A/N: Hi all, sorry again to the no replies on the previous chapter, I (Heaven) was going to do it today and I got a monster of a headache that STILL isn't gone :(
Some good news, this story is now finished and it clocked in at over 800 pages. We'll still be doing two chapter a week updates though so stick around for those.
Anyways, this Saturday we WILL resume replying to reviews so please leave one. Thanks :)
Luna pulled her cloak tighter around her as she watched Ron try and get Paddington to learn how to use the bathroom outside. They'd been watching television when Paddington began to pee on Ron's leg and he'd quickly grabbed the dog and led him outside. "Ron, I don't think he has to go anymore," she pointed out.
"Yeah but he's got to figure out that he has to hold it until we can get him out here!" Ron said, eyeing his wet trouser leg in disgust.
"It's freezing out here," Luna said, looking sympathetically at Paddington. "And I know he didn't mean to do that...."
"I know it too," Ron sighed as Paddington looked at him with his large dark eyes. "All right, inside we go..." the dog scampered ahead of him into Luna's waiting arms.
"I'm sorry the mean old man took you outside in the cold," Luna said in a baby voice to the dog. "Mummy wouldn't do that to you."
Ron glared at her. "So you just let him pee wherever he likes in the flat?"
"No," Luna said. "He usually lets me know when he wants to go and I take him outside." When she saw the look of disbelief on Ron's face, she laughed. "Look at it this way, it probably means that Paddington likes you. He's marking his territory, as it were..."
Ron shook his head. "Well he already bloody knows I like him otherwise he'd be back at the shop I bought him from..."
Luna opened the door and let Paddington down. She and Ron took off their cloaks and headed back into the living room. "Speaking of you liking him, would you mind watching him for me when I'm in Boston?" she asked as she and Ron sat on the sofa.
"Of course I don't mind," Ron said as he used his wand to clean off his trousers. "Mum said we can keep him at the house."
"I wish I could take him with me," Luna said wistfully as she cuddled up against Ron. "But, I'll be keeping such odd hours; I wouldn't be able to care for him properly."
"It's not a problem," Ron pulled her closer as Paddington jumped up on their laps. "I wish I could go with you. I miss you when you're not here."
"I'll miss you, too," she said softly. "But, just think of how much fun we'll have when I get back. Absence is supposed to make the heart grow fonder."
"And I heard Brighton makes the heart grow fonder too," Ron nudged her shoulder as he kissed underneath her ear. "When you get back we're definitely picking a weekend for that."
"Definitely," Luna promised. "I am really sorry about postponing it."
"It's all right," Ron replied.
Luna watched as Paddington pounced on her lap and she patted him playfully. "You should see Michael. I've never seen him so excited. He keeps asking me which of his cameras he should bring with him. He couldn't make up his mind so he decided to bring all of them."
Ron smiled. It was times like this when it was just the two of them that he felt better about Luna's possible new job. He still didn't want her to be in Boston, but he swallowed those selfish feelings and put on a brave face. "I'm glad you both are still friends," he said instead.
Luna smiled. "I am too. I think if you got to know him, you might really like him, too. You have a lot in common, actually."
"You should have him come out sometime with us," Ron said charitably. He held no ill will towards the other bloke- after all, he was the one Luna had come back to.
Luna was pleasantly surprised at Ron's offer. She was glad that he wasn't being the stereotypical jealous boyfriend. "I think that would be lovely."
Ron smiled at her as he stroked her hair. "I love when you smile at me like that," he said.
Luna beamed at him. "You make it easy when you're being so sweet."
Ron laughed. "Don't tell the guys or I'll never hear the end of it."
Luna kissed him. "Well, we wouldn't want to ruin..." she said, kissing him again. "Your reputation, would we?"
"Hmmmmm...." Ron slid his hands into her hair as they kissed deeply, Paddington still staring up at them. "No we wouldn't."
Luna fell back onto the sofa and brought Ron down on top of her. She touched his cheek. "I love you so much," she said softly. "I always have..."
"I love you too," he replied. "I still wish I'd paid more attention to you back in school..."
"Ron," Luna said with a laugh. "That was ages ago. You're not the same person you were back then."
"Thank goodness," Ron joked. "But you're one amazing woman Loony Lovegood, and I'm glad you love me."
"If you keep calling me Loony," Luna said seriously, "I might have to do this..." She reached up and tickled Ron on both sides of his waist.
Paddington barked as Ron laughed. "This means war you know," his blue eyes twinkled at her.
"You wouldn't dare," Luna countered with a grin. As Ron waved his fingers at her. "Ronald..."
Ron nearly went in for the kill, but instead pulled her to him for a long kiss.
When they breathlessly pulled away from each other, Luna gave him a look of mock indignation. "You tricked me."
"And it worked like a charm," Ron grinned.
Luna leaned in for another kiss, but the telephone rang. "Hold that thought..." she said, smiling at her boyfriend as she answered the telephone. "Oh, hello, Cho. How's the baby?"
Ron leaned back as Paddington crawled up over his stomach. "If you pee on me again you little bugger, you're going to be tied up outside." The dog looked at him, his head cocked a bit to the side. "Damn it, you're too cute to stay mad at." he scratched between Paddington's ears.
Luna's mouth fell open at what Cho had just told her. "Pregnant...do you really think she is?"
"What?" Ron sat up. "Who's pregnant?"
Luna mouthed the name "Hermione" to him, as she listened to Cho.
Ron's jaw dropped open. Hermione was pregnant? Harry was going to be a father?
"Uh-huh...well, I can't imagine what they must be going through...yeah...okay...of course, I'll keep this quiet....give my best to Neville....alright, bye." Luna hung the phone up and stared at Ron. "Hermione might be pregnant," she said dazedly.
"Might be?" Ron asked. "Shite!"
Luna nodded. "Cho was over at Harry and Hermione's this morning. Apparently, Hermione's been ill the past week and Cho said she felt the same way when she was pregnant. They left when Harry and Hermione started talking about it, though."
"Think we should go over there?" Ron absentmindedly began scratching between Paddington's ears again.
"They probably need to be alone," Luna said, sitting back down beside him on the sofa. "I wonder what she must be going through."
"No kidding," Ron shook his head. "I can't picture Harry as a father."
"I imagine he's having trouble picturing it himself," Luna commented.
"And Hermione- I know we haven't known her as long but I don't think she's ready for a step like this." Ron added as the dog crawled up his chest.
Luna nodded in agreement. "I just hope the Daily Prophet doesn't hear about this. I can just imagine what spin they'd try to put on all of it."
"I know," Ron said grimly. "Guess you'd better keep that quill handy," he said.
"Always," Luna said. She settled back into Ron's embrace as they both watched the television again. She couldn't speak for Ron, but she certainly didn't feel like making love anymore…at least for tonight. Nothing like hearing your friend may be unexpectedly pregnant to kill the mood, she mused silently.
Paddington was looking up at his owner, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as his glance switched to Ron. "What do you want fellow?" Ron asked, laughing as the dog licked his fingers.
Luna recognised that look in Paddington's eyes. "Ron, " she began, but it was too late. "I'm sorry..."
Ron groaned. "Come on you..." he pulled the dog back to the door.
Luna giggled as she followed her boyfriend out the door, grabbing his cloak and hers. That was the great thing about dogs; they always knew when you needed to laugh.
*** *** ***
"I'll be right there!" Harry called up the stairs. Hermione had woken up sick as could be again that morning and Harry had taken the opportunity to owl in sick to training and send a note to her professor as well. She hadn't been especially happy that he had taken the initiative, but on her third trip to the loo Hermione had been too weak to argue.
He was now bringing her some dry toast and the ginger ale that he'd run out to the shops for that morning, hoping it would help calm her down enough to maybe get some sleep.
When Harry came into the bedroom carrying a tray of food, Hermione groaned. "Harry, I don't think I should eat anything."
"You don't have to now," Harry replied. "At least try to drink this though- it was the only thing the Dursleys would let me have when I had a stomach ache and it always helped calm me down. The toast will stay warm, I put a charm on it for you."
She nodded and watched as he set the plate of toast down on the nightstand. He handed her the glass of ginger ale and she took a small sip. "Thanks," she said, handing him the glass.
Harry sat down on the edge of the bed. "I wish there was something I could do for you," he pressed his lips to her forehead.
"You've taken good care of me," she said, giving him a weak smile. "I hate being sick. I feel like a bloody invalid."
Harry stroked her hair comfortingly. "Everyone gets sick, even brainy know it alls such as yourself," he grinned as she let out a small laugh.
"I really do appreciate you staying with me," she said, stroking his hand. "I feel better just knowing you're here."
"Good," Harry said wryly. "I was worried that I would drive you mad by sticking around here all day."
"It's still early yet," Hermione teased, picking up the glass and taking another sip.
Harry smiled as she set the glass back on the nightstand. "I'm going downstairs to get some reading done," he said. "Unless of course you want me to stay up here with you."
She shook her head. "I'm going to try and get some sleep actually."
"Good," Harry kissed her on the forehead again. "Let me know if you need anything."
She yawned as he pulled the covers taut around her. "Thanks, Harry."
"Anytime love," he said. He watched her drift off to sleep for a few moments and then left the room, closing the door almost all the way behind him. He lit a fire in the living room downstairs and settled down with his Auror texts. He was just getting into the current assignment when a knock at the door startled him.
Lavender knocked on the door again. She knew they were both home. They had to be.
Harry yanked it open with his free hand, his wand occupying the other. "Lavender what are you doing here?" he greeted her.
"Is it true?" she asked, brushing past him and into the house.
Harry groaned. "Cho's been doing what she does best has she?" he said angrily.
"She brought the baby into the shop today and told me," Lavender explained. "I can't believe Hermione didn't tell me first!"
"That's because it might not be true!" Harry said. "And I'll thank you to keep your voice down, Hermione finally just fell asleep."
"Sorry," Lavender said softly. "So the two of you haven't found out yet?"
"We couldn't get in to anyone at St. Mungo's until Wednesday," Harry explained.
"Why don't you just get a Muggle pregnancy test?" Lavender asked.
"Because those things are unreliable," Harry replied.
"That's how Cho found out she was pregnant, right?" Lavender pointed out. "And I always heard they were like 99.9 percent accurate or something like that."
Harry sighed. "You know... I hadn't even thought of that." he rubbed the back of his neck. "Have you got a few minutes to stick around here while I run to the chemist?"
"Sure," Lavender said, taking off her cloak. "I'll just watch some telly."
"Thanks," Harry replied. "I won't be gone long." he grabbed his Muggle coat and ducked out of the cottage. At the chemist, he grabbed two different kinds of tests, thinking to himself that it was a sure fire way of telling them if she was pregnant or not, and dashed home in record time.
Lavender looked up in surprise when she heard the front door open. "Harry? You weren't even gone ten minutes."
"Yeah... I can run fast." Harry said sheepishly. "Has she woken up at all?"
Lavender shook her head and stood up from the sofa. "If Uncle Robert knew about this," she said quietly, her voice trailing off. When she saw the irked expression on Harry's face, she frowned. "I'm certainly not going to tell him. Just keep Cho away from him and you should be okay."
"I should hope Cho would know not to bloody say anything to him, but if you see her before I do tell her not to." Harry said.
"Of course," she said, putting on her cloak. "Everything will be alright, Harry."
"I hope so," Harry replied. "Look, thanks for stopping by. Hermione will be glad you got me to buy these for her."
"Let's just hope you get the result you both want," Lavender said giving him a peck on the cheek before leaving.
Harry smiled at her retreating back. He went back to his books and read for a good solid hour and a half before he heard Hermione get out of bed upstairs.
Hermione didn't bother with her robe when she crawled out of bed. She had no idea where it was and didn't really have the strength to go looking for it. She hadn't even made it to the bathroom when she heard Harry come breezing into the bedroom.
"I'm glad you're awake." he said.
"I didn't really sleep much," she admitted. "I was just going to take a shower and see if that would help me feel better."
"Well... Cho's been telling all our friends about your current possible situation," Harry replied. "Lavender came by a few hours ago."
"Oh please tell me she hasn't," Hermione said frowning. "I would have thought she'd have known better."
"I would have thought so too," Harry said. "But you CAN thank your cousin for this," he handed her the bag.
She peeked inside the brown paper bag and saw two Muggle pregnancy tests. "But, I thought you wanted to wait until Wednesday..."
"Lavender reminded me that I got Cho a Muggle pregnancy test and look what came of that..." Harry smiled at her. "Besides... I know you wanted one and I was just being silly stubborn me."
Hermione grinned. "But why did you get two?"
"Just being on the safe side," Harry said. "You can do one or both, it doesn't matter I suppose..."
Hermione nodded. "Good thinking. I should probably do both so we'll be completely sure. You can't always tell from one. At least, that's what I heard." She took the two boxes from the bag and handed the empty bag to Harry. "I guess I'll go and do this now then, okay?"
"All right," Harry nodded, suddenly nervous.
Hermione gave him a small smile. "Will you wait out here?" she asked.
"Sure," Harry was relieved she didn't want him in the bathroom with her while she took the tests. She closed the door behind her and Harry sat on the bed, releasing a deep breath he hadn't realised he was holding.
He paced in front of the door for what seemed like an hour. Harry resisted calling out to Hermione several times to hurry up, knowing she wouldn't deliberately hold the results from him.
Hermione placed the four test strips (the boxes came with two tests apiece and she had just decided to take them all) on the counter. She opened the door and Harry rocketed off the bed.
"Well?" he asked, chewing nervously on a nail.
"We have to wait a minute and a half for the test results to show up," Hermione said her voice calmer than she actually felt.
"Oh," Harry replied, his shoulders slumping a bit.
"I thought you might like to wait with me," Hermione's cheeks went slightly red. "I'm sort of nervous…"
"Me too," Harry pulled her close.
"I mean… if I am… you know… then we're going to have to make some big changes." Hermione buried her face in Harry's shoulder.
"I know," Harry replied. "I know we were both thinking about this when Cho had Chiaki… but I didn't think we'd be facing this sort of situation so soon."
"Me either…" Hermione closed her eyes as a smaller wave of nausea passed over her. Luckily it wasn't bad enough for her to pull away from him to use the toilet. They stood together in silence for another few minutes.
"Okay…" Hermione felt her heart start to beat faster as she looked up at Harry. "They should be ready by now."
Harry gulped as they both moved over to look at the counter where she'd laid the strips. "What do they mean?" he asked.
Hermione picked up the instruction pamphlet that came with the tests and read aloud, "If the strip is blue, the test is positive. If it is white, the test is negative."
"Is that for both tests?" he asked.
Hermione nodded and looked down at the strips. She stared in disbelief. "This can't be right," she whispered. "You're seeing what I'm seeing right?"
"These two are blue, and these two are white..." Harry said. "How the... bloody fuck can that be?" he swore with frustration.
"I-I followed the instructions completely," Hermione said, shaking her head. "I did everything exactly like I was supposed to. And this is what I get? You've got to be kidding me!" She picked up one of the empty boxes and let out a hollow laugh. "Easy...accurate...dependable...," she angrily crumpled up the box and threw it at the wall.
Harry rubbed his temples, trying to squash the urge to tell her he had been right all along about these Muggle things. "Well..." he said but she held up a hand.
"Don't even say it," Hermione said trying not to lose it. "If you say you told me so I think I will completely lose it." Absently, she ran a hand through her hair. "I can't believe this! How am I supposed to continue my life as if nothing's wrong until Wednesday? I can't think about anything else. I can't do anything else. I just want to know. Why can't I just find out?" she asked, looking at him for answers which he obviously didn't have.
She couldn't take it anymore. Brushing past him, she went back into the bedroom and sank back onto the unmade bed.
Harry watched her go with a sigh as he swept all the pregnancy tests into the garbage. He went back out to the bedroom and was startled to find Hermione in tears.
"I-I can't stand not knowing...," she said as she wiped a tear from her cheek. "I want to know so I'll know what in the world I'm going to do..."
"Hermione," Harry sat down next to her. "You aren't in this alone, you know that."
She nodded, but didn't look up from her lap. "I'm scared, Harry."
He hugged her closely. "Everything's going to turn out fine..." he kissed the side of her head. "Did you want me to get another one of those tests for you? See what the results are on that one?"
She shook her head. "No...We'll wait." She relaxed into his embrace and for the longest time, he just held her and let her cry.
*** *** ***
Gordon couldn't believe his luck. He'd come by Hermione's cottage right after his last class and to his delight found no one home. He used the key he copied to get inside and had spent the last hour looking through her belongings and pocketing some of her clothes. She'd need them when he took her away. Curiosity got the better of him and he'd snooped around in their closets, in their desks, in the kitchen, trying to find out more. He was upstairs in their bedroom when he heard voices downstairs.
"Are you feeling any better at all?" Harry asked a very slight edge to his tone.
Hermione nodded. She'd been somewhat quiet all evening despite Harry's best efforts to make her feel better. "I'm sorry, Harry..."
"It's not your fault," Harry replied. "This is all really frustrating for both of us."
Gordon tiptoed out of the bedroom. He wanted to hear what the two of them were talking about. Making sure he stayed out of sight, he peered at them from behind the railing.
"You've been great with me," she said apologetically. "You took me out to dinner and even stopped to get me ice cream, and I don't deserve it, Harry. I keep forgetting that you're just as on edge and worried as I am," she sat down on the sofa.
"Yeah I know," Harry sat down next to her. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," Hermione leaned against him.
"Are you at all..." he paused a moment here. "Excited... that we could possibly be starting a family?"
Gordon froze. What did he mean 'starting a family'? Hermione wasn't...she couldn't be....
Hermione looked thoughtfully at Harry. "Do you want the truth?"
"Yeah," Harry said, leaning against the back of the sofa.
"Part of me thinks that this is too soon, of course," she said softly. "But when I really think about it...a part of me thinks about how great it would be? I can picture the three of us in the kitchen with you trying to feed her strained apples or something and she has it all over her face and..." her voice trailed off.
"Her?" Harry smiled. "You want a little girl of our own as well do you?"
She laughed a genuine laugh for the first time in days. "In my dreams, I always see us with a little girl for some reason."
Harry hugged her. "I imagine any little girl we had would look like you." he smiled.
"Let's just hope she doesn't get my hair," she joked. "Or yours, for that matter..."
Harry laughed and ran his hands through her soft strands. "I like your hair," he said. "I liked it even before you straightened it."
Gordon felt anger rising in him. Were they going to be having a baby? Was that why Hermione wasn't in classes today? She couldn't be having a baby. Not with Potter.
Hermione giggled. Her tone turned serious as she asked him a similar question to what he asked her. "So, how do you feel about it...us having a baby?"
"Well..." Harry wove their fingers together. "At first I was terrified but I think I could definitely grow used to the idea. Wait- scratch that, I know I could. I really may not have a choice."
Hermione smiled. "That's true, but it's good to know that we're on the same page. We'll be okay either way."
"Too right you are," Harry kissed her, relishing the feel of her lips on his. They hadn't done much in the way of snogging or shagging in the past week for obvious reasons.
Gordon felt sick to his stomach. This couldn't be happening. It took every ounce of willpower he had not to go downstairs and Avada Kedavra Potter for what he'd done to his sweet, innocent Hermione.
"I love you," Hermione said softly before leaning in for another kiss. "I've missed you."
Harry couldn't respond as Hermione had pressed her mouth firmly to his. He tugged up gently on her shirt, letting his fingers brush over her skin as he lifted it over her head. "I've missed you too," he finally said.
"No," Gordon whispered. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't.
Hermione whimpered softly as Harry kissed down the side of her neck. "Take me upstairs..." she commanded.
Gordon watched as Harry gathered Hermione in his arms and slowly made his way upstairs with her, kissing her the entire way. Gordon walked down the corridor and stood against the wall so he'd be out of sight.
If Harry had bothered to turn the lights on they would have both seen Gordon standing as close as he could to the wall but he was too involved in kissing his girlfriend to notice anything else. He barely made it to their bedroom and slammed the door behind them.
Gordon stood against the wall, wishing he hadn't come here tonight. He wouldn't have found out that Hermione was possibly expecting Potter's child. He wouldn't have had to see Potter kissing her and he wouldn't have had to see him take her into the bedroom to do Merlin knows what with.
He picked the bag of clothing he'd collected up and stood just outside their door listening to Hermione telling Potter how much she loved, wanted and needed him. "It should be me in there with you," Gordon said softly touching the door with his hand. "It should be me…"
He slowly walked away vowing that one day it would be.
*** *** ***
Lavender took a sip of her tea before turning back to her sketchpad. She was at Seamus's flat and they were working together- Seamus was storyboarding a script for one of his classes and she was sketching some new designs for Madam Malkin's.
She was hard at work when Seamus let out an exasperated sigh and shoved his papers away. "What's wrong love?" she asked.
"You don't want to hear about it," he answered gruffly. "Besides, you're busy with your own sketches."
"If you need help I can stop for a few moments," Lavender set her quill down.
"Drawing has never been one of my talents," he explained. "One of my roommates at Hogwarts, Dean Thomas...now he could draw. I can barely make a stick figure." He couldn't help grinning as Lavender giggled. "My storyboards are due for my next scene tomorrow and I...I have no idea what I'm doing."
"I guess it's your lucky night that I'm here then," she pulled the papers towards her. "What do you need drawn?"
He looked thoughtfully at her. "The next scene takes place in the forest. There's a lake...which those morons used to flood my set..." he said angrily. "Sorry, I sort of went off topic, didn't I?"
"Just a little," Lavender had learned to keep her humour and tone light when Seamus was in what she called his 'perfection mood'. "But it's okay," she smiled at him as she began to sketch a background of trees and a lake in the little boxes.
"It's really an important scene," Seamus explained. "The two leads will share their first kiss which will of course set into motion a chain of events which will drive the rest of the story."
"Sounds important," she replied, the pencil Seamus had been using to sketch moving fluidly across the page. "How's that?" Lavender asked a few minutes later. "Will your professors be pleased with that?"
Seamus looked over her shoulder and his mouth fell open as he looked at her sketches. "That's bloody brilliant, Lav!"
She bit her lower lip, basking in his praise. "Really?" she asked.
"Are you kidding me?" he asked her. "Compared to what I was doing, a four-year old could have done better. But, this---what you just did----is fantastic."
Lavender grinned. "I'm glad you like it," she was pleased. "Want me to fill in the backgrounds for the rest?"
"You wouldn't mind?" he asked.
"Of course not," she replied, already busily drawing in the boxes. "What did you do for these before this?"
"Remember what I told you about Dean? Well, he sort of helped me out a few times, but he's out of the country now and so I was sort of desperate," he explained.
"I see," Lavender giggled. "This will only take me a few minutes."
"Thank you," he said, kissing the top of her head before he sat back down opposite her. He took a look at her sketchbook. "How many designs do you plan on submitting?"
"As many as she wants to take," Lavender replied. "I figure I'm better off making more than she wants just to be on the safe side."
Seamus nodded. "Valentine's Day dances...I feel old all of a sudden. I can remember all of us trying to work up the nerve to ask girls to them."
"Did you go to many of those dances?" she smiled. "I remember finally being asked to one, in my fourth year, and I was so excited I couldn't eat all day."
He laughed. "We never got that bad, but I nearly threw up the first time I had to ask a girl out."
Lavender laughed. "You mean you weren't always this suave?" she teased.
He looked over each shoulder. "Suave? Me? I don't think anyone has ever used that adjective to describe me."
"Wonder why," she quipped.
"Very funny," he said throwing a kernel of popcorn at her. "I must not be too bad; I got you, didn't I?"
"That you did," Lavender smiled at him.
He watched admiringly as she continued to sketch. "So how are your aunt and uncle?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.
"They're fine," Lavender replied. "Staying busy, I hardly see them at all these days it feels like. Plus I've tried to steer clear of them until we find out about Hermione."
"They don't suspect anything?" Seamus asked.
"Only because Hermione hasn't come by," Lavender said. "I just told them she's gotten busy with her classes and that she'll see them when things calm down again."
"It must be murder on them not to know anything," Seamus said, shaking his head.
"Yeah... she's not taking it so well..." Lavender replied. "You heard about the pregnancy test results right?"
"That's really odd, isn't it?" Seamus asked. "What are the odds of two being positive and two being negative?"
"Who knows," Lavender shook her head. "It sort of makes me laugh if you really think about it, but if it happened to me I'd be furious."
"Yeah," he agreed. "Me, too." He watched as she put the finishing touches on the storyboards. "You're a lifesaver, Lavender. And the best part is I don't have to bribe Dean to do it anymore."
"You can bribe me instead," Lavender smiled coquettishly at him.
"Can I now?" he asked grinning at her. "What could I possibly have that you want?"
Lavender laughed. "Take a wild guess Finnigan," she teased.
"You want me to put out for some sketches, eh?" he asked, pretending to be offended. "What kind of bloke do you think I am?"
"Not a rabbit, thank goodness," she smiled.
He laughed. "No, not a rabbit." Pushing back from his chair, he stood and walked over to the other side of the table. "How about we take the negotiations to my bedroom then?"
"Hmmm..." Lavender pretended to consider. "Lead the way handsome." she extended her hand so he could help her up.
"Handsome and suave," he said, taking her hand and kissing her passionately. "I could definitely get used to that."