Chapter 3.7- Squeaky Hinge

            It had become an all too familiar sensation. The insistent roiling and churning had been giving her plenty of grief for the last week or so. Sometimes it would last all day, barely allowing her sips of water to keep her mouth moist in between the worst bouts.

            Okay. Perhaps ‘sometimes’ was a bit of an under estimate. Make that most days. All day. Make that every night. And go ahead and tack on anytime she had to change one of Dove’s foul diapers or whenever she cooked or had to clean anything or 5:30 each and every stinking night along with many other on the dot times as well. Dear Twallan. She might as well set up camp in the bathroom and offer to help the Navy keep their famous master clock accurate. If she was on her knees in the bathroom, it must be thirty minutes past the hour. Ugh.

            First thing in the morning she’d dig into the cabinets in her bathroom and grab a left over test. It was still super early but this could only mean one thing: she really was an after-school special. 

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

            Wedged as tightly into the corner of the bathroom as she could manage, Mariah stared. Flat surface? Of course not! Timer counting down the minutes while she patiently waited in another room? Who needed that? It never took her long to convince herself it was just another stomach bug. Just another gross virus that would eventually pass leaving her a few pounds lighter as it went. Which is 100% why she was gripping the test hard enough that cracks were appearing in the plastic under her thumb. Her eyes were dry because if she blinked she might miss the magic moment when the word ‘not’ would pop up in the little window, balancing the glaringly bright ‘pregnant’ that had long since appeared.

            Wasn’t this test supposed to take 7 minutes? Surely, it’s only been 3. Could it really have been 10?

            After a full 20 minutes had passed she gave in, sinking onto the edge of the tub, test still tight in her grasp.

            Predictably, her stomach knotted and rolled daring her to calm down, attempting to twist her thoughts from their current bent.

            Pregnant. Again. With Dove barely old enough to toddle around on her little legs. Pregnant. Again. With the man who was out of reach and out of touch. Thankfully, the reasons were different behind the circumstances but still. Mariah grew up without her dad around, now her children would have to do the same.

            Not that Roger could ever be compared to Andre. Roger would most likely be happy, perhaps even excited, to know he would be a dad. His mother would probably be ecstatic even. He’d told her how his mom had been badgering his brother, Benji, for grandkids now he was married and settled.

            Perhaps this would be good for Dove, too. Tibi and Mariah were so far apart in age it didn’t feel like she had a sister, it was more like having an older overbearing cousin. Close in age siblings were supposed to be good playmates, right?

            Pregnant. Hmm. Maybe it wouldn’t be so horrible to be a mom again after all.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

            Or maybe it could indeed be pretty horrible. Being pregnant with Dove wasn’t nearly the nightmare this go around was.

            She was losing weight from being sick so much. And the tired? She could pass out and never wake up and it wouldn’t be enough sleep. All she wanted was sleep! Was that too much to ask? Even with a full night’s sleep she would spend the entire day yawning her head off wishing she could lay down for a nap. Or three.

            And then there were the hormones.

            With Dove in her arms, she prowled the house almost ceaselessly. Haunting memories followed in her wake like shadows, taunting her attempts to find peace.

            Her ostensible mission was to determine a suitable room to put the new baby in. Dove still needed her little crib and Mariah couldn’t bring herself to entertain the thought that Dove could have a toddler bed in a different room. According to all the parenting magazines that room belonged to Dove. It would cause resentment and jealousies between the newly introduced siblings if she were to displace her toddler daughter with the baby.

            She could get that. After all, Tibi and herself were living reminders of how jealousy between siblings could cause rifts. Mariah was jealous of Tibi’s time with their parents. Tibi was jealous of the living child Mariah held in her arms. Though this, Tibi’s fourth pregnancy seemed to be going much better. Their kids would only be a few months apart if this baby managed to hang on.

            From sibling rivalries to cousins Mariah’s thoughts wound round, intertwining with a different set of memories all together.

            She hated this room.

            She'd be back in an hour to cry over how much she secretly loved it.

            Not that her emotions were any better in her own room. A grown up now and owning the house and she still slept in the room her mother had decorated for her when she’d been just a child. It was dark and slightly dreary. The bed was too small and she’d for sure outgrown the toys Dove squealed over now.

            Up and down, back and forth; her hormonal tide carried her along until she couldn’t stand it anymore.

            “Come on baby girl,” she announced. “Out you go. Mama’s going to get dressed and then we’ll dress you to go out for a picnic.”

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

            Damn hormones.

            Usually the cemetery was lovely and calming to Mariah, today it was just morbid. At least it was deserted, as usual. There was no one staring or being overly loud or rude like they did at the public parks.

            It was also the perfect place to start getting Dove used to the idea of a baby coming to join them.

            “Dove, we’re going to have some surprises coming really soon. Would you like that?”

            Dove tipped her head to one side, eyes bright, reminding Mariah of a puppy, but she kept her mouth firmly closed. It was obvious she had no clue what Mariah meant.

            “Mommy’s tummy is about to get really big and then one day soon a baby will come and stay with us, okay?”

            Again, Mariah left Dove far behind.

            “Would you like a new baby brother? Or what about a little sister? You’re going to be a big sister when the baby arrives.”

            Dove’s eyes wandered from her mother, serenely watching a few birds wheeling overhead.

            “Dooove,” Mariah crooned, trying to bring her back. “Dove, sweetheart, would you like a baby to play with?”

            But she’d already lost her audience causing Mariah’s spirits to sink even lower. Would no one be happy about the baby? If I can’t even handle one kid ignoring me, how would I cope with two? Shoulders sinking she steeled herself. When she got home, she’d do whatever she could to get in touch of the one person who could make her happy.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

            “Hi, Taylor?” Mariah’s nerves made the hand holding the phone tremble. It sank her spirits even lower. “Roger told me to call you if I ever needed him.”

            Needed him. Those words nearly stuck in her throat. She didn’t need anyone. But him. She needed him, right now, before she sank so low she wouldn’t be able to find her way up again.

            “Yeah, it really is kind of important,” why did she have to explain herself to this woman? “Please, I wouldn’t be calling if it weren’t urgent. I know it’s not business hours or whatever, but I waited because I really didn’t want to have to call him in… Thank you.”

            Hours passed.

            Dove had been put to bed. Dishes washed and put away. Floors scrubbed. Baseboards dusted. Windows washed. Laundry pretreated, soaked, started. She’d oiled a squeaky hinge on one of the doors and still nothing. So she’d taken to pacing, fears creeping in as tears snaked down her cheeks and when she’d hit the point where the thought she would explode it finally happened. The doorknob rattled.

            It took only a moment for her to digest what it meant, staring at it hungrily before she could wait no longer and launched herself outside.

            “Hey, sorry it took a liMMMMMMMPPPPPFFFFFF-”

            Mariah had taken a running leap onto a very startled Roger.

            Pausing long enough to allow him to find his balance, Mariah refused to allow him to speak just yet. Her relief in being able to interact with another sim who wouldn’t judge her or try to tell her to be reasonable or calm down was very great indeed. She could wait for his explanation. Besides, she had much more important information.

            “Uhm, that-that was-was, wow, but I-I mean, you-you’re, Taylor said-”

            “-You’re going to be a dad.”

            “…”

            The giggle Mariah let out was so out of character it surprised even her, but how could she help it?

            “Roger?”

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Okie doke. First of all I’m am so incredibly sorry for the absence. I can promise the wait for the next chapter won’t be nearly so long though because I’ve managed to have enough shots for two. Huzzah!

Random chapter title is Random. I couldn't come up with a phrase from the above that cranked my engine so I went with that. Oh well.

For clarification: Tibi and Mariah are Friends. No matter what I do I cannot get them past Good Friends, which drops back to Friends very quickly. Tibi really has had a lot of phantom pregnancies and I have no clue what’s up with it. I’ve gotten the pop up that she and Henry are expecting 3 times now and every time I save and go back in she’s not pregnant again. This time I used the pollinate option on her and it stuck. Thank goodness.

So stay tuned! There's a birth next time because I want this all to get a move on! Giddy-up y’all!

Downloads- Poses- Caress

Sims4 is packed with lots of new animations giving lots of folks lots of ideas. Serindeppity had used one of the cute new romantic interactions and thought it would make a great pose and requested someone make it a pose for Sims3. Agreeing that the interaction really was too sweet I just had to see if I could kind of get close. This is my interpretation of the pose.

Because there is a hand near the face there is a possibility if clipping if your sim has a very wide jaw, or a very long face, or a very long chin. Otherwise, no matter who you put in these poses, there should be minimal chances of clipping.

As usual, there are two downloads; One is poselisted, the other is not. Both downloads include an image with the posecodes. Choose Only One!

Download
Sunny's Caress Poses for Serindeppity- Poselisted
Sunny's Caress Poses for Serindeppity- Not Poselisted

As usual thank you to Misty for helping look at preliminary images with me, and for telling me that one of the sims looked like someone had dumped a sack of rice on the floor and called it a pose. Without that I think it still would have been a crumpled mess of simanity making me wonder what was up with that. Thank you! xD
Thanks to Gemma for keeping the laughs going. Never forget, Deaths are Coming! :D
And a huge huge thanks to Serindeppity for suggesting these as poses. They're so sweet! (And it gave me a chance to play with Chance and Specter a little bit. I love them so much! <3 )

If you use the poses in your story or somewhere online, I'd love to see them! Leave a link in the comments and I'll leave a comment back! 

Chapter 3.6- You Didn't, You Couldn't, You Weren't, I Wasn't

            “WHAAAAAAAAATTTTTT??!??!??” Mariah’s screech shook the peace of the slumbering neighborhood. Outside, a sudden rustle of wings signaled she’d even awakened the birds with her pre-dawn cry.

            She’d grabbed a slip from one of the drawers next to her and stuffed it over her head as quickly as she could muttering all the while.

            “I knew it. Bad idea. Such a bad idea,” sliding to sit on the bed edge, back turned on a Roger attempting to put his underwear back on. “What was I thinking? How could I do it? And for it to be followed by… Bad, bad idea. I’m such an idiot.”

            The mattress shifted and she snapped her mouth shut. How could he say something like that? And immediately after… Even that was awful! Two minutes? Maybe? The last time with Andre lasted longer than that! What the hell? She’d gotten barely anything out of it and then that… He’d said that. That! She’d never told anyone that! Ever! Not even her mom! What did he think that had meant? Did he even know? She’d planned on this being something relaxing, nice; she’d tell him later it was supposed to be meaningless. Now… Oh now. Now what?

            Beside her, Roger cleared his throat. She sat stony, silent, seething, wishing she could duct tape his mouth shut before he made things worse.

            “I’m… I’m not sorry for saying it,” his low rumble reached her ears and she flinched. “I meant it.”

            “I-I mean it,” he continued. “I really do. I-I-I lo-love you, Mariah.”

            Her only response was to glare at him. Could he make this any worse?

            Roger sighed.

            “I’ve loved you for ages,” his voice nearly disappearing under her glare. “I just… I’ve never been able to tell you since you always seemed so intent on making sure I know you didn’t… you couldn’t-you weren’t-I wasn’t-”

            “So you’ve felt this way for a long time and the time you choose to tell me is right after we have woohoo?” Mariah still couldn’t meet his eye. She sighed. “I just… I haven’t ever thought anything between us could work out. You’re my best friend, Rog.”

            She shook her head, trying to come up with words to convey how she was feeling. His repeated confession had taken some of the fire out of her, but she was still angry. He’d put her on the spot in a way she’d never been before. It wasn’t fair.

            “Sorry,” Roger whispered back.

            “Don’t be,” she answered. “I mean, you were just telling me how you felt right? It’s not like you were admitting that was your first time, too, that those words just slipped out in excitement, that you didn’t mean to say it like that.”

            “Ah-uhm,” Roger cleared his throat, again. “Well, you see, actually, that-uhm- technically was my… first… time and believe me that was not the way I had pictured telling... you... that.”

            The *smack* sound echoed in the room, she’d facepalmed so hard.

            “Stupid-stupid-stupid mistake,” with each word she hit herself with her fingertips.

            The mattress sank a little more with Roger’s sigh.

            “No! Not you,” Mariah amended. “Not you, I’m the one who made a stupid mistake. I’m the stupid one. It’s me.”

            “This is all my fault,” she continued, not noticing the annoyance on Roger’s face. “Feeling a little needy, a little lonely too perhaps, I took a gamble. I’m the one who pushed this. And I shouldn’t have. Y’know, I ought to have known that’s how you felt, you should have let me know whenever you figured that out, but I’m the one who put you in a position to blurt it out like-”

            “-Mariah, stop. Please,” Roger cut in. “You’re not helping. At all.”

            “Oh,” she deflated.

            Roger turned, trying to take her hand. “You didn’t force me into anything, okay?”

            But she had turned from him, resisting his pull.

            “I might not have forced it, but I’ve certainly ruined our friendship.”

            “Have you? Really? Ruined is a very strong word.”

            “You haven’t ruined anything for me,” giving up on his attempts at her hand, he laid a hand on her knee. Roger leaned in, hoping she’d hear his words. “You gave me a chance to tell you, to show you, just how much you’ve meant to me for a very long time.

            “According to you I should have told you when I first realized how I felt? You were with Andre then. I didn’t know that at the time, but what would have happened if I’d told you? You would have run off. It would have ended our friendship. I can’t claim to have known that then, but I do now.

            And now? I also know that with what you did, you most likely wouldn’t wholly object to taking what we have now and going a little further.”

            Roger slid off the bed and knelt in front of Mariah, claiming one of her hands as he did so.

            “Mariah, you are my very best friend in the entire world. I’ve watched you struggle, I’ve watched you fall. I’ve watched you beat up on little boys who bullied other kids.

            “I’ve been there when your daughter was born. I’ve made my mother help you with your daughter. I helped you ruin a perfectly good cake for that same little girl. I know you better than anyone else can claim to know you.

            “You claim to be a little needy? A little lonely? You say I’m your best friend? Then let me still be your best friend. Let me help you be a little less lonely. Let me fill that need.

            “Mariah Sixkiller, will you take that next step and be my better half, be more than just my very best friend, and be my...dare I ask? My girlfriend?”

            Blinking at his last word, Mariah finally returned his smile. That stinker.

            “Roger Fox,” she said finally meeting his eye. “When you put it like that, I think, maybe, I could be okay with that.”

            Roger beamed.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

            The next morning Roger accompanied Mariah and Dove to go pick a cake out at the local bakery. The minute he walked back in the door that afternoon (he still had to work, new girlfriend or no) Mariah insisted on lighting the candle for her baby girl.

            Mariah was still walking on clouds and wanted the entire world to be as happy, as secure as she was. She'd never felt as calm as she had that entire day, and yet her excitement over Dove’s birthday bordered on giddiness. She was nearly as excited for that as she had been for Roger to return to her home.

            (Sparkle Spam!)

            (End Sparkle Spam)

            As soon as the cake had been cleared away and gifts duly opened Roger pulled Mariah to a seat for a chat.

            When he’d walked back in that afternoon, Mariah had noticed something about him. He was both more buoyant than and slightly more apprehensive in the way he spoke to her.

            She waited patiently, watching Dove chew on one of her new toys.

            “I got called in by the chief today,” Roger started suddenly.

            Mariah waited, sure that the quiet grin on his face meant the meeting had gone well.

            “Uh, when I first started I had requested a particular position, but they didn’t have any available openings at that time and I was put on a beat with Taylor instead. But one of the guys has requested a transfer out of the program to another city. Usually when you’ve been on a beat they don’t want you to do this job, because someone might recognize you, but I’m in. The chief doesn’t think anyone knows my face well enough for it to be a problem.”

            Mariah smiled indulgently figuring he’d get around to saying just what this new job was eventually. It was cute when he was all excited.

            “Now, I know we just agreed to give having a relationship a try, so the timing is-is really, really awful, but I figure we know each other well enough that it’ll still work out well between us even when I won’t be able to communicate with you for a while.”

            “Wait wait wait,” that was enough for Mariah. No communication? What in PlumbBob’s name was he talking about? “You won’t be able to communicate with me?”

            “Yeah,” he turned. His eyebrows shot up when he saw her face. “The undercover guys don’t really get to call home a ton. It could blow their cover if they got caught keeping up with family and friends.”

            “You’re going undercover?”

            “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, yeah,” Roger’s brows knitted in concern. “I thought you knew that.”

            “I thought you wanted to be a detective,” Mariah shot back.

            “When I was six.”

            “But,” Mariah struggled with this announcement more than she thought she could have. He would be leaving her? Right after they had made such a big decision? “What about what we’d decided? About giving a romantic relationship a try?”

            “I’ll still be faithful to you,” Roger said softly. “You just won’t hear from me every day. You’re it, Mariah. And I hope you’ll be what keeps me coming back. I’ll be pretty immersed. It’s going to be tough.”

            Roger turned wistful eyes on Dove giving Mariah a chance to study him.

            At long last she sighed deeply, drawing his attention back to her.

            “I’ll call the first chance I get,” he said. “I promise. And when I get a chance to visit, I’ll be here before you know it.”

            “Really?” she questioned, eyes narrowed. “Because I’ve seen cop shows. Those guys always hook up with the floozy to save her from the bad decisions she’s made. They forsake their friends and loved ones who are only concerned that the floozy really is a floozy and not the angel the cop thinks she is inside. I’ve seen that episode like ten times now. It must be true.”

            Roger grinned, a wicked gleam in his eye.

            “Are you sure you want me to answer that?”

            Mariah smirked. “I’m no floozy. And I’ve only made one bad decision. Ever. If that. And I’m certainly no angel,” She shot back, laughing.

            “I’ll come back to you.”

            “How long before we see you again?”

            “A few months,” he replied.

            “Just don’t forget about us,” Mariah begged as he pulled her close.

            “I could never forget about the two of you.”

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

<3 Roger. After all these years, he finally got the girl. :D If it wasn't totally clear, the chapter opens roughly half an hour after the last chapter left off.

My toddlers usually come out looking alright at best. Generally their faces are flat and their features indistinct to the point they all look the same. This is the first time I can finally understand the “Toddlerz iz adorbz!” craze with Sims3. Dove is a darling little toddler and I have a lot more spam pics I refrained from posting here. Instead, they are on the bloopers blog with a few other new posts to show that Dove did exist as a larva and a few other goings on during the interval between her birth and now. However, I couldn’t resist using the sparkle shots here. As I’m sure you have all noticed, I love the birthday sparkle shots.

Downloads- Poses- Surprise, Darling!

These are modified versions of the poses from the last chapter. I ditched the bowl and spoon in favor of a sweet surprise.

There are 9 11 total poses. One pose for a single sim and 4 5 sets of poses for a couple. (ETA: One of these days, I'll take a leaf out of my newly minted Kindergarteners book and learn how to count! *facepalm. Sorry for the mistake folks.)

kissy1 and 1a are awfully similar, but the difference is certainly there. These poses were made for Mariah and Roger and their respective build types and the Meshed clothing they are wearing. These poses may have clipping or floating hands when you use them on your sims. They snap together and require the latest version of CMo's Pose Player (updated August 2013.)

As usual there are two versions. One that is poselisted for those that use the poselist, and one that is not for those who prefer the Pose by Name function. Both include the above images with Pose Codes. CHOOSE ONLY ONE.

Download:
Surprise, Darling! Not Poselisted

Surprise, Darling! Poselisted

Huge Thanks! to all my readers for waiting out a very long, very busy summer. You're all so awesome! Also, Much Thanks to Misty for testing a few of these when the clipping issues threatened to make me need my inhaler. You're the best! Thank you to Gemma for making me laugh while illness made life kinda yucky. Love you! 

TOU- Do NOT reupload anywhere else or claim as your own. Do NOT link to these poses through AdFly or any other site you profit off of. 

Did you use it on your site? In your story? Leave a link and I'll leave a comment back on your site! Did you modify it so your simmies looked super awesome in them? I wanna see! Leave a link and I'll leave some love!

You're all beautiful! I love you!