something she can do

January 2083 - Bryson and Madison Riley are 60 (Mariah and Micah Buchanan are 24, Quinn is five months. Justin Kim is 23, Keri is 22.) Last update, January 2081.

"Ally Schultz," Madison says. "She's running against me this fall. Can you believe it?" Madison can actually believe it. That Ally was always a go-getter, whether it comes to men, or her career. "And if I recall correctly, wasn't she the one who stole my niece's boyfriend?"

"I wouldn't know," Cabe says.

"Anyway, not even thirty-five and she thinks she's going to run for Governor. Apparently she even lost that louse of a boyfriend to help her public image."

Cabe isn't normally the type for mindless gossip, but unfortunately Madison had to unload this bomb on somebody. But Cabe was scheduled to meet her for a military briefing, and they do have serious matters to attend to.

"But you won't have to worry about your position, surely," Madison tells him. "Nobody would oust a military general with a pending war on our hands. Will you even be here to campaign?"

"It's not looking likely," he says. "They've got the initial troops situated now. They're looking to call up the rest by late spring, maybe summer."

Madison feels a twinge at this - so it's really happening then. Her brother, Andy, will be one of those troops. "Well, I doubt anyone would run against you anyway," she says.

"When you guys are finally ready to communicate, maybe you should send Joel to talk to them. He's a cutie, he'd win them over in a second."

"I'm pretty sure it probably doesn't work that way," Cabe says.

"Right," she says. "Of course."

Madison doesn't even know how to prioritize all the worries she has to worry about. And this, unlike big foreheaded Ally Shultz, is such a faceless threat. They still don't even have a name for them, except "the presence," or their technical name - a species designation in letters, numbers, and star names - which is more than Madison can hope to remember without a teleprompter. Maybe a specific name is even irrelevant. Would they even speak any of our languages? She's glad this particular exchange will be done by someone much more qualified, because she's certain she wouldn't be able to speak theirs.

But she likes hearing Cabe's opinions on this conflict, being closer to it than she is herself. Cabe is looking through her library, his fingers prodding at a historical romance novel of all things, and she asks him, "Have you seen pictures of them?"

"There aren't any pictures yet," he says. "We've only seen their ships so far."

"Maybe they don't look anything like us," he says. "Maybe they've got antennas like large alien ants."

This is Cabe's hope he's projecting. If they look nothing like us, then they won't be very easily confused with his brother and the kids, who do look like us to an almost indistinguishable degree.

"Do you think we need to be politically correct with these aliens?"

"I never thought about that," Cabe says. "I suppose it would be the polite thing to do."

Madison has always been a strong ambassador for the space program. She's always had an interest in the mystery of what lies beyond our Earth's cloudy sky. Sometimes you can see things, even from this distance and even with just a good commercial telescope. Any one of us could just walk into a hobby shop, and with the right amount of money, see these things.

On a clear night, out in the further reaches of the solar system, if you focus on something, one of Jupiter's moons, an asteroid in the belt, Saturn's bright rings, you might see a flit of silver across your view. They don't seem large, by the scale of one of Jupiter's moons - they seem inconsequential. Perspective at these kinds of distances can be deceiving.

But small as they might be, they're there. One flit, then another, a swarm of them, like insects filling the sky on a sunny day.

***

Bryson doesn't know if it's fair to have a favorite son-in-law, the same way it's not fair to have a favorite daughter. But maybe because Keri has always been the more difficult of his two daughters, he might finally have the chance to connect with her through Justin.

It turns out, Justin finds her just as difficult to understand a lot of the time.

It's just that Bryson sees a lot of himself in Justin, a humble young man with rich ambitions. Justin is turning out to be a wonderful salesman, and has managed this little hotel up to a level 4 ranking. He's a natural at this - it must be his honest and open smile, with just that perfect touch of pressure.

But because of that wide open face, Justin often reflects his inner turmoils very clearly. Bryson knows his youngest daughter can be a bear, and he feels for the poor boy. Bryson had eighteen years of his own bouts with this girl, and to be quite honest, he's glad to have married her off. She had to marry somebody, though he's surprised to see she picked such an emotional young man. He wonders if Justin is cut out for the challenge sometimes, but then, Justin knew well what he was getting into when he married Keri Riley.

Bryson starts with some vague marriage advice, prompting him to open up if he wants. "When you're with someone for so long, things can get tense, and you will get angry at each other sometimes, but the important thing is that you always try to put your differences behind you and make up."

He knows it must be awkward talking about marriage with a father-in-law, but it makes more sense than Justin might realize. If there's anyone else on the planet who understands dealing with the wrath of Keri Riley, Bryson does.

"I don't know if I should be mad at her. It's just..." He scrunches his brow in confusion. "When you're married, and you have this big thing where you both want something completely different to happen, how do you decide who's right?"

"When you're married to Keri?" Bryson says. "She's right, probably, most of the time, whether she actually is or not."

"That's what I was worried about," Justin says. She's due any day now, and he knows once the baby is born, she's her own independent and headstrong woman again, and free to do whatever she likes. And that's just what Keri does, whatever she likes.

Bryson says, "Well goodness, son. Don't let her make you cry!"

Justin sighs. "I'm not gonna cry," he says. "Not right now, anyway."

***

Bryson arranged a professional photo shoot for his oldest daughter, since Mariah skipped over having the elaborate wedding that Keri had. It isn't that Bryson dislikes his other son-in-law - he likes Micah just fine. But he barely knows him, with the way they were barely dating one moment and then married with a baby the next.

And it isn't that he doesn't consider the political stuff hard work - goodness, he'd never let Madison hear him think such things! But it just isn't the kind of hard work Bryson identifies with. Work for Bryson means building real estate from the ground up, with hands and tools and materials, and charging excessive amounts of money for it. But, he supposes, every job is meant to be done by someone.

Wait a minute, where is Micah's other hand?

Mariah giggles. "My dad's right there," she whispers, giggling some more.

But Bryson thinks Quinn is just the sweetest little thing, his very first grandbaby, and Micah seems to love them both plenty. You really can't ask for much more than that.

And besides, Madison likes Micah enough for the both of them. It's a little embarrassing even, the way her cheeks flush pink every time he enters the room, the father of her grandchild! She's getting better at it though. She decides to focus her fantasies on Joel Harris instead lately, but still...

Cute as a button!

Maintaining her distance is a very important strategy in managing this situation. She'd promised him a reevaluation after she skipped him over her campaign manager position. It was a token gesture, to be honest. There will be no reevaluation.

"I think we're just going to keep you on city council," she says. "It's just with the war, this election is going to require a manager with more experience, and Blake tells me you're doing just great where you are."

Micah wonders if maybe it's just because of the pending war that any exciting business on the city level has taken a back seat? Honestly, as much as he feels for the needs of the city, he really thinks he could tackle something a bit more challenging...

Not that city council isn't hard work...

And not that they don't talk about some heavy topics...

Or mingle minds with the very most important people...

Some day he's going to get to do some real work, and he's going to be great at it! But for now, he's just waiting for his chance to shine.

***

Bryson has a lot of time on his hands in his sixtieth year. This is what people work their whole lives towards, isn't it, the chance to finally wind down? He's got a promising young apprentice to look after his businesses, his daughters are well and happy, his wife is at the peak of her career, and his golden years are filled with piano concertos. Really though, there are only so many piano concertos a man can play, and the highlight of his week is seeing his girls and their growing little families for dinner.

Of course Keri notices Mariah's pictures hanging on the wall almost immediately. She and Justin don't have any pictures hanging on her parents' walls. She disregards the fact that this is because she hasn't given them any. "Hey," she says. "I like those!"

"Yeah, it was a long shoot though," Mariah says. "It's not as fun as it looks."

"It's not fair," Keri says.

"What do you mean?"

"You got more than me."

"You got portraits," Mariah says. "And you got a wedding."

"You got a house," Keri says.

"We got a downpayment for a house, but only because we didn't get a wedding. You'll probably get a house too."

"But I didn't get a photo shoot."

Mariah says, "Are you serious?"

In all of Madison's worries, sometimes she is shocked to find she still has a husband. He's still here - she comes home each evening, sometimes late into the nights, and he's here. She imagines one day he might run off like a neglected family pet. But he hasn't, and she hopes that he won't. Maybe her life won't always be so crazy. She remembers enjoying his company once. She can almost remember his name even, Bryson. He cooks well, and is not bad looking in his elder years. She feels like she hasn't seen him in ages.

They sit down for dinner, and the new baby an obvious topic of conversation, since Keri is due to pop any time now. Her actual due date is in February, and Justin and Keri are still undecided on names. They're hardly even talking to each other, since every time they do, the conversations turns back to the military, and how even in the face of a likely war, Keri still wants to join.

It's that tension, built up and ready to erupt, that encourages him. He can't think about this all on his own anymore. He thinks they need real advice, because he doesn't know what's right or wrong this time. She hasn't told her parents yet, probably because they're sure to have a strong opinion on the matter. He can't manage to look at her, but still feels her eyes glaring as he says, "Did you even tell them yet what you want to do?"

Everyone looks at her, so she confesses it like a dirty secret.

"I've been thinking about what I'll do after college," Keri says. "I've never really felt any direction until now, and then with this conflict, I really feel like it's something I need to do. Being in the military, I think it's something I could be good at. They need volunteers, so I thought maybe I could help."

"No, I don't think so," Madison says. "Your uncle is going already, don't you think that's enough for one family?"

"But Mom..."

"No, absolutely not!" Madison says, cutting a firm hand through the air. "You don't even know what you're getting yourself into!"

"I do know what I'm doing! I have thought about this!"

Madison grits her teeth. "This is not up for discussion."

"Well I don't actually need your permission," Keri says, with a trademark roll of her eyes. "And I'm not even asking for it."

Madison stands up, her fists balled, fuming.

Keri does the same. "So you'll send other people's children off to fight, but not your own? That makes you a hypocrite!"

"You're going to be a mother!" Madison shouts. "This war isn't for you."

"I can do this! Plenty of fathers go off to war, so why not me?"

"It's not the same," Madison says.

"It's the same," Keri says.

"What does your husband have to say about this?"

Keri looks at Justin. "It's the same, Justin. Please say something."

But he can't say anything, because he doesn't know if it's the same, or if he just doesn't want it to be her. But maybe this isn't about only what he wants. They made a commitment to enrich each other and grow together, and if she thinks this is her life's calling, how can he deny her such a thing?

But Quinn has woken and started to cry. Mariah says, "Keri, stop it!"

Keri yells, not just at him, but at everyone, "It's the freaking same!" And she turns away to run off through the house.

Her favorite part of the Governor's Estate is the third story, with its long empty hallways and alcoves filled with moonlight, smelling of dust and hardwood floors. She has no idea what these empty rooms were intended for. For running away to, maybe, an entire floor devoted to running away. What she would have given to grow up here, and she'd have had plenty of corners to run to, to be completely lost and alone, yet still safe.

She tried to run away once, she was sixteen and got as far as the bus stop because she didn't actually know how to run away, and she didn't understand what it meant that her parents had grown up best friends with the Captain of Police. Maybe we're always in the process of growing up, even at twenty-two and on the verge of motherhood, it doesn't happen all at once. It happens in growth spurts, you try something a little bit harder and you grow from it. You have to be allowed to try.

It takes Justin half an hour to even find her here.

She's never in her life let anyone tell her what to do, not her mother or father, no authority, so she doesn't know what's happening to her now. He's her husband, and that's bigger than authority—they made vows to each other. If she doesn't have his blessing, she can't do this. And she really needs to do this.

"I meant it," she says. "You can tell me right now that you don't want me to go, and I'll never mention it again." She reconsiders this. "Well, no, I'd probably mention it again. But I mean, I wouldn't do it, if you tell me not to."

His head hangs. "I can't tell you not to go."

"But you still don't want me to."

"I'll never want you to," he says.

"I know this seems outrageous," she says. "But I really feel like it's what I'm supposed to be doing."

He takes a slow and heavy breath. "If you really want to, and you really think you need to, then I'll support it."

"Really?" she says. He nods. She tries to reach her arms around him, but she's too pregnant to move like that. He helps her to her feet.

He'll support it, but it doesn't mean he likes it, and it doesn't make it any less gutting. He isn't even thinking yet about how he'll have to raise this baby on his own for however long - and then it hits him, possibly forever?

She always knows the very point when he starts to cry. He starts to sniffle quietly, breathing in spurts, no obvious dramatics, but subtle and almost indistinguishable from the way he always looks almost in tears when they fight. 

"Babe," she says. "I'm gonna be just fine. I'm a fighter. I'm gonna kick ass out there."

"You'll kick ass and then you'll come back," he says.

"I promise," she says.

Madison knows you have to let them learn. They make little mistakes and they grow from them. But when you're teaching them to cross roads on their own, you don't let them run blindly across a major highway. So with all the power she has, how could she stand by and be so helpless? If there's something she can do to keep her baby safe, then she'll do it. Any mother would do the same if she could.

She picks up the phone and dials.

"Cabe," she says. "It's Madison. I have a favor to ask of you." She adds, as she closes the door behind her, "It's about my daughter."

*******

notes: Ugh, sorry about the wait, this took me forever to write! This post was like a bad hair day for me - you know, you pick at it, stare at it in the mirror, thinking, "Is this really as scroungy as it looks?" And you know everybody else is going to be like, "What are you talking about? It's fine!" And it eventually comes to the point where you just have to put on a cute hat and go outside? ;)

Anyway, that wasn't even my "fight with a family member" ROS, by the way. Would have been easy if it was, lol!

I'm not forgetting about my ROS for this round, I just have most of them scheduled towards the end of the round. And then, of course, the war ROS extends into the next round too.

No joke about Bryson playing favorites with his sons-in-law - he wants to talk to and invite Justin over more than he does he own actual daughters, lol! And I don't know if Justin just has a very expressive face or if he is just that emo (maybe it's because he's married to Keri), but I swear he always looks like he's going to cry!

Joel is quite handsome, isn't he? She isn't crushing on Micah so much anymore since he's married into the family (but only because the marriage ties in-game prohibit it, otherwise I'm sure she still would be, lol!) Her newest crush is Joel Harris! And this woman just would not stop about him!

I blame it on never getting any time to see her husband anymore, I've got her busy, the poor woman! :(

*** outtakes from the photo shoot ***

Okay, now forgive my immense dorkiness, lol! I think if I ever had to go out and get a real job, I'd probably go into family portrait photography. If only real life people were as easy to pose as Sims!

Here are my favorites :)