Round Ten - Straight

Cameron was taking his studies very seriously. In between that and his part-time job at a building site he had no time for romance.


Lisa and Taylor weren't about to let the fact they were old and grey get in the way of their lives. They spent every free minute painting or working on pottery.


Caitlyn also loved arts and crafts, and her creative abilities didn't end there. She was getting pretty good at playing the violin, too!


Douglas, on the other hand, preferred lazing around.


It wasn't long until Douglas and Caitlyn hit their teens. Douglas dragged Cameron out to a café to meet up with their big brother Ewan, but he seemed more interested in talking to Junko Nakamura than to them. It was worrying.


Caitlyn was just glad she was finally old enough to use the pottery wheel.


Note: One of Junko's turn-ons is fat, so thanks to Ewan's sudden weight-gain she's now got two bolts for him?!?! Stay away, Junko, stay away. There is already too much drama there...

Round Ten - Mackenzie

Ewan's adoration of all things culinary had inevitably taken a toll on his waistline.


He loved his son Bryce to bits. He couldn't help feeling guilty every time he looked at him, though. How could he be so dumb as to start an affair with Amanda Davies when he had so much going for him? The worst part was, he didn't want to stop. But there had to be no chance Bryce or Meadow would EVER find out.


Things got even more serious when Meadow found out they were going to be parents of two, not one.

"I'm pregnant again!" she said joyfully. "Bryce is going to have a baby brother or sister. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Yeah... wonderful..." Ewan felt so guilty he could have died on the spot.


Meadow didn't let being pregnant get in the way of being an extra-devoted mother to Bryce. She was always with him, whether playing with him or potty-training him or feeding him or just keeping an eye on him.


It wasn't a surprise that she went into labour while carrying him around!


Astrid Mackenzie was born shortly afterwards. She was a beautiful baby who looked just like her big brother.


Meadow was utterly blissful, and Ewan tried to join her in that emotion. He had a beautiful wife and two lovely kids! He would have to call things off with Amanda... soon...

Note: Ewan doesn't have any romantic wants for anyone at the moment, least of all Amanda, so I guess he's bored of that affair.

Round Ten - Davies

Sabrina was happy to welcome her extended family in for a visit when they unexpectedly dropped by. Destiny may not have been her biological daughter but she cared for her as if she were one of her own and it was good to see her and her in-laws, the Nakamuras.


They had a good gossip while Hiro monopolised the computer. Unfortunately Jasper was at work so he couldn't catch up with his daughter but Sabrina promised to make him phone them as soon as he got back.


Zillah was an extremely gorgeous teenager but she wasn't all that interested in romance; she much preferred the concept of making as many platonic friends as possible and working on her music and painting. Romance was nothing but trouble as far as she was concerned.


Her point was proved when Amanda came downstairs from a work-out session and spotted Hiro. They hadn't seen each other since Amanda was a teenager and Hiro couldn't help being impressed at how Amanda had grown. He hated to admit it, but his sister-in-law was hot.


Unfortunately for Amanda, her lustful looks didn't go unnoticed. After the Nakamuras left, Adam confronted her.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?! That's your step-sister's husband!"

Amanda tried to play the innocent. "Me? He was the one doing all the looking. I swear I would never do anything like that!"

Adam wasn't entirely convinced but he wasn't about to start an all-out physical confrontation - Amanda was extremely into fitness and would probably kick him to the curb in seconds. "Yeah, well, you'd better not," he muttered, and wandered off.


Amanda was upset and called up Ewan Mackenzie. Yeah, he was married, but whenever they talked, sparks flew.

"My family's being insufferable! They all hate me... I haven't even done anything wrong. I don't suppose you could come over? I just feel so lonely."

"Not right now, I'm home alone looking after Bryce... I'll come over first thing tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

Amanda hung up and smirked. So much for the institution of marriage - Ewan would be putty in her hands.


And he was. Within moments of arriving, they started an affair.


Sabrina and Jasper were at work and the teenagers were at school so Amanda was left alone to seduce him and things quickly moved to the bedroom.


Afterwards, Amanda felt a little guilt. She was just as bad as Jill, the woman who'd wrecked her parents' marriage... but whatever. It was James and Jill's fault she was like this, not hers.


Sabrina soon entered into elderhood and retired from her job, finally becoming the stay-at-home mother she'd always wanted to be. She loved all her children but no-one could deny that she especially doted on Adam - he was her only son and was always happy to get a good meal.

Note: Amanda and Hiro have three bolts, so it was all I could do to keep them apart while the whole Nakamura family were visiting. Amanda and Ewan have two, and have already fallen in love with each other. Oh the drama X_X

Round Nine - Mackenzie

Ewan and Meadow had gotten married just in time - Meadow's pregnancy was already showing. Ewan was excited at the prospect of fatherhood and constantly got in Meadow's way, demanding to talk to the baby.


He wasn't completely useless, though. Meadow's skills in the kitchen were no match for his and he made sure she had a delicious cooked breakfast and dinner every day. He'd learned from dealing with his mother that a well-fed pregnant lady was a happy one.


Pregnancy didn't get in the way of the newlyweds' amorous activities, despite Meadow's hangups.

"I look like a whale!"

"Yeah, but you're my whale."

"How romantic," said Meadow, but she was giggling.


Ewan and Hiro's lives had changed dramatically but they were still best friends, even though their conversations tended more towards grown-up topics like weddings and paying the bills than the latest video games these days.


Meadow eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy who they named Bryce. He was a mixture of his whole family's genetics - freckled skin, Ewan's absent father's blue eyes, and blond hair like Meadow's.


Ewan may have been a pleasure-seeker at heart, but he had his family side. Plus, babies were fun to play with! He didn't even care all that much if Bryce threw up on him.


Ewan put the money he'd been making from his restaurant guides into improving the kitchen. His growing family would need a lot of food!

Note: Not much going on here, as you can see, but oh boy is there a drama storm on the horizon... Amanda keeps phoning and asking to talk to Ewan, and they have two bolts. Ewan's wants towards her are pretty much platonic, but if her wants start tending towards the romantic... gulp. And she's a Romance sim, so there's no chance they won't D:

Round Eight - Mackenzie

The twins were getting older and into everything. Caitlyn had already discovered a love for drawing, like her parents, although her scribbles weren't exactly masterpieces yet. Douglas preferred building blocks, and sometimes actually built things rather than just sticking the pieces in his mouth.


Although Lisa was still upset at the amount of time she'd had to take off work, she couldn't resent her children. They were her babies! So what if she hadn't made it to City Planner yet, she still had plenty of life in her!


Ewan was working on writing the most comprehensive restaurant guide for Virtue Falls and its environs, and doing quite well. Whenever he and Meadow went on a date they tried to find somewhere new and discussed the food afterwards, although Meadow suddenly flirting with vegetarianism limited their options. He'd have to tempt her back into a life of steak.


"You need to get a job," said Cameron, ever the little grown-up. "How are you and Meadow going to get married if you're just sitting around on the computer?"

"For your information, bro, I've almost finished my restaurant guide and I've already got several magazines and publishers interested. Besides, me and Meadow don't need money as long as we've got each other."

"Ew, gross."


Ewan proposed to Meadow in the 50s style diner where they'd had so many dates as teenagers in front of a crowd.


Of course she said yes, and almost suffocated him with a hug.


Meadow moved in, which meant that the Mackenzie house was insanely crowded. But somehow they made it work.


It helped that Cameron was now a teenager and could help look after the toddlers. He was quite a handsome young boy, but he was hardly aware of it - he was more interested in his grades and in studying to become the cleverest person ever. Love could wait; books were right here, right now.


Meadow also did her share. She absolutely loved her soon-to-be-siblings-in-law, hugging them and playing with them whenever she could, and they loved her too, especially Caitlyn. They had a special bond.


Time flew and the twins were ready to start school. They were both good kids - neither of them looked like to cause any trouble or be disruptive in class. However, it did turn out that Caitlyn needed glasses. She was less than happy.


She had a strange gift for perception. "Are you going to have a baby? You can't have a baby unless you're married, you know."

Meadow gulped. She'd missed a period - there WAS a possibilty she was pregnant. Thankfully it wasn't long until the wedding. Hopefully she wouldn't be showing or she'd have to buy a new dress...


She wasn't, and the wedding went ahead as planned with Hiro Nakamura as best man. It was a quiet, friends-and-family affair in the yard, but that didn't stop everyone from dressing up. Meadow Thayer was now Meadow Mackenzie.


After the cake, Meadow felt like she was going to be sick. Yep, definitely pregnant.


The party went on for a while and everyone separated off, doing their own things.


Apparently it was too much to ask for the best man not to abandon the party and join in an impromptu video game session. Cameron just rolled his eyes and sipped his beer.


After the wedding was over and Meadow was officially a Mackenzie, the Straight family moved out. They'd saved up enough money to buy a house of their own, and the newly-weds would need their space... especially now Meadow had gone to the doctor and confirmed that yes, she was pregnant.




Note: Wow, that was a lot of pictures... but a lot happened simply because there were so many people in the house! Ewan and Meadow certainly wasted no time in starting a family... sigh!

Round Seven - Mackenzie

The combination of Lisa's age and the fact she was carrying twins made this pregnancy difficult. She felt like she was permanently tired and nauseous! The doctor confined her to the house and said she should spend as much time in bed as possible.


For the most part life continued as normal.

"Hey! Quit it! I'm trying to watch television!" shouted Ewan over his morning espresso. But his teenage rage was forgotten the moment the caffeine fully entered his system.


Ewan's life didn't only centre around his family and Meadow. He did have other friends. Ricky was one of them. They tended to hang around playing video games, typical guy things. It escaped Ewan's attention that Ricky mostly chose to hang around when Meadow was over, though...


Meadow was considerably less oblivious to Ricky's intentions.

"Ew! I'm with Ewan, you creeper!"


Ricky eventually got the hint and things went back to normal, with Meadow and Ewan glued together at the lips most of the time.


With his mother on virtual bed rest, Ewan found himself making all the family's meals, which suited him down to the ground. Maybe he would look for a job as a chef again, after all... but there was still the restaurant critic idea. No point tying himself to one particular career yet!


Cameron was having difficulty dealing with how tired Lisa was, and curled up in bed with his mother at every opportunity. Taylor would tuck his son in and smile. This would make excellent ammunition when Cameron started bringing dates home.


After all the stress and hassle, Lisa finally gave birth to her twins. They were a bonny, healthy pair; a boy and a girl, named Douglas and Caitlyn. Like Cameron, they both had their mother's skin-tone and eye-colour, and their father's brown hair.


Lisa went back to work as soon as she could but didn't neglect her babies. The heavily pregnant Jill Davies was a friend of the family so Lisa invited her over to give her a taste of the realities of childrearing, but Jill quickly got distracted by talking to Ewan's teenage friends. They were all about the parties, not the dirty diapers! Much more interesting!


Time flew, and both Ewan and the twins had birthdays. Ewan ditched the punk look for something a little more restrained, and was considering moving out. But he was too close to his siblings to make any real decisions yet, and a little bit too much of a slacker to be trusted not to get evicted for forgetting the rent...

Notes: Ewan is definitely staying for at least another round. I still haven't decided what to do after that; either he and Meadow will find a place and this will become the Straight family house, or Lisa, Taylor and the kids will move and found a house of their own, keeping this as the Mackenzie house. I'm more likely to pick the latter, I think; Lisa's getting pretty high up in the Architecture career so she'll bring in enough money to found a new house, whereas Ewan is still unemployed...