Synopsis:

They say that, somewhere in the world, everybody has a twin.
Nothing was said about the sex of that twin…………

Part 3 - A visit to the doctor, shopping, a night out, and fun at the clinic!

Story:

TWINS
By Karen J. Taylor
Copyright 2006 by author

If you haven't already, please read parts 1 & 2 first.

Standard Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction, any resemblance to persons living, dead, or recently thought of indicates either A. you have a vivid imagination, or B. you are in serious need of psychological counseling. Song lyrics used under the Fair Use Doctrine are copyrighted by their respective groups, including Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin. Names have been changed to protect the innocent, the insolent, and the guilty. Void where prohibited by law. Your mileage may vary. Not responsible for debts other than my own. No deposit, no return. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. It's only a movie. The smoker you drink, the player you get. Objects in t-shirt are larger than they appear. Caution, contents may be hot. Do not attempt to exit vehicle while in motion. Please fasten your seatbelts and ensure that your seatbacks and trays are in an upright and locked position. Have a nice day.

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They say that, somewhere in the world, everybody has a twin.
Nothing was said about the sex of that twin…………

Part 3

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After a late breakfast, there was just enough time to get dressed for the doctor's appointment. I still hadn’t figured out what I was going to wear, or how I would try to appear. Kathy wanted to fix me up so I’d “look good”, but I wasn’t sure what kind of message that would send. After much indecision, I finally settled on jeans, a button-down broadcloth casual shirt and jacket, and low-heeled loafers. The jeans, however, were Lady Wranglers, and the shirt and jacket both had buttons on the distaff side. The shoes were Westies. I did skip the breast forms, but wore the gaff.

After making sure my face was still nice and smooth, Kathy applied the bare minimum of makeup to go along with my eyes, just a little pale shadow, some blush, and a neutral lip gloss. She then pulled my hair back and did a French braid. Kathy wore a similar outfit, a little less subdued, and gathered her hair in a clasp. We went in Kathy’s car, as Sarah was less likely to recognize it. Sure enough, as we pulled into the medical building parking lot, Sarah was exiting the building. We drove to the far end of the lot and waited for her to leave before we got out and went in.

Dr. Hanson’s office was on the top floor, and was tastefully decorated in earth tones. Unlike a regular medical doctor’s office there were no patients waiting for the chance to see the doctor, we were the only ones in the waiting room. At the receptionist’s query, I gave the name Taylor.

“Oh, yes, we have you down. And this is your friend? We are expecting two of you.”

“Yes, this is Kathy Johnson,” I replied.

“Here, would both of you fill these out please” and we were handed tablet PCs.

“All our records are electronic, and kept on a secure system that doesn’t connect to the outside. After you enter your information on the tablet, I’ll connect it to the computer by cable for uploading. Nobody except you and the doctor will see what you put down. There is one form that has to be done in paper. We were told that you were in an accident and spent some time in the hospital?”

“Yes, several months back” I said.

“Well, Dr. Hanson would like to see your medical records, so here,” and she handed me a form on a clipboard, “is a release for your records that your doctor will need to have.”

We spent the next ten minutes filling out the information requested. There was a bunch of very personal information requested, and I was a bit uncomfortable putting some things down. It occurred to me that Donna had referred to Dr. Hanson as a “licensed psychological therapist and doctor”, but a more correct term would be “psychiatrist”! Well, I would just have to see how things went. I could always bail if it got too much. Kathy was spending a lot of time pondering some of the information requests also, so I suspected she wasn’t any happier than I was.

“If any of that bothers you, just leave it,” I told her. “It’s my head on display, not yours.”

“Aren’t we a team now? You and me - together, right?” she asked.

“Yes, but..” I started to say.

“No, not Yes, But. It’s Yes, Period.” Well, that deserved some validation, so I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. The smile I got in return as all the confirmation I needed. We took the pads back to the receptionist and she plugged them into the terminal on her desk and punched a couple of keys.

“Thank you both. If you’ll have a seat for a little longer, Dr. Hanson will be with you shortly.”

About 15 minutes later a buzzer sounded at the reception desk. “If you’ll both go through the door to the left, Dr. Hanson is ready to see you now.” The door took us into a nicely furnished office, in addition to a good-sized maple desk and a wall of bookshelves, there was an informal sitting area with several large wingback chairs, a coffee table and a large leather sofa.

Dr. Hanson was an attractive women who appeared to be in her mid-forties, with shoulder-length brunette hair. She was wearing a skirt/jacket outfit in a medium blue with a pastel blue blouse. Professional-looking with just the right touch of casual to put her patients at ease. She stepped out from around the desk and gestured at the seating area.

“Elliot, Kathy, please won’t you have a seat.” We sat side by side on the sofa and Dr. Hanson took one of the chairs.

“Donna told me some of what happened Saturday, and I’ve read your information submissions. "Now, suppose you tell me what your situation is, Elliot.”

“Well, I suppose it’s what happened to me Friday that’s the main deal.” I described the shock of meeting Kathy, who’s virtually my twin in appearance, then Sarah’s talking me into the night out as a girl, and my discovery that my appearance had been semi-permanently altered. In the course of all this, I ended up explaining about my accident, Robyn, and some other things such as the way I was treated in high school.

Kathy added some things I’d told her, filling in where I tended to gloss over the details. Kathy ended up telling about her family being killed, and her decision to move down here in answer to Donna’s want-ad. Somewhere along the way we ended up holding each other’s hand, supplying moral support on some of the more painful subjects. When we wound down, Dr. Hanson went back to her desk and picked up a pad.

“Elliot, I see several areas where counseling would do you some good. If you’d like to continue, I want to have you go downstairs and get some routine lab work done.”

“Well, all we’ve done so far is talk to you. I dunno, I thought you might have something for me today, some information, or advice.”

“I do,” she replied, “and we’ll get into that after you get back from the lab. It’s just some blood work, that sort of thing.”

“I guess it can’t hurt. Sure,” I said.

“Good” and she scribbled on the pad. “The lab is downstairs, Room 110, they’ll be expecting you. Give them this” and she tore the sheet off the pad and gave it to me. It appeared to be a standard doctor’s prescription pad, but I couldn’t make sense of what was written on it, bunches of alphabet soup stuff.

I turned to Kathy, but Dr. Hanson stopped her as she was getting up. “I’d like to have Kathy stay so we can talk, please.”

"Oh, ok, guess I’ll be back shortly” and I left.

When I got to the lab downstairs, they were waiting for me. I handed the slip to the technician.

“Yes, yes, standard blood work, yes, now that’s a new one, hmmm, ok” then he looked up at me in surprise “It says here she wants a sperm sample, if possible???”

“Well, I’ll see what I can do” I replied with a slight grin. “I suppose you’ve got a specimen bottle?”

“Oh, uh, yes. We also need a urine sample, do that first, please.”

I took the bottles and stepped into the bathroom. The urine sample was easy, but the sperm sample took more work. Maybe Kathy should have come along after all! I stepped back out and handed the bottles to the tech. He then had me sit in a reclining chair and proceeded to take five or six different blood samples.

“Okay, that’s it miss, er, sir, ah, we’ll send the results to Dr. Hanson as we get them.”

Kathy: After Elliot left, Dr Hanson turned to me “You situation is going to be both easier and harder, in some ways, than Elliot’s.”

“How’s that,” I asked.

“Well, grief counseling is pretty standard these days, that’s no problem. But on your form you said you are a lesbian. Are you bisexual, or strictly ‘alter’”

“Females only.”

“Yet it appears that you and Elliot have a budding relationship already. Are you sure you’re not at least somewhat bisexual?” she queried.

“Positive.”

“Then how do you explain your situation with Elliot? I’m not criticizing you, I’d like to know what you are feeling and thinking.”

I hesitated, trying to put my thoughts in order. “When I first saw Elliot, I reacted to her, I mean him, as I would any attractive female I met. I was surprised to find that El - Elliot was male. Even then, everything he does, the way he thinks and acts, his looks, says ‘female’ to me. I find myself falling for him as a female."

"I suppose that’s why I took part in the things that ended up upsetting him so badly. I guess I needed to make things match up.”

I paused, then forced the question out that had been on my mind “Am I hurting El?”

“Kathy, I don’t know” the doctor replied. “You’re correct, his appearance; even discounting his eyebrows and eyelashes; and his actions say “female” to me also. I’ve treated a number of cases of gender identity disorder, and I’ve never seen a man who could so easily pass as a woman like he does."

"You know I talked to his friend Sarah this morning.” and I nodded. “That’s the same feeling she has about him, that he’s really a woman inside, and his external appearance is a reflection of this. What she knows, and Elliot doesn’t, is that his fiancée Robyn was bisexual. She was attracted to Elliot by both sides of his nature, as much his female aspect as his male. The question is, how or what does he think about himself?”

“Well, doctor, when he doesn’t “think” about it, he slips very easily into the feminine role. It seems to me that he gets upset only when he’s confronted with the fact of his sex compared to his appearance. You’re the doctor, not me,” I said this with a grin, “but it appears that her subconscious already knows what ‘she’ is, it’s her conscious mind that is having problems.”

“And what do you intend to do,” the doctor asked me.

“Treat him with kindness and love. I’ll help him explore his feminine side, if that’s what he truly wants.”

“I’ll probably have some advice there” the doctor said, “after I look over his records, and we talk some more. By the way, why did he wear women’s clothing today?”

“After we discussed the potential problems his current appearance could cause, he decided to dress that way. He chose the clothing himself, out of my closet.”

“Your closet? Are you two living together?”

“Yes, we are” I replied.

“Separate beds, or male & female, or..”

“Female-female” I told her. “In fact, he’s still wearing a gaff we bought Saturday morning, hasn’t taken it off.”

We talked some more about my situation, and dealing with the pain from my family’s death. “I’d like to have you come in again in about a week," Dr. Hanson said. "And I may ask you to come in with Elliot also. And here’s a prescription for something to help you sleep.”

“Oh, I’m sleeping fine now!” She smiled at me and I’m sure I turned a bright red.

“Well, just in case.”

Elliot came back in about that time. “I’m afraid I left that lab tech very puzzled,” he said.

“How’s that,” asked Dr. Hanson.

“First he was surprised that you asked for a sperm sample, then he was even more surprised that I was able to provide it,” Elliot said with a snicker.

“Tell me, Elliot, how do you feel about that,” asked the doctor.

“You know, that’s funny. I was so upset Saturday, but now it doesn’t seem like that big a deal,” he said.

Just then the doctor’s computer chimed. “Excuse me a moment,” the doctor said to us.

Elliot: Dr. Hanson pulled out a keyboard and typed something, then looked at the monitor. Frowning, she typed some more, then continued reading the monitor. She glanced at me with a slight frown, then typed in some more. Finally she pushed the keyboard away and turned to contemplate me.

“Elliot, how would you feel about dressing as a female full time, at least for now,” she asked.

“Puzzled, and a little nervous. Why?” I asked.

“I was wondering if you still felt the panic you experienced Saturday at the thought,” she replied. “Would you do it if I asked you to?”

“Sure, if you think that’s a good idea?” I answered.

“Yes, I believe I do, for now. I’ll want to see some more lab results, and I have some additional tests to run. I’d like to have you get an MRI done of your chest and abdomen area. The receptionist will give you the details.” Pulling a pad over, she scribbled on it, pulled off the top sheet, scribbled on the second, pulled it off then filled out a third.

Handing all three of them to Kathy, she said “Kathy, would you go downstairs to the pharmacy and have these filled. I’d like to talk to Elliot.”

“Sure, but I don’t …” Kathy started to say.

“Half a sec,” I said, pulling out my billfold, and handing her a Visa card. “If they have any questions about the card, they can call up here can’t they,” I asked the doctor.

“Yes, in fact, I’ll have my receptionist call down to them,” and she called the receptionist and gave the necessary instructions. Kathy got up to leave, pausing to brush my cheek with her hand and squeeze my shoulder.

When she was gone, the doctor turned to me. “Elliot, I need to give you a couple of injections, then we have some things to talk about. Come with me, please,” and we walked into the next room which looked like any typical doctor’s exam room. There was already a tray with two hypodermics waiting on the counter.

“I told you about what happened after my parents died, I’m concerned about becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol,” I said to her.

“Elliot, I can tell you this, had you come to see me then, I’d have prescribed some tranquilizers, and none of that would have happened," she said. "I don’t feel that you are in danger of becoming an alcoholic, and anyway, these are medically prescribed. I really do insist.”

“If you say so.”

“Please lean over the table and lower your jeans and underwear.”

I did so, and she injected first one, then the other syringe.

“Okay, you can get dressed now, and come back into my office.”

I got settled and walked back in, she waved me back to the sofa. Soon, I started to feel more relaxed, I hadn’t realized how tense I was until then.

“How do you feel, Elliot?”

“Loose, de-stressed, like I just had a good massage.”

“That’s excellent. What I wanted to talk to you about is the results of some of the lab tests that I just got back, plus the file I got from your physician. The sperm count in the sample you provided is zero. It appears that you are completely sterile. Were you aware of this?”

“No, uh, the doctor said some of the steroids he has me on could cause that.”

“That’s another thing. According to the information from your physician, the steroids he prescribed shouldn’t have that effect.“

“Something else, your testosterone level is almost zero also. Your body is not making any testosterone. It is making small amounts of estrogen, which is normal. In a male with a normal testosterone level, the small amount of estrogen present would be totally masked. Since your body isn’t making testosterone, the estrogen that is present is upsetting your system. It’s almost like you are going through menopause, so to speak.”

“One of the shots I gave you is to stabilize your hormone balance. That, plus the medications I prescribed, will bring about a normal balance. The other prescription is to help you with your mood swings. It will help prevent the type of panic attacks and episodes such as those you’ve been experiencing” she said.

“Are you sure about that” I asked.

“Yes, definitely. You are not an addictive personality” she said. “The medications will help you feel better and give you a better mental attitude.”

“Well, okay then.” I replied doubtfully.

“One thing, no drinking alcohol while taking these.”

“Alright.”

“Now, I’ve got some additional tests I want to run. I need to get to the bottom of some of the anomalous information in your physician’s records. Please be at the Diagnostic Center tomorrow morning at 10:30 AM.”

“Okay.”

“And here’s the address of a prosthesis supply. You really need to get some professionally-fitted breast forms.”

“Okay.” A small part of me wondered why I was taking this all so calmly, but it was so easy to go along with the doctor.

“And here’s Kathy with your prescriptions.”

Taking the bottles from her, Dr. Hanson shook some into a paper cup, then poured a glass of water. “Here, you might as well get started on these,” handing the pills and water to me. I obediently swallowed the pills and washed them down with the water. “Now, Elliot, I’ll call you El if that’s alright.” I nodded assent, and she continued “El, please wait outside for just a minute, Kathy will be right there.”

“Okay”

Kathy: After El went out, the doctor turned to me, “You’ll notice that he will be very agreeable for the rest of today. I gave him a strong tranquilizer shot which has lowered his nervousness about appearing dressed as a woman. I gave him the address of a good prosthesis supply, take him there next and get a good pair of breast forms fitted. The clothes he’s wearing should do fine for now, but why not take him shopping after you leave there. Get some nice bras and undergarments for ‘her’, as she’s agreed to live as a female for now. Perhaps some other things that you’d like to see her wear. Make it a girl’s shopping trip.”

“Doctor this all seems pretty sudden,” I said. “Are you sure about this?”

“As sure as I can be at this point,” Dr. Hanson replied. “Based on some things in El’s medical records, I feel this is the best thing to do. I’ll know more after the rest of the tests are done, but I expect them to confirm my initial diagnosis. Doing this is the right thing for El in the long run.” she said.

“And the prescriptions for female hormones…?” I asked.

“I already gave her a large shot of estrogen, that and the pills will bring about a normal level of female hormones in her body. Right now she has neither male nor female hormones in her body, and this is part of the mental problem. Establishing a feminine balance will help stabilize her.”

“The other prescription well help her accept her situation calmly. Make sure she takes all the prescriptions per label directions. After I get all the results back, I’ll setup further appointments.”

“Well, you’re the doctor” I said.

“I’m counting on you to help support El, and I doubt you have any real objections to the direction this is going, do you” Dr. Hanson asked.

“Now that you mention it, no.”

As the doctor escorted me to the office door, she said “I didn’t think so. El is fortunate to have you to help her. Now, go shopping!”

Elliot: Kathy came out of the office and took my hand and we walked to the car. “I understand you have some shopping to do” she said.

“Yes, she gave me this’ and I handed Kathy the slip with the name and address, along with some terminology I didn’t understand. “It’s right down the street.” We quickly drove there and parked. Going into the store, I saw they had a wide variety of medical supplies and equipment.

A woman came up to us, “May I help you ladies?”

“Yes,” Kathy said, “Dr Hanson sent us here, El needs to buy some forms,” and she handed the women the note.

“Oh, yes, Dr. Hanson. We do a lot of her patients. If you’ll step back to the fitting room” and we entered a small room at the rear of the store. “If you’ll just take off your jacket and blouse, please,” she told me “and we’ll get your measurements.”

After measuring me, she turned to Kathy, “Same size as you?”

“That’s right, 36B.”

"Would you mind taking off your blouse so I can measure you also, that doesn’t look right.”

It transpired that Kathy is actually a 36C, which I found humorous. Kathy glared at me “Just you wait, girl, your turn will come!” The saleslady returned with an amazingly realistic pair of breast forms, my exact skin tone. It took her only a few moments to glue them to my chest, the edges were so thin that glued down you couldn’t see the seam.

“You’ll need to be careful about tanning, as these obviously don’t change color. There is a product that can be applied to darken them to match a tan, though.”

I put on my blouse and jacket, and was amazed at the difference in the way they felt compared to the ones Kathy had. The saleslady noticed my reaction. “Yes, they are 100 percent realistic in weight and movement. None better made.”

Normally I would have been shocked at the price, but I was so bemused with my new look that I handed over my card without question. When we got into the car, I looked down at my new assets, and tentatively cupped them with my hands. I heard a snicker and saw Kathy looking at me with a grin.

“Now, it’s my turn,” she said.

“What?”

“The Mall, Doll! We go shopping! How’s your limit on that card?”

I mentioned a figure that left Kathy gaping. “Well, that will certainly do for starters!”

“What are we looking for,” I asked.

“Underwear for you, some new bras for me, and anything else we find,” she said. “By the way, what shall I call you? Karielle or Ellen?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said.

“Well, what sounds good to you?” Kathy asked. “Personally, I like Karielle, or maybe Kari-Ellen.”

Oh, gee, a name! “I don’t know,” I said.

“I’ll see which one works best, how’s that” Kathy said.

“Good” I said, relieved that I didn’t have to decide. I just couldn’t seem to make the effort required to make decisions right now. Besides, Kathy seemed to handling that area, I was happy to follow her lead.

We got to the mall, and the most convenient location to pick up new undergarments was of course, Victoria’s Secret. Kathy started pulling thing from the racks, various bras and other stuff I didn’t recognize.

“Let’s go”, she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the dressing room. Next thing I knew, I was trying on various bras, underwire, pushup, t-shirt, satin and lace, in various colors.

“What about you? I asked.

“We’ll just buy two of whatever we like.” Well, that made sense.

Of course, with the bras selected, we had to get matching panties. While looking around, Kathy spotted the sleepwear.

“Oh, we’ve got to get you some sexy new jammies!” So we added some new baby doll sets, and a cami and tap pant set. We went back into the dressing room and I put on a lacy demi bra, Kathy cutting the tags off to give to the clerk. With the addition of the bra, the blouse I was wearing was straining at the buttons, so I agreed to Kathy’s suggestion that we go look at some “tops and stuff”.

By the time we left that store, we had to dump some bags in the car, we could hardly carry everything. I had at least a half-dozen skirts, double that many blouses and tops, and several dresses, including the infamous “little black dress”. Other sacks contained slacks, hose, more underwear, a couple of jackets, purses and other assorted items. I asked if all this was needed, and Kathy assured me I would be glad I’d bought it, and would probably end up getting more. I said okay, which seemed to be my stock response now. The jeans I’d been wearing were now with the other items in the car, I was now wearing a new white lace blouse and pale blue skirt combination.

Coming back through the store, we stopped at the makeup counter, where both Kathy and I got makeovers from the salesgirls. Gone was the bare minimum makeup I’d started the day with. Blue eye shadow to match the skirt, darker red lipstick made my lips look fuller, and a more dramatic swipe of blush accented my cheeks. Of course, a bag of makeup joined my other purchases.

Oh the way out of the store I happened to catch site of myself in a full length mirror. Wow, was that beautiful woman really me? I was amazed at the change in my appearance.

“Kar-ri-Elle!”

“Huh, what?”

“Karielle, you are such a blonde! Are you listening?” Kathy was giving me a mock glare, but I could see her lips struggling to keep from smiling.

“Uh, I’m sorry, my mind seems a million miles away,” I said.

“I asked if you were ready to look at shoes.”

“Sure.” So off we went to the largest shoe store in the mall. The first thing Kathy did was grab a couple of pair of pantyhose from a display by the door.

While paying for them, she asked the girl “Got someplace we can put these on?”

The girl sized us up and said “Sure, in the back. We’re not supposed to let customers in there. Promise me you’re buying something?”

“You just wait, we’ll be right back!”

There might have been at least a couple of pair of shoes we didn’t try on, but only because we overlooked them. I was now wearing a pair of sling backs with 2  ½ inch heels, and we were on our way to the car with 6 more pairs of shoes, including a pair of stilettos to wear with the “LBD”, as both Kathy and Laurie the salesclerk called that slinky dress we’d bought. I wasn’t sure about the high heels and that dress, but Kathy said “Karielle, your tomboy days are over. It’s “all girl, all the time” now.”

“Tomboy, her?” Laurie giggled. “You’ve gotta be kidding!”

“Well, I’ve been working on her makeover,” Kathy said.

“Do you ever do the full twin thing,” she asked.

“Not much, Kari has always been a jeans and t-shirt type of girl, whereas I go for the girly look. But I’m bringing her around.”

“Yeah, I’d say so,” Laurie giggled, and I blushed. “Some of us are going to the club across the street after we close, want to join us,” Laurie asked.

“Sounds like fun!” Kathy said.

“Uh, Kathy, the doctor said I wasn’t supposed to drink any alcohol while I’m taking those pills.”

“What kind of pills,“ Laurie asked.

“Karielle’s fiancé was killed in a car accident a couple of months ago, and the doctor has her on something to help her.”

“Oh!” and Laurie gave me a hug. “You poor thing, I’m sorry! Come have a Coke, anyway. It’ll do you good to get out.”

“Well, okay, I guess,” I said. “Kathy, we need to eat, it’s been a long time since lunch.”

“There’s a Chili’s by the club, why don’t we meet you there then we’ll all go to the club.”

“It’s a plan,” Kathy replied.

When we got to the restaurant, Kathy insisted I eat something more substantial than I’d been eating, so I got a grilled chicken breast entrée. We were almost finished when Laurie and a several other girls came in. Kathy waved a hand and they came over to join us.

“Scooch over,” and Laurie and one of her friends slid in next to me, while the other two slid in next to Kathy. Introductions were rapidly made, I caught Nova (Nova?) and Kelli but missed the other girl’s name.

A rapid fire conversation ensued, I wasn’t able to catch but a word or two in passing, I was starting to feel overwhelmed again.

“Excuse me,” I said to Laurie, “I need out” and I headed to the bathroom. Kathy got up and followed. When we got to the Ladies, I went in and leaned my forehead against the tile wall, it was cool and felt good.

“You alright?” Kathy asked.

“Sorry, it’s all starting to hit me again,” I told her.

“Time for another pill, wait here,” and Kathy left. She returned with her purse and a glass of water, pulling out one of the pill bottles, shook out a pill and handed it to me. I washed it down with the water, and leaned back against the sink. After a few minutes I could feel myself start to unknot mentally.

“OK now?” Kathy asked and I nodded.

When we got back to the table, all the girls looked at me in concern. As they got up to let us sit down, one of the girls, Nova, gave me a hug.

“Laurie told us, you are so-o brave! Are you alright?”

“She was moping around the house, so I moved down here to pry her out of her shell,” Kathy said.

“So what do you two do?” Kelli asked. “I’m a hair stylist” Kathy replied, “and Karielle is a TV photojournalist.”

“No, really? Majorly Cool!” the other girl said.

“Well, that explains the tomboy thing,” Laurie said. “You can hardly chase fires and stuff in a skirt and heels.”

“Hey, time’s wasting, everybody ready,” Kelli asked. We headed for the door after paying the check, I suddenly flashed back to the times, as a guy, that I’d seen a group of women heading somewhere, how intimidating such a large group like ours was.

I laughed at the thought and Laurie commented, “I see you’re feeling better, those must be damn good pills.”

“Apparently so,” I replied.

Things were slow when we got to the club, being the first of the week, and we got a big corner booth where we all could hear and talk to each other. After the drinks arrived, we started chatting about anything and everything, the conversation turning to boyfriends very quickly. I was able to avoid any incriminating comments by simply saying I didn’t want to talk about ‘Robin’ and the other girls were properly sympathetic. From there the conversation ranged across a multitude of topics, clothes, shoes, movies, music, you name it, it was discussed.

“Hey, it’s Karaoke Night!” the other girl, who’s name I finally found out was Carol, said. “Anybody want to give it a go?”

“What have they got,” Kathy asked. “Mostly crap,” Nova commented.

“Look Kari, Fleetwood Mac!” Kathy enthused.

“Oh, you like The Mac?” Nova said, “I’d give anything to be able to sing like her!”

“Which ‘her’,” I asked. “Stevie or Christine?”

“Well Stevie, of course, duh!”

“Kari does Stevie really well,” Kathy said unhelpfully.

“Really! You gotta sing one then!” Laurie said.

“I don’t really feel like it,” I said weakly.

“Come on, El, do it!” Kathy twisted the knife slowly, “She’s always going around the house singing Fleetwood Mac, I can’t believe how good she is.”

“Oh come on, Karielle, sing one for us,” Laurie wheedled.

“Yeah, please?” Carol added.

“Okay.” I said. I couldn't seem to say no.

“What have they got,” I asked. “I don’t know them all.”

“Gold Dust Woman! It’s her best song,” Kathy said.

So they went and set it up with the bartender, and I went up on stage. The waitress came over and started to explain how it worked, the words appearing on the screen and all.

“Yeah, yeah, I already know the words. Start it before I lose my nerve.” I closed my eyes as the intro started, the music was the actual Mac recording, no hack job, I wondered how they got the rights. Right on the beat, I swung into the words. I grabbed the mike stand and started rocking it as I sang, vamping it a bit. When I reached the end, the girls and the other people gave me a nice round of applause.

But before I had a chance to sit down, another song started.

“Do this one too” Nova said.

“Landslide”, yeah I think I can, but glanced at the words to refresh my memory. It came to me easily though, I actually sang the first verse with my eyes closed, only opening them for the chorus. When I reached the end:

“And if you see my reflection
in the snow-covered hills,
well the landslide bring it down, o-oh oh,
The landslide bring it down”

I found I had tears running down my face. I lowered my head as people applauded, then still looking down, I walked back to the table and sat down.. Kathy slipped in next to me and put her arm around me, and handed me a tissue. The other girls respected my need for a moment to compose myself, and remained quiet (probably the only time that night). After a minute, I raised my face and gave a (falsely) bright smile to the gang.

“Sorry, these songs get to me sometimes.”

“Yeah.” “Sure, no problem.” “That’s ok.” “Me too.”

The waitress came over then, “Aren’t you the girl that won the costume contest at Rick’s last Halloween?”

“Yes, that was me,” I told her.

“You were great! She was great!” she said to the others. “She was dressed like Stevie, and sang like a half a dozen songs with the band.”

“Wow, really?”

“Cool”

“It was only four,” I interjected.

“It should have been six, hell, it should have been ten!” the waitress replied.

“Girls, we’ve got a celebrity in our midst!” Laurie proclaimed. “One of these days I’ll be able to say “I knew her when, why, she used to buy her shoes from me”, and everybody cracked up, even me.

By then it was getting late for a weeknight, and we all agreed we’d do it again soon. Phones were whipped out to exchange numbers, and when it transpired that neither Kathy nor I had cell phones, the others were shocked. Of course, somebody knew somebody who could get us a great plan, “Call me in the morning and I’ll give you the 411.” Times were arraigned, promises made, and everybody hugged everybody else.

Nova (is that really her name?) gave me a firm hug and whispered in my ear “Didn’t mean to upset you.”

“That’s ok,” I whispered back, then she joined her friends.

Somebody wrapped their arms around me from behind and before I could react (read panic), Kathy’s voice whispered in my ear “Don’t forget, you’re MY girl!”.

The next morning, I opted for a pair of slacks and a blouse, not knowing what would be involved in the tests Dr. Hanson wanted. Kathy drove me to the medical building and dropped me off, then went on to see Donna at the salon, saying she would call the clinic later to see how I was doing. If I got through early, I was to call her at the shop.

What followed was a couple of hours of more pokes and prods then I would have believed possible. I had samples taken where I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to take samples. The finale was the MRI. When I expressed concern over being enclosed in the machine, they helpfully gave me a tranquilizer. I held still for the MRI, alright, but my behavior was arch-typical “bimbo blonde” when it was over. My upper brain functions seemed to have been disconnected, I giggled at almost anything said, and (most embarrassing of all) I flirted outrageously with both the male and female lab personnel. The clinic called Dr. Hanson‘s office, which was able to get a hold of Kathy. She came right over and picked me up.

Kathy: After dropping El off at the clinic, I went to the salon to talk with Donna. The first person I saw when I walked in the door was Sarah. She hung her head, then raised it up and came over to me.

“Kathy, what I did to Elliot was wrong, I know that. It was a mean and dirty trick to pull on him and you both. I want to apologize to you for my actions, and apologize to El if he’ll talk to me.”

Tina came up during this and echoed Sarah’s comments: “I did something I’m not very proud of, I’m sorry.”

Looking over their shoulders, I saw Donna standing in the door of her office, listening. She nodded, smiling slightly.

I looked back at them. “For myself, I accept your apologies. As for Elliot, that will be h-his decision.” (Oops, I almost said “her”!) “This has opened up a situation that may take some time to settle. I don’t know what the outcome will be.”

At that point, Donna spoke up, “Kathy, glad you stopped by, come talk to me when you’re through there.” Both girls started when Donna spoke.

“Gotta get to work now.”

“Me too, see ya.” and they beat a hasty retreat.

Donna watched them go then turned to me with a smile, “Guess I put the fear of God in them!” I laughed, and followed Donna into her office, closing the door behind us.

“So, what’s going on with Elliot, can you tell me?” Donna asked.

“Well, I can tell you that, for now at least, Elliot is Karielle full time.”

“Oh?” Donna said, and there was a wealth of questions in that one word.

“I don’t know all of it, but Dr. Hanson got Elliot’s medical records, and something in them has caused her concern. She’s ordered up a raft of tests, and decided that Elliot would be better off living as a woman for now.” I said.

“Really!”

“Yes, the doctor has ‘her’ on several medications,” and I saw Donna’s eyebrows go up at my use of the female pronoun “Hormones and a tranquilizer to help her relax. I guess we’ll know more after the results are back.”

“Hmmm, ‘we’?” Donna asked.

“Yes, I know it’s fast, but it’s like we’re two interlocking pieces making up a whole. Elliot feels the same way, and said so before the doctor’s visit. We make each other feel good,” I said simply.

“That’s great,” Donna said. “You know that Elliot has a great deal of money, from insurance settlements and such.”

I nodded.

“Don’t take me wrong, I’m not implying anything about you. I’m going to recommend to Elliot that he consult an attorney about a prenup if you two should decide to get married,” Donna said.

“I’m not at all offended” I replied. “It tells me you care about El, and have his interests at heart. But married? If he becomes female, we can’t get married.” I was puzzled.

“Honey, I may be rushing the issue, but remember, right now he’s a man in the eyes of the law. You could get married, if he decides to switch later, that would still be true. As far as I know, anyway,” Donna replied.

“That’s some thing I, or more properly we, will have to think about,” I said.

“Now, on to more practical matters” Donna said. “When do you want to start?”

“How about next Monday” I asked. “That would give me the rest of this week to get El’s situation sorted out.”

“That’s fine. I’ve got a couple of referrals for you, I’ll start setting them up.” We turned to “shop talk” and were discussing my experience and various techniques when the phone rang. Donna answered it and after listening for a second said “Yes, she’s right here” and handed the phone to me.

“Hello?”

“Kathy, this is Dr. Hanson’s office, could you come pick up Elliot at the clinic, there’s been a little problem.”

“Oh, no! What!”

“Well, she was nervous about the MRI, and the lab gave her a simple tranquilizer to calm her fears, not knowing she was already taking a stronger medication,” the receptionist replied.

“Oh, NO!” was all I could say. Donna was watching me closely by now.

“She’s alright, just very spacey!”

“Oh, boy!” I replied weakly.

“Yes, a real airhead, according to the lab,” the receptionist was snickering by now.

I started giggling at the thought, and assured the receptionist I would be right over to get El.

Donna was dying with curiosity by this time. “I told you that Dr. Hanson has El on tranquilizers?”

Donna nodded.

“Well, they gave her another trank before doing the MRI” I said.

“Oh no, you’re kidding!”

“Nope! Apparently she’s gone ‘bubblehead’ on them,” I giggled. “I’ve got to go pick her up, anything else we need to discuss?”

“No,” Donna said. “Call me later, okay?”

“Sure,” I replied.

When I got to the lab, El/Karielle was waiting in the lobby, talking to the receptionist, an orderly standing nearby. The two of them were whispering and giggling, glancing at the orderly then giggling some more. The orderly was intently studying the ceiling pattern, and his face was rather red.

El saw me just then: “Oh golly, here she is now. Gotta fly! See ya!”

“See ya Karielle,” the receptionist said. Holding her hand up to the side of her head with her thumb and little finger extended like a phone, she said “You’ve got my number!”.

Seeing my look, El said “Girls night out! Clubbing!”

I took El’s arm and started her towards the door, turning back to the receptionist and saying “Thanks”.

“My pleasure, she’s fun!” the receptionist replied, glancing aside at the orderly, who rolled his eyes.

When we got in the car, I turned to El and asked “Ok, what happened”.

El giggled, “Well, Suzs and I, that’s the receptionist, Suzy, we were talking about what a hunk that orderly was, and he was being so-o stuffy….” and she started giggling again.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“I just went over and made like I was going to unbutton his shirt, and he got so red…” and she dissolved into giggles again.

“When you go girl, you go whole-hog, don’t you” I asked.

Karielle giggled again, then, as we were stopped at a traffic light, leaned over and kissed me. “That’s alright, you’re still my number one!”

“And don’t you forget it!” I told her. She slid over and leaned up against me, and by the time we got to the house she was sound asleep. I half-carried her in and laid her on the bed, then went to my bedroom and sorted through the contents of one of my boxes, while think about what Donna said. She’d given me a lot to think about. Marriage. Did I want to marry El? Or Karielle. I went in and looked at her lying on the bed, so pretty and peaceful. Leaving serious think to another time, I kicked off my shoes and laid down next to her. I quickly fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notes:

This is the third part of a fairly long story, with several sequels in the works. A big hug and thank you to Angel O'Hare, who has kindly proofread portions of it. Any mistakes left are mine.

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