Nineteen. Journey’s end.

List of Characters.

Terry Harrington. Fugitive boy marked for compulsory transitioning.
Samantha, (Sam) First transitioned kid Terry meets on the streets.
Theodora (Dora) leader of the transitioned kid gang.
Jessica. (Jessie) The only natal girl in Dora’s gang.
Charlie Member of the transitioned gang.
Jan Another member of the transitioned gang.
Ron Café owner who lost his daughter to egg-
snatchers.
Doctor McTavish. Female paediatrician
Doctor Cummins Consultant Paediatrician
Sarah. Senior Midwife at the maternity unit
Dawn Very young trainee nurse.
Eleanor Jessica’s mother.
Diana Terri’s mother.

Part 11.

Terri and Dora changed buses in the city centre but there was a thirty minute wait for the bus to take them near Ron’s café. Sunday evening bus services were necessarily infrequent and thin on the ground. They took a stroll around the empty shopping area and Terri suddenly noted.

“Look, the old lady’s just closing the charity stall!” Terri observed.

Dora paused to stare suspiciously at the familiar kindly face as she was pulling the shutters together.

“She’s not usually open this late, especially on a Sunday.”

The old lady was an intelligence source for the street kids; not some illegal ‘Fagin’s kitchen’ but simply a place where information about warm dry accommodation was to be found or where charity clothes had become available. Most of all it was a place where street kids could gather in small groups to find missing friends or discuss any problems arising from changing circumstances.

The rumours about two natal girls having been born in the main Bristol hospital was gathering credibility and momentum. No official announcement had been forthcoming but the fertility transitional patrols had definitely become fewer and further between. This was very much a ‘changed circumstance’ for street kids and Terri was keen to find out what the word on the street was.

It would be interesting to compare the truth to which Terri was a party through Ron’s endeavours, with the rumour mill. Consequently they paused to speak to the charity lady just as she had secured the last locked board on her stall.

“Hiya Dot.” Dora greeted her by name.

She turned as she recognised the familiar voice behind the face-mask.

“Oh hello Dora. Haven’t seen you around since the rumours.”

“What, the girl baby rumours.”

“Are there any others?”

Dora grinned as she removed her mask.

“Nah, yer’ right. So what’s the latest?”

“Well, it’s pretty much true now that some poor girl, a natal girl apparently, has produced a girl baby up at the Meade General.”

“Jeeze! I’ll bet that’s put the cat among -. They’ll be doing back-flips. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in that maternity ward.”

“And some.” Dorothy continued as she nodded her head towards the trader’s service park where her little van was parked. “Let’s walk as we chat.”

“We haven’t got much time; our bus is due and there’s quite a queue.”

“So,” Dorothy continued, “where’ve you been that you haven’t heard about the baby girl?”

“Oh we’ve heard about the birth, just wondered if you’d heard any more.” Dora declared.

“Nothing really. I suppose the government’s keeping a tight reign of information until they’ve got a grip on stuff.”

“Stuff like what?” Terri chipped in.

“Well; stuff like ‘who’s the father?’ of course. They don’t know and the girl’s not telling.”

“That’d figure.” Terri mused.

“How so?” Dot pressed.

“Well, if you were the father would you come out? I mean, come on! It’s bad enough for ordinary street kids being hunted. He must feel like the king elephant tusker being hunted by poachers.”

“Yeah, but they’re not hunting him for his ivory are they? They’ll not be trying to kill him.”

“Do you reckon the rumour is true?” Terri pressed. “It’s not just some government plot.”
“Well if it’s a rumour, it’s pretty big one. Everybody on the street seems to have an angle or anecdote. Well, I’ve got to go and that, looks like your bus. It’s the last bus of the night, being Sunday and all.”

“One last question Dot. Why were you open so late?” Dora asked.

“Oh there was a protest meeting, not a big one, but there were a lot of street kids here. It seems the rumour’s gaining credence and the kids think the patrols should ease up or even stop. There were even some legals supporting the shout.

They all wanted feeding so the super-market came over to gift me some extra bread rolls and stuff. They are good to me in there because my stall hands out free goodies and the kids don’t have to sneak into their store to try and steal food and stuff.

Anyway, the protest was a pretty general thing demanding to know if the rumour was true. There was even a call for the transitioning operations to be curtailed; but unless or until the girl baby rumour is official, who knows anything.”

“What do you think, are the rumours true?”

Dot frowned thoughtfully.

“There’s no smoke without fire. Be quick, there’s your bus.”

The girls hurried across the plaza to join the bus queue and sighed with relief when they guesstimated that they would get on, even if they might have to stand. It was the last bus and it was now dark.

When they came to board the bus, the bus-driver was about to deny them access saying the bus was full but Terri managed to pull a woebegone, feminine smile that broke through his normally iron hard defences. Her holding up a phone app with credit confirming the fare, also helped persuade him. Street kids rarely had enough money to use a bus.

Being the last to board, they had to stand at the front and Terri had to endure lots of curious gazes as Passengers tried to determine if the attractive kid was actually a transitioner or a real, natal girl. If she were, she would have to have been only one of five or six natal girls in Bristol. Despite her shabby street disguise, her naturally effeminate features caused many to wonder.

Natal girls were usually well guarded when they went abroad, for all the obvious reasons. There were none younger than fifteen as the Covid 21 virus had begun to bite.

As she sensed the collective interest, Terri became slightly nervous. In the dark, there was less ‘herd protection’.

After a couple of stops, seats were becoming available but Terri wasn’t comfortable. While the bus was stopped at a junction awaiting traffic lights she leaned in and whispered to the driver.

“We’re getting off at Summerbourne lane. When we get off can you close the doors quickly to stop anybody following us?”

“Okay love, but I can’t endanger other passengers.”

“Okay, I’ll get off last at the stop before Summerbourne then I’ll hop back on again. If anybody gets on again, I’ll know they’re following me.”

The bus-driver grinned, he was used to transitioners adopting avoidance tactics and this was a common one. By now, the bus was half empty.

“Okay kid. Gotcha back!”

“Thanks love,” she replied as she pecked him on the cheek.

“Ooh! Looks like you’ve scored there Eddie,” one of his bus-driver colleagues laughed as he was going home from his last shift.

Terri gave the second driver a wan smile as if to emphasise her feminine vulnerability then took a strategic seat close to the doors. It was a common tactic for anybody feeling vulnerable, there was always the bus-driver on hand if things got tricky.

Dora took the now empty seat behind Terri ready for any secondary avoidance tactic.

At the planned bus-stop, Terri’s trick worked. Two men followed her off and the bus driver made a pretence of checking his fare log to give her time to be certain they were trying to follow her. Terri paused to look in her bag and make certain the two men were definitely showing an interest. They were as they leered expectantly at Terri’s long golden hair.

Then she looked up at the driver who made a show of closing his fare-logbook while giving her a significant glance. Terri hopped on as the doors started closing and before the stalkers had realised. When they tried to leap forward, the bus was already moving and the doors had just closed. Both the driver and Terri grinned as they heard their curses fading in the distance. He spoke to her concernedly.

“If you’re natal girls, you shouldn’t be out alone at this time. What happened.”

“Our lift broke down. Anyway, I think we’ve lost the trolls.”

“Summerbourne is mostly trading estate and small businesses, will you be safe there? The streets are dark and lonely at night.”

“Yeah. Our uncle will be waiting at the stop.”

“Good. Here you are then, take care.”

Terri and Dora stepped off onto the lonely streets and spotted Ron standing in a doorway as the rain started to fall.

“What happened to you two then?”

“We got chatting to Charlie and Jan in the Nightingale hospital. Time just sort of passed us by.”

“I dunno. You two will be the death of me. Go on, you walk ahead and I’ll check for any stalkers or trolls.”

This ploy ensured their safe and un-noticed return to the café yard and they flopped down into the comfy armchairs in Ron’s flat.

“So. What’s the news girls?”

“Charlie and Jan are better.” Dora informed Ron.

“And?”

“Well there’ll probably be no more transitioning. Or at least a huge curtailment. The big effort now is to implant as many female foetuses as possible that have been created with Terri’s sperm.” Dora opined.

“They’ll still need male foetuses. It’s the male foetuses that will be continuing Terri’s genetic gift, namely healthy girl babies. Boys will be equally important to carry the recovered X and Y chromosomes forward.”

“Yeah, we’ve got that Ron. Nobody realises that more than me.” Terri sighed.

“Are you donating a sperm sample tomorrow Darling?” Ron asked.

“Yes, the last one was Friday so it’s been three days if I wait until tomorrow afternoon.”

“So you’re agreeing to their sperm count request.”

Terri nodded resignedly for while the three of them were thinking ‘sperm’ and ‘donation logistics’, Terri was also wondering about the business with Charlie and Jan at the Nightingale. By tomorrow afternoon they would probably have her DNA on the Nightingale’s data-bank and the word on the street was that the Nightingale Hospital data-bank was connected to the National Police Records which also held DNA records of convicted criminals.

Terri wasn’t a criminal, but she well knew that the police kept lots of DNA sample records as a matter of course, even if the donor hadn’t committed any crimes.

Her only safe course was to go to the fertility clinic tomorrow and get Jessica to invite Doctor McTavish to meet her at Jessica’s rather smart apartment. She would naturally tart herself up to go as a girl and if, (as she expected,) Aggie McTavish failed again to recognise that Terri was a boy she would reveal herself then somehow sound out how favourable Aggie McTavish was towards the police and transitioner patrols,

It was common knowledge that many doctors had severe reservations about the way perfectly healthy normal boys had simply been selected like conscripts and told they had no choice about having wombs transplanted into their bodies. Some doctors had even refused to co-operate with the government’s policy and been struck off the medical register.

The down-side was that Annie McTavish held a fairly senior position at the clinic which presaged a preparedness to accept the government’s policy even if she didn’t actively perform the surgeries.

As they finished their drinks, Terri decided to take the bull by the horns.

“I’ll take the sperm in tomorrow.”

Ron and Dora fell silent foe a moment before Ron asked.

“What brought this on?”

“A couple of things. Firstly, I want to see Jessica and my daughters, secondly there are a few questions I need to ask before I decide what our long term strategy will be.”

“Would you care to share those questions?” Ron pressed.

“Well firstly, I need to know how they treat my DNA. They’ve got it on record from when I had to prove I was the twins’ father.”

“What brought this on?”

“The behaviour of the doctors at the Nightingale.”

“Go on, “ Ron pressed.

“They were keen to get hold of me when I cured Charlie. Jan told me when we cured her under the Oak tree in the grounds.”

“So, of course they’d want to meet you.”

“Yeah, to get specimens from me like blood and saliva. That means DNA and probably the police data banks. I want a guarantee from Doctor McTavish and Brendan Cummins the consultant, that Terri’s DNA won’t be passed to the police. Terri has NOT broken any laws yet.”

“No but Terry has,” Dora cautioned. “Terry did a runner and refused to co-operate with the Transition Selection Team. By law you’ve got to co-operate if your selected.”

“Terry won’t be there. Terri will be visiting Jessica as Jessica’s BFF. Terri’s got pretty much carte blanche to drop in on Jessica at any time.”

“Are you sure about this,” Ron asked uncertainly. “That Doctor McTavish is no fool. If you ask too many pointed questions, she might get suspicious.”

“I’ll tell her I’m asking the questions on behalf of Terry. She knows that I’m Terry anyway and she’ll probably be more than keen to talk to Terri if only in the hope of persuading Terry to come in from the cold. Terry is the one at risk of being kidnapped.”

“Well, I can’t stop you love, and indeed I won’t try to stop you. Truthfully, I don’t know how to advise you. Be it on your head, though I’ll try to always be there for you.” Ron concluded.

“Terry can’t remain outside the pail forever.” Terri continued, “Dora’s right, even if nobody knows who or where Terry is, somebody’s bound to trip him up and catch him someday. Better this government than some bloody dictatorship’s kidnap gang.”

A brief silence descended before Terri felt forced to speak again, if only to help her formulate her ideas; she shrugged resignedly.

“I can’t live on the run forever.”

Ron nodded as he gathered the cups and stepped into his kitchen.

“Well for now, all I can suggest is that you sleep on it. I know I will. Are you two cuddling together again tonight?”

Terri and Dora Shared a self-conscious glance then both nodded as Ron smiled.

“Then I’d better let Trixie up from downstairs. It seems you sleep better with her crushing your feet.”

“Trixie’s been a good friend to me Ron plus, she knows Jessica and Dora from the cellar days.”

With these words, they separated as Terri and Dora allowed Trixie on the bed, and Ron made his lonely way to his empty bed. Nobody could replace his beloved wife Wendy or his daughter Lucy; both lost to Covid 21.

ooo000ooo

The morrow dawned bright and sunny, sending brilliant sunlight through Terri’s bedroom window. She stirred reluctantly and gently pushed affectionately against Dora’s arm.

“Time to get up, lazy bitch.”

“Five more minutes,” Dora begged.

Terri did not need much persuading and they lay spooned together until the heard Ron emerging from his flat and descend the stairs.

“Come on. We can’t leave it all to him and I’m going to the hospital at eleven.”

“You’ve decided then.” Dora checked.

“Yeah, this shit has got to move forward. To tell the truth, I’m sick and tired of the fertility patrols constantly stopping me. You must be as well.”

“Yeah, someday they’re bound to catch me with my phony I.D., certificate.”

Having concluded the state of play, they crawled out of bed and showered before joining Ron. He was savouring a peaceful cup of tea as the three of them descended the stairs.

“Breakfast Darling?” Terri offered Ron as she refilled the little kettle.

“Oooh! Yes please. Have you made up your mind about Doctor Mc Tavish?”

Terri nodded as Dora opened some dogfood for Trixie. Seeing the dog food reminded Terri that Jessica might like to see her favourite dog.

“I’ll take the sperm and Trixie to Jessica’s flat.”

“Is that wise, Trixie I mean; sometimes bitches can get jealous of new-born babies.”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Terri shrugged.

“Are you sure you can just walk into the clinic with a bitch in tow?” Dora asked.

“Jessica’s apartment isn’t exactly in the clinic as such. It’s just outside the compound by the main gate. The last but one apartment block before you actually get to the gate but there are patrols around the residential are for all the clinic staff, and especially Jessica.

“And you’ve got security to just walk up to her front door?” Dora pressed the question.

“Well, that’s the impression that doctor McTavish gave me.. Terri is free to come and go provided she declares her identity.”

“And what about Terry?”

“That’s the billion dollar question. Will Doctor Mc Tavish stick to her promise when she found out Terry is a transvestite or will she alert the clinic?”

“How will you find out?”

“I’m hoping Jessica has still got the mobile that Ron bought for her. We agreed never to use it except for emergencies; well this might not be an emergency but it’s one hell of a big issue. The only two numbers Jessica had on her phone were Ron’s and mine. So long as nobody’s been poking through her phone, I should be safe to call her.”

“Go on then, phone her.” Dora suggested.

“Not yet. I want to get near the main gate to see if anybody responds after I’ve spoken to her. If the patrols behave normally, I should think it’s safe to just walk up dressed as Terri. I’m her best female friend.”

“D’ you want us to come?” Dora persisted.

“If Ron can let you go for a few hours, I’m sure Jessie would be as pleased to see you as well as me, plus of course Trixie.”

“I can give you both from ten til’ twelve but please, one of you come back by twelve.” Ron offered.

“Will do, unless we get detained,” Terri agreed. “If one of us is not back by noon, something’s gone wrong.”

“And I could lose you for good then.”

“Not if McTavish is honest and true to her word.”

Having agreed a deal, the pair finished the breakfast trade, then scrubbed up carefully to both pass as girls. Terri in particular, looked stunning.

At ten they left for the clinic and by ten-twenty, they were loitering by a café with a full view of the main gate to the clinic compound plus Jessica's apartment. Terri made the call and fretted for fully a minute before Jessica answered.

“I wish you’d answer your phone bitch!” Terry replied to Jessica’s squeal of joy.”

“I had to dig my spare phone out. I hide it in the apartment and it takes a moment to get it out. So what’s the problem?”

“We’re outside, can we come in?”

“Who’s ‘we’?”

“Trixie, Dora and me.”

Jessica gave a little whoop of delight as Terri continued.

“Do you know if you’re being bugged?”

“Not to my knowledge”

“Okay, we’re going to wait out here to see if there’s any suspicious increase in activity like more patrols or something. You just stay put in your apartment or they might be watching you and if you come to meet us, they’ll know you’re in contact with us.”

“I have to warn you, our parents are coming round this afternoon, they’re taking me and the girls shopping. We’ll have an escort who’re secretly armed.”

“We’ll be gone by noon so no problem.”

“Okay, see you in a minute.” Jessica hugged herself with expectation.

Three of her oldest and safest friends where there to see her.

After seeing the patrols moving with the same frequency but on different patterns, Terri and Dora concluded things were deemed normal by the clinic authorities. Reassured by their observations, the three visitors left their hiding place and knocked on Jessica’s apartment block door. It was answered by a ‘concierge’ with a somewhat bulky battle-dress style top. This was normal, each apartment block had it’s own concierge to ensure the safety of the hospital staff and the pregnant transitioners.

If transitioners proved co-operative after impregnation, they could live fairly normal lives and they were free to come and go. Only those that tried avoiding being impregnated by hiding on the street, were forced to live in the more secure dormitory blocks when captured. The concierge met them at the reception desk.

“Who are you visiting?”

“Jessica, apartment one ‘B’”

“First floor first right. Does she know you’re bringing a dog?”
“No. But she knows the bitch, she used to own her before she moved here.”
The concierge pressed the intercom to inform Jessica of the visitors and Jessica came rushing down to meet them.

“Hiyah!” She squealed with obvious joy as she flung herself first into Terri’s arms then Dora’s while Trixie the bitch barked and whimpered and span around with obvious canine delight. Finally she invited Trixie to jump up while she ruffled her neck and Trixie whined with frenzy.
The concierge could see that the trio were obviously welcome visitors and he resumed his seat at the desk while the visitors accompanied Jessica up to her apartment.

“You’re lucky to catch me. Both grannies are coming over this afternoon and we’re going shopping for the girls.”

“Where would you shop for girls stuff?” Dora wondered.

“We don’t,” Jessica sighed despondently. “We can’t even find pretty dresses or frilly knickers. My daughters look like boys. Fortunately, your mum Diana is a wizard with a sowing machine and she’s knocked up a couple of little dresses. I’ve seen them on Skype and they’re beautiful. She’s bringing them over before we go shopping.”
“Wont that be a bit of a give-away? You know, cause people to mob you just to see the babies.” Terri frowned.

“Well what am I to do. I can’t keep my kids locked up like some sort of specimens in a zoo. There’s got to be a time when normal returns. And girls can walk about freely.”

“Yeah but so soon?” Dora added her concerns. “I mean Terri’s right. The moment people realise your two are ‘THE GIRLS!’, you’re going to be mobbed worse than any film-star.”

A slight tear leaked from Jessica’s eye.

“I’m not going to live like a bloody prisoner. Things have got to change sometime so that time might as well be sooner rather than later.”

“Well you’re right on that score,” Terri agreed. “Did Doctor McTavish agree to come over as I asked?”

“Yeah. What’s that all about, she’s due here at eleven.”

“Well, you’ve actually anticipated things. I’m going to come out myself. She knows that Terri is actually Terry but she doesn’t know I’m here.”

Jessica nodded as she realised her partner was as fed up with the secrecy and voluntary ‘lock-down’ as she was.

“So you’re sick of living like a fugitive as well.”

“Just about,” Terri grimaced wryly. “As you said; sooner rather than later.”

“So we’ll both need armed guards every time we go out.”

“Seems like it; at least until every country has got some XY positive boy babies.”

“That’ll be years,” Jessica cautioned, “Boys don’t reach puberty before thirteen or fourteen usually.”

“Yeah; the sky is blue, rain is wet! That’s the reality though isn’t it. I’m not putting up with being a fugitive for sixteen years. I’ll just have to endure an armed guard ad infinitum.”

“Ad nauseum,” Dora corrected ironically.

“Yeah, whatever.” Terri riposted as the concierge phone rang.”

Jessica picked it up.

“What! She’s here already. No, there’s nothing wrong, send her up.”

“Doctor Mc Tavish I presume,” Terri suggested.

“Yeah, she’s on her way.”

“Where are my little girls by the way?”

“In their bedroom.”

“Can I see them?”

“That’s what you’re here for isn’t it?”

“Of course.” Terri replied as there was a knock on the door.

She and Dora slipped into the nursery room as Jessica invited Aggie McTavish in.

“So what was the urgent call all about Jessie?” The lady paediatrician asked.

“Somebody to see you.” Jessica replied as Trixie let out a soft growl and placed herself between the doctor and he beloved mistress.

Aggie Mc Tavish hesitated. “Is that dog safe?”

“Perfectly. Just take a seat a moment and she’ll realise you’re a welcome guest.”

Annie McTavish did as offered and Terri emerged from the nursery. For several moments, the doctor did not recognise the attractive young lady and she squinted uncertainly.

“Hello, young lady, are you a friend of Jessie’s.”

“Do you not recognise me?” Terri asked.

“Uuuhm; no.”

“The young girl who came with Ron, the day the girls were born.”

Aggie McTavish still did not realise for a moment then the realisation slowly dawned.

“You’re that, - ! Your Terence Harrington!”

Terri nodded slowly before confirming softly.

“The very same; Eleanor and Diana’s father.”

ooo000ooo