of course, yes,” responded Irina, looking up at Sarah. “What is the medication, exactly?”

“For him it’ll be a triple combination of specific anti-viral drugs,” said Sarah, handing Irina a sheet of paper from her clipboard. “It’s important that he takes them twice a day, once in the morning, and once at night, for as long a the shrinking persists.”

“And that…th-that’ll stop me getting smaller?” asked Warren, making an effort to look up into the nurse’s eyes. He didn’t know why, but it felt like a titanic effort, just speaking to this woman in a normal voice. He could only hold eye contact for a second before he had to look away. She just made him feel so…small.

“Oh no sweetheart,” came Sarah’s soft, warm voice as she smiled down on him pityingly, “You’ve got the virus, and nothing’s going to stop you shrinking down to however small you’ll become. The anti-virals are to protect your internal organs, to shield them from the worst effects. Otherwise the virus will just have its way with your brain, your heart, your lungs, and so on.” Sarah looked over at Irina, and her voice changed, now suddenly business-like. “That’s why it’s so important that he takes this medication twice a day. He’ll survive getting smaller, but he won’t survive if the virus has free reign over his vital organs.”

Irina nodded, squeezing Warren a little tighter.

“I’ll make sure he takes it, just like you said,” Irina stated firmly. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, however, she drew back internally. Was she condescending too much to Warren again? She wished that this nurse would speak directly to Warren like the adult that he was…it wasn’t lost on her that Sarah was speaking to her like she was his mother or something. It made her uncomfortable; but it also made her feel…something else, something difficult to place.

“You can hand this receipt with my signature to the pharmacy down the street,” said Sarah, passing along the prescription to Irina. “And I’ve actually got the first dose right here. It’s important that we get these drugs in him as quickly as possible.”

Sarah had put down her clipboard and was slowly pouring a dark-colored, syrupy liquid into a tiny measuring cup.

“10 milliliters in the morning,” said Sarah steadily, holding out the cup to Warren, “And 10 milliliters before bed.”

As she held out the medication, the bracelets jangled lightly on her bare arm. Irina found herself marveling at how strong and well-formed this nurse was…how strong she looked…and yet, paradoxically, how feminine she looked as well.

‘She has to work out a ton,’ thought Irina, staring at Sarah’s arm. ‘I should exercise some more myself.’

But Irina snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the soft, flowing laughter of the nurse, who had been about to hand Warren his medication, but had drawn it back out of his reach.

“Aww honey,” chuckled Sarah, shaking that great mane of her head gently down at him, “I can’t hand it to you with you shaking like that. Here, why don’t you just open your mouth and I’ll give it to you myself.”

Warren hated that his hands were shaking like they were, but at the moment he couldn’t control it. The news that he was indeed infected, coupled with the mysterious, scary, and powerful presence of this gigantic nurse, had set his body trembling. He had control over his breathing, but his body seemed recalcitrant toward his brain’s insistence that everything was ok. Even still, with Sarah bearing down on him, he looked up into her sea green eyes and reflexively opened his mouth, ready to deferentially accept his first dose.

“Actually,” Irina cut in, holding up her hand in between Sarah’s hand and Warren’s mouth, “I’d…like to give it to him…if that’s alright.” Irina was acting on pure instinct now — something inside her had risen up and definitively asserted that she was going to be the one to give Warren his medicine. The thought of this nurse gently feeding it to Warren was intolerable.

“Of course!” smiled Sarah, handing off the medication to Irina. She watched silently as the housekeeper slowly tipped the cup into Warren’s awaiting mouth. Irina couldn’t help but feel like this was a private moment, and she wished that the nurse wasn’t there watching them. But she quickly dismissed these odd thoughts as she focused on making sure Warren got all of the liquid down.

“Thanks…Irina,” said Warren after swallowing it all down. “I’m sorry, I…uh, heheh, I don’t know why I’m shaking like this.”

“He has a high fever,” said Sarah, looking at Irina. “It might be a good idea to bathe him in a nice cool bath when you get home.”

“B-Bathe…him!?” asked Irina, her eyes snapping up to Sarah’s. The steady green of the nurse’s eyes twinkled, and Irina grew afraid. Did Sarah…!? Did she somehow know about the vision Irina had had just a few minutes before??

“Well yes,” replied Sarah pleasantly. “A nice cool bath, or a cold washcloth on his head…cool drinks…you know, nice things to help keep his body temperature down. And that medication should help as well.”

Irina blinked as Sarah picked her clipboard back up. The housekeeper felt confused. Was she freaking out about nothing? This nurse seemed so casual and nice, so professional. And yet, that twinkle in her eye…

“Now before you go,” said Sarah, “I need to ask you a few questions, Irina. Is that alright?”

“Yeah…uh-of course,” nodded Irina. She realized that she was still squeezing Warren’s shoulder, and she loosened her grip.

“Have you noticed any unexplained tightening in your clothes or shoes?” Sarah’s voice was professional and matter-of-fact.

“Um…no, nothing I’ve noticed,” answered Irina.

“Mmhm,” muttered Sarah, writing on her clipboard. “And your exposure to Mr. Du Pont has lasted how long?”

“This…haha, this is actually my first day on the job,” chuckled Irina, not quite sure why she was laughing. “I, uh, I literally just met him today.”

“Oh, how about that,” remarked Sarah, looking back and forth between them as she smiled amiably. “Now your breasts, Irina. Have you noticed anything unusual about how they feel? Tenderness? Swelling?”

“Not…really, no,” replied Irina.

“And as far as your overall mood,” continued Sarah, nodding as she spoke, “Have you had any unexpected mood swings?”

“Mood…swings?” asked Irina, feeling a cold dread growing inside her.

“Unusual thoughts that you had never had before?” asked Sarah, looking at her steadily. “Strange fantasies that hearken back to something primal in you? A nurturing, protective, mother instinct?”

Irina couldn’t answer. Her words were caught in the back of her throat. Sarah had just described exactly what she had been struggling with over and over, all afternoon. Did this mean that she had the virus too? Her eyes were locked onto Sarah’s, and as the seconds passed by, a glimmer of recognition appeared in the nurse’s eyes. Irina didn’t even have to answer; Sarah was already writing it down. And the housekeeper felt her fear grow as she saw Sarah’s mouth curl into something like a grin.

“Here,” breathed Sarah, tearing off a piece of paper and handing it to Irina, “There’s my private number. I know all of this is a lot to take in at once, but I want you to know that you can reach out to me if you need to talk about any symptoms you might be having. Your little guy there…he’s got his medicine. But if you have anything concerning going on in your head, I want you to reach out to me, ok Irina? I’ll pick up.”

“Th-thanks,” said Irina, having no idea how to feel as she accepted the number.

“I don’t do this for everyone,” said Sarah, inclining her head slightly as she rose up to her full height, “But something about the two of you…I want to help in any way I can.” She looked down at Warren, focusing the full energy of her eyes on him. “Because if this little one was out there all alone…if someone else were to get ahold of him…well.” A short exhale of laughter escaped through Sarah’s dilated nostrils. “Keep him close, Irina. Keep him close.”

The nurse turned on her heel, her incredible ass shaking and bouncing behind her, and a moment later she was gone. It felt like she had sucked up everything from the room in her wake. Irina and Warren just sat there for a few long seconds, neither of them saying a word, neither of them having any idea what to think. The car ride home was similarly silent, with Irina glancing over at Warren every few seconds, concern etched over her face. Warren’s high fever, combined with the sedative effects of the initial medication, combined to overpower his anxiety, and he simply drifted off in a stupor in the passenger seat, his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open. Irina noticed that he had fallen asleep once she stopped at a red light, and as she looked down at his sleeping body, she could feel a gentle warmth spreading out from her loins into the rest of her body. Her clit twinged again, and she could feel herself getting wet. He just looked so vulnerable, so small, so helpless…and she was getting aroused by the idea that he had fallen into her lap. He was hers to take care of. She was going to be the one to see to his every need.

Her hardening nipples pressed into her bra as the warmth continued to spread over her body like gentle electricity. Irina shook her head as the light turned green. There it was again…all those crazy, bizarre thoughts. The same thoughts Sarah had asked her about. Irina had her number. She would try and hold off calling — Sarah scared her…made her feel weird…but at the same time, Irina somehow knew that she would be calling the nurse at some point. She had a feeling in her bones.

On the way back home, external reality seemed to be converging together with the strangeness in her brain. Billboards were going up everywhere she looked: “Mass Testing in the Superdome,” “Shrinking and Single? Call the Hotline,” “Stop the Spread: Wear a Mask,” were just some of the messages going up. But even more strikingly for Irina was the sight of women walking hand in hand with their smaller male partners. It was everywhere. Some of the women were only a head taller, but some of the men had already shrunk considerably, to the point where a few of them looked like children. It made Irina shiver…both in discomfort and in something else…pleasure? Anticipation? She had no idea.

A few minutes later, she had woken Warren up and was helping him into his house.

“Would you like that cold drink we talked about?” asked Irina, smiling at him. She was resisting the urge to ask him if he wanted a bath — she badly wanted to bathe him, but she knew this wasn’t appropriate.

“Heheh…yeah,” chuckled Warren, crossing the threshold of his house.

“I’ll get right on that,” replied Irina, and she swung the big front door closed. Its heavy, clanging shut reverberated through Warren’s skull. He suddenly felt like a prisoner in his own house.