Season of Terror
by Tigger
Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved

Chapter 10: One Small Step for a Cross-Dressed Boy

For several moments, Jane could only stare at the still vibrating door.  Her emotion-overloaded mind struggled to make some sense of that confrontation. "Damn!" Jane sighed finally, "Why now, Lord? How am I supposed to deal with a student's major transition crisis point when I am having a crisis of my own?"

Jane allowed herself to wallow in a few more seconds of self pity before literally shaking herself. She would deal with her student's crisis because that was what she did - helping her boys when they needed her help.  And because this cusp looked to be the culmination of everything she had worked for since the moment she'd first met him at the Kingston Train Station - heavens, since the moment she had first read through the record provided by his social worker. 

"Might even take my mind off. . .Wilma. . . I mean, William," she whispered to herself.  

Jane took one last look at the smoke-dominated New York skyline before switching her television off.  Squaring her own shoulders, Jane strode off to the kitchen to find Marie.  

~-----------~

"Amazing," Marie murmured after Jane had described her session with Victoria.  "And you think he'd really do that?"

Jane let out a frustrated breath and sat down heavily on one of the kitchen stools Marie used when teaching cooking to a student. "I really don't know.  After his behavior at the mall, I'm surprised he'd offer to go out anywhere in public, let admit publicly to being a cross dressed male. I'm almost tempted to try setting something up just to see what the child would do."

"Well, Victoria certainly surprised me during our lesson this morning, let me tell you," Marie added as she began to prepare Jane's favorite tea.

"Surprised you?  Do tell me how, please."

Marie quickly gave Jane the highlights, concluding with a description of their emotional-charged hug.

"Amazing, indeed," Jane replied pensively.  "And you're quite convinced that was not part of some type of deep ploy on Victoria's part?"

Marie's rude snort would have shocked their student.  "Not a chance, Jane. I know real emotion when I see it and feel it, and that child *needed* to be held; needed to hold someone else in return.  I can't say she needed to hold me because she sensed my own need, but there was nothing devious about her.  Heavens, no child is that Machiavellian."

"Let us hope not," Jane smiled as she accepted the fragrantly steaming cup Marie proffered her. "I must say, though, that if this is the critical point in Victor's first phase, it is unique."

"Never had a boy want something so badly that he was willing to admit being dressed as a girl to a stranger to get it, have we?"  Marie said with a hint of the mischievous grin she usually took care to hide from Jane's boys.

"No, we haven't, which leads to the key question.  What do we do about it?  If we ignore this opportunity, or do nothing with it, who knows when or IF we'll get another chance with this one.  Lord knows but he's been a royal pain in the. . . he's been rather difficult to date."

"Oh, I know precisely where this one has been a pain, dear, but couldn't you set something up?  I'm sure Nora would be willing.  How about Michael?  He's a medical resident now, so he's a licensed physician, and depending on how you set it up, he could be either Michael or Michelle."

"Michael or Michelle?"  Jane asked aloud even as she mulled over the possibilities presented by Marie's idea.

"Michelle, if you think keeping this 'just between us girls' is still the best idea, or Michael, if you decide that forcing the issue of having our dainty young tough admit to an unknown adult male that he is a boy underneath all that lace and satin might have some benefit. We've never tried anything like that before."

"And therefore have no idea what might happen if we tried."

Marie gave a Gallic shrug of her shoulders.  "So, have Michelle attend him, and then later, if you think of some way to further your aims in that direction, have Michael appear on the scene, admitting to having been Michelle."

"Let me think about it," Jane said, finishing her tea and rising to her feet.  "In the meantime, I will call Nora and Michael to see if they can even help with this little project."

"Ask Michael about Michelle versus Michael.  After all, he is a psychiatrist now," Marie put in.

"ONLY a *resident* psychiatrist," Jane retorted before smiling.  "But I will ask him anyway.  Thanks, dear."

~----------------~

An hour later, Jane was back in the kitchen.  "Marie, have you seen Victoria?  I just got off the phone with Michael and Nora and I think we have a workable plan in place.  At this very moment, in fact, Michael is heading for that clinic he volunteers at on weekends. Nora will meet us there, in her 'nurse-role' at about four PM - just before the clinic's doors close for the day. She'll escort Victoria back to the examining room and take her personal information for the record, whereupon our little Miss will have to decide whether or not to divulge her little secret."

"What if she doesn't?" Marie wanted to know.

"Nora will correct the personal information per my direction.  Victoria is correct that there is a real shortage of the O-negative blood type and it would be thrown away if the indicated sex of the donor did not match the blood chemistry.  Then I'll figure out some way to get our student to admit she wimped out at the critical moment - again."

"And if she tells Nora the truth?"

"Then Michael will come out and interrogate her a bit, just to see what she'll say, and call me into the examining room to question me."

"Isn't that pushing the child a little hard?" Marie asked.  "After all, as we both agreed earlier, we've never gone this far before."

"My money is that she won't admit to being a boy, anyway, so what we're really doing here is setting the stage for the next scene in our little drama of Little Red Riding Victoria and the Big Bad Jane.  I'll go get dressed while you find Victoria and help her dress.  Something feminine, but not prissy.  There ought to be some reward for at least offering to go so far.  Still, with any luck, there still might be a patient or two in the waiting room when we arrive."

"I told her to rest before lunch, Jane.  She is probably in her room."

A frown creased Jane's smooth brow.  "I already went there first," she told her friend.  "Actually, I was rather surprised she wasn't down here helping you with lunch."

The shorter woman gave a Gallic shrug.  "Maybe she went for a walk - to escape the radio and TV coverage.  Lord knows I wish I could stop watching and listening."

"I'll go check outside," Jane said striding for the kitchen door. Moments later, she was back, a very worried frown marring her handsome face.  "Old Tom said he hasn't seen her all morning - nor has Young Tom.  Help me look for her, Marie.  Maybe it's just nerves and tension from the awful things that have happened today but I have a bad feeling about this."

A quick search of the mansion turned up no sign of Victoria until they began a second search through the girl's room.  "What's that?"  Marie said looking at the vanity's table top.  "That wasn't there this morning. . . "

Jane watched as Marie picked up an unsealed lavender envelope and extracted from it a matching sheet of scented stationary.  The dark-haired woman's eyes went wide as she scanned the note before passing it towards Jane.

"Dear Ms. Thompson and Marie," Jane read aloud,

"I understand your concerns about my wanting to donate blood, but this is something I have to do.  I promise I will return once I've finished.  I know you have no reason to trust that promise, but one sin I've never committed is to break my word of honor once I've given it.

I will, of course, accept whatever punishment you decide this deserves, even if that means going to juvie.  I should be back no later than seven o'clock.  I have your phone number and will call if I get into difficulties.  You can decide if you want to help me out of those.

Yours Sincerely,

Victor/Victoria."

Jane let the hand holding the note drop limply to her side and for a moment, could only stare at Marie.  "The little fool," she finally managed.  "What if she. . he gets hurt?"

"There's not much traffic this time of day," Marie put in.  "She can't have reached the main road yet, even if she left right when you first came into my kitchen."

"You're right," Jane said, thinking quickly, "especially if she didn't change because the two-inch heels she was wearing when she came to my study will make for hard walking."

"Those two-inch heels?" Marie asked, pointing to a carelessly discarded pair partially hidden beneath the make-up table.

"Damn!" Jane breathed. "Well, if she took the time to change, she still can't be all the way to the road.  I'll follow in the car while you. . ."

A single palm came up in the 'Stop' signal as Marie shook her head.  "I'm going with you, Jane."

Jane wanted to argue that it would be better if someone was by the phone, but could tell that her friend would not be put off. Rather than waste anymore time, she simply acquiesced.  "Oh very well.  I will get the car - you set the phone to automatically forward any incoming calls to my cell-phone.  I will meet you out front in two minutes."

~-------------~

Two and half minutes later, Jane's beloved black Lincoln roared out the gates of Seasons House, heading down the scenic country road that led to the nearest main thoroughfare. Another four minutes and two miles later, they found their quarry, jog-walking down the berm of the macadam-paved roadbed in the direction of the main road to Kingston.

"My god, I don't believe it," Jane breathed as she pressed down on the car's accelerator.

"Can't believe what?" Marie asked, her eyes locked on the now-aware and sprinting figure.

"I can't believe how he's dressed," was the answer.  "After what he went through Friday, I thought he'd never put those things on again.  It's why I didn't tell you to remove them from Victoria's armoire.  I thought they'd be a useful threat down the road."

"Guess he found another use for them," Marie said sardonically as she too recognized Victor's mall-outing ensemble.  "Although *he* doesn't look much like a *he* in them."

"That was the point, dear, now get ready to jump out - I'm going to cut him off.  It's time to put an end to this farcical chase scene."

~-----------~

"What a DAY!!" Jane cried as soon as Victor had gone up to Victoria's room to change and she and Marie were again alone in the study. "It's enough to drive a sane woman to drink and I am beginning to doubt whether I am particularly sane or not."

"What will you do next?" Marie asked quietly.

Eyes, stark with concern and still red-rimmed from more than one bout of tears, stared back at Marie.  "I just don't know, Marie," Jane finally admitted after a long pause.  "On one hand, what he was attempting to do was . . . I don't know, incredibly stupid.  Suppose he'd gotten picked up by some. . . some pervert out there?  Dressed as he was?  Made up as he is? Oh, god, Marie. . ."

Instantly, Jane found herself enveloped in Marie's arms. "It didn't happen.  Nothing bad happened."

"But it could have!"

"But it didn't, and now you have to decide what to do next.  It was a rather noble thing to attempt, you know," Marie added.  "After his rough experiences last weekend in that very outfit, no less. I'd say that bodes rather well for the next stage of his program, eh?"

"If he'd managed to get there and if he'd actually submitted himself to the scrutiny and potential humiliation of so public an appearance," Jane sniffled into Marie's comforting shoulder.

Marie patted Jane's shoulder comfortingly. "Well, you could always see what he'd really do - see if he really meant what he said."

Jane went very still before pulling back so she could see Marie's face clearly.  "How?" she asked, one brow quirked in challenge.

"Well, you haven't told Victoria that you've set anything up, right?"

"There hasn't been time. So?"

"Well, come into my kitchen, and let me tell you my devious
little scheme."