A/N: This four part ficlet is an on-going birthday project for Sarea_Okelani.
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR and her various publishing companies. Gustav and Seymour belong to the Douglas Cuddle Toy Company. I accept full responsibility for Liam and Gareth.
Warning: Major Spoilers for And Baby Makes Three.
Fifteen Years - Part One
Draco couldn't believe he'd been married to the witch sleeping in the middle of the bed for fifteen years come the end of the month. It just didn't seem like it had been that long, but they had two sons (one turning fifteen the last of June, the other seeing twelve in April) to show for their union.
He never dreamt he'd be with anyone for so long, but Ginny was not just anyone.
He smiled at the thought as he readied for bed. She'd retired to their room straightaway after dinner. They'd seen the boys off at Platform 9 ¾ that morning, the last day of the Christmas holidays. She had had a hard time parting with their youngest son, Gareth, as they had grown quite close after Liam went off to Hogwarts. She was, however, better than she was in September when she had to let him go for the first time.
A well worn little yellow duck and a much loved green frog were lying on his pillow. The duck - commonly known as Gustav in the household - had been the bane of his existence for years. Now he had to look at it everyday; Liam had entrusted his mother with the safe keeping of his most prized possession in the world the day he left for Hogwarts four years ago. Gustav spent the school year residing on Ginny's vanity. Gareth allowed Seymour the frog to join the duck's vigil after some prodding by his older brother the morning of September 1st. Draco carefully moved the stuffed animals back to their usual spot so he could go to bed.
Their sons were the two people he loved most in the world after his wife. Liam was the Seeker for Slytherin, top of his class, popular and surely a school prefect next year. Tall and graceful, grey eyes and silvery blond hair, cool and reserved - he was his father's son in every way. Gareth was his mother's son beyond any doubt down to the unnatural love of mashed potatoes. His defining features were his unruly red-gold hair, vivid blue eyes and gangly body - Weasley traits, every last one of them. He was easy to laugh and bookish in nature. He was the first be sorted into Ravenclaw on either side of the family. It didn't bother Draco nearly as much as he thought it would; he was actually proud that his youngest son was sorted into the house known for superior intellect. At least it wasn't Hufflepuff or worse yet, Gryffindor…
Almost as soon as he slid beneath the covers, Ginny slipped into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder while draping her arm over his chest. There was no need for words between them anymore. He simply knew that she was glad he had finally decided to come to bed.
He laid there in the quiet, thinking how about how they should do something special for their anniversary this year. He was feeling a little sorry for himself, having just turned the fateful four-O on November 1st. The years had been kind to him: a loving family, incredible success and he retained his devilishly handsome good looks (at least that was his opinion and he was sticking to it). And most importantly, he had a devastatingly beautiful wife who adored him more than anything. She wasn't the willowy redhead he'd married so long ago; she was now in possession of a lush hourglass figure that suited her quite well and he admired to no end.
If there was one thing he did regret, it was that they had never had a daughter. He knew Ginny had hoped with each of the boys that the medi-wizard was incorrect and she'd really have a little girl. The odds really weren't in their favor anyway; of the nineteen Weasley grandchildren, there were only two girls - one belonging to Ron and the other to Charlie. Then there was the Malfoy family curse, no daughters born. They decided years ago to be happy with just the two boys. Besides, he didn't want to share her with a passel of children anyway. He was selfish like that sometimes.
But he couldn't help but wonder what having a daughter would have been like. He liked to think that their daughter would have been a miniature of her mother. If he closed his eyes he could see a little girl with wildly tangled red curls, big brown eyes and a silly, happy grin just like her mother's. He pushed those thoughts aside as he figured it was a little late in the game to be thinking of these things now. Ginny was facing her thirty-ninth birthday in June.
Draco brushed a kiss against his wife's forehead. He felt her smile against his chest and her slight sigh at his gesture, knowing now she was awake. "I love you, beautiful."
"I love you too," she mumbled as she stretched against his long body to press a light kiss to his mouth. Her hand trailed down the flat of his stomach, coming to rest on his hip. "I need you," she said softly, unable to look at him, her fingers lightly rubbing the silk of his pajama bottoms.
He tightened his arms around her, not used to her being so needy in her gestures. "Hey, what's wrong? This is more than the boys going back to school."
She shook her head slowly. "Make love to me, Draco. Please."
He obliged her request in a tangle of limbs and tongues. He took his time tasting and caressing her until she was humming, making sure that she knew she was adored and desired. He made love to her slowly, drawing it out for as long as he could before sending her over the edge. She grasped his shoulders hard, her nails digging into the taut skin as she cried out her pleasure. He quickly followed her with a groan of his own before collapsing heavily atop her.
He tucked Ginny close to his body sometime later after their breathing had slowed, her leg still entwined with his. He slowly drew his fingers up and down her side, tracing a path from her waist to her hip. He loved these quiet moments with her. "I thought I'd take you somewhere romantic for our anniversary."
She snuggled closer after making a soft noise.
"Some place warm, I'm thinking, with a beach. What do you think?"
"Hogsmeade," she said softly. "I want to go to Hogsmeade."
"I said warm, not colder," he said, frustration creeping into his voice. She was as not as excited about this as he felt she should be. "Besides, it's near the boys and we just got them out of the house. I want this be me and you for a change."
"The Gryffindor/Slytherin match is that weekend."
"Oh, well, then I suppose we could leave from there and go to Nice? Monte Carlo? I know a bungalow on the beach on St. Martins. You, me, warm sunshine, beach and little to wear…yes, sounds like a plan."
"You have a one track mind, don't you," Ginny giggled.
Draco gasped dramatically. "You're just now noticing? After all these years? And here I thought you loved me!"
"I do love you. I just thought men lost interest after so long." Her hand lightly stroked his thigh. "But I see that is not the case with you."
He drew in a shuttering breath. "No, it's not." He grabbed her hand before she could render him incapable of speech, stretching her arm above her head as he rolled over to pin her beneath him. "How could I lose interest when I have a wife as beautiful as you are?" He settled comfortably between her thighs before leisurely kissing her.
"You really have taken leave of your senses, haven't you," Ginny said breathlessly.
"Only when I'm around you." He punctuated each word with a kiss.
She moaned as his lips found their way down her neck. "You're such a silly boy."
"Uh huh," came his reply as he nibbled her shoulder.
"Draco," she said quietly. He ignored her while continuing his lavish attention to her neck and shoulder. "Draco, let go please."
He released her so she could run her soft hands over his shoulders, her fingers finding their way into his hair to still his activities. He pulled back to give her a questioning look. She looked back at him with darkened, unreadable eyes.
"Are you happy?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
He blinked. He did not expect that sort of question and at such a moment, although he knew he shouldn't have been surprised. She'd been acting strangely all day and he knew it was more than the boys going back to school. But he also knew better than to prod her - she'd get around to it in her own time. "More than I ever thought I could be."
She gave him a half smile before she turned serious again. "Do you ever feel incomplete? Like something is missing?"
He sighed, mentally cursing her timing for a serious talk. He rolled back over onto his side then gathered her in his arms. He figured he wasn't going to be allowed to go any further until Ginny got whatever was on her chest off. "No, beautiful, I have you and the boys - my life is complete."
"Do you ever wish we had had more children?"
The question threw him. They hadn't had this discussion in years, not since they decided that two children were enough. He kissed the top of her head. "Not really, Liam and Gareth are aplenty."
"You wouldn't have liked a little girl?" she asked. He could detect a hint of hopefulness in her voice.
He thought of the little red haired girl he'd always imagined then. "It would have been nice to have a baby girl to spoil. I've even thought about it, I'll admit that. But I glad we didn't have anymore than the two." He kissed her mouth softly then. "I would have hated to share you anymore than I already did. And I'm really enjoying all this time we have for each other now. You do realize that in fifteen years of marriage we've maybe had six months completely to ourselves?"
She buried her face against his neck and nodded. He lightly ran his fingers up and down her spine. "What's all this about, Gin?" he asked once it was obvious nothing more was forthcoming. He lifted her face so he could look into her eyes; it was then he noticed the tears she was trying so hard to fight. He tenderly kissed each cheek. "Why with the tears?"
She just shook her head. "It's just…" she started weakly.
"You miss the boys?"
"Yes, terribly."
"And you've thought about having another baby?"
She nodded then, looking hopefully into his eyes. "Yes, I think I'd like another baby. I want a little girl."
"I see," he murmured before kissing her. He knew that his wife was good at many things, but being a mother was where she excelled. Liam and Gareth were proof her skills - the two best out of nineteen - not that he was biased or anything. He loved being father, he had to admit. It had been a little rough going at first, but he'd gotten the hang of it eventually with Ginny's help. He wouldn't have said no to another baby, boy or girl, but he had his concerns, mostly about Ginny. "Don't you think we're both getting a little long in the tooth to be chasing a little one around?"
Her expression brightened considerably. "No! Isolde had her last baby at forty-one. She and Charlie were no worse for the wear!"
Draco could see Charlie now, sprawled on the couch at the Burrow, dark circles under his eyes, desperately trying to catch a nap while their youngest, Aislinn, tugged at his hand trying to get him to play. Yes, no worse for the wear. Right. He thought he'd try a different tactic. "I'm just worried about you, beautiful."
Ginny could barely contain her smile. "You have nothing to worry about. I'm as healthy as an ox."
He remained unconvinced. "I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to you. I would shrivel up and die."
She kissed him soundly. "My silly baby, do you think I'd let you escape that easily?"
"I should hope not," he said sounding a tad put out. A slight pout pursed his lips.
"Don't you know how much I love you, darling husband of mine?"
"No," he said gravely. His hand skimmed the soft skin of her thigh before pulling her leg over his hip. "I think I need reminding."
She kissed him then, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her naked body pressing enticingly against him. Draco's hand found its way to her hip, managing to resist the urge to pull her beneath him so he could lose himself in her. He soon found himself intoxicated by her slow drugging kisses and tender explorations of his mouth with her tongue.
It wasn't until sometime later that Ginny finally pulled away from him to try and catch her breath. "That is how much I love you," she whispered.
He growled deep in his throat as he rolled on his back, pulling her over him. He bucked his hips as she carefully settled herself over him, his hands going immediately to her thighs. "See what you do to me, witch."
"I don't see it, but I definitely feel it," she purred before sobering. "I think you're trying to distract me."
He slowly rolled his hips. "Is it working?"
"No," she said. "Believe it or not, I can resist you."
"If you say so." He pulled her down for a quick kiss before allowing her to take up position at his side again. "You have your heart set on having another baby, don't you?"
She sat up a bit so she could look at him in the dim firelight. "Yes, I do, more than anything."
"Are you sure I can't change your mind?" She shook her head. "Think of all the things we can do now without the boys around most of the year. Are you positive you want to give all that up?" She nodded enthusiastically. "You know you'll get plump, your feet will swell, your back will hurt and you'll have trouble sleeping."
She grinned. "I know, I love being pregnant. Of course, this means you'll have to pamper me."
"Don't I already do that?" he asked incredulously.
"Of course you do, baby, but even more so."
Draco regarded his wife with a raised eyebrow. "Even more?" She nodded, still grinning. "I think I can manage that if you are positively, absolutely, one hundred percent sure this is what you want."
"Yes," she gushed before giving him a sloppy, happy kiss. "I want this more than anything in the whole world."
He sighed deeply, his will completely broken. "All right, if this is what you want, then we'll do it. But I can't guarantee the results you want."
Ginny looked so happy at that moment he knew he couldn't deny her this or any other thing in the world for that matter. "I know and I don't care," she said, her giddy delight very evident.
"Well then, beautiful," he said with the half smile he knew she couldn't resist. "I suppose we ought to get to work then." His hand slid down her thigh, tugging it back up over his hip yet again.
"Funny you should mention that," she said in a small, innocent voice.
"Oh," he breathed in her ear as he settled over her. "What are you not telling me?"
She wrapped her long legs around him. "The work has already been completed."
He pulled back to see the barely contained grin on his wife's lips. "When?"
"Near as I can tell, your birthday."
"Oh yeah." His eyes lit up with recognition. "The shagathon. If I recall I was quite spectacular on the dinning room table."
Draco lovingly to refer to his fortieth birthday as the shagathon. He had made Ginny promise not to do anything special for his birthday as he hadn't wanted to call attention to his age. She ignored him as usual and treated him to what turned out to be a special day of wicked fun. It started out innocently enough at the breakfast table, but quickly turned into a sex romp all over the house. He couldn't have thought of a better present if he'd tried.
"Mmm, it was nice," she purred. "And it's safe to assume that if the boys knew they'd never eat there again."
"Or sit on the sofa, or go near my desk, or lay in front of the fire to read," he listed off helpfully.
"Liam'd never sleep in his bed again either," Ginny added scandalously.
"We're terrible parents, methinks. Maybe we shouldn't traumatize another child." He slowly sank into her welcoming body.
Ginny arched against him. "Too late. Deed done," she responded, the last bit on a low moan.
Any need for further conversation quickly dissolved as they became lost in one another once more.
It wasn't until sometime later that the ability to think coherently returned to Draco as he rested half draped over Ginny, occasionally nuzzling her neck. He couldn't believe that she still had that kind of affect on him after so long. Their marriage had not always been so perfect or wonderful - they'd had their share of ups and downs, not mention a bit of trauma thrown in for good measure. But they'd managed to get through it all together. "I love you, beautiful," he whispered, unsure if she was awake to hear it.
"I'll love you more if you get me some mashed potatoes," she whispered back.
"Is that all you'll be thinking about now, food?"
"Quite possibly," Ginny stated as she pushed him towards the edge of bed. "You helped me work up an appetite. Hurry back, chop chop!"
Draco grumbled about the cold and ungrateful witches, but did as he was told. He went down to the kitchens in the dark to scrounge up potatoes to charm into buttery mashed potatoes for his wife. It took him three tries to get the potatoes to turn out to his satisfaction. He never was any good with the cook charms and spells. And there was no way he was going to offer her less than satisfactory potatoes. His pride wouldn't allow it; besides, she only deserved the best. Naturally, there wasn't a house elf to be found to do it for him.
He discovered Ginny sound asleep upon his return, the potatoes forgotten. It wouldn't be the last time he was sent on an errant mission at her whim before this was all over, but he really didn't mind. She was his world and he'd do anything for her. He slipped in bed, spooning up close behind her, his hand splayed protectively across her stomach.