House: Gryffindor

Position: Prefect 2

Category:Themed #2

Prompt: [object] Baked goods

Word Count: 2778 – excludes header, title, and A/N

Beta: Tigger and CK 3

A/N: This was written for The House Competition ,Y2R8

A Positive Pregnancy

Ron stared at the pregnancy test that Hermione was waving in front of him. The Muggle device was confusing him; why were there two lines? What did it mean?

He grabbed it from Hermione's hand and held it close to his nose. He peered at the little blue lines and compared them to the key printed on the test.

"Wait? We're pregnant?"

Hermione just nodded her head and smiled at him. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then rushed to check on their daughter Rose, who was crying in the other room.

Ron stared down at the test in disbelief. He and Hermione were going to have their second child.

He closed the door and crouched against the bathroom wall with his head in his hands. He was excited, but the last pregnancy had been tough on Hermione. She had been working long hours trying to get laws passed in favor of magical creatures and he had been gone for most of her pregnancy on missions for the Auror department.

He knew it had been hard on Hermione. She had been alone experiencing her first pregnancy. She had to set up the nursery by herself, attend the birthing classes by herself (Ginny had gone sometimes), and go to all of the appointments by herself while she was working a very demanding job. He knew the stress had caused some complications with her pregnancy, even though Hermione wouldn't admit it.

Rose was almost born two months early. Ron had been gone in Ireland when Hermione started experiencing abnormal bleeding. She had been rushed to the St. Mungo's where they were determined that she was going to give birth that night, but Hermione had stubbornly refused. He had been told that she had argued with her doctor, giving him all sorts of effects that this early of a birth could have on the baby, and almost walked out of the hospital. The Healers ended up having to sedate her.

He couldn't imagine how scared she had probably been. Ron hadn't been able to come home until their undercover mission was complete, which had taken another three weeks.

Fortunately, the sedated sleep had forced Hermione to get some much needed rest; the bleeding stopped and the doctor had stopped pushing for an early delivery. Two months later a beautiful, healthy baby girl was born.

He closed his eyes at the mental images that haunted him of Hermione all alone in the hospital. The fact that he wasn't there for her tormented him. What kind of husband had he been that he wasn't even there for Hermione during one of her most difficult times?

He grabbed at the pregnancy test again and smiled. He was going to make it up to her.

L/B

He knocked loudly on the wooden door and then let himself in. The shiny 'Head Auror' sign glinted as Ron opened the door, the dim lighting in the room a stark comparison to the bright lights in the corridors.

Harry blinked up at him from behind the desk.

"Ron?" he asked, checking his watch. "It's not lunchtime yet, is it?"

"No, I just need to talk to you, Harry."

"Okay, what can I do for you?" Harry asked. He pushed his papers to the side and folded his hands on the desk, giving Ron his undivided attention.

That was one of the things that Ron admired about Harry: no matter what Harry was busy with, he would always give someone as much time as they needed to talk about anything that was bothering them. He made sure that the person felt like they were worth his time.

"Err…" Rom mumbled. He cleared his throat loudly before continuing, "I need to be taken out of the field, Harry."

"What? Why? Is it because of the last mission, because I told you not to beat yourself up about it. We couldn't have known that the small group of convicts had moved on from that location. It wasn't your fault; it was our sources fault, I knew we shouldn't have trusted him."

Ron held up his hand to stop Harry. "No, it isn't that."

"Well, what is it then?"

"Hermione just found out she is pregnant again and I wasn't there for Rose's pregnancy. I missed her birth and I want to be there for this one. I want to be there for Hermione and our baby. I want to go to every doctor's visit, go to the classes with her, and feel the baby's first kicks. I want to be there to help Hermione with Rose. I need to be there for her. I can't let her go through this alone again; last time almost killed her."

Ron's throat constricted with emotion. He couldn't imagine his life without Hermione. She was his rock. He needed to be her rock this time; she deserved it.

Harry quickly got up from behind his desk. He came around to where Ron was and gave him a big hug, clapping him on the back.

"Congratulations, Ron! Of course, anything you need, mate. I completely understand that you need to be there for her. I had no idea what she was going through."

"No one did; you know she doesn't tell anyone when she is suffering. That is why I am going to redeem myself for not being there the first time. I am going to take care of everything and make sure that everything in this pregnancy goes off without a hitch!"

Harry nodded. "Whatever you need, mate! I'll just need to find a replacement for your position and then you will officially be out of the field."

L/B

Ron had left work shortly after his talk with Harry. He had wanted to be home before his wife that evening so he could prepare her dinner.

Ron wasn't the best cook in the kitchen but he was certainly going to try; if he had to take cooking classes to make Hermione's life easier, then he would.

He pulled out one of the cookbooks Hermione used and opened to an earmarked page. Potpies, one of Hermione's favorites.

He quickly grabbed the ingredients and got to work. After he placed the potpie in the oven, he began to leaf through the other ear-marked pages, trying to plan that week's worth of dinners.

He flipped through all of the dinners, each meal looking more and more complicated, before he started to flip open deserts. He placed the book down and sighed. He was going to have to ask Ginny for ideas on easier dinners to make.

He looked back at the picture of cookies that were on the page and an idea began to form. He wanted to cook all of the dinners, but he very much doubted Hermione would let him, but dessert he could be in charge of.

Hermione usually didn't eat many sweets; her parents were dentists and she hadn't been allowed many treats as a child. Ron remembered, however, that Hermione had a very big sweet tooth when she was pregnant with Rose.

He glanced at the clock before shuffling back to the oven. He didn't have much time.

L/B

A short while later, Hermione entered the home, a big smile on her face and Rose cradled in her arms.

"You're home early!" She smiled up at him and placed Rose in her swing.

She came back into the kitchen and sniffed at the air. "Something smells good!"

She peered into the oven and gave a little excited cry at the sight of the potpie's golden, buttery crust.

She licked her lips. "You cooked?"

He nodded. "Yes, why is that such a surprise? You do it all the time."

"Exactly," she said and slapped him playfully on the arm, "I do it all the time."

"Well, now it is my turn. You're growing another tiny person you know."

He dropped down to his knees and placed his head on her flat stomach.

"Don't worry, Daddy is going to take good care of Mommy. In fact, it is going to be so cozy in there that you aren't ever going to want to come out."

Hermione smacked him on the head and laughed. "Don't tell the baby that! I don't want he or she to stay in there any longer than necessary."

Ron grinned up at her and shimmied up her body, planting kisses along the way and making her squirm.

"This baby will come when it's supposed to," he said, kissing her lips. "Everything will be perfect this time, you'll see."

L/B

Ron was making his way through the corridors; he was almost running to get to Hermione's office. He was so excited to surprise her with his treats.

Hermione had been so excited about the cookies last night that he decided to bring them for her for lunch today, as a surprise. He had written her a little love note and really hoped that it would brighten up her day. He knew she was very stressed with work and was being met with a lot of resistance on the new werewolf initiatives that she was trying to get passed. He knew how personally she took these rejections from the council.

He finally saw Hermione's office and saw her through the open door. Her head was hung low and she was furiously scribbling on piece of parchment.

He walked in and saw the normally pristine office filled with more books than usual.

"Hi, Honey," Ron muttered as he tried to find a place to sit.

"Hi, Ron," Hermione mumbled distracted.

"I brought you something!" He dropped the bag of cookies on her desk.

She just frowned at the bag before opening it. Her eyes lit up once she saw what was in them.

"Cookies! Thanks Ron, this is just what I needed!"

He nodded and gave her a quick peck on the lips before leaving her to finish her work.

This routine kept up for the next nine months. Ron would slowly creep to the kitchen while Hermione slept to whip up one of her favorite treats. All traces of baking were gone by the morning, the pots clean and the treats stashed away so Hermione would never know what goodie she was going to get that day. Ron had been lucky that his mom had decided to teach him to bake instead of cook because he didn't think that Hermione's face would light up the same way for a stew as it did for cookies.

He would surprise her with baked goods every day at lunch. He would hand deliver the bag filled with the sweets, and other times he would send it by owl. He always knew it made her day by her note of gratitude in response. She had begun to hang all of his little love notes that he wrote her with each bag along her windowsill and she seemed happier than ever.

Ron was relieved that her stress levels seemed to be low. He was doing everything in his power to make her life easier. He cooked when she let him and cleaned the house. He was currently putting together their second crib and was preparing to paint their third bedroom for a second nursery.

L/B

Ron loved being able to watch Hermione grow throughout her pregnancy. He had been to every doctor's appointment and convinced Hermione to take the classes again with him as a partner.

That weekend he had another surprise for her: another first for them, since he wasn't there the first time. He dragged Hermione into the fireplace and flooed to his parent's house.

A chorus of 'surprise' greeted them as they stepped out of the hearth.

The room was decorated with balloons and blue and pink confetti rained down on them.

"What is this?" she asked, tears streaming down her cheeks; she tended to be more emotional when she was pregnant.

He grinned back at her. "It's your baby shower!"

"What?" She laughed. "You don't get a baby shower for the second kid."

"Well it's my first baby shower, so I guess you get to tag along." He winked at her playfully.

Another fit of tears overwhelmed her and she buried her face in Ron's shirt. "Thank you!" She sobbed. "It means so much to me that you are here."

He rubbed her back and pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. "I am so sorry that I wasn't there the first time around, but I'm here now. I will always be here."

Ron pulled her head away from his chest and wiped the trail of tears away. He gave her a quick kiss and then asked her if she wanted her first present. She nodded her head eagerly. Ron made her place her hands out in front of her and close her eyes. He carefully placed the bag in her outstretched palms and was delighted in her reaction when she realized they were her daily baked goods.

She looked up at him, smiling through her newly formed tears, and smacked him on the arm.

"Dammit Ronald, you made me cry!"

L/B

Hermione was nearing the end of her pregnancy and Ron was getting more and more nervous with each passing day. He hovered around Hermione and helped her with everything that he could. He carried her up the stairs, cooked all meals, cleaned the house, took care of Rose, and did all of the shopping. He had ordered Hermione to bed rest and he was pretty sure that if the baby didn't come soon, he was going to get hexed. While Hermione enjoyed reading, she didn't like relying on someone else, but Ron wasn't going to take any chances.

He was laying in bed with Hermione. His hand was rubbing circles on her belly and she was sighing in contentment.

"Ron?"

"Hmm?" he mumbled.

"I am so glad that you got to be here this pregnancy. It made everything so much easier. You were amazing."

He chuckled. "Anything for you love."

"I'm serious," she said. She tried to roll over to face him but her belly was making it too difficult, and she sighed heavily. "Ron, you have been amazing this pregnancy. I really appreciate it. I'm curious though, why the change, not that I don't appreciate it, but it's been night and day!"

"I know and for that I'm sorry. I knew I needed to make up the last pregnancy to you. It was my fault that… that…" He pulled her closer. "I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you or the baby, Hermione. It would have been all my fault because I wasn't around to help you out." He buried his nose in her hair and took deep breaths, the smell of her shampoo calming him. The lilac scent grounding him, reminding him that she was right there with him. "When I found out you were pregnant I promised myself that I would redeem myself. I would be the best husband ever to make up for everything I've been lacking."

Hermione snuggled closer to him. "And you have been; you've been amazing. I couldn't ask for anything more, except…" she trailed off.

"Except?" he questioned.

"Well… when I'm no longer pregnant am I still going to get those delicious cookies?"

Ron laughed, loud and hearty. "I should nickname you Chip, for all the chocolate chips you eat. I will make you cookies everyday if you want."

"Well, maybe not every day," Hermione said, "but it was still really nice."

They slowly drifted off to sleep.

L/B

A short time later Hermione was tugging on Ron's sleeve, urging him to wake up.

"Ron, it's time!"

He sprung out of the bed and frantically began running around the room, collecting everything they needed for the hospital.

"Ron," Hermione shouted, "Ron, Ron, RON!"

He paused to look at her.

"The bag is already packed, it's in the closet. Now, go drop off Rose at your mother's and then we will go to the hospital."

He nodded and did what he was told.

Thirteen hours later, Ron was cradling a beautiful baby boy in his arms. Little Hugo—Hermione hadn't let him name the baby Chip like he wanted—was sleeping and so was Hermione. Ron was gently bouncing the little boy in his arms and his eyes watered with tears. He was so happy that he decided to make it right this time around; it was such an overwhelming experience. He promised himself that he would always be the best version of himself for his family from now on. They deserved it.