Extracted - Chapter 16 – Please Don’t Hate Me – Part 2 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 16 – Please Don’t Hate Me – Part 2 of 2

 

Doctor Montcliff watched the video monitor carefully.  The room she was looking at had tables stretched lengthwise from nearly one end to the other, dividing it in two.  Only a small space at each end allowed someone to walk from one side to the other.  With everything ready, she gave the command.  “Let them in.”

At nearly the same time, a door on each side of the room opened.  It was a moment before she saw anything, then Stephen walked slowly into the room, looking around.  A few seconds later, a young girl poked her head through the other doorway, took one look at the large boy in the room, then pulled her head back again.  She saw Stephen notice the girl and he stood in his half, staring at the opposite doorway.  A few moments later, Nancy walked into her half of the room.

“You’re…me.” Stephen said.

“And you’re me,” Nancy replied, unable to take her eyes off the body that should be hers.

Twelve year old Nancy, in Stephen’s big body, simply didn’t know what to think.  She didn’t know it, but neither did seventeen year old Stephen in Nancy’s little body.

“My God, you look so big,” Nancy suddenly said.  “I didn’t know I was that big.”

“I didn’t realize how small I was, compared to how big I am now,” Stephen told her.

“Yeah,” Nancy replied.  “It’s been hard for me to get used to.”

“Me too,” Stephen admitted.  “It is kind of cool though to be able to reach things that I couldn’t before.”

“And I can’t anymore,” Nancy told him.  “It gets frustrating sometimes.”

“Yeah.  I’m sure.”

“I guess you finally got to see your real mother and father?” Nancy asked.

“Finally!” Stephen replied.  “But…they didn’t want to believe it’s really me.  I think they do now.  I hope they do now.”

“Oh wow!  I’m so sorry.  At least mine finally said they knew for sure.”

“Mine did too, sort of, but not for a long time.  When they didn’t seem to want me, I cried and cried.  It was worse I think than waking up in this weird new body.”

“At least they finally believed you,” Nancy reminded him.

“Yeah.  At least they said they did.  You have no idea how relieved I was.”

“I’ll bet,” Nancy replied.

Stephen looked around the room.  “Why do they have it fixed so we can’t even touch each other?”

“I don’t know.  It seems dumb.”

“Yeah, it is.  Wait a minute.”  He walked to the end of the room, went around the table, then walked toward Nancy.

Nancy smiled and held out her hand.  “Hi, I’m Stephen,” she said.

“And I’m Nancy,” Stephen told her as he shook her hand.  “Except that now I’m Nancy.”

“And I’m Stephen,” Stephen finished.  “Do you think anyone would believe how weird this is?”

“Probably not,” Nancy replied.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Stephen asked.

“I don’t know.  I guess they just wanted us to see each other.”

“Probably,” Stephen agreed.

“I know we should probably have a lot of things to talk about, but right now, I can’t think of any.”

“Me too.  So what do we do?”

Nancy, being mentally the older one, went to the door and opened it.  “What now?” she asked the agent on the other side.  “How long do we have to stay here?”

In another room, watching the TV monitor, Montcliff snorted.  “Well, that was quick.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

There were only three, but they all thought that just the three of them was enough.  The President of the United States thought that only the three of them were enough as well.  He was the one who had brought them together and tasked them with coming up with the answers.

From the start, the president had given them almost no information at all.  Almost nothing.  He had only gotten them all together and said to look into the situation and figure out what was going on, and to especially assess if there was a danger to national security or not.  One of them, Daniel Curmett, was used to the president asking about issues pertaining to national security since he was the president’s National Security Advisor.  The other two men were simply…experts.

The only information they were given were the names of two children who had been abducted, the names of their parents, and the fact that one had been in a New York hospital and the other in a hospital in Philadelphia.  Beyond that, they had contact information for the Deputy Director of the FBI who was overseeing this project personally.

After speaking with the Deputy Director, they soon had the names of all the major people who had already been involved in whatever this was.  They also had the name of the two psychiatrists who were supposed to be working with the abducted kids, although one of them had been dropped by the family.

Since the president needed this to be handled as fast as possible, the three investigators requested that both families involved be brought to some place where they could easily talk to them all.  None of them expected the meetings to take place at a nice resort in the Catskill mountains, but none of them minded that fact either.

The three government experts had met a number of times to discuss how they wanted to go about looking into whatever this problem might be.  Finally, even though most of the players were already being gathered at the Catskills resort for them, all three investigators decided it would be better if they started with the hospitals where, other than the abductions, the beginnings of the real problems seemed to arise…whatever it was that the problems might be.  They were purposely not asking what the exact problem was so they could come to their own conclusions.  They needed to talk soon with the police and FBI who had been investigating the abductions, but evidently those people were already at the Catskill resort.  They would get to them after they investigated things at the hospitals.

There was only one person who they thought should have been in the Catskills along with everyone else, but wasn’t.  That was a psychiatrist by the name of Christopher Faucet.  They didn’t know why he had been excluded, but they were determined to talk to everyone.  Since he was in Philadelphia, they decided they would get to him right after they finished with the Philadelphia hospital.  After that, they would head to the resort in the mountains.

They started at the hospital in New York, spending a good part of the entire morning there talking with doctors, nurses, and even the cleaning people.  Anyone at all who might have had contact with the kids.  They learned little that concerned them though.  There were some things that were medically concerning for the girl who had been abducted, but nothing that they considered to be that outrageous.

And then they started talking to the people in the Philadelphia hospital.  It was there that the obvious connection between the two cases really came to light.  In New York, they had been told that the young girl had for some reason seemed to think she was a boy named Stephen Marsh.  At the Philadelphia hospital, they learned that the abducted boy, Stephen Marsh, now thought he was really a young girl named Nancy Stiller.  That fact alone struck all of them as strange.  Really strange.  The two hospitals were in different states.  Hours from each other by car.

Finally, done with the two hospitals, they stopped at the behavioral center where Doctor Faucet had his office.  The patient he was working with just then was politely but firmly asked to leave, and the three experts went in and sat down.

“Doctor Faucet,” one of them said.  “My name is Daniel Curmett, and I’m the president’s National Security Advisor.”

Faucet was more than a bit surprised.  “I thought you looked vaguely familiar,” he admitted.

Curmett nodded towards the man on his left.  “This is Doctor Holfstrom, professor of Theoretical Physics at MIT.”

The psychiatrist was startled at that one.  “Physics?”

Curmett glanced to his right.  “And this is Doctor Blake, Chief Neurologist at John Hopkins.”

That one impressed Faucet almost as much as having the National Security Advisor sitting right in his office, right in front of him.  “What can I do for you gentlemen?” he asked.

“You recently had a patient named Stephen Marsh.  We need to know everything you can tell us about his case.”

“I had a patient by that name,” Faucet told them.  “The operative word being had.  The family didn’t seem happy with what I told them Stephen’s problem was, and they decided to seek help elsewhere.”

“What were Stephen’s symptoms exactly?” Blake asked.

Faucet shook his head.  “You know as well as I do that I can’t discuss that information, even if that patient is no longer an active patient.”

Instead of answering, Curmett opened his briefcase and pulled out a piece of paper.  He passed it across the desk to Faucet.  “That’s a warrant authorizing you to give us whatever we want, and to tell us whatever we want.”

Faucett quicky looked at the paper.  Of course these men would come equipped with warrants for what they needed.  He looked over to Blake.  “Stephen Marsh, for some unknown reason, firmly believed he was a little girl named Nancy something.  I’d have to check my notes to be sure.”

“Check!” Holfstrom told him.  “It’s important.”

Reluctantly, Faucet dug his case notes out and went through them.  “Here it is.  He thought his name was Nancy Stiller and that his father was a U.S. congressman.  Stephen somehow invented a wealth of information about being this Nancy persona.  The mother claimed his fantasy was extremely advanced, but I only met with Stephen the once.  Still, he was more than a bit interesting, I can assure you of that.”

Outwardly, none of the experts acted like the information was of interest to them at all, but all three of them grew a bit more concerned.

“And your diagnosis?” Blake asked.

“Easy!” Faucet told them.  “Multiple Personality Disorder.  Absolutely, without a doubt.”

“Without a doubt?”

Faucet shook his head.  “There’s nothing else it can be.  In this case though, the original personality was being completely squashed in favor of the assumed personality, and the original persona hadn’t remanifested itself at all.  Usually, an alternate personality is a defense mechanism created by the brain.  Due to the boy being abducted when the new personality manifested, the diagnosis only makes sense.  I don’t know what the boy went through during that abduction to cause this situation.  As I said, I only got to meet with him once, but I have no doubt it had to be horrifying, especially since the boy was obviously older, and quite large.  Muscular.  I believe they said he played football on the high school team.”

“Doctor,” Blake said.  “Have you come across any other cases like his to compare it to?”

“Not exactly like this, but there was an FBI agent in here with them once who claimed there was another similar case.  That was the day the Marshes walked out, and I never saw them again.  But I doubt that other case was exactly the same.  And even if it was, what else could it be but a form of multiple personality?”

“But you know of no cases with these exact symptoms.”

“Not exact, but similar enough.  The primary persona is squashed, and the secondary persona has control.  That’s all this is.”

“I see,” Blake said, looking to the other men with him.  The doctor was right.  It did make sense.  It was just all the other facts that they now knew that threw it all into confusion.  “Any other questions?” he asked his colleagues.

“None from me,” Curmett replied.

“Me either Holfstrom agreed.”

“Uh…Doctor Holfstrom,” Faucet said quickly before they got up.  “While you’re here.”

“Yes?”

“Since you’re into physics, is there any chance I can take advantage of the situation and pick your brain about something?”

“About physics?” Holfstrom asked.

“Believe it or not, yes.”

“What’s that?”

“I recently got an invitation to attend a discussion by a group of…PhDs.  Mostly in engineering.”

“Engineering PhDs,” Holfstrom said, suddenly more interested.  “This sounds more serious than I thought.”

“Probably not,” Fauct admitted.  “But what I’d like to know is, are you aware of any energy situation where that energy can maintain some kind of memory?”

“Memory?  I’m not sure I understand?”

“Our group discusses the properties of ghosts.  And in case you never noticed, ghosts all exhibit some of the same characteristics all over the world.  One of those primary characteristics is memory.  For instance, they always remember who they used to be in real life.  However, ghosts have no physical substance at all.  None.  So how can they have memory if there’s no physical brain?  As far as I’m aware, there is only matter and energy, and since ghosts have no physical state, they must be some form of energy…unless you’re aware of a state that’s not matter and not energy.  So, since ghosts must be energy of some sort, is it possible for energy to have memory?”

“Doctor,” Holfstrom said, “I can assure you that I know of no state other than matter and energy, and while I am aware of there being some physical materials that can develop types of shape memory if you will, I am not aware of any kind of energy that can maintain any kind of memory at all.  I’m sorry.  As to ghosts, it’s not a subject I pay much attention to.”

Doctor Faucet nodded.  “Thank you.  It’s quite a conundrum for us.  I enjoy my ghost hunting excursions.  They can be quite intriguing.  I’m hoping I can convince the group to accompany me on my next little trip.  I’m sure they would love to see what kind of spirits I’ve been able to dig up.”

Back in the car, Holfstrom said one simple word.  “Ghosts?”

“Indeed!” Curmett replied.

“I’m ready to get to this resort wherever it is and get a good drink,” Blake added.

“Indeed!” Curmett said again, this time with far more enthusiasm.

Extracted - Chapter 16 – Please Don’t Hate Me – Part 1 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 16 – Please Don’t Hate Me – Part 1 of 2

 

The door opened and two people stepped into the room…and stopped.  Nancy’s eyes went wide and she stood up immediately, her eyes unable to believe what she was seeing.  But those two people were just standing there, staring at her.  Not moving.  As much as it went against everything she had ever been in her life, she almost started crying.  “Mom, Dad,” she begged.  “Please don’t leave.  It’s me.  It’s Stephen.  I’m really here in this crazy body.”  When they still didn’t move, she begged again.  “Please don’t hate me!  Please!  I love you!”

Slowly, Agatha’s mouth dropped open.  “Steve?” she said.

“Yeah Mom.  It’s me.  It really is.”  There was a touch of tears in Nancy’s voice now.

Slowly, Agatha started moving toward the young girl in the room, but the closer she got, the faster she moved, until finally she dropped to the floor in front of the young girl and wrapped her in her arms.  “Stephen!” she cried.  “Oh Stephen!  What have they done to you?”  Sobbing, she continued to hug the child that was mentally her seventeen year old son.

Henry moved in and knelt down on the floor and wrapped his arms around both of them.  He held them all together that way for a long time while his wife and…son…cried together.

“I missed you so much!” Agatha told her son that she hoped really was inside the young girl she was holding.

“I missed you too,” Stephen, inside of Nancy, replied.

Agatha finally got herself under control.  She moved back and pushed Nancy away to arm’s length where she could see her better.  She shook her head.  This was their big football playing son?  The shock was astounding!  “Nancy,” she said.  “You look…beautiful!  Very, very pretty.”

Henry, behind her, had other ideas about that.  Knowing that this was his big muscular son inside that little feminine body made him sick!  That is, if his son really was in there.  He did his best to say nothing about that.

“Blame…my, other mother for making me look like this,” Nancy told her.  “She made me wear all this.”

“But Steve, you’re lovely,” Agatha told him.

“Mom, when was the last time you ever used the word lovely or pretty and was talking about me?”

“Never,” Agatha conceded.  “Still, I’m relieved to see that at least you’re not…I don’t know, homely or abused in any way…that I can see.”

“I’m not,” Stephen told her.  “They’ve actually taken pretty good care of me.  And I’m sorry to say that I’ve needed some taking care of.”

Agatha looked at the little girl in front of her again and said, “Yeah.  I have no doubt.  Tell me, how lost have you felt being…like that?”

Nancy was startled by the question.  “How lost?  Mom, you can’t imagine how lost I’ve been.  How lost I still am.  You name it and I can’t figure out how I’m supposed to deal with it.  I don’t want to be girl.  I have no idea how to be a girl.  I hate this!  And look at me.  Look at how small I am now.  I was big.  I worked out hard, for years, to get my body in good shape.  I was proud of how strong I was.  I was proud of how my entire body looked.  I had everything I could possibly want, but now…”  Nancy threw up her arms, then shook her head.  “I’ve got nothing.  Everything I wanted and loved about my life is gone.  And I’m stuck with this.  What am I supposed to do?”

Agatha and Henry both felt for their son just then.  What neither of them realized though was that somewhere in their son’s little tirade, they both started to cross the line that kept them from believing that this was really their son they were talking with.  They both started to believe that their son really, somehow, seemed to exist in that little girl’s body.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Mike and Wanda Stiller opened the door and immediately saw Emily sitting with a good-looking boy and holding his hand.  He looked to be a large boy, who for some reason was wearing a nice suit.  The suit did nothing to hide what appeared to be a muscular body underneath.

The moment he saw them, Stephen dropped Emily’s hand and stood up.  “Mom!  Dad!  You’re here.  Finally!”

They had been told, but seeing Stephen in the flesh was almost overwhelming for Mike and Wanda.  Very tentatively, Wanda said, “Nancy?  Is that…really you?”

Stephen hurried over to them.  “It’s me Mom.  It’s me.  Please believe me.  Please!”

The large boy moving toward them so quickly made both Wanda and her husband step back a bit in fear.  Seeing that, Stephen stopped, shocked and disappointed.  Heartbroken.  “Don’t hate me.  Please don’t hate me.  Please believe me, I’m really here inside this…thing!  I’m really Nancy not Stephen.  When they didn’t move, Stephen fell to his knees and started crying.  “I love you,” he cried.  “I love you!  I need you Momma.  I need you Daddy.  I need…”  He rolled over onto the floor, rolled up in a ball, and sobbed.

Emily rushed over to him.  “Nance!  Nance!”  She knelt over his big body and hugged him.  “It’s okay Nancy.  I’m here.  I’m still here.  I know who you are.”

But Stephen could do nothing but feel sorry for himself and cry.  He had wanted nothing more than to see his real mother and father for so long, but now they obviously didn’t want him anymore.

Emily, still on the floor with Stephen, looked up at her mother and father.  “I know you guys don’t believe it, but this is Nancy.  This is my little sister.  I know that for a fact.  I have no doubt about it at all.  Mom, Dad, she knows things about me that only Nancy knew.  Only Nancy and nobody else!”

“She does?” Mike asked tentatively.

“Like what?” Wanda asked.

“Private things Mom!  Personal things.  Don’t ask!  They’re…embarrassing.”

“She knows things?” Wanda asked, with more hope than she had a moment ago.

“Yes!  Damn, she knows everything!  About all of us!  Things that I know for a fact that nobody else would know but her.  Just…trust me on that.”

“You were always so close,” Wanda said.

“Yeah.  We were.  That’s how I know for sure, and why I can tell you for sure that this is my sister.  Not that…other person in her body.  This guy here, is actually my sister Nancy.  I have no doubt at all.”

Very tentatively, Wanda finally knelt down over the crying boy, who was more like a grown man.  Softly, she placed her hand on Stephen’s arm.  “Nancy?” she asked.

Stephen looked up at her through his crying eyes.  “Momma,” he cried.  “It really is me.  It really is!”  He sobbed again.

Wanda didn’t know exactly what it was.  Maybe it was because of what Emily had said.  Maybe it was because of how strange it was to see this big guy lying there crying like that.  She didn’t know why exactly, but she did know that her heart yearned so much for this to be her long-lost daughter.  “Nancy,” she said again.

“Momma,” Stephen cried.  “Don’t leave me.  Don’t stop loving me.  I need you!  I need you!  I’ve missed you so much!”

Gently, Wanda pulled the crying boy into a sitting position.  She looked deeply into his tear filled eyes, and saw something there.  Something she couldn’t put a name to, but it was something that she recognized.  “Nancy,” she said a bit more firmly.  “You’re really in there.  You’re really here.”

“Momma!” Stephen cried again as hope seemed to reach out to him.  “Momma, I’m really here.  I’m Nancy inside here.  And I want to get out of here so bad!”

Still a bit tentatively, Wanda reached out and wrapped the crying boy-man in a hug.  As the man in her arms cried even harder, she held him tighter, then tighter still, until she herself was crying.  “Oh Nancy.  I’ve missed you so much.  I’ve been so lost worrying about you.”

While the two of them cried together, Emily softly said, “Mom.”  She looked up at her father.  “Dad.  I’ve been sitting here with him for a while now.  We’ve been talking…a lot.  Trust me, this is Nancy.  I don’t know how, but it really is her inside him.  Nance doesn’t seem to know anything at all about the boy whose body she’s in, but she sure knows everything about being Nancy.  And I just…feel it in him.  I feel my little sister, my best friend, inside him.  He’s Nancy Dad.  He’s Nancy Mom.  The real Nancy.  Our Nancy.  Believe me, I know it’s true.”

Wanda was still holding onto Stephen, but was now rocking him back and forth as the two of them cried and held each other.  “I love you darling,” she said to him.  “I love you my dear sweet girl.  I love you so much!”

Stephen seemed to cry even harder as he hugged his real mother tighter.

Finally, Mike knelt down and put his arms around both of them.  “Nance,” he said gently.  “I love you too.  Very much.  I’ve…missed you.”

Stephen lifted his tear-filled eyes to his real father.  “I’ve missed you too Dad.  Like you wouldn’t believe.”

Mike and his family stayed like that on the floor for a minute more before he suggested, “Maybe the floor isn’t the best place for us now.  Why don’t we get up so we can talk better.”

Slowly, he helped everyone to their feet.  Wanda stepped back and wiped the tears from her face with her hands as she looked more closely at the huge boy in front of her who somehow was her daughter.  Something made her smile and nearly laugh.  “You got all dressed up!” she said to Stephen, who was also her Nancy.  “You look really nice in that suit.”

“I wore it for you Mom,” Stephen told her.  “I know how much you like to see Dad when he gets dressed nice.”

Wanda allowed herself to let out a small chuckle.  “Yes I do.  And I thank you for being so thoughtful.”

“I wanted you to like me Mom.  Even this…new me.”

“Hm!” Wanda grunted.  “As much as I hate to say this, Nancy, you’re a good looking guy.  Very good looking.”

“But Mom, that’s just it.  I don’t want to be a good looking guy at all.  I don’t want to be a guy…a boy.  I want to be me again.  I’d do anything to be me again.  Anything!”

“I’m sure,” Wanda told her.  “Being…you inside there, it must be difficult.  It must be!”

“It is, Momma.  Believe me, it is.  I’m so…I don’t know.  I don’t know anything.  And there’s nothing I know how to do or even want to do in this body.  I hate it.  I hate it bad!”

“I’m sure,” Wanda agreed.

“What’s the worst thing for you?” Mike asked.  “You’re suddenly practically an adult now.”

“Huh!  What’s the worst thing?  You mean besides not being me, and not being able to see or even talk to you and Mom…and Emily?”

“Yeah,” Mike said.  “Besides all that.  What seems to be the worst thing?”

“I’m bored!  This Stephen was all into sports and stuff, and I’m not.  I want to dance, but he never danced.  Dad, I’ve got nothing to do.  I even asked if they would teach me to drive.  I’ve got a car and a driver’s license, but I just need to know how.  They took my car keys away from me instead.”

“Thank goodness!” Wanda muttered.

“I just want something to do!” Nancy said, totally frustrated.

“Maybe we can talk about that later,” Wanda suggested.  “You, me, and maybe Agatha as well.”

“My new mom?” Stephen said.  “Why her?”

“Because maybe, since she’s the one who raised…the real Stephen, she might have a better idea about what kind of things a boy your age might be able to do.  Things that maybe someone like you, Nancy, might find interesting.”

Stephen shook his head.  “At this point, I’m open to anything!  That weird doctor who seems to be in charge of things here talked to me a little while ago.  She said I need to look around and find something that interests me.  The problem is, I don’t know what.  I’m big now.  I’m supposed to be seventeen years old.  But the strange part is, I don’t feel seventeen.  Even though I’m not sure how being that old is supposed to feel.  I still feel like I used to.  Like I’m still twelve.”

“That much I believe,” Mike replied.  “It only makes sense.”

“Because you are only twelve,” Wanda emphasized, agreeing with her husband.

Stephen laughed a bit.  “Want to hear something funny?”

“What?” Wanda asked.

“It’s so weird.  I’m so big I can reach everything in the kitchen now.  Everything!”

In another room, Doctor Montcliff watched everyone carefully.  It had been very touch and go for a while there, but now things seemed to have finally sorted themselves out.  Did the Stillers really believe that Stephen was in reality their daughter Nancy?  She wasn’t sure, but at least they were acting a bit better towards him.  Emily though.  She had no doubt at all that Emily was convinced that Stephen was her sister.  That much alone made her feel better.

She gave them all a few more minutes, then decided it was time for the final big meeting.  The families could talk between themselves for a bit.  It was time now for Stephan and Nancy to meet each other…and their former selves.  And she knew that as much as the parents wouldn’t like it, those two deserved to be left alone to meet each other.

The room where they would meet was already prepared, and she had four FBI agents standing by just in case.

Now, it was time.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Despite being told they could all go to lunch soon, there was a large coffee urn and a nice-looking tray of snacks set out in the room.  Wanda and Mike Stiller and their daughter Emily were there together.  Their other daughter, Nancy, wasn’t there.  They didn’t know where Nancy had been taken to.  The door opened and Henry and Agatha Marsh walked in.  They noticed that their son Stephen wasn’t with them either.  The grownups all moved towards each other, but Emily felt a bit lost and kept to herself.

“They told us the kids will be back soon and then we can all go to lunch,” Henry said to the others.  “And there’s supposed to be some kind of cocktail party for us later, just before dinner.”

“Yeah,” Mike replied.  “They told us that too.  We’ve got this time right now, but we’ve actually got the entire rest of the day.  I think our daughter, Emily, wants to head to the pool.  We’ll probably go with her.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Agatha agreed.  “Maybe we’ll see you there.”

“What do you think is happening now?” Wanda asked.

“Our kids, Stephen and Nancy, are supposed to be meeting each other,” Henry told her.  “And for some reason they’re insisting that none of us should be there.  Don’t ask me why.  I think it’s ludicrous!”

“I agree!” Mike stated.

“I’m not so sure,” Agatha said.  “Maybe having us all meet the way that they did was better than simply throwing us all together.”

“Why?” Wanda asked.  “You and I talked on the phone already.  We kind of knew each other already.”

“So did we,” Henry admitted.

“Yeah,” Agatha said.  “But did they know that?  The way they worked things here, it’s almost as if they expected us to immediately hate each other and start fighting.”

“That sounds possible,” Mike admitted.  “In fact, likely.”

“Yeah,” Wanda agreed.  “So maybe you’re right.  A little caution doesn’t hurt.”

“No,” Henry agreed.  “And I hate to admit it but, seeing…Nancy…a little while ago, was a lot more difficult than I imagined.”

“For us,” Wanda said, “seeing Stephen nearly tore us apart.  I can’t believe how difficult it was.”

“Wanda,” Agatha said.  “I really hate to ask this but…”  She paused a moment then asked.  “When you met Stephen, did you really believe it was your daughter living inside of him?  I mean, really?”

Wanda searched for a way to answer that, then her husband said, “Not at first.  At first, we saw that big guy, almost a full-grown man, and simply thought there was no way that our Nancy could be inside there.  It made no sense at all.”

“That’s pretty much how I felt too,” Wanda admitted.  “I simply couldn’t believe it was her at all.  Thank God for Emily.  She did more to convince us that it was really Nancy than anything else.  Um…until I actually held him and looked deep into his eyes.”  She shook her head.  “I don’t know how, but I saw something there.  Something of Nancy, that I knew without a doubt was my Nancy.  I think it was only then that I really believed it.  And I mean, really believed.  So now…now I have no doubt in the world that somehow my daughter has been split apart and half of her is her old body, but the other half now lives inside…your son Stephen.”

“That’s kind of how we felt too,” Agatha told them.  “But I think for us it was easier, quicker maybe.  For me, it was the things that Nancy said that made me believe.  All I had to do was listen to her and the things she was saying, complaining about, and I knew I was listening to my son for sure.  I had no doubt at that point at all.”

“So we believe,” Mike said.  “And you believe.  But where does that leave us now?”

“Just as lost as we were before,” Henry told him.

Mike nodded, but Wanda had a different opinion.  “No!  We’re not.  We know for sure now where our children are, even if they’re not the way they’re supposed to be.  They’re not completely lost anymore.  They’re found.  Both of them.  As for me, as much as I hate it, at least I can take some comfort in that.”

Agatha went to her and hugged her.  “Thanks for putting that into words,” she said.  “I agree.  At least we can take comfort in that much.  They’re no longer lost.”

“No,” Henry agreed.  “They’re no longer lost.  They just feel that way.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Extracted - Chapter 15 – Have You Met Yourself – Part 2 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 15 – Have You Met Yourself – Part 2 of 2

 

When the Marsh family arrived at their holding room, Doctor Montcliff was already inside, waiting for them.  Montcliff introduced herself to the family since she hadn’t met any of them yet, then she took just Stephen out of the room with her.  She hadn’t yet had a chance to sit down and meet Stephen Marsh, the mental Nancy Stiller, so she was taking this very brief chance now.

She led Stephen from the holding room into another room where they could talk privately.  As she walked the short distance with him, she sized the boy up.  He was certainly big, just like she had been told.  Even under the nice suit he was wearing, his muscles were very evident.  She had no doubt that he would drive all the girls crazy…if he wasn’t a little girl in his head.

“Hi Stephen,” she said as they finally had a chance to sit together.  “I’m Doctor Montcliff.”

“That’s what you said in the other room when you came and got me,” Stephen replied.

“Yes I did,” Montcliff replied.  “Stephen, I want you to know something right up front.  And this is something I told Nancy in one of the sessions I had with her as well.”

“What?”

“Whenever I talk to you, or about you, I’m going to call you Stephen, even though I have no doubt that you still think of yourself as Nancy.”

“I do!  I am Nancy.”

“Yes.  I know you probably think that way.  But I’m going to call you Stephen.”

“Why?”

“Because everyone who sees you is only going to see Stephen.  They’re not going to have a clue about Nancy.  So to avoid confusion, I’m going to call you Stephen, and I’m going to call…the other you out there, Nancy.  And I hate to say it, but you’re going to have to get used to being called that by everyone.  More importantly, you’re going to have to start thinking of yourself that way too.  You’ve got a boy’s body now, so to the world, you’re Stephen.”

“What if I don’t want to be?”

“I don’t think you’re going to have a choice.”

Stephen groaned.  “There’s too many things I don’t seem to have a choice about lately.”

“I’m sure there must be,” Montcliff agreed.

“Then what now?” Stephen asked.

“Now?  I just wanted a chance to meet and talk with you first.  I’ve already met Nancy, your…opposite.”

“The other me,” Stephen replied.

“That’s right.   Now it’s your turn.”

“Okay, so what are we supposed to do?”

“Nothing  Just sit here and talk for a few minutes.”

“Just talk.”

“That’s all.”

“About what?”

“What kinds of things are worrying you now.”

Stephen shook his head.  “Aren’t you going to ask me any questions about what I remember about being Stephen, or what I felt in the hospital?”

“Let me guess,” Montcliff said.  “In the hospital your head kept spinning and your confusion kept getting worse, and you’re still confused now about practically everything, and you don’t have a clue what to do about it.  And as to being Stephen, you don’t remember anything at all.”

“Yeah!  Exactly!”

“Then why should I bother asking you about those things?  I already know that much.”

Stephen had to take that in for a minute.  “Are you being tricky or something?”

“Why?  Because I can guess at how crazy this new life seems to be for you?”

“Yeah.”

Montcliff chuckled a bit.  “It’s my job.  So tell me, what’s your biggest problem with this new life?”

“The biggest one?”

“Yeah.  Tell me about it.”

“I’m bored!”

Montcliff considered that for a moment then asked, “In what way?”

“What the heck am I supposed to do with myself?”

“What do you mean?”

“The old Stephen was crazy into sports and stuff.  I’m not.  I like dancing, but he didn’t.  And really I love ballet.  I’ve been taking it since I was six.”

“Six!  And you’re still at it.  You must love it.”

“I do.  But now I can’t do that at all.  And I hate that!”

“I’m sure you do.”

“But I don’t really like sports.  Especially football, and that’s what…the other Stephen seems to like the most.  There’s literally nothing for me to do that I’m interested in.”

Montcliff nodded.  “Maybe it’s time to look around and develop some new interests.  There’s nothing wrong with doing that.  And I have no doubt that there’s a lot of things out there that can be interesting to both boys and girls alike.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.  That needs to be up to you.”

“Boys can dance ballet.”

“Yes, but not like a girl can.  And Stephen, I hate to say this, but take a good look at that body you’ve got now.  It’s not exactly ballet material.  It’s more like a bulldozer.”

“Yeah.  Ugly!”

“Ugly?  Is that how you see yourself.”

“Wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe I would.  In fact, thinking about it, in your shoes, I definitely would.”

“See.”

“Okay.  The point is though that maybe ballet should be out.  But there’s other kinds of dancing.  And dancing is just one thing.  Find yourself something that interests you.”

“Maybe,” Stephen replied.

“Just look around.  Think about it,” Montcliff suggested.

Stephen’s only reply was to shrug.

“And you may think your body is ugly,” Montcliff said, “but the truth is, you’ve got a beautiful body.  Really…nice.”

“Not like my old body.  It’s not nice the way I want it to be.”

“You were a girl before and you’re still a girl inside.”

“Of course I am, and that’s not changing!”

“I didn’t say anything about worrying about changing yet.”

Stephen shook his head.  “You want to know something weird about this body though?”

“What?”

“I can’t get used to how big I am.  It’s crazy.  It’s like I’ve got…miles of body all around me.  Do you know I can reach absolutely everything in the kitchen?  Everything!  My…new mom back there can’t even do that.”

Montcliff chuckled a bit.  You’re bigger than she is.

“But I’m not supposed to be!”

Montcliff sighed.  “No.  You’re supposed to still be Nancy.  The problem is, that you’re not.”

“Just tell me what we have to do to fix it so I can be me again.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have a clue.  I really don’t know.  But I can tell you, it’s the foremost thing on my mind.”

“Just find out.  Fast!”

“I’m trying,” Montcliff told him.  “Stephen, we can’t take much time right now, but how would you like a chance to get together with Emily again for a little while?”

“Emily!”  Stephen’s eyes lit up.  “Yes!  Please!  I miss her.  I think I miss Emily more than anything!”

“Easy Stephen.  Relax,” Montcliff told him as she stood up.  “I’ll have Emily brought in to you in a few minutes.  Thanks for this little talk.  I’ll see you in a little while.”

With that she walked out.  It was time for the next round of meetings.  Three at once.  She knocked on the door to the holding room where the Marsh family was waiting.  Detective Nolan answered the door.  “It’s time,” she told him.

“Finally,” Nolan replied before closing the door again.

Montcliff continued on to another room where she opened the door and walked in.  The Stiller family was waiting anxiously.  “Okay,” she told them.  “Mrs. Stiller, if you’ll go with Agent Rosenberg there, she’ll introduce you to Mrs. Marsh.  Mr. Stiller, if you’ll wait right here, Mr. Marsh should be with you momentarily.”  She looked to Emily.  “And Emily, if you’ll come with me there’s someone else I’d like you to meet.”

“Henry Marsh will be here?” Mike Stiller asked for confirmation.

“Yes.  Just give him a moment,” Montcliff confirmed.  As she saw Mrs. Stiller getting ready to leave with Agent Rosenberg she turned to Emily.  “Emily.  Ready?”

“I guess,” Emily replied.  “Who am I supposed to talk to?”

Montcliff ignored her question and led her down the hallway to the door where she had just left Stephen.  “Right in there,” she told Emily.

Emily wasn’t sure what was going on.  Who was she meeting?

She opened the door and saw a large boy inside.  Only then did it dawn on her who that boy had to be.  Her eyes went wide.  “Nancy?  Is that you?”

Stephen saw who it was and immediately stood up.  “Emily!  Emily, it’s me.  Yes, it’s really me, Nancy!  Oh wow I’ve missed you.  I’ve missed you like you wouldn’t believe.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Emily told him as she moved closer.  She couldn’t stop looking at the big hulking body that claimed to be her little sister.  “Damn.  When I first looked at you I was hoping it wasn’t you.”

“Me too.  I don’t want to be stuck like this.  I want to be me again.”

“No, not because of that,” Emily told him.  “Nancy, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?”

“More than a few times,” Nancy replied disgustedly.

“Nance, I’d give my right arm to just have a date with you!”

“A date?  But Emily!  You’ve got the hots for Jacob, remember?”

“What Jacob doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Emily replied.

Nancy giggled, despite the body she was in.

It was only then that something hit Emily.  The only person in the world that knew she liked Jacob was her sister, Nancy.  In amazement she said, “You really are my sister in there.  It’s so hard to believe.”

“Yeah.  For me too.”

The two of them hugged each other for dear life.  Both of them started crying.

“Shit!” Emily finally said, pulling away from him a bit.  “Man do you have muscles.”

“Tell me about it,” Stephen said.  “I hate it.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Em, I don’t want muscles like this.  It’s awful!”

“Maybe for you, but…damn you’re hot!”

“Em!  Please!”

Emily laughed and hugged Stephen again.  “So how are you?” she asked as the two of them sat down together.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Agatha and Wanda actually met each other in the hallway, just outside of the room where they were supposed to meet.

“Wanda?” Agatha asked.

“You must be Agatha,” Wanda replied.  She quickly moved in for a hug.  “Sorry,” she whispered.  “After talking to you on the phone, I feel like I know you already.”

“Me too,” Agatha replied.

Agent Rosenberg held the door open for them.  “Ladies?  Why don’t you get comfortable.  There’s coffee available inside.  As soon as the two women were in the room, she left and closed the door.

Inside, Wanda picked up a coffee cup.  “Coffee?” she asked.

“Yes, please,” Agatha replied.

Wanda filled the cup from the coffee urn and handed it off.  Then she got herself a cup.  The two women sat together.

“I’m glad they finally gave us a chance to meet,” Agatha told her.

“Me too,” Wanda agreed.  “How the heck did we wind up in this situation?”

“Heaven only knows.  But you’ve got to admit, we seem to be stuck in the strangest position on earth.”

“Maybe in the history of the earth,” Agatha agreed.

“How are you managing having to deal with a son who’s in reality, my little daughter?” Wanda asked.

“I won’t lie to you, it’s difficult.  I literally yearn for my Stephen…all of him.  But overall, at least your Nancy seems to be not only bright, but a whole lot cleaner and easier to deal with than my Stephen.  Compliments to you for raising such a good girl.”

“Thanks,” Wanda replied.  “I certainly know what you mean about yearning for your real child.  I do the same for Nancy.  But I have to say, Stephen has been interesting.  Very different, but interesting.  I had to sit down and explain bras to him recently, along with having the period talk.  He didn’t exactly take that too well.”

Agatha laughed.  “No.  I imagine he wouldn’t.  At least that’s one thing I don’t have to worry about on my end."

"No.  Still, at least I’ve got Emily to help me.  Although for some reason, Emily has been avoiding Nancy like the plague.  That’s one of the most disappointing things about this situation so far.”

“I’ve only got the one child, Stephen, so I don’t have that problem.  But at the same time, I have no other kids to hang onto.  It’s like…my Stephen is dead, even though technically he’s still there.”

Wanda grabbed Agatha’s hand.  “I’m so sorry.  I can’t imagine.”

Agatha nodded.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Doctor Montcliff watched the video monitor carefully.  Henry Marsh had just entered the room with Mike Stiller.  This was one of the meetings she was the most worried about.  Two dominant males together.  She was surprised however by how easy the two men seemed to be with each other, right from the start.

“Henry?” Mike Stiller said as he entered the room.

“Mike?” Henry Marsh returned.  “It’s good to finally meet you.”

“If I recall, this was supposed to happen over a good bottle of Scotch.”

“True.  I found the bar earlier.  Maybe we can find it together later.”

“That’s a plan,” Mike agreed.

“So I guess we’re supposed to be talking about…something or other,” Stiller noted.  “And something tells me you don’t want to discuss politics right now.”

Henry laughed.  “Not really.  Although another time it might be interesting.  We both have to worry about keeping our jobs.  And that means being elected for us both.”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed.  “We’ve got a few things in common.”

“Speaking of things in common,” Henry said.  “I guess there’s still the big elephant in the room.”

“The kids.”

“That would be it,” Henry agreed.

“Yeah.  It’s my…our…biggest concern.  I’ve got to be honest.  My job is immensely important, and I can barely think about it right now.  Knowing that my daughter has been…ripped apart and done…who knows what with.  It just makes me so angry!” he suddenly roared.

“I know what you mean,” Henry told him, his voice growing in intensity too.  “I look over there and see my son, but it’s not my son.  My son is somewhere else instead.  In one way, it’s like there’s two of him, but the reality is that it’s more like…”  He looked straight at Mike.  “They murdered him.  Murdered my son.  And I’m the D.A..  It’s my job to put people who do things like that away.  Permanently!”

“And that’s just what I want done with whoever did it,” Mike agreed.

To Montcliff, secretly watching from another room, for a moment there she had started to get worried.  It had been like two bull moose going at each other…except they weren’t.  She was glad to see the tempers of both men settling down a bit.  Hopefully, they would stay that way.  At least their tempers hadn’t been aimed at each other.

In the room, the two men looked at each other for a moment.  “Damn,” Henry said.  “Some Scotch right now would be really good.”

“We’ll complain to the management as soon as we get out of here.”

Henry chuckled.  “What do we do about the kids?”

“You’ve got me, and I’m supposed to be the guy everyone counts on for answers.”

“Something tells me I’d hate your job.”

“In some ways, I happen to know yours is worse than mine.”

“Sometimes it seems that way,” Henry agreed.  “Damn, I miss my son though.  Yes, his physical body is living in my house, but he’s not there.  He’s just…gone.  Would you believe that since this happened, I miss football more than ever?”

“Oh, I believe it.  You want to hear the really funny part?  I miss all the ballet music.  Nancy loved her ballet.  She was good at it too.  And ballet music seemed to be always echoing through the entire house.”

“Hm!” Henry grunted.  “You mentioning that just stuck a picture in my mind of something I don’t think I’d ever want to see.”

“What’s that?”

“My son, as big as he is, dancing ballet.”

Mike laughed.  “How much you want to bet our wives would love it.”

“No bet!  I have no doubt they would.”

Their discussion was interrupted by the door opening.  Doctor Montcliff entered with both of their wives.

“Speak of the devil,” Henry noted.  “We were just talking about you two,” he said as he went over and kissed his wife.

Wanda went to her husband and gave him a light hug.  “What were you saying about us?” she asked.

“You probably don’t want to know,” Mike told her.  “But it mentioned Stephen and ballet in the same sentence.”

“Oh lord!” Agatha replied with a roll of her eyes.

Doctor Montcliff took that opportunity to move closer.  “I need to know how all of you want to proceed with our next meeting.”

“Another one?” Wanda asked.

“One of the more important meetings Montcliff told her.  How do you want to go about getting together with your…mental children?”

“Finally!” Mike Stiller exclaimed.  “What do you mean by how we want to do it?”

“Would you Mr. Stiller and Mrs. Stiller, rather see Stephen separately, alone, or would you rather be together to…meet him.”

Mike and Wanda looked at each other.  “Together!” Wanda decided.

“And how about you Mr. and Mrs. Marsh?  How do you want to meet Nancy?” Montcliff asked.

“Together!” Henry declared.

“Yes,” Agatha agreed.

“But…” Wanda said.  “Emily is dying to meet this Stephen.  She should be here too.”

“Emily has been with Stephen since before you all met.  The two of them seem to be getting along amazingly well.  Not only is Stephen ecstatic over seeing his sister, but I almost get the impression that Emily is developing a bit of a crush on him.”  She noticed a few bulging eyeballs at that one.

“Uh…that could be awkward,” Agatha noted.

Montcliff nodded, then said, “Come on.  Mr. and Mrs. Stiller, I’ll take you to Stephen.  Mr. and Mrs. Marsh, Agent Rosenberg will escort you to Nancy.”

The four parents looked to each other as if for courage, then they all turned and trooped out of the room.  Rosenberg led the Marshes one direction, while Montcliff took the Stillers in the opposite direction.

Extracted - Chapter 15 – Have You Met Yourself – Part 1 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 15 – Have You Met Yourself – Part 1 of 2

 

“No!” Nancy protested.  “I’m not wearing a dress!”

“Yes you are young lady.  You’ll wear it and like it!”

“Why?”

“Because we’re meeting your other mother today and I won’t have her think that I don’t care about how you look!”

“My mother is used to seeing me all dirty and sweaty.  That’s how she usually sees me.”

“Not anymore.  Especially not in that body.  I won’t have it.  Now what earrings do you want to wear with it?”

“Earrings?  You’ve got to be kidding!”

“Earrings!  You should have been wearing them every day.  I’ve just been slack about making you.  Now it’s time you started getting used to them.  Not to mention a million other things.  Now put that dress on and let’s get you ready.  And no more complaining.  Get used to it!  And we’ve still got to do your hair.”

Half an hour later, Nancy sat on her bed and glanced at the clock.  It was only eight thirty, but the entire family had already had breakfast, gotten packed, and her dumb new mother had literally attacked every inch of her with a different hairdo including a big hairclip, earrings, a necklace, a bracelet, sandals on her feet, and of course, a dress!  She felt completely humiliated.

Emily leaned into her room from the hallway.  “All ready?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Nancy replied sullenly.  “I still don’t see why I have to wear…all this.”

Emily laughed.  “You look nice…finally!  You…I mean the old you, loved getting dressed.”

“I’m not the old me.”

Emily shook her head.  “Unfortunately.  By the way, did you pack your pads?”

“My pads?”

“In case your period starts.”

“I’m not bleeding!”

“Not right now maybe, but what if it starts while you’re on this trip?  Nancy, you better start getting used to these little things immediately.  From now on you never go anywhere without some kind of protection for things like that.”

“Never?”

“No. You never leave the house without them.  I’m sure Mom told you that.  Now make sure you’ve got some in your bag.”

“My bag?  Mom already packed it full of stuff.  Too much stuff.”

“No dummy.  Your purse.”

“Mom didn’t say I had to have one.”

“Nancy, your bag goes without saying.  Now check it to make sure your pads are there.”

Nancy got up from her bed and opened her closet.  There were two different hooks that had a lot of “bags” hung on them.  “Which one?”

“Whatever one you want.”

“I don’t want any of them.”

“Tough!  Choose.  Quickly.  Before we leave.”

Nancy grabbed the one that was on top of one of the hooks.  It felt heavy.  She opened it and saw it jumbled with all kinds of stuff.  “What’s in here?”

“I don’t know.  It’s your purse.  Just make sure your pads are there.  Oh, and maybe your wallet would be a good idea too.  Is your cellphone in there?”

“My cellphone is in my dresser.”

“Are you bringing it?”

“What for?”

“Up to you kid,” Emily said.  “Better get with it.”

Emily was about to leave when Nancy quickly called, “Emily!”

“Yeah?”

“Did Nancy have a favorite stuffed animal or something?”

“Why?”

“I just thought that, if I get to see her, she might like to have it again.”

Emily stared at Nancy for a few moments, then said.  “Yeah.  She did.”  She went over to the shelf and selected a stuffed dog and handed it to this new Nancy.  “She called her Miss Barkey.”

“Thanks,” Nancy told her.  “I just thought it might be nice.”

“Yeah.  It would.”  She suddenly reached down and hugged Nancy.  “Thanks,” she said softly.

Nancy watched as Emily left and went back to her room.  She glanced over at her suitcase that her “mother” had packed for her.  It was full of more clothes like she was already wearing.  Girly stuff.  She wasn’t girly.  Even if she looked like a girl.

A car was supposed to pick them up at nine and take them to someplace that nobody knew about.  So far, she had already been transported to crazy-land today.  She looked down at the stuffed dog in her hand.  Something just told her that even as a boy now, the real Nancy would appreciate having it.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

“Dad,” Stephen said as he stood in the doorway to his new parent’s room.

“Yeah Stephen?”

“Can you help me with something?”

“Sure, what?”

“Steve!” his mother said, looking at him.  “That suit looks very nice on you.”

“Thanks.  But now I need help tying this tie.”

“What do you need a tie for right now?” Agatha asked.  “We’re just riding in the car.  You really don’t need to be wearing a suit right now either.  Your father isn’t.”

“I just wanted to…look nice,” Stephen replied.

“For your mother?”

“Yeah.  Maybe.  I don’t know.  Besides, I never get a chance to wear interesting clothes, and this is the first real chance I’ve had.”  It was all true.  Including wanting to look nice for his mother.

“Maybe leave the tie off for now and just leave the top button on your shirt unbuttoned,” Agatha suggested.  “If you want, you can wear the tie later.  Your father will help you with it then.”

Stephen nodded.  “Okay.  Thanks.”

“Are you all packed?” Agatha asked.

“You packed for me last night,” Stephen reminded her.

“Okay.  Just checking.”

“Do you really think I’ll need that bathing suit?” Stephen asked.

“They said it would be someplace nice, like a vacation.  I would think there’s a good chance that wherever it is could have some kind of pool.  You said you love swimming.”

“Yeah.  But not in this body.  I’ll be…pretty much naked.  At least on top.”

“Darling, naked on top is perfectly fine for a boy.  You know that I’m sure.  And Stephen, trust me, even fully naked that body of yours is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t the body I want to show off.”

Agatha stopped getting ready and stared at him for a moment.  No, I guess it wouldn’t be.  But don’t sell yourself short.  Did you grab your wallet?”

“It’s on my dresser.  But without a purse, where am I supposed to put it?”

Henry was startled by the question.  “In your pocket of course.  And keep it there!”

“What for?”

“I’ll give you some money in case they have things you can buy when we get there.  A wallet is a good place to keep it.”

“I know that.  It’s just…”  He sighed.  “Everything is all different!  I can’t get used to any of it!”

Agatha went over and hugged her son, who was in reality a little girl inside.  “I know dear.  But now it’s time to be brave and push your boundaries a bit.”

“Do what?”

“Pretend to be big.  And a boy.  Get used to it.”

Stephen rolled his eyes and walked out.  He didn’t want to be a boy.  He wanted to be Nancy again.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

The Stiller family arrived first, taking up three rooms in the east building of the resort.  There were agents staying in all the rooms around them for their protection, even though they would hopefully never know it.

The Marsh family arrived thirty minutes later, and were driven directly to the west building on the opposite side of the resort.  This was now one of the times that the agents were the most concerned with, because both families were given time to freshen up and wander around a bit before they needed to be back in their rooms to be escorted to the proceedings.  Both Rosenberg and Doctor Montcliff considered it amazing that neither family noticed the other in the small amount of wandering around that they did.

Neither family had much time to explore though since they were both warned to be ready soon.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Detective Nolan knocked on the door to Henry and Agatha Marsh’s room.  The door was opened promptly.  “Are you ready?” he asked.

“All set,” Henry told him.  “Let’s get these questions out of the way.”

“Um…about that,” Nolan said.  “It seems our team of government experts decided to spend the day researching things at the two hospitals instead.  So they’ve asked us to put your interviews off until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!  But we’re here now.  Today!”

“Yeah.  Sorry about that.  In the meantime, we thought we’d give the two families a chance to meet each other.”

“Oh good,” Agatha said quickly.  “And how about our Stephen?”

“That too of course,” Nolan confirmed.  “But I need to warn you, we’re a bit worried about how these meetings between you might go, so we’ve arranged to kind of introduce you all slowly.”

“What’s that mean?” Henry asked.

“A few at a time.  Especially between Stephen and Nancy.”

Henry shook his head.  “Whatever.  I just want to meet this Nancy and see if it really is my son inside her.”

“And I’m sure the congressman wants to do the same with Stephen,” Nolan countered.

Henry stared at him for a moment, then nodded.  “I’m sure he does.  Let’s get on with it then.”

“We just need Stephen now,” Nolan replied.

Henry pointed at the door next to his.  “Right there.”

A minute later, Nolan led them all to a temporary holding room.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Agent Rosenberg went to get the Stiller family to bring them to the arranged meetings.  She had to apologize to them however, because it seemed that the government team that was supposed to question them had decided to visit the medical personnel at the two hospitals first to get their take on what had happened.  While they were in Philadelphia, they also planned on meeting with Doctor Faucet, Stephen’s psychiatrist that the family had dropped.  The congressman was angry at being put off, but at least he and his family could finally see Stephen and get a chance to see for themselves if he was really their Nancy inside.

Once they understood what was going on, Rosenberg led them all to a holding room and asked them to please be patient as some of the Marsh family were already involved in things.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---