Round Five - Knox

Jasper had moved out of the Knox family household, taking Destiny with him, so Cassius and Kaylynn decided this was the perfect time to renovate the house to make it impressive enough to get the kids into a private academy. Danny and Noah were slightly less enthusiastic about renovation.


Cassius and Kaylynn invited the headmaster around for dinner and a tour of the house, and thanks to the new decor and Kaylynn's delicious pork chops he was impressed enough to immediately grant the kids a place at his academy. Cassius was thrilled.


The change in school proved a good idea. Ruth and Noah's grades progressed much faster than they would have done otherwise, and as they were both scholarly types they were ecstatic about it. Ruth loved it, and the fact she looked super-smart in her uniform was always a bonus.


Junko Nakamura found the whole thing amusing.

"Why're you wearing that? You look like you're off to Hogwarts or something."

"Shut up..." muttered Noah, secretly wishing he'd had time to change into his normal clothes before she came over and made fun of him.


Their run of good luck almost ended when a burglar targeted their house. Thankfully he was not the brightest crook in the gang and ended up tripping both the car alarm and the security system, calling the police onto the scene immediately. The noise was deafening! The criminal was quickly apprehended.


Cassius had managed to put off death for a little while thanks to the genie's intervention, but he couldn't avoid it forever. He could feel the end creeping up on him. It was sad but inevitable.


Kaylynn reacted extremely badly and had a full-on nervous breakdown. Danny had to take care of the kids while she recuperated and called Destiny for backup frequently.


Danny had recently made friends with Hiro Nakamura. They shared some of the same hopes in life, both wishing to be world-famous athletes, and even though Hiro's sport of choice was soccer he often came over to play basketball. Inevitably, Destiny and Hiro met. Danny smiled. If his baby sister HAD to go out with guys then it might as well be Hiro. He was a good guy, and if he slipped up... well, Danny knew where he lived.


Note: goodbye Cassius :(

Round Four: Knox

Ruth and Noah were growing up quickly. Ruth was undeniably Cassius's favourite and he carried her around with him whenever she could, much to her delight.


Noah didn't lack for love and attention, though; how could he in a house full of so many people? Destiny in particular liked coddling him and dressing him up. Jasper had to remind her frequently that babies were not little dress-up-dolls and she should wait until she was much, MUCH older before she went and had one of her own.


Jasper's worries weren't entirely unfounded. Even though Destiny had discovered the wonderful concept known as "dating" she hadn't found any boys she wanted to kiss yet. She was a bit of a tomboy herself and preferred to go on just-friends dates. She wasn't extravagant and didn't demand expensive restaurants; a trip bowling or just hanging around at home were good enough for her.


Like Jasper, Cassius couldn't help but worry. He knew what teenage boys were like; he'd been one once and then raised two of his own, and Destiny was a sweet girl who tended to assume the best of people.

"Not all people are as trustworthy as me and you, sweetie," said Cassius delicately over breakfast. "I just want you to be careful, you're my little girl."

"Thanks, but I can look after myself," said Destiny, smiling as ever. "Don't forget, I grew up around Uncle Will. I may be nice but I'm not a doormat!"

Cassius sighed, ever more aware he wouldn't be able to look after little Ruth when she hit that difficult age.


Destiny's life wasn't all boys, boys, boys anyway. She'd made friends with Jacinta Davies; they were an odd couple, to say the least, but somehow it worked. Jacinta kept Destiny on the straight and narrow and Destiny helped Jacinta let her hair down and live a little - all that repression couldn't be healthy! It hadn't escaped their eagle eyes that their parents were "involved" and were delighted by the notion that if Jasper and Sabrina got married, they could technically be sisters!


Jasper and Sabrina's daughters weren't the only ones who knew things were serious between them now. Their mutual friend from work, Ash, had congratulated Jasper on netting such a sensible (and pretty!) lady friend, and Jasper hadn't said a thing to disabuse him of the notion.


He talked to Sabrina about it.

"Is it okay if I tell people that we're... involved? I mean, I can understand if you're worried about people gossipping - "

"Of course it's okay! It's more than okay. I can't keep denying it, it's over between me and James. We're going to file for a divorce. I want to be with you. Just you."


Romance was in the air all over the Knox house. Twins and the progress of time hadn't dampened Cassius and Kaylynn's enthusiasm for one another at all - Kaylynn still thought he was hot, with or without the dapper hat.


The twins were finally out of the cantankerous toddler years, and it was becoming ever clearer that even though they had all of their father's colouring they had their mother's facial features. They were both pleasant, tidy children and got on well, although Noah was a little more boisterous than his sister. They both shared their father's love of science and could talk about planets and aliens for hours.


Unfortunately the downside of the twins now being old enough to have a bit more autonomy was that they could get at the computer. One of them had jammed the CD drive with peanut butter (at least, Kaylynn assumed it was one of the twins - surely Danny knew better?) and Kaylynn was left to fix it. Unfortunately despite her love of tinkering she managed to get the shock of her life when she jammed the screwdriver into the wrong bit and had to have a long lie-down.


Family breakfasts and dinners were more than a little hectic. Kaylynn knew things would be a little less crazy once Jasper moved out, possibly taking Danny and Destiny with him, but at the same time she couldn't help thinking it would be a good idea to do some renovations anyway. Cassius had gotten it into his head that they should try and get Ruth and Noah into a private academy and they needed a much more impressive house if they were going to schmooze the headmaster...


Note: Destiny kept autonomously giving Noah baths and playing with them; even though she's a Pleasure sim she really loves looking after babies! Once she has enough reward points she's getting a secondary of Family, definitely. Danny spent most of this round playing basketball. I don't know what to do regarding moving them all around, if Jasper and Sabrina have a baby I want Destiny around to look after it but the house would be SO CROWDED.

Round Three: Knox

Will Knox may have moved out, but his ballet bar was still in the house. Kaylynn decided to to use it to make an attempt to keep her weight in check as her pregnancy progressed but she didn't really enjoy it. Reading books and messing around with electronics were more her thing.


Cassius was having more luck when it came to finding interesting hobbies. Their unexpected windfall had allowed him to buy a fancy telescope, and they'd also installed a basketball court after Danny begged for one for his birthday.


Cassius also discovered a love for nature. When not reading up on physics or looking after Kaylynn and the kids he liked to go bug hunting and was enjoying some success, having already collected several rare specimens.


Jasper and Cassius had raised Danny well. He was very sociable and skilled at making new friends, but he was no womaniser. One of his new friends, Heidi, clearly had designs on him, but he didn't see her that way. Just because she was a girl didn't mean they couldn't be friends. Soon she saw it his way and they were best friends and Danny started entertaining ideas of having a party, as long as Jasper approved it, of course.


He was even supportive when Kaylynn went into labour, waiting with her and trying to keep her calm while they waited for the car to the hospital.


Kaylynn gave birth to a boy and a girl who she and Cassius named Noah and Ruth. They both took after their father, with his hair, eye and skin colour, and Kaylynn wondered if they would ever look or act anything like her at all. Danny and Destiny were thrilled and didn't even think that it was odd that they now had an aunt and uncle who were younger than them.


Destiny was especially excited. She loved babies and begged to join in looking after them as much as she could.


Cassius felt proud and lucky to have such a beautiful wife and two new children. Ruth was his only daughter so he felt especially protective of her and hoped he would be around to look after her for as long as possible. He even didn't mind when the babies threw up on him. Kaylynn was less impressed by their digestive pyrotechnics.


Jasper was having a well-earned rest after work when his father called for him. "Jasper! There's a young lady downstairs who wants to talk to you." He paused. "It's Sabrina Davies." Jasper gulped and ran downstairs.


"Hey," he said, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. He hoped the fact he was a little out of breath from running down the stairs wasn't too obvious. He was never prepared for the way the sight of this married woman gave him butterflies in his stomach.

"Hi, Jasper. I... there's no easy way to say this. I caught James cheating on me. I didn't know what else to do, Sachiko's so busy with the twins and Lisa's at work... I..."

If Jasper thought he'd felt nervous before, it was nothing compared to the way he felt now.


"Why couldn't I have met you before him?" said Sabrina, and Jasper wondered if he was imagining the flirtateous look in her eyes. "Oh Jasper. I don't know what to do."


He took a deep breath. "Shh. It's going to be okay."


Unaware of the drama going on all around her, Kaylynn had purchased a toy helicopter and spent a lot of her time piloting it around the room. She'd theoretically bought it for the boys, but she and Destiny were the ones who hogged the controls.


Just because she had babies of her own now didn't mean that Kaylynn stopped being a mother figure to her step-grandchildren. She made sure to congratulate them both on their excellent grades and listen to their worries.


Meanwhile, Destiny had hit a growth-spurt and become a very beautiful young lady. She still loved babies and her family, but they weren't first and foremost on her mind anymore. There'd be plenty of time for that once she'd had as much fun as possible!

Note: I forgot to mention last time that I've aged Kaylynn up so she's a couple of Sim days older than Jasper and Will. It made it a bit less weird! The whole Jasper/Sabrina thing was the fault of ACR, Jasper wanted to talk to her and it all spiralled from there. Wow, I've played a lot of Sims in the last week. My constant posting will probably slow down soon, I have work to do D:

Round Two: Knox

Things were going extremely well for Cassius and Kaylynn. She'd asked him out on another date and things progressed from there. They were both pretty certain they were falling in love.


For a while, Cassius had been a little worried. He adored his sons and his grandchildren and didn't know how Kaylynn would react to the prospect of being a step-grandmother. Thankfully he didn't have to worry. She was taking everything as seriously as he was, and wanted to meet the family and make friends with them.


Cassius was very glad. Destiny had grown up into a pretty young girl who was very friendly and into everything, and he was sure she and Kaylynn would get on famously.


Sure enough, they did. Destiny did ask a few awkward questions but it didn't take long until they were firm friends. Kaylynn was almost part of the family already.


Cassius invited her over as much as possible; she probably spent more time at their house than her own apartment, and whenever she wasn't there Cassius was on the phone to her. They were even beginning to make plans for the future; maybe Kaylynn could move in? Sure, it would be more convenient for Cassius to move into her apartment, but they both wanted to stay close to Danny and Destiny.


Now both his children were growing up and his father was in a long-term relationship, Jasper felt the pang of loneliness more than ever. He was ready to get over Lorena - after all, it had been five years since she died. He bit the bullet and asked Will if he'd take him downtown to meet some girls. Will seemed to have no trouble finding women and hopefully Jasper would have a little of the same luck. They shared the same genes, after all.


The night started off well. Will went out to the hot tubs and Jasper got talking to a pretty young lady in the chill-out area of the club. They got on fairly well, and Jasper was considering asking her for her number.


Unfortunately, as ever, she seemed a little more interested in his brother than in him. The story of Jasper's life.


Jasper spent the rest of the night sitting at the bar feeling awkward while Will hit the dance floor at chatted with various young ladies. What a waste of an evening...


Jasper left early and headed off to a clothes store that was open late to get Destiny and Danny some new outfits; they were both growing so quickly! He ran into Sabrina Davies, out buying baby clothes for little Amanda, and they ended up having a long conversation. Jasper definitely couldn't deny that she was absolutely beautiful, and the connection he'd felt when they'd first met seemed stronger than ever. But she was married, and he didn't want to cause drama. They parted as friends.


Jasper decided to put all his energy into looking after his kids and getting promotions, and succeeded on both fronts. He was moving up the corporate ladder quickly and Destiny was always quick to greet him with a hug every day when he returned from work. Life wasn't perfect, he thought, but it would do for now.


Cassius decided it was time to make a move and popped the question to Kaylynn. She accepted with obvious delight and moved in straight away. The house was cramped, but cosy. They got married in a private civil ceremony as soon as possible, not wanting to make a fuss or spend too much money unnecessarily.


Kaylynn fitted into the house seamlessly. Danny would often ask her to read to him and she always obliged. She seemed to be a natural mother.


Of course it didn't take long until her natural maternal instincts came in handy. After a week of morning sickness and nausea she broke the news to Cassius.

"I... I think I might be pregnant."

"Are you sure? Maybe you should see the doctor," said Cassius, trying not to let on how nervous he felt. Of course the idea of children had crossed his mind, Kaylynn was a young woman and very family-orientated, but now he was faced with the reality of it he was a little worried - he was old, would he be around to see them as they grew up?

Kaylynn sighed. "Well, I'm pretty sure, but you're right, I should see them in case it's something else."


The visit to the doctor confirmed her suspicions; Kaylynn was indeed pregnant. They were both overjoyed, although the niggling worry was still present in Cassius's mind. Not only was he old, but would their budget stretch far enough for four adults, two children and a baby?


The fates were clearly looking favourably on the Knox family. One day when out collecting the mail, Cassius stumbled across a dusty old lamp. He reached out to pick it up, and...


"I am the Genie of the Lamp! You have three wishes, master."

Cassius's first reaction was to assume that either the stress was causing him to hallucinate or he'd finally gone senile. He stood stock still for a moment, then mumbled "...um. I wish for enough money to keep my family comfortable, for a long life so I can see my child grow up, and for a happy old age." The Genie nodded, then disappeared.

Cassius wandered around for the rest of the day in a daze. But when an apparently clerical error left the Knox family bank account a good §20,000 more solvent than it had been the day before, he wondered if he'd really seen the impossible.


Kaylynn's pregnancy progressed steadily, and even sleek black pyjamas couldn't hide the huge bump - twins! (MORE TWINS! These were entirely natural ones - the ones the Nakamura house is expecting were the fault of the final family benefit, but this is all luck).


Danny hit a growth spurt as he entered his teenage years. He was growing into quite the handsome young man and the whole family were pleased. He'd decided his father's workaholic life and his uncle's philandering weren't his thing - he wanted to be happy and popular, make a lot of friends, and hopefully make a career out of his love of sport. Oh, and finding a cute brunette who was a really excellent cook to share his life with wouldn't go amiss...


Soon after, Will decided it was time to find a place of his own. Now Danny was a teenager and Kaylynn was around they didn't need him to help out, and he could finally get back to the bachelor lifestyle he was designed for. He vowed to keep in touch as he got into the taxi and left for his new apartment down town.