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Synopsys: One month has passed since Chris was admitted to the hospital and as a result there has been many changes, gone was the fear, shame and depression, that once over shadowed his entire existence, and in its place was a new found freedom, and with this new found freedom he was finely able to live the life that had been denied him.

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Chapter 8
 
 

As I climbed into dad's car, I found myself taking a last look at the hospital, which had been my home until now. It wasn't really all that bad, although the pain and suffering wasn't very much fun, but through it I was able to finely get the help I needed and was finely able to be myself.

The path ahead of me wasn't going to be an easy one, I was at the start of a long journey that was full of obstacles that I would need to overcome, at the moment the biggest obstacle was my friends and family. Mom, Dad and Sarah were no longer a problem, they accepted the fact that I was going to become a woman and would help me anyway they could.

The problem was our relatives; we were a close family with lots of Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents. It wasn't going to be easy to come out to all of them. If my Cousins were anything like Sarah chances are they would accept me. It was the adults that really bothered me, like mom and dad there was a huge generation gap, and they all had their own religious beliefs and considering what I was trying to do, it could very well go against those beliefs.

Dad looked over at me, "Penny for your thoughts", he said with a smile.

"I was just thinking Daddy, it will be Christmas soon," how are we going to break the news to everyone?"

"That's a good Question honey they are going to find out eventually, there are only two ways to deal with this. We can break the news to them at Christmas, or you can wait until a later date, of course if you decide to wait off then you will have to remain in boy mode till after the holidays." Dad said softly.

"I don't ever want to go back to being a boy, I will tell them at Christmas, actually I guess that I will show them because I have no inclination of wearing boys clothes ever again", I said firmly.

"Chrissy, you still might have to return to being Chris for a while, legally you are still considered a boy, and until you see the specialist, and have all the paperwork finished, your identification will list you as a boy. How does that affect you at the moment, well school would be a good example, without your identification taking care of, you're going to have to be enrolled as a boy." Mom said sadly.

"But Dr. Leblanc said I would be starting my real life test soon." I said frowning.

"I know honey, but she also said that it would take time before everything is in place." Mom said softly.

"Chrissy, you're going to be off school for a while, so I wouldn't worry about it for now, by the time you're ready to go back to school, all of this could be already taking care of." Dad said trying to change the subject.

"I sure hope so", I said somewhat worried.

"Let's just take things one day at a time Chrissy." Mom said calmly.

"Your right Mommy, I shouldn't be getting all worked up about this yet. Sometimes I can't help it though, I have never really been very patient, and tend to want everything yesterday." I explained.

"You're just like your father.” Mom said with a smile.

"I would say it's the other way around." Dad said to mom.

"The only thing she gets from me is her good looks.” Mom said with a smile.

"That's a good thing, if she took after me, in the looks department she would really be in trouble." Dad said laughing.

"I think she looks great, I can't wait to take her out and show off my little sister.” Sarah said finely joining the conversation.

"You should be able to do that soon, now that I am finely free of the hospital.” I said with a smile as dad, pulled unto the road that led to our home.

I felt a lump in my stomach as we pulled into our driveway, and thought to myself, I was finely home. I waited till dad came around before trying to exit the car, while Mom and Sarah made their way inside.

Daddy helped me out of the car and handed me my cane, and then closed the car door behind me. I took my time walking to the front door Daddy was walking beside me until I made it inside. As I walked through the front door I saw a large banner that had the words written on it, "Welcome Home Christine."

As I looked around at my home, it felt like a lifetime had passed since I was last here. Everything was as I remembered it, nothing had changed, accept for me. I wasn't the same person anymore, and this was Chris's home. I would have to find a place here for Christine.

I know it's weird, thinking of yourself in the second person but that is almost how I felted. Chris was who I used to be but now I was going to live the rest of my life as Christine and I would have to make memories of my own, but I knew Christine, was who I was meant to be and I was finely going to have a chance to live my life.

 
 

Chapter 9

 
 

I was barely able to settle in before Sarah grabbed me and dragged me off to her room, since I still had mobility issues mom and dad had decided that the two of us should share her room because it was on the main floor whereas mine was on the second floor. I could see the logic behind it but I was the kind of person that needed my own space and sharing a room with someone would make that hard but at the moment I had no choice in the matter so I had to accept the fact that Sarah and I would be roommates for a while.

As I looked around I could see that Sarah had cleared out a good percentage of her stuff and Daddy had brought down my single bed and dresser, and placed them on the other side of the room. Next to the dresser was my acoustic guitar, which was sitting on its stand. There was also a small computer desk setup in the corner, that held both mine and Sarah's laptops and beside it was my keyboard.

I could see that a lot of thought was made, when they moved me into Sarah's room, all the things I needed were already here and had been setup for me. "What do you think Christine?" asked Sarah.

"The room looks great, but you didn't have to get rid of all your stuff." I said sadly.

"I didn't really get rid of anything Christine, most of it was stuff, I no longer used, we just put it in the basement and gave some of it away." Sarah explained.

"Take a look at the bathroom", Sarah said and the two of us went inside.

"Once inside, I noticed that Dad had gone out and bought everything I would need, there was and arm brace mounted one the wall next to the toilet, so I would be able to use it without having trouble getting up or down, the bathtub was also equipped, I thought it was a little much but I wasn't going to say anything."

"Yeah, I don't think that you needed it all, but when he makes up his mind about something, good luck talking him out of it." Sarah said with a grin.

"Yeah that sounds like him, but the truth is it will make things easier for me until I am stronger." I said with a smile.

"There are a couple more things you should see, and then I will let you rest." Sarah said and then the two of us went back into her bedroom and she opened her large walk in closet, "The left side is all yours", she said with a smile.

As I looked at my side of the closet, "Are these all mine?" I asked looking at all the new clothes that were hanging up. There were dresses, skirts, slips and blouses all hanging up on racks, on the floor where new shoes, sandals and sneakers.

"Mom and I have been doing a lot of shopping, so don't worry about the styles, I made sure that everything would be perfect, your dresser is also full too." Sarah said with a grin.

"Wow I can't believe the two of you went out and done all this." I said as tears ran down the side of my face.

"We are not done yet Sis, there are still plenty of things you're going to need and we wanted to wait until you were home before we could do It.", Sarah said with a grin.

"Like what?" I said.

"We need to get something done about your hair, and what girl our age doesn't have her ears pierced." Sarah explained.

"Yeah I can see why you would need me there." I said then sat down on my bed.

"How are you doing Sis?" Sarah asked and joined me on my bed.

"Kind of tired out I guess, it's normal I usually take a nap when I get like this." I explained.

"Why don't you get some sleep, and I will wake you before supper." Sarah said with a smile.

"I think that I will do that." I said starting to yawn.

"Sweet dreams Sis." Sarah said then left.

It felt nice to be in my own bed again, the bed in the hospital wasn't really that bad, but you never feel quite as secure as you do in your own bed and it took me no time at all before I had fallen asleep.

 
 

 
 

I awoke a few hours later to the sound of Sarah calling my name, "Chrissy, it's time to get up." She said loudly.

"Is it supper time already?" I asked her still half asleep.

"Yes Sis, now get your little ass out of bed." Sarah said with a smile, then came over and offered me her hand.

"God I must have been tired, I don't even remember falling asleep." I said softly.

"Well you did, that's for sure, and we could hear you snoring all the way in the living room." Sarah said giggling.

"Very funny Sis, I don't snore." I then rewarded her with a pillow to the back of the head.

"I would be careful about hitting me with those pillows Chrissy, I am adding them up and I will get back at you at a later date." Sarah said then helped pull me to my feet.

Sarah and I made our way into the kitchen and found Daddy was sitting at the table while Mom was busy setting the table. I took a seat and Sarah joined mom and helped serve us the food. Mom had made my favorite, mashed potatoes, and pork chops and it tasted delicious.

"God Mommy, I forgot how good a cook you were", I said with a smile as I took another bite of my pork chop.

"I am glad you're enjoying it honey, I made your favorite, Apple Crisp for desert." Mom said with a smile.

"If they cooked like you at the hospital mom, I wouldn't have been in a hurry to come home." I said giggling.

"Thanks honey, it's nice to be appreciated.” Mom said with a smile.

"I have missed this, being able to have a meal together as a family." I said looking across the table at mom and dad.

"It hasn't felt normal without you being here either honey", Dad said frowning.

"Sarah showed me all the new clothes you bought for me, I can't wait to try them all on, thank you so much mommy."

"You are welcome, Chrissy and there is a lot more coming, as soon as you're able Sarah and I are going to take you out and let you choose some of your own clothes." Mom said with a smile.

"You really don't need to mommy I have plenty of clothes now." I said with a smile.

"I know honey but it's something I want to do." Mom said with a smile.

"It will be fun I always wanted to spend time with you like this mom.” I said smiling.

I then looked over at my father and said, "thank you daddy for all the work you have done on Sarah’s room, you've made things so much easier for me. Now I don't have to depend on anyone to go to the bathroom or even take a bath."

"I am happy you like it honey, I just wanted to try and make your life a little easier." Dad said with a smile.

"Well you have succeeded Daddy." I said with a smile.

"As far as I am concerned, I have everything that I will ever need to be happy right here in this room." I said looking across the table at my family."

You have accepted me even though what I am doing is most likely going to cause trouble for all of you but I am grateful that I have parents like the both of you and a sister that I know will always be there for me." I said with tears in my eyes.

"Whither your our son or daughter, makes no difference Chrissy, we love you and there's nothing in the world that will every change how your father and I feel about you." Mom said with a smile.

"I know that there will be people out there that won't understand, and I expect that some of them will be my own family, I really don't know if there is anything we can do about that, but I hope it doesn't make things too hard on the rest of you." I said sadly.

"You're right Christine, I know for a fact Uncle Roger, and Aunt Helen maybe a problem, they are very religious, but it's possible with time you might be able to win them over, If not then neither one of them will be welcome in our home." Henry said to his daughter.

"I just wish people could see past what a person looks like on the outside, if they could life would be a lot easier." I said softly.

"That would solve just about all of the conflicts in the world, but unfortunately we live in a world where people judge one another’s worth according to cultural, religious and even sexual orientation.", Dad said sadly.

"Still it would be a better way to live." I said sadly.

"I agree with you one hundred percent Chrissy." Dad said with a smile.

As I was thinking about what dad had said, I knew that he was right. My Uncle and Aunt were very religious and would most likely have a problem with what I was doing and would take their anger out on my parents.

It wasn't my parents fault but they would say that it was mom and dad's responsibility to stop me from doing something they considered stupid, and completely against the will of god. I knew that eventually I would have to deal with them and possibly others in the near future.

 
 

Chapter 10

 
 

It was about 7 pm, Sarah and I were in our bedroom, she was sitting at the computer, video chatting with some friends that she had met online. I had never really been into the whole webcam chat thing I was sitting on my bed, with my laptop. I was on one of the guitar tabs websites I used and trying to learn a new song.

I wasn't planning on doing anything tonight and had slipped into one of the new nightgowns that mom and Sarah had picked out for me. I loved the way the silk felt against my skin from the moment I slipped it on. It was dark red and went down to just above my knees.

There was a new song on the site that I have wanted to learn, it was called, Stay by Sugarland. I love the song from the moment that I first heard it, but found it extremely hard to watch the video, because of the emotion that the lead singer Jennifer Nettles, puts into the performance.

I already heard the words sung so many times that I didn't even need to look at the lyrics, so I just practiced the cords, and played the song a few times, and eventually managed to play the song straight through without any errors. This time I was going to try it singing the words and started playing the song and as I played I counted myself in and began then sing the words to the song.

It's normal for me to become lost in my music and I didn't even notice that Sarah had turned her laptop towards me. She was broadcasting my performance over the internet and I didn't even know it. "Wow is that your little sister?” someone’s voice came through the speakers.

"Yeah, her name is Christine.” Sarah said into her microphone.

"She's amazing" the guy said and looked over at Sarah.

"Don't blame me Sis, they heard your singing and wanted to see you.” Sarah said with a smile.

I sat the guitar down and made my way over to where Sarah as sitting. "Hi guys", I said with a smile.

"Hi Christine, I am John, you have an amazing voice." I could see him on his camera and he was really cute.

"Thanks, I was just playing around." I said with a smile.

"I took a seat next to Sarah, so this is what you do late at night when mom and dad are not watching, you’re in here chatting it up with guys." I said with a smile.

"Christine, you make it sound so dirty." Sarah said giggling.

"Where are you from John, I asked.

"I live in north Vancouver.” she said with a smile.

"So how do you know my sister?" I asked him.

"We used to go to the same school before I had to move."

“So Sarah, why didn't you tell me you had such a pretty sister." John said with a smile.

"Someone has to protect her from you, and as her older sister that's my job." Sarah said with a smile.

John smiled, "but I am a nice guy, I even come with references." John said and gave me a wink

"Those aren't references John they are restraining orders, you really need to stop mixing the two up." Sarah said and started giggling. I couldn't help but laugh, the two of them were completely bonkers, but I had to admit, I liked John he was cute and made me laugh.

"John, are you sure that you are in North Vancouver and not in some kind of psychiatric hospital", I asked giggling.

"Nope but my parent’s say I am crazy all the time, so maybe I belong there." John said with a smile.

"It's a long story that I don't really want to go into let just say she was living elsewhere." Sarah said frowning.

"Come on Sarah, you can tell him the truth, I used to be your younger brother and I had a sex change." I said smugly.

Sarah looked at me like she was about to bite my head off, and I just smiled back and winked at her.

"Yeah right, there is no way I am buying that story.” John said laughing.

I smiled, "yeah, it is kind of farfetched isn't it?"

"You are way to pretty to ever be a guy." He said with a grin

"Thanks", I said blushing, "you're not bad yourself" I said with a smile.

Sarah, John and I talked until my cellphone went off, I took a look and saw that it was April calling, "I have to take this nice meeting you John, I said then answered my phone and made my way over to my bed.

"Hi April, how are you doing?"

"I am doing better I hope that I am not bothering you." April said.

"Not at all April, I was just on the computer with my sister and some guy that she was talking to."

"Is he cute?" asked April.

I smiled, "yeah he is really cute, and pretty funny."

"So how was your day April?"

"It was a rough day, I told mom that if she didn't give me some space and let me live my life that I was going to go live with my father, I hated to do it but enough is enough." April explained.

"I can just imagine how that went." I said to April.

"Mom took it really bad, but she said that she would back off and gives me some space.” April explained.

"That couldn't have been easy for you April?"

"It wasn't easy but it had to be done, I don't want to spend the rest of my life, hiding inside because my mom is worried that I am going to get sick, she doesn't seem to realize that I can get sick at home just as easy as I can leaving the house." April said sounding frustrated.

"It's a bad spot to be in April, I know you don't want to hurt your mother, but you deserve to be happy also, what is the use of fighting to survive, if you are not allowed to experience life." I said sadly.

"That's how I feel Chrissy, I just want to live my life, and be a normal teenager for a change." April said sadly.

"Listen April, I am going shopping in the next couple of days, with my mother and sister, why don't you come with us, it will be a lot of fun, it will be just us girls."

"That sounds like fun I haven't done anything like that in ages." April said excitedly.

"Good then its decided, I will talk to mom, and I will get back to you." I explained to April.

"So how has your day been?" asked April.

"It's nice to be home, mom cooked all my favorites for supper and they had a big banner waiting for me." I said excited.

"That's cool, how are you doing with your Physiotherapy ", asked April.

"Better April, I am using a cane now, but it's only good for short distance travel, so I am still depending on my wheelchair, dad said that he was going to pick up another chair for me tomorrow." I explained.

"It's looks like you will be walking pretty soon then, I am happy for you." April said.

"I hope so April, my Physiotherapist said the same thing, I sure will be glad when I no longer have to depend on using the cane or wheelchair and move around unaided."

"Hell Chrissy, I have seen people in the hospital that have had similar operations, and none have recovered as fast as you have, all I can say is you must have one hell of an immune system." April said sounding really serious, let me know when you’re finished with it, I wouldn't mind borrowing it for a while." April said and started laughing.

"I will consider it April, but I better let you go, it's just about bedtime for me."

"Alright Chrissy, have a good night, I will talk to you tomorrow."

"You too April, goodnight." I said then ended the call,

I was pretty tired, so I shut down my computer and placed my guitar back down on its stand. I looked over at Sarah she was still talking on her computer, most likely she was still talking with John. “Sarah would you mind turning off the light, I need to get some sleep."

"Alright Sis", Sarah said and walked for and hit the light switch.

"Goodnight Chrissy.” she said then returned to her computer.

"Goodnight Sarah, I love you." I said.

As I laid there I thought about the day, and how nice it was to be home and able to sleep in my own bed. I missed being home but I missed being with my family more than anything. It's going to be nice being able to spend time as a girl doing things with Sarah and mom. I thought to myself as I slowly drifted off to sleep.