Walking into the room her youngest son was occupying, Molly picked Charlie up and kissed him on the cheek. With having Nymphadora and Andromeda coming over later that afternoon, she needed to get him cleaned up.
"Are you ready for your bath, darling?" she asked as she walked down the hall to the rickety stairs, feeling Charlie wrap his chubby arms around her neck. Knowing that he wouldn't answer, she proceeded to walk up the stairs and once she made it up all five flights, she walked into the master bedroom.
Taking Charlie's clothes off, she walked into the bathroom and gave him a bath.
When he was all cleaned and put into a fresh pair of clothes, she walked back downstairs, set him into his playpen and walked into the kitchen. She then started preparing lunch (just in case Andromeda and Nymphadora were to come early).
Just as she suspected, a few minutes later she heard a cry from Charlie and then a familiar voice say,
"Molly, we're here!" Rushing out of the kitchen and into the living room, a wide smile appeared on Molly's face as she embraced her friend (though, she was careful not to squish the little girl in her arms).
"She's gotten so big!" she squealed as she pulled away from the hug and looked down at Nymphadora.
"That tends to happen when you haven't seen an infant for two months." Andromeda laughed. "But yours has gotten big too," she added as she looked over at Charlie, who was still crying.
"I know. My baby's growing up." Molly sighed as she picked up Charlie.
"Where's Bill?" Andromeda asked as she looked around for the three-year-old Bill, noticing how quiet it was.
"He's at his daycare," Molly replied as Charlie started to wiggle, indicating that he wanted to get down.
"Making new friends, aye?" Andromeda asked teasingly. She knew that when Charlie had first arrived, it was hard for Bill to adjust to not having his parent's full attention all the time. But over time, he did get over it.
"Hey," Molly laughed. "He's making a ton of friends," she said as she put Charlie down.
"I was teasing, Molly," Andromeda replied as she, again, laughed.
"I know," Molly said as she stuck her tongue out. "Now, make yourself at home. I need to finish preparing lunch."
Walking back into the kitchen, she finished the sandwiches she had started before Andromeda and Nymphadora had arrived.
Putting the food onto a tray, Molly walked to the doorframe and peered into the living room only to find that Andromeda had managed to get Charlie to sit still while she told him a story.
When the story ended, she walked further into the living room and sat down on the couch.
"I dunno how you managed to keep him still," she noted as she handed Andromeda her sandwich. Pulling out her wand, Andromeda transfigured a portable crib and set Nymphadora down.
"Does he normally not sit still like that?" she asked as she took a hold of the sandwich Molly had handed her.
"Never," Molly replied as she took a bite of her sandwich. "He always has to be doing something."
"That's not surprising," Andromeda teased. "He's a Prewett and a Weasley. Could you get any better of a combination?"
"Okay, maybe he isn't that bad," Molly laughed as she took another bite of her sandwich, Andromeda following close behind.
After a few minutes of silently eating, both women heard a stifled cry come from the crib that had been transfigured. Looking at her wristwatch, Andromeda said,
"It's time for me to feed her."
Grabbing the bag she had packed, she started to pull out all the things she needed to feed her two-month-old baby.
"Lemme do it," Molly replied as she stood up before Andromeda could do anything else and picked Nymphadora up.
"Molly, I can do it," Andromeda said. "And plus, you're eating," she added as she stood up and attempted to take her baby away from Molly.
"I have two kids of my own," Molly chided. "You honestly think I'm not use to it?" Knowing that there was no point in trying to get Nymphadora back, Andromeda sat back down and let Molly do the rest.
Seeing Andromeda give up, Molly laughed lightly to herself, loving the fact that Andromeda knew better then to keep trying. Walking into the kitchen with Nymphadora in her arms, she grabbed a bottle, put milk in it and casted a warming charm on it.
Giving Nymphadora her bottle, she made her way back into the living room and sat down on the couch opposite of Andromeda. Watching the two-month-old baby silently suckle, she realized how much she wanted a little girl.
Just as Molly started to lose herself in her thoughts, Charlie started to walk towards her. He didn't want her to hold Nymphadora; he wanted all of his mum's attention to himself.
Bringing the rest of her body onto the couch, Molly crossed her legs and set Nymphadora in between both of them.
Feeling a set of arms wrap themselves around her neck, Molly quickly pulled herself out of her thoughts, noticing that Charlie was attempting to give her a hug (she had been so lost in her thoughts, that she hadn't even noticed the weight difference when Charlie had gotten up).
"Charlie, sweetheart, I'm trying to feed the baby," Molly laughed as she used her free hand to rub her son's back. Hearing Andromeda chuckle, she added, "I think we've got a jealous one."
"Looks like he's taking after his older brother," Andromeda replied.
"If that's the case, we won't be having another baby for a while," Molly chuckled as Charlie pulled away and took a seat next to her.
"Why don't you go play with Andy, darling? I'm sure she would love to tell you a story," she added as she turned her attention back to Charlie, kissing his head softly when he snuggled close to her.
"You've got a mummy's boy, aye?" Andromeda teased.
"Only when he wants to be," Molly laughed.
"That's cute," Andromeda noted. Turning her attention to Charlie, she added, "Now, it's time for me to tell you a story, little one."
Standing up and walking over to where Charlie was sitting, she picked him up, walked back to the couch she had been sitting on and sat down.
Turning her attention to Andromeda, Molly mouthed to Andromeda, "Thank you."
"No, thank you," Andromeda mouthed back as she sat Charlie on her lap. "For everything." As much as she didn't want Molly to feed her baby, she was happy to have a break from everything and just realize that maybe, just maybe, having a kid wasn't always going to be hard.
thank you to darksaber3434 for betaing!