Her heart began to race as she hoped it was her friends and she reached over for the phone and picked it up, still wishing for the use of her right hand. “Hello?” She called into the phone.

“HI TRACY!” A group of voices yelled into the phone, making her pull the earpiece away from her ear. She waited a second and slowly put the ear piece back, waiting to be yelled at again.

“Um....hi.” She said. “Who is this?”

“It's us you goof!” Sage replied.

“Sounds like more than just you and Rachel.” Tracy sat up in the pull out bed and put her back against the sofa cushions. “Who all is there?”

“Well there's me, Rachel, Brooke, you haven't met her yet, Stacey and Casey and you haven’t met them either.”

“Oh. Cool.” Tracy's attitude picked up as she sat there.

“So, did we wake you up this time?” Sage asked.

---

More fun with Tracy and her chance to be with the girls.

A big thanks to Djkauf for the editing.

---

December 15th 1982
Northern California

:Continued:

Maggie turned and looked down the hall. She wasn't looking forward to telling Tracy that the trip was off. Then her eyes landed on something at the end of the hall. She turned around and smiled. “What if we were to rent a wheelchair? Would that help?”

Doctor Davis thought about it for a moment and she slowly nodded. “Yeah. Get a good cushion under him. You'd have to make sure that when he's not in the chair, he's lying down or sitting like how we told him the first time. And we limit the walks to ten minutes a day. He'll need someone to push him. That wrist of his is too weak right now to work the wheels.”

“I think I can do that. I can send the information to the people he was going to stay with.” Maggie said.

“I also think it would be best to do that for his Doctor appointment on Friday as well.” The Doctor added.

“Thank you, this will mean a lot to him.” Maggie said with a smile.

~o~O~o~

Tracy had gone straight to the pull out bed when they got home. She was determined to take it easy so she'd get to go. Even though the doctor had given her the green light to go in a wheelchair, she was afraid her parents would say no if she pushed herself.

So she lay there, this time with the TV off. She had decided to read a book instead and picked up one of the Chronicles of Narnia. She was halfway though the book when the phone rang. She put the book down and looked at the clock, which showed it was just past three thirty.

Her heart began to race as she hoped it was her friends and she reached over for the phone and picked it up, still wishing for the use of her right hand. “Hello?” She called into the phone.

“HI TRACY!” A group of voices yelled into the phone, making her pull the earpiece away from her ear. She waited a second and slowly put the ear piece back, waiting to be yelled at again.

“Um....hi.” She said. “Who is this?”

“It's us you big goof!” Sage replied.

“Sounds like more than just you and Rachel.” Tracy sat up in the pull out bed and put her back against the sofa cushions. “Who all is there?”

“Well there's me, Rachel, Brooke, you haven't met her yet, Stacey and Casey and you haven’t met them either.”

“Oh. Cool.” Tracy's attitude picked up as she sat there.

“So, did we wake you up this time?” Sage asked.

“No, I was reading the Lion the witch and the wardrobe.” Tracy replied,. “While waiting for you to call.”

“Good book. You should read the Hobbit if you like that. And Lord of the rings.” Sage said. “So, can you come?”

“The doctor said I have to take it easy and she wasn't going to let me go down. But Mom suggested a wheelchair and the Doctor agreed. So yeah, I'm coming down.” Tracy said, then she waited for Sage to tell everyone. A round of screaming cheers forced her to pull the phone away again.

“Groovy.” Sage stated. “So you can go to like the malls and stuff?”

“Well the doctor doesn't want me pushing myself. So I can only be in it for a few hours at a time, unless I got a good cushion.” Tracy stated.

“I see. Well we maybe able to find you a good cushion for that wheelchair. I happen to know a few people.” Sage repeated what she had been told to the other girls, then spoke into the phone again. “So, Tracy, can you walk? Or is it still limited?”

“Two fifteen minute walks a day and trips to the bathroom.” Tracy replied. “No jumping or running and no horseplay.”

“Makes sense....okay, okay.” Sage's voice got a bit more muffled then she spoke once more. “Look they're trying to take the phone from me, so here's Rachel.”

Before Tracy could respond, Rachel's voice spoke up. “Wheelchair? That's no fun, but then it's Christmas time. The malls will be packed and with a wheelchair we can push you through the crowds and run over the feet of whoever gets in our way.”

“Great, I'm a battering ram.” Tracy said with a chuckle that forced her to groan and hold her sides.

“So, sides still hurt?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah. I'll also need someone to push the chair, ‘cause my wrist still hurts from the second sprain.”

“We can manage that.” Rachel said, and Tracy could almost hear the smile in her voice.

“Maybe we can go catch a movie or something.” Tracy stated.

“That would be cool....yeah, yeah...” Rachel got muffled for a moment, then she came back. “Hey, Brooke wants to talk to you

“Okay.” Tracy said and she waited till a new voice came on the phone.

“Hello, Tracy?” She couldn't place the accent, it sounded slightly Asian, but she wasn't sure. There was only one Asian kid at her school and she rarely talked to him.

“Yeah, this Brooke?” She asked.

“Yep. Sage and Rachel told us all about you getting hurt while defending your grandmother. That's super cool that you defended her. Not many girls can fight, or are willing to fight three men.”

“They were boys.” Tracy said. “Kids from my school.”

“Ah, I see.” Brooke replied. “Still cool. I mean come on, you fought three assholes. How many girls can say that.”

“Yeah.”

“So what style do you use? Karate? Kung Fu? Kick boxing?”

“Tai Chi, but I was thinking of learning Wing Chun too.” Tracy said with a smile that the other girl couldn't see.

“That's cool. Bruce Lee learned that first, so it's some killer stuff. Hey, you're still hurt, right?” Brooke asked.

“Yeah, got stuck into a wheelchair because of the pain and me pulling out stitches at school.” Tracy answered.

“Ouch. Wheelchairs suck, but the secret is to not let it be your identity.” Brooke replied. “And think of it, for you it's temporary.”

“Yeah, hopefully I get out of it around Christmas.”

“Tell you what, would you be willing to try something?” Brooke asked.

“Like what?” Tracy was a bit nervous at the question. She had no idea who Brooke was, or what type of person she could be.

“My Grandfather does acupuncture. He works it on me when I feel a lot of pain. Maybe that could help you?” Brooke suggested.

“Isn't that the needle thing? Where they stab you with needles?” Tracy began to feel a little worried. She hated needles.

“It is, but trust me, it's not as bad as you think. In fact I love to have it done.” Brooke replied. “He's also can do a wicked massage that helps.”

“Oh?” Tracy wasn't sure about all of it, then she thought of the pain. “Can I think about it?”

“Sure.” She swore she could hear Brooke smile. “Hey, I gotta...I gotta go pee, can I talk to you Friday?”

“Sure.” Tracy answered.

“Here's Stacey.” Brooke said before the phone was passed again.

“Hi Tracy!” A new voice called into the phone.

“Stacey?” Tracy asked.

“Of course.” The girl replied. “I got my sister here too, but she can't talk. She says hi.”

“Oh. Tell her hi for me.” Tracy said.

“Okay. So how are you doing? You ready to come down and have fun?”

“I can't do too much, or I'll be stuck in a hospital again.” Tracy said.

“Yeah, I heard. That's no fun, but we got lots of board games, plus there's MTV.”

“Yeah. I like MTV.” Tracy said.

“So do we.” In the background she could hear a voice that she thought was Persephone. “Hey, we got to get going. Want me to tell them all goodbye?”

“Please?”

Stacey spoke again, but her voice was a bit quieter. “Tracy says bye everyone.”

Then Tracy yanked the phone from her ear as she heard “BYE TRACY!” screamed into the phone. A moment later it was just a dial tone. Tracy looked at the handset before hanging it up.

"I'm gonna go deaf with them.” She mused to herself as she picked up her book again.

~o~O~o~

December 17th 1982

It was just after one in the afternoon as Maggie pushed her daughter out of the Psychiatrist's office and toward her car. In the wheelchair, Tracy sat there fuming about what the doctor had said and what she hadn't. “I can't believe she kept calling me Troy.”

“Baby, she may have been testing you.” Maggie said.

“And questioning why I was in a skirt?” Tracy balls up a fist and beat it against the arm rest.

“Sweetie, she was just doing her job. She has to make sure.” Maggie pulled the wheelchair up to her car and set the brakes so her daughter could get out.

Tracy looked at her mom before she got out of the chair. “And what was that whole thing about not seeing kids my age?”

“Sweetie, she's just afraid that most kids are doing this as a way to annoy their parents.” Maggie replied. “But she did promise to keep seeing you. And she did promise to try and help you with the nightmares, isn't that good?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Tracy replied. “As long as she doesn't see me just for that.” Tracy said as she slid into the passenger seat.

She waited as her mother opened up the backdoor and lifted the wheelchair enough to set it behind Tracy's seat. She had almost hurt herself trying to remove it from the trunk once. A moment later, Maggie slid into the drivers seat and looked at her daughter. “I promise, baby, if you don't like what she's doing, we can find a new person, but give it a few sessions.”

“Okay.”

“Are you hungry, or do you want to just go get your Dad and head for Livermore and eat in Marysville?”

“Let's eat in Marysville.” Tracy said as she started to watch the town of Chico pass by her window. Tracy was quiet for the few minutes that it took them to get to the freeway. “Mama?”

“Yes, Tracy?”

Tracy smiled and looked at her mother, who didn't look back, due to traffic. “Do you think I just want attention?”

“Well, I don't think so, but I'm not the professional.” Maggie shrugged. “It's not my area of expertise.”

“Would you hate it if Tracy became a full time thing?” The child asked.

“I love you.” Maggie put a hand on her daughters lap. “No matter if you're Troy or Tracy, I love you with all my heart.”

“I love you too Mama.” Tracy replied. “So do I really have to take that wheelchair with me to Livermore?”

“Yes. This way you don't push yourself.” Maggie looked at her for a second, then back at the road. She already knew something about the wheelchair that Tracy didn't. She knew something about all three of the girls that her daughter was to meet. But she wanted Tracy to be surprised. “And as per you wishes, I called Persephone and she gave me the numbers to the other parents. They know about you and they also know about your recent injuries.”

“Do the girls know?” Tracy asked.

Maggie shook her head. “No. We're going to leave that to you. I only told the parents because we're letting you near their daughters.”

Tracy let out a light chuckle that was followed by a groan of pain. “Thanks Mama, now I feel like I got some illness.”

“It could be worse.” Maggie smiled at her.

“Speaking of worse, did Vance try and talk you into letting him stay with me?” Tracy asked.

“Yes he did and I said no. Then he asked your father and I said no again.” Maggie patted her daughters leg. “They're your friends and you're at least a girl, or want to be. He's a boy and God knows he wouldn't give Sage a moment’s rest.”

“Yeah. He is kinda hung up on her.” Tracy looked out the window again. “So is he riding down with us?”

“Unfortunately yes. He's most likely home already. It was only a half day of school today.”

Tracy groaned. “Awwww. But I was going to lie in the backseat.”

“I know. We're taking your grandfather’s car and he'll be under orders to let you lie down as much as you can.” Maggie stated. “Or I can just let you take the front seat and lie down.”

“Would, you?”

“Yes. Your father agrees with me on that too.” Maggie chuckled. “Besides, you really want us to leave Vance home? There may not be a house when we get there.”

Tracy chuckled and groaned while holding her ribs. “True. Then he'd have a new reason to go with you to pick me up.”

“Poor poor Sage.” Maggie said with a smile.

“Yep.” Tracy nodded.

“If there's any problems tonight, Call Shelly and Frank. We'll be there for the night because your father doesn't want to drive six hours after a ten hour work day.” Maggie said as they made it to the outskirts of Chico and into farmland.

“Really? That's cool.”

~o~O~o~

William pulled his father’s Cadillac up to Shelly and Frank's townhouse. They had taken the bigger car for the smoother ride and more storage space in the trunk. As promised, Maggie had let Tracy take the front seat so she could lay it down to enjoy a couple of hours of rest. She was still in her skirt and blouse so there was no need to change when they got to the house.

She woke to her father tapping her arm. “Hey kiddo, we're here.”

She pulled the handle and let the seat sit upright. Her mother and father were already getting out. When the seat moved Vance got out too.

She opened up her door and saw Rachel looking around the fence that surrounded Shelly and Frank’s patio. She smiled as Rachel ducked out of view. She opened up her door as her father came up to the side of the car with the wheelchair. Vance was already headed to the townhouse when his father stopped him.

“Vance, Can you get the bags?”

Vance turned around and groaned. “Awww.”

“Hey, your bag is in there too. Now go help your mother.”

“But Dad....” Vance started to complain, then he heard the sounds of running feet. He turned to see Rachel, Sage and two other girls race past him. “Okay. I can help.” He said as he started back to the car. A fifth girl came out of the back gate and neither Tracy or her brother saw her.

TRACY!” Sage and Rachel yelled as they got close racing across the shared lawn to the town-homes. William had begun to push the wheelchair down the sidewalk, but stopped as his daughter was swarmed with preteen girls. He looked up in time to see the fifth girl, with definite Asian features rocketing towards them in a wheelchair, her hand's hitting the wheels like a pro racer. But unlike her friends, she couldn't cheat and take the grass. A hint of sadness passed over his face, but all the attention was on his daughter, so no one caught it. A group of five women came out of the gate, including Shelly, Persephone and Lynn, Rachel's mother.

One of the two new girls had a full head of brown hair, pulled into pigtails. She smiled and gave Tracy a quick hug then stood up and pointed to herself. “Hi, I'm Stacey. This is my Sister Casey.” She pointed to a girl who had black hair, but with a streak of white hair on the top of her head. As Tracy looked at her she noticed that her eyes seemed a bit more apart then normal. Stacy tapped the girl who bent over and hugged Tracy, then she stood up and made eye contact with Sage. Her fingers and hands began to move at a rapid pace.

“What's she doing?” Tracy asked.

“Talking.” Sage replied. “She just said, Hello, I'm Casey. How are you?”

“Talking?” Tracy was now very confused.

Stacey smiled. “She's deaf. She's got Warrdenburg syndrome.” Tracy looked over as Sage pointed to her, then translated, then she pointed to Stacey and and translated what she had said as well.

“And Sage can do that...that...what's it called?” Tracy asked.

“Sign language? Yeah, we've grown up together and when she saw that Casey had a special way to talk, she wanted to learn it. We've been teaching Rachel and Brook too.” Once again she could see Sage translating.

“That's cool.”

“Yeah, it gives us a way to talk in class and not get in trouble.” Sage grinned.

Tracy giggled. “Tell her I said hello.” And Sage complied.

“TRACY!!!” The girl in the wheelchair came around the turn in the sidewalk and worked her wheels a couple more times to get back her speed, then she threw her arms up as though she was going to hug her, but she was still speeding towards them. The other two girls stepped out of the way and Tracy flung her arms up in preparation for the crash. William quickly moved around his daughter to catch the runaway girl. At the last moment, she gripped both her wheels and stopped inches away from William. She began to chuckle. “I love doing that.”

“That's not funny.” Tracy said as her heart began to slow down again. “You must be Brooke?

“The one and only.” She smiled. “And yes, it is funny.”

“So...you're...you're in a wheelchair too?” Tracy thought back to the phone call two days earlier. “That's what you mean by wheelchairs suck? Because you're in one too. How did you get in it?”

“I sat down.” Brook replied with a straight face.

Tracy blinked a couple of times, till the joke hit her and she groaned again. “Ugh, bad joke. I mean are you hurt like me?”

Brooke's smile faded. “No. I was in an accident. I'll save you the story for now, but it was bad and I don't have use of much below here.” She put a hand on her lap. I'll fill you in on the story in a bit, but for now, I want you to meet my mother.”

Tracy nodded, then she looked at Stacey. “And that's why you said Casey couldn't talk...I see.”

“Yep.” Stacey smiled. “Sage said you should meet us, before you meet our disabilities.”

The women came closer and Persephone went up to Maggie and gave her a hug, then she hugged William. “William, Maggie, I'd like you to meet my sister, Lillian. She's the mother of Casey and Stacey.” A blond haired woman walked up and offered her hand. "And the other lady is Karen, she's Brooke's mom."

Once the parent's had been introduced, Persephone looked to the girls and smiled. “You've met Tracy, these are her parents William and Maggie. The boy standing behind them and trying not to blush is their eldest, Vance.”

“It's getting a bit chilly out here. Maybe we should head inside and wait for the guys?” Shelly asked.

“The guys?” William repeated.

“Yeah. I figured it was best that the dads meet you two as well, well Stacey and Casey's dad at least." Persephone stated. "His shift should be ending in an hour or so?"

"Shift? Where does he work? Big factory?"

"No. He's a cop. He's a Lieutenant in the Highway Patrol." Lilian said with a measure of pride.

William smiled and nodded, knowing that the safety of his daughter would be seen to at their house. Then he looked to Karen. "What about your husband?"

Karen sighed and lowered her head slightly. "There is no husband. It's Just me and her grandparents. But I want my parent's to meet you too, they help me with Brooke, so they should get to know you too."

"I'd like to meet them." William said and held out his hand, deciding to not dwell on the lack of a father figure. After Karen shook it, he looked to Shelly. "So are we going out to eat?"

"There's a buffet down the road that's really good. We can split the cost, that way no one person is paying for twenty people. ”

Sage took over pushing her wheelchair as Tracy looked at her. “So that's what you meant? By saying I'd fit in?”

Sage just bent down and whispered into her ear. “Like I said, you'll fit in well with them. Each of us are different in our own little way, but that's what makes us so awesome. Casey is one hell of a painter. Stacey is a singer, Rachel has a thing for sewing and acting, Brooke is an athlete and I'm me and you're a hero. And each of us has a weak spot. Brooke is in the chair, Casey can't hear, Rachel hates her weight, I have fought with identity crisis, Stacey hates her teeth in the braces and you are related to Vance.”

“Wouldn't he be your weak spot?” Tracy giggled.

“No, cause he's going home with your parents.” Sage smiled.

"Yep." Tracy smiled. "Tomorrow."

"Crud." Sage grumbled as she walked on.

~o~O~o~

Sage was pushing Tracy up the driveway at Rachel's house. The other four girls were around them when Tracy began to giggle. “I still can't believe you did that to Vance.” She said with a smile.

“I'm innocent.” Sage held a hand over her heart and wore a shocked expression. “It's not my fault he wanted to go get you all drinks during dinner just because I asked.”

“But you asked him.” Rachel said, then she started to laugh. “And you kissed him.” The other girls all erupted at the same time.

“EEEWWWWW.” and that was followed by laughter.

“I only kissed him because my mom said I was being mean to him. She made me.” Sage replied.

“But you liked it.” Rachel said with a cackle. Then she started to chant in a sing-song voice. “Sage has a boyfriend, Sage has a boyfriend!”

“Come here you.” Sage let go of Tracy's chair and lunged at Rachel, laughing as she did. Tracy started to roll backwards as Stacey caught the chair.

They all watched Sage chase her friend around the lawn, then tackle her and begin to tickle her. “Take it back.” Sage said as her fingers ran along Rachel's side. “Take it back.”

Rachel began laughing and shaking her head. “No, no, no.” Finally she started to screech and attempted to roll away. “Okay, okay. I take it back. I take it back.”

“And you'll never claim he's my boyfriend again?” Sage tickled her once more.

“Never. I'll be good.” Rachel said as she slowly caught her breath. The two girls join the rest of the group and they walked in silence, until Rachel laughed and said. “So, Sage, When's the wedding? Vance will make a wonderful husband.” She took off again.

“You little!” Sage followed her as the two ran for Rachel's front door.

Tracy looked to Brooke who was smiling. “Hey, is that normal?”

“Rachel just started it after they got back from visiting you.” Brooke said. “Does he really have a crush on her?”

“You have no idea.” Tracy replied.

“I think I do. Never saw a boy that willing to get that many drinks at dinner for anyone.” Brooke smiled. “But he seems nice.”

“For a boy, he can be.” Tracy nodded. “For a brother, he can be a pain in the ass at times.”

Tune in next time as Tracy begins to enjoy her time with the girls. It's always nice to get away from a pesky brother like Vance