Many thanks to all who sent in their recommendations for the fictions. That'll keep me busy for a while :p

(and not at the cost of missing out on writing this story - dont worry!)

As always, blooming in the love and support you guys send through the reviews and PMs.

I'm highly pleased with my updating speed so far. Hope to sustain the same till the story ends *fingers crossed*

As always, please, please keep safe and uplift each other during these trying times. It's a scary world out there right now.

God bless the internet for bringing us together.

Another long chapter ahead - fair warning.


Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Copyright infringement is unintended.


28. Crawling Back To You

The moody lighting of this Mungo's maternity ward was of certainly no help to Rose's anxious mood. She was fidgeting in her seat, wanting to know the next steps.

Elora was currently huffing in the ward's bed, half crying out in worry and half crying out for Albus.

"Do you know when he'll be here?" asked Elora, her voice fearful as she clutched Rose's hand desperately. She had changed into one of the hospital gowns and had undergone some preliminary tests and evaluations by the healers attending the night shifts. The pain she had been undergoing had since subsided; Elora had been given pain relief medication as well as a charm to help her calm down. The assessment had said that she wasn't having labour pains; the sharp pains had apparently existed as a result of internal bleeding that put the baby at risk.

A quick discussion with the Mediwitch made Rose realise that the baby would be coming out soon, either through induced labour or natural birth. Elora had panicked on hearing her opinion and had asked for Albus immediately.

"He'll be here soon, love," replied Rose softly, running her hand over hair assuredly, "James had sent the patronus. Just a while ago. They'll be here very soon.

"Do you think the baby will be fine, Rose?" she asked tearfully, her voice choking.

"Absolutely!" replied Rose firmly, "Don't even allow yourself to go into that thought territory. Potter Jr. is fine, alright?"

The door to the ward opened, and James walked in with a cup of coffee and a glass of ice-chips.

"Keep chewing on this," said James concernedly as he handed over the glass to Elora, "Have seen this on muggle TV shows."

"That's for when she's in labour," said Rose, shaking her head. She then turned to Elora, "Keep biting it though. Will help with controlling any nausea."

Elora simply nodded, sniffling.

"Hey! Al should be here soon," said James, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it gently, "I'd sent a patronus about five minutes ago-"

The door opened again, and Elora's Mediwitch entered the room.

"What's going on, Cynthia?" asked Rose, addressing the Mediwitch.

"She needs to give birth at the earliest." replied Cynthia stoically, "Internal bleeding is under control for now. But I am afraid the baby would still be at risk if we prolong this pregnancy. We need to get the baby out."

Rose narrowed her eyes, her heart clenching in fear. This didn't sound right at all.

Elora whimpered next to her; Rose in turn squeezed her hand in comfort, "Hey! You can do this. We're just taking the precautions. We're at Mungo's, and Al will be here soon - James, hold her hand, please -"

A pale looking James held Elora's other hand and tried to comfort her; she'd started crying now. Her heart racing, Rose walked towards Cynthia, looking at her pointedly to step out of the room. The Mediwitch only sighed in return.

As soon as they were out of the room, Rose spoke, "Cynthia, what exactly is going on? Need the details, please."

The Mediwitch looked nervous, "As mentioned, the uterine bleeding in under control as of now. But we also noted that the baby is not moving as much as it should be at this stage of pregnancy. The heart rate of the baby is also fluctuating more than what is considered normal. From Ms. Elora's file, I can tell she'd had problems with high blood pressure during the pregnancy. Having the baby now is the best way to increase its chances of survival."

Rose sucked in a breath, nodding. Though the baby's birthing being five weeks from the due date wasn't that out of the ordinary in the wizarding world, it was still rather dangerous, given Elora's medical history during pregnancy.

"Alright," she said, rubbing her forehead, "Let's get -"

Just then, she spotted a mop of unruly jet black hair at the end of the corridor, flooding her with relief. He was at the help desk, speaking to a witch.

"ALBUS!" she called loudly, startling the Mediwitch in front of her. "Thank Merlin. You are he-"

Rest of the words died in her throat as the most flummoxing combination of people appeared at the end of the corridor next to Albus.

Ryan Smith and Lily Potter were speaking to each other and had turned to look at her at the sound of her voice.

She caught a flash of platinum blonde, and she immediately looked away to focus on Albus; just the sight had triggered a violent wave of anger to take over her senses.

"Rose!" gasped Albus, his face pale as he rushed hurriedly towards her, "How is she? And the baby -"

"They're inside right now." said Rose calmly, hugging him briefly in greeting. "She'll be going into labour-"

Albus rushed past her and into the ward. A happy cry from within the ward gave her the hint that Elora and Albus had reunited.

She felt her skin prickle as she felt Scorpius's eyes boring into her face; she was, however, determined to not look at him.

Her heart was beating loudly, crying out for him, and at the same time, begging her to move away from his line of sight.

Just looking at his handsome face made all the memories - the good, the bad, and the ugly - flood her senses, exhilarating her and making her wail inside in despair at the same time.

This was unbearable. She couldn't break down in front of him. She had to hold herself up. She also knew that to ensure that, she had to avoid him.

"So please inform Healer Kent about Elora's impending delivery," said Rose quickly, keeping her eyes firmly on the Cynthia "I'm going to head back inside."

Rose sensed a movement from where Scorpius was standing. Next to him was Lily. She, too, looked extremely worried.

"Elora-" she started, but Rose cut her off.

"Everything's under control," she said, a bit more waspishly than she wanted, making eye contact with Ryan and Lily, while feeling Scorpius's gaze on her. The people in front of her were currently the last set of people in the world she wanted to speak to at the moment.

"Both will be fine, right?" asked Ryan, and Rose raised her eyebrows at him. He was, surprisingly, sounding genuine. And she couldn't help but note the intimate way in which Lily had unconsciously leaned into him. Maybe things had changed between the two of them, and not just in a physical way.

Rose dropped her frosty demeanour. There was no point in wasting energy on this. There were more critical matters at hand. Lily was, after all, going to be the baby's aunt. Lily deserved to know the details. What she didn't need was Rose to be so itchy while speaking to her about this.

"Things are a bit tricky," she said slowly, trying to simplify the problem without losing the seriousness. "We are inducing early labour to improve the probability of the child surviving. Let's hope for the best."

Lily looked shocked, "I'll inform Mom and Dad. They'll want to be here." she gasped, her eyes turning red.

Rose hesitated, "I'll let you know when though? Don't want Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny to be staying up if labour will take time."

Lily nodded again at Rose, shooting a small, hopeful smile at her. Rose tried to return it, but was sure that something similar to that of a grimace had come out. She watched as Ryan wrapped an arm around Lily and comforted her.

Her eyes involuntarily moved to look at Scorpius, and she caught his gaze. Her stomach churned at the intensity in his eyes, and she felt the world around her disappear, her ears tuning out every other sound around her except that of her heart beat, which was picking up pace by the second. As if in slow motion, she saw his lips open up as if he was about to say something.

"I don't love you anymore."

Those words in his voice reverberated again in her head, bringing her back to reality. Another unpleasant sensation shot up her spine as she remembered the set of divorce papers she'd received from his lawyer, lying at the Potter residence right now. She hadn't truly believed that he would do it, initiate the official proceedings. But he did.

Rose remembered the anguish in his eyes as he had asked her to let go of him. He didn't want to be with her anymore.

A sharp pain erupted in her chest, breaking the trance she had momentarily slipped into.

She immediately turned away and walked into Elora's ward, pressing her lips between her teeth, trying to control the curse words just waiting to spill from her mouth.

She couldn't, wouldn't, be around that man more than she absolutely needed to be.

She was done with him.


Scorpius stared at the spot Rose had just vacated, her angry eyes burning into his mind, crumbling the strength that had gathered within him since he saw what she wrote on the divorce papers.

She loathed him.

There was no mistaking that emotion in her eyes. He'd seen that the first time he and Albus had brought a spider to her. He'd also seen that look when he'd asked her if she preferred her pizza with pineapples on top. The look had presented itself again when he'd recommended 'Auriga' as an alternate name for Amelia.

He currently had no idea about how to even broach the topic with her. As he had walked into Mungo's, he'd felt nervous, even mortified at the idea of seeing Rose again. He'd been absolutely terrible to her; he knew that she had been hurt, especially since she loved him. Sure, there had been many times in the past when they argued and he had incensed her immeasurably. But he'd crossed the line this time - grandiosely so. He couldn't just walk up to her and apologise for what he did; it wasn't their standard day-to-day bickering or even the kind of fallout they had back in their fifth year.

He had walked out on their marriage. He had no idea if Rose would take him back, especially if the look she gave him now was anything to go by.

Scorpius felt his skin crawl unpleasantly, the bile rising to his throat, as he considered the option of Rose not forgiving him.

After all he had put her through, how on earth was he supposed to win her back?

He growled in frustration, running a hand through his hair aggressively.

The door to Elora's ward suddenly opened and he looked up hopefully, just to be met with an indignant James Potter.

"They are throwing me out!" he hissed on spotting Scorpius, "Can you believe that?!"

"I really don't -" started Scorpius, confused, and then James interrupted again.

"I was there at home when Elora started having contractions. And now they kick me out when I recommended that they name their kid James! I mean, come on. It's a lovely name, and -"

James suddenly fell silent, his brown eyes bulging as he stared at something behind Scorpius.

Oh right, Ryan and Lily.

Scorpius, too, turned to look at them. They were in deep conversation with each other.

Just by looking at them anyone could tell that there was something between them. Ryan had Lily's hand in his and was speaking to her with a loving gaze in his eyes. His thumb was mindlessly grazing the back of her hand. She, on the other hand, was leaning towards him as she spoke to him, the distance between them being too intimate for two people who were mere friends or even fuck buddies. Witch Weekly and Ryan's elf certainly hadn't been wrong about the two of them looking like they had feelings for each other. This only made Scorpius feel much worse about what he did with Rose. How on earth was he so blind to completely disregard what Rose said?

"YOU!" James bellowed angrily, startling Scorpius and the couple. It took a moment for him to realise that James was addressing Ryan Smith.

"This is a hospital! Quiet down!" hushed a Healer indignantly, who was passing by.

"What are you doing here? What's he doing here? Why is Lily with him? Lily, why are you with him?" hissed James, his face scrunched in anger as he looked at the pair.

"I'm dating him!" replied Lily. Scorpius noted the confident, unwavering tone of her voice, "And really, calm down. You look you're about to have an aneurysm -"

"Damn right!" James hissed, his face turning red. Scorpius swore a vein was about to pop in his head due to the pressure. "This is Smith. He's -"

"What you know of him, is from the past. He's not the same guy anymore!" said Lily angrily, standing up. Behind her, Ryan looked part worried, part annoyed as he met James's stare.

"Wha-"

Scorpius stepped in. The argument could go well into the night. "James, let it go. She's right. Smith's alright."

James looked at Scorpius as if he'd grown two heads. "Are you nuts, Malfoy?! This is Ryan frickin' Smith! "

"I know. But you need to trust me." interrupted the blonde calmly, "Al's ok with him as well. J-just don't fight right now. Not the time or the place."

James looked too stunned to speak. Eyes wide open in shock, he looked at Scorpius again, as if trying to confirm what he heard.

Scorpius merely shook his head, silently telling him to let it go.

"Merlin!" breathed James, running a hand through his head while sitting down on a bench right next to him "I need to rest!"

"Maybe you should go home and rest, James. We are here." said Scorpius encouragingly

"Are you mad?!" James looked at him as if he was insane to even recommend that, "Albus is the kind of person who can potentially faint while witnessing childbirth. Someone will need to be there to hold Elora's hand when she's pushing out a pumpkin."

Ryan and Lily excused themselves to pick up coffee, earning a glare from James. But they didn't bother looking back as they walked off only causing James to mutter darkly under his breath. There was silence in the hallways for a few minutes before James spoke up again.

"They are having a chat inside, you know? The three of them," he said, looking pointedly at the ward's door, "Told me I had to leave and that they didn't want anyone eavesdropping. So rude!"

"Well, sometimes -"

"And I am sorry to hear about your divorce, mate. Tragic it is," he said, sympathetically, startling him.

"Who told you about this?" asked Scorpius sharply, surprised.

"Well, Rose did - wait, was this supposed to be a big secret or something?" asked James, looking confused.

Scorpius's heart plummeted. She'd told James about the divorce.

This could only mean one thing: she was giving up.

He could feel the tears stinging at the back of his eyes, a sinking feeling overcoming him. He was too late to fight for them, wasn't he?

Them.

Where was Amy?

"James, where is Amy? Is she inside in the ward?" he asked slowly, struck by the urge to see her.

"She's in the daycare centre. I had dropped her off there. I'll show you, wait."

Scorpius followed James mutely, while his heart thudded against his ribcage. It had been well over two weeks since he saw his little girl.

HIS little girl.

Scorpius was still struggling to wrap his head around the fact that Amelia was, indeed, his. For some crazy moments, just before he entered the daycare, he had wondered if he would Amelia love more now that it was proven she was actually his blood.

But as he spotted her sleeping peacefully in her crib, he knew the answer to the question.

He'd lost his heart to her the first time he held her in his arms and she had looked at him, her eyes trying to comprehend who he was. Her parentage never mattered.

He sat on his knees next to her crib, trying to make as less noise as possible in order to avoid waking her up.

She was sleeping blissfully, with left arm folded above her head, the right arm resting by her side. Her fiery red curls looked longer than he last remembered, her jawline seemed more defined.

He cautiously reached out, the love for his daughter overwhelming him. He needed to feel her presence.

He gently touched her cheeks, his fingers just about brushing her, and she stirred for a moment, making him hold his breath, before she stilled again to sleep peacefully.

That did him in; his insides suddenly un-clenched and his emotions tipped over. He broke down, crying silently as his shoulders shook due to heaving sobs.

How on earth did he become so selfish that he didn't fight for her? This little girl had become the centre of his universe ever since she entered his life. It wasn't just Rose who turned his world upside down; Amelia, too, was responsible for making him so happy.

He'd given up without any fight, trying to convince himself that he and she were both better off without each other.

He had been abandoning her, his daughter.

He was an arsehole of the highest order, a pathetic human being.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. Please forgive your daddy. He was being a complete idiot." whispered Scorpius tearfully, trying to reign in his emotions as he bent down to kiss her gently on her forehead. He pulled back a bit before whispering again, "I love you so much. I promise I am not going anywhere."

He was done being an arsehole. It was time for him to fight for what he knew was the truth.

He loved Rose. He knew Rose loved him as well. And they had a family. They couldn't give up on their future together like that.

"Why are you and Rose breaking up?"

James's concerned voice brought Scorpius out of his thoughts. Scorpius realised that he had probably seen the exchange between him and his daughter.

"We both thought that was the best way forward," replied Scorpius weakly, wiping his eyes, "B-but I don't want to think that it is. I did something very stupid -no no, there wasn't another woman involved-" he added hastily when he saw James raising his eyebrows in alarm, "I upset Rose, very badly. It seemed like divorce was the only way to move forward. But I realised I was giving up without talking things through. Our marriage needs work, but I know we can work things out."

"So, you guys are not divorcing? " said James slowly.

"All I can say right now is that we'll fight for it."

James's shoulders suddenly seemed to sag in relief.

"Merlin! Thank Merlin!" he exclaimed happily, suddenly jumping forward to hug Scorpius, taking him by surprise, "You get your girl, Malfoy! Fight hard!" He clapped his back loudly, while Scorpius returned the hug tentatively.

"This night is certainly turning out to be a wild one," beamed James, pulling back from the hug, "I mean first Rose finds out I was also there the night you guys hooked up -"

"Wait," interrupted Scorpius sharply, his eyes widening, "What do you mean by you were also there?"

James's eyes widened in realisation, "I forgot - you also couldn't recall that night. Like I was there at the club, and I ran into you guys - oh well." he trailed off.

This was indeed getting more and more weird. James was there at the club the night he and Rose hooked up?

"James!" exhaled Scorpius, feeling rather light-headed, "Please tell me what you meant by that. I need the details, please."

"Dardee?"

Scorpius's heart stopped precisely for a second on hearing that soft sound. He turned towards the crib to see Amelia sitting up, looking at him curiously, her eyebrows scrunched seemingly in confusion. He felt his heart balloon with joy as the toddler's smile widened and her eyes lit up in happiness.

"Dardee!" she shrieked happily, now trying to get up from the crib and move closer to him.

But Scorpius couldn't wait. He lifted her from the crib and hugged her tightly. Fresh tears threatened to spill from his eyes as he felt his daughter kiss him on the cheek and rest her head on his shoulder, her tiny arms trying to wrap themselves around his chest.

Scorpius thought he could float in the air at the moment; he was that happy.

Merlin! How did he ever, ever think of giving up on this?

"So you were saying, James?" he said, turning back to James, happiness oozing out of him for the first time in weeks. Amelia, meanwhile, sighed, and snuggled into his arms, a smile adorning her face.


"Whoa. Talk about a twist in the tale!" gasped Elora as Albus finished his tale about what had transpired so far in the time he was away.

Rose could only shake her head in agreement.

She wanted to rage, break things right now. She wanted to cry. She wanted to laugh.

Life had certainly become a colossal mess.

Now there was no doubt that Scorpius was, indeed, Amelia's father. And this, naturally, had to come forward once she and Scorpius were pretty much done with their marriage.

But doesn't that change things for you both? came a voice in her head.

Did it?

Maybe, if Scorpius tried to fight over Amelia's custody with her, she realised with a jolt. Rose felt her head throb, trying to grasp how this had been the first thought in her head rather than her and Scorpius getting back together.

And there were Lily and Ryan. They weren't in a physical relationship. They had feelings for each other. It was a genuine partnership. They were falling for each other.

Rose, not surprisingly, felt at peace with that news; Ryan had finally moved on, and he was happy.

She was yet to forgive Ryan and Lily for what they did, but she was hopeful for the future. She'd been terrified that if the secret were ever to come out, it could disrupt the bonds within her family. Maybe things would eventually be alright. The new developments would certainly help so in ensuring that.

"ROSE!" yelled Albus, snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"What?" she asked, startled.

"You and Scorpius are getting back together, right?" he asked, excitement in his voice.

Rose's pulse quickened, "Did he say anything about that?"

Albus looked at her as if she was slow on the uptake, "Rose! Scorpius loves you! You have got to be blind to not realise that-"

"Well, he certainly showed me how much he loved me by asking me to divorce him. What he put me through is not what love is supposed to mean," she replied, bitterness seeping in. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't let go of all the horrible things he had said that night in his office and the times before. Whatever had happened couldn't simply be brushed aside. The fights they had simply reflected a lack of trust between the two as partners, and that was far more damaging than a simple misconception.

"Rose," sighed Albus, looking at her reproachfully, "He was under a lot of duress. He thought you didn't love-"

"Are you actually taking his side?" interrupted Elora incredulously, looking at Albus, "Rose hadn't done anything to make him think that she didn't love him!"

"He is dealing with his own insecurities. Rose, you know that is mental health deteriorated after the accident." groaned Albus, running a hand through his hair.

"I do," said Rose, gritting her teeth, "He asked me to be with him as his friend, not as his wife. He clearly set his priorities right."

"Rose, you mean the world to him - you always have. Everything that he said and did, was because he was being thickheaded and blindsided. With you, he was more likely to believe anything that was likely to cater to his inherent biases of him not being good enough for you. He probably felt like he was setting himself up for more disappointment. The idiot even asked to initiate the divorce when he himself wasn't ready for it. He regrets it now, you-"

Just then, Cynthia walked in through the open door of the ward with a Healer and another Mediwitch in tow. They made eye-contact with Rose, who suddenly felt nervous.

"Hey! It's time," she turned to speak to Elora and Albus, who looked alarmed, "They'll give you the potions to induce labour. You'll start feeling the effect in about half an hour or so."

There was a dense silence in the room in which everyone simply looked at each other.

"Half an hour till I feel like my gut is being stabbed. Yay." said Elora nervously, making Rose and Albus laugh.

Albus pressed a kiss to the side of her head and whispered, "You've got me to save your pretty little arse, Longbottom. We can do this together."

Rose smiled, her heart tugging at the sweetness of this moment.

"All will be well," she said confidently, "Have the potions and relax. And I'll see you in a bit, ok? Will just go and check up on Amy."

She exited the ward, feeling a little more hopeful about the possible outcome. She was, however, a little surprised to see only Ryan outside the ward; Lily, Scorpius and James were nowhere to be seen. Ryan started on seeing her and got up from his seat.

"Where's everyone?" asked Rose, looking out in the hallway on the either side..

"Well, Lily's in the washroom. Don't know about the other two."

There was a silence that followed that made Rose feel all kinds of awkward.

She wanted to hate him for what he did when he walked out of their relationship, for the hurt she felt when she realised he was seeing someone else when he'd told her something else.

She waited for the irrational anger to arrive. But it never did.

Rose's eyes widened. It looked like she moved on from the bitterness that surrounded her break-up; it didn't matter to her anymore.

So she moved to ask him about the one thing that had been bothering her.

"So you-"

"I have-"

Ryan had started speaking at the same time. He smiled tentatively at her, nodding "You go ahead."

"So this thing with Lily - I hope it's not a joke." said Rose tentatively, her eyes searching for the truth.

He merely shook his head.

"I'm falling for her," he said sincerely, "I didn't think that I would given you - well-"

Rose felt her cheeks burn.

"Given what I thought I had with you," Ryan continued, looking embarrassed all of a sudden, "But she made life better for me. I felt like I could be happy again. And frankly, that's what I want now. To be happy with someone, to love someone in the truest sense-"

Rose absorbed his words, trying to decipher the meaning. She observed him as he spoke. His eyes were lit up as he spoke about Lily, his face was relaxed as was his entire body.

"-and I am truly sorry for what happened with you and Scorpius. I only thought that I was getting to know my daughter - for me at that time, she was. You must know that I wasn't looking to separate you two."

She stiffened. And there it was, the reminder that everything had gone downhill with her and Scorpius.

"I hope you're both able to resolve your differences. I can tell he loves you and Amy. And the whole divorce thing seemed to really take its toll on him." he finished, looking cautiously at her expression.

Rose nodded at him, feeling a myriad of emotions at the moment. She hesitated for a moment, but then she continued. He did help her, after all. "I also want to thank you - for coming down and meeting Scorpius - telling him the truth and all. I know you both don't have the best history - and then there was our history."

Ryan smiled sadly.

"I knew the mistake I made by letting you go. I couldn't see you go through that hurt again."

The way he was looking at her, she knew it was a genuine regret and he just wanted to help.

She exhaled slowly. Things felt different with her and Ryan. They were talking to each other, civilly, without any hidden intentions.

He no longer felt like an ex-boyfriend with whom she had a bitter break-up. She had finally moved on from the hurt. And that felt oddly liberating.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Lily approaching them apprehensively.

"Rose, I-" she croaked, but Rose merely shook her head, silently asking her to not talk anymore.

"Ryan, can you excuse us for a moment?" asked Rose, looking at him. There were other amends she needed to make as well.

Ryan's gaze shifted cautiously between the two women. Lily nodded at him, as if silently assuring him that she'll be fine.

Just as he walked away from them, Rose spoke immediately, not wasting time, "I'm sorry for dating him despite knowing your history with him" Lily's eyes widened. Maybe she hadn't anticipated this, "I should have reached out to you before embarking on something with him, but things just happened."

Rose was feeling as if a major weight had been lifted off her chest. She'd lived with this guilt for so long. And here she was, over three years later, apologising for it.

"I hope there comes a time when we have moved on from this. I know that I can't even realise the betrayal you must have felt. I can only apologise and sincerely regret the hurt that you went through on finding out the truth. But I hope you understand that it doesn't justify what you did with Amy-"

"I do understand that, Rose," jumped in Lily immediately, "You must know I only had pure intentions; to have a father get to know his daughter better. I never imagined that I'd fall for him again. I just thought I was helping someone. But in hindsight, I realise that you and Scorpius shouldn't have been kept in the dark. I try to imagine if somebody did this with my kid - and initially I thought it was alright - but now, especially now that I am with Ryan -I can't imagine how you felt."

"Yeah."

There was a pin-drop silence for a moment.

"That was one nasty slap I received that day," said Lily, chuckling nervously, making Rose blush furiously.

"I'm sorry about that, too" she said uncomfortably, looking at the floor, "I shouldn't have done it. Should have controlled my temper. It wasn't right."

"Well, as I said, I can understand the position you had been in. I forgive you."

"Alright," said Rose, exhaling loudly, "I know we are talking things but it'll be a while before things are completely okay, right?"

Lily scrunched her face, as if in deep thought, "Maybe sooner than later. Hopefully."

"Hopefully." replied Rose, nodding, "I better get going. Need to check up on Amy. And do inform your parents, and if possible, Elora's as well. She's going to take the potions and will go into labour in a few minutes."

"Sure. Will take care of that!"

Rose nodded and then walked off.

For years, she'd wondered how Lily might react on finding that she was dating her ex-boyfriend. And they finally had this conversation, after almost three years since she got involved with Ryan, and after Lily got back together with him. Life was certainly strange.

As she approached the nursery, her face broke into a smile. She knew things would be a little hot and cold with Lily for a bit. But they'd eventually move on.

The smile, however, disappeared the moment she stepped into the daycare room, the sight in front of her triggering achingly familiar memories.

Scorpius was already there in the daycare room, standing, with their daughter in his arms. His body was swaying slowly as he hummed a lullaby, an old tune that he sang to put Amelia to sleep. This sight always melted her heart and filled her with fuzzy warmth. And it did not fail today as well.

However, there was a stab of pain that shot through her heart; she gasped softly, rubbing the spot on her chest.

Scorpius tensed up, as if alerted to her presence. He slowly turned around and their eyes met.

Rose felt as if she couldn't move, as if her feet were rooted to the ground.

"Can we please talk?" whispered Scorpius urgently, his eyes pleading as he gently patted Amelia's back.

Rose could only stare back at him, her insides churning violently. Anger, sadness, betrayal, horror, disgust - everything was running through her mind like a whirlwind. She felt her throat constrict, her breathing suddenly becoming laboured. The last two weeks played like a movie in her head, of Scorpius asking for an alibi, of him asking her to leave, of him telling her that he couldn't stop thinking about her and Ryan, of him telling her that he didn't love her while she was on her knees, pleading with him to listen to her-

She was going to be sick - she needed to leave. NOW.

Breathing deeply, she took off, ignoring his cry of "Rose, wait!"

Tears stung her eyes, making the vision in front of her blurry. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't be around Scorpius right now. Things were too raw between them.

She heard pacing footsteps behind; she knew he was behind her.

Rose turned into another hallway to head towards the break room instead of heading towards Elora and Albus; she couldn't face them right now.

She had no idea about what Scorpius wanted to say, nor was she in the mood to listen to it right now.

Rose wasn't sure if things could magically go back to the way they were, despite the latest developments. He'd said too much, done too much.

And that sickened her even more.

She moved into the break room where there were two other healers napping on the bunk beds set up for the night shift professionals. She moved to the corner and immediately uncorked one of the water bottles kept on the table, sipping on some water.

Her head was spinning. She was trying to breathe harder, to help her clear her head. But it was of no avail.

Her heart was racing; the blood pounding in her ears. She felt as if the world was closing in on her.

She breathed deeply again, trying to slow down her heart rate, telling her heart to calm down. She needed to stay up and strong.

"I'm not leaving till you hear me out," came Scorpius's firm voice behind her, probably from the doorway. Her heart started fluttering again and crying out even more, just as the world in front of her blurred more. She couldn't be around him - he needed to leave.

She heard the sounds of someone moving behind her; the healers had woken up.

"Rose?" came a feminine voice she recognised as Janine Wheeler's,"Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry for barging in and disturbing you," came Scorpius's genuine apologetic voice, addressing Janine, "Can I talk to my wife, for five minutes?"

"Rose - your wife, right. Michael, get up, you arse! We need to go!" came Janine's cautious response, which was followed by the sound of her rustling up the fellow healer to wake up.

Rose heard another grumble behind her, and then the clear sound of footsteps, and then that of the door shutting close.

She felt the back of her neck prickle as she felt Scorpius's gaze on her. The sound of feet shuffling made her realise that Scorpius was moving closer to her. She held on the edge of the table she was facing, her knuckles turning white.

"Rose, I am very sorry for what I did," came his remorseful voice; it was laced with regret and guilt, "I was stupid-"

"Damn right you were!" she snapped, wheeling around in anger, her chest heaving as she struggled to breathe through her tears. Scorpius looked devastated, his hair unkempt, his eyes red, making her even angrier. They wouldn't be here if he had just believed her. And now she couldn't even look at him without feeling royally pissed off, "I asked you - begged you to listen to me -"

"I know! I was absolutely blinded by my arrogance, refusing to see the truth even though it was right in front of me," gasped Scorpius, rushing forward trying to bridge the gap between them, but Rose moved only further away, moving to the other side of the room. She couldn't bear to be near him." But I see it all now, Rose. I am so sorry. I thought that us separating would be good for you -"

"Wow Scorpius! It's so sweet of you to decide and assume what's good for me without even asking me. I should be thanking you for being so considerate," spat Rose, seething inside with anger. Why was it so difficult to sit down and discuss with her what needed to be done next. How dare he make assumptions about what was good for them? Did he assume he was the only one in the relationship who cared enough?

Scorpius's expression changed immediately to annoyance.

"There's no time for sarcasm at the moment, Rose!" said Scorpius heatedly. And then dropping his stance, he rushed to her and knelt in front of her, tears flowing through his eyes. The sight of him looking so helpless, raw, defeated only made Rose sob harder. Why was this man so stupid? "I made a mistake in assuming that I was doing the right thing. I love you, Rose Weasley. I always have. I am sorry for not believing you, for not trusting you. I-I can't live without you. Least of all, not after knowing that you love me back. That everything I put myself through, us through was pointless and for zero reasons-"

He reached out to touch her hand gently and wrapped his fingers around it and squeezed it. That familiar warmth she associated with Scorpius's touch permeated through her hands, which made her feel sick. She hated that he such an impact on her. She hated herself for loving him so goddamn much that his simple touch when they were arguing their butts off was inciting this reaction from her body.

"You told me that everyday that lived together, were together was the greatest day of your life. You must know it was the same for me as well." declared Scorpius, his eyes blazing as they bore into hers, making her stomach flip, despite all the anger that was consuming her, "I took my time to realise the truth, but that doesn't make it any less truer. Rose, I am madly in love with you. I want to grow old with you. Please forgive me, take me back. Everything I said and did was a horrible mistake on my behalf-"

"Asking your wife, your frickin' wife, to sign on the divorce papers is not a mistake, Scorpius!" growled Rose, pulling her hand away from his grasp, the anger overpowering again, the momentary pleasant feeling all gone, "Telling your wife that you don't love her, especially when it's a lie, IS NOT A MISTAKE! You made choices, not mistakes. It's a bloody clusterfuck you have gotten yourself into. I don't trust that things will change between us. How do I believe so when you went to the point of legally ending our marriage, lying through your teeth to get what you want? How do I trust you that you truly want me back, a-and it's not only because Amelia is your biological daughter."

She felt disgusted on voicing these thoughts out loud, but he needed to know just how much things had deteriorated, "See?! These are the kind of doubts in my mind now. This is what our relationship has been reduced to! We have gone past the point of repair. I-I am not sure if I want to be in this anymore."


Scorpius felt as if Rose had stabbed him, the knife twisting brutally inside with every word. Every thing she said, every fight she put up was terrifying him, weakening his own stance of believing that things can work out between them again.

Her eyes were bloodshot, hair wild and all over face, her face red. She suddenly seemed to realise what had come out of her mouth, and her expression turned into that of horror; her rough, hostile stance dropped suddenly. She quickly walked around him and seated herself on one of the couches, burying her face in her hands and crying.

He pressed his forehead with his hand, hissing as he felt his head throb painfully.

He'd really messed up for things to reach this point, this bad between him and Rose. They were best friends for years, and here they are now, not even able to have a civil conversation without one hunting for the other's blood. How the hell were they supposed to move on from this, least of all when Rose didn't seem all too keen on working with him on their relationship?

What on earth was he supposed to do to convince her to give them another shot?

The answer to that suddenly popped in his head, surprising him.

He suddenly felt euphoric, and at the same time, despicable for even having to resort to this. Rose was going to kill him.

He quickly sat opposite her, unsure of how she'd react, "I'm calling in my birthday gift." he said quickly, feeling extremely nervous.

Rose's head shot out of her face. Her face was still tear-streaked, but there was also incredulity lining it. She was staring at him as if he had asked her to have sex with him right now.

"Y-you promised me a f-favour. On my birthday," started Scorpius uneasily, ever aware of her widening gaze, "I love you, Rose. And I know you love me. All I am asking for is for you to give us one last chance to get things right. I fucked up massively, and I don't know how to turn things around single-handedly, but as long as I have you by my side, I can conquer the entire world. So just please, please, give us that last chance, and I swear if it doesn't work out, we'll end this. But I need you, please, be with me. Fight for us, and -"

Something seemed to snap inside Rose, for she immediately got up, startling him. Before he even realised it, she had crossed over, picked up one of the cushions on the couch and started hitting him with it.

What the -?

"YOU - COMPLETE - ARSE - SCORPIUS - MALFOY!" she yelled angrily, punctuating every word with a pillow hit. Scorpius raised his arms to defend his head; the hits were a lot harder than he had imagined they would be. He could feel her frustration bursting with each pillow hit.

"Goddamn it woman! OW!" he yelled back, trying to get his word in, "What's wrong with you?! Get off me-"

Rose was radiating absolute fury; however, her tears had stopped, and Scorpius hoped against hope that it was a positive sign.

"What's wrong with YOU? I begged you," she shrieked, his voice now extremely shrill. He fell back on the sofa as she jumped over him, attacking him mercilessly with the cushion, "I - begged - you - repeatedly. Every time. All the time. I told you. You just didn't listen, you - bloody - prickhead!"

"I know, and I am sorry! I fucked up but I want to fix things - ow! I love you and I believe you-OW!" yelled Scorpius, cringing hard. The pain had subsided but the onslaught was just becoming unbearable.

"Oh now you believe me, you idiot! You chose to believe Ryan and Lily, but your wife who's been bloody yelling it out for your thick head And now you call in you birthday favour - you complete idiot - I could kill you -"

"CALM THE FUCK DOWN!" roared Scorpius, startling her for a moment. He took advantage of that momentary lapse to grab her around the waist, pull her under him, and pin her to the couch, his hands wrapped around her wrists. She wriggled underneath him, causing him him to nearly lose his balance and crash face-first into her; he just about managed to save himself by raising himself on his elbows, "Ssh! Calm down, and let me speak! Stop behaving like an imbecile toddler - Rose!"

She stopped straining against him and stared up as him, her eyes angry and her chest heaving as she breathed heavily. Her cheeks were dotted with bright red splotches.

"I can't tell you how sorry am I for messing things up this bad between us. But I never stopped loving you. You can't tell me that I did. I know you believe me." breathed Scorpius, looking straight into her eyes, begging, hoping for his sincerity to shine through. Their noses were nearly touching, her blazing blue eyes burning into his. "If I could turn back to undo everything I have said and done, especially since I came back from the mission - you should know - I would do that in a heartbeat! I love you so much, Rose, and I am begging you to give us a chance. You've always been the stronger person, the smarter among the two of us. I am not saying that you forgive me immediately, but please let us at least try - we can't end our story like this. Please allow me to make it up to you, for the last few weeks, for the last fifteen years. I will make it up to you, no matter how many lifetimes it takes me. I'm not giving up on us, I'm willing to do everything, Rose, -jus-just don't walk away, please. I need you. I want you. I love you."

The hostile look on Rose's face had disappeared and she was staring at him blankly now. She was breathing deeply, her eyes bright and lips parted open as she looked at him, as if absorbing everything he had said. Scorpius felt her soft breath on his face, and suddenly realised the predisposition they were in. They both were practically lying on the couch. He was pretty much straddling her, his legs entangled with hers, their chests touching, their faces mere inches away from each other. He tried to shift his legs for they were cramping and ended up inadvertently rocking his hips against hers.

He was embarrassed to realise that, in mere milliseconds, he was aroused enough to want to take her on this couch, despite the huge argument they were in the middle of. Her soft gasp distracted him from his line of thought. She was still looking at him, mouth slightly open. But Scorpius also recognised another emotion swimming in her eyes along with the suppressed anger: lust.

He was hypnotised by her gaze, also highly aware of their chests pressed against each other. She was breathing deeply under him, her heart rate unusually fast against his. Neither of them spoke, but simply looked at each other, as if seeing each other for the first time. Scorpius was also very aware of all the blood rushing south, flushing furiously when he felt his body react to the energy between them. He needed to get up before he did something he regretted.

He sighed deeply, and moved up a little when he felt Rose's free leg trap him by wrapping itself around his hips, bringing them more in contact. Shocked, he looked back at her, hardly daring to believe that it was a deliberate action.

But there she was, underneath him, her eyes wide and dark, cheeks flushed, but this time, it didn't seem like anger. She let out her tongue to wet her lips, her gaze dropping to his lips.

And that was all he needed to know that she wanted him as well.

Scorpius wasn't sure who made the first move, but after many lifetimes, it seemed, he could finally feel Rose's lips move against his. Mouth crashed against mouth, groans ripping from the back of their throats, bodies heatedly moving against each other - he was finally tasting her after so bloody long.

Another moan from Rose jolted him awake, making him truly fathom that it was Rose he was kissing again, she was the one writhing underneath him - his arm pulling her flush against his body - their hips were furiously grinding into each other - her fingers, now free, had locked themselves into his hair - Merlin! her tongue was touching his, twisting and sliding - he was so erect and hard and just wanted to bury himself in her - fuck!

He groaned when she detached her mouth from his lips; she was now aggressively nipping at his neck, their fingers locking with each other, her hips grounding into his. He'd untangled his fingers from hers and ran his hands hotly over her body, over the legs he could kiss into oblivion, over the belly that had carried his child, over her breasts that had him hoodwinked ever since they became known to him, and her heart that beating wildly for him.

She found his mouth again, mewling keenly into it as he roughly kneaded her breasts, her nipples clearly straining against the silk blouse she was wearing. She increased the pace of her thrusting, moans erupting from her mouth and Scorpius bit her lower lip as he tried to hold himself back, nearly drawing blood from her lips.

He didn't want to blow his load this soon - he couldn't. He finally had her in his arms after so long. He was going to make this last as long as he could.

There were explosions everywhere, every-bloody-where, his body was sizzling with lust and electricity, firecrackers popping at the back of his eye. He was dizzy, unaware of everything but the wonderful woman in his arms who was kissing him like her life dependent on it, and he was kissing her back with no desire to stop because he knew that his life would end if they stopped. His heart was hammering wildly, just taking in the ethereal pleasure he associated with Rose - oh Merlin, Rose!

"Once you're done with your make-up sex, do come to Elora's ward. She'd probably be done with the delivery by then."

Rose pushed him off her with a strength that he hadn't expected, making him land on the floor next to the couch.

But Scorpius realised no pain. It was as if a lightening had struck him, making him all-lightheaded and dizzy, loosely connected with the world around him. He felt like he was on cloud nine, extremely content and pleased.

He slowly turned his gaze to the door, his heart rate slowing down, and flushed furiously on spotting James Potter's smug face.

"I guess the divorce is off the table, and sex is on it," said James pompously, crossing his arms and looking at them knowingly, "You both are too much in love with each other to actually go for a divorce - get a grip. Anyhow, just wanted to inform you guys - Elora is in labour now. My parents and Elora's parents have arrived. I'll see you guys at the ward." he finished, exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

The tension in the room was palpable. Scorpius turned to look up at Rose, who was still looking at the doorway and avoiding his gaze. Her face was flushed red, lips swollen; her silk blouse looked rumpled and creased. He had no idea how long they were together like that. But there was no denying that the chemistry - the passion - was still there. But what did this mean for them?

Questions started hitting Scorpius left, right, and centre.

What did this - endeavour - mean? Are they ok? Are they good to go? Was she coming back? Was he forgiven?

"This doesn't mean anything." came Rose's sharp voice, as if she had read his mind.

What the-

"Why the hell not?" exclaimed Scorpius indignantly. She didn't get to kiss him, tease him like that, and say that it didn't mean anything to her, "You kissed me back, Rose! Who are you trying to fool? I wasn't the only who wanted to fuck on the couch that you're currently sitting on."

Rose turned to look at him, looking extremely offended. She opened her mouth to say something, as if to defend herself. And then closed it promptly, blushing furiously.

"I'm going to check up on Elora. We'll talk about this later." said Rose in officious tone, that nearly caused him to burst into laughter. Scorpius knew it was highly inappropriate, but he couldn't help but find it funny. She got up and straightened her pants and moved towards the door, avoiding his gaze.

"You kissed me, Rose!" exclaimed Scorpius happily just as Rose was about to step out of the door. The happiness vibrating in his marrow was very hard to contain. The reality of the whole situation was sinking in.

"Shut up, you tosser!" yelled back Rose as she exited the room, finally giving Scorpius the freedom to chuckle.

She was clearly mortified about her actions. But that didn't deny the truth - she still wanted him.

Maybe there was a silver lining after all.

He sat back against the base of the couch, relieved beyond anything.

That endearing blush, the non-biting tone of her voice as she left the room - he knew he had her.

She wasn't going anywhere. It wasn't over for them.

They just needed a little more time to heal.


AN: -

Hope you all liked the chapter. The various confrontations, apologies were definitely a little difficult to write. Had to rewrite so many sections, so many times! Ugh.

Anyhow, do drop in a word about how you felt about the chapter. Do you think things are as okay as Scorpius thinks? What about Lily and Ryan? What's next for them?

Credits to the Ron/Hermione confrontation in Deathly Hallows for the pillow-whackathon scene. It was pure gold in the book. Wish the same had reflected in the movie as well :(

Looking forward to your reviews and messages!

Until next time,

WeasleyKingRocks