Day 8 – Doubly Blessed

Cloud was the first one awake on Sunday morning. He washed up, got dressed and headed to the fire pit to roast a fish he’d caught yesterday.

Zoe woke up a short while later, and this time it wasn’t to the sound of a crying baby. She felt surprisingly good considering she’d given birth to twins last night. She checked on the babies, and they were lying peacefully in their bassinets, alert and content for the moment.

Zoe picked up the handiness book Miles had left on the beach last night and sat down to read. She wanted to remain in earshot in case the babies needed anything.

By 9 AM, Miles woke up and went right over to see his baby girls. He noticed Sunny’s eyes flutter closed a few times and could see she was struggling to stay awake. Wanting her to get her rest, Miles went to sit on the beach by Zoe.

Zoe continued reading for a few minutes and then noticed that Miles was watching her and closed her book. “Miles, why are you looking at me like that?”

Miles laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “Subtlety’s not my strong suit, obviously,” he said as he let his eyes roam over Zoe’s body. “I was just noticing how terrific you look. You’d never know by looking at you that you just gave birth to twins last night.”

“I know, right? It’s nice to have my body back. The babies took it over for a while.” She smiled and leaned back, kicking her feet out of the water. “I can even see my feet again!”

Their conversation was interrupted by a crying baby. Miles said, “I’ll check on her, babe.” After changing Sunny’s wet diaper, he said, “I’m going to grab some breakfast. You hungry?”

“Not yet. You go ahead,” Zoe replied.

Miles headed over to the fire pit, meeting up with Cloud who’d just finished eating. Cloud gave Miles one of the fish he’d caught last night, and Miles roasted it over the fire. Cloud picked up Gardening, Vol. 1 and did some research. Neither of them noticed that the sink had broken and water was spilling everywhere.

While the babies were sleeping, Zoe ran back to the shelter to wash up and grab something to eat. She saw that the sink was broken and repaired it before it flooded their shelter.

Meanwhile, Cloud chatted with Miles. “Hey, man. So how does it feel to be a papa? The miracle of childbirth and all that?”

“Don’t tell Zoe,” Miles replied, “but I was freaking out while she was in labor. I mean, what the hell do I know about delivering a baby?”

“Yeah, man, I feel you. But mother nature has her way of making everything work out.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe how smoothly everything went. And twins, no less! We’re doubly blessed.”

As soon as Zoe was done repairing the sink and mopping up the mess, she ran back to check on the babies. Sure enough, Skye was crying.

“What’s the matter, my darling girl? Are you hungry again? Mommy’s here,” she cooed as she prepared to feed Skye.

Cloud swam over to the main planting area to ‘fertilize’ a bush. Then, he weeded the plants and harvested what was ripe. While Cloud was gardening and Miles was cleaning the dirty sink, Zoe roasted a fish for lunch.

Zoe’s ears perked up and she called over to Miles. “Miles, I think one of the babies is crying. Can you please check on them while I eat lunch? I’m starving.”

“Sure thing, babe. I’m running over now.”

When Miles got there, he changed Sunny’s diaper. “Ooh, baby girl, you’ve got a stinky bum again?”

Then he picked up his daughter and gave her a good cuddle. “You smell so nice now, don’t you? Daddy loves you, Sunny-girl. Yes, he does, even when you’ve got a stinky bum,” he cooed.

Once Zoe had finished lunch and cleaned up, she sat on her bed and read the handiness book while she kept an eye on her daughters and Miles worked out on the heavy bag.

After Cloud washed up and got dressed, he sat by Zoe on the bed and continued reading the gardening book.

A short while later, Skye needed a diaper change, and Miles was on the case. Since he couldn’t feed the babies, he felt it was his duty to deal with their dirty diapers. There wasn’t much else he could do until they got a bit older — not that he was in any rush for his precious babies to grow up.

Crouching down over the bassinets, Miles cooed, “How are Daddy’s beautiful girls doing today?” After chatting with his girls for a few minutes, he went over to the woodworking bench and started crafting a side table.

Eventually, Sunny started to cry, so Zoe got up to feed her. Cloud said, “I’ll give you some privacy. Just give me a second.” He stripped down to his boxers and sat at the edge of the beach, turning his back on Zoe, and continued reading his book.

When Zoe finished feeding Sunny, she rocked her. “We don’t have a rocking chair, but Mommy can fake it pretty well, huh, Sunny?” Once Sunny was back in her bassinet, Zoe sat back on the bed to resume her reading.

Miles finished crafting a side table and went into the shelter to wash up. Then he got started on another one.

At about 9 PM, Skye started crying, so Zoe fed her, cooing, “You want me to rock you, too, baby girl?” As she swayed back and forth, she said, “Yeah, you like that, don’t you, sweetheart?”

Cloud and Zoe chatted for a while, and then Cloud said, “Well, I’m tuckered out. I’m going to get some shut-eye. Goodnight, Zoe.”

“Goodnight, Cloud. Sleep well.”

The babies had fallen asleep again, so Zoe went over to chat with Miles while he worked on the woodworking bench. He finished up at a little after midnight, and he and Zoe walked over to their makeshift bedroom together.

On the way, they flirted with each other. They both checked on the babies, who were sound asleep. Miles turned to Zoe and said, “You know, babe, we haven’t even christened our new bed yet.”

Zoe quirked a smile and said, “We haven’t, had we? Well, I’m game if you are.”

Miles pulled Zoe into his arms and said, “You bet I am. That’s my girl.” While the twins slept soundly, Miles and Zoe broke in their new bed.

At about 2 AM, Miles woke up to Sunny crying. She had a wet diaper, so he changed her and then spoke softly to both of his daughters. “Are you going to go back to sleep, my little darlings? Mommy and Daddy need to sleep, too.”

At 3:20, Zoe and Miles both woke up to Sunny’s cries. “She must be hungry, Miles. I’ll get her. Go back to sleep.” After she fed the baby, Zoe said, “Mommy’s getting stinky. I’m going to wash up before Daddy wakes up.”

Zoe washed up in the sink as quietly as possible so she wouldn’t wake Cloud. There was no reason he should have to be awake in the middle of the night, too.

At 4:15, Sunny woke up Miles with her crying. He got up and changed her diaper as Zoe came running around the corner.

“Sorry, Miles. I was washing up while they were quiet. I guess that never lasts long, does it?”

“Nope,” he chuckled.

Zoe went back to sleep while Miles swam across to the main planting area to ‘fertilize’ a bush. While Miles was washing up after his swim, Zoe was awoken again by Skye crying. After Zoe fed her, Skye started getting drowsy. So, Zoe went back to bed, joining Miles. It was still very early in the morning, and they both needed more sleep. One baby would’ve been a lot of work for the new parents — twins were exhausting.

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Author’s Notes:

At 9 AM on Day 8, I rolled the dice to determine the gods’ will for the day.

(8) Llamatipoca is sending a thunderstorm to the island. Sadly, one of your Sims (your choice) gets struck by lightning and loses 4 skill points. 

Before the dice roll:

After the dice roll:

Using MC Command Center, I removed 4 skill points from Zoe again. (I’d already done so on Day 2.) Since fishing, fitness and gardening are challenge requirements, I try to not to affect those. Zoe had a few skills that aren’t worth much on the island — charisma, comedy and mischief. I didn’t mind losing those, and she will naturally regain parenting skill as she raises the twins.

The gods have not been very kind to our sims so far. Only 3 of our first 8 dice rolls (38%) have been positive events. There are 11 possible dice rolls, 8 of which are positive. So, on average, 73% of our dice rolls should be positive. But we’ve had the same 2 negative dice rolls multiple times. I hope I’m not jinxing myself by pointing this out. The only negative dice roll we’ve been spared is a doozy, and for that, I’m grateful. I’m hoping we never roll a 12, which would be the ultimate sacrifice. Perhaps, you could send some positive thoughts our way? Our castaways need all the help they can get.