Because of the cruel way I left the last chapter I've updated much quicker than I have done in a long time. Big thank yous and virtual hugs to Schizophren, Stella Celeste Taylor, LeannePatriciaGroeneveld, DrNikiReid and Speedmonkey for reviewing. Not all questions will be answered in this chapter but they will be sooner or later during the story.
I'm not a doctor, because I would need to be good at Biology to be a doctor, so some of the things in this chapter may not be medically correct - if that's even the term (I'm sure it isn't), but anyways I'm sure it won't bother anyone but I wanted to mention it beforehand.
I still don't own Harry Potter because JK Rowling won't share.
By the time the third applicant got up to leave, George had almost lost the will to live. He was searching for someone to work in his joke shop, yet all three applicants so far had been beyond dull; they were the type of people he and Fred used to trick into eating sweets from their Skiving Snackboxes. It was mid-morning so the Hogshead pub was virtually desolate and George felt a strong temptation to buy a Firewhisky just so that he would feel better.
The sudden sound of a crack in the building signalled someone apparating in. ''Blimey, you must be desperate for a bloody drink if you need to apparate yourself straight onto the barstool,'' George muttered to himself.
''George! George!'' He did not expect to hear his little sister's frantic calls only seconds later and immediately he found himself on alert. He had been sat at a table right in the corner of the pub and was hidden from a certain angle by a rather large, paint-chipped pillar.
He jumped out of his seat and ran over to see Ginny interrogating a very confused (and slightly frightened) looking barmaid over where he was.
''Ginny?''
Pivoting on her heels, a red eyed Ginny ran across to her brother and wrapped her arms around him. ''You're here. Ron said you mentioned being here today and if you weren't here then...''
Alarmed by his sister's hysterical rambling, George pulled away from her and put his hands on her shoulders. ''Ginny, what is going on?''
''Hermione and I were going to go see Luna – hoping she would want to maybe come shopping with us – and when we got to your flat...she was on the floor and...''
Horrified, George's grip on Ginny tightened and he desperately pressed for her to finish, ''Ginny, where is she?''
''St Mungo's,'' Never in her life had Ginny seen someone apparate so fast, and before she could even think, George was gone.
''I closed the shop as soon when the girls told me they had found her unconscious so that I could help Hermione bring her here while Ginny went to find George,'' Lee informed Ron, who, along with Harry, had just managed to get away from his Ministry work long enough to come to the hospital. Hermione was, at that moment, with Luna in the nearby room. Lee manoeuvred the side of the long corridor they were situated in as a teenager who looked as though their apparating test had gone badly wrong was rushed down the corridor. Once they passed Lee continued, ''I don't think George will mind me locking up early.''
''George won't care about anything right now aside from Luna.'' Ron said as he leant against the wall. ''I just hope Ginny's found him.''
''Do you think we should call your mum?'' Harry enquired.
''No,'' Ron's face displayed his horror at the idea. ''She'll be crying and yelling and then she'll insist on Luna and George moving back to the Burrow so that she can keep a twenty-four hour watch on Luna and within a week she'll have-''
''Okay Ron, I get the picture,''
Hermione emerged from the nearby doorway and noted how there was only three people outside. ''I guess since George didn't come running in to Luna's room, Ginny hasn't found him yet.''
''I told Ginny where he should be but neither of them have shown up,'' Ron informed her.
''How's Luna?'' Harry asked in concern for his wife's best friend.
''She's conscious and the doctor is pretty sure it was pregnancy related – most likely lack of sleep or stress.''
''So she's going to be alright.'' Ron hoped. To his relief, Hermione responded with a nod.
''Yes, but I think they're going to keep her in today for observation just in case she passes out again.''
''No I am not going to be bloody quiet!' George's voice boomed down the corridor. ''You'll be flippin' lucky if I don't hex you.''
George would you please stop yelling, they're only trying to help,'' Ginny pleaded as her brother's voice continued to gain volume. She had finally caught up with him after his abrupt exit from the Hogshead pub.
''Sir, it is regular procedure that we have proof of relationship before we give details of patients.'' The doctor's voice was professionally calm.
''I have told you, she is my fiancée,''
''Actually you walked in demanding to know where Luna Lovegood was and then you just started yelling at everyone,'' Ginny corrected him, earning a glare from her irate brother.
''Look I don't care, where is the mother of my child?'
Knowing that the kind of emotion the man before him was displaying couldn't be faked, the doctor was satisfied that George had a genuine relationship with the woman he was looking for. ''From what you said about your fiancee I would assume that she would have been taken to the department on the next floor up, but you will need to ask one of that department's staff for specific details of where she is.''
''Okay thanks,'' George shouted back at the doctor from down the corridor, as he had already began for the staircase.
As George reached the top floor he went to speak to a passing nurse, but saw Ron, Harry, Hermione and Lee first and ran straight towards them. They heard him sprinting towards them and all met him with a sympathetic smile as he skidded to a halt beside them.
''She's alright George,'' Hermione immediately reassured him.
''Do they know what was wrong with her?'' Ginny said through heavy breaths as she came to a stop directly next to George.
''They say it could be lack of rest or stress related, or both''
''Do they know for sure?'' George tried to calm himself, but having lost all his breath whilst running, he sounded borderline hysterical.
''No, they asked me to step outside while they did a few tests.''
''She'll be alright George,'' Ron put a hand on his older brother's shoulder. ''Luna's a fighter, she's been through enough in her life.''
George nodded as his breathing seemed to finally regulate again. He then looked to Hermione, ''Can I go in?''
''I think they wanted to be left while they did tests, but I'm sure they'll be done very soon – they've already been a while.''
George slumped back into one of the waiting chairs next to where Harry was sat. ''Thanks for being here for her,''
They all gave their various ways of saying 'no problem' before George used Lee's presence to lighten the mood, ''If you tell me you left some kid in charge of my shop you're fired.''
The smile that was on George's face as he spoke reassured Lee that he was being strong for the moment. Having been friends since they were both eleven, it wasn't easy for Lee to see George look so worried, so he was glad to hear a bit of humour in him still. ''I closed up to help Hermione with Luna so that Ginny could go and find you.''
''Oh, well you'd use any excuse wouldn't you,'' George chuckled.
Everyone jumped when the door to Luna's room was opened and a nurse appeared in the doorway. George immediately sprang to his feet and bombarded the nurse with questions, ''Is she alright? Can I go in? What were the tests about?''
''She should be perfectly fine, you can go in and the tests were routine checks and I will explain them when the results come back.'' The nurse politely responded to each question. She then smiled warmly, ''you must be the fiancé Miss Granger said would be on his way. From what she said I was expecting you to break down the door to see Luna.''
''Yeah, a few minutes ago I probably would have,''
''Well feel free to go in, but not all of you at a time please,'' She asked the others.
''Alright, I think we should be getting back to the Ministry anyway,'' Ron said to Harry who nodded in agreement. ''We'll come see you later George,''
George smiled appreciatively as Ron and Harry said goodbye and disapparated out.
''I'll go back and open the shop,''
''Thanks Lee,''
Quickly it was only him and the girls left. Ginny, albeit reluctantly, spoke up next. ''Maybe we should go too,''
''You can stay if you want,''
''I'll come back later, you need to be with her now,'' George gave his sister a bear hug before releasing her so that she and Hermione could also apparate out of the hospital.
Walking into Luna's room, George found she was sat quite contently on her bed while the nurse cleared out. Her bright smile greeted him as he walked across the room to her bed and he smiled back. She was slightly paler than usual and her silver eyes didn't hold the sparkle they usually did, but apart from that George found little to suggest that she was ill. Rather than sitting on one of the chairs, George opted to perch on the edge of her bed – that way he was as close to her as possible.
He began to ask if she was alright, but he decided that that was a pointless thing to ask and closed his mouth again. Luna reached and squeezed his hand tightly – clearly she had not lost much of her strength. ''We'll both be alright George,''
He gently squeezed her hand back and placed his free hand on her stomach. ''I know you both will, but you've still managed to successfully increase my blood pressure by a considerable amount,''
Luna laughed lightly but then seemed to wince at something.
''Luna, what is it?''
''I still feel a little uneasy,''
''Do you want me to get a nurse?''
Luna heard the panic in his voice and once again enforced her grip on his hand. ''That won't be necessary,''
For a moment George considered getting one anyway as a precaution, but decided against it. At that moment e jus wanted to do what kept Luna happy. ''So...how long are they planning on keeping you here?''
''They would like me to stay here for the rest of the day,''
''Alright Miss Lovegood,'' The nurse was back and holding several files that George was sure would make his head ache just by looking at them. ''I have results for you,''
George was impressed by the speed the results had come back. George remembered his mum telling him that it had taken several hours for her to find out the results on his father after he was attacked in the Ministry during his final year at Hogwarts. Even for the magical world, Luna's results had come back very fast.
''Judging by your tone I'm hoping for good news,'' Ever the intuitive, Luna felt less anxious than she had done only moments earlier.
''We know what's wrong and we know exactly what to do to make you better,''
''Well?'' George pressed for her to elaborate.
''It appears that the problem is stress related,'' The nurse watched as Luna and George shared a look before continuing, ''are you aware of what could have been causing you stress?''
''After everything you've been through it would be impossible for you to not be stressed from time to time,'' George spoke softly to his fiancée.
''I know, but I've been less stressed now than I have been in a long while,''
''It can be a long term issue,'' The nurse spoke up, ''it doesn't need to be recent.''
''So what do I have to do?''
''I would recommend bed rest for the next few days – starting with spending the rest of today here, and then you just need to avoid stressful activities; no work, try to avoid any confrontations even if it's just a small tiff with friends and family and then come back in a week or two and we'll see how you are then.''
''So I'll be able to take her home tomorrow morning,'' The nurse nodded her confirmation to George.
''I suppose it could have been worse,'' Luna tried to hide the guilt in her voice, but George still caught on to it.
''What is it?''
''I've been risking our baby's health without even realising,'' Her eyes began to shine with tears and George enveloped her into a hug.
''Hey, how could you have possibly known anything was wrong,'' He buried his face into her hair and kissed the crown of her head. ''We know now and I promise I will take care of you and our baby every way I can.''
Luna's thank you was muffled as her face was buried into the crook of George's neck and neither noticed the nurse exit the room, leaving them alone.
A few hours later, Ginny returned with the others to see Luna. Ginny was the first to reach the doorway and as she opened the door she found both Luna and George sleeping. Luna was sleeping on her back while George slept on his side next to her, one of his arms rested under his head while the other reached across Luna's stomach. Ginny smiled at how peaceful they both looked before quietly shuffling everyone back out of the room.