Plenty happened at the Weiss household so I broke it into two parts. The first one
serving largely as an introduction to a new family in Widespot, here is now the rest.




While Penny replenished her energy, Skye took Una downstairs to meet her Uncle Woody.

Woody had never held a baby before, she was very little...he wasn't
sure this was a good idea but his dad insisted on passing her along.


Skye was so proud!



Woody took to his workbench. He'd been really throwing himself into this hobby of his with nothing
but free time on his hands and his skills were coming along impressively. He had a real knack.



Penny woke up after her much needed rest and it wasn't a dream, her new little person was still there.
"Hello again."



Having made a habit out of coming up to the attic, Woody'd begun stashing his projects here as he got
better and better at making them, and his dad agreed when he got the idea to convert it into his bedroom.
This one guy he met was able to help him expand, he knew all about building to code and all that stuff cuz he
ran some kinda handyman's club or something. He told Woody he could join but it's not here in Widespot.

They didn't finish getting the roof extended 'til after Una was born, though. Much as Woody wanted his privacy his
stomach knotted at the thought of sleeping too exposed to the stars. Now that there was a sealed in ceiling over his head
Woody claimed his new space. But he also felt further removed, until he heard Una whimpering or giggling from below.



Penny still could barely believe she was somebody's mother!



Ironically, it was after having Una that all her knowledge sim instincts kicked in again, she figured that
must be a future family or romance sim she had growing in her belly and now she was back to basics.

Not a solitary want, or fear, about Rhett; except she hopes he doesn't die or anything, that'd be terrible for
Una. But it's like Penny suddenly remembered she's got other worlds to conquer. First up, Parenting 101,
and then possibly a cooking skill, or a body skill to snap her back into shape and find Una a real father...



Una's not the only new change in Woody's life. There's Ms. Dora hanging about and her grandson.

David was a natural at making friends. A few weeks and everybody was acting like they'd known him
forever and Woody was the new kid. That's how he saw it, anyway. Scot and Virginia were supposed to
be his friends but once they hooked up it was 'forget about Woody'. So he spent a lot of time on his own.




One good thing is that he was quickly perfecting his hobby into his craft.



And he spent a lot of the rest of his time thinking, and dreaming about Virginia.



Yes! This took longer than Penny expected, there was a lot of material to cover but she'd done it!



She was now equipped to be an excellent mother. For she had read the manual.



Uh-oh.

Skye's dander rose but he kept his mouth shut. Between bites of delicious steak, that is.
Her ignorance was regrettable.
But then, she did not realise how very close to home this particular prejudice hit...that had been a
needful precaution. She had not informed him of her son at all who, by his reckoning, was fully sim.
Skye had a special duty to protect his (sky)children*, and their children. This was unfortunate.



Having got her parenting skill down pat Penny felt ready to take on her next task: working mother.

She wanted to start a business. So she called up Daytona to get the ball rolling.



Penny threw herself into drawing up her 2-year plan and soon time had gotten away from her.

Luckily, her dad liked tending to Una. But he was still nursing a grudge over his conversation with Dora.
"I have done my utmost to protect you since that unfortunate episode, my Penny. But most sims
are so blind and narrow-minded! And opinionated! About things which they do not understand."



"Huh-what?"

"Oh never mind. Finish your dinner. It is very good. I will put Una to bed."



"Look at your uncle out there, working away as soon as the sun rises...Should we be worried about him?"



The store was set up and ready to go. Woodworks Furniture. Little brother did a great job.
Penny was beaming, eager for her first day, meeting new people, new customers, new friends!

This was the best idea she's had in years.


Daytona was the first customer to walk through her doors, of course. It is near to her house and she came
to check it out and congratulate her. Daytona is all about growing the town and Penny is doing just that.
The store will bring in new people and simoleons and her daughter is new life, the firstborn of the next generation
for Widespot. (No one has yet told her about Sandy. For Daytona's part, her son's ex-wife made her own bed,
she should be woman enough to tell her so-called friend she's a backstabbin' wench, but that's just her maybe.)

Blissfully unaware, Penny went on with trying to talk Daytona into parting with some of that disposable cash of hers.


Ms. B came in, too.


She bought one of Woody's chairs, anything to help out the young 'uns.
Said she'd come back and slowly replace her whole set.

(Ironically, cash-strapped Beulah made an autonomous purchase but cash-flush Daytona made none.)



"So you opened up your shop today? Sellin' your brothers knickknacks and the like, that right?"

"Much more than that!" Penny gushed, "I mean I always had an idea to open a kinda thrift store around
here but Woody is so talented. When I saw all the stuff he can do with these blocks of wood—I mean he
even chops the trees himself! Little brother is good, Dora. We've got a nice location, too. You should pop in."

"Oh, I will, sure," Dora promised but her brow furrowed, "Somethin' been botherin' your dad, d'you know?"

"Don't think so."

"Oh. He don't seem like himself lately, that's all."


Woody still felt awkward around the baby. He didn't hold her a lot, didn't want to break her.
But she was the inspiration a lot when he made stuff. Her crib was still standing, Penny had
trusted him enough to actually put her in it, so that was one thing. He felt better about putting
stuff together for her to sell but he couldn't bear the idea of going there and havin' to watch people
look him over and probably not buy anyway. But he especially liked making toys and junk for Una.



Rhett was an asshole. Woody used to want to be just like him but how could he ignore his own daughter?



From that very first meal she cooked for them the day she arrived Skye's waistline plumped up
and he's in no danger of losing a single inch if she keeps making her way over to the stove.

He relented on his grudge, insisting she take a seat while he served them.
"Woody, down to dinner please," he called.

Guess Dora was right to think of Skye as a man like any other; quickest route to the heart was through the stomach, no lie.


It worked on young and old alike, it seems.
Even Woody found himself saying a good word for Dora when she excused herself from the table.
Now that took Skye by surprise. She'd made an ally out of Woody!



*The cuteness factor with these two is off the charts!*

Dora agreed to oversee Skye's next class while he checked on the baby and kept the young ones
downstairs for lunch. It wasn't a science lecture, though he believed she might even handle that.

It was another test and Dora liked them to be farther spread out where she could see 'em, she
was old school like that. Woody was a little late running back upstairs but she let that pass.

(And true to pattern, he's staring at Virgie but doubling up on thoughts of Goldie while Scot's around.)


Virgie and Scot finished first, of course. (Virginia didn't pay attention to Goldie.)


Perhaps she should have. Goldie walked in on Scot sneaking a kiss.


"Stay right there, I forgot I had something for you," Scot said, "Hey, Mr. Weiss,
you don't mind if I run back home real fast. I'll be back before you know it."

"Four and a half minutes, Mr. Land. Be fleet."


It seemed to work for David so Woody took a more hands on approach to Virginia.

Who knows why, seeing how well that did not work out for him last time but he figured this was different.



*How many times do I have to keep telling you fools not to mess with Virginia! She's incredibly smart and not terribly stable at present.
Shame you can't hear me.
Perhaps I should invent an avatar or, more to my liking, bless/curse one of you with the ability to hear voices, one of which might sound like me.
Hmm, if I do I already know who it will be but, shh, spoilers! Oh, that's right, you can't hear me. Carry on then.*


Alas, poor Woody. Scot's got your girl.


But, despite being easily dismayed, he is not easily discouraged.
A combination that does not bode well for his self-esteem.


But, at least he's got productive outlets.



"You and Una have a good day?"

"Oh my yes."

Skye really is a doting grandfather. He can't get enough of his quality Una time.

*Nor can I! If this hadn't actually been played, entire, before the Ottomas round I
can imagine all the Una-Jim-Tammy Faye spam from Dora "bringing them over".*


Penny may have read the books that said she was now an expert parent.
That didn't mean she liked being woken up by a crying baby. Every day. And not having
anyone there to nudge into attending her instead so she could get 5 more minutes sleep.



"Now there, Una Weiss, what was all that noise for? Crocodile tears because you're awake and want
some attention. But Mommy was still sleeping. Sleep is good for you and me both, Una, trust me."



Una's crying woke Woody too, his new room is right above Penny's, but he didn't mind.
He had an idea that he could probably make a rattle out of wood...



"I see you don't even wait for me any more. Mornin' Dad."

"Ah, good morning, my Penny. I'm sorry but I am so close, I could
see the move in my sleep so I had to be sure, you understand."


Ever the optimist (well, not really) Woody made a mad dash for the phone.


It wasn't for him.


Aha! Skye had been right.
One maximised logic skill shining brightly!


"Hello?"




Dora still found Weiss to be a very attractive man. The more she knew him the
better she liked him and, she can tell you, that ain't the way it goes most times.



Penny wasn't completely surprised to find Valentine at her door, alone.

She couldn't help saying, "You know, I have not heard one word from your son since she was born."

"But you have been gettin' the checks, right? I told that boy..."

"Money isn't everything, Mr. Hart."
She had never called him that before.

"Come on now, Penny, I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to make sure. Some
things I can make him do and some things I can't. That's the way it goes."

"Rhett's a grown-up. If you have to make him do anything that probably doesn't
say much for me or Una but it says a whole lot about him. Anyway, come on in."



"Looks like you've got company."



"Oh, that's Dora, she's the best. That's her family that moved into that house
with the barn, you've probably seen 'em around. Here, let me introduce you."



"This is Una's other grandfather," Penny began.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance."

And Penny left them to it.


"Oh, now I remember," Dora said laughing, "you see, my son's a sports
journalist, or he was. You're Valentine Hart, the ballplayer, ain't you?"

"That's me."

"Won't Petey get a kick outta this! Valentine Hart livin' here in Widespot.
He's a big fan o' yours; my son, that is. Peter Ottomas. A real big fan."



Skye'd had enough of this. He did not intrude himself but the first chance he got he started in, "where is
your son, where was he when Penny needed him? Does he even know if Penny had a son or a daughter?"

"I told him," Valentine said.

"Pardon me, but that seems to be the wrong way around; he should be the one announcing
her birth to you. And how did you manage to find out what he could not, may I ask?"

"Daytona."

That was a sore spot Skye was not prepared to acknowledge.**

Penny knew her father was only defending her but that's not what she wanted.
Rhett was Rhett. She gave him every opportunity to get it together before Una was born.
Now he'd have to do a helluva lot more than send some cash through the mail if he
wanted to claim any rights as her father. But none of that was Valentine's problem.

Penny interrupted the grandpa showdown with the girl of the hour.

"Say 'hey there' to Grandpa, Una."

"Now look at you, little girl. Betcha somebody's gonna be gettin' my nose. They all did, but don't
you worry, it looks better on the girls." Valentine cooed at Una. "Guess you named her Weiss, then?"

"Of course. That's who she is."

These were matters of fact to Penny. But she gladly handed Una over to her Grandpa Hart.

*Aww!*


Alrighty then...


Valentine excused himself from the crossfire, he knew the signs of
a lovers' quarrel brewing when he saw them, even a polite one.



Dora wasn't one to keep her mouth shut. Skye had gotten right feisty with that nice man who
was only trying to do right by his own despite the not-ideal situation. Sometimes you just
had to let your kids handle their own messes. Penny's got a good head on her shoulders, she
didn't need her daddy comin' to the rescue, chewin' out the wrong feller at that. What was that?

If Dora didn't know better she'd think Skye was a mite jealous, and not just over Una neither.



"Look at her, just as nosy as she can be, wantin' to know what everybody's doing. She's a smart one, you can tell."

*I don't know about that yet but I like how TS2 babies seem somewhat responsive and Una looks to
be especially nosy so I'll be surprised if she turns out not to take after her super-outgoing mother.*



*And another Aww! moment.*

Even though there are two more on the way, Una looks to have stolen Valentine's heart as
favouritest grandchild ever, forever. She was his first, how could he not fall head over heels?



"Bout time!" Penny said as she bounced over and opened the door to Junior and Mary.
Her friends couldn't be sure if she meant that about them coming to see her or, uh, coming together.



"Look who's here," she said, leading the way in. More for their benefit than for either Una's or
Valentine's. Penny never was convinced that Candy was having Junior's baby in the first place—way
too obvious, and boring (for Candy, that is; Junior's great, in his way)—but anyway, that's what
she'd led her family to believe so Penny just hoped it wasn't too awkward, them meeting like this.



Penny had no idea.

She didn't understand the concept of a secret love, anyone around knew how she'd felt
about Rhett, so she never imagined she should be more worried for her other friend.



Poor Mary. Running into Valentine hand-in-hand with her consolation prize could've been a subtle
victory for her feminine pride but she was up against a Hall-of-Famer, master player, even when he's
not trying. She was not prepared to find him here, cradling a beautiful l'il brown baby in his arms.
It wasn't fair! Obviously, she was his grandbaby, Mary knew that, but that's just not what she saw.

Junior stood by with his stiff, embarrassed smile once Mary dropped his hand. He prayed Candy'd finally had
the decency to break the news to him, otherwise this could get ugly and it's nothing he wanted Mary to hear.

Valentine handed Una back to her mother.

Mary could not take her eyes off that baby.

Valentine zeroed in on Junior. He wanted to scream 'WHERE THE HELL IS MY DAUGHTER?!'
but he couldn't do that to Mary. Not when something wasn't right. Candy had been too smug
about her and her baby bein' taken care of. He wasn't sure Junior had ever been the father.***

She'd been gone some days now and nobody was home over at Mann Manor. He made Rhett climb
through a window (and put back Junior's big ol' headphones like the ones he wanted), they weren't there.

Valentine thought they just might all have dashed off to where their future grandchild could have the best,
most expensive medical attention. And being intent on letting them pay her way Candy could be too
thoughtless to check in at home. It ain't unheard of. But here Junior was, plain as day. With Mary on his arm!
Could be some other guy entirely and Candy pulled the wool over her Pop's eyes. He just didn't know with her.

"You put that cigarette out around the baby," he threatened Junior.

Junior wanted to protest, he's down to his last pack, but he knew better.
Valentine watched him do it, like he had to make sure no one else was fooling him. Only then did he leave the young folks.



Penny knew how much Mary wanted a house-full of children like she'd grown up in.
*Goodness knows why, it never was much fun for her.*
She'd only wanted Rhett herself, although now that Una's here, she's her everything so she can
understand how Mary feels. (Not completely, but her seeing Una as Penny's baby girl and
tracing out the resemblances there, without Valentine blurring her vision, was good for Mary.)

Nobody mentioned Rhett. Mary didn't think the baby looked much like him anyways when you got close up.
Maybe that other one'll look more like 'im. Oops. But not one word dropped out loud about Sandy...


Valentine had been right about a couple things and Skye and Dora were at a crossroads.

Dora was not liking Skye's jealousy when it became downright rudeness, that ain't her cup o' tea.
And she had offended him to his core not long ago. But he was willing to overlook those things
if she was, to try to make this arrangement between them work, as originally agreed upon.
(Or one better?)



All things in good time. For now, Dora was moving in with her good friend Weiss. Again.



"What a lucky little girl you are, getting a surrogate grandma!
And not just any grandma either. I hear Dora's the best."



Dora was thinking about Una, too. There was somethin' special about bein' there to help when
a new life comes into this world. Jim and Tammy Faye made 5 natural grandchildren and her
Peter'd already got Samantha started on #6 but Dora was happy to add Una to her "collection".



But Dora got distracted, having finally made her way into the bedroom. Well now.

And then Skye proceeded to, first, apologise to her for the unmade state of his bed,
that never happens, and then point out to her Woody's old bed behind the partition.

He excused himself to retrieve new linens but Dora ain't worried.
Anything can happen while two people are fixin' up a bed together.






*Don't think I've mentioned this but, as I don't really play supernaturals, I've decided that whatever does come up will be treated with a sort of authorial agnosticism. Just because someone saw a ghost doesn't mean there was one, just because some unlucky sim might start to hear the voice of god doesn't mean it's "real" (in fact, I'd use that to signal the initiation of an asylum challenge so it's a long way off), and just because Skye thinks his children are extraterrestrial doesn't mean they are. Or that they aren't. Far be it for me to undermine his memories and experience of parturition but his interpretation of how Penny and Woody actually got there, well... (Not foreshadowing, just some wiggle room if I should want it.)


**Dora's appearance as Skye's 'mail-order companion' is directly due to the way he responded to Daytona when she was first befriending him to get the town up and running. She aroused sensations in him suggesting that a friend, a woman (his own age, of course), was a good thing and a good influence. Daytona gave him a new task for his time and he found in Dora someone to share it with him. All told, a much wiser (Weiss-er?) decision. Daytona could never have been more than a fantasy, if he ever allowed himself or admitted to having any, but the fact that she's been cavorting with Valentine Hart just might have inclined Skye to become more possessive over Dora. She doesn't mind. So there's the last little bit of backstory and Round One (proper) is all said and done!


***Okay, so in his anger and confusion even Valentine's allowed to forget that paternity doesn't ever actually change, just one's own perception of 'whodunit' :-)
(OTOH, I have been lately introduced to the concept of 'partible paternity' some cultures supposedly have/had, which could be a very useful construct for someone like Candy if she could get her boyfriends to buy it.)


Thanks for reading and Happy 2014!!