A Love So Bold
by Anon Allsop

The story continues - Hope you enjoy!

-Twenty Three-

A light misting rain began to fall as the afternoon closed; it was more of a nuisance rain than anything. On Gideon's urging, Hannah retreated inside as both children were awake and had been for hours. Cade was now sitting up on the seat next to his father.

As what seemed to Hannah as her 'usual' position, she calmly sat in the bottom of the wagon quietly nursing Em. The ever continuing rocking of this wagon was something that she desperately wanted to avoid experiencing again. She stretched out, to relieve the cramping of her legs and uncovered something fascinating.

As she moved her foot, she struck a worn, blackened case that was pushed under an old dresser. She slowly worked it out with her foot until she was able to reach it, and she saw that it had a strange hourglass shape, long and flat. She glanced up toward the boys, and then gently lifted one of the two strange buckles that held it closed. Again she glanced up to see if the creaking of the rusted metal attracted attention, and lifted the other.

Inside the case lay a very old violin, the bow nested safely beside it. She carefully examined the strings; they were all intact and unbroken. While the instrument appeared old and worn, it looked as though it could still be played.

She carefully closed the lid and gently slid it back to where she had found it. Since the day that she had met Gideon, not once did he play it. She began to wonder if the original Hannah had played, and she decided she would ask when she once again returned to the wagon's seat.

The mist had stopped and the bright sun had been shining for the last couple of hours, and Hannah had fallen asleep with Em in her arms. She awoke to a rider approaching; it was the Wagon Master.

"Gideon, we're about to cross the river up here." He then spoke to Cade, "Son you'd better go on in the back with your ma and sister, because it could get a bit rough in all of these rocks up here."

As he rode on to inform the other wagons, Gideon assisted Cade over the seat; Hannah helped him settle down in the back. "Do you need me up there?" she asked nervously.

"I'll be alright; you keep the young-ins company until we cross." He glanced back quickly as he spoke, "I can see the crossing right up ahead; it won't be long now."

Hannah gently placed Em in the box, and then motioned for Cade to sit beside her and wait out the crossing of the river. He looked slightly frightened, so she smiled to him and his expression changed somewhat.

"Isn't this exciting?" she asked, trying to mask her own fear. "It's almost like we are in a great ship riding in the ocean blue!"

He smiled and peeked forward under the seat at the river ahead, "I guess so." He hunkered down beside her. "Mama?"

"Yes, honey, what is it?"

He looked up at her face and motioned his fingers for her to lean low so he could whisper into her ear, "Is it okay if I'm afraid?"

She hugged him and kissed his forehead, "Of course it is."

"Are you scared?"

"I'm scared too."

"I bet daddies aren't afraid." He was proudly watching his father fight the team through the rapidly moving water, the jostling within the wagon caused the sparse household goods around them to rock and tip over. Hannah cradled both children, covering them with her body as the rocking continued, and more items fell.

When she felt them emerging on the opposite side of the Platte, she smiled at her son, "No, I guess daddies aren't afraid, not like mommies and little boys.”

"Will I ever get to 'not be afraid' like Daddy?" he asked innocently.

"Someday, but for now...I want you to just stay the way you are for a while longer." She pushed a basket from them and scooted toward the front of the wagon, "Keep an eye on Em for me. It may be awhile before we stop."

"Goodness, I'm glad that's over with!" she exclaimed as she leaned over the seat back. "We've got a mess back there to tidy up."

Gideon laughed, "I remember reading that we have to cross rivers several times along the way, so I wouldn't get too thankful just yet."

"I can be thankful that we have two of them behind us then, can't I?" She sighed, adjusting the bonnet she wore that had bumped on one of the wooden canopy stays.

"I'm pretty sure he's taking us higher up the hill so we'll be away from the water, I heard someone say earlier this morning that there is a good little lake somewhere about." He looked over at her and smiled, "It'll look like you may be getting that bath you were dreaming about."

"If it's there..." she replied softly, remembering her earlier comment about letting him have his way with her if it was found; now she wasn't so sure she was willing to give up so easily.

He watched her in deep thought. "Giving up our deal already?" he said laughing.

She glanced at his twinkling eyes and laughed nervously, "No, not at all."

“Don’t worry; I won’t hold you to it.” He smiled and studied the lead wagon as it was directed toward a small stand of trees up ahead. “Looks like we’ll be stopping up here for the night. It’ll be good to get down off this hard seat.”

“I could always fold a blanket for you to sit on,” she offered.

“I just might take you up on that,” he replied as their wagon was pulling abreast of the Wagon Master, mounted on his horse.

“Are we stopping here for the night?” Gideon called out to him.

“Tonight and maybe tomorrow, we have some ill folks and I want to give them a day to rest up.” He glanced down the line at the last few wagons climbing out of the river.

“What sort of illness do they have?” Hannah asked.

“They’ve been throwing up, and are having the screaming shits,” he replied prior to motioning them on.

Gideon scowled, “That doesn’t sound good.” He glanced toward Hannah, “I’m going to move our wagon to the side…I don’t want to be around anyone who might be ill.”

Hannah suddenly had a worried look on her face, “What do you think they might have?”

“I can’t say just yet. But if you’ve never listened to me before, please do so now; I want you and the children to stay away from the other wagons.” He had a serious look on his face as he spoke, and it was frightening Hannah.

“The last few trains that rolled along the Platte have come down with cholera; some of them lost quite a fair bunch of folks. We’ll know better as morning arrives.” He forced a smile, but she could tell he too was worried.

“What about Arden, Mr. Bl…Charles and his children?” She worried. “I don’t want them to get sick either.”

He smiled and patted her hand reassuringly, “If they aren’t the ones who are ill, they can camp next to us.”

His offer seemed to ebb her worry, because she only hoped that the wagon who may be ill, wasn’t either of theirs. She settled back and tried to see which wagon Arden was in; after a few minutes she saw her and motioned for them to follow.

Gideon drove his team to the opposite side of the small lake, which was nothing more than overspill from heavy rains earlier in the month. He stopped behind the Shepherd wagon, followed by Arden and the Bloom’s.

When they stopped, Gideon stepped down and gently lifted Hannah to the ground. She rubbed the feeling back into her legs, thankful to be standing again. Gideon soon placed Cade on the ground beside Hannah. She began to pet Blackie as she waited for the remainder of the group to collect.

Loosening her bonnet, she let it hang down behind her and waited for Arden to climb down. Arden gave her a puzzled look, “Why did you come way over here?”

When Charles Bloom arrived to the small gathering with his brood in tow, Gideon explained his fears. “We’re keeping ourselves away from the train, ‘cause there is illness there and I don’t want my family to become sick.”

Charles Bloom was a barrel-chested man with a good heart; he was always smiling and jovial. He wore a bowler type of hat that covered his thinning hair. “Thank you, Gideon, for thinking of us too, I really appreciate it.” As he spoke his eyes were constantly upon Arden, and his look was of sheer admiration.

Hannah caught Gideon’s eye and she slightly nodded her head toward him. Gideon also nodded, and then continued, “I read somewhere that the water along the Platte may be the reason people are getting sick, so this small lake may not be any better. Don’t drink it or cook with it, if we can help it… it should be okay to bathe in and wash our clothes though.”

“We can use our stored water for cooking,” Arden spoke, looking toward Charles for agreement; he nodded and stepped closer to her.

“We’ll see to the livestock, but Charles, I was wondering something…” Gideon looked across the small group toward Charles, “You a very good shot?”

“I’ve been known to hit what I was aiming at from time to time,” he laughed.

“I hope so; I saw some small deer or antelope back there a ways, maybe we could add to our stores a bit while we’re idle?” He reached into his wagon and removed a long rifle, and bag with powder and lead balls. “It ain’t much, but it’ll still bring down what it needs to.”

“Take Blackie, he needs to stretch his legs from all of the walking he’s been doing.” Hannah called after the men as they were heading toward Charles’ wagon to pick up his rifle. “Just don’t push him too much; he won’t be used to being ridden by anyone for awhile!”

Cade and the Bloom children began playing with a ball they brought made from a goat’s bladder, as they moved away from the wagons and water, Hannah and Arden began to talk.

“Charles asked me to marry him!” Arden said with a huge smile.

“My, that was sudden!”

“He doesn’t want to wait; he would like to be married before we start again.” She pushed a long light brown hair from her face and smiled at the youngsters playing.

“I heard of weddings and such happening on the trail all the time, but I never heard of one happing after only a day or so of knowing each other.” Hannah laughed as she began to gather sticks from a few of the trees that surrounded the water. Arden began to help; they carried them to a central spot near the three wagons.

“So are you going to marry him?” Hannah asked as she placed a bigger log off to the side.

“I think so; I’d like you to be my matron of honor, that is, if you will agree to it?”

Hannah beamed widely and hugged her friend, “I’d love to do it!” She paused to watch Cade and smiled, slowly walking toward her own wagon as Gideon and Charles set out hunting. Charles was on one of his mules, and Gideon was on Blackie.

She climbed into the wagon and picked up Em, who was slowly growing cranky from being in the box for such a long time. It was time anyway; Hannah could feel the pressure building within her breasts and needed the assistance of Em to alleviate it.

She sat down on the tongue of the wagon and began to open her blouse and untie her chemise, as she gently extracted her engorged breast she began to suckle Em. Carefully she threw a soft cloth over her shoulder so it would cover her exposed breast and child from young eyes.

“I hope someday to be able to do that,” Arden spoke wistfully. “There is nothing I would want more than to be married and have a child or two.”

“You will already be having several…and they’re out there playing with Cade,” Hannah laughed.

“I love his children, I’ll be a good mother to them…but I’d love to have my own.”

“You are a good woman. I know you will be a great mother to those children.” Hannah turned to watch them playing very nice together. “I have a feeling though that you will have your fair share of little ones yourself.”

“I hope you’re right, Hannah…I hope you’re right,” she sighed.

-Twenty Four-

While the men were out hunting to bolster the meat supply, Hannah and Arden readied their camp. They couldn't assume that Charles and Gideon would be able to get something, so meal preparation had also begun.

In an effort to conserve food, both women combined items to make a hearty stew, and at the same time, Arden baked biscuits in her Dutch oven. They quickly fed the children and were putting them to bed for the night, and as they were quietly drifting off to sleep, Gideon and Charles arrived back in camp.

Gideon walked Blackie to the picket and tied him to the rope that was strung between two trees, and then removed his saddle and blanket.

As he was brushing him down, Hannah walked up with a plate and a cup of coffee. "Feel like eating?"

"Yeah, I'm so hungry I could eat a cow with the hide still on it." He continued brushing and then looked over the back of Blackie and noticed she was holding his supper. He took the coffee from her and drank some, and then handed the cup back for her to hold.

"Did you see anything?" she asked, still holding onto the plate.

"We got one; it didn't give us much meat though," he replied as he was continuing to brush the big black thoroughbred. "We'll split it and it'll give us some meat to eat for a couple of days." He looked at the plate and smiled. "That plate of stew sure does look good."

"Arden and I pitched in together to make enough for everyone." She studied his tired face, "I hope you don't mind."

"That's fine, Hannah, what's mine is yours. You know that," he said with a laugh.

"I knew you’d say that." She watched him continue to brush Blackie, "So, you going to be at it awhile?"

He paused and leaned against Blackie, he on one side, she on the other. He was still holding the brush in his hand, and sighed tiredly, "I'll finish this right quick, and then give him some feed. I'll be in camp directly. You can leave me the coffee though."

She nodded, handing him the cup. "I'll stir this back into the pot so you can have it warm when you do come in." She carefully lifted her skirt and made her way back toward the fire, while he constantly admired her petite and shapely figure walk away.

Hannah removed the lid using her skirt to hold onto the hot iron, pushed the stew into the pot and then recovered it. She looked up as Arden was walking back into the light with Charles; she too had filled a plate for him. “The children are all bedded down, Hannah.”

Hannah stood and tucked a lock of her long red hair behind her ear, “Did Cade give you any problems on going to bed?”

Arden giggled, and handed Charles his plate, “Nope, all of them fell right to sleep. I guess playing as hard as they did, does have its benefits.”

Hannah looked back over her shoulder, “Gideon is finishing up with Blackie, and then he’ll be here for his supper when he’s done.” She made an uncomfortable face, “I really need to nurse Em, so if you will, can you take care of Gideon and get his supper for me?

“Sure, honey, you go on and take care of that little one of yours, I’ll make sure that Gideon gets supper.” She sat on the seat of their wagon; it had been removed to give them additional places to sit.

Hannah carefully climbed into the wagon and changed Em, then prepared herself for nursing. As she watched the tot suckle, she began to think of how the last several weeks had nudged her thought patterns even further into the realm of womanhood.

This act that she continuously endured was probably her most extreme act of femininity; it reinforced each and every time that she was no longer male. She sighed and kissed the tiny face so near to her own; even she had to admit that it has become easier from repetition.

She was well aware that this feminine body came with its own obstacles that no male could fathom. Yet, she had come to expect them in what looked to be a lifelong event. Outside she heard Gideon finally enter their camp, and he chatted with Charles on which direction they should go hunting in the morning.

After nearly twenty minutes of listening to their conversation, she heard him excuse himself and approach the wagon where Emma and she were secluded. “Hey, you planning on coming out anytime soon?”

“I’m sort of preoccupied for the moment,” she said with a smile, and then looked down adoringly at Em. “Your daughter is quite hungry tonight.”

He stood there at the back of his wagon watching both of them sharing a bonding moment. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, I’m fine,” she replied softly. As he began to turn back toward the camp, she called out to him.

“There is one thing I wanted to ask you.”

“What’s that?” He stepped back to the tailgate again, “Ask me anything.”

Hannah glanced back toward the little violin case. “Is this yours?”

His face grew red, “Yes, it’s mine.” He looked down at his feet, and then back up to stare once again into one of the most beautiful faces he had ever seen.

“Will you play it for me?” she asked softly.

“I’m not that good…you never…” he began then smiled and glanced back over his shoulder, nervous that someone might hear. “Hannah never liked the violin; she said it was like fingernails on the chalkboard to her.”

Hannah gave him that look again. “You already know what I’m going to say about that…so, please play it for me.”

He smiled and reached for it. When Hannah pushed it closer to him with her foot, he said, “Don’t say you haven’t been warned.”

He opened up the case and removed the violin, drew his thumb over the strings a time or two, then adjusted the pitch. He winked at Hannah and then slowly walked toward the fire.

As he was out of her sight, she switched Em to the opposite side and settled back for what she hoped was a private concert. She had found other things that the original Hannah didn’t like and she enjoyed, so she hoped that this would be another one. As he stood quietly by the fire, his silhouette projected onto the canvas top of their wagon.

Charles and Arden both exclaimed their surprise of his hidden talent as he drew the bow over the strings; it sounded much like an evil hiss. “Sorry,” he exclaimed softly with a laugh, “It’s been awhile.”

Inside the wagon, Hannah fought off a laugh. She looked down at Emma, “Shhh, we must be quiet…daddy’s going to play a song for us.”

Gideon began to play, the sad lonely sound of his violin drifted out into the night air, its melodic beauty caused Hannah to gasp in awe. In silence she sat in the wagon nursing Em, tears welling in her eyes. The song he played was hauntingly familiar, one that her father would hum while he was sitting by the fire back home.

Her mind was instantly drawn back to her childhood in Delphi, her mother on one side of the fireplace quietly reading from her Bible, father smoking his pipe and staring into the crackling fire. She hadn’t thought of them in several days, and the song made her realize just how much she missed them. She raised a trembling hand and wiped tears from her eyes. Now it was she, alone in the world.

She looked at the shadow playing the lonely but beautiful music on the canvas, and then sat up straighter. She realized that she was not alone; she had Gideon and the children. She smiled - her parents would have liked Gideon; he was a lot like her own father.

As she sat quietly humming, rocking with Em to the sad tune, she realized that she could hear singing. It was Charles; he was singing quite low, it again called the image of her father to her mind.

“'Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen
On the steep, steep side of Ben Lomond
Where in the purple hue the hieland hills we view
And the moon coming out in the gloaming”

As he was singing, she realized that Em was soundly asleep. She carefully burped her and placed her down in the box to sleep. Hannah dressed and climbed down from the wagon as Charles was finishing. She stood and watched both Charles and Gideon in the light of the fire for the remainder of the song, Arden smiling the entire time.

As Gideon pulled the bow across the strings for the final note, he glanced toward the wagon and saw Hannah standing like a beautiful Grecian statue. He slowly lowered the violin as he saw her tears reflecting from the firelight on her beautiful cheeks, He began to walk toward her.

“I’m sorry…I…” He began to apologize.

“Please don’t. It was so beautiful,” she softly sighed as he hugged her. “It made me think of my folks and when I was but a youth.”

He carefully walked beside her as they made their way to the fire, “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Would you like to hear another?”

She stood beside Gideon; Arden reached up and took her hand lovingly as a sister would. Hannah glanced at her and smiled, “Yes, please play us something.”

There were tears still in Hannah’s eyes, so Gideon smiled and asked, “How about a happy song this time?”

He played well into the evening, one song after another until he had played most everything he knew. Gideon would have continued to play several over, but everyone was tired and he knew they needed to get some rest. Hannah and he slowly walked back to their wagon and he placed the violin back into its case.

Hannah turned to him and hugged Gideon tightly, “Thank you, this was a beautiful evening.”

“It was my pleasure.” He smiled and gave her a tender kiss.

After another lengthy kiss he slowly pushed himself from her arms, “Let’s get the wagon ready. When we’re done, then you can head to bed while I check on the animals.”

“I can do it; you go on and take care of them. It’ll be all ready for when you come back.” She shooed him away and began to ready the wagon.

-Twenty Five-

When Hannah finished attaching their curtains, she crawled inside and quickly fell asleep. At one point, she rolled over and when her hand fell to where Gideon would have been, she slowly lifted her head. He was not in his usual spot beside her.

Wearing only her chemise, she scooted outside of the wagon; the coals were glowing, with small flames licking up around them. Hannah dropped a few pieces of wood on them and stirred the coals; she walked to the edge of the camp where it became the darkest.

"Gideon?" she softly called out, keeping her voice down so she didn't awaken Arden or the Blooms. She walked several feet out into the darkness, "Gideon, are you out here?"

Still, she heard nothing - only the crickets and frogs answered her. She stood with her hands upon her generous hips, trying to discern where he could have gone. Hearing Blackie softly nicker, she slowly turned and made her way toward the picket line.

When she arrived at her horse's side, she spoke softly to Blackie, and slowly walked the picket line. Hannah was stumped; she found no sign of Gideon there. She began to walk toward the lake and stood on the edge, her toes just where she could feel the ebb and flow of the water. "Gideon?" she whispered again.

She stood for several seconds and then moved down the shoreline, pausing every so often to softly call out to him. Finally movement in the water caught her eye, "Gideon? Is that you?"

He laughed softly, "I sure hope so."

She frowned at him, and then folded her arms under her breasts, "I thought you didn't want us to use the water."

"I'm just swimming, I ain't drinking it!" He whispered sarcastically, then began to chuckle. "Come on in, the water feels great."

Gideon swam close, but stayed where the water reached only to his chest. Hannah sat down on a patch of grass, carefully folding her chemise beneath her. "I woke up and noticed you hadn't come to bed yet."

He laughed softly, "So... are you saying you missed me?"

She giggled and ignored his reply, "Is the water warm?"

"Jump in and see for yourself." He teased, "It feels pretty good to me."

"You'd probably try to drown me”.

She stretched her lithe legs out into the water, drawing the hem of her chemise up to her thighs. Gideon noticed and appreciatively moved closer. He was kneeling on the bottom of the lake, yet the water was still at his chest. "Wasn't you the one who wanted to clean the trail dust from off of yourself?"

"Yes... but can't a girl have second thoughts?" She leaned back, her arms propping her up. Gideon could see the shadow of her nipples through the chemise. He was thankful that she couldn't see under the water, and what she was doing to him.

Hannah closed her eyes, the moonlight gently illuminating her face. She quietly listened to the night creatures sing their heavenly song; it was a sound that she would never grow tired of.

"What you thinking?" he asked softly.

She gradually opened her eyes and smiled, slowly drawing her knees to her chest, "I just love the night sounds. There is something to be said of the sounds of late summer."

He laughed softly; she took it as he was laughing at her. "What was that for?"

"What was what for?"

"You laughed at me."

"I wasn't laughing at you. I was thinking of... Hannah. She absolutely hated bugs of any kind; she despised the outdoors! Hell, she would have never been found with her feet in the water like you had only moments ago." He smiled and chuckled again, "I guess you could say, aside from looks... you two are nothing alike."

"Well, thank you... I think." She tried to look at him angrily, but a smile slowly crept onto her face.

"So, are you planning on coming out of the water soon?" she whispered softly.

The entire time they had been trying to keep their voices to a minimum; the last thing they wanted was to have their quiet moment together invaded by a stranger. Gideon began to lean backward, intending to swim on his back. Once he realized that his erect penis would break the water's surface he quickly righted himself.

"Problems?" she whispered knowingly, her wide grin speaking volumes.

"Might be…You could come on out here and give me a hand; I'd be appreciative of it."

She giggled softly, "Oh I bet you would." He rolled onto his stomach and struck out toward the middle, giving Hannah a supreme view of his backside.

She decided quickly, stood and peeled out of her chemise. Quietly stepping out into the water until the water was past her breasts, she was almost to him by the time he turned around. She slowly dipped her head into the water and flipped her flowing red locks behind her shoulder.

"Well hello there," he whispered, surprised that she actually left the shore. "What brings a lovely woman such as you out here in my neck of the woods?"

"Well..." she began. "I was sitting on the shore over there..." She pointed, "And I saw this man out here in the water. Naturally, I was curious who he was, and thought I should come out and introduce myself."

He swam closer to her, “Well hello there, ma’am, my name is…” his eyes traveled across her lovely face. "God, you're beautiful."

She smiled, "I like hearing that." He swam slowly around her; she rotated herself to keep him in front.

"You know from our conversation earlier that it's pretty dangerous for you to be out here with me." He moved closer, she playfully backed away.

"I didn't forget," she giggled.

Finally, he gently reached out and pulled her close to him. He leaned in and kissed her deeply, "I've wanted to do that all evening."

"Well you accomplished that, so what's next?" she spoke softly as he then drew her close and began to kiss her exposed neck. "Oh my..."

"Is there a problem?" he said asked with a soft laugh.

"No, but I think a fish just bumped into my leg." She looked down into the inky water with concern.

He grinned broadly, "That was no fish..."

Hannah again looked down; a slow smile crept across her face. "So, kind sir, now that you have me prisoner, what are you planning to do to me?"

He leaned in to whisper in her delicate ear, "I want to make love to you. Right here, right now."

"And if I refuse?" she replied playfully.

He frowned, "I guess then, I'll just swim back to shore and get dressed." He turned to leave and she gently grasped his elbow, and then pulled him back to her.

Gideon's face showed surprise as he allowed Hannah to pull him close, "Okay, to use your words... Now that you have me, what do you intend to do with me?"

She said nothing, just drew him even closer and kissed him deeply. As she was kissing him, she locked her feet around his back, forcing him to carry her entire weight. Gideon began to kiss her fiercely; her face, neck and the upper most portions of her breasts were the objects of his desire.

Hannah allowed her head to fall back; it was an attempt to allow him greater access to her unfettered breasts. Her weight was nothing for him to hold, so buoyant in the water was she. Gideon placed his hands under her soft thighs, adjusting her enough to place his erection at her feminine opening.

She realized what he was doing and reached into the water and positioned him right at her maidenhead, then began to gradually roll her hips as in a great dance for the ages. Slowly she sank onto his erection, all the while he continued to kiss her with abandon.

"Oh, yessssss..." she sighed in pure erotic pleasure.

His kisses fell close to her ear where he whispered, "I told you that if we did this, I wasn't going to stop at 'half way'."

"I don't care..., was her reply. Make love to me..." She placed her dainty hands on the side of his face and began to kiss him hard, her tongue found its way into his mouth. There was a longing in those kisses that transcended who she had been, replaced with the absolute fact of who she was now.

Gideon slowly worked his way toward the shore, falling half in and half out of the water. Hannah lay in sand on her back, the water covering from just below her breasts on down. Raising her knees just above the water's surface she waited, her lover began to slowly impale her, his rhythm increasing with each rock of her seductive hips.

He had been so long without the love of his wife, and was wrought with unbridled passion in his lust for her. The only sounds that emanated from their lovemaking, was the soft little grunts and moans of Hannah's each time he thrust into her.

As his animalistic thoughts faded, he realized that he was very near to releasing his seed deep into her unprotected womb, he faltered, which caused the woman beneath him to suddenly open her eyes.

"Please don't stop..." she begged.

He slowly rose up on his hands, planted firmly in the sand on each side of her head. "I shouldn't be doing this; after all you were once a ma..."

She looked up at him angrily, "If you stop now, you might just as well change me back."

"You don't mean that..." he whispered softly, "What about Emma?"

"Well for her, I'd stay... but you'd never see me as I am right now, ever again." The anger in her face softened, "Please, Gideon, I need to see this through, and I need your help in doing it!"

She lifted her feet up behind him, locked them around his waist and pulled him in deeper, "You told me that you had to finish what you started, that you wouldn't go half way." The tears in her eyes glistened as she spoke, "Take me... please!" Her voice trembled with emotion.

"What if you become pregnant?" He whispered his concern. "You could be stuck nursing another child all over again."

"I wouldn't look at it as being stuck. If it happens, it happens. I'm a woman now and it is a part of a life that I must now learn to live with, so stop talking, and make love to me!" Her voice grew slightly louder as she spoke, finally coming out as an exasperated growl.

Nothing more was said between them, aside from her soft mews and his deep grunts. A slight splashing sound could be heard if one had been straining their ears, where the arch of her back came down hard against the water and sand, would cause a wave that lapped between her and his arms.

She was immersed in a deep bliss, her mind swimming in erotic desire. Never before had she ever experienced the dynamic pleasure erupting from within, like little sparks from a blacksmith's hammer the ecstasy spread outward.

It began within her stomach and spread into her extremities, like the tendrils of a great ocean beast. Wave after wave of rapture began to wash over her, permeating her feminine soul to its very core. Her eyes rolled back as the tsunami washed through her body, rocking her in a way that only a woman could describe, leaving her breathless and shaking.

While she was experiencing her first real orgasm, she felt Gideon's back tremble above. As she felt it the second time, he softly grunted in her ear, his muscles spamming with release. It had happened somewhere in the middle of nowhere, her lover had made her a woman.

They lay half in and half out of the water entwined, their bodies slowly returning from the stratosphere of sexual energy they had just endured. Hannah was still relishing in the orgasm that she was rewarded with, Gideon meanwhile just adored being so close to a woman who loved him for just being himself.

Reluctantly, he rolled off of her and lay beside Hannah half out of the water. He reached out to cup her face in his hand, "I don't know what I ever would have done without you."

"You would have managed," Hannah softly replied, still breathless from the little pulses of energy she was still feeling.

His eyes drifted to her lovely long red hair, now growing curly from being wet and un-brushed. He lowered his hand and swept sand from her shoulder, "Thank you for loving me."

"You make it easy to do," She whispered, kissing him deeply.

She rolled him onto his back, her leg sliding between his, her hair falling down over their faces, creating a world where only the two existed. Her kisses methodically began downward, each closer to his now limp penis.

Her hand gently grasped it, almost as soon as it was touched; it began to grow more ridged. By the time Hannah's face fell over his phallus, her lovely hair covered even that from his view.

"Ugh...I..." He tried to speak, but what she was doing drove all his ability to vocalize from him. It left Gideon only able to gasp, with enraptured pleasure.

She continued her ministrations upon him, her head slowly and rhythmically bobbing like some sort of human metronome was the only view he had of her. Her perfectly white teeth gently glided over him, which heightened his eroticism all the more. As the feeling she was enveloping him in was driving Gideon wild with desire, he suddenly felt as though he would burst into her.

"Oh... God, no..." he pleaded softly, gently touching Hannah's head, but she would have none of it. Her small hand gathered his sack gently, cupping them as they were gold, and her other hand rested delicately at her lover's base. His back began to quake, Hannah felt it even from where she lay, yet she maintained her tender massage upon him.

He erupted into her, and if Hannah had been repulsed, she showed no sign of revulsion. She continued to take him in, even after he was spent. When Gideon had grown limp, softening so much that he was no longer above the water, she leaned out and carefully spit the contents of her mouth into the lake, then rinsed her mouth of any lingering seed.

Gideon inhaled deeply, and whispered. "What you did…my God that was amazing!"

She smiled and slowly lay on top of him, half in and half out of the water. She was looking so lovely in what light eked from the tiny sliver of the moon, her red hair cascading over her narrow shoulders and falling over her generous breasts. The desire of kissing her pushed foremost into his mind, yet only moments ago had her mouth on him.

Gideon pulled her close and smothered her delicate lips with his hungry kiss, "If I could, I'd gladly take you again."

She smiled and whispered, "... and I'd let you."

He enveloped her in his thick arms, hugging this new woman in his life, never wanting to ever let her go. "You make loving you easy, it feels like it has always been so."

"It never has to stop, you know that," she replied softly, and then kissed him tenderly upon his lips.

He made a wry face, looking back toward their camp. "As much as I don't want to stop..."

Hannah frowned, "I guess we probably should, as it will be time to get up pretty soon anyway." She kissed him quickly and rose upon her knees, giving him a chance to drink in her lovely breasts as she moved, still firm and youthful in the moonlight.

He reluctantly sat up, and then rose to help her stand. Together they walked off the shore and returned to their clothing, each basking in what the other had done to them. Hand in hand they returned to camp, looking much like the young lovers they had become.