Chapter Text
Arc-En-Ciel Hospital, Radian, Vale. Five Years After the Defeat of Salem
Cinder Arc slowly opened her eyes. Her Aura, so weak before, was thrumming through her weakened body. Muscles were repaired and ligaments restored. Yet despite the power flowing through her, she was filled with a weariness and exhaustion that her long sleep hadn't cured.
She stirred and looked around the hospital room. It was one of many in the Arc-En-Ciel castle hospital: Warm wooden panels covering up cool granite walls, the high tech monitoring systems and holoviewers alongside old fashioned tapestries from the castle's long history.
None of that really mattered to her as much as the two tiny forms in the incubator nearby, or the sleeping blond man in the chair next to them.
"Good morning."
Cinder started and looked at the doorway. Nick Arc, her father-in-law, smiled broadly at her. He had doffed his usual armor in favor of a white shirt, a blue flannel button up shirt over it, and tan jeans with his work boots. He walked in silently, quite a feat for the seven foot tall man, as he set a pile of gifts and cards on a nearby table.
"Morning," she murmured. Her gaze turned back to the incubator unit. "Are they-?"
"Well, let's see," Nick rumbled softly. "Can you stand up?"
Cinder tried, but she grimaced as her muscles protested. Nick chuckled, and offered a strong arm built like the trunk of a mighty oak. She accepted it, and he helped her out onto the floor with his arm around her waist. Slowly, he guided her up to Jaune. He was snoring softly, his cheeks covered in fuzz, a blue duster wrapped around him like a blanket. She glanced at Nick, who smiled.
"He hasn't left since you passed out. About twelve hours ago," he said softly.
She reached out and brushed her fingertips over Jaune's face. He smiled softly in his sleep, and she felt weak in her knees for different reasons.
"Are they okay?" She asked again, her eyes turning to the incubator. She pressed a hand against the glass and stared intently through it. Twin babies, a boy and a girl: So small they were nearly lost in the mass of monitoring and life support equipment attached to them. Both had scrunched up faces, resembling prunes. One twitched and fussed, while the other lay very still. Her heart pounded as she stared intently at the still one.
"The Aura treatment worked," Nick said gently, a fond smile on his face as he looked down at his grandchildren, "It looks scary, I know, but they're going to be fine. Izzy's just very thorough when it comes to her grandkids."
Cinder sniffled.
"They shouldn't have been premature," she whispered, "I-I didn't... What did I...?"
"Nothing. This isn't your fault, Cinder," Nick murmured, squeezing her waist. Cinder bowed her head.
"You don't know that... All the... All the horrible things I've done to myself," she whispered, "All the surgery and magic and..."
Tears began to pour from her eyes.
When she'd learned she was pregnant, she had been elated and terrified in equal measure. Jaune had the same reaction, whooping for joy just before he fainted. Ever since she'd fallen in love with this idiot, there had been a part of her that had hoped... Had prayed... That she could give him children.
Yet another part had been just as frightened that she'd lose them. It would be a fitting punishment for a woman who had taken so much life, to be denied the ability to bring it into the world.
She sobbed quietly when the active one slowed and went still, only the breathing tubes telling her the baby was still alive.
Nick was silent as she cried, just holding her. His eyes looked over at his own son, still sleeping.
"Jaune was premature, too," Nick said quietly. "He was in a lot worse shape than your twins. Izzy had to invent new healing techniques just to keep him alive, all the while she was recovering from her labor. Me? I... I felt worse than useless. All I could do was stand there and watch my baby boy fight for his life, my wife do everything she could to keep him alive. I... I wondered if..."
She looked up at the big man. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to be calm.
"A few times, I wondered if I was going to have to go back to the farmhouse and tell the girls that they weren't getting a little brother," he said quietly. He looked over at Cinder.
"Isabel blamed herself. It's what she does you know? It took a long time for her to realize it wasn't anything she did. And it's going to take time for you to realize the same..."
The still one closest to her stirred again. Cinder stared, and rested a hand on the glass over the baby. It flailed a bit, before pressing its chubby fist up against the glass. It's twin, perhaps acting out of some instinct or early Aura sense, reached out and did the same.
"But you will realize it," Nick said softly. "Seeing your children grow up healthy and strong is a great motivator."
Cinder sniffled again. The tears poured down her cheeks. But a smile was on her face, as she stared down at her babies. She pressed her other hand down over their fists.
"Do you need anything else?" Nick asked quietly. Cinder planted her feet firmly on the floor. She looked back up at her father in law and shook her head.
"N-No... Thank you," she whispered.
Nick smiled, and squeezed her in a one armed hug.
"That's what family is for," he murmured. He looked over at his son with a tender look. "You should wake him up soon. He needs some food."
Cinder laughed softly through her tears.
"Idiot would get himself killed if not for me," she whispered.
"Heh. Izzy said the same thing," Nick beamed at her.
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