Round 4 of QL

CHASER 2: "Now this is exactly why the doctor changed his number on us." Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Additional Prompts: foregoing, aromatic,

[quote] 'You two can show off to each other later. You're both very smart. Now shut up.' — Skyward, Brandon Sanderson

Summary: Muggle AU. Harry is married to Ginny. She finds out she is having a baby. Peek into their lives as a young couple expecting their first child.

Just as an interesting fact, the banana situation happened to me. That part is almost exactly my story. Also, fruit is plural.

Word Count w/out A/N: 2357

"Harry," Ginny said as she walked into the bedroom from the adjoining bathroom.

Harry looked up at her and smiled. He loved this woman so much. They met in secondary school and were instant friends. As they finished their GCSE course, they became closer and started dating. This led to him asking her to marry him two years after they finished school. He was so glad they had gotten married last summer. Living at Potter Manor, his ancestral home, with this beautiful wife, was a dream come true.

"I have something I need to tell you," Ginny said as she sat next to him on the bed and took his hand in her own.

He looked at her and nodded. "What's going on?"

Ginny frowned. "I'm going to have to take leave from playing football. I called the doctor, and he said it just isn't safe."

"What do you mean? Are you ok?" Harry asked worriedly.

"I need to stop playing temporarily because you are going to be a father," she announced with a grin.

Harry felt his jaw drop in shock. "A baby! Are you sure?" He knelt next to the bed and leaned his face against his wife's still flat stomach in awe.

Ginny laughed at his enthusiasm, and said, "Yes, I took the test a week ago and went to the doctor today. There's nothing to feel or hear yet. I'm only a few weeks along."

He looked up at his wife, awe still evident on his face, and captured her mouth in a kiss.

"Harry!" Ginny shouted from the kitchen.

"What?" Harry asked as he walked down the stairs. Her tone told him that she was nauseous again. Ginny was only ten weeks along and suffered random bouts of morning sickness.

She turned to face him holding a bunch of bananas as far from her body as she could. "Take these stupid, aromatic fruit out of this house, and do not bring them back until I say so."

"Ok," Harry said slowly, as he took the offending fruit from his wife.

"And call the doctor. I want to know how much longer this stupid morning sickness is supposed to last!" Ginny commanded as she turned around and upchucked into the trash can.

Harry quickly, and smartly, put the aromatic fruit on the counter far from his wife and went to rub her back and push her hair out of her face. He was so glad that he wasn't a woman, he would gladly hold his wife's hair while she vomited. He wished there was something more he could do for her.

Once Ginny finished vomiting into the trash, he called Dr. Melbourne. He was an OB-GYN who'd said they could call his office if they ever had any questions. They had already had plenty and probably called an average of twice a day.

The doctor's nurse answered, "Hello, Dr. Melbourne's office. How may I assist you?"

"This is Harry Potter. My wife, Ginny Potter, is a patient of Dr. Melbourne's and wants to know when the morning sickness will end. She is having a rough go of it. Is there anything you can give her?" Harry asked. He heard tapping on a keyboard in the background and assumed that the nurse was checking Ginny's file.

"Morning sickness usually ends after the first trimester, although it can go on through the whole pregnancy. She is ten weeks along, so she should start to feel relief in the next few weeks."

"Can't you give her something for nausea?" Harry pleaded.

The nurse paused, then asked, "Is she able to keep any food down?"

"Yes, she usually only vomits when she smells strong, aromatic foods," Harry explained, frustrated. He realized they were not going to give her any medicine.

"Have her eat ginger or peppermint. This will help with nausea. If you have any issues, please don't hesitate to call us."

Harry nodded. "Thank you. I will let Ginny know your recommendations. You're sure her vomiting won't hurt the baby?"

"Mr. Potter, the baby is fine. We will see her in two weeks for her normal checkup," the nurse assured him.

Harry groaned, "I will let Ginny know what you said. Thank you for your help." Then he hung up the phone and took off his glasses to rub his eyes in frustration. Ginny wasn't the most patient person in the world, and nausea was only making her impatience worse.

"Harry!" Ginny yelled, and Harry heard the door slam shut behind her. She always came in like a whirlwind lately. The advent of her second trimester saw an end to nausea and a beginning of more energy than either knew what to do with. Not to mention the increased desire for…intimacy.

"Yes, dear," Harry answered as he walked down the hall toward her and saw the huge mass of shopping she had dropped on the floor. "What did you do? Buy out the whole store? You shouldn't be carrying all of that at one time," he commented as he leaned in to kiss her cheek and rub her belly.

Ginny smirked at him. "I'm fine. They aren't that heavy. Since we found out that we are having a boy, I had to go buy things for his room. I decided to go with light grey for the walls and white furniture. I ordered the rocker I want for nursing. The foregoing opinion on the sex of the baby is split, obviously. Mum says it's a boy. Dad says it's a girl. Really, the vast opinion is leaning more towards us having a boy. I can't wait to tell them we are having a boy!" Ginny rambled as she motioned for Harry to help her carry the bags to the baby's room.

"So, are we still going to have a party to tell everyone what we are having? We talked about it last week. Everyone has been driving me nuts asking me when the party will be. Is that still what you want to do?" Harry asked, carrying most of the bags behind her. He noticed how very attractive she was walking ahead of him up the stairs.

Ginny opened the door. "I think that would be a good idea. Let's plan for the party. We can have cupcakes made that have blue frosting inside so it will be a surprise for everyone. I can't wait to meet baby James!"

Harry watched as Ginny's smile vanished and big, fat tears started rolling down his wife's face. The beginning of the second trimester had also brought on more waterworks. She cried at the drop of a hat sometimes. He dropped the bags on the floor and pulled her into a hug.

"Harry, we are going to have a little boy in just a few more months. I'm not sure I'm ready to be a mum. What if I fail?"

Harry smiled into his wife's hair and rubbed her lower back as he said calmly, "You won't fail. Kids are resilient and it is incredibly hard to screw him up irreversibly. I mean, look at me growing up with my horrid aunt and uncle after mum and dad died. I didn't turn out so bad, despite them. You are such a good, kind, and caring woman. These traits will carry over into motherhood. You are going to be a wonderful mum. We are surrounded by so many friends and family who will step in to help. This isn't all on our shoulders. Someone will step in if we are really messing up, which I doubt we will."

"Oh, Harry," she said as she pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I love you so much. Thank you for saying those kind things. You're right, we both know that most of the time, we will have to fight mum, dad, and all my siblings to hold our own child." They both giggled, knowing that with the extended family being what it was unless the baby was crying for milk, Harry and Ginny wouldn't stand a chance.

He looked at his wife and noticed once again how very attractive she was, especially with her growing belly. Something about her being pregnant made him want to go caveman and drag her off to the bed and have his wicked way with her. "Did you call the doctor to ask about sex during the second and third trimesters?" Harry asked, keenly.

"Yes, I did. I have called every day this week with questions. Did you know that since I have such bad heartburn, the baby might have a full head of hair? Dr. Melbourne laughed at me when I told him what I had read but during my appointment on Monday, he agreed that it was usually true. Then yesterday, I called him about sex. He said if I'm not cramping or having contractions, it should be fine. Just no wild Kama Sutra. He also asked why we hadn't asked before we were halfway through if we were worried. I told him it kept slipping our minds until after we had already had sex."

"How many times do you think we've called him since we found out you were pregnant? I got the feeling last week that he and the nurse were becoming slightly annoyed with us calling so much," Harry commented, wryly.

Ginny made a face. "It's their job to answer our questions. He did say we could call anytime, with any questions. The baby books I've read are not all in agreeance on these questions."

"As long as you're sure we aren't calling too much," Harry spoke uncertainly as he pulled out from the bags little boy onesies and placed them on the dresser to be washed.

"Harry! It hurts so bad!" Ginny moaned as she waddled into the living room to see her mum and dad sitting on the couch beside Harry. Harry got up and helped his wife sink into her favorite squishy green chair. She was eight months along and tired of being pregnant.

Harry was well versed in the fact that this was "all his fault" and knew better than to argue now. Instead, he would kiss her and agree with whatever she blamed him for.

"What hurts, Ginny?" Molly asked as she took a sip of her tea.

"My back. My bladder. My kidneys. This kid likes to kick down low. I mean seriously, stop freaking kicking!"

Arthur laughed at his daughter. "I remember a very similar scene with you, Molly. Especially while you were pregnant with Ron, or was it Ginny?"

"It was with all of them, dear. All your children liked to kick. All the time. It was horrid. Didn't you rub my back in the evenings when it was unbearable? I don't precisely remember." Molly smiled at her husband.

"I certainly did. And I applied ice when necessary or distracted you." Arthur leaned over to kiss his wife soundly.

Harry groaned in slight embarrassment. He had known this couple for almost ten years by now, but since he and Ginny had found out that they were pregnant, they were even more affectionate with one another.

Molly giggled, and she and Arthur rattled off ways to distract one another, each trying to one-up the other.

"Sex, of course."

"Ice cream."

"Back massages."

"Kissing."

"Candy."

"Cake."

"More sex."

"You two can show off to each other later. You're both very smart. Now shut up," Ginny ordered, frustrated that her parents kept talking about sex. "This reminds me of some kind of demented foreplay."

"Well, dear…" Molly began with a grin.

"Nope! Do not finish that sentence. I do not want to hear anymore. Please!" Ginny pleaded with her parents.

"Did you call the doctor about the cramps you were having?" Harry asked Ginny, trying desperately to change the subject.

Molly interjected, "Oh, that's probably Braxton-Hicks."

Ginny groaned, "Yes, that is what the doctor said. I've called him each day this week to check, but he said that there was nothing to worry about. He would check me next week."

"Oh, so there was someone who answered?" Harry asked, concerned. "I haven't been able to get in contact with the doctor for a few days."

"Well, no. For some reason, they changed their number. I had to get the new one from Angelina," Ginny said, waving her hand.

Molly looked perplexed. "You called every day last week?"

"Now this is exactly why the doctor changed his number on us. We have called way too much. Since the beginning of the pregnancy, we have called at least once a week, and sometimes every day." Harry realized they were probably annoyed.

Molly frowned. "That isn't very professional and quite dodgy. Should you still use this doctor for the delivery? I don't want a doctor to attend if they can't be bothered enough to keep the same phone number."

"Mum, I'm not changing doctors now. I trust him, even if he did change his phone number," Ginny dismissed her mother stubbornly.

Harry looked between the two women and glanced at Arthur. "Are you sure, Gin? How are we going to contact him when it is time for him to meet us at the hospital?"

"I'm not worried. Angelina said she would call if he changed his number again."

"How can you be so lackadaisical about this?" Molly asked astounded.

Ginny grinned. "Because I'm a pregnant woman. I make the rules. I'm not breaking in another doctor. James will be delivered by Dr. Melbourne, and that's final. Harry, help me up. I need to go to the bathroom again."

A few weeks later, Dr. Melbourne left the room when with a wave and a smile to the new parents.

Harry leaned over Ginny's shoulder to gaze at the sweetest baby boy he ever saw.

"You did it, Ginny. You did so well. I love you so much." He leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek.

Ginny looked up at Harry and smiled widely, if exhaustedly. "I love you too."

They both smiled as they gazed at their newborn son.