Until Forever Ends (TVD+TO FF)

She Dies as She Lived

The steady beep of the heart monitor had been the constant background soundtrack to the story of Kara Millers' life. The hospital bed was her stage, the harsh fluorescent lighting her spotlight. Her audience was the nurses and doctors that had known her since she first was diagnosed with Leukemia.

She was six when her life ended.

Kara didn't die at six but she might as well have. She survived the treatments but she wasn't truly living. Most of her childhood and teen years were spent trapped in the four walls of a hospital room. She would watch shows of normal teens, playing and dancing and enjoying being alive. God, she wanted to live.

Not survive, but truly live.

She had been alone for so long. Her father left when she was eight. The stress of a sick child and a cheating wife was too much for him so he left and started a new family in Florida. Apparently, Kara has a little half-brother now or so she hears. Her mother stopped visiting after that, except to bring her back to the house in between treatments.

Kara Millers had lived a lonely life, she found comfort in the form of fiction.

Game of Thrones, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Naruto, Harry Potter, Bridgerton, Doctor Who, Supernatural. A thousand worlds, a thousand adventures that she had lived through the characters on the screen. In her mind, she had flown on dragons, cast Expecto Patronum, she had traveled in time, and fought a thousand foes. She had lived in her mind but never in reality.

She had loved and lost all in the bed of a hospital.

Now at age 18, she could feel herself fading.

At age 18 Kara Millers died how she lived, completely alone.

From the beyond, someone took pity on the poor lonely girl. A life not lived is not a life at all, so the ancient being granted Kara a second life, destined to be filled with the love and adventure she so craved.

"Live, Kara. Truly live and be merry."

A small part of Esther regretted the deal she made to gain fertility each time she went into labor. As another wave of agonizing pain shot through her, she regretted it a little bit more. Not only did she have to give up Freya, but she also had to endure the hellish process of actually birthing the children.

She was on her fifth pregnancy and something felt different about this one. She couldn't place why though.

Mikael was outside the hut with their sons Finn, Elijah, and Niklaus. The young boys flinched at every roaring scream from their mother, earning a harsh glare from Mikael as he awaited news of his newest child.

The midwives raced in and out, grabbing buckets of water and cloth as they scrambled to assist his wife.

Tension began to build the longer the labor took. It was dangerous work, birthing a baby. The birthing bed was a woman's battlefield, one that many did not survive. Esther tested fate with each new life she created. This was a universal fact that became more apparent as a blood-covered midwife ran past them to get more cloth.

It felt like hours before a baby's cry filled the air. A sigh of relief escaped the boys as they believed the situation would calm. Mikael waited for someone to come get him and tell him if he had another son or daughter. He waited and waited, but unlike the previous births, no one came. He was about to enter himself when he heard Esther start screaming again.

"Another one! The gods have blessed you with twins!" He heard a woman's voice shout from inside. To Vikings twins were a sign of favor from the gods, there were the Divine twins and the twin sons of Odin and Frigg. Twins were a blessing to the Nordic people and to hear that the gods' blessing was his made Mikael stand a little taller.

Another cry erupted from the hut, this time a thundering roar rather than a whimper. A moment later a woman came out, her hands stained with blood.

"Congratulations, the gods have blessed you with twins, a boy first, and then a girl."

Mikael entered the room, Esther smiled weakly at him her eyes slightly unfocused from exhaustion. His eyes trailed from his wife to the two babes in the basket to his left. He carefully approached seeing his two newest children wrapped in blankets. One was fast asleep while the other stared up at him with large brown eyes.

He held out a finger to his little girl who blindly reached up at him. She grasped his finger blinking those big lovely eyes at him and for the first time in a long time, Mikael smiled. With expert familiarity he picked up the little girl into his arms, smiling down at her as she wiggled in his grasp.

"What of their names, dearest?" Esther asked, the exhaustion evident in her voice.

"...The boy shall be Kol, meaning dark. Like Hodhr, son of Odin, twin of Baldr. It seems fitting to name him like one of the divine twins... The girl shall be Kara after the Valkyrie, meaning wild. Look at her fighting like a shield maiden already." Kara continued to wiggle in her father's arms. Esther was mesmerized by the smile that adorned Mikael's face. He had not been so joyful since Freya died.

"Kol and Kara. They're perfect."

The boys peeked their heads in, trying to see the new additions to their family. Esther saw this and motioned them to step in.

"Finn, Elijah, Niklaus, come meet your new brother and sister. Meet Kara and Kol." Esther smiled as the boys looked adoringly at their newest siblings. Finn smiled at his new sister, memories of Freya filled his head as the babe grasped his finger in her tiny hand.

Elijah and Niklaus giggled as Kol scrunched his face annoyed to have been woken. A few minutes later Kol began crying, the moment Mikael placed down Kara to pick up Kol, the crying stopped. Bewildered, Mikael watched as Kol blindly reached for his twin sister, settling down when he recognized she was beside him.

This was the first time the Mikaelsons witnessed the magical twin bond between Kol and Kara, one that would become stronger with age.

Kara Millers had become Kara Mikaelson.

This time she could truly live...

A/N: Hey thanks so much for reading "Until Forever Ends" This was actually a request from littlekitta ! Thank you for the suggestion! Your timing was actually perfect because I have been re-watching The Vampire Diaries and had this idea! Enjoy the book and feel free to DM me if you have any requests!