The Smith Legacy: 1.6 Lost friend

Another party and even Baby was able to socialise with the guests though it was probably for the best that she didn't know what Miraj was thinking, anyone who didn't know he was good might have received the wrong impression. Lane tried to balance dancing with a very serious Cycl0n3 Sw0rd and tending to the girls' needs. Emily tried to wind down from the party by reading "Zombies? Zombies!" but she found herself heading to the hospital to give birth to a baby boy, Cade. Of course Cade was a delightful addition to the family but Emily was too concerned about her lost friend for the happiness to be all that evident.

The local gym still provided for the Smiths' needs. They had beds and a toilet but Emily still lived off cereal. She was called and asked to bring the remains of a loved one to the science lab, luckily enough she had none to speak of so declined the offer. While Conner was touched by the thoughtfulness of Lane's party to celebrate his promotion, Lane got a little too pushy while interviewing a source and was slapped in front of the whole office. When Lane got home he started to do the usual looking after of the children but when Emily finished teaching Abbey how to talk, her first word was "Pond", Lane found himself very warmly welcomed home. Emily then headed to Central Park with the strange notion that she could eat goopy carbonara there.

Emily invited Hank over, cradling Cade in her arms but he had to leave for work before he really settled in so Emily worked hard at becoming fatigued a second time, to fulfil the opportunity set her what seemed like so long ago. Lane, meanwhile, was asked to draft an article for a great piece the editor had in mind but didn't have the time to write. Lane was promoted to anonymous source handler and couldn't contain his excitement, feeling like he could pounce on someone, half way there to his lifetime wish at 85. After work, with the intention of clearing his hard drive for the editor's article, Lane finished his first novel, "The Quantum Malfactor", Russle Alto loved it. It was a busy day for Lane, because when he returned home, he finished teaching Abbey how to walk.

Abbey's tantrums had become rather epic, she would throw herself into the air to make a point. Baby, meanwhile, was left to herself under the high chair and Emily developed another bump, she could barely wait to have another child with Lane.

It was birthday season for the Smiths. Emily brought Abbey, Baby and Cade in turn to their cakes. Cade grew up looking like his father, with ginger hair and blue eyes. Lane couldn't wait to tuck into all the cake but Emily wasn't sure that living off cake was really an improvement from living off cereal or not. Despite all the cake to come, Emily was still loving her pregnancy and her next baby.

Lane was asked to bring the remains of a loved one to the lab for some super secret experiments, with his only family relations being those in Sunset Valley he declined the offer, Emily may be nearing retirement age, but she still had more days ahead of her than he. Cade had an addition to his toddler-hood which the girls never had, Lane's earnings went towards a doll's house and it left Emily to have some good old girlie-fun with one of her best friends, until her water broke and, at the hospital, she gave birth to baby girls Dabney and Gabby. With the birth of his fourth and fifth child Lane became a celebrity around town. When they were home Emily asked Lane to clean up his painting so she could start work on her next one. Meanwhile, after school, Baby headed to the Wolff household and Abbey to Summer Hill Springs.

Lane woke in the middle of the night to have a private giggle at Emily and while Baby turned in her sleep, dreaming of school, Abbey and Cade played with the doll's house. As part of the new buddy system at school Baby was assigned Bobby Wolff as her new friend to be. Abbey left school anxious about the house flooding any minuet if the sink was left on, despite the fact that the Smiths didn't own a sink. Emily held a party to mark her transition to an elder and decided to retire, but not until she'd collected the last of her maternity pay. Dabney and Gabby weren't neglected but taking care of everyone's needs was a struggle.

It was nice to have a normal party over the weekend, one without cake. Baby and Abbey had an in-depth conversation about space. Lane headed to the library afterwards to try and finish his article but he was too tired to focus and probably would stay that way until the young twins grew into children. In fact it turned out he'd get all the sleep he needed, Lane passed away. When the family learned of Lane's passing they were heartbroken, Emily hadn't even managed to capture Lane's portrait. Not ready to face the world she went to her bedroom with a book, suddenly the double bed which had brought them so much joy seemed overbearingly empty. Abbey found herself crying over the smallest things, like cleaning the toilet. Cade, Dabney and Gabby, though, were oblivious to their father's passing.