3.3 Born to Die

Kelsey's pregnancy was coming along well. Phoenix and Kelsey were both quite happy. Phoenix's career in politics was taking off. He was going to be Mayor before long.

Kelsey spent most of her pregnancy relaxing out on the back deck, reading about her impending pregnancy. It was all very exciting to her. Growing up as an only child, Kelsey had always looked forward to maybe having a kid or two of her own.

Her mother had raised her single, so it was certainly nice to be secure in a marriage, too.

Unfortunately, Phoenix had some news that Kelsey wasn't exactly thrilled about. Gabby was coming to visit. She remembered Phoenix talking about her and eventually, she'd even learned how the coed had saved his life. It was all well and good when she was miles away, but coming to stay with them for a visit? Kelsey was apprehensive. Sure, it was probably her pregnancy hormones talking, but still.

Gabby arrived that weekend, quite shocked when she got off the boat. She certainly hadn't expected this.

"Nice digs. I see you're doing well for yourself!"

"Heh, it's all right, I guess. We've got the guest room made up for you."

"What, I don't have to sleep on the couch? How fancy!"

Gabby's visit had roused Kelsey's jealousy more than she thought possible. There was just something off there. They were too friendly, too uncaring of physical boundaries to just be... well, friends. Kelsey swiped Phoenix's phone while he was swimming and hid with it in the bathroom. He hadn't deleted most of his text history and she managed to find some from college.

It was clear that he and Gabby had been a bit more than friends.

She confronted Phoenix right in front of Gabby, slapping him hard across the face with no remorse.

"What the hell, Kelsey?!"

"You evil bastard! You lied to me!"

Gabby watched on, quiet and still. She didn't want to be the target of Kelsey's rage next.

"You and Gabby were sleeping with each other!"

When Kelsey became too distraught to continue, Gabby stepped in. She was careful, but determined.

"Oh, that's what this is about? That was nothing, Kelsey. Just stupid college stuff. You get wasted, things happen, that's it."

"W-what?"

"Yeah, Kelsey. It's no big deal." Phoenix added quickly.

"R-Really?"

"Really," Gabby assured her, "there's nothing going on. We're just friends. Phoenix was being nice and inviting me to visit because he knows I'm having a rough time. That's all."

"I wouldn't have brought her here for that while you're pregnant, Kelsey. That's just evil." Phoenix inserted, happy that Gabby's intervention was working.

"...I'm still mad about the college stuff."

"That's okay. It was stupid. It shouldn't have happened."

Kelsey's rage assuaged, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Later, outside, Gabby and Phoenix had a small laugh over the drama. They'd poured some drinks and were just talking companionably while Kelsey had a nap inside.

"Thanks for that," Phoenix said. "That could have been a mess."

"Yeah. Lucky you that I'm quick on my feet."

Phoenix laughed. "I remember. You are a life saver, after all."

"I hope what I said wasn't true, though... that it meant nothing. I was kind of hoping that it did..."

"Gabby..."

She leaned closer, "I like you, Phoenix. I don't really care that you're married and obviously, you didn't care that you were dating someone else before... so why should it matter now?"

"I love Kelsey."

"That's fine. She got to you first. But that doesn't mean you have to limit yourself to her only... especially not if I'm around."

Ignorant to Gabby's plotting, Kelsey went into labor near the stairs. One loud scream was all it took to draw everyone away from what they were doing to assist her.

She brought home a healthy baby girl named Ami. Ami was a bit of a noisy baby, but otherwise, she was perfectly adorable. Especially when she was sleeping.

Unfortunately, shortly after Ami's birth, Kelsey had taken it upon herself to try and fix their broken television. It ended in tragedy. The sink from the bathroom had been leaking all night and it had streamed underneath the door and into the living room. The shock plus the water was too much. She gave a cry before falling dead on the floor.

Alex and Maya were the first to see the scene, having been in the bathroom violating the shower. It was a grisly scene. Phoenix came running in shortly after they did.

He was, of course, quite upset. Maya felt awful. There was nothing you could do to protect your children from these sorts of things. All you could do was comfort them.

So that's what she did. Phoenix had messed up, he knew that. But he had loved Kelsey, despite it all. Maya wished that there was something they could do, but it was a bit beyond them now. Poor little Ami, too. She'd growing up not ever knowing her mother.

Phoenix did his best to fill the gap where Ami was concerned. The little baby was never able to guess that anything was amiss.

Gabby remained, wanting to help out however she could. She hadn't really known Kelsey and while it was nice that she was out of the way, Gabby hadn't wanted her dead or little Ami without a mother. So she took it upon herself to fill the role, even if Phoenix was decidedly neutral towards her for the time being.

Little Ami had her mother's hair and her dad's eyes. She was a cute and precocious little thing, her personality not the least bit touched by her mother's passing.

Ami wasn't without support. Her entire family rallied around her, happy to play and cuddle with her, as well as teach her the skills she needed to become a well-adjusted child. Alex took great delight in teaching her to talk.

It was obvious to Maya that little Ami had inherited the mermaid magic.

Gabby had been incredibly patient and supportive. Her help had been invaluable, even next to his parents. It had been long enough since Kelsey's passing that Phoenix had begun to remember what had attracted him to Gabby in the first place all those years ago at college (aside from the clear fact that she'd saved his ass.)

It was clear to everyone, Alex and Maya included, that there were feelings there. They decided to take it slow at first, not wanting to cause Ami any undue stress and perhaps to maybe just honor Kelsey's memory a little better.

They really didn't have to worry about Ami. She called Gabby 'mama' and treated her like her mother. She didn't know any better. Kelsey's memory had been lost to her, having only seen her as a tiny baby. Gabby was always around and always with her.

Of course, that wasn't to say that Ami hadn't seen her mother since then, she just didn't realize what she was seeing and that no one else could see it. Ami would point out the ghostly figure, but everyone was just perplexed. They assumed she had an imaginary friend.

Kelsey was keeping an eye on her daughter from beyond the grave.

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Poor Kelsey! I hated having to kill her off. I honestly hadn't expected her to go so quickly, either. I forget why I had moved the television, but it ended up in her dying. My first electrocution death in TS3! I still haven't had most of the accidental deaths in this game. I usually have to mod them. 

There is a naming theme. It has a lot to do with something I'm playing on the 3DS. :) It started with Phoenix. Otherwise, I would never willingly use the misspelling of 'Ami.' Not a big fan of 'alternative' name spellings and my mum's name is Amy, so yeah. 

The shot of Kelsey on the toilet looking at the phone happened on its own. I just capitalized on it. Also, Kelsey is haunting now, which fits with the generation four roll!