HOLLAND FAMILY CHALLENGE STORY!
Hello there. :) Thank you for being here for my first ever Sims 3 story! 😃 (Circa 2015) ****PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE MOVED THIS STORY OVER TO MY BLOG WITH REVISIONS AND HAVE MADE IT TONS BETTER! �...
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Chapter 25
A LOT of things happened with Derrick and Jade while Andrea was off at school. She was amazed at how much Derrick climbed up in the ranks. It was fun hearing all about their adventures in the past few months.
Before Andrea left, Derrick had received two promotions:
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His first house fire was over on the deck at Jenni's parent's home. Lenny wasn't working at the time, he was out seeing a movie. It was Jenni's mom who called.
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It was a small fire, but Derrick fought it proudly.
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Jenni's parents were very grateful to him, especially Lenny. He was really beginning to like Jenni's step son.
During Andrea's time at college, Derrick was getting so good at his job that he got promoted to Sergeant quicker than everyone expected.
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Because he was becoming more and more busy with his career, he had to quit teaching wellness classes at the gym with Jade and left it up to her. Jade was just fine with that, however with no baby to care for, she still felt she had too much time on her hands doing nothing. So, she joined the professional sports career and started out as a Toddler Sports Coach. That sure didn't help curb her desires for a baby any...
When Derrick wasn't out fighting fires, he and Jade enjoyed spending fun and quiet times together in their beautiful home. Being two competitive people one of their favorite things to do while in the pool was a "who can hold their breath the longest" contest.
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Derrick kept beating Jade the last few times and this time around she was determined to win!
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Not so much...
Derrick enjoyed rubbing the victory in her face because he knew it would get her all fired up.
"Ha ha!" he said, splashing water at her.
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"Don't DO that!" Jade said angrily. "I swear I'm gonna work out harder and BEAT you next time!"
Of course Derrick would always apologize for his gloating once they got out of the pool, but Jade had had enough of the teasing.
Other times they enjoyed snuggling on the couch watching TV and eating meals together.
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"So how's this righteous meal I made for us?" Derrick asked Jade.
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"Well," Jade began, taking a bite, "it is delicious, but it's just a salad after all." She winked at him.
"I know, I know," Derrick said, "someday I promise to make a more filling and delicious meal for you. If I ever get the time..."
Jade smiled and placed her hand on top of his. "I'm always thankful when you cook dinner for me, no matter what it is. It's very sweet and thoughtful."
Kissing her Derrick said, "Well, you do it for me so much I figure I should return the favor."
Awww, Jade thought, kissing him again. He is so wonderful!
On weekends the two would spend some time at the gym,
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and at the Library or Consignment Shop where Jade HAD to go to find good deals! She loved living frugally. Derrick was excited to find a Time Machine there. It was over a thousand simoleons and Jade was not very thrilled about that, especially when it probably didn't work and...Time travel is impossible anyway. However, Derrick brought up that he would use HIS fun money to buy it, fix it up and see if it works.
"I promise to keep it out of your way," he said to her.
Sighing Jade said, "Ok, honey, but if it doesn't work don't say I didn't tell you so!"
Derrick grinned like a little boy getting his first bike. I KNOW this baby is going to work and Jade's going to be sorry she ever doubted it.
Once they made their purchases and arranged for delivery of the time machine, Jade saw that her sister Emerald was sitting on one of the couches reading a book. "Emerald!" she called out. Emerald looked up and smiled. Soon Jade and Derrick sat down by her and began chatting about a few things, especially her relationship with Tristan which they thought was SO cool!
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"Looks like we're going to have TWO Greenwood girls becoming Holland's," Derrick said with a wink to Emerald.
Jade grinned brightly.
Emerald blushed. "It's a bit early to be thinking about that isn't it?"
Derrick shot a quick glance at Jade and then said, "Not for us it wasn't. We talked about getting married all the time when we starting going steady."
Emerald lowered her head and said, "I know, I remember Jade talking about it." Then she sighed. "I'm just not ready to think that far ahead."
Jade scooted closer to Emerald and put her arm around her. "That's okay," she said, "we definitely wouldn't want you to feel pressured to marry Tristan because we all think that would be so cool." She paused. "It all depends on what you and Tristan feel is right. If you end up going separate ways, none of us are going to think any less of either of you."
Derrick pursed his lips and nodded.
"Thanks," Emerald said, giving Jade a hug, "things really are going so well between us right now. I hope that will never change."
After a few seconds of silence, Jade excused herself to use the restroom and Derrick expressed to Emerald that he had to tell her about his latest firefighting story before she left.
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"Wow," Emerald said in awe. "It's amazing what you do! I could never be that brave!"
One weekend at the Library, Jade was pleasantly surprised to run into Bailey. It had been too long since they last hung out or chatted.
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Jade invited her to come over to their place so they could chat in a more private setting. After a lengthly conversation, Jade asked Bailey, "Would you like to stay the night? I know Derrick would love to chat with you when he gets back."
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Bailey seemed hesitant which Jade thought was odd, but she answered, "Sure. I think that would be fun." When Derrick returned home from an emergency that happened at the Fire Department he was elated to see Bailey and gave her a big bear hug. The two hung out by the fire in the living room just chatting about all sorts of things until midnight. Derrick couldn't help but feel like Bailey was holding something back from him. That caused him to worry and he was tempted to pressure it out of her, but he didn't. I'm sure whatever it is she will share it with us when she feels the time is right. I just wish she would now... Then another crazy thought came into his head which caused him to cry out in his mind, PLEASE don't be back together with Shark!
A few weeks later, it happened. Derrick got the time machine to work! Jade was dumbfounded and insisted on watching him go into it and come back out, mostly because she wanted to make sure he would be okay. Derrick had no problem with that! He was so excited he couldn't sleep! He decided to jump into different times in the past.
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After a little over an hour of being in the time machine, Derrick burst out wearing a new outfit. Jade held her hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh, and said, "Nice armor dear."
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"I know, right?" Derrick said excitedly, "Oh man I gotta tell you what I've just been through!"
*************
It was a typical work day for Derrick. He chatted with Lenny,
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and had an amazingly fun time jumping and doing flips on the trampoline with one of his coworkers.
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He also got a call from his dad to see how life was going.
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"Yes dad, everything's good."
"Okay. Just wanted to check and see how you were doing and making sure one of my biggest fears doesn't come true."
"What is that?"
"That I get a call from one of my buddies in the ER saying that'd you've been admitted and...probably won't make it."
Derrick smiled appreciating his dad's concern. "Don't worry dad. I'll be fine. That's not going to happen."
The subject quickly changed to something else.
"Yeah," Derrick said with a sigh, "we are still trying for a baby, but trust me, you'll be the first to know when Jade's pregnant."
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Next it was on to maintaining the fire alarm and fire engine.
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Man, my back is killing me! I could REALLY go for one of those amazing back rubs from Jade...
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Then an odd call came in. It was the Chief on the phone with an unusual job. Lenny was the one who answered and because he had done this job before he decided to pick on Derrick. "Holland, this one is for you!" He shouted to get Derrick's attention after hanging up. Derrick slid down the pole...
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and joined Lenny in the office. "Yes sir?" he said.
"The chief called and asked if we would deal with a situation," Lenny began, "the police were the ones who were originally called but because they are stuck up, whiny A** Holes who refuse to do anything that might embarrass them or the department they throw the job on us."
Oh dear, Derrick thought.
"It's not fire related, it involves Gnomes."
Upon hearing that, Derrick snorted from a failed held in chuckle. Trying to keep a straight face he asked, "Gnomes, sir?"
"Yes," Lenny said, not laughing, "Angry gnomes. They pop up in town every year or so and raid people's gardens and destroy their homes!"
Derrick couldn't believe this. "You're joshing me aren't you Lenny?"
"Actually, I'm not," Lenny replied bluntly. "These creatures DO in fact exist. I have taken care of them a few times during my firefighting days. They are very dangerous and not to be taken lightly." He turned in the desk chair and grabbed a piece of paper, handing it to Derrick. "Here is the address and you're the one I'm choosing to take care of it. Have fun!" He smiled.
On the way over to the house Derrick couldn't help thinking what a waste of time this was. When he arrived the owner of the home stood a few feet away from his house and cried, "Please sir, get rid of them! They are destroying my outdoor furniture and one tried to bite me!" It took Derrick a few minutes to locate any sign of a gnome but once he did, it appeared out of thin air and began chewing rabidly on one of the legs of the owner's grill. In an instant, he darted towards it.
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The pesky gnome disappeared and would reappear at another location in the yard. Derrick felt like he was getting nowhere and it angered him. This was almost as bad as trying to catch a chicken, perhaps worse. It seemed there were TWO that he needed to catch and luckily one reappeared by his feet and he caught it in an instant. The other was more of a pain to catch, but after a half hour of running wild he finally pounced upon it. Thankful that his firefighter suit kept the gnomes teeth from digging into his skin, he threw them into separate cages and gladly locked them. It was the most annoying thing he had ever done in his life! That was pathetic, he thought, I could've missed saving a home or a life running around trying to catch those s-t-u-p-i-d, annoying things! Gnomes, ALIVE!? This is unreal! One thing that made him feel better about it though, was receiving an award from City Hall for his gnome catching effort.
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One night, Jade came home late from work and Derrick could sense something was wrong by the look on her face. She just tossed her keys down on the table and headed upstairs. Derrick followed. When he found her, she was laying on their bed crying. He went to her and slid onto the bed beside her. "What's wrong?" he asked while putting his arm around her waist.
It took a few seconds for Jade to respond. Sniffling she answered, "I really h-a-t-e my job sometimes."
Thinking he knew the answer already, Derrick asked anyway, "Why?"
Turning over to face him Bailey replied, "It's just hard being around all these kids. They are so cute and I've grown to love them dearly, but at the same time my heart aches because we can't seem to have one of our own!"
Derrick lowered his eyes.
"I'm so afraid that I'm completely infertile. None of the options the doctor has given us are working!" She lowered her head sobbing. "I know you've mentioned adopting," she continued, "but I want one of our OWN! I know this sounds awful but I don't want the drama that comes from adopting. It's so expensive too. Part of me still wants to believe that I can have a baby. I'm just tired of all the tests and getting my hopes up only to have them crushed over and over again. There's no way we could afford in vetro...I just don't know what we are going to do!"
Derrick held on to her tightly as she continued to cry.
"I just want us to have a baby."
"I do too," Derrick whispered, "but there's still that new fertility drug the doctor wants to get you on. Maybe that will be the key to our success."
"It won't work," Jade sobbed, "the other one didn't work so what makes this new drug any different?"
Kissing her cheek Derrick replied, "I don't know, but we should give it a try and have faith."
"It's hard to have faith in a God who doesn't answer your prayers," Jade said wiping a tear away.
"Jade, He does answer them. Some answers take longer than others to be received."
Sniffing, Jade said, "I really don't want to talk about this right now."
"Ok," Derrick said respecting her wish.
"Just hold me," she said and that's what Derrick did.
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(Ok, so let's pretend they aren't smiling. ;) )
They didn't stop holding each other for the rest of the night.
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Time went by. Jade finally agreed to take the new fertility pill but was losing her hope in it again after a month of trying and no pregnancy. Derrick was thankful he had his job to keep his mind off having a child. Every morning he would sadly walk into the spare bedroom before work staring at the empty crib while he prayed hard to God for them to be blessed with a child.
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One day Derrick encountered his largest house fire yet.
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Two people were trapped inside and he had to break a few doors to get to them.
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In four hours he got the two people out and completely extinguished the fire with the help of his fellow firefighters. He was honored at City Hall once again for saving the two lives.
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Just two days before Andrea returned home from college, Derrick finally got the promotion he was hoping for. However they didn't promote him to Lieutenant like he thought, they made him a Captain!
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It was a pleasant surprise and his family members couldn't have been more proud of him.
Yup, life was going pretty well for Derrick. His job was everything he dreamed it would be.
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He just wished it could be better in he and Jade's personal life.
Stay tuned! :)
A LOT of things happened with Derrick and Jade while Andrea was off at school. She was amazed at how much Derrick climbed up in the ranks. It was fun hearing all about their adventures in the past few months.
Before Andrea left, Derrick had received two promotions:
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His first house fire was over on the deck at Jenni's parent's home. Lenny wasn't working at the time, he was out seeing a movie. It was Jenni's mom who called.
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It was a small fire, but Derrick fought it proudly.
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Jenni's parents were very grateful to him, especially Lenny. He was really beginning to like Jenni's step son.
During Andrea's time at college, Derrick was getting so good at his job that he got promoted to Sergeant quicker than everyone expected.
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Because he was becoming more and more busy with his career, he had to quit teaching wellness classes at the gym with Jade and left it up to her. Jade was just fine with that, however with no baby to care for, she still felt she had too much time on her hands doing nothing. So, she joined the professional sports career and started out as a Toddler Sports Coach. That sure didn't help curb her desires for a baby any...
When Derrick wasn't out fighting fires, he and Jade enjoyed spending fun and quiet times together in their beautiful home. Being two competitive people one of their favorite things to do while in the pool was a "who can hold their breath the longest" contest.
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Derrick kept beating Jade the last few times and this time around she was determined to win!
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Not so much...
Derrick enjoyed rubbing the victory in her face because he knew it would get her all fired up.
"Ha ha!" he said, splashing water at her.
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"Don't DO that!" Jade said angrily. "I swear I'm gonna work out harder and BEAT you next time!"
Of course Derrick would always apologize for his gloating once they got out of the pool, but Jade had had enough of the teasing.
Other times they enjoyed snuggling on the couch watching TV and eating meals together.
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"So how's this righteous meal I made for us?" Derrick asked Jade.
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"Well," Jade began, taking a bite, "it is delicious, but it's just a salad after all." She winked at him.
"I know, I know," Derrick said, "someday I promise to make a more filling and delicious meal for you. If I ever get the time..."
Jade smiled and placed her hand on top of his. "I'm always thankful when you cook dinner for me, no matter what it is. It's very sweet and thoughtful."
Kissing her Derrick said, "Well, you do it for me so much I figure I should return the favor."
Awww, Jade thought, kissing him again. He is so wonderful!
On weekends the two would spend some time at the gym,
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and at the Library or Consignment Shop where Jade HAD to go to find good deals! She loved living frugally. Derrick was excited to find a Time Machine there. It was over a thousand simoleons and Jade was not very thrilled about that, especially when it probably didn't work and...Time travel is impossible anyway. However, Derrick brought up that he would use HIS fun money to buy it, fix it up and see if it works.
"I promise to keep it out of your way," he said to her.
Sighing Jade said, "Ok, honey, but if it doesn't work don't say I didn't tell you so!"
Derrick grinned like a little boy getting his first bike. I KNOW this baby is going to work and Jade's going to be sorry she ever doubted it.
Once they made their purchases and arranged for delivery of the time machine, Jade saw that her sister Emerald was sitting on one of the couches reading a book. "Emerald!" she called out. Emerald looked up and smiled. Soon Jade and Derrick sat down by her and began chatting about a few things, especially her relationship with Tristan which they thought was SO cool!
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"Looks like we're going to have TWO Greenwood girls becoming Holland's," Derrick said with a wink to Emerald.
Jade grinned brightly.
Emerald blushed. "It's a bit early to be thinking about that isn't it?"
Derrick shot a quick glance at Jade and then said, "Not for us it wasn't. We talked about getting married all the time when we starting going steady."
Emerald lowered her head and said, "I know, I remember Jade talking about it." Then she sighed. "I'm just not ready to think that far ahead."
Jade scooted closer to Emerald and put her arm around her. "That's okay," she said, "we definitely wouldn't want you to feel pressured to marry Tristan because we all think that would be so cool." She paused. "It all depends on what you and Tristan feel is right. If you end up going separate ways, none of us are going to think any less of either of you."
Derrick pursed his lips and nodded.
"Thanks," Emerald said, giving Jade a hug, "things really are going so well between us right now. I hope that will never change."
After a few seconds of silence, Jade excused herself to use the restroom and Derrick expressed to Emerald that he had to tell her about his latest firefighting story before she left.
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"Wow," Emerald said in awe. "It's amazing what you do! I could never be that brave!"
One weekend at the Library, Jade was pleasantly surprised to run into Bailey. It had been too long since they last hung out or chatted.
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Jade invited her to come over to their place so they could chat in a more private setting. After a lengthly conversation, Jade asked Bailey, "Would you like to stay the night? I know Derrick would love to chat with you when he gets back."
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Bailey seemed hesitant which Jade thought was odd, but she answered, "Sure. I think that would be fun." When Derrick returned home from an emergency that happened at the Fire Department he was elated to see Bailey and gave her a big bear hug. The two hung out by the fire in the living room just chatting about all sorts of things until midnight. Derrick couldn't help but feel like Bailey was holding something back from him. That caused him to worry and he was tempted to pressure it out of her, but he didn't. I'm sure whatever it is she will share it with us when she feels the time is right. I just wish she would now... Then another crazy thought came into his head which caused him to cry out in his mind, PLEASE don't be back together with Shark!
A few weeks later, it happened. Derrick got the time machine to work! Jade was dumbfounded and insisted on watching him go into it and come back out, mostly because she wanted to make sure he would be okay. Derrick had no problem with that! He was so excited he couldn't sleep! He decided to jump into different times in the past.
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After a little over an hour of being in the time machine, Derrick burst out wearing a new outfit. Jade held her hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh, and said, "Nice armor dear."
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"I know, right?" Derrick said excitedly, "Oh man I gotta tell you what I've just been through!"
*************
It was a typical work day for Derrick. He chatted with Lenny,
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and had an amazingly fun time jumping and doing flips on the trampoline with one of his coworkers.
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He also got a call from his dad to see how life was going.
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"Yes dad, everything's good."
"Okay. Just wanted to check and see how you were doing and making sure one of my biggest fears doesn't come true."
"What is that?"
"That I get a call from one of my buddies in the ER saying that'd you've been admitted and...probably won't make it."
Derrick smiled appreciating his dad's concern. "Don't worry dad. I'll be fine. That's not going to happen."
The subject quickly changed to something else.
"Yeah," Derrick said with a sigh, "we are still trying for a baby, but trust me, you'll be the first to know when Jade's pregnant."
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Next it was on to maintaining the fire alarm and fire engine.
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Man, my back is killing me! I could REALLY go for one of those amazing back rubs from Jade...
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Then an odd call came in. It was the Chief on the phone with an unusual job. Lenny was the one who answered and because he had done this job before he decided to pick on Derrick. "Holland, this one is for you!" He shouted to get Derrick's attention after hanging up. Derrick slid down the pole...
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and joined Lenny in the office. "Yes sir?" he said.
"The chief called and asked if we would deal with a situation," Lenny began, "the police were the ones who were originally called but because they are stuck up, whiny A** Holes who refuse to do anything that might embarrass them or the department they throw the job on us."
Oh dear, Derrick thought.
"It's not fire related, it involves Gnomes."
Upon hearing that, Derrick snorted from a failed held in chuckle. Trying to keep a straight face he asked, "Gnomes, sir?"
"Yes," Lenny said, not laughing, "Angry gnomes. They pop up in town every year or so and raid people's gardens and destroy their homes!"
Derrick couldn't believe this. "You're joshing me aren't you Lenny?"
"Actually, I'm not," Lenny replied bluntly. "These creatures DO in fact exist. I have taken care of them a few times during my firefighting days. They are very dangerous and not to be taken lightly." He turned in the desk chair and grabbed a piece of paper, handing it to Derrick. "Here is the address and you're the one I'm choosing to take care of it. Have fun!" He smiled.
On the way over to the house Derrick couldn't help thinking what a waste of time this was. When he arrived the owner of the home stood a few feet away from his house and cried, "Please sir, get rid of them! They are destroying my outdoor furniture and one tried to bite me!" It took Derrick a few minutes to locate any sign of a gnome but once he did, it appeared out of thin air and began chewing rabidly on one of the legs of the owner's grill. In an instant, he darted towards it.
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The pesky gnome disappeared and would reappear at another location in the yard. Derrick felt like he was getting nowhere and it angered him. This was almost as bad as trying to catch a chicken, perhaps worse. It seemed there were TWO that he needed to catch and luckily one reappeared by his feet and he caught it in an instant. The other was more of a pain to catch, but after a half hour of running wild he finally pounced upon it. Thankful that his firefighter suit kept the gnomes teeth from digging into his skin, he threw them into separate cages and gladly locked them. It was the most annoying thing he had ever done in his life! That was pathetic, he thought, I could've missed saving a home or a life running around trying to catch those s-t-u-p-i-d, annoying things! Gnomes, ALIVE!? This is unreal! One thing that made him feel better about it though, was receiving an award from City Hall for his gnome catching effort.
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One night, Jade came home late from work and Derrick could sense something was wrong by the look on her face. She just tossed her keys down on the table and headed upstairs. Derrick followed. When he found her, she was laying on their bed crying. He went to her and slid onto the bed beside her. "What's wrong?" he asked while putting his arm around her waist.
It took a few seconds for Jade to respond. Sniffling she answered, "I really h-a-t-e my job sometimes."
Thinking he knew the answer already, Derrick asked anyway, "Why?"
Turning over to face him Bailey replied, "It's just hard being around all these kids. They are so cute and I've grown to love them dearly, but at the same time my heart aches because we can't seem to have one of our own!"
Derrick lowered his eyes.
"I'm so afraid that I'm completely infertile. None of the options the doctor has given us are working!" She lowered her head sobbing. "I know you've mentioned adopting," she continued, "but I want one of our OWN! I know this sounds awful but I don't want the drama that comes from adopting. It's so expensive too. Part of me still wants to believe that I can have a baby. I'm just tired of all the tests and getting my hopes up only to have them crushed over and over again. There's no way we could afford in vetro...I just don't know what we are going to do!"
Derrick held on to her tightly as she continued to cry.
"I just want us to have a baby."
"I do too," Derrick whispered, "but there's still that new fertility drug the doctor wants to get you on. Maybe that will be the key to our success."
"It won't work," Jade sobbed, "the other one didn't work so what makes this new drug any different?"
Kissing her cheek Derrick replied, "I don't know, but we should give it a try and have faith."
"It's hard to have faith in a God who doesn't answer your prayers," Jade said wiping a tear away.
"Jade, He does answer them. Some answers take longer than others to be received."
Sniffing, Jade said, "I really don't want to talk about this right now."
"Ok," Derrick said respecting her wish.
"Just hold me," she said and that's what Derrick did.
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(Ok, so let's pretend they aren't smiling. ;) )
They didn't stop holding each other for the rest of the night.
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Time went by. Jade finally agreed to take the new fertility pill but was losing her hope in it again after a month of trying and no pregnancy. Derrick was thankful he had his job to keep his mind off having a child. Every morning he would sadly walk into the spare bedroom before work staring at the empty crib while he prayed hard to God for them to be blessed with a child.
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One day Derrick encountered his largest house fire yet.
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Two people were trapped inside and he had to break a few doors to get to them.
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In four hours he got the two people out and completely extinguished the fire with the help of his fellow firefighters. He was honored at City Hall once again for saving the two lives.
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Just two days before Andrea returned home from college, Derrick finally got the promotion he was hoping for. However they didn't promote him to Lieutenant like he thought, they made him a Captain!
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It was a pleasant surprise and his family members couldn't have been more proud of him.
Yup, life was going pretty well for Derrick. His job was everything he dreamed it would be.
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He just wished it could be better in he and Jade's personal life.
Stay tuned! :)
