(A/N) Hey hey there guys, I hope I didn't take too long. Well, I'm afraid the time has come guys, time for me to hit the "complete" button on this story, and move on to all my slash works.
I'm sorry but I don't like Kick enough to even write a friendship story, I just wanted to finish this because it wouldn't be fair to you guys if I left you hanging like that. But if anyone is ever looking to read something other than Kick for a change (and change is good sometimes) you all know where my profile is. :-)
So thanks to everyone who's reviewed and stuck by this story. I hope you guys like the final chapter of Breaking The Rules, and I hope you review, since as a treat, I tried to make this chapter extra long, just for you guys.
~ooOOoo~
I yelled out my pain, feeling oddly like a thousand bombs had gone off in my stomach, clenching my fists as Jack soothingly rubbed my waist. I was glad I was finally going to have my children and that I wasn't losing them again, but it couldn't have happened at a worst time. I had just saved Jack from a certain death, and he was probably still exhausted from his whole ordeal. Not to mention I'd be springing yet another thing on Mom, without so much as a three-second warning.
My heartbeat was starting to get faster, and the pain amplified as it shifted downward. I screamed again, and squeezed harder on Jack's arms, hearing my nails cut into his skin. He rubbed my stomach soothing, and my head shot up, scanning it. It was larger than it had previously been, how did I not notice? How did Ricky not notice? He had kissed me, and felt me up... It was probably one of the most disgusting things I'd ever had to do in my entire life.
"Alright, Grace. I'm gonna go ahead, can you meet us there?" Jack asked her.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." I heard the smile in her voice, and her footsteps faded out of the room. The front door slammed, and I heard her running towards the car. She quickly got in, turned the key in the ignition, and the engine burst to life. The tyres squealed down the streets, and I listened until I couldn't hear her any more.
"Come on." Jack hauled me to my feet, and pried my fingers away from his arms. My fingertips were bloody, and his shirt had ten tiny nail rips in it. He lifted me carefully into his arms, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
My breathing was beginning to get more shallow and more rapid, making me feel extremely faint. "You're gonna be alright, Kim. I promise." He kissed the top of my head, and then there was a pull at my body. Jack was rushing with his supernatural speed, and with him carrying me it felt like he was pushing against an extremely strong gale.
I didn't know how long Jack had been running with me, but the pain in my stomach wasn't going away, in fact it felt worse. Storming through me, and radiating in all different directions as the babies struggled and kicked with each other. It looked like they wanted this over with just as much as I did.
"Jack, i-it hurts..." I whimpered, burying my head into his shirt. I felt tears burn at the corners of my eyes. I squeezed my eyes shut from the pain and grimaced, two hot tears falling from my eyes.
"I know Kim, but we have to keep going." Jack whispered, stroking my hair. It took me a moment to realise he'd stopped running. I removed my head from his chest, and frantically scanned around. Jack and I were in the woods, and then I remembered that there was a cutway through here to the hospital. "It'll take longer if we keep stopping."
"O-Okay." My voice was faint and laced with pain.
"Hold on." Jack whispered, and we were off again, speeding through the trees. I was hoping nothing would go wrong with the birth, and Jack and I would end up with two healthy baby girls. I groaned as I felt one of them kick me, I wasn't sure if they were human or vampire, but they were strong for new-born-not-even-born-yet babies.
I snapped out of my thoughts as I noticed Jack had started walking, and then I saw the large white building of the Seaford Hospital looming over us. Cars pulled up left right and center, but I was on the lookout for Grace's. I saw it speeding down the gravel, kicking up bits of flint and stones. Jack snickered as she almost ran an old lady over, I would have laughed too, given the way she was shaking an angry hand at Grace's windshield, but I was in too much pain.
Her tires squealed as she skidded into a parking space with an abrupt stop. She got out of the car, and ran towards us as fast as she could, almost getting hit by a car. It's horn beeped at her, and she gave the driver the finger, continuing towards us.
"Grace?" I mumbled weakly, groping for her hand as my eyes kept fluttering. I felt her grip my fingers, and squeeze gently. Knowing she was here was some sort of comfort to me, and we were both honouring our promises to each other - that we'd support each other and come to the birth if either of us were pregnant - granted we'd made them when we were ten years old and had watched a Sex Education video for the first time, but it was still a promise.
"I'm here Kim, don't worry." She reassured me, and she walked along me Jack and I. Once we got to the double doors, in a very un-ladylike manner - not that I was complaining about it - kicked the door open with her foot. She held it open for us, and Jack carried me inside. The pain was still white-hot, but it was coming and going.
"Is everything alright, Sir?" A Doctor came up to us, and scanned the three of us over. He must of thought I'd broken a leg or something, because he didn't seem trained to deliver children.
"She's about to give birth." Jack stated.
"Oh!" His features widened into a look of shock and alarm. He set his clipboard down on the receptionist's desk, and walked towards a ward, beckoning for Jack and Grace to follow him.
"Alright, take her through here." He held the door open for Jack, and he took me inside. "Miss, you can come in if you like." Grace wasted no time, and followed us in, regaining her grip on my hand, rubbing her thumb over the top in gentle circles. "Marianne, get Giselle and tell her it's an emergency birth." We heard the Doctor tell a Nurse, then the squeaking of shoes on the recently polished floor followed.
My breathing started getting shallow again, and rapid. Jack carefully laid me down on the bed, kneeling beside me. Grace pulled up two chairs, one for her and one for Jack. He took the one closest to me, and stroked my hair. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply and trying to think about anything but the pain.
"It'll be alright, Miss." The Doctor reassured me. My eyes snapped open as I felt him strapping something to my swollen stomach. It must have been to help me with contractions. My eyes widened as he unzipped my jeans, and pulled them off along with my underwear. My guess for that was that they didn't have enough time to get me into one of those hospital gowns, although it probably would have saved me some embarrassment if they had. "No need to worry, Giselle's our best deliverer in the department."
Something immediately sparked in my mind as I did a body count, trying to distract myself from the fact a stranger had just de-clothed me with no warning. Two very important people were missing from this room. "Jack!" I clutched at his arm and I regretted it instantly as I felt a fresh wave of white-hot pain consume me.
"I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere." He looked at me softly. Grace nodded behind him, giving me a smile.
"C-can you phone my Mom?" I asked him in a small voice. I was in no shape or form to do it.
"Sure." Jack smiled and stood up from his seat to go over to the corner of the room. Grace got up from her chair, and sat in Jack's. She had a grin on her face.
"Now how did you get further ahead than me?" She chuckled.
"No idea. Probably the vampirism." I whispered, since the Doctor was still in the room. I had no idea what he was doing, and quite frankly I didn't want to.
"Bye Miss Crawford, see you soon." Jack clapped his phone shut and walked back over to us. "Kim, she's on her way with Drake, probably breaking a few speed limit laws as we speak."
I chuckled and the door opened, shutting as a woman walked in. She had fair hair, and an even tan. Her blue eyes scanned me over, and she smiled warmly at the Doctor, politely telling him he could leave. He did just that, and the woman came and sat on the edge of the bed with me.
"Kim?" I nodded, barely lifting my head from the pillow. The pain had practically incapacitated me. "Hello, I'm Giselle." She introduced herself.
"Hi." I smiled at her, turning my head so I could see what she was doing. She reached inside her pockets, and pulled on a pair of gloves. She walked over to the end of the bed, and looked at me again.
"One baby, twins or more?"
"Twins." I confirmed, and she got out two large pieces of cloth. The pain in my stomach flared up again as I felt my babies struggling, and I clenched my fists into the sheets below me, surprised I wasn't shredding it into pieces. Giselle walked sat on the end of the bed this time, putting a sheet over my bare legs.
"Okay, keep your breathing nice and steady for me." She told me, and I nodded, breathing steadily in through my nose, and out my mouth. Jack held onto my hand, and I squeezed it gently. "And push."
I nodded and took a deep breath. I focused on the two small bodies inside of me, and I began to push, trying to expel them from my stomach. I gave a small yell as I felt the babies struggling with each other, before one somehow aligned itself with my opening. I began pushing again, and white-hot pain spread through my entire lower half, consuming my legs completely. I felt my entrance being stretched to unbearable limits as I helped the first baby push its way out.
"I can see a head!" Giselle told me, her voice raising. I blew out a deep breath and pushed harder, feeling the small body of the first twin worm her way into the light. Every muscle in my legs were clenched like coils. "She's almost out."
I flopped back down onto the mattress, completely boneless, and shrill cries filled the air. Giselle was holding one baby gently in her arms, and walked over to the sink to wash all the blood off of her and wrap her in some fluffy white cloth. Her crying calmed momentarily, and I saw her little arms outstretch as Giselle set her into Jack's arms.
"Here you are Sir." She smiled, before returning to her position near my ankles.
The baby in Jack's arms stopped crying immediately, and it reached up towards his face. He smiled and ushered Grace over. "Hello sweetheart."
Just one more Kim. My mind reasoned with me. You can do it! I gritted my teeth, all but praying this time would be easier, since my body had adjusted to the first time.
"Alright Kim, same again." Giselle told me calmly. Grace walked over to where I was, and offered me her hand, since Jack's were currently occupied. I wordlessly nodded and took Grace's hand, feeling dizzy and light headed from all the rapid breathing and yelling.
As I began to push again, I found myself yelling inside my head: Why was everything so hard for women! I screamed in pain, and squeezed Grace's hand a little harder than I meant to, hearing her grimace beside me. I gave another clench of my body, and the final baby turned itself around, taking decisively longer than her twin.
"This one's a little more stubborn." Giselle looked at me, and then I saw her hands gently grab a hold of something. Grace rubbed my arm reassuringly, and I started pushing again. I looked at her, and I made a promise there and then: If she delivered her twins easier than I did, I was going to make her life a living Hell.
"Well at least we know which one of us she'll take after, huh Kim?" Jack chuckled. I scowled in his direction, and yelped suddenly as the baby decided to stretch itself, and me, out in the process. Her cries began soaring into the air, but her legs were still blindly struggling inside me. I gave one last push, it being the strongest one I could muster, and Giselle finally spoke, her words becoming music to my ears.
"Here she comes." I gasped in complete and utter relief as the last twin's legs slid from my body. I fell back onto the mattress again, and slid off it so I could pull the covers open. I crawled into them, and laid down on my side, cuddling the corners.
"Kim, you did it!" Grace cheered as Giselle went to go and wash the last twin off. I felt my vampire healing reshape my body back to how it had been before I was even pregnant. It was like something was zipping up my insides, it felt strange, but in a good way.
"Never. Again." I swore, looking at Jack over the arm of the chair he was sat in. He chuckled at me, still holding the first baby. I saw faint tracks glimmer on his cheeks in the light.
"Are you crying?" I asked him in amazement.
"I'm happy." He smiled at me, coming to sit next to me on the bed. Giselle came back with a second bundle of fabric, and set it in my arms. I sat up, and peered down at my child. Her eyes opened as if on cue when I did that, and they were a beautiful dark brown. At that moment, it was hard to tell if they were going to be identical, or fraternal, as the one Jack was holding had brown eyes too, exactly the same shade.
"So, what are you calling yours?" He asked me, stroking his index finger down the baby's stomach. She twitched, and her little fingers closed around it, holding it close to her. This moment felt too much like a dream to be real, but after the pain I'd went through, I was positive it wasn't.
"Taylor Miranda Anderson." I replied. I'd used her middle name in honour of my deceased Grandmother, she'd died a few years ago from cancer, and I chose Taylor because I didn't want to have a specifically feminised name for her, because if she turned out to be a tomboy, she would not be pleased with me. "What about you?" I asked.
"Kira Ebony Anderson." Jack leaned his forehead against mine, and we shuffled the babies closer to each other. They made quiet, unintelligible babbles as they reached out to interact with each other. Grace cooed in the background as they had somehow wormed out of their restraining fabric, and had tangled themselves together in a hug. It seemed twins had a strong bond right from birth.
"Welcome to the world, kids." Jack whispered down at them, and I felt tears of joy burn at the corner of my eyes. "It's a crazy place."
The door practically ripped off it's hinges crashing into the wall next to it, and Mom stood in the doorway, Drake next to her. It felt like forever since I last saw them, even though I knew it was only a day or two. Mom was panting heavily, her hair was a complete mess, but she had a huge grin stretching her lips to unimaginable limits.
"Mom!" I smiled as she walked into the room.
"Oh thank God." She breathed in relief, eyeing me to make sure I was alright. I probably looked terrible, but I had just given birth to twins. Mom dropped her bag on the ground, and flopped down in the chair that Grace had previously occupied. "Couldn't have had worst timing, I missed a really important meeting to come here."
"Kimmy!" Drake yelled. He bounded over to us, and looked fearful. He must have thought I was in pain or ill.
"Hi Drake, come and say hello to your nieces, Taylor and Kira." He looked confused, but obeyed, and started scrambling onto Jack's legs. He helped him up with his free hand, and chuckled. Drake crawled onto my now flat stomach, and eyed the twins as they continued to lay with each other.
"Hi there." He waved a hand down at them. I smiled at him, and ruffled his hair with my free hand. I heard sniffling, and I looked at Mom. Her beam was still there, although tears were now streaming down her face.
"Can I hold one?" She asked tearfully.
"Here you are Miss Crawford." Jack carefully untangled the twins from each other, and wrapped Kira in her bundle of cloth. She made a mewing sound, obviously annoyed about the fact her hug with her sister had been disturbed. "Her name's Kira." He held her out for Mom to take into her arms.
"Jack please, Kim - your fiancée and my daughter - has just given birth you your twins and my grandchildren, call me Anne." Mom smiled at him, and I felt horrified to think about what she'd do if she found out about her erased memories and about Jack, and remembered the darker truth behind the façade Jack continued to play.
Or me.
I breathed deeply, calming myself down as I watched her take Kira into her arms, gently rocking her. One of Kira's hands reached up to play with a dangling strand of Mom's hair. It truly was a sight I would never forget, even without a photo to capture the moment. We didn't need one though, I could never forget it even if I wanted to, Jack certainly wouldn't forget it, as it looked like it was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and the twins would always be our permanent reminder.
"Would this be a good time to break out the We Are Family song?" Grace asked. Everyone in the room burst into laughter, especially Drake. Even the babies made some sort of noise like they'd gotten the joke. I knew with Grace around, there would never be a dull moment.
~Kickin' it~
(Five months later)
.
Today was it.
Today was the day I was finally getting married.
And to say I was nervous was an understatment. My stomach felt like it was a raging tornado, and my dress felt incredibly tight, constricting me. I knew everything was how Jack and I had decided though, since Grace had helped me with all the planning after Taylor and Kira had settled down, and Jack had reluctantly agreed to play babysitter.
Jack and I were getting married at a registry office in the center of town, called the Rising Sun. A Church was a no-go right from the beginning, so none of them were on our list of potential venues. But in the end, after days of scouring for a suitable registry office - Jack and I had decided that it had to be nice, but not too fancy, and not under-done - we settled for the Rising Sun.
The venue search was the only thing Jack was openly involved in, since I wanted my dress to be a surprise. He'd only helped out with the color scheme, which consisted of Oceanic blue - the same blue my dress was made from - black and ivory. Everything else was either my doing, mine and Grace's doing, or mine and Mom's doing. I just hoped he liked everything.
"Grace, could you pass me that hairpin?" Mom's voice broke me out of my thoughts, and I studied my reflection. My hair was in golden waves which fell past my shoulders, and all the strands which would have normally fell into my eyes were pinned up by thin. brown hairpins.
Mom added one more to the back of my head after Grace handed it to her, securing a white rose in my hair. Grace had done an amazing job with my make-up. I didn't want to sound vain, but I looked beautiful. I had a thin amount of eyeliner on the top lids, and it extended into flicks. I also had a light shade of pink blush on.
"God, I'm nervous." I muttered, watching Mom's hands in the mirror. I needed something to distract me from my nerves. I had never understood why people got nervous before weddings, and here I was and I still didn't understand it. I knew nothing drastic was going to happen - Ricky wasn't going to suddenly burst in and object to the marriage because he was a pile of ashes being carried about by the wind, thanks to Jack and Danielle. I had invited her to the wedding, she had saved my fiancée's life and destroyed any chance that my deranged werewolf ex-boyfriend could be resurrected after all.
"It's your wedding day sweetheart, you can be nervous if you want." Mom's reassuring voice derailed my train of thoughts once again, and I was immediately swarmed with nerves again. I felt like I was going to throw up, but I knew in my heart I wasn't. It wasn't like it was an arranged by parental figures marriage, and Jack was someone I hated with every fibre of my being, it was a planned by the boyfriend and girlfriend marriage, and I loved Jack more than I ever thought possible.
"Thank you Mom." I smiled at her, seeing her head disappear behind mine as I continued to watch our reflections. "I thought you were going to freak." I admitted, feeling my face flame. She had been surprisingly calm when I'd told her, considering I had told her about the pregnancy and marriage at the same time.
"Of course I was, but none of it matters." Mom resurfaced, and kissed me lightly on the cheek. "You and Jack love each other, and that's all that matters."
"What d'you reckon Jack and Drake are doing?" I asked, turning in the chair as Mom finished her work on my hair. She began putting all her makeup supplies in her bag, giving herself a once over in the mirror I was still sat in front of. I moved from the chair so she could see her reflection. Her dress was ivory - I decided I wasn't going to wear white, I wanted to be different - with black and blue ribbons running up the above kneecap-length skirt. She looked gorgeous.
"Being guys, and wondering why it takes us so long to get ready." She chuckled. Mom zipped her makeup bag together, and dropped it inside her handbag. She then turned to me, and I was absent-mindedly smoothing out the creases on my dress. "Everything's going to be fine, Kim."
"I know, I just think I'd be enjoying to a lot more if Dad was here." I looked at her sadly. We never liked to talk about it, but he was in debt to a lot of drug dealers, and he was killed a few days before his and Mom's anniversary. The police had found his body bloodstained and battered in the gutter, and I had, had to spend one of my birthday's - I couldn't remember the exact one, but Drake was definitely born - at his funeral.
"Oh honey. He'd want to be here too." Mom wrapped me in a gentle hug, and smoothed my hair with the palm of her hand. I looked over my shoulder, and saw Grace bringing Taylor and Kira down into the kitchen in their baby carriers, one in each hand. Jack and I had agreed they didn't need to wear dresses, so we just gave them blue clothes to wear.
The door opened, and Mom and I broke our hug. My Uncle Colin - he was my Dad's brother - walked in. He had donned a suit just for the occasion, and was wearing cufflinks in the same shade of blue as my dress.
"Kim?" He asked. He was driving me and Mom, while Grace was driving herself over. Drake and Jack were already there, and I was betting some of the guests were too.
"Be there in a sec, Uncle Colin." I said. I turned to Grace, who was bent down next to the baby carriers, and was playing with Taylor and Kira. Their gurgling laughter echoed into the room. "Grace, can you take Taylor and Kira in your car?" I asked her.
"Course." She picked Taylor and Kira up, and walked over to me, wrapping me in an awkward one-armed hug. "See you there." She smiled, and made her way through the open front door.
"So, look at you, all grown-up." Uncle Colin smiled at me, giving me an approving once-over. "You know your Dad would have been really proud of you honey."
"Thanks." I smiled at him. Uncle Colin was walking me down the aisle instead of Dad. I had said I wasn't fussed about doing everything traditionally, but then Mom took charge just for that part of the wedding.
"Oh and Kim?" Uncle Colin caught my attention. "Be careful what you look like." He grinned devilishly at me and held up a large camera, shaking it.
"No way, you're the-" I stopped short, as I realised it was a very Uncle Colin-esque thing to do. "Why does that not surprise me?" I chuckled at him.
"Don't worry, I won't really embarrass you." He reassured me. "Let's go ladies, the carriage awaits."
"So where's Prince Charming?" Mom smirked from behind us. I snickered and Uncle Colin pulled a face.
"Hilarious, Anne." He said dryly, a grin betraying his look seconds after. He started towards the front door, and Mom and I followed him. I hopped in the back seat of Uncle Colin's Camaro, while he took the front seat, and Mom scurried into the passenger seat after locking the front door.
Uncle Colin revved the engine, and we slipped out of the driveway, joining the other cars which were going in the same direction. I stared out the window, watching the trees pass us by. It felt too much like a dream that this day was really here, not to mention my nerves - which had snuck up on me with no warning at all - were eating away at me, and I had no idea what I was nervous about.
I grinned as the Rising Sun came into view. Uncle Colin rolled into the car park, and I spotted Jack and Grace's cars. Uncle Colin stopped the engine, and he and Mom got out. I followed them, and pushed open the large entrance door. The interior had been decorated with the color scheme, and it made the old, authentic fittings from a few centuries ago pop.
"Alright, Mom and Bride together." Uncle Colin raised his camera, and Mom came to stand next to me. We wrapped our arms around each others shoulders, and Uncle Colin stuck his tongue out at us behind the camera, successfully making us smile. He snapped the picture, and then disappeared into the room where everyone was.
"Good luck honey, I love you." Mom kissed me on the cheek, and went inside where Jack and all the guests were waiting to see me. I blew out a breath, and waited behind the closed doors. Usually, I hated being the center of attention, and I still hated it. I just hoped I wouldn't blush if someone - i.e: Jack - looked at me.
The doors opened, and Drake walked up to me. He was wearing a small black suit, smart shiny black shoes, and he had a blue flower on the side of his lapel. He bounded up to me with a big grin on his face. His arms were hidden behind his back. I bent down so I could see eye-to-eye with him.
"Kimmy, Jack asked me to give you these." Drake beamed and produced a bouquet of ice-blue roses. My eyes widened in amazement, as I realised they were real. Jack certainly had his ways, with or without compulsion. I smiled as I was just minutes away from marrying him.
"Tell him thank you for me." I dropped a kiss on Drake's head, and I could see he was on the verge of ruffling his hair. Jack must have told him he had to look smart, and probably bribed him with sweets.
"You look really pretty." Drake smiled at me. Then he looked like he'd been pondering over something for quite a while. "So is Jack gonna be my brother or something?"
"Brother-in-law, I think." I shrugged, even I wasn't sure. I was Drake's sister, so that would mean brother-in-law, wouldn't it? He wouldn't be Jack's step-brother, that would be if my Mom was getting married, and Jack was her fiancee's son. I shook myself from my thoughts, and ushered him towards the hall. "Go on, I have to stay here."
"I love you." He called past his shoulder. Uncle Colin appeared, and I bit my lip. He didn't have his camera, so the wedding was beginning.
"You okay?" He asked me, coming to stand beside me.
"Fine, just nerves." I responded, licking my lips and taking a deep breath. The tornado was back in my stomach, and my legs felt weak. Why in the Hell was I so nervous? Uncle Colin offered me his arm, and I slipped mine into it, linking us together.
"Let's do this." I nodded in determination. In that instant, I almost giggled - I felt like a solider walking out into the front lines in one of the world's biggest wars, not a bride walking into where her soon-to-be-husband was waiting.
"Knock 'em dead, Kim." Uncle Colin smiled. My feet began to move of their own accord, and Uncle Colin and I walked into the room ahead of us. Everyone was stood up, and some people gasped in awe as they saw me. Flashes burst from all around me as people tried to take photos. Uncle Colin walked me next to Jack, and he looked at me with the most happy smile I'd ever seen on his face.
"You look gorgeous, you know that?" He whispered in my ear as Uncle Colin handed him my hand. He took it gently, and rubbed his thumb across the top. Our engagement rings brushed together, soon to be joined by a marriage ring. I had let Jack pick them, so it was going to be a complete surprise.
"You clean up pretty nice too." I complimented his suit with a grin, feeling all my nerves fade instantly as I remembered I was surrounded by people who loved me and supported mine and Jack's decision. A few more camera flashes, and people started to stop clapping, it was then I noticed a man - the Justice of the Peace - stood behind a table which had been covered with a blue cloth, and had a large registry book in the center.
"Okay, thank you, thank you." He raised his hands and the room fell to a silent hush, a single camera flashing before it was put down. I turned around and quickly scanned the room, I saw Grace at the back, cradling Taylor and Kira as they'd mashed themselves together like they had when they were born. Grace spotted me, and beamed at me. The man's voice brought me back to reality. "We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Kimberly Crawford, and Jack Anderson. If anyone does not wish for this two people to be joined, speak now."
The room remained silent, and there were a few more camera flashes. Uncle Colin had gotten his camera back. I didn't look at him, and kept my eyes on Jack. The man stood up straight, clasping his hands in front of him. He started speaking to me, but his voice was projected all around the room.
"Jack do you take Kim as your wife? To take care of her for as long as you both shall live?"
Jack smiled, and looked me deep in the eyes, as if he was reaching for my soul. I needed to give him that, and break the last barrier. "I do."
"And Kim, do you take Jack as your husband? To take care of him for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do." I replied sincerely. As Jack and I shared our intense gaze, I felt like our souls were merging as one. Uncle Colin snapped a photo of us, and I smiled even wider as I thought of the caption he'd be most likely to name it with: "Starstruck Lovers".
"I now pronounce you, husband and wife." The man announced with a smile. He beckoned over to the corner of the room, and Drake walked up to us with our rings. He handed me Jack's - it was a simple golden band, which it glinted in the sunlight - and he handed Jack mine. He cleverly kept it concealed so I didn't see it.
I held my palm faced upwards, and Jack slipped his onto it. I smiled at him, and slipped his ring onto his right hand's ring finger. He offered me his palm, and I held onto his hand. He looked at me as he slid my ring onto my fingers. I looked at it, and my eyes almost widened into saucers. It was gorgeous!
It was a silver band, with three diamonds in it. Two blue on the edges, rivalling that of my dress by a long shot, and an onyx one in the middle. I felt tears burn in the corners of my eyes and Jack smiled at me. Curiously, I peered at the band, it had a phrase on it in a language I didn't recognise - "Sanguinis quondam meus, et nunc et semper es."
"Alright, if you two would join me around here, for the signing of the registry." The man ushered us around the table, and Uncle Colin followed us, occasionally snapping photos of our rings. Jack took the pen, and neatly signed his signature in the small gap that was left. He handed me the pen, and slipped his hand around my waist. I signed my name, and looked at my Mom. She was dabbing at her teary eyes with the back of her hand, and Grace was smiling at us. I scanned the room for the face of Danielle, and I saw the Irishwoman studying us with a smile on her face.
"Can they kiss yet?" Jack and I snickered as we heard her demand. It was typical Grace. A few of the crowd murmured along with her, clearly in agreement. I shot a glance at Mom, and I could see she was desperately trying to stifle her laughter, despite the tears of joy that were rolling down her cheeks.
The man chuckled, and looked at us warmly. "You may kiss the bride."
Jack grinned, and leaned in to kiss me. I wrapped one arm around his back, and his arms went around my waist. Everyone stood up and cheered as Jack and I shared our electrifying kiss. A few people wolf-whistled and camera's flashed everywhere. I felt a little like a celebrity, especially with all the attention on me. I was grateful that it was just for today.
"I love you so much Jack." I whispered as we broke away, the crowd continuing to cheer and snap photos of us. This day could not have gone more perfect, and the icing on the cake - not literally - would be the heart-felt, yet humorous speech of Uncle Colin that he'd prepared.
"I love you too Kim..." Jack smiled, pressing his forehead to mine. "...Anderson."
~Kickin' it~
(Six years later)
.
Grace, Jack and I were sat on a park bench, watching Taylor and Kira chase after each other after Kira shoved Taylor into the sandbox. Kira was certainly the more aggressive one, but she was beautiful all the same, and part of the fun about carrying them inside me was that I wasn't going to know if they were fraternal or identical. Kira mostly took after Jack, especially with the stubbornness and Taylor took after me. But it seemed, so far, that the only thing she'd gotten from me was my hair color.
All in all, it had been a relatively peaceful six years. Jack and I had decided that when the time was right, we were going to fake our deaths, and move away from Seaford until my Mom passed away. Jack told me it would be too risky to tell her that we were vampires now, especially if she began to remember she was a slayer, and came after me, Jack and our children.
Grace had also had her twins, about three months after Jack and I had gotten married. We were enjoying our honeymoon in France, when we got a call from Grace, literally screaming down the phone at us that she was going into labour. Jack was a bit grumpy, but Grace made it up to us by making us her children's god parents. She had, had two twin girls like me, but both were identical, and she kept mixing them up. It was quite funny to watch for a while.
Jack's hand moved up my waist, and I smiled at him, resting my head on his shoulders. We were going to let Kira and Taylor enjoy their lives as much as possible before we had to move on. But were weren't going to for another five years - that would probably be pushing it - so they would be older, and might able to understand. It was going to be risky, revealing ourselves to our children, but what wasn't risky when Jack and I were involved in something?
"Mommy! Daddy!" Taylor and Kira ran over to us. I almost laughed, Taylor was doubled over, trying to catch her breath, and Kira looked like she still had the energy to run around the park twenty times. "Can we have ice cream, please?" Taylor asked.
"Please?" Kira pouted her bottom lip out, and gave us what Grace called her "Puss-in-boots eyes". They were quite crafty for two six-year olds, but they knew their limits, and barely made a fuss when Jack or I said they couldn't have something.
"Oh alright. Come on then." Jack rolled his eyes before he got up from the bench. Taylor and Kira smiled at him, before taking a hand each and leading him towards the ice-cream van with was parked a few meters away from the swings.
"Ah, kids." Grace sighed, shifting closer to me on the bench. Hayley and Daisy were nuzzled on either side of her. "Hayley, Daisy, do you want to go and play with Taylor and Kira?" She asked them.
"Sure Mommy." They chirped in unison, hopping off the benches, running towards Kira, Taylor and Jack. Now they had gotten older, it was slightly easier to tell them apart, because Hayley was slightly taller than Daisy, and she was the more rambunctious of the two.
"Y'know, for a pair of vampires, you two are big softies when it comes to kids." Grace said, not exactly quietly. I looked around hurriedly to see if anyone had heard her, but knowing my string of luck, people would think she was crazy and wouldn't believe her.
"Shhh, cool it with the V word." I hissed at her.
"So are they vampires?" She whispered to me, looking over at Kira and Taylor, who were waiting patiently with Jack in the ice-cream van queue. It was slightly strange, but fitting, to see Jack with children. He got on with them surprisingly easily, and they loved him dearly. Even Hayley and Daisy had a soft spot for him. Bring on the teenage years. I thought with a smirk.
"No, they're human, which makes no sense, but we love them all the same." I whispered back. How they were human was a complete mystery to us. It was probably down to the fact that I'd conceived while I was still human. Or maybe it was just a random lucky thing which had happened to us.
"They are gonna have one heck of a sixteenth birthday." Grace chuckled. It was all well and good joking around about it with her, but she knew how serious it really was. I couldn't even imagine that, going a good part of your life thinking your family is a normal human one, only to find out that your parents are vampires and you'd have to be turned before it was too late.
"Mommy!" Taylor called, walking over to me and Grace with chocolate and strawberry ice-cream cones in her hands. Kira perched next to me, and Jack scooped her up and placed her on his lap. "We got you one, Daddy said strawberry was your favourite." Taylor handed me the strawberry ice-cream cone, before scrambling to get on my lap. Hayley and Daisy were playing on the see-saw.
"Thank you very much, sweetie." I took it from her, and she looked at me before I gave it a little lick. It actually tasted pretty good since I hadn't eaten anything all day. Jack and I normally had to wait until the kids were out of sight before we could drink a blood bag, or if we had just gone hunting - we often asked Grace to stay and watch them for us - we would have to throughly check ourselves for blood stains before we could walk through the front door.
Taylor and Kira pushed themselves off mine and Jack's laps, and ran off to join Hayley and Daisy by the zip-slide. I scooted closer to Jack on the bench, pressing myself into his side. His arm wrapped around my shoulders.
"Do you reckon we'll ever have to turn them?" I asked. I knew Jack had always said we'd decide when the time was right, because it was their choice and not ours, but it was still worrying. Jack and I were pushing for twenty-four, but it was getting extremely risky. I didn't even go round to my Mom's much because of it. And then there was always the matter of Grace, she was a great friend and I didn't want to lose her because she'd gotten old with her husband while Jack and I "died" and moved somewhere else.
"Let's not think about that, let's just think about right now." Jack smiled, lacing his fingers with mine, and looking over at Grace, who beamed back and me and him. "And what we have right here."
I smiled back, as his statement didn't need anything attached to it. We were all just one big, happy family. Forever.
~Kickin' it~
(A/N) Ok, whew that took me ages to write. And I'm sorry if the giving birth scenes weren't right, I'm thirteen so I've never actually given birth.
Anyway, that's the end of this story, but I still wanna thank all of ya! But there's over thirty, so I'm not gonna list you all, just give you all virtual cookies, or something like that...
Alright, bye guys! Hope you enjoyed the roller coaster ride that was my story.
Latin translation: (I felt it was quite fitting)
Sanguinis quondam meus, et nunc et semper es - Blood was once my salvation, but now it is, and will forever be, you.
