a/n: Thanks for the reviews!!! I hope you like this chapter and I would like to thank The Diva Divine for her help with this!!!Keept reviewing and I'll keep updating!!!!
(someone was wondering how Kaia was pronounced. I only read the name but the way I've been pronouncing it is Ky - a)
So enjoy!
Always,
Kylie
Two weeks later (by the time I was two months pregnant…eight weeks) Ron and I had finally come up with a plan for all of this.
I would be staying in school for the remainder of the semester and then taking one off and coming back for the next. It would take longer to finally graduate but Ron didn't want me to give it up completely. When I did go back to school we would put our child in a day care, on Ruelle Cachée. When that happened, one day a week Ron wouldn't work while I would have one day off from classes. We decided that we would stay where we were for now and after the year is up we'll choose if we want to stay here and buy a house or go back to England and buy a house.
Everything else was figured out. Including how we were supposed to break the news to everyone. We thought that we should tell our parents in Paris, where they could see we were surviving without help and then we would have a party at the Burrow where we would announce to all of our friends and family that we were having a baby.
At the moment I was stressing over a cookbook. Ron had taken our parents to get comfortable in their hotel and then they were going to go look around Paris. I had gotten sick twice today. Ron passed it off as Morning Sickness but I was convinced that it was a mix of Morning Sickness with nerves. I didn't know if I was going to be able to tell my parents. I fell into a seat at the kitchen table while I waited for the oven timer to go off. Midnight jumped into my lap. I started reading where I left off in What To Know When You're an Expecting Witch.
Ron had come with me to visit Healer Statham a week ago and we got a picture of the baby. It wasn't very big yet but it was there, hard to see but there. It was framed and sitting on our dresser. Ron's face was amazed when he first saw our child projected onto a screen from the Healer's wand. His expression was a mix of joy, pride, and awe. I loved him more than ever when I saw that. And afterwards, when Healer Statham was going over things that he would have to do, Ron listened intently and took care to make sure he did everything she told him. I was really impressed with him.
I was interrupted from my book when I heard the front door open.
"Our mothers officially love Paris." Ron said.
"At least they'll be happy before they are completely disappointed in us." I replied.
"They might be happy when we tell them." Ron said. He took a seat at the table, next to me.
"Yeah, right." I said.
"Ok, before you say no, think about these." Ron said. I closed up my book and put Midnight down.
"What?" I asked, turning to face him.
"Lucy for a girl or Tyler for a boy." Ron said.
"I'll add Tyler to the list but I don't know about Lucy." I said.
"Fair enough." Ron agreed. For the past two weeks Ron and I had been keeping a list of the names we liked. It wasn't a very big list but we figured once we know the sex of the baby, we'll narrow it down and eventually pick one.
So far we had:
Girls-Adriana
Dahlia
Addison
Rebecca
Violet
Boys-
Benjamin
Daniel
Aidan
Oliver
Cole
Tyler (recent addition)
I liked all of them but I wasn't sure which one was right for the baby. I guess I would have to figure out what the sex of the baby is first.
"Anything new going on?" Ron asked. "Healer Statham said that your waistline should start growing during week eight. Any change?" God, I loved him. But he could be so bloody annoying at times. I had actually avoided wearing pants with zippers or buttons for the past week, in hopes of not getting upset at the fact that I'm getting bigger. The knee length white cotton skirt I was wearing now, had an elastic waist that fit comfortably on me. I was even wearing a light yellow tank top because it was warm for once, showing signs of spring. I crossed my arms over my chest and then crossed one leg over the other, hoping Ron didn't notice that one of my flip-flops fell off (it looked much less intimidating if he did).
"Why does it look like my waistline is growing?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"No. No. Of course not. I was only trying to keep track of this stuff. You get to carry the baby so I have to ask these things." Ron said, trying to redeem himself.
"Would you like to carry it?" I asked, angrily.
"I'm sorry!" Ron looked a little scared of me at this moment. I felt bad and realized that I hated these stupid hormones that come with pregnancy.
"No, I'm sorry." I said. "I shouldn't have flipped out on you." I rested my hand on his arm as the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" I said. "Watch the oven and take care of the book." I instructed Ron.
I ventured through the spotlessly clean apartment (it had taken me four hours yesterday to get it that way) and opened the door, expecting to see Molly, Arthur and my parents but to my surprise Fred, George, Angelina, and Alicia stood there with suitcases, smiling.
"Hermione!" Fred exclaimed rushing forward and lifting me off my feet. I screamed. Ron came rushing out of the kitchen.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Ron asked, worriedly.
"Angelina and I thought we should tell you first but Fred and George thought it would be better to surprise you." Alicia said as she hugged me and moved onto Ron.
"But you came up the same weekend mum and dad came up." Ron said, meekly.
"Yeah. That's why we didn't call because you were already having guests. But we'll be here until Tuesday." George said.
"We're sorry for intruding like this. We can go stay at a hotel if it's trouble." Angelina said.
"That's ridiculous." I said, forcing a smile and a laugh. "You're family! You can stay here." I focused on taking deep, calm breaths. There was going to be an audience of eight when Ron and I gave our news.
"Bill and Fleur are on their way. They left earlier and took the Chunnel." Fred said. "They couldn't take a Portkey with Alexis and Cecilia." That's twelve people! (Only ten could really comprehend the news.)
"They're coming too?" I asked, feeling faint.
"Now, you had to know they were coming up because mum said she was going to tell you." George said.
"No. She said they were coming to Paris…" Ron trailed off. "I thought she meant that they were visiting Fleur's family."
"No, they decided the other day that they would come visit too and then we decided to. Ginny had to stay at school for the weekend and Harry was visiting her so we didn't ask them, Charlie, Alison, Percy, and Penelope have the new babies so they couldn't come otherwise we would have had the whole family come up." Fred said. Midnight came into the hallway where we were all standing and looked up at Fred and George who must have reminded her of Ron. She brushed up against their legs until one of them picked her up.
"Ron, I didn't think you liked cats." George said as he petted Midnight.
"I don't." Ron said. "But Midnight's not an ordinary cat."
"She's cute." Alicia said, taking the cat from him.
My head was spinning. All I could think about was the fact that not only would I have to tell my parents but I'd have to tell half of Ron's family too.
"Why don't we go into the living room and sit down?" Ron suggested, holding onto my shoulders. I must have looked pretty pale.
"What's up there?" Angelina asked, gesturing towards the staircase.
"Guestroom." Ron answered. He set me down into the chair.
"But we're still fixing that up so you'll have to sleep down here. Is that ok?" I asked, picturing the room that was littered with fabric samples, color swatches, a Chudley Cannons poster, and some stuffed animals that Sasha and Trey bought for us when we told them.
"No big deal." Fred said. "We've got the TV down here." He chuckled. I looked at the clock. It was only half past four. There was still time to make a new dinner and figure out how I was going to do this.
"What's this?" George asked.
"That is the coolest thing in the world." Ron answered. "It's a video game." Suddenly I had an idea.
"Ron, can I talk to you for a second?" I asked.
"Sure." Ron answered, immediately heading into the kitchen behind me.
"Listen, you tell Fred, George, and Bill. I'll tell Angelina, Alicia, and Fleur." I said.
"Ok. But wouldn't it be simpler to tell them at dinner when we tell our parents?" Ron asked. I shut off the stove and fell back into the kitchen chair.
"I can't do it that way." I said. "I can't have to worry about what they're going to say at the same time I'm worrying about what our parents are going to say."
"All right." Ron agreed.
"Thank you!" I smiled and hugged him before exiting the kitchen to ask Angelina and Alicia to come grocery shopping with me. Bill and Fleur made it right before we left so Fleur brought along Cecilia and Bill and Alexis stayed with the guys at the apartment.
"So what are we making?" Alicia asked as we walked down the aisle of fresh vegetables.
"It's a surprise." I said.
"Oh. I like the sound of that." Angelina said.
"Eez eet French?" Fleur asked. "I do mizz French food at timez."
"Yes. I got it out of a French cookbook." I answered. Fleur went on about her favorite French dishes while she held Cecilia. Cecilia smiled at me and stuck her hand out like she was waving. I looked away because the baby was making me nervous.
"Hermione?" Angelina asked.
"What?" I snapped, unintentionally. "Sorry. Yes?"
"I was just going to ask you if you needed tomatoes?" Angelina said.
"Yes." I answered, trying to smile.
"What's wrong?" Alicia asked. I considered blurting it right out but thought better of it.
"I have to tell you three something." I started, shakily.
"What eez eet?" Fleur asked.
"I'm…" I started but couldn't finish. "I'm actually not going to need the tomatoes." I said. I turned away and picked up a green pepper.
"Come on Hermione." Angelina protested. "You can tell us. What happened to being as close as sisters?"
"It's hard to say." I admitted, glancing at Cecilia who found interest in attempting to eat her hand. "It's something big for Ron and I and I don't know how many times I can tell it today when I have to tell my parents and Molly and Arthur." I continued rambling for a minute.
"You're pregnant aren't you?" Fleur asked. I nodded. All three of them reacted happily. They asked questions, hugged me, and congratulated me. It was actually a nice reaction so for once today I actually felt good about my news.
We got everything else I needed (in large quantities since I was cooking for twelve people (including Ron and myself) and then headed back to the apartment. At the door, Ron took the bags out of my hand and I was nearly suffocated when Fred, George, and Bill took turns hugging me.
"Ron showed us the list so we took the liberty of making you a new one." Fred said, handing me a new piece of paper that said:
Names:
Fred
George"And what if it's a girl?" I asked. George took the paper from me and scribbled something down before handing it back.
FriedaGeorgina
I laughed. "Thanks but I think we'll stick to the old list." I handed the list to Alicia and Angelina. "You guys can use this." They glared at me, jokingly while I hugged Ron.
"I don't think we're going to tell our parents today." I said.
"Why not?" He asked.
"I'm too tired." I said.
"I weel make dinner." Fleur said. "You rest."
I gave in and let Fleur make dinner while I went to the bedroom to lie down. I grabbed the picture of my baby of the dresser before lying down and stared at it, wishing that I could see it and hold it. But then I wondered if I would be able to hold my baby. I was afraid to hold any other baby since Greg. How would I react to my own? Or what would happen if Fleur asked me to hold Alexis or Cecilia? Why was I afraid of them if one was growing inside of me right now?
I didn't know the answers to these questions. I did, however, know that I would love him or her unconditionally. It wasn't a full baby yet but that small thing inside of me, the size of a lima bean, was the most beautiful thing in the world.
I heard a soft knocking at the door and let (who I thought was Ron) in.
"What's going on?" I asked, sitting up as Fred and George came into the room. Both of them were holding a baby.
"We just wanted to see how you were." Fred said. He and George came in and sat on the bed, putting Alexis and Cecilia down to crawl on the bed. I scooted away a little.
"I knew it!" George exclaimed.
"What?" I asked, innocently as I stood up and brought the picture of my baby back to the dresser.
"You're afraid to hold the babies." Fred said.
"No, I am not." I said. There was no way I could convince them that I wasn't, they knew. "Don't tell Ron." I pleaded.
"Why can't you hold them?" Fred asked. "These are the good ones. The ones that you can hold and spoil but give them back to Fleur when they cry."
"But that's exactly it!" I cried. "When they cry, I cry because I don't know what to do. How am I supposed to be a mother if I'm afraid of babies?"
"Look, it takes time." George said. He picked up Alexis and walked him over to me. "Just hold him." I reached my arms out but drew them back.
"What if he cries?" I asked.
"Then he cries." George says. "I bet you can calm him down." Anything was worth a shot. I reached out my arms and lifted Alexis up and held him to me. It wasn't so bad.
"Hey Lex." I whispered. "He's not crying!" I exclaimed, with an amazed look on my face. I smiled at him while Fred went to pick up Cecilia who was crawling near the edge of the bed. He took her pacifier from her and she started screaming, which set Alexis off. "I didn't even do anything." I said. I made a motion to hand him back to George but George stepped back.
"You can make him stop crying." George said.
"How?" I asked, on the verge of crying, myself. George shrugged while Fred was trying to quiet Cecilia with her pacifier. I started moving side to side with Alexis in my arms. "Shhhh." I said, desperately. Cecilia was quiet now but Alexis was still crying. "Please don't cry." I begged. "Please." I continued to move with him in my arms, and making a shushing sound. I remember watching on some TV show that that was what you were supposed to do. As I relaxed more Alexis seemed to relax in my arms and he slowly stopped crying. "I did it!" I exclaimed as George handed me Alexis's pacifier. "He stopped crying!" Fred and George smiled.
"See, you can do it." Fred said. "It all comes from experience."
"How did you know before?" I asked.
"Every time someone got close to you with a baby, you would back away with a terrified look on your face." George said. "We figured that it was our job as the favorite Uncles of your unborn child to make you feel better about it."
"Thank you!" I smiled and hugged each one of them (with the one arm I had available). We heard the front door open, letting us know that Molly, Arthur, and mum and dad were here.
With a new surge of confidence I handed Alexis back to George and grabbed the picture of my baby in me off the dresser and headed out into the hallway.
"Come into the living room." I said after I had hugged everyone. "Ron and I want to tell you something."
Bill was sitting on the floor, staring at the television screen in a race. He noticed the parents/grandparents there and abandoned his game since he knew the news that was coming.
"Have a seat." I said, gesturing to the couch.
"Are you ready to do this now?" Ron asked. I looked down at the picture in my hands and nodded. Our parents watched us expectantly.
"Ron and I weren't planning on this at this time in our lives but we've decided to embrace the good in this situation and we hope that you'll do the same." I said. Ron smiled and grabbed my hand.
"We're having a baby!" Ron said. We waited anxiously for some sort of response. Bill, Fred, George, Alicia, Angelina, and Fleur all held their breaths as well while we watched reactions from our parents. Dad jumped up and hurried to give us a hug.
"My first grandchild!" He said, happily. I smiled but there were still three more grandparents that we needed the OK from. Arthur stood up next. He didn't look as happy as my dad did but at least we got a reaction from him.
"Well, this is soon." He said. He looked a little disappointed, like I'd feared. "Your brothers just had children and they're actually in their twenties and have been married for some time but this is my grandchild we're talking about. Congratulations." He hugged us both. If Arthur wasn't that happy with us, how were our mothers going to react?
Molly and mum turned to look at each other. For some reason it made me think that they had discussed this. It made me angry to think that they had talked about what they would do if Ron and I were to get pregnant at an early age.
They turned to look back at us. "Well, this isn't exactly what we wanted to hear." Mum said. "We were hoping that we wouldn't have to hear this for another couple of years but it's happened so we have to deal with it."
Deal with it?
"Hermione, Ann and I will help you get your things and you can come live at the Burrow and after four months is up, Ron will come and join us." Molly said. My face fell and I gripped Ron's hand tightly.
"You still have your bookshop so you can work there and Ron can go back to working at the Gazette in England. After a year you two you can get a house and Molly and I will be there every day for help." Mum said. "You can come back with us tomorrow and get settled in while we find you a good doctor – or healer – and we'll help you get through this."
"No." Ron said, simply while angry tears started to fall from my eyes.
"Excuse me?" Mum asked.
"I mean no disrespect to either of you when I say this." Ron said. "We appreciate the fact that you two care and want to help but Hermione and I are adults. Yeah, we're only nineteen but we got ourselves into this situation and we'll figure out how to deal with it." That was much nicer than what I was going to say but at least he got to the point.
"Don't be ridiculous." Molly said. "There's no way you two can raise a baby on your own."
"You're nineteen years old. You have no baby experience whatsoever." Mum said. "Hermione, you'll live with Molly and as soon as the four months that you promised Jacques is up, you can come home too." She said to Ron.
"We're not going!" I exclaimed loudly (or yelled I was too mad to notice).
"I knew this would happen if you got married early." Molly shook her head. "I knew it as soon as you were able to be intimate with each other, this would happen."
I lost it.
"For your information, Ron and I have been 'intimate' with each other for quite some time, longer than the three months that we've been married." I spat angrily. On normal circumstances I wouldn't have ever let them know that but I was too mad to care. "We live here in Paris and we will for as long as we please. We have a plan that we came up with, without your help." I was truly appalled that they thought we couldn't do this on our own. I turned, gave my father a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for being supportive dad." I said, before picking up Midnight and heading up the stairs to the baby's room where I locked the door and turned the small radio on loudly.
I was too mad to cry about it so I took the baby book that Harry and Ginny sent us, off of the bed and sat on the floor with it and Midnight. There were a few things that I could fill in before he or she was born so I began working on that. Several minutes later I heard the knocking on the door that I had been waiting for. I turned off the radio.
"Ron?" I asked, before opening the door.
"Yeah." Ron said. I opened the door and frowned when I saw that he was standing there alone. I had kind of hoped that they would be with him. He reached his arms out to hug me.
"What did they say?" I asked.
"They said that we were being as irresponsible as we were the night that this child was conceived and when we finally came around they would be there to help us. Your dad tried to talk them out of leaving…even my dad said that they were being ridiculous but they're gone."
I felt like crying. Yeah, we'd need them. They were our baby's grandmothers. But there was no way we were moving. We had a plan and could handle this baby. They would have to come around and see that. Ron shut the door.
"I told Fleur to save us something to eat because we weren't hungry now." Ron informed me. He walked to the bed with me where we lay down, facing each other.
"Why can't they be happy for us?" I asked. I still prevented myself from shedding any tears over this. Why bother? This baby was happy news…well it was supposed to be.
"Because they're scared for us." Ron answered. "They're scared and they can't take control over what's going to happen. I think that if we were living back in England that this might be easier on them because they'd find some way to take control…"
"Will they ever get over it?" I asked, hoping that Ron knew the answer.
"When it comes to their grandchild?" Ron asked. "Of course. It'll just take some time for them to get used to the fact that we can do this without their help." I smiled and leaned forward, pressing my lips against Ron's.
I moved in closer and his arms wrapped around me. Grandmothers or no grandmothers we were having a baby together and he was all I needed to make that work.
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