Two days later, Sondra was helping Randall dress in his best suit for the court case. She was going along with him for support. Megan was staying with her grandparents today after she got out of school.
If all went well and nothing happened to him at the court house, Randall would be moving his stuff into Sondra's that weekend.
Randall hated wearing his clothes, but he knew he had to on a day like this. He was wearing a borrowed black tux that Sondra had gotten. It was meant for some bigger lizards, as his stomach was so big at the moment.
They walked arm in arm into the court house together. Sondra had on a blue dress shirt.
When they stepped through the doors, Randall couldn't help but feel so nervous. Fungus was behind them. They all took a seat in the back of the room. Randall really didn't want to be noticed.
Randall saw Rhoda up in front wearing prisoner clothes. He remembered wearing it all too well. Her stomach too looked huge. He still wondered what was going to become of his kids when they were born.
Soon, the judge walked in and they all stood up to welcome him. He said to sit and they all sat down to begin.
The beginning of the reason why they were there was said, and the beginning of calling witnesses to the stand began.
Rhoda listened to how her family described her and it was all good things about her, and how they said that she was with child and they had no idea where the father was and she should be allowed to have and raise her children. Especially when she had just lost her two brothers as well.
She had both of her parents and grandparents there, as well as an aunt and uncle.
Randall hated hearing the statement of wondering where the father was. He knew he was the father. Unless the girls had mated with those boys too and just said the babies were his. He just knew that he had been raped by those girls and one of the boys, though he had been bullied by all the boys.
He looked around the room for the other girls and didn't see them anywhere. They were obviously in hiding still.
"I'd like to call a Mr. Randall Boggs to the stand." Randall heard the lawyer call his name.
He cringed and whimpered a little. "It'll be alright, Randall. This is your chance to reveal your story." Sondra said.
"Thanks." He said and slowly got up. He felt butterflies in his stomach, or was that the baby? Maybe it was both.
He made his way from the back and to the witness chair. He couldn't help that he was being stared at. Some looked at him with real distain, obviously having heard of him maybe.
They had him declare that he was to tell the truth. As he sat down, he locked eyes with Rhoda, who was giving him a hateful look.
"So, Mr. Boggs," the lawyer said. "How do you know Rhoda?"
"I know her from some many months ago when she, her friends, and her brothers had me kidnapped, raped, and hurt me." Randall said. "I am the father of her children."
"Why would they do that?"
"Because they wanted my children, and wanting to control me and told me I wasn't leaving until I gave them what they wanted. And they forced me to do it."
"And yet I see that you seem to be carrying a child of your own. Why would they want you to do that if you have one of your own coming?"
"I wasn't pregnant when they kidnapped me. One of her brothers later raped me at my job after I was out of their custody." Randall said.
Rhoda's relatives couldn't believe what this lizard male was saying about their daughter and one of their sons. This made them angry at him. If he was the father of her kids, they would make sure that he would never gain custody of them, father or not. They knew their kids would never do that to anybody.
"You are lying, you psycho!" Rhoda's father shouted out.
It startled Randall.
"I know you were a trouble maker yourself! You deserve to be in prison, not our daughter!" He continued.
"Order in the court." The judge said.
Security guards tried to help keep everyone in their place.
"I'm not the same person I was a few years ago. I did all I could to serve my time. I wouldn't be saying what I'm saying unless it was true. My friend, Fungus back there has also seen what they were wanting me to do with a dangerous machine. They even threatened to kill my baby if I didn't do what they said." Randall said.
Fungus liked that Randall had called him his friend.
There were a few more questions asked, even about what happened with the machine, and Randall answered with what he and Fungus had discussed. It might have malfunctioned anyway, though he didn't say it.
When Randall had told of one of the brothers stabbing him, he was asked to show where he was stabbed and he raised his shirt to show the scar, which was still plenty visible. It was the right size to be a knife mark, along with the stitch marks.
Randall was so relieved when he was released off the stand. Next was Fungus's turn.
When he returned to his seat, Sondra gave him and kiss and held his hands. "I'm proud of you, Randall. You did what you could."
"Thanks. I felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest." He said.
"How's the baby feeling?"
"Alright. Its giving me a good kicking right now."
"Oh, is it?" She giggled softly. She reached over with one of her lower arms and gave Randall's stomach a rub.
Randall felt the stirrings inside him. He smiled.
Then he and Sondra turned back to the business, listening to what Fungus was saying. He said everything that Randall had. He had only known her from just the machine occasion, but he believed in Randall now of what he had said that she had been one of his rapists many months ago.
Though Randall had used to be mean to him all the time, he had not lied to him. Randall was not known for being a liar. Sarcastic and rude humor at times, but not a liar.
After Fungus's talk, they all adjoined for a three hour recess. Some to have some lunch and then some debating on the decision to send Rhoda to prison.
Randall was real nervous about the outcome. He had seen the looks Rhoda and her family were giving him.
When they went back to the court house, just before entering, Rhoda's father stormed up to Randall.
"You are never going to get custody of Rhoda's children, you backstabbing coward liar!" He yelled at him.
"I'm not lying! I told the whole truth Mister! Maybe you don't know your kids as well as you thought you did!"
"Why you little-!" The taller male was about to punch Randall when Sondra stepped in front of him. Randall had a scared look on his face.
"Hey! Back off, Mister! Randall already has enough stress on him from what your kids caused him. Leave him alone!" She yelled at him.
"He'll pay for this! He killed my kids! He'll be damned if he even gets my grandkids! We aren't through, you murderer! I will also have my son's kid!"
Then the father backed off. The family's looks at him seemed to be his support.
"He had no right to talk to you like that." Sondra said.
"I was there when they were making us work on the machine. Randall wasn't lying, Ms. Sondra." Fungus said.
Randall hated being called a killer. He had had enough tough times in his life, and now this. He would be in prison for the rest of his life if he was deemed a killer. Though any machine could malfunction and explode. But he and Fungus had made it do it just to keep it out of dangerous hands.
He wanted to be able to raise the child he had coming. It might have been sired by one Rhoda's brothers, but he was the one carrying it. Their family was not getting their hands on the one he was carrying. He didn't care if Rhoda's family got her babies when they came, but they weren't getting his. He placed his hands on his stomach. He could feel it moving inside him. Though Rhoda's were also his.
They went to take their seats.
Rhoda told her story finally. She said she wanted kids real bad. She wanted to be able to raise her twins. And she was asked if Randall was the father of her children.
"Yes, he is." Rhoda replied.
"Why did you want him to be the father?"
"Because he had such admirable qualities as a scarer so long ago. I know he's long since not doing that anymore. And he was quite attractive."
Randall hated that some of the questions were now aimed about him. He hoped he wasn't in trouble again.
Then the question of whether he had been raped.
"I tried to be persuasive with him and be gentle. I never raped him." Rhoda said.
That made Randall glare at her. Well, maybe she hadn't been rough with him, but all her friends had made him mate with them, and he never had wanted to. She was lying.
She stepped down and then it was the jury's turn.
Rhoda was found to be guilty of rape and along with some assault. Randall and Fungus's story had proven it. Though her family had tried to make her as innocent as possible.
Her sentence was to be up to six years in prison. She started crying and holding her family behind her. She would be having her babies in prison, but the family would downright get custody of her children.
Randall was glad she had gotten some good punishment for what she had done, but there was still the risk of her friends coming after him, a possible custody court case of his child because her brother fathered it. He was really worried. And even some years down the road, she herself might come after him again.
While Rhoda was hugging her family, she said to her parents, "Get Graf's baby. Sue for custody. He did make the machine overload and killed my brothers and the others."
"Don't worry, honey, we will get his baby too." Her mother said.
"No killer is going to be raising a grandchild of mine." The father said. He would be ready to pound Randall if he wasn't pregnant and they weren't in public.
The family glared at Randall and his girl hugging happily as Rhoda was taken away. Her stomach was so big that it looked like she could have the babies anytime soon.
But from Rhoda's family, this was clearly not over.
Randall didn't like the looks the family was giving him on his way out. He feared the trouble ahead. But he was so happy on his way out that he wasn't arrested for anything.
…
Because Rhoda and the girls were about six weeks ahead of Randall's pregnancy, a few weeks later, Rhoda had the twins in the hospital, under guard watch. She had a boy and a girl.
She was allowed to hold them until she got out of the hospital. But the custody of the twins went to her parents. They were happy to take them.
The boy did look a lot like Randall, and the girl looked more like a mix of Rhoda's brothers, Buster and Graf. The boy was a purple color, with some blue on his back. He had two fronds and 6 arms like his mom, and 4 legs. The girl was white with gray markings on her back. She had two arms and six legs.
Rhoda had been lucky enough to at least be able to name them too. She named her son Steven, and her daughter Brenda.
