And they lived happily never after...

[Kiera Kaster]

[adminapproval=30085836]“Carter, sweetheart, we need to go to the hospital. Like now....My water just broke.” Kiera said, in a calm, but urgent voice as she realized what exact happened. Two months. They still had two months before the twins were scheduled to arrive, but they had never really expected Kiera to make it that far. She had been on bed rest since the second trimester, just like with Jemma, which had caused the brunette to slowly start losing her mind. She had always led an active lifestyle and wasn’t the type of woman who could just lay around all day in bed and be content. The last few months had been pure torture and agony. Of course, Carter had been so patient with her through it all, even coming home every night in time for dinner and to save her from her boredom. At least she had books, and when she grew tired of reading, there was always the television. She knew her husband probably didn't understand her love of it, but it certainly helped keep her sane.

It was late. The last of her family had left only an hour ago. Kiera had gone upstairs to take a bath and relax after the busy Christmas Day they had. It was only as she went to get out that she realized they needed to head to the hospital. Due to her condition, all of the Kingsleys had come to Kiera and Carter for Christmas, including her mother, Gabriel, Kat, Sebastian, and Abigail. The pregnant woman had enjoyed it immensely as the day had been filled with delicious food and lots of laughs. Kiera’s healer had approved her transition from the bed to the lounge chair downstairs, but now that her water had broken, she couldn’t help but wonder if it had all been too much movement for her. Or maybe it was just too much excitement after such a long stretch of dullness. If the babies were delivered safely, she wouldn’t regret it.

 

[Carter Kaster]

Too soon, it was too soon. Not completely unexpected given the nature of the pregnancy, but Carter had been worried from the moment they'd found out she was pregnant. He'd run around after her, making her comfortable, taking extra leave to make sure she was comfortable, always being home on time. He loved Kiera dearly and he never wanted anything to happen to her. Carter ran to Kiera's side and flicked his wand at the bag which packed itself with some clothes for her. He would come back for it later, but he needed to get Kiera to a healer first.

Carter held Kiera close to him, stepped out of the house and apparated them to the hospital. He'd been practicing side apparition for months up to this on the off chance it became a necessity. It was risky of course, but it seemed they were lucky here. He waved over one of the healers and smiled as they helped him put Kiera on a bed. He couldn't believe this was happening. He'd thought about it for so long, but never expected it to be a reality. There were so many moment where he thought he had lost everything, but he hadn't. Kiera was with him and he was about to meet their offspring. It was all so surreal. He took Kiera's hand and smiled down at her, kissing her hand softly. "Kiera. I love you so much."
​

 

[Kiera Kaster]

The brunette woman felt a ball of anxiety and nerves in her stomach as she wrapped her arms around her husband tightly as he apparated them to the hospital. Side-by-side apparation wasn't ideal, but it wasn't as if they had any other choice at the moment. It was critical for them all that Kiera arrived at the hospital as soon as possible. There was a tight, squeezing sensation before a sudden pop that brought her relief. Carter did it, and there was a sudden flurry of movement as they put her on a bed. She felt Carter's hand on her own, and she turned her honey eyes on him, blocking out everything else as he spoke to her. She smiled softly, tears welling up in her eyes. "I love you, and our children. Are you ready to meet them?" Kiera said, touching her swollen belly.

It was only a matter of minutes before they had her in a busy room with healers rushing about, handing her potions to drink and getting ready for the birth of their babies. The potions were making her dizzy, drowsy, and a little sick to her stomach. She didn't remember that happening before with her other children. As she drifted in and out of awareness, Kiera realized someone was tell her to push. She squeezed Carter's hand tighter and looked around for his face. Exhaustion was overcoming her, and just when she thought she couldn't do it anymore, Kiera heard a cry, two cries. Tears ran down her face as she looked once again for as spots of darkness clouded her vision. "Carter, Carter....Are they okay?" the brunette asked her husband anxiously as she couldn't see the newborns. Instinctively, she knew something was off. Kiera needed to see her babies. "I need to see them." she said, feeling tightness in her chest.
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[Carter Kaster]

It was all so fast. One minute Carter was consulting with a healer, the next he was comforting Kiera and then the next, he was watching the healers fuss over Kiera and the twins. It was so surreal to finally have them in the real world. Everything was grounded, everything was perfect. He smiled at Kiera as she asked for her children. She seemed worried, panicked even and Carter frowned, bringing first the boy and then the girl. He ran his fingers through her hair trying to calm her. The twins were fine, everything was fine. He cradled the twins with Kiera. She must have been exhausted after that. Carter was exhausted and he hadn't done anything. He couldn't believe this. He honestly couldn't believe this. "They're here, they're fine. You've done so well." he said, kissing her brow.
​

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Carter brought her the babies, placing them on each side of her. Even in her state of exhaustion and confusion, Kiera knew that they were perfect, her boy and girl. Tears ran down her cheeks. She recognized Carter in them both, and she looked up at her husband, a smile on her face. This was so different from the birth of her last child. James had already disappeared, and she had to go through the experience alone. Kiera loved Carter with her entire heart, but that didn't mean that she didn't miss James every day that she lived. The brunette turned her face back to her two new children. She couldn't wait for Lyra, Link, and Jemma to meet them. "They are beautiful, aren't they?" she murmured, stroking their tiny faces as best she could as Kiera was feeling pretty weak.

"I think I know what we should name them." Kiera said. They had discussed possibilities, but not decided on any names. Kiera wanted to see them first, and now that she had, the names just came to her. "Would you like to hear them?" she asked, her voice soft and gentle.
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[Carter Kaster]

Carter would never forget this moment for the rest of his life, he knew it. He flashed forward a couple of years to he and Kiera embarrassing their children with stories of their births and loving it the entire time. He'd never expected, after the last time, that this moment would come, but though he had been worried, he was glad they'd done this. He looked at the twins and smiled at Kiera. "They're perfect, just like you." Carter could not wait to give this news to their families. He knew they would be just as happy.

Carter nodded as Kiera mentioned their names. He had wondered what Kiera had decided, he was happy for her to choose. "I would, what have you decided?"
​

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera smiled up at her husband. This was the perfect moment. She had her husband and her two perfect, beautiful newborns. The only thing that would make it better would be to have Lyra, Link, and Jemma. They would come first thing in the morning as it was much too late tonight. "Well, for our boy, I was thinking Kingsley Hans Kaster." she said, kissing his little hand. "And for our girl, Kamryn Elizabeth Kaster, but spelled K-A-M-R-Y-N, like a blend between Katheryn and Cameron's names. We can call her Kammie. What do you think, hon?" she asked, looking up at him, knowing they hadn't discussed Kamryn. She hoped he would love it as much as she did. She held Kingsley and Kamryn closer as she started feeling extremely dizzy. The world was spinning around her, and Kiera felt as if she pass out. Her face, already pale from the loss of blood, grew even paler. Somewhere, Kiera vaguely heard an machine beeping alarmingly.
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[Carter Kaster]

Carter nodded as he listened to the names, too happy to care that the names were a little strange. He didn’t register that Kingsley was Kiera’s maiden name, nor did he register that Kamryn was his boss until she pointed it out. He was also blissfully unaware that everything was not as good as it appeared. There was a vague beeping sound somewhere in the room, that seemed to get louder as they spoke. Carter started to realise that the colour in Kiera’s cheeks was fading. He smiled down at her and whispered softly in her ear. She must have been tired after all, millions of women gave birth for thousands of years, but the only woman he cared about was Kiera and the fact that…

Carter stood straight up in his chair as Kiera seemed to lose consciousness, he immediately grabbed both of the twins and handed them off to some nurses as he looked around frantically for someone to help. One of the healers rushed over and started examining her and Carter was forced out of the way. “What’s happening?” The panic in his chest was welling up inside him, the thoughts of everyone else waiting on the news immediately slipped from his mind. He didn’t care about anything else, he only wanted Kiera to be okay.

​

 

[Kiera Kaster]

From the very first healer's appointment, Kiera Kaster had known that there was a very slim chance that she would survive the birth of her twins. Several healers had tried to persuade her to give the pregnancy up, but the woman had adamantly refused to even consider the option. Her most favorite part of her life was being a mother. She would protect her children with everything she had even if it meant sacrificing her life it the process. Kiera had accepted her fate as soon as she heard it, but she hadn't told her husband. He wouldn't understand her decision, and she didn't want anything to come between them during these months if they were likely her last her on Earth. Around her, she could hear healers and feel their hands as they tried to save her.

Kiera felt..pain. It was intense, and it caused her to straddle a line between consciousness and unconsciousness with the darkness threatening to take her permanently. She reached out in the spinning room around her, looking for her husband. She found his hand and clutched on to it tightly. "Carter, tell them...tell them I love them...Always." she said, her voice weak with strain. He would know she meant the children. All of them. Lyra and Link, her first born children. They were grown up, and soon would be out on their own. They didn't need her anymore. They were resilient and would move on with their lives without her. But, sweet Jemma. She very much needed her mother, and Kiera could only hope that she would understand one day why she had made the decision that she had that resulted in leaving Jemma as an orphan. But. Carter. He would care for her as he was the only father she had ever known. Kammie, Kingsley. They would grow up without their mother, but Carter would protect them and love them. He would do for them what she couldn't now. What she would never be able to do for them now.

"I..love you...Carter. It's not.. your fault." Kiera said, her honey eyes locking in with Carter's one, final time. She knew he had a tendency to internalize, and she never wanted him to blame himself for this. Never. Kiera's heart rate was decreasing. She could hear the beeping on the monitor having longer and longer stretches of silence before the next beep, but it didn't register in her mind. Her eyes fluttered as she weakly struggled to remain here in this world. Kiera had everything to live for, but her strength was failing her. With a final squeeze of her love's hand, Kiera Kaster slipped into the darkness around her forever. Somewhere, she hear a familiar, beloved voice welcoming her home.
​

 

[Carter Kaster]

The rush of the healers around Kiera was blurring together behind the fog of Carter’s own racing thoughts. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. They were supposed to welcome the kids in the morning. Link and Lyra were going to bring Jemma and then they would welcome Cyndi and Cameron and Katherine. Later in the day his mother was going to visit. He hadn’t even told her yet, but he knew she would rush right over. She was staying close these days, for just this occasion. He was grateful, she’d been a pillar of strength for him from day one, pushing him to keep going even when he was the most exhausted he had ever been in his life. But right now all that strength seemed useless if he couldn’t even protect the one thing in his life he was trying to fix. He’d caused Kiera so much pain when he’d left, he’d promised himself he would make up for it for the rest of their lives together. It wasn’t supposed to end here. This couldn’t be their last stand, he wouldn’t allow it. He wasn’t just going to accept that this was happening, he couldn’t. His wife needed him and Merlin as his witness, Carter refused to fail her now. Shoving one of the nurses out of the way, he would apologise later, Carter moved to Kiera and grasped her hand tightly as she reached for him. He didn't care what anyone said, Kiera needed him and he wasn't going to stand around and do nothing, just stand aside and watch her die. He couldn't do that to her. If it was the last thing he ever did, Carter would love Kiera until she asked him not to.

A day that would never come.

It was like time had stopped. One minute Carter was the happiest man on the planet. He held his two beautiful children in his arms, his beloved nuzzled into his arm, they were the picture of perfection. The distant sounds of the chaos that awaited him when he turned away, was the last thing on his mind, the sounds dulled as he listened intently to Kiera, keenly aware of how terrible she truly looked. She never faltered, even now, her last words spurring him into holding her close. The healers had stopped their work now, they knew there was nothing left, but Carter would not let her go. The light left her eyes as he cradled her, the memories of everything they had achieved together making way for the sight of her wrapped in his arms. The room stilled and the machines stopped as Carter, cupped her face and pulled her into the last kiss they would ever share. It was a pain that Carter would never feel again, his heart taken with her, torn from his chest so easily it was like she'd held it in her hands always. He rocked her, the healers and nurses watching on in pity as Carter glared at them, daring them to remove her from his arms. He was sitting on the bed now, whispering sweet nothings into her ear on the promise that she would never leave his heart. Her could hear someone speaking to him, but he did his best to ignore the voice until it spoke words he did not wish to hear. Carter looked up then, surprise, confusion and anger in his gaze all at once. Kiera had known this could happen? The idea that she would hide something like this from him... Carter shook his head. She wouldn’t do that to him. She knew he would rather have her than lose her. Why would she take that away from him?

Carter gently placed Kiera back on the bed and paced the room, Carter didn't know what to do, he was in panic mode, this was all his fault and he knew that. They would never forgive him for this, he'd never forgive himself for this. He didn't want this, he would never have chosen this... Kiera knew that, it was why she had taken the choice from him. He would never have forced something on her, but he knew she knew he would have convinced her, he'd have gone to Cameron, to Cyndi if he'd had to. Anything to make sure that Kiera would be alive and well. But he'd failed. Kiera was dead, leaving her children with no mother. Carter didn't know where to start, with Lyra and Link? With Jemma? Should he tell Cameron first, her father? This was not how this was supposed to go. This was supposed to be their happiest moment, the memory they would share for the rest of their lives. Carter was not supposed to have to do this alone.

Carter would never forget this day. It would be forever etched into the dark recesses of his mind. He would remember the day he'd lost his wife, yet gained two beautiful children.

Carter would never be able to explain to his children what happened today. He would never speak of it again. It would hurt too much.

Carter had been wrong. He'd always maintained that his relationship with Kiera was not a fairytale. But he was wrong. They were exactly like a fairy tale. The tragic ending playing out before him like a horror movie from the mind of a genius writer.

Carter and Kiera lived happily never after and it was all his fault.

The End.
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Out of Character:

The funeral rp has now been started here, please feel free to join if you know Kiera or Carter.