Ginny sighed as she sat down at the bar and sipped her coffee. It was Wednesday night and the usual busy café was silent. There was only two or three customers sitting and having a cup of coffee. Ginny observed them quietly, waiting for closing time.
"I'm off." The other waitress, Gene, said.
'Goodnight." Ginny said as the short, plump woman left the café.
Ginny stared down at her coffee, watching the steam rise from the surface. The bell on the door chimed, causing her to look up.
A tall, blond guy walked in. Ginny smirked to herself as he sat down at the back, corner booth, away from everyone else. She picked up her ticket book and pen and carried it over to his table. She observed him quietly as she approached him. It was the third night he had been in there that week, and he sat at the same booth every night. He smiled as Ginny reached him and took off his cloak. Underneath, he wore a nice blue shirt, with a black tie. He looked like a muggle businessman, which surprised Ginny.
Ginny smiled at the pale face of Draco Malfoy, wanting to laugh. He was one she never expected to be working in muggle business. But, from what she had heard, he was a very successful lawyer there in London, at a big company.
"Hello, what can I get for you?"
Draco eyed her. "Just coffee, please."
Ginny smiled and walked back behind the counter, feeling Draco's eyes on her.
Draco thought quietly as he observed the redhead pouring a hot cup of coffee. She acts like she doesn't even remember me. He sighed. Maybe she doesn't want to remember.
Ginny brought the coffee to him and smiled again. "Is there anything else I can get for you?"
He shook his head. "No, thank you."
Ginny smiled politely and walked over to the other customers, to offer them more coffee.
She sighed as she took someone's money, giving them change and then telling them to have a good night. He was watching her like a hawk. That's all he did when he came in. He sat, drinking coffee and watching her. She wasn't sure why, but he had an interest in watching her. Maybe he knows! She thought, looking over at him as the last of the other customers left. He can't possibly!
Looking up at the clock, it was fifteen minutes until ten o'clock, closing time. Ginny grabbed a towl and began wiping all the tables down. When she neared Draco's booth, she tried not to look at him, but focus on the tables she was cleaning. When she couldn't stand it anymore, she looked up to meet his eyes.
"Can I help you?" She asked, her hands on her hips and eyebrows raised.
Draco smirked. "Maybe."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "What do you want from me, Malfoy?"
He hesitated. He thought for a moment, trying to think of exactly what to say.
"I just want to know…how you've been." He asked, shrugging.
Ginny glared. "Liar."
Draco sighed. "What do you think I want?" He asked her. I haven't heard from you in four years. You just up and left. I want to know what happened, Ginny."
Ginny sighed; crossing her arms over her chest and leaned against a table. "Nothing, Draco." She shrugged. "I just couldn't…we couldn't…"
Draco eyed her, trying to read her expression. "Nothing? You mean, nothing happened. You just didn't want to see me anymore, so you just up and left?"
Ginny shrugged. "No…I…I don't know." She looked down and felt tears began to well up in her eyes. She covered her eyes with one hand, trying to keep the tears from falling. "I don't know…" She said, shaking her head.
Draco sighed. "Don't cry, Gin." He got up and stepped closer, causing her to step back.
Ginny looked up at him, wiping at her tears. "Please."
"What's wrong?" He asked, with concern etched on his face.
She looked at him for a long time, thinking. Should I tell him? Seeing the hurt look on his face, made her want to tell him her secret. He cared. He always had. Why had she left him? No…I can't tell him. Not after nearly four years.
"It's nothing." She said. "Just…stress." Which wasn't a complete lie.
"I guess I'm not helping." He said, stepping closer to her again.
Ginny didn't move away this time. She looked at him, locking her eyes with his. He searched her eyes, looking for anything. Anything that would answer his questions. She couldn't help but melt at his gaze. It had been a long time since she last looked into his eyes and doing it now made her miss him more than ever. She almost stepped closer to him, but stopped herself when she heard the chime of the door opening.
"I'm sorry, we're closed." She said automatically, looking up at the clock, which read five minutes after ten. The man left without a word.
"I guess I'll be going then." Draco said, picking up his cloak.
Ginny sighed as he walked past her and to the door.
"Good night." He said and she didn't reply. She heard the door chime again and turned to watch him through the window.
She watched as he got into a nice, black car and drive away.
Sighing again, Ginny sat down in the booth across from where he had sat. She rested her forehead on her hands and began to cry again.
"What am I going to do?" She said to no one.
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Over the next few days, Draco continued to come into the café at the same time, every night that Ginny worked. Instead of ignoring each other, they made small conversation, about life and what they had done the last couple of years. But still, no matter what, Draco always asked what had happened and why she left him. Ginny never answered and nearly broke out in tears every time. She always held them in until he left. She hated crying in front of him.
"Come on, Kaylee." Ginny said, grabbing her daughter's hand.
She led her through the door to the bank and to the counter, where she withdrew some money and then turned to leave.
"Kaylee, come on." Ginny said to the girl again.
Kaylee wondered over to her mom and then ran ahead to open the door, almost hitting an entering Draco Malfoy.
"Excuse me." Kaylee said politely.
Draco smiled down at the girl and held the door open for her. "No, excuse me." He said, looking up and meeting Ginny's gaze.
"Come on, mommy." Kaylee said.
Draco just looked at her and then back at the small redheaded girl. She had long, red hair and a pale white face, with a few freckled scattered across her nose and cheeks. Draco smiled again. "Hey Ginny. I didn't know you were a mom."
Ginny smiled. "Uh…yeah…I am." She walked over and took Kaylee's hand.
"Mommy, who's that?"
Ginny looked down at her daughter and smiled. "This is Mr. Malfoy, a friend of mommy's."
"Hello, Mr. Malfoy." Kaylee said, blushing.
"Well, Hello." Draco said, smiling at the young girl. He could tell she was Ginny's by the red hair and freckles, but there was something else that stood out, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was. "And what's your name?"
"Kaylee." She said.
"Kaylee?" He said, kneeling down to be eye level with her. "Well that's a pretty name."
"Thank you." She said, blushing again. "How do you know my mommy?"
Draco smiled and looked up at Ginny. "We went to school together."
Ginny swallowed hard. "Yes, sweety. We went to school together." She picked her daughter up and Draco stood again.
"Wow." Kaylee said. "You went to the wizard school too?"
Draco nodded and laughed at the thought of his old school. It was silent then, he and Ginny just looked at each other for a few moments before Kaylee broke the silence.
"Mommy, can we go shopping now?"
Ginny slowly pulled her eyes from Draco's and looked at her daughter. "Yes Kaylee, we can go shopping now."
"Are we getting stuff for the party?"
Ginny nodded and smiled at her daughter.
"Yay!" Kaylee said and then looked at Draco. "Tomorrow I will be four."
"Four?" He said and took a quick glance at Ginny whose heart nearly stopped. "Wow, you're so big."
This caused Kaylee to giggle and blush and she hid her face against her mom's shoulder.
"I guess I should go now." Ginny said, looking back at Draco.
He was giving her a questioning look and she just started to walk away. "Bye."
"Bye." He said solemnly. "Have a good birthday, Kaylee."
Kaylee giggled and waved goodbye to him.
Ginny was glad to leave. She couldn't believe this was happening. Four years and then he just turns up out of no where. This can't be happening. She thought.
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"Yay!" Ginny said as Kaylee blew out the candles on her birthday cake. She giggled and clapped with the other kids.
"Yay!" Kaylee said.
Ginny laughed as Kaylee began to tear into her presents, ooohing and awwing at everything she got.
Smiling brightly, she walked over to Carla, the manager of the cafe. "Thanks for letting us have the party here." She said.
"No problem." Carla said. "She's so happy."
Ginny watched her daughter. "I know." She sighed and thought of Draco. If only I could make her happier and tell her...
"So." Said Carla. "I've seen that blond man come in here almost every night to see you." She elbowed Ginny and wiggled her eyebrows.
Ginny laughed and shook her head. "No. It's not like that."
"Who is he?"
Ginny sighed before answering. "An...old friend." Then she looked back at Kaylee longingly.
Carla frowned. "What do you mean...and old friend?"
Ginny looked at Carla and shrugged. "An old friend. That's it."
Carla glared. "Liar."
Ginny frowned back and then looked back at her daughter who was happily eating a piece of cake with her friends.
"Ginerva." Carla demanded.
She looked back at her boss. "It's nothing...well...it doesn't matter."
Carla gave her a stern look as Ginny walked back over to her daughter.
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An hour or so later, Ginny sighed, looking down at her daughter, sleeping soundly in the booth. She reached down and smoothed her hair back I'm sorry... She thought.
The door chimed and Ginny looked up. There he was again, on time as ususal. She looked at him, but couldn't smile. She only stared as he stood for a moment and ran a hand through his white/blond hair. Then he went and sat at his usual booth. Carla went to take his order when she noticed Ginny didn't move. After she took him his coffee, she went over to Ginny.
"What's wrong Ginny?"
Ginny looked up abruptly, out of the trance she was in. "Oh...uh...nothing." She then straightened herself back up and began to finish cleaning things up from the party.
"Come talk to me, Ginny."
"Why?" She said, not looking up.
Carla was silent for a moment and then touched Ginny's arm. When she looked up at her Carla saw tears in Ginny's eyes. Carla sighed and pulled her gently, leading her to the next room.
"Kaylee." Ginny whispered and then Carla went back and locked the front door, turning the sign so that it read 'closed.'
"She'll be fine." She said, pushing Ginny gently into the kitchen. She didn't hesitate at all. "Does he know?"
Ginny closed her eyes and shook her head to clear it. "What?"
"Don't play stupid, Ginerva Weasley." Carla argued. "Does that man out there, sitting in the booth, know that Kaylee is his daughter?"
Ginny looked up at Carla. "What...how did you...?"
Carla sighed and shook her head. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out." She explained. "Besides the way you act about him, I'd say Kaylee looks somewhat like him. It's the pale face."
Ginny couldn't hold back her tears, so she closed her eyes and shook her head. "No...he doesn't know."
"Ginny." Carla said, pulling her employee into a hug. "Why not?"
Ginny sobbed uncontrollably into Carla's shoulder. "I...I just...never told him. I left him when I found out."
Carla took Ginny by the shoulders and pushed her away, so she could look at her. "Why?"
"It's a stupid, long, story."
"And I have all the time in the world."
Ginny sighed. "Ok." Then she explained the whole long story of Draco Malfoy at shcool and then after the war, how they got really close. She explained about their relationship and then about when she found out she was pregnant and left him. When she was done, Carla just stared at her for a while.
When she finally spoke, it was quietly and she took both of Ginny's hands in her own. "You have to tell him. You have to tell Kaylee." She said. "You can't let Kaylee grow up without her father and you can't not let Draco be a part of Kaylee's life."
Ginny nodded. "I know. But it's so hard. I don't know if he'll ever forgive me for it."
Carla sighed. "He will. I know he will."
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It took Ginny a while to compose herself so she could go back out into the dining area. When she saw Kaylee sitting up on the counter, Draco standing next to her, she almost burst into tears again. Carla walked past her and up to Kaylee.
"How would you like to come home with me tonight, so you can play with Tristin?"
Kaylee's eyes lit up. "Tristin! Yay, can I mommy?"
Ginny smiled at her daughter and nodded. She walked over and hugged her as she still sat on the counter. She didn't realize how close she was to Draco at first.
"You be good for Carla, you hear me."
Kaylee nodded. "I will mommy." She said and then frowned, reaching up to touch Ginny's face. "Have you been crying, mommy?"
"No sweety, mommy's just tired."
"Ok." Kaylee said and then jumped into her mom's arms.
Ginny put Kaylee down and she ran to Carla and grabbed her hand. "Come on, aunt Carla, I wanna go play with Tristin."
Ginny smiled as she watched them leave and locked the door again when they were gone. She looked out the window for a moment before turning to face Draco. He was still leaning up against the counter, looking at her. He sood up straight and put his hands in his pockets and then walked forward a step or two.
Before Ginny could stop them, tears were rolling down her face again. She crossed her arms over her chest and walked closer to him. They were still a couple of feet apart, but any closer and Ginny would feel too uncomfortable.
Shaking her head, Ginny finally broke the silence. "I don't even know how to start." She put a hand over her face as the tears began to fall quicker. It was silent for only a second and then Draco spoke.
"Then don't." He said quietly.
Taking her hand from her face, Ginny looked up at him. "What?"
"Don't start." He said. "I know what this is all about. There's no hiding it, Ginny." He shook his head a laughed lightly.
Ginny wiped at her tears as more streamed into their place. "You figured it out. How?"
Draco smiled. "She may be a redhead and have freckles like her mommy, but I can still see some of me in her. Light skin." He said quietly. "The nose..." He laughed lightly again. "She's adorable."
Ginny couldn't help but smile. "She is. She's beautiful."
Draco nodded. "Yes, she is. Just like her mom."
Ginny shook her head. "Not exactly."
"Don't lie, Gin." He said, stepping closer. It was quiet for a while and they only looked at each other. Ginny thought she was going to faint. She couldn't believe this was happening. This wasn't supposed to happen.
"Can you tell me one thing?" He said suddenly and she nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Ginny shook her head, crying even more. "I couldn't." She whispered. "I was scared."
"Of what?" He asked.
She wiped at more tears. "Everything." She thought for a moment before continuing. "But mainly of how you would react when you found out."
Draco frowned. "How do you think I would've reacted."
She shrugged. "I don't know. I thought you would be mad."
"Mad?" He said. "How could I be mad?"
She shrugged again. "I don't know." She said. "I just didn't want you to be. So I thought it was better if I just kept it to myself."
Draco shook his head and reached his hand up to touch Ginny's face. He wiped at her tears. "I could never be mad at you, Gin." He whispered. "Never."
Her tears were unstopable now and she began to sob.
"Please stop crying, Gin." He said, and without thinking, he pulled her into a hug.
Her arms immediately went around his back and up over his shoulders to hold on. Draco held her tight against his chest, tangling his hands in her long, red hair. They stood for a long time in each other's arms before he finally spoke.
He whispered in her ear. "Do you want to know what I would've done when you told me you were pregnant?"
It took her a second, but Ginny finally pulled away slightly and looked up. She nodded.
Smirking, Draco pulled away just enough so that he could cup one of her cheeks in his hand and lower the other to her back. Then he kissed her. Ginny's knees nearly gave out from under her. He kissed her with more passion than she had ever felt before. The shock that went through her body livened her up and she brought her hands to the back of his neck. She deepened the kiss and sighed heavily. She thought he was never going to pull away and she didn't think it would kill her if he didn't. But when he did, she held onto him for a moment and rested her forehead on his shoulder. He held her there, not wanting to let go again.
"But what would you have said." Ginny said suddenly, looking up to meet his eyes.
Smiling, Draco brought his other hand up to wipe more tears from her face. "I would have said I love you, Gin and that I couldn't wait to be the father of our child."
This brought more tears to Ginny's eyes and Draco continued to brush them away with his thumbs.
"Really?"
Draco nodded. "Really. I loved you Ginny. And I never stopped loving you after you left." He waited for a moment before he continued. "That's why I came looking for you. And when I found you...I couldn't get enough of you. That's why I come back every night."
Ginny smiled. "You know, you kind of creeped me out, how you just watched me for days."
Draco laughed. "Sorry."
"Don't be." Ginny shook her head. "I should be sorry. I should have told you. It would have made things a lot easier."
Draco shrugged. "Yes it would have. And I would have loved to see Kaylee grow. But don't blame yourself."
Ginny sighed and then smiled Brightly. Draco couldn't help but to brush his lips against her's again. It was short and sweet, but it got the point across. When he pulled away again, Ginny spoke.
"Come with me." She took his hand and pulled him with her towards the door.
She grabbed her keys and locked the door behind them.
"Where are we going?"
Ginny stopped and turned to face him again. She smiled up at him, her face free from tears. "Home."
At this Draco pulled her lips to his again, in a deep kiss. He nearly picked her up he was holding her so close. "Please tell me you're not lying." He said when they pulled apart.
"No, Draco." She said seriously. "Come back with me. There's some things I want to show you."
Draco smiled. "As long as I get to show you something too." Ginny giggled and pulled him to her car.
