Snape looked down at the sleeping baby he held in his arms, and smiled contentedly. His wife lie asleep in the bed nearby and he was being careful not to wake her. Even though she had agreed to take something for the pain, this time, he knew labor had still taken its toll on her petite body. He raised the baby up higher in his arms and placed a kiss on his soft cheek. He heard the hospital door open quietly and looked up to see Harry, holding little Katherine's hand as he led her into the room. At two year's old, she was a perfect mix of him and Hermione. She had long black hair that hung in soft curls. Her dark eyes sparkled merrily whenever she was up to mischief, which seemed most of the time. She climbed onto the chair next to him and wrapped her chubby little hands around his neck as he kissed her on her little button nose. Harry must have warned her to be quiet because she only gazed down at her brother silently.
"This is your new baby brother, Jonathon." Snape said as he held the baby so she could see him properly.
"I don't want bwother, I want sisser." Katherine said with a pout. Shape kissed her on the nose again before carefully placing the baby in Harry's waiting arms. He stood to his feet and scooped up Katherine in his arms, carrying her over to look out the window at the rain that was steadily drumming against it. Harry took the seat Snape had just vacated and placed a small kiss on the sleeping baby's face. He looked over at Snape and marveled at what a good father he turned out to be. He looked back down at the sleeping baby in his arms and felt a sense of wonder. He was convinced that no one, not even Trelawney, could have predicted that one day he would be holding Snape's son, or hold such an important place in his children's lives for that matter. Two nights ago, Snape and Hermione had asked him and Ginny to be Godparents of their son. Harry placed another kiss on the baby's face knowing he would do anything to protect the Snape's children.
Snape heard Katherine sigh in his arms and looked down at her sweet, innocent face. His heart burst with pride whenever he beheld his daughter. He wished his mother had lived to see her grandchildren. He knew she would be so proud to know that her son had married a wonderful woman and had two beautiful children.
"You know you're my favorite daughter, don't you?" Snape quietly asked the little girl who was still pouting in his arms. She leaned back and studied his face as if making sure he was telling the truth.
"Pwomiss?" She asked with her bottom lip still poking out.
"I promise." Snape assured her as he stared into her lovely eyes. Slowly, a huge grin appeared on her little face and she leaned her head against his shoulder while wrapping her little arms around his neck.
"I wuv you, daddy."
"I love you too, garden gnome."
"I'm not a nome," she declared with a small giggle, "I'm a wittle giwl."
"Are you sure?" Snape asked her with a small smile teasing about his lips. "We found you in the garden and brought you home."
"Nuh uh," she giggled again, "Mummy said I gwew in her tummy like bwother did."
Hermione sighed happily and opened her eyes to look around the room. She was moved to tears at what she saw. Her husband was standing at the window, holding their young daughter, obviously teasing her as she was giggling and shaking her head back and forth as if denying whatever he was telling her. She glanced over and saw Harry placing soft kisses on her baby's face and felt the tears run down her face. There had been days when she thought they would never survive the war, and yet here was her best friend, holding her newborn son, whispering softly to him and showering him with love. Suddenly, Severus was by her side with a look of concern upon his face. She hastily wiped away the tears when she realized he must have seen them and worried that something was wrong. She smiled at him and held her arms out as he gently placed Katherine in the bed next to her. The little girl laid her head against her mother's shoulder and looked up into her eyes. Hermione burst out laughing when her little angel blurted, "I asked for a sisser."
Three years later the same scene was repeated, however, this time the baby was another girl. Snape was sitting next to Hermione's bed as she quietly nursed their daughter. His legs were starting to go numb as he held a child on each leg with his arms around them to keep them upright as they lay against his chest sleeping. For some reason, he couldn't quite fathom, his children clung to him whenever they were worried or afraid. He looked up gratefully when Mr. and Mrs. Granger slipped into the room to collect their two oldest grandchildren. Severus had helped his wife locate her parents and restore their memory shortly after Jonathon was born. They were a little upset at first, but there was nothing like grandchildren to soften the heart of a parent. John Granger gently scooped five-year old Katherine in his arms as Jane Granger picked up three-year old Jonathon and held him close. They both exclaimed over the baby and then kissed their daughter on the forehead before slipping out the door with their sleeping charges. Luckily, it was summer break and there were no classes in session, which meant the older children could spend two weeks with their grandparents.
Snape sat on the bed beside his wife and kissed her upturned lips. He looked down at his sleeping daughter and marveled at her dark hair and lovely eyelashes. Would all his children be a perfect mix of him and Hermione? He didn't care, as long as the girls didn't seem to inherit his unfortunate looks. Jonathon hadn't been so lucky. The boy was the spitting image of his father, and yet all the little girls seemed to gather around the young boy and crave his company. His mother declared him handsome and caring. She said his caring nature would always ensure that he would never be without friends. Severus sincerely hoped so. He did not want any of his children to suffer the loneliness he had experienced as a child. Hermione handed him little Janie Elizabeth so she could pull herself further up in the bed and adjust her blankets. Snape stood and gently rocked the baby as he looked down on her cute little button nose. Thank God his wife was beautiful or his children would really have been in trouble.
"This is it Severus, no more babies." Hermione said matter of factly.
"No more babies, wife." Severus said as he placed a small kiss on Janie's face and handed her back to Hermione. "I have no desire to keep up with the Potters. I am perfectly satisfied with three children. Although," he whispered as he leaned down and brushed his lips against her ear, "I will miss having a randy wife during the last trimester." Hermione laughed softly as she playfully slapped his shoulder. "My desire for you has nothing to do with pregnancy hormones. I seem to remember having trouble keeping my hands off of you, even when I wasn't pregnant."
Snape growled softly and placed a kiss on her lips before crossing the room to stand out of the way as the Longbottom's and the Malfoy's slipped into the room to congratulate Hermione on a job well done. Snape let his hair hang forward to cover the small smile that played about his lips. His heart was fairly bursting with pride at the thought of his little family. He had everything he could ever dream of and everything he thought he never deserved. He watched from behind his curtain of hair as his wife declared that, once again, Severus had given her another beautiful, healthy child.
Snape sat on the sofa surround by three young faces as they listened intently to the bedtime story he read to them. Janie, who had just turned three, loved to hear him read before bedtime and sat in her father's lap as her siblings set on the floor in front of them. The kids were in their pajamas and had begged for one more story. They requested that he read to them from their favorite book. Hermione had amazed him by writing a children's story about a commoner who saved the life of a Prince and won his heart. His children loved hearing the story and always cheered at the ending that saw the couple married and living the rest of their lives very much in love. They didn't know their mother was the author of the story, since she had used a pen name. She was currently writing a series about a house elf that had been freed and all the adventures he had as he traveled the country and helped other house elves understand that it was okay to be a free elf. Only those closest to Hermione knew the book was loosely based on Dobby and what his life might have been like, had he lived. Her next book, in the Dobby series, was due out in the fall and Snape was always amazed that his wife never tired of trying new things. She had opened an Apothecary in Hogsmeade with Luna and Vanessa. Hermione's brilliance had ensured that it was a successful business that Luna and Vanessa managed during the day. He helped Hermione research new products that would appeal to all their customers and even suggested a few items to the Weasley's for their joke shop. Vanessa Malfoy designed some of the perfume lines that they stocked and had trouble keeping on the shelves. Her line of perfumes and bath scents were so popular that she had to hire assistants to keep up with Hermione's orders. Hermione continued teaching the first and second year potion classes, and due to Harry agreeing to take over the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, Snape was free to teach the fourth through seventh years. She had claimed that she needed more time to help out at the store, however, Snape believed it was because she knew how much he had missed teaching potions.
Hermione looked up from the manuscript she was editing and smiled over at her husband as he read the ending with a flourish in his lovely voice. He announced that it was time for bed and was met with three sets of groans. All it took was the threat of being tickled and he was soon chasing three children up the stairs as they roared with laughter and tried not to be the last one in their beds. Hermione listened to the sounds of laughter and rough housing coming from upstairs and smiled to herself. Who would have known that Severus was such a natural, when it came to his children? They all adored him and respected his authority. All it took was a disappointed look from him and his children would toe the line. The sound of laughter finally subsided and she set her work aside as her husband came back down the stairs and flopped back down on the couch declaring that he was beat. Hermione looked around at their cozy living room and was once again pleased that they had in fact managed to find a house near the Potters. Their house was perfect for their small family, with plenty of room to grow. She pushed herself up from her chair and approached her husband with a small devious smile on her lips. Snape gave her a suspicious glare as she knelt on the floor in front of him.
"I hope you're not too tired to tell me a bedtime story, Severus." She said with a small pout as she reached out and parted his robe and began unfastening his pants. Snape's breath hitched in his throat as she freed his semi-erect cock and ran her tongue over the tip.
"I'm never too tired for you, Hermione." He whispered hoarsely as she began stroking him and placed the head of his member in her hot, wet mouth. He moaned and laid his head back against the couch as she began fisting him and sucking expertly on the head of his cock. He threaded his fingers in her hair and held her still as he pumped his rock hard cock in and out of her delicious mouth. He rocked his hips and moaned again when he felt himself slide to the back of her throat. The sound of her low moan was almost his undoing. He quickly pulled back and leaned down to kiss her as she started to pout from being interrupted. He pushed her back onto the floor and lay on top of her as he began kissing her hungrily and gently nipping her on her neck and shoulders, eliciting even more quiet moans from her. They quickly shed their clothing and he erected a silencing charm before thrusting into her with one powerful thrust. She cried out in pleasure and dug her nails into his back as he shuddered at the feeling of her gripping his cock so tightly inside her. She brought her legs up around his waist and began rocking her hips to meet each thrust.
"Sweet Merlin, you are so tight, woman." He gasped into her hair as he began thrusting with the amount of force he knew she liked. "You are going to make me come."
"Yes, please, please come deep inside me, Severus," she gasped as she gripped his shoulders and pulled her legs up farther so he was even deeper inside her. Snape felt his balls tighten and knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. He reached between them and used his thumb to stimulate her clit, causing her to cry out as she orgasmed. Her climax spurred his and he cried out in pleasure as he shot his cum deep inside her. He pumped his hips a few more times as he came down off his high and felt her gently nipping at his neck and chin. He smiled as he looked down into her flushed face and placed a small kiss on her lips.
"Have I told you today that I love you, witch?" He purred softly.
"Yes," she said with a smile that warmed his insides, "but I never tire of hearing it." She moved to slide out from underneath him; however, he scooped her up in his arms and tossed her lightly onto the sofa before climbing on top of her again.
"I'm not through with you yet, woman." He growled as he gave her a repeat performance that nearly curled her toes.