Gen 1, Chapter 5: All Good Things Come To An End

The Adams' home felt like it was a thousand people emptier without Blaine's presence (he had moved in with Zara and her family immediately after their wedding.) That was especially true for the lone man of the house because since he had retired, Nigel usually had the house to himself.

Not like he had wanted it this way, not at this point in his life. All he'd end up doing while his wife and kids were out was sitting on the front porch and drinking juice until his Penny came home, then she'd play her violin for him (that was always his favorite part of his day) and then the rest of the family would come home. (Grayson was always neck deep in the little Video Gaming club that he had started with his friends, which is why he usually got home later than his sister.)

Today, though, it felt like something was going to be different. He didn't know how, though, because up until that point, he had simply been watching his dearest treasure turn the corner on her way home from school, when all of a sudden, the world around him faded to white, and an ache began to grow in his chest so rapidly that he couldn't help but sink to the ground in agony.

"Daddy? Daddy, no, please! It can't be time for you to go... not yet." He could faintly hear Penny calling out for him, with her yells turning into choked whispers as she rushed over to the porch and kneeled down to meet his eyes, tears lining her own light blue orbs.

Now Nigel could tell he was speaking in heartwarmingly poetic gibberish, but maybe that's what happened when a Sim's time in the living realm was up."My dearest treasure... It's okay, just be calm. Tell my dearest Evelyn, your dearest mother... tell her that I love her, and I'll be waiting for her on the other side. Grayson and Blaine, both of my sons, both good young men... I hope they succeed in life like I never could." Soon, Nigel was taken away, turned into a flash of light by the embodiment of death himself, his spirit having been placed in a golden urn, which she sobbed over and held for the longest time, her brain taking its sweet time in processing the facts. With that, there was also a silence. Not just a moment of silence, but silence for as long as Penny could hold it before her mind finally accepted her father's fate.

She wanted to plead, she could've begged the reaper for her father's life back, but she didn't. She knew her father wouldn't have wanted that, seeing as his final request to her was a simple "tell your mother I love her" Her father was at peace with his death, so she should work on getting to her own peace with his death, too, right?

Still, as appealing as that sounded, that seemed like an impossible task when she started thinking about the family's new circumstances. She and her brother were still in school, now being forced to navigate the rest of high school, not to mention the rest of their lives without a father figure. And their mother, who knows how long she'd last on her own before they were reunited with each other on "the other side"

"Hey Pen, you'll never guess what happened to Jon to-" Her twin brother cursed under his breath as he saw the urn she was holding, an unfamiliar feeling welling up in his chest. "What happens now, Pen? What are we gonna do?"

"I guess our next best option would be turning to mom. We need to stick together after all... now, that's more important than ever.