Chapter 22 - Welcome to the Family

 

"Gussie! Hey! How's life, man? What's up?"

If there's anything that Tiara is good at, it's pretending that absolutely nothing out of the ordinary has happened when she's slept with someone.

It's the men who seem a little less apt at playing this game. "...uh...I'm, uh, pretty swell. You?"

"I'm just great. Hey, listen, I just wanted to call you and tell you that you were right." She chuckled as she began pacing. "Man. All my talk about saving stray animals when I'm not even willing to help children? What's the matter with me?"

"Nothing," he says just a little too fast, just quick enough to make Tiara's smile turn a little sadder. "Nothing at all's wrong with you. Don't think that."

"Well, thank you for that. But I already made my decision and it stands. She'll be here in about an hour."

"What?"

"The girl I'm adopting. Her name's Marie."

Marie might be a very sudden decision for Tiara, but there's something about the two that meshes already. Besides a mutual love for the color pink, one that Tiara rarely expresses and one that Marie thrives on, they're both individuals in every sense of the word.

Marie, however, seems to have a complex about being rejected, whereas Tiara has never known what rejection feels like in her entire life. The child is quick to help out around the house, often doing her chores far before Tiara can ever ask her to.

In hindsight, it's probably a good thing Marie's around. This feels pretty familiar, and it'll be nice to not have to go it alone.

Tiara just barely stood above the financial threshhold required to adopt a child, but she's still poor enough that the two have to share a bed. But neither are terribly proud and the closeness is good for Marie.

Tiara's not really sure if she's excited or terrified about the prospect of being pregnant. It was one thing to have a strange man's child and to not have seen him since. It was another thing to have your best friend's child and have to see him at work every single day.

Megan watches curiously as she sucks at her bottle. Adults are so weird.

Though Marie and Tiara have been searching for a routine that suits them both, the one thing they don't worry about is having cake for breakfast.

"Hey, umm..."

Tiara glances up at Marie, smiling softly. "Call me whatever feels comfortable."

Marie hesitates, her eyes darting back and forth for a moment, before she gulps. "...hey, Tiara?"

There's sort of a vague sense of disappointment there, but Tiara shakes it off. "Yeah, honey?"

"What's gonna happen...y'know, when the baby comes?"

Tiara blinks before she shrugs. "Well, the house'll be really loud and-"

"No, no, I mean...what'll happen to me?"

"What do you mean?"

Marie sets down her fork with a contemplative frown. "Are you going to wish you hadn't adopted me when you have your own baby to take care of?"

Tiara stares at Marie with wide eyes for a long moment before she leans across the table just enough to catch the younger girl's eye again. "I will never regret adopting you." She lifts her eyebrows skyward. "Even if you never feel comfortable calling me Mom, you will always be my daughter, do you hear me?"

Marie stares back, a hint of shellshock in her eyes, but she nods obediently as she tries to process it.

Marie thrives on the presence of a routine once it is established. They do homework together every night before Tiara waddles off to work. The babysitter arrives shortly after and Marie spends her time bonding with the cats and reading to strengthen her brilliant mind, if not playing with Megan and trying to teach her simple words. Tiara returns home and the two go to bed.

One morning, Marie awakens with something damp covering the sheets. "..."

Count on a little girl to realize that Tiara's water has broken before Tiara does. Talk about traumatizing.

Once again, Tiara opts for having the child at home, just in case the babysitter wouldn't be able to get there in time to watch the children while she was gone.

Another healthy baby girl, this one named Melissa Toft. Tiara begins to wonder if the Tofts literally have an inability to have male children.

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I don't feel terribly bad about giving short chapters thus far, haha, given that I'm updating once a day. We've got one more almost filler-like chapter before we start getting into more of a plot and character development.

Three children down, one more to go! Yay!

PS: I apologize for picture 9. xD I'm in too much of a hurry to fix it now, but I'll trim it down later.

Chapter 21 - Passionate Fury

They grow up too fast.

Megan is the spitting image of her father, right down to the chocolate brown skin and the vivid green eyes. She's more than Tiara's daughter: she's the light of her life.

The peace and quiet of her birthday doesn't last long, though.

"Zac! Hey, how've you been?"

"Been all right." He sounds gruff and shut off, more than usual, and Tiara frowns.

"Are you all right? You sound...upset or something."

There is a long moment of silence before he sighs heavily. "Yeah, well. I get that way when I find out people's been lying to me."

Her heart stops. "What?"

"Were you ever gonna tell me you had my kid?"

Her eyes slide shut with an answering sigh as she sinks back against the kitchen wall. "Zac..."

"Or were you just gonna hold off until you needed some child support or something? What kind of bullshit are you pulling here?"

She drags her hand down her face and shakes her head. "Zac, it's not like that. Look, that night we had sex, I...got pregnant, that's true. But I don't hold any expectations on you." She paused, licking her lips. "I know you've got committment issues, and I don't judge you for them. I didn't think you'd even want to be a part of her life."

He snorts.

"I mean, do you?"

There's another long moment of hesitation. "...naw, I don't think I..."

"See, I understand. And that's cool with me." He's silent. "I mean it. I'm not like other girls. I don't hold stuff like that against people."

"Okay. Thanks." Hesitation. "...So, uh..."

"...her name's Megan. And she looks just like you."

"Sounds awesome."

The conversation devolves into normalcy from there. She doesn't even ask how he managed to find out. If he wanted her to know, he'd tell her.

Megan makes fast friends with Dizzy and Toulouse. Though Tiara is prepared for potential jealousy among the felines, they seem to settle into her presence as if she has been there all their lives. Cue the sigh of relief.

More slightly creepy babysitters.

Chance Peoples is astoundingly awful at his job. Megan decides that she will fling her poo at him if he does not change her diaper soon.

The days slip into a routine. Tiara takes care of Megan. She goes to work. She meets stray felines. As this little one is getting slipped a treat, she feels her heart swell again. How very sad for them. If only she could convince them to stay.

Gussie stops by later that day, and she greets him happily. "Hey! C'mon in!"

The two of them chat with practiced ease about everything and nothing as they stroll about the house, keeping Megan constantly in sight.

"I've been trying to finish this one song, but my mind is completely blank," Tiara announces in anguish, leading the way toward the living room couch.

"Well, tell me what's up. Maybe I can give you a hand."

"I just keep thinking about other things that I'm like...passionate about, y'know?"

He blinks. "Like...what?"

"Like...I mean, all these stray animals around the neighborhood. Especially cats! It just breaks my heart to see them all wandering around like that with no one to love them or feed them or anything."

"..." Gussie sighs and looks down at the floor, shaking his head.

Tiara blinks. "What?"

"Nothing."

"No, it's totally something. C'mon, what's up?"

He looks up at her with a scowl, spreading his arms wide. "Just listen to yourself! You're sitting there going off about cats or whatever and it's just...I mean...there's thousands of children in SimNation who don't have any of that either." He shakes his head again. "It's just kind of irritating how everyone in this damn town's so worried about the stray animals instead of what really matters."

In an instant, her hackles are rising too. "Hey! Are you saying those poor animals out there are worth any less than we are?"

"They're animals! Plumbob, Tiara, will you listen to yourself?"

She leans forward and pokes him in the chest with her index finger. "I would, if you weren't spouting off all that bull so loudly that I couldn't hear a word I said!"

Gussie shoves her hand away before he closes the distance between them.

The passion with which he kisses her is frightening, enough for her to back away for a moment with wide eyes. "Gus?"

"Shh," he whispers, pressing a finger to her lips. "C'mon, girl, if I done pissed you off, I want you to show me just how much."

And it's true. She's furious. Her very skin feels like it's bubbling and sizzling from her nerve endings shooting into overdrive. And so she grabs the front of his shirt and pulls him in again, her heart pounding.

It's a wrestling match on the bed, a desperate attempt to find out just who will be in charge, but it only drives Tiara's excitement higher.

For whatever reason, Tiara wins.

Their woohooing is quick and intense, leaving Tiara wincing in a bizarre mixture of pain and enjoyment when it's all over, but she is so exhausted that she falls asleep before she can think any more.

Gussie stares at her before he quickly rolls out of bed, running a hand over his stubble with a frustrated sigh. He dons his clothing and prepares to hurry off, but pauses when he sees Megan watching him sleepily from her spot on the living room floor, toy bunny in hand. "..." He picks her up, places her in her crib for safe-keeping, and runs off as quickly as he can.

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I wasn't quite expecting Gussie to be built like that. xD

Megan is so pretty. I can't wait until we get to when she's older.

Chapter 20 - Moving On Up

She dreams about the baby growing inside of her every night. She wonders if it'll be a girl or a boy, what she'll name it, if it'll have her lighter skintone or Zac's chocolate brown.

She never thinks of telling Zac, however. She'll take his calls, of course, but when neither of them bring up the possibility of seeing each other in person again soon, she decides to hold her tongue.

After all, this child doesn't need a father. Didn't her mother teach her that when she raised Tiara and all three of her siblings by herself?

[Alma then proceeded to lose a bunch of her pictures in a freak accident]

The days pass quickly, however, and before she thinks she could be prepared, she finds herself in labor. Taxis are rare here in Appaloosa and she knows Athena is far too busy with her son, baby Alec, to help her to the hospital.

It looks like it's up to the magical glowy light of Sim labor to carry her through it.

She names her daughter Megan. Zac is still completely unaware, and Tiara plans to keep it that way for as long as she can. Sex is a part of life, she decides, and so is pregnancy and parenthood. If she is confident enough in herself to go out and have sex with a man that she barely knows, then she is certainly strong enough to raise the baby by herself.

Her few silent hours of sleep at night, between Megan's need for milk and clean nappies, is often interrupted before the sun has even risen by Toulouse. Lovely cat, him.

But she finds she sort of likes her life now. She's been promoted to lyricist of a local band. Her days are filled with her daughter and her cats, and her nights are filled with writing songs and helping the band rehearse.

Appaloosa Plains certainly has...interesting babysitters.

The cats are the ones who really rule this house. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

As a way to network and a way to celebrate her promotion to lyricist, Tiara decides to throw a party and to invite over her closest friends in the industry, as well as her sister. It's more of a dinner party than anything else, though the only thing she knows she can make that will be delicious is Autumn Salad, but it works.

"How's the salad, ya'll?" she chirps happily.

The response is mixed, but at least no one is vomiting.

Dancing is a must as well. Gotta break in that new stereo somehow!

Gussie Bell takes her by the hand with a grin, quirking a brow. "Now, Miss Toft," he drawls, the Southern accent thick in his words as he spins her in a quick circle. "I'd be right pleased if you let me have this dance."

She giggles. "Of course."

Gussie's a fine man with bright blue eyes and a quizzical haircut that no doubt is his attempt to hide his premature balding. He keeps them laughing at work and always manages to hold her stress at bay when she's fighting a particularly tricky line to rhyme.

He also seems rather attracted to her more...amiable features, as much as he might pretend he's not trying to get close to them.

When her legs are aching and a few of her guests have departed, she brushes her bangs away from her face with a laugh. "No more, Gussie. You're gonna knock me out."

His eyes soften as he looks at her with a boyish smile. "All right, all right, fine." He smooths his hair down again as well with a chuckle. "Guess it'd be right selfish of me to keep you all to myself at your own party." The pause is heavy and tense as he leans closer and drops his voice to a warm, baritone murmur. "As much as I'd like to."

Gussie steps toward the kitchen to grab a drink of water and Tiara catches herself staring at him as he strolls away, watching the sway of his narrow hips and the tightening of his muscular arms. "Down, girl," she whispers with a shake of her head as she heads toward the couch.

Jazlyn is pregnant again and therefore spending the majority of her time at the party with her feet up. "Hey, Jaz," Tiara says with the grin. "How're you holding up?"

"Miserably." She casts a disdainful look down toward her swelling ankles with a sigh. "Kanoa's never home, Ethan's growing too fast...Watcher."

Jazlyn's family situation is more than familiar to Tiara at the moment, and she murmurs in sympathy.

After a long moment, Jazlyn sighs. "I'm...I've met someone else, too."

"Really?" Tiara's eyes widen. "Who?"

"I can't tell you. It's still too early. But..."

Jazlyn transitions back into pregnancy talk and Tiara studies her baby bump. Apparently there's just as much sexual freedom down here in Appaloosa Plains as there is in Bridgeport. Heck, that baby probably belongs to Jazlyn's mystery man. Maybe she won't be judged as much as she suspects down here if she follows her mother's lead.

The crowd disperses after another few hours, but Tiara's mind lingers on Gussie even as she feeds Megan her last bottle as a baby. Tomorrow will be her birthday, after all, and she will grow into a happy, healthy toddler.

She remembers the look in Gussie's eyes as they danced, the way that he leaned in close to her, how his Southern drawl sounds more musical than half of the lyrics that she writes...

Damn. Those pregnancy books weren't lying when they said she'd be horny as a hounddog from here on out.

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Still short. Still moving forward. :) Hope ya'll are enjoying, regardless.

Chapter 19 - Oops

 

There's a pounding on the door around four in the morning, and Tiara opens her eyes in confusion. But Toulouse isn't the suspect. She furrows her eyebrows, rolls out of bed, and pulls her clothes on for decency's sake.

 She was expecting Athena in labor, perhaps, but not Zac, not the man she's only talked to on the phone a few times. She vaguely wonders if she was serious when she told him he could stop by at any time.

"Hey," he murmurs, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hey?" Her reply is a little sleepier and less aware. When Zac looks away with a frown, her curiosity takes a hold of the situation. "Do you, umm, wanna come in?"

Before she can even finish talking he's sliding past her into the house, and she stands outside wrestling with her tired confusion for a moment before she follows him inside and shuts the door.

"So...is something wrong?"

"Wrong?" Zac asks. "Why would you say that?"

Tiara's eyes stray toward the clock on the wall. "Well, it's, like, four-fifteen in the morning or something..."

"Oh..."

There's a thick awkwardness in the air that leaves Tiara fumbling for answers even as her head begins to clear. "Look, I know we don't know each other that well, but-"

"My girlfriend's a bitch."

Tiara's eyes widen. Girlfriend? Dude. Why didn't she get the memo? But as she stumbles for words to say to comfort him, Zac doesn't really appear to need them.

"I mean, I ain't been with her for long, but I took good care of her, y'know? But apparently it's not good enough for her. She just runs off with this dude, this fucking HIPSTER, of all things, and gets herself pregnant, and I just..."

He looks at his wit's end, and Tiara does the first thing she can think of.

"I'm sorry," she murmurs against his ear, breathing in the faint smell of cooking oil and brandy, and he hesitates for only a moment before wrapping his arms around her as well.

His breath hitches faintly in that moment, just enough for her to realize that the brandy is on his breath and not his clothes. "Yeah, well...thanks."

As they step out of the embrace, he's looking at her harder, his eyes those of a man with just enough alcohol in his veins to be easily swayed. But he also looks desperate, though for what she doesn't know, and she rolls the situation around in her head again.

Her mother lingers over her shoulder with a smile. "He feels inadequate," Rhiannon murmurs. "And what kind of woman would you be if you didn't help him through it?"

She isn't sure who moves first. For all she knows, they both move at the same time. But seconds later, the problem of the moment evaporates into thin air.

Her first kiss is sweet but electrifying, like a sour piece of candy that sets all of her senses aflame before melting into sugary bliss. It makes her feel overstimulated and heady, but desperate for more.

Zac stares at her. And then he pulls her in with a soft groan, crushing her body against his.

The two fall into bed, Zac pulling her on top of him, and Tiara gladly presses him down against the bed and makes him feel as wanted as she damn well can. He deserves that much.

For her first time, it goes surprisingly well. Zac lets her lead the pace. Her pain is minimal. And, when it's all over, he cradles her to himself as they catch their breath, as close as two spoons in a drawer, and somehow that is far more intimate than the act itself.

She nearly falls asleep there in the addicting warmth of his arms, but when she glances over her shoulder she sees that he is wide-awake and troubled. He stares back at her tentatively, and she offers him a tired smile.

"If I was you," she murmurs, "I'd slip back home while I still could, before anyone could get suspicious."

He sags into the bed for a moment, one heavy moment of gratitude, before he nods. "Yeah...yeah, you're right." Zac rolls out of bed and dons his clothes again. "Uh...thanks, by the way."

Tiara shakes her head and waves him off. "Don't worry about it."

The next morning as she changes the sheets on her bed, Tiara wonders at the faint sense of emptiness in her. Rhiannon never really warned her about that. She ponders if her mother ever felt that after her many one-night-stands or if she's the only one in the world who does.

Work waits for no wondering woman. Nor do hungry kitties.

Hitler!Cat grows into a full-grown Dizzy, handsome as can be.

Dizzy dislikes bathing. The whole experience tires Tiara out far more than it should and leaves her more confused than ever.

The next morning, she figures out why.

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I know it's a rather short post, but I hope ya'll bear with me as I get back into the swing of things. Hopefully chapters will get a wee bit longer as time goes by.