The next few days went by rather quickly and before they realised it, it was a full week since Elijah fulfilled his dream of becoming the man he always wanted to be. Elijah had moved into Wesley’s old room, with Ashleigh taking a great sense of pride in throwing out any of Wesley’s belongings that he had left behind. In fact, she hadn’t just stuck to clearing out Wesley’s room, Ashleigh had begun to give the entire apartment a makeover. Even though she planned to eventually return to her life as Aaron in the coming weeks, her or rather Aaron’s old way of living, no longer seemed to sit right with her. Gone were the days when empty beer bottles and pizza boxes seemed to be the rather frequent furnishings Ashleigh had also made the decision that her smoking cigarettes and Elijah with his new love of cigars was forbidden in the apartment and they both had to do so outside. Instead, the apartment looked rather bright and spacious, along with the sweet, relaxing scents of lavender, vanilla or rose petals from the candles that Ashleigh had purchased on one of her and Elijah’s shopping trips. 

After their shopping trips, Elijah was no longer loaning clothes from Aaron’s wardrobe. Instead, he now owned his own array of dress shirts, suits, ties and shoes that all fit him much better than Aaron’s clothes. No matter how many times Ashleigh told him that he also needed casual wear such as t-shirts and jeans, Elijah would not entertain the idea one single bit, insisting that if he were to be as, or better yet more successful than other members of his family, he should continually dress the part.

Even though the proposal of the pair dating was put forward by Elijah, he thought it best that their relationship be kept as slow and simple as possible, only moving forward should Ashleigh feel comfortable enough to do so. Although they had shared a bed together, the night before they had visited Wesley’s lab, Elijah’s reasoning was that he was different now, his body had changed and he didn’t want Ashleigh to feel awkward in any way.  

Elijah emerged from his bedroom and made his way into the living room, where he was greeted with the smell of freshly made coffee.

“Looking rather handsome indeed,” said Ashleigh with a smile, handing him a cup of coffee whilst observing the navy blue suit, white shirt and maroon coloured tie that Elijah was wearing.

“Thank you,” replied Elijah, “I feel great if I’m perfectly honest with you.”

“Trust me, Elijah, you can tell. You look so much happier than I ever saw you as Eloise,” stated Ashleigh, looking into Elijah’s deep brown eyes as he sipped his coffee. Since Monday, there was now a newfound glint in his eye, a spring in his step, he truly looked like a man who was at peace with himself at last. “I’m proud of you…Elijah,” added Ashleigh with a smile.

“Thank you, I honestly…I couldn’t have done this without you,” answered Elijah, “And by you…I really mean…you…Ashleigh.”

Ashleigh smiled, she could see the sincerity in his eyes as he utted those words.

“Elijah…I know you…you are the most…determined, stubborn individual I ever met, you would have found a way,” Ashleigh replied.

“No...Ashleigh, you gave me the courage and self-belief to do this. And by that I mean you as Ashleigh, not your other self,” stated Elijah. “You have bore witness to how my own family have reacted to me. Only you and William have chosen to stay by my side.”

This statement gave Ashleigh something to ponder, “Would Aaron have helped Elijah in this situation…I like to believe he would, but who knows.”     

Ashleigh placed her hand on her stomach,

“Honestly, right now…I wish I could rip out my insides, this is worse than any stomach bug I’ve had in the past,” she thought to herself.

Elijah looked at Ashleigh,

“Is everything ok?” he asked, noticing the grimacing look on Ashleigh’s face.

“Yeah…I’ll be fine…I think it’s just something I’ve eaten…or something,” replied Ashleigh. “I just feel so…bleugh, I guess,” she added.

“Bleugh?” repeated Elijah whilst giving a rather quizzical look.

“Oh you know, I feel exhausted and my whole body just aches and feels like I’ve been hit by a train,” explained Ashleigh.

“Oh, I wonder if you’re coming down with something,” answered Elijah, sounding rather concerned. “Did this just come on today?” he asked.

“I began feeling like this yesterday, but thought nothing of it…then boom, all of a sudden today…here we are,” said Ashleigh. “I’ll be fine…eventually,” said Ashleigh, “if I’m not dead by then,” she added in a sarcastic tone.

“Oh stop it, you’re not dying,” replied Elijah with a chuckle.

However, Ashleigh appeared to be less than amused by Elijah’s comment. Instead, she chose to glare at him, “And how would you know that Doctor Elijah, I might be,” she snapped.

“It was a joke, I’m sorry, I was trying to cheer you up, that’s all,” said Elijah with a smile, “Oh, I have good news by the way,” he added.

“Go on,” responded Ashleigh.

“I spoke to William this morning,” stated Elijah with a smile, “A friend of his is an advisor at the bank, as soon as my new ID and everything comes through, stating my new name and gender, he’s willing to set up an appointment for me,” he explained.

“Oh, that’s fantastic news,” exclaimed Ashleigh.

“It really is, isn’t it,” Elijah replied, “It does, however, look incredibly likely that William and I, maybe business partners in the future. He told me that he basically gave him a rundown of our situation and he seems both interested and willing to help,” Elijah explained.    

“Well at least that is a start,” Ashleigh responded.

“Indeed,” said Elijah, “It also means that the next task on my list will be to begin looking for suitable living arrangements of my own.”

Ashleigh felt a strange knot in her stomach as she heard those words leave Elijah’s lips. She fell quiet for a brief moment, “Living…arrangements?” she repeated, stuttering over her words as she did so.

“Yes, I thought the sooner I take that plunge, the sooner I will be out of your way and you can go back to having your own space,” answered Elijah, not looking particularly thrilled about the prospect either as he finished his coffee.

“Erm…there’s no need to hurry with that, Elijah…I kinda like the company,” said Ashleigh, stumbling over her words once more.

Elijah got up from his seat and smiled as he took his empty cup out into the kitchen. “So Ashleigh, what are your plans for today?” he asked.

“Actually, Pippa is coming to pick me up and we’re going for lunch, now that they have arrived home,” replied Ashleigh.

“Oh, delightful,” replied Elijah as he returned to the living room.

“I was still unsure of whether or not to cancel, but I can always come home early if I’m not feeling great,” said Ashleigh. “Have you spoken to Pip recently?” she asked.

“No, not since they went on their honeymoon…and no she doesn’t know about…well…me yet,” said Elijah with a chuckle, “And of course, I’m sure Pip will understand,” he added.

Ashleigh looked at him sternly,

“Don’t you think you should at least call her? She is one of the people who will always be by your side, just like I am,” she said.

Elijah shook his head,

“I thought it was better to do it in person, don’t you think?” replied Elijah.

“At least give her the heads up, Elijah, you can’t just turn up and be like, hey, I’m a little different now, you know,” Ashleigh answered, “I mean, I think either you should…but that’s just my opinion.”

Elijah pulled out his mobile phone and began typing away,

“And sent,” he stated.

“Please tell me you warned her,” said Ashleigh.

Elijah passed his phone to Ashleigh, the message he had sent still visible on the screen;

“Dearest cousin,

I am currently staying with Ashleigh. She tells me you will be visiting today, I look forward to seeing you, but there is something we must discuss. Please don’t be alarmed, I am happier now more than ever.

All my love

Elijah”  

“Better than nothing I guess,” said Ashleigh, handing the phone back to Elijah. Just as she did so, however, the device buzzed.

“And that would be Pip replying,” stated Elijah, checking the notification on the screen. “She said that the two of you are going for lunch, but she will be here within the next hour to speak to me,” he added.

“Shit…that means I have an hour to get ready, instead of two,” exclaimed Ashleigh, jumping up from her seat as quickly as she could, much to the amusement of Elijah.

 “Welcome to womanhood,” joked Elijah as Ashleigh made her way towards the bedroom, before turning back and glaring at him once more.

“I heard that,” she snapped before continuing on her way, closing the bedroom door behind her.