Kelly made his way quickly through the crowd; he really did need to use the bathroom rather urgently. He glanced at the sign on the door to make sure he had the right one; the big circle on one and the triangle on the other being easy enough to read even without his glasses. I'm going into the girls' bathroom again, he thought. But there was no time to worry about that if he didn't want to embarrass himself by having an accident.

The room had yellow floor tiles, cream-colored faux marble sink tops and green-painted stall dividers. Other than the lack of urinals, Kelly could see little difference from the men's room next door. Without his glasses, he didn't notice the napkin/tampon dispenser, another minor deviation. Two teenage girls were yakking at the mirror while fussing with hair and makeup. Kelly ignored them and found an empty stall.

There was no grafitti because the stall had recently been painted but Kelly didn't really notice that. He pulled down his slacks and panties and sat quickly. Just made it, he decided. A white can with a flip-top lid near his feet, for used napkins, didn't attract his attention either. He wondered vaguely if the noise of his peeing sounded any different than a real girl would.

Probably not, he decided. As long as he stayed dressed as a girl and didn't let anyone see him naked it seemed he could continue his accidental deception indefinitely. It's too damn easy, he thought. Even that man, Phil, I fooled him so thoroughly.... His thought trailed off.

Then he thought, I called him 'Daddy'.

* * *

Phil found an empty booth near the front of the Carl's Jr. and settled down, putting the bags on the seat next to him. Sitting was easier than standing or trying to move around in the crowd. She called me, 'Daddy', he thought happily. She forgives me, my little girl forgives me. My little girl.

People bustled back and forth, in and out, talking to each other, commenting on the salad bar or what they had bought or what they were going to buy. No one really took any notice of the short, slender man with the pale hair and the bright, distracted, blue eyes. Phil was effectively invisible in the crowd.

He didn't want any attention, really, but in one way he wanted to shout and leap around and tell everyone about it. He felt so happy, if his heart had burst from joy he would not have been surprised. I never expected...I never even knew about her, he reflected. She's so lovely and sweet and smart. And brave, he added. I must be smiling like a hophead.

He shook his head, trying to get control of his emotions. I've still got problems. I'd love to keep Kelly with me, but I can't. How can I get her back to her mother without getting caught? The enormity of what he had done--this time--slowly sank in on him. Kidnapping a child? And with his record, what were they going to think he had done to her?

There were no windows in the fast food restaurant but it was as if a cloud had cast a shadow on his world. It suddenly seemed a colder, dimmer place. It wasn't the idea of getting caught or even going back to jail that distressed Phil. Instead he wondered and worried, what's Kelly going to think of me? What's going to happen to her?

* * *

Andie Mann rode in the police cruiser with the lieutenant and chewed inconsolably on the side of her left thumb. A vague unfocussed guilt oppressed her mood. As they approached the police station, she felt an urge to confess to some crime, just so she could be punished as she felt she deserved. I'm such a manipulative bitch, she accused herself. If I hadn't pushed Kelly into dressing femme, this wouldn't have happened.

The police lieutenant sensed her continuing distress and tried to be reassuring. "We'll have a description of your car on the radio in the next fifteen minutes," Bartolo Mendoza told Andie. "Pretty soon, we'll have hundreds of people helping us look for your niece." He tried to keep his eyes on the road when he talked to her. He didn't want her to catch him checking out her tattoos, her piercings, her long legs, her pointy breasts. He tried not to wonder if her nipples were pierced.

Andie took her thumb out of her mohth and bit her lip, making the two golden loops through it twinkle. "Thanksh, officer. I just hope you find her before anything really bad happens." Like someone finding out she's really a boy, Andie noted mentally. I've got to hope that Amanda doesn't spill the beans, or if she does, no one believes her. After all, no one ever believes Kelly when she says she's a boy. Andie had to smile a bit at that thought, even if the smile turned sour around her eyes.

* * *

"I was so scared," Sarah whispered to Cheryl.

"Me, too," the older girl nodded. They sat in an office in one of the hidden corridors of Triangle Square, the security station. No one had talked to them in quite a while and they hadn't seen Richard or Pete in even longer. A couple of security guards talked to a Costa Mesa policeman at one of the other desks. They were waiting for Pete and Richard to find them and--do whatever came next.

"That poor little girl," Sarah said a little louder. She felt a bit guilty for feeling jealous about Kelly earlier. But Richard--and Pete--had been so brave. Brave but stupid, charging out in front of the car like that.

"The boys were lucky they weren't hurt," Cheryl echoed Sarah's thoughts. "It was amazing to watch, though. Like they were on wires."

"Uh huh," Sarah agreed. She put a hand to her stomach, "I get sick when I think of it; when I saw Richard's shoe fly off, I thought it was his foot."

They both giggled nervously. "I'm getting hungry," Cheryl mentioned.

Sarah nodded. "We never got anything to eat. Do you think the boys have forgotten us?"

"The pricks." Cheryl glared at the security cop who glanced up when she spoke. She suppressed the urge to stick her tongue out at the authority figure. "Yeah, they probably have forgotten us," she sighed.

* * *

Kelly heard the girls at the sinks talking about--boys. Their voices had the Orange County version of the lilting cadence variously called Valspeak or surfertalk. One said, "He's like 'Roxy, darling, and I'm all, 'Don't touch me, you prick!'" Both girls laughed.

"That's cold, but I suppose he deserved it," the other girl said. "I mean, taking some other girl to the beach--is he your boyfriend, or not?"

"I'm sure!" said Roxy. "I still haven't decided if I'm going to forgive him."

"You gotta forgive him! I mean, guy! You don't wanna start school with no boyfriend!"

"Yeah, you're right. I'll forgive him, I just won't tell him yet!" They giggled again.

Kelly grinned, listening. That poor guy would probably never know what happened. Serves him right, though, if he took someone else without asking his girlfriend, he thought. Then stopped to consider--who's side was he on, anyway?

* * *

In the Emergency Room at Hoag Hospital, Amanda frowned at the nurse. "My head hurts and yes, things are a bit blurry 'cause I think I left my glasses somewhere?"

The tall brunette nurse tried to be soothing and reassuring. "Well the doctor will be right with you, miss, just relax. You seem to be okay..."

"I'll be better if you take that light out of my eyes!" snapped Amanda. But regretted her bad humor immediately. After all, the nurse had called her 'miss'. "I'm sorry, it's been--a bad time."

"I'm just checking for concussion...do you want to talk to those cops waiting out there?"

Amanda sighed. "I suppose I better. Poor Kelly, and goddammit, what the hell was going on?" she grumped. It didn't make sense, Kelly dressed in those clothes, Phil kidnapping him.

The nurse didn't know so she didn't answer.

* * *

Kelly waited in the stall till he heard the girls leave. He took the time to do some thinking and make some decisions. I believe him, I really do, he thought. He's my dad. No wonder Barbie never told me about it, I guess she didn't know what to say.

He wiped himself carefully the way he'd seen his mom do it; not that he needed to but just for the completeness of the deception. Besides, he'd often done it before, even when he was dressed as a boy. I'm such a...twinkie, he accused himself.

But Phil thinks I'm a girl, I'm dressed as a girl, I'm in the girl's restroom, I'd better act like a girl, he told himself. He straightened his clothes, washed his hands and checked himself in the mirror, squinting a little to get a clearer view; blonde curls, little heart earrings, painted fingernails and girl's clothes. Yup, he noted, I do look like a girl.

And yeah, I look about as much like Phil as I do like Barbie, he observed. And that was a really weird idea to get his mind around.

Kelly made sure he had his little plastic purse. He turned to go and didn't really notice that the women coming into bathroom as he left smiled at him. Nor did he hear the one lady say to the other, "What a cute little girl!" He smiled back automatically but he had other things on his mind.

Phil's really screwed up this time, Kelly thought as he made his way out of the bathroom. He's confused and scared--and a little scary--but I don't think he's a bad guy. Kelly headed across the crowded restaurant, hoping that Phil hadn't wandered far from where they had parted.

I think I actually like him, Kelly wondered. It's crazy, but I can't let them send my dad back to jail, he decided.

* * *

"About time," Cheryl said when Pete stuck his head into the Security Office. But she pressed her face against his broad chest and sighed in relief when he hugged her.

Richard and Sarah hadn't known each other as well as that but the situation seemed to call for a hug. "I was so scared," whispered Sarah.

"I'm still scared," said Richard. "Scared for poor Kelly." He hugged Sarah reassuringly, though, and tried not to think of terrible things happening to some one he had already decided he cared about.

* * *

Phil watched Kelly find a path through the crowd. His own anxiety faded for a moment in the pleasure of seeing his lovely daughter. She did look remarkably like her mother, he reflected. I'm an idiot for thinking she was Barbie, though. I'm glad she's not mad at me for what I've done.

Kelly smiled vaguely in his direction, with maybe just a hint of a blush; Phil didn't realize that Kelly couldn't see him from that far away so he grinned back and waved. Her smile might not have been worth nine years in prison, thought Phil, but it was a heck of a consolation prize.

Dodging around the last few obstacles, Kelly bounced to a halt at the front of the restaurant and stood, looking around for Phil.

"Hey," Phil said.

Kelly turned toward him and grinned. "There you are, I can't see a thing without my glasses. Did you think maybe I wouldn't come back?"

"It occurred to me," he admitted. She giggled at him and slipped into the other side of the booth.

"I've decided I believe you," she announced. "You're my daddy." Her face got serious. "I've never had a daddy before."

"I'm sorry," said Phil.

Kelly leaned forward, "Don't be for that. But you've really messed things up now, you know? I'm glad we met but kidnapping me wasn't...that wasn't the brightest idea?"

Phil laughed. "You're right. It was just an impulse, I guess. When I realized who you must be and you were driving away..." His eyes got misty.

"It's okay." Kelly reached out and took his hand. "I mean, it's okay with me and I'll explain it to Barbie. But we can't explain it to the police. They wouldn't understand."

Phil nodded, admiring her tiny little hand with it's bright painted nails where she grasped his. "I'll probably have to go back to prison," he said.

"Huh-uh!" said Kelly firmly. "I've got a plan."

Phil chuckled. "You look so cute and you're smart, too?" It delighted him to see her blush. "Okay, what's the plan?"

* * *

"Phil Constable," Amanda told the policewoman. "He's my ex-husband and he's a jailbird. Went to prison for 15 years for raping my daughter, Barbie."

"You're sure it was him?" Officer Madison Delahanty asked. "I mean, today?"

"Positive, I got a good look," Amanda nodded, then winced. "We were married almost four years, plus, I knew him back in high school...." Her voice trailed off, thinking back almost thirty years to when she first met Phillip Constable. "Pardon?" she said when she realized that the policewoman had asked another question.

"The girl who was kidnapped, did you know her?" Madison repeated patiently.

"Um," said Amanda. What the hell do I tell them, she wondered. No, that wasn't a girl, that's my grandson? I wish I knew why Kelly was dressed like that, though I bet I can guess. I kept telling Barbie the kid was going to grow up into a fruit! Damn.

"Mrs. Pearson?" Officer Delahanty stood with her pen poised over the notebook.

"Um," Amanda said again. "Kelly is the child of my daughter, Barbie...uh, Barbara Dolores Drew." She spoke carefully, not willing to directly aid and abet whatever masquerade Kelly had been involved in but also unwilling to deal with trying to explain to the police something she didn't understand herself.

"Do you know her full name? The child's?"

"Kelly's full name is Kelly Gaylen Drew." Amanda winced slightly, thinking, give the kid a fruity name and he grows up to...

"And her age?"

"She's twelve," said Amanda. Then she thought, damn, now I'm doing it.

* * *

"I'm not sure about this," said Phil. That was an understatement. Kelly's plan seemed--improbable?

"No one will look for you here, honest," said Kelly. "Just keep the door latched till I get back."

"Maybe going back to jail would be easier?" Phil suggested.

"I'd be in college by the time you saw me next time," Kelly pointed out. "Please, daddy, just stay here and keep quiet."

How can I say no when she calls me 'daddy', Phil wondered. He smiled, "Okay, sugar. But hiding in the women's john is just crazy."

* * *

Valerie posed in front of the mirror again, holding the print top under her chin. Red, red leaves on a navy background looked good with her coloring--blue eyes, dark brown hair, pale skin. "What do you think, Kimberly?" she asked.

Her friend turned from looking through the dressy skirts and shook her head. "Nope, not for school. Maybe for a party?" Kimberly had very firm ideas on such things and her friends tended to trust her judgement.

Crystal came out of the dressing room behind Kimberly and smoothed the denim skirt in front of the mirror. "I dunno, I think this makes me look skinny?"

Kimberly snorted, Crystal had the most shape of any of the three twelve-year-olds. Which wasn't fair at all since Kimberly had been wearing a bra since she was nine. Crystal had developed so fast over the last year though.

"You look good in that," said Valerie. "I like the fake boy-style button fly."

Kimberly nodded, her strawberry curls bouncing. "Yup, you look hot."

Crystal beamed at her reflection. "I'm gonna dye my hair blonde," she said, a total non-sequitur.

"What? But you are a blonde!" Kimberly protested. Crystal's dark gold hair shimmered in the lights whenever she moved and Kimberly had long been a little envious of the color.

"Blonder," Crystal explained. "Platinum maybe?"

"She wants to dye her hair to match her brain," suggested Valerie. They all giggled, even Crystal though she made a face first.

"You guys!" she protested. "I think I'd look good with platinum blonde hair. Like that girl over there." She gestured toward a diminutive blonde in blue slacks and a yellow top looking through the lingerie.

Valerie stared. The tiny girl looked vaguely familiar somehow. "I dunno, she looks good with hair that color but you already look hot? Why change?"

Kimberly agreed. "Yeah, be the prettiest Crystal you can be, don't try to disguise yourself as someone else." Kim looked at the petite shopper again. "She is awfully cute, tho." Pause. "Do we know her?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Valerie admitted. "Maybe she goes to our school, our old school?" They would all be in seventh grade next year and going to a new school. "A fourth or fifth grader or something?"

"Maybe," said Kimberly. The girl looked up and saw them all turned toward her. She made a face or maybe squinted at them and somehow, Kimberly knew that the girl knew them, had recognized them. Briefly flashing an almost familiar smile, the mystery girl disappeared into the crowd.

"Wow," Valerie commented. "That was almost like she was avoiding us?"

* * * * *

Rachel finally talked the ER personnel into letting her into the treatment area to see and talk with Amanda.

"You look fine," she assured her friend who actually appeared very petite and vulnerable in the hospital bed.

Amanda made a face, "I don't feel fine. I guess I proved that I don't need to be drinking to make an ass of myself and screw things up."

"Well," Rachel wasn't sure how to reply to that. "You were under a lot of stress but you didn't drink. That's good."

"It may be the only good thing," Amanda groused. "I'm not the only one who screwed up, though. Why did Barbie leave Kelly with that porcupine girl and whatever possessed Phil to do such a thing--what he did? And why was Kelly dressed--like that?"

"Like what?" asked Rachel who still hadn't really met Kelly and didn't get that good a view of what had happened in the parking garage.

Amanda rolled her eyes.

* * * * *

The security guard for the South Coast Plaza Mall took the call from the Costa Mesa Police and wrote down the description of the blue Miata. He wrote down the description of Phil Constable and Kelly Gaylen Drew, too.

Then he turned to his keyboard and typed the information into the computer that would send an alert to every security station in the mall. He used the old-fashioned shortband radios to call the roving officers to give them the alert also.

It would take almost ten minutes before anyone spotted the baby-blue convertible in the acres of parking lot around the main part of the mall. Another twenty minutes before the Costa Mesa Police arrived in sufficient numbers to surround the huge mall and start a search. They'd have to borrow officers from Santa Ana and the Sheriff's department to cover outlying areas and still have enough police for other functions, another twenty minutes to get it all coordinated.

In less than fifty minutes it was going to be very difficult for a pale man with bright blue eyes and a twelve-year-old girl with platinum blonde hair to sneak out of the mall.

* * *

Rats! Kelly exclaimed to himself. First Jimmy and Tommy and Doug; now Kim, Val and Crys? And they know I'm a boy, they won't be confused; they're girls and they know I'm not. Those three had actually been in Kelly's classes for the last two years, not just seen across the playground like Jimmy and friends. If they get a good look at me, I know they'll know who I am, he thought. Heck, we used to play jacks together.

Without his glasses he hadn't so much recognized any of the girls individually as recognized the trio. One fiery redhead, one golden blonde and one mahogany-dark brownette, all of the right size to be his schoolfriends. Deciding that he couldn't let them get a better look, he took the items he had picked out clear across the department store to pay for them in housewares. He used the cash Phil had given him, the saleslady smiled at him. "These are for you?" she asked.

He blushed, "Well, no. Not all of it?"

The lady, her name tag said 'Jolene', laughed. "I'll bet this one is: size 26A? Your first one?" she asked teasingly.

Kelly squeezed his eyes shut and just nodded. He still wasn't sure why he had bought the training bra. Originally, he just wanted to look at one but then he had seen his three friends and had carried the teenybopper lingerie with him when he scooted.

"Here's your change, honey," said Jolene. "And your stuff is in this bag. I'll bet your mommy will be happy with what you bought for her too."

Kelly's mind glanced off the thought of Barbie and her newly enhanced figure before he really remembered what he had bought and why. "Thank you," he said carefully.

He had several other things he had to buy before he headed back to Phil's hiding place but this store had gotten a little 'hot' so he decided to head somewhere else.

* * *

The plane carrying Barbie and Harold pierced the smoggy dome above LA then swung a little more southward to enter the landing path for John Wayne Airport.

Barbie and Harold moved their seats to the upright position and refastened their seatbelts as directed by the stewardess.

"I wonder what Kelly is going to say when he sees my new shape," Barbie mused, glancing down at her surgically improved bust.

Harold looked too. "I'm sure she'll be happy for you," he replied a little distractedly.

"He," corrected Barbie.

"Ha?"

Barbie giggled. "Don't do that! You said 'she', Kelly is a boy, not a girl. You gotta remember."

"But..." Harold sighed. "Are you sure? I mean...really, really, sure?"

Barbie made a silly face at him. "I changed his diaper often enough when he was a baby, yeah, I'm sure!"

Harold grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I mean, okay, he's a boy...but are you sure he wants to be a boy?"

Barbie frowned. "I never asked him?"

* * *

"There she is again?" whispered Crystal.

"She can't hear us," said Kimberly in a normal voice. "She still looks familiar, though?"

"Maybe she's an actress we've seen on TV?" Valerie hazarded.

"She's pretty enough," agreed Crystal. "If she wasn't obviously a little kid, I think I'd be jealous?"

"She's sure got a lot of stuff to carry for a little kid," Valerie commented.

"I dunno," said Kimberly. "We've followed her to three shops and she's paid cash for stuff. Who gives a kid who can't be more than nine or ten a couple of hundred dollars to buy grown-up clothes?"

The other two murmured agreement. "It sure is strange," Valerie noted.

"I know who she looks like," said Crystal.

"Who?" asked Kimberly.

"Kelly Drew," said Crystal. "Same pointy-chin and button-nose and those green eyes?"

"Different color hair," Valerie pointed out.

"And Kelly wears glasses, besides which, he's a boy," said Kimberly reasonably.

"Yeah, well. I said she looked like Kelly. Same grin, and she's the right size, too."

"Kelly have a sister?" asked Valerie.

"Not that went to our school," said Kimberly.

"I can't believe we're following her around the mall," Valerie mentioned.

"Well, I want to find out who she is and what the heck she's doing." said Kimberly.

"We could ask her?" suggested Crystal.

* * * * *

In his hiding spot, Phil listened to the women and girls come and go. Some of the overheard conversations made him blush. Who knew that women talked like that when they thought no men were around? Phil did not fidget, though. After nine years behind bars, Phil had learned to control any tendency to fidget.

The two women in the restroom right now were discussing stretch marks, who had them, where and how bad they were. Instead of fidgeting, Phil tried to turn his mind toward something else.

I wish I knew more about Kelly's plan, she's been gone a long time, he thought. When she comes back, I'm going to have to ask her for the details.

* * * * *