Serenity What About the Alliance? by Andrea Lena DiMaggio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi29tS1jaGQ *
(Score to go along with story)

“Mi dispiace molto figlia...I should have raised two daughters.”

“Jeez, Mom…I’m only just figuring this out.” Georgie put his head on his mother’s shoulder and began to cry.”

“Yes, but I saw the signs…I should have had you talk to someone…have someone listen to you. I never listened, baby…not to either of you.” Frankie raised an eyebrow at that, and spoke,

“Since when, Mom? You’ve always listened to me.”

“For your sake, of course, but whenever you asked about Georgie…what he was? Who he was. You saw what he was becoming and I just wrote it off. I don’t feel guilty so much as I feel regret; you know. Who Georgie could have become, my baby?” She was getting very choked up.

“Mom…it’s okay…we’ll work things through.” Georgie rubbed her arm softly and kissed her cheek.

“It’s not that. I just wish for your sake…well, you’re not old, of course, but I read that the sooner you start…you know…taking care of things.” She put her head down.

“Face it, Mom…even if you started earlier, it’s not like I was going to look like a model or a rock star. I’ll be happy to look as nice as you or Frankie.” He realized what he had just said, and his face grew very warm.

“Oh…I know what you mean. Like that girl on that show you liked so much…what was that called?....’’

“Firefly!” The petite girl looked pretty but almost tomboy-ish due to the grease smudge above her right eye. The older man smiled and looked up the ramp into the hold.

The office of Andrew Sorvino, Pastor of Agincourt Church, Toronto...

"Oh...I'm sorry, Pastor Andrew. I...I wasn't paying attention." Georgie put his head down apologetically.

"That's okay. Your mom says you've been on some new medication for the ADD. Do you feel ignored...invisible?"

"More like I want to be invisible. I wish no one would notice me. How different I am?"

"How are you feeling right now?" Andrew Sorvino had known the Pasquale family for nearly fifteen years, and was as caring a shepherd as they would have found anywhere.

"Medicine works, but not for the other stuff. Just learning how to pay attention and keep eye contact...not so easy, you know? And..."

"Put the Asperger's together with everything else and it's bad enough, but I bet the whole gender thing is making things much more difficult. If folks pay more attention than you'd like already, how much more when you transition?" Andrew leaned closer and smiled a welcoming smile.

"Why didn't you come to me sooner? You know I care about you and Frankie and your Mom?"

"Didn't want to be kicked out, Pastor Andrew...this is my home. Maybe being a boy isn't so bad. Being retarded is bad enough."

"Come on, Georgie...you're smarter than most folks I know, and I'm friends with a professor of Astrophysics at McGill. It's just a matter of getting the face-to-face stuff sorted out, which I think you're doing just fine. Why do you think you'd be kicked out?"

"Because I'm an abomination...the Bible says so, and I don't want to be kicked out." Georgie repeated himself.

"Son..." Andrew paused and thought better of the word.

"Child...you're not an abomination. The Psalmist says that body and soul...you're wonderfully made. The soul; the inner you. The body; the outer you."

"But what about my body. It doesn't fit, Pastor Andrew? What do we do about that. How can I fix it if it's wonderfully made?"

"That means your creation is wonderful; inspiring awe in the Creator. But we fix children with heart defects and birth marks and problems with their lungs, don't we? You're okay just the way you are means that you can and should be accepted for what and who you are, but it doesn't mean you can't address this. Georgie, do you follow me?"

"I don't want to hope, Pastor Andrew...It would hurt too much to start and then stop. And what would everybody say if I just show up some Sunday as a girl? Won't they hate me?" He put his head down and the thought caused him to start to weep. Andrew patted him on the back.

"Jesus said, 'If they hate me; they will hate you, also.' You're in pretty good company, I'll say. And If they have a heads up from the pulpit that we'll be welcoming a new member of the Pasquale family, maybe that will go a long way to ease any concerns, okay?"

"I guess. Did I tell you I'm not changing my name? At least not all the way. Georgia sounds nice and it makes it easy for my mom to remember, you know?"

"Yes, Georgie, I do believe you told me that, but it's okay to repeat yourself. Georgia is a nice name. It suits you." He smiled at the young man and handed him a box of tissues.

"I think it will be okay, Georgie. I've known you since you were little, and there was always something special...unique about you that we couldn't figure out."

"I'm honest?" Georgie smiled at Andrew. Georgie was quite aware of his assets; some might call them symptoms, but for a non-linear, he felt comfortable about his almost guileless personality. His honesty and candor may have made it difficult on occasion, but everyone who truly knew him trusted him implicitly for his dependability and loyalty.

"Yes, you are. But it goes beyond that. I think you're more of a blessing than you know, child. Now we know that you're a woman, right? It will help you determine how and to whom you wish to bless others."

"You just called me a woman?" Georgie said and smiled.

"Yes, Georgie, and a rather fine woman at that. You've got a lot of work ahead of you, child, and and I'm confident that you'll make the right choices. Wonderfully made, right?"

"Right."

Next: Gorram Doctors!

*Serenity Suite
Compilation from the Score to
the Motion Picture, Serenity
composed by David Newman