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Can't thank you all enough for the love and support for this little fic. You are all simply amazing and I couldn't keep going without you. Thank you to all the Follower and Favorite-ers over the past week. And extra thank yous to the Reviewers; pianomouse, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, dianaanne, WildestDreams72394, Guest, and MRSDARRENCRISS589.

Please enjoy 12...

Chapter 12 – Guilt and Embarrassment

Hermione's eyes slowly fluttered open as she heard quiet cries and hiccups echoing through the magical baby monitor on her bedside table. She rubbed the sleep sand from her eyes and began to swing her legs over the edge of the bed.

"It's alright; I'll get her. You haven't slept well in days 'Mione."

The redheaded figure next to her reached over and kissed her temple before pulling himself from the bed and stumbling through the door to get to Elizabeth's room.

It was true. Hermione felt like she hadn't had a good night's rest in weeks, actually. She knew that babies weren't all sunshine, smiles and adorable miniature clothing; but she wasn't sure if it was supposed to feel this difficult.

Hermione closed her eyes again and smiled sleepily as she overheard the conversation going on in the nursery.

"What is it, my Lizzy. What's wrong, Love?"

There was a gentle rustling sound and the little baby stopped crying; Hermione assumed that meant that Elizabeth had been picked up and was now enjoying the feeling of being held and cradled.

"I know you can't be hungry Lizzy. Mummy just fed you an hour ago."

The baby whined and let out a tiny yawn that Hermione barely heard over the monitor.

"Oh, goodness. See… that's why you need to sleep, little one. That way you won't be tired. You'll feel all awake and alert if you get some real rest, I promise. And then Mummy and I can have enough energy to play with you; because if you sleep, we can sleep."

Elizabeth made a gurgling sound in response and yawned again.

"So, can we try this again, Lizzy?"

There was another rustling sound over the monitor as Elizabeth was laid back into her crib. The little baby made no protest, and yawned again as her little quidditch mobile was wound up and began to play a soft melody.

Hermione heard shuffling footsteps enter the bedroom and the mattress shifted slightly under the added weight. The sleepy smile was still on Hermione's lips as she rolled over and easily fit into the spot right between the man's shoulder and neck. She wrapped her free arm over his taught, bare chest as he encircled her with his long arms.

The man brushed his lips over Hermione's forehead as she began to open her eyes again, "Thank you for taking such good care of Elizabeth. You know you don't have to."

"Don't be ridiculous, Hermione. I love her like my own. And I love you. So if I can help you get even just a few minutes extra sleep, I will definitely do whatever task that needs tending to."

Hermione felt her chin being tilted up by slightly calloused fingers. She smiled brightly; in spite of her exhaustion, her heart fluttered at the thought of what was coming next.

"I love you too, Fred."

Hermione's eye's focused momentarily on the beautiful dark blue irises of Fred Weasley, before she closed her eyes again and felt the tender caress of his lips on hers…

Hermione's eyes shot open and she yelped as her bedroom came back into focus.

She looked around the room, expecting to see parallels from her dream. Her bedside table was empty other than her vine wood wand, the magical baby monitor was still in its box by the closet door and the spot next to her on her full sized bed was vacant and showed no sign of another occupant.

Oh... and she was still very pregnant.

Hermione almost jumped out of her skin at the rapid knocking on her bedroom door; which was closed tightly.

"…y… Yes?" Hermione managed to choke the word out without sounding too frazzled.

"Are you alright Hermione?" Fred's voice came through the door a bit muffled. He was terrified that she had another nightmare and his voice easily revealed his concern.

"I'm… I'm fine Fred. I'm so sorry I woke you. Just a… strange dream… scared me a bit," Hermione's brain felt like it was in overdrive. Her thoughts whirled around frantically and she was unable to focus on anything but the dream that she had just exited.

"Do you need anything?" Fred yawned as he propped his head on Hermione's door with a soft thud.

"…need anything… I guess I could use some water… yes, water would be a good idea," Hermione rocked a little as she pulled herself up from the bed and quickly grabbed her over-sized cardigan to ward off the chilly winter bite.

Hermione opened the door of her room and Fred almost fell into her arms.

"Bloody… Merlin, I'm so sorry Hermione. Just exhausted from work… I think... I actually fell asleep on your door…" Fred offered her one of his cheeky smirks and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. The December rush had begun. The closer it got to Christmas, the more hectic the store seemed and the less sleep that Fred and George seemed to get, "If you're alright, I think I should be getting back to bed."

"Again… I'm so sorry Fred," Hermione tried to give Fred a kind smile, but she felt nervous and exposed… even though Fred was the one not wearing a shirt. She found it difficult to divert her eyes, and that made her even more uncomfortable, "Um, aren't you a bit cold with just pants, Fred?"

The redhead quickly looked down at his crumpled slacks and bare chest, "Oh, I guess I was too tired to change. I honestly don't even remember coming up from the shop last night." Fred chuckled and stretched out his chest and arms as he succumbed to a huge yawn.

Hermione ducked her head and forced her eyes to the floor.

Fred noted her reaction with confusion; but he was too tired to string any cognitive thoughts together. "You sure you're alright, Hermione?"

She nodded her head and smiled as best she could with a strange tight feeling around her chest, "I'm fine; I promise. Get to bed before you fall asleep standing upright again."

"Right; very good plan. That's why they call you brilliant," Fred's goofy grin was intoxicating and Hermione caught herself staring at his lips. He mumbled goodnight to the witch before staggering back to his own room and collapsing onto his mattress again.

Merlin help me… these hormones are going to drive me mad…

Hermione was unable to fall asleep again that night. She wasn't sure if it was because of the strange, vivid dream or the fact the Elizabeth was continuously moving around in her abdomen.

Since it was finally Winter Holiday for the Hogwarts students, Hermione decided to floo to the Burrow to catch up with Ginny that morning. And the fact that she left before Fred had to wake up for work was simply a coincidence…

It was very early in the morning, so Hermione was extremely surprised to see Ginny already up and about. The redheaded witch was begrudgingly helping her mother clean and prepare the house for the holiday season.

"Hello?" Hermione called quietly as she gripped the door frame of the kitchen for balance. Flooing was completely awful and gave her flashbacks to the terrible morning sickness that she had experienced. But the floo was safer then apperating; there had been a pamphlet at St. Mungo's that went over the horrifying possibilities of splinching a baby…

"Good morning, dear!" Mrs. Weasley's face broke into a huge welcoming smile and she gingerly wrapped Hermione in a warm hug. "Have you eaten yet? Can I make you something? What are you liking now a days? Are you allowed to drink tea still?"

Hermione shook her head lightly and returned the smile, "I'm not hungry right now, thank you Molly. But tea sounds lovely."

Mrs. Weasley made herself busy with the kettle; flicking her wand to order the teapot into motion. She flicked her wand again to retrieve the assortment of tea bags from the top shelf of the pantry.

Ginny's grin reached from ear to ear, "Oh, thank Merlin you're here. You can save me…" Hermione could barely hear the younger witch as she mumbled her thanks about the unexpected visit. The redhead's grin faltered though as she took in the dark circles and sagging shoulders of her best friend, "Hermione… are you alright?" Ginny made sure to speak quietly so that her mother would not overhear.

"I'm fine… I think. I just didn't sleep very well last night," Hermione tried to look and sound convincing, but she knew that it was an utter failure when Ginny narrowed her eyes and cocked her head slightly.

"Mum, we're going to walk around the garden. Hermione needs to move around a bit if you expect her to sit down to tea with us," Ginny went to the hall closet and pulled a thick wool coat and a set of gloves out for herself.

"Ginevra Weasley, that's ridiculous. It's freezing out there; and it's supposed to snow today! This is not the kind of weather to be taking a pregnant girl out into," Mrs. Weasley was completely beside herself at the idea of the two girls going outside.

"Well, it's a good thing that we're both witches then. And I know for a fact that Hermione is very good at warming charms. She's probably the only reason the lot of us didn't catch cold during the winter quidditch games at Hogwarts," Ginny didn't even bother to wait for a response from her mother. She laced Hermione's arm through her own elbow and lead them outside into the frigid air.

Ginny shivered at the initial shock from the cold and Hermione quickly muttered the warming charm over the both of them, "Alright, Granger; out with it."

"Out with what, Gin?" Hermione chuckled nervously knowing that Ginny wouldn't be fooled by her feigned innocence. But she knew that there was no way to tell her friend the truth of what was wrong. The embarrassment alone might kill her; not to mention the guilt.

Ginny didn't even bother auguring; she just glared at Hermione and waited for the brunette witch to cave in.

Hermione rolled her eyes and made come calculated edits before beginning her explanation, "I had a very strange dream last night, that's all. I couldn't get back to sleep afterwards."

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "And you're sure that's it?"

Hermione nodded her head and forced a grin on her face, "Yes, that's all. It was just… it felt very real, so it was… startling."

"Well vivid and overactive dreams are supposedly very common during pregnancy. Did you dream about anything interesting?" Ginny hadn't meant anything by the question; she had just wanted to catch up with her friend. But when she saw the color flood Hermione's cheeks, Ginny became particularly interested in finding out what the dreams had been about.

Then a sad thought crossed Ginny's mind, "Was it a dream about Ron?" Her whole body filled with concern.

"No," Hermione frowned still trying to grapple with who had been in the dream with her.

Ginny pulled on Hermione's arm and brought them to a standstill under one of the huge oak trees around the Burrow. "It's alright if it wasn't Ron, you know. He's… he's been gone for almost eight months now, and I'm so proud of the progress you've made to move forward. He would be proud of you too. Ron, selfish as he could be at times, would have wanted you to move on."

"I know. But like you said; it's been eight months… only eight months," Hermione sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around her extended belly. "I will always love Ron. I still wake up sometimes with that fleeting feeling of possibility… that maybe his death was the horrible nightmare, not me being left behind as a single parent at nineteen."

"I'm sure it feels that way sometimes, Hermione… but this isn't a nightmare." Ginny smiled sadly and placed a hand over Hermione's stomach, "This little girl is a very unexpected gift; a way for us to always have a piece of Ron. And don't every think that you're alone in this. You have your family and ours standing ready behind you."

Hermione nodded her head. She was comforted by Ginny's words and thankful that there didn't seem to be any tears to cry.

Ginny reached for Hermione's hand and began the tract around the garden again. She tried to lighten the mood by bringing back the previous subject of dreams, "So who have you been dreaming about? Was it that really handsome muggle actor we saw in the film over summer holiday? Or the quidditch player you actually remembered the name of while we were owling last month?"

A nervous smile took over Hermione's face as she tried to figure out a way to not relieve the identity of her dream man. She decided a version of the truth was the only thing that Ginny would believe and it could possibly placate her for at least a short time while Hermione figured out what it all meant…

… Or even if it meant anything in the first place.

"Well, it's quite embarrassing, because it's someone that you know. I feel completely mental right now because of it, so I'd rather not say. I don't need you all poking fun at me simply because my hormones have wreaked havoc on my brain," Hermione pulled the collar of her coat up a bit to try to hide her face.

Ginny chuckled, "Oh all right, I'll let you keep your secret… for now at least. But please think about what I said. It's alright to keep moving forward; it's what Ron would have wanted. And as long as it's not Harry, I think I can support whatever bloke you've picked out."

"Merlin, Ginny… Really?!" Hermione stopped walking and covered her bright red face with both her hands. Ginny was laughing almost maniacally. "First of all, Harry is basically my brother; so no, it wasn't Harry. Secondly, I need to get over the guilt that I'm feeling anything toward another person. And thirdly, I'm fairly certain you wouldn't…" Hermione stopped herself from continuing, fearing that she might give too much away.

The redheaded witch silently stepped next to Hermione and wrapped her arms around the brunette as best she could.

They stood like that for a few minutes while Hermione just breathed deeply and accepted Ginny's comforting embrace.

"You know I'm only joking to try to make this whole situation easier. But I did mean it when I said that I would support whatever you decide; bloke or no bloke. I just want you to be happy Hermione," Ginny put her witty banter and mischievous smirk aside; she wore a small genuine smile that she hoped Hermione would understand was meant as encouraging.

"Thanks, Gin."

The two witches finally broke their embrace and headed back to the warmth of the burrow to chat with Mrs. Weasley about holiday plans and sip on piping hot tea.

So what did you all think about that dream?!

See you all next week!

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Always,

Misha

Ps. Check out my other stories too; 'Thrown Back,' 'Life as Demigods' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'