De Rosa Perfect Genetics Legacy

[AnnaBeth]

Hey guys! So sorry I ended up missing my own deadline - I would've written this yesterday, but I spent the whole afternoon making a birthday cake for my brother which turned out to be a melted mess... Anyway, I had some time today so here we go:

I Can Hear the Bells

The next morning, Anna slipped out of bed, waffles on her mind. She smiled as she walked past Sherman, who was still fast asleep, his hair going every which way. This time the recipe cam easily to her: mix the ingredients into a batter; pour it into the moulded tray; put them in the oven; then use a fish slice to hoist them onto a plate.

Halfway through making them, she heard Sherman come downstairs. He peered in just as she was putting them in the oven and smiled too, before retreating to the lounge and getting out his book for work.

In no time at all, Anna called to say they were ready and the couple ate in satisfied silence. After breakfast, Sherman set about doing the washing, his almost OCD approach to cleaning showing through.

Meanwhile, Anna decided to turn back to her beloved garden, and watered each plant carefully as the autumn sun beat down on her back.

When all the dirty clothes were in the machine and it was rumbling along nicely, Sherman went to go and join Anna in the garden, but as he was walking through the kitchen, he came across Noodle again. The dog looked at him pleadingly, then at his bowl. Sherman sighed and filled it. Noodle's mouth opened wide and he grinned, his tongue lolling out, before attacking the pile of meat chunks. Sherman chuckled.
"Calm down, boy; it's already dead." But Noodle paid no attention, carrying on until the bowl was empty. Then he lay down on the kitchen tiles, looking up at Sherman expectantly. "What do you want now?" Sherman asked, but then Noodle's attention was taken by the noise of a bird flying out of a tree outside. Sherman rolled his eyes. This dog needed to be taught. A trick perhaps? He'd start with a simple one - sit. And so that was how they spent the next hour, while Anna was finishing off in the garden.

When Anna came in she saw Sherman teaching Noodle and grinned. Her two boys were bonding. Sherman looked up at her and smiled, then something returned to him.
"Ah! Anna will you continue this with Noodle - I have something I was meaning to do." He disappeared into the garden before Anna could reply. She watched from the window as he heaved a large table out of the garage and a smaller box full of what looked like cutlery and plates. Anna frowned - what the-? He set it up behind her vegetable garden and it gradually became clear that it was a buffet table. Anna smiled then realised how much food she was going to have to make to fill it. But then she looked up. Sherman waved his hand over the plates and they filled with food.

Anna's jaw dropped. Sure, she was magical, but she'd never seen anything like that before. Sherman turned back towards the house, saw her looking and grinned. When he got back in, she pounced on him.
"What was that? Where did all that food come from?"
"Anna, slow down. It's a family heirloom of mine - an enchanted table. Only magic users can fill it though. My ma gave it to me yesterday when I went home to get my stuff and announced that I was moving out, but we've been using it as a family for years. I remember ma using it for my 5th birthday, and she said that Gran used it before her. And now it's ours." He wrapped his arms around his fiancé and pulled her closer. Anna smiled up at him.
"Have you invited anyone round for tonight?" Sherman shook his head.
"I better do that actually. Ma'll be so disappointed if she misses our wedding, but let's keep it small, yeah?" Anna chuckled.
"Well, I haven't really got any friends here yet, so that's mainly down to you."
"What about June from work? I thought you two were friends."
"Ah, yeah, I guess you could say we were friends. I mean, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be able to get into work each morning."
"Ok, then, you invite June and I'll invite my ma and sister plus a few others to make the guests look less sparse."
So they did. After the guests had been notified that they were guests, Anna made an emergency trip to the nearest bridal shop for a suitable dress while Sherman spent the afternoon rummaging through his boxes of clothes, trying to find a matching pair of trousers and jacket.
The guests started arriving at five, some bringing offerings of food, which Sherman and Anna accepted graciously, despite the fact that the enchanted table in the garden could produce any food they wished for at the wave of a hand. Before he knew it, Sherman was standing under the arch, watching Anna walk slowly up the aisle the guests had left vacate. She looked beautiful. The subtle gold of the dress complimented her skin and the bright pink of her hair perfectly, and she carried a bouquet of pure white roses. Finally, she reached him, and handed her bouquet to his ma before joining him under the arch.

They hadn't bothered to hire a vicar, but a quick google beforehand had helped them to get the gist.
"I promise to love you and cherish you..."
"To have and to hold..."
"In sickness and in health..."
"From this day forward." Sherman produced a simple golden ring from his pocket and took Anna's left hand in his.

"With this ring, I thee wed, as a symbol of my love to you." Anna watched as he slipped it onto her finger. It filled a space there, as if it had been missing her entire life, but it was complete now. Now it was her turn. She took the ring that Sherman passed to her and took his left hand. It was rough and calloused from his work at the base, but it was the hand of a man. The man she loved.

"With this ring, I thee wed, as a symbol of my love to you." Once it was in place, Sherman took a deep breath and looked Anna in the eyes.
"I, Sherman Bagley, take you, Anna De Rosa, to be my lawfully wedded wife." Anna smiled and tears started to prick the corners of her eyes.
"And I, Anna De Rosa, take you, Sherman Bagley, to be my lawfully wedded husband." The guests cheered and Sherman's ma chipped in the famous line.
"You may kiss the bride!" They didn't need to be told twice.

Once the confetti had settled, the couple made their way over to the cake ma'd whipped up in record time. Sherman grabbed a knife from the block in the kitchen and handed it to Anna.
"You do it."
"What? Aren't we supposed to do it together?"
"Well, yes, but my hand isn't very steady and if I ruin Ma's cake, I'll never hear the end of it. You do it." Anna rolled her eyes and took the knife.

The knife slipped through easily and she pulled out the first slice. The guests cheered as she held it between her and Sherman and they fed each other a forkful.
The party went on into the night with music, more cake and lots of confetti. Eventually, when all the guests had left, Sherman swept Anna up into his arms and headed for the stairs.
"And now time for bed," he said with a grin...

Um, guys...

Guys, this is supposed to be a PG!

*sighs* Kids, cover your eyes.
***
At 8am, Anna woke with a jolt, frowning. She needed some spinach pancakes. Like now. She'd never thought of spinach and pancakes as a good combination before, but right now the idea of a steaming pile of the green vegetable sitting atop several golden pancakes was making her mouth water. She padded downstairs and made herself a plate in next to no time. She sat at the table and tucked in, savouring every mouthful.

Feeling full, she cleared her plate before getting dressed quietly so as to not wake her sleeping husband and returning to the dining room. Noodle sat there, looking at her. She raised an eyebrow.
"What?" He barked and ran over to his box of toys. Anna grinned. He wanted to play. She retrieved the tug of war rope from under the squeaky hot dog and dangled it in front of his face. As soon as it stopped moving, Noodle grabbed the end with his teeth.

They played like that for a while before Sherman came down, bleary eyed, to find some breakfast. Anna turned around at the sound of his feet in the doorway and the shared a smile, remembering the pleasures of the night before. There was a knock on the door. Sherman went to get it, but Anna walked past him before he could get to it.
"Really? Answering the door in your underwear? How very common," she said in an overly posh voice before giggling to herself. Sherman cracked a smile, unsure of what she meant. Anna saw his face and explained. "It's something my Mum always said to my brother when he woke up in the mornings and got the mail in his pajamas." She turned back to the door and pulled it open. A lady with bobbed red hair in a blue shirt and shorts with a messenger bag on her shoulder smiled politely at her. A trolley with several large packages stood on the doorstep next to her.
"Hi, delivery -" she glanced down at her clipboard. "Sorry - deliver-ies for Mr and Mrs De Rosa?" Anna smiled. She'd known it would sound better if Sherman took her name instead of her his.
"Yep, I'm Mrs De Rosa. What is there?" The lady looked down at her clipboard again.
"You've got several wall hangings and home decorations from Ma Bagley, June Swallows and Rhona Bagley and a magical item-" she frowned, "From Angel Lobos." Anna frowned too.
"No, there must be some mistake - Angel Lobos is dead. I watched him die."
"Well, that's what it says here, Mrs De Rosa." Anna looked back at Sherman. His brow was wrinkled too. "Look, are you gonna sign for the packages or not?" the lady said, getting impatient. Her job was just to deliver parcels, not to patch up family crises. Anna shook off the feeling of suspicion and held out her hand for the clipboard.
"Yeah, sure. Where do I sign?"
"Just in this box at the bottom." Anna scrawled her name in the box and handed the clipboard back to the woman. The woman smiled again, and took the parcels off the trolley, leaving them on the doorstep. As she retreated to her van, Sherman helped Anna to carry all the packages inside. He opened one and pulled out a note.
"Congratulations to my wonderful son and his beautiful wife. Love, Ma xx" he read with a smile. "These must be wedding presents." Anna nodded and turned to the smallest of the packages. She carefully pried off the cardboard and removed a cushion with a wand pressed against it, pinning down a note. She pulled out the piece of paper and read the typed note.
Dear Anna
Congratulations, I'm glad you've found happiness.
Love Angel
Her hand flew to her mouth - how was this even possible? She'd heard of ghosts before, but ghosts who send packages? Plus how did he even know about Sherman - she hadn't seen his ghost around. She left the wand on the table, unsure what to do with it.

Sherman took one look at her face and dropped the painting he was holding.
"What is it? What does it say?" Anna blinked, a thin film of tears appearing over her eyes.
"Angel somehow sent us a present too. He's happy for us." Sherman crossed the room to his wife's side and held her to his chest, stroking her hair.
"Ssh, love, that's good. I'm not sure how he sent it, but this can be closure, yes?" Anna nodded into his shoulder.
***
The rest of the day went relatively smoothly. Sherman bonded more with Noodle and he finally learnt how to sit.

Then, later in the afternoon, it started to snow.

Sherman decided to improve his athletic skill so he could get that promotion at work and Anna did some bonding of her own with Noodle. He was her dog after all.

At about ten o'clock, they decided to call it a night and went to bed, but no sooner had they got under the covers, Anna felt an overwhelming urge to get up again. She complied and suddenly a chorus of voices surrounded her.

She smiled.
"Hello, there, nooboo," she said, stroking her stomach. Sherman got up too.
"Anna? What's up?" Anna turned to him.
"I'm pregnant, my love. Surprise." Sherman's face almost split in two with the massive grin that spread across his face. He picked Anna up and twirled her around.
"That's amazing! Soon we'll be a family of three." He put Anna down and put his hand over hers, feeling the small bump which now protruded from her abdomen. Anna laughed.
"Yes, but I'm actually really tired, so can we leave the gushing for tomorrow?" Sherman smiled dotingly at his wife.
"Yes, whatever you wish." He let her go and she crossed to the other side of the bed, climbing under the covers and putting on her eyemask. Sherman smoothed the covers down on his side, sat down and began to read the book on the side, which just so happened to be on pregnancy.

His thoughts filled with babies and blankets, he put the book down and went to sleep.


P.S. I have added a family tree to my chapter post bit, but it does contain spoilers so only look at it if you don't mind spoiling the story for yourself...

[LivvieLove]

What a bittersweet chapter!
My heart stopped when Angel sent her a wand! Sherman is better anyways... he's not dumb enough to light himself on fire.
No Angel. I'll never forgive you for that.

I love Sherman and Anna, and I can't wait for the little baby on the way! =D

Also, props to Anna for conquering the waffle. Maybe now it's time to conquer the pancake recipe too?

[PJHP1243]

Hi! I just read what you have so far in your story.
It's very well written and a very good story. I wish Anna and Sherman luck with the new baby! For your safety, don't try for triplets, unless you want total chaos. 
I like the perfect genetics challenge-I'm doing one too. Feel free to check it out, the link is in my signature.

[chetanhaobijam]

Great update. Congrats to Sherman and Anna on their great wedding. Good luck to them on their new expecting nooboo. And I am wondering about Angel. How he can send the present when he is dead. Or is he living as a ghost in the town.   Looking forward for next update.

[AnnaBeth]

What a bittersweet chapter!
My heart stopped when Angel sent her a wand! Sherman is better anyways... he's not dumb enough to light himself on fire.
No Angel. I'll never forgive you for that.

I love Sherman and Anna, and I can't wait for the little baby on the way! =D

Also, props to Anna for conquering the waffle. Maybe now it's time to conquer the pancake recipe too?

Aw yeah, it was great to write something positive for Anna! Yes, Sherman is definitely better - he's a soldier so he knows how to handle things and he doesn't wear hair gel or polyester sports gear so even if there is a fire, I'm sure he'll handle it really well 
And oh my gosh, yes! I've already met the baby, but I still cannot wait for you guys to see them coz it's just so cute! Hopefully should have another chapter up soon 

Hi! I just read what you have so far in your story.
It's very well written and a very good story. I wish Anna and Sherman luck with the new baby! For your safety, don't try for triplets, unless you want total chaos. 
I like the perfect genetics challenge-I'm doing one too. Feel free to check it out, the link is in my signature.

Hi there! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story - it always surprises me when people actually get invested in my characters too!  As for triplets - I love and hate them. I love them coz it means, in a Perfect Genetics Legacy, that there's more chance that you'll get an heir, but I also hate them because, as you said, they end up turning the house into chaos! I've had them in a hundred baby before and I had to use cheats to make sure my mum didn't die...
I've had a look at your story and it looks really good so far! I love the genetics of the imaginary friends, so it shall be interesting to see what all the heirs look like.  Good luck with your legacy!

Great update. Congrats to Sherman and Anna on their great wedding. Good luck to them on their new expecting nooboo. And I am wondering about Angel. How he can send the present when he is dead. Or is he living as a ghost in the town.   Looking forward for next update.

Thank you! Yes, I really loved their wedding - simple but sweet. 
As for Angel, I actually have no idea. I do have his grave in my backyard so he turns up in the house as a ghost every now and them, but he isn't a proper sim, and he wasn't there for Anna and Sherman's wedding so I was as surprised as Anna when the wand arrived and the notification window said it was from him! 

[AnnaBeth]

Announcement

Hey, guys!
Just thought I'd keep you all up to date - I've decided to focus on revision until my exams are over, which means I won't be posting an update for just over a week from now. I do really love this legacy and will be continuing it, but I just don't have the time to post right now, what with revision, work and soon rehearsals for the next show I'm in.
Apologies that I've left you guys waiting, but I kept thinking that I'd be able to keep it up, but it's just not going to happen until my schedule has cleared a bit. 
Therefore, the next update will be posted on the 13th or 14th June - I look forward to showing you all the wonderful nooboos that have arrived!   

[LivvieLove]

School always comes first!
We'll be right here, happily awaiting Sherman/Anna Nooboos.

Best of luck with your exams! You can do it!

[chetanhaobijam]

We can wait. Best of luck with your coming exams and the show.

[Malley]

I love the fact that Angel sent a wand as a wedding present. It was such a sweet gesture 

[AnnaBeth]

Hey guys, I'm back! My exams went as well as they could and I found out that I got an amazing grade for my drama BTEC so now I've just got the agonizing wait for results day to see if I've gotten into uni...

School always comes first!
We'll be right here, happily awaiting Sherman/Anna Nooboos.

Best of luck with your exams! You can do it!

We can wait. Best of luck with your coming exams and the show.

Thank you, guys for your patience and support! I greatly appreciate it.  And, spoiler alert, the nooboos are coming in this chapter! 

I love the fact that Angel sent a wand as a wedding present. It was such a sweet gesture 

Yeah, so do I! All the more so that he did it autonomously as it shows that he approves of Sherman and is glad that Anna is moving on now that he's no longer there. 

So yeah, here we go again!

Nooboos!

The next morning, Anna made waffles once again.

She had the overwhelming feeling of complete satisfaction these days. Even though nothing much happened, she had Sherman, and just going through her daily routine made her feel happy now that he was around.

Plus, she was getting bigger now: their nooboo would be with them soon and whenever she felt him or her kicking or turning or even having hiccups, it filled her with hope and excitement.
When she went to put their dishes in the dishwasher, it spat at her and smoke started to spill from the top. Frowning, she turned towards the archway into the dining room.
"Darling?" Sherman appeared almost immediately in the archway, a worried look on his face.
"Anna? Is everything okay? Is the baby okay? What's happened?" Anna chuckled.
"Calm down, my love, we're fine. It's just the dishwasher's gone kaput." She stood aside so that he could see the puddle of water on the floor and the cloud of smoke spiralling towards the ceiling.
"Oh."
"Yes, oh. Now we'll have to get the repairman out." Anna produced her phone, but Sherman reached over and put his hand over the screen before she could dial the number.
"It's fine, my love, I'll do it. I'll just go get my tools." Anna smiled at her husband's retreating back as he disappeared out the back door and headed for the garage. She'd managed to find herself one of the best men around.

It didn't take long for Sherman to mend the dishwasher, and when he finally replaced the bottom panel and it started running smoothly once again, a sigh of relief escaped his lips. He headed upstairs to find Anna sitting in their rocking chair reading.

She looked up as he entered the room.
"Finished already?" He nodded.
"Yup. All running fine now." Anna grinned.
"Thank you, love," Anna said before turning back to her book.
"Are you okay reading up here? I was just going to work out downstairs if you want to join me." Anna chuckled.
"Don't think it would do the baby any good, my love. All that jumping up and down. I'm fine up here, honest."
"Ah, okay. I keep forgetting you've got to lug around our heffalump of a son or daughter these days," Sherman said with a grin, before changing into his work out clothes and heading down to the lounge.

***
After about an hour of high intensity cardio exercise, Sherman collapsed on the sofa, breathing heavily. For a few minutes, he just sat there, savouring the silence of the house. It wouldn't be this quiet when De Rosa Jr arrived. The sound of paws clicking on the wood floor interrupted his thoughts. He reluctantly lifted his head up to see Noodle sat in front of him, his head cocked to one side and his lead in his mouth. Sherman sighed. He'd just done his workout and now the dog wanted walking. Typical. But someone had to do it, and he wasn't going to interrupt his wife's reading and make her walk around the block hauling several pounds of baby along with her. He sighed once more before giving in.

***
When the boys got back, Noodle went straight to his food bowl to satisfy his growling stomach and Sherman went upstairs to change into some dry clothes. When he came back down into the lounge, Anna was holding on to the wall wincing and clutching her back with her other hand.
"Anna, baby? Is it time?" Anna managed to smile through the pain.
"Oh, would you quit being so jumpy all the time! It's just my back's killing me." She winced again. Sherman turned her around so that he could see the offending body part.
"Where exactly?" he said, placing his hand on the middle of Anna's back. "Here?" Anna shook her head.
"Down a bit." He  moved his hand. "To the left a bit" Again, he followed her instructions and started massaging the spot when Anna nodded to confirm its whereabouts. Anna sighed in relief; that felt good.
"Do mind doing my shoulders as well, love? I swear I have a load of knots in them and it's driving me crazy." Sherman smiled and complied.

Just then, there was a strange gurgling noise which sounded like it came from the kitchen. Both their heads swung in its direction.
"What was that?" Anna said with a frown.
"I'm not too sure," was Sherman's uneasy reply. He started making his way round to the source, keeping Anna safely behind him. He stepped into the kitchen and he chuckled. "No need to worry, my love; it's just the dishwasher again."
"I thought you fixed it?"
"So did I, but it seems I didn't. No problem: I'll just have another tinker while you get dinner, yeah?" Anna smiled.
"Sounds good."

And so they worked, almost, side by side, Anna cooking spaghetti and Sherman trying to work out why the dishwasher was being so stubborn. After about half an hour of work, Sherman hung up his wrench and they both sat down to the wonderful dinner Anna had made.

Anna chuckled when she'd finished.
"What?" he husband said. "What have I done now?"
"Nothing, my love. I was just remembering that it wasn't that long ago that I would set the kitchen on fire just trying to make waffles, and now look at me - I just made perfect spaghetti!" Sherman bent over to retrieve his wife's plate and planted a kiss on her forehead on the way back up.
"So you have, my love. So you have." Anna got up to help him and let out a gasp. But Sherman's worried look soon disappeared when he saw the joy in her eyes.
"Sherman, come here," she said. "Come here and put down those plates."
"What is it?" he said, bemused. Anna took his hand and placed it on her belly.
"Feel this," she said with a smile.

Under his hand, Sherman felt an unmistakable kick. He looked up at Anna, his eyes wide. She giggled.
"That's our baby?" was all he could manage.
"Yep, the very one." After a few seconds of silence as Sherman tried to comprehend what he was feeling, he turned his face to Anna's bump.
"Well, hello there, little one."

"What was that? You want a teddy? Well, you're gonna have to wait until you come into our world to get one of those." Anna couldn't stop herself from laughing: what was he like? Then Sherman stood up, one finger raised. "Oo, I almost forgot!" He dashed up to their room and reappeared in the dining room with his hand behind his back. Anna smiled, curious.

"For my beautiful wife," Sherman said, producing a bouquet of sweet smelling pink roses.
"Oh my gosh, Sherman, when did you even get these?" Anna said, accepting the bouquet and sniffing the blooms.
"Well, your dog was begging for a walk so despite the fact that the snow came up to my lower calves, I walked him to the grocery store and back."
"Aw," she said, taking his cheek in her hand and pressing her lips against his.
They left the dishes for the maid the next morning and made their way to the bathroom, thoughts of showers and naughty things coming in mind, but these were interrupted when Anna groaned and bent over, clutching her stomach.

Sherman rolled his eyes.
"Do you want another massage, my love?" Anna shook her head.
"No - the baby's on its way, for definite this time!"
***
Several painful hours passed. Sherman had gone to bed, on Anna's orders - "All you'll do is stand there and panic." Anna was exhausted. Why did this have to go on for so long?
Because it takes a while for your body to prepare itself. Just keep going - it'll be over soon.
"Yeah, well that's-" *pant* "-easy for you to say, Beth. You're just-" *pant* "-watching."
I know, but I've done this before. Soon you'll have two wonderful babies and all this pain will be a distant memory."
Anna snorted, then realised what Beth had said.
"Hang on, did you say 'two' babies?"
Er... that was meant to be a surprise, wasn't it... oops.
"Hey, why did you not tell me earli - " Anna gasped as a particularly strong contraction racked through her body.
Just breath, darling. Breath.
She did as Beth suggested and soon enough, she was surrounded by sparkles.

Two babies appeared, a boy and a girl.

And that was how Nuala and Pluto De Rosa came into this world.
***
The next morning, it was the twins' birthdays. Nuala, as the oldest by five seconds, went first.


And Pluto wasn't far behind.


Anna had stayed up all night and as soon as the pair were happily chewing the dolls' heads off, she retreated to her bed.

Exhaustion took over and she drifted off to sleep, her children's faces emblazoned on the inside of her eyelids.


So! There we have it - the nooboos are here! And unfortunately neither are the heir. Hopefully I won't have to try too much as that could get pretty crazy...   

[chetanhaobijam]

Glad you are back with an update. Beautiful nooboos Nuala and Pluto. They are adorable. Can't wait to see more of their toddler pictures.

[PJHP1243]

Aww!
Nuala and Pluto are adorable. I get it about them not being the heir… One of my sims before I joined the forum, Alysse Blake, Had three sets of triplets before the heir was born! That household was chaos.
You had me worried when Sherman kept fixing that dishwasher. I was like, "Don't get electrocuted, don't get electrocuted… Yay! He's still alive!"

[LivvieLove]

Awww! Welcome to Nuala and Pluto!
Don't ask about how many tries it took @mpart to get her heir for generation 4. Just... don't ask.
She's still recovering from that one (I believe it was upwards of 10 children). I'd have to ask her again though.

Here's hoping it does not take upwards of 10 children!
I love Anna and Sherman and I can't wait to see how their genes mix!

[peachjam]

I just caught up on this story and I'm loving it so far! Poor Angel-- his death was so sad, but I'm glad it brought Anna and Sherman together. The babies are adorable too! I'm not sure what the rules are for a perfect genetics legacy; why can't either of them be the heir?

[LivvieLove]

@peachjam
I'm not AnnaBeth, but the Perfect Genetics challenge is based off of all the heirs having the same coloring as the founder (so her neon hair and her eye color is typically the common choices for heir).
Neither of the kids have that combination naturally, so neither count as the heir.