Still don't own Harry Potter, ah, me. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

AN: Don't think that all is happy and well in the land of Ron-Hermione. Things will get shaky off and on from here until the end, but for the most part I'm trying to project a mature, sensible Ron. He'll have outbursts here and there, but I figure that if he really loves Hermione he won't let anything tear him away from her (especially since he's the lucky one, heh).

Ron watched me surreptitiously while I fiddled with the teakettle. The custard boxes lay discarded on the counter and now it was time for tea...if I could ever get through the motions. I finally turned around and crossed my arms, feeling very self-conscious. His handkerchief was still balled up in one hand and I was wiping at my eyes every few minutes, though I'd mostly gotten my nerves under control.

"Hermione," he sighed. "Hermione, will you at least look at me?"

"You're the one staring at me like I'm some freak," I muttered softly.

"Look, I'll close my eyes if that helps," he offered and I snuck a look at him over my shoulder to find him leaning against the island, chin in one hand, eyes closed. I smiled a little.

"Oh, stop it," I said and his eyes immediately flew open and searched out mine.

"Come on, Hermione. Don't be upset with me. I'm sorry I've put you in this position- if I'd owled you about the accident, or let Ginny or Mum tell you, you never would have gone out and pulled some perfect stranger. It's my fault and I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you, at all."

I sniffed and snuck another look at him. I still hadn't told him the hardest part, though we'd been discussing it off and on for almost an hour. We'd talk cordially for ten minutes, then one of us would get upset- usually me, which was a total surprise. I guess I hadn't spent enough time around Ron the last year or so to realize how well he'd matured, but he had. He was taking it all incredibly calmly and I was ashamed at myself for my own behavior. I could have beaten his hospitalization out of Ginny quite easily if I'd cared enough to know; instead I'd sat around and sulked that he hadn't contacted me and then gone and slept with someone I didn't even want to sleep with, just to have some sort of personal satisfaction- yes, I was thoroughly ashamed of myself. It just went to show how much I really still cared about him, that I'd acted like such a simpering, whiny idiot. Like such a girl.

At any rate, once I got upset, then I'd burst into tears all over again and Ron would spend the next five minute calming me down or talking me out of the bathroom. It would have been endearing if I hadn't felt like such a fool. I twisted the handkerchief around my fingers and stared hard at the kitchen counter.

"The thing is, Ron, he wasn't a perfect stranger," I finally confessed and I could hear him straighten up. I turned to face him, though I kept my eyes downcast.

"Was it someone you know?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes," I said and bit my lip. I could feel the tears starting up again.

He exhaled and I looked up at him. He was staring at the counter now, both his hands curled into tight fists.

"Was it someone I know?"

"Yes," I replied quickly, bringing the handkerchief to my mouth and stifling a sob. "If it helps at all, I've regretted it ever since."

He still wasn't looking at me. Oh, dear. This could get bad.

"It's just that, it could get awkward if we see each other and I don't know, couldn't it?" he said, almost to himself. Then he looked up at me sharply. "Do I want to know?"

I shook my head. "But you probably-"

"Ought to know, yeah. I figured that. Well, it can't get much worse, can it? Who was it? Malfoy?" he cracked, his lips stretched into a weak smile, brows raised.

I burst into tears again.

"Oh, bloody hell," Ron said loudly. "Not him- I was joking. Hermione, you didn't- just because I didn't owl you? What were you thinking? That ferrety bastard! I'll kill him! What in Merlin's name were you-"

"I wasn't thinking, clearly!" I shrieked at him, unable to help myself. "If I'd been thinking I would have realized we weren't locked in your mother's pantry, either, wouldn't I? I think we've already established the fact several times over that I wasn't thinking, Ronald! And now I'm the one who has to deal with the consequences, regardless of what you think about my not thinking!" I yelled before running back down the hall and shutting myself in the bathroom, sobbing into his already well used handkerchief.

I heard him stomp down the hall after me. "Hermione," he called through the door. "Come on out. Don't do this again- I just want to talk. Come on, please?"

"Not if you're going to y-yell at me about my s-stupid choices again!" I cried out, blubbering away. "I already feel enough like an- an idiot- without y-you telling me how dumb I've b-been!"

He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry for implying you're stupid, Hermione. You know I think you're the smartest witch alive, you know that. I was just shocked, that's all. Merlin knows I've no right to judge you. You've seen all those notices about my dates in the paper, haven't you? Come on, I've made plenty of mistakes, too. More than just one, anyway. Hermione? Come on out."

The teakettle began whistling shrilly in the background and he swore and stomped away. I thought I heard a crash and unlocked the door long enough to see him stomping back towards me. I shut the door again.

"Hermione, please…" he begged again. "I think I maybe broke your teakettle. Come out and let me take you to get a new one. Hermione?"

"Just use Reparo," I suggested, still sniffling.

"Aw, Hermione…"

He sounded so sad that I finally opened the door a crack.

"How many?" I asked.

"How many what?" he replied, momentarily confused.

"How many mistakes have you made?" I said slowly.

He shouldered the door open. "Hermione Granger-"

"Well?" I insisted, stomping my foot and glaring up at him as he invaded the bathroom.

He looked to the ceiling and muttered a number. My jaw dropped.

"How many?"

"Hermione, don't be mad-"

"I daresay that trumps one ill experience with the likes of Draco Malfoy, doesn't it? After all, he probably doesn't even remember that night whereas I'm sure all those witches will never forget their special time with you, will they?" I retorted before pushing past him and heading out to the kitchen.

"That's what I was trying to say earlier," he whined as he followed me out. "I've got no right to judge you- I've made more mistakes, by far."

I huffed and spelled the teakettle aright before pouring out some of the still hot water into mugs.

"You forgot the tea," Ron pointed out and I shrieked again, dumped the kettle in the sink and stomped out to the living room.

"Go away," I said, curling up into a corner of the sofa.

"Hermione," he said and sat down beside me. I curled further away from him. He sighed and sat forward, his arms on his knees. "I am sorry for reacting that way," he told me quietly. "And I'm sorry for all of my own mistakes. Things were casual between us, weren't they?"

I nodded and turned my head away, tucking it into my arms.

"Well, I didn't know what to think when you said that. I knew I still loved you, but I wanted to give you space. And the longer it went on, the more I thought you might never come back around, so I figured I should try to move on, too. But that's all they were. They didn't compare to you. No one compares to you," he added with feeling. "I told you, I meant what I said at the wedding. You're the most beautiful witch I've ever been with and ever will be with. How could I ever stop loving you, just because you made one mistake?"

I slowly turned my head back and eyed him. "You really mean that."

He looked back at me, his freckled face the most serious I'd ever seen it, save the year we were on the run. "I do," he said and a shiver ran up my spine.

"And you mean it about the baby, too? About wanting to be with me?"

"Of course I do," he replied and turned towards me. "Haven't I just spent the last hour convincing you I mean it?" He sighed and unfolded my arms from the tops of my knees and took my hands in his. "I love you, Hermione. It wouldn't be much of a love if I wasn't willing to take you the way you are. And that includes the little one you've got inside you right now." His eyes softened and I felt my heart melting. "Whoever we've been with before now, none of it matters. It's been you and me for a long time in my mind and that's not going to change. Please, let's at least give this a try. Let me help you, for once. I know I've been a complete moron in the past, but we're both adults now. I've grown up. I'm not going to leave you just because I don't like someone you slept with when we weren't even together. I promise."

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes again and nodded. "Okay," I whispered. He hugged me to him despite our awkward positions and I rested my head on his shoulder. "But, Ron," I murmured, "what if it's not yours? That wouldn't be fair to you. I don't know what I'll do if-"

"For right now," he said sternly, hushing me, "that baby is mine. I've promised I'll take care of you, yeah? Well, I mean the both of you," he said firmly. "We're going to make a go of it, you and me. I'll love him- or her," he added hastily when he felt me stiffen, "no matter what. The same way I love you."

I was embarrassed, grateful and overwhelmed. I didn't think I'd ever see the day where Ron Weasley would use the L word so many times, or show such grace in his opinions and forgiveness. I was astounded and wondered, not for the first time that day, where my head had been the last few years. How had I missed Ron's metamorphosis into manhood? He'd been one of my best friends for so long and my love interest for nearly as long that I'd stopped seeing him as the man he was and continued to think of him as the boy I'd known since I was a girl. But he was all grown up now and he still wanted me. Better yet, he still wanted me and the baby, no matter what. I was sure it would be different if, when it was born, it had pale blond hair and grey eyes, but for now I was willing to drift in a daydream with him. I was willing to let him be the man he'd become. He deserved my notice and my respect in that much. I snuggled further against his shoulder and closed my eyes, feeling him pull me even closer. He leaned over and kissed the top of my head and my heart fluttered.

For the first time in years, I felt that I was exactly where I needed to be, despite the intruder nestled deep inside me. I smiled wryly and sent some words his- or her- way.

I'll love you no matter whose you are, I told it. But do you think that maybe, just maybe, you could be Ron's? Pretty please? Thanks so much, baby.

Yours, Mummy.