Holisdale: Round Two -- The Knox Family
Here we have the Knoxs, a family now with two adults, two teens, one child and one baby.
28 pictures.
Some big changes had come for the Knox family. For one, Doug and Leslie were now officially engaged which meant it'd only be a matter of time until Leslie and Doug got married and Leslie legally joined the family. As it was, Leslie had just given birth to another Knox child--Aiden--and the two of them were now moving in with the rest of the family. Nia, Mia and Talin liked Leslie enough although they didn't really know her, but now that they were actually going to be living together, things were going to be very different. A lot of adjusting would need to happen.
Doug was ecstatic to be able to hold Aiden. Since the newborn's birth, things had been very busy and more than slightly hectic; Doug had had almost no time to see his son. But things were different now and Doug knew that he'd be the best father he could be for Aiden, the same way he was with his other children. They could make this work.
The Knoxs had their first family dinner in their new house that evening (Leslie had to excuse herself from the table to take care of baby Aiden), and Doug was happy to see that almost nothing had changed in their family dynamic. Everyone seemed excited about having a new little brother (especially Talin) and they'd all been welcoming to Leslie, helping her with moving in and settling in as well. This house was new to all of them though and it made it a little easier for them to bond over that. Dinner was quite nice; Talin asked his older sisters about how high school was since he'd be going to their high school soon enough. They told him some funny stories, some funny horrific stories and some plain intimidating ones, but Talin was sure he'd have a good time.
Luckily, within the first couple of days in the new house, Doug managed to pull some strings and get a job in his old career again. Unfortunately, he started at a lower level than he'd been at after his last promotion, but Doug couldn't complain. He was just grateful to have his old career back. Now he wouldn't have to make excuses to Leslie for why he wasn't at work. He hadn't ever told her about his getting fired and he didn't plan to anytime soon.
Leslie was pretty carefree though. Although she was harboring some guilt for leaving Paisley and the rest of her family behind, she kept busy by taking care of Aiden and taking full advantage of the time she got off of work. She did sometimes wonder about how her father and daughters were doing, but hadn't struck up the nerve to actually call them yet. She thought it was a little too soon anyway; it probably was. Soon, enough time had passed that it was time for Aiden to grow up!
And he grew up into a fine toddler, looking more like his father than his mother, but still very much identifiable as her son. Every time Leslie looked at Aiden, she couldn't help but smile. So far, her new life had been working out for her. Looking back, she was definitely glad that she'd taken that chance on Doug.
Doug's children also showed to be just as kind and warm as their father. Nia spent whatever free time she had with Aiden, teaching him skills or just playing around with him. She loved being a big sister and making friends was her forte, so being friendly to her littlest brother was a piece of cake. She thought he was a cutie-pie too and she knew that Leslie had been working hard to take care of Aiden; it was only fair that Leslie got some time to herself too. Besides, Nia enjoyed the babysitting!
Almost as soon as he started back up at work, Doug was getting promotions and bonuses again. It made him feel great to be able to come home and tell his kids and Leslie that he got another promotion and that they weren't too far away from settling in for a luxury lifestyle. The proud, encouraging smiles he got from Leslie weren't too bad either.
Of course, Doug wasn't the only one with a job--both of the twins were working hard after school and sometimes on weekends for their jobs. Both of them liked the sense of independence that a job gave them--and the extra cash was nice too!
Both girls were very good at their jobs and rather lucky as well. Hopefully, this luck with jobs would run in the family for quite some time.
Not before too long, it was Talin's birthday. He was very excited to join his sisters at their high school and they were excited that he was going to be there. However, seeing Talin grow up reminded Leslie of how it would soon be Paisley's birthday as well. She'd called her family a couple of times now, but had only managed to actually talk to them once, and she only got to talk to Zoe and Jason. Leslie did miss them and she hoped they weren't harboring any bad feelings about her. She wondered if she'd get invited over to celebrate Paisley's birthday; she would be so hurt if she didn't.
Talin grew up into quite the fine young man, almost looking like the spitting image of his father.
Talin Knox -- Knowledge; Gemini (4/7/8/3/3); LTW: Become Mad Scientist; turned on by fitness and custom hair; turned off by grey hair.
Aha! Here is the chance card that lost Doug his job! He has learned from his mistakes and has no wish to end up unemployed again, so he decides to take the other choice...
And he is rewarded!
Leslie also gets a chance card at work...
...but is not nearly as lucky as Doug on this one. Fortunately, she only got demoted and not fired.
Better luck next time, eh?
As far as life was going for others in the Knox household, Mia was moving in on her romantic side. College was coming up fast and she wanted to take advantage of her teen years while she still had them. She made friends with Michelle Trottier and like Evan Blecker before her, she wooed Michelle. I suppose it is only fair--after Evan left, who did Michelle have to go to? Of course, Mia did not know Evan nor did she know about Michelle's history with him. All she knew was that she needed a little lovin' herself.
She got her first kiss then too, of course. Although Mia's realization that she was lesbian wasn't entirely recent, she hadn't really talked to anybody about it or mentioned. She figured that she was relatively secure with her sexuality and that it was okay if no one else besides her and the girls she was with knew.
Still, sometimes a voice in the back of her head nagged at her, telling her that not saying anything would eventually end badly. She'd just keep it a secret for as long as she could.
About a day or so before her birthday, Leslie invited Paisley over to her new home to check it out and to see her mother and her baby brother. Paisley didn't sound too interested over the phone, but she came anyway and as soon as Leslie bent down to hug her, Paisley admitted how much she'd missed her mother since she'd left. Leslie felt so guilty for leaving, but she had to remember that she'd asked Paisley if she wanted to move in with them and Paisley had refused. Leslie wondered if Paisley regretted that.
As it was, the visit was short and they hardly got to see each other before Leslie had to sprint off to work. Paisley was obviously not pleased about this and though the Knoxs were very welcoming, she found it too awkward to just sit around and spend time with them. They were not her family as far as she was concerned. Leslie did not fail to notice Paisley's reluctance to go inside nor the fact that she hadn't mentioned her birthday to Leslie, not once.
That night, it was Aiden's birthday (which Leslie unfortunately had to miss, due to work). It was exciting to see the youngest Knox grow up and really join the family.
Aiden grew up into a cute little boy, looking like a perfect mix of his parents. He was happy to be such a big boy and to be starting school and making friends. He had plenty of exciting years ahead of him, that was for sure.
The moment Leslie came home from work, Aiden sprinted out to the walkway to give her a hug. Leslie laughed and was pleasantly surprised to her little boy so big and grown! It was so heart-warming to see him run up to her like that, so excited for her to be back home. It made Leslie tear up at the thought that Paisley hadn't ever done that with her and she probably never would. Paisley would be a teenager tomorrow and Leslie was sure she wasn't going to be there to see her youngest daughter grow up.
But Leslie hardly had any time to worry about Paisley's birthday--she and Doug were finally tying the knot! They invited all their family and friends (all of the Baileys except for Paisley showed up) and everyone looked so happy and excited for the couple. Leslie could not believe this day had finally come. She'd been with Doug so long now that it felt like they were already married, but this was her big day now and she couldn't be happier. Doug felt much the same way. It was amazing that the two had come together despite their pasts with love, but now they had each other for life and that was all they needed.
And so Leslie Bailey became Leslie Knox and the two were married. Everyone clapped, hooted and hollered around them as they kissed and it was the best wedding party (albeit, the only one) that Holisdale had seen thus far! Jason, Zoe and Brooke made sure to come by Leslie and Doug after toasting to give the newlyweds their blessings and congratulate them. Doug felt very flattered their kindness and welcoming--they seemed much warmer to him now than they had when he'd visited the Bailey's house a while ago.
Almost immediately after the wedding party ended, Leslie and Doug hurried off to go on their "honeymoon". They seemed to have fun doing whatever it is that they did.
All in all, it was a wonderful night for the Knox family.
The next day, however, Leslie found herself alone at home. Doug was at work and the kids were at school. Leslie, now remarried, was thinking about her life and how far she'd come. She wondered if her kids were offended that she'd found a new man so soon after leaving her ex-husband. She wondered if any of them missed their father. She hoped that they still wanted her to be a part of their lives; sometimes she felt so detached from them, as if they were acting distant to her. They were still her family even though their "family" had extended; she didn't want them to think she was just leaving them behind.
For now though, Leslie would try to stop worrying about the future and the past and just live life as it came.
That's all for the Knoxs this round; next we have the Baileys. :]
Mm, I found some rather...interesting things this round...
...O.O
This was of course, before Leslie and Doug got married. I also found THIS:
...WHAT.
Luckily, no memories of kissing or woohoo, so I'm going to assume it was a flirt or something.
But still. Just...no.
Thanks for reading! :]