Chapter 4

Rook snored calmly on the shoulder of her cherished comrade Lucy, trying to make up for misplaced sleep. Neville's tall stature graced the hall as he approached the two girls seated in the waiting room. Rook couldn't stand to sit in that mind-numbing, unadorned, colorless room any longer and contentedly rested nearby Lucy.

"Ladies?" He whispered.

Lucy's blue eyes shot up into the green of Neville's as he smiled down at her.

"She's… sleeping…" she gulped in nervousness.

"Would you help her into the room please? Come on. Here we go. Up…" Neville pulled Rook up by the hands and fixed her in his arms.

Lucy hopped atop the exam table and pulled Rook with her. Although Rook's eyes were open, her mind was undoubtedly elsewhere; giving her the look of demise and bewilderment combined to obliterate her.

"Rook?" Neville called, gently stroking her chin to rouse her from her trance. She looked up fixedly at him. Lucy watched and couldn't help but feel a slight trickle of jealousy. But she understood his connection with her went farther back than her short-lived moments with him.

Rook sniffled unconscientiously trying her finest to hide her apprehension. She looked up at Neville with such dread that he raised his hand to her face once more and soothingly pulled a tear away from her cheek with his thumb.

"Are you ready for the results?" he sweetly asked her.

Rook's hands flew to her face. She breathed heavily. It was either now or never. She nodded nervously with shaking hands.

Neville handed Rook the manila folder that held the very blood of her next move in life. She opened it and slowly turned to Lucy fully engulfed in hot tears. Lucy embraced her friend heart fully. As Neville stood silently, Lucy looked questionably at him, with such a hurt and confusion in her heart that it sent him to tears as well.

Jin moaned deep in his throat as Raven saddled him, engulfing him between her legs. She held tightly to his chest in pleasure and screamed out in an ear splitting orgasm.

"Shit…" she moaned, falling limp on him. She laughed sweetly in his ear and bit him gently on the neck.

"One more round?" she asked.

"No…" Jin said simply, attempting her removal.

"Please?" she begged licking at his pierced nipples.

"No. You're going to kill me. I have nothing left… please Raven, let me breathe." Jin flipped her onto her back and kissed her sweetly on the lips. As he rose there was a knock at the bedroom door.

"Yes? Blaise what is it?" Raven called attempting to keep Jin atop her.

"I'm leaving now…" he responded from the other side of the door.

"Where ya' going?" Raven hopped up wrapping herself in the white sheet that she and Jin were just in. Jin took this opportunity to dart to the bathroom and bar the door.

Raven swung the door open with such force that it sent the large vase that sat on the dresser behind it crashing to the floor.

"I'm going to the grocery store. I'm cooking dinner tonight. Remember?" Blaise smiled.

"Yep… I want to come. Wait for me." Raven ran strait into the bathroom door, expecting it to be unlocked. "Shit!" she grabbed her clothes and headed for Blaise's bathroom.

Blaise sat quietly on the sofa rubbing his hands together, trying to get the pins and needles tingle out of them. Within moments Jin and Raven emerged from the rooms fully dressed and ready to go, Jin just finding out about the trip. The car ride over to the local grocers was a stressful one for Blaise. Having to sit in the car with Raven and Jin as they kissed and sucked at each other's faces and talk endlessly about how sex was, gave him a migraine.

"I call the cart!" Raven laughed as she and Jin fought over who would push the cart and who would ride in it.

Blaise shook his head and grabbed a metal cart of his own. Pushing it half heartedly down several isles, he allowed his mind to wander. He thought about the young girl who shared his bed the night before and felt a little guilty at pushing her out of the door so eagerly. After all, she had done nothing to him and nothing for him for that matter. His loins cringed at the relapse of her pale thin body bouncing loosely above him; him, wanting to vomit. He reached over to the pile of tomatoes in disgust and forced several of them into his cart, bruising them in the process. He gathered several ripe vegetables before his attention was altered to Jin and Raven crashing into a barrel of potatoes; the cart lying askew on its side, wheels still spinning. Several people came to help while others laughed and most looked on in disgust.

Blaise rounded the corner quickly to escape glances from the two, but found himself slammed into the cart of another person.

"Shit!" she yelled.

"Oh, I'm so sorry ma'am…" his voice trailed off as he looked up. He stared face to face with Rook, with nothing but shinning silver grocery carts separating them. "Rook…"

She turned and walked away leaving her cart in the middle of the isle. He went after her. Grabbing her hand, he spun her around.

"Rook? Where on earth have you been?"

"Don't you fucking touch me!" she yanked away, the look in her eyes filled with hatred. Grabbing her again, he pulled her to him.

"No!" she screamed. "Get off of me! You son of a bitch! Let me go!"

"No… Rook, stop it! Listen to me. Please…" Blaise pleaded with her, but still she fought. His hand clasped strongly over her mouth and his arm around her waist, Blaise pulled Rook to the rear of the store and through two large rubber doors. The dank area smelled of sour milk and cheap toilet bowl cleaner, causing the life within her to stir in discomfort.

"Stop fighting me! I won't hurt you!" Blaise demanded with tears lining his eyes. Rook moaned against his sweating hand, jerking violently against him.

"Please… Rook, stop crying." His hand slid softly onto her gravid belly and he peered up at her in question. Rook continued to shed tears as she shut her eyes to him. He removed his hand from her mouth and smoothed his hands over her belly.

"I'm sorry Rook… I'm sorry for everything I did and all that I failed to do. Please… I know that I can't take it all back but I can't survive like this. I can't be in this world knowing that there was more I could've done to keep you with me… to make you stay." Blaise's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Yes Blaise! Like help me when I asked you to! Trust me when I told you what was happening! And not call me out if my name because you can't come to terms with your girlfriend being raped by your cousin! Blaise, you left me alone to deal with the hurt and the pain. Not one time did you come back for me. You sat and allowed him to break me. You let him break me… I am broken…" Rook cried furiously clutching to the front of his shirt. She rested her head on him in tears as he rubbed her aching back and stomach. He couldn't take it any longer… grabbing her jaw he kissed her genuinely on the lips, sending them both to whimper. She pulled away.

"I must go…" she sighed incredulously.

"No…" Blaise stopped her and placed his hands on her belly again. He looked at her, remembering the stunning jade that stood out so vibrantly from the hazel brown of her eyes.

"I don't know…" she sighed looking down at her round tummy as if reading his mind.

Blaise was prepared and ready to face actuality and truth; that the infant Rook now carried was most likely not his, but his aggressive, wicked cousin's. Tears filled his eyes in sadness. What had he done to her? Why didn't he trust his own judgment when she came to him for help? He should've been there for her.

"Are you here alone?" she silently asked wiping the tears from his eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

"No…" he sighed, inhaling the scent of her shirt. She smelled beautiful to him, as she always had. "Raven and Jin are here too. Would you like me to take you to them?" his hands slid to hers and squeezed kindly. Rook nodded wiping yet another stream of tears from his handsome caramel face.

"Blaise Zabini, if you are in the store, would you please report to customer services please? Thank you!" the loud speaker sounded.

Rook began to laugh finally realizing that the two idiots that smashed into the produce department were her own sister, Raven, and Blaise's best friend, Jin.

"Come on. I'll go with you." Rook pulled him along.

At the desk, Raven sat with her lips poked far out of her face giving her the silly look of a goldfish, with Jin handcuffed to a chair, his eyes burning black; never a good thing with him. Raven looked over at him and noticed the state of his eyes. Jin's eyes only turned black when he was extremely upset with something. Raven cringed, noticing how much he resembled his father, Achilles Octavius, King of Samoa. Along with a crown, Jin had the bad luck of inheriting his father's trademark eyes. The gradient of eyes was often passed down through the men in the Octavius family tree and Jin's DNA so graciously snitched the bright and breathtaking gold. Although they were breathtaking, they were also a window into his emotions; lightening at pleasure and happiness and darkening at anger, sadness and frustration.

"Jin? Baby?" Raven whispered to him in concern. Jin continued to stare ahead of him until Blaise stepped up to speak.

"Hello. I am Blaise. I was called…"

"Do they belong to you?" an annoyed store clerk remarked. It was clear why she was annoyed; it was she who would have to clean up the mess. Jin shot her deathly glares from his seat and Rook couldn't help but laugh. Raven looked up finally noticing her sister. He eyes grew wide as she jumped up from her seat and hugged Rook tightly, being sure not to press onto her tummy. When she finally pulled away after several moments, Rook noticed that she was crying. She smiled to her little sister and giggled softly pulling her into another hug.

"You're huge!" Raven exclaimed. Rook loved her sister's honesty. "What are you carrying, a moose?" she smiled not being able to let her go.

"I missed you Raven…" Rook spoke softly so as not to interrupt the conversation Blaise was having with the store manager over some paperwork.

Raven let her go quickly and darted past her into Neville's open arms. She screamed as he spun her happily around and kissing her generously on her cheeks.

Letting her down, he walked over to Rook, "I came as soon as I heard his name. Are you alright? I was kind of afraid that you were going to sock him or something and then get yourself locked up?" he laughed.

"Yes, I'm fine thanks. I came over here with him." Rook looked over Neville's shoulder at her sister as she stared Lucy up and down in possible curiosity or even spite.

"Hi…" Lucy said.

"Hey…" Raven suppressed a rather mean joke. She grunted unattractively.

"Raven, this is my friend Lucy. Lucy, this is my sister Raven."

"Just your sister? More like best friend." She pushed emphasizing the word best.

"Raven…" Rook warned.

Behind them Jin slammed hard into a wall as Blaise pushed him.

"You two aught to be ashamed of yourselves; acting like children." Blaise chastised them both with fatherly looks.

"Oh shut up Blaise." Raven shot walking over to her sister and grabbing her by the hand. "Come on…" she said also grabbing Lucy.

"Where are you going?" Jin asked recovering from his encounter with the wall.

"Noneya'…" Raven replied smartly. The three girls walked away quickly, well, in Rook's case, waddled, leaving the boys looking confusedly at one another. Rook looked back at Blaise in apologies.

"So Neville? What have you been up to lately? How's life treating you?" Jin asked after several moments of silence among them.

"Life's good… I'm a Medical doctor now, and an Obstetrician. I'm also Rook's personal doctor."

Blaise shot hateful looks his way.

Neville continued. "I have been treating muggle ailments more so than magical. I don't know... it's somewhat of a challenge for me you know. Muggles are so frail." He laughed.

"Is that Lucy girl your latest catch?" Jin asked laughing.

"No…" Neville laughed along, "She's Rook's friend. I just met her not too long ago. I've been talking to her on our down time from taking care and mostly looking after Rook. She's a really pleasant girl. I'm thinking about asking her out." He smiled nervously.

Blaise followed along in awkward silence. His mind raced with thoughts of the future and the child that was by majority, probably not belonging to his blood. His head began to hurt him and he detoured and headed for a deserted isle of the grocery store. He stood flat against a shelf of different cereals and closed his eyes to the tears that pushed themselves out of him. He breathed heavily and tried to gather himself. Blaise wiped his face and stood up straight, gathered the things for dinner and got into the unusually short line. He looked up. Raven, Lucy, Jin and Neville laughed and joked, muted by the sliding doors. But Rook stood to the side, silently staring at the doors in urgency. She looked through them as someone exited and caught Blaise's eyes pleadingly. All of a sudden the line wasn't moving fast enough for him. He wanted, needed to get to her and hold her. Just to touch her, or look into her eyes would clear just a handful of hurt he was feeling. But still she waited patiently. She shot him a sweet grin.