1.7 Provide

Marko and Persis come home with a little girl. They were both exhausted when she was finally born, and decided on the spot that "Xara" would be a good name. With a mom named "Persis" they figure Xara won't mind too much. 

They also decided on the spot- because this is sims 3 where such things can happen on a whim- that Xara would be lonely as an only child and adopted another girl. As luck would have it, this girl was born mere hours after Xara, making them "twins". Also not wanting Xara to feel isolated because of her strange name, Marko and Persis name their new(est) daughter "Tulip". 

Tulip is a rather quiet baby and only gurgles happily whenever she's held, fed, or has her diaper changed. 

Marko still can't really believe he's a dad and that these are his daughters. He handles them as if they were made of glass, only using the gentlest movements.

And it amazes him every time he sees them that they have such a profound connection to him already. They depend on him and Persis for everything. The weight of that responsibility is terrifying, but also in a way gratifying. When they smile, or sleep soundly, or burp after a satisfying meal, he knows it's because he and Persis are doing it right. 

Persis is feels less of the awe and more of the terror. In a short time, Xara and Tulip will be toddlers. So many things can go wrong with a toddler that can't with a newborn- falling, putting random objects into their mouths and choking, teething... 

The more Persis tries to put it out of her mind the more she thinks about it. It's driving her crazy. 

So she takes frequent but short walks to clear her head. Fall has arrived, making the air cool and crisp. Persis changes her wardrobe accordingly, but still enjoys the chilly air. Its briskness helps her focus. 

And when she comes home, she has a million things to do. Make food, eat food, hopefully wash dishes before a baby cries, tend to crying baby (which in itself can be a million different things), shower, tend to crying baby part 2, wonder if falling asleep while standing up is possible, rinse and repeat until Marko gets back from work. 

Marko is a doting father. Even when he has bags under his eyes from the little sleep his daughters permit him, he does everything with a smile. Persis thinks the sleep deprivation has made him a bit loopy, but admires his devotion nonetheless. She loves her daughters, but if she didn't have breaks from them she'd go crazy. 

Marko pays attention to his wife, too. 

(AN: Aww, family photo!) 

Maybe a bit too much attention... 

Hey, I'd cry if I had to sleep with a creepy doll, too. 

After Xara is fed and fast asleep, Persis contemplates telling her husband about their next impending child. She thought that it would be impossible to get pregnant so soon after giving birth, but apparently not. 

"I picked up a pregnancy book at the library," she decides to go for a more indirect route. 

Marko smiles into his salad. "Really now?"

"Yeah, it turns out we're going to be needing it... again..." 

There's a silence. A long silence. 

"Well? Say something!" Persis says, her voice tinged with nervousness. She's not nearly as scared to have this child as she was with Xara, but without Marko's support, she has no idea how they're going to manage to take care of three children at the same time. 

She shouldn't have worried. Marko is beaming at her seconds before he says anything. 

"Well, I'll have to work a little harder while your garden is out of commission then, unless we'll try to force the kids to start sharing cribs?" 

"Oh plumbob, I completely forgot that we're going to have to buy more baby supplies," Persis says, groaning at the end of her sentence. She'd been so focused on how they would divide their time between three kids that the material concerns completely escaped her. 

Seeing Persis beginning to spiral into her own thoughts, Marko reaches over and squeezes her hand. 

"Don't worry, we'll figure something out."

But in the meantime, birthday party! The twins will soon be able to crawl and learn how to use the potty, which Marko figures warrants a celebration outside of his own thoughts. 

"Officer Puggle! Or is it just Audrey Puggle now?" Marko greets one of his guests. He's secretly hoping her incompetence in catching that burglar got her fired, but there's no need to be rude about it. 

"You could always go into gardening! It makes pretty decent money," he subtly suggests alternative career paths. 

Kenji awkwardly waves to Marko. He doesn't know anyone else here and won't dare to talk to Persis after what happened last time. He's surprised he even got invited in the first place. 

Marko and Persis bring their daughters to their birthday cakes. Xara is technically the oldest and gets to blow out her candle first. 

Tulip quickly follows. 

It is only after they age up that I notice Tulip's eyes glow and she has a bat tattoo on her neck. She's a vampire! I have several Bridgeport families in my bin, and CAS-aged up Tulip has quite strong Bridgeport facial features (huge eyes, sharp cheekbones), so my guess is one of her genetic parents is Jessica Talon (I edited her features so they wouldn't be as extreme, but as you will all see later, Tulip still does resemble her quite a bit). 

Xara, on the other hand, is almost completely a Persis clone. The only thing distinguishing her from her mother are her dark blue eyes, obviously coming from Marko. 

Marko and Persis both rolled a wish to buy a Sim-Gnubb set which I stupidly locked in, only to find out the set costs 700 simoleons. I could just cancel the wish, but I want to try to fulfill as many of their wishes as possible, so I kept it. And finally, after who knows how long, they had enough money to afford it. Given its astronomical cost, here's a picture of someone actually using the thing. 700 simoleons well-spent.... 

Tulip can't walk, Tulip can't talk, but she will figure out this peg-box, damn it! 

Xara giggles at her silly twin. Peg-boxes are boring. She has a friend! If they had verbal skills, this could have turned into a full blown barrage of teasing, but they don't, so they both continue to play separately. 

Marko dedicates his free time to wholesome pursuits. 

Man, pregnancy cravings are crazy! 

Try not to judge Persis as she finishes off her third plate of cake. 

With Spooky Day approaching, Marko "spruces up" the house as much as their budget will allow. He buys a scarecrow for Persis' garden, choosing this cute cartoony one over the terrifying Pumpkin-headed one that would surely give his daughters nightmares. 

He also buys a chess table. His boss is quite adamant that he improve his critical thinking and logical analysis skills, which to Marko obviously means "become a better chess player". Mastering this game will somehow make him a better teacher, he's sure of it! 

It's not nearly as cold today as it normally is during the fall, giving Persis a rare chance to tend to her garden. Some of her plants are succumbing to the cold and need to be cleared away. 

It takes quite awhile, but she manages to dispose of all the dead plants in her garden. She might not get to see these new plants bloom for sometime, but at least they're planted. 

Marko gives up his pursuit of logic long enough to tend to his daughters. 

"Da-da!" 

Awww. 

Realizing that with a third baby on the way their finances will be tight, Marko accepts an opportunity from his bosses to increase his work performance by staying late the next day to help the other teachers grade science fair projects. 

After hanging up, Marko laments the hours he'll have to spend looking at rubrics and seeing the smae project, with slight variations, over and over. It'll be a truly arduous process, but one must provide for their family, after all...