From the Streets - Chapter 13 (Patreon)

“OMG,  that was so much fun.” Sophie giggled as they came back in from the water.  “I’ve never seen tandem surfing before.”  She paused, looking at Amanda and Nicole, who were both grinning.  “What?”

“Nothing,” Nicole said.

“We’re just glad you’re having fun,” Amanda said.

“Uh huh.” Sophie said and giggled. “I’ll leave it for now.” she added as she was toweling off.  “Anyway we’re going to use the recording studio to practice some lines.  Meggers says it’ll help me internalize Trinity’s personality or something.”

“No, I said I’d help you create a personality for her.” Megan giggled.

“In my defense,” Sophie laughed, “There were six foot swells in my ears.”

“Oh don’t lie those were only 2 foot.” Juliette giggled.

“Aye well,” Sophie said, “In my defense we use bloody metrics system in the rest of the world,” she teased, ducking Juliette’s play swat as they headed inside.  “Hang on I want a slice of leftover pizza.”

“Cold pizza’s the best.” Destiny said and grabbed a piece.

“Hell yeah,” Juliette said, snagging a slice of cheese pizza from the leftovers.

“Hey, um,” Sophie said, and her demeanor shifted, “You guys have been incredible, but I have one more small favor I have to ask you - all of you.  I talked to Cas and El already so I know they’re down, but there's something I have to do later today, and I can’t do it alone.”

“Your going to go visit Melissa?” Destiny asked.

“Aye,” Sophie sighed.  “I’d like you all to be there in case I blow my stack again.  I’m genuinely scared what I might do.”

“I’ll be right there till you ask me to leave.” Destiny said.

“Hey, if you really want us to be there for something so private,” Megan said, “You bet your cute Irish butt I’ll be there.”

“Same,” Juliette giggled.

“That cute Irish butt belongs to me.” Destiny grinned.

Megan looked behind Sophie.  “Really?  I don’t see your name on it,” she teased and giggled.

“It’s right there.” Destiny grinned as she gave Sophie’s butt light smack.

“Where?” Sophie said.  “I didn’t quite see it.”

“Here.” Destiny smacked it again.  Everyone laughed as they headed into the hallway and down to the recording studio room.

~oOo~

Melissa smiled,but didn’t speak.  She listened to Sophie talk, “Not that you have the right to know, but I found someone that means a lot to me, and we’re dating.” she looked over at Destiny and smiled.  It was the tail end of a very long one-sided conversation.  Sophie half figured Melissa was on some serious morphine the way she kept smiling.

“Sophie.” Melissa finally spoke, “I’m sorry, and I know it doesn’t mean anything to you, but im proud.  I know I’ll never make up for what I did to you, either in Ireland, or here, a few days ago, but it won’t stop me from trying, starting with stepping down from the company.”

“Good.” Sophie stated as she stood up, “I’ll see you again Melissa.”

“It’s Lia, actually,” she sighed.  “Take care, Sophie.  Thank you for coming.”

“That went surprisingly well.” Destiny said as they left the room, Sophie didn’t say anymore to Lia.  She walked to the end of the hallway and then sat down in one of the empty waiting areas - the sort with a big, heavy door.  The door went ‘thunk’ as the others joined her.

“I think it would’ve been easier if she had been the same,” Sophie sighed.  “Then at least I could still hate her.  That’s not the woman who abandoned me.  Doesn’t mean I’m suddenly going to forgive her, but...  I can’t hate her either.  I just don’t have it in me.”

“Make her work for it.” Megan nodded. “She’ll never be the mom that Katelyn and Amanda are, but that doesn’t mean you have to shut her out if you don’t want to.”

“That’s what scares me,” Sophie said, looking at Megan.  “I don’t want to shut her out.  Everything I went through, every ounce of pain I suffered, it was the thought of finding her that got me through. Then when I found her, she was this big unbelievable twat, and now she makes it hard to be mad at her.  That woman in the hospital bed, that’s the woman I dreamed of finding.   I knew we’d never have a proper mum daughter relationship even then, but I wanted... something - anything.” 

“And now you’ll have something,” Destiny said reassuringly.

“The doctor wanted to tell you something.” Juliette spoke up. “But wouldn’t say what.  We’re going to step out so you can talk to her, but we’ll be right outside.”

Sophie nodded.  “Thanks for coming, by the way.  I really couldn’t have done this without you.”

“You’re Sophie, Lia’s daughter?” The Doctor came in when they left, “Want to step into the office there?”

“That’s me,” Sophie said as she stood, following the doctor into the small office.

“Your mother will be able to walk again with intensive therapy. Her spine was damaged however, and she’ll have a limp.  She was really lucky, the shrapnel missed all her organs, including her reproductive system.”

“What about brain damage?” Sophie asked.

“That’s the thing.  We had a CAT scan from a slight fall she had a few years ago, and one from now, and there’s no change, except, she had a small clot that was overlooked before, which is gone now.  As far as we can tell, the blunt trauma of the accident caused it to dissolve completely because it hasn’t traveled to her heart or lungs. We’ve been monitoring for it.”

“My da  once told me she was in another accident when she was still carrying me.  She didn’t even know she was pregnant yet, even.  Took a blow to the head then.  Do...  Do you think that might have caused it?”

“Maybe.  It could have been lodged there long before even.  It was tiny, only about the size of a pinhead, but it was exerting pressure in a crucial part of her brain, the part we associate with empathy.  Normally damage to this area causes dissociative disorders - sociopathy and the like.”

“Wish that would explain away my father,” Sophie sighed.  “But Lia...  You’re saying that she really is a different person?”

“She’s most likely, as I said I can’t be sure.” 

“You took a hippocratic oath, doctor patient confidentiality and all that,” Sophie said, “So I trust I can confide in you.  A couple of days ago, Lia stormed out of my apartment ranting about hating kids.  Every person I’ve talked to who worked with her, says she’s to put it bluntly, batshit crazy.  That woman in that bed...  She’s someone different, for the better in my humble opinion.”

“Well I’ll tell you my personal diagnosis.” The doctor stated,  “The place where the clot was, is part of the reasoning area. It could have been affecting her this entire time.  I will say this though, we have a psychiatrist visiting with her daily to help her through this.  If you need to meet with someone too, we’ll be more than happy to help you find someone you can trust.” 

“I’ve got someone.” Sophie said.  “Thank you though.  I’m glad she has someone too.  I told her at the ambulance, and I’ll say it again here.  I don’t want her to die.  I want her to be okay.”

“She has a long road to recovery, physically and mentally,” the doctor said.  “I think just knowing that you’ve forgiven her will go a long way.”

“Aye,” Sophie nodded.  “I’m still angry, but I told her I forgave her.  I understand she wasn’t herself.  We just both need time.”

“That’s all I got for you Sophie, i’m glad you came in today.” The doctor said.

“I’ll try and come in again soon.  When do you think you’ll discharge her?”

“A couple more weeks for her spine damage to heal.”  The doctor stated.  “She’s going to need another surgery as well, to repair some tissue damage in her groinal region, but we’re mainly worried about the spine properly mending.”

“Yeah.” Sophie nodded, “The other stuff can be fixed later.  Thanks Doc,” Sophie said as she got up and shook her hand.

“Okay next I need to go see the Doctors Wilsons.” Sophie said as they left the hospital.  “After that I’m free for the day.”

“We could pop over to Mouseland,” Casidhe giggled.  “God knows you need to de-stress after that.”

“Sure.” Sophie said.

~oOo~

“I want the surgery.” Sophie said to Doctor Wilson.  “I don’t care if I have to undergo a lie detector test before the FBI and twenty doctors.”

Doctor Wilson said, “I was going to recommend you for it.  Also come with me Sophie.” she got up, and they headed to the lab. “Have you been keeping up on your BHRT?”

“Yes ma’am.  Thanks for sending those along with Mum.  I really wasn’t planning to go to Ireland so soon, but things came up.”

“That’s alright.” Doctor Wilson said, and took her to a window, “In there is a clean room, we can’t go in, but you see there?” she pointed as a woman with blonde hair was holding a small clear box with some kind of fluid in it.

Sophie couldn’t help laughing.  “Feels like I’m going to see a wee newborn baby.”

“You’re not too far off,” Doctor Wilson laughed.  “That cellular growth is going to turn into your new plumbing. That fluid is amniotic fluid. You know what that is right?”

“Fetal stem cells, right?” Sophie asked.

“Yes.” Doctor Wilson said, “Lia was smart enough to have your umbilical cord saved, I think she was thinking for something else, but it helps us big time.”

“I’m afraid to ask what that woman could possibly have in mind for it at that point in her life.”

“There's a ton of things, but lets not get into that unless you really want to know.” Doctor Wilson laughed.

“I really don’t,” Sophie giggled.

“Well anyway, We’re going you a genetic match to everything you would have had if you were born a girl. The problem is you’ll still have to take hormones, we have no way to make you produce hormones on your own.”

“That’s fine,” Sophie said.  “I’m more worried about how surgery’s going to impact my work, if it comes sooner rather than later.”

“Well here's the deal.” Doctor Wilson stated. “We’ve already got the vaginal skin, we can create everything we need for the basics right now.” she paused to wait for Sophie. “And when your organs are finished, we can put you under again for the second part.  Or you can have everything done at once.”

“What’s the recovery time on just the first part?” Sophie asked.

“6 weeks for the first part, 3 months for the second.” Doctor Wilson stated.

“Damn,” Sophie said.  “I’ll have to discuss it with my parents.  I know they said I can make this decision without their consent, but I really do need their input on this one. It’s kinda about a job.  If I get this part, I’ll be shooting for six months.  And shooting could start as soon as next month if I do get it, which the director seems keen on casting me...”

“There’s no hurry,” Doctor Wilson said, “As far as things on our end are concerned.  Your new organs won’t ‘go bad’ if you don’t use them immediately, but I’d recommend waiting no more than a year to a year and a half.”

Sophie nodded thoughtfully.  “I think I might wait until the shooting is done, but like I said, I want to get their input.”

~oOo~

“Krissy, this is Amanda.” Amanda was on the phone. “I don’t want to do this tomorrow at the reading, can you come by my home office?”

“Sure, Amanda.  Everything alright?” Krissy asked.  She had as strong a Sydney accent as ever.

“Yeah, we need to discuss some things with Sophie.” Amanda stated, “She called and said she was on her way home from Disneyland and wanted to get together with you and us.”

“If she decided she doesn’t want the part, that’s okay,” Krissy said.  “I really didn’t want to pressure her into it, but when I saw the photo shoot of the three girls I knew I had to try.”

“No she and the girls have been working on it abit, I don’t think that’s it.” Amanda stated. 

“Oh, good,” Krissy said, sounding relieved.  “Don’t tell the girls yet, but they’re the only ones I have lined up for the android leads.  If they back out, I’m back to square one,” she laughed.  “Okay, I’ll head over right now if it’s convenient.”

“Thanks Krissy.” Amanda said. “As I said the girls are on their way back home now as well, Megan and Juliette is with them.”

“So that’s why she wasn’t answering her phone,” Krissy laughed.  “I’ve been so swamped with this new project that I keep missing her, finally got a day mostly off, and her phone’s turned off.”

“Sorry about that.” Amanda laughed, “See you when you get here.” 

Amanda knew exactly why Sophie wanted to meet, Sophie had given Doctor Wilson permission to talk with Amanda and Katelyn on important matters like this.  Being Megan’s older sister, she knew Krissy would understand completely too. But she wanted Sophie to really ask, she was Sophie’s agent, and being there for Sophie for things like this, was in her job, besides being Sophie’s mom.

Katelyn sauntered into the office with two glasses of white wine.  She offered one to Amanda. “I was wondering how it would take for her to bring this up.” Katelyn stated.

“About four hours?” Katelyn laughed.  “Probably would’ve been sooner if they weren’t hanging out with Alice and the Mad Hatter.”

“I mean, she’s been thinking about it ever since Doctor Wilson gave it to her as an Option, you could see it in her face.” Amanda laughed, taking the glass.  “Just one though,” she said referring to the wine.  “Krissy’s on her way over, so I need to be sober.”  She winked.

“You’ve come a long way from the scared little intern I met a couple of years ago,” Katelyn giggled, giving Amanda a kiss.

“Thank you, it’s all been with your help.” Amanda said, kissing Katelyn back. “I love Sophie, but I was really freaked out about taking our relationship to that level.” Amanda added.

“A month is a pretty damned fast track, aye,” Katelyn giggled.

“Yeah, but we’ve known each other longer than that.” Amanda laughed.  “There’s one thing I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time,” Amanda said, setting her glass aside.  “You and Melissa go back a ways.  Did you ever...”

“Oh God no,” Katelyn laughed.  “Melissa’s my mentor.  She took me under her wing, and in exchange I helped found the W.P. Modeling agency.  Winters and Price,” she winked.

“That’s what the WP stands for!” Amanda giggled.  “I thought it was something clever like Work in Progress or Wicked Photography.”

Katelyn laughed and kissed Amanda again, “I’ll let you talk with Sophie and Krissy as the manager, but I want details as a mother.” she winked.  “I’ve already had two glasses of this stuff, so I’m too buzzed to stay.”

Amanda giggled as she got up, finished her wine glass, and gave the empty glass to Katelyn before heading for the door.  Her timing couldn’t have been better, as Nicole opened the door at that moment, and she was wearing Minnie Mouse ears.

Nicole cleared her throat, quickly trying to hide the ears behind her back.  “I figured it would be easier to blend in,” she said.

“Sure.” Amanda giggled, “Looks good though.” she said, it was just her and Sophie, “Your friends go home?”

“Yeah for now.” Sophie said.  “Megan’s sister left like 5 messages,” she laughed.

“Krissy is on her way over.” Amanda stated.

“D’oh,” Sophie giggled.  “I guess she’s coming over to talk about the thing?”

“Yup.” Amanda nodded, “We’ll be meeting in my office.”

“Kewl,” Sophie said.  “I’m just going to get Nicole to look at my foot and then change into something a little more professional.”

“Sounds good.” Amanda hugged Sophie.

“White wine,” Nicole said as Sophie came into the kitchen.

“No thanks.” Sophie stated.

Nicole laughed.  “No, I mean that’s what she was drinking.  It takes a lot to get you drunk, so she’s still got all her senses,” she teased.

“Oh.” Sophie giggled.

“Aye, unlike me,” Katelyn said.  “I had three and I’m already buzzed.  I’m the worst at being Irish,” she laughed.  “This is also why I don’t normally drink.  But I felt like celebrating.”

“As long as you don’t make it a habit young lady,” Sophie said jokingly as she pulled off her sock, and let Nicole unwrap the bandage.

“Yes ma’am,” Katelyn giggled, coming over to see.  “Oh aye that’s looking much better.”

“No infection.” Nicole stated.  “I’m going to clean and rebandage it one more time, but you should be all healed up by tomorrow.”

“Told you guys it wasn’t serious.” Sophie said. “You all worry too much.”..

Nicole grinned and said in her best faux Irish accent, “Aye well they’re good Irish rocks young lass, they can rend yer flesh if yer not careful.”

Katelyn and Sophie stared blankly at her for a few seconds, and both burst out laughing.  Nicole giggled.

“I am so, so sorry for that, and I swear I’ll never do it again,” Nicole said as she wrapped Sophie’s foot.  “All set.”

“Thanks Nicole.” Sophie hugged her and headed upstairs to change.  While Sophie was upstairs she could hear a new voice downstairs.

“Hi this is Ann, my wife.” Krissy said introducing Ann.

“Sophie’s upstairs changing really fast.” Amanda stated. “Coffee, water, Soda, tea?”

“Oh coffee would be lovely,” Krissy said.

“Espresso or regular?” Amanda giggled.

“Regular is fine.” Krissy said.

“I’ll take a coke if you don’t mind.” Ann spoke.

“Pepsi?” Amanda said.

“That works.” Ann giggled as Sophie came downstairs wearing a nice floral print dress and a short sleeved white jacket - a little dressy, but casual enough.  She felt a bit overdressed though, on seeing Krissy and Ann both wearing shorts and tee shirts.

Krissy grinned, “That’s a nice onsomble, you are definitely a model.”

Sophie giggled.  “It’s from the Karen Cross collection, but if I knew you guys would be in shorts, I wouldn’t have changed.”

“Damn.” Ann whistled. “So I’ll wait in the living room as you discuss whatever it is.” she said.

“I’ll keep her company,” Nicole grinned.

“Nikki hey!” Ann said as they disappeared into the living room.  Krissy laughed.

“Okay so, if you don't’ want the part, I’ll understand.” Krissy led as they door was closed.

“No, I do,” Sophie said.  “I mean at first I was a little freaked out that someone even offered, but the more I’ve talked about it with Destiny and Angela, the more I want to at least try.  No, there’s a different reason I wanted to meet with you.”

“Oh?” Krissy said.

“Yes, well I want to be complete, you know about me being Transgender right?” Sophie asked.

“Yes I read the press release, and that doesn’t bug me, as you well know I have one in my immediate family.”  She giggled.  “You could say I accidentally caused her to come out.”

“Well, I can do my surgeries in stages, the first stage takes 6 weeks to recover, but I really want to do the show.” Sophie stated.  “The second stage is three months’ recovery, but my doctor says I don’t have to rush it, I can wait until after shooting is over, even if it takes a year. She said it would be better to wait for the second part anyway to give it time to mature more.”

Krissy nodded, following along.  “So, you’re worried about recovery interfering with filming?”

“Yes.” Sophie nodded, “Because I want to do my own stunts.”

“That’s understandable,” Krissy said, then went quiet for a moment, “We still haven’t gotten everything set, or a location, we’re thinking about Seattle or British Columbia.  So you don’t have to worry about recovery time, there’s still a ton of things we have to do first. We’re probably not even going to start shooting the opening for another 2 to 3 months.” she continued, “Then the writers need to change a big part of the script near the end, because we may end up making this into an actual series.”

“Really?” Sophie asked.

“Yes.” Krissy said, “So you can go in anytime, but I’d still like you to come in with the others tomorrow for a read?”

“Sure.” Sophie nodded.

“I know you celebs can get things done fast in and hurry that’s why I asked.” Krissy giggled and winked  “Megan had surgery the day after she announced she was seeing a shrink to the family.  Oh,” she said, “I also want you to know that I’m flexible on this, so if you need more time, like if there are complications - God forbid - don’t feel like you have to force yourself to be there or anything.  We’ll film around your scenes if we have to. Or just Delay, Amazon is being super awesome.” 

“Wow,” Sophie said, a little awkwardly.  “That um...  That went better than I expected.”

“Did you think I was going to be a vapid bitch and tell you that if you did it, you wouldn’t get the part?” Krissy giggled.

“No,” Sophie laughed, “I just didn’t expect it to be that easy either.  I thought there were always tight deadlines in these things.”

“I’m not only director, i’m also the executive producer.” Krissy winked.  “And the lead writer is someone I worked with before.  Gotta warn you about her.  Sometimes she changes lines as we’re bloody filming. She always says, ‘Just because it’s on paper doesn’t mean it’s written in stone.’  She loved the ad lib you did with Megan and Juliette. That was one of the rewrites.”

“You...  She... what?” Sophie looked at Amanda.

Amanda giggled, “Katelyn filmed it, and we sent it to Krissy.”

“Unlike theater,” Krissy said, “Where you’re performing something that’s been written sometimes years in advance of final production, with thousands of hours of practice where everything must go right the first time, a lot can change during filming.  Just ask Margot Robbie,” she teased.

Sophie giggled.  “Hey, Suicide Squad got an Oscar!  But aye, that’s a load off my mind.  I really don’t mind putting off stage two, but I’m finding myself dealing with new and not fun challenges as a model and soon to be an actress, that I never had to deal with before, and it’s making me self conscious and just... wrong.”

“You’ll get it worked out.” Krissy said and patted Sophie’s arm.  “See you tomorrow, bright and early at 4am?”  Sophie turned a bit pale, and Krissy laughed.  “I’m teasing.  I probably won't be in till about 6am, but we’ll be up way early to start filming when we get to that phase.” Krissy said.  “We’ve got at least a dozen parts to hear readings for, and plenty of aspiring actors and actresses to fill them, but you, Angela and Destiny are perfect for the leading ladies.”

“I wanted to ask you about that,” Sophie said.  “Why did you choose us even knowing I’ve had about as much acting training as a dead fish?”

“Now do not take this the wrong way at all.” Krissy stated, “You’re beauties, have you read the descriptions of the Angel Units?”

“Even if I am marked up like an extra in a Braveheart reboot?” Sophie giggled.

“Yes, actually those tattoos will be useful in later scenes, can I get pictures of them for our writer?” Krissy asked. “We might airbrush others as well.”

“Oh sure,” Sophie said.  “They’re all on my back, but I think Mum has a photo of them?” she asked looking at Amanda.

“Sure do,” Amanda said, already texting photos to Krissy.  “There, sent.  We can get some close ups if you want.”

“Oh these are perfect,” Krissy said.  “What’s this one?” she asked, pointing to the sidhe tattoo.  “I swear I’ve seen it before.”

“It’s a Clan tattoo.” Sophie stated, “I’d rather that one get covered if possible.  It’s not that I'm not proud of it; I am, but I don’t have permission to have it shown to the public.” 

“Sure, that’s not a problem,” Krissy said.  “Can we use a Trinity Knot in that style on your shoulder?”

“Yes.” Sophie said.

“Great,” Krissy said.  “I’m going to talk to the writer about this but I have this idea in my head of it slowly getting more elaborate as the series goes on, until it’s a complete trinity knot.”

“Oh and as for the public, I mean like on the camera and in film, It’s in a spot that can always be hidden for a reason.” Sophie said, “Or shown off.”

“Yeah, we can put a fake skin patch over it, blend the edges with some makeup, and you’d never even know it was there.”

“Thanks.” Sophie said.