Author's Foreword and Dedication: Although written before I had met and grew to love Rebecca Anne Stewart; affectionately called Becky by all those who knew her in the chatroom. The resemblance between her and the character Becky Taylor was and is uncanny. So I will dedicate this story to her, my beloved friend and playmate, Becky Stewart. You are still very loved and very much missed…

 

One Last Shot

by Maggie O'Malley

    

PART NINE

Cassie sprayed Becky's mouth and her body from head to toe. She placed the eye mask on her, directed her to the bed and told her to remember not to speak. Once she had Becky on the bed, she continued reading from the instruction booklet. "You may feel a tingling sensation accompanied by slight disorientation, but don't be alarmed. This means the nanites are working. You should feel no real discomfort."

The older woman surveyed Becky's body and much to her delight, she could see the physical changes take place. Excitement filled her voice as she spoke, "Becky... something is definitely happening. I can already see your body changing, and I think you are going to like the changes."

The frail girl tried to lie still as her friend had ordered, but her body was moving beyond her control. She felt the tingling sensation all over her body. She could feel herself expanding and contracting to accommodate the changes. For a moment she thought something was crawling over her shoulders, but then realized it was her hair growing! She so hoped she'd have thick, full hair. The main reason she'd gotten the perm was to hide her receded hairline.

Cassie continued to watch in amazement as her friend transformed into a vision. Five minutes went by, although to Becky it seemed more like five years, as she lay there in silence. She finally spoke. "Uh Becky, I think it's all done, and it worked. Oh boy, did it work!"

The girl on the bed couldn't take it one minute more. "Cassie, you got to let me take off this eye mask. I got...to...see..." Becky's last few words came out slowly, as she realized the soft feminine voice that was filling her ears was her own. "Oh, my God, Cassie... do you hear my voice? I don't sound like some old bar hag anymore."

Cassie answered quickly. "Yes I do, and it sounds wonderful, but you're not supposed to be talking! Now don't say another word until I tell you to. You want to mess this whole thing up?"

The blonde head shook in a negative manner.

Cassie continued. "Okay now, just listen to me. You look great. Girl, I'm talking "giggle wiggle" great, but we're not done yet. I know you can't wait to see your new body, but you'll have a whole lifetime to stand in front of the mirror and admire yourself. First, you and I have a little unfinished business. Since this spray has worked, and trust me it has. There is the little matter of the second favor you owe me. It's really very simple in fact; you don't have to do anything at all. I'm going to spray you with the second bottle. Don't speak, don't take off the eye mask until I tell you to, and most of all remember that I love you."

Becky swallowed, but said nothing, as Cassie took the second bottle in hand, and prepared to spray Becky again. She hesitated a moment to survey her reconstructed friend. The nanites had done quality work.

Becky's hair was still ash blonde, but it was fuller and thicker, and had grown almost a foot. A softer, gentler more natural curl had replaced her spiral curl, and it cascaded over her shoulders, nearly obscuring her breasts. Her breasts were a little more difficult to obscure, as they had grown and become as full and as firm as a buxom twenty year old. Her waist had drawn in, and her hips had spread in accordance. Her hands and feet were smaller, more slender and in proportion to the rest of her new body. Her skins looked smooth, soft, and wrinkle free.

She had the color of a California sun goddess. The small patch of down between her legs told Cassie that Becky had become one of the rarest of breeds. She was a natural blonde. Her face was partially obscured by the eye mask. Aside from looking fuller, more rounded, and healthier, it was very much Becky's face. Of course, that is what the girl had asked for. She had wanted the same features, plus some small improvements. Her improvements had given her a killer body more suited to a twenty-five year old beach babe, than a thirty-nine year old hoop junkie. There was no doubt in Cassie's mind that Becky would be satisfied, but she was going for more than satisfaction. She was going for "dream come true," as she prepared to spray her friend with the second bottle.

She told Becky to "open wide," as she sprayed inside her mouth for a second time. She then told her to close her eyes, as she lifted the eye mask and sprayed her face. When she finished spraying the front of her body, Cassie had her roll over to spray the backside. Once finished, she had her friend return to her original position and wait the effects of what the blonde thought was the finalizing solution. Becky had a sneaking suspicion that this second spraying may involve more than just making the changes permanent. She didn't know what Cassie was up to, but whenever you tell someone, "remember that I love you", it's because you are about to do something to them that might make them doubt it. This "second favor" didn't really make sense to Becky either. All she was required to do was lay there for the second spraying, just as she had the first. It all seemed rather odd to Becky, but before she could dwell on it any longer, Cassie spoke.

"Now Becky, if you start feeling that tingling sensation or the disorientation again, don't be alarmed it's just your friendly nanites at work again. Oh, and if you start feeling hot or begin sweating, don't worry about that either. It is also normal." Cassie sat down on the bed next to Becky and tried to prepare herself for the second wave. Neither Becky nor Cassie would have to wait long.

The cancer-ridden girl felt the familiar tingling sensation, and accompanying disorientation. Within a few minutes, she began to feel the heat. She felt like a human microwave. The heat was radiating from deep inside her, and sweat began to pour off her body. Perhaps it was the heat, and disorientation, but the blonde felt like her body was drawing in on its self. She could actually feel her hands and feet moving across the bedspread, inching up toward her body. It was almost as if she was rolling up into a ball, but not exactly. Finally, she realized that she had no choice but to ride these strange feelings out and wait until the nanites were finished. From the little bit that Cassie had told her, it seemed like the nanites knew what they were doing. She was just going to have to trust that Cassie was telling her the truth.

The first thing that Cassie noticed was the beads of sweat that formed on Becky's body. As her body began to change, the amount of sweat increased in proportion to the body mass she was losing. Within two minutes of spraying, the second wave of changes became visible to Cassie. Just as her friend had sensed, her body was drawing in on itself. Her six-foot frame began to shrink. Each vanishing inch seemed to take away a little bit more of the mature woman features that the first nanites had worked so hard to enhance. Becky's breasts folded in on themselves until they were two small buds. The down between her legs vanished, leaving only the soft folds of her skin. Hands, feet, arms and legs all continued to shrink.

All the sand was running out of Becky's hourglass figure as her body was quickly becoming that of a young girl. Her face was smaller, and more rounded, almost angelic. Her ash blonde hair had shortened to a length just over her shoulders, and tightened in curl.

Cassie thought to herself, "If beneath that eye mask she has big blue eyes to compliment those blonde curls and round face, then I may have created a 21st century Little Orphan Annie."

Within five minutes after the sweating had begun, it stopped. There, lying on Cassie's bed, dripping with sweat, was the body of a beautiful little ten-year-old girl. Cassie had gone for the dream and flat nailed it. She took a deep breath and blew it out. She had to be calm and confident. She was sure that Becky would be just as happy with the changes as she was, but the shock would be incredible, and this Becky-child was going to need Cassie to be there for her.

Cassie wiped away a few tears of joy that had come when she first looked at Becky's new body. She cleared her throat to speak, but once again, Becky could no longer wait. She sat up in the bed and spoke out. "I'm sorry, Pistol, but I can't wait a...minute...more." Again, a strange voice filled her ears. It was still feminine, but higher pitched, almost like a squeak in comparison to the voice she had heard just minutes before. The sound of her voice came back to her again and then it clicked. It was the voice of a little girl. Her mind raced as fear and confusion gripped her. "Something's went wrong, terribly wrong," she thought.

She sat up in the bed and started to cry, "Oh Cassie, something went wrong. What's happened to me?"

Taking her hand, Cassie comforted her. When she spoke it was almost more like a mother to her child. "Shhh...now. Nothing's gone wrong, in fact, it couldn't be more right. I have a surprise for you, a good surprise, I promise!"

Cassie paused, and raised her other hand to remove the eye mask from Becky's face. "Now listen very carefully honey, I'm going to take off your eye mask now. Close your eyes and then open them very slowly. I really do think you are going to like what you see, but it's a little different than what you expected. Okay?"

Rather than hear that voice again, Becky just nodded. Her heart pounded and her mind raced in anticipation of what she was going to find when she opened her eyes.

Very slowly, almost cautiously, Cassie moved the eye mask over Becky's closed eyes, and then lifted it off her head. She squeezed Becky's hand tightly, and the woman thought it strange that it seemed so small within Cassie's. She heard Cassie's voice again. "Okay Becky, open your eyes."

Blinking her eyes several times before opening them, she immediately turned her gaze toward Cassie. She desperately wanted to look at her own body, but she was afraid of what she would find. She looked up into Cassie's green eyes, hoping they would give her a clue as to what she was about to discover, but all she saw was the powerful love that her best friend felt for her. The look in strawberry blonde's eyes hadn't told her what she was looking for, but where she had to look to find it, spoke volumes. Cassie was sitting beside her in bed. Her face should have been even with or slightly below her own, but she definitely had to look up to see her friend's eyes.

Not only was Cassie sitting above her, but she seemed bigger as well. In fact, as Cassie looked from side to side in the room, it was apparent that everything was out of proportion. She realized that either everything in this room had grown or she had shrunk. She couldn't avoid the inevitable any longer. Slowly she lowered her gaze until she could see her feet and toes. They seemed awfully small and awfully close to her body. Her eyes then ran past her feet, up and over her legs, and then stopped momentarily at the gap between them. She continued past her waist, examining her nearly flat chest, and then onto each arm.

Cassie still held her right hand, so Becky raised her left hand to her face. She turned it back and forth in front of her eyes. Like her feet it seemed tiny in comparison to the hand that was there just a short while ago. Slowly, she ran her fingers from the left cheek, down her jaw line, over her chin, and up to her right ear. Her face was baby smooth and round. She raised her fingers to the tip of her nose and rubbed it gently. To Becky, it felt more like a little button in comparison to the nose she had before. She moved her hand from her nose, to the side of her face, and gently took a handful of her hair. She pulled a lock in front of her, twisting and admiring the thick blonde curls.

The older woman watched the new girl-child slowly explore her new body. She could see the childlike wonder in her eyes as she encountered each new sight and sensation. Wide deep blue eyes sparkled brightly in the bedroom's dim light. They were as big, round and vibrant as Cassie thought they would be. Aside from the fact that this girl's hair was a little longer, the nanites and Cassie had really created a Little Orphan Annie out of the body of her best friend.

Watching the child's eyes as Becky had watched hers earlier, she was searching for some sign of how this child felt about her new body. She saw looks of wonder, amazement, and confusion. Blue eyes narrowed and a slight frown came to her face. It was obvious to Cassie that she was trying to make sense out of all that she had seen.

Becky examined the facts. She considered the bareness between her legs, the flat smoothness of her chest, the features of her face, and the sound of her voice. The conclusion was obvious. She had the body of a young girl. She couldn't be any older than 11 or 12, possibly younger. She now knew what she was, but she didn't know how this came to pass or why. She was pretty sure that Cassie had the answers to those questions, and she intended to get them.

The youngster turned to face Cassie, but it was the woman who spoke first. "Becky honey, are you alright?"

Looking up at Cassie, she replied, "Well... I'm naked, I'm cold, and I'm a twelve-year-old girl. Aside from that I'm fine."

The woman who had mothered two children could barely suppress her laughter. This Becky was Little Orphan Annie with an attitude, and she just couldn't take her that seriously. "I'm sorry Becky. Why don't you pull the bedspread up around you until we go and get you some clothes, and by the way, you're only ten."

The child pulled the bedspread up around her, and once again starred up at Cassie. Her oldest best friend was smiling at her. Her eyes were still beaming with love and pride. She sat there waiting for an explanation, but when the strawberry blonde hadn't offered one voluntarily, Becky decided to ask for it. "Cassie... Ummm, Cassie?"

The little girl voice had to repeat Cassie's name several times before she came out of her trance. "I'm sorry, Becky. I was just looking at you. I...I can't get over what a cute little girl you are."

"Thanks Cassie, I always wanted to be a cute little girl, but...how did I become one and why?"

It was time for Cassie to reveal her plan, and hope that Becky would understand. "Well...I wasn't exactly honest with you about a few things concerning the Hugglebugs spray."

The pixie on the bed petulantly folded her arms in front of her, and her face frowned. "You mean you lied."

Cassie snapped at her. "Hold on little missy. Don't even get up on a high horse with me. Considering the lies you've fed me, I think you can indulge me a few of my own. Don't you?"

The girlish face dropped. "I'm sorry, Cassie. It's just that I don't understand what's going on and I'm scared." She was actually trembling beneath the blanket, and Cassie squeezed her hand and kissed her forehead, before beginning again.

"There's no reason to be scared. Everything is going according to plan, but I guess its time to let you in on the plan. Might as well start at the beginning huh?"

"When I ran off that second copy of the email from Hugglebugs, I didn't give you all the pages. The pages I kept from you would have told you that Hugglebugs not only has the power to transform your body into the woman of your dreams, but the little girl of your dreams too.

And when I read that it had the power to give you the body of a little girl, I felt like I was holding your dream in my hands. I had to make it a reality."

The girl under the blanket was still very confused. "I don't understand why you didn't tell me about it or why you hid those pages from me."

Cassie answered her quickly. "I can think of three reasons why I didn't tell you. You never would've believed me. You might have said no, and if you did believe me and it didn't work, you'd been even more devastated."

"Do you really think you would have gotten in the Suburban yesterday if I would have told you I found something on the internet that could turn you into a ten-year-old girl? Would you have believed me?"

No, Becky couldn't argue with her about that. If Cassie had said that she would have just kept on walking in the rain.

"Becky it was all I could do to talk you into believing the Hugglebugs might be able to make you a genetic woman. If I'd showed you the rest of the email, you might have thought it was so unbelievable; that it just had to be a scam, and you've would have walked right back out of here. I wasn't about to tell you something, that I didn't think you had the faith to believe in, and I wasn't about to let your lack of faith cost you your dream.

"Once you agreed to try the Hugglebugs, I knew I had you. It was all pretty simple then. After we made the initial order for the spray to make you a genetic woman, I called them back, while you were out getting your meds, and put in an order for the second bottle that would make you a little girl."

"I knew there wasn't supposed to be a second bottle to make the changes permanent!" Becky's eyes lit up.

"I couldn't think of any other reason for the second bottle, and that's also why I never let you read the instructions. I would have been busted for sure! Of course the deception didn't end there." Cassie smiled.

"There's more?" Becky looked at her curiously.

Sheepishly Cassie looked at her. "Well...just a little. Uh...the whole thing about the eye mask and not talking or moving? I made all that up and before you ask me why, I'll tell ya. I didn't want you to see or know anything until it was all done, and besides I don't want you to know what you're going to look like when you grow up. I want you to be just like every other ten-year-old little girl, or at least as much as you can be."

Then she reached over and began running her fingers through Becky's adorable curls. The reality of being a ten-year-old girl was beginning to set in for Becky, and her heart was starting to believe what her eyes had been telling her. Cassie had told her how she had become a ten-year-old girl, but she still wasn't sure why?

Softly she spoke, "Cassie?"

Cassie was still being mesmerized by her friend's new appearance. "Hmmm?"

"Uh...how come you did it? I mean, make me a little girl and all? How did you know I'd be happy?"

Cassie sighed and smiled. "I said it before and I'll say it again. That blonde bimbo in you goes straight to the roots doesn't it? Listen my little 'giggle wiggle' in training, you tell me. Are you happy with what you see?"

Looking at her body for a moment, the child then looked up to meet Cassie's gaze. The look of joy and contentment on her little girl's face told her friend the answer before the new girl could even speak. "Oh yes Cassie. I am happy. My heart is going crazy, it's so happy. I feel like I could open your bedroom window and just fly, I'm so happy!"

"Uh, please don't try that. I don't have medical coverage on you yet!" Cassie smiled.

Giggling a very normal ten-year-old little girl giggle, Becky asked, "I am happy, but how did you know I would be? How could you be so sure?"

In mock exasperation, Cassie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Children and questions...always the questions. You're as bad as Devon and Mandy."

Becky smiled sheepishly, and shrugged her shoulders. Cassie couldn't have paid her a more flattering compliment.

"So you want to know how I could have been so sure. Oh, little one, I have never been surer of anything in my life! You've been a little girl since the day I met you. I didn't see it, or really understand it when we were growing up, but since you've been back, it's impossible to miss. I knew it the first time I saw you shooting with Devon and Mandy. Once that little girl gets a chance to be with her own kind, she comes out. It's like a transformation from this troubled and self-conscious middle-aged woman into this happy, confident, and playful little girl. I could see it in your eyes, your face, and in everything you did. Think about when you were with Mandy and Devon.

"You weren't thinking about being an 'imitation of a woman,' or if someone 'could tell you used to be a man.' You were just having fun and being yourself. For once, you weren't living your dreams through someone else. That little girl was getting a chance to do it herself, and she was enjoying it! Becky when I looked across that court at the three of you, I saw three kids shooting hoops and having a blast. I could see how happy you were getting a chance to be a little girl, and I also saw how your heart ached when you saw the other little girls who had a body to match their spirit. Do you remember that night after we lost the championship game at the community center?"

This time Cassie paused long enough for Becky to answer. "Yes... I remember. I was so sad we didn't win."

The red-haired mother of two children responded. "Yes, that was a tough loss and you played a great game, but that's not what I'm talking about. When I stopped to let you out at your place, Mandy had fallen asleep and we were both looking at her. There was this look in your eyes that could only be described as deep longing. I asked you if you were a lot like her when you were growing up, and you told me, 'In spirit only.' I didn't realize what you were trying to tell me then, but it all became clear that night at Li'l Italy's. I learned so much about you that night, but nothing more telling than when you told me your greatest regret.

"How you regretted never being able to do all the things that other little girls got to do and experience. You told me of that little girl who deserved a chance to grow up, and now she's going to have it. All your life you've felt like you didn't fit in. You didn't fit in with the boys when you were growing up and you didn't feel like you completely fit in with the women after you had your change. It's because, you're not a boy, or even a grown woman. You're a little girl. You've always been a little girl, and now you're going to get the chance to live it. This is where you belong, honey. This is where you fit, and this is why I did it."

The new little girl no longer cared about "why" and "how." It didn't matter anymore. She was just so happy to be home. Tears of joy fell from her eyes and she reached up to hug her friend. Cassie grabbed her and pulled her into her lap, holding Becky's head against her chest. With tears in her own eyes, she, now the mother of three, thought to herself, "And this is why too!"

Expertly, the older woman rocked Becky in her arms for quite some time. There were no questions or concerns, just peace, love, and contentment. The youngster had actually gone to sleep, and as her now mother gazed at her new daughter, she marveled at the resemblance to her own Mandy. Her words that night outside that apartment had been prophetic. She had thought that Becky was very much like Mandy when she was a little girl, now there was no doubt.

Cassie gently shook the pre-teen girl to wake her, as they had much to do that day. She woke up rubbing the sleep from her eyes and then her head shot up and she started looking frantically around the room, then down at herself before finally looking up at Cassie.

Wide eyes gazed down at her with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong Becky?"

Huge blue eyes looked like they were almost ready to start crying again. "I thought it was all a dream. When I woke up I was afraid it would all be gone."

Reflexively Cassie smiled and pulled Becky toward her again. "Honey, it is a dream. It's a dream come true. It's not going to wear off or go away when you sleep. You're a little girl, and you're going to grow up one day at a time, and not a moment sooner, okay?"

As she nodded in agreement, Becky stole Cassie's impish smile, and showed it to her proudly. "We can't just be a couple of lazy bones. We gotta get moving." Cassie then turned both their attentions to more pressing needs. "Here put this on, and we'll go to Mandy's room and borrow you an outfit until we can get into town and buy your own." Cassie got up and grabbed her robe off the chair and casually tossed it toward the girl.

Unwrapping the bedspread from her body, Becky jumped off the bed. She put her arms into the robe and then tried to wrap it around her. The voluminous robe nearly swallowed her whole. The sleeves hung well below her hands, the length piled up at her feet, and when she tried to walk it followed behind her like a bridal train. The belt that pulled the robe closed, could have wrapped around her twice. The strawberry blonde stood in the doorway, trying hard not to laugh, and failing miserably.

The thirty-nine-year-old, pre-teen looked up at her "mother", put her hands on her hips and scowled. "This isn't funny Cassie."

If Cassie was having trouble holding back her laughter before, it became completely impossible now. Once the new girl had released her grip on the robe, in order to put both hands on her hips and emphasize her point, the tie betrayed her. It unwrapped from around her tiny waist, and the robe fell from her shoulders, stopping just above where her hands sat on her hips. The woman put her hand to her mouth, and Becky slowly looked down. When she looked back, she was smiling. It was funny. It was just too ridiculous. She was too ridiculous! Becky started laughing and Cassie joined her.

Her protector helped her on with the robe, and smiled. "C'mon exhibitionist. Let's get dressed!"

Together they went into Mandy's room and started looking through clothes. When Cassie saw Becky's eyes light up at Mandy's basketball t-shirt, she knew what Becky was going to wear that day. Cassie found her a pair of matching shorts, and then underwear and socks. On their way out, Cassie grabbed Mandy's basketball shoes from beneath her bed. They went downstairs and while Becky went into the bathroom to dress, Cassie grabbed them some doughnuts out of the breadbox.

Sitting at the breakfast table when Becky peeked at her from around the corner, Cassie motioned for her to come forward, and Becky slowly walked into the kitchen. The older woman just shook her head and smiled. The clothes were a perfect fit on the perfect little girl, who then looked down at her clothes and then back at Cassie, as if she was waiting for her best friend to say something. Cassie just held out her arms instead, and Becky flew into them. While she hugged her tight, she asked her if she was hungry.

The pre-teen's too-typical response warmed Cassie's heart. "I'm starving!" Becky's eyes lit up when she saw the box of doughnuts, and she licked her lips in anticipation.

The youthful hoopster sat down in the chair, a lot further down than she was used to, and she frowned for just a moment. She knew that everything was going to take some getting used to, and she was just going to have to be patient, but patience rarely goes hand in hand with childhood. She would learn that lesson with the rest that life was about to teach her.

Attacking the donut that Cassie had sat before her she ate ravenously. Her new "mother" had set the new daughter out a can of her usual morning poison, Diet Coke, to wash the doughnut down with. Becky took a drink, and then shook her head, and stuck out her tongue. "Yuck! This tastes nasty!"

Cassie picked up the can and took a sip, and shrugged her shoulders. "It tastes fine to me. Do you want me to get another can?"

Becky shook her head vehemently. "No way! Uhhh...do you have any milk? That sounds really good!"

The coach starred at Becky for a moment and then went to the icebox and brought out a bottle. She poured milk into a glass and watched her "daughter" devour two doughnuts and a tall glass of milk. For the first time, Cassie began to realize just how in-depth this transformation had been. It hadn't just changed the outside. It was working on the inside. Becky hadn't eaten more than a bite for almost three days, until she ate those doughnuts.

The girl was hungry. That had to be a good sign! She also drank milk. Becky never drank milk, even when they were kids she would only drink it if there were a spoon of chocolate in it. Since she had come back to Jamestown, she had drunk nothing but water and Diet Coke. Her tastes were changing in order to satisfy the needs of her new body. Cassie wondered what other changes were in store as Becky continued to become more accustomed to her new body.

Becky was thinking about changes herself. "Cassie, I was wondering about something."

Cassie took a sip of her coffee. "Yes..."

Becky continued. "Well, I know my body is all little girl, and I kind of feel like a little girl I think, but what about my brain. I mean, I'm a ten-year-old girl with a full degree in computer programming, and I can still remember you and I watching the Blazers beat the Sixers for the championship in 1977! Am I going to eventually forget all this, or some of it?" Suddenly she stopped for a moment, her lip quivered, and her eyes threatened to cry. "Cassie, I don't want to forget you. I don't want to forget all the things we did!"

"Honey, you aren't going to forget me. According to the instruction booklet, your brain is unaffected except for some natural physiological changes, kind of like...you wanting milk instead of your usual Diet Coke." Cassie jumped up from her chair and quickly went to Becky. She knelt down on one knee and looked up at her. "I don't think you are going to forget anything, but you will change the way you think?"

Becky looked puzzled, "I don't understand."

"Okay, you're the computer genius. Think of it like this. Everything from your life before is on a disk. All your memories, your attitudes, your maturity, etc. are all on this disk. You are going to save your acquired knowledge. I mean you are not going to forget that two and two are four, but all the rest is going to be like stored in memory or something, because now you are running a new program, and opening a new file. The information is always going to be there, but only if you really need it. Does that make any sense at all?"

The new pre-teen's features still looked a little puzzled.

"Okay, think of it this way. When you were a boy, or at least thought you were, you lived in a boy's world, and you tried to act accordingly. You weren't very good at it, because you weren't a boy and you weren't comfortable. When you started living as a woman, your personality changed. You were immersed in a woman's world, and doing much of the everyday things that women do, and interacting with other women. The way you carried yourself, your physical gestures, and attitudes changed to reflect the life you were living, and you were pretty good at it, but it still wasn't you."

"Now, you are finally going to get to live as who you really are. You are going be around other children. You are going to play, and learn and interact with other children, and you will be doing it because you'll want to. It's going to be natural for you. You're going to suffer all the scraped knees, painful lessons, and wondrous discoveries that come with growing up. Sure you're going to have a leg up with most of the kids in the classroom, but outside of that, you're in the same boat as all the rest. So don't worry so much slugger. I bet after you and Mandy spend a few weeks together, I won't be able to tell you two apart!"

The girl smiled broadly, and then she thought about Mandy and Devon, and the frown returned.

Cassie noticed it immediately. "Hey what's with the clouds now? Is something else bothering you?"

Squirming nervously in her chair, the girl sighed, "Uh, I was thinking about Devon and Mandy. What are we going to tell them? What are we going to tell everyone? Maybe they won't like the new and improved Becky?"

"Okay, first of all, 'everybody' doesn't need to know about this. In fact, this is going to be our little secret. The only other person who will know will be the customer service person at Hugglebugs, and she ain't talking. Mandy and Devon have already seen your spirit before. Remember what I was saying about how well they interacted with you on the court? They loved the little girl in the big girl's body, and they are really going to love that little girl in her little girl's body. I'll just introduce you as another Becky, put the three of you together, and turn you loose on the court. Just be yourself, and the rest will take care of itself."

Cassie paused a moment to watch Becky's reaction. The dark clouds were still there. "Okay, something's still bothering you, so give!"

The child threw out a heavy sigh, and her feet swung back and forth from the chair. "Uhhh...maybe this is a dumb question, but ummm...where am I going to live, and how am I going to get a job? I don't think any prospective employer is going to believe that a ten-year-old girl has a college degree and a resume with a fifteen year work history!"

Shaking her head, Cassie smiled. "Well...you're right about one thing! That was a dumb question. Do you really think I was just going to hand you your sports bag and send you back out into the rain? You're going to live at home. You're going to live right here with me, Mandy and Devon. This was always home for Brian, and it's going to be home for Becky too. We can put a second bed in Mandy's room. She's going to love it. She's finally going to have the little sister she's always wanted."

"Hey, she's ten years old, same as I am!" Becky proudly threw out her chest.

Grinning at her newest daughter, Cassie remarked, "Sorry, but Mandy's been ten for over six months. You just turned ten today! That makes you the little sister. You better learn to live with it. She's never going to let you forget it! And... that makes Devon your big brother, he won't let you forget that either. Don't feel too disappointed though, being the little sister means you get to be a holy terror to them on occasion too! That also makes you the baby of the family, but don't think I'm going to treat you any different than I do them missy. Understand?"

Giving the patented response and this time it really fit, Becky sighed, "Yes, mother."

Cassie smiled. She liked the sound of that coming from Becky.

To Be Continued...

  

  

  

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