It had been months, and Scorpius still couldn't believe he was going to be a father in several months' time. It had been a long road filled with him and Albus discussing having a family, Rose agreeing to be a surrogate, Lily agreeing to donate some of her eggs, and any number of smaller steps along the way. All in all, Scorpius had come to believe it might never happen, so to have reached a point where he no longer had things to do every single day was strange.

While he trusted Rose to be taking care of the baby as best as she could while it grew, he couldn't shake off his incessant need to be doing something to prepare for the baby's arrival at all times. Albus had taken to comparing him to an electric current that was constantly running, much to the annoyance of those around him who kept getting shocked.

Though it was in the back of his mind that he should probably calm down, he couldn't quite bring himself to, so he found himself Apparating to Rose's flat one morning on his day off. Just like he had on all of his days off since her positive pregnancy test. He hardly even noticed the sharp look she gave him as she opened the door.

"I was looking through this catalogue," Scorpius said, holding up said catalogue while still standing in the doorway of the flat, "and wondering what you thought about these two pairs of booties. Which would be more flattering on the baby? I like the lavender, but it's hard to be sure which is better when we don't know what the baby will look like. What if peach suits them better than the lavender?"

Rose blinked at him once before turning on her heel without answering and heading down the hallway of her flat to the kitchen. Scorpius hurried after her, swinging the door shut behind him.

"Is there such a thing as flattering on a baby?" Rose asked as she set to work making tea. "I thought you could put them in anything and everyone would still coo over how cute they are."

"Of course they'll be cute in anything, but the right clothes could make them even cuter. This is important, Rose! Albus and I have waited too long for this baby to put it in the wrong clothes!"

Rose sat the kettle on the stove with a sigh, rubbing at her eyes.

"Scorpius, I'm saying this because I care and no one else will do it. And also because you're driving me up a wall, and I'd like you to shut up. But you need to calm down. The baby won't care if their booties are lavender or peach. If you must, buy them both. All I can tell you is that I certainly don't care which colour you choose. To be honest, I'd rather be left alone because I know I agreed to carry your child, but I feel like I haven't had time to myself for more than a month because you're over here every other day asking me about decorations and trying to comfort me through morning sickness that I can handle on my own."

Scorpius was quiet for a moment as he processed what Rose was saying.

"I'm sorry I've been irritating you," he said with a frown. "Albus said I was being a little too," he motioned wildly through the air as he failed to come up with a word, "but I don't know what else to do, Rose! Everything needs to be perfect! And you agreed to do this to help us, so I want to help you if I can."

"What I need from you more than anything is a break."

Scorpius deflated.

"Look," Rose said with a sigh. "Can we come up with a deal? You can come over twice a week, but I get the other days to actually rest. When I'm about to actually pop, we can talk about making it more often."

"Fine," Scorpius replied, eager to agree to anything that still let him check in on the baby. He had no idea how he was going to survive the days when he couldn't come, but he'd worry about that later. "I'll go now. Sorry, Rose. Can I say goodbye to the baby?"

Rose nodded and stood still to let Scorpius stoop down to her stomach and speak in baby gibberish for several minutes. She rolled her eyes as he stood back up. She'd made it more than clear in the past that she thought the way he talked to her stomach was ridiculous. He worried a bit about what she said to the baby when no one was around, but he was too scared of the answer to ask.

"Oh, and Scorpius?" Rose called, stopping Scorpius at the door. "Next time you come, can you bring me some chocolate? That might get you a warmer reception."

"Chocolate," Scorpius said decisively. "Will do!"

Even after his agreement, Rose wasn't prepared for the giant bar of Honeyduke's Best she was presented with the next time Scorpius was at her door.

Prompts:

HPFC

Favourite Character Boot Camp: Scorpius Malfoy - electric

Hogwarts Challenges and Assignments

Assignment 10 - Herbology: write about a pregnancy

Word count: 860