Hey, sorry it took so long. Had some family problems... so now we're going to speed it up a bit and focus a little more on the bet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Original characters are mine, and if you take them, I'll sick my killer chihuahua on you.

(Hermione pov)

Day 40: A Labor of Lust

"Okay, okay," I mumbled as I washed my face in my bathroom. "It's going to be fine. It's just a thought; it's not going to happen."

As much as I tried to reassure myself, I couldn't get that sinking feeling to go away. I was a doctor; I knew the statistics, and they were not in my favor as of right then.

The chances of getting pregnant by a drunken one night stand- who knows if he even got it up- weren't very high physically, but biologically speaking, I had just as much chance to be pregnant as a couple trying to conceive. I could be carrying around my one night stand's baby. Merlin.

I did not allow myself to think about what I would do in that situation; it wasn't going to happen. My mother hadn't been very fertile- she and my father had tried for 7 years to have children and only had me- and my father had been almost sterile. It was luck that they'd managed to conceive me and bring me into the world. So, maybe I had her genes? I really hoped so, because my great-grandmother had 11 kids. And heard some genes liked to skip a few generations and sneak up on the unsuspecting.

After I had gotten my things together, I packed it in my bag and went to work. I had a big surgery today and I would be there for the next 36 hours, so I had to bring a toothbrush and a few other things. I walked out of my flat and towards the hospital, humming the tune to Blackbird again. I thought about how big of a day this was for Sam.

Arthur had operated on him 2 weeks ago after he had a seizure and they couldn't stop it. The surgery was a success but he'd been placed in a medically induced coma for a few days while his brain healed. He stayed at the hospital for an extra ten days under observation, and today, he was going home.

"Hey, Granger!" I walked through the doors of the hospital and saw Gabe- a cursebreaker for Gringotts- running toward me with a grin on his face.

This is not a good time.

"Yes?" I said politely, not sparing a glance his way.

"I came by the other day," He said. I hated that he had my address. "To see if you wanted to grab dinner. Your neighbor said you'd be here today, so I-"

"Listen, Gabe," I stopped, exasperated. "You seem very nice and I appreciate what you're trying to do, but for the last time, I'm really not interested."

"You say that now," We had reached the stairs and, not being permitted without a pass, he stopped. "But mark my words, you'll succumb to my charm soon enough."

"Keep telling yourself that," I patted his shoulder and began to climb the stairs.

"Bye, sweetheart!"

"Bye." I closed the door at the top of the stairs and rolled my eyes; Gabe had been after me for two years now. He knew where I lived, he knew where I worked, and he knew who my friends were. He had desperately been trying to get me to go out with him, but I really didn't see anything there for us. I didn't want a relationship with him like he wanted with me. And the whole stalker thing was almost enough to get him admitted to the mental ward.

I put my things down in my office and sat down at my desk, moving around picture frames and straightening things. I really, really needed to let that night go. I was getting worried and stressed out over nothing.

"Hermione?"

Elora stood in my door frame with a sheen of sweat on her face, rubbing her stomach.

"Elora!" I hurriedly stood up and offered her my chair; she gladly sat down. I sat in front of her on the edge of my desk. "You didn't have to walk all the way up here, you know. I would've been down in a minute."

"I know, but exercise is good for the little one," She smiled lovingly at her stomach. "So, we're about to leave, and Sam just wanted to say goodbye. I did, too."

"I'm flattered," I said sincerely. "But I'm not your doctor. Really, I didn't do anything."

"You're a friend," Elora stretched her hand out towards me and I helped her up, and we began to walk down the stairs. "You're the only doctor he's met that has treated him like a person; he appreciates that. I appreciate that. Therefore, we had to say goodbye to you, our friend."

"Thank you," I smiled. Suddenly, Elora's grip tightened and she stopped halfway down the steps, a grimace on her face. "Elora? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," She replied, straightening herself up. "Just... cramps." She waved me off and I let it go, walking with her back to her husband's room. He sat on the edge of his bed, a bandage peeking out underneath his baseball cap, in plain muggle clothing. He was staring at his bag.

"Hey, Sam," I greeted him after helping Elora into a chair. "Ready to go home?"

"Hey!" He said warmly. I bent down and gave him a hug. "Not really, no. I've got this feeling."

"Oh, you're just worrying," Elora assured him. "That other doctor said you'd be fine. We'll come back in five years and it'll be okay then, too."

"I just... I don't know," He carefully stood up and hurried out to the hall to grab the wheelchair for him. "I can't shake it."

"I know the feeling." I nodded as he sat down. I set his bag on his lap and asked if he'd been officially discharged, and began to wheel him down the hall with Elora following slowly behind.

"Merlin," Elora winced again and rubbed her back.

"Are you sure you're alright? How long has this been happening?" I stopped pushing and went over to her.

"I-I'm fine. Just since this morning. They've gotten closer together." She tried to push me away but I held firm.

"How far along are you?"

"38 weeks." This time, she bent over and tried not to scream.

"Elora, you need to come with me; I think you're in labor." I called for a nurse to get her a wheelchair and helped her down into it. "Take her up; we'll be up in a minute." I said to the nurse.

"Wait!" Elora sounded frantic. She grabbed onto my coat. "W-what about Sam? He can't- I mean, we were supposed to go home today! I-I'll be fine!"

"This is happening, Elora. Your body can't wait. I'll make sure Sam is alright," I squeezed her hand and it seemed to appease her for now. She let the nurse wheel her down the hall after giving a panicked glance to her husband.

I walked around and knelt in front of him. "Can you handle this?"

"We're having a baby," He said simply. He grabbed my arm and slowly stood up. "I could handle it on my death bed."

"You need to be careful, Sam. You're not as strong as you think right now," I took his arm and helped him walk in the direction of the maternity ward.

"Hermione," He said firmly. "I won't miss this."

I nodded got him the rest of the way. When I made sure everything was alright- that there was doctor for Elora and a chair for sam to sit in- I left and said I'd come by in a few hours if they would like me to. They both nodded and I left the room to go to the skills lab. A few years ago, they'd set up a sot of testing room to practice cuts and stitches on, and I had booked plenty of hours there. I enjoyed practicing without the added pressure of a living patient, and it was almost always quiet in there. Once I got to the door, I contemplated turning around because of who was in there. After reminding myself that I had no reason to feel this way, I opened the door and sat down at a table directly across from him.

"Hey," I said quietly as I put on my gloves and grabbed a surgical kit.

"Hey," Malfoy said, not looking up from the cross-stitch he was doing. "What are you doing here?"

"Sam's wife went into labor and my surgery doesn't start for a few more hours; this relaxes me," I got started on repairing a tear in the liver as I answered. "What are you doing here? You only work with potions."

"I'm studying to become a pediatrician and potions was just an easy way of keeping a job," He stopped what he was doing and looked at. "This is good practice. Should I leave?"

"No, no," I said hurriedly. "You don't have to leave because of me." Malfoy and I had barely spoken in the last two weeks, as I had busied myself with anything and everything to keep my mind off of the night of the party. "So... how are things?"

"Things?" He smirked. "What do you mean by things?"

"Er... life," I said awkwardly.

"Life is alright," He chuckled.

"Look, Malfoy, I'm trying to make conversation. Don't laugh at me!" I couldn't hold back a smile.

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at your question." He winked at me. "Now, let me ask you one."

"Sure."

"What's been going on with you the past two weeks?" Malfoy put down his surgical kit and pushed it away from him. "You seem... out of sorts."

"I've... er... just been busy, is all," I said quickly. "I've had a lot to think about."

"Would you like to share?" He got up and sat on the stool next to me. "I'm a good listener."

"No, it's alright," I finished the cross-stitch I had been working on, so I put it aside. "But thank you for offering."

"Yeah," He nodded.

We both sat and stared ahead, not daring give each other a glance. It was an uncomfortable silence- one I was suffocating in- and that feeling came back. That bloody feeling of attraction- and not just physically- that made my breath quicken and my heart race.

"Hermione."

"Yeah?"

And then he kissed me.

I was momentarily surprised by this, but a second later, I kissed him back in earnest. Merlin, it was like a drug; addictive and satisfying. I liked the way his hands combed through my hair while he ran his tongue over my bottom lip, the way I responded by doing the same, and how he pulled my hair back and began kissing my neck. He left hot, breathy kisses on my necked and stopped at my collarbone, and I was practically begging for him to touch me somewhere else. I needed his touch; I was done denying it. If it felt this good, it couldn't possibly take a turn for the worst, right?

Even the smell of this man was heavenly. He practically oozed sex appeal. Gaining a small amount of courage, I tore my neck away from his mouth and kissed him again. I slid my hands down his shoulders, bringing them back into his silk-textured hair. His hands were on my hips and both of our eyes were closed; this man was an excellent kisser.

Our interruption came in the form of his pager, not two seconds later.

We panted and looked at each other, the incessant dinging from his pocket ruining what we had going. He glanced down at the device and groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as I backed away and straightened out my shirt.

"I have to go," He said huskily. "But I'll find you later."

"O-okay," I was still revealing from what had happened.

I just made out with Malfoy. Wow.

"Bye Hermione," He kissed me on the lips before moving to the other side of the room.

"Bye Draco," I mumbled. He stopped and I could see the edge of a smile forming, but he left without another word.

It would be halfway through my surgery before I realized that I had just called him 'Draco' for the first time.

(Blaise pov)

That... that stupid wanker! Why I would just love to wrap my hands around his throat and-

"Blaise," Gwen whispered in my ear, climbing behind me to rub my shoulders as I sat on the edge of an on-call bed. "Don't let him ruin this, sweetie."

"He just- Ugh!" I threw my hands up exasperatedly. "He always has to ruin everything! I thought that Hermione had at least scared him into leaving me alone, but no. He had to go and do that."

"Now, no one knew we were in here," She planted a kiss on the back of my head. "It was an honest mistake."

"No no no, it wasn't the fact that he walked in on us about to have sex," I turned around and almost lost my focus, because she was wearing nothing but her white lab coat. And I mean, absolutely nothing under it. 'Least I was wearing my underwear. "It was the fact that he was in the middle of an apology, saw you naked, and lingered. Damn it, the man lingered! Who does that!"

That bloody prick. We were just about to get to the fun part when he opens the door accidentally. What was he supposed to do in that situation? Cover his eyes, stutter out an apology, and leave. But what did Campbell do? Oh, he draws it out by apologizing to us individually, tells me very slowly that Draco was looking for me, and then takes his sweet time closing the bloody door!

If that isn't lingering, I'd hate to see what is!

"It's no big deal, really," Gwen stood up and her coat opened a little wider. "I'm very confident about my body, so no worries."

"You should be," I got side tracked for a moment, but snapped my gaze back to her eyes. "But it's not that! It's an unspoke rule; you don't ever, ever look at another man's woman. And if you should happen to catch them doing the horizontal tango, you don't ever, ever bloody linger!"

"Sweetheart, calm down." She straddled my lap and threw her hands around my neck. "It's not the end of the world. If anything, now he's just jealous because you get to hit this," She gestured to herself. "At any time."

"You'll be the death of me, woman," I smiled and threw her back on the bed, hovering over her as she giggled. "Now, we're done talking about this. There are more important subjects I'd like to focus on."

"By all means," She laughed, and kissed me with earnest.

The door opened again and, to my disdain, Campbell stood, not so subtly staring at my girlfriend. "Zabini, I... uh, I came to say that I-"

"GET OUT!" I shouted at him. I took out my wand and cast a bat bogey hex at him, just in time for him to develop a terrified look and slam the door shut when it was about to hit him.

"Sorry for barging in earlier?" He said squeamishly through the door.

"You better pray that death finds you before I do!" I yelled and got up, ignoring Gwen's eye-roll. "Because when I get my hands on you, you'll be a patient here instead of a doctor!"

The last thing I heard as I put on my clothes was the sound of Campbell's feet carrying him quickly down the hall.

"Well, guess I'll be going," Gwen got up and began to dress. "That killed it."

"Sorry love," I adjusted my coat and kissed her on the forehead, just as she finished dressing. "But I'm doing this for your honor, you know."

"You're doing it because you're a hormone crazed animal who would rather chase down a cowardly guy than have sex with his willing girlfriend in an on-call room," She rolled her eyes a second time, but gave me a kiss nonetheless. "Only topical injuries, alright? Don't break any bones."

"Got it," I smiled and threw open the door. "See you for lunch?"

"Yeah yeah," She walked past me. "Bye."

I ran down the hall in the direction of Campbell, scoping out everything in sight. He hadn't been behind any of the nurse's stations or in any of the patient rooms, or in the bathrooms. I seriously considered looking inside the ladiesroom, but figured that even Campbell was above that. For ten minutes, I continued looking around the floor I was on until I saw his foot sticking out from underneath a reception desk down the hall. I silently walked toward it, standing in front of him as he let out a scream.

"Since I am considerably faster than you, and because I am a very generous person," I stepped aside. "I'll give you 3 seconds to run."

He looked at me like I was crazy.

"Tick tock," I warned him. Campbell scrambled to his feet and took off as I started counting. "Ready or not, here I come!" I laughed and sprinted down the hall after him. He really wasn't that fast, because I could clearly make out his form down the hall. I was gaining speed and reached out my hand when we were a yard apart.

And then it happened.

Draco came out of the skills lab and Campbell plowed right into him, sending them both to the floor. I tried to stop but tripped when I made a move to turn, landing right on top of Draco. My arm and Draco's chest cracked in a sickening way it happen.

"Shit!" Draco gasped. His arms were clenched at his sides and he stared at the ceiling, trying his hardest to breathe.

"Ow," I held my arm and looked over to Arthur; it looked like he was knocked out. I crawled over to Draco, then. "Are you okay?"

"It hurts," He flinched again. "To breathe."

"Hey, why is there so much noise-" I looked over to see Hermione come out of the door next, her sentence stopping when she saw all of us. She immediately looked at me. "WHAT DID YOU DO!"

"I didn't-" I tried to come up with an excuse, but abandoned that course of action when I saw her furious look. "Never mind that! Just get down! I think Draco's cracked a few ribs."

"Why is he here?" She knelt down my Draco and gestured to Campbell.

"I may or may not have been trying to do something with Gwen when he opened the door, I may or may not have sworn that I would kill him because he lingered, and I may or may not have chased him down the hallway, causing this accident. Hypothetically, of course."

"This is why we don't do ignorant things," She growled, then looked concerning at Draco. "Where does it hurt, exactly?"

"Ribs... 4, 5, and 6." He gritted out. "I'm gonna- bloody hell- kill you, Blaise!"

"Me! It was all Campbell's fault!" I said defensively. "If anything, kill me second!"

"Doesn't... matter," Draco replied. "You caused- damn it, Hermione! That... hurt!"

"I did not cause this! If he hadn't have opened that door-"

"Guys!" Hermione shouted, quieting us all, save for Draco's harsh breaths as she felt around on his chest. "This is not the time for bickering! I need to see is any of his ribs punctured a lung, and I can't do that with you people fighting like a pack of little girls!" We kept our mouths shut. "Now, is Campbell awake?"

"Nope," I popped my 'p' as I looked at him. his nose was bleeding a bit.

Hermione sighed, stood up, and pointed her wand at Campbell. "Rennervate."

The red blast of magic settled on his head, causing him to open his eyes a few seconds later.

"Ah! Don't kill me!" He shrieked back when he saw my glare.

"Oh for Merlin's sake! Arthur, help me get him up. We're taking him to his lab to get a bone potion; the ribs are cracked." She told us that she'd determined that his ribs were not poking his lungs, but merely cracked in a few places.

"Look what you did," I said to Campbell as he stood up sheepishly and help Draco stand up. "You managed to crack some of my friend's ribs. For shame."

"Really? Your best friend is in pain and you're really going to start with Campbell again?" Hermione gave me a look that left no room for argument. I apologized. "Good. Now, use your good arm and get his other side."

Instead of arguing, I gave her a smile and tucked my arm into my side, using my good arm to put one of Draco's arms around my shoulders. Campbell and glared at each other the entire way there, and once, he flinched when I barred my teeth at him and caused Draco to shout another round of expletives. Once we were in his lab, we laid him down on the floor and each sat in a chair.

"Where are your potions?" Hermione bent down over Draco and stroked his cheek.

"There's one," Draco clenched his jaw and relaxed. "In the cabinet. I-It's blue and it has a... label that says 'BR342... 8."

"Okay," She looked at him like that again before jumping up and searching through Draco's stores. She came back with a vile in her hands. "This it?"

"Yeah," Draco nodded.

"Open up," She tried to pour it in his mouth but he turned his head away from her hand.

"You don't drink it," He explained, gently sitting up. "You have to- bloody mother of- rub it on the skin." Hermione blushed. "Unless you're... uncomfortable with that?"

"It's not like I haven't seen that part of a male before," Hermione hurried to explain her blushing and uncorked the vile. "Don't flatter yourself, Draco."

Woah woah woah.

Since when did she ever call him something besides 'Malfoy' or 'Ferret'? And those looks she was giving him... and the blushing...?

It was like seeing a grindelow eat a giant octopus... strange. And a bit unsettling.

"Blaise!" Hermione said forcefully. "Are you even listening?"

"Sorry... what?"

"I said, hold Draco up while I remove his shirt." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What, do I get no sympathy? I hurt my elbow too, you know," I got down on the floor and held Draco up by his shoulder.

"When it's not something as frivolous as a sprained elbow, you'll get sympathy." Hermione looked at me pointedly before grasping the edges of Draco's shirt and pulling up. "Okay, grab his other arm."

We carefully maneuvered him out of his shirt and, once Hermione looked at his back after she'd put his shirt on the floor, she gasped. She paled and her hands started to shake as she stared at a spot on his shoulder.

"What? Do you see something?" Draco gritted out, an edge of panic to his voice.

"Uh, er... no," Hermione tore her gaze away and we laid his back down on the floor. "I uh... I... just remembered that... I left my heater on at home!" She looked frazzled about something.

"Er... okay..." I mumbled. I think she'd finally lost her grip on reality.

Hermione carefully poured half the contents of the vile on the left side of Draco's chest, rubbing it around with a gloved hand. The liquid bubbled and seeped into his skin, and Draco almost cried out in pain. He squeezed my arm to point where I thought it might break off, and relaxed a few seconds later with an exhale.

"Thanks," He began to poke his ribs just to be sure everything worked. "You know, I really need to figure out why bone potions burn so much."

Hermione laughed nervously and handed him his shirt. He thanked her, winked, and put it back on, but not before he flipped Campbell and I off. Hermione gave me a bit of the potion and once my elbow was fixed, she ordered me in the chair next to Campbell.

"Now, mind telling me why you threw yourselves on top of me?" Draco said, annoyed. "It was like attack of the damn wildebeests."

"You know what a wildebeest is?" Hermione looked at his triumphant smirk. "Alright then."

"I'll take that as a compliment, lioness," Draco smiled and immediately focused back on us. "Well?"

"Campbell here peeked at my girlfriend- not once, but twice, while she was naked." I folded my arms over my chest.

"Oh!" Hermione looked disgusted at Campbells' actions. "Is that true?"

"Only to piss him off!" Campbell shot back, glaring at me. "Trust me, she's not much to look at."

"OH!" I jumped up was about to lunge at him, but Draco caught my arm and held me down in my chair. "Take that back, you prick!"

"Never!" He jumped up and started waving his fists, and I debated throwing Draco out of the way, but threw out that idea because Hermione would probably skin me alive.

"Guys!" Hermione almost pulled out her hair. "We've been through this! Just leave each other alone!"

"I have been- get off me, mate!" I swatted Draco's hands away from me as I turned toward her. "I haven't said a word to him in two weeks, and then he pulls this crap! I was just defending my girlfriend's honor!" Campbell was about to put his two cents in but I shushed him. "Don't try and justify yourself. I apologized for what I did a long time ago and it isn't my fault that you can't accept that."

He fell silent and pouted in his chair.

"I swear to Merlin, I will beat you into a pulp if this doesn't get resolved right now," Hermione growled at Campbell, then smacked me in the back of the head when I chuckled. "You too!"

We both turned to each other, glaring to see who would break first. It was Campbell.

"I'm sorry," He mumbled.

"What was that? I couldn't hear-"

"Damn it Zabini, I'm sorry." He yelled.

"What for?" I smiled at him.

"For peeking at your girlfriend."

"And?"

"For throwing coffee down your back."

"And?"

"Putting itching powder in your hat to make you think you had lice."

"Wait, that was you?" I asked incredulously. He had the decency to look sorry for it. He should be! I shaved every last bit of my hair off! "Never mind. And?"

"And... for messing around with Clara when I had no business doing so," Arthur said a bit quieter.

"Thank you," I nodded, satisfied with his apology. "Anything else?"

"Well... remember last year when someone covered your drink handle in super glue?" He smiled sheepishly.

"OH!" I could feel my face heating up. "That ripped two bloody layers of skin off! I couldn't operate for two weeks, and it was because of you?"

"Blaise," Hermione said firmly. "He apologized. It's forgotten."

"Yeah, well-" I stopped when Draco started mouthing 'it's your funeral!' to me. "Fine. Whatever."

"Good. Your turn."

I glared and her and turned to Campbell.

"I'm sorry." I huffed.

"For?"

"Making your nose bleed and threatening to kill you on several occasions."

"And?"

"Calling the Ministry and telling them you were prescribing illegal drugs to patients."

"That was you? Why I oughtta..." Hermione just about slapped him. "Fine. And?"

"Slipping a potion into your coffee last year and giving you boils."

"I hate you." He glared at me harder. "And? There's one more thing."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about that I've done that I am not willing to say," I chuckled. "But... I'm sorry for taking your toy when we were kids and throwing it in the river."

He nodded and looked at his hands.

"I forgive you," He stood up. "But not for that last one."

"OH COME ON!" Draco shouted before Hermione could. "You two bicker with each other like old women and now that Blaise has finally apologized, you still can't forgive him?"

"I'll never forgive him for that," Campbell replied adamently. "He has no idea what that meant to me and he just threw it into the river. The bastard."

"You know what?" I stood up and threw my hands into the air, fed up with all of it. "I've apologized one too many times for it and I'm not going to sit here while he babbles on about what a bastard I am. I'm leaving."

"That's right," He drawled as I turned. "Run away, Zabini. Why don't you go find your girlfriend again? Maybe she'll let you cry on her shoulder."

"Can't you just shut your damn mouth for once!" I turned back around and shouted at him. Hermione and Draco backed up, cautious looks on their faces.

"Why don't you make me!" He pounded on his chest once. "Or maybe get Gwen to do it for you!"

"OH, SCREW YOU AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON!"

"I BET YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THAT!"

"I'D RATHER DIG MY EYES OUT WITH A RUSTY ICE PICK!"

"BASTARD!"

"COWARD!"

We lunged at each other.

A/N: I know, a very sucky place to leave it. But in the next chapter, the Arthur vs. Blaise situation will finally be resolved. And I know, I'm leaving you all hanging on the duck thing, but it's not the right time yet! Just trust me! Hannable-13, you have slowly shaken me down for information, and I told you it was going to be subtle. Readers, I've given you as many clues as I can without blatantly saying it, and if you haven't figured out who Hermione slept with by now... you'll find out next chapter, too. Thanks once again! It may be presumptuous of me, but I ask that each of you leave a review. I appreciate your comments. -Nikki a.k.a.- Twipotterfreak28

P.S.-I know you may not be liking Arthur right now, but his full story has yet to be explained. Thanks again for reading!