Amazonas, Brasil.
1982.
The sounds of crying
But this time, not our tears
Not us crying
Because we are content
Completely content
And awash with relief
As for the crying ...
... It's to be expected
And after a bit, that crying fades
In its place, a peaceful silence
As for us, we are in awe
Complete awe, complete exhaustion
The past 18 hours like nothing in our lives
Nothing I'd ever imagined
Nothing he'd imagined
But now, here we are:
All of us
Gabriela just left
She was, of course, excellent
Supportive, calm, the definition of grace under pressure
"Mãe e pai devem dormir agora."
Her parting words as she slipped out our door
And off into the pale morning light
That, along with a promise that we'd contact her if any complications arose
Or if we needed support
The delivery, quite smooth in the end
But ...
Surprise of all surprises ...
... We didn't think -
... We certainly didn't expect -
...
Now we're settled on our bed
Changed into fresh pyjamas
Turned the bed over with clean linens
And as we lay, turned towards one another
We smile our dreamy smiles
Because in between us ...
...
"... Did you ever see ... that ... in the family tree?"
His family tree, the type that pure-blood wizarding families keep
Extensive family records, meticulous, spanning back hundreds, sometimes thousands of years -
"Never. But perhaps ... perhaps it slipped my notice ..."
Our eyes flitting up to find one another, we laugh at this
How can we not laugh?
Of all the unexpected ...
But when our laughter triggers the signs of stirring between us, we fall quiet
The stirring passes, and as silence returns our eyes find their way back to one another
"... And you? I don't suppose you ..."
As he trails off, I shake my head
I've no idea about my own genealogy
Nodding, he smiles, "... Well ..."
"Well ..."
Leaning over carefully, he whispers into my cheek, "... Want me to put them in their cots now?"
Them: the twins
Our twins
Our healthy, beautiful twins
One boy, one girl
I manage a nod
My head heavy with exhaustion
Sleep already seeking to claim me for its own
The sound of him rising and carefully scooping them up one at a time
Depositing them gently in the cots beside our bed
Falling back down to me, he pulls me in and murmurs, "They're perfect."
"They're absolutely perfect."
They are
They really, really are
His fingertips, tracing at my cheek, "I've an idea ..."
"Oh?"
"Regarding names ..."
Oh?
"She, Elliot. He, Liam."
My eyes fly open at this
My heart racing
Racing and aching at the memory of what once was
What's now gone
What will never be again
But also at the sheer beauty of what we've just been gifted
And at how perfect their names are
"Elliot and Liam."
"Elliot and Liam."
YOU ARE READING
Coiled (Book 1 of 2)
Fanfic"This is our story: Reggie, Evan, and I." A Marauders Era story that follows the reader (FMC), Regulus Black & Evan Rosier through their last year at Hogwarts into the First Wizarding War. This is book 1 of 2, and contains the first two parts of th...
