~ Audrey ~
When Audrey opened her eyes next, the dawn was breaking and the morning sun was slowly rising through the sky. She could see the purple and orange hues lighting up the darkness through her bedroom window, signaling the start of another day.
Behind her, Killian was sleeping soundly. His arms were wrapped around her body, and she felt warm and secured. After their excursion last night, Killian must be exhausted. Audrey would’ve been sleeping too, except she heard a noise coming from the living room, and it woke her up.
She lifted Killian’s arm from her body and lay it down gently. Then she got up to her feet and pulled a robe to cover her body. Audrey made her way to the living room, thinking that maybe her friends came to deliver her presents from the party last night. But instead of finding Liv and Mikey, Audrey saw Caspian standing before her.
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- - - - - THREE YEARS LATER - - - - - ~ Killian ~ “Alright baby, it’s your first day, are you excited?” “Yes!” Grace squealed in excitement. She was wearing her favorite dress and her hair tied up in a ponytail. She also got her pink backpack and Princess lunchbox with her. Today was her first day in kindergarten. Audrey and Killian were dropping her off in front of the school. Some other kids were crying because they didn’t want their parents to leave them with a bunch of adult strangers, but not Gracie. She was fearless, like her mother. “We’ll be back in a few hours to pick you up,” Killian said and kissed the top of Grace’s head. “Listen to your teachers, be nice to your friends, and have fun,” Audrey added. “Yes, I will!” Grace exclaimed and waved her hands. “Bye, mommy. Bye, daddy!” “Bye, baby. We’ll see you again soon,” Audrey and Killian waved back as Grace raced to the doors. Her teachers were greeting her and she greeted them back politely. “I can’t believe she’s i
- - - - - ALTERNATE ENDING - - - - - ~ Caspian ~ “Daddy, daddy!” Caspian opened his eyes to see Grace looking straight at him. Her little hands that were the size of ravioli were resting on his face. She was tapping him lightly, wanting to wake him up. “Mmhm,” Caspian groaned and turned around. He was teasing Grace on purpose. “Daddy, wake up!” she protested. Taking after his daddy, Grace was a persistent girl. She climbed up the bed and climbed on top of Caspian’s body. He was laughing to himself as Grace struggled and got on top of him. “Daddy!” she exclaimed happily as she sat on Caspian’s chest. “Hey, good morning, you,” Caspian chuckled and opened his eyes in defeat. “Good morning, daddy,” Grace was laughing triumphantly and hugging his neck. “Did mommy send you to wake me up?” “Uh-huh,” she giggled. She had her mom’s smile and that made Caspian smile. “Where is she?” he asked. Grace pointed to the floor, meaning downstairs. “Alright, let’s go get her,” Caspian got
~ Audrey ~ “Sweetheart, you’re making all my dreams come true,” Killian’s words made Audrey’s heart swell. Her eyes softened and glazed over. Her hand reached for his face and her thumb caressed his skin. Their eyes were locked onto each other and she stared at Killian as if her life depended on it. “I love you so much, Kill,” she whispered. Killian leaned down and kissed her in response. His kiss was so tender and deep, Audrey couldn’t help the tear falling from her eyes. She was so incredibly happy. And he was too. She could feel it. “I love you too. So, so much more,” he whispered back. Killian pulled her into his chest and Audrey tightened her grip around his neck. She wanted to feel more of him, so she linked her legs around his waist too. Killian held her entire body up with ease and he carried her up to their room. He laid her down gently on the bed, and he stared at her eyes for a moment as he hovered above her body. Audrey was seeing her entire world in Killian’s pier
- - - - - Six Months Later - - - - - ~ Audrey ~ “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Gracie, happy birthday to you!” The whole room was singing and cheering for baby Grace’s first birthday. She had no clue what was happening though. She was sitting on her chair with a pink dress on, staring at everyone in front of her. Her biggest fans in the world were in the room, her mommy, daddy, grandpa Max, grandpa John, and grandma Anna. Even uncle Mikey, Uncle Sebastian, Auntie Liv, and Uncle Benji were there too. Audrey and Killian invited their closest friends and family to attend an intimate weekend celebration for Grace’s first birthday party. They wanted it to be extra special, so instead of doing a house party at their home in Brooklyn or at the Vanderbilt mansion, they decided to have it in Bermuda, the place that inspired her namesake. The Vanderbilt villa was big enough to house everyone. And out in the garden, Audrey, Mikey, Liv, and Benji had dec
- - - - - Six Months Later - - - - - ~ Audrey ~ Audrey was staring in front of her laptop for the longest time. A word document page full of words was staring back at her. She thought for a moment before her hand reached for the keyboards again. And just as she was about to start typing, she heard a loud cry coming from the next room. Audrey immediately knew what that cry meant. After listening to her baby’s cries for six months, Audrey could tell what she needed just by the way she cried. Getting up to her feet, Audrey quickly went to the nursery. She opened the door to see Killian and Virginia, their postpartum doula, picking up baby Grace from her crib. Yes, following their busy schedules, Killian and Audrey thought it’d be a great idea to have a doula live in their home and help with the baby. Virginia was a highly experienced postpartum doula in her mid fifties. She had great insights and support on infant feeding, infant soothing, and coping skills for new parents. She also
- - - - - One Month Later - - - - - ~ Killian ~ Killian lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling. Not being able to sleep was a normal thing for him, but there was another reason why he couldn’t sleep tonight. Tomorrow was a big day for him and Audrey. It was the day where their baby girl would come into the world. Audrey decided that she wanted to do a homebirth. They didn’t have the best memories the last time they were in a hospital. And Audrey felt most relaxed and comfortable being at home. Dr. Shepherd, who was closely monitoring Audrey and the baby, agreed that home birth would be a viable option. So they set on a date, got all the equipment ready, hired a midwife-nurse, and set aside a hospital transport just in case. Tomorrow was the D-day and Killian was too nervous to sleep. He kept checking the clock to see if the hour hand had moved. Audrey seemed like she was nervous too. It was about eleven-thirty at night and she was usually asleep by now. But tonight, she wasn