A/N: This first chapter's meant to be short! Honest. Thanks to my betas and thanks to Douglas Adams for the pop-culture reference. And of course thanks to all reviewers and readers.
"Harry! We're going to be late!" Hermione called out to the bedroom from the kitchen as she scrambled about gathering up her wand and whisking away the dishes from breakfast into the sink to be cleaned.
"Coming, coming!" he called back running and hopping into a trainer. He knelt and tied the laces. "And you're sure Apparition's all right?"
"All the books I've read said it's fine up until the end of my second trimester and I'm barely through my first. I'll be fine," she said for what seemed like the hundredth time, but she didn't mind. She found his concern sweet, for now at least. Luna, who was about six months along, had warned her that the doting got annoying after a while, no matter how sweet it was. Ron had gotten to the point where he would barely let Luna move without running about to anticipate her every need.
"Can you carry this for me until I get the zip on this jacket?" Harry asked handing her a heavy book bag filled with reading material in case there was a long wait.
Or maybe not.
"Yeah," Hermione grunted under the weight.
Harry struggled with the zipper for a minute or so before resorting to cursing at it, yanking up on it harder and harder before finally jerking the offending piece of clothing off his head and tossing it on the couch.
"Are you all right?" Hermione murmured, taking his hand.
"Yeah, just a little nervous," he replied with a sheepish apologetic grin, taking the book bag from her again.
"About a healer's appointment?" she asked softly with concern. She placed her fingers under his chin and gently tilted his face up to meet hers.
Harry sighed. "About the whole thing I think. I mean, it wasn't real until now. Now it's real. And that's good!" he added swiftly to allay the doubtful, scared expression seeping into her eyes. "It just hadn't sunk in, really, until now."
"I know." She tugged his chin down for a soft loving kiss. "I don't think it's quite sunk in for me either."
Harry kissed her forehead and wrapped her in his arms, holding her and rubbing her back. "And you're sure that you can Apparate - "
"Yes, for the mil -" she pulled away to look up at his teasing grin. "Oh you git! Honestly. We're going to be late as it is."
"As if they're ever on time at St. Mungo's," Harry replied just before they Apparated to the front lobby.
And they weren't. Harry glanced at the clock that mocked him by blinking Are you bored yet? They'd been sitting in the lobby for almost an hour. Hermione was happily ensconced in Mum's the Word: A Practical Approach to Pregnancy while Harry read A Father's Guide to Babies. On the first page, in large comforting letters were the words "Don't Panic." It was because of those two words that Harry had picked out the book and it was because of those two words that the book had spent years on the top ten best selling book list.
Eventually they were called and Hermione was told to change into a dressing gown. "Nice bum," Harry grinned as he tied the strings in the back.
"Shut it you," Hermione grinned hopping up on the examination table. "You'd think hospital gowns would be different in the wizarding world."
"Just goes to show that wizards and Muggles really aren't all that different."
"I already knew that," Hermione rolled her eyes with a grin.
There was a polite knock moments before a healer walked in with a comforting smile. He was a gentle looking older man with an easy grin and a calm demeanor that made him ideal for his job. "Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, I am Healer Jespers. I'll be your obstetrician for the next few months," he said with a smile and a firm hand shake. "Now according to your chart it says that you're almost into your second trimester, so we'll do a quick check up and a quick scan and you can be on your way until next month."
Hermione scooted back and lay down on the reclining table. The healer passed his wand over her from head to toe a few times then concentrated a complex pattern of wand movements over her lower abdomen. A mist coalesced above her abdomen, floated upright and formed what looked like a solid screen. The image was fuzzy for a while before it sharpened into focus on a small misshapen little lump about the size of Harry's pointer finger. It looked like a giant funny looking jelly bean.
"Harry, that's our baby," Hermione whispered excitedly grabbing his hand. "See the arm, there's the head," she continued pointing to the blobs.
Harry squinted and cocked his head with a frown. "You're sure that's human right?" he asked doubtfully glancing up at Hermione and Healer Jepsers.
Jespers chuckled and Hermione sighed. "I assure you, it's human," Jespers said moving forward. "Here's the head," he circled the spot. "And these dots are the spine and you can even see a bit of the elbow here."
"Ooooh. I see it now," Harry whispered in awe.
Hermione took his hand and kissed the back of it adding a squeeze. "I told you."
"It is human!" he said with relief looking up at Hermione because he didn't know what else to say.
Hermione chuckled, falling in love with Harry all over again and his dopy little grin. "Has it sunk in now?" she murmured.
He looked up at her, his heart in his eyes. He was going to be a father and it was real. "Yeah. It has. You?"
Hermione looked at the image of their baby and nodded, her throat suddenly too constricted for words. Stupid hormones. "Yeah," she managed to whisper. "Yeah, it's real now."
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