Chapter 22 – Five Weddings and a Funeral Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of this chapter of A Piratical Legacy. I'm assuming that you've just finished reading Part 1, so this part should need no introduction. Onward!

The title of this chapter claims that there are five weddings and a funeral. Well, if you've been keeping count, you'll know that we've had the funeral (Pao), as well as four weddings (Grace & Lee, Morgan & Kelly, Will & Orikes, Nick & Green). This is the fifth: Pierce Buccaneer and Rani Buccaneer.

Tragically, almost immediately after the wedding ceremony took place, Eddie Buccaneer passed on to the great catnip garden in the sky. He will be sorely missed on Pirate Island and by his many fans in other parts of the sim-verse, yet as long as he's available for download he will never truly be dead. Rest in peace, Edward Buccaneer: Mad Scientist, Loving Father, Religious Advisor. (To see more of Eddie, check out the Squeaky Clean Legacy or A Planetary Apocalypse.)

He was followed immediately thereafter by his beloved wife and high school sweetheart, Tosha. "DO YOU PERHAPS HAVE ANY CHILD-REARING ADVICE YOU COULD SPARE?" Tosha Buccaneer, proud wife, mother, and scientific abominator. Rest in Peace. "Just make sure you have plenty of scratching posts, and dose the bottles with catnip. Oh, and never forget about flea collars. Why do you ask?" "OH, NO REASON. COME ALONG. EDDIE IS WAITING."

But new life always arises to replace the old, and people move on, and sorrow fades.

It wasn't long before Pierce and Rani welcomed their daughter, Angora Buccaneer, to the family. Unfortunately, she did not inherit the tiger traits. However, there is hope for the line yet. There's an as-yet unborn cousin who may just have a striped skintone.

"Drink up, Zing. This is the best organic milk that can be had on Pirate Island," Grace said as she held her newborn son, Coxinga. It hadn't taken very long for her to give him a nickname. Coxinga burbled at her. "You always have to make sure you get the best value for your money, Zing," Grace added as she rocked the baby. "But you don't want to be too cheap. You get what you pay for in a lot of cases, but sometimes things are expensive just for the sake of being expensive. You want to get good value for what you pay. Always keep that in mind." How touching are the lessons learned at a mother's knee.

When Coxinga was a few days old, Grace decided that she and the baby were ready to meet the world. Gertie happily obliged by throwing a family baby shower. Much to Grace's disgust, it wasn't a traditional sort of baby shower. There were no gifts involved. "Not that there's anything you need," Marie said indulgently. "This family has always been well off. Well, except when they weren't."

While proud aunts and uncles were swarming the baby in the kitchen, Marie asked Roche if he would talk with her for a moment. "I guess it can't hurt," Roche said warily. "Oh, sit down," Marie said. "I won't bite. Unless you want me to. Not that I'm offering or anything." "Do you even still have all your teeth?" Roche asked dubiously, eyeing Marie's sagging frame. "As many as you do," Marie snapped. Roche felt around his mouth gingerly with his tongue. "Whatever," he said, dismissing the thought. "What do you want to talk about?"

Marie waited until her ex-husband sat down. "I want to apologize," Marie said. "For what?" Roche asked, surprised. "For everything," Marie said. "For blaming you when we lost Anna. I can see now that you didn't have any other choice, and it's turned out for the best. For cheating on you with the dregs of humanity. For writing about it on the internet and letting our daughter find out about it." "Hey now, you didn't sent Gertie that blog link, did you?" Roche asked.

"No, but I also didn't keep the blog hidden. I trusted that it would remain anonymous, which was pretty naive of me." "You got that right," Roche nodded. "Anyway, can you forgive me someday, do you think?" Marie asked. "We've got grandkids... I'd like it if we could tolerate one another's presence. For their sake." "I... suppose," Roche said reluctantly. "But it's going to take time, Marie." "I guess I can live with that. I have to, don't I?"

Roche and Marie joined their children in the kitchen, and Lee and Andrew migrated into the living room. "Getting a bit crowded in there," Lee said by way of explanation. "And now is a good time for slap-dancing," Andrew said. He turned on the radio. "Whoever fumbles first has to do the dishes when the guests leave." "You're on!"

"Hey, what are you two doing out here?" Gertie demanded, wandering into the living room and catching sight of the slappers. "Competing over who has to do the chores later," Andrew explained. "There's no point in doing that," Gertie shrugged. "My brothers are neat freaks. They've already put away all of the dishes." "Oh."

"In that case, it is time for a Bigfoot Hug!" Andrew cried. He bodily picked up Gertie and twirled her around the room. "Ack! Andrew! Don't make me pull out Mr. Mickles!" Andrew immediately dropped Gertie to the floor. "Sorry." "Oh, Andrew, I was just joking," Gertie said, brushing off her rear as she stood up. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Mr. Mickles is no laughing matter," Andrew said solemnly. "But--but his name is Mr. Mickles!" Gertie protested. "How is that not funny?" "It is not." "Oh, fine."

She wandered back into the kitchen, where Nick was taking his turn holding baby Coxinga. "You have a really strange name, kid," he told the cooing bundle. "But I guess it's traditional and all that." "Grace and Lee call him Zing for short," Gertie said. She reached forward and tickled Coxinga's toes. "But I think that name is even sillier." "Maybe he'll grow into it," Nick shrugged. "At least she isn't calling him Cox. Can you imagine the teasing he'd get at school? Maybe Zing is the best choice."

"And when he grows up, he can be a Rock God and become a professional zinger!" Gertie said wickedly. "Gertie!" Nick admonished. "That isn't very nice. You'll hurt Zing's feelings." "No I won't," Gertie said. "He's too little and too cute to know what I'm saying." "Why don't you hold your cute nephew for a moment?" Nick asked, handing the baby over. "What? Sure!"

A moment later Gertie was stomping into the nursery. "Ew! Now I know why Nick was so glad to hand you off," she said, plugging her nose. "You stink worse than aged gorgonzola!" While Gertie was changing Zing's diaper she wondered where his parents and/or grandparents were. Surely they should be the ones taking care of that onerous chore.

...

... Suffice to say, the baby shower was a roof-raiser.

The next night, Grace celebrated by becoming a Space Pirate, and thus perma-plat.

She immediately celebrated by running to the upstairs bathroom and vomiting profusely. She thought it might have something to do with the impromptu 'celebrating' she and Lee had done during the baby shower, as she later announced at dinner.

"Heya Zing," Roche said happily, gathering the baby into his arms. "You've sure got a weird mom, you know that? Sometimes it's hard to believe she's my kid. She was describing her morning sickness at the dinner table. So inappropriate. But you'll be happy to know you're going to be a big brother! That's 'cause your parents woohooed at your baby shower." Zing blinked at him and pooped.

A short while later he concluded his expression of opinion on Roche and his parents giving out too much info by spitting up his entire bottle on his grandfather. "I don't think I deserved that," Roche muttered as he got out a cleaning rag. "C'mon, Zing. Bed time for you."

All of the adults in the house doted on Zing, but only Andrew came close to Roche's devotion. He was constantly picking up the infant to feed him bottles. And bottles. And bottles. "You know, Zing really doesn't need to eat that much," Roche pointed out as he passed Andrew in the hall one day. "Bigfoot babies eat constantly," Andrew shrugged. "I always thought human babies were the same."

Grace, meanwhile, was spending a lot of time on the computer. She was on maternity leave again, and she was taking advantage of being paid to stay at home to work on the family business holdings. "Now," she mused to herself, "we currently own three commercial properties in town. Four if you count the family graveyard. A true local business empire really needs at least five businesses, all trademarked under the same family name. But should I develop them simultaneously, or one at a time? The clothing store doesn't need much - it's already producing pretty well. A few days and it should be self-sufficient, if I can find a manager. Bubbles & Bubbly is also doing well, though it's going to take a bit more direct involvement. But what about the rest?" She spent the rest of the day doing spreadsheets and going over the financials for the businesses, while humming under her breath. "Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze the poor..."

Anna, meanwhile, was between business calls and decided to pay a visit to her pregnant lover, Gavin Biggs. "Lookin' good, darling," she said appreciatively. "Though why are you wearing that alien shirt? It's not like you're going to have an alien baby or anything like that." "It's the only one of my shirts that still fits," Gavin said. "Grace, did you know that this would happen when we woohooed?" "Not a clue," Anna said. "Do you know what might have triggered you getting knocked up instead of me?"

"Well, I'm a quarter alien," Gavin said. "I suppose that could be why." "And I'm an anthropomorphic manifestation who just happens to be a full human," Grace nodded. "Maybe a combination of the two?" "Maybe," Gavin said. "Wait -- an anthropo whatsit?" "Grim Reaper," Anna said. "That's my day job." "You know I love you," Gavin said. "But you're just plain weird, Anna."

"I know you mean that," Anna chuckled. She rubbed Gavin's tummy fondly. "Hello little baby! It's your mommy talking! Erm, sort of. Gavin, do you know if I'm the mom or the dad?" "Let's just say you're the mom to avoid needless confusion," Gavin said. "Anything else would make my brain hurt." "Hey, are you sure this one's mine?" Anna demanded suddenly. "I know you're a Romance sim just like me, Gav." "You heard the lullaby plain as I did," Gavin said, shrugging. "Besides, I haven't met any other girls except for the maid, and she's mean."

"You know, Gavin," Anna said once they'd gone inside. "I think it's awfully hot that you're carrying a baby for me. Makes me feel all... macho and stuff. Protective." "Aww... hearing you say that makes me feel downright domestic," Gavin said. He and Anna stared at each other for a moment, their eyes wide. "Okay, I won't ever talk like that again if you promise not to," Anna said. "Deal," Gavin nodded emphatically.

"Oh hey, guys," Tycho Biggs (Gavin's twin brother) said as he wandered down to join them. "What are you talking about?" "The baby," Gavin shrugged. "Nothing interesting. I'm going to go upstairs and grab a bite. You coming?" "Nah, I ate before I came," Anna said. She flicked on the radio. "I'm not hungry either," Tycho added, not taking his eyes off of Anna's face. Gavin stared from one to the other. "Behave."

As he shoveled down his pancakes he couldn't shake the sneaking suspicion that Anna and Tycho were not, in fact, behaving.

Nope, they weren't. "So it doesn't ick you out at all, does it?" Anna asked. "Not really. As long as you don't make me pregnant," Tycho said, shaking a finger at Anna warningly.

However, it was Gavin that Anna really cared about the most, so it was him she tended to visit and spend time with the most often, despite her occasional forays with Tycho. She was still cultivating the other guys so she split her time between the two brothers for the time being.

She even happened to be visiting when Gavin finally went into labour. "Oh, my plumbbob!"

Some tense and excruciating minutes later, Anna and Gavin were proud to welcome their brand new baby boy to the world. They named him Toby.

"Here, you take him," Gavin said, handing the baby to his brother. "Anna and I have to woohoo to celebrate."

Anna and Gavin had plenty of opportunities to celebrate the birth their child, because the other men of the household fought over who would get to take care of Toby. "Hey little dude," Don said as he expertly applied a bottle to the seeking mouth. "You're definitely the coolest kid I've ever hung out with."

Anna was a frequent visitor to the house, though she rarely got to spend any time with her son. Not that she minded. "Why did you guys get a minivan?" she asked on one such visit after Gavin had finished enthusiastically greeting her. "Well, the guys and I were talking," Gavin shrugged. "You gotta have a minivan if you have kids. It's a rule, y'know?" "Aren't you afraid it'll hurt your manly image?" "Nah, chicks dig guys who are good with kids," Gavin said happily. "Little Toby is a total babe magnet. Heck, you can't get enough of him!" "That's because he's my kid!"

"Y'know, keeping your mom around makes you the best babe magnet of all," Gavin said happily to his son after Anna had left. "She's something special."

"No fair!" Don whined as Tycho beat the rest of the guys to Toby's crib. "You got to feed him last time!" "Yeah, I want a turn," Borealis complained. "I'm a Family sim. I'm naturally good with babies." "What about meeeee?" James, bringing up the rear, chimed in. "I hardly ever get to play with Toby!" "You snooze, you lose!" Tycho crowed, marching upstairs with his nephew.

The scene repeated itself frequently, though the other guys got better and better at beating Tycho to the crib. "I wish I had my own little guy just like you," Borealis said.

"I like having a little dude like you around," Holstein confided in Toby one evening. "Especially since I can hand you back to Gav when you poop. 'Cause diapers aren't cool."

"Diapers are definitely NOT cool," Anna exclaimed, stepping over the stinking, screaming baby. "And why is Toby on the floor, guys?" "He likes to see what's going on," Don explained. "Well, change his diaper!" "You're the mom!" "Oh, fine," Anna grumbled.

Marie celebrated the birth of her third grandchild by reopening her long-neglected pet and pet supply store, Marie's Pet Emporium. Business was terrific - she could scarcely keep items on the shelves. "WHERE DO YOU KEEP THE CATNIP?" the Grim Reaper asked. "Anna? Is that you?" "NO. I WILL TELL HER YOU WERE ASKING AFTER HER.

SHE IS WORKING TODAY AND I HAVE THE DAY OFF." "Ah, you're the real one," Marie said, backing away hastily. The Grim Reaper folded his arms and stared at her. "DO YOU HAVE CATNIP OR NOT?" "On the shelf behind you," Marie said quickly, pointing.

"You wouldn't happen to be looking for employees, would you?" Rajah Buccaneer asked. "No, we're doing well right now," Marie said. "But if you'd like to drop off a resume I'll give it a look. We do occasionally get openings." "Sure, why not," Rajah said. He pulled a rather crumpled looking paper out of his pocket and handed it to Marie. "Thanks," Marie said, holding it gingerly between two fingers. "No problem!" Rajah said. He winked and wandered off to look at litterboxes.

"Ms. Buccaneer," Armando Fancey said, cornering Marie behind a display, "I need to talk to you." "Oh?" Marie asked. "How may I help you?" "Well, it's about your store," Armando said. "I'm a reviewer for the local paper, you see." "Oh, really," Marie said, her tone immediately becoming more welcoming. "Yes," Armando said. "I've been checking out the store for some time, and I just wanted to say..."

"... that you rock," he concluded, handing her an engraved plaque. "Really?!?" "Really," Armando said. "Congratulations, Ms. Buccaneer." "Well... thank you! Armando, you said your name was?" "That's me," the reporter said. "Why don't you stop by my place tomorrow night, Armando," Marie said. "I'm having a little get-together with some friends. Here's my address!" "I just might do that," Armando said, winking as he strode out of the store.

That night, Roche stopped by as Marie was getting ready to leave. "Busy tonight?" he asked, whirling Marie around in his arms. "Actually, I am," Marie said, but she batted her eyelashes coquettishly. "Too bad," Roche chuckled, pulling away and continuing on down the sidewalk. "I'd have been more fun!" "Oh, you," Marie said. Ever since Zing's baby shower, the relationship between her and Roche had been very ... different. They'd spent a bit of time together, though nothing serious. Marie wasn't sure where the relationship was going, and she wasn't sure she wanted to think about it too much. She was doing fine just going with the flow. Commitment wasn't really in her long-term plan.

The next morning, Gertie stopped by to visit her mother and talk about the events that had led to her being ineligible for heiress. "What do you want to know?" Marie asked, once Gertie had mentioned the reason for her visit. "Tell me about my father," Gertie said. "Anthony Greaves, I mean. That's what your blog said his name was. Does he still live on the island?" "I... don't know," Marie said. "I haven't seen Anthony since before you were born, Gertie. He went missing not long after I found out he was the father, around when you were named heiress by the family. The police said that he was seen being forced aboard a cargo ship down at the docks, but..." she trailed off and shrugged. "Your father wasn't a nice man, Gertie, and I suspect I was manipulated by him. I'm not sad that he's not on the island anymore."

"What do you mean, he wasn't a nice man?" Gertie asked. "Why do you think he was manipulating the family?" "Haven't you ever read your Grandma Ivy's memoirs?" Marie asked. "You should sometime. Ivy was a fascinating lady. Anyway, Ivy dated Anthony. She even installed him as concubine at some point - you never knew her during that time, but Ivy wasn't exactly faithful to Pao when they were younger. She had a harem during her reign as heiress. Anyway, I'm not sure exactly what happened but Anthony grew intensely jealous of Ivy's marriage to Pao, and his love for Ivy turned to hate. She dismissed him from her harem and he began stalking her. Unfortunately, that's when the global climate shift happened and he froze to death on the family grounds. With his dying breath, he cursed the family with infertility." "Infertility? But you and dad had five kids!" Gertie said. "I know," Marie said. "Your father... made a deal with the Grim Reaper in order to resurrect Anthony. No angry ghost means no curse."

"What sort of deal?" Gertie asked. "That he would give up his firstborn child to death," Marie said sadly. "When we lost Anna, it just about killed me... I never really recovered emotionally until just recently, when I began getting some counseling for it. The fact that Anna has been restored to us didn't hurt either. That's when I finally forgave your father... but of course, that was after everything had all gone bad between us. I cheated on him a lot while I was depressed and grieving." "I know," Gertie said sourly. "I read your blog, remember? So you have no idea where Anthony is now?" "I don't," Marie said. "But I don't think he'll be able to get back on the island. I think your Uncle Jack is making sure he can't come back." "I guess that's a relief," Gertie said. "But I don't like knowing that I'm a descendent of a person like that."

"You're a good person, Gertie," Marie said emphatically. "I don't think you have to worry about turning out like your bio-father. You have a pretty great father in Roche. He's always doted on you even though I think he suspected you weren't his." "I know," Gertie said. "He's reassured me about that." "Good," Marie said. She took Gertie's hands in hers. "Is there anything else you want to know, Gertie?"

"Not right now," Gertie said. She smiled. "I'm glad you're my mom, even though you've done some dumb things. Everyone does dumb things sometimes." "I won't deny that," Marie said with a wry grin. "Now, why don't you tell me all about your time abroad? You know, I'm jealous of you getting to see the world like that. I never had the opportunity." "It's never too late to travel 'til you're dead!" Gertie said enthusiastically. "Oh, mom, you'd love it..."

For the next several hours, Gertie lectured enthusiastically about all the things and places and people she'd seen. From learning the sea chantey from the ghost of Captain Dregg...

... to showing her mom some new exercise routines she'd learned from the Takemizans...

... to doing the hula in Marie's living room. Gertie was happy to demonstrate everything, and Marie was thrilled to learn it. "It's almost as good as going there myself!" she said enthusiastically. "Not really," Gertie said. "But I'm glad to share what I saw and did with you. Maybe one day we can go see the world together!" "I'd like that," Marie grinned.

That night was Marie's party. The guest list was decidedly... single-gendered. Marie is a romance sim, after all.

Jerry Turner, one of her flings from when she was younger, was the first to approach Marie in a romantic matter at the party.

Unfortunately, he did so in front of Gage, who was more than a little upset. "I thought I was special!" "Gage, you're rolling up indecent wants for half the sims and simselves on the island!" Marie protested, dodging Gage's slap. "So? That's different," Gage pouted. "I'm a celebrity."

"No, you're just so ugly you're infamous," Jerry said. "There's a difference." "Stay out of it!" Marie and Gage said in unison to the unfortunate Jerry. "Fine," Jerry said, and sulked his way into the kitchen area. "You know, this is better than TV," Armando the business writer said enthusiastically.

Gage slouched off and went home, still mad at Marie. Hercules disappeared as well. Marie took the opportunity to flirt a bit with Rhys Fitzhugh. Jerry didn't really care - he was too laid back to mind Marie's free spirit. "Y'know, I bet we could get into all kinds of trouble together," Rhys said enticingly. "I'll think about it," Marie said with a wink. ==== Gage Uglacy courtesy of Candi's Uglacy and Prettacy Rhys Fitzhugh courtesy of smoothiequeen87's Fitzhugh Legacy

"Sleep tight, little Zing," Grace crooned as she tucked in her infant baby. "Sleep well and grow up big and strong! The sooner you grow up, the sooner you can work in my stores..."

That night, Grace was surprised by her first baby bump. How exciting! "Finally!" she said to herself quietly, making sure not to disturb Lee. "As soon as this one is born, I can start working on those businesses!" She went back to sleep, psyched that her period of inactivity was nearly over.

Roche, meanwhile, was still working towards his goal of 50 Dream Dates with the assistance of the wishing well. His next vict--err, date--was mail carrier Dagmar Bertino. That one ended with some silly-looking hammock woohoo as well.

A short time later, everyone was in attendance at the home shared by Bart, De, Morgan, Kelly, and baby Toshiko for Toshi's toddler birthday. "Go Toshi!" Kelly said, whirling a noisemaker enthusiastically. "Let's blow out the candles, dear," Morgan said, leaning over the cake with the baby. "What are you going to wish for? Is it a pony?"

Toshiko grew up into quite the little charmer. Some of the family were a bit curious as to how she'd turn out in the end, but her immediate family fell even more in love with her. "C'mon, Toshiko," De said. "Time to go to sleep!" Toshiko giggled and yawned hugely in her grandmother's arms.

The next days, weeks, and months were spent with the family teaching Toshiko all the things a toddler would need to learn. "Aww, come on Toshi," Morgan said entreatingly. "Don't you want to learn how to talk?" "No, Mommy! No talk!"

Toshi was a bit of a brat, though. She knew perfectly well how to ask for airplane rides from Grandpa, stories from Grandma, and cookies from her Aunt Rose and Uncle Pierce. She just liked being stubborn.

"Okay, Toshi, how about we try going in the potty?" Kelly asked her daughter one day while the effects of Smart Milk glowed about her in a brilliant greeny blue nimbus. "No!" Toshi said happily. "Why not?" Kelly demanded. "Betause it's wed," Toshiko complained. "Wanna pink potty." "The store doesn't sell pink potties," Kelly said patiently. "But I wanna pink potty!" Toshi insisted.

"You know," Kelly said after a moment's thought, "red is a kind of pink, Toshi." "Wed is pink?" "Pink is just some red with white mixed in," Kelly nodded. "Otay, I use the wed potty," Toshiko said after a moment of serious contemplation. "Now, Mama?" "Sure," Kelly grinned. "And Grandpa can clean it out afterwards."

Sometimes Bart thought that his daughter-in-law didn't like him very much.

Toshi wasn't the only Buccaneer baby celebrating a birthday. Coxinga was only a few weeks younger than his cousin and the entire family showed up for his birthday. Roche did the honours.

Everyone, upon seeing the toddler-sized Zing, decided that he'd do very well indeed. Roche, especially, was tickled with him. He'd even bought the boy a Twikkiian shirt to match his own!

Everyone in the house wanted to help teach Zing his toddler skills, even the hugely pregnant Grace. "Use the potty like a big boy," Grace said encouragingly. "Diapers are expensive!"

"Come on, Zing," Gertie said. "Say 'Grilled Cheese'! You can do it!" "Gill tease," Zing said obediently. "Nanty Gettie, what 'spensive?" "That's something that costs a lot of money," Gertie said. "Dipeys 'spensive?" "A little," Gertie said. "But why are you worried, Zing? You use the potty like a big boy!"

"Potty 'spensive?" "No, it's a real cost-saver," Gertie said. "Zing 'spensive?" "No, you're priceless, Zinger," Gertie said, tickling her nephew. Zing laughed delightedly. "Love you, Nanty Gettie," he said happily.

"And the sooner you can walk, Zing, the sooner you can go places!" Roche said, helping the wobbly toddler to his feet. "Feet are important. You can jump on couches with them." "I jump couch?" "Only when your mom can't see," Roche said conspiratorially. "She says the furniture is too expensive for jumping on, but she doesn't know what real fun is."

"'Spensive fun?" "The best kinds of fun are expensive," Roche said. "It's a lot more fun jumping on your mom's expensive furniture than it is jumping on the ground." "Oh."

When Roche wasn't hanging out with his grandson, he was dating his way through the Pirate Island natives. He thought he only needed two or three more dream dates to reach his lifetime want and become permaplat. The names and faces were starting to blur together a bit

"Bigfoot HUG!" Andrew declared, sweeping Grace up in his furry arms. "Ack! Andrew!" Grace spluttered, laughing helplessly. "Put me down! I weigh a ton!" "Babies aren't that heavy," Andrew said gravely. "And you looked like you were thinking too hard." "I was, at that," Grace said. "Thanks, Andrew. You always know when I need to relax." "One of my roles in the household is official cheerer," Andrew said. "Glad to be of service."

One of Andrew's other duties was to paint Grace's official heiress portrait, and he'd finally started on it. Lee's photo was a much more straightforward affair as Grace had simply used her new digital camera and ordered the picture online. She loved her digital camera. So cost-effective.

Back at the big house that was shared by Nick and Green, and Will and Orikes, life went on as usual. All four adults doted on baby Hugo, but they made sure to make time for themselves as well. "Do you think we should adopt a baby?" Nick asked Green one bright winter day. "Do you want to adopt one?" Green asked. "I'm not feeling like I need to right now," Nick admitted. "I'm more

into animals right now." "Me too," Green said, relief evident in his voice. "Maybe in the future sometime?" "Sure!" Nick said. "For now... let's maybe think about getting a pet? And we can help with Hugo, of course." "Deal!"

Nick and his sister-in-law got along famously. Nick was supremely playful, just like Orikes, and could frequently be found whacking her over the head with a pillow in the fluorescent yellow kitchen.

He could also frequently be found caring for Hugo despite claiming that he'd rather have a cat than a kid. "It's just that litter boxes are a lot less messy to clean than a diaper, most of the time," he often said.

As Hugo was almost exactly the same age as Zing and Toshi, it wasn't long before the extended family was filing into the house for his birthday.

Since the weather was still good, it was decided that they should celebrate outdoors. "Nice bubble blower," Roche said approvingly as they gathered under the awning Will and Orikes had rented expressly for the party. "I got some new bubble mixture you just have to try," Orikes grinned. "After the cake, Roche?" "Sounds good to me!" Roche said.

Hugo grew up into perhaps the prettiest child (so far) of this generation. Obviously, he took after both of his parents. Being passed from hand to hand as an infant hadn't had any sort of negative effect on his personality, either, as he insisted on being held by nearly everyone at the party.

Unfortunately, the party broke up early as Office Ramin stopped by to tell them they were being too noisy. The general consensus was that he was suffering from caffeine withdrawal.

Hugo, like so many children before him, was fed a steady diet of Smart Milk, not that he really needed it. He was extremely bright and learned very quickly.

"Uncle Green, why are you wearing pajamas?" Hugo demanded. "You lazy?" Tact was not one of his strong points. "Nope, not lazy," Green said, laughing. "I work at night so I sleep late. Remember?" "I guess," Hugo said. He didn't sound convinced. "I not lazy. Can I run now?" "Where do you want to run, Hugomonster?" Green asked. "Everywhere!" Hugo declared gleefully. He was an extremely active child.

Unfortunately for the maid, Hugo loved best to run into the bathroom and splash in the toilet. He generally made a huge-o mess.

"Andy, pictures?" Zing asked, pointing as Andrew carried him to his evening bath.

"Those are pictures, yes," Andrew nodded solemnly.

"Who they?"

"Those are your ancestors, Coxinga," Andrew said.

"What's a'cestor, Andy?" Zing was nothing if not curious.

"Well, you know who your mother and father are," Andrew said patiently. "There is your father's photo on the wall there. Your mother's painting will go beside it."

"I see," Zing nodded. "Who rest?"

"That one there is Grandpa Roche," Andrew said, gesturing. "And there is Grandmother Marie."

"No, hair wong," Zing said. "'Posed to be white!"

"When your grandparents were younger, their hair was different," Andrew explained.

"Oh," Zing said. "Who rest?"

"You shall have to ask your grandparents," Andrew said. "I did not know the rest of them."

"Oh."

"Mommy?" Zing asked the next morning as Grace was getting him up out of bed. "Yes, dear?" "What a'cestor?" "I'm sorry, dear?" Grace asked. "Pictures on wall dow'stairs," Zing elaborated. "Andy said they a'cestors."

"That's right," Grace said. "They're people from your family who lived a long time ago." "Oh," Zing said. "Come visit?" "No, they're all gone now," Grace said. "But I wish you could have met my grandfather, Pao. He would have loved you so much." "Love you, Mommy."

There was a trait that many of the children of generation six had in common, much to their parents' disgust. Well, okay. Orikes and Will thought it was funny. But the rest of the parents found it gross.

"Get out of there," Lee said, grabbing his son around the waist and swinging him through the air. "Toilets aren't toys!" "G'anpa says so," Zing insisted. "Well then, you can only do it when Grandpa is babysitting," Lee said sternly. "When I'm home you have to have airplane rides instead!" "Yay!" Zing giggled happily. "Airplane!"

Sometimes the men in the family liked to hang out in the livingroom and boogy to the music. "It is called bonding," Andrew said solemnly when Gertie asked what they were doing. "It is for men only, Gertie. Mr. Mickles may join but you are not allowed." Gertie just chuckled and snapped a picture.

Grace loved the pictures that Gertie had begun taking and ordered several prints. Her favorite, by far, was one of Gertie tickling Zing and Zing giggling wildly.

"Here you go, mom," Grace said a few days after her latest order of pictures had been delivered. "What's this?" Marie asked, taking the wrapped package with a confused smile. "Just something I thought you'd like," Grace said. "Go on! Open it!" With a confused smile, Marie did so - and gasped when she saw the picture inside. "Oh, Grace, it's lovely! I can't wait to take it home and put it on my wall!"

"When this one is big enough I'll make sure you get another one to put beside it," Grace promised. "I can't wait," Marie said. "When do I get to meet my newest grandchild, anyway? You must be due any time now!" "It can't happen soon enough, that's for sure," Grace said with a grimace. "I'll call you when he or she is here, okay?" "You'd better!"

"Was that your mother I saw leaving earlier?" Roche asked that evening just after dinner. "Yeah," Grace said. "Why do you ask? Is there something going on between you?" "No," Roche said. "But we're friendly now and I haven't seen her for a while." "I see," Grace said. "If you and mom were getting back together, you'd tell me, right?"

"Of course!" Roche said. "You're sure?" "I'm sure!" "Okay." "Good." Grace went to sleep, unsure as to whether Roche had been entirely honest with her.

However, she forgot about her speculations entirely when she went into labour in the middle of the night.

A short but painful time later, Grace happily held the newest addition to the Buccaneer family in her arms: a baby girl she named Ching Shih Buccaneer, to be called Shih. Ching Shih was a rare female pirate who sailed the seas of the western Pacific. The wife of a pirate, she was considerably more notorious than her husband. On one notable occasion she forced all of her prisoners to eat their own ears.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on Pirate Island... "Come on, Robin, you know you want to," Ephemeral Toast (Apocalypso-A-Go-Go & Ugothlacy) said enticingly. "It'll be fun!" "I don't know..." Robinoli (aka omgrobinnn, It's a Legacy, Darling) said hesitantly. "Are you sure it's safe?" "How dangerous could it be?" Toast asked. "If I have to have roommates, then I want to do something to spice things up, you hear? But I'm not doing it by myself this time. I want a partner in crime, frammit!"

"GRUMPY DISBELIEF!" Robin said. "If it doesn't work there's always exit without saving," Toast pointed out. "DISAPPROVE."

"But...but it could be fun!" Toast insisted as they strolled over to where the rest of their roommates were inspecting Toast's assortment of Pleasure Sim toys. "WORRY." "Stop that!" "Oh, fine," Robin muttered. "Spoil my fun." "So are you in or aren't you?"

"Oh, I guess I'll do it," Robin conceded. "I guess it can't hurt." "Okay, guys, she's agreed!" Toast called to the other simselves who had moved in with her. "Wait, what?" Michelle Fobbs (A Planetary Apocalypse) asked. "What are you two up to?" Ndainye (Familiar Faces) said. "Yeah, spill it!" Ruby (Ah Rubyblue, Goldilocks and the Nine Heirs) insisted.

Once Toast and Robin's housemates had gathered around the objects Toast said were needed, they were considerably less enlightened, although Pen (penguingirl0384, Penguino Legacy) thought it looked dangerous. "There's nothing safer!" Toast insisted. "Just... get it over with if you're going to do it," Michelle said in a resigned tone. There was a strangely inverted flash and poof of confetti.

"Sweet!" Toast said, bowing to all and sundry. "It worked perfectly!" "C'mon, Mini-Toast," Mini-Robin said. "Let's go play cops 'n' robbers and laugh at the grownups when they get struck by lightning." "'kay," Mini-Toast nodded agreeably.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Pen said in a slightly freaked-out voice. "I'm not babysitting them," Ndainye insisted. === And that's the end of this double update! Thanks to all CC creators, writers whose Simselves I've hijacked, and everyone who reads me and comments for being so supportive. I've cleared out my guestbook so that you can sign again if you like :) Until next time... Happy Simming!