Hey everyone! I'm kind of on a HP writing spree right now. I've had this story in mind for a while now. It kind of took on a mind of it's own as I was writing it and ended up longer and more complex than I originally intended, but I think I'm actually pretty happy with it.

As always, I am an American and speak American English. I did my best with the help of Google to get the British terms and slang right, however, if you spot anything that is incorrectly used or named, please let me know!

Please read and enjoy. Leave me a review to let me know your thoughts if you feel so inclined. :)

Ron stepped out of the Floo into Harry and Ginny's living room, followed a moment later by Hermione. He stepped quickly out of the way to avoid her slamming into him. They dusted themselves off in the empty living room and Ron was about to call out and announce their arrival when Harry appeared in the doorway. "Hi," he said, silencing his friend, "Glad you could make it."

"Hi, Harry," Hermione said, moving toward him with a smile, "How are you?"

Harry hugged her. "Alright. Yourself?"

"Very well." Harry moved from her to Ron, hugging him as well.

"How's it going, mate?" Ron asked when they separated, "You and Gin settled in with James yet?"

"Yeah, I think so," Harry answered, leading them toward the sofa, sitting himself down on one and gesturing them to the other. "They're asleep upstairs at the moment. I was supposed to wake her when you arrived."

"No, no, let her sleep," Hermione protested, "I sure she could use the rest."

"No offence, mate, but you look like you could use some as well," said Ron, taking a seat next to Hermione. It wasn't unusual for Harry to appear a bit tired on occasion, given his work as an Auror and the long hours it sometimes required, but he currently looked a lot like he had in their Fifth year, when he'd suffered many a sleepless night because of his visions of Voldemort. Simply put, he looked exhausted.

"I'm okay," Harry answered, brushing their concern aside, "The baby's just not the best sleeper and he's been really colicky the past few nights so we've been up a lot with him." Ron didn't have a clue what that meant, but Hermione nodded sympathetically beside him.

"Is there nothing you can do to help that?" she asked.

Harry shook his head. "Molly gave us a spell that she said helped when Charlie and the twins had it really bad, but it hasn't really seemed to do very much for James. The Healer we saw at his checkup this week said it will just have to take its course on its own."

"That's awful, the poor thing. You'll let us know if there's anything we can do, won't you?"

Harry gave a wry smile. "I'm not sure there is, but thanks, Hermione."

"So how much longer do you think it will be until you join us all for Sunday dinners again?" Ron asked out of curiosity. It had become something of a tradition after the war for all the Weasleys to gather with their families at the Burrow each weekend for a meal. Ron knew his mother simply used it as an excuse to cook an absurd amount of food and stuff them all silly, but he had to admit he enjoyed it. Harry and Ginny hadn't attended since the baby had been born, three weeks ago now, as a rather nasty bug began going around the family shortly after and they had been nervous about little James getting sick when he was so young. As such, none of the family had seen them since they had brought him home, including he and Hermione as she'd been worried they were carrying it, even though they hadn't been ill themselves, and didn't want to risk it. This was the first time they'd been to the Potter's home since Ginny had given birth.

"I don't know," Harry answered with a sigh, "We most likely won't make tomorrow's, but probably pretty soon, now that Fleur and Dominique are better. Gin wants to make sure no one else gets sick before she brings the baby around everyone though."

"That's wise of her," said Hermione, "It would be so much more dangerous for James to get it than the rest of us." The bug had been steadily making its way through the family via the children for a while now, and Bill's brood had been the last to come down with it. Ron and Hermione had thankfully been spared.

Harry nodded. "That's what the Healer said, so we're trying to be careful. I've had work, at least, but Gin's been getting a bit stir-crazy being here all the time. I've been coming home for lunch to be with her."

"Has she not left the house at all?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head, "Not really. She's taken James for his regular checkups, obviously. She went into Muggle London the other day for a bit to get some more nappies, but for the most part, she's been here with him. The media's a circus right now, following us around, and she hasn't been up to dealing with it just yet."

Ron shook his head in annoyance. The media had been absolutely unbearable in the year following the war, pursuing Harry along with the rest of them, asking nonstop questions and refusing them even a second of privacy, and Ron had quickly lost any desire he may have had of being famous. For everyone except Harry, and Ginny by extension, it had died down in the time since, however the Potters still found themselves in the spotlight quite often, and it increased tenfold whenever something interesting happened. Ron felt for his sister and best friend, and also admired them. He could never deal with it like they did. "Unbelievable," he muttered. Harry simply shrugged as if to say it couldn't be helped.

"Oh," he said suddenly, standing up, as if realizing he'd forgotten something, "Do either of you want tea?" He made as if to move toward the kitchen.

"Sit down, Harry," Hermione ordered, "You don't have to serve us."

Harry, a smile playing around the edges of his mouth, obeyed. "Okay." Ron grinned openly in amusement.

"How has work been since you've gone back?" Hermione asked, "I haven't heard about any big cases recently, so I take it that's a good thing."

"Yeah, it's been fairly quiet, which is nice. I've been home before dinner every night."

"Robards is probably going easy on you," said Ron, "I would too if you came into work looking like that." He gestured vaguely toward Harry.

"Thanks, mate."

Hermione glared at Ron, but sighed and said, "You do look exhausted, Harry."

"I'm fine," he said in typical Harry Potter fashion.

Footsteps could be heard descending the stairs then, and a moment later, Ginny appeared, cradling a small bundle to her chest and looking about as good as Harry did. Hermione was on her feet instantly and quickly crossed the room to her. "Ginny! Oh, let me see him!" Ginny surrendered the baby easily and Hermione took him in her arms, elated. "Oh, he's gorgeous. It's been so long. Ron, look!" She carried James back to her seat on the sofa and lowered herself down for him to see.

James seemed slightly larger than he'd been when they'd first seen him in hospital a few weeks earlier and his head looked rounder, but otherwise he hadn't changed all that much. He was awake, his eyes cracked open the slightest bit as if he wasn't sure if he wanted to look around or sleep, and tufts of dark brown hair stuck out from underneath a green hat. He really was, Ron had to admit, very cute.

He looked away from his godson and at his wife, who, at the moment, was more interesting. She seemed positively enthralled with the baby and he was rather enjoying watching her with him. He noticed Harry and Ginny, neither of whom had moved, were watching the both of them and exchanging knowing expressions, which made Ron uncomfortable. He was grateful when Harry looked at his wife and asked, "How was your kip?"

With a sigh, Ginny answered, "Not long enough," she said, moving to sit beside him, "What happened to 'I'll wake you when they get here'?"

Harry shrugged. "You needed the rest." Ginny rolled her eyes but smiled as she sat down.

The majority of Hermione's attention had been focused on James during this exchange. She wore a content smile as she stared down at him, brushing a finger gently against his exposed hand. "He really is beautiful," she said, looking away from James finally and at Harry and Ginny, who smiled identical tired smiles in response. Ron was frankly amazed that someone so small could make two of the toughest people he knew look so knackered. He didn't remember any of his other siblings looking that bad when their children were born, but then the only one of them who he saw more regularly than Harry and Ginny was George, and he'd yet to experience fatherhood. Visits with the rest were relegated mostly to Sunday dinners, and it was possible Ron hadn't been paying close enough attention.

"He's just eaten," Ginny informed her, resting her head on Harry's shoulder, "So he'll probably need to be changed soon."

"Is he a good eater?" Hermione asked, "I thought I read somewhere that babies sometimes have trouble with it."

"He's a great eater. No problem at all in that department," Ginny answered, looking at her son now with an expression Ron had never seen her wear before, but reminded him greatly of his mum.

"He takes after his uncle in that respect," Harry added with a grin at Ron.

Ginny hummed in agreement. "Sometimes I wish he'd eat less and sleep more though. Give us a bit of a break."

"I'm sure it will get easier," Hermione said sympathetically, really looking at the two of them for the first time.

"I hope so," Ginny admitted, "I mean, I love James to pieces but I need more than two hours of sleep per night." Harry nodded fervently beside her. "Anyway," she said, glancing at the clock on their mantelpiece and sitting up, "Did you two plan on staying for lunch?"

"Oh, no," Hermione said quickly, "Harry told us not to bring anything and I would hate to make you cook."

"Cook?" Ginny said, standing up, "With my mother? Even without my soon-to-be-four sister-in-laws, we have enough meals stockpiled that I shouldn't have to cook until next January. And anyway, Harry cooks more than I do." Harry smirked, but didn't deny this. "I'm going to have to heat something up for us anyway," Ginny continued, "You're more than welcome to stay."

"You did just get here," Harry put in, "It would be silly for you to leave so quickly when we haven't seen you for almost a month."

Hermione looked questioningly at Ron, who shrugged. "Well, alright," she said, looking back at Ginny, "If it's not too much trouble."

"Don't worry. It's not," Ginny replied easily, getting to her feet. "I'm going to go quickly throw James' clothes in the wash because I just remembered that he's wearing his last clean bodysuit, and then I'll warm something up for us."

Harry turned to her, looking confused. "I thought I threw his clothes in this morning?" he said, phrasing the statement like a question.

"Those were our clothes. I hadn't gotten around to those either."

Ron gave a laugh. "Bit of an obvious difference there, mate."

Harry shrugged. "I was half-asleep. I don't remember."

"Take your time," Hermione said to Ginny, who had turned now to leave, "If you want, I can—"

"No," she interrupted her, "It's fine, Hermione, really. Stay here. Catch up with Harry. Merlin knows he's probably tired of having just James and me for company."

"No, I'm not!" Harry protested.

Ginny ignored him, "I'll be right back." She then left the room before Hermione could protest further. She looked after her, unsure, for a moment, before James began squirming slightly and cooing. She looked down at him then, bouncing him gently, and seemed content to stay after that. Ron watched her with him, trying to figure out what was so different about seeing Hermione with James than with the rest of his nieces and nephews. She'd, of course, loved them too, but not in the way she appeared to with James. Was it simply because he was their godson? Ron hoped that was it. He wasn't sure he was ready to consider the alternative yet.

"Has my mum been round here often?" he asked Harry, remembering Ginny's comment, "Every time I've seen her recently, she's been cooking one meal or another for you two. How's Ginny handling that?"

Harry nodded. "She's been by most days since I started back at work, and yeah she always brings food with her, of course. I'm happy she does, honestly. I was worried how Ginny was going to fare alone with him all day. We're still adjusting, you know? So, Molly's been a big help and Ginny is grateful for it but, well, you know how your mum can be." Ron nodded. "I think Ginny convinced her to take the day off yesterday. She wasn't lying about the amount of food we have. I had to put an extension charm on our freezer."

"Wow," Ron said, "Well, hey, if you'd like us to take any of that off your hands, all you have to do is ask."

Harry laughed. "I might have to take you up on that."

"How long did the Prophet give Ginny off for parental leave?" Hermione asked Harry, whose eyes had closed in the quiet moment that had passed between one conversation and the next. They snapped open at her question.

"She asked for six months, but they gave her the option of extending it up to a year when the time comes."

"Is she planning to extend it?"

"Probably not. She's been bored staying home already. It will get better once we're able to take James out more, but she'll probably just opt to write from home as much as possible."

Ron studied his best friend. "You know, mate, if you want, you can go up and kip for an hour or two. "'Mione and I can stay here and help Ginny."

Hermione nodded, gently rocking the baby, who was squirming more now and didn't seem nearly as comfortable in his aunt's arms as he had a few minutes ago. "It's no problem."

"I'm fine, really. Ginny and I trade off. I'll sleep later." He stood up, "Give him here."

Hermione, who had focused again on the fussing baby, looked up at the abrupt change in topic. "What?"

He stepped toward her. "He probably needs that changing Ginny mentioned. I'll take care of it."

"Oh," Hermione said, handing him off.

"Are you dirty, little guy? We can fix that," Harry murmured, holding the baby close to him. Ron watched his friend in fascination. The way he interacted with his son was like nothing he'd ever seen from Harry before. He was incredibly gentle and protective with him, though he didn't appear to realize it. He looked very natural. And he seemed so comfortable handling him; in a way Ron doubted he himself could ever be. Harry turned to leave with James. "We'll be back in a minute," he called over his shoulder, and then left Ron and Hermione alone.

"Ron," Hermione said once Harry was up the stairs and out of earshot, "I'd like a baby."

Ron didn't react for a second as he fought down the feeling of alarm that her words awoke in him. "Y-you would?" he asked, looking at her and trying desperately to keep his feelings off his face. Hermione nodded, her expression serious. "I thought you wanted to wait a bit?"

Truthfully, Ron wanted children too. He'd wanted them more and more since he and Hermione had gotten married, but frankly, after seeing the shape his best friend and sister were in after having one, he wasn't sure he wanted them just yet. After all, Harry and Ginny had gotten married quite a while before he and Hermione did. They'd waited a good few years. Ron and Hermione had only gotten married a little over a year ago and he wasn't sure they were ready to be bringing children into the picture yet. Two hours of sleep a night? Constant feedings and changings? Never having time for each other? Was that something he really wanted?

He'd been overjoyed when he found out Ginny was pregnant and ecstatic when they'd named him James' godfather, but having a nephew and a godson was different then having a child of his own.

Ginny and Harry were obviously very happy to be parents. But they'd had Teddy for all those years before having a child themselves. Even if Andromeda had handled most of the first year with him and had traded off from there, they still had loads more experience parenting than Ron and Hermione did. How were they supposed to handle having a baby when Ron felt he could barely handle preparing a proper supper?

"I did, when we first got married," Hermione answered, "But it's been a year and when I was holding James, I just thought of what it would be like to have a little baby of our own, and I really think I'd like one now. Wouldn't you?" She took his hand in hers.

"Well, sure, at some point. I was just thinking we were going to wait a few years..."

"So you're saying you don't want children," Hermione summarized, her face falling.

"No! No, that's not what I'm saying. I mean, I do. Of course, I do. I just—" He sighed. "Are we ready for that kind of responsibility? I mean, have you seen the state Harry and Ginny are in right now? They look awful."

"Well, yes, they're tired, obviously, but have you also noticed how happy they are? I mean, happier than I've ever seen them. They just seem to, I don't know, glow, Ron. Don't you want that?"

Ron was quiet, studying her. He sighed finally. "I don't know."

Hermione stared at him for a moment without saying a word. Then, she took a deep breath and, very deliberately, she removed her hand from his and stood up. "I'm going to go help Ginny with lunch," she said stiffly, and left without another word.

"Hermione!" Ron called after her, but she was already gone.

He was still sitting at his spot on the sofa a minute later, sulking, when Harry returned with a freshly nappied James. "Where'd Hermione go?" he asked.

"To help Ginny. She's mad at me."

"Oh." He sat down in the spot Hermione had vacated, though he left a good deal more distance between them.

"It's your fault," Ron added to Harry, though by now his eyes had wandered to James, who lay snuggled into his father's shoulder but was looking at Ron, his eyes wide open.

"My fault?"

"Ginny's too. Hermione wants to have a baby."

Harry chuckled. "Saw that one coming, mate."

"It's not funny," Ron grumbled.

Harry sobered. "Sorry. Hermione wants to have a baby." Ron nodded. "And you don't?"

"I do. I just thought we were waiting, is all."

Harry looked to consider this for a moment. Then he asked, "Well what difference does it make?"

Ron blinked. "What do you mean, 'What difference does it make'?"

"I mean, what difference does it make whether you have a baby now or later? Are you planning on leaving Hermione and having children with a different woman?"

"Of course not," Ron scoffed.

"Well then, what difference does it make?"

"It makes a lot of difference. Have you looked in a mirror recently?"

After a pause, Harry replied, "Can't say that I have, no. I haven't cared."

"Exactly! You're exhausted. Ginny's exhausted. Living off two hours of sleep, I don't know how you both haven't lost the plot yet. You haven't left your house in almost a month. You've had to alter your whole life to revolve around your son, and frankly I'm not sure we're ready to handle that kind of responsibility. It would rip us apart!"

"I don't think it would."

"What d'you mean? It already did, once."

Harry turned to stare at him. "That was a long time ago. It was different."

"No it wasn't. I was stressed out, caged in, and sleep deprived, which is exactly how I just described you and Ginny."

"You were hungry then too," Harry put in unhelpfully.

"That's not the point."

"Then what is the point, Ron? Because I'm not following you. Being a parent is nothing like hunting horcruxes. And even if it was, you can't deny that you're a different person now than you were back then. It's a stupid argument, frankly."

Ron was quiet for a moment, studying the floor. "Why is it different?" he asked quietly.

"Aside from the fact that I'm not nearly dying all the time you mean?" Ron said nothing. Harry sighed, "Well, for one, I actually think I get less sleep now than I did then. For another, it doesn't matter." At this Ron looked at him again. "It doesn't matter," Harry elaborated, "Because I'm happy to do it. I love taking care of James. Even at three in the morning when we were just awake with him at two. He reminds me why I've fought so hard to get to where I am." Harry shrugged the shoulder James was not resting on, "He makes it worth it. And I love him so much. More than I ever could have imagined loving someone. It's just… what parenting is, I guess."

Ron considered that, amazed that he'd just heard something so heartfelt from Harry Potter of all people. "I'm just scared, I guess," he admitted finally.

"Well, mate, I think I'd be concerned if you weren't, honestly." Harry paused for a moment and then sighed. "Look, if you're not ready to have kids, that's fine. I admit it's not something you should rush into. But you'll have to talk to Hermione and articulate that, since you obviously weren't great at doing it the first time." Ron blushed. "But, for what it's worth, I think you're worrying for nothing."

Ron was quiet long enough that Harry had leaned his head back against the sofa and closed his eyes. "Thanks, mate," he said finally.

"Anytime," Harry replied, eyes still closed. Then, after a moment, he opened them and looked at Ron again. "You two didn't actually have that conversation solely in the five minutes I was gone changing James, did you?" Ron said nothing. "Blimey," Harry said, closing his eyes again. Ron didn't know what to say to that, so he again said nothing.

The two, or rather three, of them sat in companionable silence for another few minutes after that. Long enough that Ron might have wondered if Harry really had fallen asleep if he hadn't become so attuned to his friend over the years. James remained wide-awake, watching his uncle in newborn fascination. Ron watched him back and, without realizing when he did so, found himself smiling.

Ginny's voice sounded from the kitchen. "Harry? Where did you put the salad bowl when you washed it last?"

Slowly, Harry opened his eyes and sighed. "Coming, Gin," he called, and then looked at Ron. "Think you can watch him for a few minutes?" he asked, gesturing to the baby.

"Yeah, sure."

Harry carefully shifted James off his shoulder until he was cradled in his arms, and then held him out for Ron to take. James whimpered a bit during the exchange, but calmed down quickly once he was settled in his uncle's arms. Harry left for the kitchen then, and it was just the two of them.

Ron stared down at James. The little boy looked back with big, blue eyes. Hermione had mentioned that all babies were born with blue eyes and they changed color later, but he found himself hoping that James' stayed the color they were, because they seemed to be very similar in color to his own. "Remember me, James?" he asked the baby, "I'm Uncle Ron, your mummy's brother. I'm also your godfather, so that's pretty cool. That means you have to like me best when you grow up, okay? It's only fair." James cooed in reply. Ron touched his little hand with his index finger, and James wrapped his own tiny fingers around it. Ron smiled.

And suddenly he thought he could see Hermione's point. He could maybe see himself as a dad someday, with the little baby in his arms belonging to him rather than to Harry. A baby that would grow up with his cousin James as a playmate, along with all his other cousins, of course. He thought maybe it wouldn't be nearly as bad as he'd imagined, raising a person who was half him and half Hermione.

He remembered how happy Harry had sounded a few minutes earlier, talking about fatherhood. And he thought that yeah, perhaps Hermione was right about that too, that perhaps Harry had been glowing a bit. Glowing with pride and love, the likes of which Ron didn't understand now, but would someday if he had a child. And Ron thought that yes, maybe he would like to experience that glow for himself after all. And maybe he would like to do it sooner rather than later.

And maybe he and Hermione would be just fine.

It was Hermione who peered into the living room a few minutes later, to find Ron smiling down at his nephew and talking to him about Quidditch. "You'll probably be raised a Harpies fan, because that's your mum's team and all. And that's well and good; they're an alright team. But the Cannons. You've got to know about them too. Everyone looks down on them, see, because they haven't made it to the championships in a long time, but I say there's more to a Quidditch team than that. Sometimes, it's—"

Ron," Hermione interrupted, "Lunch is ready."

"Oh, okay. Come on, Jamie. Want to go eat lunch?" Ron asked the baby, shifting him to a better position for carrying, and standing up. "Well, actually, I suppose you can't, can you? You haven't got choppers yet. You'll just have to watch the rest of us eat. What'd'ya say, that sound good?"

Hermione had stayed in the doorway, watching this exchange. She still looked put off. Ron met her eyes then and a silent exchange passed between them. He allowed the tiniest of smiles to cross his face, and answer to her question. Hermione's returning smile was glorious, and Ron thought that if it made her that happy, even if he didn't want to, he'd give her a house full of babies anyway.

But then, he'd already decided that he did.

Thank you for reading!

PJO Fans: If you've kept up with Little Sister, I know you're probably waiting for the new story I promised. It's coming! I just want to get a few of these HP one-shots I've had knocking around in my brain for a while done first! Stay tuned. :)