First, I'd like to apologize for the delay in posting this part. Real life has kind of dominated my time of late, so the next part may be slow in arriving as well. Thanks to all those of you who have stuck with the story thus far.

I'd like to take a moment to thank Angharad, Karen Taylor and PB for their support and proofing skills.

Fugue, Part 6
by Jillian

Chapter Fifty-One

When Tanya returned home after spending the day with Cynthia in the hospital, she found herself at a loss about how to spend her evening. As it happened, her entire weekend's worth of work had canceled so there she was at home on a Friday evening for the first time in longer than she could remember.

She popped a plate of leftovers in the microwave and took a peek at the answering machine to see if any more jobs had canceled. Thankfully there were no messages, so after retrieving her dinner she took a seat at the dining table and ate her meal, all the while thinking about her parents and the fact that she needed to talk to them about her change in status.

Once her plate was rinsed and placed in the dishwasher along with the silverware she'd used, Tanya grabbed her cell phone and took a seat in the living room on the couch. After staring at her phone for nearly fifteen minutes, she flipped it open and pressed one of the speed dial numbers.

On the second ring someone picked up on the other end saying, “Hello?”

Taking a deep breath, Tanya responded, “Hi Mom.”

Concerned she asked, “Tommy? Are you all right?”

“Yes, I'm fine,” Tanya dismissed. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

“You don't sound fine, but yes, of course dear,” her mother replied. “What seems to be the matter?”

After another deep breath followed by a sigh, Tanya answered, “I sort of need to talk to you about some personal things that will have an impact on you and Dad.”

“Whatever are you talking about?” her mother asked, concern dripping from her voice.

“You know how I've never exactly been the manliest of guys, right?”

An almost audible smile in her voice, Mom responded, “I've sometimes felt that was one of your best qualities, dear.”

With audible trepidation Tanya got to the point saying, “You know I've been struggling with things.”

“Is this about your dressing up?” Mom asked.

“Wow,” Tanya started. “Yeah, I suppose you could say that. I've been seeing a therapist who specializes in gender issues for a few years now.”

Jumping in, Mom asked, “So, is my daughter finally going to introduce herself to me?”

With a nervous giggle, Tanya responded, “I suppose I should've known you'd know. You always did.”

“Well, yes,” Mom laughed.

“You've probably noticed some changes over the past year or so? Well, some of those have been because I've been taking hormones.”

“I suspected as much,” Mom interjected.

After a brief pause Tanya continued, “My doctor and I have decided it's time to start what they call the real life test. That means living full time as a girl.”

“Are you ready for that?” Mom asked.

“Yes, very much so,” Tanya replied. “Really, my biggest concern is how Dad will take the news.”

“I can see that,” Mom responded in a much more serious tone.

After another deep breath, Tanya asked, “Does he know?”

“About you? No, not really.”

Sighing Tanya asked, “How do you think he'll respond? I'm trying to figure out if I can come Sunday or not?”

“You'd better come,” her mother scolded. “I only get to have my whole family together on rare occasions and I'm looking forward to Sunday.”

“I'm just afraid of how Dad will...” Tanya started.

Cutting her off, Mom stated, “Don't worry about him dear. He may bluster, but in the end he's really a lovely man.”

Tentatively, Tanya responded, “I hope you're right, Mom. I hope you're right.”

“So, we'll see you Sunday afternoon then?”

“Absolutely,” Tanya replied. “I just hope you're...”

Again cutting off the younger woman, Mom stated, “Trust me, sweetheart.”

“I'm trying, Mom,” Tanya stated. “I'll see you Sunday. Love you,” she said then hung up without even waiting for a reply.

To herself, Tanya said, “Hope this isn't a big mistake.”

Following several cleansing breaths, she got up and made her way to the bedroom thinking she might like to do some reading before bedtime.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Charlie was still riding the high he'd gotten from his exploits the night before, but it was beginning to occur to him that he'd taken a major step that would be hard to take back. Always before he'd simply taken his 'dates' into some dark alley where privacy was for the most part non-existent and therefore had always needed to work quickly in achieving his goals.

Those time constraints had dictated what he could and couldn't do, but this last time he realized how much more satisfying it was to have some privacy and more or less unlimited time to do what he wished. The only real downside he could see was the expense involved in acquiring the room where he could conduct his games in private, but the more he reflected on the advantages of renting a room for his activities the more he realized that he'd just have to find a way.

With that in mind, he started up his computer and went directly to 'Open Magazine's website. Clicking his way to the personals section he began browsing, hoping he might luck out and find his next 'date'.

Spotting a new listing that looked like an excellent choice, he quickly rattled off an email reply to the ad. By the time he hit send, he could barely contain his excitement over what he planned to do with 'her'.

“Now,” he said to himself, “All I have to do is find the right place.”

Chapter Fifty-Three

Bob had spent the last few hours trying to get caught up on paperwork, losing track of time along the way. When he 'came up for air' he was startled to see that the afternoon had already given way to evening.

“Well,” he said to himself, “Maybe I should pack it in for the night?”

“What's that?” Sergeant Parker asked as he walked past Bob's desk.

Looking up at his friend, Bob replied, “I think I need a break.”

“Does the word 'duh' mean anything to you?” Parker joked. “Seriously, why don't you head on home for a while? I can almost guarantee the world won't fall apart just because you take a little time for yourself.”

After thinking for a moment, Bob stated, “You may be right, but if you tell anyone I said that I'll deny it vehemently. I'm out of here for a while.”

“Good,” Parker chuckled. “I'll see you in the morning.” He then went on about his way leaving Bob alone.

Standing up from his desk, Bob grabbed his suit jacket off the back of his desk chair and after putting it on he headed toward the exit, saying good night to his fellow officers as he passed them on the way to the door. On his way out the door he thought about the fact that he was going to be off duty for the evening and knew exactly where he wanted to spend the hard earned spoils of his week. He wanted to see Connie.

Once in his car he headed directly toward the club where Connie worked, wondering exactly what he would say to her when he got there. Unfortunately, the closer he got to the club the more muddled his thoughts became.

No matter what he tried to think about, Tanya kept coming back to the front of his thoughts. He wondered if this was going to really be permanent and if that meant anything had to change in their relationship, not realizing that by simply accepting that his sibling was a girl rather than a boy it had already changed.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing swirling around in his head. He found himself flitting back and forth between his new found sister and his new friendship with Connie. The easy part was admitting that he liked her. The hard part was figuring out just how much.

Ever since they'd met the previous evening, he actually had trouble thinking about anything other than her. She'd monopolized his dreams both sleeping and waking and he was starting to think of her as something more than just a friend. The question that then remained was whether or not she felt similarly.

What if she didn't? It had been a long time since he'd opened up to someone like that, mostly out of fear of rejection and he wasn't all that certain he'd be sturdy enough emotionally to handle that. This would lead him back to thinking about Tanya and the circle would start all over again.

His thoughts kept spinning around like that all the way to the club. It got so bad that once he'd parked in their lot he found that he was so consumed by fear of her rejecting him that he couldn't open his car door for several long minutes.

“This is stupid,” he said to himself after sitting there for some time. “I'll just go in and see her, maybe get to talk to her for a few minutes when she's on break.”

When he finally got out of the car he headed into the club to see Connie. Spotting a corner table that was in the process of being vacated he crossed the room and sat down even before Connie had a chance to clear and wipe it.

When she turned around from another table she'd been serving, the first thing she noticed was Bob. A wide smile erupted on her face as she said, “Hey Bobby. You know Tanya isn't playing here tonight, right?”

With a smile that mirrored hers, he responded, “I know. I came to see you.”

The look in Connie's eyes said everything that needed to be said. Before she had a chance to voice a response, Bob said, “I know you're busy tonight, but you do get a break don't you?”

Finally speaking, Connie answered, “Of course.”

Jumping in before she had a chance to say anything else Bob asked, “Come see me when you go on break?”

Smiling even wider she replied, “I don't have to stay away until then do I? I'll go get you a beer to tide you over.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Bob said, then watched her go back to the bar to get his drink.

Chapter Fifty-Four

Cynthia was feeling restless just laying there in her hospital bed. This was really the first night since the attack that she felt 'normal' and not being able to be out and about was driving her crazy, to put it mildly. Unfortunately, her strength was still sorely lacking limiting her activity level to a large extent.

She had already tried getting up to take a stroll around the ward, barely making it back to her bed after one circuit. While her head would like nothing better than to repeat her walk over and again, she knew that her physical strength was still lacking far too much to actually do it.

That's why she found herself in deep thought this evening. She usually tried to avoid such activities, but without her usual physical activity to distract her mind she couldn't help but take a look at her life. To say she didn't care for some of what she found would be a monumental understatement.

Thinking objectively about her life prompted her to seriously want to make some changes, but knowing how to actually go about that was in many ways a mystery to Cynthia. That said, there were a few things that were obvious even to her.

The first thing that came to mind was the whole club scene. Even without the introspection that was currently being thrust upon her, Cynthia had for some time been seriously thinking about walking away from the life of a party girl. Maybe this would finally prompt that change.

Deep thought time was interrupted by the arrival of a nurse who said as he entered the room, “Good evening. I'm Terry and I'll be looking after you tonight.”

Smiling, Cynthia responded, “Hey there. Need me to do anything in particular?”

Returning her smile, Terry said, “Not at the moment. I just need to check your vitals for now.” He then looked at the machines she was still attached to and made some notes in the chart he was carrying.

“Everything looks good,” he commented as he finished his task. He looked her in the eye for a moment, then turned to leave.

Thinking he wouldn't hear her, she whispered, “I know you can't be including me in that.”

He stopped before he got to the door and turned back toward her. “Sure I can, and I am,” he returned, smiling broadly at her.

It was difficult telling which was brighter, the glare from Cynthia's smile or the glow from her reddening cheeks.

Chapter Fifty-Five

Bob smiled broadly as he watched Connie make her way toward his table again. That smile grew even bigger when she set two drinks down on the table and pulled out a chair to sit opposite him.

“I've got fifteen minutes or so,” she said as she picked up her glass and made a toasting motion in Bob's direction.

“Cool,” he replied as he picked up his drink and copied her motion. After taking a sip, he set his glass back down and said, “I'm sorry if I caught you off guard or anything. I actually had trouble thinking about anything other than you all afternoon and thought that maybe seeing you tonight might help. I'm sorry to say, all it's done is make me think about you even more,” he grinned at her.

“Well,” she started, “If you really think that's something that you need to apologize about...”

Jumping in, Bob hurriedly said, “Not at all.” He then got a more serious look on his face and added, “If you find any of this gets uncomfortable for you, please...”

“Hey,” she interjected. Smiling widely she continued, “Trust me, you don't have anything to worry about.”

“You'd best be careful, before I go and fall in love with you or something,” he responded.

Both of them raised their glasses in toast and smiled at one another before taking drinks, never taking their eyes off of each other.

Chapter Fifty-Six

Tanya had tried everything she could think of to get to sleep, all to no avail. She'd read for a while, even switching to an old college textbook in the hope that it would be boring enough to put her to sleep. Unfortunately, all that managed to do was frustrate her. She'd tried warm milk, a glass of wine and even taken a dose of Benadryl hoping one or all of them would relax her enough to let her get to sleep. Unfortunately, as 2am rolled past she found herself still wide awake and staring at the clock on her nightstand.

Of course, it wasn't as if this bout of insomnia wasn't well earned, what with all of the upheaval in her life of late. Starting her RLT, coming out to her family and employers, seeing her best friend nearly lose her life and have to spend a fair amount of time in the hospital...any of these could easily have caused her to have trouble sleeping, but not content to simply have one reason, she had to pile all of them on top of each other.

Having resigned herself to the fact that sleep was not intending to make it's presence known anytime soon, she turned on the television and found an old movie she hadn't seen in ages. That settled, she sat back and tried to lose herself in the film.

She was finally drifting off to sleep when there was a knock at the door. Returning to a wakened state, she made her way to the entryway and peeked through the peep hole. Recognizing her brother, Tanya quickly opened the door and let him in.

“Sorry,” Bob said as he crossed the threshold. “I was hoping we could talk.”

Closing the door after her brother had made his way past her, Tanya said, “Why not? I haven't been able to get to sleep all night. What's on your mind?”

He looked at her for a moment before responding, “Connie.”

Grinning, she commented, “Really? So you finally noticed, huh?”

“What do you mean, 'finally'?” he asked.

“Oh come on,” she replied in an exasperated tone of voice, despite the huge grin she couldn't get rid of, “You can't tell me you didn't know before. She's been practically throwing herself at you for over a year!”

He studied her for a moment before responding, “What? You've been a girl for like ten minutes and you think you're entitled to do the whole 'duh' thing?” He then started to grin as he continued, “I suppose you could say I've been a little preoccupied.”

Any further comment was delayed as he noticed Tanya giggling at him, to which he responded by trying to give her an annoyed look while failing miserably. When she was finally able to get herself back under control she tried to adopt an indignant stance as she said, “Okay, I've been a woman my whole life, not ten minutes. Just because you and Dad never acknowledged that fact...”

Cutting her off he responded, “Hey!”

Before he could form more of a comment she retorted, “Never mind, that's not important any more. Why'd you come to me?”

Uncomfortably he said, “Like you said, you're a girl so I thought maybe you could help me get a handle on things.”

Smiling, Tanya looked at her brother with a pride she hadn't felt for him since she was much younger and wanted more than anything in the world to be just like her big brother. Without thinking, she walked up to him and hugged him.

While he was obviously uncomfortable with the embrace, he made every effort not to react negatively. Despite his efforts to disguise his reaction, she eventually came to the realization that she was making him uncomfortable.

Releasing him from the hug, she stepped away and mumbled, “Sorry Bobby, I didn't mean...” As her embarrassment grew she found it increasingly difficult to complete her thought.

Holding up his hand and smiling nervously he responded, “No need. I mean, I'll freely admit that I'm having some trouble getting used to things, but we are family, after all. I love ya even if I think you're making a mistake.”

Looking her brother in the eyes, she responded, “You have no idea what it means to me to hear you say that.” She stepped up to him and took him in a tender hug, realizing in that moment that her family might just be able to accept her after all. Resting her head on his shoulder she found herself both smiling widely and on the verge of tears at the same time, thinking her life was falling into place at last.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Charlie rolled out of bed and found his way to his computer. After turning it on, he wandered into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee while it started up. By the time he returned it had just about finished, so he took a seat and a sip of his drink as the start up process finished.

Once ready, the first thing he did was open up his email program, checking for new messages. He sat there impatiently as it downloaded new messages, hoping that at least one would be in response to one of his messages from the previous night. Unfortunately, he had no such luck as the only things he had received involved penis growth, which he promptly disposed of before then getting up from his seat to go in search of breakfast.

Following several minutes of fruitless searching, he gave up on the idea of finding something better and retrieved a package of pop tarts from the cabinet, which he took with him as he returned to the computer. After settling back in he started his browser and pulled up one of his favorite 'personals' websites in search of new 'friends'.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Bob couldn't stop yawning as he made his way into the precinct building. Each co-worker he passed greeted him with a 'morning' or 'hey Bob', but he could manage little more than a grunt in acknowledgment.

“What the hell was I thinking staying up all night?” he asked himself as he sat at his desk to begin pouring through the reports on overnight activity. While reading those reports, he reached over to his desktop workstation and turned it on.

When the antiquated computer finally finished it's boot up process he first opened his email client to check for any new messages, then moved on to his browser to check each of the now three different newspaper websites where he'd placed bait ads.

The last stop on his internet journey was 'Open' magazine. He logged into the account that had been set up for him in order to check for reply messages and was rewarded by a promising response.

Printing off a copy of the message to put into the case file, he mused absentmindedly, “Now what?”

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Cynthia looked up from her breakfast upon hearing the door to her room open just as Tanya entered. Smiling at the sight of her best friend, Cynthia commented, “A little early for you, isn't it?”

As she made her way to Cynthia's bedside, Tanya responded, “I suppose it is, but then my best friend went and got herself stuck in the hospital, so in order to be a good friend I have to stop by every day until she gets out in an effort to prevent her from losing her mind and going postal on the nursing staff.”

“Wow,” Cynthia replied, “You really think I'd do something like that?” She did her best to look hurt as she then continued, “Thou dost wound me. I'm a civilized young lady.”

Laughing, Tanya retorted, “I'm not even sure where to begin responding to that.”

“Hey!” Cynthia responded indignantly. For a moment they looked at each other silently, but eventually neither one could hold it in any longer and they broke out laughing hysterically.

As the laughter finally began to fade, Bob came walking into the room. Tanya was the first to notice his arrival saying, “Bobby. Didn't expect to see you this morning.”

“I could say the same of you, dear sister,” he quipped.

Unable to keep out of things, Cynthia interjected, “I see relations have improved since last we all met.”

Returning her attention to her friend, Tanya replied, “I guess you could say that.” Then once again looking toward her brother she continued, “We've worked a few things out, haven't we dear brother?”

Smiling he responded, “Yes ma'am.”

A brief silence was broken by Cynthia asking, “So what brings you by this morning, detective? Other than the opportunity to spend time with a pair of stunning ladies?”

“I guess you could say I wanted to let you know that we haven't let this case fall to the wayside,” he tried to reassure them. “Fact is, I have one case and one case only and I'm going to keep going until it's done.”

“I do appreciate that,” Cynthia responded.

Tanya interjected, “Is there anything we can do to help?”

Looking at his sister for a moment, he replied, “I don't know.”

“Well,” Tanya stated, “If you think of anything please let me know. I want to see this creep caught.”

“I know,” Bob tried to reassure them. “Me too, believe me.”

At that moment an orderly entered the room with a wheelchair saying, “MRI express.”

Looking first at the orderly, then at her guests Cynthia said, “Looks like that's my cue.”

Tanya replied, “We'll head out for now, but I'll be back later. Can you think of anything you need?”

“Not unless you have a cute hunk hidden somewhere you'd be willing to share,” Cynthia quipped.

“No,” Tanya started, “But if that changes I'll let you know.”

The orderly lowered the bed rails and helped Cynthia out of bed and into the wheelchair, taking her on her way toward the imaging department. Bob and Tanya watched as Cynthia was wheeled out of the room before turning their attention to each other.

Bob found his voice first, tentatively asking, “How serious is your offer of help with the investigation?”

Looking him in the eye, she responded, “I'd be willing to serve as bait, if you're thinking along those lines.”

“I won't deny that the subject is being considered, but I wouldn't ask that of you,” he said. “Besides, Mom would kill me if I let anything happen to you.”

“I'm offering, you're not asking. Besides, she doesn't need to know, does she?” Tanya asked.

“I doubt we could keep it from her,” he replied.

She then continued, “So don't say anything about work tomorrow when we're home.”

Mildly surprised, Bob asked, “So, you've talked to her?”

“Last night,” she answered. “Not that there was much in the conversation that surprised her. Of course, Dad's response should be entertaining.”

“That's one way of putting it,” he sniped.

After a moment, Bob then said, “I can't let you take the risk, you know.”

Looking intensely at her brother Tanya said, “Bobby, I want to help. I really do. You and Dad have spent your lives taking risks trying to catch bad guys, but I've never felt like I made a difference like that. If I can help catch this monster, maybe...” she allowed the thought to fade unfinished.

“Let me think about it, okay?” Bob finally replied.

Chapter Sixty

After leaving the hospital, Bob returned to the office where he once again reviewed the ad responses trying to figure out which one, if any, had come from his suspect. In truth, he devoted most of his afternoon to that very pursuit.

Toward the end of his shift, his thoughts were interrupted by Sergeant Parker, who asked, “Any progress?”

“Not as such, no,” he replied. “Got a few possibles, but nothing concrete. I've got the geeks trying to track down physical locations for all the responses, but they haven't found anything for me quite yet.”

“Sounds like that might take a while,” Parker commented.

“It will, but hopefully not too long,” Bob responded. “Maybe if we...” he stopped mid thought.

Sensing his associate's uncertainty, Sergeant Parker asked, “What?”

Thinking for a moment, Bob finally decided to confide in his friend saying, “My sister wants to help with the investigation by serving as the bait for our guy.”

“Well, that's good,” Parker said.

“Is it?” Bob replied. “That would mean risking her life and I'm not sure I can do that.”

“We are talking about the same one we saw on that stakeout, right?”

“Yeah. She wants to make a difference or something like that.”

“Pretty noble for a weirdo,” Parker commented.

Suddenly looking at him with a bit of anger, Bob countered, “That's my family you're talking about.”

Feeling chastised, Parker said, “Sorry. Didn't mean anything by it.”

“I know.”

To Be Continued...