A Storm Brewing Part 2 free porn video

The doctor was taken aback by what Stormy had just said. Crystal proclaimed, "You joked about my son being a sissy, well you were close. That doesn't excuse your actions, especially about his healthcare. He is a healthy boy physically, but mentally he's a young lady. We are seeking help from professionals, but it is only after we have this evaluation by you. You have no experience in this area, so we are asking you to give a referral to a doctor who is experienced. We have an appointment tomorrow morning for him to see one in LA. We are going regardless of your referral, but my father will want to know why it's being refused and he has stated that he will take action against you for denying care to someone in need especially as you have no basis for denying it since you have no experience in diagnosing it." She had thrown down the gauntlet. Stormy would get his evaluation regardless of the doctor's choice. It was really about what he chose to do that was the issue- be in the way or be a help to Stormy. He sucked in a deep breath then asked to have some time to examine the current research as it wasn't an area that he was familiar with but he'd have no choice but to read up on. She granted him the respite, it was the least that she could do. If he tried any funny business, he'd end up in trouble and would lose his license for sure as neither the state nor Chloe wouldn't allow him to harm Stormy in retaliation. She walked out and Chloe walked out to the bathroom to head off the doctor as she called Children's Services about the doctor about to make a claim of abuse based on his own feelings regarding children who are transgender and seeking help. Her phone call was backed up by her years of experience with children who were transgender and who successfully transitioned and had the backing of multiple state and federal laws that prevented such behavior by medical officials. They had no choice but to tell the doctor that his report was noted and he must explain how it qualified as abuse as it was being sought in the proper manner and by someone who was aware of the laws regarding abuse- which it wasn't. The doctor was at a loss of words and hung up, Children's Services called Chloe back and told her what he had just tried to do and what they were going to do in regards to him. Chloe simply shot back, "I am taking the child to get a proper evaluation by an experienced medical professional in another state. I am not going alone as I will have my sister with me so he is not being kidnapped nor abused. We will have a lawyer meeting us in LA as well as have my father meet with one here. This won't go unanswered, he is going to face justice and will lose his license to practice as he violated my nephew's civil rights." Crystal led Stormy inside and met with the doctor again. She gave him a big grin and proclaimed, "It's a shame that you violated my son's rights by trying to get Children's Services after me for what you are refusing to treat. Your refusal is noted and will be reported, they are also taking action regarding your attempt to use them to threaten us. My sister happens to be a social worker, as is my niece-in-law and my niece-in-law's mother is the head of Massachusetts' version of Children's Services. I just hope that it doesn't get out that you are letting patient information go public as you have surely done this to others before and being a small town a lot of what happens can be traced back to you. Enjoy your job while it lasts, I doubt you will be able to practice medicine for long." Kevin stood tall over the doctor as Crystal and Stormy left. Kevin told the man, "I talked with the state. Expect a visit this afternoon. The state troopers are cracking down on extortion rackets. Just hope that the feds don't get involved but my son-in-law might have to tell the FBI about your antics." Kevin knew he'd say that he wasn't afraid of his son-in-law, Kevin shot back, "He's a federal agent. He'd be here today if it wasn't for his current case. He is aware of the situation via my daughter's friends and will have a response ready for you should try to do anything shady with my son's contacts. Don't leave town, you are known to the TSA and if need be I'll be on the search party for you at your remote cabin. Or did you forget that I helped build it for you? Oh and word to the wise: always pay your bills. You owe the park service rent for the cabin, we seized it for back-taxes will be selling it shortly." Turning to the man's daughter and coworker, he told the ladies, "Try to access any of my grandson's file after this moment and you will be arrested for criminal mischief, extortion, and a multitude of state and federal charges. I am still a federal law enforcement officer, I will ensure that you both go to prison for violating his rights. The good doctor is already in enough trouble as it is, you'll ensure yourselves are taken out as well." He left as the three argued while one tried to access the file only to find out that it had been denied as it was no longer accessible via that network. An alert also showed up on screen that all access was denied and any access after the initial phone call to Children's Services was logged. Chloe had set in motion a few people in Children's Services who had allies in the state and at the regional hospital that the clinic was affiliated with- the true source of the patients' files and where access derived from. Jaimie called Chloe to tell her that the referral had gone through and that it came from above the clinic as the regional hospital made it on Stormy's behalf. She added, "It came with a notation that the patient was denied care twice in two days and was allowed to have an outside source confirm a diagnosis as it was not possible locally. Stormy's file is also impounded and only access is allowed to myself and my mentor until further notice. Notations are also made that indicate that the patient would be moving to a new doctor in Massachusetts in the immediate future clearing Stormy for full treatment." The group went back to the house and saw Stormy rushing to pack his bags while Crystal held out one that was already packed and ready to go. He looked inside and frowned, it was boys clothes but he had a feeling that it was done for a reason. Crystal explained, "It's due to still being listed as male. It's not a thing that can change easily, it's just for one day." Chloe added, "We are flying in a private plane to Boston so it won't matter after tomorrow." He looked at her oddly, Chloe happily told him, "It's due to George doing work up here. The jet is a nice sized one but it had to make a trip to California last night with someone important. We'll be flying back north in it tomorrow, we are invited by the company's owners to ride along. We just happen to be seeing relatives of the majority shareholders so they want you to relax and not be scared." Mason hugged his mother goodbye, telling her he'd be a good boy for her. Cindy hugged him tight and led him out back so he could enjoy his first chance of being alone from his parents. The girls followed behind, none of them wanting to be bored inside and liking the fun of the walk. Ronda and Kevin were alone in the living room and saw Ronda thinking about what was going on. He explained to her, "Your aunt and cousin can't stay here any longer. Your father will try to ruin our lives to get back at us and do what he has to do to get back at your aunt. Stormy will be in the crossfire and he won't hesitate to hurt him to get what he wants. You were just his pawn, ever since your cousin was born he has been after Stormy. He hates your uncle. Your uncle was a decent man but stood up far too much against your father for Stone's liking. Your uncle was a good man at heart, he just did the wrong things for the right reasons and ended up in a bad situation that only got made worse by others. Stone used it to get him to help Stone, but he refused to do a lot of what he wanted your uncle to do. He loved Stormy and tried to go legit, but your father chose to force him into a robbery that I don't believe for a second wasn't staged by your father to cause damage to the family. Your father ensured he'd end up in prison for life. Your uncle made a mistake in believing in his friends and got screwed as they shot the troopers and blamed him for it. Everyone saw who did it and blamed your uncle, but he was innocent." She gasped in shock, to which he further added, "We found out from your father himself that he staged it so your uncle got the full blame. His men were all blaming him when it was their guns that fired. His lawyer refused to work with him to get him out of the charges. He wouldn't do that, he is in your dad's pocket. Your dad bribed the techs to lie and then went after your uncle's credibility. He got witnesses to lie for him. Your uncle couldn't get out of it no matter how much the evidence pointed elsewhere." George entered and told Kevin, "I'll let some techs know about this. He's getting a new trial and it'll be a cakewalk for him. If it's as bad as you claim, he'll be out as soon as the ink is dried on the order from the head judge. The two ladies are wizards at crime scene tech. I'll let them know to review the files as I doubt anyone has actually checked them over since the trial if not the actual investigation." He then added, "One of the ladies is like Stormy. She's the best investigator the state has and works with her wife in most cases. Yes, I said wife. She's one of the ladies who likes ladies. Her wife has loved her since freshman year of high school and married her right after graduating. Her brother is TJ's friend, so I've had a lot of time talking with them about things so picked up a few tricks of the trade." Turning things to Stone, George asked about him as he wasn't quite right. For a man who had no solid job he had a lot of flashy items like a good car and clothes. He lived in a trailer, but that may have been more of a ruse to keep people off of his scent and hindering his real job. Kevin shook his head and explained, "He claims to drive trucks but in reality he works with computers. He does networking and runs the office in town for GloboTech. He has a lot of free time because it's an easy job with little to do most days." George grinned and shot back, "I'm sorry to say, but he's going to end up in prison for hacking into the Peterson Manufacturing data servers. I called in our techs to look into it, he's the prime suspect now. I'll guarantee that he knew that I was here and tried to get me off of my game by going after Stormy and then me at the diner. He knows about my family, it's one of the first things he'd have looked into when he found out. He didn't expect you to fight back nor any of us to stand up to him. He miscalculated us and will be trying to get what he needs soon- but not before making further mistakes." George made a phone call then announced, "Arrangements have been made. We are close and have a few cameras installed to keep an eye on things. When he strikes, he'll be caught red-handed. Security is the first thing I upgraded, including installing door overrides that require my personal code to enter. He'll be explaining to the state troopers what he was doing inside as he has no right to be there at all. Any of the proxies he is using will be dealt with soon, he's losing his inside girls as we speak due to TJ's act of listening to them when they didn't know he was listening. He knows when to be quiet and look like he's bored, they openly talked about us being there and got caught calling outsiders- including GloboTech." Kevin asked if it was really necessary, George shot back, "The company has a contract with the federal and state governments as well as with multiple major universities regarding the research being done in the region. Your town doesn't pay it much heed because most stay in a leased cabin away from the town but the office is vital to research into environmental issues in Alaska and ways of mitigating spills and other events. It's a huge moneymaker for Peterson and has paid dividends to the scientific community. The bulk of the work is done in your park, I know you've worked with the crews. Their data goes to the office and is input. It's that data that is worth its weight in gold as it's going to make or break several of the local companies who are in a lot of trouble due to environmental contamination issues." It was hard to argue as Kevin had met a lot of the crews and got them help for a few emergencies. The whole thing scared him as Stone was potentially playing with fire and may be involved in some shady things that he didn't want to think about. It did fit Stone's personality as he would be rough at times. The girls were happy to enjoy the day out with their grandmother and saw her having fun as Mason led her around while going slow at times due to the terrain. The family land was a large tract of land Kevin had bought with a loan from the bank and featured a house that he built with his own two hands and his family's relentless help. He loved the property and got it for a steal thanks to his vital job. She loved telling the kids about the land and how much they tried to walk the property to enjoy the land as much as possible when the weather was great. It felt like her true home, with Kevin finding ways to give her a show of love as they watched time pass. The family grew and expanded to a new generation, with the kids and grandchildren not having the same love as Kevin and her had. During lunch, Mason switched to Ronda and told her, "Pretty girl," which she didn't know what she had to respond with. He happily added, "You are pretty. You look pretty not like bad girls. Mommy doesn't like bad girls mommy likes good girls." He kissed her and ran off, with Cindy understanding him and explaining, "He said you don't have to be a stripper like you looked before. You are a young woman, but you are only dressing like one now. He is trying to tell you that you look better as a normal girl. It suits you better, we know you aren't that girl." He nodded as he came back, jumping into Ronda's lap and hugging her tight. Ronda led him away to be a good cousin while Cindy dealt with the dishes. The girls helped, knowing not to say a word as it was what everyone else had been thinking and only vocalized as only the young Mason could. Ronda slept with Mason that night, the little boy refusing to let her sleep alone. She was feeling odd as he was close but not right in her backside or arms. She was feeling that he was a part of her life now and wanted him to be close and wanted to be an influence on him- more so than she was with Stormy. In the morning, he showered with her and giggled at seeing her body. He told her he did the same with his sisters and mom but had to stop soon because he was too old, which prompted her to tell him that he was a big boy now and didn't need to do that anymore. She told him what he wanted to hear, they were doing the same but he wanted to hear it from Ronda. The kids were told that they'd be swimming that day and saw the kids happy to go, with Ronda having to be told that her swimsuit was fine. The girls giggled at her, knowing that it was all because of breasts and she likely had only a skimpy one that showed everything. They weren't happy when Cindy told the group, "Your mom and dad said to wear your tops, not just the bikini ones" leading to them whining. Mason helped with the towels and walked with Ronda, smiling at her while helping set their place on the creek. TJ was with them that day and blushed deeply over seeing Ronda's outfit, with Ronda trying to hide herself from his view while getting laughed at by the girls. He rushed into the water and kept in the middle so nobody could see his reaction, with Ronda trying hard not to catch glimpses of it as well. She joined him and told him, "It's not your fault, I don't have any others to wear. I usually swim naked, nobody else goes out here and grandma allows it because it's our property. I don't like swimming in my swimsuit and never have tanlines, some of the girls say I'm a slut because of that but they don't have the land that we have nor do they have their own river like we have flowing here." He blushed and turned away, she added, "You're larger than normal. If you weren't my cousin I would have tried to bed you but I'm not that kind of girl anymore. I'm really surprised that you don't have a girlfriend yet, you'd be a great catch for girls especially when they learned what you are packing." He looked away in shame then countered, "You don't know what it's like to be the one everyone tries to feel bad for and ignores you until you are convenient to them. Girls won't date me, I've asked a couple and gotten laughed at. Mom and dad are feared but the kids hate my family. They don't try anything on me because of my friends' families but they trash everyone making it tough to be friends or get dates. It's just the three of us, it sucks but we are all that we have in school." She countered, "You just explained my life to the fullest. I'm the unwanted daughter of a man who can't be bothered to act like a grown man whose mother is unknown and who told grandma never to contact unless it was life and death. Everyone in school laughs at me behind my back and won't deal with me unless they have to for schoolwork. The guys only try to date me to have sex with me, I finally stopped bothering with real dates and got used to the pleasure. It's not that good, they suck at it or try to do stuff I'm not ready for. I hate being alone. I hate not having real friends. I hate being me." She was fighting tears, which led to TJ hugging her to calm her. She was no longer the sexiest girl ever to grace his eyes, she was his cousin and needed his help. She kissed his cheek and thanked him for the hug, he countered that it's what family does for one another. The two waded for a while then lay on the shore as the girls and Mason giggled with Cindy. They go so comfortable that TJ never noticed Ronda removing her top and laying bare-breasted on her towel as he lay on is own and let the warmth and sun take him. When he finally looked over at the sighing Ronda he got full view of her chest and reacted as any teenage boy would, with him immediately flipping to his stomach to let the reaction die down as Ronda covered herself in shame. She finally told him that it was alright, she was happy to have that kind of reaction to her body but it's a mistake and she should have known better. He could only say, "It wasn't the first I've seen, it's just that it is the largest that I've seen on any woman. Reyna has changed in front of us before, Liam used to go in her room when she was naked and get things causing DJ and I to see her. DJ's sisters don't do that and Jenna never has time to do any swimming anymore so we haven't seen them." He dropped a few names fast without thinking. He explained, "Liam is our friend, Reyna is like Stormy and grew up up an only child so wasn't used to hiding her body. DJ's two sisters didn't like to play with him and were always with their boyfriends. Jenna works hard for DCF, mom said she's going to be one of the people promoted when Aunt Anne gets rid of some people. You'd like her, she's good with girls." She uncovered again and thanked him for telling her, with TJ starting to get over the thoughts and let it go as he went back into the water. Cindy was going to say something but it was leading to talking and not more, which got her to realize that it was a good thing and was simply newness and not lewdness. It was also added onto the girls giggling while Mason told them they do that a lot causing them to gasp. Cindy understood what he meant, it was the girls getting their words tossed back. Mason made her see his mother in him, a little bit of her that shined through him and gave her a sense of family and a piece of the past that she hadn't experienced in years. She led the kids to a shallower area and waded with the five until their stomachs growled, causing her to declare it to be lunch time. The two teens were rounded up and saw Ronda rushing to put her top on. TJ led the way while Ronda and Cindy stayed back. Ronda tried to apologize, but Cindy confessed, "It was instinct and he did what I hoped boys would do. He accepts you as family and you are doing the same, you two may be teenagers but you are keeping your hormones in check and talked. About what is private to you, but you talked. It is showing your maturity more and more, I'm proud of you for trying. You truly are a different girl, you are trying to be yourself and it's making you feel better about yourself. Keep on doing that." Ronda didn't say anything, but the message was clear: she was doing better. Ronda hugged her tightly and told her, "He only told me that he'd seen a girl naked before because of a girl like Stormy. His friend has a sister like Stormy, he sounded like she had changed a lot in front of them so he was used to it." Cindy snickered and added, "It's still a natural reaction. You'd be the same way if you saw him. It's just a tough spot as you are new to each other and will take time for instincts to wear off." The two walked in silence until reaching the house then prepared lunch for the eight. Ronda eagerly did as Cindy requested and moved around the kitchen fast as she figured out where everything was and if it was needed. She was eager to show her grandmother that she could help out and not be in the way, with Cindy fighting a smile as the girl was determined to pull her weight when she didn't have to. The afternoon was quiet as George called to say that he'd be running late due to work needs thanks to his support arriving. That was followed by Chloe announcing they were on the way. She didn't say if it was successful or not, but they were arriving soon. As soon as they entered, Stormy ran for Ronda's room to change. Chloe looked over at Crystal who sat her parents down and explained, "It's confirmed and it's bad. Stormy has started to feel like if we weren't going to allow him to become a girl he'll hurt himself to make it stop. He hides it from everyone, but he is suicidal and wants the teasing and abuse to end." She tried to fight tears and lost, with Chloe adding, "He confessed to having been told by Stone to just do it and save you the horrors of having a freak for a grandson. Stone offered him a knife, hoping to see him do it. Crystal arrived just in time to stop him from doing it, Stone told her he tried to cut his own wrists but as he didn't have a mark on him and it's Stone's favorite knife she didn't believe him." Crystal mumbled a sorrowful, "He's my daughter. He's tried to be my daughter since his father told him it was OK to be what he really was inside. He told me things he never told anyone else- his father let it start back when he was three and we were living near Stalking Wolf's parents. They caught Stormy in a dress and had a huge fight, throwing him out and making his father choose him or them. He chose him. It led to a battle over Stormy's right to stay and saw them losing. However, their views were shared by a large enough group that his father was told to leave anyway but wasn't cut off. Stormy receives their shares of the corporation as well as his father's shares. The ones who ran us out were booted afterward for breaking the rules, their children have taken them on so it cost them in the end for trying to harm Stormy without actually harming him." She broke down at the memories, with Chloe hugging her while Cindy explained to the girls and TJ, "It was a terrible time for his father. The group Stone got him involved with were using him as a patsy and got hit hard by Stone when he betrayed them. Stalking Wolf was ill-equipped for prison life and was hit hard by reality of it as he was completely alone and refused to join any of the gangs. He ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time and was nearly killed in a riot trying to protect many other nonaligned inmates. He barely survived but turned around things in the prison." Crystal composed herself and told them, "Stormy won't ever be average sized. Stone and everyone else is of the belief that it's because of how he is acting and once puberty hits it'll change. He takes after me genetically but has his father's skin and eyes. He's always going to be a small boy and man, not much larger than I am. I loved him, but Stalking Wolf wasn't that big of a man in his own right. His biggest attribute is what I can't say in front of the girls." The girls giggled at that while TJ blushed deeply alongside Crystal. Cindy had to hide her own smile as it was a subtle jab at her son-in-law but it helped Stormy in the long run. She wisely told Crystal that it was for the best, if Stormy was to be a girl then having a smaller body was to his benefit." Upstairs, Stormy replayed the events of the day. Ronda sought him out and asked what happened on the trip, hoping to get to know more about it and help her cousin. He looked away in shame, showing her it was personal but she still insisted on knowing what happened. He confessed, "We drove right to the airport and flew to Los Angles. We were met by Aunt Chloe's niece and nephew and their daughter. She grabbed onto me and dragged me to the car, hugging me tight and not letting me go. I don't know why she did it, but she kept calling me 'cousin' like I was related to her. Mom and Aunt Chloe kept smiling at it, while Aunt Chloe's niece and nephew laughed at her." He looked away in shame and added, "She said everyone back east said I was going to live there and we were going to meet a lot of her cousins. She said that the younger kids were jealous of us, we got to do a lot of stuff that they can't. It was odd, she was trying to make it seem like here is a fun place." Ronda led him downstairs and asked Chloe what really went on, with Chloe explaining, "He was made to be Sylvia's newest cousin. She's eight and loves everyone no matter what they are inside. She is used to girls like Stormy- she should be, her mother is like them." The trip was more intensive than Stormy let on. The Samuels family met the group at the airport for the drive to their home, with Sylvia grabbing onto Stormy to help him not be scared. Jaimie and Rick drove and kept an eye on Stormy, with Jaimie noting his fear and trying hard to ensure that he wasn't doing all of the dressing due to pressure from others. He was acting as any kid would when they are forced to be a plaything for an eight-year-old with no qualms about making you pay attention to her. The drive didn't bother Stormy, the number of people and cars did. He was used to long drives and had ways of enduring it without snapping, but this was too much stimulation for him. He looked away from the window and tried to nap, but Sylvia kept him from doing that with her constant badgering. At the Samuels home, Stormy was dragged to a bedroom and put away his things while Sylvia got him to put on a swimsuit for the pool. She set out a bikini, with Stormy blushing at the pink and gold styling but happily trying it on once he kicked her out of the room. She giggled at that, but waited for him to finish before leading him down to the pool to relax while the adults talked. In the sitting room, Chloe wisely asked, "When does Rachel arrive?" Jaimie grinned and pointed to her phone, with Chloe telling her, "She is getting dinner and wanted Stormy to get settled before she came. I swear if it wasn't a smart idea it was one of her devious ones. Stormy should be fine with her." Rachel arrived while the kids were in the pool, with her telling Chloe, "Your two nieces are going to be enrolled in school as soon as they land. Aunt Valerie said that your older niece might need to take a few classes in August to get up to date at the high school but if she is eager to learn as George said it'll work to her advantage. Just keep her and Trinity separate, she's still upset at losing her girlfriend and may be jealous of her. She is closing herself off from everyone and might not appreciate a new girl in town." Chloe understand and explained to Crystal, "She's a nice young lady but you know how high school can be on kids. Remember Clint McQueen? Steve Eastwood? They moved away like her girlfriend did." Rachel added, "It's worse for Trinity as she's like your daughter. It's tough to find a girl who likes girls like her, especially at their age. They knew one another since pre-K and fell in love but you know how it is when you are still under your parents' care and have to move when a parent gets a better job." Rachel looked at Chloe who nodded to her, then explained, "I know what Stormy's going through. My wife went through it before. Stormy is a lot like her, right down to being harassed and kept away from others and even sexually assaulted by boys. It's a tough thing to experience, especially as Stormy has only just recently gotten love and the proper support to be the daughter you need. It's also tougher for her as your brother intentionally tries to keep her working hard against the others in school and in town. Reyna would have come to counsel her but she couldn't get away from a tough investigation. She has horror stories to tell her about life as a newly outed girl. The kidnapping alone will scare both of you." Rachel stopped before she said something more, Jaimie explained, "In 8th grade Reyna was kidnapped by her uncle's agent and a guy who tried to get him to play for his team. The agent stole a lot of money from him while the man was trying to get him away from Reyna. They got exposed by my family's help making them go on the run and desperately seek Reyna to get her in retaliation. They shot her crotch and were going to kill her when they were shot by state troopers. She recovered, but had to undergo the 'final surgery' to make her into a female anatomically. She couldn't give birth but she may 'father' kids." Rachel blushed and looked away, causing Jaimie to complain, "You only just earned your PhD and got pregnant? I thought you were going to wait longer." Rachel laughed and shot back, "I wanted to see if it would get a reaction. No, I'm not pregnant. We are waiting a bit longer to have them, I want more time working on contacts and getting a reputation before I take time off. One year we do the deed." She explained to Crystal, "Reyna saved her semen so we can have children from her. It's what has been done for all but four of the kids. Our cousin Nichole was too young to create it when she was forced to have the surgery after getting stabbed protecting Jaimie, Rick's sister Al had hers done due to a bad car accident mangling her privates, Jaimie's cousin-in-law Deborah had her testicles removed by a doctor like the one you encountered in Anchorage, and Jaimie lost hers due to an attack by a severely abused boy and his so-called friends. All four ended up falling for guys so it didn't matter in the end, but it will help a lot that she will have options. She may create it now, and if she is it's already the start of a slope towards manhood for her. The sooner she saves it and starts hormones and blockers, the better." Crystal looked at Jaimie who nodded, with Rick adding, "Sylvia is my biological daughter. She's the sad result of a drugged night for her mother and I. Her mother gave up all rights to her to Jaimie so she can have a child to raise and I have my own biological child. We'll have one more at some point but we are going to end up adopting a child who is like Jaimie to help them escape their issues." Rachel added in, "Her biological mother was adopted by my uncle so she became Jaimie's new sister. Sylvia knows what she really is to her and loves her but Jaimie is the only mother for her in her eyes. It gets complicated to understand, but it was done for the best of reasons for all. She's just like her father, a female Rick with her aunt's sense of duty and as much as they hate to admit it- Jaimie's attitude." Chloe and Rick snickered at that while Jaimie blushed. Crystal had solace that she'd be a grandmother at some point, but that was a long way off. Jaimie left them to talk and sought out the kids, with Sylvia grinning at Stormy wearing a bikini while Stormy was afraid of Jaimie's reaction. Sylvia realized what Jaimie was going to do and went upstairs to shower, telling the adults that she was going to keep away while Jaimie did her doctor thing with Stormy. Jaimie had Stormy do the same, but kept close so she could observe what he was doing and why. She laid out his clothes, with two sets put out so Stormy could choose on his own and give Jaimie a first bit of information. Stormy entered and had his hair in a turban and a towel around his chest, unconsciously doing what he had seen his cousin doing at the house. When he dried his hair, he did so the same way Ronda did while also trying to keep from being too girly. He then put on the pink and yellow pajamas that were laid out, wearing the panties and tucking his penis away so his crotch was flat like any girl's. When she made her presence known, Jaimie sat him down at the desk and talked with him about what he had felt over the years and what he was feeling then and why he wanted to be a girl. Stormy was scared but answered the questions and gave her an insight that he had tried hard to hide his inner girl from others but it always popped to the surface and no matter how hard he tried to hide it he'd act like a girl and make everyone get angry that he was so feminine and made them uncomfortable as they saw a girl yet knew that he was male. He wanted to feel like a girl, but everyone always reacted badly to him. She moved the questions to his uncle and was told, "He hates me. He has always been angry with mom for marrying dad and not the guy he wanted her to marry. Uncle Stone promised his friend that he'd get her to marry him in exchange for money that Uncle Stone owed to Ronda's mom. When mom and dad married Uncle Stone had to pay a lot of money to her, with the money going to grandma so she could keep Ronda safe and happy. She is still around somewhere in Anchorage, nobody has seen or heard from her since she gave grandma the money but grandma has her contact information." He shed a tear and confessed, "He'd hit me and kick me whenever we were alone. Grandma wouldn't let him hurt me and Grandpa said he'd beat Uncle Stone senseless if he hit me again so he only did it when they weren't around. He makes the town hate me. Everyone in town thinks I'm a pervert who is going to hurt their kids. Boys have done stuff with me sexually because of Uncle Stone paying them to do it and blame me for it. He got in trouble with Children's Services and had to lie to get out of it, it's why he had Ronda telling him everything about me- he wanted to show that I did it not the boys." Jaimie asked about that, he cried more and explained, "I liked it. I like boys. I have for a while. I can't help but feel like I'm not a real boy as I see how big and strong they are. The only boy who hasn't made me feel that way is TJ. I saw what he has in his underwear and didn't get a reaction. I don't know if it's because he's my cousin or I don't like him but he's the first boy who doesn't make me feel gay." She asked about his sex life, Stormy cried even more now but still told her, "They made me give them a blowjob then put their dicks in my ass. I hated it. I like their bodies but I hated doing that." She asked if he liked how he looked as a girl. He blushed and nodded, adding, "I felt whole. When I saw myself looking like a girl I wanted that to be the real me. I want breasts and a vagina. I want to be the real me. I want to be whole. I want to be a girl. I have to be a girl. I need to be a girl." He started to sob at confessing that to which Jaimie left him alone, but did add, "Your family supports you no matter what. Your mom is going to move 4,700 miles across the country to a new home so you can be safe and protected. Kevin and Cindy Miller will miss their daughters and grandchildren but your home is now going to be elsewhere." She went downstairs and asked to speak with Crystal alone. Chloe whispered to her, "It's for Stormy's evaluation." She got up to go, with Chloe telling Rachel, "It's done. Tomorrow is just confirmation." Jaimie sat Crystal down and asked her to tell her about Stormy before Chloe's arrival. She sighed and explained, "We have known for years that Stormy isn't normal. He's always been feminine and acted as a girl whenever at home. He'd borrow Ronda's clothes and toys and used her dolls more than she did. It was harmless fun until Stone started to make a big deal out of it. He threatened to have Stormy sent to a hospital and removed by Children's Services but did so in front of dad. He ran off scared, dad told us to keep Stormy on a leash so he didn't do something that'd hurt the family. Dad is struggling to deal with Stormy's change, he loves him but he dives into work to avoid the kids and their issues." She explained, "Stalking Wolf was fine with Stormy and encouraged him to be a girl. He understood it, he was a strong believer in everyone having a softer side and some people have a side so strong that it's too tough to avoid being that other side. Stormy was a girl in his eyes, he called Stormy his daughter in private and would always ensure that Stormy felt comfortable as a girl." Thinking about her ex-husband caused her to shed a tear, Stormy was Stalking Wolf's legacy and part of him that would live on. She saw some of him in Stormy, but he looked more like his grandmother. It was part of the issue with Stone- his nephew was too much like the two who defied him most. She thought back and realized the truth about Stone: he was always a coward and the ones who stood up to him the most were the ones whom he tried to destroy. She looked over at Chloe and saw that she was defiant because she cared about others and not herself, while her father and Stalking Wolf had him running scared when they stood their ground. Chloe got away from Stone's retaliation, her father was a fixture and someone who could fight back and humiliate Stone simply by barring him from any contact with the family, while Stalking Wolf got caught in Stone's net and lost his freedom. She sighed as she thought about Stalking Wolf rotting in prison for the rest of his life. He would be out in five years if not for Stone's manipulation, but he was all but dead to them. She hated lying to the kids but it wasn't fair to them to know about someone who they'd never see, especially Stormy. Jaimie caught her thinking and asked about Stalking Wolf. Crystal shed a tear of grief and explained to her, "He's the love of my life yet he was also the biggest piece of grief. He struggled to find legitimate jobs and had to resort to taking part in a robbery setup by Stone to provide for us. I had a degree and could have worked but his pride wouldn't let him let me do that. I love him, but he's just so darn stubborn. Sadly, it's a trait his family all share as Stormy is like that as were his parents. His distant relatives are some of the greatest people we ever met, but they were humiliated by his life of crime and shunned him. They love us, but it's too hard on Stormy to remind him that his father is a criminal." Jaimie asked about her earliest recollections of Stormy's dressing and acting like a girl. She smiled with the memories coming to her fast and furious. She explained, "Stormy proclaimed that he was a girl at three, but it was mostly as a joke as the other kids were girls and he didn't know the difference between boys and girls. As time wore on, he'd dress in their dresses and play with their dolls. When he was at mom and dad's house he'd be a boy but still played with Ronda's dolls and occasionally dress alongside her. When Stalking Wolf was put in prison we moved in with mom and dad and he continued to dress, with Ronda doing her best to make him feel unwanted and like a freak. She even went so far as to tell him that he was a freak who needed to cut his balls off to keep from becoming a father." She realized then and there who really said it. She started to cry again, explaining, "That bastard! He did it! She didn't tell Stormy that, it was Stone! He wanted Stormy to hurt himself, hoping that it'd hurt us!" Jaimie nodded, then explained, "He saw it the entire time and used Ronda as a scapegoat for what he had said. The only ones who didn't see it were the five of you. Ronda may have been distant, but she didn't tell him to castrate himself- Stone did. She acted as a parrot for him when he wasn't there but she has her own filter that prevented her from doing a lot of what he wanted. From what he told me about the two of them, she was normally OK with him until Stone got involved. He's a manipulator, but she is her own person. Your niece may have been the one to keep your daughter from harming herself without knowing that she was doing that for her. And yes, she is a girl. I'm positive. Storm Cloud Miller is a girl and a fine young lady at that." Crystal was in tears while Chloe hugged her tight, allowing her sister to get her anxiety out of the way as the gravity hit her hard. Her son was a girl, Stormy wasn't a freak or gay- he was a girl. Stone had seen it before them and ensured Stormy's life was a living hell hoping Stormy would kill herself. Jaimie went upstairs to get Stormy, with Stormy looking afraid to say anything. Crystal hugged Stormy and waited for Jaimie to say something. Jaimie let them settle then announced, "As far as I'm concerned, Storm Cloud Miller is female in all but body. She has held this belief for years and has acted on those feelings without prompting. I hope you enjoy your life, young lady, as you have dozens of people who are going to want to help you. You already have TJ as a friend, Liam and DJ will join him as well." She smirked then added, "Don't let my sister Cat or her friend Willow push you around when you meet the duo. The two are amazing with girls like us but they don't know their limits yet. They mean well, but are intense and may try to force you to act more feminine than you are ready for." That set Rachel off while Chloe explained, "They are going to vet you for their own reasons. Ronda will be given a tougher look as she's going to be around Willow's brother and Trinity. You get a standard one but it'll be a lot of tough questions and a makeover to show you how to wear makeup like them. They had help from another girl like you, you get to be the first one they pass their knowledge along to." Crystal shot back, "No makeup." Stormy looked upset to which she explained, "You are too young for a lot of the stuff that girls wear. I don't want you looking too mature, you remember how Ronda looked when she was going out on dates. I love you, but I don't want my daughter growing up too fast." The two hugged and cried, it was a mother/daughter moment that both needed and showed Crystal had accepted Stormy as her daughter. Crystal put her to bed and kissed her cheek, telling her that she loved her and was proud of her for being so brave and fighting for so long. Stormy thanked her for loving her despite not being the son that she believed her to be. Downstairs, Chloe asked if the evaluation the next day was necessary. Jaimie sighed and explained, "It's to ensure that there are no claims of rushing this. I've known you for too long so it can be claimed that I gave her a rubber stamp and not a thorough examination even if I went a little deeper and did a couple of tests that aren't standard like the unprompted clothing choice. She has never met Dr. Lopez so she doesn't know if she will say yes or no to being a girl. The odds are that she'll want Stormy to be a boy in public and a girl in private until you go east. It'll be for her own safety, never let her out of your sight when in public. I'm sure that your brother will be having a hand in making things tough for her before he gets his due. And he will, his kind always make mistakes. Rachel will find them if George hasn't." The group broke for the night, Rachel texted Reyna who told the others that the house was ready and it was going to be a good fit for Stormy. Chloe sighed and shot back, "It's Uncle Sean's old house, isn't it?" Rachel nodded, then added, "It was for the best, the girls are close and nobody will buy it due to us. He wants it to go to someone who needs it and who is family, Trinity was most likely to buy it until now." The group awoke later than normal, with Sylvia jumping in bed with Stormy to get her up. Sylvia was all smiles and told her to hurry up so she could get her confirmation, sending Stormy rushing to for the shower while Sylvia was led out so she didn't see Stormy nude. It was more for Stormy's comfort than anything else, she wasn't used to Sylvia and might get overly anxious and close herself off from them. The drive to the hospital for the evaluation took longer than expected and saw Stormy thinking deeply about everything. Jaimie realized that she needed a distraction and told her, "Your mom has a new home ready to go for when you move east. It's close to the boys so you won't be alone. DJ and Cat live across the street and Willow is behind Cat's house so you'll be with people who are familiar with you. The big plus is it's also close to a little girl just starting out on her path to being a girl. She's ten-years-old and a nice girl, her mother is likely to treat you as your new psychiatrist but she could use a role model for how to be a girl and how to endure with your shared issues. She's a great girl, but with nobody in the neighborhood close to her age who is like her it's been tough to get her to focus on things other than being a girl. Can you be that girl for her?" Stormy reluctantly nodded then asked if people in the neighborhood would accept her. That was almost a car accident in the making as Rick, Jaimie, and Sylvia all laughed at hearing that. It was hard to focus on the road but somehow Rick did so while Sylvia kept on giggling. Jaimie happily told her, "My parents, younger sisters and brothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well as your new neighbors are some of my biggest supporters. Rachel's parents live there, and you know that she is married to Reyna who is like you. The people next door are great as well, their daughter married Rachel?s sister and is close with Reyna. She understands you, she was born with a birth defect that had her female parts look like male but was really a girl inside. Her family supported her transition and her brother was one of the biggest supporters until the truth was found out. They won't let any of the kids in school harass you or make your life miserable like the boys in Alaska do." She sighed and explained further, "My maiden name was Finn. That name is one of the most powerful names in Massachusetts for a good reason: mom and dad. They have tried to make changes in our city and helped make changes around the country. All because dad supported me, fell in love with me, and finally tried to adopt me. He got a wife and son to go along with a daughter, added our younger siblings and our older brother and sister, and expanded our family 25 times over- all because of standing up for what they believe: girls and boys like us should be normal." Rick added, "Her dad is a billionaire. I wish I was joking but the richest self-made man in Massachusetts is living a humble life of a high school history teacher. Ma is a powerful lawyer who works with Pop's cousin's law firm and her mother. Money is no object to her family, he likely won't even let your mom pay a penny back since you need the home and your mom is Aunt Chloe's closest relative. It's all but guaranteed that it was saved for this situation, Grunkle Sean wouldn't have it any other way." She was quiet after that, Sylvia tried to keep her mind occupied but Stormy was trying to think about if life would be better elsewhere even if she'd miss Alaska and her grandparents. At the hospital, she was led by Jaimie to the psychiatry suite and introduced to her mention, Dr. Gomez. Dr. Gomez led her to her office and wasted little time in asking about her life and feelings, much the same as Jaimie did. Stormy held nothing back and answered in full, even adding in details that she hadn't thought of or had tried to not mention. She looked ashamed as she told her, "Girls in my class told me that I was really one of them and should cut off my penis to be a girl. I thought about doing it and had the scissors but when it touched my penis I lost the nerve to do it. I told them I couldn't do it, I may be a girl inside but it still hurt and wasn't worth the pain. They laughed at me and ran off, avoiding me for a while and telling the boys that I was a girl with a penis. They were fine with me but I wasn't 'one of them' anymore." She started to walk through how she played dress-up games at their houses and showered with them after swim classes, never once caring that she had a penis while they were too busy to notice. When one finally did she giggled and that she was a girl because she didn't get hard like a boy does. She nodded then told the girls that she was a girl with a penis and would one day be a girl, with the girls saying she was better off as a girl as the boys that they knew were some of the worst they knew. They lived among people who were open to "two-spirit" people and saw several mothers asking if she was like a certain relative of theirs causing her father to explain and getting sympathetic nods. Stormy didn't understand what it meant but the mothers never got upset when she was acting like a girl and had the girls treating her like one. The showering was simply little kids being little kids, with Stormy being a girl in all but body it never crossed their minds that it wasn't what should be done allowing the girls to be together longer while seeing that Stormy was just like them in all ways except anatomy. When Crystal had to move in with her parents, things got bad for Stormy. The girls in her new school were terrible to anyone who wasn't a certain way and treated her family like garbage. Ronda wasn't the one who ended up as the butt of their jokes, Stormy endured all of the abuse and blamed Ronda for it- mostly because it was her not protecting Stormy and egging them on at times. Ronda had been nice to her when she arrived and tried to be a good cousin at times, but then had fights- most often instigated by Stone and the kids in town. She hadn't thought about the old Ronda in days and started to see the change in her was her reverting back to the old Ronda, the one who was her friend and who loved playing with her despite her not being, "Normal" like other boys. When Stone got involved in Ronda's life again things changed for the worse as Ronda wasn't the same girl anymore. The two were at odds for years, with neither realizing the true reason for the issues was Stone and his need for revenge and manipulation. Ronda was upset at her for acting like a girl all of the time outside of their home while Stormy was upset at Ronda for saying that she wasn't a real girl no matter what she did to herself. It only ended when Stone was excised from the family and Ronda had her revelation, she started to treat Stormy like she was truly a girl and gave her the needed support. The more she mentioned Ronda, the more she realized that Ronda was the one who made her feel most like a girl and who tried hard to help her. Getting her clothes, sleeping alongside her to comfort her, the pep talk about being a real girl- it was all stuff that she needed most. Ronda was doing her best to make up for years of torment and neglect while showing Stormy that family mattered most, not reputations. When she ran out of steam, Dr. Gomez told her that she simply needed to hear it for herself and that it was hard to argue that Storm Cloud Miller wasn't a real girl. She cautioned her about rushing into being a girl and to let her family help her. When she mentioned blockers and hormones Stormy lost it, letting out a wail of shock and glee as Dr. Gomez was giving her the clear sign that she was to be a girl. She did quell Stormy's elation by telling her, "I advise you to remain in boy mode while away from the family property. Your hometown has a problem and until your uncle is stopped and you move away it's going to be tough to be a girl in the open. It's only three more weeks, you can make it if you try." She nodded but asked if it was possible to start hormones right away. Dr. Gomez shook her head no, adding, "I want you to wait until you go east. Dr. Eliza and likely Dr. Samuels will administer your first doses. It's simple: it's easier to avoid issues at the airport as well as locals who don't care about the law. If you got it filled in Alaska someone would find out. If you are exposed don't panic, you have a lot of help with you. Your uncle alone will tear apart those who expose you, with the Finns ensuring all who tried to harm you pay a massive price for what they did to you." Stormy was disappointed but it was a good reason for doing it, she was just glad that she'd be able to take them when she got to Boston. She was walked out and Crystal brought in, Dr. Gomez was blunt in telling her, "She told me more than she told Jaimie and it's both disturbing and understandable. She was in a good place before she moved to your hometown. Her people were accepting of her, even if they didn't directly say it to her. I'd advise that you keep her ties to her people so she has a sense of heritage, but also try to get her acclimated to being the girl she is inside as she's rushing into things quickly." Sighing, she added, "Your daughter needs to hold off fully transitioning until you move. It's safer to be in stealth until then, if she has an issue you are able to stay home and deal with it. There will be trouble, it's only a matter of time before someone breaks the law to get retaliation against you. Your brother is the most likely candidate but it won't matter- be on the lookout for trouble." The evaluation ended there, with Dr. Gomez providing the information needed for Drs. Samuels and Eliza to treat Stormy. Rick led them away, with Sylvia smiling at Stormy while Dr. Gomez shook her head in disappointment at the young girl's forcefulness. The girl was like her mother in how she acted, but she was still her father's daughter and showed she cared about you with subtle actions. The drive home was in silence, Chloe and Rachel were waiting for them and told them that George had a prime suspect and had his eye on someone who was the brains behind the issues at the office. Rachel told Crystal, "Your brother is more than he appears. He's going to end up going to prison for his actions. He broke multiple state laws and is about to end up getting slammed federally." Crystal just shook her head in disappointment while Stormy blurted out, "He's just a truck driver!" That caused Rachel to counter, "He has a degree in computer science and has been on a watch list for hackers for years. He is subtle, like everything else that he does he uses others to do things on his behalf. He's a good hacker, but I'm better than him. Unlike him, I have people with warrants and can get access to the things he desires most- and do so legally. I'll be his next target, but I'm ready for him." She finally confessed, "He's brokering a billion dollar deal with Peterson's rival GloboTech and is doing so with the information he stole from Peterson's servers. The problem is that information was useless and what the company is getting is garbage that was input from a practice server that I setup before I left home. The stuff he got before was basic background information that wasn't going to impact any of the data being collected. I am going with you folks so that information is confirmed as being stolen and that he is prosecuted. He messed with the wrong servers, those are government-owned and cared for by Peterson. Any unauthorized access leads to an arrest and prosecution. It's why George was sent out here directly instead of fixing things from Boston. All I have to do is confirm that he was the one to try to get access to the server and not his proxies and if he used proxies I am to get as much information on them to make them help us get him. That means getting close enough to catch his thefts directly." They packed their bags and went to the airport with Stormy seeing that it wasn't LAX as she expected; rather, the airport was a smaller one closer to them in Van Nuys. The airplane was a small commercial plane, it had 19 seats but was spacious so they could walk around and eat dinner. Security was a simple scan and saw them cleared in seconds while the crew stowed their bags. Stormy was told that they'd land and refuel in Vancouver then fly onward, she'd eat dinner then due to a long flighttime. She was happy to be able to walk around but spent a lot of time looking at the terrain of northern California and Oregon. Crystal was unsure how to react to to the situation, it was one thing to fly south but to fly north, in a private plane, and get treated like VIPs by the crew was tough to accept. The layover was quick as the fuel techs were on their game and had them up in the air in 30 minutes, it was shocking to see them running around the plane but it was also exciting as they were professionals. It was tough on Stormy as she was genuinely scared of flying but eased off of her fears as they went on, the fears dissipating as it was smooth and the captain calm in his instructions. Stormy's fear got noticed by the flight attendant which led to her calming Stormy by telling her they were in a new plane and had a lot of inspections before their flights just to ensure that they were safe and comfortable. The plane flew into Talkeetna instead of Ancorage, Rachel had to tell Crystal, "Your father picked up the truck this morning for you. He had business in Anchorage regarding your husband's case. Uncle John is sending some people to look over his case and wanted them to get the full background from those who knew him outside of prison. He's going to try to do what he usually does and get him help. Your father is facilitating it but wanted to keep it a secret from anyone else just in case Stone got wind of it." She nodded and let out a sigh of relief, while Chloe simply led them to the rental counter to pick up the minivan and car. Crystal was dropped off at the Miller home then saw Rachel driving on to her hotel so she could get to work right away. Her drive to the town was longer than she liked but when she saw the look on George's face all annoyance left as she knew that there was going to be some "fun" shortly. She reviewed the logs of people trying to access the Peterson Manufacturing servers and saw that most were simple email requests that were redirected to the proper servers. The ones that caught her eyes had a person who had no reason to access the servers as she was a secretary and not involved in any of the database entry. She didn't need to get any further than the email server and the local calendar server, it was clear that her access was meant to be the way into the system and have her as a patsy if caught. She would have to explain how and why she was trying to access the servers. It was going to be tough to explain, she was caught. Her one hope was to rat on the one responsible springing their traps. Rachel noted that some of the same attempts came from the office's IT man. He had lost all access to files and should have known he was being traced. The issue was that he was doing it from inside and as he had been terminated for gross negligence and poor performance he had no right to be there, with George bringing up the footage and showing that he was on the phone with someone throughout. Rachel shook her head and told them, "It's Stone. Bring up the audio and you'll hear him parroting the man's words. Stone isn't as clever as he thinks, the guy says his name several times." Audio was played and sure enough, Stone was mentioned. The odd thing was the call was on speaker so Stone was heard coaching him around the commands and password prompts, never noticing that the cameras were recording him or that warnings were posted on the walls about recording all people in the office via audio and visual means. It would have been comical if it wasn't so sad, Stone caused him to lose his job and freedom while of the belief that he would get away without any trouble. George had what he needed and told the office manager to shut down the system until further notice. It was then followed-up by Peterson's IT head telling him that the man was terminated thus shouldn't be in the office at all. Turning to the office manager, he had to answer why the guy was allowed inside if it was on the internal emails that he was terminated. The manager tried to find and excuse but could only say, "I thought you weren't actually going to get rid of him. He's my nephew, I can't fire him. I let him back inside, I didn't think he'd do that to us. My wife will kill me if she finds out he got fired and I couldn't overturn it." George shook his head and told the manager, "You'll have to talk to your superior, the VP of West Coast Operations, about this. This is termination for you at the very least for ignoring a direct order from the head of IT as well as ignoring protocol in hiring. It's also violating our contract with the government at the worst. He may be family, but you still have to abide by the orders of corporate. He was terminated, he had no right to be here. You let your personal connection be exploited by him for his own benefit and could have resulted in theft of important data." The two closed the office and sent an email to all employees that the office was shut down until further notice and anyone entering the office would be prosecuted for trespassing. Rachel deactivated all of the access cards except hers and George's cards making the point all the more powerful, the company was not going to take the intrusions laying down- they were going to fight back. The two knew that it was a shrewd move and true colors would be shown, but Stone needed to be stopped to save Peterson. Rachel went to her hotel and spotted a tail right away. She grinned as Stone's henchmen were trying to be innocuous but stuck out like a sore thumb. Rachel would play their game, she would happily go to the hotel bar for a drink and ensnare the stooges or even Stone himself. She texted her wife to let Reyna know that she had a date with a rat, getting an immediate, "Don't make him look too bad, he needs some dignity." She chuckled at that, Reyna "got" her and was enjoying her trying to be a secret agent. The two had done it before, it was easy to get horny suspects who were in a sense of entitlement and were using their abilities to placate their inability to land women. She went downstairs and was immediately pounced on by her target. Stone was doing the deed himself, it was almost sad but she figured that he needed money and couldn't pay a decent person to do the deed on his behalf. She shelved her feelings and went to work on him, immediately getting him to bite. Stone saw Rachel as a target, especially as she was seen with the now- former office manager and the hated George talking about something regarding the office. He had to think of her as someone he could use, which was immediately made clear when he asked her what a pretty lady like her was doing all alone in his town. She smiled and told him, "I've been hired to work in an office in town. I just started today and am going to be there for a while. There's some trouble in the office that I have to help make better. Folks in there made a mess that's the worst mess I've ever seen. I don't think I'll get used to this place, it's just so different from home." He bought it. He asked her about her job and what she did. She happily told him, "I write reports and go to meetings. I usually work from computers in the office and make managers upset." He thought she was just an office employee, but she was vague on purpose. He started to talk with her about the town and how she'd like it. He then started to tell her about the guys in town and how none of them stacked up to him, making her smile over him laying it on thick. They talked for a while before he started to ask her if she wanted to earn more money working for him and his bosses as she was too good of an asset to let get stuck toiling away in Peterson's office. She did her usual, "Oh, that'd be interesting" bit which got him to believe she was open to his offer. She could be a great actress when she wanted to be, she took some lessons in college alongside her friends and was a great actress but chose to not be a professional- unlike her friend, who earned an Oscar nomination! He made it seem like Peterson was on the verge of bankruptcy and the office was going to shut down in the near future and her job was only there because the real people were moved to another office to save them from humiliation when the truth came out. She asked how he knew, he let loose a quick, "I've seen their financial data. It's hemorrhaging money. The company can't sustain itself anymore and will end up bought by my employers. They are looking for new talent who aren't loyal to Peterson and you are the kind of person they'd love: young, smart, good looking, and local." She asked what was going on with Peterson, he happily told her, "Their data is faulty so the government is going to sue them for breach of contract. It's something even worse than that, the data is a lie and the ones who are writing it are going to prison for fraud. Their IT guy is going to be brought down for it, he came here over a week ago and tried to hide the data. It's still on their servers but we are getting at it. I have people looking into it, if you want I can protect you from them. All you have to do is help me get it. The government won't hold you responsible, they will go after the real frauds and may reward you." He sighed and added, "My sister's new husband is the one who is going to prison. I feel sorry for her but she married a criminal. Both of my sisters married criminals. I'm the only one who kept free of jail and in the right legally. I wish their kids weren't affected, but their attitude has affected my own daughter." He hoped that his pity party would work on her. She asked about that, to which he explained, "They have made my daughter out to be a slut and sleep with any man around. She got pregnant multiple times and had to hide her pregnancies. She has several kids put up for adoption, she claims that she was raped but it was clear to everyone who knew her it was a lie. I'm disgusted at what they did to her, she didn't like doing it but she started to love it. My little girl is corrupted by them." He had tears in his eyes but it was clear that it was all an act. She didn't fall for it and thanked him for the night and left. He kept an eye on her but she went right up to her room. She had to hold off laughter as she remembered his claims, all of which were lies and were made to make him look like a victim. She looked at her phone and saw that he was slick, he was trying to use her phone as a backdoor to get into Peterson's network and thus into the servers. That wasn't going to happen, her phone was one of the most secure phones money could buy and featured personal modifications that made it harder to get into than Fort Knox. The only ones who could access her phone were a select few whom she trusted. Stone wouldn't get anything from her phone, what she kept on it was only a few pictures and even then they were of her wife, sister, sister-in- law, and brother. Texts were secured via a special app created by a member of her family while her phone calls were secure via secure connections and limited to only business calls. Even her address book had been hidden as another app that was impossible to crack. Stone wouldn't get anything from her cell phone as she never took her personal phone into work and she never used her business phone for personal calls. Anyone who needed to contact her sent an email to her and was called via her personal phone, which was turned off until needed. Stone was trying to do the manipulative thing and use her family against her to get her to do what he needed, but that would only backfire as she played hardball and would destroy him if he tried. She went to bed with a grin, especially as she knew there would be an email from her wife saying that there were attempts to get access to her employee file with Peterson overnight via one of the sources in the Anchorage office as the Wrong Way office was inaccessible. She grinned at that, anyone who tried to look into her file would find it empty and linked to one of several dummy files that she setup with them to protect whatever she was investigating. All he'd find was that she was hired recently and that she had a degree in office management but was recently divorced with no children and if he tried to use it to his advantage he'd find out that the information didn't match facts and would cause issues in court as there was no way to know that information without admitting that it was read on a secure server. In the morning, the family ate in silence while Stormy slept-in. Ronda told them that Stormy was trying to be calm but cried several times overnight and needed her to keep her from crying more. She was in a rough mood that morning, she looked terrible and was visibly tired from the long night of helping her cousin try to get back to sleep. The kids were told that they'd go to the town to withdraw Stormy and Ronda from school then Crystal had to resign from her job as librarian. Crystal looked saddened by that, but Ronda was all smiles and asked if they were going to a good school and what were the teachers like. Chloe tried hard to phrase it right while the girls giggled at her and TJ shook his head in disappointment. Chloe finally admitted, "Let's just say that you haven't seen anything like John Finn. He's the model for a great teacher, except he doesn't have the looks to model. He cares about students and finds what works with them and ensures that you get the proper help that you need to succeed." TJ groaned and added, "Uncle John handles your government class, you are likely to have Uncle Justin as your English teacher and Thomas as your gym teacher. Knowing the adults, it's going to include our Gruncle Sean for health since he wants you to know all about things that you might catch if you are in a boy-crazy mood. Uncle Jake might make you take a couple of classes over the summer so you are able to graduate in case you need them. Don't get upset, they are easy if you take the time to do the work." She looked upset but Chloe explained, "It's for the best. You will have plenty of time to get a tan and be with boys, they'll be all over you in a heartbeat. But you aren't that kind of girl anymore, and they know to back off when they see our family. Cat, Willow, and Trinity are close by and need someone to be the role model and guide for them. Cat and Willow have boyfriends, but still need an experienced friend." The group left for town, with Ronda pondering things while Stormy was quiet. She was upset at having to wear boy clothes again, but seeing the townsfolk she understood why. She hated the town and just wanted to leave as soon as possible, but waiting was worth it her eyes. Rachel didn't make a scene while George pretended to introduce himself to her. The kids giggled at the show, with Ronda asking who she was. Chloe explained, "She's Rachel Sylvester, PhD and Peterson's go-to person for IT issues. She also happens to be your new neighbor as she lives across the street from you. You?ll be seeing a lot of her and her wife in the near future." Ronda saw Rachel and asked why she was ignoring them. Chloe refused to tell her, while Crystal added, "It's best that you don't know what's going on. The less people who know, the better the surprise. She's not here to socialize and knows you are moving near her, she just has important work to do." The town's offices were in a centralized location with the library being part of the building. Crystal had a tinge of embarrassment as it was smaller than what she'd end up working in her new hometown, but it was for the best as Chloe assured her, "There isn't anything in there that you won't encounter back east. I asked that you go to one of the school libraries, the high school has an opening and you had experience that others didn't have. The only issue would be prejudices but you married a native and are accepting of Stormy, George, and TJ so you are the kind of person that they want to help the students." She had a big grin and added, "The fact that you'll be close to Stormy and Ronda is a benefit. The staff is a good one, as long as you can keep your cool with students you should be fine. You dealt with Stone's actions already so you should be able to deal with bullies, loudmouths, and manipulators." The office was busy but it was moving swiftly and the secretary processed the request without saying a lot. There were people lingering around who wanted to listen to what was being said, Crystal ignored it and handed her resignation to her supervisor/town manager and stated, "My sister's friends have offered me a job in her hometown. I've decided to move my son and niece to my sister's town to finish out their educations and start over. As much as I love this town and this state, it's an offer that I can't refuse. It's for double the pay I get here and the job came with an offer from my new boss's friends for a house large enough for all of us." She grinned and added, "Yes, it's for double the pay. I have a master's degree in library science and 20 years of experience dating back to high school, I was the most qualified person to apply. The house is a gift from a neighbor who knows my sister and is happy to sell it for a song to me. I got a loan from the bank in their city covering the full cost so I don't have to tap into my retirement account to buy it." She moved on to the school representative and withdrew the duo, first showing that she had custody of Ronda and had the blessing of her parents to remove Ronda from the state. Stone was asked about, she countered, "That is personal and of no baring to this. He is aware of the move and as he is still in town in contact with people as you well know. You showed just why we are leaving, too many spies and too many people wanting to know everyone's business. He has no say in the matter, he lost all custody to her years ago- as you well know." She finished and endured a hard glare. Chloe casually told the offending woman, "You don't have a right to ask those kind of questions. She presented information that she had custody, that's all you needed for the transfer. If you do try to go after her in retaliation, Children's Services knows about their situation and facilitated the transfer of her case to my agency." Ronda added a casual, "Don't worry, he won't dump you right away. He'll have another go with you then dump you. You are useless to him now, you should have known he wouldn't stay with you when he has a bunch of others dumb enough to bed him and think the same way. He used you, now you are going to be seeing your stupidity backfire as you explain why you were giving private information to him about me and my cousin since he has no right to any of that!" Stormy didn't say a word, Ronda had her arm around her shoulder and led her out. The staff knew not to go after Stormy in his aunt's presence, especially with witnesses around who'd turn on them easily. It was easier to wait and let rumors spread, but not realizing they had nothing against her now. Outside, Rachel and George were waiting. The two had big smiles as they told the group that Stone is in for a load of trouble but the state and feds wanted to string him along for a little longer. The data was secured and nothing useful was left in the office making any attempt to get inside pointless. The group made a show of Rachel and ensured that she got attention from others while Stone got upset at her. He'd go to her to, "Help" her and let her know about the, "Trouble" and who the people really were who she was talking with. It was a big laugh to Rachel as she knew he was stewing and trying hard to not seem like it impacted him, but it was causing him to fume and turn red as Stormy shared a smile. The group left and saw the rumor mill going wild. Rachel let slip that the family were moving away to another state and that they were happy to be leaving, which only led to more gossip about why. It was a huge laugh as there were claims of incest or that Ronda was pregnant or Stormy caught with a guy and had to run away to keep from being expelled from school. Stormy shed her pants and t-shirt as soon as she got home and dressed in a swimsuit, matching the one that Ronda wore but covering more of her skin. It was made all the more poignant as they shared similar facial features and could be mistaken for sisters if you didn't notice Stormy's darker hair and skin tone. Her father's features weren't that prominent in her, she looked closer to Crystal who, like Ronda, looked closer to Cindy than she did to Stone. Crystal came to the same conclusion about the girls and hid her tears as Ronda treated Stormy like she had been treated by Chloe when they were the same age. Chloe added a happy, "She sees you as a mom even if she doesn't say it. She's our niece, but she gets to be the daughter you didn't have. She loves you and wants you to treat her like your daughter even if she isn't yet." That last word elicited a nod while Chloe explained, "We can make it official in Boston. It's not the first time that it has happened with our family, Rachel and Jaimie's cousins and cousin-in-law had the same done for them. She needs a parent, in three months she'll be your daughter." The kids went for a swim and saw Ronda put in charge, but being told to keep her top on. TJ blushed as it was meant for his benefit, but Ronda apologized for doing it and asked what her punishment would be. Crystal smiled and told her, "Helping make dinner. I want you to learn to do it in case I'm late." Ronda saw that for what it was, hiding her tears as she led the kids outside. Cindy had to ask what that was about, Chloe explained the previous conversation as Cindy nodded. Cindy happily added, "She does idolize you. She has done so for years but Stone wouldn't let her be open about it. If you want to make her your daughter then you have our blessing. Your father will see it as keeping her close and out of the reach of social services. I know your brother won't stay free for long, she needs her mom and you have been the closest she has had to a mother since she was born. You all but raised her since you moved in with us, you are her real mother." The ladies discussed the move and what could be sent immediately. Chloe suspected that they'd have a truck sent to Boston, with George most likely taking TJ with him for quality time. TJ wouldn't mind it as he'd get to see the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and rural Canada, allowing him to lord it over the kids in his school as he was doing the ultimate cross-country trek- and with his beloved brother. They would take two weeks of clothes with them, as the ladies expected Stormy to receive some of the cast-offs from the girls as she got herself situated and met the girls. Crystal needed a good dress and a few outfits for work but otherwise was going to have a lot of free time on her hands. She'd have Valerie Finn around to talk to and help with some legal issues but would be mostly on her own. The mention of the beach trip, visiting Boston and the sites, and the kids enjoying being themselves in an environment where they were able to be themselves caused Cindy to ponder if it was worth going to Boston alongside her husband as they enjoyed their retirement. Chloe looked at Crystal who had a big smile and told her mother, "You talked about doing it once, why not follow through on dad's idea to go on a long trip. Visit the national parks, see the sites that he hadn't been able to see before." Chloe added a happy, "He's done the wilderness, he needs to see the city life. He always wanted to see it from the other side, now's his chance. You deserve the chance to do something for yourselves, we aren't home anymore to anchor you. The house will still be here, enjoy your golden years in style." The kids enjoyed their time out in the stream and saw TJ almost fainting when Ronda's bottom fell off due to an accident by Eve and the girls running around her. Ronda blushed deeply and apologized, with the girls giggling and teasing her about having hair, "Down there." TJ had to lay on his stomach to hide a big reaction and caused Stormy to ask the girls to stop teasing Ronda because it was a private matter. The girls giggled and swam up a little away from them while Stormy lay next to TJ. Stormy sighed and told him, "I guess it's universal for girls to do that, I laughed at Ronda before when she started getting it down there. She's pretty, but she's too old for you." TJ looked upset and confessed, "I know but it's tough to not see a beautiful woman. I've never seen girls like her before, she's just so amazing. She deserves a chance to be happy. I won't get a girlfriend until prom, if I'm lucky. I'm just not good enough to date girls. Everyone wants DJ or Liam, not me." The two were quiet for a while, Ronda lay next to them and listened to them talk. She undid her straps and had Stormy do the same, with Stormy happily complying. Ronda told TJ she wasn't turning over so he didn't have to feel bad, but he simply rested alongside the girls. After a bit of time, Ronda asked what they were talking about. TJ kept quiet while Stormy retold what he had said. She blushed and told him, "Those girls are only looking for what you can give them not the person in front of them. They want gifts and to be taken to places, you will give them memorable times. I know there's a girl for you, she's probably too shy because of your family." The group went back to the house and listened as Cindy tried to find any excuse whatsoever to not get in an RV and tour the country. The couple had a lot of money saved from Kevin's salary and had money incoming from two pensions. Cindy had to blush as she told them that he qualified for a VA pension due to war service when he was in the Navy, back when the girls were very little. The girls looked at their mother and asked what she meant, she sighed and explained, "You two were too young to remember it but your father was in the Navy and served overseas. He was on a frigate, one of the older ones that got put on picket duty to protect the larger ships from boats trying to sink the big nuclear-powered ships. We lived in Florida at the time and moved up here when his enlistment ran out. Your older uncles and grandfather built this house with him after he got out, with your father getting a job as a ranger thanks to help from the Navy." She stowed any more talk as Kevin entered. He looked around and asked what was going on, only to be told by Chloe, "We thought mom and you should get out and travel the country since we are going to be so far away from you and Stone is going to prison. We wanted you to enjoy your retirement away from this place. We wanted you to do something you'd love. You earned it." He nodded, sat in his favorite chair, then shot back, "I was thinking the same thing and asked about an RV. I thought it would be a good thing to do. Besides, I wanted to spend time with my grandchildren in their new home. I want to meet this whole other family of yours. They sound like a good group." Rachel worked for the next week to get things gathered while fleecing Stone for information without it being obvious that she was fleecing him. She felt like garbage each night, needing to call Reyna to get her to calm Rachel down. Reyna listened and told her that she trusted her and Stone would never get a chance to do anything and if he tried she would have his freedom revoked as she had enough evidence already to send him away for a multitude of charges. She had gathered up enough to handover the case to the FBI and Alaska Bureau of Investigation so they could look into it. She was winding down her role and was having lunch when Stone sought her out to, "Talk" with her. He sounded desperate so she played along, knowing that he'd likely give her what was needed to take him out for good as well as get GloboTech exposed. Stone tried to woo her and got her to get him to allow him to buy lunch and talk, "In private" away from the ears of the town. It was all a ruse, they'd be heard but she would record everything and ensure that it was known to the investigators so it wasn't swept away by lawyers. She let him guide her and listened, it was almost too convenient that he was going to her and she would be ready for his antics. Stone was blunt, telling her, "I know your real story. I know you are here for another reason. You aren't working for Peterson, the office is closed. Your personnel file is empty, as if someone created it on the fly just before you started ?working? here. You are stealing information for another company, trying to make a buck off of their data. I can't allow that, that's my job. I'll make a deal with you, hand over all of the data you stole and I let you go free. Refuse, and I'll make your stay here unpleasant. It'd be a shame to have your things stolen or you get arrested for prostitution. Your husband wouldn't like that, the only prostitutes around here are women and I doubt he'd like to know his wife was a closet lesbian." She asked to have a day to get things together and she's have it for him, but he had to have the money to pay her. He agreed, then told her that he'd have someone watching her at all times. She walked off in silence, then went directly to the office and called her contact with the FBI to ensnare him. Stone had just given them what they needed most: the means to ensnare him and not be able to get out of the trap. His hubris had again caused his downfall, Stone was looking at extortion charges that were in a different league from the intimidation that he had been using on the office staff. Stone went from a short stay in federal prison to a decade or more for racketeering and other charges. During the two day period, Stone would be busy with other things as he tried to blend in with the town as the town dealt with their annual 4th of July festivities. It was a huge celebration for the town as it was their own way of getting people from the far off reaches to come to town. The town's veterans had their own celebration that saw all veterans being honored, with George complaining that he had to wear his old uniform in front of a group of ungrateful people who wanted nothing to do with him. The family were happy to hear that Mike and Jenna Daniels were flying in the 2nd to join the family. It was forgotten about in all of the drama and fun the kids were having as well as with the work George did in the office to undo the damage Stone's minions had done. He was glad that it was mostly work he could do in his sleep but it was still monotonous and after the first day TJ hadn't returned to the office due to how bored he would become, especially without internet due to switch and router replacement. Mike and Jenna drove in and were immediately toppled by their kids as soon as the four girls saw them enter the house. Emily and Tracy were in tears as their mother kissed their cheeks hugged them tightly while Megan and Eve tried their hardest to topple Mike again much to the comedic delight of Mason, Ronda, and Stormy. Both looked over at Stormy and Ronda and were going to say something but saw Cindy and Kevin enter to greet the two newcomers and gauged their reactions to both the smiling Ronda and timid Stormy. Kevin eyed Mike suspiciously while Cindy sagely told him, "Ignore Kevin, he doesn't like either of his baby girls growing up and finding love." Kevin had a look that said he wasn't liking how old Mike was in comparison to Chloe. It was just a 10-year gap, Mike was 51 to Chloe's 41. Mike was seated and asked about himself, to which he explained, "Since you insist on the interrogation I graduated high school in '96, spent five years in the Army as an MP reaching the rank of sergeant then left to enter the Massachusetts State Police Academy. I spent the next 17 years as a trooper, becoming a sergeant and member of one of the regional anti-drug task forces. In 2018 I was offered a position as temporary special agent by the ATF and parlayed that into a permanent job offer, which I?ve had since." He showed his badge and ID to Kevin to verify the truth, with Kevin asking about his first wife to get the truth as he didn't want any issues regarding TJ. Mike shook his head and explained morosely, "She is a real piece of work who fell under the guidance of a truly horrific monster. The woman that she was friends with beat her two youngest kids constantly, let one be sexually abused by her teacher, then fled when her husband went after George and Jenna's friend trying to kill her but ending up making a young girl need emergency gender surgery. She had TJ during that period and never told me, with the boy put in a tough situation because she didn't want him and I cut off contact. When she tried to win custody of George from us he refused and demanded to be emancipated, causing her to lose her cool and get put in jail then spiral out of control. TJ was sent to live with us and later I adopted him before finding out that I was his real father. She hasn't been heard of since, she was last seen in Florida living on the streets." He cut Kevin off by telling him, "Chloe and I met through Jenna's mother. I've known her mother since she married my best friend, with George being named in his honor. Jenna dodged being Michaela as I refused to let her father do that to her- I liked her grandmother's name anyway. TJ had troubles with us due to his friend Liam's grandfather telling him lies about our family and about his brother's friend. He was acting out a lot and we couldn't reach him, so Chloe offered to help us. She spent a lot of time with us and eventually she asked me out. We fell in love and she ended up pregnant, with her beating me to the punch in asking me to marry her when I was going to do the same. The boys insisted on adoption so there wouldn't be any issues with her heaven forbid I end up in a coma or die. We had that happen to a friend of ours and didn't want that to happen again. She's the woman I dreamed of and even though she is younger than me and barely old enough to be George's mother she is my wife and I love her deeply." Kevin could find nothing wrong with any of what Mike had said, the fact that he allowed his son to be adopted showed how deeply devoted he was to Chloe and how much he wanted her to be part of their lives. He manned-up and married her, it was more than Stone had done with Ronda's mother. Kevin looked at the younger couple and asked about them. Mike smiled brightly and confessed, "Their being together was what George and I hoped our kids would do. We knew one another from birth and spent our lives together until I opted to sign a shorter enlistment while he signed a longer one. He had another year to go before he was killed, he only briefly met Jenna before two blown tires sent him off the road and into a tree, some joker put nails in the road to slow down a pursuit causing the crash. We raised the kids together and helped one another out, especially when the kids got older and her mother had to make emergency site visits to help kids in need. The two were always closer than normal but it wasn't until middle school that they finally dated and only because Jenna was jealous of her friends. She insisted on dating him and fell in love with him almost immediately." Looking over at the couple, he explained, "George spent a lot of time being abused by other kids until he joined Jenna's friend's group. He hid his inner smarts but came into his own in college and earned a nice job with our friend's company as a freelance network administrator. He's officially working for our friend but she contracts with Peterson so he doesn't appear on their payroll. He is the only member of his friends not to earn a higher degree but he doesn't need one due to his job's not needing it." Kevin asked about his military life, Mike gave a happy, "He joined the National Guard in high school and served six years with them. He did a lot for the state in that short time, earning a bronze star for his Emergency Service Ribbon for all of the emergency activation his unit did. He managed to one-up his friend Scott during his service overseas when they were federalized to help in Galifrey." He realized he had to say more so he mournfully explained, "He won't admit it but he almost died in 2023 when his unit was deployed to Africa to help rebuild Galifrey after their civil war. His unit didn't have any infantry support, just a platoon of locals with heavy weapons. When they attacked most of that unit hid while George and his friends ran for weapons. The 20 engineers fought off 250 rebels all while protecting 100 civilians, using their equipment to plug holes in walls and make it tough to get at the buildings. When help arrived, George and his friends Eric and Scott had been wounded with George having the worst injuries. He almost lost his leg from the shrapnel wounds from bullets fired at the bulldozer he used to plug the largest breech in the wall." Jenna was given the look-over and saw Kevin grinning as she was a striking woman who treated Emily and Tracy well. He asked if they were going to have more kids, Mike shook his head and admitted, "It's not possible. Four years ago George had testicular cancer so wasn't able to have any more kids. He had no chance to bank semen due to the severity of the cancer hitting him so fast so Emily and Tracy are it for kids. Jenna also suffered from severe depression after Tracy's birth so she isn't up to it either. They will adopt in the future, she can't help but do it so she can help a boy or girl who needs a loving home." Jenna was being seen by Ronda as an idol. She looked at Jenna and couldn't believe that she was her cousin-in-law. Jenna smiled at the teen and saw the look, leading Jenna to subtly ask about her. George gave her a quick, "Later," to which Jenna had to nod at as it was clear that there was a long story there. Stormy was afraid of Mike and Jenna so kept close to TJ. Mike asked about her, getting Chloe to tell him a somber, "She's afraid of what you'll do to her. She doesn't know about anyone else but Reyna and Jaimie. She knows that she's going to be among like people but not how you'd react to her." Mike asked if Jaimie examined her already or were they waiting until they got back to Boston. Chloe shot back, "She had two, one by Jaimie and one by Gomez. She had a one denied by her psychiatrist in town but that was dealt with by dad. Don't even think of going after him, he's in enough trouble as it is as dad opened a can of worms that can't be closed. He's facing a lot of lawsuits, Stormy's being the first and biggest due to it not being the first time he messed with her health- hell he threatened to drug her and called Children?s Services after Crystal!" Mike let it go and told Stormy, "You have appointments with your new teachers the day after we get to Winnisimmet. They want to know if you are going into the same cluster as TJ or if you are going to be in the remedial cluster. It's not meant to make you look dumb, it's trying to see what is best for you." Chloe added, "Her cousin already has appointments with the school so don't ask. She has more trouble if she can't transfer her needed credits. Things are different here, she might have a lot more to do than she may be able to do in the next year. John's on the case and will work with her to get it done." They left it alone, Mike was directed to the dining room where everyone sat to eat. Mason jumped into Jenna's lap for attention while Mike had to endure the scrutiny of Ronda. She didn't fully trust him so kept a close eye on him until he earned her trust in helping Stormy. After dinner, Mike walked with the kids while Ronda kept close to Jenna. Jenna knew that she was up to something and told her, "Dad isn't going to hurt Stormy. Dad will protect Stormy, she is part of our family and dad protects his family. She will have friends who are used to girls like her, Cat and Willow and Trinity are going to demand her friendship. Their names don't mean much to you now, but they'll be close to her. I know it's tough to understand, but we do care about her. Same goes for you." The family had a quiet evening and saw the kids going to bed early with the three teens following close behind. Jenna felt the jet lag hit and was asleep after the kids, while Mike fought his own exhaustion as he tried to stay awake but lost. George was the last to sleep, telling Rachel to join them for the day as it was impossible to do any work while it also would play into Stone making a public mistake. Rachel joined them the next morning for breakfast and explained to Kevin and Cindy what he had done and how it would impact them. Stone was not going to escape charges now, he was caught on recording and outright broke the law. That was coupled with him openly saying that he was working for someone else and was going to bring down a corporation, with Stone's bank account likely to be cutoff shortly. Mike laughed as the kids forced George to get dressed in his uniform, Mike happily told Kevin that he hadn't been able to fit in his in years and has it safely stored away in the basement. Jenna added, "He has no desire to wear it, he doesn't want to think about dad being gone. It would have been him dead with him if he had signed the same extension that dad signed. He has survivor's guilt but won't admit it." George walked out and complained that it was too snug in the arms. Jenna grinned and told him, "It's a good thing, it means you aren't getting soft from not working out. Your arms are larger than they were. I know you have been hauling cable in the ceilings for months, Eric said it's a great workout." Kevin saw the silver star ribbon and felt great pride in George. Seeing that he had an oak leaf cluster on his purple heart caused him to ask about that. George blushed as Jenna added, "He was knocked out for a bit due to an explosion caused by a rebel truck being destroyed. The truck was trying to run down their group when they were fixing a road and ended up being blown apart by a grenade launcher round. He pushed his lieutenant out of the way saving his life but was knocked out cold himself. He ended up with a concussion and needed a few days off but unfortunately returned in time for the second attack." The group let it drop while the family drove into town to enjoy the parade and festivities. Stone was in town and trying to spread rumors about the two new people, unaware that he was being overheard by the larger, more muscular Mike who happened to be standing behind him and keeping silent until he stopped talking. Mike grinned and asked him, "Do you always insult your in-laws or is it a new thing for you? Nice to meet you, Stone. I'm your brother-in-law Mike Daniels. This is my daughter-in-law Jenna Daniels, not my lover. My son isn't married to his mother- your sister, Chloe Daniels. Those are his two daughters with him and the other three kids and strapping young man are mine." He snarled, "You really are a big man insulting kids. By all means, insult five, six, seven, eight, nine, and 14-year-old kids. I'm sure there's several in this town who have blended families and spouses who are older or younger than themselves like mine. She may be only 14 years older than my eldest son, but your sister is his adoptive mother and not in any way his lover as you claim." Stone glared at him and wanted to strike him. Mike smiled, showed his badge, and explained, "I was of the belief that you are awaiting trial for assaulting your nephew and threatening your daughter. I may be an ATF agent but I do have to protect myself and am not afraid to ensure that you end up inside the worst prison in this state. I've dealt with people twice your size and with mile long rap sheets for 34 long years in state, federal, and military law enforcement, you aren't intimidating me. I don't have any remorse in ensuring you face justice, especially when protecting my family." He rushed off scared, leaving Mike to glare at Stone's supporters and proclaim, "Small town mobs are so cliche. I may be an outsider, but I am also not in the wrong. He is. If you have a problem with people coming here and standing up to bullies like him you are going to see people leaving and never visiting." The group disbursed as others started to rally around Mike and voice their outrage over the few in town forcing their views on anyone who didn't conform to their arbitrary standards. Mike was simply telling the truth, he wasn't letting them push him around and he was happy to make their lives miserable from now on. He had a strong hatred for places like that town, it was like towns he visited in the Army. George got noticed as other veterans saw a fellow soldier in uniform. He stuck out among them, he had more ribbons and strips on his uniform than they did. He wasn't really much of a soldier, most of them had been active duty and he was simply a National Guard engineer. Stone tried to play up his being a retired solider and made fun of George's uniform, claiming that he is a fraud who stole valor from others. George ignored him, he was making the others upset at his claims as it was clear who the real soldier was as George sported several major things that Stone didn't: things that were oddly missing considering he had been proud of his service and touted to anyone who'd listen to him. George simply acted mature and walked along with the family, showing he was a true man to Stone's complaining petulant child. Outside the local VFW post, George was finally asked about his service. He mumbled, "I served for six years with the Massachusetts Army National Guard." That got laughs from Stone who joked about him being just a lazy "nasty girl" but sneers from others who were insulted by Stone's disrespect. Kevin led Mike and George inside while the ladies went another way, it was something personal to the group and would go a long way to shutting up Stone permanently. Stone didn't have the balls to talk in a demeaning manner while inside there, and to do so invoked the wrath of all veterans in town as well as the few soldiers and sailors on leave visiting their relatives in town. Stone was one of the group's honored members, but that could easily change if he shot his mouth off. Inside, George shared a drink with the group. Mike was asked about and told that he was Kevin's son-in-law while George was his son, with all three being veterans making it a three-general group- a rarity among them. The elders of the group treated them like equals, especially after noticing the medals on George's uniform as well as the stripes on his sleeve. He earned his place there, even if he wasn't from their town and was only staying a short time. Mike was asked about his service, he happily told them, "Five long years as an MP stateside at Ft. Riley and Ft. Hood with a tour in the Sandbox." George was asked about his service, he meekly explained, "I spent six years in the Mass. ARNG as a horizontal construction engineer. I spent two tours overseas, but one was interrupted by being discharged from service." Stone did the worst thing possible, he laughed at the two calling Mike a "mud puppy" and George a "nasty Girl" again. Mike growled, "You can laugh at us being a couple of 'REMFers' but I look over your uniform and notice something glaringly absent: overseas service bars. He has three, for 18 months of service overseas in a war zone- as an engineer no less. Meanwhile you don't have a single service bar on your uniform despite 21 years of active service. You have seven service stripes, but not a single bar. Strange, considering you were in the infantry during active campaigns in the Sandbox." He smirked then added, "I've seen guys like you before, you are infantry yet you manage to find a way out of actually being in harm's way by getting plum postings in places not likely to face combat in any way in your time there. I know for a fact that you were in Germany, Korea, and up here in Alaska as an infantryman judging by your paratrooper wings. During this same time period you were in the service your fellow soldiers fought and died in multiple locations, alongside members of multiple support jobs that weren't trained for full combat including so- called 'mud puppies'. You found ways of getting out of combat and have the balls laugh at my son seeing actual combat! And being awarded a medal of valor for bravery in the face of the enemy no less- while wounded and recovering from another wound!" Stone tried to play it off as being nothing, Mike shot back, "He has two purple hearts and the combat action badge. Those are only awarded for wounds suffered in action and for being in an actual war zone and seeing action. That silver star? Awarded for his actions saving the lives of fellow non-combatant soldiers and civilians and their cowardly protection detail all while under fire from an overwhelming force- all done while he was operating a bulldozer. Hell, he probably deserved more but politics played a role. His unit was in a place that had bad intel and their infantry support was withheld due to image issues and trying to protect visiting politicians trying to make themselves look good in front of the media. It's all online, with his being awarded the medal being front page news in Boston as it's rare to receive one for one of those so-called 'nasty girls'. Son, get the hell out of here. You have disgraced this post. He's more of a soldier than you ever were. You are a coward, you lasted 21 years before being booted, you should have been booted long before then. You don't deserve any honors, you are both dishonorable and a disgrace to the uniform." Stone tried to strike Mike but was stopped by several elderly men who escorted him out and told him to not bother coming back, he wasn't wanted there. Stone vowed that he'd get all of them, he was a hero not some loser, "Nasty girl" tractor jockey who got lucky. He timed that poorly, three men who had the uniform of Alaska National Guard soldiers heard him and asked if he had a problem with so-called, "Nasty girl" soldiers, causing him to rush off in fear as the men were ready for a fight. Stone fled with his tail between his legs and the town gossiping about him yet again, only this time he had a target on his back from every veteran in the town as well as surrounding region for insulting, "One of their own" despite George being an outsider. George ignored Stone and drank his beer with the guys in the post, with the group asking him how he could deal with Stone and not respond. George simply told them, "I had a few officers like him, they ran when trouble came like Uncle Stone did. The ones that were good officers were worth protecting, it's why I got my first purple heart- I pushed my LT out of the way and saved him from getting run over. Uncle Stone will get what's coming to him, they just can't help but make fools of themselves and earn their payback." The talking lasted two hours, with the men laughing at some George's stories about some of his fellow soldiers trying their hardest to destroy the three engineers from Winnisimmet. When he added a few of the older stories from his first two years that involved the two Smiths, elders of their generation, things got loud as they laughed at Bryan and Pete Smith being able to get the better of officers who thought it was open season on the five soldiers while getting reprimanded for ignoring their basic duties. He had a captive audience as it was almost like a TV show straight out of the 50s and 60s yet was real life. He saved the truth about the duo until the end, with Mike telling them that it was true- the Smiths were a pair of English aristocrats born and raised in the Boston area and whose mother and mother-in-law hit the lottery with marrying a real lord whose uncle bequeathed his family's titles to. George loved adding that it was almost too good to be true but their family were in the news too much to ignore. He then had them laughing as he added how Pete's wife was a famous author yet was the scariest woman to know- especially when she was upset at you as George often ended up being. The group exited and formed a line to join the parade. George bowed out, telling them that as much as he would be proud to join them, they were local heroes and he wasn't. He walked off, with Mike telling them, "He doesn't take praise easy and doesn't want to leave his wife and kids alone for too long." The three joined the family as they sat and watched the parade, with the kids being respectful as it was a smaller parade than they were used to while also showing respect to the bands and people performing. Stormy kept close to Jenna, with Jenna offering her a hug and kiss on the cheek to calm herself as the stares and whispering were getting to her. She wisely didn't react or make mention of them, opting to be a bigger person and make others look bad for acting like jerks to someone not doing anything. Stone kept far away from them, with Mike eyeing him as well as others he had with him. When Rachel made her appearance after ducking away to the office to give Stone his bit of ego boost at her following his orders she grinned and told them that it was all set. She smirked and happily told them that she hid a tracking file in the coding so the feds would be alerted to the stolen data and would cause the company to have to explain how they had obtained the data and why it was telling them, "I'm stolen, help me!" Jenna snickered while George shook his head at her bit of fun, it was classic Rachel and why she was a great hacker/forensic examiner. Stone wouldn't stand a chance against her, few could. Rachel wasn't a normal examiner, she had a mind for police work as well as criminal work- a winning combination that made her a lot of money in her field of work. Stone took notice of Rachel and George and realized that the two were more than coworkers, they had to be lovers. He grinned as he had his way of ensuring her compliance and getting Rachel to do more for him, even if it was setting him up for failure. His mind only saw infidelity and sex, he never saw the way that Jenna was sitting with George nor that the two held hands as Rachel talked to them. The parade ended when the local politicians walked by. The family drew sneers from several while the kids were given glares by the town's reverend. Chloe explained to the family, "Reverend Stump is of the belief that any deviation from the norm is a sin and as we are all different in some way then was are all sinners. He personally hates me for rejecting his son as a boyfriend but he didn't know that his own son was gay and ran off as soon as he graduated college with Reverend Stump blaming me for 'converting' him because I chose to not marry him as he ordered me to do." Crystal added, "He's been rough with Stormy since birth. He hates Stalking Wolf because he isn't one of his sheep. He testified against Stalking Wolf despite having no connection to the case and only serving to make him look bad. He's threatened to have Stormy removed multiple times, with mom tossing him out of the house the last time while dad told him he'd personally sic a bear on him for trying. That was the perfect thing to say since one walked by his car and growled at him. He hasn't been by since then." Mike knew what Chloe was thinking and shot an angry, "John knows. John's speaking with the state to get the court records. Valerie has feelers out to local civil rights attorneys to force a new trial. She'll talk with Crystal when she's settled in at the house and get the full story directly." The family walked off, but were confronted by the reverend's flock as he rounded up a crowd to cause a scene and get the town into an uproar over, "Undesirables" being, "Allowed" to watch his parade. Kevin shook his head, called over to someone, then told Mike and George, "We have them outnumbered 100:1. He doesn't have any real support, his flock are only there for attention and to cause issues with us. He is about to see just how much his attitude and actions aren't appreciated as his congregation removes him from his position by force. They've had enough of his crap, he's done a preacher in our town." The reverend was surrounded by a group of people and as soon as he spotted the family he started to rant about sinners in his town and how they didn't belong there. He flung multiple accusations at Mike and George and Jenna, none of which were true. When he went after Chloe Mike needed to be held back by Kevin who nodded to someone and told Mike to let the reverend talk himself into a corner. When the reverend stopped, Kevin angrily asked, "For a man who preaches about virtues and how to be pure, you love your ladies. And little girls. And little boys. You hid your crimes from others, but I have a notice from the federal government warning to not allow you inside any federal property due to your convictions for molesting children. That's also not taking into account your penchant for prostitutes as I know full well you have had several run-ins with the Anchorage Police regarding solicitation. It wasn't 'trying to save their souls' when you are on record offering the undercover officers money for sex." He watched the color drain from the reverend's face then shot back an angry, "This man with me is my son-in-law. My daughter, the one you tried to force us to make marry your son, married him and did the noblest thing possible: took his two children as her own. That's sure as hell not 'promiscuous' as you so claim as she never slept with anyone other than her husband. Your younger son, the one you touted as ?a pillar of virtue?, on the other hand, had three separate girlfriends who have children of their own before you forced him on my daughter. Hell, your son is a grandfather due to two of them! You still try to blame my daughter for your elder son being gay and proud to have a restraining order against you to never contact him again then have the balls to force your younger son on her in a vain attempt to use me to get more followers to your church. For a man who is preaching virtues and purity, your lessons were way off when it came to your own son! He thankfully is living a good life away from you with his husband and his children, whom he claimed once he was out from under your thumb. He got a great job as an accountant and earns almost as much as you earn fleecing your congregation- except legitimate." He looked over at Crystal and Stormy and loudly asked, "Do you have a problem with native people? I believe you do because you have never met her husband in person yet you lied in open court about him and have been spewing racist garbage about him and his people. It must be because they wouldn't sell you land for pennies on the dollar to build your church 20 years ago. You know, the one that got busted by the state for tax fraud because you hid half of the 'donations' people gave to you for upkeep! The same fraud that led to fleeing from here in disgrace for two years. Coincidentally, that same time period you were under investigation by the state and federal governments for molesting kids. My grandson has never been near you let alone knows you so how in the hell can you have the balls to claim that he's a deviant let alone claim lies about him raping girls and making young men sodomize him! Oh, I know- you got that information from my son. That same son who has been humiliated by my son-in-law, the veterans of this town, and the state troopers investigating his antics the past two weeks." He shook his head then shot back, "My son has gone too far. I can take his lies and claims in stride but to sink so low as to go to you to get you to get a mob to hurt my family is a step too far. I'll protect my family, as will my son-in-law and his sons. You are trying to harm one family who will fight back and not care what any person in this town has to say about it. If people only care about how they appear and believe the lies of a known fraud, a documented child sexual predator, a known abuser of anyone who dares to say anything against him, then this town won't survive much longer." The reverend tried to go after Jenna and Rachel, claiming that they were a lesbian couple who were the real people behind the Miller family's fall from grace. Jenna angrily told the man, "This woman? This same woman that is happily married? My husband and I have known her for over 19 years and been friends with her for over 11 years, she's a close friend of my husband and has never been to this town before let alone tried to influence it. You spew a lot of accusations yet have no basis for them. You get off sowing fear and hate yet you are in fear of people standing up to your garbage and fighting back." Rachel had enough and angrily told the reverend, "I'm happily married to a woman. My wife and I have no connection to this place other than my cousin's in-laws being related to people in this town. That's the Honorable Bryan Smith, Viscount Braintree, and detective sergeant Miles Finn, Massachusetts State Police, both married to the sisters of Jenna Daniels- the woman whom you have just slandered. Neither of them have any link to here so you have no right to claim that I'm behind their fall from grace when I have never been here nor care to visit here. Hell, I won't set foot in Alaska so long as you are allowed to roam the streets to prey on people. You spout off about being a good Christian and fighting the evil of those who aren't like you, yet you are the one who is acting immoral and breaking basic tenets." She dared anyone to do anything about her outing herself. She then pointed out to the reverend, "You are not as powerful as you believe as your true face is exposed for all to see. The Miller family didn't do a thing to you yet you are trying to get a mob to harm them. Why? Have you decided that you are more powerful than any person here and your views are all that matters? That anyone who doesn't follow the arbitrary rules of a so-called 'holy man' doesn't deserve rights? You aren't a real reverend, you are just a bully who uses others to force your views on people. You are a true coward, you use others rather than being out there in the open leading the flock. You are too scared to do that, you care more about your ministry than you do about preaching the lessons of the bible. You aren't God, nor Jesus. You are what they hated most and whom they fought hard against. If the bible is true then you are the only one here doomed to eternal damnation as you broke multiple basic tenets of the religion." Rachel's speech led to a round of cheers from all but the reverend's die-hard supporters. He sneered at the Millers and Rachel and growled, "Kill them all. Don't let them live" only to see his flock stop short as several state troopers approached and took the reverend into custody. The reverend was arrested on charges of inciting a riot, criminal threats, violating parole, and saw his sordid past come to light as he had several outstanding warrants for his arrest for sexual assault on a kid under 14 and attempted murder against the same children. He had been living in the town under a cloud of mystery for years yet nobody knew how he wasn't in prison for his actions. It was clear to those in the know that it was Stone who orchestrated his actions, with Stone holding his ticket to prison tightly. Stone was nowhere to be seen, his humiliation was total and he feared the veterans' wrath. The fact that he wasn't allowed to march alongside the veterans was something discussed, Stone couldn't face any of the townsfolk and refused to show his face until the next day. Rachel was going to give him what he wanted or he'd ensure she ended up in prison herself, he fabricated the evidence and was ready to put it inside the servers and computer but needed to get someone inside to do it for him. The Millers left the town and went home to enjoy lunch and a quiet evening, Rachel joined them for their cookout and had to endure a few phone calls from her family. After the third one she complained to Catt Finn that she was busy and she could wait to speak with Stormy in person, causing Stormy to look at her oddly. Jenna laughed at her and explained to Stormy, "Cat is trying to learn all there is about you before you get home, she had her brother and cousins calling on her behalf." Rachel ate lunch with the family then headed back into town and spent the afternoon and evening on the phone with Reyna as well as Peterson CTO Zachary Phillips. The next day would be a big one, she had confirmations that the FBI and state investigators were ready for the takedown and would do so after Stone made the exchange. Rachel would have to ensure that it was done and ensnare him into the trap in full but feared that her outing that day would cause Stone to back away. The meeting was just before 7 AM local time and saw Stone coming to Peterson Manufacturing with her. He wasn't taking chances and would get everything from their servers, but was never going to get a single bit of usable data and would only download from a dummy server. He threatened her that he'd ensure that she got what she deserved if she didn't open the doors for him, then gave her a pouch with over $25,000 in it to which she counted in a big show but was really making sure that the exchange had been recorded by video and audio as well as observed by the agents and troopers. Rachel led him inside and over to where her, "Personal terminal" was and started the download. Stone watched her closely and uploaded the data to a phone then sent it off to a different location to be downloaded and reviewed by GloboTech. Stone didn't have a chance to further threaten as she told him to get out before George got there and demanded to know what was going on, causing him to laugh at her and say he wasn't afraid of that fraud and would handle him easily. Rachel got up, walked to the side doors, and opened them for the agents and officers. Stone was too busy patting himself on the back that he never heard them entering and was dumbfounded by their sudden appearance, then tried to claim he had a right to be there and that she was the one stealing the data. She pointed out to him, "Everything you have said is recorded and no, you aren't an employee of Peterson Manufacturing nor do you have any reason to be here." Rachel grinned and showed him her business card causing him to swear at her while Rachel shot back, "I'm not a full time employee of Peterson, I'm an outside contractor for their IT investigations. I just so happen to contract with multiple state and federal agencies alongside private corporations. It's not my fault that you couldn't be bothered to check who you were dealing with and let your penis lead you instead of your head. I never lied to you, I never misled you. I didn't answer questions in a way that it would mislead or misguide you. You assumed that I was just a data entry specialist or secretary when you tried to go after me in the bar." Stone was led away in handcuffs vowing revenge against Rachel but only earning him warnings about his threats being noted and used against him in a court of law. Rachel packed up her things and led the troopers and agents out, locking things up afterward. She phoned George to tell him that her job was done and she'd be leaving that night for the trip home, and would have things ready for Stormy when the family flew back east in 11 days. The FBI agents spoke with Rachel about the information and set a plan of action to go after GloboTech. She thought things over and told them to let GloboTech try to use the information as they'd be too eager to take down Peterson and not bother to check any of the data itself. She figured that it was on their own servers already and was sending a signal to the universities that what they had was pure fiction making them have to explain themselves sometime in the next week, just in time for the feds to act. Rachel gave her statement to the state investigators then left, flying to LA to rest for a day with Reyna before she went east. Jaimie asked about Stormy and was told everything that Rachel had observed but with so little interaction it wasn't much that she hadn't gotten direct from Jenna and Mike. The two let it go and ensured that Rachel went to bed after a barrage of Sylvia's hugs and kisses. In Alaska, Mike and the family dealt with the outcome of Stone's arrest and all that it meant for those in town under his thumb. FBI agents with the local Alaska Bureau of Investigations troopers held a block of rooms and ate in the town's two restaurants, giving the town an infusion of money as well as giving the locals a sense that what happened was serious and Stone wasn't a scapegoat. Rachel was a constant source of conversations as her sexuality and the fact that she was an outsider was mentioned, it only led to arguments about what her sexuality had to do with Stone's sleaziness and his thefts causing long arguments that exposed the inner hatred in many people. Stone's past actions caught the investigators off guard as he had a long run as the unknown and unseen terror of the town. He was the direct cause of many families leaving or couples breaking apart, while he lived it up on his ill-gotten gains. He tormented most of the men in town to the point that the only ones who were left alone were the ones who could better him physically in fights or who had humiliated him and weren't afraid to fight back verbally. Mike was always a cause for heads to turn, with the kids hanging off of him with the girls getting him to do whatever they wanted while he complied. Jenna had to rein her daughters in, George was just as bad as Mike but had to spend many hours at Peterson undoing yet another of the latest messes that the staff created. The girls went with him several times, with the four knowing how to help but spent most of the time giggling at him suppressing his frustration and anger at the office manager's ineptitude. When not in the office fixing any number of their self-inflicted issues and arguing why wireless wasn't allowed for the hundredth time, George was often spending time with the girls walking hiking trails around the town and getting them a close look at the animals that weren't in Massachusetts or on the Miller property. Jenna was with him most time but let him do the majority of the talking and pointing out animals, he needed to do it for his own sake while the kids needed to see him relax more. She was shrewd in doing that, he spent more time relaxing at the house after the hikes and slept more soundly those nights and only was having issues when directly dealing with the office. Stormy and Ronda had fun with the kids and started to see Jenna as an idol. Ronda went so far as to try to emulate Jenna's style in how she wore her hair and makeup, causing Jenna to smile as the teen gave her a sense of helping without directly helping. She never made mention of Ronda's actions, but it was clear to the family that she was making herself into a new Jenna. Crystal saw this and thought it best to get Ronda's custody officially revoked and cover Stormy in case her paternal family tried to go after her. Chloe saw the wisdom in that and took her to the district court in Palmer to file the motions to permanently prevent Stone from interfering in Ronda's life while also keeping Stormy's distant relatives from seeking custody on the basis of gender issues. Ronda's case was a simple matter of showing the charges against Stone while Stormy's case was seen as one that was for the best that it be handled in another state where her issues could be addressed better. The judge who heard the case was sympathetic and understood the reasons, with Stormy's best interests being put forth while Ronda's own situation was scrutinized. Crystal had to confess that she was hoping to adopt Ronda as her daughter and give her stability, which the judge granted provisionally. She would have to file in Massachusetts, Chloe countered that the judge was known to her family and would see to it that Ronda's personal feelings were taken into account which got a nod of approval. Chloe and Crystal being gone the whole day caused Stormy and Ronda to believe that there was more trouble, while Jenna, Mike, and George tried their hardest to keep them from thinking the worst. Jenna told the two that it was something important and they'd know what was happening when they returned. It was still tough on the girls, Stormy feared the worst and wanted to flee if things went against her. When Crystal and Chloe entered, the two sat the girls down and told them what was happening to them. It caused both to cry into Crystal's arms while Chloe explained, "There's more. Ronda, Crystal has to ask you something important." She broke the hug and looked at Crystal with fear. Crystal looked over at her parents then at Ronda and asked, "I asked to clarify your legal situation for a reason. I love you too much to let your father harm you. His rights are permanently revoked and you are in my care until you turn 18. I have raised you as my own daughter since you were dropped off here by your biological mother and got her to give up all rights to you as part of leaving you here. You have grown into the daughter that I hoped to raise, with you being the big sister to Stormy now proves my hopes were just. I wanted to do more for you, I asked the judge to allow me to adopt you as my daughter. Will you let me do that honor?"