So I've been trying to write a sizable Life On Mars fic for like ... two years. The problem is that my idea of a sizable Life On Mars fic includes some Sam/Gene, and I have found myself physically incapable of writing Sam/Gene. I could not figure out why! It is one of my OTPs! Then Polaris made a joke about genderswap Life On Mars, and I discovered that the easiest way to write Sam and Gene making out is ... if Sam is literally a girl. I am fairly sure this says more about my conception of Gene Hunt than it does about me as a person.
Anyway, the following is sort of gender meta, and also really Why I Ship Sam/Gene More Than Sam/Annie meta, and hopefully it is also a reasonably good and plotty story. One thing it is not is very cracky, despite being genderswap fic.
Oh You Pretty Things