Extracted - Chapter 19 – Friends and Lovers – Part 1 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 19 – Friends and Lovers – Part 1 of 2

 

At breakfast the next morning, Wanda watched Nancy carefully.  To all appearances, Nancy seemed to be her old…well, her new old self.  She certainly wasn’t the old Nancy by any stretch of the imagination.  Still, at least last night’s tirade seemed to be behind her now.  In truth, Wanda wasn’t sure she could blame Nancy for it at all.  How would she react under the same circumstances?  It took very little thought to realize that Nancy might kill herself.  She certainly hoped Nancy wasn’t thinking along those lines.

She and her husband had spent a long time last night discussing what they should do about Nancy.  Nancy’s tirade had made it very clear that something had to be done soon.  But what?  As things stood right now, they would have to remove her from school for a while.  But each of them had realized that removing her from school would also leave Nancy as alone as she was now.  They both felt that her being so alone and bored all the time was doing nothing but compounding her problems.  How do you help a young girl, who is in reality a seventeen year old boy?

“As I see it,” Mike had told his wife last night, “she’s going to have no choice.”

Wanda shook her head.  “I know.  No matter how we look at it, it has to happen.  It has to be that way.  We’ve just got to make her understand that.”

“Not after the way she behaved tonight,” Mike told her.

“That makes it much more difficult,” Wanda admitted.  “But still, it’s going to need to be done.”

“Is there any way we can just sneak her into it?  Let her realize it herself?”

Wanda considered that.  “I don’t know.  But I do know that right now, talking to her about it might do nothing more than upset her more than she already is.”

“Maybe it won’t,” Mike suggested.

“Maybe, but I doubt it,” Wanda replied.  “You saw her tonight.  You were the one who talked her down.  Thanks for that by the way.  You were…great.”

Mike shook his head.  “Maybe we should get some advice from someone else.”

“Like who?”

“How about her psychiatrist?”

“I guess I can call her and ask,” Wanda replied.  “I can’t see where asking can hurt anything at all.”

“Go for it,” Mike suggested.

Wanda realized what she already subconsciously knew.  Her husband was leaving all the work and responsibility to her.  As usual.

Once the breakfast dishes had been cleaned and the girls were upstairs straightening up their rooms, Wanda pulled out her cellphone and called Doctor Montcliff.  “Doctor,” she said as soon as she got the woman on the line.  “I’m afraid that Nancy had a bit of a tirade last night.  A bad one.”

“What happened?” Montcliff asked, fully concerned.

“She went into some kind of major rage and was screaming her head off and pounding the pillows on her bed as hard as she could.”

“Did she hurt herself?”

“No.  Fortunately.  But Mike and I both realized that we’ve got to do something to help her.  She feels like when she woke up as Nancy, she lost everything in her life, and evidently it was a lot.  Now, I think all the changes are eating her alive.  We’re wondering if you had any suggestions.”

“None I can think of right now,” Montcliff told her.  “We can discuss it when I see her again.”

“Yes, but what about until then?”

“It’s only going to be a few days,” Montcliff reminded her.  “I still want to keep seeing her as often as possible, and after having a tirade like that, I’m sure it’s more important than ever.”

“Mike and I decided we’re going to remove her from school for now, but at the same time, we know that’s going to leave her more alone and bored than ever.  What do you think?”

“Right now, Nancy would never survive in school.  She isn’t what she looks like, and how do you think the other kids in school would react to her.  Plus, her school knowledge is way above them.”

“Yeah.  So we pull her out for sure,” Wanda agreed.

“At least for now,” Montcliff told her.  “Later, when she’s had a chance to adjust more, it might be a different situation.”

“Hopefully,” Wanda agreed, considering that.  “What if…” she said, trying to think things through.

“What?” Montcliff asked.

“Do you think Nancy might be able to get along if I bring in just one of her old friends?”

“I don’t really know.  I think that would depend on the friend.  I’m sure she would have to know that Nancy isn’t exactly Nancy anymore.  Another thing she might need is a lot of patience.  In fact, maybe not so much patience, but she may need to be stubborn.  Patience and stubborn both.  Otherwise, Nancy might chase her away.”

“Yeah,” Wanda said, considering all that.  “I’ll think about it.”

“Good, and we can discuss it when you come here next.”

“Thanks,” Wanda told her.  She hung up the phone and spent the next little while considering everything.  She finally decided on two courses of action to help her youngest daughter.

Her first phone call went to the local dance academy where Nancy had been taking ballet lessons since she was six.  “Hello, Sonya?” Wanda said once she got the owner to answer.  “This is Wanda Stiller.”

“Wanda!  I heard about your daughter being kidnapped.  My husband and I were absolutely shocked.  And then you got her back.  How is she?”

“Not good,” Wanda admitted.  “And that’s why I’m calling.  I’d like to see if I can get your help.”

“Anything,” Sonya told her.

“Well, you haven’t heard the problem yet.”

“Problem?”

“Sonya, when we got Nancy back, she no longer remembered anything at all about her life.  Nothing.  Not us.  Not her friends.  Not even herself.  She didn’t know who she is, and she still doesn’t.  And she absolutely doesn’t act like herself either.”

“Oh my!  What do the doctors say?”

“That it looks like it may be permanent.  Whatever happened to her while she was gone simply left her as a totally blank slate.  I think we’re lucky to have what we do.”

“Wanda, I’m so sorry.  That’s horrible!  I can’t even imagine it.  What are you doing about it?”

“A couple of things to start,” Wanda told her.  “And you’re the first.”

“Me?”

“Yes.  Sonya, you know how much Nancy loved ballet.”

“She certainly did,” Sonya agreed.

“Right now, Nancy doesn’t know a thing about it anymore and couldn’t care less about it.  What I want to know is if you’ll agree to give her some private lessons.”

“In ballet?  Sure.  Why not.  Maybe it will jog her memory a bit.”

“I seriously doubt it,” Wanda told her.  “Sonya, please know that it looks like none of her memories are going to come back at all, even though it’s our greatest wish.”

“Okay,” Sonya said.  “Let me check my schedule.  I know how busy you and your family are.”

“Wait Sonya,” Wanda told her quicky.  “There’s a few other conditions to this.”

“Conditions?” Sonya said hesitantly.

“Yes.  It’s very important for my husband that nothing of what happened to Nancy gets out.  Or at least, as little as possible.  Because of that, would you be willing to come here to the house to work with her?”

Sonya considered that.  “I guess I can try,” she agreed hesitantly.  “Whether or not we continue may depend on how it goes.”

“That’s fair,” Wanda agreed.  “Right now, Nancy is doing nothing at all but sitting around and moping, feeling sorry for herself.”

“Wanda, dance could very well help her.  But have you considered perhaps other forms of dance besides ballet?”

“I never thought of it,” Wanda replied.

“Tell you what.  Let’s set up a time for me to get there and let me work with her for a bit.  I don’t know if I can help her, but at the least we can maybe give her something to occupy her blank mind for a bit.”

“Good enough,” Wanda told her.  “When do you think you can come?”

Sonya checked her calendar.  “Um…if you like, I can come tomorrow right after lunch.  Will that work for you?”

“Perfect!” Wanda told her.  “Thanks Sonya.  I appreciate it.”  She ended the call and considered things.  Now all she had to do was give the bad news to Nancy.  Nancy wasn’t going to like it, but it was for her own good.  But first, she had one more call to make.

She punched the buttons on her phone to connect the call.  This one to a woman she knew well.  Since the woman’s daughter had been to the house any number of times, and Nancy had been to her house, Wanda looked at the girl as being one of Nancy’s best friends.  Consequently, she knew Rhonda, the girl’s mother, fairly well.  She heard the phone ringing.

“Hello?”

“Rhonda.  It’s Wanda.”

“Wanda!  Oh gee!  I’ve been afraid to call since we heard that Nancy had been kidnapped.  But we heard she’s back now.  Is she okay?”

“Not exactly.”

“Oh no.  What happened?”

“Rhonda.  I  hate to say it, but Nancy lost her memory during that abduction.  And I mean all her memory.  And the doctors think it’s probably going to be permanent.”

“Permanent!  Oh Wanda!  I don’t know what to say except, that’s beyond horrible.”

As she had explained to Sonya, Wanda told her that right now, Nancy didn’t remember anything about her life, or her friends, or even herself.  She didn’t even act like herself.

“Oh Wanda!  That’s so severe!  Totally!  How did it happen?”

“We don’t know for sure, but we think it had to do with whatever drugs they gave her while she was gone.  We simply don’t know for sure.”

“What are you doing about it?”

“Right now?  Calling you to see if you and maybe Chrissy can give me a bit of help.”

“Chrissy?”

“She’s one of Nancy’s few friends.  She’s been here to the house and Nancy’s been to your house.  I just need to know if Chrissy would be willing to just try talking to Nancy and maybe try to keep her company.  But Rhonda, Chrissy would have to realize that Nancy isn’t going to be herself.  She won’t even act like herself.  And she certainly won’t remember who she is.  But if she can just be a bit of company to Nancy for even a little while, it may be a good thing.  At this point, we just need to know if she’s going to be able to be around other girls her age.”

“If she’s going to be able?” Rhonda asked with some concern.  “Wanda, school starts in a few weeks.”

“Nancy won’t be going to school.  We know that for a fact.  But right now, we just want to know how she’s going to be around other kids.  Rhonda, right now Nancy is so depressed and lost because she doesn’t know anything that I don’t know where to begin helping her.  I’m just hoping that maybe someone more her age can bring a little interest into her life for just a few minutes.”

 “Wanda, right now, I’m really not sure.  Please, let me think about it and call you back.  Okay?”

“That’s all I can ask Rhonda,” Wanda told her.  “And Rhonda.  Either way.  Thanks.”

“Sure.  Talk to you later.”

Wanda hung up the phone.  Well, that hadn’t gone as well as she had hoped.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Lunch was over and with nothing better to do, Nancy went back to her room and sat on the floor with her back against the bed.  Her head was pretty much blank since she was trying her best to temporarily block out the memories of everything that she used to be and that were now gone.  Basically, her entire life.  Had she really died and wound up in this body?  In her opinion, she’d much rather have stayed dead.  Why hadn’t she?  She didn’t know and didn’t care.  She just wanted it all to end.

“Nance,” a soft voice came from the doorway to her bedroom.

Nancy looked up and got a bit of a shock.  There was a girl standing there.  A girl about her own age.  She looked at the girl curiously, but said nothing, still trying to figure out why she was there.

“Nancy?  Do you remember me?” the girl asked.

“Sorry,” Nancy said, not really caring.  “Not a clue.”

The girl nodded.  “They said you wouldn’t remember.  Can I come in?”

Nancy shrugged.  “Why not?”

The girl came in and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her.  “Hi,” she said brightly.  “I’m Chrissy.  Your best friend.”  She stuck her hand out for Nancy to shake.

Best friend?  Nobody had mentioned Chrissy to her yet.  Still, Nancy reached out tentatively and shook her hand.  “They say I’m Nancy,” she replied.

“Yeah, you are.”

Nancy knew right away that she couldn’t let this girl know anything at all about her being Stephen.  She was also going to have to be very careful about everything she said.  “I don’t remember being Nancy, or even who she is,” Nancy said to her.  “Sorry.”

“Yeah,” Chrissy replied.  “I don’t know what that must be like.”

“Not fun,” Nancy told her.

“I’m sure,” Chrissy replied.  “What are you doing?”

“Before you came?  A lot of nothing.  That’s all I ever do is a lot of nothing, because I don’t know anything.  I’m not even interested in anything.”

“How can you not be interested in anything?”

Nancy shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I guess I’m not interested because I don’t understand things.”

Chrissy wasn’t sure what that meant.  “I just thought that maybe you might want to talk…like we always do.”

“I don’t know what we always do.”

“Yeah.  I forgot.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to talk,” Nancy explained.  “It’s just…what can we talk about?  That’s the problem.”

Chrissy realized that.  “Yeah.  Believe it or not, that makes sense.”

“So who are you?” Nancy asked.

“Me?”

“Well, I can’t tell you about me.”

Chrissy giggled.  “Yeah.  I guess not.”

“You said you’re my best friend.  I wish I could remember.”

“Nance!  I used to come to your house a lot.  And you came to mine.”

“I did?”

“Yeah.  Of course.”

“We didn’t go anywhere else?”

“We went shopping with some of the other girls once,” Chrissy told her.  “But mostly, we see each other at school and that’s it.”

“At school.”

“Yeah.  Uh…Nancy.  Are you going to school?  It starts soon.”

“I don’t know.  When I think about school, I can’t even picture it.  I get a sense of a bunch of kids, but that’s it.  What do you do at school?”

“Learn stuff of course.”

“Learn stuff?  Like…”

“But mostly, I guess we hang out and talk.”

“Hang out?”

“Yeah.  You know, get together with the kids you know.”

“I don’t know anybody, except you now.”

Chrissy leaned forward mischievously.  “Not even Wyatt?”

“Who’s Wyatt?” Nancy asked.

“Who’s Wyatt?” Chrissy exclaimed as if she was in disbelief.  “Nance!  You’ve got a huge crush on him.”

“I’ve got a crush on Wyatt?” Nancy exclaimed.  “But who is he?”

“The boy you’re absolutely in love with, dummy!” Chrissy said as she started giggling.

Nancy couldn’t picture that.  She also couldn’t help herself.  With Chrissy giggling in front of her, she herself started to laugh.

“Everything okay in here?”

Nancy and Chrissy looked up to see Emily standing in the doorway.  “We’re fine,” Nancy replied with a wave of her hand.

“Chrissy?” Emily asked the other girl in the room.

“I’m good,” Chrissy told her.

“Okay,” Emily said, unable to believe that Chrissy was even there.  “I’m just going to go check in with my mother.”

“She’s in the kitchen with my mom, drinking coffee,” Chrissy told her.  “I’m only supposed to stay for a couple of minutes to see how it goes.”

“Okay,” Emily told her.  “I’ll just…go check.”  She left, heading toward the stairs.  As Chrissy had told her, she found her mother and Chrissy’s mother in the kitchen drinking coffee.  “Uh…Mom?”

“Yes dear?” Wanda replied.

“Chrissy is up with Nancy.”

“Are there any problems?” Rhonda asked, immediately concerned.  She started to get up.  “Maybe I better get her.”

“They’re fine,” Emily told her.  “But…”

“But what?” Rhonda said, on her feet now, ready to rush up the stairs.

Emily ignored her and turned to her mother.  “Mom, you won’t believe it.”

“What?” Wanda asked.

“I just heard Nancy laugh.  It was real short, but she and Chrissy were laughing.”

“Thank God!” Wanda breathed a sigh of relief.  “Maybe miracles do happen.”  She turned to Rhonda who was still ready to rush upstairs.  “Another cup of coffee?  Maybe we can leave them for a few more minutes.”

Rhonda considered that, then sat back down.  “Sure,” she said.  “Why not.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Extracted - Chapter 18 – Can I Ask You A Question – Part 2 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 18 – Can I Ask You A Question – Part 2 of 2

 

As soon as everyone had concluded their lunch, the experts asked for Congressman Stiller’s daughter first, just so that the congressman and his family could get out of there as soon as possible.  When Nancy went into the room, both the congressman and his wife tried to go in with her.  All three men were quick to stop them.  So did Agent Rosenberg who was already in the room.

“You’re not going to allow us to be there?” Mike Stiller protested.  “Nancy is only twelve!  That’s illegal!”

“Congressman Stiller,” Curmett replied.  “Illegal or not has nothing to do with this.  National security trumps everything!  We were tasked by the president to determine if this situation could possibly pose any kind of threat at all to our nation’s security.  That’s exactly what we’re trying to do.  Don’t worry, we’re not going to browbeat those children or harm them in any way at all.  We just want to talk to them…as thoroughly as we possibly can.  And I mean thoroughly!  As we see it, those two children are the key to everything.  They’re the only ones who can unlock what we need to know.”

“Besides,” Doctor Blake told him, “Agent Rosenberg here will be sitting in on the entire process to make sure your daughter remains just fine.”

The three government men didn’t seem to be backing down, despite Mike trying to throw his congressional weight around.  It seemed the president of the United States had more weight than he did.  Nancy was soon sequestered with the three men, with Rosenberg sitting nearby to observe.

“Hi Nancy,” Curmett said to the young girl.  “I’m sorry this is taking so long, and I fear your portion is going to take even longer.  Most likely much longer.”

“We’ve got your school records,” Doctor Blake told her, “and we want to do some additional testing to see how much your school memory may have been affected.”

“But first…” Holfstrom said, “we’d like you to tell us everything you can remember, right from before you were abducted.”

“What I remember of being kidnapped?” Stephen inside of Nancy’s body replied.  “Nothing.  Not one little thing.  I went to bed in my own body…in Philadelphia!  And I woke up in this body, in a hospital in New York.  And I haven’t got the first clue how I got there, not to mention I’d really like to know how I can get back to my own body where I belong.”

“We’d like to see that too,” Holfstrom told him.  “Very much.  We just haven’t figured out how yet.”

“You said you were a physicist from MIT.  That means you’ve got to be really smart.  Figure something out!”

“I’m trying,” Holfstrom told him.  “Believe me, I’m trying.”

Curmett knew he had to move the girl along.  “Okay Nancy.  Tell me about waking up in the hospital.  What do you remember?”

Little by little, Nancy told them every tiny thing she could piece together from her time in the hospital.  Her constant dizziness.  Her confusion over who she was as her brain seemed to go back and forth between the two identities, and finally the dizziness subsiding as she was only Stephen, and not able to remember anything at all about being Nancy, other than a few brief glimpses of memories that had happened inside her hospital room.  Nothing more of Nancy was in her head at all.

The experts tried hard to probe into that, attempting to help her remember anything at all about being Nancy, but nothing they could think to try did any good at all.  As far as any of them could conclude, for all intents and purposes, Nancy simply wasn’t in the little girl’s head, but they had no doubts at all that Steven certainly seemed to be.  They had already listened to the testimony from everyone else telling them that Nancy was somehow Stephen and that Stephen was somehow Nancy, but now talking directly with Nancy and hearing her answers for themselves had them all quite disturbed.

After that, all three experts came up with questions for Nancy based on her school records, that they all figured she should know.  There were a few mistakes on minor things, but overall, it appeared they were dealing with someone far above the seventh grade level, including a semi-easy calculus problem that Holfstrom asked him to write out and solve.  Stephen inside of Nancy’s head had no problem solving it after taking pre-calculus in high school the year before.  Besides, he loved math, and he told them so.

Two hours later, Stephen walked out of the room and everyone took a break.  Then it was Stephen’s turn.  Stephen, who was actually twelve year old Nancy.  Instead of Rosenberg watching, this time Detective Nolan sat in on the proceedings.

After introducing themselves, Doctor Blake immediately asked, “What can you tell us about football?”

“I hate it!” Stephen told them firmly.  “It’s the stupidest game on the planet.”

Just that much alone told all three of them that they were dealing with a younger mind here.  As they had been doing all day, they led Stephen through a world of questions, picking apart his answers to get more detail, and prying into things that Stephen either had no clue about since they were questions that only the real Stephen would know, or giving them a wealth of information about things that he knew all about since they involved his prior life as Nancy.

When the school questions came, there were simply too many that Stephen couldn’t answer, especially the math questions.  Overall, Blake was guessing that they were dealing with a pre-high school kid here.  She was obviously bright, just not on a senior high school level.  Not even close.

Stephen walked out in a daze, and his entire family could only sympathize.

As they were walking toward the front of the resort on their way back to their rooms, they ran into the Stiller family who were all just leaving to go home.

“Wait!” Stephen called.  He started running.  He hugged his real father.  He hugged his real mother.  He hugged much longer his sister Emily.  And then he looked into Nancy’s eyes.  There were things he wanted to say, but couldn’t.

“Yeah,” Nancy finally said.  “I know.”

Nancy in Stephen’s big body, wrapped his arms around Nancy’s little body, and gave her a hug.  “I guess you’re my sister too,” he said.

“And your brother,” Nancy added.

Stephen laughed.  “Yeah.  I never had a brother before, even if it’s myself.

Nancy laughed, and the two of them separated.  Nancy started to get in the car when a thought hit her.  “Oh my God!” she screamed.  She turned quickly to look back at Stephen.  “Could it be that easy?” she asked.

“What?” Stephen replied.

“How to get us back in our own bodies.”

“How?” Stephen asked.

Nancy hurried up to the large boy and said.  “Hug me.  Just hug me tight.  Maybe something in our bodies will recognize our true selves and we’ll somehow switch back again.”

Stephen stared at her for only a moment, then reached out and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her so tightly that he picked her up and stood up straight.  Nancy, her legs dangling in the air, hugged him as tight as she could.

“I don’t feel anything happening,” Stephen told her.

“Me either.  Just keep trying.  Maybe think about wanting to be back in my body.  Try to picture your spirit moving from you into me.”

Stephen tried to do just that, squeezing Nancy so tightly he was in danger of seriously hurting her.  “I still don’t feel anything,” he said after a while.

“Me either,” Nancy said.  “Put me down, you’re killing me.  I can’t breathe.”

“Oh.  Sorry,” Stephen apologized.

“Wow, I’m strong,” Nancy said as she rubbed her sore breasts.

“You mean I’m strong,” Stephen corrected her.

“Yeah, and I’m…”  She didn’t finish.

“Me,” Stephen finally said.

Nancy hugged him quickly, then turned and hurried into the car.

“Nice try Nance,” her mother said.  “Really, nice try.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Curmett, Holfstrom, and Blake worked separately in their rooms for hours, pouring over their findings from all the interviews.  They would each spend a few more hours separately, then meet several times before taking their conclusions to the president.  That night though, they sat together in the back corner of the bar, quietly discussing their individual thoughts with each other before Curmett brought out Doctor Isabella Montcliff’s paper.  Over glasses of whiskey, they all read it.  When they were finished, Curmett looked at his two colleagues for their reaction.

“Damn!” Holfstrom said.  “She thought of a few things that I didn’t.”

“Me too,” Blake agreed.

“What scares me,” Curmett said, “is that she put all this together so easily, and it closely mirrors my thoughts on the subject.”

“Mine too,” Holfstrom admitted.

“This is just frightening,” Blake told them, “because I’m thinking along the same lines.  I just haven’t reached as many conclusions as you two…or I guess her.  I’ve been concentrating as hard as I can on the medical angle.  Just thinking about what it might involve to accomplish such a thing is…overwhelming, not to mention absolutely frightening.  Who could possibly do something like this?”

Curmett shrugged.  “The Chinese.  Russia.  Libia perhaps.  India.  North Koria.  Who knows.  With technology the way it is around the world, it could be anyone.”

“I personally don’t think that activist group is involved,” Holfstrom noted.

“The Planetary Eco Alliance?” Curmett said.  “Me either.  I’m sure it would take the resources of a major government or perhaps a large corporation to accomplish such a thing.”

“Have you heard of anyone working on anything like this?” Blake asked.

“Not exactly like this, but Russia and China are of course working on other mind expanding capabilities.  I’m sure we are too.”

“Could it be one of our corporations then?”

Curmett shrugged.  “Maybe, but it’s doubtful.  Believe it or not, we know more about what’s going on inside even the most secure facilities than most people would realize.  We have to know.  Again, national security is at stake.”

“What do we do?” Blake asked.

Curmett shrugged.  “Just what we planned to do.  We each work on our own thesis, then we meet and come up with our combined recommendation and present it to the president.”

“And where does that leave the kids?” Blake asked.

Curmett looked at him, then said, “In New York and Philadelphia.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

That night, Emily was getting ready for bed when she heard the most frightening, horrendous sounds.  She rushed from her room and realized they were coming from Nancy’s room across the hall.  Inside, she saw Nancy kneeling on her bed, growling and yelling like a raving monster, while she pounded as hard as she could on her pillows with both fists.  Afraid to even enter the room, she ran as fast as she could for her parents’ room.

“Mom, Dad, come quick!  There’s something wrong with Nancy!”

Running quickly back to Nancy’s room, Mike and Wanda looked in to see the raging, growling Nancy still attacking her pillow with every bit of dire strength she had.

Mike put his arms out to keep his wife and older daughter from coming into the room.  “Nancy!” he yelled.  “What’s wrong?”  He nearly died when he saw her turn her head and look at him, her eyes…her entire face appeared to be raging.  Instead of saying anything, she let out a terrifying roar and went back to pounding the pillows on her bed.

“Stay back,” Mike said to Wanda and Emily.  Slowly and carefully, he approached Nancy who was still in such a rage.  “Nancy!” he said firmly, but calmly.  “Nancy.  Stop and at least tell me what’s going on.”

“I hate this!” Nancy screamed.  “I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!”

“You hate what?” Mike asked, trying to take a step closer.

Nancy looked over at him, the rage still in her eyes, along with a wealth of tears.  “I’m not a little girl!  I’m a guy!   A big, strong, guy.”

“We know, Nancy,” Mike told her as calmly as possible.  “Can I sit on the bed with you?”

Crying now, Nancy nodded and turned sideways.  Carefully, Mike sat down beside her.  He was aware of Wanda and Emily coming closer, but not too close.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked softly.

“I’m not a girl,” Nancy repeated.  “I’m especially not a little girl.  I don’t know how to be a girl, and I don’t want to be.  I just want to be me again.  Me.  The real me.  A guy.  That’s what I know.  That’s all I know.  But what am I supposed to do?”

“We don’t know,” Mike said.  “None of us do.  But we’re trying to be as understanding as we can.  None of us can even imagine what you’ve got to be going through.”

Nancy nodded and wiped her running nose with her hand.  “It’s hard,” she admitted.

“I’m sure it must be,” Mike agreed softly.

“I had everything,” Nancy lamented.  “Now I don’t.”

“Everything?” Mike asked.

“Everything!  I had a car.  I had a girlfriend.  I had money.  I had all the friends in the world.  Everyone at school not only liked me, they respected me because I was such a good football player and so smart in all my classes.  Everything!  Now…what have I got?  Confusion, weak muscles and…”  She didn’t know how to finish, then looked over toward the shelf and said, “Stuffed animals.”

“Nance,” Mike said.  “We’ve got money.  We’re not poor by any means.  The rest is all things you can get again.”

“Not the body I had.  Not all my friends.”

“Not those friends, no.  But other friends.  New friends.”

“How?  Everyone is going to expect me to be a girl, and I’m not.”

“Not in your mind,” Mike told her.  “But maybe with a bit of work, you can fix that.”

“I don’t want to be a girl!” Nancy shouted and pounded the bed next to her for emphasis.

“We know, but maybe you can work towards some kind of happy medium or something.”

Nancy rolled her eyes and flopped backwards on the bed.  “It’s impossible,” she muttered.

“Who knows,” Mike replied.  “I’m sure it’s going to take some effort on your part, and probably some time.”

“A lot of time!” Nancy added.

“A lot of time,” Mike agreed.  “But I have no doubt that with that time, you’ll get there and hopefully, someday, be happy.”

“You’re talking like I’m going to be stuck this way forever.”

It was a moment before Mike could answer.  “Nancy, if we don’t find a cure…  If we don’t figure out how it happened in the first place, then we may have to face facts, you’re stuck with it.  Which means that we’re stuck with it too.”

“You mean stuck with me.”

“Yes.  You can say that.  But there’s no reason for you to be so negative about it.”

“Ugh!” Nancy grunted angrily.  A moment later she sat up next to him again.  “I really thought that hug thing today would work, but all I did was to make a fool of myself.”

Mike was surprised to hear her say that.  “Nancy, you came up with the first idea to try to get you two back together that I’ve seen yet.  And in my opinion, it was an absolutely great idea.  Who knew, maybe it might have worked.”

“But it didn’t.”

“No.  But still, it was the first and only idea we’ve seen so far.  That’s better than anyone else has thought of.”

Nancy rolled her eyes again.  “True!”  She flopped back on the bed again.  “What am I going to do?”

“We’re working on it Nance,” Mike told her.  “I promise you, we’re working on it.”

Extracted - Chapter 18 – Can I Ask You A Question – Part 1 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 18 – Can I Ask You A Question – Part 1 of 2

 

Special Agent Rosenberg was the first one that the panel asked to speak with.  When she walked into the room she was faced with a table with three men sitting on the other side and a single seat for herself.  She sat and faced them, ready to answer any questions they might have.

“Agent Rosenberg,” Curmett said.  “Thank you for seeing us today.  I’m Daniel Curmett, the president’s National Security Advisor.  This is Doctor Holfstrom, professor of Theoretical Physics at MIT, and this is Doctor Blake, Chief Neurologist at John Hopkins University.”

Rosenberg was impressed, but she made no sign of it.

“We understand that you were leading the team looking into the abduction of Nancy Stiller.  Congressman Stiller’s daughter.”

“I’m still leading that team,” Rosenberg replied, “and we’re still working on it.”

“Good,” Curmett said.  “We’d like you to first tell us everything you can about that abduction.  Right from when you first heard about it.”

“Congressman Stiller’s chief aide called us at Twenty-Six Fed on the eighth of the month, shortly after his family had searched everywhere for their missing daughter.  My team was assigned immediately, and we rushed to his home.”  From there, Rosenberg spent the next forty-five minutes relating everything she could and answering all their questions.

The team of experts were particularly interested in what had been done about the group that had sent the ransom demand, the Planetary Eco Alliance.  Rosenberg was forced to tell them that so far, it looked like nobody in the group had sent any kind of ransom note at all.  Not only that, but the FBI believed that what had taken place with both children had to involve not only a lot of funding, but a huge amount of technical power and possibly machinery.  The Planetary Eco Alliance simply didn’t have any of that.

“Our current theory,” Rosenberg told them, “is that the ransom demand to have Henry Marsh pardoned and removed from prison may have been nothing but a smoke screen.  Unfortunately, we don’t know if it was a smoke screen to mask details of Stephen Marsh’s abduction or Nancy Stiller’s.”

  By the time they were done, Agent Rosenberg felt like she had been through one of the most intense questioning sessions of her life.  She was glad to be out of there.  Once free, she was tempted to go home, but her job at this resort get-together wasn’t done yet since the families were still there.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Detective Nolan was next on their list.  As they had done with Agent Rosenberg, they took him through every little thing they could think of that had to do with the abduction of Stephen Marsh, including what he knew about the Planetary Eco Alliance who had sent the only ransom demand.  Nolan knew far less about the group than Rosenberg had been able to tell them.  Still, they questioned him enough that it took a long time and also took a lot out of him.

He breathed a big sigh of relief the moment he walked out of the room.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Doctor Isabelle Montcliff was next on their list.  She had been working harder on this little trip than she had thought she would.  She was only happy that everything had seemed to go as well as it did.  So far.

As she entered the little conference room, she carried a file folder in her hands.  There was a table in the room with three men sitting on the far side of it.  She didn’t recognize any of them, but they each gave the impression of being important.  She sat in the single seat centered in front of them and put her file folder on the table in front of her.

“Doctor Montcliff,” the man in the center said.  “Thank you for taking the time to see us today.  I’m Daniel Curmett, the president’s National Security Advisor.”  He turned his head slightly to the left.  “This is Doctor Holfstrom, professor of Theoretical Physics at MIT”  He turned his head a bit the other direction.  “And this is Doctor Blake, Chief Neurologist at John Hopkins University.”

Important people indeed, Montcliff realized, as if having the president’s National Security Advisor in front of her wasn’t enough.  Each of these men were probably at the top of their fields.  “Nice to meet you,” she said to the three men.

“We were told,” Curmett continued, “that you had come up with a possible explanation for this situation, however, we were purposely not told what that explanation is so that we can each come to our own conclusions.  Since you were the psychiatrist working with one of the children, do you think it’s possible that you can answer our questions without divulging any of your explanations?”

“Hm,” Montcliff hummed.  “I guess you don’t want this then,” she said, putting her hand on the folder in front of her.”

“What is it?” Blake asked.

“Before coming here, I attempted to write up everything I had observed, everything I had concluded, and all the logic I went through to arrive at those conclusions.  I had a feeling that someone might want to see it.  Of course, since we’ve been here, I’ve observed a lot more.  This is just what I knew before this little trip.”

All three men were obviously a bit startled at that.  “Perhaps we’ll take it,” Holfstrom suggested.

“But we won’t open it to read any of it at all until we’ve finished drawing our own conclusions,” Curmett added.

Montcliff pushed the file across to him and noticed how quickly he seemed to grab it.  Something told her he would be looking at it sooner than he claimed.

“Doctor,” Curmett said.  “If you will, walk us through your involvement in this situation, and try to tell us everything you have observed.  And as I mentioned, please do your best to not relay any of your conclusions so we can safely draw our own.”

Montcliff nodded.  “I was first contacted by one of the staff members for Congressman Stiller.  I was told there was an urgent mental issue with his daughter Nancy, but I was not told what it was.  I was however, told that security concerning the issue was of paramount importance to the congressman and I had to give my assurances that I wouldn’t divulge anything to anyone without prior permission.  I can assure you that for this meeting only, Congressman Stiller has given his permission for me to tell as much as I can.”

“We have an entire briefcase full of warrants if we need them,” Curmett told her.

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

“Tell us about your first meeting with Nancy,” Blake suggested.

“From my first meeting with Nancy, she insisted right from the start that she wasn’t Nancy.  She said she was a boy named Stephen Marsh, and that his father was the District Attorney for Philadelphia.  He, Stephen, considered his entire new life to be one big hallucination, and that none of it could be real.  Now, after knowing what I do, I wish he was right.”

They talked for a very long time.  Each of the three men constantly asked questions, searching for more information.  Before they were done, Curmett said, “Doctor, yesterday we interviewed another psychiatrist.  His name is Christopher Faucet.  Have you heard of him?”

“Nobody has said anything about him,” Montcliff replied.  “But I’m guessing he was Stephen’s original psychiatric doctor.”

“That would be correct,” Blake confirmed before moving on.  “He had quite a different opinion as to a diagnosis for Stephen.”

“What’s that?” Montcliff asked.

“He seemed very sure that Stephen is suffering from multiple personality disorder.”

Montcliff’s eyes bulged.  “He what?  Is he an idiot?  How can he possibly think that?”

None of the men showed any sign of it, but all three of them immediately remembered Faucet being more interested in talking about ghost hunting.

Montcliff shook her head.  “Okay,” she said.  “I guess I can get that.  In some aspects, it could almost be a reasonable explanation.  But when you take everything as a whole, it doesn't come close to making sense.  I mean, how do you explain that Stephen in Philadelphia thinks he’s Nancy, and at the same time, Nancy in New York thinks she’s him, and that doesn't even take into account all the matching abduction issues.  He’s insane!”

“Doctor,” Blake cut her off  quickly.  “We just wanted your opinion of this other possible explanation.  That’s all.”

“My opinion?  He’s insane!  I’m glad the Marshes dropped him.  What was he thinking?”

Holfstrom almost said the word “ghosts,” but he managed to stop himself.

Curmett checked with the two other men to see if they had any more questions.  When they didn’t he thanked the doctor for her help.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Congressman Stiller told all he knew, followed by his wife.  Emily was separate, and seemed to have a wealth of testimony to share as to how she knew that Stephen Marsh was indeed her sister.  Her examples were things that the three experts listened to closely.

The Philadelphia District Attorney, Henry March came next.  His testimony lasted fairly long, only because of his position and his association with the police who had been investigating his son’s disappearance from the start.  His wife Agatha came last.  Like all the others, she told all three men that after being here and having a chance to talk with Nancy Stiller, she had absolutely no doubt at all that the person inhabiting Stephen’s body was indeed Nancy, and that her son was somehow stuck inside of Nancy Stiller.  By that time, the things the experts were hearing came as no surprise to any of them.

“Thank you Mrs. Marsh,” they finally said to her.  “That just leaves your son and Mike Stiller’s daughter.  But I think we’ll get to them after lunch.”

Agatha wanted to scream, but she realized that it was getting late, and she was hungry.  Those two kids involved were probably hungry too.  Knowing her Stephen, no matter which one it was, he would be starving.  He always ate a lot.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Extracted - Chapter 17 – The Party’s At The Pool

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 17 – The Party’s At The Pool

 

“But you said you love swimming!” Wanda exclaimed.

“I do but…”

“But what?”

“Wearing this is embarrassing.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.  It’s just…”

Wanda sat on the bed and pulled Nancy to her.  “Nancy, listen to me.  How many girls have you seen wearing bikini’s before?”

“Lots,” Nancy admitted.

“And did you think anything was wrong with it?”

“Not exactly.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I loved it.  The more the better.”

“I’m sure!” Wanda told her.  “Nancy, believe it or not, girls like to be thought of as sexy.  They love it.  Especially if it gets them a bit of attention.  Like it or not, it’s your turn.  Now seriously, all your private areas are covered.  What’s wrong with wearing it?”

Nancy considered it.  “Nothing I guess.”

“Then stop complaining and take those earrings out so you don’t lose them.  You can wear just the necklace.  And if you’re that concerned about walking through the hotel that way then put a shirt on over your bathing suit.  Now let’s go.  Emily left for the pool ten minutes ago.”

Nancy quickly pulled a shirt over her bikini swimsuit and finished getting ready.  She was about to leave the room and follow her new mother and father, when she remembered something.  She quickly went back to her suitcase and grabbed something.  Only then did she run out of the room.

By the time Nancy and her new parents arrived at the pool, Emily had already been lying out on one of the lounge chairs, getting some sun.  Nancy took a moment to study Emily in her bikini.  Yeah.  She was sexy alright.  If she was a guy, getting to know her would be a must.  So why didn’t Emly seem to have any boyfriends?  She was guessing it had something to do with their father.  She looked around and didn’t see any sign of her real family.  Were they coming?  They had said they were.

“Take that shirt off and try not to get it wet,” her new mother told her.

Nancy pulled her shirt off and was just putting it down on one of the lounge chairs when she saw the entire Marsh family coming into the pool area.  Her eyes followed them, but mostly they lingered on Stephen.  She noticed too that Emily was watching them, or more likely Stephen, as they came over and took some lounge chairs nearby.  Other than them, the entire pool area appeared to be deserted except for some people manning the snack bar and a number of FBI agents who were all doing their best to stay somewhat out of sight.

She watched as Stephen put his towel down on one of the chairs and pulled his shirt off.  Yeah, she should have known.  That had been her body not long ago, and his chest was full of muscles.  His entire body was full of muscles.  Her muscles.  Except that now they all belonged to him.  Him, who used to be her.  A young girl.

Wearing just her bikini, she picked something up from her chair and headed towards Stephen.  It wasn’t far and she noticed the look on Stephen’s face, a look of amazement.  His eyes finally looked up from what was in her hands to her face.

“Is that…” he started to say.

“I thought that since you’re really me inside, that you might like something from…your old life.”  With that she handed over the stuffed dog that Emily had said was her favorite.

“Miss Barkey!” Stephen exclaimed happily as he hugged the stuffed dog.

“Um…Steve,” Nancy said.  “When you get home, you might want to keep that thing hidden, like under your bed or something so anyone who comes over won’t see it.  Only take it out at night or something when you’re alone.  Guys as big as you don’t have stuffed pets.”

“Thank you,” Stephen told her, hugging the dog tightly once again.  “I wish I brought you something now.”

Nancy shook her head.  “Trust me, I can’t think of anything you could have brought that I can use anymore.  Nothing at all.”

A short distance away, Agatha moved closer to Wanda.  “That was nice,” she told her softly.

“Yeah,” Wanda replied.  “Thanks.  Thanks for raising such a good kid.”

“You’re welcome,” Agatha replied.

“Did you know that Stephen wore that suit earlier, just because he thought that I might like it?” Wanda told her.

“He said something like that this morning before we left,” Agatha replied.  “Although I got the impression that it might also have been because he likes clothes.”

“Of that, I’ve no doubt,” Wanda agreed.

“Maybe we both raised good kids,” Agatha suggested.

Wanda nodded and briefly touched her arm.  She looked up to see her husband and Henry heading towards the snack bar.  “How much you want to bet those two won’t come any closer to the pool than that.”

“They’ve talked on the phone too without telling us,” Agatha reminded her.  “I can’t imagine they would have that much to talk about.”

Wanda considered that.  “Me either.”

The two women noticed Emily getting up from her seat and heading towards Stephen.  “Uh-oh,” Wanda breathed softly as they watched.

Stephen had just sat down, and Nancy had taken a seat right next to him so they could talk.  Stephen was still holding Miss Barkey in his arms.

“Come on,” Emily said the moment she got close to him as she held both arms out towards him.

“What?” Stephen asked as he grabbed her hands and let her help pull him to his feet.

Emily wrapped her arms around his body and gave him a hug.  Then she turned to Nancy and handed her phone to her.  “Take a picture for me.”

Nancy took the phone and got the camera app ready.  By that time, Emily had posed herself with Stephen so that most of his body was visible, while his arm was wrapped around her as if she was his girlfriend.  “Nance,” Emily said.  “Since you used to be him, I’m sure you can figure out the kind of picture I want.”

Nancy just looked at them for a moment and rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, yeah.”  Then she snapped the picture.  Emily reposed herself with Stephen a few times and Nancy took more pictures.  Finally, she turned the phone over to Emily again and sat down.  Emily sat on her lounge chair next to her, and Stephen laid back on his lounge chair.

“Damn it!” Nancy swore.  “It’s not fair!”

“What?” Emily asked.

“If I was still…him,” she said pointing at Steve, “I’d be all over you out here…and probably anywhere else.  Now…”

“Emily reached over and wrapped an arm around the young girl and gave her a bit of a hug.  “Your turn will come again.  And it won’t be long,” she told the girl who was now her sister.”

“Not the way it’s supposed to be!  Not the way I want it to be.”

“Yeah.  Maybe not,” Emily agreed.  “Sorry.”

“So were those pictures for you or your girlfriends?” Nancy asked.

“Um…”  She shrugged and didn’t answer.

“Trust me,” Stephen told her.  “The answer is both!  She wants to show off who she’s been hanging out with, and I can guarantee that she won’t mention one word about who she’s really posing with.”

“How can I?” Emily replied as if she was shocked he could say such a thing.  “Besides, all I really did was to just pose for a few pictures with my sister, that’s all.  And you both know it!”

Stephen and Nancy both let out a few sounds that let Emily know that neither of them believed that explanation at all.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

In the shade surrounding the snack bar, the congressman and district attorney sat nursing their drinks.  “The kids certainly seem to be getting along just fine,” Henry noted.

“Looks like it,” Mike agreed.  “They’re probably doing better than we are.”

“They’re young,” Henry reminded him.

“But two of them have gone through the most horrific thing imaginable, and they’re still going through it, with a lot more to come.”

“True, but still, I’m glad to see them all getting on so well together.”

“Yeah.  Me too.  And as you just said, there’s going to be a lot more to come, and I’m not talking about those interviews that we have yet to go through.”

“I try once in a while to look into the future a bit,” Henry told him, “but what we need to do about all this just won’t seem to allow itself to focus in my brain.”

“I know what you mean,” Mike replied.  “I don’t know what direction we need to go next either.”

“There’s school of course,” Henry replied.  “But Steve was about to enter his senior year of high school.  Football is out now of course, but that’s a minor thing.  And Steve, I mean the real Stephen, was actually a damn smart kid.  He was a whiz at math.  I mean, calculus?  I certainly can’t take a class like that.”

Mike grunted.  “Yeah, he had to be a whiz.  Nancy wasn’t a slouch in school either.  Her grades were straight A’s…mostly.  But now….  I guess I don’t have to tell you that she won’t stand a chance trying to figure out calculus.  I couldn’t.”

“No, and then there’s the rest of her classes as well.  What grade was she going into?”

“Seventh.”

“That’s nowhere near being a senior in high school,” Henry noted.  “I’ve been rolling the idea of a private tutor around in my head, but is that the way to go?  Mike, as much as I hate to say it, Stephen needs friends.  He needs other kids to pull him out of this big funk he seems to live in.”

“I’d be living in it too,” Mike told him.  “In his position, I don’t think I could cope at all.  I’m actually amazed he’s doing so well.”

“So is your Nancy, my real son Stephen,” Henry said.  “But in your case, at least he’s not going to be behind all the kids at school, he’ll actually be way ahead.”

“There is that,” Mike conceded.  “But can this Nancy manage to fit in with a bunch of seventh grade girls?  That’s the question.”

“Yeah, and the truth is that I seriously doubt it.  My bet is that my Stephen is so lost in that little body that he’s going nuts.”

Mike nodded.  “He is.  And as much as I’d like to help, I don’t have a clue where to start.”

“Me either,” Henry admitted.  “They’re both lost and depressed.”

“They both need friends to help pull them out of it.”

“And to hopefully help them learn how to exist in their new bodies,” Henry added.

“True.  But…I can’t help but hope and pray that someone will find some way to switch them back the way they belong.  I mean, someone did this to them.  We know that for a fact.  Even if we have no idea yet as to who it was, we know it was done to them deliberately.”

“Which means that there has to be a way to put them right,” Henry finished.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

A small cocktail gathering was scheduled for six-thirty, and dinner was scheduled for seven.  As the Marsh family arrived back at their rooms after the pool, Agatha stopped Stephen before he could go to his own room.  “Steve,” she said.  “Please wear your suit again for dinner.  Wanda and I both want our families to dress nice.”

“Sure Mom,” Stephen agreed.  “No problem.  Uh…Dad’s going to have to help me with my tie again.”

“No problem,” Henry told him.  “Stop by when you’re ready.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

“Another dress?” Nancy complained. 

“We’re all dressing up for dinner,” Wanda told her.  “Which means you too.  “Now get that swimsuit off and get into the shower.  And remember to rinse your hair and dry it.  I’ll be back in a little while to figure out what dress I want you to wear.”

A few hours later, Nancy’s hair had been brushed to death and fashioned into a nice hairdo, she was wearing another nice dress, she had different earrings in her ears, two necklaces, two bracelets, and the shoes she was wearing had small heels.  And to make matters worse, her new mother had just made her sit though getting a bit of makeup put on her face.

“We should have thought to do your nails,” Wanda mused as she looked her young daughter over.

Nancy said nothing.  That was the last thing she needed, as if she needed any of what she was wearing.  What would have been wrong with wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers to dinner.  Nothing as far as she was concerned.

“All set?” Wanda asked her as she headed to Nancy’s dresser to grab her purse.  She turned to Nancy.  “Where’s your purse?”

Exasperated, Nancy went to her suitcase and grabbed her purse.

“Hm,” Wanda muttered.  “We should have thought to bring a different one for you.  That one doesn’t go with what you’ve got on.  Just leave it here.”

“Thank you God!” Nancy breathed as she threw the purse onto her bed.

“Nancy,” Wanda said.  “Your father is a congressman.  A very important man.  Which means that everyone watches not just him but all of us as well.  We have to maintain and project an image that is more important than you can possibly realize right now.  The way all of us dress, and look, and act is vital to everything your father stands for.  Do you understand?”

Nancy remembered that she was actually seventeen years old.  What her new mother had just told her should have been obvious, but she had never really thought about it before.  “Yeah,” Nancy replied.  “I get it.  It’s just that…”

“You’re still a boy inside and for some reason you’re embarrassed to do or wear anything having to do with being a girl,” Wanda finished for her.

Nancy just looked at her, then asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to carry that purse?”

Wanda smiled at her.  “It’s up to you.”

Nancy was tempted to grab it, then she thought otherwise.  “I’ll leave it here.”

“That’s fine,” Wanda told her.”

Nancy wanted to know if it was so fine for her to leave it behind, why had she wanted her to take it in the first place?  She said nothing about that though and headed out the door.

They found Emily just coming from her own room.

“Mom,” Emily said.  “They said this is cocktails.  Can I have one?”

“Maybe, but probably not,” Wanda replied.  “You’re still underage.  It may depend on the situation.”

“But if it looks okay?”

“I’ll ask your father.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Stephen may have been a twelve year old girl inside, but he stood straight and tall and proud in his suit.  Something that both Henry and Agatha noticed and appreciated.  He was actually making them proud.  The room was beginning to fill with people, mostly FBI agents, but Stephen noticed both that detective and the psychiatrist woman as well.  He also noticed when all four members of the Stiller family came in together.  The family that used to be his family.  He felt a pang of jealousy over that no longer being the case.

He wasn’t the least bit surprised when his sister…when Emily headed straight for him.  He took note of the nice dress she was wearing and how good she looked.  The way she was behaving toward him was starting to make him a little uncomfortable.  That was his sister!  Except…was she still his sister?  He didn’t know how he was supposed to think about her.

“Hi Steve,” Emily said as she latched onto his arm.  “You look real nice tonight.”

“So do you,” Steve replied.  He noticed Nancy watching them, but purposely staying away.  Had Emily asked her to keep her distance?  He loved Emily and had missed her the most, but right now, he just considered her to be acting strange.  He nodded his head toward Nancy.  “Did Nancy pick out what to wear tonight, or did Mom have anything to do with it?”

“Mom,” Emily told him.  “That Nancy not only doesn’t have a clue as to what to wear, she literally doesn’t want to look nice, or even decent.  Nance…I mean Steve, she’s not a girl.”

“No,” Stephen agreed.  “I’m not a boy either, and I’m not as old as I look, but even I know she’s not happy having to be me.  I’ll bet she’s fighting it as hard as she can.”

“I never thought of that,” Emily replied, wishing he would get the subject away from her sister.  “Are you fighting it?” she asked.

Stephen considered that.  “Some,” he admitted.  “Maybe more than some.  I never thought about it.  Em…I miss so much!  And there’s nothing for me to do.  I guess I’m just trying to get by the best I can.”

“What else can you do?” Emily pointed out.  “Hey.  Go ask your dad if you can have a cocktail.  You’re seventeen.  Maybe he’ll say yes.”

“Me?”

“Yes!  If your dad lets you have one, then maybe mine will let me.”

Stephen was a bit dubious about that.  “Really?” he asked.

“Yes!  Try it.”

Together they walked over to Stephen’s new father.  “Dad,” Stephen said.  “Uh…any chance I can have a cocktail?”

Henry looked at him like he was crazy.  “No!  Absolutely not!”  Then his voice dropped to a whisper.  “You’re only twelve years old inside that body!  Don’t ask again.”

Somehow, Emily knew that she wasn’t going to get her cocktail.

A little while later, the dining room seemed to be a lot fuller than any of them imagined.  The staff had moved tables together so that both families could sit together.  It was while they were waiting for their food that Mike noticed something.  He stared for a moment, then said, “Uh-oh.”

“What?” Henry asked, looking in the direction where Mike was staring.

Mike nodded towards the table in the corner.  “See the table in the corner, the one with all the FBI agents standing in front of it?”

“Yeah, that’s weird.  What are they doing?”

“Probably keeping everyone away from that table.  I recognize one of those men.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.  Don’t you?”

“No.  Who is it?”

“Daniel Curmett, the president’s National Security Advisor.”

Henry stared, but he didn’t know which of the three men Mike was talking about.  “I’m guessing they’re the ones we’ll be talking to tomorrow.”

The congressman nodded.  “I better go over and say hello.”  He got up from the table and Henry got up with him.  The two of them headed for the corner table.  Before they got there, they were stopped by the FBI agents.  The congressman saw Daniel Curmett look at him, then hold up his hand in such a way as to let him know not to come near.

“Come on,” Mike told Henry.  “It looks like he doesn’t want to talk to us yet.”

Together, they walked back to their families.

“What are they going to do tomorrow?” Henry wondered?

“Probably put us all through the grinder and talk us to death,” Mike told him.

“You said one of them is the National Security Advisor, but who are the guys with him?” Henry asked.

“No idea,” Mike admitted.  “Curmett is a damn brilliant guy, but he’s also a politician.  He’s probably the perfect person for the position he’s holding.  With him there we need to be aware that tomorrow could get nasty.”

“Can’t be too bad tomorrow,” Agatha said.  “They mentioned we could probably go home tomorrow.”

“Maybe,” Mike conceded.  “I think it’s going to depend on them.  And mostly, on him and what he thinks.  We all might want to stay as flexible as possible tomorrow.”