“Good. It's good to know someone has your back in a fight. It's also nice that you made sure your friends got to safety. That's the sign of a good person, willing to put themselves in danger to help others.” Ivan said. “Now about your Grandmother. Was she okay with you as Tracy?”

“I don't know.” Tracy said. She shrugged and shook her head. “She wouldn't listen She kept saying I should see a new therapist and go to church and stop wearing the clothes, but Grandpa, her husband, said I was always this way. He recalled me as a kid in Wyoming when we visited and said I was girly then.”

“And obviously your Grandmother has come to terms?”

Tracy nodded again. “Yeah. She came in Sunday night and woke me up to say she was sorry for being a big mean person and she loved me. The next morning she helped me with breakfast and asked to come down here with Mom and me.”

Edited by Djkauf

Her first day away from Oroville. The fun of setting up a new life begins.

February 8th 1983

Tracy woke up before the sun had peeked over the mountains that morning. There was a little light in the room and it took her a moment to remember what had happened as she lay on her back and realized that she wasn't in the bunk-bed that she had slept in for several years now. She rolled over and saw her mother, sleeping peacefully in the twin bed and then she remembered the move. She smiled as she sat up, moving as quietly as she could. The clock on the end table said it was ten to six in the morning. She thought about sleeping a bit more, but she wanted to get up and use the bathroom.

She tiptoed out the room, opening the door as quietly as she could and went to where the bathroom was. But as she touched the handle, she heard the sound of running water. Her mind took a moment, till she realized it was her uncle, getting ready for his work day. She let out a breath and headed for the stairwell.

There were several night lights on the stairwell and she was surprised that there were a few in the living room that was shared with the dining space. She turned, passed through the kitchen and went to the half bath. On her way past, she noticed the coffee pot was already going.

Several minutes later, she was back in the kitchen and looking in the refrigerator. If she was home, it would have been full of choices for what to make for breakfast. But this fridge was empty. There was a half gallon of orange juice, a gallon of milk, and a few left overs, but not much else. The only thing it was missing was the tumbleweed.

Tracy shut the door and turned to face the cupboards where she knew Shelly kept the cereal. She had received full rights to eat whatever was in the house and her stomach was making itself known.

She was working on a bowl of cereal when her Uncle Frank came down the steps. She got up and went to the coffee pot, and poured him a cup. She placed it on the counter as he stepped into the kitchen.

“Couldn't sleep anymore?”

“No. I had to go to the bathroom, too.”

“Ah. Your Mom and Grandmother still sleeping?” Frank asked her.

“Mom is, not too sure about Grandma.” Tracy answered as she went back to her bowl of cereal.

“Got a busy day today?” Frank asked.

“Yeah.” She nodded. “Not really sure what all I got to do, but mom said something about Doctor Ivan's and a doctor's appointment that they managed to set up at the last minute. We're thinking about changing my name, too.”

“Good. And the bed, was it comfortable?”

“Yeah.” Tracy nodded again.

“Thinking of what you want in the house for food?” Frank asked.

Tracy's face lit up and she put her spoon down. “Yep. I got a bunch of recipes. You'll love 'em!”

“I'm sure we will.” Frank looked up at her, then at a clock. “Do yourself a favor and get a shower when you’re done eating. That way you don't have to wait for everyone else, okay? Your Aunt Shelly wont be up for another half an hour, if she keeps her normal schedule.

“Okay.”

“And be good, but remember, this is your home now. Just clean up any messes you make, and if you don't know where something is, ask.”

Tracy nodded. “Okay.”

~o~O~o~

A couple hours had passed and Tracy's day started with her first appointment, the therapist. Her mother had already seen Ivan and Lance was just arriving as Tracy was called back, leaving her Grandmother, Godmother and Mother to talk with Lance and Persephone. Tracy found herself on the couch again with a stern looking Dr. Ivan. As he sat down his look softened. “I want you to know, I heard about the attack. I also heard about the lady who assaulted you and the pictures.” He almost unleashed his stern voice on her, but he knew it would do more harm then good. “The next time anyone does anything like spreading pictures around, or attacking you, or those ladies trying to persecute you, I want to know right away, okay?”

Tracy hung her head like a child who was in trouble. “Okay.”

“Hey.” He leaned forward and with one finger, he lifted her chin so he could kind of see her eyes. “None of that. I only told you that because I could have helped. Heck, had I known about the pictures, I would have advised you on how to proceed. But I want you to tell me what you did, okay?”

“Not much really. I mean my friend, Peter, he made me go to the office, so did the nieces of the lady up front. See, someone put the pictures in my backpack. Peter wanted to talk to the principal, but he was gone to a basketball game. Peter set up a meeting for the next day.” Tracy sighed and slumped on the couch. “When I got home, Mary Beth and Emily May had come over, but just before they got there, someone called and started being mean on the phone.”

“Mean how? What did he say?”

“That he was going to beat up my family and kill me.” Tracy replied. “Mary Beth yelled at him and then hung up on him. The next day we told the principal what happened and I got into home schooling.”

“Did the calls stop?” Ivan asked, knowing the answer already.

“They got worse.” Tracy said, wiping at her eyes.

“What did he say Tracy?”

She sighed, doing her best to not cry. “He said he was going to rape Mom, then rape me and kill mom in front of me, then kill Vance and Dad before raping me and killing me.” Tears went down her cheek and Ivan handed her a tissue.

“Were you the only one to get a picture? Did they threaten anyone else?”

Tracy nodded. “They threatened Emily May and Mary Beth. Plus there were ones left for Peter and Vance.”

“I see. How did the other woman come into all of this?” Ivan asked.

“Her son, I think, one of them had to have taken a picture home.” Tracy said. “See, both of them go to my school.”

“I see. And did she call?”

Tracy shook her head. “No, she came over and I was wearing Troy's clothes because I was so worried that someone was going to come and kill us. Well Mom was talking to her and the woman insisted that I was going to rape all her children and every kid in town and then she used the bible to claim I was evil, before finally leaving.”

Ivan scribbled down a couple of notes. “Was that the last contact you had with her, until the gas station?”

“Yeah. She came up because Sage was hugging me and she shoved Sage into a candy rack and she pushed 'Romy, then started hitting me, until my Grandma threw her backwards.”

“Your Grandma Bernice? The one in the waiting room?” Ivan asked.

“Yeah.” Tracy nodded. “She wanted to get to know me better after what she said on Sunday when she found my clothes.”

“We’ll come back to this, but I want to work on what happened with the people and the pictures.”

Tracy sat up a little. “Well, Mom changed the phone number, so the calls stopped, but the kid who started the pictures sent one to a kid who went to the school where I learned Tai chi and all the people threatened to quit. Mom was pretty mad at that. She also got a letter at work and had to tell her boss, but he doesn't care, he still likes me. Dad got one too. I heard mom talking to him the day my friends all came up. I guess they put it in the lunch-room with my name on it and he got mad and yelled at all of them. But that helped.”

“Helped?”

Tracy nodded and leaned forward, no longer crying. “See one guy figured out that his son was the guy who was calling. I guess there were pictures at his house and the guy called Dad, but called the cops on his own son. Then we found out that it was all Clark Millet. He's the brother of the boy who attacked me in December. And after Billy got arrested, Clark came to the house and was going to beat up on me, but I had Rachel and Sage get Brooke into the house and had Stacey go get her father, who's a cop, and my Dad. Clark wouldn't leave, so I had to fight him. I didn't want to, but he wouldn't leave.”

“And he got arrested after that?”

“Yeah.” Tracy nodded. “And Vance, Peter, Jerry and Mooney all helped me.”

“Good. It's good to know someone has your back in a fight. It's also nice that you made sure your friends got to safety. That's the sign of a good person, willing to put themselves in danger to help others.” Ivan said. “Now about your Grandmother. Was she okay with you as Tracy?”

“I don't know.” Tracy said. She shrugged and shook her head. “She wouldn't listen She kept saying I should see a new therapist and go to church and stop wearing the clothes, but Grandpa, her husband, said I was always this way. He recalled me as a kid in Wyoming when we visited and said I was girly then.”

“And obviously your Grandmother has come to terms?”

Tracy nodded again. “Yeah. She came in Sunday night and woke me up to say she was sorry for being a big mean person and she loved me. The next morning she helped me with breakfast and asked to come down here with Mom and me.”

“It's good that she came around. Sometimes family can be the worst.” Ivan stated. “So, is that all that's happened? Are there any pressing issues on your mind?”

Tracy smiled and her eyes lit up. “Hormones?”

“Well, I was not expecting you till the eighteenth.” Ivan said and her shoulders slumped. “But your Mom called me on Sunday and said you were coming down and she wanted to have an appointment, so the other therapist is actually here today and we'll be bringing him in here in a few, then your mom said she wanted to put all our heads together and come up with a good plan for you.”

“Awesome!” Tracy said, almost bouncing out of her seat.

“So I take it there's nothing on your mind?”

Tracy sat down again. “Well, just that Mom is going to be away for two weeks, but Aunt Shelly is here, so that is good.”

“Well, just remember, she's not leaving you because of anything you did. Being able to move slowly is a good thing. Quick moves can strap a budget and that's never good.”

“Yeah, she said she wants to be down here as soon as possible, so she can look for a job. Then Dad and Vance come down in June.”

“Good. I bet they won't be able to wait either.” Ivan said. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder, meaning that they will both miss you.”

“Even Vance?”

“Even your brother.” Ivan agreed.

~o~O~o~

Tracy had met with the other man, who had questioned her alone, then with Ivan in the room. She liked him as well. He had more of a sense of humor, but he did his best to be a professional. They had yet to give her an answer on getting the hormones, but the meeting wasn't over yet. Her Grandmother, Godmother and Mother had come in, along with Persephone and Lance and all of them, including the second therapist were going over different problems that could arise. “I think a big step here is to change her name.” Maggie stated. “Don't we need to just go to the court house and request it?”

Lance shook his head. “No. To change her name, you'll need to follow a few steps. First is we go to the courts and we start the paperwork now and we can do that in a matter of minutes. In fact we can head over to the courthouse when we leave here, if you want. Once that's in, we have to post something in the paper once a week for four weeks and we have the court date to get the change legal. After that we can work on her birth certificate. And either you or William will have to be present at the court hearing to get it done and I advise having Ivan there too, plus getting a new doctor to agree with him that she's no longer a he would be a good start too. But I will drive you to the courthouse myself, after the meeting here.”

“Maggie, I already gave you the name of Sage's doctor. He may help.” Persephone offered. “That's who she's getting the shots from.”

“He's the one we called yesterday?”

“Yes, he is expecting us afterward. Either way, Tracy needs a doctor who can sympathize with her current state.” Persephone said.

“What about school? I don't think she could be Tracy at the school if her legal name is Troy.” Maggie groaned. “Troy would have to go till the end of the year and what about the next school year? Too many kids would know Troy by that point.”

“Then we work on getting her into home schooling in this district. It beats driving three hours so she can take a test.” Shelly stated. “I don't work, so I can take care of teaching her, and then when school starts in August, she goes as Tracy. Frank can work with her in math and science.”

“That may be the best bet.” Lance said with a nod. “And Frank does know his math and science, but what do you expect from a man who works in a laboratory. He's helped my girls when they need it.”

“Good.” Maggie nodded.

“About that woman in the gas station. Are you planning to sue that woman?” Lance asked.

“Honestly, the less contact I have with that bitch Hallmark, the better.”

“I can understand. I also don't know how well that case would work out. She could always say she thought she saw Tracy touch Sage and Sage told her to stop. But you have the advantage of several customers and with her shoving Sage and Andromeda, that makes it in your favor.”

Bernice leaned forward in her chair. “Well, Maggie, suing her would show you're not going to take her crap. You're already having charges pressed, so why not. I'm not usually one to push a personal law suit, but she attacked your child and Persephone's. She needs to be smacked down or she may get back up and come back at you. Also what about that little sawed off punk Tracy slapped around and the man who threatened you?”

“Well, we're looking into that, but Billy has nothing, neither does Clark's mother, I'd bet. Not sure how well a suit against Hallmark would do. But William did say in his call that he had a possible solution from Larry, Billy's father. If you can come up with us to file the restraining order, then he wants to run it by you and Frank.”

“Frank? Okay, now you got my curiosity piqued.”

“Billy O'Brien has old cars. A lot of them and he knows that Frank is in that car club, so he wants to see if Frank can come up and take a look at them and see what they are worth.”

“But to get that, you would have to sue Billy, and then it would only be a monetary amount.” Lance replied.

“No. See, Larry, Billy's father is the man who has bought those cars, he also has all the titles in his name, not Billy's. So that makes him the owner, correct?” Maggie asked. “I'm not a lawyer, but Billy's name shows nowhere on the pinks.”

“But Mom?” Tracy asked, trying to break into the conversation. “Doesn't a lot of this depend on me getting hormones? What if I can't? I don't want to go back to being Troy. I'd rather die first. I finally get to be the girl I am and not hide it.”

Allan leaned over tapped Tracy on the shoulder and as she turned to face him, he handed Tracy a piece of paper that looked like a prescription, but she didn't read it too closely. “What's this?”

“That's a listing of the vitamins you should start taking because of the lack of hormones in your body.” Allan replied. He pulled off a second piece of paper and gave it to Maggie. “This is for the blood test and hormones. You'll need to have blood drawn first though, then it's a wait to get the results.”

“How long will I need to wait?” Tracy asked, her face a mixture of happiness and sadness, just because of a possible wait.

“Maybe a week or so.” Allan replied. “They have to test the blood. That's about a good week’s wait, plus then you can have the appointment to get the hormones at the time you see Ivan next. You still are seeing him on the eighteenth, right?”

Tracy looked to her mother. “Are we?”

“Yes, this was an emergency meeting, but I kept that appointment too,”

“Cool.” Tracy said, looking to her prescriptions and she smiled.

~o~O~o~

Sage waited by the usual tree for Rachel and Brooke. The weather was a drizzle, which meant no hanging out on the playground at lunch. Instead the three girls made their way to the cafeteria. They waited in line for their food, then they went to find a table that was mostly empty. Brooke took her normal spot at the end of the table, and Rachel and Sage took a spot on either side.

“I can't believe she's finally here.” Rachel said with a grin.

“Be better when she's going to school with us next school year.” Sage added.

“At least she got away from that crazy woman. I still can't believe they she attacked all three of you in that store like that.” Rachel said, shaking her head in disbelief.

“I know. She just appeared out of nowhere and was almost foaming at the mouth. If that was anything like what the guy on the phone was doing I feel sorry for Tracy.” Sage said. “I had no idea what was going on, till she screamed. The next thing I know, I'm landing into a rack of Hershey bars.”

“And pushing 'Romy like that. I thought your mother would have torn her in two.”

“Mom only fights if she has to, but she saw that Tracy's grandma had it under control.”

“Think Tracy will come over after we get home from school?” Brooke asked.

“I don't know. I know they had a lot of stuff they wanted to do today.” Rachel replied. “They had the two doctors appointments, the court thing to change her name, shopping and Tracy's grandmother wanted to get to know her better.”

“Ah. Well I guess there's always tomorrow.” Brooke replied.

“She's at your grandfather’s school tomorrow, but I think that's in the evening.” Rachel stated. “Not sure if they talked to the school today or tomorrow.”

“How do you know this?” Sage asked.

“I was downstairs using that bathroom at Uncle Franks place. I overheard them.” Rachel replied with a grin. “You were in the bathroom, so I had to go downstairs.”

“Oh.”

“So cool, she gets to see Grandfather’s school. I think she will like it.” Brooke said with a light head nod.

“And know what else?” Rachel asked.

“What?” Both Sage and Brooke replied.

“Not this weekend, but next week, she's staying at my house from Monday till the weekend, well except for church. I guess she's coming over after Uncle Frank gets out of work on Monday.” Rachel smiled brightly.

“Why?” Sage asked.

“Aunt Shelly and Uncle Frank are taking off to Reno for their wedding anniversary. So she needs a place to stay and Mom offered to take her, but I'm not sure what she'll do in the afternoon and mornings...Other then that, she'll be at my place.”

“Cool. I guess the sleep over is at your place then?” Brooke asked and Rachel nodded. She looked up and sighed. “Sucks that she can't be here though.”

“She's here in spirit.” Sage replied. “Trust me, if she's at the doctors, I think she would rather be with all of us. I can't imagine she's having a good day at all. Doctor Ivan is going to be mad that she hasn't called him and Doctor Addams has to check her out, all the way.”

~o~O~o~

Tracy danced out of the therapists office that morning. Her mother watched as she danced and skipped all the way to Shelly's van and she waited for them to get over and unlock the doors. Lance came over to her and patted her shoulder. “One problem down. Next up, we start a name change; after that is the school district, then your doctor. So I have to ask, does Tracy have a middle name?”

“Kristin.” Tracy replied. “Mom told me months ago that it was the name I would have had if the hospital had been right and said I was a girl.”

“You spell that K-r-i-s-t-i-n?” Lance asked.

“Yeah.” Tracy quickly nodded, not questioning how he knew this already. “So what all do we need to do?”

“Well, we have to fill out a couple of forms. Once those are done, we pay a fee and file it, then we find out which newspapers we can put an ad in and for the next four weeks we make sure that ad is placed, then in a month we can have a court date to change your name legally.”

“What type of ad?” Tracy asked.

“Well, it says that as of a certain date, you shall no longer be Troy Patterson, but you will be Tracy.”

“Oh. Sounds easy. So do we go to the courthouse now?”

“Well, do you have the paperwork all filled out?”

“Uh....no.” Tracy began to slump her shoulders.

“Good thing then, that I did it before I got to the appointment. Your mother told me your middle name last night.” He reached into his briefcase, which he had put on the trunk of his car and pulled out several pieces of paper. Tracy looked it over then up at him.

“So we can go now?”

“Why not. It's only a few miles away from here.”

~o~O~o~

The court paperwork had been started, as had the newspaper ads and Persephone had showed them the way to Sage's doctor. They decided to try the homeschooling trip the next day, so they didn't totally wear out themselves with all the paperwork. Persephone had work to get to, so after showing them the way to the doctor, she headed back for Livermore.

Tracy was in a chair between her Godmother and her Grandmother as her mother went to the receptionist with the finished paperwork for her. Maggie still had Wiliam's health insurance, but Shelly was ready to back her up monetarily if the insurance denied her.

“Mom?” Tracy asked leaning over as her mother came back from filling out the papers. “What name did you put down.”

“I put down Tracy, but there is a note that your name isn't legally changed yet.” Maggie whispered back.

They waited for almost half an hour, till a nurse came out and announced. “Patterson? Tracy Patterson?”

Tracy, her mother and Godmother all stood up, leaving Bernice in the waiting room, and followed the nurse as she went into the tiny exam room, She knew that Sage went to this man and he was well aware of Sage's condition. She had heard her mother talking to Persephone, who had already talked to the doctor about her issue as well.

“Alright young lady.” The nurse said. “I just need to get a few things from you.” The woman seemed to be in her thirties and very friendly. “I need to get your height and weight for the record. So slip out of your shoes and step on over here.” Tracy slipped out of her shoes and went over to the dual purpose scale and she stood up tall as the woman pulled out the measuring rod to check her height. “That's a pretty skirt you have on.”

“Thank you.” Tracy said with a blush. “It was one that a friend of mine gave me. She had a few she can't wear, because she grew out of them.”

“It's good to have friends like that.” She read the information for a moment, then said. “Hmm. Four foot eight. A little short, for eleven, but still good.” Tracy moved as she put the bar back in place and began moving the weights. After a few moments, she looked up. “Eighty five pounds.”

“Okay, sit up on the edge of the bed and just relax. I need to check your blood pressure.” The nurse said as she pulled out the black cuff. Tracy rolled back her sleeve once she was settled on the bed. Once she had the readings, the nurse wrote it down. “A little high, but that happens when seeing a new doctor.” The Nurse went over and pulled a gown out of a small cupboard. “Okay Young lady, I want you to go and take off your skirt, shirt and a bra if your wearing it. You can keep your panties on, but the doctor may remove them so he can fully check you out, okay? If you want, you put your clothes on that little ledge over by the spare chair.” She pointed to a little ledge that seemed to serve no purpose, till now. “And the Doctor shall see you in a bit, okay.”

“Okay.”

Tracy looked at the gown, then up at her mother. Maggie could see the frustration in her daughter. The fear that the doctor would deny her and the shame that she had to show her body once more. “Sorry Baby, but this needs to happen and the sooner the better for you, okay? We'll step out and let you undress in private.”

“Okay.” Tracy said as her mother and Godmother went to the door and stepped out, then shut it. Armed with just the gown they gave her and she quickly stripped out of her skirt and her shirt, her eyes stayed on the door, even though she knew her mother was on the other side, keeping it shut.

“Okay, Mama.” Tracy called out and the door opened up and her mother and Shelly came in. Tracy went over and sat on the edge of the exam table. “I'm getting tired of doctor's beds.”

“I know Tracy, but this is important. Either way, you need hormones in your system. There was a knock at teh door and Shelly moved to open it, slightly so she could see out.

“Hello. I am Doctor Addams.” The doctor said as he walked into the room. He was an older man, Tracy guessed somewhere in his forties. His hair was already gray in places and he seemed to have a warm friendly smile. “I see we have a large support group for you.”

“I'm Tracy's mother, but I live north of here by about three hours. Shelly is Tracy's godmother, she'll be watching Tracy for the next two weeks, till I move down here. She also has my approval to bring her here, in case of problems.”

“I see.” The Doctor replied. “Will her presence make the young lady uncomfortable?”

Tracy blushed and Maggie shook her head. “Doctor Addams, Tracy is barely comfortable with her body when she's clothed. But she knows this is important to get her to where she wants to be.”

“Well tell you what. I'll step outside. We made sure he knew me and I will have the note to get Tracy seen in case of trouble.” Shelly said. She touched Tracy's hand. “Just be good and your Grandma and I will see you when you're done, okay?”

“Tracy nodded slowly. “Okay.”

Once Shelly was gone the Doctor pulled a stool over and sat in front of Tracy. “Now I want to do a few tests on you. The normal things. Breathe while I listen with the stethoscope, then an eye test. After that I'll walk you through each step of the tests I need to do, okay?”

Tracy nodded as the man started her with an eye test. Once he was sure she wasn't blind, he moved around the table and put the ice cold stethoscope on her back, making her gasp. “Sorry, I try to warm it up, but cold metal always feels like it is freezing to the bare skin.”

He pulled out the little hammer and tested her reflexes. Tracy sat through each test, slowly getting comfortable with the man. When he had exhausted all the normal check up requirements, he stood up and looked at Tracy. “Now is the hard part. I Need to run a few tests with your gown down. I have to check on development of your upper body, then I will have you remove your underwear.” He watched as Tracy's shoulders slumped and she sighed. “Sorry Tracy, but I need to give you a once over before I totally allow hormones. We want to do things right, not open the gates for more problems. Besides, you will be getting no less then I give to any girl your age. Understand? This is your health and your body, you have to do these check ups so your mother doesn't lose you way too early.”

"He is right, Tracy. I recall my check up at your age and it was rather embarrassing, but I'm glad it was done. I'd hate to lose you from something we could have caught." Maggie told her with a soft smile.

“Okay.” Tracy replied, but she couldn't look him in the eyes as she pulled the gown over her shoulders. The doctor did a few tests, lightly touching her body, but she didn't watch. She could feel his hands slightly lifting at where her chest was, but all she did was try to ignore it and hope he finished soon. With each test he did, he told her what he would do, and why. But that did little to help her fears of being seen like this.

“Very good. Now I'll let you get dressed. I'll wait outside while you do. We have a couple of things to cover before I have your blood pulled.”

“Okay.” Tracy answered, covering herself with the gown.

“I'll wait out in the hall.” He opened the door wide enough to slip out, but not reveal Tracy to anyone in the hall. Maggie grabbed Tracy's clothes and handed them to her, then she turned around and waited the few minutes for Tracy to dress. After that she called the Doctor back in; he was walking back down the hall as she opened the door.

The Doctor went to his stool and sat down, with Tracy on the edge of the bed and Maggie on a chair. “Mrs. Patterson, I have a question. In the attack that took Tracy's testicles, were both of them destroyed?”

“No.” Maggie shook her head. “See, when Tracy was born there was issues with one and the doctor's at the military base she was born at removed it when she was maybe one and a half, possibly two?”

“I see, so she had just the one for the past few years?”

“Yeah. And in the attack, the doctors told me that they were basically flattened from the stomping.” Maggie replied and the doctor got a bit green.

“Hmmm...” He said once he regained himself.

“Hmmm what?” Maggie asked.

“Were his testicles ever checked out by other doctors?”

“I....I don't recall. I was usually the ones with them at the doctor's, but, see my husband was in the Army, so we would take the kids to the local Air Force Base, but we only had a few appointments over the years. The kids were both really healthy, never had any problems.” Maggie slumped her shoulders and lowered her head, but lifted her gaze to see the doctor. “I messed up big, didn't I? I took her to the doctor for an appointment at five and six, even at eight. The one when Tracy turned ten felt rushed to me. But we haven't gone each year.”

“Honestly, a lot of people don't. The people with no insurance see me even less.

“Now Tracy, one thing that worries me is your weight. I'm not trying to make fun of you, but when men get castrated, they tend to put on weight. You're already over the average for your age group, not by much, just about ten pounds.” He turned on the stool to face her better. “Do you eat when you feel sad?”

“No. Not really.” Tracy replied.

“I'll admit that Tracy has always been a bit over the average. Maggie stated. One of the biggest problems is when we have dinner, there is usually a lot and Tracy and Vance, my eldest, both take decent amounts.”

“I see, this is something I would like to keep an eye on. Also, has your chest seemed like it’s growing? Keep in mind this is the first time I've met you, so I don't know. Have you ever had itching on your chest?”

“No.” Tracy replied. “Well, a little I guess, I just figured it was the clothes, see we started using a new laundry detergent. I just never thought about asking mom. They did seem a bit bigger over the past couple of month though. Like I don't have to pad the training bra as much to fill it out.”

“Is this normal?” Maggie asked.

“Well, you see, men and women both have estrogen and testosterone. In losing the supply of testosterone, whatever estrogen Tracy's body was making became the only hormone in her body so that could be helping to start Tracy on the path to breast growth. Keep in mind there may be some testosterone being made from glands, but nothing like what a boy of the age of eleven would have. And now all that is left is the glands making the estrogen.”

“They're growing?” Tracy asked, her eyes lighting up as she focused on the news of her boobs.

“If you were a normal twelve year old girl, I would say yes. It looks as though you are on the start of puberty. Being as you've taking a different route to get there, I have to guess. But I've seen this type of growth in young girls before.”

“But I could get boo...breasts this way?” She asked, her cheeks going a bright red.

“You could, but keep in mind, what your body produces is very little, so that's why it may have taken two months to get a slight growth, also the full dose of hormones will help in other things, like helping your hips grow out, and helping with bone structure, making sure your hair is fine and lady like.”

“So what all do we need to do to get the hormones going?”

“Well, I'll have the nurse come in, draw some blood and then we wait to see where her hormone levels are and in a week or two we have Tracy come in and we'll cover everything that we've come up with and give her a shot.”

“Good.”

“Well then, you be good, young lady, and I will see you next time.”

~o~O~o~

“So where to now?” Bernice asked. “The school?”

“We wanted to hold off on the school till tomorrow, that way Lance and Persephone could be there, just in case.” Maggie stated.

“Well, we haven't shopped yet.” Shelly admitted. “We were waiting to see what Tracy would eat, so we thought we could take her to the store. I was going to take care of it after all these appointments.”

“I got an idea.” Maggie said. “What if we took her. Mom wants to spend more time with her and I've wanted to show her the finer points of shopping. Plus I'd like to buy the groceries, for all you're doing for us.”

“Maggie, I won't take your money like that.”

“Then you'll take mine.” Bernice said.

“Bernice, I won't do that to you, either.” Shelly stated.

“Shelly, you're taking in my daughter for at least two weeks, then you get me. We're going to be a drain on your budget, so let me at least make one payment now.” Maggie said. Shelly thought about how she would feel in that situation and she nodded.

“Okay. Let's compromise. I'll let you get the groceries, but I'm buying lunch for the four of us.” Shelly stated. “And I won't take no for an answer. We can take my van. The groceries can fit in the back.”

“Okay.” Maggie agreed.

“Besides, after Tracy's morning, I'm sure she needs a bite to eat.” Shelly said and Tracy just nodded.

“Tell you what then, lets get lunch first, it's almost one, then we go shopping.”

“Okay. I know a store near the house.”

This isn't really a cliff hanger, but where I had it at was at almost 27 pages on my usual writing program, so I felt the need to break it up, also I think the other half needed work.

All is well. The wheels are turning, slowly, but it's still a turn

And yes, at the line "Tracy danced out of the therapists office", I did picture an eleven year old girl doing the "snoopy dance" out of pure joy.