CHAPTER 4

     Jason stood looking down at Donna as she slept. Sweat beaded his brow from the excessive heat of the laboratory. The room was quiet now, for he had removed all tubes and solutions. Elation and anxiety strove for mastery on his face, gaunt from lack of sleep. For four weeks he had checked Donna every hour on the hour, sleeping on a cot near her here in the laboratory, leaving only for necessities. He had unplugged the phone and cut himself off from all interference.

     During his long vigil he had moments of gut-wrenching fear. If his efforts proved successful, the risks he took would be forgotten. But what if things went wrong?

     He thought of his late father, that upright man of business who had lived all his life by strict rules, but who within those rules had managed to turn the small inheritance left him by his father into a multimillion dollar industry. The risk Jason was taking now would have appalled him.

     At times during the weeks of waiting, Jason himself had been appalled, but because he had faith in himself and in what he was doing, he put these thoughts aside. Now, looking at Donna as she slept, he savored his success.

     She should be waking soon. Lying there with her dark hair fanned out on the pillow, she looked lovely. Sleeping Beauty, he thought, waiting for the kiss of the handsome prince to awaken her. He smiled at his own fancy, but he was bursting with excitement and pride of accomplishment. A young girl lay there, a girl whose beauty took his breath away.

     He felt moved by as emotion strange to him. He examined it gingerly, and suddenly felt his face redden. Surely an old bachelor like him couldn't be feeling fatherly! But he did feel rather like a father, for in a way he had produced a daughter. Out of that middle-aged, world-weary woman he had created a fresh, virginal girl so lovely that she could have the world at her feet if she chose.

     Jason marveled at this feeling in himself, a man who had lived most of his life alone, without wife or child. His work had been his world, and he had been too busy to be aware of a void in it. Now, through his own efforts, he had created a new person, and long-buried instincts stirred within him.

     Donna sighed. She's waking, he thought. No handsome prince, I, but she certainly is a princess and deserves to be wakened by a kiss. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. She smiled a little secret smile and moved her head.

     "Donna?" said Jason softly.

     She opened her eyes and looked at him dreamily. For a few minutes she drifted in and out of sleep. Then her eyes flew open in full comprehension. "Hello, Jason," she said.

     He smiled in delight. "How do you feel?"

     "Like I've been on a long journey into Limbo." Even though the look on his face told her all she needed to know, she asked nervously, "Did everything go all right?"

     "Better than my wildest dreams." His excitement mounted. "I can't wait for you to see yourself."

     Her eyes grew large and dark. "I'm afraid to look. Did it change me much?"

     "If you're up to it I'll carry you to a mirror in the house so you can see for yourself."

     "I think I can manage that." She threw back the covering sheet; underneath she wore only a laboratory gown. She sat up shakily and Jason helped her to her feet and into a robe, holding her so she wouldn't fall.

     "You'll have to take it easy for a couple of days," he said. "You've had no solid food for weeks, only intravenous solutions."      Picking her up gently, he carried her though the house to her bedroom. He set her on her feet before a full-length mirror and supported her while she looked. She stared at herself incredulously, her face slowly filling with terror.

     "What have you done to me, Jason?" she whispered.

     "What's wrong? I thought you'd be pleased."

     Sliding from his grasp, she tried to run, but collapsed against the foot of the bed, her arms over her head, great shudders rippling her body.

     "For God's sake, Donna, tell me what's wrong."

     She looked at him wildly. "Why did you make me look so young? I don't want to be a girl again. I'm too old, I don't know how to act or think that young any more."

     Looking like a timid boy whose overtures to a pretty girl had been rejected, Jason said again, "I thought you'd be pleased."

     "Well, I'm not. Everything's changed since I was a girl, and it scares me. It's a different world out there. I don't know how to handle it."

     I'll never understand women, he thought. At the first sign of age they rush to get face lifts, body lifts, dye their hair and starve themselves to go on looking young, and when you really change one of them back into a girl, she doesn't like it.

     He patted her awkwardly. "There's nothing to be afraid of. As soon as you get used to looking like a girl you'll start thinking like one. In no time you'll be happy about the way you look." He held her away and looked at her, his confidence returning. "Did you happen to notice how beautiful you are?"

     "That scares me, too."

     "Well, if I know anything about women," said Jason, who wasn't sure at this point that he did, "it shouldn't be hard to feel young when you look the way you do. And if the going gets rough, Uncle Jason will be here to help."

     She stole another look at herself, her terror subsiding. "I'm sorry I made such a scene. I just wasn't prepared ..." She sat down on the bed. "I'm so weak. How long will that last?"

     "A couple of days should fix you up. Lie down and rest and I'll bring you some milk." At the door he turned. "Are you going to be okay?"

     "Jason," she said ruefully, "how could I be so selfish? I haven't given a thought to how excited and pleased you must be."

     "Beyond my wildest dreams," he said again.

     He returned soon with some thin soup and a glass of milk. "Your stomach will have shrunk. Drink this and later you can have something solid."

     She drank eagerly, then dozed off. Jason felt such exultation he thought he would never sleep again, but as soon as he lay down his exhaustion overtook him and he fell into a deep slumber.

     Night had fallen when Donna woke. The mirror drew her, and she groped her way shakily across the room. Turning on the light, she examined her face carefully. Her good skin  that had always been inclined to pallor now had the translucent look of youth and splendid health. Jason had told her she had good bones. Some subtle alchemy had transformed the flesh covering those bones into true beauty.

     Taking off her clothes, she discovered that her body had altered also. She was surprisingly slender, but rounded and curved in all the right places. Even as a girl she hadn't looked like this.

     I'd be pleased if only I didn't look so young, she thought. But can I change the mind and habits of a forty year old woman? Can I cope with a generation whose values are so different from mine?

     She returned to bed, exhausted, thinking how kind Jason had been. What an ordeal this must have been for him, she thought. What anxiety he must have felt while he was waiting. He staked his whole future on the outcome of this experiment. What if I had died? He could have been charged with manslaughter, even murder.

     Suddenly she felt shame that she had been so full of self-pity that she hadn't given a thought to what he was risking. I"ve been a fool, she thought. Suicide was not the answer. I'm grateful to Jason for saving me from that.

     Feeling purged, she dozed off again. When she woke Jason was bringing her dinner on a tray.

     "Feeling better?" he asked.

     "Much better. And hungry."

     He set up a small table and brought his own dinner and a bottle of wine. "I thought we should have a little celebration," he said. He filled two glasses and handed one to her.

     She raised it in a toast. "To a stunning achievement. It should be shouted from the housetops. Can you tell anyone about it?"

     "I'm afraid not." He slipped his glass, pleased that she seemed to have overcome her panic. "I had no authorization for this kind of work. I've never published anything about my earlier experiments. No, I'll have to wait until I can do it officially."

     "That's too bad. What a stir it would make in the scientific world."

     "That will come later. I can wait." He filled his plate.

     Donna felt relief. "I know it sounds selfish, but I'm glad. I'd hate to become an object of curiosity."

     "That'll never happen. You and I are the only ones who will need to know. I promise you that."

     "Thanks, Jason." She started eating. "Mmmm, you are a good cook."

     "Any solid food would taste good to you at this point."

     She grinned. "You've heard of the lost weekend. I lost four whole weeks. Also a few pounds. And that creates a problem ... my one outfit is now too big for me and not exactly appropiate for a teenager." For a moment the terror returned and was mirrored in her face. "This isn't going to be easy."

     "Just take it one day at a time. When you get your strength back you're going to feel different."

     "I hope so. Is there any follow-up treatment?"

     "I'll have to monitor you for some time. Would you mind sticking around awhile longer?"

     "I'd be glad to. I can't go out and face the world until I get used to the new me."

     "Then it's settled."

     They finished dinner in silence. As Jason was carrying out the dishes, he said, "I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted. You need anything?"

     "I'll be fine. Good night, Jason."

     Morning found Donna feeling stronger but not up to going out. Jason offered to pick up the clothes she needed.

     "Would you mind?" she asked gratefully. "I don't really know what size. I suppose I can give you measurements."

     Armed with measurements, Jason went off to buy a few things to tide her over until she was strong enough to shop for herself. He had other errands to do, and it was some time before he returned. He came in looking badgered and a little embarrassed. "I never bought women's underwear before," he told her, "and that damned salesgirl was no help."

     Picturing him in the lingerie department, Donna suppressed a smile. But the clothes were a perfect fit, though tighter than she usually wore. They certainly showed off her new figure. Wearing them, she kept glancing in the mirror, trying to accustom herself to the change in her appearance. She was having a hard time identifying with the girl she saw reflected there.

    Noticing her preoccupation with the way she looked, Jason said, "I hope being beautiful will bring you happiness. Often it doesn't. He added hastily, "I don't mean to be a spoil-sport."

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