A/N: So...like my other story, I just can't stay away. I had to sneak in a short chapter for each story. Sorry for lack of length, but it's better than nothing. Just a short, sweet little Hermione/Severus moment.

Chapter 14

Hermione smiled as she and Severus put their things away. It had been two days since she had been in the Hospital Wing. She was still sore, but feeling much better overall.

She placed her clothes away by type and texture, feeling them carefully before placing them in the drawers.

"Albus and Minerva would like us to join them for dinner tonight. They always eat dinner out near the front steps during the summer...something about the view of the..." he stopped, biting his lip. Stupid move, Severus.

"Of the Black Lake..." she finished for him. "Severus, don't censor yourself around me. I understand that I may never see again...you can't be tripping over your words like this forever."

The man smiled and pulled her into his arms, kissing her gently. "I love you," he studied her features sadly. He hated how she attempted to look in his direction though her eyes were making contact with the wall behind them.

"I love you too..."

Once everything was in its place, Severus shrunk their bags and stowed them in a drawer. He taught her the room briefly, knowing they would have to go over it a few times before she would be able to remember it on her own. He helped her sit on the couch, and she laid down, her head in his lap as he wrote lesson plans.

Hermione had almost fallen asleep when she jerked slightly, her abdomen twitching. Her lips parted in a silent gasp when she realized what was happening. She placed a hand on her stomach, not wanting to excite Severus if she was mistaken. Again, her stomach twitched. Her lips curved into a broad smile.

Reaching back, Hermione took her husband's hand in her own two small ones and placed it on her stomach. Twitch. They both felt it, and he gasped as she sat up, dropping his lesson plans to the floor.

"You felt it?" Her voice was unsure.

"Was it-?"

"I think so."

She pulled his hands back to her stomach, waiting for another twitch. The wait was a bit longer, but it came.

Severus smiled and chuckled softly. He could see tears in his wife's unseeing eyes. He was going to be a father. He had known this for some time, but feeling...actually being able to feel the life within Hermione's body...made all of it real.

Hermione was feeling much the same, tears now slipping down her face. Mother. Was she ready? Of course not...she was blind. But she had Severus, and that was all she needed. She smiled as the baby kicked lightly as her stomach once more.

"Severus..." her voice was shaky with emotion.

He kissed her, knowing that was what she wanted. He rested his forehead against hers. "I can't believe it."

"It feels so...real now."

"It does..." He moved away and off the couch, kneeling in front of her. She sat back a bit, his hands finding her stomach easily. He lifted her shirt to that it rested at the top of her protruding abdomen, his warm hands caressing and feeling every inch of her rounded middle.

Hermione bit her lip as she felt his hands and a few kicks from their baby. She could not stop more tears when she felt him place a gentle kiss on her stomach, right next to her navel. The whole thing was extremely intimate, and his hands were so gentle upon her. She had never felt closer to or been more in love with him than at that very moment.

Severus glanced up at her. "I love you...more than life itself."

Hermione smiled. "I love you too...You're going to be an amazing father, Severus."

Their lips met in a gentle and tender kiss, and Severus wiped the tears from his lover's face.

"I never thought...in a million years...that I would ever be a father."

"You'll be perfect."

"Thank you."

Hermione looked confused. "For what, Sev?"

"For giving me this chance. For keeping our baby. For making me that cup of tea the night before the Final Battle."

Hermione smiled and shook her head. "I should be the one thanking you."

He pulled her shirt down, his hands resting on her stomach again.

"Severus? Hermione?" Albus's nosy face appeared in the fireplace, and the two sighed.

"Dinner's ready, you two," he said, seeing them on the couch. "Come along."

A/N: that was a fun chapter to write. Sorry about the length...snuck away from my research paper...don't tell on me.