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.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Mommy, Daddy

Hello, and welcome back to the Hadley Legacy. When we last left off, Katyrzena had given birth to her last two children, and was feeling overwhelmed by motherhood.

Katyrzena was going to run away, but she couldn't do it. Instead she found herself getting a job at the police station, where she'd always dreamed she could work as a forensic specialist.

Katyrzena was back in time to see Alexis become a child, and Nicole become a toddler.

Alexis became an adorable, girly-girl child.

And Nicole borrowed from Gwen's old hair style with the braids.

After the birthday celebrations, Gwendolyn pulled Alexis aside.
"I know you're young, honey, but I'm not going to be around much longer. I'm still the matriarch of this family, and I just wanted to let you know, I want you to be the heiress."
"Why's that, great-grandma?"

"She wants to pick a new heiress quick," Roxanne shot at them as she walked past, "so there can't be a fight over it after she dies."
"I'm afraid that's true," Gwendolyn confessed. "You're the heiress, Alexis, don't let anyone try to take that away from you."

Later, when they had some time alone, Gweny pulled Roxy aside.
"Listen," she said, "you try any more stunts to become the heiress, you're out of here. I've let you stay, but if you hurt these little girls you're out. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am," Roxy said, rolling her eyes.

Meanwhile, Katyrzena sat staring at her cornflakes. Her grandmother had picked the heiress for her. What little power she should have had as heiress had been taken away. Nothing was in her control any more.
Kat got up and headed into the bathroom, leaving behind her uneaten meal.

She changed the one thing she could: her hair. She chopped it off, and used a little dye left over from her mother's own dying experiments, and emerged with a new look and a new outlook on life. She'd decided that she didn't have to be a perfect little housewife to be a good mother or heiress. She was just going to be herself.

Katyrzena wasn't the only one unhappy with her hair. Roxy found irrefutable proof she was getting older as some gray hair started coming in.

Chelle, meanwhile, had been promoted to the top of her career. She performed a few experiments on stuff, but I soon got annoyed with all the noise it was making and all the random sparkles, and undid her experiments.

And experiments can cause fires. Which are, you know, bad.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Baby, Baby

Hello, and welcome back to the Hadley Legacy. When we last left off, Katyrzena and Santiago were married and had their first child, a baby girl named Alexis.
It's been a while since the last chapter, college was really kicking my butt for a while, but now we're back, with lots of fun Hadley updates to make!

First things first, Kat's pregnant again.
"Hey Mom, look, another baby's coming!"
"That's nice dear..."

Santiago, the only man in the house, ponders how he ended up in a place where the only other guy's the ghost of his grand-mother-in-law's ex-husband.

Roxy took little Alex to the cake. I believe the one who brings them to the cake is the one that has the highest relationship with them, and that's always Roxy because she's home during the day to take care of them while everyone else is at work.

Alexis is an adorable little toddler! She has her father's skin tone, her grandmother's dyed red hair, and purple eyes from... somewhere.

Not long after the party, Katyrzena woke her husband by going into labor. How rude!

It's a boy! Everyone, meet Parker. Parker, meet everyone.
Katyrzena wasn't so sure how she felt about having two kids so close in age, though.
"You okay, Kat?" Santiago called as he came inside.
"Uh, yeah, fine." She'd fought so hard to become the heiress, she couldn't back out now.

Despite her misgivings, Katyrzena knew there had to be at least two girls in the family, in case something happened to one of them, so she swallowed her fears and got pregnant again.

Katyrzena was spending much of her time out of the house, away from the pressures of the family, and so most of the child-rearing fell on Chelle and Roxy, who were home from work more often as they worked their ways up to the tops of their careers.

Speaking of getting to the tops of their careers, Chelle got promoted to level nine, which was what she needed for her LTW.

With four generations of Hadleys under one roof (seriously, OMG), the house is getting a little crowded. I've started some renovations at the back of the house, preparing to make more space probably by the time the next generation arrives. I've also added a bathroom for the kids where Katyrzena's bed used to be.

Upstairs there's a deck now with a table and chairs and a grill, hopefully to help move some of the traffic at dinner time away from the one dining room. Right now everyone has to eat at once, since Gwen, Chelle, and Santiago all come home from work and Roxy's just about to go to work.

Anyway, Roxanne took Parker to the cake on his birthday.

He's a toddler! How cute.

Not long after Parker's birthday, Katyrzena went into labor!

It's a girl! Meet Nicole.
"Phew, that means no more babies..."

On the way out of the house, Kat ran into Santiago and Gwen, coming home from work.
"Where are you going, Kat?" Santiago asked. "I thought you were excited to play with the kids."
"Oh... yeah. Just gonna go buy some groceries, I'll be right back," Katyrzena lied, then headed out the door.