Chapter 2.30: It's Time

     "Look Mommy, look Daddy," Amy called from the monkey bars.

      Emrys smiled and waved when reached the other side and turned to look at them.

     "You still take them to the park when we have our own mini park in the backyard," Ochre asked and leaned on the picnic table.

     "They can't meet other children here.  It's important for both Saffron and Amy to have friends their own age.  Who aren't related to them," she added thinking of all the cousins they had in town.

     "How many cousins are there?" he asked.

     Emrys looked at him.

     He shrugged, "I've been in space the last five years.  I haven't kept up with the family here as well as I should have."

     Emrys rolled her eyes, "Well between you and me we have our cousins: Cinnabar, Amber, Harmony and Rohan.  Then their children: Charlie and Holly Lopez are Cinnabar's, Amber has Red and Carmine Palette, Harmony has Perry Ballard.  And Rohan is Aunt River's son, he's the same age as Amy."

     She looked at him blink at her and smiled, "too much?' she teased.

     "Not at all," he tried to lie and Emrys laughed at him.

     "There you two are," Toya said as he walked around the low wall of the playground.

     "Hey Toya, I was just giving Ochre a quick run down of the family tree."

     "Good luck with that," Toya snorted sitting with them at the picnic table, "your family has kids like it's going out of style."

     "That's only because Grandma Brynna had five children," Emrys argued, "five.  And Uncle Rhonan hasn't had a child yet."

     "Off topic from what I came to discuss," he said waving his arms between them as if he could wave away the entire discussion."

     "Your Aunt Mags and Amber have finished processing the files I found.  We're almost ready to present them before the tribunal."

     "But what about my brother.  If we have Joel arrested before we find him we might never be able to."

     "That's just it Emrys.  I found him."

     "What? When?" Emrys asked leaning towards Toya.  Ochre glanced at the children before leaning in too so they could keep the conversation quiet.

     "This morning.  I made the final connection that lead me to the boy."

     "How did you find him?" Ochre asked.

     "Your mom said Joel was keeping him somewhere else but none of the business papers or gossip columns have ever mentioned him having a son.  So I tracked all the property's he owns and organizations he's made donations to.  For the last nine years he's been making substantial donations to a boarding school in Sunset Valley."

     "My brother is there," Emrys said.

     Toya nodded at her, "I hacked the schools files.  Joel is listed as the emergency contact for one Robert Calson."

     "He changed the boys name so he couldn't be found," Ochre said.

     "I think so.  Your uncle is making plans with Hunter for him to travel out there and watch your brother while Lean and I present our files.  You two will go and get your mom out of his house."

     "It's really time to bring her home," Emrys said looking back and forth between the sims.

     "It's time," Ochre confirmed, "let's drop the girls off at the center for their classes then we'll go and get your mom."

                                                                                                     

Random Ramblings

   Heeeerrrrrreee's the wind up.....(Think announcery voice) 

Chapter 2.29: Get To Know Each Other

     "Here are the copies of the documents you signed.  We'll start these through the registration process.  The official marriage certificate should come by mail in one week."

     "Thank you," Emrys thanked the clerk behind the desk.

     "Have a nice day," she chirped again.

     "Now that we've started the paperwork how about stopping by the lounge on the way home for a coffee date," Ochre asked as they left the city building.

     "Not a chance," Emrys snorted, "we still have to get your things moved over to the house from your place."

     "Actually I was thinking of letting Hunter and Toya have my place.  And then we wouldn't need to move anything cuz they would need it there."

     He looked at Emrys as they walked back to the vehicle to drive home.  He asked her out at every opportunity and spent as much time with her and Amy as the case would allow.  Neither of them had to travel much now that Toya was working on the files they had collected but that left what he would do once it was over up in the air.

     "You can sleep here," Emrys said showing him to the only spare room in the house.

     "The workshop," he asked looking at her.

     Emrys was carefully not looking at him.  He could tell by the look on her face that if she did she would start laughing.

     "I never said you would be sharing my room after all,"Emrys said as she was leaving the room.

     Ochre caught her before she left and pulled her back against him.  She turned in his arms, to argue with him no doubt, so he kissed her before she could start.

     "We're going to date and talk before we share a room again, Em," he said before releasing her.

     Emrys didn't say anything, she just silently walked out of the room.


     "So you're going to be living here now, Daddy," Amy asked at dinner that night.

     "Yeah.  I'll be staying in the workroom down the hall from your room.  That okay with you?" Ochre anwered.

     Amy frowned in confusion, "why aren't you in mommy's room?  Grandma and Grandpa stay in the same room."

     Ochre smiled when Emrys choked at their daughter's question and child-like reasoning.  Hunter and Toya were both grinning at her.

     "Mommy and I haven't talked in a really long time so we want to get to know each other first before sharing a room like Grandma and Grandpa.  Does that make sense?"

     Amy nodded, "yes.  You've been flying your spaceship everywhere and mommy's been here with me. Can I still sleep with you mommy?" she turned to Emrys.

     She smiled at their girl, "anytime mini-me."


     "You're not going to sleep with your mom?" he asked as Amy was getting ready for bed.

     "I love mommy but I like my bed and my purple flower covers," Amy said.

     "Goodnight, Daddy," she said hugging him.

     "Goodnight little one," he said helping to tuck the covers around her as she climbed into bed.  He pressed a kiss to her forehead and looked at his younger sister.

     "Goodnight Ochre," she said putting away her homework.

     "Night Saffron," he kissed her cheek.

     "You never gave me a kiss before," she observed.

     "Then I needed to get one in before you grow up and get too old for kisses from family."

     She rolled her eyes at him but gave him a kiss in return.

     He turned off the light as he walked out to the hallway.

     "How did it go?" Emrys asked.

     "Hugs were given, kisses collected and good nights said," Ochre replied, "Just one more before I turn in for the night."

     Before she could respond he pressed a kiss to her lips before walking around her to the door to his new room.

     "Ochre?" she said behind him.

     "Yeah?" he asked turning around.

     "We can't date right now," she looked down at the floor. "There's something I have to do before I can work at building a relationship again."

     "That's okay, Em.  I'm not going anywhere before we figure this out," he smiled at her.

                                                                                   

Random Ramblings

   So I've taken all the pictures I need for this generations story now I just need to write them all out.  Going to be so fun!

Chapter 2.28: Fighting for Love

     "So your Sienna is the Bridgeport Black Widow," Dad started the discussion.

     Ochre snorted, "Start off by tying me with the widow, why don't you?  Yeah.  And it seems she was at Emrys's parents the day they were attacked."

     "What?  How do you know this?" Mom looked at Emrys.

     "I remembered seeing her when I arrived home from school," Emrys said.

     "You think she had something to do with their deaths?" Dad asked her.

     "I can't think of another reason she would have been there," Emrys answered.

     "We wanted to talk again about protecting us from her claim that the child is mine until we know for certain if it is or not," Ochre looked at his mom.

     "What are you thinking of," Mom asked.

     "You said that we would be in a similar position with any of my exes if we asked them to act as a shield from Sienna.  That's because they would then have a claim to our family," Ochre said, thinking aloud as he put his idea into words.

     "That's right.  Your ex would have the same claims Sienna does and if she isn't trustworthy she could take advantage of the situation."

     "So if my ex is trustworthy it could work," Ochre said glancing at Emrys.

     She looked at him before turning back to his mother.

     "Of course Emrys is trustworthy," Rachael said, "but the problem with her claim is the fact she didn't tell any of our family until now.  Sienna could argue that she is only claiming Amy is your daughter to usurp the baby's rights due to the break up of your relationship with her."

     "What if Ochre and I were married?"

     Ochre looked at Emrys, surprised by her suggestion.  She met his gaze and lifted a brow in question.

     Mom was silent for a moment, thinking about her suggestion.

     "You want to get married before we even go on a date," Ochre asked.

     "I want to protect our family," Emrys said and turned back to his mom.  "Wouldn't our claim be stronger if we were an official couple?"

     "The claim would be stronger," Mom admitted, "but we would never ask you two to marry just for that reason."

     "No one asked Aunt Ray, I volunteered.  We could sign papers at city hall and start the process for Amy's paternity test.  It's possible that by the time Sienna does get around to bringing her case to the courts we could cut off her rights to the family fortune.  She might still get some of Ochre's money because she's claiming the child is his but the rest of us would be protected."

     Ochre glared at her, "there was no mention of dating anywhere in that statement."

     Emrys rolled her eyes, "you and I are not going to date."

     "We will," Ochre stated.

     He looked at his mom when Emrys turned to glare at him.

     "Will Em's idea work?" he asked.

     "I honestly don't know.  The situation is almost unheard of in past cases.  Paternity testing is a recent practice.  It used to be that the word of the mother along with corroborating witnesses would decide paternity in such disputes.  It just might work like Emrys is suggesting to at least insulate the family's money from Sienna's reach."

     "We can sign the paperwork and start getting it processed tomorrow," Emrys said.

     "Ahem," Hunter coughed behind them, "there is still one slight potential problem."

     Ochre looked at his brother.

     "What do you mean," Dad asked.

     "Living arrangements.  Civil papers like Em is suggesting require that the couple live in the same residence.  One of you will have to move," he said looking at Emrys and Ochre.

     "I can move back to the house," Ochre said first.

     "Amy's lived here most of her life," he said when Emrys looked at him, "she shouldn't have to move to my house.  Besides it's not set up for children yet."

     "Then that's settled.  We can sign the papers tomorrow morning and move Ochre's things here in the afternoon," Emrys said.

     "Great," Ochre sighed.  As great as it would be to live with Em and Amy he knew she would be twice as determined to keep him at arms length.  Well, he thought, no one ever said fighting for love was easy.

                                                                                         

Random Rambling

   So the story is winding up for the final chapters.  Who has any guesses how it will end?  Besides the standard everyone (mostly) lives happily ever after.

Chapter 2.27: Bridgeport Black Widow

     After their talk with Amy, Emrys and Ochre went to Lean's office where Toya was working on sorting out the files they had copied from Joel's office.  He spent most of his working time on the project so they could save Rebecca and Emrys's brother as soon as possible.

     "How is it coming along?" Emrys asked walking up behind Toya.

     "It's coming.  I got maybe half of the files processed.  Lean has your Aunt Mags and Amber organizing it for presentation before the tribunal."

     "That's good.  Do you think you will have enough for them to arrest him?

     "Based on what I've already processed, he'll be getting multiple life sentences and so will a lot of other sims who've done the work for him."

     "How many are we talking about?" Ochre asked.

     Toya mouth twisted in disgust, "dozens.  He's had years of building up his little army to do all his dirty work so he never has to actually do it himself.  Fortunately for us there's enough evidence to show he was complicit in planning or funding several illegal actions."

     "Thank you Toya," Emrys kissed his cheek.

     "It's nothing, sister," Toya said.

     Emrys smiled.  In the last week Toya had taken to calling her sister at every opportunity.  It was nice, Emrys decided, to have someone whose faith in her never wavered.  It had been there all along she knew but now she recognized it.

     "One more thing before you leave," Toya said as Ochre and Emrys were leaving.

     "What is it?" Ochre asked as they walked back over.

     "Lean asked me to look into the Bridgeport Black Widow awhile ago.  Yesterday I managed to track down the aliases she used.  You'll never guess who she's married to now."

     "Who?" Emrys asked.

     "Joel Mulligan," Toya said looking up at them.

     Emrys stared at him.

     Toya smirked and nodded, "I wonder when she's going to decide to off him.  Hopefully, she won't get to it before he's arrested."

     "How did you find this out?" Ochre asked.

     "I started with her earlier victims.  I traced her movements.  She started in Bridgeport with her first two  victims.  She married them under aliases June Randall and Janice Westing.  From there she's been moving west ever since.  She married Joel almost two years ago under the name Jane Rice."

     Toya leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms.  Frowning at the screen he added, "this is the longest she's ever been married without killing her husband though."

     "Maybe he's not rich enough for her to kill just yet," Emrys suggested.

     "Maybe," Toya shrugged, "wanna see a photo of her?"

     "You found a photo?" Ochre asked.

     "Yeah.  It's from the wedding announcement to her third husband so a little old.  Maybe ten years old."

     "Bring it up to the big screen," Emrys suggested.

     Toya typed a few buttons on his keyboard and the map on the wall faded out to be replaced by the picture of a couple.  The prospective groom looked happy and in love with his bride-to-be.  She on the other hand appeared distant, almost disconnected from the happy nature of the photograph.

     Behind her she heard Ochre swearing, but Emrys couldn't look away from the bride.

     "It's her," she whispered.

     "Who?" Toya asked turning away from Ochre.

     "She was outside the apartment that day.  She was there when my parents died."

     "What do you mean?  Emrys, what are you talking about?" Ochre gripped Emrys' arms and turned her away from the screen.

     "Her," she said pointing to the screen.  "She was outside my families apartment the day my dad was killed.  I passed her on my way home from school."

     Emrys dropped her head into her hands when the tears began to fall.

     She sobbed from the pain.  The lady had asked if her dad would be home.  Her father died because Emrys had said he would come home later.

     Ochre pulled her over to the couch and held her while she cried.

     "It's not your fault," he murmured over and over, kissing her head and rocking her to comfort her.

     "It is," she cried.

     "No," he pleaded with her, "you were a child.  Nothing that happened was your fault.  Bad people did bad things to your family, but you are not responsible for anything that was done."

     "Your dad will be here soon.  He's coming from HQ at your aunt's house," Toya said.

     Emrys looked up at him.  He was putting his phone on the table and looking at Ochre.

     "Why is Lean coming home," Emrys asked.

     "I recognized the sim from the picture too.  It's Sienna. And she's already threatened to use her baby to take our family's money."

     "She can't do that.  Can she?" Emrys frowned.

     "Mom thinks it's a possibility," Ochre admitted.

     "You were getting Amy's birth certificate when she told us last week," Toya added.

     "But Amy's the first born." Emrys argued.

     "A paternity test would have to be done before the courts can declare her rightful heir," Toya said.

     Ochre nodded, "and in the meantime Sienna can submit a claim that her baby is mine.  The courts may still give her an allowance from our funds until the child is born and a paternity test can be done."

     "Isn't there anyway we can stop her?" Emrys asked gripping his hands.

     "Your mom dismissed the idea of asking an unknown ex about children Ochre, but wouldn't Em be a different matter?  It's not like she's going to try and reject you from Amy's life." Toya suggested.

     Ochre looked at him, "that's a good idea.  We'll ask her."

                                                                                         

Random Rambling

   I got no ramble in me today.  Enjoy the story.

Chapter 2.26: Daddy

     "Are you sure about telling her Em?" Ochre asked when he arrived at the house.

     It had been nearly a week since Emrys had revealed Amy's paternity and he was anxious to start getting to know his daughter.

     "Why?  Are you having doubts already?"

     "No.  I want her to know I'm her dad.  It's just that Amy only knows me as the absent cousin."

     "True," Emrys said leading him through the living room.

     She stopped in the arch to the playroom.  Looking inside Ochre could see Amy playing with the violin.

     "She's better than you were when you came here," he joked.  He smiled when Emrys laughed.

     "Not yet, but she really does love to play.  She's taking classes on her own at the skill center rather than following Saffron all day, which is what I thought she would do."

     Ochre frowned.  He looked at Emrys, "she's not even five years old yet.  Should she be taking formal lessons?"

     "I talked with the teacher before she started.  He's having her practice chords at home and teaching her to play children's songs.  His class is spent listening to different genres of music and exploring a variety of instruments.  More of a music appreciation really.  He's only doing the chords because Amy shows so much interest in the violin," she finished talking and looked at him with one eyebrow raised.  Daring him to question her further.

     He didn't take her up on the challenge.  "You obviously know better than I."

     She immediately softened, "Not better, longer.  So I've had more practice."

     "Amy," she called.

     Amy stopped playing and turned around.

     "Come here," Emrys called and gestured for her to come to them in the doorway.

     Amy put down her violin and walked over to them.

     Emrys took her hand and walked her to the living room.  They sat on the couch while Ochre sat on the love seat.

     "Do you remember Ochre from dinner a couple weeks ago?"

     Amy nodded, "He's the spaceship pilot."

     "Right," Emrys agreed. "He's also your dad."

     Ochre was surprised when Emrys just blurted it out.  Amy was frowning at her mom.

     "He's not my daddy.  He doesn't live with us," she argued.

     "Sweetie," Emrys said hugging Amy, "not all mommies and daddies live together.  Like Uncle Toya's mommy and daddy, sometimes they can live in different places."

     "You didn't say he was my daddy when we ate dinner."

     "No, I didn't.  I never told Ochre that you were going to be born so he didn't know that you're his daughter."

     Amy glanced at him from behind Emrys and Ochre tried his best to seem as friendly as he could.

     "Do I have to call you 'Daddy'?" she asked.

     "I would like you to call me 'Daddy' but if you don't want to yet I understand.  I've never had a daughter before so I'm hoping you can teach me what I need to do."

     Amy looked at him thoughtfully.

     Ochre was surprised when she got up and joined him on the love seat.  She gestured for him to lean down.

     When he did she whispered into his ear, "I never had a daddy before though, so I don't know what a daddy is supposed to do."

     Ochre had to swallow past the lump in his throat before whispering back.  "Maybe we can learn together then."

     "Okay," Amy smiled and hugged him.

     Ochre wrapped his arms around his little girl for the first time and thanked his lucky stars he had this chance to start making things right with his daughter.

     Amy let go before he was ready to release her.

     "Can I go practice now?" she asked.

     "Yes," Emrys said.

     Amy gave him and Emrys each a hug before leaving the room.  A couple minutes later the violin began playing.  Ochre braced his arms on his knees and propped his head on his hands.

     "You did a good job raising her Em," he said when he could talk again.

     "I had your mom and dad to help me.  They've done more than I have," she admitted.

     "No," he said looking at her.  "She's loved and freely offers her love to everyone around her in return.  That's only something she could do because of you."

     Emrys blushed and looked down, "Thank you.  Sometimes I wondered if I've done right by her, with work taking me away as it does."

     "Don't doubt it, Emrys.  You've raised an amazing little girl."

                                                                                        

Random Rambling

   Again, moving on...

Chapter 2.25: That Special Something

     The house seemed quiet when Emrys arrived.  Her thoughts buzzed and swirled in a hundred different directions after her talk with Ochre.

     Toya was reading in the living room when Emrys entered.

     "There were no problems then?" she asked.

     "None," he said closing the book.  "Your aunt's been in the kitchen making cookies with both Amy and Saffron.  Nothing unusual's been said so I didn't see any point in leaving."

     "Leaving?  You're leaving again?  Why?" Rachael asked from the door.

     Emrys turned to look at her aunt.  "No one's leaving Aunt Ray," she said over her aunt's talking.

     "I'll leave you two to talk," Toya said standing up as her aunt walked toward Emrys.

     "Coward," Emrys called around her aunt.

     Toya chuckled but waved a hand as he left the room.

     "Em?" her aunt's voice broke saying her name and Emrys looked back at her aunt.

     She flinched at the pain in her aunt's eyes.  "I'm not going anywhere Aunt Ray," she mumbled and fidgeted beneath her aunts gaze.

     "Why didn't you tell me or Lean anything?  Did you think we would throw you out or something?"

     "No!!" Emrys exclaimed looking at her aunt, "I never once thought that.  It was just complicated."

     Rachael took her hands and pulled her to sit on the couch, "can you tell me now?"

     "It's not just my story to tell Aunt," Emrys hesitated to speak.

     "Tell me what you can then.  I need to know why you wouldn't tell us," Rachael pleaded.

     Emrys sighed, "It was just one night and he left right after.  When he never came back I didn't want to stay here and raise my baby surrounded by memories.  I didn't want to have to smile and pretend to be happy when he finally came back with someone else as his wife.  I never meant to come back when I left five years ago."

     "You were just going to disappear?  Like your mother?"  Rachael asked.

     "NO! Yes.  I just...I didn't feel like I could stay here and I didn't want to put you and Uncle Lean in the middle."

     "What made you decide to come back?"

     "I got sick.  I realized I needed your help to protect the baby but by then so much time had passed I didn't think I could tell you about Ochre being the father.  Everyone just assumed Ritchie was the dad and it was easier just to let everyone keep believing that."

     Rachael sighed, "When you and Toya returned with a baby I always wondered if it was Ritchie or Toya who was the father.  You were so accepting when he and Hunter started getting serious I didn't want to cause trouble by asking.  But it was really Ochre."

     "I never told him either, Aunt Ray."

     Rachael snorted, "I know that.  If he knew about this he would have moved the world to be with you and Amy."

     Emrys turned her head.  She didn't want to argue with her aunt but she had her doubts.  Though Ochre's words earlier seemed to support what Rachael said.

     "You don't believe it do you?"

     Emrys shrugged.

     "You were still too young at the time.  Maybe 17, almost 18 years old, but sometimes I would see Ochre watching you.  It wasn't as a brother or as cousin, but as a sim who found that special something in another, that told them this is the person for them."

     Emrys looked at her aunt, "I never noticed."

     "He was always careful to make some remark or other that had you yelling at him a second later when you would catch him looking."

     Emrys blinked.  A lot of her memories with Ochre did involve yelling at him.

     "When are you going to tell Amy?"

     "I don't know.  Ochre wants to be a dad so we'll tell her.  Can you wait until then before you start having her call you 'Grandma'?" Emrys asked.

     Rachael laughed, "Me.  A grandma.  I was beginning to wonder if I would have to wait for Hunter to adopt or Saffron to grow up first."

                                                                                                        

Random Ramblings

   Another relatively short chapter.  Just moving along now....

Chapter 2.24: Dreams

     It hurt Ochre to hear the sadness but he didn't want to hurt her more by making a promise he couldn't keep.  He understood her reservations and respected her protectiveness over their daughter but he would have to show her she didn't need to protect Amy from him.

     He had done a lot of damage to their relationship when he left, the first step to fixing it would be to find a way to show he would be here.  Not just for Amy but for Emrys too.

     He followed her to the front door after they finished eating.  She was opening the door when a thought occurred to him.

     "Em?" he stopped her before she left.

     She turned to look at him.

     "Earlier, when we were talking, you said you loved me.  That you've loved me since the day we met."

     Emrys looked down at the ground but didn't deny what he was saying.

     "Do you still love me or am I an even bigger idiot than I knew?"

     Emrys remained silent, refusing to look up at him now.

     "Okay," he nodded to himself, making a decision.

     "Okay...what?" Emrys asked, finally looking at him.

     "You still love me.  You don't want to, because you're afraid I'll let you down again, but you do."

     "You can't know that," she whispered.

     Ochre grinned at her, "I'm going to prove that you can trust me again.  And when you're ready we'll go on dates and be a family."

     While she stuttered in disbelief.  Ochre leaned over and brushed a butterfly kiss over her lips before pushing her out the door and closing it.

     "You said we would talk about this after," she yelled through the door at him.

     Ochre laughed.  Placing his hands on the door he leaned against it, "I didn't think I could promise I wouldn't be an idiot again.  But I've been an idiot all along and you still love me anyways.  I'm not going to let my mistakes rob us of a life together.

     "I told you I had a dream when I woke up all those years ago and you were still sleeping.  I dreamt of what our future could be together Em.  I saw red-haired children and home full of laughter and love.  Em, that dream has kept me from moving on with anyone else 'cuz it wouldn't be with you.  I want it all Em and I want it with you."

     He placed his head against the door and closed his eyes, "consider this your warning, because I won't let fear stop us any more.  Not mine and not yours either.  I'm coming home."

     Ochre listened and for a long time there was no response from the other side of the door.

     Then there was a soft thump and Ochre opened his eyes.  On the other side Emrys mirrored his stance and was looking directly at him.  He saw worry and fear in her eyes but in the deepest depths there was the smallest glimpse of hope as well.

     "Be sure Ochre," she whispered through the door.  "Please don't promise me anything you won't deliver."

     "I promise Em.  We have a lot of things to work out but I'm going to be here for the both you and Amy."

     Emrys stared at him some more before turning to walk down the stairs and across the street.  By the time she reached the corner Ochre was already pulling the phone out of his pocket.

     "Hey dad.  I need your help with something."

                                                                                       

Random Ramblings

   So...thoughts?