"I'm sorry, Baby."

Brushing a few strands of her auburn hair out of the way, Lee kissed Lynn's forehead and smiled. "It's okay. I'm just going to the store, and he's been pretty good about that lately. It's a pain to get him dressed for such a short trip, but I'll live."

Her voice right on the edge of a sob, Lynn softly said, "I hate it. I can't do anything to help. I just feel worthless."

Trying to suppress a sigh, Lee held her hand for a moment, squeezing it. "You're just having a rough time adjusting to the new medicine. I've got to get going, the store will be closing soon, and we have virtually nothing left in the house to eat."

Lynn nodded and said, "I love you."

"I love you too." Lee then turned to his son and picked him up. "Okay, Boogabear, time to get dressed and go to the store. We're just going to the grocery store, and then coming right back, okay?"

Garion partially repeated the last word, "Kay," chuckled, and then babbled something, while gesturing incomprehensibly.

"If that was a sign, Kiddo, it's one I don't know. Cripes, you are entirely too heavy for seven. You know that?"

Lynn sat up in bed, patting her son on the bottom. "Bye bye, Garion. You be good for Daddy. I love you."

"Laab Ooo," Garion repeated. He then made the sign for 'please' emphatically, saying the word as well.

"Okay, okay, chill out. We're going," Lee laughed.

A short while later, Lee pushed Garion out of the store in a grocery cart. Lee could tell his son was getting tired, likely from not taking a nap that day. Being tired and being lazy went hand in hand with Garion, so Lee just decided not to argue and put him in the seat of the cart halfway through shopping. Lee was having enough trouble dealing with all the Valentine's advertisements, and only being able to buy a single box of chocolate covered cherries for the woman he loved.

Garion pulled his legs up, saying, "Please," and rapidly making the sign as Lee pushed the cart through the foyer, toward the door.

"Stay in the cart, Garion."

The gesturing continued, and Garion said, "Please," several times in rapid succession.

Sighing, Lee asked, "Okay, what do you want, Kiddo?"

Pulling on Lee's arm, and then pushing when he had to in order to direct his father, Garion indicated the little toy machines in the foyer.

"You want something out of there? When did you start noticing those?" Lee shook his head and chuckled. More bad influence from your cousins, I bet. Now I'll never get out of the store without getting some cheap toy. Oh well, guess I better start carrying quarters. Frikkin' fifty cents — bloody absurd.

Again came the stream of Garion saying, "Please."

"Okay, okay, I'll get you something. Hang on," Lee said, digging in his pocket for some change.

Dropping the quarters in the slot, Lee twisted the handle, and then lifted the metal door to retrieve the plastic bubble. Holding it up, he looked through the milky plastic at what was inside. "Looks like you got a ring, Garion. That's going to have to work, because I'm not playing the lottery with two more quarters that we don't need to be spending."

Lee handed the bubble to his son, who started happily rattling it without showing any interest at all in opening it.

Laughing, Lee said, "You're a goober-head, Garion. Okay, let's go home and make some dinner."

Putting Garion in the bath when they got home served the dual purpose of keeping him out of the way while Lee put on stew and potatoes, and keeping the sleepy-eyed little boy awake a little longer.

Lynn wearily came out and ate, groggy from her nightly medicine. She nodded off while sitting up, shortly after eating. Garion actually sat down and ate for once without getting up and running like a whirlwind through the house. It had been a while since Lee had made stew, once Garion's favorite thing in the world, and apparently he was on that kick again.

Garion was in one of his moods where he wanted to play alone, so he went into the bedroom, carrying a pile of his papers from school. A few seconds later, Lee heard the papers flying through the air amongst a flurry of laughter. Shaking his head, Lee sat down at the computer to browse around the message boards.

Periodically checking on Garion, Lee knew he wasn't going to stay awake much longer. After about an hour of laughing and spinning through a rain of his school papers, Garion had lain down, pulling the blankets up around him like a cocoon. Watching 'Muppet Treasure Island' on the small bedroom TV, he was looking droopy-eyed.

Lee answered a post on the Autism message board about Garion's recent progress, and then decided he'd pretty much exhausted the possibilities of the internet for the night. Changing the Disney movie on the front room TV to 'Blazing Saddles', Lee sat down on the couch next to Lynn to watch it for the umpteenth time.

Pausing the movie shortly after the rendition of The Camp Town Ladies, Lee peeked in on Garion. Seeing his son sound asleep, Lee snuck in and turned down the TV in the bedroom, shutting out the light. "Night night, Kiddo."

When he walked back in the front room, Lynn was slowly awakening. Before she could even say it, Lee picked up her glass and refilled it with fresh Coke.

"Thank you, Baby," she said with a smile.

"You're welcome, Babydoll," Lee responded.

Looking around, Lynn asked, "Where's Garion?"

Lee answered, "In bed, he fell asleep a few minutes ago."

Looking up at the clock, Lynn asked, "Isn't it a little early? It's only nine thirty. Don't you think he'll get up in the middle of the night?"

Shrugging, Lee sat down next to her on the couch again. "He got up pretty early this morning, and he hasn't had a nap. He'll probably sleep through. I should probably go to bed soon, though. Otherwise, I'll be tired and bitchy if he does get up early again."

Seeing the DVD screen saver on the TV, Lynn asked, "What were you watching?"

"Blazing Saddles. You want me to start it over?" Lee hit the play button on the remote to show her where the movie was.

Shaking her head and sighing, Lynn said, "No, I probably won't be able to stay awake anyway. I hate this. We're not even going to have a Valentine's Day again." Her lip quivering, she ran her hand through Lee's shoulder length brown hair.

Wrapping his arm around her, Lee said, "The hours will go back up at work with this new business, and you'll be better in a few days, once you adjust to the medicine."

"It sucks," Lynn sighed, leaning into Lee and watching the movie.

"I know, Babydoll," Lee said, hugging her tighter.

Lynn was asleep shortly thereafter, nestled up against Lee. When the movie ended, Lee helped her to bed, and then walked back into the front room.

Retrieving the chocolate covered cherries from where he'd hidden them, he smiled and thought, You'll have a little bit of a Valentine's Day. We can at least afford this. Putting the box on the table where Lynn was sure to see it the moment she walked into the front room, Lee went to bed himself.

Silent as a ghost, Garion got up from the bed, opened the door, and walked out into the front room. On went the TV, and in went 'Transformers the Movie'. Still a little tired, he sat down on the couch and wrapped his Spider-Man blanket around him, grinning as the theme song of the movie kicked in. Between the low volume and the bedroom door he'd shut on the way out, Mom and Dad had not yet awakened to notice he was up.

As Prime rolled out for a final confrontation with Megatron, Garion got up from the couch and picked up the little plastic bubble he'd gotten from the grocery store machine.

Sitting back down and rattling it while watching the movie, he eventually realized that the top looked like it would come off. With an ingenuity for destruction, he quickly figured out how to pop the top, and pulled out the ring within. Holding up the glittering gold band with an amber stone to the light, he smiled at the reflections. After a little while, he slid the ring onto his finger.

A few moments later, the Dinobots caught his attention, and he forgot the ring while two of his favorite things — dinosaurs and Transformers — were both on the screen at the same time.

Garion absently started to fidget with the ring while watching the movie, twisting the band back and forth on his finger. He smiled and chuckled when wisps of smoke appeared, steadily thickening, between him and the television.

"Oh, dear," Laresa said when she saw her new little Master. It took only a moment's concentration to understand that the boy was a special child, whose mind didn't work the same as most children's did.

Garion laughed and stood up, walking over to run his fingers over the silky cloth of Laresa's pantaloons. He realized then that here was a big person who could turn on his bubble machine for him. Grabbing Laresa's petite hand, he tugged her toward where the machine was stored beneath the sink.

"Pwease — ba-buls," he said, signing 'please' at the same time.

Laresa could see what he wanted in his mind clearly. Smiling, she eliminated the need for a machine, summoning up streams of bubbles that drifted around the room.

Garion swatted at a bubble, and then took off toward another. He laughed and squealed, as he delighted in catching and popping the never-ending bubbles.

In the bedroom, the sound of Garion's loud laughter awakened Lee. Groaning, he tried to shake the sleep out of his head, and then realized Garion wasn't in the room. "Dammit," he muttered, climbing out of the bed carefully, so as not to awaken Lynn. A quick glance at the clock told him it was half past four in the morning.

Opening the bedroom door, he sleepily wandered into the front room, saying, "Garion, what are you doing up at four thirty?" Exiting the short hallway, his eyes popped wide open when he saw his son happily popping bubbles appearing from nowhere, and a scantily clad, silver-haired woman standing in front of the couch smiling.

Garion ran over and Lee quickly snatched his son up in his arms. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my house?"

"My name is Laresa, and I am a genie. Garion summoned me from the ring he wears."

"Yeah, okay, you look the part except you're missing a ponytail and you're showing a helluva lot more skin, but somehow I don't believe it."

Laresa smiled and said, "If I might suggest, you should probably take the ring from Garion. I'll be forced to grant anything he wishes for — even if it's a dinosaur."

Looking over at his son, he saw that Garion was indeed wearing a ring. "Can I see this, Garion?" As he asked, he tugged at the ring. Garion didn't protest removing the ring, but he did protest when Laresa vanished, and the bubbles stopped appearing.

"Okay, this is fucking freaky," Lee muttered as he put Garion back down. Garion immediately ran to catch the last few drifting bubbles.

Shrugging his shoulders, he slid the ring onto his own finger. When nothing happened, he said, "Okay, how did you make this thing work, Kiddo? Not that it really matters since this is obviously a whacked out dream. How do I get this Laresa back?"

As soon as he said her name, Laresa once again appeared in a swirl of misty vapors. "You see, Master?"

"Okay, but drop the Master thing. I feel like Major Nelson when you say that. So what are the rules then?" Slipping into an imitation of Robin William's voice, he continued, "All the addendums, and quid pro quos?" Lee chuckled when he finished.

Garion ran over and tugged at Laresa's arm, saying and signing, "Please."

"I think perhaps it might be a good idea to bring his bubbles back, Lee," Laresa said with a smile.

"Yeah, you're probably right — do that. How did you know my name? I never said it?"

Garion tugged on Laresa's pantaloons, pulling them down just a little and revealing her hip. She smiled at him and summoned up bubbles for him with her power again. "I can read your mind, in order to better grant your wishes."

It took a moment for her words to sink in, because his son's tug revealing more of Laresa's skin had caught Lee's eye. Now that he wasn't scared for his son, he noticed how sexy the genie was. She had full, firm breasts, barely contained in the tight vest she wore, with ample amounts of the globes showing. Only a darker pleating in her translucent pantaloons hid her sex, and her white-blonde hair framed a breathtaking face. As her words finally hit him, he realized he was standing in front of her dressed in only his underwear, his cock getting hard, staring at her body.

"Uhm, if you can read my mind, then sorry for what I was just thinking," Lee said, blushing.

Laresa smiled and thought, Even if I couldn't read your mind, I would know what you were thinking about. Lee's erection was becoming quite obvious beneath the tight white cloth of his briefs. "It does not offend me that you find me attractive." She smiled and quickly launched into another subject. "There are indeed rules. If you lie to me, then I will vanish forever. I cannot raise the dead, though I can heal any injury or sickness..."

Lee interrupted her, his heart leaping in his chest. "Any sickness?"

Seeing what he was thinking, Laresa smiled and said, "Yes, I can help your son."

"Do that. Please, don't let this be a dream."

Laresa summoned up her power, correcting the imbalances that held Garion back with a wide smile. "It is done."

Lee noticed a slight change in Garion's laughing tone, and that his son was no longer making the odd gestures he always made while at play. "Hey, Garion, are you having fun?"

Garion turned back to his father and nodded, saying "Yes!"

Tears welled up in Lee's eyes, and he walked quickly across the room to hug his son. Garion hugged him back, but then said, "Bubbles," in a clearer tone than Lee had ever heard before.

"Okay, play with the bubbles, Kiddo." Turning back to Laresa, he said, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, Lee. He will need some time to catch up, but he's very smart. I think he'll do fine," Laresa responded.

Lee slapped himself in the forehead, "So, do I only have one wish left? I wasn't even thinking with the bubbles."

Laresa rolled her eyes. "You've watched Aladdin one too many times. Unless you break the rules, or lose the ring, your wishes are my command."

Lee smiled and said, "Well then, the next one is easy. I want all of Lynn's problems gone. Physical, emotional, everything. Put her back in shape, so she'll feel good about herself again. She always loved her body, and she hates that she's put on weight from not being able to exercise. It's not helping anything else. Just give her back everything she had before all her problems started."

Laresa's smile widened, seeing in Lee's mind that his greatest desire was to see his love whole again, as his son now was. Naturally, part of him was thinking about how much he'd like to have her feeling good and looking sexy again, but his main concern was for her. The benefits he was thinking of were just a side effect of returning her self-esteem and health. Calling upon her power, Laresa granted Lee's wish, and then said, "Go see."

Lee walked into the bedroom, and he could immediately see the difference, despite the fact that Lynn was almost completely covered by the sheets. Sitting down on the bed, wiping tears out of his eyes, he shook her awake.

Lynn roused, blinking and yawning. "What?"

"Come in the front room, Babydoll. I want you to meet someone," Lee said, reaching under the sheets to clasp her hand.

Lynn yawned, "What time is it?"

Lee laughed, "Really early. Come on, Baby, trust me." He pulled the sheet off her slowly, and Lynn started to sit up. Lee's breath caught in his throat, now that he could see the evidence of her magical weight loss. He started getting hard almost instantly.

Lynn swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and then stood up. She let out a little yelp of surprise when the boxer shorts she wore immediately fell straight to the floor. Her panties slipped down off her hips as well. "What in the..."

"Come look in the mirror, Babydoll," Lee said, tugging her in that direction.

Grabbing her panties to hold them up, Lynn walked over to the mirror on the back of the door. Her eyes popped wide open and every tiny bit of sleep fog burnt away instantly. Reaching over, she flipped on the light and stared in wonder at her reflection. Pulling up her shirt, she grasped her large breasts, which were firmer, and riding higher than they had since she was eighteen.

"But, this is impossible," Lynn stammered, running her hand over her taut tummy with a whimsical expression.

"That's what I thought too." Turning into the front room, he said, "Hey, Garion, tell Mommy you love her."

"Love Mama," Garion rattled off, before returning to his bubbles.

Lynn naturally ran straight into the front room after that. She noticed the Djinn standing in the room, but had eyes — and ears — only for her son at that moment. She hugged Garion and talked to him until he got frustrated, then stood up to look at Laresa. "Who are you?"

"Her name is Laresa, and apparently she's a genie. I think Garion, you, and the bubbles can attest to that. Pull up a chunk of couch, Laresa. You can tell me the rest of the rules."

A wide smile on her lips, and tears in her eyes, Lynn said, "I need to go dig up some clothes that fit."

"Or you could just go without," Lee teased, something he'd not done very often for a long time. Despite the fact Lynn was still beautiful and sexy to him regardless of her weight gain, she had felt hideous, and had not been able to accept the compliments very well.

Lynn purred — a good sign as far as Lee was concerned — and then walked back to the bedroom to rifle through the closet for some of her old clothes.

Laresa couldn't help but smile and feel good, sensing the joy in her Master.

Shortly thereafter, Lee finished telling the story of what had happened to Lynn. Laresa then explained the rest of the rules. Garion crawled up on the couch and fell asleep once more, exhausted from lack of sleep and running around for a little over a half an hour.

Lynn picked up her son without trouble, experiencing none of the pain she was so used to now, and took him to bed. As she walked back into the room, Lee couldn't help but stare, and almost drool. Lynn had chosen a top that was almost indecently tight — braless — and her big nipples were pressing hard against the thin material.

Laresa laughed as Lynn approached, and Lee undressed her with his eyes. "Would you like me to return to my ring for a while, and give the two of you some private time?"

Lynn asked, "Are we that obvious?"

"Well, not really, but I can hear Lee's thoughts, and they certainly point toward things usually done in private," Laresa answered, twitching her eyebrows. Laresa was having as much trouble keeping her eyes off Lynn as Lee was.

"Can you hear my thoughts?" Lynn asked, looking the genie over, and feeling her desire swell even more.

Laresa shuddered from the sensation of need coming from Lynn. "I can pick up certain impressions, but I can only see your thoughts in full if my Master orders me to."

"Let her, Lee," Lynn said in a soft, sultry voice.

"Okay, I wish for you to be able to read Lynn's mind," Lee said, not really catching on to the chemistry flowing between the two women.

Laresa gasped and threw her head back when the full force of Lynn's desire slammed into her. Lynn immediately walked over to the Djinn, leaning over and kissing her passionately.

"Oh my," Lee laughed. "Looks like somebody's getting a special Valentine's present. Maybe you'd better make it so Garion can't hear anything going on in here, and so we will know if he wakes up again."

When she waved her hand and moaned something that sounded like an answer into the kiss, Lee assumed the genie had fulfilled his wish. Lynn pulled away from the kiss, and immediately reached over to tug on the waistband of Lee's underwear. He moved closer, and Lynn wasted no time pulling them down away from his throbbing erection.

Lee kicked the briefs to the floor, and Lynn immediately took Laresa's hand, wrapping it around Lee's cock. Lee let out a pleasure-filled groan as the genie's soft hand stroked over his flesh. In the blink of an eye, the clothing Lynn and Laresa wore vanished, to appear in neatly folded stacks on an end table.

Lynn let out a sexy chuckle, and then bent to kiss Laresa's neck. Laresa shuddered, the pure sexual energy from the couple utterly intoxicating to her. She continued to stroke Lee with one hand, while exploring Lynn's body with the other. The twin scent of womanly arousal soon mingled thick in the air as Lynn continued to kiss her way over Laresa's tingling body.

Sliding a hand over behind Lee's neck, Lynn pulled him over to Laresa's left breast. As his lips locked over the pale pink tip, Lynn did the same on Laresa's right nipple. Laresa moaned, her back arching, and her hands moving to the back of the couple's heads.