Blessings Part 3- Finale free porn video

July 23rd, 2025 Tara's transport was one that caused Mary some fear: a private airplane hired by the Peterson family but really paid for by John Finn at his insistence. It was also David's ride back to Boston as he kept a close watch on the Russos just in case, with Miles and Kennedy staying in Pittsfield to ensure that there was no delay or outside interference in the investigation into the Riley family as well as Hugh Shyster. It was expected to get difficult when Shyster made his appearance in court as the Riley family's attorney, but he had a lot more to deal with than clients putting him in difficult situation with Kennedy's office. Miles wasn't one to play around and had his forensics team investigating all of the emails and texts the Rileys had sent in the past few days, then saw that there was a common link in everyone: Shyster. He was going to have to work hard to keep himself out of jail as he had four people begging for plea deals and who had him nailed for conspiracy charges. He was even tied to the money that the four kidnappers had in their van as it matched the same amount withdrawn from his account earlier in the day, which just so happened to coincide with a phone call from the lead of the four to him confirming that the four had gotten Tara and were en- route to Pittsfield with her. Anthony, Gina, and Martha remained behind to deal with the arraignments as well as ensure that Mary got her money that she was supposed to receive that day. Martha being a judge made the court clerks uneasy, she could easily make noise in the ears of all the most important people which would lead to most of the court being upended and judges shifted to other courts. Her reputation was well-earned, she would do just that and would have the full backing of the chief judges of all of the local courts as well. Mary's flight was tense and as soon as they landed Tara was loaded into an air ambulance for the flight to Boston. David was met at the airport by his mother and wife, with his wife ensuring that the nurses didn't slack in Tara's care. Emma Peterson, the newly graduated registered nurse, wasn't going to let the transport nurse slack in Tara's care and ensured that everything went smoothly en-route. Emma was a terror to doctors and administrators, but she was one of the people who wasn't afraid to be in your face if she felt you were wrong and didn't care about politics or union dynamics as they were meaningless to her- patients matter most to her. Tara struck her hard as her daughter Sophia adored her and she had her niece Dorothy begging to setup playdates for the trio. Looking at Tara's unconscious form, she felt like she had to protect the little girl even more. The flight was bumpy thanks to sudden weather changes, but they landed at the helipad without any incidents. Tara started to stir but didn't say anything about where she was. She saw Emma and asked for her mother, and was told in soft voice, "She's coming in from the airport with my husband and mother-in-law. Your dad is still out in Pittsfield, you are now in Boston. Your mom will tell you more in a bit, please stay still as you are still hurt down below." A half hour later, Mary was shown into the pre-surgery room and held Tara's hands as she was told the news. She looked up at Mary who nodded, crying tears of joy over the news. Tara tried to cheer but had to be held down by nurses while a doctor who called himself Richard Samuels explained, "It's going to be a while but when you awaken you will physically be female. Congratulations, young lady." Tara cried and hugged Mary then kissed her goodbye as she was prepped for surgery. Mary had to sit and was led to a waiting room where Emma kept her company while David went to his office to talk with his bosses about the case. Emma was quiet, but she seemed to know more than she let on. After a bit, Emma confessed, "This is the fourth kind of surgery I've heard of among my family. You haven't met them but my cousins Daisy and Ella had similar surgeries as did my cousin-in-law Sam York. They had a uterus though, so sadly Tara won't experience the joys of periods like most girls. It's a small concession for what Tara gains in normalcy- she'll still be a mother, even without a womb." Over in Pittsfield the people involved in both kidnapping attempts were arraigned, with the kidnappers at the hospital getting charges of grievous bodily harm added onto their attempted kidnapping charges. The Rileys had the worst charges as they had conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to murder charges as well as extortion charges to go alongside their kidnapping and assault charges. Kennedy was going for all possible charges and wanted to show the county just how nasty the family really was. Hugh Shyster was apprehended at the courthouse and placed under arrest for his role in the kidnapping, with the man breaking down into tears as he learned that he wasn't going to be able to talk or bluff his way out of charges once his contact in the DA's office turned on him. He wasn't even necessary as the case was removed form the DA's care and being directly prosecuted by Kennedy's office, he was just a link in the chain of evidence pointing at Shyster and the Rileys. Shyster didn't normally fear anyone in Berkshire County, but Kennedy was one of the few in the state who caused his skin to crawl; the only one who scared him more was her boss, Attorney General Angela Victor. Mary's younger brother Erik was in court to watch the proceedings and gain information to use against her. He was under watch by Miles, who just so happened to be sitting next to him and observed him doing subtle movements with his cellphone. He grinned, alerted the court officer, then had his phone confiscated and searched and Erik removed from the courtroom. Erik was upset but stopped as he was approached by people who were known to him as he was being taken from the courtroom. A few quick words to them and they were ready to pounce as they started to spread word through the media that the Rileys were being targeted for revenge by an ousted family member who sought to defraud her parents of their money after being away for 10 years. It was all a lie, but the media didn't care one bit about it as it was a juicy story. Miles whispered to Kennedy who had the courtroom sealed, all ejected except officers, troopers, and the lawyers for defendants. The reporters who had slipped inside were angry and screamed at the judge, but the fact that the cases involved a minor and there would be accusations that could ruin the lives of people he invoked the right to seal the courtroom and impound the documents. Several reporters caught on to what their colleagues were doing and confronted them, with Kennedy taking a keen interest in the few who were most vocal as their colleagues mentioned ties to defendants as well as Erik. The war of words led to the dirty reporters angrily telling their colleagues that they'd get them, but that was just hot air as they were unable to do anything as Miles happily revoked their press passes over the threats made in public regarding their attempts to break the law and had the court officers remove them from the courthouse while their colleagues explained to the ejected reporters' bosses that the reporters were filing false and misleading reports. The real story turned to the reporters and anything inside the courtroom was ignored, with Kennedy happy to keep the media in the dark until it was necessary to speak. She had her press release ready, but things could change easily. Inside the courtroom, the arraignments began. Shyster was up first and he was outraged that he was in court let alone under arrest. The judge ignored his threats and had the court reporter note every threat that he made to the judge, Kennedy, the clerk, and the court officers as he was dragged away with the judge not even trying to grant him bail as the threats negated any amount he would have set. The four who did the kidnapping in Boston were next and pleaded guilty with Kennedy noting this and telling the judge that the state would defer sentencing until a later date as they spoke with them about the situation. They were led out and beat Shyster senseless as he called them cowards. The others in the jail cell were eyeing them, it was safer to plead out and get away from jail and into a prison cell after the nightmare that each had gone through the previous night due to inmates hearing about their charges. The men who attempted to kidnap Tara at the Pittsfield hospital were next and saw the eight getting an earful as their charges were long and featured charges of assault on officers, attempted kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, and various lesser charges. The judge had to hold his tongue as he heard the charges, with all of them trying to appear like big men but who were in no condition to attack anyone let alone the judge. He set an unusually high bail, there was no way he was going to let them out of jail with so many serious charges pending. The Rileys were the last to be arraigned, with Kennedy pointing out how they had stripped Tara, kept her prisoner in a locked room and basement, then threatened to take her to Canada to kill her. They had too many serious charges against them to get out of jail, the judge set a high bail but Kennedy pointed out to the Rileys that they had no assets as all of their money and accounts were frozen by the courts. The couple tried to fight and screamed at their lawyer and the judge, he simply ignored them which only led to the couple threatening him and getting their bail revoked and the couple remanded to jail. Paying close attention to the antics of the Rileys were the Martins, a group of people looking for a way of making sure Shyster got off or at least stayed out of jail until their own hearings were concluded. George Martin was a longtime rival of Nick Riley and the maternal grandfather of the Stoners' children, thus he had a vested interest in the case as Shyster, his lawyer/friend, was involved. Shyster was building a file on the families and was ready to give it to them, with him in jail they had to resort to stealing the file from Shyster with Shyster's secretary turning a blind eye to the people barging into the office then rushing out. Given that she knew why they were there, she chose to ignore them to keep her own nose out of things. She would need a new job soon, but at least with the claims of not knowing the reason for the theft as well as what was inside she could work in legal offices again. At the Martin home, the file was revealed to contain information on everyone who was in contact with the Stoners their adopted children, as well as their children's significant others. Piper Stoner was a key point of interest as her own history was investigated and exposed, with the fact that her original parents were wanted drug dealers in multiple states and was dating the nephew of murdered criminals was of great use to them. Those facts were toxic to know, Piper's boyfriend's family would have any attempt to use it shut down and the lawyer thrown in jail for the attempt at using sealed information but that was not of any concern to George at that time. Sydney was seen as an easy target, but looks were deceiving as her life may have been complicated and she was transgender but there was nothing to gain from her that wouldn't end up hurting him badly. Her money was tied-up in a trust fund that wasn't accessible in full until marriage and the birth of her child, which would happen in the near future but was still going to be a tough sell as the Martins had no rights to anything that she owned and if they pressed her they exposed themselves to extortion charges. Her money was never going to be used by anyone except her, despite being eyed by others there was no legal right to the money and any attempt to get at it would be fought by Sydney's own legal team and Beverly Bollinger. Beverly was going all out and had Sydney's money secured to the point that knowing the full amount is tough as it was split between stocks, bonds, investments, and savings accounts. She had investments in land and houses that were bought with her blessing but were in the name of her private company that is the real face of her assets, the ownership of said company was hidden with Sydney only knowing that she was the sole owner instead of a group. The directors of the company were actually proxies, all of them were paid a penny for their time and answered solely to Beverly herself on Sydney's behalf. But that didn't stop people from knowing that she had a lot of money. The Martins had been able to see that she was touted for her genius and degrees as well as $150 million in patent money. That was all in the public domain, they didn't know just how much she really had years after the patent award or that her wealth had doubled thanks to three additional patents- one of which was co-owned with her former PhD team and was held in trust until Sydney's 22nd birthday. The Martins saw their chance and forced a hearing on Friday in Suffolk County that would be their big break and make the Stoners give up the kids or they'd do the worst thing they could do to them- expose them to the world. They were playing with fire and were provoking Savannah Stoner's law firm, and as it was summer they had additional firepower in the form of Katie Eliza and Valerie Finn making all of their efforts futile as neither were going to allow this attempt to violate Justin and Savannah's privacy stand- not if the duo had any breath in their lungs and a working legal mind, not with Valerie's own son being targeted as part of the glorified extortion attempt by the Martins. Hours later, in a Boston courtroom, Judge Roy Parker saw the latest filing and laughed at what it said. The Martins had been trying to get at the Stoners but the new motion was over the top and was one of the most vile he'd ever read. He had his leanings, but decided it was best to set precedent and show the true face of the Martins to the world while protecting the rights of transgender people. He wisely rescheduled the hearing until the following Monday and put the case on early in the morning so the Martins were on the defensive and the Stoners were ready to go. It was a little bit of pettiness, but it was also perfectly legal and had a valid reasoning in that it was too soon to hear the case on Friday as the Stoners needed to prepare their case. The Martins could cry all they wanted, it wasn't his fault that they played the game and lost the opening salvo. The Martins' lawyer, Sam Gwynn Leech, was furious about the change and screamed at the clerk until Roy himself appeared, smiled, then told the man what he can do with his demands as the Stoners had rights and should they lose they had an appeal that would overturn his ruling so he chose to do the legally binding thing by delaying until Monday. Roy gave the man everything he needed to know: he wasn't in a mood to argue and the argument was tough to go against. He'd have to face them in court with three full days of preparations and a group of lawyers who wouldn't be intimidated. Leech left, vowing to himself that he'd ensure that the lawyers he was up against were scared off and his clients got what they wanted from the Stoners. He'd have Ned and Dean Martin do his dirty work as the two losers were in the Boston area and did low-level thuggery for a price. Ned had a sly way with words while Dean was a ladies man who could lull you into a false sense of security while prying any information out of you that he wanted. The two were in over their heads and would ensure their parents lost badly as their information was not going to be useful or was outright lies that were easy to refute and make the duo look foolish as they get pegged for what they really were right away. There was a second option that was likely to be invoked, but it would wait until the last minute and only get sprung when there was nothing left to lose. The sad reality of it was that it would never work, the Stoners and the Martins' daughter were with people who would not be intimidated and would only see the case against them tossed out quickly. Ricardo Ramirez received the notice from the Martins' lawyer and immediately demanded that their hearing be delayed until Monday. The clerk not only agreed, he told Ricardo that it was already done by Roy so Ricardo's team could get their act together and ready their usual theatrics. The clerk then told him that the lawyer was likely to try to fish for information from people who are around the Stoners but who aren't directly tied to the case, which to Ricardo mean they were going for Anthony, Mary, and the Peterson family as they were the closest to the Stoners without being related with Piper and her beloved boyfriend Logan Finn being a probable but likely to be harder to get at without causing Leech issues. Ricardo fought a laugh as the Petersons were the one family that would not only have the resources to make the Martins miserable but would also have the resources to ensure that they paid in full for trying to destroy the Stoners. The, "Secret" of Daisy and Claire Peterson had been exposed for the world to see in movie theaters worldwide the previous summer, with the movie getting multiple Oscar nods for writing and acting. David's accomplishments were noted in the media and Patrick was one of the rising stars in the academic world when he found time to help young engineers hone their craft. Sophia Peterson, namesake for David's daughter and David and Patrick's biological mother, was long dead and her life known through the same movie. There was nothing else to use, Lilly herself was the one who told the world that her family is unique and only Claire was her biological daughter and she did indeed adopt David, Patrick, and Daisy as her own. If the Martins wanted to go after her or her kids they were provoking the wrath of a woman who had faced people much more dangerous than them. Mary, Anthony, and Tara were kept under watch by David and Miles, making any attempt by Leech futile. Lilly added her own hired security, members of whom were ex-military and who were loyal to the company and who worked closely with police to keep the peace at Peterson press conferences. The men had seen things that made them want to protect people who were being exploited by vultures like the Martins, with the Petersons being some of the few who earned their respect through actions. The men took up positions to protect Tara's room and didn't bother to interact with the doctors or nurses as they were there but not impeding any operations. They were also cleared by Miles and David so the hospital couldn't complain and saved the hospital from having to use their own officers for support. The men were ready for anything, even if they weren't armed with guns as the troopers were. Ricardo and the Stoners visited Tara's room and saw the little girl growing scared at them knowing her secret but saw Savannah hugging and kissing her to ease her fears. Savannah sensed that she had to tell Tara how she really felt, so confessed, "We are jealous of you. It's a blessing for you even if you won't feel like that because you won't have periods like your friends will. You at least can be a mother, help is needed but by the time you are old enough to get pregnant science might be able to help you out." Tara relaxed while Ricardo talked with Mary. He looked at Tara then told her, "You have a hearing on Monday. Your brother Erik is continuing your case in the hopes of taking Tara for himself but I'm not going to let him get away with it. He overstretched himself, he's in for a big surprise. There's a reason why your grandmother wanted Erik to be his own man before he could inherit a penny from her- he's not actually her grandson. Your dad is Erik's dad but Erik's not actually Fay Riley's son. Your father committed adultery and hid the fact rather badly from everyone who knew the family, but he couldn't lie to your grandmother. She wanted him to be his own man to prove that he was her grandson in spirit, but the laziness and arrogance of your father is strong in him so he lost his inheritance to you." Mary asked if there was a way of Erik getting Tara by other means except through the inheritance, he smirked then explained, "He has no job, no way of supporting himself, and as you own the house he has no actual home as you won't let him live there anymore after suing for custody. He based his whole case on your father's case, and as Tara is not transgender and you have never had any issues with DCF and actually have DCF supporting your case and have money to support yourself, have a husband, have a home, and have a stable job he's not going to win anything. Judge Parker is likely to tell him to never bother you again, he has shown his true face and it's a danger to Tara's well-being." She felt better, but was still cautious. He looked over at Tara and told her warmly, "We will ask that you be recognized as female as you are female in full. Your name will change as well, we are hoping that it is done as part of the hearing but it might have to wait until next month's adoption hearing." Tara fell asleep again while the adults talked around her. Ricardo informed them that Judge Parker was going to hear Mary's adoption right after the custody hearing, purposely waiting until Tara was asleep to tell Mary and Anthony so as to not excite her and cause issues. He smelled something fishy about all of the cases being so close together but it was working in their favor, especially as Martha and Gina could be there and get back to work with only losing their mornings. Anthony had to field a dozen phone calls from the kids trying to get to see Tara. Mary wasn't sure if she should be upset that they wouldn't take no for an answer or happy that Tara had made such an impact on them in such a short period of time. Ricardo let out a laugh and told the couple, "It's part of being a parent. Trust me, it's what they do. My own grandson is the same way with his parents, especially his cousins. She will have the kids banging the door in tomorrow if they aren't allowed to see her just to give them a chance to know the truth directly from her." Dr. Richard Samuels used that as his cue to enter and explained, "She will be alright tomorrow, it's not as invasive as gender reassignment surgery. To be brutally honest, it was closing one hole and opening another as the inner vagina was already there. She's going to be fine in another day, visitors are fine but try to keep it down so the other patients don't get upset. They are good kids, but a little loud at times." Ricardo and the Stoners laughed while Dr. Samuels avoided the obvious jokes coming his way. He had the most experience with kids, but not grandchildren. His only grandchild was out in California now so he had to make due with Simon and Lilly Bollinger and they were nothing like his beloved Sylvia. Rose and Sydney appeared and gave Tara big hugs as the groggy girl started to stir. Mary gave her the big news and had to keep her calm as she cheered. Rose grinned at her and hugged her again to calm the girl, with Anthony having to hide his big smirk as the mother in Rose started to shine through. Rose asked if they were going all-in on Monday, with Tara begging to go along with them. Ricardo had to quell her complaining but Anthony insisted on her being there as she couldn't hide and he didn't trust anyone with her yet. It was hard to argue against his logic, her uncle wouldn't be above trying to snatch her from preschool while they were at the hearing even if the preschool had extra security for her. The group left when visiting hours ended, with the private security guards keeping close watch on Tara and ensuring that only those who were authorized were on the floor and got close to Tara. That also had them personally delivering her food after watching it get prepared. Mary's own food went through the same level of inspection and safety, she understood why they were doing that and appreciated it. In the morning, Tara got to see the results of the surgery and wept as she saw that she was all girl down below. Mary helped her dress and hugged her tightly as she cried, with the nurse not daring to talk as she watched mother and daughter embrace. Dr. Samuels came by and gave her the good news- she was definitely going home the next day as there was little need to stay as there was no infection and she was healing at a nice rate and only needed some basic care to help her keep her vagina open. She was still on her emotional high when the four Peterson kids entered with Sophia running to Tara as her brother Reginald slowly walked in and stopped as he saw Tara in her pajamas. Dorothy and her big brother Antonio forced him closer, but the two-year-old didn't want to hurt her and blushed as he saw her wincing as she moved a little too fast. Out of all of the kids, Tara liked him the most as he was just too cute and treated her like a big sister and never once questioned the others about her as he only saw a girl even if he had heard that she had boy parts until the day before. The last to arrive were Simon and Lilly Bollinger, with their mom Claire bringing her sister Daisy with her- much to her annoyance. It was expected of Claire, with Patrick telling Mary that Daisy would talk with Tara once the kids left for a bit. She would understand Tara the most, especially as she had the same surgery at the same age but without the complication of having no womb. One look from Daisy sent all of her nieces and nephews outside while she gave the nod to her sister and brothers. Mary and Anthony were led out as well as what Daisy needed to say could only be said to Tara and without any interference. Tara tried to beg them to stay, but Mary had to tell her, "Daisy has to talk with you about something important and we need to keep an eye on the other kids." Once they left the room, Daisy sighed and told her, "Mom wouldn't let me get away from this. I have to tell you that I had the same problem that you had, only mine was worse in that I was always a girl but my doctors were too arrogant and lazy to check and blamed my birth mom's drug use on my defects. My cousin Ella had the same problem so it turned out to be genetic, not drug related. Then our cousin Sam had the same thing only she looked like a real boy but had everything inside and her penis didn't work right. You don't have a womb though, so you are going to miss out on a lot of bad things like icky feeling, blood, bad smells, having to carry around pads and tampons, and messy clothes. I hate it, but it is something that most girls endure. Be glad you are missing out on it, it sucks. Boys like to make fun of us when they realize why we aren't joining in gym class and take longer in the bathroom, you won't have that problem and anyone who tries to make fun of you end up in a lot of trouble because of it." Tara wanted to cry since she didn't feel like a normal girl because of what she was missing. Daisy gave her a hug and kiss then told her, "You are a normal girl, just because you need help having a baby does not make you any less of a girl. You will be a mom, I know you won't give up on that. It will happen, it happens to girls who aren't expecting it. My cousins all had babies without expecting them, your aunt is having a baby without planning it. But you? You get to plan it out and have people help you. They'd be fools to not be jealous of that. Heck, David got caught having two kids without thinking. Reginald was conceived on Christmas three years ago and Sophia was conceived during our trip to England. Johnny was made graduation night, and we all know that Violet was conceived on her parents' wedding night." Tara was giggling as Daisy showed that she loved needling her family, especially beloved older brother David. She sat down and asked, "Are you really upset because you can't have kids normally or that you are a genetic girl and your friend Hunter isn't too? Trust me, she'd love to be like you but she also accepts that she didn't get lucky. She is going to be upset that you are upset over it not being fair, she wants you to be happy. It's what friends do: fee happy for one another getting what they need." Tara looked down in shame, Daisy lifted her chin up and offered a happy, "You are going to be alright. I know you will do better than either Ella or I did. Sam is special but she lived as a girl for a year and a half before her surgery. None of us want you to be upset, none of your friends or new family want you to be upset. Sydney is happy that you don't have to endure what she felt. She's a mom too, so she turned out OK after all. Just like her mom. Just like Aunt Katie. All of us are happy for you." Mary entered and led the kids back in, with all of them hugging Tara and playing on her tablet with her until it was time to leave. When they were gone, Mary asked if she was alright. Tara nodded, then told her, "She's different than her brothers and sister." Anthony snorted to which Mary looked at him oddly. He grinned then happily explained, "She's the best of both worlds. She's her mother's daughter and her grandmother's granddaughter. Lilly mentioned 'that female Williams gene clashing with the Brown family gene' that makes her extra special even in the eyes of her family. She knows how to make you feel better and knows how to stand up to you to do the right thing. She could be dangerous if she wasn't so empathetic to people that she cares about." Daisy tried to glare at him but Claire added, "Oh it's true. Ella and Logan aren't as good at getting their way as her but can get Patrick and David to do whatever they want, Daisy can make them do whatever she wants and make them think that they thought of it first. Hannah and I have learned not to bother trying to trick her, we may be able to trick Uncle John but we can't trick her. Cat still hasn't learned that and she's able to trick everyone except Daisy!" Tara asked who Logan and Hannah were. Claire smirked and happily told her, "You haven't met him yet but Logan is Ella's big brother and is dating Sydney's sister Piper. They have spent their time helping at a camp for transgender kids up in New Hampshire. Piper's really beautiful and Logan is handsome, you won't believe that he's related to those three ugly mugs but he got all of the looks and personality. Daisy go the brains, Patrick the brawn, David got nothing but trouble." Tara was laughing now as the other kids were laughing at their parents' antics. Daisy was fighting for the best way to retaliate when Claire added, "Hannah is over in England writing her new book. She's the author of the 'Sammi the Cabbit' series and her husband Pete oversees their grandparents' estate. She's going to send you some Sammi things because all of the girls have them and if you really like the book she will listen to your ideas and put you into it. Cat's been in three of them, Sophia was in two, Violet in the most recent one, and Dorothy in all of them as Sammi's sidekick. She loves Dorothy a lot, that girl can get Hannah's inspiration going wild. For a little kid she pushes Hannah's buttons a lot." Tara was smiling brightly as Daisy showed pictures of the book, particularly the cute Sammi and her equally cute and cuddly buddy Dorothy Colleen. Dorothy was explained to her as being the one who inspired their antics and who had fun no matter what was going on. Sammi was cautious but found lots of ways of getting into funny situations, which the real life Dorothy often did when Hannah watched her when she was available. Tara loved the idea of being immortalized in a book, especially by someone who cared about her friend enough to use her in a way that was fun and exciting. She started to imagine herself as a cabbit and had a big smile as she wanted to ask Hannah to make her into one. The kids giggled at her expression, it was a funny smile that Mary whispered to Claire as being her thinking face. The kids left when it was lunchtime for Tara, but were replaced by Justin and Savannah then a surprise appearance of Piper and Logan. Justin asked what they were doing there, to which Logan explained, "We were meeting with the new kids for the next session, we were told to come here immediately by dad. He said it was an emergency and we had to see someone recovering from surgery." Tara looked over and saw a stunningly beautiful young woman and a handsome young man, she was in awe of Piper and saw what she hoped to look like when she got older as she had amazing hair, large breasts, and a figure that made all of the ladies look ugly by comparison. Logan was tall, skinny, but had muscles and looked like he was football or hockey player. She couldn't believe that he was related to Daisy, Patrick, or David but there were some faint signs that even she could see. Savannah sighed and told the couple, "Tara was kidnapped, rescued, then was nearly kidnapped again but got away only to get hurt trying to jump to safety. When she was being examined the doctors found that she was like Ella inside, so she was shipped to Boston to be operated on and is recovering nicely. She's lacking a uterus but otherwise is female internally. She was never transgender, just deformed." The duo nodded and hugged Tara, with Piper asking, "Did Daisy do her thing?" Tara nodded then told her what the others said about her, with Logan blushing deeply as Piper added, "It's true, he's the perfect gentleman and the best looking among his cousins and friends. Go easy on the recovery, let your mom and dad help you. And don't let any of the kids make fun of you for using a pillow for a few weeks." Tara liked her already, she was strong-willed and was a great big sister. She looked at Sydney who just rolled her eyes at Tara's thinking, with Justin telling Tara, "She's taking being a big sister seriously, she's already our best babysitter." Mary looked over at Piper who blushed at getting put on display but it was the truth as she was the best among the teenagers especially with the youngest kids. The duo left, with them replaced by Gina and Martha. Justin and Savannah beat a hasty retreat while Rose and Sydney blushed deeply as Martha gave Sydney a once-over as they were leaving. Martha had to shake her head and grin as the young lady was one of the people who made her job better and gave her the drive to do more with her position. She'd never admit it to anyone, but Sydney's case was a big turning-point for her in the courtroom as nobody would dare try to cross her again. The couple hugged Mary and Tara, with Tara calling them, "Grandma" and, "Granny" which caused both to get misty-eyed. Anthony didn't say anything but his presence close to Tara while Mary did all of the talking was something they were hoping to see. Martha was especially happy as he was so focused on Tara and her comfort that he didn't hear a word they were saying. She didn't have to say much anyway, it was really Gina who had business there and needed to speak with Mary in person. Gina quietly asked Mary, "Do you recall two men by the name of Dean and Ned Martin? They have been sniffing around the Petersons and Stoners the past two days. We think they are going after you and the Petersons to get as much dirt as possible to prevent their sister from allowing her kids to be taken in by their biological fathers, Savannah and Justin Stoner." Mary had to think but she didn't recall them directly. She did recalled someone nicknamed, "Deano" and a guy who hung around with him who used a lot of baseball lingo. She shuddered then told her, "They are working for Carl Leonard. He's good friends with them, they ate at the restaurant for free and made me wait on them like a slave for his amusement. If they are around, Carl is telling them everything. He knows I'm associated with Patrick through Anthony and now through Mrs. Peterson so he'll go after the Petersons next. If they are involved then they have a few other guys with them but who never get seen with Carl so he isn't tied to them like they should be." Gina nodded then asked if David heard that. David grinned and added, "Patrick knows the two and was never fond of their treatment of Mary. If he hears that they are involved they had better hope that they get picked up by us because he might cripple them. He almost did that last time they smacked one of the waitresses on the butt and laughed in her face as she had to stop due to Carl Leonard's threats." Mary sighed and added, "It's come full circle. Everything that has happened is connected. Carl is the link to my parents kidnapping Tara, to the custody fight, to the Stoners' custody fight, hell it's even to my former babysitter getting sick- she had to come to me because Carl wouldn't let me leave work!" David looked to Gina who told her, "He's getting what is coming to him. Men like that always get what they deserve in the end. I trust in Patrick and David and Roy Parker. He will get what he deserves." Martha led Gina out and told David, "If he shows up on Monday, throw his ass in jail. He's the one who is the link to everything and is getting money for his efforts. Find the money, take him down. She gave you a lot already, use your resources and destroy him." Miles grinned and added, "Already done. He's the missing link in the money chain. I had my cousin look over the restaurant's financial reports and Carl Leonard squirreled away $2 million of Patrick's money. It is in addition to the money he stole from the previous owner. It's frozen so he can't touch it, but he has his ways of getting money. We are on to him and Mary exposed his weakness: the Martins. There's no way that he weasels out of charges, he's going down hard for fraud and embezzlement. And that's not including Patrick and dad taking him for every penny that he owes them." Tara slept through much of the evening, but did manage to Skype Hunter to tell her the news. She then introduced Tara to her mother and told her that she'd be her new psychiatrist, with Alison Eliza being a woman who had Tara's interest immediately. There was something about her that Tara liked and it was going to be a good meeting when they finally met face to face the next day. In the morning she was able to walk around with Mary and Anthony's help, with their security taking the lead as they moved through the ward and down to the cafeteria. Dr. Samuels ensured that she didn't overdo things, but she was feeling a lot better and was only really sore when she moved too quickly. It was helped that there wasn't much that could move while walking, only when she sat down did it hurt. When she got comfortable again, she was formally introduced to Dr. Alison Eliza. She looked just like her daughter Bailey, with Bailey having her mother Katie's eyes but Alison's long blonde hair. Tara immediately felt at ease as she could see Bailey's personality shining through Alison as soon as she started to talk with her about her life and her feelings and her family; she was caring but let Tara speak her mind openly and giving her an outlet that she hadn't had yet. Tara told her everything that she had told Gina in their first meeting, only this time she realized that it was her being normal and everything she was doing was natural because she really was a girl inside. It was tough to not smile but Alison remained stoic until Tara finally asked, "Can I still be a girl?" Alison grinned then explained to her, "You were always a girl. If not for your abduction we would not have known that you were a girl internally until you were 18. Your revelation makes it easy for you as you can go to school without issues, can use the same bathrooms as the girls, can do whatever a girl can and not have to worry about someone taking issue with your past. Some may take issue, but they are the few who only care about what your birth certificate says and not what your medical records say. And to be honest, your birth certificate will be changed as soon as we can get it done due to your being a genetic female and thus were never a male no matter what your outward appearance showed. You are a girl, you were always a girl, and your birth certificate will reflect that." She finally told the happy girl, "From the moment you leave here, you are a girl. No matter what anyone says, Thomas Riley never existed. Tara Riley was always there, or make that Tara Russo. Good luck in court tomorrow and don't let your uncle or his lawyer scare you. They will say a lot of hurtful things but Dr. Samuels is an expert, Mark Sylvester is supporting you, and you have my backup in writing. Mary and Anthony are your parents and nothing will stop them from being your parents." Alison bowed out to a cheer as her daughters ran to Tara to hug her. She tried to tell Hunter that she was sorry that she wasn't like her inside but Hunter happily told her, "Don't be sorry for getting blessed. I am alright being a boy outside. I know what I am and I am a real girl no matter what!" July 27th, 2025 When the Elizas left after some time with Tara, Tara was discharged to the Russo home. The security force walked them out and saw David and Miles helping them. Both were in full uniform and saw the security force dismissed to their offices for a debriefing. The whole of the dismissal was a charade as they were replaced by the Perez Twins as the two were in a good mood to help family, as the two pointed out to Mary. They weren't alone, they had their cousins and were more than happy to protect family from threats against them especially as those threats were aimed at their favorite aunt. She got a crash course in family dynamics as she was in tears as they all told her how happy they were for their Aunt Martha to have a daughter, even if she was 28, married, and a mother of a rambunctious four-year-old. The Perez family's welcome was further strengthened as Gina and Martha came by and chastised the group for overwhelming Mary but were proud of them for doing that for Mary. The gathering led to a cookout as Martha cooked some of the family's recipes and showed Mary how to do it while the guys all wisely let Martha do her motherhood routine with Mary. Mary was a decent cook and took to the lessons quickly, but did feel bad that Tara was too young to help out due to a lot of knife work. Tara loved being the center of attention as the guys acted like she was a princess and played with her and ensured that she ate what her mother gave her, with Tara secretly loving being family to so many people even if none of them were blood to her. She was the youngest among the Perez family so she was the one that they treated the best, although they did accidentally let slip that she had a cousin who was born with a birth defect and transgender. Sebastian and Fabian, the twins, tried to quiet their cousin but it came out too quickly and Tara wanted to know more about it. Gina gave a nod to Sebastian, who explained, "She is transgender and was severely beaten by her father and mother to the point of needing facial surgery. She was removed from the family and placed with a family who loved her immediately, then got to be a big sister to two kids- a boy named Andrew and a girl named Jasmine. She's the only one not here, she tries to keep away from the bad memories." Fabian added, "She got hurt in 6th grade by a group of boys who kidnapped her and her friends. They beat them until the three girls needed surgery, with one needing immediate sex change surgery and the other two needing castrations before they had their own surgeries month lather. It's four years since she had her surgery and she is still weary of boys her age. She didn't want to make you feel bad because she wasn't blessed internally as you were. She is able to have children, we have to tell her to knock it off as she wants to have them right away after high school but she wants to be a mother as soon as possible. She still has two years of high school to go!" He smirked and added, "She's a good kid who just wants to move on with life and live her life and be the girl she should have been from birth. She knows that we love her despite her birth parents but she wants to forget her past. She can't escape her mom's uncle, but nobody can escape his influence. You will met him at some point, he loves to meet his great-great nephew's and niece's friends. Johnny, Simon, Violet, and Lilly will insist. He's the kookiest guy in the world, but everyone loves him." The whole situation was a bit odd to Tara, but given her own family situation it wasn't as bad. At least she had supportive parents, her cousin didn't have that until it was almost too late. She looked over at Anthony and smiled at the realization, he was the best dad you could hope for. The gathering lasted through the evening as Anthony enjoyed the guys and Mary was able to relax as Gina and Martha kept her company and talked with her as an equal and as a parent. The couple had a fun time and showed that they made the right decision in adopting Mary as their own. She couldn't get enough of the motherly affection, she didn't know she missed out on it until that moment. Tara fell asleep as the last of the food was consumed. She was put to bed and saw the Perezes leaving. It was a slow withdrawal, with Fabian and Sebastian leaving last, giving way to Miles and David. The duo kept watch from adjacent homes with the neighbors knowing full well that they were there and giving them coffee so they didn't have to move. Their colleagues were out front and down both ends of the street, ready to move in case the Martins showed up. It was a long night, but thankfully nothing happened and there was nothing to report except that a skunk and raccoon had a fight the Russo yard. Across town during the night, the Dean and Ned Martin were joined by Erik Riley as the trio traded the few notes they had on each of the people involved. Nobody had any information on Martha, she wasn't able to be exploited without trouble and anyone asking about her were met with brick walls and people who were immediately demanding to know who they were and why they were asking. The family had a lot of allies in high and low places, Sebastian and Fabian got word out to those allies and it paid off big. Gina was easier to find out about, but nothing they found was usable as the only accusations against her were made by people who were exposed as lying and saw their parents going to prison for perjury. It was going to be impossible to go after either of them directly, they needed to go after them indirectly and with people who could gain something against them. That was impossible, since Gina had an ironclad reputation with her hospital and among her colleagues and Martha had the support of judges across the state as well as politicians including Senator Paul James- the Perez twins? father-in-law. It hurt even more that Gina was a blood relative and was pushing for Mary to retain Tara. With both her reputation and the knowledge that Mary had followed all laws and procedures and had proper support behind her, they were at a dead end. No matter what they tried to do regarding Gina, it hurt them. Carl Leonard proved to be a horrible source as his people were dropping like flies as his stink started to spread throughout Boston and the surrounding region. He was toxic to anyone and if he was coming to you for something then it was going to cost you not only your job but likely your freedom. Carl's only support were the floozies who were fired by John, but they were suffering thanks to being cut off by their families when John personally called them to tell them about their daughters' actions. Basically, there was nothing to use against anyone. The Peterson were their only hope but information about the family, especially the hot case involving the young Daisy, was too hot to handle since it was still sealed by judicial order both civilly and criminally. If they attempted to use it in court then their lawyer was going to jail, but they were desperate to get their way and their lawyer, Sam Gwynn Leech, was going to use whatever means he had to make his case even if it hurt him in the end. A seemingly ironclad defense was laid out. Carl would be one of the witnesses and rip Mary apart for Leech while the Martins got their point across by using Sydney and the Petersons to point out that the children were in danger from people who were deviants. They'd have little counter for Martha and Gina but those two weren't expected as they weren't directly connected to them- yet. In the morning, Tara woke up, showered as fast as she could, then was dressed in a dress for the first time. She was in tears as Mary laid it out, with the light pantyhose and shoes causing her to hug Mary tightly. The little girl was overjoyed at wearing what was a basic necessity to show that she was female no matter what her uncle claimed, and wearing the dress and styling her hair in curly pigtails and bows shouted that point loud and clear to anyone. Anthony was in a business suit that was rare for him as he usually only wore a dress shirt or polo shirt with slacks to work. Mary wore one of her work outfits, one of the outfits that Lindsay Reagan had her get to show the office that she meant business and wasn't a lowly secretary anymore. Anthony felt off wearing his suit instead of his casual work attire but it made him look like an executive which made sense since he was one of the VPs at Peterson Manufacturing. Outside the house, the family were greeted by as many of Mary's new cousins as could get the time off to see her hearing. They were doing a show of force to make it clear that Mary wasn't alone anymore and nobody messed with their family. Fabian and Sebastian were in uniform, with the two showing the neighborhood that Mary was under their protection and it wasn't just a one-time appearance for them. The Stoners joined the group as they got to their car, with Piper complaining that she had to go too as she didn't trust the court to not screw her parents over. Rose gave Tara a big hug and saw Tara patting Rose's small and barely visible baby bump as Tara blushed over the big girl making cousins for her already. Sydney had a big grin as Rose realized that the little girl set her up, it was subtle teasing but it helped ease Tara and gave Rose a fun realization that she was really going to be an aunt now. Piper wasn't the only Stoner joining them, as Justin's sisters-in-law, nephew, and nieces joined him for the hearing as witnesses on his behalf. The only members of the family not there was Justin's nephew-in- law and his three nieces' boyfriends. The four as well as Piper's boyfriend Logan were awaiting word in case Logan's mother had to appeal the ruling on Justin and Savannah's behalf, plus Savannah felt the five weren't able to hold their tongues in court like their counterparts even if the were used to doing so. The whole group drove over and parked in a secure parking lot, with Ricardo Vincent escorting them to the courthouse while Miles and David did their best to not look like they were expecting trouble. They were there before either Erik or the Martins, with Carl doing his best to try to get away from the group as he realized he was both outnumbered and outmaneuvered by the massive group. Tara glared at him while Rose tried to calm her, but Piper had the biggest snarling look as she knew the man by reputation and he was one that she personally wanted to rip apart for hurting Mary and Tara. The Stoners were joined by the Byrne-Toro wing of their family as Cameron, Lupe, and Ashley Byrne-Toro as well as Ashley's fiance Rosalind Porter, his grandmother Cynthia Byre, and his sister and sister-in-law Reyna and Rachel Sylvester. The only one not there was Liam Byrne-Toro, who was being kept away due to his sensitivity to the situation and overreaction to people trying to harm his family. He was aware of what was going on, but his friends were keeping him busy at the beach and park. The Perezes filled most of the gallery, with the clerk not even trying to force them to leave as they were all there for the same reason: it was a family affair, and they were family. Martha and Gina entered last, with each of the Perezes hugging and kissing them before Mary and Anthony did the same. Sydney, Piper, Ashley, and Reyna all blushed as the imposing Martha greeted them, only Rachel hadn't had to appear in front of her and that was due to her adoption being different than the others. Gina hugged Sydney and congratulated her, with her blushing deeply while Piper tried to make a joke only to have Gina and Martha give her a smirk that caused her recoil as she realized it wasn't a good one to make at that time. For a 15-year-old girl, parenthood was the last thing on her mind and she did not want to temp fate with her joke. Justin nearly fainted at realizing what crossed their minds, his little girl was a maturing young woman so parenthood was looming on the horizon even if it was years away. There was little said between anyone as they were saved from awkward small-talk by the four Martins, Erik, and their lawyer, the aptly named Sam Gwynn Leech. Leech was one of best lawyers that you could buy, but often took cases on what he could earn from word of mouth such as the Martin and Riley cases. He had never gone up against Judge Roy Parker before, if he had he'd know full well that Roy was not going to let him bully the opposition nor any of the witnesses on his opponent's behalf. Leech saw the courtroom packed with people and demanded that the all leave. The clerk asked that all who had business in the courtroom stand and be known, with every Perez in the courtroom standing, as well as all of the Stoners and Byrne-Toro families. The clerk smirked and told everyone to rise, with Roy entering to a packed house and all eyes on him. Roy called the Rileys forward, but only Erik was able to appear against Mary. Roy asked where Nick and Fay Riley were, to which Ricardo happily explained, "Your honor Mr. and Mrs. Riley are in custody at the Berkshire County Jail awaiting trial for kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, assault and battery on a minor, conspiracy to kidnap, soliciting for murder, fraud, embezzlement, and multiple other charges. Most of the charges originated last Wednesday as you can read from the indictment against them." Roy read them over and nodded, telling Leech, "Due to the severity of the charges and the fact that they are all against their daughter or their granddaughter, I am denying Mr. and Mrs. Riley's request for full custody." Erik cried foul to which Roy explained, "I can't knowingly give over a child to a couple who are facing trial for abusing said child. I don't care if you dislike this or not, it is the best interests of Thomas Riley that he stay away from his grandparents. Your request is still pending so please shut up." Reading over Erik's request, he asked for Mary's side of things and received all of the testimony that he needed just from Mark Sylvester's statement. He then read the reports from Gina and then Alison Eliza and asked for clarification regarding the treatment. He suspected there was a strong reason for it, but he wanted it all on record so there was no question about procedures being followed. Gina explained, "Thomas Riley never existed. 12 days ago I examined Thomas, AKA Tara, by request of a Dr. Allison Eliza. Thomas was felt to be transgender and after a second meeting it was confirmed that he was really a she. Later that night as a result of a second attempted kidnapping, during an exam in the Berkshire General children's ward, doctors noticed masses inside Tara's abdomen. Fearing that it may possibly be cancer they ordered further tests. After multiple tests, it was determined that Tara was internally female but lacked a uterus. As Tara had strongly presented as female and the area was being operated on to close a wound to Tara's perineum, surgery to open her vagina would be performed and fix the elongated clitoris to the right spot. This was necessary surgery in that it was a true birth defect. As you can see from the ultrasound images and statement from Dr. Richard Sameuls, the leading expert on her birth defect, she has ovaries, tubes, a vagina, but no uterus. She is female in all sense of the word right down to her DNA. Despite appearing male before, she was never physically male." Leech tried to claim that they mutilated Tara, but Leech's own claims were turned around as Roy asked, "If your leg is ripped open, do you not close the wound? If you find that your leg has a growth that is of no use to your body and is nothing but a cosmetic defect, do you not remove said defect? Tell me, is it not true that you sir have had several nose jobs and face lifts? I know the signs of them as I have seen it time and again in my courtroom. I don't see how it is any different. Unlike your cosmetic surgeries, this was clearly needed for both medical reasons. It was not mutilation as you so claim." Roy loved pointing out the man's cosmetic surgeries, which was notorious as being done every year. He had nothing to counter Roy's shots so he tried to go after Mary and her connections to people who were deviants, who had no place to live, had low-paying jobs, and who were a danger to Tara. He didn't have and actual facts, he was tossing out generalities to muddy the waters and make Mary look bad. Roy knew something was up, Ricardo happily countered, "You are under the impression that she is still employed at a restaurant as a waitress. For the past two weeks she has been employed with Peterson Manufacturing as their assistant director of HR, earning $70,000 with low-cost childcare and a home courtesy of her former high school sweetheart. She is making five times what she made as a waitress and managed to find love with former boyfriend. She is, in fact, married to Anthony Russo and has made friends with many of her coworkers as well as her boss' children including the owners of her now former place of employment. And as of this past Wednesday, she has over $30 million in her new bank account so she has no need for any kind of assistance as she never has to work again. I know that you know that already, your client was the one who lost out on said money as he violated the conditions of his own inheritance thus forfeiting it to my client. That, your honor, is the true reason for Erik Riley suing for custody of Thomas AKA Tara Riley: the man is flat broke and needs her money." Ricardo then turned it around on Erik by asking, "Just what do you do for a living? Where do you live? Who will help you raise a four-year-old girl? Mary has a steady job, a husband, a sister-in-law, and a slew of people who are ready, willing, and able to help her with Tara. What do you have?" Erik was offended that he'd dare ask that. Leech tried to make up a bunch of excuses and lies, which had little substance and were counted by Ricardo proclaiming, "Your parents' business is shuttered per order of the Attorney General's Office due to fraud investigations into them, your house is actually in your sister's name as per her grandmother's will. All of the contents are actually owned by Mary Russo as per the same will. You never actually inherited anything as you failed to live up to the terms of your inheritance and as you are not actually related to Mrs. Allen you were not in line to receive anything anyway. So I ask, how can you support yourself and Tara without a home, job, or money?" Erik was ready to beat-up Ricardo while Roy demanded that he answer the question. Erik had nothing to answer with, mumbling that he'd get his money no matter what. Roy smirked then had the clerk read back those threats then proclaimed, "You have no job, no money, no home, and you have just threatened your sister in an open court. You have no actual interest in your niece, you are only seeking her for the money that your sister inherited. That will be rectified. The court rules in favor of Mary Riley. Case is dismissed with prejudice. Mrs. Riley, I apologize for your family abusing your rights for their gain." He pounded the gavel and dismissed Erik. He then called Mary, Tara, and Anthony forward and asked, "Do you still wish for Anthony Russo to adopt Thomas AKA Tara Riley?" Mary firmly told him, "Yes" to which Tara loudly said, "Yes!" He nodded then read over the medical report from Richard Samuels. He looked at Tara and saw her trying hard to not show emotion but was clearly agitated. He set down the reports and asked, "As you are about to be adopted, what name shall you go by?" Tara softly told him, "Tara Regina Russo" then tried hard not to react to his reaction. He nodded then proclaimed, "I do hereby grant name changes to Thomas and Mary Riley. I do hereby proclaim you to be Mary Elizabeth Russo and Tara Regina Russo. Congratulations to the three of you." With that, the newly minted family hugged tightly. They sat down while the Stoners prepared for their big showdown. The Russos didn't move, they were in it together as they were family by more than just Rose and Sydney's impending parenthood and marriage. With prompting from Cameron, two women entered the courtroom and caused the Martins to yell out loud at them. It was the worst thing that they could have done for their case as Roy sat silently as both women ignored the couple and took their place beside Savannah and Justin, nodding to them and not giving any hint of displeasure or emotion. The couple didn't speak a word to the Martins, they let them do all the speaking as Leech realized he had screwed-up badly now- he forgot the duo had a say. Roy called the hearing to order and had the clerk read the complaint out loud, with everyone inside the courtroom hearing just what the Martins were demanding from their claims. Roy was more than happy to have it on record that parents were trying to use their grandchildren to get revenge on their lesbian daughter for choosing to have children and allow a loving couple to raise them. There was no love or what is the best interest of the children, it was purely a money grab by the grandparents. The clerk nodded to Roy then proclaimed, "Your honor this is a case of Martin vs. Stoner, Stoner, and Martin-Short. Mr. George and Mrs. Rowan Martin are suing their daughter while both their sons Dean and Ned Martin are suing their sister for custody of the unborn children of their daughter Ellen. Last Spring there was a mix-up at fertility center doing the insemination causing a dual impregnation by the two biological fathers resulting in triplets. Mr. and Mrs. Stoner are the biological fathers of the triplets, with the Martins seeking to prevent the adoption of the other's children upon birth." Roy asked for clarification, to which the settled lawsuit was presented leading to nods and a quick, "To what does Ned and Dean Martin have to do with this?" The clerk grinned and explained, "They are of the belief that they are due the children if you rule against their parents. As is stated in the brief, they are the next of kin and are seeking the same from their sister- full custody and support." Looking at the Stoners, Roy asked, "To whom does Mr. and Mrs. Stoner have to counter the custody claim by the Martins?" Ricardo happily listed off the names of Rose and Sydney, then of Cameron and Lupe, Reyna and Rachel, Cynthia, then finally Justin's former sisters-in-law. Every single one of them had as much right as Dean and Ned and all of them had experience with newborns which neither Dean nor Ned had, thanks to never having been around children let alone being parents. Roy asked for the familial relationship of each, with the fact that Sydney was their biological sister, the Byrne-Toros were their aunt ad uncle, Reyna was their first cousin, Cynthia their grandmother, and the three elder Stoner ladies their aunts, it was tough to choose a good replacement parent for the children. Roy grinned as their jobs and even the fact that Cameron, Lupe, Cynthia, Rachel, Reyna, and especially Sydney were independently wealthy without their aunts even being considered yet. Sydney alone could afford to not only not work, she could hire people to raise the children on her own while Rose had their child and the couple lived a comfortable life without a care in the world. Roy asked about the silently focused Ashley, Ricardo firmly stated, "He is independently wealthy and is engaged but due to his fiance's job he defers to his other family. He is an successful photo editor and she a professional photographer but the needs of her job requires constant movement making the caring of three newborns impossible at this time. He would drop everything in a heartbeat to help his cousins but none of his family will allow him to do that without stepping in themselves. I personally vouch for their abilities as my sister, husband, niece, and both sons would assist the couple but none of us will allow them to forgo their chosen professions to care for the children." Ashley and the whole Stoner clan were the exact opposite of the Martins: they could care for a child. With Ned and Dean, they weren't able to care for a child and had no means to do so. Add in a stable relationship and a steady job and with a vast support network that made all complaints about inability to care for children laughable. Leech tried to go after he transgender angle, hoping in vain that Roy would fall into a trap to which he would have to give in to the Martins' demands. Roy asked what that had to do with anything, to which Leech claimed, "Savannah Stoner is unfit, as is that so-called daughter of hers. The children will be in danger thanks to the Stoners and the people that they have associated with." Roy demanded to know what he meant, so Leech explained, "They are deviants. They are transsexuals who openly abuse children by forcing the boys to become girls! They mutilate children, force them to undergo sex changes as young as age 4! It is only a matter of time before they force the same on the two boys after they are born." Roy laughed at the claims, then asked what else he had. Leech then added, "They associate with known prostitutes and people who are mentally ill. One woman forced herself into a marriage then stole the inheritances of children. One was deemed mentally disturbed and escaped institutionalization. One was arrested for sexually abusing a child. Multiple people have been arrested for assault on minors." Roy saw the furious looks on the faces of the Stoners then the huge grin on Ricardo's face and knew right away that Leech was about to lose his law license for breaking the law. Cameron shook his head then made notes to Ricardo who nodded, smiled brightly, then calculated just how to make mention of the accusations while countering all of them without causing any damage to themselves. When Ricardo was ready, he calmly told Roy, "Your honor, in his haste to try to pain my clients as being unfit my counterpart has exposed himself and his clients to legal trouble. What he has claimed is a mix of investigations that were all cleared due to false accusations, fabricated evidence, sealed legal cases, stolen falsified medical histories, and outright lies. I hope I don't have to address them individually." Roy asked that he do that but stopped the record with the intent of striking the claims immediately. Ricardo took a deep breath then stated, "I don't hide the fact that Sydney and Savannah Stoner as well as Cameron Byrne-Toro are transgender. That is of no bearing on the fitness as parents as being trans is not illegal nor is it immoral. My counterpart here is hoping that you have a prejudice that will make you rule against my clients, but you already know that it is not only of no baring but it is also grounds for an appeal that we would win easily in the court of appeals and Supreme Judicial Court.? He took a breath then added, "The accusations of being mentally disturbed and escaping from a mental institution is a mixture of truth and lies. It's true my client's protege and friend escaped being put into a mental institute, but the truth is far different: it was illegally forced on her by a doctor that wasn't a psychiatrist and her abusive grandparents due to her being transgender. This was fully adjudicated with the three going to prison. Regarding the so-called mutilations, they were all surgeries that were sadly forced on the child due to necessity due to trauma to the privates due to assaults, attempted murder, and a car accident that was also an attempted murder. Three were exactly like the case of Tara Russo- true birth defects. I know for a fact the case he is alluding to as I fought and won the right to have surgery for my client. Three children, like Tara Russo, underwent similar surgeries the eldest of which was in the throws of her first menstruation and would have died the following month due to blood poisoning if she hadn't had her surgery. The other two have grown to be perfectly normal girls who have started puberty and at last check both had their first periods. Both are documented in medical papers and saved countless lives as others were saved due to knowledge gained from their unfortunate defects." Roy was getting the gist of it, Ricardo then added, "Regarding prostitutes: well that's a blatant lie that is the result of the firing to two waitresses at the Stoners' friends' restaurant. The 'prostitution' was really the young pregnant woman who dated and married a man who was actually the heir of a manufacturing company. His children are close with the Stoners with Justin Stoner becoming the mentor to the man?s future daughter-in-law. This accusation is an old one that has been refuted by the woman herself as well as the man?s own friend and confidant so it?s all a lie. Her life is public record and she freely admitted that she adopted her husband?s two sons as her own as he adopted her daughter as his own. She is not now nor has she ever been a prostitute. In fact, she is the chairwoman of a major corporation, one that employs thousands in the Boston area. As for stealing the inheritance of his children? That?s all a lie as she refused to inherit all of her deceased husband?s assets, ensuring that her three children received a full 1/4th of their father?s assets and leaving the final 1/4th for her future grandchildren. She refuses to utilize any of the $1.5 billion she officially owns and lives solely off of his life insurance payout." Ricardo grinned, then added, "As far as abusing children, including that allegation of sexual assault: it's all lies. We have the relevant court cases to back up this, both state and federal. The allegations were made against the leading expert in transgender children as well as a lawyer turned educator. They were exonerated and DCF admonished by the court with the man who helped orchestrate the allegations going to prison for his role in that fiasco. And regarding child abuse as a whole, that's all the work of people like my counterpart who assaulted their children before they were placed in the care of people who could love and support them. That includes my own son and future daughter-in-law, as well as Mr. Stoner's own parents and brothers. There was no abuse, the only abusers are behind bars." Leech tried to claim that was all a bunch of lies which led to Ricardo spouting the exact court cases where the allegations came from. He then shot an angry glare at Leech and told the man, "I don't know how you got those cases unsealed, but I'll guarantee that you are put in jail for doing so. You don't have the right to reveal sealed cases in open court like this in a desperate attempt to make your case, NONE of those people have anything to do with this case and the three cases that you might have brought up are conveniently absent: Commonwealth v. Hollis, Commonwealth v. Stoner, Stoner, Stoner, Stoner, and Stoner, and Commonwealth v. Harrison and Harrison. Those three cases are three that directly involve the Stoner family, and are the former stepfather and birth parents of the children's elder sisters as well as their paternal uncles and grandparents. And like all of the other cases, they had nothing to do with the Stoners directly. Hollis abused Sydney, the Harrisons were drug dealers who had died making drugs and nearly killed their daughter, and the Stoners are all in prison for crimes that had no direct connection to Justin Stoner until they sought custody of Sydney due to him trying to gain custody." Roy grinned, told the court reporter to strike everything after the initial claims of abusing the children, then admonished Leech by shouting for the record, "I don't have to read the cases to see that they are all telling the same story: someone tries to use the system against innocent people and failed to get their way, causing themselves to be imprisoned for their own crimes as well as new ones. It's the same story over and over again, only the Stoners' friends fought back. I recall a lot of what you infer, I may be new to this area but I'm not so new that I haven't seen the name 'Finn' and 'Peterson' painted all over the place for all of the right reasons and with only those who were criminal or prejudicial against those who were being helped by the vast family having anything bad to say about those people. If even 1/100th of what is claimed about their actions regarding the helping of others and ensuring the well-being of children and families in need are true, then the Stoners are smart to be around them as they are exactly the kind of friends you'd want to have. The children aren't in danger, they are going to be in the hands of the best people possible to help raise them and take after!" He looked at the assembled crowd and noticed that not one of them reacted to the verbal assault on the support network for the Stoners, which told him all he needed to know about those people. The truth is a funny thing in his eyes, when you know it you don't let the words of others bother you. The Stoners had a group who had heard it all before and who tuned out bigotry and allegations in favor of the truth. Roy grinned then asked if there was any actual evidence that the Martins would provide for their case. When Leech tried to avoid it and tried to say that they shouldn't have to show anything, Roy countered with a solid, "It's on your clients to provide evidence that the children are in danger. You have failed to do that, in fact you have only made it clear that they are more in danger from their grandparents than the people who are best suited to handle them. Sure they may be new parents, but it is the burden of the job to learn and grow. It's something learned from the dawn of time, they happened to have the inverse of experience regarding parenthood as they started with a growing teenager and a 10-year-old but they are still able to care for their children and have the right support network to assist when they need it." Turning to Ellen Martin-Short, Roy asked her to speak on record. She got up and proclaimed, "My wife and I love one another deeply but are not parenting types. We have chosen to adopt children as we are of the belief that they deserve homes. We met Savannah when one of the children had an issue with her inheritance that needed fixing and saw the fondness in her eyes that we were feeling. She told us about her feeling like she missed out on something as she watched her nephew grow into a young man who is the son parents want to have then saw her friend become a grandfather and help babysit the little boy. We connected deeply and I offered to be her surrogate out of friendship. I had to spend weeks talking her into it before she accepted. I knew that my parents would object but it was due to my falling in love with women and not due to the children being in any danger. I willingly give my sons and daughter to the couple and am proud to be their 'Aunt Ellen' to them and would do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, that was what I had planned for Justin but the surrogacy center screwed-up and caused both to be the fathers of the children. Savannah sadly lost all chances to be a parent but it is a miracle that two are her biological children. She has her dreams fulfilled and I help a friend in need." She looked over at her parents then proclaimed, "I do what I do willingly and out of love. Savannah is a great woman and deserves to be the mother she is born to be. I know that the three are part of me, they will be in my life but they belong with Savannah and Justin. My brothers and parents are looking for money from the Stoners and only care about money. Until this past week they had no contact with me at their own demand. As Mr. Vincent is showing, they had a restraining order against me to keep me away from them. They are not here for the benefit of the children, they are only here for themselves. I don't want them to be anywhere near the children, they don't deserve to be hurt because Ned, Dean, nor George and Rowan Martin believe they can make a buck off of them." He dismissed Ellen to let her calm herself. Looking over at the entire Stoner family, Roy proclaimed, "I am denying the claims of all four parties. I don't see any need. Despite the attempt to prey on perceived bias against transgender individuals, I am not going to split a family without reason. I don't care one bit that Mrs. Valerie Finn would have my ruling overturned in a heartbeat as I know she is at the John Adams Courthouse awaiting word of my decision, she doesn't need to do anything this time. I fail to see how Mrs. Savannah or Ms. Sydney Stoner are any kind of threat to children. If anything, the two are people I would want around children- particularly their own blood relatives. Mrs. Stoner has never had a parking ticket let alone been arrested, and her daughter is mature enough to be the next-of-kin that the children need should the worst happen. The family has a support network that is stronger than any other kind I have seen short of the fabled Finn Family itself and unless I missed the inferences the Stoners are part of the very family itself. I have no reason to deny the adoption of Justin and Savannah Stoner as the parents of their spouse?s biological children." He continued, "I understand just why Mrs. Martin-Short is allowing the adoption, and I applaud her for being selfless in her actions. Mr. and Mrs. Martin, your claims are one-sided and don't stand the test of reality. You ignore that your own daughter would be the one to get the children if Mr. and Mrs. Stoner were to be deemed dangers to the children. You ignore that she is willingly giving up all rights to the children which makes your claims laughable as you would lose all rights to them as well. She herself is fully aware of Ms. and Mrs. Stoner not being born female and still chooses to give up all rights to the children. I see no cause to go against her words and do hereby deny all four of your claims. I am granting an order of protection against you right now as you are the actual threats to the children." He grinned then stated, "I am proclaiming that Savannah and Justin Stoner are the parents of the three children to be born in three months. I am making note that it is by mutual decree by all parties involved and am standing by this decree with my personal blessing. Congratulations to all of you, may the three be happy and healthy and may you enjoy your sleep while it lasts- as one parent to a future parent, I know it won't." The court laughed at the joke, with only the Martins and Leech not. Erik, Leech, and the Martins were led out of the courtroom with Ned, Erik, and Dean placed into handcuffs by David while Miles placed Leech into handcuffs. George and Rowan didn't bother to stop them, they were more concerned with the look of Beverly Bollinger and the newly arrived Valerie Finn, both of whom handed the couple summons and reports from their impending accounting audit. Inside the courtroom, the clerk called the next case. Roy grinned as Martha and Gina stood before him. He asked that Mary Russo stand as well, with Roy grinning as Mary was all but forced to by Tara. Roy read over the petition, then asked, "As you have been the psychiatrist for Tara Russo, do you have arrangements made for her care now that you are going to be a direct relative?" Gina proudly told him, "Dr. Alison Eliza has agreed to take over her care. Tara has received an evaluation based on indirect observation by her watching from her neighbor's yard the first time Tara and her daughters played with one another then in person during Tara's initial time with the twins. It's in her report." Roy asked about her familial relationship to Mary, Gina sighed and explained, "She is the daughter of my cousin. Her mother has been the black sheep of our family which was why she allowed her husband to sleep around resulting in Mary's brother being born. I lost contact with her side of the family when I went to medical school and was starting my practice so I was unable to help her when she needed it most. I regret that deeply and want to make it up to her by trying to help her now. I gladly take her on as my daughter to give her the love and support that she needs." Roy nodded and got what he needed, then told the couple, "I know this is sudden but given that it was in a time of need and you have shown more by actions than by words I do hereby grand your application for adoption. Mary Russo, Dr. Regina 'Gina' Allen and The Honorable Martha Perez are your mothers. Please love and respect them and may they show the same to you." Mary was embraced by her new cousins, with Roy trying hard not to laugh at the men and women of the Perez family engulfing their newest relative. He didn't need to ask who they were, by the look of the men it was clear that they were Martha's nephews as she was her father's daughter in looks. Gina had no other relatives of her own, but Roy was glad to see that she had them through Martha's family. July 28th, 2025 The group left en-masse from the courtroom with the Russos and Stoners encircled by the Perez men. It was going to be tough to get through them to get at any of the Stoners or Russos, but people have tried in the past so they were ready for anything. Valerie and Beverley met them outside the courtroom and gave Mary hugs, with Beverly happily telling Mary that she was proud of her. The crowd in the lobby parted as the group walked out of the courthouse, their large numbers being too big for anyone hired by the Martin Brothers or Erik to harm them. They went right to the Russo home and let the family rest as Tara was exhausted by the exertion and drama. The Stoners went home as well, with the Martin-Shorts joining them as Savannah helped Ellen finalize her adoption of two teens who were all but abandoned by DCF due to their being not fitting the mold for most potential parents- her own way of giving back to Ellen for helping them when they needed help most. In the late afternoon, the influx of well-wishers came by. Tara had all of her new friends come by, with Sophia and Dorothy all but dragging her out back to play with them while their brothers watched. They were joined by Hunter and Bailey, with Hunter giving Tara a big hug to show that they were still OK and she wasn't jealous of being "complete" while she was still male "down below." It got to be so rambunctious and fun that the girls wore themselves out and fell asleep in Tara's room after they all ate dinner. Mary fought for words while Anthony groaned about his daughter getting into the hang of friendship already. Both couldn't help but smile as Dorothy hugged Tara tight as they slept, with the two cuddling Tara's beloved Becky while Sophia and the twins slept around them. The kids were up early and enjoyed making Anthony cringe as they ran around the house, ensuring that the couple couldn't cuddle in private and were unable to fall back asleep. The kids giggled about what they were doing behind closed doors, with Tara joking that they were making a baby. Both shot up at hearing that, neither could believe that Tara could joke about that but blushed as they realized that it was possible as neither of them had used protection since they started having sex. The two showered, got dressed, then went about getting the kids to their parents so they could go to the preschool. Tara hugged and kissed them goodbye, with Sophia and Dorothy telling everyone that they were both her parents and Tara had a new name. The kids didn't ask what that meant, but the girls' brothers and cousins were happy to hug Tara and tell her she should be happy to have a daddy now. At work, Mary blushed as Lilly gave her a big hug and congratulated her on winning so soundly and by making her family know that she wasn't one to be trifled with anymore and for also protecting her and her own family as well. Lilly asked about Tara and the kids, with Lilly grinning widely at Dorothy all but making Tara her best friend. She happily told Mary, "She loves Tara. She hit a chord with Dorothy, it's different from how she acts with her cousins and the twins, she really clicks with Tara. It's like how I am with my friend Gabby, we just get one another. And I swear it's how you were with Anthony, only without the sexual tension that built up over time." Mary blushed at that, it was a little maternal teasing but Mary enjoyed it. She went to work while also enduring the fact that the company had missed her for one day. Work piled up and she saw just how she was impacting HR just by the number of requests for her mediation instead of complaints to her boss. Anthony had it worse. The parents among the engineers teased him about fatherhood while they also joked about him going the extra mile when most would have run for the hills. Patrick wisely kept silent as he knew best what Anthony was going through, and it wasn't his place to joke about personal lives. In private, he told Anthony, "The kids are happy that you three have come into their lives. Dorothy is different somehow, and her brother is more protective of her. The kids are acting better now that they know that some kids have it worse and some families aren't like their own family. They are making all of us proud by how they are reacting, Tara fit in with them and is making her mark already." At lunch, the couple were joined by the Petersons, Finns, Bollingers, and Nelsons. It was like a mini-reunion with seven groups sitting together but the whole group together was a big sign that the Russos were more than close with the owners- they were almost family. Mary had a great time with the wives of the group, especially as they joked about their husbands causing them to cringe and try to run off but really giving them space so Mary could bond with the ladies like Anthony had done with the guys. This was something that Mary had missed out on since she was in high school, especially as nobody had kept in contact with her and none of her coworkers wanted anything to do with her. Claire was fun and treated her like the cousin that she had wanted when she was younger while Stacy Nelson was like a burst of energy who enjoyed needling Claire while giving Mary insight into the dynamics of their big group. Courtney and Christina Finn were much like their husbands and enjoyed letting Stacy and Claire being the ones to drag friendship out of Mary as it was what they were great at doing. Mary was officially "one of them" after that, with Claire telling her firmly, "The ladies are going to keep you close from now on. It's going to be hard to not be, you've got Violet all but demanding to play with Tara and Will being your cousin means mom and momma won't let you get away without help. Expect the girls to want to be around your house a lot, especially after school starts in a couple of weeks." That hit her hard with Claire smiling and happily telling her, "Yep, our little angels are growing up. It's time for 'big kid school' and school vacations. But don't worry, our parents have it worked out already. Odds are Uncle Jake will take in Tara to give you two some peace and quiet. That is, if your own moms aren't going to do it for you first." Gina was already arranging her appointments to have the evenings off while Martha had the Monday off due to holidays so Tara would be able to stay with her grandmothers for the weekend. Mary didn't know it yet, but they wanted to be part of Tara's life so having her at their house to give the couple the weekend off was already in the works. They already knew what the couple would be doing and smiled at it, they deserved some time as a couple without Tara home. That same morning, the four Martins, Erik, the Rileys, Leech, and Shyster were arraigned at Suffolk County Superior Court by Kennedy Pena and the heads of the attorney general's fraud and violent crime divisions. Shyster and Leech tried to claim that they had no right to try them as what they may have learned was learned due to listening to attorney/client meetings thus were inadmissible. Neither had any real idea where the charges stemmed from, but they tried hard to bully their way out of any possible charges just in case they were facing serious charges due to their clients' actions. The duo were upset to learn that they were caught red-handed by Kennedy through emails and bank transactions, with Shyster caught on video giving money to Tara's kidnappers then meeting with the Rileys after they had been arrested with the Rileys giving Shyster the names of people to contact and what to do to get the worst outcome for Mary. Leech was setup by Shyster to take the fall in case he was taken out himself, the two had a long rivalry that was known to people out in Pittsfield and with both being the go-to lawyers for underhanded people before Leech moved east to go after the lucrative Boston market for underhanded lawyers. It was easy to link the two together, they rarely met and when they did something terrible happened to people who, "Wronged" either one- like Mary. Charges of extortion, fraud, embezzlement, criminal conspiracy, money laundering, and assault were leveled against both Shyster and Leech, with the two turning on one another to try to save their own skins. They fell into a trap perfectly as they were so desperate to make the other look bad that they were implicating themselves in exactly what the other was saying without realizing it. Neither was innocent, they were both as dirty as they come and were so arrogant that they never realized that they had just set themselves up for bigger falls by playing prosecutors against the other guaranteeing convictions for the two lawyers and their unscrupulous clients. When they were called forward the next day on secondary charges, they realized their mistakes. They had nothing to bargain with anymore. They were going down hard for their own actions for once. The trials of group for the crimes in Pittsfield were held in Springfield as there was no way they could get a fair jury out there. The tactic backfired as Springfield just so happened to be less inclined to go in their favor than Pittsfield, leading to their lawyers to scream unfair but it was their own error in judging that led to the initial change in venue. Kennedy's only gripe about the case was that she had to spend a couple of weeks away from home and only got to see her kids on the weekend, causing her to think it might be getting time to lessen her role in the office so she could be mother more often to her seven-year- old son and 16-year-old daughter. The trials lasted three weeks but saw the dirty laundry of dozens aired as the Martins and Rileys had a lot of illicit deals going on to keep them in a luxury lifestyle while both defrauding Mary and cutting off Ellen from wealth that was actually theirs. The terms of both inheritances were read out loud in the courtroom with Mary being the rightful heir of millions while her brother was cut off due to his being an illegitimate child who was too lazy to find a job, get an education, or join the military. Ellen's own inheritance was simpler: as the only grandchild of both sets of grandparents, she was given their family fortune due to her parents cutting off contact with her grandparents after they supported Ellen. Erik was humiliated as he lost every friend he had, as well as the horde of girls who usually hung off of his arms when he was hanging around the local bars. Cameron happily evicted him from his house and sold it, with Erik's lawyer trying to fight the sale in court but seeing his lawsuit tossed out due to Mary actually owning the house- not her parents. Erik was broke and accepted a plea deal, getting four years in prison for fraud and testifying against both of his parents as well as the Martin brothers. Nick and Fay Riley were inept in their defense as they tried to blame Mary then Tara for the kidnapping and soliciting murder charges. Neither were able to counter Kennedy's words and then the fact that Tara was, in fact, female internally only made things worse for them. They ignored the truth and blamed it on their son then tried to blame it all on Shyster but their own emails and texts pointed right to them. The fraud and embezzlement charges were even worse as they were hard to argue and the fact that they had boasted that the only good thing that Mary had done in her life was being born and getting kicked out, which sealed their fates. They were forced to admit that they kicked her out and set her up in with a man who was known to have not only been a philanderer but who also father multiple children caused outrage and a look of sickness from the judge. When they used the inevitable breakup against Mary they had to explain how it was Mary's fault and how it justified her being cut off from what she had rightfully gotten in her inheritance- right when she was on the verge of coming into the money, and in a time of great need where it could have changed her life. The couple were convicted by the jury on all charges, with Kennedy making an example of them by asking for heavy sentences. They were sentenced to 30 years combined for all of the charges, light by the standards but as they were going to maximum security prisons instead of the work farms or medium security prisons that they had hoped for. The judge took pity on them, but ensured that they were never going to harm their daughter again even from behind bars. That was just the start of their troubles as Cameron went after their assets and ensured that the sale of the land that Mary actually owned was undone. The new owners tried to sue to stop this but the fact it wasn't Nick's land to sell was hammered into the judge who agreed to the return of all money paid to the families. This money came directly from the Rileys' accounts, one kept separate from Mary's own inheritance account and forcing the Rileys into bankruptcy as they were forced to pay the full amount, plus moving expenses, plus negotiate a deal to allow the families to stay until a proper deal was made for the land by the rightful owner. Cameron wasn't budging on the sale, he worked with a Realtor, got a fair estimate on the land's value and the costs for homes, then sold the houses at less than what the owners had actually paid in the first place. Cameron could have charged through the nose but Mary chose to be a good person and let them buy the land at normal value as they were already there, had good reputations, and she felt like it was the right thing to do for them as they were victims in the scheme and the land intentionally overvalued to get them to pay more than they should have- it was the right thing to do in her eyes. The Rileys had to sell their business due to their bankruptcy but ended up selling it to Cameron, who had his own people assess it and give the OK to it. It was solvent, could be run from Winnisimmet, and would give her mother, Cynthia Byrne, something to do with her free time in her current retirement. It was really Fay's baby, so it could be run by anyone with just some quick training and subcontracting for web design and upgrading. Ironically, the business was a family advice website that was widely popular with parents as it was up to date on trends and had a variety of opinions on subjects. Fay was a master of bullshitting things but the natural adviser in Cynthia actually put thought into her advice pieces. The change in owners was a blow to the site but it actually got more hits and brought in a lot of money in advertisements due to the steadily growing popularity. Cynthia was thrilled that people liked what she had to say about a variety of parenting topics and everyday advice to about things folks were afraid to ask and being experienced in a lot of the topics of the day due to her family?s various interests and interactions she was able to make the site into something Fay never could- a must read and a media darling that got talked about on all of the local news broadcasts. Cynthia parlayed her small fame into recurring segments on radio and TV that made her into a regional celebrity. She appeared on a variety of TV shows and got some national acclaim that led to more hits on the website and more fame as her advice was on the money. She didn't need to be a PhD recipient to give advice to people based on her own real-life experience, she earned respect from her site and gave the elderly Cynthia a new drive in her golden years. As if losing the cash cow wasn?t bad enough, the Rileys saw their hidden bank accounts culled as they had to pay all of Gina?s inheritance to her that Faye had kept hidden from everyone- even Nick. Gina had little interest in the money, it was meant for Mary and her children. Mary refused to touch any of the money while Tara loved that Gina cared about them so much, Gina simply wanted to show that she and the kids were linked by blood and it was their legacy as much as hers. The Martins fared just as bad as the Rileys in their criminal cases as all four were in financial trouble and needed the money that they had hoped to get from controlling Stoners' three newborns to bail them out of debt that they had accumulated. They were also hoping to use Ellen's inheritance to finance their lives while the child support payments from the Stoners paid for the kids' upkeep. Ellen won her own separate inheritance battle and received the full amount plus interest, while her family had to recoup the losses through selling their houses and their businesses. Their attempts to use false information in court to smear the Stoners made for a tough time in court as the judge sealed the courtroom, kicked out anyone who wasn't a witness or part of the legal teams, then told the Martins' lawyer that any attempt to disseminate the information would cause him to not only lose his license but also his freedom. The judge wasn't about to allow his courtroom to be used to get revenge against people who had never met the four nor was it relevant to the case. None of the known information was usable and if their lawyer tried to use it again he'd be sued by Lilly and Deborah Peterson, Katie and Allison Eliza, and Justin, Piper, and Sydney Stoner for violating their rights and the rights of their families. Dean and Ned tried to act like they did no wrong but their weak links were their girlfriends- the same two girls who tried to solicit Anthony, slept with Carl Leonard, and who were jealous of Mary. They turned on their boyfriends when they were caught by police trying to solicit an off-duty officer at a park in Cambridge, with the officer getting the attention of a patrolling trooper who took them into custody for prostitution. Their choice, given by Kennedy, was to either testify against the Martins or go to jail for a few months and have a permanent mark on their criminal record- the two chose to testify against the duo even if it cost them their small apartment. The girls' families were upset at their actions but still took them in and helped them turn around their lives. They screwed up and knew it, but their parents gave them a second chance. They would work for their parents to earn their keep, with the two going to school to earn a degree as punishment. The girls did turn their lives around and grew closer to their parents as they realized that they weren't the adults that they believe themselves to be. They tried to study and work with their families and got to see that they were doing better with their parental support than on their own. They regretted what they had done away from home but saw it as a blessing in disguise as they earned more money with lesser hours with their parents than they had ever earned waiting tables at the restaurant. As the girls were rebuilding their lives, Dean and Ned tried to use Carl against the girls. That resulted in Carl getting beaten to the point of being hospitalized by one of the girls' fathers. Carl was visited in the hospital by Kennedy who then had him placed under arrest for witness intimidation and extortion. Carl was unable to fight back, he was barely able to move and could barely speak when arraigned from his bedside on the charges. Carl's life only got worse as he and his partner in crime were tried on fraud and embezzlement charges. The duo forfeited their bank accounts to repay Patrick and the former owner of the restaurant. The two had a lot of money that couldn't be accounted for, leading to an investigation into them by the federal government leading to more criminal charges as their illicit friendships brought more people to light. Without the girls and Carl to support them, Dean and Ned went down hard. They were convicted on all charges as well as the new charges from their roles in Carl's money laundering scheme. The two were sentenced to 15 years in prison but were in constant fear of the men who lost the money that they had put into Carl's hands that was seized by the government. George and Rowan fared just as bad but were given lighter sentences due to the lesser charges. They did have to spend a total of eight years in prison for their charges, but got off easier than their sons. It was mitigated by the fact that they were now flat broke, homeless due to having to sell their home, and having nobody to help them anymore. Carl Leonard and his counterpart received 25 years in prison then had to spend the rest of their lives in fear as he owed millions to organized crime figures. The money was nothing to them, it was recouped in days but Carl would be made an example of as he devolved into a paranoid man. He would never be able to sleep soundly, he couldn't go out after dark, and he always avoided crowds- all to stay alive. The group who kidnapped Tara were sentenced to 30 years in prison apiece. They were harassed by the inmates from the first night until the day they were released from prison. They broke one of the few unwritten rules about crime: never hurt a kid. Their trial was one of the quickest, they were caught on camera abducting Tara and the money was in their possession when they were arrested. Socks that belong to Tara were found in the van along with fingerprints of all five people. It was impossible to argue against the evidence, they put up a small fight but they were literally caught red- handed by the police. They could have gotten a lot more time in prison but their choice to testify against Hugh Shyster gave them 20 years off of what would have been a 50-year sentence. They lost everything that they had as they told every single crime they committed and where all of their money was hidden, with the four being lucky that they didn?t owe anything to drug distributors or kingpins. Their money went directly to a fund that paid for fighting drug addiction, a fitting irony for the four wannabe drug barons. Life returned to normal for the two families as Tara got used to having grandparents, a father, aunts, and friends all close by. She got to enjoy time with her new 2nd and 3rd cousins, with the kids' parents helping Mary and Anthony whenever possible as they enjoyed afternoons and evenings alone. The two were always blushing when Tara asked if they had made her a new brother or sister, but her heart was in the right place as she tried to tell them that she hoped to be a big sister one day like her friends. Sure enough, three days after hearing while eating lunch Mary suddenly realized that she hadn't gotten her monthly visitor. She counted back and silently cursed herself, her night of passion with Anthony the first night Tara came out was the worst night to have unprotected sex. She was pregnant with Anthony's baby- Tara had gotten her wish, she would be a big sister. Mary was stoic and didn't reveal anything to Anthony, but did book an appointment with her doctor to confirm the suspicions. She was, indeed, pregnant and the baby would be born in late April if all went well for her. She was in tears, thanking the doctor and trying hard to keep herself together until later. That night, over dinner, she smiled to Tara and Anthony and asked Tara if she still wanted a younger brother or sister. Tara shrugged, to which Mary told her, "It's alright. You'll be a big sister in April." Anthony dropped his fork while Tara cheered. Mary looked over to him and explained in a calm voice, "We weren't careful our first night. I know we didn't plan on it, but I am happy to have your baby. I love you, Anthony, and hope to have your children for as long as you want them." Anthony kissed her deeply, then hugged the crying Tara. He shook his head and mumbled about having to tell Rose and deal with her arrogant, "Payback's a bitch" face. Mary just grinned and hugged him, it was going to be tough but he Rose would appreciate being able to help Mary and vice versa. Mary called Rose and Sydney after finishing dinner, with the two reacting as expected as Rose asked if it was Anthony's just in case she had done something before they got together. Mary didn't take offense to the question and reluctantly admitted to when they did the deed and why. Rose wanted to joke but it was too sweet, instead she told her, "It was years overdo, you two deserved some makeup sex." The two talked about things that they hadn't talked about before, and saw Sydney feeling left out but it was for Rose's own sake as she had found an understanding ear in her sister-in-law. Sydney would be the same with Anthony, even if he would find a better ear from David and the guys. She was still his sister-in-law, her advice meant a lot to him especially given how she felt about her body before she had her final surgery to become whole. Gina and Martha were told the next day, with both hugging and kissing the couple while Gina proudly told Tara that she got her wish but she shouldn't push them too far anymore. She blushed and got the hint, she'd lay off the sex jokes as they were inappropriate for a girl her age. The ladies asked if they had picked out names, Anthony wisely deferred to Mary who proudly proclaimed, "Regina or Anthony." Gina was in tears while Martha added, "You are her closest relative and you said it was a family name." Mary added, "I wanted to name Tara that before she was born. She was so set on Tara that I couldn't ask her to change her name even if I wanted to. It's tough to deny her pleading look at times." When Mary told Lilly and the rest of the "single mothers club" they laughed long and hard, especially as it was so much like they had thought that it wasn't a shock to them. Mary was offended but Lilly sat her down and explained, "It's clear to all of us from the start that you loved him so it was inevitable. We are just glad that he took the news well. At the rate she was going, Tara was about to beg you to make her a little brother or sister so you'd give Anthony his own child. She loves him immensely, she just wanted to give him a piece of himself to match the little piece of yourself that you have in her." School came on the family faster than they realized, with Mary frantically taking Tara to get some new clothes while also juggling her schedule to allow for Tara to go home with one of her friends. Being in the same neighborhood helped immensely, Katie happily volunteered to take Tara home as both of her kids would need Tara to decompress after their school days. The twins were happy to play with Tara and gave her a chance to unwind before her parents got home, but it also helped the twins as Hunter could talk with Tara about things that none of the other kids could understand even if she was younger. This lasted a week before Hunter found her own friends, with Tara forcing her to enjoy being with kids her own age. Violet got Tara to go over her house instead, with Violet's cousins giggling that Violet was making Tara be her friend without saying it. They were right, Violet was too shy to force herself to be Tara's friend but did want to join her more often. The two were close and with Dorothy's blessing they spent a lot of time together. It was convenience as the couple were down the street from one another and Violet's mother Christina was always at home. Tara got to see the fun side of Violet's family as the two were often at an elderly couple's house when Violet's mom Christina had to do something important and Tara's parents weren't home from work. Tara's school life went smoothly as few knew about her former life and even fewer believed that she had been born differently because she was so female in her actions. Tara's teacher was told that she had been born with a birth defect that was corrected and if anyone had an issue with it then they would be directed to the proper school rules as well as the exact diagnosis for her condition. She was not now nor had she ever been transgender so there was no right for any parent to sue to keep her out of class nor was there any reason to deny her the right to use a girl's bathroom or be called her legal name. There were always bigots among the parents, but the ones who complained were drowned out by the ones who knew the truth and corrected every claim possible. It helped immensely that the Perezes had a strong influence in the city and had strong words with those who threatened the Russos, after the first week of complaints they died out. The one who did try to continue on was the school's resident bigot who hated anyone who was different- Tara was simply her latest target so she was permanently banned from school and had to explain to her kids why she was saying what she was saying about Tara with the kids not accepting anything but the truth. Tara's friendship with the kids bloomed in another way. When she met Hannah Smith for the first time and was given her own Sammi the Cabbit toys and stuffed animals, Tara cried and thanked Hannah for giving her something so special. The happy energy of Tara and her own story of overcoming struggles led to Hannah getting inspired and putting Tara into her newest book. "Tara the Triumphant" was a bestseller and was the biggest book of the series by sales. Tara's cabbit was unique in her fur pattern and incorporated, "TR" into it stood out, with Tara blushing as it was her own initials and her mark in the literary world. Hannah proudly told Tara that she would make good use of Tara and held true to her word, Tara was in each of the books as Dorothy's best friend and Sammi's new voice of reason that made Dorothy stop and think things over before getting into more trouble. Dorothy glared at Hannah as she read the ending, but laughed as it was true- Tara did make her think and she loved Tara's fun personality. Even if Tara was making more friends, Dorothy was still her best friend and the two were inseparable whenever they were together. Violet was the voice of reason for the two and in classic fashion she was the spitting image of her parents' own personalities. Ellen tried to remain distant from the Stoners but she accepted their friendship, with Justin being a big help to Ellen and her wife's newly adopted children as they struggled with English in school. He was a great male figure for their son and daughter, showing that you don't have to be big, strong, and violent to be a man while showing that real parents care about their children and don't harm them. The two had come from criminally violent homes and were afraid of their own shadows due to years of constant abuse, he shared a bond with them as only those who were victims of abuse like that could share and which Ellen and her wife lacked. The triplets were a tough pregnancy for Ellen but she endured and after eight months of pregnancy the trio wanted out. The call came late at night and saw the couple rushing to Boston with Piper in tow. It was a long night as Ellen's wife kept an eye on Piper, Sydney, and Rose but after four hours and a quick cesarean section birth due to complications with vaginal birth Phillip Jackson, Lydia Zara, and Nathan Cameron Stoner were born. When she was awake after the surgery the nurses tried to hand the babies to Ellen but she insisted on them going to Savannah as she was their mother now that her job was done. Ellen confirmed the paperwork in front of Roy the next day when he visited her in the hospital and gave up all rights to the children. She didn't think of reneging on the deal when she recovered. In her eyes, they were Savannah's children no matter what. Ellen did get to hold them eight weeks later as the family celebrated Thanksgiving together. There was no way to get out of it, Savannah needed to do something in the kitchen while Ellen's wife was busy with Justin and their kids. It was a touching moment as the trio didn't care for Ellen and she felt only a sliver of remorse but as soon as the babies saw Savannah and they let Ellen know they wanted the woman who they knew as their mother that feeling evaporate and she smiled. She happily thanked Savannah for doing that for her, it was unplanned but it was something that she had needed to do for weeks. The triplets were fine with Ellen and her wife, the two were happy to be aunts to the children with the trio enjoying the attention from them. The couple were proud to have a role in the triplets' lives at a distance, never interfering in Savannah's development as a mother and being the friend that Savannah needed. Mary, Rose, and Savannah bonded over the children as Mary's and Rose's pregnancies went into their final trimester. Over a lot of diaper changes, the duo got a lot of advice from Savannah with Mary still relearning how to care for a newborn despite having gone through a pregnancy already. Savannah felt great to share her knowledge, she had her brother and sister-in-law to talk with about the kids but being the big aunt to Mary was a whole other world and one that felt better to her. When the two finally gave birth, Rose was two weeks overdue and Mary was almost a month early making for a hectic day as the two gave birth within minutes of one another. The waiting room was packed as all of the Stoners as well as Martha, Gina, and Tara were waiting for word. Sydney was first out and announced a baby boy then Anthony came out and announced a baby boy, with all laughing at the funny outcome. Justin was in tears as he was a grandfather so soon after becoming a father, while Tara was in tears as she got her wish and was a big sister. Anthony was exhausted while Sydney was stoic, the two were in silence as the ladies handed them their bundles of joy. They saw their sons and smiled brightly at them, with Sydney feeling a lot better about being a mother as it made the personally humiliating act of sex via her penis worth it as it created a bundle of joy. Sydney and Rose married in a small(by Finn Family standards) ceremony with all of their friends and closest family in attendance. Rose had only Anthony, Tara, and baby Tony on her side with Mary as her maid of honor while Sydney has her cousins, their boyfriends, wife, fiance, and husband, and her aunts, uncle, and grandmother with Piper as her maid of honor. Justin tearfully walked Sydney down the aisle while Rose had Anthony walk her down the aisle and barely holding back tears of joy. The triplets were quiet during the entire ceremony and only made a noise when Nathan let out a cry for attention when the priest asked if anyone had any objections, causing a laugh as Sydney groaned at her brother getting exactly what he wanted- all eyes on him for a minute. The couple kissed and tossed the bouquets, with Piper catching one and Tara catching the other. Justin just about collapsed at the thought of Piper marrying but knowing she was destined to marry Logan Finn caused a smile on his face. The couple honeymooned in Hawaii with baby Justin Ashley Stoner staying with his grandparents for the week. The couple were sad to leave baby Justin with his grandparents, but nobody would let them take him and they needed the time to themselves. When they returned they went right for their son and were happy to see that he missed them as much as they missed him. Time passed and the dynamics of the Finn Family changed again, as it always did. The Stoners and Russos were some of the next generation changing as they grew older. Parenthood mellowed some but it also gave a drive that others hadn't had. Eventually, like their parents, their children would join each other as the tight net weaved tighter and families mingled. Just as they always do in small towns like Winnisimmet.