Surprise Offer 2: is a direct continuation of the story about Lily and her ‘brother’ Lance. Can she find acceptance and her place in the world as Lily instead of Lance? Emotions run high as Lily’s new best friend and ‘adoptive’ family members move things forward at lightning speed. Can she handle it all? How will a surprise just before Thanksgiving change everything? Lily and Sammie are back, ready to take on the world with pigtails and dancing, in a way only ten-year-old little girls can do.

Lily didn’t have any visitors on Friday until after her lunch. She wondered if that was because it was Black Friday and her relatives were shopping. Sammie and her Daddie were the first to show up. But Mommie and Daddie weren’t far behind.

“Your Granny and Aunty won’t be here today. They are having a Black Friday sale. I am not sure what gifts people would want to buy at a costume rental place. But,” Mommie stopped in thought and looked thoughtfully at her daughter. “Maybe I should have gone over and seen if they had some of their other inventory on sale today. I bet I could find a special Church dress for you there.”

“I’ve seen those dresses in their display window,” Daddie said. “I bet even with a Black Friday sale, those things would still be too expensive to buy. Susan, she’s only ten. She doesn’t need a $1000 dress.”

Lily thought about one particular flower girl dress at Granny’s shop. She would love to have that one. Was it really a thousand dollars? Dresses don’t really cost that much, do they?

Sammie and Lily were chatting softly when a nurse came into the room and said, “Lily, can you say your name and birthdate, please?”

“Lily Vanderbilt. March 27th, 2005,” the girl stated.

“Great, we are going to scope the inside of your uterus and vagina. I am going to put you under while we do it.”

The patient was sleeping by the time they got to the colposcopy room.

When Lily awoke, she was back in her hospital room. The Bergers had apparently gone home or stepped out of the room. She made sure Creamy was with her before grabbing one of the magazines she had from the playroom library. Lily had just finished that magazine when her Doctor from the children’s hospital walked into the room.

“Hello, Lily and parents,” Doctor Thorley said. “As you know, we scoped your female organs today. Your uterus is healthy and looks normal. Your vagina, on the other hand, has significant scar tissue. We are assuming that is because of multiple months of being soaked in blood.”

Daddie asked, “Will that heal, or is it damaged for life?”

“We are not sure. I want to give it some time to heal before we make any decisions. She is young, small, and growing. We know that we have to do something and soon to address the reconstruction of the outside and get that tube out of there. The human body does not respond well to foreign bodies placed in it, especially ones that make a hole connecting the inside of the body to the outside world. The biggest unknown at the moment is what, if anything, we will have to do with the vagina,” the doctor paused for a moment to make sure he still had everyone with him. “Remember, your daughter's condition is a rarity. Less than two percent of the population is even intersexual. What she has is termed ‘46, XX hermaphroditism.’ Which is a variant of hermaphroditism which only shows up once in roughly 6000 births worldwide.”

Mommie asked, “How much longer does she need to stay here?”

The doctor smiled at Lily, “We are hoping she can go home tomorrow morning. We have done everything we can do at this time. We will need to do another colposcopy and the reconstruction sometime next year.”

The Vanderbilts acknowledged that information.

“Thank you, Doctor Thorley,” Mommie said, sitting there trying to process everything.

“It has been a pleasure to be your doctor during this journey. I’ll see you again in January. Doctor Kendrick has been keeping track of everything during this whole process. As you have requested, she will get all of the medical records from this hospital visit in a couple of weeks, once everything is processed through here. We will call you next week to schedule a colposcopy in January. If I don’t see you again, enjoy the holiday season.” Then he left the room to deal with his non-rarity patients.

Lily had returned to her magazines when another knock on the door happened. After being welcomed in, it turned out to be Pastor Paterson from Church. He greeted the family and said, “Sorry for not showing my face on Tuesday or Wednesday. I only found out about you being here yesterday, Lily.”

He continued by asking about Lily’s current condition and generally discussing Lily. He stressed that he would make sure Lily was accepted in the church family. He did stress confusion about the condition and how something like this happens.

Daddie said, “You just missed the doctor. He left about 20 minutes before you came here. He said Lily’s condition is called XX hermaphroditism, which happens once in roughly 6000 births worldwide.”

The family and Pastor were quietly discussing things when the nurse came in for her vital check. She told Mommie, “Make sure Lily has clothes to leave the hospital tomorrow. The hospital gown is not very fashionable.”

After being satisfied that the message had been received, the nurse left the room.

The pastor asked, “What about all her legal documents and records? And her school?”

“I met with a lawyer about that today,” Daddie answered. “We are going to hold her out of school on Monday morning until we have a meeting with the school about her status. We are hoping she can join her class on Monday afternoon as Lily.”

Mommie added, “I haven’t asked my daughter, but I can’t see her wanting to wear the Lance costume again.”

They chatted for another 15 minutes before it was visually apparent that the girl in the bed was tired. The pastor took that as his cue to leave. Mommie tucked her daughter in before going with Daddie.

Saturday morning, Mommie had once again showed up before Lily was awake. By the time Lily did wake up, the ten-year-old quickly noticed that someone had removed all the gifts and flowers while she slept. The only things left were her and Creamy.

The young girl was ready to get out of this hospital. Everyone had treated her nicely in the last four days, but there was no place like home. While the girl was eating her breakfast, Mommie showed Lily the clothes she had brought: the Sweetie Pie overalls, her pink Alice t-shirt, and a pink ballerina sweatshirt.

Lily asked, “Did you bring my leotard and ballet shoes?”

Mommie glared at her daughter, “LILY ANN VANDERBILT, you are not dancing today.”

Lily just pouted and nodded.

A knock came on the door, and Nurse Kate walked in. “I heard a full name. I can come later if this isn't a good time.”

“No! No! No! No! Mommie was just telling me off for requesting to go to ballet lessons today,” Lily explained.

The nurse raised an eyebrow at Lily, “Doctor’s orders on the release paperwork clearly say no physical education or exercise until Thursday at the earliest, sweetheart. That would include ballet.”

Looking over at Lily’s mom, Nurse Kate saw her mouth, thank you. The nurse continued, "Let’s get those monitoring pads off you.”

Nurse Kate removed the pads before pulling the IV out of the IV port, “Do you want hearts or a princess bandage?”

“Princess, please.”

While removing the IV port and placing the bandage, the nurse stated, “Get dressed, and I will be back to wheel you to the car.”

Lily wasted no time getting into her panties, bibs, t-shirt, and sweatshirt. As she was tying her shoes, the nurse came back with a wheelchair. The little girl put on her pink coat before sitting in the wheelchair. Mommie had already gone downstairs to get the car in position.

Once at the car, Lily smiled up at Nurse Kate, “Thank you for everything you and your fellow nurses did.”

“Thank you. And you were a pleasure to be around.”

The nurse wasn't going to say it, but the nurses like to pick their favorite patients. Lily was fought over because she quickly became a favorite patient for multiple nurses.

Lily got into the car on her black booster and noticed that the rest of the back seat was completely full of her gifts and flowers. As they were pulling away from the hospital, Lily pleaded with Mommie, “I won't dance, but can I at least go to the ballet school?”

Mommie sighed, “I am not going to win with you, my ballet enthusiast. Yes, you may go, but you can't dance.”

Lily pointed out, “There is no way I am dancing in bib overalls and tennis shoes. I have no leotard or ballet shoes to dance in.”

As Lily was dropped off, she said, “Thank you. I’ll get a ride home with Sammie.”

“I am calling Heather right now, Princess,” Mommie stated as she picked up the phone.

The ballerina walked into the studio very quietly because Mistress’s intermediate class had started about 30 minutes ago. She held her coat after removing it. She then looked in her studio, where she usually took lessons, and found no evidence of Miss Rebecca.

Looking in the other classroom, she found, of course, Mistress Anastasia leading her class, but Miss Rebecca helping her. She tiptoed quietly into that studio and sat on the floor in the back among the backpacks and jackets.

She must've not been as quiet as she thought she was because all the students' heads turned towards her. Most of them snapped back to the front as Mistress gave the next move. One head stayed looking at her with a huge smile on that face.

Mistress sternly stated, “Samantha Berger, eyes en face, not on your best friend.” Sammie's head snapped forward so fast that the best friend thought her Bestie was going to get whiplash.

Rebecca helped her student up and led her to the other studio. The teacher said, “Lily Vanderbilt, you were just in the hospital. Why did you come here?”

Lily responded, “Yes, I was in the hospital 30 minutes ago. Mommie and the doctors will not let me dance until at least Thursday. I did want to at least show my face.”

Rebecca handed her student a sheet, “That is your recital broken down into moves. I don’t want you doing any practice until you feel well enough and the doctors have cleared you to do ballet. Once those two criteria are met, Sammie can help you with your recital moves. Ignore any crossed-out moves. You haven't learned them yet. That is, unless Sammie wants to be a ballet teacher again.”

Lily thanked her instructor for the sheet of moves.

Rebecca looked her student up and down, “Now I want to talk about this hospital stay. I guess you, in general.”

Lily asked, “What about it?”

Miss Rebecca took a deep breath, “When Heather Berger set up these lessons, she admitted you were transgender. Wednesday, Mistress called me and said you might not be here today because you were in the hospital for women's issues. I guess I am asking how a transgender girl has women's issues.”

Lily explained, “It was discovered this week that I am not transgender but intersexual.”

Rebecca asked, “What is intersexual?”

“In my particular case, it means I am fully a girl inside, but my outsides didn't reflect that,” Lily said. “They did a chromosome test, and I am XX, just like you.”

Rebecca was nodding. Lily continued by telling what had all happened this week. The teacher was very much interested in her favorite student’s life. Granted, it was her only student, but still, she enjoyed this girl. And if she is genetically a girl, that would explain the range of motion she didn’t expect her student to have when she heard she was transgender.

Rebecca asked, “So, does your outside match your inside now?”

“No, I have to have reconstruction surgery next year. Until then, I have a tube so I can safely have my periods,” Lily said while shaking her head.

Rebecca then asked, “How are you feeling about this?”

“Conflicted, I always wanted to be a girl. So that makes me ecstatic. Then I found I had always been a girl, and I didn't have girl experiences because of a stupid birth defect. That makes me angry. And I would rather not repeat the cramps monthly that I had Monday through Wednesday. But I don't get that pleasure,” Lily explained.

While helping the girl up, Rebecca said, “Welcome to the club.”

The two girls walked out of the studio and joined the rest of the students in the common area. Sammie walked to her best friend, but Lily was intercepted by Mistress first. The head instructor inquired, “Are you ok?”

Lily responded, “They declare me mostly a healthy girl. I will have to go back to the hospital sometime next year.”

Mistress Anastasia then asked, “How long before the doctors will let you dance? I am ordering recital programs this week and need to know if you need to be removed from the recital due to medical reasons.”

“My only restriction is no dancing before Thursday,” Lily stated. “This ballerina will be dancing up a storm after Wednesday.”

Mistress smiled at the enthusiastic little girl, “Great. You will have reduced time to learn your piece now. You were already running on very little time.”

“Miss Rebecca gave me my dance moves. I hope to get Sammie to help me,” Lily responded, looking over at Sammie, who was talking with some other students.

“Well,” Miss Anastasia also looked at Sammie before turning back to Lily. “I will let you get home.”

Lily walked towards her best friend, putting her coat on in the process.

Sammie had an older preteen girl with her. Lily tried to remember her name since they were introduced before. Sammie said, “Couldn't stay away, huh, Bestie?”

“You know me, Bestie,” Lily responded.

“Tina wanted to talk to you.”

Tina! That was her name, “Hello, Tina.”

“I understand you were in the hospital for Women's Issues?”

“Yes?”

“I want to wish you luck in the next couple of months.”

“The next couple of months?”

“Yes, the next couple of months.”

“You know why I was in the hospital?”

“Maybe. No one has exactly told me, but I think I do.”

“Well, thank you, Tina.”

As Sammie and Lily were walking out to Mrs. Berger’s car, Lily stated, “That was strange.”

“Hi, girls,” Mrs. Berger said as she watched them buckle their seat belts. “Lily, I’m glad to see they let you out of the hospital. I am a little worried, though, about you insisting on coming to ballet instead of going home and slowly getting back into things. You’re not supposed to be picking up Samantha’s strong, stubborn behaviors. She is supposed to be getting your more laid-back approach to things.”

“Hey,” Sammie complained, quickly looking for a way to change the subject and not get into a fight with her mom. “Lily, what are you holding?”

“My recital, Miss Rebecca is hoping you can help me learn it,” Lily handed the sheet over.

Mrs. Berger abruptly stated, “Lily Ann Vanderbilt, you are not dancing.”

Lily smiled, “Hey, that is just what my Mommie said today. The doctors won't let me dance until Thursday.”

Heather Berger relented, “Well, if the doctors think it is safe after Wednesday, then I won't complain, but I want you two easing back into it. No intense practice and lessons on Thursday.”

Ignoring her mother, Sammie was examining Lily’s recital sheet, “Are the crossed-out moves ones you haven't learned?”

“Yes.”

“And Miss Rebecca said I can teach you, right?” Sammie asked.

Lily responded, “Yes.”

“I can teach you most of these moves. If you can perfect them by the recital, that is another thing. I can even teach you how to do a pirouette, but there is no way you will have that polished by the recital,” Sammie paused as she thought. “Let me keep this sheet, and I will decide what I am teaching you or not.”

When they got home, Sammie asked, “Are you coming in?”

Lily admitted, “I’d better not. Remember, I just got out of the hospital. I will ask Mommie if you can come over.”

“Welcome home, Princess. Go check out your bedroom.” Mommie expressed.

Confused, Lily ran up the stairs.

“WALK! Besides, no running in the house, you just got out of the hospital.”

Reducing to a walk, the girl turned into her bedroom. She was greeted with a pink room with ballet sheets on the bed. The ten prints of Disney Princesses as Ballerinas were framed and hanging on the walls. And finally, the ballet lamp sat on the end table.

Mommie came up behind Lily and hugged her from behind,

“When did you and Daddie have time to paint the walls?”

“We didn't. Thank your Uncle Eric for taking the time to do it.”

“I will, Mommie.”

Later Saturday afternoon, Mommie knocked on Lily’s bedroom door, where she was showing off her new bedroom to Sammie. Mommie said while smirking, “Heather requests both of her daughters to come home. She wants to attack one of her daughter’s hair. She also won the war about who is going to serve dinner to the spoiled brat.”

“MOMMIE! I am not a spoiled brat,” Lily then paused and smirked at her bestie. “I guess that means you are the spoiled brat, Bestie.”

“Hey,” Sammie complained. “I’m not a brat!”

“Lily, you may not be spoiled yet, but you will be if Heather and I have anything to say about it. You have missed out on being a spoiled little girl for ten years,” Mrs. Vanderbilt stated before looking at Sammie. “I plan on spoiling you, too, Sammie.”

The two girls just blushed and grabbed their coats. After walking into the Berger house, Lily was directed to the Salon. She sat in the chair on the booster seat sans the coat before Sammie covered her with the pink cape. Lily asked, “Not that I am complaining, Mommie Two, but didn’t you just trim me three weeks ago?”

Mrs. Berger said, “This time I am going to style your hair. But before I do, I want to make sure you don’t plan on seeing Lance again.”

Lily adamantly stated, “Lance is just a memory now.”

The hairstylist smiled down at the little girl in her chair, “Great, because when I am done, you will definitely look like a girl. I wish I had enough blonde extensions on hand in your color because I would rather add the extensions back.”

Lily just watched as bits of hair were trimmed here and there. Mrs. Berger was lifting her hair up and cutting underneath the bits she raised. When she stated she was done, the little girl looked in the mirror to see a girl looking back at her. It was styled in a nice girl’s short haircut. The two girls were ushered out of the Salon to set the table.

Lily apparently was a family member now, and that meant she didn’t get to watch while the other members did stuff. She was required to help with setting the table now. When the table was done, both girls were asked to assist in the kitchen before dinner.

Author's Notes: Comments and questions are always welcomed -- Thanks Becky

Sorry for not posting yesterday. I decided that sleep was more important than posting this chapter after work.

This story is complete, though we’re wrapping up the proofreading process chapter by chapter as they get posted. I plan to post a chapter every Wednesday.