It took everything he had to not slump against the wall and slide to the floor the moment the door closed behind him. Sure, they had fought and yelled at each other before, but the look on Hermione's face as she told him to get out fractured his already broken heart even further. He wasn't sure how much more it could take. He couldn't even blame her, really, as he certainly deserved it. Squaring his shoulders, he decided to give his wife what she wanted and started to make his way down the hall.

"Father!"

He turned towards the sound to see Draco running after him.

"I was calling you, Father; didn't you hear me?"

"I apologize, Draco. I must have been lost in thought."

"Where are you going? Why aren't you in there with Hermione? I would have thought you'd be making up for lost time," Draco said, his voice full of teasing.

"It appears as if my wife has no wish to see me, so I am returning to the Manor."

"I'm sure that's not true, Father. She did just go through a rather traumatizing event. I bet she didn't mean it. Come, let's go straighten this out."

"No, Draco. I'm afraid she did mean it, at least for now. And if I hadn't gotten the hint, she made it quite clear when she threw a lamp at my head."

If he had been in a better mood, he might have been amused at the way his son's jaw dropped and the comical look that appeared on his face.

"She... threw a lamp at you?"

"That she did. I've always admired her fiery temper, just not when it's directed towards me. I am returning to the Manor now, as I'm sure there is a mountain of paperwork to sort through. Would you mind..."

"Of course, Father. I'll stay here until the Healers release her."

He nodded his thanks and returned home, thankful he did not have to worry about languishing in a cell any longer. Now, if only he could get his wife back, things would be perfect.

Hermione was released from St. Mungo's the next day, much to his surprise (and happiness). However, she went straight to their room, and he did not see her again until the trial.

The trial.

It was... stressful. He had little desire to sit on the stand and be judged, but he knew he had no choice, if he wanted justice served. His solicitor advised him to be brief and just detail the event that transpired between himself and Weasley. He was surprised to find that both Weasleys had confessed to their crimes, and he found it difficult to not sneer at their mother, whose loud sobs echoed throughout the chamber.

He tried multiple times to catch Hermione's eye, but she seemed resolute in avoiding his gaze. He had to settle for just being able to be in the same room as her, and he was glad he could be there to make sure she was handling the testimonies. She did an excellent job concealing her emotions, and it was only because he knew her so well that he could tell she was extremely upset.

It was killing him that he could not help her.

Luckily, the trial went quickly (or rather, quickly for the Wizarding world, lasting just shy of a week) and he was able to get back to his routine. He spent the next month getting his House back together. He could admit that Hermione had done an admirable job considering the circumstances, but there were still things that fell through the cracks.

He would be lying if he said he spent all his time locked up in study on paperwork. In fact, it only took him about two weeks to get things back in order. He spent the rest of the time pretending he was working on paperwork.

What he was really doing was brooding.

It was quite unlike a Malfoy to sit around and brood, but he figured he deserved it. Of course, he fully admitted that the situation he currently found himself in with his wife was his fault. However, he also did not expect her to throw a lamp at his head and then refuse to see him. He had only set eyes on her a handful of times, and each time had felt like a knife plunged through his heart.

He did not know how to bridge this endless gap between them. To make matters worse (in his mind), Hermione's pregnancy was progressing and he was not there for her in the way he wanted to be. This could not go on any longer. Standing abruptly, his chair falling backwards to the floor, he made his way to the door to go search to his wife.

Just as his hand rested on the doorknob, he heard Hermione cry out on the other side of the door. Wasting no time, he threw open the door and rushed into the hallway.

"Hermione, what is it? What's wrong?"

She whirled around to face him, clearly surprised to see him standing before her.

"Lucius? What are you talking about?"

"I was getting up to go get some paperwork from another room and when I approached the door, I heard you cry out," he lied, not wanting her to know that he was actually coming to look for her. His eyes roamed over her body, looking for the reason she had cried out. They ended up on her stomach, and he noticed that she was cradling it with her hands. He was in an instant panic that something was terribly wrong with the babies.

"Is it the babies? Are you in pain? Don't worry, we'll get you to Saint Mungo's right away!"

"What? Lucius, calm down. The babies are fine; I'm fine. They were just kicking, and it surprised me because it was much more forceful than usual."

He felt his whole body sag with relief that everything was okay. His babies were kicking! Oh, how he longed to feel it and his hand reached out slightly, before he realized what he was doing and quickly stopped.

"If all is well, I'll leave you be," he said as he turned to leave, cursing himself for his cowardice. Here was his chance to make things right, but he wasn't taking it. He was stopped, however, by his wife calling out to him and asking if he would like to feel. He turned back towards her, hope surging through him. Moving in closer, he almost jumped when Hermione took his hand in hers and placed it on her rounded stomach. The kick that came was so forceful, it almost dislodged his hand. He could not suppress the wide grin that appeared on his face.

"I'd forgotten what a joy it was to feel your unborn child move about. Thank you for letting me be a part of it," he said as he dropped his hand and began to walk away. He did not want to leave her there; he really didn't. But he felt as if he was pushing too far. He was stopped, however, by his wife's voice, which sounded as if she was holding back tears. He had never been so unsure of himself in his life. It was quite the odd feeling. Then, his wife blurted out two words that were unexpected and quite unneeded.

"I'm sorry!"

He was quite confused as to why she was apologizing and said as much. As she began to explain why she was sorry, he was in disbelief. She was sorry? Had she lost her mind? She wanted his forgiveness when there was nothing to forgive.

"I cannot forgive you because there is nothing to forgive. For Salazar's sake, Hermione, I do not know how you will forgive me. I had to make a quick choice between you and my son, and I will understand if that is something you can never forgive me for doing. I knew he was innocent as well, and I just could not allow him to be sent to Azkaban. There are no words in this language that can express how deeply sorry I am for what you had to go through."

He could see his words had the desired effect. She looked lighter, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders. He then explained to her just why he told her he never loved her. If he could do it over again, he probably would have said it, not knowing if he would ever get out of Azkaban.

Not that he would ever tell her that.

She then asked him if he loved her, and he had to swallow the lump that appeared in his throat that she even had to question his love for her.

"So very much, Hermione. So very much."

Surprisingly, she grabbed him then and told him she loved him as well. He could not help himself as he pulled her in closer and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He meant to leave it there; he really did. But then he heard a sweet moan escape from Hermione's lips and was lost. Deepening the kiss, he allowed his hands to roam her body, taking in the changes that pregnancy had caused. As he cupped her breast and ran his thumb over her nipple, Hermione gasped and pulled away.

"What? Did I hurt you? I'm sorry – "

His apology was cut off by her laughter.

"No, I'm not hurt. They are just more... sensitive now and it caught me off guard. Why don't we go up to our bedroom?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to rush this, Hermione. If you need time, I will understand."

"I think we've wasted plenty of time, Lucius. I miss you. Don't deny me."

"Never, my love. I could deny you nothing."

With a smirk worthy of a Malfoy and a wink aimed at him, she took off towards their room as fast as her pregnancy allowed. With a wide grin plastered on his face, he took off after her, not caring at all that he was acting like a teenager. His wife wanted him and she would get what she wanted.

After all, a Malfoy always got what they wanted.

AN: Thanks to erbkaiser for the beta work and Liza for her help. :)

I'm sorry if this chapter was a bit boring since some of it was the same as chapter 9, just in Lucius' POV. And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Ron and Ginny. ;)

Please review!