by Saless
Chapter 32

Sarah got up and headed to the bathroom to clean up, thinking about what Jill had said before she left. Why would she think I'd want to stay female? she thought to herself as she splashed water over her face. She couldn't figure it out, so she dismissed it for now and went out into the living room to wait for Jill and Mike. She didn't have to wait long before they walked in, with Mike looking sheepishly at her.

"Uh, sorry Sarah, I shouldn't have said what I did. I'm sure you two will work it out if it comes to that." He said apologetically.

"That's okay, Mike." Sarah said, wanting to put the whole thing behind her as quickly as possible. Mike nodded thankfully and they all sat down, with Sarah in her customary spot in the recliner facing the couch.

"You feeling okay now?" Jill asked worriedly. Sarah nodded. "Good. I'm guessing you're not feeling like going out to eat right now." Sarah nodded again. "Okay, why don't you two relax and I'll make dinner." Sarah nodded again, starting to feel like a jack-in-the-box and watched as Jill walked out into the kitchen and started pulling things out of the fridge for dinner.

Sarah and Mike played video games while they waited for dinner, and all thoughts of the upset earlier were forgotten. By the time Jill called them in for dinner Sarah was smiling as she crushed Mike in one of her favorite games. Mike lost gracefully, glad to see Sarah feeling better.

They had a quiet dinner and Jill and Mike retired shortly thereafter since Sarah was looking tired again. Sarah tried getting Erica on IM, but she was late. Sarah was just about to give up when Erica finally showed up and apologized for keeping her waiting. Erica didn't have much to say, other than that she was finally finished getting ready for her trip to her parents for Christmas, and was ready to crash. They had a quick chat and signed off.

Sarah was also ready to crash and got ready for bed quickly. Turning off the light she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

In the morning Sarah got ready for work and ended up having breakfast with Jill and Mike. Jill took her to work this time, so that Mike could see about reporting Sarah's driver's license missing and see if they would send a new one. They weren't sure if Sarah would be able to use it or not, but she might at least be able to use it to get a new one with her new name and picture.

Work was as hectic as it had been the previous week. Sarah was stuck with Tina, while Tiffany was training another new hire, Kris. Tiffany seemed uncomfortable around Sarah the few times they got near each other and kept giving her furtive looks. Sarah tried to ignore it and focused on helping Tina get used to the routine.

At lunch Sarah ate with Tiffany, Tina, and Kris. She was really getting uncomfortable with the odd looks Tiffany was giving her but tried to concentrate on talking to the new girls.

Jill came in to pick her up a little early, so as soon as she'd clocked out they left. "What's with her?" Jill asked, nodding towards Tiffany who was looking oddly at Sarah again.

"I don't know, she's been acting weird all day. Last week she was, too, but she's been really weird today." Sarah replied.

Jill shrugged. When they got back to Sarah's apartment she found something from her bank in the mail so she opened it right away. "I got my ATM card! Now I can pay you back for all those clothes!" Sarah said happily.

Sarah asked Jill to drive her to the bank. After withdrawing some money and paying Jill back, Sarah wanted to get some groceries. Once they'd gotten back and were putting everything away Sarah said, "How would you like some of my teriyaki chicken for Thursday?"

Jill smiled, it'd been a while since she'd had Sarah's teriyaki chicken. She always marinated it for a few days and her mix, though a little different every time, was always good! "Sure, that would be great!" Jill said happily. "I guess that's why you got all the chicken wings."

"Yep! You know how I like using the smaller pieces, they really soak up the flavor." Sarah agreed as she got the ingredients together for her marinade.

"Want me to make cookies?" Jill asked. They were both big fans of chocolate chip cookies, the more chips the better!

"Sure! I assume you guys will be at Mike's parents' house for Christmas dinner?" Sarah replied. She put the chicken wings in a pan with the sauce and covered them before putting them in the fridge to marinade.

Jill nodded, "Yeah. I wish you could come with us, but I guess we'd have a lot of explaining to do for that!"

"That's for sure! Although if anybody would be able to handle, it's Mike's parents!" Sarah agreed.

"We…could do that, you know." Jill said hesitantly. She didn't expect Sarah to agree to it, but she had to try.

"Uh uh!" Sarah replied, shaking her head. "Even if they did take it in stride, how would they react when I changed back? Better that they never see me like this in the first place."

"Just a thought." Jill said.

They worked on dinner in silence after that. Mike joined them a few minutes later and got out plates and silverware and then retreated to the kitchen table.

Over dinner Jill told Mike about their Christmas Eve plans. "Cool! It's been a while since we've had your teriyaki chicken, I miss it!" Mike said enthusiastically.

After dinner Jill reminded Sarah about her need to get more clothes. Then she volunteered Mike to help. "Hey, why do I have to go?" Mike complained.

"Somebody's got to carry everything." Jill replied sensibly. He groaned, but went along with them.

They started with the same thrift store they went to last time. Sarah founds some more skirts and tops, but still didn't find any pants that were long enough. She also found a purse, at Jill's insistence.

They were on their way to the shoe store when Sarah let out a pained hiss. "What's wrong?" Jill asked.

"I don't know, I just got this sharp pain all the sudden." Sarah replied, wincing.

"Where is it?" Jill asked.

"Below my stomach, I guess it must be in the intestines or something." Sarah replied, holding one hand over the spot that was hurting.

"I was wondering when this would happen." Jill said. At Sarah's inquisitive look she said, "It's probably just a cramp. We can pick you up some Midol while we're out, it works wonders."

Sarah was about to ask what Jill was talking about until she remembered what Midol was for. "Oh." She said in a shocked tone.

Jill nodded, "Yeah, we'll also need to get you some tampons or pads."

Mike was thoroughly confused until that point. "Oh!" he said, unconsciously echoing Sarah.

They changed direction and went to Wal Mart. They found all the supplies Sarah would need there, and then looked at shoes while they were at it. Sarah found a pair of walking shoes that were cheap enough for her budget. "I think that's about all I can afford right now." Sarah said when she saw the total.

Jill nodded and they returned to Sarah's apartment. Mike carried everything in, as Jill was helping Sarah who was in quite a bit of pain. "Figures it would be bad the first time." Jill muttered. "Lets get some of that Midol in you, then you can take a nice hot bath." Sarah nodded and let Jill lead her in.

Mike said goodnight to Sarah, as it seemed obvious she wouldn't be up to anything else that night and it was getting late anyway. Jill made sure Sarah took two Midol and prepared her bath for her. "Do you want me to stick around?" Jill asked once Sarah was safely ensconced in her bath.

Sarah sighed in relief as the heat of the water eased some of the pain. "No, I'll be okay." She replied absently. Jill gave her an awkward hug goodbye and went home.

Sarah stayed in the bath until the water started to cool. By then the Midol was doing its job and she felt much better, if a bit sleepy. She got ready for bed and went online. She chatted with Erica briefly, but they were both tired.

She said goodnight to Erica and climbed in bed and was soon fast asleep.