I was just finishing work for the day when the pain hit. Massive stomach cramps; nearly bending me double. Thinking it was something I had eaten, I made my way to the toilet, clutching my lower abdomen. The pain hit me sharply again. My eyes watered and my legs gave out under me. I collapsed to the floor of the toilet and passed out…

I half awoke to the company of a pair of paramedics.

“Miss? Can you hear me? It’s all right, we’re here for you. Miss?”

“I’m not…”, I croaked, then my head slumped forward.

“Damn it, we’re losing her!” the voice echoed faintly in my ears as I collapsed again…

When I next awoke, I was in bed in hospital.

“Miss, can you hear me?”, the nurse asked, concerned. “Do you know where you are?”

“Why are you calling me ‘Miss’?”, I managed to say. “I’m not…”

I then looked down at myself. I was definitely now female…

I was still staring at my new breasts as consciousness left me again…

Sometime later, I awoke again.

My flatmate was sitting in a chair, beside me.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”, she said. “Didn’t you think I could cope with the news? After all, we both wanted kids. I just thought we were going to adopt, I didn’t expect you to get yourself knocked up.”

I just stared at her, not saying anything. I’d been living with Julie for almost a year now; why was she so comfortable with the fact I was now a woman? I was also having real problems staying awake. I just blinked at her, then rested my head back down on the pillow…

Next time I opened my eyes, the room was full of medical people again, and my flatmate was watching helplessly from out in the corridor.

“I can’t get her blood pressure stable!”, one of them was saying. “It must be complications after the birth.”

“She had the baby on the floor of the gents toilets at work”, another said. “There’s bound to be complications with unplanned births like this. I’m surprised that we didn’t lose both of them.”

“My baby… how’s my baby…?”, I managed to say, suddenly concerned.

“She’s doing fine”, the nurse holding my hand said. “Don’t worry about her, she’s in good hands.”

“It’s a girl…”, I said, with a smile, as I passed out again.

“We’re losing her…!”

I was later told that the doctors had managed to stabilise me; there was something all wrong with my metabolism, something about a ‘hormone inbalance’.

“Possibly due to the fact I was a man before I gave birth”, I said, matter-of-factly.

The doctors eyebrow raised.

“My name is Andy Phillips”, I continued. “I’m a solicitor at Drake and Drew. Ask anyone.”

“I can assure you that you are definitely female”, the doctor said. “Alright, let’s try something simpler. What’s your date of birth?”

“20th June 2001”, I said. “I was born in Greenstown.”

The doctor asked me a few further questions; I found I was feeling a bit stronger, and happy to chat. Julie had come back in during the conversation and parked herself in the chair next to me.

“It’s ok”, I said. “I’ve got no secrets from my wife.”

Julie’s mouth dropped open.

“You hadn’t asked me yet! We were just seeing each other.”

As far as I was concerned, Julie and I had been married for a year. Everything was falling apart…

Back in her office, the doctor had been tapping away at her computer.

Her eyes went wider and wider.

Andy Phillips was indeed a partner at Drake and Drew. His wife’s name was Julie, and her picture looked exactly like the woman sitting in the hospital room. She could also see some similarities between the woman in the bed and the picture of Andy. What the hell was going on?

She then checked where ‘Andy’ had been found unconscious. It was in the Drake and Drew office building…!

She shook her head in amazement. No, this couldn’t be…!

The doctor quickly headed back to Andy’s room, her head spinning.

“Julie, what’s your last name?” she asked.

“Phillips”, she replied…

The doctor showed Julie and I the records that she had found.

I nodded.

“Yep, that’s me.”, I said, indicating the man’s picture. “Told you.”

Julie, on the other hand, was really confused.

“What’s all this got to do with my ex?”, she asked. “Andy left me when I came out as a lesbian. I moved in with Andrea, here, shortly after. We haven’t seen each other since.”

“According to her, this is Andy”, the doctor said, pointing to me. “Andrea, as far as she is concerned, is Andy. Her first experience of being Andrea was giving birth in the toilet.”

Julie just sat there with her mouth open…

The doctors then realised there was still something seriously wrong with me. What with my scrambled brain and my incredibly low blood pressure, they decided to keep me in under observation.

Julie went home to get a few things from the flat; she hated leaving me, especially after realising how much she meant to me, but she needed to have a break as well; if nothing else, to try and get her thoughts in order, never mind mine.

When she came back, I was cuddling my daughter…

We named her Rose.

I felt that Julie was close enough to being family to have an input regarding her name, and we decided on Rose between us.

It suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea what ‘Andrea’s last name was…

I started to get frantic and hyperventilate.

Julie just managed to take Rose from me before I passed out again…

“Thank god we kept her in.”

“This isn’t right. This hormonal imbalance is really causing problems.”

“Is that what’s screwing up her memory as well?”

“Quite possibly. The low blood pressure is having an adverse effect on her brain. She lost a lot of blood in that childbirth; it was very messy. We’ve been giving her transfusions.”

“How’s the baby?”

“Doing fine. None of the mother’s problems seem to have transferred to her.”

It took three weeks for my condition to stabilise; my hormones eventually settled into acceptable female levels. I still suffered from the occasional dizzy spell; however, my flatmate was very caring and supportive. She also said yes…

We got married a few weeks later. I almost ruined the day by getting dizzy as I walked down the aisle, but one of Julies friends who was acting as a bridesmaid supported me until Julie could hold me by the altar. She didn’t let go of me once after that until we went to bed back at the hotel later, something which I was truly grateful for.

We take turns looking after Rose; also, we were never able to work out what really happened that night at Drake and Drew; when I became Andrea and gave birth. I just know now that I wouldn’t have missed having Rose for the world; she is such a little bundle of joy to me it makes it all worthwhile. My health still isn’t 100%, but I have a loving wife as well as a young child who needs me. What more is there?