A/N: This fic was inspired by the prompt "Ever After". Here's our favorite TLC couples continuing their lives after war – by creating new lives! Short snippets of our couples from learning they're pregnant to giving birth. The order they are presented in does not necessarily mean they are the exact order they take place, and the reader is welcome to determine how long after the events in Winter these stories take place.
Ever After – all ships
KAIDER:
Cinder woke slowly, savoring the sensation of a late morning. She and Kai had arranged for a break in their schedules of meetings, and had agreed that sleeping in was a wonderful way to celebrate the reprieve. She sighed inwardly as her internal retina display came to life behind her still closed eyelids. A recent upgrade to her computer systems now resulted in the morning scroll of her vital signs.
Reminding herself to check to see if this bug could be removed, Cinder dismissed each message as it appeared:
Heart Rate: 65. Normal
Blood Pressure: 110/70. Normal
Elevated blood sugar levels detected
Cinder grimaced slightly. Probably due to the midnight ice cream snack to start their 'day off' celebration.
Elevated estrogen levels detected.
Cinder dismissed the last message quickly, figuring it must also be caused by the unusual schedule. She didn't remember seeing that message before. However, it quickly faded from her mind as she finished reviewing her comms and waking Kai up to enjoy their morning together.
Two weeks later, and no one had determined the cause of the bug, and Cinder had learned to accept the morning messages. She still received messages about higher estrogen levels, but kept forgetting to look up possible causes as she and Kai prepared for an international conference on Cyborg rights.
Today's message read differently.
Heart Rate: 68. Normal
Blood Pressure: 115/75. Normal
Pregnancy Confirmed.
Cinder's eyes popped open, the words in red still splayed across her vision.
Pregnancy Confirmed.
She hadn't realized it was even under way, though a quick net search revealed that the earlier warning messages suggested this outcome.
"A baby" she whispered to herself, her flesh hand already moving toward her middle
"Hmm?" her movements had woken Kai, who rolled over and put his arms around her.
Cinder pressed a kiss on Kai's lips, effectively waking him up the rest of the way.
"I have something to tell you." She spoke quickly, before he could interrupt. "I um, that is, we, I mean," she swallowed nervously, terribly grateful she couldn't blush. Kai rubbed her back encouragingly. Taking a deep breath and looking right into his eyes, she blurted, "We've got a baby coming."
Kai sat stock sill for two whole excruciating heartbeats before grabbing Cinder in a hug that nearly took her breath away. She had the distinct feeling he would be bouncing up and down if they weren't tangled in the sheets. He muttered excited congratulations and exclamations in her ear before pulling away suddenly.
"Are you OK? Did I squish you – or the baby?" His hand reached toward her stomach, but the worried look in his eyes said he was afraid to hurt her.
"I'm fine – we both are." She guided his hand closer to her, grinning.
"You're sure you're OK? I mean …. " Kai trailed off, but Cinder knew what he was talking about.
She leaned in for another kiss. "I finally found a guy who thinks complex wiring in a girl is a turn-on. I know I'll be fine."
Kai grinned goofily, and puller her into another enthusiastic hug.
WOLFLET:
Scarlet leaned back against the pillows stacked against the headboards, attempting to tame the knots out of her unruly hair. Her light pajama top clearly showed the roundness of her belly.
Giving up on her hair, Scarlet settled one hand contentedly on her stomach, and continued her conversation with Wolf, who was brushing his teeth.
"The seed catalog is carrying grape tomato seeds this year. I think we should give them a shot." With her free hand, she thumbed through the information on her portscreen. "I mean, we can always save them for ourselves if no one will buy them," she added as Wolf climbed into bed.
Wolf grinned. "Any excuse to keep more tomatoes is a good idea to me."
Scarlet smacked his arm playfully, setting down her portscreen. "Maybe we'll wait until next year. Planting season's going to be messed up enough as it is," she smiled down at herself, "without adding anything new."
Wolf shrugged in response to the decision, and putting his arm around her, he settled his free hand delicately next to hers. Despite the recent growth spurt, his large hand still covered most of the growing baby.
"Planting season isn't going to be messed up, Scar," he stated. Scarlett interrupted.
"No, busy then." A smile lit her face. "We'll be busy with this little one." She intertwined her fingers with Wolf's, covering her entire middle.
"Sometimes, I still can't quite believe it's real." Wolf whispered. Scarlet nodded against his chest.
"I kept thinking it couldn't be real until I actually felt the baby move. That was the moment I realized that this," she gestured to herself, "was actually happening."
Wolf smiled and kissed the top of her head. While Scarlet claimed the baby was beginning to be active, none of the kicks were strong enough for Wolf to feel them. Perhaps that was what fueled his fear that he was imagining it and would soon wake up to find it wasn't true.
Scarlet took his face in both hands. "Ze've Kesley, don't you ever doubt that – "
"That's it!" Wolf interrupted her excitedly.
"What's it? Scarlet responded warily.
The baby! I know I felt a kick."
Scarlet returned one hand to her belly, smiling as she felt the baby stirring, then grinning when what could only be described as a solid kick landed right under Wolf's palm.
The look of awe and wonder on Wolf's face was priceless, Scarlet thought.
"It's a miracle." Wolf breathed the words, as if the slightest movement would break the spell.
"It's our miracle," Scarlet agreed, planting a kiss on Wolf's cheek.
Together, they sat with their arms wrapped around each other and the growing life that Scarlet carried.
CRESSWELL:
Thorne peeked inside the designated master bedroom on the Rampion, checking to see if Cress had gone to bed already. Despite not seeing his wife, Thorne smiled at the empty crib standing in the corner. Any day now he thought excitedly to himself as he moved into the washroom to rinse his hands. He had just returned from replacing some lightbulbs in the engine room.
He glanced out the window at the abandoned fields around them. They had set the Rampion down two farms over from Scarlet's. That way, they could use the podship to quickly arrive at Scarlet's the moment Cress went into labor, while also enjoying a few last days of alone time on the Rampion.
Glad that her current larger size meant she could no longer disappear into unused corners, Thorne made he was towards the cockpit, where he could just see the top of Cress' head over the co-pilot seat. Thorne grinned to himself at the glow that emanated from her cheeks as she turned slightly to check a different screen. She didn't see him, and continued contentedly humming lullabies.
Thorne strode across the cabin and draped himself over the back of her chair with a quick kiss to her cheek, and one hand falling protectively to her middle.
"How's my Cress and Little Cress doing tonight?" He had taken to calling their unborn child 'Little Cress" as they were 'little' and 'inside Cress'. And it drove Cress crazy.
"Fine. Thank you." Cress replied with a forced coldness that told Thorne she wasn't really mad at him, just miffed.
He turned her chair around to face him, away from the screens, and settled into a crouch before her, one hand still possessively placed over the baby.
"Seems the little freeloader is active tonight." Another term he knew annoyed Cress.
"Yes, we're both fine and active." Cress attempted to turn back toward her work, but Thorne caught the arms of her chair.
"Come on. It's getting late. We should go to bed." Thorne was careful to say 'we'. The first (and only) time he had said 'you', his portscreen had displayed nothing but gibberish for a week.
"I need two minutes to finish this operation, or I'll have to start all over – and it took me an hour to set it up." Cress returned to her screens, and Thorne flopped down in the pilot's seat.
"OK, but I'm counting."
Thorne smiled contently, watching his wife work, occasionally running her hand around her stomach, as if to reassure the baby she was still paying attention. He must have dozed for a moment, for the next thing he knew, Cress was in his lap, her head pressed against his shoulders and their hands intertwined.
"Are you ready for bed?" she asked, gently stroking his cheek.
"Uh huh" he replied sleepily, moving to carry her to bed. Cress swatted his hands away.
"Go get changed. I'm going to go get a glass of water first."
Knowing that argument would be futile, Thorne gently set her on her feet and watched her pad toward the galley.
He had nearly reached their bedroom when he heard the sharp gasp and Cress' shaky call, "Thorne?"
He raced back to the cabin and nearly skidded into the tiny kitchen.
Cress was nearly doubled over, one hand holding the counter for balance, the other pressed against her side. Thorne quickly wrapped his arm around her waist, and guided her to a seat at the small table. He would have lowered her to the floor right where she was to avoid moving her, but the floor was all wet – had Cress spilled her cup?
"Cress?" he asked, crouching before her and brushing hair out of her eyes.
"My-my water broke." Cress stammered. Thorne looked at her uncomprehendingly. She took a deep breath. "You better go start the podship – Little Cress is ready to make their debut."
With a gasp of understanding, Thorne jumped up and sped his way back across the Rampion, stopping once to let out an exclamation of pure joy before rushing towards his destination.
Cress, following more slowly, smiled.
JACINTER:
Jacin paced around the delivery room, his boots clacking on the tiled floor. He ran his hand through his hair, noting somewhere in the back of his mind that it was probably terribly disheveled.
He glanced back at Winter, who was humming to herself. He hated waiting. Everything had gone smoothly or Winter for her whole term. The only thing now was the delivery, and Jacin would barely admit to himself that he was scared stiff. Winter's mother had died in child birth. He had been too young to remember, but he did remember watching the toll it had taken on Winter's father.
He worried that he wouldn't be able to take care of the child on his own, he wouldn't be there for the child, he would fail them, and therefore, Winter, completely …
Winter gave a slight moan as she had another contraction. Jacin threw himself back down in the chair next to the bed and reached out to stroke her cheek.
She returned the gesture, brushing some hair away. "You look worried, Jacin. I don't want you to worry. Everything's going so extremely well."
Jacin squeezed her hand. "It's my job to worry."
Winter made a face at him. "Stop it at once! Look at us – we're here, we're safe and the baby's doing splendid."
"Shh. We'll know all that for sure soon."
Winter's eyes softened. "More women survive childbirth then don't, Jacin." She paused and squeezed his hand through another contraction. I wish I had a computer in my brain like dear Cinder to rattle off to you just how safe it is."
"It wouldn't matter. The only statistic I care about is you." Jacin brushed a few curls off her forehead lovingly.
Winter giggled and flicked his nose. "If it wasn't safe, we would have died off ages ago. Oh stop glowering," she added. "Is that the first thing you want our baby to see?"
Jacin opened his mouth to correct Winter – but then realized she had meant it to cheer him up. He decided he better act cheered up. For her sake, anyway.
"I can see us all living together for years and years, Jacin. This baby and another one …"
Oh, stars no. Jacin thought. I can't do this again.
Winter continued to chatter away, even as the contractions came closer and closer. Jacin allowed the mindless talk to soothe his nerves. With Winter, talking was good. It was only when she stopped talking that you had to worry. Either she was scheming or something was terribly wrong.
"There you go, you're doing great. Keep breathing." The mantra was familiar to Jacin from talking Winter through breakdowns. Now, at least it was a joyful occasion as he brushed curls off her forehead and kept whispering to her.
"Okay, get ready to push." The doctor's directions interrupted Jacin, and he felt his pulse start to race. This was it. It was really happening.
"You're doing great." The doctor encouraged as Winter collapsed back against the pillows.
"Jacin? It hurts so much …" This was the first Winter had complained, and Jacin felt a stab of worry.
"You're doing great Winter. It will all be over in a moment – " he hoped Winter pushed as hard as she crushed the fingers of his hand.
"I see the head!" At least the doctor seemed excited.
"I'm so tired …"
"You're so close Winter. Just keep breathing, I'm right here."
"Just one more good push" the doctor's voice was calm at least. That was a good sign.
"I just want to sleep …"
"Winter? You can't. You have to push – the baby's depending on you." Jacin felt panic growing in the pit of his stomach, and tried to keep his voice level. "You're doing great." He brushed a kiss to her forehead, as she gave one last push and fell back to the pillows with her eyes closed and looking terribly pale.
Jacin counted two whole heartbeats of absolute silence. Then, the strong healthy cries of a baby. Jacin was almost giddy with relief. One down, one to go.
The doctors congratulations faded into the background as Jacin watched Winter. He had hoped the baby's cries would revitalize her, but she hadn't opened her eyes yet. Starting to panic, Jacin felt himself checking her vital signs.
Very slowly, she opened bleary eyes and turned to Jacin. "Is that our baby crying?"
"Yes. Yes it is!" Jacin hugged her with relief as the doctor came around the bed and laid a bundle in Winter's arms. Color was already returning to Winter's cheeks.
"It's a girl, Jacin." The wonder in Winter's voice was worth the agony of the last several hours. As she adjusted the blankets so Jacin could see, Jacin felt his heart stop.
This was it. This little baby girl who would depend on them for everything. She was beautiful and soft and delicate. And Jacin would protect her. Just like he protected Winter.
He put his arms around his two girls. Everything was right with the world.
Bonus!
BrOTP KIKO:
"So you're not only chief advisor you're head nanny, too?"
Iko looked up to see Kinney crossing the sitting room adjacent to Cinder and Kai's bedroom. He was out of uniform. Off duty, then.
"Nope. Still chief advisor. I advised the Empress to get some sleep, and I won't let anyone interrupt …"
"So you kidnapped the prince?" Kinney grinned down at the bundle of blankets Iko was holding.
Iko shrugged. "Not this prince. He was starting to stir and I didn't want him to wake Cinder."
"I'll remind Her Majesty that you have experience kidnapping princes and she would do well to protect her son from your clutches."
Iko flipped her braids at him in response.
Kinney jerked his chin at the baby. "So, do I get to meet the future emperor? I did come all the way from Luna to make sure his mother didn't do anything stupid – " the first thing Iko had done after she had learned Cinder was expecting (after a lot of high-pitched squealing) was to arrange for Kinney to take a leave of absence from his duties guarding the Lunar president to join Cinder's personal guard. Iko had claimed she needed an ally who would stand up to Cinder and argue with her if need be. She complained all the Earthen bodyguards were too wishy-washy for the task – "I think I have the right to say 'hello'."
Rolling her eyes at him, Iko shifted the blankets, and folded back one corner to reveal the baby's face.
"Your Highness, may I present temporary guard Liam Kinney. Guardsman, Prince Conrad Rikan.
"I doubt he cares much for formalities right now." Kinney retorted as he reached a finger into the blankets. "Hey there, little guy. Anyone tell you you look like your mother?"
Iko screwed up her face. "I don't see that he looks like Cinder. Or Kai either," she added.
"Oh, and who do you think he looks like, All Knowing One?" Kinney's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"A wrinkled potato from another planet."
Kinney burst and laughing, and Conrad started crying.
"Now look what you've done." Iko tried bouncing him and shushing him to no avail.
"That's what all newborns look like." Kinney smoothly relieved Iko of her precious bundle, and after a few moments, had Conrad drifting back off to sleep.
"Want a job?" Iko asked sullenly. "Apparently, androids don't make good nannies."
"No on both counts. I have a flight back to Luna in two weeks. Which is just enough time to teach you," he settled the baby back in Iko's embrace, "how to be as good a nanny as she is at everything else."
Iko ignored the compliment, though she was quite sure she could feel her fan start to overheat.
"How'd you get to be so smart?"
"I have a sister."
They were silent for a few moments as the netscreen in the corner of the room cut to a live broadcast of Kai announcing the birth of his son and heir.
Kinney shut it off when it was done. "That kid has a lot to live up to."
Iko bristled. "Don't say that." She put her hand over Conrad's ears as if he could understand. "He's going to grow up to be his own person and be wonderful at it."
Kinney put his hands up in surrender. "Besides," Iko cut in as Kinney opened his mouth, "He's going to get to rule over a long era of peace. I can feel it." She added, cutting off Kinney's next remark.
"I was going to say I don't doubt it."
"Good."
"It's a good time for peace." He nodded toward the bedchamber. "They've worked really hard for it. And new life brings new hope." He grinned at Iko holding the baby.
"And he," Iko motioned toward Conrad, "is the start of their happily ever after."
The End.
A/N 2: Quick note on the name: Rikan means "King's advisor" so I looked up names with similar meanings. Thus Conrad was discovered. Rikan was given as the middle name in honor of his grandfather, but the child has his own name to not be overshadowed by anything his grandfather may or may not have done.