VERY SAPPY CHAPTER! Sorry about any mistakes.
Chapter Ten: Where You Are
There are times
I swear I know you're here
When I forget about my fears
Feeling you my dear
Watching over me
And my hope seeks
What the future will bring
When you wrap me in your wings
And take me
Where you are
Where you and I will breathe together
Once again
We'll be dancing in the moonlight
Just like we used to do
And you'll be smiling back at me
Only then will I be free
When I can be
Where you are
And I can see your face
Your kiss I still can taste
Not a memory erased
Oh, I see your star
Shining down on me
And I'd do anything
If I could just
Be right there:
Where you are
Where you and I will breathe together
Once again
We'll be dancing in the moonlight
Just like we used to do
And you'll be smiling back at me
Only then will I be free
When I can be
Where you are
Then I will be free
So take me where you are
Now baby there were times when selfishly
I'm wishing that you are here with me
So I can wipe the tears away from your eyes
And make you see
That every night while you are dreaming
I'm here to guard you from a far
And anytime I feel alone
I close my eyes and just be there:
Where you are
Where you and I can breathe together
(and we will breathe together baby)
Once again (oh, we'll be dancing in the moonlight)
We'll be dancing in the moonlight
Just like we used to be
And you'll be smiling back at me
(only then will I be free)
Then I will be free
Baby I still believe
Oh I've got to believe
I will touch you that sweet day
That you take me there Where you are
I still believe
Oh I've got to believe
I will touch you that sweet day
That you take me there
Where you are
Oh where you are
I've got to believe
I'll always be waiting here
That sweet day yeah
Only wanna be where you are
I still believe
Note: Sub-song: Kenny Chesney ~ There Goes My Life
****
Chapter Ten:
Draco's eyes twinkled with happiness as he watched his 'girls' running through the swinging swings, or at least that's what Ginny called them.
His girls.
It sounded so sweet.
Ginny squealed as Grace jumped off the swing in mid air.
"Mummy did you see that? You have to try it!"
Ginny snorted. "I don't think so. You aren't trying it again either."
Grace stuck her tongue out.
"Ah-ah! None of that."
"Race you to the slide!" Grace screamed, then stopped suddenly. "Daddy?"
Draco dropped his eyes to his daughters face and his heart stopped.
"Come play," Grace smiled widely at him.
He sucked in a huge breath. "I-I'll be there in a minute."
Ginny, who'd been going after Grace paused as she glanced at Draco's face. "Honey," she called to Grace. "Go play on the slide, I'll be over in a second."
"Okay, but hurry, I'm in the mood to scare ya!" she growled out, looking very much like Draco at that moment.
Ginny raised her eyebrow at her daughter and tossed her head. She then began walking towards Draco who was watching Grace intently.
Draco licked his lips and swallowed at how much of a resemblance he saw between his daughter and himself.
Ginny flopped down beside him on the wooden bench that sat underneath a huge Oak Tree, on a patch of grass that was so green it could almost be described as blinding.
"What's up?"
He turned his head towards her and shrugged. Ginny sighed and dropped her head on his shoulder, then lifted her leg and wrapped it around his, placing a hand on his muscular chest, stroking softly.
"I wish she could stay," Draco whispered suddenly his voice cracking slightly.
Ginny pulled back, her brow furrowing in worry. "I do too, but she just going back inside of me. We'll only have to wait a couple more months to get her back. We aren't really saying goodbye to her."
"I know, it's just…I've known her for a total of like four days, and it's like I've dedicated everything I have to her."
Ginny's vision slowly started to blur and she smiled happily biting her lip. "You've changed so much."
Draco snorted and smirked at her in his usual smug way, but then his face softened and he leaned over kissing her tenderly on her mouth. "Never would have guessed a goddess of a woman and a little girl with eyes you could drown in could have changed me. Just goes to show that anyone can change from worse to better," he frowned suddenly and caressed Ginny's cheekbone with his thumb. "You still love me don't you?"
"What kind of question is that?" Ginny asked. "Of course I do."
"I just wanted to make sure that my 'change' as you so call it didn't change your mind about me."
"Nothing you ever did or do could ever change my mind about you. I promise you that," she said intensely.
"It's just unbelievable how much I love Grace. I can't believe that I can say 'she's my baby'," Draco laughed softly. "I love it when she yells 'daddy' at me."
He kissed the top of Ginny's head and rested on her.
"I love you Gin," he whispered on top of her head.
Ginny smiled. "I love you too."
God I don't deserve her.
"Mummy, Daddy, hurry up! I'm getting impatient here!"
They laughed, leapt up and ran to her.
For hours they played on the swings, in the sand, bathing in sun, picnicking under their Oak Tree, then going down the gigantic slide that 'lumped' all the way down, until finally Grace demanded for some ice cream. Ginny had resisted at first, taking in to mind that they hadn't eaten dinner first, but Draco knew Grace's puppy eyed look was going to be the end of both of them.
"For the love of Merlin, will you look at that look? How in the hell are we ever going to say no to her?" Ginny grumbled to Draco as they walked side by side while Grace skipped ahead of them.
Draco frowned. "I have no idea. You're the mother; you're supposed to think of that. I've decided, that I'm going to be the fun, laid back parent, and you can be the one that does the discipline."
Ginny snorted and pounded Draco on the back enthusiastically. "We'll see!"
He shook his head at Ginny, watching her run to catch up with Grace.
Draco let Ginny and Grace stay ahead of him. He smiled to himself as he watched Ginny lunge for Grace's hand and then watch them skip in time with each other. He continued all the way to the ice cream shop, sauntering at a speed slightly slower than the girls. He pushed his hands into his pocket and followed them, his head down starring at the pavement, grinning.
~ There goes my life
There goes my future
My everything…I love you ~
After finishing their ice cream cones, Ginny had taken Grace to the bathroom to clean her up. Once they'd emerged out of the shop, Grace had started to fall behind, complaining that she was tired, but at the same time wanting to go back to the park.
Draco picked Grace up as they started home. She'd quickly fell asleep on his shoulder when the sun had started setting.
"I don't want to go home," Grace mumbled into Draco's neck.
He smiled and nudged Grace's head with his. She grumbled and settled her face deeper into his neck, her heavy even breathing almost hypnotic.
Draco grabbed Ginny's hand and smiled at her. It was then Draco knew what he had been missing his whole life…a real loving family.
****
Ginny pushed open the door to The Burrow. The first thing she saw was her mother and father sitting on the couch each with a piece of reading material in their hands.
She grinned widely as she heard her brothers, Harry, and Hermione screaming in the kitchen for the last dinner roll, of course, Hermione trying to settle everyone down.
"Is Uncle Ron here?" Grace asked sleepily.
"Yes sweet-ums," Ginny grinned ruffling her hair.
"Will you and daddy read me a story?"
"I think that can be arranged."
Ginny swiftly pulled out one of her fathers' many muggle children storybooks. "Sleeping Beauty okay?"
"Sounds good," Draco smiled. "I'll read," he said and sat down in front of the fireplace, which had been newly fueled with a fresh set of wood.
The orange glow danced across his face and flickered in Grace's eyes as she watched the flames fly back and forth.
"Wow, pretty," she mumbled into Draco's neck.
Draco pulled Ginny between his legs. She leaned her back on his chest and snuggled closer to Grace.
****
Lucius gasped and his eyes widened. "I did not want to know that!"
"I told you the side effects were unpredictable."
"Well, I-at least it won't hurt her," Lucius chuckled, gaining his composure. He straightened his black jacket. "This should be interesting."
"Indeed," the man sighed heavily shaking his head in amusement. "Are you going to tell them?"
"No, they can figure it out for themselves," Lucius grinned.
****
He didn't know what to think as he watched Ginny, Draco, and Grace snuggling together, reading a book, and sitting in front of the fireplace. All he could do was glare.
"Arthur, she's not your little baby anymore," Molly whispered in her husbands' ear, wrapping her arms around his middle and dropping her chin on his shoulder.
A tear dripped down Arthur's cheek as he watched his daughter, his niece, and Draco huddled in front of the fire. Draco reading the book that Arthur had read to Ginny when she was little.
"He took my baby away," he sniffled.
Molly nuzzled his neck, smiling against his warmth. "But look at how happy she is," she said in a hushed voice, then spoke again with a smug sound, "We raised her good."
"Best I've ever seen," Arthur's voice cracked. "Never though my little baby could turn a snake into a lion."
"She really did change him didn't she? He's just glowing with love, with pride. Oh, look, look at the way he looks at Grace. They've only known each other for a couple of days…he loves that little girl so much," Molly cried softly with happiness. "They are going to be so happy."
"He's really changed hasn't he?" Arthur asked more to himself than to Molly.
"He fell in love," Molly whispered. "Love does crazy things to people."
"I know first hand," Arthur nodded, absently dropping a kiss to his wife's hand.
Arthur turned towards his wife and he knew his walls had broken down. "Molly?"
"What is it love?"
He pushed a hand up her face and pulled her forehead to his, gazing deeply into her intense blue eyes. "Thank you."
Molly smiled softly giving her husband a puzzled look. "F-for what dear?"
"For letting me have you when we were teenagers, for giving me my six sons, for giving me Ginny. Everything…you are a goddess and you are so strong, so strong. I love you and I look at you every day, and still I'm astounded at how you make me feel. I spend half the time I'm with you trying to catch my breath. You take my breath away. You're perfect."
Molly hit Arthur in the shoulder very hard. He yelped, but he didn't pull back.
"What was that for?"
"If one of the children would have heard you I fear for their stomachs."
Arthur gave her a puzzled look.
"Children don't want to hear their parents talking like that to each other.
"On the other hand…" they heard Ginny call.
Molly lifted her head up and met her daughters' twinkling eyes. And it was then that the exchange happened. When Ginny knew that her father no longer held anything against Draco, she knew he would accept him, and what they had together.
"Thank you," Ginny mouthed to her parents.
She brought three fingers to her lips and slowly blew them a kiss. She then dropped her attention back down to Draco and Grace. Ginny laughed as Grace gasped in wide-eyed shock, listening intently to Draco as he animatedly spoke out the dragon scene.
"We did good. Now it's there turn to do good," Molly whispered.
Arthur bowed his head letting tears fall more freely down his cheeks as he whispered softly to his daughter, knowing she couldn't hear him. "Goodbye."
~ And he cried.
There goes my life
There goes my future
My everything
I love you
Baby…goodbye ~
To Be Continued…
I'm sure I don't really need to say this, but just in case…
Make note that he wasn't literally saying goodbye to Ginny. He was doing it at more of an abstract 'goodbye'. It was directed towards the fact that she wasn't his little baby, or princess anymore. That she had grown up and his goodbye at the end was him realizing it for the first time.
This chapter was dedicated to the loving parents that deal with this and many other things in their lives. If you're a parent remember-you kick ass and you have no idea how godlike you are, dealing with everything that you have too deal with. ~Aya