Chain Reaction 2.48: Orange

Ethan

     Work goes back to 'normal'--if you could call it that. In my spare time, what little I have, I pour over the limited evidence from Ishikawa's murder. I've found a partial print that the other officers missed, and I'm hoping that I can get some results from the analyzer, something that can further help me pinpoint the guy that did it. Maybe if we can get him to point fingers, he'll get his charge lessened. I'm not holding my breath, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try.

     One good thing to come of all this is that the other officers start agreeing with me that there is something up about the Landgraabs. I mean, really, what was that family thinking? They're on the scene of the crime after our database got whacked; the most major file that got obliterated is the one that showed Malcolm guilty of stealing files from his father; their cyber security person gets arrested; and after being acquitted, their cyber security person gets murdered in a back alley, assuring them he'll never talk.
      The chief sends me on another small case...which later turns into a bigger deal...
      I'm not there five minutes when I almost wet my pants in sudden, shocking fear.

      "Ethan!"
      I scream like a little girl.

     The other officers here come bursting out of the house. "Taylor! What is it?" Then, they see the ghost standing in front of me...the ghost of Geoffrey Landgraab.
     "Hiya, fellas!" he greets them happily, and they scowl at him.
     I ask the obvious. "Mr. Landgraab, you're dead?"
     He chuckles like I told a simple joke on a spring day. "Yes, son, it happens to us all."
     Don't call me son! Then, something occurs to me. Why has this never occurred to me? Dad and Geoffrey Landgraab were friends. Does Dad know all the stuff his buddy would get up to?
     I turn to the other officers. "It's fine, uh, fellas," I say, using the word Mr. Landgraab used.

     After the other officers have gone inside, he says, "I need you to deliver a message to your father for me."
     Out of habit, I pull out my notebook. "Okay?"
     "Orange."
     "What?"
     "Orange," he repeats, not giving me any more.
     "Why 'orange'?"
     "He'll know what it means."
     "Why don't you tell him yourself?"
     He sighs like he thinks I'm a simpleton. "Because the Maker is playing you right now, and I need this message delivered ASAP."
     I scowl. "What does it mean?"
     "I have to go." He vanishes.
     "Wait. Is that what it means?" Or did he just have to go without telling me what it means? I angrily  flip my notebook closed. Landgraabs!!! Even in death, they think they rule the game!

     I call my dad and deliver the message anyway. "Thanks," Dad says, but he won't explain what it means, either. I try to pull some kind of stunt to trick him into telling me anyway, saying it has to do with a case and I require his information, but he turns that right back around on me and calls my bluff! What the plum! Of course, I can't force him to tell me.
    Orange? That sounds suspiciously like a code. It makes me sick to my stomach that Dad could have any involvement in any of this Landgraab mess.
     I decide, probably unwisely, to keep the message from my official report.

     It's getting close for Claire to deliver, so I take paternity leave. Mikey loves having me home all the time. The kid practically attaches himself to my side. I don't mind. In fact, I love it. There's not a thing I wouldn't do for this little guy.

     Being home all the time does give me a better insight to all the things that Claire deals with. Although I love him to pieces, that kid of mine can sure be stubborn!
   

      My wife is huge. I'm glad I can keep the thoughts like this one to myself. Don't get me wrong, she's still gorgeous, but I worry about her and this gigantic baby she's carrying.
      She's miserable. She's eating like a horse. She has to pee at least once an hour. She complains constantly of her back hurting.
      I'm just ready for this big guy to get out of my wonderful Claire. How could I have done this to her?

     Then, that day arrives! Claire goes into labor.

      She opts for having a home delivery.
      We have a daughter! A sweet little girl named Chloe joins our happy family. I'm nervous about what this will mean for our finances, but I'd never tell my wife that. It'll be fine. We'll be fine.
      Claire feeds her and puts her back into her cradle, and then I hear more noises of pain coming from the living room! Scared, I stand up and get ready to run in there.

     When the dust settles, we have TWIN GIRLS! The younger one we name Charlotte. They're completely identical, at least as far as we can tell. Somehow, Claire has it worked out so that she can tell them apart, but I keep getting confused.
     So, not only did we have a girl, but we had two girls. Thank the Maker I have a little time before they'll need their own room.
     And when they do... we'll have THREE toddlers in our house.

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I have discovered something...

With thanks to a mod, I knew Claire was going to have twins:

For the record, I did not use the mod to make her pregnant with twins. The only thing going for that was the Ley line thing. Still, I found out before that she was preggers with twins. :)

Now, I have been trying to have twins in my various saves for a little while now. The last twins I've had were Justin and Jenny, all the way back to my very first sim, first save, first pregnancy, back when I was just doing a trial of s4.

This is what happened the first time Claire went into labor:

One baby. ONE. I was mad. After all, I KNEW she was preggers with twins. Then, I realized something: I've never had a twin birth at the hospital...
...so I closed the game and reloaded to right when she was in the hospital, before birth (I had a hunch to do that). I sent her home... to have twins.

I guess, if I wanted it that way, having a baby at the hospital is a guaranteed way not to get twins if I don't want them, but then I'll always wonder. I may never have a sim have a baby at the hospital again.

And wait 'til you see the twins aged up! They're ADORABLE!

a funny:

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