New Beginnings

Chapter 15 Decisions

It was dark when Draco woke up and Hermione wasn’t in bed. When he reached his study he found her sitting on the floor with his laptop connect to hers, her favorite quill in hand along with one of her journals. He couldn’t help but smile. ‘The research maniac is at it again. Why she has my laptop, I’m almost afraid to ask.’ He unbuttoned and untucked his now severely wrinkled dress shirt as he walked over to her and sat down on the floor.

“Hi Beautiful,” kissing her on the head. “Watcha doin’?” She looked up and smiled. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy ponytail and she was actually wearing her glasses. Something she rarely did unless her eyes were really tired.

“Research… Did you know that most women are given a drug to speed up labor because it’s more convenient for the doctor and that most Caesarian section births are not necessary. I don’t think I want to have our baby in a hospital.” Draco’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

“Pardon me?”

“I think I would like to have a midwife and maybe have the baby in one of those birthing centers. It’s a much calmer atmosphere; it’s not so ‘hospital-like’. It feels more like home.”

“But what happens if there are complications, something could happen to the two of you?”

“I would still have Kelly as my on-call doctor for emergencies but think about it, Draco. Women all of the world have babies every day and they don’t need to be in a hospital hooked up to machines with this one, that one and their cousin poking at them and the baby. My body was made to do this. I want to be able to experience it, naturally, not all drugged out of my mind. And I don’t want to have the baby at St. Mungo’s for obvious reasons moreover; I don’t want magic involved either. I want it to be au natural, so to speak.”

Draco frowned. He had no idea what she was talking about but it didn’t sound safe to him. Unfortunately, when it came to Hermione, once she got an idea in her head, the only way to get rid of it was to show her reasons why it was a bad idea and they best be valid and fool-proof.

“Why don’t we talk to Kelly first before you make any decisions, ok? You can compile all of your information and show it to her and see what she says. Does that work for you?”

Hermione didn’t completely like the idea but it was better than a resounding ‘no’ so she was grateful for that. She nodded and continued to type.

“What does the lovely mummy-to-be want for dinner?” He ran his hand up and down her back. “…and I’m not hungry is not a viable option.” She gave him mock dirty look.

“Pizza?”

“Pizza? How about Pasta with Pepperoni and Meatballs instead, and salad?” Hermione made a face like she smelled something bad. ‘Is he gonna start ‘handling me’ now? Oh no…this will never do.’ Draco leaned in, pressing his lips to her ear. “Ok, Love, you win, stop making ‘the face’. I’ll make you deep dish pizza but you still have to have salad and milk.” Hermione smiled, pleased that she got her way. “Did you take your vitamins?”

“No, I forgot. The label said to take it with food and I fell asleep after I ate.” He nodded and accioed the bottle to him.

He read the bottle quickly. “You need to take three times a day. Since today is your first day and it’s dinnertime, just take one so it doesn’t upset your stomach.” She nodded. “I’m gonna go downstairs and start dinner, do you wanna keep me company?”

“I’ll be down in a little while; I want to finish this up, for now. Then I will be down to keep you company.” He nodded as he took a few steps towards the stairs and Hermione went back to her research. Draco stopped and looked at the woman sitting on the floor. In so many ways, she still looked like the young girl he grown up with; Hermione hadn’t aged one bit.

‘In a few months, my beautiful girl is going to give me the best gift in the world. How did I get so lucky?’ As if under a trance, Draco moved to Hermione’s side, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly on the lips. The kiss quickly deepened, making her moan as she touched his face lovingly. He kissed Hermione’s forehead gently. “I can’t believe my baby is having our baby…” He presses his lips close to her ear, “Thank you…”

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“Hermione, hurry up. We don’t want to be late for your appointment and your breakfast is getting cold.” Draco is pacing at the bottom of the stairs. It’s 745am and her appointment was at 9am. He was beyond nervous; a muggle doctor for women stuff. Just the thought of it made him shudder. He didn’t even like Healers after everything he went through with his mum and they had magic to help them. This was going to be torture; he swore he was going to worry himself to death before this was all over. He felt warm arms wrap around his waist from behind, bringing him out of his torturous thoughts.

“Good morning, Love.”

Good morning.” He turned around and kissed her gently on the lips. “You need to sit down and eat, it’s almost time to go.” She frowned. He was nervous and she knew it; she wasn’t going to argue. Hermione sat down and ate her kippers, eggs and toast; she was surprisingly hungry this morning. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw her vitamin sitting next to her glass of milk. The first few times she had taken them, her stomach got sick but taking them with milk helped. ‘He takes such good care of me.’

Draco and Hermione arrived at the Doctor’s office at 845am. He was doing his best not to show it but Draco was a nervous wreck. He has no idea what to expect from a muggle doctor and Hermione’s midwife idea was not sitting well with him. He didn’t understand it and he wasn’t sure if it was safe for her or the baby. They sat in the meagerly decorated waiting room with few muggle women and their children. Draco swore the clock was ticking backwards. He nearly jumped out the chair when the door opened.

“Hermione Granger.”

She squeezed his hand as they followed the nurse to the room. Rose let them to an examination room.

“Hi Hermione. How are you this morning?” She hands her the gown and places the drape on the exam table.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Rose took her preliminary vitals and told her to change into the gown and place the draping over her lap.

“Kelly will be shortly.” Hermione nodded. Rose left the room and Hermione began to undress.

“Hun, what are you doing?” Draco asked; a confused look on his face.

“Kelly needs to examine me; I have to put this on. This is going to really different for you. It’s a lot different from Healer appointments. Are you sure you want to stay?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I just don’t really understand all of this, that’s all.”

“I’ll make sure Kelly explains everything as she goes along. Would that help?”

He nodded. There was a knock on the door.

“Hi Hermione, how are you…” Kelly stopped in mid-sentence and stared at Draco for longer than she should. “Sorry, I’m Dr. Patrick and you are?” She extended her hand.

For the first time in his life, he was nervous; Draco extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Draco Rosier.” Kelly’s face lit up as she looked from Draco to Hermione and back.

“You’re Draco…So does that mean…?” She looked at Hermione. She nodded and smiled.

“I guess we’re having a baby.” She smiled, slightly sheepishly. Kelly was downright giddy and she couldn’t hide it. Hermione was her patient but she was also her friend.

“I’m going to be totally unprofessional for a moment.” She gave Hermione a big hug. “I’m so happy for you, Luv, both of you.” She leaned over and squeezed Draco’s hand.

“Thank you, Kelly.” Draco smiled.

“Let’s see how far along you are, Hermione.” Draco held Hermione’s hand as Kelly did the exam. He was desperately trying to be a supportive partner but all he kept thinking was, ‘Thank Gods my bits are on the OUTSIDE.’ Kelly finished up her exam and told Hermione to get dressed. She would meet them in her office.

By the time Kelly met them in her office, Draco’s nerves were shot. He didn’t mean to but as she sat down, he blurted out, “Is everything ok? Are Hermione and the baby ok?”

Kelly smiled reassuringly, “Yes, Draco, they are just perfect. From my estimations, she’s about 6 weeks along and everything is just fine.” He let out a sigh of relief and finally relaxed into the chair. Hermione looked at him and smiled, then turned to Kelly.

“Um, Kell, I have some questions but I’m afraid they’re going to hurt your feelings. You see, I’ve been doing a lot of research this past week and I think I would rather have midwife birth at a birthing center than in a hospital. I’m sorry.” Hermione looked down; she didn’t want to hurt her friend. Kelly just smiled at her.

“Hermione, how long have we been friends?” Hermione looked at her, blankly.

“Since you were 14 and I was 8, why?”

“And who did you confide in when you came back to London?”

“You.”

“So, Luv, I know everything…and I mean everything you’ve been through. I’ve been, if I’m not mistaken, your confidante for quite sometime. We have much more than just a Dr./patient relationship, right?” Hermione nodded. “So why would you think that I would be upset or hurt that you wanted to choose the birthing option that works best for you. Now, being your friend and your physician, I’m going to make sure you have the best midwife I know taking care of you and I will give you a list of names before you leave. But don’t think that I’m just going to hand you over to someone else and be done with you. I will be your doctor on call and I’m only a phone call away if you have any questions, medical or personal.” The entire time Kelly was speaking, Draco had a shocked look on his face. He had never seen a healer speak to a patient like this before but when he looked at Hermione, she was smiling.

“Umm, excuse me ladies but I don’t get it. Hermione, she just did the one thing you hate, ie: told you what to do and you just took it? What gives?” Kelly tried not to laugh as Hermione kissed his hand.

“Luv, Kelly is closer to me than Blythe is; she was the only person that knows everything that happened during our time at Hogwarts. I trust her completely. You said that you wanted her ok regarding all of the midwife stuff. She’s giving it and she will be with me the whole time, even more than you expected. This is a good thing, Hun.” Draco nodded but she could see that he wasn’t completely convinced. “Look, would it make you feel better if Kelly and I met regularly so both of you know that I’m ok.” They looked at each other and nodded, yes.

“You two are going to drive me nuts, aren’t you?”

Kelly smiled, “Probably. Seriously, Hermione, I know that this will be a bit more challenging for you since you don’t have your mum to talk to and I know I’m no substitute for her but I’m always here for you if need someone to talk to, as friend or a physician.” She reached into her desk and pulled out of list, handing it to Hermione.
“These are the midwives that I recommend, in order of preference. Give them a call, interview them. If you want, we can sit down and talk about them; I can help you sort out any issues that you might have.”

“Thanks Kelly.”

Kelly and Hermione decided to meet for lunch so they could talk about the midwives in three weeks. They said their goodbyes and headed back to the loft. Hermione was relieved that Kelly was on board with the whole mid-wife thing and that now so was Draco. The whole way home, he was unusually quiet, she wasn’t sure why; part of her was almost afraid to ask. When they got home, Hermione toed off her shoes and flopped onto the sofa. She didn’t realize how tired she was until she sat down. The vitamins were helping, yes, but being nervous all morning didn’t help very much. She lied still with her eyes closed until she felt Draco's head on her belly. When she opened her eyes he was smiling at her.

“Hi Love.” She stroked his soft hair, lovingly.

“Hi.” He had the sweetest look on his face; almost a look of awe, appreciation and unadulterated joy all mixed together.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, Draco?” She teased.

“Did you hear what Kelly said? Our baby was conceived six weeks ago. Do you know what that means?” Hermione stopped and thought about his words, then let out a soft gasp as she sat up.

“Draco, do you think…?” He nodded. “Our baby was conceived during the Lovers’ Pledge?”

“I think so, Hera, but there is only one way to find out for sure. Honestly, I don’t know why we didn’t think of it before. We can do the conception potion to see when our baby was conceived. When brewed properly, the results can give us an answer within one hour of conception.”

Hermione just stared at him, in shock. This was all so amazing. Not only were they having a baby together but it was possible that their child was conceived during such a life altering, love affirming rite was almost more than she could fathom.

“Do you want to find out, Hera? We don’t have to if you think it would be a bad idea.”

“It’s not that, I’m just in shock, give me a minute.” She took a few deep breaths. “Ok, what do we need?”

Forty minutes later, Draco and Hermione were standing over a collapsible cauldron in her study waiting for the potion to turn a weird shade of peacock blue. When it was finished, Hermione took exactly 5 ml. then they had to wait another 15 minutes. Next, they mixed 3 drops of her blood with 5 ml. of the potion. Depending on the color the sample turned, according to the chart, it would indicate how many weeks it had been since conception. When the sample turned reddish orange, both Draco and Hermione nearly fell over.

“Reddish orange…6 ½ weeks, Draco, can that be right?”

“We did everything right…so yes, I think so. To confirm, we’re supposed to add 3 drops of my blood. I will show us the number of days.” They did so and ’44’ appeared. They both gasped.

“Then…we really…” He pulled her into his arms.

“We really created this little miracle when we took the Lovers’ Pledge. I guess the Gods had bigger and better plans for us than we expected.” She nodded, still in shock. Draco placed a warm, soft kiss on her forehead. “This is what you always wanted isn’t it?”

She looked into his eyes and smiled. Hermione had never lied to Draco, and she wasn’t going to start now. But she also didn’t have to tell him the whole truth either.

“Sorta…” She rested her head on his chest, taking a long, slow, deep breath as she draped her arms around his waist. One little word and that simple gesture, it was like she had kicked him in the chest. He knew exactly what she meant.