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"Forever & Always"; An Immortal Legacy
Nikkei_Simmer
Posts: 9,427 Member
Sims 3 Immortal Legacy (I don't do challenges...so don't expect me to adhere to the rules of the Challenge).
Forever & Always
Prologue
Riverview
November 1969
"I don't understand...we used protection." Caeden stated, a look of confusion on his face as he stared dumbfounded at Fiona. "We...bought them that same night...so how...?"
"I'm as confused as you are, Caeden, but it still doesn't make the baby go away...and I'm not getting an abortion." Fiona put her foot down as Caeden opened his mouth, "That's not happening. I'm raising this baby with or without your help."
"I...I..." Caeden stammered helplessly. He hadn't reckoned on anything more than a one-night stand but his own libido had betrayed him...and walked him down the aisle with the idea of a little more regularity. The protection that he'd always sought in terms of contraceptives failed and now he had a responsibility. One that he wasn't prepared for at all; a baby? A family on the way - that was far too much for him in any stretch of his imagination. "I don't even know what to think...Fiona...this is so sudden." He scratched his head trying to make heads or tails of the situation and still ended up coming up with no answers. "Fiona...I need time to think about this."
Yet Fiona couldn't help but wonder how she was going to manage when she saw Caeden turn on his heels and walk out the door, hands clasped behind his back as if in deep thought about his options.
Sunset Valley
May 1970
Fiona Kelly-McIrish had never realized what she had gotten herself into when it came to becoming a single mother. But emotionally, she'd fallen head over heels for the man who had impregnated her with child. But there would be no happy ending for Fiona who would end up having to raise her child on her own for the moment that she informed him of the fact that she was with child, he disappeared so fast that he left shoe-tread marks on the sidewalk.
It was at that point that she realized just what a mistake it was to believe the lies that one Caeden McIrish had whispered in her ear just to get her into bed with him, it appeared. After all, it appeared as though he was yet another one of those "love and leave" types though he had gotten farther than most - to the point of putting a ring on her finger, but just as fickle as those who were in her dating history.
With the pain of Caeden's disapppearance, she opted to move lock stock and barrel to a new town and that town would be her new beginning. Hopefully this would help her to mend her broken heart and perhaps to give her and her daughter, once she came into the world, a new start in life.
As she watched the Asian couple across the street who was also just moving into a 1BR home looking forward to starting their own life, she sighed sadly. In a ways, she envied that woman. That woman was lucky, her husband was there with her. But for Fiona, she'd never had much luck with guys, after all...it appeared as though all she could attract in any case were the ne'er-do-wells who didn't amount to anything and would be attracted to anything walking around in a skirt. And to be abandoned, especially in this state with child in womb and near penniless; she wondered how she was going to survive. Caeden had lied to her and told her all these things of how he was going to change, become the husband that he wanted to be and all that other malarkey which Fiona had fallen for hook-line-and sinker, but all for naught. The second he learned that Fiona had become pregnant and was with child, he'd packed up and shot out the door leaving her with no money and no way of providing for a baby that would soon be making its arrival in the world. Whatever was she going to do?
Why couldn't Caeden have been mature enough to take responsibility for his actions. Fiona knew that there were ramifications and she took full responsibility for having been blind enough to fall for Caeden's lies in the first place...so blind in fact that she had followed him right down that aisle.
The devil's advocate in her head taunted her, "You knew the risks of getting involved with Caeden McIrish; and you jolly well went down that road anyways." it snickered, "Devil's in the details, idnit? Now you've gone and done it and now ye're with a young'un. That'll teach you to do the beast with two backs. Now ye're in for it..."
"Well, I'm a tough Irish lass," Fiona said to herself, gritting her teeth, "I'm not letting one itinerant irresponsible lout get the best of me. If I have to dig and claw till my hands're raw, I'll do it and I'll make the best life possible for my daughter."
"How you know if it's a daughter? Maybe you'll spawn another irresponsible boy like his father. Considering your lil'one's genetics, it wouldn't be that far a stretch." Fiona fervently wished her little internal devil's advocate would just shut the hell up and let her be.
Everything would be alright, Fiona squared her shoulders..."I'll do what I have to do...and nothing you say...Go hifreann leat!"
And wonders of wonders, her internal devil's advocate actually shut up.
But fast on its silence, her own doubts came rushing in, Whatever was she going to do?
Forever & Always
Prologue
“Selfishness is like a disease that suffocates our capacity to love. While love asks us to deny ourselves for the sake of another, selfishness demands we put ourselves first at their expense. When we choose to be self-centered, we become less kind and content—more needy, sensitive, and demanding. More unsatisfiable. ~Stephen Kendrick
Riverview
November 1969
"I don't understand...we used protection." Caeden stated, a look of confusion on his face as he stared dumbfounded at Fiona. "We...bought them that same night...so how...?"
"I'm as confused as you are, Caeden, but it still doesn't make the baby go away...and I'm not getting an abortion." Fiona put her foot down as Caeden opened his mouth, "That's not happening. I'm raising this baby with or without your help."
"I...I..." Caeden stammered helplessly. He hadn't reckoned on anything more than a one-night stand but his own libido had betrayed him...and walked him down the aisle with the idea of a little more regularity. The protection that he'd always sought in terms of contraceptives failed and now he had a responsibility. One that he wasn't prepared for at all; a baby? A family on the way - that was far too much for him in any stretch of his imagination. "I don't even know what to think...Fiona...this is so sudden." He scratched his head trying to make heads or tails of the situation and still ended up coming up with no answers. "Fiona...I need time to think about this."
Yet Fiona couldn't help but wonder how she was going to manage when she saw Caeden turn on his heels and walk out the door, hands clasped behind his back as if in deep thought about his options.
Sunset Valley
May 1970
Fiona Kelly-McIrish had never realized what she had gotten herself into when it came to becoming a single mother. But emotionally, she'd fallen head over heels for the man who had impregnated her with child. But there would be no happy ending for Fiona who would end up having to raise her child on her own for the moment that she informed him of the fact that she was with child, he disappeared so fast that he left shoe-tread marks on the sidewalk.
It was at that point that she realized just what a mistake it was to believe the lies that one Caeden McIrish had whispered in her ear just to get her into bed with him, it appeared. After all, it appeared as though he was yet another one of those "love and leave" types though he had gotten farther than most - to the point of putting a ring on her finger, but just as fickle as those who were in her dating history.
With the pain of Caeden's disapppearance, she opted to move lock stock and barrel to a new town and that town would be her new beginning. Hopefully this would help her to mend her broken heart and perhaps to give her and her daughter, once she came into the world, a new start in life.
As she watched the Asian couple across the street who was also just moving into a 1BR home looking forward to starting their own life, she sighed sadly. In a ways, she envied that woman. That woman was lucky, her husband was there with her. But for Fiona, she'd never had much luck with guys, after all...it appeared as though all she could attract in any case were the ne'er-do-wells who didn't amount to anything and would be attracted to anything walking around in a skirt. And to be abandoned, especially in this state with child in womb and near penniless; she wondered how she was going to survive. Caeden had lied to her and told her all these things of how he was going to change, become the husband that he wanted to be and all that other malarkey which Fiona had fallen for hook-line-and sinker, but all for naught. The second he learned that Fiona had become pregnant and was with child, he'd packed up and shot out the door leaving her with no money and no way of providing for a baby that would soon be making its arrival in the world. Whatever was she going to do?Why couldn't Caeden have been mature enough to take responsibility for his actions. Fiona knew that there were ramifications and she took full responsibility for having been blind enough to fall for Caeden's lies in the first place...so blind in fact that she had followed him right down that aisle.
The devil's advocate in her head taunted her, "You knew the risks of getting involved with Caeden McIrish; and you jolly well went down that road anyways." it snickered, "Devil's in the details, idnit? Now you've gone and done it and now ye're with a young'un. That'll teach you to do the beast with two backs. Now ye're in for it..."
"Well, I'm a tough Irish lass," Fiona said to herself, gritting her teeth, "I'm not letting one itinerant irresponsible lout get the best of me. If I have to dig and claw till my hands're raw, I'll do it and I'll make the best life possible for my daughter."
"How you know if it's a daughter? Maybe you'll spawn another irresponsible boy like his father. Considering your lil'one's genetics, it wouldn't be that far a stretch." Fiona fervently wished her little internal devil's advocate would just shut the hell up and let her be.
Everything would be alright, Fiona squared her shoulders..."I'll do what I have to do...and nothing you say...Go hifreann leat!"
And wonders of wonders, her internal devil's advocate actually shut up.
But fast on its silence, her own doubts came rushing in, Whatever was she going to do?
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
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Chapter One: Sometimes Love is Not Enough
Fiona knew that it would be difficult being a single parent on her own and on top of that pregnant. With the fact that she had no way of knowing where Caeden had gone and disappeared to, there was no way that she would be able to track him down to go after him for child-support. If he was that irresponsible to ditch her when she was with child, she figured that he'd disappear if found and abscond on his child-support payments as well. There was no doubt about it. She would have to raise her child on her own.
With only §6,500 in her bank account, she was hard-pressed to really get anything. Unfortunately, until such time as her baby came of school-age, she wouldn't be able to do much. Perhaps she would need to figure out an alternative method of earning income in order to pay her bills and feed herself and her daughter. But that would take some doing. As it was, she had to feed herself tonight and sixty-five hundred simoleons would only go so far. She sounded far more enthusiastic to herself than was prudent, but if positivity buoyed the spirits, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
Fiona Kelly-McIrish had never been a whiz in the kitchen; in fact, she didn't like to cook at all. Buying food would be rather problematic since she had to make her finances stretch. In fact, she'd bought the place unfurnished to save money. She'd buy a second hand mattress with sheets in order to have a place to lay her head.
Her rumbling stomach reminded her that she was eating for two and that involved a scouting trip to find foodstuffs that she could potentially purloin. She'd noted on the taxi-ride into town that there was a science center...and there were apple trees at the park. She would take the opportunity to grab some free vegetables and fruits. At least they would sustain her while she attempted to learn to cook without burning the house down. Cooking was a skill that she hadn't yet learned to master, nor was she a natural cook so bully for trying.
Walking over there from her trailer took more out of her than she thought and it took her a few minutes before she was able to get down on one knee and start picking grapes. As she'd walked past the criminal hide-out on her way up to the science center she'd noticed that there were dumpsters and she resolved that she would hit those on the way home too. Maybe she might be able to find something that she could use to spruce up her place for a change. Right now there was absolutely no furniture in the house and it made it very hard to eat as she had to take her plate of food into the toilet and sit down on the toilet seat, which probably wasn't the most sanitary place to be eating food.
On her way over to Central Park she caught sight of a protest and nearly split her sides laughing when she found out that it was against clowns. Of course, she rationalized, clowns are probably scary for young children so I guess it makes sense to protest them. but the thought of seeing all the protesters up in arms waving their signs and hands and stamping their feet emphatically was a comical sight to behold.
In fact, the wife of her neighbour across the street got struck by lightning...which was absolutely hysterical. How Yoshinobu got stuck with a stuck-up snob like Mayumi was something else. Anyway, she was one of the screeching banshees that was protesting with all her might wanting safe-spaces for children against clowns. Mayumi was screeching "They're scary..." with a high-pitched squall that Fiona would bet money on that it would scrape paint off a wall.
When Fiona got home, she took the spoils of the harvest and made Autumn Salad, slicing and dicing up the vegetables into bite sized chunks and adding vinegar dressing. It was an olfactory fiesta for the senses; at least for a vegetarian. And then it was time for bed. The next morning was a downpour and it rained nearly all day. Thus Fiona had to stay home...she was starting to get very uncomfortable...as the pregnancy wore on and did not want to put un-necessary stress on the body. After all, stress was neither good for the foetus nor the mother.
On a vacant lot in Sunset Valley
"Cearbhall, your mother and father tossed you out! How can you say that we'll be all right?!" Moira Flanagan was nearly beside herself in panic. "If my ma finds out that I'm pregnant, she'll kill me."
"We have to run away then..." was Cearbhall's first idea which was quickly nixed. "Look neither of our families will help us if we continue the pregnancy. If it comes down to it, we run away; hide for the duration of time that it takes for you to have our baby, then we give her up for adoption. It's the only possible outcome, Moira...you need to understand that we cannot keep her if we want to make a life for ourselves. When we get settled, we'll search for her."
"Do you know how heartbreaking this is? Cearbhall...To give up my own flesh and blood?"
"Think of it, Moira, what kind of a life could we ever hope to give her? She is going to take money to raise and we don't have that kind of money to do so. What kind of a life would we be doomin' her to have if we were selfish to keep her?" Her hands were outstretched as if to ward off the words that Cearbhall was saying.
Moira's face crumpled and she sank to the ground. "I...I...can't..." she sobbed, "Don't make me give her up..."
She didn't see that Cearbhall's face was as pain-struck as hers.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Chapter Two: Farewell (Part 1)
(****CAUTION**** THESE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS MAY TRIGGER)
For Fiona, the next morning after the torrential rain and hailstorm, was yet another gathering trip out to keep from running out of supplies in the mobile home that she was living in. The fridge she had was a cheap one and it didn't keep things well frozen. Not only that, but the fridge tended to transmit other flavors of occupants of the fridge onto the leftovers, which made for some interesting olfactory as well as gustatory experiences for Fiona - not all of it good in the slightest. But a better fridge cost money and money was something that she didn't have much of, so she opted to try to not notice the different aromas entering her nostrils as well as playing on her palate whenever she took a bite of her food.
She managed to make it to the conservatory. In the morning when she'd woken, she'd been feeling crampy; not sharp painful cramps, but mild ones that reminded her of stomach discomfort. She also noticed some spotting on her briefs in the morning while in the washroom, but had paid no mind to it. It was when she'd gotten to the conservatory that she felt a foreboding feeling that something was not right and a warmth came over her lower abdominal area. She knew something was wrong...and it was a medical emergency. Checking, she realized with growing dread that her hand had come away sodden...with red along with bits of tissue.
The rest of it was a blur, a rush of medical procedures done at Sacred Spleen, a carefully orchestrated ballet of medicine to save her life and at the very end of the procedures, a numb Fiona emerged. She was no longer a mother. The two words, ectopic and pregnancy strung together had barely registered on her mind blurred with the anti-pain drugs for the surgeries barely registering the physicians going in and essentially purging her womb of any sign of her late daughter and leaving the shambles of a mind still reeling with loss and unspoken grief. All she knew was that after several months of pregnancy, she had to cope with the undeniable fact that she was no longer pregnant, no longer expecting a child that she could hold and call her own. The salt in the wound was the term incompetent uterus as if guilty by association. The only thing her mind heard was you can't give birth and it's your body's fault.
The months went by in a blurry haze of grief for Fiona. Firstly having to purge her body of what was left and then to lose the baby-weight that she had gained in the failed pregnancy. Her sole consolation was that she wouldn't have a memory of a man who had left. But she yearned for completion of a task left unfinished. She had mentally prepared to be a mother and when that was taken from her, she needed to find resolution.
Sunset Valley Adoption Center
"Are you sure that you're emotionally ready to move on to adoption?" Anna, the child adoption specialist looked critically at her. "I do have to warn you, Fiona, that you are not an ideal candidate for adoption. We normally look for stable couples who are established financially, not young single women." she paused for a moment to think of a way to make the words less harsh, "We do this for the sake of the child, you know. After all...they need the best possible chance in life after coming through such trauma."
This wasn't what Fiona was wanting to hear, but she knew that she would have to wait at the bottom of the list for an adoption to go through. And each baby that came through for adoption would end up being vetted to select the most suitable candidates. She was living out of a mobile home, not the most ideal place for a child and that the unintended consequence of trying to save money on accommodation would work against her in her ability to adopt a child. She wasn't trying to replace the daughter she wanted, but she was trying to rationalize that she was doing this to help raise an unwanted child. The doctors had flatly told her that to risk another pregnancy was to risk her own life...and that she may not be able to be saved the next pregnancy if it, too, was ectopic.
"I'm ready..." she said, even believing herself, as she stared back at Anna, "I may not have a man but I'm perfectly prepared to do what it takes to raise a child and give her the best possible chance at life. I don't intend to stay in a trailer park for the rest of my life as you are well aware." She noted that Anna scrawled something down on her pad.
"Even if you are the last one picked?" Anna asked her.
"Even if..." was her heartfelt response.
"...just so long as I'm on the list...of candidates to potentially adopt..." Fiona trailed off.
"Very well, then, I'll have you fill out the paperwork necessary to get you on the list of potential adopters...and then we'll see how it goes from there. But you do understand that there is no given that you will be receiving a child quickly let alone at any point in the process." Fiona tried to not look too hopeful, but didn't manage to succeed and Anna had caught and curtailed her optimism with that last sentence.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Chapter Three: Farewell (Part 2)
(****CAUTION**** THESE CHAPTERS MAY TRIGGER)
It didn't seem like very long until Moira gave birth to a baby girl and as she held her baby with blurry eyes, she wondered if she was doing the right thing in giving her up for adoption. Was her daughter going to go to a good home; was she going ever going to see her daughter again? The questions made it tough to even let go of her daughter but she knew she had to compartmentalize if she was going to ever go through with trying to make a life for herself and Cearbhall. At least her daughter would have the opportunity to grow up in a stable and secure family environment. She wouldn't have to know the struggles that Cearbhall and she were going to have to go through to even get financially solvent, if even two teenagers could manage to get jobs.
It was with wary caution that she sat down, her daughter in her arms in front of the adoption center social worker, Anna and told their story of why they couldn't keep their daughter. The fact that they were barely solvent and unable to feed her without resorting to methods that would run them afoul of the law. They needed to make sure that their daughter would be fine while they tried to survive. But even rationalizing that didn't make it any easier to give up someone who she carried around in her belly for so long and had an emotional bond towards. Even saying to herself that This is the best for her did not meet with a rational response. After all this was visceral, emotionally raw pain.
She hoped her voice was steady when she spoke, because it felt in her heart like she was going to fall to pieces.
Cearbhall came to sit down to offer support as well, but he was in the same shape as she was. He was just as attached to their daughter as she was and they were ripping big chunks out of their hearts.
"You are aware that you can choose to have visitation or not?" Anna mentioned. "It is a stressful time for both of you so you don't have to decide immediately, but I noted that in your records during intake that you are on the cusp of aging up to young adult. Are you sure that this is something that you still want to do? Give her up, that is."
"I understand..." Moira said as she took a deep breath before speaking further, "But I know that Cearbhall and I are going to go through some rough times together and I don't want her to have to suffer alongside us...it's better if she has a stable family and we can't provide that for her right now." She stopped before she choked on a lump in her throat..."...as much...as we want to hang on to her..." she said softly, barely audible.
"OK...then, we'll start the paperwork process. Do you have any preference for a type of family that she would go to?"
Cearbhall looked at Anna, "My father has a friend at work, but it appears that they have their own child on the way...we would have taken her in, but my da and my ma have o'er three brothers and two sisters, we cannot fit another child in...especially not my child." He looked at Moira silencing her objections with a shake of his head, "He would have, sweetheart, even if he didn't like it, the chid is our family...it's just that I didn't want to put our daughter through emotional trauma because of the circumstances of her arrival. If there's one thing we O'Briens are good at; it's laying guilt-trips on each other..." he snorted, "Me da's been doing that for years an' I"ll no longer hear it. I'll not put her in a place where there's such going on."
He paused for a long moment, "His name is Yoshinobu and..." He rattled off a phone number which Anna noted down on her pad of paper.
"We'll see if he can come down and be supportive of you two at least." Anna stated, hoping that the family friend that the young teen was talking about was a supportive type and wouldn't go and cause problems for the young couple who were trying to do the right thing, "Trying to raise multiples of the same age is bound to be very taxing on parents so we do hesitate to agree to home a child with another infant already in place and such a young child at that."
Moira could only hope that was the case. Her family was also tied in with the O'Briens and the family friend was one that she was familiar with. He was much younger than her father who was getting on in years and she had hoped that he and his pregnant wife could potentially raise her daughter together, but now she wasn't so certain. She wanted to keep her baby but it was impossible at this point in time.
There was a long moment of contemplation as they both wondered what would become of their daughter and once they let her go into someone else's hands, if they would ever be able to see her again. The only thing the two of them could do was to compartmentalize their feelings or end up breaking down.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
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