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 Eight - Knox

The years were catching up with Kaylynn and soon she couldn't hide her wrinkles anymore. She'd been covering up the stray greys in her hair with dye for a while but it seemed like a lost cause so she gave up. She'd never been a vain person, always much more concerned with family, but it was still a shock to her to see an old lady looking out at her from the mirror.


Thankfully getting older hadn't hindered her quest to find love again. She was casually dating a man her age; she didn't expect it to lead to marriage, but it was nice to have the company now the twins were getting older.


Noah wasn't quite as lucky romantically. Sure, he liked Junko... but he wasn't sure he loved her. He wasn't even sure he was all that attracted to her. It seemed like they were just together because they'd been friends as children. He had no idea how to tell her, though, and she took his indecisiveness as just him being his usual shy, studious self.


Another problem was that his mother was very keen on her. Noah could tell what she was thinking - "my little boy should marry her!" Noah didn't know if he ever wanted to marry anyone - maybe he was more suited to the bachelor life of a scholar. But he knew his mother would be heartbroken if she thought her son wasn't going to get married and carry on the family name, so he kept quiet.


Ruth was considerably more perceptive.

"Look, if you don't like Junko like that you should just admit it and get on with your life! It's a big world out there with loads of different people for you to date."

"Yeah, you'd know all about that," muttered Noah into his cornflakes.


Ruth DID know all about that. She hadn't been going out with Yuki at all lately - instead she'd moved on to the paper girl, Amy. She didn't see this relationship going anywhere either but she was only a teenager - why did she have to settle down?!


Ruth took frequent trips down-town, attempting to get into clubs despite being underage. It was on one such trip she met a very interesting lady indeed. She was quite a bit older, much too old for Ruth, but there was something about her that lingered in Ruth's mind...


...even if she did have a few weird habits.


Yuki had finally accepted that Ruth wasn't going to be her girlfriend, and could even almost stand it when she flaunted Amy at parties. She grinned and bore it, and strutted her stuff with Noah. It was a shame he wasn't a girl, really - they had a lot more in common.


Note: OMG A VAMPIRE that is all.

Round Eight - Davies

Sabrina and Jasper still wanted more children - every time they looked at little Adam they were more and more sure. But they were getting on in years and the likelihood of Sabrina conceiving was pretty much nil.

So, they made their decision. They were going to adopt.


Once all the paperwork and checks on their home-life had gone through, they welcomed little Zillah to the family. She looked a lot like Amanda, with her pale skin and dark hair.


She was very shy at first and Sabrina found it difficult to get her to learn her alphabet, but she soon warmed to her new parents and turned out to be a very happy, bubbly toddler.


She was always smiling and adored getting hugs from Sabrina and Jasper. She didn't look quite like the rest of the family - her eyes were very different - but she fit in perfectly anyway.


Amanda was less pleased with the new addition.

"It's not fair!" she shouted at her friend while playing video games. "It's bad enough I had to deal with a new little brother, but this is too much!"

Her friend rolled her eyes and just kept playing.

"STOP IGNORING ME!"


Amanda soon came out of her sulk when her step-aunt and BFF Ruth came to visit. Amanda was completely befuddled by Ruth coming out as a lesbian (not that she'd made a big deal of it - it was just a fact of life with her!). But boys were cute! Ruth just rolled her eyes.


Boys were indeed Amanda's weakness. She played all cute and sweet and coy with them; she wasn't manipulative on purpose, it just seemed to happen. Every time she met a new boy it was the same old story. She never dated them steadily enough for them to see the real her.


Adam's first day of school soon swung around. He wasn't very outgoing but at the same time having conversations with new people didn't send him into panic, and he could already hold up his end of a discussion.


He loved science and nature, much preferring his ant farm to playing rough and tumble with the other kids.


Zillah started school not long after. She was becoming a very beautiful young lady and didn't have a mean bone in her body. She and Adam were inseparable; it was almost as if they were twins.

Notes: Sabrina's want for another baby just wouldn't go away! But then I remembered... I made several batches of kids with randomly assigned personalities and put them in my little orphanarium so any future gay couples can adopt them. And thus Zillah joined the family.

Round Seven - Knox 3

Danny Knox didn't know what to do. He was infatuated with his neighbour, Emma, but she was difficult to pin down. One minute she was into him, the next minute not, half the time she wasn't even there (and she wouldn't tell him where she'd gone) and NOW her roommate had gone and gotten pregnant and Emma seemed reluctant to leave her.


He mostly focused on getting in peak condition - he would become an athletic superstar no matter what. Occasionally he let off steam with a few parties, which Emma and Shiina would briefly turn up at just to be polite. It was kind of embarrassing.


But sometimes he managed to catch Emma in a good mood. Maybe she'd never want to move in with him or be serious, but Danny was open to seeing how things went, and a few stolen kisses would do for now.


Note: Literally nothing happened this round >:(

Round Seven - Nakamura 2

Emma's life as a criminal was exciting, dangerous, and going extremely well. She was rising up through the ranks of the local syndicate. Unfortunately the need for secrecy and the unusual hours meant she didn't have much time for socialising - something she wouldn't have minded if it hadn't been for Danny Knox. She was a little smitten with her new neighbour.


Meanwhile, Shiina was enjoying the life of leisure she'd built for herself. She'd sold several paintings and celebrated by taking Trent out on the town for a meal.


Whenever they hit the dancefloor there wasn't much dancing involved. She just wished her little brother Hiro would stop following her around looking disapproving.


In fact, her occasionally slightly out-there antics provoked a lot of disapproval. After she and Trent had a bit of fun in a photobooth Shiina got the smacking of her life from the local busybody.


As time passed Shiina found herself feeling more and more tired and nauseous. She was also putting on a little bit of weight. It was disconcerting - she'd always been naturally slim.


Eventually she couldn't deny it to herself any longer - or to Emma. She was clearly pregnant. Emma dragged her off to the doctors and accompanied her to routine scans - Trent had seemingly vanished off the surface of the planet and was not returning Shiina's calls.


Emma became a de-facto husband.

"Ems! You don't need to make my bed for me! I'm pregnant, not an invalid," fussed Shiina.

"It's not going to make itself," Emma pointed out.


"I know, I know, I need to take care of myself more. I shouldn't rely on you so much. I think when the baby's born I should probably get a real job. Give up on the whole becoming-a-fashion-designer dream..."

"Don't be so ridiculous!" snapped Emma. "I don't mind helping you out and I don't want to see my best friend give up on her dreams just because some low-life has knocked her up. Talking of which, you need to take that photo down. He's a loser."


They were an odd pair, two straight women living together and about to raise a baby, but it worked. Now Emma had convinced Shiina to keep following her dreams life went back to the usual routine of Emma working out and Shiina painting or sewing, sometimes chatting to one another and sometimes not. Emma wondered if she'd ever want to move out; Danny was cute, but her friendship with Shiina was something very special.


Note: Curse you, ACR. Talk about a baby boom!

Round Seven - Davies 2

To outside eyes, Jill and James were completely incomprehensible. Two flirty, cheating slackers, married and about to bring two innocent children in the world does seem like a recipe for trouble in anyone's books. But to them it all made sense. Sure, Jill had rekindled her affair with Will, and James didn't look likely to grow out of the mistakes he'd made in his first marriage, but they still loved each other.


Jill was trying to cover up her infidelity by making friends with Elle. Seeing as she'd previously hated Elle and got into several fights with her a more... perceptive husband may have suspected her motives, but "sensitive" and "emotionally intelligent" were not words anyone could use to describe James.

"You're absolutely glowing! Pregnancy suits you!" declared Jill.

"Um... thanks?" Elle was more than a little surprised by Jill's change in attitude, but she was a positive and friendly soul and her endless naivety allowed her to only see good in making friends. Plus she could do with the support of a fellow expectant mother.


James was surprisingly enthusiastic about the upcoming birth of twins considering how negligent a parent he'd been to his already-existing children. He couldn't wait to teach them how to play his synthesiser, and Jill was already talking about enrolling them in dance classes the moment they learned how to walk.


James's star was still rising in the world of parties. He was very close to being able to pack all the odd-jobs in and becoming a professional party guest. Flirting with the young ladies who gave him rides home helped his enthusiasm.


He'd also bumped into an old flame from a few years ago and they'd had a pleasant conversation with more than a little suggestion and innuendo. It put a spring in his step. Of course, he'd have to be careful Jill never saw any of this unless he really wanted a black eye.


Jill ended up going into labour mid-conversation with Elle in the middle of the lobby. James was nowhere to be found as Elle found a telephone and called a taxi to the hospital.


Jill had twin girls named Leah and Nicole. Everyone in the apartment was delighted to meet them when she brought them home; they looked positively angelic, identical blonde girls with their father's very pale skin.


Jill found that, although she was far from a "natural" mother and still not very maternal, caring for little babies wasn't as hard as she'd feared it would be. They were too cute for her to hate them! Plus she made James do all the diaper-changing. That helped her opinion.


Being friends with Elle lead to more than a few awkward situations. She'd visit unannounced and bring Will with her, and Jill couldn't resist being a little tactless.

"How's everything with you and James? Not living up to his reputation, I hope," said Elle delicately.

"Of course not, I know how to keep my man happy. Will would know all about that..."

"What?" Will gulped and Elle looked confused.

Jill smirked. "Being kept happy. You're such a great couple!"

Will sighed. Yep, DEFINITELY playing with fire.


The girls grew quickly. They were still almost identical, with only slight differences in nose-shape to tell them apart. Their personalities were similar too; both outgoing, grouchy, difficult little toddlers.