2:05 A Foul and a Miss

Jet didn't understand. He may have been holed up in his room for the last several days working on a masterpiece of a research paper and publishing related articles, but weren't people who go to the hospital pregnant supposed to return with actual babies? For once he has nothing to say. His mouth gapes slowly open and shut as he listens to his parents and his sister trying to explain what had happened.

Jyoti for her part has got next to nothing to say. When she does talk it's in mumbles.  Her son was stillborn. His dad had called the night before, from the hospital, explaining that they worried it could happen, impressing upon him all the reasons that things were still going to be okay.

His sister looked like someone else entirely to him now, her face exhausted and drawn, her eyes wandering or fixed far away.

Dustin does most of the talking, but the tension in his voice and the unnerving calm that accompanies it is cold and factual and so out of character that Jet feels the involuntary need to listen to it from the other side of a wall somewhere. His younger brother, Jiraiya, had been born healthy. He passed the tests that needed to be done in order for them to take him home, and he should be home. It's just that... the hospital lost him, gave him away. There were adoption papers and all, with signatures, with waivers, and he was taken away to be with another family by some colossal mistake.

His dad was saying something through tightly clenched teeth now about how it would have to be a court case, and possibly a long one, if they were ever going to see their son again they would have to prove that their signatures were not on those documents. The law only allowed for birth parents to have access to their offspring after the child had become an adult, and the people at the hospital had had the audacity to suggest that Dustin and Meghan wait. As if they had changed their mind about Jiraiya, and had tried to steal him from his adopted parents. People whose faces they never got to see, with names they were not legally allowed to be told.

His mom, well they didn't talk about his mom's condition often, but she was mostly muttering to herself under her breath or completely silent.

Jyoti just lays her head on her father's should and tells him she's tired, and he wordlessly leads her upstairs. There had been no indication before this week that her baby would not survive and be able to meet her. She had had him on some serious prescriptions, and everything at the hospital had been a blur. Everything, except the news that her boy didn't make it. I was going to name him Emir, she thought. All she could think over and over again in her mind was her baby's name. Emir, Emir, Emir. Mom loves you. I want to see you. 

She had room in her heart for nothing else.

“Mom can't do this either right now, sweetie.” Meghan announces after a while, giving Jet a kiss on the forehead and turning to go.

He stares after her for a long time, standing alone in the room. After he and Christian get married and move in together, will his parents be okay? The anger from this injustice is not there in his heart just yet as he is full of mostly disbelief, but like deep and dark clouds on the horizon full of lightening, he feels it coming.

Meghan flits in and out of being herself, for the first time in years. She doesn't know where she is, or who she is with at times. She is Andrea more than ever. Her dreams and life in waking both make no sense. Dustin does what he can, but even with decades of experience helping Meghan to manage her condition and streamline the times in which she is sane, all he has now is their track record. “We've been through so much,” He reminds her. Over, and over again, until every alter hears it from his lips. “We will get through this.”

He has no idea how. That's not the point.

Over the next few weeks there is a pall of silence in the house. Everyone tiptoes around each other, not wanting to cause hurt of offense, and Dustin in particular has no energy to make his usual litany of jokes every five seconds. The feeling ...is wrong.

Jet holes himself up, working harder than ever on his project to expose the corruption in Starlight. This time, he thinks, it might be worth it to look beyond the police department and the government offices. Was there infiltration of special interests in local emergency services; at the hospital, in the fire department? It hadn't occurred to him until now. Now, because of this fresh injustice, everything becomes suspect. He works harder than ever to secure exclusive interviews and appointments for his greatest work. His family will wrest control back from the hidden ruling, corrupted and addicted elite. He will root out every hiding place, and garner every sympathy from the public to support his cause.

Or he will die trying.

“If I never went to the gym that day. No, I still would have gone...” Jyoti tries to feel regret for meeting Malcolm, letting him in. For dating him, for not leaving Starlight... but she can't feel it. It's all just bitter remorse and void.

What happened, has already happened to her, to him and Emir. If she is the only one left, well that's just the way it is.

She tries to recall the familiarity that is associated with this fresh loss, but there are already several moments of time becoming buried deep in her psyche for a therapist to give her drugs about forty years down the line. Hopefully it will never come to that, but working out is not something she can do until her body heals from her ordeal. Cope... cope with loss, how can she? And worse, the private thoughts she has in her numb fog where there is not time passing, they tell her that she could have prevented this all somehow. But she will never understand or know it well.

Meghan and Jyoti spend countless hours together. There is a special bond that comes with loss, and neither Dustin nor Jet will ever be able to understand or experience as two mothers who have lost their children can.

I find it sort of appropriate that Eugene overlooks the chess table. He was always a genius in his own right.

Meghan learns that her true self is the smartest one. There are days she can trick the other personalities into leaving her alone by playing chess. It helps her focus on something immediate that she can pinpoint, and not think about the dozens of things that demand her attention. Even the lab would be too overwhelming right now.

Starlight Shores begins to stall out sometime around when kids go to school. Every morning. SP is letting people have too many kids for the school to allow admittance. Jet's grades begin to suffer, not that he cares.

“I need a job...” Jyoti beings to realize. She still doesn't know what, but playing this much chess to help her mother keep her mind off things is starting to make Jyoti's muscles feel unused. She gets restless, and anxious, and it's not really helping her forget the pain so much as it did in the beginning.

She begins to pay more attention to her surroundings. Her mother, coping with loss.

Her brother, coping with identity.

Her father, nowhere to be seen and not really coping at all.

“Cousin Ev is on his way over.” Jyoti casually tells Jet as he walks past.

Jet shrugs. “Let's hope it works.” He says with an unsure voice.

He's over faster than they thought. Also, Meghan ordered pizza.

And Dustin's making burgers. Nobody communicates anymore.

“Don't let him leave without talking to me first,” Jet says.

“My plan is that he won't be leaving for a while.” Jyo replies evenly.

She greets him before he gets to the door. “Nice cosmetics. Is that to fool your crew or the police?”

“Good to see you too cousin.” He snaps back cooly.

So she cuts right down to it. “We need your help, Ev. My parents are a mess and I'm on my way there. Is there anyway you could stay with us for a while? My parents are in way too deep to realize they aren't taking care of anything they're supposed to, and Jet's becoming paranoid, I don't even want to run and I can't sleep, living like this-”

Everet is not good at hiding his feelings in this moment. He wants to be there for the family, but he's been working undercover and taking on more and more police work, investigating his own crew with his life on the line. He does not consider himself a safe place for anyone right now. He cuts her off mid-explanation. “Jyo, do you remember the discussion we had a long time ago, about how I never get involved with anyone I can't walk away from?”

She nods, knowing exactly where he's going with this. Hoping he will stop before she loses him. She can't afford to lose even small battles right now. Let alone connections to real people that she needs in her life.

“Look, I know we've all seen brighter days, but I can't hold things down here on my own anymore. It's hard to ask for help.” Her plea is met with uncomfortable silence. “W-wouldn't it also be good for you though?” She stammers. “You'd have another safe house here, right? I don't think it's a bad thing for you and Jet to be able to research together in one place, instead of having to meet around town.”

She pleads with him, she reasons, she cajoles. Eventually, despite all the circumstances, she begins to see she is wearing him down.

“You could, help me sleep.” She finishes weakly. “I can't sleep alone anymore, and Leila is too old to make it up onto the bed...”

“You want me to come over and sleep... where?” He asks, perplexed.

She doesn't want to say it out loud, so she rushes the ending. “Uhh.. In bed... next to me, likeasleepover.”

“Like a sleepover.” He repeats.

“You do know we're all grown up now.”

“With grown up problems,” she says quietly, to her feet.

“You could be like my new puppy dog. I promise I won't bother you or interfere with your work in any way. I just, could use the comfort if you stuck around a bit.”

Finally, he lets out a long breath and cracks a rueful smile. “I guess a sleepover from time to time isn't too bad. As long as I can bring Wiggles.”

Jyoti nods but falls silent in shock. He still has his imaginary friend?! “Uhh, sure Wiggles or whoever you trust, they're always welcome.”

Thanks, Everet, I really appreciate this.”

“Sure, sure.”

Meghan was not herself when Everet entered and stared evilly at him for a long time when he walked in the door.

Jet just wanted to know who ordered the pizza. Nobody responded, so he sneaks off with half the pie.

Dustin falls into his old routine, with no less finesse and hard work. What's hard for him right now, is to be home. He tried that, and it didn't seem to help anyone feel better any faster. He's got lawyers, he's got investigators, he's got... a long road ahead of him. Element the Suspicious will still be able to perform. And now, he'll be more suspicious than ever.

All that stuff about the corruption in the town, was it really true that it went beyond the entertainment industry here like Jet and Everet seem to suspect? He knows about their project, but he's not convinced. One thing is true now though, people in Starlight seem a whole lot less safe than when he was younger and carving out a life for himself and his family.

Even so this city, still seems to love him.

As promised, Everet brings some brevity to the house. Jyoti has someone to talk to who knows her well, and even better, he's never felt at home in Starlight either. “It's just not built for everyone.” He says of the city they both grew up in. “When we get to the bottom of some of the things that go on here, I'm going to move somewhere empty and start over. Make all my wishes come true.”

Jyoti sighs. “Starting over sounds very nice.” She admits. “But Starlight is also a place that Malcolm ...loved, despite his hard life here. I just don't know anymore.” She tries to ignore the crack in her voice.

“You don't have to know everything.”
“I don't know anything at all though?” She challenges him and he rolls his eyes.

“So what? Just go do something that feels natural to you for awhile.”

So she mixes some drinks for awhile. They're not that great, so bartending is out.

Then she passes out on the kitchen floor.

Dustin is home just in time to witness this. “So, getting my daughter to become a drunken mess, was that your idea of staying a while to help straighten things out?!”

“Um, no- she made all of that for herself. I don't really party much lately.”

Jyoti pops right back up like a daisy, slurring her words about not being drunk.

“You look really ill right now.” Everet tries to convince her to slow down a bit.

“Shu' up you old man.” She grumbles.

Dustin knows how to get his daughter back to normal.

Things are feeling back to normal in the house already.

“That was so embarrassing...”

Jyoti laughs, she must still be a bit drunk afterall. “I could swear you just said you were embarrassed.”

“Whatever. It's a cringe compilation now.”

Beautiful *chef's kiss*

Here is Wiggles. He's creepy and I hate him. Kicks out errors every three days for the last sim two decades. I invited Everet over to handle this issue without just killing Everet's actual best friend.

Everet also succeeds in p*ssing off his dad's ghost.

Also its been weird leery face day at the Sparrow residence.

Let's make it worse.

“Stop talking about my dead father, you're making me sick.”

Wiggles; “...”

Meghan, still out of her mind, is way downstairs failing her experiment.

The bug specimen she obtained carefully is destroyed in the process.

Wiggle finds his voice.

Wiggles; {You look and smell like actual trash.}

Everet; This *sshole.

“Would you quit laying into me? I was on a stakeout, of course I need a shower!”

Wiggles; {The trash is talking to me.}

Everet's about to lose his best friend forever, three seconds into being in this household.

“Aww, just kidding, I could never be angry at you, not really.”

Okay, this is starting to look like a pretty abusive relationship.

Jyoti runs over to cheer cousin Ev up with a gift. It's probably a glass of nectar, lol (Okay no it was an imaginary friend potion.)

Wiggles comes to life looking like a movie villain.

And Jyoti hears an actual voice responding to her cousin behind her. 

No efking way?! That thing was alive?

...and just because her life can't get that much worse than it already is, she decides to join the military.

A week later she heads out one her first day of work, in a light and refreshing rain, trying not to think too deeply about the things she is running away from. She's just going to get paid to run, for once.

New beginnings ahead, ready or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dustin and Megan rolled for 2 kids, and had them already. I let them have a baby to fulfill all the crazy baby/ grandbaby wishes they kept having.

Jyoti rolled for one kid, and we can't have it here! (ahem) The story is not quite ready for that yet. Also, muh ROLLS.

For those who are curious, here is what their kids would have looked like;

Jiraiya means young thunder in Japanese. This kid will not be living up to his name in this blog. Or anywhere, he's a light skinned Jet clone, and does not count towards any rolls. I also just noticed (or just remembered and had forgotten earlier) That Jyoti means light, Jet means dark, and so light is sort of a theme in this generation's names. Dustin was the name of the stone in Thor's hammer/ blade or whatever 'Thor's Stone', and Meghan means Pearl- so their theme was precious gems.

Emir is named so I could call him Emir Meir. It sound like a meow and I can laugh at him. He will be showing up later. Emir means 'Commander, Prince' in Turkish. Meir (Malcolm's original townie last name) is unrelated, but happens to mean 'Giving Light' in Hebrew. Light-giving Prince' is a fitting name for someone who will save this blog in the future.

Leila is loving all the attention she's been getting from everyone lately.

Writing the acronym 'lol' in a blogpost is like putting in a sitcom laughtrack. I stand by my time-tested methods.

It was super sweet how,once we'd invited Everet over to stay for a while (think of it like a 'gap year' for the challenge, lol) he and Jyoti immediately slept together in her bed and stayed that way the whole time. It was as if he was comforting her, which is perfect as I only had him and Wiggles move to settle the Wiggles being 'alive' problem and for story purposes. He'll be moving out again soon enough.