The Baby of The Isle (Descendants AU)

In My Arms I Cradle Thee

Screaming was the first thing Jay knew when he snapped to reality. Evie was screaming with pure pain tears pouring down her face with sweat as she sobbed and pleaded for it to be over. This wasn't a pain he could help her with though, he couldn't stop it or take it away, all he could do was hold her hand and whisper that it would be okay it all would be okay, and it would be over soon.

But he didn't know if it would be okay, it had been hours, and Evie was screaming and sobbing as she clutched his hand in hers and pleaded with him to make it stop, wished for it to end. But here on the Isle, he couldn't make it stop, not with the barrier preventing magic use.

Another way Auradon fucked them over.

Mal was there and Carlos too, Carlos was there at the end of the tattered and broken mattress they used as a birthing bed, he was the one delivering the baby because he was the only one Evie trusted enough to do so. Mal was pacing near the entrance making sure they were safe; her wings were puffed up and she was spitting curses and spells under her breath.

Jay was sure that if they were anywhere with magic that it would be surrounding Mal's entire being with the way she hissed the curses and tore runes into the worn and rotted wood of the doorway.

Evie's screams reached a fever pitch her voice breaking and echoing as she pushed, she thrashed her body instinctively trying to get away from the pain, but she couldn't. The pain was everywhere and all-consuming.

And then it was over. The screaming, the pleading, the tears. They all came to a sudden pause as Evie sagged back against the torn fabric of their makeshift bed, her breaths heaving out of her in ragged gasps. Jay felt his own heart pounding in his chest, echoing in his ears like a drum that had finally fallen into silence.

Carlos was moving quickly now, his hands steady as they worked to coax the baby into its first cries. There was a moment that hung suspended in time, filled with an eerie quiet. Carlos was roughly rubbing the baby's back roughly trying to coax it into crying, Jay could feel Evie's grip tighten more as she stared at Carlos with wide, tear-filled eyes.

The minutes seemed like hours as Carlos tried to coax the baby into breathing and crying like newborns should. Mal's pacing had become more frantic as time passed. Frustrated with the impenetrable barrier around them, she reverted to primal instincts. Her fangs bared with each muttered incantation, her eyes glancing over every so often to see if the baby had moved yet.

But just as hope had run out a soft gasping wail was heard as the baby jerked in Carlos' arms her tiny fists clenching and twitching as she let out airy gasps and wails.

Evie let out a relieved sob slumping against Jay and the bed, her sobs shook her whole body as everything that had happened the last two days hit her. Her body hurt  so bad, and she was so, so tired and just wanted to sleep. But she was a mom now and she couldn't rest, all because she and Jay had been reckless.

Jay, face pale with relief, brushed back the damp curls from Evie's forehead as the cries of their baby echoed through the ramshackle room. He didn't trust himself to speak yet, his mind still reeling from the terror of the past few hours. All he could do was hold Evie close and peer anxiously over Carlos's shoulder at their newborn daughter.

"Is she...?" He began, only for his words to trail off, swallowed by the sounds of their child's first squalling protests. Carlos let out a shaky laugh and looked back at him with a bright grin that shone through the sweat and grime on his face.

"It's a girl," Carlos said looking down at the wailing infant her tiny face scrunched up as Carlos wrapped her in a tattered blanket after cutting and staunching the umbilical cord and looking her over. "An unhappy but healthy-looking baby girl."

Jay could only stare, his heart pounding in his chest at the sight of them together. His hands were shaking, but he reached out and gently touched the soft patch of hair on the baby's head.

For a moment, everything was silent again. All eyes were trained on the tiny form wrapped in tattered cloth, the wailing subsiding into soft whimpers.

This was his child. His daughter.

A sudden rush of protectiveness surged through him as he stared down at the vulnerable and impossibly small baby in Carlo's arms, she was his and Evie's, their baby, their strong girl who came back from momentary death.

Jay brushed a gentle hand over the baby's forehead, swallowing back the lump in his throat as she grabbed at his finger with such strength. He couldn't tear his gaze away from her, this beautiful little miracle he and Evie had created.

"I'm so sorry, kid," he muttered, his voice catching in his throat as he stared at the newborn. She was so tiny and perfect, her skin flushed pink and slightly wrinkled. And yet, she was already so strong. She was their daughter, made from their love, and now here, in this desolate shack on a magic-less island.

Beside him, Evie shifted and reached out a hand looking at their daughter desperately, every maternal bone in her body screaming for her baby. She needed to hold her baby and soothe her cries.

Jay gave Carlos a firm nod, his voice caught in his throat as he spoke, "Give... give her to Evie."

Carlos hesitated for a moment before gently transferring the tiny infant from his arms into Evie's waiting ones. Evie let out a small, hushed gasp of awe when the tiny baby looked up at her with wide eyes. She counted her fingers, traced the tiny, furrowed brow, and tenderly touched the soft, wispy curls on her head. Her daughter was perfect.

Truly perfect her Zara was.