Jessica took a deep breath as she tried to relax in the aeroplane’s plush, comfortable seats- though the discomfort her clothes were causing and the stares she was receiving from the other passengers weren’t making the task of relaxing any easier. Next to her, her Scottish lover was suffering from the same levels of discomfort as she fidgeted in her seat.

“Feel like everyone’s staring,” Paige whispered to Jessica as the aeroplane’s safety briefing continued in both English and French.

“Oh whatever, let them stare,” Jessica snorted. “There’s nothing any of them can do.”

"Ladies and gentlemen," Rachel announced to the assembled passengers, "your stewardesses for today are Carly, Michelle and Saskia." Paige and Jessica stared at the three young women- all of whom they knew well- as they bobbed curtseys.

"Take off will be in five minutes," Rachel continued. "Flight duration will be 1 hour and 45 minutes. Again, I'd like to thank you for choosing Soixante-Trois airlines, and I hope you all have a comfortable and enjoyable flight to Glasgow!"

Jessica took a deep breath as the aeroplane roared down the runway at take-off thrust, its wheels quickly losing contact with the runway before being folded up into its undercarriage. As she stared at her faint reflection in the plane’s window, she sighed. Her hair was slicked back into a masculine style, her face was devoid of make-up and her smart trousers and jumper felt… wrong.

“Cheer up,” Paige chastised her lover. “Two hours, we’ll be in Glasgow, we can check into our hotel and you can be the ‘real’ you. I’m stuck like this for the whole week…” Jessica stared at Paige as she gestured at her own outwardly-masculine appearance. Despite being 5' 6", having a very slender frame and long, jet-black hair, there was no mistaking Paige for anything other than male.

“Can I get you two gentlemen anything from the trolley?” Rachel asked as she pushed her refreshment trolley up to where her two colleagues were sat.

“No, thank you,” Paige replied in a blunt, almost rude voice. Rachel took no offence as she pushed her trolley to the next row, though Jessica couldn’t help but wince at the hostility in Paige’s voice.

“Bit harsh, maybe?” Jessica asked her lover. “It’s not like she can say anything other than ‘gentlemen’…”

“It’s not that,” Paige said, making Jessica sigh sadly.

“And it’s not like she had any choice when it came to Natalie or Zoe either…” Jessica mumbled as she stared out at the receding French landscape.

“…Your stewardesses for today are Katarzyna,”Marie said in her sophisticated French accent, “Alice and Zoe. On behalf of Soixante-Trois airlines, I’d like to thank you for flying with us, and we hope you have an enjoyable flight to Moscow!” Zoe bobbed a curtsey before sitting back down in her seat, her cheeks burning with embarrassment as her sister sat down next to her.

“Smile, for god’s sake,” Marie chastised Zoe. “For someone so used to performing on stage…” Zoe forced a smile onto her face, though inside she was still fuming. Ever since she and Natalie had been discovered kissing in the airport’s locker room, her working life had been hell. As she was still in probation, she’d been handed a final written warning, and was informed that any further infractions of any kind- no matter how minor- would result in instant dismissal. Zoe had expected this to last to the end of her probation period, but when she learned that the warning would last for a full twelve months, Zoe seriously began reconsidering her career with Soixante-Trois airlines.

Natalie hadn’t got off lightly either- her hard-earned promotion had been stripped from her and she found herself on a first written warning, but her job didn’t hang on the knife-edge that Zoe’s did. As the ‘fasten seatbelts’ sign extinguished, the twenty year old French woman stood up, straightened her tight black skirt and followed her sister into the aeroplane’s kitchen where she began boiling kettles and preparing food.

“PLEASE can I stay in the kitchen for the flight?” Zoe begged Marie, who simply sighed in response.

“You’re still on probation,” Marie reminded her sister. “You still need to record the actual service experience if you’re going to pass… I’m sorry, Zoe.” Zoe’s face fell, but she forced her earlier smile back on her face as she pushed her trolley back out into the aeroplane’s fuselage, inwardly grimacing at the stares her nylon-covered legs were attracting from the mostly male, mostly Russian passengers. It was going to be a long, long flight.

“Welcome to Glasgow!” Paige beamed as she led Jessica out into the main concourse of Glasgow airport.

“I’ve been here dozens of times before!” Jessica giggled. “Not beyond those doors, though…”

“Then come on,” Paige urged. “I’ve got a city to show you… And you’ve got a woman to become!” Jessica smiled widely as Paige led her out into the cold Scottish air, and took in the sights and sounds of the historic city on the taxi ride to their city centre hotel.

“Do you need a second to change?” Paige giggled as the couple checked into their room.

“I have been LITERALLY itching to get out of these clothes since before we left Paris,” Jessica laughed, dumping her case on their double bed. “If it takes me a second it’ll be because I took my time!” Paige laughed loudly as she sat on the edge of the bed, watching enthralled as Jessica stripped off her trousers and jumper, before pulling on her cache sex, her breast form-enhanced bra and her waist cincher. The American girl continued her transformation by applying a full face of make-up- light pink eyeshadow, thick eye liner and mascara and a foundation to match her tanned skin.

“Always save the best for last,” Jessica giggled as she placed a tube of her favourite red lipstick on the table next to her mirror. Her make-up nearly complete, the American woman rolled a pair of dark stockings up her legs, fastening them to the garters hanging from her waist cincher, before pulling on a stretchy knee-length black dress that showed off her enhanced curves and even displayed a little cleavage. After slipping her feet into a pair of low heeled shoes- mindful that she was taller than her ‘boy’friend even in stocking feet- Jessica coated and re-coated her lips with her favourite cosmetic, before turning and presenting herself to Paige.

“The most beautiful girl in Scotland,” Paige cooed, giving Jessica a long kiss on her lips. “Just wish I could, you know, ‘be the second most beautiful girl’…” Paige sighed as she patted her second suitcase, the one containing her own feminine clothing that wouldn’t be opened until the couple reached America.

“…Then do that,” Jessica said. “Get dressed as Paige, now.”

“If only it was that easy,” Paige sighed, shaking her head.

“You know what the counsellor said when we saw them,” Jessica said. Paige nodded, remembering the words of the woman she and Jessica consulted with mere days before boarding their flight to Scotland.

“As you might imagine,” the counsellor- a friendly Belgian woman in her early fifties- had said, “I get a lot of girls through my door in the same situation as the two of you, though the two of you being in a couple IS a rarity. My main concern, before issuing any diagnosis of gender dysphoria or approving of any official transition, is whether or not this is what you both truly want- or whether or not you feel obliged to make the transition to please your partner.”

“Of course,” Jessica replied, smiling as she looked into Paige’s eyes.

“I’ve read both your histories,” the counsellor continued. “You’ve both gone into detail about how you’ve had cross-gendered thoughts from an early age, and you’re both fully settled into living life- both work and personal- as women, but I’m concerned about how you haven’t yet told anyone outside your close circle of friends- particularly your parents. Before you say anything: yes, I understand that this is a big step. The BIGGEST step, in fact, but it is one that needs to be taken before any ‘formal’ transition can begin. You can’t simply say ‘I want to be a woman forever, except when I’m at home’.”

“But how do we tell someone who raised us as a boy for twenty years ‘I would rather be a woman’?” Paige asked, frustrated at the ‘roadblock’ that had been placed in front of her.

“First, you need to make sure that this is what you truly want,” The counsellor explained. “Yes, obviously you CAN change your mind at a later date, but you need to be sure that you WON’T change your mind at any point during the foreseeable future.”

“I won’t,” Paige said confidently. The counsellor nodded, before continuing her advice about coming out- notes both Paige and Jessica eagerly wrote down in their notepads.

Paige lazily fingered her notepad with her free hand, before ringing the doorbell of her parents’ small suburban house.

“Paul!” Paige’s mother beamed, greeting her son with a long, tight hug. “And you must be Jessica!”

“Yes,” Jessica said with a giggle. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Robertson.”

“Call me Caroline,” Mrs. Robertson laughed as she ushered the couple- and their cases- into her house. “What have you g- got planned for the week?”

“I’m going to show Jessica around Glasgow,” Paige explained. “Maybe take a trip up to Loch Lomond… It’s not exactly picnic weather but we can still have a look around.”

“As long as you’re here for when your sisters come round on Thursday,” Caroline said. “It’s been months since they’ve seen you, I know they’re eager to catch up, you’ve changed so much since you moved to Paris!”

“I certainly have,” Paige laughed as she sat down in her usual spot on her parents’ sofa.

Natalie groaned as she opened her apartment door, her feet tired from being in high heels all day. Her demotion had seen her being moved onto only doing black route flights, and their duration was a far cry from the comparatively short blue route flights she was used to. Even worse was the fact that Zoe was never on the same flight as her, so she saw her even less than she did when she WAS a mentor. Natalie’s sole con solation was that as their relationship was no longer secret, they could share a bed- which they did every night they were both in the apartment, and would be doing that night.

“Hello?” Natalie asked, looking around the unusually dark apartment. “Marie? Zoe? Anna-Jade? Anyone home? What’s with the game of Lights Out?” Sighing, Natalie snapped on the living room light, discovering Anna-Jade curled up on the sofa in a pair of skinny jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, her face buried in a cushion and her long, flame-coloured hair spread wildly around her.

“Anna-Jade?” Natalie asked. “You okay?”

“Leave me alone,” Anna-Jade moaned. “And turn the lights off…”

“Yeah, I’m not going to do that,” Natalie said, straightening her tight dress as she sat next to the stricken Irishwoman. “Can’t really afford to trip over anything in these heels… What’s happened, is it the hormones, is it Jacques?”

“I don’t even want to hear that twat’s name!” Anna-Jade sobbed, burying her face further into her cushion.

“Thought as much,” Natalie sighed. “I’m not going to say ‘I told you so’, I like my face the shape it currently is…” Natalie paused as Anna-Jade let out a small giggle. “Was that a laugh?”

“No,” Anna-Jade mumbled. “Okay, yes… God knows it’s not your face I want to ‘re-shape’…”

“What did ‘le connard’ do?” Natalie asked.

“Remember at my birthday last month,” Anna-Jade sighed, turning to face her flat mate. “Remember how he said I was the only girl for him, now and forever?”

“Yeah, I thought I caught a strong smell of bullshit coming from his mouth when he said that,” Natalie replied.

“And he dumped me by text!” Anna-Jade wailed, showing Natalie the offending text message before hurling her smartphone onto a nearby chair. “By fucking text! I was on a plane with the cunt not 48 hours ago!”

“Okay, you’re kinda getting a bit Anglo-Saxon here,” Natalie chuckled.

“Hilarious,” Anna-Jade snorted. “Managed to get myself leave today, tomorrow and the day after, can’t really face going into work right now…”

“Perfect,” Natalie said with a wide smile. “I’m off tomorrow, Zoe’s working all day, how about you and me go to Disneyland?”

“Seriously? Disneyland?” Anna-Jade asked.

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Natalie chuckled. “Besides, it’s almost a year since you and I started for Soixante-Trois, we’ve got to celebrate that somehow, right?”

“Well, I guess,” Anna-Jade sighed.

“And in truth… I kinda need it too,” Natalie said. “I hardly see Zoe these days, I’ve got management breathing up my arse at work, this place is going to be dead the next two weeks with Jessica and Paige gone… Need a day to just kick back and go ‘fuck it- I’m having some fun’, you know?”

“Alright, I’m in!” Anna-Jade said, smiling for the first time since her separation from Jacques.

“Uggh,” Paige moaned loudly as she collapsed back on her bed, tired from a four hour long conversation with her mother. “Now I know why I haven’t been home in months…”

“Aww, I like your mum!” Jessica giggled as she put away hers and Paige’s clothing for the week. “I honestly, really think that if you DID come out-“

“Let’s not go down that route just yet,” Paige said, interrupting her American lover.

“You’re going to have to eventually,” Jessica said softly, squeezing her lover’s hand for support.

“Can- can I at least get Thursday out of the way first?” Paige asked. “So I don’t have to do it in front of my sisters…”

“Of course,” Jessica whispered, giving Paige a quick kiss on her lips. “And you know that no matter what happens, I’ll ALWAYS love and support you.”

“I love you too,” Paige whispered. “I NEED you… But I need my family too… You heard how bad Anna-Jade’s coming out was…”

“But you heard how GOOD Natalie’s was,” Jessica said. “And Clara’s, and Karla’s…”

“It’s still a crapshoot,” Paige sighed. “Can- can I just cross this bridge when I come to it?”

“Of course,” Jessica said, giving Paige another soft, lingering kiss. “Now come on, let’s get downstairs, whatever it is your mom’s cooking smells DELICIOUS!”

“She IS the best cook in the whole of Scotland,” Paige giggled happily as she followed Jessica down to the dining room, where they were joined shortly afterwards by Paige’s father upon his return from work.

“Who’s this dark-haired stranger?” The grey-haired man asked upon seeing Paige, before breaking down into a fit of chuckles and giving his child a big hug. “Good to see you again son. Finally able to drag yourself away from Paris?”

“Finally able to get a week’s leave at the same time as Jessica!” Paige laughed, as her father turned his attention to the young blonde woman.

“Ahh yes,” Mr. Robertson said with a broad grin. “We FINALLY get to meet the mysterious Jessica!”

“It’s good to meet you too, Mr. Robertson,” Jessica said, shaking the older man’s hand.

“Call me Malcolm, for god’s sake!” Paige’s father laughed, before taking his seat at the dinner table. “Are you both in town for long?”

“Not long,” Paige said, pouring water for Jessica, her father and herself. “Just a week, then we’re off to American to see Jessica’s parents.”

“That’s hardly any time at all,” Malcolm grumbled. “…But it IS good to have you back.”

“It’s good to BE back,” Paige laughed as her mother brought through a large bowl full of a delicious-smelling casserole that all four people eagerly tucked into.

“Yeah, I’m having fun,” Jessica said into her phone as Paige helped her mother with the washing-up. “Not nearly as cold as I thought it would be!”

“Try going to Helsinki for a day, THEN you’ll know what cold is,” Natalie laughed. “Has Paige told her parents yet?”

“Not yet…” Jessica sighed as she stared back at her Scottish lover. “Think she’s waiting for the right time…”

“Remind her she’s only got a week,” Natalie said. “Speaking of time running out, I’ll let you get off and not run up her parents’ phone bill.”

“Okay,” Jessica said. “Is Anna-Jade going to be okay?”

“Eh, hopefully,” Natalie sighed. “I know I shouldn’t say this… But it kinda reminds me why I’m glad I never started HRT…”

“Thanks for that,” Jessica snorted.

“You’ll be fine,” Natalie laughed. “You’re not going out with ‘le connard’… Talk soon, Jess.”

“See you later, Nat,” Jessica said as she hung up the phone. Natalie sighed as she crashed down on the sofa next to Zoe, the former ballerina immediately wrapping her arms around Natalie’s slim waist.

“Are they having fun in Scotland?” Zoe asked.

“Yeah, from what I can tell,” Natalie sighed. “I don’t envy them- coming out to two sets of parents, one after the other… One set was bad enough.”

“Speaking of,” Zoe giggled. “When am I going to meet YOUR parents?”

“When am I going to meet YOURS?” Natalie retorted with a chuckle. “They live closer…”

“Actually, I Googled it a while ago,” Zoe laughed. “Manchester’s something like 100km closer to Paris than Nice… That means it’s your turn first!”

“Yeah,” Natalie said, “but if we go to Nice, you can show me round the Riviera, Monte Carlo… If I show you round Manchester all you’ll get are some old houses and a few canals…”

“And Old Trafford,” Zoe retorted. “Manchester Cathedral, the Imperial War Museum, the Beatles Museum…”

“That’s in Liverpool!” Natalie snorted.

“You wanted to see Monte Carlo,” Zoe retorted. “That’s NOT in Nice…”

“Okay, okay,” Natalie laughed. “Manchester first, then. Though I’m NOT showing you Old Trafford. You can see the City of Manchester Stadium, home to a PROPER football team!” Natalie giggled happily as Zoe stuck her tongue out at her, before snuggling closer into her slender body.

“This of course assumes we’ll ever be ALLOWED any leave ever again…” Zoe sighed self-pityingly.

Jessica shivered as she pulled on her royal blue overcoat to shelter her body from the cold Scottish air. Her choice of a short black dress with thick black tights was chic, but wholly impractical, as were her choice of flat ballerina pumps- though as she strolled around the shore of Loch Lomond with Paige, her parents and her sisters, she was thankful that she’d left her heels at home.

“So Jess,” Nina, Paige’s older sister, asked the American girl. “How long have you been working for Air France?”

“Six months,” Jessica replied, conscious of the need to maintain Paige’s ‘cover story’. “Started at the same time as P- Paul. Same training group.”

“Let me guess,” Trisha, Paige’s other older sister, said. “Your eyes met across of the room and it was love at first sight…”

“Something like that, yeah,” Jessica laughed.

“God, sometimes I wish I was an air stewardess,” Trisha joked. “Wearing glamorous uniforms, perfect hair and make-up, jetting off to exotic locations…”

“I only really work in central locations,” Jessica said. “Nowhere really ‘exotic’…”

“You live in Paris!” Nina laughed. “Doesn’t get any more exotic than that! Just a pity Paul’s too much of a BOY to appreciate that!” Paige chuckled under her sisters’ good-natured teasing, but inside, she was being eaten up. For twenty years, she’d been the odd one out in the family, the only boy in a family of girls. Her sisters had teased her mercilessly whilst growing up, and kept her isolated from their games, their gossip… All Paige had ever wanted was to be accepted as a girl by the two women, and the ease with which they’d accepted Jessica was almost painful for Paige to watch.

“I like Paris,” Paige interjected, only for her sisters to laugh in her face.

“GIRL talk time!” Trisha giggled. “You can have Jessica back when we’re done with her!”

“Unless, of course, you want to join in the girl talk AS a girl?” Nina teased. Paige opened her mouth, ready to reply, but couldn’t force out the words she’d longed to say for most of her young life.

“Ah, let the women talk, son,” Malcolm said, giving Paige a hearty slap on the back. “Have you been following Rangers’ season?”

“Umm, at times,” Paige said. “French TV doesn’t really cover Scottish football that much…”

“Reckon it’ll be our year to get back to the Premiership, where we belong?” Malcolm asked Paige, who simply shrugged her shoulders in response.

“It’d be nice, I guess…” Paige replied.

“Hearts are hardly going to be a pushover, though,” Malcolm continued. As the talk of football continued, Paige felt herself falling deeper and deeper into a black hole. Every now and again, she’d catch snippets of Jessica’s conversation with her sisters, their discussion of fashion, hair, make-up contrasting with her father’s talk of football and rugby. The discussion- and Paige’s sisters’ teasing of her- continued over lunch and on the walk back to the family cars, and with every word, Paige’s tolerance of the situation grew smaller and smaller. She was more certain than ever that she was a woman- and it was almost unbearable.

“Hey Jess,” Trisha said as they reached their cars. “Want to ride home with us? Still need to find out which nail polishes to get for the summer…”

“I’m a stewardess, not a beautician!” Jessica giggled.

“Close enough,” Nina laughed. “Paul- you can ride home with mum and dad. No BOYS allowed in this car!” As Paige’s sisters teased her, something in her head finally snapped.

“That’s it!” Paige shouted, stunning her family into silence. “I- I can’t take it anymore. Mum, dad, Nina, Trisha… There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Are- are you sure you want to do this now?” Jessica asked Paige, gripping her hand for support.

“It’s now or never,” Paige whispered. “Guys… For the last six months, I- I-“

“You’ve not been working for Air France,” Paige’s mother said with a smile. “You’ve ACTUALLY been working for Soixante-Trois airlines and living life as a woman?”

“Uhh-“ Paige spluttered, stunned into near-silence.

“…And now you’ve decided that you’d rather live life as a woman full-time?” Nina asked with a warm smile on her face.

“I- but- but- how?” Paige asked.

“Son, we know how to use Facebook,” Malcolm said with a warm, fatherly smile. “When we looked up ‘Jessica Tyler’, saw that she worked for Soixante-Trois and had on her page photos of a very pretty young dark-haired woman… It didn’t take long to put two and two together.”

“You- you don’t mind?” Paige asked, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“Why would we mind?” Caroline laughed. “It’s your life. You should live it the way YOU want. You’re an adult, you can make your own decisions, and whatever decisions you make, know that we’ll ALWAYS love and support you.”

“Oh my god,” Paige blubbed as she was drawn into a group hug with her family and Jessica. “But what about grandchildren, keeping the family name going…?"

“Don’t worry about problems that don’t exist!” Malcolm laughed. “There are thousands of Robertsons in Scotland, no one’s going to miss one, and as for grandchildren, that’s what your sisters are for!”

“Oh, so we’re walking wombs now are we?” Nina joked.

“What’s important is that YOU do what YOU want, just as your mother said,” Malcolm said, embracing his new daughter. “Now let’s get you home, I want to properly meet ‘Paige’!” Paige laughed as she and Jessica got into her parents’ car.

“Why ‘Paige’ and not ‘Paula’ or ‘Pauline’?” Caroline asked her new daughter as they drove off.

“I don’t want to sound like a middle-aged woman!” Paige laughed, still barely able to believe her luck at how easily she was accepted. “Are- are you sure you’re REALLY okay with this?”

“Whether you’re our son or our daughter, you’re our child, and that’s all that matters,” Malcolm said.

“Even if I go through the transition process?” Paige asked cautiously. “If I start to take oestrogen, have surgery…”

“If that’s what you TRULY want, we’ll support you every step of the way,” Caroline said.

“Have you spoken to YOUR parents yet about this, Jessica?” Malcolm asked, stunning the American woman into silence.

“Umm, uh-“ Jessica said. “Pa-Paige, did you tell them?”

“It wasn’t too hard to figure out,” Caroline giggled. “But only because we knew what we were looking for! You really are a very beautiful woman. BOTH of you are.”

“You haven’t even seen ‘Paige’ yet,” Paige giggled.

“Not in the flesh,” Malcolm replied. “But I know, as a father, that ALL my daughters are beautiful. All THREE of them.” Paige giggled as yet more tears seeped from the corners of her eyes, and when she arrived home, Jessica, Nina and Trisha ushered her straight up to her room, where she stripped out of her jeans and sweatshirt before changing into the clothes that had become so familiar for her over the previous six months. After pulling on her cache sex, bra and thong, Paige was sat down in front of a mirror whilst the three women went to work applying her make-up- subtle foundation that highlighted her pale skin, followed by a light eye shadow and blood-red lipstick. After her nails were painted a matching red colour, Paige reached into her second travel case and pulled out the outfit she’s had planned ever since she decided that she was going to come out.

Paige began by pulling on a pair of thick black tights, before wrapping a short tartan skirt around her waist, followed by a tight black top and a pale red cardigan to protect her slender body from the cold. After brushing her jet-black hair out into a perfect feminine bob, Paige pulled on a pair of high-heeled knee-high boots and stood before the three delighted women.

“Unlucky, Nina,” Trisha joked. “Now you’re the THIRD prettiest girl in the family!”

“Oh- get to,” Nina replied as Jessica pulled out her phone. "We're identical twins, you fucking halfwit!"

“Let me get a photo,” Jessica said. “The three sisters, together at last…”

“This photo should have been taken ten years ago,” Paige sighed sadly as she and her sisters smiled for the camera. Paige had a wide grin on her face as she slowly descended the stairs into her parents’ living room, a grin that quickly turned to tears as she saw the wide smiles on the middle-aged couple’s face.

“Beautiful,” Malcolm said as he stood up and gave his new daughter a long, loving hug.

“I just- I just wish you’d told us about the real you earlier,” Caroline said, openly crying tears of her own.

“So do I,” Paige sniffled.

“Nina! Trisha!” Malcolm yelled happily. “Come on, I want to get the first-ever photo of my three daughters together!”

“Umm, I kinda already got one…” Jessica grimaced, holding up her phone.

“Well then for god’s sake, email it to me!” Malcolm laughed. “Got so much to do over the next few days, got to get new family portraits done, you’ve got to get your name changed by deed poll…”

“This- this is all going so fast,” Paige laughed, sitting down on the sofa with her nylon-covered knees pressed firmly together.

“But- but it IS what you want, isn’t it?” Jessica asked, sitting down next to Paige and giving the dark-haired girl a tight hug.

“More than anything,” Paige sighed. “It’s just, now that it’s real, it just seems, heh, unreal I guess…”

“Well it IS real,” Caroline said, sitting down on the other side of Paige. “If you want to be Paige for the rest of your life, then that’s what you’ll be, and there’s nothing anyone else can do to stop you!”

“Thank you,” Paige sniffled. “Thank you all so much…”

“Feeling any better?” Natalie asked Anna-Jade as the two women tucked into a light lunch in one of Disneyland Paris’s many restaurants.

“A little,” Anna-Jade confessed. “Still want to rip that-“

“Whoa!” Natalie laughed. “This is Disneyland, remember? Children present!”

“Sorry,” Anna-Jade laughed. “Can’t believe I’ve lived in Paris a year and this is the first time I’ve ever been here…”

“Well it IS apparently the most magical place on Earth…” Natalie giggled.

“What, Paris or Disneyland?” Anna-Jade asked, making both girls giggle.

“It’s double magic, then,” Natalie laughed.

“To tell the truth, though…” Anna-Jade sighed. “…I do miss home. I’ve only been back to Derry once since moving to Paris, and THAT trip ended badly…”

“I remember you saying,” Natalie said softly.

“And now thanks to ‘le conn-‘” Anna-Jade was interrupted by Natalie playfully placing a hand over her mouth.

“Whoa, most of the kids in here are French, they’ll understand what that means,” Natalie laughs. “Though obviously I agree with you 100%.”

“Thanks to ‘le C’,” Anna-Jade said, correcting herself, “…I just want to get out of Paris as soon as possible.”

“You- you’re not thinking of quitting, are you?” Natalie asked cautiously, breathing a sigh of relief when Anna-Jade shook her head.

“No,” Anna-Jade whispered. “I love everything about this job. Well… Everything EXCEPT ‘le C’!” Anna-Jade giggled loudly with Natalie, smiling as she felt truly happy for the first time since her separation.

“That includes your super-awesome housemates, I hope?” Natalie asked.

“Of course!” Anna-Jade giggled. “Can’t wait for Zoe’s ‘out of probation’ party, I’ve never been a ballerina before!”

“If she passes probation,” Natalie sighed as she finished off her drink.

Eight kilometres above the surface of the Earth, Zoe straightened her stockings before pushing her fully-laden drinks trolley into the fuselage of the aeroplane, inwardly grimacing as she felt the gaze of every man on the plane rush toward her perfectly-tined dancer’s legs.

“May I offer you a drink?” Zoe asked an overweight, middle-aged businessman, who smiled a grin of pure lust as he stared at Zoe’s body.

“What would you recommend?” The businessman asked in a thick Finnish accent.

“I really wouldn’t want to tell you what your tastes are,” Zoe said, forcing out a giggle. Besides, Zoe thought, if I had my way it’d go on your face rather than down your throat…

“Oh, I think you know what my tastes are,” The man said.

“Would you like to see the menu?” Zoe asked, desperately trying not to roll her eyes at the man’s crude attempts to flirt with her.

“That’s not all I’d like to see,” the man said. “I own two hotels in Helsinki, you know. And I can tell from your walk that you’re not one of ‘those’ girls…” Zoe smiled sweetly at the businessman as she recognised the inadvertent ‘out’ he’d given her.

“I’m sorry sir,” Zoe said, “but I’m not allowed to answer personal questions whilst on duty.”

“But you can surely at least say ‘yes’ or ‘no’?” The man snorted. “Are you a ‘real’ girl or not?”

“I’m sorry sir,” Zoe repeated with an innocent-sounding laugh, “but I’m not allowed to answer personal questions whilst on duty.”

“Coffee, black,” The businessman grunted.

“Will there be anything else, sir?” Zoe asked as she served the man- who was suddenly disinterested in her body- his beverage.

“No. Go,” The man bluntly said. Zoe let out a loud laugh as she returned to the aeroplane’s kitchen area and removed her tight hat. For any woman- especially one as young and as good-looking as Zoe- being mistaken for a transsexual would be a grave insult. For Zoe, however, it was an opportunity to have so, so much fun. Maybe she’d enjoy working for Soixante-Trois Airlines after all…

“This has been the best visit ever,” Malcolm said as he gave Paige a long, tight hug. “Don’t leave it six months before the next one!”

“I won’t, I promise,” Paige sniffled.

“And that applies to BOTH of you!” Caroline laughed as she hugged Jessica.

“You’ll always have a home waiting for you in Dumbarton,” Malcolm said. “Both of you. Now go on, you’ll miss your train!”

“And good luck with your parents, Jessica!” Caroline shouted after the two women as they headed toward the long train that would ferry them to London ahead of their flight to Baltimore.

“One down, one to go,” Jessica whispered as she and Paige took their seats.

“I still can’t believe how well that went,” Paige sniffed. “First thing when I get back to Paris, I’m booking an appointment with the counsellor. I want to get started on oestrogen IMMEDIATELY.”

“Are you sure you’re ready to take that step?” Jessica asked.

“Positive,” Paige said. “’Paul’ is a thing of the past from now on, it’s girl or bust!”

“God, I love you SO much,” Jessica laughed, giving her lover a tight hug as the train bore them both south into England and the vast airport at Heathrow- a venue familiar to both women from their work, but today would be the first day they’d ever board flights from the airport as passengers… And, more crucially, it would be the first time they boarded their flights as women.

“May I see your passport, please?” The check-in agent asked Paige as she stepped up to the desk, her loose dress flowing about her nylon-covered legs and her high heels clicking on the floor with every step she took. Paige smiled as she handed over the document, her smile only growing more confident as the agent scrunched up her nose at the information in the passport.

“I’m a pre-operative transsexual,” Paige explained confidently. “I haven’t had the chance to update all my documentation yet.”

“Of course,” the agent said with a smile. “Enjoy your flight, MISS Robertson.” Jessica took a deep breath as she approached the desk and handed over her own passport.

“The same,” Jessica said, her legs wobbling with nerves as the agent scrutinised the passport photo.

“Enjoy your flight, Miss Tyler,” The agent said with the same professional smile with which she’d addressed Paige.

“God, that was scary,” Jessica giggled as she followed Paige to the departure lounge.

“Why?” Paige laughed. “What are they gonna do, arrest us for wearing dresses and lipstick?”

“No, it’s just- I dunno,” Jessica sighed. “Just thought that as we were flying transatlantic… God, I’m not looking forward to the TSA heading back…”

“This is your first time back to America in six months,” Paige laughed. “I’d have thought you’d be looking forward to it a little more?”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m DYING to get back to America,” Jessica said. “It’s what I have to do when I get there, THAT’S the terrifying part…”

“Welcome back, slacker!” Rachel greeted Anna-Jade as the ginger-haired girl entered the locker room at Charles De Gaulle airport with a confident grin on her face.

“Hey, the leave was there to be taken, so I took it!” Anna-Jade laughed as she stripped out of her pencil dress and changed into her tight blue uniform.

“Well, I just hope you’re feeling better,” Rachel sighed. “God knows you’re hardly the first heart I’ve had to mend after Jacques got his hands on it…”

“Seriously, I can mend it fine myself,” Anna-Jade laughed. “Just want to get into the flight, you know? Concentrate on work so I don’t have to concentrate on ‘le connard’…”

“Hehe, just don’t say THAT on the plane!” Rachel giggled as she zipped up her tight blue skirt. “Are my seams straight?”

“Perfect,” Anna-Jade cooed. “Mine?”

“Ready for a short hop to Berlin!” Rachel laughed, grabbing her bag and leading Anna-Jade out to the pre-flight briefing. When the two girls entered the aeroplane, however, their stomachs sank as they saw the other members of the crew for the flight.

“Ah, Mademoiselle Houghton,” Jacques oozed as he saw Anna-Jade board the plane. “It is just as I say: women cannot tear themselves away from me!”

“There’s SOMETHING I want to damn well ‘tear away’ from you…” Anna-Jade hissed as she took her seat and listened to the pilot address the crew. After the briefing finished, Anna-Jade breathed a sigh of relief as Jacques took his seat in the cockpit next to the pilot, and, more importantly, out of sight of her.

“I am SO sorry,” Rachel said as she and Anna-Jade began their pre-flight checks. “I had NO idea it would be him flying, if it was, I’d have pulled strings to get you on a different flight, I’d have-“

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” Anna-Jade sighed. “Besides, as you said, I’m hardly the only person he’s mistreated. Doubt you’d find any combination of crew without some kind of grudge against him…”

“He really needs taking down a peg or two,” Rachel spat, causing a sly grin to form on Anna-Jade’s face.

“Put ideas in my head, why don’t you?” The Irish woman said as a plan began to formulate in her mind…

“On behalf of Virgin Atlantic,” the glamorous flight attendant announced, “I’d like to thank you for flying with us, and we hope you enjoy your stay in New York City!”

“Ahh,” Jessica laughed as she set foot on home soil for the first time in over six months. “Breathe it in Paige, AMERICAN air!”

“I can feel my waistline expanding already,” Paige laughed.

“Oh come on,” Jessica giggled. “My teeth didn’t all fall out the first time I set foot in England, did they?” Paige and Jessica giggled as they approached the immigration desk, encountering the same quizzical stares but ultimate acceptance as they presented their male passports to the agent behind the desk. Once they were cleared to enter the United States of America, the two women hailed the nearest taxi- Paige giggling excitedly as she saw the iconic yellow car pull up next to them- and headed off to their pre-booked hotel, where Jessica sighed sadly as she opened her briefcase.

“You know,” Paige whispered as she encircled Jessica’s corseted waist from behind, “You don’t HAVE to do it the way you planned…”

“No,” Jessica moaned. “Can’t spring it on them, got to do it one step at a time.” Jessica sat down in front of the mirror and slowly removed her make-up, frowning as she wiped the last of her scarlet lipstick from her mouth. After brushing her short, feminine hairstyle back into a more masculine look, she removed her dress and her underwear, sighing sadly as she stared at her naked reflection in the mirror.

Paige watched with a sad look on her face as Jessica pulled on a pair of jockey shorts, followed by a pair of smart black trousers and a thick blue shirt. As a man, Jessica certainly wasn’t unattractive, but Paige couldn’t help but note that the American girl was much better looking AS a girl- if only because of the ‘glow’ Jessica gave off when she was a woman, a glow that was missing from the masculine figure that took Paige’s hand as they left the hotel lobby.

Just under five hours later, long after sunset, Jessica and Paige pulled up outside a large suburban house in Western Baltimore.

“Do you need some time?” Paige asked her lover, who took several deep breaths to compose herself.

“No,” Jessica said, before letting out a snort of laughter. “Why should I? It’s my home, after all, the place where I should feel safest and most loved…” Paige linked her fingers with Jessica, momentarily stopping the American girl’s hands from shaking. “Let’s do this.” Jessica took another deep breath, stepping out of the car as Paige elegantly slid out of the passenger seat.

“Jesse!” Mr. Tyler said happily as he answered the front door, greeting his son with a hearty handshake. “And you must be Paige! Come in, come in!”

“Thanks dad,” Jessica said as she dragged hers and Paige’s cases into the house.

“Jesse!” Mrs. Tyler said, giving her son a tight, motherly hug. “You look SO well… Paris must agree with you, you’ve lost so much weight!”

“Thanks mom!” Jessica laughed. “Mom, you’ve probably guessed… But this is Paige.”

“Hello Mrs. Tyler,” Paige said, trying to soften her naturally-strong Scottish accent. “It’s nice to meet you… You have a lovely home.”

“It’s nice to finally meet YOU!” Mrs. Tyler said, shaking Paige’s hand. “We’ve heard so much about you, you’re all Jesse can talk about in his emails!”

“Where are Aaron and Hayley?” Jessica asked.

“In bed,” Jessica’s mother laughed. “Which is where we all should be!”

“We got a lot of sleep on the plane,” Paige laughed. “Actually we’d normally be getting up at about this time…”

“Well, for the next week you’ll be running American time,” Mr. Tyler laughed. “Your room’s just as you left it, son.”

“Thanks,” Jessica said. “Actually… A bit more sleep would be good right now!”

“Go on then, get some sleep,” Mrs. Tyler said. “We’ll still be here in the morning!”

“Okay,” Jessica said, before giving her mother another long, loving hug. “I have really, really missed both you guys…”

“Bed!” Mr. Tyler ordered with a smile. “We’ll talk tomorrow!” Paige and Jessica both giggled excitedly as they skipped up the stairs to Jessica’s old bedroom, and within minutes they were huddled together under the bedsheets in their nightwear- Paige in a short baby doll, Jessica in a pair of plain shorts.

Both girls were awake before their alarm went off the following morning, though neither was in any hurry to get out of bed.

“Morning, sexy,” Paige giggled, kissing Jessica on her bare lips.

“Morning beautiful,” Jessica said, reciprocating Paige’s kiss. “How’d you enjoy your first night in America?”

“It was perfect,” Paige giggled. “Though that’s got more to do with WHO than WHERE!” Jessica giggled happily, before sighing as she saw the smart trousers and shirt that was laid out on her chair, waiting for her to pull them over her body.

“Tell them,” Paige urged her blonde lover. “Tell them today. After breakfast.”

“I- can I just have one day with them?” Jessica asked. “One day just to be with my parents as their son, before I become their daughter?”

“Of course,” Paige whispered, encircling Jessica’s waist from behind and kissing her gently on the neck. “But the more you put it off, the harder it’ll be…”

“One day,” Jessica whispered. “Then I’ll tell them tonight, I promise.”

“They won’t reject you, you know,” Paige said, holding Jessica tighter. “They OBVIOUSLY love you, and nothing will change that, certainly not the clothes you wear!”

“I hope you’re right,” Jessica sighed, before dressing in the masculine clothing and heading down to breakfast, hand-in-hand with Paige- who was, as always, dressed in a knee-length black dress, shiny black tights and tiny black ballerina pumps.

“Hey Jesse!” Hayley- Jessica’s 14 year old sister- said, jumping up to give her brother a tight hug.

“Hey Jesse,” Aaron- Jessica’s 17 year old brother- also said, giving Jessica a quick, awkward man hug.

“Aaron, Hayley, this is Paige,” Jessica said, giggling as the two teenagers awkwardly shook Paige’s hand. Before long, the two teenagers had departed for school, leaving Jessica and Paige alone with Jessica’s parents.

“So, what’ve you kids got planned for today?” Mr. Tyler asked.

“I was planning on showing Paige around DC,” Jessica said.

“I’ve always wanted to visit America,” Paige explained. “See all the historic buildings like the White House, the Lincoln Memorial…”

“DC it is, then!” Mr. Tyler laughed. “Got the whole week off work so anywhere you want to go, just ask.”

“Umm, we HAVE rented a car,” Jessica laughed.

“What, I’m not allowed to spend time with my firstborn son?” Mr. Tyler laughed. “Get in the car, we’ll see DC today, Philadelphia tomorrow.”

“Well, okay then,” Jessica said, gripping Paige’s hand for support as they headed out to Mr. Tyler’s car. The four adults spent the next five hours touring around the historic capital of the United States- Paige insisting on having her photo taken in front of every building and monument that she even vaguely recognised. Paige laughed heartily every time Jessica’s parents told her an anecdote from Jessica’s past, and while Jessica pretended to cringe with embarrassment, her primary feeling was one of anxiety, as she knew that every second she spent in Washington DC was a second closer to the time when she’d inevitably have to tell her parents the truth about her life.

As the sun started to set, Jessica’s father directed the group toward a restaurant for dinner- which the four people greatly needed after a long day.

“This place looks good,” Mr. Tyler said as the group entered the small eatery. “They do PROPER cheeseburgers here. None of that processed crap… Fancy that, Jesse? Need to get some meat back on your bones!”

“Umm, I’ll be okay with something lighter,” Jessica said.

“Are you sure?” Mrs. Tyler asked. “You ARE a lot thinner than when you left America, are you sure you’re eating right in Europe?”

“You are feeding him, right?” Mr. Tyler jokingly asked Paige.

“It’s not that,” Jessica said, interrupting the conversation. “Mom, dad… There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Are- are you sure you want to do this now?” Paige asked Jessica, who sighed and nodded.

“If I don’t do it now I never will,” Jessica sighed.

“What is it, son?” Mr. Tyler asked, concern etched onto his face.

“Are you sick?” Mrs. Tyler asked. “Are you and Paige getting married, is she pregnant, is she-“

“It’s nothing to do with Paige,” Jessica said firmly. “It’s everything to do with me. Mom… Dad… For the last six months I HAVEN’T been working for Air France.”

“Then- then who have you been working for?” Mr. Tyler asked. Jessica gulped as her legs turned to jelly and all the colour drained from her face.

“For the last six months I’ve been living life as a woman,” Jessica explained. “I’ve been working as a stewardess- yes, a stewardess- for Soixante-Trois airlines. All my life I’ve wanted to be a woman… And I intend to undergo a sex change and live life permanently that way.” Jessica briefly stopped breathing as time seemed to stand still in the restaurant.

“Well… Okay,” Mr. Tyler said, the concern on his face replaced by a look of pure shock.

“Obviously you’re an adult,” Mrs. Tyler said, taking several deep breaths to compose herself. “It’s your choice to live life the way you want… But are you absolutely, one hundred per cent sure that this is what you want?”

“I’ve had six months to think about it,” Jessica whispered. “This IS what I want.”

“What WE want,” Paige said, placing her hand on top of Jessica’s.

“So you’re- you-“ Mr. Tyler stuttered.

“Aye,” Paige said, nodding in response.

“I don’t want Aaron or Hayley knowing about this,” Mrs. Tyler said firmly. “Not until they’re ready to understand. How you live your life is up to you, but as parents, we have a duty to protect our children against things that might harm them.”

“How is me becoming their sister going to cause them harm?” Jessica asked.

“You know how hard you had it in High School,” Mr. Tyler said. “Do you want to expose them to that?”

“Aaron graduates next year anyway,” Jessica retorted. “And it’s not like I’m going to be picking them up every day, I live in France for god’s sake…”

“You’re NOT to tell them,” Mrs. Tyler said. “And whenever you’re under our roof, you’ll be their brother, NOT their sister, you understand?”

“Obviously they’ve already met you,” Mr. Tyler said, addressing Paige. “But as far as they’re concerned, you’ll have always been a woman.”

“As far as we’re concerned, that’s what we BOTH are,” Paige said, gripping Jessica’s hand supportively. After a very quick meal, the four people drove back to Baltimore in complete silence, arriving to find Aaron and Hayley already home, watching television.

“Hey guys,” Mrs. Tyler said to her younger two children. “Your BROTHER and his girlfriend are back from DC!"

“Hey Jesse,” Aaron said, barely turning his attention away from the show he was watching.

“Hey Aaron, hey Hayley,” Jessica said, before taking a deep breath. “There’s something I want to tell both of you.”

“NO!” Mr. Tyler barked, momentarily stunning Jessica into silence.

“It’s now or never,” Jessica said defiantly.

“’Never’ suits me perfectly fine!” Mrs. Tyler hissed.

“Aaron, Hayley…” Jessica said, ignoring his parents. “…For the last six months I’ve been living life as a woman. I am going to be undergoing a sex change, and will be living the rest of my life as a woman from now on.” Jessica felt her legs start to wobble as her younger siblings looked at her with looks of pure shock, whilst her parents stared at her with barely-contained fury.

“Really?” Hayley asked, to which Jessica nodded. “That’s so cool! I’m going to have a big sister!”

“Yeah, it’s cool,” Aaron said. “So what, are you and Paige lesbians then?”

“I guess so,” Jessica laughed, relieved at her siblings’ unconditional acceptance.

“Aaron, Hayley,” Mrs. Tyler said, “what Jesse REALLY means is that he’s confused, and doesn’t know what he wants from life.”

“SHE doesn’t sound confused,” Aaron retorted. “SHE wouldn’t have lived as a woman for six months if SHE wasn’t sure what SHE wanted.”

“Aaron Lewis Tyler, go to your room!” Mrs. Tyler ordered, angered by her younger- and now only- son’s defiance. Silently, Aaron complied, but not before beaming a supportive smile at his new sister.

“Hayley, honey,” Mrs. Tyler continued. “You have to understand that when Jesse says that he-“

“She,” Hayley said, interrupting her mother. “We did this in social studies in school, you address transgendered people with the pronouns of their chosen gender, not their birth gender.”

“Go. To. Your. Room,” Mrs. Tyler hissed. Hayley also complied, but gave her new sister a quick, yet tight hug before heading up the stairs to her bedroom.

“I hope you’re happy now,” Mrs. Tyler sighed at her oldest child. “Look what you did…”

“All I did was tell them the truth,” Jessica retorted. “You always taught me growing up about the importance of honesty…”

“Not when that ‘honesty’ harms other, especially not your brother and sister!” My Tyler yelled.

“They weren’t harmed!” Jessica shouted. “You heard Hayley, they study transgender issues at school, they know that this isn’t anything to be ashamed of!”

“I never said I was ashamed of you,” Mr. Tyler retorted.

“I think it would be best if you found yourselves somewhere else to stay for the rest of your visit,” Mrs. Tyler said coldly.

“Wh- what?” Jessica yelled. “You’re kicking me out for telling the truth about who I am?”

“You can stay here tonight,” Mrs. Tyler said. “But I want you gone tomorrow morning before Aaron or Hayley get up.” Realising that this was an argument they couldn’t win, Jessica and Paige simply nodded and headed up to their bedroom. Immediately after shutting their door, Jessica broken down in floods of tears, burying her face in Paige’s shoulder.

“Damn it!” Jessica wailed. “Damn it all! Why- why couldn’t I have just been BORN a girl? Why can’t they just love me for who I am?”

“I love you,” Paige sighed as she embraced her stricken girlfriend. “And I always will…”

“I love you too,” Jessica sniffled as she cried herself out on Paige’s shoulder. The two women headed to bed shortly afterwards, to exhausted for anything other than sleep, and when Paige was woken by her alarm the following day, she discovered Jessica already awake and sitting upright in bed, staring at two chairs- on one was the same outfit she’d worn yesterday, on the right was a short black skirt, a tight red jumper and a pair of high heeled shoes- one of the outfits Jessica had worn whilst in Scotland.

“Oh god,” Paige sighed as she realised Jessica’s dilemma.

“If I greet them AS their daughter…” Jessica sighed. “But then, it might just drive them further away…”

“Your parents need to learn that Jesse no longer exists,” Paige whispered as she encircled Jessica’s slender waist from behind.

“But he DOES,” Jessica sighed. “To them, anyway… He existed for 22 years…”

“In the PAST,” Paige urged, but Jessica simply shook her head.

“I- I’m sorry, Paige…” Jesse sighed, before pulling on the same trousers and shirt he’d worn the previous day. Paige sighed sadly as she watched her lover dress himself, before pulling on the same dress she’d worn the previous day. “I- I know you wanted to see America…”

“You want to head back to France as soon as possible?” Paige asked quietly. Jessica nodded, blinking back tears. “It’s okay. America’s not going anywhere… We’ll come back some other time.”

“Thank you,” Jesse whispered. “I love you, Paige.”

“I love you, JESSICA,” Paige whispered. Fifteen minutes later, the two lovers walked down to the house’s living room, carrying their tightly-packed suitcases.

“We’re going now,” Jesse said to his parents, who simply sat in silence, staring at the couple disapprovingly. “I’ll keep in touch… I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“Goodbye, SON,” Mr. Tyler said coldly as Paige and Jesse departed. Before long, the couple had reached John F Kennedy airport in New York, where they booked onto the first available flight back to Paris. Jesse sighed as he watched Paige have to explain herself at the passport desk, whilst he himself passed through without incident, unlike his arrival into the United States.

The aeroplane touched down on the runway at Charles De Gaulle airport just as the first slivers of sunlight poked their head above the horizon, and as Jesse and Paige headed out into the concourse, they stared at all the people milling around the vast area- many of whom they recognised as colleagues en route to their next flight.

“Do- do you want to go and say hi…?” Paige asked.

“Dressed like this?” Jesse sighed. “Let’s just go home…” Paige nodded sadly as she and Jesse headed to the nearest tram stop, soon arriving back at their apartment where they sat down together on their sofa.

“’Filles seulement’,” Jesse sighed.

“Girls…?” Paige asked.

“Girls only,” Jesse laughed. “That’s what I was told when I first set foot in this place, dressed basically identically to how I am now.”

“Do you want to… You know… ‘Dress’ now?” Paige asked.

“…I don’t know,” Jesse sighed. “I just want some sleep, clear my head…”

“Okay,” Paige sighed, kissing Jesse on his lips as he headed up to their bedroom, where he collapsed loudly onto their large double bed. After Paige’s perfect, almost magical coming out, Jesse had allowed himself to hope that maybe- just maybe- he’d receive the same treatment from his family. As Jesse sobbed into his pillow, he realised that he would never be able to live the perfect life that Paige had been granted. If he wanted the love and approval of his family, he needed to be Jesse, but if he wanted to live the life he wanted, the life he’d worked hard to establish over the last six months, it meant leaving his family in the past.

And yet, Jesse realised that his dilemma was entirely his fault. If he hadn’t ignored his parents’ wishes and kept his ‘true self’ hidden from his siblings, he may yet have left America with the best of both worlds- but that was a road that could no longer be travelled down.

Jesse soon fell asleep, tired from his journey, and when he awake, he found himself staring into a face he felt he recognised, but wasn’t quite ‘right’. After blinking twice to adjust his sight to the low light levels, Jesse realised that he was looking at Natalie- or rather, with her face devoid of make-up and her body covered in a man’s pair of jeans and a plain blue hoodie, Natalie’s male alter ego Matthew.

“Paige told your coming out didn’t go according to plan,” Matthew said in his natural masculine voice.

“Try ‘disaster’,” Jesse sighed. “My parents… Didn’t quite accept me but it was clear that they’d at least tolerate me, but they asked me to keep ‘Jessica’ from my brother and sister…”

“Oh, let me guess:” Matthew said sarcastically. “’Protecting them from something that isn’t going to cause them even the remotest bit of harm’?”

“Exactly,” Jesse sighed. “So, I told them anyway, my parents went ballistic and I’m back in Paris four days earlier than I’d planned…”

“Dressed in trousers rather than a skirt, I notice,” Matthew said. “Are- are you going to, you know, stop ‘being Jessica’…?”

“I don’t know,” Jesse whispered.

“Well if ‘Jessica’ leaves, that means there’ll be another mentor spot available…” Matthew teased in a voice that had more than a little trace of ‘Natalie’s voice in it.

“…Seriously?” Jesse asked, his mood suddenly perking up.

“Yep,” Matthew giggled. “Marie told me yesterday. I’ll try not to be TOO green with envy…”

“…Sorry,” Jesse giggled, elements of ‘Jessica’ unconsciously seeping into his voice.

“There’ll be a confirmation email waiting for you,” Matthew explained, handing Jesse his iPad. “Obviously you can’t go into coaching as a mentor if you’re wearing trousers…”

“Thanks, Nat,” Jesse laughed.

“’Nat’ or ‘Matt’?” Matthew joked.

“NATALIE,” Jesse laughed.

“Damn right it is,” Natalie laughed in her feminine voice. “See you later Jes- is it Jesse or Jessica?”

“Jessica,” the American girl replied with a feminine giggle. “For now, anyway…” Jessica switched on her iPad and opened her emails, looking for the confirmation email, when she saw that her old email account- the one in Jesse’s name- had an unread message in it. Jessica’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the name of the sender: ‘Aaron Tyler’.

‘Hey Jesse,’ the email read. ‘Or should I say Jessica? Mum and dad will flip if they find I’ve emailed you… Just wanted you to know that boy or girl, brother or sister, you’ll always be my big ‘sibling’, and I’ll always love you and support you in any way I can. Same goes for Hayley.’ Jessica clinked back tears as she read the email and composed her reply.

‘Hey Aaron,’ Jessica replied. ‘Thanks for your email- means a lot to me to know that I have at least SOME family left. Any time you want to come to Paris and don’t mind staying in a cramped apartment with six girls (don’t worry, you won’t have to pretend to be a girl yourself), just let me know. My love you, Hayley and the old folks, your sister, Jessica.’ Jessica smiled as she sent the email, and after reading the email from her work confirming her promotion- and that she’d be working Red Route in addition to Blue Route- she switched off her iPad and stripped out of her trousers and shirt, smiling as she pulled on her cache sex, followed by her corset, bra, thong and stockings, and finally a short black skirt and a tight, cleavage-baring grey top. Jessica smiled as she tied her hair back and applied most of her make-up, before letting her hair down and liberally coating her mouth over and over with her favourite blood-red lipstick. Jessica stared at her reflection in the mirror and smiled a deep crimson smile- regardless of what her parents though, she WAS Jessica Rachael Tyler, sexy and- as her promotion had confirmed- successful stewardess. She had family who loved her, she had friends who genuinely cared for her, and she had a partner whom she loved with her whole heart.

“There’s my amazing love!” Paige squeaked happily as she jumped off the sofa and greeted Jessica with a long kiss, their two lipsticks mingling together. “You know, we’ve still got five days of leave left… We could always spend all of it in bed?”

“Tempting!” Jessica laughed. “But… I want to show Jessica off to the world! And besides, we need to get you your ‘special’ pills, don’t we?”

“You mean OUR special pills, right?” Paige asked, making Jessica sigh. “Jess… You- you DO still want to transition, don’t you?”

“I… I need to think about it a little more,” Jessica mumbled.

“Is it because of your family?” Paige asked.

“Yeah,” Jessica whispered with a nod. “I just- I don’t want to slam that door shut until I KNOW I’ll be welcomed through the ‘other one’…” Paige smiled a sad smile and gave Jessica another long, slow kiss.

“You take as much time as you need,” Paige said. “No matter what, I’ll ALWAYS love you.”

Five days later, the day before they were due to return to work, Jessica and Paige stood in their apartment’s kitchen with Anna-Jade and the visiting Elsa watching on intently. In her right hand, Paige held a glass of water, and in her left hand, she held two small pills- one containing a dose of an anti-androgen to block testosterone production in her body, and one that contained a strong dose of oestrogen. With her hands shaking nervously, Paige placed the two tablets on her tongue and washed them down with a gulp of water.

“Yay!” Anna-Jade giggled, standing up and giving Paige a long, tight hug. “I’m so proud of you, ‘sister’!”

“Thanks, thank you all!” Paige laughed. “First pill of many…”

“Before you know it, you too could have a body like mine,” Elsa giggled, also giving Paige a tight hug. Whilst she appreciated the attention, Paige couldn’t help but feel sad as she stared back at Jessica, whose smile clearly belied the fact that she didn’t have any pills of her own- and whilst that was by choice, Paige’s mind was filled with worry- she’d always imagined that she and Jessica would take every step of their transition together, but now Paige was a step ahead… And Paige wondered if there were other ways in which she and Jessica would be ‘separated’.

Paige didn’t have long to worry about that, however, as she- along with Jessica and Anna-Jade- was ushered back to her bedroom by Elsa, where four highly ostentatious costumes were waiting for them.

“I promised Zoe a special party for passing probation,” Elsa announced grandly, “and I’m not going to let a little thing like living in another country cause me to break my promise!” Jessica and Paige both gasped excitedly as they were handed their costumes. As the party was for Zoe, a former ballerina, Elsa had had tutus made for all the girls who would be attending the party- but rather than just attach a flat skirt to a leotard, Elsa had gone the whole hog. Her costumes had bejewelled, laced-in bodices, multi-layered flowing skirts, pink tights, sparkling tiaras and- even though the girls were warned NOT to try dancing in them- authentic pointe shoes, fitted precisely using the measuring kit Natalie had ‘borrowed’ from Zoe’s room a few weeks earlier. All four girls felt like princesses as they swept into the living room area with their thick stage make-up and their hair tied back into tight buns, but they all paled in comparison to Zoe when she emerged from her bedroom.

The former ballerina was dressed in a precise replica of the White Swan costume from Swan Lake, right down to the feathery white head dress and her own almost-new pointe shoes. All the other partygoers watched in awe as Zoe danced the famous dance of the dying swan- a routine she’d performed countless times before and that came to her as naturally as walking down a flight of stairs. As Zoe completed the routine, the entire apartment broke into a round of applause, which only increased as Natalie- dressed in her own ostentatious tutu- presented Zoe with a bouquet of flowers and a kiss on the cheek.

“Merci, merci beaucoup!” Zoe squeaked as she cradled her sweet-smelling flowers. “Feels so good to be back on my toes…”

“Well, don’t get TOO used to it,” Marie giggled. “You’ll be back on your HEELS before too long…”

“Don’t remind me!” Zoe laughed, before going to get a drink with her sister and her lover.

“So jealous,” Paige breathed as she watched Zoe elegantly skip away. “She really is SO talented…”

“So are you!” Jessica giggled, giving her lover a quick cuddle.

“I’ve GOT to get her to give us less- oh, no, you are fucking kidding me…” Anna-Jade said, directing the girls’ attention to the figure in the front door of the apartment. “What the fuck is he doing here?” Elsa, Jessica and Paige all sighed with frustration as they took in the highly masculine image of Jacques Lacroix, dressed in a male ballet dancer’s costume with a frilled shirt that showed off his chiselled physique and a pair of opaque white tights that contained a VERY large bulge.

“Mademoiselles,” Jacques oozed as he approached the four women.

“Jacques,” Anna-Jade spat. “Three pairs of Jacques’s socks…”

“ONLY three?” Elsa giggled. “My my, the ‘little boy’ certainly has grown…”

“Ah, I hear the regret in your voices,” Jacques snorted. “But Jacques has moved on, and so must you…” The four girls watched, their jaws agape, as Jacques introduced his new girlfriend to them.

“…Annabelle,” Jessica whispered at the tall blonde girl who swept into the room in her tutu, dancing a couple of steps en pointe before leaning into Jacques’s waiting embrace.

“Hey, honeys,” Annabelle cooed as she coolly strode past the girls arm-in-arm with Jacques.

“Meh, they deserve each other,” Jessica spat after the new couple passed out of earshot.

“Whoa, that’s a bit harsh,” Paige said. “I know you don’t like Annabelle, but to say that she deserves JACQUES?”

“You should hate her more than anyone,” Jessica retorted. “For all you know, she stole him off you…”

“She’s welcome to him,” Anna-Jade snorted. “God, I’d just love one day, ONE DAY to take that smug prick down a peg or two…”

“…Why don’t we?” Jessica mused, earning quizzical stares from her friends.

“Umm, how, exactly?” Anna-Jade asked. “Can’t really prank him at work without getting SEVERELY bollocked…”

“Then we’ll prank him OUTSIDE work,” Jessica said confidently. “Elsa and Paige will help, won’t you?”

“Humiliate ‘le connard’? Hell yeah!” Elsa laughed.

“And you know Natalie and Zoe will be ‘in’ too,” Paige laughed. “Reckon we might be able to get a few supervisors on side too, I know for a fact Rachel hates him, so does Stacey…”

“Okay then!” Anna-Jade laughed. “Hey, we should give ourselves a name, like, you know, the Hardy Boys, only it’s the Hardy Girls…”

“As long as it doesn’t have the word ‘Angel’ in the name!” Jessica laughed.

“’Reservoir Bitches’ is also out!” Paige laughed.

“Isn’t it obvious what our name should be?” Elsa giggled, playing with her voluminous costume. “The Tutu Project!”

“Tutu Project for the win!” Anna-Jade giggled as she played with her own tutu. The four girls quickly recruited Natalie, Zoe and Rachel to their ‘cause’, and as the party wound down and Jessica headed to bed with Paige, the American girl felt revitalised- which her Scottish lover almost immediately picked up on as they snuggled together under the covers.

“You seem… Happy,” Paige laughed. “Almost like, I dunno, you’ve been ‘recharged’ or something…”

“I FEEL recharged,” Jessica said. “It took me a while to realise, but it doesn’t matter about Annabelle, or hormones, or even my parents. I am the master of my own destiny. I’m going to live life the way I want to. And I’m NOT going to let anything get the better of me.”

“You’re telling me you’re going to rise above even Jacques?” Paige giggled.

“Well… Almost anything,” Jessica laughed as she gave Paige a long, lingering kiss, both girls quickly disappearing beneath the bed covers…

Jessica grinned a wide, scarlet grin as she stepped into the employee training area at Charles De Gaulle airport, her tight blue skirt and high heeled shoes feeling like badges of honour as she approached the nervous-looking teenaged girl who was sat in the exact same seat she was sat in a mere six months earlier.

“Hi,” Jessica said, barely suppressing her excitement as she extended a perfectly-manicured hand to the blonde girl. “You must be Abbey. I’m Jessica Tyler, I’ll be your mentor!”

“Hi!” Abbey replied in her thick Essex accent. “I’m really, REALLY nervous…”

“Don’t be,” Jessica said warmly. “Go into this with the attitude that you CAN, and you WILL. There isn’t a single problem you’re not able to rise above.” Abbey and Jessica giggled as they watched the rest of the seminar room fill up. Jessica’s smile faded, however, when she saw the last new mentor enter the room with her protégé in tow.

“Hi honey,” Annabelle said sweetly to Jessica as she took her seat on the front row. Annabelle, a mentor? After she’d presumably only passed probation herself a few days ago? The thought was unthinkable to Jessica, and just underlined her belief that whatever she had, Annabelle had, and had more of. Sure, Jessica would try to rise above it… But it would be a hell of an obstacle to try to overcome.