Eleanor went white as a sheet.

“What did you call me…?”

“Adrian, please, I know it’s you…”, Sandra said, quietly. “Please, talk to me. What’s going on?”

“Ok, but not here”, said Eleanor, just as soft. “Meet me in town; our usual café, in an hour.”

“Ok, but you’d better be there.”

An hour later, Sandra was sitting at their usual table as Eleanor walked in, ordered a Latte and came over.

Sandra was still stunned. If she hadn’t seen the scar, she would have been fooled completely. As it was, she was just worried.

“What’s this all about?”, she said, “Why are you going around as a woman, albeit an attractive one. Who is ‘Eleanor Hartley’, really?”

“I was initially AI generated”, Eleanor said. She was so far along in her change, mentally, she was now even having problems picturing ‘herself’ as anything but Eleanor. “I had to become something physical, as a client insisted on meeting me before his project would go ahead, and the loss of the project would have sunk the business. So, here I am.”

Sandra talked to Eleanor; to her concern, she couldn’t seem to get any comment from Adrian’s point of view. It was like he didn’t exist anymore; he was the ‘virtual’ person and Eleanor the real one. Problem was, though, the more she talked with Eleanor the more she was being won over; Eleanor’s bubbly personality had resurfaced now she no longer felt threatened.

“Are you sure you’re Ok?”, Sandra asked, finally. “At least, as much as you can be being a woman with a man’s body.”

Eleanor placed her hand on top of Sandra’s, across the table.

“I’m doing something about that”, she said. “Hopefully, soon, I’ll be a real woman.”

“Really? Are you sure? That sounds like a big step.”

“I can’t go backwards. I’m sorry, but I feel like Adrian is a backwards step. “

“I can see why you’d think that but, please, don’t give up on Adrian completely.”

Eleanor paused for a moment, thinking.

“All I can say is he’s still here, but he’s happy as he is now. I hope that is enough.”

“It does give me some kind of comfort”, said Sandra. “I can’t help thinking, though, about what might have been…”

“I can understand that”, said Eleanor. “You’re a very attractive woman…”

Sandra couldn’t help it, she started to cry. Eleanor comforted her. One thing led to another…

Sandra ran her hands gently over Eleanor’s breasts as they lay next to each other in her bed.

“This is all beautifully done”, she said. “If I hadn’t seen the scar, there’s no way I could have told. You even made love to me like another woman. So kind, considerate, and a damn good turn on at the same time. If this is how you are as Eleanor, I’m comfortable with that.”

“There will be a few changes”, said Eleanor. “My ‘man parts’ won’t be there anymore, and those breasts that you like will be real, for starters.”

“No problem”, said Sandra, snuggling up to her…

A week later, Sandra dropped by on Eleanor. She had given Sandra a key, saying she was welcome anytime. Eleanor didn’t seem to be in. Then she heard the faint noise in the bathroom…

Eleanor was lying on the floor. She’d been being sick in the toilet, and passed out…

With a shriek, Sandra called for an ambulance…

The doctors weren’t sure what to do.

Eleanor’s body was still definitely male, but all the tests showed her as being female. Testosterone levels were almost non-existent; Estrogen, on the other hand, was at just above a woman’s normal levels.

“Looks like she’s tried to transition too quickly”, said the Doctor. “Her system’s all over the place. Trouble is, whatever we do, it’s going to have to be done quickly, as she’s passed the point of no return.”

“She’s got no family, as such”, said Sandra. “I’m the closest thing she’s got to that. I’m her flatmate, Sandra.”

The hospital ran a quick check and confirmed Adrian/Eleanor had no family.

“It’s your decision”, the Doctor said, to Sandra. “We can try and slow down the transition, or we can operate. Both scenarios are about as risky as each other, in her condition.”

“Do it”, said Sandra, “It’s what she wanted. Make her fully female.”

The operation took ages. Sandra paced up and down in the corridor all the time, getting more and more stressed out. Finally, a nurse noticed and steered her to a chair, holding her and helping her to calm down.

“My friend could die!”, she said. “I’ve never felt so helpless…!”

The nurse held her as she cried…

Finally, Eleanor was wheeled out of the operating theatre and into a recovery ward. They had almost lost her on the table, as her system was so unbalanced, but almost like a dam breaking as soon as the operation was completed her system stabilised.

She stayed unconscious for days, slowly recovering. Sandra never left her side.

Finally, one eye opened…

“Damn, I feel sore…”, Eleanor croaked.

The nurse came in when she heard the whoop of delight from Sandra…!

After that, Eleanor recovered rapidly and soon, she was back at work. Geoff and Jack both said how much they had missed her. Eleanor had had the sense this time to post the fact that she was taking leave on the website, to alleviate people’s concerns. She didn’t just run out on people like Adrian…!

After that, everything went back to normal; well, as much as normal can be for a virtual character turned into a real one.

Eleanor’s business was really successful, now; her marketing knowledge combined with her technical knowledge was a winning combination. Sandra had left her job in town at the clothing store to come and work at the business; she was handling all the admin side and booking appointments, etc.

They were also sleeping together. Eleanor kept her friendship going with Jake Stevens; that was all he wanted really, he wasn’t into commitment. She’d also met up with Sandy, a few times; she was after the same thing, someone for company. Sandra didn’t mind at all; she kept in touch with her friends from the shop, too.

Eleanor and Sandra just meant a lot more than that to each other. Especially when Sandra asked Eleanor to marry her…