"The Costs Of Making A Family"
Charlie levitates the food into the pin, careful not to get too close to the sleeping dragon. To his right, Zoe is standing there, observing. She's here just in case it becomes a dangerous situation.
"What's on your mind, Charlie?" she asks, noting how tense Charlie seems today.
As the food lands in the desired area, Charlie turns back to his best friend. He sighs. "Draco and I are supposed to be watching Vicki and Dom again for Bill. He's getting better at watching them while I'm at work, but he still isn't completely comfortable with children."
Immediately, Zoe knows exactly what Charlie means. "You haven't talked to him about having kids since the last time, have you?" Charlie shakes his head. "Well, you need to. If you want a kid with him, you need to talk to him about it."
"I know, Zoe. The topic just makes him uncomfortable, and I really don't want to do that," Charlie replies softly. "Besides, there are only two options available for us and he won't go for one of them." When Zoe gives him a questioning look, Charlie elaborates. "Well since men can't get pregnant, we're left with adoption and surrogacy."
"And Draco won't go for adoption," Zoe mutters as realization dawns on her. "Because he's a Pureblood, he'll want to have a biological child."
Charlie nods. "Yes. So that only leaves us with surrogacy. I've looked into it, curious as to the pricing on it. And it's a lot more than we can afford, because we have to pay for the mother's medical bills and compensation for doing it with paying for the treatments for her to get pregnant. On top of that, Draco will want to know the mother. We're just better off not having children."
Zoe stops in her tracks. Charlie continues on for a few more steps before realizing Zoe isn't walking beside him. "Come on, Zoe. We only have two more dragons to feed."
Shaking her head, she gives him a breathtaking smile. "I'll do it for you," she informs him brightly.
"No, I can't ask you to do that."
"Well, it's a good thing you didn't ask me, then isn't it?" Zoe retorts. She takes a few steps forward, taking Charlie's hand in her own. "Oh, come on Charlie. You've wanted children for as long as I've known you. And I can help you make it happen. Let me help you."
Charlie meets her color-changing eyes. "Are you sure? I mean you have Nicolette. And how will Jason feel about you doing this?"
Waving her hand, she dismisses the questions. "You and Draco are like family to us now; so all I have to do is tell Jason that I'm doing it for you and he'll be on board."
"And payment?" Charlie asks. "We're supposed to pay for everything you'll need during the pregnancy." Again, Zoe dismisses his concerns. But Charlie doesn't let her off that easily. "I mean it, Zoe. I won't let you do this unless we can pay you for it."
"Look, this isn't about the money. It's about helping my best friend make a family with the one person he loves," Zoe informs him. When Charlie still looks skeptical, she continues on. "I'll talk to Jason, but I'm sure that everything will be fine if you guys pay for the treatment. Can you handle that?"
Charlie smiles at her. "I think we can." He kisses her cheek. "Thank you, Zoe."
She flashes her own smile. "Now that that's settled, you need to talk to Draco about it." Charlie nods in agreement. "Good. Now, I do believe we have two more dragons to feed before we can go home."
Taking this as a cue, Charlie and Zoe finish their rounds quickly.
/
Entering his flat with a cup of coffee, Charlie notices Draco standing in the kitchen, counting under his breath as he stirs a potion. Draco's ability to makes potions allows him to work for the healing center on the Reservation. But since he doesn't have to be on the Reservation to make potions, he usually ends up making them in their kitchen. Charlie has forbidden him from making them anywhere else in the flat since one exploded a while back – it took days to clean it up.
"Hey," Charlie greets him, as he takes a seat on a stool.
Draco doesn't look up from his potion. "I'm almost done," he informs the older man. Charlie knows better than to interrupt Draco when he says those words. So, Charlie just watches him instead. Draco has a habit of biting the inside of his cheek when he concentrates solely on one thing. "And done," he says after a few minutes of silence.
Charlie summons the potions vials and starts to help him bottle the potion. "Does the Reservation need any more potions?"
"None that are urgent. I just had to make this one today. They're completely out of it," Draco says. Nodding, Charlie fills the rest of the vials in silence. Draco doesn't even look up as he breaks the silence. "You have something on your mind."
As the last vial is plugged, Draco looks at Charlie expectantly. "Well, Bill and Fleur are supposed to be here anytime, so I need to get the guest bedroom ready for them," Charlie whispers. He doesn't really want to have the conversation about children with Draco because he doesn't want to make Draco feel uncomfortable.
"Char," Draco says, his voice slightly demanding.
Charlie sighs, knowing Draco won't drop the subject. "We can talk about it after Vicki and Dom leave," he tries again.
Draco puts the vials in a bag. "We're watching them for two days. But they won't be here for another hour or so. What do you have on your mind?" he asks. When Charlie looks up, Draco realizes what Charlie doesn't want to talk about right now. "You want to talk about having kids again."
"I will never understand how you know these things," Charlie mutters, glancing down. He looks up at Draco. "Yes, but I know you get uncomfortable talking about it."
Putting the bag of potions on the floor, Draco conjures a chair and sits across from Charlie. "But you obviously want to talk about it. So, let's talk."
"Do you even want children?" Charlie asks. It's a good of a place to start as any. Besides, Charlie doesn't exactly know Draco's feelings on having children.
Draco finally answers, after a long silence, "A part of me does." Charlie nods, urging him to complete the rest of his thought. "But I'm just worried that I won't be a good father," he admits quietly. "With my father, I was just expected to learn how to be a perfect Pureblood. And being a perfect Pureblood nearly made me a murderer. I don't want to be like that. I don't want to lead a child down that path."
Charlie gives him a small smile. "I don't think you will, Dray," he whispers. Forcing Draco to look him in the eyes, Charlie continues. "I think you will be a great father." He pauses for a moment. "Is there anything else keeping you from wanting children?"
Contemplating this question, Draco is quiet for a while. "I would want it to be mine." It's the only Pureblood value that Draco just can't let go. And this value makes it impossibly hard to have children with Charlie.
Draco is expecting Charlie to look disheartened, but he doesn't. Instead, Charlie smiles brightly. "I know. There's always the option of doing surrogacy."
"Surrogacy?" Draco questions, raising his eyebrow at Charlie.
"Yes. It's a Muggle way, where we pay for treatment to get a woman impregnated, and she delivers the baby for us," Charlie explains. "That way it can be biologically your child."
Draco nods. "Are we supposed to pay for the treatments?" he asks. He's not exactly against it, but there are still the details to hammer out. "And what about other expenses?"
"Yes. Generally speaking, most people who do surrogacy pays for the treatments, the hospital bills and compensation for doing it," Charlie replies.
"But we won't know who the mother is," Draco points out, because he's not completely comfortable not knowing who she is.
Charlie, however, just grins at him. "Zoe offered to do it. I told her I couldn't ask her to do that, but she was pretty adamant about it." When Draco is quiet, Charlie starts to worry; and when Charlie worries, he rambles. "I mean, we know her. And she is a Pureblood. But I can understand if you don't want to do it. I really don't want to pressure you into it. That's why I didn't want to talk about it until after Vicki and Dom left. It would make –,"
"Char," Draco cuts in. But Charlie doesn't even acknowledge him as he continues to speak. "Char," he tries again, but Charlie doesn't stop. "Charlie!" Finally, Draco gets his attention. "You thought about everything I would disagree with."
Charlie just nods. "I tried to."
"You really want this then?"
Charlie nods again. His blue eyes sparkle with hope. "Why wouldn't I want to start a family with you?"
"If it's what you want, we can meet up with Zoe after your nieces leave to discuss it then," Draco whispers. A jubilant expression crosses Charlie's face. "Now your nieces will be here shortly, so you should go set up the guest bedroom. I have to take these potions to the Reservation."
Before letting Draco leave, Charlie presses a kiss against his lips. "I'll see you when you get home, then."
/
As they enter Charlie's favorite coffee shop, they take the seat across from Zoe and Jason. Nicolette is sitting in Zoe's lap, being bounced up and down. "I see you convinced Draco to do this," Zoe says, instead of a greeting.
Draco fights the urge to roll his eyes. Charlie, however, just shakes his head at Zoe before smiling at Draco. "It wasn't too hard to do."
"Now, as I'm sure Charlie has told you, this isn't for money. We're not expecting compensation or payment of the medical bills," Zoe states. Draco wants to argue that it's their duty to pay for these things, but Zoe just cuts across him. "We're doing this to help you both out, Draco. So we don't want money."
"The only thing we're asking is for you to pay for the treatment," Jason, Zoe's husband, says, effectively ending the staring contest between Zoe and Draco.
Charlie nods. "We can do that."
Zoe looks at her daughter, before meeting Charlie's eyes. "I do request that you don't tell the child about the surrogacy until the child can understand it. It will be your child, not mine. I don't want to confuse the child with that information before they can understand it."
"That won't be a problem."
"Good," Zoe smiles. "Now, when are you looking to do this?"
Charlie looks to Draco because that's the one thing they didn't really talk about. Draco, however, doesn't find it that concerning. "Whenever you feel up to it," Draco answers.
"I'll set something up with my doctor then," Zoe informs them. "And we'll do this together, every step of the way."
Charlie smiles and kisses Zoe on the cheek. "Thank you. It really means a lot," he tells her. "But I have to get to work. You'll let me know when you set up that appointment, right?"
"Of course."
Nodding, Charlie stands. "I'll see you at work tomorrow, Zoe. And I'll see you at home later," he says, directing it at Draco. He kisses Draco quickly before leaving, even though he knows that Draco still doesn't feel comfortable showing affection in public.
Siting there, Draco turns his attention to Nicolette. "May I actually hold her?" he asks.
Zoe grins. "You've never held a baby in your life." It's a statement, and Draco's not entirely sure how she knows this. But she holds up Nicolette, allowing Draco to take ahold of her. Draco immediately cradles her to him, before allowing her to sit facing her parents in his lap. "She tends to move a lot, so be careful to watch her."
Draco shifts his hold, wrapping a hand around the baby's stomach. When she wiggles in attempt to escape his hold, he starts to bounce his knee up and down. Nicolette giggles, and Draco knows he's doing something right. He smiles at the blue-eyed brunette in his lap.
"You'll be a great father, Draco," she whispers.
Some part of him really hopes it's true. He may not have any experience, but he's going to try the best he can, because having children will make Charlie happy. And he'll do almost anything to make Charlie happy.
A/n – OTP boot camp – 7/50. Here's the actual explanation for how they had children, Laura.
Prompt used: jubilant.
A million thanks to l0stinl0ve for beta-ing this for me.
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