Behold! Chapter six! I know it's a teensy bit late. I've had a jam packed weekend. I'm happy I got this done and posted by Sunday as least, since my goal is to post a chapter every weekend be that Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Anyways, enjoy!

BROKE

The day came for little Henry to grow up. Most of his family gathered around him, some in their underwear, not that the baby minded. Others were at work and had their schoolmates stand in for them. Despite the circumstances, Henry aged into a rather cute little toddler. Brandi scooped him up after finishing her cake and immediately put him to bed, noticing his eyes growing heavier by the second.


“I think that went well”, said Benjamin cheerily to his wife. The couple relaxed on their bed after a long day of work, cleaning, and raising a house full of wild boys.
“Mmhmm”, Brandi replied, uninterested. Her mind was elsewhere. Her last little baby was now a toddler. Soon he’d be a child, then a teen, then off to college. As a family sim, Brandi found the whole idea quite saddening.


Benjamin looked at his wife and smiled sheepishly. “I’ve been thinking. Dustin will be going off to college soon, which will give us an empty bedroom. Not to mention that Beau will be starting high school and getting a job. Henry will be out of diapers by then. As hectic as it is, don’t you think you’ll miss the little baby stage?” Before he met Brandi, Benjamin’s main concerns were learning and reading. Brandi made him realize the importance of family, and her boys, how much he loved being a father. Despite loving the boys, he still wanted his own, biological child that could carry on the Long family name. Much to her surprise, Benjamin read Brandi’s mind. She broke into a large grin at the thought of having another small, squishy baby to hold. “What do you say, Brandi? Maybe we could have a little girl…”


Brandi imagined what a having a little girl with Benjamin would be like. She’d always wanted a daughter. She leaned into her husband and he embraced her. “I think it’s a lovely idea. I’m not ready for this house to be empty, to pack up the cribs, toss the bottles. Let’s do it! Let’s have a baby!” They kissed gently for a moment and then got right to work, hoping their night together would bring them the child they desired.


Dustin couldn’t stand his stepfather. When he found out his mother was having yet another baby, he decided it was time for him to leave before things got ugly. He knew deep down that Benjamin was a good father, and would raise his brothers the way his own dad would have. Still, he felt inferior and couldn’t bear to stick around any longer.


Dustin worked hard to get his grades up and earned some extra cash working as an apprentice to a big business executive. The day he left for college was an emotional one. Brandi was ready to pop, and hugged her son goodbye tearfully. “Make sure you call and visit! I’ll be thinking of you every day, darling!” Brandi kissed her eldest son’s forehead. Dustin said goodbye to Beau and Henry while making an extra effort to ignore Benjamin, avoiding hugging him or even shaking his hand. The teen climbed into the cab, ready to take on the next adventure in his life.


Things were different when Dustin left. The whole family felt much more at ease now that the constant tension between him and Benjamin was no longer present. Despite getting along better, everyone missed him. Especially Beau, who looked up to Dustin more than any other man in his life. The brothers tried to keep in touch as best as they could. Beau assured Dustin he’d be joining him soon on campus.


Back at the Broke-Long household, the new baby was on its way to fill up Dustin’s empty room. “Ohhh Benjamin! This never gets easier!”
Benjamin was alarmed at the site of his wife in so much pain, knowing fatherhood was well on its way. “Gah! Just stay calm Brandi! Breathe!”


Brandi gasped at the site of her beautiful, dark haired baby. “It’s a…”
Benjamin laughed happily in amazement. “It’s a…”



“Hey Al! Nice prep school uniform! You must be Al, right?” Dirk greeted his new housemate with a boisterous grin and outstretched arms. It was Alex and Destiny Goth’s first day in the Dreamer house since their sister Cassandra adopted them. Dirk was excited to meet Alexander, and glad to have another guy under his roof.


“Ah, why thank you. You must be Dirk Dreamer. My sister’s step son. Which makes me your Uncle, technically.” Alex smirked and pointed at Dirk with a cheeky grin. He was happy to be out of his father’s house and away from his step mother. Still, the Dreamer household was different from the refined, upper class style of life he was used to.
Dirk chuckled and gave Alexander a manly hug, patting his back. “That’s weird man. But hey, welcome to the family!”


Things went along swimmingly in the Dreamer household. Dirk and Alex grew as close as brothers while Darren and Cassandra fell more in love every day. Little Destiny was growing up strong and happy, awaiting the arrival of her new niece or nephew. The family was sure the baby would be making its debut any day now as Cassie’s abdomen looked close to popping.


The family lived in a perfect bubble of happiness, despite their large size. All the focus on the importance of family and the excitement in the air over the new baby got Alexander thinking. “Do you think you and Lilith will get married, Dirk?” Alexander hoped he was not being too intrusive.


Surprised, Dirk furrowed his eyebrows and puffed some air out of his cheeks. “Dude. I dunno man. That’s a heavy question.”
“I know. I just see how happy you two are, and how happy my sister and your dad are. I can’t help but wonder if I’m missing out. I’ve always been so focused on my grades and learning…” Alex trailed off, growing shy. “Do you think she’s the one? Does the one even exist? It seems highly illogical to me.”


Dirk pondered the idea for a while, scrawling in his notebook. “You’re asking the wrong person, man. All I know is that when I think about not being with Lilith, I get real down. I do love her, but I’m practically still a kid. Ya know?”
Alex did not know whether to be satisfied or disappointed, and simply nodded at Dirk. Alex decided he would have to do his own experiment if he wanted to learn about love.


So the next day, Alex attempted to woo a young blonde that came home from school with him. “Hey, what do you call a tooth in a glass of water?”
Ignoring the Chemistry joke, the blonde slurped her soup rather obnoxiously.
“A one molar solution!” Alexander laughed, waiting for his date to get the punch line.
The girl responded with a large belch, and then continued shoveling soup into her mouth. Appalled, Alex decided he should stick to his elements and planets rather than pursuing the opposite sex. If that was true love, it was not for him.


Life continued in the Dreamer house despite Alex’s dating failure, and soon it was time for Cassandra to give birth. Before the actual moment, Cassandra had been thinking long and hard about the arrival of her son or daughter. As a family sim, she was excited to finally have a child of her own. Even though she had spent so much of her life raising her siblings, she wondered if she would be a good mother. She hoped she was not in the wrong to bring another child into the world when her siblings still needed so much of her love and attention.


After a fair amount of yelling and panicking, Cassandra found herself holding a darling baby girl. Once she saw her daughter, she knew there was no mistake in her birth.“She has my eyes!”, Cassandra beamed. The happy couple smiled at the infant, deciding to name her Eden. Cassandra nuzzled the baby, promising to herself they would have a better relationship than she once had with her own mother.



Herb and Coral Oldie sat alone at their daughter’s kitchen table one morning. The sun had just risen, and the elders were the only ones in the house who weren’t still sleeping. They decided it would be a good time to discuss how their granddaughter Lilith had run away from home. “I just feel guilty.”, said Coral meekly. “Mary-Sue asked us to live here so we could help her straighten out the twins and raise the new baby. Now Lilith has gone and run away!” Coral sniffled out a few salty tears.


Herb tried his hand at comforting his wife. “It’s not our fault Coral. Lilith was long gone when we got here. It was only a matter of time before she skipped out. Mary-Sue can thank her husband for that. I’ve always thought that Daniel was no good.” Herb scowled at the thought of his cheating son in law.


“Oh Herb. You shouldn’t be so hard on Daniel, especially since you’re a romance Sim too. He’s not perfect, but you know he loves Mary-Sue and the kids.” Herb grumbled something inaudible and crossed his arms, turning away from his wife. Coral sighed and forced a smile, wiping away her tears. “I’d just feel better if I knew Lilith was safe.”


Angela decided she would take the initiative and check up on her twin. The red head was vaguely aware of her sister’s close relationship with their aunt, and figured if she wasn’t with Dirk, she must be at aunt Jennifer’s. Angela was well aware of her parents’ and grandparents’ plight, and after another day of not seeing Lilith at school, she’d had it. Half out of nosiness and half out of worry, Angela plucked her family’s phone from the stout wooden table and quickly dialed her aunt’s home phone. After a few rings, Angela was not surprised to hear her twin’s voice on the other end.


The utter disgust and shock in Lilith’s voice was obvious; Angela found it fairly amusing. “Angela?! What the hell are you doing?!”
“I should ask you the same thing. Everyone over here is worried sick about you. You’ve been at aunt Jennifer’s the whole time?”
“Obviously you know that since you were smart enough to call here. What do you want?”
“I just want to know how you are. Mom and dad, grandpa and grandma, they need to know you’re safe.”


Lilith was surprised to hear that her family was worried about her. She figured that when she moved out, nobody would miss her. She assumed, in fact, they’d be happier with her gone.
“I…I’m fine. I’m doing better in this new school, making new friends. Aunt Jen and Uncle John treat me the way I want to be treated, not like an evil convict. I have a job and am leaving for college soon.”
Angela paused, taking in her sister’s sudden success. “Well…everyone will be glad to know you’re not dead on the street. You’re not coming back then I guess?”
“No.”
“Yeah. I’m sure they’ll let you stay there.”
“They’d better. I deserve to be happy.”


“You do, Lilith.” Lilith’s heart sunk, it was the first kind word she’d heard from her family in as long as she could remember. Angela even surprised herself by saying it. She was silent; neither twin knew what to say now.
“Well…I guess I’ll see you at Sim Sate then.”
“I guess.”
“Bye, Lil.”
“Bye.”


Angela hung up, leaving Lilith listening to a dial tone while stupefied and suddenly very, very homesick.


Nobody heard from Lilith in the days that followed and life continued on as normally as possible. Daniel stepped outside for a moment to recycle the paper from the day before. He had a lot on his mind, and needed to get some air. Despite knowing his daughter was doing well at his sister’s, Daniel worried about Lilith and regretted their last conversation. He knew he’d be an elder soon, and would probably not see the teen for his birthday.


Daniel slowly trudged over to the garbage can and tossed the wrinkled newspaper inside. He placed the metal lid back on; it clanked loudly. He sighed, glancing down the street at the green trees and trying to remember a time when things were easier. “Hi Daniel.” A shy, feminine voice echoed behind him. Daniel spun around and stopped in his tracks.


“Kaylynn?” Daniel’s heart began to pound at the sight of his ex mistress. They hadn’t seen each other in a couple years. After he reconciled with Mary-Sue, Daniel had made sure Kaylynn understood he couldn’t see her anymore. They even hired a new maid, a male maid as requested by Mary-Sue. He heard she’d gotten married and had a baby since then. Yet there she stood in his front yard, wearing a police uniform to boot. “What…what on earth are you doing here?”


Suddenly embarrassed and ashamed, Kaylynn began fumbling her words. “I...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I just got off my shift at the station and, well you were on my mind. I just wanted to see you. I’m sorry.”
Daniel grew angry. “You can’t be here, Kaylynn! Things can’t be the way they used to! My wife is right inside that house! My pregnant wife!”


Although Daniel wasn’t aware, his “pregnant” wife wasn’t going to be pregnant for much longer. Mary-Sue stood in their living room, hollering and groaning in pain. “Daniel! Where are you?! The baby is coming!”


Daniel never came to see his son Felix’s birth, and it didn’t take long for Mary-Sue to figure out where Daniel was.