Chapter 72-It's Always Darkest Before The Dawn

Dark times had indeed fallen upon the Landgraab family, but no one really knew how bad things were about to get.  Wolfie thought his biggest problem was that his daughter Ebony had the nerve to go behind his back and change her name so she could throw herself at not ONE but TWO men on that TV show that everyone in his family just had to appear on.   He did call up to tell the producers exactly who Ebony Cardona was but that was a big mistake as his wife Abby gave him the silent treatment and locked the bedroom door until he agreed to welcome his new son in law into the family.  Reluctantly he no choice but to agree to be "nice".

Wolfie met the young man and explained that anyone who hurt his daughter would have to answer to him, but it wasn't long before Wolfie seen that the warning was not necessary.  Loren seemed to be a nice young man who was a helluva a lot better than the other bozos she ever brought home.  Abby said that the two were in love but a hopeless romantic like his wife would say something like that.  Wolfie didn't believe it until he recognized it for himself.  Loren was in love with his daughter and he could tell just from looking at Ebony she was happy.  That is all Wolfie ever wanted for his daughter was to be happy and he could tell she was in good hands. 

If Ebony had been the biggest problem, Wolfie would have been happy but however that was not the case.  This was the end of the happy times after this everything went downhill. There were more stressing problems that were on Wolfie's mind which seemed to be hitting the family all at once.  Finding out that his daughter in law Lenora was alive was news that the whole family should have been celebrating at.  He was making plans to go right over and see her for himself when Jules told him and Abby to sit down as there was more to the story. Jules was not only Wolfie's Uncle but he was his best buddy and Wolfie knew from the look on Jules face whatever he was about to say was serious and distressing.

Finding the right words to tell Wolfie and Abby that their daughter Valerie was in police custody and charged with the kidnapping and attempted murder of Lenora Landgraab was the most difficult task Jules had ever had during his many years on the police force.  He volunteered to be the messenger of this awful news as Sandi was having difficulty accepting the fact that her very own sister could commit such a heinous act and Caleb and Heath were filling out all the paper work. They needed to be careful with the handling of this case as nobody wanted to leave any loopholes for either of the kidnappers to get off not even Valerie.

Needless to say that neither one of them took the news well.  Abby broke into tears while and cried for days.  Both of them faced so many ups and downs throughout their marriage but never did she think her own daughter would have so much hate inside of her that she could actually be guilty of kidnapping her brother's wife.  Valerie was her baby girl who she loved so much and she thought she taught her the difference between right and wrong. Abby couldn't understand how she didn't see this change in her own daughter, maybe if she had none of this would have ever happened.

Wolfie was completely numb and would just walk around the house thinking of how his daughter could possibly commit such a crime.  He polished off a couple of bottles but nothing seemed to ease this pain.  The questions of where did he go wrong to have two of his children, Denny and Valerie become harden criminals were constantly on his mind.  He didn't raise Denny but did raise Valerie and he thought he did a good job. Obviously he did something wrong or why else would his daughter carry out such acts against her own family. Tyrone was her brother and Valerie even went to the funeral knowing that Lenora was alive while she enjoyed the pain on her brother's face. Not even the fact that the children were there grieving the loss of their mother affected her.  How in the world could Valerie live with herself after seeing the look on those children's faces?

Even though he was still in pain he needed to go over to his son's house and talk to both Lenora and Tyrone.  As he apologized for the horrible acts Valerie committed against both of them and he took complete responsibility for everything.  Lenora reached out to tell him that he was a good father and she did not hold him responsible for Valerie's actions. Seeing the pain on his face Lenora gave her father in law the biggest hug she could as she kept telling him it was not his fault.

Wolfie had one more difficult thing to tell both of them.  He understood fully well if they did not want anything to do with Valerie anymore, but he and Abby simply could not abandon their daughter.  He wanted to make them understand while they do not condone Valerie's crimes, she is their daughter and she needs their help. Wolfie had already hired the best legal representation he could find and he and Abby were planning on visiting her as soon as she was allowed to receive visitors.  At the present time she was only allowed to see her lawyer but he was trying to pull some strings to arrange a visit. He hoped that since both of them were parents they would understand and both Lenora and Tyrone did.  

As if that was not enough there was another situation with two of his Granddaughters and again Wolfie took complete responsibility for this.  Why did his family have to pay for his mistake of choosing the wrong groupie one night after a show?  He doesn't regret the mistake or he would never have had his daughter Sandi, but why doesn't Dahlia take her frustrations out on him instead of his grandchildren.  They were lucky not to lose either Chrissie or Aurora but his brother Ronny was not so lucky.  His brother did not have to die for his mistake, but yet he did.  He hoped that the police would catch both Dimitri and Dahlia so that he could rest easily knowing his family would be safe from those two.

Meanwhile back in Moonlight Falls:

Dahlia knew the police were looking for her and Dimitri was nowhere to be found.  She went to the one person who would always help her, Pip her husband. To say they had a loving marriage would be a total lie, if truth be told they hated each other but they could not divorce as that was simply against the Fae's code of honor.  No matter what they did to each other they had no choice but to stick together.  Today Dahlia knew this would be hard as Pip advised her to stay away from Sandi and give up this vengeance for Denny's death.

Pip said it was too dangerous for their business as the Landgraab's were too influential with law enforcement and the risk of exposing their operation was too high.  He didn't enter this line of work for vengeance, it was all about money.  Besides as soon as Denny's children inherited the Landgraab Industries stock from Gretchen, he could continue the job that Denny started.  They would still get justice for Denny by bankrupting Landgraab and using his family company for their purposes.

Denny might not have been his son biologically but he wished that he was. Pip was the one to get Denny into the family and he fit in perfectly.  If Denny didn't rise in the family at the rate he did, Pip would still be a soldier today.  No matter what Pip did for the family, including offing a cop who knew too much, he could never impress the bosses the way Denny did. After Denny died, Pip had his chance and he took over the business but he still needed a legit organization to launder his money. If his plans worked out the way he wanted would be Landgraab Industries and he couldn't wait to see Wolfie's face when he took that company away from him and used it for his purposes.

Pip read the newspapers and already knew why his so called wife was here.  She was in trouble and needed to be hidden from the law.  His wife was a liability and she was more trouble than what she was worth.  Pip told her to stay away from her werewolf daughter and that two bit vampire con artist yet she didn't listen to him.  He was ready to throw her to the wolves but that was until he found out she was pregnant.

The baby had to be that vampire's bastard as he knew there was no way it was his. Many years ago before the Goodfellows adopted Fawn they visited a fertility clinic due to the fact that they could not conceive a child.  The test results showed that Pip had a low sperm count and was unable to father a child. Needless to say he was devastated so they decided to adopt but was unable to get a fairy and they had to settle for a human.  Years later when his wife announced she was pregnant they both just assumed the test results were wrong, but sadly that was not the case.  He was overjoyed when the boy was born but that all ended when the girl arrived as a werewolf.   He knew the twins were not his but he was able to prove to everyone he was a man by passing the boy off as his son and sending the girl to her father anonymously.

Everything was perfect and would have been fine if the Altos did not get involved.  He didn't know what the Altos were after but there was no way he could support another family.  If he had a way to stop their scheme he had no choice but to do so even if it meant that he would have to admit that Denny wasn't his.  Things wound up turning out better because he was able to adopt Denny and able to con some money out of Landgraab.

Well now his wife was pregnant again and lucky for her that she was.  He was going to take care of the Dahlia problem permanently as she had pushed him to his limits.   He couldn't divorce her and she was a liability to the business.  Everyone would think she was hiding from the police so he had the perfect set up to get rid of her for good but that was until he heard about the baby.  Maybe this time if she had the sense enough to only have a fairy he could pass this child off as his own again.  If she didn't, well he would deal with that later.

Back in Aurora Skies one year later:

 "Don't do anything stupid" were the words that Nick once said to his brother and now they were coming back to haunt him.  At the time he thought he understood Davis' anger as Nick also wanted the man responsible for Grace's attack to suffer slowly with pain, but now he knew he never truly understood.   Nick was afraid his brother would get himself into trouble with the law which was the last thing his family needed at that time, but when someone hurts your little girl you lose all sense of reason.  Dimitri almost killed Chrissie twice and he was still on the loose and as an entire year had passed and the police were not able to find him.

Mickey had phoned the police minutes after they left the wedding chapel but by the time the police had arrived Dimitri was gone.  Of course he was gone in a flash as he is a vampire and was fast on his feet, but now Nick had another worry how to protect his family.  That bastard tried to kill Chrissie twice and what was stopping him from doing it again? Starr's Grandfather was already paying for security guards to watch their house, the school where Chrissie worked and the afterschool center but Nick wanted to take every precaution possible.

His views on firearms changed in a heartbeat and even though it was Davis' turn to be the calm brother, Davis helped Nick purchase a rifle.  If Dimitri dared to try anything, Nick was prepared to shoot a round of wooden bullets in him and he didn't care about the law or going to jail.

He put his rifle away in a locked closet in his bedroom.  They still had a child in the house and he didn't want Alicia to accidently find it.  Alicia knew she was not to take anything out of her parent's room and that she needed to respect other people's property but Nick was not leaving anything to chance.  That weapon was for protection and he planned to be very careful with it.

He was surprised to see Mickey's car drive up to the house as his daughter was not home. Mickey had to know this she wasn't because whenever the two were not together, they were talking on the phone.  He would always be grateful to Mickey for saving his little girl's life and he was happy to see Chrissie with a man that respected her.  That didn't mean he wasn't watching because he was.  He knew he didn't really have to worry because Mickey was a respectable young man who treated his daughter like a queen, but after Dimitri he eyes were always open.

Nick: I'm sorry Chrissie is not here right now, she went shopping with her mother and Taylor.

Mickey: Sir I am actually here to have a word with you if I may?

Nick: Sure come on in and tell me what is on your mind.

Mickey knew from the minute he first laid his eyes on Chrissie that they shared a connection but it wasn't until that day in the snow that he knew in his heart that they were destined to be together.  When he heard the recording and knew Chrissie was in danger he didn't care what he had to do to save her as he would have gladly have given up his own life to protect hers. With Dimitri still out there he might still have to and would in a heartbeat.  The past year had been the happiest of his life as he the two were inseparable and he knew that he couldn't live another day without her by his side.  He had been planning this day for a long time and now that it was finally here, he was having a hard time getting the words out.

Mickey:  Mr. Slayer, I want you to know that I'm very much in love with your daughter. She has been the light of my life ever since I met her and I cannot imagine living another day of my life without her by my side.  With your permission I would like to ask her to be my wife and I promise that I will provide her with a loving home and I will do my best to make her as happy as she has made me.

Nick: You do know that I will always be eternally grateful to you from saving my daughter's life and that she is still in danger as that bastard is still out there somewhere.

Mickey: I hope that you do understand that I would do everything in my power to protect Chrissie and make sure that no harm will ever come to her.

Nick:  I do believe you when you say that as you already proven yourself in that area. With not even a thought you tracked Chrissie down and saved her from a very powerful vampire.  Chrissie is very special to me and I can see that she is very special to you also.  I trust that you will never hurt her but just remember if you ever do you will answer to me. As long as my daughter is in agreement which I am sure will be the case, you have my blessing.  Welcome to the family.

Mickey:  Thank you so much Mr. Slayer you do not know how happy I am to have your blessing and I promise you will never regret this day.

Later that Day:

Deciding on how to pop the question was something Mickey debated on for a while.  At first he thought it would be best to take Chrissie to a restaurant so fancy that he would have to waste a week's salary to pay the bill to propose, but decided against it.  Yes it would be romantic but that was not Chrissie as she was more down to earth and preferred a simple lifestyle.  He still had to find the perfect way to propose to her as she was special and she deserved to be treated that way.

She was a nature lover and they spent so much time in the park enjoying each other's company that he thought a picnic would be best.  As she was a vampire he made sure to stop by the bakery and pick up a plasma fruit deep dish cobbler that she loved so much and he purchased a bottle of the finest plasma fruit nectar.

This was still not enough he had to find a way to make it even more romantic. He loved her so much but she was a vampire and she would outlive him. He knew he had to give her a memory that would stay with her long after he was gone.  He made a promise to her father that he would make sure that he would always do his best to make her happy and he planned to keep that promise.  And then one day while walking through the park he found a beautiful fountain and he knew he had the perfect setting.

He was a bit nervous as he got down on one knee but when he saw the look in her eyes and her beautiful smile it calmed him because he knew deep down in his heart that they were destined to be together.

Mickey:  Chrissie, I really hope that you are enjoying this day as I have been planning this for a while now as I wanted it to be perfect.

Chrissie: Every day I spend with you is perfect.

Mickey: There is something I need to tell you.  I have been thinking so much about the future and every time I try to picture myself and where I will be 5, 10 or 20 years from now I always see you by my side.  I fell in love with you the minute we met and I know there is no future for me without you by my side. Chrissie would you do me the honor and make me the happiest man in the universe by agreeing to be my wife?

With tears in her eyes she tried to say her answer but she was so caught up in the moment that she could barely speak.  At one time she never thought anyone would love her but all she needed to do was be patient and wait for the right man to come into her life.  Even though she thought she was in love with someone else, she knew that there was something more to Mickey the first time she saw him.  It took a while for her to realize how much he meant to her, but the minute she did she knew she couldn't stay away from him.

Mickey: Chrissie the suspense is killing me.  You know how much I love you and I want to be with you forever.

Chrissie:  I'm trying to speak but I have seemed to have lost the ability.  I have to admit that I picture my future the same way, you are always in it.  I love you very much and I would be love to be your wife.

He places a ring on her finger that he picked out especially for her.  It was the most beautiful ring he could find as he knew she deserved the best. 

The rest of the night they spent looking into each others eyes as they talked about wedding dates.  Mickey poured them two glassed of champagne as they planned a long and happy life together.

 To be continued........

Authors Note-The proposal was supposed to take place in the balloon but for some reason the game glitched and the propose interaction was greyed out.  It worked for another couple in my game but for some reason wouldn't work for them, which I am not happy about.  At least we have the toast pictures.

Acknowledgements in order of appearance:

I would like to thank Jazen for the use Loren Asher and use of a picture from her Bachelor Challenge with the Asher Twins.  I highly recommend her stories (Just Simming Along, As Life Goes, Kiss of a Vampire) to all as they are awesome.

I would like to thank Sweetnightingale for use of Lenora Landgraab and a picture from her Forever in Time Blog.  I highly recommend reading her stories (Forever in Time, Another World, As Tears Go By, Sweetnightingale Sims, and The Love Ship) as they are awesome.  If you would also like to see some awesome Sims 3 and Sims 4 Lets Plays, here is a link to her You Tube Channel. 

I would like to thank ShaliANel aka Mischief for use of Mickey.  I also highly recommend her awesome stories which all links to can be found here at Stories of Mischief.

Chapter 71-I Object!

How she was going to tell Dimitri to leave without hurting his feelings was the only question on Chrissie's mind.  She knew there wouldn't be an easy way to say or do this but it was clear to her that it had to be done.  

She felt safe, comfortable and loved sitting there with Mickey's arms around her. Staying with Dimitri only for him to help her end her episodes was wrong and she couldn't do it. Like it or not she had to face the music and seek professional help, even if it meant she would face charges for her actions.  Whatever happened she knew she wouldn't be alone as Mickey promised to stand by her.

She knew that Dimitri would be home soon and she planned to tell him immediately as there seemed no reason to prolong the inevitable.  Mickey wanted to stay with her to provide moral support but she insisted that this was something she needed to do on her own.  Against his better judgment as Mickey did not trust Dimitri he did agree to leave, but he did tell her to call him if there was any trouble as he would be there in an instant. She gave him a kiss goodnight and promised she would see him tomorrow.  He was still worried about Chrissie being alone with Dimitri as he was sure Dimitri was not going to walk away quietly.

When he stepped out he realized in his haste to talk to Chrissie earlier today, he left some papers he needed to grade at the afterschool center.  He knew he had no choice but to return there to retrieve them.  

About 15 minutes after Mickey left, Dimitri arrived home and found Chrissie waiting up for him.  He was able to tell that something was off with her and that he needed to move fast.  He almost blew this whole scam with the old man so he couldn't waste any more time.  He had to marry the little twit immediately, and he planned to use any means necessary to do so.

Dimitri:  I didn't know you would still be awake, I thought you would be in bed by now.

Chrissie: I waited up for you as we need to have a serious talk.

Dimitri: Can it wait as I have something I want to ask you and this is important.

Chrissie:  No, I'm sorry it can't because I am having a difficult time finding the right words to tell you this as I don't want to hurt you.  I'm sorry Dimitri, but I think it best if we both went our separate ways.  I think we should break up.

Dimitri: Break Up?  I bought you a ring today and I was just about to ask you to marry me and you want to break up?

Chrissie:  I'm sorry but I believe it’s for the best for both of us.  I'm sure you will find another girl who is much better for you than I am.

Dimitri: I don't want another girl!   I want you and you will marry me whether you like it or not!

 Chrissie:  I can't marry you as I don't love you.

Dimitri:  I don't know who turned you against me but this stops here.  Chrissie I have things for you to do and you are going to do them.

Chrissie: Yes Dimitri.

Dimitri: We are leaving this house tonight and we are going to find a wedding chapel. When you are asked if you will take me for your lawful wedded husband your answer will be I do.  Your punishment will be dealt with on our honeymoon for this whole breakup idea, and you will accept your punishment willingly.  Do you understand me Chrissie?

Chrissie: Yes Dimitri.

Dimitri:  Now that’s my good girl.  Now go upstairs and pack our bags, make sure you pack your sexiest lingerie and my leather belt as we will need that.  I always told you there would be punishment if you tried to leave me.

Chrissie: Yes Dimitri.

 Dimitri:  Well hop to it, I don't have all day.  Break up, yeah like I would ever let that happen.

At the Afterschool Center:

Mickey arrived to pick up his papers and found Ronny Landgraab on the floor. 

He immediately called for an ambulance and tried to administer CPR but it was too late. Ronny had passed away from a heart attack.  

Uncle Ronny as he insisted Mickey call him was a well respected man that he looked up to.  Chrissie loved him so and he knew she was not going to take his passing well at all.

After the paramedics transported his body to the morgue, Mickey needed to call Chrissie so she could inform the family of their loss.  Telling her this news at this particular time was not going to be easy but the family had to know.  He tried her on his cell phone but she didn't answer.   He didn't have Chrissie's parents or grandparent’s number but this information had to be in the address book Ronny kept in his desk.  As he went to look for the phone numbers he found two envelopes on the desk that worried him.  One said police evidence RE: Dimitri Bautista and Dahlia Goodfellow and the other was addressed to Chrissie.  Mickey didn't like the one labeled police evidence and since the envelope was not sealed he opened it up and found the recording.  He played the recording and couldn't believe what he heard, Chrissie was in trouble.  That bastard was using hypnosis on her and he planned to make her kill herself.   There was nothing wrong with her and she never had one of those episodes that she worried about.  It was all Dimitri and his manipulation. He needed to contact the police and find her at once before Dimitri could harm her in any way.

He called the police department and asked to speak to Sandi or Caleb McIntyre immediately as it was an emergency, luckily they were able to contact Caleb who dispatched a car to Chrissie's house and one to the afterschool center.  He told Mickey to let the police handle this but there was no way on Earth anyone was going to keep him from Chrissie when she was with that maniac.  He left the afterschool center as soon as the police arrived and drove as quickly as he could to Chrissie's house.

When Mickey arrived at the house no one was there but he found brochures on the desk for the Up all Night Wedding Chapel.  He knew Dimitri was putting his plan in motion and he needed to stop that ceremony immediately.  As he was going out he received a text from Chrissie, all it said was "Help Me"  Mickey took off in a flash.

At the Wedding Chapel:

Chrissie didn't understand anything that was happening to her.  She wanted to break up with Dimitri but now she found herself walking into a wedding chapel with him. She tried to say no and get away but she couldn't control her own actions. She felt as if she was watching herself from afar and she was unable to help herself in any way.  She was able to send a text to Mickey asking for help and she prayed he would be able to find her and stop this whole thing.  She actually signed the papers for the marriage license, even though she didn't want to. Why couldn't she say no or stop herself?  She wanted to but couldn't.

Dimitri didn't like the idea they had to wait for morning to get the license.  Time was of the essence as something had happened to make him lose his grip on her; the hypnosis was not working like it usually did.  She was coming out from under his control and there wasn't much time before he would lose it altogether. He got the license as quickly as he could and he rushed them over to the wedding chapel.  Something changed that made her want to break up with him, and it had to be the same reason his was losing his control over her. Whatever it was he had to get the control back and they had to be married.  He had no choice but to get physical with her and he would take care of that the minute they got back to the hotel. That little bitch was going to find out what happened when he got angry.

They sat waiting for their names to be called and when they were tears came to Chrissie's eyes.  She prayed that she would find the strength in her not to go through with the ceremony but every time she opened her mouth to say the words nothing came out.

As she heard the minister say the words "Dearly Beloved" she hoped and prayed that something would stop all of this.

Mickey arrived outside of the chapel and rushed right in.  He said he was there to be a witness for the Slayer/Bautista wedding and asked to be directed to the room.  As he opened the door he heard the minister say the words he was hoping to hear.

Minister: If there is anyone here present who can show just cause why these two may not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Mickey: I object!

Dimitri: What the fuck are you doing here?  You just made a big mistake!

Minister: Young man, what is your reason for your objection.

Mickey:  I'm in love with this girl and I know she is in love with me.  If you allow me to talk to her for a moment.  I am sure she will understand why this wedding cannot go on.

Dimitri:  Just go away and we will pretend that you did not say anything.

Mickey: Chrissie, you have to listen to this.

Mickey just clicked on the recording and Chrissie heard the whole conversation between Dimitri and Dahlia every last word.  It was then that she totally snapped out for under Dimitri's control.  She almost married this monster, a monster who wanted to kill her for her money.  She never had one single episode, that monster made her believe that she was a monster.  And to think that less than 24 hours ago she was worried about hurting HIS feelings!  How could she be so dumb!  All she could think about was getting away from him but first she had something she needed to do.  She needed to get even!

Chrissie:  May we get on with the ceremony?

Dimitri: Why yes my dear, I knew you wouldn't see it my way.

Dimitri put a smug look on his face as he was ready to claim victory and Mickey stood there in disbelief.  How could she still want to marry him?  As Dimitri moved closer, Chrissie made a move as if she was ready to kiss him but instead when he got close to her she let him have it and kneed him right in the cojones.  Dimitri fell to the floor in dire pain as Mickey started to laugh.

Chrissie: You miserable bastard.  I hope you rot in HELL!  Come on Mickey, lets get out of here!

On the way home Mickey had to give her the sad news about Uncle Ronny and needless to say Chrissie was devastated.  Chrissie asked that Mickey bring her to her parents house as she needed and wanted to see them. When they got there they learned that the security tapes at the afterschool center showed Dimitri walking away from her Uncle at the time the pain hit for the heart attack.  Her Uncle could have lived if he had received medical attention in time.  Was there no end to this nightmare?

Chrissie decided to move back in with her parents as there were many painful memories of Dimitri in that house and she knew she couldn't return there.  Mickey offered to bring Cheech over and pack up Chrissie's belongings.  Starr and Nick placed the house up for sale immediately.

The funeral was planned for the next day and friends and family would gather to pay their respects to Ronald Emmett Landgraab, a man who devoted his life to the education of the youth and one who gave up his life to protect the family’s mission.

To be continued....