[ Sims 2 Stories ]
Blue's new husband, Xavier, had long wanted to have 6 children, and to see them happily married off. So far they only had three cats. And one (Josie) that had gone astray.
"I had better warn you," Xavier beamed, "that twins run in my family."
"Oh," said Blue. "That's all right then, because I want a career as well! Twins will speed the process up."
But their happy expectations were not to last.
One evening, late in Blue's pregnancy, Kent Wren brought their missing cat back. Xavier invited him in for a chat, and during the evening told him "We have actually been thinking that having cats around newborn babies might not be the most practical thing."
"Oh, that is such a shame - she is such a pretty cat, and so well behaved. I would be sad to think she was going into a pound."
"Well, Kent, would you like to keep her? With our blessing? After all, she left us and came to you."
Kent was very happy to accept, and eventually left with Josie.
Later that night, the twins were born without any problems.
After a short rest, Blue decided she was hungry. Xavier headed to the kitchen to put on some toaster pastries as it was by now early morning.
Cyan was still awake, lying on the carpet of the living room, looking around him with huge baby eyes, taking everything in as if he knew something significant was going to happen.
Blue smelled smoke and came running downstairs to try to put out the fire. Xavier, I am afraid, completely lost it.
Blue started to try to put it out, but the fire had already taken hold too strongly.
Following some strange instinct, Blue carried Cyan outside to be safe; then, realising her husband was on fire, ran back in, leaving her hours-old baby in the snow.
Poor Xavier had caught fire and was himself burning.
"Oh no oh no!"
Somehow Blue managed to find a fire extinguisher and tried so hard to save him. But it was too late. And she herself was badly burned by then.
When she saw the Reaper, she knew.
Just a little bit more heat left in that ash was all it took to finish her off as well.
Jellicle the cat, having investigated, sniffed. No humans left to feed her. Time to go.
The Social Worker arrived, tut-tutting about parents who left their newborns outside in the snow.
She carried little Cyan into her warm car for a moment, went through the house's open front door and looked around her.
"My Goddess, what happened here?"
She put a call in to the police immediately and went to check upstairs, where
she discovered Turquoise fidgeting in her cot.
She walked up and down the living room carrying Cyan, thinking.
After more phone calls and much discussion she agreed with her superiors that she would adopt the children and live in the house with them, to bring them up until they were university age.
"I need a change of pace and I have savings. Social work is very stressful."
"Well, said her boss, "I know your baby-minding skills are second to none. And never mind your savings! I'll arrange a grant to cover most of your expenses, from our Fostering budget."
The one remaining cat, Osi, was taken for adoption, and she could begin the clean-up.
From then on, that night, and every night, she was haunted and frightened by the ghosts of both Blue and Xavier.
"leave me be! I'm doing my best for your little ones!" she told them.
After some weeks, totally exhausted, and suffering from sleep deprivation, her heart simply stopped.
Blue's ghost laughed. "Bad social worker. Take my children would you?"
Sims!
Then Danni Purple moved in; she wanted to make her reputation as a ghost hunter, she would foster the children with the approval of Social Services, and write. She intended this to be a long term research project.
The fireman called. This was a courtesy visit, made to all homes where there had been a fire, and he came to explain about fire sprinklers. "Far quicker and more effective than a fire alarm," he said. She had several sprinklers installed immediately.
Watching little Cyan, sometimes Purple thought he might be somehow thinking about his parents - there had to be some pretty traumatic memories from that terrible night, although he had been so young. She herself found it very upsetting thinking about it, and she wasn't even part of the family.
She installed a ghost monitor she had invented, in the nursery, the focus of the apparitions, and arranged with Social Services that if she didn't call them every day to check in, they would come round and investigate. "Just in case."
She also bought new bedroom furniture, based on the theories of one Professor Cwieberdink, who opined that deceased Sims' spouses tended to focus on whoever was using their double bed. Danni felt that might have been what had happened to the Social Worker. She herself dozed in an armchair until the new furniture arrived.
"It's quite understandable really. They are concerned about their children, as any parent would be."
She did try to talk to the ghosts but they didn't seem to be able to hear what she said.
"I'm so, so sorry it worked out this way."
Washable cushion linoleum was the most practical flooring in the nursery.
In time, the hauntings settled down, and the three of them concentrated on the business of growing up.
As toddlers, Turquoise turned into a pretty little thing; but shortsighted. She seemed to squint at things, peering to see them better. She would probably need to wear thick-lensed glasses all her life.
Her brother Cyan had inherited his father's slightly rakish good looks, and while his eyesight was fine, he was generally to be seen with a slight stubborn pout, as is common with boys who are the only males in a household and expect to get their own way, as if by right.
"Goodnight, sweet little Turquoise. Dream happy dreams."
It was wintertime.
Danni had had a small mausoleum built at the rear of the garden, for Blue and Xavier's ashes. "That way we will never forget them, and maybe they can rest peacefully now." It did seem to help, with the ghosts only making occasional appearances.
Now that they were all getting enough sleep, she went back to writing up her long-delayed thesis on the hauntings. The children loved the snow, staying out in it to all kinds of times while Danni watched them play, making sure they didn't get too cold, and thinking about her research, or reading by moonlight.
Christmas arrived, perfectly timed in the middle of all that snow.
  |
And soon it was Christmas!
After a long day playing in the snow, the twins were quietly playing chess in their pyjamas.
They heard someone sneaking into the house. It was Santa!
Cyan told him he was too fat to get down the chimney. All he said was "Ho Ho Ho!"
"I try to keep my weight under control by skiing."
Turquoise had a very long conversation with him about video gaming.
"I still think he's a spacemen."
This bathroom seems pretty popular with visitors.
"Always wash your hands! Ho ho ho!"
And left. On foot. At least the children found no trace of a sleigh in the snow the following morning. But that didn't matter.
Soon after Christmas, Danni finally sold her first book about the hauntings. Of course being academic it didn't sell very well. But her publisher had asked her to write another version, in simpler, layman's language, which she hoped would be more suited to the popular market.
The children loved their Christmas presents.