United States Independence Day Special Number One! I've been thinking... rather than the whole, writing a 'Behind the Scenes' what would people think about simply having a no FTS-questions barred chat session that I could log and then post? Just answering the questions and explaining things? Here's part 13, though we're getting close to the end, and this is the longest FTS chapter yet! Hope you all enjoy it!
Last Minute PS: I got wrapped up in another movie (Stranger Than Fiction), sorry, Sk8r Grrls will be in the next hour -- promise double!

"Mister Ugg,” said Wendy, “when the Sheriff in your county informed you that the abduction case may have a lead, you requested transport up here and we didn't balk. Now, we're just asking you to be patient until the detectives on the case of your ex-wife's murder return. So please, sit, have a cup of coffee, feed the vending machines... I don't know. Exercise some patience. Just because you want them to be back sooner does not make it so, and yelling at me about it does nothing to improve the situation.”
She left the lounge area, and went down the hallway, as she rounded the corner, she nearly ran into Warner and Duquesnes.
“Oh good grief,” she said, relieved, “that man is driving me nuts! He's waiting in the lounge, just go to him. I'm leaving.” And with that... she left.
“I can't,” said Jeff, “I thought I could spook the fella by wearing this getup, but I can't do it. Is there a bathroom nearby where I can change before going in there?” he asked, hefting his backpack.
Kerry sighed and nodded, then pointed down the hall a bit. “Too bad though, kid, if you could act all girly, it would be bound to get under this guy's skin.”
Jeff nodded and then walked to the men's room and went inside. A few minutes later, he emerged in the cargo shorts and T-shirt he'd been wearing the day before when Kerry had seen him. His face looked like he'd made an attempt to scrub the makeup off, but he ended up looking more like a raccoon.
Sheila grinned and asked, “Anyone else in there?” and when he shook his head, she took the backpack, handed it to Kerry, and said, “Wait here.” Then she took Jeff by the hand and took him back into the men's room. She pulled a small tube of lotion out of her purse as the boy just looked at her oddly.
“Makeup is designed to stay on, even with soap. You have to remove it properly. I don't have any cold cream here, but lotion will do in a pinch as a substitute. Here,” she said, squeezing a bit onto a paper towel, “close your eyes.”
Jeff complied and she cleaned him up, then had him rinse his face and dry it again.
They exited to see a bored Kerry leaning against the wall, pack at his feet and juggling what looked to be three 'hacky-sack' bean bags. He stopped when he noticed them and slipped them into a pocket.
The three proceeded the rest of the way up the hall to the station room, and through that to the lounge.
* * * * * * *
Devin got into Carter's car as she instructed Matt and Emily to follow. Judge Billings just waved and walked to his own car. They followed the lawyer, both still kind of bewildered about what was going on, exactly.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“What just happened?”
“Not a clue.”
“And you're okay with that?”
“Not especially.”
“Oh.”
They were silent for a moment or two before anything else was said.
“Em?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you okay with... Brenda?”
“I don't know yet.”
“Oh.”
Further conversation would have seemed forced and contrived to either one of them, so again, silence reigned for a bit.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“You said Mom and Janette both knew and supported you as, um, Aunty Brenda. What did you mean by 'supported' you?”
Matt sucked in a breath through his teeth and then blew it out slowly.
He started to explain, “Well, your mother was the one that got me started in college with the cosplay... and then crossplay. So we started to see if I could be as convincing as a normal girl as I could as a girl pretending to be a Japanese cartoon. As for Janette...” he paused and got a goofy grin, then said in Brenda's voice, “Janette really knew how to treat a girl.”
Emily's eyes bugged out. “Don't do that!” she exclaimed, “The girly voice and the boy face is just... creepy, Dad.”
Matt chuckled, then glanced over at his daughter and finished, “Janette and Brenda were lesbian lovers, Em. Janette walked in on Brenda one day when I lost track of time when it was my turn to watch over the two of you. You and Matt weren't quite three years old, and when it was my turn to watch the kids... well, let's just say that Janette was interested in Brenda before she was into me.”
Then they pulled into the police station parking lot behind Carter and Devin.
* * * * * * *
Taking a deep breath, Jeff put his hand on the handle for the door and looked back at the two police officers. They made 'shoo' gestures, and he pulled the door open and went in.
Lee Ugg looked up at him disinterestedly from the television, “Yes? What now? More delays?” he asked, then noticed it was a kid. Disgusted by all their stupid delaying tactics, he growled at the boy, “Well?”
Startled, Jeff blushed and looked at his shoes, then back up at Ugg, “I — I was told that you're my natural father?”
All the color drained out of the snarling Floridian's face, “What the hell are you wearing? This damfool pants fad is bad enough, but no daughter of mine is going to have a boy's haircut! Well, we can take care of that later, Jessica. Come give your daddy a hug!” then he opened his arms wide and beamed at Jeff as if he had just offered him the keys to Fort Knox.