With many thanks to Dee Sylvan.
.

Little George Parsons, aged sixteen, was from the poor and unsafe side of town, with an unhappy, put-upon mother and a rather boorish, ignorant and violent step-father. He barely got enough to eat, and his clothes were always crudely patched—by him. He spent as little time at home as possible, so as to be out of harm’s way. Somehow, in the midst of all this, he was a good student, and kept out of trouble. At school he was able to travel under the radar for the most part.

Emily Thompson, a product of the country club set, was the daughter of a high-priced lawyer who spared no expense on his daughter, not really realizing he had actually created an entitled snob. She looked like the proverbial All American Girl. Like George, she was a good student. She wasn’t a cheerleader at school, but she was very popular with the upper crust there, and was used to getting her way.

Unfortunately, George had a huge crush on Emily. He was well aware that there was absolutely no possibility at all of it ever going anywhere, but he found her beauty overwhelming, and he couldn’t keep his eyes off her every day in school.

A couple years’ worth of that ogling was really starting to grate on Emily’s nerves, this little nobody making goo-goo eyes at her. She thought she should do something to put a stop to it. Some classmates told her George’s name.

She had recently broken up with Ted Hines, who was, naturally enough, a large star football player. Ted was nice enough, she guessed, but the extent of his interests were football, football and more football. Conversation with him was difficult and he was far from gracious. Maybe now, with a bit more time on her hands, would be a good opportunity to do something about the George situation. What would be the best way to discourage him?

-o0o-

George was startled out of his wits at lunch period one day when Emily tapped him on the shoulder. He was so tongue-tied that he couldn’t even say hello.

“Meet me after school at the front door,” was all she told him, and walked away.

His eyes were as wide as saucers. What on earth could she want with him?

He turned to his only friend, Sarah Perkins, who looked equally astonished at this unlikely event. She knew of the crush, and of its impossibility.

After school he was at the front door as fast as he could get there. Emily took her time arriving, as was her wont.

“Walk with me,” she ordered.

They walked.

“Why are you always staring at me?” she demanded.

“Um, well, um, because you’re so beautiful. I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable,” he stuttered out. “I’ve just never seen anyone as beautiful as you.”

This wasn’t exactly the answer she was expecting. Yes, she knew she was gorgeous, but she still thought all guys were after only one thing, and it wasn’t simply gazing at her beauty. Still, she had a plan to put into effect.

“Well, I’m sure you know Ted and I just broke up, and I was looking for someone to go dancing with at a club in town. Would you be interested?”

George thought they were alone, but he actually looked behind himself to see who else she might be talking to.

“Who? Me?” he squeaked.

“Yes, who else?”

“Well, yeah, of course! I’d be honored.”

“Not so fast, George. There are some conditions.”

He gulped. “Oh?”

“Yes. I will go with you only if you go as my girlfriend.”

Did he hear her right? Her girlfriend?

“Excuse me, but did you say, as your girlfriend? I’m not a girl.”

“You might not be, but that’s the main condition. I think you look a bit like a girl anyway. If you agree, I will provide clothes and accessories for you. If you say no, I’ll start complaining that you are sexually harassing me.”

His mind was still agog at this development. Whatever he was expecting, this was so far away from it as to be from another planet. She thought he looked like a girl? Really? And would she really get him in trouble like that if he said no?? Just for… looking?

“Well, Georgie? Are you in or not?”

“I, uh, okay. It would be worth it to spend some time with you,” he blurted.

Okay, the trap was laid, and even though the little mouse knew what kind of poisoned cheese was in it, he was still going to try and eat it.

-o0o-

On the appointed day George arrived at Emily’s house two hours early, per her instructions. He had to take a bus to get there, though he had very little money. The size of the house amazed him. It seemed like the foyer was a big as his whole house. And everything looked so clean and tidy. There weren’t even any beer cans all over the floor.

Emily brought him upstairs to her bedroom. After instructing him to have a shower, and shave what little hair there was on his legs and pits, she spent almost the entire time making him into an attractive young girl, even gluing on the new breast forms. He already had longish hair since he never had the money to get it cut. She had guessed his size while standing next to him, as about a six. He was pretty skinny, and maybe 5’4”, about three inches shorter than she was. She had also purchased a nice minidress for him for the dance, the cost of all this not really being of any concern.

When she was finished with him, she had to admit he made a pretty cute girl. She had him in tan pantyhose and two-inch heels. There was a necklace and a bracelet, and she had actually pierced his ears, for dangly earrings. After a spray of perfume she made him walk around until he could manage the heels. He hardly said a word during all this, just obeying her commands. She was actually getting to like him, or at least to dislike him less. He didn’t give her any signals that this was an unnatural and humiliating thing to do to him, as she had thought he would. He didn’t contradict her or interrupt her, he was polite and did what she told him to do. He did keep his eyes on her a lot, still, and she could see the admiration and longing for her in them. But at least he kept quiet about it. It wasn’t as if she could really afford to be seen with someone like him.

Dressing as a girl was something which had never entered George’s head. But all this personal attention from Emily was almost overwhelming to him, and the new sensations… well, they were enjoyable. The glued-on breasts were a surprise, and once the bra was on he could understand why girls wore them. He felt that the dress was too short, although he acknowledged to himself that he would have enjoyed looking at it as worn by an actual girl. The ear piercing was another big surprise, but Sarah had once told him the holes would close up if nothing was in them. Yeah, the whole thing was kind of amazing to experience, not that he would ever have chosen to do so.

After Emily finished making him up, she deemed him ready and sent him to wait downstairs while she dressed herself. He carefully inched down the stairs, holding the handrail the whole way. Finding the living room he nervously sat upright at the edge of a comfortable chair, with his knees together, wondering exactly what he had gotten himself into. But he kept assuring himself that it was all worth it to spend the time with the woman of his dreams, even if she didn’t really like him.

When she came down the stairs in her four-inch stilettos his mouth fell open.

“Wow, Emily, you look fantastic!”

She was pleasantly surprised. Ted had seldom said anything about her appearance, other than the occasional, “you’re hot,” and sometimes, “you’re really hot.”

“Thank you, Georgia,” she answered.

To his unspoken question, she said, “You don’t want me calling you George all night, do you?”

“Um. No.”

“Good. Let’s get going. You have your purse, and here’s a nice little bolero jacket for you.”

They got into her red BMW M2 and she drove them downtown to a club she knew of where two girls dancing together wouldn’t be cause for a riot. She used the valet parking, and the two of them entered the club.

First they sat in a booth and had sodas and snacks, silently observing the other people in the club. Then Emily said, “let’s dance, Georgia.”

“I don’t know how,” he hissed.

“Just follow my lead and you’ll be fine.”

They went out on the busy dance floor and she shook and wiggled. George followed the best he could, shaking and wiggling, and even got into it somewhat.

They danced four fast ones, and then a slow song came on and Emily pulled him close and ordered him to put his arms around her neck. He did so. She had the idea that by making him ‘the girl’ she would humiliate him further.

As they swayed with the music, George slowly relaxed into her, closed his eyes and put his head on her shoulder. He was on cloud nine being so close to her. Emily started feeling things she hadn’t planned on feeling. Was she getting to like the little twerp? She was enjoying the smell of the perfume on him, and even his arms around her neck. She put her arms closer around him, and he looked up into her eyes. She could see the trust there. It made her feel like a rat and a role model at the same time. Without thinking she bent her head and kissed him on the lips. She could almost see little fireworks going off in his eyes. He put his head back on her shoulder and they enjoyed the rest of the dance, and then sat down. Emily was a little flushed.

“That was very well done, Georgia. Yes, you did better than I expected. In fact, you seem like a pretty nice girl.”

George smiled and didn’t contradict her. He had never expected to get on her good side, or any side of her at all. The kiss was beyond all his expectations.

“I feel like I could die happy after this,” he said.

Emily wasn’t quite sure what to do with the feelings she was having. The whole idea of this “date” was to discourage and embarrass the little guy, but it didn’t seem to be turning out that way. He didn’t appear horribly embarrassed to be dressed and treated as a girl. Oh well, maybe this wasn’t her best idea ever. Perhaps part two would remedy that.

After a few more dances she said it was time for them to go. She grabbed their purses, called for her car, and they left the club. Instead of driving back to her house, however, she drove to George’s house to drop him off. It was a rundown shotgun house, and Emily shuddered to look at it.

“Um, Emily? I can’t walk into my house dressed like this. My stepfather would kill me.”

“I can’t take you back to my house now, Georgia. My parents will be home and would want to know why I’m bringing a girl up to my room and then a boy comes out of it. I’ll bring your clothes to school for you.”

George nodded. He didn’t want to destroy the nice mood they had enjoyed. He would just have to face the music, and be prepared for the worst.

“Thank you for a wonderful evening, Emily. I really enjoyed being with you,” he said.

“Oh, well, my pleasure, Georgia,” she said, uncomfortably, feeling guilty. “I’ll see you at school.”

He leaned over and kissed her cheek, and got out. She didn’t wait for him to get to the front door, not really wanting to spend any more time than necessary in that neighborhood. She was still confused by her feelings. He was thanking her for trying to humiliate him?

George was still feeling good, but now wondering if he could somehow get to his room without his stepfather seeing. Going in the back way wasn’t an option, since the crazy German Shepherd back there would bark its silly head off. He thought about trying to get to his friend Sarah’s house, but she didn’t live that close, and he’d be a pretty obvious target wandering around in his neighborhood wearing posh clothes and heels. It also occurred to him that he had no way to remove the breast forms.

Sighing he went to the front door and opened it.

That was the last thing he remembered.

-o0o-

George woke up in what seemed to be a hospital. Everything really hurt. Many things throbbed. He couldn’t see out of one eye, and everything felt… constricted. He had no idea what he was doing there.

He was going to say something, but his mouth wouldn’t open. He tried making a noise. That caused a little commotion in the room, but he couldn’t turn his head to see what it was. The face of Sarah swam into his view.

“Thank god you woke up, George!”

“What…” he tried to say, but again he was unable to open his mouth.

“Your jaw is wired shut. If you were going to ask what happened to you, um, blink your eye twice.”

He blinked twice.

“Your bastard stepfather beat the crap out of you when you got home two nights ago. I don’t even want to tell you all that he did to you. The good news is that he’s in jail. The bad news is that your mother took his side.”

A tear slid out of George’s good eye.

“The only thing I know is that you were dressed as a girl. I’d ask you why, but I think that might be a discussion for another time. I don’t think talking is going to be very easy for you for a while. But I have just one question: did this whole thing have anything to do with Emily Thompson?”

He slowly blinked twice.

“I thought so. I am going to kill her!!”

George wanted to shake his head No, but his neck was feeling, yes, painful and confined, so he tried to speak.

“Don’t blame her.”

“Did you say ‘don’t blame her’?”

He blinked twice again.

“Oh, George,” she said, as tears fell from her eyes.

-o0o-

On Monday Emily was vaguely wondering why George wasn’t in school, but it wasn’t until three days later that Sarah angrily confronted her.

“I don’t know what you did to George, but the end result was that his stepfather beat him almost to death and put him in the hospital. I hope you’re satisfied!” Sarah stormed off.

Put him in the hospital? What did she mean?

Oh!! He did say his stepfather would kill him if he walked in dressed up. She thought he was exaggerating.

Could that girl really be right about this? Without too much trouble Emily found out which hospital George was in and went to visit after school. She quietly looked through the door, and what she saw broke her hard heart. She might have been an entitled snob, but she wasn’t a cold-hearted bitch. George was sleeping, and it seemed like there were casts and bandages everywhere. Almost half his face was covered, and the uncovered eye was quite a few shades of the color “bruise.” The poor little guy. He had seemed so happy the other night, and her plot to simply discourage him had resulted in this broken person.

Emily’s hard heart softened quite a lot just standing there. This was her fault! She went down to the gift shop and bought flowers for him. She wrote a little card just to indicate the flowers were from her and put it on the table in his room. Then she drove home to talk to her dad.

-o0o-

“Daddy, I don’t care how you do it, but I want to see a man put away for many years.”

“Whoa, princess. What’s this about?”

“Um. I know this guy from school. His stepfather beat him up so bad he’s in the hospital. I went to see him and it didn’t look like there was anything that wasn’t broken. I’m pretty sure the bastard is already in jail, but I don’t want him to get out. Is there anything you can do?”

“Just what is your interest in this case,” her dad asked.

“Well, um, I went on a date with him, and when I dropped him off at home, the man went off on him.”

“Do you know why the man ‘went off on him’?”

She fidgeted, but knew she’d have to tell him.

“I got him dressed up as a girl and we went out to dance… and we had a really nice time. I didn’t want to bring him back here to change, so I dropped him off at home, even though he told me his stepfather would kill him.”

She started to cry at this, feeling extremely guilty.

Narrowing his eyes at her, her dad said, “You’re leaving something out of this story.” He wasn’t a high priced lawyer for nothing.

“Okay! I was initially trying to discourage him from making goo-goo eyes at me all the time! But I ended up really liking him. He’s a nice guy and didn’t deserve what that animal did to him.”

“I see. Well, you didn’t really cause this to happen, even though your actions led to it.

“Give me the details and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Daddy. I feel terrible about my part in it.”

-o0o-

The next day at school Emily sought out Sarah.

“Are you going to visit George after school?” she asked.

Sarah looked her suspiciously.

“If you are, I can give you a ride.”

Sarah’s eyebrows shot up.

“Haven’t you done enough damage already?”

“I am trying to make it up to him,” she answered.

“Well, okay. But this better not be some trick.”

“No trick. I’ll meet you out front after the last bell.”

-o0o-

The two rode to the hospital in silence and found George awake in his room.

“Hey George,” said Sarah. “His jaw is wired shut,” she whispered to Emily.

George’s eye opened wide to see Emily there.

“Emily! What are you doing here?” he said, using a lot of lip action.

“I just heard about you yesterday and I had to come see you,” she said. “I even got you flowers,” she said, pointing at the bouquet.

“Oh. Well, thank you. They’re really nice.”

He had such good manners, Emily thought. Why couldn’t the other guys she went out with have manners? She decided there was no point in mentioning her father’s involvement until she knew something definite.

“Do you know how long you’ll have to stay here?”

George started to cry.

“They don’t know yet, but the thing is, I don’t know where I would go. From what I have been told my stepfather is in jail, and my mother is siding with him. I don’t think I have a home anymore.”

‘Another repercussion stemming from my stupid act,’ thought Emily. Resolve grew in her to do something to help George. This startled her a bit, because she wasn’t used to thinking of others and their needs.

“George, somehow I will make sure you have somewhere to live, somewhere safe,” she said.

Sarah was impressed at how sincere Emily seemed. Evidently something had happened between her and George that Sarah didn’t know about.

“George,” Emily said gently, “Do you remember what happened?”

He shook his head, or tried to.

“The last thing I remember is saying goodnight to you and going to the door. I had such a good time with you,” he said, trying to smile.

“I’m kind of glad you don’t remember,” Emily said, “and that you have a happy memory of the evening. I had a good time too.”

“What did you two do that night” asked Sarah.

“We went dancing at a club downtown. Georgie is a pretty good dancer,” she said smiling.

“He is? But… he was dressed as a girl? What was that about?”

“That’s harder to explain. A quirk of mine,” she lied. “I found Georgie made a very attractive girl, and she did very well that evening.”

She smiled at George.

He blushed, though it was hard to tell through the bruising.

“But why did you drop him off all dressed up? Didn’t he tell you his stepfather would go nuts if he saw him like that? He’s a huge homophobe, among other things.”

“Yes, he did tell me, and, sadly, I ignored him, thinking it wouldn’t be that bad. Kids are always saying ‘My parents will kill me.’ But what kind of parent would really beat up their own child, or even stepchild? I also didn’t want to have to explain to my parents why a girl was coming up to my room and a boy was coming out of it.”

“I see,” said Sarah. “Still, your error in judgment really cost him a lot.”

“I know, I know, and I do feel awful. I’m trying to help in any way I can.”

“I don’t blame you,” said George.

“Well, that’s very nice of you, George, but I do blame myself.”

She could see that George was flagging, and suggested she and Sarah leave.

“We’ll be back to see you,” they said.

-o0o-

Sarah thawed out considerably toward Emily, and the two became, if not friends, allies. Emily drove them to visit George as long as he was in the hospital. The visits did no end of good for George. Of course he was happy to see Sarah, but that his big-time crush would lavish all this attention on him made him so happy that it helped him heal.

Emily’s father, Greg Thompson, investigated the facts behind the beating, and discovered that George’s stepfather, John Baylor, had hired a lawyer, albeit a sleazy one. Mr. Thompson decided he would defend George pro bono, as Baylor was claiming he was provoked. No simple provocation from a little guy like George could result in so many broken bones. For Mr. Thompson, this was a slam dunk case; it was such a pitiful defense.

He visited George in the hospital and got to know him and his background a bit. In school George had never had any sort of report against him for behavioral issues, and had a pretty good grade point average. He was impressed with what he learned about how George survived day to day. He asked George for his side of the story, which amounted to nothing, since he was unable to remember. He arranged for many photographs to be taken of George, and got full access to his medical records. Among other injuries he found that one of George’s testicles had been crushed, probably by a kick, and had been removed, and the other one wasn’t working all that well. In court he demonstrated that there was a full twelve inches of height and ninety-five pounds difference between George and Baylor, that for the simple act of dressing as a girl he had been beaten almost to death, and his ability to produce male hormones, develop into a man and procreate had been taken from him.

Charged with Assault with Intent (to do great bodily harm) Baylor was put away for twenty-five years to life. His mother hadn’t hit George, but she did nothing to try and stop the beating, and she made it clear she didn’t disagree with Baylor’s stance on crossdressing. She wasn’t even the one who had called 9-1-1; a neighbor did that after hearing the commotion. Neither was a fit parent, Mr. Thompson argued.

-o0o-

Emily was able to prevail upon her parents to become George’s guardians. Her dad had never really denied her anything, and so when George came home, it was to the Thompson’s house. He still had a lot of rehab ahead of him. Emily, still desperate to help in any way, learned to assist with this, and she and George grew to be real friends. He felt like pinching himself every time he thought of how he was now living in the same house with his big crush, as well as becoming friends with her.

With George getting positive attention, not to mention a much better diet than he was used to, he was mostly recovered in about four months. Fortunately the jaw was healed in six weeks and he could talk much more easily again. Sarah made sure he had his school work, and he was able to catch up. The three of them often did their homework together at the Thompson home. Emily grew to have a whole new appreciation of other, less privileged lifestyles, being around these two.

With one semi-working testicle, George was told that hormone therapy might well be in his future. He had cried about this issue when told about it in the hospital. At sixteen he fully expected to grow into a man and have children some day. Now that had been taken from him. He had been told that with no testosterone production he would gradually develop secondary female characteristics, not something he had ever dreamed of or wanted. Yet, buried at the back of his mind was the pleasant time he had spent as a girl with Emily.

Emily continued to be amazed by how George continued to be such a nice guy, considered others’ feelings and points of view, didn’t try to portray himself as more than he was. So opposite from the boys she had dated. Now that she understood some of how he grew up, she was in even more disbelief how he could have turned out so well. She could see he was sad about his mother choosing his stepfather over him, but he also said that she hadn’t paid much attention to him for the last eight years. He told her he and Baylor had never gotten along. Since she married Baylor his mother had been more unhappy and started to adopt more of Baylor’s attitudes, so it was not a happy home in any way.

-o0o-

One evening Emily and George were discussing the night they went to the club. She asked how he felt about the dressing up.

“It wasn’t so bad. I really enjoyed the slow dances with you, and I was happy you didn’t make me look like a clown. Why did you dress me up?

She took a deep breath.

“Georgie, I hope you don’t hate me when I tell you this. I was trying to think of a way to discourage you from staring at me all the time. I thought if I put you in a humiliating situation, you’d leave me alone, but you proved me wrong right from the start. Now that I’ve gotten to know you, I really like you, and feel terrible for how wrong I was.”

“I thought it might be something like that, but it didn’t seem too high a price to pay for spending time with you.”

Tears came to her eyes.

“You are just too good to be true, Georgie. You’ve taught me a lot about how to treat others.”

She hugged him.

-o0o-

Once he went back to school Emily wanted to have him accepted by some of her high-class friends, but he discouraged her and mostly still stayed with Sarah at lunch.

“I do appreciate you wanting to get your friends to like me, Emily, but it really isn’t necessary. I know I don’t really fit in with them.”

“If you’re sure, George. I just want them to know what a nice guy you are.”

“Thank you, but I’m sure. I’m not used to too much attention.”

-o0o-

A month after he came home from the hospital, George awakened, screaming, from a nightmare he couldn’t remember. All he could recall was that it was violent.

Emily’s mother heard him the first time it happened, and rushed into his room.

“George! George! Wake up!” She sat down on the bed and finally shook him gently and he was able to open his eyes.

“What…. Oh my god! That was so scary.”

“What happened, George?”

“I can’t really remember. Just that there was… punching and kicking.”

“George, one of the doctors warned us that this could happen. It’s a kind of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder thing because of your beating.”

“But… I don’t even remember anything about that.”

“Yes, dear, but the brain remembers everything, and now that you are well again, it can start trying to deal with what was done to you. You may never remember the beating, but it’s still filed deeply away in your brain.”

“Oh,” he said, brokenly. “I’m so sorry I disturbed you, Mrs. Thompson.”

She stroked his hair, smiled, and said, “Don’t worry, George. I’m happy you are away from that awful situation, and I’m glad Emily convinced us to take you in. You’re a very nice boy. … You know what? Why don’t you start calling me Aunt Doris?”

“Thank you… Aunt Doris. I’d like that.”

George went back to sleep, but he had one of these nightmares two or three times a month for quite a while. Sometimes he’d wake up screaming and crying. It was usually Doris who came to him, but Emily also came to soothe him a time or two. She still felt guilty that there were after-effects from her plot. George felt very guilty about disturbing the family’s sleep, but there was just no way to control it.

-o0o-

After George had been living with the Thompsons for a year, Emily had been thinking about their one date, and what a good time Georgia seemed to be having. Granted, it didn’t turn out very well, but he seemed very natural as a girl, and no one looked at him funny.

“George, have you ever thought about our dance date?”

“Sure I have. I wasn’t kidding when I said I had a good time with you, even though you said you were trying to humiliate me.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it, Emily. You know I don’t hold it against you. And even though that evening turned out pretty bad, the end result is that we became friends, and I found out you were just as nice as I had imagined.”

“George! You’re always saying things that make me blush!”

“Sorry, but it’s true. Look at all you’ve done for me,” he said, his eyes filling with tears. “If not for you I’d probably be out living on the street, or in foster care.”

She sat next to him and gave him a friendly squeeze across the shoulders.

“Do you think you would ever consider dressing up again and dancing? You were very pretty and not a bad dancer at all.”

“Wow! I really hadn’t really thought about it,” he said.

“Well, like, are you against it, or you’d consider it?”

“Um, well… I guess I’m not against it. I wouldn’t want anyone from school to see me though, if I did do it.”

“Okay, that sounds good. What if we have some practice sessions here at home before we even think about going out?”

He looked into her eyes, trying to see what was behind this request, but saw only earnest hopefulness.

“If you want me to do it, I will,” he finally said.

Her eyes lit up, and she did give him a real hug.

-o0o-

Emily purchased new breast forms, lingerie, and clothes for Georgia, in preparation for whenever they decided to practice.

It was Spring Break when George told her he was ready to try it. Again she spent quite a lot of time getting him ready. She didn’t glue on the breast forms this time. The holes in his ears had closed up, but she put clip-ons on now, and the dress, a fit-and-flare, wasn’t quite as short as the minidress had been. Once she finished hair and makeup she was very pleased with the result.

“Georgia, I think you’re even prettier this time than before,” she said, showing her to the mirror.

“Whoa! I didn’t expect this! You know, when we did this before I never really got a look at myself. I’m kind of stunned.”

“You’re really a natural beauty. Now let me get myself ready, and we can go downstairs and dance.”

So saying, she made her preparations, taking a fraction of the time she’d taken with George.

“Emily, you just look… amazing,” said Georgia.

She smiled at him—er, her and said thanks.

They went downstairs to the generous-sized, finished Rec Room and she put some fast dance music on. Georgia followed her moves again, and Emily thought she seemed like a natural.

She had chosen this particular music because it had several slow dances, and when the first of them came on, Georgia automatically put her arms around Emily’s neck and just swayed with her. As with the last time she really relaxed into Emily’s embrace, and they ended up kissing again.

This time they stayed in the embrace after the music ended. The next song was another slow one, so they just kept on dreamily dancing. Emily steered them toward the music player and stopped it when the song was over.

“I really enjoyed that, Georgia.”

“Wow. Me too,” Georgia said, shaking herself a little to come back to reality. She stood there staring at nothing for a minute, and then came over to Emily, threw her arms around her neck and hugged her close.

Emily was surprised at this move, but she felt was Georgia was feeling, and wrapped her arms around her. They kissed a bit, and it was nothing at all like kissing Ted, or any other boy she had gone out with. Georgia was much gentler about it, and Emily could feel affection pouring out of her, rather than lust.

The kissing lasted a while, and then Georgia just stood there and hugged her.

“I think I love you, Emily, “she murmured into her neck. “I know I probably shouldn’t, but I do.”

“Why shouldn’t you love me, Georgia?”

“Oh, because we’re from such different sides of the tracks. And I’m really here as a guest. I don’t want to abuse that.”

“Georgia,” said Emily, pulling back to look in her eyes, “I think it’s perfectly fine, and I think I love you too.”

Unbeknownst to them, Emily’s mother, Doris, had listened to that last conversation from the stairway. Honestly, she didn’t know how she felt about Emily and George in love. George was under their guardianship and didn’t have very good prospects, unless they were to step in and help. She was a bit confused as to why Emily was referring to George as Georgia, and decided to find out. She crept back up the steps and then came down a lot more noisily. Georgia was petrified at being discovered by her, but there was no time to hide.

Doris came into the room, saw the two and said, “Hi girls. What are you doing down here?”

“Um, we were dancing, Mother,” said Emily.

“You don’t have to stop on my account, Emily.”

Turning her attention to Georgia, who was visibly trembling, she said, “And you must be Georgia. You’re very pretty, dear.”

“Th–thank you, Aunt Doris.”

“We were just finished, Mother.”

“Then why don’t you two come up to the kitchen and have something to drink?”

As the two of them mounted the stairs behind Doris, neither could figure out what was going on. How did she know Georgia was George? Why wasn’t she outraged or something?

The two sat at the breakfast bar while Doris got them soft drinks. Then she sat down with them.

Looking at Emily she said, “Your father explained to me the circumstances of your initial meeting with George, so I’m not shocked, as you may have expected. I suppose I am a bit surprised that you’d be willing to dress up again, Georgia. I would have thought that it might bring back bad memories.”

“Oh no, Aunt Doris. The memories I have of that night are really nice ones. I had always admired Emily, and going out dancing with her was like a dream come true. So when she asked me to dress up today, I couldn’t say no to her.”

“That’s very sweet, Georgia. How do you feel about it now?”

“Well, um, it’s kind of nice. The clothes feel good, and I couldn’t believe how pretty she made me look.”

“I’d say she very professionally brought out your best features, which were good-looking to begin with.”

“Thanks, Mother.”

Turning back to Georgia, she asked, “Georgia, are you interested in exploring this side of yourself more?”

“I, um, I really don’t know. I haven’t given it any thought.”

“Well do, dear,” she said, patting Georgia’s hand. “It might make a big difference in your life.”

“Mother, I should mention that when she came out dancing with me at that club, not one person gave her a second look—well, except to admire her.”

“That will be helpful, Emily. It may surprise you to know that I used to know someone much like young Georgia when I was in college. He was a very nice young man, but not as pretty as Georgia when dressed up. He had a lot of struggles with his family when they found out. It was a really awful time for him. I don’t want that to happen to you, Georgia.”

Georgia teared up on hearing that, remembering what she had already lost. She got off her stool and came to give Doris a hug.

“Thank you. Thank you for taking me in and for being so nice to me.”

“Nonsense, Georgia. You make it easy to be pleasant.” She patted Georgia on the back.

The sound of the doorbell interrupted, and Doris excused herself to answer it, while the two girls just sat, thinking.

In a few minutes their friend Sarah was ushered into the kitchen. Her eyes were wide.

“Georgia??” she said, very uncertainly.

Georgia, who had gone very pale, fainted. Her head clunked down on the granite breakfast bar.

“Poor dear,” said Doris. “I guess that was one shock too many for her.”

Emily gently lifted Georgia’s head to let it rest on a folded towel. Sarah couldn’t help but notice how tenderly she performed the task.

“What in the world is going on? Why’s he dressed up?”

“He is exploring, dear,” said Doris. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Nothing wrong with it??! Being dressed up is what almost got him killed!”

“We are more understanding in this household, Sarah, and I advise you to lower your voice. I thought you understood what was going on when I let you in.”

“I’m not sure what I understand now.”

“Sarah,” said Emily, “Georgia has a real naturalness as a girl. She’s pretty, graceful, a good dancer, and I like her very much. If you have a big problem with her, now is the time to say so. If you’re really her friend, you won’t let this come between you.”

Sarah sat down. Her head was swimming.

“Sarah,” said Doris. “Surely you know that males are made up of X and Y chromosomes? And that both sexes have male and female hormones present?”

She nodded.

“In some people one side is dominant, regardless of their physical sex. For a man that’s a harder road to travel, since men dressed as women are so often looked down upon. But many of them need to express their female side in some way. It’s very necessary. Asking someone to deny a whole side of him- or herself can lead to terrible stress and sometimes much worse consequences.”

This calm, rational explanation got through to Sarah.

“Well, I would never do anything to hurt George,” she said.

“Neither would we, dear.”

By now Georgia was stirring. She opened her eyes and saw Sarah, and started to panic.

“Hi Georgia,” said Sarah, in as friendly a way as she was able at the moment.

“Why don’t you girls go talk in the den?” suggested Doris. “I’ll be available if you need me.”

Emily helped Georgia to her feet and put her arm around her waist, as she was still a bit shaky. Again, Sarah noticed her attitude. The three went through to the den and sat down, with Emily and Georgia close together.

“Is there something going on between you two?” Sarah asked.

The two looked at each other a moment. “We sort of found out we have strong feelings for each other,” said Georgia.

“Wow. I never saw that coming.”

The two said nothing.

“Emily is right… Georgia; you really are pretty.”

Georgia blushed, and said, “Thank you, Sarah.”

“So are you going to go to school like that?”

“No, I don’t think so. But I might like to just hang out like this.”

The three talked together for another hour before Sarah went home. She grew more comfortable as the time passed, but never forgot that it was actually George. After she left, Georgia turned to Emily and said, “She never did say what she came over for.”

In answer, Emily gave her a passionate kiss.

-o0o-

Emily and Georgia got up and wandered out into the good-sized back yard, just appreciating each other’s company. They held hands and occasionally kissed.

When Greg Thompson got home he happened to see them kissing through the window.

“Doris, who are those two girls in the backyard?”

She walked over to take a look.

“One of them is our daughter, and the other is our ward.”

“That’s George?”

“It’s Georgia, dear. The two of them are apparently falling in love.”

“Hmm. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about that,” he said.

“Nor am I. George really has nothing, and if he’s going to get anywhere in life he’s going to need our help. I must say, though, that I am extremely fond of him. Somehow he has excellent manners, puts others first, and he does not have a bad academic record. Emily could do worse from that standpoint.”

“Yes, I see what you mean. But what about the dressing up?”

“She is exploring, Greg. She makes quite a natural girl, but the whole idea is very new to her right now. I am going to support her while she finds out who she wants to be.”

“You know best, dear,” Greg wisely said.

-o0o-

It was, of course, George who returned to school, but there was more of Georgia at the Thompson home. Emily bought Georgia some casual but feminine clothes.

Sarah took a while to get used to seeing Georgia. She wanted to say something against it, but liked George too much to pop his balloon. She was just afraid dressing might lead to another beating.

The three of them still did their homework together, though for Sarah nothing felt the same with Georgia there. She didn’t exactly resent Georgia, but she was a bit jealous watching the growing relationship between her and Emily.

-o0o-

Emily and Georgia were lying on their backs, propped up facing each other on the long sectional sofa in the den, the soles of their feet pressing against each other’s.

“Georgia, have you noticed Sarah’s attitude lately?”

“Yeah, the way she looks at us I was thinking she might be jealous.”

“You two were never in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, were you?”

“No, we just hung out together, because we were both outcasts, and we’ve known each other since grade school.”

“She needs to find a boyfriend,” said Emily.

Georgia looked alarmed.

“I hope you’re not going to try and play matchmaker. Does that ever turn out well?”

“We’ll see. I may have an idea or two up my sleeve.”

Her expression changed.

“But if she did find a boyfriend, that could impact you. Are you ready to introduce Georgia to other people from school?”

Georgia paled. She shook her head. “No, not at all. At that dance club nobody knew me, but people from school? Yikes! I’d be afraid of being beaten again. Well, if she just never brought him over here it’d be okay.”

“Hmm,” said Emily.

-o0o-

Soon school was out for the summer.

The Thompson family took a three-week trip to a resort, and naturally Georgia came too. It gave her the opportunity to try being Georgia twenty-four hours a day. She and Emily were having a good time with each other, and she did enjoy being Georgia. But she wasn’t really sure she was ready to give up being George, not that being George had so much to offer. It was just something to think about.

The Thompsons all noticed that Georgia seemed like a much happier person than George, more open, and freer to some degree. To Doris she just seemed exactly like a normal teenage girl. When they returned home they took George to a doctor specializing in gender issues.

The doctor examined him after being told about the missing testicle, and discovered the remaining one was producing almost no testosterone and really not in great condition. He recommended it be removed, lest it cause problems later on. At seventeen George was showing no signs of ever having gone through puberty.

“Why didn’t your parents take you to a doctor to find out why you weren’t getting any bigger?”

“They really didn’t pay much attention to me, doctor. I don’t think I ever saw a doctor since I was something like eight years old.”

“I see. You really should have a complete physical.”

“But doc, last year I was in the hospital for more than a month, and I’m sure they checked out everything they could.”

“Okay. We’ll have to get copies of your records for this office.”

When it was explained that George was exploring as Georgia he discussed with George his choices between hormone replacement therapies.

“You’ll never father children, George, and without hormones being produced you will find yourself in trouble physically, as well as being prone to depression or anxiety. You’ll need to decide fairly soon whether to start estrogen or testosterone therapy.”

George was shaken by all this. It was a lot to take in, and he wondered how in the world he would pay for everything that would need to be done.

At home Emily sat with Georgia and they discussed what had been said at the doctor’s.

“You know, Georgia, that I will love you either way. But I just want to tell you that my parents and I have all noticed that Georgia seems like a happier person than George. I don’t want to influence you, but why not go the way that seems to make you happier?”

“I know you’re right, Emily. I guess it’s just that it seems like a big step to give up being someone I have been for seventeen years, even if I don’t feel like I have that much to lose. I can’t even imagine, say, ten years down the road wishing I had stayed George.”

“You seem to already have your answer.”

“I suppose I do. It’s just admitting it to myself that’s the hard part.”

They hugged each other and Georgia shed a few tears for the coming death of George.

-o0o-

The decision made, things happened quickly. The orchiectomy was completed, and the HRT started. George had been added to the Thompson’s insurance plan early on, and was covered.

Though she was scared to death, it was Georgia who started school in senior year. Emily, who still had influence with her upper crust friends and football players, asked them all to help protect Georgia from harassment, and this plan worked pretty well. It helped that so few people knew George. The few initial ignorant comments sent her way resulted in the commenter suddenly meeting a locker face first, or tripping into a door, and they ceased.

Georgia and Sarah had very different schedules from each other this year; they didn’t even have lunch period together, and without even realizing it they were growing apart. Even though it was a natural thing, Georgia was sad. She had known Sarah for a long time, and she was just about the only link to her old life. She did make the attempt to stay in touch, but more and more her texts were replied to kind of late. She found out that during the summer Sarah had finally acquired a boyfriend, and they were spending a lot of time together. Sarah would apologize, saying she was just so busy. Georgia went to Aunt Doris about it

“Georgia, dear, this is a predictable thing to happen, especially when she has a boyfriend and you don’t have much contact. It may feel bad to you, but some people naturally grow apart, and it’s usually for a reason, not that you need to discover that reason. Especially when you’re young, friendships are made and they fade, even though you can’t ever imagine it happening.”

“Okay. I guess I feel a little better knowing I didn’t do anything to kill the friendship. Well, at least knowingly. I have felt that Sarah never really accepted Georgia.”

“That may or may not be, but you can’t make someone like something if they don’t like it. You have to move on.”

“Thank you, Aunt Doris.”

-o0o-

This year one of Georgia’s classes was Art, and she discovered she really enjoyed making pottery. Not only that, other people found it beautiful, including Aunt Doris, for whom she made a gorgeous vase, with amazing lines and colors. Doris, who knew a thing or two about art objects, was very impressed. Georgia seemed to have a real talent for design.

“Georgia, this is very beautiful. Have you ever considered going into art, dear?”

“No. I never knew what I wanted to do, but I admit I really enjoy working with clay.”

“Do you think you would be interested in attending art school?”

“I don’t think I could possibly afford it, Aunt Doris.”

“Setting that aside for now, is that something you might like to do?”

“Yes, I think I might.”

-o0o-

One day when Georgia got home from school there was a letter for her, which was unusual. There was a sealed envelope inside an envelope from Mr. Thompson’s firm. When she opened it she was surprised to see a letter from her mother. It was a very apologetic letter, explaining that she had been under Baylor’s thumb, not allowed to disagree with him under threat of being hit, that she was so sorry for not standing up to him when George came home in a dress.

She was living in a women’s shelter now and getting counseling for the abuse she had suffered, and wondered if she could see him. She’d understand if he didn’t want to—she also had nightmares about the beating, how horrific it was and how she did nothing to stop it.

Georgia had to sit down after she started reading the letter. Even though she couldn’t remember the beating, she certainly remembered its results, and this was bringing it all back.

Emily noticed the look on her face.

“Are you okay, Georgia?”

She handed her the letter, which she quickly read.

“Do you want to see her?”

“I don’t know, Emily. She hadn’t treated me very well for a long time. She married that man when I was eight, so it’s been a long time since I felt like I had a real mother. She didn’t really pay much attention to me after he entered the picture. In a lot of ways I felt like I was on my own. I just don’t know. Plus, she has no idea I’m Georgia now.”

“Why don’t you talk with mom about this? She may have some good ideas.”

“Good thinking!”

-o0o-

When Doris read the letter, she considered Georgia’s choices.

“I think, Georgia, if you would like to see her, even if only to find out what she wants, it should be in some neutral location, perhaps with a third party. Since this letter came through my husband’s law firm, we may take it that she doesn’t know where you live, and it might be better not to let her know. She’s an unknown quantity at the moment. But she is also an abused woman, who has suffered under the same brute that beat you.”

“Gee, I hadn’t thought of it that way, that she was abused too. I tried to stay away from that house as much as I could, so maybe I didn’t see that much of it. I could never figure out why she married him.”

“We all make choices in life, Georgia. With your father out of the picture, she may have picked the first man who showed any interest in her, being desperate to have someone support her and you.”

“I’m also afraid she might go ballistic when she finds out she has a daughter. I was told she didn’t disagree with my stepfather’s views on cross-dressing.”

“That’s another reason to have a third party present.”

-o0o-

Greg Thompson arranged a meeting with Georgia’s mother, Gail Baylor, at the law firm. Both he and Doris were present, and the three of them were seated at a table when Gail arrived. She was shown into the small, dark-paneled conference room and looked around for George.

“Mrs. Baylor, please take a seat,” said Greg.

She did so, asking, “Where’s George?”

“This young lady is your daughter, Georgia,” said Greg.

“What?! Is this a joke? I came here to meet with my son!”

“This is no joke, Mrs. Baylor. Thanks to the damage your husband did, George lost both his testicles, and thus the power to produce the male hormone. He had never gone through puberty, which is something which should have been investigated several years ago, and given the choices he decided this was the right decision.”

Gail’s face had gone ashen at the mention of the physical damage. She took a long look at the girl opposite her.

“George? Is that really you?”

“Yes, mother,” said Georgia, who was feeling a strange stillness or numbness inside that made her unsure what its effect would be.

“Well, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. This is what got you beaten up.”

“Mrs. Baylor, you should be careful what you say. Cross-dressing doesn’t automatically get a person beaten up. Your husband chose to beat George up. You chose not to try and stop it, just to be clear.”

“Mother, you never even found out why I was dressed like that. It was something I had little control over at the time. I wasn’t ever offered an opportunity to explain. At least that is what I have to assume, since I have no memory of the beating at all, only the aftermath. It’s not something I like to think about.”

Gail winced. “Yes, I admit I failed you. I should have found a baseball bat or something and hit him, but I feel like I was under his spell. He didn’t like it, so I didn’t like it.”

She suddenly burst into tears.

“I’m so sorry, George! I should have been a better mother!”

Georgia was still feeling nothing emotionally, other than the slightest irritation at still being called George. Her mother’s tears did not move her, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to listen to a whole series of reasons why her mother was such a lousy mother.

She rose and said, “Please excuse me.”

Doris got up and followed her out of the room.

They walked into Greg’s office, where Georgia just stood and gazed out the window, seeing nothing.

“What are you feeling, Georgia?” asked Doris.

“I’m kind of numb, to tell you the truth. Nothing she has said so far makes me want to reëstablish a relationship with her. I love you so much more than I ever loved her. In the time I’ve known you you’ve done so much more for me…” She couldn’t finish the sentence, the dam burst, and she started crying.

Doris was very moved by this, and she hugged Georgia.

“I have grown to love you too, Georgia.”

They hugged for a while, and then Georgia cleaned up her face.

“Aunt Doris, I really can’t say I feel anything towards her. I know she’s my mother, but she hardly ever treated me like her son. I feel like she’s just here to try and feel less guilty.”

“I understand, Georgia. She will always be your mother, but it could take several years until she can really come to grips with how she treated you.”

“Do I have to go back in there and see her again?”

“No dear. I’ll go tell Greg you were unable to continue.”

“Thank you so much.”

Doris delivered the message. Gail wasn’t happy about it, but she was smart enough to know that raising a ruckus wouldn’t help.

“You may continue to use this law firm to send letters to Georgia, if you wish, Mrs. Baylor. It seems there is still a lot of emotion surrounding this whole affair. I’m sorry if things didn’t work out as you had hoped,” said Greg.

“Well, thank you. I know I was a lousy mother, but George is still my son.”

“Mrs. Baylor, speaking only as a friend of Georgia’s, you are not going to get very far if you keep thinking of her as a boy and a son. Your husband took the option of being a boy away from her, and she likely doesn’t enjoy being referred to by her old name and sex.”

Before she could reply to that, he said, “I will show you out now.”

-o0o-

Once back home George went straight to Emily for some comforting hugs. She explained how the meeting had gone, and how she couldn’t face the woman anymore. The two sat on the sofa and hugged until Georgia felt better.

“Thank you so much for loving me, Emily. I feel like no one ever loved me until you. I love you, and I love your parents too.”

“Oh Georgia!” Emily said, and held her tighter.

-o0o-

Senior prom was coming up. Georgia was not planning to go, but Emily asked her, and she could hardly turn Emily down.

The two girls went gown shopping with Doris. They hit three different stores until both girls had found the gowns that really spoke to them. Naturally Emily’s showed a lot more chest than Georgia’s. As a boy she had never had the attitude that she should show off what she had, and thus far there wasn’t much breast development anyway. She opted for a high necked gown. Then they proceeded on to shoe shopping.

-o0o-

Emily and Georgia arriving together at the prom raised some eyebrows. No one had ever in their wildest dreams imagined that Emily Thompson was a lesbian, though they knew she was protective of Georgia.

The two of them danced together quite a few dances. Sarah even came up and tapped Emily on the shoulder to get a dance with Georgia.

“You look amazing tonight, Georgia,” she said.

“So do you, Sarah. You know, a couple years ago neither of us would have even been considering going to prom.”

Sarah laughed. “Yes, that’s true.”

Then, more seriously, “Are you doing okay?”

“Yes I am, Sarah. Thanks for asking. I had a meeting with my mother a couple months ago and I felt almost nothing for her. I love who I am now and the people I am with.”

Sarah looked at her for a while before saying, “I’m happy for you, Georgia. After what you have been through that’s a wonderful thing.”

Georgia had a few dances with the football players who had been watching out for her. She felt a bit self-conscious dancing with boys, but she had really come to like dancing, and it wasn’t as if she had to kiss them.

The night ended with a slow dance with Emily, the love of her life.

The End.
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I will use my standard disclaimer: I know nothing about medical stuff, therapy, lawyering... And I'm frankly amazed that this story ended up as long as it did.