Chapter 7: Passing the Maternal Baton

Brandon Slade, the second generation heir in this legacy story, has struggled to resolve the two relationships he got involved with and has promised his girlfriend, Qiana, that he wants to commit to her and is ready to continue building the legacy vision laid down by his father, Adam Slade.

In this chapter Brandon and Qiana, cope with beginnings and endings  ...

At this moment, Brandon couldn't remember ever being happier.  Qiana was prepared to stay with him and put the difficult past few months behind them.

And Cleo was growing up so fast.  It seemed like only yesterday that she was but a helpless baby but now she was starting to show her own personality.  Managing somehow to be both fearless and thoughtful she was the joy of their lives.

That's not to say that she wasn't hard work!  She had so much to learn if she was to have the best possible start that Brandon and Qiana wanted her .

They shared the tasks, and as difficult as it sometimes was to juggle teaching Cleo and working, between them they made sure she was soon walking and talking as well as anyone could have hoped for.

Qiana's style consultation business was doing incredibly well.  It couldn't get much better when she was nominated for the Sunset Valley Stylish Trophy.  But then to be named the winner was simply incredible!  Qiana was especially proud that she had achieved the same honour that had, several years before, been bestowed on River.

Having two such awards in the same family was quite a remarkable feat - in fact she couldn't think of any other family across the three cities that had such accolades.

While Qiana was out winning awards for her styling work, Brandon was equally busy creating remarkable new machines to improve the lives of his fellow citizens.

The culmination of his efforts was the discovery of time travel and building a machine in which it was possible to travel back into the past or forward into the future.

Fascinated by the potential of new technology Brandon made a couple of trips into the future, hoping to discover something amazing to bring back to the Valley.

The trips were certainly eventful and he came back with many ideas.  Though when he 'borrowed' a chameleon suit from the Technomages of Gignus 5 he quickly realised that time travel wasn't an entirely safe adventure!

It may have looked and felt like play time but whether it was tapping out tuneless tunes on her little wooden xylophone or banging away on her favourite peg box ,Cleo was slowly learning new skills, skills that would hopefully secure a bright future.

Like on many similar days, Cleo was totally absorbed with fitting the various shaped blocks into one of the many holes in the peg box, unaware that downstairs her grandmother was passing from this world.

Qiana and River were in the kitchen, comparing notes on some of their more 'awkward' customers as Qiana prepared their evening meal.

When, suddenly, River stopped, gasped, let out a deep sigh and fell slowly to the floor.

Qiana, moved swiftly to check her breathing and attempted CPR, but she quickly realised that there was nothing she could do.  She called for an ambulance, and as much effort as the paramedics put in to reviving her, it was apparent that there was no way back for River.

"You should come home, it's River ..." Qiana had hardly finished the sentence when Brandon rushed out of the "Swap 'n' Sell" to get home.  Even so, by the time he got there, the ambulance crew were already putting his mother on the stretcher to take her to the morgue.

When they left, Brandon just fell into Qiana's arms, there was nothing to say, he just needed to feel her there and take comfort from holding her close.

The following mornings felt empty without River. Always expecting her to come out of the shower, complaining, as usual, about how two generations of men still couldn't fix it to provide her with hot water.  Or bustling in from her garden and describing, in microscopic detail, the peculiarities of the fruits she had just harvested.

Brandon knew what it was like to lose a parent at a young age, and was going to make sure that Cleo would never forget the grandmother who had so doted on her.

It was obvious to both of them that Cleo's next birthday, just a few days after River's funeral, should be held in their memorial garden.

Even if she didn't consciously realise it Cleo was growing up surrounded by a family that cherished her and had great expectations for her future.  Brandon also hoped that, wherever their spirits resided, Adam and River would be happy to know they would not be forgotten as the generations rolled on.

These two recent events, the death of his mother and Cleo's birthday played on Brandon's mind for several days - if ever there was a time to make important life choices this was it.  He knew there was one thing he had to do to make his family complete ...

It was early morning, Cleo was still in bed, Qiana was still in her nightie, about to prepare  breakfast when Brandon descended the stairs, as naked as a Sim can be, carrying only a small box ...

"Qiana, I am naked before you, I have nothing with which to hide, you can see and know everything that I am.  I don't need anything but your love, and I am nothing without my love for you and Cleo."

"Everything that I have means nothing without you, being with you makes me the happiest man on this world.  Please say that you will marry me"

Qiana clapped her hands to her face, tears welled up, as she nodded furiously, just mouthing "yes" over and again.

Just in case he didn't quite understand she leap into Brandon's arms and, smiling broadly, whispered to him "Cleo is still asleep ..."


Chapter 8: The New Mrs Slade

Chapter 6: The Baby Effect?

Brandon Slade, the second generation heir in this legacy story, is struggling to live up to the expectations of his deceased father, Adam Slade.  On the day of their wedding his pregnant girlfriend accussed him of cheating on her and the future together, and their unborn child hangs in the balance.

In this chapter Brandon and his girlfriend, Qiana, struggle to come to terms with what they have done and cope with their newborn baby ...

Brandon and Qiana had gone into town to visit the Papyrus Memorial Library.  In all the chaos  after the disaster that was their wedding party they had missed a lot of the ante-natal classes that the midwife had recommended.  As a last minute catch-up they were going to attend a new and expecting parents gathering. 

But, within moments of arriving at the library, Qiana started feeling powerful contractions, and she didn't need telling exactly what that meant!

Thankfully, the hospital was just around the corner from the library.

Brandon felt very strange as they walked up to the hospital entrance.  He loved Qiana, but their relationship, although it had been getting a little better, was still very difficult and he could sense that Qiana was still not comfortable with him.   He was hurt, but not too surprised when Qiana told the nurse that she wanted her friend Sandi, not Brandon, to be with her in the birthing room.
 

He remembered his mother telling him how long she was in labour with him, so Brandon was expecting to wait quite some time before seeing his child.  Qiana's family, though, had a history of easy births, so he was delighted to be invited to see his daughter after only six hours of pacing the corridor.


When they left the hospital, the first thing Qiana saw was their old friend Estevan Bowles outside playing ballads for newborns.  Was this a sign, was her daughter going to follow in her mothers artistic footsteps?

When the got home, Qiana was very clear, having this baby was an opportunity for them to rebuild the relationships they had enjoyed before Brandon had got 'confused' with Jesse.  Their child deserved a loving home and she hoped that If they all worked together she would grow up just fine.

So, time to choose a name.  Considering all they had gone through recently, she would need to be brave  to confront all the challenges life would throw at her.  Being perceptive and able to make sense of the world, and the people she met, would also be very important.  A name that embodies those attributes?  It was River who suggested 'Cleopatra' - a woman who knew how to survive in a male-dominated world.  Brandon and Qiana were not sure they could name their child Cleopatra, but liked the idea, and eventually decided that 'Cleo' would be just perfect.  Welcome to Sunset Valley, Cleo, the first of the third generation in the Slade Dynasty.

River was delighted to have a grandchild to dote on and, especially, that Qiana was still living with them.  She could see that Qiana was really enjoying motherhood (so far!) and hoped that having Cleo to care for would help heal the rift between her and Brandon.

They would spend a lot of time together.  River knew that Qiana still had serious doubts about Brandon, so their conversations often dwelt on her concerns and how Brandon could possibly recover their trust.

Brandon quickly learnt that new babies were a lot of work!  For a start he was having to make frequent trips into town to buy supplies.  On one such trip he bumped into his old friend Jesse. Initially nervous about how the other would react, they had hardly seen each other since the (non) wedding, quite a while ago.

But when Jesse offered a hug, it would have been churlish to refuse, and it suddenly seemed like old time again.  Friends again.

Even so, Brandon owed it to Jesse, as well as himself to clear the air and make sure there would be no repeat  of what had happened, that they could only ever be just friends.

He was, however, surprised by Jesse's reaction. "What?  I know you felt something too, I didn't force you into anything!  You think you can just turn your back and pretend nothing happened?"

Brandon tried to explain that he loved Jesse as a friend, his best and truest friend, but his future was with Qiana and Cleo.  Eventually Jesse seemed to calm down a little, as if accepting that they would never be truly together.  As they parted Brandon felt a huge burden lift from his shoulders, he had been honest with his friend and he hoped that he would never have to deal with this again.

Cleo changed everything for Brandon. Sure, he loved Qiana with all his heart but now he had someone who was utterly dependant on him and there was no way he could let her down.

Every time he held his beautiful daughter he made a promise to her that he would always be there for her, that he would make it right with her mother and they would be a real family.

Just as she starting to settle into the role of young mother, Qiana's next birthday came around and she turned, suddenly, into a fully fledged adult.  Wow, this means I'm going have to start being responsible she thought to herself.  But, in the meantime, let's PAAAARTAAAY!

As the party went on into the late evening, and their large lawn was bathed in the soft light of a Sunset Valley sunset, Qiana was deep in conversation with some of her oldest and dearest friends.

The talk inevitably got onto the subject of her relationship with Brandon.  Did she have proof that he had cheated on her?   Had he been good to her and Cleo since that day?  Did she love him?

Before she went to bed that evening Qiana spent a long time with Cleo, just trying to work out how she felt and if she could she a future with Brandon.

Could they really make it work?  What would be best for Cleo?

As she put Cleo back into her cot, Qiana had come to a decision.  

Early the following morning Qiana and River were in the 'art room' working on new designs.  This was something they both enjoyed, sharing quiet moments of creativity, sparking new ideas off each other and having a way to express their deepest thoughts.

Hearing Brandon coming out of the shower Qiana asked River to give them a little space, just check on Cleo for a moment ...

River loved Cleo, who wouldn't, she was a delightful baby, so alert and responsive and nowhere near as demanding and troublesome as Brandon had been!

She hoped that today would be a good day, that they could settle down to the normal family life that a child needs - especially one that could be the next heir on the Slade dynasty.

When he was a child Brandon loved to go fishing with his father, but seldom had time these days, so when he had a spare moment he would often catch the latest TV reports on the inter-town fishing competitions.

He was just enjoying the latest cast-off news when Qiana asked him to turn the TV off, she had something important they needed to discuss.

"Brandon, I know something happened between you and Jesse.  I don't know exactly what, but I can guess!  I was hurt, really hurt, we had only been seeing each other for a short time and I had fallen in love with you."

"I knew months before our wedding day, before you even proposed to me.  It was wrong of me to humiliate you in the way that I did, but I was so very angry with you ... and when I saw Jesse at the wedding I just had to stop it."

"Since then, we've had Cleo and you have been so good with her.  And I know you have hardly seen Jesse at all recently, even though he was your best friend, so that couldn't have been easy."

"I have thought about this a lot, and have to try to be rational, so I'm willing to give it another go. I want us to be a family, a proper family.  If we try I think we can all be happy ..."

Brandon was overjoyed, Qiana  was ready to leave their past troubles behind them.  He had been stupid, had nearly wrecked everything, but this amazing woman was prepared to give him a second chance.

He was not going to let her down.

That night, it was if they had gone back to their first times together.  They could cuddle and snuggle in bed and start looking forward with hope again.


Chapter 7: Passing The Maternal Baton

Chapter 5: Fallout

Adam Slade, the founder in this legacy story, has passed away and his only son, Brandon, is growing up to take charge of the Slade Legacy.  However, Brandon has discovered that relationships are not as easy as he thought.

In this chapter Brandon and his girlfriend, Qiana, have to face the consequences of their actions as they make some of the most important and difficult decisions of their lives.

Whenever she went into the town centre, there was always someone who would approach River to ask for her style advice.

She loved showing off her portfolio and seeing how happy people were when she made even the simplest suggestions about how they could get the look they wanted.

Having witnessed some of the drama between Brandon and Jesse a few days earlier, RIver was pleased to bump into Jesse while taking a break between styling consultations.

It  was a somewhat uneasy conversation and Jesse was giving nothing away, not explicitly anyway.  Even so RIver could tell from his body language that there was more being left unsaid than said.

But, she decided, she wasn't going to push him, he had been a good friend to Brandon over the years and trusted them to sort out whatever difficulties they had. 

The next time Qiana came over to see Brandon, she could tell there was something up with him.

When she asked about the phone call the other night, Brandon stammered out a story of how he had had a really difficult day, that his latest invention wasn't working as he had hoped and he was getting pressure from the guys at the store.

Brandon hated deceiving Qiana but couldn't believe that she would ever be able to understand or forgive him for what had happened with Jesse.  Then, almost as a way of denying it to himself, he decided, right  there and then, to ask her to move in with him!  She looked at him, quizzically, not quite sure why he had suddenly asked but, before she could stop herself, she had said yes!

The following morning Brandon and Qiana were discussing the future and how they could afford to stay in this house and, one day, support a family.

It had been at the back of her mind for a while but seeing how successful River was, Qiana decided that she would like to put her artistic skills to good use and become a free-lance stylist.

Of course, Qiana was some way from being the 'Style Queen' that River had become.  In fact, only a few days later, River was invited to a very special presentation at the City Hall.

When she arrived at City Hall, not only was the mayor there to meet her, but there was a large crowd of people from all across the valley.

She could hardly believe it when the crowd started cheering and calling her name as the mayor
presented her with the "Keys to the City" as part of a lifetime acheivement award for services to fashion!

Looking at how she could now afford to make a substantial contribution to their house on Summer Hill, River decided that she would spend the bulk of her reward on adding the latest transport technology to the Slade home - a teleporter!

River Slade was not the only one to receive a surprise presentation ...

It seemed like only yesterday that Brandon had asked Qiana to move in, and now he was asking to make that ultimate committment to each other.

"Qiana, you are the most amazing person I know and there is no one else I could imagine spending the rest of my life with ... will you marry me?"

Knowing that he was truly devoted to her, that there was nothing he would not do to make here happy, there was only one answer Qiana could give him. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Later, that evening, River spent some time talking with Qiana.  Telling her how pleased she was that Qiana was to join their family. 

They talked about many things. About  Brandon, how he would be a wonderfully devoted husband, but Qiana had to be aware that he also had his 'eccentric' side.  RIver also told stories about her husband, Adam Slade, and his vision of creating a lasting legacy for Sunset Valley.

Was it excitment about the upcoming wedding?  Nervousness about the expectations of the Slade family legacy.

Or was there a simpler, more biological reason for the frequent bouts of nausea that Qiana suddenly started to suffer from?

She didn't have long to wait to disvover the reason.  She was pregnant!

Brandon was ecstatic. he could hardly contain himself at the thought of being a father, being responsible for the third generation of the Slade dynasty.

River was also delighted to hear the news, reassuring Qiana that if there was anything she needed at all, she would be there to help her and Brandon.

It seemed like no time at all before the wedding party.  Making sure all the invites were sent out, all the food, drink, and entertainment was set up.  New suits and dresses bought.  This was going to be one great party!

Until, that is, as the guests were congregating, Qiana asked Brandon about Jesse.

"I know something happened!  Did you sleep with Jesse?"

Brandon could not believe it.  How could she do this?  On their wedding day!

"No, of course not!  Why would you even think such a thing!  I love you, I want to marry you!"

Brandon was torn, he didn't know how she could have found out and he couldn't just confess to it now.  Not now.

But whatever he said, to deny it, to calm Qiana down, it just seemed to make her angrier.


It even occurred to him that she had known all along and she had always planned to expose him in the most public and humiliating way possible.

He loved her, how could she do such a thing.

And that is almost exactly what Qiana was thinking.  How could he?  Was she not enough for him?  Was this marriage going to to be a complete sham?



When all the other guests had left, Sandi French, one of Qiana's old housemates, and oldest friend, stayed behind to understand what was going on and do what she could to help.

Brandon was, basically, a good guy, but if what Qiana thought was true, could she forgive him?

Was he a cheater at heart?  And if he was, what was Qiana going to do, after all she was pregnant with his baby! ...

 

Brandon was left feeling dazed, hurt, betrayed, and, most of all, guilty.  He knew that what had happened, on what was supposed to be the happiest day of his life so far, was all his own fault.

If he hadn't slept with him, if he had been a true friend to Jesse then that fateful night should have ended quite differently. But now, as he slept, alone, in the guest room he could only think of what he had missed out on.





As fate would have it, on her next visit into town Qiana met Jesse in the park.

She went for him "What did you do!  Why did you sleep with my boyfriend?"  Jesse, though, was having none if it and snarled back denials, that she was not only mad to think such a thing and it just showed that she didn't really love Brandon at all, not how he deserved to be loved.

When Jesse stormed off, Qiana was left to contemplate what he had said.

She knew something had gone on between them and the anger Jesse had just shown was further proof to her that there was more to Brandon and Jesse's relationshiop than either was going to admit.

Returning home, with her back aching and exhausted from the confrontation with Jesse, Qiana was in no mood to listen to Brandon's pleas.

Maybe there really was nothing going on but she still didn't believe that he was being entirely honest with her so there was no way she could reconsider marrying him.

Their double bed felt empty, and she longed to be able to share it again with Brandon, but that was not going to happen ... not yet.

Even so, Qiana knew that her baby was due soon and that might change everything.


Chapter 6: The Baby Effect?