Author's Note: This is a sequel to "A Proper Wedding, An Improper Secret," but the most important thing to remember for this story is that Narcissa became pregnant before her marriage to Lucius. This story is also sadder than its prequel.

Additional Author's Note: I have read many Lucissa stories in which Narcissa suffered several miscarriages before finally giving both to Draco, so I want to thank all those writers of those particular stories for giving me that idea for this story.

Another Author's Note: Lucius and Narcissa are still fresh out of Hogwarts in this fic. Narcissa had just graduated, and Lucius had graduated just a year earlier.

Lucius was away during the day, which left Narcissa alone at the manor with Abraxas Malfoy.

Narcissa had always been afraid of Abraxas Malfoy, even before she had learned in her Hogwarts years that he often abused Lucius. And her fear and her hatred of Abraxas had only grown since her marriage to Lucius.

Lucius, for his part, had wanted to move out of Malfoy Manor after the wedding; but his father had reminded him that Pureblood males never left their ancestral home. It just would not have been proper. Besides, Abraxas had given official ownership of the manor to his only son (with, of course, the legal condition that Lucius could never ask his father to leave). For all purposes, Lucius was now the head of the household. And as the head of the household, it was Lucius's duty to stay at Malfoy Manor, so that he could maintain it and keep it in good condition.

Despite all this, however, Lucius had begun to pack up his and Narcissa's things soon after their wedding. Even his father threatening him and throwing hexes at him had not been enough to stop the younger Malfoy. Lucius's only response had been to throw hexes back at his father.

The reason for all this was simple. Lucius wanted no more part of his ancestral home. He hated the place. It had never felt like a home to him. In fact, it has always felt more like a prison to him. It definitely didn't help that his father had often locked him up in the dungeons below when he had been a child.

It look Narcissa to convince Lucius to stay at Malfoy Manor. It was his duty, after all. And it was proper. Narcissa had also wanted to avoid the huge mess and chaos that Abraxas would have no doubt created if Lucius had actually left. Abraxas was no longer as much of a public figure as he had been in his youth (that was now Lucius's duty as well), but that didn't mean he didn't still hold influence and power.

Abraxas, therefore, still had the ability to publicly make life miserable for Lucius and Narcissa. The elder Malfoy would prefer to avoid this, of course, as he didn't want to do anything to ruin the reputation of the family name. But it was also no secret that Abraxas hated Lucius with a burning passion. Yes, Abraxas Malfoy would be willing to sacrifice his public image if that was what it would take to keep his son under control.

Narcissa had quickly learned that it was up to her to maintain some degree of peace between the two Malfoy men. It was not enough to say that they both hated each other. 'Hate' just was not a strong enough word to describe the often violent, combative relationship between father and son. Screaming matches and the use of Dark Magic were perfectly normal, and such occurrences happened almost on a daily basis.

A strong part of Narcissa honestly wanted to leave Malfoy Manor with Lucius.

But another strong part of her also wanted to avoid an all-out Malfoy war.

Lucius, understanding Narcissa's reasoning (even if he still didn't like it), had eventually agreed that they would stay at Malfoy Manor. Lucius, however, had made it clear to his father that there would be severe consequences if he ever did anything to hurt Narcissa. He didn't care if he wasn't able to legally throw his father out. Lucius would have no problem with using illegal, dark methods to get rid of his father, and Abraxas realized that very clearly.

For her part, Narcissa stayed away from all the rooms that she knew Abraxas tended to frequent.

And for his part, Abraxas also made it his goal to avoid Narcissa as much as possible. It was no secret that the elder Malfoy hated his daughter-in-law almost as much as he hated his son.

It came as a great surprise (and not a pleasant surprise either) to Narcissa, therefore, when Abraxas one day approached her in what had quickly become her favorite study in the manor. It also happened to be a study that was usually Abraxas-free.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Malfoy?" Narcissa asked politely, even if there was a trace of coldness in her voice.

"I just wanted to check on how my future grandchild is doing," Abraxas replied, trying but failing to sound innocent. "You can't imagine how pleased I was when you fell pregnant so soon after your marriage to my son. I swear, it was like you were pregnant just days after the wedding." Abraxas looked at Narcissa with a hint of suspicion on his face.

Narcissa, for her part, did not betray anything. It was true that Lucius had to make sure that their wedding happened a few months earlier than had originally been planned, but Narcissa had thought that he had done so smoothly. Lucius, after all, needed to make sure that he had an heir in case something ever happened to him while he was in service to the Dark Lord.

"I come from a family with multiple children," Narcissa said smoothly.

Abraxas smirked, clearly not buying his daughter-in-law's reasoning. He let it pass, though.

"I just hope the child is a boy," Abraxas said instead. "I must admit, though, I am a little worried about that. Especially since you come from parents that were never able to produce any boys. Quite disappointing, really."

"Lucius doesn't care either way," Narcissa replied, her voice still polite, even if it was notably more hostile than it had been a moment ago. "He will be happy with either a boy or a girl."

"But a boy is necessary for the Malfoy name to be carried on to the next generation," Abraxas responded.

"Lucius isn't worried about that."

"Lucius is a fool."

"Enough," Narcissa breathed dangerously, standing up. "I will not allow you to speak of my husband that way. He is a better man than you could ever hope to be. Now leave me, or I will send a letter to Lucius. I seriously doubt he would be pleased to learn that his father was bothering his wife, especially after he had given his father a warning to leave his wife alone."

Abraxas merely sneered. He did, however, leave the room without another word.

Narcissa sighed in relief as she sat back down on the couch where she had been reclining before her father-in-law's sudden, unexpected appearance. Perhaps she and Lucius should have left Malfoy Manor after all.