After: a Maxerica Story

Part 12

FOUR MONTHS LATER

A sharp pain in my stomach wakes me up, and I grab my stomach and scream through my teeth.

"Maxon!" I screech. He was already awake, looking at me with frightened eyes. "It's happening!"

Picking me up like a feather, he races to the hospital wing. "It's happening!" he yells. Doctors swarm us and lay me on a bed.

"America, do you want Maxon in here?" a doctor asks, trying to be heard over my screaming.

I nod my head. Maxon rushes to the side of the bed and grabs my hand.

To my horror, I realize that this was Gerad's bed. And it's ice cold.

I let out a strangled cry, but not because of the contractions. Because of Gerad. He should be here to hold my baby.

Maxon squeezes my hand, whispering, America you will be perfectly fine. It's okay. We're going to be parents!"

I force a smile and scream as another contraction comes. I can tell it's hurting Maxon to see me in so much pain.

The doctors have said that I'm unusually big and the baby should be checked on. But Maxon and I decided we were going to wait and be surprised at what gender our baby would be. The doctors disagreed but obeyed.

I barely know anything that's going on. I push when the doctors tell me to, and I scream when contractions come. The process seems longer than what my sister and mother told me about.

Finally, it's over. They lay be comfortably on the bed, and take my baby away to be cleaned up and taken care of. I can't hold back my excitement.

"Maxon, did you see him or her?" I ask anxiously.

He shakes his head. "But it seemed to take an unusually long time. They covered the process from me, so I didn't see anything."

I smile and grab Maxon's hand with both hands.

"We're officially parents!" I exclaim. "I can't wait to hold my child."

Nodding, I see a tear of joy slip out of his eye.

"Oh, Maxon." I lean over and kiss him.

After what seems like forever, the doctors come back with a sad look on their faces.

Fear washes over me. "What's wrong?" I whisper. Maxon takes my hand again.

"You had twins," a doctor says. "A girl and a boy. But the girl didn't make it."

I feel like crying. What could I have done better?

"Don't worry," another doctor adds. "It wasn't your fault. It happens a lot. And your baby boy is alive and healthy."

They bring me a blue bundle.

I laugh as tears of joy slide down my face. They lay the bundle in my arms, and I uncover the face. The adorable little boy opens his brown eyes. Maxon's brown eyes. And he has a bit of fuzzy red hair. My red hair.

He's perfect.

"My dear, what will we name him?" Maxon asks as I give him the baby to hold.

I think for a moment. Then it comes to me.

"Could his first name be Gerad?" I whisper.

"Of course. How about Gerad Timothy Schreave?" he replies.

"I love it."

-

"Good afternoon, citizens of Illéa! Today we bring you here to meet the newest addition to the royal family, Gerad Timothy Schreave," Gavril says with a grin from ear to ear.

The cameras turn to Maxon, Gerad and I; with Maxon's arm around my shoulders and Gerad in my arms.

"Meet our son, Prince Gerad," I say, beaming.

"He had a twin, but sadly, she didn't make it," Maxon says sadly.

"Gerad is named after my brother who passed a few months ago." Mentioning his death brings tears to my eyes. I try to hold them back, but one slips.

Maxon hugs me tighter. "Thank you, Illéa. We couldn't do this without you."

"And, since the elimination of the castes, the Northern rebels decided to back off. And since you all are doing such a great job keeping us a country, we are free to live in peace for the rest of our lives," I say. "Thank you. Have a wonderful day, Illéa."

-

AN:

Thank you to @marrymecalumh for the idea to name the baby Gerad!

Thank ALL my 500 readers for reading my story and giving me feedback and voting! I love you all!

If you ever have any ideas, please leave them in the comments or send me a message! I love to hear your feedback, positive or negative!

Edit: Wow, I get so much shit for this chapter omg. To clarify, I wrote this before news of the two new books even came out. So, yes, I wrote this the way I wanted it to be. I know Kiera Cass wrote it differently, that's okay. The definition of a fanfiction is it not being the way the author wrote it. So please stop commenting things like "uh no it's supposed to be Ahren and Eadlyn, does that bother anyone else??" because it's disrespectful. Thank you:)