Elizabeth's Journey: A Miracle Child and a Broken Heart.

It was 1:32 a.m. and Elizabeth had just put the triplets back to sleep after their midnight feeding. Ryan woke up while Elizabeth was putting Ian in his crib and he was not in the mood to go back to sleep. Elizabeth did not want him to wake Ian so she decided she would try to Teach Ryan to talk. She was sitting on the floor with her eyes closed and saying butterfly over and over again when she felt an odd feeling. It felt almost like an actual butterfly was flying around in her stomach. No, not her stomach it was lower then that. It almost felt like... A baby.

"It is not possible", Elizabeth said aloud to herself while she was sitting on the couch. It is only three days after the birth of the triplets and I have not even asked Daniel to Try for Baby. Elizabeth was nervous, she did not think it was even possible for her to be pregnant but she decided to wait up for Daniel anyways. Daniel usually got off of his shift at the hospital at around 3:00 a.m. now days. He had an odd schedule because he had been promoted again to Trauma Surgeon. This particular morning though Daniel did not get home until 5:30 a.m.

"Your late", Elizabeth said while getting up from the couch. Daniel jumped when he heard Elizabeth, "Oh, you scared me", Daniel said walking over towards her. "Where were you?" Elizabeth asked with a suspicious look on her face. "I went and bought birthday cakes again", Daniel said smiling. She knew that Daniel was going to buy the cakes. He wanted the triplets to grow into toddlers so that he could teach them how to walk and talk. "Well that is great!" Elizabeth said while walking towards that kitchen, "Because I think I am pregnant." Daniel grabbed Elizabeth by her shoulder then to stop her. She turned and looked at Daniel, "What do you mean you are pregnant? That is not possible." "I know. We have not even gotten close to "Try for Baby" yet", Elizabeth said confused. Daniel was seeming to get a little testy. "Then how are you pregnant?" Daniel said while his face was getting flushed, "Are you having an affair?" "What? No", Elizabeth said astonished that he would even ask such a thing. "Good, I do not know what I would do if you were sleeping with another man." Daniel said relieved. "Well, After this child no more, ok? It is getting hard to pay the bills and we are running out of room in this house." Elizabeth was surprised at how much those last two statements hurt her. It was probably because they both conflicted with the 100 Baby Challenge. She looked at Daniel and decided that she needed to tell him then and there about the challenge. "Actually, I am going to have more children", Elizabeth said. She was beating around the bush. "How many more?" Daniel asked. He was confused by her statement. "Well, if I am pregnant right now. Then that would bring the total to five. So then I will have ninety-five more children after that", Elizabeth said nervously. Daniel scoffed not thinking she was serious, "Not with me you aren't." Elizabeth got really nervous then and started back towards the fridge to start breakfast. "Well, about that", Elizabeth started. Then she decided to get straight to the point, "I am going to do the '100 Baby Challenge'. I actually kind of already am." Daniel was astonished, he had heard of this challenge before, "But the rules say that you can only have one child with each guy you sleep with. You already had four with me and this next child will be the fifth. So you broke the rules." Daniel had hoped that what he had just said would make her change her mind about doing the challenge. "Well, I decided already that I would break the rules by having more then one child with you. And technically the child that I am pregnant with is 100 percent me. Since you did not get me pregnant", Elizabeth said while digging through the fridge. Daniel's blood started to boil, "Wait, you mean you are planning on having children with men other then me?" "Yes", Elizabeth said while closing the fridge door. She looked at Daniel and they locked eyes.

All Daniel could see then was a lot of other men touching his wife. Kissing his wife. Having a child with his wife. As he stood there he felt his anger start to rise. And as Elizabeth stood there all she could see was the anger starting to creep across Daniel's face. And then it happened, Daniel lost it. He started to scream profanities at Elizabeth. And all Elizabeth could do was to stand there and take it. She was used to it. Being backed into a corner, feeling useless against the pain, watching the one that was supposed to love and understand you hurt you in any way they knew how.

Daniel never hit or even touched Elizabeth, but he did yell at her. A lot. And eventually he just walked out the front door and left. Elizabeth was nearly in tears. All she could do was slump to the floor and cry. But before any of those horrible tears fell from her eyes she heard the sound of someone else crying. It was Ryan. He must have been woken up when Daniel slammed the door. So Elizabeth picked up herself and her shattered heart, got up off of the floor, and went to get Ryan. She got Ryan dressed and decided to go tend to her garden. She spent a lot of time in her garden with Ryan when she wanted time to think. She liked listening to the sounds of the birds chirping and she loved to hear Ryan rambling on and on. He was saying, "Mama woves Wyan" and "Wyan woves Mama" over and over. And after a while Elizabeth had successfully cleared her head and had completely forgotten about the fight. But then Ryan innocently said, "Wyan woves Dada". And with that Elizabeth dropped to her knees and cried.

After Daniel had left the house he went to where he would always go to get his mind off of things. The bar. He never got drunk, he just liked the bar environment. He ordered a round of beer and sat down. He had already cooled off by the time he had gotten to the bar, but he was just too ashamed to go home. "I can not believe I just yelled at Elizabeth", Daniel said while staring blankly at the neon sign on the wall. He and Elizabeth had never ever had a fight before. Daniel stayed, drank a beer, and then he came to a conclusion. He had to move out.

Daniel finally got back to the house at 12:35 p.m. He arrived to find Elizabeth sitting on the couch waiting for him. "Where are the kids?" Daniel asked taking a seat next to her. "They are taking a nap", Elizabeth answered while scooting away from him. "Look. You deserve the right to be mad at me. But I also have the right to be mad at you. I mean how long have you known that you wanted to do this challenge?" Daniel said looking to Elizabeth with a questioning face. Elizabeth looked back at him and said, "Since I was five." "Well then I hate to do this", Daniel said turning his whole body towards her. He placed his hand on hers and said, "You have to choose. Me or the challenge." Elizabeth just stared at Daniel with a shocked expression, "Well since I have to choose then I choose the challenge. I have wanted to do the challenge longer then I have wanted to do you." Elizabeth ripped her hands away from Daniel then and stood up. "Then it is settled, I will move out after this next baby is born", Daniel said. He acted cocky and brave, but inside his heart was breaking. He thought for sure that Elizabeth would choose him, but she did not. And that hurt him much more then Elizabeth could have possibly realized. "Fine, you need to baby sit the kids", Elizabeth said walking towards the door. "Why?" Daniel asked feeling as though he might melt into the couch. He was trying so hard to hold it together. "I need to go visit Dr. Blueflame and see how far along I am", and so Elizabeth walked out the door. Just as the door shut Daniel lost it. He put his head in his hands and quite simply... he cried.

Elizabeth walked outside and she got in her car. It was at that moment that she realized... she had no clue where she was going. She rushed out in such a hurry that she had not even called Dr. Blueflame yet. She picked up her phone then to call Dr. Blueflame. She looked down and noticed that her hands were shaking. "What in the world?" Elizabeth thought setting back down her phone. And then Elizabeth realized that her hands were not what was shaking, she was. In fact she was not shaking at all. She was sobbing. Uncontrollably. She grabbed her chest then because the pain hit her. She felt like her chest was being ripped open. Like a speeding eighteen wheeler rammed into her. She felt like her chest was emptied and filled with lava. So she sat there and cried for an hour. Then when she finally became able to control herself and the pain turned to numbness she took a breath and called Dr. Blueflame. Dr. Blueflame told her that she would meet her at the park. It was Dr. Blueflame's idea and Elizabeth agreed to it. But when Elizabeth drove up she realized that she made a mistake. There in plain sight was the exact spot where she and Daniel had gotten married. The pain started to prickle her again and she grabbed her chest once more when she parked her car. She spotted Dr. Blueflame only a minute later. She got out of the car and pretended to be ok. And she was doing good too. But then Dr. Blueflame asked one simple question, "How is Daniel?" And Elizabeth felt her charade slip away, she reached forward and grabbed Dr. Blueflame into a hug and started to bawl. Dr. Blueflame did not say a word, she just stood there and hugged Elizabeth until she got control again.

After a couple of minutes Elizabeth's sobs quieted and her tears slowed. Dr. Blueflame stepped back then and looked at Elizabeth, "Do you want to talk about it?" Elizabeth, who was still sniffling, looked at her and quietly said, "No". "Ok, so do you want to know your babies gender?" Dr. Blueflame asked changing the subject. Dr. Blueflame was perfect. She did not question further, or interrogate Elizabeth like Victoria would have, she just let it go and moved on. "Yes please", Elizabeth said managing to smile. "Well, It looks like a girl to me", Dr. Blueflame said smiling, "You are only on the first day." "How odd... I am bigger then I usually would be. And I had no morning sickness. Are you sure it is only one baby?" Elizabeth said astonished. She looked like she was on her second day, but it was only her first. "Yes, only one pair of feet", Dr. Blueflame answered, "I can feel them here." And then Dr. Blueflame touched Elizabeth's stomach where the baby's feet were.

That night when Elizabeth got home Daniel passed her in the driveway leaving for work. "Hey, age up the kids while I am at work", Daniel said getting into his car. Elizabeth got inside before she realized what he had said. "Age them by myself? What a pitiful party. I can't age all four by myself. Maybe I can invite Victoria", Elizabeth said while getting the first cake ready. "Hello?" Victoria answered the phone on the first ring, "HEY! I CAN BARELY HEAR YOU!" Elizabeth jumped at how loud Victoria's voice was. "Yes, I on the other hand can hear you perfectly. Where are you?" Elizabeth said while switching ears, she could not hear out of that ear now. "Hey sorry, I am at my first concert", Victoria said while the noise in the background got noticeably quieter. "Oh, then I guess you can't come to Ryan and the triplet's birthday party can you?" Elizabeth said defeated. "No, I am sorry I had no idea it was tonight", Victoria said sadly. "It is ok I had no idea either. It was Daniel who made the choice to age them tonight." Elizabeth said struggling over Daniel's name. "Ok, so Daniel is there with you." Victoria asked. Elizabeth filled Victoria in on everything that happened. Everything. "The '100 Baby Challenge'... I knew there was a reason you were popping kids out so quickly." Elizabeth liked that Victoria had taken the challenge so lightly. She could not take losing another friend. "Oh, I am sorry Elizabeth I have to go. My turn to play", Victoria said quickly. "Ok, Don't break a leg", Elizabeth said before hanging up. Elizabeth and Victoria always told each other "Don't break a leg" before they did something big like performing or acting. It started because Elizabeth had told Victoria to "Break a leg" once before she performed in a talent show at school. And as soon as Victoria stepped on stage she literally broke her leg. So there you go, that is how "Don't break a leg" started.

After Elizabeth got off the phone with Victoria she decided that she needed to get the party started. So she moved the infants outside in their strollers. Then she lit the candles on the cakes and picked up Ryan. "Make a wish", she said to Ryan while helping him blow out the candles.

When Ryan aged up Elizabeth took a double take. He looked identical to Daniel. He had the same eye color and face, he even had the same hairstyle that Daniel had at his age. The only difference was still that Ryan had darker hair. Elizabeth loved that Ryan looked like Daniel, but then she remembered that he would be moving in only two short days. She would have gotten sad if it weren't for the triplets also aging up.

First went Ian. He had the same hair color as both Elizabeth and Daniel. But he had teal eyes like Elizabeth, instead of green like Daniel. He was very intelligent, he solved the block toy in no time.

Second went Calista. She was the girl version of Daniel. She had his eyes and his hair color. But like Elizabeth Calista was very into her family. She loved playing with her doll house.

And last, but certainly not least, was Jenna. She was special. She some how got blond hair. She did get Elizabeth's teal eyes though. Jenna was a musical wonder. She is sure to grow up to be a composer... or a Rockstar like her Aunt Victoria.

After everyone aged up they all went to sleep. And in the morning Ryan was watching some t.v. with Elizabeth before he had to leave for school. Elizabeth was happily watching Calista playing in her doll house when out of the corner of her eye she noticed Ryan looking sad. "What is wrong?" Elizabeth asked scooting towards Ryan. Ryan looked up in time for a huge tear to run down his cheek. Elizabeth did not know what was wrong but she scooped Ryan up and cradled him in her lap. "Honey, what is wrong?" Elizabeth asked one more time. "I heard you and Daddy fighting. Why is Daddy leaving?" Ryan said while burying his head into Elizabeth's shoulder. Elizabeth was afraid that this would happen. "Daddy and Mommy are having some issues right now. You will still get to see Daddy, but not all the time", Elizabeth said while rubbing Ryan's arm.

By the time Daniel woke up it was nearly 12:00 p.m. Elizabeth had finally calmed Ryan down and now he was at school. Elizabeth and Daniel did not speak all day except to say stuff like "Jenna needs her diaper changed, it is your turn." and "Lunch is ready, put Calista in a high chair."

Elizabeth decided to past the rest of the time by teaching Calista how to walk and talk.

While Ryan spent the day doing the chores that Elizabeth could not do while pregnant, because of heavy lifting. This meant washing the triplet's never ending loads of dirty laundry and taking out the trash.

Today was Ryan's first day of school. Ryan begged Elizabeth this morning to let him ride his bike to and from school and Elizabeth happily agreed. She was happy that he was taking up responsibilities. She made sure it was clear to him though that he goes to school and back home, no where in between. So when he did not get home until 4:39 p.m. she freaked out. Sure, it was only an hour and a half later then when he was supposed to be home, but a lot can happen in an hour and a half.

When Ryan realized the time he rode home as fast as he could. "Mom is going to kill me!" He said to himself while practically going fifteen miles an hour on his bike. "Where have you been?" Elizabeth said in between hugging and kissing him when he got home. "Mom, I was at school", Ryan said wiping his cheeks where Elizabeth had kissed. "What were you doing at school", Elizabeth asked while helping him park his bike. "I was on the playground", Ryan said looking at his mom. Elizabeth looked a little mad then. She walked up to Ryan and spun him around. "What is that?" Elizabeth asked pointing to the playground in their back yard. "A playground", Ryan answered in a low monotone voice. "Yes. So that means there is no reason for you to play after school on the playground there, when there is a perfectly good one here", Elizabeth said while walking Daniel to the backyard. But what Elizabeth wanted to say was "From now on do not play on that playground. I can not watch you there. What if some creeper came and asked you to help him 'Look for his lost puppy' Use some common sense boy!"

Ryan was about to walk inside when Elizabeth remembered something. "Oh, Ryan! They just finished installing the pool. Go try it out." Elizabeth said pointing towards the pool. "I do not feel like it", Ryan said walking back towards the house. "Ryan! Come here!" Elizabeth yelled. She did not like to yell at her kids, but Ryan was acting funny and he was being rude. "You felt fine when you disobeyed me and stayed late at school. What is wrong? Tell me the truth." "I don't want you and Dad to get a divorce. A boy at school's parents got one and he has not seen his dad in years." Ryan said quietly. "Oh Ryan, That will not happen. Me and your father still love each other, we are just having a disagreement right now." Elizabeth said while hugging Ryan. "All better now?" She asked him when she saw him crack a smile. "Yes, I think I will go swim now", Ryan said walking towards the pool. "Oh, but only swim in the kiddie pool." Elizabeth yelled to Ryan. No child of hers would be drowning anytime soon.

That night when Daniel got home from work Elizabeth stopped him at the door. "Listen, We may be going through a rough patch right now, but it is affecting our children. We need to suck it up and be friendly. At least while Ryan is around", Elizabeth whispered to Daniel. Ryan was in the kitchen doing his home work and Elizabeth did not want him to hear. "Elizabeth we may be going through a hard spot, but I still love you. And that is why I am leaving. Not because I hate you and our kids." Daniel whispered back. Elizabeth knew then that Daniel's leaving the house was hard on him also.

The next day Elizabeth and Daniel were watching a movie with the girls while Ryan was at school. Half way through the movie Elizabeth decided to ask, "Will you still love all of our children from the 100 Baby Challenge?" Daniel may have loved Elizabeth but he still did not like the 100 Baby Challenge. So he turned from Elizabeth and coldly replied, "None of the children from the challenge will be mine." Elizabeth was hurt by his comment but she had no time to react, because apparently Ryan was home already and had heard what Daniel had said. Ryan ran into the living room, glared at Daniel, yelled "I HATE YOU!", and then he ran out. Daniel realized then that Ryan and the triplets were part of the challenge. "Ryan wait! I did not mean that." Daniel set Jenna on the couch where he had been sitting and ran after Ryan.

When Daniel finally found Ryan he was in the garage. "Ryan. I did not mean that", Daniel explained to his teary eyed son. "Yes you did", Ryan said about to cry. "No I did not. I promise. I love you and I love your mom and your siblings, but I do not like the 100 Baby Challenge. It means that your mother will have children with other men." Daniel said desperate to stop the tears. "It does not matter. Either way the triplets and I are part of the challenge. And all the other babies will be my brothers and sisters whether you like it or not." Ryan said wiping his eyes. Daniel was amazed at how intelligent his son was. "You are right. I am sorry", Daniel said hugging Ryan.

After he and Ryan made up Daniel decided to spend some quality time with Ryan.

The next day was Saturday, so the family spent it together. Ryan worked on a paper for English class. "Mom, I do not know what to talk about", Ryan whined to Elizabeth, who was at the stove. "Why not write about the 100 Baby Challenge?" Elizabeth suggested, she could hear Daniel groan in response from the living room. "That is a great idea mom!" Ryan smiled while scribbling furiously on his paper. "Make it neat so the teacher can read it", Elizabeth added while walking into the living room to sit with Daniel.

The triplets played with their toys. Ian and Clarista rambled back and forth while playing house.

Elizabeth was still stuck on what Daniel had said the day before. She was driving herself crazy dissecting the comment and analyzing every word. So in the middle of watching "E! News" she blurted out, "Do you not love our children!?" Her outburst both scared and shocked Daniel. He had forgotten all about his little argument with Elizabeth.

Elizabeth looked away then, she was ashamed of her little explosion. "Of course I love our children. But that is just it, I love our children. Not yours and Tommy's children", Daniel answered while trying to get Elizabeth to look at him. "Who is Tommy?" Elizabeth asked finally looking back after a minute of silence. "I made him up", Daniel chuckled.

Elizabeth had put the triplets down for their nap and was watching T.V. when a sharp pain hit her lower abdomen. Elizabeth shot off the couch and gripped her stomach.The pain was unbearable. Elizabeth realized then that she was in labor. She waited for the contraction to end before she called Daniel in. She wanted to seem in control and composed.

Daniel and Ryan were in the garage inventing when Elizabeth went into labor. Daniel was just about to show Ryan how to weld when he heard Elizabeth calling his name. He ran in and saw that her water had broke. "Daniel. I am in labor", Elizabeth said calmly. Daniel looked at her and then the couch, "I can see that." Elizabeth rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, "I am going to the hospital now." "Do you need me to come with you?" Daniel asked hoping she would say yes. "No, I need you to stay here with the children", Elizabeth said while walking out the door.

Elizabeth got to the hospital at 1:23 p.m. and as she walked up to the doors she realized that she had made a mistake. "This was probably the last time Daniel could and would have came with me. And I told him 'No'. I am so stupid." She thought as she passed through the doors. Elizabeth was then brought to delivery room #23. "Ooh, a ground level room." Elizabeth thought as she was changing into a hospital gown.

Elizabeth was in labor for an hour and twenty minutes. She was starting to worry that maybe she was not pregnant. What if she had parasitic worms that were growing in her stomach... "blech". That was gross, sorry. But her fears were taken away when she heard a baby start to cry. At 2:48 p.m. Elizabeth emerged from the hospital carrying a pink bundle.

As Elizabeth pulled up to her house she realized that this would be a weekly event. Her going to the hospital alone and her leaving the hospital alone. Daniel would be gone and she would have to take care of all the babies by herself. She had no clue how she could do it. "Hey, other sim mothers have done it. I can too!" Elizabeth thought while stepping out of the cab.

Elizabeth had just placed the baby in her crib when Daniel walked into the room. He looked into the crib and then at Elizabeth, who was changing clothes, and asked Elizabeth what the baby's name was. Elizabeth walked over and said, "Welcome baby number five: Mira Claire." Daniel looked at her like she was crazy. "Mira Claire?" Daniel asked. Elizabeth knew what he was getting at, it was not a very... popular name shall we say. "Well, she was born without me and you having to Try for Baby. So she is kind of a miracle. So there we go Mira Claire."

After Elizabeth told Daniel Mira's name he left the room to let her get some rest. She kissed Mira and tucked her in for a nap and then she got in bed as well. She laid there listening to Mira coo in her sleep. She sat in the bed thinking about the next morning. "Daniel will be leaving", Elizabeth thought to herself. And with that one sentence the rib tearing feeling was back. Elizabeth tucked herself into a ball and bit down on her teeth to keep from screaming.

After winning her fight with the pain, Elizabeth took a nap. She woke up just in time to cook supper and to put the triplets to bed. Elizabeth put Jenna to bed first, then Ian, and then Calista. After she put them in their cribs Daniel went around and said his goodbyes to them. Calista and Ian took the goodbyes fine and then fell to sleep, but Jenna knew better. She knew something was going on and when Daniel bent down to kiss her she gripped onto his neck and would not let go. When Daniel finally got free and after he put her back into her crib she laid there screaming and crying for thirty minutes until she finally tuckered herself out and fell asleep. Daniel felt horrible after that.

Elizabeth was about to fall asleep when she heard a noise from downstairs. She started down the stairs when she heard sniffling and sobbing. "Ryan?" Elizabeth asked when she finally saw him on the ground crying. He stood straight up and looked at her. "Ryan what's wrong?" Elizabeth asked while looking at her son with compassion. "Dad is leaving tomorrow", Ryan said while starting to cry again.

Elizabeth hugged Ryan then. She buried her face in his hair and she kissed the top of his head. When he finally let go of her she got down to eye level with Ryan. "Your dad is only moving down the road. You will still see him. I would not let him go that far away. Do you want me to wake you in the morning before he leaves?" Elizabeth asked standing back up. "Yes, I would like that", Ryan said while curling up on the couch.

One thing Elizabeth agreed with Daniel on was that there was no more room in this house. "Poor Ryan has to sleep on the couch. Lord knows what I will do when the triplets age up", Elizabeth thought to herself after seeing Ryan fall asleep.

Elizabeth and Daniel both woke up at 6:00 a.m. Daniel said good bye to Ryan first. Daniel hugged his oldest son. Daniel was about to let go when he heard sniffling. "Ryan don't cry. I love you so. I will be just down the road. If you need me, just call. I'll always come to visit, no matter what", Daniel said when Ryan finally let go. "Ok", Ryan said while wiping his nose.

Then Daniel turned to Elizabeth. "Elizabeth it does not have to be like this. I lo..." Elizabeth interrupted him them. She had something to say and if she heard Daniel say "I love you" then she knew she would break again. The pain in her chest started to grow as she said this to Daniel, "I think that you and I both know that it does. Daniel until you realize that the only way you could possibly love me is by loving all of my children as your own. Then you do not truly love me. You used to, but now you do not." By the time Elizabeth finished with her rant the pain was almost unbearable. Daniel must have took her gasps for air as crying because he simply kissed her on the forehead and walked to his car.