Wheels and wings 32

Chapter 32

Character List.

Jack Thomas Later AKA Ellie Transvestite/intersexual and keen cyclist.
Amanda Thomas AKA Amie Jack's sister.
Charlotte Dawson Keen girl cyclist and Jack’s soon-to-be girlfriend.
Bob Cycling club captain.
Mr Thomas Weston School games master and keen rugby player.
Billy Davies. Rugby ‘jock’, kind to Jack, he fancies Charlotte.
Marjorie Spencer. Holder of unofficial ‘Prettiest-girl-in-the-school’ title.
Miss Elizabeth Postlethwaite. The English Mistress.
Aunty Olwen Where Jack changes for school and leaves his bike.
Mandy. Olwen’s daughter, Jack’s older cousin.
Mr Griffiths The County solicitor.

Chapter 32

The following lunch time Ellie visited Charlotte who was sitting up. Charlotte looked up and smiled at the anticipated pleasure.

“Hi darling. That professor lady came to see me this morning.”

“What did she say?” Ellie asked.

“She said you were coming and that you might have something to say.”

Ellie blushed and looked down with embarrassment. Charlotte recognised the old habit that Jack had displayed whenever he was uncertain. Even the stance was the same, the one foot supporting the weight while the other foot stuck out behind with toes pointing downwards.

‘My God!’ Charlotte told herself. ‘She may be Ellie in gender terms but it’s still Jack and all Jack’s little ways.’ The only difference was that the mannerisms had gained a certain feminine fluidity and grace. Charlotte found herself studying Ellie’s figure and realising that the fluidity and grace came from the new shape, the hormone induced shape. Under the femininity and (Charlotte startled herself as she realised her next conclusion,) ... beauty, Charlotte realised Jack still lived. She found herself wondering what sort of torments pervaded the girl in the boy’s body. She reached out hopefully with her arms and savoured the pleasurable fulfilment as Ellie advanced gingerly and settled gently on the bed to receive the embrace.

Charlotte winced slightly as she twisted to tighten her embrace and Ellie gently stayed her arm. Ellie’s gentle act was partly a mechanism to protect her own feelings. She still wasn’t at all sure where or how far she wanted to go down the reconciliation road. There was still a residue of hurt carried over from the drugs business and the club ban. However, for Charlottes sake, Ellie disguised her motives by making the restraint appear to be a protective reaction to prevent Charlotte from becoming too boisterous in expressing her feelings and possibly damaging the torn ligaments that were still re-attaching themselves to Charlotte’s femur.

“Nothing too strenuous yet love. That hip will take some time to heal what with the location of the break.”

Charlotte frowned uncertainly as she fell to explaining her awareness of the complications surrounding the injury. She hadn’t thought the injury to be that serious.

“Yes I know, Professor Seemungal explained about the blood supply to the femur. I didn’t realise the femur was such an important bone. It’s not that serious is it?”

Ellie smiled disarmingly.

“Well no not THAT serious but the femur’s tantamount to an organ with all that marrow working away inside it.”

“That’s what the professor said.” Charlotte grinned with relief.

Ellie suddenly melted as she recognised the familiar grin, the grin she had unwittingly missed ever since their high-school falling-out. She found herself slowly returning Charlotte’s embrace with reciprocal emotion as they each gradually recognised what that emotion alluded to. The embrace eventually tightened into a passionate hug as their lips met in an urgent reconciliation.

They were still embraced and kissing when Professor Williams appeared silently at the bedside. Her voice startled the preoccupied couple.

“Might I ask what sort of treatment you’re prescribing Miss Thomas?”

Ellie jerked with surprise causing Charlotte to squeak as she winced with pain.

“Oh! Professor Williams, I didn’t know you were coming this lunch time. I thought you had the second years this afternoon.”

The lady professor grinned.

“The afternoon lectures have not started yet, it’s still lunch time. So I would ask again; what sort of therapy was that?”
Ellie grinned as she recognised the professor’s good humour and flashed a humorous answer

“I was increasing the patient’s heart rate to improve the blood supply to the femur. Hopefully that will advance the healing process.”

The professor let out a snort of laughter before recovering her composure.

“A somewhat novel therapy if I might be so bold. The reasoning and theory is somewhat questionable.” Professor Williams grinned as Ellie took up the thread.

“Yes professor but the therapy is as old as mankind itself. A loving hug and a kiss. Didn’t your mother do that when you were hurt as a little child?”

“Hmmm. I can see I’m going to have to watch you young lady. Innovative and ambitious, yet coupled with a sharp wit.”

Professor Williams turned to Charlotte who was grinning widely at the verbal jousting.

“So young lady, was the treatment efficacious?”

Charlotte was not to be outdone and she answered with equal levity.

“Oh yes, immensely so.” Charlotte grinned and her eyes sparkled with life. It was a sparkle that told the professor that the patient was well on the road to recovery.

“Well I’m glad to hear it. I’m here to carry out a few more mundane tests, so if you will?”

Ellie watched somewhat askance as the professor called in the nurse and several other second year students who had been sneaking a
look through the slatted glass. They sidled in with knowing smiles that the professor killed instantly with a direct approach by plunging straight into the technicalities of the procedures and aftercare. She deliberately picked on a young male student who continued to smirk contemptuously as he leered at Ellie. It was common knowledge throughout the teaching hospital that Ellie was a pre-op transsexual.

“Now class, you can readily see the benefits of dealing with a very fit, healthy young person where the curative process is following a normal course. You, Mr Pachinka; what complications would you have additionally expected from a broken femur if the patient was older, say seventy five for example?”

The smirk disappeared like magic as the leering student was suddenly confronted with a problem. He stuttered uncertainly and made a desperate fist of an answer that did not please Professor Williams. The professor turned to Ellie and asked for her opinion. Ellie had obviously boned up on Charlotte’s case because of her emotional connections; thus she was able to readily list and describe the more common complications to be expected in a geriatric patient with a broken femur. Her intelligent and informative reply pleased Professor Williams no end and she beamed appreciatively as she turned to fix her glare on the unfortunate second year.

“There Mr Pachinka, that’s what a year of proper studying does. Let’s hope you can give an answer like that next time you’re asked. You were warned that I would be dealing with geriatric complications this afternoon and it’s not all about dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. There are very physical circumstances to address as well. Now, shall we proceed to the geriatric wards ladies and gentlemen?”

As the professor and his class departed, the male student glared at Ellie but Ellie was already pre-occupied with Charlotte again.

Ellie didn’t have a lecture until three o’clock. In that hour of privacy Ellie discussed with Charlotte what she had initially come to address, namely the resumption and furtherance of their relationship.

“Do you think we can work it out Shaz?” Ellie wondered.

Charlotte gripped Ellie’s fingers in a passionate squeeze.

“Yes. I so love you.”

“What with my tits and all; and the girly thing? I’m a girl now in all but plumbing.”

“You’re still the one I love.”

There was a brief silence as Ellie digested Charlotte’s declaration then Charlotte nervously ventured another question.

“Can you still; you know? Make children?”

Ellie frowned thoughtfully.

“You mean am I still fertile?”

“Well, yes.” Charlotte hesitated. “I mean, I’d still love you, even after you transition but I’d like to have your children; if that’s possible; ... is it?”

Ellie paused then gently broke the news that conception would have to be an ‘in-vitrio insemination’. She explained briefly.

“My sperm count is too low for a reasonable chance of a natural conception. I mean it could happen but the odds are just so, so low; far too low. Firstly it would have to be a healthy, vigorously motile sperm and there aren’t many in my semen. The doctors would have to locate one and introduce if to your egg using nano-technology. Fortunately this hospital is one of the main research centres in this country.”

Charlotte digested this information then asked hopefully.

“Can you still ... you know ... get it up?”

“At the moment yes. But there’s going to come a day when I can’t and that day isn’t far off.”

“But for now; I mean, if we wanted to do it now; you could.”

Ellie smiled then nodded her head.

“Yes ... just; and until I have the op I suppose I could, if I used Viagra or something.”

Charlotte’s lower lip trembled as a nervous tear escaped her eye.

“Could we get married after this year? It’s my final year at Uni’. At least we could enjoy that side of it until you go for the op.”

Ellie was about to reply but Charlotte forestalled her.

“I mean it’ll only be for a few years I know, -but I mean-, could you do that, just for me. Make that sacrifice and hold off the op’ until I’ve conceived your children.”

“Is that all you want; my children?” Ellie frowned.

Charlotte gasped out her protest.

“No! No! That’s not ‘all I want’! I want all of you but all of you necessarily includes your children, your seed. I love you Ellie, I always have. I want to share your body and carry your children ... our children!! Don’t you realise that?”

“I do now.” Ellie confessed. “I wish you’d been more forthright when we broke up. I thought that row at the proms was the end of it all; well in fact I had thought it had ended long before that.”

Charlotte pursed her lips, partly from irritation with herself for her stupid behaviour all those years ago, and partly from anticipation of resuming that oh-so-missed relationship.

“Can we make that row a thing of the past? ... Water under the bridge as it were. This is a new start, you said it yourself.”

Ellie was slightly taken aback by Charlotte’s ‘matter-of-fact’ attitude to the renewal of their relationship but it gave her comfort to realise that Charlotte was not all sloppy love and sentiment. She leaned forward and gave Charlotte one last hug before leaving for her lecture.

As she stepped out into the corridor, Ellie sighed with satisfaction. She had addressed all the angles and as far as she could see there were no foreseeable problems to their getting wed.

~~oo000oo~~