And Baby Makes Three - The Weasleys
"Absolutely not!"
"Why? It's so cute!"
"Because I said no," Ginny groaned in frustration. "I do not want my baby to be wearing that when my family meets him for the first time."
Draco pouted, putting down the little gray outfit that had him so excited. "I suppose you want him to wear this thing here?" He held out a little green outfit he'd randomly snatched out of a drawer.
"No, I want the blue one hanging there on the end in the wardrobe," she said, carefully wiping Liam's mouth as she'd just finished burping him.
"This?" Draco queried with a raised eyebrow, holding out the requested blue garment. It was a soft blue flannel one piece that suspiciously looked like a dress.
"Yes, that one. Please put it on the changing table for me."
"But it's so, so girlish," he complained. He most certainly didn't want his son to wear anything that could possibly construe him as girl. Liam was the new Malfoy heir after all. "It is practically a dress! It has ribbons!"
"It is not a dress and it does not have ribbons, it has ties."
"Well, it looks like ribbons to me," he muttered under his breath while doing as his wife requested. He picked up the little gray garment he'd had his heart set on and began to fold it neatly so he could put it away for another day, but he suddenly held it out for her inspection one more time. "Are you sure?"
"Draco, for the last time, I don't want Liam to meet the world wearing a Quidditch outfit of your favorite team!"
"But your brothers will love it!"
"No, they won't," she said as she watched his hopeful look turn into a frown. "They don't like the Falmouth Falcons, they like the Chudley Cannons. I want to put him in the blue one."
He carefully folded the little Falmouth Falcons Quidditch outfit before taking the baby from Ginny. "You'd like to wear the Quidditch uniform wouldn't you," he cooed to Liam who yawned in response. "See Gin, he wants to wear it!"
"Really, Draco," she stated wearily. "I'm putting him in the blue one and that is final."
"Ginny dear," Molly called from the doorway. "Is Liam all fed and ready? Your brothers are dying to see him." She entered the room surveying the scene before her. "Why isn't the baby dressed?"
"I was about to dress him, Mum," Ginny explained, making a move to get up from the rocking chair.
"You just rest, dear," Molly said smiling broadly at her son-in-law. "I'll dress him."
"Alright Mum, Draco put out a blue outfit." She leaned back in the chair closing her eyes to catch a quick catnap.
Molly eyed the little blue garment on the changing table and shook her head. With a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure her daughter wasn't paying attention and a wink at Draco as she took the baby, she deftly dressed Liam in the forbidden gray garment.
It was in the moment that Draco finally felt like he belonged in Ginny's family. "Thanks…Mum," he whispered hesitantly as he watched Molly put the finishing touches on Liam's appearance. She'd been after him for ages now to call her Mum, saying that he was just like another one of her children. He never truly believed that, but here she was proving it to him yet again. He'd always thought that he would be betraying his mother's memory by calling Molly Mum, but oddly, it felt alright.
He admired his son who was now fully outfitted in a tiny Falmouth Falcons Quidditch uniform complete with robes and little black knit booties. He'd bought the outfit as soon as he found out he was going to have a son because it was simply too cute for words as far as he was concerned. Unfortunately, Ginny didn't seem to feel the same way.
Molly gave her son-in-law a teary smile. "This has got to be the cutest little outfit I've ever seen - the boys are going to love it." She handed Liam off to his father.
"Yeah, but Gin hates it," he said softly as he lightly bounced the baby. He couldn't help but grin. Liam was truly the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. Not only that, but he couldn't believe he could possibly love another living soul as much as he loved his son.
"Yes," Molly said, gently smoothing down her grandson's peach fuzz. "Ginny's tired. She's not thinking straight. He really is a pretty baby isn't he?"
Draco looked at his mother-in-law, grinning. "You think?"
"Oh yes, Ginny was a pretty baby, but I think Liam here is much prettier."
"Really?"
"Yes, she had wispy red curls and dark eyes, but Liam here has the prettiest skin I've ever seen a baby have and those eyes. I dare say he'll be quite popular among the girls when he's older," Molly added with a chuckle.
Draco didn't think his smile could get any bigger than it was at that moment. Liam had finally decided to show off his gray eyes by actually staying awake for a little bit much to his parents' delight. He was most definitely a Malfoy. And now his mother-in-law, who has dealt with lots of babies, was standing there telling him that his son was the prettiest baby she'd seen.
But there had been one question bothering him since Liam put in his first appearance the evening before. "Mum," he said tentatively. "Why doesn't he have any hair?" He'd seen the Weasley baby pictures and every one of them had red curls. He could remember his mother saying he had a head full of sunny blond hair just after he was born.
Molly inspected Liam's peach fuzz a moment. "Some babies don't have hair, just little fuzz like this here, but don't worry dear, it's perfectly normal."
"But what color is it?" he asked, trying to keep the frustration from his voice. He was desperate to know if his son was going to have Malfoy or Weasley hair. Greg had bet him a twelve year old bottle of Scotch that the baby's hair was going to be red. Of course, he hadn't bothered to inform his wife of this, he knew if she found out she'd be beyond angry. Ginny had become a mother hen of sorts in the past few weeks as he'd just witnessed with the blue outfit fiasco, he really didn't want to be on the receiving end of new Mummy anger. He figured that it would be far worse than typical Weasley anger to which Ginny had more than enough to spare.
"I don't rightfully know," Molly said, examining Liam's little head again. "It's hard to tell, but I'm sure he'll have hair aplenty in no time. Now why don't you stop worrying about silly things like hair color and take your son out to meet his uncles." She started to shove Draco towards the door. "I'll wake Ginny."
If there was one thing he'd learned in the few years he'd been an honorary member of the Weasley clan, it was do as Molly said, no questions asked. If you could do that, then you usually escaped her wrath. Too bad it took until the last few months to actually put that knowledge into practice. He surely could have saved himself a lot of grief along the way if he'd just done that from the beginning, but that was water under the bridge as the saying goes.
Draco glanced back at his wife before heading into the lounge area adjacent to the master bedroom. He was immediately surrounded by a sea of redheads and their female counter parts all vying for the best vantage point to see the new addition to the family. He watched as each member of the family took turns admiring Liam and commenting on the cute outfit.
He felt something soft press lightly against his back before a pair of arms encircled his waist. He smiled as he pulls his wife into his arms, enveloping her in his embrace as he brushed a gentle kiss atop her head. "Feel up to all of this?" he whispered to her.
Ginny nodded against his chest, tightening her arms around him. "Yes, I'll be okay." She gave him another reassuring squeeze. "I'm not easily breakable you know."
"I know, but still. I…"
She cut him off with a quick kiss. "Stop worrying, you'll get wrinkles!"
"I'll have you know that a Malfoy does not get wrinkles," he countered, sounding thoroughly offended that she would even suggest he was capable of wrinkling.
"Uhm, Draco," George said, sounding grave having overheard the conversation and couldn't help himself. "Your son, a Malfoy at last check, has winkles."
Draco raised an eyebrow as he regarded George coolly.
Ginny fought to control her giggles. "Draco, sweetheart, please."
He gave her such a forlorn look that she couldn't stop the giggles from erupting into an all out laugh.
"You dare laugh at me, woman, when your brother offends our son," he tried to sound angry, but his grin gave him away.
"You are so silly sometimes." She rewarded him with a lingering kiss.
"Gin bean," Fred said hesitantly. "Ron has brought it to my attention that your son here is rooting for the wrong team."
"What," she asked, brows furrowing in her confusion as Draco stiffened in her arms. She turned to see exactly what her brother was talking about.
Ron angled his arms so that she might take a closer at what the baby nestled there was wearing.
"I mean, it's cute and all," Fred continued. "But the Falmouth Falcons? Really!"
"What happened to Cannon pride is what I want to know," Ron chimed in. "I know you married Malfoy, I can accept that, but to turn your back on the Cannons! That isn't right!"
"Well, who says that I like the Cannons anyway?" she reasoned with her brothers. "Just because you're nutters over them doesn't mean I have to be. Besides, I refuse to put my baby in orange."
It was Ron's turn to look offended. Fred and George both looked like they'd been kicked in the shins while Charlie gave his baby sister a very confused looked.
Draco hugged Ginny from behind, lightly nuzzling her neck. "Do you know how much I love you right now?"
"I know," she grinned watching her brothers' horrified expressions. "You owe me big time."