Unwanted

This one's a bit longer, something to tide people over I hope..the next will be extremely short, something in Hermione's perspective. Enjoy and thanks for all the wonderful reviews
marti

No one wants to fight and argue with a woman in preterm labor. Least of all Molly Weasley and Headmistress MacGonagall. After an hour of trying to hold the thrashing screaming girl down, the healers finally forced a simple harmless sleeping draught down her throat and helped her unconscious body give birth to her baby. The birth was easy after the potion's administration and her struggling had ceased. Though small, the baby thrived and Molly floo'ed Severus to come be with his wife and child. He arrived with Dumbledore and Potter (off all people!), glided into their room to find Hermione still asleep from the potion and his daughter in a bassinet on the side of her bed.

"Shh. She just drifted off. The nurses say she's quite healthy and isn't in any distress."

"How is Hermione?"

Minerva frowned at the question. She didn't want to tell Severus that the girl had been almost apoplectic with fear and rage. She also didn't want to tell him that the healers were keeping her asleep, fearing for the baby's life if the mother were left alone with it. But, Severus saw the truth in the older woman's eyes. He bent down and brushed Hermione's hair from her face and whispered yet another apology to her, then he steeled himself and stood straight, walking over finally to look down at his daughter.

She was bundled in a baby blanket, so that only her face was seen. Severus reached down and gently removed the tiny hat covering her head, stroking the silky black curls. Her face was all Hermione, tiny pert nose, thick lips, but she had his hair and skin coloring. He knew that she'd have blue eyes as all newborns did, but wondered what they'd turn to in a few months.

"Has Hermione seen her yet?"

"Severus, they gave her a potion about a half hour after we arrived. No one could calm her down and everyone feared for the babe's birth. She's been unconscous since then. She's not seen the child, and likely not even heard anything being said."

Severus nodded and rubbed his finger down his daughter's cheek, a sad look on his face, if anyone had bothered to look. "Her name is Tristyn Hermione Snape." He whispered almost to himself. His motion, touching her cheek ever so lightly caused the baby's eyes to open and stare up at him purposely. An arrow of emotion shot through him as he gave the baby a small smile. Severus reached down and lifted the baby into his arms, sitting in the chair between the bed and bassinet, cradling her against his chest. "Hello, little one. Welcome to the world." He bent down and kissed the top
of her head. She continued to stare up into his dark eyes with her blue ones. Molly stood by him, evidently worried that he'd drop the baby or something worse. "Molly. I know how to hold an infant." He smirked at her surprise.

"What's wrong with Hermione, Professor Dumbledore?" Potter asked softly from the doorway. He wanted to advance and check on his friend but was awed by the sight in front of him. He watched Molly sit on the foot of Hermione's bed, keeping an eye on the baby while rubbing the sleeping girl's leg, giving her ever present maternal comfort.

"She 'cracked', Harry, for want of a better term. Her mind was able to cope with the abuses she experienced and the results, only by shuffling it all to the back, somewhere she wouldn't have to think about them. When she went into the labor, I believe the pain opened up all the old wounds, causing her to have a mental breakdown. The healers had to give her a powerful sleeping potion to make it possible to give birth. In essence she is finally responding to what happened when she was captured, tortured and raped by Professor Snape."

"She's always been the strongest of us, Professor. Ron and I should have realized she wasn't right."

Dumbledore pushed the boy out of the room and down the hall, away from the others in the room. He'd taken his brother's glamour, so he looked like himself somewhat.

"There was nothing you or Mr. Weasley could do beyond what have always done: be her friend and be there for her. Severus was the best person to care for her, or I thought he would be. Unfortunately, Hermione took her situation and buried it farther than we had assumed. Now, we can only hope that someone here at the hospital will be able to aide her while she recovers from the birth of little Tristyn." Dumbledore stopped as a healer walked past them into Hermione's room. They followed, Dumbledore promising to continue their discussion later, once they'd returned to the Burrow, or headquarters.

"--ot going to waken her for a couple of days, considering her reactions during her labor. We'll also have a nurse remain in the room as long as the baby is with your wife, sir, once we allow her to come out of her current state. Will you be visiting often?"

"I'll remain here as long as my wife and daughter are residing her, Healer." Snape sneered at the younger woman hovering over him. Why did every woman think he was unable to safely hold his daughter? It wasn't the first time he'd held an infant in his arms, although it had been a few years, one never truly forgot to cradle a child carefully in one's arms.

"Sir, once the baby is eligible for discharge, we will be transferring your wife to the fifth floor. She won't be able to return home and take care of your child. She might become violent toward the baby." The healer had been in the delivery room with Hermione and remembered hearing everything the girl had screamed before forcing her into her current state. Snape looked up from his daughter's face, a pained look on his, before covering it with his usual facade. He'd warned Albus about this possibility and for once didn't revel in thinking 'I told you so.'

"I understand. How long are we talking, for Tristyn's stay here?"

"Oh, goodness, she's in wonderful health! If things were normal, mother and daughter would be discharged tomorrow. Considering the circumstances, three or four days, so you have a chance to get things in order at home, get help and such. Since she was early, most parents wouldn't have the nursery set up and ready."

"Everything at home is prepared for her homecoming. I wish Hermione to get the help she needs, as soon as possible. I expect her to receive the best treatment, Healer."

"Of course."