Searching for Something - Chapter 9 [Updated May 22]

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Introduction

Who am I? I am Vladimir Atticus, and on the left there, that’s my love Grace. She’s lived with her father, who is not a very nice person, to say the least, since her mother died in a fire when she was just a little kid. My life is a piece of cake compared to hers. I spend every moment I can with her, and often times she ends up sneaking through my window at night, just to escape her father. But she’s strong, and hates to show it when she feels weak.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_36764c58.jpg

She was my first kiss,
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_b6764ae3.jpg

My first love,
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_76764bfe.jpg

And the first person I’ve dreamed of being with forever.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_b6764cb0.jpg

I'm undeniably in love.
------------------------------------
Oops, sorry about the Plumbob-type things over their heads in the first kiss picture. :doh

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Grace and I were 18, just out of high school. She played guitar and dreamed of making it big in a band, and me, well, I was a writer. My dreams were on a slightly smaller scale; I just wanted to get something published. Right now, we were both still living at home.

She was happy when she was playing guitar,
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_d67e59ec.jpg

And I was happy when I was writing, so college never really fit into the equation for us.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_567e5963.jpg

I was jolted out of a day dream thinking about us and where we were headed by a strange sobbing sound.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_367e50fa.jpg

The source of the sound was an obviously hurt and distressed Grace wearing only her underwear. I jumped out of bed and tried to comfort her, knowing instantly her father had done this to her.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_367e515d.jpg

I took her shaky hand and led her to the bathroom where I attempted to undue as much damage as I could.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_767e5467.jpg

The end result was this:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_567e5550.jpg

She was freezing from running to my house in not a whole lot, so I gave her some of my pajama pants and did my best to make her feel safe.
She explained what had happened in a small voice, “He was angry and drunk and he…he took it out on me.”
“Oh, babe, I’m sorry,” I consoled her, “he isn’t ever gonna hurt you again. I promise.”
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you, too, Grace. More than anything.”

I came up with a plan to run away. Well, not really a plan, so to speak, but an idea. I usually didn’t think things through very much, and this was no different. Grace had fallen asleep and I wanted us to just leave. I woke her gently, explaining this to her, and after a little debating, she agreed.

So, we threw a few things into a back pack, and we left.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_367e5612.jpg

I kept my headlights off until we were down the street, and then we were home-free.
----------
Hmm...Something tells me I may be doing my table of content wrong...Anybody know? Oh yeah, Sorry for the crappy pictures. I was rushing >.<

[meggie272]

Oh, this is awesome!!
I love romance. I also love a good combination of drama and suspense, without too much of one or the other. This is the perfect mix, so far.
Update soon...you've got a potential reader-till-the-end here.

[sweetsweetie85]

Oh my gosh i love this im such a sucker for romance stories haha.

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Meggie272 - Thank you so much. I was trying not to make it too romance-y or to action-y, so it's nice to here it from someone that I'm at least doing something in this story right.

Sweetsweetie85 - Ha so am I! Thanks for giving me feedback, it's very much appreciated.

I'm working on an update now, and it should be up within the next few days. Sorry it's taking so long.

*~ChemicalCaitlin~*

[angel4rab]

oh i like! keep updating.

[ChemicalCaitlin]

We drove for what felt like hours. Well, actually it was hours. Grace fell asleep after a while and looking at her, I knew she didn’t deserve what happened to her. She looked like she was exhausted and ready to give up. No one deserved that, but especially not Grace. I wished so hard to take that pain away, to end the memories and nightmares.

After looking for a cheap motel, we finally ended up in the small town of Aberney, WV which was not a “hick town” by any means. We just happened to find the only trashy looking motel there – The Blue Bass Inn. We still decided on sleeping there, since it was only $60 a night and we were about to pass out from sleep deprivation. We took our bags, checked in, and surveyed what would be our “home” for at east the next few days.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_56af41c0.jpg

It was definitely not anything great, but we could deal with it. There was a double bed, old TV, mini-fridge, dresser-type thing, a couch that didn’t look comfortable, and a ratty bathroom.


Grace looked concerned.
“What’s wrong?” I quietly asked, hoping she wasn’t regretting being here with me.
“I dunno… this whole idea is kind of crazy. I mean, look at where we’re staying! What if we can’t make it alone? I’m terrified of having to go back,” she said, her eyes looking over the furniture.
“I’m scared, too,” I admitted, “but there’s no way we’re going back. We’re here now, and all I care about is you, okay?”
“I know. All I care about is you, too.”

I caressed her face, trying to comfort her.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_f6af42ae.jpg


She yawned, and I knew it was time for sleep. We crawled into bed and she settled into my chest. I knew with her beside me, that we would be okay. I nestled my face into her hair and breathed in her sweet smell, contemplating what the future might hold and the ramifications of what we had done.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_96af430b.jpg
-------------------------------

Ughh....Once again, I know my pictures are horrible. I don't have a whole lot of patience with them, so I'm really trying to work on that. Obviously haven't been working so hard. =] I'll be putting in more later, but I really wanted to get this up, So until I can get the pictures straightened out, please try to mainly just concentrate on the story line if you'd be so kind.

[mieley]

This story is great! It's so romantic how much he loves Grace. Keep updating, I really want to see what happens to them!

[KyleTheArtist]

what a twist!so romantic kinda reminds of my life. cept i left because of different things and my parents let me make a new start.

[drallab_mas]

I just started readin this and I definitely like it! I'm a sucker for romance stories, haha. And your pics aren't bad, btw...and you have decent grammar and no misspellings that I noticed...haha I'm a stickler for those things. Keep the updates comin!

[angel4rab]

really enjoying this. your pics are ok, keep updating.

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Thanks so much for the support everyone!! I'm going to update the pictures sometimes in the next day or two.

To avoid double posting, I'm just gonna edit this post. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'm working on it, but I've been sick and my computer has been a little spazz-y. Please be patient, and as always, I love the feedback from everyone.

[ChemicalCaitlin]

This is just a short update, but what happens in this chapter will have a major affect on the story, so it does hold importance. :mute:
-----------------------------------
After a few days of motel living, we decided to go looking for a house to rent, but we had no such luck. We needed to find jobs, too, but we wanted to find a house first. Grace was feeling a bit down, so we decided to go to the Carnival to take our minds off of everything!
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_36caa477.jpg

We rode the roller coaster,
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_76caa71e.jpg

The bumper-cars,
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_56caa81b.jpg

And even the carousel.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_96caa7bb.jpg

It was lovely to act like kids again, which as something neither of us had gotten the chance to do it a long time.

After we arrived back at the motel that night, things heated up, I suppose you could say.
“I love you,” I whispered to Grace.
“I love you, too, Vladimir. I…want you…” She trailed off.

We moved toward the bed, her breathy whisper in my ear. I kissed her forehead first, then her lips, and as one thing led to another, I believe you can assume what we did.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_56caa610.jpg

It was wonderful, yes, but the scene was not at all how I’d imagined. We were in a motel room , which sounded almost sleazy, and while it was not how I’d pictured this night happening, it was amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Feeling Grace next to me was the closest I’d ever been to heaven, and I never wanted that to change.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_b6caaa6a.jpg
----------------------------
The lovely Carnival was made by Echo, whose Mod the Sims 2 profile can be found HERE (http://modthesims2.com/member.php?u=42165). So all creative genius for that goes to her. :bow2:

[sweetsweetie85]

A little unexpected but great update.

[ChemicalCaitlin]

sweetsweetie85 - I hadn't planned on making this this chapter go like this, so it actually surprised me, too! Thanks for the support! :D

[jewaukeela]

i thought, no offense, that any romance stories were going to be terrible. i was wrong. can't wait for the next update!

[Random~Boom]

I loved it! Can't wait for next update.
Off-topic: Finally found someone on here that's also from West Virginia! I thought I was the only one!

[KyleTheArtist]

Oh my! I love the update! keep it up!

[Mrs.Kuma]

i really like this story! He's such a nice guy, cant wait to see what happeneds to them!

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Jewaukeela - ha, I'll take that as a compliment!

Random~Boom - Yay, other West Virginians!

Kyle -Thanks very much!

Mrs.Kuma - Yeah, I tried to make him a nice guy, since I love those types.

I'm currently working on an update, should be up in the next few days! Thank you very much for all the love everyone!!! :beer:

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Finally, after searching for a few more days, Grace and I found a house we like. It’s little, only 5 rooms, but it’s perfect for us.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_f6ff2ced.jpg

We also managed to get jobs at a little toyshop, and find some used stuff for our house at Goodwill and yard sales. Sure, this is not at all where I’d expected to be right now, and it’s a lot harder than it looks, but I know that somehow we’ll make it. So we went to sleep on our mattress (that’s currently on the floor) feeling a lot better than we had in a long time.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_36ff3241.jpg

The next day we spent outside playing in the snow like we were 5. We may have been borderline poor, but we weren’t gonna let that stop us from having fun.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_96ff32f7.jpg

A few weeks had passed and Grace had taken a few days off of work because she was feeling increasingly sick, though we both thought it as just the flu. I came home from work that night to a surprise. Grace was sitting on the couch, her face in her hands, almost to the point of tears.

“What’d I miss?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood, as I walked over towards her.
She looked up at me and whispered, “I’m pregnant.”
I had almost reached the couch where she was sitting at this point, and I decided to just take a seat on the ground to keep from passing out.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_b6ff2b0e.jpg

“You’re…pregnant?” I asked, amazed. I wasn’t sure if I should be upset or excited so I just kept my mouth shut.
“I want this, more than anything, but what are we gonna do? We can barely afford stuff for ourselves!” She said, looking heartbroken.
Grace always thinks for the future, while I think for the present.
“I dunno, we’ll just…love it.” I said. Yes, I know, such a genius answer.
“Just please don’t leave me,” she whispered.
“What? I wouldn’t do that. You know that.”
So, we talked for a long time about how we were going to do this, and decided rather quickly that there was no way we could ever give up this baby. It was ours, and we loved it already. I loved the idea of being a father, even though it was hard to wrap my head around, and I vowed to do a better job than my father, who practically drank himself to death and didn’t exactly treat me the best. On the other hand, Grace was right, we had pretty much no money right now. I knew Grace was freaking out, as was I, so tried to my best to help her, even if I was having a hard time handling myself and my damn emotions.

-------------------------------------------
Hope you like it! :beer: Please comment!!

[sweetsweetie85]

Awww cool this story is getting good i can tell already. Great update.

[KyleTheArtist]

I like the update. Keep it up. I love where this is going.

[decoyenderek_SC]

Great update!

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Thanks for the love everyone! Just as a question, is Vladimir too nice or unrealistic, in your opinion?

By the way, I'm working on an update, but I don't know when it'll be up, since I can barely breathe because of all the stuff for school (standardized test; projects; finals & etc.) It may not be up until sometime in early June, since school gets out June 5th. =]

[sweetsweetie85]

I think that in some opinions he might be but I dont think so my husband and him are actually sorta similar.

[ChemicalCaitlin]

It hadn’t been more than 3 weeks later when I awoke to the smell of smoke.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_373c3c4b.jpg

My groggy brain slowly came to the terrifying realization: Shit, Smoke = FIRE!
“Grace,” I screamed, “get up, please wake up, babe!”
“Huh?” she muttered. I half dragged her out of bed before she realized what was happening.
“Oh, God, we have to get out of here,” I said
“How?”
“Stay back,” I told her as I felt the door. It was warm, but not burning hot, and I knew we were going to have to go that way, “Stay down and hold on to me, Grace, okay?”
She looked scared, but she nodded anyway.
As soon as I opened the door the smoke blinded our views. We stayed as low to the ground as possible, ran into several dead ends, and we were becoming delirious. Grace kind of took over by now and she’s the one who led us to a window that we managed to kick out. We fell to the ground in a heap and I held her tighter than I ever had. We still had to get away from the house, so I literally carried Grace to the road, fairly far away from the fire.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_173c6459.jpg

We watched what we had worked to get and keep go up in flames, and we were completely and utterly heartbroken. We were both crying by now, and coughing from the heavy smoke. I heard the sirens in the distance and hoped they would get here soon.

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_773c678d.jpg
It was then that Grace passed out and I was unable to get her to wake up.
I was screaming, which hurt like hell on my already raw voice, for someone to please help, to do something, and the neighbors gathered, but none were exactly helpful. Finally the firefighters arrived, as did the ambulance. They wanted me to ride in a different ambulance than Grace, but I refused, saying that I as fine, over and over again. She needed help a lot worse than I did and I wanted to be there. Finally they agreed.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_973c6802.jpg

Then the bombarding of questions began.
Her name? Grace Areilo.
Date of birth? Novmber 5th, 1990
Health problems? None.
I couldn’t think fast enough. They didn’t ask if she was pregnant, so I just told them anyway. When I did, I felt all eyes roam over to me.
How pregnant? About 6 weeks.
Once again, all eyes roamed to me, and then they roamed to Grace. She had to breathe through an oxygen mask and it killed me to see her like that. She was so…helpless, and let me tell you – Grace is rarely helpless.

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_573c6b6b.jpg
Once we arrived at the hospital, we were poked and prodded, and we had to wait to see if our baby was still alive. The stress was killing me, and I had to get out of the room for a minute. I ran to the bathroom, puked, and looked at myself in the mirror. I was covered in soot and the tears were still streaming down my face. The realization that we were homeless, broke, and that our baby could be dead, on top of the fact that Grace and I could be put to blame for a fire we didn’t cause, and she could have permanent lung damage all came to me at once. I feel like we had taken 10 steps forward and about a million back.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_573c6ebc.jpg

I walked back to the room and held Grace so tightly it hurt. Finally they came and took her back to an ultrasound room. We were, despite our lack of religion, praying so hard to hear something. Then, we heard our baby’s heartbeat. It was the faintest sound, but it was there. And that meant, of course, that we still had a baby. We were so relieved and the tears of pain soon turned to tears of joy. The doctors left us in her room alone, and I apologized.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_173c7166.jpg

“For what?” she whispered, her voice even more hoarse than mine.
“Because I should’ve done something more to get us out.”
No,” she whispered, “it’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. It happened and yes, it’s horrible, but we’re still here and so is our baby, and I love you and nothing’s gonna change. Okay?”
“I know,” I said, “I love you so much and I just…I never saw this coming. But I want you to know that I’m not leaving no matter how hard it gets.”
“Yeah, I know you’re staying, or else you would’ve been gone by now.”
And with that, I squeezed on the bed with her, snuggled against her, and whispered to her until she fell asleep.

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Rather ominous turn, I know. :| Please comment and rate =] :duck:

[wtfkelsey]

Agh!! It's so cute!! Hurry up and update soon! :]

[Petlover1217]

I love it when men are so brave and still hope the baby is still alive after an accidental pregnancy. Sooo cutttee!

[sweetsweetie85]

Awww so cute! sad that they lost their home though.

[el_flel]

So sad :( I hope things get better for them!

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Thanks everyone, for the comments. They all made me smile. I can't promise things will get better for them in the very near future...but... ;)

I realize that in almost every chapter, there's a bed, and it usually plays a somewhat-important part. :lol: :turtle: :jest:

[decoyenderek_SC]

Well the bed is the key for every good day, right?

I can't believe that I finally noticed an update! How blind am I?

I hope things get better for them.

[KyleTheArtist]

This is so cute! great update!

[ChemicalCaitlin]

To everyone who reads my story - I'm truly sorry I haven't updated. I'm writing this from my laptop, which doesn't have the Sims 2 or 3 on it. My family's "main computer," which does have the Sims 2 and 3 on it is broken for the time being. My dad was trying to clean the inside of it, since he's a computer ninja master, and he somehow messed up the processor. He's got another one on order, and he should be able to fix it in the next week or two. I've been without the Sims 2 and 3 for a few weeks, and I'm pretty desperate to get to work on the story myself. I'm really, really sorry, so I offer you virtual...cups..of...things-that-look like-liquid-that's-most-likely-beer-but-we'll-pretend-it's-hot-chocolate. -> :Pint:

Oh, and does anyone care whether I use Sims 2 or 3 for pics?

The rest of this is so off topic.
:llama: Everyone appreciates a good llama picture. =) Someone really needs to limit my inappropriate use of smiley face icon things, but that's no fun. :giggler: :turtle: :beer:

[sweetsweetie85]

In my opinion i think doing it in sims 2 would be better just because the sims 3 look waaaay different then the sims 2 but its your story and im sure we can get used to the sims 3 characters in your story if thats what you would prefer.

[ChemicalCaitlin]

I don’t want to go into detail about what happened when we went back to the house, but I will say there were lots of tears and almost everything was unsalvageable. We found a few small items – a few of my short stories, some of Grace’s guitar tabs, a few outfits each, and most amazingly, there were some pictures of us, pictures that should have been burned, but that weren’t – other than that, though, everything was burned.

We were, essentially, starting over, and it felt like a huge disappointment. A small part of both Grace and I felt like we couldn’t do this anymore, like we should just go home. But home was not an option, and so we looked for somewhere to stay. We eventually found a rather cheap (and you could see why) house to rent, which is not at all where we’d envisioned ourselves, but hey, it was much better than nothing, and better than some people had.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_3792071f.jpg

The couple of weeks that followed, Grace and I didn’t see a whole lot of each other. We were both stressed from putting in tons of hours at our jobs, and we’d been a little snappy with each other. Still though, it surprised me when I woke up during the night to find Grace not in bed with me. I didn’t immediately freak out, she could have just gotten up, but I looked through the house and didn’t see her anywhere. I was just about ready to panic, when I looked out the window and saw she was sitting on the tire swing out front. Her fists were balled up and I could see her forehead was pressed against the swing. She was crying I could tell, so I went to see why that was.
I came up beside her, whispering “Grace? What’s wrong?”
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_9791af07.jpg

She turned toward me suddenly and said “Oh, geez, I didn’t see you there.” Then she wiped her eyes and said “Nothing’s wrong, I’m okay. I just needed a little fresh air.” She tried to flash a little smile, but it was obviously forced.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_1791af4c.jpg

“You don’t look okay.”
“I am, I promise.”
“You sure?”
“Not really,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes again
“Come here, babe,” I said, holding my arms out toward her.
When she got to me, she basically fell into my arms. I couldn’t believe how much I’d missed feeling her against me.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_3791aff5.jpg

Tomorrow, I thought to myself. Tomorrow will be the day.


-------------------
Eeh-Gasp! What could tomorrow possibly bring?? I had to add some suspense somewhere, and this seemed like a good spot.
-------------------
I'll probably update this pretty soon. I SWEAR it won't take nearly as long this time, and I truly apologize for the two month wait.
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Sorry the pics are small and a bit hard to see, I'm not sure why that is. I guess I uploaded them with too small a size.
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My kitty, Peanut, is sitting with me, and she says that you should all rate and comment and tell me what you think. :giggler: :D

[sweetsweetie85]

Lol i like the suspense it was nice i hope nothing to serious is wrong with grace. Your kitty peanut says lol must be a cute cat i have one too. Great update looking forward to the next one.

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Ha, thank you, and yes I think Peanut's quite adorable, but maybe I'm biased. ;) Yours must be cute, too!

I should hopefully be updating soon, but I'm so exhausted from school that I'm not sure when it'll happen.

And, AHHHH I HAVE 700 VIEWS! That excites me SO much more than it should, so thanks to everyone who's ever looked at this!

[Prosthetics]

MOAR!



*filler, since moar is not enough, apparently*

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Posthetics - Haha. There will be MOAR very soon, within the next day or two, if procrastination doesn't get the better of me. I hate the 7 character at least limit. It messes up lolcat speak =D

[KyleTheArtist]

love the suspence. When you take pictures, try to pause, instead of build mode.

and my cats name is Reeses. Are they related?xD

[ChemicalCaitlin]

KyleTheArtist - Wow, you're right. I totally just noticed it was in build mode. Haha, wow, Peanut and Reeses. If they're not related, they should be! xD

[ChemicalCaitlin]

We talked all through the night about a lot of things, and I won’t bore you with details, but I think it suffices to say we were definitely better than okay by morning.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_77babe7e.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_77babf1c.jpg

We then fell asleep exhausted, and afterward, we sat out by the little pond behind our house.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_97bae7dd.jpg

I whispered in her ear, “I wanna go somewhere tonight.”
“That sounds amazing. Where to?” Grace asked
“Well, that’s my little secret. It’s the kinda place you get dressed up to go to, though.”
She looked at me like I might have gone crazy. As you might have imagined, I haven’t been the king of spontaneity lately. There’d been enough of that caused by things outside of our control lately that it was enough for both of us.
Then she smiled and said “Okay, but this better be good if I’m being forced to wear a dress.”
Then we cuddled and snuggled and kissed and did what we always did. Deep down, though, my heart felt like it was going to bust out of my chest.


That night, when we both were dressed up, we got in the car and headed for the aforementioned planned destination. When I parked in front of one of the fanciest restaurants near here, Grace raised her eyebrows, looked impressed, and said “You sure you got the directions right?”
“I’m sure,” I said, and flashed a nervous smile.
“Wow, this place looks amazing.”
“The most amazing place, for the most amazing girl. You deserve it.”
She blushed and said, “That’s not true! And you deserve it, too.”
“You are the most amazing person I’ve ever met, Grace. You sell yourself short way too much.”
I kissed her then, and I was so nervous my hands were shaking.
“Are you okay? You seem a little shaky," she asked, concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just cold. Let’s go in.”

We ordered, ate the most amazing dinner we’d had in a long time, and after the dishes were cleared, as we were getting ready to leave, I said “Hold on a minute.”
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_9791b2c0-1.jpg
“Okay, what am I missing?”
“Grace, earlier when I told you that you were the most amazing person I’d ever met, I meant it. A lot of times things haven’t been easy, but we’ve always been there for each other, no matter what. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t had you there with me. If I had my way, I’d spend every moment of every day with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you more than anything in this world, and I was wondering, will you marry me?” I was so nervous I could feel my heartbeat in my ears.
I reached into my pocket pulling out the box, and slid it across the table to her.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_d791b229-1.jpg

“Oh wow, Vlad, oh my God,” She whispered, taking the box.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_b791b23f-1.jpg

She looked up at me, smiling, tears in her eyes and said “Yes, a million times yes, I will marry you! I love you so much." She then opened the box and holding the ring up, admired it. "It's perfect, babe, it's perfect."
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_9791b264-1.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_d791b283-1.jpg
She slid it on her finger, and touched it gently, unable to control her smile.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_d791b2a0-1.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_5791b2b1-1.jpg
She stood up and threw herself into my arms, and I was on top of the world.

----------------------------
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I thought it was high time for a little optimism :lovestruc
----------------------------
I tried to make my pictures look decent this chapter, so I hope they were better.
----------------------------
Please comment, I love to know what you all think! :king:
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One revelation I made during this chapter. Why in the heck do Sims wear their engagement rings on their middle fingers?

[KyleTheArtist]

aaaw! reminded me of my proposal xD

My husband just stopped me in the middle of the park when we were going home and he told me," guess what?" and I said what? he said guess, and I said I don't know what? and then he stood on his knee and gave me a ring xD I cried :D it is weird bec ause when you imagine how it would be, but when it gets to it, your reaction is totaly different xD

[ChemicalCaitlin]

My husband just stopped me in the middle of the park when we were going home and he told me," guess what?" and I said what? he said guess, and I said I don't know what? and then he stood on his knee and gave me a ring xD I cried :D it is weird bec ause when you imagine how it would be, but when it gets to it, your reaction is totaly different xD

Aww, that's so cute. For some reason that made in an all happy mood. :luff:

[Prosthetics]

IS THIS WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS? MARRIAGE PROPOSAL?

haha...how incredibly endearing that he's so nervous XD

[ChemicalCaitlin]

IS THIS WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS? MARRIAGE PROPOSAL?

haha...how incredibly endearing that he's so nervous XD

Haha, yes. That is what tomorrow brought. =D I also figured he couldn't be all confident, that just wouldn't be made of awesome. :king:

I'm so proud of myself. I've got this quoting thing down now xD

[ChemicalCaitlin]

One thing I realized looking at my pictures: Vladimir's hair keeps changing from black to brown. >.< It should be black, but apparently I have issues with lighting in my game, and the brown and black sort of look the same until I see the pics later. whoops.

Also, update coming soon, within the next couple days!! =D

EDIT: By "Next couple days" I suppose I meant eventually. sorry =/ Soon I promise!!

[magicklovah]

Awesome! I hope that you can get the chapter up soon! So far it's been really good! :)

[ChemicalCaitlin]

magicklovah - Thanks so much! Chapter should be soon-ish, but I have the flu right now so I'm not feeling fantastic or particularly creative. As soon as I'm better, though, I promise it'll get updated. =]

[sweetsweetie85]

Awsome update. Im so happy that you threw some optomism in they needed some kind of happy to come in there lives.

[KyleTheArtist]

i love it. SO romantic :)

[ChemicalCaitlin]

sweetsweetie85 - Thanks! I thought they needed some optimism, too.

KyletheArtist - Thanks =D Romance is my thing. xD

Oh my potatoes!! 950 views!! I'm so happy :king: !!! Thanks to everyone who looks at this!!

[ChemicalCaitlin]

As the next week passed, Grace’s belly expanded, revealing the little creature living inside.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_382acc25-1.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_b7c0dace.jpg

Mostly, life was normal. Lots of cuddles and kisses, and the occasional late-night stare-at-the-wall thinking session.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_382acd29-1-1.jpg

Before I knew it, Christmas was upon us.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_f82acbff-1.jpg

It’s no secret we weren’t rolling in money, but I really wanted to get something I knew Grace loved. I had a feeling she was scheming something, too.

So on Christmas morning we were slow dancing in the living room when I whispered “I have a surprise for you.”
“Oh, really?” she asked, burying her head in my shoulder.
“Yepp. Wait down here and I’ll tell you when to come up.”
“Mmkay,” she said, this little smile creeping across her face.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_b82ad292-1.jpg

I bolted up the stairs, and after a few minutes with more than a few snafus, I yelled, “Come up now!”
As Grace walked up the stairs and saw the present waiting for her, the look on her face was priceless. A right shiny new keyboard piano was waiting for her. She let out a not-so-little squeal of delight and immediately sat down and started playing.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_b82ad445-1.jpg

Then she stood up and threw her arms around me, “Ah, Vlad, thank you so much. This is amazing. I LOVE YOU!!! Wait, I have something for you too!”
She pulled out skateboard from under the bed, and it was my turn to freak out.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_f82ad4a3.jpg

“Oh wow, babe, this is awesome,” I said, and once again there was arm-throwing-around-ing.

Our other presents were just little things, and then we got a few things for the baby.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_782ad34e-1.jpg

A few days after, we had a Christmas party, where we entertained the few friends we’d made. It was nice to hear from people that they thought we’d be good parents. It probably didn’t mean much to them, but to us it meant a whole lot.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_b82ad857.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_782ad7b7.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_182ad745.jpg

Afterward, we were cleaning up in the living room, when we found ourselves under the mistletoe.
I kissed her and whispered, "You think we did good?"
"I think we did good." :lovestruc
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/cgirlrox10/snapshot_56763d35_f82ad8c9.jpg

-----------------
So so so sorry for the delay. My personal life keeps interrupting my simmies.

[EvilOverlord]

Great story, Caitlin! 5 stars :D

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Thanks, EvilOverlord :anime:

New chapter should be up by the end of this week *Crosses fingers*

[saraht855]

This is really good Caitlin :)

i can't wait for the next update :)

[mrsnava82]

I love your story, can't wait for the next chapter

[KyleTheArtist]

I missed the update oh noes! This is so cute, i love how they are still happy even though life is horrible! keep it up, Caitlin :D .

[mochasista]

Where did you get the baby stuff?I love it.

[ChemicalCaitlin]

Thanks everyone :) It means a lot!!

mochasista - I'm not sure, but I'll try to find out and get back to you.
EDIT: the swing can be found: HERE (http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=317114), and the bassinet can be found:HERE (http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=56484)

[sweetsweetie85]

AWWWWWWWW thats so sweet they got each other surprises and even though they were small things it meant so much to them.

[ChemicalCaitlin]

There was a part two to our Christmas, too. I decided that we needed to get away. Life was… eventful, though not in a good way. We took a little day trip to a campground called Tyler Hills. It was beautiful, the perfect thing to take our mind off things. The best part though, was that there was no snow!
http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/xx198/ChemicalCaitlin/snapshot_56763d35_9886e9e6.jpg

We fished and hiked and spent time relaxing and not worrying about life.
Grace kissed me softly and whispered, “I love you. I know we don’t say it enough anymore. But I love you so much, and I always will.”
“I know, babe, and I love you, too. I just wish I could give us more sometimes, yunno?”
“Yeah,” was her simple response.
http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/xx198/ChemicalCaitlin/snapshot_56763d35_b886ebe7.jpg

We laid their quietly, knowing that in not so long our lives were going to be inevitably changed. In half a year, I’d be a father. I’d have a baby that we were totally responsible for. And while the idea was extremely terrifying, it was also in a way comforting. It was like knowing that no matter what happened between Grace and I, there would always be someone that we could love unconditionally, and who would love us back, and who could be a testament to the love Grace and I shared.
http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/xx198/ChemicalCaitlin/snapshot_56763d35_b886ec6f-1.jpg