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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Sarah Carerra Book 2: Summer Medley

Chapter 2.03 - Family Therapy

"That was your mom," Dad said while hanging up the phone as we approached the car. We had just left the set of 'The Tonight Show'. "She said that Kevin and his family have arrived. You might want to take the wig off in the car on the way home."

"Okay," I said. I was still worried, though. I could take off the wig, but I didn't have a change of clothes. I wasn't sure how I was going to explain why I was wearing such an expensive outfit. I couldn't even take off the glam for once, because the whole outfit fit that category. I would just have to hope for the best.

I'd found out the hard way last Saturday that pinning a wig in place while riding in a moving vehicle could be a painful experience. However, removing one was much better. By the time we got home I had not only removed the wig, but I had also been able to get my own long locks styled in a decent manner.

Uncle Kevin's van was parked in the driveway when we turned in, but nobody was outside. Dad pulled around it and into the garage.

"We'll let you spend time with your family," Emily said while we stepped out of the car.

"Okay," I told her. I'd much rather hang out with both Emily and Ethan, but I also wanted to see Madison again. I didn't get to see her very often. My two best friends left through the open garage door with a small wave, and I turned to follow Dad into the house.

Mom and Aunt Olivia were in the kitchen making sandwiches for a late afternoon lunch when we entered.

"Hi, Mom," I greeted her when she looked up from where she was buttering a slice of bread. "Hi, Aunt Olivia."

"Hi, Megan," Mom said, looking up and giving me a wide smile. I immediately knew that she wanted to ask me about 'The Tonight Show', but we had already made the decision to try to keep the secret from Dad's relatives. The time may come when we'd need to tell them, but it wasn't now.

Aunt Olivia was staring at me. Dad had told his brother about me earlier in the week. His family knew that I was now a girl before they ever left their home. But like so many others, seeing the difference was a big shock for my aunt. She seemed utterly speechless as she stared at me.

"Don?" I heard Uncle Kevin ask loudly from down the hall toward the bedrooms. "Is that you?"

He rounded the corner into the kitchen, and I saw his face light up. Dad and his brother didn't see each other often, but that didn't mean that they didn't have a good relationship. Dad embraced his brother in a friendly welcoming hug.

"It's good to see you again, Kevin," Dad said. "How was the trip?"

"It was fine," Uncle Kevin replied. "The kids didn't fight for once, and the van ran smoothly. I couldn't have asked for anything better." Uncle Kevin then glanced over at me, seeing me for the first time.

"Wow," he exclaimed. "This must be Megan?" His gaze shifted to Dad for a moment, who confirmed his question with a nod of his head. He then turned back to me. "I must admit, when I heard the news about you I wasn't expecting you to look so...so...natural!"

I started to blush immediately. I'd managed to get through most of the week without this reaction, and I had hoped that it might be a thing of the past. But no, blushing easily still seemed to be an ingrained part of the personality that had started to shine through me when Megan finally came to the forefront of my life.

"Thank you," I replied, feeling the heat coursing through my cheeks. I glanced over at Aunt Olivia. She was nodding her head in agreement, but she still seemed to be at a loss for words.

Uncle Kevin turned back to the doorway into the kitchen, yelling into the front room and down the hall. "Kids, your cousin is here. Come and meet her."

My heart started racing again. While Uncle Kevin seemed to take my appearance pretty well, I wasn't sure what Aunt Olivia thought. Yet her nodding seemed to indicate that maybe she agreed with him. How would their kids take it?

The first to arrive were the boys. James was their oldest child. He was a year older than me. Despite the closeness in age, I never had gotten along with him very well. It wasn't that we disliked each other at all; we just had completely different interests. He was an athletic boy, playing on both the football and basketball teams at home in Montana. I was neither athletic nor a boy. We were cordial with each other, but that was it.

Unfortunately, his eyes grew really wide when he saw me. I knew that I was attractive, and I was sure the expensive clothes didn't help. I immediately had the feeling that I was the type of girl he was interested in. Cousin or not, I had piqued his interest. I just hoped that didn't become a problem.

Logan was the youngest child. He was two years younger than me, the same age as Austin. The two of them were always hanging out with each other when our families got together. But instead of the look of attraction that I had received from his brother, Logan seemed to be staring at me in wonder. He'd only ever known me as a boy. Seeing me must have been a shock.

"Hi," I said to them with a grin, and I gave them a small wave.

"Hi," they both responded, but that's all I got from them. They seemed to be just as shell-shocked as their mother.

"Madison!" Uncle Kevin yelled down the hall again when it became apparent to him that his two boys weren't going to say anything more.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I heard her grouch from down the hall. She didn't seem to be as enthusiastic about meeting me as I had hoped she would be. But when she came into view, I was amazed at just how much she had changed since the last time I had seen her.

Madison and I looked a lot alike. That had always been true, ever since we were little girls, so to speak. The resemblance only became closer when I had made the decision to let my hair grow long a few years ago. Her dark brown hair only reached to her shoulder blades instead of her lower back, like mine did, but it still served to emphasize the beauty that she portrayed. She had dazzling eyes, green instead of my dark brown. She was also pretty tall for her age, and taller than me. We weren't twins by any means, but we probably could have passed for sisters.

But the biggest shock to me was that despite her being a year younger than me, it was readily apparent that she was physically more mature. Dr. Holbrook, who had been the one to discover my true genetic heritage last week, had told me that I was a “late bloomer”. That wasn't true of Madison. I could only hope that I would look as good as she did as I continued to grow.

"Hi," I repeated my greeting when she had stopped in her tracks, just like her brothers had. Instead of a look of wonderment, she had a confused look on her face. I knew immediately what it was. We had spent a lot of time together while growing up before Uncle Kevin had moved his family to Montana, where he now had his own dental practice. We'd hung out with each other every time the families met afterward. But I had never been a girlfriend to her. I had always been her male cousin. Now, it was very apparent that assumption had been wrong. Despite how much we had started to look alike during the last couple of years, she had never once thought of me as a girl.

But I was. I knew that now with a certainty. I should have known it earlier. The signs had been there throughout my life, but neither I nor my friends and family had seen them.

"Hi," she replied softly. She too was taken aback by my appearance. For the first time since hearing that they were coming to visit, I was worried that my relationship with Madison might not survive the changes in my life.

We all settled into an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Mom brought us back to reality. "Sandwiches are almost ready," she said, which caused everyone to glance at the food. It had been a long time since breakfast, and I hadn't had a chance to eat between the sound check and the performance. Mom added, "Megan, you’d better change."

I looked down, once again remembering that I was wearing expensive clothes. A small fortune had been spent on Sarah's wardrobe, and I had no desire to mess it up. I nodded to Mom and gave my relatives a slight grin before I stepped past them and walked down the hall. Our first meeting hadn't been quite what I had hoped for.

*  *  *

"Are you really a girl?" Logan asked me half an hour later. He, along with my other cousins and I, were sitting around the table on the patio in the backyard. We didn't have much of a backyard, but it was a nice place to get out of the heat of the L.A. sun, since the patio was completely covered by a canopy of green leaves from the many trees. We'd all pretty much finished up our sandwiches, and we were awkwardly sitting there together. Austin was still out with his friends, leaving me to entertain them alone. I'd changed into a pair of shorts and a tee, making me blend in better with my cousins.

"Yep," I replied and took another sip of my lemonade.

"Why?" he asked me next. He really seemed curious about my change. Madison and James leaned in closer to hear my answer too.

"Well," I started before thinking about how to describe the recent events of my life. "Apparently I've always been a girl, despite what the doctors thought when I was born. A few tests that I had a couple of weeks ago proved that I really am a girl. I've got all the parts a girl has and none of the parts that a boy has."

"All of them?" Madison asked in shock. James had a similar expression. He had seen me in locker rooms before when we'd gone swimming. I knew he was questioning what my statement really meant.

I blushed again. I was more than happy to talk to Madison about this. But talking to her brothers about it was a difficult thing to do. If I couldn't even talk to my own father about my body, how could I expect to be comfortable talking to my cousins?

"Pretty much," I replied, trying to keep it vague. "I'm supposed to have surgery on Monday to fix the rest."

It was vague, but it seemed to be enough for James and Madison. Logan looked slightly confused, but he didn't ask for clarification. Instead, he continued his questioning.

"Do you like it?" he asked next. I chuckled to myself. Learning who I truly was had been the best thing to happen in my life. I couldn't imagine stumbling through the rest of my life like I had been the last six years. I knew without a doubt in my heart that I was female, that I had always been female. And I did like it. I would never go back.

"Yes," I replied confidently, and I recalled my conversation with Austin backstage in Salt Lake. Logan looked even more intrigued at my answer. "Why? Do you want to join us?"

"No!" he replied adamantly. The disgust he had at the idea of joining the fairer sex was enough to let me know that while he was intrigued with my situation, he definitely didn't want to go through with it himself. I laughed outright, and my two other cousins also laughed.

"How can you just change like that so quickly?" Madison asked. "I mean, you seem completely different. How can you be a girl all of a sudden?"

"It wasn't something that happened instantly," I replied. "This has been happening for years now. Ever since the accident at least, but maybe even earlier. I've been becoming more and more feminine as I grew up. Looking back on my life now, I honestly don't know how I lived with myself before becoming Megan for good."

"But you were never the least bit girly," Madison opined. I smirked at her. So many people disagreed with that statement and often told me just how feminine I was before they found out the truth.

"That's not true, Maddie," James spoke up for the first time. "Brett was one of the most feminine boys I had ever met. You just never saw it. Why do you think you two have so much in common?"

Madison just sat there, stunned again. I could see her thoughts running through her head. She started by doubting her brother, but then there was a spark of something. She seemed to understand that there was a side of me that she hadn't noticed. In the end, her face still showed confusion, but she nodded at me. She seemed more accepting of me after that.

"I guess that explains why your room is so girly now. You have good taste," she finally said. I had to laugh.

"Truthfully," I told her. "I haven't changed anything in there since I started living as a girl, other than getting rid of my old clothes."

"Really?" she asked me incredulously. Apparently she still had some reservations about me.

"Really," I replied.

*  *  *

The rest of the evening was spent reconnecting with my relatives. Madison started to see me for who I really was. Aunt Olivia started talking to me and had nothing but praise. Uncle Kevin still seemed amazed, but still treated me like a niece. James seemed to be hanging around me more than he ever had before. Things were pretty much the same between Logan and me. Once Austin had come home, I was pretty much forgotten by him.

At the end of the night, we were just family. Things were different than the last time we had gotten together, but we would get through the changes.

I found myself sitting on the love seat in the front room while we watched 'The Tonight Show'. Madison was sitting next to me, and after our rocky start we had finally reconnected the way we always had. But this time, we were girlfriends. She admitted at one point that she didn't see any boy in me anymore.

My parents and my aunt and uncle were also watching and talking while we waited through Todd's first guest. Austin and Logan were in his room, where they had decided to sleep. James was grudgingly waiting for us to leave so he could get his own bed ready on the couch.

"Why are we watching this again?" Madison asked. I laughed. I hadn't had the opportunity to meet any of the other guests that Todd had on the show, but I didn't feel like I had missed out on anything. We were now watching his second guest, the woman who had been in the artsy film. It turned out she was just as boring in real life as I thought her movie would be. Either way, it was painful to sit through.

"Because Sarah Carerra is performing," I told her again. "She's one of Dad's clients, and a close friend."

"You're friends with Sarah Carerra?" she asked me with disbelief. I'd told her that I'd met her, but I hadn't mentioned our relationship. I'd also managed to keep her out of Sarah's room for the time being.

"Yeah," I replied. "I knew her before she got a record contract."

"Can you introduce me to her?" Madison asked excitedly, causing my nervousness to once again grow like it did every time she got close to the secret I was keeping from her.

"I don't know," I told her. "I guess that depends on her schedule. I don't get to see her very often anymore," I lied.

"Oh," Madison replied in a downcast tone. "Ok."

The show was now on the commercial break between the actress and my song. I could once again feel the rush start as I anticipated seeing my performance.

"Welcome back," Todd said on the TV. "My next guest has quickly taken the teen music scene by storm with the release of her first single, which rose to the top of the charts after only two weeks. Her first album isn't scheduled to be released until July 8, but she's already making a statement for herself. Please welcome Sarah Carerra!"

A hush settled in the room as both of my parents ended their conversations and turned toward the television. I glanced over at my mom. I'd had the privilege of seeing Dad in the audience while I sang, and my mom now had the same proud expression on her face.

"Wait..." Maddie said when the TV cut to a picture of me on stage. I glanced sideways at her, and she had a confused look on her face again. For a moment I was worried that she could see through my disguise, but a second later she shook her head and continued watching.

"Can you imagine being famous like that?" Madison asked me after the song had ended. "I bet it would be a blast being a singer."

"Yeah," I said while chuckling and leaning back on the couch. It was a lot of fun, but I couldn't tell her that. "It must be fun," I said instead.

She looked at me oddly for a moment, before smiling back at me.

"Come on," Mom interrupted us. "Let's let James put his bed together."

"Okay," I replied and stood up. I was already starting to feel tired. I'd recuperated since the concert, but I had no desire to burn out unnecessarily. There was no telling when my life would turn crazy again. "I think I'm ready for bed, anyway."

"Are you coming with us tomorrow?" Madison asked me while we walked down the hallway toward the bedrooms.

"Where are you going?" I asked her. I didn't have any plans for tomorrow other than my therapy appointment.

"We're going to the beach," she replied. "I'd love to see you in a bathing suit."

I laughed. She might be more shocked than anything else. "We'll see," I told her. "I have a therapy appointment in the morning, but maybe I'll come and find you guys afterward."

"Okay," she said.

I stopped in front of Sarah's door and removed the key from my pocket. We planned to keep it locked to help prevent the cousins from entering the room. Madison stopped with me, obviously curious about the contents of the locked room I was staying in.

"Good night, Maddie," I replied, and gave her a hug to try to hurry her along.

"Good night, Megan," she replied. I think she realized that I wasn't going to open the door with her around. She seemed hurt that I wouldn't let her in on whatever we were keeping a secret, but she turned and headed for my room. With a soft sigh of relief, I opened the door and prepared for bed.

*  *  *

"Good morning, Megan," Mary, my therapist, said while stepping out of her office and into the waiting room where my parents and I were seated. "How are you doing?"

"Great!" I replied. I had been seeing Mary since the accident when I was ten. She wasn't just my therapist; she was also a really good friend. I met with her every Saturday now, and she had asked to have my parents join me this week.

"Come on back," she smiled. Once my parents and I had stood up, she turned and walked back toward her office with us following behind her. I took my usual spot on her soft couch, and Mom sat down next to me while Dad sat on Mom's other side. Mary sat across from us in a chair.

"I saw the concert on Sunday," she mentioned as an icebreaker. "You did very well."

"Thank you," I replied while blushing slightly. I knew that Mary's daughters were fans, but it still felt weird to talk about this with someone who knew my secret.

"How did it go?" she pried for more information.

"It was amazing," I said, and I could feel the rush start with just the memory of being up on that stage. "I was nervous at first, but I didn't even make it through the first verse of the first song before I was loving every minute of it. Performing on stage like that was the best thing I've ever done."

Mary chuckled. She knew a lot about me, but even she seemed slightly surprised at my reaction.

"And you did a wonderful job," she said. "If you ever perform around here, I'd love to buy some tickets. My daughters would love to go to one of your shows."

"If I ever perform around here, you won't be buying tickets," I replied immediately. "I'll make sure that you have excellent seats and backstage passes. Right, Dad?" I looked over at my dad for confirmation. He nodded, and the smile on Mary's face grew exponentially.

"You really are an amazing young woman," Mary said before pausing. I knew we were now getting to the heart of our session. "Speaking of young woman, how are you feeling about the news you shared with me last Saturday?"

"I," I started, but stopped shortly after starting. "I have mixed feelings," I finished my thought. "On one hand, it's the best thing that could have happened to me. But I'm scared to death to have this surgery."

I looked up at Mom and she returned my look with a comforting smile. Dad, on the other hand, looked like he didn't want to be discussing this topic.

"That's a natural worry, Megan. Don't feel bad about having those feelings," Mary told me with a smile much like Mom's. "This is a big milestone in your life. I would be worried if you weren't feeling some trepidation about this news."

I grimaced. She was right. It was only natural to be worried about something that would change my life so completely.

But would it really change my life? I mean, I had been born a girl. I had been living like one for a month now. I had thought of myself as a girl for at least three weeks, perhaps even longer...What would it really change?

"It will make me complete," I finally voiced my realization. "And nothing is better than that."

"Oh, honey," Mom said while wrapping me in a hug. "You don't need this surgery to be complete. You are already complete."

Mary was nodding her head, and Dad kept looking like he wanted to be somewhere else. But they were right again. I know I didn't need this surgery to validate my womanhood, but it still would complete me physically. I nodded my understanding.

"What about you two," Mary turned her attention to my parents. "How are you two taking this?"

My mom opened her mouth to respond, but it was Dad who spoke first.

"I couldn't be happier," he said with one of the biggest smiles I'd ever see him wear. "I mean, I love my two sons. I'd do anything for them. But I always wanted a daughter too. Now I'm getting the best of both worlds. Megan has brought so much joy into my life. I can't imagine life without her anymore."

I smiled at him while Mom took the time to respond.

"I will admit," she said. "I was disappointed when Brett was born. I thought for sure that I was having a girl. I could feel it. We didn't know the sex beforehand, and I thought for sure the doctor had made some kind of mistake when he told me I'd had a boy. Finding out sixteen years later that he did make that mistake has been overwhelming at times." She turned toward me. "I love you, honey. Ever since you were born I've seen you as my little girl. I don't know why, but you always seemed like there was something more to your life that I wasn't giving you. I couldn't figure it out, but I could see the feminine tendencies that you always had growing up. I always thought that's what I had felt when you were in the womb. But now I have the daughter I always thought I would have. I couldn't ask for anything more."

I was in tears at her words, and I had to lean over and wrap her in a hug. I had no idea that she had felt that way. I had no idea that I had even been feminine as a kid! I couldn't believe how much going through this had helped me to become closer to my family. I wouldn't trade them for the world.

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Thank you
Thank you everyone for helping me to decide where Sarah Carerra will perform over the next few months. The responses I received were overwhelming, and I unfortunately cannot send her to all of them.

Sarah Carerra will be coming to 13 cities at the end of the summer and I hope that one of them will be near you. But if it isn't, remember that there will be more appearances in the future. If you still have a good idea of where she could perform (likely in more of the winter months) please continue to send them in. Just like in real life, I'd like Sarah to go where her fans are.

Thank you again, the full schedule will be released soon.
Megan