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January, 2044, Winnisimmet Massachusetts neighborhood of Twatville It was snowing heavily as she wander through the streets, clad in only a thin jacket and shorts. She had shoes, but they were barely fitting and flopping around as she took each step. It was tough to walk, but she was determined to continue on until she found somewhere nice and warm to sleep. She was only four-years-old yet was smart and could figure out that sleeping in an abandoned building or a back alley wasn't smart. She had her eyes on several cars that she had passed by a lot in the year that she had been in her hometown, hoping that they'd be safe. They were never touched, so they made for a good spot to sleep while she tried to figure out where to go next. She opened the first door that she came to and saw that it was nice inside. She hoped that she could do something about heat so she got the car started, hot-wiring it then starting it like she had seen others do hundreds of times when she was in her foster home. It wasn't nice, but it was safe and warm which is all that really mattered to her for the night. She closed the door and went to sleep, snuggled in the back seat with her favorite stuffed bear and a big smile on her face as she was safe for the night. She dreamed of a loving home and people to take care of her, something that she hadn't had before. She was just an unwanted kid, abandoned after birth at a fire station with no identification nor way of finding her birth mother. Not far away, JD Finn was stirred from his slumber by the sound of that very same car starting. He shot upright as it's hard to sleep when someone just started one of your family's cars that were just sitting in the yard awaiting electrical work and needed new tires! He had to find out who was messing with his cars, it was foolish to do so in that city. As JD got closer to the car he stopped as he saw footprints in the snow, ones of two little feet and led to the only car with a motor running out back of his garage. He looked into the foggy window and ran off to get his phone: there was a kid inside sleeping and clearly alone! He had to help her, even if it meant that she got in trouble he couldn't honestly leave her there to potentially freeze as the car was about to run out of fuel and the heater would die with it. As he reached his phone his Candace asked him what was the matter. He explained what he had seen leading to her rushing to get the little girl and bring her inside to get warm. Candace didn't wait, that little girl needed to get inside and out of the cold and into a warm blanket and hugs. The little girl unintentionally hugged Candace as she opened the door and carried her inside. The two held an embrace, with the girl sleepily hugging her while JD tried hard to not speak. It was touching, a little girl in need of help latched onto the first person to offer her true kindness and love. Police arrived shortly thereafter followed by EMS. The little girl was taken to the hospital for an exam by doctors while the police interviewed JD about her. It was standard procedure, but it also meant that a lot of tough questions would be asked of both while away from one another. Before his wife left, Candace called a friend at social services and asked for help leading to a social worker heading directly to the house to speak with JD before heading to the hospital to check on the girl. The police didn't try to intervene or claim that it wasn't needed by them, they knew that it was futile to try to interfere in what was going on: JD knew social services well while the officers who had responded were well-aware of just who JD was in regards to them. He told his story to them multiple times from multiple angles, waited with the officers for the social worker to arrive, then saw the officers off after being cleared by the social worker. At the hospital the girl caused a little stir as the truth about her was discovered as her shorts were taken off of her to be disposed of and be replaced by a children's hospital gown. The little girl wasn't a girl physically, she was a boy- albeit a boy who was undersized and looked very feminine. That didn't upset Candace, all she did was tell the doctors that she'd have the proper people notified shortly. She called JD and told him the news, he simply told her that the little girl would be helped by the two even if they had to take her in themselves. She shed a tear, it was clear that he wanted to help her even if it meant fostering the little girl. The thought of her being all alone caused her to cry, she needed help more than most children and likely hadn't had it yet. The doctor got her attention and pointed out numerous marks on the girl's back, legs, chest, arms, and neck. It was clear what happened to her, the little girl had been abused by someone and it wasn't a one-time event. Someone had done it repeatedly, but not hard enough to require medical attention beyond a few simple band-aids which covered the most recent wounds. Social services' representative arrived, took Candace's story, then tried to take custody of the girl and leave with her by claiming that the girl was in their care and Candace wasn't wanted. That was quickly and authoritatively countered by two more people arriving, both of whom told the representative that it was a criminal investigation and if what the social worker had said was true then someone was going to prison as it had gone past a simple internal review. She wanted to argue, but the man presented a badge while the woman happily told her colleague "His comes direct from the top. The child is placed in care of the Finns as they are both cleared for care and have means to ensure proper care." There was no retort, she was led out by the officer and told that they would be by shortly to seal all of the computers and files in her office. She was also told to retain legal counsel, she needed to speak with officers about her role in the alleged abuse given that it wasn't a one-time event. She tried to argue but it wasn't up for debate, she had to follow the same rules even if it meant her career was over. Inside the hospital room, the little girl was sound asleep and running a slight temperature. Her body was only two degrees higher than normal, but the doctor felt that she was hiding the truth as she had only just started the car to heat herself when she was found so they believed that she was just starting to become hypothermic but being masked by the fever that was raging inside of her. She would need to stay the night after receiving medications for infections, leaving them with little choice but to let the girl sleep but allowed them to get her needed clothing for the trip home. Candace signed the needed paperwork then hugged the man and woman for coming to the girl's aid so fast. The two were happy to help, she never asked for it and it was something that they needed to do anyway to protect the little girl. It was part of being their family, the little girl hit the jackpot that night. There was nothing more to be said to the doctors so she called JD to tell him what was going on and why she was stuck there that night. He understood, she needed immediate support and as it was idiocy to fight his family over anything involving kids and gender issues she was being placed with the family for the foreseeable future until her family could be located or someone could take her in who had no issues with her gender change. He hoped that the little girl wasn't in any danger, but feared the worst if someone was already trying to get her back under their control. He couldn't leave home as he had three kids there. His eldest, a girl named Skylar, was just shy of her 11th birthday, his two boys were Joey and Danny, aged six and five. All three looked like their parents even though Skylar was adopted by him when he married Candace when Skylar was just two-years-old and had been the light of his life since she came to him to ask him to help her mother with her car causing him to fall madly in love with the woman all over again. Joey and Danny were his sons by blood and he loved them deeply. They took after him in all ways but had some of Candace and Skylar's looks making him smile whenever he saw the four together. He had never dreamed that his family would be so full, with the boys making him recall Skylar and Candace over the years and showing that the bond between parents and child were strong in them. The realization hit him that his house was now too small for all of them. He sent a message off to both of his parents that he hoped would be a "Yes" from them, all but begging for them to let him stay with them until their situation was settled. He didn't want the little girl to be sent away because he lacked a bed for her let alone a bedroom, while his parents' house was empty except for a single bedroom. His response was immediate: "No need to beg." He shook his head, his father John understood it while he'd be explaining everything to his mother Valerie in the morning. He suspected that she may already know, it was just her way of letting John get his say without seeming to. Both parents slept lightly that night, it was tough to sleep on a pull- out chair and in an empty bed. Their kids were awake early and already eating when he entered, with the trio looking upset at Candace not being there. They suspected something happened, possibly a fight between their parents. JD mustered the courage to speak and after a few tense moments explained, "Your mom had to rush off to the hospital last night. We heard someone starting your aunt's car in the yard and when we saw who had done it we called for help. A little girl was found inside, trying to stave off the cold and feeling ill. Your mother went with her to the hospital to be examined and will hopefully be back later today. But it is only the first bit of news. The next bit is tougher: we have to stay with your grandparents because we don't have a spare bedroom here. I'm sorry that you get your wish, you get to play with your grandma more. But you won't get off easily, you still have chores to do. Just because your grandpa cooks all of the meals doesn't mean you don't have to help clean nor keep your room clean." He knew that they weren't happy with that but they were happy to see their grandparents. They loved to be spoiled by them, especially now that they were big enough to play the game systems. Their dad had a strong hatred of that habit, but his father pointed out how it was following in their dad's footsteps. Packing took all morning as each struggled to get all of their clothes into their bags while leaving a lot of needed items like socks, underwear, and pajamas out. The kids were nervous and it showed, they had known about kids like their foster-sister before and had even grown up around a couple who joined their family through adoption but this was the first time that it impacted them directly. They had a lot of empathy for her, even more than they let on as they suspected something more was going on. The trip to their grandparents' house seemed like forever, but it was only five minutes and saw them all run inside and hug their grandparents immediately before going to claim their rooms. The boys tried to share but were told that they had school and different friends so would need their own space. They'd accept being apart, it was more about trying to not stay there for long as they didn't want to be there for too long or else someone might say something about their dad again. Skylar was bold and chose two rooms, with JD telling her that she'd be needed but not yet. It was clear why she did that, she wanted to be next to her foster-sister and likely help her the same way her own cousins had helped her when she herself joined their family. It was duty to her, and she loved being able to do it for once without there being an ulterior motive among the parents. Once the kids were settled, JD left for the hospital after kisses from Skylar. Once he left, she demanded to know what was really going on with her new foster-sister and refused to let any of the adults lie to her or deflect attention away from the topic. She stood firm, and in doing so she caused her grandparents to laugh and hug her as she was acting like her mother right then. Valerie sat her down and softly explained, "Your foster-sister is really your foster-brother. We don't know what is going on as he was found asleep and hadn't awoken yet so he hasn't told your mom what why he ran away or why he chose to sleep in the car. He might have done it to get away easily, he might be like your aunts and is really a little girl inside, or he might just like to dress as a girl like your cousins. We don't know, which is causing issues. You did the right thing in asking us but this is something that your parents need to handle. You will be able to be a big sister to him, or her, when the time comes. We are proud of you, and love you for doing that." She walked away feeling bad, but was hugged and told, "You needed to know the truth, you are now old enough to hear it. We are proud of you for doing the right thing and asking us directly instead of trying to go around us to your cousins, aunts, and uncles. We know that they'd tell you the truth, but you did a good thing in asking us direct: you got it unfiltered and without anyone adding on their opinions." Over at the hospital, JD and Candace were reunited just before the little girl started to stir. She looked up at the couple and grew scared, with Candace softly telling her, "You're in the hospital. You fell asleep last night in a car and got our attention. You have a fever and were getting too cold for your own good. You would have died if you didn't find a warm place to sleep and might have died if you didn't get to a doctor to treat your infections. Please, don't try to talk until the doctor comes." She looked at them and was ready to leave, JD softly told her, "We know your secret and we're OK with it. You need to stay put until the doctor gives you the all clear. It's for your own sake, you're a strong girl but you are still so young and need to regain your strength." The doctor came and checked the little girl over. She noted that the little girl's temperature had arisen to a borderline fever level but had stabilized. She wasn't in any danger, just higher than normal and it's likely due to the effects of the medicine taking hold. The doctor cleared them to talk, with the couple calling their social worker friend to come by. The little girl was afraid of them, but didn't dare move or speak unless told to. She wanted to leave but accepted that she had nowhere to go and couldn't leave in just a gown. An hour later a woman arrived and hugged the couple. She read some notes then told the two, "We have her name and specifics but after last night all of the other kids staying with her have to be removed for their own safety. She wasn't alone in being abused, she was just the most prolific. We are of the belief that she protected the others or was prompted to get abuse by them to save themselves from the same fate. I hate doing it, but four kids removed from a bad foster parent is worth the hassle." The little girl was scared but didn't move as she feared that someone might try to harm her even if they appeared to be nice people so far. The woman introduced herself as Willow Lopez and was the couple's friend but also a social worker who covered Winnisimmet and was happy to takeover her case until a permanent social worker was assigned. Willow didn't react to her being in a gown nor that it was pink, she simply wrote out some things while observing her. When Willow finished, she asked, "Do you know anything about girls who were born as boys? You're a bit too comfortable dressed as a girl and haven't reacted to us using 'she' or 'her' when we were talking about you. You also have been reported as dressing as a girl for months, even if nothing was done to get you help to address your situation as per our requirements. I don't want to get anyone in trouble, but it is clear to me that you aren't just going through a phase and might be a girl inside." The little girl shed tears and looked away in shame. She timidly mumbled, "I'm a girl. I hate having boy parts. I told 'master' that I was a girl and he'd hit me then tell the other kids that I was a freak and not to be like me. I don't like being a boy, I like being a girl. I don't want to be a boy anymore." Willow just nodded and stated, "You know what to do. Your sister can't help her, but she knows a few of her colleagues who'll be willing to help even if it means only because of who you are. She'll expect to be told anyway, the kids will have already told her about your guest once Skylar finished eating." Willow left to allow them to formally introduce one another. The little girl was quiet so the couple did a quick introduction. Candace spoke for both, telling her, "I'm Candace Finn and this is my husband JD. You fell asleep behind JD's car repair shop, we lived upstairs and heard the motor running. You were in the car and fast asleep. We had to call for help as you weren't waking when we tried to move you. You were checked by doctors and they found out that you had a fever alongside near hypothermia. You were out of it so the doctors wanted to keep you overnight for observation. We called Willow for support, she took control of your case once it was revealed that you were in social services' care. You'll be with us at JD's parents' house for the foreseeable future. It's a big house and you'll like the kids nearby." JD added, "We have a daughter and two sons. Our sons are a little older than you and our daughter is the spitting image of her mother right down to her fiery temper and need to know everything. She'll help it be a comfortable stay, if you want to stay with us. Do you?" The little girl nodded, telling him, "I hated master's house. He was mean and made us cook and clean it. I got stuck with all of the worst jobs and got hit because of what the others did. He said he'd hurt me if I didn't act like a boy but I refuse to be a boy. I ran off when he said he'd cut my balls off, whatever it means. I don't want to be hurt anymore, I don't want to be a boy." She was in tears, JD hugged her while Candace texted Willow with that startling news. JD wisely told her, "You are with us now, nobody dares go after us. We are too powerful. My family are the only ones in this state that scares everyone who ever wants to hurt people- especially kids." He asked her what her name was. She shed a tear and whispered, "Everyone calls me Angel. I know it's not normally a girl's name but it's my name. I'm a girl. I hate being a boy. I can't be a boy." JD shed a tear while Candace happily told her, "Angel is a beautiful name. We're happy to call you it if it means you are going to be happy too. We'll tell mom and dad that you'll be joining us shortly." JD got the doctor who released Angel and was then told what to look out for. It was simple instructions but with a lot of medical personnel in their family it would be tough to not follow doctor's orders. JD had to endure texts from his sister and sister-in-law as well as the rest of the nurses in the family making for a funny scene as he knew just who would text next then who would be the most forceful among them even if it was just repeating the same instructions to him. Candace told them that it'd be a short time before Angel's clothes arrived. She looked scared, but didn't ask what they meant. Candace wisely stated, "You can't go home in a gown. You need a jacket, shoes, hat, and gloves. I think jeans and a t-shirt would be best for now, you might not be ready for a skirt." Her clothes arrived, but were delivered by the one person that JD hoped wouldn't deliver them. He did a look over at the newly arrived woman and growled, "This isn't a game. She is too tormented to endure any of your usual antics. Give her space, don't do your usual joking yet." The woman waved him off and gave the dress to Angel. JD growled that it wasn't what he asked for, it was pushing things. The woman gave him a smirk then told him, "Orders from above. She needs to feel like a girl and this is the girliest thing that we could find. She has leggings and panties too. Sorry if you are trying to be cautious, but I'm only following doctor's orders. You try telling her no- I dare you!" Candace shook her head then told Angel, "This brat is JD's twin sister Cat. She's trying to make their big sister out to be the one to blame for what she bought. Their sister is a gender doctor and likely told her to buy you an outfit befitting a little girl which Cat took to mean getting a dress. She doesn't know if it might be something that you like, she just bought it to push JD's buttons." Cat rushed JD out and told him Angel needed privacy. JD waited outside and furiously texted his sister to tell her not to pull a stunt like that again. As expected, he was told that Cat did it on her own and did it because she wanted to do it and in her own way she thought that it helped Angel more. He hated that she was right. Angel gave a subtle reaction that showed that it wasn't a bad idea and that it was something that she liked seeing. It showed her that they wanted to help her and not lying to her. Inside, Cat told Angel to get dressed then helped her with her leggings and dress. She then put socks on her and a new pair of shoes, not sneakers as had been expected. Cat grinned while Candace shook her head at Cat doing that, but it made Angel look more feminine and was clearly making her feel better. Cat had her pose then sent a picture off to someone, who then told Cat what to do next. Cat grinned as she took out a brush and started to untangle Angel's hair then added a headband which moved it off of her face completely. Finally, she added barrettes which pinned her hair back giving her a clearly cute and feminine look that caused Angel to cry as she looked so pretty. JD was dragged in and stopped short at seeing Angel. He looked up at Cat who smirked while Candace gave him a nod that Angel was alright and liked the look. He knelt down and softly told her, "You look beautiful, honey, much better than Cat's usual makeovers." Cat gave Angel a hug and left, with the doctor returning to give the all clear to Angel allowing them to go home. Angel donned her new pink coat along with her pink hat and gloves and sat next to Candace in JD's car then fell asleep with her head on Candace's shoulder. It was a cute sight, with JD smiling as Candace did her best to console the tired girl. The two arrived at the Finn home and saw JD having to carry Angel inside. He had to shoo the kids to one side while he deposited the napping Angel on the couch with Candace herself falling asleep next to her. He didn't have to say why she was tired, the boys knew not to awaken their sleeping mother. JD turned to his parents and sagely told them, "She's got nowhere else to go and has no trust for anyone but us. It was bad, the worst I've heard of. I don't think she would have lasted much longer if she didn't run away when she did, she was going to be castrated if not killed by her foster-father." John nodded and Valerie growled, "We'll ensure that the right people know. Willow won't let any of this go, not with you two involved. She's going to have to give up the case but will be involved." Angel slept for another hour before she started to stir. Candace stirred as well, giving Angel a hug to let her know that she was alright then took her upstairs to use the bathroom. Candace grabbed a change of clothes for herself before ensuring that Angel was alright, with the little girl watching as he changed out of her clothes and into a more comfortable outfit. The look on Angel's face showed just what she was thinking: she was jealous of Candace's body and at not having the right privates. She looked down at her privates and then back up at Candace's and had a look of shame. Seeing Candace's boobs only made her feel worse as she covered her chest and thought of how she wasn't going to get any because she was a boy physically. Kneeling in front of Angel, Candace softly told her, "You are too young to think about things like that. I know that it hurts not having the right privates, but you'll get them eventually. As for my breasts? You will be able to grow some when you get older. There's a lot involved and people who have to talk with you, but there are doctors who will help you become a girl physically. You might not be able to give birth to a baby, but that isn't an issue as there are ways around that." Angel hugged her and thanked her for telling her that. Candace wisely added, "You aren't the first girl to come out at your age, nor are you going to be the last. You are special, you are in our care. You will get the best care, JD and his parents will ensure it. We'll ensure that you are safe and happy, even if you're placed with a different family or your own family are located." Angel sniffled and told her, "I don't have any family. Master told me that I was dumped at a fire station. I wasn't wanted by any adoption agency and nobody wanted a weirdo boy. I don't have anyone, I'm in foster care because I'm not wanted. Master said I'd be better off dead." She wept into Candace's shoulder. She told her mother-in-law, "Can you do anything for her? She isn't a freak nor is she unwanted, he sounds like he was trying to get her to do something so that he could sue on her behalf. We saw it before a couple of times with kids, they hid some of the smaller ones so they'd never get adopted despite being desired. I know Angel would have been adopted by Jessica and Eric in a heartbeat if she had been known to be available to adopt." There was no need to respond to that, the two were led downstairs to eat lunch and for Angel to get her meeting with the kids out of the way. The trio were eagerly awaiting her and ran right to her to hug her. She struggled with saying something, Candace told her that they wanted to give her attention and let it show that they wanted her to be there alongside them. The trio finally stopped when their lunches were put on the table, signifying that it was time to eat and leave Angel alone for a while. Angel was unsure what to do but Candace dished out some food onto Angel's plate and told her to eat-up, she needed the strength. Angel did as told, with the boys not eating until Angel had eaten half of her plate of food. Once Angel had eaten her fill, the boys led her downstairs to a play area with a small house built into a wall. They happily told her that's where the girls liked to play which caused her to cry. Skylar led her to the dolls and other toys inside with Angel understanding what they meant: it was made for girls. Once the boys were out of earshot, Angel was quietly told, "They thought that you'd want to play alone as you might not like boy games or toys. They play a lot with trains and cars, our cousins don't like to play with them as they like girlier things. Grandpa built this house for Aunts Cat and Willow so they could play all by themselves and didn't bug daddy, we all play in it until we get too big for it. Mommy wants you to do fun things even if it's by yourself, you don't have to do what you don't want to do. I'll play with you if you don't want to play inside there. I'm too big for it but I can still fit inside." Angel hugged her and went inside to play, falling asleep inside an hour later. Candace sought her after a half hour nap, bringing her upstairs to meet several people. She was afraid, but Candace held her hand and sat her in her lap while the adults talked around her. Candace happily told them, "Skylar is doing what we thought she would do. The boys aren't used to her but haven't antagonized her. Danny is Danny and followed Joey's lead, Joey stumbled when he told her to play in the playhouse but Skylar smoothed over any ruffled feathers. She ate, played by herself for an hour before she put herself down for a nap, and barely spoke to anyone since arriving." The adults quietly talked among themselves as Angel held tightly to Candace. JD finally announced, "It might be wise to move this upstairs and away from the kids. They'll gladly tell their cousins about all of you talking in front of Angel. It's tough enough on her as-is." Skylar was already texting someone which led JD to shake his head. A minute later phones started to let off annoying rings while Skylar told her father, "He's coming over and isn't happy. He's bringing over a couple of people who are even more upset. I don't know who, but he said I had to leave the room." JD shook his head and told Skylar to take the boys downstairs. Turning to Angel, he calmly told her, "I think you'd better go with Skylar. This might concern you, but you're too young to hear some of what's about to be said. You didn't do anything wrong, someone else did and is trying to hurt you through us." Skylar led Angel away, with JD telling the group, "As the child is presenting as female she is to be called by feminine pronouns. I expect the person who made the claims is a person known to her and likely her now-former foster-father. She met with a social worker before being allowed to leave the hospital and said social worker is well-aware of where she is staying. You can see her report when requested, she has passed the case on to someone else as she is close linked to us." The group were about to make accusations when multiple men entered and asked for identification and then asked what they were doing there as there was no request made through official channels to check on Angel. There was some delaying before one finally stated, "We were directly contacted this morning by a man claiming to have witnessed a sexual assault on a child in progress and that the child had been removed from a hospital by force. We got your address from the hospital and needed to verify what had gone on. We were told nothing of social services being involved, only that you had the child." JD didn't need to speak, one of the men with him loudly proclaimed, "The child was taken last night to a hospital due to hypothermia symptoms as well a likely infection that was causing a fever. She presented as female so was treated as such by the staff. They suspected abuse after marks were found all over her body due to the need to remove her torn, grimy, ill-fitting clothes. The infection is a urinary tract one, it is likely caused by lack of bathing and wearing soiled clothing. And I do mean soiled: they were caked in dirt the point of flinging dirt into the air. There was no sexual assault, it was crafted by her previous foster- father to try to getaway from possible legal action against him as he is suspected of abusing her." Another man showed his badge and proclaimed, "I was one of the officers who responded last night and went with Mrs. Finn to the hospital. The child was in a poor state and needed immediate medical help. I was present for the initial exam and left once it was clear that the child wasn't in any immediate danger. She was wearing next to no clothes, a thin jacket, worn-out shoes, and shorts. All were feminine. That's not a crime, nor is treating a patient presenting as female like she is a female." The final man showed his badge and happily told the men, "There was no crime, except lying to police. I am asking that the State Police takeover this investigation as it's out of our hands. Our officers aren't to be used to force views on others. You tried to do your job, but you lacked proper information. If he's so intent on 'helping' why didn't he go to social services first? The why is simple: they knew the truth." The men left but were stopped by Willow and handed a report. She then told them, "There's no evidence of any abuse except for abuse that occurred previous to the Finns gaining custody. Your investigation is being superseded by the State Police investigation. Troopers will speak to you shortly to gain the fullest picture of what happened and why. Don't try to lie, they hate arresting fellow officers." Willow also casually added, "The head of social services here isn't a coincidence, he's ensuring that it's all done by the books. The Attorney General is checking in later and has troopers holding off for a bit to let the girl settle down. Your role is done, their role started the second it turned into a cross-city abuse case. She was treated in Boston where the report officially originates, it crossed city and county lines putting it in their hands. Winnisimmet's role in the case is officially transferred to the State Police." She grinned as a discreet, "Ahem" was heard a few feet away from her. They saw the Attorney General of Massachusetts standing there along with two men in suits, with all three giving indications that the officers should leave immediately. Willow simply hugged them as she walked off, while the Attorney General entered the Finn home without need to knock. Inside, JD and Candace looked over the group and shook their heads. JD asked, "Who called the cavalry and how many playdates did they demand? I don't want her overwhelmed with new people just yet." John laughed and happily told him, "I did. This required as much help as possible to keep her safe and ensure that there's no false accusations against you. You play it safe with kids like her, you don't leave anything to chance. The right people know, your brother and cousins were told and did some digging on their own and had to react when they did. They handed off the case to the right people so that she doesn't get railroaded or her former foster parents get off without punishment." He nodded then asked why the show of legal force. John grinned and happily told him, "Better to have a strong image than be seen as weak. You have overwhelming support from the right people, it's tough to claim abuse or worse if you were cleared by a psychologist, a police officer, troopers, and your cousin." John sent one woman down to the playroom to talk with Angel. The boys gave her a hug while Skylar realized what was going on and told Angel, "Aunt Fiona needs to talk to you in private. It's because of you becoming a girl. She needs to talk to you about it before you can talk with the regular doctor. She's nice, except when she makes us change our cousins' diapers. They poop a lot just for us." Angel looked afraid but the woman happily told her, "She's mad that they didn't like her. They know if I am punishing someone, they like to make things tough on the boys and girls. We're happy that they are able to do that, they help us out a lot and behave the rest of the time for us and them." She led Angel upstairs to an office to talk then told her, "My name is Fiona Nelson. I'm a psychologist who specializes in abuse in children with a secondary specialty in transgender issues. I know that you are physically a boy but you're not the first girl I've encountered like you. My sister, my wife, and my niece are too. All but my niece had to endure people hurting us, with my wife being badly hurt by her birth parents. You are safe with JD and Candace, but beware of Cat. She's a nice lady, but she also doesn't like people who hurt others and will want to do whatever it takes to protect you. She's funny, she'll try to make you like her even if it means JD looks foolish and Candace has to protect him again." Fiona asked her a series of questions that led her through Angel's life as far back as possible. It wasn't easy, Angel was scared most of her life and was often left alone at her foster home with little to do and nobody to talk to. She was scared, hungry, tired, and feared the abuse by the other kids. When Fiona started to ask about Angel being a girl, Angel shed tears but told her, "I kept looking at the boys when we showered together and then at the girls when I got kicked out of the showers by the boys and I saw that they were different. I liked how the girls looked and how they started to get bigger and a lot hairier as they got older. I liked how they treated me and how much the boys left me alone when I'd be with the girls. The girls started to treat me like I was an honorary girl, I loved feeling like I was one of them. Then I started to act like one. Then I wanted to be one. I loved being a girl. I am a girl." Fiona made a lot of notes and realized early on that Angel's life was mostly about basic survival and it led directly to her feelings about being a girl. Fiona tried to ask if she only had started feeling like she's a girl because of the girls at the foster home, Angel nodded but added, "It felt right. I felt like I was one of the girls already even if I didn't have an innie like them. The girls told me that I'm just another girl and I should be one all of the time, so I started to be one. I told master that I was a girl and wouldn't be a boy anymore. I refused to dress as a boy, girls don't dress in boy clothes. I am a girl, I know I am." She was in tears and broke down, letting frustrations out that needed to be let out. Fiona had hit a nerve but it also showed that she was provoked into finding her true self years before she would have found it as a tween or teenager. It was early, but she was heavily leaning towards female. Fiona led Angel downstairs and announced, "She's leaning towards female but why she is is likely to be environmental and abuse-based rather than her own basic feelings. She is leaning heavily, but with time and talking to someone that she trusts she might end up just being feminine but not transgender. I'm not signing off on transition in full, only that she continues to dress as needed but interaction with kids and especially girls her own age might help greatly. And if after a few weeks she still feels that she's a girl inside and can't live as a boy, I'll endorse transition. Before you ask, I'm not handing off her case due to the obvious: I need talks with her about the abuse as it's a major part of her life up until now. She's a survivor, she needs my help to overcome her fears and anxieties that the foster parents caused." The obvious was asked. Fiona growled, "Simply by addressing her foster- father as 'master' shows that it wasn't a parent/child relationship, it's more likely master/slave and probably kept under a tight hold by him. She might be the worst-off among all of us, we've had abused kids but never near slaves!" She had to go home to calm herself. The other adults wisely let her go and formulated a plan of attack to protect Angel and ensure that her former foster-father never contacted her or any kid again. It was a long talk and Angel refused to leave, causing the adults to see that she wanted to know what was going on around her and try not to upset them any more than she already had done. Angel ran out of steam and fell asleep in JD's lap. He listened as others talked around him, rocking the sleeping Angel in his arms while she hugged him without thinking. It was sweet, Candace was shocked to see her doing what Skylar did to him when she was Angel's age showing that she trusted JD fully. Eventually it was time for dinner and saw the guests leaving with hugs and kisses to the kids. JD had to awaken the sleeping Angel causing her to apologize but JD simply told her that she was still recovering from being sick and needed a lot of rest. He then told her, "You talked for a while with Fiona and we all know that it was tough on you to tell her those things. It's alright to be tired, you're still young." Angel ate but still looked over at JD to see if she had upset him. He didn't say anything about her or the talk with Fiona, he didn't need to speak as she had done nothing that he himself hadn't done before. He had a talk in that manner in the past with his aunt, Fiona normally talked with the kids at some point if there was clearly something going on with them that they were hiding and it might be important. After dinner, Cat entered with her kids and sought Angel. She gave the girl a big hug and kiss then gave her several bags filled with clothes of all sorts. JD tried to say something but Cat happily shot back, "I was under orders from above: get her what she needs and multiples. She needs everything, she can't be in the same dress every day. Plus she needs pajamas for the night. And she could do with something the girls thought she'd need: she gets Sammi, by order of the girls." Cat showed the stuffed cabbit and handed it to Angel. Angel hugged it tight, with Cat happily telling her, "She was mine at your age, then it went to our cousin's daughter, then her cousin. Now she's yours. She hides a secret: she's a backpack so you can keep special items inside. The girls took good care of her and now that they are old enough for boys they wanted to pass her on to you." Angel tearfully thanked Cat. JD knew not to say something while Candace happily told Cat, "You're the only one who truly understands the kids. It's a shame that you didn't follow Fiona into psychology, but I think being a big kid in all but body helps you understand them in a different way." Cat glared at her while JD added, "She's telling the truth. You're the most immature of us but you know how to make the kids happy and get the truth out of them. You're the 'fun' aunt, I'm the 'mean' uncle." The couple put the boys to bed then put Angel down for the night. She hugged Sammi tight, showing a smile in her sleep as she enjoyed the closeness of the cabbit. It was hers, a true first for her. The family went to bed but a few hours after everyone went to bed Angel got up and moved to Skylar's room. She climbed into her bed and hugged her, with Sammi's ears flopping onto Skylar's shoulder. It was scary for Angel, she felt like she needed someone to hug and didn't want to go to JD and Candace. Candace awoke before the others and checked on Angel. Not finding her in bed, she started desperately looking for the little girl. When she found her with Skylar she had to fight tears: they looked so cute in bed together and it clearly meant something to Angel to be close to Skylar. Skylar started to stir and grew scared as she found Angel hugging her. Candace happily told her, "She's doing what your cousins all did to you when they stayed over. She needed you, you were the closest of us to her and she didn't want to upset your dad by jumping in bed with us." Angel started to stir and grew scared. Skylar hugged her and kissed her cheek, with Candace telling the girls to get ready for the day. Skylar got up to go to the bathroom while Angel stayed firmly in place. Candace left once Skylar returned. She didn't acknowledge the little girl looking at her timidly, just did her usualy morning routine and changed. Angel saw her naked and blushed, Skylar happily told her, "I have boobs growing. Mom said I'm an early bloomer like her, daddy isn't happy that I'm getting older. Daddy wants to keep me young, he loves me but he wants his baby girl to stay young forever." She only put on a robe then walked Angel to her room to change. After stripping her and ensuring that she had all of the right things, Skylar walked Angel to the bathroom and showered with her. Angel had to hide her shame, but Skylar happily told her, "Mom is busy with the boys. They hate getting up." They dried themselves, put their hair in a turban to dry it, then put on their robes to get dressed. Skylar asked Angel if she wanted to see her closer, then told her, "I'm probably going to get hair soon so take a look but don't tell mom or daddy. I'm different than you, you have an outie and I have an innie. You'll get an innie when you get older, you can't get one before 16 but most wait until 18. You don't want one before 16, the girls who had it done had horrible things happen to them by others." Angel blushed and thanked her for showing her. Skylar happily told her, "You're my sister now, it's my job as big sister to help you. You might not have babies the normal way, but you still need to know a lot of things that I can tell you. Mom and daddy are embarrassed by this stuff so I have to do it." Candace cleared her throat and announced, "She's too young to know most of the things that you now. I have no problem talking with her about the difference between boys and girls especially their anatomy, it's just that I don't know what's going on inside the mind of a girl in the midst of transition. Your aunts are best able to help, they went through it themselves." Angel asked what she meant. Skylar happily explained, "Aunts Jaimie and Flora are like you. Both had their surgeries, Aunt Jaimie 23 years ago and Aunt Flora 14 years ago. Aunt Jaimie couldn't have kids, she lost boy parts that help make them when she was 12. Aunt Flora didn't lose hers, Aunt Ella has had three kids from her. Mom won't let me know what happens, I'm still too young to learn sex." Candace blushed and explained to her daughter, "You'll be told in a few months, I can tell that you're in the throes of becoming a woman physically and need to know that stuff. Angel is too young, all that she needs to know is there are physical differences and she saw it on you. Please don't do that again, if the wrong people heard that you did that we can get into a lot of trouble." Angel was in tears, begging Candace not to punish them. She sat Angel down and softly explained, "It's innocent teaching. It's what the girls did for me in my foster home when I was your age. I didn't learn a lot because they were only a little older than me, but I still learned some stuff. You needed to know, it's something that you had to know as now you know that there are more differences than just clothes." Angel thanked her and was led downstairs. JD was concerned but Candace eased his anxiety. John had to shoo him onward, John understood that it was a motherhood moment that needed to happen. After breakfast, Angel asked what Candace meant by foster home. Candace sat her down and explained to her, "I grew up in foster homes from when I was a baby, much like you. I never got adopted, I wasn't the kind of kid people wanted: I was a mixed race, skinny, early bloomer, big breasted, athletic girl. I 'aged-out' and had to work hard to live. I went to college thanks to dad's help but ended up pregnant with Skylar. I struggled and unfortunately had car troubles which led to JD helping me and falling in love with me. He gave me an old car that nobody wanted but was working great, hired me to run his office, and helped me get daycare for Skylar so I could work. I knew him since we were in preschool but he finally fell in love with me after meeting again, and after I found out that I was pregnant with Joey he asked me to marry him and become Skylar's father." Angel hugged her, Candace understood her. JD happily added, "We went to school together and never in a million years would she have wanted to marry me. I didn't care that she was in foster care, too many of my relatives have been: my sisters, brothers, cousins, 2nd-cousins, nephew, niece, and more. They were all good people, they just found good parents or were adopted by close relatives. She might have been if she had gotten close to me, but she didn't want to upset me or my family: especially not Cat! Nobody in their right mind wants to upset her. She hates admitting it, but Cat liked Candace for a long time but she never could get Candace to come over to play or for a sleepover. If she did, she might have gotten our aunts or uncles to adopt her as their own daughter giving her a real family years before." Candace looked away in shame at the memories while Angel hugged her tight to make her feel better. It was a powerful scene, Angel somehow knew how to make the couple feel better. Unconsciously, she had a strong urge to be their daughter that was starting to show as they talked. After eating, JD and Candace had to go to work which caused Angel fear as she didn't want to be left in the care of someone who might hurt her. John soothed her and happily told her, "You're going to stay at the house with me. You can go out back to play in the snow with the other kids, it'll be a lot more fun if you join them. Skylar is staying by your side, she won't let anyone pester you. The neighbors are happy to play with you, especially Grace Pierce. She's a girl like you, she came out a year and a half ago." Skylar quickly ran off to a neighboring house and called out for Grace. A little girl came rushing out to see her and cheered at seeing Angel. She ran over to Angel and gave her a big hug, then told the upset Angel, "Mommy said there was another little girl like me nearby! Skylar said we're the same age!" She grabbed Angel and dragged her inside to show her off to her grandparents and mother. Skylar had to quickly tell the Pierces, "Anger is staying with mom and daddy. They found her Friday night in Aunt Jaimie's car. She's like Grace, only she hates being a boy more than Grace." Grace's mother Amy happily hugged Angel then whispered into her ear, "My friend is like you, but she didn't want to be a girl. Another friend is a boy like you. We're happy that you are you and if you want you and Grace can be friends, she'd love having a friend who understands her." Grace got dressed and led Angel to where the snow was and played with her for an hour before the two had to go inside to warm themselves. Grace loved showing Angel her toys and had her play with them until they tired themselves out causing Amy to have to lift them up to put them on the couch to sleep. It was sweet, they instantly hugged one another as soon as they sensed their closeness. The nap wasn't long and saw them seeing new faces arriving for lunch. A man and woman were with a couple of kids who happily ran off as soon as they saw Grace with Angel. Angel was upset at that but Grace happily giggled, "They are too old to play 'little kid' games. Uncle Steven does a lot of boy things with them to keep them from getting into trouble, they don't like playing girl games." The man and women came in and stopped short at seeing Angel sitting on the couch with Grace. Amy smirked and happily told them, "I told you it'd happen sooner or later. Skylar came right for the door when the four were told to play in the yard and Grace didn't wait to get an answer." Amy introduced her brother-in-law Steven and his wife Nancy. The two hugged Angel and waited for a response, Amy knelt in front of Angel and explained, "Nancy's best friend and sister are like you, they were born with boy parts but were girls inside. You met her sister-in-law Fiona already, she's married to Nancy's sister Mia. Her best friend Kylie isn't able to visit you as she had a lot of work to do, and her wife was sick so Kylie had to watch their kids." Angel asked how they could have kids, which caused the couple to snicker while Amy carefully told a perplexed Angel, "It takes a lot of help from doctors and technicians. You are too young to know how, it can be done if you like girls like them or you like boys like Jaimie. Either way, it's possible." Skylar blushed as she realized that it was part of her talk with her mom. Nancy shook her head and told the blushing Skylar, "I swear you take after your father far more than you realize. I think the idiot had a lot of more to do with your creation than he thinks, it fits a bit too well. Sorry, I have to do digging. If I find something, I swear I'll let you know." Amy happily snapped, "Talk to Jordan. If anyone can get to the bottom of this, it's her. We'll save you a lot of anxiety, Skylar: you will know the truth or we won't speak of it again." Skylar nodded and let it go, while Angel and Grace went back to playing after Steven fed them. He had a look in his eyes that Amy had to know meant fatherhood was starting to creep into him again, with a hope for a daughter for Nancy coming soon. Amy looked at Angel and smiled, he'd likely make a girl happy by taking her out of the system by adopting her into their family. Angel's situation caused Steven to walk across the Finn home and talk with JD and John. There was a look on his face that showed that it was serious. Steven rarely got upset, but something bugged him. Steven composed himself and asked about Angel. John stopped the newly arrived JD from speaking and explained, "She's a lot like you and Dante, only with a gender issue. Something is off, someone wanted her kept from the rest of the adoptable kids. She might have an issue but it's nothing we can't deal with. If she had been among the kids you'd have adopted her immediately. You didn't click with the girls, but with her you'd have found someone to ground Nancy and give your sons someone to dote on. I don't think JD will let her go, so you're back to square one with adopting a child." JD looked away in shame but Steven countered, "It was luck that she chose your garage to sleep in and it's luck that you happen to be the most connected person and more than capable of handling her care. I can't pry her away from you, especially not with Candace being so much like her. She needs you, she's a Finn in all but name. She's repeating the cycle. Like Jaimie before her, she found someone who more than understands her. Candace needs this, she needs to raise the little girl who takes after her." JD kept silent. John added, "Knowing Skylar, she probably got Nancy to check into the sperm donor. It's too convenient that he fled, something tells me that it wasn't him that impregnated her as we believed. My gut tells me that it's you who might have been the 'real' father, one of those fun-filled nights with college kids. We know that she went to the same school as you, our scholarship paid for her education. It was likely that you two might not remember that night because you got wasted on alcohol for the first time. You aren't the first among your generation to have it happen." JD growled, "I didn't rape her. I don't remember much, it was the end of semester party before all of us went home. I was still 18, she likely doesn't recall it due to us drinking so much. I swore that I'd never do it again, I haven't touched a drop since. If I did get her pregnant, I owe her a lot of money for all of her suffering that she incurred because of my stupidity. I just hope that Cat never finds out or I'll never live it down nor will she let me live it down for being so damn stupid." Of course Cat entered hearing that. She growled at him, "We didn't know and we weren't told about it as it was intended to keep you away from us. Julio didn't go because he didn't have Willow, you went at the request of your classmates. You got blackout drunk, they played-up your issues and made you do it despite it not being anything like you. You were trying hard to not be the same JD that you always were and went overboard- they hoped that would happen, just to hold it over you. You did it, you didn't know about her until today. You still did what nobody else did and manned-up and became her father anyway, all it's doing is confirming it." Steven nodded to Cat who happily told him, "There's girls out there if you are serious. She's a little too young for you, you need to set your sights on someone closer to Skylar's age...like say one was born a few days later? I think I know the perfect girl, she even knows Skylar and us." John shook his head and boldly told Steven, "She talked with Willow about this already. She needs help, Nancy and you might be the right parents for her. Don't run away from responsibility, embrace it." Steven growled, "You know I don't run away from any challenge, and if it means helping a girl who has the same future that I had before mom and dad adopted me then so be it. I'm no coward. I'll take her." Cat grinned and handed him the paperwork that she just so happened to have hidden in her hands. John had to hide his smile as Cat had tricked him into it as she knew that he'd never back down from doing something for a kid in need. He was doing what was right, even if it Nancy didn't say yes yet. Steven walked out with the paperwork and went over to the Pierce home. He showed it to Nancy who immediately signed it then forced Steven to sign it. She hugged him afterward, he needed it right then. When he calmed himself Nancy happily told Skylar, "Your friend Cody will be fostered by us from now on. He doesn't have to hide his girly side, he can be the girl that you know him to be. He's going to be Carly from now on, once your Aunt Willow processes the paperwork." Skylar was in tears and hugged them. She needed her parents so walked with Angel and Grace to them so they could comfort her. Candace happily embraced her, while JD hugged the two younger girls. Skylar asked why they would do that, Candace smiled and told her, "To give Nancy a daughter. She had a lot of trouble with her pregnancies and was told that she shouldn't have another baby. Steven wanted to bring up the idea and your aunt just had to stick her nose into things and got Willow to find them a little girl who needed a family who would understand her. Carly just happened to be the right girl." JD added, "Angel, honey, Willow is angry that you weren't able to be noticed by potential foster parents let alone allowed to be adopted by anyone. You had a big reason to be adopted by one of several of our cousins, and we know that Steven would have loved to adopt you had he known that you were there. He is like you: raised in the system until someone found him a loving home. The good from that is that another girl gets to have a loving home, and Skylar gets to be a big help with her as she'll want to be with her friend. The two have known one another for years and it was hurting her to know that Cody couldn't become Carly out in the open and didn't have a loving family yet." The two hugged JD tighter then hugged Candace. Skylar asked when Carly would come home, that got looks of being unsure which she took to be bad news. John wisely told her, "Knowing Willow, she has a plan and it involves Nancy and Steven being given a preliminary acceptance based on their jobs. He's a businessman who does a lot of work with the state while she's his assistant, both have have their checks on file with the state making their checks a formality. She's probably already en-route there with Cat in contact with her as soon as she handed the paperwork to Steven." Skylar led the girls downstairs to play together which got them to relax more while dinner was made. It led to Nancy and Steven coming over with their sons and in a shock to Skylar: Carly. It wasn't meant to happen so fast, but Willow working hard meant things got done to her satisfaction or else. Skylar ran for Carly and hugged her tight, while JD growled, "How bad was it for her to be sprung in a few hours? Surely they weren't dumb enough to physically harm her!" Carly was afraid but Nancy grinned and Steven shot back, "They wanted her gone immediately. There's a lot of issues in the local offices over kids not being put out there for potential adoption, with girls like her being hidden from 'normal people' instead of getting help or finding suitable families for them- be they adoptive or foster families. She hit paydirt and got one fired, one suspended pending termination, and one retrained. Willow seriously is too much like her mother and grandfather at times." John happily told Carly, "This is permanent, not temporary. You have Skylar as a friend and she brings a lot of kids who understand you and will help you. Mind the older girls, they mean well but they're a bit too boy-crazy and going overboard trying to show that they are all-girl to everyone." Skylar added, "Your new aunt is like you as is her sister-in-law. You also have a cousin like you too, but she's too young for us. She won't understand boobs and boys yet." JD growled, "You are too young to understand them too. Same rule as the others: no dating, no matter how much you might be interested in boys. Sixth grade at the minimum and only if we know the boy." Sitting Carly down, Steven explained, "You have an appointment tomorrow with a gender specialist so that you can transition legally so you can go to school as a girl. You'll also start blockers soon, but you are not going to be able to get hormones for another year. You're only just turning 11, the minimum that the doctors will allow is 12. We also want you to make semen to save for the future. It's mandatory in our family for girls like you so that you can have a child of your own blood down the road when it's time to become a mother. It's not something that you want to do, but it's worth it in our eyes." The girls came upstairs and stopped short when they saw Carly. Nancy happily told her niece, "Carly is your new cousin. We're going to adopt her soon. She's like you, but needs to take special medicines to be a girl that you won't take for another eight years." Grace happily ran over to Carly and hugged her, followed by Angel. Carly asked if they were like her, with Nancy nodding and telling her, "Grace came out a year and a half ago and Angel only just came to be in JD and Candace's care. They don't know how long since she declared that she's a girl. You're not the first girl to transition at your age, my sister transitioned in fifth grade too." Skyalr led Carly away while John happily worked on some of the logistics of Carly's transition. It was a lot of paperwork, but nothing that he hadn't done before. He looked over at JD who happily told him, "I guess mom is so busy that she left you all of the hard work for once." John glared while Candace grinned at her mother-in-law being sly in getting John back for once. There wasn't a lot of new information that John had to add, it was simply ensuring that everything was ready to be presented to his daughter Jaimie so that Carly could be examined so she could attend school as a girl and not endure being forced to be a boy any longer. He didn't mind doing it, it was just boring! The paperwork was completed and given to the happy couple while JD and Candace tried to figure out what to do with Angel. John laughed and told them, "It's obvious: your aunt's preshool. She's too young for pre- kindergarten so you have no choice but to send her there. You know other places will refuse, it would also upset her greatly if you went with one of her rivals instead of hers." It was settled, Angel would attend preschool with two of JD's aunts. He knew which one was going to be assigned as Angel's teacher: Aggy Jones, JD's cousin-in-law and someone who had plenty of reason to understand a girl like Angel- her cousin is transgender, as is her aunt. She was also Grace's teacher so had endured bigotry and complaining by parents about Grace's presence. The kids were fast asleep when they checked on them after not hearing any of the usual giggling or loud tv playing that usually came when the kids were over, with Grace seen hugging Sammi tightly while Skylar had Carly in an embrace and had clearly cried some more. The way that Skylar was had Carly in a hug made it clear that she liked her more than she let on, but not in a sexual way. Skylar was her friend, a true friend like Cat and Willow were. JD shook his head and whined, "I hate to admit it, but she's definitely taking after Cat. She did what Cat and Willow did and did it in a way that we can't be upset about. She loves Carly, she doesn't have to say it but she does." Steven went down and saw just how the girls were sleeping and shook his head, walked up, then told a snickering Nancy, "No jokes about us doing the same: we never slept like that. You did, we just saw it a few times when we came by your house before you woke up. It's cute and she's doing a lot of what you did with Mia to help her adjust to being with us. The boys will understand not meeting her yet, but she will have to meet them eventually. I'm just glad that they're old enough to accept her differences but not make fun of them. They do have your sense of humor about things." The kids slept through the night, with Grace giving Angel a kiss in the morning when they awoke. They didn't mean anything by it, Angel was a cousin in her eyes. Angel appreciated it, she never had anyone give her affection before so it felt nice to have someone she just met showing that she cared. Angel asked if she liked her, Grace nodded and happily told her, "You are like me so we have to be nice to one another. Mommy and daddy said we are special and others don't understand us, but understand a lot more about each other. We are different, but still the same. Girls like us don't normally show that we are girls until older when we know the differences between boys and girls, mommy said a few know it early and don't want to wait to tell our parents. You are more like me, you are a girl early too." The two hugged and waited for someone to get them and tell them what they would be doing. Skylar and Carly were nearby and awoke just as the girls were talking and hugged again, with Carly in tears over realizing that it wasn't a dream: she was with a family who were going to adopt her. Skylar gave her a kiss and softly told her, "We fell asleep watching TV, our parents didn't want to wake you so you spent the night. You can borrow my clothes, your old boy clothes don't belong on you anymore." Carly huged her again, weeping into her shoulder over the kindness shown. Skylar wisely told her, "I'm your friend, I always have been. I don't like you like my aunts like each other, I like you for you. You are my best friend, the one I always go to to talk and listen to. The other kids are nice enough but none are like you. I love you, even if I don't love you like a girlfriend." Skylar saw the girls watching and moved them upsstairs to where JD and John were cooking. Carly had to wait until told what to do, with Candace happily telling her to sit and eat as her parents were out with her brothers talking to her grandparents, aunts, and uncles about their adopting her. She went white at hearing that, she hadn't thought that she would be adopted let alone have new family so soon. Candace hugged her and happily told her, "They aren't fooling around when it comes to you: they know you, the real you. We've been happy with you for a long time and if we knew that you hadn't been able to find an adoptive family we would have adopted you into our family. One of our cousins would have loved to have adopted you, Steven and Nancy were the first to act so you ended up with them. It's for the best, Nancy and Steven know that you'll have issues and are happy to help you be yourself." JD added, "Your brothers are younger so need some time to accept that they have a big sister. They're a couple of good kids, they're just rambunctious and need a little discipline from time to time. It's a lot easier to tell them about you when they're with their aunts, uncles, and grandparents. They'll go with their cousins for the day to talk it out with them, the kids are more experienced than you'd think." Grace giggled and hugged her cousin. Candace happily told Carly, "She's your cousin now, and needed a big cousin who understands her. Your mom and aunts are close friends with girls like you so it's a big sign that you belonged with Nancy and Steven. You'll likely get to meet your mom's friends, especially Kylie and Nichole, soon. Their husband and wife are more than happy to get to know you, especially as they're likely to be with one another since they're siblings. But first: an appointment with Jaimie." The kids ate in silence as the gravity of the situation started to take hold of them. Carly looked over at a smiling Skylar who simply nodded at it being real and the truth then ate away which caused Carly to do the same. She was overcome with emotions but forced herself to eat, she didn't want to upset the Finns nor did she want her new parents to get angry at her for not following the rules- even if neither could be angered, outraged, or disappointed at her for being so anxious after hearing the great news. After breakfast, Skylar led Carly upstairs to shower and helped her wash as Carly was too stunned. She happily showed Carly her body, then washed Carly's male parts with her telling Carly, "I helped Angel yesterday and don't care that you're like the boys in our class down there. I don't see you as a boy, I'm only seeing a girl with a birth defect. I've seen it on Grace and my cousins, you're no different. They're hairy, they blushed when I mentioned it. Mom said some girls are hairier than them so it's natural." Carly was too stunned to speak. Skylar essentially had to do all of the work as Carly was dead weight and going through the motions. It was fine with her, she had a lot to think about right then. She dressed Carly in one of her old skirts and blouses, with her training bra going on next. Carly gave a deep blush over putting one on, Skylar happily told her, "It's because of the blouses. Mom said that we need one at our age because the cuts are meant for girls with boobs. I don't like kiddie t-shirts so we're stuck wearing a trainer until we need a new one. Mom said I'll need a regular one soon, I'm too big." Carly blushed then looked at herself in the mirror. Except for her hair she looked like a regular girl. She struggled to not cry, Skylar happily told her, "Mom has a wig that you can borrow. She had to use it for a few months because someone hit her in the head when they were upset at daddy for calling the police on them for trying to have parts of their cars changed so they didn't get in trouble. Mom wouldn't do it either, so they hurt her. They made a big mistake: Uncle Miles went after them and got them in a lot of trouble that caused a lot of people to go to prison. Mom still has short hair, but it's because she likes it." The two went to JD and Candace's room and grabbed the wig, with Carly finally breaking down as she saw herself in the mirror. Candace came upstairs to check on them and gasped, which caused Carly to grab onto Skylar for help. Candace was in tears and happily told Carly, "You look amazing in that! I'm proud of you, Skylar: you knew what to do. I was going to ask if she wanted to wear it." Carly was led downstairs and saw the girls asking who the new girl was. JD happily told Angel and the fearful Grace, "That's Carly. She's wearing a wig until her hair grows out. She's also wearing a training bra because her blouse won't sit right on her chest. You'll learn that in seven or eight years!" He hugged Carly and kissed her cheek. He then told Skylar, "No makeup until her parents give the OK. I think it's pushing things enough as it is with the training bra, but you did a good job helping her. Don't let on that you showered with her, I know you mean well but it could be misinterpreted." Watching from the next room, Valerie couldn't help but smile at the sight of the girls being so close to one another so soon. She was dragged from her thoughts by John telling her, "You've been in such a daze with our other grandchildren that you missed our son's three becoming more mature. They are JD's kids in all ways, no matter what happens with the DNA test that right there is proof that she's a Finn in all ways. Our granddaughter is acting like her father did with his brothers, sisters, and friends." Valerie happily shot back, "He had a good role model Mr. 'intervening to help a girl in need'. He's you but he isn't you. He had great role models, but he's also his own person. He made up his mind and isn't going to let that little angel out of his grip. She's his daughter in all but name- and that'll change." Valerie walked into the room and announced to Angel, "JD finally had all of those nights of causing his brother little sleep come back in a good way. You are beautiful, even if a bit too much like Grace. She's a good girl, but that little pest has a nasty habit of getting out of doing her chores. She should have been cleaning her room and helping with the laundry today but she chose to be with you instead." Grace smirked while Angel looked scared. Valerie walked over to her, picked her up into a deep hug, and kissed her cheek. She happily told the little girl, "Call me grandma, since there's no way I'll let JD and Candace let you get away from them. You're going to be our newest granddaughter, if you want." She nodded furiously to which Valerie let her down causing her to rush to JD and beg him, "Please be my new daddy!" He hugged and kissed her then led her to Candace to which she asked, "Please be my new mommy!" leading to Candace hugging and kissing her. Joey and Danny giggled then hugged Angel, calling her, "Sister" which caused her to cry into their shoulders. She wanted a family, she had one now. Skylar was her sister, the boys were her brothers, and JD and Candace were her father and mother- a dream come true. The doorbell rang causing Valerie to happily yell, "It's open". The door opened and a little boy came in followed by a woman, man, and three teenagers. They looked over at Angel and smiled, then looked at Carly and walked on which caused her to grow concerned but only saw Skylar smile at her. Valerie explained to Carly, "Those are my daughter Jaimie Samuels, our son-in-law Rick, and their kids Austin, Liv, Eli, and Sylvia. I take it that Sylvia's fiance is hiding with his parents, although he doesn't need to: he's the twin brother of a girl like you so he has nothing to fear. He just doesn't like that John is upset winning our eldest granddaughter's heart and is getting ready to make her a happy woman." John blushed while Jaimie happily told her, "It's alright, he's getting old. He's just upset that I am not his little girl and I'm not far off from becoming a grandmother. It's getting up there in years, he just isn't the imposing man anymore even if he's the appointed head of our family." Liv asked Skylar if Carly was finally going to be her true self leading to nods from both. Liv gave a big hug to Carly and walked her off while her brother Eli shook his head. Austin asked if she was another girl like Liv which got a nod and him asking innocently if he was going to be friends with one too. Jaimie wisely stated, "That's up to you. She knew Skylar since pre- kindergarten, your sister and cousins grew close because of having a lot in common. You could become friends, but it isn't a requirement. It might be good to be nice to them if you meet them, they need people to be nice to them as a lot of them don't have people who are nice to them or help them like your family does." He softly mumbled, "Granty Katie already told me that I didn't have to but she said that we had to help girls and boys like Liv. Can Betty come over? Nobody wants to be friends with her and I don't want to upset Granty Katie by not being nice to her." Jaimie smiled and nodded, while Valerie wisely told him, "I know her and she'll be alright. Her family is enduring a lot of issues because of her landlord, he'll end up having to sell their apartment building so won't cause issues after that. Your grandpa is buying it and you know how your aunts are about this: it ends or her family will have to deal with the state about it." Angel was silent, Jaimie hugged her and calmly told her, "Because you are in JD's care I can't be your doctor. Fiona can be, which I am grateful to her for doing. She doesn't normally take on cases like your case but this is a special case. Aunt Alison is happy to assist if it's too much for her but she's good at it even if she's out of practice as she usually forwards clients to me or Aunt Alison. Fiona specializes in abuse, neglect, and sexual issues. She's good at her job, she just prefers to let someone who is more qualified, like me and Aunt Alison, handle things despite being able to do so." Angel asked why they were better. Jaimie smiled and happily explained, "I'm like you. Aunt Alison has 30 years of experience in psychiatry and both married a woman like us, adopted a girl like us, and gave birth to a girl like us. She's a great woman, but she's a grandmother now so prefers to work less hours. Fiona is more than capable at handling the cases, she simply defers to experience like others do." Grace was grinning to which Jaimie happily told the little girl, "You might be my client but I can't talk about what we talked about. You're a great little girl most of the time, but you do push the rules. Like how you ran off with Angel to avoid doing your chores, which you still have to do so get home!" Grace blushed and walked out the back door with Valerie leading her so the little girl could get changed for the day. Rick wisely didn't talk and once Grace was out of earshot asked if she had done anything but be by Angel's side. John nodded and told him, "She's been good since she came over. No issues, she was happy to help Angel and did what we expected her to do." Rick nodded and happily added, "The boys were talking with their cousins about Angel while the girls played in the snow. You know how much they worship Skylar, having Angel with JD made them happy. They were going to ask their mother to help Carly but Angel changed things. They have heard a bit too much when JD and Candace talked about her, they were glad that she's close to their age so can play with them whenever they're at home. Typical, they are their father's sons even if we never see it." The boys happily played with Austin while Jaimie, Skylar, and Valerie talked and Angel hugged Jaimie. It was clear that they were whispering to Austin which only confirmed what Rick said, especially as they stole glances over at Angel and giggled. It was a futile attempt by them, but they were happy to have had their plans foiled in such a way by someone simply showing up in their lives. When the girls came back downstairs, Jaimie went with Carly to talk and listened as she told her about a tough life since she came out and how much she hated being a freak. She was in tears as she admitted that she didn't want to live as a boy anymore and how she considered doing whatever it took to become a girl- even if it meant that she'd have to cut off her penis and testicles. It was tough to admit that, and in doing so she realized that she could end up hospitalized for what she had just said. Jaimie let her calm herself then asked if she was going to do that now that she had a mother, father, and two brothers who were happy to allow her to be a girl. Carly looked down in shame and admitted, "I'm not sure if I can trust them. Families have tried in the past to cure me of being a girl only to return me as I was too 'difficult to handle'. One beat me bad enough that I had to go to the hospital because of all of the broken bones. I want to believe that this is going to be alright, but I don't know. I don't want to be a boy again, they say that they support me but I don't trust them. Everyone lies to me, I'm just a kid and one of the freaks so nobody tells me the truth because I don't matter to them." Jaimie waited for her to calm herself then explained to her, "Your parents aren't going to make you be a boy again unless it's what you truly want. I'm convinced that you are a girl inside. You haven't had the best of luck with families as they lied or were told that you were going through a phase. It happens a lot to kids, their foster parents lie to potential parents to get rid of them. I went through it, Steven did too. I know that he sees in you himself, he'll hate that I brought this up but he once dressed as a girl because he thought that if he was a girl a family might take him in. He was wrong, he found a family that loved him as himself: your new grandparents. These same parents happen to adore Grace and were adamant that their elder son support a friend despite his liking a girl who is transgender. You aren't going to be sent away for being a girl inside, they couldn't do that: it'd harm too many of their friends and family. I know that as soon as you come downstairs, they'll hug you deeply. You're their daughter, young lady." Jaimie led her downstairs and exactly as she had predicted Carly was engulfed in hugs by Steven and a tearful Nancy. Jaimie strongly told John, "Willow was right in checking the foster parents that she had. I am concerned that her behavior was ignored on purpose and she never had the chance to talk with one of my colleagues because she would have caused issues that they didn't want to address. By the sound of things, she was mentally abused and likely lied to multiple times by families seeking adoption. They were either lying about helping her or their form of 'helping' was conversion therapy. It sounds like the families were also purposely lying about their reasons for adopting just to get a crack at adopting a girl like her to use against us. It's too convenient, Willow has to look at them closely. I think it fits with the Angel issues, I don't think it's a coincidence that she was allowed to be abused and Carly ignored." Angel hugged JD tightly to ensure that he wasn't upset at her. Candace asked if they were going for the throat or just digging until they found something. Jaimie shook her head while Valerie happily told her, "It's already known to Reed and Miles. David will know by now and you can bet that Oscar knows. It's tough to keep them out of things directly, but they can assist things even if barred from direct action." Angel asked who they were. John wisely told her, "Reed was here Friday night, Miles was with him. He is your new uncle, Reed is my cousin's son but also the most powerful law enforcer in the state: he's the Attorney General of Massachusetts. Miles and David are State Police detectives working for Reed. You didn't meet Oscar, but he's Grace's father and also a state trooper. But the biggest issue is that we have to tell my brother-in-law about it. He hates that this is still happening, but it sounds like it's more of a connection between people that isn't known about than anything that management did." The little girl seemed to understand, JD calmly told her, "They didn't need to meet you as you weren't in a good state of mind and we needed to get you fed and off to bed. Reed will have you meet some of the investigators with Fiona keeping them from asking the wrong questions. It's part of her job, and she is a bulldog when anyone tries to hurt her clients- especially innocent ones like you." Lunch was served and saw Austin trying hard to be on his best behavior while stealing glances as Angel and Carly. After lunch the Samuels family left. Eli blushed as Angel kissed his cheek while Liv gave a big hug and happily told her, "You'll meet the others soon, mom won't let them bug you yet." Angel asked why Sylvia avoided her. Valerie grinned while John complained, "She was trying to let her mother work and was mostly here because your brothers listen to her more than us when she's around. I don't like that but she seems to know what keeps their attention. Austin was busy thinking about a girl in class so the boys couldn't play with him much. She really hit him hard. He likes her as a friend but it can be tough to open up to people, especially ones whose families are like what you want yours to be. Steven and Nancy brought their sons by and formally introduced them to Carly. The boys grabbed onto her and kissed her, trying to put on an, "I'm a cute kid" act for her. It worked, she felt herself feel a lot better with them hugging her and trying hard to get her attention. Nancy happily told her, "Your room is ready, as are your clothes. We had to do a bit of shopping for you last night at your aunt Mia's demand. She loves spoiling all of the kids and helping a girl start her life as a girl. Fiona tried her hardest to rein her in, but Mia is determined to help you be your true self." Steven complained, "She got you everything: bras, panties, skirts, blouses, t-shirts, pajamas, robes, hair brushes, barrettes, scrunchies, clips, socks, dresses, and makeup. We tried to tell her no makeup but she insisted on it: she said you would want to try it and needed the practice. Skylar would want to help you, but it's up to you if you want to wear it. You can only wear a little, school rules prohibit too much." The boys giggled which caused Steven to give them a look. He casually asked Valerie if the boys had a girly day recently which caused them to cheer. She shook he head and explained to Carly, "The weasels love girly day. It's a day when they have to act like a girl as punishment for making fun of girls. They do it for punishment but they really like it. It's a game to them. Four of the older boys take part on their own, but they do so because they like feeling like a girl for the day and their girlfriends enjoy it too." Carly didn't believe her. Valerie showed pictures of multiple girls dancing and prancing around, with a lot of people smiling and laughing in the background. She happily explained, "These are the most recent pictures of our annual cross-day. All of the men and boys dress as females for the day. Your brothers are a pain to get out of their dresses after the day so try to wear them once a month just for fun. It's done to show the boys that they can be girly too and that it's tough to act like a girl when you aren't one. You haven't met anyone who accepts you for yourself nor have they donned female clothes for the day as it would be 'unmanly'. It's garbage, it's all in their head. John has done every one of them and dressed as a girl after losing bets with our grandkids. He's foolish enough to bet against a sure thing, but he likes a good wager and the kids have fun with it. The only ones who don't join in are those who have to work or who are sick, none of the guys have backed out yet- they refuse to let anyone hold that over them." John protested about the bets while JD shot back, "It's not her fault that Cat knows how to get you to be dumb and bet on something that she studied. She can read reactions better than you, she tricked you on a couple of bets because of planning! Nobody is dumb enough to bet against her but you did!" John's blushing showed that it was true, Carly understood what Valerie meant now. Nancy led her out while Steven told the boys, "Don't press her. She isn't a toy and might take what you say wrongly. She's a girl, not a boy dressing as a girl. She's like your cousin, you don't treat her differently because of that. Be nice with her, she needs you to help her understand that she's part of the family now." Skylar spent the rest of the afternoon on homework at John's insistence while Angel colored and drew pictures to pass the time. The boys managed to get her to play with them for a bit after dinner, with the three doing simple games before playing on the game system with Angel learning quickly how to play. Their parents checked on them frequently to see if they were getting along, with JD shaking his head at the two trying hard to help Angel learn to play while enjoying being big brothers to her. The kids wore themselves out and happily slept intertwined on the floor, with Angel between the boys in a sight that caused Valerie and Candace to cry at the sight. JD shook his head, the boys tried so hard to be good that they spent all of their energy. It was something that never happened, they always fought their bedtimes yet they had done the unthinkable in falling asleep on their own with Angel at their side. John and JD carried the boys upstairs while Candace carried Angel. It was tough to get them into bed as the boys were dead weight, but the duo managed. Candace changed Angel while JD left the boys alone, with Candace happily crying when Angel slowly opened her eyes, saw her, and softly said, "Thank you mommy," before falling back asleep. Valerie had to hug Candace, her emotions were going wild. She sniffled and asked if that was a sign to them that she was going to be their daughter, Valerie nodded and wisely stated, "It's from her heart and is what has been said countless times before by your cousins and nieces and nephews." John didn't say anything, JD asked Valerie to pull the adoption paperwork. Valerie grinned at him not even trying to wait. Willow would likely know already, Cat would have told her to expect it soon. In bed, Candace broke down. JD happily told her, "It's what you want, it's what she wants. I know not to get between anything a woman truly wants. She needs us, you need her. Skylar is getting older and is far too independent to want to go to you for everything, but Angel needs a mother to help her be what she is inside. She needs someone to teach her how to be a girl, how to deal with boys, how to endure an upset Cat, how to not let Willow manipulate you: the list goes on and on. I can't do it, but you can." He happily added, "You can't have more kids, I don't want to use a surrogate. We have the money to pay for one, but I don't want someone to lose nine months of their life just because we want to have a baby. That leaves us with only one option: adoption. The boys might have manipulated things so that we would adopt Carly but I actually wanted to ask you about it. But something always came up, now we have had it dropped into our laps I can't hold back the secret anymore. It's why we were cleared so fast, it's why Willow went to us to house her. I wanted to surprise you, but Angel surprised us. It was a sign. It was meant to be: she was always meant to be our daughter." The family went to sleep that night with big smiles. Angel awoke early and headed for Skylar's room to sleep, with Skylar moving over to make room for her and embraced her in a deep hug. Skylar knew that Angel needed the hug to make her feel better, it felt like the sisterly thing to do for her. Skylar was awoken early so that she could shower and get ready for school. Angel was scared that they would be upset at her for being with Skylar, but Candace whispered to her, "It's a school day. You didn't do anything wrong, she has to get up to go to school. You'll go to the preschool after we get all of the paperwork filled out. You'll meet your great-aunts Melanie and Tanya before meeting your teacher." Candace helped Angel shower, with Angel seeing Candace naked as she herself took one. Angel saw a lot of hair and big breasts, which caused her to blush while Candace ignored her looks. When they were drying off, she wisely told Angel, "I haven't had the chance to shave in a few weeks so I'm hairier than I like. I was blessed early and stayed in shape thanks to JD's cousin so my boobs aren't sagging much. I know you are a bit jealous, it's understandable to be so. You'll get them eventually, please just wait." The boys were getting anxious as they took longer than expected. John gave Angel a kiss goodbye and drove off before breakfast was served. Candace sighed and explained to Angel, "He's a teacher but today he has to oversee morning detention. He'll eat during breakfast, he ensures everyone eats as some kids in detention can't afford breakfast. A little show of kindness goes a long with with them." After breakfast, Candace drove the kids to school with Skylar happily rushing inside to tell her friends about Angel while Joey and Danny talked to each other. Angel looked over at the kids as they drove on to Danny and Joey's school, with her mind being filled with hope of going to school with girls the next year. The boys happily ran inside to talk with their friends while Angel was introduced to the family's two teachers who taught at the school: Katie and Ronda Eliza. Angel looked afraid, so Candace softly told her, "Aunt Katie is like you. Ronda's wife is Aunt Katie's daughter and is also like you. And Aunt Katie's younger daughter is also like you. They don't want to harm you, they just want to meet you. Aunt Katie's wife is a doctor who talks with boys and girls who are like you and will want to know about you so she doesn't get concerned about you." Angel still clung to Candace's side. She sighed and explained to the two, "She is afraid of what you'll do to her. I don't know the full story yet, but it sounds a lot like extended periods of abuse by her former foster parents. She has a lot of marks on her that can't be from fighting or falling down. Jaimie can't be her therapist so Fiona has stepped in to take her on as a client. Aunt Alison will meet with her to give a confirmation but Fiona is the lead on this because of the obvious abuse." Both nodded and hugged Angel, with her doing the same to them. She looked at Katie closely and tried to picture her as anything but a woman, with Katie smirking as she recognized the look. It was sweet, it helped her without her realizing it as Katie was heavily into puberty when she she transitioned giving a lot of problems to overcome that only a select few were allowed to know about. Candace deflected any questions about Angel from parents and made her next stop- the preschool, with Angel being shown inside to meet her new teacher while Candace officially registered Angel. Upon seeing Angel, Grace came running over to hug her. The two happily hugged while the other kids looked on, giggling at them while their teacher didn't say a word. When they stopped, Aggy Jones introduced herself to Angel and explained that she'd be her teacher at the preschool and would help her prepare for big kid school. She happily told her that Grace would be her friend and if Angel followed her lead she would learn a lot. Grace grinned, she was smart and had a lot of fun planned for the two after school at home. As the kids got acquainted, Candace filled the forms and talked with Melanie Lopez- JD's aunt and the co-owner of the preschool. Melanie was to the point and asked about Angel, with Candace wisely not even trying to sugarcoat the truth and admitted, "She's smart, but in need of love. She's abused, it's not hard to see it in her. She has never had anyone love her before and latched onto us." Melanie asked if Angel had been diagnosed. Candace sighed and told her, "Not yet. We were busy with her and the move that we didn't have the chance to get her fully evaluated. She has shown no signs of being a boy, all of her actions scream 'girl'. She also hinted that she might do something horrible if she isn't allowed to be a girl, we don't want her going down that road. It's just clothing at this point, but she is a lot more feminine than Grace was and has bonded heavily with Grace and Skylar. She's even doing her best imitation of Cat and Jaimie, or was it JD and Miles? I can't get that straight." Melanie laughed and explained, "It's both. And for the same reasons: JD felt comfortable with Miles, he slept with him a lot when he needed someone to calm him. Cat slept with Jaimie when she was feeling scared or anxious or sick. They only stopped when Cat got Sammi and JD started preschool fulltime." Melanie then added, "You aren't used to seeing that because the boys don't do it at home, but when they stay with their cousins they sleep alongside each other. It's what siblings do, especially younger ones. I hate that you never had that opportunity growing up, we are ashamed that none of us stepped-up to take you in as one of our children. You deserved a family, we should have done more for you." Candace had to hug her to prevent her crying. Melanie hated knowing that they didn't try to help her in the years before she and JD went off to college. John ensured that Candace had everything paid for, he felt that she deserved a chance to be more than just a foster care alum and once she started to date and later marry JD it was confirmed that his hunch was right- he invested in her future as a businesswoman. Candace left after a few more minutes and a quick hug to Angel and Grace. Angel was happily playing with Grace and the other girls, with the girls giggling as they brushed the dolls and pretended to cook. She was going to be alright, especially with Grace happily leading her. The kids actually had a lot of fun with Angel and happily took their naps and ate their lunches before it was time for storytime. Angel happily listened to Aggy tell the story and giggled at the voices that she made before understanding what the story was all about after thinking about why things happened in it. Angel had more fun that day than she had in all of her life, having Grace there only made it all the more fun for her as she knew how to make it fun. Candace worked hard and struggled to separate the duo when it was time to leave. Amy Pierce fought a smile as her daughter wanted to go with Angel but Candace didn't have a fourth booster seat for her and Amy didn't have a second making it tough for either to go home together. It was really a ruse due to the need for Angel to go to an appointment an hour later with Fiona at her office. Candace picked up the boys and was greeted by Rick and Austin. Austin happily showed Angel off to a girl in his class, with Austin telling the little girl, "She's my new cousin. She's like you, but she doesn't have a mommy and daddy yet. Uncle JD and Aunt Candace are adopting her." Austin's friend gasped and hugged Angel. Austin happily told Angel, "Betty's mommy works for Aunt Cat, she used to work for Aunt Hannah. She draws books. Aunt Aggy likes to use the book in class, she probably showed you one today. Betty's daddy works for Gruncle Graham, he drives a truck." The girl, Betty, blushed while Candace told Angel, "He is getting promoted. He's going to be the newest regional logistics manager. He isn't some nobody as people thought, he's actually great at his job." Betty smiled at hearing that, her mother tried to figure out of it was some kind of joke to which Katie explained to her, "His boss got an earful from the kids. Betty is liked by the younger boys and Austin is next door neighbor to his sister so she got mentioned a lot. Your housing situation came up and true to a trend in the family, it got bought by the business arm. It's not being announced, but your landlord had a meeting with the bank and was foreclosed on due to non-payment on his mortgage. He's also getting an audit by the state and federal governments over tax issues. He chose the wrong family to harass, those kids didn't like hearing that Betty had to move and begged for help. It was either John Finn bought the place or Cat Finn would. John won out, he owns it but has a niece handle overseeing it." Betty was in tears while Candace complained, "She's already whining about being beaten to the punch by her father. She loves Betty and doesn't want her upset because she has to move. She'd have put you up for as long as you wanted but her kids are pains. Trust me on this: she's a horrible host. And those in the building who had an issue with Betty are being evicted, they were behind on rent for a year while you were paying above market rate for yours. Dad will ensure that everything is fixed and up to date, so he won't accept two month's rent as you'll have to endure some renovations to the apartment including new paint for Betty's room. Rent will also only be 3/4ths of what it was before as well." Candace smirked while Betty smiled at hearing that. Her mother walked off with Betty while Candace had to endure Austin's hugs. Candace happily told him, "They got help. They needed it and got it. All of it was earned, your aunt even got her mom extra work drawing covers for a kid's comic book that she's working on. She loves Betty, she reminds your aunt Cat of your mom. Cat loves your mom deeply." Over at the elementary school, Candace faced an angry man. Candace sighed and told the man, "It's not our fault that you didn't pay all of your taxes to the state and federal governments, that your tenants didn't pay their rents while others overpaid theirs, and that the bank didn't buy all of your excuses. Please don't threaten me or my family as we have no problem calling the police. It's a tough enough job keeping my cousins from doing so already, especially as they are police themselves." The man growled at her but stopped short when he saw Oscar Pierce walking over in full uniform of a State Police trooper. Candace explained what the man was doing and why to which Oscar laughed and told him, "Leave now. Don't harass any of the Finns. This is your only warning, come to this school and you will be arrested on the spot. You are trespassing, you have no business here. Your wife was fired as secretary two months ago, you have no children so you have no right to be here." He hugged and kissed Carly who hugged him back. She was unsure about him to which Skylar happily told him, "He's your uncle Oscar. He lives behind us, Angel being with us caused your mom and dad to go get you to adopt you. Your dad doesn't do anything fun like Uncle Oscar, he just has meetings." Oscar blushed as Skylar made him out to be interesting. It wasn't the truth, he was simply a detective-in-training and still worked some beats for sick colleagues. Angel had sparked Carly's adoption but he had suggested it long before and hadn't had the chance to bring it up again, Skylar was present when he did the initial suggestion which in her mind was enough to claim that it was his idea. Oscar was there for his nephews Brice and Royce Bollinger, with the boys running out to meet them as soon as they spotted Candace and Angel. Carly was then hugged by the boys, Oscar had to explain to the upset girl, "They know who you are and are happy to meet you. You aren't directly related to them, I happen to be uncle to all three of you. The little monsters love the attention they get from me and try to act nice when they think that they can get something from someone. Royce is the ringleader, he'll try to be cute to you but don't let him trick you into anything. He's probably going to be infatuated with you for a while since he seems to fall for every pretty girl that he sees." Royce blushed while Brice giggled. Carly's brothers came out and hugged their uncle and walked off to the car with Royce and Brice. Candace wisely told Oscar, "She can come with us if she wants, the kids could use some cooling off. Plus you know how they are when they have something to talk about." Oscar agreed, but added, "She still has to do her homework. She might have a new name but she's still a few days behind in her work. She got some slack, but it won't last any longer." Once home, Candace had the four school kids do their homework while she did some paperwork. She'd done more than she thought but working from home gave her more of a chance to focus. The kids had a lot of work done and saw Carly get caught up and tearfully hug Skylar as she was back to normal in her classwork after being behind for most of the year due to issues with her foster homes. Grace complained about Carly not being at her house but stopped when she saw Candace shushing her. It was sweet, the little girl wanted her new cousin to play with her, but Carly was hard at work trying to get ahead just in case she needed a buffer. It was really trying hard to stay busy, not wanting to upset an already tense situation nor anger Candace by seeming to be lazy. Candace left them alone, Grace was the one that needed her attention as she would insist on Angel doing something, "Fun" on their own. Eventually it was time to leave. Carly hugged Skylar goodbye while the boys happily kissed Carly in a vain attempt to make her blush. She needed that, it felt right to hug them and they genuinely liked her. Nancy entered with her in-laws to introduce Carly, catching her off guard and making her fear what the couple would say about her. Nancy calmed her, telling her firmly, "They wanted to meet you since they haven't had the chance to do so yet. Ma wanted to see if you needed any work on your hair while Pa is interested in how things went at school. They don't trust Oscar's claims, he's been known to fib." Carly wanted to speak but couldn't. Skylar had to speak for her, telling them, "Mrs. King told all of us that she was starting school as a girl and her new name was Carly Pierce. Some of the kids laughed at her but most ignored her like they always do. The kids talked about her all class, our teacher didn't try to stop them. She didn't do anything all day, our teacher ignored her and told the other kids that she's to be ignored by them or else. At lunch we ate with the others. Bryan had trouble not blushing and Victor tried to look tough to the boys talking about her. Jackson didn't do anything, he just ate as usual." Carly looked ashamed. Graham Pierce laughed while his wife Riley had to explain to Carly, "Bryan has a problem with girls that he finds pretty. Victor always tries to protect everyone. And Jackson tries hard to treat you normal, he thought that you didn't need a reminder that you're a girl in school now." Skylar happily added, "The only one not to bother with her were Pierre and Francis. They were too busy talking about video games to pay attention to her. They think Hugh is going to let them test the new one for him but he won't let us play it- we're too young for it." Graham shot back, "They're talking about another game, one that they were chosen to test since kids are meant to play it. They're too spoiled at times, but they are great at gaming. Hugh chose them because it would get him an honest answer, they love working with him on his games even if they shouldn't." Riley added, "We'll talk with your principal about what happened. Your teacher should have never done that, you aren't to be excluded from activities and ignoring you is a form of exclusion. You're supposed to be treated as an equal, only you can't use the girl's restrooms. If it keeps happening, your principal is going to act. She's closing in on retirement but isn't afraid to fight for kids to the bitter end." The Pierces left, with Grace reluctantly leaving Angel's side. When the door closed, Angel asked who all of those people were that Skylar mentioned. Candace grinned and announced, "They are all your new 2nd- cousins. Bryan is Ethan Smith's son, Victor and Jackson are Iris York's sons, Pierre is Hannah Smith's son, and Francis is Rachel Sylvester's son. Ethan, Iris, Hannah, and Rachel are all your dad's cousins. Hannah and Ethan are his cousin through his aunt Karen and Iris and Rachel are his cousin through his aunt Leslie. Victor and Jackson aren't twins, they have two moms. I told you how your dad's has cousins a like like you, one of them is Francis' mom and the other is Bryan and Pierre's aunt. Pierre and Bryan's cousin is also like you, but she's in high school so isn't going to see you much." She beamed with pride over hearing that, asking, "I have family like me?" Candace nodded and let the boys happily say, "Auntie Nichole! Auntie Reyna! Auntie Flora! Auntie Jaimie!" until tiring themselves out, giving Angel a happy memory as she realized that they were serious. Skylar received a phone call as the boys were joking with Angel, necessitating taking it in the office as it was quieter. She listened to the person speak then explained, "I'll do as I have to, I don't want there to be any issues. I'll have my mother-in-law with me just in case." She hung up and sighed, it was an important meeting that she couldn't hold off. She sat down and sent a text to Valerie to tell her that social services were coming by to inspect the house and speak with her about Angel's care. Valerie simply nodded then told her, "It's routine. You didn't need one due to your knowing Willow, but as she had to hand off the case it needs a thorough investigation." Candace still felt like it was a setup and that she'd lose Angel. Valerie sighed and explained to her in an authoritative voice, "It's what they always do when placing children in homes. They need to see that you have the space for her, that the home is clean and well-stocked with food, that she has clothing and other essentials, and that she has a place to sleep. Sharing a bed doesn't count, and she can't share with the boys. She could share a room with Skylar but it's only a matter of time before she needs her own space. You moved out because of a need for more space, you were overdue and we would have asked you to move in this summer so that the boys had their own room. The apartment is too small for the five of you, now with a sixth child it's impossible to live in especially as it's going to lead to jealousy and fighting between the girls." Candace clicked off. JD arrived and hugged her, seeing that she clearly needed one. She tried her best to not think the worst, but personal history was tough to overcome- especially one of disappointment. Dinner was somber as Candace wasn't in a good mood. JD kept the kids distracted while Valerie tried a few old tricks that mothers knew to make the kids do their chores without realizing that they had been tricked. John kept out of everyone's way, he was busy working on grading in the office all evening. The next day saw Candace meeting the social worker at the office and then escorting her around their former apartment above the garage. She could see that the woman wasn't happy with the arrangements but kept it to herself. Candace didn't know what to say, it was as Valerie had predicted she'd react. Daria Lewis wasn't impressed with the apartment. It was too small for the family of their size and only had a single bathroom for all six. The fact that there wasn't a bed for Angel caused concern, as did that the boys were sleeping together at their age. Candace sighed and confessed, "We're listed as living here currently, but my family moved in with my mother and father-in-law. It's over in Twatville, it's four times the size of this with three times as many rooms. We were going to be asked to move to a bigger home this summer, but Angel coming into our lives prompted a move now." The garage was inspected as it was considered part of the home, and was really more of a fact-finding by Daria to see just where Angel had gone and why. The garage was small and only had a few cars in it but had a large yard with coverings. It wasn't a place that a kid should go, especially at night. The car in which JD found Angel was a fairly new luxury car that had a door that was bashed. Candace sighed and explained to Daria, "It's my sister-in-law's car, it works fine but JD hasn't been able to find a day to install new door panels in it. It was bashed by an angry parent, she diagnosed a client who had a big issue with multiple personalities which upset the kid's parents as it made them look bad. The arrest for vandalism and assault did more damage than the diagnosis." Candace was told to drive to the new Finn home so it could be inspected. Valerie was home and escorted them at a distance but explaining to Daria, "I'm Candace and Joseph's legal counsel and the co-owner of this home. We were the ones who asked our son and daughter-in-law to move in as their apartment is too small for them as you have seen." The tour was quick, the kid had their own floor as JD and Candace were in JD's original bedroom near his parents' room on the third floor while the kids were on the second floor. There were two showers so the boys had their own, with it clear from the towels which had which shower. The basement caused a near laugh as it was split in three: boy area, girl area, and entertainment area with the entertainment area taking up most of the space with closets taking up another 1/3rd of the space. The trio sat down in the dining room to discus Angel's care so far. Candace laughed as she was asked if she had any experience with girls like Angel. Valerie shook her head, it was too funny of a question. Candace smirked and explained, "My sister-in-law is transgender. I have known her since I was in first grade with my future husband. My husband's sister-in-law, cousin, two 2nd-cousins, and two cousins-in-law are all transgender. My husband's family has extensive experience with transgender people of all ages. I grew up knowing them in school, being educated by them, and I went to college with them- all pre and post- operative. Raising Angel is not a problem to me or my husband." Daria wasn't impressed, she joked, "You make it sound like your husband is part of the Finns. I'm aware that the name isn't common, but I find it hard to believe that you are part of that same family." Valerie laughed hard. Candace sighed and explained, "It's not a common name at all. The reason that you got to be Angel's social worker is that our friend Willow Lopez had to hand off the case to you. It's being looked at by Uncle Mark, your commissioner and dad's brother-in-law. I'm married to JD Finn, youngest son of John Finn, the billionaire. We are the same family that you are thinking of, our family has had extensive experience in foster care and adoptions especially regarding transgender children." Valerie showed her a business card then ones for John's multiple charities, followed by images of John with Mark Sylvester, his brother- in-law. She then added, "Yes, he is the same man. Just because he's the poster child for 'rags to riches' doesn't mean he lives like a Kennedy. He's a normal, hardworking, and law-abiding citizen who has built a large family of friends and loved ones alongside his kids." She had given a segue so Daria asked about JD's siblings. Valerie explained, "He has seven: his twin sister, three elder brothers, and three elder sisters. All of them have children and are married. I know you'll ask: his sister and sister-in-law are transgender like Angel." Candace added, "Cat is the youngest, is a children's book author, and married to Gavin, her editor. Ella is the next-eldest, a fashion designer and retailer, adopted by mom and dad, married to her wife Flora who is transgender, and yes- her children are her own. Next elder is her brother Logan, who is an archaeologist with a PhD in history and archaeology and married to Piper. Piper is the same as Logan: adopted, Logan is Ella's biological brother. Jaimie is next and is transgender as well as adopted by both mom and dad. She's a child psychiatrist who specializes in transgender children and is married to Rick and has four children: two are Rick's biological kids and two that are Jaimie's deceased half-brother's children. Michael is next elder, a stockbroker/full partner at a financial consulting firm who handles the family's wealth and investments. He is married to Courtney who is a pediatric nurse. He is mom's biological son but is also Ella and Logan's biological brother through their father. He was adopted by dad when mom and dad got married, as was Courtney when her biological mother married her adoptive father. Next is his eldest brother, Miles, who is a detective-lieutenant with the State Police, married to Christina who is director of dad's charities. Miles is adopted by mom and dad, Christina by her mom. Finally, the eldest sibling is Sylvia. She is adopted and married to Mitch. She works as a senior executive in the New England Patriots' communications department and her husband is a retired player for the Patriots who works as an analyst for the regional and national sports networks." Valerie snickered at Daria's reaction. Candace sighed and told her, "Yes, eight children. Sylvia is the only one who wasn't actually raised by mom and dad, but she was adopted by them because she's so close to Jaimie, Christina, Courtney, and their friends." Valerie had to explain, "Jaimie was first and adopted by John seconds before we married. That's a long and irrelevant story from nearly 30 years ago. Michael loved John as a father long before we married so I couldn't deny John's request to adopt him. Miles was an emergency placement by our friend Anne, a longtime social worker who climbed the ranks to be commissioner before she retired. He was friendly with our kids and their friends and JD fell in love with him immediately after meeting him. Logan and Ella were sadly asked to be taken care of by us by their biological mother should anything happen to her. It was prophetic as she was murdered the next day. Sylvia and Rick were targeted by a frat while at college leading to her becoming pregnant by him after both were drugged. She chose to let Jaimie take her daughter in as her own and raise her, with Sylvia being her mom's friend instead of mother. She and Christina then later all of the girls grew close making it tough to not make her part of our family as she was abandoned, ostracized, and left with nobody to support her. Cat and Joseph may be John's blood, but he loves all eight of them equally...except when Cat acts up, then he wishes she wasn't his kid!" Candace happily explained, "She's a mischief maker, is brutally honest, and loves her family deeply. It's tough on him because she is able to manipulate him no matter how much he tries to fight it. It runs in the family, all of the females by blood are the same. Cat is simply the only one who can get under his skin and do so with a smile and making him try to appease her despite not wanting to." Daria had heard enough and explained, "I read my colleague Willow Lopez's report and I want to be honest: I want her to get help. This is a horrible case, one that I hate having to investigate. I don't like having colleagues purposely ignore abuse nor do I like hearing that a foster parent treated a kid like a slave. That's what I have gathered: she was treated as a slave, hence calling the man 'master' and woman 'mistress'. I don't know how much contact she had with the woman, but it's looking like it was next to nothing and the kids might have actually been living with him alone. As for the abuse: I'm of the belief that it was blatant abuse to show that he could do it in an example for the elder kids." Valerie didn't react while Candace was getting angered. It was what she wanted to occur, Candace had a strong urge to say something against the man who harmed Angel badly. It showed that Candace had a bond with Angel, one that was known to her on paper but had to be seen in person. Letting them settle down, she explained, "I am of the belief that Angel is best suited to living here with you. Your background as a foster care alum is key, she needs someone who had the same background as her. The fact that you are a Finn is irrelevant, you have a job, a home, and a support network that is second to none. You are also empathetic to her as you lived it yourself. You are the best possible parent for her, with your husband being the best possible father-figure. I'll ask that you be granted the right to adopt her as I don't believe that we will find a better set of parents nor do I believe that it is in her best interest to move her from your care. Even if she wasn't being adopted, she is best left living with you." Out of curiosity, she asked, "What is your relationship with Steven and Nancy Pierce? Your names were on the list of character witnesses for them and it seems a bit too convenient. I hope that you aren't used as a way of moving up the list to foster and adopt children." Valerie grinned and explained, "Steven and Nancy are part of our vast family. His family live behind my sister-in-law. Their foster-daughter was in Skylar Finn's class since the start of the school year and has known us since both were in pre-kindergarten. Nancy has been close friends with our niece and John's cousin's daughter since the three were in third grade together 26 years ago. They grew up as part of our family and have extensive firsthand experience with transgender girls as our niece, cousin's daughter, her friend's daughter, both Nancy's sister and sister-in-law, and finally Steven's niece are all transgender. My husband and I are considered an aunt and uncle to them due to our close friendships with both sets of grandparents as we're the closest Steven's parents and Nancy's father have had to real family. All of our branches of the family are alone so we are the only family that each has so our kids and grandkids have grown close to one another as support to one another. Nancy's mother has a sister and parents as well as 2nd-cousins but again they them selves only have our friends as family." Valerie happily added, "Before it's claimed: there is no incest or interbreeding. We have some who are a relative but not actually related. Our son Michael is 3rd-cousin to his wife Courtney through paternal lineage but as both Courtney and Michael were adopted by their fathers it's only on paper. John's uncle is grandfather as well as great-uncle to his elder son's adopted children while our nephew and his wife adopted their 4th-cousin's daughter. And before you ask: his nephew was adopted by his father. She's a relative through his father's side of the family rather than his mother's side." Daria just nodded and wisely stated, "We have had claims of it in the past but those were all logged and noted and no action taken. It was claimed that the commissioners killed the investigations, I take it that it was known directly. I am holding true to Angel being placed permanently here. Please, do not return to your former residence to live as it's too small. Given the location and support, this home is the best place for your family. I'll speak with Angel in the near future, please don't inform anyone of it as I want a true interview and not one coaxed by her. It'd be for the best to leave her unaware of it." She was shown out and went right to the preschool to speak with Angel. She was there with Skye Toro, the preschool's operations director, who brought Angel into the conference room for the meeting. It was tense, but Skye assured Angel that she wasn't in trouble and needed to talk with Daria. Skye stayed put to ensure that nothing happened. She had Valerie's number on standby in case of any trouble, but she didn't expect it. Daria was doing things by the books, which Skye knew well. The meeting was simple, Angel was asked about JD and Candace then about the kids. Angel was quiet but answered everything, with her trying hard to tell the truth. She was sincere and it showed that Angel had latched onto JD and Candace and all but worshiped Skylar and the boys. After assuring Angel that she wasn't going to be taken away from the Finns, Daria started to ask questions about her former foster home. Angel shed tears and refused to talk about it, then after a few quiet moments admitted, "Master said that if I told anyone what happened in the house I would get beaten. He said that nobody wanted us and we'd be tossed out on the streets if we talked. I don't want to be kicked out, I love mommy and daddy. Please don't make me go away!" She was crying heavily, Skye forced them to take a break while hugging the sobbing Angel. Daria was thinking heavily and started to write notes, something was starting to come together in her mind that wasn't sitting well. Angel had actually revealed something important: there were kids gone missing that had a connection that made her see that Angel had just uncovered a nasty situation. When Angel calmed down, she was asked about the marks on her body. Angel confessed, "Master hurt me because I wet the bed then he hurt me because I didn't clean the bathroom in time. He'd hit me if I was late or didn't do something that he liked. I tried to clean everything but it's hard to do when there is no light on. Master only let me clean at night, nobody was allowed to see me clean." She was asked why she was calling him "Master." Angel shook her head and told her, "He said I was his slave and slaves had masters. I don't know what a slave is, but I didn't want master mad at me. I tried to be good, but master always hit me. The other kids didn't know that I was around and the ones that I did see had to pretend that I wasn't there. Whenever a social worker came by I had to hide until they'd leave then master would hit me. He said that someone said that I lived there, someone who shouldn't know that I lived there. I hated hiding, but he let met sleep more when I hid even if I had more work." Daria finally asked about Angel dressing as a girl. Angel cried and blurted out, "He did it because he said that I was listed as a boy and nobody wanted a girly boy so nobody would want me anymore. I liked it. He saw that I liked it and beat me. Master hates girly boys, he kicked out some boys who were girly. He kicked out Carly once, she cried a lot because he didn't want her there. Carly didn't know that I saw her, I don't want her to know that I did. I didn't want her to be hurt by master." She knew that she had said too much. Daria asked if she liked being a girl more than a boy. Angel strongly stated, "I'm a girl. I know that I have boy parts, but I am a girl. Master might have made me be a girl to hide me, but I am a girl. I didn't know that I was a girl inside until I saw myself as one. I am a girl, mommy and daddy love me as a girl. I can't go back to being a boy: I won't! I'll cut off all of my boy parts to make me a girl! I won't be a boy again! Please don't make me be a boy!" Skye ended things there. She softly told Daria, "I have to report this to Fiona Nelson, she's Angel's gender counselor and as it's part of the abuse that Angel endured it goes a long way towards her care as a patient. Fiona asked us to do so if Angel had made any statements about self-harm. She has to help Angel with her feelings, please don't use that against her as it's what all girls feel when it looks like they might be forced to be the wrong gender after living as their true selves. We'll keep an eye on her to ensure that she doesn't do anything, and the Finns will be notified immediately about this." Daria nodded and left, with Angel being laid on a couch to nap as Skye called Fiona to tell her what happened and why. It was information that Fiona needed to know anyway, it was Angel's true origins and one that was steeped in abuse. Angel might not have intended to tell Fiona that, but now she had no choice but to talk about it with her as Fiona couldn't ignore it. Outside, Daria was on the phone with her superiors. She sighed and explained firmly, "It's a mess and only getting worse. Probable child slavery, rampant abuse, multiple rights violations: and that's just on one child. You were right, it's going to bite us. We have to act and we have to follow the rules. This is a hot issue, with oversight from above. I'm not just talking about the commissioner, there's a lot more to it than I'm aware of but it sounds like we'll have people investigating us if we screw this up." She firmly stated, "My report will be as follows: Angel is staying with a caring, understanding family in a neighborhood that is ideal to her situation. Her support network is vast and backed by far too many to list. Her foster parents have a big home, with relatives close by, and are independently financed so little is needed by them. It would be a crime of the highest nature to remove Angel without just cause. There is no abuse by the family, all abuse against Angel predates their involvement and is backed by the medical report from Angel's initial exam by a doctor. Angel is receiving adequate mental and physical help from medical professionals and as such her transition is by the books. She should remain with Joseph and Candace Finn until such time as they adopt her or she asks to be moved elsewhere." There was no answer from her supervisor. He complained, "I have received inquiries from the northeast regional director as well as my counterparts in Salem. I'm of the belief that the commissioner is waiting for your report as well. Whatever she did, she hit the mother load of inquiries." She grinned and explained, "I suspect that your colleagues are friends with the Finns. I know that the commissioner is directly related to them by marriage. Our hands are tied: they are the best place for her and if we tried to remove her we would be in court facing a judge. She stays put, we back away and let the State Police handle the investigation. The former foster-father is toast, as is anyone who had contact with him over the years. It's spilling over into other cases, I'm already aware of one such case." She drove on and spoke with the Pierces about Carly. She inspected their home, asked about all of their family members and their experiences with kids like Carly, then asked about their connection to JD and Candace Finn. It was as expected and went by quickly, she just needed to ensure that it was alright and that Carly had a bed and could do well with them. Sensing something more, she was asked about the other issues that she was hiding. She sighed told the couple, "I was made aware that your foster-daughter had been a temporary resident of the home that the young lady known as Angel was staying at. She admitted to the boys who didn't fit the foster-father's view on males being kicked out of the home, your foster-daughter was one of them. If that is true then I have to examine past placements. Your foster-daughter could have avoided imminent abuse but might have suffered undue impact on her psyche causing further mental issues." Both nodded and would talk with Carly about it. Carly had a lot of issues that would need to be talked about with Jaimie, being rejected had to have been one of the worst for her as she didn't know why it happened. It also unintentionally fit in with Skylar befriending her allowing her to be placed with them and finally being allowed to become the girl that she needed to be, the only silver lining there. Eventually making it back to the office, Daria was greeted by two troopers in suits. She had to shake her head at it happening fast, but it was tough to avoid. She kindly told them, "I have to write two reports immediately and I don't have the time to spare. Please, it's important and I believe that it's the reason for your investigating. When I am done, we can talk. Until then, you're wasting time here." The two nodded while one told her, "We'll expect both reports. Don't give us one report and file another as all records regarding the cases are being handled by our office due to the severity of the allegations. I might not be directly involved in the investigation due to my relationship, but my cousin here is." She nodded and explained to them, "I'm not going to destroy my future and risk my freedom to lie. I'll freely admit to you that there was abuse to the child, but it was done by the former foster-father of the victim. You are also wise to investigate potential civil rights violations against the children by members of my office as allegations have been made by the victim that boys were abandoned or removed due to appearing to be feminine or gay with at least one confirmed victim being known that this time." Both left to allow her to write her reports, with the duo going to lunch and then returning to obtain Daria's report. It was read and both nodded their heads, with Miles Finn telling her, "We have located several other boys who have all told similar tales of abuse by the suspect. Angel is the only one confirmed to have been openly abused, we are taking action on her behalf for neglect, abuse, and civil rights violations. Cody, "Carly" Hanson being sent away due to being effeminate is corroborated by several witnesses who knew of Cody's history firsthand but didn't intervene on her behalf. Your supervisor is the person on-record as being their social worker and as such has to explain his lack of investigating as Ms. Hanson told officers about the move and why yet no action was taken against the foster-father. Angel is simply the tip of the iceberg, it isn't taking us long to find more victims. Be prepared to assume leadership of the office soon as you are the most likely to be promoted." Miles left, his colleague David Peterson explained to her, "As he is the future uncle of Angel he can't investigate beyond the connection to other children. I am forced to investigate as I am not within the degree of familiarity to Angel and others in the office have refused based on personal issues. I am fully award that you are in a position of being on the outs if you don't back your supervisor, but he is toast. There is enough to be in front of a grand jury tomorrow if we so chose. We are waiting, any action he takes from now on will only invoke multiple actions against him leading to his imprisonment. You, on the other hand, won't be taken out as he thought as his own supervisor is overseeing things internally." She got the gist of the message: he'll come to her to fudge the reports. She had no intention of doing it, it wasn't worth the legal issues and she didn't believe that it helped anyone at all. Angel and Carly had a right to live freely, blaming them for what happened was idiotic as they were just young children. As she was getting ready to leave for the day, her supervisor asked to speak to her in private. She came into his office and was seated then told, "I read your reports about the kids that are staying with Finns. I am not happy with it, I have submitted a new report that puts things into a proper perspective. You had strong words regarding my brother, I didn't appreciate his being made out to be a monster by you. You should have run it by me first! I hate to do it, but I'm removing you from the cases and asking that you are reassigned to another office. Your career should come first, those kids aren't worth your future." She walked out, walked over to David's office in the adjacent 10 Ashburton Pl. State Office Building, and showed her reassignment order as well as copies of her supervisor's "revised" reports. She sighed then told David and Miles, "He removed me from the case due to making his brother look bad. I had no idea that his brother was involved, the protocol is that he have someone else oversee the cases for his brother's foster-children. I'm being reassigned but he's probably building a case against me as he's aware of where my allegiances lay. Do what you have to, just know that I tried to protect the kids. He'll go after me with everything he had others do, I know I'm on borrowed time." David shook his head and happily told her, "We have your original report. You gave us cause to investigate all of his actions regarding his brother. He is going to end up terminated and likely in prison for his actions towards you and the children. He made a major mistake: all alterations are logged and any changes like his have to be explained by him to us. The original that you filed is still there, held in a secure server, with a copy of it left as-is for him to alter. He took the bait, you led him right to where we wanted him and gave us exactly what we needed to nail him and his brother." Mile added, "You're going to end up replacing him as you're senior case manager for the office. He has a few lackeys in the wings but those were already exposed through emails. They have let him lead them around, once he's gone they'll have to explain their actions and either will be retrained so that the proper procedures are learned and utilized or moved elsewhere to get them away from bad influences." She was relieved to hear that. She knew exactly who would be the ones who were retrained as they had only been with the office a short time or were good social workers but who feared their supervisor. The others were goners, they were only retained because of clout and wouldn't work anymore. At home, Grace invited Angel over to play with Riley happily watching the two for their parents. They were playing with their dolls for hours, only taking a break to eat dinner before the two lay down in the living room to watch TV. They didn't need prompting to do that, Grace happily put the TV on for them. As they were watching, Grace told Angel that her grandparents always ended up watching her since her grandpa had to cut back on work and her grandma loved babysitting her. Angel looked jealous and softly told her it stunk that her mommy didn't have parents like her father had. She saw the love between them that was lacking in Candace despite John and Valerie treating her like a daughter. Grace hugged her and whispered, "I hope grandma and grandpa adopt your mommy. Grandma talks to her more than Granty Valerie, Grandma treats her like she's daddy's sister. She doesn't talk to Aunty Nancy like she does to your mommy, Aunty Nancy has a mommy and aunt so goes to them first." Riley shed a tear over the girls hoping that they'd become cousins. They didn't want to say it, but she saw the real reason for the talk: they wanted to be related, going beyond the friendship that they had. It was sweet, and only showed that Candace should have been adopted by one of the family's branches. After one more episode of their favorite show, it was time for Angel to go home. She parted with a hug and kiss from Riley, with her telling Angel, "I'll see about getting your wish granted. We love you kids and your mommy is as close to me as a daughter already." In bed that night, Riley asked Graham about Candace and them. Graham sighed and confessed, "I put it off for a while because I didn't want people to think that I was using John as a puppet, pulling his strings to make him do as I pleased. All of us knew the truth is that John's strings are only held by the girls and his sisters, but that didn't matter. I guess it's finally come to a head: Angel is making you feel motherly towards Candace and we haven't got any excuse for not making her our daughter. She's a lot closer to you than Nancy despite your attempts to get to know Nancy. We love her, but she's a big too much like her mother to not go to her mother for advice. And having an aunt who was like Nancy as well made it hard to ask someone who has little in common with her for advice. Candace could have gone to Valerie or Melanie or Leslie or Karen: she went to you. That meant a lot to you and you know it. She's giving you a daughter to love even if you didn't mean to mother her." Graham hugged her then confessed, "I considered it just after Carly was taken in. Carly would love an aunt who understood her far better than anyone else. She might have one big issue, but the two are a lot like one another in every way. The boys will understand, Oscar especially will love it." The next day saw Graham and Riley meeting with Candace after the kids returned from school. All five played at the Pierce home, with Carly joining them yet again. Brice and Royce were with them and had a hard time not getting wound-up about being there again. Angel somehow made them relax and play in a few of the, "Little kid" games before the boys went to play on their own. Upstairs, Candace was shown the completed paperwork and asked if she wanted to be adopted into the Pierce family as their daughter. She was in tears, hugging them but asking if they were making her do it because of Angel. It was an honest question, one that Riley expected. She hugged and kissed Candace then explained, "We feel that we made a mistake in not doing this years ago. You're as close to a daughter as I've ever had, not even Nancy or Amy have been as close to me. I love them, but you have given me more mother-daughter moments than either of them. I loved all of those moments, they felt right and you made me feel like I was able to be a mother to a daughter." Graham added, "It's my fault for not doing this when you were in elementary school. I let some people get to me, they heard about your closeness to us and wanted to use you against me. I should have given them no heed but I was so focused on the company that I lost track of what really mattered. Riley kept herself focused on helping you and trying to be a mother to you even when you were just a neighbor's friend. We treated you like you were more than that, but should have seen why we did it. You belong as part of our family, you belong as our daughter. The kids only proved why." Candace signed, followed by Riley and Graham. Skylar asked what that was about, Candace tearfully told her, "I was asked if I would become their daughter. I agreed to be adopted by them. You're going to be cousins now- Carly will be your cousin, as will Grace. We're part of their family now." The girls hugged, with Carly in tears as Skylar happily called her, "Cousin". Grace hugged Riley for her listening to them without them knowing, she made their dream come true. They were more than friends now, they were family and close members at that. When they were leaving, Angel hugged and kissed Riley and Graham. She happily called them, "Granny and grampy" which both loved. It was one of her happiest moments, her friend was family and she had cousins that love her as much as she loved them. Inside, she told JD what happened. He nodded, and explained to Angel, "It happened to Uncles Willie and Ricardo and Aunt Alice. It happened with Aunts Melanie and Lilly. Your mom made our aunts and uncles happy but she didn't get adopted as she should have. They knew that she was going to marry me, but it hurts to know that she could have been their daughter years ago but wasn't. People are mean sometimes and make you do bad things for the right reasons. Uncle Graham is righting that wrong with your mom, he's making her his daughter so that they are officially family." In bed, Candace wept as JD kissed her. He softly assured her that it wasn't a dream and that she had a mom, dad, and two brothers now. She fell asleep in tears, it just felt right to her. The news spread that evening but nobody dared call Candace to congratulate her. Riley did have to put up with Amy and Nancy calling, but both understood just why she did what she did. Given that both of them had sisters and aunts whom they could talk to and both had big families alongside the rest of the family it was easy to see why Riley and Graham wanted to give Candace the gift of family. The next morning saw the kids hugging and kissing Candace, with her blushing over her new nephews being so lovable. Skylar and Carly hugged as well, with both happy to be closer than friends. They had a stronger bond than each would admit, they were truly family in all ways now. As expected, Grace ran for Candace and happily called her "Aunty" which got the kids giggling. They gasped when she told them that she really was her aunt now, with Angel being her cousin. That got the kids to giggle and move on, with two smiling away as Aggy led them to their storytime niche. Candace eventually made it over to the courthouse in Boston to file the adoption paperwork. She had a few odd looks but didn't have any troubles. The judge took them quickly, as per his clerks' usual act. The judge listened to the reasons and shook his head over hearing them. He sighed and explained to her, "It pains me that so many good kids go unnoticed because of agendas by certain people in power. I can attest to a number of great kids who unfortunately never got adopted, thankfully some of them chose to do what others wouldn't and became parents by adoption themselves." Candace blushed as both Graham and Riley laughed. The judge shook his head while Candace told him, "I'm actually adopting a little girl who was being abused by the system. My new sister-in-law is doing the same but the little girl is known to us already as she's my daughter's classmate and friend." He happily shot back, "Are there any issues that I should know about? I don't like to use the quick way of adopting unless there's reason to. I know your family has never abused it, but I still have to ask as it is typical of your lot to take in kids who are in trouble and need immediate help." Candace sighed and explained, "Yes, she has had some issues. She was badly abused by a monster who had support from social services in his abuse. However, that's being taken care of by the state now. My brother, brother-in-law, and cousin-in-law are all involved in the investigation. She's doing great and we've had our initial home visit from social services and our daughter was interviewed by them and have yet to hear back so we don't expect any trouble this time." The judge nodded and explained to her, "As there's abuse, I'll see you and your husband in a month. I'm not going to wait three to six months to allow the adoption, it's pointless with your support network. As long as she's getting help and there's no big issues with her then it'll become official in a month." Turning to Riley and Graham, he added, "Your granddaughter is adopted as of today. I had a long talk in private with my clerk about your granddaughter, one that disturbed me. She told me all about school as her niece attends the same school and is in her class. The sudden change of gender has raised issues in class that I don't think the kids have fully explained yet. She has observed their teacher's behavior and it isn't sitting well with her. I asked a colleague to observe from a distance and it was confirmed: she's an abuser, and is hiding it in plain sight. Neglecting your granddaughter's work, ignoring her when she has the answers, a penchant for talking with colleagues about issues that are vaguely disguised. It upset her enough to ask me to help your granddaughter in any way that I can. In private she has mentioned that your granddaughter was abused in foster care to the point of wanting to harm herself, that to me is enough to warrant immediate intervention." Grinning he proclaimed, "I am granting the application of Nancy and Steven Pierce to adopt the former Cody Hanson. Cody is hereby renamed Carly Riley Pierce. I would have preferred to do this in person, but I believe that it is best not to wait and the reaction will be the same regardless." The Pierces thanked him and were led out. Riley called Nancy, Graham called Steven, while Candace had the harder job in that she had to call Amy and Oscar. All four were thrilled with the news, with the couple offering to take the kids off of Candace's hands so that she could celebrate with JD. Candace blushed and shot back that it would set a bad example for the kids, which led to Amy teasing her about not making another baby. Candace sighed and explained to her, "You know that I can't have another one. It's why we were so keen on adopting Angel: she's the daughter I can't have. I don't have to have another one, but maybe you two will. You're overdue for your period, missy!" Amy blushed while Oscar groaned and complained, "That explains everything. Ma has dropped hints to us about something missing. You know how Amy gets when she's working on a project!" Amy kissed Oscar and happily told Candace, "I knew. I was waiting for the right moment to tell him. I know my body and I know everyone else knows it. I know I'm a handful when I have one." Oscar happily told Amy, "Boy or girl, we'll love them. I don't mind a girl, but I'd love a boy. Grace isn't being replaced, I just want someone who is more like me than Amy. Two of her is one too much!" Candace ended the call and went to work. JD was taking a break so hugged her. She cried as she told him, "One month and it's official. Judge Parker doesn't want to wait due to her having waited all of her life for a family. Carly doesn't have to wait: he granted hers already. Skylar has an issue that we need to talk about, she didn't notice some of the things that happened in school but another kid did. She told her mother who told Judge Parker. He isn't happy, he'll expect something to happen now." JD shook his head and explained, "The right people know. Aunt Yvette made it clear that she's waiting to do something but needs a reason to act. She hasn't crossed the line openly, but she'll do so soon. There's no way that she doesn't react badly to the news when Uncle Graham and Aunt Riley tell her." She happily teased, "You mean mom and dad," which he groaned at. He sighed and hugged her before he went back to work. She had to smile as he knew that she needed a distraction so indicate for her to get back to work before she ended up behind the next day. After school, she happily picked up Angel from preschool then the boys from their school before heading to pick up Skylar from her school. Nancy and Steven were already there and hugged her, with Nancy having to hide tears as they prepared for Carly. She'd scream and hug them tightly, before she broke down in tears of joy. The family's other members kept away from the combined families to give them a chance to enjoy the oncoming love from the kids. Seeing them so far apart, whispers started to circulate about there being a big rift and issues among the branches. That only got worse as a few were brave enough to get close to the others and ask why they weren't with the Finns, earning quick, "Giving them space" from them. Skylar and Carly's class was the last out, with their teacher looking more upset than usual. She walked over to Yvette King and complained, "Those two so-called nieces of yours caused an uproar in my class. The boy is starting to get close to the girls, I try hard to keep him apart but he won't leave them alone. If he continues I'll demand his removal and if you don't do it I'll go to the union." Yvette smirked, waited for her to calm herself, then explained, "By all means please do. When John is done with you he'll send his wife after you. That's John Finn, grandfather of Skylar Finn who is now the cousin of Carly Pierce. Yes, her name is Carly and yes she is female. But that is beside the point, as you have not only shown that you are incapable of teaching Carly and have used abusive language and have shown that you will try to remove a child who has done nothing wrong I am hereby removing you from the classroom. This is in addition to the blatant abuse towards Carly the past week, all of which is on record and caught the attention of a judge. He is upset at your actions and demanded that we have you removed from teaching. As per order of the superintendent, you are terminated. A replacement will be here tomorrow, one who is in need of the job and who has no issue with transgender children." She walked on and hugged Carly, with Carly unsure what to do. Riley happily told Carly, "We went to see the judge today in regards to your aunt's adoption and were given something special: an immediate adoption order for you. That also included a name change so that the name 'Cody' is retired. You're the daughter of Nancy and Steven, our granddaughter in full." Carly was crying heavily, with Skylar hugging her. She softly told Carly, "Cousin," which caused Carly to weep over hearing. The two were family officially now. The two were led to a car to be driven home. They hugged the entire way, with tears flowing heavily. It was sweet, none of their parents or grandparents could speak as they watched the two embrace. Once at the Pierce home, Joey and Danny hugged Carly and refused to let her go. The two were in tears as she embraced them, they didn't want her to be upset at them or say the wrong thing to her. They had no idea just how much their hugs meant to Carly, they showed that she was family without knowing it. Skylar suggested that they do homework which prompted the boys to do the same. Grace hugged and kissed Carly before going off to play, but was stopped by Oscar and Amy. The two sat her down while Amy happily told her, "I know you love being the center of attention, but you have to share it now. You are going to become a big sister in eight months: I'm having a baby. We don't know if it's a boy or girl but we will love him or her just the same. You'll have to help us with the baby, but you don't have to go overboard to show that you are still around. Trust us, we know how kids can get with new babies." Grace cheered and led Angel off to talk about the baby and becoming a big sister like she had always wanted to be. She got her wish, she was a big sister now- just like her cousins and classmates were. Angel was the youngest in her arm of the family, but it felt alright to her. Amy's pregnancy spread and caused her to listen to angry phone calls from her friends as they wanted to know from her not from their other relatives. Amy laughed and happily told them, "I was going to do it tomorrow but the kids stole my thunder. I suspect Willow and Cat did most of the calling given that it had to have been noticed by them before anyone else." Things quieted down for three weeks as the kids got firmly entrenched in their new homes. Austin had a lot of playdates with his friend Betty during this time, with her parents able to save money on sitters as Austin's sister Liv babysat them for free while his brother Eli endured hours of giggling. They had a lot of fun with Liv, with Betty happy to learn how to be a girl more intensely from a girl like herself. Liv shared a secret with Betty that she had kept from most of her family: she wasn't a "full girl" due to having been castrated due to hormonal issues causing her to be pre-cancerous. Her closest friends knew, but most of the family didn't know yet as it was felt best to not talk about it due to the sensitivity of the subject. Betty was told that it's why her doctor had to do a lot of bloodwork whenever she went to her appointments, sometimes you develop issues that make you have to have a castration to spare you from cancer or liver issues that were developing rapidly. Betty blushed over knowing that her breasts were going to come. Liv and Skylar prepared her for them by taking her along with them when Carly went for her first bra the second week with the Pierces. The little girl was in awe over the whole trip, especially as Liv showed her what she needed to know about clothes and boys and girls while keeping much of the non-PG stuff to herself to tell her later on. Carly started to blossom after starting full hormones and got herself into a frenzy when she had to go to a cryogenic facility to preserve semen. She hated making it, but thanks to Liv's gentle nudges and all of Liv's health issues she agreed that it was best to make it before she lost the ability to make it. Liv had a look of sadness at knowing that she only had a few chances to be a biological mom, but knowing that if fate wanted her to be a mother she could be- just like her own mother when she adopted Liv and Eli. Angel grew as a person with the Finns, with her happiness and constant optimism improving all of her cousins to the point that she was used as a punishment that they'd endure unless they had an attitude improvement. She loved being babysat by her eldest cousins, especially as Sylvia was so much like a big sister rather than a cousin or babysitter while her fiance Chance was an overprotective big brother. She hated not being near Grace. The two were inseparable and it showed as they were always together in preschool and at home. Only rarely did they part, usually when it was time for the doctor. Fiona had multiple long, boring talks with Angel about her life. Angel tried to appease her by being too flattering to JD and Candace but eventually started to talk about all of her cousins then her past. She would talk for hours about things that she had to do or was forced to endure over her short life, with the fact that she was treated like a literal slave by her former foster-father being the hardest to confess to. Whenever Fiona asked about Angel and girlhood there was no wavering, no hint of it being all play and that she was pretending or didn't understand differences between boys and girls. For someone just four- years-old, Angel understood genders and what it means to be a boy or girl better than most adults. She knew that she was a girl inside and as far as she was concerned she was a girl regardless of what people said about her- it wasn't just clothing to her, it was acting, understanding girls and boys differently. Angel helped Carly a lot whenever Carly was over as she showed her that being a girl didn't mean that you have to give up on everything that was masculine, especially if you loved it. Carly didn't have a lot of things that she did like, but she struggled with not watching certain TV shows or sports or trying to play certain games with her brothers and cousins. Angel happily played with the boys and watched the games on TV with her grandfather, it was more about enjoying them with John and playing a different game than the ones that she loved so that they had something in common besides being family. Carly's old teacher tried to sue the school over losing her job but ended up in legal trouble as she saw the state going after her for fabricating her degree and using proxies to file for her teaching license despite a lack of actual teaching hours and proper courses. The state found multiple members of the licensing commission who helped her secure a license, one of whom was her own wife. This led to the state and city investigating all teachers with two others losing their jobs due to fraudulent licenses. She was within the three year probationary time so her termination was immediate, but that only led to a lawsuit against the city which she hoped would draw media attention. That backfired as they had their own sights on her due to the bigger story that she had uncovered. She had little sympathy from anyone as it was clear that she had been caught in a lie and fired with just cause for multiple reasons. The media ignored the fact that she went after a transgender student and focused on the more damaging fraudulent licenses. The state had to investigate the commission and forced to make drastic changes in the course of just two weeks as the media bonfire intensified. Kids' futures were at stake as well as the fact that those who got licenses were people who could have been dangers to kids- as Carly had shown. Angel had multiple required visits from Daria as Daria checked on Angel's well-being and got to know the little girl on a personal level that helped with her case. She read report after report from Aggy, Katie, and Yvette as well as Fiona's reports on Angel's gender and abuse counseling and had accepted that there was no better place for Angel to live due to multiple reasons that were obvious. The Finns were treating her well and had improved Angel's life in multiple ways, taking her away from the family would only harm Angel and cause issues with her agency that weren't needed. JD and John secretly got a test done on Skylar that wasn't told to her or Candace. They waited until the week of the hearing to give Skylar the good news. The test was a DNA test, Skylar was, in fact, JD and Candace's daughter in full and that night of passion shared years before in college was fate intervening. Skylar couldn't believe it, JD was really her father and not some random man. She wanted to be upset at the news, but it turned out to be the best possible outcome and meant that she never had to explain to others who her father was. Those who didn't know, didn't need to know and those who did didn't care. The hearing was held in the late afternoon as the last case of the day. Judge Parker knew that there was going to be a lot of people there for it so scheduled it to not interfere with anyone else's case. Knowing that the Finns were extremely powerful people, he preferred to err on the side of caution. The hearing was packed with the "Blood Finn" branches: Finn, Finn- Nelson, Sylvester, Samuels, Pena, Gibson, Bollinger, York, Peterson, Nelson, Lopez, Smith, Jones, Castillo, Vincent, Porter-Phillips, Byrne- Toro, Porter, and King. All of JD's 1st and 2nd-cousins as were their parents and grandparents. Candace had just the Pierces there, but that was more than enough for her as it was direct family and in her eyes all of them were family even if not directly related to her. Judge Parker grinned at seeing all of the adults there. He inquired about the kids, with JD telling him, "It was easier to have them go with their aunts, uncles, and cousins while we were here. It's already a bit crowded, the kids would only make things go beyond capacity." Judge Parker nodded and started the hearing. He was swift, asking Angel if she wanted to be adopted by the family. She enthusiastically said, "Yes." He asked for Fiona's report which he nodded at reading and told them, "You chose to get her help from a person that isn't directly related to you which shows that you were putting her best interest ahead of a convenient rubber-stamping. I am well-aware of your sister's occupation due to having had the luxury of hearing previous adoptions associated with her, her word is as good as gold in my book but ethics is something that she put on display by having a colleague handle this. You did the right thing." Reading the reports he asked if Angel was continuing her counseling for other issues, JD sadly told him, "She won't realize the gravity of the situation until later so we feel it's best to continue a thorough and non-focused therapy with Dr. Nelson. We trust her to help Angel as best she can." Judge Parker nodded and signed the papers, proclaiming, "Given that the two of you have shown a lot of care and concern for your daughter and insisted on outside help as well as ensuring that she was able to receive a proper investigation by social services and the police, I am granting your request for adoption. As your daughter has an androgynous name, I have nothing to change. The fact that there is no proper surname is alarming, but I am also happy to report that her birth certificate is also lacking in a name for both the father and mother. Therefore, I am ordering both Joseph Daniel Finn and Candace Marie Finn be named as Angel Finn's father and mother retroactive to the filing. Congratulations, it's a girl!" Angel hugged and kissed JD and Candace while Joey and Danny hugged Skylar. Judge Parker shocked the family by asking Skylar to move forward then proudly told her, "Given the results of a DNA test on you that proved parentage, I am ordering your birth certificate to be updated to include Joseph Daniel Finn as your father. It takes a strong man to adopt a child, it takes an even stronger man to admit a mistake in the past. Thankfully, it led to the best possible outcome for all three of you. Congratulations on winning the genetic lottery, Miss Finn." Skylar hugged JD and Candace while Angel, Danny, and Joey smiled. The family left the courtroom to a grinning Judge Parker, his last act as a judge was one of his crowning achievements. Few can say that they had heard a case involving the Finns, even fewer can claim to have heard one from the main Finns and of those, only he could claim to have seen the family solidifying permanently. The family happily celebrated the adoption and saw Angel enjoying all of the family members around her. Cousin after cousin hugged and kissed her, with all of them admitting to being jealous of her as she got to be the youngest among them. She was the baby among all of their branches, even if more would be born to her parents' generation none would be born to her father's siblings, 1st, and 2nd-cousins. The family got adjusted to life after the adoptions. Carly thrived under her new teacher and saw her life begin to improve on all levels. She loved her new family, especially her younger brothers. Cat made frequent visits to the Finn household and threatened to move in with them if JD didn't let her see her new niece whenever she wanted. Angel grew to love Cat, so much so that she became just like Cat in all ways- except needling JD, that is. Cat tried her best to be a good aunt but often clashed with a sterner JD over discipline while his brother- in-law Gavin and Candace let the twins battle it out. Gavin treated Angel differently than his other nieces, especially his siblings' kids. He always had a lighter touch and kept his distance while babysitting her, with his son and daughter happy to play with her while he relaxed. It was different than the others, he actually understood her much in the same way he understood Carly and Betty. He was more than happy to be an uncle to Betty so that her parents could work more while also giving Angel and her cousins a chance to play with the older girl. Betty seemed to fit in best with Gavin's kids so much so that her parents felt bad that he was linked somehow. He shook his head at that but John did an inquiry into Gavin's past that showed a link that made them saddened and sickened: he was Betty's father's cousin and thus was blood to her making the kids 2nd-cousins to her. It was a good sign for them, they were happy to be family to him as he was someone to be proud of for what he became in life and who had helped them even if only through his daughter. The fact that there was a connection through Austin was irrelevant, Gavin tried to be a good person toward their daughter even when he had no reason to. Betty had a positive male figure who wasn't her father in her life now. In typical Cat fashion, she spoiled Betty as much as possible. Her parents didn't try to dissuade her as it was from the heart and Cat was giving her something that she always wanted but did so in a way that is taken to have been earned despite not really having done anything that she wouldn't have done anyway. Cat got Betty to read Cat's books, then her cousin Hannah Smith's books, then other friends' books making her reading comprehension start to excel while earning a scowl from Katie for outdoing Katie in teaching Betty to read and enjoy reading. Carly got to enjoy being a help to Betty as the little girl went home with the Pierces several times as her parents were working late. The two were friendly and Carly seemed to enjoy showing someone in need of a role model get adjusted to girlhood and being around so many people. It got even more fun when Angel joined them and caused the usually mature Carly to show her younger girl side as she enjoyed a lot of the things that she suppressed for years: dolls, toys, pretend, and house. Betty happily told them that she loved being friends with Austin even if she didn't like him that way. It caused Carly to giggle and happily tell her, "He sees you like my mom saw my uncles. Boys can also be friends with you, they can like some of the stuff that we like. You're too young to like boys or girls yet anyway, that comes later on when you start to see them differently. I don't like either yet." The hardest part for all of them were the trials of multiple people who had made Carly's, Angel's and in a coincidental yet fitting twist- Betty's lives miserable for years. Betty's former landlord was related to the man whom Angel called "Master" and whose wife was posing as "Mistress" for social services! The fact that Betty and Austin were close only ended up costing the man as his actions were in part due to a lot of issues involving "Master" and his antics bringing the real extent of things to light. It was only made worse as "Mistress" was the cousin of Daria's supervisor, it was he who tied all of the things together making him the mastermind for everything. He thought that he was slick in using his brother to funnel money into his cousin-in-law's bank accounts to allow him to buy the apartment building that Betty's family lived in but he actually was the weakest link in it all as his cousin-in-law's screw-ups with money caused issues that required financial finagling that had the regional supervisor investigating him which caused "Master" to end up in a jail cell causing all of it to come crumbling down around all three of them. He was the money-man, the one who got "Master" the kids while his cousin-in-law invested the money in properties but couldn't afford the mortgages. Carly's file was found to have been severely altered to the point of being complete fiction, with all of her past placements seen to be what they were: attempts to hide her while using her as a source of cash. The one constant was that she was never allowed to make friends as she only stayed for a few months but didn't change schools or move outside the Winnisimmet city limits. The issue came to a head when she befriended Skylar whose closeness caused intervention from above and allowed Carly to stay put until forcibly removed sparking action from Willow. Angel's file was even worse as she was just a name and location, the rest was simply gibberish crafted by "Master" to hide her in his home. She was known to the kids at the home, but she didn't exist to the rest of the world and anyone who asked about her or who talked with people outside of the home were shipped off to another home. Her existence had only been acknowledged when she decided to escape, with her finding JD's garage being a stroke of luck as well as fate- it was a block away and known to "Master" as a place to avoid at all costs. Willow took great pride in showcasing the placements of Carly and Angel as why they should seek out families who are willing to help transgender foster children regardless of the challenges. The two found families who needed to give love to a child as well as who understood them and who were willing to be the families that they needed. It was all about trying to put what was best for the children first, which is what social services should be doing yet frequently chose to ignore in favor of what was convenient. The trial was a mess as all three turned on one another in an attempt to save their skins. There was a big problem though: they were all caught in the act through emails and recorded phone conversations so it was tough to claim coercion or a plan by the other two to entrap the third if all three were caught in the act. They didn't try to defend themselves, hoping that they could outdo the others and get off easily. The trials ended with the jury convicting all four involved to varying sentences between 10 years and a lengthy 30 years total in prison. "Master" got the worst of it as his abuse was exposed for all to see as other kids came forward with doctors showing that some of the injuries to the kids in his care were clearly from him instead of other kids as claimed. The others received "lighter" sentences but saw them having to endure being put in isolation to prevent other prisoners from exacting "jailhouse justice" on the two once word reached the prison that the two put multiple kids in danger. Betty's family enjoyed getting closer to the Finns as a whole as her father's new job saw him at home a lot more frequently as he didn't have to travel often and when he did he was back the next day. Cat kept her mother busy but mostly relegated her activities to the Boston area as the personal assistant job was simply arranging her schedule to talk at schools, promote library fundraisers, and donate money to the various charities that her books officially and unofficial supported. Betty being related to Cat's kids had a big impact on her as she happily insisted on Betty calling her "Aunt Cat" and got her own kids to call her parents "Aunt" and "Uncle" so they got to enjoy being called that by family. Carly and Angel were frequently with them as the two enjoyed long talks to prepare Angel for "big kids school" while Carly got prepared for middle school and Betty prepared for elementary school. The trio were so inseparable as the Spring wore on that it was easy to plan around their interactions and even do some activities with all three as they were invariably going to be with Grace, Skylar, and Austin. Poor Austin was the lone boy among the six, but he happily enjoyed it as his cousins gave him a lot of space and Betty knew that he would never abandon her for boys no matter how much they demanded it. Summer was the best time for them as it was a never ending stream of sleepovers, days out with their parents and family, and trips with John and Valerie to the amusement park or beach. Grace got the trio to enjoy themselves and actually served as the de-facto leader during trips since she had done it all and had more than enough experience driving John bonkers to lead the trio around. Poor Betty learned that it was easier to just let Grace get her energy out and then follow Carly's lead, with Carly happily letting John walk them to certain places so they'd get the most out of their days. When school came around, JD was in tears as his little baby girl started pre-kindergarten and led Grace inside to their classroom. She was starting to grow up, her first step towards the rest of her life. It was a sad moment for the Finns as she was the last of their kids to attend school and marked the start of the next generation as her elder cousins would take on the same trek in the next decade as Sylvia and her other cousins were on the cusp of becoming parents themselves.. The kids were instant hits in school and any issues were mitigated by the sheer overwhelming volume of Finns scattered throughout the schools. Each school had multiple kids, all of whom were happy to be family even if they weren't related. And anyone who had issues with them found out that they happier to defend one another from harm even if it meant getting detention or enduring fights that they'd win. The kids thrived. Both Carly and Angel proved that just because you're transgender doesn't mean that you'll be a problem. The two showed that with love and support, you can become something great. The end.