Wife

Chapter Four

Watching and Waiting

A/N I know that I have not posted since May of last year. However I thought I was going to have the chance for a first hand account of some of the stuff Ginny will be going through in the next few chapters. However I was wrong. So I had to go back to this chapter and rewrite what I had, but never posted. And while the story will still be the same, I will be more vague than I had first planned. Anyway, you might want to go back and read the first three chapters to refresh your memory of the story!

It had been three months of trying to get pregnant and as Ginny rinsed out her bloody panties, she wept. Her period arrived again this morning. She was already hating this cycle: get your period, wait the right number of days, then make love to Lucius, and then wait for two more weeks. On one hand, she would look forward to the day her period was due, hoping it wouldn't come, yet on the other, she would dread the day because of what it meant if there was blood. Then the cycle would start all over again.

That night after dinner, Ginny looked at Lucius knowing she had to tell him. She felt like a complete failure. "Lucius, I got my period again," she said meekly.

He looked up at his wife. One part of him was disappointed, the other part was pleased, for it meant one more month of just the two of them. Yes, he wanted another child, but he also enjoyed this time alone with his wife. He was never good at sharing. "Your time will come when it's right."

"I know, but I was really hopeful this time."

One week later, Ginny was having lunch with Luna Lovegood; the two women had remained close after Hogwarts. "I'm still not pregnant," Ginny related after they sat down.

"Well Ginny, it's only been a few months," came Luna's optimistic reply.

"But Luna, I'm a Weasley! I should have gotten pregnant just by Lucius looking at me," Ginny sadly responded.

"Well, if you're worried, maybe it's time to see a healer. They can do things to help."

That night, when Ginny was at home, she received a Floo call from Lucius. "Ginevra, I want to stay late to finish up with a few issues that have come up."

Ginny smiled into the fireplace. "Thanks for letting me know what's going on."

"Not a problem, my dear. If you need anything, feel free to Floo me here at the office."

Ginny woke up a few weeks later and remembered her period was due today. She already knew that it had yet to arrive; it was only ever a day or two late at most. As day one passed with nothing, Ginny tried not to get her hopes up. On the second morning without any blood, she began to wonder if it was too early to try that test that was sitting under the sink in the bathroom. She told herself she would wait a few more days before testing, but as two days turned to three, she could no longer stand it and finally took the test. She stood watching it, waiting for the results. When it came up negative, she believed that she had just done the test too soon. On night seven, Ginny woke up and knew her monthly friend had arrived. She quickly rose from bed and headed to the bathroom to clean herself up. By the time she closed the door, she was sobbing; crying for a child that never existed. She had already been looking so forward to this baby! And now there was nothing. She allowed herself to get her hopes up for nothing! The test had been right. Why didn't she just believe it?

After ten minutes in the bathroom, she heard a knock on the door, followed by, "Ginevra? Are you okay in there?" Instead of words, only a sob escaped. Lucius then opened the door to find this wife sitting on the toilet, sobbing. As he took in the scene in front of him, the red blood in her underwear explained it all. "Ginevra, it just wasn't meant to be this time." He knelt down in front of her and pulled her close. "It will happen, and when it does, the baby will be the luckiest baby ever to have you for a mother. And all of this will just make you love our child that much more." Instead of his words helping, they only seemed to make it worse; she just cried harder. He held her for a long time, feeling bad himself. Had he just left Narcissa earlier, then Ginevra would have never lost the other baby and they wouldn't be going through this now.

After his legs began to fall asleep, he spoke again. "Let's get you cleaned up." He rose from in front of her, stepped towards the shower, and turned it on. After adjusting the temperature, he stepped back to her and got her to stand up. He then removed the night shirt she wore and his own boxers, then led her into the shower. They remained under the water for an hour before she finally stopped crying.

The next morning at breakfast, neither spoke of the night before. As Lucius rose from the table, he said, "I won't be home till very late tonight. You shouldn't wait up for me."

Ginny smiled at him. "Is that deal you're working on causing you a lot of headaches?"

He was pleased Ginevra took an interest in his business. "Yes, however it's nothing I can't handle."

Over a month later, Ginny was at the Burrow for the monthly Sunday brunch. Lucius never came to these; he usually spent this time with Draco. Ginny was the first to arrive this time. She was helping Molly with things in the kitchen. Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived shortly after. "Harry and Ron, it's such a lovely day. Would you two mind setting up the tables outside for me? And Hermione, once they're done, could you set the table?" Hermione was a skilled witch, but she was a total disaster in the kitchen and was always given the job of setting the table.

"Sure, she sleeps now!" Fleur could be heard commenting as she, Bill, Victorie, and four month old Dominique entered the house.

"Did she fall asleep on the way over?" Molly asked.

"Yes! I swear, dat baby is de only person in de world 'oo can fall asleep when Apparating! But she should sleep now; she was up crying all night!" Fleur said, exasperated. "Bill, take 'er upstairs. I would radder she sleep in de morning dan later today. 'Opefully, she will sleep tonight."

"Oh, the joys of being a mother!" Molly smiled.

"I'm sorry, Molly. I'm just really cranky, I tink I got about one 'our of sleep last night."

Ginny had followed Bill upstairs and watched him. As he tried to lay the baby down, she began to fuss. "Shh, my little angel," Bill whispered, but the baby didn't stop.

"Bill, let me," Ginny offered, whispering.

"No Ginny, she's my problem." His words killed Ginny. This was a baby! The most precious gift in the world!

"Really Bill, I don't mind."

Bill shook his head. "You know, they're not as much fun as they seem. You're lucky you don't have one yet." He wasn't being insensitive; Ginny hadn't told her family that she and Lucius were trying to get pregnant.

As the baby became more upset, Ginny softly ordered, "Go visit with the family. I will see if I can get her to sleep."

Bill shrugged his shoulders and said, "If you're sure."

Ginny moved closer to the crib that was set up at the Burrow and scooped up the baby. She then heard the door close behind Bill. "Come here, Dominique. Auntie Ginny has you now." Ginny's face was as wet as the baby's. She sat in the rocking chair that was in the room and sang a low, soft lullaby. As she held the tiny baby, who soon fell back asleep, she began to think that the little one's problem was that Fleur had been overly anxious to put her down when she only wanted to be held.

Over an hour later, Oliver poked his head into the room. "There's the most beautiful woman I have ever seen!" he whispered. He and Charlie took advantage of the family finding out about Ginny and Lucius to come out. The two now were regular visitors at the Manor as well. "Molly asked me to come up and find you."

"Just let me lay her down." Ginny moved towards the crib and laid the baby down. Then she and Oliver stepped out of the room.

"You want to talk about it?" Oliver and Charlie were the only family that knew.

"You should have heard both Bill and Fleur earlier."

"Oh, sweetie," he cooed, shaking his head. "Don't let it upset you. I know it's hard."

"Has Lucius attended a lot of games lately?"

"A few. You know, you should join him sometimes; the girls would love to see you."

"Maybe I will. Let's head down."

"Ginny, there's something I wanted to tell you. We're adopting a little girl from Sri Lanka! It's still going to take a few months, but we received her picture." He pulled out a non-moving photo of an adorable native toddler. "Both her parents were killed in the war there. Muggle aid workers found her sleeping next to her dead mother."

"Oh God."

"Yeah, I know. It is believed that she has magical potential, but we don't want to tell everyone until right before we go and get her."

"Oh, I'm so happy for you!" Ginny stated, grinning a little too strongly.

Ron came part way up the stairs. "You know some of us want to eat today!"

Later, once almost everyone had finished eating, Percy stood up. "Everyone, if I could have your attention!"

"Percy, I told you before; I don't care about standard cauldron thickness," George called out, which earned him a disapproving frown from Percy, but laughter from many others.

"Audrey and I have an announcement. We hadn't planned on this and we wanted to wait at least three more years, but... Audrey is expecting our first child!"

The table erupted in congratulations. As Percy was talking, however, Oliver reached under the table and took hold of Ginny's hand, giving it a squeeze.

Hours later, Ginny arrived home and headed straight to her room. As she entered she could hear the shower running, but she really didn't care if Lucius was home; she was too upset. Ginny threw herself down on the bed; she was so angry and distraught. Why did Percy and Audrey get to be pregnant without even trying? It's not fair! And Fleur! Her child only wanted to be held longer! If I had a baby who only wanted to be held longer, I would willingly do so, she thought to herself. After Ginny had laid Dominique down, the baby slept for three hours.

Lucius stepped out of the bathroom and saw his wife laying on their bed in tears. It did sadden him; until this baby business started, he had never seen her cry. She was always so strong! He knew that her period had started last week, so that wasn't the problem. He moved across the room and sat on the bed next to her. "Ginevra, what's wrong?" She moved towards him and into his arms where she continued to sob. After ten more minutes, he again spoke, "You're beginning to really worry me. What is wrong?"

"Fleur was complaining about Dominique being up all night, and Audrey is pregnant and they don't even want a baby right now!" she choked out between sobs.

He held her for a long time, unable to find words to comfort her. When he finally spoke he wished he hadn't. "Perhaps you need to relax about this."

She looked up at him and her eyes grew cold. She then pulled away from him. "Yes, no need for you to be worried. You already have your heir! This is just something you've been doing to keep your plaything happy!" she said angrily, then got up, turned on her heel, and headed toward the doorway.

"Ginevra!" He rose from his place and took her arm, which she jerked away as she continued out of the room. He followed her. "Ginevra, you know that's not how I feel!" He knew because of how their relationship began that she would have issues with his reasons for being with her. "What do you want me to do?"

She had reached a door to a guest room, and then turned to face him. "How about having some emotions about this? Show some goddamn feelings!" She then opened the door to the room and slipped inside, locking it before he could react.

He stared at the door, unsure of what to do. He could hear her crying in there, and it did break his heart that she was hurting and he couldn't fix it immediately. After trying to open the door and finding she placed the right charms on it to keep him out, he rested his hands on the sides of the door jamb and spoke loudly enough for her to hear him. "Ginevra, this does bother me. Do you think I enjoy seeing you upset? Don't you know that every time I see you crying about this, my heart breaks for you? But no matter what, I cannot change nature! We're doing everything we can, and we have to accept that you will get pregnant when you're meant to!" He paused for a moment. "Ginevra, you know that you were never just a plaything for me, don't you?"

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