Chapter 11 - We're Still Good.

Garrett had settled into school quite quickly, though there was one thing that bothered him. He knew that his mother hadn't really said much about his father, apart from the odd "Not now Garrett," and "Ask me when you're older,", so why did everyone stop and look at him in the hallways? and the whispers behind books and hands. Garrett was no dumb child, he knew they were talking about his lack of father, and knew they had also heard about his half brother. Garrett could not wait to get home from school to see if he could find anything out about his father. Finally the school bell rang, and Garrett rushed home to grab the laptop before his mother hogged it all night.

Success, Laura was out with Ed to even know about Garrett's mission and he was able to find out that his birth father had been registered on the internet, however, he couldn't get into the file without having to pay a fee to see it. Garrett sighed, shutting down the computer he went to play dress up before it was time to complete his homework.

----

"No, I'm sure he didn't know a thing, Mum," Laura said to the phone, standing near the corner of the room in hope that her children wouldn't overhear her.

"He hasn't asked who his father is much. No mum. will you listen to me, we don't need your help financially, we're getting on fine," Laura rolled her eyes, looking at the wall paper and thinking it needed a change at some point, "Mother! There are no more men on the horizon, I learnt my lesson with the two that have just upped and left me."

Laura turned her back to the door, not even noticing that Garrett had snuck out of his bedroom and had been listening to her conversation.

"Mother, you don't need to come round and find Isaac yourself. He made his choice clear, he doesn't want anything to do with me or Garrett," Laura said, hearing footsteps and the door opening and closing. "Mum, I need to go, I think Garrett overheard us. I'll call you later. Okay. Bye!"

---

"My father is called Isaac... And left my mum when I was a baby... But why?" Garrett asked himself, walking around the garden. "Why didn't he want us? Didn't want to know me? Do I look like him? Mum says I do, but I want to see if I do myself."

----

The next morning, Garrett was up and out the door before everyone else in the house was awake. He didn't want to see Laura, or Ed, knowing that Ed would only have the same questions about his fathers identity when Ed was older. Garrett had a lot of thinking to do, and when he was outside was the only time he did have the peace and quiet to manage to think for longer than a few minutes before a baby scream happened. He loved his brother, but Ed had such a piercing scream that went through you that just made Garrett annoyed. Stretching out the kinks that came from sitting on the floor, Garrett finally went to school.

----

Laura hadn't had a good nights sleep, she hadn't seen Garrett since he had come home from school the night before, and even then it was just when she had put Ed down for the night. Laura couldn't stand looking at the house for any longer, grabbing Ed and placing him into the pram and walking to the park. It was a nice if not breezy that day, with the weather threatening to turn colder that night.

Laura hoped they would be okay just going for the afternoon and early evening, but getting back before the cold set in.

"I hope you and your brother have a good relationship when you're older you know Ed," Laura said to him, smiling down as he clapped his hands and snuggled into his blanket. "I'm sure you will do. Just promise that you'll love each other conditionally."

Laura kept talking to Ed all the way to the park, before spotting pumpkins in the corner and placing Ed onto the ground.

"Stay there, mumma will only be over there for a short while," she told him, pointing to the pumpkins. It wasn't long before Laura lost track of time, finally looking up and seeing it was getting darker and frost was starting to settle onto the grass. She moved back to where Ed still was, attempting to pick him up to get them back home when he started to wriggle in her arms. Laura placed him back onto the floor and watched in awe when Ed grew into a toddler before her eyes.

"How much of a bad mother am I when I can't even remember when my own kids birthdays are?" she asked Ed as she picked him up, succeeding this time and smiling when Ed snuggled into her arms.

"Come on, lets get home, shall we? It's getting colder as we stand here," Laura murmured into Ed's hair before placing him into the pram and making their way back home.

----

I had no idea where this was going originally. But them my mind took over and we have one very smart child on our hands, two kids that seem to have their birthdays forgotten and a mother trying to keep her life in order!

Chapter 10 - A Birth, and a Birthday!

Life had continued at a slow pace for Laura and Garrett. Garrett had learned how to walk and talk, and was well on the way to being potty trained, and Laura was ever closer to giving birth to her second child. She hadn't seen the father since the night she had become pregnant, and that suited her fine. Laura had once again sent a letter to Isaac to see if he would be joining her for Garrett's birthday, knowing that it was only a matter of time before Garrett started to ask questions.
"This is mummy's sandwich, Garrett. You have been fed," Laura told her son, who was looking at the sandwich with hungry eyes.
"WANT!" Garrett told her, clapping his hands and giggling.
"My little greedy boy," Laura smiled, feeling the baby kick her as she took another bite, "Looks like your brother or sister thinks the same as you. I don't think I'll ever get peace again."
"Baby," Garrett repeated, still looking at the sandwich until Laura finished it. "Mine?" he added as Laura moved to place the dish in the sink.

A sharp pain shot through Laura, making her bend over in pain, gasping for breath.

"Mumma?" Garrett whimpered, seeing his mother doubled over in pain was unsettling for him.

"Mummy is fine, just a bit of pain," Laura told him, smiling through the pain. She knew it was time. The baby was coming and Laura had no one to look after Garrett. She couldn't take him with her, and as a last ditch attempt, she called for a babysitter.

"You be good for the baby sitter, and mummy will be back later with your new brother and sister," Laura then told Garrett, disappearing out of the door with a quick wave to Garrett before the taxi took her away to the hospital.

The ride there was uneventful, the contractions were getting closer and closer together and Laura was grateful that it was the same driver as what had driven her to the hospital when she was having Garrett. Rushing through the doors of the hospital, Laura was sent to the maternity ward, wondering if the father was going to make himself known to her by showing up. However, fate had something else in store for her, and no one showed up.

----

Meanwhile, back at the house, the babysitter had shown up and taken Garrett out of the walker Laura had left him in. Garrett started to feel funny, closing his eyes, and suddenly feeling the ground was much lower down than what he remembered. 

Garrett had aged into a child while Laura was at the hospital! The first thing Garrett did was sit down and learn about pregnancy, wanting to know what his mother was going through. He would have asked the babysitter, but she had disappeared after a few minutes of watching him and hadn't been seen since. He did feel left out, but Garrett knew his mother would be back soon, even if she was going to be tired.

---

Laura wearily left the hospital, her son, Ed Whitmore had been born in the early hours of the morning, just like what Garrett had been, and she just wanted to get him home, and see how Garrett was. She hoped that she wasn't too late to see the age transition, but deep down, she knew she had. Fate was against her, and fate seemed to always out to get her.

"Let's get you home then," Laura spoke quietly to the dozing baby, calling for a taxi and making her way back home.

"Well, every seems in order," Laura looked around the house, but didn't see Garrett anywhere. "We'll put you to bed so I can find where your brother is, and you'll meet him properly tomorrow."

Ed just cooed at her, his eyes closing as he fell asleep in her arms.

"My precious baby boy," Laura murmured, placing him into the crib and coming back into the living to room to find Garrett sat at the table reading again. "I missed your birthday? I am so sorry Garrett! I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Mum, it doesn't matter, I know where you had to go, and I know why," Garrett told her, quick at silencing Laura's further attempts to speak. Laura sat at the table next to her, pushing the laptops screen up.

"I am still sorry though. What a lousy birthday for you," Laura mumbled, looking at her first born and then back at the laptop and pulling up her email.

Dear mum and dad.

It has been a while since we spoke and there have been some big changes.

You're grandparents! Surprise! You have two grandsons, Garrett and Ed. Garrett is a child, and Ed is a baby still.

I wish you were around, but I have to do this on my own. Give my love to the rest of the family, and I will email again soon.

Laura.

------

Well, that was hard to get out, and not to mention that my game wouldn't play nice for a few days. During this chapter I had a couple of stuck sims problems as well, first was Garrett in that silly walker and then Laura outside and in front of the mail box - in her underwear! managed to get a picture of the mail box one, but not the walker..

Yeah, don't mind me.. I'm stood in my front garden, in my underwear, while someone is jogging past... Ah glitches, don't you just love them!

Chapter 9 - Everything I touch tumbles down.

Warning! Cute toddler spam!

The few days after Harmon had been to see Laura and their tryst in the shower, Laura started to feel sick. She had originally put it down to eating something bad, but the longer the sickness went on, the more Laura felt that the tryst had an undesired effect on her body. She wondered how she was going to deal with a soon to be toddler Garrett and a newborn if she was pregnant, so went snooping online to see if there were any others that were in the same boat. Her search soon found someone who had been in the same situation, and even said anyone could email them for advice. Laura jumped at the chance, shooting of an email before she even knew what she was doing.

A little squeak from Garrett in his swing pulled Laura out of her thoughts of Harmon, and the 'maybe baby'. Laura sent him a smile and made her way over to play with him for a while. Even if he was pregnant, it wouldn't be a bad thing to have Garrett and the baby be so close in age, would it?

"What would you say about a new baby brother or sister?" she asked him, earning a gurgle back. "No, of course you wouldn't mind, as long as you were still fed and clean."

Garrett looked her with his blue eyes, he was starting to look more and more like his father every day. Laura did not want the day that he started to ask questions about who his father was to come up, but she knew it would at some point.

"I hope you don't turn out like him," Laura said to him, pressing one of the buttons on the swing that set it off, "God help me if you do."

Her life was getting even more complicated as she lived on her own. She was still living on what she had saved, and living from day to day. She wouldn't let it get to her, and she was going to do her best for the 'maybe baby' and Garrett. They were her top priority, her own needs coming second. It wasn't until she noticed that Garrett has fallen asleep in his swing that she realised what time it had become. The nausea had eased somewhat, but she was starting to feel a lot more tired and sore than usual. From what she remembered when pregnant with Garrett, she was now 95 percent that she was expecting another baby. She moved Garrett from the swing and placed him back into his bed, before falling into a deep sleep herself.

---

Laura was sure that friend doll someone had sent Garrett in the post moved on its own. Every time she had been to the room, it was in a different position, including creepily staring over Garrett.

"Come on big boy, rise and shine," she sang, lifting him up and snuggling him tight. "We have a busy day today, since it's your birthday!"

Garrett cooed at her, clapping his chubby hands and giggling at the new found skill. Laura couldn't help the bubble of laughter that escaped her lips, though felt saddened that her oldest was growing up. It was going to be a small gathering of herself and Garrett, she had tried to message Isaac, but had been rudely told to get lost. 

"We don't need your daddy, do we? We're strong on our own," Laura whispered to Garrett, placing him on the floor when another wave of nausea rolled over her. "I'll be back in a minute to sort you out." Laura told him before dashing out of the room.

By the time Laura had come back, Garrett had ages into a toddler and sat clapping his hands to knees, liking the sound that they made.

"Well, look at you, aren't you my handsome boy!" Laura clapped her hands, bouncing on the spot. "We best get your skills sorted son, otherwise mummy will be bigger than a whale and not able to help you." 

Laura lifted Garrett up onto his feet, laughing slightly as he wobbled.

"Come to mummy," she eased, beckoning him with her hands. Garret took a tentative step, and then another one, and a third until he was back in his mothers arms. Laura kissed the top of of his head, smiling with pride at his first steps.

She also gave a head start to toilet training, placing him down on the potty and letting him do his business before letting him have full roam around the house. Garrett's first point of business was the peg box that Laura had left laying around, getting frustrated when the pegs wouldn't go through the right holes. Laura watched from a distance, waiting to see if he would manage it on his own. She filled with pride when he did, rubbing her stomach and wondering if her next baby would be just as easy to look after as Garrett had been.

It wasn't until after Garrett had thrown his fourth peg away from him that Laura deemed it was bedtime, scooping him up into her arms and cuddling him tight.

"Bedtime little man. It's been a long day for us both," she told him, earning a hug back and a small gurgle as a reply.

"Everything I touch tumbles down around me, I hope it isn't the same with my children," Laura whispered to herself as she turned off the light to Garrett's bedroom and fell into bed herself.

---

Well, there you have it.. 2nd baby on the way. I didn't even hear any chimes from the little tryst they had! The first I noticed was when I tried get her to do something that she had wished to do and it was greyed out with "Pregnant sims can't do this" then the feeling nauseas overnight, despite not eating..

Chapter 8 - Why are you my remedy?

Laura heard the doorbell go while she was trying to settle Garrett down for the night, succeeding in getting the wriggly baby into his blanket and to sleep in record time. Closing the door to Garrett's bedroom softly, Laura went to investigate who could be on her doorstep at that time of night. She peaked out of the window, seeing a blurry figure that looked suspiciously like Harmon stood on the porch.
"Harmon? What are you doing here?" she asked, not quite believing he was there still.
"I wanted to see you," Harmon told her, looking towards the ground when Laura snorted in disbelief.

"You wanted to see me now, while I'm trying to settle my son down for the night?" Laura hissed, "you have some nerve. Did you ever even think of me when you left me that night?"
"I did, Laura. I even got a proper job, that won't have me running off. I promise. I want to be in your life, if you'll have me?" Harmon did sound very apologetic, and Laura nearly invited him to move in there and then. The only thing stopping her being Garrett.
"We need to talk, do you want to come in?" Laura asked, sounding tired.

Harmon agreed, following her into the house and making a beeline to the guitar that was sat in the corner of the room.

"I didn't notice that the last time I was here," he sounded surprised, looking back at Laura for some explanation. Laura crossed her arms, unamused with the small talk.

"Did you come here for a reason, or to look at my guitar?" she asked, not caring if she sounded grumpy.

"I told you, I wanted to see you and apologise. I've been an ass to you recently, and I know I shouldn't have been. And for that, I'm sorry. I want to make this work, if you'll let us?" Harmon explained, giving her a half smile. Her heart melted, and it wasn't until a stifled cry from Garrett's room brought her back to her senses that she gave Harmon her answer.

"I need to think of my son. He is my main priority at the moment, I can't have someone else there distracting me from him, or my music. I'm sorry Harmon, I love you, but I can't be in a relationship right now," Laura sighed, keeping her distance from him.

"I understand, and I'm sorry for bringing it up. I have one more favour though, can I borrow your shower?" Harmon asked, already taking off his shirt, Laura nodded, staring at him not too subtly.

"Uh, sure... It's right through there," she murmured, pointing to the door that led to the bathroom.

"You know, you're welcome to join me," Harmon said, his trousers sliding down his hips as he walked. Laura closed her eyes and tried to keep her breathing under control, waiting until the door clicked shut.

"Do I do it? I just told him I didn't want a relationship... But he... But I..." Laura breathed, then snapping her head up and followed him into the bathroom.

The sound of running water and Harmon whistling filled the small bathroom, making it easy for Laura to silently take her clothing off and join him in the small cubical. No words were exchanged, they both knew what they were in there for. mouths found mouths, and soon Laura was pinned to the wall unable to move very far. Not that she cared, she put all her feelings into that one moment, savouring it before he disappeared again. The water ran cold just as they were finishing, and Laura leapt out of the shower in shock at the change in temperature and what she had just done.

"I think you should leave now," she told Harmon, seeing the hurt in his eyes as she said it.

"I know. I had hoped that it would be different. I know I've walked out on you a few times now, and you have the rights to send me away. Just remember, no matter what, I'll love you," Harmon told her, leaving Laura stood in the bathroom.

"Why does he do this to me?" she asked herself, battling with herself over running after him. Her heart won out in the end, catching him loitering on her porch again, and kissing him lightly.

"Remember me?" she asked, earning a small smile and a nod before she went back in.

Laura fell against the door, rubbing her face, "He's my poison... So why is he my remedy as well?"

Harmon stood at the bottom of the stairs, "She's my poison... But she's also my remedy."

----

After a week of my computer going "NOPE! Not letting you play! MWAHAHAHAHA!" (or you know.. something like that..) I got to play today and got a lot of pictures. And yes, Harmon actually turned up on her doorstep without me doing anything!

Also, I have seen what Garrett will look like when he gets older, and just wow...

Can't tell if he's more Laura or more Isaac, or a good mixture.