Metamorpho-sis (1st song of the Kylie Warren Saga)

by Jennifer Sue

Part 1 of 3

I've been so wrapped up in my warm cocoon
Something's happening, things are changing soon
I'm pushing the edge, feeling it crack
And once I get out, there's no turning back
Watching the butterfly go towards the sun
I wonder what I will become
Metamorphosis
Whatever this is
Whatever I'm going through
(Hillary Duff - Metamorphosis)

*****
“Damn, how could you screw that up!”

“Don’t be such a damn sissy!”

“Get up and shake it off!”

“Don’t be such a damn crybaby!”

“Why can’t you be more like your brother?”

Kyle woke up crying, but fortunately doing so silently. Every night, the same nightmare. Of course, that was because every day was a living nightmare for the four year old. He’d learned to cry silently. If his tears woke his older brother, DJ, he’d get belittled as a crybaby. Then at breakfast DJ would complain that Kyle’s crying had woken him during the night, which would earn Kyle a scolding from his father.

*****
Kyle was a bubbly gurgling infant who grew into a smiling laughing toddler. That all changed shortly after his third birthday. Like many toddlers, Kyle loved his stuffed Calico cat, Puddy, and carried it nearly everywhere. His father thought three was far too old for a boy to be hanging on to a dumb stuffed animal and it made Kyle look like a sissy. Finally, his manly frustration blew and he snatched Puddy from Kyle’s hands and literally tore it apart as the toddler screamed. The devastated boy refused to respond to his father for a week. But the worst was that Kyle stopped smiling and laughing. Contentment and joy vanished from his life.

*****

Dave Warren stood six feet four inches and weighed in at a solid 240 pounds. In highschool he had been a strong side linebacker, earning a scholarship to a State college. While he hadn’t made it to the pros, he had earned a teaching degree in Phys-Ed. Now he had a comfy job as a Phys-Ed teacher and was an assistant coach on the junior varsity football squad. He wanted his sons to be just like him, a macho sports fanatic.

Laura Warren was three years younger than Dave. She’d been a wallflower when in school and had worked in a mini-market. A slender five feet four inches she was a full foot shorter than Dave. They met when Dave came home for Christmas Vacation during his senior year of college. She was swept off her feet and idolized the big man. They married in June after he graduated. Dave Jr. was born in mid-September. Kyle was born 23 months later.

DJ seemed to be everything Dave Sr. expected. Taking after his father physically and mentally, sports came naturally to the stocky boy, but more importantly, he enjoyed them. Since the cut-off date for school enrollment was September 1, DJ was one of the oldest boys in his school year.

Kyle was the exact opposite of DJ, both physically and in attitude. Taking after his mother, Kyle was slender and small. Since his birthday was mid-August, he was one of the youngest boys in his school year and only one year behind DJ. Kyle’s memories were of being yelled at for crying... when a passed football hit him in the stomach knocking him on his butt... when a baseball bounced out of his kiddie glove hit him in the face... when he tripped over a passed soccer ball falling flat on his face... on... and on... and on... The upshot was that since Kyle was not allowed to cry, the only way he could stifle his tears was to stifle all emotions. The four year old boy stopped crying, but then he’d already stopped laughing and smiling a year before.

When Dave wasn’t ‘training’ the boys, they’d sit beside him on the couch while he screamed at some sporting event on ESPN. Fortunately, DJ , who eagerly joined into the revelry, sat between his dad and Kyle allowing the younger timid boy to inconspicuously cower. Kyle was never given a chance to voice his feeling about sports nor to explore other interests. All he could do was sullenly follow in DJ’s footsteps.

The minimum age for joining the spring T-ball league was four. The minimum age for joining the August youth soccer league was four. The minimum age for joining the Pee-Wee football league was five. Dave had the boys signed up as soon as they were eligible. Dave wasn’t much different from the coaches. The most important thing was winning. Playing rough and slightly dirty was the name of every game. Dave trained the boys to be the toughest bastard amongst whoever they played with... to dish out more than they took... and to never cry. DJ eagerly did it all... late hits... tripping... elbowing... cleating... stomping... and loved doing it. Kyle had no choice but to do it too... and hated it.

To say Kyle was confused and frustrated was an understatement. Dave’s words and actions let him know that he couldn’t cry or behave like a ‘sissy’. The young lad didn’t even know what a sissy was but knew his dad hated them and that he had no choice but to ‘suck it up’. Not being able to show how he felt, Kyle developed a hard dour expression to hide his inner emotional turmoil. The tormented boy began to hate his dad and coaches for what they wanted him to do. Being unable to express that hatred, it didn’t take long for the unvented anger to build and twist until he developed a malicious delight in hurting anyone who was a gung-ho sports nut... even his teammates. No one suspected the radical transformation of the timid boy to a diminutive super aggressive toughie was a misdirected attempt to get back at his dad and coaches. Even the much bigger DJ suffered on the field drubbings from his scrawny little brother. The kids Kyle mashed were simply unfortunate surrogates.

*****

By the time Kyle began kindergarten he detested all things macho. Walking into school on his first day he glowered at everyone. The girls were totally put off by his gruff demeanor. The boys who had met him on a playing field had learned the hard way he seemed to enjoy hurting others and was seemingly impervious to pain. They warily avoided him and the other boys warily followed their example. As the days passed, the fact that he never smiled and rarely spoke intimidated his classmates. Needless to say, Kyle didn’t make any friends... and that’s how he wanted it. He’d seen his brother with friends. Having friends meant you had to get emotionally involved and Kyle felt he couldn’t afford to open himself up to becoming emotional as it might break his ability not to cry. On the other hand, DJ was a gregarious jock, not just one of the guys, but one of the natural leaders of his peers and teammates.

Kyle had learned to read as his brother did and quickly discovered that reading took him to other places and worlds... away from sports and violence. By the time he started Kindergarten he was reading on a second grade level and was a better reader than DJ.

At the parent-teacher conference his teacher praised Kyle’s intelligence but expressed great concern about his utter isolation from his classmates as well as his reticence and constant sullen demeanor. This revelation opened Laura’s eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time Kyle had smiled much less laughed. That evening she kept a close eye on her youngest, sadly recognizing that his morose behavior was, unfortunately, his normal state.

At supper Dave asked how the boys were doing in school. Both boys had grown anxious as their mother said nothing about how the conferences had gone. All she said was that both boys were doing well. Everyone knew there were issues she would speak about to Dave later. Conversation the rest of the evening was quite stilted.

When the boys went upstairs to get ready for bed both were afraid they were in trouble so they hesitated at the top of the steps to listen as their mother spoke to their father about the teacher’s concerns. When they realized who was in trouble, DJ smirked and gently shoved his brother. “I’m in the clear, goodnight squirt.” With that he headed off to bed while Kyle stayed and listened.

“Hell, if I was the not only the best player on every team but the best in every league I played in and if I was as tough Kyle, I wouldn’t want anything to do with the kids in my class either! As for not smiling, hell, he’s just so driven to be the best he doesn’t have time to smile,” Dave bragged.

Laura fell silent, she knew Dave was wrong but didn’t know how to express her concerns and fears. Dave simply didn’t understand the seriousness of Kyle’s malaise and she was too accustomed to yielding most decisions to her husband. She felt incompetent to stand up to him.

Kyle fought back the tears threatening to fill his eyes as he slipped away from his listening post. As he snuggled under his sheets he angrily thought that he didn’t want to be the best kid in sports. The problem was he no longer had any idea what he might like. All he could ever remember was sports... and he hated sports. He determined not to let himself be drawn into caring about anything as it only caused pain. Kyle renewed his vow to not cry again... even inside his head... it hurt too much.

*****

After that, on the sports field, Kyle refused to talk to his teammates, merely grunting or nodding his head to anything directed towards him that required a response. As for the coaches, he only spoke when they directly asked him a question and even then his reply was curt. On the playing field, even though he was usually the smallest player, his grim silent countenance and fearless aggression instilled fear not only into his opponents, but his teammates as well. When the coaches took the team for an after game treat, he’d shake his head in refusal but Dave and DJ always insisted they join their teammates. As the kids tucked into their treats, Kyle would silently stand off to one side with arms defiantly folded, unseeingly staring off into space. Dave simply wrote it off to post game anxiety.

In school his classmates actively avoided Kyle. If anyone tried to get close, he’d scowl which was more than enough to keep them away. As he progressed through his kindergarten year he easily grasped every lesson and always did all assignments and any homework, but never volunteered to answer questions. When called upon, he’d answer, but always gave the shortest response possible. He seemed to hate everything, including himself. Laura maintained an open line of communication with Kyle’s teacher and by the end of the year, Kyle was spending an hour each week in the guidance counselor’s office as they tried to break through the stone wall to find out why he behaved as he did. They never got anywhere with him as more often than not he remained silent. When he did answer, he never offered more than a two word answer.

DJ spent hours playing video games and Dave tried getting his younger son involved in the video mayhem but Kyle hated them too. Violence, blood, gore... Dave always got the newest systems and hottest games... finally demanding Kyle play them. Just as with sports, Kyle was reluctantly pushed to excel at them... it was a ‘manly’ pursuit. As with sports, the morbid lad yielded to his father’s demands and grew to hate video games as much as he did ESPN. Again his anger fueled his ability to excel at the detested games.

For his part, DJ excelled at every sport and every video game. None of his buddies or teammates could offer any serious competition, yet Kyle continually bested him in every sport and every video game. Naturally DJ grew frustrated with his recalcitrant scrawny little brother but realized the quiet boy forced him to be better than he might be without the competition. The fact that Kyle not only never mentioned that he was better than DJ, but never disputed the older boy’s bragging, kept DJ’s angst from getting out of control.

Dave was so proud that his sons were the best at every sport and game he didn’t really note that Kyle did better than DJ. The swaggering father never noticed that Kyle never smiled or grew excited over being the best. Dave was lucky to get a mono-syllable grunting response to his frequent urging and questions.

*****

During the next few years things only changed a little. An addition to the house added a weight training room in the basement and a new master suite. DJ moved into the former master bedroom leaving Kyle alone in the smallest bedroom. Kyle always did his chores without being told and kept his Spartan bedroom spotlessly clean. DJ had to be nagged to do his chores and his bedroom was cluttered with posters, sports paraphernalia, trophies, toys and models.

Still made to watch sports on TV with his dad and brother, Kyle fought the urge to beat them senseless while they flipped out screaming at the screen. Slowly, he developed the ability to stare at the TV screen while not seeing or hearing anything, almost as if he achieved some sort of zen state. A casual glance by his dad or brother would reveal Kyle watching the game in his normal impassive yet intent manner. Eventually his ability to enter his zen zone became easier. Along with the ease of slipping into a meditative state, his mind began to drift, finally progressing to another plane where it seemed as if he was floating inside a white cloud that was peaceful, quiet and relaxing. As soon as someone touched him he snapped back to consciousness. As the months passed, he developed the ability to slip into the zen state in mere moments.

Whenever Laura tried to engage Kyle in conversations asking him about school and such the morose boy sullenly responded with shrugs and one word replies. Always compliant to school rules, doing every assignment, academically the best student in his grade, he almost seemed a model student. But he had no friends, never spoke to classmates and was politely taciturn to adults. The school teachers and counselors gave up trying to reach inside Kyle’s mind but always kept a wary eye on him.

By the time Kyle started seventh grade, he overheard a conversation between his parents, learning that his dad was finally becoming concerned about his antisocial behavior but nothing changed. As in most years, DJ and Kyle were on the same teams. When the junior varsity football team stopped for pizza after a victory, Kyle still never mingled with the other kids, but then he never spoke to them during practices and games. When teammates had sleep-overs, DJ was always invited but never Kyle. Kyle never went to anyone’s home to play and never invited anyone to come to his home. DJ visited his buddies and his buddies visited him. Kyle always stayed in his room when DJ’s buddies came over. Kyle still had no friends which suited him just find as he detested them for liking sports.

Kyle’s dark moods grew deeper because he was lonely and filled with anger. Dave’s expectations for his sons’ athleticism certainly did not diminish now that they had both moved up to the JV football team he helped coach. Although Kyle was still small for twelve, he was now playing with and against boys up to age fourteen, many, like DJ, had begun puberty. Their increased musculature and growth far outclassed him. Still, Kyle resentfully persisted in competing and much to everyone’s amazement, often obviously giving 200 percent. The scrawny lad was the only twelve year old to make the first squad. All his age-mates were relegated to playing third string. Too small to play on the line, his smaller size and agility made him an ideal receiver. The many bumps and bruises Kyle took during practice and play were borne in stony silence. As the season progressed, his minimal interaction with others decreased even more than before.

By the end of the season, thanks to the outstanding playing of the brothers, the team made the playoffs. DJ and Dave were over the top with excitement while Kyle spent as much time as he could alone in his bedroom reading. Kyle’s dreams were all nightmares where he was stabbing and slashing people just as they do in the video games... terrifying him that one day he might loose control and really hurt someone. His warped world hit it’s zenith in the championship game.

Unbelievably, despite being far outsized by their top notch opponents, Kyle made seven first downs and scored three touchdowns. Kyle was the only offensive player on his team to gain any significant yardage. Their opponents couldn’t believe the perpetually scowling mute runt was able to do what he did and take the many violent hits they’d poured on him without the slightest whimper or even a grunt. Despite being continually bruised and injured, Kyle stoically shrugged it off and continued playing. With five minutes left in the game, their opponents scored another touchdown putting them up by eight. With three minutes left and eighty five yards from the goal it was third down and 18 for Kyle’s team. Although Kyle was heavily covered he ran a long pattern, shaking off his guards with his agile ducking and weaving. Leaping higher than he stood to snag the pass from DJ, he cleanly caught it and easily ran into the end zone for another touchdown.

As he slowed one of his frustrated pursuers made a diving tackle from the rear, slamming shoulder first into Kyle’s lower legs. Kyle violently somersaulted backwards over the guy that hit him, slamming into the ground. The pain was searing but the rugged lad bit his lip to keep from screaming in pain. With his vast experience of bearing pain and toughing it out he cleared his mind, not even wanting to think that his ribs were cracked and his ankle broken. The ref called the late hit and came over to see if Kyle was alright. As normal Dave was on the sidelines yelling at Kyle to get up and ‘walk it off’.

Taking a deep breath he waved off the ref and stood. Waves of pain washed over him and he bit down even harder on his lip until he drew blood. The hot salty taste of blood in his mouth helped him steel his resolve. Stoically he limped over to the bench while they set up for the extra point. No one even came over to check his ankle. Anger and hatred flooded his being, forcing the pain down. Reaching down he re-laced his shoe tightly about his swelling ankle, tying it as tight as he could. Disgust filled him at the ‘win at all cost’ mind set clearly evident on the playing field. The throbbing intense pain of his ankle and ribs began to recede as anger fueled adrenalin flooded his body. As he began to unclench his lips, blood began to flood his mouth. Quickly he clamped back down to staunch the flow, yet simultaneously bizarrely savored the hot salty flood.

While Kyle was lost in his world of hurt, the other team unsuccessfully tried to run out the clock. With 25 seconds left possession of the ball switched. In two plays it was third and goal with time for one last play. The coach ordered Kyle back in. The pain of standing was just as intense as earlier but seemed more tolerable. The play called for Kyle to run a pattern into the end zone. DJ, the quarter back, would fake a pass to him before running it in.

(Before anyone cites this as being impossible, it is possible to function on a broken ankle. For those of you who have never pushed through pain, you should know the secret is to master the pain and not let it master you. It’s somewhat akin to eating the bear or it’ll eat you. Once you isolate the waves of pain from the rest of your brain you can direct the adrenalin boost to keep yourself going. You can even begin to thrive on pain... not to the point where you seek it out, but enough to pump yourself up to keep going. At age 42, as a plant supervisor I walked about the building for 2 hours on a broken ankle, at the end of the shift I drove myself 5 miles to the hospital and then walked into the emergency room. The doctors couldn’t believe I walked into emergency room on my shattered ankle. I’ve learned to embrace pain...nine operations in 30 years on the same knee, 3 before micro-surgery... culminated in a total knee replacement at age 49. Then there is the 5 herniated disks in my back. Needless to say I’ve developed a strong masochistic streak ‘proving’ my masculinity. I’ve developed the philosophy that pain is good... as long as I hurt I know I’m alive. Enough digression...)

As Kyle ran the pattern into the end zone his nerves screamed but he was so pumped up with hatred he once again managed to shake off his pursuers. As he looked for the fake he saw the front line had cracked and DJ had been nearly sacked and had back-pedaled to the 25 yard line. There was no way he could make the needed run. DJ saw Kyle was open and managed to get the ball off as he was taken down. As the football came sailing toward Kyle he knew it was too high so he jumped up to successfully snatch it... a very stupid move on his part... but pain and adrenalin can make you do dumb things.

The air time allowed the opposing team’s guard to reach him... catching him in mid-air, hitting him low on the already damaged leg. The tackler shot beneath him as Kyle once more somersaulted, landing on his ankle with an audible crunch. His head banged the ground with such force it ripped his helmet off. Somehow Kyle kept the ball as he slammed into the ground. Everything went white for a moment and it took his breath away. The injured boy was gasping for air as his cracked ribs had snapped and blood from his now bitten through lips splattered outward with each explosive gasping exhale. As Kyle’s vision cleared he saw the guy who had tackled him was on his knees a few feet away puking. Kyle realized he’d scored and won the game but couldn’t understand how losing could make a guy ill. Then in a detached manner he noted his foot was facing in an impossible direction and broken white shards of bone were sticking through his blood soaked sock. He could see blood spraying out of the stump of his leg above the nearly severed foot. Vaguely he could hear players and refs calling for paramedics and an ambulance. Two other guys began puking while many players looked quite queasy and turned away. With bizarre clarity Kyle realized his days of playing sports were over! Defiantly he held the football aloft to show he still maintained possession.

Those who weren’t sickened looked at him as if he was crazy. Then for the first time in nearly eight years he began to laugh. It was a horrific, manic laugh, splattering blood with every pain wracked breath. The medics forced him to lie down and began applying pressure to his femoral artery. The crazed laughter sputtered to a gurgling silence as he passed out.
*****
The doctor’s who worked on Kyle were stunned when they saw the x-rays, CAT scans and MRIs. They showed the multiple massive trauma the boy had suffered during the game. They also revealed many previous serious injuries. Three times during the surgery his heart stopped. After they’d done all they could to save Kyle’s life, they notified the County Children’s Services Department.

Melissa Waters was stunned as she reviewed the files. The school records alone should have triggered an investigation years ago. Never had she seen so much documentation, virtually all of it indicating severe mental issues that had never been aggressively addressed. No one had ever even suggested possible abuse. Comments from virtually every teacher and staff person in the school had been entered into Kyle’s school record. Each listed the boy’s taciturn demeanor, solitude and isolation from his classmates and the dread he engendered in those same children. The fact that he never smiled or laughed was also duly noted, as was his near ever-present glowering demeanor. She assumed the reason he hadn’t been referred for psychological help was that he always did his assignments, had perfect grades, never broke any rules and never had a conflict with anyone.

The medical report on the morose lad’s physical condition was equally shocking. Upon arrival at the hospital his survival was in serious doubt. The records showed he’d lost over half his blood from his nearly severed foot and lower lip. Then there were the 3 broken ribs, one of which had caused a lung to collapse and five cracked ribs. Then there was the concussion and dozens of bruises, many of which had obviously occurred before the last life-threatening injury. The X-rays, CAT scans and MRIs showed the boy had over a hundred healed and partially healed breaks and cracks in every major bone in his small body. Yet the boy had never been treated for any of them!

Now that his previous injuries had been discovered, coupled with his current life threatening injuries, the doctors had decided to keep him in a sedated coma for at least ten days to give his battered body time to recover.

After analyzing several videos of the fateful game as well as a few from previous games, Melissa was quite unsettled. The recordings revealed the stubborn boy repeatedly getting violently slammed only to silently rise back to his feet to return to play. Clearly the smallest boy on the field, he unflinchingly faced down opponents nearly twice his size. It was also quite clear the boy’s father vehemently urged the boy on and had also done the same to his older son, but at least no profanity laced his language. While the films plainly showed DJ joining their teammates in raucous emotional cheering or booing, it also plainly showed Kyle’s grim countenance and unemotional demeanor as he plodded silently through the game. Between his time on the field, he sat unmoving at one end of the bench, simply staring at nothing. It also showed the late hit on the second last touchdown, revealing that the taciturn lad had been seriously injured, most likely breaking his ankle and possibly some ribs. Yet Kyle blew off the concerned ref and climbed to his feet to limp grimly to the sidelines to re-lace his shoe. Even she could see he’d been seriously hurt, yet he clearly made no sound nor asked for any help. She found it unbelievable Kyle had responded to the order to retake the field without a word of protest. The impact he’d suffered in that final touchdown and his horrific injuries sickened her, yet he managed to not only maintain possession of the football, but defiantly held the football aloft. The most disturbing image was Kyle’s hideous laughter after he looked down at his mangled foot... the only sound he’d made during the entire game.

Melissa interviewed his schoolmates, teammates and teachers. None showed surprise at Kyle’s on or off the field behavior as they had come to accept his weirdness. As a county social worker and psychologist, she’d never seen and certainly never studied anyone like Kyle.

Several times over the previous days she’d checked in on the comatose boy. Conversations with Laura revealed the worried mother’s long concern with Kyle and that she’d been unable to convince Dave that the boy needed serious psychological help. Poorly educated, Laura was at a loss about how to help her son. It was clear from the records she’d approached the school counselors hoping for guidance to get the help he needed. Laura’s tearful declaration the unconscious battered boy looked at peace for the first time in years said much.

Conversations with Dave were equally revealing. It was obvious that the father was deeply concerned about his son's health. But at the same time he remained focused on having Kyle's recovery and rehab prepare him to return to sports to become an even more outstanding player. When questioned about Kyle's grim attitude, Dave shrugged it off as being extreme concentration that enabled the small lad to compete with larger opponents.

Interviewing DJ revealed that he was quite aware that his brother's deep sadness was caused by Kyle's dislike of sports. DJ also revealed that outside of sports, Kyle never played with DJ or anyone else, nor did he play with any typical boy toys such as cars and trucks.

What Melissa found most disturbing was that both parents and DJ unhesitatingly answered "None" when she asked with what kind of toys Kyle did play. Further questioning revealed that Kyle only watched TV when made to do so, much preferring to be alone and read voraciously. This she believed as the librarian of the elementary school noted Kyle had read virtually every book in the 30,000 volume library.

Melissa reviewed her findings with appropriate co-workers and superiors, showing them the brutal game films. All were deeply concerned about Kyle's mental state and discussed if it would be better to remove him from his family. They decided to meet with Kyle's parents to lay out what they had discovered. Their reaction would help determine if Kyle would remain with them.

Dave and Laura were deeply concerned and rightfully nervous when they were asked to meet with Melissa and the head of County Children's Services the day before Kyle was scheduled to be eased out of the medically induced coma.

Melissa presented her findings and concerns and even showed edited films of Kyle on the football field, including his reaction to having his foot almost torn off. Laura was in tears and Dave ashen faced by the end of the presentation. It was clear Dave had never realized Kyle desperately needed counseling and that Laura had meekly yielded to Dave's bullish sports at all costs attitude.

"Kyle needs help," Melissa declared. "His mental state is obviously warped. The only way we'll allow him to remain with you is if your entire family undergoes counseling and follows the recommendations of a psychologist. As the agent in charge of Kyle's case, I will personally monitor the sessions and your home life until I'm satisfied you understand what Kyle needs to get better and that you, to the best of your abilities, provide it for him."

"We hadn't realized Kyle was so...," Dave began but couldn't find the words.

"Unhappy and depressed," Laura sniffled. "And I did know. I just didn't know what to do and you wouldn't listen."

"I'm sorry, Laura," Dave apologized.

"Apologize to Kyle," Laura declared as she fought back tears. "We abused Kyle."

"But I never hit him," Dave defended.

"That's the reason you're here instead of in court," Melissa jumped in with barely concealed anger. "Kyle has been mentally abused. If I thought you did it intentionally, you'd have been arrested by now."

"I never treated Kyle any differently than I did DJ and he's all right," Dave replied with a bit of confusion. "Isn't he?"

"Other than pushing him too hard about sports I think DJ is okay," Melissa answered. "The problem is that Kyle is not like DJ. From what I've been able to gather, the only thing Kyle does when he has free time is to read. He has no friends and doesn't seem to want any. I've found no evidence that he even plays. The only activities in which he engages is sports and that seems to be because you don't give him a choice. If he enjoyed sports, he'd smile. But his school records indicate he hasn't smiled in years. While he's obviously quite intelligent, he rarely speaks and even then only as little as he can get away with. Obviously he's unhappy and depressed. At this point, he may not even know what he might like to do."

"So what can we do to help him," Dave asked.

"We need to talk to him when he wakes up," Melissa explained. "As you know the doctors have said Kyle's recovery from his physical injuries will take months, possibly years. It'll be months until his ankle will be well enough to even attempt to walk on it. It'll take months of tough physical therapy before the doctors can say for sure how much permanent damage, if any, was done to his ankle. If he's anywhere as depressed as he was, this may be enough to make him suicidal. Dave, when he wakes up and is coherent, it will be extremely important that he knows you accept him as he is and you must unequivocally tell him if he wants to give up sports, it's okay. In order for him to believe you, you'll have to believe it and do nothing to contradict that. Only when he believes you, will he be able to move forward."

"We'll do it," Laura said with utter determination. "Dave, if you ever tell either boy to 'shake it off' again, I'll file for divorce."

Dave was plainly shocked. Laura had never stood up to him. "I'll do my best, but it's so much a part of me, I'll probably slip up."

"I won't be a hard ass," Laura softened. "I do love you, but the kids come first. If you slip up, take it back and tell them you were wrong. If I point out you're being too tough, accept it and don't get angry. Together we can do this. For Kyle's sake, we must do it."

"Okay," Dave conceded. "I love you too and agree the kids come first. Just be patient with me."

"That's where family counseling will help," Melissa stated. "It'll help you see how to treat the boys and give them the strength to voice their feelings without fear of getting in trouble. I'll schedule a counseling session for you and DJ first thing tomorrow. You'll be done with the session and able to be with Kyle when he begins to wake up."

Overnight they began to slowly back the dosage of the coma inducing drug Kyle was receiving, cutting it off completely by dawn. If he had recovered enough, he should wake up sometime in the early afternoon. Laura, Dave and DJ kept a vigil by his bed as he slowly returned to the land of the living. The family counseling session with Dr. Alterson that morning had been productive and things looked hopeful.

*****

When Kyle passed out on the playing field he almost immediately found himself in the white cloud-like silent, peaceful and relaxing place he went to when he entered his self-induced zen mode. The mental pain and anxiety left him and he relaxed and let his battered mind wonder. After what seemed hours it hit him that he hadn't sent himself here like he normally did. He'd just popped in. This disturbed him until he remembered his injuries. Suddenly he wondered if he was dead! The need to find out became overpowering. When he tried to will himself to wake up he couldn't. This scared him but he quickly fought down the growing terror. Once he had himself fully under control he took a deep breath and concentrated on his body.

Slowly the white cloud seemed to part and he found himself floating high in the sky looking down on the football field almost like an overhead view from a blimp. Apparently only a few real time moments had passed. He saw a crowd of people gathered in the end zone. A paramedic SUV and an ambulance were parked nearby. Willing himself closer he descended towards the field until he hovered above the goalpost. He saw the paramedics working frantically on a small player from his team. His parents and DJ stood nearby, his dad was hugging his mom who was crying. A loud 'whooping' noise grew closer and people were clearing the center of the field as a lifeline evac helicopter came in for a landing. The emergency crew leapt out with their equipment and a gurney to rush to the end zone and the fallen player. Dropping closer to the action, he recognized the boy they were frantically working to save.

It really didn't surprise him to see his bloody body being frantically worked upon. As they secured various body parts he could see there was an intubation tube through his mouth, a neck brace and an inflatable cast about his shattered ankle to hold the foot and leg in place to prevent further damage. As the local paramedics prepared to hand him over to the lifeline squad, he overheard the conversation.

"His foot is almost ripped off his leg. We have the serious bleeding stopped for now but it could restart. We think he has several broken ribs and his right lung has collapsed. He's bitten clean through both lips and probably has a concussion. We can't find a pulse at his wrists and at his neck it's weak. We also can't get a blood pressure reading as he's simply lost too much blood."

As they loaded his body onto the gurney and strapped him down, Kyle began to wonder how he was able to hover and watch. He raised a hand to his face and saw a ghost-like transparent hand and arm. Looking down he saw his entire naked body. Being naked in public embarrassed him and as he thought about it, a jogging suit and sneakers winked onto his body. Startled, he smiled as he realized he had some control over his disembodied body.

With a mere thought, he drifted over to hover right in front of his family. They peered right through him watching the medics prepare their son for transport, not seeing he was right in front of them. For the first time in years, a genuine smile filled his face. Then he quickly grew dour again. It was his dad's fault he'd been unable to smile. Angrily he swung at his dad's face. Much to his dismay, his fist simply passed right through the jaw. Obviously his dad hadn’t felt the intended blow but Kyle had felt a weird tingling as his fist had swept through his father.

One of the paramedics who had been treating him came over to speak with his parents. The man walked right into Kyle and stood there. Kyle felt the same weird tingling as he’d felt when his fist briefly contacted his father. Only this time since the contact was longer, the tingling quickly modulated until Kyle could sense feelings of great concern and anguish. Growing scared that he could see nothing, he poked his head through the man's chest, then pushed his arms out and popped free and the tingling instantly stopped. Laughing, he thought it was hysterical he could be inside a living person. Kyle moved through his dad, than his mom and finally DJ. The tingling was present in each as was the sensations of great concern and anguish. Then the message the paramedic was telling his dad came through.

"I won't lie to you. He's in critical condition. He's lost a lot of blood. In addition to his nearly severed foot he has broken ribs, a collapsed lung, bit through his lips and most likely has a severe concussion. They're going to air lift him to St. Mary's Trauma Center. The staff is aware of his injuries and is waiting for him."

It was then that Kyle realized the tingling sensations he’d felt were the actual emotions of the people he’d touched!

The noise of the helicopter reving up drew his attention. As he watched, the chopper lifted of and began to fly off. Suddenly, Kyle felt himself being yanked away in the direction of the chopper. As he flew across the football field he passed right through the spectator stands to pop out on the other side while rising steadily into the sky. Startled, he found his ghostly body flying through the air about a thousand feet behind the chopper although there was no wind or sensation of movement.

Assuming he somehow was tied to his body, Kyle willed himself to catch the helicopter. In moments he hovered effortlessly outside the window of the flying helicopter able to see the paramedics and flight surgeon inside working on his body. They had managed to get an IV started in an effort to replenish his bodily fluids. Sticking his head through the window he heard their conversations as they worked on him. Realizing he could do nothing to help, he pulled his head out and floated up to the rotors. Tentatively he raised a hand into their path only to find they harmlessly passed through. Giggling, he stood atop the chopper and let the whirling blades chop through him, not feeling a thing. From his bizarre perch he watched the passing scenery taking in the tremendous view the altitude of the flight revealed.

All too soon they arrived at the hospital. As the chopper settled to the landing pad on the roof, Kyle stopped his descent to hover about a hundred feet above for a bird’s-eye view of the drama. As soon as the turbine shut down, a crew rushed out from a small building to the chopper. With efficiency that startled him, they carefully removed the gurney with his strapped on body. With the flight med crew, they rushed into a waiting elevator.

Deciding to follow, Kyle slipped through the closed elevator doors to float above his body and attending medical staff. As the elevator began to drop, Kyle began to drop with them, then decided to stop. Popping through the roof of the elevator, he found himself in the almost pitch black shaft with steel cables zipping through his astral body. Strangely, he could see everything clearly but the image was skewed to look like TV night vision shots.

Curiosity got the better of him and he went to the top to examine the elevator mechanism. When the lift stopped, he looked down the shaft to see the elevator was three floors down. With a sigh he decided he'd better follow his body. After all, if he had a flight range of a thousand feet, he could come back later to check out the elevator.

Diving down, he swooped through the roof of the elevator and out the doors to see his body disappearing through a door. Instead of using the door, he decided to zip through the wall into the room. They had already transferred his body to a table and the nurses were cutting off his uniform and padding. As they carefully unwrapped his shattered ankle he zoomed in for a closer look at his sundered flesh and bone. It was a real mess.

A nurse came in with several pints of blood as others added IVs to his good leg. In moments blood was flowing into him through the two new IVs as well as the original. After stabilizing him, they rolled him out for a full body MRI, cat scan and x-rays. Kyle followed and checked out the equipment and controls as they were running the tests. The pounding of the MRI was incessant and had to be bone jarring. Fortunately in his out of body state he couldn’t feel it The images of his battered body on the MRI monitors were interesting.

When the tests were done his body was wheeled into an operating room. Several doctors and numerous nurses surrounded him as they began to work. The first team sliced open his chest to repair the broken ribs and seal the punctures in his collapsed lung before re-inflating it. The second team began to work on his ankle, carefully cleaning the massive wound and picking out shards of bone before setting to work repairing the damage.

Watching them work on his body made him feel uneasy but he realized the medical team was more than qualified for the task of repairing his battered body. Kyle decided to go off exploring.

As he flowed through the wall, he stopped and looked into the space between the walls and moved along the interior. Although no light existed in the narrow space, he could clearly see the metallic studs and the numerous wires and pipes. It was quite easy to see the oxygen and suction pipes as well as the plumbing. Being inquisitive, he decided to follow the computer cables to their source. The computer system was centered about a large mainframe system that Kyle found fascinating.

While watching the system’s operators work, his feet drifted into one of mainframe modules. Instantly he felt a sharp tingling sweep through him. Instinctively he jerked his feet out. This tingling was quite different that what he'd felt when he’d touched people. Slowly he stuck a hand inside the unit and again felt the tingling. As he grew accustomed to the sensation, he could feel the weird flow of myriad zeros and ones. Recalling the Disney movie PIXEL PERFECT, he wondered if he could enter the data stream?

For a long time he monitored the electronic flux as he sought out a pattern in the information flow. Three times while he was exploring he suddenly felt as if he was on the first drop of a big roller coaster but each time the sensation passed after a few moments. He simply wrote it off to being a side effect of his explorations not realizing his heart had stopped. Eventually Kyle thought he began to sense a pattern in the electronic flow. Cautiously he sought to connect to the data flow. Suddenly the electronic flux built and streamed into his head, slamming into his astral brain like a suddenly turned on fire hose. All his senses went white with overload. Fortunately, the impact caused his astral body to jerk away, which broke the connection. Quickly his senses returned and he saw the operators, who were different from the ones who'd been in the room when he'd began his exploration, scrambling about cursing that the mainframe had crashed. He'd been inside the system for sixteen hours!

Realizing he'd caused the crash he, Kyle instinctively fled back to his body. To his amazement, he simply winked out of the computer room and winked back in hovering above his body in ICU recovery. That alone confused him as he did not know where ICU was located.

Looking down at his physical body Kyle saw he was hooked to a ventilator, had two IV's and all sorts of wires attached to his head and chest. A suction tube emerged from the right side of his chest and a drain tube emerged from his skull. His body was also securely strapped down. His shattered leg was realigned but stainless steel rods and pins emerged at all sorts of angles to hold everything in place.

Wondering about his condition, Kyle floated over to the nurse's station. He saw the patient files hanging by the main desk and located his. How could he read the file if it was closed? Then he remembered he'd simply popped from the computer room to here when he willed it. Taking a deep astral breath he willed himself to see the first page of his file and there it was right in front of his eyes. His astral body had literally entered the file! Quickly he scanned the page, then went onto the succeeding pages simply by willing himself one page deeper each time.

When he was done Kyle went back to his body, stunned by what he'd read. Looking down at his battered body he felt like crying. Three times his heart had stopped during the fourteen hour surgery and his brain was battered and functioning erratically. The multitude of previous injuries was also noted. The overall status of his body was listed as extremely critical and he was in a drug induced coma to keep him still and allow his brain and body to recuperate.

Briefly Kyle reached inside his head and cautiously touched his brain. As he reached the base of his brain he found a few synapses were blinking randomly. In the base he discovered his autonomic system seemed to be sluggishly functioning. Slowly he inserted his astral senses into his physical senses. Pain seemed to emanate from everywhere but the meds successfully blunted the severity. Weakened and damaged connections in his chest effected his ability to breath. The foot that had been nearly severed was barely discernable as the nerves had been severed and surgically re-attached.

Withdrawing from his physical body he realized he might not make it. A weary doctor came into the alcove and began checking the read-outs of the monitors.

"I don't want to sound negative," the attending nurse said. "But how is he still with us?"

"I honestly don't know," the doctor sighed. "He's a tough little guy. He lost over half his blood and those injuries... brain, lung, leg... but he hung on. If his brain doesn't crash in the next 24 hours, he may make it, but it doesn't look good."

Kyle realized his body was dying. If his brain quit, would his astral self still exist? He knew he was tied to his body. But would he become a ghost? Not wanting to find out, he decided to see if he could patch his brain together but he had no idea how to even start. Maybe if he willed his body to heal as he had willed himself to read his multi-page file, maybe his astral self would simply do the task.

With his mind made up, Kyle resolved to give it his best shot. Resolving to try to repair his breathing first, he slipped a hand into his brain and began concentrating. Immediately his senses swept into his brain stem and located the areas that controlled breathing. From there he followed nerve routes through the spinal cord and into his chest to the lungs and diaphragm muscles. Weak connections were noted and signals sent out to all parts of his body to marshal it’s self repair mechanisms to gather and bring the needed raw material to make the repairs. As soon as that began, his senses moved on to breaks in the nerves. Again orders were issued to marshal what was needed to bridge and repair the gaps in the broken nerves.

By the time the repairs were well underway, Kyle was exhausted. Wearily he broke off contact with his body. As he looked around the ICU he noted he'd been inside his body for four hours. He could see a positive difference in his respiration and oxygen levels on the monitors. Now that he’d exited his physical body the weariness had also lifted. Apparently his astral body did not need sleep as he'd been floating around for twenty five hours.

Feeling the need for a break, he decided to see if the mainframe had been restored. Instantaneously he popped into the computer room. The system was up and running and the staff was running diagnostics to try to determine what had caused the crash. Curiosity overcame his reluctance and he dipped his hand into the terminal running the diagnostics. The patterns he'd noted earlier were present but were more focused and slower. Eventually he was able to 'read' the information. This time he slipped a tendril of his astral consciousness into a single stream of data and piggy backed himself onto it. Part of him was able to 'feel' the data while another part 'watched' it flow through the electronics. Swirling through the data stream he began to make sense of it and was soon able to hop from one stream to another without causing any disruption. Soon he was able to simply jump anywhere he wanted. As he traveled about the complex system, he learned how it operated and what each data stream meant. What had seemed like blistering speeds when he first entered now seemed a casual walking pace. The system speed hadn't changed, but his ability to sense them had drastically improved. With a bit of practice he was able to follow a dozen data streams at once. Finding the hook-up to the internet, he gently eased a mental tendril inside the system, found the connection to the internet and went surfing

Again, fatigue overtook him. Wearily he disengaged from the mainframe and floated out into the computer room. Looking at the clock he saw he was inside for twelve hours! Apparently time as he'd known it in the physical world was perceived quite differently in his astral existence.

Popping back to his body he found he was still in ICU but was now in a room. His mother sat by the bed looking at his sedated body. She looked worn and tired. The ventilator had been removed and he seemed to breathing easily. Popping out to the nursing station to view his file, he discovered he was now in an ICU ward rather than ICU recovery, yet he had popped to his file. Slipping into the closed file he read the updates. The doctors were mystified by the sudden recovery of his respiratory system. However, they were still quite concerned about lingering blunt force trauma to his brain.

Smiling, Kyle returned to his body to examine the repairs he'd instituted. All seemed back to normal with the breaks in the nerves completely healed. Popping back to his brain, he began to search through his cerebrum from injuries. He was stunned to see so much damage, some of it obviously old and scarred. As he'd done for his respiratory nerves, he marshaled his repair systems to bring in the supplies needed to repair or rebuild the damage. Following his astral instructions, dead cells and scar tissue were attacked and eroded to be flushed away to his kidneys. Then he tweaked adjoining cells to divide and create replacements. In the bruised areas he sent in repair units to reduce and eliminate the swelling and revitalize the damage. Damaged and weak synapses were repaired or replaced throughout his brain. The dendrites and axons were cleaned and made more robust, increasing their efficiency.

Fatigue finally forced him to emerge. It was 5am, he'd been inside his brain for six hours. This time he decided to check out the other patients in ICU. With a smile on his face he floated through the wall into the adjoining room.

The smile quickly faded as he saw a wizened old man hooked on all manner of life support. To his surprise he saw a ghostly figure hovering in one upper corner and recognized him as the old man.

The old man asked with a trembling voice. "Did you finally come for me?"

"What... no," Kyle answered. "I'm Kyle. I'm in the room next door. We're still alive but I discovered we can move through walls and stuff."

"I don't want to do anything but die," the old man sighed. "But they're keeping my body alive with all those blasted machines. I thought you might be an angel coming for me."

"Sorry," Kyle replied. "Do you really want to die?"

"Yes," was the answer. "My wife passed years ago and our ungrateful children never came to her funeral. I'm old, alone and tired. I just want to join her."

"Maybe I can help," Kyle stated. "I'll see if I can turn off the oxygen supply."

"I tried," the old man sniffed. "My fingers slip right through the valve."

"Yeah, but I've been messing with the electronics," Kyle declared. "I might be able to shut if off that way."

"Please, I'd be much obliged," the old man said.

Kyle reached into the ventilator and after a bit of exploration found the right circuits and switched off the oxygen. "There, that should do it."

The old man's face lit up. "I can feel it! I'm dying!" With that he floated to Kyle and hugged him.

Even though their arms passed into each other, they could feel their astral essence mingle as a similar weird tingle to that he’d felt when he’d touched his family and the paramedic but much stronger.

"Thank you," the old man said as tears of joy filled his ghostly eyes.

Just then a tiny white light appeared in the center of the room and began to grow until it was about five feet in diameter. "That's for me," the old man said. "I can see my wife waiting for me! Thank you again, Kyle. I'll tell God to help you get better." With that he flew into the hole. Once he passed through, the white hole diminished to a pencil point, then winked out.

The monitors began to beep, sounding multiple alarms. Kyle reached back inside the ventilator and restarted the oxygen. A nurse burst into the room followed by the duty doctor. They checked the monitors and everything was flat-lined. A brief exam confirmed the old man was dead.

Kyle felt really weird and somehow different. Unsettled, he returned to his room to think about whether or not he'd done the right thing. Quite quickly he decided it had to be okay as God had accepted the man.

As he thought about the man... James Wilson... how did he know his name... strange visions filled his mind.

He dove into a ditch by the roadside breaking through the half inch thick ice into the muddy water beneath to dodge the machine gun bullets that stuttered into his squad. A body fell atop him, his best friend with a small bloodless hole in his forehead and unseeing eyes, Bastogne, December 1944. Next came confused and horrific memories of death and destruction from D-day, June 6, 1944 when the then young man had parachuted into France with the 101st Airborne.

Receiving a diploma from Penn State, the first in his family to even finish high school as his proud parents looked on. Memories of graduating in 1949 thanks to the GI Bill. Standing nervously by an altar in a church filled with people as a beautiful young bride came down the aisle towards him. Memories from when the old man got married in 1951.

On and on, the good, bad and the ugly memories flowed like a crazy kaleidoscope. The life experiences and knowledge the old man had accumulated during his eighty five years on earth spun their way into Kyle's mind and became his memories too.

Apparently their hug and mingling of astral essence had opened a pathway for instantaneous memory transfer. Kyle still remained Kyle, but as all experiences change a person, this influx, a lifetime of experience, would alter Kyle as he assimilated the knowledge.

*****

Over the next few days, Kyle developed a routine of exploring the hospital and learning more about the workings of the complex computer system. The old man's knowledge greatly assisted his learning. He even popped into a few PCs and easily mastered them. Each day he did two sessions of self-exploration and healing on his physical body. Experimenting on his ribs, he learned how to speed up bone mending. Then he used his abilities to rebuild his ankle bones, restoring the blood vessels and veins, growing ligaments and hooking them in place, and rebuilding lost and shredded muscle. Only when those processes were well underway did he work on repairing the nerves.

The attending doctors were amazed by his seemingly miraculous recovery and could not explain the rapid healing. Still, they decided to err on the side of caution and keep Kyle’s body in the drug-induced coma for the full ten day period.

Apprehensive about encountering another dying astral person, Kyle avoided renewing any exploration of the ICU. After a brief visit to the ECU he decided to avoid that area too. There was simply too much hurt, agony, impatience and anger.

With his repeated trips to the computer system, Kyle quickly improved the ability to 'read' the information he found on computers and web sites just as easily as reading a book. With the ability to move and read at the speed of the systems, he became his own search engine, able to find whatever he went looking for if it was on a computer connected to the web. With this came the ability to sort and cross reference the information he found to determine if it was good or garbage. If he desired, he could 'file' the information he gathered in his brain like a memory.

Since he literally surfed atop the web feeds, when the feed he was on hit a firewall, he could simply 'step' over the deterrent and continue on his way. Also, once he'd been to a site, he didn't have to stay with the web. He could simply pop to or from his destination system to other known sites or rejoin the web at any point.

As long as he kept his main astral essence near his body, the tentacles he sent out were able to span the globe. This created an issue that briefly stymied him, information in foreign languages. When he searched to find a way to translate the sites, he discovered the Rosetta Stone software language site. Accessing the company site, he was able to almost instantly learn Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Arabic as well as many other languages. Kyle had the ability to 'pop' back to the Rosetta Stone site to learn any available language that might crop up in his surfing. Similar sites in other languages also opened up to his quest for knowledge.

*****

On the eighth day of his drug induced coma he was out roaming the halls when he saw the trauma team scramble to the roof elevators. Curious, he followed them to the roof landing pad. Anxiously they stayed in the protection of the building looking for the lifeline helicopter. Kyle heard the whooshing rotors before they did and floated outside to watch the approach.

To his amazement, he saw a terrified astral girl about his age desperately clinging to one landing strut. As the chopper hovered above the pad preparing to descend, Kyle jumped to the strut beside girl, startling her. She screamed and jerked away, falling off the strut. Kyle instinctually reached out and grabbed her hand. Even though their astral hands blended he pulled her back onto the strut. Instantly he could feel their astral essence mingle. The girl's eyes grew wide as their emotions mingled. Sensing he wanted to help her, she desperately hugged him, further mingling themselves. While the intermingle with the old man had lasted only a few seconds, the contact with the girl lasted over a minute. As she read Kyle's thoughts she understood she was an astral spirit and her critically injured body was inside the chopper.

Jennifer Sue hadn't understood why she and her mother were floating above the terrible car crash. But right before her eyes the sky opened in a bright light and her mother was swept in and the hole closed. Terrified she hovered above the wreck as people gathered and sirens approached. She was horrified to watch them cover her mother with a sheet as they cut her battered body from the wreckage. Now the girl realized her mother had died and gone to heaven while her physical body was severely injured. This led her to wonder how badly she was injured.

As they were still in astral contact, Kyle stopped her from checking her corporeal body. When she saw the images he’d seen of his injuries, she agreed she’d be better off not seeing her battered body. Suddenly Kyle and Jennifer Sue gasped. They both felt as if they were going down the first drop of a high roller coaster. Kyle’s experience with the old man told both of them that despite the medic’s best efforts, the stomach dropping sensation meant Jennifer was dying.

Both saw the pinpoint of bright light pop into existence and begin growing. Jennifer Sue smiled and thanked Kyle for helping her understand. Then she leaped into the light and rejoined her waiting mother.

Kyle felt really weird and more than a bit disoriented. Suddenly he shuddered as he made the connection. The stomach dropping sensation occurred in an astral person when their heart stopped! The three times he’d felt that sensation when first exploring the main frame computer corresponded to the tree times his heart stopped during his emergency surgery! Slowly he drifted off to one side as the chopper landed. The trauma team rushed out from the elevator building and opened the evac chopper’s door to find the heli team desperately trying to revive the battered girl. Knowing it was already too late, Kyle sighed and returned to his body.

Once in his room he hovered above his body as the girl’s memories and knowledge implanted itself into his psyche.

Smiling as she walked down the aisle daintily sprinkling flowers. The full petticoat of her flower girl dress swirled about her lace tight clad legs. Made of soft, lush light pink velvet finished with simple, elegant trim. An exquisite lace collar, lace on the sleeves, and a row of tiny pink buttons accentuated the utter girlishness. The princess waistline dropped to a flattering V in front and with a sash tied into a big bow in back... age 4.

Smiling and curtseying to the applause as she completed a ballet solo performance at the end of year recital when she six. Giggling the night away during her seventh birthday party/sleep-over with four of her best girlfriends.

Just as with the old man, the good, bad and the ugly memories flowed like a crazy kaleidoscope. The life experiences and knowledge the girl had accumulated during her 12 years on earth spun their way into Kyle's mind and became his memories too.

Kyle’s mind felt like it was about to burst as he sought to make sense of the myriad divergent memories. The old man’s memories had not been too difficult to assimilate. As a man, his emotions, feelings and thoughts were influenced and directed by society's expectation of appropriate manly behavior. While Kyle didn’t like macho posturing and attitudes, at least he was familiar with them. Jennifer Sue’s memories, feelings and emotions were quite different. Kyle, like James, seldom liked dressing up while Jennifer Sue loved putting on pretty clothes. Kyle and James only cared about how their clothes felt when they were uncomfortable while Jennifer Sue liked soft silky fabrics and ruffles and lace. Kyle and James were taught not to cry as it showed weakness. Jennifer Sue was told it was all right to cry when she was upset or sad. Kyle had completely shut down smiling and laughter. For James, the last years of his life had taken all happiness and laughter out of his life leaving sorrow and despair. Jennifer Sue loved to giggle, felt free to act silly and loved being a happy girly girl.

Taking an overall look at James Wilson’s life, Kyle saw a long trek with a few peaks of happiness and contentment separated by wide valleys of sadness and complacent acceptance with deep canyons of despair. Looking at his own unhappy life Kyle saw no peaks, only a deep chasm of despair. Jennifer Sue’s life was the exact opposite. Until the last hours, her life had featured many happy peaks with narrow shallow valleys of sadness and no canyons of despair. Of the three lives that were now his, Jennifer Sue’s was without question best.

Lost in deep contemplation, Kyle barely noted the coming and going of doctors, nurses and family in his hospital room. From James he learned that war was NOT a fun thing, it was horrible and disgusting. It was quite literally kill or be killed. Not only had he seen his best buddies killed and maimed, he’d killed and maimed German soldiers. He'd also witnessed the unmitigated horror of the Nazi concentration camps. The horrid experiences forever changed the man, permanently disillusioning him. Even at what should have been high points of his life, the mind-numbing atrocities he'd experienced during the war tainted his joy. While he regretted his war experiences, James readily acknowledged it was a necessary fight and was proud he'd done his part, sacrificing himself to insure others had better lives.

The dichotomy of James' emotions and feelings about the war really confused Kyle. The stupefying memories of seeing the emaciated bodies of the Jews when the concentration camps were liberated was now etched clearly in his mind. The adrenalin fueled fear during combat, the wild elation of repeatedly thrusting a hand held bayonet into the body of German soldier as they rolled about in the snow in the forests outside Bastogne, followed by remorse and self-loathing as he recalled the terror in the dying eyes of the man he'd killed. All were part and parcel of who James had become.

Kyle would forever more respect soldiers and their sacrifices. Fortunately, the memories and emotions Kyle had absorbed from James were easily accessible yet compartmentalized away from his own personality although they would tinge his thoughts and ideas.

Turning to give Jennifer Sue's life a closer look he found happiness and contentment. The love and protectiveness she felt while holding a neighbor's newborn baby. The sheer joy of ballet dancing. The contented role play when playing with baby dolls or Barbies. The companionship of friends. The hugs and kisses from loved ones. Even simply going to school had been a pleasurable experience for her. Then there were the sensuous delights of wearing soft, silky clothes. The tickling of delicate lace. The scrumptious swirl of skirts about her legs. The delectable sensations of silky tights encasing her lithe legs like a second skin. The saucy bounce of a beribboned ponytail. On and on went the multitude of pleasures that filled Jennifer Sue's life.

Kyle could almost feel the pleasure of wearing tights and satin panties, the tickle of lace and the sheer joy of being a cute girl. It was most disconcerting yet highly appealing. His dull, morose life was a waste when compared to Jennifer Sue. Yet she was gone and he remained.

The idea of returning to his former existence was absolutely repulsive. Assimilating James' and Jennifer Sue's memories had opened his mind providing instant contrasts to his unhappy nasty existence. His life so far had been far less happy than James at the same age. There was no way he wanted to live through the horrors of war as James went on to experience. A girl's life seemed a much better alternative. But he was a boy. He'd have to become a sissy to just partially experience what a girl enjoyed. But his dad detested sissies. Then again, that was simply another reason he should become one! The dilemma was mind boggling but Kyle knew he could no longer live as he had before the injuries. The sad, despondent, quiet and morose boy had died on the football field.

After hours of reflection, he decided to do some literal web surfing to see if he could find more information on sissies. Jumping back to the computer center, he gently eased a mental tendril inside the system, found the connection to the internet and went surfing.

Some of the sites were quite disturbing and pornographic. Others were interesting, with hundreds of fictional stories about sissies. From these he learned about transvestites, transgender and sex-changes. Never had he suspected a person could change gender. Being transgender seemed appealing. Further surfing revealed several serious sites that explained what it meant to be transgendered and what treatments were available up to and including SRS. The more he studied and learned, the more he was drawn to it. As he dug into James' memories, he found quite a few buried memories about Christine Jorgensen and what he called drag queens. Kyle found James opinion of them was quite low but that was not unexpected.

After absorbing relevant information from the various web sites, Kyle withdrew and popped back to his body to think. From his medical charts he knew he'd suffered a nasty concussion and the doctors feared there might be brain damage. If Kyle played this right, when they allowed him to wake up, he could feign a drastic personality change by tapping into Jennifer Sue's persona. With her girly outlook on life, he could take the COGIATI, Combined Gender Identity And Transsexuality Inventory, a unique test designed specifically to help determine if a person is Male-to-Female gender dysphoric.

For the first time he could remember, Kyle found hope for his future. Just as he reached the decision to be transgendered, he felt his astral self being reeled back to his body. It was time to wake up from his ten day coma.

*****

Metamorpho-sis (1st Song of the Kylie Warren Saga)
Part 2 of 3
by Jennifer Sue

Everyday is a transformation
Everyday is a new sensation
Alteration, modification
An incarnation, celebration
Everyday is a new equation
Everyday is a revelation
Information, anticipation
Onto another destination
Metamorphosis
Whatever this is
Whatever I'm going through
(Hillary Duff - Metamorphosis)
*****

As he slowly became aware of his body and surroundings, Kyle felt stiffness, pain and a parched throat. His brain seemed more than a bit foggy and disoriented but at the same time his astral mind remembered everything that had occurred and melded with his corporeal mind to bring order to the chaos. It was time to begin his plot to change his life. A low moan escaped his lips as he tried to flex his body only to discover he was strapped down.

"It's okay, Kyle," his mother comforted as she placed a hand on his arm. "Everything is all right. Just relax and let yourself wake up slowly."

Kyle sighed and forced his eyes to flutter open to see his mother's drawn face full of concern. Behind her he saw his father and brother, both equally concerned. Slowly he tried to wet his lips.

Seeing this his mother retrieved a cup and put a straw in his mouth. "Take small sips," she cautioned.

After several sips, he again wet his lips. Then to everyone's shock he smiled! Kyle actually smiled! No one in his family could remember the last time Kyle had smiled.

"Thank you, mommy," Kyle politely whispered in a soft girlish manner. "Am I going to be crippled?"

Dave, Laura, and DJ were stunned. It had been years since Kyle spoke that much or with any emotion.

Summoning his past stoicism he was able to stifle a cynical laugh at their reaction. "What's wrong," he sniffed feigning sissy terror. "Did they cut my leg off?"

"No sweety, no," Laura responded snapping out of her shock. "Your leg is healing a lot faster than the doctor's expected."

Looking perplexed and still scared, Kyle replied. "But it just happened! How do they know it's healing fast?"

"Oh Kyle, I'm sorry," Laura answered. "You were so badly injured the doctors thought it would be best if they kept you sedated so you could heal better. You were hurt ten days ago."

"Ten days!" Kyle exclaimed. "Wow, I really must have been hurt bad. How bad was I hurt?"

Dr. Alterson and Melissa Waters had just entered the room as Kyle asked that question.

"It's good to see you awake, Kyle. I'm Dr. Alterson. I'm going to be your family psychologist so we can help you get better."

"I've been looking forward to meeting you, Kyle. I'm Melissa Waters from the county child welfare office. I'm your case manager."

"I really must be messed up if I need a shrink and child welfare," Kyle whimpered as he cowered into the bed.

"It's nothing that can't be fixed," Melissa answered confidently. The frightened boy in bed was certainly nothing like the dour boy she’d been expecting. She went on to explain his physical injuries, including his concussion. Then she told him they were concerned about his mental well being because he'd ignored his injuries and had no friends.

"Yeah, I know I was really messed up in my head," Kyle sighed with apparent shame. "I hated my life and couldn't do anything about it so I just shut my emotions down."

Dr. Alterson spoke up. "Why did you hate your life?"

"Daddy will get mad at me if I tell," Kyle bit his lower lip and cowered.

Dave drew in his breath. The evidence of Kyle’s quite sadness and determination was clearly revealed in the films he’d watched with Dr. Alterson and Melissa Waters. Their insistence Kyle had been mentally abused greatly unsettled him. He had not wanted to believe he’d been unwittingly been abusing his son. Dave loved both his sons and had done what he thought was his best to raise them to be tough and determined in all they did. Now the shrinks were insisting the expectations and demands he put on the boys were accepted and well received for DJ but had been horribly wrong for Kyle. Everything he’d seen and heard since Kyle had awakened seemed to prove he had been horribly wrong in how he’d treated his youngest son.

"Kyle, I'm sorry you feel that way," Dave said determined to do all he could to correct his mistakes and attempt to make it up to his son. "I never meant to hurt you and apologize for any harm I've done. It's okay to tell us why you hate your life. I promise not to get mad at you and you have these two and your mother to back up that I'll keep that promise."

Because he perused all his medical charts while in astral form, Kyle knew all about the findings and concerns of Melissa Waters and Dr. Alterson and how they had backed his father into a corner. He also knew the professionals thought his father was honestly oblivious to the hurt he'd caused and that his mother had been too weak to resist or stop the hurt.

"But daddy, you always say a real man never apologizes," Kyle whined.

Everyone glared at Dave. "Kyle, I was wrong," Dave replied with embarrassment. "I've been a dumb stubborn jock and I'm ashamed to admit it took your being almost killed to open my eyes. A real man can and will apologize. An ignorant stubborn macho man won't. Thanks to Ms Waters and Dr. Alterson, I've learned how wrong I've been. Your mother tried for years to tell me I was hurting you but I couldn't see it and blew her concerns off. Now I've got to make it up to you and your mom. You're my son and I love you. I'll do all I can to help you."

Kyle was pleasantly surprised by his father’s confession and not sure how to react. To gain time to think he hung his head and summoned Jennifer Sue's girlishness to begin to cry.

With his past history, the fact Kyle was showing emotions and talking had surprised everyone. Calling his parents mommy and daddy was also a major change. The tears that so freely ran down his cheeks totally befuddled them. All were concerned the head trauma had effected his personality and worried there might be serious consequences.

Laura hugged Kyle as best she could until the tears stopped. "Kyle, please tell us what's wrong, she begged.

“I can’t,” Kyle softly sobbed.

“Yes you can,” Dr. Alterson reassured him. “You’re safe here.”

“If I tell you what’s wrong, you wouldn’t believe me and I’d get in trouble,” Kyle whimpered.

“Kyle, you won’t get in trouble and we will believe you,” Dr. Alterson tried to calm him.

"Well... okay... but daddy... please don't get angry," Kyle sniffled and cowered into his mother.

"I promised I won't and I stand by that promise," Dave reassured the trembling boy. "You're my son and I want to help you."

"But that's the problem, daddy," Kyle squeaked. "I'm not your son."

That frightened but obviously certain declaration clearly puzzled everyone but before they could respond Kyle went on.

"I hate sports," he sobbed pouring everything he had into his gut wrenching confession that was all too true. "I always tried as hard as I could and I know I did really well, but I hated it all the time. The more you made me do it, the more I hated it and the more I stopped being a person. I became an android like Data from Star Trek so it wouldn't hurt as much inside my head. You never let me play with stuffed animals or dolls. You insisted I play those nasty video games where you kill stuff all the time. I hated it all and I hated you for making me do those things! That's why I never talked to anyone and never made any friends, I hated being with boys and you wouldn't let me be friends with girls. But the worst thing is that I'm not your son!”

“Of course you’re my son,” Dave declared. “I’m sorry for pushing you like I did and promise not to do it any more.”

“You don’t understand,” Kyle wailed. “I’m NOT your son... I’ve never been your son! You tried and tried to make me be your son but you could never succeed because I'm your daughter!”

Everyone was clearly stunned by this unexpected declaration.

“I just got a birth defect that makes me look like a dumb boy,” Kyle exclaimed. “I hate looking like a boy and having everyone believing I’m a boy! I was to afraid to say anything and didn’t even know what to say. Besides, no one ever listened to me when I tried to say anything. You don't have any idea how many times I thought about killing myself! I was too scared though. I kept hoping I'd get killed playing some sport. When I saw my foot almost ripped off, I laughed because I thought I was dying and would finally be free!"

Tears were freely flowing down Laura's cheeks as she hugged Kyle. DJ just nodded his head as he remembered Kyle changing into an emotionless android. Dave was the most shocked. While he was aware of the transgendered, he had never believed it was a genuine condition but thought it was just some contrived terminology for being a gay crossdresser. He simply didn't believe it was possible. Now here it was being thrown in his face by Kyle. It had to be a real medical issue since Kyle had never been exposed to the concept of transsexuality. His initial impulse was to scold the boy but he'd promised to help his son... child... and had no idea how he could do so.

For Melissa Waters and Dr. Alterson, Kyle's heartfelt confession made all the strange misshaped puzzle pieces that was Kyle's existence fall into place. Being a super repressed frustrated angry transsexual certainly explained virtually all of Kyle's issues.

"Kyle, everything will work out," Dr. Alterson comforted. "I can appreciate your frustration. When no one would listen to you, you shut down. Turning off your emotions is a common way to deal with big issues. But it doesn't make the problems go away, it only postpones them and makes it even more difficult to solve. Frankly, I'm amazed you were able to keep it together for as long as you did. Unfortunately, now that it's out in the open, the pressure you've been keeping inside has now been dropped on your parents. The fact they didn't listen to you is not your fault. Now they have to deal with the consequences. It won't be much easier for them than it's been for you. They have promised to help you but they need to learn what it means to have a child born one gender who feels like the opposite gender."

"That brings up another matter," Dr. Alterson said. "Kyle, while I believe you feel like a girl trapped in a boy's body, by law I'm not allowed to make such a diagnosis based solely on your word. There are tests, physical and mental, to confirm your self-diagnosis. The official diagnosis for the condition you’ve described is Gender Dysphoria which simply means there are issues between your physical and mental genders. A person with Gender Dysphoria is called a transsexual. Before we can begin treatment we need to prove you are a transsexual and discover what type of transsexual you are. A transsexual may be satisfied by dressing and behaving as their mental gender while keeping their birth gender. Others need HRT, hormone replacement therapy, and/or surgery to physically change sex. This is called SRS, sexual reassignment surgery. They basically remove your birth gender organs and use them to create sexual organs that look like your mental gender. There are also many transsexuals who are content falling somewhere between the extremes. We need to see where you fit into the diagnosis."

"If we can officially diagnose Gender Dysphoria, then we can move ahead with making changes in your life," Dr. Alterson continued. "This can be a legal name change to give you a girl's name and even allowing you to attend school as a girl. This doesn't mean you can't experiment with dressing as a girl at home and even in public once you feel confident in a girlish identity. To do any of this we need your parents cooperation and understanding. All of you need to learn about Gender Dysphoria so you can handle the issues. It won't be easy because many people are bigoted and don't even try to understand. They'll tease and torment you and possibly assault you. Being transgendered is not easy, but it's a challenge you must take if you want to be a whole person, the person you are in your soul."

"You won't be going through this alone," Melissa Waters added. "We'll help you find information and support groups and will teach you how to educate people you meet in your day to day life. You'll also have the support of the County Child Welfare Department."

"Kyle, we'll do this," Laura assured him as she held him close and stroked his hair. "We'll learn how to deal with this together, as a family." With that said she looked at Dave and DJ for their agreement.

"Being a girl when you're really a boy sounds freaky," DJ nodded. "But I'll do all I can to help Kyle. After all, it'll be easier to explain Kyle is a girl than it's been trying to explain why he's been so nasty and quiet."

"Of course I'll cooperate," Dave assured her. "I can't promise I won't screw up because I'm set in my ways. But if everyone helps me by pointing out when I'm being an ass, I'll change and become the father Kyle deserves. Kyle, I'm sorry I've messed up things so badly and ask that you be patient with me while I adjust to the person you are inside. I'm actually looking forward to watching my daughter grow up."

"Daddy...," Kyle whispered nervously while pulling up Jennifer Sue’s emotions. "Can... can I have a hug?"

Tears filled Dave's eyes as, for the first time, he saw a frightened emotional little girl who only slightly resembled his tough stoic son. "Of course," Dave replied hoarsely as he stepped to the bed to awkwardly hug his new found daughter.

Even DJ hugged his new sister as, for the first time in years, the whole family smiled together. Dr. Alterson and Melissa Waters smiled at the scene, sure this family was on the road to reconciliation and recovery.

After about half an hour it became evident Kyle was growing tired so after tucking him into bed, the family left. For the first time in years Kyle smiled as he slipped into dreamland.

As his conscious mind slipped into sleep mode, he felt his astral self stir and rise. With a happiness he hadn't felt in ages, he squealed in sheer delight as he flew about the room with wild abandon. For the first time he felt as if he was actually in charge of his life. Absorbing Jennifer Sue's memories made the prospect of becoming a girl desirable, especially since he did genuinely detest being a boy. With the knowledge he'd gained from his research he felt confident he could easily fudge the psychological tests they'd give him to "prove" he was transgendered. The wisdom he'd gained from James would make sure his answers weren't too perfect which would raise red flags.

The only fly in the ointment was the treatments and surgery he'd have to endure to physically become a girl. Then an idea hit him. In his research he'd learned that some people were born intersexed. That had to be what the physical tests they intended to give him would investigate. Could he make himself become intersexed?

With a mere thought he found himself in the massive computer system of John Hopkins University. Some astral tentacles flowed through searching for all data on intersexed humans while others researched fetal development concentrating on the gonadal development. Soon he had tendrils in the systems of research hospitals and universities around the world. Based on what he discovered, he sent other tendrils out to find and absorb stem cell research. The mass of data he found and studied was interesting. Effortlessly he merged all the information into a workable fusion.

A few weeks after fertilization, the initial appearance of the human fetal genitalia is basically feminine: a pair of "urogenital folds" with a small protuberance in the middle and the urethra behind the protuberance. In typical fetal development, the presence of the SRY gene causes the fetal gonads to become testes; the absence of it allows the gonads to continue to develop into ovaries. Thereafter, the development of the internal reproductive organs and the external genitalia is determined by hormones produced by fetal gonads (ovaries or testes) and the cells' response to them.

If the fetus has testes and if the testes produce testosterone and if the cells of the genitals respond to the testosterone, the outer urogenital folds swell and fuse in the midline to produce the scrotum; the protuberance grows larger and straighter to form the penis; the inner urogenital swellings swell, wrap around the penis, and fuse in the midline to form the penile urethra. If testosterone is not present, normal female development continues, with the development of a perineal urethra and the formation of a uterus, clitoris and vagina. The Má¼llerian ducts, which are paired ducts of the embryo which empty into the cloaca and which develop into the upper vagina, cervix, uterus and oviducts; in the male they disappear except for the vestigial vagina masculina and the appendix testis.

Kyle jumped back into his body and examined his genitals in such great detail that any researcher would be jealous. As he assimilated the knowledge he gathered, he realized he might be able to make himself intersexed!

With growing excitement he found stem cells in his testicles. Carefully he nudged them out of place and into the blood stream and followed them until they reached the location in his abdomen where ovaries would be if he'd been born female. Carefully he planted them in place and stimulated them with the natural estrogen in his body. Using the techniques he'd developed in repairing the damaged areas in his lung, brain and ankle, he super-charged the development and growth of his suddenly nascent ovaries. Using the same techniques, he took more stem cells and began to grow fallopian tubes, a uterus, cervix, and a vagina.

One last task was too tweak the sexual chromosomes in his cells by duplicating his ‘X’ chromosome so he’d be ‘XXY’. He began with his blood cells and went on to the rest of his cells.

By the time he was ready to wake up the next morning, he was no longer just a boy. Even though his new female genitalia was still budding, Kyle was truly intersexed.

As he felt his body waking, Kyle set his body up to continue speed growing his new female organs as he decided to try another experiment. Instead of simply letting his astral self slip back into his conscious body, he only placed a tendril in his brain.

Instead of the usual gradual return to consciousness as he physically woke up, Kyle was instantly awake. With his eyes closed he could see about the room through his astral eyes. It really seemed strange. Then he opened his eyes. The room seemed to spin as a massive sensation of vertigo wracked his physical body. His astral self swirled about the room as if in the vortex of a tornado. At first he thought he was going to get sick, but quickly his astral self shut down it's vision. With that, the vertigo vanished.

After a few moments to re-center himself, Kyle analyzed his situation. His astral self was not a separate entity, it was simply a complex bit of multi-tasking. This was accomplished by using his "executive control" processes, his mental CEO. Centered in his brain's prefrontal cortex and other key neural regions such as the parietal cortex which he had preciously enhanced, these interrelated cognitive processes enabled him to establish priorities among tasks and allocate his mind's resources to them. For each aspect of performance, perceiving, thinking and acting, Kyle had developed specific powerful mental resources. Now that his physical conscious self and astral self were synthesized together, all the pieces quickly fell into place.

Slowly he opened his astral eyes. The vertigo returned for a brief instant, but he was able to segregate the dual vision and control both. It was really weird to lie in bed looking through his physical eyes while his astral eyes moved about the room. To his amazement, he could see his ghost-like astral self, still clad in the jogging suit he'd created when he first discovered his astral body was naked. With a smile he decided to see what he'd look like as a girl by creating one of Jennifer Sue's playful outfits on his astral body.

Floating above the foot of the bed, the jogging suit morphed into pink denim bib shortalls with a matching pink cotton T-shirt with lace trim about the cuffs and neck. Pink crew socks and sneakers adorned his feet. Then his hair morphed, creating a fringe of slightly curled bangs just above his eyes as the rest grew longer, gathered into bouncy twin ponytails at the sides of his head with a neat part right down the center of his head. Damn, he looked cute! Without changing his body one bit, he made a most acceptable girl.

As he admired his girlish self, he realized she needed a name. His research showed him that having a girl's name was one of the integral parts of being transgendered. It only took a moment of thought before he decided on Kylie, the girlish version of his boy name.

At that point an aide entered the room with a tray of food. Kyle realized he was starving and his astral self settled down to allow him to pay full attention to the aide. The aide placed the tray on the over the bed table as a nurse entered to assist Kyle into a sitting position. When the covers were removed from the dishes Kyle was a bit disappointed to see scrambled eggs and oatmeal.

"I'm sorry, Kyle," the nurse apologized as she saw his expression. "Your stomach isn't ready for solid food. If you eat everything today and have no digestive issues, we can put you back on solid food tomorrow."

"Okay," Kyle nodded utilizing James' wisdom to understand the reason for soft food. "If I do all right with this, at lunch can I have larger servings? I'm starving!"

"I'll see what I can do," the nurse smiled. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better. The entire staff was really concerned for you. If you're doing well, they'll soon transfer you out of ICU to the pediatric ward. Then you'll have company and access to a TV."

"Okay, thanks," Kyle replied as he picked up his spoon.

While he ate, he watched astral Kylie do cartwheels and somersaults as she danced about the room. Jennifer Sue's dance lessons proved accessible to him.

As he ate he realized he was not just operating on multiple levels, he was now simultaneously functioning on dozens of levels. As he ate and enjoyed the taste and texture of his food, some astral tentacles were still in the computers around the world mining data. Other portions of his mind were assimilating and correlating the influx of data. His astral body was still dancing and giggling in girlish glee. From his research he realized he had somehow made a massive cognitive leap in his mental capabilities, even able to directly access electronic technology. Normal multi-tasking might involve chewing gum while riding a bike, pedaling and steering to a destination and looking out for potential trouble while listening to an I-pod.

Now he was far beyond that level of multi-tasking. As he delved into the reasons he was able to do so much, he realized his mental id, or if you prefer, soul, had expanded from the confines of his physical brain into an ethereal astral dimension. The fact he had enhanced the function and abilities of his physical brain certainly helped. The realization his new capabilities were inextricably linked to his astral being caused him some concern.

Already he knew that in astral form his essence had mingled first with James Wilson and then with Jennifer Sue Charles. While the exchange with James had been brief, it had been enough to absorb the man's intellect. The longer contact with Jennifer Sue had created a mutual exchange of intellect. The fact they both passed over meant there was no danger from them. But what if he met someone who was not dying... someone like him... or something else entirely? Obviously there had to be some sort of actual existence in the astral dimension or he wouldn't be able to feel things and absorb information. This knowledge made him understand he had to find someway of protecting his astral self.

This made him think of his favorite book, The Lord Of The Rings, when Pippin found the Orb of Orthanc and was so drawn to it he peeped inside and saw the evil eye of Sauron. The mere memory of that evilness made Kyle shiver. Was there such an evil in the astral realm he roamed? How could he resist such evilness? Pippin was a good hobbit yet he was almost sucked into the evil.

With a building dread he felt he'd gathered enough information from the medical archives and needed to research whatever was available about the astral realm. Accordingly he moved his astral tendrils out through the internet to search for any knowledge of astral bodies and ethereal projection. The amount of information was staggering. Much of it came from religious and mystical legend and lore. A good portion also came from fantasy and science fiction such as Tolkien. Another massive amount came from the gaming worlds. Still more came from people who claimed to be psychics and such. A few were from physicists who theorized parallel and or alternate universes were be part of string theory. While nothing could be proved, some seemed to reflect portions of what he'd experienced.

Due to his experiences, he felt that his ethereal actions occurred on what most people called the astral plane of existence which was tied directly into earthly reality. He'd seen James Wilson and Jennifer Sue ascend from the astral/earthly nexus to something obviously better and at a much higher level which he considered to be heaven. By extrapolation that meant there had to be a lower plane known as hell. As some of the theories espoused, ghosts had to be astral beings who had lost their physical bodies but had not ascended or descended. That also meant demons could be real too and might be roaming the astral plane looking for a way to make trouble.

This in turn led him to believe that exorcisms did indeed cast demons out of earthly hosts. Most people were familiar with religious exorcisms. But many exorcisms were performed by those whose beliefs were outside the Judeo-Christian-Islamic beliefs. Druids and white witches cast out demons as did some psychics. The best form of defense against demons would be an unshakeable belief system that was based on goodness, faith, hope, life and love. As he searched for information on exorcisms he realized each at least somewhat documented successful exorcism had basic similarities. His astral experiences watching ascensions gave him an unshakeable belief that there had to be some sort of positive higher power of goodness.

After examining all possibilities to see which would best suit and protect him, he settled on an ancient Druidic belief, best represented by the Celtic Five Fold Symbol. Consisting of five equal sized circles, four circles overlap with the outer edge of all four touching a single center point while the fifth circle is centered on that center point and overlaps the other four circles.

The first fold represents the compass direction EAST, the element AIR, the season of SPRING, represents HOME & WEALTH, the tenet of VITALITY OF LIFE and the ritual of MOBILIZING.

The second fold represents the compass direction SOUTH, the element FIRE, the season of SUMMER, represents CREATIVITY & ART, the tenet of CLARITY OF LIGHT and the ritual of TRANSFORMING.

The third fold represents the compass direction WEST, the element WATER, the season of FALL, represents LEARNING & CHRONICLING, the tenet of GROWTH OF LOVE and the ritual of PURIFYING.

The fourth fold represents the compass direction NORTH, the element EARTH, the season of WINTER, represents VINDICATION & HONOR, the tenet of ORDER IN LOVE and the ritual of STABILIZING.

The fifth fold represents the CENTER of the compass, the element ETHER, between the seasons TRANSITION, represents ASCENSION & SPIRITUALITY, the tenet of BALANCE IN ALL and the ritual of TRANSCENDING.

Obviously, what he’d experienced in the astral plane matched almost perfectly with the meanings attributed to the Celtic Five Fold Symbol. Quickly he began to assimilate into his astral form. It felt weird, almost as if he was slipping on a suit of invulnerable armor. He could even feel all his astral tendrils becoming surrounded by the warm, comforting green glow of the Druidic derived Celtic Five Fold Symbol. The green glow signified thriving life, which, he realized, was his unassailable astral armor that would keep any and all demons and evil well away from him.

*****

After demolishing the breakfast, Kyle decided to check out the monitoring equipment in his room. Kyle was a bit surprised to see a tentacle emerge from Kylie to slip inside the first piece. Able to see what she saw, he was amazed as other tendrils popped out into the internet and computers to not only discover what each part of the machine did but how it did it and how it was made. Once established in their search, the visible manifestation of the tendrils faded away while the contacts remained.

By lunch, Kyle was famished. The massive self-healing he'd instigated combined with his efforts to grow female organs sapped his body's energy stores. Realizing he was in effect cannibalizing himself, he shut down the enhanced healing but continued the enhanced growth of his new female organs.

The nurse who watched him eat his lunch was surprised he ate the bland soft food with such relish. Usually people who came off enforced comas were groggy, had little appetite and slept most of the day, but this child was wide awake, hungry and perky.

When he finished, Kyle smiled at her. "I ate everything and feel okay. Is there anyway I can get seconds?"

"Let me check with the doctor," the nurse replied as she removed the tray. "I'll do what I can."

It was only a few minutes later three doctors entered the room. Kyle recognized them as some of the doctors who had originally worked on him when he'd been medi-vacced to the hospital. "Good morning," Kyle cheerily greeted them.

"Good morning," the surprised doctor's chorused back. Like the nurse, they were surprised to discover Kyle was awake and quite alert.

"I'm Doctor Proctor, your orthopedic surgeon. This is Doctor Walsh, your neurologist, and Doctor Lance, your pulmonologist," Dr. Proctor introduced the trio. "We were involved in your initial surgery and have been working on your case since. Frankly, your recovery has amazed us. We've never seen anyone come back so quickly from the terrible injuries you suffered. Now the nurses tell us you've eaten all your breakfast and lunch and have asked for more. That's also amazing this soon after emerging from a coma. We need to examine you to see how you're progressing before we decide if you're well enough to have more food."

"Let's get started," Kyle smiled. "I'm really hungry. I think my body is healing so well it's using up all my energy reserves and I need to replenish them."

The doctors smiled at the childish deduction knowing that couldn't be the case. Surrounding Kyle, the neurologist began to check his eyes as the pulmonologist checked his blood oxygen. The orthopedist with the assistance of a nurse, began unwrapping the ankle.

As the doctors were examining him, Kyle realized the doctors were stunned by the healing that had occurred. There was no evidence of brain damage. Lung function was above average, and the ankle looked as if the injury had occurred well over almost two months ago, not a week and a half.

Without consciously thinking, Kyle had Kylie tentatively slip an astral hand inside Dr. Proctor's head. The tingling she felt was like that of his previous astral contact with people but it was all one way. She was receiving but not sending. With the knowledge she'd gained coupled with examining the workings of her own brain, she was able to locate and read his thoughts and emotions. There was great confusion and mystification about how the healing he saw had occurred. In all his years of medical practice experience he'd never seen nor heard of such a miraculous healing and he wanted to know why.

This scared Kyle as he realized he'd rushed his healing too much. A quick check of the other doctors revealed similar concerns. At first Kyle considered trying to tweak their minds to not worry about the rapid healing but realized that would not be right and could jeopardize his astral armor. Reading their thoughts was one thing, trying to change their thoughts was quite a different matter and could have unforseen consequences. It would be better to let his healing resume a normal pace and only tweak it if something wasn't healing in the right way. In the mean time, it'd be best to play innocent and pursue his quest to complete his transformation to being intersex.

As the doctors were finishing up, Kyle looked at them hopefully. "So, am I healing okay?"

"Yes, Kyle, you're healing much faster than any of us hoped," Dr. Proctor replied smiling at the boy. "Our only concern is that you're healing too fast."

Kyle looked confused. "How can that be bad?"

"We're not sure if it is bad," Dr. Proctor replied. "We've just never seen anyone heal as rapidly as you've done."

"Then I might be right about my body using up it's energy to heal me," Kyle smiled innocently. "So can I have more food?"

The doctors chuckled. "I don't see why we can't," Dr. Lance said. "It'll still have to be soft food. Just make sure you don't eat so much you make yourself sick."

"I'll make sure of that," Kyle declared solemnly. "I hate barfing."

The doctors chuckled again. Dr. Proctor told the nurse to get Kyle another tray of food and left.

Kyle settled back and waited as Kylie followed the doctors and listened in on their discussion. They ordered extensive blood work to see if they could determine why he was healing so rapidly. They also ordered another full body CAT scan and MRI as well to compare it to the scans done when he was admitted so they could see the differences.

This knowledge concerned Kyle. The CAT scan and MRI would reveal the scaring on his brain had disappeared and that he now had female organs. Once more he realized every change he made would have consequences. The safest solution he could think of at this point was to somehow damage or destroy the previous scans so they could not compare the new to the old. He'd have to search out all copies of the original scans, whether electronic or hard, and ruin them. But if he did that, wouldn’t it raise more questions about his rapid recovery?

The nurse brought in a tray of food. With a smile he thanked her and began to eat, this time being cautious by eating in a dainty girlish manner. The nurse smiled to see he was not attacking the food as he’d done earlier.

After a bit of deep thought, Kyle decided to fabricate trace evidence indicating a fake conspiracy. While destroying all evidence of his earlier scans, he’d leave enough circumstantial evidence to make conspiracy conscious people assume some secret group had treated Kyle with an experimental drug that caused his rapid healing.

It proved easy to disrupt the electronically stored data by creating a powerful magnetic force in the ether and using a pin sized opening between astral and earth to scramble just the areas holding his scans in electronic storage. This would make it look like someone had intentionally erased his scans. It proved more difficult to disrupt the hard copies and printed summaries. Finally he settled on 'sending' an e-mail from the staff of Nuclear Medicine to the staff of the doctors who had the hard copies requesting the copies be sent back to the Nuclear Medicine Department for re-evaluation. Another e-mail was sent to the Hospital records department asking them to send all copies of Kyle’s recent tests and scans back to Nuclear Medicine Department for re-revaluation. Then he sent an e-mail to the Nuclear Medicine staff supposedly from the head of Nuclear Medicine to shred all the hard copies they were returning. The e-mails came from a staff terminal used by more than one person using passwords of recently terminated employees who had not been deleted from the system. No one investigating would be able to trace who actually sent the messages.

It would be a mystery as to who coordinated everything since the perpetrator would need unencumbered secret access the hospital’s Nuclear Medicine department. It would appear as if someone had tried an unapproved and possibly dangerous treatment that accounted for Kyle’s miraculous recovery and then had destroyed the pre-treatment scans to help conceal their identity and destroy evidence of his miraculous discovery. All scans and x-rays along with their written reports that documented proof of the seriousness of his injuries, would be gone. Any investigation that might be launched would simply turn up dead ends. While not a great plan, at least it seemed to be an effective one and did accomplish his goal. It also did not require him to tamper with anyone’s mind.

After doing all he could to destroy the evidence Kyle kept an astral eye peeled in the ECU halls to forewarn him of anyone coming to see him so he could probe their minds and greet them in the most effective personality mode to foster his emergent genger dysphoria. Dr. Alterson and Melissa Waters came into Kyle's room just after he'd finished lunch. Kyle smiled and reached out for hugs which they readily gave him.

Once the hugs were exchanged Kyle smiled perkily. "So how soon do we start the tests to prove I'm a girl?"

"As soon as you're transfered to a regular room in the pediatric ward," Dr. Alterson smiled. "All these machines will stay here and you'll be off the IVs. Then we can start giving you the psychological exams. We're coordinating with your other doctors to get copies of the x-rays, MRIs, CAT scans and blood tests you'll be recieving this afternoon."

"A nurse was in just before lunch and took six tubes of blood," Kyle replied. Then he stage whispered, "I think they only needed three so she must be a vampire."

The women laughed along with Kyle.

After a few more minutes of discussion, a nurse and an aid came in with a gurney to transport Kyle for his tests. Kyle maintained a girlish chatter as they removed the multiple monitoring sensors from his body, stopped the IV drip but left the trap in his arm. Then they transferred him from the bed and wheeled him through the halls to the nuclear department.

As all the tests were being being run, Kyle left an astral tentacle to follow the route of each to make sure he hadn't missed any of the previous tests to make sure they were all deleted.

When Kyle's family visited him that evening, they were pleased to learn Kyle was going to be transferred out of ICU into the pediatric ward the next morning. Not only that, he would be allowed to go on to regular meals! They were pleasantly surprised to see Kyle smile broadly and and hold out his arms for hugs as he began talking up a storm the moment they entered the room. They still hadn't adapted to his seemingly instantaneous personality change.

Kyle used his astral tentacles to read the thoughts and feelings of his family in order to tailor his appearance for the maximum girlish impact on each. Using every bit of girlish cunning and charm that he could summon from Jennifer Sue, he prattled about redecorating his bedroom, getting some dolls, going shopping for some cute new clothes, getting his ears pierced, his hair styled, getting a proper manicure and pedicure, and on and on, barely pausing to take a breath.

DJ shook his head in wonderment. The silent morose tough little brother he’d had for the last few years was no where in sight. Even though he knew it was Kyle in the bed, he felt as if he were looking at an excited babbling girl. Any doubt he’d had that Kyle hadn’t been serious about being a girl vanished. This is not to say he understood how that could be, but he had no doubts that his brother was now his sister.

Laura was simply so delighted to have her youngest child back she didn’t even question the instantaneous gender change. Besides, like most mothers, she had always wanted a daughter and readily agreed to consider all Kyle's requests if the official diagnosis proved he was a girl.

Dave had the hardest time accepting his new daughter. Even though he saw and heard a gabby girl, he couldn’t understand how his tough stoic son could have harbored this girl inside him. The past day he’d struggled with the concept that his son was suddenly his daughter. The idea seemed impossible and no matter how he tried to make some sense of it, no explanation seemed viable. Yet the child before him, once his son, now undoubtably appeared to be an irrepressible verbose girl. As he watched her he began to understand that no matter how impossible it seemed, she had replaced his son and it was his responsibility to see she grew into a strong adult.

After they left, Kyle smiled. Behaving like a girly girl was most certainly more fun than his past unhappy life as a boy. The fact the tests would show he was physically intersexed would make the personality change and his past stoic monk like life even more understandable.

Kyle's outlying tentacles followed the tests and he was right there when the stunning results were revealed. The chromosome test revealed he was intersexed with an XXY result. The CAT scans and the MRIs revealed he had a complete, although slightly immature for his age, female reproductive system and that his male organs also were complete. The studies of his brain showed no scarring. His ribs and lung seemed to have completely healed, and his ankle looked as it the horrific injury had occurred over two months before, not just two weeks ago. Tomorrow promised to be an interesting day.

After a hearty breakfast, Kyle was transferred to the pediatric department as promised. Before he left the ICU, he gave all the nurses thank you hugs for taking care of him. The girlish action did not go unnoticed. In Pediatrics, he was placed in a room by himself. When he questioned why, he was told the doctors had ordered him to be kept alone. Probing the minds of the ward staff revealed they were as clueless as he was about why this was done.

Popping astral searches out, he instantly located each doctor and probed their minds. They were stunned by the speed of healing and his obvious physically intersexed nature. They were perturbed about why they had not noticed his intersexed condition on the original studies. When they tried to compare the new tests with the old, they became extremely concerned when they’d discovered all his initial scans and tests had been deleted or destroyed.

The doctor in charge of Nuclear Medicine was quite perplexed when he investigated what had happened to the original results. Meeting with doctors Proctor, Walsh, and Lance, they compared the results of their investigations into what had happened to the original tests. It became quite evident that someone had intentionally deleted not only the tests themselves, but also the summaries of the tests. That the perpetrator had done so from within the Nuclear Medicine Department told them this was a well coordinated erasure effort. As Kyle had hoped, they assumed the mysterious perpetrator had given some super drug to Kyle in an unsanctioned experiment. They realized the numerous previously broken and cracked bones were barely evident in the new results. The massive damage to his chest was barely evident. The rapid healing of his shattered ankle was mind boggling. Of most concern was that the scarring on his brain had disappeared. Yet none of these miraculous recoveries could be proved since all evidence of the previous scans had been destroyed. Obviously some powerful organization had to be responsible for all that had happened and they didn't want it known. Knowing how conspiracy theories flourished and what could happen if they pushed the investigation further, they decided discretion was the better part of valor. Of course, that decision was made easier with a slight astral push from the tendrils Kyle had reading their thoughts. He hadn't planted the idea and fear in them, he just tweaked it up several notches.

While Kyle was astrally doing all this, Laura came into his new room. "Good morning, sweetheart." she greeted him with a hug.

"Good morning, mommy," Kyle replied with a girlish lilt as he eagerly returned the hug.

Laura was delighted with her reborn child. The years of anguished worry about Kyle were banished by his greeting.

“Mommy, I’m a little scared. The nurses don’t know why I’m in a room by myself. The doctors told me I’d be able to be with other kids once I was in the Pediatric Ward,” Kyle said after their hug. “Mommy, is there something wrong with me?”

“Oh no, Kyle,” Laura reassured him. “If there was something wrong they wouldn’t have moved you here. I don’t know why you’re alone but I promise to find out.”

“Okay,” Kyle replied softly. “It’s just with all that’s happened I get scared. I mean, I did almost die.”

“Yes you did,” Laura soothed. “But you’re out of danger now.”

“Okay,” Kyle smiled. “Mommy, will you take me shopping for some girls’ clothes once I’m better?”

“If Dr. Alterson gives us the okay, of course,” Laura smiled.

The rest of the morning sped by as Laura got to know her youngest child. She was amazed by Kyle’s open girlish emotion.

Kyle girlishly but voraciously attacked his lunch, the first solid food he’d had since before the accident. Even though he hated being a boy it took all his strength to restrain his all too boyish desire to scarf down the food. It was only by tapping Jennifer Sue that he was able to maintain a modicum of girlish control.

Shortly after lunch, Doctors Proctor, Walsh, Lance, and Alterson entered the room with Melissa Waters. It was clear they were upset about something. Quickly they assured Kyle and Laura that Kyle was doing well, explaining they were upset that there had been some sort of mistake which resulted in the destruction of all the records of his initial tests and scans.

“What we found in the scans and tests we did yesterday stunned us in a good way,” Dr. Proctor explained. “Kyle, your injuries have healed faster than any of us has ever seen. It looks as if your injuries occurred eight weeks ago instead of two.”

“I’m not complaining,” Laura declared. “But how is that possible?”

“To be honest, we have no idea,” Dr. Lance replied. “Without the initial tests and scans, we have nothing to compare and thus have no proof showing how serious Kyle was injured. All we have is our memories of what we saw but without the actual results, we can discover little or nothing.”

“The tests and scans we just did have also shown that your feelings of being a girl are justified,” Dr. Alterson added with a smile. "You are a boy but you're also a girl."

Laura looked as perplexed by that statement.

“YES,” exclaimed Kyle. “I KNEW I was a girl!”

"And you’re also a boy, Kyle. Most people have either an XX or XY chromosome pattern," Dr. Alterson explained upon seeing Laura’s and Kyle’s confusion. "Females are XX and males are XY. In your case, Kyle, you have a third chromosome. Your pattern is XXY, meaning you are both female and male. This is not all that unusual, about one in a thousand people have three sex chromosomes. Most people with this generally have one sex predominant with some ambiguity in the appearance of their sexual organs. What is unusual is that you have complete sexual duality. This means you have all the male sex organs and all the female sex organs. The hormone levels in your body are also mixed. Children before puberty have a mix of male and female hormones with their chromosomal hormones slightly predominant. Most children at your age are just starting puberty, the time of life when their chromosomal hormones start to become fully dominant which causes their bodies to develop into men or women. Your male and female hormonal levels are elevated at normal age appropriate levels for both male and female with the female being minimally higher."

"So I'm a girl and a boy," Kyle stated as if making sure he understood. "And I'm entering puberty as a boy and a girl."

"It's a lot more complicated but basically you're right," Dr. Alterson said.

"It can't be anymore complicated than the way I've been," Kyle replied honestly. "So if I feel like a girl, can't I just get the boy bits cut off and be a girl?"

"It's possible, but I strongly recommend against doing that," Dr. Alterson declared. "I know you feel like a girl, but it's possible you might later decide you really want to be a boy. Knowing you're physically intersexed, I don't see any problems why we couldn't let you start experimenting with being a girl. If you like it, we can give you medication to shut down the testosterone which will shut down male puberty but allow it to be restarted at a later date."

"I understand," Kyle said. "Except I don't want to experiment with being a girl. I want to actually live like a girl full time starting as soon as possible."

"That might not be a good idea," Dr. Alterson responded. "Showing up at school as a girl could create a lot of problems."

"It won't be any worse than what I've been experiencing," Kyle declared. "If I go back to school as a boy, no one will trust me to be any different than I've been in the past. If I show up as a girl, it'll be easier to show how I've changed. I know some people will try to be stupid, but since I really am a girl, they'll settle down. If they don't, they weren't worth being friends anyway. I need to make a clean break with my past, and being the girl I am will be the most effective way. Besides, yesterday you told me the County Children's Services would support me. Were you lying?"

"No Kyle, we weren't lying," Melissa Waters reassured him. "But Dr. Alterson is right, going back as a girl could create unnecessary issues."

Kyle shook his head and looked at them as if they were stupid. "Do you really think those problems wouldn't be worse if I return as a boy and then change into a girl?"

Dr. Alterson and Ms Walters exchanged dumbfounded looks.

"Kyle makes a good point," Dr. Proctor smiled.

"It's my life," Kyle stated firmly. "I hated being a boy and now that I know I'm really a girl, even if I'm still really a boy too, I'm going to be a girl. From now on, my name is Kylie!"

The conviction and finality in Kylie's voice left no doubt she was quite serious and determined to be the girl she felt herself to be.

“Kyle... Kylie, it’s not quite that easy,” Dr. Alterson countered. “We’ll still need the results of the psychological tests to convince the powers that be. If you’re feeling up to it, I’ll start the tests later this afternoon.”

“I’m ready now,” Kylie exclaimed.

“Take it easy, Kylie,” Dr. Proctor chuckled. “You’ll be here for at least another week. We need to monitor your healing and start you on physical therapy. Dr. Alterson will have to schedule the psyche tests around your therapy sessions.”

“Okay,” Kylie agreed. “But I want everyone to call me Kylie and to treat me like a girl.”

“I’ll put a note on your file,” Dr. Alterson promised. “But don’t get obstinate if someone calls you Kyle.”

Kylie nodded her head then yawned.

“Kylie, maybe you’d better take a brief nap before you begin Dr. Alterson’s tests,” Dr. Proctor smiled.

Kylie smiled and nodded agreement. “Can I have hugs,” Kylie asked sweetly.

Everyone smiled and lined up to hug the cute girl.

Laura was the last to hug Kylie. Tears of joy filled their eyes as they hugged. “Princess, you were right. I apologize for ever doubting you.”

“It’s okay, mommy,” Kylie smiled. “I was afraid to push the issue and daddy was just... being daddy. Now he’ll understand!”

“If he doesn’t, he’ll be sorry,” Laura promised. “Now, you get some rest. I’ll be back with your daddy and DJ after supper.”

After another hug, Laura left.

Kylie settled smugly back. Again she’d had her astral tentacles in each person’s mind so knew how to best present herself. She also tweaked up their thoughts about accepting her girlishness.

Then she began to giggle. She had quite literally turned herself into a girl! Jennifer Sue’s memories and emotions had easily overwhelmed his pitiful boyishness. Kylie was fully aware just how drastically she’d changed and had no regrets. There was virtually nothing about her boyhood she liked or wanted to retain. He’d hated his life and all things macho that seemed aimed at crushing his spirit. He’d survived by becoming vicious and a loner. Of course, those things had forced him into creating his mental hideaway that led to his ability to travel astrally. While he’d opened up a bit with his conscious astral escapades, his encounter with James Wilson had done nothing to increase his appreciation of being a male. What he’d learned from Jennifer Sue gave him hope and led to his plan to become Kylie. That made her wonder what he’d have done if he hadn’t encountered Jennifer Sue. Those were dark thoughts not appropriate to delve into.

Kylie knew she wanted to be a girl and would encourage her feminine puberty. What she was far less sure about was what to do about her male organs. While she didn't want to be a boy, what she'd discovered in her research made her wonder if keeping them might be worth while. Being dual sexed seemed like an exciting option. It would be ideal if she could keep her male bits functional while suppressing all other male secondary sexual characteristics. She'd have to do more research to see how she could let her female side grow without inhibiting her male organs as well as how she could make her male organs functional without impacting her feminine development.

Dr. Alterson returned with a binder and video camera, explaining she needed to video tape the verbal psyche testing for later review and evidence for any who might question the manner in which the test was given. Kylie readily agreed and after setting up the camera to record them, she hung a sign on the door asking not to be disturbed and took a seat by Kylie’s bed.

As she was setting things up, Kylie astrally identified the test. Sending out searches she found the test and how the results would be interpreted to determine gender orientation. With astral probes firmly in place in the various web sites and monitoring Dr. Alterson, she was ready for the test by the time Dr. Alterson was finished setting up. After instructing Kylie to answer the questions by giving her initial reaction, not thought out answers, the test began.

Even though she'd instructed Kylie not to think about the answers, Dr. Alterson was amazed that Kylie actually took little time to think about her responses to the questions and scenarios. The open, rapid responses showed the answers were instinctual gut reactions. This meant the answers were honest and not thought out which would reveal her true gender.

Dr. Alterson was amazed by the test results. Even without going to the matrix to determine the degree of femininity verses masculinity in the responses, she knew from experience that Kylie would score extremely high on the feminine scale and extremely low on the masculine scale. In her years of experience she had never seen anyone respond so consistently feminine. She was glad she'd video recorded the session because most fellow psychologists would not believe the results.

Dr. Alterson smiled at Kylie once the test was completed. "I'll have to do an official scoring, but I feel confident you'll score very high on the female side and quite low on the male side. I no longer have any professional doubts that mentally you are a girl. Of course, I still need to score this test before I can put that in writing, but when I come in to see you tomorrow, I feel confident I'll be able to do so. I will put a note in your file of my preliminary opinion to reinforce my request everyone treat you as a girl."

"Thank you, Dr. Alterson," Kylie smiled sweetly as she held out her arms for a hug. As the doctor left, Kylie smiled to herself. Hugs were really nice and felt wonderful. It seemed as if other people also liked hugs. Being a girl was really nice!

When supper arrived, the aide smiled and addressed Kylie as a girl. Since Kylie had shut down most of her sped up healing her body was no longer demanding replacement energy in the form of food. As she ate her meal, she did so in a sedate manner, fully chewing and savoring each bite. The amount she picked up with her utensils was also smaller which made it easier to handle so nothing was spilled.

Her family arrived while she ate, they stood silently at the door watching her for a few minutes noting the girlish manner in which she ate. Of course, Kylie knew they were there as she still maintained astral surveillance of the hallway.

Kylie learned that as her family ate a quick supper, Laura informed Dave and DJ that the physical tests had revealed that Kyle was intersexed, truly both male and female and that she insisted that since she really was girl that everyone should call her Kylie. The thoughts of the family were mixed and made them uncertain about how to handle the situation. That is until they stood by door looking into Kylie's room.

The news that Kyle was intersexed surprised DJ who had never heard that such a thing was possible. However, they were talking about his weird little brother so anything was possible. At least it'd make telling his buddies that Kyle was really a girl true. Of course, although he tried not to let it get to him, it did bother him quite a bit that it was his little sister that beat him at the video games and outplayed him on the sports fields. Yet as he stood watching her, he understood Kylie would no longer be competing against him in sports or video games.

Dave was dazed upon learning Kylie was intersexed as he'd heard of hermaphrodites but always assumed they were freaks. To learn that his youngest was intersexed simply blew his mind. Dave stood behind DJ in silent awe as they watched Kylie eat. His youngest son was eating like a dainty girl... but then she was a girl. It really struck deep into his very being that the way he’d unwittingly treated Kyle had indeed been abusive.

Laura smiled, anticipating doing mother daughter things once Kylie fully recovered.

Once their thoughts were all positive, Kylie 'noticed' her family at the door. Swallowing her food she squealed with girlish delight and reached out for hugs which they all gave her. The hug made DJ feel more secure that Kylie would give him no more competition, made Dave realize at an even deeper level that Kylie was his daughter, and simply made Laura happy.

They told Kylie to finish her meal as they talked. Laura explained the doctors said Kylie would be in the hospital for another week and that if her physical therapy went well she'd be able to go home and return to school.

With that Kylie looked at DJ. "DJ, tomorrow morning, could you please stop in my home room and tell Mrs. Wentzel I'm doing better and would like to begin making up the work I've missed. If she can get some of it together by the end of the day, could you please bring it in?"

"Sure, Kylie," DJ smiled feeling better that there was finally something he could do for his sibling.

Thanks, big bro," Kylie giggled. "You can tell them I'm getting better and may be able to return in a week or so. I guess it'd be best if you don't tell them I'm girl yet," she added with a hint of sadness. Then she looked at everyone and smiled broadly. "Dr. Alterson gave me a big psychologic test this afternoon. She said she had to score it to make it official, but said that she no longer had any doubts that in her professional opinion I'm a girl.”

“Well, since you’re a girl,” Dave began almost tongue in cheek. “I guess I better repaint your bedroom before you come home. Do you have a color preference?”

“Oh thank you, daddy,” Kylie exclaimed. “I do have a color scheme in mind. I’d like the walls a soft pink, the trim a glossy bright lavender, the ceiling a glossy bright pink, and a soft lavender rug. Can I get new furniture too? Pretty please?” She recalled how Jennifer Sue’s bedroom was decorated and liked it’s total femininity, thus had decided to redo her bedroom in a similar manner when the chance arose. It just came up a lot quicker than she’d thought.

DJ laughed as Dave’s mouth dropped open. Even though they had previously mentioned the possibility of repainting Kylie’s bedroom, this evening’s question about repainting the bedroom had been made in semi jest. He’d never expected Kylie to already have a color scheme in mind.

“I’ll pick up some color samples tomorrow for you to make selections,” Laura chirped happily.

Dave narrowed his eyes and looked at DJ. “You won’t be laughing when you’re helping me pull all the furniture out of Kylie’s room, sanding and painting the trim, repainting the walls and ceiling, and tearing out the carpeting.”

DJ’s laughter trailed off as he realized what he was facing.

Dave broke into a grin. “It’ll give us a chance to do some guy stuff together while the women folk dither. Come on, let’s go down to the hospital restaurant. Shakes for everyone, I think Kylie would like a strawberry milkshake.”

“Mmmmm,” Kylie smiled. “That sounds yummy!”

DJ smiled as he stood up to follow his father. “I have a very strong idea our life is going to be quite interesting with Kylie around.”

Beside the restaurant was the hospital gift shop. DJ hesitated at the display window. Dave came back to join him seeing that DJ was looking at the stuffed animals. "Stuffed animals?"

"Yeah," DJ answered. "I remember when Kyle was a real small he had a stuffed cat that he carried everywhere. Now that I think about it, he started to change when you ripped it apart threw it out saying he was too big for such a sissy thing."

Dave was shocked. Kyle was three when he'd destroyed the tattered stuffed cat he called Puddy. The toddler was inconsolable for over a week and lost his joy of life. Now that DJ brought it up that was about the time Kyle started shutting down his emotions. Damn, Kyle knew he was a girl way back then! "You're right," he admitted. "I was so stupid. Let's go in. I'll pick out a cat to replace Puddy. You pick something else you think Kylie might like."

Dave finally selected a plush Calico cat that looked like Puddy. DJ selected a caterpillar that you could turn inside out to reveal a beautiful butterfly. "That's a good choice," Dave told DJ. "It symbolizes Kylie's emergence."

DJ smiled and nodded. Dave paid for the gifts and told DJ to stay while the clerk gift wrapped them so he could go next door to get the milkshakes. "The way Kylie reacted to the idea of having a shake," Dave chuckled. "I don't think she could hold out too long waiting."

Laura and Kylie were still jabbering away when the guys returned. Kylie knew they had gotten her gifts but held back from probing their minds further as she wanted to be surprised. Dave carried the shakes while DJ tried to hide the gifts from Kylie's view. Kylie let him deceive her as she eagerly accepted the strawberry milkshake from her dad as DJ placed the wrapped gifts on the floor. The conversation was a bit stilted as they enjoyed their treats.

Once everyone was finished with their shakes, Dave nodded to DJ. "Kylie, DJ had a wonderful idea while we went for the shakes."

DJ smiled broadly as he squatted down and picked up the gifts to lay on Kylie's lap.

Kylie squealed with delight and girlishly clasped her hands at her throat as DJ pointed out the surprise he'd selected. "Open this one first. I picked it out especially for you."

Kylie smiled broadly as she carefully opened the wrapping paper being careful not to tear the paper. Before she opened the box, she carefully folded the paper and put it on her bed table.

"Shesh," DJ whined but smiled. "She's already doing things like a silly girl."

Kylie playfully stuck her tongue out at him. Then she opened the box. "Oh it's a cute fuzzy caterpillar," she exclaimed as she picked it up and rubbed it against her cheek.

"It turns inside out," DJ smiled pleased she liked his gift.

Kylie took a moment to examine the caterpillar and determined how to invert the stuffed toy. As she did so, the colorful butterfly emerged. "Oh DJ, it's so adorable! Thank you, big bro!"

"When I saw it I thought of you," DJ said. "Kyle was the caterpillar, you're the butterfly, lil' sis!"

Kylie's eyes filled with tears of joy as she reached out to DJ for a hug. DJ hugged her as she sobbed, unsure why she was crying. He looked toward his dad for help.

"It's one of life's mysteries," Dave replied with a shrug. "You'll have to get used to females crying when they're happy."

After releasing DJ, Kylie sniffed back her tears of joy and hugged the butterfly to her chest, grinning happily. "I love it DJ! My first stuffed animal!"

"Not quite," DJ said mysteriously. "Open dad's gift."

Perplexed, Kylie looked at her father who smiled. "It's sort of an apology. I hope you can forgive me for what I did to you nine years ago."

Laura was as confused as Kylie while DJ grinned like a Cheshire Cat. Kylie put the butterfly by her pillow and began to open the remaining gift, being as careful with the wrapping as she was with that of DJ's gift. When she opened the box she froze with mouth agape and longing eyes for several seconds.

"Puddy...," gasped softly as her eyes filled with tears. "Daddy... you found Puddy!"

"It's not your old Puddy," Dave cautioned more than a bit worried about her reaction.

Kylie gingerly reached in and daintily lifted the calico cat from it's box. She held it out and turned it about. "I know it's not the same but it is PUDDY. My PUDDY! Oh daddy, it's the bestest gift ever," she squealed with delight as she crushed the stuffed cat to her chest and twisted her body back and forth as she fiercely hugged Puddy. Tears freely flowed down her cheeks.

Laura bit her lips and blinked back tears as she saw the gift and Kylie's reaction. She stepped to Dave and gave him a loving hug.

Hugging Puddy to her with one arm, Kylie reached her other arm out to her father for a big thank you hug.

The rest of the evening passed pleasantly as the family began to bond in their new dynamics. Kylie never left go of Puddy.

For the first time in years, cuddled with Puddy, Kylie fell asleep quickly with a contented smile upon her face.

While her physical body rested, Kylie decided today had been the best day she could remember. She decided that instead of probing people's minds, she'd simply monitor their moods. By doing that with her dad and DJ, their gifts had been genuine delightful surprises. Knowing everything in advance took the adventure out of life. Of course, there would be occasions when knowing other's thoughts could be helpful, but it could also lead to misuse and abuse. The only exception would be if she sensed anger or hard determination that might endanger her or someone else.

*****

Dr. Alterson spent the evening scoring the test she'd given Kylie. The results were almost unbelievable. Dr. Alterson scored Kylie at the 92nd percentile on the scale for females and at the 7th percentile on the scale for males. The taciturn boy who dominated the school records and interviews was barely evident. It seemed as if Kyle had simply died on the football field and a sweet dainty girl appeared out of nowhere to take his place. Fortunately she had no idea how close to the truth her conjecture really was.

Dr. Alterson called a colleague to ask if he could watch the video and score the test tomorrow before she saw Kylie again. Realizing Dr. Alterson wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, the doctor agreed.

The next morning the man dove into the task. The doctor didn't know anything about Kylie except what he saw in the film. He too was amazed by the rapid, by what he assumed to be the girl's open and clearly honest responses. His scoring was close to Dr. Alterson's results, scoring at the 91st percentile for females and at the 5th percentile for males. The experienced doctor had no idea why Dr. Alterson wanted him to score the test.

When he brought his results to Dr. Alterson he was shocked to read Kyle's history. The child he saw on the test video couldn't be the same as the boy portrayed in Dr. Alterson's case study. Then Dr. Alterson showed him the video of the football game. The tough Spartan like boy on the screen was physically recognizable as the girl in the test video. The horrific injuries Kyle had silently endured were mind boggling. That the recalcitrant boy had awakened from his coma as the bubbly girl she now appeared to be was simply remarkable. He was surprised to learn that Kylie was a true intersexed person but felt as Dr. Alterson did, the XXY status could be the only logical explanation for Kylie's seeming instantaneous appearance once the iron facade Kyle had erected was destroyed on the football field.

*****

The remainder of Kylie’s hospital stay flew by. Instead of a normal cast, she was fitted with a custom made strap on brace that allowed the wound to breathe and could be easily removed for cleaning her injury. There was a hard shiny plastic molded shell that snapped around the braces to protect her ankle while she was crutching and out in public. Physical therapy sessions each morning and afternoon were physically trying. None of the therapists could believe Kylie had been so seriously injured and healed so rapidly. They all admired the plucky girl as she valiantly bore the pain as she worked to restore function to her shattered leg. By the end of the week, she was able to easily move about on crutches.

The few remaining psychological tests simply reinforced the findings of the initial test. The family had two joint evening counseling sessions with Dr. Alterson where the new family relationships and respect flourished.

During the little free time she had, Kylie went to the pediatric common room where she met other children. It was difficult for her to overcome her former reticence and be friendly. Fortunately she was once more able to tap into Jennifer Sue’s experiences to be congenial. She practiced being open, friendly, smiling, giggling and playing with other children. She found it really wasn’t difficult and was quite exhilarating.

One thing Kylie discovered was that by restricting her astral intrusion into other’s minds while simultaneously keeping constant protective astral monitoring about her physical body, her ability to sense other’s moods developed into the ability to see a person’s aura. Auras were not just a single color, it was more like a rainbow of multiple colors. One stripe allowed her to almost instantly tell if a person was good, bad, or where they fell between the two extremes. Another stripe allowed her to sense a person’s underlying outlook on life. One stripe revealed the person’s current mental state. Another stripe represented their physical health. Yet another stripe revealed a person’s ambition and drive. Another stripe denoted a person’s interpersonal abilities. In her astral roaming of the hospital, she could tell if a person was dying as their vitality aura greyed. When she saw a dying person in astral form she avoided contact and scurried away, not sure if her interaction was a good thing or not. Her two encounters had been beneficial, but she felt she’d been lucky.

Even though Kylie had documented proof she was a intersexed, she understood some people would still be bigoted and might possibly attempt some sort of physical attack. She tapped into James Charles’ military experience in hand to hand combat and merged it with Jennifer Sue’s dance ability. Then she searched the internet for martial arts tutorials to meld into her absorbed skills. Using her astral body, she practiced and perfected multiple martial arts techniques. She just hoped she’d be able to translate it from her astral form to her physical body.

Kylie also used her astral tentacles to search the internet sites of local stores for furniture styles, cost and availability to furnish her new bedroom. The style she selected was white wicker. She mentally 'book-marked' the site then hit Wal-Mart's site to select a basic wardrobe that she felt would suit her new girlishness. When her family came in that evening, after exchanging small talk and getting her school work from DJ, she turned on all her girlish charms.

"I really could use a laptop computer for a lot of these assignments," Kylie said. "The computer DJ and I share is in his room and, no offense DJ, but he's using it most of the time so I was hardly been able to get on it. I never complained because that's the way I was then. Now I'm going to want to be online a lot more and using it for school work. Having my own computer would prevent any issues from developing over who is using the computer."

"She's right dad," DJ acknowledged. "Next year Kylie will need a computer for school assignments and I'm sure my assignments won't go down. I think getting Kylie a new laptop would save us from fighting."

“Please, daddy pretty please," Kylie coquettishly asked.

Dave nodded his head. "I'll pick one up tonight on the way home and mom can bring it in tomorrow."

Laura smiled and winked at Kylie. A girl for less than a week and she had her daddy wrapped around her pinky.

The next day she logged onto the sites and e-mailed her selections to her parent's computer so her parents could get her new furniture for her soon to be painted bedroom and her mom could pick up the basic wardrobe she selected.

With a smile of satisfaction she once more began to astrally roam the hospital.

Metamorpho-sis
(1st Song of the Kylie Warren Saga)
Part 3 of 3

Things are different now, when I walk by
You start to sweat and you don't know why
It gets me nervous, but it makes me calm
To see life all around me moving on
Watching the butterfly go towards the sun
I wonder what I will become
Metamorphosis
Whatever this is
Whatever I'm going through
Come on and give me a kiss
Come on, I insist
I'll be something new
A metamorphosis(Hillary Duff - Metamorphosis)

Now that her astral searches had fairly satiated her thirst for knowledge, she decided to try to find something to help relax her. Searching Jennifer Sue’s mind she reviewed the girl’s favorite movies. One of the things that surprised her was that while the story line and characters were well remembered, only glimpses of the scenes were present. The movies that piqued her interest she sought out on the internet to view for herself. Of course, she could assimilate the films in mere minutes instead of hours. This helped her achieve a better sense of preteen girls’ likes and dislikes. The Disney ‘High School Musical’ movie was really fun.

By the same token, she searched James Wilson’s memories for films of interest. One particularly peaked her interest, a strange, slightly unsettling film about a preteen girl forced to grow up when her family was wiped up by drug corrupted cops. She’s out shopping when the hit goes down and returns as the hit is being wrapped up. Terrified, she walks past her apartment to the apartment at the end of the hall and knocks on the door saying she’s forgotten her key. The reclusive, silent man who lived there reluctantly let her in. He was a professional assassin, and she wanted to learn so she could get revenge on the killers who killed her little brother... the rest of the family were inconsequential because of the neglect and abuse she’d suffered. The film was about the girl’s unhappy life, her near execution, and her overwhelming need for revenge. Kylie found herself irresistibly drawn into the character of Mathilda. There were many similarities to Kyle’s life... the repression, abuse, anger, frustration, seeking revenge and payback with violence. The movie was ‘Leon, The Professional’. Mathilda was played by Natalie Portman. The lessons Mathilda learned in the film made her realize that violence and revenge were not satisfying and very dangerous, lessons Kylie had already learned the hard way.

While Kylie admired her pluck and could appreciate Mathilda’s toughness and intelligence, she vowed to never again let her life bog down in anger and revenge. She also decided to use her astral abilities to try to help anyone who was suffering and to right wrongs. She just had to find a way to do so without attracting attention in either plane of existence.

One thing she liked was Mathilda’s hair style, short and sassy. She had her astral self clothed in several of the outfits Mathilda wore in the film especially with her hair. As she laid in bed she smiled as she watched her perky astral pseudo Mathilda move about. She liked what she saw.

*****

Kylie wore a mid-calf length denim skirt with a three inch wide ruffle about the hem and a pink mock angora sweater along with panties and a matching training bra to be discharged Thursday morning. She hugged her new friends from the children’s ward goodbye as well as all the nurses as she left.

Kylie decided to see if her astral body was still limited in the distance it could be away from her physical body. She knew she could pop out astral tentacles all around the world if she’d first traced the route via the internet. But she had been unable to move her actual astral body more than about one thousand feet from her physical real world body. As her physical body sat in the back seat of her mother’s car cuddling Puddy, her astral body was in the computer center, both were a single entity. As the car passed the thousand feet distance, astral Kylie was yanked through the wall of the computer room as well as every wall between the center and the outside of the hospital. Once free, she flew high in the air like a kite on a tether. In moments, Kylie’s astral self was seated by her physical self. Kylie began to giggle as she realized she was actually really beside herself.

Laura looked in the mirror at her giggling daughter wondering what set her off.

Instead of heading straight home, there were a few stops along the way. First was the styling salon Laura frequented to have Kylie's hair trimmed and styled. DJ and Kylie both wore their hair long and combed straight back. When their hair brushed their shoulders, they'd have it trimmed back to their collar. The brothers were due for a trim when Kyle was injured, so Kylie’s hair was now a bit past her shoulders.

As the stylist had Kylie sit in her chair she asked Kylie if she knew how she wanted her hair trimmed. Kylie didn't even hesitate. "I want my hair styled like Natalie Portman’s hair from her role as Mathilda from the movie 'Leon, The Professional'. Bangs just touching my eyebrows with the rest parted down the center on top, blunt cut level with my jaw with the tips of front sides curving front and a bit toward my mouth."

The stylist smiled and nodded her head. "I think that will look wonderful on you. Let's get started."

Laura wasn't sure the style would look good but had already discovered Kylie had her own ideas of what she wanted and so far her decisions had been quite appropriate so wasn't too worried. Besides, if the way she wanted it cut didn't look good, it could be restyled into a cute bob.

Fortunately the style looked wonderful and Kylie beamed with delight. Laura was impressed that Kylie was able to select the perfect style. Of course, the women knew nothing about Kylie’s astral self who modeled the style. Her straight red hair accentuated her intense green eyes. Simply by changing her facial expression, Kylie could look cute and innocent, perky, sassy, coquettish, or intimidating.

As a special treat, Laura treated herself and Kylie to manicures. Kylie was delighted with her dainty pink nails. After they left the salon, they stopped at a drugstore to fill the prescriptions for pain pills and antibiotics. While they waited for the prescriptions to be filled, Laura helped Kylie select a beginners basic make-up kit, a manicure set, hair brushes and head bands, and a selection of Love’s Baby Soft cologne and body powder.

By the time they arrived home, Kylie was tired. Still, she was anxious to see her redecorated bedroom. She squealed with delight as she crutched into the room. It was everything she’d hoped for. After hugging her mother, they put away their purchases and Kylie removed the plastic cover over her leg brace to lie down for a nap with Puddy wrapped in her arms.

While she slept, astral Kylie explored her neighborhood from a few feet above the ground. While not as interesting as the hospital, she could do a lot of exploring. Curiosity got the better of her and she dove into the street to see if she could ‘see’ underground in a manner similar to the night vision shots used for TV. She found the fresh water lines, the sanitary sewer lines, gas lines, and the storm water sewer lines but the sense of being underground began to overwhelm her so she popped back to the surface.

Sending out astral tentacles she began searching for ways to see underground without going underground. She spent the rest of the afternoon gathering information about subsurface characteristics including the location, distribution and structure of rock types, grain size distribution, and material strength, porosity and permeability. The earth's inherent complexity makes it difficult or impossible to infer these characteristics from direct observation. Therefore scientists often test the distribution of fundamental subsurface physical properties such as density, electrical conductivity, acoustic impedance and others. These basic properties can be measured via geophysical surveys that record the earth's response to various types of natural or manmade signals using ground penetrating radar, electrical pulses, acoustic wave signals, magnetic property detection, and gravity testing as well as x-ray and infrared scans taken from airplanes and satellites.

Using her astral abilities Kylie figured out how to replicate the equipment, tests, and surveys including how to plot the data and apply appropriate processing and analysis of the gathered information to develop images. By merging all the techniques and analysis into one detailed overview, she was able to ‘see’ rock formations, aquifers, and minerals at great depths. She was also able to ‘see’ formations near the surface such as archaeological artifacts, refilled trenches, and even the roots of plants. By 5:00pm she had synthesized and mastered all the information, data, and techniques into a whole system that gave her effective three dimensional sight below the surface on almost instantaneous feedback.

Having her astral body engaged with the research had no effect on her physical body. When she woke from her nap, she was aware of the frenzied astral activities but the welcome smells of supper wafting into her bedroom made her tummy growl. The hospital food had been okay, but her mom’s cooking was much better! Slipping to the edge of the bed she grabbed the plastic brace cover and snapped it into place. The using the crutches, she headed to the bathroom to relieve bladder.

“Hey lil’ sis, are you awake,” DJ called from the top of the steps. “Mom says supper is almost ready.”

“I’m awake, big bro,” Kylie answered. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

Soon the distinctive CLUNK, pad, CLUNK, pad of a person on crutches coming down steps was heard. A few moments later Kylie crutched into the kitchen. “That smells delicious, mommy,” she said as she headed for her normal place at the table.

Dave and DJ were struck dumb not only by her effervescence, but by her utter girlishness. Seeing her, they had no doubts she was a girl. The skirt and sweater perfectly complimented her new hair style.

“Thanks, Kylie,” Laura replied. “It’s nice to occasionally have a compliment.”

Dave snapped out of his reverie as he heard the barbed comment. “I’m sorry, Laura. Your cooking is always wonderful. Thank you, Kylie, for reminding me to be more polite and not take things for granted. I’ll sure like being seen in public with two beautiful females on my arms.”

“Good save, dad,” DJ chuckled. “I’d better follow your example. Mom, your cooking is always great! Kylie, you really look cute! That hairstyle really suits you.”

“Thank you,” Kylie blushed demurely as she slid into her seat.

“Dave, just don’t sit there,” Laura scolded. “Get another chair so Kylie can prop up her leg.”

As they ate, the conversation turned to Kylie’s return to school. Dr. Alterson had set up a morning meeting between herself, Laura, Kylie and the school principal, guidance counselor, and Mrs Wentzel. A substitute teacher would take over Mrs. Wentzel’s classes.

“There are rumors all over the school about Kylie,” DJ said.

Laura gasped in surprise. “They know she’s a girl?”

“They think Kyle finally flipped out,” DJ explained and looked at his sister. “Face it, sis, Kyle was scary before he was hurt. Now some kids are downright terrified. There were a lot of people at the game that saw your foot practically ripped off with several guys barfing at the gore. Then they heard your maniacal laugh and saw you waving the football until you passed out. They know the doctors think you broke your ankle in the second last play but that you didn’t say anything and walked off the field. Then you went back in and ran on the broken ankle. Most think Kyle is the toughest bastard in the world... their words, not mine. They all think you’re nuts. The main rumor is you went crazy and think you’re a girl. At least a dozen people asked me if you really thought you were a girl.”

Kylie chuckled. “What did you say?”

“I told them you were recovering from your injuries and it had changed you,” DJ answered. “I also told them you were tough and stubborn enough to be whatever you wanted to be and if they didn’t like how you changed, then they not only had to deal with you, but they’d have to deal with me too.”

“Thanks, bro,” Kylie smiled.

“No problem, sis” DJ replied.

Dave and Laura smiled knowing their children were going to be all right.

*****

The next morning, Kylie dressed in another mid-calf denim skirt and a light blue sweater with a cute kitten appliqued on the chest. They met Dr. Alterson in the school parking lot at 9:00. Her aura revealed she caring and confident but twinged with a bit of anxiety. Together they entered the building and signed in at the office. The secretary showed obvious surprise upon seeing Kylie but quickly recovered and treated them in a professional manner as she showed them into the conference room where the school principal, guidance counselor, and Mrs Wentzel waited. Their auras showed they were anxious and concerned but devoted and caring. They too were clearly surprised by Kylie's girlishness, glad they'd been forewarned.

After exchanging greetings, Dr. Alterson passed out folders with the results of all the tests Kylie took. As they reviewed the contents she explained the results of the medical exams which showed Kylie is XXY intersexed in that she is completely female as well as well completely male. Then she went on to explain the results of the psychological tests which showed that mentally Kylie scored in the 92nd percentile for females and only in the 7th percentile for males. She then stated that Kylie emerged from her coma presenting her true femininity and, even before the tests were taken, had steadfastly insisted she was a girl. Then she explained that Kylie had elected to present herself as a girl and would be returning to school on Monday as a female student.

When all the facts had been laid out, Kylie spoke up. "I've always felt I was a girl but I denied it even to myself. My dad insisted his sons be tough and excel at sports. DJ and I both did it, he liked it but I hated it. That's the reason I shut down my emotions and barely spoke. When I saw my ankle almost ripped off, I realized my days playing sports were over. That's why I laughed so crazily. I passed out thinking I'd been freed. The next thing I knew I was floating in the air above the football field and saw the paramedics working on me, then the helicopter came in to get me. I can prove it too, the number on the tail was N35876N."

Everyone was amazed as up to this point Kylie had not revealed she'd been floating above the field.

"Kylie, you never mentioned that before," Dr. Alterson declared.

"At first I was too scared, and after that I was just to busy and it slipped my mind," Kylie explained. "Anyway, I was yanked along and followed my body to the hospital. When my heart stopped on the operating table, a bright white light appeared and started getting bigger, then they got my heart going and the white light disappeared. The same thing happened the other two times my heart stopped."

"My God," Laura whispered. "Only Dave and I knew your heart stopped three times! We didn't tell anyone."

"It sounds like you were having near death situation experiences,” the principal said. “I had a friend seriously wounded in the first Gulf War. He suffered cardiac arrest and afterward said he’d had a similar experience to what Kylie has described.”

“It really was a weird experience,” Kylie added. “After they moved me into ICU I went back inside my body. Even though I was in a coma, my mind kept working. I couldn't feel, hear, or say anything and I couldn't feel my body during the ten days. I began thinking about how unhappy I was and what I needed to become happy. My mind didn’t sleep and since I couldn’t do anything else, I was able to concentrate on my life. I figured out I really was a girl even if my body was male. When I found out that the tests all showed I really was a girl I was delighted. I’m never going back to being the quiet, angry boy I used to be. I’m a girl, a girlie girl. But I won’t let anyone push me around. I remember everything I knew as a boy. I’m at least just as tough now as I was then, probably more so. I won’t start anything, but I won’t run away either. I think it may help if on Monday the school has an assembly where I can reveal I’m really a girl. If we get everyone together, I can tell them what’s happened to me. Everyone will get the same story which should stop the rumors.”

“I agree with Kylie,” Dr. Alterson said. “I’ll bring in some information to present to help explain what Kylie’s condition. If we can be proactive and get everyone right at the start, we’ll have less problems.”

“That does sound like a good idea,” the principal agreed. “But I’ll have to run it by the Superintendent. Let’s tentatively set up the assembly for fifteen minutes after the morning bell. That will give the teachers a chance to take roll and organize the class for the assembly.”

Mrs. Wentzel and the guidance counselor agreed with the idea. All three school staff were quite impressed with Kylie. The discussion continued for another half our as they covered what points would be made and how much Kylie herself would present.

Kylie, Laura, and Dr. Alterson left the school, bidding each other goodbye in the parking lot. Kylie was charged up with adrenalin and eager to go shopping for new clothes. After Laura assured herself Kylie was up to going shopping, they headed off to the nearest mall. Upon arrival, they headed to the mall hospitality center where they rented a small electric scooter as they knew Kylie couldn’t stay on the crutches for extended periods of time.

Soon, Kylie was slowly driving down the mall beside her mother. The pair had a wonderful time going from store to store. Kylie tried on dozens of outfits, all skirts or dresses as her injured leg prevented her from trying on pants. They stopped at a jewelry kiosk and soon Kylie sported double pierced ears. One set was a small gold angel with a faux emerald body and a faux ruby head. The other set was a golden butterfly with enameled multi-colored wings. There was a larger matching butterfly on a golden necklace chain.

They ate lunch in the food court, then resumed shopping. By the time they stopped about mid-afternoon, they’d made three trips to the car before the final one to go home. Kylie had dresses, skirts, blouses, sweaters, slips, half slips, camisoles, training bras, panties, pantyhose, tights, kneesox, and anklets. They only bought a few cheap shoes as Kylie could only wear one shoe and by the time she’d be well enough to wear both, the one she’d worn would look shabby in comparison. By the time they arrived home, Kylie was ready for another nap.

Over supper, they discussed the day’s events. DJ revealed the storm of rumors that swept the school. Although no one had seen Kylie, everyone knew there had been a meeting and that a special assembly was announced for Monday morning.

“The funniest is that Kylie is a vampire and can’t be killed,” DJ chuckled. “The guys who saw your foot almost ripped off said there was no way that in three weeks you could be healed enough to return to school. I’ll give you my vampire teeth from Halloween. When you get on stage, smile. I’ll be a hilarious!”

“Kylie will do no such thing,” Laura scolded.

“Chill hon,” Dave laughed. “DJ knows that would be inappropriate. But it can be fun to imagine what would happen.”

“Then imagine it to yourself,” Laura chided.

“Yet another reason I hated being a boy,” Kylie shook her head.

Dave and DJ exchanged pained looks. “Women,” they simultaneously said.

*****

Monday morning was a bright, sunny day. Kylie selected a sassy pink and green plaid pleated jumper that ended about two inches above her knees. A white kneesock and sneaker adorned her good leg. The pink cotton blend blouse with half length puffed sleeves had a cute ruffled collar. She added a touch of pink lip gloss and slipped the butterfly necklace about her neck.

Dave had taken the day off and drove Laura and Kylie to the school, arriving just as the bell rang to start the school day. Kylie bravely led her parents inside. Dave and Laura had to scurry to keep up with Kylie as she breezed along on her crutches, actually going faster than she normally walked.

The principal, guidance counselor, Dr. Alterson, and Miss Waters greeted them and they headed to the auditorium. Their auras showed they were hopeful but also apprehensive. Dr. Alterson set up her audio-visual presentation while Laura and Dave took seats in the back of the auditorium. Kylie sat just off stage where she could see the podium and portions of the seating. Miss Waters watched her closely, amazed at the calm demeanor of the girl. Once the students were seated, the principal began the presentation.

“A little over three weeks ago, one of our students was horribly injured in a championship football game,” Principal Forrest began. “You all know Kyle Warren, and there have been all sorts of rumors running through the school. We’re here to put those rumors to rest with the truth. I’d like to introduce Dr. Alterson, the psychologist who has been treating Kyle since he was brought out of a ten day induced coma. Dr Alterson.”

“Thank you, Principal Forrest, good morning students,” Dr. Alterson greeted everyone. “I must admit I was quite intimidated when I read Kyle’s school record. It showed an obviously intelligent but deeply troubled person. I was even more daunted when I viewed films of Kyle’s last two plays to win the championship game. I’d like to show you the footage so you can see for yourselves that Kyle is one of the toughest people you’ll ever meet.” She signaled the projectionist.

“This film shows Kyle’s second last play,” Dr. Alterson narrated. “With three minutes left and eighty five yards to the goal it was third down and 18. As you can see, although Kyle was heavily covered he ran a long pattern, shaking off his guards. You can see he leaped higher than he stood to snag the pass from his brother, DJ, yet he cleanly caught it and easily ran into the end zone for another touchdown. Watch closely you’ll see one of his pursuers make a late diving tackle from the rear, slamming shoulder first into Kyle’s lower legs. Kyle violently somersaulted backwards over the guy slamming into the ground. The doctors are sure Kyle suffered several cracked ribs and broke his ankle. The pain had to be agonizing but as you can see, Kyle didn’t even whimper. The ref called the late hit and came over to see if Kyle was alright. You can see Kyle was biting his lip to bury the pain but watch what he did next. He waved off the ref and limped to the bench.”

It was clear the entire student body and school staff was intently watching the film.

“The second film has had the goriest portions blurred,” Dr. Alterson continued. “A few moments after the play you just saw, with their opponents leading by one point Kyle’s team was third and goal with time for one last play. The coach ordered Kyle back in. The pain of standing on his broken ankle had to be horrendous yet Kyle went back in. The play called for Kyle to run a pattern into the end zone. DJ would fake a pass to him before running it in. You can see Kyle ran the pattern into the end zone. None of the doctors can understand how he managed to run much less what you’ll see. Kyle managed to shake off his pursuers. As he looked for the fake he saw his front line had cracked and DJ had been nearly sacked and was back-pedaling. DJ saw Kyle was open and managed to get the ball off as he was taken down. Kyle knew the pass was too high so he jumped up to snatch it. The opposing team’s guard caught him in mid-air, hitting him low on the already damaged leg. The tackler shot beneath Kyle causing him to once more somersault to land on his ankle. Analyzation of the film sound track revealed an audible crack as his bones snapped. His head banged the ground with such force it ripped his helmet off. Somehow Kyle kept the ball as he slammed into the ground. Pay close attention to Kyle’s face. You’ll see he’d been biting his lips to hold in the pain. The impact caused him to bite through both lips. He looked at his ankle and saw his blood spraying out of his nearly severed foot. His reaction... he held the football up to show he still had possession and laughed like a mad man.”

Those seeing the film were chilled by the brutality of Kyle’s injuries and his impossible reaction.

“Kyle was airlifted to the hospital,” Dr. Alterson continued. “Three times his heart stopped during the fourteen hour surgery. His brain was battered and functioning erratically. In addition to his leg, broken ribs had punctured and collapsed one lung. The x-rays also revealed dozens of previous injuries that had never been reported. The overall status of his body was listed as extremely critical and the doctors felt he only had a ten percent chance of surviving. They put him in a drug induced coma for ten days to keep him still and allow his brain and body to recuperate.”

The audience was silent, they’d heard stories and rumors about Kyle’s injuries, but were stunned by what they’d seen learned.

"Many of you were concerned about Kyle's mental state before this incident," Dr. Alterson went on. "So were many professionals. We discussed his physical and mental state for hours while he was kept in the coma. We thought we were ready for anything when he awoke from the coma. As those of you who are familiar with Kyle might suspect, he surprised us."

Dr. Alterson chuckled as did most of the audience.

"What Kyle told us helped put everything into perspective," Dr. Alterson added. "It explained his silence and anger. It certainly stunned his family. Kyle talked up a storm and smiled, something no one could remember he’d ever done before. We decided to run some physical and mental tests to see if what he told us was a real condition or an imagined one brought on by all the stress and injuries. The tests revealed Kyle has an unusual physical condition and what he told us was correct." Here she paused before announcing. "When he woke up, Kyle told us he was a girl."

Virtually everyone in the auditorium gasped.

"I've been told that you've all studied basic biology and know that everyone has chromosomes that determine a person's physical gender," Dr. Alterson stated. "Females have XX chromosomes and males have XY chromosomes. A few people have a variation which is XXY chromosomes. As you can imagine, people with this chromosome pattern have mixed genders. Within the XXY group, there are dozens of variations. Kyle has one of the most unusual variations. Kyle is as fully male as a normal XY male and is also as fully female as a normal XX female."

Again there were gasps from the auditorium with many exchanging looks of disbelief.

"This dual gender was missed," Dr. Alterson added. "Since Kyle has all the characteristics of a male, everyone assumed he was a boy. His family is very sports oriented and Kyle was expected to follow his older brother DJ. Kyle didn't like sports but was made to play. The more he was made to play sports, the angrier he became. Those of you who knew Kyle for years saw him getting quieter and ever more bitter. Kyle knew something was wrong but had no idea what. He absolutely hated all things boys normally enjoy. Outside of the sports and some video games he was made to play, he didn't play, period. The only thing he did was read. Try to imagine growing up not having anything you wanted to play with and being made to do what you hated. That's what Kyle's life was like."

The audience was subdued as they tried to imagine how Kyle felt.

"After Kyle was injured," Dr. Alterson continued. "Melissa Waters from the County Children’s Welfare Department became involved in his case. She brought me in as his psychologist. We have counseled Kyle's family and they now understand how they unknowingly mistreated Kyle. They have pledged to treat Kyle as the person he is. Children’s Welfare will be monitoring the family and this school to insure Kyle is not abused by anyone."

Everyone again exchanged looks, this time of apprehension.

"As I mentioned earlier, when Kyle awoke he was talkative and happy as he knew his injury would get him out sports," Dr. Alterson explained. "He also announced he was a girl. Once we had the physical and mental test results and knew of Kyle's dual sexuality, he announced that he was right that he was a girl and wanted to be called Kylie. Since Kylie scored exceeding high in femininity and extremely low in masculinity on the exhaustive mental exams, the medical and legal professionals involved in Kylie's case have agreed that Kylie is to be considered a girl. It was thought that Kylie would be out of school for at least six to eight weeks but her recovery so far has amazed her doctors. She will be returning to school today as a girl named Kylie."

"This means EVERYONE is to treat Kylie as a girl," Principal Forrest stated as he once more stepped to the podium. "Anyone who does not will be disciplined."

The audience squirmed in their seats.

"When I first heard what you've been told, I was apprehensive," Principal Forrest added. "But when I met Kylie on Friday, I was pleasantly stunned. I can say unequivocally that Kylie is girl and except for a slight physical resemblance is nothing at all like the Kyle we all knew. Now, I'll ask Kylie to come out as she would like to talk to you."

In the quiet auditorium the 'CLUMP pad CLUMP pad' of someone walking on crutches filled the room. As Kylie emerged from the side into visibility there was a unified loud gasp as the audience saw a pretty girl on crutches emerge. No evidence of the old Kyle was visible.

Kylie crutched up to the microphone. "Hi, I'm Kylie Warren. As you can see, I'm a girl. I've always been a girl but was too messed up mentally to understand. I had a lot of time to think after Kyle was injured and figured out that in my heart that I was a girl. I was delighted to learn that I really am a girl! I know it sounds strange to talk about Kyle as a different person from me but he was quite different. I've found it easier to think that Kyle died of his injuries but I survived. Please forgive Kyle for his past behavior, he was frustrated and angry and has finally found peace. Even though I remember everything Kyle experienced, I am nothing like him. I am a new person and I hope you will give me a chance to be not only accepted, but to become friends with you."

Whispering swept through the audience.

"In an effort to eliminate any misunderstandings or misconceptions," Kylie continued. "With the help of Dr. Alterson, Melissa Waters, and Principal Forrest, I'll try to answer any questions you might have."

A girl asked "I don't understand how you can be a girl and a boy at the same time?"

"It is hard to understand," Kylie replied. "What it means is that I have a birth defect. It's like I started off as a set of fraternal twins, one a boy and one a girl. But somehow they merged into one baby, me. I have the sexual organs of a normal boy on the outside where they belong and at the same time I have all the sexual organs of a normal girl on the inside where they belong. Physically, I am a girl and a boy at the same time. However, mentally, I'm most defiantly not a boy, I am a girl!"

A boy asked "How come no one ever discovered you were a girl?"

"That's simple, when you look at a baby and see it looks like a normal boy, no one looks inside to see if there's more hidden inside," Kylie answered. "My girlishness was always there but since no one had any reason to check, it was never discovered."

A girl asked "How can you be a girl if you've got a... you know... boy thingie?"

"That's harder to answer," Kylie said. "Normally, a child simply knows it's a boy or a girl before it knows there is a physical difference between boys and girls. When I was a toddler I felt I was a girl. It was really confusing when I found out I had boy bits and everyone insisted I was a boy. I couldn’t handle the dichotomy and just emotionally shut down. Most people find the way they feel matches their genitals. A few don't and they're called transsexuals and it is a real medical condition. That's what I thought I was until the tests showed I was dual gendered. In my brain and my heart I'm a girl, the boy bits I have I consider to be a birth defect. The doctors have told me that when I'm older and stronger, they can remove the boy bits."

Several guys visibly shuddered. Another girl asked "Can you have babies?"

"I have all the girl bits needed to have a baby," Kylie replied. "The hormones in my body are predominantly female and I'm entering puberty just like any girl. I haven't experienced a monthly yet, but the doctor's think I will within a few months. So I should be able to have a baby."

Then a boy asked "Could you make a girl pregnant?"

"As I said, I'm entering puberty as a girl," Kylie said. "My boy bits do behave like a normal boy. I use my built in hose to urinate and it embarrasses me to admit I've awoken with a woody. Since I hate being a boy, I never even tried to masturbate so I don't know if my boy bits make sperm. I might be able to father a child, but I find the mere idea of using my boy bits in that way disgusting. So while I could possibly do it, I won't."

Another boy asked "Do you like boys or girls?"

"I assume you meant to ask if I'm sexually attracted to boys or girls," Kylie unflinchingly answered. "Kyle had no sexuality at all and absolutely no interest in sex. I'm a girl. I want girls and boys as friends. I've only openly been a girl for a week and half but am finding myself attracted to guys. Right now I'm certainly not mentally ready for a boyfriend but I've been changing so rapidly I might soon be ready. Before my parents get upset, I'm an old fashioned girl and expect any boy who might be interested in dating me to meet my parents first. Also, I've promised myself to remain a virgin until I'm married."

That answer certainly sent a buzz around the auditorium.

There were more mundane questions, and Kylie was able to answer them all. Everyone was impressed with her composure, knowledge and openness.

When the questions finally wound down, Kylie spoke once more. "Thank you for listening to me. I hope I have a chance to become friends with all of you. If you have further questions but were embarrassed to ask, please don't be ashamed to ask to meet me in the library for a one on one talk. If you want to avoid me, feel free to do so. But don't try to hassle me because I will report it and you'll suffer consequences. If any of you are offended by my change, I'm sorry, but I'm not going away. I will give those of you who might be inclined to try to hurt me a warning. While Kyle is dead, I'm just as tough as he was and I will not hesitate to defend myself if it becomes necessary. I sincerely hope that never happens. You can see that I’m a girl, please let me be one. Thank you."

The applause started softly then grew until almost everyone was standing. Kylie smiled broadly and waved.

Principal Forrest stepped forward. “Thank you, Kylie. I’m even more impressed by your composure and bravery than I was on Friday.” Then he turned to the audience. “As Kylie said, she is a girl. You will treat her as you would any other girl. Those who don’t will face quick and serious consequences not only from the school, but also by the County Children’s Services. While I can’t condone Kylie’s assertion that she’ll defend herself if assaulted, I have no doubts that she is as tough as Kyle. Just remember, this pretty girl standing before you on her crutches had her foot practically torn off her leg, all the bones splintered with the muscles and ligaments ripped away just 23 days ago. As you witnessed, Kylie is also smart and quick. She was able to answer all your questions without hesitation and so accurately none of us had to come to her aid. Don’t mess with her.”

“I thank everyone for being so understanding and look forward to having a great school year,” Principal Forrest finished. “You may return to your classes.”

The students and teachers filed out jabbering about Kylie. Kylie wearily sat on a folding chair someone had brought out on the stage for her. Laura and Dave walked down the center aisle to join her. DJ had been given permission to linger to speak to his family and then escort Kylie to her locker since they had all her books.

As for the audience, they were stunned by Kylie. One thing in her favor was that outside of sports, Kyle had never had a conflict with anyone. There was no sign of the familiar if scary Kyle. While he had been silent and intimidating, Kyle’s quest for solitude amongst his peers had been respected and his academic prowess respected. Just as he’d done with DJ, not once had he ever bragged about being better than anyone else. In fact, most students knew very little about Kyle. All they knew was what they saw in class and heard from those who had played with or against him on the sports fields. From those who knew him from sports activities, it was well known he was tougher than anyone else.

The entire time she’d been speaking, Kylie was astrally scanning the audience, searching for dark and red auras and probing those a bit to see if their angst was turned against her. Only a handful were upset about her and she ‘tagged’ them with astral markers that would activate if their thoughts against her ever turned to action. For her part, she projected an aura of upbeat positivity and hope that seemed to snare most of those who were unsure how to accept Kylie.

Everyone in Kylie’s second period class looked up as she crutched into the room with a Hannah Montana backpack slung across her shoulders. Again she exuded her positive aura. The perky smile upon her face as she surveyed her classmates was met with tentative smiles as their auras showed they were uncertain and a bit intimidated. As she reached her seat, she leaned her crutches against the desk and slipped off her backpack. After sitting, she laid the crutches on the floor beside her seat.

“Please be careful when you get up, she told the boys who sat in front of and behind her. I don’t want you to trip of my extra legs,” she joked.

The boys and most of the class chuckled at her open humor.

“Welcome to my class, Kylie,” the teacher smiled. “I do hope you’re not going to be a chatterbox in class.”

“I’ll try to behave,” Kylie replied cheerily. “It’s just that I’ve never wanted to talk before. Kyle was simply too emotionally defensive to even consider talking but now that he’s gone, I intend to make up for lost time and make some friends. If I do speak out when I shouldn’t, please remind me.”

The class chuckled as the teacher smiled. “I will, Kylie.”

The class went smoothly even though Kylie and the girls who sat on either side of her were cautioned twice. The girls were simply amazed by the Kylie's transformation and were unable to restrain their chatter.

All period, the classmates kept glancing at Kylie. They were looking for some sign of the silent angry Kyle but found nothing. In his place they saw only a cute girl. About half way through her class, the teacher decided the interest in Kylie was simply too much to hold in check. Quickly wrapping up her lesson, she assigned homework and gave the class free time to work on it. Of course she knew many of the students would be talking with or about Kylie so she cautioned them to keep their voices low. Kylie handled all the inquiries with humility and candor.

Kylie kept an astral eye watching the aura's of her classmates. None were dark although several revealed confusion and trepidation. Most were positive but one in particular piqued her interest. The boy's aura flickered between trepidation, anxiety, curiosity, and hope. They had been together in every school class since kindergarten and sports team. Because of Kyle’s repressed funk, other than on the playing field, they’d never really interacted.

When the class ended, that boy, Billy Dawson, who sat two rows over and back one seat, made his way around the back of the class to Kylie. Most of the kids left as soon as they were dismissed. A few, including the girls she'd been talking too all period, clustered about Kylie. Most wanted to offer assistance to Kylie but were still a bit too intimidated. Kylie noted Billy standing by himself behind the others. Kylie noted his aura was now one of hope, fear, and anxiety. A quick probe revealed he wanted to talk but was too timid.

Kylie smiled as she looked right at him. "Billy, would you mind carrying my backpack and helping me to our next class?"

Obviously caught off guard, Billy blushed and sweat began to form on his brow. "Ah... ah... y... yeah, I... I can do that," he forced himself to reply.

"Great," Kylie smiled. "We don't have to rush. I have a pass to allow me and anyone helping to be a little late for class." Then she looked at the others. "I hope no one is upset I picked Billy but he's in all my classes. Besides that, he's big enough to keep me from being trampled. You'd better get going. I have to wait until the halls clear out a bit before I can leave."

The others headed for their next class while Kylie and Billy waited by the door until the next class began to come in. When there was a slight break in the human wave, Billy stepped into the hall and shielded Kylie from the thinning herd as she crutched out of the room. Once in the hall, he fell in step behind her to play defense as he did quite effectively on the football team. As they walked they talked.

"I'm glad you wanted to help me with my backpack," Kylie said.

"Most of the others would have helped you," Billy nervously replied. "I didn't even get to talk to you before you asked me. How did you know I wanted to help you?"

"Girl's intuition," Kylie giggled. "I could see you wanted to talk to me but were too shy and you didn't want to push your way to me. Besides, we've been classmates since kindergarten and you played on every team Kyle played on. I know you're a good guy."

"But I never did anything with you except when I had to," Billy added. "How do you know I'm a good guy?"

"Just because Kyle seldom spoke and never made an effort to have friends doesn't mean he wasn't aware of what was going on," Kylie said. "You never teased or bullied anyone and if you realized the guys you were with were going to do that, you tried to talk them out of it and left if they went ahead with their pranks. I also know most of the guys don't want to hang with you because you're so good you’re no fun. Please don't take this the wrong way, but you've become a loner this year because you refuse to compromise your standards. Kyle was a loner by choice, you're a loner by circumstances. I want you to be my first new friend. We can help each other."

Billy’s aura brightened with hope and he smiled. "I'd like to be your friend."

By that time they arrived at their third period class, only three minutes late. Kylie showed the teacher the pass and he nodded his head. About half the kids had been in Kylie's previous class and most were openly receptive. As she scanned the auras, she found none threatening and took her seat. Several of the guys chuckled when they saw Billy carrying the Hannah Montana backpack. Billy blushed and placed the backpack on Kylie's desk and headed to his own. Several girls were wondering if, despite what she’d said in the assembly, Billy was Kylie's boyfriend. Their auras revealed they were a bit jealous as Billy was maturing into a hunk.

The fourth period class went smoothly. Lunch was the next class and Billy had to restrain himself from joining the rush to the cafeteria as he usually did. Needless to say, most of the guys were already chowing down as Kylie and Billy were the last in line. Billy took one tray and put two sets of utensils and napkins in on corner. Then he followed Kylie as she crutched down the serving line. The servers smiled at the duo and since they were the last ones through the line, they made the servings larger. Billy smiled as he saw how much he was getting. By the time they reached the end of the line, the tray was crammed with two full meals. They scanned their school ID badges which deducted the cost from their individual pre-paid accounts and headed out to find a seat.

As Kylie expected, by their macho posturing and auras, most the guys made sure to let the pair know they weren't wanted at their tables. A lot of the girls did the same with their haughtiness. Kylie stopped and looked about. Seeing DJ, she waved at him. The guys at the table were all sports oriented and all had played on at least some of the same teams as Kyle and Billy. DJ motioned for her to come to his table.

"Guys, I want to introduce my sister, Kylie," DJ smiled. "As you saw this morning, the only way she's like Kyle is in her toughness. Just be careful as she'll talk your ear off."

Everyone chuckled and nodded their acceptance. Kylie could see respect in their auras and a bit of uncertainty.

"Kylie, sit at the end of the table, Billy, you can sit across from her," DJ stated.

"Thanks, bro," Kylie smiled as she took the seat carefully propping up her crutches.

"Yeah, thanks DJ," Billy acknowledged as he sat opposite Kylie.

As soon as they were seated, the guys discussion about football resumed, basically arguing about what college teams would go to which bowl games. While DJ and his buddies were jocks, they weren't the tough, self-important, arrogant type. They knew they were good and were self-confident enough that they didn't need to flaunt their prowess. This isn't to say they weren't rough and tumble guys, but while they did play hard, they knew sports were not life and death matters. The pranks and jokes they played were never malicious. They were jocks without the negative connotations.

DJ made sure to include Billy in their conversation and soon the timid boy was embroiled in the stats. Kylie had certainly been exposed to sports enough to be able to follow the conversation but was content to listen and watch.

Since they'd been amongst the first in line, the guys finished their meal and left after bidding Kylie and Billy goodbye. Sheepishly, Billy looked at Kylie who smiled back.

"I'm okay with sports as long as I don't have to play," Kylie smiled. "You looked like you were enjoying talking with the guys."

"Yeah, they're good guys," Billy smiled. "They didn't give me any dirty looks."

"You need to open up more," Kylie replied. "You know what's right or wrong and you're confident enough to say NO when it's appropriate. Your opinions and thoughts are good and valid. Don't be ashamed to voice them."

Billy smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Kylie. I guess I have been too hard on myself. I miss having friends. Thanks for choosing me to help you."

"You're welcome, Billy," Kylie answered. "I never had any friends. I'm glad you're my first."

*****

The rest of the day and week passed without any incidents. Few people in the school had any issues with Kylie's emergence and those who did kept it to themselves and ignored her. Of course it helped that she was aware of any hostile auras and carefully avoided them. Most of her classmates accepted her and she began to make many casual friends. It became normal for Kylie and Billy to sit with the guys at DJ's table for lunch.

A big factor in Kylie's overwhelming acceptance was that she was totally feminine in all she did and wore. She was outgoing and bubbly, nothing she did reminded anyone of Kyle. It was as if morose Kyle had died of his grievous injuries and Kylie was merely a likeable new student. For her part, Kylie flourished and blossomed in her new girlhood. She realized that she really had been a frustrated unknowing transgendered boy.

By Friday it was clear to everyone that Billy and Kylie were becoming more than friends. The duo knew their friendship was becoming stronger, but both were oblivious to their growing attraction. But it was clear to everyone that whenever Kylie came near Billy, he'd start to sweat without knowing why. On her part, Kylie became a bit skitterish when Billy looked at her yet was perfectly relaxed when near him.

By the end of the second week, the duo realized they were moving past being best friends. Kylie felt herself being quite attracted to Billy. What she couldn’t figure out was whether her attraction was due to her now raging female hormones or simply a reaction to Billy’s obvious attraction to her. On Friday, Billy asked Kylie to go to a matinee on Saturday. Kylie almost giddily accepted pending parental approval. Laura and Dave were both stunned when Kylie asked her parents that evening during supper.

“You guys know Billy Dawson,” DJ spoke up in support. “He’s been in the same classes as Kylie since they started school and he’s played on all the same teams. You know he’s a good guy. Kylie told you he’s been helping her around school since she’d returned and they sit with me and my buds at lunch.”

Dave and Laura realized they did know Billy and that he was a good kid. They couldn’t find any excuse not to okay the afternoon date for the twelve year olds. They called Billy’s parents and spoke for over an hour. They decided Billy’s mom would bring Billy over to the Warren’s home to pick up Kylie and Laura. The mother’s would accompany the youngsters to the mall. The moms would shop and talk while the kids saw their movie.

Kylie was excited about her first date. She wanted to be a demure lass but was simply to effervescent. When Billy and his mom arrived, Kylie opened the door before they had a chance to knock and politely greeted them. Then as Laura joined them, Kylie impulsively hugged Billy and kissed him on the cheek.

Everyone was quite surprised, but no one more than Kylie although Billy was a close second. Kylie quickly released Billy and stepped back almost losing her balance on her crutches before hanging her head in embarrassment as billy turned crimson. Finally both mothers chuckled and shook their heads for they realized Kylie and Billy were in love, at least as much twelve year olds can be.

They sat in the back of the car with Kylie’s injured leg resting on Billy’s lap on the way to the mall. Their smiling mothers watched as they walked to the ticket booth, Kylie happily babbling while crutching along and smiling as Billy placed a steadying hand on the small of her back while happily grinning.

No one asked if they’d done more than hold hands during the movie. They didn’t have too, the happiness on their beaming faces showed Billy had gotten the nerve to kiss Kylie on the lips.

*****

During the week leading up to the Christmas holiday break, it was evident to even the most obtuse student that Kylie and Billy were closer than they had been before. Kylie began to relax in school and when asked if she and Billy were dating, her blush revealed the truth. The auras hinting at possible hatred and or violence were dissipating. Most of her classmates accepted her and she made dozens of casual friends.

The only concern she had was Heath Davis, a boy in her fifth period class. The first day his aura had been one of confusion and frustration, but since he seemed to go out of his way to avoid Kylie, she probed no further. Only on the periphery of her aura auto-scanning did she note the progressing changes in his aura. Heath’s confusion and frustration increased as third and fourth colors emerged to reveal jealousy and gloom. It was only on the last day before the holiday break when the gloom became predominate that Kylie consciously noticed. The intensity of his gloom startled her and she realized she’d wrongly dismissed Heath’s changing aura as one of disgust with her change. Something else was going on and she’d triggered it. Cautiously she probed his mind to read his thoughts.

What will the future hold for Kylie and her astral abilities?

*****

End of Metamorpho-sis
(1st Song of the Kylie Warren Saga)

*****

Metamorphosis
written by: H. Duff, C. Midnight, C. Bennett, A. Recke
Performed by: Hillary Duff
Album: Metamorphosis (2003)

I've been so wrapped up in my warm cocoon
But something's happening, things are changing soon
I'm pushing the edge, I'm feeling it crack
And once I get out, there's no turning back

Watching the butterfly go towards the sun
I wonder what I will become

[Chorus:]
Metamorphosis
Whatever this is
Whatever I'm going through
Come on and give me a kiss
Come on, I insist
I'll be something new
A metamorphosis

Things are different now when I walk by
You start to sweat and you don't know why
It gets me nervous but it makes me calm
To see life all around me moving on

Watching the butterfly go towards the sun
I wonder what I will become

[Chorus]
Metamorphosis
Whatever this is
Whatever I'm going through
Come on and give me a kiss
Come on, I insist
I'll be something new
A metamorphosis

[Spoken:]
Every day is a transformation
Every day is a new sensation
Alteration, modification
An incarnation, celebration
Every day is a new equation
Every day is a revelation
Information, Anticipation
Onto another destination

[Chorus]
Metamorphosis
Whatever this is
Whatever I'm going through
Come on and give me a kiss
Come on, I insist
I'll be something new
A metamorphosis

DATELINE:
*****Metamorphosis*****
Sat 11/13/04 injury
Wed 11/24/04 out of coma
Thu 12/02/04 discharged
Fri 12/03/04 school mtg & shopping
Mon 12/06/04 return to school
Fri 12/18/04 Billy asks Kylie to movies
Sat 12/19/04 First date
Thu 12/23/04 Last day of school before holiday break

*****Metamorphosis*****
*****Come Clean*****
*************************************************
CHARACTERS/LOCATIONS
*****Metamorphosis*****
Dave Warren Sr. father
Laura Warren mother
DJ (Dave) Warren Jr. oldest son
Kyle/Kylie Warren youngest son/daughter
Melissa Waters county social worker & psychologist
Dr. Alterson psychologist
James Wilson dying old man
Jennifer Sue Charles dying astral girl
Doctor Proctor orthopedic surgeon
Doctor Walsh neurologist
Doctor Lance pulmonologist
Mrs. Wentzel seventh grade home room teacher
Principal Forrest junior high school principal
Billy Dawson classmate
Heath Davis classmate
St. Mary's Trauma Center

Come Clean
2nd Song of the Kylie Warren Saga
By Jennifer Sue

*****
Come Clean - part 1
2nd Song of the Kylie Warren Saga

Let's go back
Back to the beginning
Back to when the earth, the sun, the stars all aligned
'Cause perfect didn't feel so perfect
Trying to fit a square into a circle
Was no life
I defy
( Hillary Duff)
*****

“Damn that kid can run,” Keith Davis praised the ferocious scrawny running back as he once more outmaneuvered and outran the defense of the opposing team to score his third touchdown of the game. Then he looked to down the bleachers to where the band sat. The sight of his son reading a book he must have smuggled under his uniform made him sigh. The boy was simply hopeless at sports.

Heath Davis was so engrossed in his book he missed the cue to stand and play the school fight song to celebrate the touchdown. The Laurie Adams, the girl sitting beside him, kicked his leg. Startled, Heath looked up and realized what was happening. Hurriedly he put his book on the bleacher seat and picked up his flute. Before he was able to stand up, the band director started the rousing tune. Fortunately, Heath was a superb flutist and was able to jump right in without missing a beat as he struggled to his feet.

Keith shook his head. The boy was simply socially inept and he wondered what he could have done differently to encourage his reticent son to show at least a little interest in sports. Taking Heath out for kiddie soccer when he was four was an absolute disaster. When the coach taught dribbling, Heath kept tripping over the ball. As if that wasn’t bad enough, every tumble brought tears. When it came time to really kick the ball, the clumsy boy ran forward and instead of kicking the ball he missed and tripped himself. When they scrimmaged, Heath screamed and ran off the field as a determined girl charged him and even then he tripped over his own feet and fell. The coach did his best to encourage Heath. Keith worked with him at home and he managed to learn the basic skills, but it didn’t help when he was out on the playing field with other kids. There he was as inept as ever. It was almost like he was afraid and went into panic mode. Heath wanted to quit but was made to stay on the team for the season. Heath ended up as team helper, getting the players drinks or tissues and otherwise helping but did not play.

T-ball was equally disastrous. Again Keith worked with his son to each the basic skills and he did okay at home. But once Heath was on the playing field with his teammates, he never reached even a mediocre level of competency. The pattern repeated itself, Heath did okay when it was only the two of them, but as soon as he was around others, he fell apart. This really frustrated Keith. No amount of practice ever helped. Heath’s main problem was fear of people. What really frustrated the unhappy father was that Heath was honestly trying his best but the boy’s fears simply overwhelmed him. Of course that knowledge also tempered the frustration so while he continually encouraged Heath, he didn’t yell at him. By the time Heath finished kindergarten, Keith gave up trying to get his son involved in sports.

Lost in his revery, Keith almost missed the successful kick for the extra point. As the squads changed, he noted Heath diligently playing his flute with the band. Now in seventh grade, the first year of junior high, the band director had selected Heath to be first flute. While Keith was proud that his son was so accomplished as a musician, he was silently embarrassed that Heath selected the flute as his instrument.

The opposing team was trying to move the ball but the impressive defense kept them in check. Glancing at the sidelines, most of the offensive line was gathered around the assistant coach as he spoke to the quarterback. All the players had removed their helmets. The only player not in the group was the kid who made all the touchdowns. Still wearing his helmet, he sat unmoving on the bench with his back toward the field while staring into space at nothing. With 20 seconds to go till the game was over, ball possession swapped. The quarterback had to go over and tap the running back on the helmet to snap him out of his reverie. The kid simply got up and ran to his position on the field avoiding the huddle. Keith knew that was extremely unusual and wondered if the kid was some sort of football playing savant. The play started and once more the small intense boy ran a long pattern and seemed to easily snag what appeared to be an un-catchable pass to run it in for another touch down. Keith cheered as the band struck up another rousing tune. The kid was simply amazing. The home team won and the players swarmed the quarter back. Keith thought it strange that no one on the team was slapping the guy that made all the touchdowns on the back. Then he noted the kid was already headed for the locker room while his teammates celebrated out on the field.

Waiting a bit before heading to the parking lot, Keith watched the players still celebrating. Once the initial swarm of exiting people slowed, he headed for his vehicle. “Heath, I know you’re not interested in sports.” Keith said when Heath arrived from the band room and climbed into the truck. “But it’s rude to read a book while the game is going on.”

“I’m sorry,” Heath muttered ashamed he’d been caught, not for doing it.

“Okay, sport,” Keith smiled. “Say, who is that little guy that scored all the touchdowns?”

“That’s Kyle Warren,” Heath replied. “He’s in my fifth period class but he’s really weird.”

After what he'd seen on the field, Keith was not surprised. “He’s only in the seventh grade?”

“Yeah,” Heath replied. “His older brother DJ is the quarter back.”

“He’s good too,” Keith said now understanding big brother taking care of little brother with that tap on the helmet. “The other guys on the team swarmed him after the game but Kyle was already heading back to locker room.”

“Yeah, that’s Kyle,” Heath said. “He makes the winning touch down as time runs out and he just turns and heads to the locker room without even stopping. In our class the teacher gave up calling on him because he only gives blunt one or two word answers. But he and I are the only one’s who’ve gotten a hundred percent on every test. He never smiles or laughs and just ignores everyone. It’s like he’s really angry all the time and just wants to be left alone. We’ve been in most of the same classes throughout elementary school and he’s been like that since kindergarten.”

“Well, he’s the toughest kid I ever saw,” Keith stated. “He took quite a few hard hits and they seemed to never hurt him. I don’t know of any pro players who could shake off hits like he took.”

“I’m sorry, dad,” Heath sniffed.

Surprised by the teary apology Heath asked, “What for?”

“Because I’m not good at sports,” Heath sniffled. “I know you’re embarrassed that I play the flute and I’m certainly not tough. Just look at me. I’ve never lived up to your expectations.”

“Heath, it doesn’t matter,” Keith tried to soothe the quietly sobbing boy. “You are my son and I’m proud of you. You made first flute in the band, get good grades, do your chores, and are respectful and polite.”

Heath stifled his tears and nodded his head. Despite his dad’s reassurance, he knew he didn’t live up to his dad’s expectations.

The rest of the ride home was done in silence. The father and son were brooding about the insensitive voiced admiration of Kyle.

*****

As soon as Heath entered the kitchen, Linda knew he’d been crying again. He simply nodded at his mom and headed off to his bedroom. What happened this time? The hangdog look on Keith’s face as he came in told her he’d inadvertently set off the tears.

“I’ve got to learn to keep my mouth shut,” Keith sighed. “There’s this kid on the football team who’s in seventh grade who’s about Heath’s size. I never saw anyone play like he did. He scored four touchdowns and took hits that would have laid out pros. The kid would just get up and walk off the blows. I asked Heath about him and they’ve been classmates since kindergarten and this year share their fifth period class. Heath felt guilty because he isn’t as athletic or tough. I told him I was proud of him but I’d already set off the water works.”

“He’s been breaking down in tears more and more since he started seventh grade,” Linda sighed. “Whenever I try to find out what’s wrong he starts crying. I wonder if we should take him to a psychologist?”

“We need to talk to him first,” Keith advised. “Don’t mention anything until we’ve finished supper otherwise he’ll break down and not finish supper.”

*****

Up in his bedroom Heath was lying in his bed looking up at the ceiling as his memories of disappointing his parents filled him with sadness. Heath blinked back tears as he sighed in frustration while rolling things over in his mind. The degrading attempts to play soccer and T-ball before he'd even started school. The humiliation he'd endured still grated on his psyche. Learning the basics of a sport wasn't an issue, but facing others on the playing field was a different story. It was like his mind simply froze up. When that happened, fear of looking like a fool sent him into a panic.

Kindergarten set the pace for his elementary years. Walking into the classroom he almost turned and ran. The teacher came to him and took his trembling hand to keep him from bolting. His lower lip had been quivering and tears formed in his eyes as he saw all the other kids. The first day there were kids who'd been on the teams he'd been on. Looking at the quaking boy they all recalled the wimpy boy who fell over his feet and ran screaming off the field. They quickly spread the word and several took great joy in intimidating the already shy boy. Several times a day he'd break down in tears. At least once a month up until fourth grade the bullies scared him so badly he wet his pants. Naturally this just increased the teasing and humiliation. The playground was just like the sports fields. The mere presence of the other students made him go into panic mode.

Since he was so wimpy, teasing was the only thing the guys wanted to do with him. For his own safety in kindergarten he gravitated away from the boys and toward the girls. But when faced with more than three girls, he once more felt fear engulf him until even the girls didn't want him to join their activities. Quite a few girls also began teasing him. The epithet 'sissy' was thrown at him at least twenty times a day. Naturally, these issues isolated him from his classmates. Usually he spent recesses actively avoiding the other students while staying in sight of the playground monitor. One benefit of always being on the look-out was he became quite observant. This allowed him to note people's moods and anticipate who was a danger. Since he was not distracted from learning by friends and play with quite literally nothing else to do but study, he excelled academically.

*****

As Heath recalled the first two days of seventh grade were not too bad. The kids who had taken pleasure in teasing him were too busy trying to fit in to be bothered with him. Even with that, it took a major effort to keep from having a panic attack every time he was surrounded by the mass of students in the halls during class changes. Heath did his best to anonymously blend in. With his ability of acute observation he noted other kids who seemed to be trying to remain anonymous. Lunch was quite intimidating. The students quickly split into cliques and occupied tables with their new friends. By default, the losers drifted to the only open table, the one nearest the cafeteria monitor, to sit. Although the boys seated at the ‘dork’ table were all reticent, by the end of the meal, except for Kyle Warren, they began talking.

Unfortunately, his hopes for being left alone and having a quiet year vaporized the third day during his first phys-ed class which was simply an orientation session of the phys-ed department and locker room as well as to assign lockers. The mere idea of stripping naked and taking a shower with other guys made him shiver in dread. As the teacher began walking through the locker room assigning lockers, Heath was pale and perspiring heavily. Having to change in front of other boys unnerved him. By the time they reached what was to be his locker, Heath was hyperventilating and nearly passed out.

The teacher realized Heath was not feeling well and had him sit on a bench. All this did was to focus everyone’s attention on him. Despite his best efforts, Heath’s fears were realized as he began crying. This blew his anonymity and the guys in the class who knew him from elementary school quickly spread the word about the uber-sissy.

By lunch the next day, the end of the first week of school, even the other losers had heard about the misadventure in phys-ed. They really had no choice but to allow Heath to sit at their table as they were too timid to actually try to keep him away. But their silent rejection was quite evident to Heath so he took the seat no one wanted... sitting at the far end of their table across from the ever morose silent Kyle. The other outcasts purposely excluded Heath from their conversation as they didn't want to take any chances his notoriety might paint bulls eyes on them.

Sitting across from Kyle was unnerving as the stony faced dour boy never in any way acknowledged there was anyone near him much less in the room. Kyle's intense gaze stayed riveted to his tray until he was finished, then he stood and took his tray to the collection site and left. With his accentuated perception, Heath could see the barely controlled anger inside Kyle. Heath realized Kyle was like a completely compressed heavy steel coil spring that could explode at any time. Being near Kyle so unnerved Heath he shivered with barely controlled fear.

The only place Heath found a tiny bit of acceptance was in the band. He'd been appointed first flute by the end of the second week. The other flutists were all girls and although Laurie Adams, a ninth grade girl, had hoped to become first flute, she humbly realized Heath's ability to play far outclassed her.

*****

That memory sent his reverie off in a different direction. Although Heath knew his father had been opposed to him becoming a flutist, Heath uncharacteristically persevered and was rewarded with reluctant approval. Heath knew he wanted to play the flute as soon as he saw James Galway perform on TV during the Capital Fourth of July Performance in 2000. The haunting lilting music spoke to his soul. As soon as the show was over, Heath scurried to his room and dug out the flutophone he'd had to buy for music class in first grade. It hadn't taken him long to master the plastic instrument. When he got the flute in fourth grade, he practiced as much as he could. Within two months, he blasted through the lessons the music teacher had that lasted other students through the sixth grade.

The first elementary school band rehearsal had Heath trembling as he took his assigned seat in the crowded music room. Nervously he caressed and stroked his beloved flute which greatly calmed him. Once he began playing, he quickly lost himself in the music. At the Christmas concert, he was the only flutist and fourth grader to be given a solo. His skill and aptitude were so overwhelming everyone had to admit he was excellent.

Since that time he'd steadily soared in his ability and was on track to approach his idol's expertise. Inspired by James Galway's use of the recorder, when he was in fifth grade, Heath asked for two Dolmetsch Pearwood recorders, a left-handed alto(treble) and a right handed descant(soprano), for Christmas. Heath knew he'd surprised his parents since he seldom requested anything for Christmas except books. If truth be told, Heath usually dreaded occasions when he would get gifts like Christmas or his birthday. No matter how hard they tried, he knew his parents had grown frustrated trying to find toys he would like. Toys that would have made most boys happy were politely acknowledged and perfunctorily played with as they watched but then put in his room never to be touched again. But Christmas 2002 was different as they bought him the expensive matching set of hand polished wooden recorders with a velvet lined case.

Just as he'd done with the flute, Heath practiced the recorders and quickly mastered them. Then, like his hero, he tried playing two recorders at the same time. This took a great deal of practice, but since he really had few other interests, he learned to do it and in the process became quite ambidextrous. What was even more difficult was to simultaneous play melody on one recorder while he accompanied himself on the other. This took hundreds of hours of effort but he succeeded. Although he had mastered the technique, he had yet to share his accomplishment with anyone. Naturally playing the flute was his primary pastime.

Thinking of the flute always snapped him out of his despondent musings. Rising from the bed, he opened his flute case and began to play some Irish folk music. In seconds, he was lost in the music.

*****

Hearing the moving melodies waft through the house told Keith and Linda that Heath was coping with his sadness in the only way he knew. Linda had to go upstairs to tell Heath to come down for supper. The boy nodded his head and continued playing. His parents had learned that when he was deeply engrossed in his music, he had to finish the piece before doing whatever they told him.

As usual, Keith and Linda discussed items of interest with Kathy, their daughter who was a year younger than Heath, as they ate. 0ccasionally they were able to draw Heath into their conversation but that was difficult to do. After the meal was finished, Heath stood and prepared to take the dirty dishes and wash them, one of his chores.

"The dishes can wait, Heath," Keith stated.

Heath looked at his dad, then his mom, and finally his sister. With a forlorn sigh he resumed his seat knowing it was time for another talk. Like normal, he hung his head and waited. Even though he tried his best, tears formed in the corner of his eyes.

"Heath, you're not in trouble," Linda soothed. "We're concerned about how easily you cry. You have to admit you cry with little provocation and it's not normal or healthy. We're not saying you can't cry, as it can be beneficial, but you've gone overboard. We need to figure out why you're so teary and what we can do to help stop them, or at least decrease the frequency."

Heath nodded his head understanding their concern was quite justified. If truth be told, he was quite tired and frustrated by his ease evoking tears.

"Heath, if you can't talk to us so we can work this out together as a family, we're going to have to take you to a shrink," Keith declared after several moments of silence.

Heath jerked his head upright and stared at his parents with his mouth open wide in shock. A quick glance to his sister showed she was just as surprised. Tears began to freely flowed down his cheeks. "You think I'm crazy," he sniffled the ponderous diagnosis.

"No, we know you're not crazy," Linda assured him. "But it's not healthy to react like you do. Do your friends at school cry a lot?"

Heath's hands clenched the edge of the table and he screwed his eyes shut while bowing his head, clearly struggling not to burst into a full crying jag. As he struggled for control he waited for his dad to tell him to pull it together and be a man but no one spoke. After a few minutes of silent crying he took several deep breaths to steady himself. Embarrassed, he slowly opened his eyes and raised his head to look at his family. Their faces showed their concern, not anger. Heath desperately wanted to run to his room and grab his flute. After fighting down that urge, he took another deep breath.

"I... I don't have any friends," Heath finally whispered.

"You don't have any friends," Keith repeated in obvious surprise. "What about your classmates? Who do you sit with at lunch? Surely you must have some friends!"

"That's the problem," Heath sobbed as he looked hopelessly at his parents. "I... don't... have... any... friends! The only thing most of my classmates want to do with me is to tease or bully me, the rest avoid me so the bullies won’t go after them. At lunch I sit at the table with the other losers, but since I broke down in tears in my first gym class I’m clearly the worst of the group. Even they won't talk to me because they're afraid some bully might target them instead of me." With that said the sobbing boy buried his face in his folded arms and cried piteously.

Linda and Keith were stunned but Kathy merely nodded her head in agreement with Heath’s self assessment. They were aware Heath had few friends in elementary school and was subject to a lot of teasing and bullying. In fact, he’d never visited a classmate nor had any visited him. They had hoped things would improve when he reached junior high but apparently it became worse. Linda looked to Keith and he nodded. Linda scooted her chair next to Heath and pulled him into a protective hug as he cried.

It took ten minutes for Heath to cry himself out but he still snuggled into his mother's embrace. "Is dad mad at me?"

"Ask him yourself, he's still right here," Linda replied as she stroked Heath's hair.

Hesitantly Heath peeked over at his dad. What he saw was a look of loving compassion mixed with frustration. "Dad, I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment," Heath sniffled. "I don't know why I cry so easily. I'm just so scared I lose control. But the worst part is that I don't even know what's scaring me! I feel like a square peg someone is trying to hammer into a round hole and I feel the pain in all four corners and on the top where I'm being hit."

"First of all, you are not a disappointment," Keith firmly stated. "Sure, I'd have liked for you to be good at sports, but it's simply not you. You gave it all you had when I asked you to play and that was enough for me. I don't hold it against you. You have no idea how proud I am of you and Kathy! I hear the other guys at work complaining about their lazy kids. They won't do any chores, don't do their homework, get C's and D's on their report cards, talk back, and get into all sorts of trouble. Compared to them, you're both perfect!"

Kathy appreciated being included in the compliment. Even though she was Heath’s little sister, in many ways she looked out for him and had intervened many times when a few girls decided to tease Heath. Not that she’d ever had to become physical, but she had a sharp wit and a tongue to match.

"Well, this perfect doesn't feel so perfect," Heath sighed.

"What your father is trying to say is you've been a wonderful cooperative child since you were born," Linda added. "You do what you're told without complaining, you have wonderful manners, are great in school, and never get into trouble. We love you as you are and don't want you to change."

"At the game this afternoon I admired the way Kyle Warren played," Keith said. "I admire the way a lot of professional players play too. That does not mean I want you to be the same. I was simply admiring his talent. On the field he was dynamite. Off the field... he sat on the bench with his back towards the field staring off to who knows where. Then after scoring his fourth touchdown as the game ended, he doesn't stop in the endzone but turns and heads into the locker room while his teammates swarm his brother the quarter back! Now that kid has problems!"

"Yeah," Heath nodded. "We sit across from each other at the end of the loser's table for lunch. I tried talking to him but he never even acknowledges me. But then I've never seen him talk to anybody. What I was told before I was ostracized was that no one could remember seeing him smile, cry, laugh, or get angry. He's almost like an android with no emotions. But he's smart, get's straight A's"

“Yeah,” Kathy agreed. “Even though he’s never bothered anyone, his behavior just creeps everyone out.

"Well, that fits with what I saw," Keith agreed. "That kid is profoundly morose and it's probably only his good grades that keeps him from attracting the attention of the school shrinks.

"So what are we going to do about you, young man?" Linda smiled as she looked at her son.

"I guess I'm not as bad off as I thought," Heath nodded. "Kyle is a lot worse off than I am. But that still doesn't help me. I don't know why I'm like this. I just don't feel right and I'm sad and afraid most of the time. The only thing that helps is my music."

Keith looked concerned. "What do you mean by you don't feel right?"

"I'm not sure," Heath answered. "It's like I said, I feel like a square peg being jammed into a round hole. I just don't fit in! And it's not just recently, I've felt that way as long as I can remember, all the way back to the beginning! I’ve never really had a life. I was too afraid to say anything because I couldn't explain myself. Heck, I still can't. All I know is that I don't feel right and it makes me afraid. I can't remember not being afraid."

"Well, it seems we have two choices," Keith chuckled obviously trying to lighten the mood. "First, we can try to trim the corners off your square peg or we can mortise corners in the round hole so you'll fit."

"That sounds great," Linda smiled. "But I love Heath as he is and would never try to trim any corners off him. So do we need to get the earth, the moon and the stars all aligned to mortise corners on the round hole?"

“To be honest, I don’t really know,” Keith replied more soberly. “Heath, your mom and I are here for you. Please don’t ever be afraid to talk to us. Together, we’ll get through this.”

“I’m here for you too, bro,” Kathy nodded her assurance

“Thanks,” Heath sniffed while managing a weak smile. “I just wish I had some idea of why I’m so scared of things. I think if I can get past my fears, I’ll be okay.”

“That’s a start,” Keith nodded. “Why don’t we start with what you’re not afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid of music,” Heath said after a few moments of deep thought. “Playing the flute and recorders is just about the only thing that really makes me feel okay.”

“Okay, that’s a start,” Linda smiled. “Now let’s think about why you like music.”

"I never really thought about it," Heath admitted. "But when I saw James Galway play, his music just seemed to speak to me in here." Heath tapped his chest.

"I remember the night you first saw him," Linda said. "He was a guest soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra and helped celebrate the first Independence Day of the century. We watched on a live PBS special, 'A Capital Fourth'. His music really got to me to and obviously you too."

"That's the one they broadcast live from the West Lawn of the Capitol,” Keith said as he tried to think back that far. "It was on July the 4th, 2000."

"When it was over you ran to your room and dug out the flutophone we had to get you for school," Linda smiled as she looked at her son. "You started playing the songs they'd taught you in school."

"I remember that night," Keith chuckled. "I had to take the thing away from you so we could get some sleep."

"I cried myself to sleep because I thought you were going to throw it away," Heath admitted. "I was surprised to see it by my breakfast the next morning."

"You've been pretty good about stopping to play when we tell you since then," Keith reminded him. "But why must you finish the song you're playing?"

"It eats at me until I can finish it," Heath replied. "It's like taking a bite of a cake and being told to not chew it for an hour. It's impossible. Besides, you're the one that always said finish what you start. You made me do it with soccer and T-ball."

"You got me on that one," Keith smiled.

"The school taught you the basics but you really taught yourself to play the flutophone," Linda declared. "Even though you played beautifully, the sound that cheap plastic put out sometimes got to me. I'll admit there were times I wanted to beg you to stop because I got sick of it, but I knew you were really into it and it made you happy. That has not been an issue with the flute or recorders as their tonal qualities are really superb and mellow."

"You made that little toy play tunes I'd thought were impossible to play on it," Keith added. "Then in the fourth grade when you came home telling us you wanted to play the flute I almost lost it. Fortunately your mother cut me off before I put my foot in my mouth."

"I know you think playing the flute is for sissies or girls," Heath admitted. "But James Galway isn’t a sissy. The sound of the flute and recorder just gets into every part of my body. It's like I become one with the music."

"Well, you're right about what I thought about boys playing the flute," Keith admitted. "But the big word there is 'thought'. You've shown me how wrong my thinking was. I always thought there was only one way for a man to be a good, solid person, but you've shown me how arrogant that thinking was. Now I understand there is more than one way to become a good person and I thank you for opening my macho clouded eyes. I'm proud you're my son."

"It's about time you told Heath how he's changed you and how you feel about him," Linda chided with a smile.

“Everyone loves to listen to you play,” Kathy added. “You’re so good I’ve never even tried to play anything because I don’t think I could even come close to being as good.”

“Kathy, you sing beautifully,” Heath replied with a bit of indignation. “You’ve got music ability. I’m sure you could play an instrument quite well if you’d try.”

“Thanks for the support, bro, but I’ve got enough going on with dancing and cheering,” Kathy smiled.

“Keith, we’ve bee blessed with two of the best kids in the world,” Linda beamed. "Well, I think we've given each other a lot to think about so I suggest we give it a rest, think about things, and then discuss it again another day."

They all agreed that sounded like a good idea. Heath gathered the dishes and washed them while his parents and sister went into the living room to watch TV. Heath joined them for a bit before deciding to go to bed.

Even though he was tired from the days activities, he discovered his mind wasn't ready to sleep. It was dwelling on the conversation he'd had with his parents. Why did the flute and recorder touch his soul? Played gently they could play light hearted airy tunes that were relaxing and calming. Played intensely it could stir the soul as in some of Sousa's marches. Combinations could be haunting. It could be playful or enchanting. The music of the Flute and recorders could evoke a wide range of emotions. Heath finally decided he liked the flute and recorders for all the emotions it could invoke and instill into the listener and player. Finally he nodded off to sleep.

*****

The next morning, Saturday, was bright, sunny and warm. While chowing down on a light breakfast, Heath looked at his parents. “It looks like it’ going to be a really nice day and it might be the last warm day of the season. Is it okay if I spend the day in the woods?”

“Sure,” Keith answered before Linda could voice any objections. He was glad his son liked being in the woods. It was at least a somewhat masculine activity.

Linda sighed, knowing she couldn’t object at this point. “Make sure you take your cell phone and keep it on. You can call us if you need help.”

“Okay, mom,” Heath agreed knowing she was more concerned that the phones GPS locator could be used if he was hurt and unable to call.

“Mom,” Kathy quickly added. “Is it all right if I go over to Bobby’s to practice our dance routines?”

“Sure,” Linda smiled thinking it was cute she had a crush on the boy. She wasn’t worried since she knew Margie Dawson would keep things platonic.

Carefully Heath packed some drinks and snacks into his backpack along with his flute and recorders, slipped on a jacket and headed out the back door, across the back yard, and into the forest behind his home. The forest was all that remained of the vast forests that covered the area before the pioneers settled here. It was in a slight valley with a stream meandering through it. The reason it was never developed was that it was close to the river and flooded at least twice a year. The floods were never deep and rushing, being more a backwater muddy lake, and had never flowed past the tree line. Heath loved being in the still virgin woods. It was beautiful and serene, removed from the rush and complexity of life. The birds chirping and flitting about the branches was relaxing. The scampering of squirrels and chipmunks was comical.

After a five minute walk into the forest, he reached the slow meandering stream. The creek averaged about two to three inches deep and bout five feet wide, although some areas were deeper while others were wider. There was a huge old oak tree by the creek that Heath loved. Heath had used a piece of string to measure the tree’s girth about four feet above the roots. It measured a bit over 16 feet in circumference which meant it was a bit over five feet in diameter. Although wounded, the hearty old tree had withstood the ravages of the stream and storms. It was obvious that years before the stream had attacked sturdy oak, washing the soil from it’s roots until it stood on hundreds of finger-like roots. The attack had been so intense that over the years the stream had changed course. The remnant of the old stream bed was clearly evident on the south side of the majestic oak while it now ran on the north side. The stream had shifted course moving beneath the tree. At some point during the assault, probably during a storm, the oak shifted as the roots sagged due to the wind thrusting into the leafy boughs. The tree leaned to a forty five degree and would have crashed to the ground except two of it’s mighty branches touched ground and held the trunk up. The eighteen inch diameter one that took the brunt of the toppling had splintered and pushed deeply into the earth and now seemed to have sprouted roots of it’s own. While it bore the majority of the weight, a second big branch touching the ground stabilized the massive oak. The sturdy limbs that held up the tree were just two of five large branches that had sprouted from the trunk within five feet of each other many years ago. Each headed off in a different direction and now formed a comfy nest like crotch. The battered oak now formed a bridge over the stream that had sought to cut it down.

New branches sprouted from the top side of the trunk reaching for sunlight. These branches, now two to three inches in diameter, formed easily accessible hand holds and supports that Heath used to walk up the steeply leaning main trunk. The multi forking branches allowed him to lie down in the sun while shielding him from the wind. His private spot was about thirty feet up the trunk which put it about fifteen feet above the ground and directly above the stream. Although the height was very frightening, the immense bulk of the tree made him feel safe.

Once settled into the his cosy spot, he pulled out a recorder and began to play. The melodies wafted through the vibrantly fall colored leafy boughs. He began with a Celtic classic, ‘The Gypsy Rover’. While he played the bright happy tune the words sang in his mind.

The gypsy rover come over the hill,
Bound through the valley so shady;
He whistled and he sang,
Till the green woods rang,
And he won the heart of a lady.

Ah di doo, ah di doo da day,
Ah di doo ah di day dee;
He whistled and he sang,
Till the green woods rang,
And he won the heart of a lady.

She left her father's castle gate,
She left her own true lover.
She left her servants and her estate,
To follow the gypsy rover.

Ah di doo, ah di doo da day,
Ah di doo ah di day dee;
He whistled and he sang,
Till the green woods rang,
And he won the heart of a lady.

Her father saddled his fastest steed,
Roamed the valley all over.
Sought his daughter at great speed,
And the whistling gypsy rover.

Ah di doo, ah di doo da day,
Ah di doo ah di day dee;
He whistled and he sang,
Till the green woods rang,
And he won the heart of a lady.

He came at last to a mansion fine,
Down by the River Clayde,
And there was music, and there was wine,
For the gypsy and his lady.

Ah di doo, ah di doo da day,
Ah di doo ah di day dee;
He whistled and he sang,
Till the green woods rang,
And he won the heart of a lady.

He's no gypsy my father said she,
My lord of free lands all over,
And I will stay till my dying day,
With my whistling gypsy rover

Ah di doo, ah di doo da day,
Ah di doo ah di day dee;
He whistled and he sang,
Till the green woods rang,
And he won the heart of a lady.

When finished, the last notes seemed to echo sweetly through the trees. The birds, squirrels and chipmunks had even stopped their incessant chirping and chattering while listening to the enchanting tune. Looking up the trunk he wasn’t disappointed. There sat Frodo, at least that's the name he'd given the plucky squirrel since it reminded him of the brave hobbit ring bearer. It lived further up in the massive oak and usually came down to watch and listen to him play. Heath always brought peanuts and set them out for Frodo. Over the months, Frodo became brave enough to come down and take the peanuts right from Heath's hand. Then the squirrel would go back a few feet and open the treat and eat it before coming back for more. Heath enjoyed the communing with the squirrel, giving him treats as soon as he approached and stood upright.

After slaking his thirst with a juice pack he’d pulled from his backpack, Heath picked up both recorders and placed them side by side in his mouth. Frodo recognized that Heath was going to play and scampered up the trunk a few feet and settled down to listen. In moments the uplifting tune, ‘Green Sleeves’ was wafting through the trees. The melody emerged from the alto recorder which he fingered with his left hand while the accompaniment came from his descant recorder which he fingered with his left hand. Anyone hearing the music would assume two virtuosos were playing together flawlessly.

After another drink and more treats for Frodo, he put everything into the backpack and went out along the branch that stabilized the tree. This branch formed a path at about a twenty degree angle to the ground. Together with the main trunk it made a walk-able bridge across the stream. Reaching the ground, Heath hiked along a narrow path by the babbling stream as it wound it’s way through the forest. After about ten minutes he emerged from the trees by the river to step out onto the public hiking/biking path that had been built on the bed of the abandoned railroad right of way. Once on the level path Heath adjusted his backpack and jogged about a mile along the path until it reached the community park. From there he walked the town’s sidewalks to his home.

After giving his mom a hug he headed to his room for a quick shower and change of clothes. After an early supper, Heath headed to his bedroom as he did every Halloween. Keith and Linda had learned years ago that Halloween was Heath’s least favorite time of the year. The scary costumes and images of horror simply terrified him. Starting when he was two they had taken him trick or treating only to have him screaming in fear and crying. They hoped he’d out-grow the terror but he never did. They stopped trying after he’d wet himself while trick or treating when he was in the first grade. Keith and Linda allowed him to stay in his room while they manned the door to give out treats to the kids that came to their home.

Kathy had no issues with Halloween and always went trick or treating with her friends. This year she was going with Bobby Dawson. She hurried to change into her costume. They were going as Bonnie and Clyde. Frank Dawson would stay in his car and unobtrusively as possible to watch the young couple. Kathy always shared some of her goodies with Heath, but never anything that was Halloweenish.

The siblings were quite different in their temperaments yet they looked out for each other and willingly shared whatever they had. Kathy was bubbly and outgoing while Heath was quiet and shy. Kathy loved trying new things while Heath was afraid to do so. Heath tempered Kathy’s impetuousness and was quite responsible. Heath also willingly helped Kathy with her homework.

Safe in his room, Heath played his flute and recorders, once more escaping his fears in the ethereal melodies. That night, as he lay in bed, he began to think about his fears. Even though he was old enough to understand the Halloween monsters were not real and just people in costumes, it still made him shiver. In school he'd often heard classmates raving about horror movies. The TV commercials promoting those films were enough to give him nightmares. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't understand why people wanted to watch such stuff or dress up as monsters. One thing he was sure about was that he was glad Halloween was over for another year.

Thinking about his fears he began to wonder why he wasn't afraid to go into the forest alone. Of course, he'd only begun venturing in alone since the previous spring. Before that, he'd only go if he was following his dad. Heath found the forest relaxing, the chirping of the birds and chittering of the squirrels was peaceful. Then it hit him that he was just like the birds and squirrels, they were easily spooked by anything that wasn't normal and would flee for cover. Being like the birds and squirrels made him feel good, and he drifted off to sleep and dreamed he was another squirrel who was friends with Frodo, scampering happily about the big old oak tree.

*****

Come Clean - part 2
2nd Song of the Kylie Warren Saga

[Chorus:]
Let the rain fall down
And wake my dreams
Let it wash away
My sanity
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder
I wanna scream
Let the rain fall down
I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean
(Hillary Duff)
Despite several discussions concerning Heath's fears, he and his parents were unable to make any headway. All three were frustrated and dancing around the possibility of seeking professional help. At school, Heath paid more attention to the only other student he knew was without a friend, Kyle Warren. They only shared one class but between lunch and that class, Heath began to feel sorry for Kyle. The morose boy absolutely cut himself off from everyone. Even in the crowded halls with students bumping shoulders, Kyle remained an island in the sea of humanity. Anyone that got near him veered away, not wanting to risk rousing the ire of the intense mute boy. No mattered how much he observed Kyle, he never saw a chink in the invisible wall he'd erected around himself. Compared to Kyle, Heath's situation was a lot better.

Nothing really changed until the November 13th JV championship football game. Keith and Linda sat in the stands with Kathy while Heath sat with band. It was a great game and Heath, heeding his father's admonishment of two weeks before, was doing his best to pay attention to game. The game itself was uninteresting, but Heath was fascinated watching Kyle. When not on the field, the boy sat on the bench with his back towards the field staring at nothing. When on the field, his movements were phenomenal. The boy could turn on a dime, reverse direction, and leap with unbelievable ease, easily shaking off pursuers. The few times he was hit, he simply ignored it. The violent sounds of the blows made Heath wince, yet Kyle never flinched.

Near the end of the game, Kyle ran into the endzone for another touchdown when his obviously frustrated pursuer hit him late. Heath somersaulted over the tackler and thudded into the grass. The sound of the impact made Heath pull his head down and cover it with his arms. Surely Kyle had to be severely hurt by that shot. When he heard the game proceeding he peeked out to see Kyle stoically limping off the field. How had he not been seriously injured? Looking closely, Heath noted Kyle was hurt! Although most of his face remained frozen in its perpetual near scowl, Heath could see Kyle was biting his lips to staunch the pain from overwhelming him. Everyone was so intent on the game no one even checked to see if Kyle was hurt! Was he the only one who realized Kyle had hurt his leg? This angered Heath, with his anger growing each minute Kyle suffered in silence. Just as he was ready to get up and go to Kyle's aid, the band conductor stuck up the band as possession of the ball changed. As Kyle instinctually played he watched Kyle struggling to maintain control. Heath suddenly felt the look on Kyle's face changed a tiny bit, and that change was enough to keep Heath in his seat. After a few plays, Heath just stared in disbelief as the coach ordered Kyle back onto the field!

Kyle didn't say a word as he headed back onto the field. Heath swore he saw a trace of blood glistening on Kyle's lips when he stood and turned to limp back onto the field. The play was quick and brutal. Even with his injured leg Kyle ran and then leapt into the air. Heath heard a piercing high pitched girlish scream when he saw Kyle hit again! What happened next was simply horrible. Kyle was lying on the ground in the endzone having scored the winning touchdown, but his foot was obviously nearly snapped off and blood was spurting! Heath watched in utter horror as Kyle lifted the football in triumph and laughed hideously. Several players got sick at the sight as paramedics and coaches rushed to Kyle's aid. The piercing prolonged gasping scream of horror filled Heath's ears as he was unable to look away. Even when people blocked his view he could still see the horrible image burned into his eyes.

It took three firm slaps in the face before Heath snapped out of the living nightmare. The band director and his family were standing around him with looks of concern upon their faces. Heath realized his father had been the one who slapped him and he saw and heard them talking to him but couldn't fathom what they were saying. He was shaking like a leaf and panting as if he'd just run for miles. The now silenced horrid scream still echoed in his ears. Suddenly he realized he'd been the source of those screams! Guiltily looking about he could see about half the band members were looking at him with confusion while the rest were transfixed gazing upon the scene of Kyle's horrendous injury. Already short of breath and now humiliated to be the unwitting source of the girlish screams, he began to hyper-ventilate.

"Damn it, Heath, sit down," Keith demanded as he grabbed Heath's shoulders and pushed him down to sit on the bleachers. "Put your head between your legs and breath deeply. Get yourself under control!"

Heath heard the rebuking words but realized they were filled with concern. From his seated position he looked up at his parents trying to get his bearings and regain control. "Okay, okay," Heath gasped as his head wobbled about. Then he leaned over putting his head between his knees.

Linda sat beside him and wrapped him protectively in her arms. He could feel her love and fear but the blood now pounding in his ears masked any words. Slowly, he began to regain control. Finally a loud, throbbing sound broke through and he struggled to raise his head. The sight of a medi-vac helicopter settling down on the playing field momentarily surprised him. Once down, the crew headed to the crowd gathered in the endzone. Several people cleared a path through the onlookers and Heath caught a glimpse of Kyle, now limp and unconscious with paramedics tending to him. Totally horrified by the sight he began to tremble but found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the brutal scene.

Keith sat beside his son and added his arms to those of Linda to steady Heath. Both parents realized that the traumatic injury had not just happened on the field, it had happened in the stands too. Both were quite concerned this might be too much for their fragile son to handle.

Heath watched the helicopter lift off and they were all buffeted by the downdraft of the powerful rotors as the air ambulance headed for the hospital by the shortest route, directly over the stands where they sat. Once it had passed over them, Heath pushed himself to his feet and turned to watch the chopper disappear in the distance. Keith and Linda rose with him and held him in reassuring grips. It was only after the chopper was out of sight that Heath sagged against his father. Keith held him upright.

"We'll take Heath directly home," Linda told the concerned band director. "Thank you for your concern and assistance in getting him settled."

"All right," band director Williams said. "He can pick up his things Monday during school."

Linda nodded her appreciation. Kathy carried the flute as Keith assisted a still trembling and weak Heath off the bleachers. Everyone was somber and many were sniffling at the horror they'd witnessed. When the reached their two seated truck, Linda opened the rear door and Kathy scrambled inside and helped maneuver Heath as their father lifted Heath inside. The ride home was made in silence as Kathy held Heath tightly. Linda reached from her front seat to soothingly stroke Heath’s hair.

Heath was confused by his reaction to the events he'd witnessed and absolutely shamed that he'd been the person screaming. Any hopes he had of somehow building up any credulity in school was now totally evaporated. While he knew he hated violence and horror, he was upset that he'd been unable to look away from the gore he'd seen. By the time they reached home, Heath hastily fumbled with his door to get out. Realizing he needed to get out, Linda reached back to open the door. Heath just made it to the grass beside the driveway when he began to heave. Dropping to his hands and knees he felt as if he was throwing up everything he'd eaten in the last week.

Kathy went ahead to open the doors as his parents helped him up and into the house but Heath was dazed by his reaction and inconsolable in his embarrassment. All Keith, Linda and Kathy could do was to reassure him they loved him. At least Heath acknowledged their love and returned it, but little more as he was so lost in remorse he couldn't even pick up his flute.

*****

Sleep did not come easily to Heath that night. The horror he’d witnessed had traumatized him. That the carnage had horrified him was not an issue. His reaction was embarrassing but it was too late to undue the damage. He had no doubt his screams would be the second most talked about event of the day, the first being Kyle’s injury. What really disturbed him was Kyle. Sure he was firmly ensconced in his own world, but why had he gone back onto the field when he’d obviously been injured? Was it machismo? No, to the best of his knowledge, Kyle never did any macho posturing. Was it a desire to be hurt? Possibly, especially considering his hideous laugh after having his foot practically ripped off. But why would anyone WANT to be hurt? More important, how could he laugh and hold the football up after seeing his mangled ankle?

Just the thought of how much that had to hurt took Heath’s breath away. Kyle really had to be head case. But then again, maybe Kyle’s desire to be hurt was some warped self-punishment. He’d heard the term ‘suicide by cop’ on TV where an armed person took actions to force the police to kill them. Maybe Kyle needed the pain to feel alive. While a weird concept, considering how unemotional and severe Kyle always appeared, it might not be too off the mark. How terrible his life had to be to need to set himself up to be hurt. Yet despite the obvious pain he had laughed, granted it was hideous laughter, but none the less laughter. Could the fact he actually felt the pain make him happy simply to feel something? It was all simply too much to comprehend. Kyle was really messed up.

But that left him with his humiliating reaction. One scream may have been accepted simply as part of his school leprosy, but to hysterically scream and scream and scream was unforgivable. A girl who had a crush on Kyle could be excused for such a reaction, but certainly not a boy. That conclusion really scared Heath. Would their fellow students think he had a crush on Kyle? That was absurd! But was it? After all, Heath had spent the last two weeks observing Kyle at every opportunity. Even though Kyle never acknowledged him, Heath had become preoccupied thinking about and trying to analyze him. In fact, he'd just done it again while lying in bed!

Heath tried to stop his disturbing thoughts but was unable to get off the tracks as the speeding train bore down on him. The logical answer was that Heath DID have a crush on Kyle! That meant Heath was gay! Could that be why he was so afraid of people? But that made no sense. He'd always been that way. Two and three year olds had no concept of gay or straight so that couldn't be the cause of his fears. He just never felt right. His home life was wonderful, his parents loved him and supported him. They were the perfect family, but it sure didn't feel perfect to Heath. Sure he loved his parents and sister and was extremely glad they supported him, but he still felt like a square peg being forced into a round hole. Could that be because he was gay? They said being gay was not a choice, gays were born gay. Could his fear of people be caused by that difference? He supposed it could be innate.

Heath had become enthralled by Kyle, but he'd thought it was because they were both loners and he was hoping that by default they might become friends. That made more sense then having a crush on him! Heath wondered if he was sexually attracted to guys? As he thought about the other guys at school, none seemed to have invoked any lust. But then neither had any of the girls. This confused him. Going back over the guys he saw in school who had caught his attention for something other than self-preservation, he realized they were all decent handsome boys blossoming into manhood! There was a sexual attraction! This made him shiver with trepidation. Forcing himself to mentally review the girls who had caught his attention proved equally stunning. They were all quite girlish and it was their clothes and hairstyles that drew his attention! It wasn't the girls themselves, it was their femininity that attracted him! Damn, he was gay!

It felt like Heath was in a violent thunder storm. The rain was falling down in torrents. It seemed to be washing away his carefully crafted but shaky self image. It was quite literally washing away his sanity! But just as suddenly he realized how Kyle had felt when he’d laughed so hideously! He wanted to feel the thunder just like Heath wanted to feel the booming crashes. He wanted to wake his dreams of being normal so badly he’d screamed! Damn, let the rain fall down so he could come clean... come clean to the fact he was gay!

Heath rolled over and buried his face in his pillow as he cried himself to sleep.

*****

It was mid-morning on Sunday when Heath awoke in a soggy bed. Not only had he perspired profusely he had also obviously wet the bed. The fitful sleep had done little to revive his spirits as confusion and fear filled his dreams and nightmares. The worst was that Kyle's head had been ripped off instead of his ankle and his headless body stood in the endzone with the football raised in triumph while his head laying on the ground laughed hideously. As he got out of bed he stripped out of his soggy PJs and then stripped the bed. Now he understood his mother's insistence they keep the waterproof mattress pad on his bed. Bundling everything up he headed to the shower. When he returned to his room, the sour smell of urine filled the air. Dressing quickly, he headed downstairs with the soggy bundle.

Linda was ready to greet him cheerily until she saw the bundle and his forlorn face. "Let me take that," she said as she rushed to him.

"No," Heath solemnly replied. "I'm old enough to be responsible for my own messes. I would appreciate it if you can show me how to wash this."

"Of course," Linda said proud Heath was trying to handle the situation.

Heath listened intently to the instructions, insisting he do the actual work. Once everything was sorted and the first load washing, he followed his mom into the kitchen for a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice. Linda asked if he was up to helping her with some other household chores. The duo worked together, only pausing to take care of his laundry. Heath was glad to have something to keep him busy. The housework was not difficult but required mindless attention to details.

Kathy was surprised to see Heath helping their mother clean. It was something she usually did but Heath was obviously losing himself in the tasks and she wasn’t about to turn down the help. After a quick bowl of cereal, she joined them.

When Keith came in from the garage where he'd been working on restoring a 1956 Ford pick-up. While pleased to see Heath up and working, he'd have been happier if he'd come out to help him in the garage. It didn't take long to see Heath was uncharacteristically somber. The family headed into the kitchen to make lunch. Working together, it only took a few moments to whip up a tossed salad.

The conversation was stilted as Keith, Linda and Kathy tried to involve Heath. It was clear yesterday's events had a tremendous effect on him.

"Heath, thanks to your help we're almost done with the housework," Linda spoke up as the meal wound down. "Kathy and I can easily finish it up but I think your father could use some help in the garage."

"Okay," Heath nodded.

That surprised both parents as Heath had always resisted helping work on the vehicles. Not that he hadn't occasionally been the second set of hands a task sometimes needed, but he'd be gone as soon as the job was done.

Keith was surprised to note Heath was actually listening and seemed to be learning as they worked on the car. Heath even asked appropriate probing questions. Linda quietly peeked out a few times to see how things were going, being pleasantly surprised to see the father and son actually interacting in a positive manner.

When she had supper almost ready, Linda told Kathy to poke her head out the door to tell them dinner would be ready in fifteen minutes. Getting to a place they could stop on the task they were working on, they cleaned up, wiping off the tools before putting them away. After washing the grease off their hands, they headed into the kitchen.

"I might make a grease monkey out of you yet," Keith stated while smiling at his son. "At the least, you'll know enough to keep someone from ripping you off."

"Thanks, dad," Heath replied with a tentative smile. "Working on a car wasn't nearly as bad as I though it was."

Keith smiled wearily and nodded. They'd been working on a truck. "Just keep an open mind. There is very little in life that is as bad as you fear. You've got talented hands and fingers from playing the flute and it translated over into mechanics. You were able to get those nuts started on the frame bolts with very little problems. I'd been frustrated with that task for weeks."

"You're good at explaining things," Heath replied with a genuine smile. "If it's okay, I'd like to learn more."

"Son, you're always welcome to join me or your mom on any task," Keith answered. "You were a big help to both of us."

"I tried," Heath responded. "I embarrassed us all yesterday. It's time I outgrew my problems or at least took responsibility for my actions. I'll never be able to grow up if I don't."

"You'll always have us to support you," Linda smiled proudly.

"Thanks, Mom. Dad, I had a lot of nightmares last night and wet my bed," Heath confessed. "I told mom this morning I was old enough to take care of my messes when I brought my wet bedding down. She showed me how to run the washer and dryer. Then I just kept helping her. I know you were a bit frustrated with me for doing the housework, so when mom suggested I help you I decided to give it my best shot."

"We're proud of you, son," Keith smiled.

Heath took a deep breath and lowered his head deep in thought. Then he raised his head and looked his family in the eye. "Ahh... well... ahh... would you be proud of me if I'm... ahh... g... gay?"

Both parents jerked and caught their breath while Kathy just stared at her brother. "Of course," Linda firmly declared as Keith and then Kathy nodded their agreement. "What makes you think you're gay?"

"The way I reacted yesterday," Heath stated, then waved his parents into silence as they were about to defend his actions. "I had a hard time going to sleep and did a lot of thinking about why I reacted like I did. I realized when I look at guys, I'm checking them out to see how handsome they are. That’s why I get so panicked in the lockerroom."

"That doesn't mean you're gay," Keith said. "I've seen you checking out cute girls."

"Yeah," Heath snorted. "NOT! I was drooling over what they were wearing and their hair styles!"

That stunned both parents. They exchanged looks of surprise and didn't have a retort. They all noted Kathy calmly nodding that she wasn’t surprised with her brother’s observation.

"It's all right," Heath concluded. "Even I never realized that's what I was doing until I thought about it last night. Since I'm such a wuss in gym that I can't even change in front of the guys, I get teased unmercifully and no one has wanted to be my friend for fear they'd be harassed by association. Kyle was the only other guy with no friends but he wouldn't talk to me even when I tried talking to him. For the last two weeks I've been checking out Kyle, trying to figure him out. He's tough and hard, but he's hiding behind that as a defense. He's a loner by choice. During the game I saw he'd been hurt bad by that late hit in the endzone. He limped off the field but I bet he broke his ankle."

"If he'd have broken his ankle he wouldn't have been able to walk," Linda declared.

"You didn't see he was biting his lip to fight back the pain," Heath answered. "I could see blood on his lips when he stood to go back out on the field for that last play. But he went back out. Then he ran on it and made that jump to snag the ball! God he's tough! The pain had to be horrible but he did it because that's the way he is. Heck, you heard him laugh as he held up the football... and that was after he saw his ripped off foot with the blood spurting! He was enjoying the pain! It was something he could finally feel! It broke through the walls he'd erected! That's why I was screaming. I was screaming for him because he couldn't! I... I think I might have a crush on him!" Heath broke down in tears.

Keith and Linda realized what Heath was saying about Kyle was most likely the truth. They also understood that at some fundamental level Heath truly cared for Kyle. After a few moments of exchanged looks of exasperation Linda moved to hug Heath.

"Heath, you are our child and we love you," Keith expounded. "It doesn't matter if you are gay. It doesn't matter if you love Kyle. As long as you are happy, we'll be happy."

The family cleaned up the dishes and headed in to watch the local news. Sitting together on the sofa they braced for the report on Kyle. They showed film of Kyle's last two plays and reported the doctors felt he had indeed broken his ankle in the earlier one but had pushed on to be savaged in the last. They reported he was in a drug induced coma after the twelve hour surgery to re-attach his ankle and repair his collapsed lung and treat his massive concussion. They were not sure if the plucky boy would survive but that the doctors had decided to keep him in a coma for ten days. Heath was once more sobbing as the news report ended as his parents hugged him.

""Heath, I think you should play your flute," Keith advised. "It always relaxes you and we all love to hear you play."

"You can bring it down hear and play it with us," Linda added.

"Okay," Heath agreed sniffing back the last of his tears. It only took him a moment to make the trip up to his room to retrieve his instruments. His soul quickly soared out of the doldrums on the wings of the music. Once more his parents marveled at their son's ability to play such evocative melodies. After half an hour he put down the flute and picked up his alto recorder to play several tunes it. Then he switched to the descant recorder and played a different set of tunes. Then to the surprise of his parents he picked up the alto recorder and placed it in his mouth beside the descant. They were absolutely blown away when he began playing the alto with his left hand while simultaneously playing the descant with his right hand. For the first piece he played melody with the tenor and accompaniment with the alto for ‘This Land Is Your Land’. Despite the two quite distinct fingering patterns he flawlessly played the tune. The next tune he switched to play the melody on the alto and accompaniment on the tenor to play ‘Greensleeves’. Again his playing was flawless.

"My God, that was beautiful," Linda gasped totally blown away.

"Oh yeah," Keith agreed. "If I hadn't seen you play, I wouldn't have believed it was possible!"

Heath blushed and smiled. "I saw James Galway play two instruments at the same time so I decided to try. That’s why I was so insistent about wanting these specific recorders. It was tough at first until I discovered the trick to closing my lips about the two mouth pieces. After that, it was just a matter of practice until I could play different notes on each."

"Heath, don't EVER let anyone tell you only sissies play the flute," Keith declared. “What you lack in sports ability is more than compensated for by your musical talent."

By the time Heath went to bed he was exhausted but feeling much better. The music had once more lifted his spirits. Exhausted by the previous nights unsettling slumber, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

*****

Monday morning the school buzzed with talk about Kyle's hideous injuries. Few were surprised to learn the doctors thought he'd broken his ankle in the second last play yet had played on without comment. The second most popular topic was Heath's hysterical reaction to Kyle's injury. Again those who knew Heath from elementary school assured their junior high classmates they weren't surprised by his breakdown. As he walked through the halls before classes began Heath was embarrassed as the chatter stopped when he was near and those who had been talking just looked at him.

Much to Heath's surprise, Laurie Adams, the ninth grade flutist he'd supplanted as first flute, sought him out at his locker and publicly gave him a hug right in the crowded halls. "Thank you for voicing what many of us felt," she said loud enough to be heard by everyone nearby who promptly fell silent. "Most of us are too suppressed by peer pressure to do openly react with such emotion. We needed someone to be free enough to break the mold. Please, join us at our table for lunch. I've already cleared it with the other girls and they're all anxious to meet you!"

Stunned by her praise and invitation Heath blushed, and unable to speak, meekly smiled and nodded his acceptance. Part of him feared the girls would tease him unmercifully but Laurie had always been open and honest with him and he didn't see any hint of a trap.

“Great,” Laurie enthused. “We’ll see you at lunch!” With that she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then smiling broadly, she turned and headed to her homeroom.

Totally stunned, Heath raised a hand to his cheek and watched her disappear into the crowd. As soon as she was out of sight, the buzz in the hall resumed at a fever pitch, with Laurie and Heath the new hot topic. The chatter snapped him from his stupor and blushing deeply, he finished his locker and scurried to his homeroom. All morning his ears picked up his name as students gossiped in his classrooms and halls.

With his heart beating so hard he could feel each pulse throb in his temples, Heath selected the minimum amount of food school policy allowed as he went through the cafeteria line. After swiping his account card, he took his tray and anxiously stepped into the dining room.

Conversation rapidly dissipated as almost everyone turned to look at him. Fear gripped him and he felt the pressure build in his bladder as he stood looking for Laurie. All he needed was to wet his pants while everyone was watching.

“Heath, over here,” Laurie called out as she stood and waved. Because the silence of the students, she spoke in a normal voice and thus didn’t draw a rebuke from the monitor. Many heads turned to her as she stood smiling at Heath and waving.

The relief Heath felt quelled his demanding bladder as a thankful smile filled his face. Heath carefully walked over to Laurie but it took a great deal of effort to keep from running. Reaching the table, Laurie indicated he take the empty seat beside her. Even as he took the seat she began to introduce the girls at the table. It was with a great sense of relief that he recognized them all from the band.

The quelled conversation in the dining room resumed as Heath meekly accepted the accolades of the girls. They knew he was a tremendous musician and very meek and timid, not at all like the other guys. They understood his hysterical screams of horror when Kyle was hurt had made him a marked target for the bullies and were trying to do what they could to keep him safe. Laurie had talked with the girls in the band room right after the incident to rally them to support Heath. After all, he was a valued member of the band. He barely managed to suppress a giggle when Laura solemnly told him the girls had voted to make him an honorary ‘band geekette’, the secret moniker they had dubbed themselves.

*****

The support of the girls was instrumental in keeping Heath from being overwhelmed by the teasing his hysteria had engendered. Frankly, he doubted he’d have survived without them or Mr. Greene, the phys-ed instructor, who wisely excused him from gym class on Monday and sent Heath to the library.

Heath almost wet himself on Wednesday when he was summoned to the guidance office. Mr. Wilcox, the guidance counselor, did his best to assure the obviously anxious boy he wasn’t in any trouble but that a case worker from the County Children’s Services wanted to talk to him about Kyle Warren. This did little to calm his fears and he began to hyperventilate.

Having no experience in panic attacks other than his training, Mr Wilcox immediately had Heath sit and lower his head between his knees. Squatting in front of Heath, Mr. Wilcox did his best to reassure him. While Heath struggled to regain his composure he felt someone sit beside him and begin to massage his back between the shoulder blades.

“Just relax, Heath,” Melissa Waters soothed. “I’m not an ogre. If you the idea of talking to me is so upsetting, we won’t do it, okay?”

Even though his head was down between his knees, Heath quickly nodded his agreement. It still took a few moments for Heath to regain his composure. Slowly, he sat upright and tentatively looked at the woman who had helped him.

“My name is Melissa Waters and I’m the caseworker,” Melissa smiled warmly. “Would you like to go back to your class?”

“Yes please,” Heath replied softly. “But I’m trying to get over being scared by people so I’ll try to talk to you.”

“Well, thank you,” Melissa replied with a genuine smile. “I’m delighted you’re willing to try to speak with me. If you don’t want to answer a question, simply say so and I’ll move on. If at any time you want to stop, please tell me and we will stop. Okay?”

“Okay, thanks,” Heath smiled weakly feeling a bit more comfortable with this woman.

“Well, lets go into this office,” Melissa said. “Would you like a bottle of water?”

“Yes please,” Heath replied softly.

“Two waters coming right up,” Mr. Wilcox, declared as he went to the small refrigerator. Having only graduated from college that spring, he was in awe of Melissa’s empathy and skill and hoped to one day be as good.

Once seated and after they'd both had a swallow of water, Melissa noted Heath's continued unease. "Are you sure you want to try this?"

"Yes," Heath nodded. "Obviously you need to find out all you can about Kyle to help him so I'll do my best."

"Thank you, that's very considerate of you," Melissa smiled. "I understand you have one class with Kyle and sit across from him at lunch. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Heath replied. "Kyle never talked to me, even when I spoke to him, he totally ignored me. I'm not even sure if he ever really looked at me."

"From what I've discovered, that seems his normal reaction so I'm sure it wasn't your fault," Melissa said as she tried to reassure the nervous boy the failure to entice Kyle into conversation wasn't his fault.

"Yeah, I know," Heath replied sadly. "I know no one ever talked to him but I think they're all afraid of him. I was hoping I could snap him out of his funk as we're both the school lepers."

"You're both the school lepers," Melissa stated repeated.

"Yeah, for me it's because I'm afraid of people and in our first phys-ed class I did the same thing I did just a few moments ago," Heath explained relaxing a bit. "A lot of the guys tease me for being a sissy and a wuss, or even a lot worse. The kids that don't hassle me avoid me because they're afraid they might become targets. For Kyle, most people think it's because he wants to be left alone and he scares them."

"But you don't think that," Melissa understood what Heath was saying.

"No, I think Kyle is super angry and frustrated and just acts like he does to keep from losing control. I think he's hiding from his anger and frustration by shutting down all his emotions."

"From what I've discovered about Kyle I think you may be right," Melissa said. "How did you figure that out?"

"Well, I've learned to be observant to keep from getting ambushed," Heath explained. "Plus since I don't have any friends to distract me, I've been watching Kyle, hoping to find a chink in his armor. So far I haven't."

"Perhaps not," Melissa agreed. "But it's obviously not for lack of trying. To the best of my knowledge, I'd say you have succeeded in getting as close to Kyle as anyone. At least you've been concerned about his behavior."

"Yeah," Heath sighed. "I think I may have gotten too concerned."

"Oh," Melissa answered. "Why is that?"

Heath lowered his gaze and licked his lips.

"You don't have to answer," Melissa assured him. "You've already given me more information about Kyle than I've gotten from anyone else."

"No, I've got to tell you," Heath struggled. "It's why I freaked out when Kyle was hurt. I think I might be ga... ah... I think I might have a crush on him."

Melissa was surprised by the frank revelation from the timid boy but it certainly explained why he'd become hysterical. She realized she'd have to treat this confession very gently. "Have you talked about this to anyone?"

"Yeah, I told my parents on Sunday," Heath admitted. "They didn't freak out and said they loved me and it didn't matter if I was straight or gay."

"That's marvelous," Melissa smiled glad he had family support. "But just because you might have a crush on Kyle doesn't mean you're gay. Perhaps you should get some counseling to help you determine your orientation and your leprosy."

"My parents have been thinking about that," Heath admitted. "I'm not sure I'm ready for a shrink. I told my parents that its time I started taking responsibility for what I do. My mom showed me how to do my laundry and I helped my dad work on his truck. I'm trying to get over being so afraid of people and I think I'm making headway. Some of the girls from the band have had me sit with them at lunch since Monday and I think we're becoming friends. At least I am."

"Okay," Melissa smiled. "You seem to be on top of the issues and I KNOW you're making headway on your fear of people. You've proved that by talking to me."

"I was really scared at first but I figured if you're trying to help Kyle you've got to be a good person," Heath replied.

"Thank you," Melissa smiled. "If you'd like, we can ask Mr. Wilcox to join us and with my back-up, perhaps you can tell him your circumstances. No one should be teased for their fears or their reactions to a tragedy. I'm sure he can help get the worst of the harassment stopped as I know bullying is against school policy."

"I guess I should talk to him," Heath sighed. "Mr Greene, the phys-ed teacher has excused me from class for a bit until things settle down. My hysterical screams when Kyle was hurt only made me a bigger target."

A half hour late Heath headed back to his classes with an excuse note. Mr. Wilcox was quite upset to learn what Heath was enduring and promised to speak with Mr. Forrest, the principal, to see how to proceed to get the harassment stopped. The new counselor was also blown away that Heath had opened up to Melissa about possibly being gay. Melissa gave him some advice on how to handle sensitive issues and gave him her business card telling him to call her if he needed and further advice.

*****

With his spirits buoyed by his talks with the counselors, each day Heath gladly sat with the girls at lunch and eagerly joined in their conversations. By Friday he was so relaxed he forgot his reticence. The girls didn’t blink an eye when he began adding his opinion on some of the guys they were talking about. Heath realized what he’d said and turned beet red but when the girls didn’t react he relaxed a bit. Feeling he was pushing their friendship, he felt compelled to guiltily confess that he thought he might be gay. The girls simply accepted his confession with smiles that told him they already assumed he might be gay and they had no problems with that. Heath didn’t know how to react, but was extremely glad the girls only comment was it changed his status so that now he was a full band geekette. The only fly in the ointment was that it made him feel guilty for not being offended for being a ‘band geekette’.

News about Kyle remained sketchy, all they knew was that was still alive. Heath desperately wanted to ask DJ about his brother but was too afraid. Each day he asked the girls if they had heard any news about Kyle. The girls thought it strange he seemed so eager when he asked and was obviously a bit down when they told him they hadn’t. It didn’t take long until they figured out that Heath had a crush on Kyle! With that knowledge his hysteria at the game made perfect sense. Heath’s blush when they connected the dots revealed his feelings. Again they unequivocally supported him. This only reinforced Heath’s concern that he was gay.

Each evening Heath spent at least two hours playing his flute and recorders. The enchanting tunes floated through the Davis home. While still timid, Keith and Linda could see that Heath was opening up. At supper he spoke animatedly about being a band geekette which made Kathy giggle. While his parents weren't sure how to handle that tidbit, they were happy he finally had friends. Heath had also told his parents about talking to the counselors. Again the parents were delighted to hear that Heath was not only opening up, but had told the counselor and his parents he didn't mind if they discussed his situation, only asking they let him know they were doing so. They even had an evening conference with Mr. Wilcox and Principal Forrest to discuss the bullying Heath endured in an effort to formulate a solution. His exclusion from phys-ed was extended.

*****

The Monday after Thanksgiving weekend the news swept through the school that Kyle was not only awake, he was talking! Not only was he recovering faster than anyone had hoped for, he might be returning to school soon. Right on the heels of that came the rumors that he had finally went crazy and now thought he was a girl! Kyle was elated at the news but stunned by the rumor! Through his fellow geekettes he tried to find out what was going on. One of the girls reported that DJ had refused to confirm or deny the rumor but assured everyone that however Kyle returned to school, he'd be just as tough as he'd been before and that anyone that had a problem with Kyle would have a problem with him too. Heath was pleased to learn DJ was sticking up for his brother. But the rumor that Kyle thought he was a girl really got under his skin.

On Friday December 3, everyone was stunned and the word rocketed through the school. Kyle had been discharged from the hospital the day before and would soon be returning to school. The rumor that Kyle now thought he was a girl was now rampant. The announcement of a special assembly for Monday morning did nothing to relieve his concerns. Heath was really in a quandary... what if the rumors were true?

Keith, Linda and Kathy could tell Heath was wrestling with a major concern all weekend. While making themselves available they didn't push him to talk. Instead Heath threw himself fully into all he did. Doing the laundry, cleaning the house, helping his dad work on the truck, and in the evenings, playing his flute and recorders.

By Monday morning Heath was an emotional wreck. Since Kyle's accident and his hysteria he'd done a lot of self analyzation, especially after the discussions with the geekettes about guys and Kyle. The conclusion he reached was inescapable, he did have a crush on Kyle and that he was gay. Actually, he had few issues accepting these conclusions which was why the rumors that Kyle thought he was a girl were unsettling. It disturbed his carefully crafted new self-image.

Seated with his class in the auditorium, Heath was stunned by Dr. Alterson's declaration that Kyle had declared he was a girl. It felt as if the bottom had just fallen out of his carefully crafted new identity as the gay band geekette. When Dr. Alterson went on to reveal that Kyle was intersexed, both fully and female, Heath's inner turmoil settled a bit as the fact Kyle was indeed male seemed to reaffirm his self beliefs.

All that changed when Kyle came out to address the school. She, for that is what Heath saw, was undeniably a girly girl in both dress and mannerisms. Kylie, for he knew instinctively that she was a girl, projected the epitome of girlishness that Heath found enticing. Jealousy of Kylie's utter girlishness reared it's head plunging Heath into confusion.

The rest of the morning was a waste as Heath couldn't concentrate on the lessons. During lunch the geekettes correctly assumed his brooding was due to Kylie. They along with everyone else watched as Billy Dawson carried Kylie's food to DJ's table and the pair sat with the guys, quickly joining in to their conversation. Kylie looked happy. Almost numbly Heath agreed but added little to their animated discussion about how Kylie was so utterly different from Kyle.

The class after lunch was the fifth period class he shared with Kyle. To see the smiling girl sitting gossiping with the other students almost tore Heath apart. In the carefully crafted world he'd created, Kyle and he would become friends and later more than friends. Now that was impossible. Heath buried his face behind his book and managed to cry silently.

Upon arriving home he went straight to his room and began playing the flute, not even stopping for supper. Keith and Linda were concerned but didn't want to push. Kathy placed a plate with snack bars and a six ounce bottle of grape juice on his desk and left him play on.

When he finally wore himself out he stopped playing. It was only then he noticed the snack and the time. With a small smile of appreciation and a sigh he ate the snack bars and drank the juice, then turned in.

As he tried to go to sleep his mind refused. Was he really gay? The certainty he'd had was now splintered. Kyle no longer existed, Kylie said he'd died of his injuries. As he reviewed his infatuation with Kyle he realized it had all been one sided and he had actually fabricated his crush! This embarrassed him to no end. Once he got past that, the next question was whether he really was gay? Disregarding his false crush, what evidence was there? This came relatively easy. He had been able to discuss what he thought about guys, what attributes he found attractive... very gay. Added to that was his feelings towards girls. He wanted to be friends but only found himself attracted to their girlishness. Heck, he'd been attracted to Kylie's girlishness and if truth be told was now jealous of Kylie for being so girly. Taken all together, that seemed to fit his earlier self diagnosis of being gay. It was only his misguided crush for Kyle that had been wrong. With that seemingly settled, he finally relaxed into sleep.

In the morning he thanked his parents for letting him brood and Kathy for the snack. Keith and Linda saw that while still a bit depressed, he was definitely more upbeat. Whatever the crisis was, it had passed.

*****

Over the next two weeks at school Heath also perked up and discreetly settled into being the gay band geekette. The only fly in the ointment was Kylie. During lunch and the fifth period class she distracted him. While he had dismissed his erstwhile crush, he couldn't get past how girly she'd become and his jealousy grew. Especially as it became clear that Billy Dawson and Kylie were becoming an item. The more Heath saw of them, he realized Billy was the arch-type of guy he found attractive! Now the green-eyed goddess of envy really took hold of Heath. Kylie exhibited everything he found attractive in girls and she had the guy he wanted!

While it was never in Kyle's heart to even consider doing anyone harm, jealousy and the ensuing helplessness drove Heath into a deep funk that became evermore melancholy whenever he saw the new couple. The band geekettes noticed this and did their best to revive his once more sagging spirits. Things grew worse on Monday December 21 when word that Kylie and Billy had gone on a date to the movies on Saturday swept the school.

It took a lot of self control to subdue Heath's jealousy. Since he'd never do anything to hurt anyone he did his best to avoid even looking at Kylie and Billy. The band geekettes had already realized talk about Kylie and Billie sent Heath's mood crashing so they studiously avoided the topic and said nothing when Heath switched seats at their lunch table so his back was facing the duo. The only place he couldn't avoid them was in their shared fifth period class. Each day during the class Heath's mood grew darker and more sullen.

On the last day of school before the holiday break, Heath overheard Billy and Kylie discussing getting together over the holiday. Heath clenched his fists and glowered into the open textbook he used to shield them from his view.

It was only at this point that Kylie consciously noticed the gloom becoming predominate in Heath's aura. The intensity of his gloom startled her. Having set her astral guard up to auto- monitor the auras of those she was around so she might be warned of danger, she realized she’d wrongly dismissed Heath’s changing aura as one of growing disgust with her change. Something else was going on and she’d obviously triggered it. Cautiously she probed his mind to read his thoughts.

Kylie was stunned by what she found when she probed the morose thoughts of Heath. He was gay and almost insanely jealous of her girlishness and wanted Billy for himself! Hiding beneath that emotional morass she found that Heath thought he had developed a crush on Kyle! She’d heard he’d screamed hysterically when Kyle had been injured but had incorrectly assumed it was simply a reaction to the horrific injuries. This boy had serious issues but felt he was so meek he was incapable of even thinking of hurting someone. At this point he posed no danger so she relaxed a bit. Carefully she astrally tagged Heath for constant monitoring and made every effort to cool her girlishness and budding relationship with Billy while Heath was around them. She gently tweaked Billy to also cool down his enthusiasm for Kylie when Heath was near. The entire effort only took about three seconds.

As Heath kept his head buried in his textbook he felt a weird sense of vertigo for a few moments. It almost felt as if Kylie was boring into his mind. Quickly he shut his eyes and shook his head to dispel his obvious hallucination.

As the school day wound down, the normal rush and anticipation of Christmas quickly swept everyone into the holiday spirit. Kylie had already made arrangements for Billy to attend the 10:00pm Christmas Eve Communion Service with her family.

Fortunately Heath was unaware of those plans. Heath was hoping that he’d be able to gain control and cool his jealousy over the holidays as the couple would be out of his daily life. Fortunately, the last two classes had been replaced by an assembly where the choir and band presented their Christmas Concert. Heath eagerly lost himself in the performances and the solos he had been given impressed even the students who were heavily into hip-hop and rap music. Kylie was relieved to note the incredible change in Heath’s aura as he played. The anger and frustration faded as a glowing state of bliss overwhelmed everything else.

At home, Heath threw himself into the holiday spirit. As he often did, his church had asked him to play his flute in place of an organ prelude. With a chuckle he selected one of his favorite tunes, ‘What Child Is This’. The song used the same music as ‘Greensleeves’ although the words were quite different. Also, instead of the flute, he decided it would be a fitting song to publicly debut his ability to simultaneously play different notes on two recorders. Afraid they might not approve, he didn’t tell anyone, including his parents, his plan.

*****

As normal, the church was filled for the Christmas Eve service. Since it had been a while since the Warrens had attended the service, they didn’t realize they had to get there early to get a ‘decent’ seat in the back of the church. As a result, the only place they were able to find a place all five of them could sit together was the front row. Kylie really didn’t mind as she loved her green velvet dress and wanted to show it and herself off. With Billy at her side, she crutched her way up the center aisle. For many in the congregation, this was their first glimpse of the pretty young miss. All were impressed by her smile and appearance. No sign of the morose boy they had previously known was evident. Kylie sat on the end of the row by the center aisle so she could easily stretch her leg. Of course, Billy sat beside her holding her hand.

A few minutes later the choir, organist, and Heath came in. Shortly afterwards, an usher came forward and made a few announcements, then the bell in the tower was rung. Heath rose from his seat to stand by the organ facing the congregation. Most of the congregation knew of his talent and were looking forward to hearing him. To stem his nervousness which his fear of people still engendered, Heath didn’t look at the congregation but closed his eyes to concentrate on his music. Everyone but his parents wondered what was going on when he placed both of his recorders in his mouth at once.

Taking a breath to calm his nerves, Heath began with an elaborate introduction he’d composed hinting at the main tune. The beautiful evocative music filled the church. Even those who didn’t know music realized he was playing the melody on one recorder while playing the accompaniment on the other. The vibrato he used amplified the warmth and expressiveness of the music. Heath’s flawless, smooth and seeming effortless mastery of the music was so stunning even the babies and toddlers fell silent. Heath’s dual recorder rendition of the normally endearing song was so emotive many in the congregation had tears in their eyes and most couldn’t help but softly sing the words.

What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and Angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Heath had always loved the acoustics in the sanctuary and lost himself in his music and while staying true to the melody improvising as he played. The song should have lasted four minutes but Heath unwitting but enchantingly extended it to ten minutes. Those who knew music were stunned since it was clear that with his eyes serenely closed Heath was not playing from a score. When he finished, the auditorium was awed into silence for thirty seconds. Then the overwhelmed congregation erupted into unprecedented applause which quickly turned into a standing ovation.

Kylie was stunned by the performance. Even in James Wilson’s vast absorbed memories there was nothing to compare. If anything, she was more blown away by Heath’s performance than anyone. When he first stood to play his aura was pinkish silver. With the astral monitoring tag she’s placed on him, she realized it was the result of mixed anxiety for being surrounded by people and anticipation of the pleasure he always felt in his music. As soon as the first notes emerged, the pink disappeared and the silver blossomed. Kylie was stunned as the silver glow fully enveloped Heath and became so intensely bright it momentarily blinded her astral eyes. Kylie had never realized anyone could become so enraptured in something they did. Sure, as Kyle she had been intense, but it had been fueled by anger. Heath’s near rapture was fueled by his pure love of music which had clearly been felt by everyone present. His ability to simultaneously play different notes on the two recorders was equally astounding. Then she realized the depth of Heath’s emotions carried over into all aspects of his life making the intensity of his jealousy of her and Billy so vivid. These thoughts surged through her mind in only a few seconds. Then just like everyone else she too was drawn into the hypnotic music. Heath’s playing washed away all her concerns and sent her spirit soaring.

As her astral sight returned, her ethereal self noted the auras of everyone in the church brighten as the spirituality of Heath’s playing ensnared everyone’s soul. What surprised her was that the tremendous glow of Heath’s’s aura had increased it’s size to fill the sanctuary and was actually mingling with and influencing in a positive manor the auras of everyone present, including her’s. Never had she imagined so many people, without exception, could become so enraptured.

The thunderous applause snapped Heath out of his music induced zone and his eyes snapped open. His expression clearly showed he was confused by the applause. It took a few moments until he realized the standing ovation was for him. This surprised him as he knew the congregation had never done this before. Humbled, he blushed deeply and bowed. The applause soared. Then his world crashed.

When Heath finished, Kylie eagerly joined the rest of the congregation in expressing delight, even struggling to stand to join the standing ovation. Then Billy and DJ shouted out their approval.

“Way to go, Heath,” Billy called out.

“Heath, you rock,” DJ joined in.

Heath recognized Billy's voice and looked up to see Kylie, Billy and DJ in the front pew no more than fifteen feet away. The jealousy and anger he felt about Kylie and Billy tried to take control but the positive after-glow of the music barely held sway. The still applauding congregation added enough angst to disorient him and he froze. Fear that he might embarrass himself gripped him only adding to his dilemma as the fear overwhelmed the afterglow. Tears formed in his eyes in preparation for a full blown crying jag. Then came the ultimate horror as Heath felt his bladder control vanish and the flow begin. Wetting his pants and crying in front of the congregation after having performed so well was going to be an absolute disaster.

Kylie was still in astral contact with Heath and saw his glowing aura ripple as red anger threatened to destroy the silver. Then in a mere instant orange fear became dominant. Without thinking Kylie slipped an astral tentacle into Heath's mind where she quickly scanned his thoughts and emotions. She noted his tears forming but then was almost knocked out of his brain as the fear of wetting himself overwhelmed everything else in his mind. Somehow she managed to hold on as the tsunami of terror surged around in his brain. Kylie understood his horror as she sensed his loss of bladder control.

While she thought she could access his nervous system to shut down the leak in a minute or so, she realized it was already too late. While she couldn't stop the flow, maybe she could divert it. Just as she did when she tweaked electronic equipment, she opened a tiny aperture into the ether right at the tip of Heath's penis. Even as it snapped open she sensed the stream emerge and shoot into the astral plain. Fearing there might be unforseeable consequences if she left the urine there, she opened a second hole just outside the church at the shrubbery to drain it there. Then she reached directly to Heath's eyes and easily located the nerves that controlled the tear ducts, easily closing them down to stop the tears.

Heath felt even weirder than he normally did when he lost control. The strange vertigo he’d felt in the last fifth period class also returned with even greater force. Normally his fear first muddled his thoughts and deprived him of bodily control. His conscious mind could feel the terror driven reactions but was powerless to stop it. If the fear was strong enough, tears and pants-wetting followed. Once again it felt as if someone was in his brain! Suddenly he realized he was pissing freely but felt no wetness in or on his pants. Where was it going? Then he felt the order to shut down his tears and knew it hadn't come from his mind. Someone WAS inside his mind!

Scared but curious and feeling at least somewhat safe since the entity seemed to be helping him, he sent his thoughts along the nerves to his tear ducts. It felt uber-weird as until he felt them being ordered about, he'd never known those nerves existed since they were part of his autonomic nervous system. In an instant, with his well developed sense of perception, he found the other person.

Kylie was stunned as she felt Heath's consciousness touch her intruding astral tentacle. Immediately she threw up blocks to prevent him from accessing her mind. This totally unexpected event would require a thorough examination! She'd mentally linked minds with others in their mutual astral existence and almost instantly shared thoughts and memories. But she’d never done so with someone in the earthly plane. Sure, she'd probed the minds of others but they were never aware of the intrusions. But then she’d never tried to access their nerves to make changes in their bodies, she’d only tweaked their thoughts.

"Kylie?" Heath mentally shouted. "What are you doing in my head? How are you in my head?"

"Whoa, Heath, settle down," Kylie did her best to tweak his thoughts to sooth the fearful boy. "I realized what was happening and had to help you from being embarrassed. Look, I know you've been angry and jealous of me and I'm sorry. I'd like to be friends. But now isn't the time or place to discuss this. I'm going to help you tamp down your fear and anxiety so you can enjoy your well deserved accolades. Look, tomorrow afternoon... about three... we can talk and I'll explain things to you. Just mentally call my name and I'll hear you.

"This is too weird," Heath mentally thought back as he still felt his fear of losing control of his body but Kylie’s calming efforts were effective. "You saved me from embarrassing myself, thanks. I'll call your name about three, but I have to know now, what happened to my whiz?"

"It's in the bushes outside the church," Kylie mentally giggled. "I'm not sure how I was able to do it so I need to figure it out. I should know by the time we talk. By the way, your playing was fantastic!"

"Thanks again," Heath replied with a smile that carried over to his face as he felt Kylie help him deflate the fear that had nearly overwhelmed him. The applause was still going on and everyone assumed his smile was appreciation of their applause. The entire mental intrusion/communication had taken about five seconds. As he bowed once more, Heath smiled at Kylie who was already smiling.

The mood in the sanctuary remained high and positive throughout the rest of the service. The powerful radiant silver aura Heath had projected while playing had infected the aura’s of everyone with happiness, thankfulness, and contentment. This Christmas would be a good one for everyone who saw and heard Heath perform. After the service Heath stood in the back and shook everyone's hand as they praised his playing. DJ and Billy shook his hand and smiled. Kylie squeezed his hand and gave him a warm kiss on the cheek.

For the first time in his life, Heath managed to keep his fear of people and anxiety in check. It was still there and as strong as ever, but Kylie had somehow set up a block which eliminated the power fear had to make him freeze up, cry, and wet himself. Better yet, he now knew how to place the block! Kylie had given him the best Christmas gift he'd ever received. She'd given him the power to control his fear!

Keith, Linda and Kathy were delighted with Heath. His amazing performance had simply blown everyone away and they had praised the proud parents and sister. When Heath joined them, he was smiling broader than they'd ever seen. Even though they knew he'd been terrified of getting up to perform, he'd done it flawlessly and now seemed relaxed and basking in the praise. This was the first time he had controlled his fears. They hoped it wouldn't be his last.

*****

It was after midnight when he finally made it to bed, Heath replayed the Christmas service in his mind. No one had complained he'd lost himself in his music and stretched the song. It made him feel good that he’d obviously captivated the congregation with his performance. It sort of bothered him that Kylie had entered his mind and he'd noted her shock when he'd confronted her. He correctly assumed she had somehow greatly reduced the anxiety such an invasion should have engendered. Yet her intervention had saved him from great embarrassment and the block she'd created to keep his fear from overwhelming him worked great. After the service when everyone crowded around him to compliment his playing had still been terrifying but he'd been able to keep the fear at bay and graciously accept the accolades. However Kylie had done it, he'd find out this afternoon.

In her bedroom Kylie was also mulling over what had happened. It was only when her astral tentacle had opened a tiny window the size of hair from the astral plane to the physical earthly plane and physically contacted Heath's nerve that he became aware of her presence. She supposed tamping down and blocking his fears had allowed him to react with lightening speed to followed the route of her intervention back to her. If she hadn't blocked the route to her mind she had little doubt he'd have mingled with her just as she'd mingled with James Wilson and Jennifer Sue. If that happened with someone who wasn't ascending... that idea was scary! She knew she'd have to make sure her astral mind was blocked from intrusion at all times.

Kylie's analysis of the incident also led her to believe the reason her earlier astral forays into the minds of other people were never twigged was because she'd never made physical contact. The most she'd done was to tweak their thoughts or emotions. Heath hadn't known she was there until she made physical contact. This meant she could continue to probe and even tweak the thoughts of others.

With that at least a bit resolved, Kylie analyzed how she'd created the astral path of Heath's urine. It was fairly easy. All she'd done was to create an astral window at the tip of his penis and a second window in the shrubbery outside the church. Then it hit her... she'd passed something physical through the astral plain to exit at another location! The implications were mind-boggling!

Now she was wide awake. Grabbing her crutches she got out of bed and sent an astral spy to the bathroom she shared with DJ to see if it was empty. Taking a deep breath she opened an astral door right in front of her placing the other side in the bathroom. Creating the door took quite a bit of concentration and mental energy. Much more than she'd needed to create the pinhole openings she made up to this point Then she physically stepped through and the door promptly evaporated.

It worked! In one step she'd gone from her bedroom to the bathroom! Kylie giggled with delight. Inspired, she sent a tentacle to the school library. Selecting a suitable location she created another astral door and stepped through to the library! Just like before, as soon as she stopped concentrating on maintaining the door, it snapped out of existence. Giggling with delight she crutched around the library. Then she realized she was still wearing her nighty. Even though she knew no one was in the school this early on Christmas day, she opened another astral door and stepped back to her bedroom. She wanted to get dressed and go exploring but wisely decided it would be better to wait until she lost the crutches and cast.

With that decided, she slipped beneath her covers and easily dropped off to sleep. Of course, her astral mind continued to mull over her recent astral outings to make sure her defenses were up to staving off any potential attacks or invasions.

*****

Everyone who had heard Heath had a great Christmas morning, The warmth and love they felt was the warm afterglow of Heath's aura touching theirs.

At three Heath was in his bedroom sitting at his desk. Closing his eyes he mentally spoke "Kylie? Are you there?"

"Hi Heath," Kylie greeted after a few seconds. "I want to apologize again for violating you last night. I was just trying to help you. You really startled me when you chased me down."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Heath replied. "What you did for me was fantastic. I can now control that block you put in to keep my fears from overwhelming me. I'm still scared but I can keep it from messing me up. I know you did something to keep me from panicking at your intrusion but I understand you had no choice. How did you do all that stuff?"

"I assume you've heard stories of badly injured people having an out of body experience where they can float about and watch what's going on," Kylie stated.

Yeah," Heath replied.

"When Kyle was injured, that happened," Kylie explained. "I was floating above him but somehow still attached. When the helicopter flew off with my body, it yanked me along too. Anyway, I guess because they sedated me and I was so near death, somehow I was able to maintain my astral self. I wondered all over the hospital and explored stuff while my body was hooked up to all sorts of machines. I knew everything Kyle knew. My astral self got pretty strong and I was able to keep going without any rest. I even dipped into my physical mind. I tweaked myself to heal faster and it worked. That's why my recovery has been so fast."

"That's awesome," Heath replied.

"I also knew Kyle was bitter and angry," Kylie continued. "I did a lot of psychological self-analyzation. When Kyle woke up, my astral self popped back inside him but he knew all I'd done. I realized I hated being a boy and longed to be a girl. When the doctors were checking me, I told them I was a girl. Boy, did that create a stir! Everyone knew that Kyle was moody and seldom spoke but I was jabbering away. Anyway, I decided to try sending my astral self out of body when I was awake and it worked. With practice I became rather adept. I could slip inside a person's mind and read their thoughts and emotions. I was even able to tweak their thoughts a bit. After a lot of exploration I realized what I was doing was wrong and tried to stop. Now all I do is monitor the emotions of others, mainly so I can see if anyone might want to hurt me."

"I'd never intentionally hurt anyone," Heath declared. "So why were you in my mind?"

"I felt your emotions spike when you heard Billy call out," Kylie replied. "Then you saw me with him and your emotions exploded. I astrally entered your mind to try to calm you down. I know it worked but I was already too late as I felt your terror about wetting yourself. I opened a small astral door at the tip of your weiner and put the exit outside in the bushes. It happened so fast I didn't even think about it. I just did it. Then I tweaked the nerves to your eyes to shut down the tears. That's when you discovered me."

"So you can go into other peoples minds and read their thoughts," Heath shivered. "That's spooky. But so long as you don't physically touch them they don't know you're there?"

"Exactly," Kylie answered. "You are the first person I actually touched. I had no idea you would discover me."

"So if you read my thoughts..." Heath mumbled as he felt fear building.

"Relax, I'm not upset that you think you're gay," Kylie assured Heath. "I'm actually flattered you had a crush on Kyle. I'm also flattered you think I'm a cute girl and are more than a bit jealous that Billy is my boyfriend and not yours. I'm cool with that."

"Oh... that's good," Heath perked up. "But how do I know you're not making me think that I think that's good?"

"You don't," Kylie admitted. "But I can't make you think anything without physically touching you and you know you'll be aware of any touch I make. I can ramp your thoughts up or down, but I can't create them."

"That's how you made that block to stop my runaway fear," Heath mused aloud.

"Yeah," Kylie responded.

Then Heath asked the question Kylie was dreading. "Who else knows about what you can do?"

"No one," Kylie replied softly. "I'm scared what might happen if anyone found out."

"Wow," Heath responded. "I guess it's like that old movie "Fire Starter" where the government wanted to use that girl's power. Why did you admit it was you when I discovered you in my mind? I mean, if I'd have told anyone they'd have thought I was crazy especially after screaming like I did when you... er... Kyle was hurt."

"I couldn't hurt you like that," Kylie replied somberly. "I'm trying to be like you and not hurt anyone. Heck, I might even be able to erase your memory of all this but I don't know if doing so would cause some permanent damage so I won't do it. Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't," Heath replied. "Like I said, no one would believe me anyway."

"Thank you," Kylie replied. "Look, I might be able to help you a bit more but to do so I'll have to link directly to your mind. I won't do it if you say no and there won't be any hard feelings."

Heath thought a bit the asked. "How do you think you can help me?"

"Well, you think you're gay, but I don't think you are," Kylie answered. "I'm not disputing that you like guys, especially ones like Billy, so that shows you have good taste, but he's mine. You're also jealous of girls for their ability to be all girly. Most gays aren't jealous of the way girly girls dress and behave, just their ability to snag cute guys. By probing your mind, I think I might be able to figure out what you are."

"It would be nice to know," Heath responded. "How much about me will you access?"

"I'm not sure," Kylie answered honestly. "I've never intentionally done it."

Heath's interest was peaked. "Who did you do it with and what did you learn?"

Kylie drew in a deep breath. "You promised to keep my ability secret," she reminded him. "It happened twice in the hospital while I was in the coma. In my astral body I was exploring my abilities and the hospital. The first was when I was in intensive care. I went into the room next to mine and saw an old man hooked up to life support. Suddenly someone spoke to me and I saw his astral body cowering in the corner. He hoped I was an angel sent to get him. Anyway, I found out he was being kept alive on the life support and that he just wanted to die as there was no hope of recovery. He begged me to help him. I'd already explored the same equipment he was hooked up to because my physical body was on it too. So I reached inside and cut off the power on the ventilator. It only took a few moments before his physical body began to die. He was so happy that he came to me in his astral form and hugged me in thanks. When we touched, our minds mingled. All his memories became mine and mine became his. Then a hole opened up with a big white light and he flew into it and it closed. I guess he went to heaven."

"So you know everything he did," Heath stated with a bit of trepidation.

"Yeah," Kylie answered. "It took quite a while to figure out what had happened and for me to assimilate over eighty years of memories. The second time happened when I heard the trauma team scrambling for an incoming heli-vac. I went up on the roof to watch the chopper land. I saw a terrified astral girl hanging on the landing strut. I flew up to comfort her but I scared her and she started to fall. I reached out and grabbed her. When we touched, our memories mingled and she understood I was trying to help her. Then the white hole opened and she flew to it to be with her mom who was killed in the accident she'd been injured. Physically, she died as the chopper landed. I then had to absorb all her memories. She was a girly girl, that's how I know how to behave."

"That's fantastic," Heath said. "I'd really look crazy if I tried to tell that! No one would ever believe me. So if you enter my brain, we'd exchange memories?"

"I don't know," Kylie replied. "I never really probed deeply into anyone's mind. I've only read their surface thoughts and feelings. The mingling occurred when we met in astral form."

Heath was still uncertain. "But you're willing to mingle minds with me?"

"No," Kylie answered with a bit of shame. "I'd block your mind from mingling with me. I'd have access to your mind but it would only be one way. An astral mind can handle a lot of data quickly, a physical mind might overload. I'm certain I can find what I want to know but I don't know how much else I'd absorb. That's why I'm telling you up front. I won't do it without your okay."

"I appreciate that," Heath replied. "While I want to know what I am if I'm not gay, I'm not sure I want to open up to you. What I don't understand is why you're not doing it now, we are linked, aren't we... or am I hallucinating?"

"You're not hallucinating," Kylie chuckled. "The contact we've had so far has only been in your surface thoughts. What I learned about how you feel about me and Billie were on the top of your mind when I jumped in to help you."

"So right now, you're only in contact with my active thoughts," Heath pondered.

“Exactly," Kylie answered. "I've never probed any deeper in a physical mind."

"So you don't really know what will happen," Heath declared.

"You're right, I don't really know what will happen," Kylie shivered. "I'd better not do it then, because I don't want to risk hurting you. Sorry, I shouldn't have even asked. I'm still learning what I can and can't do as well as what I should and shouldn't do."

"It's okay, I appreciate you want to help me," Heath smiled. "So just tell me what you think I am if I'm not gay?"

"I don't know if I should say," Kylie hesitated. "I don't want to upset you."

"I appreciate your concern but I need to know," Heath answered.

"Well, okay," Kylie replied. "It's difficult to explain, but give me a moment to organize what I know about the condition I suspect, then I'll 'download' it into your mind. You can analyze it and see if it fits. Then call me again and we can discuss it."

"Sounds like a plan," Heath agreed.

Kylie didn't want to smother him with technical info so she just gathered the information she thought a seventh grader could handle and process. She'd been able to handle it all because she was able to draw on James Wilson's life experience and maturity. "Here it comes," Kylie told Heath after a few seconds.

Heath was almost staggered by the volume of information Kylie was feeding him. At the same time, he realized she was carefully metering the flow to insure she didn't crash the system... his mind. When it was complete, Heath was surprised. "You think I'm a transsexual?"

"Yeah," Kylie answered. "Think about it and call me. Goodbye and good luck."

Heath felt Kylie leave his thoughts. Glancing at the clock he was stunned to see only five minutes had passed. Things moved much faster at thought speed. As he absorbed the 'download', Heath began to appreciate Kylie's abilities, to be able to absorb the memories of two people seemed daunting, especially when you didn't know what was happening.

Even as he was sorting the information, Heath realized he did seem to fit the diagnosis. He wasn't gay, he was a transsexual... a girl stuck in the body of a boy! This would only make his life tougher. Still, if he had accepted being gay, he could handle this.

Kylie smiled when she got a brief thought message from Heath. "Thank's Kylie, I think you may be right. Talk to you later."

*****

At breakfast Sunday morning, Heath spoke up about his gender concerns. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and I've decided I'm not gay after all."

Linda and Keith exchanged looks of relief. Kathy looked perplexed. They knew Heath had been in deep thought most of the time yesterday, but none had ever suspected he was thinking about his sexuality.

"I think I'm transsexual," Heath added before they could respond to his initial statement.

Keith spit out the food he was chewing. Linda froze and stared at Heath. “All right,” Kathy exclaimed. “I got a big sister!”

Heath smiled at Kathy’s genuine outburst but began to explain his conclusion. "I'm attracted to boys because mentally I'm a girl. That's why I check out girly girls too," Heath continued unfazed by their reactions. "I want to be like them!"

"Ah... how did you decide this," Linda managed to ask trying not to sound upset while Keith was struggling to wrap his mind around this latest bit of news. Kathy just sat grinning.

"It hit me during the Christmas Eve service," Heath replied, just not saying exactly what it was that hit him. "I've always liked going to church because the girls, especially the girly girls, like to dress nicely, especially on Christmas and Easter. When I'd finished the prelude, I noticed Kylie Warren and her boyfriend, Billy Dawson, in the front row right in front of me. She really looked cute in her dress and Billy looked super hunky. I was so jealous of Kylie, she was wearing what I wished I could wear and sitting with a boy who I'd love to have for a boyfriend. That's when it hit me... I wasn't a gay boy who liked guys, I'm a girl who like's guys, I just have the wrong body! Being transsexual makes so much more sense than being gay!"

Linda could do little more than nod.

Keith was still trying to wrap his mind around the matter when he almost choked. "Was Kylie that cute girl on crutches who kissed you on the cheek?"

Yeah, that was Kylie," Heath enthused. "She was with Billy and her brother DJ. Billy's the kind of guy I'd like for a boyfriend and that dress Kylie was wearing was just to die for!"

"She was cute," Linda agreed as she was impressed by the unabashed kiss she'd given Heath.

"Ahh... tell me if I'm wrong," Keith said. "The boy that almost had his foot ripped off at the football game was Kyle Warren and his brother DJ was the quarter back. Is Kylie that boy?"

"She WAS that boy," answered Heath. "But they found out while she was in the hospital that she's intersexed. She has all the bits of a normal girl and all the bits of a normal guy at the same time. They only discovered it when she woke up from the coma they'd put Kyle in to help his recovery. It turns out the reason Kyle was so angry was because he always felt like a girl but was expected to be a tough guy and play sports. It was the anger that drove him to play like he did and never enjoy it. Kylie's such a girly girl now and just plain bubbling over with happiness."

"Wow," Linda smiled. "That just sounds unreal. I'd never have suspected Kyle and Kylie were the same person. She really seemed happy."

"She is," Heath nodded and wistfully sighed. "I'm so jealous of her it hurts."

“I think you’ll be just as cute when you start dressing like a girl,” Kathy enthused.

Keith was still trying to digest all this and didn't know how to react. "Just hold on a bit. You’re putting Heath in dresses and I’m not even sure what’s going on. Has Kylie had any issues at school with being hassled?"

"No," Heath answered. "When she returned to school three weeks ago they had an assembly. Principle Forrest and her psychologist explained her situation, then she came out on her crutches an spoke to us, then answered questions. She was so open and honest she pretty much blew everyone away. There is simply no comparison between Kyle's behavior and Kylie's. Besides, she told everyone that just because she was a girl didn't mean she still didn't have Kyle's toughness and that while she certainly didn't want to fight, she would defend herself. As far as I know, no one's hassled her at all."

"I guess that's because she's intersexed," Keith nodded. "Look, Heath, you said you knew it'd be tough being gay. Being transsexual is considerably tougher. There are some idiots that would want to hurt you and a few who might want to kill you."

"I know," Kyle somberly agreed. "But I don't have any choice. I have to be who I am, and I'm a girl. Just look at me, I choose to play the flute. I don't care about sports. I'm artistic, not the least bit macho. I need to free the girl hiding inside of me. I need to become Heather."

"Your father is right," Linda agreed with Keith. "It'll be dangerous and won't happen overnight. We'd have to take you to a psychologist for verification and then go from there."

"You'll have to remain a boy until then," Keith added.

"I understand," Heath smiled delighted his parents, although shocked by his announced transsexuality, were still none the less supportive. "I've lived this long as a weird boy, I can hold on for a bit longer, at least publicly, but I'd like to get started exploring being a girl here at home."

"Before we do anything we need to see a shrink," Keith declared as he looked to Linda for backing. "If the doctor agrees you might be transsexual, then we can get you some things to try and dress up here at home."

"Okay," agreed Heath. "But can we please get started? The shrink that's been treating Kylie probably knows a lot about transsexualism. We can call her! I'll call Kylie and get her doctor's name and phone number."

"I'm not sure that's wise," Keith said hoping to slow things down. "Won't she ask why you want them?"

"She might, but she'll accept it if I tell her it's confidential," Heath replied. "I'll call her now."

Heath looked up Kylie's phone number, then dialed. Laura Warren answered. "This is Heath Davis, I was wondering if I might speak to Kylie."

"Of course," Laura said. "Let me call her. (Kylie! Phone call!) Heath, while we're waiting I just want to tell you again how your playing Christmas Eve was simply phenomenal!"

"Thanks Mrs. Warren," Heath demurred.

"Yes it was," Kylie spoke into the extension she'd just picked up.

"I'll let you two talk, bye Heath," Laura said.

"Bye Mrs. Warren. Kylie, this is Heath," Heath began then heard the 'click' of the phone being hung up. Alone on the line he spoke to Kylie about getting her shrink's name.

As soon as he was off the phone, Kathy grabbed her new sister and tugged him into her bedroom to play with her Barbies. Heath barely managed to pass the piece of paper he jotted the name and phone number of Kylie’s shrink to his mother before yielding to Kathy’s urging. The pair spent almost all day playing Barbies and with baby dolls. Kathy was simply delighted to be able to help her new big sister learn the joys of playing with dolls.

*****

Linda Davis spoke at length with Dr. Alterson on Monday morning while Heath sat nervously waiting to see if the doctor would take him as a patient. Heath breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the doctor managed to fit him in on Wednesday morning for a preliminary session and some basic personality testing.

Once those arrangements were completed, Heath decided to call Kylie to see if he could come over the next morning to get some pointers on how to appear more girly for the interview and tests.

"Sure I'll teach you all I can," Kylie declared. "But if you come over I'll have to tell my family since I'm not allowed to have boys in my bedroom. Don't worry about them, they've all had sessions with Dr. Alterson so they're okay with transsexualism.

"Ah, I'm not sure if I like that," Heath balked a bit.

"Heather, I promise it'll be okay," Kylie reassured him.

Bolstered by her assurance and the fact she'd called him Heather helped Heath decide to go ahead with the visit. "Okay. I'll be there about ten."

"Great," Kylie exclaimed. "I'll see you then!"

Kathy waited until he’d hung up the phone before pouncing on him. They spent the rest of the day playing with dolls and several games of Mystery Date.

*****

That evening during supper Kylie explained Heath's perceived transsexualism to her family. DJ wasn't the least put out. "Well, that certainly explains his problems in the lockerroom," was his only comment.

Dave and Laura asked DJ to explain his comment which he did. After learning about Heath’s issues they saw no problems with allowing Heath to come over to get some girl to girl advice from Kylie.

*****

Tuesday morning Heath felt his fear trying to overwhelm him as he rode his bicycle ten blocks to Kylie's home. Fortunately he was able to use the mental block Kylie had created Christmas Eve to keep his fear and anxiety in check and continue the trip. When DJ answered the door, Kyle almost bolted.

"Hey, Heath, relax, I thinks it's cool you're really a girl," DJ smiled. "Being a girl explains why you play music so well. I'll be honest, I don't understand why you feel like a girl trapped in a boy's body, but that's okay. I don't understand electricity either but I like it. Come on in, Kylie's up in her room, I'll show you."

Heath relaxed a bit, managed to return DJ's smile, and entered the house. Laura entered the living room and welcomed Heath, once more praising him for his music. The open greetings from her helped him relax more. DJ led Heath upstairs where he knocked on Kylie's bedroom door announcing that Heath was here.

"Come on in, Heather," Kylie called out warmly.

Heath blushed a bit but felt really good to be called Heather. Anxiously looking at DJ to see how he reacted he saw only a smile. It felt good to openly be Heather, especially since she was in boy drag. Heather happily opened the door and was pleasantly surprised by the girlishness of the room. The pink walls and white wicker furniture just screamed GIRL and Heather instantly fell in love with the decor. Kylie was seated at her desk.

"Wow, I just love your room," Heather enthused from the door as DJ headed back downstairs.

"Thanks, come on in and shut the door," Kylie smiled while waving Heather inside and pointing to a wicker chair with fluffy cushions.

Heather sat in the chair and was amazed to discover how comfy it was. "I know I'm already a bit girly, but I want to make sure the shrink agrees," Heather explained after exchanging pleasantries for a few minutes.

"No problem," Kylie smiled. "The easiest way would be for me to 'download' Jennifer Sue's girlishness into you. I gathered what I could of her feelings and emotions without any of her memories."

Heather wrinkled his brow and asked, "Who is Jennifer Sue?"

"Oh, sorry," Kylie smiled. "She was the girl I astrally mingled with on the landing strut of the Medi-Vac chopper as she was being brought into the trauma center. When we mingled all her knowledge and memories were added to mine. She was a real girly girl and I can't wait to get this cast off to take dancing lessons. Jennifer Sue did several solos at recitals. I know all the terminology and moves, so I just need to train my muscles."

"That must be cool," Heather enthused. "Did you get all the memories and knowledge of that old man?"

"Well, yeah," Kyle replied soberly. "In our mingling I gained all their experiences and memories. I know the pain and agony Jennifer Sue felt when she was in the accident that killed her mom and eventually her. I also have all the memories of fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and killing a man in hand to hand combat. I got all the bad along with the good. It was really tough trying to assimilate all of James."

"I hadn't thought of that," Heather sympathized.

"So, if you're ready, I'll give the girly goodies to you," Kylie stated. "It'll take a while to blend them into your feelings, but I don't think there will be too many differences."

Heather thought of a question. "Will I know what is hers and what is mine?"

"I'm not sure," Kylie replied with honesty. "I've merged my feelings and emotions so completely with most of Jennifer Sue's I can't tell them apart. But at the same time I've kept James feelings and emotions separate. I know them but don't want them to be a part of my everyday life. I think you'll know which are hers and which are yours at first, but in a few hours they'll probably be all yours."

"So basically if I'm not really a transsexual now I will be once the download is complete," Heather stated.

"I'm not sure," Kylie answered quite seriously. "The emotions and feelings that didn't match mine didn't merge with me. I have them and can access them if I need them, but they are not part of who I am. I don't know if that will happen with you. If you don't want to do it, I'll understand."

"Thanks, but I want to do it," Heather declared. "I've never been happy as a boy. I've never fit in. That's why I accepted being gay... it made more sense to me. But then I never knew that transsexuals existed. When you gave me that information, it fit me really well. So I think getting Jennifer Sue's feelings and emotions will just reinforce and supplement what I already am and fill in the gaps I've missed by not actually being a girl."

"Okay, just sit back, relax, and close your eyes," Kylie said.

Heather followed the directions. Once she was settled in she felt Kylie gently touch her mind. Almost instantly the girlish feelings and emotions flooded into her mind like a tsunami. For a few moments she felt as if she were free-falling, spinning in circles until the new information settled into appropriate compatible pockets throughout her mind. Then even as she began to sense the foreign feelings they began to merge with hers. Many matched her feelings perfectly, most of those that didn't were quite similar. Only a few seemed awkward and out of place, most of those she accepted and they merged into her id, a few felt too foreign so these she successfully isolated, able to access them if needed without letting them function unconsciously.

"Wow, that's amazing," Heather exclaimed after about ten minutes as she opened her eyes. "I was able to sort them and isolate the few I didn't feel comfortable with but the others were good fits and are already merging with me. Thanks a lot!"

"I'm glad I could help," Kylie smiled. "You know, Heather, I think we could become good girl friends. I could really use someone who knows about my abilities to talk things over. I'd like to be able to help people, just like I'm helping you, but doing so and keeping my secret won't be easy. Once I’ve 'officially' mastered dancing, I bet we could do some great performances. You play and improvise like you did Christmas Eve and by linking, I'll be able to dance to whatever you play as you play it!"

"That does sound like fun," Heather replied. "I'd love to be your girl friend! I knew I was on the right track trying to be your friend before you were hurt, my timing was just a bit off."

"I'm sorry for ignoring you in school," Kylie apologized. "Your persistence almost broke down my walls. In a few more weeks you might have succeeded. I so wanted a friend but was too angry to even try."

"It's okay," Heather replied. "I understand how messed up you were. You're just so lucky you're really a girl."

"And a boy," Kylie added. "I'm both and remember how terrible it felt to HAVE to be a boy. I'll do all I can to help you transition into girlhood. I've made a lot of friends already so I'm pretty sure we'll be able to keep you safe. DJ said he'll get the guys from the football team to look out for you."

"Wow, thanks," Heather smiled.

“Thank the guys when you’re ready to begin your real life test,” Kylie chuckled. “When you see Dr. Alterson, be open and honest and don’t try to snow her. Just be yourself, coupled with what I gave you, it should be more than enough to convince her you’re a transsexual.”

“Kylie, I don’t know how to thank you for all you’ve done for me,” Heather sniffed in happiness.

“Seeing you happy is my reward. Go ahead and cry, girl,” Kylie smiled. “It just proves we’re doing the right thing.”

Heather let her emotions free and cried. When Kylie opened her arms offering a hug, Heather didn’t hesitate.

*****

Kylie did a lot of thinking after Heather left. Had she done the right thing by downloading Jennifer Sue's girlish essence into Heath? If he hadn't truly been transsexual, he certainly was now! Of course she really felt confident that he was already a transsexual which is why she'd done it. But she knew that transsexuals had a rough time being accepted and felt bad for the dangers Heather would face. This added to her concern for helping Heather.

So far, Kylie had not met any real hostility in her transition, but felt that was because she had made herself intersexed. There were many students and a few teachers who were piously indignant, but not sure how to deal with her intersexuality. Of course, still retaining Kyle's physical abilities also helped intimidate opposition. About a third of the school avoided her as much as possible since they considered her a freak but other than a few snide remarks, nothing out of hand had happened.

Kylie recalled her own transformation from normal boy to intersexed. It hadn't been painful. Could she do the same for Heather? Yes, she thought she could. The real question was should she do it? She sent an astral tentacle to follow Heather and see how things went.

*****

Linda was quite concerned about Heath's visit to Kylie's home. It was the first time Heath had ever went to the home of a classmate. She was glad Kathy had gone to a friend’s home for the day so she could concentrate on Heath’s needs. It was quite a relief when she heard Heath whistling a merry tune and smiling as he entered the house after parking his bike in the garage. Linda was quite relieved knowing he must have had a pleasant time visiting Kylie. "I take it you had a good time?"

"Yeah! Kylie is so nice and so is her family. Even DJ was nice to me," Heath bubbled. "Kylie and I talked a lot and she agrees that I'm a transsexual. Mommy, I know you don't want me to jump into this but I feel compelled to go as rapidly as I can. I'm a girl and I need to become the best girl I can be. I can't even think of myself as a boy anymore. Please, could you at least start calling me Heather?"

"I guess I can," Linda said with reservations clearly evident in her voice and a little shocked that Heath had called her mommy, something he'd not done since kindergarten. "But I'd really rather wait until tomorrow after you see the doctor."

"Okay," Heather answered a bit dejectedly. "But I'm already Heather and I'm going to act and behave like the girl I am inside. Actually, that's not really much different from how I've always behaved but I'll be less afraid to be who I am. I never realized how I repressed myself until Kylie helped me understand I really am a girl. The genie's out of the bottle and there is no putting her back inside! So, mommy, what can I do to help you?"

"Well, you can help me clean," Linda smiled deciding she liked being mommy again.

Heather dove right in, eagerly helping her mom clean the house. When those chores were done, Heather looked at her mom. "I'd like to make supper tonight. Will you please teach me how?"

"Of course," Linda happily replied. "I'll direct and you do the work. That way you'll learn quicker."

Kathy came home from a fun play-day to find her mother and new sister happily doing housework. She was glad there would be another person helping with the chores.

When Keith arrived home he was glad to see Heath happily helping his mother prepare supper. "I take it you had a good time visiting Kylie?"

"Yeah, it was great," Heather enthused. "Even DJ accepted me as a transsexual. He said he'd get the guys from the football team to watch out for me when I transitioned! Daddy, I'm not Heath anymore. I'm a girl now and can never go back to being a boy. Mommy said she wanted to wait until after I see the shrink tomorrow but I really want to be called Heather afterward."

Keith was surprised by the usage of mommy and daddy. While he knew it was the terminology girls often used, it still seemed a bit odd as he still hadn't completely accepted that Heath was transsexual.

"If the doctor agrees you're transsexual, we'll call you Heather," Linda quickly responded giving Keith a look that indicated no disagreement would be allowed.

Keith wisely took the hint and was pleasantly surprised that the meal was so good. "Well, I must say, the food was good. You did a good job on your first attempt."

"Thanks, daddy," Heather replied. "But I couldn't have done it without mommy's guidance. She's a good teacher!"

“Heather can keep helping mom with the cooking and cleaning,” Kathy added. “She needs the practice to make up for all the years we thought she was a boy.”

“Nice try, Kathy,” Keith chuckled. “But you’re still going to help with the chores.”

Kathy knew better than to push her luck so she nodded her acquiescence with a guilty smile.

After cleaning up, Heather spent the evening with her dad in the garage working on the truck. "After all, a girl should know something about mechanical stuff," she'd stated calmly.

*****

That evening as Kylie lay in bed thinking of Heather and the reaction of her parents to her firm declaration that she was a girl, information she'd gathered from her astral tag. After an hour of self argument, she settled on a decision. If she really wanted to help her new friend, she should make her intersexed. Kylie fell asleep knowing her astral self would discreetly start Heather’s transition.

The astral tag swelled to a tentacle and slipped into Heather's slumber and dreams. It was spring with the flowers in bloom and leaves sprouting on the trees. Heather wore a cute denim jumper as she skipped to into the forest to her favorite oak tree. Climbing up the tilted trunk she settled into her nest and began playing. Frodo came scampering down from the heights to sit and listen as she played her flute. Kylie was almost as mesmerized by the music as Frodo. She had to force herself out of the lethargic fascination to do what she needed to do. With a smile, she left a small tentacle to enjoy the dream doing her best to leave the dream undisturbed while she made the changes to Heather's body.

While still monitoring Heather's dream, she cautiously dipped into Heather's brain seeking out her auto-immune system controls. Ever so cautiously she cautiously slipped fingers from the astral to the physical to activate what she needed. In moments, she had Heather's body sending out instructions to pull stem cells from her testicles, rewire and stimulate them and plant them in the proper places to start the formation of ovaries, uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, vagina and all the associated female plumbing. She also tweaked Heather's body to copiously feed the budding female organs and to super speed their growth until they were complete. Kylie also ordered Heather’s body to duplicate the 'X' chromosome in all cells to make Heather 'XXY'. If all went as planned, Heath would be fully intersexed in a week. Once everything was moving as directed, Kylie removed the physical contact but left the astral tag to monitor the progress for any errors... and to enjoy Heather’s dream.

Come Clean - part 3
2nd Song of the Kylie Warren Saga

I'm shedding
Shedding every color
Trying to find a pigment of truth
Beneath my skin
'Cause different
Doesn't feel so different
And going out is better
Then always staying in
Feel the wind

Wednesday morning Heather was uncharacteristically calm as she and her mother entered Dr. Alterson’s office at eight forty five. The dream of being a girl and skipping through the forest to her tree and playing her flute had been so realistic and enthralling. The fact that Kylie had arrived to silently watch and listen made her feel contented and happy to finally have a friend. She hoped it was merely foreshadowing what would happen this spring. After signing in, Linda filled out the paperwork detailing their insurance and Heath's health history. The receptionist, Nancy Gregor, checked over the completed papers, then took the forms to Dr. Alterson to quickly review before meeting Heath and Linda.

"Good Morning, I'm Dr. Alterson," the doctor greeted Linda and Heather upon entering the waiting room to shake hands for their nine o’clock appointment. "Please come back to my office."

"Heath, I understand you feel you're a girl," Dr. Alterson began when they were seated.

"I AM a girl," Heather calmly replied. "And as soon as you agree I'm transsexual, my parents are going to call me Heather."

"Well, you certainly feel confident," Dr. Alterson smiled. "But I'm afraid it'll take more than one visit before I can make that diagnosis."

"I understand that," Heather replied. "But you should be able to determine that I'm more girl than boy and make a tentative diagnosis. I'm not asking to return to school as a girl, I know that will require a solid diagnosis. What I'm asking for now is to be able to experiment dressing like a girl at home and possibly going out."

"Well, I'm glad you understand your situation," Dr. Alterson smiled.

The hour was filled with a lot of back and forth conversation.

"Well, I must say you come across as an intelligent and confident person," Dr. Alterson summed up. "Your behavior has been polite and respectful while staying on the target. Your mannerism are a lot more feminine than masculine and your feelings are undeniably feminine. If you're free this afternoon, I'd like you to take a few written psychological tests which will help me make a diagnosis."

"We can do that," Linda replied.

"Wonderful," Dr. Alterson smiled. "If you'd like to get some lunch, then come back about one, I'll have everything ready. Now, Heath, I know you're eager to experiment with being a girl. I don't see any issues with that or with being treated as a girl. I'll give you several business cards listing a tentative diagnosis of gender dysphoria. If anyone gets upset with you dressing as a girl and threatens to contact children's services, this will prevent any legal issues. This is NOT permission to return to school as a girl. You do understand that, don't you Heather?"

"Oh yes! Thank you," Heather gushed as she hugged the doctor. "Oh, I almost forgot. Can you have me excused from phys-ed class? I've been excluded since Kylie was hurt but the school needs a firm reason for the exemption."

"I'll have a one month excuse when you come back for the tests," Dr. Alterson smiled.

Linda and Heather left the office a bit after ten. Linda did her best to keep Heather under control as she was so happy she was bouncing as she walked.

They were barely out of the office before Heather spoke. "Mommy, I know this will sound like I’m pushing but now that I know I’m a girl I need to shed every aspect of being a boy. I need to find the pigments of my true girl colors. I’ve always been different, but now I know my being different wasn’t so different because I’m a girl! Now that I know the truth, I’m not going to stay inside my own fearful world! I want to go out into the world and feel the wind... under my skirts! To get started, can we go shopping to get me some real girls clothes?"

"Yes," Linda smiled at the graphic speech while getting caught up in the idea of having another daughter. "But you'll get only what I think is appropriate and we won't be buying a lot, just enough for a few days."

"Okay," Heather smiled.

They went to a nearby Wal-Mart and headed to the girls department. Heather headed straight to the skirts and dresses. It took a bit to determine what size fit, but once they did, the trying on of clothes began. Linda and Heather were smiling as they shopped. By the time they finished, Heather had two dresses, four skirts, 5 blouses, six sweaters, three pair of tights, 2 pairs of pantyhose, a pair of dress shoes, a pair of casual shoes, and a pair of pink sneakers, three pairs of kneesox, three pair of lace trimmed ankle socks, seven lace trimmed panties, three lace trimmed camisoles, three training bras, one full slip, three half slips, and three lace edged nighties. Needless to say, their shopping cart was stuffed.

Returning to the doctors office building, they selected a nice denim knee length skirt, a pair of knee sox, and a cute sweater as well as appropriate undies. It was a thrill for Heather simply to go into the public women’s restroom, much less to change into her new girly clothes. Luckily, Heath always wore his hair in a long Dutch boy style so it was suitable for his new attire. The smile on her face when she looked in the mirror firmly cemented her desire to be feminine.

Entering the waiting room a bit before one, the Nancy did a double take after recognizing Linda and realizing the pretty girl with her was Heath. While she was accustomed to seeing children transition, to have it happen so instantaneously was quite unusual. Nancy made a private game out of trying to determine a new patient's physical gender versus their mental gender by the way they dressed and behaved. Since patient first names could already be changed by the time they came in, she always disregarded them. Earlier she'd noted Heath was a decidedly feminine in his mannerisms and seemed to be at ease. She'd mistakenly guessed he was a genetic female transitioning to male. But the girl she saw now was unmistakably feminine and undeniably happy which indicated Heath was a genetic male transitioning to female.

Dr. Alterson stopped in her tracks when she saw Heather dressed as her professed gender. Her mannerisms and attitude just screamed GIRL. "Well, I must say I'm impressed," Dr. Alterson declared. "I thought you would make a satisfactory girl, but you are truly beautiful. I'll be delighted to assist you transition. But just because I think you make a cute girl doesn't mean you have my permission to go to school that way. Linda, please wait here or you can come back in three hours while I take Heather for her testing. Heather, please follow me to the conference room where you'll have privacy to take the test undisturbed. If you finish early, just bring the tests to Nancy. There are no wrong or right answers, just answer honestly. If you're not sure of an answer, select the one you feel is closest to how you feel. If you're not done in the three hours, you're thinking too hard and not relying your true feelings."

Heather settled down to take the test. It was not difficult but did require a look inside her soul. She could see that some answers would definitely indicate a male outlook while others a female outlook. But most were ambiguous and difficult to figure out which way the answers leaned. She realized the test would not reveal a persons intellect, but their feelings and emotions. It would show your gender orientation. The three hours flew by.

When she'd completed the test, Dr. Alterson said she'd score it and call with the results on Friday. They set up a follow-up appointment next Wednesday evening when Keith and Kathy could be with them to go over the results in detail.

Before heading home, Linda called Sharon Dixon to let her know she was on her way to pick up Kathy. Kathy had spent the day with her friend Sandy Dixon while Linda and Heath were with the doctor. Heather stayed in the car when they arrived at the Dixon home while Linda went inside to thank Sharon and collect Kathy.

Kathy squealed with delight when she saw her sister waiting in the car instead of her dorky brother. For once she slipped into the back seat without protesting she wanted the front seat. It was with great excitement she asked “So you’re a girl now?”

“Not quite,” Heather explained. “But the doctor thinks I’m transgendered!”

“Don’t get too carried away,” Linda cautioned. “Dr. Alterson gave you a preliminary diagnosis, not a definite one.”

Linda quickly discovered the caution did little to deflate the excitement of her daughters. She had to tell them to wait until they arrived at home to check out Heather’s new girl clothes. Then when they arrived at home, she had to tell them to take the bags up to Heather’s room before opening the bags.

The sisters scurried to Heather’s room. By the time Linda joined them, all the purchases were laid out on the bed and Heather had begun modeling her new clothes. Letting the girls enjoy their fashion show, Linda removed the tags and had the girls put each piece in the closet or dresser.

They heard Keith arrive home as they were finishing. Linda went down to greet her husband. After a hug and kiss, Keith looked at Linda. "So how did the meeting with the shrink go?"

"Quite well," Linda happily replied. "Although she can't give an official diagnosis yet, Dr. Alterson said she thinks Heather is transgendered. We had to go back for three hours of psychological tests to confirm the preliminary diagnosis."

Keith noticed Linda had called Heath Heather. "So, where is our new daughter?"

"She’s up in her bedroom putting on a fashion show for her sister before putting away her new clothes," Linda giggled. “We enjoyed our first mother and daughter shopping trip."

"Ouch," Keith replied as he grasped his wallet. "No wonder it's been so hot today!"

"Oh daddy," Heather scolded from the top of the stairs. "We only spent about three hundred dollars. We'll need to spend a lot more to get a really decent wardrobe!"

Kathy scrambled downstairs to greet her father and stand by him as Heather made her debut.

"Ahh, the pain and agony," Keith whined before smiling. "If you're going to bankrupt me, at least let me see the results."

Heather giggled and began walking down the steps. Keith stood mesmerized as he saw the happy young girl enter his view as she descended. "Oh wow," is all he could say as he saw Heather for the first time.

Heather giggled and when she reached the floor, skipped to him to throw her arms about him. "I love you daddy," she exclaimed before kissing him on the cheek.

"Well, this getting used to having two daughters instead of a son and daughter won't be anywhere near as difficult as I thought," Keith smiled.

"Darling," Linda smiled. "Since Heather and I were busy all day, we haven't had time to make supper. Would you mind being a gentleman and take his three ladies out to eat?"

"Why not," Keith patted his wallet. "Sorry old boy, but we need to go out to a nice restaurant to celebrate our daughter's birthday."

An hour later they were seated in one of the nicest restaurants in the area enjoying a wonderful meal. Keith and Linda marveled at how utterly feminine Heather was in all her actions even down to taking smaller bites and daintily chewing longer. They could tell it wasn’t a show put on for their benefit but obviously was her natural style. They realized the way she behaved before all this came up was a sham and put up to make her appear more manly and for the first time they were truly seeing their child behaving in an unfettered manner. It really amazed them as Heather ate a third of their appetizer and then proceeded to fully consume her large entre'. She even had room for dessert. Heath had never eaten so much. The sisters jabbered happily away all through the meal.

*****

Later that night when Heather was deep in another pleasant dream, Kylie reactivated her astral tag and once more stood to the side enjoying Heather's dream while other astral tentacles checked on Heather's intersexual development. Already half her cells had changed sexual chromosomes from XY to XXY. The ovaries were budding nicely as were the uterus, vagina, fallopian tubes and cervix. She made a few minor adjustments and guided more energy into the developmental tasks. Then she once more removed physical contact and maintained her astral tag.

*****

The next morning Heather excitedly called Kylie to her that Dr. Alterson had given her a preliminary diagnosis of being transsexual and that she'd taken the psychological tests and went shopping for some girly clothes. Kylie responded happily for her girlfriend, knowing that by the time they got around to checking for a possible physical cause, Heather would be fully intersexed.

Kylie invited Heather to come over in girl mode after lunch so they could talk and hang out. After a lot of pleading, Linda reluctantly gave her new daughter permission. Heather wore a mid-calf denim skirt and a pink sweater blouse along with matching kneesox and her pink sneakers. She now understood why girls bicycles were designed differently but still managed to make the trip. She also brought her flute, arriving at the Warren home a bit before one.

DJ greeted her at the door and his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

Heather began to panic as fear surged through her that DJ might get angry. She felt the horrible but all to familiar pressure of her bladder demanding release. Determined not flee, she invoked the mental block Kylie had installed in her mind and forced herself to smile and speak. "Hi DJ, can I come in?"

"Oh... ah... sure," DJ stumbled over his words as he stepped to the side to let her pass. "Wow, Heather, you really look cute!"

Heather blushed and lowered her eyes, relieved that DJ wasn't upset but pleased by her appearance. After closing the door, DJ led Heather to the family room where she greeted Kylie and Billy who were seated together on a settee.

Billy's eyes went wide as he saw Heather. "Man, you're cute," Billy smiled. "I don't understand how a guy goes from being a boy one day and can be such a cute girl the next!"

"Down boy, you're mine," Kylie chuckled as she playfully punched his arm.

Kylie blushed but smiled. DJ ushered Heather to the sofa and as she sat at one end he sat at the other. Naturally Heather had to review her experiences with Dr. Alterson. When the topic moved on to shopping for girly clothes, the guys exchanged pained looks and stood, going over to the entertainment center to play video games.

Kylie shook her head and smiled. "Guys," she said. "So come sit beside me so we can hear each other over the guys."

"Kylie, I can't thank you enough for helping me," Heather exclaimed as she sat by Kylie.

"I'm just glad you're happy," Kylie replied. "After Dr. Alterson told me she thought I was a girl I was so happy I couldn't get enough to eat. So tell me, has your appetite increased?"

"Yes," Heather smiled. "I have been eating everything in sight! Last night we went out to celebrate my 'birthday' and I ate part of the appetizer, my meal, and had dessert. I never ate that much! Even breakfast this morning was doubled in size. I'm worried I might get fat."

"So did I," Kylie answered. "Fortunately it only lasted about a week. I hope it only lasts a week for you too."

"I hope so," Heather stated.

"If it doesn't, let me know," Kylie whispered. "I might be able to tweak something for you like I did with your fear."

"That would be so cool," Heather answered but there was a hint of hesitation in her voice. "Kylie, you've been in my dreams the last two nights but it didn't feel like were part of my dreams."

"I was checking up on you," Kylie admitted a bit too hastily. "I wanted to make sure what I shared with you wasn't messing you up."

Heather just sat and smiled while thinking, "Kylie, please tell me the truth."

Kylie blushed as she picked up the astral urging. Sighing, she knew she had to tell Heather the truth. "I've also been tweaking your body," she said as she opened the astral link. "I actually made myself intersexed. I was just a regular guy like you. I doubled my X chromosome so I became XXY, then I searched for stem cells and placed them where the girl bits should be and tweaked them to begin to develop into ovaries, uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, and vagina. Then I marshaled my immune system to speed their growth and development. It took a week and the increased growth increased my appetite to fuel the growth."

"You did that to me too," Heather noted. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm still scared of my powers and how others might react," Kylie answered. "After I downloaded all the girlishness into you, I couldn't help thinking that I was condemning you to a life of facing bigotry. I finally decided to make you intersexed like me so you'll be male and female. My big concern now is what will happen when Dr. Alterson discovers you're fully intersexed. It's quite unusual for an intersexed person to be fully male and female. Most are incomplete blends. But for one doctor to have two patients in the same grade and school... there might be investigations to see if there might be an environmental cause."

"I can see where that could become an issue," Heather said. "Thanks for being concerned for me and making me intersexed like you. I just wish you had told me rather than sneaking about in my body."

“I'm sorry, Heather," Kylie said with honest contrition. "I'm second guessing myself too much and I'm still afraid people will think I'm a freak, sort of like the mutants in X-men."

"You're right, many people will be afraid," Heather agreed. "But you said you needed a friend who understood and could help you and that you wanted me to be that friend. You can't just do things to me without my knowledge. Because I was teased so much I’ve developed a heightened sense of perception. Apparently I'm now aware enough of astral intrusions to figure out you're probing or tweaking me. Kylie, either trust me or don't."

Kylie shut down the link to think. Tears filled her eyes and began trickling down her cheeks as she berated herself for being so sneaky. But she was so frightened of being found out and hunted down like a violent killer.

Heather reached over an took Kylie's hands in hers and squeezed firmly. "I'm here Kylie," Heather whispered. "I'm not upset with what you did to me, in fact I'm delighted. The issue is how you did it. I know that Kyle never had to make any moral decisions regarding other people. Kyle was turned inward so tightly you never had people experience. I've had a lot of people experience although most was negative. But even at the worst times, I never wanted to hurt anyone and that's still the way I am. You have Jennifer Sue and James Wilson as examples of how to deal with others but I think since you had no experience in dealing with people, you didn't have a 'pocket' to drop their experiences in and merge with your own. You tucked them away and can access them, but their experiences are not part of your consciousness so your gut actions are still based on Kyle. You need to pull the life experiences of Jennifer Sue and possibly James out of their pockets and incorporate them into your being. I think it might be what you need."

"Heather, you're a genius," Kylie declared as her tears dried. "You're right, I just filed their experiences because they were so different. God, how stupid can I be! I even told you things that didn't match your own feelings wouldn't merge but go into accessible storage."

"You were too close to the issue to see the possibilities," Heather answered. "I want to be your best friend."

"You already are," Kylie happily replied as she hugged Heather.

"You know, this astral stuff is tricky," Kylie said after she settled back. "Jennifer Sue was protected by her mom so other than dancing and school, she had little experience dealing with anyone who wasn't in a peer group and she never faced a life changing event. James Wilson, on the other hand, had too much experience and it turned him bitter. His children wanted nothing to do with him and even when his wife, their mother, died, they didn't come around. That plus his war experiences left him a sad tired old man. I'll have to try to incorporate the good while keeping out the bad."

"How will you determine what's good or bad without trying it," Heather asked. "I mean, some will be obvious but some might be subtle. With your lack of experience it'll be difficult."

The girls sat in silence for a bit. Then Kylie probed Heathers mind. Heather looked at Kylie in surprise.

"It’s just a test probe to see if you realized I was doing it," Kylie stated psychically. "It's the only way I could be sure you’re super perceptive. The abilities I've got are too much for one person. Sharing it with you will help insure the power is used for good."

"I appreciate your trust," Heather said. "But if we merge, won't it open all our secrets to the other?"

"Yes, we'll absorb each other’s mind," Kylie said. "But I've remained myself after merging with James and Jennifer Sue, I think we'll retain our individuality if we merge. Everything that comes into you during a merge is read in light of our personal life experiences. We can merge some things into our selves and store the remainder."

"Okay, I'm game," Heather answered. "But I think we should do it tonight after we go to bed so we have all night to process the data."

"I agree," Kylie smiled. "It'll really help me if we share this. It was fun and exciting at first, especially while I was in the coma. I realized in the hospital it could be dangerous although I really haven't sensed anything. It's simply too much for one person to handle and make good decisions.

"Having two of us will also serve to deflect any investigations that might ensue," Heather added. "Thinking of that, perhaps we could change my intersexed condition so it doesn't match you."

"That's a good idea," Kylie agreed. "I assume you want to be primarily female?"

"Yes," Heather replied. "It wouldn't bother me at all to get rid of my boy bits."

"One of the intersexed possibility is that the person 'appears' to be a male," Kylie explained. "But the guy parts are just non- sexually functional growths caused by the 'XXY' chromosomes. Hidden inside can be fully functional female organs with the vagina opening into the scrotum instead of the outside of the body. Hormonally you'd be female, and as puberty hits you'll blossom like a normal girl. There is some danger because if you begin to menstruate before your vagina is opened, the discharging blood can cause a nasty, possibly even fatal infection."

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem," Heather responded. "When Dr. Alterson checks me to see if there is a physical cause for my feeling I'm a girl they should discover my condition and fix it before having a period becomes an issue."

"You're right," Kylie concurred. "After we merge tonight, you'll know the details of the intersexed condition we want to create and you'll know how to tweak your physical body to accomplish it. I'll monitor you while you make the adjustments just to make sure everything will work out."

"That sounds like a plan," Heather agreed. "Will we be able to do all this and still be able to get enough sleep?"

"That's never a problem," Kylie replied. "The merger and changes occur in and by your astral existence. Astrally, you never need sleep. That's how I monitor the astral tags I've placed in people I feel a need to monitor."

"This astral tag is how you knew I was about to flake out on Christmas Eve," Heather sought confirmation.

"Yeah," Kylie answered. "A tag is sort of an alarm that when tripped lets me know there is an issue. I put them in people who I thought could give me problems. I placed your's during our fifth period class the day you were so upset that Billy was my boyfriend."

"I guess I was wigging out that day," Heather agreed.

"Yeah, you were," Kylie sighed.

Just then the guys whooped with joy. They'd won their game. They shut down the system and rejoined the girls. They briefly talked about Heath's transsexualism. Both guys assured Heather they would help her make her transition in school when she was ready.

“Thanks guys," Heather smiled. "Now I have a question for you. Can you guys sing?"

"I do alright," DJ declared.

"Me too," put in Billy.

"I have no idea," Kylie said. "I never sang as Kyle and I haven't tried since my change. We won’t sing in my music class our until next semester."

“Well, now’s as good a time as any to find out,” Heather smiled as she pulled out her flute, recorders, and a few pages with song lyrics printed on them which she passed to them.

All three smiled knowing they were in for a treat as they checked the lyrics. Kylie quickly discovered she had a wonderful alto voice. The boys were better than alright, Billy was a baritone and DJ was a bass. All three discovered they could easily sing along to Heather’s melodies. After a bit of feeling each other out, Heather phrased an astral suggestion to Kylie. Kylie marveled that Heather was once more able to make her desire to astrally communicate known without the ability get to the astral plain. It only took an instant to flash the suggestion that Kylie use her astral abilities to sync the four of them. In a few moments, the three voices flawlessly blended with the flute. They sang the ‘Gypsy Rover’, ‘Annie’s Song’, ‘The 59th Street Bridge Song’, ‘Kodachrome”, ‘Metamorphosis’, and ‘Come Clean’. The house was ringing with ringing with music.

Laura stopped her housework to stand in the doorway and listen to the wonderful blending. “That was fantastic,” Laura declared when they took a break. “I feel privileged to hear your singing and playing.”

“It really is fun,” Kylie enthused and the boys nodded their agreement. “Mom, would it be possible for Heather and Billy to stay for supper? Then dad could hear us sing!”

“If their parents agree,” Laura smiled.

“Why not invite their parents over,” DJ suggested. “Then they could all hear us!”

“Well, that sounds good but I simply don’t have enough time to make a meal for ten people,” Laura explained.

“We could call out for pizza,” Kylie suggested.

“Yeah,” Heather agreed. “I’m sure my parents would chip in to pay for it.”

“Mine too,” added Billy.

“Give your parents a call and see if they agree,” Laura chuckled knowing these four were burgeoning into quite a team.

The parents agreed and the kids adjourned to the computer to print out the lyrics of other songs they liked. They finished up just as the parents and siblings arrived. Frank and Margie Dawson, Billy’s parents, and his eleven year old brother, Bobby, arrived first followed by Keith, Linda and Kathy Davis. The Dawsons were aware of Kylie’s past so were not put out by Heather’s probable transsexuality. After initial greetings, at the urging of the kids, they agreed to order six pizzas. Kathy and Bobby were classmates and had no problems getting along with the four older kids. Everyone talked and got to know each other while they waited for the pizza. The parents discovered they were quite compatible and felt they could become good friends. After watching the kids demolish four pizzas, they settled back for the impromptu concert. At Billy’s urging, Heather agreed to do a reprisal of ‘What Child Is This’ and readied her recorders.

Once again, everyone fell under Heather’s musical spell. For the Dawsons, this was the first time they heard Heather play. They were aware that Billy had raved about the Heath’s Christmas Eve performance, but assumed he was simply enthused by a classmate. Now that they heard her play, they realized they had underestimated Billy’s review and far underestimated Heather’s accomplishment.

After a brief break during which everyone heaped praise upon Heather. Bobby and Kathy eagerly joined the other kids as they gathered around Heather to sing while she accompanied them. Kylie easily synced the sixth graders with the others. The adults quickly understood Laura’s request they gather to hear the kids perform. They were simply blown away by the impromptu recital. Once they'd performed their selections, the six youngsters were excited and pleased with themselves.

"Do you think the six of us could have a New Years Eve sleep over tomorrow?" Kylie asked the adults as the other kids nodded their agreement to the question.

"We don't have anything planned," Linda said. "We'd be glad to have them stay over.

"I think that's a great idea." Laura agreed. "We were planning to stay home but if you don't mind we could join the kids for a New Years Eve party. Of course we wouldn't be sleeping over."

"That sounds good to me," Dave said.

"We can make it too," Frank said. "It's been years since we celebrated with anyone else so it should be fun.

"If you let me know what you'd prefer we'll bring the drinks," Laura stated with growing excitement.

"We'll bring snacks and dips," Margie excitedly added.

For the next half hour the adults discussed specific wants and who would get what as well as when to begin the party. Since the guys all declared their desire to see the Peach Bowl, they agreed to start at seven so they could be settled in front of the big screen TV by the 7:30 start time. The game at Atlanta's Georgia Dome between the Miami Hurricanes and the Florida Gators promised to be quite a battle.

*****

That night as she settled into bed, Heather mentally called out to Kylie. Kylie instantly responded. "I'm going to induce sleep in our physical bodies so we can get the rest we need," Kylie explained as she made the necessary adjustments. “Before we go to sleep, here is my astral tag. Use your mind to hold it, that way you’ll piggy back on me into the astral.”

“Got it,” Heather replied a bit anxiously. For Heather, it felt really weird as she felt her body drop to sleep while her mind seemed wide awake.

"Now for the hard part," Kylie said. "I’m going to try to expand the tag I have in your mind so I can use it as a secondary anchor for my astral body.”

Heather was confused. “Why do you have to use your tag as an anchor for your astral body? I thought you could go anywhere?

“I discovered that a person’s astral body is tied to a 1000 feet limit of your physical body,” Kylie explained. “Astral tentacles can go anywhere, which is what I’ve been using to do most things. But to blend, I need my astral body and we’re too far apart for normal astral body travel. I think if I can morph the tag I have in your mind into an anchor in your physical body, I think I can piggy-back my astral body on you.”

Heather felt Kylie making adjustments to the tag and soon felt a weird and definitely foreign rippling in her consciousness.

“It worked,” Kylie exclaimed. “My astral body is in your bedroom! Now, let your astral body float up out of your body. It'll feel a bit weird at first. You'll be able to see me when you emerge."

"How do I do it?" Heather asked.

"Heather, check your mind," Kylie instructed. "You'll be able to 'see' your physical mind is asleep. You're functioning with your astral mind. Once you realize you've separated your mind, just tell yourself to float up and you'll astrally emerge from your body."

Heather turned her mind inwards and was stunned to see she could now see her brain and feel the trillions of connections. She explored a bit until Kylie reminded her they needed to get on with their plan. Concentrating on floating up out of her body, she suddenly felt her astral self float up out of her body. Once she was free, she looked around to see Kylie hovering above the foot of her bed and smiled.

"This is just fantastic," Heather bubbled. "Kylie, you've got wings! You look like Tinkerbelle but bigger."

"In a way I am," Kylie giggled. "I simply added them to my astral body. It feels neat to fly and hover. If I want, I could shrink myself to be the size of Tinkerbelle."

"Can I do all that?" Heather asked.

"Sure," Kylie replied "In case you didn't notice, you're naked."

"What?" Heather gasped and looked down at her astral body to see she was indeed naked. Almost instantaneously a copy of her nightie pooped into place. "How did I do that?"

"You wanted to clothe yourself," Kylie answered. "Since you didn't specify what to wear the default is to be clad in whatever your physical body is wearing. Now, think that you want to be dressed like I am, wings included."

Again almost instantaneously Heather's nightie morphed into a copy of Tinkerbelle's dress and wings sprouted from her back. Giggling with delight she fluttered about the room for a few moments.

"Let's go outside," Kylie suggested.

"What if someone sees us?" Heather asked. "Won't we be cold outfitted like this?"

"Our astral bodies are invisible in the real world," Kylie explained. "We won't feel the cold, or the rain or snow or wind. We can pass right through walls, animals, people, trees, and anything else. Follow me." With that Kylie flew through the wall.

It was with a bit of trepidation as Heather flew towards the wall. Instead of the feared impact, she simply passed right through. "Oh wow, that was fantastic."

Side by side the duo flew about the neighborhood. Heather was stunned by the view. They discovered the 1000 feet limit of their astral bodies from Heather’s physical body was in force. Finally after what seemed to be hours, they returned to Heather's bedroom.

"You know, maybe we don't have to merge," Heather said. "You didn't need to do more than tell me what to do and I've emerged on the astral plane. I think I can do it at will."

"Yeah," Kylie agreed. "You can place an astral tag on my mind. Then we'd be able to exchange thoughts, ideas and even skills. We'd be constantly aware of what the other was doing without getting in each other's face. We should be able to swap information with ease."

"Okay, let's try it on my body," Heather said. "Download the information I'll need to change my intersex development."

When Kylie had gathered all the pertinent info, she took what looked like a astral cable and plugged it into Heather's astral mind. The information came cascading in and for a moment everything seemed to be spinning. After the vertigo settled, Heather sorted and merged the information. The she explored her physical body and saw the female organs developing in her tummy. She checked her chromosomes and discovered she was virtually all 'XXY'. Then she sought out her testicles and ordered them to die and be reabsorbed into her body. Her penis, which had never been very big, was ordered to shrink even more and lose it's nascent ability to become erect. Within a few days she would be a girl with an enlarged citrous that looked like a small penis, a birth defect.

Kylie was impressed by Heather's speed of learning and felt better about what she was doing. "You did that just like I did," Kylie praised.

"Thanks," Heather answered. "Now I understand you gathered all the information from the internet. Can you show me how to do that?"

"Sure," Kylie chuckled. "Lets go to your computer. Now extend a skinny astral tentacle and plug yourself into a USB port. Okay, follow me as I show you how the computer works. The first time I did this, I crashed the hospital's mainframe."

By the end of the lesson, Heather was able to surf the web at blinding speed. She could 'pop' into the net at any location she knew or into any computer, nexus, or mainframe she astrally touched. When she encountered firewalls she simply ‘stepped’ over them. The information she gathered was easily downloadable into her astral being. The two girls were having a ball as Kylie shared every trick she'd learned. Following Kylie's instructions, Heather built a psychic barrier to prevent unauthorized intrusions in her mind.

"It's almost dawn," Kylie said. "Normally, when your body wakes up, your astral body pops back inside. But if you fight being drawn back in, you can function astrally while you're fully awake and functioning as your earthly normal. It's quite disorienting and was the most difficult thing I did. You can see with your astral eyes, but when you wake up, your astral body will be in the room watching. When you physically wake up, you're suddenly looking through two sets of eyes. The room will spin and your tummy will twist and churn. If it gets too much, shut all your eyes until the vertigo passes. Then you just keep trying until you master looking at the same thing from two different perspectives at the same time. Once you've got it mastered, you're home free. Good luck, I'll see you tonight."

With that, Kylie slipped back to her body and the astral anchor reverted to a tag.

As her physical body began to wake up, Heather resisted the automatic draw of her astral self back into her body. As she woke, she could feel the duality of her being, one tied to her body and the other astral. When she opened her eyes she quickly discovered that Kylie’s warning about vertigo was quite warranted. But using her advice, she quickly mastered the duality.

****

The girls periodically communicated all morning as they went about their daily activities. Heather also sent her astral tentacles to thousands of places. With her interest in music she was drawn to investigate musicians. This led her to wonder if she and Kylie could tap into the minds of talented musicians and copy their abilities to share them with each other and even download some abilities into Billy, DJ, Kathy, and Bobby. Since Kylie had tweaked them to sync their singing, maybe they could channel the abilities of the best musicians to play instruments as well as singing styles and abilities. Then download those abilities to whichever one of them was best suited to utilize that skill and form a band! Kylie loved the idea when Heather shared it with her. Together, their astral tentacles sought to discover and astrally tag the best musicians.

About ten in the morning, Dr. Alterson called Laura to inform her that Heather’s scores on the tests were undeniably feminine and that her initial diagnosis of Heather as being transsexual was now firm.

Heather squealed with delight and jumped up and down with unbridled glee then hugged her parents. Kathy came to see what caused Heather’s excited squeals and quickly joined her sister in the excitement. Quite naturally, Kylie instantly knew Heather had gotten the results and sent astral congratulations. Laura was delighted and thrilled at the prospect of having another daughter. Keith was pleased his son wasn’t gay but fearful of his new daughter’s life as a
transsexual. But he knew she would have his unrelenting support and love.

*****

In their search of the internet, the girls found dozens of sites listing talented musicians in the rock and jazz genres. From these they selected names or at least groups they recognized and listened to samples of the musicians they selected. They did run into some frustration as many were no longer living. For the instrumentalist, they selected Phil Collins and Ringo Starr for drummers. For bass guitar they selected John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney and Flea (Michael Peter Balzary) from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. For lead guitar they selected Eric Clapton, BB King, Jeff Beck, Peter Frampton and Eddie Van Halen. For keyboards they selected Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Preston, Elton John and Billy Joel. For fiddle they selected Charlie Daniels. For banjo they selected Roy Clark who also played a mean guitar. Deciding they might need some horns, they chose Branford Marsalis for saxophone and his brother Wynton Marsalis for trumpet. For a kick they decided to tap Bob Dylan for harmonica. As a bonus for Heather, they decided to probe her flutist inspiration, Sir James Galway.

In addition to the instrumental abilities, they would also pull their vocal abilities and stage presence. Their selections primarily for vocal abilities were Stevie Wonder, Robert Plant, Johnny Cash, Elton John, Chuck Berry, Brian Wilson, Eric Burdon, Rod Stewart, Roger Daltrey, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Fogerty, JamesTaylor, Willie Nelson, Tina Turner, Joni Mitchell, Christina Aguilera, Dolly Parton, Annie Lennox, Stevie Nicks, Celine Dion, Pat Benatar, Sheryl Crow, Linda Ronstadt, Loreena McKennitt, Spanky Macfarland, and Mariah Carey,

While they conducted the searches, working together, each segmented a section of their astral mind with a one way shield to keep the other from entering the rest of their astral mind. Then they linked the segmented sections together, effectively merging them. This enabled them to communicate freely and access everything in the merged portion. It took them the rest of the morning to accomplish the monumental task.

It was a strange day for the girls after that. Using dozens of astral tentacles each they located their targets by leaving tags on the official and quality fan web sites to locate their targets. At times it came down to discovering cell phones and tracing their locations. One by one they found their targets and tagged them. They had become so adept at their astral tasks they managed to locate their targets in ten hours. Once all were located they began to download their music abilities.

At that point they sent a joint astral tentacle to probe each target’s mind. Kylie kept a gentle watch on the probed mind and shut down any fears or worries that might bud if they sensed the mental intrusion. With her own musical abilities, Heather knew what to look for and easily located their music abilities and stage presence. Once located, she carefully copied them into their joint astral mind. Once done, they quietly left with their target never suspecting they’d been psychically tapped. By three in the morning on New Years day, they were done with the monumental task.

Heather was amazed that they could astrally do so much without interfering with their physical lives. Such multitasking seemed impossible to even contemplate yet they were doing it. Kylie just smiled as Heather began to learn how their astral abilities enhanced their lives.

*****

In the real world, the three families gathered at six in the evening on New Years Eve to welcome the start of 2005. Once everyone was gathered, Heather announced the results of her psychological tests. They all congratulated her on being the girl she appeared to be.

The guys gathered around the big screen TV to watch the Peach Bowl between the University of Miami and The University of Florida. Miami scored first, after Florida missed a field goal, when Devin Hester returned a missed field goal 78 yards for a touchdown, as Miami took a 7—0 lead. In the second quarter, Matt Leach kicked a 34-yard field goal making it 10—3. Roscoe Parrish scored on a 72-yard punt return giving Miami a 17—3 lead at halftime, even though it didn't score an offensive touchdown. In the third quarter, Brock Berlin threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Moore, and the Hurricanes led 24—3. Florida's Chris Leak threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jemalle Cornelius as the Gators got within 24—10. A 32-yard field goal from Miami gave the Hurricanes the 27—10 win.

Kylie, Heather and Kathy helped the mothers set up snacks and prepared a spicy nacho dip. Kylie, Heather, and Kathy took chips and pretzels to the guys while they watched the game, saving the more flavorful snacks for when they’d be aware of what they’d be eating while simultaneously blunting their ravenous appetites. The mothers smiled at the girls wisdom.

After the game, Kylie organized Billy, DJ, Kathy, Bobby and herself around a seated Heather. The five sang their hearts out while Heather accompanied them, much to the enjoyment of everyone. Kylie and Heather were delighted when Billy and Bobby’s father, without any prodding, suggested they form a band. Kylie and Heather exchanged knowing smiles when the others excitedly agreed.

They all settled down to watch Dick Clark’s New Years Rocking Eve. When the ball dropped, the parents kissed, as did Kylie and Billie. Heather was pleasantly surprised when DJ leaned over and kissed her on the lips. Emboldened, Bobby even gave Kathy a quick peck on the lips. No one seemed upset, in fact everyone smiled.

At one, the Davis’ and Dawsons headed home leaving the kids to their sleep-over. For Kylie and Heather, this was their first sleep-over.

Once the adults left them alone, the kids enthusiastically discussed the possibilities of forming a band. Heather assured the others that between the six of them they could easily learn to play guitar, drums, keyboards, banjo, fiddle, and horns. Bobby already played the drums so he was the natural choice for drummer. Only slight nudges were needed for the rest to volunteer for an instrument. DJ took bass guitar, Billy selected lead guitar, Kylie choose keyboards, Kathy picked trumpet and banjo as well as back up guitar, and Heather added saxophone and fiddle with secondary percussion in addition to the flute.

As the excitement of the New Years Eve sleep-over caught up with them. They quietly discussed how their music could possibly change the world. Once they had all nodded off, at least physically, Kylie and Heather astrally began to download the music abilities and skills to the group.

End of the 2nd Song

CHARACTERS/LOCATIONS
M= Metamorphosis C=Come Clean
Dave Warren Sr.--07/25/68-------M/C= father Kylie & DJ, phys-ed teacher, asst, JV F-ball coach
Laura Warren--06/12/74-----------M/C= mother Kylie & DJ, housewife
DJ (Dave) Warren Jr--09/4/90----M/C= Kylie’s older brother (8th)
Kyle/Kylie Warren--08/24/92-----M/C= hero(ine) son/daughter (7th)
Melissa WaterS--04/08/68---------M/C= county social worker & psychologist
Dr. Alterson--05/26/65-------------M/C= psychologist
James Wilson--04/15/21-----------M= dying old man
Jennifer Sue Charles--04/01/92---M= dying astral girl
Doctor Proctor--11/16/64----------M= orthopedic surgeon
Doctor Walsh--01/24/60-----------M= neurologist
Doctor Lance--6/12/65-------------M= pulmonologist
Mrs. Wentzel--12/13/72-----------M= Kyle’s 7th grade home room teacher
Principal Forrest--2/11/70---------M/C= junior high school principal
Billy Dawson--11/23/92-----------M/C= classmate & Kylie’s boyfriend (7th)
Frank Dawson--10/08/72----------C= father of Billy & Bobby
Margie Dawson--01/04/73--------C= mother of Billy & Bobby
Bobby Dawson--10/05/93---------C= younger brother of Billy (6th)
St. Mary's Trauma Center---------M= hospital
Heath Davis--08/23/92------------M/C= hero(ine) classmate/musician (7th)
Dolmetsch Pearwood recorders—C= left-hand alto(treble) & right hand descant(soprano)
Keith Davis--03/04/73-------------C= father of Heath & Kathy
Linda Davis--09/19/73-------------C= mother of Heath & Kathy
Kathy Davis--05/21/93------------C= Heath’s sister (6th)
Mr. Williams--02/29/64-----------C= band director
Laurie Adams--07/12/70----------C= ninth grade flutist
band geekettes----------------------C= befriend Heath
Frodo---------------------------------C= befriended squirrel
Mr. Wilcox--03/01/82-------------C= guidance counselor
Mr Greene--10/11/69--------------C= phys-ed teacher
Nancy Gregor--03/29/75----------C= receptionist, Dr. Alterson
Sharon Dixon—04/30/74-----------C = mother of Sandy
Sandy Dixon—06/17/93------------C= friend of Kathy Davis

*****************************************************
Come Clean
Written by: Shanks, John; Dioguardi, Kara
Performed by: Hillary Duff
Album: Metamorphosis (2003)

Let's go back
Back to the beginning
Back to when the earth, the sun, the stars all aligned
'Cause perfect didn't feel so perfect
Trying to fit a square into a circle
Was no life
I defy

[Chorus:]
Let the rain fall down
And wake my dreams
Let it wash away
My sanity
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder
I wanna scream
Let the rain fall down
I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean

I'm shedding
Shedding every color
Trying to find a pigment of truth
Beneath my skin
'Cause different
Doesn't feel so different
And going out is better
Then always staying in
Feel the wind

[Chorus]

I Can See Clearly Now
Third and Final Song of the Kylie Warren Saga
by Jennifer Sue

I can see clearly now the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way,
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.

Part 1

Astrally Kylie and Heather hit a brick wall when they attempted to download the musical abilities. Only Bobby and Heather could accept some of the abilities as they already had experience with the instruments. It quickly became apparent that without some pre-existing familiarity they could not download the music abilities they’d copied into their siblings and friends because without a pre-existing framework, there was nothing to enhance. Even Kylie found herself unable to fully accept the keyboard abilities. They found they could ramp up the desire to learn the selected instruments. Since they’d all had basic lessons in reading music in elementary school music classes, they already had the groundwork for learning to read music, so that was easily refreshed and improved. But each of them would have to physically learn the basics of their chosen instrument to enable them to incorporate the downloads. It would have to be done a step at a time. While frustrated, the girls realized they had been saved from creating awkward questions about how their group had suddenly discovered their musical talents.

They slept till around ten, then after a hearty breakfast, Kylie asked if everyone was serious about forming a band. After everyone agreed they were still interested, she astrally placed a suggestion in Bobby’s mind.

“Well, if we’re going to be a band, we all have to know how to read music,” Bobby announced. “Heather and I can teach you to read music. If we can show our parents we’re really serious about forming a band, learning to read a score will prove our determination. Then we can pest them to get us the instruments we’ll need!”

Heather astrally tuned the others to accept Bobby’s suggestion. Together, they reviewed the basic scales and notes, sharps and flats, and the various other musical notations. For Kylie, Kathy, Billy, and DJ, what they had briefly learned in school coupled with what Bobby and Heather were teaching them coalesced into being able to able to understand how to read music. The shared general knowledge of reading music gathered from their many downloads now had a firm base for the downloading to commence.

When the music reading lessons had gone as far as they could, they all were capable of reading orchestral and operatic scores. Heather spoke up. "Guys, I know our church is going to be taking a special collection for relief of the Tsunami victims. I was thinking we could help out by offering to sing for the congregation tomorrow. I know it's short notice, but I think the pastor and church board will okay it. Are you up giving it a shot?"

"I think that's a great idea," Kylie enthused. "Maybe we can schedule a relief concert next Sunday evening. Once the congregation hears us, I bet they'd be willing to tell others to come! It'll also give us a bit of group recognition for our band. We'll have to think up a name for ourselves."

The others readily agreed. As they tossed names back and forth, Heather went online to download a few appropriate songs so they could practice. DJ called the pastor and when he explained Heath was part of their group, got an enthusiastic okay to their doing three songs during the special collection. The pastor agreed to contact the board members for their approval and to hold a brief meeting after the service to discuss their idea for the Sunday evening mini relief concert.

Heather downloaded 'We Are The World', 'It's A Small World" and 'Amazing Grace' for Sunday. For the mini-concert she selected those three plus 'I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing', 'Help', 'We've Only Just Begun', Imagine', 'Don't Stop', 'Don't Worry, Be Happy', 'Everything Is Beautiful', 'Dreamweaver', 'Put Your Hand In The Hand', 'I Can See Clearly Now' and lastly, 'Amazing Grace' which they would do acappella.

As they ran through the first three songs, it was decided that Heather would accompany them on the flute and recorders with Bobby on drums for tomorrow's performance. As they began singing, Kylie and Heather cautiously astrally probed each of their friends. Kylie monitored their consciousness to see if they were aware of the intrusion while Heather tweaked their vocal cords to obtain perfect pitch and a three and a half octave controllable and sustainable vocal range. Once they’d finished with the four, they optimized their own voices then harmonized and synchronized the six. They also increased their lung capacity and functional tonality. If all went well by tomorrow's performance they'd have richer voices and by next week they'd have remarkable resonance and timbre.

Heather was almost stunned into speechlessness as Kylie opened her astral eyes to their auras. A brief astral explanation about what she was seeing helped her relax. As they rehearsed and blended, Heather could see the aura's of each turning green with happiness. It didn't take too long for their auras to begin to merge. With each merger, the intensity of the green grew as did it's vibrancy. By the time they were all blended, their hearts were soaring. The room quickly filled with the vibrant green light and overflowed into the adjoining rooms and even out the windows. Heather was more than a bit humbled when Kylie told her playing on Christmas Eve had the same effect on the congregation and that the entire church and everyone in it had been imbued with the vibrant green light.

"If the mini performance on Sunday goes well," Kylie enthused. "We might be able to convince our parents to get us the basic instruments tomorrow afternoon."

"I know Pastor Kline's father-in-law owns Meteor Music," DJ happily added. "I'm sure he'd call ahead for us to get us a deal on some inexpensive rental instruments. Then when we show how well we do by next Sunday, our parents will be willing to purchase better quality instruments."

Heather and Kylie smiled knowing they would give their proud parents a subtle astral push to help them decide to accept any too good to be true deals on instruments that might be offered. The adults would probably smile condescendingly as the kids promised that with their excitement and drive they'd each be able to learn enough to do some basic playing for the main concert. Once they had their fingers on the instruments, with astral downloads, it should be possible for the others to learn enough of their primary instruments to play at the main concert the following week!

The kids were excited at the prospect and when their parents arrived at three in the afternoon, the kids explained their ideas. The adults thought the idea of a relief concert was good but tempered their reaction with real world scepticism. They did agree to sit as the kids did the first three songs.

The hastily cobbled together performance blew the adults away. Naturally the parents were proud of and excited for their offspring. Kylie explained that if the mini-concert went well, they had the idea of going to Meteor Music with Pastor Kline calling ahead to get them deals on cheap rental instruments. Thanks to astral pushes, the parents agreed that if their performance tomorrow was well accepted by the congregation, they'd get the rental instruments.

Heather was quite intrigued by their astral pushes. Kylie explained that she didn't ever want to make someone do something they didn't want to do, unless it was a dire emergency. Meanwhile, they'd only astrally enhance and strengthen the ideas an individual already had.

As they headed home with the promise to get to church a half hour early, they still hadn't thought of a name for themselves. They agreed to keep thinking of a suitable moniker.

*****

That night Kylie joined Heather for an astral meeting. While they had enjoyed their exchanges, Kylie had begun to worry about their safety. So this night she introduced Heather to the ancient Druidic belief, best represented by the Celtic Five Fold Symbol. Consisting of five equal sized circles, four circles overlap with the outer edge of all four touching a single center point while the fifth circle is centered on that center point and overlaps the other four circles. The first fold represents the compass direction east, the element air, the season of spring, represents home and wealth, the tenet of vitality of life and the ritual of mobilizing. The second fold represents the compass direction south, the element fire, the season of summer, represents creativity & art, the tenet of clarity of light and the ritual of transforming. The third fold represents the compass direction west, the element water, the season of fall, represents learning & chronicling, the tenet of growth of love and the ritual of purifying. The fourth fold represents the compass direction north, the element earth, the season of winter, represents vindication & honor, the tenet of order in love and the ritual of stabilizing. The fifth fold represents the center of the compass, the element ether, between the seasons transition, represents ascension & spirituality, the tenet of balance in all and the ritual of transcending.

Heather could see how Kylie had used it to create astral armor. “If I create my own armor, do you think it might interfere with our communications?”

“It might,” Kylie answered obviously upset at the thought.

“Your armor is always here in the astral, and your astral self is inside, but the armor is not a part of you,” Heather declared as she examined the armor. “If you open it for a moment, maybe my astral self can slip inside.”

“That’s a great idea,” Kylie enthused as she opened a doorway in the armor.

Heather had no problem slipping inside, and with the two astral spirits inside, the armor grew stronger and seemed to develop it’s own existence in the astral realm. The armor shaped itself into a three dimensional representation of the Celtic Five Fold Symbol. Each circle became a ball with Kylie and Heather’s astral spirits safely inside the central fifth ball.

Heather could even feel her astral tendrils becoming surrounded by the warm, comforting green glow of the Druidic derived Celtic Five Fold Symbol. The green glow signified thriving life, which, she realized, was their unassailable astral armor that would keep any and all demons and evil well away from them.

As they surveyed their astral armor they knew they were prepared for nearly anything. the verse of a song came unbidden to their minds:

I can see clearly now the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way,
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.

*****

Meeting at the church they showed their song selections to the pastor, president of the board, and the organist. Once accepted, the adults decided it would be best to conduct a second offering after the main offering with the kids singing during the second offering. They also approved Heather's suggestion they sing from the rear balcony. After Bobby set up a snare drum and top hat cymbals the kids took their seat in the otherwise empty balcony before the service began.

"I think I've come up with the perfect name for us," Billy smiled. "N...Gen...Der. It stands for Neutralize Gender Derision. While most people have accepted Kylie, quite a few still think she's weird. I've been getting snide gay oriented comments from several guys for being Kylie's boyfriend. I'm sure when Heather reveals she's transgendered, the complainers will become even more vocal. Having one changeling in the school is pushing the acceptance level of some people. Having two will make it worse and I'm afraid we'll have some bigoted people getting nasty."

"I've heard some of the comments about Kylie," DJ agreed. "I think you're right about it getting worse with two changelings. Don't worry Heather, we'll have your back."

"Thank's DJ," Heather blushed. "I like 'N Gen Der' but think we should just use 'NGender' as a single word. The word engender means to foster changes, to cause something to exist or to develop. We'll be doing that by raising money for Tsunami relief. We'll still be able to use 'NGender' once I come out since we'll be fostering acceptance of transsexuals."

"Actually, everything we do should be enabling positive changes," Kylie added. "So 'NGender' will be appropriate name for anything we do."

With that they all agreed to call themselves 'NGender', and if anyone asked where they'd come up with the name, they'd simply tell them the dictionary definition of engender.

“I’ve been thinking,” Heather spoke up. “I think it’d be better if Kathy and I swapped instruments. We’ll need a fiddle more than a banjo, so she should take the fiddle as primary and I’ll take the banjo as a secondary.”

Everyone agreed the change made sense so it was a done deal.

At that point, the pre-service announcements were made, including the special collection for tsunami relief. The kids were excited and a bit nervous as for all but Heather and Bobby, this would be their first public performance.

After the regular collection and prayer was completed, the pastor turned toward the congregation. "Yesterday I took a call from one of our youth. He and several friends asked if they could sing during the service to help motivate the congregation to give freely for tsunami relief. I gave them a preliminary okay, and met with those youth this morning before the service to get approval of the board. Ralph Johnson, our president, agreed to allow the kids to perform for us. DJ, would you like to say something before you begin?"

"Yes sir," DJ stated as he stood by the balcony rail. He waited until everyone had turned to look at them. "On Christmas Eve, Heath blew us away with his playing. We've been getting together this week to hang out and Heath brought his flute. We began to sing with him and we liked the results. Yesterday we came up with the idea of performing for you for this special collection. If you approve of our effort today, we'd like to put on a special tsunami relief concert next Sunday evening. We've decided to call ourselves NGENDER... N.G.e.n.d.e.r."

With that they stood as DJ called their names. "Making up the group is my sister, Kylie, Heath and his sister Kathy, and Bobby and Billy Dawson. We'd like to sing two songs first, and take the collection during the third. Heath..."

Heather, understanding the need to remain male to most people, raised her flute and began playing the first line of 'We Are The World', After a three count pause he began to play the melody while the rest began to sing. DJ sang bass, Billy sang baritone, Bobby sang tenor, Kylie sang alto, and Kathy sang soprano. Their voices seamlessly united and flawlessly blended with the flute. Astrally, Heather and Kylie watched as the green aura surrounding the kids quickly merged and brightened. Around the congregation, the auras of the people shifted to green. As the green aura filled the balcony, it began to cascade down into the main pews. Before it reached the floor, individual auras of the congregation leapt up to merge. By the end of the song, the church was filled with a vibrant green aura.

The congregation spontaneously exploded into applause. After smiling and bowing, once the clapping dwindled, Heather began the intro to 'It's A Small World'. The smiles on the people were beaming and green was pulsing through the windows. Again the sanctuary filled with enthusiastic applause when the song ended.

"The last song we'd like to do acappella while the collection is taken," DJ announced once the clapping had once more dwindled. "Ready? 1...2...3..."

Heather's rich countertenor voice seamlessly melded with the others. Except for the blended six voices, every sound in the church stopped.

"Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
We have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine."

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind, but now I see."

Heather and Kylie had to put astral sunglasses on their astral eyes as they sang because the intensity of the green threatened to blind them. One by one, without any prompting, the members of the congregation rose to their feet to watch the kids sing. As the last note resounded through the sanctuary, the entire congregation stood mesmerized by the absolute serenity of the song. Pastor Kline and many of the women were openly crying. The rest of the women and over half the men had tears of joy and love running down their cheeks. The ushers had been so enthralled they stood rooted to where they stood, all thoughts of collecting the donations had been banished from their minds. It took thirty seconds until the applause and even a few cheers exploded. The green aura surrounding everyone and everything simply pulsed with life. The applause lasted five minutes.

"Amazing Grace is always a moving song," Pastor Kline finally spoke with awe clearly evident in his voice. "But it’s never so moved me as what we just heard. Ngender, thank you for blessing us with your singing."

Again the applause resounded through the sanctuary.

The kids couldn't smile any bigger as they soaked up the praise. As it began to quiet down, DJ spoke. "We all thank you. But it seems our singing was so interesting the ushers didn't get around for the collection. Please, reach into your pockets as we've reached into your hearts and give to those tsunami victims."

Virtually every head was nodding as the congregation began digging a bit deeper into their pockets than they had initially intended to do. The smiling but red-faced ushers moved down the aisles collecting the donations.

"I think the name you've selected for yourselves is quite appropriate," Pastor Kline intoned as the collection was being taken. "We're all blessed to acknowledge NGender made their public debut today. I don't think there will be any objections to allowing NGender to hold a benefit concert for tsunami relief next Sunday Evening where they'll sing the songs we heard today plus ten other tunes. It'll be a free will offering so invite your friends, neighbors and relatives to join us."

The rest of the service seemed anti-climatic. The green aura dimmed slightly but still filled the sanctuary. After completing the service, the six friends stood in the back and humbly accepted the platitudes of the green auraed congregation. Pastor and Mrs Kline along with Edward and Betty Meteor, were the last to congratulate NGender and their proud parents.

"I'd like to ask a big favor, Mr. Meteor," Heather began. "I've gotten my flute and recorders through your store and Bobby got his drums there. We're wondering if we can rent some inexpensive instruments so we can be more of a band."

"If the rest of you can play half as well as you sing, I'd be delighted to assist you," Mr. Meteor smiled.

"Well, that's part of our concern," Bobby spoke up. "Heath plays flute and I play the drums, but none of the others has ever played an instrument. We can all read music and have a lot of drive and determination. If we can get the instruments today, we think we can learn how to play some basic rhythms until next week."

"That's a mighty tall goal," Mr. Meteor replied. "I've never seen anyone able to play an instrument within a week. But you guys are obviously exceptional. What instruments are you looking for?"

"I'd like an electric bass guitar," DJ said. "Billy wants an electric lead guitar, Kylie wants a multi-function keyboard, Kathy wants a fiddle and Heather would like to add a saxophone. We'd also need starter how-to-play books."

"I'll tell you what," Mr. Meteor declared. "Go over to the store. I'll call ahead and tell Bob Simmons to set you up with decent instruments for a one week free trial. We'll need to hold a credit card from your parents to do this. If you have not begun to learn the basics by next week, then we'll set you up with cheaper rentals. If you can play them by next week, I'll sell them to you at cost plus ten percent for handling and set each up as a no interest loan with payments at what I'd charge for the cheaper rentals. The only thing I ask is free advertizing. Tell your audience and anyone who asks where you got your instruments."

The kids were obviously excited by the offered deal. Their parents knew they couldn't ask for a better arrangements. A silent exchange of looks indicated everyone was in favor of the deal.

After a brief stop at Mickey D's for lunch, they all headed over to Meteor Music. Bob Simmons eagerly greeted them. He knew Heath and Bobby as well as their parents and was quickly introduced to the others.

"You guys obviously impressed the boss today," Bob smiled. "I've never heard him so excited. If you'll step over here, I have the instruments Mr. Meteor ordered to be readied as well as starter books. Per Mr. Meteor’s instructions I called in our instructors for the instruments you requested. Dave Evans is our instructor for lead guitar. Harry Gift is our instructor for bass guitar. Kathy James is our instructor for keyboards. Ellen Moore is our instructor for the fiddle. Miles Davidson is our saxophone instructor. Now, if each of you will go with your teacher, they’ll show you the basics.”

Once the kids went to their instructor, Bob headed over to a sales counter to complete the paperwork with the parents.

After a quick run-through of the basic on-off and electrical hook-ups of each instrument with the appropriate player, the instructors began showing how to handle their chosen instrument. Astrally, Kylie and Heather easily augmented the instructor’s instructions by simultaneously downloading the appropriate musical abilities and creating a mini feedback loop between the instructor and each new musician. The feedback worked to perfection as what the instructor was showing and explaining to the neophyte was instantly picked up.

Once each had their hands on their instruments and had learned the basic finger positions and how to run a scale, the implanted performance abilities kicked in. The instructors were amazed by how rapidly the kids picked up the basics. With growing excitement and their natural inquisitiveness, each member of NGender began toying with their instrument. Their experimentation was at first tentative and naturally awkward as they touched, felt and explored their instrument. Yet with each playful touch and fingering, the astrally implanted pirated musical knowledge and abilities almost instantly blended with what they were physically feeling and hearing as the appropriate knowledge was rapidly metered into their minds. Their tentative fingering was unconsciously guided by the implanted muscle memory copied from the pros. In moments their muscles learned how to move to achieve the notes they wanted. A few seconds later they unconsciously used their implanted abilities to mesh their playing with each other into a seamless coordination.

A bit after the paperwork was completed, Kylie started playing the familiar beginning chords of 'The Walk of Life' by Dire Straits. DJ jumped in laying down the bass guitar line. Kathy and Billy quickly jumped in playing the melody on the fiddle and lead guitar. Bobby easily added appropriate percussion. Heather played the sax with ease as Kylie began to sing. Their initial amateurish neophyte stumbling quickly disappeared and by the end of the first verse, they started to sound like a typical teenage garage band. Astrally Kylie and Heather realized they were picking up the instruments to rapidly so they pulled back some of the downloaded abilities.

"Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies
Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
He got the action, he got the motion
Oh Yeah the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day

He do the song about the sweet lovin' woman
He do the song about the knife
He do the walk, he do the walk of life, yeah he do the walk of life

Here comes Johnny and he'll tell you the story
Hand me down my walkin' shoes
Here comes Johnny with the power and the glory
Backbeat the talkin' blues
He got the action, he got the motion
Oh Yeah the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day

He do the song about the sweet lovin' woman
He do the song about the knife
He do the walk, he do the walk of life, yeah he do the walk of life

Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies
Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
He got the action, he got the motion
Oh Yeah the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day

And after all the violence and double talk
There's just a song in all the trouble and the strife
You do the walk, you do the walk of life, yeah he do the walk of life."

As their playing came together everyone in the store stopped what they were doing and stared at the kids, amazed by their quality performance. They went all out playing the riffs between the verses. No one was more surprised than the parents. When the song finished, everyone began to applaud.

DJ, Billy, Bobby, and Kathy were stunned by what they’d done and basked in the appreciative applause. Heather and Kylie smiled on the surface while barely controlling their fear. They never suspected their downloads would be incorporated so quickly and effectively. How were they going to handle this? They sent out astral probes to see if anyone was troubled by what they’d done.

"Now I can understand why the boss was so impressed," Bob Simmons stated as he looked at the parents. "They are really good. I must have misunderstood when you said they'd never played the instruments."

"Other than Heath and Bobby, the only instrument they've ever played was the flutophone in elementary school music," Linda Davis softly stated, her amazement was evident in her voice. "Kathy never even touched a fiddle before today."

"DJ never picked up guitar and Kylie never played keyboards," Laura added equally awed by the impromptu performance.

“Billy never touched a guitar before," Margie said with clear incredulity.

"I don't mean any disrespect," Bob said not wanting to upset the parents because the even at the sharp discount Mr. Meteor offered he was still due a decent commission. "But I've never seen anyone pick-up an instrument for the first time playing as well as they did. Perhaps one musical prodigy I could believe, but four at the same time... I just can't believe it's possible.”

In their Astral bodies, Kylie and Heather exchanged looks of near panic while keeping their physical bodies with their friends as they all basked in the praise of those present. Kylie planted an astral suggestion in her mom while Heather utilized Bob's avarice to encourage his receptiveness.

"Well they all can read music and sing extremely well," Laura replied to Bob. "They're certainly driven to do well as they want to be able to play for a Tsunami relief concert they're putting on next week."

"Well, I must say they are quite impressive," Bob replied with a smile. "With practice they could become quite a band."

With the crisis averted, they astrally dropped back to monitoring mode.

As they wrapped up, arrangements were made for practice sessions with the instructors every evening after supper. The kids were all smiles as they packed up their instruments. Their joy was short lived because their parents reminded them school resumed the next day.

*****

As Heather prepared for bed she played back the recording she’d made of their singing in church. While it sounded fantastic, something seemed off. It took her a few moments until she realized what it was. The recording had no aura, and although the recording was true to life, without the aura it seemed incomplete. At once she contacted Kylie.

Kylie at once understood their powerful music was incomplete without the aura, but how could they duplicate an aura on a recording or even a broadcast? The girls set their astral minds to the dilemma.

*****

Heath felt almost ill as he prepared to return to school. During the holiday he'd been able to behave girlishly even when dressed as a boy, but that was impossible in school. The necessity of presenting as a boy ate at him. Being teased for being a sissy had always been a part of his school life. But now that he knew he was intersexed, he so wanted to shed his sissy boyhood.

When Heath arrived at school, he took a deep breath to steel himself for running the gauntlet of toughs who always hung around the entrance.

At that point, Kylie astrally spoke. "DJ, Billy, and I are waiting for you about ten feet inside. If you haven't already, activate your aura scan. You'll be able to tell the difference between someone who dislikes you and someone who wants to hurt you."

Heather wasn't sure if she wanted to see who disliked her and she certainly didn't want to know there were actually students who might want to hurt her. But deciding to take Kylie's advice, she activated her aura scan.

While the bullies were in their usual positions lining the walls to intimidate those who entered, Kylie, DJ, and Billy were also waiting. Kylie made a show of hugging Heath, then walked side by side toward their lockers. Billy and DJ, scowling at anyone who might even be thinking about saying or doing something, followed their girlfriends.

Heather was shocked by the auras she saw. Most were a shade of dark blueish-gray that Kylie said indicated a lack of hope and depression, their lives were already jaded by despair. Some were black, reflecting a hatred for everything. Some were shades of dark red, these represented anger that with little provocation could erupt in violence. Most of the kids passing through the gauntlet projected a shade of yellow that indicated fear.

By lunch the school was rife with rumors. Everyone had known Kylie and Billy were a couple, but because of Kylie's male past, the sexual innuendoes flew. But now added to that already swirling brew was the assumption that DJ and Heath had paired up in an openly gay relationship. The rumors were not helped when Kylie, Billy, and DJ politely asked the band geekettes if they could join Heath at their table.

The girls were surprised but willing to allow them to sit with them. Having DJ and Billy present would ensure none of the school clowns would hassle them as they ate. Quite naturally, the topic of conversation quickly focused on music. The geekettes were surprised to learn about NGender, but thrilled for their new friends. By the time lunch was finished, the band geekettes were sure Heath and DJ were a couple. They thought they made a cute pair.

DJ began to take a bit of heat after lunch. No one dared to say anything to his face but nasty comments were intentionally made so he could hear them. It took a great deal of will-power not to react to the slurs.

As soon as they arrived home, all set to dug right into their homework. It had been made clear to all six that their homework had to be done before they went for their instrumental music lessons. Meeting at Meteor Music, they exchanged hugs before going to the separate sound proofed practice rooms with their instructor. The instructors were blown away by the kid's enthusiasm and seemingly innate abilities.

*****

The next day at school things were not good. Because of her tough guy male past, Kylie's emergence as a girl was only begrudgingly accepted by a vocal minority. Billy took a lot of heat for dating a former boy, but there were still many who thought Kylie was still male. Since DJ was Kylie's brother, he was thought to be the cover-up about her real gender. Now that it seemed DJ and sissy Heath were a couple, the simmering homophobia began to raise it's angry head.

The foursome met inside the school entrance like they had the day before, the homophobic bigots were ready. Fortunately, Kylie and Heather had their astral early warning system primed. Kylie and Heath stopped about ten feet inside the door to scan the waiting thugs. They could see red auras merging between sixteen guys who were divided eight to a side just down the entrance hall. The red revealed the anticipation of those waiting to pounce. Thanks to their astral communication they prepared themselves to start walking down the hall with DJ and Billy dutifully following as body guards.

As the foursome began to pass between the junior mafiosos, a small scuffle between two girls began by the entrance door. The school resource officer immediately stepped in to separate the girls. With the guard distracted, the plotters all stepped away from the wall. DJ and Billy went on high alert but the gangbangers were moving too rapidly. Seemingly out of no where sixteen water balloons appeared, eight on each side of the hall bracketing Heather, Kylie, DJ, and Billy. As the wanna-be gangstas raised their balloons to throw and began the pitch, all but one balloon mysteriously burst right above their heads. The guy with the lone balloon was a bit late in joining the others, and he flinched away from the watery deluge as he threw. Unfortunately, when he released his balloon it was in a direct line to the school resource officer. Patrolman Stevens had just turned towards the commotion just in time to see the kid throw the balloon that burst on his chest. For the next few seconds chaos reigned amongst the junior felons as an angry Officer Stevens collared the miscreants. Kylie and Heather used the distraction to innocently scurry ahead while DJ and Billy prevented the malefactors from escaping.

It took all of Heather's and Kylie's will power to keep from bursting out in guffaws. They had successfully primed their astral tentacles with sharp points that popped the balloons. Kylie had even tweaked the kid's mind to slow his timing and have him flinch as he threw to hit officer Stevens. Heather now fully understood the need for monitoring the auras of those around them.

The sixteen soggy angry kids who had tried to water bomb Heather and Kylie were taken to the office for discipline by Officer Stevens. All were formally charged with disorderly conduct while the school suspended them for the rest of the week. The three ringleaders of the group had prior records. This incident would see them wind up in juvenile detention for parole violations. The head had been chopped off one beast.

The rest of the day went fairly smoothly. The rumor mill had plenty of fodder as a few people knew who were the actual targets. The suspension of the worst gang in school cooled off most of the remaining hot-heads.

That evening, the homework was completed and all six went to Meteor Music for their continued lessons. Again they blew away their instructors with their ballooning skills.

When Heather arrived home. Linda and Keith sat down with her to discuss the next day. They hadn't told her all that had to be done as they knew how she worried and didn't want to give her time to brood. What they told her surprised and scared her. Even so Heather insisted to her parents she begin to transition as soon as possible as she hated pretending to be a boy. She didn't tell them she wanted to be able to hold DJ's hand in public. Once in bed, she called Kylie on their astral connection.

Kylie was glad to be told in advance that Heather wouldn't be in school and she promised to let the rest of their group know so they wouldn't worry. She also reassured Heather that the tests were not painful and they would probably discover her intersexed condition.

*****

Heather stayed home the next day so she and her mother could go to the Hospital for a battery of tests that Dr. Alterson had arranged. She dressed to look androgynous so she could feel in a comfort zone as Heather yet appear to be a boy for those who might be homophobic. The trip to the out patient testing center at St. Mary's Hospital seemed to take forever, that is until Heather had to sit in the waiting room. The number of butterflies in her tummy seemed to grow with each passing minute. Looking at her own aura she saw it was shimmering pink, grey and green revealing her excitement, anxiety and vigor.

Once they were called back, it became a matter of hurry up, sit down and wait cycles. First they drew blood samples, Heather almost passed out as the nurse filled the eighth and final tube. It took a bit of smelling salts to get her back to functionality. Next was a series of full body x-rays. Then came a sonogram of her abdomen and torso.

By the time all the tests were completed it was 11:15 am. Linda and Heather were told to take a lunch break and to return at 1:30 pm for a thorough physical.

Heather's anxiety grew as they ate.

"Heather, the physical isn't anything to worry about," Linda reassured.

"I know, but I feel uncomfortable letting a man see me naked," Heather replied with a bit of a whine.

"You won't be completely naked, they give you gowns to wear," Linda smiled.

"Some gowns," Heather snorted. "They just barely cover your front and are open in the back."

"If it will make you feel better, I'll stay n the room while the give you the exam," Linda soothed.

Heather nodded her head.

It seemed to take forever for 1:30 to roll around. The arrived in the waiting room fifteen minutes before their appointment Five minutes before their appointed time a nurse came out.

"Heath Davis," she announced as she scanned the room.

Heath and Linda stood and followed her through the door into a hall lined with doors. Her Aura was a deep rose which meant she had a great deal of compassion for the patients.

"I'm Martha Wagner," she greeted them as she ushered them to an exam room. Martha sensed Heather's anxiety and smiled reassuringly as she told her to disrobe and put on the gown.

Linda couldn't help but giggle as Heather fumbled with the ties. Heather shot her mom a dirty look which only made Linda chuckle more. Linda took over and tied the strings to hold the gown in place. Nurse Wagner weighed and measured Heather's height, then had him hop onto the examination table to check her blood pressure. Just as she finished there was knock on the door and a man in a lab coat entered.

"I'm Dr. Reichard," Dr. Reichard announced. "I spoke with Dr. Alterson so I'm aware that you've been preliminarily diagnosed as transgendered. I have the preliminary results of the tests you took and by examining you I'll be able to check out some of the results."

Heather scanned the doctor's aura and it was rose colored just like Nurse Wagner. That knowledge helped calm her nerves.

Dr. Reichard smiled as he began listening to Heather's heart and lungs. As he moved the stethoscope across her chest he bumped into a erect nipple. Although not the bump was light, he saw Heather wince. After he finished, he had Heather lie back and placed a small towel over her groin then lifted the gown to reveal her tummy. Heather blushed a deep red as he began palpitating her abdomen. After five minutes, he raised the gown to expose her nipples.

Linda gasped at what she saw. Heather blushed even deeper. Gently the doctor probed the slight swelling around the nipples and carefully touched her nipples. The reaction was fast. Both nipples swelled and erected. Heather closed her eyes and bit her lip in embarrassment.

"All right, Heather," Dr. Reichard said. "How long have your nipples been sensitive?"

Astrally, Heather had tagged and astral monitor in the doctors brain as soon as he had entered the room. Now she probed deeper in an effort to determine what time frame he had in mind. When she'd located his expectations, Heather whispered in a timid voice. "I first noticed they were sensitive around Thanksgiving. I thought it would go away but it's gotten worse. Do I have an infection in them?"

"No, there is no infection," Dr Reichard smiled. "You appear to be developing breasts. I'd hazard a guess that you're about a 'AA' cup size."

"But that's impossible," Heather gasped in feigned shock as inwardly she was delighted. "I'm a boy, boys don't just grow breasts, do they?"

"Some do," Dr, Reichard replied trying to keep Heather's worry in check. "There is a condition called gynecomastia where boys develop breasts. It's rare but not unusual and there is nothing to worry about." At that point he pulled the gown back into place as he told the nurse to attach the stirrups.

Heather had no idea what he meant but was soon to find out. If she thought she was through the embarrassing part of the exam she was sorely mistaken.

Soon Heather's feet were mounted on the stirrups and held in place by velcro ties. Once securely strapped into the contraption, the doctor spread her knees as wide as possible, Seated on a stool with wheels, he rolled between her legs. Gently he prodded her groin, carefully lifting her penis to probe the area immediately underneath.

Heather began to whimper due to the utter humiliation. Even with her eyes squeezed shut and biting her lips, tears still trickled from her eyes.

"It's okay, Heath," Dr. Reichard soothed. "I'm almost done. Then you can get dressed."

After a few minutes, Dr. Reichard stood and smiled. "You can get dressed now. When your ready, step out into the hall. Nurse Wagner will be waiting to bring you to my office so we can go over the results."

Heather eagerly removed the nasty gown and hurriedly donned her own clothes. While the exam was embarrassing, thanks to her ability to read auras, she knew the nurse and doctor were primarily concerned with her well being.

In a few moments nurse Wagner lead Heather and Linda to Dr. Reichard's office. As they were seated, Dr. Reichard smiled.

"First off, Heather, all the tests and my exam show that you are quite healthy." Dr. Reichard began. "However, there are several areas of interest that effect your transsexualism. First off, you are developing breasts. The blood work revealed your testosterone levels are quite low while your estrogen levels are quite high. Any doctor looking at your levels would assume you are a 12 year old girl who has recently entered puberty."

"Oh wow," Heather enthused. "So I really am a girl!"

Linda was more than a bit startled. "How can that be?"

"The rest of the tests will explain that," Dr. Reichard nodded. "The x-rays reveal that in bone structure, while not like a girl, is more female than male. In addition, the sonogram showed evidence of ovaries and a womb. The palpitations I performed are consistent with the sonogram results. Heath, I know this is a bit embarrassing but I need to ask. Have you ever had an erection?"

Heather blushed deeply and took a deep breath. "No," she hesitantly replied.

"I didn't think so," Dr. Reichard nodded. "Your penis is smaller than normal, but even more telling is there is no evidence of testicles. But the most telling is the gender sequencing done on your blood. Normal female is XX while normal male is XY. Your gender chromosome read as XXY which means you are intersexed."

Linda was stunned. Heather was beaming. "So that means that I really am a girl, right?"

"Yes and no," Dr. Reichard said. "Actually, you are both male and female, but without testicles, the female portion has become dominant."

"I'll take that," Heather giggled with glee. "So that means I can start living as a girl, right?"

"That's not my call," Dr. Reichard cautioned. "Dr. Alterson is the one to make that decision. While I'm confident that you are intersexed leading to the feminine side, we still need to do more tests. I'd like to have a full body MRI and CT scans to determine how feminine you are. If it looks like your ovaries and womb are functional, we'll need to schedule surgery as soon as possible."

"NO! Never, I won't let you cut out my girl parts," Heather exploded in near panic as she stood facing the doctor with fists clenched.

"Heavens no," Dr. Reichard soothed. "I'd never remove them unless you agreed to it, which I don't see happening. "Your hormone balance has you in puberty. Girls about your level of development usually begin menstruating. If that happens to you it could be fatal."

"So I'll die if I don't agree to have them cut out," Heather flopped back in her seat as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"No, Heather," Dr. Reichard chuckled. "What needs to be done is to operate to open your womb to the outside. If you menstruate without having an exit for the discharge, you'll develop blood poisoning. After the scans, I'll have a gynecologist check the results and then you. If everything shows functional ovaries, we need to create an opening for the discharge."

"Oh," Heather nodded as she dabbed at her eyes. "You mean you'll turn my weiner inside out to create a vagina?"

"Possibly, but we can't be sure how to proceed until we get the scans and you're checked by a gynecologist," Dr. Reichard answered. "I'll send the results I have to Dr. Alterson. I've already asked Nurse Wagner to set it up for the MRI and CT scans for tomorrow and an appointment with Dr. Julie Grayson
on Friday. Dr. Grayson is the best gynecological surgeons in the area. If all everything checks out, we'll set the corrective surgery up for next week."

"Isn't that a bit fast?" Linda asked as she was still trying to wrap her mind around Heather being intersexed.

"Under the circumstances, no," Dr. Reichard replied. "If Heather's ovaries are functional she could be in the midst of her first period now."

Heather smiled dreamily at the prospect while Linda sat there gobsmacked.

Linda was still in a daze as they headed home to pick up Kathy from school.

As she climbed into the back seat, Kathy knew something was up by Linda's semi-vacant appearance and Heather's grin. "What's going on?"

"I'm a girl," Heather exclaimed. "We're sisters! The tests show I'm intersexed which means I've got girl parts and boy parts. Only the girl parts seem to be in control."

All right," Kathy squealed. "I got a big sister!"

"Mom, after we're done with Dr. Alterson, I'd like to go out for a nice dinner to celebrate my girl birthday," Heather enthused. "Can we call dad to come home early?"

As soon as they arrived home the girls ran to their rooms to change into nice skirt and sweater sets. Linda called Keith and gave him the results of the tests. He too was flabbergasted although the results did make him feel less guilty for failing to properly raise his son.

Dr. Alterson greeted the Davis family and led them to her office. First she verbally reviewed the results of the tests and exams Heather had taken that day and answered any questions. Kathy seemed distraught that Heather's life could be in danger but Dr. Alterson was able to reassure her the danger was not yet immediate and the most likely had one to two months. But having the surgery as soon as possible would mean she'd be healed before she had to deal with flow. Keith sat there gripping the arms of his chair so tightly his knuckles were white.

"It's obvious you're pleased with results," Dr. Alterson smiled at Heather. "Kathy, how do you feel about having a big sister?"

"Great," she enthused with a big grin on her face.

"I'm going to love and support Heather in this," Linda smiled tightly. "It's just a lot to assimilate in one day."

"I'll say," Keith agreed. "I'll support and love my child, whether male or female."

"Thanks," Heather beamed. "So can I stop being a pretend boy now?"

"Soon," Dr. Alterson cautioned. "We need to get the results of the tests scheduled for tomorrow and the exam with Dr. Grayson on Friday. After that it would be best to wait until after the corrective surgery. Dr Grayson has reviewed the results of all your tests and exams as well as my report on you. She's convinced you need the surgery and has reserved a surgical suite for 10:00 am on Monday. Since you'll only have half days at school for Thursday and Friday, I think it would be best to go as Heath. Of course you'll miss school on Monday due to the surgery and at least through Wednesday but possible all next week to allow you to heal. When you return to school after the surgery, you can return as Heather. That will give us time to get the legalities taken care of. You'll have to have a lawyer get your name and gender changed and we'll need to contact the school so they are aware and change your records and attendance as well as notify all the teachers. I don't think it will be necessary to hold an assembly like we did for Kylie, but I'm sure Principal Forrest will do something to remind the students to treat you with respect."

Although a bit disappointed, Heather understood it would be better if she waited until after the surgery to reveal herself. "My friends and I are doing in a Tsunami Relief concert Sunday at our Church. Will it be okay if I do it as Heather?"

Dr. ALterson looked at Linda and Keith to get their take on the request.

"I think it will be okay," Keith said. "But I'd like to let Pastor Kline know ahead of time. Dr. Alterson, can you e-mail a synopsis of Heather's condition to the pastor?"

"Of course," Dr. Alterson smiled. "Send me the pastor's e-mail address. Who are your friends?"

"Kathy and I as well as Kylie and DJ along with Kylie's boyfriend Billy and his brother Bobby," Heather smiled. "We call ourselves NGender. We've been taking music lessons and it will also be the debut of our band."

"It sounds like you're putting a lot of effort into this," Dr. Alterson said.

"They are phenomenal," Keith added. "Their voices just blend together in a way that is absolutely wonderful."

"It sounds like something I'd enjoy," Dr. Alterson replied. "Where and what time is the concert?"

"It's at St. Michael's Church at 7:00 pm," Kathy replied. "If you want a good seat, come early."

"Okay, it sounds like you expect a lot of people," Dr. Alterson smiled.

"I played my flute for Christmas Eve and everyone loved it," Heather smiled. Then our group, we call ourselves NGender, gave them a preview of what we can do last Sunday. Everyone raved about us."

"That's putting it mildly," Linda agreed. "I'm sure word of mouth will fill the place."

*****

I think I can make it now the pain is gone,
And all of the bad feelings have disappeared,
Here is the rainbow I've been praying for.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.

Part 2

Heather went to school Thursday until 11:00 am when Linda picked her up to go to the hospital for the MRI and CT scans. DJ, Billy and Kylie were delighted to learn that the initial tests showed Heather was intersexed. Of course, Kylie had already known that from their astral chats.

The scans were quite boring The CT scan wasn't too bad, but the MRI was terrible. They told her that the full body scan would take between two and three hours. If she could endure inside the small tube, the scan would go faster. The hammering of the MRI nearly drove her to distraction and the closeness of the chamber was more than a little claustrophobic. After five minutes she shut down her physical body and slipped out to roam the hospital.

Remembering what Kylie had told her about her experiences, Heather had to see for herself. The x-ray, MRI and CT suites were located in the basement of the hospital. Heather astrally floated up diagonally through the floors until she reached the ICU. First she slipped into the files to see if she could read them. When she found she could, she promptly pulled out as she didn't want to violate anyone's privacy. Then she floated through the patient alcoves. The sight of several people made her want to cry.

In one room she found three sixtyish adults standing by the window looking out obviously ignoring the old woman. Behind them Heather saw an astral image of the unconscious frail old woman with an angry deep purple and angry red rippling aura. The out of body woman was fruitlessly kicking the three adults in the butt even though her foot simply passed right through them. Kylie did a quick mind probe of the adults and discovered the old woman was Doris Lizak, the oldest man was her son Morris, the younger man was her son Franklin, and the woman was her middle child Betty Harner

"She could die at any time," Betty said. "Did you find the will yet?"

"No," Morris replied. "She has it hidden someplace and the damned lawyer won't give me a copy until she's gone."

"We know how looney she was," Franklin added. "What will we do if she's cut us out?"

"We contest it," Morris smiled evilly. "Meanwhile we need to do is get into the house to get at those antiques she's been hoarding. We'll have to clean out whatever we want before the lawyer gets there to padlock the place. That way we'll get something without waiting for probate."

"It's the investments I'm interested in," Franklin scowled. "She's got all the papers locked in that old safe Dad put in the study. I think I remember the combination. That's what we need to get at before they padlock the place."

"Well, then we just keep her on the life support until we get out what we want," Betty snickered. "I'll bet the old bitch's ghost will try to kick our asses for hooking her up. It's a good thing we 'lost' her 'Do Not Resuscitate' order."

"I'm already trying to kick your asses you ungrateful whelps," Doris growled as she swung her foot.

Heather decided to slip away and began to float back through the wall but the old woman had turned a bit to kick another of her children and saw Heather.

"Well," Doris nodded. "A visitor. Are you a ghost like me?"

"No ma’am," Heather answered. "But you aren't a ghost either. We're both manifestations of our soul and we're tied to our bodies as long as they live."

"Well, I'm eighty eight and I WAS ready to die," she scowled at the three as they began to bicker of what each wanted to take. "But now I want to recover and live long enough to cut them out completely. But it doesn't look like that will happen."

Heather followed her gaze to the withered body hooked to numerous machines. A greyish black and sickly yellow aura was faintly emanating from the wizened body. "Maybe I can help. What's wrong with your body?"

"What's NOT wrong would be easier to answer," Doris sighed. I'm old and cancer is ravaging my body. I heard the doctors say most of my major organs are failing. How can you help that?"

"I might be able to reach inside and kill the cancer," Heather said. "I've made some changes to my body so with your permission I can try to help you."

"Why not," Doris sighed. "The worst you could do would be to kill me, so sure, go ahead."

"Okay," Heather said. "But I need you to stay away from me. If our spirit bodies touch, all sorts of weird things happen."

"I like your spunk, girl. Okay, I'll just float around and watch," Doris laughed.

Heather smiled. Slowly she moved to hover over Doris' body. Then she reached out both hands and held them about three inches above the body's head. About a dozen green glowing tendrils emerged from her hands and entered the head. Heather could feel the cancer. The mutated cells were quite literally eating her body. Slowly at first, and then speeding up, Heather located the blood and nerve supply of each tumor.

"I think I can feel you inside of my body," Doris marveled. "It's making me tingly as you move about."

"That means you've still got strength in your body," Heather declared. After pinching each blood vessel or nerve shut she cauterized the flattened nerve or blood vessel so that when she released it, it stayed sealed. Some tumors had multiple nerve and blood supplies so she made sure to seal those too. Once the major tumors were sealed, she went after smaller ones, until she was attacking tumors only just beginning to grow. It took an hour to complete the task.

During that time Heather's physical body completed the MRI. As she emerged from the machine she faked a claustrophobic melt-down. The nurses and Linda insisted she sit in the waiting area until she felt better, otherwise the car trip home could make her physically ill. She bidded her time so she could finish her astral task.

As Heather worked, the woman's aura began to change. The dark grey began to lighten and the sickly yellow took on a tinge of green.

"I've cut off the blood supply to every tumor, even new ones just starting," Heather explained. "They'll simply starve to death and hopefully your body will absorb them. In the meantime, with them cut off, the food energy they were taking from you will now be able to revitalize the rest of yourself. I have no idea how effective this will be or even how much if any you'll recover."

"Child, you're an angel," Doris smiled a genuine smile. "Most of the pain is already gone and I think I can feel what's left of my body being nourished. Even if this doesn't work, I thank you for your effort. Is your body here in the ICU?"

"No ma’am, right now I'm down stairs sitting in the waiting room of the Nuclear Medicine," Heather explained. "I had a two hour MRI and couldn't stand that pounding so I floated out of my body to explore. I just happened to come in here."

"I hope it's nothing to serious," Doris replied.

"No, the doctors are just trying to verify that I'm really a girl," Heather smiled.

Doris was surprised. "You're not a girl?"

"I'm intersexed," Heather explained. "My gender chromosomes are XXY which means I'm sorta boy and girl at the same time. I was raised as a boy and hated it, then as puberty hit, I began developing like a girl. They checked me out and it turns out the boy parts that showed were non-functional and my girl bits inside are functional but have no opening to the outside. They're worried I might be ready to start menstruating and with no place for it to go I'd get blood poisoning and die. They needed the MRI and a CT scan to pinpoint where things are. Tomorrow I see the gynecological surgeon and if all goes well, they'll operate on Monday to fix the areas I'm deformed."

"Obviously you like being a girl," Doris smiled. "I wish you the best luck. Would you mind telling me your name?"

"No ma’am," Heather smiled. "Right now I'm Heath Davis, but my shrink and parents are working with a lawyer to get me changed to Heather."

"If your lawyer is as good as mine you shouldn't have any issues," Doris smiled. "If you do, contact Jeremy Michaels. He's the best around."

"That is who we're using," Heather smiled.

"Well, you've got wonderful parents then," Doris said. "I'm starting to feel tired so I think I'll go back into my body. Thank you, Heather."

"You're welcome," Heather smiled as she watched the old woman slip back into her body. Looking at her children, they were still bickering about who got what. Heather thought they were just terrible people. With that, she went back to her own body.

At home she told everyone how nasty the MRI was, but added it was worth it. That night she astrally contacted Kylie and told her about Doris Lizak. Kylie was surprised by Heather's daring exploration but pleased that she had avoided astral contact. They decided that once they were asleep they'd astrally meet up and pay Doris a visit.

Kylie opened a dimension door to Heather’s bedroom. After exchanging hugs, they opened a dimension door to the empty MRI room. Once in the hospital they were easily able to float their astral selves up to Doris' room. As the hovered at the ceiling they were pleased to see her vital signs had drastically improved. The grey and yellow of her aura had been replaced by a healthy pink and green. She'd improved to the point where it looked as if she was peacefully sleeping instead of in a coma. While they were there, a nurse and a doctor entered the room.

"I can hardly believe these readings," Dr. Camp declared. "Last night I would have bet she wouldn't make it through the day, yet these readings show she's improving."

"It looks like she's strong enough to breathe on her own," Nurse Grey added. "Should we remove the ventilator?"

"Let's give it a shot," Dr. Camp agreed. "The records indicate she's been improving since 2:00 pm with no backsliding. The old girl is a fighter, let's give her the chance."

Kylie and Heather watched as they shut off the ventilator and pulled the tube. After a bit of coughing, Doris opened her eyes and looked at the startled doctor and nurse.

"I'm awake," she smiled and croaked as her throat was sore from the tube.

"You most certainly are, Mrs. Lizak," Dr. Camp returned her smile. "Don't try to talk too much as your throat is raw from the breathing tube."

"Water," Doris whispered.

Nurse Grey quickly produced a cup and a straw.

"Thank you, but I need to speak," Doris insisted as she waved both closer so they could hear her whisper. "You will be my witnesses. I DO NOT want the ventilator replaced. I have a DNR but if you'll get me another I'll sign it now. Also, I DO NOT want to see my children. The only person I want to see is my lawyer, Jeremy Michaels. I'd greatly appreciate it if you could call him for me in the morning. Oh, there may be another person too. A young lady about twelve, Heather Davis is her name. If she stops by, I definitely want to see her."

"I'll take care of it," Dr. Camp nodded. "Anita, can you please get a DNR for Mrs. Lizak? Then put a NO VISITORS ALLOWED UNLESS STAFF APPROVED sign on her door."

Kylie and Heather smiled to see the woman was spunky and apparently recovering. They were even more surprised when she looked right at them, smiled and winked. They were startled when they heard the woman think, "Please wait, I want to talk to you." After exchanging looks of surprise, the mouthed OKAY. Doris smiled and nodded. They waited until the doctor and nurse had completed their ministrations and left.

"Don't try to talk," Kylie projected towards Doris. "Just think your conversation."

"This is simply fantastic. Come closer please," Doris smiled. "These old eyes don't see too well, especially ghosts. It's good to see you, Heather. Who's your friend?"

"I'm Kylie Warren, ma'am," Kylie answered. "Heather told me what she'd done after meeting you so we came to see how you're doing."

"Thank you for thinking about me," Doris smiled. "So how many of you can do this out of body thing?"

"As far as we know, we're the only ones who can do it at will," Heather replied. "Kylie did it first and then taught me."

"You're the first person who can see us," Kylie explained. "I guess it's because you met Heather during your out of body time and the fact she entered your body to kill the cancer. It apparently gave you some sort of ability to see into the astral plane."

"That sounds plausible," Doris agreed. "So how did you develop the ability to ghost?"

Kylie explained her tortured life and her escape into her safe place in her mind. That it wasn't until her ankle was almost torn off that she had her first out of body trip.

Doris was surprised as she'd seen the film clips of Kyle's horrific injury on the news and asked, "Kylie, are you intersexed also?"

"Yes ma'am," Kylie smiled then went on to explain her encounters in the ICU and how her ability grew. Then how Heather's increased awareness had twigged her to the astral intrusion to help her on Christmas Eve.

"So these colors I can see around people's heads are their auras," Doris mused. "Mine is doing much better since you shut down the tumors. Thank you so much. I realize now I was being selfish by wanting to live just to get back at my ungrateful children. I've spent the last forty years helping other people, and now that I've been close to death, I have a different perspective. I want to get better so I can continue to help others."

"We hope you can," Heather smiled. "But your aura is fading a bit. You need to rest."

"I am tired, but I feel wonderful," Doris smiled. "I think I can make it now the pain is gone and all of the bad feelings have disappeared. You’ve been the rainbow I've been praying for. I think tomorrows gonna be a bright sunshiny day! Thank you." Doris closed her eyes and was asleep almost at once. In an intense dream

Heather and Kylie smiled and headed home to their bodies.

*****

The next morning Heather had the chance to sleep in until nine. Then she dressed in a cute skirt and sweater set to head back to the hospital to see Dr. Julie Grayson for a 10:30 appointment. Linda looked a little askance upon seeing Heather's flute case.

"I have a feeling I might need it," was Heather's cryptic response to her mother's raised eyebrows.

The four story doctor's office building was attached to the hospital by a ground level corridor. Linda reviewed and completed the new patient documents just as Heather was called into the back.

"Good morning, young lady," Dr Grayson smiled as a nurse showed them into the doctor's office. "I want to make our talk quick so I can give you a thorough exam so I'll get right down to business. First and most important is I need to confirm that you indeed do want to be girl. Although that seems obvious by the way you're dressed I still need to ask."

"Yes, I want to be a girl," Heather enthused. "I've never wanted anything more than to be a normal girl."

"Wonderful," Dr. Grayson smiled. "I've been reviewing your tests and scans. There is no doubt that you are intersexed. The male organs you appear to have are incomplete and sexually non functional. The female organs you have appear to be mostly complete and I would predict to be fully functional. The only issue is your vagina is merged into what would have been your scrotal sack if you had testicles. Now, lets go next door so I can give you an exam."

Linda helped Heather slip out of her clothes and into one of the dreaded gowns. Then she hopped up on the exam table and placed her feet in the stirrups. Dr. Grayson sat between Heather's outstretched legs and poked and prodded and poked some more. When she was finished there, she examined her budding breasts and palpitated her tummy.

"Everything seems good," Dr. Grayson stated when she'd finished. "Get dressed and come back to my office. I'm going to make a few notes."

A few minutes later Linda and Heather were once more seated in the doctor's office.

"I just confirmed our operating theater for 10 on Monday morning," Dr. Grayson began. "Opening the vagina should be simple as the MRI and CT scans show it's right inside the scrotal tissue. When I was prodding, I was able to feel the entry. I've already asked a colleague of mine, Dr. Mason, to assist in your surgery. He's an excellent plastic surgeon and will be able to sculpt you scrotal tissue into labia. Together, we'll remove most the penis and relocate the urethra to the proper girls spot. We'll also use some of the penis to create a clitoris with abundant nerve buds. If everything goes smoothly, the surgery should take about an hour to an hour and a half. The most difficult part will be to create a functional clitoris as we'll have to reroute nerves. Do you have any questions?"

"I've done some research on the net," Heather began. "Will I have to do that dilation?"

"I'm glad to see you've been educating yourself," Dr. Grayson smiled. "You'll have to do some partial dilation. Normal dilation is when we have to create a vagina. The tissue needs to be separated and stretched so it doesn't grow together. In your case you already have a vagina, so we need to keel the labia separated and stretched a bit to remain open and scar free. What you'll need to do is far less invasive and really quite easy. I'd like to keep you in the hospital at least through Thursday so we can be sure everything is healing properly and the nurses can show how to take care of your new equipment. You should be able to return to school the following week as the girl you truly are."

Heather was almost floating on air as they left the doctor's office. She quickly settled down as she remembered Mrs. Lizak and what she had told the doctor the night before.

"Mom, I know this sounds weird," Heather asked. "But can we go to ICU and see a patient?"

Linda was totally unprepared for such a request. "Why?"

"I zoned out yesterday when I was in the MRI," Heather explained. "I had an out of body experience where I floated up to the ICU and I met a woman who was out of her body, a Mrs. Lizak. She was upset by her kids who were brazenly in her room arguing over her estate and she was super angry. When she saw me we talked for a bit. That's why I was so out of it after I came out of the MRI."

"I think you had a dream, sweetheart," Linda smiled. "Things like that just don't happen."

"But it did, mommy," Heather insisted. "Look, can we at least go to the reception desk and ask them if they have a Mrs. Lizak in the ICU? Please?"

"Well, I guess that won't hurt," Linda conceded hoping to pacify Heather.

Linda was stunned when the receptionist verified there was indeed a Mrs. Lizak in the ICU.

"Yes," Heather exclaimed. "Can you call the nurse's station and ask if Heather Davis is on her visitor's list?

"Heather," Linda chided but the receptionist had already called. "Yes, I have a young girl and her mother here who asked after Mrs. Lizak and are wondering if she's on the visitor list... Heather Davis... she is, all right, thank you. Do you know how to get to ICU?"

"Yes, thank you," Heather smiled to the receptionist as she tugged Linda down the hall towards the bank of elevators.

"This can't be happening," Linda shook her head as she allowed Heather to lead her onward. "How do you know the way to ICU?"

"I told you, I floated up there yesterday and met her," Heather said.

In a few moments they approached the nurses station in the ICU. Three angry adults stood there arguing with the nurse. Heather recognized them and held back, stepping away from the elevator and the nurses station. "That's Mrs. Lizak's children," she whispered. "They were in her room arguing about what they wanted from her estate once she died when I was there. Mrs. Lizak was really upset."

"We demand to see our mother," the oldest man stormed. "You have no right to keep us out!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but she's awake and has expressly said she does not want to see her children."

"That's a load of crap," the younger man hotly replied. "She's in a coma and has a breathing tube down her throat!"

"She woke up last night breathing on her own so the doctor ordered the tube removed," the nurse answered. "It was then she told us she has a DNR that you, her children, ignored. She signed a new DNR and forbade you entry. Now, I'll have to ask you to leave. You're creating a disturbance.

"We're not going to leave," screeched the woman. "Our mother would never do anything like that!"

Just then a man came out of Mr's Lizak's room and approached the three upset adults. "Your mother can hear you out here, and I quote her 'making asses of yourselves'," the man said. "I'm Jeremy Michaels, your mother's lawyer, and she's revising her will. I've already contacted a security service and they're sending a guard to her home. There will be guards there 24/7. I'd advise you to leave quietly before you upset her even more."

At that point the elevator doors opened and two security guards stepped off.

"Will you please escort these three people out of the hospital," the nurse asked the guards as they approached the desk.

"Please let's not make a scene," one guard stated. "If you don't fully cooperate, we'll have you arrested for disturbing the peace and trespassing."

"FINE," the older man huffed. "We're leaving. But we'll have our own lawyer on this! You're nothing but a shyster trying to get our mother's estate for yourself!"

Once the three and the guards got on the elevator, Heather and Linda went up to the nurse's station. "I'm Heather Davis," she smiled.

"You're Heather Davis," Mr. Michaels looked at Heather in shocked amazement. "You're the one who re-energized Mrs. Lizak."

"Yes sir," Heather replied. "This is my mother, Linda Davis."

"Yes, I know, she and your dad are clients and I'm preparing legal petitions for you," Mr. Michaels smiled then shook hands with Linda. "Do you know about this?"

"The first I heard about this was a few moments ago when Heather asked to come here to see Mrs. Lizak," Linda replied.

"Nurse, I'm authorizing Linda to accompany her daughter in to see Mrs. Lizak," Mr. Michaels stated.

The nurse smiled and nodded so he led them into the room.

Mrs. Lizak smiled and opened her arms to Heather before anything was said. Heather rushed into the embrace. Heather noted the angry aura of the previous day was still a pleasant shimmering green and pink signifying excitement and vigor. While still weak and emaciated, the color had returned to her flesh and she'd managed to consume a soft breakfast and lunch. She was only hooked up to a heart monitor and a single IV.

Together, Heather and Doris retold of their astral meeting. Neither mentioned the middle of the night visit with Kylie.

"I still find it hard to believe," Mr. Michaels shook his head. "I always thought out of body experiences were some sort of hallucination. But it's obvious the two of you had never met yet you shared out of body experiences."

"What I find hard to believe is that anyone ever thought this delightful young lady was ever a boy," Doris smiled. "I was ready to die until my ungrateful children started arguing right here about how to get my estate. Then I wanted to live long enough to foil their plotting. Then this young lady appeared and saved me. She held her hands above my body and some sort of energy flowed from her into me. If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't believe it. Thank you, Heather."

"You're welcome, ma'am," Heather smiled. "But I don't think it would be safe to tell too many people what happened. I don't know how I left my body and I don't know what I did to make you feel better. I just don't want to end up some sort of weird science experiment."

"I understand," Doris smiled. "I agree with your sentiments. I just wanted Jeremy to know I wasn't insane."

It was obvious Doris was tiring so Heather assembled her flute. As Heather placed it to her lips, the sweet sound of 'Greensleeves/What Child is This' floated on the air. Heather sent out astral tendrils to touch everyone on the floor to share her aura of gold (spirituality), pink (happiness), and green (renewal). All movement in the ICU came to a halt. Mr. Michael's face took on an aspect of awe. Mrs. Lizak beamed as she saw heather's aura expand and flow to touch everyone in the room. It was quite evident the music coupled with their mingled auras was improving her spirit and body. When Heather finished the song, she meekly accepted the praise of Doris and Jeremy. Heather explained that her friends had formed NGender and were performing a relief concert for Tsunami relief Sunday evening.

"The entire floor has been asking where the angel is," a nurse said as she popped her head in the room. "I've never seen such a positive response. Would it be possible to play more"

Linda could only smile and nod as Heather looked at her. Putting the flute to her lips, she began to play 'The Gypsy Rover' as she walked from the room to wander up and down the ICU hall. She played for half an hour, stepping into each room to smile and nod to the patients. The entire ICU scintillated with gold, pink and green. Heather's ethereal music had banished all despair.

The ICU staff thanked Heather as she and Linda left, promising to keep in touch and possibly bring in NGender.

It was 1:30 pm when they left the hospital and they still hadn't had lunch. They stopped for a snack and headed home. They decided it wasn't worth Heather trying to change back to Heath and return for the last class of the day. Heather let Kylie know what had happened. Kylie was concerned about more people knowing of their ability to go astral, but Heather reassured her everyone who knew thought it was a weird one-off coincidence between her and Mrs. Lizak. She'd used the astral monitoring and tweaked the thoughts of those in the know to fully believe it was a once and done occurrence.

Heather was delighted to be rid of Heath. Pastor Kline stopped by after supper to speak with the family about Heather's emergence. After meeting Heather, he had no doubts that she was really a girl. He promised to introduce her to the congregation Sunday morning.

*****

Saturday the kids met at the Dawson home to practice for the concert. Bobby had his drums set up in the basement which was somewhat sound-proofed from the rest of the house. Everyone congratulated Heather on officially being a girl. and DJ kissed her which made her heart flutter. They all thought playing in the hospital sounded really neat and wanted to give it a go.

The kids jammed for a few minutes, then began practicing their songs for the concert. With Kylie and Heather monitoring and tweaking everyone, tempers never became ruffled and their efforts merged seamlessly. All suggestions were heard and discussed, many were tried, several were incorporated. They broke for lunch and resumed afterwards. They finally broke to head home for supper, tired but delighted with what they had accomplished.

*****

Each evening Kylie and Heather astrally experimented with ways to attach the positive green vitality of life aura to broadcasts and recordings of their music. They quickly discovered it was easy to link the aura to real time broadcasts by experimenting at the local TV and radio stations during news casts. Since the aura extended into the astral plain, where physical distance means nothing, when the broadcast came out of receivers (whether radios, TVs, computers, cell phones, Blackberry's or whatever) it acted as an astral alert to draw the aura to relink with the performance.

Recordings/rebroadcasts of performances proved more problematic. After a bit of trial and error, they discovered a solution. They could astrally create a harmonic tag to insert into their music that would be invisible to physical examination. The harmonic tag would be throughout the recording so even if only a portion was played, it would be present. When the recording was played back, the harmonic tag would create a resonance that created a pinprick opening into the astral plane. On their Celtic five fold armor they placed a pick-up point that would instantly and simultaneously pick up every pinprick from the physical world into the astral. An automatic feedback would pump the positive green vitality of life aura back through the pinprick as long as the recording was played to flood the viewing/listening area.

*****

Kylie, Heather, Kathy, DJ, Billy, and Bobby again sat in the balcony. This time they had their instruments with them. They're skills had far surpassed everyone's expectations. This would be Heather's public debut. Dr. Alterson sat in the front row with the sextet's parents. Pastor Kline and Ralph Johnson had been briefed about Heather's change and had spoken to Dr. Alterson.

"Those of you who were here on Christmas Eve were blessed by the outstanding performance of one of our youth," Pastor Kline began as he stood to announce the offering. "Last week we were blessed when that young person recruited five other youth to form a group they've named NGender. Tonight they will be putting on a Tsunami Relief concert here at 7. These remarkable youth have spent the week learning how to play musical instruments to augment their singing. What is even more inspiring is that four of them had no prior experience with instruments. They have agreed to play and sing during the offertory today to give you a hint of what to expect tonight."

"These young people are enthusiastic and likeable," Pastor Kline continued. "I'm sure you all know Klyie Warren's tale of horror. A birth defect had made her life a living hell until the tragic accident on the football field revealed the truth. The person everyone thought to be a tough boy was in reality a girl nearly going insane trying to live to the expectations of a boy while repressing and denying her girlishness. Finally freed from her birth defect, Kylie has blossomed these last weeks and she and her brother DJ are part of NGender. Most of us have greeted her with open arms and hearts just as she has opened her arms and heart to us."

"This week I was surprised to learn Kylie wasn't the only member of our congregation to have a birth defect," Pastor Kline continued. "Our own musician, Heath Davis, was diagnosed as intersexed. While similar to the condition Kylie had, Heath is a bit different. Intersexed is a person who chromosomally has three gender chromosomes. In this case, XXY. This means the person has both male and female attributes. Sometimes neither gender is dominate and the person remains sexless like a child. Sometimes both are dominant and the person is truly dual gendered. Fully functional dual gendered people are extremely rare. Heather is predominantly female. The male organs that caused her intersexed condition to be hidden at birth are incomplete and non functional. Hidden inside are fully functional female organs. Tomorrow morning Heather will have surgery to remove the useless male bits. Heather is under the care of Dr. Alterson who has also been dealing with Kylie. The doctors treating Kylie and Heather are surprised that two children the same age living so closely are both not the gender they seemed to be. There are scientists trying to find if there might be a common link between the two girls.”

There was a lot of hushed comments among the congregation.

“Remember, it is better to give than receive,” Pastor Kline smiled.

The ushers came forward to pick-up the offering plates. As they began to collect the offering, Pastor Kline spoke up. “I have the distinct pleasure of presenting NGender.”

Everyone turned to look up to the balcony.

“We’d like to do a number from the movie ‘Sister Act’,” DJ announced.

Bobby began a tapping out a beat, then DJ picked up the bass line. Kathy and Billy jumped in with fiddle and lead guitar followed by Kylie on keyboard. Then Heather began to sing with the rest providing back up vocals.

Nothing you could say
Could tear me away
From my God (my God)
Nothing you could do
'Cause I'm stuck like glue
To my God (my God, my God)
I'm stickin' to my God like a stamp to a letter
Like birds of a feather, we stick together
I'm tellin' you from the start
I can't be torn apart
From my God

Nothing you could do
Could make me untrue
To my God (my God)
Nothing you could buy
Could make me tell a lie
To my God (my God, my God)
I gave my God my word of honor
To be faithful, and I'm gonnaYou best be believing
I won't be deceiving
My God

As a matter of opinion, I think he's tops
My opinion is, he's the cream of the crop
As a matter of taste, to be exact
He's my ideal, as a matter of fact.
No muscle bound man
Could take my hand
From my God (my God)
No handsome face
Could ever take the place
Of my God (my God, my God)
He may not be a movie star
But when it comes to bein' happy, we are
There's not a man today
Who could take me away
From my God

There’s not a man today
Who could take me away from my God
There's not a man today
Who could take me away from my God

NGender rocked out the song. The green aura flowed from NGender down to the congregation and touched everyone. The congregation was blown away by the performance and enthusiastically applauded the group.

“Thank you. Please join us this evening at seven for the Tsunami Relief Concert,” DJ concluded.

At the end of the service, NGender lined up by the pastor to greet the parishioners. Kathy, Kylie and Heather stood side by side. All were pleasantly surprised to see that Heather was unquestioningly a girl.

*****

Word of mouth about the acappella performance the previous Sunday had already ensured a good turn out for the relief concert. With the added instrumentation, those who had been waffling decided to attend. The local TV station had learned about NGender and that Kylie Warren was a member. Now they suddenly found that Heather, a classmate’s of Kylie, was also transgendered. This upped the newsworthiness considerably.

By four it became obvious the church wouldn’t be able to hold all who expressed an interest in attending. Junior High Principal Forrest was a member of the church board and when Pastor Kline and board president Ralph Johnson contacted him to see if it would be possible to move the concert to the Junior High Auditorium. The logistics would not be difficult as the church and school were only five blocks apart. Principal Forrest contacted the School Superintendent and Chairman of the School Board to get permission. Both had been aware that Heather was intersexed and would be having surgery the next day. To find that Heather and Kylie were in NGender and that the response to their Tsunami Relief Concert was going to be more than the church could hold, they decided to open the Junior High Auditorium once they were assured it was not a religious program. It would be good publicity for the school and showcase their students.

Signs were posted at the church and direction signs hung along the route directing the audience to the school. The local radio and TV stations broadcast public service announcements about the switch in locations.

NGender set up on the auditorium stage. Kylie and Heather astrally scanned the people coming in and saw they were excited projecting a warm green aura. Together the girls projected a vibrant green aura of confidence that infected the rest of the band and reduced their nervousness about the unexpected overwhelming response. Once set up the band members took turns peeking through the curtains at the side of the stage. They saw the twelve hundred seat auditorium was rapidly filling. The reporter and cameraman from the TV station were present.

Promptly at seven the curtains opened.

NGender had decided that since DJ was the oldest and largest, and his voice projected well, that he'd be their designated announcer. “We’d like to thank the school district for allowing us the last minute use of the auditorium. We’d also like to thank everyone who has come out to support this Tsunami Relief Concert. We humbly ask that you show your appreciation of our performance by filling the free will offering baskets that are located at the exits. Now I’d like to introduce NGender. On drums is Bobby Dawson. On lead guitar is his brother Billy Dawson. On fiddle is Kathy Davis. On Flute and Sax is her sister Heather Davis. On keyboards is my sister, Kylie Warren. I’m DJ Warren and I play bass guitar. Now, Ladies and gentlemen, NGender!”

Bobby began with a beat, then the others joined in as they opened with a rousing rock version of ‘It’s a Small World.” Their voices blended in perfect harmony as their instruments integrated flawlessly.

Kylie and Heather noted NGender's green aura was pulsating to the rock beat and easily flowed off the stage into the audience where it quickly merged with the green emanating from the listeners. By the end of the song, the auditorium was filled with shimmering vibrant green. Sending their astral eyes outside, the girls could see the green flooding out of the open exits into the lobby until the lobby looked like a lighthouse beacon.

When NGender finished there was about ten seconds of silence before the audience found their voice. Applause, cheers, and whistles exploded in a frenzy. NGender blushed and flushed with success bowed. By this time, every seat was filled and the rear aisle was filled with standing room only which overflowed into the lobby with people clustered about the exit doors.

When the audience quieted down, NGender launched into ‘Dreamweaver’, ‘Everything is Beautiful’, ‘Imagine’, ‘Help’, ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’, 'We've Only Just Begun', 'Don't Stop', 'Put Your Hand In The Hand', 'I Can See Clearly Now' and ‘We Are The World’. The applause between each song never slackened. If anything, it increased. The green aura was so intense it infused everyone's flesh so they looked liked the proverbial green men from Mars.

For their final song NGender launched into 'I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing’. The entire audience rose to their feet. Many placed their arms over their neighbors shoulders and swayed to the beat. As they reached the end Kylie called out. “ONE MORE TIME, EVERYONE JOIN IN!”

And they did. The walls vibrated with the volume. The cameraman scanned the audience which to a person was singing along and beaming with love and compassion.

The they finished, the applause was almost deafening. When it settled down DJ spoke. "I hope you enjoyed listening to us tonight because we certainly enjoyed playing for you. Please, remember why we gathered here. Let's fill the collection baskets to aid the Tsunami Relief. Thank you!"

The standing room only audience was later estimated to be fourteen hundred people. The cheers and applause resounded throughout the auditorium once more along with "ENCORE" calls. The calls for encore grew into a chant.

Kylie and Heather giggled as they decided on a song. "ON ME," Kylie urged the others as she played and held a single chord on the keyboard for fifteen seconds. The audience expectantly quieted down as Kylie astrally plugged the rest of NGender into the Isley Brother's classic 'Shout'.

Kylie wailed out, "We-eee-eeel...." The band joined in. By the second 'shout' the audience was joining in. By the fifth everyone had joined in.

You know you make me wanna (Shout!)
Kick my heels up and (Shout!)
Throw my hands up and (Shout!)
Throw my head back and (Shout!)
Come on now (Shout!)
Don't forget to say you will
Don't forget to say, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Say you will)
Say it right now bab-ay
(Say you will)
Come on, come on
(Say you will)
Say it, will-a you-ooooo!
(Say you will)
You got it, now!
(Say) say that you love me
(Say) say that you need me
(Say) say that you want me
(Say) you wanna please me
(Say) come on now
(Say) come on now
(Say) come on now
(Say) come on now
(Say) I still remember
(Shooby-doo-wop-do-wop-wop-wop-wop)
When you used to be nine years old
(Shooby-doo-wop-do-wop-wop-wop-wop)
Yeah-yeah!
I was a fool for you, from the bottom of my soul, yeah!
(Shooby-doo-wop-do-wop-wop-wop-wop)
Now that you've grown, up
(Shooby-doo-wop-do-wop-wop-wop-wop)
Enough to know, yeah yeah
(Shooby-doo-wop-do-wop-wop-wop-wop)
You wanna leave me, you wanna, let me go
(Shooby-doo-wop-do-wop)

I want you to know
I said I want you to know right now, yeah!
You been good to me baby
Better than I been to myself, hey! hey!
An if you ever leave me
I don't want nobody else, hey! hey!
I said I want you to know-ho-ho-hey!
I said I want you to know right now, hey! hey!

You know you make me wanna
(Shout-wooo) hey-yeah
(Shout-wooo) yeah-yeah-yeah
(Shout-wooo) aaaalll-right
(Shout-wooo) aaaalll-right
(Shout-wooo) come on now!
(Shout) come on now!
(Shout) yeah, yeah, yeah
(Shout) yeah, yeah, yeah (good sound)
(Shout) yeah, yeah, yeah (good sound)
(Shout) yeah, yeah, yeah (good sound)
(Shout) all-alright (good sound)
(Shout) it's all-alright (good sound)
(Shout) all-alright (good sound)
(Shout) all-alright (aah)

Now wai-a-ait a minute!
I feel aaaaaaallllllright!
(Yeah-Yeah, Yeah-Yeah!)
(OOOOOOOOW)
Now that I got my woman
I feel aaaaaaaalllllright!
(Yeah-Yeah, Yeah-Yeah, Yeah-Yeah)
Every time I think about you
You been so good to me
You know you make me wanna
(Shout-wooo) lift my heels up and
(Shout-wooo) throw my head back and
(Shout-wooo) kick my heels up and
(Shout-wooo) come on now
(Shout-wooo) take it easy
(Shout-wooo) take it easy
(Shout-wooo) take it easy (higher)
(Shout) a little bit softer now (wooo)
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now

(Shout) a little bit louder now
(Shout) a little bit louder now
(Shout) a little bit louder now (ooo)
(Shout) a little bit louder now
(Shout) a little bit louder now
(Shout) a little bit louder now

(Shout) a little bit louder now (wooo)
(Shout) a little bit louder now (wooo)
(Shout) a little bit louder now (wooo)
(Shout) a little bit louder now (wooo)
(Shout) a little bit louder now (wooo)
(Shout) a little bit louder now
(Shout)
Hey-Hey-A-Hey
(Hey-Hey-A-Hey)
Hey-A-Hey-A
(Hey-A-Hey-A)
Hey-A-Hey-A)
(Hey-A-Hey-A)
Hey-A-A-Hey)
(Hey-A-A-Hey)

JUMP NOW!
Jump up and shout now (wooo)
Jump up and shout now (wooo)
Jump up and shout now (wooo)
Jump up and shout now (wooo)
Jump up and shout now (wooo)
Everybody shout now
Everybody shout now
Everybody, shout, shout
Shout, shout, shout
Shout, shout, shou-out
Shout, shout, shou-out
Shout, shout, shout, shout (oh-whoa-yeah)
Shout, shout, shout, shout (oh yeah)
Shout, shout, shout, shout
Everybody shout now (ooo)

They vamped the rousing song for tem minutes with the enthusiastic audience with them for every note. The audience was dancing in the aisles and at their seats. People in wheelchairs had their hands raised shaking in the air. Elderly with walkers and canes were so imbued with the healing invigorating green aura they were able to stand up and bop to the infectious beat. The entire auditorium was literally vibrating. The large glass windows in the lobby were visibly pulsing to the driving beat.

The audience didn't want to leave, finally, NGender came down from the stage to shake hands and hug their admirers. As the crowd slowly dispersed, many people could be seen dancing down the aisles in small groups as they sang 'Shout'. It was evident those passing the offering baskets were quite willingly opening their wallets and purses.

A half hour after leaving the stage, the well-wishers had left NGender with their family, church, and school supporters. At that point an elderly woman was rolled forward by an attendant with a nurse on standby.

"Mrs. Lizak," Heather exclaimed as she recognized the smiling woman and scurried forward to give her a hug.

Linda came forward to greet the woman. She was struck by the gaunt woman's almost vibrant appearance. It was hard to believe that she was on death's door just three days ago.

"You children are simply phenomenal," Mrs. Lizak enthused. "In all my eighty eight years, I've never seen a performance that so enthralled the audience. When I was a young woman in the late thirties and early forties I heard fantastic bands like Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Shep Fields and Glenn Miller. I never thought I'd hear anything better. Tonight I have. Not only does your small group play the music, you can sing as well as you play!"

"Heather, you and your friends have saved my life," Mrs. Lizak said. "Despite my doctor's orders I insisted I come to hear your group, but by the time we arrived I was so drained and pretty well worn out that I doubted I'd make it through the first song. That is until you began to play. I could feel your energy pouring from the stage into the audience. I felt your pure unfettered love and compassion for mankind sweep the audience. I'd swear I could see a pulsating green vitality of life surround everyone. I could feel the vitality seeping into my pores and permeating my body. I feel stronger and more alive now than I have in the last twenty years."

"I overheard some people talking about you and your friend Kylie," Mrs. Lizak said. "I'm glad you've discovered the truth about your bodies and if there is anything I can do to assist you, don't hesitate to let me know. Now, I have something I'd like to tell you and your parents."

It only took a few moments to gather the parents.

"I met Heather and Linda in the hospital on Friday," Mrs. Lizak began. "Other than my husband, no one has ever had a greater effect on me that Heather. You may think I'm looney, but here goes. On Thursday I was in a coma dying from the cancer that riddled my body. I was so close to death I had an out of body experience. My three children were in the room arguing about how to get complete control of my estate. Needless to say I was rather angry by their callousness. I lost my lady-like composure and was kicking them in the but to no effect. Suddenly I saw another out of body person watching. It was Heather. Apparently while undergoing her MRI the incessant pounding put her in some sort of trance and she had an out of body experience. We talked and she helped me regain my composure and restored my will to live."

"Whether you believe what I just told you is irrelevant because I DO believe it," Mrs. Lizak declared. "Now, I have connections. I'd like to sponsor NGender. I'll have my lawyer arrange for a trustworthy and dependable business manager and get you a recording contract that lets you retain full artistic control. Included will be trust funds for each child, a living expense stipend for the parents, and when, not if, but when NGender takes off, hiring tutors to make sure they keep up with their education. Of course, you'll be kept abreast of everything and will have final approval of all arrangements. But I'll tell you right now, if they made everyone feel as good as their performance has made me feel, which I think it did, they could be the best thing for public health since penicillin."

"Thank you, Mrs. Lizak," Kylie beamed. "I hope our parents will agree to your suggestions. I think we could all feel the escalating back and forth feedback between us and the audience. The entire experience was tremendous!"

All the parents agreed, and after getting their phone numbers, Mrs. Lizak left.

Pastor Kline joined them once she was wheeled out. "Do you know who that is?"

"Mrs. Lizak," Heather replied.

"Yes," Pastor Kline smiled. "She's also one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in the state. She stays out of the spotlight, but is one of the areas biggest philanthropists."

The concert lasted ninety minutes. The collection totaled a bit over $30,000.00, an average of over $20.00 per person attending. In addition, there was a blank check signed by Mrs. Lizak with the stipulation the check be made out for the equivalent amount of the collection. The money was sent to the UNICEF relief program.

The ten pm news devoted five minutes to the concert and the overwhelming response of the audience including the rousing encore. The national news media picked up the report.

Look all around, nothing but blue skies.
Look straight ahead, nothing but blue skies.
I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.

Part 3

Heather underwent her surgery Monday morning. Once she come out of the recovery room she was moved into a room on the children's ward. The families of her band-mates dropped by to wish her well. After visiting hours, Mrs. Lizak walked into her room to visit.

After exchanging pleasantries and making sure both were doing well, Mrs. Lizak smiled at Heather. "During the concert I saw the green vitality of life coming from the two of you. You'd already linked your friends in NGender and once you began playing it flowed out into the audience. You were quite literally pumping life, healing and invigorating everyone. I saw people who hobbled in to the concert on walkers and canes getting up to dance and then walk out without effort. I felt my body grow stronger. They moved me out of ICU this morning. I haven't been able to walk on my own for over a year, but you've healed me so much I was able to walk here from my room. No one understands how I've been able to recover so rapidly but I know. Thank you, Heather, from the bottom of my heart, thank you."

Heather was so happy she had tears flowing down her cheeks as they hugged.

The pair spent most of the next two days together with Kylie present in astral form. They discussed NGender and how they could use their ability for good. Thursday morning, both were able to go home. Jeremy Michaels was able to have Heath's name legally changed to Heather and her birth certificate altered to show she was born female.

*****

On Monday the response from the students of the elementary school and junior high to the members of NGender on Monday was overwhelmingly positive. Quite a few students and staff had attended the concert and like everyone who attended had been blown away by the show. Kathy and Bobby were nearly overwhelmed by the outpouring of praise. DJ, Billy, and Kylie were buffeted from all sides by fans.

Thanks to the reporting of the local TV station, national interest was sparked by mid-week when the take from the concert was revealed.

That opened the floodgates of media attention who wanted to know about the six friends, especially the two intersexed girls. Film clips of Kylie’s last football game filled the airways as the talking heads debated how that insane boy could have become a pretty girl in just a few weeks. Heather wasn’t nearly as interesting to the pundits since she had been considered a sissy.

*****

Moving quickly, Jeremy Michaels established a preliminary entertainment operation that Mrs. Lizak funded with a ten million dollar base. All employees would be paid a livable base salary with profit sharing and if their position warranted it, an expense account. Next he contacted a few of his former professors from UCLA Law School and was able to pull together a core group of disillusioned music industry insiders.

Lawrence Green was a highly intelligent entertainment lawyer fresh from the UCLA Law School who was already frustrated by the shenanigans he saw during his six month tenure with the prestigious law firm that had hired him. William Fox had a Masters Degree in Business Administration and was working for a large recording industry company as business manager for a string of lower echelon musicians. Gloria Mays was an up and coming talent manager for the same company. Janice Cooper was a junior booking agent for a major talent agency. Charlie Barker was a successful small venue promoter. Harry Arnold was a studio producer for a small label looking to set up his own recording studio. All were familiar with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) the trust that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors. The RIAA participates in the collection, administration and distribution of music licenses and royalties. The association is also responsible for certifying gold and platinum albums and singles in the USA. They were also familiar with the American Federation of Musicians (AFM/AFofM), the labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada.

Jeremy had them all fly in Friday night so they could meet on Saturday. They were put up in the best hotel in the area. In the morning they met for breakfast in the hotel’s nightclub with Jeremy and Doris Lizak. At first they were leery of having the frail woman as their new boss until she quite bluntly told them she had already set aside enough funds to carry out her desires if she died. They discussed the peculiarities of the music industry and what they faced as new brand new label without a big name on their roster.

As they finished breakfast and their discussion, Mrs. Lizak chuckled. “Please bear with me, if nothing else humor an old woman. The corporation I”m establishing will be called NGender in honor of our premier group. The group was created New Years eve by six friends, three sets of siblings. The two youngest are in sixth grade, three are in seventh grade, and the oldest is in eighth grade.”

The listeners exhibited their surprise and concern.

“Bobby and Billy Dawson, Kathy and Heather Davis, and Kylie and DJ Warren are NGender,” Mrs. Lizak continued. They discovered their unique singing ability during a New Year’s Eve sleep-over. They decided they wanted to do a concert for Tsunami relief. They arranged with their church to sing three songs during the offering collection on January second. They blew away everyone and their concert was set up for the following Sunday evening. “

“The kids were psyched and decided they wanted to add instruments,” Mrs. Lizak explained. “Bobby played the drums and Heather played the flute, the others had no prior experience with instruments. The owner of a music store heard them and decided to help them. He sent the kids to his store and phoned his store manager to give them what they wanted and to bring in the teachers. Billy took lead guitar, DJ took bass guitar, Kathy took fiddle, and Kylie took keyboards. Heather also added the sax. I know this sounds impossible, but by the ninth they had mastered their selected instruments.”

The looks of disbelief and wondering if they were being pranked were clearly evident on the faces of the listeners.

“Even stranger is what brought these children together,” Mrs. Lizak smiled. “Kylie and Heather are intersexed.” She paused to let the news soak in. “If you’ve been watching the news the last two days you’ve probably seen clips of a young boy playing football who was injured but kept playing until his foot was almost torn off his leg.”

Recognition flashed across their faces.

“That was Kyle, now Kylie,” Mrs. Lizak confirmed. “The news reports mentioned that she was part of a group that put on a tsunami relief concert. NGender played for the offering last Sunday in their church WITH their instruments. The response was so great that by mid afternoon it became obvious the church could not hold the people who wanted to come to the concert. With the cooperation of ths school, the concert was moved to the junior high. About fourteen hundred people attended and they collected a bit of thirty thousand dollars, which I then matched.”

“I can see you are having trouble believing this,” Mrs Lizak smiled as she looked around the room to see almost all the employees and many of the guests peeking into the nightclub. “Everyone is welcome to come in and enjoy. It is my pleasure to present Engender.”

With that the curtain at the stage opened to reveal NGender. They smiled and nodded to the wide-eyed audience. Kylie let loose with the chords from the ‘Walk of Life’ and the others joined in. From there they moved on to ‘After Midnight’, ‘Bang a Gong’, ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’, ‘Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress’, ‘Old Fashioned Love Song’, and ended with ‘Shout’.

The seven song set had everybody moving. Doris could see the green aura flow from NGender and wash over and through everyone. She could once more feel her body grow stronger. Everyone was on their feet for the finale. The applause was almost deafening.

The kids and their parents joined the newly recruited music professionals. As Doris had expected, the performance inspired all of them to sign on to NGender records. The kids were each given a eight and a half percent share or fifty one percent of the company. The six music professionals, now the executives of NGender Music, and Jeremy were each given four and a quarter percent share accounting for twenty nine and three quarters percent. Doris Lizak put the remaining nineteen and a quarter percent in a charitable trust she’d previously established.

The executives promptly set to work organizing the business.

A few phone calls and NGender was booked to play on The Today Show in New York at 30 Rockefeller Center for that coming Friday January 21.

*****

Heather's return to school on Monday was almost anti-climatic. Her intersexuality was quite believable as nearly everyone had thought of Heath as a sissy. Other than a few homophobic bigots, everyone accepted her at face value. The handful that didn't accept Kylie and Heather were rendered nearly powerless to act by the positive peer pressure. Being a minor celebrity sure helped.

*****

Thursday morning the everyone with NGender Music took a buss to New York City. After checking into the Manhattan Centre Hotel at 25 W 51st Street, opposite Rockefeller Center, the kids and parents took in the sights seeing the Museum of Natural History and the Main New York Public Library. They took the blustery ride to the Statue of Liberty and climbed to the top. They also ascended to the top of the Empire State Building. They walked through Rockefeller Center and watched the Ice Skaters before walking five blocks to the Marquis Theatre on Broadway at 46th St. to see La Cage Aux Folles. Doris Lizak rightly assumed the play, while slightly risque, would be quite appropriate for NGender.

The next morning they arrived at the designated time for The Today Show. They set up to perform one song, then they would be interviewed by Katie Couric and Matt Lauer. The first floor Today Show Studio looking out onto Rockefeller Center at the corner of 49th Street and Rockefeller Center. As usual, fans of the show were gathered outside on the plaza to watch and to try to snag some time in front of the camera. Kylie and Heather also posted astral lookouts for anyone or anything that might present a threat to the group

Everyone knew the interest in NGender was because of Kylie and Heather, so when they sat down for the interview with Katie Couric, they were ready. Kylie and Heather had astrally prepped Katie Couric and the Today Show staff to let NGender have their say. They pumped out a turquoise and silver aura of serenity and spirituality to open all who heard and saw them to their innocence and expectations. The aura even spread via the broadcast to all who could see and hear the show.

Katie asked the inevitable. "Can you tell us a bit about yourselves and how you choose NGender as the name for your group?"

"It gets a bit involved so please bear with us," Kylie smiled. "Within a few weeks of each other at the end of last year Heather and I had discovered we were intersexed. Everyone thought we were boys and we had been raised as boys. Neither of us felt comfortable or happy being boys but we didn't seem to have any options. Heather faced it by becoming a quiet, intelligent boy who excelled playing the flute and was stigmatized as a sissy. I shut myself down emotionally and withdrew into myself. I seldom interacted with others and hardly ever spoke. I played sports because it was expected and realized that being hurt while playing was the only way I could feel anything. So I played harder and tougher so I'd get hurt more so I could feel more. I'm sure you've seen my last football game where I broke my ankle on a touchdown play but said nothing and limped off the field. Then I was sent back in, so I did. I ran down the field and leapt to catch a pass for the winning touchdown and got hit while in the air. My broken ankle snapped off almost severing it from my body. I kept the ball and made the touchdown. Then when I saw the blood pulsing from my ripped off ankle, I held the ball up and laughed until I passed out from loss of blood. The pain was exquisite and never felt so good."

"Kylie was in a coma for almost two weeks," Heather continued. "The doctors discovered she was intersexed with XXY chromosomes. She had all the boy bits and all the girl bits. Suddenly she had an option. Accepting herself as the girl she really is was a no brainer. She's never been happier and has no regrets. As for me, I was used to being a sissy. I was in the band and saw Kyle get hurt. I just screamed! That sealed my rep as a sissy. While Kyle was in the coma I did a lot of thinking and decided the reason I had screamed was because I had a crush on Kyle. We had sat across from each other at the outcast table for lunch. Having a crush on a boy meant I had to be gay. Since I was a sissy it fit. It wasn't until Kylie returned to school that I really had issues. My boyfriend was suddenly a girl. Over the next weeks I became jealous of Kylie as she quickly found a boyfriend and I suddenly realized I wished I was a girl."

"Now that I was a girl, and because of my past, I was seeing a shrink," Kylie picked up. "When I realized Heath was having issues, we talked and Heath asked for my phytologist's name. As part of his psyche evaluation they run some physical tests. That's how they discovered Heath was intersexed with XXY chromosomes too. Unlike me, Heather had all the girl bits hidden inside and the boy bits only consisted of one thing external thing that would never be functional."

"Naturally we became close friends," Heather said. "Billy Dawson was Kylie's boyfriend, so our three families got together for New year's Eve. We discovered we loved to sing and our voices just blended. Excited, we asked our church if we could hold a relief concert for the tsunami victims. It was approved and on January second we sang for the church as a preview. We were a hit, so being overconfident we decided to add instruments. Only Bobby Dawson and I played anything, but we had a church member who owned a music store, Meteor Music, and he set us up to get instruments that afternoon."

"None of us had any problem picking up the instruments, and by the concert on January ninth, we were able to play," Kylie went on. "At a second preview in church, we went over so well we had more people want to come than the church could hold so we did a last minute move to the junior high auditorium. We estimate over fourteen hundred people showed up and we raised a bit over $30,000.00 at the door. The people loved us."

"We call ourselves NGender because we want to engender love and compassion between all humans to help those in need like the victims of the tsunami," DJ summarized. "NGender is also quite appropriate because of the gender issues within our group. We want to help people understand and accept gender diversity as well as reach out to give hope to others who have gender issues. Gender issues are NOT a choice. Even if you don't want to admit it, most people become the person they are because of what others expected them to be. Many people are never allowed to be the person they really are, instead they learn what they hate but never what they like. My brother hated his life to the point he wanted to be hurt. As you can see my sister is nothing like that, but they are one and the same person. Gender issues almost destroyed her. Heather is a wonderful girl and she always was a girl, but everyone thought she was a sissy boy. I'm proud to have Heather as my girlfriend just as Billy is proud to have Kylie as his girlfriend. We ARE NGender."

“We want everyone to be able to look all around and see nothing but blue skies,” Kylie declared. They need t be able to look straight ahead for the rest of their lives and see nothing but blue skies.
We’re trying to stop the tears people shed for whatever reason. We want the world to see clearly now the human rain is gone. We need to clear away all obstacles in our way. We need to banish the dark clouds that have blinded us. Every day is gonna be a bright sunshiny day.”

There was little Katie could say as they had used up their allotted time and left her quite bewildered. never had any of her guests so thoroughly answered her queries. All she could do was turn to the camera and smile. "All right, so now lets hear you play. Here is NGender."

It only took a few minutes for the kids to get to their instruments. Bobby tapped out a starting beat then they launched into the song they's chosen for this show. Their voices and instruments flawlessly blended in harmony and syncopation.

All the world over, so easy to see
People everywhere just wanna be free
Listen, please listen, that's the way it should be
Peace in the valley, people got to be free

You should see, what a lovely, lovely world this would be
If everyone learned to live together
It seems to me such an easy, easy thing this would be
Why can't you and me learn to love one another

All the world over, so easy to see
People everywhere just wanna be free
I can't understand it, so simple to me
People everywhere just got to be free
Ah, ah, yeah . . . ah, ah, yeah

If there's a man who is down and needs a helping hand
All it takes is you to understand and to see him through
Seems to me, we got to solve it individually
And I'll do unto you what you do to me

There'll be shoutin' from the mountains on out to sea
(out to the sea)
No two ways about it, people have to be free
(they got to be free)
Ask me my opinion, my opinion will be
(ah-ha)
It's a natural situation for a man to be free

Oh, what a feelin's just come over me
Enough to move a mountain, make a blind man see
Everybody's dancin', come on, let's go see
Peace in the valley, now they want to be free

The green vitality of life of the song's message flowed from NGender and swamped those in the studio, spilling over into the streets outside and flooding the GE building and all of Rockefeller Center. Joy and happiness infected everyone as did a powerful sense of rejuvenation. The green vitality of life even followed the air waves and broadcast lines to emerge from TV screens to positively effect the home viewers. Never before had a single performance enraptured so many.

The response from those in the studio was one of absolute delight. The crowd outside the studio who had watched through the windows were applauding wildly. Within moments the NBC phone lines were overloaded with raves. The NBC Today Show website crashed due to the volume.

The multitude of feelers the NDgender Music execs had extended responded. Deals were made and paperwork signed.

Meanwhile the NGender kids were floating on air. Mobbed by fans as soon as they stepped out of the NBC Studios, they signed autographs, shook hands, and had photos snapped. It took Kylie and Heather working together astrally to keep the kids grounded in reality. The pride that threatened to swell their heads was siphoned off allowing their humility to stay in control.

After managing to get out of the building, the girls were delighted to learn they had reservations for brunch at The American Girl Café just a block away from the studio. As the boys stayed and munched, the girls and mothers did a quick shopping spree through the American Girl Place shop. By lunch they three families were at the Intrepid Sea Air & Space Museum where they spent the rest of the afternoon.

*****

By the time they were ready to return to their hotel, they’d been warned to come in a back entrance to avoid the reporters.

The Kids spent most of Saturday and Sunday in a hastily rented recording studio laying down tracks for an initial CD to be called 'NGender' They recorded 'Shout', 'The Walk of Life, ‘Amazing Grace’ ‘Metamorphosis’, ‘Come Clean’ ‘I Can See Clearly Now’, Dreamweaver’, ‘Everything is Beautiful’, ‘Imagine’, 'We've Only Just Begun, and ‘I’d Like to Teach The World to Sing’

Three songs they's re-written lyrics also were laid down. John Denver's 'Thank God I'm a Country Boy' became 'Intolerance We'll Destroy'. Lynryd Skynrd's 'Call Me the Breeze' became 'Respect My Pleas'. Elton John's Crocodile Rock' became 'Wearing a Frock'.

On Monday January 24, NGender appeared on The View hosted by Meredith Vieira, Joy Behar, Star Jones, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Barbara Walters. They were inserted before the scheduled guests of actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, producer Randy Jackson, and R&B singer Mario.

They were only to perform so after an introduction full of praise for their music, NGender performed their rewrite 'Intolerance We'll Destroy'. Kylie and Heather had the group pumped and the green vitality of life was pulsing the instant Kathy began the song by playing through a verse on the fiddle. Then they all joined in playing and singing. The green aura exploded from them flooding the studio and searing out over the airways and into the viewer's homes. The rousing square-dance-esque tune had everyone clapping along.

Well life in our world sure ain't laid back;
We've yet to find a fanatic bigot we can't hack;
into any dogmatism we can jack;
Intolerance we'll destroy!

We strive to live our lives without doing any harm;
to help the world and human race, it’s tolerance we farm
anger and distrust we do our best to disarm
Intolerance we'll destroy!

When our homework's all done and the sun's setting low;
we pull out our music and on to our venues we go;
against all narrow mindedness we strike a blow;
Intolerance we'll destroy!

We'd roam about the town all day if we could;
but our parents and teachers wouldn't take it very good;
so we do our thing when we can and home work when we should;
Intolerance we'll destroy!

We do our best at narrow mindedness we nibble
against bigotry and hatred we will always quibble
love and respect answers all jingoist dribble
Intolerance we'll destroy!

Through our efforts we don't want to earn diamonds or jewels
unlike most people we're not money hungry fools;
We'd rather spread friendship and destroy hateful ghouls
Intolerance we'll destroy!

Some guys wanna be gang bangers to make the scene
a lotta sad people thinking that's a mighty keen;
in reality it’s so sadly obscene
Intolerance we'll destroy!

Every chance we get at intolerance we nibble
against bigotry and hatred we will always quibble
love and respect answers all jingoist dribble
Intolerance we'll destroy!

Well life may not be easy, but ever onward we'll stride;
through our every adventure we'll stand side by side;
we'll live a good life and bear our weirdness with pride;
Intolerance we'll destroy!

We always do our best to others not belittle;
and we'll try all our lives to give good acquittal;
we know how to be kind and give just a little;
Intolerance we'll destroy!

We're always busy, at intolerance we nibble
against bigotry and hatred we will always quibble
love and respect answers all jingoist dribble
Intolerance we'll destroy!

The hosts, staff and audience exploded in unbridled cheers and applause. NGender smiled and bowed humbly accepting the accolades. When the applause finally died down, the hosts couldn't get done praising the kids and Barbara Walters declared she wanted NGender to come back as the sole focus for an entire show. As happened with the Today Show, the phone lines overloaded and The View website crashed from people trying to get more information about NGender.

iTunes had the NGender's album available by noon, and the requests for downloads nearly crashed their computer system. By the end of the day it set records as the most requested album for first day release and for initial album.

*****

Once NGender's other two rewritten songs become public knowledge, they opened a firestorm of outrage among ultra-conservative Christians and homophobes. Of course, those who yelled and screamed in outrage never heard the songs or saw the performances. Those who heard the songs were not offended, in fact, they felt the frustration of being transgendered. The green vitality of life aura destroyed past bigotry and fears and truly engendered love and acceptance.

There was a resurgence of other transgender themed rock songs such as the Kinks' 'Lola', Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side' and 'Make Up', The Beatles' 'Get Back' and 'Ob-la-di Ob-la-da', Madonna's 'What it Feels Like for a Girl', Aerosmith's 'Dude (Looks Like a Lady)', Garbage's 'Cherry Lips', Blur's 'Girls & Boys', Violent Delight's 'I Wish I Was A Girl' and 'TransMission', Killers' 'Somebody Told Me', James' 'Laid', Manic Street Preachers' 'Born a Girl', Suzanne Vega's 'As Girls Go', David Bowie's 'Rebel Rebel', and The Who's 'I'm a Boy'.

*****

On Wednesday January 26, NGender was in Chicago for the Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah had cleared her docket for the group. After opening the show, Oprah introduced NGender. The curtains opened and the kids let loose with 'Intolerance We'll Destroy'. The green vitality of life aura flooded the nation as millions of viewers had tuned in to see the controversial group.

After the song, the kids joined Oprah on her set. Kylie described her life as a boy and the audience winced and many cried as film of Kyle's last two plays in his last football game were aired. Kylie calmly explained she had been so shut down emotionally she hardly felt the pain of the blows and broken ankle of the first play, and that seeing her foot nearly ripped off freed her from her boyish prison as she knew she'd never be able to play sports again.

"It's difficult to comprehend that someone could be so repressed they welcomed pain because it was something they could finally feel," Oprah sighed. "Kylie, how did you feel when you discovered you were intersexed?"

"Wonderful," Kylie gushed. "I suddenly knew that my hidden desires to be a girl were justified. But at the same time it made me really sad because there are many people who feel trapped in the wrong body. I was lucky as I was physically dual gendered, but they have nothing but their minds and soul, and that's hard to prove and for others to accept."

"That's so true," Oprah agreed. "Is that why you formed NGender?"

"Heather and I formed NGender," Kylie said. "After I helped Heather realize she was a girl. When I returned to school after my injury, Heath was really down. As a boy, he'd never fit the boyish mode, and was ostracized by our classmates as a sissy. My transition from tough, silent uber macho boy into a girly girl was more than he could handle. I sensed his jealous anger and we talked. Heath realized he was a girl, not a sissy, so he went to see my shrink. They discovered that Heather is intersexed too. Not dual sexed like me, but all girl with non functional male bits."

Oprah turned to Heather. "So Heather, how did you feel to discover you were a girl?"

"Like Kylie, I was delighted," Heather smiled. "Like she said, I'd always been a sissy. I was jealous of girls. It's so unfair that girls can be all feminine and cute and everyone smiles while a guy that wants to be feminine and cute is ridiculed or even hurt. But what really is unfair is that girls can dress the same as boys and do all the activities boys can do and they get praised for their efforts. When a boy tries to dress the same as a girl and do any activities girls do, they're treated like criminals. The double standard is senseless and cruel to sensitive boys. It's probably impossible to tell how many boys have killed themselves because they couldn't handle it."

"It has been a terrible disparity and needs to be rectified," Oprah agreed. "Now, tell me how you decided to become NGender?"

"We wanted to help the victims of the tsunami," DJ spoke up. "Our church was holding a special collection and we decided to try ro sing some songs to engender caring and love for our fellow humans to foster generosity. Then it hit us that with Kylie and Heather having gender issues, NGender would be the perfect name for us. It just took off from there."

"I understand you sang together for the first time on January second," Oprah stated."

"That was the first public singing," Kylie smiled. "On December 30, we were at our home and started singing. We realized we sounded good so we began practicing. Our parents were impressed as our voices just melded together."

"I understand Heather played flute and Bobby played drums for your first performance," Oprah said. "But the rest of you had never played and instrument?"

"Other than the flutophone in school, no," DJ replied as the audience chuckled. "But we were pumped and Heather and Bobby had taught us how to read music. One of the members of our church owns Meteor Music. He was so impressed with us he agreed to have his store give us instruments and teach us how to play."

"But that was only a week before the benefit tsunami relief concert you planned to give," Oprah said.

"Yeah, we got the instruments on the afternoon of the second and the concert was on the ninth," DJ enthused. "Like I said, we were super pumped so when we touched the instruments, it felt like they belonged in our hands. We took to playing like a duck takes to water. Once we learned the basics, we just took off."

"I had my people investigate this," Oprah said. "Billy, Kathy, Kylie, and DJ had never touched an instrument until twenty four days ago. Heather only picked up the saxophone at that point. But the effort these six put into what they do has empowered them to do fantastic things. Never has a musical group had such an enormous impact. They not only do they make the listeners feel good, they seem to rejuvenate an individual's life force. I know this sounds unbelievable, but my investigators have uncovered what is the only plausible explanation for what I'm about to tell you."

"On January 6, an eighty eight year old woman was in a coma hooked up to life support. Her body was riddled with cancer and her organs were failing. She was so close to death she had an out of body experience," Oprah explained. "At the same time, Heather was undergoing a full body MRI in the same hospital to determine the extent of her intersexuality. As bizarre as it seems, Heather had an out of body experience while in the MRI. Thinking she was dreaming, Heather floated up through the floors and emerged in the room where the woman lay dying. In their out of body states they saw each other. They spoke and in her innocence Heather offered to try to help the woman get better. The woman accepted as she felt it couldn't hurt her more than she already was. Heather floated to the woman’s body and held her hands over her, concentrating on healing her body. Amazingly the woman said she could feel strength and vitality return to her body. Heather was yanked back to her body as she was removed from the MRI and the woman went back into her body."

"The doctor's who hadn't expected the woman to last the day were surprised her vital signs were increasing. That evening they decided she seemed strong enough to be removed from the respirator. When they pulled the breathing tube from her she awoke," Oprah continued. "The next day Heather had to come in for a consultation and after it was over, asked to see the woman she'd met. Needless to say her mom was stunned to learn the woman wanted to see Heather.
When they physically met it was clear they already knew each other. Heather brought her flute and began to play. The entire ICU perked up, and the patients were asking for the angel to come play for them. Amazingly, every patient showed drastic improvement."

Now, I'd like to introduce that extraordinary woman who was on death's door," Oprah smiled. "It's my pleasure to introduce Doris Lizak."

Doris walked on stage with a cane to resounding applause. Her body was still quite emaciated but her vigor had returned. She exchanged hugs with Oprah as well as with NGender. "I'm delighted to be here. These wonderful young people have given my life back to me. In return, I've used my resources to help them. I recruited honest experienced people from the all aspects of the recording industry and we've formed NGender Music. I've given the kids fifty one percent of the company so they have complete artistic control. They recorded their album in a rented studio in New York on Saturday and Sunday. We had a deal set up with iTunes by Monday morning. iTunes has sold over ten million downloads of their album in two days. We've been handling the booking of appearances. Our aim is to let the NGender do their thing without having to worry about being ripped off or abused. They've effected all of us as much as they do everyone else. For the first time in my long life, I feel we actually have a chance at achieving world piece. As it's stated in the New Living Translation Bible: 'But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children."' Jesus had it right, the innocence and purity of a child's love and compassion is uncomplicated by worldly concerns. That is what we adults need to do. Uncomplicate our faith. Forget religion... religion consists of rules enforced by man to approach God. Faith is God approaching man. The New Testament says 'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself.' We can only do that with the innocence and purity of youth."

"Amen," Oprah nodded. "Now, let's listen to the two songs the RELIGIOUS people are denouncing. NGender..."

"The first song we'll play is about how a frustrated transsexual feels and is based on the tune of Lynrd Skynrd's 'Call me the Breeze. Our version is entitled 'Respect My Pleas',” Kylie smiled as she hit the opening chord on her keyboard. The band rocked out as the green vitality of life gushed throughout the nation.

Respect my pleas
Snips snails and pup tails off load
Well now please respect my pleas
Snips snails and pup tails off load
Those traits I don't embody
They make me want to explode
My male bod's like bad weather
Need girl changes in me
My male bod's like bad weather
Need girl changes in me
I ain't hidin' from nobody
I have a right to be me
Oh, that's the way it's supposed to be

I know just what I am, baby
To girlishness I am drawn
Well, I know just what I am, baby
To girlishness I am drawn
Well I want to take girl 'mones.
Girlish curves I really want to grow
Wear a 'kini to the beaches
I'll feel right in my bones
Wear a cute 'kini to the beaches
I'll feel right in my bones
I just can't live my life as a man
It's as I woman I belong
Well now please respect my pleas
Snips snails and pup tails off load
Well now please respect my pleas
Snips snails and pup tails off load
Those traits I don't embody
They make me want to explode
Girlhood please!

The audience exploded in applause. All who heard it had all hatred of transsexuals ripped from their minds. Repressed transsexuals felt as if the rock they'd been hiding under had suddenly been moved freeing them.

"Our second number is also about transsexuals, but this one is about someone who has been proud to be a sissy. We've borrowed the tune from Elton John's 'Crocodile Rock' and call it 'Wearing a Frock'," Kylie giggled as she once more hit the famous opening chords on her keyboard.

I remember when I was young;
sugar spice and things nice were fun!
Play with dolls was in my bones;
had a cute doll hidden in a place of it's own;
but the biggest kick I ever got;
was dancing and swaying while wearing a frock!
while the other guys played ball me they did mock;
I'd blithely keep skipping and twirling in my cute frock!

Well a boy in a dress some think is shocking;
when their scolding gets quite shrill;
but I never knew a better time;
wearing dresses, such a thrill!
Lawdy mama, get me lace tights;
to make my legs look cute and right;
under my swirling skirts but not out of sight!

But the years went by and my boyhood died;
girl pills will make sure I don't become a guy!
Long nights crying cause the sexes I'm 'tween;
dreaming of pert breasts and cursing my male genes!
But they'll never kill the thrills I've got;
burning up dancing in a cute frock!
Learning fast as the weeks go past;
doing all I can to be a girl at last!

Well a boy in a dress some think is shocking;
when their scolding gets quite shrill;
but I never knew a better time;
wearing dresses, such a thrill!
Oh lawdy mama get me lace tights;
to make my legs look cute and right;
under my swirling skirts but not out of sight!

I remember when I was young;
sugar spice and things nice were fun!
play with dolls was in my bones;
had a cute doll hidden in a place of it's own;
but the biggest kick I ever got;
was dancing and swaying while wearing a frock!
while the other guys played ball me they did mock;
I'd blithely keep skipping and twirling in my cute frock!

Well a boy in a dress some think is shocking;
when their scolding gets quite shrill;
but I never knew a better time;
wearing dresses such a thrill!
Oh lawdy mama, get me lace tights;
to make my legs look cute and right;
under my swirling skirts but not out of sight!

Again the applause was overwhelming. The songs brightened the souls of all who heard them. The astral tags embedded in the music would insure that whoever heard just a bit of their songs would be drawn to hear more, and once hooked, would find their intolerance swirling down the drain. The green vitality of life aura NGender sent out was accepted and multiplied by every listener as it swelled far beyond what Kylie and Heather could produce.

The Oprah Show for that day had the largest ever viewing audience in daytime TV. The news media picked up on the NGender rage and showed clips of the kids performing. This further spread their cleansing influence.

*****

On Friday January 28 Jay Leno had NGender on the Tonight Show as musical guests. They played two numbers, 'Intolerance We'll Destroy' and 'Wearing a Frock'. The guests director Kevin Smith, actor Kieffer Sutherland, and comedian George Wallace could not get done raving about the group. The show topped the stats as the most watched late night TV show ever.

*****
With Kylie and Heather astrally sharing their language knowledge, they translated all the songs on the album into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portugese, Greek, Polish, Russian, Japanese, Cantonese, Wu, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Javanese, Tamil Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Punjabi, Kurdish, Turkish, Urdu, Pashto, Farsi and Arabic. They recorded and released the album in those languages in the week after their English version.

The incensed Mullahs were screaming for Jihad while the songs swept through the Muslim youths. The Mullah dominated government of Iran collapsed under pressure to reform and liberalize as the young soldiers in the Iranian army refused to take up arms against their fellow countrymen. The fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan stuttered to a halt as the music of NGender swept through airwaves via the internet and radio and TV stations.

NGender swept the world as fans politely overwhelmed all opponents while counter-protesting by playing the album at every protest and rally. By the end of February, no one dared voice opposition to NGender. Anyone who exposed violence was ignored. Fighting throughout the world ceased. People were finally free to be what they felt in their hearts. The militaries around the world took on the role of helpers as increasingly their weapons were left in the barracks.

*****

The astral attacks began shortly after the initial rebroadcasts of NGender's music. The multitude of astral pinpricks and the resultant backflow of the green vitality of life became a beacon of hope and love in the dearth of astral space. The demons and evil spirits felt the threat and sought to stop it. Being chaotic beings, demons and other evil spirits never work together. Cooperation is an anathema for them. At best a powerful entity sometimes subdued and enslaved lesser wights and forced them to do as ordered. But at the first opportunity the oppressed would betray their master or flee.

So it was the denizens of the dark side haphazardly flung themselves against the shimmering green and gold Celtic Five Fold armor and were vaporized by the purity and power.

For Kylie and Heather the assaults were no more than a nuisance like a gnat. Still, they tapped the power of the green vitality of life aura they were unleashing on the earth and used it to reinforce their armor. The harmony of their music resonated everywhere on earth as it did in the astral plane. In the astral plane the harmonic resonance wove itself into an impenetrable wall of visible music, vibrant and full of spirituality and life and love. No evil could hope to stand against it much less attempt to bypass it.

With that the cleansing harmonic radiance of their reinvented Celtic Five Fold armor was felt by Satan himself. Cautiously he sent several minions to investigate. Many never returned, vaporized like insects attracted to a bug zapper. The few who managed to crawl back to hell reported witnessing the frantic disorganized assaults by the chaotic evil entities and their utter destruction.

Hoping this was the beginning of Armageddon foretold almost two thousand years ago, Satan himself gleefully went to witness the start of the end of the world. But when he stepped into the astral plane he was horribly burned by their purity and savagely thrown back into hell. The ruler of the world of fire was left with festering blisters of love that would never heal. This was something no one had foretold. It was far worse than fighting the heavenly hosts.

It was humanity finally uniting their life force. No one in heaven or hell had ever expected that to happen. Centuries earlier when the human population was less, Satan might have been able to undermine such a conflagration of love and harmony. But now it was already too late it. Two technological savvy preteens had done what was so impossible no one had even considered it a possibility. There were billions of people, each with that tiny spark of life that God imbued into every creature. These two had used technology to link those sparks. They had not only unleashed the fiery power of love that had occasionally flared in individuals or small groups, they had unleashed the conflagration across the world and it was burning with the intensity of the sun. What at best should have taken centuries was done in weeks. These children had caught Satan unawares and short changed him! With their influence, it was now impossible for the anti-Christ to appear! They cleansed the astral plane of evil and chaos, effectively locking the gates of Hell.

The armor Kylie and Heather had created combined the powers of the old lesser Gods with the Supreme Being rendering it and them impregnable. They had poured so much of themselves into the construction of the armor that even when their physical bodies died, which would not be for a VERY long time, their spiritual selves would not ascend but stay on the astral with access to the earth. The armor would also prevent their spirits from becoming corrupted by power or greed. They would remain pure of heart and shining beacons of love, hope, peace, and acceptance. Humanity would now thrive on their individual differences rather than use that as an excuse to destroy each other.

NGender had truly changed the world.

*****
NOT THE END...... A WONDERFUL NEW BEGINNING!
*****

I Can See Clearly Now
by Johnny Nash

I can see clearly now the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way,
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.

I think I can make it now the pain is gone,
And all of the bad feelings have disappeared,
Here is the rainbow I've been praying for.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.

Look all around, nothing but blue skies.
Look straight ahead, nothing but blue skies.

I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.