1.9 Dreams of becoming

It was time for Dabney and Gabby to grow up, Gabby with dreams of becoming an Emperor of Evil. After the party, Dabney headed to the graveyard to catch a moth. Abbey went to the springs for some fishing before work and decided that she'd love to have her own aquarium. Emily headed to Divisadero Budget Books to become a business partner. She wanted her family to become more integrated into the town where she had settled, and for the children to have a way of paying the bills when she passed on. Baby followed her, wanting to spend more time getting to know Mum. Cade finally attended the discounted painting class he had been keeping an eye out for and hung out in the playground afterwards. Dabney read in the library, eager to finish a book.

After two thorough three second beatings from Emily, the criminal Mr Richter escaped the police. When morning came, Emily headed to Doo Peas Corporate Towers where the accountants were a tad stumped with their balance sheets and she managed to fix the books so that they made complete sense. Abbey, having finished her reading, felt her school performance increase as a result. The school's boiler had begun to break down and Gabby agreed to fix it, everyone else hoped it'd put her in the mood to fix the broken shower at home too. Abbey headed to the park for no other reason than to enjoy the fresh air and Cade painted at home. Baby and Dabney went home with the Abrams. Baby wasn't massively impressed with Louise as she choked though Baby's complaints of how the school hadn't invested in new seating and Dabney tried her best to get though her history paper.

Cade started the day, sun rising, moon setting, trained by Emily on the treadmill. Having invited Bella around, Emily met the Bachelor toddler, a very short acquaintance as Emily's time to dive from this world and into the next had come. Gabby returned home and put the money she earned from fixing the school boiler to use, determined to undermine charity after the lack of charity the Grim Reaper had shown Mum. Baby painted quietly on the easel while Abbey took out her frustration on the shower. Wanting to console the family the Abrams invited Cade and Dabney back to their home where Cade busied himself with socialisation and Louise asked Dabney if they were going to cremate the remains.

Emily Smith

Lifetime wish: Surrounded by family (fullfilled).

Traits: Family-orientated, flirty, friendly, great kisser, hopeless romantic.

Favourites: Custom music, hamburger, black.

Portrait: No

Lifetime happiness: 161,770

The school bully must have had some sympathy, Cade was spared his usual super-wedgie. Come the afternoon it was time to celebrate Abbey and Baby's birthday and perhaps just in time too, who knows what social workers would make of a whole house of teenagers. Despite the party and other distractions, Dabney and Gabby both worked on staying on the honour roll. Cade danced with Clinton and, unaware of the Abrams' boy's attention, took the opportunity to check out the other guests.

Abbey Smith

Lifetime wish: Presenting the perfect private aquarium.

Traits: Excitable, family-orientated, hydrophobic, loves the outdoors, neurotic.

Favourites: Latin, grilled salmon, aqua.

Baby Smith

Lifetime wish: Become a creature-robot cross breeder.

Traits: Commitment issues, family-orientated, friendly, genius, unlucky.

Favourites: Kids, key lime pie, spiceberry.

Having been so busy, it was only Abbey who was able to find any comfort in friends when Russle visited. She set about fixing the sink afterwards. Gabby choose to donate to Undermine Walled-in Sims Society, worked out and did her homework. Baby headed to the library after work, with the intention of reading "Handiness Vol. 1: Unplug It First!" but both her own and Dabney's reading was disrupted. Cade headed home with Annmarie and while they had a lot to talk about, having learned that they were both artistic, she insited on arguing with him almost as much.

Unwittingly, Cade's dedication to his homework earned the delight of the Mayor's office and for it was rewarded with some cash. Abbey fished at the springs and while she wasn't especially impressed with the "World's Brew Bubble Bath" she hauled in, Gabby was looking forward to a bubble bath as soon as the family bought a tub. Louise came home with Dabney and Aron with Cade and they chatted all afternoon while Gabby searched for evil doings with the telescope. Baby, meanwhile, was informed of Argyle's visit to town and watched his exhibition match where he defeated his opponent in just two moves. In the evening, Abbey was promoted to Epitaph Writer.

The Smith children continued Mum's routine, with a house party, and as usual, they all left to do their own things afterwards. Abbey went fishing at the springs, hoping to catch ten goldfish. Gabby headed to the park and played chess with Louise, everyone else headed to the library. Baby read up on being more handy around the house, Cade decided to be a hero of the literary world by working on "Driving with Duckies" and Dabney set about reading five books.

It was time for a holiday. The military wanted to see if a rare species of fish, the Dragonfish, could be used for cutting edge eco-space technology and Abbey had been asked to acquire the fish. Unfamiliar with Dragonfish in Sunset Valley, she decided to take the family to China where she thought she might be most likely to find the fish. Cade looked for adventures around town and saw a note from Maya Wang, asking for someone with enough guts to retrieve an ancient relic for her. Gabby went to explore Dragon Cave and had a vision of an adventurer battling a Mummy. Amongst other things, she thought it may be what Ai Pei was asking for. Baby went to Shang Simla Market and bought "Martial Arts Vol. 1: Wax On Philosophic". Dabney, meanwhile, was asked to find five metals with which to construct a telescope.

Baby headed to the market again, this time after both the book store shopping experience and a way to learn a new recipe. Dabney collected the last of her metals and reported in to Lee Yao. Cade went exploring the Halls of the Lost Army and Abbey went fishing at Land of the Ancestors. Gabby, when she had finished lying in from all her exploring the day previously, reported to Ai Pei on her vision.

On the last day of their holiday, Cade delivered Maya's relic to her and was rewarded with some Visa Points, simoleons and ancient coins. Gabby was a bit bemused by Ai's telling of a prophecy but had agreed to collect two pieces of unsmelted platinum for him so set about doing so as soon as she'd finished breakfast, keeping an eye on her footing. Baby headed, once again, to the book store. Liang Yat Sen didn't know what to make of her coming to his shop every day wearing a hat with bear ears on the top of it. Dabney chased down Gabby, asking her if she had any common, but ancient, manuscripts she could hand to Lee Yao for heating down into glass. Abbey loved her fishing but her holiday routine had put her into isolation and she was glad to be going home to shake the loneliness.

Current score: 4