Draco's Test
Ginny knew something was awry when she and Draco sat up at the same time in bed. It was still dark and Ginny hadn't heard anything. Last she remembered Draco had fallen asleep before her, spooning her with his arm draped over her seven and half month pregnant belly.
"What's wrong?" Ginny asked her senses on alert. She didn't hear anything, she didn't feel anything…why was she suddenly awake? Along with Draco?
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Draco said his voice guarded. She could barely see him in the darkness and she sat still for a moment. Neither one said anything or moved. As Ginny woke up a bit more she realized what had woken her up suddenly.
"I don't feel the baby moving," Ginny said in a low voice.
"Does she usually at…," Draco peered over Ginny at the clock, "three in the morning?"
"Usually she wakes me up to use the bathroom. I need something sweet," Ginny proclaimed suddenly and stood up, shoving her feet into her slippers.
Draco followed her to the kitchen where she found the latest bag of Honeyduke sweets and she popped a few of them in her mouth while Draco poured her a glass of orange juice.
"Should I get Hermione?" Draco asked and Ginny realized it might be a good idea…maybe she could read something with her instruments she kept in her flat.
"Yeah…she might have some instruments she can use," Ginny said forcing herself to remain calm and popping a third candy into her mouth. She had learned if the baby doesn't move for an hour to eat something sweet to get some sugar into it's system.
Draco pulled on his sweatshirt that was hanging on the hook and left the door open as he went next door. Ginny felt the
need to use the bathroom so she walked into the bedroom, flicked on the light and used the bathroom. She was terrified
that she would see blood but she didn't and as she finished up she heard Hermione's sleepy voice in her living
room.
Ginny walked out of the bedroom and into the living room and saw Hermione in a white robe and her hair in one braid
down her back, looking like she just rolled out of bed. Her eyes were alert and without having to say anything, Ginny
sat on the sofa, Draco sat next to her and watched Hermione take out her wand and a few other items and began waving
them over Ginny.
"Well?" Draco said impatiently as Hermione stuck her wand into the same machine that told Samantha and Ginny their due dates.
"Nothing major, but her heartbeat is a bit slower. She could be pressing against her cord or any number of things," Hermione glanced down at the screen then over to Ginny.
"Your blood pressure is high too. We should probably get up to St. Mungo's so they can monitor you for a few hours. Did you eat anything sweet?"
Ginny nodded as Draco was up and moving towards the bedroom changing his clothes and grabbing a bag. Ginny could tell by the hurried sounds of him moving that he was worried.
"Anything?" Hermione asked and Ginny shrugged.
"A tiny movement, but not her usual kicking and pushing," Ginny said meeting her friend's eyes. Hermione crouched down in front of her.
"I'm going to run back and change and go with you. We can apparate in a few minutes and I will Owl ahead and tell them you are coming, ok?" Hermione placed a hand on Ginny's reassuring her then walked quickly back to her apartment. Ginny could barely make out Harry's voice before Hermione closed the door behind her.
Standing up and trying to control the shaking in her knees she walked to the bedroom and wordlessly changed into a pair
of pants and long sleeve shirt, brushing her teeth in silence next to Draco. He met her eyes in the mirror and after
she rinsed her mouth she met his gaze again.
"How do you feel?" he asked quietly.
"Fine for now," Ginny couldn't hold his gaze or he would know how deeply worried she really was so she turned around and headed back to the bedroom, hearing Hermione come back in the unlocked door.
"Come on, Draco," Ginny called and he came out of the bedroom a few seconds later, the three of them linked arms and apparated into the foyer of St. Mungo's.
Not twenty minutes later, Ginny was up in the Malfoy Wing gazing at the pictures on the wall and hearing the rhythmic thump of her daughter's heart on the baby monitor. A healer was looking at a strip of paper, Hermione was taking a read with her wand and Draco sat on a chair, looking at Ginny who couldn't meet his gaze. He knew that meant she was more concerned than she let on.
It had taken awhile for him to read and understand her non-verbal cues instead of using Legilimency ( he couldn't remember the last time he had tried that on her). She was not looking at him and wasn't saying much and he couldn't remember the last time she acted like this. He wasn't sure if he should stay where he was and watch the little strip of paper come out, go sit with her or just get up and walk around to relieve some of the stress he was feeling. He caught Hermione's eye and she gave a slight jerk of her head towards the door. Draco stood up and glanced at Ginny who was leaning back with her eyes closed. He touched her foot under the blanket and followed Hermione out, who shut the door behind her.
"The baby's heartbeat is a bit lower than normal, but not dangerously low. We are going to monitor her, get Ginny's blood pressure a bit lower and see how it goes," Hermione explained laying a hand on his arm. He was staring into the baby Nursery as Ginny's room was right across from it while he absentmindedly laid his hand over hers for a minute then dropped it.
"What if that doesn't improve?" he asked quietly, leaning back against the wall and looking drained. Hermione gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. She knew she couldn't just say "we will deal with that when the time comes" because he wanted to be told upfront.
"If things don't improve we will discuss whether to induce labor or do a cesarean section…do you know what that is?"
He nodded.
"But we have a few hours to monitor, so maybe go in and see if you guys can sleep a bit, which I know will be hard. We have monitors up at the healer's station so if anything changes then we will be notified. All you have to do is get through the next few hours," Hermione finally saw him look at her and she locked her eyes with his.
"She will be fine and so will the baby."
"Marissa," Draco said suddenly and Hermione blinked in confusion.
"Who?" she asked seeing his gaze slide from hers to the Nursery again.
"Marissa is the baby's name."
Hermione smiled, wondering how long they had kept that secret.
"Marissa. That's lovely," Hermione praised and removed her hand from his arm. "They will be okay, trust me."
Draco gave a small nod and Hermione walked down the hall, flagging down an older healer and started talking with her
about Ginny.
Draco walked over to the Nursery and could see one baby through the blinds. A little boy, judging by the blue hat on
his head and he suddenly had an overwhelming desire to smash something.
'This should NOT be happening,' he thought to himself, hands clenched at his sides. He decided to peek in on Ginny and if she was asleep he was going to walk…somewhere, anywhere.
After a quick look in her room, she was indeed asleep, and he could hear the reassuring rhythmic thumping of the baby monitor. He strode down the corridor and found his way to some stairs and ran down them. He had the biggest urge to just get on a broom and fly, but that wasn't going to happen since it was still at home.
'After everything we have been through, after all the time I wasn't there, this had to happen to US?' he thought to himself, banging open the exit door and walking out into the cold night. He heard an occasional car hiss by on the street as he walked around the building taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself.
"Malfoy." Draco spun around and saw Harry standing near the entrance his hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched against the cold weather.
"What're you doing here?" Draco asked stopping a few feet away from him and Harry shrugged. "It's four in the morning…and where's your son?"
"Samantha is watching him so I could come out here for a few," Harry nodded towards the door and Draco hesitated, then followed him through the plain looking store front.
"Coffee?" Harry asked looking back over his shoulder.
"Why not?" Draco drawled wondering what Harry was doing here at this early hour. He had classes to teach in a few hours.
'Dammit!' Draco thought as he put a hand to his head having forgotten about his classes.
'Fuck all this!' he screamed so loudly in his head he was sure Harry picked up on it.
Harry poured two cups of coffee and pressed one into Draco's hand.
"Hermione owl'd Dumbledore about Ginny being here before she left, so don't worry about your classes," Harry blew on his coffee and looked at Draco over the tops of his glasses.
Draco nodded and muttered a "thanks"-- still not quite used to thanking Harry for anything.
Harry leaned back against the wall of the waiting room and studied the Malfoy across from him.
Whether Draco believed it or not, Harry knew what he was going through and wondered if he should say that aloud. After all, that was why he was here. To try and support him, make some type of friendly gesture towards the person that was to be his best friend's brother-in-law.
They had gotten along well over Christmas, running into each other at the Burrow and making light conversation about
Quidditch and chess, but now real emotions were near the surface and Harry wasn't too sure how Draco would react to
him saying, "I know how you feel." So, he switched to a different subject.
"I found out something interesting about Professor Snape over the holiday," Harry started and saw Draco frown trying to think of something that Harry would know before he would.
"What is that?"
"My aunt and him know each other…from when my mother came to school at Hogwarts," Harry began and saw Draco look up at him.
"He knows your aunt? Why would he know a…Muggle?" Draco asked hesitantly.
"Apparently they saw each other at the train station and in some weird way they connected since they were both…"loners" for lack of a better word. They had lunch together occasionally in the summers…but that quickly died down once Snape graduated and my uncle came into the picture. I wonder what would have happened if he didn't?" Harry scrunched up his nose a bit at the thought and Draco stared at him.
"That's….just…wrong," Draco said trying to voice the thoughts running through his head. Harry agreed.
"She told me about him when we visited her for a few hours over Christmas. Said what I basically told you. I never knew they had even met until seventh year when the two of them ran into each other at school, over Parent's Weekend."
"Ginny mentioned that."
"Speaking of Ginny," Harry saw the transition and ran with it, "How's she feeling?"
"Fine…she was asleep when I left," Draco set down his now empty cup and shoved his hands in his pockets, immediately feeling her rings.
He took them out and looked at them in his hand. The healers had made her take off all her jewelry and he put them in his pocket. The necklace he had made for her was wound around her engagement ring, the birthstone ring and the emerald earrings he had bought her for Christmas.
For a moment he felt the heart wrenching grief that if something went horribly wrong, this is all he would be left with. He closed his fist around the jewelry, feeling the diamonds cut into his hand and briefly closed his eyes.
Harry saw him gazing at the jewelry in his hand and saw the pained look that passed over his face.
"She'll be okay, and so will the baby. For some reason, if she is born now, she will do fine being six weeks early," Harry said pointedly and Draco snapped his head up at him.
Draco never knew if Harry had found out that he knew about Hermione's miscarriage. Harry had never mentioned it; it had just been a passing memory between the Slytherin and Hermione the day Ginny's nieces were born.
Their eyes locked and Draco studied him for a moment then let his shoulders slump a bit.
"I know," he finally replied a bit unconvincingly but not too sure how to bring up the subject of what happened over two years ago.
"I should probably go back up there." Draco placed the jewelry back in his pocket.
"Listen," Harry said as Draco started to walk away. He paused and turned back towards Harry, a hand against the wall.
"All you can do is just be there and listen to her. She is going to feel as if her body has failed her and there isn't anything you can do about that," Harry said knowingly and even Draco was a bit surprised to hear that sort of advice come out of Harry's mouth. "Just be there…and ask for help if you need it."
Harry took a step closer to Draco so they now only a few feet apart and he looked him straight in the eye, seeing the pain in Draco's light blue eyes.
"YOU will need support too, whether you feel you do or not. And there are people here who will help you," Harry stared at him and Draco was the first to move his gaze away.
"Go get some sleep Potter…and thanks for taking over my classes," Draco said knowing that it would be Harry who would take them over. Harry nodded, reached out and clasped Draco on the shoulder, then disappeared down the hall. For a moment Draco stood there taken aback by the friendly gesture, surely not used to it from anyone but Ginny. He shook his head a bit as if to clear it and made his way down the hall, quietly entering Ginny's room who he found was still asleep.
He settled himself in the chair next to the bed, kicked off his trainers and let his legs rest on the bed as he watched
her sleep. Her head was turned away from him, towards the door and she was sitting up at an angle. He heard the soft
thumping of the baby's heart and was reassured to hear a scratching noise every now and then, which Hermione had
explained was the baby moving inside.
Closing his eyes, he listened intently to the sounds of his daughter…the sound of her heart beat which would be a sound
he would never hear once she was born…and he drifted off to sleep with the soft thump reverberating inside his
head.
------------
He jumped to his feet as he heard someone say his name. He saw his mother standing in front of him, behind her was Molly. He stumbled a bit having stood up so quickly and from the fog that a half hour of sleep brings you. He felt his mother grab his arm to steady him as he glanced at Ginny who was still asleep as a result from whatever medicine they gave her. He felt around for his shoes and shoved his feet into them.
"How are you?" his mother asked and Draco shrugged not even knowing how to say what he was feeling. He never ever thought he would be in this position.
He felt like the life he had in school was someone else's and now he was in an alternate universe, watching his wife-to-be lay in a hospital bed pregnant with his daughter.
"Draco, have you eaten anything?" Molly asked and Draco couldn't help but smile a bit.
"No, I'm not hungry," he said watching her move to her daughter's side and gently lay a hand on her shoulder.
"She's been asleep most of the time we have been here," Draco started and once he started talking he found it almost therapeutic. He told them what Hermione had said about monitoring her, the options they were given if the situation doesn't improve and how they both woke up knowing something was wrong. He even mentioned that Harry stopped by and was covering his classes. When he was done his mother stared at him and he knew what she was thinking. She had never heard him just talk and give out so much information about his life before.
He suddenly felt old and sat back down in the chair…he was going to be twenty in six months yet he felt much older.
"Draco, go get something to eat…you need to be strong and even if it's a bowl of soup it'll do you good. I can stay here with her," Molly said firmly and Draco felt his mother move slightly beside him, which he took that she agreed with Molly.
Standing up slowly he made his way behind his mother to the door then paused, digging his hand in his pocket. He pulled out the charmed ring he had given Ginny and went back to Molly. He felt his mother's eyes on him as he held it out to Ginny's mother.
"Can you give this to her when she wakes up, if I'm not back?" Draco asked, Molly nodded and took it from him, knowing what it was. Draco turned and saw the slightly confused look over his mother's pale features. Holding the door for her he followed her out and into the hall.
"What was that for?" she asked curiously.
"It's a ring I bought Ginny back in school. It…well," Draco felt strange to be saying this to his mother. He just never confided in her before and was not very comfortable telling her about his personal life. Once again he stared at the nursery window and saw that another baby had been added, another little boy.
"It's charmed so it warms up," he started again and his mother nodded, understanding what he was saying. If they were in any other situation she would have said a comment along the lines that she didn't know he had a romantic streak; she wondered where he picked that up from, certainly not from his father.
"Come on, let's get you something to eat," Narcissa linked her arm through Draco's and led him down to the café forcing him to get a BLT sandwich and made sure he ate half of it.
He was quiet as he sat there eating the food that had no taste to him at the moment. He just wanted to be up there and finished up as quickly as he could.
"I want to go back up," Draco said, tossing his napkin into a nearby can. Silently his mother stood and they walked side by side back to the Labor and Delivery area.
Healers for the first shift were starting to trickle in and a few recognized them. From their vast experience working in the hospital they knew that if both Malfoy's were here at almost five in the morning and with tired, pained looks that it wasn't a good time to engage them in conversation. So, they just nodded or gave a small wave as they passed by them in the hall.
As Draco approached the door he heard voices and he glanced at his mother who nodded for him to open the door. Walking
in he found Ginny awake and chatting with her mother. He moved to the other side of the bed and kissed her as she
looked up at him.
"Did you eat?" Ginny and Molly asked in unison and Draco rolled his eyes letting out a small laugh for the first time that day.
"I did…my mother watched to make sure that I didn't hide it in my pocket or anything. How're you feeling?" he perched on the side of the bed and felt Ginny's hand take his. It was cool and she kept a firm grip on his fingers. She slipped the ring back into his hand.
"Tired. Hermione poked her head in here a bit ago and said she would be back in to check my blood pressure and all."
Draco squeezed her hand in response and they looked up as Hermione came in. After saying hello to everyone and making
Draco move off the bed she held her wand over Ginny's arm and watched the small stopwatch looking thing she brought
with her. After a few seconds she looked at Ginny and no one else.
"It's not any lower. Also, the baby's heart rate isn't increasing. It's been steady with an occasional low spike when you have those practice contractions, but we're going to give you another hour," Hermione gave Ginny a reassuring smile. "Do you need anything?"
"No," Ginny said softly. Draco could tell Hermione didn't believe her, just like he didn't, but was thankful she didn't push the issue.
"Call me if you need anything. I'm going to get some more medicine for you to choke down," Hermione tucked her wand into her hospital robe and went out into the hall, returning seconds later with a cup full of a liquid Draco had never seen. He watched Ginny throw it back down and make a face, coughing during the process. Hermione left not looking back.
"Gin, you try and rest alright?" Molly kissed Ginny's head and she gave her mother a small smile. Narcissa followed suit and after Ginny told them to go rest, they exited the room, leaving Draco alone with Ginny.
She looked at him and Draco could see she was visibly upset. In order to avoid the lines from the monitor to the belt around her stomach, he walked to the opposite side of the bed and climbed in, lying on his side and did the only thing he could think of and that was to kiss her. He could taste her salty tears seconds after he touched his lips to hers and wordlessly he held her, cradling her head onto his chest the best he could, hearing her sniff every so often then feeling her relax as she drifted off again.
Sighing and inwardly cursing every God out there he closed his eyes and drifted off with her, hoping the next hour would pass while they were both asleep.
-----
A/N: don't worry…everything will turn out fine!