2. I know, I know! I can't believe it either! I can't believe that I used such a huge cliché as a title myself! I'm so very ashamed but..but it FIT! BLAH!
ANYWAY, last chapter showed all of Generation Six rapidly growing up into children which is the perfect age where, ideally, they won't wet their
pants anymore. More importantly, they can talk without me having to resort to typing baby babble which always makes me feel dumb. Of course
this is actually code for "Now Ang can use some pose boxes on them," if you truly must know.
Also, in the last chapter, Alexander Goth has closed down the dimensional borders. That means that there will be no more foreign legacy Sims
entering Pleasantview. Karen and Johnny Smith also decided to separate, much to their daughter Emily's sadness. And then the chapter ended
with Eden needing to leave for a few months to film another "Dusk" movie, but unfortunately because the kids are in school now, she went to Three
Lakes alone, leaving Erin, Quinn, and Rhys behind to dwell in the house with Eden's mother, Mary. Neither Eden's husband, nor mother, were very
happy with that.
On with the show!
***
3. True to her word, Eden called as often as her schedule allowed over the next three months. She also called as often as she could at night so she
and Rhys could have some "private" conversations.
Not that he would have ever admitted it, but being able to have those conversations at night with her was one of the things that kept him sane
while dealing with his mother-in-law, Mary.
4. Rhys worked hard. On the advice of his father, Spencer, he did everything he possibly could to avoid being alone with Mary. When the
Headmaster came to visit, he made sure he was the one who greeted him and interacted with him. He also arranged to be at the stores during
school hours.
Occasionally he would go out with Cassius, Vaughn, and Spencer, usually when the wives arranged a playdate with all of the children.
5. He also hosted his fair share of playdates as well. For one, he knew that his children having those friendships would be beneficial when they got
older. Another reason that he held them, the main reason, was that it irritated Mary to no end. More often than not, the Devereaux house was
teeming with at least a dozen children.
The kids were generally unaware of the tension between Rhys and Mary. They knew that they didn't talk to each other much and when they did
speak it was generally in clipped tones. The children were more focused on the amount of fun they were having with their friends.
***
6.
7. "I can't look!" Anna Fitzhugh shrieked as she covered her eyes. "Is it really, really a ghost?"
Erin's eyes were wide as she looked at the slightly put upon ghost in front of her. She held her breath and said in a calm voice, "Yeah it really is! It's
my Great-Great-Great Grandpa Joshua. That's the one that I wanted to talk to!"
"You're going to talk to him?!" the other girl squeaked.
"Well, yeah, of course. Why else would I want to go ghost hunting?"
8. Anna, unfortunately, was not one to relish in supernatural occurrences. When she heard Erin's response, she turned tail and ran out of the small
graveyard and headed back to the house. "Ghost hunting isn't fun when you actually come across ghosts!" the girl called over her shoulder as she
ran.
9. Erin really wasn't all that thrilled with ghosts herself, but she firmly stood her ground as she addressed the founder of the family. "Stop. Just stop,"
she said. "I'm sorry for being so rude especially since you are, like, way way my elder and stuff. But you need to stop coming into our house and
scaring us! Dad says that if you jump out of his food one more time he'll come and kick your tombstone and make you 'rue the day' or something
like that. I don't know why you need to be so mean anyway. Your bed is still here. It's in my mom and dad's bedroom and they jump on it all the
time! So unless you actually want to kill us, and Mom doesn't think you do, can you please let us eat and sleep in peace? I promise I'll make sure
that the flowers on your grave will continue to look pretty. Is that a deal?"
Josh, of course, was unable to answer.
10. Erin took his silence as an assent, however, and she firmly nodded to herself before running out of the graveyard.
11. "It wasn't that bad," she said when she entered the house. "Does anyone want to go back out with me?"
"No!" came the answer from Aravis and Anna.
"Why not?"
12. "Because they're chicken," Ceres said cheerfully from on top of the pool table which the girls had converted into a makeshift fort.
"We aren't chicken," Anna protested as she stuck her head out from between the blankets. "It's just that it's cold and wet outside, and ghosts like
making you wet your pants. That'll make you even more cold!"
13. "And also, if you aren't careful, the ghosts can kill you," Emily chimed in quietly. "They can scare you to death."
14. Anna and Aravis crawled out from under the table, completely sobered by that fact. It had been fun sneaking out to the graveyard and then
running back into the house. Scary, yes, but still exciting. But suddenly the entire game just didn't seem fun anymore.
"Maybe we shouldn't play anymore," Anna said. "I don't want to die. My brother said he was going to make pancakes for us tomorrow and I really
wanted to try them because they are supposed to be really good."
15. Erin rolled her eyes. Thanks for the super fun fact there, Emily, she thought to herself. Her irritation was brief, however, and she said, "Okay, what
do we want to do now? Is anybody tired? 'Cause I'm not yet."
16. At that, Ceres jumped down from her perch and whispered in Erin's ear. "Well, I just so happened to notice that Quinn has been spying on us."
"Oh really?" Erin replied. Ceres nodded and began to smile. Erin grinned and gathered the other girls around her. They talked in whispers and
giggles about what they were going to do to Erin's twin brother...
19. "Yeah, Quinn, that's the penalty for spying on us," Erin said over the giggles of the other girls. "Eyeshadow, blush, lipstick, and even mascara!"
Quinn covered his eyes. "No!"
"Yes! When you had all the boys over last week, I didn't spy on you."
"Yeah you did! You played monster and then told ghost stories with us!"
"...Oh yeah. That's right. That was a lot of fun. Wanna do that again?" she asked good-naturedly.
Before her brother could answer, the lights snapped on and their grandmother spoke from behind them.
20. "Why are you screaming and running around like wild animals?" Mary asked.
21. Erin shifted uncomfortably. She and her brother both had a feeling their grandmother didn't like them all that much, so they knew that no answer
was really the right one. "We were just playing, Grandma," Erin said simply. "We're sorry we were so loud."
22. "You are setting a bad example, young lady," Mary scolded. "I know I can't expect too much considering the parenting you received and the bad
habits you invariably inherited, but while you are under this roof, you are to behave like--"
"What's with all the noise down here?" Rhys said behind Mary. It was obvious he wasn't addressing the children.
23. She whirled around and began shouting at him. "It is two o'clock in the morning and Eden's children are still up and running wild! And what are
you going to do about it? Nothing. If they were my children, I would make sure that they were more well behaved! Eden would never have
dreamed of running around without a thought or care of the other people in the household! It's such a shame that..that.."
Rhys didn't fight back. Instead he stood there with a smirk on his face that got bigger and bigger as Mary ranted. It was his new fighting tactic that
she didn't appreciate.
24. She knew it was completely useless to continue ranting at him because she knew he was just going to continue standing there, smirking. So she
sighed an angry sigh and stomped away. She could feel his smug look burning into the back of her head as she did so.
25. After she left the room, Rhys let his smirk drop and he turned to face the children with an arched eyebrow. "You guys, seriously, it is, like, two in the
morning. You need to keep it down. Now I'm going to go back to bed. When I get up and make breakfast for you, I won't be waking anyone up.
Anyone who chooses to miss out on my awesome pancakes because they overslept..well, that's their problem. Are we clear?"
26. "Okay, Dad," the twins said in unison.
"Oh, and Erin, no putting makeup on your brother against his will."
"Awww. Okaaayyy..."
"Thank you, Dad," Quinn said happily.
"Alright. Now good night," Rhys said, stressing the last part.
27. An hour later, most of the girls were asleep except for Erin, Emily, and Quinn who Erin allowed to stay.
"Em," Erin said, "What's wrong? You've been all, like, blah all night long."
28. Emily sighed. "It's my parents. It's like, they're going to some counseling sessions or something. But my dad still lives somewhere else and they
argue on the phone all the time. The worst part about it is I can't see him whenever I want. I get to see him tomorrow, but I don't get to see him
next week. He has to go to Strangetown a lot. So I don't get to see him and I miss him and I'm scared that he's never going to come back home."
29. Erin and Quinn listened to their friend sympathetically. They understood what it was like to miss a parent as they both missed Eden terribly. But the
difference between their situation and Emily's was that Eden would be home in a couple weeks time. On top of that, their parents didn't argue
when they were on the phone together. In fact, a lot of times their dad seemed very smiley and happy after a conversation with their mother,
especially after the phone calls she made later at night.
Their parents loved each other, and that made all the difference.
30. After a moment of thought, Erin's face brightened. "He, Em, I have the bestest idea in the entire world. Do you think you'll be able to sleepover
next weekend?"
***
31. "My brother. He's a genius," Erin said the following week.
Quinn shrugged. "I looked at how far your dad's place was from here and it was only five miles away. Remember when we ran the mile in gym
class? Well even the slowest people, like Erin, could do a mile in fifteen minutes."
"Hey!" Erin protested. "I did it in twelve and I didn't even run!"
"Anyway," he continued, "five miles is easy peasy. It'll take an hour or so tops. We have the directions and everything. So we'll go and take you to
your dad's tonight, drop you off, and be home before anyone knows we're gone."
32. "You mean I get to see my dad tonight then?" Emily asked excitedly. "That..that's so great! You guys are so totally the best!"
33. Erin and Quinn shuffled shrugged modestly. "Aw, it's not a big deal," Quinn said.
"Yeah. You're, like, our friend and stuff and we don't like seeing our friends upset especially when it's really easy to help them," Erin added.
"When are we going to do this?" Emily asked.
"Well, after dinner and stuff. Our dad said that he has paperwork and things to do for the stores and everything, so we'll have to be quiet so we
don't bother him," Erin replied.
34. Plans for their adventure in place, the kids ate their dinner and went upstairs to play quietly in the bedroom.
35. After checking in on them, Rhys gathered his laptop and books and settled down at the dining room table to work.
The children waited a little while and then put away the toys. They quietly opened up the bedroom window, climbed out, and made their way
down the ladder that Quinn had placed there earlier in the day. They managed to stifle their excitement until they reached the end of the block.
36. Two hours later, they were still walking down the dark nighttime streets of Pleasantview.
"I thought you said it would take an hour, tops," Emily said to Quinn as she tried to warm her hands in the late autumn air.
"We should be almost there, right Erin?" Quinn asked his sister, who was cheerfully skipping ahead of them.
37. Erin stopped abruptly and turned to face the other two. "Um, I don't know. You're the one with the map, Quinn. I was just following where you
said we should go."
"Uhh, I was following you," Quinn replied.
"Why would you do that? I don’t have the map."
"We're lost, aren't we?" Emily asked quietly.
"No..we aren't lost," Erin said confidently. "We just have to recombobbolate or something."
38. The three of them moved toward the light of an old bus stop to get a better look at their written map. "What street are we on?" Quinn asked.
"I thought we were on Middle Lane," Erin said.
"No, remember? We left Middle Lane and turned on Wright Way."
They children were so engrossed in reading their directions that they didn't hear the footsteps approach them.
39. "Well what do we have here? It looks like a couple of very naughty children who are out past their bedtime," a man's voice drawled in what almost
sounded like a growl.
40. Trying not to show any fear, Erin gave the man a level look. "Quinn, you and Emily run. I'll be right behind you."
"Erin.."
"Go, Quinn."
41. The man chuckled as Erin stood her ground. "So you think you're pretty brave, huh little girl? Aren't you scared?"
Erin tried her best to imitate her father's stance when he dealt with her grandmother. "No. Should I be?"
"Oh, yes, you should be. You really, really should be. And I think the first thing I will teach you is some manners. You should know not to speak to
adults in such a smart tone."
"My mom and dad taught me manners," Erin replied. "And you wanna know what else my dad taught me?"
The man laughed. "What?"
42. Erin's fist jabbed forward in a flash and she landed a solid punch in the man's groin. "He taught me that it hurts when a boy is hit there!" she said
before she took off running.
43. "Go! Go! Run!" she shouted at the other two.
"Oh my God, you punched him! You punched him!" Emily screamed.
"Yeah, I did! Go, go, go!"
44.
45. "Ow," Emily said as she pushed herself up from the ground. "You guys, wait up! I tripped!"
46. The other two ran back to her and knelt down on the ground. "Are you okay?" Quinn asked.
Emily looked at him with glassy eyes and smiled widely. "Yeah, I am now. I really, really am," she said. She continued to grin happily as she looked
at him.
Erin looked over to where the strange man had been and saw that he was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't know where he went, but
he's not there anymore," she informed the other two. "But we should get out of here real fast anyway, just in case he comes back. And then we
can look at the map again and figure out where we are."
"Sounds good," Quinn replied. Emily just kept smiling at the red headed boy.
47. Thaddeus hobbled around the corner to where Lillian was standing, massaging the area where Erin had punched him. "It took you long enough,"
he grumbled. "And your aim isn't what you claimed it to be. You missed that little red-headed bitch."
Lillian smiled. "No, I did not miss. I hit my intended target."
"I thought you were going to destroy them."
"Patience is a virtue. And in that, I am very virtuous."
***
48. After they had reoriented themselves, the three children found themselves safe at Johnny's apartment complex. Emily's eyes had lost their glassy
look and she focused on her two friends. "This is it. We're here," she said to them.
Erin and Quinn looked around. They couldn't imagine their friend's dad living in a place like this. It was run down and rather depressing. "Are..are
you sure?" Erin asked. Emily nodded.
"Yeah. My dad took me here once so I would know where it was in case I got lost for some reason. Besides it matches the address he gave me.
His apartment is upstairs. Come on!"
49. They walked up the stairs and started looking at the numbers. When they found the right one, Emily smiled and walked up to the doorbell, ready to
ring it. "My dad is going to be so surprised to see me," she said happily. "What are you guys going to do? Maybe my dad will give you a ride
home."
"Nah," Quinn said. "Now we know where we are so we can find our way back home no problem."
"And then we'll go to sleep. I'm tired," Erin said.
"You're so brave," Emily said. "Thank you so much for bringing me here." She reached up and rang the bell.
50. The door flung open and Johnny gathered his daughter into his arms. "Oh my God, Emily," he said. "Oh, thank God!"
52. And based of their parents' reactions, the kids realized that perhaps their nighttime adventure wasn't such a good idea after all.
53. Karen took a deep breath and said, "Okay, now explain to me again: what on earth possessed you to go traipsing around town in the middle of the
night? What were you thinking?"
54. Emily looked down and shuffled her feet. "I wanted to see Dad," she mumbled. "I wanted to spend time with him--"
55. Karen interrupted as she turned on her estranged husband. "You put her up to this, didn't you?" she yelled at him.
He tossed his hands in the air. "Oh, yeah, that's right, Karen. I totally encouraged my ten year old daughter to go running around the streets in the
middle of the night. However did you know?" he said sarcastically.
"Oh whatever! Maybe if you spent more time with her this never would have happened!"
"I spend all the time that you'll allow me to spend with her! My God! How is it going to be when I move back to Strangetown, huh?"
"You're moving back to Strangetown?" Emily cried out.
56. "Nice, Johnny. Real fucking nice," Karen said over the sound of her daughter crying.
"Shut up, Karen," he responded as he knelt down and hugged Emily. To his daughter he said, "Honey, it's only for a little while, okay? It's only for
my job. I won't be gone forever. After I'm done, I'll come back home. I promise."
"No you won't!" Emily sobbed. "You won't come back home to live with me. You'll come back here and I won't get to see you when I want to!"
"It's only for a little while," was all he could say again.
57. While Karen and Johnny continued to both argue with each other and console Emily, Rhys stepped forward and spoke the first words since he
arrived.
"What. The. Hell." He vaguely gestured with one hand towards the outside.
58. Quinn looked away from his dad's angry expression as Erin said, "Dad, all we were going to do was--"
60. Startled by their father's tone and angry expression, the twins murmured their goodbyes to their crying friend and quickly made their way out the
door.
61. When they got to the car, Erin turned around and said, "We're in big trouble, aren't we?"
64. "What the hell possessed you to do such a stupid thing, huh? Did you think it would help to sneak out in the middle of the night? Did you think it
would help to give me a heart attack when I saw you two were gone? What if something would have happened to you?"
"But Dad, nothing did and we weren't scared--"
"YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN!" Rhys yelled, his barely controlled calm finally breaking. "Why do you think your mother and I tell you not to go
beyond our neighborhood? Why do you think you two are sent to private school? Why do you think we want to know who all your friends are?
There are people out there that would want to hurt you just because they can! There are BAD people in the world! I SHOULD KNOW!"
65. "I'm sorry, Dad," Quinn said quietly.
"Daddy, please don't be mad!" Erin began to wail. "We didn't mean to--"
66. "Oh, I am quite positive that I'm beyond 'mad,' Erin."
"But—"
"NO! NO 'BUTS!' You guys are grounded forever! Do you understand? FOREVER! Now get in the car and I don't want to hear a single peep from
either of you. Do you hear me?"
The children nodded and Erin sniffled one last time as they all got into the car.
67. The car ride home was completely silent, which was very alarming for the kids as their father always had something to say about everything.
As for Rhys, he had spent the car ride struggling between wanting to scream, curse, and yell or just wanting to say, 'Oh thank God!' over and over.
He had spent the last two and a half hours in a highly alarmed state of pure terror and he hated being in such a vulnerable mindset. He still hadn't
figured out what to do by the time they had reached home. All three of them were silent as they walked into the house.
After had Rhys quietly shut the door behind them, he leaned against it and said, "Go to your room. We will talk about this in the morning."
68. "And so that's it?" Mary said from behind him. "Eden's children go running off in the middle of the night and all you say to them is 'Go to your
room?' Oh, but of course you're going to let them off that easily. This is small potatoes to what you've seen and done, isn't it? If they were my
children--"
69. Rhys clenched his jaw to bite back all the vile things he wanted to say to his mother-in-law. Even though Eden wasn't home, he had spent the last
three months with a self-imposed 'Eden Filter' which usually meant that he at least tried to pretend she was still there when he was dealing with
Mary. It was hard enough to do on a regular day, but on this night, at this time, it was near impossible.
"They aren't your kids," he said. "They are Eden's and mine. And I will deal with this in the morning. Erin, Quinn, I told you to go to your room."
70. Mary scoffed at Rhys and then began yelling at her grandchildren. "How could you be so stupid? Especially you, Erin! You are the heiress to this
family. And you, Quinn, you are supposed to take your sister's place if anything should happen to her! But no! Both of you decided to have a little
nighttime fun without a single care of what happens to this family. What if you would have been killed? What then? Don't you know that your
mother almost died when she was pregnant with you? Did you know that the doctors told her she can't have anymore children even if she were
allowed to? You two are it!"
Rhys was momentarily startled by Mary's blunt, and true, statement. He snapped out of it as his children began crying.
71. "What is the matter with you? You don't lay a guilt trip like that on a couple of ten year olds! And you especially don't get to talk like that to my
children!"
"Daddy, we're sorry! We didn't know! We didn't mean it!" Erin cried from behind him.
72. He whirled around on them and continued yelling. "I told you to GO TO YOUR ROOM!"
73. As his children ran as fast as they could while still sobbing, Rhys turned back to his mother-in-law and threw away his 'Eden Filter.' "You are the
worst human being in the entire Multi-Verse," he hissed at her. "You have absolutely no redeeming qualities. None. And believe me when I say
that nobody will be sad when you finally kick the bucket. I can't wait, because our lives will be so much happier without you in it."
Mary took a step back. "Oh..." she said. She then turned and left the room.
74. Rhys ran both his hands through his hair before clutching at the back of his head. He had exaggerated greatly, of course, and he knew that. But it
had felt so good to say those words. He tried to ignore the memory of Mary's face because he didn't want to feel bad for saying it. He wanted to
feel justified and right.
It didn't help when he heard Erin's crying voice travel down the stairs with, "Daddy hates us."
"Gah!" he said. There was no force behind it. He sighed heavily and he suddenly felt exhausted. He turned off the lights and went to bed.
75. He had only meant to lay down for a moment before changing into his pajama bottoms, but the adrenaline and tension that came from fear, anger,
and worry had exhausted him. He ended up sleeping the whole night through wearing all of his clothes, including his shoes.
As the morning sun began to shine the windows, he reached over for Eden. His half-asleep mind was startled to find it empty. That's right. Two
more weeks. Two more weeks before she's—he shoved that thought down as his mind woke up more. He also became aware of a strange weight
on his leg.
76. He looked down and saw that Quinn and Erin had decided to come in and sleep with him. He smiled slightly as he watched them, another surge
of relief that they were safe washed over him. Then he sighed and shook his leg gently. "Alright guys, time to get up."
77. "Dad, we're sorry. We didn't mean to be bad," Quinn said as they sat up.
"And we didn't mean to have Mom almost die when we were in her belly," Erin added.
78. Rhys sat up with a sigh. "I know you didn't mean to be bad," he said to Quinn. He thought about what to say to Erin. He finally settled with, "Your
mother's mother was exaggerating. You mom had the best medical attention money could buy; she was in good hands. You didn't make her
'almost die.'" He didn't add the part about how they were actually worried about the twins' survival. He shook his head at the memory. "But your
mom didn't die, so it's all okay. However that was then, this is now. And you two are in big trouble."
"Are you still mad at us?" Erin asked.
"Oh yeah, I am. Big time. But you will be happy to know that you two won't be grounded 'forever' like I had said last night."
79. "We aren't?" Quinn asked as Rhys stood up.
"No. You will be grounded until you mother gets home. That's two weeks. And I mean a full on grounding. No television, no computer games, no
talking on the phone, no playing outside. You will come straight home from school, do your homework and study your skills. You two will also
accompany me to the stores and help out there. The floors need to be swept up, the shelves need to be dusted, and--"
80. "And the toilets need to be scrubbed?" Quinn interrupted excitedly as he and his sister grinned happily.
81. Rhys had successfully managed to choke back his laugh, but he couldn't hide his grin. "If anyone ever had any doubt that you two are my kids, that
question right there will prove them otherwise." He shook his head and gestured over his shoulder. "Okay you guys, go get dressed. We'll have
breakfast and then head out to the bookstore. Big day of cleaning and, yes, there are toilets that need scrubbing."
82. As they headed towards the door, Rhys knelt down and gathered his kids into his arms and hugged them. He fought the urge to clutch them and
never let go.
"You don't hate us, do you, Daddy?" Erin asked quietly.
"No, no. Of course not," he said. Relief and love washed over him. "Never," he added.
***
83. Eden breathed a deep breath and stretched her muscles as her cab drove away. It had been a grueling three months, but it was over and she was
finally home.
84. Before she had the chance to pick up her suitcases, the front door burst open and her children came running out. "Mom's home, Dad!" Erin
shouted over her shoulder.
"I know," Rhys said as he followed slowly behind them, allowing them to reach her first.
Eden held out her arms and hugged them. "I've missed you guys!" she said.
"Did you really?" Quinn asked.
"Of course I did. I thought about you constantly and I hope next time you'll be able to come with."
"Can we? Can we can we can we? I wanna see the vampires and werewolves!"
"Alright you guys, quit hogging your mother," Rhys said. "I want to say 'hi' to her, too."
85. Eden's heart skipped a beat, as it normally did when she looked at him. Her grin matched his as he walked up and kissed her.
"Welcome home," he said when they parted. "We're still on for tonight, right?"
She raised her eyebrows and smiled widely. "Of course we are."
"Outstanding," he said with an equally huge grin and he went to go pick up her suitcases.
86. "Guess what, Mom?" Quinn asked as they began to walk inside, "In gym class I ran the mile in under ten minutes!"
"Wow, really?"
"Yeah! I was one of the fastest in the class!"
"Good for you!"
"Mom, I want to show you some of the dance moves I learned in Junior Poms the other day!" Erin said. "Some of them were really hard, but I have
them all memorized and I'm really good at it!"
"Well I can't wait to see it!"
87. Eden's calming and serene presence eased the tension that had been hanging in the air. Rhys had cooked her favorite dinner in celebration of her
return. The children were ecstatic to have their mother back and they competed with each other for her attention. Even Goopy came out of his
haze enough to recognize the celebratory mood and showed her one of his beloved grilled cheese sandwiches. Through it all, Rhys stayed near
her and she caught him smiling whenever she looked at him.
The only dark spot was Mary who watched everything impassively. The only thing she said to Eden was, "Welcome home," and she left it at that.
Eden chose not to let it ruin her happy mood.
88. As soon as the twins were tucked in their beds, Rhys pulled Eden into a passionate kiss.
"Bedroom?" he asked when he was done. Eden smiled.
"Actually, I would like to take a real quick bath to wash the travel grime off me. I feel kinda gross."
"Hrm. Well, I am very good at scrubbing backs, if you would like."
She raised her eyebrows and smiled again. "Hmm, tempting but I'm just going to freshen up. It'll be real quick, I promise."
89. "Okay," he said cheerfully. "I'm gonna go prep the bedroom then. I've got to light the candles, turn on the radio, bust out the massage oil, break
out the costumes and get the handcuffs. The handcuffs! There's so much to do! So much lost time to make up for! So little time to do it!"
Eden was outright laughing when he turned away from her and ran to the bedroom.
90. A short time later, she walked in wearing only a towel and caught Rhys in the middle of dancing to the music on the radio. He stopped in mid-step
and looked at her. "What?" he asked, completely unembarrassed.
"You're dancing."
He cleared his throat. "This, my dear, is my 'I'm gonna get laid' dance, if you must know. You should feel special; not many people have witnessed
it." He danced some more as he sang, "I'm gonna get lay-aid. I'm gonna get lay-aid."
91. She laughed and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, Rhys, I know it's hard--"
"Yeah it is," he said with a lascivious grin, which made her laugh again.
"You're incorrigible!"
"Yeah, I am. Is this the first time you've met me?"
"I'm trying to be serious."
He attempted to compose his face. "Okay."
92. She traced her fingers on his collarbone and said, "I know these last couple of months have been hard. You've been dealing with the stores, taking
care of the kids, and you've been pretty much stranded at home. I can't imagine it's been pleasant considering how..unappreciative my mother can
be." She looked up at him. "But I appreciate you and I think you're wonderful."
He nodded in agreement. "I am pretty awesome," he said arrogantly. "And telling me I am is the best kind of foreplay. I'm always up for a good
ego stroke!"
"'Ego,' huh? Is that what they're calling it these days?"
He grinned wickedly and raised his eyebrows in invitation. She laughed.
"I've missed you," she said.
He rubbed her back slowly. "The bed felt very empty without you in it."
93. She tilted her head as he leaned to kiss her neck. "I can't help but notice the bed is very empty right now," she murmured.
"And I can't help but notice that I'm incredibly overdressed for the occasion. I think we can kill two birds with one stone, though..."
94. A few minutes later, they were interrupted by Mary knocking on their bedroom door. "Eden?" Mary called. "Are you in there? There a few things I
want to discuss."
95. Rhys looked up. "You have got to be—she can't possibly expect us to answer. I mean, I'm not wearing any pants," he said incredulously. Eden
giggled and they went back to kissing.
Mary's knocking became more insistent.
"Oh, for the love of—go away! I'm not wearing pants!" he shouted at the door.
96. Eden sighed and sat up. "I should probably see what she wants."
"'Mood Kill Mary' wants everyone to be as miserable as she is, that's what she wants!" he said tightly. He let out a shaky breath.
"Rhys..."
"Just answer the frickin' door, Ede. She won't leave us alone until you do." Another knock from Mary punctuated his statement. Eden felt an eyelid
twitch.
97. Hastily clad in a robe, she opened the door just as Rhys covered himself with the towel she had been wearing earlier. "What do you want, Mother?
Did you not hear the music playing? Didn't we have this discussion about if the music is playing that Rhys and I want to be left alone?" Eden asked
with controlled patience.
98. "Oh, I'm sorry, are you actually in there with your husband?" Mary asked.
99. Eden closed her eyes and counted to five. "Yes, Mother. Who else would I be in here with?"
Mary shrugged. "I told you that I did not wish to know the details of what you choose to do behind closed doors and who you choose to do it
with. I--"
100. "Hey, Babe," Rhys interrupted sarcastically, "are you almost done? The twenty guys you have stuffed in your closet and I would really like to get this
gang bang started. We're getting a little antsy here."
101. Eden wasn't exactly sure what he had hoped to accomplish by saying that, but the effect was rather obvious. She didn't have to look over her
shoulder too see the smirk he had on his face. She just knew it was there.
Mary looked appalled. "You..you don't really--"
Eden rubbed her forehead. "'Gang bang,' Rhys?" she muttered irritably. "No, Mother, I don't have twenty guys in my bedroom. Just the fact that
you have to ask that..just the fact that you have to constantly ask who I am with and just the fact that you have to constantly interrupt me and my
husband is getting--"
102. Mary pushed Eden to the side and stormed over to Rhys. "How dare you make jokes of that nature!" she yelled at him.
"Oh yeah?" he yelled back. "You're the one who is always insinuating that your daughter is some kind of whore!"
"I will not tolerate such--"
"I could give a flying fuck about what you will and will not tolerate! When will you learn that your opinion doesn't matter to me?"
103. It was always the same fight and Eden finally had enough.
"Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!" she shouted.
104. "I'm am through with this! I will not put up with it anymore, do you guys hear me? NO MORE!"
105. "Mother, get OUT of our room! There is NO reason for you to be in here, especially at night, and especially when I'm in here with my husband!"
"How dare--"
"NO! OUT!"
106. As Mary left the room in a huff, Eden turned to her husband. "Rhys..." she said.
"What?" he asked shortly. "Let me guess, you're gonna take her side—"
"Just. Stop." She sighed and looked down. "Please?" she added.
"Yeah, whatever, Eden. You're the boss."
She gave him a reproachful look before shaking her head and leaving the room, slamming the door behind her.
107. "You need to deal with it," she said to her mother. "You need to deal with the fact that I am married to him and that I am a Romance Sim. I won't
put up with your insinuations anymore especially since they are completely untrue! I have been nothing but faithful to him, and he to me, in the
entire time we've been married. Quit trying to drive a wedge between me and Rhys because it's not gonna happen! Don't you understand that?"
108. "And it's an attitude like this that makes me believe that he has been nothing but bad news!" Mary argued back.
"Oh my God, how can you possibly be so blind? Are you doing it on purpose?"
"Well what about all the women he's been with in the past? The dead wife? That evil woman from Rome? For God's sake, Eden, one of his lovers
lives right across the street! And you're friends with her!"
"Because it's in his past! I am his present! Here, I am the only woman in his life! That's what matters!"
"If it were my decision, I wouldn't--"
"IT'S NOT YOUR DECISION! It never has been! It's mine!"
109. "I love him, Mother, plain and simple. I love him because he makes me happy. I love him because he makes me smile and laugh. I love him
because he makes me feel like part of a family, his family, and that's something I really haven't experienced before. When I met him, there was an
instant connection that I had never felt with any other person. And do you know what else? I realized that he had this wonderful potential to be a
great man once someone gave him that chance. And I was right.
He is a wonderful man. A man who has been biting his tongue much harder than he should ever have to and he does it for my sake. He is an
adoring husband, a caring father, and he has done nothing but good for this family. And he does it because he cares about this family and wants to
see it do well. This is his family. He is my family. Ironically we, as Romance Sims, are better at this entire 'family' business than you are, quite
frankly."
110. Mary gasped at Eden's last sentence, but Eden held her finger up and continued. "And so I am putting my foot down. I don't care if you don't like
the path I've chosen in life. I'm an adult and I happen to be very happy with my choices and I feel that they are the best choices I could have ever
made. I am happy, and I find it surprising that you don't like seeing me that way. And so I've made another decision."
Mary crossed her arms and arched her eyebrow. "Oh? You have? And what wise choice are you making now?"
111. Eden looked over at her bedroom door as she tried to figure out the best way to put things. She thought about Rhys, their children, and she
realized that it didn't matter where they were so long as they were together.
112. "We will leave," she finally said. "This entire 'legacy' business goes through me and my children. We don't need the house. We can rebuild
somewhere fresh and leave you alone to rattle about this place if so choose. I am tired of playing peacekeeper between my husband and my
mother and, quite frankly, I really don't feel that I should have to.
I know you love me, Mother. But I also know you really don't like me because I represent everything bad that's happened in your life. I look like
Daddy, I am a Romance Sim, I married a quote unquote 'notorious romancer.' And I'm sorry that things went badly for you, I really am. But I am
not you. I am not Daddy. I am me, and I actually like who I am. Rhys does, too. And I really resent you acting like I should be ashamed of myself.
I am not expecting you to accept it because otherwise you would have by now. But I am expecting you to deal with it, quietly, because I don't
want to put up with the stress anymore. I'm done. So...do you want me, your grandchildren, and the father of your grandchildren to stay? Or do
you find the entire situation so intolerable that you want us to leave? Bottom line: it's all of us, or none of us. You decide."
113. Mary looked down and was silent for a moment before she sighed. "No," she said quietly. "There is no reason for you to leave. I promise that for
the rest of my life you won't hear me say one more word about it. I will keep my peace. There is no reason for you to uproot the children and have
them live on the lawn somewhere else." She shook her head and said one last thing before walking away. "I am so very disappointed."
114. Eden remained in the hall as she blinked back her tears. She took a few deep breaths and willed herself not to cry. She hated doing that.
115. She braced herself for another argument when she heard her bedroom door quietly open and saw Rhys come out of it. She darted a quick glance
at his face and noticed that he had a very peculiar expression on it. She sighed. "You heard everything, didn't you?"
"Yeah..."
"Rhys, I'm sorry--"
116. "I always kind of wondered," he interrupted quietly.
"What--?"
117. He cut her off again with a kiss. He then picked her up and carried her into their room, kicking the door behind him.
It turned out he wasn't anywhere near as mad as she had thought.
***
118. True to her word, Mary kept her peace the following day. In fact, she even went as far as avoiding everyone in the house.
It was probably for the best.
119. Zane showed up fifteen minutes earlier than she had expected. "You're early," she said.
"There are some things we need to talk about. I wanted to have the time to do so."
"You aren't even wearing your regular robes."
"I figured you would be more comfortable seeing me in my normal state."
"So, no Hula Girls, no Mai Thais, no celebration whatsoever. How appropriate as I am not really in the mood for celebrating."
120. "Mary, where is your family? Why aren't you surrounded by your loved ones?" he asked gently.
121. "My family, my so-called 'loved ones,' have made it abundantly clear that they don't wish to be around me any longer."
123. "Isn't it my death? Can't I choose how I want to go? I don't want to watch my family forcing themselves to mourn. I think my life has been
disappointing enough and I really don't want to be kicked while I'm down. It's a very simple request, Zane. I want to go in peace."
124. A strange look passed over Zane's face as she said that. "I understand," he said.
125. Mary wiped a tear from her eye. "Good, I'm glad," she said. "If I could go back and change things, I would. There are so many things that I would
have done differently. But it's far too late, now. I only want a peaceful afterlife. Maybe there I can mend things. One can hope, right?"
126. Zane clutched her in a tight hug. "Yes," he said vehemently. "Things will be better in the afterlife."
127. "Thank you," she whispered. "What is it that you needed to to talk me about?"
"Nothing," he replied. "Nothing other than I'm so very sorry that you're so sad and I hope you will find happiness in the afterlife."
"It'll be nice to see my parents again."
"Yeah, it will be. Tell them I said 'Hi,' okay?"
"I will, Zane, I will."
128.
129. Zane ran his hand through his hair and heaved a heavy sigh. The real reason behind why he showed up early was because Mary, as a Reaper
Clone Child, was actually slated to reside on the Dead Realm as one of its protectors. That was the fate of most Reaper Children.
Because Mary had been so close to death, she had started taking on the abilities of a Reaper Child, namely the ability to project her strong
emotions. She just didn't realize she was doing it, but Zane had felt it as soon as he entered the room. Depression. Sadness. Hopelessness. He
didn't have the heart to subject her to more of it.
He began going over in his mind the different ways he could hide her trail in the paperwork so she could go to the Spirit Realm where all her dead
relatives were. It was the least he could do for her. Rhys' voice behind him interrupted his thoughts.
"So she died like she lived: selfishly and miserably."
131. "I didn't stutter. You heard what I said. She was selfish and miserable right to the end."
132. Zane gave Rhys an incredulous look as he approached him. "Are..are you gloating?" When Rhys didn't respond Zane got angry. "This is another
human being whose life just ended. You ought to show a little bit more respect! She was your wife's mother. She was your childrens'
grandmother. She was an important member of this family. How dare you treat this very sad situation so callously! This should be a time of
mourning!"
133. Rhys crossed his arms and gave Zane a level look. "'I am so very disappointed.' Those were Mary's last words to her daughter. She made Eden
miserable and paranoid for most of her life. And what's more, Eden is going to feel even worse because she didn't even have a chance to say
goodbye to her mother. As for my kids? Pfft. Mary barely paid attention to them, so you have no leg to stand on there. Did you know that she
and Eden had a huge fight last night? The last words the two of them said to each other were in anger. And what's worse is that Mary knew she
was dying today, and yet she still fought with Eden and said horrible things. But you know what? When I'm the one who has to go and tell Eden
her mother is dead, I'll make sure I'm as comforting as possible for my wife's sake. However, as far as I'm concerned, today is a good day."
Zane took a deep breath and said, "HOW DARE--"
134. "No," Rhys said, cutting him off. "You don't get to do that. Either you want us to like you for you, or you want us to be scared of you because you're
the Grim Reaper. You don't get to have it both ways, Zane. Besides, I refuse to be intimidated by someone whose diapers I've changed in another
dimension."
135. Zane felt himself deflate and he willed himself not to blush. "Okay, fair enough," he said. "However, Mary was under the impression that nobody
would mourn her passing. And I think that is terribly sad."
137. Eden and Rhys watched their children with amusement. "Relax, you two," Eden said. "It's not like you guys haven't been on television or in the
newspapers before."
"Yeah, I seem to recall a certain someone named Quinn having a rather stinky diaper as I carried him on my shoulders," Rhys teased.
138. "Not a big deal? Not a big deal? We were only babies then! This time they actually talked to us and we get to actually see ourselves on television!"
Erin cheered, barely containing her excitement.
Quinn clapped, just slightly less subdued than his sister. "And all of our friends said they were going to watch!"
"Shhhh, Quinn! It's on! It's on!"
139. "Hi everybody! I'm Dina Caliente and it's time for another Sim Celebrity Spotlight!"
140. "Eden Devereaux and her hottie husband, Rhys Fitzhugh, made their first public appearance since Eden's mother, Mary Devereaux, passed on.
That's four months without Rhyden. But have no fear, the dry spell is over!"
141. "Because not only is Rhyden back, but they brought their children with them! Erin and Quinn Devereaux haven't made any public appearances
since they were toddlers and everyone has been very curious about them."
142. "Eden, look over here!" "Eden, can we get a picture?" "Eden, how are you coping with your mother's death?" "Eden, will you finally tell us what it's
like being married to Rhys Fitzhugh?"
"I am doing well, thank you. As for your other question: how many times do I have to say 'normal' before you will believe me?"
143. "We love, love, love the fact that Eden seems to be so much more relaxed as she banters with the paparazzi. Don't worry, Eden, we'll get a straight
answer from you yet! How can it possibly be 'normal' when you bagged a Fitzhugh? Oh, and a quick shout out to my sister, Nina, who also got
herself some of that Fitzhugh action!"
144. "Erin, can we get a picture?" "Erin, over here!" "Erin, look this way!' "Erin, can we get a smile over here?" "Erin, are you having fun?"
"Hi everybody! Yeah, I'm having TONS of fun. It's like super exciting to get all dressed up in pretty clothes. My mom even let me put on some
colored lip gloss for this!"
145. "It's very obvious that Erin, the presumed heiress of the Devereaux fortune, is a product of her parents. Number one, she's lovely. Number two,
she's outgoing, bubbly, and vivacious. Okay that's more like two, three and four, but still! We are all looking forward to seeing what kind of pretty
young lady she will turn out to be!"
146. "Quinn, look over here!" "Quinn, can you please look at the camera?" "Quinn, over here!" "Quinn, what's it like having a movie star for a mother?"
"Um, okay. I guess..."
147. "Unfortunately, not only is Quinn rather awkward looking, but he also was very overwhelmed by the cameras and the questions that were thrown
at him. Grace in front of the cameras can come with time, but hopefully Quinn will grow into his looks. It's very clear that didn't get much from his
father in that area and it takes more than matching tuxedos to look like Rhys Fitzhugh. Am I right or what?"
148. Rhys and Eden kept their expressions neutral as they looked at each other. Eden knew that if either one of them showed any anger over what was
said, it would make the situation even worse. Maybe Quinn didn't understand what she meant, she thought desperately.
149. "Wooo!" Erin cheered. "Did you see, Quinn? She said I was pretty!"
"Yeah," he said quietly.
150. With a huge grin on her face, she turned to her parents and asked, "Mom? Dad? Can I call my friends? I want to know if they watched. Can I
please, please, please, please, please?
151. "Not right now, sweetheart. I have to make a very important phone call," Eden said with a sigh. "One that's probably long overdue."
"Okay," Erin replied, unperturbed. "Can I go play on the karaoke machine then?" Her parents were acting weird, but they always acted weird, and
usually their weirdness ended with them playing music in their bedroom. She could sense, though, that it was not the time to point out that the
music they played didn't quite cover up the strange sounds and giggles they made when they were in there. So when her mother nodded, she just
shrugged and skipped into the next room to look over the song list.
152. Quinn idly played with one of his toy cars as he thought about what the woman on the television had said. He wasn't entirely sure what the word
"awkward" meant, but he was able to figure it out in the context in which it was used. Erin was called "lovely" while he was referred to as "rather
awkward looking" and "hopefully he'll grow into his looks."
He had a feeling that "awkward" meant "ugly." And it was said on television. And all of his friends might have been watching. "Humiliated" wasn't in
Quinn's vocabulary yet, but that's how he felt. "Hurt" was also on that list.
153. He swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked back his tears as he heard the bedroom door open. The last thing he wanted was for people think
that he was a cry baby on top of everything else. He heard his dad clear his throat.
"So whatcha' doin'?" Rhys asked.
Quinn shrugged and spun the wheels on his car, barely managing a smile. "Nothing. Just playing with my car," he said. The two of them were
silent while he continued to mindlessly spin the wheels.
154. Eventually he got tired of it though and he went to put his toy back in its box. He could sense that his dad was still there, watching him. Quinn
wanted nothing more than to run and throw his arms around his dad and cry, but he didn't want his dad to think that he was a big baby. So instead,
he kept his back turned and he sighed.
"Come on, Quinn, talk to me," Rhys said. "I can't fix it for you if I don't know what you're thinking about."
155. Quinn just shrugged and went to sit on his bed. After a moment he said something that had been on his mind for a while. "Dad? Do you and
Mom love Erin more than me?"
156. He felt Rhys sit down on the bed next to him. "Of course not. Why would you think that?" Rhys asked.
Quinn shrugged again. "Because she's the heir and I'm only a spare," he said. And she's prettier than me, was the unspoken thought. "When she
grows up, she gets to come back and live here with you and Mom and I don't."
"Quinn... if you want to come back here, you can. There's nothing in the rules that says you can't."
"But Erin is more important than me, right? Spares aren't as..." he searched for the right word, but couldn't find it, "cool," he finished lamely.
He was a bit hurt when he heard his dad chuckle. "Actually, Mister Quinn Devereaux, I beg to differ. Spares are very cool. In fact, I was a spare."
157. Quinn looked over at him with surprise. He hadn't known that. He knew his dad came from somewhere else, but it never really came up in
conversation. "You were?"
"Yep. And I happen to think that I'm very cool. And you know what? You are, too. You and Erin both are going to grow up and be spectacular;
you won't be able to help it. Simselves will be banging down the door begging you to come and visit their 'verses. You know why? Because you're
Quinn, and you're awesome. It won't matter if you're the heir or the spare."
"Really? How do you know?"
"Yes, really. Because I said so."
"Even if I'm awkward looking?" Quinn blurted.
158. Rhys pulled him close. "We need to straighten a couple of things out. Number one: Dina Caliente is a nasty, mean, and jealous woman who has
no idea what's she's talking about. I'd have a few more choice words to say about her, but your mother doesn't like me using that kind of language
around you and your sister. Number two: You aren't even close to 'awkward' looking. You look just like your mother, and she's one of the most
beautiful women in the world. Everyone says so. More importantly, I say so."
Quinn brightened and felt relieved. He smiled happily as he snuggled against his father. "Really? I look like Mom?"
"Yes, you do. So you see, it's genetically impossible for you to look and be anything less than a stud when you grow up."
159. He pulled away and looked at Rhys. "But she said that I don't look anything like you."
"Actually you do. You have the two most important things--"
"Red hair and your nose," Quinn interrupted, already knowing what his dad was going to say. "But why are they so important?"
"Because the nose...well, it's The Nose. Everyone wants The Nose. It's your heritage! And red hair is just frickin' awesome. That's why they're so
important."
Quinn thought about that and said, "But I really want to look like you, too."
Rhys grinned. "You know what? There is one more thing that's missing on you. Come on, I'll show you what you need to do."
160. Eden tried to keep her voice patient as she talked to her publicist on the phone. "'That's normal' you say? You're saying that the news and tabloids
and everyone who catches the slightest glimpse of me and my family, they get to say whatever they want with absolutely no regard to how it might
hurt someones feelings?" She ground her teeth, ignoring the now familiar pain in her jaw, as she listened to the answer. "Oh yeah? Well, I say
bullshit. My children are not to be targets for petty comments. In fact, they should not be commented on at all. They are not the ones who are
public figures, not yet. It's not their fault who their parents are. They are little kids and no little kid should have to be ridiculed in a public forum
when they've done nothing more than accompany me and my husband to social functions like you wanted them to!"
161. "'Part of my image as a maternal figure'? Yeah? And what kind of mother would I be if I didn't say anything about the mean spirited comments?
Don't you understand? My son watched the program where they made fun of him. And worse yet, he understood what was being said about him.
That is unacceptable. I don't care if my children are standing in the middle of town, selling lemonade naked! There are to be no more comments
about them, positive or negative, until they are old enough to defend themselves. Am I understood? I don't care if it's not your job. You find out
whose job it is and tell them that. I will not have my kids grow up being terrified of their every action, afraid to even eat in public for fear of what
might be said about them."
162. "Yeah? Well my mother is dead and let me tell you, she did a pretty piss poor job defending her daughter and making sure that she had a healthy
self image. I'm just glad that I have a fairly strong sense of self to know that I am better than that. I am not my mother and I am in charge. If you
don't like it, I will find a publicist who can work with me and understand that my children and husband are my world and I'll be goddamned if I'm
going to let those vultures the world passes off as reporters ruin any of that. Is that 'maternal' enough for you?"
163. She pressed the 'end' button on the phone and slammed it into the receiver. She then picked it up and slammed it down a few more times. She
took a deep breath and turned around as she heard someone coming down the stairs.
164. "It's just not as satisfying hitting 'end.' It doesn't feel nearly as dramatic when you want to hang up on a person."
165. "Oh, I totally agree," Rhys said through a grin. "God, you're hot when you're pissed," he added.
"Rhys—"
"I'm serious!"
"How is Quinn?"
166. "Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom!" Quinn shouted excitedly as he ran down the stairs.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Rhys said.
"Mom! Look at what Dad did to my hair! It's so cool and now I look just like him! And it's real easy to do, but he said that it was a secret so I can't
tell you how he did it. But don't you like it? Isn't it so neat?"
167. "It's a secret?" she asked, trying not to smile. She was familiar with how her husband styled his hair as she had seen him do it plenty of times.
"Yeah it is! And Dad said that if I do it long enough that it'll become magical! And then when I grow up and I have a boy I have teach him how to
do it this way because it's an ancient family secret. And it has to be true because look at Vaughn!"
"Exactly," Rhys said gravely. "What do you think, Ede? You think Quinn is old enough to bear such a heavy responsibility?"
"Absolutely," she said. "I think he is the perfect man for the job. And might I add that he looks very dashing?"
"Yeah!" Quinn cheered. "I don't look awkward at all! Dad said it was impossible before, but now with my hair like this, it'll be like double
impossible. And when I grow up, I'm going to be just like Dad."
Eden smiled. "I can't think of anyone better for you to be like." She looked at Rhys. "Your dad is a good man and a great father."
"Yeah he is! I'm gonna go show Erin!"
168. He took two steps before he stopped to hug Rhys. He wrapped his arms tightly around his father's neck and whispered, "Thanks, Dad."
Rhys smiled and patted Quinn's back. "No problem, kiddo. Now go and show Erin, and try not to make her too jealous, okay?"
As Quinn ran out of the room, Rhys sighed.
"So, the magical fauxhawk has saved another day," Eden said with amusement.
169. Rhys turned to her and said, "He thinks we don't love him as much as we love Erin because he's 'only' a spare."
Eden raised her eyebrows. "Who would honestly think that? Parents don't play favorites. What kid would--" she stopped short as she saw the look
on his face. "You can't possibly still believe—you know what? Never mind. You told him otherwise, right? You told him that he was being silly,
right?"
"Of course I did, Ede. I'm a bastard but, come on, give me some credit. I know what to say when my kid is upset. I'm telling you now in case it
becomes a problem in the future."
170. "That's just it. It shouldn't be a 'problem.' In fact, we should make sure that it isn't. Both Erin and Quinn should be heirs. They're twins for
Plumbbob's sake. One shouldn't feel less important than the other, no matter how unfounded that fear is. So, yeah. Dual heirship. I think from
here on out, in the instance of twins, both children should be considered heirs."
171. "And so that's it? You get to say 'both children shall be heir' and it just happens? Does it really work that way?" Eden noticed a very faint hint of
envy in his voice.
"Well, don't you think it's a good idea?"
"You're..you're asking me?"
"Of course I am. It's a major decision and you're my husband. It affects you, too."
"Well..yeah, I think it would stop any problems before they start. I just..." he shrugged. "I didn't think you could change the rules that simply."
172. "We," she corrected him gently as she stepped into his arms. "We changed the rules. And, yes, it was that simple. I'm the current heiress and
you're my husband. My partner. And whatever we say in regards to this family goes." She managed to hide her amusement as she saw him rather
speechless, which was rare for him.
"Huh," he finally said. "Good to be king."
She tsked and shook her head with a smile. "Sweetie, you of all people know that I am lacking in some essential body parts to be called 'king.'"
"Of which I am very grateful for," he replied. He then grinned widely and said, "Of course I may have to do a very thorough inspection. You know.
Just to be sure and all."
She raised her eyebrows with a smile. "I'm all yours."
***
173. "I'm glad that you get to be heir with me," Erin said as she skipped down the sidewalk the following afternoon. "That means you get to do all the
stinky boy stuff that Dad does with the stores and everything while I get to be a pretty movie star like Mom. Except I want to be a ballerina. It's
too bad that we won't be on television and stuff again until we're older though. I liked talking to those people with their microphones and getting
to wear pretty dresses and stuff. Didn't you?"
Quinn shrugged. "It was okay, I guess," he said, not wanting to upset his sister. "But I won't mind working at the stores like Dad because I want to
be like him when I grow up."
"Yeah, I know. And now you have hair like him, too. It's not fair. I wish you would tell me how to do it like that."
"Dad said it was a secret. And I think you would have to cut some of your hair off."
"Ew. Never mind then. You can keep your stinky hairstyle."
174. Something in the window of one of the stores caught Quinn's eye and he headed toward it. Erin, without missing a beat, continued skipping along
as she followed him.
175. "Come on, Quinn," she said impatiently after a few moments, "we're supposed to meet our friends at the park and we're going to be late!"
"Just hang on a sec," he murmured in a distracted tone, "I thought I saw something."
"What? What did you see?"
"I don't know. Let's go inside."
"But Quinn, we can't just walk inside. How do we even know it's open?"
"It is," he replied as he vaguely gestured toward the 'Open' sign, which was under the store name, 'Trustworthy Trinkets.' He walked toward the
door and opened it, not even looking over his shoulder to see if his sister was following him. Erin sighed and walked into the store as well.
176. Quinn was unable to find the item that had caught his attention, but he became distracted by the other odds and ends that the knickknack store
had to offer. "Check out this globe, Erin. I wonder if Dad will show me where he's been on it. He told me he was 'everywhere.' Well, actually he
said a bad word in front of it, but it couldn't have been too bad because mom laughed when he said it."
177. Erin, for her part, wasn't impressed with the place. "What I want to know is why there is this huge picture of Mom hanging up here," she said.
"Because I am a very big fan of your mother," a voice answered, which caused the twins to jump.
178. As they turned to face the speaker, and apparent owner of the store, they had two very different reactions.
179. Quinn felt warmth and kindness from the little old lady who stood in front of him. As he looked at her, he couldn't help but think that she would
have been the perfect grandmother to have.
180. Erin, on the other hand, who had always made it a point to not show any fear, couldn't help herself as she saw a woman in black looking down at
her with a sinister smirk. A feeling of wrongness washed over and she let out a soft moan which rapidly became a high pitched wail.
181. With a scream, Erin bolted out the door. With and embarrassed look for his sister's behavior, Quinn said to the woman, "I'm sorry. She shouldn't
have been so rude. I should get going though. It was very nice to meet you Ms..."
"Miss Lily," the lady replied.
182. "And I would not worry about your sister. She will only remember that she needed to get where she was going and you were going to help out a
kind old lady like the good boy you are."
"Yeah..." Quinn replied in a dreamy whisper.
183. "Now, you see this necklace that I am wearing?"
"Yeah..."
"You would like to have one, would you not?"
"Yeah I would."
184. "Excellent," the woman said as she slipped a replica of her necklace around his neck. "You will wear it at all times but you must not show it to
anyone. It is to be our secret."
"What does it do?"
"It will help you when the time comes. Would you like to listen to a story?"
"Yes, I would."
"Very good. Follow me."
185. She led Quinn into a secret room that was behind the bookcase. When the door had shut, she pulled a book off the shelf and sat down on the
chair. She gestured to the floor, indicating where Quinn should sit. After a moment, she opened the book with a smile and began reading.
"Well let us see. Oh, I think this would be the perfect story. It is about a very brave and handsome knight. The knight's name was Quinn."
189. "Let us continue. Brave and handsome Sir Quinn was loved by everyone in town--"
"Because he was brave and handsome?"
"Yes. He was the bravest and the most handsome out of all the knights in the kingdom. Do not interrupt me anymore."
"Okay. I'm sorry."
"You are forgiven. Now brave Sir Quinn had an arch enemy, an evil man who wore all black and lived in a dead realm. And the evil man in black
had a beautiful blond princess held captive. So, Sir Quinn made a vow to save the beautiful princess..."
***
190. (Don't worry, Rhys waited until Eden and the kids weren't home.) Thank you everyone for reading! A very special thanks go to the following:
Marina/Smoothiequeen: Rhys and Spencer Fitzhugh (Fitzhugh Legacy/Villainous Apocalypse). There will never be enough "thank yous" for letting
me use your characters and for all the help you give me when writing for them!
De/Fireflower: Vaughn Fitzhugh (Morgan Legacy). I wish he and Laurana had more to say at the moment :( Also thank you very much for the
picture of Eden that you made for me!
Ben/Blight 27: Cassius Marius (Ten Caesars Legacy)
Lark/Ladylarkrune: For the endless hours of letting me ramble on about my story and for reminding me to not get too bogged down by every tiny
detail!
Thanks again for reading and commenting! Until next time, Happy Simming!
