Chapter 10 - Truce

After avoiding talking to me for several days, Dayvid finally came and joined me on the sofa one evening,

'Who's the father?' He asked calmly.
'Briar Silva. From my pack.'
'Before or after we were together?'
'Before.'
There was a long pause.
'Does he know?'
'No.'
'...I can't believe she's not my daughter.'

That made me stand up straight.
'Just because she is not biologically related to you, does not mean that she's not your daughter. You cared for her before she was even born and that's more than Briar ever did.'

'But I can't help but feel insecure about your feelings for him! I was so happy when I became your husband but I don't want that if you love someone else!'
'Dayvid, don't get me wrong, I did have feelings for him, but it was a one night thing. Jasper was at the babysitter's house and Briar and I had gone out for the evening to hunt for birds. We ended up outside his place and he invited me inside for a drink. One thing led to another and... here I am. The mother of a wonderful baby girl. It was before I discovered my feelings for you and I don't love him. I'm so sorry but I don't regret what I did, If I hadn't done it then we wouldn't have Cescie!' I stopped, I hadn't meant to snap.
'I...I just don't want to lose you again.' He whispered, his voice trembling.
'Oh, Dayvid. I'm sorry. I love you so much, but you're Celeste's father.'
He seemed reluctant.

I took his hand and placed it on my developing bump.
'This is our child. Another welcome addition to our lovely family. Nobody can take that away from us.' He smiled slightly as the baby moved.
'Jasper, Celeste, the baby and I all love you so much. You're more a father than Briar will ever be.'

To my relief he began to relax. He crouched down and planted a kiss on my belly.
'I love you too,'
He placed one hand on my waist and with the other he caressed my cheek.
'I'm sorry.' He whispered.
'Me too.'
He held me close for several minutes, until he spoke softly in my ear.
'We should tell Briar.'
This was a surprise to me. 'Are you sure?'
'Yeah, He should know. And Cescie needs to know too, when she's old enough to understand. I don't think we should exclude him from her life. We should be grateful for the gift he has given us.'
I pondered this for a moment. I hadn't even told Briar I was pregnant, how would he react to the news?
'Well, okay. I'll see if I can find him tomorrow.'
'Great. Now, we should start thinking of baby names!'

After a wonderful few hours spent curled up on the sofa with my head in Dayvid's lap, I went upstairs to the nursery to say goodnight to Celeste. Her eyes fluttered open when I tiptoed in and she immediately sat up and reached for me.
'Okay, special girl, okay. Mummy's here.'
I lifted her onto my hip and held her close, running my fingers through her hair. I couldn't comprehend how much I loved my children and how much happiness they had brought to me. I was so lucky to have such a perfect life.

The previous owners of the house had planted a little garden and the next day I decided to try and get it started again. Unfortunately, my pregnancy hormones were running riot and I couldn't help but weep over the dead plants.

As promised, after lunch I put Celeste in the pushchair and went to find Briar. I found him in the park having a picnic with who I assumed was his girlfriend. I hesitated. Should I interrupt him? A child could change his life, even if he didn't have any contact with her.

Before I could decide, however, Celeste reached out towards him and gurgled with delight. He looked up and smiled.
'Hey there, Elizabeth! Long time no see!' He said as he got up and walked towards me.
'Yeah, sorry about that. I've been a little... preoccupied.'
'I can see that.' He chuckled as he eyed my pregnant bump. 'I heard you and Dayvid got married, congratulations! Anna and I are planning our wedding at the moment.' He gestured towards the girl sitting on the picnic blanket. She seemed engrossed in her mobile and wasn't taking much notice of us.
'Oh yeah? That's great news.'
'You don't know the half of it, she's pregnant with twins! Maybe you could give us some tips? You must be getting pretty experienced in the matter. Last time I saw you you were a first-time mother of a newborn son and now look at you! Pregnant with what I assume is your third and mother of a gorgeous baby girl! Who is this little cherub then, anyway?'
'That's what I wanted to talk to you about.'
He looked puzzled. 'What aren't you telling me, Elizabeth?'
I sighed. 'Briar, this is Celeste and she's your daughter.'

He looked stunned, who wouldn't be, but his silence worried me. Finally, he spoke.
'Okay.'
'Okay?'
'Yeah, okay.' He stared at her. 'Wow. She's beautiful.'
'Yes, she is.'
'Do you want money?'
'Oh, goodness, no! I just thought I should tell you.'
'Right, yeah. Thanks.'
'Listen, nobody has to find out-'
'No. It's good news. I have a daughter!'
'Briar, you should know that Celeste being your daughter does not make you her father.'
'Of course, sorry. Dayvid is her dad. Wow. Thanks, Elizabeth. Uh, come and meet Anna.'

Reluctantly I followed him over to where the girl was sat chewing gum and furiously typing on her phone.
'Anna?' Briar said. 'This is Elizabeth and she's come to tell us something important. Anna?'
She tutted loudly and rolled her eyes, making a point of putting the phone down. She looked up at me with a blank expression and asked 'What do you want?' in a monotone voice. I wondered what Briar saw in her.
'Um, hello. I'm Elizabeth, from Briar's pack.' She stared at me. 'Uh, well, a few years ago Briar and I had a night out and...' Briar nodded his encouragement 'Um, this is his daughter, Celeste.'
'So?' She asked, much to my surprise.
'Sweetie, did you hear what she said? This is my daughter.' Briar placed his hand on her shoulder and looked into her pretty but ignorant eyes.
'Whatever.' She said and went back to punching words into her mobile.
I was stunned. I imagined how I would feel if some woman came up to me with a toddler and announced that it was Dayvid's. Not great, to be honest. I could suddenly relate to how my husband must be feeling.
'It's probably just hormones. Thanks for coming, anyway.' Briar said. 'She's lovely.'
'I know.' I smiled and went back home.

I felt happy when I got home. Dayvid greeted me with a kiss and took Cescie out of the pushchair to put her to bed. That night, for the first time in months, everybody slept well. My daughter-

My son-

My husband, and I.

Chapter 9 - A Very Eventful Night

Meet Celeste Bird, my first daughter. She was perfect. Almost...

Dayvid was obsessed with her, running into the nursery in the middle of the night to feed her, reading her bedtime stories and keeping watch over her until she fell asleep. He would often talk about her for hours on end. The name was his idea, he said that it meant 'heavenly'.
'She's beautiful!' He breathed when he saw her face for the first time. I could tell he was trying to hold back tears.

Jasper aged up in the morning, as promised.

He was still as gorgeous as the day he was born.

And he loved his new room!

In the morning I gave him a hug before he went off to school for the first time.

Tears trickled down my face as I waved him off, realising that the little baby who had kept me smiling through hard times was now growing up. Then I realised that I was barley wearing anything and probably embarrassing my son. It couldn't have been very cool to have a weeping, half-naked mother waving hysterically at you. I quickly ran back inside.

I called Katie to announce Celeste's birth. She was overjoyed. Her wedding had gone perfectly and she would fill me in on the details when she came to visit.
'You know, I'm thinking of having a baby with Brett. It's taking a lot of convincing, he doesn't think we can support another child on top of Mimi and Jake.' She told me.
'That would be great!' I said. 'Celeste could have a playmate when you come!'
'Yeah, I know. We'd need a bigger house though, you see. And I'm not sure we can afford that right now. Ah well, I've still got life in me yet so I suppose I can wait a few more years. Are you going to tell Dayvid about... you know...?'
'I don't know. I suppose I should really. I just can't find the right time.'
'Yeah, I understand. Let me know how it goes, okay?'
'Will do, bye!'
I sighed as I hung up the phone. I was going to do it, I said to myself. Just tell him. The longer you wait the worse it will be.
When I went to talk to him, however, I just couldn't bring myself to.

Jasper was sitting on the sofa when I came downstairs.
'Hey, Jass! How was your day?'
'It was great, thank you. Hatty enjoyed it too.'
'Hatty? You mean you brought you doll with you to school?'
'Don't be silly, Mum, she's a person now. Well, a sort-of person.'
'Right...' I said. I didn't want to crush his imagination. 'So, did you make any new friends?'
'Not many, actually, but I met this girl called Rebecca. She seemed pretty cool. The school lunches were gross so she used her magic to make us a grilled cheese sandwich each.'
We continued this small talk for a while longer until Dayvid called us into the kitchen for home made pizza.

Time passed and Celeste grew into a beautiful little girl.
Dayvid still spent a lot of time with her but he'd started acting kind of strangely. When he first saw her as a toddler his smile faded slightly. I wondered if he knew.

I planned on trying to tell him again but when I went to find him he was leaving the house with Celeste. I watched him from the window until he was out of sight. He usually let me know before he went out, especially if he was with one of the kids. I wondered where he was going.

When he got home he just sat on the sofa with Celeste for almost an hour, just staring into space. He only got up when Celeste woke in his arms.

That evening I was having a shower when I heard the bathroom door open. I could see Dayvid through the glass as he removed his clothes. Without speaking he slid back the shower door and joined me -

- Leaving Celeste downstairs with Jasper. Looks like Celeste is a werewolf like me.

The next full moon, Dayvid was at work and couldn't get out of it. I gave Jasper instructions as I lit the living room fireplace.
'Right, Jass. I'm going to transform tonight, Celeste's asleep in the nursery. I've left some blankets upstairs. I want you to bring them into Celeste's room and lock the door. You can sleep on the chair and there are books, your pyjamas, some toys and a phone up there so you can call me if you need help. I'll make you some hot chocolate and bring it up to you. Once I've turned I'll be sitting out on the porch and guarding the house. Celeste can't turn until she's a bit older so don't worry about her.'
'Yes, Mum. I'll go now.'
I stoked up the fire and went into my bedroom to light that fireplace.

Jasper did as he was told and slowly drifted off in the nursery chair.

Whilst I was in my room, I heard the sound of footsteps thundering down the stairs.
'Mum!' Jasper cried. 'Fire!'
'I'm coming!' I yelled, fumbling with my phone and dialling 999. 'Hello? Yes, fire department please. Bluebird Manor. Thank you'. I rushed into the nursery and grabbed Celeste then ran downstairs and took Jaspers hand. Together we went out onto the porch to wait for the fire engine, whereupon we were greeted by a group of zombies. I could feel the hair beginning to bristle on my back as the full moon came out from behind the clouds and Celeste (though not a fully-fledged werewolf yet) was getting restless in my arms. I thrust her into Jasper's hands and pushed through the zombies, clearing a path to the garage. 'Come on!' I shouted at him and he bolted towards me. I opened the door and let them in. Inside, I removed my jacket and wrapped it round them both. 'I'm just going back inside to get a few things. I won't be long'. 

A fire-fighter was in the living room when I got there. He didn't notice me as I ran up the stairs to my bedroom where I started gathering sentimental belongings from drawers. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I hadn't yet transformed and I couldn't work out why. Then I saw it. The barely noticeable but unmistakable baby bump. I was pregnant again.

After the fire we all slept in the same room. Celeste's cot was moved to my bedroom and Jasper joined me in my bed. Only then did I think seriously about the baby. Celeste was still so little and I wasn't sure how Jasper would react to another sibling. I was still young, too, at 25 I was already a mother of two and had yet to make a breakthrough with my career. When I heard Dayvid come back I got up and ran into his arms. We sat together in the kitchen and I told him about the fire. And the baby.
'Good.' He said when I'd finished.
'What?'
'Good. I want another baby.'
I was silent, I had a feeling where this was going. Then he said the words that sent a shiver down my spine.
'Maybe this time it will be mine.'

Just a quick note...

Okay, is anyone else incredibly excited about this!?

http://thesims.com/en_US/the-sims-3-island-paradise

Chapter 8 - Here We Go Again

The test was positive.
I was pregnant with my second child. Sure, I was excited (not as excited as Dayvid was), but I couldn't push that one niggling thought out of my mind. I took a bath to calm myself.

The pregnancy progressed a lot faster than I'd thought it would. I stopped throwing up pretty quickly and within the month I had quite a prominent bump. I spent a lot of time on the phone to Katie. She understood me. She'd recently got engaged to Brett and had unofficially adopted his two kids from a previous marriage. I had originally planned to fly out to Sunset Valley for the wedding, but the baby had kind of scuppered those plans.

As Jasper began teething it had become obvious that he was a vampire like his dad. He had adopted a tendency to sleep all day and be up all night. Luckily, Dayvid was more than happy to use this time to teach him some life skills. I wasn't against Jass being a vampire at all, but it did mean that at some point in his life he would need to be fed blood rather than mashed carrot. This made me see how quickly he was growing up.

As the baby was getting so big so quickly, I decided to go to the hospital before I was due for my check-up.
'Dayvid, I'm just going out to the hospital. Watch Jass, will you?'
'Okay, but are you sure you don't want me to come with you?'
'No!' I shouted. I immediately regretted it. 'Ah, Sorry, no. Besides, it's just a few tests. And you're getting so far with teaching Jasper to speak.'
'All right, darling. I hope that all goes well.'
'It will.'
'Hey, can I feel the baby?'

The child was always very energetic inside me but I could feel it calm right down when Dayvid came close.
'It's a girl.'
'What?'
'I bet It's going to be a girl.'
'Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?'
'Call it fatherly intuition?'
I sighed. As I drew away from him the baby took a kick at my side, making me buckle over slightly.
'Blimey, this one's a strong one!'
'Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?' Dayvid insisted.
'No, I'm fine. Hey, it's Jasper's birthday tomorrow, why don't you organise a party?'

He agreed and I headed to the hospital.

Much to my surprise, Dayvid was waiting for me with Jasper when I came out.

'What on Earth are you doing out here, you're both vampires!? You'll be dust within minutes if you don't take cover!'
'Relax, Liza. I wanted to see you. You've been acting so stressed lately, it can't be good for our baby. I needed to check you're okay. And Jass won't be affected by the sun until he's an adult.'
'But what about you!? Get into the taxi.' I snatched Jasper into my arms and waddled towards the cab as quickly as I could. Dayvid shook his head in confusion and then followed.

To my utter delight, however, Dayvid had redecorated one of the top floor bedrooms to make a little boy's haven for when Jasper aged up the next day.

It was perfect, and something he could grow into as well.

The guests arriving the next morning had all been invited by Dayvid. They included Jasper's babysitter, some of my pack, the Van Goulds that Dayvid stayed with for a bit and my old neighbours.

Briar took it upon himself to entertain everyone whilst I fetched Jass.

As I reached the last step I felt a sudden familiar, but still as painful, twist in my belly.

I quickly put Jasper down before I dropped him. 

Another contraction followed, a lot quicker than I expected. I was surprised to go into labour as I was over a month early. Jasper seemed concerned that I was in pain and began to wail. I hoped that Dayvid or one of the party guests would hear him and come to check on us.

Unfortunately, nobody came to my aid as they were all listening to Briar. I managed to stumble into the kitchen before another contraction brought me to my knees. Everyone panicked, except Dayvid - he was surprised but calm and gently took my arm.
'It's okay, Liza. Don't worry. Let's get you to the hospital.' He whispered in my ear. 'Sorry, party's over folks.' He said to the guests who all quickly left.
He led me out the door and down the steps before rushing back inside to get Jasper. He was still wailing but quietened a little when his dad held him close.

Jasper could age up in the morning. There was a baby to be had.

Chapter 7 - Excitement

Jasper's birthday passed unexpectedly overnight. He was even more beautiful than before. He had my face shape and dark eyes and Dayvid's skin tone and hair colour. I loved him so much and was so happy that he had his daddy around to care for him now.

I woke up happy and still in my werewolf form.

I looked up to see Dayvid lifting Jass from his cot.
'Darling, pack your things. We're going on an adventure.' He said as he buttoned up Jasper's shirt
'What? Where are we going?'
'If I told you it wouldn't be an adventure!'
I wasn't sure where he was going with this but I supposed that nothing bad would come of a little expedition. I was married to the man I loved and we had a gorgeous little boy whom we both adored - I decided to trust my instincts and put my faith in Dayvid's hands.
'...Well, okay. What should I pack?'
'Everything.'
'Um, is this going to be a more permanent adventure?'
He smiled. 'Perhaps.'

We got dressed and I packed all of Jasper and I's belongings. Everything fitted into one suitcase.
'Is that all you're bringing?'
'It's all I've got and all I need as long as I'm with you.'
'Cheesy, Liza.'
'Cheesy but true!'

I placed our one suitcase in the boot of the taxi and went to get in.
'Ah, no, M'lady!' Dayvid nipped round and opened the door of the cab with a bow.
I chuckled and curtseyed accordingly, planting a gentle kiss on his forehead. Dayvid swept Jasper into his arms and got in the other side.
'Right then, off we go!'

My wonderful husband had bought us a house. A big, blue, beautiful house with space to raise an entire family. A house with a Victorian porch and a cherry tree out front and a hedge all the way round the outside marking it as our house. Bluebird Manor was our house. No, our home. And it was stunning.

It boasted three floors. The ground floor had a large, two-storey hallway, a family living room with a wall of bookcases and a fabulous fireplace, a country kitchen with a beautiful six-person dining table, a downstairs toilet and a conservatory full of flowers. The second floor had a spacious landing with a television and several sofas, a master bedroom and en-suite, another bathroom and the most adorable little nursery. The top floor had two huge bedrooms with en-suites and wonderful views.

I couldn't believe it.

By the time I had finished exploring it was pretty late. I changed back into my human form and put Jasper to bed in his lovely new room. He no longer had to share with his mummy, although I was just next-door if he needed me.

He wasn't used to the new house so I read to him until he fell asleep.

Dayvid joined me soon enough.

'I think he's asleep now. Why don't we go to bed?' 

Who was I to refuse?

Dayvid was up early the next morning, training.

I went in to check on Jass who immediately started trying to climb out of his cot to get to me.
'All right, little boy, calm down!' I laughed as I placed him on my hip. 'Would you like some breakfast in our lovely new kitchen?'

I set about making some waffles for myself. It was a little more advanced than my usual cereal.

Jass seemed to be enjoying his bowl of mashed I-don't-know-what, at any rate.

Dayvid left to get some of his belongings from his old place, and say goodbye to Branch.

He also stopped by the salon on the way back to freshen up his look.

Jasper and Hatty were waiting for him when he got back.

'How's my special boy then, eh? Feeling ticklish?'
He was getting really good at being a father. I think he was trying to make up for the time he'd lost.

I'd been feeling really tired all day so had gone to bed early to catch up on a bit of sleep. I woke when Dayvid came in.
'Liza! Jasper's in his room playing with Hatty. What do you think of my new look?'
'I...' That was as far as I got before a heaving in my stomach sent my head spinning and my hand flying to my mouth.
'Liza, are you okay?' Dayvid's sturdy hands steadied me and I looked up from my belly into his concerned eyes.
'I'm fine, I think I just...' Then it came again. I ran from the room as quickly as I could, worried I wasn't going to make it.

I got to the toilet just in time. I could hear Dayvid outside the door.
'Sweetie, are you all right?'
'Yeah, I'll be okay.' I croaked between breaths.
'Are you sure, I can call for a doctor?'
'No, it's fine.' Then a thought occurred to me. 'Um, Dayvid, could you go to the store and get something for me?'
'Sure, what do you need?'
'Uh, I think I need a pregnancy test.'
Silence.
'Dayvid?'
'Yes, of course. Wow, right away. Back in a moment.'
I heard the sounds of excited footsteps running away and then the front door slamming. Moments later the car engine started. I managed a weak smile. He'd seemed really excited and so was I. Now I was in a secure relationship and with Jasper starting school soon, a big house, and two reliable sources of income, I felt ready for another baby. I only hoped the test was positive. I leant back against the bathroom wall and tried to imagine what it would be like with another child around the place. Amazing, I concluded.

Then I remembered. I felt the colour drain from my face.'Oh no.'