Hey everyone. Sorry about the long wait. RL got in the way, then I got writers block on the final scene. I must have rewritten that thing at least a dozen times, but couldn't get more than a few slides into it. Eventually I just gave up and decided to settle for a shorter chapter than normal.

A few things happened last chapter. We had Denise’s funeral and James was declared heir for the Stantons. That’s two of the heirs declared now. Ross got abducted by aliens for the second time, and this time they gave him some information about the supernaturals, though they got more information than him out of the encounter. Charlie and Alice met some boys and Alice got herself engaged to one. Ivan got vamped by a Contessa, a crime spree was stopped, Galahad became a child and love was in the air.

If you can’t remember that happening then I’d recommend going back and rereading the last few chapters. I know I had to in order to figure out what was going on.

Now, with that all out of the way time for the next chapter.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late,” Henry said as he stepped inside one of the local hangouts for teens. James, Amelia, Ed and Dec were all playing pool over by the vending machines. Apart from them and a few townies the whole place was deserted. “Dad made me-”

“Dude, we don’t care what your reasons are!” Dec cut Henry off before he could explain. “Just join our team already! Amelia and James are beating us!”

“And if you need to join their team their defeat won’t be as humiliating,” James said with a smirk as Amelia took her shot and potted another ball.

“We’re not losing that badly,” Ed protested as Amelia missed her second shot and Dec took his turn.

“We’re still losing, that’s bad enough,” without bothering to aim, Dec hit the cue ball as hard as he could. It completely missed any of the other balls and potted itself. “Damn!”

“Well we might be doing better if you, you know, aimed,” Ed pointed out, smiling a little. Dec glared in his direction.

“And we might be doing better if you, you know, shut your mouth,” Dec shot back, though his response was without heat.

“Don’t tell me you’re both going to start bickering,” Amelia heaved a sigh as James began taking his shots. “It’s a gorgeous day out, it’s finally warm enough to go out without a coat and we’re finally away from the sibs’ stressing about college. Life doesn’t get much better than this.”

“’Course they have to bicker, ‘Melia,” Henry said as he browsed the vending machines. “I’d be worried if they didn’t – so would you.”

Amelia didn’t respond. Henry, she had to admit, had a point. Ever since they’d first met the twins, right back when James became a child, the two of them had bickered constantly. After first it had been a little alarming, but now they were more than used to it. And Henry was right – they would definitely be worried if Dec and Ed didn’t constantly argue and snipe at one another good-naturedly. Something would have to be horribly wrong for them not to.

Still, they had finally managed to get away from their older brothers and sisters who were preparing for college. There was a huge group of the older teens who were due to head off to college soon. Most of them were panicking, trying to get as many scholarships in as possible so they could live as comfortable as possible later on in college. That, and those with knowledge and fortune parents had been pressing them extra hard to get more scholarships.

Still, the very least the twins could do was to stop arguing and enjoy what could be their last free afternoon before college.

“So has Ivan managed to cure himself yet?” Dec asked, interrupting Amelia’s thoughts. “Something about a vampire popularity sim is just wrong.”

Declan gave an exaggerated shudder. They all chuckled.

“Nah, he can’t cure himself,” Amelia said shaking her head at Dec’s antics.

“What do you mean, he can’t? Can’t vampires use phones?”

“Dude, don’t even joke about that, James,” Declan recoiled in horror. “Mirrors not working for you is bad enough, but no phone?! That’s harsh.”

“It’s nothing like that,” Amelia stared at the tip of her cue. “He’s tried to matchmaker but...”

“But what?”

“But she did the same thing like when Ally tried to cured her lycanthropy – refused to sell the cure. Said something about it the strand Ivan has being incurable.”

“That’s weird, I didn’t think there were different types of vampires or werewolves,” James said as he assessed his next shot.

“Neither did we. Me, Todd and Dad were gonna ask were some questions about it, but she vanished before we got the chance. She’s not been answering any of our calls either.”

“You tried the Counts and Contessas? Or the witches? Maybe they know something.”

“Dad’s trying them. Apparently he ran into a witch way back when, but he didn’t get her number. The boys’ didn’t get the Contessa’s number either when she turned Ivan. He’s searching Downtown every night for them to find out what’s going on.”

“You sure that’s why he’s searching them? He probably wants to become a vamp or a witch pretty bad.”

“He does. That’s probably why he’s searching as hard as he is. But he wants to know why Ivan and Alice couldn’t get cured, probably Charlie too.”

“Fair enough,” Ed rubbed his chin thoughtfully as James potted another few balls. There was no way they were going to win now. “Hey, speaking of family, where’s your little brother? I thought you were meant to be watching Galahad this afternoon.”

“Park over the road,” Amelia jerked her head in it’s direction and sure enough they could just about see Galahad on the swings there. “He didn’t wanna come in here just yet, so he’s gonna meet up over here just before sunset then walk back home with us. If he gets in trouble he’s gonna come get us or scream.”

Speaking of Galahad, he was indeed right across the road from the Hangout. He’d begged off going there with Amelia – there’d be no other kids there and the only fun thing to do at the Hangout was the video games, but they were older than he was. Not that it had taken much convincing for Amelia to just drop him off over here before she went off to meet her friends.

Coming here had it’s downsides though. Like there were no other kids about right now, and the teenagers kept asking about his sister.

“Hey, Merton! Does your sister know you’re here? Think if I take you back she’ll reward me with a kiss?”

“She’s gay, Lando,” Galahad murmured.

He got off the swings and walked away from the older boy. Melia had been complaining to their brothers about Lando Bertino. She said he was a jerk and a womaniser and she said he said the only reason she was gay was because she hadn’t had him yet. Galahad wasn’t sure what that meant, but Melia didn’t like it, Todd got embarrassed by it and Ivan said he’d beat Lando up next time he had the chance. It couldn’t be anything good.

Galahad grumbled quietly to himself as he walked across the park. It was no fun when he didn’t have anyone to play with, and none of the older kids would play with him. They all wanted to do boring teenager things, like date and kiss and hang out, which he knew was teen-speak for sit around and do nothing. It was boring!

The townie kids weren’t much better. None of them wanted to play with him at school. They said townies shouldn’t play with playables, townies should only play with townies.

He reached the pond in the corner of the park and whipped out a fishing rod. He scowled at it as he baited the hook and cast.

It

wasn’t

FAIR!

Galahad stuck his catfish in his inventory and cast his line again. Why couldn’t there be another playable kid? It’s not like there weren’t no more playable families around. There were some over in Bluewater! But they either didn’t have kids at all, or they had a teenagers. He didn’t think there were any kids his age about.

“You don’t look happy. Why aren’t you happy? You just caught a big fish! You should be happy.”

“Huh, who are you?” Galahad put his fishing rod away and turned to face the girl who’d spoken to him. “I haven’t seen you at school before.”

“Oh, I don’t go to school. Mummy says the,” the girl paused and scrunched up her face as if trying to remember exactly what her mother said, “the state of the public edacashun system is criminal! But she tells me to go play when I say she should tell the police, and Daddy says he won’t pay for me to go to private school because it’s ‘aspensive, and Mummy say it’s good ‘cuz she don’t want me doctoratored with bogus values or something ‘cuz then I’d never wanna get rid of the class system, but I don’t get that ‘cuz why wouldn’t I want them in the same class? Then we’d have more people to play with, but then Mummy and Daddy tell me to go play and let the grown up talks. Then Daddy tells Mummy that capitals aren’t bad, and I think he’s right ‘cuz if they didn’t have them where would they make laws and our names would look pretty stupid and stuff, but Mummy doesn’t think so and then they fight and then they go to the bedroom and lock the door and make weird noises and bang on the walls.” The girl paused again and frowned. “I think that’s there my baby brother and sister came from.”

Galahad blinked at the girl.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Mummy and Daddy say I s’posed to listen to what other people say, but I don’t know what most those words mean.”

“Me neither, I just know it means that I get homeschooled instead of going to school,” the girl grinned at him. He couldn’t help but grin back. “Hi! I’m Tessa!”

“I’m Galahad,” Galahad replied, grinning at Tessa. “You wanna go play?”

It turned out Tessa did.

“Do you really gotta go?” Tessa asked Galahad several hours later, the two of them standing by the park gates. “We were having fun!”

“Yeah, I gotta. Melia said I gotta meet her at the hangout before it gets dark, and it’s gonna get dark soon,” Galahad shrugged helplessly. “I don’t wanna go though.”

“Then we’re just gonna hafta play lots when I see you again,” Tessa nodded firmly. “You gonna ask your mum and dad ‘bout inviting me round?”

“You gonna do the same?”

“Of course!”

By the time Galahad met Amelia over the road everyone else was gone. Henry had left first. He had somewhere else to be. He headed home and hopped in the car with his sisters. They arrived at their mother’s shortly before the sun was due to set. They relaxed and waited for their mother to prepare herself. Eventually she emerged from the bathroom.

“Come on,” Mel said with a sigh. “I suppose we’d better get this over with.”

She walked like a woman condemned towards the balcony. The three teens looked to one another. After a moment Ruby shrugged, she and Henry got up and the three of them followed their mother out. Behind them a few of Mel’s work friends followed them out.

Outside Mel bent over her cake as everyone gathered, Ruby looked the two adults at the party over.

“Hey, Mum! Your friends are hot!” Ruby said with a friend as the two women blushed.

“Ruby!” Mel said in outrage for a moment before she grinned. “I have got to give you some lessons in subtlety.”

Mel smiled and shook her head. She turned back to her cake and took a deep breath. She could do this. She could. It wasn’t like she had a choice.

“Wooo! Go Mel!” Marylena cheered as the sun set.

Mel smiled. She wasn’t feeling too great about this, but there was no turning back now.

A moment later and Mel’s hair was white, her boobs were sagging and she was an elder. As the confetti settled Mel looked down at her clothes and looked at her hair as it hung down over her face. This wasn’t so bas so far. But there was something she needed to do before she could enjoy the rest of the party.

“You guys go ahead,” she said, gesturing them inside. “I have to get changed.”

“So how do I look?” Mel asked several minutes later.

Her party has moved into the communal gym next to her apartment where all three of her kids were dancing to the radio. Mel had changed into more appropriate clothing – well, she’d changed into something that suited her. Appropriate’s stretching the truth a bit, she thought with a smirk.

“Like a romance sim,” Ruby responded with a glance in Mel’s direction.

“Perfect!” Mel grinned. “Now are you gonna teach me this hula dance or what? I seem to remember you three promising that.”

Back in Quaver Kanyon another birthday was about to take place, and like Mel’s it was a low key affair.

Kaylynn Merton stood behind her cake, thinking back on her adult life. She had lived a full life so far, that much was true. She had 3 children and raised four, all oh whom were in private school now. She’d risen through the ranks of the culinary world until she had finally been given her own show by one of the networks. She felt pretty accomplished as she thought about it. She hadn’t managed to achiever her lifetime want, but –

– as she bent over the cake and blew out the candles to the kids’ cheers she knew that those six grandkids would be along some day.

As the smoke from the candles drifted away moments later, and the confetti settled on the floor Kaylynn took in what it was like to be an elder. She didn’t feel any different. In fact the only difference she felt was the nagging desire she’d had for another child had been replaced with one for grandchildren instead.

“So, what do you kids think? Does I look good or what?”

The only answer she got was a positive one.

Kaylynn looked over her body, then caught sight of her clothes.

“I better go change,” she said, grinning a little.

And minutes later she was looking at her reflection. Well, she supposed she didn’t look too bad.

The followingday Kate walked in the house, exhausted after an unbearably long day of work. Ever since her birthday it felt like she had been stuck at the desk. Apparently being an elder meant that she was incapable of going out and actually fighting crime. As he walked in she was greeted with an all too familiar sight.

Bayley making out with Gideon on the sofa, Cole sat next to them, thinking cap firmly on her head, book in hand and eyes fixed to the page. Either she was ignoring what her twin was doing, or she was completely oblivious to it. Either was possible with her younger daughter.

Kate smiled at the pair of them. As the time for the twins to leave for college got closer and closer their aspirations had really started to come out, far more than they ever had before. Cole threw herself into learning everything she possibly could, her head in a book when she wasn’t sleeping. Even then she was learning too. Cole had ordered some tapes a while ago, said that it was theoretically possible to learn in your sleep. She’d managed to rack up a fair few scholarships, so maybe there was something to it. Kate didn’t know.

As for Bayley, he was acting in a way that Kate was only too familiar with. Back when she was a teen she’d had a few boyfriends – never more than one at a time, but still it had been a few. Each relationship had ended the same though. Every single one of her boyfriends had headed off to college and despite their protests that they would be different and keep in touch, that they would get together again as soon as Kate turned 18 they never had. Within a very short space of time they’d met someone and were moving on with their lives.

It seemed like every family sim knew this on an instinctive level, no matter how much they denied it. Because of course they would be different. They would keep in touch. It wouldn’t be long after all. And they would cement their love for one another by being together at every available opportunity.

“Hey, you’re home. I was wondering when you’d get back,” Waylon’s voice cut across her thoughts. She smiled.

“I always get back around this time,” she told him. Then Kate looked at him and said with some suspicion, “you don’t though.”

Waylon grinned at her. It was still slightly disconcerting to know that this was Waylon when he had a wildly different face that he’d had as an adult. Still, this was the man she’d fallen for. No doubt about that.

“Lucky chance card,” Waylon replied, looking like he could break into a jig any moment. “I got bumped up to CEO. One more promotion and I’m there, Kate!” the light sparkled in Waylon’s eyes as he spoke. “I’ve almost got my lifetime want!”

“That’s wonderful, honey! You’re definitely going to get it! Maybe even tomorrow too!” Kate said, then sighed. “At least you’re guaranteed yours. Some of us aren’t quite so lucky.”

“Quit being ridiculous,” Wayloon chuckled. He reached up and brushed a hand against her cheek. “You’re bound to get those six grandkids – we’ve got five kids, three of them are family sims, and Bayley’s lifetime want means you’ll get those six grandkids through him, even if none of the other kids reproduce.”

“I know,” Kate sighed. She could hardly wait for grandkids. They wouldn’t be coming for a few years yet though. “I guess I’m just feeling broody...”

“I know something that’ll take your mind off of it.”

“You do?”

“Yes I do!”

The following morning, after one extremely long car journey, Bayley and Cole arrived on campus and to their assigned dorm, a little bemused to realise that they had been assigned the same dorm as Charlie and Alice’d had. They changed their clothes in a moment, and claimed their rooms – they had been the first to arrive.

“So what do you wanna do now?” Cole asked her twin, a grin on her face. She’d finally made it to college and she couldn’t be happier about it.

“How about we find you a boyfriend?” Bayley suggested eagerly, turning to Cole.

“Bayley-” Cole’s sigh was cut off.

“Yes?”

“I’m not gonna find a boyfriend that quickly. ‘Sides, I’d rather check out the library. The library here’s supposed to be the best in the world.”

Bayley’s face fell as Cole spoke. For the first time since they’d arrived Cole took a good look at her brother. He looked very different to when they were teens, but then she was under no illusions – she probably looked just as different. Still he looked sad, and Cole knew her brother well enough to know what he wanted.

“I’m gonna go try and find the library now. Why don’t you give Gideon a call while I’m gone?” Cole said and her hunch was right. A grin spread over his face, and she could see Bayley was already itching to reach for the phone.

Without waiting to hear what Bayley would say – she could practically predict it – Cole turned and ran off.

“We’ve got class at 3,” she called over her shoulder. “I’ll see you there!”

Bayley watched Cole run away with a smile. Then he shook his head and headed to the nearest phone. It maybe have been less than 12 hours since he saw him last, but Bayley already missed Gideon. Believe it or not, they actually had a lot of catching up to do already.

It was just a pity Quaver Kanyon was so far away. Bayley wouldn’t be able to see him for another yet, when Gideon would come to the Académie. Still, could be worse.

After everything that had happened in recent years everyone was shocked to find that the next few months sped by with nothing unusual or even interesting happening. Everyone continued with their lives – their careers, their school work and their relationships – as though nothing strange or weird had ever happened in Quaver Kanyon. No one was even changed into a supernatural creature of some sort. There weren't even encounters with any of the supernaturals on the community lots, much to Ross's chagrin.

In fact, before anyone knew it already a whole semester had passed them by and soon Todd would be leaving for college.

And here’s a picture of Todd and Gemma to end with. I told you it would be shorter than normal. Unfortunately I just couldn’t get this final scene to work, no matter what I did with it.