Brilliant Minds: The Wainwrights of Sunset Valley

[sdhoey]

I am so sorry for your decision, Cheezey.

The thread has been moved to the Sims 3 graveyard. If at any time you would like it moved back to resume, just DM one of the MODS.

Shannon

[Cheezey]

After a long break and enough time to away to cool down my frustration with Sims 3, I've decided to resurrect this story and try to continue at least as far as I've played and whatever the save lets me after that.

It's been months since I decided to step away, and despite that, I still frequently find myself thinking about and missing the universe and the sim characters I put so much energy into for years. But don't worry, I'm not abandoning my other story or Sims 4, either. I'm heavily invested in that story and I love it, too, and that game and save are working just fine. (That's not a challenge, by the way, universe/EA.) 

Rather, I feel like the time playing Sims 4 and writing another story helped give me a much-needed outlet to do something that didn't cause ridiculous amounts of stress over gameplay issues and time-wasting along with the fun and creative energy of writing. I also want to thank deedee_828 for providing the final nudge for me to bring it back. Her interest in the story, and in writing Iris in an alternate universe storyline in her Farmacy, was what made me finally decide to give it another go.

I don't know how long the buggy save will last, but it behaved surprisingly well when I tried to play it recently, so there's that. I've tried a few more TS3 CPR measures to keep it going, so here's hoping.

At any rate, there will be a few more chapters coming, and hopefully more after that.

For those of you still reading, thanks for your continued interest and patience!

[Cheezey]

Chapter 135

While Patrick and Maria felt like their lives were right on track, Iris was on the cusp of a new course in hers as graduation drew nearer.  She got a message from Cameron to meet up with him at the local college’s gym after school.  Although neither attended any classes there, the gym in town had a cooperative business relationship with the college that allowed students to use their facilities in exchange for members of their gym being permitted to use theirs.

She caught up with him shooting hoops in the empty ball court.  “Hey, nice shot!” she shouted in a flirtatious tone after he made a basket.

“Thanks.”  He caught the ball.  “How’s it going?”



“Not bad.  Wondering why you wanted to meet me here if you didn’t need me to spot and check out your form,” she teased.  “You’re way better than me at this.”

“Aw, you’re not so bad.”  He picked up a ball and tossed her one.  “Go on.  Give it a try.”

She bounced it a couple of times.  “All right, but promise not to laugh when I miss.”  She gave it a good toss, but as predicted, it bounced off of the rim and came bounding back to them.  Cameron caught it and handed it back to her.  “See?  Told you.”

“Nah.  All you need is practice.”  He smirked.  “Besides, you’re cute when you jump.”

“Uh-huh,” she replied slyly.  “So, why are you practicing, anyway?  I didn’t think this was efficient cardio.”

“It’s not like running, no, but you know, it’s good to a do a variety of stuff.  Which in a way is what I need to talk to you about.”



She knew him well enough that she could tell something important was on his mind.  She wondered if Sims U finally got back to him, maybe with an offer to join one of their teams or with a chance at some sports scholarship.  “Oh?”  She set her ball down.  “Now you’ve got me curious.  What’s going on?  Can you tell me now?”

“I could, I guess, but I’d rather do it somewhere quieter where we wouldn’t get distracted.  Want to just skip the workout and head back to my house?”

“Sure.”

“Sorry you went and got changed for nothing.”

“It’s okay.  I forgive you,” she joked flirtatiously, stroking his cheek.



Since they came to the gym in separate cars, they had to drive to his house separately as well.  When they got there, his father was not home, but they went up to Cameron’s room to talk so they would have privacy if he came back.  “Okay, the suspense is killing me.  What’s going on?  Did you finally hear back from Sims U?”

“Well, yeah, but that’s not the good news.  Not the best part of it.”

“Not the best part of it?”  Iris was surprised.  “But that’s awesome!  That means we can go to university together!  So they accepted you?  Wow, it only took them forever!”



“I know.  By now I didn’t think they were going to send anything but a rejection, but nope.  It came today.”  He paused, and Iris realized that whatever he was about to say was a big “but” that made that news somehow less good, and her stomach flipped as he continued.  “But so did something else.  An even better offer.”

Iris was stunned.  A better offer?  A better offer than a chance to attend Sims University?  With her?  But what could that be?  Another school offering a full scholarship, or something?  Cameron was nowhere near as wealthy as she was, and his father could be a bit of a tightwad, so she could see how that would be tempting, but still, Sims U was prestigious, and she was going there…  “What do you mean?”

Despite the uncertainty he could see in her eyes, he could not help but be excited.  “The Llamas want to sponsor me through the school here in Sunset Valley and give me a place on their team when I graduate.  The Llamas, Iris.  Playing with the pros!  I could be up there with the greats someday, all because they were so impressed with my skill and dedication that I showed with my progress running my Simstagram.”



Iris hardly knew what to say.  “Wow.  That’s—that’s great,” she said after a stunned moment to process it.  “Congratulations!”  While she was genuinely happy for him, she could already feel her heart breaking.  Cameron had made up his mind.  He was not going to Sims University.  That was obvious.  And she was.  She knew that, too.  “That’s an amazing opportunity.”  She tried to keep her voice steady as the reality set in. 



Cameron felt the same conflict.  “I know.  But you know what that means.  If I do this, I can’t go to Sims U.  And I don’t… this is the opportunity of a lifetime.  I love you, but I can’t—”

“Cam.”  She cut him off, taking a steadying breath.  “I’m not going to ask you not to do something like that.  I love you, too, and you don’t hold back someone you love from doing something so good for them.  I’d resent anyone who did it to me, so I wouldn’t do it to you.”  Her voice cracked with emotion as she struggled not to cry.  “Much as I… I’ll…”



He pulled her close.  “I love you.  You know that.  I hate having to pick between this and going where you are.  But it’s so much a better deal than Sims U.  Which I’m probably not even smart enough to get through without help anyway.  You helped me with the stuff to get in.  But the Llamas, that’s the kind of thing I am cut out for.”

“You’re not stupid, Cameron.  I’ve told you that a billion times.  I can’t stand being around dumb llamas, so obviously you’re not one.  You just have trouble focusing when you’re bored and not into something.”

“Come on, Iris.  You practically wrote my application essay for me.”

“I proofread it and made a few minor suggestions.  That’s all.  It’s not like I took any tests for you.  Those were your grades they were okay with.”

“Yeah, as long as I took ‘catch-up’ classes my first term.  The papers said it was conditional that I take some dumb Simlish class as a prerequisite to their 101.”

“It still doesn’t mean you’re stupid.  They wouldn’t have let you in at all if they thought you couldn’t hack it.  Tad got a full-on rejection back when he applied.”  She sniffled.  “But I understand.  The Llamas aren’t going to make you take Simlish so you can write them better essays.”



He met her eyes.  “You know, this doesn’t have to be… it.  We still love each other, and some people can do the long-distance thing.  I’d try it for you.”



“Oh, Cam.”  She broke away with a sob.  “That kind of thing only ever works with certain kinds of people and circumstances, and I don’t think we’re them.  Not really.”  She steadied herself with a teary breath.  “You’re going to be around the Llamas and practicing and meeting all sorts of people, and fans, a lot of who will already recognize you from Simstagram.  You’re basically on the fast track to be a sports star.  I’m not naïve.  I know how that goes.  I see it in action all the time with my brother in the music industry.  The only reason his marriage is at all solid is that he’s never been in love with anyone but Maria his whole life, and they never spent any real time apart since they hooked up in high school.  Plus, she’s right here, and she still gets jealous as plum every time she gets a whiff of someone else looking twice at him, even though he’s never done anything with anyone as far as I know.”

She paused to take a breath.  “And while you’re around all that temptation, I’ll be hours away at Sims U, surrounded by a whole school full of people my age, doing my thing, meeting people from all over and even other plantsims.  I’ve got to be honest, Cam.  I love you, and I’d start out really wanting to make it work and trying, but I can’t promise that for the whole time, especially when I hardly ever get to see you and you hardly get to see me, when we’re always doing different things around different people who are right there all the time, and our lives are changing so much…”



Cameron nodded, his heart heavy and regretful as Iris put into words what he knew deep down was the truth.  He too would have the best of intentions and try, because he really did love her, but she was right.  She was not his first girlfriend, either.  In fact, he had been involved with a girl in Bridgeport for several months right before he moved to Sunset Valley.  Although they sort of broke up, it had been left open ended in a “let’s keep in touch and we’ll see if it can ever go anywhere after graduation, and we can live in the same place again someday” sort of way.  But then he met Iris, and that was that.  His heart had long since moved on from his ex, even if he did still have fond memories of her.

“Yeah.  You’re right.”

“I’m sorry.  I really wish I wasn’t.”



“It’s all right.  You usually are,” he quipped with a hint of a smile.

“I’m going to miss you so much, Cam.  I mean that.  I love you, and this is killing me.  I don’t want to lose you, even though I know I’m going to.”  She sniffled.  “I guess this is why you wanted to talk about it here and not at the gym.”

“Yeah.”

They stared at each other in a heartbroken silence for a moment before Iris broke it.  “So, what now?  Do we just break up and get it over with, or…?”



Cameron drew her close again and met her eyes.  “No.  Not if you don’t want to.  It’s going to suck anyway, whenever it happens.  I’d rather try to enjoy what time we’ve got left unless that’d be too hard on you.  I get it if is, though.”



“I’ll handle it.”  She hugged him tightly, fighting to keep the tears from spilling out of her eyes.  “I don’t want to lose you yet, either.”  Even if it was inevitable, she was not ready for that right now.  Perhaps she would feel differently after she slept on it, or as the day drew closer, but right now, all she wanted was to stay with Cameron and savor every moment of it.



And so they did.  From his balcony, they spent the evening together watching the sun set over the ocean, beautiful and captivating like their love had always been…



…to late when the stars rose high in the sky, like their own were doing on the cusp of young adulthood.

[chetanhaobijam]

Thanks for continuing the story.

Sent from my Redmi 8A Dual using Tapatalk

[Cheezey]

Thanks for continuing the story.

Thank you!  It feels good to be working on it again.

Chapter 136

With Iris’ birthday happening soon, Susan was busy planning the party for it.  Although Plumboptimus probably could have handled some of those mundane details, it was not every day that their youngest child officially became a grown-up.  She wanted to make sure everything was not only done right, but perfectly.  Between their accomplishments and their money, the Wainwrights had become quite influential and notable in Sunset Valley, and the last thing Susan wanted was for Iris, or any of them, for such a big occasion to be a letdown in any way.  Besides, it was a great reason to call those closest to her and catch up.  Despite her age, Susan still had several projects she was working on, and she rarely had the time to stay in touch through more than short messages. 

She called Blair first.  “Hi, Sweetie!  How are you doing?”



“Mom!  Hi!  It’s great to hear from you.  I’m fine.  How are you?”

“Oh, I’m doing all right.  Getting around, working on stuff.  Moving slower than I like, but that’s age for you, I’m afraid.”

“I get you.  I feel that, too.  Even with my yoga routines, my back still gets me in the morning.  And don’t get me started on Mr. Decrepit over there with,” she glanced over at Cycl0n3 on the computer, “terrible slouching in the computer chair that his doctor told him a million times only makes it worse.”

Cycl0n3 straightened at the teasing nag but kept on with his chess game.  “The old people painkillers she gives me work well enough.  Oh, and if that’s your mom, tell her I said hi and she’ll always be a lot older than us.”

Blair rolled her eyes.  “Cycl0n3 says hi.”



“Despite my age, my hearing’s still good enough to hear what he said.  I’d tell you what you could tell him, but I don’t use that sort of language,” Susan replied as Boyd joined Susan and Patrick passed through with Jessica on his arm.

“Talking to Blair and Cycl0n3, huh?  I see your ‘Cycl0n3 said something stupid’ expression.  Tell them Jess and I say hi, and that Uncle Cycl0n3’s a… well, for now we’ll go with poo-head.”  He smiled down at Jessica.  “She can wait and learn the proper term on the playground when she goes to school.”

“If she doesn’t from you first,” Boyd remarked as Susan put the phone on speaker so he could join in.  “Hi, Blair.”

Patrick scoffed and bounced Jessica as they headed to the study.  “Like Grandpa never had any salty language rants at his computer when it crashed.  Oh no.  But that’s okay, because now we’re all trying to be good examples for you, Jess.  Come on.  Time to play now that we’re done working on our words.”

“I don’t know if you heard any of that, but your father, Patrick, and Jessica all say hi as well, but the latter two already went to the study.  He’s been helping her learn to talk on his nights off.”



“He has?  That’s great!  I know the band keeps him busy.  I figured it would be Maria teaching her to read and learn that writer’s vocabulary of hers, and Patrick would have her plunking away on the xylophone or in paint apps.”

“If so, I hope she got some of his musical talent,” Cyclone commented.  “Travis and Chris sure never had it.  When they played with that thing, I could swear they banged out the extra shrill notes just to annoy me.”

Without even looking up from the TV, Travis said, “What would make you think we didn’t?”

“Kids are supposed to have fun, you old grouch,” Blair pointed out.  “Part of that fun always includes annoying your parents.”  She returned her attention to the phone.  “No offense.  But it was a long time ago.  I’m sure you forgive me.”



“You were fine, sweetie.  You were pretty good, all things considered.”

“You only gave me probably a tenth of the gray hair your brothers did,” Boyd added.  “For starters, you became the cop instead of having them called on you.  But they were good kids, too.  You should see how Patrick is with Jessica.  I know we joke about his colorful language, but he’s great with her.  I think it’s a good break from his routine for him.”



“The band has him under lots of stress and pressure.  But when he’s playing with and teaching Jessica, you can see him really relax and be more, well, carefree.  He can just be himself without any anger or expectation or frustration or any of that.  I think her innocence brings out a part of him he doesn’t often get to express,” mused Susan.

“I never doubted the Captain would be a first-rank dad, and my sweet little and for a little while longer, only niece, makes it easy.”



“Speaking of which,” Blair continued, “have you seen Orion and Tara lately?  I dropped over next door yesterday and her baby bump is getting bigger every time I see her.  I’m so excited for the new baby in the family!”

“Oh, we are, too!  But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t also worried,” said Boyd.  “I hope delivery goes all right when the time comes, and there aren’t any complications with the alien part of the equation.  Since they can’t go to the hospital…”

“Try not to worry about that, Dad,” Blair said before Susan had the chance.  “You know Chris is on call for that, and your grandson happens to be an amazingly talented doctor in the know about the situation.  They’ll be fine.”

“What your dear daughter said.”  Susan patted Boyd on the shoulder with her free hand before returning to the call.  “By the way, how are he and Travis doing?  It’s been a while since we’ve seen them.  Not to mention you and Cycl0n3.  Even with Iris graduating, it’s still hard to believe Travis is right behind her next year.”



“We’re all fine.  Cybelle’s been keeping our house running like a well-oiled machine, and I’ve been doing my yoga and reading the latest in the Special Snowflake series in my free time.  Cycl0n3’s playing computer chess against someone and typing smack.  Chris is working a lot still, and Travis is just as big a sour-wumpus grumpy-pants as ever.”



With an expression and tone that matched his mother’s categorization, Travis switched off the TV.  “And on that note, I’m going to go work on my astronomy project.  See you at Iris’ party, Grandma and Grandpa.”



Blair took it in stride and giggled.  “See what I mean?  I’m proud of him, though,” she said as Travis picked up his notepad and headed outside to the telescope in their backyard.  “If his worst is that surly teenage attitude, we’ve got nothing to complain about.  His grades are excellent, and he says he wants to go to Everglow State over in Moonlight Falls after he graduates.”

“It does have the best paranormal research degree program in the country, and one of the best in the world,” Boyd noted with approval, while Susan smiled on the other end of the line.



“If he sticks with it, maybe he’ll be a good candidate for running that division of the lab someday.  I like to think our research is some of the best in the private sector,” boasted Susan.  “What about Chris?  Other than long hours at the hospital, how are he and the rest of the kids and Simwave and… how many cats do they have now?”



“Just two.  Inside, anyway.  Chris still feeds the neighborhood strays on the back deck, but they don’t come in.  But good old Diddy’s still hanging in there and little Princess Maria,” she added with a teasing whisper, “has given him a new lease on life, I think.  She’s an adorable little thing.  The kids all love her, too.  Oh, and speaking of love and the kids, want to feel old?  Guess who has a girlfriend now?”

“Who?” asked Susan.



“Caleb.  Yes, little Caleb, who’s even younger than Esme and was born when Patrick and Chris were in high school, is grown up enough to have a girlfriend, and guess who it is?  Arlo’s daughter Angel.”  Blair laughed.  “Bonk me with a cane and call me ancient!”

“Wow.  Time flies,” Boyd said, while Susan nodded.

“Indeed.  But good for him.  Oh, that reminds me, any news on how Morgana’s doing?  Maria told us she got the flu and as of this morning she said she was still pretty much bedridden from it.”



Blair’s voice took on a serious note.  “It’s still got her walloped good from what Chris last told me.  You know how hard it is on folks our age.  She barely has the strength to get up and use the bathroom, and they’ve had to bring her meals in bed.  Chris and Tad and the kids have been checking in on her pretty much around the clock to make sure her breathing’s okay.  From what Tad said, Caleb’s been super vigilant.  I think he’s afraid he might lose both his parents soon, because you know Stiles is even older than she is and even though he doesn’t talk about it much, he’s got health issues too.”

“Patrick mentioned that,” said Boyd.  “He said he told the band he had some health stuff going on when he finally decided to retire.”

“Anyway, the good news is that they do have two doctors in that household even if one of them is the patient herself, and she hasn’t had to go to the hospital yet.  Chris thinks she’s getting better.  It’s just taking a while and taking a lot out of her.  They want her to retire after this, but she’s a certified workaholic and even knowing how long a full recovery from something like this can take, arguing against it.”  Blair paused.  “So, for the record, if either of you get that ill and stubborn, especially you, Mom, expect me to do exactly like they are to you.”

“I’d expect nothing less.”



“And you’ll take my advice under all due advisement and do whatever the heck you want anyway.  I know,” she said dryly.  “But on a happier note, I have a little secret I can share with you if you promise to keep it just between the three of us for now.  Don’t say anything to Patrick or Maria or Iris or Orion or any of them.”

Their curiosity was piqued.  “Oh?  Okay,” Susan agreed.

“We’ll keep our traps shut.”

“Now spill it.”



“Okay.  Chris told me Tad took him out to the fusion lounge the other night when he got off early-ish, and he just thought it was the usual couples date night thing.  But apparently it was also to sweeten him up a little for something.  The social worker called him about another hard luck case.  Another poor girl in need of a home, a year or so younger than Raul, and she wondered if maybe he had room for another foster or potential adoption if that works out.  Since they’ve got Simwave to help now and Chris is starting to make pretty good money while Tad’s doing well in the market with the investments he inherited from Thornton and his own job at Doo Peas…”

Susan blinked in surprise.  “Wow.  That would be a full house indeed.”

“But you know, Tad’s a real softie for kids and I think his mom’s brush with death made him feel even more strongly about family.  Plus, you know how much Morgana loves kids.  I wonder if part of it is that he’s hoping to give her a little extra to live longer for, another grandchild…”

“Did Chris sound enthusiastic about it?” Boyd asked.

“More surprised, but I think he’s leaning toward going for it.”

“Ah, well, good for them.  They’re great parents.”

“Another adopted great-grandchild would be wonderful,” Susan agreed.  “Oh, and on that note, I’ve got a little secret I’d like to confide in you, if you can promise it goes no farther than you and Cycl0n3 if you can wield that iron fist in a pink velvet glove and keep his mouth shut.”



Blair’s eyes lit up.  “Oh, that’s no problem.  He knows I’ll boot his naughty plumbob into next week if he’s bad and breaks his word to me.”  She looked over at him.  “Right?”

“I know better than to incur your wrath.  I may be a troublemaker, but I’m a smart one.  My lips are sealed.  I’d say scout’s honor, but we all know I’m more of a rogue, and even I can’t say ‘rogue’s honor’ with a straight face.”



“All right, then.  But I mean it, don’t say anything, because you know what a sensitive subject this is, especially for Maria.  I don’t think she or Patrick even realize that we’ve pieced it together, so I definitely don’t want Tad getting wind of this, or Morgana, if we’re wrong.  But we think she changed her mind about having more children, and they might be trying to have another baby.  She may even already be pregnant.”

“Whoa!  Really?”

“Yeah, I thought she was dead-set against that,” said Cycl0n3.

“So did we, but she’s been acting a little differently the last couple of weeks,” Boyd said, while Susan went on to elaborate.

“For starters, she’s gotten very picky about how she’s eating.  Only wanting certain food and talking about the sugar and various other nutrient content, and I don’t think I’ve seen her touch coffee for over a week now.  Just drinking herbal tea in the mornings, no caffeine at all.  Not even her diet sodas.  She asked Plumboptimus to pick her up new flavors that don’t have any.  She hasn’t touched any juice or nectar, either.  Not even the glass with dinner like she often does, especially on Patrick’s nights off.”

“Not to be a killjoy, but are you sure that’s not just another one of her dumb-llama crash diets?  Like that time she went on some weird cave-sim diet saying it would restore her energy and reverse wrinkles, but she quit after like a week and a half because it sucked so bad?  Or that six-day juice cleanse thing she did until the smell of pureed kale made her so sick she puked in your kitchen sink?  I’m not trying to be mean, but this is the same Maria that bought a sixty simoleon waist-trimming sauna wrap to make her pants looser after the holidays.”

“Cycl0n3!”  Blair playfully bopped him in admonishment, while both Boyd and Susan tried to keep a straight face on the other end.



“There are hints other than her talking about the latest fad going around, though,” said Susan.  “I noticed her reading some pregnancy forums on her tablet the other day.  I didn’t say anything, and I know that could just be something her algorithm sent her that caught her attention, but still.  She’s spending a lot of time in the bathroom and making little remarks about health that are a bit over the top, even for her.  And,” she emphasized, “she got this almost ridiculous-sized box of high-end supplements and creams delivered the other day.”

“Plumboptimus was opening it and inventorying it for her in the living room when Iris and I came in, and I saw at least two said ‘prenatal’ on them,” Boyd told them. “She told him to take it upstairs pronto, like she didn’t want anyone seeing what else was in it.  Iris noticed, too.  She cracked that there must’ve been something really embarrassing in it for her to snap that order to Plumboptimus so fast.”

Blair snickered.  “Did you peek in her bathroom to see what it was?”

“Of course not,” Susan said indignantly.  “We respect her privacy.”

“I did see a pregnancy test box in the trash in their bathroom, though,” Boyd admitted.

“Oh, and that’s not snooping, Dad?” Blair teased, while Cycl0n3 tsk-tsked loudly in the background.

“Not when I only went in there because it was the closest bathroom to the upstairs lab.  They weren’t even home, and it was sitting right on top in pain view.  I’m old and lazy, not rude. It was sheer coincidence Plumboptimus hadn’t emptied it yet.  It’s not like I went looking for the mysterious box contents.  Unlike Iris, I’d rather not speculate on what embarrassing things they order.”



“Fair enough.  Anyway, I’m happy for them if that’s what they decided.  And speaking of the soon-to-be birthday girl, how is my favorite little sister?  I heard Cameron got that offer for the Llamas and won’t be going off to Sims University with her after graduation.  How’s she taking it?  That’s got to be hard.  I remember what it felt like when Cycl0n3 went to Sims U and I was still in high school.”  Her voice took on a wistful note.  “Poor thing’s got to be heartbroken.”



“She was upset, but I think she’s managing all right.  She doesn’t talk to us about it much.  You know how it is at that age, your parents are old and don’t get you, and all that,” Susan said.  “But she’s always been resilient, and it seems like she’s reached a sort of acceptance about it.  I think being that she’s the one going away to a new scene with new people helps, rather than having to stay behind and miss old times in familiar places.”

“They’re still spending a lot of time together, though.  They went to the spring festival just the other day and had a great time.  We get the sense she’s making the most of the time they’ve got left, and then they’re both going to do their best to move on.”

“Still, I can’t imagine it doesn’t hurt at least some.  But who knows?  Maybe something will re-kindle when she comes back.  I never expected it would for me and this old goofball over here, yet here we are.”  Blair squeezed Cycl0n3’s shoulder.  “Then again, Iris is hardly the introverted wallflower I’ve always been, and I’m sure she’ll be meeting lots of hotties there, so… her heart probably won’t stay broken too long.”

Susan and Boyd exchanged a knowing look.  “No,” Susan agreed.  “It rarely does.”

[Auranaris]

2 things...
1. As much as I enjoy the sims 4 story, I’m glad you’ve decided to come back to sims 3!
2. I loved the “phone call” update! Such a good way to get caught up on what’s happening to everyone.

[Sonshine]

I would also like pm's and spoilers. The only suggestion I would have though, is have you tried just saving the main households to the bin and starting a whole new game w/them? That would clear up a lot of the glitches. Maybe even in the story, have them all "move to another town?" In the new instance of the game that is. You would probably lose some things though. It really is sad to see this go, but I completely understand. The headaches and stress just are not worth it.

[Cheezey]

2 things...
1. As much as I enjoy the sims 4 story, I’m glad you’ve decided to come back to sims 3!
2. I loved the “phone call” update! Such a good way to get caught up on what’s happening to everyone.

Thank you! I'm going to keep working on both stories. Currently I'm trying to alternate which one I update chapter by chapter, so I don't fall behind on either. 

I had fun writing out the phone call.  With so many sims in the family now, it can be hard to keep up!

I would also like pm's and spoilers. The only suggestion I would have though, is have you tried just saving the main households to the bin and starting a whole new game w/them? That would clear up a lot of the glitches. Maybe even in the story, have them all "move to another town?" In the new instance of the game that is. You would probably lose some things though. It really is sad to see this go, but I completely understand. The headaches and stress just are not worth it.

I'll hold off on the spoilers via PM for now since I've got it working again and I'm writing and posting again, but thank you for letting me know you're interested!

Also, thank you for the suggestion. I thought about doing what you described, but the problem is that I like pretty much all of the sims in town, even ones that aren't relatives, and I've gotten attached to them from Story Progression and game interactions. So, I'd either have to nuke every sim in a new SV and rebuild it from there, or I'd have to say goodbye to everyone not related to the main household and come up with a plausible story reason for the family households all to move out of Sunset Valley to a completely different town that I haven't written in other sims from or had them appear in on vacations. (Which leaves out Twinbrook, Moonlight Falls, Bridgeport, Hidden Springs, Isla Paradiso, Lucky Palms and Monte Vista, off the top of my head.)

I may do that if I require a last resort move in the future, but I'm really hoping I won't have to, since I'm not sure which of the remaining worlds I would pick or which would work best in the story. I have a couple of ideas if it ever comes to that, but hopefully I won't need them!


Author's Note: I split this chapter into two posts because it's both wordy and image-heavy.

Chapter 137

Spring was a little more than halfway over when Iris’ big day arrived.  The youngest of the Wainwrights’ children had finally reached the big milestone of young adulthood.  Even though the heartbreak of losing Cameron loomed closer on the horizon, exciting things were coming, too.  She was ready to face and embrace them all, good and bad.  Independence.  Graduation.  University.  She could not help but be excited about that, even if she and Cameron would be parting ways sooner rather than later.  That reality had hit home the night before, when they celebrated his birthday with a dinner out.  But the future looked bright for them both, and she truly believed that if nothing else, they would remain friends while their lives led them down different paths.



After all, maintaining a friendship with Cameron after parting on amicable terms should not be that hard, considering she managed to be on somewhat friendly terms with Lane despite their drama-filled breakup a while back.  She noticed that he had shown up as the crowd gathered to wish her well while she blew out her birthday candles.  Susan always invited the neighbors to their parties, and Lane still lived next door in the Alto estate with his half-brother Miraj, Miraj’s wife Holly, who had inherited it, and their kids.  He came over with Venus, although Miraj, Holly, and Brannon did not make it.  She wondered why Lane came.  Was it only because Venus did not want to come by herself, or was there more to it, like he secretly still had feelings for her or if he regretted screwing up his chances with her?  Whatever.  It didn’t matter because she was long over him, and he was going away to Foxbury next semester, anyway.  Once she went away to Sims U, she wouldn’t see much him again, regardless.

Blair blew a party horn.  “Don’t forget to make a wish, little sister!”

“Boyd, you and Cycl0n3 better get in here, or you’re going to miss our youngest blowing out her candles,” Susan hollered when she noticed he was still shuffling toward the archway into the kitchen.

“We’re coming, we’re coming.  These old bones only move so fast.”  He shot a wry look at Cycl0n3, who he had been playing a friendly round of video games with and who was still struggling to get out of the rocking chair.  “Which is pretty sad considering how much older I am than you.”

“Shut up, Space Dust,” Cycl0n3 groused as he got to his feet, straightened his back, and heard—and felt—a loud creak.  “You had a stationary chair advantage.”

“You could’ve used that movement to propel yourself to your feet with added momentum,” Boyd countered as he and Cycl0n3 finally made it in, while Iris rolled her eyes.

“Well, if you’re done with your nerdy debate of geriatric physics, I’m ready for my big moment,” she teased as she straightened herself proudly in front of her cake.  She closed her eyes and blew out her candles, wishing for the future to be amazing and full of all the excitement and success she could dream of.



As a young woman, Iris did not look that much different than she did as a teenager.  Her hair foliage had darkened some, but not dramatically, and she was a bit taller, but otherwise she looked much the same.  Many had remarked over the years about how much she resembled a plantsim version of her mother, and now that resemblance in her facial features was stronger than ever, especially if one compared a picture of her to a picture of Susan at the same age.

Iris never knew quite how to take those comparisons, because while she loved and respected her mother, she had never known her as anything other than what she considered old.  Iris came into existence when her parents were at an age old enough to qualify them for senior discounts, even though they looked objectively young for their age at the time.  Supposedly that was from an experimental treatment they got at some point before she came along, and while Iris hoped that meant she would age well looks-wise, she had also seen pictures of her mother as a young woman.  Certainly, Susan was pretty, but in Iris’ opinion, she still could’ve done with a makeover and some fashion tips, even for the styles of the decade at the time.  Dressing like a nerd was not a requirement for being a science nerd, but sadly, it seemed that no one let Susan know that back in the day.

Ironically, that snooty streak that Iris developed during her teen years was something many would say made her even more like her mother.  Susan’s lofty standards were less rooted in appearances—unless, of course, it was Patrick sporting his much-loathed facial stubble and cursing a blue streak, Orion loudly revving up his motorcycle in their driveway, or Boyd’s tacky old snakeskin jacket that Susan still grimaced and shook her head at to this day—and more in quality snobbery with things like electronics, nectar, and food, but it was something they had in common all the same.



Iris had no complaints about that, though.  She could not eat much food, but her favorite splurge was sweets and pastries, and Susan knew who the absolute best baker in town was to make her birthday cake.  Rashida’s mother Emma was getting up there in years, but still, no one could compare to her mastery.  Not even her ex and business partner, Jared, whose culinary skills were also amazing, but more mastered in other types of dishes.  Iris secretly hoped as she took the first bite of her cake that Emma was training a padawan somewhere to fill her shoes when she did retire, without even realizing that thinking with the term “padawan” showed that she had picked up some geeky quirks from her parents whether she liked it or not.



Her lifelong spirit doll friend and companion, Patches, grew up with her, although Iris did not know if only she could see that.  Maybe Buddy and possibly even Fluffs, Jessica’s doll, could also see, but she did not know for certain since she could only see or hear Patches.  Orion must have heard her in the room, though, because Iris overheard him wish her a happy birthday.  He snarked something to Buddy right after, implying he had said something rude, but Patches did not comment on it, so Iris assumed it was something aimed at Orion and not her.

Although Patches had developed a mischievous and rebellious streak in her teen years, now that she had matured, she became even more kind and caring than before.  She was always there to listen to Iris and offer what advice she could, and recently, hers was the shoulder Iris cried on most when she found out that Cameron would be joining the Llamas instead of going with her to Sims University.  As much as she would miss everyone in Sunset Valley when she left, she had a feeling that Patches would be the loss she felt the most, even more than Cameron.  Patches was the one who had been with her for as long as she could remember, her secret friend and confidante, and the only one she would not be able to talk to while she was gone.

Recently, Iris asked Patrick what it was like when he went to university and away from Buddy.  He told her that it was hard, but it got easier as he became immersed in his life and activities at Sims U, even though he did miss him.  She wondered if he had an easier time with it because he had Maria with him at Sims U, but that was irrelevant to her since she was going alone.  She also asked him what Buddy did while he was away, and he told her that according to Buddy, he either hibernated, pranked the family, needled Orion, or kept an eye on the evil gnome with Patches.

Iris had also asked Patches what she would do if she got lonely, since Orion no longer lived there and had taken his naughty gnome with him, and the only one who could see or hear her was Buddy and maybe Fluffs.  She said that while she would miss her, Buddy was not all that bad, and she did not mind chatting with him every so often.  She also told her that while Fluffs did not manifest yet the way she and Buddy did, she gave off some energy, so sometimes she communed with the doll while Jessica was sleeping.  She had dubbed herself Fluffs’ “cool aunt” and was looking forward to mentoring her.  Iris thought it was a shame that Patches could not have children herself, because she had developed a nurturing side that Buddy never did.  Someone like her would be great with kids.



After cake, Cameron waited for Iris to have a moment between chatting with guests and hugged her affectionately.  “Happy birthday, babe.  I’d tell you that you look fantastic, but you already know that.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet.  Thanks.  You’re looking pretty good yourself, but you always do.”  She met his eyes and smiled at him, although it felt bittersweet knowing their time to part was drawing ever closer.  “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Where else would I be?  It’s hard to top your birthday bash in the Wainwright mansion for being the hottest party in town.”

“Well, a couple of the guests might edge the coolness factor down a little, but they are family, so what can you do?” she joked.

“Hey, Cycl0n3’s not that bad.  I think he’s a funny old man.”



She snickered.   “He wasn’t the only one I had in mind, but I’ll happily let you claim him if you want.  I’ll even distract Blair while you smuggle him and his laptop into your back seat and take him home with you.”

“He’s not that freaking funny.  Besides, I’ve already got my dad to deal with, and that’s enough.”

“Oh, well.  Had to try,” she teased.  “That reminds me, your dad seemed to be doing better when we went out for your birthday.  Is he starting to move on from the stuff with Agnes?”  Cameron’s father, Apollo, had been in a relationship with Agnes Crumplebottom for a while, but it ended suddenly and sadly when she passed in her sleep at home.  It hit him hard, and since Cameron lived with him, he had borne the brunt of some his father’s mood swings during his depression over it.  Although he understood, it did not make it any less frustrating to live with, since Apollo had an argumentative streak anyway.



“He’s been okay, I guess.  Not as much blowing up at me over stupid plum, but he’s still mopey if he gets reminded of her.  He told me the other night they were talking about maybe getting married, but… obviously that’s never going to happen.”

That inadvertently sent them both thinking about their own future as a couple, and Iris wished she hadn’t asked.  Even though she accepted that they would be parting ways soon, it did not make thinking about it any easier.  “Oh, wow.  I didn’t know that.  Sorry.”

“It’s okay.  He’ll probably take a while to get over it.  He didn’t date anyone for a couple years after my mom ditched us and headed off to Europe.  I think Agnes was the first one he really loved as much as her.  He and Agnes had a lot in common despite growing up and living so different when they were younger.  Her first husband dying and leaving her alone suddenly when she was young, and him with what happened with my mom, they bonded over that after they met in book club.  And they became friends there because they both liked the same kinds of books, and they were both into finance and investing, too.”  He chortled.  “You know how cheap Dad is.  I bet if he’d been born ugly, he probably would’ve wound up an accountant and not a model when he was young.”



That lightened the conversation enough to get her mind back on the here and now, and she gave Cameron a flirtatious look.  “Selfishly, I’m glad he wasn’t, because you got those good Bloom family looks.”  She blew him a flower kiss, and he inhaled the sweet scent, making him grin somewhat goofily—but endearingly—back at her.  He always did that, and Iris could not help but think she would miss that look of his.  No matter how tough, cool, suave, or sophisticated a guy was, they always looked sweetly smitten on the receiving end of that, and Cameron was no exception.  “So, how about we dance?  I love this song.”

Cameron took her hand as the familiar beat of a song they both liked came on the stereo.  “Sounds great, babe.”



While Iris danced with Cameron, Maria caught up with Tad.  “That stinks that Mom wasn’t up to coming.  I was really looking forward to seeing her.  It feels like it’s taking forever for her to get over this flu.”

Tad nodded with shared concern.  “Yeah.  She really wanted to come.  She said she misses you and to give Jessica an extra hug for her.  But if you’d seen her this morning, you’d be glad she didn’t.  She tried, and she struggled putting her coat on, even though she denied it.  It was obvious she’s still really weak, and she just doubled over in a coughing fit on the stairs.  Caleb and Esme practically marched her back into the house after he kept her from falling down the stairs.  She’s seriously not up to it yet.”

“Ugh.  The flu sucks.  Poor Mom.  But with all these people here, it’s probably not a good idea for her to risk getting a cold or something on top of it, anyway.  So, I guess that’s why Caleb didn’t come?”

“Yup.  He’s back home standing guard with Simwave to keep Mom from overdoing it.  He wanted me and Chris to be able to show off Danielle, and the rest of the kids to be able to go, too.”  Danielle was the latest foster daughter that Tad and Chris had taken in, the hard luck case that the social worker had told them about.  After meeting her, they clicked well enough that they placed her in their home for now.

“She’s a sweet kid.  I like her.  I’m kind of surprised she’s hanging around here and not running around out back playing with Hilda and Raul, though.”



“She’s a little more low energy than they are.  She’d rather watch TV or movies or play with dolls or a video game or that sprite that Boyd and Susan gave her than run around.  Kind of like how you were as a kid, but less prissy about getting dirty.  In a way, it’s a good thing, though.  She’s almost as klutzy as Chris.”

“So, slightly less klutzy than you, then?”

“Hey!  Come on.  I’m not as bad as Chris.”

She scoffed, unconvinced.  “I’ll give you that it’s a tight race, but I recall many, many things that you broke and bludgeoned into over the years.  I was there bearing witness in the young years of Tad Wolff’s epic wake of destruction.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.  I’m sorry you’re still bitter about that dollhouse I fell on when you were like ten.  Anyway, on a different and what’s probably your favorite subject, how are things going with you?”

“Oh, you’re so funny.  They’re going well.  My book is coming along, and I just started a new painting this morning.  Spring and all the flowers blooming has inspired me, and it’s a nice break from the computer screen when I’ve been at it too long.  Plus, I want to get it finished sooner rather than later.  I have a feeling I won’t have as much time for it in the near future.”

He smirked.  “Uh oh.  Sounds like someone can’t keep up with Jessica in her terrible twos.”

“I can handle her just fine, and she’s not terrible at all.  It’s got nothing to do with her.”

He gave her a concerned look.  “What is it, then?  Nothing’s wrong, is it?  Is something going on with you or Patrick or Boyd or Susan that I should know about?”

“No.  We’re all fine.  I don’t want to talk about it just yet, but it’s not bad or anything to worry about.  Just something that might keep me preoccupied,” Maria ended on a mysterious note.

He was curious, but he did not push it farther.  As long as she was okay, he had better things to do than play a twenty questions game that would just feed her need for attention.  Experience told him that Maria would make sure everyone knew whatever it was with full dramatic flair sooner or later anyway.  “Okay.  Well, good luck with it, then,” he said, and headed over to chat with Chris.



“Be warned, Grandma and Grandpa both told me they’re fully intending to spoil Danielle as much as the others,” Chris informed Tad as he came over.  “Grandma’s over there showing her how to unlock advanced sprites right now.”

“There are worse things they could show her, like whatever’s down in their secret lab basement.”

Chris snickered.  “I bet it’s not even that bad.  I’m sure Patrick and Orion were messing with us at least a little when they said there was a Frankenstein lab down there with an entire stock of ‘seriously weird plum’ that would put your average Moonlight Falls witch to shame.  Not that I think there isn’t some weird plum down there, like alien tech from the lab or some funky alchemy ingredients, but they’ve got to be exaggerating some.  You know my grandparents.  They’re eccentric scientists but… mostly normal.”

“No offense, but your idea of normal is pretty skewed.”  For emphasis, he gestured to Travis, who was exchanging a snarky remark with Cycl0n3 as he passed through for another slice of cake.

He scoffed.  “Look, I never said there weren’t any weirdos in my family.  Besides, if there was anything that crazy down there, he’d have sniffed it out back when Iris took him down there to play Harry Potter with Grandpa’s spell book.”

“The fact that you said ‘Grandpa’s spell book’ like it was an everyday thing makes my point.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not judging.  I like your family.  But ‘normal’ isn’t a word anyone would use to describe them, and this is coming from someone with werewolves in his.”  He glanced at Travis again.  “As for him, I’m surprised he hasn’t chugged any of those potions that’re supposedly down there yet.”

“I’m sure he only hasn’t because Mom would read him the riot act and drag him back here to get cured, and worse, lectured by Grandpa and Grandma afterward.”

[Cheezey]

By that time, the subject of Chris and Tad’s conversation was chatting with Patrick while, unbeknownst to him, Buddy listened in like he often did when Patrick was talking to someone at home.  “So, Blair told me you’re applying to Everglow State next year for a major in paranormal research.  I bet that’ll have some wild classes.”

“I hope so.  I’ll have to take the core stuff, too, but I’m looking forward to the cool ones.”

“What kind of classes are prerequisites for those?  Biology, physics, laws of nature type stuff that helps you spot patterns and deviations from it?”

“That, and some psychology.  You need to know if your human sources for phenomena are reliable, or maybe not so much.”

Buddy scoffed.  “Your parents should’ve taken that class.  Maybe then they’d have believed you about me before you were old enough to be at Sims U.”

Patrick agreed with Buddy on that point, but he did not comment on it and instead moved on with the conversation.  Sometimes, that still bothered him if he thought about it for too long.  He knew logically that his parents never meant to be hurtful, and that they had reacted based on their own experiences, but he still could not comprehend how they had been able to accept the existence of aliens, werewolves, witches, fae, ghosts, and even magic gnomes, but not Buddy until they read about spirit dolls in some outside source.  “It sounds like it’s right up your alley.  Do they have a chapter of Urele-Oresha-Cham there?  If you’re thinking about joining, I might be able to help you get in as a legacy.”



“Thanks, but the fraternity thing’s not for me.  I appreciate the offer, though.”

“No problem.  If you change your mind, let me know.”

“Speaking of legacies, that reminds me.  I was thinking about doing one of those DNA tests to see what it says our family’s ethnicity breakdown is, and see if we’ve got any relatives we don’t know about.  Starla did one, and it was cool.  It nailed most of her family that did it accurately, like who was a cousin and who was an aunt or sibling or whatever, and you know how big the Bunch family is.”

He chortled.  “You’re not worried you’re related to her, are you?”

“No.  I just think it’d be neat to see what it said.  So, did you ever do one?  I realized I know my close relatives on Mom’s side, but nothing about Dad’s, and he doesn’t know plum about it.  Cycl0n3 Sw0rd wasn’t even his birth name, and he grew up in foster care from when he was really little.  And even on Mom’s side, I only know a little past Grandma and Grandpa.  Not a lot.  So, I think it’d be cool to run a test and find out what I can figure out.  Maybe even make a family tree or see if I’ve got any distant supernatural or occult relatives.”

Patrick looked around quickly and hushed his tone.  “Whoa.  Lower your voice.  Dad’s in the room and he’ll absolutely have a plum fit if he hears you talking about giving your DNA to ‘government and military registration databases.’”

“Oh-ho, yeah.  The old man would have a heart attack on the spot,” Buddy agreed with a dramatic gasp and gesture emulating it.

“Personally, I don’t think it’s that big a deal, and it sounds cool.  But you do not want to get him going on about it, and I seriously don’t want to hear him continue doing it for days after you leave,” Patrick continued.  “He’s already more paranoid than normal because Tara’s going to have a baby and he’s afraid of someone finding out the truth about Orion.  If you so much as say you’re even thinking of doing one of those Ancestor-Finder things with DNA tests, he’ll freaking flip his plumbob.  He’d never get one, and I’m sure Mom hasn’t for the same reason I’ve never done it.  Heck, I don’t think Maria’s even gotten one, and her results wouldn’t even affect him other than he’d freak out that they’re tracking his daughter-in-law and granddaughter.  And of course Orion and Iris never did.  I have no idea if they can even track plantsim DNA like hers, and she never asked.  Orion, well, that’s obvious.”  He paused.  “I guess Blair, Cycl0n3, and Chris haven’t, either, or you wouldn’t be asking me.”



“Nah,” he replied in a quiet tone that matched Patrick’s.  “Chris said he might if I do, just to compare how the genetics randomized between two kids from the same parents, but he never did one yet.  Dad said he doesn’t care because he lived his whole life not knowing who his birth family was, and there’s no point now that he’s ancient.  He figures his biological parents are most likely dead by now, and he doesn’t think he had any brothers or sisters, or someone in the system would’ve told him back when he was growing up.  But he said if I wanted to do one, go ahead and knock myself out.  Mom then told me if I did not to say anything to Grandpa or Grandma for the same reason you did.”  He chortled.  “Guess she doesn’t want them calling her freaking out and telling her to beg me not to or to pull the results or something.”

“Hah.  You know it’s going to be bad when even Saint Blair doesn’t want to hear it,” Buddy quipped.

“So, what are you most interested in?  The ethnicity breakdown, the DNA health stuff, or long-lost relatives?”

“All of the above,” Travis admitted.  “It’d be cool to find out something we never knew, especially since there’s not much we know past Grandma and Grandpa.  What kind of stuff have they told you about your grandparents or other relatives?  All I know is their names.”



“I don’t know a whole lot more than that.  Dad’s an only child.  His mom was originally from Riverview, and I think he has a cousin or second cousin or something over there on her side that he hasn’t seen since his mom died.  But that was when your mom was a kid, long before I was around, so I have no idea if they’re even still alive.  His dad was an orchestra musician.  I don’t know if he had any brothers or sisters or not, but Dad never mentioned cousins on that side, so I’m guessing if he did, they either never had kids or there was some kind of falling out way back when, so they weren’t part of his life.  You could ask him about that, and he’d probably tell you, as long as you don’t mention the DNA stuff.  As for Mom, she had a brother, my Uncle Jonathan, who was a cop that died before Blair was born, back when she was a teenager.  Her parents died before that.  She doesn’t like talking about that stuff, but she’s still got some pictures we could probably find if we went spelunking through their old boxes of crap in the basement.  If I remember right, she said her dad was a doctor, and he’s the Patrick they named me after. Her mom’s name was Maureen, but that’s all I really know about her, other than my red hair came from her because that’s where Mom got it from.  She mentioned that once or twice.”

“That’s more than I knew, so that’s cool.  Thanks.  Maybe that,” he lowered his tone to almost a whisper as Boyd passed by, “test will find some unknown not-Sw0rds or relatives we didn’t know about on your and Mom’s side.”

“That’d be cool, just promise me you won’t tell them how you found it.”

“Because if you do, I’ll personally help him smack you upside the head with his guitar, because even though your grandpa can’t see or hear me, I can hear him,” Buddy added.

“No problem,” Travis agreed.



While Patrick and Travis discussed family history, Susan was getting to know the newest member of the family.  She loved all her grandchildren and adopted great-grandchildren, but she immediately clicked with little Danielle.  “…and here’s your Phobus.” She held it out as it displayed on the disc.

“Oh, thank you so much!  I don’t know why I couldn’t get it to work.”

“Some of these sprites are a little persnickety.  Don’t worry.  You’ll get the hang of it.”

“They’re so cute!  I want to collect them all.”

“I’m sure you will.  Just keep learning the skill and you’ll figure them all out.”

She admired the sprite and grinned when it giggled back at her.  “Thank you, Mrs. Wainwright.”

“Oh, we’re family now, sweetie.  You can call me Grandma Susan just like Hilda, Raul, and Esme do.”  She leaned down.  “Technically, I’d be your great-grandma, but that’s a big mouthful, so we’ll just stick with the base.”

“Okay, Grandma Susan.  Grandma Blair told me you didn’t like to be called Nana like Nana at home, so she said to just call you Mrs. Wainwright until you said what you wanted me to call you.”

Susan chuckled.  “Well, it does get a little confusing with all of us old ladies, doesn’t it?  But that’s okay.  Make sure you show Nana this sprite when you get home.  I know she’s still not feeling well, and I’m sure it’ll make her smile to see how much you learned on it.”

“I will!”



Danielle showed off her sprite to Grandpa Boyd next, and he gave her a proud hug.  “Great job!  You’re rounding out that collection fast.  Did you know that Plumboptimus knows all the sprites, too?”

“He does?  Simwave doesn’t.”

“He’s got a little bit of different programming, so it might take him some time to learn it.  Uncle Orion over there did a lot of back and forth with Plumboptimus on their sprites before he got married and moved out.  Maybe you can teach Simwave with yours the same way.”

“That sounds fun.  I’ll try that.  Thanks, Grandpa….”  She paused, hesitant on whether she should have said that or waited.

“Grandpa Boyd’s fine,” he assured her.  “Welcome to the family.  I can tell you’ll fit right in with us.”



After Danielle went off to talk to Plumboptimus about sprites, Boyd caught up with Orion.  “So, how’s everything at home?  Tara okay with the baby and everything?  It’s a shame she couldn’t make it today.”

“She’s fine, Dad.  Just a little tired.  She had a bunch of nightmares last night and didn’t sleep well, and with such bad sleep, her anxiety was too amped up to handle a party with a big crowd today.  You know how she struggles with that.  She didn’t want to risk having a panic attack here and feeling like she was going to ruin Iris’ party by making a scene.  Even though we know no one would think of it that way, you know that doesn’t help when she feels like that.  So she stayed home to rest.  She’ll be all right.  I’d tell you not to worry, but I know better.”

“I just want everything to go well for you and her and the baby.”  He smiled.  “I’m curious if she’ll look more like you, Tara, or a mixture of both.”

“For her sake, I hope it’s more like Tara.  The world can be harsh when you look as weird as I do.”

“Sad but true, unfortunately.  I wish it wasn’t.  But if she’s anything like you, she’ll tell the jerks to stuff it and not let it keep her down.”

He smirked.  “So, she’ll learn to brew pee potions and slip them into the bullies’ juice boxes, so they wet their pants in front of their classmates and get laughed at harder instead?”



“Orion!  Did you really?”

“Yup,” he admitted with a chuckle.  “Not going to ground me, are you?”

Boyd shook his head and smiled.  “No, I think the statute of limitations has long passed for that.  Mind you, I would’ve back then to teach you the lesson of how you shouldn’t go slipping substances into drinks, especially potential poisons, but I’d have understood why you wanted to retaliate.  Kid me would’ve been tempted to something similar in that situation, in all honesty.”  He paused.  “Not to mention I wouldn’t have wanted to set a precedent for Patrick to think it was okay to get a ‘harmless’ bee potion and chuck it at Julius Langerak.”

“Would it surprise you that Patrick was the one who told me the llamas deserved it when I said in anger that I ought to slip them a pee potion to see how they liked being laughed at?  Though in his defense, he did say to make sure it wouldn’t make them sick or anything.”

Boyd snorted in amusement.  “It doesn’t surprise me one little bit.  Just remember, all kids have their phases, and yours will be no exception.  I hope you’ve got those extraterrestrial senses of yours nice and honed for parenthood.”  He patted him on the shoulder.



As the party wound down and some guests started to leave, Iris went around to thank everyone who came.  It was always a little weird chatting with Lane, especially since Venus had already left while he was still chatting with Rashida.  Iris was intensely curious about that, given the awkward history there, but she would ask her what was up with that in more detail later.  “Hey, guys.  Sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk to you much before now, but thanks for coming to my party.”

“You know I wouldn’t have missed it.”  Rashida hugged her.  “Happy birthday.”

“Yeah, happy birthday, neighbor,” Lane said cheerfully.  “Thanks for the invite, and the excellent cake.  I was telling Rashida I could tell it was one of her mom’s.  Nothing in town beats those.”

“She’ll be happy to know it was well-loved.”

“It always is,” Iris said with a smile, unable to hide her curiosity any longer.  “I hope you guys had a good time hanging out and chatting.”



“It was cool,” said Rashida.  “Your birthday’s the first out of our old crew’s, and it’s not that long until we all graduate and go off to university or start working or whatever.  It’s hard to believe.”

“Yeah.  I’m off to Foxbury, she’s going into journalism, and you’re heading to Sims U.  It won’t be that long before none of us will see much of each other for a long time, especially those of us leaving town.  It’s hard not to reminisce.”

“Especially since Alfonso couldn’t make it here today anyway.”  Rashida made a slight face, while Lane shook his head.

“Well, he and I probably won’t ever be pals again, but hey.  It is what it is.  I’m glad you two worked it out and we can put all that old drama behind us at least.”

Iris knew that was an understatement.  Alfonso was an easygoing guy in general, but he still harbored bitterness about Rashida’s cheating with Lane back in the day.  She knew it would have rubbed him the wrong way to see Rashida and Lane chumming it up for so long at the party, even if it was innocent of any flirtation.  Iris was not entirely sure of that herself, even if she had not noticed any obvious signs of it at the party, so she doubted Alfonso would’ve been happy about it, regardless.  “Time and distance can change a lot.  You never know.  We might all have some unexpected stories to tell when we run into each other on semester breaks.”

“You especially, Miss Heading-to-a-party school,” Rashida said with a wry grin.

“I’m not my brother or my dad.  You won’t catch me doing keg stands.”



“Notice she said, ‘won’t catch,’” Lane quipped with a smirk, and Iris wondered if that was just a joke or if it was a subtle barb about how their past drama fell out or the gossip that got around about her and Lester’s breakup.  Either way, it felt like one, but she was not sure.  After all, her and Lane’s relationship ended eons ago and both had other serious relationships since.  It would be arrogant to assume he still felt anything more than a casual regret about blowing his chances with her back in the day, or how it all went down.  That had wrecked their chance to stay anything other than awkward friendly neighbor acquaintances afterward, and it was a shame since they had some things in common outside of a romantic interest that could have been a basis for friendship.

“Plantsims can’t drink juice anyway.  It makes us wilt.  Speaking of which, I can’t wait to meet other plantsims there, so I’m super psyched about that.”

“I bet.”  Rashida hugged her.  “Anyway, it was a great party.  Let’s make sure we hang out again before you leave town.  I’m going to miss you when you’re gone.”

“You, too.”

Lane gave her a friendly wave.  “Happy birthday and thanks again for the invite.  I’ll see you around, neighbor.”

“See you around.”  She followed them to living room to see them out.



After they left, Blair came over to say goodbye.  “Hey, little sister!  Cycl0n3 and I are heading home, too.  I hope you enjoyed your birthday.”

“I did.  Thanks.”  She hugged her, and Iris could not help but notice that while Blair was not as frail as her parents, she felt surprisingly old and thin for someone who had always been so peppy and energetic.  While she had always known Blair’s age, had not grown up with her, and thought of her as old, she never struck her as elderly before.  Sure, she and Patrick and Orion joked about Blair being Saint Blair, the goody-goody old fogey perfect first daughter, but Iris had never really connected until now that because their parents had her so young, Blair was not much younger than they were.  “Hey.  You take care of yourself while I’m gone at Sims U, okay?  I know it takes a lot out of you keeping Travis and Cycl0n3 in line.”

“Oh, I may not be as young as I used to be, but I can handle that.  I’ve got a lot of practice.  I wasn’t a heck of a lot older than you when I married him, you know!”  She smiled at her.  “You enjoy graduating and going off to university.  If you have even half as much fun as Chris and especially the Captain did, you’ll have the time of your life getting that degree.”

“That’s the plan !  Well, maybe I won’t have quite as much fun as Patrick, since I’m not that much of a wildflower, but I’ll give it my best.”

“The old college try, you mean?”

Iris could not help but laugh.  “Yes, but that was a painful pun.”

“It couldn’t have been that bad if it made you laugh,” she teased back.  “Happy birthday, Iris.  I love you.”

“I love you too, big sister.”



As she waved goodbye to Blair and the guests that departed after, Iris could not help but feel like she was bidding farewell to more than that.  So much would be changing soon, and not just her surroundings and those around her.  She was also saying goodbye to herself as far as who she had been while growing up.  Now that was over, and she was officially no longer a teenager, but a young adult.  Whatever the future held, it was starting now.


Author’s Note #2: For those of you who only follow this story on this board, I have an ongoing thread over on my blog called The Children of Sunset Valley that goes with this story, where I have all the game's born in game children posted with portraits and their trait breakdowns, as well as a little bit of biography/backstory for each. I updated that today for the first time in quite a while, and it's now current to this chapter. 

Today, I also created a sister page to that called The Immigrants of Sunset Valley that does the same thing, but with sims that I have either placed in town or who've been moved in by story progression. Now that many of the original residents are dead or elderly (the original YAs have already started dying off), I wanted anyone who was interested to be able to learn about the sims currently in the world, who either have already appeared or may appear in the story someday depending on what story progression does.

[mpart]

I haven't had chance to read this yet, but I'm so happy that you have decided to continue it! I'm glad you were able to get your save in semi-working order. 

[Cheezey]

I haven't had chance to read this yet, but I'm so happy that you have decided to continue it! I'm glad you were able to get your save in semi-working order. 

Thanks! The save is still buggy just from its age and sheer size, but I was able to do a few things that made it more stable and load and save a little faster.


Author's Note: This is another long and image-heavy chapter, so I split it into two posts.

Chapter 138

With spring in full bloom, love was in the air as Love Day arrived.  While Boyd and Susan were arguably the most eccentric couple in Sunset Valley, they were traditionalists when it came to that.  Susan had always loved the finer things in life, and on Love Day, what she liked best were beautiful flowers, some fancy high-end chocolate, and night out with Boyd that included a gourmet meal and a good vintage of nectar.

They made reservations at their favorite bistro on the edge of town.  Susan tried their specialty stir-fry, while Boyd chose an old favorite, their spaghetti that had what he considered the best meat sauce that he had ever tasted.  Susan chose the nectar, connoisseur that she was, and they toasted the evening together.  “Happy Love Day,” Susan said as she raised her glass.  “I love you.”

He smiled back at her, musing as he often did when he pondered it, how lucky he was to have been with as wonderful a lady as Susan all these years.  “I love you too, honey.  Happy Love Day.”  He took a sip.  “We made it to yet another one.  Sometimes I wonder if Grim lost our proverbial number, but I’m not complaining.  As long as you’re still here, that’s where I want to be.”

“Same here.  I guess some force out there wants us to stick around a little while longer to keep things in order in this family.”  She savored the nectar.  Oh, it was indeed a good vintage.



“Not to mention meet and get to know all the new members.  The adopted great-grandkids, Patrick and Maria maybe having another… and Orion and Tara’s baby is due any day now.”  Boyd took a big a gulp of the nectar with that thought.  While he was excited about the grandchild, he was still terrified there would be some unforeseen alien complication.

Susan recognized that and tried to redirect him to cheerier thoughts.  Mostly because she did not want him to spiral into an anxious mood, but also because it chafed her sensibilities just a little to see him chugging such fine nectar the same way Patrick slammed juice when he was in a mood.  Not because of the cost, they could certainly afford it, but on principle.  “Grandbabies are the best reason to stick around.  Jessica’s such a delight.  I hope we’re right that they’re going to have another for us to spoil for whatever time we’ve got left.”  She paused.  “But I’m also glad we’re still here to keep tabs on the lab for now.  Things are going well, but the kids still have a lot to learn.  I trust Ethan and our legal team to steer them right if something suddenly happens to us, but I’d prefer they get a few more years’ experience and expertise working there and learning the ropes first.”



“Thinking about what Nancy Landgraab and her MBA did to the place after she took it over from her late doctor father, and what Emit told you about the original timeline where he didn’t intervene?” Boyd guessed.

“That, and what I remember from our days as peons there.  People like us trying do good research and make discoveries while a bunch of suits who’d never set foot in a lab made headcount and budget decisions based on simoleons instead of science, just to please their tycoon heiress CEO who only cared about the bottom line.”  She shook her head.  “We’ve always managed to make respectable profits without ignoring what our actual scientific experts told us.”

“At least we won’t have to worry about that with any of our kids or grandkids.  They all know how we feel about the lab and what it means to us.  They’ll make sure our legacy and the spirit we’ve always run it in, science first, is honored.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that.  I expect it’ll be more the bureaucracy, paperwork, and all that nonsense bogging them down when the time comes.  Let’s face it, our projects are a lot more interesting than accounting statements.”



Boyd picked up his fork.  “Speaking of which, when do you think we should tell them about the stuff they’ll inevitably find after we’re gone?  Emit, the trips to Oasis Landing, the things we know from the future?  On one hand, I feel like we ought to do it soon, so we have time to answer all the questions I’m sure they’ll have, but on the other, there’s a lot we still haven’t decided, like what to tell Chris and Travis when we inevitably tell Blair and Cycl0n3.  We can guess who’s likely Emit’s descendant, but he never confirmed that for sure, and regardless, the news is that one of them has a bloodline that’s entirely died out by then, and the other has the mixed honor of claiming both Emit and Pl4sm4 Sw0rd.”

“I know.  I’m still not sure how Blair will take that.  Or the kids and Cycl0n3, for that matter.”

“Then, there’s the other issue of how much there is going on right now.  If Patrick and Maria are having another baby, I’m sure the possibility of it being a werewolf is still a stress, even if Maria’s accepted it enough to want to try anyway.  Info-dumping all of that onto them now might not be the best idea, especially since we know from our future visits that there are werewolf Wainwrights.  And regardless, Orion will have a newborn taking up a lot of his attention soon, and Iris will be away at Sims U.  I’d hate to distract her from her coursework and whatnot.”

“Knowing her, I suspect the ‘whatnot’ will be every bit as much of a focus over there as her studies,” Susan said wryly.  “Kids always go at least a little wild at university.  Even supposedly mature ones like a certain Dr. Keg Stand.”

Boyd let out an undignified snort as he swallowed his spaghetti.  “How did I know you’d go there?”

“Probably has something to do with the decades of marriage.”

He smiled at her as he dabbed the sauce off his lip with a napkin.  “Yes, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”



After dinner and a delicious dessert, Boyd and Susan went home to spend the rest of Love Day together.  As soon as they came into their bedroom, she kicked off her dress heels.  She had dressed up for the Love Day out, and she liked the look of them, but they were not at all comfortable.  Frankly, they were painfully impractical with her cane, but comfortable shoes just did not go with a fancy dress, unfortunately.  “So, we’re the first ones home tonight.”

“Yup.  Just Plumboptimus and Jessica here with us.”  They had passed him reading her a bedtime story in her room.  They peeked in long enough to say good night, and then headed to their room.  “But considering this is Iris’ last Love Day with Cameron after turning into an official young adult with no curfew, I’ll be surprised if she’s home before sunrise.”

“And Patrick and Maria are still young enough to enjoy a long night out on the town without their backs hating them in the morning.”  Susan rubbed her lower back.

“I’ve still got enough energy to give you a back rub, if you’d like,” Boyd suggested flirtatiously, and she smiled back at him.

“Coming home this early, I hope you’ve got energy for a little more than that,” she teased back.

“Oh, absolutely.”  He drew her in for a tender and passionate kiss that led to that back rub…



…and a bit more.



Across town, their eldest daughter and her husband were also celebrating Love Day in a low-key way.  Blair would always be a romantic at heart, but a candlelight dinner at home with Cycl0n3 was more than special enough for her.  The house was empty except for Cybelle, who was giving them their space anyway, and Travis was out with Starla, so they had the place essentially to themselves.  Cycl0n3 was not picky, either.  As long as he was with Blair, it was all good to him.

They had a fancy dinner delivered, so neither had to cook, and for dessert they enjoyed the special Love Day frosted cupcakes that Emma and Jared’s bakery made every year.

“Mmm.  A perfect ending to an awesome Love Day with my favoritest goofball in the world,” Blair said with a happy sigh, savoring her dessert.  “I can’t think of anything better than this.”



“Oh, I can think of a thing or two we could still do that might top it.”  He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, which made Blair giggle and nearly choke on her cupcake.

“Cycl0n3!  I almost choked there.”

“Well, don’t do that.  I didn’t mean taking you to the hospital.  That’s not romantic at all,” he teased back before adding, “and there are other things than cupcakes I’d much rather risk a choking hazard on.”



Blair was glad she had set her cupcake down that time because she let out an undignified snort-laugh despite herself.  “Oh, my Watcher.  You’re incorrigible.”

He chuckled.  “You knew that back when you married me, and you did it anyway.  You have only yourself to blame.”

“Uh-huh.  You’re lucky I love you, because as far as suave goes, on a scale of one to ten, right now you’re at about a two.  Poor showing for Love Day, sir.”

“And here I thought two wasn’t bad for me.”

“Well, you better amp up the romantic factor at least a little if you want any chance of anything other than a pillow slap on your tush to teach you a lesson, even if you would enjoy that.”

“Not even bare-handed, huh?  Okay.  You win.  I’ll step up my game.”



Cycl0n3 cleared the dishes from the table and lit a fire for ambiance.  “Nice and toasty.  How’s that?  Have I at least gotten to three yet?”

“Unprompted dish washing gets you two points, since Cybelle spoiled us all for that, and the fire’s good for another.  Congratulations.  You’re at a five.”

“Yes!  Halfway there!  Now come here, beautiful.”

“Compliments.  Six now.  Very good,” she said as he drew her into an embrace and smooched her.  “That was very nice, too.  Seven.”

“Oooh.  I’m on a roll.”  He kissed her again.  “Happy Love Day.  I’ll see if I can make it to ten before the night is over.”

“Well, you’re well on your way.  I love you,” she said softly as their lips met in another, more tender kiss.



While Blair and Cycl0n3 enjoyed their Love Day at home, their younger son took his paramour to a remote and scenic locale—Simhenge.

“It’s so cute you wanted to do our Love Day date up here,” Starla said as they reached the hilltop.

“It’s a nice spring night, you like being outside and hiking and stuff, and this place has all sorts of cool metaphysical energy.  Not to mention it’s a great place to check out the stars.  Plus, no one else is going to come up here, so we’ll be left alone.  No crowds or lines like everyone else going out.”  He held her hands.  “And you look really pretty in the starlight, Starla.”



“Was that play on words intentional?” she asked with a sarcastic, but amused lilt.

“If you thought it was cool, it was.  If not, then nope.  Total accident.”

“I thought it was cute, if not a little goofy.”  She smooched his cheek.

“I’ll own it, then.”



He pulled something out of the small bag he brought with him, which he had told her just had snacks.  “I did go traditional with this, though.  Happy Love Day!”  He presented her with a bouquet of flowers.

“Wow!  Thank you!  I love them.”  She inhaled their lovely aroma and set them carefully on the ground so they would not get damaged before giving him a hug and kiss.  “You definitely have a sweet spot in that cynical heart of yours.”

“For you,” he clarified.  “But don’t tell anyone.  I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“It’ll be our secret.  But now I feel a little bad I just got you that funny card.”  Said card was a sarcastic Love Day card with a grouchy looking dog on it that conveyed a sentiment that made fun of overt schmoopiness and those just out for a good time, ending with a hint of sentiment implying that the giver loved and appreciated the receiver for being a kindred spirit.

“Hey, I love that card.  It was perfect.”  He took her hand.  “Want to go watch the stars?”

“Sure.  Sounds great.”



They found a comfortable spot on the ground and sat together.  “It’s gorgeous up here.  I love how much you can see even without binoculars or a telescope,” Starla mused.

“Yeah, and if you wanted to lug one of those up here, I bet it’d be amazing.  But I’m not dragging my telescope all the way up that hill, especially on Love Day.  Even I’m not so big of a nerd as to think that’s romantic.  ‘Hey, I know we’re supposed to celebrate our relationship and spend time together and all, but check out the asteroids up there.’”

“But that would be kind of cool for a regular date.  One of the things I like about you is how you’re into all sorts of interesting things. Maybe not for Love Day, though.”  She glanced over at the Simhenge rock circle.  “By the way, are you planning to surprise me by trying some love magic or ritual you read about in one of your occult books?”

“Nah.  Anything like that I read about borders on creepy or involves summoning things I don’t want to risk not being able to dispel if I screw up.”

“Ooh.  Demons gone awry on Love Day.  Sounds like the making of a good movie, a not so good thing to live through.”

Travis laughed.  “Yeah.  I’d watch the hell out of that, though.”



As it got a little later, however, the spring temperature started to drop fast, and the sky clouded up.  “Ugh. I should’ve done like you and brought a sweatshirt.”  Travis shivered and rubbed his arms.

“Figures it looks like it wants to rain like an hour after we get here,” Starla groused.

“Any ideas on where we should go?  I’ve got some cash, if you want to go to the diner or the coffee shop or somewhere that’ll let us in dressed in hiking clothes.”

She wrinkled her nose.  “Nah.  Those places will probably be crowded, too, with all the cheap or hipster dates.”

“Good point.  I’d offer to take you to my house, but my parents are doing Love Day in, and hearing them get romantic will kill any kind of romantic mood for us.”

“My mom’s not home.  She’s at the firehouse until like 11 tonight.  She volunteered for the overtime since so many of the others wanted the night off and she didn’t have any huge plans.  Want to just go there?”

“I’m good with that.”

“Cool.  But first let’s warm up a little before that long hike back.”  She pulled Travis close and kissed him.  “Thanks for bringing me here tonight.  I liked it.”



The hike back was indeed chilly, but the kiss kept them warm for the first half, and when they got to Starla’s house, they snuggled up nice and close to make up for how cold they got on the second.  They spent the rest of the evening up until curfew enjoying the rest of Love Day together.

[Cheezey]

Unlike his introverted younger brother, Chris was thrilled with the chance to go out on Love Day.  He had been working varying long hours and extra shifts at the hospital lately, and it was through sheer luck that he managed to swap his schedule around to get the night off so he and Tad could go out on the actual holiday.  Simwave was keeping an eye on Hilda, Raul, and Danielle back home, while Esmeralda was out with her boyfriend Owen Frio and Caleb was on his first Love Day date with Angel Bachelor.  Even Morgana was now recovered enough from the flu to get out of the house, although she was only next door visiting Stiles, who she was still technically in a relationship with, even though it had turned rocky.  It was a rare chance for Chris and Tad to spend some time together without any interruptions as long as his pager did not go off, which his co-workers promised it would not unless there was a dire emergency.

They had dinner at Sunset Valley’s exclusive lounge to enjoy some fine cuisine and live music.  Tad sipped at his Love Day cocktail, glad to be out with Chris.  “We need to do this more often.  I feel like I hardly get more than five seconds at a time to talk to you these days.”

“Yeah.  I know,” Chris lamented.  “The hospital’s been crazy lately.  It’s a miracle I got out of tonight.  Luckily, I only had to pawn my soul rather than sell it to do it.  I’m on the hook for a lot more shifts in the near future because of it, though.  Be warned.”

“Heh.  I’m used to it, but I still hate it.  At least the upside is you’re making good money.”

“Which you’re spending to make up for me not being around, but it’s cool.  As long as we’re still in the black.”

“Yeah.  That’s another thing.  I never thought I’d be the one doing the household budgeting.”  He made a face.  “Makes me feel like my dad, especially when I have to lecture myself over what I spent.”

Chris smiled at him.  “Well, don’t do it over the cool tablet upgrade you gave me for Love Day.  It’s awesome.”

“Glad you liked it.  Thanks for the stuff you got me, too, though honestly, you actually getting tonight off and not having that flipping pager going off constantly is the best gift of all.  As for the tablet, you’ve been complaining about the crack in your screen on your old one for ages.  I figured you’d just get yourself a new one, but you’re never off work when the store is open long enough to go check out the models you like.  So I just got the best one they had and surprised you.”

“You could’ve asked my dad or my grandparents for recommendations, you know.  I’m sure they’d have been thrilled to give you all the details on what makes a good upgrade.”

“And I’d still be on the phone hearing them go on about it if I did.  So I just winged it and went with what the salesguy told me I should go for.  I’m sure he appreciated the commission.”

“He felt the love for Love Day, too,” Chris laughed.

“Just don’t break this one.  I got you the destruct-proof case for a reason, too.”



They finished their meals and went over to the bar for an after-dinner cocktail, continuing their conversation.  “You should talk, Mr. I-should-have-stock-in-smartphone-screens after breaking four in the last year.”

“I do have stock in that now, actually.  I figured if I’m supporting the industry, I might as well profit from it.”  He looked up.  “See, Dad, I did learn a couple things from you.  Aren’t you proud?”  They sat down at the bar, ordered their drinks, and watched the bartender perform her fancy flourishes as she made them.

“That is so cool.  I want to try that sometime,” Chris mused.

“Me, too.  But we should probably start with plastic cups and Simwave on hand to clean up after us.”



After drinks, they enjoyed a dance together to the live piano music.  “All teasing aside, I’m so happy we could come out like this,” Tad told him on an affectionate note.  “I miss you with you away so much.”

“I know.  I miss you, too.  Just because I’m busy and distracted because of work doesn’t mean I don’t miss being home and being with you.  I’m sorry it’s been like this for so long.  I knew when I became a doctor that it’d be like that, but it’s rougher than I thought.”  He sighed.  “But eventually I’ll be done with this kind of stuff and be able to breathe and spend time with you and our family more again.”

“I hope so.  I knew doctors worked a lot because of Mom, but I don’t remember what it was like when she was in your stage.  It was either before I was born or younger.  Plus, she worked in the ER most of her career, and I know that’s always crazy.”

“Your mom’s also a certified workaholic.  I’m not as hardcore as her when it comes to that.”

“I’m glad.  Because I love you and I’d actually like to see you once in a while, you know?”

Chris smirked.  “So I can help you keep the kids and cats in line?”

“Yeah.  And for a few other things,” Tad replied coyly.  “Happy Love Day.”



Chris and Tad’s oldest adopted child, Esmeralda, was also enjoying her Love Day outing with her now longtime steady boyfriend Owen Frio.  They did not do a fancy dinner or dancing or anything like that, since traditional romantic gestures like that did not appeal to Esmeralda the way they did to a lot of people.  Instead, they went to the comic and game shop and played their favorite arcade games together.



When they first got together, none of their classmates expected their relationship to last.  They were seeming opposites.  Owen had a reputation for flirtiness and going from being interested in one girl to another quickly, while Esmeralda seemed disinterested in dating altogether.  Esmeralda was also a perfectionist, someone who took her time on her schoolwork and projects, while Owen was forgetful and often missed little details when it came to his homework and other things.  Everyone figured it was just a case of opposites attracting, and that once the novelty wore off, they would part ways.

But that never happened.  As it turned out, they were good for each other and encouraged one another to grow in new ways.  Esmeralda would never be a hopeless romantic or a flirt, but she learned that it was nice to feel a deep connection to someone, even if the typical dating scene was of no interest to her.  Owen, on the other hand, learned that taking the time to get to know someone more deeply rather than moving on to the next person who caught his eye could also be worthwhile.  Little reminders from Esmeralda also helped him stay on task for things better.  More than once that saved him from a bad grade or forgetting something important, which kept him out of trouble with his teachers and his father, who, Owen would point out, was rather absent-minded himself, so he shouldn’t talk.  At the same time, Owen’s innate moodiness made Esmeralda self-aware enough to tone down her perfectionism just a little.  Sometimes, something was good enough without wasting a ridiculous amount of time fiddling with it, and not everyone needed constructive criticism all the time.  She learned to recognize better when others were trying and did not need someone harping on them incessantly, something her siblings often accused her of back home.

They did have things in common, however.  There was stuff they both enjoyed doing for fun, like going out to the arcade, a movie, or the coffee shop, but the biggest thing they bonded over was something they had both gone through: losing a parent at a young age.  Owen’s parents had him later in life, but his mother had been significantly older than his father, and she died right after his teenage birthday.  Esmeralda understood that pain all too well given how she lost her own parents as a child.  Although she was happy living with Tad and Chris and her adopted siblings, it still hurt to think about what happened to the family she had been born in.

Despite everyone’s expectations, Esmeralda and Owen were still together and happier than ever this Love Day, and they had a wonderful time on their night out.



The other teenager in the Wolff-Sw0rd household, Caleb, who was technically neither a Wolff nor a Sw0rd given that his father was a McGraw and his mother’s last name was still that of her ex-husband who Caleb was in no way related to, was super excited about his first Love Day with his first love, Angel Bachelor.

He took her out to Mick’s Karaoke, a favorite hangout for sims both young and old.  Most who knew them would remark on how much Caleb resembled his mother, and his enthusiasm about his new love and this Love Day was a page straight out of his hopeless romantic mother’s playbook, too.  That said, there times one could see his father in him, too, beyond their shared eye color.

One was the way he and Stiles both loved the outdoors and activities like fishing and hiking.  Another was that while Caleb did not have Stiles’ interest in or dedication to music, it seemed that he inherited a touch of his stage presence and a decent singing voice regardless.  When it was Caleb and Angel’s turn on the karaoke machine, he belted out the tune without a care in the world and with just enough hamminess that it entertained the crowd in a good way.



After their singing debut, they went upstairs to the arcade and pool room, where Caleb presented Angel with a lovely bouquet of red flowers.  She in turn gave him a sweet card with a foil-wrapped chocolate heart, and they were both touched by each other’s thoughtfulness.



Next, they tried their luck at winning each other prizes from the claw machine that Mick’s now had up there.  Caleb was unable to get it to hold onto anything even briefly, but Angel almost won something.  Fortune tended to smile upon her a little more often than average, but not with that machine that night.  She got a stuffed bear into its clutches only for it to slip through a moment later.



“I wish I could’ve gotten that for you.  Usually I’m luckier than that on this thing.  I got a gnome last week!  This stinks.  It would’ve been so cool to win a bonus Love Day present for you.”

“It’s okay.  I don’t need a bear.  I’ve got you.”

“Maybe that’s where all my luck went, then,” she replied with a smitten smile as they embraced.  “I’ve got you, too.”



Back across town, Morgana was at Stiles’ home visiting him, even though their romance was touchy at best and the last time they had spoken, it had devolved into a nasty argument.  Still, they both cared deeply about one another, and when both of them fell seriously ill at nearly the same time, it put things into perspective.  When Morgana was so ill with the flu that she was bedridden and Stiles had chest pains that landed him in urgent care and earned him a stern warning from his doctor that ignoring her recommendations about what to do to stay healthy might kill him next time, they each thought about regrets they had.  One such regret was the state of things between them.

So, they decided to get together and sit down and talk.  Life was too short, and becoming more fleeting by the day, to leave things the way they were, even if neither was up to dressing in more than comfortable old clothes at present.  Not that either cared about something so shallow in light of everything else.  “Glad you’re doing better,” Stiles said as they sat down.  “Caleb told me how bad off you were.  I thought about calling you, but… I didn’t know if hearing from me might make you feel worse, and I didn’t want to risk that.”



“Oh, Stiles,” Morgana said with look of regret.  “I’d have loved to hear from you, despite everything.  But I understand.  I didn’t know if I should call you after I heard about your cardiac event, either.  I wanted to, but after our last conversation…”  Said conversation had been a part of their argument that got even nastier when he remembered his medicine in the middle of it, and took it with a tall tumbler of juice, which was contraindicated on many levels.  When Morgana pointed out angrily how foolish that was, it only made things worse.

“If it’s any consolation, you were right.  Dr. Landgraab read me the riot act, too,” he admitted sheepishly.  “Guess it showed in my bloodwork I still had a juice every so often, though not usually right when I took my medicine.”

“Bebe’s a good physician,” Morgana said softly.  “I’m glad you’re all right.  But just so you know, ‘I told you so’ wasn’t what I was thinking when Caleb told me what happened.”

“More like ‘I wish he listened?’” Stiles guessed with a wistful smile.

“A little of that, but mostly ‘Watcher, please let him be all right.’”



“Caleb also tore me a new one, for the record.  That kid’s just as stubborn as the both of us.”

Morgana chuckled.  “Tell me about it.  While I was sick, he played sentinel ready to lecture me anytime I got out of bed to do anything other than use the bathroom.  Even after I started getting better.”  She shook her head but smiled a bit.  “That’ll teach me to try and argue medicine with him when my doctor son-in-law is also in the house telling him and Tad and the grandkids on no uncertain terms how serious it is and can get.”

“We got one thing right when it comes to him, at least.  He’s a great kid.  So are the rest of them in your full house, even if Tad and Chris really aren’t kids anymore.  Guess we just have to be glad they all care, right?”  His voice held a wry note, but not a barbed one, for Morgana had shouted that very sentiment at him while furious, but it had gone over about as well as one might have expected mid-argument.

“Yes,” she agreed with a conciliatory nod.  “I’m sorry.”

“Me, too.  You were right.  I should’ve known better.  Old rocker habits die hard, I guess.  I figured since I don’t have a problem with the stuff, and it was only once in a while or when I have one of those days, it wasn’t a big deal.  Found out the hard way I was wrong.”  He gestured to the bar.  “For the record, those glasses over there just have some seltzer in them.  Nothing the doctor banned.  I’m in no hurry to check out.”

“I’m glad.”

“I don’t want you checking out, either.  When you never called after I knew Caleb told you, I wondered if I put my foot in it so badly that you were all but done with me except where he was concerned.  I felt like such a llama, especially when I heard how sick you got, and I realized I might never get the chance to tell you I’m sorry.  I know things got bad between us and I wish they hadn’t.  I miss you.”

Morgana could not help but tear up a little, and she sniffled.  “I miss you, too.”



“Aw, the last thing I wanted to do was make you cry, especially on Love Day of all days.  Come here.”  He put an arm around her.  “I really am sorry for all the things I said and did.  It just seems so stupid now.”

“It’s all right.”  She met his eyes, a smile returning to her face as she leaned into the crook of his arm.  “I’m sorry, too.  I said and did a lot of things I shouldn’t have, or at the very least, could’ve handled better.  I’m sorry I hurt you with them.”

“And I’m sorry I hurt you.  I wish I could turn back the clock.”

“Mmm.  Me, too.”  She put a hand on his leg.  “But I’d be happy to make the best of whatever we can do with what’s already said and done… unless you think that ship already sailed?  I understand if you do—”



He leaned in and finished her sentence for her with a kiss.  “Hope that answers your question,” he said afterward.

“I think so,” Morgana replied with a glow in her cheeks that had not been there since before she fell ill.  “Happy Love Day.”


Author’s Note:  Don’t worry, I didn’t forget the rest of the family for Love Day!  Patrick, Iris, and Orion’s Love Day outings will be in the next chapter.  This one was already long enough, so I decided to do it in two installments. I didn’t want to just cover Blair and Cycl0n3 without giving some attention to their children and family as well, and I didn’t feel like I could include Esmeralda without also covering Caleb and Morgana, since they’re just as much a part of the extended Wainwright family at this point.  Especially since, as you can see, Morgana and Stiles are getting way up there in age and won’t be around much longer. In this chapter, Stiles has dodged Grim rather impressively at 98 days old, and Morgana hit 90 right on Love Day. 

[Cheezey]

Chapter 139

Patrick and Maria celebrated their Love Day at a place that held a special place in both their hearts: the Prism Art Studio.  “Whenever we come here, I always remember how you brought me here on our first date, which was also on Love Day,” Maria reminisced as she held his hands in front of the fountain.

“Me too.  I was so nervous.  I wanted to impress you so badly.”

“Well, it worked.  Here we are, so many years later, happily married.”  She squeezed his hand, and he smooched her.

“Yup.  Even despite your dad unexpectedly crashing our date.”

“Probably one of the only times he even came to an art gallery, and of course it was just for business anyway.  It was such crazy bad luck and coincidence that he even saw us.”  She rolled her eyes, and then looked somberly in the direction of the gallery’s café where the encounter happened all those years ago.  “Poor Dad.  He spent so much of his life never appreciating much outside of ambition and money and wanting to be the best at everything.  To him, art was just something you bought to impress other people.  The beauty of it was irrelevant.”  She shook her head.  “I’ll never get that.  Status and achievements are great, but they’re not everything.”  She turned back to him.  “I’m just glad he didn’t scare you off.”

“Bah.  It would’ve taken a hell of a lot more than Thornton to do that.”



They went in to look at the newest art displays.  “You know, if it wasn’t so infernally hot to work with, I’d love to be able to try making something in glass,” Maria mused as they admired a beautiful glass sculpture.  “But I’d never be able to stand working by a furnace like that or deal with the glass shards and all that mess.”

“So I’m guessing that wasn’t a subtle hint that you want to build a private glass-blowing studio at home.”

“Heh.  No.  If you wanted one to mess around in, I wouldn’t argue, but I don’t know if I’d ever use it.  I also have no idea where you’d even put it without building a new outbuilding for it.  One your dad would want to child-proof fifty ways from Sunday and then go on about it whenever we did use it.”

“Jess would probably figure out how to get in before long anyway.  She’s almost as good as Orion was at taking stuff apart as a kid, even without his otherworldly lock-picking abilities.”

“So I’ve noticed!  She must’ve gotten all that mechanical inclination from your side of the family.”

“Or it’s just my parents babysitting and tinkering with their plum in front of her.  Anyway, guess it’s a good thing I don’t have time to consider a new hobby in glassblowing.”

“Yes.  You’re very busy,” Maria agreed with a broader smile tugging at the edge of her lips as she thought about something she had not told Patrick yet.



When they were done admiring the art, they stopped at the gift shop to browse their selection.  “See anything you like?” asked Patrick.  “Looks like they’ve got a bunch of nice stuff out for Love Day.”

“They do, but there’s nothing I really want or need.”

He posed dramatically by a glass gnome statue.  “Aw, come on.  You know you need a foot high glass gnome.”

“To go along with all the other gnomes back home?  That’s all right.  We’ve already got plenty.  I guess you missed Iris ranting about almost tripping over the bunny gnome in the greenhouse and how your mom almost sat on the Egyptian gnome in the recliner the other day.”

Patrick snickered.  “Getting a gnome up your plumbob?  That sounds uncomfortable.  For Mom and the gnome.”



“I doubt these are magic gnomes anyway, even if they are cute.”  Her smile broadened.  “Speaking of which…”

“Of cute things, or gnomes?  Not that gnomes can’t be cute, but you know what I mean.”

“I mean cute things in general.  There’s something I wanted to tell you now that we’ve got a minute.”

“Oh?  What’s up?”

She took a deep and dramatic breath, beaming.  “Well, I… oh.”  She paused as she realized what time it was and reconsidered.  “You know what?  I’ll tell you when we get to the theater.  We should probably leave for our show now if we want good seats.”

Patrick was curious what it was that she wanted to tell him that involved something cute, and he had a suspicion as to what it might be, but he could tell she wanted to wait again for whatever reason.  “Yeah, it is getting close.  Of course, now you know I’ll be wondering the whole time we’re riding over there.”

“I won’t keep you in suspense long.  I promise.”

He could not help but smile knowingly as he humored her.  Her flair for dramatics could get a little frustrating at times, but if the announcement was what he hoped it was, it was worth some fanfare. “Okay.  Let’s go.”



Despite holiday traffic, they got to the theater in plenty of time.  After purchasing their tickets, safely securing the prime seating they wanted, Patrick turned to her with an indulgent grin.  “All right.  You’ve kept me in suspense.  Do you want to tell me here, or should we head on in to our seats and you can tell me there?”



“No.  Here, since we’re by ourselves for the moment and not distracted by driving or anything.”  The smile Maria could barely hide returned to her face as she looked at him, and then looked down, smoothing her hands over her belly as she took a dramatic breath.  “I took a test today, and it came back positive.”  Her voice rose on a gleeful and excited note.  “I’m pregnant.  It’s official.  We’re going to have another baby.”



That was indeed what Patrick thought it might be, and even though he already guessed what it was, it did not dull his excitement one iota.  “Oh, baby!  That’s awesome!”  He grinned from ear to ear.  “That’s the best Love Day present there could be.”



He grabbed her impulsively and swung her low into a dip kiss.  “I love you so much.  I’m so happy.”

“Me, too,” Maria sighed back lovingly as he eased her back onto her feet.  “And I love you, too.  More than anything.  Happy Love Day, Paddy-cakes.”  The surprise rainstorm that had sent Travis and Starla home early from Simhenge now began at the theater.  “Come on.  Let’s get inside and see our show.”



Luckily, when Iris and Cameron had their Love Day dinner at the bistro and chose to dine outside, it was before the rainstorm.  Since this was their last chance to celebrate such an occasion together, and rapidly approaching the last of their time together at all, they were determined to make it count.  The bistro was just their first stop for the night out.

Cameron ordered one of their specialty entrees and a fine bottle of nectar, while Iris treated herself to a slice of their heavenly angel food cake.  “It’s so weird seeing you eat something flambéed like that,” he remarked after they served it.

“Well, I’ll never exactly be a fan of fire or the high-test stuff it’s burning, but for some things, it’s worth making exceptions.  This is one of them.  I don’t know if you’ve ever had it before, but it’s amazing.”  Iris daintily blew across her fork and offered him a bite from it.

“Wow!  That is good.  First time I ever had it set on fire, though.”  He took a sip of his nectar to wash it down.

“They always serve it this way, and right now, it’s taking the edge off that breeze out here.”  She smirked.  “I’m probably feeling it a little more in this dress than you are in long sleeves and pants.”

“You look incredible, if that helps,” he said flirtatiously.  “But we could ask if they have a seat inside if you want.”

“No.  It’s okay.  The cake’s warming me enough, and if I get too cold, I’ll just let your hot lips warm me up when we leave.”

Cameron grinned.  “Deal.”



After dinner, they went to the local dance club.  Iris could not help but think about how this was where they met, and tonight, they were having their last hurrah there.  She had come to terms with knowing it was essentially over between them, but she still loved him and knew that he loved her, and it still hurt.  She tried not to think about that too much and vowed to enjoy the moment with him as they sat at the bar.  She ordered a fruit water while he got a specialty drink.

“I see you’re ready to party.”

“You know it.”  He swirled it and then took a drink.  “Want to dance after we finish?”

“Sure.  I want to see your sexy juiced up dance moves.”  She flirtatiously squeezed his knee as she sipped at her fruit water.



After cutting loose on the dance floor for a bit, Iris spotted some club-goers leaving the back room with the bubble blower, and her eyes widened as she thought, Hmm, why not?  Although it was perfectly legal, it was still one of those adult party things like juice, nectar, and herbs that adults did not always approve of teens trying.  Furthermore, as a plantsim, things like that often had weird effects on her, and she was reasonably cautious about trying them.  The last thing she wanted was to get sick.  But on the other hand, she and Cameron were both young adults now, free to do as they pleased, and she was going off to Sims U soon, a school known for its party culture as well as its academics.  So, why not give it a try?  She was no party animal like Patrick, but she was hardly Saint Blair, either.  Iris was a Wainwright, after all, and experimenting was in her chlorophyll-filled blood.

“Come on, Cam.  Let’s hit that thing.”

He laughed.  “You sure that was just a lime in your soda?”

“Funny.  But I’m curious.”  She looked at him.  “Have you ever used one?”

“Once back in Bridgeport at a club where I used a fake ID.  Overdid it on the cotton candy and had a blast until I crashed and woke up with a headache,” he admitted as they sat down.

That time she snickered.  “Fake ID?  Naughty, naughty.”

“I hung around a few bad influences.  Don’t tell my dad.  He never found out and I’d probably still hear about it even though I’m an adult now.”

“No problem.  I wouldn’t even tell mine now.”  She made a face as she selected chocolate for her bubbles.  “My parents would be like ‘Iris, you should be careful!  You don’t even know what weird inhalants will do to you, you should research that first, blah blah blah blah!’  But whatever.  Life is short.  Have fun!  Sniff chocolate fumes,” she giggled as she took a deep breath from the pipe.



Fortunately, the bubble bar did not have any unforeseen ill effects, although Iris did feel somewhat giddy and giggly when they were done with it.  Cameron, on the other hand, seemed even more energetic than usual.  Apparently, the banana bubbles or them in combination with the drink he’d had beforehand reacted in him like a triple shot of an energy drink, and he was ready to go!  They danced some more, and then he decided he wanted to try the gyroscope when he saw it was open.

“Cam!” laughed Iris.  “Are you sure?”

“Yeah!  That looks wild.”

“Have you ever tried one before?”

“Nope.  That’s why I want to try.”

She giggled again, enjoying the trace scent of bubble-chocolate still in her nostrils, as he climbed on.  “Oh, my Watcher.  Don’t hurt yourself.”

He flexed as he closed the mechanism into place.  “Don’t worry.  I’m tough.  I’ve got this.”

“All right, tough man.  You go!”  She lifted her arm and cheered as the machine powered up and began to spin him around, flashing with its sparks-for-show and strobe lights.

She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture for posterity.  He did look cute in there, she thought as it spun him upside-down, and it was then that he noticed her camera.  “Hey!  Promise you won’t put any pics of me on Simstagram if I crash,” he shouted as the speed picked up.

“I won’t.  I promise.  But you won’t crash, my tough guy!”  She gave him a flirtatious wave of confidence amidst another burst of chocolate-induced giggles.



But as it turned out, said confidence was not enough.  Cameron had control of the machine for a while and did surprisingly well for a newbie due to his strength and coordination, but when it reached its peak, he got a little overconfident.  When he loosened his grip and tried to show off, he paid the price.  He lost his balance and shouted “Owowowowow!” as it banged him about.

Iris rushed to his rescue and hit the emergency stop button, and a moment later, Cameron tumbled out.

“Uuuuuugh.”



She helped him back onto his feet.  “Aw, Cam.  Are you okay?”

He blinked a few times to clear the dizziness from his head.  “Yeah.  Just banged and maybe bruised.”

She gave him a sympathetic look.  “Body or ego?”

“Both,” he admitted.

“My poor tough guy.”  She smooched him on the lips.  “Did that help?”

He could not help but smile back at her.  “Your kisses always help.”



“In that case, I’ll give you an extra special healing one,” she said sweetly, and disentangled herself from him just long enough to blow him a sensual flower kiss.  He deeply inhaled the floral scent, musing as he stared back at her, gorgeous as she was in that low-cut dress framed by the dim-and-neon club lighting, how much he was going to miss that, and her.  Afterward, she embraced him once more and whispered softly into his ear.  “Any better?”

“Much,” he murmured as he kissed her neck.  “You’re so amazing.”

“So are you.  I love you.”

“I love you, too.  I don’t ever want to forget this, or you.”

Her eyes landed on the club’s photo booth.  They were parting soon, that was inevitable, but like him, she never wanted to forget him and their time together, either.  No matter where else life took them.  “Then let’s take a booth picture for posterity.”  She nudged him toward it.

“Yeah.  Let’s.”



They went into the booth and set it to take a collage of pictures that they could keep as a memento.  At first, they just made some silly and goofy romantic poses, smooching and cuddling before becoming increasingly risqué, until they got more carried away with themselves.  Luckily for them, nobody was in line for the photo booth, and the club music was loud enough to hide the curious noises and the bit of rocking it did during their time inside it.



When they came out, Cameron retrieved the photos first and discovered just how many times the camera flashed and what it caught.  “Uh, Iris?  I don’t think we should keep these for posterity.”

“No?”  Her curiosity was piqued, and he showed her the sheet.

“I wouldn’t want this somehow ending up on the internet somewhere, and I don’t think you do, either.”

Her giggly high from all the night’s activities was temporarily harshed when she got a look at them.  Even in the club lighting, it was obvious it was not the sort of thing she ever wanted of her around anywhere.  At all.  Although she and Cameron trusted each other, anything like that was always at a risk of being found by someone it shouldn’t be, no matter how carefully secured it was.  “Yikes.  Yeah.  That’s got to go.”

“That’s what I thought.”  Cameron aggressively tore the offending photo sheet into bits so small that it could almost pass for confetti.



Since it was only a couple of hours before closing at the club anyway, Iris and Cameron decided to just leave and go somewhere they could enjoy the last of their Love Day date by themselves.  They chose the beach at Sunnyside Strand.  The rainstorm that had struck after dinner was long over, and since it was somewhat chilly and wet out and still spring, no one else was there.

“Thanks for humoring me and coming here,” Iris said as she leapt into Cameron’s arms.  “I know being out here like this doesn’t appeal to you as much as it does me.  But the secluded beach just feels perfectly romantic and a great way to end the night.”

“It is, and I know how much you plantsims love your fresh air.  Besides, I like the beach, too.  It makes me think of all the times we’ve taken walks here.”

She hugged him tightly.  “I’ve tried not to think about it too much, but Cam… oh, I’m going to miss you so much.  I know there’s no changing what’s going on, but it’s so close to being real now.”

“I know.  Me too.  Whatever happens, though, you know I’m never going to forget you or any of this.  It’ll always mean a lot to me.”

“Me, too.”  She tried to blink back the tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at him, so sweet and loving and handsome in the moonlight.



They made the most of their time together.  While walking, sitting, and admiring the scenery as the waves crashed, they talked about whatever struck them and shared some passionate moments.

“It’s not that long before dawn,” Cameron noted with a glance at the horizon.  “I feel like we should do something wild just to send the night off, you know?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe do a kind of Polar Bear club or something.  Something we wouldn’t normally do.”

Iris glanced at the water.  Normally it would be way too cold, but something about the idea appealed.  She turned to him slyly.  “We didn’t bring swimsuits, and I’m sure this dress and your dress clothes are not supposed to be laundered in salt water.”

He mirrored her smirk.  “Yeah.  I know.”

“So you are advocating a brisk spring night skinny dip in the ocean.”

Cameron did not say anything, and just looked her up and down, his grin broadening.

Iris was amused.  “I see the tough guy banana bubbles are still in effect.  Okay, though.  Why the heck not?  Let’s go for it.”  She stroked his cheek playfully as she kicked off her shoes.  “If I freeze, you get to haul my frozen veggies home to thaw.”



Despite it being far too chilly for most to consider a dip, both Iris and Cameron stripped out of their clothes and took the plunge.  The ocean was cold, far colder than either anticipated, but they managed a bit of a swim and even went back in a time or two to swim out and splash and dare each other to see who could take it longer.  It added a final exciting and memorable event to the evening, making it one Love Day that neither Iris nor Cameron would ever forget. 



While Patrick and Iris spent Love Day out with their paramours, Orion celebrated more low-key like his older sister and neighbor, Blair.  Orion and Tara’s baby was due any day now, and as heavily pregnant as she was, she was not up for much as far as activity went.

Orion returned home after picking up their dinner—her favorite, lobster thermidor, for her, and a tri-tip steak for him.

“Glad you’re back.  You were gone longer than I thought.  Were the lines bad?”

“It wasn’t so much the lines as it was having to wait for someone to check me out.  I wouldn’t want to be waiting for a table, though.  I heard the host say almost two hours to people coming in without reservations.”

“In that case, I’m definitely glad we stayed in.  We’d probably have to wait forever for our food, too, and the baby and I are both starving.”  She patted her belly.  “Sorry my romantic Love Day outfit is my bumming around PJs, by the way.  I wanted to dress up a little while you were gone, but I just couldn’t find anything in my maternity stuff that looked good that I could also wear without being super uncomfortable with all the false alarm contractions I’ve been having all day.  Then I heard you pull in, and I was out of time to change anyway.”  She sighed.  “I know this isn’t exactly sexy.”

“I don’t care what you’re wearing.  I want you to be comfortable, and you always look great to me.” Orion put his hand on her tummy.  “Wow.  The baby’s moving around again, huh?  She must be excited about that lobster, too.”

“Yeah.  She’s been kicking up a storm.”



Orion set the bags with their takeout down on the table and retrieved something from one of them only to hide it quickly behind his back.  “Part of what took me so long to get back might’ve had something to do with an extra stop I made grabbing a surprise for you.  I hope you don’t mind.”

Her eyes went wide.  “Orion, what did you get?  You already gave me chocolate this morning, and I ate so much that the baby probably got a sugar high right along with me,” she teased.

“It’s not more chocolate.  Unless you count the tiramisu we got for dessert, but we ordered that together, so that doesn’t count.”



He handed her a beautiful bouquet of roses.  “I hope you like them.  A reliable botanist source I’m related to assured me that these were one of the most fragrant varieties on the market and that I couldn’t go wrong with them.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.”  She sniffed them and enjoyed their aromatic scent.  “I love them.  Thank you.  Tell Iris she was spot on with her suggestion.”

“What makes you so sure it was Iris?  Sure, she’s my sister and a plantsim, but I don’t take all my romantic advice from her.  That could be kind of dangerous,” he remarked dryly.  “Maybe I asked one of my been-married-forever parents.”

“I just figured it was her.  I never thought of your parents as botanists specifically, more like chemists or physicists or biologists or… well, some combination of all of the above.  But I guess they do know a lot about plants on top of everything else.  Anyway, whoever’s idea it was, thank them.”  She kissed him.  “I’ll take the food to the kitchen and put these in some water.”

“You don’t need to do all that.  I can set dinner up so you don’t have to carry any plates.”

“No, it’s fine.  I want to.  You’re the one who braved the crowds picking it all up and then surprising me with flowers.  It’s the least I can do.”  She picked up the bags.

“Well, let me do something to help.”

“You could pour me some of that sparkling non-fermented nectar to have with dinner.  The pear flavor.  I love that one.  Then maybe you could help me carry the food in.”



“Sure.”  While Tara took everything to the kitchen, Orion found the bottle she wanted and selected an apple-renoit nectar for himself.  He poured a glass of each, along with two glasses of bottled water, and he was about to take the tray to the table when he heard Tara cry out from the kitchen.



She had no sooner put her roses in a vase and set them on the kitchen table when the twinges she had been having all day kicked into higher, and more painful, gear.  Although she never gave birth before, she knew right away that these were not false alarms. “Orion!  Oh, my Watcher!”  She groaned and clutched her belly in a panic.   “Help!  I think the baby’s coming!”

[Auranaris]

Yay, Tara is FINALLY having the baby! It’ll be interesting to see a half alien, I actually have never played with any aliens in the sims 3.

[Cheezey]

Yay, Tara is FINALLY having the baby! It’ll be interesting to see a half alien, I actually have never played with any aliens in the sims 3.

Yes, that took a while! Sorry about that!


Author's Note: Phew!  This update only took forever and day, huh?  But here it is, better late than never.  I hope those of you still reading enjoy it.  I've had a busy summer, but I'm still working on my stories, so there will still be more to come of this... hopefully at a faster pace!

Chapter 140

When he heard Tara cry out, Orion raced into the kitchen.  She was between the counter and table, doubled over and clutching her midsection with a pained look on her face.  “I’m in labor this time.  I know it!” she wailed.  There had been a time or two before that she thought she might be, but when she called Chris, he assured her when she explained her symptoms and the timing that it was false labor and not to worry yet.

This time, however, she had no doubt.  Neither did Orion.  When he entered the room, his alien senses were slammed with the pain and distress she was projecting.



Due to their unique circumstances, they had carefully planned what would happen when this time came, but neither Tara nor Orion expected it to happen right in the middle of their Love Day dinner.  “It’s okay, I—I’m here,” he said as Tara wailed again, wincing through a painful contraction that he felt empathically, too.

“Orion, help!”  Her grimace intensified.  “It hurts.  It hurts bad!”  She took a deep breath.  “Breathe.  Breathe.”  She repeated the coaching from her Lamaze classes, but it was hard to focus, even with her martial arts training.

Her palpable distress did not make it any easier for Orion to focus, either, despite his martial arts training.  “It’s okay.  It’s okay.  We’ve got a plan.”  A plan.  Yes.  They had a plan.  What was the plan again?

Holy Watcher in heaven this hurts like a llama! Orion heard that so loudly he was not sure whether she actually said it or if she just thought it in the midst of her cries, but she might as well have screamed it either way.



Connie also heard the commotion and came in as fast as she could.  “How can I assist?”

“She’s in labor!  We need the—the—”  Why was it so hard to find the words he needed?!

“OoooOOOoooHhhhhhh!”

“Labor protocol!  Activate!” he shouted as it finally came to him.  Now he knew why his parents told him to program it to trigger with simple key words ahead of time, and why Patrick told him that almost every other panicked word that came out of his mouth when Maria first went into labor with Jessica was in the Mom-and-Blair-heavily-disapprove category.



Connie’s optics blinked in compliance immediately, and she began making the necessary calls.



The first went to Chris.  He and Tad were still out for their Love Day date at the lounge when that went through.  Although Chris had his phone silenced, he still had it with him, and the vibration caught him so off guard that he accidentally stepped on Tad’s foot.  “Ack!  Sorry.”

“I was about to say we’d gone all night without this happening, too.”  He shook his foot.

“You mean the phone going off or one of us crunching each other’s toes?”

“You did that because of your phone?”  Tad frowned as a layer of irritation crept into his tone.

“Afraid so.”

“Who the hell is bothering us on Love Day night?  It better be something freaking important, and it better not be the hospital.”

“They promised they wouldn’t unless it was a super dire emergency,” he said with a note of irritation as he pulled it out to check.  “It’s Connie.”

“Orion’s Connie?”

“Yeah.  Better take this in case it’s something with Tara’s baby.”

He picked it up and headed off to where it was quieter while Tad muttered, “I swear, if this is another round of her WebDoc paranoia…”



When Chris returned, it was with a rueful smile.  “You want the good news or the bad news?”

Tad sighed.  “Go ahead and lay it on me.  Guessing our night out’s over, and our Love Day is screwed up, is the bad news.”

“You are correct, sir!” he said in a playful tone reminiscent of a game show host in the hopes of getting Tad to at least crack a smile.  “Unfortunately, the prizes you’ve won include a raincheck on tonight’s celebration where I will do my best to make it up to you since I have to go.  She is indeed in labor.”

“Doesn’t that just figure.”  Tad was more disappointed than upset.  “You said prizes as in plural.  What’s the rest?  You said there was good news and bad?”

“Soon you’ll have a brand-new bouncing baby cousin-in-law to spoil!”

That did get him to smile a bit.  “Well, there is that.  Go on and help them out, Dr. Specialist.  Good luck.”

“Thanks.  Hopefully I won’t need it, because the last baby I delivered was in the ER early in my residency.  Hoo boy!”  He took a deep breath, then smooched him.  “See you later!”

“See you later, and I’m holding you to that raincheck, for the record.  It’s starting to collect interest as of now.”

“Oooh.  I love it when you talk tycoon to me,” Chris teased as he grabbed his jacket and headed out.



Connie’s second call was to Boyd and Susan.  They were back from dinner and spending time alone in their bedroom together when it came through, luckily not interrupting anything too intimate at that point.  Boyd immediately worried when he saw it was Connie’s number.  “Connie?  Is everything all right?”

“I am calling to notify you that Tara is in labor.”

“She’s in labor?  Tonight?  You’re sure?”

“Chris confirmed it during our evaluation of symptoms.”

“And he’s there?”

“Not yet.  He is coming.”

“Oh.”  Boyd began to tremble with anxiety as the reality set in.  “Oh, I hope he gets there soon!  Wow.  That’s—”

“Quite a Love Day gift,” Susan finished for him as she joined his side.  “Put it on speaker.”

“Right.  Yes.  Okay.”  He pressed the button distractedly.  “You’re on speaker now, Connie.  So you’re sure she’s in labor.  Are she and the baby all right?  Is Orion there with her?”

“Both are here.  Orion is making her comfortable until Chris arrives.”

“Okay.  Good.  He’ll know what to do,” Susan interjected as much for Connie’s benefit as Boyd’s.  “There are no complications, then?”

“None that we are aware of.”



Although her response was meant to be comforting, all it made Boyd think was that he hoped they would be able to recognize a complication if it arose before Chris got there, and he became even more agitated.  Susan could tell, and she took over the questioning.

“Contractions coming at a normal rate?”

“According to the statistics I was programmed with.”

“That’s good then,” Susan replied before Boyd cut her off.

“No alien complications, either?  They’re not there or interfering or doing anything weird?”

“Boyd, they said—”

“I know what they said, Susan, but they’ve said a lot of things over the years and things still happened!  Even after Eni Jish Xip herself gave her word.”  He began to pace anxiously.  “Are there any signs of them?”

“I have not observed any.”  That was followed with a wail in the background and an unintelligible shout from Orion.

“That was Tara!” Boyd nearly screamed.  “Is she okay?  Are things getting worse?  Oh, no.  No, no…”

“She’s probably just feeling more pain as she gets closer.” Susan interjected, hoping she was right.  She was not as much of a worrywart as her husband, but it was hard not to be a little concerned.  She was not about to say that, however.  “Labor got its name for a reason.  It’s been a while, but I went through it twice.  I remember.”

Unfortunately, that attempt to reassure him backfired.  “And the second time you needed an emergency C-section!  What if Tara does?  They’d need to go to a hospital and, oh!  Even if they made it in time and were fine, which, dear Watcher in heaven I hope they would be, but oh, the secret would be out!”

Connie interrupted Boyd’s panicked raving with an update.  “Chris has arrived.  I will provide a status update soon as soon as I am not needed for assistance.”

Susan took the phone from Boyd as he started hyper-ventilating.  “Thank you, Connie.  We’ll be waiting.”  She hung up while Boyd utterly fell apart.



“Oh, Watcher!  It’s happening!  It’s really happening!”  He groaned and tugged at his hair.  “I thought I was ready for this but, oh, hell!  I’m not!  I’m not!  There’s so much we don’t know, so much that could go wrong!  And what will we do?!  There’s no one else we can go to and no one we can trust!  If even the slightest thing goes wrong that we didn’t plan a contingency for… Oh, Watcher!”



“Boyd.  Boyd! Boyd!”  Susan cut through his hysterical panic and pulled him close to calm him down.  “Take a deep breath and listen to me.  There’s no reason to think it’s anything but normal labor right now.”  She spoke gently, but firmly.  “Chris is there.  He’s a doctor, and if there’s anything he can’t manage, he’ll call us or someone who can.”

“But we’re the only ones who know—”

“He won’t risk Tara’s or the baby’s or Orion’s life.  He loves them as much as we do.  You know that.”

“I know.”

“Our grandson’s a great doctor, and Eni Jish Xip told them the baby is healthy when she saw them,” she reassured him.  “She also said they’ll only intervene if there are complications.  So that means they probably know and are watching right now.  But if Connie didn’t detect them, it means they don’t think they need to do anything.  So Tara’s probably fine.  Stands to reason, right?”

 “I… I guess.  Hopefully.”

She patted Boyd’s back.  “And now that Chris is there, that’s going to be a big load of relief for both Tara and Orion.  You know once he can put the medical help in Chris’ hands, he can focus enough to bio-boost her if she needs it.  That’ll help extra with the pain and probably a whole bunch of other possible labor issues above and beyond it, which I’m sure Chris has anticipated.  So let’s just try and focus on the good and not worry until we’re sure there’s reason to.  Instead let’s think about how we’re about to become grandparents again, to Orion’s first baby, okay?  That’s pretty exciting.”  She pulled back and met his gaze with a reassuring smile.



“It—it is.  It’s exciting, but it’s also terrifying, considering.”  He tried to compose himself.  “We did see a long lineage in the future of Orion’s descendants.  I suppose that bodes well, assuming Tara was the mother of their ancestor.”  He wished he hadn’t thought of that caveat.  “We never found out for sure who she was.”

“They weren’t back together yet then.  But now that they are and they’re happily married, there’s no reason to think she’s not.”

“Oh, Susan.”  He put his hands on her shoulders for support.  “I just want everything to be all right.  All this alien stuff makes it so complicated…”

“And they’ll handle it and get through it just fine.  Just like we always did.”  She smooched him.  “Happy Love Day, Grandpa.”



While Susan was able to calm Boyd down, things were considerably more chaotic in Orion and Tara’s bathroom, where they went to deliver the baby.  Originally, Tara wanted to try a water birth, but once she got to the bathroom, she was too afraid to get into the tub.  Instead, she stumbled around the bathroom gasping and crying in panicked indecision.

Orion was at a loss of what to do or how to help.  “Are you sure you don’t want to lie down?”

“Noooo! I might never get up again!  It hurts so much,” she whimpered as another contraction hit.  When she caught her breath, she said, “I thought it was supposed to be better not to lie down in bed.  It is better, right, Chris?”  She let out another loud wail of pain and clutched her belly with one hand while bracing herself on the sink with the other, while Orion kept her steady upright like she wanted.

“Gravity can help, yeah.”  Chris tried not to think about his lack of experience at delivering babies.  While he had done it before, like he told Tad, it was a while ago now.  Even though he had studied everything he could in preparation for this unique situation, and all of Tara’s prenatal exams were as normal as far as baby size and apparent health went, it was hard not to be just a bit nervous now that it was happening.  Especially since the baby was half alien, something not in any medical journals.  “But if you’re feeling weak, we’ll get you there and prop you.”

“I just want her out!” Tara insisted, bearing down.  “Why won’t she just come out?!”

Chris took a deep breath.  “It takes time, unfortunately.  You’ve got to fully dilate, and while you’re mostly there, baby heads are big.  I know it hurts like a llama—”

She grimaced and hollered back with surprising savagery between breaths.  “Oh, you don’t know nothing, buddy!”

He was seasoned enough not to take that personally, especially considering she had no pain relief.  Normally he would have recommended an epidural, but he was not a trained anesthesiologist, and he was not about to risk winging something like that outside of a hospital environment when so much could go plumbob-shaped with one mistake.  At least not unless the situation reached life or death, which he hoped to whatever powers were listening that it would not.  Fortunately, they had a backup option.

“Orion, if you can bio-boost her, now’s the time,” he said as he knelt by her to determine how much she’d dilated.  “I don’t think we should wait any longer and she needs to push.”



The only reason he had not done so already was that he was not sure he would have the reserves to do it more than once with all the chaos he was feeling, and he did not want to risk it wearing off during the worst of it.  “All right.”  He stared down at a tile to focus while Connie addressed Chris.

“Is there any way I may be of assistance?”

“Physical support.  Hold her if she slips.  I’ve got to get down here and guide this little girl out.”

“She… doesn’t feel… little!” Tara gasped out as Connie held her in the position Chris recommended, while Orion hit her with the best bio-boost he could muster.



It eased Tara’s pain and gave her strength enough to remain upright, but she still felt pressure and the urges to push through her labor, which were not exactly pleasant, either.  Unlike Boyd’s bio-boosted delivery of Orion all those years ago, there was no surgical intervention to heal, so the bio-boost on a natural human childbirth merely optimized her physical condition for it while dulling away the pain.

Her renewed strength allowed the labor to progress faster, and Chris encouraged her to keep pushing.  “Baby’s coming just fine, Tara.  Keep going!”

“Like I could stop if I wanted!” she retorted, bearing down, while Orion tossed the dirty towels into the tub and kept fresh ones coming.



The baby emerged at a healthy pace, and soon, Tara gave her last push.

“One more!  Come on!  You’ve got this,” Chris encouraged, while Orion, now unable to hide his smile and enthusiasm, also cheered her on.

“You’re doing so well!  The baby’s almost here!”



And she was.  Moments later, their daughter emerged from the womb and let out a healthy cry to let the world know she had arrived.  Chris cut the cord, did a quick evaluation of her health, and wrapped her up in a towel after cleaning her just a bit before handing her to Tara.  “There she is, proud mom!  Congratulations.”

“Wow,” Tara whispered as she held her baby for the first time.  “Look at you.”  She was a mixture of awed, fascinated, and a bit shocked by just how alien she looked, although she loved her with all her heart regardless.  The baby cooed and instinctively leaned into her.  “Yeah.  I’m your mom.”



Orion was also fascinated seeing his daughter for the first time.  He could not help but notice just how much she looked like him, and yet, he could see small wisps of dark hair around her crown and a roundness to her ears that was more distinctly human.  He couldn’t take his eyes off of the heartwarming sight of Tara holding her, though, even though he could hardly wait to hold her himself.

“Congratulations, Uncle Orion and Aunt Tara,” Chris said on a happy, cheeky note.  “I’m honored to have delivered my sweet little cousin here.  I’m happy for you both.”

“Thanks.  It was an honor to have you do it.  I sure wouldn’t have known what the plum I was doing delivering a baby.”

“Happy to help.  And at the risk of sounding like my mom, remember you need to watch your language now that you’ve got an impressionable youngster of your own,” Chris teased.

“Ha.  I don’t think I need to worry about that just yet, and I’ve got a long way to go before I’m Patrick.”

“Honestly, I’ve never seen him cuss that much around Jessica or Chris and Tad’s kids,” Tara remarked.

“The kids probably hear it at school every day anyway,” Chris quipped.  “Now I’m going to let you two enjoy your new baby while I fill out the paperwork to get you a birth certificate and an accurate medical record with no weird questions asked.”

Connie beeped to get their attention.  “Would you like me to update the birth status to the family members, or clean the bathroom?”

“Go ahead and clean, if you don’t mind,” Orion instructed her.  “I’d like to call my parents and brother and sisters myself.”  He turned to Chris.  “Unless you want to tell Blair, though I’m sure she’ll call me and be over as soon as I give the green light anyway.”

“Nah.  Your baby, your news.  I will pass it on to Tad, Morgana, and the kids, though, if that’s cool.  I owe poor Tad bigtime for bailing on our Love Day date.”

“Sure.  Thanks again for all you did, Chris,” Tara told him.  “I can’t even tell you how much we appreciate it.  Thank Tad, too, for understanding.  Oh, and Connie, let me call my parents and Wilbur.  They’ll want to hear it from me.”  She turned to Orion.  “Want to hold our daughter, Dad?”

“Heck yeah!  See, working on that language thing already,” he said as he picked up the baby.

“Oh, do you have a name yet?” asked Chris.  “I’ll need it for the paperwork.”

Orion and Tara exchanged looks.  “Andromeda,” she said.  “Andromeda Justine Wainwright.  Because, you know, constellation, and my mom’s name.”

“That’s awesome.  Beautiful choice!”



Orion carried Andromeda out into the hall while Connie helped Tara into the shower to clean herself up and Chris did the paperwork.  “Hey there.  I’m your dad.”

She cooed as though she understood.

“I’m so glad I finally get to meet you beyond a meeting of the minds, so to speak.  You’re a real cutie.  Sorry you wound up with my green skin and funny eyes, though.  But that’s okay.  I’ll teach you to telepathically wedgie anyone that gives you, uh, poo, over it.”  He chuckled.  “Now I sound like your Aunt Blair.  Boy, she’ll be thrilled to meet you.  And your grandmas and grandpas on, well, all sides, counting Granny Eni Jish Xip, who I’m sure will see you at some point.  Not to mention all your cousins.  Big cousin Jess and bigger cousin Rodrigo, and your much older and kind of weird cousin Travis, who I bet will call you his favorite, because, well, the whole alien thing.”  He kissed her forehead.  “Yup.  You’ve got quite a family.  I’m glad you’re now officially a part of it.”



After the hubbub around her birth settled, Orion called his parents.  “Orion!” Boyd answered the phone before even half a ring.  “Is the baby okay?  Is Tara okay?”

“That’s why I’m calling.   We’re all fine.  Tara pulled through like a champ and you’ve got a happy and healthy granddaughter.  Andromeda Justine Wainwright.”



“Oh, I’m so happy to hear that!”  He breathed a heavy sigh of relief as a proud smile crossed his face.  “Our granddaughter’s here, Susan!  They named her Andromeda Justine.”

“Great!  Now put it on speaker so I can hear, too,” she nagged good-naturedly.

“Right.  Sorry.”  He switched it on.  “We’re so happy for you, Orion, and so glad the baby and Tara are all right.”

“And very proud!  What a lovely name.  Nice touch with the constellation,” said Susan.

“I thought it’d make a cool family tradition for me, considering.”

“How long has it been since you decided on that?” asked Boyd.  “Every time one of us asked what you were going to name her, you just said it was a surprise.”

Orion grinned on the other end of the line.  “I wanted to keep you in a little suspense.”

“As if it being the first birth of a part alien child in our family wasn’t suspense enough,” Susan teased.  “We can’t wait to meet her!”

“Let us know when you’re up to a visit and we’ll be there almost as fast as if we had a Galaxa ourselves.”



After chatting a little more, sending pictures, and doing a video interface so they could see and say hello to Andromeda in real time, they ended the call so Orion could move down the list of who to share the news with next.  “See?  I was right.  It all turned out fine, and we’re grandparents to our adorably unique little Andromeda.”

Boyd mirrored Susan’s proud smile.  “Well, you’re often right.”

“Yet after all these years, it’s still a near impossible task to convince you of that when you worry.”

“My anxiety refuses to underestimate slim odds.”  He looked at the clock.  “She was born on Love Day.  Late on Love Day, but still Love Day.  Rather good omen, don’t you think?”

“Shame you couldn’t comfort yourself with that thought earlier.  These last few hours would’ve been a lot easier on you.”

“I do feel like that aged me at least a few years, which probably isn’t good considering how old I already am.”

“Yes, but the thrill of meeting a happy, healthy new grandchild probably shaves them right back off.  So I think you’re good.”

“On that, I’ll happily assume you’re right.”  He leaned in close.  “Happy Love Day, honey, and here’s to sweet dreams in celebration of so many years together and our newest grandchild.  I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she replied, and planted a tender good night smooch on his lips before walking hand in hand with him to bed.