Mrs. Weasley and I appeared immediately inside the small simple waiting room of the MediWitch Midwives Clinic. As soon as my feet hit the floor another terrible pain shot through my entire body. The muscles in my lower back and over my entire belly tightened painfully. A piercing stab in my lower back set pins and needles in my legs. I felt more blood stream down my thigh, not stopping until it puddled upon the floor.

Mrs. Weasley had already left my side. She was at the front desk impatiently hitting the bell on the counter. Just a moment later a kind, familiar face appeared around the corner. She was a petite woman with long straight hair that was wrapped in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. She wore knee-length white robes with matching white shoes. She was the midwife that I had been seeing for the last few months.

"Molly?" she asked, suddenly concerned by Mrs. Weasley's anxious look. She had yet to take notice of me.

"Gina. It's- It's my daughter-in-law," her arm gestured back towards me and her concerned gaze followed, setting on mine.

Despite the situation I was in, I couldn't help but feel a special warmth when she referred to me as her daughter-in-law, even though Fred and I were not yet married. There was an incredible comfort just then in the presence of this woman who cared as much for me as I did her. My thoughts were stolen away quickly by another fierce contraction.

"Hermione?" Gina asked, looking me over. She quickly grabbed a wheelchair from behind the desk and came over to me. She and Mrs. Weasley helped me into the chair and Gina started swiftly wheeling me down a long empty corridor, Mrs. Weasley keeping stride with us. "Hermione, what happened?"

"I-I don't know. I was just standing there and my water broke… and then there was blood. Are they going to be okay?" I worried. I wiped a tear from my face just before it dripped from my chin. I wondered when I had started crying. Things were happening so quickly that I couldn't seem to keep up. She wheeled me into a room at the end of the hall. The room seemed so out of place in a clinic. It looked just like bedroom. Rather than a hospital bed with white sheets and blankets, there was a large queen sized bed made of an elegant wood design with white and lavender coverings. The bedside table, lamps, desk, armchairs and crib looked as if they should be in a home rather than a clinic. The lavender walls also made the room feel more comfortable. Mrs. Weasley and Gina both helped me into the large bed.

"Okay, Hermione. I'm going to need to look you over, love," Gina said, lightly laying her hand on my knee.

"Do you want me to leave?" Molly asked.

"No! Please stay…" I pleaded.

Mrs. Weasley closed the door and Gina removed her wand from the pocket of her crisp white robes. "I know you're frightened, but try to relax."

I realized that I was shaking. A quick wave of Gina's wand vanished all of my clothes. I immediately felt more frightened and vulnerable being so exposed. Molly opened a chest of drawers in the corner and removed a hospital gown. I winced again as another contraction gripped me. Gina brought the blankets up to my hips and sat on the side of the bed next to me. Molly slipped the gown onto my arms to cover my shoulders and breasts but kept the rest up to expose my belly. Gina's eyes were closed as her wand traced lightly back and forth over my belly, stopping occasionally. The passes of her wand covered the entire length of my belly twice before she opened her eyes and stood.

"Well?" asked Molly apprehensively.

"They're okay for now, but there's a been a complication. We cannot wait for you to deliver naturally, I'm afraid." As soon as she finished speaking she turned to the desk behind her and began removing bottles and gauze from it. She began walking towards me but quickly turned back around, touching her wand to a symbol on the wall which lit up.

"Wait… right now?" I panicked. "Like a c-section?"

"I'm not exactly sure what a c-section is. What's happened is called a placental abruption. Your placenta, which connects you to both of your babies, has pulled away from your uterus. The babies are no longer getting oxygen and nutrients from you. This is why you are losing blood. If I take the babies now, they should be alright. But we cannot wait as they are not getting oxygen."

"They could die?" I felt as though I couldn't breathe. I looked quickly at the door, hoping for Fred to come running in.

"He'll be here…" said Mrs. Weasley reassuringly. My eyes met hers and she looked as frightened as I felt, her eyes glittering with sympathy and fear.

The door burst open and I looked up hopefully. My hopes fell as quickly as they had risen as two more midwives entered the room. The door closed behind them, but I continued to stare at it.

"Hermione…" Gina called my attention back to her. "We need to do this now."

I noticed that behind her, she already had two warming stations set up. The two midwives took a sheet and blocked my belly from my view.

"Hermione?" Gina repeated. I turned again the to the door. Why wasn't Fred here? I realized in that moment that only about fifteen minutes had elapsed since the time Mrs. Weasley and I left the Quidditch pitch. What if he was at home though? We had originally planned to have a home birth like most witches did. Would he understand that we would be here?

"Hermione… we can't wait…" I slowly turned my head to Gina and slowly nodded, my tears falling faster.

The door burst open and Fred walked in, slamming the door behind him.

"Fred!" I shouted. He ran to my side and sat on the edge of the bed, taking my hand in his. He still had on his Quidditch robes and his face and ginger hair were slicked with sweat. His face was pale with fright.

"Hermione? What happened?" he said quickly. "Are you alright?"

I bit my lip. I didn't know how to answer that. I wasn't really sure myself.

Gina must have understood. "Everyone is okay for now, 'Dad'. But there is a problem and we need to take the babies right now."

"What?" he asked confused.

"It will be best not to watch, dear," said Mrs. Weasley. "Just stay focused on Hermione."

Fred looked as though he just noticed that his mother was there.

Mrs. Weasley's advice confirmed it for me. Whatever the midwives were going to do, it had to be much like a Caesarean section. If Mrs. Weasley told Fred not to look, then it must get messy. I wondered if she had experienced anything like this. She stood behind Fred and bent forward to gently touch my hair, but stood back up, obviously unsure about where she should be and if she should say anything.

I felt an odd cold prickling sensation begin to quickly spread over my belly, wrapping around my back. I looked down but could see nothing but the sheet suspended in front of me. In a matter of three seconds, I could feel nothing below the sheet blocking my vision, it was almost as nothing existed past the sheet. I glanced up at Fred whose hazel eyes locked on mine. He gently wiped the tears from my eyes and lifted my hand to his lips.

I could see it in his eyes; he desperately wanted to tell me that everything was going to be okay, something I desperately wanted to hear, but he knew me too well. I didn't want to hear it if he couldn't mean it. Instead of saying anything, he kissed my hand again and held it firmly in both of his. "I love you."

I felt a sticky wet feeling on my other hand and looked down. The sheet that was blocking my view now had blood beginning to wick up the side. I gasped and stared at Fred. He too had seen it and looked back at Mrs. Weasley. She was the only one of the three of us that was watching.

"It's okay, dear. They're doing fine," she assured us. I was reminded then why she was a Gryffindor. I wasn't sure that I would ever be courageous enough to watch such a procedure.

All of a sudden, a small gurgled cry rent the air. I started shaking and crying with joy and relief. Fred stood up just enough to see over the top of the curtain.

"Looks like boys," Gina announced loudly.

"What did I tell you?" Fred smiled.

I saw one of the other midwives take the baby to the warming table to my right to examine him. He cried angrily when set down on his back, completely exposed to the world around him. He was so tiny and rigid, his fists jerking in the air. His skin was an red but covered in a blotchy white waxy substance with small traces of blood. The woman was wiping him off gently but firmly.

"Mary… Mary… he's not breathing…" I heard Gina whisper to the other woman. My attention was ripped away from the warming table and began searching for the other women who stood behind the sheet, beyond my view.

I wanted to say something but nothing was coming. I couldn't breathe. I looked at Fred who appeared just as panicked. Mrs. Weasley had her hand over her mouth, waiting with bated breath, almost as if we all held ours, my baby would find his.

"Is he okay?" Fred demanded. He stood up and looked over the curtain, never letting go of my hand.

Now, I was the only one who could not see. I had no idea what was happening. I glanced at Fred and Molly and back again. I glanced over at my healthy son on the warming table and suddenly wondered if he would not be a twin after all. The tears began streaming down my face when the vision of a tiny casket flashed in my mind.

"Fred…?" I worried. He glanced at me for a split second and held up his finger for me to wait.

Another a small strangled cry broke the tension in the room.

"That's a boy," I heard a woman say encouragingly .

"Best make it three drops for this one…" Gina said quietly to the woman.

There was a small gurgling noise followed by a much stronger cry.

"He's just fine," said Gina smiling over the curtain at me. The other woman walked to my right and gave me a good look at him before taking him to join his brother at the warming tables.

"They're beautiful… you did wonderfully," whispered Fred. He leaned down and gently kissed my head.

I was stunned when the sheet that was blocking my view was suddenly pulled away. I looked down at my belly which looked almost like it had been deflated, but it bore no signs of an incision anywhere. Not a single drop of blood could be seen on me or any of the linens.

"Congratulations, 'Mum, Gina smiled warmly. "You and your boys look like you'll be in perfect health in just a few hours."

"Thank you," I said, finally finding my voice.

The first woman had wrapped "baby A" in a soft blue blanket and brought him over to Fred. "Any ideas for names yet?"

Fred looked at me and I nodded.

"Brewster," he said, taking a sideways glance at me.

"Fred…" I admonished.

"I'm just kidding," he smiled at his concerned mother. "Oliver George Weasley."

"Mum," I said. I quickly covered my mouth, unable to believe that I had just addressed Mrs. Weasley as 'Mum'. She did not seem at all surprised. In fact, she beamed warmly with a proud endearing smile. This time I meant it when I said it. "Mum… would you like to do the honors?"

I took Mrs. Weasley's wand, which she had laid on the bedside table, and handed it to her. Fred seemed to understand. He unwrapped the blanket from our son's left side, exposing it to Mrs. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley gently placed the wand tip at the top of the baby's leg, just under his bum and a small blue dot was left where the tip had alighted.

"Maybe we should give the other one a different color," I said thoughtfully.

"They're allowed a little mischief," Molly said smiling affectionately at her newborn grandson.

"See," said Fred. "I always knew deep down that you enjoyed the mayhem, at least a little."

He gently handed me the tiny bundle so that I could get my first real look at my firstborn son. He was beautiful. Now clean, I could see all his tiny features. His crying had stopped and he wiggled sleepily in my arms, his eyes closed tight against the light of the room. I pulled the blanket back from his head to see a soft tuft of copper hair, that had a very light tint toward auburn, on the top of his head. I smiled to myself. I had always secretly hoped that, boys or girls, they'd inherit the Weasley ginger.

The woman called Mary walked up to Fred and deposited "baby B" into his arms.

"And this little man," Fred told his mother, "is Euan Fredrick Weasley."

Fred opened his blanket as well and he received two small blue dots, just like his father. Fred rewrapped his blanket and gently stroked his cheek.

"They're beautiful," beamed Molly. "They're absolutely beautiful…"

Fred turned the baby toward me. I suddenly felt grateful for the Weasleys' tattoo tradition for this little baby looked exactly like his brother, though perhaps with a slightly rounder face. I was certain I would be able to tell them apart before too long, but I bet Molly had thought the same thing when Fred and George were born. I leaned down and gently kissed Euan's forehead, and then Oliver's.

"I love you, Fred."

Fred brushed my wild hair behind my ear and kissed my head. "I love you, too."


The twins are here! Hooray!

What did you think? Did I do alright? I warn you now, the next chapter is the last and it is a short one the epilogue.

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