A Family Find Part 4- Finale free porn video

Carly and Cora two kissed again then fell asleep. Devon woke them up to let them know that breakfast was being served, then kissed them to show that it was going to be alright. She knew what they were thinking, she told the couple, "Mom should see if it's twins. I know it's early but my gut tells me that it's twins. Please get it checked out so mom doesn't get too worried and hurt the baby?" Both hugged her tight, letting her cry herself out before they boldly told her, "It's alright. If the baby is like you then it doesn't matter. We want the baby to be happy. If it's twins, we just want them to be safe and happy. All that matters if their safety and if it means one is born wrong and needs to correct that then so be it. We'll love them no matter what. You're going to be a great big sister to them." They packed their clothing then went down for breakfast, with Vera telling them that they'd leave after finishing a few legalities. Devon asked what she meant, with Vera explaining, "Our lawyers want to talk about your inheritances- both of them. They also want to talk about your mom's lawsuits against both of your former schools and the people who ran them. You don't need the money, it's all about protecting kids by having it on record that they abused both of you so changes are forced that protect others." Neither were happy about it, but were alright with helping protect kids from predators like the ones that tried to harm them. Both insisted that money be put into an account for the baby, with Vera expecting it and adding, "Already happening. The little one needs peace of mind so doesn't feel like less of a Ewing." The meet went about as expected, with the two setting up a trust fund with the settlements or winnings for the new Bartlett child that would be grown to include a twin if Cora was indeed having twins. The two were finally finished with the greater Amarillo area and were glad to be leaving, with Carly telling the two that she was proud of them for doing what was right for others even if none would ever admit it was needed. The kids of the region would see changes for the better thanks to forced action that the duo would bring, and some might find their inner voice to be themselves now that it was safer to do so. After a quick lunch, the family boarded the Ewing Inc. plane and flew home. Devon checked over her homework and emailed what she could to her teachers then read ahead to pass the time. This time the trip was long due to boredom, which prompted the reading while Carly and Cora did some work for the jobs that both had to hold off on. The flight touched down and saw the family getting hugs and kisses from Patty, Becky, and Ivy. Brice kept back out of respect but was hugged by Devon. All held off asking questions, they wanted to sleep in their own beds and get back to normal. In the morning, Devon had to explain to her classmates where she went for the past 11 days. She didn't humor them, she told the truth and caused Mr. Baldwin to tell the ringleaders, "She's telling the truth. I received her school records as well as the originals, why she was down there was clear as I saw all of the changes made to them to make her look like some sort of horrid student. She did what few of you could do: told the truth under pressure from people trying to harm her. She stood up for herself and ensure that dozens of other students who are abused by teachers, parents, administrators, doctors, and police can come forward and tell their stories. You have some nerve claiming she was suspended, she actually did more schoolwork last week than any of you did." Devon ignored them and handed in her written assignments, with her teachers appreciative of her doing them all and ensuring that they were done right. The ones that she had emailed were handed back with corrections causing her to blush as she saw simple mistakes she wouldn't make at home. She was happy to have done the work but felt embarrassed at being ahead of all of the others now due to overdoing it. She worked hard all day but had to talk with her social studies teacher about her trip as it was vital as it was rare that a student had so much inner knowledge of the government workings as she had. She told the truth about what happened, why, who was involved, why they were involved, and finally why the whole situation actually happened. He listened to her story, then told her, "You've hit on the legal system as well as the roles of the government in our lives. You learned more from observing than you could in class. I'm more upset that you had to learn the hard way, but you learned. You're excused from the quiz today but I expect you to be ready for our big unit on the courts soon." Across town, Carly was hard at work in her new office dealing with Marty's dilemma regarding the bad surveying job done to his property. She reviewed the files and didn't like what she saw, it was laughable and clearly done to defraud the homeowner of their property while the county took land that they had no right to take and at a cheaper than normal price. She made notes and called Jeffry about it, with him telling her, "Hand it off to the state, I can't investigate due to conflict of interest. He's still got his claws into this county even if he's sitting in a jail cell." She talked with a detective then members of the Attorney General's Office and got the all-clear to do a survey of the property with an outside contractor. She tried to explain her connection, but was told, "It's a conflict but you are needed to observe and keep the contractor from doing the same thing again. This whole event brings new light into why your predecessor was let go, and why he hasn't been hired by the state or county governments anywhere else." The news that Carly was investigating property sales caused an uproar, which the detectives took to be a strong sign that she was on the right track and certain people wanted them to stay away from certain places that were in the process of being repossessed or sold. Carly had opened up a can of worms that a lot of people tried to keep a lid on. The state was involved and wouldn't back down- all because Carly did her job as she was supposed to and spotted blatant fraud. Carly sighed as she listened to the complaints on her voicemail. It was the same as she had always had, only it was tinged with threats against her family that she couldn't stand for. She played the threats for the detectives and was told, "Criminal threats charges. You gave us our backdoor into ending the case, it would be tough to deny those weren't threats given their language. They are the front, the real power is going to be revealed after we drag them in and turn them against their bosses." At home, each retold the events of the day and saw Devon looking afraid. Carly sighed and insisted, "I am not going to stop doing what is right. I know damn well that this cost me my job, but I'm not going to let people lie, cheat, and steal from people. I do my job to the fullest and won't lie to protect others. I refuse to let someone get away with stealing the land of someone vulnerable, especially when they use my job as a basis for the theft. The woman will get her day in court and get paid for her losses." After Devon went to her room, Cora sat her down and asked what her real plans were. Carly sighed and told her, "Cleaning the guns, ensuring that the sights are aligned right, then test firing them. The kids are in need of some desensitizing with them, I'll ask if dad wants to join in on the fun. With luck, the boys will want to go so it's a family outing. I don't trust these people, I know that they'll come after me to get at us just to make it look like I'm dangerous." Cora nodded while texting Jeffry to alert him that Carly was going to be visited by a few unwanted guests. He called her and told her, "I already knew they'd come just on who she upset. They're going to come in force but it won't be easy for them. Devon can go with Betty to ensure safety. I don't want you involved, Carly can handle it herself. She won't be alone, she'll have help. I'm not letting them push us around anymore. I'll be there to stop them, they'll either leave on their own or in handcuffs and if they are stupid- in a body bag. We'll defend ourselves lethally if need be." He growled that last part, it was something that he had clearly been fighting for a long time yet hadn't had the heart to share with Carly and Cora. She loved him for doing that, even if it wasn't needed. He'd been the brother that replaced her in-law, he was the perfect uncle for Devon and Patty. The family prepared for the inevitable break-in by moving anything valuable to Martin's house while also ensuring that all documents were with their lawyers. The originals went to Martin, he wasn't their lawyer due to potential issues due to "conflicts of interest" but in reality it was to keep him from getting too close. Their lawyers had no connections to the county, they simply didn't care for rural issues and did most of their business by phone and met at their office when needed. The kids were kept unaware of the situation, with Becky overseeing things at Betty's house while Brice spent the night with Gus. Timmy and Alton refused to leave, with Alton forcing his father to give them a chance to show that they aren't little kids anymore. There was no way to refuse, the two were needed at the house to defend their home from being destroyed as their house being bought by their father was what sparked the whole event in the first place. The weekend came and saw the kids going off, with Becky grumpy about going with them which gave the mischievous Patty reason to needle her. When asked what was wrong with her, Patty teased, "It's her period. She's always that way whenever she gets it." Devon blushed while Ivy gave a look of concern. Betty casually told her, "Every girl is different, but it's something that you'll experience soon. I'm surprised that Wendy hasn't had one yet, but it's coming." Wendy and Ivy looked upset as they looked over at Patty and Devon, but both girls told them that they were happy to avoid the issues. Devon added, "Mom complained about everything when we were drove here. She had to stop every two hours to 'stretch her legs' but I think it was to change her tampons. She wasn't the same when she had it, you haven't seen it yet because she's pregnant." As expected, the girls cringed with Betty having a mother/daughter moment a little early thanks to the frank talk by the girls. Becky tried to apologize, but Betty happily told her, "It's for the best. I'm happy it happened as I've held off talking with Ivy about it until she had hers. I hope Wendy's father Zane doesn't get upset at me, but I feel that he'd probably thank me for helping her out." Wendy blushed and walked off with Ivy to talk with Betty in private while Becky handled the other two girls. They hugged Becky, with Becky kissing their cheeks. The moment meant a lot to her, it wasn't the best time to have a sleepover, but she appreciated that they were including her in their activities. The girls spent much of the evening and night talking and watching movies, with Becky texting friends about what she was doing and why she was spending the night with her cousins while also giggling at the girls being upset at being stuck at home without boyfriends because they were all grounded. She joked that they messed up in school so they had to live with punishment. Then she added a terse, "Calm yourselves. You don't see me making out with mine between classes, do you? It's not worth getting into a lot of trouble for a bit of necking. The boys can wait, they really have no choice. If they don't want to then it's a sign that you need to find better guys. The ones you have aren't worth the trouble anymore." The younger girls giggled at the older girls' actions. Ivy joked that they were having sex with the boys so it's why they always wanted to make-out in school which led to Becky adding, "That's true. All of the girls have done it with boys. I refuse to, and my boyfriend doesn't want to upset dad. My old friends are all pregnant and the boy who they tried to get me to date is in jail for raping a girl from Burlington." The girls hugged her for admitting that. Patty grumbled, "We told you for two years to stay away from that boy. Those girls were the worst and dad said you needed real friends. You shouldn't have forgotten them when your boobs came in and theirs didn't. The girls who took you on were sluts and anyone with half a brain and could hold their hormones in check could see that they were trouble. You are lucky that you didn't get dragged into their sex parties- and yes, those do exist. The girls got caught in them, dad and Uncle Jeffry broke up one when Timmy got dragged to there. It's why he hasn't dated lately." The girls slept-in the next morning, with Becky up first and helping make breakfast with Betty. She was happy to help out, especially as she owed Betty for making her have an awkward talk with the girls the night before. Betty simply gave her a hug and told her that she didn't do anything wrong and that it was long overdue and the girls needed a dose of reality and to show her cousins that it wasn't an issue. The girls spent the day lounging in their pajamas, with Becky helping them with homework then doing a run to the store to pickup supplies for the night for herself and the girls. She smiled as she told Violet that she had accidentally gotten Ivy and Wanda to have the, "Period talk" with Betty, Violet had to shake her head and tell her to go easy on the acting as it could easily backfire on her. After she left, Becky noticed people hanging around the woods just outside of her house. She texted her father to tell him about that, with him telling her that it was going to be alright. She felt dread looming, she hated that someone may be hurt because of greed and stupidity. Once Becky was out of view down the road, the people hiding the woods started to approach the house. They weren't quiet as they roared their engines and drive loudly towards the house, crashing through the gate across the dead-end road destroying the lead car while the ones behind pushed the gate out of the way. That delay was all Jeffry needed as he radioed dispatch about armed trespassers on his family's property and that he and his family would defend themselves if fired upon. Dispatch reiterated what he said then signed off without telling him if he was going to have help, with Jeffry calling the State Police to let them know he was going to be involved in a shooting defending his sister's house from armed intruders and it was ignored by his dispatcher. He was told to protect himself and his family but not to pursue them after and if possible- don't kill them. He had no plans on killing them, he hoped to have them walk themselves into a trap that they couldn't talk themselves out of by admitting to going after Carly because she uncovered their criminal activities. It was a long shot, but he was hopeful and people of the county loved to talk trash about Carly when it was convenient to them. The ones he suspected of being involved in trying to kill her were the worst of the worst among the talkers and took great joy in cutting down to size anyone who supported her. Carly set her cameras from multiple angles to record the road, the treeline, the house, and of the large fields behind the house. She took great care in placing the cameras so that here was no blind-spots or any bad angles so that the video captured all of them, with the weapons clearly visible and there being no way out of it being an intentional assault on her house to kill her. They'd claim that they were there to talk, but there was no excuse for having guns with them if the were there to talk. She had oiled and loaded her shotgun, pistols, and rifle, with Cora being told to hole up in the bedroom with the shotgun. Carly was willing to die, but she wasn't willing to sacrifice her wife. Cora refused to leave her to die alone, so the only compromise was for Cora to stay out of the action and use the fully-loaded shotgun to take out anyone trying to enter the bedroom. Carly called her in-laws to tell them that she was going to have unwanted visitors in seconds and if she didn't survived they would know that she loved them dearly and thanked them for taking her in as their own daughter-in-law. Sighing, she told them, "Take care of Cora and Devon. They have survived before, but this is different. Don't let them get away from you, they need both of you." She clicked off and mentally prepared herself. It was no different than flying into a forward base with her crew, working with the engineers and infantry to train for the inevitable assaults. She was used to it by now, she had checked herself out mentally so she wouldn't have any hesitation when the time came. She stepped outside to where Jeffry was, standing in full uniform as an on-duty deputy sheriff. He had his bodycam on and recording, with Jeffry ordering the people in the woods to come out as they were on thermal camera so there was no way to hide. That was followed by shots being fired at them with Carly being hit in the shoulder while Jeffry was hit in the leg. Carly looked at the camera feeds and shot at one location with her hunting rifle, sending the man who had shot at her down to the ground dead. She aimed and fired at a second, killing him before he could shoot at Jeffry again. Jeffry called for help from dispatch and told the dispatcher that he had already did her job and called the State Police and if she didn't dispatch help she'd have to answer to them why she chose to ignore a shots fired and officer down call. That did the trick as the State Police came over the radio and told him that they were five minutes out and had units heading to the sheriff's office to arrest the dispatcher. He told them to send an ambulance and the coroner- there were at least two dead and he and Carly were hit. That caused them to ask that he try to protect himself as much as possible, even if they had to break out the heavy artillery. Carly shot two more trying to get at them from the side, but missed the ones entering the back door. It was solved by Cora firing two shots from her shotgun at them as they tried to enter the bedroom. She screamed as she did so, with the poor guys never knowing what hit them as their heads were hit full-on with two quick blasts from the shotgun. The group tried to run off but stupidly fired at Carly and Jeffry as they fled. Jeffry fired his pistol and hit two in the leg, Carly hit two more in the butt causing them to go down fast. They didn't waste time, the two fired twice causing the men to have to crawl to get away from the scene. There were still four left, they tried to rush them all at once but were mowed down by both Carly's and Jeffry's handguns. In the end, eight men were dead and four wounded badly. The State Police sent their helicopter overhead and radioed Jeffry to tell him that there was nobody in the woods closest to them and no vehicles moving away from the property, causing him to tell them, "Check the woods, they are heading for the Army base. Odds are good that it's the base and they'll lay low until they can cross the property line again to get at her." That was followed by a call from the MPs telling them that they just picked up four trespassers on their property armed to the teeth who to run away from them when approached. The State Police took them off of the MPs' hands and ensured that they enjoyed their new federal firearms charges as well as state attempted murder charges. The men tried to plead innocence, but Carly's video of them running away from the house from the rear as well as video of them entering the base earlier proved otherwise. It was all over. Carly sent Cora to Jeffry's house to calm her down, with Eva doing her best to act like as cute little girl for her. Carly tried to scold Eva for being up, but all she could tell the little girl was a solemn, "You shouldn't be up but being up is helping your aunt. You earned your attention and you'll get a reward for it- tea party with the girls and bouncing at the trampoline park next weekend." Cora changed into pajamas and put Eva to bed, with Eva ending up doing the same to Cora as the little girl's closeness caused her to give in to her exhaustion. The troopers who came looking for her to get her statement didn't try to wake her up, they left Cora to her slumber as the video of the men entering the rear was enough to satisfy the State Police until Cora was able to talk with them. They understood and it was really only a formality at that point and simply needed verification from her. Downstairs at her house, Carly and Jeffry were looked over by EMTs while the State Police took over the property as part of a huge crime scene The two were taken to the hospital for treatment with police escorts and armed security waiting just in case someone tried to harm them again. They were also at the same hospital that the wounded men were taken to, with Carly grateful that she missed hitting any of the major arteries in their legs and hit them square in the hamstrings and the butt- one that would be tough to explain to fellow prisoners at the county jail. After being examined and having the bullet removed from her shoulder and his leg, both explained to the troopers their side of the story. They switched and retold the events to the two different sets of troopers, with the footage backing up what they stated. The fact that Jeffry called out for help as well as warned the men that they were trespassing before they were shot at was enough to justify lethal force, especially as they were being shot at from a hidden position and in danger of being murdered. The two were released and watched as the survivors were charged with attempted murder and assault on a police officer. There were more charges coming, those were just what they could be charged with at that time and without more investigation. They'd be nailed later on with additional charges as search warrants were executed on their homes and businesses. Carly went to Jeffry's house and fell asleep in Becky's bed, with Violet ensuring that she was asleep and not trying to act like she was. The couple finally went to bed after that, with Violet needing Jeffry close to her as her anxiety and fear overtook her. She was better in the morning, but felt horrible over having to see her husband hobbling to get to the bathroom. At breakfast, Eva asked why Jeffry and Carly were in pain. The two tried to figure out a way to lie to her, while Violet could only tell her, "Some bad men tried to hurt your aunts. They are all in jail or are in the mortuary. It was a bad scene, please don't ask any more as you are too young to know." She hugged Carly and refused to leave her side. Cora had to lift her up and play with her elsewhere so Carly could get dressed for the day. Eva asked why Cora was so scared for her, and was told, "I had to do something horrible to save myself from the bad men who broke into the house. It's something that I hope you never have to see. I don't like remembering it, it was like watching a real horror movie." Devon called to ask if it was safe to return home as it was getting boring over at Ivy's house. Carly told her that it was but they would have to stay with her uncle until the house was cleaned up. Devon asked why it needed cleaning, to which Carly told her, "Your mom had to shoot two men trying to break into our bedroom to kill her. Until the State Police allow us to stay there again, I am afraid that we are stuck staying with your uncle and cousins." Devon told the others about what happened leading Betty to ask if she was alright. Carly sighed then told her, "Gunshot to the shoulder, Jeffry took one to the leg. They were using .22s so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I've been through a lot worse, I have three purple hearts for a reason: I've gotten hit three times from gunfire and shrapnel. It hurts, but it was over before I lost too much blood. Thankfully Jeffry didn't get hit in an artery, he doesn't know it but it was close to the femoral and hit at an angle." The nurse in her caused her to insist that Carly take it easy, which was a tall order as Carly refused any help unless it was forced on her. Devon arrived shortly thereafter with Becky and Patty and forced her to go over Marty's house while they got clothes and pajamas. Patty dragged her along, with the troopers waiting outside of Carly's property fighting laughs as the normally strong woman was led by the teen. Devon and Cora arrived soon after, with Vera, Martin, Timmy, and Alton joining them. The two teens were upset that they missed the action, but Cora growled at them, "Eight men are dead and four injured. This isn't 'action' this was attempted murder. It wasn't fun, I'll never get the images out of my head." She broke down while Devon and Patty hugged her. Vera explained to the boys, "You meant well, but it wasn't a pleasant evening. Seeing someone die by your hands changes you, especially for someone so sweet and innocent. She'll have nightmares about this, you don't see someone die and not have them." Marty explained, "She unfortunately witnessed a car that exploded after crashing. It was horrible and it was one of the worst things you can live through. You can't help, you can only watch the people burn." The boys apologized, Carly hugged and kissed them for caring about her enough to want to protect her. She told them, "They made a mistake in going after me, especially after what happened before. It's not a secret that I'm a veteran with experience in fighting against multiple heavily armed and coordinated attackers. They weren't prepared for me to fight them head-on, your uncle warned them to leave but the men still attacked us. The ones who shot at us paid the price, I used my hunting rifle and took them out before they knew what hit them. They were getting ready to fire on us again and didn't try to hide. They like to play with their fancy toys and gloat about their hunting prowess, but those toys can't help if you know where they are hiding and can hit them at the right time like I did." Both looked at her shocked, she shook her head and told them, "Thermal imaging cameras. Night vision scopes. Advance knowledge of the terrain and when the attack would come forcing them into a small area that was the only clear line-of-sight. It's what we were trained for when we prepare our bases. My service record is known, it's their fault for ignoring it or thinking they were untouchable." The boys let it go while the couple got comfortable in their temporary home. Patty gave them her room while she and Devon did a camp-out on the couches. The boys wisely didn't say anything, but watching them together it was like a whole other child had replaced their brother as Patty was simply too much of a new person now. Becky called to tell them that the news had come by looking for information about what happened. She complained that the State Police were keeping them away but that meant that Ivy and Wanda couldn't come see them for a while. Patty asked why they'd hold Betty back, which got Becky to smile and tell the state troopers that they had to let her through as she was visiting her patient- the honest truth. Betty visited and looked over Jeffry's and Carly's wounds and told them that they had to relax for the next week before going about their normal activities, with Jeffry likely out of action for three months if not longer. Jeffry complained about that, but he was overruled by Violet's angry glare. He knew when to give in and apologize, especially as the ladies were right. Jeffry received a phone call from the governor regarding the incident. He didn't waste time and told the governor the truth, then was told, "I have invoked state law and removed Sheriff Brant from office as he has seen fit to plead to lesser charges in hopes of saving his job. That's not happening, not with charges of corruption and rights violations against him. I am appointing you as the new sheriff until the end of the term. You can't be out in the field until at least three months, so you're forced to remain in the office anyway making you have little reason to refuse." He reluctantly agreed to take the job as there were no good candidates from among the deputies and the senior staff. He hated to think badly of his colleagues, but they weren't administrative people. He'd be stuck doing the work anyway, so it was best to have the bump in pay for the next four years even if it also came with increased scrutiny and people trying to manipulate him for personal gain. The rest of the day was spent trying to cope with the calls from, "Concerned citizens" who were really in a crowded room with the media hoping to get juicy details from the two alleged, "Murderers" as the few locals who were dumb enough to try to contact them had deduced. After the third call, Jeffry called the detectives investigating and told them to speak with the people calling as nobody had given their names and the only way they could have known about how many and who were involved in the plot. It was a big break for them as they knew others were involved but not who and why It made sense: the ones doing the calling were related to the ones killed and who were also related to the dispatcher and ousted county officials. The deaths were of distant cousins, but still related to one another and tied to the very issues that sparked the whole series of events in the first place. The media would have to back away, they were intimidating witnesses and had no reason to talk to them at all and any attempt to talk to them would result in gag orders against them. The media were cleared out at the homeowners' demands and told to not return. There were some that complained about their First Amendment rights, but their colleagues' attempts to intimidate witnesses and victims of a violent crime. They were escorted away and told not to return and that there would be a press conference that evening to address the situation, one led by the State Police not the sheriff. That didn't sit well with them but they cleared out. Seeing multiple armed and prepared troopers made it move along faster, especially as they were told that attempting to get onto the property via helicopter wasn't going to happen due to the Army base next door prohibiting that. To make their point, a military helicopter hovered nearby and called the troopers to tell them of four people trying to get around the order by entering the site from their end. Carly and Jeffry were virtual prisoners until the media left for another story, with Jeffry forced to work from home while Carly had to have files brought to her via Marty. The worst part was that the girls had to go through the horde of people to get to school and even then they might get forced to talk the media who refuse to abide by the orders to leave. Carly asked that Marty drive them to school, it was the only way to get by them without causing issues that the girls didn't want to have. Violet sent over clothes for them to wear, with the state troopers allowing her to enter Carly and Cora's bedroom once the forensics teams had finished their investigation. She was quick and removed a week of clothing for each, then did the same for Devon. She'd been in and out so fast she caught the troopers off guard, but it was simply her knowing what to get and from where. The press conference happened later that evening, with the State Police Colonel being the one to lead it while the State's Attorney, Attorney General, and State Police detectives flanked him. He waited for them to get settled then told the assembled reporters, "An attempt was made on the county surveyor in regards to her exposing a large racket that had systemically worked to defraud homeowners of property and change the amount of taxes assessed on properties. Several county and town roads were laid out with property owners not paid the proper amount for the land taken. One such property would be later bought from a bank at low cost due to the forced foreclosure after pressure from individuals who had intended to buy the property at lower than market-value rate. It was sold to the surveyor's in-laws who, while in the process of surveying all of the property, found that it was wrongly surveyed and that land on the other side of the road still belong to the property. This plot was claimed as being owned by the adjacent property, but in surveying all of the property she was able to determine that it wasn't the truth." He grinned then added, "This sparked her to investigate other properties in the area and found a pattern where properties were either undervalued to the point of being drains on the county or were overvalued costing homeowners their homes as they were unable to afford the high tax rates. She also uncovered a connection to multiple foreclosures on homes that were then sold to the same people at a reduced rate. One such property was her in-law's property, with the former owner agreeing to sue the county for the loss of her property as well as legally sell it to the new owner in exchange for a plot of land that she'd then sell to whomever she chose. She chose to sell it to the new owner at normal cost." Finally getting to the juicy part, he stated, "The county surveyor contacted the Attorney General's Office to report the issues then coordinated with us to review documents and speak with former landowners as well as the new ones. In doing so, her life was threatened by multiple people. She called us to inform us of the threats then took precautions to protect herself and her family from the threats. These included cameras and trespassing notices, with the county deputies told of what may be occurring. They ignored the threats, with only her brother-in-law taking it seriously." Finally calming himself, he proclaimed, "Last night a group of six men entered the adjacent Army base to assault the property from the rear. Another group of 10 men tried to assault from the front and side. Eight men were killed, two inside the house and six outside. Four of the six who entered from the Army base fled out the back but were captured by MPs after crossing back onto federal land. Four survived the assault on the house but were hit in their legs and buttocks as they fled, shooting at the deputy and property owner as they fled. All of the men were in black and carrying .22 hunting rifles and knives. The owner had thermal imaging cameras as well as night vision scopes so was able to fire back at the shooters. The deputy only had his service pistol while the homeowner's wife had a shotgun." He knew they'd ask about who fired first so he explained, "We have the actual recording of the deputy first warning dispatch about the armed trespassers, then of him calling for help as they were being fired upon, and finally of the homeowner and deputy being shot by the assailants. We've reviewed the video and both the deputy and the homeowner were shot after warning the assailants to leave. They both used lethal force to protect both themselves and the pregnant woman inside. In no way did the homeowner and her wife or deputy murder anyone, they were under assault by a larger force and each protected themselves as any homeowner would when facing the same situation." He opened the conference up to questions and got the ones he expected. He told the reporters, "Yes, she is transgender. However, she is also a highly decorated Army retiree. No, she did not use a machine gun nor did she kill them after the eight fled. The video evidence is clear, the men who were killed weren't moved from the spot and the two stayed behind cover until we arrived due to fears that the four may have backup from a sniper in the woods beyond the cameras' range. The six outside were killed by a .22 rifle while the ones inside were killed by shotgun blast to the head. The ones who were wounded were hit by the deputy's service pistol as well as the homeowner's M11 pistol. We don't refute that the homeowner has higher powered weapons, but we do dispute that they were used. Both are locked away in a secure safe without ammunition and partly disassembled. They have not been used in years." When Carly's service was asked about, the Colonel explained, "She retired with 20 years in the Army as a sergeant major with eight years overseas including five tours of duty. She saw combat multiple times and was decorated for her actions. Three of the weapons that she has were gifted to her for what she had done to save the lives of multiple fellow soldiers while under heavy fire. She trained with the weapons and instilled training in her soldiers. She might be different than other people, but she's the best damn surveyor that has worked in this state in decades. She's an asset, uncovering a lucrative and large criminal conspiracy was an accident but she chose to do the right thing and for that she was nearly murdered for it." He smirked then told the offending reporter, "Your source is likely to be among those who are the target of our investigation and who have shown great bias and bigotry towards the homeowner. We know the facts, for you to have been told that shows that you talked with one of the co- conspirators. We have all of the facts at hand and what is claimed doesn't fit what actually happened." The conference broke with the reporter looking angered at being called out by colonel. It only got to be worse as the reporter was actually related to families of the deceased and conspirators making his being there worse for the others as the reporter had to explain to his colleagues how he knowingly lied in his questions and tried to make someone out to be the offender despite knowing the truth. He ignored his colleagues, which only led to them focusing on him and his role in the whole situation. He fled for home but was met by State Police investigators to talk about his actions since before all of the chaos. He tried to lie but when backed into a corner that he couldn't charm himself out if he had to confess to knowing about the murders and not telling the police. He blamed it on others but it was clear that he wanted to benefit from their deaths by putting out a series of lies to the rest of the media. He was arrested then saw other family members arrested for criminal conspiracy. The net started to get tighter around the whole cabal as more and more people tried to talk to get themselves out of trouble or get light sentences. It turned into "every man for himself" as the family showed just how little they all cared about one another once their own hides were on the line. The kids went to school the next day with no interruptions, but did spot cars following them. Marty did the only thing he could do: he called the State Police and had the reporters arrested for violating their rights in harassing them after being told to leave them alone. He then confronted the reporters and told them that if they continued to harass his family he'd have them in court explaining to a judge why they felt that they had the right to harass the victims of a violent crime while hindering the prosecution of the people who took part in the same crime against them. In school, the trio were silent and refused to talk about what happened. Wendy angrily told them that the trio weren't home and didn't see anything while Ivy added that they had some nerve claiming that their parents were murderers when they had no idea what actually happened. Ivy and Wendy glared at the worst offenders, daring them to talk but giving their teacher the chance to start class. It was a rough day, only made worse as more people were arrested. Devon was looked at as a murderer because of what happened, even if it wasn't her fault. Brice was just as bad, but he was used to it. After school, the kids went over Wendy's house to avoid the drama. Her father Zane told the two girls to keep it chaste causing Wendy to smirk while Patty eagerly agreed. The two had a rare disagreement, but it showed that Patty was willing to abide by her father Zane's rules in order to date his daughter making her a great girlfriend in his eyes. Gus was the one who was most upset about the day. Being the odd-man-out among them as he had the least to lose and was easily ignored, he felt that they weren't realizing just what was happening and how it could easily have gone against their family. He hid his being upset, but Brice picked up on it. Taking him aside, Brice explained to him, "The girls aren't seeing just how bad it could have been. I've been through their crap enough to know that it's only due to Aunt Carly that dad and her didn't get put in jail. Aunt Carly was careful, but if she didn't have advance warning she'd have been killed or would be seen as a murderer by the State Police. She's already seen that way, you heard the kids today." Gus thanked him for understanding. Brice hugged him and told him, "You might be new to us but you're the one that sees things the right way. Dad likes you, as does mom. My cousins are happy to have a boy around who isn't afraid of guy things, you're like their surrogate cousin alongside me. You're one of us and we are proud of it. I love the girls, but I'm happy with you as a friend." The two went with the girls, with the girls giving them big grins as they had heard everything. Ivy gave Brice a big kiss while Wendy hugged Gus tightly. The group went to work under Zane's eye but it was just a formality since he didn't need to do much at all to keep them in line. The group finally broke for the night when Betty came by with Gus's father Walt close behind her. She grinned at the man who shook his head and told her, "I can't believe that those idiots really thought that I'd help them out by saying it was a stolen car. I've never helped anyone out like that in my life and they knew that! You know me better than that, apparently they didn't. It's funny how people in this area can be so smart yet so stupid. Plus having my garage get threatened really pissed me off. The State Police owe me big for their video and paperwork evidence, but after the threats it's great payback." Gus was concerned at hearing that. His father explained to him, "Your mother's family were behind the attack on Devon's house. They bought a car from me with the intent on it being destroyed by ramming it into the gate across their access road. When the state troopers started to investigate, they came by my garage to get me to claim that the car was stolen. I refused, so they threatened me. I pointed up at the cameras that I always have on whenever talking with people and refused. They threatened to burn the garage down, I called them on it by pointing to the approaching troopers and asked if they were really going to burn down my garage just because I refused to claim that the car was stolen. They fled, but I'd already had them on speaker so the troopers heard everything. If any of your cousins or 2nd-cousins try to talk with you, tell them to stay away from you or you're calling the sheriff. This is serious now." Gus was led away, with the boy seeing that his father was turning over a new leaf and standing firm on his own and not relying on anyone else but himself. Gus didn't know that he had help from the Coles, it was one of the reasons that he had been left alone since Gus had been befriended by Brice and the girls. The Coles weren't ones to let friends dangle nor let them get hurt, Gus and his dad would have help and would have protection even if Martin had to represent Gus' father himself. Betty drove the four to Marty's house, first stopping to drop off Brice and check on Jeffry. Eva tried to get the teens' attention but failed badly, causing her to mope while making the others laugh at her being outsmarted by them. She put on a bratty show for Betty, to which Betty ignored her causing the little girl to whine about nobody wanting her around. Jeffry whined about not being able to work, with Betty telling him firmly, "You are lucky it was a near miss of your artery or you'd have lost your leg! You are off sick until further notice with the local State Police troop controlling the patrol duties for you- do not try to come back before next Monday and only after you have gotten the all- clear from the doctor!" She moved on to Marty's house and checked Carly's wound, with Carly being told the same but it was only for show as Carly wasn't going to upset Cora by ignoring her wound. She knew how tough it was to be out of action, she chose to simply do her work from home and leave anything that needed to be done wait until she could return in a week. Unlike Jeffry, her job was easier since she only had to look over properties and schedule surveys for the Spring months. Cora was checked over and asked if she had gotten the good news yet. Cora blushed and explained to her, "It's confirmed: twins. It will take a few months to know for sure, but the way they are bouncing in me I think it's going to be boys. Devon's wish came true, and Carly doesn't have to worry about giving me another child as once will be enough for us." Betty nodded, adding, "I'm happy to have Ivy but I can't go through it again. I hated it. I know a lot of ladies are happy to be pregnant, but this lady couldn't take sickness, exhaustion, and weight gain!" Ivy blushed as her mother looked over at her. She got the message: no sex for a long time. She might be close to Brice, but sex was off the table as pregnancy was not fun and she'd hate it even more than her. After the duo left, the family ate and watched TV together. Devon and Patty fell asleep on the floor and caused the three parents tho shake their heads at the two trying hard to be mature but still showing that they weren't yet adults. It was sweet, with the boys complaining that they treated them like princesses. The next day was the same, only it saw Gus telling off boys who complained that Devon was getting special treatment from the school because she wasn't forced to do phys ed with them. The boys weren't doing well in school and faced staying back, Devon was actually working with the phys ed teacher to get herself situated physically but the boys didn't know that. Gus told them off, with the boys hassling him because of his defense of his friend. It got worse after school as the boys' parents complained that the, "Tranny kid" got away with everything from skipping school to not doing required coursework. Mr. Baldwin listened to their complaints then asked if they were upset that Devon was forced to be segregated by their own demands that the school not modernize or that their sons were failing because they had ignored their sons' schoolwork. It left them with only offensive responses, with Mr. Baldwin smirking as he told them, "She gets nothing that any other student wouldn't receive. She took time off because she had to appear in court: an excused absence that you agreed upon when signing the school's rule book. She did her required work via email and what she couldn't email she handed in when she returned as per our rules for any excused absence- the same ones your own children have exploited time and again when they were out sick. Her absence was as excused and known ahead of time allowing her to make preparations, I'm still waiting for your sons' notes from their doctors showing that they were actually sick and not skipping school." Addressing the lack of phys ed, he angrily told them, "She and her cousin are set to take alternative phys ed in the form of martial arts and dance. Both of those are legitimate alternatives that my predecessor had removed endorsements of but which I am implementing again. Others can utilize this option as it's a common alternative and doesn't cost the school a penny- it's entirely paid by the students' parents. And bare in mind that it's your own fault that they are forced to take alternative phys ed as you have all been vocal about the girls staying away from your daughters and refused to install a third locker room." He dismissed most of the parents but told the ringleader, "It's one thing to go after her mother, but to go after her daughter just because your friends got themselves killed doing something stupid goes beyond ridiculous. Be glad that I didn't tell her grandfather what you tried to do, he wouldn't let any of you get out of punishment for harassing his granddaughter. Back off, this is your only warning. Next time, I'll personally take out a restraining order against you." Devon was left alone for the rest of the week as the parents were told via other parents that they were on the verge of pissing off Martin Cole which would end up costing them everything as he wasn't afraid of any of their blustering and didn't care if he ruffled feathers of the status quo. Devon was to be left alone by their kids or they'd find themselves isolated socially with nobody willing to support them and all happily airing their dirty laundry in retaliation. There were several who were happy to go after them and knock them down a peg, especially after Devon helped their own kids get better grades in class. Back at home, Cora and Carly were told that the forensics people had finished and they could return to their home. Their keys were returned, with the State Police detectives telling them that the only things out of place was the gun safe and that was moved due to someone trying to steal it but finding it to be too heavy to move safely. Carly shook her head while the sergeant happily told her, "Those idiots wanted to frame you by claiming that you used the machine gun. It backfired- literally, one of them blew out his back and another received a hernia. We know it was them based on fingerprints, apparently they had a vendetta against you due to your daughter and niece making their sons look bad in school." She shook her head then called someone to cleanup the mess. It would take hours to clean the house, on top of needing to repaint the ceiling and walls, patch the holes in the walls, and replace the molding, door frame, and door, as well as the carpet in their bedroom. Martin already had someone lined up and contacted him to do the work, with it expected to be done the next day with the family at Marty's house for another night so the paint could dry. Cora took Devon to her gender counselor and endocrinologist appointments, with Devon having to tell the counselor what happened over the past two weeks and why it all happened. She was in tears as she told of her mothers possibly murdered at the hands of people upset because Carly had caused them to get caught in a criminal conspiracy, all of her fears had come true and she might have lost both of her parents to criminals again. She bawled as she told her that, with her counselor assuring her that it was alright now and she didn't have to fear others anymore. When finished, her counselor told her, "Your mother did something that she hated doing to protect all of you from people who wanted to harm you. She pushed you away so you didn't lose your innocence and didn't have to live through that trauma. It's a strong sign that you are a better person than anyone gives you credit for: to feel bad for others who are trying to hurt you is a mark of a great person. You are a good soul and a decent human being, don't let what others did to you or your family make you feel like you are a terrible person. You aren't, you are far from terrible. You are a great person." Devon hated blood being drawn, but it was a needed distraction for her. She was looking healthy and it was felt that she was adjusting well to her hormones. Her only issue was one that all girls had: she was not developing fast enough for her tastes. Cora smiled at hearing that, with Devon blushing as Cora happily told her, "Your mom took a while to grow. I know Becky is large, but she takes after her paternal grandmother. Carly is the same way, she's starting to get larger and larger thanks to her family's genes. You'll get large, probably as large as I am." Devon blushed but Cora added, "Well, as I used to be. You know these will grow big due to the baby. It's a side benefit of being pregnant: bigger boobs to feed the little one." Back at Marty's house, Devon told Patty about what she talked about and got a hug from her. It wasn't a long wait for results to start, Patty was starting to feel it in her nipples so Devon should start to feel it in hers in days. Devon still felt bad, but understood that genetics played a big role it all of it. The next two days were quiet as Devon focused on school while Carly met with investigators to work on the case against the cabal trying to defraud the residents of the targeted properties. She went a step further by helping show that the properties were undervalued and the families owed the county large amounts of money for the improperly assessed land. When it was added together, they owed the county more than they had cost landowners making them have to pay the county back taxes. Things went Carly's way, especially as she showed that there wasn't any reason for any of the property evaluations to be off as it was basic surveying that the surveyor should have been able to do without a need for much more than basic instruments. That sparked a new angle, with the former surveyor being put under scrutiny for why he left his job in the first place. Carly was more than qualified for the job, yet the former surveyor seemed to lack a lot of the basic skills and training that you needed for the job. The case started to go in a new direction as there were more people involved as a good half of the town had been erroneously surveyed, with Carly's predictions of it being linked to those who owed money to the bank and those that owned the bank being on opposite sides of the case. The troopers started to see it as a larger reach than just their county, with the bank having a strong presence in both neighboring counties yet strangely lacking a presence in one. It wasn't so strange to Carly: Martin controlled it. His family had owned large chunks of the county for centuries and sold off land as mills and farmers came to the area. His family trust wouldn't sell unless the loan was solid and the bank stable. Anyone who wanted to buy land had to show that they could afford it first or else he denied the sale. Marty's family had diversified their ownership to investments in multiple corporations as well as in the local area so they were financially stable even in the toughest economic times. They also paid a larger than normal amount of money in taxed, with the family refusing to manipulate the county to get a low tax bill. If the land was valued that high, then he had to pay it- just as everyone else had to pay. Carly showed how the banks connected to the cabal refused to work with anyone who dealt with the Cole family, while the Coles refused to work with the banks due to their habit of giving out cheap loans that were bound to be foreclosed on and cost families their homes. The land mattered most, the banks might offer a higher price but it came at a cost to the mortgage holders. Carly was one of the few who didn't need the banks so she was targeted for possible land seizing that hadn't happened due to being in a strong stable position and having no reason to have her land seized by anyone in any government. Carly's job was getting notice from higher-ups in the state and causing her to be seen as a threat to the establishment. She ignored requests for her to resign due to the incident, with her asking the folks who made the request just what their issue was with her as none of them lived in the county nor had they a clue about the facts of the case. It was always the same: she didn't belong in the job as she was just a fraud who had no experience as a surveyor. She shook her head and asked if they were aware of her military experience and what she had actually done for 20 years. The looks of anger showed that they believed that she was an infantry grunt of one of the cannon jockeys whose sole jobs were to carry heavy rounds and powder. She shook her head and told them, "I was in the artillery but also took on a secondary MOS where I cross-trained as a geospatial engineer a few years after enlisting. I got shipped overseas because I was one of the few who cold work with engineers and infantry. The more you learn, the more valuable you are. I trained for six months to be able to go into the field and do more than sit around waiting for the enemy to come to us. I was out in the field with intelligence, infantry, forward observer, and drop pilot men and women. All working to get the best information. Unlike many of you, I actually experienced the wilderness up close. What you do with computers is nothing compared with actually being in the field trying to work around hidden dangers like valleys, streams, dense forest, and desert. You rarely get out, you have people doing it for you and take all of the credit for their hard work." Turning to the head off offers from several agencies who wanted to exploit her for their own gain. She was happy with her salary and didn't care for politics, especially when she'd be just a token employee who didn't do much more than occupy an office and push paperwork around for eight hours a day. She had an office in town, but she spent a lot of time out in the field checking properties that hadn't had the chance to be looked at for years and keep her counterparts in the assessor's office on their toes. The return to work was a great distraction as it gave her a chance to focus on something else instead of having to deal with Cora's morning sickness and apologies. She loved Cora, but morning sickness hit her hard and made Carly glad that she wouldn't have to endure that even if she'd love to have been able to have a child like Cora. It took all of her might to not cry whenever she saw Cora's breasts starting to change due to the pregnancy, especially now that it was noticeable even if Cora would never admit it. Carly fared better than Jeffry, who was hobbling around the house driving Violet nuts as he tried hard to do paperwork and work-out and walk yet couldn't do any of those for long due to his anxiety and pain. Violet told him that maybe he needed to talk to someone, with him being a bit of a snarky brat about it. After Carly went to her meetings with the State Police, Violet finally forced him to talk with someone about what happened on his own or else she'd drag him there by his ear to do it. The next day, Violet dragged him to talk with a grief counselor to get over his fears and anxiety that he harbored about watching as people had died in front of him. Taking someone's life was bad enough, but watching someone do it to protect you from certain death was worse. Carly had dealt with it before and was undergoing treatment in another form, he needed to talk with a professional and try to accept that he had no other choice. He listened to the counselor and was told, "It's the second-worst feeling in the world. Only watching your child die is worse. That's a feeling that I hope you never have to experience. You are a better man than any of them were and are: they have no remorse, you do. It's what makes you a human and them no better than the beasts that they hunt for fun. And yes, they hunt for fun- all have received poaching violations from the state over the past few years." He left feeling better, hugging Violet to let he know that he was fine now. At home, he slept off much of the anxiety causing Violet to tell the kids to leave him be for a while as he needed the rest. Eva didn't listen and sat in her father's lap, giving him closeness that he needed while giving her attention. The move-in was a somber affair but saw Timmy and Alton taking the lead and doing most of the work for the family. Neither wanted to admit it, but they felt like they should have been there for their aunt as they'd have reacted better to what happened. It was unavoidable and neither could have done anything to help out and likely would have complicated things for Jeffry and Carly, but the boys felt that it was partly their fault for not standing up for their aunt. Cora made dinner while Carly pulled them aside and hugged them tightly, telling them firmly, "Stop it. I know you feel bad about what happened, but you two weren't going to be able to help us. You have no experience with weapons and having you there would have caused your father issues with the state over his allowing you to be around us. Timmy, you are under 18 so your dad would have lost you and Patty to your relatives. You know what would have happened there: she'd be forced to be a boy again. Don't feel upset, you had your place- you protected your own home should they try to go after you there. It's what they really wanted, it's what they need to keep from getting sued by the bank. With you two there it would have been hard to burn the house down: they can't with people inside or they'd become just a bunch of thugs and lose every supporter that they had." The two hugged her and walked home, with their father giving them two gifts that he knew would give them something to feel great about: their own new trucks. No more borrowing the car and no more of the junker they skimped to buy, that was traded-in. The two earned it with their hard work and what the two had done for their sister and family. The two gushed over their new, "Toys" with each knowing which one was theirs based on the colors. It took all of their might not to gloat to their friends, but the did call them to let them know that they had a way of getting to ski resort so they could snowboard and ski. Both called Carly to thank her for getting their father to buy the trucks, especially as it had to have been her who facilitated the purchase as Marty was so vehement against buying anything that they hadn't, "Earned" or could buy themselves. She let them vent, then told them, "I didn't do anything. You earned them. Your father wanted reason to buy them- you finally gave it to him. Enjoy them, don't get too intimate in them." The boys blushed at hearing that, but the message was clear: no sex. She knew just what to say to get a reaction that the boys needed, they had to be chaste in the cars. They had that talk before with Marty, but it was a big help that their aunt told them the same thing. Cora finally started working at the end of the week, with the children loving that they were close to her and were driven in every day by her. They didn't like that their teachers got to know her and worse- got to update her on their activities. Brice blushed deeply over mentions of Ivy distracting him while Patty and Wanda were at a loss for words when their subtle, "Footsy" under the table was caught. Carly went back to work as well, with her needing constant breaks but finding it easy thanks to needing to make phone calls to property owners to alert them of her visiting their property at future dates. She listened to them complain, then explained to them why she needed to do it. That always made them tell her that they were glad to have her come by whenever she was available, with money being saved by them always motivating a change of heart for the humble farmers and salespeople. The week ended with news that the county council had decided to eliminate her job because of, "A lack of trust" but when pressed further the claims fell apart and it was clear just why she was targeted: she had upset the status quo and caused the county issues that they didn't want to address. She told them it would be a fight but they told her that it was their right to eliminate her job and find someone else. That backfired badly as the council meeting the following Monday turned into a war of words with the public as they were acting without authority in eliminating a vital job that had proven to be important and putting the power in the hands of someone who was currently under arrest for fraud and theft of taxpayer money. Carly wisely stood in front of them and stated, "Since you feel the need to remove me from my job without cause, I'll be running in the special election against whatever patsy you have that will be just a puppet to you. I'm not afraid of any of you, I don't owe anyone anything and won't back off from a fight. The job is exactly what I've been doing for the past month. I did what the previous assessor should have been doing and did it in a better manner than he ever did. By all means, keep on coming after me. I'm an open book- unlike any of you!" That got overwhelming support. Carly was serious about running and had the strongest record and all of the proper prerequisites to do the job. Nobody else in the county had the skills nor experience, only a patsy would run against her and that person would see just how badly they measured up to her. The challenge was clear, and Carly had backers in high places. The council received a phone call from the Attorney General and Governor regarding eliminating Carly's job. Not one of the council members could explain what she had done to justify being let go nor could they explain why they had chosen to eliminate the job in the first place without alerting the public about the intent as per the law. Carly's job was secured thanks to the council overstepping their rights and breaking the law. They had to inform the public that they were going to eliminate the job as well as call a special meeting about it, yet had done neither. And to make it worse, it wasn't listed as being on the town meeting's schedule so it was done illegally in three different ways making it moot. Carly's job was safe, but she knew that it was only a temporary measure. The county would opt to do an end-run around the state by forcing the towns to take on the jobs which left her out no matter what. She had to either run a private surveying business or run for local assessor against the same patsy that the county officials had wanted to hire as her replacement. It was tough, but she faced the reality of her situation, it was over for her after months of hard work and a lot of devotion to the county. Carly was going to lose her job no matter what, it was going to be tough to win against someone with overwhelming support while she had nobody except her family. It sucked, but it was bound to happen to her eventually. Things were quiet after that as the fight continued between the county council and the state over a lot of illicit meetings that just so happened to deal with county business that was supposed to be discussed in an open public meeting instead of in private among non-elected officials and, "Concerned parties." The state had the county council voided, with the county being forced to dissolve itself and split the roads, surveying, assessing, and taxation onto the the towns thus existing for court-related business only. They had, in essence, ceased to exist as a separate entity with Carly being among the few who were moved to the state government by default. Carly's job was secure, she was forced to work a larger area than before as she took on two counties as opposed to just one. That would be followed by two more as the neighboring surveyor opted to retire instead of travel to where he needed to go to do his job. She'd have to travel a lot, but the state gave her a truck to use for official business making it easier on her. The whole series of events sparked a lot of outrage and caused Carly to be seen in a new light, one of a sympathetic person who tried to do her job but was always the target of people trying to exploit the government. Those who were against her were always spouting the same "outsider" and "freak" claims that didn't hold up when her actual work was discussed while the work of others were put under a lot of scrutiny. She was one of the best employees that the county had and did her job well, at a lower pay than she should have been earning from the state. School went on and Cora got adjusted to being a teacher again. The kids loved her and when she started to show they blushed at seeing her become a mommy. When they asked if she was going to teach next year, she happily told the kids, "The little ones will be born before school. I'm not like the old teachers, I am not going to take time off. I might even introduce you to the little ones next year." The news of her being pregnant and not taking time off caused an uproar among the parents, especially those who believed that it, "Sent the wrong message to kids," but who wouldn't say what that message is nor would lay claim to it being that it was due to Carly being the "father" to the babies. Cora ignored a lot of the criticism, then asked the complainers, "Did you take time off after you gave birth? No. So why should I have to take time off? I have two ready, willing, and able people in my sister and mother, so I can work as well as raise the children. You have to work, just as I have to. I might be fine financially, but I still have to pay taxes, utilities, upkeep on our property as well as fix our cars. And who are you to tell me when I can work? I don't criticize you for going back to work- you shouldn't do so to me." She walked off as the kids looked at their parents with anger at their teacher being insulted like that by their parents. She was right, they didn't have a right to complain about her working when they did the same thing. The only real issue was who the "father" was, which the kids didn't need to know about as it wasn't talked about in school and they didn't care since the loved her teaching style. Devon had other issues that time as well. Boys started to take an interest in her because she was seen as "easy" and would give them what they wanted. She ignored them all, but did let a couple of boys that Brice and Gus vetted for her get close to her and talk with her socially in-between classes. The more she talked with one boy, Simon Bell, the more he started to make her feel weird- like she liked whatever he said yet couldn't bring herself to tell him that she liked it. Patty, Wanda, and Ivy all caught on to how she was acting and shared looks of excitement as to them it was clear: Devon had her first crush on a boy and he clearly liked her back. Gus and Brice were forced to talk with Simon to get him to give the girls the truth and if need be- step in to back him off or push him forward so they could be a couple on their own. After school before February vacation, the boys confronted Simon and got him to tell them, "Yes, I like her. I like her a lot. My dad hates her and her mom because dad got sent to jail and my mom left him. I can't help it- she's pretty and smart. I know a lot of the girls have boobs growing and she doesn't have any yet, but I like her despite not having any. I know I'm stupid for liking a girl like her, but I just do." Gus walked him off so Brice didn't react, then told him, "She likes you. I can see it in how she looks at you in class. Give her a chance, she's going to be a good girl to date. Your dad is an asshole, everyone who knows him knows how bad he is with you and your mom. Hell, I'd love it if my dad went out with your mom so they didn't have to get stuck with your dad and my mom anymore." Simon smiled at hearing that, offering him a hearty, "Your dad is cool. Everyone goes to him because he isn't afraid of anyone and beat the snot out of a bunch of others who wanted him to fix their cars for a couple of cases of beer. Dad said he's a loser, but dad doesn't have a job and drinks all day before he got arrested for trying to go after Devon's mom. You are lucky to have him." What started out as a simple confrontation turned into a bonding moment as the two shared something in common that none of the others had: longing for their parents to get someone special again. It was a feeling that Brice didn't understand thanks to his parents being so close and having support from his aunts and uncles, something he was grateful for in the end. He let the two bond, it was what both boys needed and what he had done with Gus before when he got dragged into being part of their group. When they were done, Brice casually told Devon that Simon liked him and was looking for a date with her. She blushed while Simon stopped dead in his tracks and couldn't speak. He looked at her and saw a look of mutual interest, with Simon finally asking her out to the movies on Friday. She hugged him and kissed his cheek, crying as she said yes. Cora was in tears as well, it was just such a sweet moment and one that Devon needed for personal growth. She was a girl in the eyes of a boy, it was a huge step for her and one that she didn't expect for a long time. The girls spent the next three days preparing for their dates, with Patty and Wanda happily helping Ivy and Devon keep calm. Ivy was the most nervous, she had been the one to force the boys to act so it was all on her if things didn't go the way that they wanted it to. Becky was also there with her date, but they were seeing a "Rate R" movie which made the boys jealous but was for the best as she couldn't help but grin at the five couples. Devon blushed every time she and Simon looked towards one another, with him trying hard to look away from her so that he didn't look to be too eager to see her. She liked that about him, he liked her but wasn't trying to get too close to her as it might spoil the fun that they were having or make him seem too eager to be her boyfriend. The girls enjoyed the movie, with the boys wisely letting them do what they pleased with them. Devon shocked Simon by playing with his penis through his pants, causing an instant erection followed by the inevitable ejaculation. She smiled at doing that, he didn't make a move on her as she did that. Ivy and Wanda did the same to Brice and Patty, with both having the same reactions and Patty having a look of sadness at having done that in her pants. She hated having anything to do with her penis, even if it was her girlfriend giving he pleasure that her body enjoyed receiving. Wanda couldn't see the look of shame on Patty's face, but the kisses that Wanda gave to her made her feel some ease. After the movie ended, the girls giggled as they went to the bathroom. The boys looked at each other and blushed, with Brice telling Simon and Gus, "They set us up. They tested us to see if we were going to do the same to them. We must have passed. I hope that Patty is alright- Wanda is an idiot for doing it to her, she hates using 'it' for anything except peeing." Wanda hugged and kissed Patty to show that she was sorry. Patty sighed and told her, "I'm more upset that I can't do the same to you. I want to, but I know that we'll get forced apart if I did." Wanda whispered to her, "I'll ask dad if we can sleepover at your aunt's house. We can do it there, your aunts won't know. We'll be quiet." Devon listened and nodded to them, with the girls coordinating the sleepover at Devon's house. Wanda would get her pleasure, with Ivy and Gus' girlfriend not making light of it since they did it at home too whenever they were alone. It was an act of love by Patty to Wanda, one that they would wait for. The dates ended with the boys getting kisses from the girls and seeing Gus' dad Walt and Simon's mom Tina put together causing blushes from both. The boys asked about that, with Walt telling him, "We used to date back in high school. We drifted apart and met your mother hand his father. It wasn't pretty for either of us, we've been friends since but you know how it is seeing an old flame with someone else." The two knew what it meant: they still liked one another. There was hope that the two might end up as a couple, with the two possibly becoming brothers. They had to thank the girls for that, it was tough to get around the girls being the catalyst for the changes around them. The girls were driven to the Bartlett home and saw them going up to Devon's room for a long talk. Ivy and the girls gave Wanda and Patty privacy so they could do what they needed to do, with Patty in tears over them helping her return the favor to her girlfriend. She was quick, giving Wanda an orgasm never before felt by the teen and one that meant more to her than Patty would ever know. After they finished, Wanda kissed Patty and told her that she loved her more than she'll ever know. It was followed by Patty telling her that she was the one for her even if Wanda found someone better. The two were in tears and kissed again, then walked downstairs hand in hand to get their punishments. Cora and Carly were going to say something about them being left alone but Carly realized what they'd been doing as she saw the stains on Patty's and Brice's pants as they picked them up. She had to pull the angered Cora aside and tell her, "Let this one go. It's something she needed to do because of what all of the girls did for the boys and Patty. She needed this moment to show that she was more upset at her not being able to do the same to Wanda, which she did upstairs. As much as we should bust them, I think it was done for a good reason and they won't do it again. Besides, didn't you do the same before when it was your first time dating a boy? I recall you telling me about jerking him off in the theater while your sister had to hide her laugh at his reaction to your unexpected bit of fun." Cora's face turned a deep shade of red and let the issue go. Carly did hug Patty and whisper to her, "It's a major offense so don't do it again." She complied, not wanting to press her luck with Carly. The girls spent the night in the living room with Wanda and Patty sleeping in each other's arms. They were inseparable to the point that they played Devon's video game system together while the others had to wait it out. They laughed at that, the only time they seemed to fight was playing against one another. When the girls final went home later on, Wanda had to talk with her father about what she had done as it was something she had sworn not to do with Patty. She was in tears as she told him, "I love her and I had do let her do it for her own sake. Yes, I swore no sex until marriage- but I had to do that. I am not going to do it again, it was magical and I won't find a girl to make me feel that way." He asked if she had sex with Patty. She nodded, telling him, "She fingered me in Devon's bedroom with the girls waiting for us downstairs. It's still sex, even if she didn't use her penis. I loved the feeling, and wanted to do the same- but I couldn't. I did what I could in the theater, but she didn't want that done to her even if her body said yes. I messed up and I'm sorry." She hugged him, it wasn't what he thought but it was still sex so she had to be punished. He sighed and told her, "No dating for a month. You and Patty aren't to be alone together until her father and I say so." Gus and Simon talked throughout the weekend, with Brice going over Simon's house to help him with his homework. He noticed Tina kept close, with Gus giggling about her trying to listen out for anything about Walt. Tina heard that and ran off, with Simon smiling at Tina having a clear crush on Walt that it was tough to deny it anymore. The boys schemed to get them together, with Tina shedding a tear at her son trying to make her happy by putting her with the man she should have married years before. Brice wisely kept out of it but did tell the girls about the plan so they knew where they stood in it and what they couldn't do. They agreed to let the boys handle it, with Carly and Cora having to hide laughs as they reluctantly gave in. As the week wore on, Violet, Jeffry, Cora, and Carly got more involved with the kids and earned Simon and Gus' parents trust allowing them freedom to enjoy time off. The boys used that as a way of maybe prompting the two together. Simon had to beg Tina to start dating again, with Gus begging Walt to do the same- conveniently, going to the same blind date that Simon brought Tina to. The two looked at their sons and shook their heads in humor, it was so sweet and something that they hadn't figured their sons would be able to do for them. The boys went off with the awaiting Carly who gave them a nod that it was alright and the boys would be alright staying with her for the night. They had bags packed and in the car, they didn't expect the two to waste time after years of apart. At home, Carly told Simon what he couldn't do. He agreed and told her, "I don't want to do anything yet as I don't want her to get a bad reputation. I know she wants to be normal, well that's normal. She needs to be like everyone else, that includes following the same rules as other girls. Besides, mom would skin me alive and let you have at me after she was done if I did anything too mature with Devon." It was the best answer he could give, with her hugging him and telling him, "Thank you for being more of a man than your father was. I know what he did to you and he deserves the beatings that he's getting in jail. He might have some support for what he did to me, but trying to beat you is too far." She hugged and kissed him, with him hugging her back. Devon watched the whole talk and had to hide a smile as her boyfriend had won her over mother by being honest with her. She liked him a lot, and he was proving more and more why he was such a great boy for her. In her room, she smiled at the thoughts of kissing Simon then giving him pleasure. She felt her penis start to stir, a first for her as she had never felt like that before as she always avoided touching it so she didn't have to deal with it. This was different, this was a sexual reaction to a boy and she loved feeling it so much that she finally broke her, "No touching" rule to satisfy herself. She needed a few minutes after masturbating to calm herself, then washing her hands and changed her panties. It didn't show, but somehow Carly knew what Devon had done and nodded to her that she was gong to be alright. The boys never noticed it, but Cora did and asked about it when alone for a second. Carly blushed and whispered, "She did what she swore she'd never do: masturbated. Our little girl just became a woman sexually- all thanks to her boyfriend being a gentleman. She fought and lost against her urges, she felt pleasure from what she hates most about her body." Cora wisely let it go, with the boys being smart enough to not ask about what was going on. Simon did sit next to Devon as they watched TV, with Devon putting her head on his shoulder. The two fell asleep next to one another giving Carly and Cora, "Blackmail material" while texting the picture to Tina so she could see just how he was enjoying his night at the Bartlett house. There was no response back from her. Carly had to smile as she knew what that meant: they were at it and didn't want to be disturbed. Cora caught her grin and shook her head at the couple getting sex out of their sons forcing them to get together after meeting their friends' families. The boys left the next morning for school with big smiles as they realized that it had to have been a good night if their parents hadn't texted them that it was alright. Carly cautioned them not to be too hasty but the boys admitted that they knew what they had done and hoped that it was the start of a new relationship. She had to admit that they were off to a good start, especially as neither boy were in the mood to see their parent upset over breaking-up. The boys spent a lot of time together as the couple grew closer. By the end of the week, Simon and Tina were moving into Walt's house so the couple could be together. The boys were overwhelmed, it was a dream come true for them and their parents showed that they weren't just old flames reigniting. The boys packed everything and saw Simon happily tossing out any of his father's old things that his family refused to take on for him. He told his cousins that he was done with them and refused to be any relative of theirs especially after they told him that they want to harm his girlfriend. He loved the looks on their faces when he proclaimed that, with Tina happily telling them, "Don't contact us again. I refuse to let my son be hurt by people who ignore us until it's convenient for them and who egged-on his father to try to kill someone then try to kill a kid. You are no family to him, you are just leeches who live off of others' generosity and reputations." The duo were packed in hours, with whatever was left being donated to charity or given to Simon's few remaining relatives that weren't like his father. The girls kept out of Simon's and Gus' rooms, with the two getting help from Brice and the reluctant Timmy and Alton. Simon looked up to the boys, feeling like a younger brother to them and giving the two another chance to enjoy being big brothers which the duo hadn't had too often with Brice. The boys spent the night together after ushering out the girls. Timmy and Alton left after getting offers to work for Walt whenever they wanted, especially as they could use a summer job before Alton went off to college and Timmy started his senior year. They accepted, but didn't promise that they'd be able to do much more than clean what needed cleaning and move things around for him. That was a lie and he knew it. He knew the boys looked up to them so thought they'd benefit from both being close by. The fact that they'd earn money was a benefit, one they were happy to enjoy. The happy couple grew closer and closer, the years apart doing nothing but make both of them long for the days gone by. Seeing their sons grow closer made them see that their mistake in not staying close worth it, even if their former spouses were terrible people to their kids. Walt was influencing Simon in a way that his biological father never could while she was making Gus come out of his shell and be the man that she knew his father to be back at the same age. The couple joined Cora and Carly, Jeffry and Violet, and Betty and David for, "Parents night out" which coincided with Becky babysitting all of them while the couples were under strict orders not to do any of what they thought that they could do. Becky smirked while Brice, Ivy, Devon, and Simon blushed as it was targeted directly at them. She was only playing with them, but the rules were told ahead of time. The couples weren't joined by Marty and Zane, they opted to stay at home and enjoy a night with their daughters. The two weren't keen on being a third wheel and Zane had another issue: it was Wanda's first period and he didn't want Devon and Patty to feel bad about not having them. Marty understood fully what he was doing there, Zane had to endure the awkwardness on his own as it was a rite of passage or fathers with genetic female daughters with Patty understanding in full despite the two not trying to tell her why they were staying home instead of joining their friends under Becky's watch. Becky asked where Wanda was, causing the boys to wince when Patty whispered, "First period" but got overheard by them. She looked over at Patty who didn't react, with Becky telling her, "It's alright. She's going to need you to show support even if she feels like crap. Believe me, she's going to need it now. It means she's no longer a little girl, she's now a woman in full." When their parents picked them up, the boys smiled as Walt had lipstick on his face and looked like he was feeling a lot better. None of them said anything, but it was clear that they enjoyed their time out in a more adult setting. They thought about more outings but thought best to wait until summer so they'd have more time and the kids didn't have to worry about school. The couple kept getting closer and closer until they had a moment that caused them to blush deeply as the boys caught them taking a pregnancy test. They didn't plan on it, but the boys were about to become big brothers to a little baby in nine months. It was all the prompting that they needed to take things to the next level as Walt proposed and got the same, with both asking the boys if they wanted to become the child of the other so they'd have two parents instead of one parent and a stepparent. The wedding was in April and saw all of their friends enjoying a wedding on the Bartlett property with Carly as maid of honor and Zane as best man. Cora refused to be the maid of honor due to the twins making her exhausted all of the time followed by both Betty and Violet refusing despite having known the couple for years. It was planned, it would be Carly's moment in the spotlight as a friend and who deserved to be up there with the happy couple. The wedding prompted a lot of talk in the town about what was going on with the families as they had gotten so close together over the past few months and were stronger friends than most other groups in town. Few knew them like they knew each other and even fewer knew why they were so close, with rumors spreading about them being swingers or having sex in parties while the kids watched. The truth didn't matter, what did matter was knocking them down a peg. The truth was simpler than anything they could come up with: they shared a lot in common. They'd all grown up together or their kids knew each other since kindergarten. Even though they weren't all from the same town, they shared a lot of past histories of abuse, abandonment, and betrayal. The wedding was followed by a quiet Spring which saw Carly in work frequently as she worked hard to assess the properties that were needed to be assessed and surveying land that needed a closer look by the state. Her diligent work and ability to show where it was best to hunt without disturbing neighbors or hitting anyone got her rave reviews, especially when it was proven true by several major hauls on the land just days after she visited. Slowly but surely, Carly had created a major support network of people who had a strong influence in the county to the point that she could run and win any position if she wanted to with an overwhelming majority. The Spring also brought the start of the trials against the various town, county, and state officials who were involved in the plot to overcharge land, falsify surveying records, and defraud both the town and county out of money their properties owed. That was followed by the trials of the eight men who tried to kill Carly, Cora, and Jeffry, one that drew attention from as far away as Boston. That was also what she dreaded most: attention from media who loved stories like hers to make an example out of people. The trial was one of the worst that the state had ever had as the defense tried every dirty trick possible to get the charges dropped while also forcing Carly's personal life out into the open. This backfired as it was revealed that they were willing to murder a pregnant woman and deputy sheriff who had nothing to do with any of the events except being married or related to Carly and being present during the raid. It hurt them even worse as there was no reason to enter the house except with the intent to murder them. Jeffry's radio transmissions and apathy from the dispatcher hit the jury hard as the intent was clear: he wanted Jeffry dead and wouldn't help him even though he was under fire and shot. Carly's videos were even harder as it was clear that they were trying to break-in and shot at the duo without provocation after being warned to leave. The only way that they could claim that it was murder by Carly was lost as the video showed that she only fired after being hit herself after warning them to leave. The video was picked up nationally with Carly getting called a hero as well as derided by anti-gun nuts who saw her as a murderer. Her gender change was played-up by the Boston media, but she refused to be interviewed and anyone who were asked about Carly gave glowing reviews and ignored that she was transgender altogether. She was simply Carly, she'd been there long enough and done enough for all of the residents to have moved past what was in her panties in their eyes. When Carly was called to testify, she braced for the worst and fired back at the defense attorneys with both guns blazing. She openly admitted that she had no idea what was going on before Marty bought the property and only found out after he brought it to her attention after he had suspicions. His lack of being connected to anyone except Carly and Jeffry was explained by the fact that he was born, raised, and had recently moved from the adjacent county and had no connections to anyone except his brother and sister-in-laws so had no reason to be involved except where it affected him. She knew that the claims that she used a machine gun would be brought up so she asked if it was on the video because there was no other weapon seen with her except her rifle and handguns. That got laughs as it was clear that the men were killed by single shots to the head and heart, if it had been via machine gun it would have been multiple bullets and a lot of tree damage around them. She happily told all of the lawyers, "The two that you are referring to hadn't been touched in a month. The only time I've let the two see the light of day was when they were inspected by ATF agents during questioning regarding the deaths of my sister-in-law and her husband. That was already handled back in Texas and was only done as a courtesy to show that they existed and satisfied the agents' curiosity and that I had followed all of the proper procedures for possessing them. This is backed by the agents' own statements at trial and by the state troopers who investigated the crime scene." She grinned as the prosecutor showed that the gun safe had only been moved by the four on trial for the attempted theft of the guns, with sworn statements by the local agents that showed that the guns hadn't been fired in years and only showed that they had been cleaned and maintained but not used. Their little attempt to prey on the fears of the jury backfired, especially as the clerk read into record the testimony of the agents at the Texas trial with the testimony matching what the troopers had said. Carly had won a huge victory for the prosecution, all she did was tell the truth and made the defense look foolish. After that, the only thing to do was go after Carly and try to make her look like she was unqualified and was blowing hot air while accusing people of theft while allowing people she knew to benefit from the thefts of land from people. She shook her head and asked, "Did you have any idea what I did before I came to this county? I doubt it, you only went for what I have in my panties." That caused a laugh to which she stated, "I was originally a surveyor. When that MOS was reworked I added the addition of technical engineer to it before choosing to work as a fire support specialist. The link to all of that is mapping: both via computers and on the ground. I was involved in battles that had to rely on maps that were years out of date and forced to create new maps of the terrain on the fly in a hostile environment under fire with no support except the weapons that I had on me. This was done for years before I was sent home to train soldiers. So yes, I actually do have experience: 20 years of it. It's experience done in a different environment but similar terrain and people who were just as hostile." That got a laugh as it was clear what she meant and why. The defense fell flat again as she told them it was easy to claim someone is inexperienced, but they had to have known her service record already and if not then it was their fault for not doing their homework. She then asked if they even know what her job entailed, with her listing off her responsibilities and how everything that she had done was not only within the guidelines for her job and the only complaints came when she exposed the cabal's actions. She was asked about the visit by the Texas police officers. She sighed and explained, "They were after my wife and daughter. They tried to attack our house from the Army base and ended up running off in fear when they heard a recording of machine gun fire. You can read the full report of their guilty plea in the court records. I didn't use that tactic this time because it was already known by the group trying to murder us, they wouldn't fall for it and would have expected it. They didn't expect that I'd still have the cameras up, they work well as wildlife cameras so I never bothered to remove them." She was released as the defense had nothing to counter as she covered every angle. Jeffry was up next and he reiterated what Carly had said and did so with stronger backing as he did everything possible to get help but had to resort to defending himself with his service pistol and even that came after he was wounded. He held firm that he tried to stop what happened but there was only so much that he could do with dispatch working against him and the state having to wait for the actual attack to respond to help. His relationship with Carly was questioned. He growled at the offending lawyer, "She's my cousin. By blood through my aunt. She moved to our county because I invited her to stay with us as we were the only family that she had left. Her parents died when she was in the Army and her paternal cousins had a strong issue with her father that cut off contact with them. Before you ask, it's due to her father refusing to marry his friend's sister to protect her from scrutiny. Ironically, the love child that resulted from that unplanned pregnancy tried to kill her and is sitting in this courtroom. Her paternal family have told her on multiple occasions that she's lucky that they don't want to raise a so-called 'freak' or else they'd sue her over the custody of both her unborn children and daughter." That was scandalous but he showed the emails and voicemails threatening Carly with having both Devon as well as her twins torn from her home by force after the twins were born if she dared to go after them. He had unknowingly cost the defense their case as Carly's cousins and 2nd- cousins were also among the defendants making the case take a new turn. Jeffry realized what he had done and had to hide his smirk, the whole defense was on a slowly melting layer of thin ice that Jeffry had just sent a huge crack in their defense without realizing it. The defense tried to claim that Carly was a danger to the children and that the state should remove the kids, to which Jeffry asked just how they were in danger- the weapons? The fact that the ladies were a lesbian couple? Or the fact that Carly was transgender and didn't hide that from anyone.? He left them without a response, when one did respond he smirked and told the woman, "The majority of households in this state have guns. That's a lousy excuse and doesn't hold up considering your clients have multiple weapons violations including poaching and firing too close to houses and schools. Carly, on the other hand, has never committed an offense and has thousands of hours of training with each of her weapons. So that's not the real reason. Gay marriage and partnerships have been accepted in this state for decades, so that can't be it either. So that leaves the real reason for making that claim about my cousin and her wife: Carly is transgender. That is not now nor has it ever been grounds for removing a child. Abusing children is- a charge that I know for a fact your clients have multiple convictions for as I arrested them for their crimes after they were reported by the doctors and teachers. It's on record and is available for the jury to see alongside the orders from social services to remove the children that got ignored by our former sheriff- who just so happens to be related to each of the defendants here today." He was excused and saw the prosecution resting. The defense could only call the eight survivors and a large number of family members who took part in the planning. Their stories didn't hold up under the state attorney's cross-examination and proved that it was a group decision with each being guilty of the raid while also sharing the blame for it falling apart on them. The ones who were caught on the base were grilled and couldn't explain why they had their guns nor why they were on the base in the first place. The ones who bought the used truck that crashed through the gate couldn't explain why they bought a junker just to crash it nor how it ended up impaled on the post and only baring the fingerprints of the new owners. Finally, the ones who were shot in the butt and legs couldn't explain why they were shot from behind while fleeing for their lives if they were seen on camera footage turning their bodies and firing back at Carly and Jeffry while running away. None of their claims held up under scrutiny and when Walt was called to testify about the truck he had no qualms about telling the truth and showing video of the conversation where he was threatened if he didn't do as they wanted and claim that the truck was stolen. The paperwork was valid and the signature matched bank and government records so there was no denying that it was the same guy who owned the truck who signed the paperwork. It got worse as the truck got a ticket from a state trooper putting it in the hands of the defendant with the bodycam footage confirming it was the same guy. Closing arguments were a mess as the defense tried every dirty trick in the book to make both Jeffry as well as Carly look bad. When the went after Carly's gender change and the fact that she was a mother and aunt to two transgender girls the judge put an end to the diversion forcing the defense to come up with a new strategy but unable to do so. They failed to sway the jury, it only hurt their cases more. The jury deliberated for a week as each facet of the case was examined. The charges were steep and it'd be a lot of years for the defendants if convicted. They needed to take their time, the judge insisted on it. After a week and a long weekend, the jury convicted them on all counts. There was no way that any of the eight were going to get out of jail alive, they would have to serve their full terms due to the fact it was in relation to covering up other criminal activities. The attempted murder charges alone would see them sentenced from 15 years to life in prison, likely life due to Jeffry being on duty when they tried to murder him as part of the raid on the property. Two weeks later, the judge handed down their sentences: life for the attempted murder charges, three years each on the fraud, extortion, and threat charges. The lesser charges were less than a year and fines but it was pointless due to the state going after them hard on the attempted murder sentences. They'd be in prison likely for 40 years, but probably wouldn't survive to the end of their sentences. They had even more trouble as the federal case was tougher on them and their own words were used in that trial forcing them to accept that they'd never get out of prison. The federal jury convicted them on all charges including bank and wire fraud and violating the RICO act. They were sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, ensuring they'd die before they ever got out. The bank fared worse as the branch in town was closed, the bank audited by the feds, then the manager and several loan agents fired. They were later arrested and forced to accept pleas bargains in exchange for testimony against the cabal, with the group being sentenced to 15 years in prison each. It was then followed by the bank making restitution to the families foreclosed upon and working with the state to get the land back to the rightful owners while facilitating sales to people who legitimately wanted to buy their old land giving the families a needed money stream. Martin went for the throats of all involved and sued the bank, the conspirators, and the county on behalf of Carly and Jeffry while also suing the banks and county on behalf of the victims. All of the cases had a positive outcome, with Jeffry winning $1 million while Carly won $5 million. The families who had been defrauded and foreclosed on won $500,000 each along with their properties returned to them. The banks tried to claim that they weren't able to be sued due to the agreement that they'd give back the properties, but the judge ruled that it they had to do so anyway as the properties were seized illegally. It was tense but the bank was pressured to back off by the state who sued alongside the victims and had a strong case against them for similar actions in other counties. The families made out well and could sell the land again, only this time with a large profit for them. Carly put the money away and focused on her own life. With baby coming Cora forced her to schedule her long-awaited gender surgery so she could be a woman in full. Devon joined her in forcing Carly to stop delaying the inevitable and fulfill her dream, with Carly agreeing only when the rest of the family joined Devon in demanding that she trying to make excuses. It was tough to tell the young and naive Eva why Carly needed to have surgery, but the little girl smiled at her and hugged her tight over doing something so big. It shocked Carly when she said that she knew she had a pee-pee but never mentioned it, with Eva happily telling her, "I could feel it when I sit in your lap. It was weird but I know you are a real woman like mommy." Carly having surgery caused a stir among parents but the kids wisely didn't say anything as it was what boys never wanted to happen to hem and girls couldn't picture ever feeling so different that they'd have major surgery to be like other people. Betty and her husband David happily told anyone who had asked them what it was all about that Carly had to have it for her mental health as it was the final proof that she was all woman and no person could claim that she wasn't one if she had what all women have. The surgery wouldn't be until the end of the school year in late June, with Carly able to recover in time for the twins to be born. She had three months to prepare for her surgery, plenty of time to get ahead in work as well as work with the neighboring surveyors to pick up her slack. There were complaints about her not doing her job, but the fact that it was major surgery and she had earned the time off caused the few who complained about her to stop or risk being fired. The time between the trials and the surgery saw the Ewing family attending the first board meeting as a new board of directors, with Carly complaining about being forced to attend on behalf of Cora while the kids weren't happy that they weren't allowed to be there. Patty was the most upset, she felt like she was being pushed away despite not understanding any of what was being discussed. Vera had to sit her down and tell her, "It's a long, boring meeting that you are too young to understand. We aren't pushing you or your cousins away, we are having it to discuss important business things that you won't like. It deals with your distant relatives who want to sever their ties to use because of your aunt and what they will lose if they leave the family trust." Patty understood and went to visit Ivy for the weekend while the family traveled to Texas. Once there, the family's branches met and hammered out plans. The distant family were being bought out from the trust while also seeing all of the influence that they had over Ewing Inc. vanish. The mansion would remain open to all members of the family as a refuge but was not to be used as the primary residence of anyone anymore. The staff was retired or hired to work at the Cole home, with a few opting to move to Vermont. The mansion was basically sitting empty with the exception of when it was school vacation for the Coles and their 3rd and 4th cousins. For the distant cousins, their reaction was one of apathy toward the situation and wanting to be on their own without the hassle of living up to being a Ewing. It was essentially them turning their backs on the family, but they chose to take the money and run and leave Ewing Inc. to the Cole branch of the family. Ewing would still go on, but it would be a Vermont company in all but name. The company's CEO and top executives were going to run things from now on with the Coles taking an indirect role in the company leaving it to grow larger on its own. The plans for splitting the company in three with the three companies being separate from one another was formalized and met with shock and cheers from the industry as it meant their competition had to improve or fall behind Ewing again. They were separate companies owned by Ewing Inc. yet each would be on their own and the family would be able to let the companies conduct business without having everything go through the family, one of the worst aspects of the company and one done intentionally to keep control in the past. The company's stocks shot through the roof as news broke of the family taking control and putting the board under the Cole branch's control. None of them cared about the stock prices, but the money earned from the stocks would go a long way to helping the kids' college and trust funds. It also sent the family fortune over the $2 billion mark making the kids targets for predators looking for easy money. That was avoided by the community being tight-knit and not letting outsiders know too much about the kids, especially Patty and the even richer Devon. By virtue of inheriting her father's and grandfather's shares after Harris Ewing was formally stripped of all of his shares, Devon became the single largest shareholder in the company and a legitimate billionaire in her own rite making her one of the richest people in the entire state of Vermont. Vera did the smart thing and didn't let anyone know about her inheritance, with all of the shares being held in a trust until she turned 21. She was simply a member of the Cole branch in the eyes of all who looked, with her having 1/12th of her grandmother's share of the family fortune. She loved that she was a normal person without anyone knowing the truth, especially now that she official was given all of her rightfully inherited shares in the company once the will of her father and grandfather were read. There were many who knew the truth but kept it to themselves out of respect to the families. Devon had allies in the school and slowly around town and the surrounding counties as Carly became established as a solid worker who wanted what was best for all while Devon was just a normal girl who didn't do a lot outside of school and helped her classmates and other 7th graders in school. She helped so many it became a badge of honor to have her help you pass your classes. She earned many enemies, but those were jealous kids who failed their classes and needed an outlet for their frustrations while also trying to win, "Cool points" for being bold enough to make fun of one of the two, "Tranny kids" in school. They were lazy and did more goofing-off in class than work, with anyone in their class seeing that it was pointless to bother with them. It was clear why they failed, with their parents upset at them and were angered that they would dare to blame it on Devon since she had done a lot to help them yet they ignored everything that she was telling them to improve their grades. As time wore on, Devon and Patty started to blossom. Ivy and their other friends grew jealous of them, by May both girls needed training bras while Ivy barely had puffy nipples. Wanda led them all with a bust that rivaled some high school girls, with Patty having a hard time not playing with them whenever the girls were together. Wanda happily let her see them whenever she wanted, but wisely didn't let her go beyond looking due to their fathers enforcing their chaste agreement. Wanda's growth caused 8th graders to try to date her but saw her shooting them down whenever one of them tried to make it seem like she was better off with them than with the "tranny freak." She loved to humiliate them, especially when they got lewd and tried to grope her. Four boys ended up getting put in a stranglehold after they grabbed her breasts, two of which ended up expelled for their actions while the other two skipped school for a week then begged to be moved to another school in the county to escape the humiliation that Wanda's making them pass out and wet their pants had caused. Mr. Baldwin was informed that he was going to be promoted from acting principal to principal the next year after running the school better than it had been run in years, with him giving credit to the students and teachers as well as the removal of many bad influences due to their needed expulsions. Devon was the obvious reason for the change, but it was also Patty and Wanda who spurred mos of the changes- simply by being themselves and not caring one bit what anyone had to say about their dating. The two were the farthest along in their relationship among their grade and spurred others to act like them. Brooklyn and Newark did retire from the Army and took jobs as private pilots nearby and would often be in contact with Carly as they flew her to remote places that she couldn't drive to. They loved being so close to her, with their families finally joining them as they bought their first and final homes. The same homes happened to be near Carly, across the road from the family but far enough away for them to enjoy privacy and, "Guy time" away from the ladies. Walt, Zane, and David were quick friends of theirs, with Sal, Jeffry, and Marty smoothing over any of the bumps that they might have had. They shared a lot of issues that the guys had with women, with the two being both jealous and happy for Walt as he found Mrs. Right after finding Mrs. Wrong. Brooklyn might have lost his beloved wife, but it was tough to not feel jealousy over finding someone new to love so quickly after getting divorced. To the shock of everyone, Sal reconciled with his wife after she found it hard to live with her family a she watched her children being ridiculed and tormented by their cousins. She saw the changes in them and her in-laws' kids and felt that it was harming her children to stay with her family any longer. With great pain, she begged Sal for forgiveness and swore off her parents and siblings. The two slowly acclimated to one another as well as Cora and Carly being around the kids. It took time but seeing the stark difference between Carly and Cora vs. her family showed that she had been wrong about Carly and the real animals were her family. She warmed to them, but having hurt Sal for so long she was kept at arm's length from them and had to earn their trust and acceptance. The kids were happy to have their parents back together, with the couple trying to mend things and see that what really kept them together was their underlying love for one another that neither had known or had seen but was true love. Once the couple thawed to her she saw that they were good friends and her in-laws were better friends than her previous friends were. After three months, she was actually happy for the first time in years and tearfully showed Sal that the past was over and he had a new wife and the family was whole, the woman he fell for was back and never leaving him. Brooklyn and Newark's children moved back in with them and got to know their new neighbors. They were happy to have their fathers home for good, even if they were with loved ones they still missed the two deeply. Duty called and they had to answer it even if it caused strain on their family. Brooklyn's eldest daughter Stacy got along well with Becky and the girls but ended up falling hard for Alton. He wasn't trying to get a girlfriend as he talked with her about school and college, but she fell for him and asked him out after just a few minutes of knowing him. Alton was too stunned to respond, so Becky answered for him and agreed to a date. That was a surprise that all were happy to see, the newest members of their loose group getting together as a couple and hitting it off. Alton and Stacy were a quick couple and soon had the couple announcing both a pregnancy and a marriage. Brooklyn was too happy for his daughter to care that they had sex, it was acceptable now that she was both over 18 and a high school graduate and marrying Alton. After the wedding, Carly underwent her surgery in Boston. Vera joined them for the trip and as a way of keeping Cora calm. Devon was the one who kept both together as Carly was wheeled away to the operating theater, she told both that she was happy that her mother was fulfilling her dreams and that it was only a matter of time before she'd have her surgery. Carly was on leave for three weeks but still managed to work from home. Devon and the girls acted as her secretaries while the boys took jobs that kept them away from the ladies and focusing on anything but surgery on genitals. They spent much of their time with Walt at his garage and started to learn what it took to both be a mechanic and businessperson. Recovering took four weeks, but saw Carly working hard from her office and earning respect from the state's employees as she worked through the pain and showed that she was more man than a lot of the men there while showing that she might be transgender but she was just as much a woman as the ladies. The office did better with her overseeing things, so much so that her job as a surveyor was going to be transferred to someone else so she could be promoted to lead the Center for Geographic Information, which was the state's mapping agency. It was a longer drive, but it was worth it in her eyes as she could run things the way she needed to and give the agency a chance to be more than just mapmakers. When she finally recovered fully, Cora went into labor. She gave birth in a Boston hospital and saw all of their friends and family awaiting word while Cora clutched Carly's and Devon's hands tight. Devon had put her foot down and refused to wait outside, she needed to be with her mother to help her out. Becky did her best to keep her brother and sister calm, with Patty doing the same for her brothers. Eva was concerned as everyone was scared and anxious, Violet had to tell her, "It's different for every baby. You took almost a day to come out, your brother wanted out in two hours. Your sister had to be born via an operation because she was causing me trouble and doctors wanted to save both of us." Patty enjoyed needling Alton about what was going on in the other room, joking that he would have it happen to him in six months. Her new sister-in-law blushed deeply causing Patty to hug her to show it was just teasing and she was happy for her. The two hit it off well and gave Patty the big sister that she had craved for years while also giving Vera and Martin their next generation of Cole children. After six hours of hard labor, little Beau Charles and Carter Jeffry Bartlett were born. Devon shed tears as she heard the names, Carly hugged her tight while Cora exhaustively told her, "We thought you father should be honored. I loved Beau, his legacy lives on in you but his name will live on in your brother. It's painful, but it's still a part of who you are. You are Devon Bartlett, nobody can change that." The twins were in the hospital for three days before being released to fly home in the family's private jet. Cora rebounded from their birth in a surprisingly fast fashion, with her new principal happy to see her the first day teachers were allowed into school to set up their classrooms. She loved seeing looks of shock and horror over her returning to work immediately after giving birth, with none of them daring to ask her why she wasn't taking time off or confronting her about choosing to put the twins in daycare for the next nine months while she worked. The twins were a big hit with the teachers who had no issues with Cora going to work so soon, they had a look of content and gurgled at anyone who came into view. The ones who had harsh words about her received cries and bowel releases, causing Cora to snicker at them being just like Carly. She loved it, it was their own way of showing that they didn't appreciate anyone talking about their mother like that. Things were going well for the Bartlett family after the births. Devon had found the perfect boy for her in Simon while also finding her best friend in Ivy and several close friends who cared about yet knew that she was always going to be Ivy's go-to person for talks about her life. None of girls had any issues with their hierarchy and thrived with each other, especially with the boys wisely letting them do things their own way and only getting involved as peacemakers when there was a rare argument. The kids stayed close and helped Alton adjust to being a college student, being married, and being the first among them to become a father. Becky and Timmy wisely refused all sex until they had gone off to college and even then they wouldn't have it with just anybody. Becky's choice upset her boyfriend, he had hoped to have sex after the prom but abided by her rules and earned sex the next day from her. The girls knew what was happening and smiled at seeing her again. She blushed but refused to make light of it and caused them to ask how it felt and if she used protection. She was frank with them and it helped the girls a lot as they learned and understood and would hold off the same no matter how much Patty and the boys wanted to do "it" with them. The group didn't expand after that. Simon and Gus had a baby brother and Alton and his wife went on to have a baby girl but didn't expand for years. The next to have a baby was Timmy, but his was with a woman who left him soon after the baby boy was born and only stayed with him due to getting him to get her pregnant and try to get money from him. When she found out that wouldn't happen and he had a trust fund that wasn't going to be touched for a couple of years she fled in disgrace. He endured and raised the baby, with the girls and boys all seeing that it was serious and they needed to hold off their lust until they could handle being parents. Eventually the mother was tracked down and Timmy got her to see that he understood why she did what she did and still loved her, despite betrayal and his family believing that she was trouble. He offered to marry her, with her tearfully agreeing to it. Timmy's drama endeared the couples, bringing them closer together and making all of them see that the couples were stronger than anyone could have imagined. The couples didn't hide that they were in love and on prom night Wendy and the boys got down on one knee and proposed to their girlfriends. They had set the bar high for love and relationships and none in their school could top them. Graduation was the breaking point for the group. Most went to college, Simon went to work with Walt. Ivy and Brice went to college in Texas to have some distance from the others and be on their own. Devon had her surgery as expected, with Simon by her side helping her recover. He happily helped her bathe and did all of her chores, with Carly and Cora not even trying to stop him from helping her. Any person could see that he loved Devon, the two were a strong couple that nobody could tear apart. Simon and Devon remained together, with Simon forcing her to get an education so she could help out at the office as well as be her own person. She did as he asked, becoming an accountant like her father and getting employed by Ewing Inc. corporate offices. Simon joined her in Texas as he opened his own garage, with the two making their mark on the area by being themselves and helping those in need. Brice and Ivy were often over their house and after Ivy had their first child the couple felt the need to be parents too. They got their chance when they were needed to help out one of the Ewings who had a big issue that they were close to: a transgender child. Unlike the other Ewings, his parents refused to be parents forcing the little boy to seek safety from his mother's 3rd-cousins. Being young enough to be their own child, the couple took him in and adopted him as their own. It was what they needed in life and the little boy loved them as his parents and refused to believe that they had a lot in common with him than just being transgender. He was sad to have lost his birth parents, but the couple were better and loved him despite his faults. Life moved on. The family grew and grew. One thing never changed: they were together as one and it was a bond that only grew stronger as the children grew older. They had experienced things that few should have to experience, but in doing so they grew as people and became better. What was meant to be a life of solitude turned out to be one of anything but for Carly. Life was funny that way, you only want to be left alone yet you end up being at the center of chaos and a string of big changes that impact hundreds. Sometimes solitude isn't all it's cracked up to be, as Carly learned. The End.