Carli woke up in the middle of the night with soft cramping, and rolled onto her side and sighed. She felt her boyfriend Eric next to her, and opened her eyes to look at him as she felt the pains. Her near nine months pregnant stomach protruded roundly and she stroked it as she smiled slightly. She thought back to when she had met Eric a few years before that at an art gallery and how they had hit it off immediately, and she lightly touched his arm. She didn't want to wake him. She thought back to their tumultuous relationship and how she had walked away a few times, hoping for some peace and normality as she watched any stability they had crumble around them. Carli looked at him as he slepyt, his blond hair mussed and his striking face slack in his rest, and her eyes traced his bare and perfectly muscled torso hungrily as she pressed her lips together. He had certainly shown his faults in their time together, but he had stood by her side when she finally admitted her pregnancy to him.
Carli decided to walk around a bit to alleviate her back pain, and slid out of bed to walk around the three bedroom apartment. She went out onto the spacious balcony to get some fresh air, staring at the city of New York that had inadvertently become her only home. Carli still thought back to her former fiancé Ryan, now dead from an accident, and his family back in Chicago. She had not seen them for almost a year now. Carli thought about her former band and especially Travis, whom she had dated for a short while. He had caught her with Eric, and that had ended them as well as the band after some time had passed. They had just recorded their third album that had never been released, and were headed to greatness. Carli sighed and felt her daughter move inside of her, and she smiled a small smile. The wind picked up and blew her red hair around, and she pulled the robe around her tightter that she had pulled on. She was happy to be having this baby and was settling in with Eric, and it seemed to have calmed down with the change of the pregnancy. She would always regret hurting Travis, but she had heard that he was dating a new girl and seemed happy now. She still spoke to her good friend Jimmy and he kept her up on the news from her former home and checked up on her. Carli shivered and decided to go inside, taking a deep breath of the September air before going inside and locking the door. She stopped in the kitchen for some milk and then strolled to the nursery next to Eric's room, stepping inside and turning on the light.
It was painted the palest of pinks, and decorated with a theme of roses. Everything was pink and white and soft, and she sat in the white glider and sipped her milk as she looked around. The crib was ready and waiting, the clothes were washed and hung, and she smiled. There was a print on the wall that matched everything perfectly, with a large pink rose in the middle of several small white ones with soft green stems that were tied with a gray ribbon. It was a gift from Pam, Eric's partner in his business and former lover of both of them. It had been messy and complicated then, with Carli loving Eric but still going to her until she allowed Pam to just join them in bed. As expected, it worsened things and led to their bitter end when Carli could not handle it. Pam now had a lovely girlfriend that Carli liked a lot, even if she had slept with Eric. It had been when Carli was planning on leaving him yet again and she allowed him that, being that she had slept with Travis at the same time. It was around then that she had conceived her daughter with Eric, and he had only known for four months. They had gone to lunch and talked, and dinner the following night. Eric had wanted her to move into his apartment after a couple of weeks of dating again, but she kept her apartment and had a nursery there as well. She wanted to make sure that it would work out after everything they had gone through, and she found herself wiping a tear from her cheek. She leaned back and closed her eyes and told herself to relax.
"Carli?" Eric's voice was soft from the doorway, and she blinked at the sudden break in the silence. "Are you okay?"
"I just needed to get up and walk around a bit." Carli told him, watching as he walked across the room to her and knelt down.
"What hurts?" Eric asked, and their eyes met. They both felt the newness of this and the uncertainty, and he sighed.
"My back, I am having those Braxton hicks pains again too." Carli replied, and he frowned.
"You're so close, lover. Are they the real ones by now?" Eric asked her, and she smiled weakly at him.
"They seem to have subsided now." Carli told him, and she watched as he rested his head on her legs. He had been so caring and concerned for the last few months, and had done nothing to make her doubt his love. They had ended up in his bed the night after they met again, and it had been everything that she remembered. They had been staying at both apartments depending on their mood, even though he insisted she give hers up and choose his. "Let's go to bed. I think that helped." He took her hand and pulled her up, sliding his hand over her lower back as she walked before him. She dropped the robe and placed it on the dresser, and felt Eric slide his hands around her stomach. He kissed her neck and she shivered as she leaned her head further over. She turned slowly to face him, and their lips met hungrily. "I have no idea how you still want me." Carli murmured against his lips and pulled him closer for another.
"You are the most beautiful woman in the world. You always were." Eric told her, and she laughed. "I love you, Carli."
"I love you." Carli said, knowing it was true despite all of their issues. They ended up in bed with her on top, riding him as he watched her face. Any other position was hard at this stage, and she moaned as she felt him sliding in and out of her as she rocked herself over him. She looked down at him, trying to ignore her huge stomach as she bit her lip. Carli came after several moments and gasped his name as he gripped her hips and drove himself deep inside of her. He came soon afterward and grunted as he released, closing his eyes and stroking her skin with his fingers.
Two days later, Carli woke up in the middle of the night with hard cramps that kept coming. She shook Eric awake and tearfully announced that it was time. He stared at her and slid out of bed, dressing quickly and bringing her clothes to her. They grabbed the already packed bag and hurried out of the door as she called Pam to tell her the news. Carli felt a small gush of warm liquid between her legs and she gasped as she looked at Eric. "My water broke!" Eric drove even faster and they pulled into the hospital as she started to get scared. She was helped into a wheelchair and taken to a room with Eric close behind, and it seemed like no time at all that she was getting an epidural and ready to push. She had pulled her dark red hair into a ponytail and leaned against the pillows as she sucked in her breath. Eric was beside her holding her hand and smiling tearfully at her, and she looked at him as she pushed the first time. Their daughter was in a hurry, and Miriam Rose Northman was born in half an hour to the anxious parents. She was long and lean, with a soft covering of dark blond hair and a beautiful face, and they stared at her as the nurse placed her on Carli's stomach for a moment of bonding. "I love you, sweetie." Carli said softly, tears sliding down her cheeks. Eric kissed the baby, and then Carli as the nurse took her to clean her up. He stared into her eyes with his own darkening ones, and she smiled at him.
"I want you to marry me, Carli. I love you so much, and now we have her." Eric told her softly, and kissed her. Even the very recent childbirth did not curb her desire for him, and she gasped as his lips brushed hers. "Will you be my wife, Carli, as well as being the beautiful mother of my child?"
Carli looked at the doctor and the nurses watching them with smiles on their faces, and she blushed as she smiled back. "What do you guys think? Should I?"
"He seems sincere to me." One of the nurses said, giving her an envious look. "I know I would say yes to that."
"Well, in that case…I will be your wife, Eric Northman. I would love to." Carli told him, and smiled as she saw the tears in his eyes. He kissed her long and hard, and pulled away as they finished cleaning her up and brought the baby back to them. She cradled her, staring into her face as Eric leaned close. She looked to have blue eyes for now as she looked curiously towards them, but that could change. Either way, she was gorgeous and she was theirs. There was a time of just them, and soon Pam and Nikki were arriving to see the baby. They came bearing a huge bouquet of pink roses, and Pam burst into the room before Nikki, drawing a smile from Carli. Eric had pulled out the ring he had been hiding in his pocket, and the solitaire surrounded by small diamonds sparkled beautifully on her finger. Pam gazed at the infant in his arms, smiling down at her as Nikki stepped around her to see. They seemed so good together now, and Carli shivered as she remembered the first time she had met Nikki. Knowing that she had slept with Eric had been so hard, and she had left with no plans on coming back. She really didn't know how Pam and Nikki had made it, but they seemed happy now.
"She's beautiful, Carli." Nikki said, coming to stand by her with a warm smile. "You guys make pretty babies." There was still a small hint of the past in her eyes, but she looked into Carli's eyes and smiled despite that.
"I second that." Pam told her, setting the roses on the table beside her bed.. Eric had brought her red ones that morning, after claiming that he was getting some coffee. Pam looked Carli over and her eyes stopped on her hand with a glint in her eyes. "Well, well. Did you finally say yes?"
"Yeah. I guess delivering a baby makes you a bit sappy." Carli replied, smiling as she glanced at Eric. His face was beaming, and she pressed her lips together.
"When?" Pam asked, and Carli frowned.
"I don't know. I think we need to get Miri home before we even think about that." Carli said, glancing lovingly at her daughter sleeping in Eric's arms. They all visited for awhile and then Eric walked the girls to the first floor as Carli enjoyed a moment of silence. She picked up her cell phone and dialed a number, swallowing painfully when she heard the voice at the other end. "Jimmy? Hi. It is Carli." She smiled at his greeting and bit her lip. "I had the baby last night. Her name is Miriam and she is seven pounds. She is gorgeous." The joy was overflowing, but with the words came her regret. She would never be part of a band made up of her best friends again, due to her choices and perhaps some mistakes. She only spoke regularly to Jimmy out of all of them, and she listened to his congratulations and happiness on the other end. "I agreed to marry Eric last night as well, after his asking practically since I told him about Miri. I think that is my life now, and I love it. But I do have regrets and I miss you guys and Chicago so much." Jimmy comforted her and she smiled as a tear slid down her cheek. She talked to him for awhile and called Ryan's mom to tell her. They had always been close and she really had been like her own mother.
Eric walked in to see her cradling Miriam and looking at her daughter with a serious face. "Are you alright, lover?"
"Yes, I just made a few calls while you were gone." Eric knew who she had called, as he was well aware of her lingering pain over her losses. "They all said congratulations and all of that. I think a visit to Chicago was even brought up. Maybe when Miri is older."
"That would be wonderful, Carli." Eric scooted his chair close to them and looked at her with his intense gaze, and she could not help but to look back. "I love you, my beautiful fiancée. I want you forever, and I want you to be happy."
"I am. I will always wonder and feel some remorse for the past, but I love you and Miri so much." Carli assured him, and he kissed her. She felt the emotions behind the kiss, and it was intense within a matter of seconds and she was gasping. "I don't think I can take that knowing how long it will be before I can touch you again, Eric."
"It will pass quickly. This little one is going to keep us busy." Eric told her, and looked at his daughter. He kissed her and the love in his eyes was bright and made Carli choke up a little. "I love you both so much."
Carli's future burned bright in her mind, despite her past. She watched her fiancé whisper to their daughter, and the love burned so deeply within her that it almost hurt. She felt the past melting together with the future, and it left a bittersweet taste in her mouth.
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The End…..the real end.