New Blood Part 2 (Finale) free porn video

Heather fell asleep in Kelly's lap and had to be transferred to her grandmother's lap so Kelly to get up. Heather hugged April tightly, with Kelly struggling to not cry as Heather showed that she cared a lot about her grandmother without realizing it. April hugged her back, feeling the same warmth of the love that Heather was showing and enjoying her granddaughter giving her sleepy affection. Kelly moved Heather to her room and tucked her in bed, with Heather hugging her favorite stuffed doll tight as she slept. Kelly looked over at April and tearfully told her, "She never sleeps like that, she's usually spread out on the bed. The only time she's ever like that is when she's asleep on our lap." April realized what was going on and told her, "She must be comfortable with us and doesn't have to be afraid anymore. You sleep like that, I know that Nick usually sleeps on his stomach but you sleep on your side holding a pillow. It's cute, and a nice connection between you two." Kelly blushed deeply, April happily told her, "We knew full well that you two were doing 'it' when we were away and were fine with that as long as you used protection. Plus your grandmother and I had a lot of talks while you were asleep, I couldn't tell you how many times you slept late and were like that when I came by. I'm happy that there's a piece of you in Heather, she's so much like you in looks that it was inevitable that she'd act like you. Plus she's probably going to have Nick's stubbornness which I'm hoping is what drove her to fight being a girl for so long and insist that she wasn't a boy. I know that if she saw you today, your grandmother would be proud of the woman that you have become and would be ecstatic over seeing Heather so beautiful and happy. All that she wanted was for you two to be the successes that you are: good jobs, great prospects for the future, a big nest-egg for when Nick retires. I know that she'd be even happier knowing that you found friends who love you and surrogate parents to be there for you alongside us. We love you, Kelly. Don't ever forget that we love you deeply." The two went to bed with big smiles as they had done something that each would cherish: bonded over Heather. She was the best of Nick and Kelly with Kelly's looks and Nick's attitude. She might not be a male in personality and spirit, but that didn't mean that she couldn't have some traits that were the best parts of her father: his stubbornness, devotion and love for family, strong will, and empathy for others. Down in Florida, Nick felt pangs of missing his wife and daughter. Miguel happily told him that it was a good sign, he was a true family man and devoted to Kelly for all of the right reasons. Missing Heather was something that was natural, Miguel himself struggled not to call home ever five minutes to check on his five-year-old twin sons Martin and Reymundo and twelve-year-old daughter Tatum. The two talked about what happened during the game and planned the route around the pitchers trying to cost them the game. Both pitchers were borderline guys who knew that they weren't making the team unless someone got hurt, with one knowing that his career was over if he got sent down to the minors. It was easy to see that with nothing else to lose, they'd take the low road and try to hurt Nick. The two knew that things were going to be complex and decided to stop fooling around and gather their forces to protect the team. They had the vast majority supporting them, the few who were an issue were only an issue because they had David Rice, the manager behind them. That was the key, if they forced the coaches to join them then Rice was powerless as they'd overrule him indirectly making him have to do the work himself and look like he was on a power trip micromanaging everything about the team. Miguel called a meeting of his supporters and got the infielders and outfielders to join his pitchers who he already had in support of him. The group numbered 25, with most of the AAA pitchers joining them as they'd have to interact with them as much as the big leaguers. Nick knew most of them already, and he had their complete respect making it an easy include for Miguel as the more support they had the better things would be when the inevitable happened. Miguel didn't fool around and told all of them, "We have a problem brewing. You saw what was going on tonight. We almost lost because two guys felt that Nick didn't deserve the credit for winning us the game. That idiocy is going to cost us all year, we won't make the playoffs if they try these stunts again. I don't care what they feel about Nick's family: you don't hurt others because you don't like what they're doing at home. None of us went after them for banging strippers while their wives were in labor, none of us went after them for getting high and missing team meetings. None of us went after them because they got pulled over for drunk driving coming to a game. We let it go. That's for the front office to fix. I have a problem when they go after family, especially ones who have issues that aren't their fault. They may not like transgender people, but that doesn't give them the right to harm us because they can't keep their traps shut. They're going to hurt us, it's time that we hurt them. Complete shutout. Cold shoulder. Nobody talks to them, nobody helps them. They want to go after kids, they pay the price." There was no argument, the "old man" of the clubhouse had spoken. The team would have to comply or it would split apart and they'd lose most of their games. The next step was getting the coaches on their side, something easy to do as they weren't happy with the manager as it was. The coaches were willing to listen to Miguel, especially given that he was one of the few people on the team capable of forcing them to stop everything and talk with them. They listened to his proposal and then listened to their counter-proposal, with Miguel then countering it again with his final stand making them give in. He had their support, he simply needed to go after Rice and force Rice to do what they wanted him to do or they were walking away leaving him to coach the entire team himself. The next morning saw a team meeting in which the players made their stand: the two who intentionally blew the game were demoted to the minors without a chance to defend themselves, Rice had to start controlling the team and rein-in the rogues trying to hurt them. Miguel was blamed for causing issues, but the majority of the team shouted Rice down while his coaches told him that he was an idiot who was about to cost himself his job. Rice tried to force his way, but the team walked out on him leaving him to explain to the media just what happened and why he wasn't to blame. Rice tried hard to lay the blame on players trying to undermine his leadership then reversed it to be about management forcing players that he didn't want on him to keep them around just for publicity to prop-up others who didn't belong with the team. He told of players who had not yet shown that they were ready to be there being shoved down his throat then of players who were overused and were well past their prime being kept around out of fear of bad publicity if they were demoted or released. It was clear that he was targeting Miguel, Nick, and John with the reporters calling him for it then having him reiterate what he claimed and show just how they had undermined him if he wasn't able to lead at all. Rice walked out of the press conference in disgust, screaming about the two of them ending his career. He then showed his true intent and started using several transphobic slurs aimed directly at the two kids, with him screaming that he'd castrate them himself if one hadn't already been mutilated by a man who let his nephew have the same thing done to him and the other protected by a group of people who had no fear of forcing boys to believe that they were girls. He went on for 10 minutes, screaming about the freaks controlling everyone and forcing people to do whatever they demanded- ignoring everyone who was around him trying to get him to stop ranting in front of the cameras. His complaints mirrored the complaints of the pastors in Boston trying to go after Nick, with it clear to to the reporters that he was one of the ones supporting them and allowing them to grow in power. The more he talked, the more he sounded exactly like one of the pastors- so much so that some of what he was saying had to have been put into his mouth by the pastor or he gave the pastor the words himself. When he finally stopped, the GM shook his head in disgrace and told him, "You are terminated. This is beyond disgusting, you've not only gone after two players who called you on your actions but you've shown that you were working with a disgraced child molester to rid the team of a player- all because he is more of a man than you'll ever be. You destroyed your own career, not them. You chose to act like a tyrant and let certain players run amok while trying to destroy the careers of players who fans will love recalling for decades while you are quickly forgotten by all except your family. Good bye. Don't try to sue, you violated your contract multiple times in the span of 24 hours." The team was in a tough situation but they rallied around Miguel who led them through drills while the coaches went about things as normal. Without Rice micromanaging the practices they were able to do their jobs faster and get to the root of what they needed to address that day. They knew who would be appointed as the new manager immediately and worked with him to setup the roster before splitting for the day's split-squad trips north to different locations. Nick and Miguel were split-up for the day, but it was done so Nick could get used to working with the starters while Miguel helped the younger players work on things. It wasn't planned that way, but it was a big chance for Nick to show that he wasn't Miguel's patsy and could do things on his own. Miguel had all confidence in Nick, he earned being there and Miguel wold help him that night anyway. The trip was a bust for the team as they got blasted. Nick did well but had some issues pop up that were hidden by Rice's suggestions for fixing his swing. It was clear just why he suggested the changes, Nick struggled with one particular pitch that was known to be a problem for two years. Miguel endured some razzing by teammates but it was actually to show that he was one of them and it was his time to show that he was a leader and not just a leader with a tough righthand man. He talked with the acting manager and worked with him on how to work the bullpen, then worked with the guys to get their issues addressed immediately before the game. Once they were ready to take the field, he'd gotten most of the kinks worked out of their pitching and swings allowing them to win easily that day. Back at Miguel's apartment, the two compared notes and showed that Rice was hurting the team and had done things intentionally to keep Nick from breaking out while working hard to undermine all of Miguel's progress with the pitchers the past three years. Miguel was asked if he thought about taking a job as a pitching coach, Miguel happily told Nick, "Not unless my sons beg me to take one. I'm going to teach and instruct kids at camps, I can't handle the pressure from the media and certainly not those vultures in Boston. I know that I could probably manage a Major League team, I just don't want to." Nick left it alone, he had his heart on doing the right thing and the fact that he acknowledged that he'd do it if asked by his kids was a big step in the right direction for him. There was little chance of that, the boys weren't interested in sports and only wanted to play with their toys. They'd more likely try to be race car drivers than baseball players, which wasn't too bad of a job in Miguel's eyes. Up in Winnisimmet, Kelly received a visitor who refused to be ignored by her. April answered the door and upon being asked to speak with Kelly Kole she asked who the person was. The person smiled and told her to tell Kelly, "Fickle Franny said hurry up or else." April relayed the message and watched as Kelly hurried to the door and upon opening it was given a huge hug by the woman. Kelly led her and the man with her inside, with Kelly fighting tears as they sat in the living room. She couldn't believe her eyes, the two old friends were together again. Francesca Bollinger happily looked over Kelly and asked her, "Implants or are you having milk-related growth in your breasts? You don't seem to be the kind of girl to get implants, then again you were the one who told us that you'd get them if your husband wanted you to get them. Not that I wouldn't do the same with Nick Ross hanging off my arm!" Kelly blushed and showed her bulging womb and happily told her, "They grew after the first pregnancy and are starting to grow thanks to these two. I breastfed Heather because I didn't have the money to buy formula, thankfully she didn't cause them to grow too big. I'm not going to breastfeed these two, it's not going to be enough for both of them and I'm not one of those women who feels the need to announce to the world that I'm a mother and I don't buy into the whole 'it's better for the baby' BS." She asked Francesca what she was up to, with Francesca casually telling her, "Just got done filming the new superhero movie. I'm starring as the love interest but I'm not dumb enough to commit to all of the movies. My part isn't big, I'm getting paid a lot of money for it because they need the star power but I refused to remain in the franchise for a decade so didn't get the amount of time they wanted of me." Kelly thought that she was joking, her husband Donald blurted out, "She's a producer for the movie. It's a key role and one that she can play in her sleep. Ironic, since the part is all flashbacks. It's not that big of a deal and most of the time she just looked pretty which was enough for the director." Francesca glared at him, he shot back, "Sorry, it's true. He's a pervert, he has you looking sexy for those like him. He wanted a nude scene for you, I refused and threatened to walk away if he kept insisting." Troy and April listened intently at their discussion and couldn't believe any of it. April looked as if she thought that they were joking until Francesca looked over their way and had to hide her shame before she got caught. She wasn't subtle enough, Francesca caught her looks. Francesca asked if Kelly had told them about her, with Kelly mumbling, "These two are Francesca and Donald Bollinger. Francesca is like Jessie, Iris, and Rachel: we met when we were in preschool and had a long friendship. I don't know what happened after I left but she ended up out in Hollywood acting in movies. She's not like the other actresses, she still comes home to visit her friends and family. She also is a major producer thanks to what she's made from her movies and her former mothers' books." Kelly was asked what she meant, Francesca explained, "My first adoptive parents were Wendy White-Clark and her wife Belle. Wendy wrote the book series 'Tempest, CA'. I adapted the book series for the movie, produced it alongside Uncle John's production company, and starred in it. Kelly was one of the inspirations for the third book, the daughter of backstabbing politicians was basically an older version of her. She also got a prominent role in the movie, she got played by Taylor Turner- the transgender pro wrestler who's also one of the movie's producers. I've starred in a bunch of movies, including a couple that got Oscar nominations but none as good as the 'Tempest, CA' movie. It's hard to top what you can recite by heart from start to finish without having to read the script!" Francesca then told Kelly, "Donald is the man I swore I'd marry back when we were kids. He has it all: good looks, a great body, a big package, and is great with kids. His little brother is so cute, you'll love him- just don't let him get started on cars, he won't stop talking about them. My brother Benny got him into them and now they won't stop yapping about the cool cars that they want to ride in. And of course Uncle John just had to splurge and take them for a ride in them through some rich friends!" She loved talking about her family with Kelly, Kelly wanted to know more and it was clear that she had a lot to say but didn't know how to broach the subjects. Francesca sighed and added, "Yes, it's true that Wendy and Belle were murdered. They would be happy to sacrifice themselves to save Al's life. It's the worst but the best at the same time, she got a new family and I got to help mom get over her pregnancy issues. Benny caused a lot of depression, I helped her get over it. Al's a really great girl and will be the best mom when she and her boyfriend stop fooling around and become parents. She doesn't care that she can't have kids, she wants to be a mom but doesn't know how to go about it with her boyfriend." Kelly gave her a look of sadness, Francesca added, "Yes, she was born a boy. It was a horrible crash and she barely survived it, but lost her manhood. She took to being a girl fast, she was borderline gay and a very effeminate boy. But allowed to be a girl, she shined. She's really beautiful, she makes a lot of girls jealous because she's more of a woman than they'll ever be. Reyna is jealous of her, as is Jaimie. You'll be the same when you see her, that's if you ever get out of the house to meet everyone else." Turning things around, she asked if she had seen, "Closet Secrets" and noticed some of the stuff in it. It was a mystery to Kelly until she remembered what Tanya York had told her about the movie. Francesca gave her a sly grin and told her firmly, "You should have noticed something right off the bat: they used your old house to film in front of! Uncle John owns it, he bought it from your parents when they went bankrupt and had to sell assets to pay lawyers. The movie was shot there because that's where a lot of the horrible crime scenes happened. His brother really did sell drugs in front of your house, with Uncle John fighting him over doing it around Bryan and Hannah." The Rosses asked if it was true, Francesca nodded and added, "Hannah co- wrote the book with the man himself. She took it on after he wrote it and rewrote it to fit the truth. It was a horrible time for the Finn family to the point that Uncle John won't talk about it. Hannah was vicious, she went at her uncle with a fury few could match and made him from a sympathetic antihero into a pitiful scumbag. And a lot of the stories in the movie and book are ones that are legend in the city, from Uncle John taking beatings in school to protect Aunt Katie from his brother to Uncle John taking a beating when his brother tried to hold Hannah hostage. You might only hear the late stories from people who only know of him as a lottery winner turned philanthropist, but he had a hard life before that lottery win." The Rosses were intrigued, she had them hooked on John's life story. She happily told them, "He fought offers from producers to make his life story into movies. He'll make a movie of his life when he feels it is ready to be made. We think it'll be when his grandkids get old enough to be their parents' age and be in the movie itself, we always joke how much Johnny looks like his dad and the Smiths their parents." Francesca turned things around and asked Kelly why she didn't email them to talk about what went on with her life. She didn't have an answer, the just looked away in shame. Francesca happily told her, "It's alright, you aren't the only one who did that. We haven't heard anything from Amy, we know that she's a housewife with three kids living with her husband's family while he's in the military. She's at least getting out and about. She goes on trips to visit friends from high school a lot, it's more than you do." That hit Kelly hard. She tried to apologize but Francesca happily told her, "You're holed-up here for the right reasons, but it's coming time for you to get out and see the world again. The Rosses aren't trapped, they can be given keys and I know they know how to use a water faucet, microwave, and even the oven and stove. They might have trouble with the filtered water spout, but I think they can learn how to use it. Plus, it's healthy to get out. If need be, lock the pool room door. Mitch and Sylvia do it whenever the two aren't home just to ensure that nobody can get in there without them being there." April happily told Kelly, "She's right. We aren't helpless. You know that you have to work soon, I'll be alright and your father might be slow but he's mobile so we're able to do things. Nick wouldn't want you to stay put just for us, you need to get out again. Your friends want to enjoy being around you again so there isn't any excuse for not going out. We'll handle ourselves for a while, go enjoy yourself." Kelly wanted to protest but Francesca countered, "It's nearly impossible to separate the girls when they have something to do. She'll be alright with Jane and Jae, the trio already went out with Aunt Meanie so we could enjoy time with you. It's a setup, you're being kidnapped by your friends." Donald seized her by one arm while Francesca seized her by the other and led her out. April gave a chuckle as they weren't letting her stay no matter how hard she tried. Kelly was going with them and it was going to be a day away that she sorely needed. April grabbed the TV remote and started looking for something to watch. Troy had to hide his smile as his wife seemed to have an eye out for a certain movie. She found it after a few minutes, then set out to get popcorn and drinks for the two of them. The movie was sad and depressing, with John being sympathetic as he just couldn't do anything to help his brother while his brother tried everything to undermine John's work. They saw something in John, a spark of determination that showed as he grew older and tried hard to stand against his brother and get him help. Seeing that help get wasted then something horrible happen due to that help caused them to see the real story: John's humility and compassion were abused yet he still tried to do the right thing. The final scenes of the movie were sad as a wedding picture, several cards from family members, and a note from John telling him that his brother's letters were received by the by the recipients and that they were doing well but not to communicate with them. He read John's letter over and over as he started to realize that his life was truly over and he had to pay the penalty for what he had done all of his life. That led to scenes of attempting to get redemption and accepting his fate, with John doing a lot to ensure that things went well for him and the right people were prosecuted. The final scenes of the big accident and murder of John's brother showed just how tragic he truly was, with April in tears and her husband trying hard not to feel pity for a man who didn't deserve it. The two found Francesca's movie,, "Tempest, CA" and watched that next. April had a good laugh at the movie's comedy and felt happy at some of the dramatic moments, while Troy felt pride in knowing that the woman who starred in a major Hollywood movie was friends with their daughter- in-law. The two were happy to have spent hours together watching movies, especially as they did so while having a quiet lunch and in a place that let them move around easily so their legs weren't hurting and Troy's arm and leg were able to get some exercise making him feel like he wasn't an invalid for the first time in months and truly making them feel that they were going to be alright now. Heather came home not long after the second movie ended and was fed dinner by April. Heather didn't fight what she was given, with April timidly helping her with her favorite food of chicken nuggets. The little girl happily ate with her grandparents then played quietly on the floor with her toys, with the two doting on her until she fell asleep. Kelly enjoyed a day out at Francesca's house as she introduced Kelly to her parents and then to Benny, her beloved younger brother who tried hard to impress the pretty pregnant woman. Francesca held off a laugh as Benny was smitten with Kelly, almost to the point of reverence. Kelly was oblivious to what Benny was doing, finally learning about it when Benny went off to do homework at his mom's request. Donald was quiet during all of that, Kelly asked about Donald and Francesca and was told, "He's not too keen on being the center of attention. He knows he's not as smart as Reed or as athletic as Thomas, he's just Donald: the normal one. He's really that, he was average and only really found his interests when it was told to him by his new mom that he can be whatever he wanted to be. And yes, Aunt Gabby is his mother. Uncle Zeke is his dad, we couldn't believe how fast she fell in love with him but the two had a longstanding mutual love that they could never act on. He took her name because his family is horrible, the only family worse than them are the Castillo family but that's only because the Castillo actually did the unthinkable and murdered someone close to Gruncle Jorge- their own cousin! The Williams family appeared to be nice with a matriarch who appeared to be just a sweet old lady, but the were venomous vipers who beat up Uncle Zeke when he started to date Aunt Gabby. Uncle John and the Finns stood up to them, then Uncle Willie and his officers arrested them and got them to turn on one another. It was a huge scandal, with lots of folks going to prison for it. The sweet old lady went to prison for murdering a woman decades ago- that's how bad they were! And if not for that, things in the city might never have happened as that woman was a friend of Uncle John's father who ended up inspiring Uncle John to be a good person to trans people." Kelly was dumbfounded. Donald added, "I swear there's some things that happened that not even your Hollywood writers could come up with: nobility marrying into the family, long-lost family being united by accident, transgender people who were hermaphrodites or who were intersex, and geniuses who're also transgender and who got a girl pregnant. That one was a doozie: and it wasn't the first time too!" He was laughing at that, Francesca groaned and told her, "The Carters, Addison and Carmen. Addison is trans, Carmen fell in love with her and they had sex. Twins came from it, identical at that. One is trying to fight his femininity but we fear that he may be transgender. The other was Sydney Stoner, a genius who was Rick Samuels' roommate at UMass but through a series of events ended up not only forced to flee the school he fled to the arms of his uncle after she came out as transgender. She is a genius, a vastly rich one at that. She got her girlfriend pregnant after prom and ended up having a son. The two aren't even alone in that, her wife's sister-in-law has daughter found to be intersex after the girl was kidnapped and had an accident that ripped open her privates while fleeing another kidnapping!" Kelly listened and was intrigued. She muttered a sad, "It's all so crazy. Next you're going to tell me that a bunch got kidnapped and tortured or that there was some dangerous chase involving people who just so happened to find help from the family. It's crazy, I swear you're making this up!" Donald authoritatively told her, "Multiple times. Multiple kidnappings including Reyna which you had to have heard about at some point and one huge one involving a bunch of younger girls three of whom are transgender including Reed's sister and whose abuse caused them to need the final surgery. Several murders, one by a bunch of Castillo family members and one by a mobster trying to steal millions from Logan and Ella Finn. Then there was Piper Stoner being chased by the US Attorney trying hard to force her to give the government all of her inheritance. And before that there was the whole fleeing of the two future Nelson sisters East to Boston that brought down the same criminal empire your parents were part of. I bet that you never knew that it was all caused by two little girls- and all because they ended up being found by Aunt Greta nearly frozen outside her office!" Kelly was dumbfounded, that was so crazy yet he seemed so serious. Francesca sadly told her, "We have a lot of the newspaper accounts cutout and have printouts of online stories. It was really horrible, we all saw Reyna snatched from us and then couldn't see her for weeks because she was hurt so badly. It was also when Reed nearly died in a fire alongside his sister and then he was stabbed at the beach. A lot of bad things happened, lucky for all of us they were outweighed by the great things that happened around them. We got a lot of families that joined us and families that grew in size. We got new members of the family who we love deeply. Al is one of the biggest examples of that, as is Reed and his brother and sister. As are Donald and his little sister. You'll love her, she so smart and sassy and is the only one who can make Jessie act like a big sister." Donald wisely didn't say anything, Francesca smirked and told him, "Be realistic: she worships Jessie. I know she's your sister too but she worships Jessie more than anyone else and does whatever Jessie asks of her. I can count on one hand the number of times she has ever refused to do something Jessie asked, three of the times were your brother's diaper changes." Kelly asked about Jessie, wanting the truth about her friend. Francesca happily explained to her, "She's a huge softy for Kylie and was drafted as Billy's big sister before she and Reed ever got engaged. She's a great friend, she doesn't like to admit it but she's glad that she isn't following in Courtney's footsteps in being a nurse or getting pregnant early. Reed wouldn't let her, especially with Billy so young. We are all happy that she found a boyfriend who wasn't afraid to stand up to the people in school, no matter how many boys tried to go after Jessie Reed always stood strong against them. Plus he filled out a lot, he's a hottie now and all of us are jealous that he takes after his great-uncle in body instead of his dad. He's a big, strapping, strong guy even if he's a big brains guy more so than brawn." Kelly asked how the others were, noting that they hadn't bothered her much since she moved in. They had to think for a bit then Donald explained, "Reed is busy with work. When he gets into a groove it's a tough job getting him to stop and take the evening off. Rebecca and Jessie are preparing for when your in-laws need rehab, they aren't too up to date on stroke cases so might have to defer to someone with more experience and help later on when it's more movement and not relearning how to walk. Iris and Sam have been in meetings for the charities, it's what they usually do to keep busy and it's hard Uncle John to run them without taking time off from school- he hates that. They can't be manipulated thanks to Cat and Daisy so make perfect executives. They're running a camp for transgender kids this summer so have to get a lot of money for legal challenges and lawsuits ready ahead of time. Reyna got called out to a crime scene in Pittsfield due to the techs out there being sick or on vacation, she hates to do it and has asked for a second tech for the region but the State Police colonel refuses to pay for it. Rachel is doing a lot of work trying to investigate security issues at Peterson Manufacturing, it's involving the family indirectly but she won't say just what's going on yet. They're around, just busy with work." Kelly felt better, Donald then added, "They were ordered to stay away by Aunt Valerie. You have to get your in-laws ready for their exams tomorrow so she told the others to give you space. Jessie got stuck babysitting for Courtney and Michael while Rebecca had to help her brothers with school. The two are struggling with girls all over them, one has a girlfriend and the other not interested in any girls yet." Francesca had to quickly add, "Yes, she has a second brother. He's their half-brother genetically through their uncle. Their dad was a twin, his brother passed away before his son was born. He's JD Finn's best friend and is Willow Reagan's boyfriend. Willow is Louis Reagan's granddaughter, you remember him-he's tough to forget and not afraid to make you remember him. The patriarch of Winnisimmet is also a father and grandfather, not just Sam's grandfather's cousin. Believe me, you'll get to know all about the family dynamics as some point- especially with how much it intertwines." Francesca added, "Things get complicated, but it's simple: a lot of people became part of the family and a lot of us married bridging the families. Some day your kids might marry our kids or Jessie's kids or Rebecca's kids. It's up to them, none of us were pushed together- unless you count Iris and Rachel both pushing their mother to date their future dad but that's beside the point." After a quiet lunch and an afternoon filled with Benny Herman trying to impress Kelly as well as trying to ensure that she didn't have to do much in her pregnant state, Kelly went home and gasped at Heather on the floor sleeping with her doll as she had done since coming out. She asked how Heather was and was told how little she did and how well-behaved she was for them. Kelly shed a tear over her daughter knowing to be good for her grandparents, it was her trying to show that she cared and that they weren't able to do a lot due to their poor health so she purposely made sure that she acted like a big girl. Kelly was asked what she did and confessed about the day out with Francesca and Donald. It wasn't too much to tell and April seemed to gasp and nod at a lot of what she said happened. Finally, after she listened to Kelly run out of things to say, April added, "We followed the news for a long time and a lot of what they told you was in it. It seems unbelievable, but we watched that Valerie woman on TV a lot defending what her family had done and showing who really did it and why. I remember a case of a teenage boy causing his parents to get sent to prison because of abuse, it sounded a lot like that Donald boy with your friend Francesca. I also remember four people being killed in car accidents, that sounded a lot like your friend Francesca. Things happened, but good came from it if I'm reading that right." Kelly was quiet after that, she helped the Rosses into bed and hugged them goodnight. Before she was able to leave, April firmly told her, "We talked about this and we don't want you thinking about us as anything less than your parents. We're mom and dad now, no more 'Mr. and Mrs. Ross'. We love you too much to let you call us that. You earned the right to call us parents, our beloved daughter-in-law." Kelly agreed to that and went to bed, first calling Nick to tell him about the day then listening to him be absurdly funny trying to cheer her up while trying to calm himself. The two enjoyed the long talk until Kelly lost all energy and fell asleep, Nick laughing as she wore herself out talking with him. he had to hold off teasing her, it was just so sweet that she needed to hear his voice and lost all energy doing it. The next day saw Kelly meeting with Valerie and a woman introduced as a home health aide whose job it was to help the Rosses with daily activities during the time Kelly was working. The couple were very reluctant to accept help but upon talking with Valerie in private they put aside their shame and allowed the person to help them. They would only have two hours with the person, it was only during mid-day and really only because of bathing and dressing- two things they couldn't do alone yet. After that, the couple were driven to Boston for examinations and saw Troy immediately put under the care of specialists who helped him see that he was lucky so far. He silently worked with the doctors to get the right treatments and therapies as well as rehabilitation. He was told that he'd recover in a year if he kept at it, even if he might not have a booming voice anymore he could at least talk normally. That wasn't the only news: the bigger news was that he'd need surgery to repair damage to his arms and legs due to lower circulation. He needed more extensive rehabilitation work than what he was going to receive at home so he would have to spend a month in a rehab hospital working hard on things that he hadn't considered with specialists. Kelly and Nick had their hearts in the right place, but he needed help that only those who did it for a living could give. April's exam was easier as the doctor told her to just go ahead with surgery and get it over with so it was finished in two months. She was reluctant to do so, but seeing Kelly's pleading face made her give in and agree to the surgery the next day. It was going to be a long road ahead of her, but the couple had time on their hands as well as Kelly and Heather to visit them. Once back home, the Rosses told Kelly that she should get back to work as they would have plenty of help now that they would be going into the hospital the next day. She tearfully agreed and told them she and Heather would visit them daily once they were allowed to. The two were happy to hear the news, it was even more evidence that she was their perfect daughter-in-law. Nick was told and was excused from games for two days to attend to his parents' health. The media had an ear to the ground and tried to hone in on his leaving Spring Training early, but the team explained that it was a family emergency that he needed to attend to and why wasn't any of their concern and to dig into it would end up with them being sued for violating his family's rights. That was seen as a big challenge, but when the reporters tried to get help from colleagues in Boston they were shut down by a blanket order from their corporate owners telling them to leave family members alone. Nick flew up in John Finn's private jet, with John meeting him at the airport to drive him home. Seeing John told Nick that it was serious, but he didn't ask what was going on. John softly explained to him, "It was great news for your parents, they're going to recover well after surgery but have to go into rehab to get things working right again. It's a long road for them, but your mother will be fine in two months. As for your father, it's a longer road but the surgery will help him heal better and prevent further strokes." Nick didn't say anything, it was tough to do when you had to think about how your family life had just exploded in the past three weeks. Seeing his parents in wheelchairs and Troy weak caused him to see that it was deadly serious. But seeing Heather with her grandmother and trying hard to keep all of her grandmother's attention on her warmed his heart as it was just too beautiful. Nick walked over and hugged his parents, then lifted Heather and hugged her tightly. He looked up at her and asked her firmly, "Did you really sneak a bunch of chocolate bars from Sylvia? You know what it does to you when you have more than half of a bar!" Heather tried to squirm away then apologize to him, with her going to her room to sulk as Nick gave a look of being disappointed at her for breaking the rules. April had to smile at that, Heather needed to know that she had limits and he was still setting them even from afar. He had only just gotten there but it was clear that he was going to be a great father to his children. Kelly sat next to Nick and explained the situation to him. Nick asked why the need for surgery to which Kelly explained to him, "It's because there's likely something causing the strokes. Removing the source and ensuring that the blood flows properly will prevent them in the future. The doctor didn't say it, but it looks like dad was lucky to have not died already from the complications. He needs it to ensure that he's able to live a better life, even if he's weakened. He'll walk again, just not too well." He asked about his mother to which Kelly told him, "Doing it all at once cuts recovery time down by a year. She'll need a wheelchair and crutches and likely a walker, but she'll be able to walk again. In two months she'll be able to walk normally again even if in pain, in eight months she'll be fully recovered." John and Valerie explained that the home health aid would help after the Rosses were discharged, but it had changed to being less-intense as Troy's rehab meant the person wasn't needed for a lot of things. Nick asked why the person was needed, Valerie had to wisely tell him, "You can't be there when you're on the road and Kelly has to work so it's for your parents' help during the day. It's only doing a few of the things that most struggle with: dressing and bathing." The Finns left and allowed the family to enjoy the evening together. Nick told his father about the team and was almost worshiping Miguel and his actions, Troy asked about the man and was told what Nick knew, earning a subtle nod and soft, "So it's more of the same with Kelly. He's been through it with his family so is helping you with yours. He's a true captain, and a good mentor." Father and son bonded over that, for the first time in years they bonded over something. Troy's real reasons for that was something that he felt humiliated about: Miguel filled the gap in Nicks' life that he couldn't fill because he wasn't there. Miguel was a father-figure for Nick, when Nick had his own father that was miles away yet hadn't tried to contact Nick in years. When April and Kelly gave their husbands privacy, Nick told his father, "He's not replacing you as my dad, he's more like an uncle. He's old enough to be my uncle- he's 16 years older than me. He's the only one I could talk to about Heather and the only one who understands Kelly's life. Kelly kept a big facade up for months before she had to show her true feelings, Heather only magnified them. Without Miguel I'd have struggled to ever get onto the roster let alone find you. We owe him everything, but he isn't you and he doesn't want to be you. He's concerned about you, even if he never meet you he's still a good person and wants you to get better. I love him, but he's not my father- you are." That made Troy feel a lot better, Nick wasn't replacing him with a, "Better" father. The two watched the baseball game and saw Nick shaking his head at his colleague screwing-up pitches and missing key swings while at-bat. His father saw his son's devotion to the game and was proud to know that Nick had strong passion that was more than just trying to make himself into a star- he was a true team player. Heather spent much of the evening in Nick's lap hugging him, then refused to go to bed without kissing him. He smiled at her trying to keep him close, when she was about to doze off he told her lovingly, "I am only up here for your grandparents' surgery and will go back to Florida in two days. I love you, but you need to be without me again. I promise that I'll be back in late March, I'll call you each night." Heather didn't like that but Nick couldn't change things. He told Kelly that he was happy to see Heather changing into the little girl that she truly was and the old Heath was long gone. Kelly kissed him deeply and told him, "She loves her daddy, girls love their daddies more than their mommies. She'll be fine, it's just that she's not used to you seeing her as a girl and wants to please you just in case." The thought hadn't sunk in yet that Heather was still afraid of him and might not know how to react to him being there. Heather was beautiful and nothing like Heath, he couldn't see his son in her anymore despite really only changing clothes. Heather was the girl that he had hoped to have with Kelly but they hadn't been blessed with at birth, she was a miniature Kelly and showing that she was more girl than a lot of the girls he knew growing up ever were. The next morning saw Nick helping corral Heather while Kelly helped with the Rosses. She was best at helping them as Nick was weirded out by the thought of his parents without clothes or bathing, at least with Heather he could focus on ensuring that she ate and had something else to keep her mind occupied until Kelly was ready. They took longer than expected to get ready, but when they did they were met by Valerie, Jessie, and Rebecca for the trip to Boston for the surgeries. Nick saw his parents off and kept Heather company while Kelly went to work for the day. He had to do it for his own sake as he didn't want to think about his parents under the knife and in recovery. When it was done and they were moved to their room he showed Heather that they were alright and she could go home with him while they waited for the Rosses to awaken the next day. Heather showed Nick off to Kelly's friends when they arrived home, with Jessie and Rebecca both in a fit of smiles as he was sized-up by Donald and Thomas before Reed told them to stop their inferiority complexes for a minute. Heather begged to go play with Jane prompting Nick to walk her over, Jae and Jane were waiting for her and giggled as Nick made a quick exit before they start screaming loudly. It was funny to the group as Nick showed that he wasn't the big, tough guy that you'd think as the girls had him running fast to get away from the shrieking laughter and fun. The group talked for a while until Kelly got home then talked even more after that. Rachel and Reyna were all smiles as Nick understood more and more that Kelly needed her friends and was growing as a person under their loving care. She was in good hands with them, now that she had a job, a family, and peace of mind she was able to finally be more than just a mommy to Heather or just Nick's wife. Nick took Kelly and Heather to visit the Rosses the next day, with Heather hugging and crying at the sight of them in the hospital. Troy wasn't awake yet but it was expected as it was a tough procedure that would leave him weak for a while. April was feeling better but was in pain and couldn't move much and needed help to hug Heather before Heather pulled away at seeing April wince in pain. Once they left, Nick dropped Heather off at preschool and saw her enveloped in a hug from Jane with Nick happily backing away to allow the two to enjoy time together. He went directly to the airport to fly south to meet the team for that evening's game, with Nick ignoring the whispering about his being out for the past two nights. His personal life was his own, only those who needed to know knew and the ones who didn't know didn't need to know or didn't matter in Nick's eyes. Rumors circulated that Nick was injured and hiding it. The fact that he was photographed up in Boston at a hospital made the rumors take hold. The team ignored them, the truth was private and he wasn't in a mood to confront people- especially when it'd cause more issues than solve. The next day saw the rumors getting worse and worse. The team couldn't talk about the game as none of the reporters wanted to talk about it, they only wanted to talk about Nick. That angered several of the players to the point of refusing to speak to anyone, with Nick getting glares from them as they left. Seeing no alternative, Nick told the GM to tell the truth. The GM got in front of the cameras and boldly announced, "Nick Ross did fly up to Boston and was spotted at a hospital. It wasn't in preparation for a surgery on an injury as is claimed. The truth is personal: he was there because both of his parents were undergoing surgery. His mother was undergoing double knee replacement and his father surgery to help alleviate complications from a stroke. This is a private matter and he asked for the time off to attend to it. He chose to return to Florida due to the couple needing months of rehabilitation and with little for him to do up there. He isn't inured and is not undergoing any treatment: this is a a purely private matter that the Ross family is dealing with. Mrs. Ross is among friends and has access to the best medical care that Boston has to offer so asked her husband to return to the team instead of worrying about a situation that he could not change as it is in the hands of medical and rehabilitation experts now." There was nothing else to say as there was nothing to dig into without it harming the reporters. Without a story Nick was left alone as they couldn't make claims about him without upsetting every player in the league over invading the privacy of families. Nick was in an area that reporters hated being in: the untouchable zone of private lives that didn't impact play on the field. Kelly had a great day at work, her mind was occupied all day and her boss was more than happy to be lenient about her not starting until that day. Beverly was sympathetic to her plight and wanted her to be able to focus on work alongside being a mother and daughter. The two worked closely for much of the day, with Beverly ensuring that Kelly wasn't overdoing things while trying to think about other things. Heather had a great day as well. It was the first time in a long time that she had been without her mom, the little girl had the run of the preschool and enjoyed being Tanya's, "Little helper" during class time as well as during lunch. Tanya kept her close to keep her from breaking down or feeling like she was too overwhelmed, being without her parents for the first time in a long time took a toll on her but it wasn't in a way that Tanya had envisioned it taking. Heather happily told Kelly about her day when she was picked-up after work, with Heather doing her best to show that she was good all day like Nick asked her to be. Kelly was relieved that Heather had a good time, especially as it was her biggest fear. Heather didn't need to be around Kelly 24/7 and could be fine with others, she just needed something to occupy her mind which preschool gave to her. Recovery for both of the Rosses took a while but the Rosses were doing well. Just 10 days after surgery and rehabilitation April was able to go home, but would have to wait until the weekends to visit her husband as she wasn't yet up to walking or driving on her own. Kelly visited him daily while April watched the happy Heather, with daily company seeing his wife only twice a week was alright with him especially as she needed to recover herself. Heather helped out at home by getting her grandmother drinks and carrying her clothes for her when it was time for a shower, the little girl did everything possible to ensure that April didn't overdo it or that she hurt herself by accident. She loved going outside to sit in the park with April, especially as she got to run around and play while April rested from the walk. Heather loved the park and had a lot of fun doing little things that she had taken for granted before she came out to her parents. April started to get close to Sylvia and Mitch whenever they were home, with the two enjoying the chance to talk with an elder who didn't have a connection to them except being their neighbor or whose interest in them was simply their children. She filled the role of doting aunt to them much like Sylvia's own aunts were, only April was more laid back and talked to them like they were friends. They enjoyed the feeling, especially as it kept Valerie away so she wasn't spoiling the kids. Kelly worked hard at the office and found multiple bad investments and harebrained schemes that her clients had been involved in. Beverly happily told her that she might have saved the clients from going bankrupt as the investments were garbage. She then confessed to her, "Your predecessor was the one to get your client involved in this mess. Your client needs to get out of the deal and fast while I inform the state about a Ponzi scheme underway. You saved a lot of people money, it was bound to collapse soon." April was happy to hear that Kelly had already mad an impact, with Heather asking if the people were going to be alright. Kelly couldn't answer that, all she could tell her was, "They will get their money back, but it might be too late for some. It's why you never pay into something that needs others to pay into to make your investment back. You also never invest what you can't afford to lose, some of the people who invested are going to end up in financial trouble because they couldn't afford the loss." Nick ended up getting chewed-out by three teammates over Kelly destroying their investments. He had them explain what she did wrong, why it was wrong, and why they felt the need to go after Kelly for it when she was doing her job as a financial planner for those clients. There was no response, they were in a quandary as they were the ones who made the mistake through letting their friends invest on their behalf and doing so on the trust that they were acting on good information. The news hit that the people running the scheme were the same people whom the players had trusted to invest the money. They were repaid part of their investments by Beverly but they lost a lot of money to the scheme. The players blamed Kelly for costing them money and making them look bad, Nick stood his ground and growled, "She didn't make you put blind faith in those weasels nor did she cost you any of the money: they did. She did her job and stopped a fraud that others were victims of. Your money is being paid to the other victims first, the ones who could least afford to lose everything. You'll recover, I know that you haven't invested everything in it. So what if you can't fly first class this offseason, suck it up and learn to live like a normal person and maybe you won't go broke." Heather enjoyed talking with Alison Eliza about being a girl in their weekly meetings. Alison wanted to be sure that she wasn't masking any issues, especially considering she just met her grandparents and it was still another week until Nick was home from Florida. Heather was brutally honest and told her, "My mommy likes them and my daddy likes them. They don't yell at me. They don't let me have candy, they won't let me watch TV all day. Me and Jane go outside with Grandma, she said that we can't run around but we did and got in trouble. Jane's mommy got mad at her for getting wet, mommy got mad at me for not listening to Grandma. Grandpa told me to not be bad, he can't do much but he hugs me like Jane's grandpa hugs her. He isn't mad that I'm a girl, he said I'm not a boy." Alison got to the heart of the matter: she was accepted and was only doing what other girls did and her grandparents were reacting as grandparents do. She loved that Heather was comfortable with them, the couple needed her affection and she was helping her grandmother heal faster without realizing it. The fact that she was getting her grandmother out of the building spoke volumes about her value to them as it was clear that her grandmother took keeping an eye on Heather seriously enough to walk outside. Spring Training wound down and the roster started to look murkier than normal. Miguel still wasn't the shoo-in to make the roster as many believed, he had a lot of trouble getting past the hump as the team's other relievers started to up their game to knock him off the roster. The new manager, Wade Clemens, wasn't a fan of his style of pitching nor his closeness with Nick, he wanted everyone to know their roles and keep to their own side of the aisle: pitchers pitched, catchers caught- nobody was to interact with the other roles outside of the bullpen or in-between innings. He took great pride in telling Miguel that he wasn't making the team under his leadership so he had to find a new line of work for himself once the team headed north. Miguel took it as a challenge and then pitched multiple hit-free games and only giving up a walk due to the umpire blatantly telling Nick that he wasn't going to let Miguel get away without looking weak, with Nick telling the umpire that he'd be sure to tell the league that he was purposely blowing calls to harm the game in favor of one team. The umpire retaliated but ended up fined for his actions with Miguel's walk apologized for by the league. The last week of Spring Training saw the roster fighting for their positions, with Miguel continuing to be on a tear that saw him pitching three innings of scoreless relief much to Wade's frustration as the team couldn't score to end the game. Wade was trying to get into Miguel's head to make him make a mistake but that backfired as Miguel actually showed that he was able to pitch multiple innings and do so without compromising his speed and accuracy. He won the game for the team, with the GM then congratulating him for doing so then telling the team, "Miguel made the roster. He proved that he's the single most valuable reliever that we have. He had nothing to lose and pitched his arm off tonight, the same can't be said for some of you who are clearly phoning it in thinking that you're safe. You aren't." The next day saw Wade telling Miguel that he didn't make the roster, he was being sent to AAA and not good enough anymore to play with the team. That was immediately countered by the GM and team front office personnel telling him, "He made the roster, your three projects didn't. You don't harm a team because you want your favorite yes-men on the team. They aren't ready, and they sure as hell are not anywhere near Miguel's ability to pitch the 7th, 8th, or 9th innings or give us four solid innings of long relief. You might not like him, but you aren't going to harm the team by getting rid of him. We are the ones to make the roster decisions, not you. He made the team and is your setup man, they have to wait until either someone is injured or next season." Miguel growled, "For that, I might come back next year just to piss you off. I made this team working hard, those three barely pitched and were riding your coattails ever since you got promoted. You aren't fit to lead this team, and if you try to hurt it again I'm guaranteeing that you end up fired." The GM smirked then added, "He isn't joking. His name was on the shortlist for manger. He should have your job, but he asked to be withdrawn. He's not ready for the job yet, if you keep this up he'll be put in place to replace you this season. We didn't want you, but he didn't want the job. You're on notice, make a mistake and your career is toast. The owners are upset at your actions, all 30 ownership groups are on notice about your actions and anyone hiring you after firing will have to explain why they hired you." Miguel walked away, with this teammates asking what they meant. Miguel shook his head and told the players, "I declined the job. I don't want to put my family under scrutiny because idiots can't butt out of our lives. I refuse to be pulled over or have social services trying to take my kids away from me just to get into my head. Taking the manager's job is a guaranteed headache and people going after me because Tatum was abused and I helped Nick's daughter get help for her issues. It's not worth it, I'm not going to let the team get hurt because of me. It's his job to lose, I'm not stepping in unless I have to." Nick talked with him in the apartment and got the real story from him, "I wasn't considered for the job. I was only tossed out there as a way of making others back away from the team. Outside forces want to get at us, those bastard pastors are back and are using proxies to undermine us to get at you. You're the biggest player on the team, you're the star this year. I'm the only one with nothing to lose anymore, I'd be the one they couldn't hurt without hurting themselves. John Finn would be on them faster than they could say 'oh my god!' He already has the Penas investigating them for fraud and embezzlement, they are going to make mistakes and when they do he'll pounce on them with everything that he has. But it will affect the team, too many guys are starting to become religious fanatics and we're powerless to get them back. The only way to stop them is to work around them, I'm the team's last line of defense. If I'm put in charge then the team has nothing to fight against as I'd lost as much as they lose. I'm the finale, if I fail then the team crumbles and all of us suffer. You'll end up being shipped elsewhere to get prospects while the rest of us get released or demoted or see us hanging on by the skin of our teeth. I can't let that happen, I have to fight for the team even if I have to take control myself at some point." Nick understood what he was really talking about and told him, "There's more of us than them. We have the silent majority supporting us but not yet ready to take a stand with us. That'll change, Rice was crap and Clemens is worse, if Clemens goes after you then that majority will finally stand-up for what they believe in: you. The ones who are trying to hurt the team are small in number and won't get anywhere if they try to go after us. It isn't even close, the few are outnumbered 5:1 and that's just the known ones. Our daughters aren't to be used by anyone, if they go after them they're just going to end up getting their asses drilled at-bat and get beaned by balls flung directly at their heads from us when pitching. Nobody will help them, it's the worst thing you can do as a player and they're going to do it to their own teammates no less!" Miguel making the team was a heated debate, but the GM went before the cameras and announced that a few on the team had fed lies to the media about Miguel being released or, "DFAed" by the team. They were happy to make the reporters look stupid by telling them, "Your sources lied to you. One person on the team wanted him gone, that person was corrected and told that personnel moves weren't his job. He is on a short leash, Miguel Toro is one of our most valuable assets and we're keeping him close to us. If he so chooses, we'll be hiring him as an advisor to the team and pitching coach for the minor leagues." Nick and Miguel packed the apartment, bid the team goodbye, then flew home in Jon Finn's plane- the very act causing teammates to complain about special treatment while Wade screamed that they were undermining him. The GM laughed it off and told them, "They're local, unlike all of you who spend your time in a leased condo. They're working with our PR department on things that you all refused to do. It was announced two weeks ago, nobody responded except them! They're the first north because it was done for team-related business, not for personal business. Nick also happens to have two parents in the hospital or recovering from surgery that he hasn't seen in two weeks so can the complaints. They're going to do the rounds of the media so you don't have to- you could have done it, you opted out of it!" There were grumbles about the idiots forgetting that they were asked to do the PR tour already, few on the team liked doing it and Miguel and Nick were the only ones who had a good reason for going north early while the team went the next day. Neither were actually playing that night so they had nothing to do anyway except sit in the dugout watching the game. Doing something that everyone else hated to do was showing their true colors: it wasn't about special treatment, it was that they went at all." Nick and Miguel were joined by the team's president, CEO, chairman, and the GM. The group weren't in a good mood and told Miguel, "You can't hide from the job forever. It's yours when he strikes, he can't hold himself together for long. We give it until the All-Star Game before he breaks down. He hates you and is being manipulated by outside forces trying to hurt the team. They want to buy us, the only way it will be within reach is if they devalue us by causing front office chaos. John Finn has stepped in to be our financial backer, but we need to ensure that the team doesn't get sold from under us. Your niece did her job in finding what the state needed to find among those trying to get at the team, but they have to make their move before the state can get them. That's where you come in. I hate using players this way, but the future of the team is as stake and only you can get them to react. They'll go after Nick when we have family day, Wade will react negatively and take it out on both of you. That's when he's gone and you're named interim manager. You don't have to stick around after the season, we just need you to manage until November. If we make the playoffs, we'll offer you a new contract so you'll retire with the entire amount the manager would have made plus your player salary. We need you, Miguel." Miguel reluctantly agreed, but told them, "I'm putting an end to the closeness of the media with certain players. I don't care how much they complain to you about it, they're getting access to information that they shouldn't. I know damn well certain guys are doing it to get at the team for not giving them money that they wanted in their most recent contract signing or giving them enough playing time so that they can look good for the free agent market. It ends with me. Those who lose their special access can get it through legitimate sources, they don't have to pretend that it's legitimate when they're not getting legitimate access. They'll hold the team hostage to their demands, I won't play that game." Tatum and Heather were talked about. Miguel told them, "Tatum is busy with school and hanging with her friends. She's trying her hardest to be a normal sixth grader, she doesn't want to be an athlete nor is she trying to be in front of the media. She just wants to live her life and avoids most team functions due to the idiots trying to make light of her being one of the 'mutilated' and 'illegally altered' girls. There's no point in trying to rationalize with those assholes, so she doesn't bother coming by to see me anymore nor does she care for the team. She prefers the Patriots anyway, they've taken her on as one of their own even if she isn't the daughter of a player. She's gotten a better reception from them than us!" Nick then told them, "Heather is the same. She doesn't care about baseball, she just wants to play with her friends and help her mother. She isn't athletic, she just doesn't like sports and only watches me. She doesn't care if she goes to team functions or not, she'd rather just play with the Gibsons and leave us to enjoy the day together. I'm not going to keep her hidden from the world, but she just doesn't like being where people don't want her and she doesn't care for." The flight took three hours but when they landed Nick and Miguel rushed to get home. John met Nick for the drive, with Nick realizing that he had forgotten to make arrangements for a car. John told him it was already taken care of, Kelly had to accept a minivan from her friends so he had his old car to use. Nick was nearly knocked down by Heather rushing to him, with Kelly in tears as he entered the condo. Nick proudly told them, "I'm home for the summer. I have some work to do to promote the team that Miguel is stuck doing as well. I'm sorry that I didn't call, but it was sprung on us today. I was told by John Finn that the ladies made you accept a new minivan?" Kelly blushed and nodded, then told him, "They all chipped in for it. It's big enough for all seven of us! I think they're trying to send us a message, they want mom and dad to go with us anywhere." He chuckled at hearing that, he happily told her, "They love you. All of them. Miguel has been keeping tabs on what's been going on and you're a hot topic among them. You're the first mother among all of your friends, even if Jessie Pena is pregnant. They're living through you, it's different than Donald or Jessie or Rebecca being aunt and uncle to their sisters' kids, you're their friend and they love you so it's killing them to not be able to spoil Heather. Believe me, they want to. The minivan is the closest thing that they can do to spoiling Heather, it just happens to also help you out a lot with mom and dad." The two kissed deeply, with Nick then grabbing Heather into a hug between the three of them. He gave Heather a long look and asked, "Did you get your ears pierced? I hope your mom gave you the OK." Heather nodded and told him, "Mommy took me after we visited grandpa. Grandma wanted me to wear them, she said I look prettier with them. Mommy said I look like Aunt Francesca." Nick looked over at Kelly who nodded, adding, "It was mom's idea. She said that it might make Heather feel more feminine and show that she wasn't going through a phase. I saw some earrings that were the same ones that I had, it was too hard to pass-up the opportunity. They look great on her, too." Heather blushed and hugged Nick tightly, then kissed his cheek. Nick smiled down at her and told her, "I'm proud of you, sweetie. I know this hasn't been easy on you, but you stood your ground and showed all of us that you weren't a boy and are showing everyone that it's more than just clothes and dolls. I love you, no matter what anyone says. I'm not letting you get hurt- you are a girl and anyone who says that you aren't are just upset that you're a stronger person than them." Nick drove to Boston to see his father, with Troy barely awake when he arrived but happy to see his son. Nick explained to him that he was home from Florida and would try to come by as often as he could but didn't want his father to get overly excited. Troy was thankful that he wanted to see him but told his son not to lose focus on what mattered most: playing his best and helping his team win. As he was leaving, Nick had to endure the Boston media waiting outside for him. He didn't say a word to them, he walked by them and drove home. The media would speculate no matter what he said and the usual suspects would claim it's all a publicity stunt to get sympathy for his family. The next day saw Nick doing multiple interviews with local TV stations and national networks, with all of them asking about the team's issues. Nick took the high road and told them that the team was like all other teams as each had their issues and problems that had to be addressed- some were kept a secret a lot better than others and some weren't manufactured by media trying to keep relevant in a market that's saturated with reporters trying to find a story. That hit several of the reporters hard, with the networks in a fury over him calling their reporters out for their blatant rumor-mongering. Several tried to go after his family, hoping that he'd go down that road and give them a story so that the reporters could claim abuse- be it of the system or of Heather herself. Nick kept his cool and told the reporters, "I'm not going to talk about my family as you have no business asking about them. They are not playing, nor are they interested in talking to people who are only trying to harm them. I don't ask about your DUIs nor do I ask about your wives' drug overdoses and infidelities. My family is off limits to everyone. Do not harass them. Stay away from them at work or out in public." Miguel happily added, "Given that you just went after a family of a player, I'm asking the union to act on our charter and invoke the gag order. You tried to cause a player's family harm, you stepped over a line that we have held firm to for decades. Leave family alone." The two walked out, with the reporters trying to create a story to justify their actions while making the two look bad. It didn't work as the union invoked the league-wide blanket gag order against talking to reporters until the offending reporters were fired. That would hurt the networks more than anyone had envisioned as the order hit corporate which terminated the offending reporters and their producers. For once, John Finn hadn't been responsible: the Peterson family were. The family was also part of the Finn Family by blood and marriage making their actions hurt worse as the family's business was one of the major sponsors of the networks. Peterson's marketing people called the corporate owners and gave an ultimatum: fire those responsible or lose their business, the corporations capitulated and fired them. Nick visited his father after the incident, bringing Miguel with him so the two could cool-off and watch Troy's rehabilitation. Miguel had to feel grateful that he hadn't injured himself enough to require too much rehab, he had strains and broke a finger but nothing that required surgery or extensive rehab. He felt for Troy, he was a well-built man who worked hard until he was forced to retire. Troy's rehab session went faster than normal, but having his son there listening to him talk gave him a drive that he hadn't had before. Miguel coming along to show support helped as well, especially as he could have stayed home with his wife and sons. The two were close, with Nick showing that he and the quiet Miguel were more than master/protege: they were friends. Troy told Nick not to get too upset by idiots in the media as they watched TV. Miguel nodded, then added, "Screw them. They'd tear anyone apart to get a story, even if it hurts a kid." Miguel read a text from Gabby Peterson, the chairwoman of Peterson, and happily told Nick, "The rats at the networks are gone. Corporate put the hammer down and wouldn't let them get away this time. It's a new ballgame now, the networks are assigning new reporters for the team, ones without an agenda. It's going to be a pain for the rats on the team to get their stories leaked, the new reporters won't play that game and do their own work and find their own sources without an ax to grind against us." Nick asked what that was about, Miguel wisely told him, "The Petersons are related to John by marriage and know the real reason those rats are trying to get after you. Gabby's daughter-in-law is trans, she's a stern believer in leaving families alone especially when it comes to children. Her daughter-in-law's one of the few whom I would call family beyond being close to them, we've known her since she was a kid and she helped Reyna with becoming a girl before she herself could come out. Her husband is one of the top engineers at the company and is the brains behind much of their products. Gabby takes trying to go after trans people seriously and puts the weight of her corporation behind her to force changes. She forced the corporate owners to act and cleaned house of reporters who're glorified hacks." Nick and Miguel left after that as Troy was falling asleep. Nick asked him about his daughter, she was rarely talked about by Miguel which concerned him. Miguel sighed and explained to him, "She's in school like the other kids and keeps to herself. She has friends there, but it's still tough to be trans and a daughter of a famous person. She has friends, but it's still tough on her. Thank goodness Alison Eliza is talking with her otherwise I think she'd do something horrible from loneliness. She'll find better friends, it'll take a while but she's making inroads with kids. I think she just needs to be more confident but it's a tough thing to do when you don't have anyone else around you who understands you. She's all alone in the family as she's the only one in her grade. We know she'll find a friend, it only takes time." He didn't have to talk about his twin sons, they were always calling him when he was done for the day and ensured that he knew that they were acting fine. Miguel happily told Nick, "She's going to be a good mom and Heather will have friends by the boatload. You'll be a great dad, you already are." Both drove home, with Nick seeing his mother walking around the condo. He asked her if she had used the pool yet, getting a blush that told him she hadn't. Nick wisely told her, "I know you might be afraid, but it'll help you a lot. It's a good way of ensuring your health without putting too much pressure on the knees. Try it, if you don't like it then there's other things you can do." She hugged and kissed him, causing him to blush. She then told him, "I use it when everyone is out. I'm not afraid of swimming here, I just don't like doing it when Heather is home. I don't want her to get hurt trying to help me if I can't pull myself out of the water. Plus she's a little too small for the pool." He told her that it was alright to swim then and relaxed himself by swimming for an hour before he left to meet the team at Fenway Park. Miguel saw the relaxed look on his face and told him, "It's a nice pool that you have, Mitch foolishly invites the munchkins over to play causing them to go overboard trying to swim. you'll get used to the kids swimming, especially when Heather makes real friends." At Fenway Park, the team greeted them while Wade growled at the two for missing two games. He then growled about their actions in front the media. Both ignored him which only infuriated him to the point of telling them that the next time they miss a game he was suspending and fining them. Miguel happily told him, "Do it. You'll be the one paying the fines. You have no reason to fine us, it was the GM and team president's orders that we go North to do the PR for the team while the ones who had to actually play their way onto the team showed what the could and couldn't do under pressure. You don't overrule the two no matter how much you might believe you can. We aren't paying any fines and we aren't suspended, but you might be given that you'll have to answer to the entire front office why it's clear that you're actively working against the team. You sent the media after us, you told them where to find Nick. I know that you sent them to my wife's preschool hoping to get images of Nick's daughter. If they hadn't been run off by police they would have been sued by the parents. Save the drama, it's only making you look worse in front of the team." Miguel laid down the gauntlet and forced Wade to back away. The team looked at one another to see if this was real, Miguel angrily told the team, "They crossed a line that nobody crosses: they wanted to go after our families. If you have no problem with that then you aren't a team player: You never go after family, no matter who you are. They lost their careers because of their actions, I know damn well that some of you are behind it and worked with Wade Clemens to get at us. That failed. Expect the team to go after you if you try this crap again, I know who did it and I have my own response ready. Make sure to always pay your taxes, especially on gambling winnings." That hit several hard but the majority were stoic. They knew that a couple had gambling problems that were going to cause trouble if the league ever found out, for Miguel to know and tell them meant that it was going to impact them unless those players were kept in check. He didn't do things without a reason and there had to be a big reason behind it if he's making light of it. The team settled into their lockers and saw Miguel and Nick next to one another. That was for the best, the two were going to be around each other a lot so Nick benefited from his veteran's experience. They talked freely about the girls and saw Nick starting to realize that the more that they showed that they weren't phased by everyone going after them the less power it had over them. Wade gave a typical spiel then sent them home, but told Nick and Miguel to remain behind. He angrily told them, "I don't care what the hell the GM says: this is my team and I'll run it as I damn well please. Don't you ever undermine me again! I don't care if the GM tells you to go one place, you clear it with me first! I run this team, not him! I'll run this team into the ground if I damn well please- I'm not afraid of any of those idiot owners. I'm untouchable, I'm a freaking Hall of Famer! You're just two guys who'll be forgotten two years after you're released. You're just a flash in the pan and a bum who tricked the front office into keeping you because you know one of the owners. I don't give a damn what they say: you aren't playing. I'd bench both of you but I can't afford to lose a bat. That doesn't mean that I'm going to let you ruin this team. Get out of line again and I'll ensure that you're hurt. Your wives will end up having a little 'accident' or a kid claiming they were abused by her. Fuck with me and you'll get it." They didn't respond, they walked out and watched as the GM told Wade, "You're fired. You might be a Hall of Famer, but you don't threaten family. Ever. This goes beyond them making you look bad, it was pure vengeance. Your contract is terminated effective immediately, Miguel will be replacing you as manager for the season. Unlike you, he knows what the hell he's doing out there and listens to advice." Miguel was stoic, watching as Wade was escorted out by security. His personal items were put in a box and sent to his house, with Miguel looking over at the coaches and telling them, "You know what to do. The ones responsible for hurting the team are to report to me tomorrow for reassignment. They're to be DFAed or released, no more BSing with them. They can't hack it anymore or don't have the chops to be on the roster, we can get something for a couple of them from other teams while others have no value, they'll have to earn their way back onto the roster through hard play. We only want those who'll be team players, not those who're only in this game for themselves." Miguel didn't say anything after that, he went to the office and prepared a statement with the GM then went outside to address the media. He knew that Miguel would be called out for what happened, so the GM told the truth, "The Red Sox have dismissed Wade Clemens as manager of the team after threatening the wives of Miguel Toro and Nick Ross. He was upset that they had been asked to go to Boston ahead of the team to handle our PR for the season-opener in two days. He felt that his position was undercut by the two and threatened to have their wives assaulted if not worse if they ever went against him. We take those kind of threats seriously, they are against people who have no reason to be targeted and are made due to actions that he knew about two weeks before. He intended to show that he was above the team and did not have to answer for any of his actions, we chose to defend our players and dismissed him for disgusting conduct. His contract is terminated effective immediately and his access to players is void. We regret hiring him as our interim manager and have gone with the man we had hoped would be the interim manager: Miguel Toro. He will be a player- manager until he chooses to retire or resign. The team is in his hands, with our blessing. Good luck, Mr. Toro." Miguel was short and sweet, telling the reporters, "My family is an open book. My sons love football, my daughter loves ballet, my wife loves being with family. None of them have an interest in baseball, so to go after my wife and in a way that shows that he had planned this weeks before is beyond belief. I don't care who you are or what your resume is, you don't go after family. I hope that my wife and kids aren't upset at this because they are innocent- I'm the one you go after, not my family. This team will be led by me until next season. I am not returning, I am retiring from baseball and walking away for good. I intent to help with the transition and hiring process, but this is my last year in baseball." Questions were asked about Nick and his relationship now that Miguel was in charge. Miguel told the reporter, "If you have to ask that then you have no idea the true nature of our relationship. Nick is like a nephew to me, on the diamond he's me teammate and someone who a pitcher listens to about our pitch selection and locations. Off of the diamond, he's family. His wife was an old friend of my niece-in-law as well as their friends. She's family to me making him family to me. Unlike so many others, we keep our home and work lives separate. In uniform, we're teammates. Out of uniform, he's another nephew. If you can't comprehend families who are more than blood, that's on you." Miguel left it at that as he walked out to his office then left to face his wife Skye and daughter Tatum. The two gave him angry looks then hugged him deeply over doing something so crazy for them. Tatum was happy to know that her father was going to be around more the next year, especially as she became more and more mature and had to deal with boys trying to get her attention. She asked about Nick and Kelly and Heather, with Miguel solemnly telling her, "They'll meet you soon. I didn't want Heather overwhelmed with people, but if you want I'll arrange for you to babysit her. She is just like you were, only without all of the other issues that went with it. Just don't let her get you into sugar, she's a handful when she has chocolate." Tatum nodded and thanked him. Skye asked if it was wise to leave them alone, Miguel smirked at her to which she groaned and added, "She won't be alone, she has his mother there too. She's the real person in charge, Tatum is just the distraction so she doesn't overdo things." Miguel meekly texted Nick to setup a night out for him and Kelly away from heather with Tatum being allowed to babysit for them to show that she was mature enough to handle the precocious three-year-old. Kelly read that and had to hide a smile, Nick wisely told her, "She won't let him back out of it and it sounds like he's doing it because she wants to get to know us. Tatum is a great kid, it's just that she's struggling with growing up slower than the other girls in her class. Surely you remember being 12 and having a flat chest and boys trying to date you?" Kelly's blush gave away her answer as she tried to deny it but she did remember trying to date back in the 6th grade. Finally she explained, "We did it because we were jealous of Courtney and Stacy. It was just dates with our science partners, only Rebecca lasted past the date. She's a long way from dating a boy, even if she clearly likes them. Skye is probably fighting feeling old now that her baby girl is old enough to go on a date with a boy." The team's first game saw the families attending, with the Toro and Ross families getting notice from all of the players for the first time. Kelly hugged Rachel and Reyna then got to hug and kiss Tatum and Miguel's sons Reymundo and Martin. She looked down at the identical twins and had to smile as both were starting to show their father's looks even if they were slightly darker than Miguel's skin tone. Troy and April were there with Troy getting cleared to spend the evening away from the rehab hospital as long as he didn't overdo things. The couple enjoyed meeting the other players and families, even if April had to hold her tongue at some of the barbed comments from wives and kids about Heather and Tatum. Troy didn't speak, but he did give looks that told the wives and kids that he had heard what they said and would ensure that Nick heard about it. The Toros and Rosses were joined by the Finns and Petersons as they went up to the ownership suite, a perk that the team couldn't complain about because the Rosses were still recovering and Kelly was one of the family. John happily told the Rosses about Kelly back when she was a kid, with Kelly blushing at her honest critique that changed his entire teaching style for one class. For the humble John to admit to doing something different because Kelly told him so that suggestion had to have been something that had a lasting impact and was likely job- changing for John. John's closeness to Kelly caught the eyes of executives, Valerie happily showed pictures of why he and Kelly were close. Kelly blushed at some of the pictures, with Valerie telling her, "He treated you better than he did the other girls. He knew that your parents weren't that great and only let you be friends with Jessie and Rebecca because of us, he wanted you to enjoy your friends without thinking about what it'd do to your parents. They tried a couple of times to hone-in on your friendship, some choice words with Louis Reagan and some folks in the national party got them to leave you alone. I wish you and the girls had been able to talk once you moved away, they missed you immensely and wanted you to be part of their lives even if only for one day a month." Pictures were worth 1,000 words as Kelly and John knowing each other for 14 years was a huge thing. She grew up in the pictures, over the course of 26 months she went from a tomboy into a beautiful lady who would have all of the boys drooling over her in high school in Mississippi and Connecticut. The Rosses had never seen pictures of Kelly so young and appreciated how much she had matured over the years and yet still looked the same making her closeness with her friends make sense as she was clearly the same person that they knew in body but with life experience now. Time passed after that as the Rosses and Toros spent a lot of time together, with Kelly getting close to Skye to the point of looking up to her. Skye loved helping Kelly, the boys loved Kelly and Tatum was a big influence on Heather as the two spent more and more time together. Skye gave Kelly a lot of help regarding pregnancy that April couldn't, especially dealing with twin boys. Tatum babysat for the Rosses and did a great job, but was exhausted by Heather's enthusiasm. She had her fill and proved that she could be mature, Skye was pleased to tell her that she was a young woman now. Tatum cried at hearing that, she was no longer a child in her mother's eyes thanks to Heather. Two weeks after the start of the season the family was put into a frenzy as the Carters experienced the worst that could happen to a transgender girl: self-mutilation. Heather was kept under close watch and Tatum was in tears as her mother told her why Brady Carter had done what she did. It hit the girls hard that someone could feel so scared that they'd never be a girl that they would harm themselves and did it because someone in power was forcing them to do it. Miguel was harassed by the media about the Carter situation and refused to comment, citing a right to privacy as well as ongoing court issues that speaking out about would harm. Nick took the same path as Miguel and added his own firm, "I know the circumstances behind it. You don't. I might have a daughter who is transgender, but not every situation is the same. This is a tragedy, those responsible are going to be prosecuted. Leave the child alone, don't harass her family. What you are being told by certain people speaking out against the family isn't the truth." Nick proudly wore batting gloves and a piece of medical tape saying, "Free Brady" the next week until the Carters were reunited with one another. He and Miguel had to be forced to stay away from the court case by Valerie and the family's legal team but ensured that the Carter kids were treated to a big family gathering away from onlookers at the Ross condo. The kids needed time away from the family but also needed to be with people who understood them fully. Nick and Kelly hugged and kissed Addison and Carmen Carter then greeted Brady and Chance Carter, with both looking identical in looks except for Brady's haircut and clothing. Heather tried to get Brady to play with her while Chance was defensive, both swam with Heather once they got the OK from their mothers allowing the kids to unwind and get Heather to release pent-up energy. In the water, Heather asked if it was true that Brady was like her. Brady looked away in shame and told her, "I'm not like you, I did something stupid and hurt myself. I cut off my balls to prove that I wasn't a boy. I don't have them anymore. I made everyone mad at me for doing that." Heather hugged her and asked if she was all girl now like Tatum. Brady shook her head and told her, "I only cut them off, I didn't hurt myself down there. She was badly hurt, she could have died from what her old daddy did to her. The doctors made her all girl to help her, I have to wait like everyone else and have to show that I'm not going to hurt myself again. I can't have surgery if i hurt myself again." Heather hugged her again, telling her that she didn't want that to happen to her and didn't care about the surgery as it hurts a lot. Brady looked at her with concern, Heather happily blurted out, "Tatum told me! I asked her if she was a girl like me because mommy said that she was and she said that she was and it was different for her because her daddy hurt her. I don't want to be hurt, I can wait until I'm a big girl." Chance quietly let the girls talk, it was the same talk that his sister had with other girls like her and she meant what she said so he didn't have to show that she was serious. He was fine letting the girls bond, it was what he did most of the time anyway so he just went with the flow. He hated seeing Brady in pain, but she was already on the mend and showing Heather what not to do while in transition. Kelly and the Carters hit it off as she understood them better than they realized, with the trio finding a lot of common ground to bond over. Addison had a mom at home who doted on her grandkids but lost her father and brothers to prison years before. Carmen was from a broken home but came to the family to start life over with her twin sister and ended up being a mentor and big sister then in-law and aunt to people she couldn't help but fall in love with. Addison was fun to talk with as she and Kelly had a lot in common thanks to Kelly's clients using the money management firm that Addison worked for as the office general manager overseeing all of their offices while Carmen's sister-in-law oversaw oversaw personnel. Kelly learned that the business was a family business as the hierarchy was mostly made up of members of the family in various roles in the company. Rebecca's sister- in-law Al Douglas was a junior executive, John's son Michael was the chief stock analyst, and Stacy Nelson's mother-in-law was the chief investment adviser. Carmen smiled at Kelly learning all of that, adding, "The preschool isn't the only family business. That's the first one, the financial services company was the second one...third if you don't count the house-flipping company that was started. It only ended up being so large thanks to Addison joining them and Michael taking internships overseas. You might have even gotten hired there if Aunt Beverly hadn't had you marked for hiring years ago. You might have withdrawn your application, but she wanted you to be hired for your hard work in college and ability to work with people- your connection only sealed it." The Carters eventually left, with Heather hugging and kissing Chance much to his embarrassment. She knew what she was doing, she wanted to have some fun with him since he was so serious all night. She enjoyed the twins, and saw in Brady what everyone hoped that she would see: the worst case scenario. The Red Sox slowly gelled around Miguel, with him working hard to bring out the best in them. With an insider knowledge of the team that most managers couldn't get due to also being a teammate, he was able to find their weaknesses, hid them from other teams, then showcase their strengths. He won a few tight games and ended up on a hot streak before Memorial Day weekend. Nick struggled at the plate before finding his stride. He ignored everything except the ball while at-bat and was able to get hits that were completely unexpected off of pitches that should have been strikes. It was clear a month into the season that he was one of the best sluggers in the league, so much so that he was gong to end up a strong candidate for the All-Star team and might even start if he got the votes. The team was in first place until the usual, "June Swoon" hit them as players got lazy as the weather in Boston started to heat-up. Tempers flared as the relievers weren't pulling their weight while several of the outfielders made errors due to their misjudging fly balls. Miguel knew that they'd work it out with a short break from one another, with players getting a day off each so they were only playing four days a week instead of six allowing them more time with family and a chance to cool their tempers. Nick spent his days at home helping get ready for the twins' arrival. He reluctantly had to let Rebecca's father Dan Lopez and Donald and Jessie's father Zele Bollinger put together the baby furniture. Dan happily did it for Kelly, doing his best to act as an uncle to Nick without stepping on any toes. Zeke was quiet and did the bulk of the heavy work, wisely letting Dan get out his nervous energy as he was on edge due to knowing that it was only a matter of time before Rebecca and Thomas had kids of their own. It was easy for Zeke to endure their kids having kids when his own daughter was pregnant and he was a grandfather already, but Dan took being a grandparent harder than anyone. Kelly was Dan's favorite of the girls back when she was in middle school so seeing her pregnant hit him hardest among the parents. Jessie was progressing well and hadn't gotten that big, but Kelly was huge and struggling to move. She had to work from home most days that didn't have a scheduled meeting with clients then had to have an intern help her when she was in the office. The interns hated helping her but they had no choice but to do it or be fired for violating HR rules over discrimination as well as their employment contracts. Kelly eventually had to take maternity leave in early July, with the twins giving her health issues that were going to make work impossible. She would be able to help remotely if things got bad enough that a client was being audited, but that was extremely unlikely and would involve a lot of people ending up in trouble before the issues fell to her. Beverly was happy to allow her maternity leave, she earned the time off just by the fact that she brought in more money in four months of work than anyone had in the same time period and with no reputation before her hiring. The predictions held true for Nick as he was voted onto the All-Star team, and thanks to an injury to the starter he was able to start in place of him and earned a hefty bonus on top of his original bonus for the second-place finish. Nick gave that bonus to the 3rd-place winner who made the team by default. Nick won a lot of players over with that move, especially as he didn't have to do it. The game was being held down in Baltimore so he enjoyed taking the Finns south with him for the fun. Ella and Logan got the chance to be his personal assistants for the day, with John and Valerie laughing as Ella took the role seriously while Logan was relegated to pack mule by Ella for much of the day. The duo were a hit with the other players as they were VIPs yet acted normal to the point of Nick having to tell them that they didn't have to act so serious all of the time around the players. Nick participated in the annual Home Run Derby contest, with fans going wild as he showed his power in the ballpark that gave him some trouble during the season. Miguel was serving as his private pitcher for the event, with him refusing to let anyone else pitch as he didn't fully trust the coaches to not do the unthinkable and throw at him while making it look like an, "Accident". Miguel had to endure questions about him being there at all, with him ignoring them completely as he focused on Nick. Just before the start of the contest, Nick received a phone call that caused panic: Kelly had gone into labor. John and Valerie were ready just in case and told Nick to grab his things to head home. Miguel was stuck with the tough job of informing the league about the last-minute withdrawal, but given that Kelly was two weeks early they couldn't fault Nick for leaving so quickly. The league announced Nick's withdrawal in an announcement to the crowd, with fans left stunned while the players happily joked that he had the best excuse for missing the derby in years. Nick made it to Boston with plenty of time to spare, the twins were taking their sweet time trying to get out but weren't in any danger. Heather was exhausted from worrying while the Rosses were by her side trying to keep Kelly comfortable. Troy was looking much better than he had in a long time, with the babies causing him to have a renewed strength that he had lacked for a while. After 12 hours of labor, Carl and Henry Ross were born with both screaming loudly as they came into the world. Kelly was in tears while Nick happily showed the world why he had to pull out of the Home Run Derby, with the seven Rosses together for a group shot. Kelly hated that he did that to them, but Heather was happy to let the world know that her daddy wasn't afraid of playing and had something more important to do. The photo caused controversy as Heather being there, in a dress, and smiling upset many people- with a great deal of religious and, "Community leaders" outraged over Heather being there for the birth. That ended up causing a war of words as why it was so offensive couldn't be pinned down as she looked like any other girl and unless you knew the truth about her genetics you had no idea that the family wasn't a, "Normal" family or that Heather wasn't a, "Real" girl. The war of words escalated until the people whose most vocal complaints were ignored ended up taking things too far and threatened to remove Heather from Nick's care simply because he had dared to, "Allow" his, "Son" to be around children. Nick flew south and made it to the All-Star Game well ahead of schedule and took his place among the players. He ignored the idiots on the team trying to upset him about his daughter while talking with the few who actually wanted to talk to him. Several of the pitchers talked with him about pitching then had a frank talk about kids, with Nick more than happy to admit that they were lucky to not have to endure the fears and anxiety over having a transgender child even if she was a happy child now. Nick played well despite it being a laid back and fun atmosphere. He got a home run on the first pitch of his first at-bat and doubled in his second, with him coming in 2nd in the MVP vote to the winning pitcher. He couldn't argue that it wasn't an excellent job done by the pitcher as the man threw for three scoreless, hitless innings against the best players in the National League. Nick did the rounds of interviews and praised the team for their excellent play and heaped a lot of it on the MVP for his outstanding pitching. Nick happily told the reporters that he was glad to be on his side instead of facing him, with his quote making national headlines as it was a milestone that wasn't likely to be achieved again by the pitcher. It was a wise statement and it put all focus on others while giving a strong impression that he was more than happy to share the spotlight with others. Nick rushed home to help Kelly with the twins, with Heather complaining that nobody told her that it was a stinky job. Nick had to laugh at her statement, especially as Kelly told her, "You were the same as a baby! Your daddy didn't like changing your diapers unless he had a clothespin over his nose." Nick was a huge help, giving Kelly the chance to sleep while also ensuring that Heather was fed, took a shower, and went to preschool. April helped with the preschool run, with her body finally getting close to normal now that her knees were heeling and she was walking with less pain. Heather loved her driving her to preschool, especially as she always had nasty comments about the other drivers. The twins kept the couple up most nights, with Nick napping in the clubhouse before games. He wasn't the only one who endured that, it was the mark of a new dad and a badge of honor among the players. The fact that he had two doing it made him more sympathetic, especially as Kelly was still recovering. The twins were vocal and made their presence known everywhere they went. Nick was being dropped off at the ballpark and the twins decided to call attention to themselves forcing him to feed them while Kelly got their diapers ready and Heather prepped their bottles. They worked fast and with precision, it was almost comical how they had the ballet down to an art. The trio working together to get the two infants fed and changed was recorded by the team's regional broadcast network and shown around the country that night. Nick, the rookie slugger, reduced to being a mumbling father as he struggled with feeding his son Carl while his twin Henry fought his diaper. It was funny, but it also showed that they were human and just like everyone else. Nick got razzed inside when teammates mentioned him being on TV doing, "Woman's work". Nick was smart and asked if they always left, "Woman's work" to their wives and girlfriends or were just afraid of touching a smelly diaper. There was no response after that, he got them good. Miguel laughed it up and told Nick, "Be glad it was wet and not worse. Reyna made some foul stuff that put me off of pudding and ice cream for years. Those two have lungs on them, be glad that Heather was there to help you instead of getting in the way. I know the girls struggled with Cat Finn annoying them over changing Marcus' diaper, Iris and Rachel banned her from the house when he needed one." The two were closer for yet another reason, Miguel was constantly asked about that to which he always told the inquirers, "He's like a nephew to me. His wife is friends with my nieces so he's lumped together with them as a nephew. I care a lot about him and don't hide that he's closer to me than anyone else on the team, he's a part of my family life that none of the others are. It's hard to avoid him with my wife in contact with his daughter, my brother-in-law overseeing his parents' legal cases, and my own children trying hard to help his wife and sons at home while we're on the road." There were jokes that he was a Finn now alongside Miguel. Miguel smirked and happily shot back, "Is that a bad thing? He joined the second he married his wife. I joined when I chose to go to them for help in signing with the Red Sox. They don't choose who is family, they know family when they see it. Nick is family to them, their grandchildren are close to Nick's children to the point that they're together when not at the doctor or in preschool. Family is more than blood, it's a strong bond to one another. This team is a family, despite all of the issues that some have we are a family." That phrase ended up being used by the team going forward, with Miguel telling them that it was true: the team was a family. Every family had their troublemakers and those who did, "Wrong" but did right in the long run. Every family had those who stood out and those who were unnoticed yet were vital to the family as a whole- exactly as the team was, and they knew it. The team started to gel more after that, with only the stalwarts refusing to go along with the mentality of being a family. Miguel called them out on it and then pointed out, "You follow the instructions of two men who have abandoned their own families after having kids, are upset at people for choosing to be a father and do what is right for their children, who have openly assaulted children just to show that they are stronger than them, and who manipulate you into parroting their words. You listen to pastors whose claims are the work of God, yet nowhere in any scripture does it say to harm children. Those men are a load of crap, they aren't holy men: they're con artists. All of that money you 'donated' to them? It's all in their Cayman Island bank accounts, ones that the feds seized and are emptying." He happily banned the pastors from the ballpark, a move followed by every other team as the pastors in other places were acting as proxies for the main pastors. The team stood-up to the few who still chose to act as if the whole family concept was a fraud, with the trio on the receiving end all but frozen out of team events and saw their families barred from the clubhouse. The penalty was swift and steep, they'd be alone as they chose to act as if they were all alone. The twins grew steadily as the summer wore on, with Nick getting more and more sleep as they grew in size and amount of time spent asleep at night. His late arrivals home from home games gave them the idea of awakening, with him taking care of business while Kelly slept. The three fell asleep more than once with the twins pinning Nick and Kelly smiling at the sight when she awoke not long after. Reyna spent quite a bit of time with Kelly during the next week as Rachel was up in Alaska on business that she couldn't share with anyone else out of fear of it causing her plans to fall through. For the first time in years, Reyna and Rachel were separated from one another and had to endure the pangs of being apart that they had hoped never to experience. It was tough on them, but Kelly helped Reyna endure. Kelly felt that something major was going on and wanted Reyna to be ready for it. When Rachel could finally break her silence Reyna got a huge shock and laugh as she figured that it was a fitting for her to be sent to a situation and end up being in the middle of something bigger than just IT security. When Rachel returned Nick got to experience the family's love firsthand as they welcomed in a new wing of the family as Miller family joined their in-laws in Winnisimmet. Nick got to see firsthand what the family could do for each other as he met the new members and got to see firsthand the horrors of being transgender from someone who had endured the worst kind of abuse: sexual abuse. It was hard to think about what the Miller family went through, especially as Storm Cloud Miller was such a great young lady with a positive outlook that he hoped Heather could grow to be like her. Heather was happy to know that another girl like her had moved to the city and was part of the family. It made her even happier that she could see them frequently thanks to having Storm Cloud's sister as a babysitter by Heather's demand. She wanted to be around Storm Cloud as much as possible and made it tough to refuse as she played the, "I'm a cute little girl" card on her parents frequently. Storm Cloud happily mentored Heather and got her to ease off of the manipulation and being, "Daddy's little girl" so she could show her true self without pushing limits and making her parents upset that she conned them into doing something that they didn't want to do. Heather listened to Storm Cloud, helping Storm Cloud without realizing that she had done so. It was hard to keep their parents from reacting, but it was clear that the more Heather and Storm Cloud talked and spent time together the more that their own anxieties and fears were released. Jessie went into labor early causing panic as she wasn't due for another month. Lee Donald Pena was born in late July causing the family to come together to help Jessie and unintentionally allow Kelly to see all of the Bollinger family for the first time. Meeting Jake Bollinger alone made Kelly intimidated as the large man who was the only person John Finn feared disappointing was in tears over the birth. Zeke Bollinger was all smiles as he cuddled the sleeping Lee, with Jessie having to tell him to give him back to her. Kelly gave her a smirk over doing the exact same thing to Henry and Carl weeks before when they were introduced to their numerous aunts and uncles. Nick wisely kept to the side with Reed as the two new dads let their wives get all of the attention on themselves. Nick got to meet Kylie Pena and her fiance Jordan King. The two women were pretty to Nick, with the fact that Kylie being like Heather but with trauma that he hoped Heather never faced being beside he point. Kylie was beautiful, and Jordan had a tomboy look that worked for her despite Jordan being a devout lesbian from an early age. Kylie and Nick talked alone while their wives gushed over Lee. Kylie wisely told Nick, "She's going to be fine if you let her be herself and not try to overdo being protective. Kids are kids, they learn what is right and wrong from their parents. She's around kids who are OK with her and kids who need to be in control of everything even what the kids have in their panties. Kelly can relate to that, Rachel was once that kind of girl even if she truly wasn't. It's at least nine years before she learns if she's a lesbian or if she's straight, it's different for everyone. Mom didn't find out until she was in college and fell for dad. I didn't find out until after 5th grade. Jordan found out in 4th grade, it hits at different times. You'll know when you see her starting to linger on people and you'll know when she starts to evade the question. It's going to be different with her, she transitioned very young and has overwhelming support- maybe even more than anyone else has had so far. She's going to be different, but in a great way." Heather was playing with the twins and getting their utmost attention, something the adults didn't give thanks to Lee's presence allowing Heather a rare chance to show how much of a big girl she was to the boys. She was joined by Tatum and Skye with Tatum happily playing with the twins allowing Skye to see that she was fine with kids and didn't feel upset that she couldn't, "Father" them like others. Skye had to hug Tatum, Tatum blushed and told her, "I don't want to have babies that way. I don't mind not being a dad, I would rather my husband be a dad. Yeah, I know. I admit it: I like boys." The welcoming of Lee into the family gave Nick a strong feeling of strength, especially as it came with the news that Troy was on the mend and wouldn't need a home health aide anymore. He also was told that his mother's knees were strengthening to the point that she was able to walk without pain for an hour but would still need a cane for support. The Ross family was together in full and back to great health, just in time for the start of the playoff push and Nick possibly being the league MVP. The team's last three holdouts were traded away for replacements that fit the team's whole, "Family first" atmosphere and who could contribute to the needs of the team without complaint. The bigger thing was that they had no problem with Miguel nor Nick and didn't care about private lives as the two had shown that their lives were their own and wouldn't impact team play unless someone else forced the issue. The trio were younger and not religious, they chose their own paths and kept clear of anyone who wanted to use them for their own sake and give nothing in return- the polar opposites of their predecessors. The team suffered the usual injuries and bad nights, but those injuries were to reserves and players who were easily replaced during the short time on the, "Disabled list". Nick stayed hot throughout August but started to slow down and had to miss a series due to concerns that he might be overdoing things. Jessie and Rebecca complained that unless he stopped going overboard they'd force him to sit out two weeks. The two weren't alone in their thinking as they consulted with Dr. Taylor Turner, a friend of the family who was a sports medicine specialist, who told Miguel that Nick needed to sit out multiple games that were meaningless to them so that he didn't overstress his knees and arms. Miguel complied, telling the media that he was giving their backup catcher more time so that Nick was rested for the final weeks. The ruse worked. Nick's knees and arm felt better after three days. He spent the time at home with the kids and even went to the games to observe from the owner's suite with the Peterson family. The Petersons were joined by the Bollingers twice. Jessie had to be told to not go down to the trainer's office as she was still on maternity leave. She complained, but Zeke's stern look told her that it wasn't a request: it was an order and would not be broken. Nick didn't have to explain to anyone why he was with the Peterson and Bollinger families, the fact that Michael Finn was with them as well as Reed Pena showed that it was a foolish question to ask. The two were more than happy to ask, "Why?" and then turn the inquiry around on the person. Jessie and Kelly, in particular, were close which caused questions about why they were so close to one another which led to more questions that went into a circle of question after question about how interconnected they were. The media tried to make Nick look bad by claiming that the team was giving him preferential treatment over other players because his wife was a Finn. Miguel laughed at the accusation, then boldly shot back, "His wife asked him to go with her to the game as the two couples were going out for the night. They're close friends, despite years apart they still have a lot in common and enjoy talking with each other. The fact that they were with members of the team's minority ownership bloc is lost on you, neither is that it was done to ensure that Nick didn't try to sneak in workouts against doctor's orders. Jessie Pena is one of the best physical therapists in the entire region and ensured that Nick relaxed as his doctor ordered." He smirked and added, "I've been giving players the night off for two weeks, he isn't the first to take the night off by being with friends and family. Others have gone out drinking or to strip clubs, Nick chose to go out with people he cares about and enjoy watching his teammates play. That's the night off that I want: relaxing with people you care about. He'll be back tomorrow night and will ensure that he's ready for the home stretch, rest and relaxation is vital for players and he led by example." They tried to ask about his own rest and relaxation, he smirked and explained, "I'm the manager so I'm here alongside the others. I didn't pitch, I haven't pitched as much as I would have if we had someone else managing. It's hard to tell with relievers if they are resting due to strain or due to not being needed. I'll pitch, as will others. We aren't going to wear-out someone's arm, everyone is getting rest." Heather started to get used to preschool and enjoyed being without her parents for hours at a time. She was happy to be there with her brothers, especially as she'd help Tanya York with them whenever she was asked and the twins were being fussy for the teachers. Jane joined her a lot, with the two enjoying the chance to play all day and even play with their new friends. She got to meet several kids when September started. Jame giggled as she introduced her best friends in the whole world Alana and Lara Perez. Heather gave a sad expression but Lara and Alana hugged her to show that it wasn't bad, they simply knew Jane longer. The cousins played with Heather each day and got her to go over their houses then up Endicott, MA to visit their grandparents. Heather hit it off with the cousins' families, especially when she learned that it was no big deal to them that she was transgender. Then they told her the big secret: their aunts were the aunts of Brady Carter so they were used to having a girl like Heather over to play. The kids started doing something that Nick regretted allowing: sleepovers at the condo. He knew that it was coming but he got himself backed into a corner and couldn't get out of thanks to Heather's pleading and Kelly's laughing at being blatantly manipulated. She wisely told her husband, "They know that there will be a long night due to the twins but they wanted to come over anyway. At least's it's just the five of them and not the whole lot! Jae's friends would cause you to stay in a hotel- and that's just from the Finn girls! Just think how bad it would be with the Petersons too!" The sleepover was actually quiet as the girls played in Heather's room then fell asleep watching movies on her TV. Nick and Kelly put the movies on for them ahead of time and allowed them to be alone so it didn't affect the twins, which worked in their favor as they were out early and the twins didn't bother them at all overnight. The next morning saw the girls awakening when the twins screeched for their morning diaper and breakfast, leading the girls to help change them and getting them to happily coo. Nick and the team started to get into a groove which led to them sweeping several series against rivals in the American League and and climbing the standings until they were ahead by five games and in first place overall among playoff teams. They were doing so well that reporters expected the team to reach a peak two weeks out and fall down the standings. When that didn't happen they tried to find anything to use against the team instead of admitting that they might be a legitimate Word Series contender. They found their way at Nick and the team through the upcoming trial of Mack Ross over his fraud, embezzlement, and abuse of their parents. The age-old logic of, "He's responsible because he's family of the one responsible" was used against Nick as the reporters tried to go after him for abandoning both of his parents to the mercy of his brother and allowing them to be abused for three years before trying to act as if he cared about them when he was about to make it big. The facts didn't matter to them, all that really mattered was that they were making Nick look bad and costing him MVP votes. Nick had to face tough questions about his relationship with his brother. He knew that one day it would come, but he hoped it wouldn't happen until after the season. He looked to his parents for help, both of them were angry at their private lives being brought out to harm Nick especially as he had nothing to do with any of what their elder son had done to them. Troy asked what they could do to cutoff the reporters before they started making false claims but were intended to hurt Nick. He didn't have an answer, but Miguel did: send in the lawyer who had all of the information and wasn't afraid to go after anyone hurting his family. Cameron Byrne-Toron was a bulldog when it came to his family, he'd go after them to protect Nick's good name. Cameron contacted the reporters' stations and newspapers and issued a statement:, "Mr. Nicolas Ross is being accused of multiple crimes against his parents. Those crimes are serious in nature, but the person responsible is not Nicolas Ross. The perpetrator is currently standing trial for multiple counts of fraud, embezzlement, larceny, assault, assault on the elderly, neglect, elderly abuse, attempted murder, and various other crimes. These charges all stem from Mr. Ross' siphoning over $10 million in money from his employer's budget into dummy accounts that he controlled then lying to federal and state tax officials. Further charges stem from Mr. Ross' abuse of his parents for three years, culminating with the attempted murder of his parents after they were visited by officials from the Department of Children and Families. Nicolas Ross is not at fault for anything that his brother has done, all of it was done while Nicolas was forced away by Mr. Ross himself. To allege that Nicolas Ross is responsible for what his brother had done is slander and libel for which we will sue." That was followed by Attorney General Angela Victor issuing her own statement denouncing attempts by the media to pervert the course of justice by muddying the waters of serious criminal trial that was impacting the lives of dozens of people. She listed the number of people who lost their jobs over Mack stealing money meant for them. The list hit hard as many on the list were from Prescott's surrounding area and who had met Mack multiple times making his theft all the worse for him. The reporters had to back away, their stories were retracted with the TV reporters forced publicly to do an apology that few believed was sincere. It had an impact as corporate told the reporters that to never put their stations into legal jeopardy again, especially over a petty one-sided feud with someone whose family was the victim of multiple crimes. That promise lasted a week before it was broken again, with the reporters publicly fired by the station's GM on air just before they were set to air their story. Cameron sued on Nick's behalf and won a quick settlement, the reporters were disgraced in Boston and most major cities forcing them to work out of tertiary markets covering minor league teams and sports that wouldn't get a second of coverage in Boston. The humiliation was further compounded by Nick in the news constantly for his strong play defensively and clutch hits to win big games. They refused to do the stories about Nick, with their new bosses forcing them out of sports coverage and into regular news requiring constant travel and little time at home. The trial of Mack lasted two weeks, with April and Troy attending each day at the behest of Cameron. He drove them there and ensured that they were alright, with the defense lawyers upset that they were there. The superior court judge refused to remove them as they were victims and witnesses, it was their right to be there and with key people watching he wasn't about to invoke their wrath. The two hated being there, but it was for the best as they needed to see for themselves why they were abused. Nick was a constant target for the defense, with the lawyers going after him for every possible excuse to show that their client was an innocent victim of a plot to destroy their client's good name. They gave a long- winded spiel about how he had been a pillar of the community and helped his parents when they had nobody else, blaming Nick for all of their troubles as he, "Abandoned" them to fend for themselves. It was exactly as the state expected, leaving them open for the real reasons for his actions. The prosecutor wisely ignored Nick and pointed out that if he was such a good son to his parents, then why did he starve them, lock them on the 2nd floor of their home with no way to get down in case of an emergency, no way to communicate with the outside world, deny them water to the point of being close to death, and take out restraining orders against his brother after lying to him about his parents' contact requests. That was then followed-up by them going after the real crux of the matter: his theft of money from his employers for years preceding his brother's exile from the family. If Nick was to blame for all of it, how could he have caused his brother to steal when he had no contact with him and had no idea if his brother was working let alone where and in what capacity- especially after a restraining order was in place against him for a year before his brother allowed it to lapse. The abuse case was easy to prove thanks to the testimony of Jenna Daniels and Jessica Vincent. Their reputation with the state was flawless, as was their track record for helping people. Their connections to Nick was minimal as they had never met him or his family and went to the Ross home at the request of their supervisor on orders from the chain of command, the fact that Kelly marginally knew them wasn't relevant due to being required to investigate regardless of what their relationship might be. The defense tried to show that it was a setup, but Jenna showing pictures of the home and the blockade put in place to prevent the Rosses from going downstairs that claim fell apart. When the defense tried to go after Nick neither played their game and kept on task and showed that they did their jobs and got help for the Rosses with the delay being due to logistics due to the preexisting state investigation into Mack. They wanted to remove the couple immediately until their home was deemed acceptable but they were overruled by the State Police detective who delayed removal for a day before being put aside by his supervisor and Kennedy Pena. The case started getting more and more complex when the state's financial analyst, Reed Pena, was on the stand and had to endure being called a fraud trying to go after his wife's friends rival. Reed gave a look of amusement then told the defense attorneys, "Your client has lied to you or you are purposely in the act of making up lies about your client's closeness to his family. By your client's own demand, he had little contact with Mr. and Mrs. Ross for years prior to the events that your client is on trial for. He never attended their wedding, the birth of their first child, their graduations, or any game that Mr. Ross has played in. They had zero contact with your client except for one single time: when your client sent a police officer to Lowell with a restraining order. There was no rivalry, Kelly Ross had little contact with your client at your client's own demand. It was only when your client realized that he was about to face multiple people with whom he would not be able to explain his actions that he started to act as if it wasn't his fault that he was in legal trouble. I was witness to his parents' care in the hospital, I read the reports about their dehydration and starvation. I saw the barrier preventing them from leaving the 2nd floor. I read the records of their last doctor visits- timed three years before your client was arrested. It wasn't jealousy and rivalry that caused your client's actions, it was pure spite and done on his own. All of the information that I have seen for myself you have in front of you, yet you choose to ignore it." The defense had no counter to that as the medical records were in evidence already and they couldn't go after Reed without getting pummeled themselves by his rebuttal. The assistant attorney general doing the prosecuting didn't do a thing, Reed could easily handle himself and could counter any argument lobbed against him. Reed was a part of the Attorney General's Office as a municipal integrity division prosecutor so was used to being in the line of fire from people trying desperately to grasp at straws and make you look bad, he was brought in for his experience but could easily counter the defense's claims. The defense had no counter for Reed so went after him through Jessie. He smirked and countered all of the claims against him using the AGO to get revenge on their client, then pointed out that he had never met Nick or his family as they had not come under investigation by his division. Jessie and Kelly might know one another but as a financial analyst he worked with facts and it wasn't his fault that their client hid his money where it could easily be traced and accessed it after the accounts had been frozen thus putting it into his personal accounts which too were being monitored by the AGO. The turnaround left the defense unable to counter as he had them caught: their client had tried to take a large amount of money before he was arrested, with the credit card statements showing that he had the intention of fleeing the country with his money. Reed nailed him for that, with the flight information all but showing that Reed was right. Mack had no defense at all, Reed destroyed the last of it. The financial situation was brought up, with Mack being shown to have massive debts before it all started. The source of his debts was linked to his buying of properties and trying to sell the minerals beneath them for a large gain but finding that the costs of extraction, taxes, environmental mitigation, zoning changes, and keeping things quiet so neighbors didn't catch-on that their properties were highly prized was too much for him. The properties were worth more as farms but he couldn't run them as it was meant to be quarrying alone, costing him several hundred thousand dollars. Nick was eyed as the one to takeover the failed business and front the money to get him out of debt, but he hit a snag in Kelly who refused to work with him on the proposition. She was right to do so, Nick's investment would be huge and Mack's was next to nothing while Nick gained the liability without all of the profits. It was a bad investment, which Kelly refused to allow. Mack had to cover his tracks and started to use his farms as blinds for bilking the company. He'd use his farms as, "Clients" and funnel money from the company into them then move that money to his private accounts and falsify the reports from those farms to show losses. It wasn't discovered until the state investigated and came apart under scrutiny. Mack was convicted on all counts and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The Rosses were upset at losing their son but were happy that justice occurred. Nick didn't deserve to have his name dragged through the mud because of Mack's greed and stupidity, he worked hard on his career and had just started to see the fruits of his labor blossoming that season. Nick's only reaction to the conviction was one of apathy, with Kelly, his parents, and him releasing just a statement that stated, "We are upset at my brother's actions and hope that the return of the money can be the start of making amends to those who were harmed by his actions. The hardworking farmers of the Swift River Valley didn't deserve to be bilked by my brother out of what they rightfully earned. We wish to give back to those harmed, my brother signed over all properties that he owned to my parents as restitution. They are selling those properties to those who want to farm the land. The money from the sales will mostly go to the cooperative as a penance from my family for my brother's betrayal. The rest is going to go to pay for their own home, one close to their grandchildren." Nick knew that the properties were worth three times what his brought bought them for, his parents had no intention of being farmers so selling to those who did would bring needed money to them. They had expressed an interest in moving to Winnisimmet to be on their own now that they were doing better. It was clear that they wanted the couple to do well on their own and having them around wasn't going to help as the kids would go to them whenever their parents refused something that they wanted. The Rosses had multiple offers for the properties within a day, none of which were acceptable in their eyes. There were a couple of offers over the next week that caught their eye and made them agree that it was for the best that they sold to them. The families were breaking out on their own and weren't that rich but had enough to buy the farms, and unlike the other offers these people intended to actually farm and not use the land for the minerals and creating housing subdivisions. The farms were sold or leased for long terms in a week as more families were found willing to farm the land even if it was only for a few years before they sold it to developers. The Rosses made a profit of over $5 million on the sales of three properties, with the others being smaller ones in rural locations in a long-term lease agreement. They used $400,000 to buy a house for themselves and donated the rest to the cooperative, ending their involvement and repaying three times what was stolen from them. Nick wasn't mentioned in any of the transactions, it was all handled by Cameron and his law firm so it didn't need to involve Nick in any way. He refused any money, it went to his parents and they would be able to fund their retirement from the money from the leases. The kids would benefit most from it, but he was more than happy to let them spoil the kids for a bit before putting his foot down. Their former Connecticut home was found to have been perfectly fine and still livable, Mack had not yet gotten around to selling the place from under them as he was hoping that the Rosses would die first so he could claim the property as his own and pocket the money for himself. The couple agreed to sell it and used the money from that sale to fund the three kids' college educations, allowing Kelly to not be focused on them and allowing her to work on the Ross' retirements. That too was easy as she was able to invest their retirement money through Greta Nelson and let them live comfortably on their own. Nick was busy focusing on the playoff race as the team battled for the top spot. It came down to their final series, with the Chicago White Sox facing them for the top spot in the league and likely who'd be the one to host the league championship series. Chicago was a great team that year, but they struggled in close games as their pitchers choked under the pressure- something the Red Sox didn't do. The games were tight and for the first time since he acknowledged that Heather was transgender he had to endure opposing players trying to use her against him to get into his head. He ignored them, which only infuriated the opposing catcher causing the man to threaten to steal his wife leading to the umpire intervening and threatening to toss the catcher out of the game. Nick didn't react to that, he did what he did best and hit a home run as the pitcher threw one right where Nick expected it to be and blasted it a long 400 feet into rightfield giving the Red Sox the lead. Miguel was targeted by the opposing manager when he entered to pitch, with the umpires laughing at the ignorance and blatant attempt to force him from the series. The umpire casually told the manager, "It is within the rules that he can place himself into the game and after he replaces himself with his closer he can come out onto the field to replace a player. Nice try, but it's not my fault that you're ignorant of the rules and he spent hours honing his knowledge. It's extremely rare to be player-manager, but it's one of the biggest parts of the game that has been lost over the years." Miguel ended up pitching two innings instead of one just in case the team increased their lead. There was a second reason: the closer needed time off due to injury but refused to be placed on the disabled list. Miguel would be doing double-duty as closer alongside setup man that series. The series was one that proved to be easy for the team as Chicago was sitting pretty and chose to let it go to the Red Sox instead of playing hard. They suffered what was a huge blow to them when their best pitcher insisted on pitching another inning and strained his shoulder, putting his season in jeopardy. The Red Sox wisely chose to use their relievers as much as possible to rest their starters, with the starters all getting five innings each before handing it off to the relievers- something criticized but proven smart as the White Sox were now shorthanded heading into a tough division series. The next two weeks taxed the team but mostly because they swept Anaheim in three games leading to a long five days off for the team. They worked hard and faced Chicago for the American League title, in Boston to start things off. Chicago was ailing as they struggled through five games and barely won in a nail-biter in extra innings, leading to some to speculate that Boston was going to regret sweeping them just two weeks before in the regular season finale. Miguel had the team hole-up in a hotel instead of at home, but allowed their families to come visit them so they weren't going too stir crazy. Heather was told that she wasn't wanted by several players, which then caused the rest of the team to ask if Miguel's daughter wasn't welcome as well causing them to be put on the spot and explain how they were targeting a three-year-old when their manager had a similar daughter who wasn't being told to stay away. That led to a war of words and the perpetrator being told to head home- he wasn't playing in the series and he was looking at not being retained by the team once the season ended. It was an easy decision to make, the man was a borderline player who would see minimal usage during the series and just wasn't worth the trouble of keeping him around for little gain. His replacement was called-up from Worcester to play in his place and happily greeted Nick and Heather, knowing full well that it was for the best to get it out in the open that he didn't care about her, "Issues" and just wanted to earn his keep. Tatum visited her father and brought Reymundo and Martin in tow. That was followed by Reyna and a reluctant Rachel joining them, with the five giving Miguel a chance to unwind and focus on them and not on the series. Martin and Reymundo basked in the spotlight as the team treated them like they were royalty, while doing their best to keep on their good side since the twins were known to be trouble if it was to their advantage and hurt others. Carl and Henry visited their father and gave him sloppy kisses and cries of attention. Heather wasn't in the best of moods and showed it when Nick asked about her. She whined about being punished for the weekend and having to change diapers, especially after the twins had smelly foods. Nick could only smirk at her and happily explain, "Welcome to being a big girl. If you break the rules it means you get punished. Taking away your playtime with Jane isn't that big of a deal, you'll see her in preschool and you're going over her house anyway next week. I told you to put your clothes away and help with the groceries, you ran off to play with Jane instead so you get punished." Heather hated being with the team and was really upset at being there as she knew that several of them were talking about her behind her father's back. Kelly wisely reassured her, but Heather hated being at any team function anymore. She couldn't trust anyone except Miguel and even then she wasn't sure if it was because of Reyna and Tatum or if it was because he actually cared about her. The series was tough but the team's bats were out in force as they swept the series in four games. The White Sox couldn't overcome losing their best pitcher to injury, then had the indignity of having all of the umpires telling them to not bother with the transphobic talk as they wouldn't let it happen. The team was outraged over that warning, but a stern warning from the MLB commissioner shut up any of their complaints as the man himself chose to stop that kind of behavior. Without their intimidation, Chicago wasn't a real threat. Their fans hurled slurs at Miguel and Nick but ended up having announcements made over the PA system to stop that behavior or else the team would be penalized by having all fans ejected from the series. Their fans' egos were deflated, without being able to get inside Nick's head they weren't able to do much to him as the pitchers were struggling to keep him from getting major hits. The next series was a true test as the team would face the New York Mets. The New York media were a different breed than Boston and were notorious for their psychological manipulations of players. Nick had to steer clear of them or else he'd end up saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and look bad. The media didn't care about John Finn or the Petersons, they were more concerned with getting articles read and getting their names out there nationally. Their fatal mistakes were their hubris, their corporate owners were on the line and through them John and the Petersons would exact their pressure to quash a mountain of libelous claims. They were happy to do so, especially as John's past history of defending a person he cared about was always on their mind whenever someone tried to go after certain people. Nick was skewered by article after article, most claiming that he was planning on mutilating Heather in an, "Accident" like Tatum and other kids had been. They then went after Kelly, calling her a miser who kept her husband from spending any money because she wanted it for herself. That was followed-up by a series of claims against Kelly by people who knew her from high school and college who had a long and twisted history of jealousy towards her over her relationship with Nick. The lowest blow were the articles digging into the Kole family history and featured numerous claims of Kelly being a child molester alongside her parents and escaped from Mississippi by lying to officials in the hopes that her own actions wouldn't be discovered. The claims were light on facts and heavy on the claims of rivals from 8th through 11th grades. None of the claimed, "Witnesses" had actually seen her or knew anything about the facts of the case, they were quick to go after her because of her connection to Nick and hoped that they could get back at her for humiliating them in school by rejecting their dates. Nick ignored them completely, infuriating the reporters while causing their colleagues to ask if it was a big lie or if they were going to actually show proof that a player's wife was a serial molester. That was a huge blow, the reporters were being forced to show evidence that they didn't have to people who had a long history of getting their butts handed to them by John. The fact that they hesitated showed that they had no proof and printed known lies, causing their colleagues to write counter articles denouncing the attempts by some to go after families by using the crimes of others as proof of guilt without substance. Kelly was weeping as she read the claims, John didn't have a chance to tell her what to do as Cameron and Valerie both sued the reporters, the, "Witnesses", and the former school principals of the schools that Kelly attended for libel and slander. Valerie went for blood, she wasn't about to let them get away with hurting someone in her care and doing so with blatant lies that she knew more about than those people ever would. She angrily appeared in court to ask the newspapers' and magazines' lawyers if they were aware that she and Cameron had been involved in the actual litigation against the Koles and others in the big molestation ring and when they were unaware of her involvement she angrily told them, "I was the lead lawyer for the victims. I know each and every name on the list of suspects and Kelly Kole was not on that list. Her parents were, they used pseudonyms but were caught in the act by FBI agents. Mrs. Ross has not now nor has she ever been involved in the ring!" The lawyers begged for settlements, Valerie turned them down. She wanted those reporters to have the actions against Kelly on record and reported by legitimate reporters. Kelly was going to earn a large amount of money from the lawsuits, this went too far and the reporters had to pay dearly for it. Nick's handling of the New York media was looked at as brilliant, especially as their actions outraged a lot of their colleagues while exposing others as transphobic frauds. Nick simply refused to talk to anyone who didn't want to talk about the series and gave reporters from smaller, less-known outlets the chance to get one-on-one with a big star that they wouldn't normally be allowed access to due to their bigger- named colleagues hogging the players' time. He had no problem talking at length about baseball, he simply drew the line at his family especially his children. There were some questions about Kelly and her athletic ability. Nick happily told of her in high school being one of the best in the state in basketball and track, but she had no interest in playing in college so turned down scholarship offers that would have separated the couple. He told of her wining her team a state championship in her junior year after transferring in and trying out at the coach's request. The husband side of Nick showed as he recollected their time together celebrating the championship at the town's, "Lover's lane" park with her teammates. He blushed as he admitted that none of them did too much as they were exhausted and just wanted to be away from parents and coaches for the night. It was laughed at but he happily told how they knew they were being watched by the town's officers so didn't do anything and just talked and relaxed before driving home. The families were all invited to the games in Boston to watch their loved ones play. Heather, Kelly, the twins, and the Rosses watched with the Toros and Byrne-Toros from the ownership suite. They had the luxury that the other families didn't have, but they were also treated by John and the Petersons as their family so it wasn't argued by anyone that they received special treatment yet again. The fact that Kelly had known them for years and Miguel's niece was married to John Finn's niece thus was part of John's family was a key point that few could deny, especially as Kelly was growing close to Sylvia Gibson. The Gibsons and Toros got Heather to dance and sing during the games, unintentionally making them a national media sensation for the series as the kids' enthusiasm during the down times and long pitching changes caused viewers to smile especially as Tatum led the way and Matthew reluctantly joined in on the fun. It was hard not to smile at kids being kids, especially as they knew when to cheer at the Red Sox scoring or getting key outs and when to look upset at the Mets scoring a run. Nick always got the biggest cheers, especially as he scored a hit or home run. Miguel got cheers as well but it was usually when the twins were asleep and Heather, Jane, and Jae barely still awake. When the second game went into 13 innings the kids fell asleep and featured the camera on them to show just how late it had gotten as even their cheering section fell asleep, but saw them awaken as the team gave a strong rally with the kids able to see the team win- again, caught on camera. Nick was made aware of the kids' reactions being caught on camera and shown around the country and happily told the reporters, "It's them being themselves and trying to enjoy a game that can be boring to kids at times even if we're playing hard and trying to move things along. I know Jane Gibson probably had my daughter Heather dancing just to annoy Jane's brother Matthew and Tatum Toro had Matthew following her around like a lovesick puppy as usual. The twins probably had no idea what as going on, they prefer football to baseball and did whatever their sister and Matthew did." Miguel happily told him, "They're Patriots fans, they aren't big Red Sox fans. They know the team and are happy to enjoy the game but they love football more. I don't mind, they've looked up to Mitch Gibson and the Patriots players since they were born." The games down in New York were tough on the team as they lost the first game in a blowout as their starting pitcher refused to be removed until after giving up a grand slam home run, with Miguel's threat to him that he'd be benched for the rest of the series finally sinking in. It was further worsened as their closer blew-out his arm overdoing his pitches causing Miguel to have to come into the game to take the rest of the inning and, "Stop the bleeding". The closer was lost for rest of the series and likely done as a top pitcher in the leagues, with Miguel's warnings about not overdoing it ignored causing the injury. Miguel was stuck being the closer and hated that it looked like he was trying to get attention on himself instead of putting someone else in the role. He thought it over and decided to do something crazy: he'd call-up their young Worcester closer, Clint Joseph, and have him do the job. The kid was ready to be there and handled himself well in the AAA Playoffs, he deserved the opportunity to play. Miguel happily sent word to Clint to get there immediately, then announced to the media that there was an injury to their closer and he was being replaced by Clint and that Miguel wasn't going to pitch in that role. That caused chaos as Clint had never pitched in the Major Leagues and had little if any actual experience being just 19. Miguel ignored the questions, he knew the facts and let the kid do his own work as they'd find something else to complain about regardless of his choices. Clint arrived just in time to learn that he was playing that night and he was going to be the one that it fell to to keep the game alive. He'd be facing tough hitters, but he faced them before that Spring. He had Nick to guide him which was something he was grateful for. The fourth game was a win for the team and featured Miguel setting up Clint for the save, with a big cheer from the team as Clint showed that he was ready for the big-time and played as Miguel had told him to play. Nick embraced him as Clint was shaking over getting the save, telling him quietly, "I know the feeling. Let it go and focus on the next game: it's even bigger. You'll be a legend in Boston, it will be remembered for all time that you jumped to the big leagues in the middle of the series and had two huge saves to secure the World Series victory." The team drove up to Boston instead of flying, with all of them enjoying the camaraderie. They were forced to watch, "Closet Secrets" as a joke, with Miguel laughing at their reactions to the movie. He and Nick were fighting saying something until they were caught by the new closer, causing Miguel to tell a stunned team, "It's all true and it's even worse than what you saw: murder, abuse, manipulation- all by a man whose brother you've all met. John Finn in that movie is the same man who footed the bill for the team's plane and bus. And you really don't want to go down that whole crossdressing road: it's a pain in the neck when you've got to get up early just to let your daughter and wife put makeup on you. And yes I've done it- all of the guys in the family have...except Nick. He hasn't had the fun of enjoying it yet." Miguel had them laughing while Nick was unsure if it was a joke. Miguel smirked then discretely had a picture shown to Nick that caused Nick to groan: the fathers in dresses for their annual crossdress day. He shook his head at seeing Miguel dressed that way, especially as he had Reymundo and Martin on his lap in dresses too while Tatum happily played with their hair. Nick asked if he had done it before the kids were born, Miguel shook his head and explained to him, "I wasn't close before Skye and Tatum came into my life. I was a friend, but I was also traveling around to a lot of places and keeping to myself. I loved the kids as nieces and nephews, but I kept my distance so I didn't undermine their parents. It helped a lot that I was usually away during the weekends that they'd hold the event, John smartly knew not to make it when I was in town because I'd get dragged into it." He told Nick about how the kids were always full of energy the day of the event and happily told that it was one of the few times that the girls were truly better than their brothers and cousins while the ladies had fun showing their husbands that they weren't wasting time when they took a while to get ready. He had Nick there as Nick nodded at Kelly taking a while to, "Put on her face" even if he could barely tell the difference. Miguel happily added, "You're so used to her with makeup and seeing her when she's so exhausted that she's barely awake that you didn't notice the change, but the ladies do." Miguel hadn't realized that they were overhead and had everyone around them listening closely. He got up and announced, "Yes, I've done it for the kids. I'm secure in my masculinity enough to do it for them as I don't want them to think that men can't be men because they wear dresses. Hell, one of the greats I have known has worn a dress repeatedly- he's a former drag performer who owns his own club, bought with money he earned doing what he loved. He's a father, one who put up with people telling him that he's wrong for living a hard life saving every penny to one day buy the place he loved working at. It's no different than us, we worked our asses off in the minors and in Spring Training. I know some of you have gone to his club and laughed at them, the guy walking around telling you to calm down is one of the folks you are laughing at. You couldn't hack it wearing a dress for a minute, those folks did it all day and did it without complaint. The one who complained had a reason- he had to tell his colleagues in Foxborough why he had to shave his legs then had them fighting their own cringes when his wife and her friends, people who work with you on rehabbing your injuries, complained that he made them look bad for making his muscles look good in the dress he wore." He smirked as he showed pictures of the most recent event, one that Nick wasn't part of due to being in Seattle for a series against the Mariners. Miguel happily pointed out, "A couple of the faces should be very familiar: they're Patrick and David Peterson, John Finn, and Ian Bailey. You try telling those three state troopers, eight police officers, four federal agents, New England Patriot, two firefighters, and two engineers that they aren't manly because they held an annual tradition showing that each of them were man enough to be a woman and not afraid to dress as such. Their wives never bother dressing as men, it would defeat the point as nobody ever says anything about a woman crossdressing as a man." The name drop was intentional. He happily added, "They take family seriously. Numerous kids are like mine and Nick's daughters and needed that to show that they aren't freaks for being different. They are a tough lot, but those kids are still kids and endure hells that none of you could ever understand. They are trying to be normal, the only abnormality in their lives comes from people forcing their views on the lot- be they racist, classist, homophobic, or transphobic views. Several of you questioned why we have banned certain 'religious leaders', a term I use loosely with them, from being around you- it's due to their actions against kids. You might not like that they are transgender, but those kids just want to be normal and be left alone. Those people want nothing but attention and use them as a reason to get it. If you haven't found that out yet, maybe you should take a closer look at them and what they're actually doing with all of the money they raise and what they use it for. I guarantee that it's not to help the poor nor is it to further missionary work in some far off place: it's to line their pockets." He didn't tell them that he knew for a fact that the pastors were about to get slammed by investigators for the state and federal governments regarding their fraud and embezzlement sparked by their actions taken against Heather back in February when she first came out. The pastors were total frauds who had preyed on the insecurities of the ballplayers and who had manipulated them into using the pastors as a legal representative/agent securing them money on the side that they never disclosed to their parishes. It was going to be chaos for them when they were arrested after their services the next Sunday, with the players having to talk with investigators about their unintentional role as co- conspirators as they had all of the money in their name in accounts actually owned by the pastors. Nick was quiet as they finished the last half hour towards Boston. Miguel wisely told him, "She's going to be OK from now on. She's old news, and whatever happens after we win will be harmful to anyone who tries to use her against you. They'll say that she's a distraction when you slump or they'll say that she's going to cause you trouble elsewhere. It doesn't matter: they will never know her and they don't really care about her, they'd cut down their own parents just to get page clicks." Miguel wisely told him, "Don't go to another team, stay with Boston. This is the only place that she'll be able to grow-up without having others hurt her or keep her from you. The Dodgers are phonies even if they've been trying to act like they've changed, the Yankees are overpriced windbags who'll cut you out of your wife's life the second she stands up to them, the Mets are a joke and you'll never do well there no matter how well you hit, and the other teams are just a gamble for you as Heather will be kept apart from you because they don't fear backlash like other places. Here is where your home is, it's your true home- with family and friends. They haven't had the chance to truly befriend you, but give them a shot. Donald is intimidated by you but respects you more than he'll admit. Thomas is Thomas: loyal and true to his heart. Reed is a big brother that you need even if he'll never admit to liking that role. He's the big bridge between the '20s' and '22's, and is happy to be there for you and talk with you without it being an awkward conversation. He's used to it, the '20s' use him more than they'd like to talk about things." Nick understood what he meant. His elder brother wasn't interested in talking with him but Reed was. It was great to have an ear, especially one who wanted nothing from him in return. The team arrived at the ballpark and split-up into smaller groups. Nick took Clint out to a restaurant and helped him get acclimated to Boston without the pressures of putting on a brave facade. It was something that helped him greatly, Nick knew just how he felt six months before and wanted to do what was right in helping him deal with the pressure before he faced the ultimate pressure of Game 5 of the series the next night. Nick was told which restaurant to go to when he wanted privacy and discretion from the staff, then had to hide a groan as he recognized the manager as Carmen Carter. Carmen walked over and greeted Nick then asked if he wanted the family's private booth or would he need a normal table. Nick chose to use the private booth, he didn't want anyone to interrupt them and overhear what they were saying. Carmen smirked as she led them to the back, with the, "Private booth" being a private room with booth seating flanking a long table. Nick shook his head, Carmen happily told him, "You aren't the first among us to need a private place to talk. You get the privilege alongside everyone else, especially as Heather is so close to Brady and the girls. Plus mom is happy that Kelly found a great man to marry even if she is going to deny that she played favorites with Kelly and the girls when they were in school." Nick had to sigh then tell Clint, "Her daughter is like mine, only her daughter was mistreated so much that she did the unthinkable: castrated herself to show that she was a girl. I never want Heather to feel that way, especially with so many people around her to help her. But it came to that for Carmen's daughter. Even with strong support and people who knew what to do she still had a no-win scenario and chose the lesser of two evils in her eyes." Clint seemed to understand what he was talking about, with Nick adding, "They'll find her and it will be held against you by a lot of people. It doesn't matter that she's her own person and wants you to be the best ballplayer you can be. She's your sister, which makes her an open target for some. Don't let them get to you, you have help- use it. John Finn and the Petersons control the team, they control a lot of what happens to people who harm people in their employ. Anyone going after your sister will be dealt with harshly and bankrupted- with every penny going to your sister. This is the big time, you'll be out there and you'll be noticed and you'll be targeted. You have to see that your family is your family so you don't have to hide them from the world. Visit them, it'll help her more than you'll ever know. She needs her big brother, she needs your acceptance and love. To hell with anyone who can't accept her, it isn't their life in the balance: it's hers and hers alone. She needs you, go to her." Nick sighed and told him, "Your family is flying out here for the games. Miguel will put you in there to close it out even if we have a strong lead. You're going to be world famous, this is going to be your big moment: you'll be sharing it with your loved ones too. All of us are. This is our series, we are family. It wouldn't be right to keep her away from you, it would be harming family." Nick knew his secret leading him to ask how he knew. Nick smirked and happily told him, "She's one of the Finn Foundation's scholarship winners. That changed to being paid by John himself when she told a young lady who happens to be John's daughter-in-law that her brother played for the Red Sox. He's not one to fool around with money, he saw in her something special and wants her to work hard to be what she needs to be. She's a talented artist, she has an eye for color and finding what draws the eye. John is fighting the urge to buy her works, but he's happy to help her open a gallery. He knows a young man in the art business who's going to need a mentor in the future when he gets around to painting fulltime. It's a nice little perk that she doesn't know about yet, but John will be happy to make happen." The two ate in silence after that, with Nick driving Clint to his hotel before heading home to a very upset Kelly. Nick shook his head and wisely explained to her, "I was out at dinner with our newby. I know I should have called but it was important and needed to be handled discretely and that was the only time we could get without having others interrupting us. Your friends were booked after us and we didn't know when we'd get in so were stuck with that time. I talked with him about his sister, and what to expect in the future. He's going to make a lot of money and put under a lot of scrutiny because of her so I had to warn him that he was stronger than them and they'd do it no matter what and never let what she is be used against him. She's a strong girl, she just has a lot going on. Yes, she's trans. He keeps it hidden from others because he didn't want them harassing her but it's going to get out eventually so he had to be ready. He also knows about her gifts from John Finn, ones that she earned herself." Kelly let it go and told him that he had diaper duty that night, with the twins ensuring that he had a long night as they were up twice just to annoy him. Nick could only smile as the boys failed to give him an unwanted, "Shower" while fighting their diaper changes, with Nick learning long ago how to change the diaper of a boy from changing Heather's diapers. It was one thing that she might hate to recall, but she was nailed him twice before he learned how to diaper her without getting a pee shower. Nick slept until late in the morning, awakening to his parents out at physical therapy and the kids away at preschool and Kelly at work. He smiled as he read Miguel's text telling him that he had a new fan in a young woman who was overwhelmed at hearing her big brother happy to see her there for the series clincher. Miguel didn't have to ask what he did, it was clear that Nick told him the truth and he heeded his advice and embraced his sister's being his sister without caring one bit about what others said. Nick went to the hotel to meet Clint and his family. He was embraced in a deep hug by a young woman who was in tears. Nick tried to pull away but her pleading eyes stopped him and let her hug him until she was all hugged-out. Clint explained to him, "She was told last night by John Finn that she's not going to be put out of view when sitting in the ownership suite with your family and the Toros. He was adamant then they all get together, he didn't say why but it seemed important. She's just happy to be allowed inside, she's never been to one of my games since she came out." Nick wisely explained to all of them, "Miguel and I have transgender daughters and John's and Miguel's nieces are married with Miguel's niece being transgender as well. It's more of her being close to people who know what's going on with her and gives her a chance to be there without people harassing her. I can guarantee that she'd be forced to speak with multiple reporters out in the stands as they would force her to move out of her box to where they can harass her without upsetting other fans. They can't get at her up in the suites, the press are banned. She's likely to get a chance to help the girls with some things only a girl just starting can understand, like dealing with boys and breasts and things. Tatum Toro is at that stage and likes boys but not what they're doing to her. Heather's been a girl for eight months and is still trying to figure out if it's OK to be a certain way about certain things so might be happy to know it isn't only her who has those issues. And Reyna Sylvester is simply herself and probably won't say much but her wife Rachel might open up your sister's eyes about things." He saw her blushing which meant she shared a lot with Reyna. Nick shook his head and told the girl, "It might shock people but you aren't that uncommon. It seems like more and more trans girls are coming out and admitting that they're into girls and not boys. It might even be that some are bisexual and just don't know how to deal with it. Either way, you are what you are as your anatomy doesn't dictate who you love or who you prefer to sleep with." The two left for the game that night and sat alone with Miguel before the others entered the clubhouse. It was quiet with neither having anything to say. Miguel wisely let them get their jitters out before their teammates entered, with Miguel himself long since accepting what was happening that night. Nick finally broke the silence and asked what Miguel was going to do during the off-season. Miguel, in his wisest tone, explained to him, "There is no more 'off-season' for me. I'm retiring from the team and I am stepping down as manager. I'd rather go out on top on my own accord than be pushed out by one of the youngsters that are ready to be promoted. I didn't belong on the team this year, all of what happened was because others couldn't hold their egos in check long enough to ensure that I was gone. It won't be the same next year with a new manager. I'll be gone by mid-February, if I'm lucky I'd be gone in the last cuts before breaking camp. I'm going out on my own, I have nothing more to prove. I'm going to take a job as a studio analyst and possibly tutor. I might even teach, if I can find a school that'll hire me." Nick knew that he had his heart set on leaving and allowing the rest of the team to be on their own and not have him looking after them. It pained Nick to think of the team without its father-figure, but they'd move on and thrive without him. He hoped that he himself didn't end up being tossed aside as Miguel was going to be, but he didn't care about the money so much as staying where Heather was happy. The rest of the team slowly started entering and shook their heads at the trio already being there and in a deep conversation among themselves. Nick wisely told the others, "You all went out to eat without us, we got here early because we wanted to give our families a chance to get used to the ownership suite on their own without people bugging them. Your families don't have the press constant sticking mics at them asking stupid questions hoping that they'd make mistakes. Funny, they never bother your families despite knowing where they are and who they are. Each of us can't do that, but you can. So sorry if we have to get here earlier to prepare and spend some more time with loved ones while all of you are out on the town getting psyched-up for the game." There was no way to counter him, he was right and they knew it. Miguel had them get ready then told the team who was playing and who was being held in reserve. There was complaints that Miguel was in the game again, Miguel countered, "I'm taking the 8th inning, when they'll be getting desperate and try to go at us with their bench. I'm holding out some of you in reserve to keep you fresh, you might get in when it gets to extra-innings but I'd rather have you rested just in case we need you tomorrow night. I know it irks you, but I want the best out there tomorrow just in case. We can win without you, just as I know we'll win despite you. The choice is yours, but keep that attitude and you won't play at all." He laid the gauntlet down and saw the players back away in disappointment. They were seeking glory, it was his choice to go with their best who weren't going to overdo it just in case they really did need to play another game the following night. He was more than willing to endure the criticism to let them be ready just in case, he didn't feel the need to go overboard that night- that was what the Mets would do. The team took to the field and fought hard all game, with neither team able to score despite getting hits. Nick was walked each time at-bat, he knew that would happen and didn't let on that he knew what was going on- they were afraid of him and knew he'd cost them dearly if he got the chance to hit. This was a common practice in baseball, so much so that Nick would have been shocked if the Mets were letting him him and would have actually been rattled in his first at-bat by them doing that. Miguel feared that the Mets were going to hold off an offensive attack until the 9th inning then try hard to rattle Clint. Nick thought it over and had to smirk: he was better than they realized and it didn't phase him to be out there facing the heart of the order in the 9th inning. Nick rationalized that if the team can allow runners at key points the Mets would lose their chance of having their power guys at-bat to face Clint thus tossing out the Mets' strategy as he was now facing their worst hitters. Miguel caught his drift and signaled the pitchers to allow two walks before punching out the last three in a row via ground-outs and a fly- out. Miguel did the same to one of the Mets power hitters, with their manager unable to do anything without hurting his team as he had no power to put in place of the lesser hitters. Nick's suggestion ended up hurting the Mets worse as their manager ended up getting ejected in protest and causing a delay in getting a new pitcher out of the bullpen to face the heart of the Red Sox order in the bottom of the 9th inning. The Mets couldn't do anything about the situation, when the 8th inning ended with Miguel getting two of the Mets to get on base through a field's choice and a walk then striking out one and getting the next to fly-out to leftfield the team simply saw the writing on the wall and had to hope that they could hold the tie and force Miguel into another inning of work. That was what Miguel counted on, with Nick and the team's best hitters ready to jump into the game to secure the win. His ploy of keeping them out of it until needed worked: he had them pinch- hit for the starters and put both fresh legs and fresh bats in. Nick was batting 3rd that inning and would face a pitcher whose aim was starting to wane but the Mets had no choice but to use him since he had done well against Nick before when they faced one another in a previous series. That was months ago, this was the World Series and Nick was ready for him. Nick was looking for the chance to get revenge for some of the crap he heard the guy say the previous series. It was clear right away that the pitcher was going to blow it. He gave up a quick walk then lost a tough battle with the next batter, barely hitting his mark but umpire gave the walk to the Red Sox batter. Nick took his place and smirked, he could see the fear on the pitcher's face: he had to face Nick as it would be suicide to the Mets to walk Nick loading the bases with no outs. The first pitch was close but just a bit outside. The next pitch was right down the middle, right in the, "Sweet spot" where every kid from high school on up hopes to have a pitch thrown. It was a dream of a pitch, and one that Nick immediately caused the Mets player to regret. Nick swung and hit the ball, driving it deep into right-centerfield and past the bullpens. It flew past the rightfielder who tried in vain to catch it, dropping him into the bullpen while the ball landed up in the bleachers for a 3-run homerun. Nick rounded the bases and looked up at the ownership suite, Heather was screaming while Tatum was in tears over Nick giving them the lead- both happy that it was him in the spotlight and helping the team take the lead. The next hitters couldn't capitalize on Nick's homerun as they grounded out and struck out. The damage had been done, the Red Sox were ahead 3-0 with the worst of the Mets lineup facing Clint. There was a panic on the Mets bench, Nick just sunk their hopes with a single swing. Clint entered the game to much acclaim. He looked up into the suites and spotted his sister, she and the girls were cheering him on and smiling brightly as she loved that her brother was getting to be a hero to the team. It gave him strength, he wanted to win the game for her and the girls. He faced his first batter and struck him out on three pitches. The next grounded out to first base, with a fight between players to reach first base first. The next hitter grounded to Clint who then scooped it up and tossed it to first base, securing the win and causing a huge celebration: the Red Sox had won. Nick ran to the pitcher's mound and embraced Clint, the two were then mobbed by the rest of their teammates and coaches. Miguel was embraced by Nick then told the team, "We did it. We set out with a big chip on our shoulder and showed that we are a family. The Pirates might have used it as a theme, it is more than a theme for us: it's the truth. We are a family, all of you are brothers. Now, each of you are linked to one another: winners, of a series that we shouldn't have ever reached. You all worked hard to reach this, you all played hard, you all spent countless hours together trying to fix whatever issues you had with one another. You made it, you did it, you won. You deserve it, congratulations to all of you." He then happily added, "I am proud to have gone out with a win in the biggest game of the year. I end my career as a winner. I have nothing else to prove as a player or as a manager, I did it all this year and am proud to have done it. It's your team now, enjoy it and remember it. Good luck next year to all of you who're returning. To the rest of you, remember this feeling as it's not the same elsewhere. This is Boston, you are more than players here: you are family." The team went inside the clubhouse and celebrated, with Miguel doing the rounds by first taking off his uniform and putting on sports coat in a symbolic gesture showing that he was finished as a player. He happily told the assembled press, "I'm holding by my pledge to retire. This was my final game as both a player and manager. I have other plans, I've put in an application to teach at Winnisimmet High school next year. I have the degree, I just need the license. Before you say something, I won't be the only one at that school who comes from a different non-education background. I might have a lot of money that I saved over the years but I won't even be the richest person at the school- that honor belongs to none other than my friend and hopefully future colleagues- John Finn, Justin Stoner, and Deborah Peterson." He said that last part with a smirk as it was the truth. The media didn't need to ask what he meant as it was easy to research their names and see that the latter two were rich through lawsuits and inheritances not counting Deborah's wealth through her husband. Miguel was happy to be, "Poor" compared to them, but he loved helping teach and would enjoy working hard for the next two years working with a group of people that he respected to become a teacher. Nick wasn't shocked that he was named MVP, he tried to have one of the pitchers take it but with him being the one who won the 5th game and having the most important hits in the series he was the only one who was chosen. He would have personally preferred that Clint win it, but it was tough to deny he was the guy who played the best. Nick was the MVP in all ways, so won the award handily. Nick made his way to the family area and hugged Heather then the twins, with both twins giving him a cold stare over being awoken from their slumber to go downstairs to where Nick was. Heather told him that she was happy for him, with Nick kissing her cheek and telling her, "I'm happy that you were a big girl for the new girl there tonight. She needed you to be good to her." Nick went to the media area to endure the required MVP interviews, but had the kids with him while he had Kelly wait off-camera nearby. It was a dog and pony show that would ask him stupid questions in an attempt to trip him up so they could have something more to write about, but he was ready for them. He happily thanked his teammates for their excellent performance and Miguel for his leadership as the elder statesman for the team as well as their manager, giving nothing to complain about there. The kids were asked about, he happily told them, "They're happy to be here and happy that the team won but I know the twins are upset at being awoken by the commotion around us. I'm sorry that I'm stuck as a father for the moment since it's my time to care for them. I know how much you hate seeing families so happy, some of you live off of stories of families breaking apart and it affecting their play. The kids are happy and healthy and enjoying breaking their bedtime rule. I have a strong feeling that the twins are going to show just how happy they are in a few minutes, excuse me but I'd better go before the two let loose with something horrible-smelling and ruin the rest of the interviews." Carl let loose followed by Henry, with Nick happy to go off while Heather smiled the entire time. Kelly gave him a headshake but knew that the twins were getting back at him just because they could. He had time it perfectly so they wouldn't embarrass him while giving the media something to laugh at instead of focusing entirely on him and then on something he didn't do- remove the kids from there. The fans mobbed the area causing the team to be virtual prisoners until they were moved on and away from the ballpark. Nick finally got away two hours after the final out, with Heather asleep while both of the twins were wide awake. He had to smile at that, they were oblivious to the world and just happy to be out for a drive even if it was going home. April and Troy were still awake and happy to see him return home in one piece, with Nick having to struggle to get Heather to bed and needing Kelly to help move her. Nick shook his head as the twins were distracting their grandparents with babbling and crying for attention, making the couple work at getting Heather to bed. He let Kelly put her in pajamas, he dealt with the twins and their fighting sleep. Nick himself fell asleep not long after the twins finally went to sleep. Kelly embraced him and kissed as he feel asleep, the two happy to be done with the season and have Nick back fulltime as a dad. He'd be kept busy working out and driving his parents to appointments, with Kelly happily investing his new bonuses into his retirement account after paying back the bank who then handed her back the check as the manager happily told her, "He said that this was to go directly to your husband's retirement account. We don't normally like to do these things, but John Finn insisted and you are a loyal customer..." Kelly shook her head at that, with Nick happily telling her, "He's your uncle. Even if we try hard to be on our own he's still going to look after you. He wants you to be here, we're part of his family now. It's the best thing for you, you never have to think of those people again. You're a Finn in all but name." Nick enjoyed the traditional Boston, "Rolling rally" that the city held for championship teams. He had to explain to the media where the kids were, with his quick, "At daycare, it's a school day" a big hit with the media especially as it was a little cold out and the twins were a bit too young for the parade. That's just the public reason, the private reason was he didn't want Heather hurt if people targeted him due to Heather being there as some idiots had been known to throw things at the trophies and players. Miguel happily made his retirement official that day, filing the paperwork with the league and telling a happy GM that the choice was obvious but they refused to let him takeover due to influence outside of the team: the pitching coach should be the manager. Miguel had groomed him all year and wanted him to be the manager the previous year but the GM had others telling him that the coach wasn't ready yet. It was hard to refuse Miguel's demand now that Miguel himself showed that, "Experience" was garbage as it really took a keen mind and ability to work with players and around distractions, something that the pitching coach had been able to do for years with Miguel and later Nick and Clint. Nick upset many people by winning the American League Rookie of the Year and MVP awards along with his World Series MVP award. He refused to do any interviews in regards to the awards as they'd only be about Heather and not about him or the season or the award itself. He even forced the usual trip to DisneyWorld on Clint, with Disney having to accept Clint as a replacement as it was a great idea and he was so vital to the series win that it was a perfect alternative. Miguel happily helped Nick deal with the off-season now that he was permanently entrenched in their community. Nick worked-out, ran, drove his parents to their appointments, then endured long hours of boredom as he stayed at home and simply did nothing but read. It was tiresome to him, but it was just a time period that he had to endure since he didn't need to do much anymore except keep in shape. Miguel asked him about what he really did during the previous off- seasons, Nick looked away as if he was ashamed and admitted, "Sold cars. I hated doing it, but it paid the bills. We were able to save a lot of money and I rarely touched my paycheck, Kelly took care of that for me." Miguel thought things over and told him, "Remember the deal Mitch offered you? We have that coming up, that'll keep you entertained for a while. You'd have a lot of preparations to do before we bring in the kids, you'd be a strong part of the show's production as a writer. As a producer, you'd have a lot of say in how the show goes. As host, you're the star of the show. I'm just one of the helpers, it's your show so you're doing it your way. We'll work with you on it but it's your baby now." Miguel wisely told him, "Be glad that you didn't go the easy route and play overseas or in the Caribbean. I know of a lot of guys who were screwed over in Europe and the less-stable countries in the Caribbean so you got off easy by selling crappy cars to people who had nowhere else to go for a car. It's pain, but it was honest work and you survived to earn a bigger paycheck. It's coming next year, the team will be in a bind and have to pay you off to stay with them before your contract runs out. They'll lose big in the arbitration case so want to avoid it. You'll be raking it in, and will be able to live comfortably on what it pays you just from the signing bonus. You earned your stripes, you now get to reap the rewards." Nick asked what he was really going to do with his life now. Miguel smirked and explained, "I'm going to do as I said: teach classes. I have upcoming sessions that Francesca's father arranged. I'll be teaching biology and remedial science to students, with the intent that I'll have enough hours to be hired to teach next school year. If all goes well, I'll avoid teaching Cat Finn but that's a long shot!" Nick enjoyed doing a lot of work around the house and helping the family as much as possible. He did help develop the show for Mitch Gibson, with Mitch getting a members of the Boston Celtics and the Boston Bruins to join them in making it a, "Big four" show. The whole concept worked well as they'd find kids who were good matches for them and work with the kids until they showed they could do it without their help- with the kids showing that it wasn't a fluke as their progress coincided with games. Kelly blossomed at work as she showed that she knew her stuff and was worth every penny to the firm as she got clients to stop spending frivolously and start focusing on the future. Her own family was one of the clients that the firm had, with Kelly letting her colleagues handle Nick's finances with the intent of Kelly having access to the files and overruling anything that she deemed wrong for Nick. The lawsuits against the reporters, their stations, their newspapers, and their networks caused a major fuss in the media, but what came out of those lawsuits was damaging to everyone except Nick, Kelly, Heather, and the Rosses. The reporters had to admit that they made-up most of what they wrote and the parts that they didn't fabricate came from sources that were more than happy to lie to them for money as they were forced to admit to paying people for their stories. The stories were easily exposed as false by just a cursory glance at the available information, with the federal agencies who investigated Kelly's parents swearing that Kelly had done no wrong and the claims about here were all lies. The former teachers and students that claimed Kelly molested kids found themselves in court facing the judge and admitting that they were paid for their claims and didn't actually know Kelly well. Several of the accusers were boys whom she had spurned advances of and who she told to never talk to her again. It was easy to expose them as jealous exes who wanted revenge, and when asked what broke them up the boys had to admit in court that they tried to sexually assault her with one admitting that she caused him to lose part of his penis because he forced her to give her oral sex. The trials were worse for the teachers as one admitted that he tried to proposition Kelly and when told to leave her alone he failed her and tried to get her expelled. That was followed-up by him admitting to knowing about her parents being involved in the child molestation and sexual trafficking ring causing a quick retraction but had Cameron pressing the man for more information. When he invoked his rights under the 5th Amendment, Cameron wisely told the judge that he had no further questions while the judge wisely advised the federal agents present to speak to an unknown co-conspirator in the ring. The trials damaged the credibility of multiple media sources including one of the national broadcasters. The infamous Boston Globe had to finally admit in open court that they targeted certain players who in the past had snubbed their coverage or whom the editors felt could get more papers sold. The facts of a case didn't matter, all that mattered was going after players to sell more papers. The family received combined judgments in excess of $75 million from the multiple defendants, with a complete lawyer cost burden being put on the defense leading to an outcry against Nick by the media. It only strengthened his reputation among players that he wasn't going to stand by and let people push him or his family around and players' families were not to be harassed by the media. Reporters who had gone after him for, "Daring" to sue were ridiculed and marginalized by players in all sports afterward. The family's finances were secure no matter what happened to Nick's career. Nick's successful year and even more successful postseason led the team to wisely sign him to an early extension, securing him to a 10- year, $400 million contract. It was seen as a bargain for the team, especially as Nick was bound to win even more in arbitration while making the team lose in the long run by looking cheap. Nick's signing bonus alone was $70 million, with Nick handling the deal by himself with a lot of help from Valerie Finn. Valerie happily told the team that she was her own person and whatever shares in the team John had was his own so it wasn't a conflict of interest on her part. She did the deal as a lawyer after signing a contract with Nick to represent him in negotiations and charging him just a small fee: taking Cat off of their hands for the weekend so she and John could relax without her. Once Nick had officially been signed he was asked why he didn't use an agent. Nick looked over to the smirking Valerie then confessed, "The guy I wanted to hire was busy with work today. He's the one who looked over the contract with Valerie before telling her what to say and how to say it. He knew what it would entail and what it would probably look like without seeing it. He told me that he wouldn't take a penny from the deal anyway since it was family business, I don't know what he means though." Valerie laughed then told them, "Juan Reagan sends his regards. Nick wasn't officially a client because it's one thing he won't do: mix family and business. This isn't like Miguel or Mitch Gibson using him as an agent, this really is family business to him. He's known Kelly Ross since she was a little girl in his father-in-law's youth activities program, he refuses to charge her husband for work he'd do free. Heck, he only charged Mitch $1 for his deals and only because Mitch insisted on it." Nick recognized the name and asked her outside if he was the man organizing the camp that Nick and the athletes would be filming for the TV show. Valerie nodded and happily added, "He's doing that as the group's director. Today was personal, he got you a 'hometown discount' but in reality it's top dollar and what I expect is your last big contract. You might get offers in the future, but I'm afraid they won't be in this range and worth 1/3rd as much per year. The team needs you and are willing to pay top dollar to be able to retain you at slightly lower than they'd have to pay you if you negotiated in two years. As long as your knees hold up, you'll play your 10 years in Boston then probably retire. I doubt that they have any interest in keeping you and you aren't going to let yourself get traded away, especially with your daughter not getting a good reception in another city. I don't think you actually want to play elsewhere, especially when Heather's in her teens and facing hormonal and bodily changes." That scared Nick more than he thought it would. Heather always came first, if he had to play in another city then she'd be hurt by the move and he shuddered at thinking about what she might do- images of Brady Carter came to mind. If need be, he'd rather retire than play for another team. Nick admitted that he would rather retire as well, he'd already accomplished so much that year and if he had to leave to play on just for career stats then it wasn't worth it in his eyes. He's rather retire with his head held high like Miguel did, if he felt the urge to be in the game then he'd coach locally. His family was his top priority and he refused to hurt them just because he couldn't hang up his cleats. Troy made steady progress regarding his stroke recovery. He could walk mostly unassisted, but he still had to have crutches for his left side. He was lucky that it was only a minor stroke that cleared up with medication, but the physical effects of the lack of rehab and mobility took their toll causing him a long recovery period which would take years to mostly recover from- but not truly ever. April's knees recovered nicely and she was walking without pain in six months and within a year she was back to her old self and doting on all three kids and Kelly- the daughter that she had always wanted but had been unable to have. She was able to be with the kids whenever their parents needed time away with Heather joking that they would make her a little sister soon. Nick shook his head while Kelly just blushed- they weren't having more kids. The couple didn't have any more kids after the twins' birth as Kelly wasn't feeling up for being pregnant again and Nick didn't want her to feel like she had to quit her dream job again. Heather was upset but understood, especially as Kelly pointed out that she had what were really, "Cousins" to her in the form of Jane, Jae, and the girls of the family. They weren't a sister, but they were still girls to dote on. Heather was a big hit with the kids in preschool and saw her starting to make friends with other girls. It was tough for Jane to see that Heather was growing apart from her, but she knew deep down that they'd always be friends even if they weren't as close as they once were. Heather's absence was mitigated by the Perez cousins growing closer to Jane, especially as Heather told them to be Jane's friend now. The rift started getting wider when the kids started school the following year. Heather was enrolled in a charter school after she scored extremely high on the entrance exam, which Jane and the Perez cousins weren't able to to score well on. Jane was happy for Heather, it was more proof that she was her own person and needed to do her own thing- just like her parents. The girls were over one another's house each day after school, but over time they made more friends so it became less and less frequent to the point that they'd go weeks without seeing one another. Heather felt bad about their rift but Kelly wisely told her, "It happens to people. It happened with your aunts in middle school, it happened with their parents after high school. People grow apart, but they are still the best of friends when it comes down to it. Jane loves you, you love Jane. That will never change." Heather grew as the years wore on, with Kelly happily helping her deal with girls and boys as things at school evolved into Heather finding friends, dealing with love interests, and finding that she didn't care for either sex yet. When middle school came and her body started to develop, she simply refused to be in either category and ignored sex altogether which only infuriated the school's bigots and made her out to be one of the few in school to not flaunt their sex life in front of everyone else. Jane helped her endure boys and girls and helped her friends find boyfriends of their own. Heather had a tough time finding a boyfriend until she kissed a girl on a dare and found that she liked doing that. It led to Heather having a long talk with Jane about sex and finally Heather admitting that she wasn't into boys at all and liked girls, especially ones like Jane. Jane was flattered but admitted that she had a boyfriend already, which Heather felt bad about but left it alone. Heather tried to focus on other things but the loss of Jane as a potential girlfriend caused ripples in her life that made her withdraw from everyone else. She didn't do anything harsh, she simply chose to be a top student and be there for her friends but didn't date anyone. Nick and Kelly endured years of turbulence as Nick's career took off and he became a huge star. He and Kelly remained close as a couple and endured the usual couple's fights, but never came close to divorce or splitting for a while. Nick let her cool down before apologizing even if he didn't have to which only led Kelly to fall for him all over again as he showed that he was a true man. The twins grew steadily and by the time they started school the were clearly taking after Nick in looks and in interests as they played sports throughout their early years and into high school. They were both manly boys who treated Heather like any other girl for years and only found out by accident when their cousins let slip that Heather was like the new girls joining their large family. When the two found out about their sister's genetics they had a bad falling out with Heather to the point that the two refused to be near her and hating her for what she was without learning anything more. Nick had a long argument with them and learned the root cause of their feelings was kids in school had been tormenting them about being feminine without telling them why, leading them to hate Heather for being the cause of them losing friends and being forced out of their sports leagues. Nick had long and often heated debates with the leagues and threatened to sue them for banning his sons because of a kid who never played for them and wanted nothing to do with them. Valerie went one step further and had the leagues banned from city and state parks, essentially forcing them out of business as other cities and towns joined Winnisimmet and the state in not accepting that discriminatory behavior. Heather and the twins struggled to be close to one another, but Troy forced a stop to that by making the boys see that they were siblings and nobody could change that. He then turned it around and asked the twins what actually changed between them other than learning about their sister's past, making the two have to explain exactly what their issues were and why they felt that they couldn't be the same boys anymore and why Heather was the cause of their issues when she hadn't done anything to them at all. They had a long time to think about their answers, with Troy knowing that there was no way that the boys had any valid excuse other than simply blaming Heather for the bigotry of others. The twins were just kids, but the kids around them were horrible to them. They eventually found solace in their new, "Cousins" as they befriended members of the Smith branch of the family. That was key as it was tough to be friends with the Smiths without having to accept that transgender people weren't the ogres that people made them out to be and were actually good people with a serious physical issue. The boys became close to and eventually fell for Elise Smith and Brooklyn Sanders, two ladies in the market for a good boyfriend yet who knew the twins for years and didn't mind being around Heather. It was easy for the girls to get close to the twins, Elise's cousin and aunt were transgender and Brooklyn was protective of girls like Heather ever since learning about her own family past. Brooklyn's mother was what the twins had heard bad parents could be and refused to be like her, showing the boys that the twins didn't have to give a damn about what the boys in school thought as they were their own people. Elise and Brooklyn looked up to Kelly. Despite Elise's mother being a bestselling children's author and screenwriter, the two weren't that close allowing Kelly to fill the role of aunt to Elise in a way that she had never thought possible. Brooklyn understood Kelly more than she realized and hoped that one day her father would find a woman like Kelly, which was tough to do without a lot of help. Nick and Heather were close for years and only drifted apart when Heather started to date girls. It was a tough time for Nick, especially as Kelly showed that she was a mature young woman who could be the woman for her girlfriend and then some. He swore that he'd be fine with them as a couple, but when the couple were caught in bed by him he finally admitted that he wasn't comfortable with Heather growing up so fast and without him many days and weeks. That didn't deter Heather as she and her girlfriend had a child together in high school. Nick was furious but cooled his temper. Heather swore that she'd be a good mother, even after her girlfriend moved away and gave up their child to Heather to raise alone. Heather dealt with being a mom in stride. Nick accepted that his daughter was a mom and he was like a lot of other dads now. He supported her, helping ensure that the baby was happy and healthy. Nick's TV show was a hit and brought him national acclaim for his style that eased kids into learning as well as ensuring that they knew the basics before moving onto harder things. Mitch loved pointing out a bunch of things that Nick was known to do wrong which only caused Nick to do the same to Mitch, a witty repartee that brought laughs and added to the program's fun atmosphere. It bled over into the two other segments, with the basketball and hockey segments using the duo as, "How not to do it" actors in a load of comedy that showcased their fun yet serious side of learning the sports. The show managed to get syndicated nationwide leading Inferno Productions, the production company that was funding the show alongside Nick, Mitch, and Miguel, to license the show for other countries leading to a large amount of revenue for Nick that made his initial investment back 10-fold. Mitch and Nick were happy to have done a little work for a lot of money and helped countless kids learn the sport the right way even if it was done in fun. Inferno happily allowed Nick to buy into the company, with its majority shareholder, John Finn, enjoying telling Nick that he was voted into it long before. Nick thrived over the years under the care of the Peterson/Finn ownership bloc but after they sold their shares of the team for good the tide changed. Nick saw the writing on the wall and was adamant that the would not play for any other team. He confronted the new GM and owners and told them that if the team traded him away he'd retire on the spot. The next day, a trade was announced that would send Nick to Anaheim. Nick held true to his word and formally announced his retirement after 12 years with the team. He was upset that they would get rid of someone who was producing at a top level and whose contract was seen as being a bargain now as the years passed, with Nick not holding back in his anger and frustration over stabbing him in the back. The team ignored his outrage and pressed on, just as it always did. They were never the same without him and saw that he had held the team together through tough times and multiple down years. Nick had a lot of reason to gloat as the team bottomed out, nobody could replace him and the people who were brought in to do so caused issue after issue with the team. Things were bleak until Nick was asked to join the coaching staff, to which he refused. He chose to be retired and live off of his earnings and enjoy the fruits of his lifetime pension. He'd never have to work again, he had a nice $200,000 a year pension, health insurance, and a steady job as an analyst to keep him busy so didn't have to do anything more in baseball. The team kept at Nick to rejoin them but he politely declined, instead working with younger people to the point of being a fixture at amateur camps as a volunteer coach. He loved it, especially as he had the patience to work with kids who weren't the best nor had an inkling for playing beyond the camp. It was the same as it had been for him years before, with Miguel happily claiming it was the, "Circle of life". Heather's lack of interest in sports was fine with Nick as she was more academically inclined. Heather earned a degree in finance and followed her mother into the business, only taking the investment angle of the business instead of the financial planning side of it. She knew what she was doing and was able to turn part of her lawsuit winnings into a tidy fortune of $25 million allowing her freedom to be on her own without financial help from her parents but still choosing to go to them for advice. She found it tough to find love, and simply gave up on it after years of bad dates and girls who weren't the truly, "Accepting" women that they claimed to be. She butted heads with TERFs frequently and gave up trying to talk to anyone outside of the family. She would have entirely closed herself off if not for Jane forcing her to join her and her husband from time to time at their house. Nick consoled her and helped her see that she wasn't the problem: it was other people who just couldn't accept that she was a woman no matter what her genes said. It hurt her to be so lonely, but she had the grit and determination that her father had and wouldn't give up on love. She'd find her true passion one day, even if it meant she'd be an old women when it happened. It only took her a year after graduation to find someone, falling for Claire Peterson, David Peterson's second daughter, much to their parents' shock. Claire blushed deeply and explained that she didn't want to appear to be looking for attention as the only gay Peterson, but her parents were more upset that she felt that way at all and were happy for her especially if Heather made her happy. Claire was happy to be Heather's girlfriend and eventually her wife, loving that she didn't have to worry about what people said as her family supported them and had more money than she'd ever spend in her lifetime just sitting in a trust fund that she refused to touch no matter how much people believed she should. Claire was happy with Heather and made Nick a happy father. He was already a grandfather to a happy boy, now he had a daughter-in-law who wanted nothing from Heather except love and affection. And to be part of one not one but both of the billionaire families was fitting in his view. The Rosses went from a couple struggling to make ends meet while the husband tried to make it as one of hundreds of people playing professional baseball to an arm of the most financially stable families in all of the northeastern US and arguably the unofficial rulers of the entire Boston area. History would be kind to the Ross family, but had it not been for Heather forcing her family to confront her femininity as well as accept that she was what she was it might have turned out different. But by pure luck, their lives changed for the better as Nick became a sports hero and inspiration to millions while Kelly was able to be a mom and a professional and Heather able to be her true self. That was beside the fact that they had not only saved the lives of Nick's parents, they were able to right the wrongs of Nick's brother- all due to the family simply being true to themselves. They might not have sought to do it, but they were the needed new blood into the Finn Family. Things changed fast and frequently after they became part of the family, all for the better. The children were in a world that was forced to finally change and their parents were able to finally stop looking over their shoulders at the past. Sometimes new blood is just what is needed. The End.