Chapter 8 -- A Bye Game

The phone rang at the Martin's. Alex picked up the phone. "Hello?" He covered the mouthpiece and whispered to Sally, "It's the camp manager calling for an update." Sally went back to reading her book.

"Yes ma'am. The nursery is nearly done. The new eighty kilowatt solar farm will be installed next week on the south-west corner." Sally adjusted the blanket in her lap and rubbed her growing belly. Looking out the window. She saw Sam working on the Community Pool. He was working on a propane tank. "And we finished the new community pool this week. We are installing the new pool heaters today."

Listening to the voice on the other end, he smiled. "Yes. Everything is ahead of schedule. And we took care of the old well." With a tear in his eye, he added, "The new water pump looks fantastic. Plus, we will have finished the twenty new cabins at the north east end section by the first of May. That will include their solar panels too. .... No, the septic tanks and cesspools were already installed last November. ... Well water is supplied by electricity hooked up to the camp grid. Only one meter, yes. I convinced the co-op it made better sense since the solar works year around and will offset the cost of electricity for the tenants during the summer." He smiled at her next question. "Yes, those pre-fab kits will make it very easy to meet our goals. It helps that we got the pads poured last October. We plan on two cabins going up a day. We ought to be done by the middle of April. We think it will save $75,000 under your budget for labor and after negotiating with a furniture store in Deming, we will come in $25,000 under your budget for furnishings. They will arrive the first part of May just as we finish detailing the last cabin." He hung up the phone. The inquisition was over.

"Honey, I am going to have to go down to Deming today to get some things for the new nursery and place a purchase order for the cabin furniture. Debra said she and Sam will keep you company. Be kind to Debra. She misses Susan."

"Check on Victor please."

"I will."

"Darling?" As he gathered his stuff to leave, she pleaded, "Maybe you could bring him up for the week? Since it is spring break."

He hid his anxious expression from her. "We'll see. But, with all this construction, it is just as well we keep it short. I don't want him getting hurt again."

"I miss him." He leaned over and gave her a hug and kiss.

"So do I. But, you know as well as I do, you would start doing things for him out of sense of guilt. He is happy going to school. And, he loves my Mom very much. She is taking good care of him. Otherwise, he would be very bored getting into mischief." She shifted in her chair because of the burden she was carrying. She looked back out the window and resigned herself to the truth of what Alex said. She knew he was right.

Later, down in Deming, Dr. Smith watched Vicki being wheeled into the sterile and practical outpatient surgery room. Dr. Alvarez was holding her hand and would observe the procedure. Vicki's bottom had already been numbed down. Her legs were already secured in stirrups. And everything was covered but her genitals. He greeted her warmly with, "Hey there little lady. How are we this morning? You don't remember me, but I did your surgery when you were first brought in."

It was hard for her to tell much about him because of his mask. "Pleased to meet you sir. I am fine. A bit nervous. Thank you. What are you going to do to me today?"

"Well, what I am going to do is a brand new technique. Since you have already been surgically altered by me, it won't take long. I am inserting a tube in your vagina that has what can be best described as a fish skin wrapped around it. It is going to be a tight tube and it will allow the fish skin to merge into your vaginal skin giving it strength and more. After a week or so, it will be replaced with a silicon tube that will remain in you for two months. When it is removed, you won't have to dilate again. Your vagina will be like a regular girl's vagina."

The last thing he said, "Your vagina will be like a regular girls," caused a warm feeling to radiate through her body. Dr. Alvarez noted her physical response and filed it away. Just one more piece of the puzzle.

The nurse fixed the gurney legs into place and Dr. Smith started working. Vicki asked something that was bothering her, "Will this mean I grow boobs too?"

Dr. Smith thought about what she said and the way she said it. He knew she was curious at the very least. He stood up from his chair so he could look directly at her. This wasn't the kind of question you answer while putting a spéculum in a vagina. She couldn't see a smile through the mask he was wearing, but she could hear it in his voice. "Should I gather from your question you are worried about being discovered?" Vicki nodded her head. "No worries, my dear girl. First, for that to happen you will need to start taking hormones. And that won't be until you are at least eleven. Although, we are going to give you a estrogen based cream in order to keep your vagina healthy until you are wanting me to build you a new penis." 'Or not,' he thought. She leaned back to look at the ceiling doing her best to hide her disappointment from everyone in the room. She was beginning to want them. He continued before sitting down. "Is it because you see girls in your grade growing breasts now?"

"Yes." she said meekly with little change in her expression.

"Well, part of that is the culture of this area. Many of the beautiful Hispanic girls in your class have a diet that includes lard. Once they hit around one-hundred and ten pounds, their bodies start secreting estrogen regardless of their age. There is also a genetic factor. So, I would expect a few girls in your grade would be budding right now. But, given your genetic makeup and knowing your family history, I think you would, if you were a genetic girl, start budding about eleven and a half years old." That is about three years from now. He sat back down and started to go back to his work.

Vicki sighed and realized he was probably right. And, if he is, then she at least she could tell the girls at school that she would be a late bloomer and she envied them. Oddly enough, Dr. Smith could feel her relaxing and took that as a sign whatever needed to be said was said.

As he continued his work, he remarked, "Now, you won't be able to swim until the end of May. At the end of a week, a second device is going to be put in to stay in to act more like braces on your teeth. It will be there to help the vaginal walls to integrate. Once that happens, they will be secure until changes are made in the future."

Much wasn't said until the end of the procedure. As Dr. Alvarez saw him finish, she commented, "So this is what they are doing in Brazil? Amazing."

"Yup. It is an incredible breakthrough. I was able to construct a seven inch canal thanks to there being no uterus. Vicki's canal is fixed in size now too. This means as the body grows, the canal won't. I'll discuss with you latter how to deal with that as she grows older."

After Vicki was wheeled to recovery, Dr. Smith turned to Dr. Alvarez and said sympathetically, "Thank you for letting me do this for the child. I promise, you will be next."

She shook her head. "Thank you. I understand. It's the nature of triage. She needed it more. Sad that some of us have narrowing vaginas no matter how often we dilate. I figured it must be the stress of my job."

"Could be. I don't know. I just know that you aren't going to be able to marry that lawyer friend of yours if you can't have sex." he said solemnly. She winced at the thought of how she had rebuffed his advances lately.

"Don't worry. If I have to fly to Brazil, I will. This has given me so much hope! Hardly seems fair since you gave me a beautiful vagina so many years ago." She gave him a hug.

"Do you think Vicki is transgender?" he volunteered.

"I have had my suspicions for some time now. When her mom came in for examinations, Victor had to stay in the waiting room play area. I noted he played with the girl toys. Could it be because of Susan? Just a hunch. I have suspected Victor wouldn't find out who he really wants to be until just around puberty."

She put her arm in his and walked out with him to talk to Vicki's grandmother and father.

A little while later, the patient's startled father exclaimed, "So, what you are saying is that Victor's penis will be grown in the lab from tissue you collected and that what is in him now is becoming a real vagina?"

"Yes, a few weeks back, I found I had little to work with, so I collected as much viable tissue as I could and preserved it. That included erectile tissue as well as what was left of his testicles. I sent it off to a research lab in Georgia where they will store it until he hits fourteen. At that time, it will be shipped to one of two institutions where they will start growing the tissue in the lab into his future penis. It may be able to restore nearly all of his function. The nerve business is another story, but even that is looking better and better."

Alex pondered, "Wow! Will he be able to father children?"

"I can't promise, but it looks increasingly possible that some time in the near future we will be able to grow sperm for him in the lab from the testicular tissues I was able to preserve."

"But why create the vaginal canal then? I don't get it?"

Dr. Alvarez added, "From an ethical point of view, we as physicians have to do no harm first. We felt leaving a healthy genital structure would work best in the short term because of your health insurance issues. By using the latest techniques, we have made it easier and safer for Vicki to function sexually in the future. However, we knew the psychological impact of having to dilate is very concerning at her young age. With that in mind, I knew Dr. Smith was headed to Brazil to learn this technique. He knew by removing that need, it will be better for her to adjust when it is time for her to decide which sex she wants to be. In addition, by making the canal the appropriate length now, we have given Vicki a working set of genitals that will not need surgery in six years if she remains female. She is going to need to be on HRT for the rest of her life anyway. By the way, that means she can get wet and lubricate too for sex when she starts puberty. Victor or Vicki will now have options. And, should she decide to remain female, she might have a uterus built from her stem cells that would allow her to bear children. Along the lines of what Dr. Smith said about growing tissues in the lab, they are developing techniques to create eggs from stem cells too as well as grow a uterus. This could mean that Vicki can be a mother too of her own children."

Alex asked, "When is this all going to be possible?"

"We figure in the next ten to fifteen years, it might be commonplace. About the time Vicki graduates from college I would think." Dr. Smith continued, "In the meantime, Vicki will have to have a special insert remain in her vagina for over two months. Normally, this would be for six months in an adult. But, because she is a child with her body still growing, it won't take long for everything to set."

Alex seemed worried. "What should I tell her mom in the meantime?"

Dr. Alvarez answered, "Tell her I said that Victor has a busted tailbone we didn't catch in the initial accident. It has been fixed, but he will need to stay here during spring break if only because his bum really hurts."

The months flew by with Vicki enjoying school, making new friends, and deepening her friendship with Aurelia. At the end of May, her mother gave birth to twins. A boy and a girl.

"Will I get to see you again?" Aurelia was crying.

Vicki was crying to. She loved her friend. "I hope so. I'll try to come and visit as often as I can." Vicki gave Aurelia a tearful hug. Her dad put her suitcases into the van.

"You don't look the same in jeans, I hate to tell you." Aurelia said as she saw Vicki climb into her seat.

"I know. I still aren't sure when you can visit and learn to ride horses. I'll write and call soon." Her dad closed Vicki's door.

He turned to Aurelia and said "I promise Aurelia. We will get in touch. It is just with the babies right now and my wife being so tired, we can't promise anything right away. But, I do know we will see you again when my sister arrives in a week."

Maria commented, "Aurelia, having a baby is really tough. Having two is even harder. Be patient." They stepped back and waved along with Alex's mom.

The cloud of dust they left behind seemed to call into question how Vicki or Victor would be received when they got home.

Soon after their horseback ride where Susan stripped off his shorts and underwear during their horseback ride, Victor related the whole story to Susan. It ended with his homecoming. Nothing had been said about his transformation yet to his mom. He was in limbo. His long blond hair covered his piercings. That and a little makeup had fooled her. Some explanation was made that his hairstyle was so he would look cool at school. His dad hid all of Vicki's clothes in the barn. Back in the house, Victor's mom was too fixated on the babies to really care at the moment about the changes she saw in her boy.

The year before, they tore down the old pool which was a plastic pool surrounded by wood decking. Next to it was a bathhouse and a girls and boys changing room. After tearing it down, Alex and Same went to work on building the new facility. After hiring a crew of workers, they built a beautiful new pool with a nice deep end off the main part of the pool. At twelve feet deep, it could handle the three foot and eight foot diving boards. There were lanes in the main area so kids could swim laps and have competitions. There was a slight bend with an area shallow enough for toddlers which slowly descended into the main pool area which was four foot deep. Both Susan and Victor could bounce off the pool bottom to stay afloat near the toddler area of the pool.

Surrounding the pool were chairs, lounges, tables, and hardware for maintaining the pool. On the western end of the pool was a shaded area where one could get out of the sun attached to a full women’s restroom and men’s restroom. And attached to it to the north was a shack with a kitchen and counter where a cook could make food for the people using the pool. It was a very well thought out design.

After returning the horses to the stables, Victor and Susan walked over to look at the pool since it had just been filled and made ready for the summer crowd.

He sighed, "Guess we will be working here this summer."

Susan chided him as she stuck her hand in the water, "C'mon Victor. The pool's heated. You and me can go swimming now. Your mom is nursing the twins. And this is our last chance to try it before everyone gets here."

"But, we don't have our swimsuits!" Victor complained.

"We'll skinny dip and stay out of the deep end. No one will see us because no one is here. And, now that I have seen you, it won't matter, will it?"

"No, I guess not." He took off his boots, socks, and shirt. After carefully folding them, he then took off his jeans. Susan glanced at his panties again.

"Why panties?"

"They fit better and they feel nice." He folded up the rest of his clothes. Standing there naked he turned and saw Susan naked too. She was right. They both looked the same. Most boys would die to see a girl naked. But, now he didn't need to look any further than his own mirror. And, in the last few months, he had explored his new equipment. There was nothing she had that he didn't have to play with too.

Susan ran and jumped in the pool. After coming up from the water, she waved to Victor to join her. Smiling, he held his nose and slipped into the water. They processed over to area where there feet could more easily touch the floor of the pool.

They had been playing only for about twenty minutes when they failed to hear the noise of tires coming up and parking next to the pool area. Splashing around, they didn't even notice a woman exiting the car, walking past her Arizona plates, and coming into the pool area to inspect the work that had been done. But, they did hear her firm and loud voice cry out, "Children, what are you doing in the pool without a lifeguard?"

Turning around, they both recognized the figure. She was the camp manager, Mrs. Lincoln. "Susan? Victor I think? What are you doing in the pool. You know you can't swim here without a lifeguard being present! Please get out now!" She was exhausted after her five hour drive and this was pretty much the last thing she needed to find out.

Susan meekly started to get out first covering her privates. "My Lord, were the two of you skinny dipping?" As Victor exited, he was also covering his privates. "Boys should not be swimming naked with girls young man." A brief breeze caused Victor to sneeze. As a reflex, he covered his mouth with his hands and exposed himself. The look on Mrs. Lincoln's face was nothing less than astonishment. "My word! You're a girl ..."

Trying to defend himself, he corrected her thinking that would help, "My name's Victoria, Mrs. Lincoln."

It only made it worse. "How come you have been parading around as a boy? Where's your dad?" she said indignantly.

Victor mumbled, "Working on the manure pile Mrs. Lincoln." Vicki reached into the towel bin and handed one to Susan before getting one herself hoping that would help.

Angrily, she pursed her lips and then declared, "You girls get dressed and go home. I need to talk to your dad pronto, Victoria."

As she stormed out, there stood Susan's dad. He heard the commotion while working on one of the nursery door. "Helen, we need to talk first in private before you do that. Girls," he said loudly,"get dressed and go to our place to play."

"What is so all fired important that we need to talk about, Sam?" Her voice conveyed a real sense of annoyance with his trespass.

Sam realized he had to confront her with the harsh truth. "Victor was in a bad accident in March. His privates were tore apart and had to be reconstructed into female parts."

It was clear that knocked her down a peg or two, however she persisted. "But still, he is a boy. Why didn't they reconstruct a penis for him?" Now her voice was perplexed.

"Because there was so much damage they could only save the skin for future use. Instead, after saving what they could, they built a vagina for him. In the meantime, he is a girl until they can build him a penis after he hits puberty."

She was having real trouble processing this turn of events and shifted the blame once again. "I am surprised that his parents allowed this. There must have been another choice."

Sam patiently applied the pressure appealing to her true motivations. "However you look at it, Alex chose life. Sally almost lost her babies and had to be bed ridden just with the news of the accident. Alex made a quick decision to give Victor options for the future without his Sally to help guide him. Then Victor, now Vicki, because of problems found he had to live as a girl going to school in Deming so that Sally could rest and have her beautiful babies not knowing what had happened. Sally would have lost the babies for sure had she found out about how awful the accident was. The fact that Victor accepted that he had to live as a girl to protect his mother and his elderly grandmother showed he was pretty brave during the whole time thinking of others and not himself."

It seemed the whole of her anger was ruble. She was beginning to see reason rather than emotion. "Oh. But now ... um ... I don't know quite how to handle this then. Or even understand it. Everyone coming this summer knows Victor the boy. Maybe they can send him away."

Sam wasn't amused. "Is that your answer then? Sweep the child under the rug? Do what every other Christian does, shoot the wounded?"

The accusation stung deeply. She fell back to her final defense. "You're getting a little testy. I can fire you, you know."

Sam wasn't rattled in the least. "I am leaving in August to work in the oil fields and taking my family with me. Or, if you want to fire me, I can walk right now and it won't hurt me a bit. But that precious child ought to mean more to you than my job. 'When you have done unto the least of these, you have done it unto me.' Isn't that what the bible says? That precious child there needs our guidance and covering. Victor is now a man made eunuch who will never know an erection or be able to father a child. To excuse the pun, Victor is in a no mans land all alone. Sending Victor away so you can feel better about summer camp isn't very Christian. Well, in a sense, maybe Victor has become Miriam to his brother and sister. Who knows what God has planned for Vicki to be right now that man has changed him to her. All I have ever seen her do is bring healing to those her life touches. That includes my daughter who felt abandoned and alone when she first came here thinking a boy would never want to be her friend. And you have commented to me bitterly about the Christian way Victor only responded with kindness versus the awful demeaning way he was treated by the camp kids who treated him like a slave to take care of their horses for them last summer. Are we going to be so selfish in how we treat her given how she has kindly treated those who have mistreated her?" He turned and started to walk away.

Feeling convicted by his defense of Vicki, she grunted out, "Okay, Sam, stop. Please!" Sam turned to look back at her. She hung her head low responding to the clarity of his reasoning. "You're right. Maybe she is a Miriam." Swallowing her pride, she continued, "No, you are right. She is a Miriam. Very well then, how can I help her?"

"Well, for one thing, Alex hasn't been able to tell Sally what really happened yet to their son. He is waiting for his sister to arrive from Wisconsin to help him. But, I think there is a far better choice to help her deal with what happened to her son."

"Who?"

"You. You are the closest thing to a friend, besides her dad, the pastor, whose advice carries weight. The way she talks about you says she knows you to be a woman of God. She idolizes you. If she is going to accept what happened to Victor calmly and gain a compassionate and understanding heart for his plight, I think you would help do that for her. I know turning him into a girl was wrong on some levels to the way we think about life ought to be. And, I can tell you from personal experience that Alex has worried and fretted over this for months now. But, when you get down to it, Victor, no Vicki, is such a sweet child. She loves her baby brother and sister. She is kind and giving. She is helpful and reliable. She puts others before her all the time. And she is alone in this and very scared. She is brave and my little heroine."

She turned and looked back to the children who had just dried off and were getting dressed. Her eyes open to the truth, she saw for the first time how scared Vicki was. She called out, "Vicki, when you are done, come and talk to me for a moment please." Turning back to Sam, "Thank you for setting me straight. And thank you for staying until the end of summer when you could leave now. I don't know what we will do with out you. You and Alex have done a fantastic job this last year bringing the village into our vision for it. I think you will find there is going to be a bonus coming your way soon."

Winking at her, he commented. "Thank you. I am certain the wife will appreciate the bonus as will I. And good luck with Vicki and thank you for helping her and Alex." She nodded.

Vicki approached her cautiously, her lips trembling, she said, "Yes, Mrs. Lincoln?"

"Vicki, I don't want you to be scared. We are not sending you away and you are not in trouble. Nor is your dad. Mr. Sam told me what happened and I am so sorry. I was cruel to you and beg your forgiveness."

"Thank you Mrs. Lincoln." she said tearfully. Susan came up and held her hand.

She exercised her composure as best as possible feeling the enormity of what she needed to do now. "Would you rather be a boy this summer or a girl?"

"A girl, please. If I am a boy, the boys will try to get me to undress and show them what I look like now. That would be wrong. Some might do to me what this one boy did at school and open up the stall while I was peeing."

Shocked to hear that, she inquired, "Did that really happen?"

"Yes Ma'am. He knew me as a boy from Silver City and wanted to prove to everyone I wasn't a girl."

"Oh my. We can't have that happen again, can we? Well, a girl you shall be. Do you have any dresses to wear by any chance?"

With a little pride in her voice, she proclaimed, "Yes I do. I have a whole wardrobe. But it is in the barn until my daddy can explain to my mommy what happened to me."

"Come along girls, I need to talk to Vicki's dad."

As they walked along, Susan stated, "Oh goody, now we can play dress up to." Vicki squeezed her hand. Along the way, Mrs. Lincoln asked her more about what happened to her.

Alex dusted himself off and parked the tractor. He went into the barn to wash up and missed seeing three figures walking across the grounds. While washing his arms and hands thoroughly, he heard, "Vicki, Susan, please wait outside the barn door. And remember to act like ladies." Startled by this command he turned to see Helen standing before him with a serious look on her face. "Alex, I am so sorry to hear what happened to Victor, but I need to talk to you about what is best for Vicki. Can you spare a moment?"

Drying off his hands and arms with a towel, he rested against the sink cabinet. "What a pleasant surprise to see you so soon. Yes, of course. How ..."

"Sam told me most of the story. And then Vicki told me the rest on the way over here. Do you know why Sally trusts me so much?"

Caught off guard by her last question, he stammered, "Uhhh, nooot realllly."

"I'm a pastor's daughter too. We see eye to eye. I have held her hand and talked to her about her grief from losing babies to miscarriage. We have prayed together for her to have more children. Have you named the babies yet?"

"She delivered them two days ago and Dr. Alvarez is coming over this afternoon to get our final choices and register them with the state. But, yes, we have named them. We plan to reveal the names tonight at a cookout. You are most welcome to come, by the way."

"That would be lovely. Thank you. Okay, would you mind if I told her about what has happened to Victor and tell her why I think she should be allowed to remain Vicki."

"Yeah sure, but, don't you have ... you know?"

"Religious objections. Sure I do. But, this a child we are talking about. And I don't see a good reason to wound her anymore than what has happened. Victor's future as a father and as a man was stolen from him. However, right now, I can't imagine what it would feel like to have those whom I loved and trusted reject me over something I had no control over and when my future needs wise people around me to guide me."

Alex sighed deeply. "Thank you for seeing that. I have been so worried about Vicki and Sally."

"I can see that. Now, if you don't mind, I think it is my job to help you tell Sally. She trusts me and my judgment. And if this is handled wrong, Vicki will be further scarred. May I?"

A tear fell from Alex's eye as if a prayer had been answered. "Yes, would you please?"

"Of course I would." Looking back towards the barn doors, she called out, "Susan, Vicki, come back in please!"

Taking command further, she turned and pointed to Alex. "Alex, find her wardrobe and find her best dress, shoes, etc. Take her over to Susan's and have her get dressed and all prettied up. Then come and find me and Sam. I need to go over with him some details about ..." she looked briefly at Susan wondering if she knew, "... about August if you know what I mean."

He glanced at Susan and then nodded to Helen about the unspoken plans for Sam and his family. "Very well, Helen. I will. Thank you so much."

A little while later, Alex approached a laughing Sam and Helen. Obviously, the two were happy despite her learning he was leaving at the end of August. "Alex, is your precious little angel ready?"

"Yes. Well, the girls are having a blast choosing which dress to wear. Vicki can't make up her mind."

Helen giggled, "Just like a girl. Shall we go. Sam is going to wait outside for your signal and then get Vicki."

The three headed to the bunk house where Sam sat in the big swing outside the front door. Alex led Helen in to find Sally nursing one of the twins in the living room.

"Awe, is this the new baby girl?" Sally nodded yes, "She is so cute. Don't you just love babies? And now you have two of them. I am so happy for you. I came early to help."

"Helen, it is so good to see you. Thank you for all those prayers. See, God has really blessed me, hasn't he?" The baby released from her nipple. "I waited so long." She swaddled her and placed her in the crib along side her brother.

"Yes he has. Are you comfortable, because Alex needs to talk to you about Victor. I know the full story and I want you to know that I fully support what Alex did and think it was handled very wisely. What is important for you to know is that the trauma of finding out the truth would have cost you these two precious lives. But, it is time to tell you the full story." Sally shot a worried look at Alex.

"I'm sorry honey. Dr. Alvarez was worried you would lose the babies if you you learned the full truth of how badly Victor was injured."

Sally sputtered out, "But, I spoke to him all this time on the phone. He didn't seem injured?."

Helen spoke up and with a motherly tone said, "Sally, it was what was injured that would have upset you."

Sounding anxious, she went on, "I've seen him. Except for the long blond hair, he seems normal. He is not blind. He seems to hear okay. A little quieter maybe, but quite whole." She continued with a hint of worry in her voice. "He isn't going to die is he? Does he have cancer?"

"No, Honey." Alex began to unfold the truth to his stunned wife. Helen patiently listened and held Sally's hand constantly comforting her with a squeeze and saying it was for the best.

Trying to absorb the reality, she asked, "So my little man is now a girl?" Sally's face was as wet as monsoon storm in July and her skin was as pale as on a moonlit night during a full moon.

Helen, holding her boy baby now and rocking him, said, "Yes. She is. Vicki is brave and courageous. But, she is still a very young child who needs you now more than ever."

"I don't think I can face her now. I don't want to lose my boy. Do I have to?" she said trembling.

Helen put the baby boy back in the crib, took her hand, and looked her in the eye. "It is is what you dad would tell you to do if he were here. The child needs you now more than ever. I've met your dad. Harlon would never let you reject a child who, through no fault of his own, had something like this happen to him. What if he had sever burns and didn't look the same with a horribly disfigured face?"

"I would still love him. But, isn't this different?"

"How?"

"I mean sex organs ..."

"Can be disfigured too, just like major burns."

Slowly, it hit her. "Yes, what is the difference between a disfigured face or a disfigured ..." She stopped to think.

Helen gave her a moment before saying, "Exactly. The way we know what our privates look like is by the clothes we wear. I think it is time you met your very pretty Vicki. Listen carefully. If you accept the clothes as soon as possible, that means you don't reject her because of the injury, and you heal the child who is very scared right now. Now is the best and only time." Helen signaled Alex who opened the door and signaled Sam.

As they chatted on for awhile about Vicki and what she had gone through, the front door tentatively opened and a little blond head with a cute headband and set of golden earrings poked through the door. "Mom?"

Tearfully, Sally said, "Vict ... Vicki? How is my little angel?"

Vicki slowly eased into the room. "Scared Mommy." She brushed her dress and put her hands together in front of her afraid to look at her mom.

"Why honey?" came a tearful response.

More tearfully than before, Vicki plaintively quivered, "That ... you ... won't want me anymore?" Sally could clearly see her little girl was shaking and scared.

"Oh honey, you look so pretty. Come here and give mommy a hug!" The two fell into each others arms. Sally pushed her back gently to get a good look at her first born, "I wish I had bought you that dress. It is so lovely. And those unicorns on your dress, they are so cute. Blue is really a good color on you. And, oh my, you have had your ears pierced. Are those are unicorns too?" She slid her fingers through Vicki's hair. She started to examine her like she had been doing with her newborns making sure they were perfect. She was so girly now. But, when she looked into her eyes, she saw the child she had always known and loved looking back at her. This gentle creature was as much her child as the boy that once stood in her place.

Sally reached out and gave her another hug. Vicki could feel her mother shaking too. "I love you so much, Vicki. Thank you for protecting me and your siblings. Oh my brave sweet gentle little girl. What did I ever do to deserve such a wonderfully kind child as you?"

The emotional eight year old child responded to her mother's loving and accepting embrace sobbing out the only thing she could think of saying, "I love you Mommy."

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