Operation Rescue - The New Co-Ed; Chapter 8 free porn video

Operation Rescue: The New Co-Ed Chapter 8 - The Big Day A young man gets in trouble and loses his scholarship. It looks like his dream of college to escape a poor future is doomed - until he sees an ad recruiting 'surrogates'. The spring semester has started, and it's now time for Tommi to fulfill the contract. [email protected] ********************************************************************** The buzz of the alarm clock sounded excessively loud that morning. Tommi reached over to swat the snooze button, but missed; the buzz continued. "Damn" she muttered as she levered herself up to find the offending noisemaker. "Is it time?" Katie's groggy voice sounded from the other side of the dark room. "Yeah," Tommi answered unenthusiastically. She found the switch for her desk lamp and turned it on, and then flinched from the sudden bright light. "Damn!" she said again. Shielding her eyes from the light with one hand, she groped for the alarm with the other. Finally, the noise stopped. "I volunteered to take you at this ungodly-early hour, right?" Katie complained. "Yup." Katie sat up in bed and swung her legs to the floor. "What the hell was I thinking? Five in the morning is too early to be getting up." "Aw, c'mon," Tommi tried to sound enthusiastic. "You said that you'd do anything for your little sister, right?" In response, Katie tossed her pillow at Tommi. "That doesn't work this early in the morning," she replied. Slowly, Tommi stood, stretching slowly and trying to shake off the sleep. "Be back in a minute." She stumbled toward the door and disappeared down the hall. In a bit, she was back. "You okay?" Katie asked as she pulled on her sweater. Tommi shrugged. "I guess so." "Nervous?" Tommi nodded. "Yup." She peeled off her pajamas and began to dress. Her clothes had been laid out the night before in anticipation of this moment. "Yeah, I can understand that. I'd be nervous, too," Katie responded. "I'm not sure I could do it, and I started out a girl." She had a sudden thought. "You might skip the bra; I doubt you'll get to wear it under your surgical gown." "Would it be too much to admit that I'm scared?" Tommi had stopped dressing and was staring doe-eyed at Katie. Her lower lip quivered as she spoke. Katie realized how nervous Tommi was. She wrapped her arms around her, pulling Tommi into a warm embrace. She could feel Tommi trembling. "It's okay to be nervous," she said soothingly. "But you're going to be okay. I'll be with you. Rachel will be with you. Everything is going to be okay." Tommi nodded. "We need to get going. I've got to be at the clinic at five thirty." "And the clinic is only four or five minutes away, so we have plenty of time." Katie replied calmly. "Finish getting dressed, get your bag, and then we can go." Tommi nodded without enthusiasm. "I'm hungry." "Ah, ah, ah!" Katie chided as Tommi turned toward their mini-fridge. "You know what Dr. Tina said - nothing to eat after midnight." "I know," Tommi rebutted as she slumped into her chair. "It's just ..." "You're nervous, and you want to take your mind off the procedure, right?" Katie completed her sentence. "Yeah." "You got your bag?" Katie tried to distract Tommi. Tommi picked up her bag of things. "Right here. Just like I packed last night." "You get your toothbrush and stuff?" "Of course I got my ..." Tommi's voice trailed off as she thought. She got a sheepish expression. "I don't think I packed the things I used this morning." Katie fought the impulse to say "I told you so." Instead, she looked at her watch. "Maybe we ought to go. We don't want you to be late." Tommi finished putting her brush, toothbrush, and other things into her bag, then stood and pulled on her coat. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Katie put on her own coat and opened the door for Tommi, then closed it behind them. The halls were silent and dim - in the energy-saving night mode, there was enough light to avoid accidents, barely, and the automatic thermostat was turned down to a cool sixty-four degrees. The two strode quietly down the hall, then down a staircase to the main lobby. It was there that Tommi got a surprise. Several of the girls were waiting, most in their pajamas and robes. They surrounded her and began to give her hugs and wish her well. Tommi was in tears by the time she and Katie left the building. It was, Katie hoped, exactly what Tommi needed - moral support from her friends. Despite Katie's efforts, Tommi was silent for the brief ride to the clinic. As instructed, they went to the back emergency entrance; Katie observed that from the back entrance, it seemed more like a hospital than a simple clinic. She let Tommi walk in, then parked her car in the nearby lot and joined her. By the time Katie walked in, Tommi was sitting in a wheelchair, with a nurse attending to her, taking her vital signs. The nurse looked up. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to," she said simply. "We'll take good care of our little girl." Katie looked at Tommi's fearful eyes, and shook her head. "Tommi is like my sister. I'll stay." The nurse smiled. "Okay." Presently, the nurse led Tommi back to a small room. As Tommi sat on the edge of the bed, the nurse took a bundle from one of the closets. "Here. Put this on." Tommi took the hospital gown, still folded, and sighed. "One of these?" The nurse smiled and picked up the gown. "This is custom made for us. It's not like those cheap close-in-the-back-and-show-off-your-rear gowns most hospitals use. The ties are on a flap that folds across your front and ties on the side, because we'll be working mostly on your front. It's more like a comfy set of double-breasted footy pajamas." Tommi smiled. "So I get a bit of dignity?" "Just a bit," the nurse grinned. She scooted Katie from the room. "Open the door when you're changed, dear," the nurse commanded as she followed Katie, closing the door behind her. Moments later, Katie was sitting beside the bed, while Tommi lay down under a blanket. "These PJs may be custom made, but they're not as warm as my flannel ones, and they're drafty," Tommi observed. "Give them points for trying," Katie countered. "How is my patient doing this morning?" Dr. Tina called as she walked in. "All ready?" Dr. Tina was wearing surgical scrubs, not the usual office attire Tommi had always seen her wearing. Tommi shook her head. "No." Dr. Tina smiled. "It's not so bad. You won't feel a thing." "That's what you said yesterday," Tommi answered. Dr. Tina grinned. "Do you get the feeling we're kind of hovering around you, endlessly taking samples for tests and asking you how you're doing?" Tommi nodded. "Yup." Katie laughed lightly. Dr. Tina shrugged. "Busted, I guess. You're..." Tommi raised her hands to her chest, cupping her breasts. "Using the term 'busted' is kind of ... I don't know ... wrong?" she giggled as she glanced down and cupped her breasts. Dr. Tina smiled. "That's my girl." She looked at Tommi's chart. "You still doing okay with the hormones?" Tommi nodded. "I took the last dose last evening." "Nothing orally since then?" "No," Tommi answered, "and I'm starving." Dr. Tina managed not to laugh. "We'll get you fed soon enough. And I think you'll find our cuisine far better than standard hospital fare." "But first?" "Quick exam." Dr. Tina pulled back the blanket and untied the front of Tommi's pajamas. She probed gently at Tommi's abdomen. "Any tenderness?" "Nope." "No feelings that you might be ready to menstruate?" "Nope." "No discomfort with the hormones?" Dr. Tina continued. "Just a little sensation of bloating, and my breasts feel a bit heavy and swollen, and a bit more tender than usual." Dr. Tina made a couple of notes on the chart. She felt Tommi's breasts, palpating them quickly and professionally. "You've got a good healthy pair," she observed with a smile. "Not my fault that my family tends to have big boobs," Tommi observed dryly. "Personally, I'd prefer not to have large breasts, but I guess I don't have much to say about it, do I?" "No, it's the luck of the genetic draw," Dr. Tina agreed. "And they will grow some more as you carry the baby to term." Dr. Tina hung the chart back on Tommi's bed. " I think you're ready to go." "So soon?" Tommi glanced nervously at Katie. "Would you prefer to wait a while and get even _more_ nervous?" Dr. Tina asked with a sly grin. "You're first up today. We like to schedule our new patients early, so we don't feel rushed and can give you extra attention if needed." "Oh." "I'll get Deb to start your IV, and then we'll take you to the OR. The ... donor ... is getting prepped, too. We should be ready to start in fifteen or twenty minutes." Dr. Tina informed her, then she walked out the door. Almost as soon as Dr. Tina had gone, Deb came in. Like Dr. Tina, she was in scrubs too. "How are you doing today?" "Nervous." Deb smiled. "It'll be okay. I need to get an IV started, then give you some medication." "You going to knock me out?" Tommi asked, almost hopefully. Deb shook her head. "No, we can't do that. It's a stressful operation for the baby, and we can't add general anesthesia to the mix. You'll have something to help you stay relaxed, and we'll give you an epidural once we get you in the OR." She looked at Tommi like a teacher would look at a star pupil that just made a silly mistake. "I'm sure you were told that yesterday." Tommi winced. "I guess I don't remember everything I was told yesterday. I _was_ more than a bit nervous." Deb smiled. "Happens a lot. Don't worry about it." "So I'll be awake?" Tommi sounded frightened by the prospect. "Some people like being awake, being aware of the miracle they're participating in." Deb saw that Tommi wasn't thrilled. "You'll be conscious, but it'll seem kind of like a dream." "Can ... can Katie be with me?" Tommi asked, though she fully expected Deb to say no. Deb looked at Katie, then back at Tommi. "I'll ask Dr. Tina." Quickly, she hung the IV bag, then inserted the needle into Tommi's arm. As the drip started, she took a syringe and injected the fluid in it into the drip line. "That should help you relax some." She took the now-empty syringe and left. In a moment, before Tommi could say anything to Katie, Deb poked her head back in. "If Katie wants to, she can be with you." Tommi looked at Katie, her eyes pleading. "Please?" Katie nodded, smiling. "Anything for my little sister." Deb looked confused. "I thought ... your family ...?" Katie smiled. "Long story. Bottom line, Tommi's like the little sister I never had, and my folks treat her like family. So sometimes, I call her my little sister." Deb nodded. "That's sweet," she said. "Now you'll have to follow me to get changed and scrubbed if you're going to be with her." Katie took Tommi's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'll see you in a few minutes, okay?" Tommi squeezed Katie's hand in return. "Okay." ********** Tommi felt like she was waking from a vivid dream, where she'd been floating her way through an operation, almost as if she was watching it from above the operating table. "Katie?" she asked, sounding panicked as she jerked her head up to look around and cut through her disorientation. Katie squeezed her hand. "I'm right here," she answered quickly. "Am I ... is it ... did they...?" Tommi sounded confused as she tried to lift her head higher still to see Katie. Katie nodded. "You did fine through the transfer. Congratulations - you're going to be the mother of a little baby girl." Tommi let her head collapse back on the pillow. "It wasn't a dream?" Katie shook her head. "No. And you did super." Slowly, Tommi started to move her hands down toward her belly, only to have her left hand stopped by the IV line. Her right hand moved down and across her belly. "Am I really ... pregnant now?" she asked in awe. Katie let her feel her belly for a moment. "You're supposed to keep your hands off the incision for three days or so, until it heals." Tommi nodded. "Am I imagining it, or did Dr. Tina tell you that I have to rest for a few days while the placenta is firmly attached?" Katie nodded. "You're not imagining it. That's pretty much what she said. You're going to be on total bedrest for the next week. You can't even get up to pee. You've got a catheter to take care of that." "But ... my classes ..." Katie smiled. "Depending on how you do, the clinic will let you use a computer this afternoon or tomorrow. I'll bring your books over then. Some of the girls will be around to help you with your studying, so you don't get too far behind." Tommi nodded slowly. "That sounds good. I'd hate to come this far and flunk out because I got too far behind in my classwork." Deb came in and picked up the chart. "I have to check your vitals again." "Don't you have other patients having their procedures?" Tommi asked as Deb recorded the readings. Tommi felt like she was tied down by the IV and the instrument wires. Deb smiled. "Nope. I'm at your disposal. That's how we work this. When you get a transfer, you get a nurse assigned to help you from pre- op through surgery and then through recovery. My job today is to take care of you, and only you for as long as you're in here." Katie whistled. "If this were a private hospital, no one could afford it!" Deb smiled. "We do tend to go overboard taking care of our special patients." She put her stethoscope in her ears, unbuttoned Tommi's pajamas, and listened to her chest. "Breathe deeply. Again." She listened. "Hold your breath." Deb listened for a moment. "Okay breathe normally again." She hung her stethoscope around her neck and then took another instrument that looked like a stethoscope married to a palm-sized oddly-shaped box. Seeing the perplexed look on Tommi's face, she smiled. "This is a fetal Doppler stethoscope. It's a lot more sensitive than a regular stethoscope." "What ..." Tommi started. Deb smiled. "Listening to the baby's heartbeat." When she finished, she took the earpieces from her ears. "Would you like to hear?" "I ... I guess." Deb removed the earpieces from her own ears and carefully placed them in Tommi's. The girl's eyes widened at the medical evidence that she was now truly carrying a baby. Deb took the stethoscope from Tommi and put it away. "That's probably enough for today. We'd really like to do an ultrasound today, but it would irritate your incisions, so we'll wait for tomorrow." She winked at Tommi. "If you think the sound of a heartbeat is something, wait until you see your ultrasound." ********** A head peeked around the door, looking into Tommi's room. "Hi." Tommi looked up from her laptop, where she was working on her classwork. She smiled when she recognized Dianne. "Hi." Dianne slipped around the door into the room, sidling up to the side of Tommi's bed. "How are you doing?" Tommi leaned back, letting her attention drift from her homework. "Tired." "I can imagine," Dianne replied. She held up a small bag. "We ... the girls and I ... thought we'd bring a few things for you." She handed it to Tommi. "Thanks," Tommi smiled as she took the bag. She pulled out a couple of blouses and nighties, and a makeup kit. She grimaced at Dianne. "Makeup? In a hospital bed? C'mon." Dianne laughed. "A girl always has to be ready to look pretty. And you never know who you might have for visitors." "Somehow, I doubt I'll have visitors that would inspire me to wear makeup," Tommi scoffed. "But nighties - those should be better than the special pajamas they gave me. Thanks." Then Tommi remembered some of the nursing staff, and the unending tests and ultrasounds. "If they'll let me wear them." Another head poked around the door. "You got time for company?" Melody spotted Dianne. "Oh, hi! I didn't know you were coming." She strode to Tommi's bedside, resting her hands on the bed rails. "What is this, Grand Central Station?" Tommi joked. "I spend most of my days alone, with nothing but homework and being poked by nurses, and then suddenly I'm in a crowd of visitors?" "We love seeing you, too," Mel said lightheartedly. Dianne saw that Tommi was starting to tear up. "You okay?" Tommi nodded as she wiped her eyes. "I'm glad to see you, but I don't know why I'm crying," she explained. "I think it's all these damned hormones." "My Dad always said that Mom was on an emotional roller-coaster when she was pregnant," Dianne offered. "He said he really had to be careful of what he said or did, because she'd get sad or upset really easily." "Great," Tommi pouted. "Katie's really gonna love _that_ in a roommate." "How are you doing, otherwise?" Mel asked cautiously. "Can you, you know, feel anything?" Tommi shook her head. "You mean, can I feel the baby?" "Yeah." Tommi shook her head. "I don't know. I mean, I feel different. Bloated, full, like that. But I don't know if it's the surgery or the baby or what." "Well, it's going to be interesting to see you go through this," Mel stated. Tommi raised her eyebrows. "Oh? You seem kind of ... curious." Mel lowered her eyes; her face flushed slightly. "Well, I'm planning on having children someday, and it's just, well, kind of like a learning lab." "Oh, so I'm a lab experiment, too?" Tommi laughed. Mel looked horror-stricken at how Tommi had worded her response. "No, it's just ... well...." She dropped her gaze. "That didn't sound right, did it?" Tommi reached out and let his hand rest on Mel's. "I _know_ what you really mean. I wasn't trying to poke fun at you." She looked at Mel, then at Dianne. "It's nice to have so many friends to help me, and I know I'm probably going to need a lot of help." Dr. Tina picked that moment to come in. She frowned when she saw the visitors. "You girls need to let her rest!" Tommi scowled. "I've been resting for four days!" she protested. "I need a little company to keep me sane!" Dr. Tina wasn't intimidated, nor was she very sympathetic. "You have a lot of staff around here to talk to so you can maintain sanity." She glanced at the laptop on Tommi's bed. "And you've got your classwork to keep you busy." "Tommi needs time with her friends," Dianne countered. "We're important to her, too." "Yeah," Mel added. "Moral support." Dr. Tina laughed as she shook her head. "And you've had some time to visit. But we have a more important concern, and that's making sure Tommi Sue is properly healed and able to go back to school. Now shoo!" She pointed toward the door, her face a mask of determination. Slowly, reluctantly, Dianne and Mel each gave Tommi a quick hug before they trudged out the door. Mel stopped and turned. "I'll call the Red Cross so they can make sure this POW camp treats you humanely," she said sarcastically. The glare from Dr. Tina could have frozen boiling water. Mel scooted quickly around the corner and out of view. Tommi frowned. "My friends come to visit, and you chase them off? Can't I have a little time with them?" Dr. Tina shook her head. "Not when I'm doing rounds and you're going to get another ultrasound. If I like what I see, you'll be paroled tomorrow." She picked up Tommi's chart to record her vitals from the monitors. "Unless you'd rather skip the ultrasound and stay with us the whole weekend." Tommi's frown vanished, replaced with an expectation of being released. Then she frowned again. "Couldn't you have just said that?" she complained. The nurse grinned. "Where's the sense of power in doing that? That would be ... boring. No excitement, no drama!" "Sometimes, I think you're a bit strange," Tommi observed with a giggle. "Yes, I know," was the reply, accompanied by an enigmatic smile. "It keeps life interesting." Dr. Tina pulled a cart from against the wall, then squeezed some warm jelly on Tommi's abdomen. Easily, professionally, she put the ultrasound probe on the jelly and swished it around, then began to slowly move the probe. "Um hmm," she said to herself. "Looks good." She saw the curious expression on Tommi's face. "Have you ...?" She stopped, her eyes wide, a horror-stricken expression on her face. "I haven't shown you an ultrasound, yet, have I?" She shook her head. "How could I miss that?" she asked herself; she seemed very distressed that Tommi hadn't been given the opportunity to see the images yet. "Would you like to see?" she asked apologetically. When Tommi nodded, Dr. Tina maneuvered the cart so Tommi could see the screen. "Let's let you see what you've done." Dr. Tina began to move the probe carefully, craning her neck to see the image. The blurry image changed, as the probe slid over Tommi's belly. "There's the head," Dr. Tina said, pointing out a part of the image, "and the body, and wait, there's one of her arms!" She continued to move the probe, and Tommi saw different views of the tiny fetus within her. "What's that ... pulsing?" Tommi asked as the image went across the body again. Dr. Tina smiled. "That's the baby's heartbeat," she answered. Tommi watched for a few more moments, then leaned back against the pillow. "Wow!" she said softly to herself as Deb put away the ultrasound machine and cleaned the jelly off Tommi's abdomen. "That's ... amazing!" Dr. Tina nodded, sounding awestruck herself. "Those images are pretty powerful, aren't they? I never cease to marvel at the miracle of new life." ********** The noise began as soon as the door opened. It was the sound of happiness, of welcome, of friendship and even love. Tommi felt her eyes watering as she took in the sounds and sights of all her friends cheering her return "home", to her dorm room. The large banner above the window said, in big bright letters, "Welcome Home, Tommi", and beneath that, in slightly smaller letters, "We Missed You" and "Congratulations". Katie pushed through the small group and put Tommi's bag on her bed before she shooed Mel from Tommi's chair. "Here," she offered Tommi the chair in a tone that sounded more like a command than a suggestion, "get off your feel and rest." Tommi groaned. "Great. First, I had to deal with Attila the Nurse, and now _you're_ going to watch over me like a hawk?" Katie grinned. "More like a protective older sister." Before Tommi could even sit down, Dianne handed her a paper plate with some of the "healthy snacks" set out on Katie's desk. "In case you're hungry." Tommi looked at the plate and sighed. "You, too?" Mel offered Tommi a glass of flavored sparkling water. "We _all_ had a talk on helping you stay healthy." "Just great," Tommi sighed. "Now all of you know what I can and can't eat, so I can't cheat and sneak some _tasty_ food!" Tommi shook her head. "Maybe I should have stayed in the clinic," she said, shaking her head slightly. " I only had _one_ nurse hovering over me there!" "So," Ashley asked, sounding timid, "what's it like?" "What?" Tommi was confused the general question. "Being pregnant." Ashley clarified. "Do you feel any different?" Tommi thought for a moment. "You know how you sometimes feel a little bloated ... before a period? It feels a little like that, only not as uncomfortable. Just a little ... full." "Can we see?" Erica was curious, and from the chorus of agreement, she wasn't the only one. Tommi shrugged. "I don't think there's much to see," she said. "The baby is only three and a half months along. It's not like I'm going to be showing for a while." "Oh, okay." Erica sounded disappointed. Tommi glanced at Katie, then sighed and pulled her blouse up. She realized that the girls might have been confused by her loose-fitting blouse. It _was_ a maternity blouse, but she wore it only to keep pressure off the surgical incision while it healed. "See?" she said, "nothing there but the incision." Christina peered at Tommi's abdomen from one angle, then another, and a third. "I don't know," she commented. "It does seem a little bit rounder." "Nah." "You're imagining it." "I don't see anything." There was doubt, and a little disappointment, in the voices. Tommi shook her head. "I told you there was nothing to see." Christina listened to the protests of disbelief. "No, seriously," she continued. "It's not like you're huge and round - yet, but your belly is just a teeny bit less flat." She glanced around. "Aw, c'mon. Am I the only one who thinks that?" A chorus of "Yes" answered her. Erica, though, disagreed with the consensus. She looked at Tommi and shrugged. "I'm not sure." She thought for a moment. "Look, Christina's been an artist most of her life, right? And she's very good, right?" The girls all agreed, even as Christina blushed at the compliments. "And she's a fine arts major, right?" "So?" "Artists, or so the stereotype goes, can recognize tiny details that everyone else misses." She shrugged. "Maybe Christina _can_ see some slight changes in Tommi. I remember a story I read someplace where an artist realized that his mistress was pregnant after only a few weeks, just from the subtle differences." Katie thought for a second, then grinned, shaking her head. "Maybe, but I don't buy it." Tommi, however, looked thoughtful. "I wonder how I'm going to change as ... as the baby grows?" "Do you _feel_ any different?" Ashley asked. "Yeah, like odd cravings or anything?" Linda piped in. "When my mom was pregnant with my youngest brother, she had the _strangest_ food cravings! Sometimes she just had to have a grilled pepperoni, onion, and jalapeno sandwich!" "My aunt craved liverwurst," Erica added with a wicked grin. Tommi felt queazy thinking about such sandwiches. "Ugh! I _hope_ I don't get cravings like that!" Katie nodded. "Yeah, me, neither. 'Cause I have to live with her!" she laughed. "How soon can you go back to classes?" Ashley changed the subject. Tommi was grateful for the change of subject; talking about the food left her feeling a bit nauseous. She wondered briefly if she was going to be plagued by morning sickness. "Tomorrow," she said. "But she can't carry anything heavy," Katie chimed in, "including books, for another ten days. No heavy lifting of any kind. So we'll need to help out." Tommi frowned. "Good grief," she sighed. "I'm not totally helpless." Katie just shrugged. "But you _are_ going to follow your doctor's orders, right?" It was _not_ a rhetorical question. Tommi rolled her eyes. "I'm beginning to regret signing the permission form, so Katie and Dr. Tina can talk about my condition." "Too late. Now I can get all the info I need to take care of my 'little sister'!" Katie chuckled, to the amusement of the other girls. ********** "How are you feeling?" Tommi sighed. Everyone was asking her the same question - "How do you feel?" or a variant thereof. "Same as two days ago," she replied without enthusiasm. Dr. Tina raised an eyebrow as an expression of curiosity. "I take it you're a bit tired of the question?" she asked. Tommi nodded. "Everyone, and I mean _everyone_, keeps asking how I'm doing. I know you and Rachel and Deb and everyone here needs to know, medically, but ... it's getting old, especially when girls I barely know ask." Dr. Tina shrugged. " Rachel can give you a better answer as to why so many people are asking the question, but, to put it simply, our clients are still ... unique. The procedure is not as common as we'd like, and so there's a little bit of ..." She wrinkled her nose as if the thoughts were repugnant, "oddness." "So I'm a freak for the sex change, and an even bigger freak because I'm carrying someone else's baby?" Tommi sounded a bit angry. "I'm afraid so," Dr. Tina answered. "Great!" Tommi sulked. "Have you been following my orders?" Tommi nodded unenthusiastically. "No lifting of anything more than a couple of pounds. Minimize walking. Any time I'm not moving, I rest with my feet elevated if at all possible. No pressure on my abdomen, including a laptop computer. Follow the diet precisely. Don't have fun. Don't laugh or giggle or express loud emotions." Dr. Tina laughed. "I never said those last two, but I'll have to remember them in case I need to use them on an obstinate patient." She patted the exam table. "Time for an exam." Tommi sighed. "Yeah, I know." As Tommi scooted back onto the table, Dr. Tina pulled out the stirrups. Tommi sighed as she lifted her legs into them. "I really hate this." "I don't know a woman who likes it," Dr. Tina agreed as she pulled on her latex gloves. "Except I'm not a woman - or wasn't. So I never got a chance to get psychologically used to it," Tommi complained. "It probably seems more intrusive to me than it does to most of your patients." Dr. Tina thought briefly about responding to Tommi's complaint, but decided not to. Instead, she began the very personal examination. She figured that Rachel would be better able to talk to Tommi about her adjustment. Knowing that Dr. Tina had gone into 'professional' mode, Tommi stopped talking to her and thought of other things to distract herself from the exam. In no more than a few minutes, Dr. Tina was done. "Everything is looking good." Tommi slid her legs out from the stirrups and carefully sat up. "No ultrasound today?" Dr. Tina shook her head. "Nope. Deb got your blood and urine samples already, so you're good to go. You're probably supposed to talk to Rachel next, right?" Tommi nodded. "Yup." Dr. Tina smiled. "Keep taking care of yourself." She let herself out of the exam room, shutting the door behind her so Tommi could have privacy to change. Tommi stood from the exam table, slipped off the exam gown, and pulled on her own clothes. She still felt a little sore from the surgery, and was actually glad that the doctor hadn't lifted the restrictions on her activities. Tommi walked back to the lobby. "Suzie, " she interrupted the receptionist. "I bet you're ready to see Rachel now," Suzie replied cheerfully. She looked extremely radiant and happy, even if her belly seemed enormous. "You can go in now." Tommi guessed Suzie was about eight months along. For a brief moment, Tommi wondered if she would look as happy and pretty as Suzie did when she was eight months pregnant. Then she wondered where _that_ thought had come from. Suddenly, she wondered _what_ she was doing. She was now a pregnant young woman - and only a few weeks ago, she'd been a carefree, happy, _male_ student. She felt her eyes start to mist. "Tommi?" Suzie said quickly, "are you okay?" Tommi started, and then realized that she'd missed some of what Suzie had said. "I'm okay," she lied quickly. "I was just ... daydreaming." Suzie's eyes narrowed slightly, and the smile faded. "Are you sure?" "Yeah." Suzie had observed enough patients over her career that she knew something was bothering Tommi, but also that Tommi wasn't going to talk to her about it. She figured that Rachel would get to the bottom of whatever was troubling Tommi. "You can go in now," she repeated, knowing that Tommi hadn't heard her the first time. "Oh, okay," Tommi replied, still sounding unsure of herself. With a feigned smile that Suzie saw through, Tommi walked back toward Rachel's office. Rachel greeted Tommi at her door. "How are you feeling today?" she asked. Tommi sighed. "One more," she muttered to herself as she slid into a chair. "One more what?" Rachel asked as she took her own chair. Tommi closed her eyes for a moment, shaking her head slowly. "Everyone keeps asking how I'm feeling," she said. "I'm kind of tired of it." "Okay," Rachel answered slowly and cautiously. "I take it you're _feeling_ a bit ... emotional today?" "That's an understatement," Tommi snorted. "I feel like my emotions are in turbo mode right now." "We _did_ tell you that it would be like that," Rachel countered, trying not to be offensive, but rather to sound supportive. "Your hormones are going to make you more emotional." "Yeah, I know," Tommi acknowledged. "It's like I'm on an emotional roller coaster, though. Sometimes, everything is ... great. And then, two seconds later, I feel like crying." She shook her head. "It was bad enough just with the changes that came with having periods. This is a hundred times worse!" Rachel nodded in sympathy. "And it's probably harder for you than for some of our other patients." "Because I was a guy, and didn't grow up with the mood swings of periods, right?" "Yup." Rachel glanced at her computer. "You're still on restricted activity, right?" "Yeah." "How is that working for you? Any problems?" Tommi sighed. "It feels really weird to be reliant on people for _everything_." She shook her head sadly. "Katie and the girls won't let me carry even a notebook to classes. Someone is _always_ hovering around me to carry my books between classes, or carry my lunch tray. I feel like I'm helpless." "You don't like that?" "No! I should be taking care of myself! I can ..." Tommi stopped, frowning. "It's ..." She was having trouble finding the right words to express her feelings. "I hate it. I hate feeling so helpless!" Rachel nodded. "Post surgery is the toughest, especially for patients like you." "Former guys?" Tommi asked. Rachel nodded. "There's something about not being allowed to do even simple tasks for ones-self that really bothers guys. Women don't like it either, but it _really_ bugs most guys." "I won't argue with that." "Is your class work going okay?" Tommi shrugged. "I'm pretty much caught up." She smiled for the first time of the visit. "I appreciate the laptop you're loaning me so I can stay current. Otherwise..." Rachel glanced at the desktop computer monitor. "According to Dr. Tina's best estimates, the baby is now about sixteen weeks along. You've got some twenty-three weeks to term, so you should be due ... around the first of July." She frowned. "Is that going to be a problem with summer school?" Tommi thought a moment. "Shouldn't be. It'll depend on how long I'm out of school to have the baby." "And _that_ will depend on whether this is a simple delivery, or if you have complications along the way or during delivery." Rachel let the words sink in for a moment. "Which is why it's very important for you to follow our program and keep yourself healthy _and_ to report any problems right away." "How common is it to have complications?" Tommi asked, then quickly added, "I mean, for ... patients like me?" "Guys?" Rachel shook her head. "It's not that simple. A lot of it, to be honest, seems to depend on your attitude." "My attitude?" "Yes, your attitude. I won't lie; pregnancy is hard. It seems to be a bit harder for male volunteers. There are a few minor physiological differences, such as your skeletal structure, but a lot of those were mitigated when we did the accelerated healing protocols. During that time, your body thought it was eleven or twelve and just starting puberty, so it reacted accordingly." She smiled knowingly. "You _did_ notice that your hips widened a little bit, right? That's because your body thought it should." She got a more sober expression. "Even with all of that, it's still harder for male volunteers. That's one reason we'd rather not have cases like yours." "One reason? There are others?" Tommi seemed surprised. Rachel laughed. "You'd be surprised. We get a _lot_ of male volunteers." She shook her head. "Not very many make it through the screening." "Why not?" Tommi was curious why _she_ made it, and others didn't. "Some are in it for the money. They don't have ... staying power. They ... well, sometimes it's a mess, the way they freak out as their body changes, or when they feel the baby inside them." "Oh." Tommi sounded very unsure of herself. "We have some who just want the transexual surgery aspect; they think they can carry a baby and get real functional female parts." She shook her head again. "They don't usually pass the screening either. Some guys have ego problems. You know - macho types." She sighed. "There are more types of guys who fail the test than pass. We had one guy who lost a bet with his wife. He was going to carry their children after he did a surrogacy." She shook her head. "You'd be surprised at the reasons some people give - or don't give - when they sign up." Tommi appeared confused. "But ... I was just looking for a job ... to pay my tuition." Rachel smiled. "Is that _all_ you wanted?" "Yeah," Tommi replied, sure of herself. "So why did I pass?" Rachel leaned back in her chair. "If that was really your only motivation, you _wouldn't_ have passed." "I don't get it." Rachel permitted herself a small smile. "You will. Someday, you'll figure it out." "You have my test results. Can't you tell me?" Rachel shook her head, still smiling. "I can only say two things about it. First, there's something else, something stronger, than the money motive. The test didn't tell me exactly what it is, just that you are a remarkably good candidate. And second, this is another one of those situations where _you_ have to find your own answers." Rachel's expression became quite somber. "I can help guide you in the questions you ask yourself, but I don't have the answers." ********** Tommi sat in her desk, watching all the other students gathering their books, and wondering. She was still on restrictions, and Ashley was _supposed_ to be here to get her book bag. She frowned; she was going to have to break the rules if Ashley didn't show up soon. "Uh, excuse me, but do you need help?" Tommi started at the voice; she'd been looking the other way, and was startled to see the young man standing here and addressing her. "Uh, what?" she asked, puzzled. "Do you need some help?" The young man gestured to her book bag. "I've noticed that you've always had a friend help carry your books since you were out for a few days. I didn't see anyone come for you today, so I thought you might need some help." "Oh." Tommi's head spun. The guy's logic was impeccable, and she was stuck - for the time being. "One of my friends is supposed to be here to help," she said quickly. "It looks like she's late, and you're going to be late for your next class," the guy observed. "By the way, I'm Brian. Brian Townsley." "Hi," Tommi said, hoping to stall for time. She was in a pickle here. Students were already filing into the room for this classroom's next lecture, so she had to leave. But Ashely was late, and that meant that she was going to be late for her next class _and_ violate her restrictions on carrying weight. "Uh, I guess I'm kind of stuck. But ..." "Would it hurt so much to let me carry your books to your next class, in the daylight, in public, without being forward? Just to be helpful?" Brian seemed quite mild-mannered, and overly polite. Tommi glanced around, then sighed. There was no sign of Ashley. "I don't seem to have a choice, do I?" She sighed again. "I'm Tommi Sue." Brian smiled as he picked up Tommi's book bag. "Yeah, I know." Tommi started. "You know my name?" Brian nodded. "Me and about half the other students in class. It's not like your name is a state secret, especially when the teacher calls on you a lot." Tommi relaxed a bit; his answer made logical sense, but it still felt odd that he knew her name. She couldn't help wondering what else he knew about her. As they walked down the stairs, Brian kept talking. "What are you majoring in? Or haven't you decided yet?" Tommi wished that Brian would stop prattling on and on. She was sure that he was glancing at her, at her chest, at the gap between the lapels of her jacket, everywhere, as she talked. "I'm pretty sure of engineering," she replied, "but I'm not sure which type of engineering yet." Brian grinned. "Maybe you'll go into computer engineering? Then I'd see you around a lot more." Tommi suppressed a shudder. This guy seemed to be overly interested in her. "I'm not sure. I was kind of leaning toward mechanical engineering, but lately I've taken a big interest in biomedical engineering." Brian's eyes widened, and he nodded appreciately. "Biomedical is a good field." As they got to the building entrance, Brian paused. "Where's your next class?" he asked as he held the door for Tommi. "I'm heading to the Chemistry building," Tommi replied cautiously, hoping that he wasn't also going to a chemistry class. She didn't recall having seen him in that class, but between the stay in the clinic and the bed rest in her dorm room, she'd missed almost two weeks of classes, so she wasn't sure. "I hope it's not too far out of your way," she added, trying to sound polite. Brian winced, enough that Tommi noticed. "Well, it _is_ a bit out of the way, but I already volunteered to help you, so I guess it's okay." "Where were you going?" The young man wrinkled his nose; he'd been hoping Tommi wouldn't ask that question. "I've got calculus next." Tommi felt bad; the math building was the opposite direction. "We'd better hurry so you're not late for your class, either." She wasn't kidding about wanting to rush, but it was mostly because she felt very uncomfortable with Brian's attention. "I noticed you missed a few classes, and now you have some restrictions. It's nothing serious, is it?" Tommi wanted to scream inside. There wasn't anything this guy could ask that would be more personal. But she had to try to remain polite. "Um," she stammered, "it's kind of private. I really don't want to talk about it." The rest of the walk was less talkative. Tommi had hoped that Brian wouldn't be so inquisitive about her, and her blunt response about it being a private matter had had the desired effect. Brian changed the subject to the history class they shared - what did she think of the professor, how did she do on the quiz, and so on. Mercifully, they got to the chemistry building and to her classroom. As Tommi sat down, Brian put her book bag beside her. "Thank you," she said, a required polite formal acknowledgement of his help. Brian smiled. "No problem. I suppose I'll be seeing you around?" Tommi realized that he hoped to see more of her. She shuddered inwardly - again. "Probably, especially since we're in the same history class." She wondered if she sounded polite enough, but feared that she sounded either sarcastic, catty, or, worse yet, inviting. ********** "Sorry I missed you after history," Ashley apologized profusely as she peeked into Tommi's room. "I forgot." She saw Tommi was stretched out on her bed resting, her feet propped up by a spare pillow. Christina and Linda were sitting in the two chairs in the room, watching television with Tommi. Christina frowned at Ashley. "We all promised we'd help, remember?" "Yeah, but I got caught up studying for a test," Ashley protested. She sat at the foot of Tommi's bed. "I'm really sorry." Tommi shrugged. "It's okay. I got it worked out." Ashley's eyes widened. "You didn't ... carry your books, did you?" She sounded horrified that she might have caused Tommi to hurt herself. "Not this time," Linda replied, sounding stern. "Someone else helped Tommi - this time. But it was your job." "Sorry," Ashley apologized again. "Who was it?" Tommi shrugged. "One of the people in my class." "Oh?" Linda was curious. "Who was it?" Tommi frowned. "Just another student, okay?" Christina's and Linda's eyes widened. "Was it a guy?" Tommi scowled. "Just drop it, okay." Linda grinned at Christina. "It _was_ a guy." She turned back to Tommi. "Who as it? "Just some guy, okay?" Tommi replied angrily. "Can we drop it?" "No," Linda countered immediately. "Not until we know more." Tommi shook her head. "Look, the whole thing is creeping me out, okay? The guy was very polite and helpful, and he knew my name, _and_ he was hoping I'd be studying engineering _and_ that he would see me around." She shuddered visibly. "It really weirded me out, okay?" Christina laughed. "It's not uncommon for girls to get noticed by the guys in class, especially nice-looking girls." "Knock it off, okay?" Tommi sounded upset. "It just felt ... creepy." She glared at Christina. "And I'm not some "hot" college co-ed, okay? He shouldn't be noticing me." "You're not feeling attracted to guys?" "No! That's ... gross!" "How about girls, then?" Linda asked. "What?" Linda stood, pulled off her sweater, and removed her bra. She held her large breasts in her hands, pressing them together, licking her own nipples, and generally putting on a seductive show. After a few seconds, she grinned at Tommi. "How about girls? Does stuff like _that_ turn you on?" Tommi scowled. "No, not really." Christina leaned over and cupped Tommi's breast, catching her by surprise. "Having your own kind of takes the thrill away, doesn't it," she said with certainty. "You've got girl hormones and a girl body. It wouldn't be surprising if you start reacting to guys like a girl," Linda explained as she refastened her bra before she pulled her sweater back on. Tommi wrinkled her nose. "That's ... sick!" "Aren't you the slightest bit curious?" Christina asked. "Haven't you thought about what it would be like to _use_ your girl parts?" "Nope. And I'm going to keep it that way," Tommi answered definitively. "In case you forgot, I still have a boy's brain and thoughts and memories - which is why it was so creepy to have a guy hitting on me." Linda sat back down. "Have you been more ... aroused lately?" she asked bluntly. "What?" Linda shrugged. "I've heard that pregnancy makes girls more ... horny. I was just curious if it was true." Tommi shook her head, her nose wrinkled in disgust. "You guys are nuts," she protested strongly. "This is a weird conversation." Christina, Ashley, and Linda all laughed. "No, it's kind of normal. We girls talk about things like this more than guys - or parents - realize," Linda explained. "So, does being pregnant really make you hornier?" "I wouldn't know," Tommi shook her head, but a very slight blush betrayed her. Linda laughed again. "Tell the truth!" Tommi scowled. "Okay, it does feel ... different. A little wetter sometimes, okay? Like ..." She frowned. "Maybe it is a bit of arousal. So what? I'm keeping focused on keeping fit and keeping my grades up. And I'm _definitely_ not interested in any guys, okay?" ********** To be continued...