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April 2029, Winnisimmet, MA Identical twins Chance and Brady Carter were bouncing off of the walls as it was April vacation and the two were free from school for the week. They would have 10 days with friends and family as they enjoyed trips to visit their cousins in Endicott to swim in their pool as well as visit their unofficial ones around Winnisimmet. It was a typical week for the twins, one they experienced many times before. The two had big reasons for being free from school: they hated it! Their principal, Mr. Al Jackson, was the meanest man you could ever meet and made all students upset for any reason whatsoever- with the white students particularly being targeted by him. Chance had a war of words with him at least once a month and always came out on top, but got frequent detentions in retaliation. Brady was on his radar for targeting from day 1 with Mr. Jackson trying hard to get the boy expelled. He saw Brady as someone that didn't belong in his school and should be run out of the city, but was not dumb enough to overtly state that Brady didn't belong in "his school." He let it be known indirectly through trusted people that Brady was not going to be allowed in his school the next year and if he returned he'd go out of his way to expel the boy no matter the cost. The boys were glad to be away from Jackson and able to do what they wanted to do at home. Their friends all but seized them and dragged them off to their houses, with Chance going with Johnny Finn and Brady going with his cousin Dorothy Peterson. Dorothy and he were inseparable, especially as the two shared just about everything in common from mischievousness to music to TV shows. Over time, Dorothy and he confided in one another and saw Brady confessing that he wasn't a boy like his brother- Brady was a girl like his mother Addison. He may look like Chance, but that was all that the two had in common. Brady was feminine, loved dolls and "girly" TV shows, and happily wore what Dorothy was wearing whenever he stayed at her house. He kept his feelings a secret from everyone, he knew that they loved him no matter what and that there was another two girls like him near his age, but fear of how the school would react and disappointing Addison made him try to suppress his feelings until they got to the boiling point. Dorothy gave him an outlet, but even wearing her dresses and prancing around her room playing pretend couldn't quench that growing feeling inside of him. April vacation brought Brady plenty of time with Dorothy to the point that he was dressed as a girl for most of the week and only took off Dorothy's play dress for meals. The two refused to separate to the point that they showered together, with Dorthy's mother Deborah softly telling them that it was alright and if it helped Brady then they'd allow it. The two didn't make light of seeing something on Brady that would make most girls scream, Dorothy avoided it and Brady only washed it to keep it clean. Deborah tried hard not to listen to Brady and Dorothy talk, but hearing him confess that he was a girl had her running to her phone to call his parents to tell them that he needed to speak to someone soon as it was going to get worse for him. Carmen and Addison Carter were upset at Brady being too scared to go to them to tell them his secret, but wanted to ensure that he was truly feeling that way and that it was not just a phase that he was going through. It had happened before when kids teased members of their large family over their parents or aunts being transgender, with Johnny Finn being tormented for over two months by kids in his class due to his aunt Jaimie being transgender making him miserable- all with the blessing of Jackson in hopes of knocking Johnny down to weaken Brady's support base. Johnny dressed and claimed to be a girl during that time. He talked for hours with Dr. Alison Eliza, his friends' mother and a gender specialist, who told him he wasn't transgender- just bullied. He saw the truth as everything he did was like other boys but with respect towards girls instead of antagonism. Brady was different than Johnny in all ways. Carmen didn't want to push him but Deborah insisted on an evaluation so they knew for sure and could go from there. He was still young and might be confused about being a cross-dresser and being transgender, only an expert could tell the difference and neither of them were. Sadly for them, there were no openings until after April Vacation ended, so he would have to endure the kids in school and what they might be doing to influence his feelings. Johnny kept close to Chance and talked with him about Brady. Johnny saw his best friend feeling like it was the end of the world as his brother was starting to slip away and he was being left alone. The boys were able to read each other's thoughts without being psychics, they'd been together too long not to see when one was upset and the other needed a push in the right direction. Chance confessed to him, "He's starting to be more girly. I don't know what's worse: him not liking what we are doing anymore or that he's so close with our cousins. I love Dorothy, but she's just too much of a girl for us and Brady is so much like her that I don't think he's going to be a boy much longer. Johnny had his mother's empathy and shot back a somber, "He's his own person. He's never been like us, even when we were together. He'd go with Sylvia and Sophia to play dolls instead of playing cars with us. He dresses like them without a fight and becomes a girl. I don't think he's playing, he's a real girl. It isn't hard to see that he's a girl, he's your twin but he's nothing like you and can't hide his inner self." Chance started to cry, with Johnny hugging him. He let out a soft, "I want him to be happy, but i don't want to lose my brother. It's bad enough mom was born a boy, but to have him be a girl too is going to make everyone hate us even more. Mr. Jackson will do anything to get rid of us, he's going to expel us as soon as Brady comes out as a girl." Johnny hugged him tightly until he stopped crying, letting his buddy calm himself before anyone saw his tears. When Chance stopped, Johnny told him, "Mr. Jackson will face grandpa and grandma. He's a fool, everyone knows he doesn't belong as principal. If he goes after Brady he's going to make them mad and grandma will get him fired. Mr. Jackson is scared of them, I heard dad tell mom that." Chance clammed up after that, not wanting to talk any further or else Johnny's parents would catch on and his mother would force them to tell her. They spent much of their time together and worked hard to keep from thinking about Mr. Jackson and school and their inevitable issues with him. Johnny knew it was just putting of the inevitable, but it was better than doing something that Brady would be upset at. The boys kept to themselves throughout the week and only interacted with their aunts and uncles when it wasn't going to cause Brady's secret to get out. They hated keeping secrets from the adults, especially as they were some of the few who would cause a huge stink that would cause the Carters trouble when their aunts and uncles were unleashed. Their uncles Miles and David were the worst at that, they were in the State Police and investigated people for a living so wouldn't let Mr. Jackson hurt Brady. The boys had a miserable week and only got worse as they saw Jackson during the week while they were out with Johnny's parents. His sneer of Chance caused Michael Finn to stop, walk over, and warn the man that if he dared to do anything against Chance he'd find himself tossed out of his job begging the city to not sue him. Jackson dared him to do something, but Michael knew more than he let on. Jackson ran off in fear. There were few in the city who'd dare go against Michael Finn, especially an outside like him. What caused him to be more afraid was his wife's non-reaction to Michael's threat. Courtney Finn was one of the few who could keep Michael from going too far, but to let him act like he did meant that she was agreeing with him about what Michael was doing. If she was letting him loose, it was serious and he had to get out of there fast before she went after him herself. She was even more dangerous than Michael, she knew Jackson better and had more connections to get dirt on someone. He fled for home and had to adjust his plans to focus solely on Brady now that he couldn't go after the much more protected Chance. Brady lacked support, but appearances were deceiving. He was showing his ignorance, if he had bothered to check the Carters he'd see that they had money as well as people in their corner who were even more powerful: Johnny may have been Chance's friend but that didn't mean that the Finns didn't extend the same protection to Brady as well simply by being part of their family. Dorothy's mother was a popular and strict teacher, much like her mentor- the longtime head of the high school's English department. Her father happened to be a billionaire with connections to just about any kind of investigative organization and group. They were seemingly, "Safe" but were far from it- they'd go for your throat to protect their family and not think twice about the impact it would have on them. Their grandparents were a teacher and a principals, with more support among them than Jackson had and could never win in any struggle against them if they lent their support. He had no idea about their connections to either Dorothy, Chance, or Brady but would find out at some point the hard way. He was an outside trying to force his way around in Winnisimmet, he would never win any battle with any of them and would have a hard time finding anyone to support him let alone follow his lead. Brady was an easy target. He had been after him all year because the boy was everything that he hated: a bi-racial child of a lesbian couple who had support from countless people yet who didn't deserve to be in his school as he was a borderline student. He was everything that he couldn't fight against: someone who was untouchable by normal means and who couldn't be exploited for Jackson's benefit. The racial part was what irked him the most. He hated whites with a passion and made it his life's work to demean them whenever he could. He knew what buttons to push to make people give him what he wanted- a degree, a job, a promotion, and finally: a political office. The man was the scion of a notorious political family who used racism to get whatever they wanted and didn't care one bit about helping anyone out. Brady was the antithesis of that: he was mestizo, he wasn't, "White enough" for him to abuse to get what he needed from the boy. It was worse than if he was black or mulatto, being mestizo meant he'd bring the wrath of the city's Latino population on him and likely get himself into trouble with blacks over his racism abuse as there wasn't any, "White oppression" there. He despised Brady, yet was smart enough to not cross the line with him yet. That would change, he had to go after the boy and use him as an example to get what he needed form the city to get himself put in a new position that the state had to give to him to appease upset blacks. It was his usual arrogant way of thinking, but with Brady it was going to be a lot easier than normal to implement. Brady had been constantly in trouble thanks to his targeting him. After vacation ended, he'd go further to include outright harassment and forcing the boy out through legal means once he had gotten him to get violent with other students. He'd find a reason to do so, even if he had to manufacture it himself. He had an ally in the school's psychologist. The man was new to the city and was easily led around by Jackson. It was helped further that the man was in over his head as he was unprepared for the needs of poorer students with issues that weren't the same as the privileged kids from Endicott. Eliot Lane was fresh off of a three year stint in Endicott that ended with his being let go due to "budget reasons" and complaints about his "hands-on" approach to children that didn't sit well with parents. He was desperate for a job and found one in Winnisimmet thanks to Jackson's forcing the city to hire Lane due to his race and costs. Lane was indebted to Jackson and Jackson refused to let him live it down. Lane had a dark secret that Jackson had gotten his connections to uncover: Lane had an interest in little kids, especially young boys. Lane was a pedophile who got caught in the act by his former principal but whose clout over the man forced him to find alternative reasons for getting rid of Lane. The principal had been one of the main reasons for the school's budget issues: he skimmed the books to make himself more money so he could afford to live in the town in a large house like his students. Lane was up for the plan of getting rid of Brady, but wanted some fun first. Brady was prime for work as he could be easily manipulated by Lane thanks to Jackson's harassment and get forced to come to him to get the reason reason for his "behavior." Lane would relay the information to Jackson who'd go after the boy even more causing him to act out and get expelled, ending his days at Jackson's school. The problem was neither had any idea that their actions would be countered by Dr. Alison Eliza, one of the foremost child psychiatrists and experts on gender issues as well as Brady's new gender psychiatrist and the mother of two of his friends. Lane couldn't counter whatever she said as he had no right to treat Brady without consent and as the source was Jackson he's have to explain to the state why he wasn't reporting blatant violations of both health and safety rules. Whatever Lane tried to do would only hurt him, but neither knew that and were sowing the seeds of their own eventual downfall. When school started again, Jackson struck hard, going after Brady as he entered school and called him out for his disheveled appearance. He did it while Michael was dropping off Johnny causing Michael to tell Jackson to back off or he'd face disciplinary action. Michael squared off against him, with Jackson telling him to get out of his school or he'd be arrested. Jackson had a tap no his shoulder and saw the school resource officer explain to Jackson, "And on what grounds? He's telling you to stop harassing a student who just entered the school and has done nothing. Funny thing, you are ignoring why the student is disheveled: he just had to hold off three boys trying to assault him as came into view. Right in front of your eyes no less! If you so much as try to retaliate I'll be explaining to the city solicitor and DA how you chose to allow an assault to commence on a student then try to suspend said student for it." Jackson growled but walked away, with Michael telling the officer, "Support will be given. He's going to do something big soon, his face shows it. Be ready to arrest, but remember that you aren't beholden to him. If you go over the line and refuse to follow procedure, you'll be taken out alongside him by Uncle Willie and mom. Jackson will use you, don't fall for his tricks or you'll be the one behind bars instead." Brady's day kept getting worse after that horrible start as his teacher told him that he had to go see Mr. Lane at Lane's demand then was berated by Lane over his actions before. Brady didn't have a chance to defend himself, Lane was vicious to the point that Brady ran off scared but right into Jackson and his scowl. Brady was suspended for the rest of the week and forced to meet with Lane each day when he returned, causing him to close himself off from Chance and their parents when he was picked up from school an hour later. Michael saw the change in Brady and asked about it, Chance growled, "Mr. Jackson suspended him for the week because Mr. Lane was being mean to him in his office." That caused Michael to ask why he'd been sent to Lane's office in the first place, to which Chance growled 'Mr. Jackson made him go. He is going after Brady for some reason, he hates him and keeps trying to expel him." Michael drove to his parents' home to talk with them, with Johnny and the twins being told to stay out of the office and living room as they had important things to talk about. When they were gone, Michael told John and Valerie Finn, "Who in the hell hired Al Jackson as principal? The man is the worst person to be principal in Winnisimmet since Helga Mead! He's going to set-off Johnny and the others soon if he keeps going after Brady. Chance is barely keeping himself in check, but the others won't stay back for long once they hear what he's doing to Brady." Valerie had to think then called her cousin-in-law Alice Porter to demand and explanation for why she had approved of the hiring of Jackson without discussing it with the city council. It was tense as Alice tried to find a reason but the only one she could tell her was a defeated, "He had the school committee by the balls: he threatened to sue us if we didn't hire him as he was the only minority candidate to apply for the job. He wasn't the best candidate, but he scared them enough to get hired. I tried to veto it based on his lack of actual experience as a teacher, but I was overruled." Valerie shot back an angry, "He used the race card? What the hell is he trying to pull! What the hell does it have to do with anything? Those idiots ignored that half of the candidates were Latino and the rest had stronger backgrounds in everything from PhDs to M.Ed.s! They shot down Ivan King for heaven's sake- he was one of the candidates that applied!" Alice sighed and explained to her, "He's politically connected. That is what they feared the most: who he had in his pocket to make us miserable. We've already been under fire for not hiring enough minority teachers, they ignored that we have a majority of teachers who are either black or Latino but that didn't matter to them. The race card is toxic, once it's pulled it doesn't matter if you have facts and figures- you are marked and fair game to anyone who seeks to exploit it." Valerie fumed while Alice sighed and added, "He's being watched. He thought he was slick in trying to bring in Lane, but Lane has been pegged by police and the resource officer is on high alert. Any actions to the kids that is out of line will get him arrested. Whatever he did to protect himself in Endicott won't do the same in Winnisimmet. If he's working with Jackson, then both are going down together." Valerie ended the call and went down to where Brady was. He was scared but she hugged him tight and told him, "Mr. Jackson is in deep trouble. We can't do anything yet, but we will remove him. He played a dangerous game of chicken and is about to lose. You don't harass children, especially not ones under my protection. I'm going after him in full, I've seen enough and want him gone to protect you." The kids did their homework under Valerie's watchful gaze, with Brady looking like he'd rather not be there but understanding why he was there as his parents had to work that afternoon. When he was done, Valerie escorted him out to see Dorothy and her brother Antonio, with Dorothy seizing him to play in her playroom while Antonio sought out Chance and Johnny. Valerie didn't have to tell Antonio to go out as her look was one of foreboding and one that the shuddered at seeing on her. Valerie sighed and asked Dorothy to stay upstairs, with the little girl grinning as the two went off with a smile. When the duo were out of earshot, Valerie explained to Dorothy's and Brady's grandparents, the always serious and strict elder Dorothy and Vance Taylor, about Jackson's actions against Brady and how it's now starting to get serious to the point of needing action. Both were upset at hearing what he was doing to Brady and were outraged that the man had not only abused his race to get the job in the first place, but had defrauded the city out of multiple stronger, more connected, and better candidates. The fact that the city ignored Ivan King as a candidate was laughable, he was one of the best teachers and had strong ties to the city to the point that he could claim to have taught a dozen millionaires. Vance was thinking hard about Jackson and asked if anyone did a proper check on him as guys like him had a habit of exaggerating their resumes and what they had accomplished. Dorothy caught on and had a smirk, to which he shot back, "His masters dissertation needs a thorough review. If he's as nasty as he appears, then it's not his paper and what's cited is total crap. I'm willing to bet that he went so far as to threaten his advisers and got thesis approved because they couldn't refuse without being called racists." There was little else to talk about so they left it alone, allowing the kids to play in peace while Valerie went home to cool off and prepare her counterattack to Jackson's inevitable strike. She was going to be on top of him and have everything in place, but she couldn't predict what would happen with Lane and his actions. It was rare, but for once Valerie was facing someone with an ace in the hole against her. Valerie escorted Brady to school the next day and forcefully told Jackson, "You suspended Brady Carter yesterday without reason and thus have been overruled in your action by the superintendent. She isn't happy that I am involved in this but understands when my grandson needed to have it explained that it wasn't Brady's doing and that his principal was acting against the rules and the law. Do it again and you will have to explain to the city why you have decided to put us in danger of a lawsuit for civil rights violations. Save the theatrics, I wrote the anti-discrimination rules and you have broken all of them. Your trump card is also known, so don't try to claim that it's racist to stop you from harassing a student especially one who has no actual disciplinary issues except when others are forced to act by you." He scowled while Valerie countered, "It works both ways. You are playing with fire and will be burned. You might be black, but that doesn't give you the right to do as you please. Your ancestors might have been abused and exploited, but your family hasn't been victims in decades. It doesn't take much to see that you were born into a life of privilege in a gated community, gone to private schools, and attended a prestigious university- you aren't what you claim to be, you never have been. You lied your entire life." He told the resource officer to remove her from the school as she was banned. The officer laughed at him then countered, "On what grounds? She hasn't broken any rule and has every right to be here as she was here on behalf of her grandchildren and clients. I won't destroy my career doing your bidding." Valerie grinned and left on her own, with the officer telling her, "We are keeping an eye on him. Chief Pena sent us memos to be on the lookout for illicit behavior, something smells off about him and the new psychologist. If you can, look into him through your channels. He hasn't broken any laws here but my gut tells me that something's way off about him. He's Jackson's lackey, that tells you enough." Things were quiet for the rest of the day. Lane forcibly met with Brady again and kept stabbing at him from multiple angles and went so far as to suggest that he was the source of the school's issues. Brady endured the entire day and told Valerie about Lane's session, causing Valerie to inquire why he was meeting with Lane at all as he again had no right to meat with Brady. Lane saw Valerie and made a hasty retreat, but was corralled by the officer allowing Valerie to greet the man with a look of anger. She smirked and asked him, "Just what reason do you have for meeting with Brady Carter without his parents' authorization as they have yet to be informed or give approval to your meeting with their son? As he has no academic issues beyond what has been confirmed to be caused by Mr. Jackson's actions as well as the actions of other students, there is no reason for you to be meeting with him. If you continue to try to meet with him, I'll have your license. You do not forcibly treat a child nor do you be alone with a student who you aren't allowed to be with. Your actions are noted and will be reported to the state for investigation." She walked off with the kids, with Lane struggling to figure out what the next move would be as she had him there: he had broken multiple ethics and state requirements by meeting with Brady without the consent of his parents and hadn't recorded the meetings to cover him legally. He was looking at a lot of questions from the state as well a a lengthy jail sentence should Brady claim that Lane had molested him or worse. That was before the state took away his license for malpractice as well as being a danger to children for his violations. Lane told Jackson that if they didn't back off they'd both be out and in jail. Jackson scoffed at that, but Lane could see that he was about to get burned by Valerie for hurting Brady. He had no choice but to do as Jackson pleased, but he'd cover himself to save himself in the end even if he had to pay for what he had done up in Endicott. Brady was left alone for a week, but was always in Jackson's sight. Jackson was always in the officer's sight, with the officer making note of his actions and sending them off to an unknown source. Jackson wasn't able to do anything without the officer being on him immediately, with Brady being protected by the officer and the officer not afraid to take down someone who had irritated many in her department. As the new week began, Jackson started to get creative in his antagonism. He had the kids who were in detention go after Brady, with the kids not realizing until it was too late that they were doing the worst thing possible as they'd get blamed and face harsher penalties when Valerie forced the kids to back off. Jackson thought that it was working, but realized too late that the kids caught on that they didn't have to do what he wanted as he couldn't punish them for refusing to do something that he'd get fired over. That weeks also brought Brady his first meeting with Alison Eliza at her office. He openly wept as he was told that his parents had heard what he had told Dorothy and Chance. He confessed to her, "I can't be a boy anymore! I can't take being what I'm not! I hate looking like Chance- I want to be me. I know it's inevitable that we'll look like great-grandpa Adam, grandma said we look like her dad and he was a big man who towered over everyone and made grandpa Carl scared and he was never scared of anyone. I want to be like mom, I want to be beautiful even if I have boy parts. I want to have surgery like her, I want to marry a boy. Yes, I like boys. Chance and Johnny know, Johnny said I'm not his type." Alison had to stifle a giggle as it was exactly like Johnny Finn to say that. She could also see how sad it made Brady to be a boy physically. She had seen it personally over the years, but now she had a strong reason for the feeling: she was female in mind and spirit but not in body. Alison confessed to Brady, "We suspected that there was more to you. Hunter came out early, you have had a lot of things that happened that made you afraid to come out. Your parents work hard and have to endure people who aren't nice people, you have heard too many bad stories from them. We wanted you to come to us, but after the start of vacation we feared that it was time to come to you. You are a girl, I am sure of it. I'm recommending immediate transition for your mental health and safety." Brady was in tears, with Carmen and Addison being led inside to the office to be told that their son was their daughter. Both were upset at Brady not telling them the truth, but understood why. Addison told Brady tearfully, "You are so much like your mother. You might look like me as a child, but you are your mother's daughter. We love you no matter what, we just want you to be happy." The family left and saw Addison helping Brady get ready for the next day, helping hr prepare her hair in a feminine style that was close to how Addison wore when she first started as a girl. She called out of work to be with her daughter for her first day, happily telling her bosses, "I need to be there for her. It's a tough situation that she'll need our support for." Valerie insisted on going with them as Brady's legal advisor, Jackson would face his toughest test and would see himself under her watchful eye or face immediate termination by the city. Valerie smirked at hearing the news. She sat Johnny down and told the boy, "Brady is transitioning to a girl. You know what to do for her. Keep an eye on Mr. Jackson and Mr. Lane- never let her be alone or let anyone hurt her. Mr. Jackson has to follow the rules and allow her to attend school and the kids have to endure her being there no matter what Mr. Jackson says. If he does something against the rules, tell me and your grandfather. Don't react unless you have to. Protect her, but don't go overboard." Valerie alerted several other people about Brady's transition, getting the family's brain trust as well as the legal arms in motion. That included her own sons, daughters-in-law, nephews, and nieces. She then went next door to her brother-in-law Mark Sylvester's house to tell him about the impending trouble at Brady's school and why it was happening, with him thinking about what would happen and why. He made his own phone calls then told her, "They are covered. She's not being forced to be a girl, she's under the care of the best possible person, she's healthy and happy now that the source of her issues has been addressed, and she's living in a stable home. As much as some of my colleagues would love to be in the headlines for stopping a child from being 'harmed' by transitioning, the department has no reason to intervene and we know full well the framework and rules for transitioning. I doubt the duo does." The next day saw Addison taking the kids to school, with Valerie joining them as well as Mark. Valerie had to hold off her other relatives from joining them, but they would demand to know how the day had gone when Valerie dropped the kids off at her house later that day. Mark was there to show that he and his employer, the Department of Children and Families(DCF) were aware of the transition and that the Carters were following the state's guidelines so there was no abuse as would be claimed. Brady was dressed in her favorite dress from Dorothy's house, with Addison telling her that morning it was the best thing to wear as it was both pretty and showed that she wasn't joking about being a girl. She styled her hair back to how Addison had put it the night before, the pseudo-bob cut was the most feminine style that she could do due to her hair not being that long yet. She cried as Addison put in barrettes that matched the dress's color so her hair wasn't in her eyes and gave her bangs, then gave her earrings to wear with her enduring a quick pinch from the piercing but smiling at the results. Entering the school, all eyes turned to Brady as her friends and cousins ran to her. Johnny stopped short and had trouble speaking, with his cousins Simon Bollinger and Violet Finn giggling at him. He hugged Brady then kissed her cheek, with him daring anyone to say anything about her. He let it be known that he was protecting her no matter what anyone thought about her now that she was a girl- Johnny Finn did not mess around and loved his cousin deeply despite no longer presenting as a boy. Valerie led the entourage on to Jackson's office and told Simon and Violet to move the others off to the cafeteria for breakfast, with Violet dragging Johnny off so their grandmother could talk in peace. Inside the office, Valerie smirked and announced, "As per the state, federal, and local laws we hereby invoke the protection laws regarding the treatment of transgender students. As of last night, Brady Carter was diagnosed as transgender. She is to be treated as a female by you and your staff and is to be treated FAIRLY and WITHIN THE LAWS or you will be fired by the city and sued by me. Before you try to use your perceived power, I wrote the rules in this city and have battled for them in all levels ever since you were in elementary school so save the theatrics. And before you think about going after the Carters by way of DCF by claiming abuse, my brother-in-law here is aware of Brady's transition. Mark stood up, introduced himself, then stated, "DCF is aware of the Carters as well as who they have in support and what the laws are regarding transitioning. They are following the guidance of Dr. Alison Eliza and are fully aware of the route of transitioning. Further, they are aware that there will be people who try to make false claims, ones that we will prosecute should they make such false claims." Jackson was cut off before he could retaliate, then had Valerie tell him, "Brady will be use the school's disabled bathroom as she has no reason to change for gym nor be around other girls. She will not be in any girls bathroom at any time so don't try to claim that she has been in them. If you try retaliate again you will be sued by me. I've had enough of your antics, I take protecting girls like her seriously." The group left to tell Brady's teacher about her change and endure parents outside complaining about a girl like her being allowed in their school. It was the usual complaining, but not anything that they had not endured before. It only lasted a short time before all of the bluster wore off, there was nothing to fight and nobody would support the complainers given who Brady had supporting her. Jackson started to panic and needed Lane's help in devising how to get rid of Brady before his hard work went up in flames. Brady was untouchable directly, the only one who might be able to get at her was Lane but he was stuck as he couldn't do much without upsetting Valerie. Jackson didn't care about his issues, Lane had to do something and do it fast. The day went smoothly for Brady as the kids were too afraid of what would happen to them if they did their usual antics against Brady, especially after their teacher told them the rules regarding bullying due to gender change. She relaxed for the first time in a long time in school, with her teacher happy to see a change in her and knowing full well that it was for the best that she be a girl. He didn't want to seem a bit offensive, but she was just too feminine for her own good as a boy but thrived openly as a girl. After school, parents tried to get a look at the new girl but came up short as nobody could tell who she was. Brady finally going with Valerie caused gasps as her dress was noticed but the ones who knew her best among the parents told anyone who might say something that it was just a change of clothes- she was the same person as before. Brady was always Brady, even when acting as a boy. Lane had to figure out a way of getting Brady without making it obvious. He tried to go through normal channels but was hit with roadblocks by DCF and forced to back away before he was nailed by Mark for making false accusations. Mark sent out a memo to the other DCF offices as well as his boss, Anne Connors, regarding accusations from the school regarding a transitioning student and ensured that any accusation against certain individuals were false and misleading. There were ways around that ultimatum that could be tried, but Lane had to figure out how to do it without it making it look like it was being done. He needed time, but that was in short supply especially as he had no access to Brady directly. He needed Jackson's help to make it work and if it didn't work both of them were going down hard. Jackson stewed for the rest of the week while Brady thrived in school. Class went smoothly as the kids didn't dare make fun of her or cause disruptions, something that Jackson fumed over as there wasn't any way to blame Brady and no reason to send her to Lane for an, "Evaluation" without breaking the law. It only compounded as Mark introduced George, Jenna, Chloe, and Mike Daniels as well as Jessica and Eric Vincent to him, with Mark happy to tell him, "All know Brady Carter, with the three ladies being my colleagues and why your claims won't hold water when you make them against her parents." Jackson bided his time for a week and decided to get creative by having Brady manipulated by others in her class while making it seem like it was alright to do so. The kids feared him more than what may happen to them outside of school, giving him the right chances to make Brady pay. It took all week, but he had his chance to strike the following Monday. The kids teased Brady to the point of action, with their teacher sending them out but Jackson sending them back to class without discipline. The kids struck at lunch, fighting with Brady while Jackson had a look on his face that showed he knew what was happening and why. The kids were sent back to class, but Brady was sent to Lane''s office for a "talk" under orders of expulsion if she refused to go. Chance texted Valerie for help then saw Johnny, Violet, Dorothy, and Antonio doing the same. It was an all-out rush to get her help, but they didn't know how long it would take and what damage was going to be done before help arrived. They could only go to class and hope for the best, but feared the worst as they had heard so many horror stories about similar actions before. In Lane's office, he went right at Brady for causing issues with the school by pretending to be a girl. He went at her hot and heavy and caused her to break down in tears. He was blunt and told her, "You want to be a girl so bad? Here's a knife- use it. Show how much of a girl you are by cutting your balls off!" She grabbed it and used it, screaming in pain and agony but showing him the bloody severed testicles and scrotum. It was the last thing that he expected her to do, causing him to flee in terror as the school's officer ran to the office to see what happened. She called for an ambulance then told Jackson, "You are under arrest for suspicion of child abuse, reckless endangerment, and criminal harassment" causing him to threaten her but stop immediately as Valerie appeared. Valerie was with several other police officers who immediately helped to stem the blood flow from Brady's wound. They saw the knife and moved away, with Jackson trying to get at it to contaminate it so Lane's fingerprints and DNA were inadmissible while adding his own cover for how his fingerprints were on it if Lane had given Brady the knife. He failed to do so, with the officers yanking him outside and to an awaiting cruiser that drove him immediately to police headquarters for questioning. Brady was taken away by an ambulance while the kids in school were kept in their classrooms and the police interviewed the staff. Lane was sought for questioning, with Valerie in particular angry that the school had ignored her warnings to stay away from Brady. Lane had to answer why he was treating her without authorization, why he had a weapon in school, and why he had allowed her to mutilate herself- none of which he could answer without facing jail time. Brady was taken to New England Psychiatric Center and was unconscious, having not recovered from the shock of the sudden mutilation of her body. She was in pain, but most of it was due to the shock of the loss of a sensitive part of the body. She couldn't move when she was finally awake, being restrained by leather cuffs on all four limbs and had the nurses yelling at her to not move. In school, the news got back to the kids about what Brady had done. Chance was devastated, she would be willing to do whatever it took to become a girl but he never thought she'd do that to herself. He had a look of pain and disgust, with Johnny forcing him to see that it was someone else making her do it. Addison and Carmen were with Brady but couldn't see her due to police refusing to allow them to get close. A social worker from DCF appeared and told them that they were being placed under arrest for suspicion of child abuse and neglect then had them hauled away. The social worker had a smug look on her face when she did that, with the officers ignoring it while seeing her place money into their hands but not noticing that this action was caught by the newly arrived Courtney. Courtney demanded to know what was going on with her goddaughter and was threatened by security. She stood her ground and demanded to know why Brady was there at all- she should have gone to a trauma center not a psychiatric hospital! She was removed physically, but told them that she would be back with help and ensure that the hospital faced penalties for medical malpractice and abuse. Courtney texted Mark who then called the Salem DCF office to demand an explanation for why the duo had been arrested as they had never abused Brady nor had there been any complaints about any of the alleged abuse. There was the usual complaints that he had no right to demand such an explanation to which he relayed the complaints to Anne Connors, their boss, and saw the truth come out: Lane and Jackson had complained about Brady's "abuse" and filed it a week before. It was staged from the start, Brady was going to be removed by DCF without any justification even before the mutilation occured. Anne sighed then told the Salem office director, "We have to investigate per our standards due to there being a preexisting complaint, but the facts will be revealed. The children are removed for safety due to the severity of the situation. Unfortunately, it's serious and the abuse suffered might be more damaging than the abuse alleged. The actual abusers were the ones who lodged the complaints, the same men who are on the run from police or sitting in an interrogation room. Brady Carter needs counseling, but until it's clear that she's not in any danger she can't return home. I'll tell Carmen and Addison myself." She hung up to which Mark told the Salem office director, "She knows the Carters personally but wasn't involved in the children's lives due to work needs. Myself, Jessica Vincent, and the Danielses all know them through our children thus are too close. You would not be the office that got the investigation: it was supposed to go to Framingham or Lowell, not Salem. You never asked why they didn't go to the Winnisimmet office first: we are why. I personally told Jackson to back off of the harassment of Brady Carter last week! Lane was told to stay away from Brady Carter two weeks ago!" Mark looked at a text then told the Salem office director, "The one assigned to their case has just been observed handing money to police officers for arresting Carmen and Addison Carter. She had no reason to arrest them as this was self-mutilation and the only accusations of abuse were in regards to gender issues which her medical records reflect as being treated. As such, we will be taking over this as your office has shown to be compromised. And before you claim that allowing a gender change is abuse, it's not and has never been and to claim so violates multiple state and federal laws. Anne will be in contact regarding this issue, Don't hinder it or you'll be placed under arrest for civil rights violations." When school was released for the day, Chance was led to a temporary foster home while Brady was kept at a psychiatric hospital until doctors felt that she was mentally stable enough to be released. He had his things packed fast while the officers outside kept his friends and their parents from interfering. The only ones allowed to get close were Violet's father Miles and Dorothy's uncle David: two State Police troopers who were trusted enough to not interfere in what was happening. The duo were there on behalf of the state and sat Chance down to talk to him. He had a social worker with him while speaking, with Miles observing her while David helped Chance pack his and Brady's things. David didn't say anything but did write, "We'll get you back to your mothers soon. Something is going on that stinks, it's why we are helping. Someone is up to no good and using you." Chance didn't respond, he didn't care anymore as he'd lost everything. He looked at his sister's things and shed a tear, there would be no going back for her now that she'd lost what made her a boy. She still had a penis, but that didn't matter- it was just a means to an end, not what produced her offspring. He gathered as much as he could so she had as many of her girly things as she'd need, hoping that they would make her feel more feminine and feel better about herself now. When they got downstairs he had to stop as the social worker insisted on going through the clothes and tossed out all of Brady's clothes then chided him for bringing that stuff with him. He grabbed them again and walked out, fighting tears as the woman was left to face David and Miles' angry expressions. Miles coldly asked, "Why did you do that? The child is presenting as female and as such will be treated as female. You do not decide what is acceptable and what isn't." She was going to tell him off, to which David countered, "Save it. We are fully aware of the rules and regulations for transgender children in the custody of DCF and your personal views have no baring on them. We will be sure to note that you have acted against the rules and are using your personal bias as the basis for your actions. You can lie all you want, but your actions are caught on camera." Miles shot back"My mother-in-law happens to be the head of the Dept. of Health and Human Services, your parent agency, and was the former director of DCF and worked her way up through the ranks. We know the rules inside and out- she rewrote them with my mother. Save the complaints, your actions are noted and coupled with your earlier actions in the hospital you are hereby placed under arrest for lying on your reports regarding the abuse of minors as well as wrongful arrest." David had Mark ready outside and called him in, with Chance being taken to a foster home for the next few days while things were worked out. He sighed and explained, "Brady was sent to the New England Psychiatric Center for 'observation' but something is off about her stay. I'm going to get her released as soon as possible. I told your friends to be ready to see you tomorrow and will talk to your foster parent about your situation. She's normally OK with kids with unique issues, but Brady will be a handful." The drive was short but saw them greeted by a middle-aged woman named Lynn Jensen who asked Mark what the situation was and why they weren't with relatives. Mark was blunt, telling her, "That's what I'm trying to find out. The kids have multiple relatives who are more than able to take them in, especially their grandparents. They are fighting the state over the kids being removed as well as them not going to relatives, it's ugly and it is only going to get worse. Their relatives have deep pockets- deeper than John Finn's." His look was serious, to which she asked, "Peterson?" He nodded, adding, "Their maternal uncle is one. Her godmother is another. It's even worse for DCF as their aunt is a James. Yes, as in Senator James. It's his daughter-in-law's twin sister's kids." She sighed and asked the inevitable, "Does she know?" He nodded, adding, "She's on the warpath. She'll stay away but only so long as the kids aren't hurt. She'll petition to take them in for protection if she has to, but trusts you enough to not let other kids hurt them. Your reputation is enough to leave you alone." She agreed, but told him, "At the moment I only have two: fraternal twins. They are new to this city and don't have any connections to kids so don't know how they should act with kids like the girl. I think it's going to be alright, but they are older so won't interact with them much just in case." Chance was led inside and introduced to two 13-year-olds, a boy and a girl, who said timid a, "Hello," to him while he was led up to his room. Lynn sat them down and explained, "He and his sister are going to be staying here until further notice. They were removed from their family due to suspicions of abuse due to his sister being transgender. You two are new to this city so you need to understand that it is something that is common and accepted but a lot of people don't accept it and do hurtful things to the kids- be they parents or other adults. She hurt herself due to this abuse, she needs time to recover so it's up to you to help her get adjusted. I can understand if you don't want to do it, but please don't abuse her as it'll be tough to live in this city afterward as the kids are close to powerful people who support her." The kids asked what happened to her, she explained, "She castrated herself. She was so scared that they weren't going to let her be a girl in school that she cut off her testicles to prove that she was a girl. It's the last act of transitioning, but it's not done until surgery. She did it in desperation." Liza, the girl, looked afraid while Reese, the boy, crossed his legs in shock. Liza asked if she was going to be alright, to which she was told, "She needs time. You'll be sharing with her due to her not being any danger to you. I can't put her with her brother due to Reese being there. I can't put you two together due to you being too old. You might have not had your first period yet, but it's not right to share a room like you did when you were younger. You are a young lady now, and she's not able to do anything to you so it's best to let her stay with you. Is that alright?" Liza nodded while Reese looked up at the scared Chance, waiting for someone to say something to him but ready to fight if need be. Mark left them to get acquainted before moving off to talk with Miles and David about what happened before. He wasn't surprised to heard that something was off about Brady being sent to a mental hospital instead of a normal hospital, it was too quick to have not been planned. Chance sat down with Reese and watched TV, tuning into the Red Sox pre- show and saw Chance shed a tear over seeing the man on TV talk. He was angry but nobody there knew why, Chance did and had a feeling that things were going to get ugly fast when he was finished that night with the game. Reese asked was the matter, Chance looked down in shame and told him, "Uncle Miguel isn't happy. He never gets like that on TV unless someone hurts kids. He knows about Brady and me being away from our mothers and isn't happy. He'll make DCF upset for making them have to explain to him why they are going after our mothers. He won't let them get away, he knows us too much to not hurt them badly." Liza hugged him, letting him cry while Reese chose to say nothing- he'd been through it before when the twins were taken into DCF custody after their parents died then saw their uncle Wayne refused as their guardians due to him not being, "Normal" in their social worker's eyes. The social worker was the same one that Chance had to endure, the one that Mark, David, and Miles were out to prosecute for her violation of the twins' and Carters' rights. Liza knew what to do to help Chance, she was the big sister who had to protect her sensitive brother and saw the same in Chance. Chance cried himself out and fell asleep in Liza's arms, with the twins falling asleep alongside him so it was a mini camp-out in the living room. The twins' actions caused Lynn to smile, it was a rare sight to have kids like them but they accepted their situation and wanted to help someone in need. It helped that they had resigned themselves to being in care until they were 18, their parents had a lot of issues that didn't sit well with many and their uncle was on DCF's refusal list for some reason. The kids awoke early the next morning and saw Chance led up to the bathroom to shower and change. It was followed by Liza accidentally showing him her panties causing him to blush but only because he saw that she was starting to get hair and getting bigger in her butt. She just told him that it was part of being a sister, it happens a lot so he'd better get used to it even if Brady had the same as him. Reese blushed as she teased him about having a bush already causing him to rush into the shower while she whispered to Chanced, "He's bigger than most boys but is too nice to get a girlfriend. He's what girls want: handsome, big, strong, and nice. You are like that, you are cute for your age and bigger than most boys. She'll be cute as well, just in a different way." He understood and went downstairs to breakfast, with Liza and Reese hurrying to get to their school in Kensington while Chance was driven to school in Winnisimmet. At school, Chance was met by all of his cousins and friends. They had to be moved away by their parents so he could go inside, with Lynn following behind but eyeing all of the people eyeing her. Inside the office, Valerie greeted them and introduced them to Ivan King, the interim principal. Chance wanted to say something but Valerie wisely told him, "You don't have to say anything. There is a lot of things happening that we can't discuss in public. This isn't the place to talk about it, but both of your mothers are free and Brady is safe. She'll join you in a few days, we have a lot to do first but she's in a safe place even if she doesn't belong in there. You'll visit her later today, she needs you there with her and she needs to know what's going on and won't react well without you there." Valerie then told his foster-mother, "I'm acting on behalf of the children but on Mark Sylvester's request I am not taking the twins off of your hands. He told me about your other wards and feels that it's best to have them stay with the twins as they are benefiting from each other. I won't interfere unless needed, I have eyes and ears close by so what happens isn't ignored or goes unnoticed by those who can help." Being a Finn, she knew what it meant: there were plenty of people in the neighborhood who knew them and who would not hesitate to tell the proper authorities what was happening and make her life a living hell and do so with good reason- she'd have messed up badly. The fact that Valerie Finn was letting the kids stay with her was a huge boost in her confidence, especially as it was due to Liza and Reese and not Chance and Brady. She didn't know what was going on but she had more information than she let on and to have that vote of confidence from Valerie meant that information favored her. Chance was left alone during the day, with the kids being told by Johnny to back away or their parents would have to answer why the kids were acting up. Chance was left alone for good reason: none of the kids wanted to talk about what happened, especially not Johnny. He cried at home due to the trauma of his buddy being taken away from him and Brady being so scared that she'd hurt herself to be a girl. After school, the kids walked out and saw Chance off with Johnny telling him that he wasn't going to be away from them for long. He went off without anyone daring to say anything, the look from Johnny told everyone all that they needed to know: it wasn't the time to gossip about Chance and Brady. If he was serious then it was for your own protection to back away form Johnny Finn. In Winnisimmet that morning, the Carters appeared in court and were released by the judge by order of the Attorney General's Office. The ADA on duty was pulled aside and told that the case was taken out of his hands as it crossed county lines and involved multiple state agencies, thus was no longer his case. He offered token resistance, with the assistant attorney general telling the judge that charges were never filed and that the Carters were cleared of all wrongdoing by an internal review by DCF the day before. The arraigning judge nodded, told the clerk to delete all records of the case, and ordered DCF to stand before the AAG for questioning at his office in a few hours. There was nothing that the social workers could do to stop what was happening, especially as they realized just who was acting on behalf of the Attorney General: Reed Pena, the investigator for the state most notorious for anti-corruption cases. If he was involved, it was guaranteed that whomever was targeted was going to prison for their crimes. Reed read the reports from DCF and who sent them. He asked where Lane was, getting a look of pure apathy from his coworkers to which he stated, "He had a knife in school. Why would someone who had a job dealing with students who were potentially violent have a weapon on hand except as a means of causing harm to a child in his care- a child he had no right to treat. The days of being forced to talk to a school psychologist are over, especially when said child is being treated by another person. He brought it to the school in hopes that she'd be provoked into using it- only she did so in the one way he didn't expect: she used it on herself. What was actually said we haven't determined, but he is responsible." He looked over at Lane's history and something stuck out. He swore then made an immediate call to the one person who'd know most about Lane's past: Ian Bailey, chief of police in Endicott and one of the few who went after Lane for his actions in Endicott. He knew Lane's true story, and upon hearing it he was angry that the school had put kids in danger as his past was too shady to allow him to be hired by any school let alone one that had multiple transgender children and parents. Ian called him on the department's official phone and stated to the assembled group, "You need to ask how in the hell Eliot Lane was hired at any Winnisimmet School. The man is a danger to children. We have multiple open investigations into his activities, with eyewitnesses who have stated on record that he molested boys and girls at the school. We informed DCF about him and went to your office for help but nothing was done! He left after last year followed by the principal being fired for skimming off of the budget. We suspect that Lane used that to get out of any discipline and got the principal to muddy the investigation so Lane wasn't able to be prosecuted. However we have him on video fondling at least two kids, yet your office has refused to go forward on any charges against him!" Reed smirked then called his mother Kennedy, who then promptly told two AAGs that they were to be interviewed by State Police regarding their attempts to block prosecution of a known child molester as it had just now been confirmed to have led directly to the harming of another child. Reed told the rest of the team, "Money doesn't buy you a clue. Those two pissed away their freedom and their careers due to being paid off. I don't have to look at their bank accounts to know that they were paid by the former principal to stop the investigation, likely also members of the town government who wanted to make it look like it wasn't the school's fault. It wasn't, it was two people. But that doesn't excuse bribery." Ian was told, "We will proceed from here in force and you will have David and Miles interviewing those in Endicott Elementary tomorrow. As for Lane, he has multiple warrants for his arrest that now include suspicion of sexual assault on minors under 14 along with bringing a weapon to a school and violating multiple ethical and safety guidelines. Mom will handle the backlash up in Endicott, she's best at it." Reed asked where the kids were and demanded to know why Brady was in a mental hospital. When he was given the runaround, he saw what was going on and explained to his group, "Being transsexual isn't a crime so she has no right to be held against her will there. She was under the care of a leading expert in child psychiatry, there is not reason to have anyone else treat her. As she is a witness, she needs to be in a safe environment- not a location that prevents access by trained professionals and drugs patients against their will. She isn't the one who brought the knife to school, and she didn't use it on anyone else. Therefore there is not any reason to hold her against her will at the facility." He got up and listened to his group whisper about him. As he left, his mother Kennedy entered and told the AAGs present, "My son earned his stripes for years before any of you were brought in. He knows the case better than you ever will. The only reason he isn't being relieved of duties due to closeness is he is one of the few who can be trusted to investigate fully. Your actions here showed why. Yes, she is a transgender woman. Yes, she is married to a lesbian. Yes, their daughter is transgender. Those are facts. What isn't a fact is abuse due to allowing a child to transition. It's abuse to not allow a diagnosed child to transition. The child in the middle of this was threatened in that way by two people, with those two now facing charges for those threats. If you have an issue with transgender people, resign immediately. I won't allow this office to be tainted by your bias nor your allegations." Three got up to leave, vowing to get her back. She scoffed then shot back, "Your parents can't help you anymore. They may be longtime donors to the Attorney General, but he isn't stupid enough to cross me. He will quickly fire you for using this office to spy on investigations. By the way, all non-governmental web traffic is tracked so your emails to those under investigation were noted. Enjoy jail, we won't give you a plea deal to your liking. It's two years, but your career is toast." She left and was immediately called by Reed. He was angry and told her that the hospital was refusing access to State Police troopers. She grinned, they had no right to do so and was about to face backlash. Kennedy went to Suffolk Superior Court, got a court order from a judge who listened and was outraged at the hospital's actions, then ordered Brady released to the custody of DCF until their investigation was complete. Kennedy sent word to the troopers at the hospital and saw them grin, with security told, "Back away from the patient or go to jail. We have a court order to release Brady Carter immediately as she is not actually being treated by you. Further, you will have to answer as to why you illegally drugged her as she has not moved once since we have been outside this room." Reed arrived with Mark and had the doctors removed in handcuffs. Mark had a court order in hand that stated that Brady's care was illegally forced on her by the hospital as she had no right to be treated by them as she was a patient of New England Children's Hospital and under the care of a psychiatrist with a standing order that the hospital had no right to ignore. Reed looked it over and grinned, then told the troopers to place the attending doctor under arrest for medical abuse. Mark had an ambulance waiting and transferred Brady to it under guard by the troopers while Reed and other troopers seized Brady's medical records from being altered. His team brought in Rachel Sylvester to uncover what was done to Brady and by whom and caused her to scream that the whole hospital had a major issue with doctors being paid-off by people as they openly gloated about certain patients in the notes. She then told Reed, "She's on some kind of experimental treatment. There is no way in hell this is legal, she's too young and isn't suffering from any issues except her gender issues." Reed agreed, sent word to his mother, then had the hospital shut down until they uncovered what was going on as it was too involved for just a simple abuse case. Rachel didn't say anything but the look on her face showed that someone was getting sent to prison and if they didn't there would be hell to pay. It was followed by Mark asking how many patients were in DCF custody, with him swearing as he was told, "All of the victims. Someone in Salem set it all up. It's fishy, extremely fishy." Mark followed the State Police and ambulance for the drive to Boston, with both having their lights flashing and Mark having to follow their lead and blend in as if he was an unmarked cruiser. It helped that his car was a standard government-issued car, even if it was his own personal car. he figured that it was safer to have a car that looked official so people didn't recognize it and vandalize it. In Boston, he faced an angry Dr. Richard Samuels and Alison Eliza. Both saw the unconscious Brady and demanded answers, to which Mark growled, "She was drugged against her will by the doctors up in New England Psychiatric Center. Rachel has the details, you'll need to do some bloodwork to confirm what they put into her system. It wasn't meant to help her, it was meant to do some kind of experiment on her. I don't know what the hell they were thinking, but they are all facing prison for it!" Richard immediately went into action. Alison sat him down to ask what was going on, he explained, "She can't go back to Addison and Carmen until we know what happened and why. It's not safe yet, we have to figure out why she did it and if she's going to be safe with them. I hate them not being able to see them, but we have to follow procedure. We know what she did, just not why." Alison tried to explain, but Mark countered, "It's 'he said, she said' and speculation. We know that Lane brought in the knife but did he hand it to her? Did he leave it out for her to use? Did she grab it to use when he wasn't looking? Why did he bring it at all? It's a lot of questions that we can't answer yet." She sighed but agreed. Brady needed to talk with them, but they had to counter whatever the hospital had put into her. She hoped that they didn't intentionally harm her to keep her from talking to them. It took hours, but Brady's bloodwork came back positive for sedatives and several kinds of psychiatric medications. They weren't noted in her medical records and there was no record of her having any other psychiatric issues other than her gender issue causing Mark to seek criminal charges against the staff at the hospital, with doctors on record facing drug charges for prescribing drugs without a reason. That was before Reed went after them for fraud charges as they billed the state for all of Brady's care with the experiments being claimed to be necessary to her health and safety. The drugs were able to be counteracted by filtering her blood, but would take days to be removed fully. It was followed by issues with her mental state as she would feel shame, humiliation, and depression as the drugs were a mix of antidepressants and anti-psychotics which caused her normal mindset to suffer a major blow. She would need to be observed, but would be able to go to school in two weeks. Mark worked with Anne to unfurl the whole story as to how Brady had been forced into the hospital in the first place let alone how they had gotten away with what they did. Anne showed why: Salem had it forced as they laid claim to Brady and Chance. They were fully aware of the twins having multiple family members close by who should have taken them in and who were able to house them despite the allegations of abuse by their parents, the office purposely ignored all protocols and were working with Lane and Jackson to get them removed and placed where Brady couldn't speak about the abuse. The Salem office was getting worse and worse to the point that Anne felt like she had to implode it to save the agency from yet another major scandal. She asked Kennedy to investigate the office and weed out the people causing issues as it was clear that their actions crossed over the line to criminal long ago. She didn't need to say anything, Kennedy agreed and had Reed and his team pick apart the office with every subpoena the could get to search the office, personal email accounts, and interoffice memo so the office had nothing left to hide and nobody escaped their grasp. His issue was that it would take six months to finish the investigation, time that they didn't have. A lot of kids in the office's care would be impacted, with Reese and Liza being two that were known It was going to be rough, but they'd find a way of helping the kids even if it took until the end of summer. Brady was awoken after the third day, with Richard telling her that she was in the hospital and she was going to be alright. She felt horrible and felt the dull ache of her wound between her legs. He softly told her, "Nobody is upset with you. We don't know what happened but we understand what you did. You are not the first kid who did it nor will you be the last. We just want to know why. Rest now, you need it." She fell back asleep and saw Richard calling Mark to alert him of her being awake. He said he'd have Jenna and Jessica go since they had the best rapport with Brady, she couldn't help but open up to them. It was helped that she knew Jenna's daughters well, even if they were younger than her. Two hours later she awoke and saw Jenna, immediately begging her for forgiveness. Jenna hugged her and told her affectionately, "We aren't upset at you. Jaimie might be, but she will want to know why you did what you did instead of going to her. You and she share a special bond, none of us knew why but it is now clear that it was more than just being so much alike." She sighed and explained further, "You were told to always go to her no matter what, she always told you that you were her favorite niece because you remind her of herself- now we know why. She was a lot like you before what happened, Jessica, Scott, and Michael tease her that she was seeing what it was like for her back when she was eight. We now see what she meant: you were a girl all along and had a lot of subtle hints that nobody picked up on because we are so used to you being you." She shed a tear and explained, "We aren't upset at you. We are upset that you felt that you couldn't go to us to get help. We need to know what he did to you to cause you to act that way. You were fine in the morning then you did something drastic after lunch: why? What did he do to you?" Brady softly mumbled, "Mr. Jackson sent the boys after me. They said he told them that if they didn't do it they'd be expelled. When they kept punching me I punched back and was grabbed by Mr. Jackson. He sent me to Mr. Lane's office. Mr. Lane said I'd never be a girl no matter how much I tried to act line one. He said that I had to prove that I was a real girl. He handed me the knife, he opened it up and gave it to me. He told me to use it, to show that I wasn't kidding. I did it. I sliced off my balls to show that I wasn't a boy. I'm a girl, no matter what I have: I'm a girl!" She wailed, causing Jenna to hug her. She calmed herself eventually, to which Jenna carefully told her, "We will get him. We will get Mr. Jackson too. They won't escape what they caused you to do. Mr. Lane isn't particularly bright, this had to have been Mr. Jackson's doing. We know about his harassment and abuse of you, we will get him and make him pay. Mark my words: we will make him pay." Jenna left and was replaced by Alison Eliza. Alison sat next to Brad and let her compose herself, then told the scared girl, "I heard everything and I accept that you did what you did out of desperation and as a last act of defiance to someone who had complete authority over you. It was an impossible choice, it was also the one that he didn't expect you to take. You mutilated yourself to prove your womanhood, I am upset that you had to do that but I understand why you did it. I'd do the same for my children, your parents would do the same. It's an impossible choice, but you made the choice and we aren't upset." She got up to leave, then told her, "We'll talk with you about the future. You have a long road ahead of you, we'll help you through it. You aren't alone, you know about the others. If they weren't so busy, Al and Nichole would talk with you about it. You'll adjust, just keep your spirits up." Mark entered and introduced Lynn and explained to her why she was in foster care. It was tense, but he explained, "Due to the nature of your injuries, we had to intervene. We know that your parents aren't at fault but we have to follow the rules. Things were complicated as my colleagues in the Salem office worked with Mr. Jackson and Mr. Lane to go after your family, which was why you were taken to that horrible hospital instead of here. The ambulance crew are in serious trouble, they violated the law by taking you directly there instead of the nearest hospital. You aren't punished, we have to do what is best for you and need you to tell us everything that happened to you." She shed a tear and retold what happened in Lane's office then told him, "I went to that hospital. I was in pain and they stitched me up but started to put medicines in me. I don't know hat happened, the only things I could hear was that they wanted to use me as a guinea pig since they had free reign over me. I tried to fight them but was put under. I don't know what happened after." Mark nodded, wrote down notes, then explained to her, "They are going to prison for those experiments. You were never supposed to go there, they didn't have any right to treat you as they aren't equipped to treat trauma wounds. They are in serious trouble for a lot of things that they did to you, the least of it being that they had you naked while strapped to the bed- there was no need for that!" She started to drift off and awoke hours later to Chance and the twins. She hugged Chance tightly and was introduced to Reese and Liza, with Reese blushing at her looking so different than Chance yet had the same face and eyes. Liza smiled and hugged her, telling her it was going to be alright. There was little said as she fell back asleep. Chance was told that she'd be out of things for a few days so he shouldn't visit. The twins volunteered to help him, giving him a distraction that he needed. At the foster home, Chance broke down recalling the images of Brady with wires and blood going into her while knowing that she was forever changed. Liza hugged him, leading him to hug her tightly and cry into her shoulder. Reese led them to Liza's room and saw to it that the two went to bed, with the still sobbing Chance hugging Liza tightly as he drifted off to sleep. In the morning, Liza forced Chance to shower then helped him dress. She ignored that she had to help wash his body and seen him naked, it was purely chaste and Chance in a dazed state so never noticed that she was also showering with him. She treated him better than she treated Reese, causing him to be jealous but realizing quickly that she was doing it for good reason: he needed her help. Chance was dropped off at school and immediately embraced by Dorothy then Violet. They saw his expression and asked what was wrong. He mumbled a timid, "I saw her yesterday. She's back in Boston. She was tired and looked like she was out of it still. Grunckle Richard is looking after her. Aunt Jenna is keeping an eye on her for everyone." That led to questions about how she was doing. She looked down in shame and told them, "She's tired. It wasn't just cutting off her balls, it was something that happened to her after. I can't say, too many others are trying to hurt her and some might still be in the school. Mr. Jackson is in a lot of trouble, though. He made Grunkle Richard angry. You know how he is when he's angry at kids being hurt." They walked off to class while their audience tried hard to not appear to have been listening to them. It was further helped that Chance was with Miles and David, with both taking the opportunity to drop off their children for their wives and giving Violet fits of blushes as she hated Miles dropping her off. The kids knew not to ask why they were there, but seeing them scan the people outside of school gave them a good clue: they were searching for somebody who might go after Chance. Class was slow as kids kept talking about Chance and Brady all day, with their teacher fighting asking himself about Brady. During lunch, he did ask about Brady but got a soft, "She's fine. She's not coming home for a while. It's not due to what she did, it's something else. I can't say so don't ask." He took his concerns to Ivan King, who promptly told him, "Let it go. It's more involved than what you think happened. It wasn't parental abuse, it was done by others. The proper authorities are taking action. She's doing better, but it's a long road for her. Few are being told what really happened, but it didn't involve her castration. Due to DCF rules the kids can't be returned to the Carters yet: but will be soon." Ivan knew more than he let on, his wife being close friends with Mark's sister-in-law meant that he got to know a lot of what they knew especially as it was relevant to the school's situation. Jackson was on the run from the state due to his role and Lane was wanted in two counties for his crimes, they could be en-route to the school at any point so Ivan had to know why they were after Brady and the kids. He had a strong hatred for both men which only grew as he learned more and more about what they had done. Brady slept much of the day but was feeling clearer and clearer each time she awoke. By that evening, she was able to see the results of her self-mutilation and shed a tear over what she had done to herself. It was what she hated to see: a big cut, blood, and stitches. She felt sick over what she had done. Richard waited for the nurse to finish and explained to her, "You are going to be eligible for surgery in a year. We had a long discussion about your case with multiple doctors. Ana Gomez, Jaimie's mentor, feels that you were in a forced state and the mutilation was done out of fear of imminent punishment and humiliation and you chose the one option available that saved you from further trouble. She feels that your only other choice was what Mr. Lane hoped you would do: try to stab him to get away from him. Mr. Lane knew that you wouldn't give in and admit that you were a boy, stabbing him would get you arrested and sent to NEPC where they'd use you as they did- only legally." He sat next to her and explained firmly, "The state agrees with their assessment and supports surgery due to the state itself being mostly responsible for this whole fiasco. Mr. Lane was hired after issues up in Endicott should have sent him to jail but those reasons have been uncovered and addressed. Sadly, he's on the run and is going to be an issue until he's caught. Mr. Jackson is in worse trouble as his reign of terror at the school has upset a lot of people whom he thought were supporting him. He chose to use his race to further his career but made remarks online about your family and others that he can't take back. He's facing the full might of our family, all of us are standing up for your rights now." She focused solely on her surgery, with Richard realizing his mistake and offering a consoling, "It's not that you don't deserve to have it this summer, it's just that we can't get Dr. Wendy Walsh until then. She wanted to do it, and we feel that it's for the best that you do it then. She has known us for six years and is a strong supporter of kids like you- she should be, her friend, niece, and nephew are transgender. She also helped Anita Dupree when she got started as a woman. She wants to help you as much as she can." He smiled and offered a happy, "Anita wants to see you but will hold off until you are stronger. The rest of the family are staying away out of respect and because you know how Michael is. Just be glad that your uncle Scott is in Europe for the month or he'd be leading a mob to hunt down Lane and Jackson. I know he is upset, you kids are his life even if Quentin is his favorite. Then again, he looks so much like his mother that it's not surprising that father would love his son so much!" She drifted off to sleep again, a small smile growing across her face as she slumbered. Richard told the awaiting Alison, "She's on the mend medically, I don't have to have your psychiatric training to know it is also true of her mentally. She's getting surgery in a year, that's what she needed to hear most." Alison wasn't happy to hear that, but Richard countered, "You were left out for good reason: you are too close to her to not be biased. I had Robin Wiles and Ana Gomez discuss this, Jaimie was involved but only as someone who knew Brady. The same goes for Edith Bell, she was one of the people who had to examine the research material at NEPC and offered her own recollections of Brady to the investigators. Surgery is seen as partial restitution to her, they know Valerie will rip them to shreds when she gets unleashed when Brady is released from here when she get the all clear." Alison left, not happy with the surgery but realizing that it was something major for Brady and she had a need for it regardless of how Alison felt about kids having it done earlier than 18. It didn't help that it wasn't possible for her own daughter to have it for another nine years, even if she was happy to wait. It was unfair to dozens of older children forced to endure being male anatomically, but it was a special opportunity afforded to Brady that she couldn't pass up. At home, Alison talked with her wife and children about what happened to Brady. It wasn't breaking any confidentiality rules as her wife Katie was one of Brady's advocates and the twins were trying to get any information so they could tell their vast family what wasn't known yet. The twins in particular had an interest due to Hunter Eliza's transition and seeing how bad it could have been for her. When Hunter heard that Brady would get surgery in 15 months she cheered then proclaimed, "She gets a gift from people who let her get hurt- don't feel bad for me. I don't want it early, I don't mind waiting. I don't want something bad to happen to me to get it. I love you, but I don't want to have it early." Her twin sister Bailey happily added, "She knows you are upset, but she doesn't want it. Brady has been a girl longer. We all knew she was one before Hunter came out. She didn't tell you because you would get mad at her for not telling her. It's why she always went with Dorothy and not us, she doesn't want you to know how she felt inside. Now she can't hide it anymore, now she's a real girl." Her daughters caused Alison to see that it wasn't worth getting upset about as only she was upset at the surgery coming. Brady hated upsetting anyone so being upset now contradicted what was happening. It was better to let it go and help Brady be Brady, she needed support more than anything. Chance visited that evening and saw Brady hugging him deeply then proclaim, "Grunkle Richard told me I can have the final surgery next summer! I'm going to be a full girl! Granty Alison isn't happy but it's not going to be stopped and everyone wants me to have it. I know that it's because of Hunter and the other girls who are older than me, but I know they will be happy for me."" Chance nodded and looked away in shame. Liza took him out while Reese sat with Brady. She softly told him, "It's what she needs. I read up on it and it's only done in extreme cases and only with a lot of approvals. Someone must have wanted her to have it to get it so early." He mumbled an upset, "She's never going to be able to be a boy no matter what. She's going to be my little sister all of the time now. I'm happy for her, I just don't want her thinking that she got something for doing something horrible to herself. It's not a good thing to have happen, even if she deserves it." She hugged him tight then kissed his cheek, making him calm down while Reese had Brady trying to be funny for him but failing miserably. Reese was too serious to joke with her but it was more for her sake that she joked with him as she thought that she had to keep him from getting upset based on how he looked at her. When Chance and Liza reentered, she stopped her joking and saw that he looked more relieved and hugged Chance goodbye then kissed his cheek to make him blush. The group left but saw Richard tell Chance that Brady would need a few more days to be completely back to normal as she wasn't fully back yet mentally. He sighed and told him, "She's back to normal. It's her, not whatever crap they gave her. I know my sister better than anyone, that's all her now. Do what you have to do to her, but she's not the same because she's not the same- she's her. All her." Richard understood what he meant, it was Brady unfiltered and not holding back her feelings of being a girl and trying to be what she wasn't. He might only be eight, but he was also smart and knew Brady as a person in ways that nobody else would. If he said she was back to normal, then she was just that. The next day saw Brady's blood being tested and given the all clear as there were no traces of any of the medications forced on her. Brady was going stir crazy and needed visits by Jenna bringing with her Brady's schoolwork and iPad to calm herself. Jenna didn't tell her how she got the iPad, but the note in it from Dorothy and Antonio made it clear that it was some indirect routing via her relatives. Jenna sighed and told Brady, "Your parents have a hearing in a couple of days to see if you'll be returned to them. It's a standard hearing and Judge Parker doesn't fool around but it's also a tough situation due to what happened to you. He wants to be sure that you didn't do it intentionally, but he also wants to get at my colleagues so they face justice. He can't say it directly, but it's implied that they were going to be put under oath and what they said would be used against them by Aunt Kennedy. You have to go, but it is only due to him needing to talk to you to ensure that you are actually safe." Across town, the Carters were meeting with their legal advisers. It had been a rough week for them, the couple had been through hell overnight in Nashua St. Jail but were protected by deputies telling those in the jail that the couple were truly innocent of the claimed charges. They further let slip that the real culprit was at large and that he brought a knife to school endangering kids. The Carters were cleared of all charges by the judge at their arraignment, but saw them forced to not be around their beloved children for the first time since their birth. When they returned home and saw that their clothes had been removed they broke down and cried into each others arms, realizing that they may lose them forever. It was painful to not be with the twins, especially with Brady hurt. The couple were unable to work and barely able to eat, requiring Carmen's sister Juanita to take them in to console them while Juanita's wife Zoe got her own in-laws to help them. Zoe herself was outraged at Lane getting close to a child, especially after her brothers were the ones who outed Lane as touching the kids that he was supposed to be counseling after they witnessed friends getting molested. Ian Bailey had tried to go after Lane but when influential parents manipulated their children to make it look like Lane wasn't at fault Zoe and the James family were cut off from the school and forcing the issue. Carmen was hit with the worst depression as she felt like she had followed in her family's footsteps and become yet another in a long string of horrible parents to their children. Juanita tried to tell her that she wasn't alone but Carmen wouldn't accept that. Zoe sighed and blurted out, "Your mother begs to differ. She knows exactly what you are feeling: your own sister was ripped from her for the same reason." Carmen relented and agreed with them, crying into Juanita's shoulder as the sisters consoled each other as the memories of their long-hated family in California hit them hard again. The James family, Zoe's family, insisted that the couple stay with them until the twins were returned to them. It got them out of the city and allowed Valerie and her colleagues to work unhindered as nobody could harass them if the couple weren't home and were with people who could hurt the reputation of any reporter who sought them out to interview them or harass them based on false information. The couple holed up in their room each day, only getting out of bed to go to the bathroom and eat or to talk with Valerie, Katie, and the Jameses. For the first time, they refused to even go next door to talk to the Baileys as neither could face Wyatt and Deborah Bailey or little Ian Jr. The kids only caused them to feel horrible, Ian Jr. couldn't understand why the twins weren't with them or what happened to them. Wyatt was his father's son and kept his brother from being nosy or upsetting the couple, while Deborah did what she always did and tried to cheer them up by telling them that the kids were OK and wanted to go back with their mothers. She meant well, but it still hurt them deeply that there wasn't any reason to be apart from Brady and Chance yet neither was allowed near them yet. Deborah cried over them not feeling better, requiring Wyatt to console her and tell her that it wasn't the right thing to say yet. By the weekend, they were ready to believe that they were never going to see their children again. They received word from DCF that they would have to face a judge regarding custody of the children on the following Monday and that DCF was challenging their rights to be parents. That caused the couple to break down completely, with Ian Sr. calling Mark to get him to explain what DCF was doing to them. Mark growled, "That's Salem again. They have no right to do this as the case was moved to my office two days ago. It's an end run around us, one that we'll counter. They are overruled, the office manager is getting fired over this and Anne will be decimating the office. They have to appear, but they will be going in with full support of us and with everyone who has any say in their case supporting them." That didn't comfort Ian. He asked if the office had the State Police looking it over. Mark grinned then shot back, "Miles and David are on it. It's connected to their cases and ties them all together. They are the link between Endicott and the school. They are seeking a look into Jackson and Lane's families to see if they paid off the AAGs who ignored your pleas for an investigation." He told the couple what happened and why, but before they could get even more upset he added, "It's in the hands of Miles and David. Those bozos in Salem thought that they could force their way into court but they aren't aware that the case was transferred to Winnisimmet and in Uncle Mark's hands. He and Aunt Anne are supporting you, there's no reason to remove once the investigation cleared you." The couple met with their legal advisers and were given the crux of DCF's case against them: all of the allegations by Lane and Jackson followed by the complaints by doctors at NEPC. It was laughable to the group that any of them would be used, especially as all of them were facing tough charges against Brady for their own abuse and assaults. Jackson was the worst, he was the one who had the connection between each as he had been the one to call the ambulance that sent Brady to NEPC. The weekend was hard on the couple as they had to tell their niece and nephew to stay away from them while having their sister and brother-in- law complain about them hiding away from everyone when it was doing what the scumbags wanted. Polly Taylor, Carmen's sister, angrily told her, "You are showing them that you are mentally unstable and fear repercussions by staying far away from your family. None of us will let them beat you- you are our sisters and we know the truth!" The two were packed and moved back home, with Juanita insisting on them not acting like it wasn't for the best as she knew that they missed home despite the reminders of who wasn't there. At home, they were greeted by their in-laws, niece and nephew, and parents. That was followed by the kids' friends all coming by to support them, with Johnny refusing to let them believe that they wouldn't win. Courtney had to hide her tears as her son growled his support for them. It was further proof that he was the best of Courtney and Michael, with him favoring Michael in all ways. Carmen saw what he did and had to hide her pride as the boy loved them more than his other aunts, he was Chance's best friend and refused to let her believe something that he didn't believe in himself. He left them to go off with Chance, with Reese joining them as the teen was bored and going stir crazy at the foster home. Courtney took them to her house and kept them busy, while trying hard to keep her smile hidden as Johnny all but adopted Reese as his new friend even if he was five years younger. The teen was what Johnny needed: someone to focus on while keeping Chance from overthinking things. Brady endured Liza all day as she helped Brady get up to speed on her schoolwork then talking about a lot of girly things that Brady would need to know that the younger girls hadn't learned yet. She blushed as she told Brady, "Earrings are overrated, but they do make you look cute. Jewelry is flashy, but a little goes a long way. My uncle taught us that, he owns a lot of them but doesn't like to wear them." Liza looked away in shame as she realized her mistake. Brady asked the inevitable question regarding why they weren't with their uncle, to which she mournfully explained, "He's transgender. Mom and dad hated him, but he was always great with us. We didn't see him as a girl, he always dressed like Reese, it's why Reese always wears those t-shirts and jeans: Uncle Wayne wears them. He dresses as a girl for work, dancing in a club. He's really good, he makes you laugh. We wanted to go with him but the DCF social worker said that they don't allow people like that to be foster parents. Reese said that's a lie but nobody believes us and our social worker said we'd be broken up if we ever told anyone what she said." Brady stopped as she was about to cry. Liza hugged her, crying into her shoulder causing Brady to cry as well. Brady offered a somber, "Our uncle will help you. It'll take time but Gruncle John will help." Outside but listening to them, Richard asked Lynn about that claim. She sighed then told him, "He's a former drag performer. He made great money dancing at clubs and bought one in Allston near BCU. The club is fairly innocent, but just the fact that he doesn't have a 'normal' job hurts him. He tried to sue for custody but DCF argued that he's a danger to the kids due to his lifestyle. They made it clear that transgender people of any type were barred from having children regardless of ability." He had to fight his rising anger, she sighed and explained further, "The kids don't know about that part. It was kept from them so they didn't run away. He's a good person at heart but any reason that DCF could find was used against him. His job was first, so he retired to run the club. Then it was the club itself, but that is a lie as I know they allow exotic dancers and strip club DJs to have children. Finally it was that he didn't have a decent home, which was partly true as he had just a small two-bedroom apartment. He tried to find a house but nobody gave him a loan and what he could find was unsuitable and in the bad part of town in Roxbury. He's trying hard, but the Salem office won't let him have them." Richard nodded and left it alone, but made a text to someone that would help their uncle Wayne's case go a long way towards resolution for the twins' behalf. He entered and told Brady that she was getting released on Monday morning so she could attend the hearing and return home or go to the foster home. He sighed and told her firmly, "You know where I stand with you, but the judge may different. All of the adults are doing their hardest to poke holes in the case and fight for your rights. Don't get upset over it, the judge is a fair person and just wants the truth and not what people believe to be the truth. Due to it being another of our lucky coincidences, your case will be heard by Judge Roy Parker: the same man who ripped apart Tara Russo's grandparents and uncle in court. He'll be fair with you." Brady understood what he meant: the judge was favorable to girls like her! Richard's smirk was hard to hide, with Liza and Lynn feeling like they had missed an in-joke that was important. She told them after Richard left, "My friend Tara had to see him before. He's a nice man who cares about us and won't let bad people hurt us. If we are facing him, he'll be alright with my change and won't let Mr. Jackson and Mr. Lane lie. He'll want to know why we were taken from mom and mommy, he doesn't like to be lied to and will yell at anyone who lies to him." Liza asked about Tara and got her to tell her about all of her friends. She had strong reverence for her cousin Dorothy, with her happily telling Liza, "She's the best. She isn't related to us because her mom is like me, but Aunt Deborah says she's just like her. She wishes she was mom's daughter by blood, but it just isn't possible. She did get to breastfeed, mom couldn't do that with use because we are twins and it was too much for her but Dorothy got to do it. She did it until she bit her, mom said she was a biter." Liza instinctively covered her chest in shock, causing Brady to giggle. It was fun to her especially as it was true. The family loved to call Dorothy a biter, teasing Deborah for years over it. Brady was allowed out of bed that Saturday and walked around the hospital, having to hold off friends of her family like Nigel Smith and Emma Peterson. She had to tell Lynn who they were as it was clear that they knew her and wanted to do something for her even if they weren't on her ward. The duo were followed by Courtney actually stopping them to ask how Brady was, with Brady having to tell her if she was feeling sluggish or had any pain- unlike the others, she was asking on behalf of the family and doing so as a go-between for her lawyers even if she hadn't told Brady that. Lynn was going to say something but Brady smiled and told her, "She's Johnny's mother. I can't be out without her asking how I'm doing. She has to tell Grunkle Richard if I'm having trouble and I can't ever lie to her no matter how much I try to. She sees through our lies, Chance hates that!" Courtney had a smug look that showed that she wasn't kidding while Liza tried hard to hide her giggle as it was clear that it was a parental thing that Brady hadn't picked up on. Liza was then told, "She never did learn that you can't trick someone who did the same tricks. Mom and dad said we did the same as them when we were the same age, it runs in the family!" Brady blushed and walked off fast, with Liza giggling at her reaction. Courtney stopped Lynn to tell her, "I did that on behalf of all of her friends, not for the family. Those DCF idiots in Salem doesn't dare go after me or my family or my job as they'd have to explain how my being her nurse has anything to do with her legal and parental situation as I'm her ward nurse this weekend. It wasn't intentional, the schedule is made weeks in advance." She got the gist of it, Courtney was covered just in case. She then added, "My uncle-in-law Nigel and my cousin-in-law Emma were kept away on purpose, Brady did the smart thing in keeping them back so they weren't hurt should DCF start making a stink about them. It wouldn't work, both are heavily involved here. Uncle Nigel is senior pediatric nurse making any threats against him laughable. Still, it''s best that they were held away. All they needed to see was that she was doing better now." Back at the room Liza helped Brady shower, getting giggles from Brady as Liza winced at seeing what wasn't between Brady's legs. Liza scolded her for gigging, to which Brady told her, "They are gone, it's a piece of flesh. It's not much different than what's between your legs only yours is supposed to be open." Liza shook her head then shot back, "It's still a big wound! You could have died from blood loss! It's not something to joke about, it's a serious wound. Maybe when you talk with your counselor you'll see just how bad it is now since you can't have children and might not have surgery!" Liza was about to cry so Brady hugged her and told her, "I'm sorry. I'm getting surgery but it's only due to who caused me to do it. I know I could have died, I'd rather be dead than be a boy. I don't want to be hurt, but I never want to be a boy again. I can't be a boy no matter how hard people try to force me to be a boy. Mr. Jackson won't make me be a boy! If I have to run away to be a girl, I'll do it!" She broke down, with Liza trying hard to help her but only leading her back to bed. Alison entered and saw the scene, with Liza telling her what happened and getting a happy, "You helped her a great deal. It was something that she needed to admit and that I needed to know. It shows how serious being a girl is to her and why she needs her family and friends again. Thank you for doing that for her." Liza left the room and pondered things while Alison talked with Brady. Brady looked away in shame as Alison explained to her, "The truth matters most. You are willing to die instead of being a boy, it's not a cry for help from you. It's a serious situation and your safety is in danger if you don't transition. We are not going to let anyone force their views on you, no matter what they say otherwise. You have multiple psychiatric experts supporting you, none of whom believe you were ever a boy despite your genitals." She then explained to Brady, "Your threats are serious and I am trusting you to not do anything. You are making a lot of people scared. Your parents, aunts, uncle, and grandparents are all afraid of what you'll do to yourself if you are disappointed or don't get your way. You are headstrong, like your mom. She hates to admit it but it's an attribute that she inherited from her father. Stubbornness is a powerful thing, if you don't learn to control it you could do something that you regret- like hurting yourself and others. We want you to be safe, but you have to control yourself and accept that sometimes you can't get what you really want because it's not what is best for you. What you did to yourself was that stubbornness, but it was also your basic instincts kicking in. We know why he really gave you the knife, he was trying to frame you for trying to stab him but he didn't believe that you'd use it on yourself." Brady started to apologize again, telling her, "I won't hurt myself. I don't want to hurt Chance or mom or momma again. All of them are hurt because of what I did. I can't do that again. I promise. I swear on my womanhood that I'll never hurt myself again. I swear that I'll never harm myself or anyone else!" Alison smiled as it was Brady's determined face, the one that she had whenever she had her mind set on doing something. It was also that same stubbornness that she had mentioned before, the one inherited from her mom Addison and which was the driving force for the family's being so close. To have that face meant that she was not going to let them down no matter how depressed she felt about herself. The day went slow after that, but saw Brady feeling better and better and starting to accept what she had done would forever impact her even if she wanted to forget it. It was part of her legacy now, she was a girl but she was also someone with a history of irrational actions and willing to do whatever it took to get what she needed even at great cost to herself. It was also following in Addison's shoes as her mom had done the same thing the day she graduated high school and stepped out into the light as a girl. The next day was the same, only it saw Alison bringing Dorothy, Antonio, and Alison's twins Hunter and Bailey. Hunter immediately hugged her and told her that she was going to be back with her parents the next day or else her mom would sue the state for every penny that she could. Bailey did the same, and added that her grandpa was angry with Mr. Lane and had a lot of people chasing him down to get at him and Mr. Jackson for what they had one especially after they were overheard trashing Brady again. Brady looked down in shame, Bailey explained, "He's racist. Mr. Jackson is a racist and hates you due to being biracial. He hates all non- blacks, he uses his skin color to get what he wants and if he doesn't he calls you racist and threatens to go after you until you give him what he wants. He hates you because your moms are what he can't be: smart, successful, rich, and have many powerful friends. He went after grandpa and got laughed at by Grandpa's friends. He tries to make everyone who isn't like him out to be racist but Grandpa pointed out that he was the one using bad words and using race to get what he wants and nobody had an issue with it except him. He thinks that his family can force their way to get him help, but Grandpa and his family are even stronger and are related to him through Grandma!" Brady was upset at hearing that. For the first time in her life, the color of her skin mattered to someone else. She was mixed, she never hid that she was mixed, and she loved her grandmother's heritage even if it was mixed with grandparents, cousins, and 2nd-cousins who hated anyone who was different. Bailey added, "He hates Grandpa because he adopted mommy as his daughter. Mommy is a lawyer and a teacher and married a doctor- but it doesn't matter because all of us are white. Grandpa worked hard to give mommy a chance to live and she paid him back for doing so, yet he hates mommy just because she is everything that makes him look like an idiot: smart, nice, and gives back to people. He doesn't do that, Grandpa said he only takes what isn't his and hasn't earned anything in life." The stopped talking about that once Richard entered and saw that they were up to something. He tried to listen but the sneaky Hunter signaled to Bailey to end it fast causing her to grin as the kids pulled a fast one on the adults. He shook his head and checked on Brady's chart and announced to her, "You'll be released tomorrow morning. You are stable and everything is flushed from your system. Alison gave us the all clear regarding your mental health issues so there's no reason to remain here or transfer you to a psychiatric ward or to a rehab facility." He walked out, but first told the kids, "No secret planning. Don't think that I haven't seen this before. It's hardly the first time and won't be the last time kids thought that they were sneaky. It's universal among you kids: you are always up to something, we just don't know what." That set them off to which Alison explained to him, "They aren't planning anything. The girls were just talking about Al Jackson and Dad. You remember him- the same guy who insulted your great-nephew because his father was adopted by his grandfather and put in place by your own father?" Richard grinned then laughed, telling the kids, "Dad made him wet his pants when he complained about Simon because he 'didn't have a real grandfather'. Dad is a great man, even if he's getting on in years. It takes a lot to upset him, but Al Jackson hit him hard and may pay the price if he gets no punishment. I shudder to think about what he'd do to him if dad wasn't in a wheelchair most of the time." Brady spent the rest of the day playing on her iPad and occasionally talking with Courtney as she made her rounds. Chance and the twins visited her in the evening and told her what they had done that day as she gave him an upset look as he hadn't come by as she had expected. Reese's blush and Liza's look of happiness told her that it involved them and he had to go along at their request. The twins had to go to a school function and saw their classmates being made fools of as they made fun of the twins but learned just who they had been around. They were well-aware of the reputation of the huge "Finn Family" and to learn that they had hung out with people who were part of it and met a lot of the adults made them immediately show respect to the twins. They didn't have to know that none of the main branch members had met them yet beyond Michael and Courtney, but it was still enough to quell any teasing against them. Chance told her how the kids were annoying and wanted to know all about the twins' closeness to the Finns, with the twins being coy and showing that the others were just social-climbing pests who didn't actually like anyone unless they could use them. It was helped further that they had ignored them until then and were trying hard to get on the twins' good side to get closer to the Finns. Reese hated it but he had suffered due to the girls all but telling him that he was just a pathetic loser. Liza happily told her that her former friends all tried to go to her to be a friend again but forgot what they had told her when they stopped being friends. She happily retold them exactly what they said and had all of the boys laughing as she added that she was happy to admit that she doesn't have breasts yet they were embarrassed to admit that they stuffed their bras. She grinned and added a poignant, "I may be flat, but I'm all natural. I don't hide who I am, you do. You are total frauds. The boys are all over you but they aren't getting anything from you. You are teases, you don't care about them and only want the boys to be seen with you. I don't want any of them, you can have them." Brady laughed at hearing that, with Liza getting the response that she had hoped to get from her. It was a high point of her life, Liza didn't care anymore what anyone said as there was nothing else to lose as she lost everything that she had known when her parents died. Brady gave her a chance to show off her real side and was rubbing off on her in school, Liza hoped that the momentum continue onward once the little girl was back with her parents as she loved the new Liza more than the old Liza. The kids left and saw Chance hugging her tight then kissing her cheek, with her telling him that it was going to be alright and they'd be back with their mothers the next day. Liza hugged him the whole trip home, with Reese keeping quiet then helping him get ready for bed. When he was asleep, the twins also needed to hug as their own anxiety and jealousy over them going with family started to boil over. In the morning, the twins were dropped off at school early and saw Chance telling them that they were going to be alright as he'd get his family to help them no matter what. He was serious, he'd force them to help the twins and get them to reunite with their uncle. It was a long shot, but he had to try. Chance was dressed in a suit, with Lynn carrying a dress for Brady. The two drove on to the hospital and were met by an eager Brady who grabbed the dress and immediately changed into it. She had a smile on her face and determined look that showed Chance that she was back to normal again. When she came out, she waited for Richard to formally discharge her then escort her to the car to drive to the courthouse. At the courthouse, the twins had to fight rushing to their mothers as they saw them. It was painful to see them, but seeing all of their relatives and all of the family's lawyers gave them hope that it was going to be resolved that day. The two were moved to Judge Roy Parker's chambers to talk with him. Jenna and her close friend and fellow DCF social worker Jessica Vincent were with them as well as Alexandra James, Zoe's mother. It was then followed by Valerie entering and hugging all of the ladies, with Chance blushing at the hugs. Judge Roy Parker entered and asked for the specifics of the case then asked the kids what happened as it was light on facts and heavy on speculations. Chance all but growled to him, "Mr. Jackson has been after Brady all year. He wants to get rid of her because she isn't what he wants in a student. She's a girl, he hates kids like her and wants our school to fit other schools. He thinks that we are like his hometown in North Carolina where everyone is the same but Brady tosses that out the window. She's a girl, she has never been a boy. Mr. Jackson won't accept that she's a girl and went after her to get her expelled so she couldn't go to our school anymore. He hates her just because she isn't like him." Roy let him calm down before asking if that was true. Brady mumbled a soft, "It's true. He keeps telling me that I don't belong in his school no matter how much the city says I have a right to be there. He said I'm a loser and a freak. He said my parents are wrong because they aren't the same color. He hates any kid who isn't black and especially hates us mixed-race kids. I'm the only one who he has gone after all year, the others told him to back off and had their parents go after him but mom and momma have to work so they never have to deal with him. He isn't afraid of Granty Valerie or Uncle Michael, even if he should be. He is afraid of Aunt Courtney but only because her uncle is another principal and her dad is the middle school gym teacher. He's afraid they'll hurt him." Roy asked what all of that had to do with why they were there, not seeing the connections. Jenna and Jessica handed him reports from DCF then saw Jenna explain, "Reports were made to our Salem office that Carmen and Addison Carter were abusing their son. It was dated several days before Brady harmed herself yet wasn't acted on until after the incident. We believe that what she did was the result of being bullied into action by the school's psychologist, Eliot Lane, at the behest of Al Jackson, the principal. We have no grounds for believing that there was abuse as my colleagues Jessica, Chloe Daniels, Mark Sylvester, myself, as well as multiple automatic abuse reporters have known the children since birth and who have not seen any evidence at all that there was any kind of abuse. We believe that it was a well-coordinated assault on Brady Carter to get her and her brother removed from the Carters as they posed a threat to Al Jackson's job due to his constant abuse. The children's claims only verify what has been witnessed by other parents as well as reported to us by their teacher when interviewed by us." Jessica then added, "They were going to be removed that Friday but saw Eliot Lane provoke Brady into a self-mutilation act as part of his harassment. This prompted immediate action but in doing so also had us intervene directly as the case was supposed to be in Winnisimmet- not Salem. There was no reason to investigate by that office as the crimes were alleged to have occurred in Winnisimmet thus under the Winnisimmet office. The investigation has shown that it was intentionally targeting the family as it was against the office's unwritten rule of removing children from gay, lesbian, and transgender homes for any reason, with Brady's actions giving my colleagues legal justification for doing so." Roy knew that there was more, so he asked about the actual act itself. Brady confessed to him, "I did it. I cut my own balls off because Mr. Lane said I couldn't be a girl no matter what anyone said and I had to prove to him I was a girl by cutting them off since girls don't need balls. He handed me the knife, so I cut them off. I did it. Mom and momma didn't do anything to us, it was all me. I'm a girl, Mr. Lane wouldn't let me be a girl. I had to do it- I couldn't go back to being a boy." Roy let her compose herself and asked if it had been verified. Valerie stated, "Dr. Alison Eliza verified it the previous week. She had already been attended school for four days as a girl before the incident." He read who did the evaluation and when and nodded, adding, "These dates are key. I see from the DCF statements that they were made after that date. I believe I see the connection now and I don't like it. There is no abuse as far as I am concerned as I know full well that your family knows the guidelines for her to transition. Unless I am mistaken, she has proper support and experience behind her?" Valerie countered, "Her mother is transgender. She's the 'father' if you must know. They were conceived by accident before she underwent surgery. She also has her aunt who herself transitioned, and has the close support of a transitioning girl a year older than her as well as multiple teens and young adults who transitioned or are still transitioning including a close friend of hers." He simply nodded as she added, "Monetary support will not be a problem as both parents have millions in their bank account and own their own home. The children are not for want yet work hard in school and contribute at home. Their only issues are typical childhood issues: mischief, bedtimes, and trying to outsmart their parents and aunts. Their uncle, sadly, falls victim to their pranks far too often. Then again he is prone to falling victim to the children's pranks and schemes." Chance and Brady winced as she gave them a stern look, with Roy trying to hide a grin as it was what he had figured would happen with kids of their family. He moved the kids off to a separate room then told the remaining group, "I know that there is more going on here than meets the eye. I'll allow it as it is important to get rid of people who hurt children. I have my opinion but I have to get this on record so there is no claims of favoritism. I am upset that someone would intentionally bring a weapon to school then provoke a child to use it and abhor that a child felt that the only way out of an impossible situation was to use that weapon on themself. If the state wasn't already about to throw him in prison I'd put him in there myself and demand the state forget that he ever existed." He had to calm himself but to the others it was clear: Roy was on a rampage and Lane and Jackson had a target on their backs that he was aimed directly for. He wasn't prone to getting so emotional, but even he had to vent when there was a case that was simply too tough to ignore. The group were led out by court officers to the courtroom where Carmen and Addison were waiting for them. Valerie gave them a subtle nod which led Ricardo Vincent, Jessica's father-in-law and the duo's lawyer, to whisper to them, "It's all clear. He's going to do something more for the state to ensure that it gets those responsible sent to prison." He was interrupted by the entourage from DCF's Salem office along with Jackson and to their shock- a smug looking Lane. That was followed by Miles and David entering with Reed hot on their heels as the trio passed a note on to court officers which caused them to nod and whisper into their radios. The trio were in suits, but it was clear to anyone there that they weren't there as lawyers for any of the families. Roy's clerk called the session to order and saw Roy asking for the details of the case. The Salem office representatives complained to Roy that the case didn't belong in Suffolk County as the case was on file in Essex County. Roy smirked, then stated firmly, "You folks are mistaken. The crimes are alleged to have been committed in Winnisimmet. Your complaints are noted for the record, however as per the laws of the Commonwealth this case is being heard in the jurisdiction in which it originated: Suffolk County. You may be out of the Salem DCF office, but it's Suffolk's case." Round one went to the Carters, this was then followed by Roy swearing in all parties under penalty of perjury with all claims used against them in a court of law. All of them were bound by the oath, with all testimony on record. Those with pending court cases or future charges would have their words come back to bite them in the rear end- with Roy happily helping his colleagues out in that department. Roy grinned as Lane and Jackson looked to be upset about this, with Lane ready to leave but boxed-in by Jackson's scowl and the DCF workers' looks of outrage. Roy caught his anxiety and fear and gave a nod to Miles and David that he'd ensure that Lane hung himself out to dry and gave the state their due. If his court was being used, then Roy would be the one to lead the charge for once. Roy asked for the information regarding the case then asked for all evidence against the family. It was a big opening salvo as he worded his request in such a way that there was little wiggle room as they had to give over everything at once and match it up against what was claimed by Brady. This was countered by the official DCF report from Jenna and Jessica coupled with the statements from Alison regarding the care of Brady- none of which he was seeing as they handed over their reports, only accusations and a claim of abuse from someone that wasn't present: NEPC's chief resident. Nowhere in the reports were notes about Alison's treatment nor were any supporting evidence except a complaint from Lane and Jackson regarding abuse dated the day after Brady started to transition. It was also further noted that Brady was institutionalized for suicidal threats and attempting to assault Lane. It lacked any actual support that their parents were a danger to the kids, all it said was that they allowed the children to be abused and were hurting them but the crux of the whole court hearing was lacking. Reading the claims closer, he noticed that the account of the mutilation said that Brady tried to use the knife on Lane but when that failed she used it on herself and tried to use it on Jackson and the school officer. It was further coupled with accounts from the staff at NEPC that Brady was mentally unstable and a danger to herself and others and that they suspected that their parents were also the same. He held off reacting to that blatant lie, they were unaware of the preexisting psychiatric report from Alison or had ignored it in hopes of using their clout against the couple. Jackson's statements about Brady were in line with what Chance and Brady had told Roy earlier. They had little reason to lie, and from what he had written it was clear that the man had a strong bias against her yet had little actual substance to support exactly what she had done to warrant his attention and punishments. His statements were heavy on claims of her being disruptive and causing fights- which could just as easily be the other way around as others causing them and her acting in self-defense. The actual abuse claims boiled down to the Carters allowing Brady to transition to a girl, yet there was no actual supporting evidence that it was harming her except in their own views that it was abuse. He had nothing except his own bias towards transgender people, which was noted and showing that all of the claims were bogus. His hope that Roy would share his views were dashed right off the bat. Lane's claims were examined and he had a lot of exaggerating regarding the incident that were clearly made up after the fact to cover what actually happened in his office. The clerk handed Roy a note from the court officers that caused Roy to shake his head: the man was wanted by police for questioning about Brady's mutilation and regarding bringing a knife to school. His appearance there was only hurting him as he'd be arrested immediately by court officers when his testimony was finished, with the state using his testimony against him in court. The psychiatric reports almost made Roy scream as they were blatant lies with everything dated during the week after the kids were removed. They had no baring on the case as he read a memo from Reed regarding open cases against NEPC regarding their illegally detaining and drugging Brady. He read the fine print and saw that there was no actual interview with Brady and all claims were made by Jackson so their use as a source was both detrimental and insulting to the court. Roy looked like he was reading deeply but in reality he was gathering his wits and suppressing growing anger. He wrote instructions to the court officers to have the state investigate NEPC for other violations of children's rights. It was way too coordinated in his eyes, they had to have done it before. Roy finally stopped and announced, "I'll hear arguments in the case now. I have my verdict but want it to be on record for both sides. This is a delicate matter and all parties should have their say. Please also remember that you are under oath and have the right to invoke your 5th Amendment privileges if need be. However, your evidence must back your claims and as you have sworn under oath and on paper any of what you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. I'd advise all to seek legal counsel if need be before you start." He gave them a chance to delay, but none of them did. The Carters didn't need to, they had their legal might there in full force. He knew who the Jameses were but chose to not make mention of them lest it be used against the guilty on appeal. DCF got up and presented their claims, complete with allegations of abuse due to allowing Brady to be mutilated as well as causing issues with students due to children not understanding what was going on with her change. It was total garbage, but it was typical predatory behavior for people trying to play up the transphobia card. Roy tore that card up each time it got played, it was one game he refused to play especially if the children were receiving proper care and weren't being forced to change genders. DCF was countered by Jessica standing up and announcing, "My colleagues are out of line in their claim of abuse. Those claims are personal views of several members of our Salem office and do not reflect any views by DCF. DCF does not agree with the fact that changing your gender amounts to abuse, not if the change is overseen by trained professionals and done with the intent on helping the child and not harming them. DCF hereby officially refuses to stand by those claims." Roy nodded then told the Salem office representatives, "Your own agency doesn't agree with you here. I am ignoring the claims based on multiple factors the least of which is that it's not abuse at all. It's the contrary when it's following the guidance of a trained medical professional who has reported that all guidelines are followed. The actual abuse is when it is refused as it harms the child's mental health." That was setting off Lane, who had to stop when Roy gave him a glare. Roy then asked Lane to speak and tell his version of events at school as there had been no reports about what happened as the police had not provided one and the only reports were from DCF and NECP. Lane boldly telling him, "Brady Carter was sent to me for an evaluation after being involved in several fights with students after he disrupted class multiple times. He was involved in a fight in the school cafeteria during lunch and sent to me to explain why he had finally graduated from disruptions to blatant assaults on other students. He was upset at being disciplined then threatened me with a knife, trying to stab me but fumbling with it. It fell on his lap, cutting into his scrotum. He flailed loudly then started to cut the rest of his scrotum off as well as severing his testicles. He tried to threaten me again but collapsed from the blood loss. I called 911 and ran for help, but wasn't able to do anything further as I was pulled away by the school's police officer and our principal, Al Jackson." Roy asked what his experience was with children, getting a smug, "I have a master's degree in school psychology focusing on discipline." Roy asked why he was treating someone who who had no prior disciplinary issues and who had a valid psychiatric evaluation done, one in a field that he lacked the necessary experience in. Lane tried to evade and claim that he knew disciplinary issues when he saw it. Roy didn't let that go and asked, "Do you have any experience with transgender children?" Lane tried to hide his sneer then countered, "I have read enough studies to see that it's all a sham. The children lack basic discipline and are guided by others into delusions that they are what they aren't." Roy grinned, then shot back, "So you aren't a trained psychiatrist with years of experience. You base that entirely on your own personal opinions and not on actual training. You don't have any right to claim to know anything about transgender people. If you had actual experience and training, you might have spotted some of the earliest signs that a child is suffering from it and directed them to get help." Roy realized Lane made a huge mistake: The police report provided by Jenna stated that the officer was the one who radioed for an ambulance and that Brady was wearing a dress, so how could have have done that by accident if he was wearing a dress and how could Lane have called 911 when there was no mention in the report of anyone at the school doing so? Roy smirked then asked, "What was the child wearing when said child allegedly tried to assault you? Pants? A skirt? A dress?" Lane realized his mistake too late and tried to claim, "He was wearing jeans. He pulled them down when he started to mutilate himself. He had them around his ankle when he did it." Roy smirked then asked, "You contradicted yourself there. How could Brady have accidentally cut the scrotum if Brady was wearing pants as the knife wouldn't make it through the material as it was a Bowie knife used? Even sharpened, it wouldn't cut the scrotum that way. Also, if you said Brady pulled down Brady's pants why didn't you leave the room and get assistance?" He smirked then added, "How do you explain this police report as well as the DCF report that both state that Brady Carter was wearing a dress with leggings? I may not be a woman, but even I know that you don't wear both a dress with leggings as well as pants. And further, why didn't you stay at the scene? You are a professional as well as an eyewitness, it's your job to ensure that your patients are alright and that sure as hell means not fleeing the scene!" Lane tried to claim that he wasn't allowed to stay, but Roy produced the police reports then read them. Lane tried to get up to go but saw the court officers moving towards him. Roy angrily stated, "There's another thing that I want to know: just why were you counseling Brady Carter that day when you were told to back away from Brady by Brady's lawyer a week before? You sir had no right to even be with Brady Carter in the first place! Your entire basis for the alleged abuse is your own views on transgender children, with your unwarranted treatment of Brady Carter as an extension of those views." Lane tried to run off by was placed into handcuffs by the court officers. Jackson shook his head at Lane finally getting put away. He should have noticed that Roy was aiming for him next as Roy immediately asked for Jackson to come forward for his testimony. Jackson tried to be suave and blamed everything that he could on Brady: she was disruptive, combative with authority figures, harassed the girls, acted out in class, was truant from school, and had teachers complaining about her demeanor. None of that fit with what he was reading from Jenna's and Jessica's reports, with other parents and teachers actually giving glowing reports about Brady yet had scathing complaint after complaint about Jackson. The truth showed the opposite of what Jackson was trying to claim: he was actually the problem, not Brady. Roy countered with a commanding, "So let me understand this: you have seen fit to discipline a child all year who has been involved in multiple incidents, not one of which the child was at fault, then blame the same child for the actions of those who have seen fit to bully and abuse said child? It seems to me that you are actually blaming the VICTIM instead of those who are actually responsible. On top of that, you never once went to the child's parents nor tried to transfer that student to another school. I am well aware of the child having a relationship with another principal, whose own experience with similar children trumps your experience as she has dealt with children since you were in elementary school. The child staying means to me that you were trying to get rid of the child, not help the child!" Jackson was going to defend himself, to which Roy countered, "What you did is harassment. You have gone out of your way to harass a student, one whose issues were explained to you a week before the fateful day. It is my understanding that your city has strict guidelines for bullying, especially by staff. You have not only allowed it, you actively participated in it." Jackson was about to say something to which Roy added, "Exactly how did you obtain your job? What is your educational background? What qualifications do you have to be a principal?" Jackson touted his prior experiences and masters degree. Ricardo countered, "Mr. Jackson has a degree in political science but his master's degree has been rescinded by his university due to the discovery of rampant plagiarism and illicit conduct with his thesis advisers. His former university has sent a sworn statement that he threatened multiple members of the dissertation committee and slept with his adviser, leaving her pregnant with his child. We have the court settlement regarding child support, as well as threats to never contact him again. He still has $50,000 in outstanding support payments owed to the child's mother as well as for legal services rendered to him by his lawyer." Ricardo grinned then added, "He was hired against practice by threatening the Winnisimmet Schools for their 'lack of diversity' despite multiple black and Latino principals. He was hired over more qualified candidates with stronger resumes and multiple higher degrees. He was also replaced as principal after the incident at his school due to conduct against Brady and Chance Carter- whom he neglected to talk about yet who also suffered the same racially-charged harassment but who was saved from worse due to his close relationship with the grandchild of the school's legal adviser." Roy asked what he meant, Ricardo angrily stated, "Mr. Jackson has on multiple occasions stated that he is upset that 'people like that were allowed to procreate'. He was referring to the children's parents: one of whom is white, the other who is Latina, with Addison Carter being transgender. He openly stated in emails that he was going to get rid of 'kids like that' no matter the cost. He targeted the twins due to the color of their skin, all before Brady Carter came out as transgender." Roy grinned and asked about that, letting Ricardo explain, "Brady Carter was diagnosed by Dr. Alison Eliza one week before her mutilation. She had gone to school as a girl for four days before the incident. She was wearing a dress when she was forced by Eliot Lane to mutilate herself." He asked about that. Lane tried to claim that it was all a lie but Ricardo stated, "Mr. Jackson dragged the upset Brady into Mr. Lane's office, leaving a knife in Mr. Lane's hands. Mr. Lane then told Brady that she would never be allowed to be a girl and had to show much much of a girl she was. He handed her the knife, to which she proceeded to castrate herself by cutting off her scrotum and testicles. He knew what was going on the whole time: he was outside the door listening. He chose not to call for help nor stop Mr. Lane from giving the knife to Brady. He allowed him to threaten her beyond the point of the need to intervene! He ignored a dangerous situation with the intent of fulfilling his claims." Jackson was going to say something but saw Ricardo state further, "We have a sworn statement from the school resource officer regarding the incident as she rushed to the room to remove Brady by order of the police chief. As you recall, Brady had no right to even be there, which Jackson also knew about. He violated a direct order from Valerie Finn, Brady's lawyer, that Lane stay away from Brady Carter. Both of those were dated the day of the evaluation, it came hours later so they were not connected as will be claimed. He knew full well what was going on yet allowed it to happen anyway!" Roy asked how Ricardo knew about those things, to which he produced statements from the school's solicitor that Jackson had been handed the orders to back off from harassing Brady and that Lane was to not treat Brady. Jackson knew about the order yet allowed Lane to be alone with Brady causing the whole chain of events in his office. Brady's entire mutilation was caused by Jackson's ignoring orders thus he had actually been responsible for what happened! Roy asked about the knife claims, to which Ricardo stated, "Analysis of the knife revealed fingerprints of three people: Eliot Lane, Al Jackson, and a third unknown person. This was later confirmed to be Brady Carter based on examination of her personal property. Mr. Jackson wasn't present during the mutilation and was prevented from touching the knife by the school's resource officer after she called for an ambulance therefor it is the conclusion of the State Police that he gave Mr. Lane the knife." Roy nodded then told Jackson, "You have some nerve calling Carmen and Addison Carter abusers as the two have done everything that they are required to do as parents to protect their child. Brady Carter had no issues until you came along, then started to suffer in school. These reports state that she hasn't had any issues outside of her home so the actions inside school had to be from an outside source." Roy saw someone that could help immensely and asked Lynn to come forward. It was tough for her to do but she took the oath and stated what she knew about Brady so far and how she and Chance acted since being placed with her. She stated the truth, with nobody except Jackson being surprised by how they acted and how much of an impact both had on Reese and Liza. Roy asked if there were any issues, she happily told him, "There have been none. They have done more to help the twins than anyone else has. I'd go so far as to say that the twins are better now than previous weeks. Liza has helped Brady with her being a girl while helping Chance accept that Brady is no longer his brother. Reese has gotten Chance to open up about what happened and gotten him to see that things are better now that everyone can see just how bad Brady had it before that fateful day." Roy asked why the were placed with her in the first place, unknowingly causing DCF's Salem office to be under fire again. DCF's social workers tried to lie and claim that their relatives had issues with them that made them unfit which only led Roy to laugh. It was going to be funny hearing their retorts. He asked if he was aware of who their next of kin were, all nine of them. There was a delay as they had to figure out more lies to which Roy shot back, "I'm reading the list of next-of-kin and in it includes two principals, two teachers, a senior executive at Peterson Manufacturing, two college students, an office manager, and a restaurant owner/operator. Not one of them were contacted to house the children until this hearing? Really? You had to have gone out of your way to blatantly ignore your own rules to refuse to place the kids with any of them!" He smirked then stated, "You knew who they were and you knew who they had supporting them. You were tipped-off about them and specifically targeted the family. You were trying hard to separate the children from their relatives. Seeing what happened to Brady while en-route the the hospital I see why you did that: it was to keep them from Brady for your own benefit. I am ordering you all to be placed under arrest for neglect and child abuse. What you allowed to happen is inexcusable and led directly to a Brady Carter being hurt TWICE. You knew the allegations were false yet you still proceeded with them. Your own department cleared them multiple times over during reviews. The only thing that your department did right was investigating the circumstances into the mutilation, but even then it was done alongside your own tainted, biased, and misleading investigation. You were willing to put two innocent people in jail! That is something that I won't allow. Take them away, court officers." They were led away in handcuffs while vowing that they would get Roy back. That only led him to get a smile on his face as it was going to bite them in the rear again. He wasn't afraid of anyone, especially not people who were toxic to anyone with any kind of support. Roy had another segue and asked about the whole NEPC situation. Ricardo calmed himself then stated, "Brady was removed by ambulance and taken straight to NEPC for 'evaluation' but in reality, it was to keep her from talking. Doctors performed a quick fix on her privates and strapped her to her bed until medications kicked in. She was subjected to multiple experimental drugs that kept her unconscious as the doctors monitored its affects on her body. She was a human guinea pig! DCF is taking the blame for it as their employees were the ones who signed off on the 'care'. But those same employees were not the ones who were supposed to have custody of Brady and Chance- it was out of Winnisimmet therefor it was Chloe Daniels' case. She was kept away due to her support for transgender children, we have the memos from DCF and NEPC which stated just that. NEPC were going to use Brady as a test subject for an experimental 'anti-trans' cocktail this week, but immediate intervention by Mark Sylvester and Reed Pena stopped the experimenting. The Attorney General's Office shut down the hospital and removed all of the patients, with Brady being sent to New England Children's Hospital to recover. NEPC is closed until further notice with multiple senior doctors and staff facing criminal charges." Roy read the list and laughed, adding, "I don't see why the child was taken there immediately when the wound needed tending to. This is medical malpractice alongside abuse. I know of the doctoral care at NECH so I am sure that Brady received proper care. I only hope that there isn't any issues due to delays in Brady's care. Were there any?" Ricardo looked down then announced, "There is an infection and minor surgery that Brady isn't aware of yet. It was to reopen the wound to properly close it. NEPC didn't follow basic medical procedures in her care and could have led her to contracting a staph or other major infection not to mention a blood disease. That is already noted in the reports by the state and is being used against them in court." Roy had heard enough and loudly stated for the record, "A grave injustice was done to Brady Carter. It's a sad day when a child is left with little choice but to choose to harm herself or another. Al Jackson, you emotionally abused a child for months and allowed a child to be abused to the point of bodily harm to be done. DCF has ignored the rights of children yet again, however it was the actions of a few and not a coordinated effort by many in the department. I understand why the children were removed as it was in their best interest to investigate the incident fully, however as the truth is known and verified the children are to be returned to their parents' care immediately. I am also granting a change of birth certificate to Brady so that she is able to continue her life as a female and not suffer issues with her change that are avoidable. I am upset that she was willing to hurt herself to prove her femininity while proud that she stood by her beliefs despite overwhelming force against her. She is stubborn, but she is following in the footsteps of so many women. Good luck to you, Mrs. and Mrs. Carter and don't let her grow up too fast." The couple were in tears at hearing that. Jackson was led out in handcuffs as Miles and David placed him under arrest for criminal conspiracy, child abuse, and negligence. He swore that he was framed and that they went after him because he's black. David smirked while Miles stated, "You are being placed under arrest based on your testimony and evidence gathered against you after investigation. Your skin color doesn't matter one bit, it didn't make you write those emails nor threaten anyone. Unless you are claiming that because you are black you have a right to do as you please you have nobody to blame." He tried to threaten Miles, calling him "white trash" while calling David "a cheap pig." That then saw a colleague casually tell Jackson, "Sergeant Peterson is a billionaire, an heir of Peterson Manufacturing. Trooper Finn is a multi-millionaire in his own rite and is as white as you are- his biological parents are both Latino. Neither one of them has done anything regarding race, while you have spouted off racist remark after racist remark. The only racist around here is you." Jackson had a hard time in jail as his racially-charged rants caused the black detainees to beat him for it while the white, Asian, and Latino detainees beat him for his racist remarks against them. The blacks were pissed at him for making them look bad while the others were outraged that someone would dare to call them racist for just being the, "Wrong color." All were in agreement: Jackson deserved to be beaten for his actions and made an example of- don't cry racism when it isn't there. Carmen and Addison hugged Chance and Brady when they came into the courtroom after Roy gave his verdict, with all four crying into the other's shoulders. Brady begged her mothers to not be mad at her, with both telling her, "We understand." Addison cried as she added, "Your grandfather threatened to do the same to me when I was 17. I considered doing it to stop growing into a man but mom stopped me. I know how you felt, I know that it was an impossible choice. I only hope that you don't hurt yourself as it isn't worth it to harm yourself: we love you too much to let you hurt yourself." Brady mumbled a happy, "I won't. I don't want to hurt you or momma. I love you both." The couple led the twins out, with Lynn being told by Ricardo, "They'll pickup their things later. They have a lot of things to talk about at home. The twins will be home by then and will be told some things that we have discovered that they'll want to know. I'm ensuring that they get reunited with their uncle." The kids were driven home and ran right for their rooms. Brady stopped short as she saw her room had been redone in a more, "Girly" look as light pink and blue curtains, bedding, and throw rug were set out for her while her bed had been changed to match the one that her beloved cousin Dorothy had. She was in tears as Addison explained, "We felt that you needed to feel more secure as a girl. We wanted to do this anyway, but things happened to prevent it. We love you as you are, we knew you'd love this." She wailed and apologized over and over again over what she did. Addison picked her up and laid her down to go to bed, telling her warmly, "Why don't you take a nap to calm yourself. Lunch will be in an hour, you need the rest. Chance is Chance and will need the time to vent his anger at today." She drifted off to sleep and saw Chance in tears as he saw the bedroom for himself. He looked up at the couple and wanted to speak, Carmen offered a loving, "We planned this after her appointment. We were going to get you to change your room as well, you don't have to have stuff for her anymore." He hugged them and told them, "No more dolls. No more board games. I don't want action figures either. I know they are alright for boys, I just don't like playing with them. I want my own game system too." Carmen giggled and handed him his own handheld system. He hugged her tightly, thanking her for it as it was what he had hoped to get for his birthday but hadn't due to Brady getting jealous. Carmen gave it a look- over and confessed to him, "We know that you wanted this, but your sister was acting out then so we didn't get it for you due to her complaining. We know why now, she couldn't find the courage to tell us the truth and didn't want you to have what you wanted if she couldn't get what she really wanted." He looked down in shame, Carmen added a soft, "Your unwanted toys will go to kids who could use the toys. You are at the age where you start to be your own person and you are a gamer, like your aunt and uncle. It's common, you know how to handle yourself online and know where to stay out of. You are a smart young boy, I'm proud that you take after Addison just as your sister takes after me. They may be transgender, but that's all they share in common. She loves you no matter what, but you and your mom are closer than you and I and I'm proud of that. I love you no matter what, but even your grandmother said that you are so much like your mom that it brings her to tears seeing you grow up. You are what she had thought your mom was, but you don't have an inner girl like she had to fight as a boy." He hugged her tight, trying to fight his tears. She kissed his forehead and let him cry himself out, it was a lot to take in but it was the honest truth: he was Addison's legacy. He was what Adam Camp wasn't, he gave his grandmother Harper tears as he looked like Addison when she was Adam, acted like her, and even likes some of the same stuff as her- but he was his own boy and not Adam's replacement. Brady was awoken and led down to lunch, with the family eating together without talking. After lunch, the twins were told that they had homework to do which only led them to groan but smile as it was the same as always with their mothers. They did their homework without a fuss, then hugged their mothers before going back up to their rooms to be alone for a while. Eventually the twins were called down to go to get their things. The drive was tense as they were met at the house by Ricardo who led them inside while Addison and Carmen waited outside. The two hugged and kissed Liza then hugged Reese, with Reese blushing at Brady kissing his cheek. After the twins left, Ricardo sat Reese and Liza down and explained to them, "Brady and Chance have a lot of friends whose parents take action when they can help someone. Based on what Chance told us, it appears that your uncle was targeted unfairly by Salem's DCF office based solely on the claims of your parents. He isn't transgender and isn't gay- just a cross-dresser. He has a stead job, source of income, a home that he is in the process of buying at a solid price, and has a proper support base of friends and acquaintances- all of whom have clean criminal records. As your next of kin, he should have had you in the first place! By their own rules he should have had you all along. That will change. We'll see to it that he is given the chance to care for you if he is willing." He sighed and added, "Due to issues at the office, it might take a while. It's a low priority and you two are safe here. We have friends who'll be willing to house you if something happens and you two have to be housed elsewhere. Don't give up hope, by the end of the summer Wayne will be your foster-father." He left with the twins smiling at the news. He told Lynn, "I am serious about what I said to them. You are a preferred place for special situations, but these two aren't one. You should house new children soon, with the twins moving out in the summer. You have support, so unless you do the unthinkable to one of the children you'll be used frequently." She was unsure if it was a threat or compliment. She realized it was neither: it was a statement of fact. He was privy to that information through his daughter-in-law, she put 2+2 together to realize that he had to have been told directly by Jessica at some point that day. The afternoon went slowly for Brady and Chance as Dorothy and Antonio came by, then Johnny and his parents, then the Elizas, then finally a call for Brady from the one person that she hoped wouldn't be calling her: Jaimie Finn. She looked around for help but her mothers insisted that she take the call. She was in another no-win situation and waited for the inevitable scolding. As soon as she said, "Hello", Jaimie angrily told Brady, "I'm disappointed in you. You know how often I told you that you are who you are and nobody can tell you otherwise. Not Mr. Jackson, not Mr. Lane, not the kids who bullied you: nobody! I have never lied to you before and will never lie to you about what it is to be you. I know you were upset, but you should have done something else. I'm disappointed that you didn't use your head and did something without thinking about the consequences. It was hard to do, but I know you chose the right choice given the situation. He was in trouble, he was going to go to jail, he knew that he was going there and did it anyway. You didn't have to cut them off, you didn't have to listen to him threaten you. You didn't have to do any of that. You weren't thinking. That's what I am really disappointed about: you didn't think before you acted. Please don't do something like that again, think before you do. You are your mother's daughter, but you also have your mom in you. Think first, please. Just think." Brady took her chastising hard. Jaimie waited for a minute then told her, "I'm not upset with you. I am glad that you are doing better and that a lot of children will be helped by what happened. You are not going to be hurt anymore by anyone. We know that you are taking this hard, but we are also proud that you are yourself finally and you can be the girl that you need to be. You'll be 'complete' in a year, but it is only cosmetic changes. You are you, you are Brady the girl and the most girly girl in your school." She clicked off after that, with Brady smiling at Jaimie's compliment. The Carters hugged one another and ate dinner in peace. Brady hugged her parents tight as they put her to bed, with Chance doing his usual boy thing by being too mature for love like that. In the morning, the twins went to school together for the first time in a week. Brady dressed in a skirt and blouse, smiling as she hugged Dorothy, Violet, Hunter, and Bailey as they rushed to greet her. She was happy to be back, with her happiness only made better as she was led to the principal's office and saw who was inside there: Ivan King, one of her favorite great-uncles. Inside the office, Ivan told Brady, "Mr. Jackson was terminated last week and I have been appointed to replace him. I may have known you kids since birth, but I'm not going to let you get away with any of your usual pranks and mischief. You will act like every other student and do your own work." With that out of the way, he happily told her, "As you have presented as transgender and you have all of the proper statements, you'll be allowed to attend as a girl. Unlike before, you'll be allowed to use the girl's bathroom with your classmates. As you have no testicles, you are no danger to others even if you were years away from it being a potential problem with girls. Anyone that has an issue with this will be told the truth: you lack what makes males males and are harmless to girls." She was led to her classroom and saw Ivan telling her class that nobody will be allowed to harass her or bully her again. All of the usual suspects were specifically warned to stop their antics and if they didn't heed his warning they would be expelled. He wasn't joking, his look of anger showed he was serious. Brady was left alone that day and didn't see anyone trying to hurt her for weeks. The kids were used to kids changing genders thanks to Hunter's own change as well as older siblings who knew Hunter's big sister Trinity. She was the same as before, only kids weren't going after her like they had been. Brady did get teased by some kids about not having balls, but the kids who did didn't actually know her and were typical bullies who didn't care one bit about authority. After a week of teasing they saw just how serious Ivan took things as he expelled them for violating the anti- discrimination rules. Ivan went toe to toe with their parents and refused to back down, forcing them to accept that their kids bullied her and their own actions were what caused the kids to pickup what they were saying as they were clearly at fault based one their foul language and actions in his office. The kids left her alone after the expulsions. Brady didn't really care anymore, she had her friends with her and loved being a girl. She thrived as a girl, so much so that it countered anything Jackson said to parents about her over the course of the school year. Chance started to come out of his shell alongside Brady. The boy was always with Johnny and Antonio, but did start to get close to other boys their age as their shared interests were talked about when they all waited for their parents to pick them up. Johnny was always his closest friend, but Antonio was never too far off and was happy to be their third when none of their other friends were available. The kids were normal kids after that, so much so that Carmen and Addison started to feel like they were missing something in their lives. Chance and Brady joked that they needed another baby which caused the couple to hug and kiss both for the idea, it was time to be parents again. They looked at Brady who had a sense of disappointment on her face, with her telling them, "I'm sorry that I won't be like mom in that I can't give you grandchildren. I don't want to make you mad. I don't care about them, I want to be a mom to someone who needs a mom and not because I gave something that I hated making." Addison hugged her to calm her while Carmen told her affectionately, "You are doing what your aunt and uncle did: giving a child a home. Dorothy and Antonio are perfect examples of that. We are happy that you feel that way and are proud of you for doing that for someone in need." It was what she needed to hear, with Chance whispering to her, "It's OK. There's going to be boys who like you. Just don't go crazy for Johnny or Reese, they can do a lot better." That subtle tease was what she needed, he accepted her seeing that she liked boys and wanted her to see that his friend was off-limits to her. She giggled and teased him about girls, leading him to blush but it was cute in her eyes. Carmen whispered to Addison, "She's really too mature for her own good. Boys at her age? She's too young! At least she knows now and knows not to go after Johnny." Things settled down after that. They didn't see any issues except with the usual people who took issue with them simply because of who they were close to. The kids enjoyed a quiet 4th quarter and passed on to 3rd grade and a year of fun ahead of them. As the year ended, things got complicated as they became the focus of multiple lawsuits as well as a stream of racially-charged events orchestrated by Al Jackson's parents. The family claimed that he lost his job and freedom due to a plot by a group of angry white parents who refused to accept the authority of a black man. It was followed by them suing Brady for causing his firing and accusing their son of multiple heinous lies that were proven to be false. Valerie took action and forced them to appear in court. The couple weren't expecting that, but she had a strong counter to everything they had and was backed by facts. The couple thought that they would get their way easily, with Brady's family begging them to stop the claims of racism. In court, Valerie viciously stated, "Your son lied on multiple occasions including in open court. He isn't some innocent victim: he was caught in a lie of his own creation. The state used a search warrant on his email accounts and laptops, what he said in open court didn't match what he said to co-conspirators and the Attorney General's Office investigators. You are crying racism when it was his own words and actions that led him to be arrested in court for what he said under oath! He perjured himself, admitted that he did certain acts, then admitted that he didn't followed required guidelines. He was the one who got caught in lies, he was the one who uncovered his own conspiracy: not an eight-year-old girl! You lay claim to his incarceration being racism, yet it was he who was using racism. His actions of going after a child because she wasn't black and was mixed-race is despicable but I see that it is all learned behavior. You immediately go for claims of racism when you have no justification for actions and have to face punishment by peers. There was no racism, the only racism was by him and you." The judge agreed with Valerie and tossed out the lawsuits, with the judge telling the Jacksons that their attempt to profit from their son's criminal activities was despicable but not surprising with their history. Valerie offered a counter-suit, which the judge refused to dismiss as she actually had basis for filing. It was also followed by the Jacksons having to face the media as word got out about just what they were trying to do, with their supporters having to back away from them due to the toxicity of making racism claims against the victim of a crime that had multiple agencies supporting that the crime took place and had nothing to do with racism as claimed. The Jackson tried to stem the bleeding but were forced by their political donors to pay off Valerie and sever ties with their son to save their own skins. It didn't help, by June the couple were viewed as being too dangerous to "the cause" to have around and saw few people willing to "hire" them to "help with their racism problem" in their companies and agencies. It was compounded by the state investigating the couple for fraud and extortion as they fell into a trap set for them by the state that captured their usual threats on video and ended up being released to the media after they were indicted. Jackson himself forced an early trial, with the state trying him in Worcester County but far enough away from his base supporters in Boston that he was relatively unknown to the locals. He made a grave mistake as the assigned Suffolk County judge refused to allow his lawyer to use his usual claims of it being racism to try him for his crimes or trying to create a jury that was mostly black. Jackson had to face a jury of his peers: one in proportion to the state in race, with only two blacks on the jury but one of which was actually Latino in origin. The trial was quick and precise as there was little defense for Jackson without his usual race-baiting or attempts to extort people. He was all bluster, once he couldn't use that he reverted to being a bully and when he realized that he might lose his freedom he stood up and called all of the members of the jury racists for not freeing an, "Innocent black man" and, "Letting whitey do what they wanted to them." It was a bad idea, the judge sighed and booted him from the courtroom while telling the jury to disregard his statements and ignore his antics. Jackson's outburst made it onto the news as people saw the real side of him, with his family screaming that their son was, "Innocent" and blamed it all on racists trying to force their views on people. It was a laughingstock moment as the couple saw little support and had their own distant relatives coming out to defend the witnesses against Jackson. The couple were desperate for attention, and Jackson only caused them to get it in all of the wrong ways. Tamara Reagan, one of Brady's biggest supporters and Hunter's grandmother, was vicious in her attacks on her 2nd-cousins and their antics. She proudly told reporters who sought her out that the couple spoke only for themselves and weren't in any way part of the black community and exploited them for their own means. She happily spouted off how they hurt anyone who refused to give to them and called on boycotts of any black-owned business who didn't pay them off- with past boycotts being shown to be exactly what she said, partly owned by blacks and not whites as the Jacksons claimed to supporters. Tamara happily pointed out how they had to bribe schools to accept their son and then used those same schools to fund their lifestyles as they, "Donated" to their organization. That led to calls for them to be investigated further as the money was supposed to go towards helping black students who came from the inner-city to get job placements and educations. Spending it on themselves was a step too far for most supporters of them, it was what they claimed that whites were doing with their money. Tamara visited Brady every day and helped her in court when she had to testify. Seeing her be so close to someone who was genuinely scared caused the jury to sympathize with Brady while the defense tried to make it out to be an act. When pictures of Brady and Tamara from when Brady was a baby and over the years were shown, especially when taken with Hunter and Bailey, there was no counter as it wasn't an act: Tamara did love Brady like family and their interaction wasn't an act for the court. Jackson lost badly in court and ended up being sent to prison for 10 years in total, then lost again in the civil courts as the Carters sued him for slander and for Brady's pain and suffering. The family further sued his parents and won there, with the Carters winning $5 million total. Brady had $1 million from her own lawsuit, with Chance glad that he wasn't going to touch his $1 million until he turned 21. NEPC was shut down permanently by the state, with the hospital's endowment being impounded as the Carters sued them for what happened to Brady. Valerie was vicious as she tore apart their finances and went after them for every penny she could. She sued for $25 million, with the hospital trying hard to avoid paying her but unable to counter her legal acumen nor her penchant for finding the right words to make you walk yourself into an impossible to lie scenario. The hospital's drug trial was voided and the drugs rejected by the FDA until new trials were conducted by ethical doctors on willing patients while all results of previous trials conducted at the hospital were put under serious review. The sad part of the situation was that legitimate people were hurt due to the actions of the doctors, but it was felt that what happened to Brady wasn't the first time and what they had learned couldn't be used due to being tainted and biased. She was a victim, they had to ensure that nobody else suffered the same way. DCF had to pay the family an additional $20 million total for the false arrests, placing the children in a foster home instead of with willing and able family members. They paid an additional $2 million to Brady for the abuse and for placing her in NEPC where she would knowingly be abused. That was in addition to willfully ignoring her medical needs in paying off both officers and the ambulance crew to remove her to NEPC instead of going directly to the required closest hospital. Brady had $32 million in her bank account after the lawsuits were settled in her favor. Brady hated the money but put it away for her future at her parents' request. She never had to worry about ever having to work, yet she felt that she owed it to everyone to work her hardest to make her way in life just as her mother had done when she started to transition herself. After Jackson's losses came Lane's trials. He pleaded guilty to all charges but instead of getting off after telling the state everything against him and testifying against Jackson he was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by facing trial up in Salem in Essex County Superior Court for his crimes in Endicott. His ego took a massive blow as the judge up there refused to allow him to get off without punishment, what he confessed to in Suffolk County wasn't what he was on trial for up in Essex County. Ian Bailey was critical in forcing the investigation into Lane and received additional help from Miles and Reed, with David gladly taking the lead in it as the bait to get their real targets to reveal themselves to them. David smartly led them in questioning and made them believe that he would scrap things if the group were paid-off by multiple members of the Endicott Town Council and school committee. It was a well-played act as they got them on recording offering him bribes to, "Make the charges disappear." Ian happily slapped handcuffs on them while Reed enjoyed taking Miles to arrest Endicott Elementary School's former principal for not reporting suspected sexual assaults and lying to investigators in addition to the existing charges of larceny and fraud that they had uncovered thanks to what Lane had said to them in interviews while hoping to get them off of his trail. Ian purposely wasn't present for the arrest, he'd have lost his cool and harmed the principal. David wisely had him give the department's statement while having his officers cooperate with the state or face termination. Multiple new victims came forward as expected once it was made clear to their families that no funny business would be allowed and anyone who tried to stop their children from speaking to them would see the children removed from the families regardless of how much clout and money they had. Two did make that mistake and saw their children permanently removed after an investigation into them, with Ian having to tell his twins Wyatt and Deborah why their friends were no longer going to their school or living in Endicott. The children understood, with both tearfully telling their friends goodbye as they were better off now with aunts in New Hampshire. Lane's past was unfurled throughout the summer as more victims were found, with both his credentials and his hiring called into question. This was followed by the town facing constant scrutiny over their attempts to end the investigation despite warnings to back away by Reed. When he finally had enough, he asked his mother Kennedy to intervene and had the town's council dissolved in disgust and residents forced to vote for new members with the council being wide-open and multiple people elected for the first time in decades- none of whom had any connections to the past nor indebted to powerful people. Brady was over the Bailey home frequently and helped little Ian Jr. see that he was fighting a losing battle with himself and that was also a she and that he shouldn't hide himself anymore and needed to stop fighting his inner feelings and be himself. Mid-August, the three-year- old announced to his parents that he was a girl and her name was Megan. Ian smiled and hugged his daughter, with Brady cheering Megan then giving the newly-dubbed girl a chance to shop and choose her own style. Ian was proud to do that for his daughter, especially as she was her mother's daughter in every sense. She favored his wife Sheila in looks and size, with Wyatt favoring him and Deborah favoring both. He loved his daughter no matter what she was inside, now that she could be herself she turned into what he had hoped Deborah would be but hadn't become: a daddy's girl. Ricardo was true to his word and got Reese and Liza help in their uncle's case to obtain custody of the twins. He was prophetic in his words as it took months, with the final push coming in August as Valerie got involved bringing with her the might of the family. Once Anne Connors was made aware of what was going on, their uncle won custody without a second look at his file as he was perfect for them. Brady atoned for her error by helping another girl like herself that summer. She was new to the state and with Brady's help she saw that being male between her legs wasn't something to be upset about as it was just flesh. She happily told her about her story and got her to see that things could be a lot worse and if she felt that way about her flesh she had people who'd help her through the depression. Jaimie's strong words with Brady resonated with her and saw her talking with Jaimie after she had one more breakdown while she talked with the new girl in the neighborhood. Brady saw that it wasn't worth getting upset over anymore as it was all going away the next summer, with Jaimie wanting her to be the best girl that she could be even if she had something extra for another year. Brady endured chastising and in doing so she helped the new girl, with both feeling relieved to accept themselves. Surgery occurred after school ended, with the girls and boys visiting her in the hospital to keep Brady's spirits up and help her see that it was a good thing. She had the usual depression that patients suffered, but it was coupled with her family showing her that she was whole and nothing could change that. It pained her to see that others would have to wait to have theirs, but both Hunter and Megan were happy for her and wouldn't change a thing: it wasn't worth it in their eyes. The Carters were successful in having not just another baby- they had twins, with Carmen hoping that her new son didn't suffer as Brady had while giving Brady a younger sister to help with her girliness and give Carmen a chance to share some biological things that Brady was happy to not understand. To their surprise her baby brother took to Brady more than Chance and showed a strong bond, but he was just a normal boy who knew that she needed closeness and comfort. Brady loved him deeply and vowed that he was going to do better than she had done, with the little boy happily giggling at her as she said that. The End.