This chapter was originally uploaded to the Sims2 Exchange on February 14, 2007.

Welcome to part three of Chapter Two of the Pseudo Legacy.

When last we left our legacy family, a very pregnant Zoey had caught her dimwitted, but charminglyhandsome husband Christian cheating on her in their very own bed. Unbenknownst to them, the �otherwoman�, Tamara Almassizadeh, was Zoey�s evil, vampiric Aunt Kirstial�s new minion. Kirstial was unable toattack the Legacinas directly due to the intervention of the local wolf pack, but with Tamara�s help, shehoped to cause them as much grief and strife as possible. As it turns out, they were quite successful.

�STUPID CHEATING HUSBANDS!�

The morning after Brody�s birthday party, a night�s sleep had done nothing to soften the emotional woundfor Zoey. Because of Brody, she didn�t take her anger out on Christian directly, just yet. For the time being,she was taking her fury out on the family�s yard gnome.

For a pleasure sim, Zoey was taking Christian�s infidelity very hard. She had been devoted and faithful tohim since they were engaged, and his transgression wounded her to the quick.

�STUPID APE FACED COLLEGE WHORES!� She ignored the pain in her foot and continued abusing thegnome. Everyone in the house, including the very ashamed Christian, were staying out of her way.

Unfortunately, there was a slight problem with this strategy.

Headmaster BJ Ryan had been invited to the house to see about admitting Brody into private school.Everyone had forgotten until almost too late and there was no way to cancel the dinner date that had beenset the day before. How were they supposed to know that World War Zoey would erupt in the house at thissame time?

Taylor took a deep breath and murmured to himself, �Please let the family get through this dinner withoutany bloodshed. I think that would void our invitation to the school for good.�

�Did you say something, Mr. Legacina?�

�Oh no, sir.� Taylor coughed, �Please, let me show you our house.�

�We�re a happy family. Very happy family. No infidelity or sleeping with old college friends for no goodreason at all. Yup. And uh... Brody�s a smart boy. And he was radioactive once. Yep, we�re a happy, happyfamily. My wife would never try and kill me. Ever. Did I tell you that Brody�s a smart boy? He beats me atchess all the time. Of course, I can�t even beat myself at chess, so I don�t know that that�s saying much,but... uhm... Brody�s a very smart boy.� Christian was, perhaps, overcompensating a little too much. �We�rea very happy family and my wife is completely non-violent.�

BJ stared at Christian and backed away slowly, �That�s... nice.. Mr. Legacina.�

�This salmon is exquisite, Mrs. Legacina. You have my compliments. Is this a lemon garlic rub on it?� Theheadmaster was starting to relax since the obviously insane husband was not coming to dinner.

Obviously distracted, Zoey responded with a surly grunt, �Hrmph. Christian likes lemon garlic rub on hissalmon too. Did you meet my soon-to-be-dead husband?�

�Uh...�

�It would be nice if he would be hit by a bus. Or maybe if a satellite fell on him. I could rig the stove toexplode. That�s pretty easy. But all of those would be too quick. He needs to suffer. Really truly suffer. If itweren�t for Brody, he�d be dead already.�

Andrea glanced up from her salmon and said dryly, �Zoey. Cop. Sitting right here. I.E. Me. You know, thatwhole �power to arrest people for attempted murder�.�

�Who said anything about attempted?� Zoey�s eyes were wild, �If I set out to do something like that, he�ll bea ghost before the night is over.�

Headmaster BJ Ryan lost his appetite and quickly excused himself from the table, �I.. I.. I suddenlyremembered I have an appointment somewhere else. Anywhere else.�

Despite the fact that the headmaster practically ran from the house after dinner was �done�, Brody did gainadmission to the school. It�s very possible that he feared for his life if he did reject Brody, but no one in thehouse was really up for questioning the reason for the approval.

Brody looked rather cute in his uniform when he headed off to school the next day.

�Thanks, Voice. I think I look pretty nifty too.� Brody paused and then asked, �Hey Voice, can I ask yousomething?�

Sure, kiddo.

�Why is mommy both so sad and angry and daddy so sad and scared? I asked Grandma, but she wouldn�tanswer.�

Oh, honey. It�s a long story. Why don�t you ask your daddy. It might do him some good to explain.

�Do you think we should do anything, honey?� Taylor quietly discussed the subject with Professor Kelly overa game of chess.

Sighing, she responded, �I think this is for them to work out, Taylor. I hate seeing our daughter in pain likethis, and it�s horrible for little Brody, but this is something that they have to resolve between them. Anythingwe do will just make the situation worse, I fear.�

�I suppose you�re right.� Taylor sighed and resigned himself to the continuing war.

�Ow. Huh? Oh! OW! DADDY!�

Babies wait for no one when heir time comes, and that afternoon, the baby decided it was time to join thefamily, regardless of any family strife.

�DAADDDDDDY!!!!�

�God I hate this part!� Taylor rushed into witness the birth of his next grandchild. Mindful of Zoey�s violenttendencies, though, he did keep out of her reach. �Hang in there, Zoey, you�re doing great!�

�AAAAAHG!�

Before the pain could continue much longer, it was all over and the second child of the third generation wasborn.

�Hello little man.� Zoey smiled down at her new son, much calmer now that the pain and screaming part ofthings was done.

�What are you going to name him, sweetie?� Taylor smiled proudly at his daughter and grandchild.

�Micah.� She paused and then added in a quieter tone, �It was the name Christian and I agreed on before...Well, before.�

Welcome to the family, Micah Legacina.

Hoping that the lack of pregnancy hormones might help him apologize to Zoey without personal harm,Christian approached her later that day when he got home from work. �Zoey, please. I .. I�m stupid anddumb and should have never ever did what I did. I understand you hate me now, but.. I.. I still love youand want to fix this.�

She glared at him with an icy look of death and said gruffly, �Get out of my face.�

�Daddy, don�t most parents share a bedroom? You and mommy don�t really talk together and you sleep inmy bedroom with me, and kids at school say that�s weird.� Brody was still a bit confused by the wholesituation. �Don�t you and mommy like each other?�

Professor Kelly winced quietly. At least when she and Taylor had their issues back in the day, there were nochildren yet. That would have made things much more complicated.

Christian considered for a moment, then said gently, �Sometimes two people can love each other enough tobe a couple and have children, but... it doesn�t stop them from sometimes doing something stupid andhurting one another. Daddy did something very stupid and mommy�s mad at him.�

�Like leaving the toilet seat up?� Brody asked innocently.

�Uhm. Something like that.�

�I�m sorry little Micah man. Daddy�s a dumbass. I think I�ve screwed up everything for this family, but I�vegot to try and make it right. Maybe your mommy will never forgive me, but I have to do what I can. I maynot be very smart, but even I know this is bad.� Sighing, Christian fed Micah his bottle, �What type ofCaptain Hero will I be if I can�t even save my own family?�

Christian wasn�t even sure why he did what he did with Tamara. Sure, he�d liked her as a friend, but he likedeverybody. Perhaps the first step in trying to patch things up with Zoey would be to deal with Tamara. Hemight be a little slow on most things, but even he knew he�d have to deal with this whole mess one step ata time.

The next day, Christian met with Tamara at Red�s Diner downtown. It seemed like a neutral enough spot totry and set things straight with her.

�Thanks for meeting me here, Tamara. I really appreciate it.� Taking a deep breath, Christian continued, �Wereally need to talk about what happened.�

�Hey, no problem Christian-pookie. I know the other night ended a little awkwardly, but we can work it out.�Oblivious to what his real purpose was, Tamara continued on blithely, �I was thinking that we could get anapartment here in downtown. I�ve got some money coming to me and we could get it set up to be quite thecozy love nest for us.�

�Uh...� Christian stared at her as she continued telling him how she was going to decorate �their� love nest.Something about leopard prints and shag carpeting. It all became a blur of noise as she continued ramblingoff her fantasy.

Taking a deep breath, he blurted out, �Tamara, I can�t see you anymore. Zoey and my boys are the mostimportant thing in the world to me and it was a mistake to do what we did. Seeya. Bye.�

�And we could get a big king sized bed with good strong headboard, in case we decide we want to getkin...� She continued on for a good sentence or two before she realized that Christian had gotten up andwas leaving, �Christian? Pookie? Where are you going?�

Christian resolutely continued on his way out of the restaurant.

Realizing things were not going quite as she had planned, Tamara got up and chased after him, followinghim out of the diner, �Where do you think you�re going!? You can�t leave me like this. You�re supposed to bemine now! Christian! Stop!�

Christian did stop. He turned to look at her with a sad expression on his face, �Look Tamara. I don�t knowwhat you think we were supposed to be, but it�s not going to happen.� Flinching as her expression started tochange into something angry and ugly (well, uglier than normal), he continued, �I love Zoey and I�m goingto stay with her until she either kills me or forgives me. I.. I wouldn�t be the type of man I want to be if Ididn�t do at least that.�

�WHAT!?� Tamara was completely flabbergasted by this. She was very good at believing her own delusions,and she had delusions of grandeur when it came to her relationship with Christian. �You can�t leave me!Wait, stop! Where are you going! What about us!?�

With his back to her, Christian continued walking away, �There is no �us�, Tamara. The only thing we everwere was a mistake. Goodbye.�

�AAAAHRRRRGGGGG!� She howled with frustration as he disappeared around the corner. �DISAPPOINTED!�

That night, Christian tried again to apologize to Zoey.

�Zoey, please, I�m sorry. I made a huge, huge, HUGE mistake and you have every reason to hate me. But Ican�t stand where things are and I�ll do anything to make it up to you. I know I�m a big stupid, but..please...�

�Hrmph!� She turned her back on him again.

�Zoey, please...� Christian got up off his knees and went to touch her shoulder.

She spun and turned on him, her voice an icy growl, �Don�t you ever think of touching me again, Christian!How dare you think you can make up for what you did with a few words. You betrayed me in our very ownbed!�

�Zoey, I...� Christian stumbled over his words, but she interrupted.

�Get out of my sight, Christian! Go back to your whore. I don�t care, just GO!�

As things stood, it seemed unlikely that Zoey would ever forgive Christian, and it was only a matter of timebefore she did either kill him or throw him out.

While things were not going particularly well between Zoey and Christian in the Legacina household, lifecontinued in other parts of town.

Alegra considered the house before her thoughtfully, �Well, the boss says we should watch this house too,�cause they�re connected to that other house he�s interested in now.�

She stared intently at the house for a long moment then gave a huff, �BORING. Oooh. Flowers!�

�Aw yeah, baby. Take that you sniffly snuffly lovely daisy patch. Ooh yeah, get mama�s back right there.Oooooooooh.� Alegra might be a dutiful and fiercely loyal member of Balin�s pack, but she�s not the bestwatchdog in the world.

As spare, Victoria no longer needed to live in the legacy spotlight, but that didn�t mean that life didn�tcontinue for her. Despite her plans otherwise, she and Charlie had started a family very soon after gettingmarried. Pregnancy was not something Victoria�s temperament was especially suited for.

�AAAH! STUPID BABY GET OUT NOW!�

Amazingly enough, Zoey - a pleasure sim - seemed to handle pregnancy better than her sister.

Eventually everything came out just fine, even if she still screamed and ranted about the whole process.Victoria and Charlie�s baby was a little boy they named Adrian.

�Vic, he�s beautiful! Our son...� Charlie gushed over his son. �Voice, do you see him? He�s wonderful!�

Yes Charlie, I see him. I may not spend as much time telling the story of your life, but I am here with youguys. Adrian actually looks a lot like you, Charlie. Just with Victoria�s coloring.

Adrian definitely looked a great deal like his father, but he had more of his mother�s personality - outgoingand mean.

�Talk Wabbit or I beat you again!�

Even though Victoria protested that children would interfere in her plans for world domination, she andCharlie did end up having another child. Their second was another boy that they named Kyle.

Victoria did an okay job as a mom when they were babies, but Charlie made a wonderful father. He adoredthem right from the time they were smelly, needy infants right on up.

Kyle was an even odder mix of his parents. He seemed to have Charlie�s eyes and mouth, but more ofVictoria�s facial structure. His personality was also an odd mix of the two, making him nicer than his brother,but less active and shyer.

Time passed at the Thompson household, with Adrian eventually becoming a child and then Kyle followingbehind. The two boys both made it into private school, and excelled at their studies. Still, they were verydifferent from one another and weren�t exactly the best of friends.

�He�s cheating.�

Yes Kyle, that�s what mean sims do when they play chess.

�But it�s not fair.�

Probably not, but it�s something you should probably get used to with Adrian. Besides, your mom wouldcheat too.

The whole taking over the world thing was going a bit slower than Victoria had hoped, but she did reach herlifetime want of earning $100,000. It actually happened easier than she expected, and even before she hadreached the top of the entertainment career track.

�Huh. That was easy. Well, now that I�m permaplat, I won�t have to worry about my moods when I try andtake over the world.�

As for Charlie, well, he was continuing to work on his goal of maxing out all of his skills when he got theunexpected opportunity to take a unique field trip. As for any souvenirs he may have brought back with him,well, we�ll have to check on that later.

Back at the Legacina house, it was time for a birthday.

�Yes, Micah. That�s your no good cheating louse of a father.� Zoey was still holding firmly onto her anger atChristian. �Get a good look sweetie, �cause that�s what a cheater looks like and mommy isn�t going to raiseany cheaters.�

Micah grew up looking fairly similar to Brody, having Christian�s eyes, but features that were definitely fromthe Legacina side of the family. His personality was a bit more moderate than Brody�s, though: 6 neatness, 9outgoing, 7 active, 4 playful, 4 nice.

Christian was still doing his best to be a good father to the boys while trying not to make things worse withZoey. �Ooh, you�re radioactive, just like your brother was. Someday daddy hopes to be radioactive too.Maybe if mommy ever forgives daddy, he can become a great hero.�

�Wadioactif!�

While Professor Kelly had advised Taylor that it was best that they stay out of the fight, she took it uponherself to do something that she hoped might diffuse some of the tension in the household.

She got a puppy.

�Okay little guy. Your job is to be cute and cuddly and make everyone relax a little. Got it?�

�Woof!�

Benny, the newest addition to the Legacina family, was adopted through the local pet adoption agencyrather than directly from a breeder. While he wasn�t the brightest of pups, he was definitely quite friendly. Itmight take a little extra work to train him, but the fact that he was a doofus made him fun to watch.

One member of the family instantly fell in love with Benny.

�Puppy!�

�Oh god, it�s mauling me! Help! Help me someone! It... it�s sticky!� Benny found himself unexpectedlygetting love from the toddler.

�It... it looks so innocent and harmless laying there sleeping like that. He doesn�t even look sticky at all.�

Poor Benny.

Despite Professor Kelly�s efforts, Zoey still nursed her anger. Eventually, she decided to take action. Callingup the local gypsies, she had a late night meeting in front of the house with Kay Lillard.

�I want something that will put him out of my misery.� She hesitated and then added, �But will seem like itwas natural and.. and won�t cause too much pain.�

�I�ve got just the thing, dearie.� Gypsy Kay Lillard pulled a glowing vial from her stash of potions, �Just slip alittle of this into his juice or his morning cereal and he�ll never know what hit him. No muss, no fuss, justone dead adulterer.� Kay felt she there to provide a service, so wasn�t going to judge the actions of herclients.

Zoey hesitated then reached out to take the vial, �Perfect.� Steeling herself, she said in a wounded tone, �Noman gets away with cheating on a Legacina girl.�

�Wait!� Kay snatched the vial back out of Zoey�s reach, �Did you say Legacina? Are you Zoey Legacina?� Sheand the other gypsies had been briefed on the situation by Audrey.

Zoey gave her a confused and angry look, �Yes. But what does that have to do with anything?�

Kay rolled her eyes, �It has everything to do with it, stupid girl.�

�Hey, who are you calling stupid?!?� Now Zoey was getting pissed.

�You don�t know, do you?� Kay grew exasperated with Zoey. Pulling out her crystal ball, she rubbed a handover its surface, causing it to glow. �It was all a trap, Legacina Girl.�

�A trap? What do you mean, a trap? What was a trap?� Zoey frowned at the old woman, but looked at thecrystal ball while her anger faded into confused curiosity.

�Just what I said, girl. Maybe your husband is stupid and gullible, but the whole thing was a trap. Yourfamily has enemies and they�ll try and reach you and hurt you in whatever way they can.� A vision appearedin the globe, giving a hazy image of Tamara shaking hands with Kirstial.

�But.. but.. you mean our enemy sent her?� Zoey stared in shock at Kay as her mind worked over thisinformation furiously. �But.. she didn�t force him. Christian could have said no. He still went along with her.No one forced him to sleep with that ape faced tramp, no matter who she was working for.�

Kay nodded solemnly, �That is true. Maybe you are right to kill the man you love, and make no mistake, youstill love him. But I will not be the one to sell you the poison.� With that, she turned and started walkingaway. Over her shoulder she called, �Maybe your mother should have killed your father when he cheated onher.�

Zoey stood there with a dumbfounded expression her face, �Daddy never cheated. And.. I... I don�t loveChristian. I ... I don�t.� She said it more to convince herself than anything. �So what if it�s true. So what ifthat Tamara Apesister was working for our family enemy? It doesn�t change anything. Nothing at all. He stillcheated on me.�

Still, it was a very subdued and thoughtful Zoey Legacina who went back into the house that evening.

The late night conversation with the gypsy stayed with Zoey all the next day. Even though she kept trying tocling to her anger and hurt, she kept thinking about the good times and how good Christian was with theboys.

�Mom, did you and dad...� Zoey finally decided to talk things over with her mother the next morning overburnt pancakes.

�Yes, honey. When your Dad was in college, I caught him kissing another girl.� Professor Kelly stated thisgently but matter-of-factly as she poked at the charred breakfast.

�But, you stayed with him?� Zoey asked uncertainly. �I mean, of course you did. You�re still here. How.. howdid you know when it was okay to forgive him? Or that he wouldn�t do it again?�

Professor Kelly considered this for a long moment, then said, �Sometimes you have to trust your heart. Yourfather was so contrite and desperate to win me back. I decided I didn�t want to be without him, even if hehad made a dumb mistake.�

Working up her nerve, Zoey approached Christian later that day, �Christian, I..�

�Oh god, please don�t hurt me! No pain, no pain!� Christian immediately flinched and tried to jump back outof her way.

�No!� Zoey said irritatedly, then calmed herself, �No. I�m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk.�

�Oh.. okay.�

�Christian, I... miss you.� Zoey took a deep breath and continued, �What you did really hurt me and youknow I don�t deal with being angry very well. But I�ve done a lot of thinking lately and I can see that you�reserious about apologizing for it.�

�I am, Zoey. I... I�m pretty dumb sometimes but that was the dumbest thing I�ve ever done.� Christianpaused and then added, �Ever.�

Taking hold of his hands, Zoey said quietly, �I want to give us a second chance. You�re a good father to theboys and .. like I said, I miss you. Let�s... see what it�s like to be us again.�

And so, Zoey opened the door to let Christian back in. It wouldn�t necessarily be an easy road to healingtheir relationship...

... or I could be wrong.

Christian and Zoey had both missed each other a great deal, apparently. Their road to healing was actuallyan autobahn freeway of love, so to speak, and it wasn�t very long before they were racing towards the finishline.

Apology and acceptance led to hugging, which lead to kissing, which lead to making out, which lead tocopious amounts of woohoo.

Apparently make-up woohoo is pretty darn good, because these two were quite happy to lock the boys outof their room and make-up for the rest of the night. All night long.

Which, in turn, led to yet another consequence of making up.

�What the...� Zoey stared down at her stomach in shock, �I�m pregnant!�

Zoey, you�ve been through this before. Two boys happened the exact same way, remember?

�Yeah, but... wow. I�m pregnant.�

Of course, there were a few left-over consequences of the whole World War Zoey near-breakup situation.

*BOOM* *WHOOSH*

�AAAH! I forgot I set this trap for him! Someone call the fire department! Eeee!�

As Zoey and Christian repaired their relationship, Taylor and Professor Kelly spent a great deal of time withtheir grandsons. Micah learned pretty much all of his toddler skills from his grandparents.

�Okay Micah, granpa�s going to let go of your hands and then back up and you come to me, okay?� Taylorwas a great grandfather.

�Okay gwanpa!�

Professor Kelly and Brody, on the other hand, seemed to bond over their mutual hatred of bugs. Someonehad it in for the Legacina garbage can, and this led to the inevitable appearance of roaches.

�DIE BUG DIE!� Brody stomped and stomped and stomped as if it were a new dance step.

�Oh god, I hate bugs!� Professor Kelly, neat freak that she was, took the appearance of the bugs ratherhard.

�Don�t cry, gramma, I�m killin� �em all! Look!� Stomp stomp stomp stomp.

Eventually the time came for Micah to have a birthday. Since things in the household had returned to asemblance of normal, it was time to hold a real party again.

�God, I missed you guys,� Parker said as he swung his noisemaker over his head.

�I think we missed us too, buddy.� Taylor grinned as he held Micah and got him close to the cake.

�ALRIGHT! I�m a real boy now!� Micah danced quite happily.

You always were a real boy, Micah. It�s not like you were ever a wooden puppet or anything.

�Ooh, being a wooden puppet would have been cool. Hey, where�s Benny, I want to go give him a hug.� Andoff he ran.

Micah seems to take after Christian in many respects. Including being a bit clueless.

�If I close my eyes really tight,� Micah stated at breakfast one morning, �I can wish really hard that myomelet would turn into a baby bird. Having a baby bird would be totally cool.�

�Micah, eat your omelet.�

�Mom, you�re breaking my mojo.�

Brody stared at his plate and then looked up at his grandmother and father, �Is Micah crazy?�

Professor Kelly sighed and said quietly to her grandson, �No dear. He just takes after your father.�

�I still want to know what happened to the baby bird.� Christian said.

Despite Micah�s personality quirks, it was decided that he too would go to private school. This, of course,meant a visit by one of the headmasters.

With World War Zoey over with, the dinner engagement went swimmingly.

Before long, it was time for another birthday. Even though there was a new baby on the way, Brody wasready to turn into a teenager.

Micah stood in the background and quietly wondered to himself, �I wonder if he�ll turn into a wooden boy.That would be totally cool.�

Brody blew out the candles, spun around, and turned into a teenager, not a wooden boy. �Whoa! This isawesome!�

Thanking the gods of boolprop, Brody did not roll Romance as his aspiration.

�Aw, that would have been fun.�

Maybe, but I actually found the aspiration he did roll more appropriate - Knowledge. Even as a toddler,Brody was quite happy to sit and skill, even if he was a bit of a charming rogue. His lifetime want turned outto be �Become a Business Tycoon�. Little odd, but a fitting mix.

As soon as the party was over, Brody was out back at the telescope and looking up at the stars. He washoping to meet aliens, but it wasn�t meant to be right then and there.

The next night, Zoey woke up with a familiar pain that she�d felt twice before, �AAHG! CHRISTIAN THIS ISALL YOUR FAULT! COME HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!�

�But.. but Zoey, I thought you said you loved me again, and...�

�I�m having the baby, IDIOT!�

�OOoooh, baby!�

Both of the boys also came rushing in to see the birth of their new sibling. This time it turned out to be alittle girl with blue eyes and blond hair.

�Ooh, a baby sister! That�s awesome, mom.� Brody cheered the arrival.

�Is she made of wood?� Micah was just as excited.

Now that the pain was over, Zoey smiled over to Christian, �What do we want to name her?�

He thought about it for a moment, then smiled, �Howabout Persephone? I can�t spell it, but I always likedthe sound of it.�

�Persephone it is.�

Though he was just as excited about the birth of his first and only granddaughter as the rest of the family,Taylor was a man with a purpose. For the last couple of days, he had been spending most of his time at thecomputer, typing away furiously.

�Oh, how did that go again? Curse my foggy memory. I should have done this sooner.�

What are you doing, Taylor?

�Writing my memoirs. I just haven�t told Zoey everything I should have, and they haven�t decided which ofthe grandkids is going to be heir, and well... It�s just important that I do this.�

But, you�re... oh. Damn.

Taylor worked the rest of the day and into the night, but he eventually finished writing everything down,completing the task he had set for himself.

�Come here, honey. Give your old man a hug.�

�Dad, what are you doing wearing your uniform? You retired ages ago.� Still, Zoey smiled and happily gaveher dad a hug.

�I worked hard for this uniform, and it�s the sharpest looking outfit I own. It�s appropriate that I ... well, let�sjust say I wanted to wear it.� Taylor hugged her fiercely, �Zoey, let me just say again how proud I am ofyou. Any man would be proud of you as a daughter and the grandkids you gave me.�

�Dad, what�s gotten into you? Of course I know you�re proud of me.� Confused but amused, Zoey huggedTaylor back, �Oof, careful Dad, you�re squishing me.�

�Make sure and tell Victoria that I love her too, okay?�

�Dad, you sound like you�re going away or something.�

�Oh, don�t mind me. Just a silly old man is all.�

�You know you�re the hottest chick in this living room pool hall?� Taylor flirted with Professor Kelly over agame of pool.

�Taylor, stop being so silly. I think I can make this shot here and win the game.�

�Just as long as you bend over the table like you did the last time, mmmhmmm.�

�Taylor!� That earned a giggle and a kiss from his wife.

A kiss that wasn�t a moment too soon.

�TAYLOR LEGACINA YOUR TIME HAS COME.� The Grim Reaper appeared in the room and ghosted his wayover to Taylor�s side.

Sighing, Taylor said, �I knew you were coming. But there�s some things we need to discuss first.�

�THIS IS NOT DEBATEABLE, TAYLOR LEGACINA. IT IS YOUR TIME TO GO NOW.�

Flinching, but standing his ground, Taylor said, �I�m not concerned about myself. I know it�s my time. I wantto know that my family is going to be safe. I know you helped Kirstial take my parents and my grandfather.�

�WE DID NOT *HELP* HER, TAYLOR LEGACINA. SHE KILLED THEM AND WE DID OUR JOB.� The GrimReaper was impressed with Taylor�s determination, so decided to answer his questions, �WE CANNOTGUARANTEE THE SAFETY OF YOUR FAMILY. THAT IS UP TO EACH OF THEM INDIVIDUALLY TO MATCHWITS WITH YOUR ENEMY. SOME WILL SUCCEED, SOME MAY NOT.� The faceless one paused and thenadded, �KNOW THIS THOUGH, TAYLOR LEGACINA, YOU STRUCK A GREAT BLOW AGAINST HER BY LIVINGYOUR LIFE AS YOU CHOSE, TO THE FULLEST AND WITH FIERCE LOVE FOR YOUR FAMILY.�

�Okay. That�s good enough, I guess. Ooh, tiki drink.� Taylor took the drink and felt himself turninginsubstantial and fading away, �Man am I going to miss Kelly...�

�DO NOT WORRY, TAYLOR LEGACINA,� The Grim Reaper directed his hula zombies to guide Taylor onward,�YOU WILL NOT BE ALONE FOR LONG.�

�Oh Taylor! My love... I was supposed to go first. You were younger than me. Oh Taylor...�

The whole family took his death hard, but Professor Kelly was devastated. None of them witnessed theexchange between Taylor and the Grim Reaper, but they all knew that their beloved founding father had leftthem.

Life moves on, though, even if loved ones do not. That evening it was time to have a birthday forPersephone. Due to the grief still hanging over the household, they chose to make it a quiet affair this time.

�This isn�t the same without Granpa here, little Persey.� Brody sighed and took his little sister over t o thecake, �But he�d have wanted us to have fun, so let�s turn you into a toddler.�

�Bwody!� Coming down from her toss in the air, Persephone had transformed into a toddler with her father�sblond hair, but her mother�s blue eyes.

�Hehe. Yep, Persey. Brody. That�s me.�

Sadness still hung over the house, but there�s something about the joy of a toddler to lighten the grief andgive a smile for the heart.

Persephone was as different from her brothers in personality as she was in looks. Her personality turned outto be 5 neatness, 10 outgoing, 6 active, 5 playful and 9 nice. For the first time in two generations, there wasactually a *nice* sim in the house.

�PUPPY!� Almost immediately, Persephone found Benny.

�Oh no, it�s another one. AHG IT�S GOT ME! Help! Help, this one is sticky too!�

Poor Benny.

The next day, Professor Kelly went out of her way to spend time with her granddaughter.

�Grandma�s not going to be around forever, sweetie, and I want you to have something to remember meby.� Professor Kelly knew she would be joining Taylor soon, but regretted that she wouldn�t be around to seeher grandchildren grow up. �So, let�s get this walking thing down, okay? Then you can be a terror formommy and daddy.�

�Yay! Rahr! Tewwor!�

Oh Kelly, please don�t look so sad.

�I�m not sad, Voice. Just.. wistful.�

I know, me too.

�We had a good life, though, Taylor and I. Even though I could still be a young professor back at Sim State,I wouldn�t have traded this for the world.�

Professor Kelly, of course, was right. That night, the Grim Reaper appeared for her. �PROFESSOR KELLYHANBY LEGACINA, IT IS YOUR TIME.�

�You�re going to take me to Taylor, right?� Professor Kelly was nervous and a little afraid, but knew therewas no way to avoid this.

�YES, CHILD. HE AWAITS YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE.�

And with that, Professor Kelly was gone.

Little Persephone was asleep when her grandmother went, but even she knew and felt the sadness at herpassing.

With Professor Kelly and Taylor both gone, an era was over for the Legacina family.

Taylor started out with nothing at Sim State, but graduated summa cum laude. He then started out withnearly nothing again and Professor Kelly willingly married into that. Eventually, they both succeeded at theirlifetime wants, him at becoming a general, her at gaining twenty best friends. Together, they raised twobeautiful daughters and got their legacy off to a great start.

When the hour is upon usand our beauty surely goneno you will not be forgottenno you will not be alone

And when the day has all but endedand our echo starts to fadeno you will not be alone thenand you will not be afraidno you will not be afraid

When the fog has finally liftedfrom my cold and tired browno I will not leave you cryingand I will not let you downI will not let you down

Now comes the nightfeel it fading awayand the soul underneathis all that remainsso just slide over hereleave your fear in the fray

let us hold to each otheruntil the end of our days

- Now Comes the Night, by Rob Thomas

And here is where we leave our story. Next chapter, we find out what is happening with Kirstial and get tosee Brody, Micah and Persephone grow up and head off to college. I had been hoping to wrap up ChapterTwo here, but I realized there was just too much I wanted to cover, so there will be a Part Four before weget to Chapter Three.

I was very sad to see Taylor and Professor Kelly go. I�m always sad to see my sims pass on, but these twowere special to me. It was their time, though, and life always moves forward.

I hope you all enjoyed this part of the chapter. Please feel free to comment in my guest book. I love thefeedback and it helps to know that people are actually reading. :)

Until next time...