Aww! Poor Raia *hugs* Just take your time. RL takes precedence of course. Sorry work's so nuts for ya.
Very nuts. I think I need another vacation.
It is ok Raia, we don't mind waiting. RL must come first. 
Indeed it does, even if sometimes you wish it didn't have to...
Totally agreed! I play SV 98% of the time and it was heartrending when many of the original townies die loveless and childless in my immortal dynasty. I loved your Two Hearts because how it gave a story for the most insignificant character and it seems its the same here.
Its a wonder what the story progression is doing. Why Bebe+parker, wasn't that! Hopefully she keeps him occupied!
And Raia, good luck in continuing. RL comes first and hope everything will be fine:)!
See, and
that's why I have a hard time playing without Twallan's Story Progression mod. It's so wonderful to see the town and townies come to life...though sometimes I do wonder at some of the pairings it comes up with. Sunset Valley is my favorite town and I've come to know and love the townies there. Being the hopeless romantic that I am I have my favorite couples as well, and always try to stack the odds in their favor. (Master Controller is my friend) Bebe and Parker just happen to be one of those couples.
Raia your stories are amazing so I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that we are eagerly anticipating the next chapter but we don't mind you taking the time you need because you have to make some sacrifices for excellence! Between you and Schipp and Rica I haven't even had a chance to read anyone else yet (my internet time is limited). But I definitely started with 3 supremely awesome authors!!!
Thank you so, so very much!
I apologize greatly for this impromptu hiatus. It has been a long three weeks, but fortunately things are starting to look up. It didn't help of course that this next chapter tried to eat me alive. I re-wrote the silly thing twice.
Many, many thanks to
everyone for your encouragement. You guys truly are an inspiration!
Chapter 7 – Dear DiarySeveral months later...Friday, SimMarch 22ndDear Diary,
I admit, I've been somewhat remiss in writing lately. When I started this thing more than a year ago I told myself that I would write every day. Considering that I haven't even made an entry since January...well, you can see how well
that's working.
Given how crazy things have been at work lately I think my future self can excuse a few months of omissions.
Slowly but surely I'm becoming more confident in the emergency room. Hardly a day goes by when I don't see something new come through those doors. The other day I treated a man who apparently forgot to unplug his television set before attempting to repair it.
Despite his belligerent protests to the contrary, we wound up admitting him for a few days just to make sure that there were no further complications. He was...not terribly happy.
Much to my displeasure Simflu season is back in full swing. You wouldn't
believe the number of cases that Jamie and I have treated over the past week. Most of them were able to go home with the standard “Drink plenty of fluids and rest” mantra, though there was one teenage boy whom we had to keep overnight for observation.
The poor dear was miserably ill. I don't know what was worse, the illness or the way that his mother went into a near-panic every time he so much as coughed.
It's never a dull moment in the emergency room, that much is for certain. I don't know how I'd ever manage without Jamie as a mentor. She has become a very dear friend, surprising as that may sound.
Oh, I almost forgot—I had my six-month evaluation today. I passed with flying colors, much to my relief. The only criticism that I had from Geoffrey was that I needed to try to not be so tense. “The hospital is a stressful environment as it is for a patient, so it doesn't help when they are met with a doctor who is just as stressed out as they are.”
I like Doctor Landgraab, don't get me wrong...but sometimes I wonder if he's forgotten what it's like to be an intern. Stress is the name of the game when you're working crazy hours while still attending classes. It's a wonder I haven't completely lost my mind yet.
I'm really looking forward to this weekend, though. Tomorrow afternoon I will be taking Sam to his first ever professional ball game, just the two of us. (All right, three...but Leighton will be playing so it doesn't quite count.) Almost as soon as the game is over I will be heading to the dance club for Zelda's bachelorette party, and then Sunday afternoon is the wedding.
It's going to be a busy weekend, now that I think about it...but busy in a
good way.
Anyhow, I suppose I should get going. Leighton will be picking me up in a half hour or so and I still need to pack my overnight bag.
Saturday, SimMarch 23rdDear Diary,
So much for that fun weekend that I was gushing about yesterday. Leave it to me to come down with some sort of stomach bug on the night of Zelda's bachelorette party.
For the record, what little of the party I actually managed to attend was fun. Pauline did an amazing job of planning everything. All of Zelda's girlfriends were there and having a fantastic time dancing and making toasts...
...and almost drowning each other in fizzy nectar.
All of the sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks—in the middle of dancing to my favorite song, no less. I made a mad dash to the restroom and only barely made it into the stall before...
Yes, it was as unpleasant as it looks. It's one thing getting sick in the privacy of your own home, but out in public...
yuck.
I decided that it would be a wise idea to head home after that, even though I hated to bail on Zelda so early. She was completely sympathetic though, and wished me well.
So here I am, at home, in bed, and feeling more than a little annoyed. Fortunately I have yet to suffer a repeat of what happened back at the club...yet being the operative word. Sigh...so much for a fun evening out with friends.
I texted Leighton shortly after I got back just to let him know that I was home. The conversation went something like this:
Home from the party.It didn't take long for him to reply.
This early?Yeah. Not feeling well.I'm sorry. Want me to come over?Tempting, but...
Not tonight. I'm just going to sleep.Fair enough. What time tomorrow?Wedding starts at 2. How about 12:30?No earlier? I had to smile at that one.
I wouldn't mind earlier. Let me sleep in a bit though. Don't know what my stomach will do.Okay. Hope you feel better. Love you.Love you too.Here's hoping that whatever this is isn't contagious. The last thing I want to do is get Leighton sick...and I
really don't want to have to miss the wedding tomorrow. Ah well...at least this bug, whatever it is, had the courtesy to wait until after the baseball game to rear its ugly head. I was still able to keep my promise to Sam. The Llamas won, by the way...and the two of us had a blast. For some reason hot dogs just taste that much better when you're eating them at the ballpark.
Ugh...starting to feel woozy again. I'd better quit while I'm ahead.
Sunday, SimMarch 24thDear Diary,
Feeling much better...mostly.
I awakened this morning to the sound of someone snoring softly nearby. At first I was rather confused...that is, until I opened my eyes and saw an all-too-familiar mop of jet-black hair on the pillow beside me.
I will never admit this out loud, but Leighton is absolutely adorable when he's sleeping. We spent most of the rest of the morning laying in bed, talking and cuddling...
...and other things that shall not be mentioned.
I think we finally grabbed breakfast at about ten-thirty, then we had a couple of hours to relax before the wedding. This was the first time that we had ever been to an event like this as a couple, and I was admittedly a bit nervous. While Leighton gets along with pretty much everyone he meets, there are a few of the guests who knew me back when I was still married to “he who will not be named”...and there were questions that I simply did not want to have to address.
I wasn't about to let those minor concerns keep me from celebrating, though. This day belonged to Gobias and Zelda, and I could not possibly have been happier for the two of them.
The ceremony was simple, but absolutely beautiful. They met under the arch while Pauline played a soft, lilting melody on her guitar, and Gobias was close to tears as they exchanged their vows.
As the newlyweds kissed I felt Leighton squeezing my hand. I had to wonder what he was thinking at that moment...though I'm guessing it was somewhere along the lines of what was on my own mind...that someday it would be the two of
us meeting under that arch...
A pleasant chill went up my spine at the very thought.
Gobias and Zelda made their way to the cake amid the cheers of the party guests. I don't think I've ever seen either of them so happy.
“Here's to my beautiful wife...gosh...it feels
amazing just to call her that,” Gobias mused. He sliced into the cake and smiled. “Um...it's strawberry, I hope you all don't mind.”
As I sat down with my slice of cake I suddenly felt an all-too-familiar twinge in my stomach. For some bizarre reason the smell of the cake hit me the wrong way and I started feeling queasy again. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths in an effort to stave off the discomfort. It wasn't quite as bad as it had been yesterday, but I wasn't about to take any chances. “I think I'm going to save this,” I spoke. “Do you think Sam would want it later?”
“The kid
lives for dessert,” Leighton chuckled. His face took on a concerned expression. “Are you all right? You're looking a little pale.”
“Apparently I'm not quite over that stomach bug,” I sighed. “I'll be fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah...I think so.”
Thankfully I managed to make it through the rest of the afternoon and evening without too much trouble. My stomach calmed down about an hour or so later and I was able to join in for some of the dancing.
The party began to wind down not too long afterward, and once I had said my goodbyes to Gobi and Zelda I headed back to my place. Had it been any other night except for Sunday I probably would have just gone home with Leighton, but my Monday mornings are usually rather busy. And besides...I need to do laundry
sometime.
No sooner had I walked in my front door the nausea came back in spades. Despite my best efforts to keep everything under control I wound up getting sick again. As of right now I'm feeling better, thanks to a bit of ginger ale and a few crackers, but this is really starting to unnerve me a bit. This isn't at all like any stomach flu I've ever had. What in the world is
wrong with me?
Here's hoping I'm well enough to go to work in the morning.
Monday, SimMarch 25th...wow.
So much has happened today. I am simply overwhelmed...amazingly,
joyously overwhelmed. Life as I know it will never be the same.
And it all started with, of all things, my boss being late to work.
For the record, Doctor Landgraab is never late, so Jamie and I were both a little worried when he didn't show up. We were actually getting ready to call his cell phone when he finally arrived an hour and a half later. He looked absolutely exhausted and as frazzled as I have ever seen him.
Anyone who knows Geoffrey knows that it takes a lot to rattle him. He is about as laid back a person as I have ever known. Even Jamie, who has worked with him for much longer, has rarely seen him on edge. We knew that
something had to be up.
As it turns out, we were dead on in our assessment; something
was indeed up. He told us that his wife had been ill for most of the weekend, and just this morning they made the unexpected discovery that she was three months pregnant.
That was when it hit me. Morning sickness.
I had been experiencing morning sickness!No case of food poisoning would have manifested itself like this, and the symptoms were inconsistent with the simflu. There was no fever, no chills, nothing other than the recurring nausea. It made perfect
sense.
It was at that point when, I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit, I passed out. The next thing I knew I was laying on the floor with both Geoffrey and Jamie gathered beside me checking my vital signs.
While I'm sure that my not eating breakfast this morning probably had something to do with it, a lot of it was also nerves. I mean
think about it. Leighton and I are not even married and neither of us are making a lot of money, and now there might be a child coming into the picture? The implications just about floored me (literally).
Once I fully came to I explained what had been going on, and then, just to check, Jamie gave me a quick once-over with her med scanner.
It was quite possibly the longest minute of my life. As soon as Jamie was finished she turned the scanner around so I could see the readout panel. There, as plain as day, was a tiny heartbeat.
There really are no words to adequately describe what I felt in that moment. Part of me was thrilled at the prospect of becoming a mother. This is something that I have always wanted, even if things were happening a bit differently than I expected they would. At the same time though, I was admittedly nervous about how exactly Leighton would react when I broke the news.
I need not to have been so concerned.
To say that Leighton was happy would be a serious understatement. I don't even think that
ecstatic would be strong enough of a word to describe it. He literally swept me off of my feet.
And then he did something that caught me
completely off-guard.
“I've been carrying this around for almost two weeks now,” Leighton began. “It was just a point of figuring out the right time, and well...I couldn't possibly think of a more perfect time than this.” He pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a dazzling diamond-studded band within. “Morgana...would you marry me?”
Yes! Yes, of course I will marry you! My mind was practically screaming, but my mouth just could not form the words. I offered instead a nod and a smile as he placed the ring on my finger.
It fit perfectly.
“I love you, Morgana...so very much. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, if you will have me.”
“Yes,” I finally managed to squeak out. He pulled me into an embrace and held me tightly, kissing me fervently on the lips.
Oh how I wanted that moment to last forever...just being held in the arms of the man whom I love. No one else in the universe except for Leighton and me and the sweet little baby that has yet to meet the world.
Not two minutes later the front door opened and Yumi shuffled inside. She had taken Sam out for ice cream a little while before and, Yumi being
Yumi, chose to stay out longer when Leighton told her that I was dropping by after work.
The first thing out of her mouth was “So, did you finally propose to her or not?”
Both of us started laughing. “
Yes, mother,” Leighton replied.
“And yes, I accepted.” I quickly added.
“Good. It's about time. I swear that ring was going to tarnish if it stayed in your pocket for much longer.” She looked at me with a bright smile on her face. “You know he bought that thing about three weeks ago. You have
no idea how hard it was for me to keep my mouth shut about it.”
Leighton let out a small sigh. “I told you, Mom...I needed to find the right time.”
“Well I'm glad that you did. Now I can officially welcome her into the family.”
At that moment Sam trotted up to us, his eyes wide. “You mean Miss Morgana is going to be part of our family now?”
Leighton let go of me and crouched down to his son's level. “Yes Sam, she is. I hope that's okay with you.”
What happened next touched me to my very soul. “
Yes, Daddy!” He leaped into his father's arms and snuggled his neck. “Oh wow, my birthday wish really
is coming true! I get to have a mommy now!”
I could have sworn that I saw tears in Leighton's eyes. Heaven knows
I was certainly crying.
So right now I am laying in bed with Leighton sleeping beside me. After all that has happened today there really was no point in me going back to my place, save to grab a few essentials for the night. Tomorrow evening when I get off of work Leighton and I will start moving everything else over here, and by the end of the week I hope to be completely moved out. Now all I have to do is call my landlord and tell him that I will be ending the lease...then I have to make arrangements with Geoffrey to figure out when I will be taking maternity leave and what that will do to my classes.
For the record, we still haven't told Yumi that I am expecting. At the time Sam was still in the room, and the
last thing that Leighton wanted to do was try to explain the birds and the bees to a kindergartener. I imagine she will be quite ecstatic when she does find out, though.
Leighton and I most certainly are.
Love always,
Morgana soon-to-be Sekemoto
