Hey troops! Here's an update finally! It's a pretty long one so I hope you enjoy! This will probably be my last update for awhile, the next three weeks are crazy! Have an out of town wedding this weekend, the next I'll be at my ranch helping my parents baby-sit my sisters kids. She will be too busy getting drunk in Vegas with her friends. She lives in a small town with her mother-in-law almost right next door and a good 6 hours away from us almost all year round, so I guess she deserves it. And the NEXT weekend is my dad's 70th birthday, so the WHOLE family (and there is a lot of us) is getting together that weekend to celebrate. So…please be patient and I hope this update will tie you over for a bit. Thanks again for all your wonderful updates, I can't tell you how much I enjoy them! Much love!
~HM
Chapter 24
James was stretched out in a lounge chair by the pool with Samantha leaning back against him, nestled comfortably between his drawn up legs. Danny and Freddie were in the lounge next to the, mirroring the same position. None of them were talking much, just watching the water war between Hugo, Jack, Lily and Braiden in the pool. James kept an eye on the open patio doors, waiting anxiously for his dad and Aunt Mione to walk out. What was taking so long? he wondered as he casually kissed Sam's temple when she leaned into him. Surely they'd be done soon. Unless….
"It's been awhile," Freddie said breaking the silence. "I hope Harry's not stuck or anything."
"Should the mistletoe take this long?" James asked curiously.
"No, but…we technically don't know when they started. It has to be awkward between them, don't you think? Maybe they're talking about it first."
James felt himself relax a little. He didn't think about that. Maybe they were still talking even now. "Yeah…maybe you're right. They're probably so weirded out about it, that they haven't even managed to ki…"
"There he is!" Sam exclaimed suddenly in a hushed tone.
"What?" James darted his eyes to his father walking over to his friends. James didn't miss the fact that his hair was more out of control than usual, or the sheepish look on his face. "He's been snogging all right."
"Go, Mr. P," Danny said with a chuckle. "Ow!" Danny glared at James when he punched his arm. "Was that really necessary?"
"Yes. I wonder where Aunt Mione is?"
"Probably freshening up," Freddie said and her eyebrows danced at Samantha. "Us girls like to freshen up after a good snog."
James winced. "Give me a break, Freds…I can't hit you."
"Well, sorry, but…I know my product and they had to do some serious tongue action for him to cut loose."
James winched again. "Jeez, Freds."
Freddie just snickered.
XXX
"Well, well," Draco teased as Harry plopped down in a vacant chair. "Someone looks awfully smug."
"I guess it worked?" Neville asked.
"I'm here, aren't I? Worked fine."
"Where's Hermione?" Natasha asked.
Harry shifted nervously in his chair. "Er…she went to go…freshen up, or whatever you girls do in the bathroom."
Draco grinned. "She must have looked good and snogged. Nice, Pot--ow!" Draco jerked in his seat when his wife's foot collided hard against his shin. "Dammit, Tash."
"Just knock it off, okay?" she warned. "And don't say anything inappropriate or embarrassing when she gets out here."
Draco sulked. "You're no fun." Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry when he made a whipping sound. "Not funny."
"Here she comes," Luna announced who had a better view of the opened doors.
Harry turned in his seat and grinned when he saw her cover-up was back on. She did a good job of hiding all the signs of serious snogging. "Hey, Mione."
She smiled and sat next to him. "Hi. I need a drink. Thanks," she said when Luna handed her a glass of wine. She took a long sip then lifted a questioning brow to Draco. "No cracks, Malfoy?"
Draco crossed his arms in a pout. "No…I'm grounded."
Harry made the whipping sound again and laughter erupted, while Natasha rolled her eyes. "You're such a baby," she teased leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. "I better go and put the cranky baby to bed."
Draco's eyes brightened. "Yeah? Hey, sounds good to me."
Natasha snorted. "Whatever, I'm fat as a cow…you can't possibly expect me to believe you're wanting to…oh," she whispered when Draco leaned over and whispered something ridiculously sexy in her ear. "Well. In that case…"
Draco laughed when his wife blushed. "Let's get out of here…Scorp, we're leaving."
Scorpius was in the middle of taking advantage of a little private one on one time with Rosie in the hot tub since Albus and Mia were off by themselves in the big pool. They had been discreet…leaning down low into the water and sneaking glances to see if anyone was looking before swooping in for a kiss or two. He slumped his shoulders in disappointment as he watched his dad help his very pregnant mum to her feet. "I guess the funs over, Frecks."
"No," she said pulling him in for a hug. "It's just the beginning."
He grinned as he hugged her back, leaning down to kiss her freckled shoulder. "I'll see you soon…hey." He leaned back to look at her. "Maybe we can spend a day together soon. Just you and me…and we can…"
"Oh!"
Scorpius looked over and his face paled at the sight of his mum bending over, clutching her stomach in pain. His dad was kneeling beside her, wrapping his arms around her. "Mum!" he yelled and shot out of the water in a flash, with Rosie right on his tail. "Mum! What is it?" he asked barely noticing Rosie taking his hand, but instinctively linked his fingers with hers. "Are you hurt?"
"No, it's okay," she panted looking up at him. "It's okay, baby…my water just broke."
Scorpius saw the puddle on the concrete floor and the way she was huffing and puffing. "Well, shit, Mum!" he exclaimed, tightening his grip on Rosie's hand.
"Well, shit is right," she gasped. "And watch your language."
"Yes, mam."
"Natasha, do you have your overnight bag?" Hermione asked calmly.
"Yes," Draco answered for her. "By the door…our Healer suggested we carry it with us during her last few weeks just to be safe."
"Good. That's good." She turned to James who had also come over to commotion. "Can you get it?"
"Sure," he said and took off.
"Where's your emergency portkey?" Harry asked as he picked up Nora when he felt her tug on his shorts.
"It's in the bag," Draco said as he tried his best to remain calm. "Breath, Tash…breath, baby."
"I'm breathing!" she snapped before letting out a long stream of Ukrainian curses.
"What she say?" Rosie asked.
"You don't want to know," Scorpius and Draco said at the same time.
"Daddy, is Aunt Nat-sha sick?" she whispered with wide eyes.
"No, sweetie," he said kissing her temple. "She's just having her baby."
Her wide eyes went even wider. "Aunt Nat-sha, yo baby comin'?"
Even through the pain she couldn't help but smile. "Yes, sweetie…my baby's coming."
"Here's the bag," James said holding it out.
"Oh, great, thanks." Draco grabbed it out of his hands and immediately started digging for the portkey. "C'mon, c'mon…"
"Side…pocket," Natasha said between heavy pants.
"Oh. Right!" Seconds later he pulled it out and put it around the two of them.
"Scorpius." Natasha held out her hand. "Come on, baby. I need both of my boys with me."
"We'll be right behind you," Rosie assured him when he gave her a fleeting glance.
"We'll bring you a set of dry clothes, mate," Albus said, with Mia beside him, who was giving Scorpius a thumbs up with a grin.
He couldn't help but smile through the panic. His friends, he thought with a warmth of pleasure spreading through him. His friends. "Thanks guys…I'll see you there."
Once they were gone, Harry clapped his hands together. "Okay, troops…if you want to go to the hospital and wait through long hours of the night, you have fifteen minutes to get dressed and meet me back here."
Everyone ran into the house like a frenzy, while Neville and Luna lingered. "We unfortunately can't go," Neville said. "We have an early morning and stayed out later than planned…but I know Mia wants to go."
"She can go with us," Harry offered. "She can just bunk here tonight."
"Thanks, Harry," Luna said with a smile. "I know she wouldn't want to miss it. We'll go upstairs and tell her goodbye. Owl us as soon as she has the baby?"
"Of course," Hermione assured them. "We'll keep you posted." She then turned to Harry when they walked off. "I'm going to go over to Molly's and see if she can come over to stay with Nora. She's half asleep in your arms and it would be easier if Molly stayed here."
"Okay, I'll go up and get her ready for bed…meet you back here in ten?"
"Sounds good. We might want to make some coffee to go if we have time. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night."
"Good point," he said after a moment. "I'll go put a fresh pot on before heading upstairs."
It was just as Hermione predicted, Natasha had been in labor for five hours so far and it was just shy of four in the morning. The kids had dozed off about an hour ago and even Hermione's head found his shoulder and drifted off to sleep. Harry, however, was still wide awake…probably due to the coffee he had been sucking down like water.
It was just as well, sleep was the last thing on his mind at the moment and used the time to survey the room while everyone was asleep. On the floor were Albus, Rosie, Mia and Scorpius, or as him and Draco called them, The Fab Four. They had taken cushions off the couches and made a pallet on the floor. They had stretched out together to play cards or Exploding Snap earlier in the night, but now they had fallen asleep. Scorpius and Rosie were on their bellies next to each other, with Albus and Mia lying across from them. Harry frowned at the way Scorpius' hand found its way to the small of Rosie's back and Al and Mia were just as close on the other side. He knew he should probably wake them up and make them separate, but they were exhausted, so he'd just make sure and keep an eye on them.
Lily and Hugo were out like a light in the two oversized chairs. Jack and Braiden had come to the hospital and hung out with them for a few hours, but their parents had finally picked them up just after midnight. He had remembered the way Lily had given a blushing Jack a kiss on the cheek and the way Hugo gave Braiden an awkward hug goodbye. It looked like to him that another Fab Four was on the verge of forming. Something to think about, he pondered while his eyes shifted over to James and his friends. The original Fab Four, he supposed.
They were sprawled out on the couch…Sam and James curled up together on one end, while Danny and Freddie were snuggled up at the other. He was pleasantly surprised when they decided to not only come to the hospital, but actually stick it out. None of them really had strong ties to the Malfoys, but they stayed anyway, because somewhere along the way, the Malfoy's had become family and Harry knew they were all raised to realize how important family was.
Hermione stirred next to him, letting out a soft moan as she lifted her head from his shoulder. "What time is it?" she asked groggily as she rubbed the crick in her neck.
"A little after four," he said reaching and nudged her hand out of the way so he could personally massage out the crick himself. "You've got quite a knot, Mione."
Hermione moaned at the feel of his warm, hard hands, kneading her sore muscles. "I know…oh, that feels good."
"Good. Why don't you go back to sleep? Stretch out this time and put your head on my lap…it's still going to be awhile."
"Tempting…but no, I'm fine." She sighed as she felt the tension melt from her body. "That was just what I needed…now I need coffee. Want a fresh cup?"
"Sure…hey," he added as he took her arm before she could get up. "Kids are asleep," was all he said before he leaned over and covered her mouth with his.
Hermione sighed and sunk right into the kiss, surrendering herself to him, not only physically, but emotionally. The kiss was almost dreamlike, since she was still half awake from her short nap. Their tongues stroked lazily, their lips absorbed gently and their teeth scrapped lightly. It was different from their previous kisses…those had been fast, hot and desperate…while this one was slow, silky and patient. She found herself enjoying this kind of kiss from Harry, just as much as the others.
On a soft moan, Harry scrapped his teeth along her bottom lip as he reluctantly pulled away. "Mmm," he murmured. "That was rather nice."
She couldn't stop shaking. "Uh-huh."
Harry gave her a slow grin, then leaned back all the way in his chair. "I'll let you get that coffee now."
Coffee? Who needed caffeine after a kiss like that? "Oh…right. Er…I'll be back."
Harry watched her walk away, enjoying the way her cute little butt wriggled in her jeans. Merlin, he wanted her. He could still taste her on his tongue and it was driving him crazy. The slow lazy kiss they shared only gave him a sweet preview of what it would be like to kiss her after a night of loving her. He was tempted…oh so tempted to go after her and pull her into an empty room and have his way with her. Although the fantasy was nice…the real thing…once the time was right…would be so much better.
By the time she came back with the coffee, the kids were starting to slowly wake up. They stirred, stretched, yawned or rubbed tired eyes. "We have a baby yet?" Scorpius asked his voice still rough from only a few hours of sleep.
"Not yet," Harry said, smiling when he groaned. "Should be soon."
It wasn't long after that when a nurse came out to announce it was almost time for Natasha to start pushing. Harry immediately started pacing, while Hermione sat in the chair, watching him with amusement. Scorpius was sitting on the couch with Rosie and Mia on either side of him and Albus on the other side of Mia. Rose had his hand in hers for not only comfort, but from preventing him to bite his nails. It was a nervous habit of his.
Freddie, of course, was doing her father and late uncle proud, by starting a baby pool. Everyone was in on it, even Harry had stopped pacing to put down a bet. "I'm betting ten Galleons on a boy, seven pounds three ounces and he'll be born aaaat…seven thirty-four."
"Woah, baby, ten Galleons?" Freddie rubbed her palms together with excitement. "Now we're talking."
"I second that," Hermione said lifting a hand. "Boy also, but I say six pounds eight ounces, and he'll be born at seven-oh-five."
"No way, that's way too early," Harry said waving a hand.
"We'll just see about that, Potter," she said with a smirk. "Just continue your pacing and we'll see who wins."
Hermione did of course, Harry thought in annoyance as they found out that Dameon Malfoy came into the world at seven-fifteen, weighing six pounds seven ounces. "I can't believe you won," Harry said giving her a little elbow nudge as they walked to the room.
"Sore loser," she teased, nudging him back.
After spending a good hour crammed into the room, each taking turns to ooh and aw over the new member of the family, Harry had everyone kicked out so Natasha and Draco can rest. "We'll take Scorpius home with us, "Harry said bending over to kiss her cheek, while Hermione gave a quick hug to Draco before herding the kids out of the room. "He can crash with us…stay until you guys can take Dameon home."
"Thanks, Harry."
"Sure thing, beautiful."
"Yeah, thanks," Draco said clapping him on the back. "Oh, the hell with it," he added after a moment and pulled him into a manly hug. "Thanks, Potter…for sticking around. Not just you, but…your whole family. We appreciate it."
After recovering from the shock, Harry gave him a slap on the back. "Don't mention it." They pulled away awkwardly, then Harry cleared his throat. "Besides…although I can't speak for the rest of my family, I did it for Nat…she's prettier than you."
Draco laughed and smiled at his wife, who was exhausted…but still beautiful. "That's one thing we can agree on."
Now, they were all piling into the house and the kids went straight up stairs. Harry found a note from Molly, saying she took Nora home with her earlier this morning. "I'm going to go over there," he told Hermione. "See if she can watch her for the rest of the day so we can all rest."
"Okay…I'm going to take a shower…then pass out."
"Sounds good." He kissed her cheek. "Be right back."
XXXX
"Hugo, you're bunking in Lily's room," Albus said as they were all in the hallway.
"What?" both Hugo and Lily exclaimed.
"Why?" Lily asked pouting. "Hugo snores."
"The hell I do," Hugo sputtered.
"The hell you don't. Al…I'm not sharing a room with him."
"Sorry, but I'm giving the girls my room since the bed is big enough for two, because I'm sure as hell not sharing it with Scorpius…no offense mate, love ya and all, but…"
"Hey," he said holding up his hands. "Say no more…one-hundred percent agree."
Since she knew it made sense, but was still unhappy about it, Lily rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed grunt as she sauntered in her room. Hugo trudged in after her not looking happy either.
"If you snore, I'm going to smack you with my pillow!" Lily's booming voice said.
"Oh, bite me," Hugo muttered moments before the door was closed.
"Al, you didn't have to do that," Mia said with a sigh. "I could have slept on the floor."
"That's stupid, Mia…I'm not letting you sleep on the floor."
"Don't worry about it, Mia," Rose said waving it off. "Lily and Hugo will both be asleep before either of them can be annoyed." She stifled a yawn. "Which is what I want to be doing, so if you boys will excuse me…"
"Woah, wait a minute," Scorpius said taking her hand before she could head up to Al's room. "No kiss goodnight?"
Rosie smile as she let herself be pulled into his arms. "Well…maybe one," she said moments before their lips met.
"Good idea," Al said as he pulled Mia in his arms. She came willingly, sliding her arms around his neck and lifted her mouth to his.
That's how Harry found them. He rounded the corner and his jaw dropped when he saw the Fab Four snogging in the hallway. He could only stare at first, because he was too shocked to do anything otherwise. It was when he saw Scorpius hand start to slide to her butt when he shook himself out of it. He cleared his throat…very loudly.
They jumped back like they'd been burned and all four looked at him with wide eyes.
"Dad."
"Uncle Harry."
"Mr. P."
Harry lifted a brow when all three of his names were stammered out at the same time. "Shouldn't you four be a little too tired for a bit of snogging?" he asked as he walked slowly over to him.
They were all nervous…as they shuffled feet or avoided his eye and stuttered and stammered. "Er…you're exactly right, Uncle Harry," she finally said and gave him a grin and a quick kiss on the cheek. "Night!" she exclaimed and grabbed Mia's wrist and dragged her upstairs to safety.
When the door closed Harry looked at Al and Scorpius who immediately muttered a quick goodnight as they both tried to make it to the door, only to run into each other. Al gave Scorpius a shove inside the room, before turning around to give his Dad a nervous laugh and a wave and started to close the door.
"Al?"
Albus winced but opened the door back open and looked up at his Dad. "Er…yes, sir?"
"Do I have to tell you that if you or Scorpius sneak upstairs into the girls room, you'll be grounded till your forty?"
Albus gulped as he felt a trickle of sweat run down his back. "No, sir."
"Good." He grinned and nuzzled his head. "Night, son. Sleep well."
Harry was still shaking his head hopelessly when he went into his bedroom and locked the door behind him. Though he had to admit, the aftermath of their reaction was quite comical. Wanting to share the story with Mione and…well, just be with her, he went to the adjoining door they had installed. He wasn't exactly sure why they had it installed, but he was damn glad they did.
The shower was still running from her shower so he made himself comfortable and stretched out on her bed. It wasn't till then when he realized how tired he was. He hadn't once shut his eyes during the night and the lack of sleep was definitely catching up to him. He felt his eyelids go heavy and had no choice but to close them. Just for a bit, he thought to himself as he could still hear the distant drumming of the water from Hermione's shower. He would just rest his eyes for a bit, then leave when Hermione got out.
That's how Hermione found him. Sprawled out on her bed still fully clothed and out like a light. She sighed as she made her way to the bed, crawling over to him and stretched out beside him. "What am I going to do with you, Harry?" she asked softly as she started to strum her fingers through his hair.
She wanted him to stay. She wanted to curl under the sheets with him and slip into a deep sleep with him pressed up against her. She knew it couldn't happen…at least not yet. With the kids only sleeping down the hall it was too risky. At first she thought she'd just go into Harry's and sleep there so she wouldn't disturb him, but if the kids woke up to see her in Harry's bed and Harry in hers, they'd definitely think something was up.
"Harry," she whispered as she continued to gently stroke his hair. "Harry, wake up now…"
"Hmmm," he murmured as he shifted to his side towards her and his eyes fluttered. "Hmm….what?"
"You need to get up, Harry," she said touching his cheek.
"What?" he said again then blinked tiredly up at her. "Hmm…now? Well…I'm a little too tired for that, Sparky, but…I guess I can handle it."
Hermione laughed when he lazily rolled her onto her back and nestled himself on top of her. "Harry, no," she whispered as she slapped his back. "I didn't mean…oh god." His weight was now pinning her into the mattress as he nuzzled her neck.
"You smell good," he mumbled as he sniffed her.
"I just took a shower. Cut it out," she said when she felt him start to nip at her earlobe. "I'm serious, Harry," she said but giggled anyway. "I just meant to wake you…oh Merlin, that feels good…you need to leave…"
"Why? I'm up now thanks to you."
"I can see that. And feel that," she added with a smirk.
Harry lifted his head and looked at her with a gaped mouth. "You just made a sex joke…that is so hot."
"Oh, knock it off," she said laughing as she shoved him off of her with all his might. "The both of us are too worn out to even think about having sex."
"Hey, as you so wonderfully pointed out…I'm up."
"But dead tired and so am I."
He smiled lazily as he put his head on the pillow next to her. "I know…I just felt like razzing you…I'm too tired and I want to be fully awake when I make love to you." He lifted her hand and kissed her palm. "Plus the kids are down the hall…that wouldn't be smart."
"Which is why I woke you in the first place," she teased although her heart was still racing after his words. "You need to go to your own bed."
He poked his lip in a pout. "But I don't want to."
She smiled. "I don't want you to, either, but you have to. We can't risk it with the kids, I certainly don't want them to find out about us that way."
"When do you want to tell them?"
"Not for awhile…I was thinking…"
"What?"
"Well…I don't think you and I should…well…be together that way until the kids leave for school. It's only a few weeks away and it would be better since the house will be half empty. So…maybe we shouldn't tell them until…later."
He linked his fingers with hers and kissed her fingers. "I'm up for it." He narrowed his eyes at her when he realized his choice of words. "No cracks."
She let out a laugh and leaned over to kiss him. "Good night, Harry."
Harry sighed. "Good night." He then rolled out of bed and looked back at her at the adjoining door. "Hermione? Don't make any plans the day we take the kids to King's Cross, because as soon as we get back…"
He trailed off, but he didn't have to finish his sentence, she knew exactly what he meant. "As soon as we get back," she agreed softly and let out a shaky breath. "As soon as we get back."