:=: Nicole :=:

The nurse at the desk buzzed them out of the psych ward, and they quietly made their way out of the hospital. It was getting dark out as they crossed the parking lot.

Nikki started the car, then looked over at her girlfriend. "I agree with what you said earlier. About breaking our rules for her. If we find a way to do it, and she still wants it, I'm with you. We'll help her."

She watched as Sam just nodded quietly, staring out the window off into the distance.

Nikki pulled out of the lot, and started driving them home.

After about 5 minutes of silence, she glanced at her passenger then asked, "Are you ok Sam? You've been very quiet."

Samantha sighed. "When you were telling Jessica about the potential downsides... That's the most you've had to say about what happened to you since last November. I didn't even know about half that stuff..." Sam shook her head, "Nikki I'm so sorry. I never even thought about the friends you suddenly lost, the people who vanished from your life..."

Nikki could tell Sam was starting to spiral into guilt again. That was one of the reasons she'd kept most of those details to herself, knowing it would only make her girlfriend feel worse.

"Hey, it's ok Sam. Most of the guys Nick used to hang out with were jerks anyways. Seriously, the sort of people he had as friends are not folks I'd want around either of us." Nikki then added, "Anyways I've got new friends now. You of course, but I've made friends at the winery. Please don't beat yourself up over this stuff."

Samantha just sighed again, and stayed quiet for the remainder of the drive.

Once at home, the two sat together on the sofa and finished off the bottle Nikki had opened for dinner.

As she sipped her wine, Sam finally asked, "You said you had an idea, but we had to discuss it?"

Nicole nodded, "Yeah. It felt too big to try to talk it over back there. We'll need at least a night to sleep on it, I expect."

"So what was the idea?"

Nikki took a deep sip of wine, then explained, "So the Goddess said we can't just drop Jessica into another family, there has to be consent, right?"

Sam nodded, "Right, and we can't get consent because we'd have to break our secrecy. So what's the solution?"

"Consent can come from anyone in the family. It doesn't have to be everyone. That's how Jessica's consent would be enough to let us change things that would affect her whole family. And like how when I accepted the Goddess into me. My consent was enough to make all the changes to my family's memory become permanent."

Sam nodded again, but asked with a frown, "I understand all that, but how does it help us? We're still stuck with having to get consent but we can't actually explain why, without spilling all our secrets."

Nikki then said, "We could get consent from someone who already knows. Then we don't have to talk to anyone else."

Sam looked confused, and shook her head, "Nobody else knows but you and me..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes widened, "Oh shit. You mean, our families. Your parents, or mine..."

Nicole just nodded.

Sam looked down at her glass, then finished the rest of her wine.

An hour or so later, the two of them were cuddling in bed. Laying on their sides together, Nikki could feel Sam's breasts pressed against her back, her arms around her waist. She felt happy, safe, content. Sometimes she missed being taller, or stronger, but times like this, she appreciated being small. She loved being the little spoon.

"So..." Sam whispered in her ear, "Who's family do you think would be best for Jessica?"

Nikki sighed a little, "I don't really know... both our families are pretty queer-friendly. None of our folks seemed upset with gay daughters, so they'd probably be ok with a trans daughter too?"

Sam nodded "Probably... I guess there's no way to know ahead of time."

Nikki said, "I never would have guessed that Nick's parents would be ok with a gay kid. Especially not my dad. Maybe that's something that changed last November... If that's the case, then it'd probably work that way again, for a trans kid."

Sam then pointed out, "Your family's already been through this with you. It wouldn't be fair to do it to them again."

"Maybe... On the other hand, your family hasn't had to deal with any magic stuff, maybe we should keep it that way. My folks survived it once, they can handle it again."

"Do you want a little sister, Nikki?" Sam's voice sounded a little surprised, and a little curious.

Nikki considered for a few moments, then shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I want to help her, but I don't actually know her. However, I don't want you feeling you have to do it out of some obligation, and I don't want you feeling it has to be you, because of guilt. If we're going to do this, I think we should try to be... impartial? Think it through and make a choice that's best for everyone."

Samantha was quiet for a bit, then pointed out, "Jess never actually said if she'd still want to be trans, or if she'd want to be a girl from the start... Would that make a difference to you, or your family?"

Nikki shrugged slightly, "Let's think first, what would make a difference to Jess." She then continued, "Odds are she'd be going to a gender clinic in Toronto. That's about the same distance whether she's with my folks here, or your folks up north. It's an easier commute from here though, just hop on the train."

She felt Sam nodding, "Ok... Another thing, I'm not sure how accepting other people would be where I grew up. I had some problems with a few teachers and some kids at school, just for being gay... It'd probably be even worse for a trans girl. I think people are a bit more accepting around here though?"

Nikki agreed with that, and suggested, "How's this sound? If she wants to stay AMAB and go through transition and everything, she'll join my family... If not, she'll join yours?"

Sam was quiet for a minute or so, then agreed. "Ok, that sounds smart." She then asked softly, "What does She think of all this?"

Nikki closed her eyes and whispered, "I'll ask..."

It had been more than half a year since the ritual that changed her life. For the most part she was used to the idea of not being alone in her own head any more. Actually communicating directly with the Goddess still felt a bit weird, though.

She let her awareness slip backwards, into a dark, quiet part of her mind. There was a slight sensation of falling, and then her thoughts joined with those of the Goddess. Or at least, with the part of Her which existed within Nicole.

It only took a few seconds for all the thoughts, words, questions, and answers to pass back and forth between them. The Goddess had been watching and listening. She knew everything Sam and Nikki had been discussing.

Nikki floated back up and her eyes opened. She whispered, "There isn't much for Her to say until after we've spoken with Jessica again, and Jess has made her final decision. She did agree with what you and I were just saying though, about who's family? So if Jessica wants to go through with it, one of us will be getting a sister."

Sam was quiet for a few moments, then whispered, "I understand. Thanks love. Good night."

Nikki smiled, "Goodnight Sam."

:=: Jessica :=:

Jessica was sitting crosslegged on her bed, sketchpad balanced on her left knee as she worked on getting the shading right. She was working on a sketch of Nicole, depicting the petite goth standing next to a car with its hood up, and a big wrench in her hands.

She hadn't got much sleep last night, with so much on her mind. And what little sleep she did get, was not at all restful. She'd been plagued by dreams of her family, dad beating her and mom yelling at her, for daring to imagine she could ever be herself.

She'd been drawing pretty much nonstop since the sun had come up, only stopping for breakfast and then lunch. She'd finished a couple drawings already, one of herself as she'd always dreamed she could someday look, and then one of Samantha surrounded by swirls of magic.

Jess was just touching up some background details when there was a knock at her door.

"Hello again, Jessica. May I come in?" It was Maria standing alone in the doorway.

Jessica looked up and nodded "Sure, come in." Jess set her pad and pencils aside on the small table for now. "No Samantha today?"

Maria moved to stand at the foot of the bed and shook her head, "No. She was just with me yesterday to make introductions." The social worker added, "I'm glad to see you're enjoying the sketchpad. Sam texted me to let me know she'd dropped if off late yesterday, as she was in the area."

Jess raised an eyebrow, "She doesn't work for you, then? I thought she was your assistant or something."

Maria shook her head, "No, she just handles introductions and helps coordinate things with the volunteers."

Jessica asked, "So you just know her through the group you both volunteer for? How did you meet her?"

Maria replied, "Sam and Nicole, her girlfriend, approached me actually. They asked if I'd like to volunteer some time, doing this." She then asked, "Why all the questions?"

Jess shrugged a little, "I'm just curious, want to know a little more about who it is that's suddenly so interested in helping me. How long have you known the two of them?"

"Not long." Maria answered, "Only about two months. They'd only just started the non-profit, and I think I was the first social worker they approached."

Jess raised her eyebrows, "They started it? The two of them?"

Maria nodded, "Yes, they founded it earlier this year. From what I understand, they felt life had been good to them, and they wanted to do what they could to share some of that good fortune with others."

She then changed the subject, "Enough about them. I'm actually here to talk with you about your situation, Jessica. Any more thoughts on where we could maybe help you? I know it must seem like some obstacles are insurmountable, but if we take things one step at a time, with some perseverance you could start to see some improvements."

Jess shrugged, "Like I said yesterday, everything pretty much sucks. And nothing's gonna get better any time soon. Not unless some sort of miracle comes along."

Maria tried a few more times to get her to talk about her problems or her family, but Jess wasn't in the mood. Then she tried suggesting the volunteer group could getting Jess off the streets into another group home, and help her finding work, to get her back on her feet.

Jess wasn't interested in either of those ideas, "Unless there's specifically trans-friendly places to stay, and work, I'd probably have to deny who I am to try to 'fit in'. Not interested."

Finally Maria gave Jess a business card, "Here's my card, in case you change your mind about talking with me Jessica. I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful to you now."

Jess just nodded, and tucked Maria's card into the back of her sketchpad, alongside the card Sam had given her last night.

Maria then noticed Jess's drawing and asked, "Is that Nicole?"

Jess shrugged, "Yeah."

Maria looked impressed, "That's really well done." Then added with a smile, "Though I can't say I'd ever pictured Nicole doing car repairs. You have quite an imagination Jessica, and you're a very talented artist."

Jess just smiled a little, "Thanks."

Maria studied the drawing for a few more moments, then bid her farewell.

Jessica nodded, "So long." She then picked up her pencil and got back to work on the sketch.

As she worked on it, she thought about what she'd learned from Maria. Sam and Nikki had founded their LGBT support group just a few months ago. Maria had only known them a couple months. That didn't contradict anything she'd learned yesterday, or last night.

She kept thinking as she sketched, alternating between hoping for magic, and considering her other options. If things didn't work out, she had a 'back-up' plan.

:=: Samantha :=:

Sam felt the afternoon sun on her skin, and a light breeze in her hair. There were some sounds of people in the distance, and of cars and traffic further away.

She was on a bench in the park near her home, her eyes closed, lost in thought. The meetings with Jessica, the conversation last night with Nikki, the solution she and Nikki had agreed to, were all swirling around in her mind.

Her feelings were conflicted. She wanted to help Jess, she certainly didn't want the young woman to end her own life, and she hated how the girl's parents, and the world in general had treated her and forced her into the situation where she felt suicide was the best choice.

On the other hand, Sam wasn't sure she was ready to make such a big change to her own life, or see another huge change happen to Nicole's life, to help someone who was after all a stranger to them.

As she meditated, her thoughts gradually became clearer. In some ways, this situation was similar to the one she faced last November. She and Nicole had been all but strangers. Worse, they'd started out as enemies. And now they were partners, lovers, and committed to spending the rest of their lives together.

She had to trust things would work out as well for Jessica as they had for herself and Nikki. Samantha also realized, they could not make this sort of offer again.

Even if no-one else was aware of the changes, the amount of upheaval it was going to cause made it too much. Nikki's family had already survived something like this once, and that was just changing dynamics between existing family members. If they went through with this for Jessica, it would be adding a new person to either her family or Nicole's, and everything about the affected family would change to accommodate them.

Even Sam and Nikki's memories would have to be altered, to adapt to the changed family situation. And despite Nikki's assurances that it would be ok, the idea still frightened Sam. Both for herself, and for her parents.

She wouldn't back out, though. They had made the offer, and Sam would stand by her words. But this would have to be the last time they changed reality. If they were ever faced with similar circumstances... They'd find another way. There had to be something else they could do, some other magic they could learn. This would be the first and last time they break 'rule one'.

Finally, Sam opened her eyes and stood up, then started for home. As she walked, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Nikki.

>>Sam: Hey love. Let's go see Jess as soon as you're off work. We can do dinner after. Ok?

Sam was nearly home when her phone buzzed with the reply.

>>Nikki: Kk. I'll text when I'm off. Pick you up & head straight to the hosp.

>>Sam: Thanks love, see you then.

At home, Sam moved into their spare bedroom. They'd set it up as a sort of temple, or 'meditation room' as far as everyone else was concerned. There were a pair of yoga mats on the floor, two easy chairs against the wall, and a bookcase with some of Sam's old witchcraft books and some boxes of incense.

There was also a locked trunk next to the bookcase, which contained things they didn't want to leave out where guests might see them. Most important was the ancient book of magic which had started this whole adventure.

Sam's cat Mo was in here too, asleep on one of the chairs. Sam picked her up, and was greeted with some grumpy meows and grumbles. She then sat down in the cat's place, and set Mo down on her lap. After a few more grumbles, Mo curled up again and went back to sleep. Sam closed her eyes as well, meditating some more. This time she concentrated on relaxing, and not allowing her worries to get out of hand, not allowing herself to overthink about whatever the evening might bring.

She was still there over an hour later, cat on her lap, when her phone buzzed.

Sam got up, causing Mo to complain some more, but the cat quickly settled again when she realized she had the warm soft chair all to herself. Sam checked her phone. The text was from Nikki, she was on her way.

Gathering up her purse, Sam made her way down down to the lobby and waited. Soon enough, Nikki pulled up and Sam climbed into the passenger seat of the little black car, and they were off.

As they pulled out onto the street, Sam sighed, "I've been thinking about this all day today Nikki, and I still don't know how I feel."

Nicole kept her eyes on the road, but nodded. "Yeah, same here. It wasn't my best day at work, folks could tell I was distracted."

"Are you still willing to go through with it?" Sam couldn't hide the uncertainty in her voice.

Nikki shrugged, "Yeah, I think so." She then explained, "If we'd known -- or rather, if you had known ahead of time what was going to happen, with that 'spell' in November? It never would have happened. None of this would have happened. And yeah it was a big adjustment, especially at first, but I think things worked out for the best. For both of us."

Sam nodded quietly in agreement.

Nikki then continued. "I see this as sort of the same? We're only scared because we know it's a big deal. We know it will be a big adjustment."

Samantha nodded again, "That's more or less what I'd been thinking as well. The parallels to last November, and that things worked out well for us then."

With a slight shrug, Nikki concluded, "I don't think She would let us do this, if it was going to turn out badly? So, yes I'm anxious, but I also trust things will be ok in the end."

Sam then smiled a little, "What you're saying is, instead of worrying I should just have a little faith?"

Nikki giggled, "Exactly!"

Samantha then frowned, "It's easy for you to trust Her... You have a direct line to Her, you can talk to Her any time you want..."

Nicole's expression became serious as well. "So can you, Sam. You're Her priestess. You could pray... or you could just ask to talk to Her. She'll take over and meet with you whenever you ask." After a moment she added, "Not while I'm driving though, please. I trust Her not to let us get hurt, but I don't think She knows how to drive."

Sam smiled a little, then said, "One thing I think we need to do, is learn some different magic. Some other ways to do these sorts of things, so we don't need to break rule one again. It's... too big. Even if things do work out well in the end, it's too much upheaval, it affects too many lives."

Nikki nodded, "I agree. When this is all done and the dust's settled, we should start working again on learning more."

:=: Jessica :=:

Jess had put her drawings aside, and was trying to distract herself with tv again. She was anxious. The afternoon nurse had told her that the police were asking when Jess was due to be discharged. From the sound of it, they were going to bust her for possession after all.

It was nearly dinner time now, and most of the channels were starting to run their nightly news. Jess turned it off and pushed the tv aside. She was looking at her sketchpad again, when Samantha and Nicole arrived at her door.

"Hi again, Jessica." Samantha smiled. Jess could see the witch was feeling a bit apprehensive though. Nicole looked more relaxed, although her clothes looked less so.

Instead of the goth look, today she was wearing black slacks, a white blouse, and comfortable black walking shoes. Her hair was hanging straight down, but her make-up was much more conservative. Jess thought, if she'd put her hair up in a bun she'd look like she belonged in an office or something.

Sam on the other hand was still dressed very casual and witchy. Yesterday was 'earthy', today she was more 'hippy', with an ankle-length crinkled pink skirt and a light purple top with a big flower print on the front. She was carrying the same black canvas purse, and her silver pentacle necklace was hanging down over the flower print on her shirt.

Jess smiled a little, "Hi again, both of you. I'm glad you're back..." She hesitated, then sighed, "It's starting to sound like the cops are planning to pick me up as soon as the hospital's done with me."

Nicole shook her head, "That won't be a problem. When we're finished this evening, everything will be better."

She sounded so confident, so sure of herself, Jess allowed herself to feel a little bit of hope.

"You figured out how to solve that problem from last night?"

Sam looked a bit uneasy again, but Nikki just nodded. "We have. We're not going to trouble you with details, but yes we've found a solution."

Jessica nodded slightly, then sighed. "I'll be honest, I still don't really believe any of this stuff. The trick you did with the door last night was impressive, but I dunno if it's actually magic. I mean, you see 'magic' on tv all the time, there's magic shows at the casinos. It's trickery, illusion, whatever. The stuff you say you can do, is just... impossible."

She paused and shook her head. "On the other hand, if this doesn't work then I'm probably looking at arrest and jail tomorrow. And even if that doesn't happen, I don't really have much of a future anyways." She shrugged slightly.

Samantha was watching her, and asked, "If this doesn't work, and the police don't arrest you, say you are discharged tomorrow. What will you do, Jessica? Where will you go?"

Jess shrugged, "I'll try to hitch a lift over to Niagara Falls. It's peak tourist season, and going into the weekend? There'll be tons of people around. Thanks to the supplies you two got me, I'll be able to pick up a couple hundred bucks over the weekend just doing drawings and stuff."

She figured a half truth would convince them. She'd definitely visit the Falls, but she doubted she'd spend much time drawing. It sounded optimistic enough though, she hoped.

It didn't work. Samantha shook her head, looking sad and concerned.

Nikki was the one who spoke. "You don't want to do that, Jessica. Drowning... it's a slow, cold, terrifying way to go. You might get lucky and hit your head on the way down, but you might also just get battered and broken. Pain, ontop of the terror." She shook her head slowly as she spoke.

Jessica felt a pang of fear. Did they just read her mind? No. Her story was just a little too perfect, and the outcome a little too obvious. Easy for them to guess what she'd been thinking.

She shifted a little, feeling uncomfortable as they both stared at her. Another idea crossed her mind. Not as good, but if she was going to hitch, she'd be heading to the highway anyways.

"Well... I don't have to go to the Falls. There's plenty of touristy spots in town here. I probably wouldn't make as much money, but..." her voice trailed off again as she saw Nicole shaking her head again.

"That's not a good plan either. Stepping into traffic has a very low chance of success. You'd almost certainly wind up right back here again, in much worse shape than ever, and feeling even more hopeless. But less able to do anything about it."

Jess was staring at Nikki now, and felt her stomach twist. It's like she wasn't just reading Jessica's thoughts, she was voicing out her worst fears, how things could keep going wrong.

One more thought crossed her mind. The train tracks. A little nap there, and... She said nothing, not wanting to give anything away with her words.

Nicole just sighed, "That would probably work, Jess. But... it wouldn't bring you the peace you think. Your death would go on to haunt everyone who was on the train."

Jessica gulped, and whispered, "How do you know... Are you reading my mind?"

Samantha replied, "This is why we're here, Jessica. We want to save your life, give you a chance at a better one. I knew yesterday, as soon as I saw you, that you'd tried once already. The overdose wasn't an accident. I knew you were waiting for the opportunity to try again."

Jess felt her emotions churn. She looked down at the blankets covering her ugly male body, unable to look at her guests any more.

"Why, though?" she whispered. "Why do you care? You don't even know me... I'm no-one... nothing. Just some worthless street kid..."

"No." Nicole stated. "That's what society wants you to think. That's what your parents wanted you to believe, but it's not true. You are Jessica Campbell, and you do matter."

Sam added, "And that's why we want to help you. You're important, you matter, and you deserve so much more than this."

Jessica kept her attention focused on the blankets but she could feel the tears she'd been trying to hold back as they ran down her cheeks. She wiped her face with the back of her hand.

It took her a few more minutes to get her emotions back under control, and she slowly looked up at her two guests.

She sniffed a bit, "Ok.. so... what happens next? What do we do?"

Nikki was about to respond, but stopped as they all heard some movement out in the corridor.

Jess glanced at the clock, then sighed, "Dinner time. That'll be the hospital volunteers bringing meals around."

Nicole nodded, "We'll wait then, till things are quiet again."

Jessica watched as her two guests moved to stand by the window. It wasn't much of a view, they could see part of the hospital and parking lot. There was some green in the distance, a park or something.

She wiped her face again on the sheets, and took a few deep breaths, to try and fully calm herself down again.

Eventually an older volunteer came in carrying a tray. "Hello Jason. Got your dinner here, son." She set it on the little table and wheeled it closer to Jessica's bed.

Jess didn't bother reacting to her dead-name or being misgendered. She was still a bit emotionally exhausted, and just nodded at the woman, "Thanks."

After the volunteer was gone Jessica told her guests, "We should have about an hour before anyone bothers us. The nurses don't usually come in while we're eating, and it'll be at least an hour before anyone comes to take away the tray."

Samantha nodded, and said softly, "As soon as things are quiet out in the hall, I'll take care of the door."

Jessica then had a quick look at the food. She was still too emotional to be hungry, but she felt bad about ignoring a free hot meal.

Nikki then said, "If you're hungry, eat. Don't mind us."

Jess shrugged, "Not hungry, but I don't like wasting food." Finally she picked up the dessert - a little bowl with one scoop of ice-cream and a cookie - and pushed the rest aside.

Samantha continued waiting near the door, monitoring things out in the corridor, while Nicole went back to staring out the window.

By the time Jess had finished her dessert, things in the hall had gone quiet. She set the empty bowl back on the tray then pushed the table aside out of the way, and watched.

Sam closed the door again as she'd done last night. She was moving her hands up and around the door frame, and this time Jessica could see Samantha's lips moving, as if she was talking to herself. Or, Jess realized, reciting a spell.

Nothing seemed to happen with the door, it was still there when Sam turned away from it. She and Nikki moved to stand at the foot of Jess's bed together. Jessica glanced back at the door again, and this time it was gone.

Her eyes widened. She realized, the door hadn't vanished until she looked away. Perhaps it was how the magic worked, or maybe a limitation of it. Maybe that was why Sam waited till there wasn't anyone out in the hall. Not to keep their magic hidden, but because it wouldn't work if people were out there watching?

Her musings were interrupted when Nicole asked, "Are you ready, Jessica?"

Jess focused on the two young women standing at the foot of her bed. "Uh... no, not quite. I have questions. Like first off, how does this actually work? Are you going to go back in time somehow? Eighteen years into the past, to change my life back then?"

She watched as Sam and Nikki sort of glanced at each other. From their expressions, Jessica suddenly realized, they don't know. They don't actually know how this works. She felt her doubts growing again. Nicole had admitted a magical accident had completely changed her life. What if they made another mistake now? Jess thought her life was already as bad as it could be, but what if magic made it worse?

She was starting to have second thoughts, when something seemed to shift in the world. Jess couldn't pinpoint what, but something simply felt Different.

Then she realized, it was Nicole who had subtly changed. Her posture had changed slightly, she was standing straighter. Her expression was also a little different. Calm, self assured, confident, relaxed. And there was something about her eyes. They seemed brighter somehow, the blue in them was deeper, more vibrant. It must have been a trick of the light, but it almost looked like Nikki's eyes were glowing.

Jess glanced at Samantha. She didn't look any different, but she was watching her girlfriend with a look of both concern and... was that awe?

When Nicole spoke, there was something more in her voice. It was the same voice, but it wasn't. It was another thing Jess couldn't quite identify, but she could hear it, feel it.

"Your life Jessica, is a thread woven into the tapestry of creation. It touches the other threads around it. Some connections are tightly knotted, others are loosely stitched. Some are simply threads running together in parallel, touching but never entwined. Every thread in the tapestry is a life, and the tapestry exists because threads must be woven together. No life can stand on its own."

Jess stayed silent, but nodded slowly. She wasn't sure what all this meant, but she understood the analogy, and didn't want to interrupt.

Nicole continued, "I can remove your thread from the tapestry, Jessica. I can change it. And I can weave it back in. There are two points which are immutable. The moment you were born, and the present. There are many paths your thread may take in between those points, but it will always begin in the same place, and it will always reach this moment, here and now. Where it leads in the future, and how long your thread stretches, depends on you. Does this answer your question, Jessica?"

Jess's mind raced. So they weren't going to time travel as such, but their magic was still going to reach back in time? Somehow they were going to remove her from the 'tapestry', change her, then put the new her back in again, and the course of her life would be different...

It was confusing, but she didn't think she'd get more of an answer than this, and she didn't want to press her luck too much. She did have another question though.

"Yes, thank you... May I ask, who are you?"

Nicole's eyes were still on her, but Jess was certain now it wasn't really Nicole there. The voice, the eyes, the posture, and that... feeling. This was someone else. Something else. Something more. Jess kept her eyes on Nicole, but she could tell Samantha was acting a bit more uneasy again. Sam was definitely the more anxious of the pair.

"I am known by many names, Jessica." Nicole stated calmly. She didn't seem bothered or upset by the question. "In this moment though, you may think of Me as Ceridwen, Goddess of Transformation and Rebirth."

Jess felt her eyes widening and her mouth hanging open. She wasn't sure what kind of answer she expected, but she really hadn't thought she'd be told she was speaking to a Goddess.

Nicole, or rather the Goddess smiled slightly at Jess's reaction, then stated, "It is time to decide, Jessica. Accept Our help, or turn Us away. The choice is yours. Nicole and Samantha await your answer."

Jess couldn't find words, she just nodded slightly as she stared. Nicole's eyes fluttered closed and her shoulders slumped a little. Sam quickly put her arms around her girlfriend, supporting her. A couple seconds later Nikki's eyes opened and she seemed to have recovered from... whatever just happened to her. Sam was still close, and kept one arm around Nikki's waist.

Nicole looked at Jess and asked, "So... are you ready to go ahead with this?"

It took a few more moments before Jess's mind was working right again and she could find her words. "Uh... yeah... I, uh... what should I do?"

Sam replied, "Just sit back and relax."

Nikki added, "Think about the 'you' that you want to be. I'm sure you've done that before? Visualize how you want to look, the sort of person you want to be. Whether that person was born female, or transitioned after. You don't need to tell us, just focus on her in your mind."

Jessica nodded slowly and settled back in her bed, getting comfortable. "What about my family? Should I think about family stuff?"

Nicole shook her head, "No. Just think about yourself, the family situation will be resolved around you."

Jess then asked, "Last question. Will it hurt?"

"No, it shouldn't. For me, I barely even noticed it was happening until it was nearly done." Nikki then added, "If you do notice or feel anything, don't fight it. Try to ignore it, and just keep focusing on the new you."

Jessica nodded. She gulped, took a deep breath, then said, "Ok. I'm ready."

She'd pictured her ideal self countless times. She'd drawn herself dozens of times, hundreds even, over the years. She knew exactly what her true self looked like, what sort of a person she wanted to be.

At the foot of her bed, she saw Sam and Nikki hold hands, their fingers interlocking. They both appeared to be whispering, murmuring words Jess couldn't understand.

Soon Jess could see little sparks of light appearing here and there in the air. They reminded her of fireflies, but these were tiny, invisible, apart from when they blinked.

The little flickers of light seemed to fill the air around the two young women, and then more of them were in the air around Jessica. She could feel something else now, a tingling sensation, starting deep within her.

Jess closed her eyes, blocking out the anxiety that was growing, and focused harder on the image she was drawing in her mind. Picturing her true self, as she always dreamed she could be.