When Karyn had gone, Emily sighed. It was going to be good to have her best friend to help her through this, but that raised the question of even getting through this in the first place. Granted, being eight years old meant it would be a bit easier for her to ignore her sex-change until she was ready to deal with it, and she'd have probably three or four years to get used to life as a girl before she had to deal with puberty, but still, it wasn't going to be easy.
"Hey," her dad-turned-mom said, from the kitchen table. "You okay?"
Emily paused a moment, trying to think of what to say, then started to sniffle. Her moms walked over and tried to comfort her, as she broke into full-out crying. "It's alright," Kirsten told her, kneeling down and embracing her. "I know this seems pretty awful right now, but it'll work out eventually. It's going to be a big adjustment for all of us, but I know we can make it work."
"But what if it doesn't?" Emily sobbed. "What if I just can't live as a girl? Or what if I start turning into one mentally? I don't even know what I should be hoping for?"
"Of course you don't," Tina soothed. "We're all confused by this; none of us really know how to deal with it right now. But we'll figure it out. We just need to give it some time."
Emily sniffled again, her tears dying down, for the moment. "Y-you really think so?" she said, voice trembling. Kirsten nodded. "We'll figure it out," she said. "We're not going to have all the answers right away, but we''ll figure it out." Once again she embraced Emily, who returned the hug.
Tina gently rubbed her little daughter's shoulders. "Your dad is right," she said. "It's not going to keep you from feeling upset or worried, but try to keep it in perspective." She lifted Kirsten to her feet. "Come on, dear. I think we need to talk to the other two."
