Oh my!

[Kira Carter]

Kira finished work early that day, having asked Mr King for an early leave from her duties after being sick a number of times. She told her love that she would see him at home when he finished his shift in a few hours, ensuring him that he didn’t have to worry about her. She had her younger sister and brother at her old flat to help her if she needed anyone to help her while he was still at work. Arriving home she went the stairs of her and Andros’ newly bought country home. It had been just what they were looking for and after being married for just over nine glorious months they figured they needed a place of their own and both their salaries together was more than enough to buy their dream home in the countryside, just outside Obsidian so it was close enough to work for them.

As Kira changed out of her work robes she struggled to find a decent outfit that fitted her, a problem she was having recently, without feeling a bit tight. Opting for a simple dress and a top she observed herself in the mirror. She didn’t seem to have gained any weight, but her clothes were telling a different story. Although the image in the mirror soon disappeared as the young Auror felt another wave of nausea come over her and she found herself in the bathroom floor on her en-suite. Once she felt better she walked back to her bed and sat in silent contemplation for a few minutes. She had been sick a lot lately and her clothes weren’t fitting her properly, Kira was a smart woman and all the signs were leading to one thing. Wanting to be sure she knew what she had to do so she apparated to the near-by St. Mungos Hospital.

After a few hours the young female returned home, her husband had yet to get home from work but judging by the time he would be anytime soon. Sighing the bundle of emotions that was Kira Carter right now lay on her bed, waiting for her husband to come home. How could she not have noticed this sooner.

 

[Andros Carter]

Andros had not had a particularly exciting day, but nevertheless, paperwork and a brief meeting was a lot less boring than just sitting around, doing nothing, and certainly less tiring than nearly getting your head blown off by a dark wizard. So, this average day had dragged on for many hours after Kira had left. Andros was worried about her; she hadn't seemed quite right, lately, and Andros was beginning to wonder whether or not she was coming down with a serious illness. He had sad at his desk for two whole hours doing paperwork, before he had looked up at the clock, again. A slight smile formed on the tired, young man's face as he stood up and began to file the papers he had been working with.

His cubicle was decorated with photographs, diagrams and notes. Photographs of he and Kira at their new home, on a day out at the beach, in a restaurant with large helpings of ice-cream, of them at a party, sharing a sneaky kiss. He remembered fondly the times at which those pictures had been taken and, for five minutes, he was staring at a photo, solely of his wife. He was admiring how beautiful she was and he was certain that there could be nothing more in the world he could ever want. Andros shook himself from this daze, a fully formed smile, pasted on his face. He dragged himself away from these memories and began walking towards the lift, calling out a small goodbye to the people he worked with. This life he was living, this was perfect.

There was a loud 'crack' as Andros apparated into a group of trees a short distance from his home. He did love the walk home, the fantastic scents which were so unlike those of his birth country, England. The walk was not long and soon, Andros was on his doorstep, fumbling with a key in the lock. A satisfying 'click' followed and Andros pushed the door, stepping inside and locking it, once more, behind him. "Kira," he called out, taking off his coat jacket and hanging it up. "I'm home." He didn't hear a reply, whether there was one or not, and so, walked upstairs to the room they shared. He stepped into the room, noticing Kira on the bed but not really noticing her. He began to get changed and put on something a little more casual. "That was a slow day," he commented as he buttoned his shirt. He now turned to Kira and tilted his head slightly. "Are you okay? I mean- I know you weren't well but.." He was still trying to access the situation, sure that he had seen it before but unable to place his finger on it. "Do you need to go to St. Mungo's?" Andros asked, really rather worried.

 

[Kira Carter]

Kira continued to lie on the bed she shared with her husband, taking a few deep breaths as she did. She and Andros had never really talked about children, after all they hadn’t even been married a year as of yet and they were still only in their mid – twenties, still far too young to be having children. Regardless Kira couldn’t help but feel excited about the prospect of being a mother. She had helped raise her younger brothers and siblings and having come from a big-ish family it had always been a dream of hers to have her own family some day. Now she just had to wait and see how Andros would react.

And the sound of her husband’s voice calling from downstairs Kira felt another wave of nausea come over her but thankfully it soon passed. Kira waited for her husband to come upstairs and when he entered the room she tiredly greeted him. She had been feeling tired as off late and now she knew why. She could only hope things got better with time because another seven months of this didn’t appeal to the young woman an awful lot. When Andros asked her if she was alright or if she needed to go to St. Mungos Kira simply shook her head and patted the bed beside her for Andros to come sit beside her. “I already went to St. Mungos and I’m just fine.” she said with a soft smile, taking her husband’s hands into her own. “I found out why I’ve been so unwell and tired as of late and it’s nothing serious it’s just...” she paused for a moment, it’s not every day you told your husband that they would be having their first child, “It’s just...I’m pregnant Andros.” she said, looking her love in the eyes to take in his full reaction.

 

[Andros Carter]

Andros did as he wife indicated him to do, and sat down on the bed beside her, a sympathetic look pasted across his face. There were many things that Andros could take in his stride, could cope with; he had managed to only grieve for a week after his aunt and cousin's deaths, before he had begun a personal investigation which had, so far, turned up no results. But the news that Kira suddenly presented to him, taking his hands, Andros could feel as the blood ran from his face and he turned pale. It was shock which had been the cause, but one could easily have mistaken this for upset. Andros opened his mouth to speak, but his throat was dry. He sat there for a moment, looking into Kira's eyes, a puzzled expression beginning to form as the colour came back to his face. "P.. Pregnant?" he stammered, blinking. He almost asked 'how?' but he knew how. After all, he had been there.

But as a man in his mid-twenties, he had not really considered the prospect of children. Then again, he had not considered marriage until he and Kira had started dating. He was silent, once more. Could he really cope with being a father? Was he ready? More to the point, was she ready? Did Kira want this baby? So many questions flooding Andros' head. He had no idea where to start. Well, perhaps he needed to start with the most important.. "Do you.. Do you want to.. Are you ready to be a mother?" he asked, shakily. His emotions began to take over, a lump forming in his throat and his eyes glistening as a watery film formed over them. He couldn't hold it all in for much longer, and a great smile burst onto his face. And once the smile was there, it wouldn't leave. "I thought that my life could not get any better.." He gave a slight laugh, "but, boy, was I wrong!" He tilted his body, leaning down and kissing Kira on the lips before he looked down to her stomach, his fingers slowly moving over it with the gentlest touch; it was a strange, but wonderfully happy thought that inside, just through this wall of flesh and tissue, just in there was a tiny human baby. His child.

It felt like the sun was shining down upon them, lighting the way. It was now that his thoughts moved to other things, such as the matter of work. "You shall have to stay at home and rest," Andros said, becoming evermore protective, "I don't want you getting hurt- you and the baby." It felt so weird to say. "And.. And I'm sure there's a group, somewhere, for young mothers to meet.. I'm sure there is. And we'll have to go shopping for a cot and a changing table and clothes and toys and books and lots of little pairs of socks and a tiny little bathtub with a little yellow rubber duck-" Andros was talking incredibly fast and he caught himself short of breath. "I just can't wait." He breathed, heart flooded with excitement. He was determined to be a good father, even if he had never had an example to follow.

 

[Kira Carter]

Kira’s breathing became shaky after she gave the news to her husband, she was nervous to hear his reply. Studying his face Kira swallowed hard, his reaction was not what she was looking for. Her eyes shot to her hands, still enveloped in her husband’s hands, what was she to do? If Andros didn’t want to have a child, this child that Kira now had inside of her? Kira had only known for a short while but she already loved the idea of being a mother, she had done since she was young. But wasn’t every young girl like that, dressing up in her mothers’ clothes, imaging the perfect wedding and then cradling her dolls in her arms as if it were her child. Except now she had had the perfect wedding and the child she would be cradling in her arms in a few months was real. With her head still downcast Kira simply nodded her head when Andros spoke, this isn’t something she would lie about, not that she would lie to Andros anyway. Not only was he her best friend and her husband but, like herself, he was a trained Auror and could catch a lie a mile off.

The silence consumed the pair once more and Kira tried to stop the tears from coming, a losing battle but she tried. She was becoming seriously scared now, Andros hadn’t said anything regarding the news she had just delivered but by the look on his face after she had told him...Kira wasn’t sure she wanted to know what he was thinking right now. She took a deep breath when she heard Andros start to talk again, she didn’t know what to expect from him. At his question she laughed softly. Trust Andros to care about how before wanting to know anything else. It was one of the reasons Kira loved him so much, she was lucky to have a husband like Andros to care about her so much. It was at this moment she knew whatever his reaction to the whole thing was they would still be alright in the end of it all. Kira lifted her head to face her husband once more, “I am.” she spoke softly. As her eyes met his Kira saw tears starting to fill them too, and a smile? Was he happy? As he began to talk Kira couldn’t help but beam up at her husband, he was happy about this and Kira couldn’t be more relieved. Kissing him back Kira looked down to where his hand now was, smiling softly she placed her hand on top of his, smiling up at him. Kira could tell that Andros was going to be an amazing father, but was she going to be a good enough mother?

It was still early days so Kira couldn’t really feel the baby moving within her as of yet but she could imagine their child, curled up in a ball inside of her, oh how she couldn’t wait to have the child in her arms. Kira shook the images from her head when Andros began to talk. She should have figured he would become even more protective over her now, but she knew that what he was saying now had a point to it all. She couldn’t very well go out on field work whilst pregnant; it wouldn’t be a very smart idea. Kira couldn’t get a word in edge wise as her husband began to waffle on about some things that they would need to think about in the very near future. Kira hadn’t even begun to think about half of the things that Andros was coming up with but she found it one of the most adorable things ever. If this didn’t prove that Andros was going to be a great husband then nothing else would.

Laughing softly as he stopped talking Kira began to speak before he went off again. “Firstly I’ll ask Mr. King in the morning if I can just stick to paperwork, it’s boring but the most dangerous that gets is a paper cut.” she said with a laugh. “Then I’ll discuss the terms of maternity leave while I’m at it. Also I’ll ask Leo if he can take over Gambol and Japes for me, he already pretty much runs it so it shouldn’t be too bad.” she said. She was grateful for everything that her brother had done for her lately around the shop while she was sick, and Jasmin too. “Secondly, there’s no need for me to join a young mothers group, sure Effie is due to have her children in a few weeks so I’ll have her for support.” she stated, using one of her best female friends as an example for her husband. “ Lastly, all that can wait. As far as the healers could determine I’m only two months on, we have plenty of time to gather everything we need.” she said, looking down at her baby bump she rubbed it softly. “I’m excited too. I’m just so happy you are as well.” she said as she looked up at her husband again, her arms wrapping around him in a tight embrace.

 

[Andros Carter]

Andros listened in silence, to his wife, but his smile spoke a thousand words: He simply could not wait for that day when he would finally see this child he had so easily become attached to. He already loved the little thing, even if he had only just heard of its existence. However, it was due a lot sooner than he thought as Kira mentioned possibly having been pregnant for two months. It was another surprise, but Andros wasn't scared. He was smiling, perhaps, even more than he had been. It would mean that there should only be about seven months until he could meet the little one. Another thought popped to his mind as he began to think about one of the rooms in the house, one he had left as a spare room.. He would have to redecorate it and set it up with all the basic things that a nursery required. He planned to be the best father he could and that seemed like the first step towards fatherhood, that he could take.

Standing up suddenly, Andros ran from the room to stare at the empty, white room with its blank walls and tiled floor. That would all have to go. Carpet was the ideal. A springy carpet. He sprinted back to his wife, bursting with adrenaline and excitement in anticipation of this child. "Have you got names? I mean, any idea of the gender?" Maybe he would paint the room yellow; yellow was a nice colour and, though it was unintentional, Andros was being sexist in the colouration of the room. "For the room," he said, suddenly having thought of something, "what do you think of yellow and lilac? I think they'd go quite well, together."

Though he did not necessarily agree to Kira even going into work for just paperwork, he knew that it was near pointless in trying to convince her otherwise. She was a woman who was strong in herself- well, that was the way Andros saw it and it was one of her many traits which attracted him- if Kira wanted to go to work, then so be it, but Andros had already decided that he would not take his eyes off of her, if it could be helped. When he looked at her, now, he was looking at two people. Andros's head was becoming dizzy and he sat back down on the bed. "I just hope I don't mess up." he said, a little solemnly in reference to becoming a father for the very first time. But then, wasn't every father's fear that of messing up?

 

[Kira Carter]

It seemed as though a weight was lifted off of Kira’s shoulders as she could see the happiness in her husband’s eyes at the news of the third member to their perfect family. This of course was the only information she had asked the healer, if it was just one baby or twins or more. She had wanted to leave the knowledge of the gender of the child until she has talked everything over with Andros first of all. She also didn’t want to get her hopes up at the thought of a little baby boy or a little baby girl, whatever the case may be, in case Andros hadn’t taken the news as well as he clearly had. Although by the way he had taken the news Kira knew it was only a matter of them making a decision on whether they wanted to know the sex of the child before it was born. Then again it was as little as seven months left to go, either way a decision had to be made.

Kira could feel her mind going into overdrive as so many ideas came to her. When she saw her husband stand up and leave the room without a single word she frowned her eyebrows and got up to follow him but due to a small dizzy spell coming over her she decided to sit down and wait for him to come back. She had to laugh to herself at her husband, half the time she didn’t know what was going though his mind and she never questioned it either but she could tell that he was as excited about this child as she was and that’s all that matter. Sitting on the bed, Indian style, she placed her hands softly on her belly, looking down at the small baby bump, hardly noticeable as of yet, and thought about what it would be like to have a child. Having grown up, watching her mother with her children she knew it would be a hard thing to get used to, but she did have some practice with babysitting whatnot. Regardless of how hard it would be she couldn’t help but be excited about holding the child that she had so much love for already it was almost unbearable.

A few minutes passed until her husband came back into the room. She looked up at him, he was clearly excited and she loved him so much for being as enthusiastic about this as she was; even if he did seem to be more ahead in the game than she was. When confronted with the questions she answered, “I don’t know the gender yet, I wanted to tell you first before I starting thinking about things like this.” she said, her voice had a hint of sadness in it, that she had ever questioned her husband’s thoughts on them having a child so early into the marriage. When her husband asked about colours for the babies room Kira laughed softly, “Yellow and lilac sound perfect together but Andros please while I appreciate your enthusiasm, it’s making me dizzy.” she told him, still smiling so as to let Andros know that she wasn’t being overly serious. When Andros sat on the bed she shifted beside him. Rapping her arms around him she rested her head upon his chest. “Hunny, you will be an amazing father. That I can tell already. Do you think I’ll be a good mother?” she asked with frowned eyebrows.