Baby 82 Part 1- Remind me again why I try to relax

AN: Skye used to have a dog, if anyone remembers Slender. But I was just in game now and she seems to have vanished, so if we can all just pretend Slender never happened, that would be brilliant. Also, ignore the sudden change of appearance of a few sims, I recently had to completely revamp my CC collection, and a lot of it vanished. 

Much obliged, The Writer.
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Edward and Stark grow up into a real pair of heartbreakers.  Stark always has to have perfect hair otherwise it’s cause for a major trauma, despite getting his father’s good looks.

It turns out that little Steve was right, and the night before prom Edward paid a visit to his girlfriend, only to have the captain of the baseball team answer the door. In his underwear.

Steve also ages up. He is still a real gentleman, something sorely missed in my house these days, which is probably how he attracted himself such a lovely best friend. Her name is Persimmon, and she’s a sweetheart who is really shy, but really close to Steve. Steve himself has developed an unusual obsession with bugs and other such small animals. I’ll often walk into the garden to see him playing around with a new bug, or he’ll come and find me, cradling a chipmunk to his chest that we absolutely have to keep.

I don’t age up the toddlers, which may prove to be a stupid decision with 5 toddlers in the house, but I just hope that I can cope.

Later that day, I’m lying on my bed when I’m struck with the sudden realization that I have less than twenty babies to go until I’m finished with my challenge. I knew that baby 100 wouldn’t be here for a while, but the thought of laying that last child into his or her crib got me thinking about what I could do after the challenge. I had to real employable skills, nothing to make me noteworthy. I could sculpt, I supposed, but there wasn't likely to be much business in that.

I am ripped from my daydreams by a knocking on my bedroom door. “Momma!” shouts Calinda. “There’s a man here. He says he’s my brother.” I frown for a second, wondering who it could be. I mean, out of 81 children, very few ever come to visit me. “Momma. They’re multiplying. THESE PEOPLE ARE LIKE TRIBBLES! THERE’S MORE OF THEM! AAAAHHHH” she continues, trailing off into a scream as she no doubt runs off into another room.

I stand up from my bed and am pleasantly surprised to see not just Jesse, but Loki as well. Behind them are stood two girls, one, a teenager with dark hair and violet eyes similar to mine, the other a red-head. I hug my two sons tightly and they both laugh. “Jesse! Loki, what are you doing here?” I ask, grinning.

“Well Jesse here moved to town a couple of weeks ago, about the same time you did, and I flew in some time last week. I would have visited sooner, but I have been unpacking and trying to get Laurie settled in.” replies Loki. I figure that the teen must be Laurie, since the redhead has no real connection to Loki. “Yeah. And I've been working up the courage to come and tell you something Mom. This is Georgia Mason, soon to be Everard. We’re engaged.” He grins. I resist the urge to cheer because I can sense he has something more to tell me. When he notices this, he sighs, and Georgia shoves him to the side and says, “I’m pregnant.”

This time I do cheer, and I swing my arms wide. My son hugs me again and his fiancée laughs melodiously. “Well it seems we have a lot to talk about, doesn’t it. Do you guys want a drink, tea, coffee, water, anything at all?”

“Tea would be lovely Mother.” Says Loki, and Laurie looks up, adding quietly,

“Do you have any orange juice?” I nod enthusiastically, and look at Jesse and Georgia.

“Coffee for us, thanks.” Responds Georgia, and I set off out to make the drinks.

We talk for a long time and I learn a LOT about my favourite children’s new families. Laurie is Loki’s adopted daughter and she’s very shy around strangers because she has a couple of social disorders and suffers from anxiety as well. To top it all off, Jesse asks me to be Georgia and his wedding planner. I tell him that I would be honoured, and just to call me when they want anything doing.

Soon though, they have to leave and I decide that it is time for me to get into my pregnancy mindset. This time I tied to choose somebody with really unique genetics; and so I decided upon a man called Thurman Fuller. To make it even more interesting, I found out that he is a werewolf and fairy cross breed (though his fairy gene didn't present), so there is a chance that my children could get any of those traits.

I sit back down on the couch with a smile on my face, happy that even though my kids have left me, I still get thought of. Steve and Calinda, however, don’t seem to be thinking very much because they walk up silently behind me. “Hi mom.” Says Steve, and I jump a mile into the air.

“Hi guys.”  I respond with a smile after I slow my racing heart a little. “What’s up?” Steve shrugs in response. “Nothing much. Gabe and Cael just got fed, and we were hoping you’d come and play some basketball with us.”

“Sure I will, but I must warn you that I was dunk champion at my elementary school three years running.” I joke. Calinda laughs and runs off to the nursery to grab her youngest brother. I follow closely behind her and pick up Gabriel and Cas then go and change into some less pristine clothes. We take them out if the house and round the back to where the basketball court is.

I set down the boys and prepare to have the crap beaten out of me. The kids pick up the ball and start running. Surprisingly I do quite well at playing them, though my decision to throw the game against myself is a good one. The work leaves me sweaty and quite tired, and I’m rather looking forward to my shower.

It is just my luck that as I step out of the shower and am drying off, I notice the slight swell of my baby bump, and feel the first kicks of the new life. I put on a pair of old sweat pants and a shirt that Paisley gave me one Christmas as a joke and then check my emails. I want to check if anyone has replied to the ad I posted in the newspaper about Isis’ kittens. Since there’s no way we can keep them all, I've elected to adopt out the three we aren't keeping. To my surprise we’d gotten a reply almost instantly, and apparently there was someone interested in a kitten.

Hello there Ms. Everard.

I travel around a lot for my LARP (Live Action Role-Play)-ing as various fictional characters and often find myself alone. One of your kittens sounds perfect; I’d love one to keep me company.

Do you have any of them left?

-George H.

Quickly I write out a reply.

Hey George.

I’d be delighted to give you a kitten, you can swing by and pick one out. Does 9PM tomorrow suit you okay?

-Skye Everard.

There is a reply to the affirmative a few minutes later, and so I make a mental note to collect up the kittens before then. They have a habit of getting into everything, but they’re relatively easy to find.

I consider taking a nap for a minute, but I make the decision to go and spend time with the kids. I walk into the nursery and pick up Natasha. “Hey baby girl.” I say. Natasha scowls at me. “I’m not a baby momma.” I giggle at her seriousness and carry her across the room to the small changing table I have. “Are you ready for a bath?” I ask, and she smiles happily.

“Baff! Baff!” she grins and I don’t have the heart to correct her. Instead I just run the water and place her in the small tub.

She splashes around happily for a little while as I clean her off, but then the approaching night and the warmth of both the water and the night lull her into a tired state. I take her out and change her into some pyjamas. “Where are your siblings?” I ask my daughter, not really expecting her to reply. “Uh… Steve!” she tells me, and I nod. I place her into her bed where she quickly falls asleep with her favourite bear.

Once I’m sure that Natasha isn't about to wake up I leave the room and head towards Steve’s. If what Tasha told me is right, then that’s where they’ll be. And sure enough they are. Cael and Gabriel, who are normally the ones getting into trouble, are sitting quietly on the floor playing with their toys. Steve is sat with Cassie on his stomach playing a game of peek-a-boo, and Natalia and Calinda are asleep on the bed opposite. It’s probably the single most adorable thing I've ever seen.

Steve sees me and waves, causing Cas to turn quickly and grin at me. “Mommy!” he smiles and gets off Steve to come running up to me. The noise wakes up Natalia, and so she gets down and toddles groggily over to me. “Is it bed time?” she asks, rubbing her eyes.

“Yep. Bed time for all of you.” I reply. Cas smiles, but Gabriel glares at me for a minute, then decides he actually is quite tired and begins to walk to me on the other side of the room. Cael follows him, and reaches me first, thanks to a little fall-down for Gabe on the way here.

“Ouchies.” He says, rubbing at his knee. Steve is there in a flash to pick up his little brother and hold him close. “Hey little man, are you okay?” he asks quietly. Gabriel nods and snuggles into his brother’s shoulder. “Tired now Steve. You take me to bed?” Steve nods and carries his brother into the lounge. “Do you want me to leave Calinda there?” asks Steve. I nod in reply. “Let the poor mite sleep. She’s had a busy day.”

The rest of my children follow me quite happily to the nursery, in a rare turn of events, and I manage to get them all settled quite quickly. With all the children asleep I take a second to lean on the doorframe and smile happily.

I walk into my bedroom and lie on my bed, making plans for the next day. It’s a weekend, so I have everybody to think about. Then I realise that while I’ve taught all the kids their basic skills, it’s very reasonable that I teach them to swim. I lie down to sleep, making plans to leave relatively early the next day.

It’s around half four in the morning when I wake up in a cold sweat. The nightmares I had avoided so far had returned, and in force. I’m tempted to call Paisley, but eventually decide not to, since it’s four AM, and she’s been having a lot of trouble lately with her toddlers not sleeping.  Instead I force myself to remember what happened in the dream.

It is dark. That’s the first thing I notice. So dark that I can’t see anything beyond my hand, which I assume is stretched out in front of me. But it’s not stretched far, because as I press it forward I come into contact with something solid. It feels like wood, though not quite. It’s colder somehow, like somebody had locked it in a freezer for a couple of days.

It’s becoming harder to breathe, and I can feel the walls of the small wooden box closing in on me. I swear I’m going crazy because I can hear a voice. It’s shouting my name and I feel myself being drawn towards it, but as I move forwards the air runs out and I begin to gasp for air.  

The memory of the dream is almost as scary as the dream itself and so I decide to stop where I am.

Consequently, I stand up from my bed and step into some slippers. I can hear the quiet breathing of most of the toddlers, but the quiet sounds of Cael's whimpering are surprisingly loud. When I reach his cot, one room over from mine I am not surprised to see him twitching about a little bit and frowning in his sleep. I pick him up and whisper quietly n his ear. "Shush little one. It's going to be all right."

His whimpering stops, but he wakes from the light sleep he was in. "Mama." he murmurs, "I had a bad dream." I cuddle him close and rock up and down. "I know sweetie. I heard you so I came to chase the monsters away."

This entire conversation has been conducted in whispers, but I am wary of waking his siblings. "Momma's gonna go back to bed now. See you in th morning chicken." Cael grips tightly to my hair and shirt in response. "Mama no go. The monsters will come back." he says. I giggle a little, but don't put him down. "Okay Cael. How about you come and sleep in Mommy's room?"

Cael nods excitedly, and so I carry him back to my room. I lie on the couch and cradle him in my arms. Soon enough he has fallen into the quietly restful slumber which is unique to children. It is clear by now that I'm not going to get back to sleep, since the fear of returning to the dream is still with me. I would normally have recovered by now, but this one felt so real as to be terrifying.

With that in mind I stand up, leaving my son to nap, switch on the TV in the corner to provide a little light, and then I pick up a book from my shelf. While it doesn't do my eyes any good, there is something calming in the predictable plots of my favourite classic novel, The Phantom of the Opera. I am almost half of the way through when the purple light of dawn bounces from the horizon and hits the low black screen of my laptop. I stand up, check Cael and his siblings are all okay, and then make my way into the bathroom for another shower.

While in there I find myself thinking about just how often I shower, and what I could do in the time I spend here, but eventually I turn off the water, my mind at rest. I leave the bathroom and grab some clothes from my dresser. Today I go for a simple top and shorts combination, because the day is already warm and I'm not looking forward to the intense heat. I slide my feet into a pair of flip-flops and patter my way into the kitchen where I begin making the breakfast. Today's is French toast, and out of nowhere I find myself crying onto the pan.

"Mom?" yawns Calinda, as I dab at my eyes with a tissue. "Are you alright Mom?" I nod quietly.

"Yeah. It's just the baby throwing all my hormones out of whack. The toast reminded me of Ellie." I say, though it isn't entirely true. The baby is throwing my hormones out of whack, but the more likely culprit is that I'm so tired. The sleepier I get the more emotionally unstable I am. It's a flaw, but I live with it. And the toast did remind me of Ellie. She'd given me the recipe before she left, and now it made me sad every time I tried to make any. But I coped with the pain because it was one HELL of a delicious breakfast.

I also made sure to make a few sandwiches. Later that day I had planned to take everyone to the beach, though that was not a good plan, and so I changed my mind and we were going to stay in the pool. Inevitably, I decide to invite Jesse and Paisley to hand out with us, because I like having my son and girlfriend together with me, it makes for a nice environment.

The kids jump out of bed as soon as they hear that we’ll be swimming that day, and Calinda and Steve are the first out.  Almost at the same time they leap into the pool, one using the pool side and the other the diving board. Thankfully, they’re quiet enough that their younger siblings manage to stay asleep, so I carry out a baby monitor and prepare to relax.

I lay myself down on a pool float and look up at the sun through the tree branches, waiting for Paisley to arrive. When she does, the first thing she does is lie down on a towel and start to soak up some sunlight. Apparently her kids are all young adults right now, a rare occurrence indeed, and she is taking the chance to not be pregnant for a while.

“Hello?” asks a voice. I sit up and look towards it, seeing my son Jesse standing on the edge of the pool. Attached to his leg is at least one of my children, and closely behind are the rest. It seems they have escaped their cribs once again, and have been hiding from me. “Jesse!” I grin, swimming over to him.

I stand up and hug my son lightly, not bothering to stop getting him wet, since he’s about to be getting in a pool. “Hey. Let me remove those.” I joke, pointing at Cael and Cassie. “I’m off to change their clothes. Don’t blow up the pool.”  That being said, I set off into the house, already planning what my children will have to wear.

Paisley’s POV

I stare at the back of my retreating girlfriend with a sigh. Silently I turn to face Jesse, frowning. “WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY ARE YOU DOING HERE?” I yell. Steve and Calinda are busy having a breath holding contest, so don’t appear to hear me. Jesse takes a step back but is otherwise undeterred by my words. “I was invited here. By my mother.” He replies frostily. “What, and you just- just decided to ignore the fact that I was gonna be here?”

“As a matter of fact, not that I see why I should tell you anyway, I had no idea you were gonna be here. Mom neglected to mention it.” He sighs, spinning around and rubbing his hair. “Look. What happened between us was a mistake. I shouldn't have done what I did, and certainly not when I knew you were with my mother. I don’t suspect Georgia would be too pleased about it either. So yes. Be pissy at me because I kissed you, but DON’T NEGLECT TO MENTION THAT YOU KISSED BACK.” He roars. I turn away from him and ignore his presence near the pool.

It’s probably not the most mature thing to do, but I find a great sense of satisfaction in doing so.



AN: And, just for kicks, have this image to make your life better.