I see a look of horror cross Narcissa's face as she realizes that nobody's informed Draco that I'm in labor. Though I know that I could tell him with my mind, I honestly haven't thought about it before now in all the rushing and panicking. And honestly, any talking I'd do right now would probably only terrify Draco; I'm not sure I could talk to him without the panic being evident in my voice at this point. Before Narcissa can even open her mouth to suggest a solution to our problem, however, one of the healers solves the problem for us.
Apparently knowing who Draco is, she turns to another healer, who I assume to be the youngest and least experienced of the group based on her looks, and immediately commands, "Go to the Ministry and get Mr. Malfoy!" Nodding her head in silent agreement, the young healer doesn't speak but immediately runs from the room, allowing the door to close behind her.
What seems like only milliseconds later, Mrs. Taylor bursts through the door with a frantic look on her face as well. She doesn't even stop to assess the situation; she immediately yells, "She needs a dose of Dolotentia NOW!"
"But that's so strong, Mrs. Taylor!" one of the healers cries.
"DO AS I SAY!" Mrs. Taylor yells, "SHE'S A NIMBIMAGUS!"
"Right!" the healer responds. "Well, you heard her!" she cries to another healer, "Get the dolotentia!"
Mrs. Taylor immediately begins donning gloves and a healer's gown while the other healers scurry about, one of them bringing me a vial of an orange potion. Before she can press the vial to my lips, however, I scream in agony as another cramp… well, I suppose it's actually a contraction, hits me full-force. The healer jerks the vial away from me hastily and Mrs. Taylor gives me a frightened and concerned look as I scream, probably because my eyes are beginning to mist over with that white, fog-like look they get when I use my powers. In fact, that's probably why the healer with the potion jerked away from me so suddenly.
I nearly squeeze all the blood out of Narcissa's hand as I scream, but she doesn't flinch, and seconds later, the contraction is over. Finally finished donning the proper attire, Mrs. Taylor rushes towards me and has a seat on a stool at the end of the delivery table, lifting the edge of my gown and examining me. "Merlin!" she exclaims. "Jayde, when did this start?"
"Early this morning!" I reply through tears, "I thought it was just more false contractions, so I ignored them!"
"Well it's too late now," she says, "but you should've come straight to me right then; it's already time to push!"
"NO!" I scream loudly, nearly coming off the table. "NOT WITHOUT DRACO!"
"Jayde," Mrs. Taylor replies, trying to soothe me, "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way dear; we can't wait for Draco, it's time… now."
"NO!" I scream again. Narcissa steps in to help Mrs. Taylor and tries to cure me of my stubbornness as well.
"Jayde," she says, "Draco's already on his way, he'll be here before the baby's born, I promise. But you have to push now."
"No, Narcissa!" I reply, tears flowing from my eyes like rain as I turn my head to the right to look at her. "I can't! I won't! I want Draco here when our baby is born; I can't do this without him!"
"Yes, you can…" Narcissa begins, but she's cut off as another contraction strikes me, causing me to scream again. This time, instead of just screaming pointlessly, however, I scream Draco's name, both externally and internally.
"Merlin! What's taking him so long?" one of the healers asks once I've stopped screaming. Almost immediately after she finishes speaking, the door to the delivery room opens and the young healer from before steps aside to reveal Draco, who's right behind her. He immediately rushes into the room and to my side, looking quite flustered.
"It's okay love," he says soothingly, taking my hand and brushing my hair out of my face. "I'm here."
"What the hell took you so long?" I ask irritably.
"It was just a simple mix-up," Draco explains, not allowing my hot-temperedness to upset him. "The healer who went to the Ministry mistakenly told my father his wife was in labor."
Several of the healers in the room turn to look at the young witch who made the mistake, and she blushes violently, looking away. Not paying this any mind, however, Mrs. Taylor jumps back in control of the situation. "All right! Everyone but myself, Rose, Amy, Narcissa, and Draco – OUT!"
Immediately, everyone but the aforementioned healers and Narcissa and Draco rushes out of the room. Before they can even close the door, another contraction hits, sending me into a screaming fit again. Once it's over I begin trying to slow my breathing. Though Narcissa keeps muttering words of comfort, Draco falls silent. Looking to the left with wide eyes, I look up at Draco, who's now the palest I've ever seen him. His face is frozen into an expression of fear, and his skin has gone completely white. He's staring down at me, but I can tell his eyes aren't registering what he's seeing.
"Draco?" I gasp out between breaths. This, however, doesn't faze him. When the next contraction hits a moment later, however, I squeeze his hand tightly as I scream, and this seems to pull him out of whatever daze he's been in.
"MERLIN!" he screams at the healers, "CAN'T YOU GIVE HER SOMETHING FOR THE PAIN? HER EYES ARE GOING WHITE!"
"We all ready did!" one of the healers replies as I stop screaming.
"No, you didn't!" Narcissa interjects, "One of the other healers was about to, but Jayde had a contraction and she walked away!"
"GIVE HER SOMETHING, NOW!" Draco yells, looking livid, "I CAN'T STAND TO HEAR HER SCREAMING LIKE THAT; I CAN'T TAKE IT!"
Looking flustered and slightly embarrassed, the healer immediately grabs another vial of the orange potion from before and rushes to my side. "GIVE ME THAT!" Draco yells, snatching the vial from her. "AT LEAST I'LL MAKE SURE SHE GETS IT!" The healer's face immediately turns to a scowl and she looks as though she wants to say something, but Mrs. Taylor quickly calls her away from the delivery table. "Here, baby, drink this," Draco says, lowering his voice and trying to soothe me. I lean up and open my mouth, and Draco pours the potion down my throat. After I've emptied the vial, he tosses it behind him, not caring where it lands or if it breaks.
I begin to feel a sense of relief sweep over me; the potion seems to be working. Don't get me wrong, the pain isn't gone by any means, but it's less severe than before, and I feel a bit more 'in control' of myself and my powers. "Right then," Mrs. Taylor says, "it's time to push. We're going to count to three…"
Mrs. Taylor is interrupted when the delivery room door opens again, revealing the same young healer from before. "WHAT ON EARTH?" Mrs. Taylor screams, clearly frustrated.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Taylor," the young girl begins, "but there's a woman out here who's threatening to curse us all if we don't let her in to see Miss Newsome. She says her name is McGreggor."
I gasp loudly and stare up at Draco; I'd forgotten all about sending someone to fetch Mrs. McGreggor. "How did she know?" I ask him.
"I sent my father for her; I knew you'd want her here," he replies.
"Oh, thank you SO much!" I reply happily, leaning up and giving Draco a quick kiss.
"Jayde, I'm afraid you can't have more than two people in here at once during labor, besides myself and the other healers," Mrs. Taylor says quickly, interrupting mine and Draco's kiss. "After the baby's born, you can have as many visitors as you like, but not a moment before." Horrified, I turn to stare at her with a pleading expression on my face. I can tell by the look she's giving me, however, that my pleading won't work.
"I'll go," Narcissa says sweetly. "I know you want her with you." My heart nearly breaking, I turn to look at Narcissa with what I mean to be both an apologetic and thankful look.
"Oh, Narcissa!" I reply, "I want you in here too!"
"Nonsense!" she says, "Mrs. McGreggor's been with you since you were a child – she deserves to be in here." At this, Narcissa releases my hand and gets to her feet, kissing me on the forehead. "You'll do well dear, I know it," she says comfortingly.
"Thank you," I whisper in response through tears. Turning and walking away from the table, Narcissa begins making her way across the room towards the door. Just before she exits the room, she turns and speaks to Draco. "Take care of her, son," she says meaningfully. Draco nods his head in response, and he and I watch as his mother leaves the room.
What seems like only two seconds later, Mrs. McGreggor comes bursting through the door, looking quite disheveled. "Oh, Jayde!" she cries, rushing to my side. She immediately assumes Narcissa's position and takes my hand, and I lean towards her and sob onto her shoulder for a moment.
"I'm so frightened!" I whisper in her ear; I try to say it quietly enough that Draco won't hear me… I don't want him to know I'm scared. Mrs. McGreggor soothes me as best she can and then reminds me that I should turn my attention back to Mrs. Taylor, who's waiting with a very stern look upon her face.
"Right. Now. If there are no more interruptions," she says, "you're going to push on the count of three. One. Two. Three."
As soon as Mrs. Taylor says "three", I sit up and push with all my might, screaming the whole while. Draco and Mrs. McGreggor both allow me to squeeze their hands and coach me along, and when I can push no more I fall back against the pillows forcefully, sweat all ready building up on my forehead and brow. Draco helps me calm my breathing with the exercises Mrs. Taylor taught us, and what seems like a very short time later Mrs. Taylor says it's time to push again. I roll my eyes and can't help but think, Already?
Mrs. Taylor counts to three again, and the pushing begins again. When it has ended this time, Draco helps me clam my breathing once more. "Are you all right, love?" he asks me. Though I know Draco's only trying to express his concern, in my irritated and painful state I can't help but think that he's just asked a stupid question.
"Oh, I'm fine!" I reply sarcastically through labored breaths, rolling my eyes. "It just feels like I'm being TORN APART FROM THE INSIDE OUT, but otherwise, I'm fine!"
Instead of responding to me after my outburst, Draco speaks to Mrs. Taylor. "Why is she still hurting?" he asks her angrily.
"Draco, the potion can't take all the pain away; if I gave her something any stronger, it'd almost certainly harm the child." Silenced by Mrs. Taylor's statement, Draco begins trying to soothe me once more. A few moments later Mrs. Taylor has me push again, and when this time ends she informs me that we're almost done. I, however, have had enough of the pushing.
"I can't push again!" I exclaim. Draco and Mrs. McGreggor try to soothe me, but I continue to cry. "I can't do this, Draco!" I sob, looking up at him pleadingly.
Tears in his eyes, Draco reassures me. "Yes, you can, love!" he says. "It's almost over; our baby is almost here! And it's going to be the most spoiled child anyone's ever seen. And I'm going to love it, and its mother, until the day I die." Draco kisses my hand softly and I smile up at him in response.
He's right, I think to myself, I can do this!
"Now, darling," Draco continues, "aren't you ready to meet our little bean?"
Smiling even more at Draco's use of the nickname he's given our baby, I nod my head in response before facing Mrs. Taylor again, who is smiling from ear to ear. "Let's do this," I say determinedly. I take deep breaths as Mrs. Taylor counts to three, and I once again sit up and push with every bit of strength I have as Draco and Mrs. McGreggor coach me on. I flop back onto the pillows once the pushing has ended, and Draco starts trying to help me control my breathing again.
I begin to sincerely hope that it's over so I don't have to push again, and then I hear something that eases my fears and removes all other thoughts from my mind. There's a popping noise, and then I hear it; the sound of mine and Draco's child crying. The sound completely knocks the breath out of me; I gasp and my eyes widen as I continue to listen to the hypnotizing sound. There's a hushed, reverent silence around the room; the only sounds that can be heard are the baby's continued cries, and my still-labored breathing.
Slowly, I look to the left at Draco, who seems just as awed by the sound of our child crying as I am. He smiles down at me, lovingly and tenderly, and leans down and kisses my forehead. Then he and I both turn our gaze to the end of the delivery table, where we see Mrs. Taylor and the other healers busying about and flicking their wands; I assume they're cleaning the baby and cutting the umbilical cord. Mrs. Taylor looks up at me and tells me I've done well, as does Mrs. McGreggor. Then Mrs. Taylor leans down and scoops something up into her arms, and she slowly and carefully stands, revealing a bundle wrapped in a small white sheet. Draco and I stare up at the small bundle, completely mesmerized, and Mrs. Taylor shushes the baby before looking up at us and smiling once more.
"Congratulations," she says happily as she walks slowly towards us, with our baby in her arms.
By the time Mrs. Taylor has reached the head of the delivery table, Draco, Mrs. McGreggor and I are all in tears, Mrs. McGreggor and myself a little more so than Draco. I'm so dumbfounded and awe-struck as I stare up at the baby that I completely forget to extend my arms so Mrs. Taylor can hand the infant to me; she has to playfully ask me whether I want to hold my child or not.
Laughing through the tears, I nod my head in agreement and extend my arms, and Draco, Mrs. McGreggor and I watch with amazement as Mrs. Taylor leans down and eases the crying white bundle into my arms. I can't help but think that I've been waiting for this moment for almost nine months as I eagerly pull the baby into my arms and closer to me, ready to meet my little one.
As I gaze into my child's face for the first time, however, I feel not only a sense of joy, but of horror as well. Don't get me wrong, the baby is absolutely the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And it's perfectly healthy; it isn't… deformed… or anything, but I find myself unable to focus on its traits. What attracts my attention and horrifies me about the baby's face are its eyes… they're solid white; the baby's a Nimbimagus! And in my opinion, that's not a good thing.
Though I knew deep down that this was a possibility because I'm a Nimbimagus, the thought that my child would actually receive the trait had never occurred to me; it takes me by complete surprise. My eyes widen and my mouth drops open, and Draco immediately asks what's wrong. "Oh Draco! Its eyes!" I exclaim in dismay.
"They're white," Draco replies happily, "which means that not only is our child a wizard, it's also a Nimbimagus, just like its mother." At this, he leans down and kisses my forehead again, but when he notices that his words haven't soothed me, he speaks again. "What's wrong, love?" he asks, "Why does it upset you that you passed your gift on to our child?"
"Gift?" I ask incredulously as I turn to look up at him. "Draco, this isn't a gift!" I continue, "It's a curse! Our child will never have friends… everyone will treat it like a freak! It'll spend its whole life trying to learn to control its emotions so it doesn't cause storms… I don't want our child to have to struggle with this the way I did!"
Now understanding what's got me so worried and upset, Draco tries to calm my fears. "Darling, it won't," Draco says soothingly, "because our child will have something you didn't."
"What's that?" I ask suspiciously, still looking up at him. "It'll have its mother, loving and supporting it every day; you'll be there to teach our little one how to control its emotions. And it'll have its father; I'll be there to love and support the both of you, every day. I'll teach the little one how to use its powers to get what it wants."
I gasp and stare at Draco, dumbfounded. "Draco!" I exclaim. I watch as a huge smile spreads across Draco's face when I say this.
"I'm only joking, love," he says sweetly, kissing me on the cheek. "I was only trying to cheer you up… I don't want you worrying your pretty little head over anything. Especially not today… our child was just born; we just brought a life into the world! This is one of the happiest days of our lives! So stop worrying; everything will be just fine!"
I feel a sense of calm sweep over me at Draco's words, and suddenly my heart feels as though it's about to explode with emotion. "He's right you know," Mrs. Taylor says kindly. Her words remind me of her presence; I'd all but forgotten that she and Mrs. McGreggor have been right here the whole time, listening to mine and Draco's conversation. I quickly glance up at Mrs. Taylor and give her a smile before returning my gaze to Draco.
"You're right… as usual," I say sweetly. "You always know how to calm my fears and make me feel better. Thank you."
"No, thank you," Draco replies, nodding towards our infant as an indication of what he's thanking me for.
My attention suddenly drawn back to the crying newborn in my arms, I ignore its eyes this time and take in my child's appearance. Its skin is a pale white, with a slight twinge of pink caused by the fact that it's crying. One of the other healers in the room steps forward with a pacifier, which she hands to me as a means of quieting the child. I slip the pacifier into the baby's mouth, and it falls into silence almost immediately as it begins to suck. I rub the side of its face with my forefinger gently as I continue to admire and fall in love with my child, amazed by each movement it makes. A few strands of platinum hair cover its head; just one of the many features that resemble Draco almost identically.
"Well, if there were any question before, there certainly isn't a question now as to who the baby's father is," Mrs. McGreggor says in an astonished voice. Draco and I laugh in response.
"It looks just like you," I say quietly, turning to look up at Draco, who is looking down at the baby and beaming with pride. "Do you want to hold the baby?" I ask him quietly. Draco looks over at me and bites his lip nervously, but nods his head all the same. Smiling from ear to ear, I slowly raise and twist my arms, lifting our little bundle of joy into its father's open and waiting arms, which are trembling slightly with excitement and nervousness. My heart gives a great, involuntary swell as Draco takes the child into his arms, and I'm completely smitten by the sight of Draco holding our child for the first time.
Tears approach the corners of my eyes once more, and a few silent drops roll down my cheeks. I hear sniffling around the room and turn to find that everyone else is crying silently as well, even the healers I don't know. I return my gaze to Draco to find that he, too, has tears rolling down his cheeks as he continues to stare down into our child's face. In fact, Draco is crying harder than I am; a stream of tears flows steadily from his eyes. A reverent silence falls upon the room once more, only occasionally interrupted by the sound of someone sniffling, as myself and everyone else in the room continues to watch Draco enjoying his first few moments as a father. Finally, Draco breaks the silence.
"Hi there, bean," hesays quietly to the baby, causing my mouth to turn upwards into a huge smile. Noticing my smile, Draco tears his eyes away from the baby and stares down at me, instead. "You're so amazing," he says meaningfully, "I love you so much."
"I love you, too," I reply quietly.
"I don't know what I did to deserve you," Draco continues, still crying. "You're the most beautiful woman in the whole world, and sometimes I wonder how I got lucky enough to get you… you're an absolute angel. You give me so much; your love is the air I breathe in every day… it makes me feel alive. And just when I think there's nothing you could do to make me any happier than you all ready do, you give me this."
As he says 'this', Draco nods his head towards the white bundle in his arms, indicating our child. I bite my lower lip in an effort to prevent myself from bawling like a two-year-old, and Draco continues. Instead of speaking out loud, however, he speaks to me with his mind.
"You didn't even choose to sleep with me or get pregnant," he says, "my parents forced you into both at only seventeen years old. And even though it frightened you… even though you knew it'd be pure hell on you, you refused to give up. Anyone else would have turned away – not that I wanted anyone else, because I don't; I never have, and I never will. You didn't have to have this child… you could have easily walked away from me had an abortion and forgotten all about that night nine months ago, but you chose not to. Even after you found out it was my parents who jinxed us, you stuck with me… and you're even going to marry me. I used to hate my parents for what they did… but I see now that it all worked out for the best. Even though I am still a little angry with them, I can't imagine my life without the two of you."
"Aww, Draco, not having the baby wasn't an option… I love you too much! And there's no need to be embarrassed; you could have said that out loud." I reply internally.
"I'm not embarrassed about what my parents did," Draco replies, "I have no reason to be. I only said that through our bond because I know Mrs. McGreggor still doesn't know that it was my parents who cursed us; I figured she might through a right fit if she found out, and we don't want that today."
I gasp both internally and externally as the meaning of Draco's words strikes me. He's absolutely right, in all the excitement I'd completely forgotten that I never told Mrs. McGreggor that it was Lucius and Narcissa who forced Draco and I to sleep together. She knew someone had forced us, but she didn't know who. And I wasn't about to tell her because I knew she'd be furious at my future mother- and-father-in-law. "Thank you so much for sparing us that problem today," I reply to Draco through my mind, "I didn't even realize."
"Not a problem dear. I suppose we'd better talk out loud now, though; Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. McGreggor are giving us strange looks."
"Okay," I reply with a nod of my head, casting a glance at Mrs. Taylor, who is indeed eyeing me suspiciously.
"Just one more thing," Draco says internally, drawing my attention back to him. "I know we haven't talked about this or anything… but I thought you might like it if we asked Mrs. McGreggor to be the baby's Godmother."
I once again gasp at Draco's sweet gesture, and at his thoughtfulness. This is something else I hadn't even thought of. "Oh, Draco… are you sure?" I ask.
"Absolutely," he replies, smiling slightly.
"Oh, this means so much to me! She's like family to me!" I reply.
"I know dear," he says, "I know it means a lot to you, but I'll bet it will mean even more to her. Why don't you go ahead and ask her?"
Not even hesitating for a second, I quickly whip my head around to face Mrs. McGreggor, who seems a bit startled. "Mrs. McGreggor," I begin, speaking out loud for the first time in several minutes, "Draco and I were just wondering if… if you'd like to be the baby's Godmother."
I watch with delight as Mrs. McGreggor's familiar face turns to an expression of shock and sheer joy; I can tell she feels honored and very flustered at the thought. "I… um… why… yes! Of course!" she exclaims happily. She reaches forward and pulls me into a monstrous hug from which we don't release each other for a long time. When we finally do release each other, I look back over at Draco, who has apparently not finished saying all the sweet things he's got on his mind.
"This is the most precious gift any woman could ever give a man…" he says quietly, "a gift of flesh and bone that it took you nine grueling months to make. You went through hell just now to give me a child - a living, breathing union of our two bodies and a representation of our love that the whole world can see… just because you love me. I am the luckiest, most loved, and happiest man alive… thanks to you."
At this, I am no longer able to prevent myself from sobbing uncontrollably. "No, Draco, I'm the lucky one," I reply through sobs. "The baby wasn't my gift to you; it was your gift to me… allowing me the honor of having your child. You're so good to me… you love me so much, and you do everything for me… and now you've given me something I've never had before; a family."
"That's right, love," Draco says sweetly, "we're a family now. You, me, and our daughter… or… son." Both mine and Draco's eyebrows furrow at this statement; we've both just realized something we hadn't until now. "Wait…" Draco says suspiciously, turning to Mrs. Taylor, "is this our son, or our daughter?" I look over at Mrs. Taylor as I wait for her answer, blushing slightly. I realize now that Draco and I were so excited about the baby finally being here and caught up in this beautiful moment that we haven't even found out if our baby is a boy or a girl yet.
Chuckling slightly, Mrs. Taylor replies. "I was going to make you wait to find out… I was surprised you didn't pull down the blanket to see for yourselves! I'll say this; no matter what the baby's sex is, you two are going to be amazing parents; you don't even know your little one's name yet, and you both all ready love it to pieces. You two have been waiting long enough… it's about time you found out the sex!"
Author's Note: I know, I'm evil for ending it here! I'm sorry! But I promise you'll find out the sex in the next chapter! I know this was a bit of a long, and tear-jerking chapter, and I know there was lots of fluffiness, but hey, their child was just born! That required a bit of fluffy mushy-ness! I really hope you enjoyed it! Please review!
