Anything for Love

Chapter 27

I wake up to the feeling of
someone kicking me in the ribs and run a hand over the offending bulge in my
abdomen. I knew these babies would be hellions. I just never expected them to
put me in the hospital. Four months. Four more months. That’s not really that
long, is it? I turn my head and watch the sunrise out of the window in my room.


St. Mungo’s. I have always hated
this place. Technically, it’s not just here, its any hospital - wizarding or
muggle. I hate the crisp white sheets. I hate the way the healers try to talk
around the problem. I hate the food. I hate everything about this place. I
especially hate that they wouldn’t let Harry stay with me last night.

I sigh heavily at the thought of
missing Christmas with my children. At least Ron was there. I wanted to go home
so badly. I wanted to let them know that we were all right; the babies are just
expending some of their magical energy. I wanted to be there when Candace and
Arthur opened their presents. I wanted to see their smiling faces as they tore
open the paper and ribbons. I just wanted to be there.

I find myself staring aimlessly
out the window as the morning sun moves higher in the sky. I want to go home. I
want to curl up in my bed with my husband. I want to kiss my children as they
come in the kitchen for breakfast. My mind keeps going over my wants and
desires again and again as the sun creeps further and further up.

I hear a knock at the door and
smile. Harry. When the door opens I see red hair; short red hair and a freckled
face. Ron. He probably told Harry to stay with the kids and that he would come
get me. He smiles at me and sits on the edge of my bed.

“Good morning, Mione.”

“Hi Ron.” I look up at him. He
knows what I want without me having to say a word. I want to go home. Take
me home. Ron grabs my hand and squeezes.

“I promise, we’ll go home as soon
as they say we can.” I smile at my ex-husband. He looks away and mumbles
softly, “We were so scared, Hermione. Me and the kids had a rough time. I’m
glad that you and the boys are all right.” I place a reassuring hand on his arm
and he looks at me with sad eyes.

“Thanks, Ron, for staying with the
kids, yesterday. I’m sorry to ruin your Christmas.”

He shushes me with a kiss to my
forehead. “You didn’t ruin anything. I got to spend Christmas with my children.
How could that be ruining anything?” My heart leaps at his words. He is a good
father, when he wants to be. He then proceeds to tell me about everything that
they did yesterday. I wanted to cry. I was so jealous. I wish I could have been
there.

After a few moments, I wipe my
tears with the sleeve of my hospital gown. Damn this drafty thing. I want to go
home. How long do I have to stand this torture? As if reading my mind, a
mediwitch comes in with a clipboard in hand.

“Mrs. Potter?” I love the sound of
that.

“Yes.”

The young woman comes closer and
waves her wand slowly over my pregnant belly. I can see my babies entwined with
each other. I hear a small gasp beside me and feel Ron squeeze my hand.

“They’re beautiful,” he breathes.
I smile brightly. I couldn’t agree more.

The picture of my children
dissolves into thin air and I look up at the smiling mediwitch. “It looks like
you and the babies are doing fine. You just need to stay off your feet. Slow
down. And no intense magic around you for the next few months. Healer
Morningstar wants to see you in a couple weeks to check everything. Try to
control your emotions and your hormones. We don’t want anything blowing up on
you,” she teases. Ha! Ha! That is so funny. I can’t even make love to my
husband for Merlin’s sake. You really expect me to control the raging hormones
that this pregnancy has produced? Whatever.

Ron thanks the mediwitch for me,
as I am seething in my raging hormones. He walks to the wardrobe and pulls out
the clothes I was wearing yesterday when Harry brought me here. I am slightly
embarrassed as I stand up to reveal my arse sticking out the back of the
blasted gown. If Ron noticed, he didn’t say anything. Well, we were married for
ten years, he’s seen me in more humiliating circumstances. He helps me dress
myself. If I have to have people helping me do everything for the next four
months, I aing ing to literally go insane.

I growl in frustration as my
blouse gets stuck on my head. Ron sniggers and I want to hex him through the
bloody wall. I have had one of the hardest days of my life, and I don’t need
his shit right now. I realize that he hasn’t spoken a word since the mediwitch
left.

“Ron, are you all right?”

He buttons up my cloak for me and
looks into my eyes. I’m not sure what I see in them, but its something that
hasn’t been there in a long time. “I was scared, Mione. I thought we were going
to lose you, or the babies, or both. I wouldn’t have been able to handle that.
I was scared for Harry and the kids. God, Hermione, I had never felt such fear
in my life, not even when we fought Voldemort.” I could see small tears welling
in his eyes and I pulled him into my arms. My Ron. He’s been ‘My Ron’ since we
were eleven, and he will always be ‘My Ron.’ Same goes for Harry, too. I have
two of the best friends a woman could ever ask for. I know its strange that I
was married to one and am now married to the other, but we’re all still best
friends; and I pray that will never change.

“Everything’s all right now, Ron.
It was just a false alarm,” I try to reassure him as I run my fingers through
his hair.

“Mione, when Harry flooed me
yesterday morning, I saw such fear in his eyes. I had never seen him truly
terrified, until that moment. I know that you are his now, but if we would have
lost you, it would have killed me.”

My lips graze his forehead. I love
this man. I do. We had ten years together, how could I not love him?  “I know, Ron. Let’s not think about the
‘what if’s and let’s just go home. I bet Lavender is waiting for you and I
really want to see the kids and Harry.”

He nods as he fiercely wipes his
eyes. “Let’s get you home, Mione.”

Ron leads me down the hall past
the information station and to the Apparating Point. I can’t apparate by
myself; my magic is too unpredictable now. Bt tht the same time, whoever the
caster is, they have to be careful to not make it very powerful or the babies
could have a bad reaction. At times like this, I start to hate being a witch;
especially because I can’t bloody use it.

As the two of us apparate to the foyer
of Grimmauld Place, I hug Ron tightly. He looks at me questioningly. “Thank
you, Ron.”

“No problem.”

He lets me go with a soft peck on
the cheek. I start into the common room and see Ron raise his wand , ready to
apparate. Before he could go, I turned and asked. “Ron, how did you get Harry
to let you come get me this morning?”

His ears immediately turn red and
he smiles brightly. “He had a hard day yeaterday and I think the kids needed
him, so I slipped a sleeping potion in his tea. I thought maybe you would want
to surprise them and all…”

I or hor his smile. “Thank you.” He
nods and without another word, disapparates.

I look around my home. I see all
the opened presents under the tree along with a few still wrapped. I move over
to the tree and pick up two small packages. I read one of the tags. “To My
Little Brother – Love, Artie.” I look at the second box and read the same
inscription. Tears tug at my eyes and I hug the gifts to my chest. Arthur can
be such an angel. He has always been an emotional sort, but this was very
unexpected.

I finally succeed in getting my
emotions under control and place the small boxes back on the piles an trudge
toward the stairs. I can’t wait to snuggle into my warm bed next to my husband.
That thought guides me up the stairs and toward our room.

When I open the door, I can’t help
but smile. There, in the middle of my large bed are Harry and Arthur, with Candace
lying between them. My heart swells as I stand in the door and watch my family
sleep. My family. Just think, it will be bigger by two in a few months. I am
truly blessed.

I must have sighed too loudly,
because I see Candace stir in Harry’s arms. Her big brown eyes look up to find
me by the door, and the other two awaken moments later to the sudden squeal of,
“Mummy!”

 

*

A/N – I want to thank you all
for such wonderful reviews and the many emails I have received. I want to
especially thank Nastya who asked if she could translate this story into
Russian. I am truonoronored that people like this story so much. This story has
grown from my original plan of a small little fic, but I think it has turned
out extremely well.

For those of you, who have
complained about the time lapses between my updates, I apologize. I only work
nights on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I write in my spare time, there. I
write very little while I am at home and try to spend as much time as possible
with my non-HP-reading husband and my two daughteranfianfiction is not my life
and I only write, when I am able. I apologize. I hope you all stay to finish
out this story. I hope to have it finished by the end of the month.

Thank you all again for the
wonderful reviews, I check my email almost constantly to see if anyone else has
some wonderful comments or constructive criticism for me. I love to see my
inbox fill up with review alerts. It makes my day.

Well, enough of my ramblings…
adios, adieu, arrivederci, aloha, auf Wiedersehen… Goodbye… until next time.
~Coriander