~Casper~
"Where am I?"
I asked my grandfather as he crouched down beside me on the lush green bed of grass where the sun seemed to be the perfect warming temperature and the atmosphere was more than inviting.
"You're in the Kailea spirit realm Kiddo, although you won't stay here for long. One day when you become the Elder of Crimson you'll see us again, but not today," A soft voice says and I look over to find a man in which I look nearly identical to but I who's name goes unknown.
"What's going on? Who are you" I ask the one who looks like me as I sit up and find myself surrounded by a group of men who are mostly strangers to me, yet I still feel safe and warm beneath their gaze.
"I'm Pierce, this is my husband Mika, my son Matthias and his partners Thomas and Luca, and my grandson Noah and his partners Remy and Rowan," Pierce introduces himself and Matthias laughs.
"Guys I think we scared the living out of our grandson," He jokes and gets quickly elbowed by Luca as Mika gently pushes me back down.
"Am I dead?" I ask and look over to Noah who closes his eyes before opening them to a brilliant different kind of glowing blue.
"For now, but you and the baby will be safe, I promise," Noah says but this time In a much darker tone as he touches my chest.
"Baby?"
I could barely ask before I wake up coughing and throwing up an alarming amount of water as I try to regain my bearings. Now wet, smoky, and dirty in a dark place where all I can hear is a rushing waterfall.
"Casper? Oh thank god you're back," Jace wheezes as he coughs and falls backward off me while I grasp at the sand beneath my fingers in the dark.
"Where are we?" I groan as I collapse, unable to take in a single breath without coughing.
"We made it out of the children's home, but the only place next to run was the woods. But the woods quickly caught fire. I made it to a waterfall that I think is safe for now," Jace mentions as he runs his hand over my head before he covers me with his firefighter jacket.
"Where's the boy?" I cough as I rub circular motions across my chest before laying down on the sand and closing my eyes.
"Hi," The scared voice of the small boy I went back for rings in my ears as I open my eyes and look up, finding him sitting in Jace's lap under the minimal light I struggle to see with.
"His name is Kyson and he's only three years old," Jace explains and I gently reach my hand out and little Kyson meets it with his.
"Hi Kyson, are you okay?" I ask him and he quietly nods as he holds my hand I and fade away once again.
"Shit, Casper!"
***
"Baby are you there?"
I cough and groan at the same time as I come back, feeling like I've just been whiplashed by the back and forth with my head and body aching everywhere at the same time. This time the air doesn't smell like smoke but my nose is sensitive with tiny poking tubes going into my nostrils. I open my eyes and go to rub them but my arm feels heavier than usual as I do and end up flopping to my sides.
"Oh sweetheart, hey, don't try to move too fast okay?" Tora's voice is the softest I've ever heard as Gael toys with my hair and kisses my forehead. The hospital room is warm and my mates' scents mixed together quickly soothes my panic with my sister standing at the foot of the bed holding a very small swaddled baby. They're way too small to be Wei or Alex who are already a month old.
"Do you need some water?" Tora asks as he already holds the cup and gently brings it to my lips, letting me take a few sips.
"They found you, Jace, and that little boy in the woods. You were severely dehydrated, a little malnourished, and in labor but you're okay now. The doctors even said the burns on your legs aren't to the bone which is a good sign and it should only take about a year to fully heal," Gael explains while gently combing his fingers through my hair and I nod. Still feeling exhausted even though I've probably slept for far longer than I should have.
"Who's that?" I ask as I look at the baby Micah was holding and she gently rocks the yellow blanketed infant back and forth.
"Casper, you gave birth,"
"I what?"
I scoff at her announcement, now certainly isn't the time for jokes as I feel like my head is about to explode but if that's the game they want to play right now I can't stop them.
"Cas, you were pregnant, like you've been pregnant. For five months now, the baby was just small and sat far back so you didn't show much," Tora explains as if I would be able to process this information faster with a longer explanation and I nearly throw up the water he just gave me.
"I...Oh my fucking god, give them to me," I wheeze, barely able to breathe from the smoke inhalation as Micah brings the baby closer to me and hands the tiny little one over.
"They're a healthy little boy," My sister tells me but I don't believe her as I rip the blanket from his tiny body and look him over myself, finding the strength to unbutton his little footie pajamas and pull out his feet. My precious little baby boy's face twists up after being disturbed as he eyes me closely and smacks his lips.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, one, two, three..." I panic as I count all his little fingers and toes, making sure he wasn't deformed. Looking over his arms and he gives me a good kick when I look over his legs and chest. Pulling his full head of fluffy brown hair up towards me as I look over his head with my own heart racing.
Because if there is something wrong with him, I could never forgive myself.
"Baby, I know it's terrifying, but he's perfectly healthy, I promise," Gael reassures me as he holds my hand in his to stop me and Tora rubs my shoulder. My adrenaline energy quickly fades and I can barely rebutton his pajamas to keep him from getting cold, letting Tora take over in my obvious struggle.
"But I was out, I was working, I got hit by the kids, I jumped into a fire, I was fucking working," I just barely get out in a panicked squeak before I start coughing again and Tora settles my little Krew on my chest. He's still just as quiet and observant as I look down and make eye contact with him. Krew simply blinks a few times, unamused by my now concerned antics when I wasn't concerned for him while pregnant.
"I'm so sorry Krewbie, I'll protect you from now on, I swear. I'll make it up to you," I promise and he yawns a precious little baby yawn before closing his eyes again. His quiet relaxed attitude kind of reminds me of how Mama would describe Gael when he was a baby.
"So you are going to name him Krew? Galen told us that would be the name you would pick but we didn't believe him," Tora mentions with a light chuckle as Gael gently rubs the baby's back.
"We do however have a slight...problem," Micah mentions and I instantly squeeze Krew a little bit tighter and her eyes widen.
"No, no nothing with the baby, it's just he's full term, which means you got pregnant five months ago," She says and I nod, kissing the top of Krew's head as I take in his fresh baby scent before what she was saying actually kicks in and my I do the math.
Tora or Galen could be Krew's biological father.
I look down at Krew as he enjoys his quiet slumber and all I can see is myself. In the triplets, I saw a lot of Tora. The twins and Myah very obviously took after my sister. Lily is a copy of Gael.
But Krew, he's all me.
Which can only mean one thing.
"But we have the results of the DNA test here," Micah mentions and she holds a small envelope, handing it to me as I open it and look at both Tora and Galen.
"Can I have some space?" I ask and they nod, instead of peering over me they sit back and I slide open the small card where without a doubt, there is a 99.9% possibility of only one of my husbands being my baby's other biological parent.
"Who is it?" Galen asks and I smirk as I gently tear the small part in the car where it reveals the father's name.
"Why does it matter?" I ask as I take the name and hold it in front of them with the blank side to them.
"It doesn't, but it's nice to know," Tora mentions and I slip the sliver of paper in my mouth, getting it wet with my tongue before swallowing it.
"Then there's no need to know, just treat him like he's yours," I tell him, leaving a little mystery that I'll reveal to Krew in the future, but for right now he has his four parents to look up to for guidance.
"If that's what you want," Gael sighs and I continue coddling our youngest son.
"Do you think he's the last one?" Micah asks and I gracefully nudge the pad of my thumb against Krew's soft cheek.
"What do you think Prince Krew Brexsen Arley of Crimson? Are you our last baby?"