Tara woke up, the sun shining in her eyes. What the...she could hear Severus rustling about in their small kitchen. Stretching, she got out of bed, and padded into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. She eyed Severus in his flannel nightshirt with one of her aprons tied around his waist. He looked comical. He was whisking pancake batter expertly and turned and saw her, in her black silk pajamas.

"Hello there," he said.

"Morning." She sniffed the air. "Pancakes!" she asked.

"Don't call me 'Pancakes,'" the said, his eyes sparkling mischeviously, with just a hint of a smile.

Tara smiled and sat down. Severus brought her some orange juice.

"Fresh squeezed?" she asked.

"Well, not exactly...but freshly made."

"Ah. Magical orange juice. It's very good," she said, taking a sip.

Watching Severus make pancakes, she had to admit he had gotten good at it; no more broken windows or charred pancakes. He hadn't mastered flipping them; the one time he tried, the pancake ended up on the ceiling for a moment.

They ate out on the terrace as usual. It would soon be too cold to eat outside unless they generatede their own heat with magic, which was certainly do-able. Tara loved their view and the clean, fresh air.

Severus brought out pancakes, eggs, bacon, more orange juice, and a small pitcher of syrup. Tara's eyes widened.

"Sev, are you trying to fatten me up?"

"You're eating for 2, after all," he told her.

"True, but there's only so much I can hold!"

Tara was in her first trimester and so far felt very good. A little bloated, but she was eating very healthy (when Severus wasn't working on his American Breakfast specialties for her), drinking tons of water, and of course, she had given up smoking completely. The only thing was that during the tense times of the previous summer, Sev had started smoking her clove cigarettes and so far he hadn't stopped, saying he found them 'pleasantly relaxing and aromatic.' She felt terrible for being a bad influence on him; but he reassured her that he smoked regular non clove cigarettes when he was much younger, which he said smelled ghastly, so he had abandoned that. Despite her protests, he assured her that it wasnt her fault, he only had 3 or 4 a day at the most, didn't have to, he wanted to, never indoors, so therefore it was a non issue.

If that wasn't enough, Tara was kicking herself since he had begun to use some of her choice swear words. She was afraid he was going to slip up and say the F word in front of his students one day during class and find himself in trouble. She had certainly worked on curtailing her cussing since they were soon going to be parents. Severus said he would when the time came.

He got up and returned with a bowl of freshly cut melon and strawberries, and put it next to her plate.

"Where did you get all of this fresh -- oh I forget what world I"m in..." she said, and rubbed her belly.

"Fresh fruit, incoming," she said to her unborn baby.

She managed to make a dent in the huge breakfast that Severus prepared, then got up to clear the table. He stopped her.

"No, you sit down. You relax!"

She shook her head. "Severus, let me do something. The agreement is that whoever didn't cook the meal cleans up."

"But you need your rest!"

"When I need my rest, I'll tell you. Now siddown!"

He did so, reluctantly. "I'm not going to break," she told him, as she picked up their plates and went back in. She soon came back to get the rest of the dishes.

"You could use magic to get them all at once, you know."

"Do I hear a condescending tone?" she snapped. Her temper was volatile these days; she was told it had something to do with her condition.

"No, just a suggestion," he said, and her temper flipped off like a switch as she leaned down to kiss him, then returned to the kitchen. She did the dishes, manually, then went back out on the terrace with a large bottle of water.

Severus was leaning back in his chair, which always made Tara nervous. He would tip it back on the back legs and she was always afraid it would fall over. He lit a clove and took a long drag.

"I drink so much water these days, I feel like I'm going to float away..." Tara remarked, after downing half of it.

"Well you seem to be in the loo most of the day too..."

"That's a pregnant thing...it won't get any better you know..."

"So I hear."

"At least I'm not throwing up...so many pregnant women--"

She spoke too soon. At that moment, she got a whiff of the clove cigarette Severus was enjoying, which normally was pleasant for her, and felt her stomach do a slow, unpleasant roll.

Severus noticed her sudden change in expression. "Tara, are you allright? You look positively--"

She got up and ran to the bathroom. "Green..." he said watching her dash into their flat.

Tara thought she was turning inside out. So much for no morning sickness. She came out, drained.

"I don't think I want to eat pancakes for a long time..." she said. Tara went through a rough time. Every little scent, every smell - even the smell of bread baking - would send her running to the nearest bathroom. Finally, after her 4th month, that ceased, which was good. It was tough to teach her computer classes while feeling so green.

By her 6th month, Tara was having a hard time moving around--even getting out of bed. They soon found out why; Tara was going to have twins! She was disappointed not to be able to travel to Indianapolis that year; she was absolutely huge.

One day, Severus was in his classroom when Minerva came bursting through the door. He looked up and she gave him a nod. It was time. She took over his class, and he hurried to the hospital wing.

But she wasn't there. She had gone to a private area where, it was explained, she could cuss and swear without any young ears hearing. That's my girl, he thought, and went to a separate wing. It was quiet when he got there.

Madame Hooch met him at the door. She looked flustered.

"How is she?" Severus asked.

"Oh, she's doing fine but you know Tara."

"Where is she?"

"She's inside but no, you can't go in there."

"Why the hell not? I'm her husband--and the father--" he started, indignantly.

"She's kind of...well..."

"She's what?"

"She's a bit...unkind at the moment..."

"Oh and I'm never unkind...I might be offended?"

He was let in and saw Tara, sweating profusely, in a bed, sitting up. She winced in pain. "Holy SHIT this hurts like f--!"

She noticed he had come in. "Severus, how come you're in here? I don't want you to see me like this!"

"I want to be here."

"I'd rather you--!" she let out a shriek as another pain swept over her. "...not..." she finished. "I might start cussing you out and that wouldn't be right..."

Her obvious pain did admittedly put him ill at ease, so he went out into the outer corridor. It was going to be a long day. Many hours went by and he paced.

"I think you're going to wear a path into the stone." Severus turned to see Albus Dumbledore standing there. He stopped pacing and sighed.

"I believe you are right."

"Why don't you go back to your quarters? It could be quite a while, you know."

"I suppose. I have to go check the cats anyway."

"I'll take over your vigil," Albus told him, watching the younger man walk powerfully out of the wing. Severus as a father. Twins even... Albus was warmed by the thought. Severus returned, not even a half hour later.

"No change," Albus told him, watching him light a clove cigarette. "You and those cloves..." Albus said, his voice trailing off. "It's relaxing...in troubled times." Just then, they heard Tara yelling about something. Severus looked nervously at Albus.

"I'm sure she's fine. It's a lot of work to have a baby--and she's got two."

"Don't remind me..."

"Why Severus, aren't you looking forward to your impending fatherhood?"

"I didn't mean it like that, I was merely referring to Tara having to have two babies at once."

"Well they don't arrive in one package, exactly..." Albus began, and Severus gave him an annoyed look.

"I know how babies are born..." he began. Just then, Madame Hooch came out. She looked much calmer, and smiled brightly.

"Come meet your daughters," she said to Severus. Girls? He hadn't even thought about what they might be; it didn't matter. He rushed inside and heard the thin wails of the newborns--his daughters! Tara was there, holding the two bundles, looking exhausted, but happy.

He bent down to kiss Tara and then sat down in the chair beside the bed. The baby girls were identical in every way. They had Tara's olive complexon and both were as bald as billiard balls!

# # #

Desdemona and Deidre were in their swings on the deck overlooking the lake, wearing little hats to keep the sun off their faces. At 3 months old, they were happy, healthy little baby girls, and now had their father's black hair coming in. Desdemona was always laughing and smiling, in contrast to her twin, who seemed more thoughtful and serious. That was a sure fire way Tara could tell them apart. She teased Severus that Desi was like her, and Didi was like him--downright moody.

When they returned to Hogwarts in the fall, Dumbledore had a surprise for them.

"I figured that since you are a family now, you need a bit more space," he was saying. Tara and Severus were following him out onto the grounds, each carrying a twin in a baby carrier. He led them to a gated area that Tara had never seen before, but it certainly looked like it had been there for centuries. He opened the gate and they were in a large courtyard and a large stone house was tucked away in the trees. It had two stories, and lots of room.

"What do you think?" Albus asked them. Tara and Severus exchanged surprised glances. "It hasn't been used in years. We spent the summer rennovating it. Consider it a belated wedding gift from all of us at Hogwarts."

"We get to live here?" Tara asked.

"Yes. You can live in it for as long as you are here. Your little ones need some room to run around--or at least they will."

"Oh my!" Tara gasped.

"Well, come on in, I'll show you around," Albus said, leading them to the front door.

Tara opened the door and there was a large foyer with a staircase going up out of it. To the left was a dining area and a large kitchen, and beyond that, a living area. To the right was a large living room with a huge, stone fireplace and a deck off of it through sliding glass doors. Up the stairs were 4 bedrooms, a full bath, and another full bath from the master bedroom. The master bedroom had a balcony which looked out over the lake. It was beautiful and Tara couldn't believe they'd get to live there during the school year.

They had their things moved in immediately, and Dumbledore had already had it wired so Tara could be online. Severus was able to have his own den and so did Tara. The twins were in their own room and the room was large enough so they could share it as they grew older.

The traditional Night at the Pub was coming up; the night before the students arrived, the faculty had their last hurrah and went to the Three Broomsticks. Tara was anxious about it because she had never left the twins.

"Tara, you need to get away. They'll be fine for one evening," Severus assured her. "Besides, your mother came here special to look after them."

Joan had arrived a few days before. Unlike Tara, she was not afraid of flying in airplanes. She was visiting Europe and was going to meet up with her sister in law there in Scotland, so it was a perfect opportunity to visit Tara and Severus--and her grandchildren.

"You two--go have some fun! The girls and I will be fine, believe me," Joan assured them.

"See?" Severus said to Tara. She made a face. "Nobody likes an I told you so," she told him. "Did you make the hangover potion?" He nodded.

"Hangover potion?" Joan asked.

"Yes, he makes this stuff so we can all get ripped and not feel any worse for it in the morning," Tara explained. Joan smiled. "Do you know, you're picking up an accent?" she remarked.

"Noooo I'm not..." Tara said, then caught herself. She was starting to sound a little bit British.

"Even after spending the summer in the USA?" she asked. Joan nodded. Tara looked up at Severus. "Great. You're influencing me..."

"As if it doesn't work both ways. Let's go."

"You two flying?" Joan asked.

"No. Floo powder. I haven't gotten the hang of disapparating," Tara explained, as they walked into the living room. Severus was just about to toss a handful of floo powder into the flames when Tara stopped, and ran to kiss each twin once more. Then she came back to his side, and he tossed the powder in, and in they went...through the swirling vortex of green to the night on the town...