A/N Sorry for the short chapter...
Hermione plodded down the stairs, lost in thought. She had often thought about her night with Arthur, she knew it was wrong but there was something about being with the man that just felt so right.
The babies were screaming their heads off again and she was surprised the little gremlins hadn't woken her. Charlie and Bill were pacing with them but there cries only increased when they caught the scent of their mother's milk.
Hermione settled on the couch and arranged pillows around her, unbuttoned her top and accepted the bawling infants. They suckled hungrily and Hermione dismissed their fathers.
Hermione stared down at them. They were gorgeous and perfect when they were quiet like this, but when they got going she didn't know how she would ever be able to raise them on her own. True she was surrounded by family and had two of the most supportive men as fathers, but it didn't mean anything if she didn't have someone to curl up with after the babies had gone to bed. She was, essentially alone.
Just as she felt the tears begin to form, Ginny saddled nervously into the room and sat across from Hermione and the babies.
"Hey, Gin," Hermione said sadly, noticing the twitch behaviour of her friend. Ginny smile and jerkily picked up a book before putting it down again.
"Was it painful? Giving birth?" Ginny asked.
Hermione laughed. "You were there. Don't you remember? I broke three nurses' hands and hurled a bedpan through a window."
Ginny laughed nervously.
"So, it was painful?"
"Painful? I felt like I was being ripped apart."
Ginny paled and picked up the book before throwing if down again.
"What about being pregnant? That part was good, wasn't it? Having them in you, feeling them grow…" She looked at Hermione hopefully.
"Yeah, apart from the morning sickness, headaches, backaches, needing to pee, the massive belly, swollen everything, it was great!"
Ginny now looked ready to throw up or run or both.
Hermione looked down at the babies, now nearly asleep. They're soft cheeks aglow with milk-induced contentedness.
"But it's worth it. It's hard, but I'll know it will get better. And when I see Bill and Charlie with them…that much love makes up for any pain."
Ginny's face tightened as she fought off the tears.
Hermione looked up and grew concerned. "Is everything alright, Ginny? With you and Harry? You're not… Are you?"
"I don't want to talk about it!" Ginny cried and ran from the room. She ran past Charlie who was coming back in to help Hermione put the babies down.
"What's her problem?" he asked.
Hermione debated what to reveal before finally settling on a casual shrug of her shoulders. "Beats me."
Hermione handed Emma off to her father and put Bonnie down herself before righting her top and sitting back down.
Charlie sat next to her and Hermione sensed a 'serious' conversation about to take place. He took her hands in his and rubbed his thumb gently over the smooth skin on the back of her hands.
"Have you decided what you want to do about Romania?"
"Charlie, you know I said I would go."
"Yes, but that was right after you had given birth, you might have changed your mind since then."
Hermione stood and walked slowly to stare out the window. Outside she could see Harry flying about, Arthur in the garden and she thought she saw the billow of Percy's robes but she knew it was just her imagination. She sighed and forced her thoughts back to the room and the pressing question Charlie had posed.
She had, in truth, been having second thoughts. She barely managed with a whole houseful of people helping, how would she handle the girls on her own, with Bill and Charlie working?
"You don't have to decide now, They're still young and I don't think mum would let us leave but in the next couple of months, think about it. Okay?"
Hermione turned back and smiled at this man, this man who never questioned her bad decisions, just stood next to her and supported her.
"Thanks, Charlie," she said quietly, joining him again on the couch and wrapping her arms around his neck.
He squeezed her back tightly, though he was thoroughly confused. "For what?"
Hermione broke the hug and kissed him tenderly on the mouth. "Being you."
Have your say, go and vote on who you want Hermione to end up with. You get two choices, so use them carefully.