4.5 Responsibility

That's right. Olivia's gardening skills are so high that she can grow eggs now. 

Kipper defends the household from an evil, bucktoothed gnome. 

The washing machine breaks. 

Lincoln eats his lunch far away from the watery, sparky mess. 

"Dad, you should really mop up that water first," Lincoln warns uneasily. It's the most common cause of electrocution in Sim Nation. 

"I'll be fiiiiine." 

Lucky for Evan, he is fine. 

Then it's off to work. 

One of Olivia's various customers comes in with a request. 

This cat came in with a broken leg. They fixed him up, but the shelter is already too crowded and can Olivia pleaaaase find someone to adopt him? 

Lincoln gets along with the cat immediately, and decides to adopt him without consulting his parents. He's an adult, right? He can make these decisions. 

"I'll name you Wolverine. You certainly have the claws to match..." 

Wolverine accepts his new name without any fuss. He just wishes the human would feed him already... 

Olivia is at Mick's Karaoke, unaware that her son has taken in a pet that she'll have to deal with. 

"I don't get the point of this game," Olivia sighs. "What does this have to do with logic?" 

"It's basic problem solving. Now play," Felix gruffly commands. The over-crowding at the Nocturne house has led to her family being in their wolf forms more days than not. 

Olivia still tries to make some small-talk. 

"I heard you published a book, Isaac." 

"Yes. About ghosts. Will you play?" 

Sigh...

After their game, she's able to get Isaac into karaoke. She chooses "Hot and Foxy", a sims classic. 

She's unaware that, at home, Kipper's long life is finally coming to an end. 

"Why can't you leave me alone?" Lincoln asks tearfully, "Why Kip? He's a good dog." 

When the Reaper looks at Lincoln, he feels chills run down his spine. He can't explain why, but he feels hostility coming from the other-worldly figure. 

"You. You never learn. Everyone has their time." 

He casts Kipper into the afterlife without another word. 

Evan looks on apprehensively as Lincoln approaches the Reaper. Is he crazy?

"What did you mean by that? I never learn?" 

"You meddle with things beyond your understanding, all for your own vanity." 

Lincoln waits for Grim to add on to that, but he doesn't. 

"I don't understand." 

"You never do. Take this as a warning- I know you seek your beloved. But she is gone. Leave it alone." 

With that, the Reaper fades away... 

Leaving Lincoln alone and confused. 

The first day without Kipper is hard. He's used to Kipper sitting by his food bowl or napping on the living room floor. 

But Lincoln's soon occupied with other matters. 

"Oh, Lincoln, I just found out this morning. I'm pregnant." 

Lincoln is stunned. They only slept together once, a fumbling, awkward experience that came after polishing off the bottles of wine he bought during their last date. Her siblings weren't home and they were both very drunk.... 

Which explains why neither of them even thought of protection. 

Lincoln tries to swallow back the rising feeling of panic he's experiencing and kisses Tammi on the lips reassuringly. 

Curiosity overtakes him momentarily, and he tries to see if he can feel anything in Tammi's stomach. 

"The baby's not old enough for that yet, silly. It'll take another few months." 

Lincoln does the only thing he can think of and invites Tammi to move in with his family. Tammi eagerly accepts, relieved that Lincoln will take responsibility. She would have much preferred having a wedding before this happened- a big, extravagant affair where, for once, it would be her day, and everyone would be wearing exquisite, formal outfits and compliment her taste in music, decor, and food- but that can wait for now. She's sure that Lincoln will recognise what needs to be done. 

"So. I suppose we should talk about how long you'll be staying," Lincoln begins awkwardly. 

"How long? What does that mean?" 

Evan quickly tries to make himself scarce. 

"Well...you don't want to live here...forever, do you?" 

"Lincoln! I'm pregnant with your child! We are involved. If I'm moving out, you're coming with me!" 

Lincoln feels his heartbeat quicken. "Well, that's a big commitment-" 

"So is a child!"

Lincoln sees the hurt in her eyes and tries to backpedal. 

"I'm sorry. I don't want to say you're unwelcome- I just...thought maybe you would want your own space. I wasn't sure if you wanted to...continue..." 

Tammi sighs. "Well, I know that most of this town does this...single parenting nonsense. But I don't want that. We will do this the right way." 

Lincoln gulps, but forces himself to nod. "Yes...of course..." he should at least try, right? Despite every fibre of his being screaming at him to run. 

He shows Tammi his room. 

"Dear lord, it's so orange," Tammi complains immediately, "This is like a kid's bedroom!" 

Lincoln can see that this won't be an easy transition for them. 

"But...the rest of the house...it's spacious. With some work..." she relents. 

"You're already planning house renovations? Aren't you getting a bit carried away?" 

Tammi feels embarrassment creeping up the back of her neck, and decides that they don't need to talk for now. 

Satiated, Tammi decides to take a gentler approach. 

"I was just stressed, it's a lot of change to process. But...I'd like to see some of my own style here." 

Lincoln frowns, "How so?" 

She gestures towards the photos of Heather, "Isn't there somewhere more...private you could put this?" 

"This is my room. I won't hide parts of my life if I don't want to." 

Tammi frowns. "But... I am pregnant with your child. Isn't it only natural that I take priority?" 

"No one's forcing you to live here." 

"Oh, I see. You knock me up and then throw me to the curb?" 

"No, I-" 

"I am the mother of your child! I deserve more consideration than this!" 

They make a compromise and sleep in his grandparent's old room. 

It won't be the only disagreement they'll have, Lincoln's sure of it. 

----------------------------------

AN: Tammi's here to stay. Her career is culinary! 

I wasn't going to pick her to be Lincoln's partner since I wanted some Riverview blood in the Silverly family (seriously, the only Riverview genes that have really passed on are Billy Caspian's) but when she aged up with natural born cook... I just had to.