A/N: Hello! Welcome to Chapter 7! If you’re looking at this going wait, wasn’t the next one supposed to be 6? You’re right! I posted chapter 6 and 7 at the same time, so go back one and I’ll explain why!
If you’re in the right place though, I just wanted to give a brief warning that this chapter has some strong language. It’s not too much, but I wanted to warn anyone who might not like it or have little kids reading over their shoulder or something =P So, without further ado, Chapter 7: The Cradle Will Fall
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The time had finally come to celebrate my birthday. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about becoming a middle-aged adult, but I supposed I wasn’t dreading it either. After all, I really had felt like I had grown a lot in my life, so the birthday felt fitting. I still probably wasn’t as mature as I should have been, but that didn’t matter to me. What mattered to me was my own personal growth and I really did feel like I had come a long way from the temperamental 18 year old who first stepped foot in Neverglade.
The only thing that did bug me was that it wasn’t quite Noah’s birthday yet. Yep, that’s right, he was younger than me. Only by a couple years, but it still felt a little weird to me. Regardless though, my birthday was going to happen, so once again we bought a cake for the occasion. I didn’t want anything big, so we just had a little celebration with the family.
I thought for a moment about what I wanted my wish to be, but it was fairly simple and came to me surprisingly quick. Of course, I can’t say it or else it might not come true!
So I blew out the candles and said goodbye to my young years, looking forward to the many years to come. I was hopeful.
To mark the event, I gave myself a complete makeover- just something to make me look and feel a bit less kiddy. Despite being older now though, I didn’t think I looked so bad, and apparently Noah didn’t either, because he immediately swept me away into the bedroom where we had yet another, well, magical night.
That wasn’t the end of the birthdays though! Nope, in fact, mine was simply the first of THREE others. So not so long after my birthday, we were once again gathered in the kitchen, but this time for little Reed’s birthday! Time had seriously flown by. It seemed like only yesterday that I was bringing him home from the hospital. However, this birthday party ended up being a lot more complicated than it should have been. All because, well…..
THE CAKE FREAKING BLEW UP! Or at least ignited.
“Oh shit!” Noah yelled, immediately racing out of the room to bring Reed to safety.
“I knew we shouldn’t have mixed sparkler candles and confetti!” I cried out, frantically pulling the fire extinguisher out of the storage closet.
“DIE FIRE DIE!”
“Oh my god!!! AUBREY! That’s FIRE!!!! GET AWAY FROM IT! AHHHH!!”
“Are you serious!? I’m trying to save our family!” I snapped, yelping as the flames grew higher. “Why oh why don’t we have a smoke detector!?”
Eventually I won my battle with the fire that had broken out and Noah calmed down, immediately apologizing profusely for losing his head. Apparently there was a stove incident in Noah’s past where, as a toddler, his best friend Mr. Teddy got burned alive when he stuck him in the oven and he’s been scarred ever since. I might have found it funny under different circumstances, but as it were, I was still scared out of my wits that we had nearly lost our home.
Once everything had calmed down, we bought another cake (sans sparkler candles and stupid confetti) and had a proper party for Reed, who seemed to have been rather unfazed that his previous cake had gone up in flames.
And so it was that our little baby boy grew up into a toddler! I was confused at first by his black hair, but Noah just shrugged and said that his grandmother had had black hair, so perhaps it had come from there. If that was true, it seemed Noah’s genetics were really strong in Reed, as he also had his beautiful soft green eyes- a fact which I could not have been happier about.
Unfortunately, Reed wasn’t as easy to handle as Buttercup though. It seemed like he was constantly upset about one thing or another. Neither Noah nor I understood it- we would feed him, change him, play with him, and he would still continue crying.
He was also absolutely notorious for refusing to sleep. No matter how tired Reed got, he would choose instead to stand up in his crib and start screaming for hours on end for one of us to go save him.
It got to the point where Noah and I were playing rock, paper, scissors whenever we heard him start screaming again.
“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” we both chanted.
“What the hell is that?” Noah asked, staring at my hand.
“Bazooka. It blows up everything. So sad. You go.”
“….you’re one of THOSE people.”
“Hey little man, what’s up? Are you causing trouble for mommy and daddy? Are you? Are you?” Noah cooed playfully, tickling Reed. He burst out into laughter, clearly thrilled that he wasn’t in his crib anymore.
“You have to sleep sometime,” Noah continued comfortingly. “Or else mommy and daddy will look like zombies all the time. We might even turn INTO zombies.” Reed laughed, though I was pretty sure he had no idea what Noah was actually saying.
“Time for sleep! Daddy feels like he’s about to fall over and mommy carries bazookas.”
I giggled as I continued to listen to the baby monitor. I did love Reed, I really did, but sometimes he got to be absolutely exhausting and I just needed a break, especially after dealing with his fussiness all day long.
“No!!” I heard Reed immediately cry out. Apparently Noah had just attempted to leave him. Oh wait, I realize I forgot to tell you. Reed’s first word? Not mama, not dada, but no. No! Lovely, isn’t it?
“But you’re tired,” Noah said quietly. He began to hum softly, a tune we often sang to Buttercup. I’m not sure if it worked though, because while I was listening, I myself fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of toddlers who slept through the night….
In addition to Reed always acting up, it seemed that the bathroom liked to continue to act up as well, as I found out when the sink exploded once again as I was trying to clean it.
“WHY DO YOU FAIL SO HARD YOU STUPID SINK!?
I must have been starting to go crazy, but I could have sworn it snickered.
Amidst the chaos of the house and the constant work we had to do to get by, some things got neglected…namely Noah’s prized fish. We had tried our hardest to keep up with them, we really, really had, but somewhere during the chaos, we lost Tom the Red Herring and Charlie the Rainbow Trout.
“I’m so sorry, Charlie,” Noah sniffed. “I’ll miss you.”
D=
“NO!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Andddd Reed continued to be the same.
Still, despite all of our misfortunes and stresses, life continued and soon it was time to celebrate not only Noah’s birthday, but our sweet little Buttercup’s as well! We celebrated Noah’s birthday first, who seemed to actually be quite happy about it. Something about how a guy always looks better with age?
Regardless, I cheered him on enthusiastically, watching as he made his wish. I wondered what it could be, but realized that I hadn’t even told him my wish, so it probably wouldn’t have been fair if I asked him what his was. Plus, if he told me, it wouldn’t come true!
Oh and on a side note? Noah was completely right. He looked better than ever- though I was pretty shocked that he had cut his hair so short!
Next up was Buttercup. This was the most difficult birthday of all for me. Our first little baby was growing up into a child and would even be starting school soon! The mere thought made me feel sick. School had always been too much of a rollercoaster for my liking, and I worried about what Buttercup would encounter once she got there.
Still, I was proud of her, so I celebrated with all of my heart.
“Make a wish now sweetie!” I said, bringing Buttercup as close to the candles as I dared.
“I want Reed to stop scwreaming!” Buttercup said cheerfully, attempting to blow out the candles. I helped her out (after all, I wanted this wish to come true too!) and she squealed with delight when they went out, under the impression that she had done it all by herself. Well, I certainly wasn’t going to correct her!
“She looks so much like you,” Noah remarked, looking at Buttercup with surprise.
“Yeah, she really does,” I admitted, rubbing my neck. Great, now I had to worry about her being teased for her poufy, curly hair, just like I had been!
Still though, I couldn’t deny that Buttercup was absolutely beautiful. She was such a brave, wonderful little spirit, constantly running around the house and smiling. Amidst all the hardships and stresses of life, Buttercup was our dazzling little ray of light.
And you know what else? It seemed that Buttercup’s wish had come true too, because although Reed was still quite fussy, he had calmed down considerably as of late, to the point where we could even start sitting down with him and teaching him new things.
He was the sweetest baby boy ever and we eventually came to realize that the reason that he had been so fussy was not because he had a bad temperament, but merely because he always wanted to be near us. Well…who could really stay mad at that?
As time continued to pass, Reed grew more and more pleasant and the house became a little less stressful. Just a little because well, we still had a toddler in the house, money was still tight, and we had a growing little girl to take care of. It seemed that we were just managing to get by. So that was why, when I started to feel sick all the time, my heart sunk a little. A positive pregnancy test from the grocery store confirmed my suspicions. At first, I was afraid, but after having some time to myself to think about it, I found myself excited. Sure Buttercup and Reed were difficult to deal with at times, but there was simply nothing more rewarding than being their mother, and the thought that I would soon be mother to yet another wonderful baby brought a smile to my face that I simply couldn’t shake.
All that was left was telling Noah, which I resolved to do that night after we had eaten dinner. Unfortunately though, it didn’t go exactly as I had expected.
“Noah, I have some news,” I began with a smile, taking his hands in mine.
“Did Reed say ‘dada’ first?” Noah asked excitedly. We were currently in a battle to see which he would say first, as so far he had said neither, sticking to “No!”, “Up!”, “Baba!” and “Pway!”
“Of course not, you know he’s going to say ‘mama’ first,” I teased. I decided not to beat around the bush any. “I’m pregnant again!”
“You-…what?” Noah asked, his face falling. My heart dropped like a lead sinker in my rib cage.
“I-I’m pregnant,” I repeatedly nervously, holding onto Noah’s hands tighter. “I thought-”
“Oh god. How could we have been so stupid!? Why weren’t we more careful!?” he suddenly cried out, letting go of my hands and running his hands anxiously through his newly shortened hair. “We can’t afford another baby! We can barely support the two we have!”
“Noah!” I cried out in alarm. “We’ll manage. That’s what you always say. We’ll work harder and we’ll get by. I mean, I was nervous at first too when I found out, but I know we can do this!”
“No, Aubrey,” he groaned. “Don’t you understand? We can only ever work so much harder and I can only take so much!” he cried, turning away from me now and pinching the bridge of his nose. “How are we going to do this, Aubrey? How? We barely get by as it is!”
“I think we’re getting by fine,” I said, my throat tightening and tears filling my eyes. “I mean it’s a bit hard, but- but we make a good team,” I finished, my voice feeling strangled. I put a hand on his shoulder, but he brushed it off.
“I just need to be alone for a while, Aubrey,” Noah stated quietly, not even glancing at me.
“Noah!” I whined childishly, stomping my foot. “Don’t be like this! We can do this! I know we can!” I tried to approach him once again, but he moved out of my reach and spun around to face me.
“I can’t handle anymore, Aubrey!” Noah yelled, and I was completely shocked to see tears in his eyes. “Do you know how hard it is for me? I get up at the crack of dawn everyday to work after having been up half the night with Reed and then I don’t often come back until after dark and when I come back, do I even get to rest? No! I have to take care of Reed again, or Buttercup, or goddamnit sometimes even you! I can only do so much!”
I felt a tear run down my cheek, but in addition to my despair I felt my temper flash. “You CHOOSE to do that stuff, Noah!” I yelled. “I never asked you to take care of me, or work for so long, or even get the kids at night! YOU CHOOSE TO! And what the fuck, Noah!? You act like I do nothing around here! What am I doing while you’re out all day long? I’m here with the kids, not only trying to keep up with my goddamn garden so we have food on our plates and can pay the bills on time, but also taking care of Buttercup and Reed! I get Buttercup ready for school in the morning and I’m the one teaching Reed to walk and talk and use the stupid potty and damn it Noah! Do you not see this!?”
“Oh sure, turn this all back on yourself again! Make yourself the victim so I have to comfort you ONCE AGAIN! Fuck you, Aubrey! I don’t have time for this bullshit!”
I stared at Noah, scandalized. “No! Fuck YOU, Noah! Fuck you for being an asshole right now and fuck you for not being happy that we’re expecting another baby!” I screamed, practically stomping out of the room.
“FINE! FINE! I don’t even give a damn!” Noah yelled after me. I thought he was going to continue to chase after me, but instead he turned and stormed right out the front door, his face glistening with tears that he angrily wiped away as he disappeared from my sight.
I immediately buried my face in my hands and began to sob, feeling more helpless and miserable than I had ever felt in my entire life. I was scared of our fight, scared of this new baby, and above all, scared that Noah would never come back.
He had finally had enough it seemed. I was just too much.
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A/N: *hides from potentially angry readers* Thanks for reading? *ducks large objects being thrown her way* Hey, not everything can be perfection all the time! D= That being said, will Noah and Aubrey work things out, or will this start a new era in this generation without Noah in the picture? You must continue to read to find out! =O Hopefully it won’t take me too long to get the next chapter up….but until then, happy simming everyone!
Oh yes, and a very special thanks to StyxLady for recommending Windows Live Writer- it really did make posting these much easier, especially when it came to adding pictures since I could bypass Photobucket =) Yay! =D
Different Winters 
First, glad Live Writer helped you out! I’m in love with it..hehe.
Second: ““Bazooka. It blows up everything. So sad. You go.”
“….you’re one of THOSE people.” BWAHAHAHA, omg that cracked me up.
Third, WOAH, I was definitely not expecting that reaction from Noah! He’s obviously been bottling up his feelings of stress far too long. Most couples experience fights just like that all the time (I’ve had more than a few creepily similar ones myself), and I really don’t think Noah will be gone for good. He loves his wife and his kids–all three of them!–even though it’s a lot of work. Unless there’s more going on that Aubrey doesn’t know about, that is…
O_O omg, i did not expect that reaction from noah! seems like he’s going through a midlife crisis! he needs to get his head on straight, hopefully his time alone doesn’t involve another woman or ideas about divorce. poor aubrey…and the kiddies! reed is adorable. i love his black hair and green eyes, i can’t wait to see what he looks like when he grows up. 🙂
I knew from the title that things weren’t going to go smoothly. I am crossing my fingers that everything will be ok in the end.
Don’t you love Windows Live Writer? I’ve been using it since my aborted Succubus Legacy. I like how easy it is to format everything and then just post it. So nice.
heya. n.n
so I just started reading this the other day. I’ve seen you around on the forums and this story just popped out to me. since then nearly all I’ve done is sit here and read, and re-read, and re-re-read it!
seriously this has to be one of my most favorite stories out there. the plot is freaking amazing, and the words are so descriptive.
jealous.
<3333!
~llama
Aw! Thank you so much!! <333 Your comment made me smile- I'm so glad you like it!! ^_^;;
And hehe, don't be jealous, your story is great too! I love reading it! =D
I did not see that coming…wow that was a heated argument! I’m sure he’ll come back (like Styx said, he loves her and the kids). The stress just overwhelmed him. At least I hope that’s all that’s going on.
Great chapter!
Aha so my title prediction DID come true… but not quite the way I’d planned :I
TOTALLY didn’t see that one coming O.O
I hope they work it out…
x
Great chapter. Potty words and all. 😉
*goes to read next chapter*
Lol, oh gosh, yeah I gave up on warnings after that….that’s apparently just how I write XD
oh my gosh! I knew that would happen! I hope he comes back though
Oh no! You’re right, it can’t all be perfect all the time, but what an awful argument! I hope they patch it up and come back stronger than ever. And soon!
Also, next time I play rock, paper, scissors with my husband–I’m totally bringing out the bazooka.
Noah NOOO!!!! I hope they work this out.
LOL, I did like that you put an argument in this generation, as I feel like it made it more realistic. I bet people fight about that exact topic all the time! I doubt that everyone who has kids has always been happy about the addition of yet another one. People just think it’s all taboo or whatever to not be happy about a kid, but that is another view point that is perfectly valid, and it’s mean of people to think that children only bring happiness. Children bring stress, and anger into people’s lives as well. So, kudos to you for putting this in your story. LOL.
That being said, I am sad for Aubrey because she has come so far with Noah, with wanting to punch him in the face constantly, to loving him, and knowing he loves her, but now she feels like she is too much for him, that’s a crappy way to feel.
I feel bad for Noah too because yes, he did have a choice to help Aubrey with the kids and the finances, but that doesn’t mean that she needs to add yet more stress on to his life. I bet he wanted at some point to finally be okay with their finances and not have to struggle so much, but now that point just got further away from him again.
You’ll find that the farther I got into writing the blog, the more I tried to incorporate realism. It started out with me just fooling around with the game and playing the challenge, but now it’s to the point where I don’t even really play the game so much as write the story and then go grab the pictures, lol. I mean, I still have to play it to achieve the challenge objectives, but the writing isn’t based off the game play as much as it was earlier in this blog.
I’m sure that it’s a topic that is fought about a lot! Sure children can bring happiness, but they’re incredibly difficult as well and when you’re already struggling, the prospect of another brings up thoughts that are far from joy 😐
They’re both going through a rough time right now, that’s for sure. You really hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that Noah just wanted to finally be okay with their finances, but now that point feels even farther away. He was barely keeping his head above water as it was, but he could keep swimming because he saw the end in sight. Now he just feels as if he’s drowning. He’s kept all of this so quiet though that Aubrey is unaware of just how deep his stress goes and because she’s unaware, she thinks he’s experiencing the same amount of stress that she is, which is why she can’t understand why he exploded like this. A conversation is definitely needed to be had between these two…..
Fighting over the addition of an unplanned child- something that can be rather stressful- is a natural thing, in my opinion, it’s how you deal with the aftermath of your fight that matters the most. I hope that they reconcile, though there’s one particular phrasing in their argument that I’m thankful was included, it’s the fact that Noah stated “how could WE be so stupid”. He didn’t blame Aubrey or comment how she was the one who’d be carrying the fetus, she’s the one who can get pregnant, not him, so it’s her fault. Yes, their argument was horrid and awful things were said, but at least he says WE, which signals that he recgognizes that it’s something they had an equal part in creating and must face as a team, despite the mixed emotions.
I couldn’t agree with you more–on both fronts! How a couple reconciles says a lot about their relationship. And yes, definitely–Noah and Aubrey are a team and even through this hiccup they haven’t lost that at least 🙂
Oh noes, i did not see this coming. 😦
I do feel sorry for Noah though. He’s reaction is not nice, but sometimes when people are desperate, they don’t have control. Money is a real issue for many parents.
Hope they can fix this…
Indeed 😦 While times are usually quite light-hearted and happy for these two, sometimes life just gets to be too much and even the most optimistic person breaks down 😦 That being said, let’s indeed hope that they can fix this…..
Oops, trouble in the perfect family! I really hope they will sort it out! Wow I now realised that you started the legacy in 2011. I didn’t really understand why adding photos was such a chore! Good for you though! Sticking up with a family for so long! A true legacy 🙂
LOL I know- blogging has become so much easier since then and I’ve become a lot more comfortable with it. Considering when I started this I feel like I should be further along than I am, but as you’ll see there was a point where I took a nearly 2 year hiatus! =O Of course I’ve been back for some time now and have no plans to disappear anytime soon, so hopefully I can continue making up for that lost time. I would really love to see this challenge through to the end 🙂
Thank you! And yes, let’s hope that they do!
Great chapter! You’re right, not everything can be sunshine and daisies all the time. I hope they work it out, not just for the sake of the children but for the sake of their relationship.
Thanks! ^^ Let’s certainly hope their relationship can heal….
Ahhh no, my predictions were right D:
Well sort of.
It’s okay, i trust Noah. He’ll be back, he just needs to cool his head. Mhm. *nervous*
Buttercup is so beautiful :D, and Reed too! Love that he has black hair. I’m curious to see what the third baby looks like! I sure hope Aubrey doesn’t get an abortion…nah she’s not the type to.
Fantastic read!
Heh….Yeah, your predictions did indeed have some truth in them :X They’ve been barely keeping their heads above water and the prospect of a third child only worsens their struggle. Hope he does just need a cool down 😛
Buttercup is very lovely ❤ And I love Reed XD Ugh though, that black hair is totally a random gene that the game spit out. When my game does that stuff now I change it to the hair color of one of the parents, but at this time I always sort of went with it. I kind of regret that at times now, so I'm glad you like the black hair XD It certainly does suit him ^_^
Thank you!
Oh Oh. It takes two to make a baby, Noah.
Blaming an unplanned pregnancy on her just isn’t fair.
So very true! Noah isn’t exactly thinking straight though at this point–he’s sort of in a blind panic at the prospect of yet another mouth to feed and its causing him to lash out and say things he doesn’t mean. Let’s hope they can sort things out…..
Also, welcome to Different Winters and thank you for both reading and commenting!!! ^_^;
o.o Bazooka? Why didn’t I think of that? I would have dodged so many diapers… But I can relate to their argument – both sides of it. I notice neither of them have friends outside of the home to talk to or hang out with so they’re both hiding emotions from each other that they would share with friends. Though, I can totally see the mid life crisis want to break up with their spouse or flirt with someone new, lol.
Hahaha, bazooka is certainly a very clever strategy 😉
Good on you for noticing their lack of connections outside of the home! That only compounded things because clearly there was a lot going on with both of them and none of it was being expressed until now…and in a not so nice way.
Perhaps this will be an eye-opening experience for them both…Whether that means looking to find someone new, or learning to become better at communicating with one another. I mean hopefully the latter, but who knows? 😉
Oho! What happened to the nice guy?
Looks like he had way too much stress bottled up! He should have been open with Aubrey from the start about how he was feeling =(
Aww Buttercup is adorable.
That fight between Aubrey and Noah though 😥 Breaks my heart. But I can understand why though. He and Aubrey are majorly stressed out, and then the news of a new baby as well on top of everything else.
Isn’t she just? Think we needed her sweet little face too what with that heartbreaking scene =(
They are majorly stressed…more than they even realized. The prospect of a new baby both made them highly aware of this and spells potentially even more to worry about *frets*
😦 I forget that it’s normal for couples to fight. Especially because Aubrey seems to always have a cheerful outlook on life. I hope they work things out. I don’t think Noah would walk out on her.
Even cheerful people have their moments T___T Let’s indeed hope that everything works out…. >.>
The Bazooka line lmfaoooo, I laughed but also damn that’s unfair! I didn’t see it coming, but honestly I feel like maybe Noah is one of those people who is optimistic on the outside, but inside they’re barely handling it. I think the stress is just getting to him, and it’s boiling over. That being said, while I understand he’s under a lot of stress and is probably very tired, I think the things he said were a bit overboard, and he should really apologize! I know with my husband and I the “eff you” line is a big no-no. I’m hoping they’ll work it through, I think they’re just emotionally exhausted. But admittedly I am very sad to see happy, optimistic Noah break so hard!
Yes! You are exactly right. Noah is absolutely one of those people who is optimistic and chipper on the outside, even when inside they may be a total mess. In a way, he was always being that optimistic to convince himself that everything was okay–like, “Maybe if I say it enough it’ll magically make it so”….but most things don’t work that way, and this was definitely one of those things. He blew up and it really was uncalled for. He should have been voicing some of these worries long ago, but instead he kept it all to himself until he just exploded on Aubrey and said a lot of things that he didn’t mean and now regrets. They’re definitely emotionally exhausted, and Noah even more so because he invested so much energy into pretending everything was okay, when it really wasn’t. Some more communication would really help them…..
That bazooka line made me laugh so much! Such a clever girl, that Aubrey.
Dang, I was wondering if there would be a baby number three on the way with all those fun times they had been having. I was also curious if that was Aubrey’s birthday wish coming true. If that’s the case, she might be feeling even more guilty because she wished for something that pushed her husband over the edge.
Poor Noah. As a person who usually tends to bottle up her emotions until I explode, I totally get it. He’s been the one trying to hold it together for his family. He works so much that he’s hardly ever home (even missing a birth because of it), taking care of the kids at night, trying to be a loving and doting husband, earning money to pay the bills (barely), and losing some fish in the shuffle. It seems like he put himself in a position where he felt like he was carrying the weight of the world on his back, and just when it seemed like the load would get a little lighter, it nearly crushed him instead.
I do hope that he and Aubrey can reconcile and use this as a moment to improve their communication and work together on being there for each other.
Absolutely. In part, Noah’s way of showing his family how much he loved them was working around the clock for them, but in the process he lost himself and ironically distanced himself from his family too. Then, when he clearly needed help, he just bottled up and worked even harder. It’s no wonder that it all eventually became too much. It seems he needs a reminder that there’s no burden he needs to shoulder alone. He and Aubrey are stronger together.