Author's Note: This one is a fairly short chapter, what I intended to be the last chapter of this part of the story would have been too much for just one chapter. Yeah I did say the last one, while Rebecca's story, the one I want to tell, is far from over I am bringing Revelation to a close. It's just time, Robbie is now someone in the past and is gone, and there is no more Revelation to explore. Hopefully I will be wrapping this up before the end of the week. Happy 4th everyone. ~Rebecca

The best of my presents though, I didn’t get on Christmas, but the day after. It arrived a bit before noon. I had been playing with my nephew Will, since they had arrived he had been begging me to play my old Atari. The funny thing about 8 year olds was the change in my gender was no big deal, I still had the cool old video games that we had always played when they visited. Admittedly my sisters and their husbands never once treated me badly when they arrived, but there was a small time where the confusion was apparent. They had been wondering had I changed enough that I was a completely different person. It had taken several hours before they had seen I was the same person, just without the overwhelming depression. Not so with Will though, the precocious 8 year old just shrugged off that I was now Rebecca and started begging me to hook up the Atari.

We were in the middle of playing Frogger on my old 2600, taking turns on a two player game, when my Mom called for me. I handed my controller to Will and started to get up to see what Mom was calling me about. Will got excited and asked if he could play both players, I just told him yes and ruffled his hair on my way out of my room. I was softly giggling with him not caring if I left him alone, it just meant he got to play more. When I entered the living room everyone was smiling at me, as she noticed my confused expression Mom told me something had arrived for me and pointed towards the dining room. I turned to see what she was talking about and then I saw my ‘gift’, it was Paul just standing there in our dining room. I knew that he wasn’t supposed to be back from his parents till after the new year, which caused me to be confused why he was here now, then I remembered our last conversation and I began to break out in a huge smile. I had known I had missed him, even though we had only talked a few times on the phone. It was really expensive to call with instate long distance, so I hadn't been able to talk to him too much. With him standing there I realized now just how much I had missed him, as I felt my heart start to race and my cheeks started feeling flush. With my heart caught in my throat I wasn’t able to say anything, so I pretty much just stood there like an idiot until after he spoke.

“Hi.” He told me with a huge smile and his eyes staring straight into mine. “After you told me what the other girls had done… I… umm…” He looked at my parents and family seeming pretty nervous. “I just had to get back up here to see how you were doing… I’m sorry, should I have called first? I didn’t know all your family was here…” I realized that he was worried about me and had cut his visit with his parents short, so he could come back early, just for me… I just shook my head slowly no, before a smile started lighting up my face.

I was hesitant at first, to do what I wanted with my entire family there watching us, but after a few quick agonizing moments I threw caution to the wind as I sprinted the small distance between us. I caught him, and probably everyone else, off guard as I wrapped my arms around him as tight as I could. It took him only a split second for him to return the hug. I couldn’t help but feel my eyes start tearing up.

“Hey are you okay?” He whispered in my ear. “You’re trembling something fierce.”

“Yeah, I’m doing okay, I’m even better now though, I’m great. You’re here…” I whispered back. “Not that I’m complaining at all, but you really didn’t have to cut your visit short with your family.”

“Yeah I kind of did… You sounded so upset after how Holly and the other girls treated you… It’s been killing me not to be able to do this.”, He told me as he backed up just enough to look into my eyes.

Looking at his eyes and seeing the concern and caring, dare I hoped maybe love, I felt this warmth spreading through me. I had completely forgotten the other 7 people watching us, focusing only on Paul I leaned forward and kissed him for everything I was worth which he readily returned. I really have no idea how long the kiss lasted, we were pulled out of my our kiss from Pop clearing his throat. Suddenly remembering that we had an audience I pulled away from Paul and felt the embarrassment flush my cheeks

Glancing around at my family quickly, I saw that everyone, besides mom, was staring at Paul and I like we’re from another planet or something. Mom, on the other hand, had had a huge smile on her face. Looking back at Paul I saw the same flush in his cheeks that I could definitely feel in mine. We had stepped back enough to break our hug but our hands had found the others, so we just clasped hands for a second before I looked around and acknowledged my family.

“Umm, sorry about that… I sorta got a little carried away…” I mumbled.

“Just a little young lady?” Pop said trying to sound like ‘The Colonel’ but was failing pretty miserable.

“Oh hush you!” Mom chastised my dad. “She hasn’t seen him in over a week, and with the week she's had..” Glancing back at Pop I noticed the slight smirk he was trying to hide. Mom then came up and gave us both a hug, which was a bit difficult at the same time since we both towered over her. When she released us from her hug she started to giggle and whispered to me, “Honey don’t you think you need to change?”

I immediately remembered I was still in my sleepwear, a long t-shirt and cotton shorts. I had only thought my embarrassment at kissing my boyfriend like that in front of my family was bad. For a lazy morning with the family it wouldn’t have ever been an issue in my house. The problem now was, without a bra on and that kiss… The sleep shirt had become entirely too tight for comfort. “Oh my GOD!!” I blurted out, with my face, neck and chest burning a bright red. Everyone then noticed exactly what mom had and started laughing, except for Paul. He looked like he was ready to run at a moments notice, unsure of how my family might respond after our display.

“C’mon son lets go sit in the kitchen while the girls go to the back of the house.”, Pop told Paul as he put his arm around his shoulder. I could see Paul gulp and nod okay.

When mom and I got to my room it took us a few minutes to run Will off my game and back to the living room. I flopped down on my bed still slightly embarrassed. “Mom… I’m sorry about that in there… I didn’t mean to… I mean… Uhh… I don’t know what got into me…” I said softly, hoping she wasn’t too mad.

She started to softly chuckle, “Baby you don’t have to apologize for that… Now if you’d thrown him down on the floor right there.. I don’t know what we’d have done…”

“MOM!!”, I blurted out before she could go any further, which just caused her to really laugh hard. “I wouldn't.. I mean we wouldn't…” I stopped for a moment to gather my wits, of course Mom laughing at me like she was wasn’t helping in the slightest… “What I’m trying to say is… I’m nowhere near ready for… you know?.?. THAT…” I was not ready for this conversation with my Mom, with my boyfriend getting the ‘talk’ from Pop. The whole situation was surreal.

As she started to regain control of her laughing, and had stifled it to the occasional giggle. She told me, “Sweetie I know you aren't, and I still believe we can trust you on that… Your face though, as soon as you saw him… I haven’t ever seen you smile that big. You really do care about him don’t you?”

Smiling sheepishly I said, “Yeah mom, I do.”

“Do you think you love him?” She asked me more seriously.

I was unsure of the answer at first. “Mom I don’t know… I mean, maybe?”, I said without much conviction. Then I started thinking about the first time I met him and how infuriating he was, but how I had also started looking forward to seeing him on my runs. The conversations that we had, and the verbal sparring we did, and how our friendship had started. Then I remembered that meltdown he witnessed and how he comforted me, how he was so patient when it counted and funny when it was needed. I also slightly blushed at the memory of our first kiss, when he tried to prove to me I didn’t have to worry about him leaving me after I told him my secret. It was then that our friendship, which I had already grown to cherish, sudden become, well more…

I was deep in thought when I felt mom put her hand on mine and give it a soft squeeze. I looked up her and smile, and said softly, “I think I really do Mom… Is that weird? I mean I used to be a…”

“Rebecca don’t, just stop it okay. It doesn’t matter who or what you used to be, or who you thought you should be… What’s important is who you are now, and even with him knowing about your past it looks like he’s only worried about who you are right now…” She told me. Using her other hand she placed it on my cheek and eased my face up to look at her, “Baby I think its time for you to focus on who you are right now. Sweetie right now you are a smart, funny, caring, beautiful young lady, who has a young man that obviously cares a lot about you.”

That thought made me smile, I softly said, “He really does, doesn't he?” Mom just smiled and enveloped me in a warm conforming hug, the type of hug that only mom’s can give.

Once our conversation was over, it only took me about 20 minutes to get ready. After my ‘showing’ earlier I made sure I was fully covered in jeans, sweater, and a bra this time. Once I had applied a very light dusting of makeup we left my room to see how Paul was faring with Pop. I had been worried about how that conversation was going, but it turned out that I didn’t need to worry. When we walked in, the conversation they were having wasn’t even about me or our relationship. With Pop being a chemist, and Paul planning on being a chemical engineer, I sort of understood their conversation but it was on a depth I hadn't ever discussed before.

Pop looked up at us and smiled at me, “Honey I like this boy. He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

I laughingly said, “You’re only saying that cause he's into chemistry too.” That caught him off guard, but before he could try to defend his position I said, “I like him too Dad, a lot.” Pop just stood up and gave me a hug and a kiss on my cheek.

He whispered in my ear, “He feels the same for you honey, I did mean what I said about liking him. He has really good taste” Then he stood back and said with more volume so everyone could hear, “ And it isn’t only because of chemistry either. Well at least, you know, that kind of chemistry.” He then winked at me, and realizing what he meant made me blush profusely. I caught Paul smirking as he stood up, and gently gave me a hug and a light quick kiss.

“Thank you for everything Paul, and I mean everything.” I said looking directly into his soft brown eyes.

“You don’t have to keep thanking me, but you are welcome… So umm.. Are you going to officially introduce me to your family?” He asked with a big smirk.

“Oh yeah!” I exclaimed, then a bit more sheepishly I added, “I was a bit distracted sorry…” He just grinned as I then introduced him to everyone, as my boyfriend. With what they had witnessed, while they probably didn’t need the confirmation, but I had to make it official by saying it out loud.

He spent the rest of the day with us, and most of the evening just hanging out with my family. It didn’t take my nephew very long to pull both of us back into to my room to play the Atari some more, which we really didn’t mind, after all we were both geeks and/or nerds so an afternoon of gaming wasn't a bad thing. We spent several hours running through all my games, usually at the whim of an 8 year old. Lunch was sort of a free for all, with food sat out and you just grabbed as you went. The afternoon was just spent spending time with my family, with the both of us cuddled next to each other on the couch holding hands and trying not to make a scene. Well at least too much of a scene.

While I appreciated their efforts, they didn’t know that Paul knew everything. At first, my sisters were obviously trying to tiptoe around the fact I used to be a boy with Paul. I do give them credit for not trying to ‘out’ me to my boyfriend, it was actually Paul who told them he already knew I used to be Robbie, once he realized what they were doing. I decided to let him tell them the story of how he had found out, I simply wanted to hear how he remembered the evening. Their response to his answer when asked what did he do when I told him almost made me fall off the couch laughing. The wide eyed looks of surprise when he simply said with a grin while looking directly at me, “I kissed her, I only know how amazing Rebecca IS and everything else just didn't matter. It was the only thing I could do.”

Towards the end of the night, I had walked Paul to his car and we shared a long tender hug and a kiss, which I knew we had an audience once I noticed the way the curtains fluttered when I turned to walk back inside. As soon as I walked in the house, my sisters pulled me into the kitchen to have me tell them everything. I think it was that moment that we truly bonded as sisters, after I told them how we had met and some of the silly things he did that both irritated me, and made him more enduring at the same time. They then started sharing stories of how they and their husbands met, and other similar storied they had. Most of these I had never heard, they were just things a ‘brother’ never got to talk to ‘his’ sisters about.

I was lying in bed that night trying to get my brain to slow down so I could get some sleep, thinking about how this had been the best day of my young life so far. I then remembered how many of those days that I had had in the last few months. I remembered many days where I had thought the exact same thing, that ‘this’ day was the best I’ve ever had. Then another day came that surpassed that one, then another and another. I then thought about Paul and how he had been there for me so many times, without me even asking him to. I couldn’t believe just how lucky I had been to have him in my life and then I started thinking about the kiss he had given me when I walked him to his car.

Remembering how his lips had felt as they brushed against my own, and how his hands firmly but still gently caressed my back and sides started to make my body feel all tingly. Before I realized it I had gotten myself worked up too far to stop when I remembered something else. I quickly got up to make sure my bedroom door was locked, and then opened my ‘other’ present I received from my girl friends… All I will say is, WOW!!! Which was exactly the thought I had as I drifted off into the most peaceful and restful nights sleep I had ever had..

 
 
To Be Continued...