Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Blue

Hello and welcome back to the Hadley Legacy. I apologize for the long wait, we've had glitches all over the place, and some strange things have happened to the Hadley's since you last saw them.

First, Nicole went into labor. She rushed to the hospital all alone, where she gave birth to...

Temperance Hadley, the first child of Generation Eight. A beautiful little girl.

She was promptly arrested for being out after curfew.

Nicole was struggling to care for Temperance and make it to school and continue her education. Her family did their best to help, but most of it still fell on her back.

Nicole approached her father, but Santiago only yelled at her that it was her fault for getting pregnant in the first place. If she had thought this through she wouldn't have a child upstairs crying for her.

In a fit of rage Santiago slapped his daughter. Nicole ran upstairs, crying, and refused to let him into the house again. She held Temperance tightly to her chest and promised her daughter she would take care of her better than her parents cared for her.

And then it happened. All around town, buildings were disappearing, vanishing into thin air. One by one their neighbor's homes vanished, the businesses, everything was gone. People were disappearing in large numbers.

Nicole grabbed a crying Temperance and fled her home, yelling for her family to do the same, but it was too late. The home lot was replaced by a blue square.
Nicole took her daughter and fled their dying neighborhood, forced to abandon the rest of their family to escape. They walked for many days, and suffered greatly. When they finally found a place to stay Nicole had grown up, and Temperance had already grown enough to go to school.

Nicole had changed a lot as she grew up, and though she regretted having to leave behind her family, she was happy to finally find somewhere to stay. She had taken most of the family's wealth with her, which she used first of all to make sure that they would be safe and financially secure.

After all, she had a school aged child now. Temperance's early life on the run with her mother had left her a bit neurotic about some things, and Nicole knew her daughter would need extra help at school to accommodate her needs.

Using the money they had, they built a small home on their new plot of land. Nicole hired someone to watch Tempe, then got on a bus to go to China. She dreamed of traveling to every country and reaching the highest visa level in each. It would be nice to explore without having to worry about the blueness, which seemed to be spreading through the town.

Nicole was so excited to go to China, she immediately went on several adventures and as she explored her visa level went up.

While she was there, Nicole met a nice man that she told about the blue that had destroyed her home. He comforted her and they became very close.

But as soon as she got back, Nicole found the blue had followed her here as well! She ran home and found Temperance waiting for her. They fled this town along with several locals, and relocated to the next town over, where they were told they would be safe.

They rebuilt their home to reflect Nicole's new worldly views, and tried to make it as close to the last one as possible.

There was enough room for both Nicole and Temperance, and room to expand.

There Nicole left her daughter again, to go to France. Temperance was angry that her mother would abandon her in danger of the blueness that could come and get her, but Nicole seemed confident that nothing would happen in this new town.

In France Nicole met another man who reassured her that her home would be safe this time. Though he had a wife, he seemed perfectly happy to flirt with Nicole all day long.

When she got home Nicole invited him over and made some nectar just for him.

They drank some together, and soon Nicole was inviting him back to her bedroom. Temperance retreated upstairs to give them some alone time.

Tempe had a friend over as well. His name was Mortimer Goth, and he bore a strange resemblance to her great-great-great-grandfather.

Due to some glitches with her hair, Temperance cut it short, and I have to say that style looks really good on her.

One day, whilst buying out some local businesses, Nicole discovered she was pregnant. She canceled a planned trip to Egypt and stayed home with her daughter, reading pregnancy books. She was determined to do this one right.

Three days later, while making lunch, Nicole went into labor. She had a home birth.

This is where I leave you, with a shot of Nicole holding her new daughter, Genevieve Hadley.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Choices

Welcome back to The Hadley Legacy. Last time, Katyrzena died in the great fire of Gen. Seven. Nicole found herself receiving most of the blame, even though it was Roxy that lit the fire.

After what seemed like the longest childhood ever, Nicole was ready to become a teen.

She is quite beautiful, if I do say so myself. I added a little more orange-brown color to her hair than it was naturally, to make it fit better with her skin tone.

Nicole found herself looking into the mirror a lot, staring at herself, trying to decide whether to put the flower back in her hair. Though she was only a toddler when her mother died, she still missed her, and she thought about her every day. But when she wore the flower, all she ever heard were snide comments from Alexis or Parker, sometimes even her father.

So she put on the hat instead, and spent most of her time away from home. Next door Hina's son, you remember the one that made Gwen break up with her for Max? He got married and had a kid. His name is Amir, I think. Anyway, Nicole and Amir were really close.

When they did go over to her house, Nicole would try to draw him away from the rest of her family, hanging out around the bar on the deck, upstairs. Even there it was hard for her to forget that she was just a spare. From the deck the two would watch the construction of the house that would become Alexis's when she became heiress. They were making her a new kitchen, dining room, bedroom, master bath, everything, so that there would be enough space for her and her children. Nicole watched as they built the new house, wondering how much of that money would go to buy her a home too.

Of course, it wasn't long before Nicole found herself liking Amir as more than a friend. He was nice to her in a way her family never had been before, and he was always there for her. The two shared their first kiss in the kitchen as her great-grandfather's ghost wandered past. Upset by even this lack of privacy, Nicole made a snap decision and led Amir into the unfinished second house.

"Do you really want to do this?" Amir asked as they climbed onto the bed that was meant for Alexis and her future husband. Nicole could only nod as she pulled him over into another kiss. She was so angry at her family she didn't even think, she just knew that she wanted to do this because they didn't want her to.

Ichelle heard the noise from her bedroom, and ran in just as Amir was leaving. She was shocked at what she saw, and without bothering to cover herself up went to tell Santiago.

Santiago who was also sleeping in his underwear.
This is awkward.

"Think about it, Santi! She's just a child! She doesn't know what she's doing! Talk to her."

Santiago procrastinated. He didn't want to deal with the awkward conversation of woohoo with his youngest daughter. Finally Nicole broached the subject first.
"Dad, I'm pregnant."
She had been throwing up in the morning, and scared she took a pregnancy test after school. And lo and behold...
"Holy sh*t."
Santiago talked with his daughter, and told her that they would make every accommodation for her, so that she could have her baby and still go to high school.

Santiago gave Nicole the house, unfinished as it was, so that she would have somewhere more private from her siblings to take care of herself and the baby. Of course, he promised that he would help her take care of the baby, but Nicole felt like what he really was doing was sending her away. Out of sight, out of mind.

Nicole wondered what had happened to her life. She found herself sitting alone in a cold kitchen in her underpants, eating burnt hot-dogs for breakfast.

Alexis, meanwhile, was wondering the same thing. One moment she was the center of attention, the chosen heiress who was going to live a comfortable life in her own brand new house in the back yard. The next, she was a nobody, and her cushy house had been given to her baby sister just because Nicole messed up, and she didn't! That didn't seem fair to her.

As time passed, Nicole's stomach grew, and she changed into maternity clothes. Still, she ran out her front door each day to meet the bus. One day she stopped in the middle of the courtyard and started to cry. She felt abandoned by her family. How could she raise a baby all on her own?

I will leave you with two pictures showing the layout of the house. The careful reader will notice a little box in the back with a miserable sim in it. Secret: It's Katyrzena. She didn't really die in a fire. For some reason Roxy wouldn't actually light a fire, so I put her in a box and starved her (sorry). When I took these pictures she was still alive in her little box.

You can see I've added a grave yard (all those white flowers will be replaced by graves eventually) and a courtyard between the old house and the new one. The new one will, hopefully, have a more fluid layout and protect against some of the traffic jams in the main house.

Upstairs, you can see the deck joining the two, and the bedroom where Nicole and her baby will sleep.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Goodbye Love

Welcome back to The Hadley Legacy. Last time, Kat was feeling trapped in motherhood, and Gweny took it upon herself to appoint the Gen Seven Heiress.

Before Katyrzena had time to confront her grandmother, Gwendolyn took it upon herself to die at the ripe old age of well over 100. She was the first sim to live on this new lot, had reached the top of her career, maxed four or five skills, been married twice, had four kids on a shoe-string budget, helped raise four warring grandchildren, and helped raise her great-grandchildren as well. She was a strong and loving woman, and she will be missed.

With her grandmother gone, Katyrzena took more control. Even though her mother was still reigning matriarch, Chelle was rarely around to make decisions, spending most of her time away fishing or working.

Soon it was time for Roxy to become a white-haired old woman.

That night Roxanne found Katyrzena in the nursery, responding to the crying Nicole.
"I'll get her," Roxy said, and picked up the baby. "She shouldn't be here for this."
Roxanne lit a match and dropped it on the floor, then carried the toddler out of the room, locking the door behind her.

The fire quickly spread through that wing of the house. Luckily Alexis was doing her homework, otherwise she would have been hurt in the fire. Parker was with his father, learning to talk.

Kat screamed for help and Chelle and Santiago ran to put out the flames, but Santiago caught fire as well.

Alexis and her father were singed in the flames, but they came out unharmed. Katyrzena wasn't so lucky.
Goodbye, Katyrzena Hadley, generation six heiress. She avoided death so many times, but this time she couldn't escape. She died in the great gen seven fire, and she will be missed.

And not long after there were more birthdays. Wee!

Parker became a child. I love his red hair and green eyes, which I believe came from his grandfather.

Chelle became an elder, and dyed the tips of her white hair a bright red. She refused to give up a little of her rebellious side.

Finally Ichelle made a choice. She kicked Roxanne out for what she'd done to Katyrzena.

Only a day after their mother's death, Alexis and Nicole were growing up.

Alexis became a bit of a chubby teen, but confident in herself because she knew her great-grandmother had made her heiress, and she was sure that was how it would stay.

Nicole, on the other hand, was a bit of a shy child. She wore a flower in her hair in remembrance of her mother, but not everyone appreciated that.

"What the heck are you remembering her for? It's your fault she died in the first place! She was only there because of you!" Alexis sneered.
"Shut up! She was my mother too!"

But her sister's words stung. Nicole never really got over the knowledge that her mother had died because she was in the nursery trying to take care of her. And it seemed like no one else did either. Despite their best efforts, both Ichelle and Santiago blamed Nicole for what had happened.