Immediately after Narcissa's finished speaking Draco places his hands on my waist and helps me to my feet; "Take my arm, love", he says in a wild and frantic voice. I take his arm and we disapparate with a loud 'crack', and reappear in the lobby of the maternity ward at St. Mungo's; the 'pop' I hear right behind us lets me know that Narcissa's just appeared also.
"Why, Mr. Malfoy, Jayde!", the secretary asks from behind her desk, "What's wrong?".
"She's having contractions", Draco says with panic in his voice as he wraps his arm around my waist, helping me to remain standing.
The secretary immediately jumps up and runs over to the nearest examination room, flings the door open and says, "Here! Sit her in here, I'll go get Mrs. Taylor!".
Draco immediately scoops me up into his arms and carries me into the room, placing me carefully on the examination table. Narcissa comes in behind him and walks around to the left side of the bed while Draco stands to my right, holding my hand. They both keep trying to reassure me, but I can tell from the expressions on their faces that they're almost as scared as I am. I sit there in silence waiting for Mrs. Taylor to arrive; I don't reply to Draco or Narcissa's continued efforts to comfort me because I'm in complete shock. I can't help but think that this has to be some kind of nightmare, this can't really be happening.
How did it come to this so quickly? One moment I'm asleep in bed, the next minute I'm fearful for Draco's life, and now I'm terrified that I'm about to lose my child. This is the kind of fear that can't be expressed with words; the kind of fear that only silent stares can convey. I'm surprised that I haven't felt any more cramps since we got to the hospital, but that doesn't make me any less afraid.
The secretary comes back into the room a few moments later and tells us Mrs. Taylor is on her way before handing Draco a hospital gown and telling him I'll need to change into it. "Draco, I'll help her dress", Narcissa says, "Why don't you step into the hallway for a moment? Better yet, why don't you go find your father? He should be here".
"I'm not leaving her", Draco replies, and just as he does so my emotions slowly begin to catch up with the rapid progression of events that have taken place. I suddenly want him to leave, just so he won't see the emotional breakdown that I can feel coming.
"Draco", I say, "It's fine. You can go get your father and come straight back; I'm sure he's worried about us". He gives me an apprehensive look, but I manage a quick smile and he nods his head. He leans down and kisses me on the forehead before releasing my hand and walking from the room, closing the door behind him.
As soon as he does Narcissa stands up and begins helping me out of my pajamas and into the hospital gown. When we've finished, I lay back on the bed and Narcissa takes my left hand, and I feel tears welling up in my eyes. "Narcissa?", I say quietly without looking up at her, "Tell me the truth. The baby…is it…is it going to…?", but Narcissa cuts me off.
"Don't even say it, Jayde", she says, "The baby's going to be fine…you're both going to be fine".
As soon as she finishes speaking a very stressed-looking Mrs. Taylor comes running into the room. "What's happened?", she asks, and Narcissa tells her about what she believes to be my contractions. She tells her they're not lasting for very long and that they're about five minutes apart, and Mrs. Taylor tells me to lie back and lift my legs. I find this a little unusual and uncomfortable, but I do as I'm told, and Mrs. Taylor has me slide further down on the examination table and she lifts the bottom of my gown.
Then I feel something cold, and I'm not sure what it is but it's very uncomfortable and it scares me; I wasn't expecting that. I immediately sit up and use my hands to back myself up the table and away from Mrs. Taylor with a horrified expression on my face, shaking. "It's okay, dear!", Narcissa says, grabbing hold of my upper arm, "She's just doing a manual exam. That's all!".
"I'm sorry, Jayde", Mrs. Taylor says, "I should have told you what I was going to do before I did it. I didn't mean to frighten you but I promise I'm not going to hurt you, it'll just be a little uncomfortable. Please, lie back down".
And just like that, it happens; the emotional breakdown that I've felt coming for quite some time; I'm very thankful that Draco's not here to see this. I start weeping and Narcissa pulls me into a hug; "Come on dear", she says, "You've got to lie down so she can make sure the baby's okay". She gently pushes down on my shoulders, easing me onto my back, and then Mrs. Taylor immediately lifts my gown again and continues her examination.
I jump involuntarily each time she touches me, and Narcissa grasps my hand firmly and keeps telling me that everything will be okay. I sob the entire time; "I don't want to do this anymore…I don't want to have a baby!", I cry.
"I know…it's almost over, dear", Narcissa tells me with tears in her eyes, and then the discomfort ends and Mrs. Taylor re-covers my legs with the gown.
She stands upright and says, "Jayde", and I look up at her, still sobbing. "The baby's fine", she says as she smiles down at me, and Narcissa and I gasp.
My jaw drops and Narcissa pulls me into a tight hug; "Oh thank heaven!", she says, and then the dam bursts. I may have been crying before, but it's nothing compared to the crying I'm doing now, and Narcissa's crying right along with me. I can't even express the happiness that's just overcome me, and I mentally kick myself for even thinking for one minute that I don't want to have this baby; I feel horrible about it…but none of that matters now, because nothing could dampen the joy that I feel at hearing that my child is okay.
As Narcissa and I sit there holding each other and blubbering, the door to the examination room opens and Draco steps in. "What's wrong?", he asks solemnly.
"Oh, Draco!", I exclaim, releasing Narcissa and turning to face him. I extend my arms and pull him into a hug, but he just stands there frozen in fear without returning my embrace, preparing himself for whatever bad news may be coming. "It's okay!", I sob, "The baby's okay!", and as soon as these words leave my mouth Draco falls to his knees and wraps his arms around me, pulling me into an even tighter hug than Narcissa had. I bury my head in his chest and he places his hand on the back of my head, and as I sit there in his embrace I hear loud sobs coming from his throat, also.
He pulls away from me a few moments later and places his hand on my face; we sit there smiling at each other for a second before he leans in and presses his lips against mine. We know Narcissa and Mrs. Taylor are there watching us, but we don't care; we start snogging as though each other's lips are the only thing keeping us alive. We're so deeply engulfed in the kiss that I hardly notice when the heavy snow starts to fall inside the examination room.
"Not to interrupt", Mrs. Taylor says a few moments later, "But I have some instructions for the two of you"; Draco and I stop snogging and turn to face her, still embracing each other, smiling, and crying, the heavy snow still falling. "Jayde", Mrs. Taylor begins, "You have got to take it easy! I want you on bed rest for the next 3 days! Do you understand me? No strenuous activity what-so-ever!".
I nod my head in agreement and Draco says, "I promise, I won't even let her walk!"; leave it to him to go overboard with it.
"Jayde", Mrs. Taylor continues, "You're probably going to feel little contractions like that from here on out, they're your body's way of preparing for labor. They're quite common, but most women don't even recognize them. They should never last for long or get worse, and if they do, you come straight back here! And if you ever get one that's so severe that you can't walk through it, come back here. Do I make myself clear?".
"Yes", Draco and I both reply.
"Good", she says, "Now go home and get some rest. And I mean it! Nothing but bed rest the next three days!". And with that, she turns the door handle and walks from the room.
Narcissa has Draco step out of the room so she can help me change back into my clothes, and when we've finished we walk out into the reception area where Lucius and Draco are waiting; I'm unsure where Professor Snape is, but I'm quite thankful that the scary man isn't here.
Noticing the snow now falling in the reception area, Lucius already knows the outcome of the visit and doesn't bother to ask. "Is it safe to go home?", Narcissa asks, to which Lucius simply nods his head and extends his arm. They disapparate, and when they do Draco extends his arm for me to take. I do so, and we land outside the gates to Malfoy Manor.
Once we get inside Draco scoops me up into his arms and carries me up the drive and all the way up to our bedroom on the third floor; we both call out "Goodnight" to Lucius and Narcissa as we go, who do the same in response. Draco lays me down on the bed when we reach the room and I snuggle up close to him once more.
"I love you", I say quietly.
"I love you, too", he replies, "And I'm so happy that the baby's ok".
"Me too, love", I reply, though I can't help but feel bad again because at one point tonight I wished I wasn't pregnant. I'm glad Draco wasn't there to hear that. Draco kisses me on the forehead lightly and places his hand on my stomach, and we both fall asleep almost immediately out of pure exhaustion.
I don't wake up until nearly noon, and when I do wake up the first thing I notice is that Draco's not beside me. I sit up and rub my sleepy eyes, and just as I remove my hands from my eyes I see the bedroom door open, and in walks Draco with a tray of food. "Good, you're awake!", he says with a huge smile on his face. He sits the tray of food on the nightstand and kisses me on the forehead before giving me his usual morning greeting and then picking the tray of food back up and sitting on the bed beside me.
I have to argue with him to get him to let me feed myself; he tries to convince me that lifting a fork to my mouth is strenuous activity which makes me laugh hysterically. I tell him that I feel spoiled since now, in addition to all the other things he does for me, he's bringing me breakfast, or more like brunch, in bed, and he even brought me a pickle and ketchup! He disagrees with this statement, however; he says that what happened last night made him realize that he doesn't do enough for me, even though I try to convince him otherwise.
Then he apologizes for yelling at me last night and swears that it'll never happen again. I tell him that it's okay and that I understand it was a very stressful situation, and as I'm speaking, I take a proper glance at our bedroom. I'm only just now noticing it, but Draco's opened the windows and pulled back the curtains, allowing a cool breeze to flow through the room; he knows I love cold weather and today's an unusually cool day for July. He's got tons of lit candles placed periodically around the room, along with several vases full of white and purple orchids.
"Oh, Draco", I gasp, "It's beautiful! Thank you!". Draco, however, doesn't seem to think he's done a good job; in fact, he says he's angry at himself for not doing things like this for me every day, and he says that from now on he's going to do all he can every day to let me know how much he loves and appreciates me. I'm completely baffled by this, in my opinion he already did show me how much he loves me every day, and I can't imagine what else he could possibly do. Just then, however, he says he's got another surprise waiting for me down in the Drawing Room, and though I'm curious as to what it is I tell him I'd rather get a shower before going downstairs.
I finally convince him that I'll be fine to take a shower on my own, but he still carries me to the bathroom. When I've finished showering and dressing he picks me up and carries me downstairs. He flings the Drawing Room door open and there sit Mrs. McGreggor, Crabbe, Goyle, Lucius, Narcissa, and Professor Snape; I assume Draco's arranged a small party of our immediate friends to keep me company on my first day of bed rest so I won't be miserable about being stuck inside all day.
Draco sits me down on the sofa next to Mrs. McGreggor, who immediately gives me a huge hug and asks if I'm okay. Draco sits down on my opposite side and wraps his arm around me, and he and I sit there chatting with our friends for quite some time. Around 4, Crabbe and Goyle suggest a game of Quidditch. Draco refuses at first, claiming he needs to be inside in case I need to walk somewhere, but Lucius, Narcissa and I quickly convince him otherwise; Narcissa promises not to let me walk, which draws laughter from everyone.
So all the men go outside for a quick game while Narcissa, Mrs. McGreggor and I discuss baby shower, bridal shower, and wedding day plans. About half an hour later Draco's Aunt Bellatrix, whom I've never met and who I think looks a bit…evil…arrives and joins in the conversation, though I don't really picture her as the baby-shower-going type. She seems fascinated with me for some reason, and I find this all a bit uncomfortable, but she welcomes me to the family and she seems to dote on Draco quite a bit, so I try to overlook the oddness.
Again, however, I can't shake the feeling that this is a person who's normally not nice, but is trying to be nice to me for some reason; I chalk it up to her trying to get along with her only nephew's fiancé. When we've discussed every possible detail about all three major events coming up, we sit in silence for a few moments before Bellatrix whispers to her sister, "Did they get all of them last night, Cissy?". Narcissa shakes her head, and this makes me very curious; I suddenly realize that no one's spoken about last night at all before now.
"Narcissa", I begin, "Who were those men last night?". She and Bellatrix turn their eyes towards me; Mrs. McGreggor and I are still looking intently at the two of them, waiting for an answer.
"Um…Jayde", Narcissa begins with a pained expression on her face, "I'm sorry dear, but I simply can't tell you that; I'm afraid you'll have to ask Draco".
"Why?", I ask.
"Because he asked me not to tell you", is her simple response. When she sees the angered look on my face she immediately tries to calm me; "He only said that for your protection!", she says quickly, "He just doesn't want you to get upset, dear". She, Bellatrix, and Mrs. McGreggor all give me an apprehensive look, and Mrs. McGreggor leans in and places a hand on my shoulder.
"Perhaps he's right, dear", she says, "You had a close call last night and Draco's just trying to make sure that doesn't happen again; I'm sure he'll tell you when the time's right".
I nod my head at her and give all three ladies a reassuring smile, but I mentally tell myself, "This is not over with yet! Just wait until our guests leave…".