A/N: A huge THANK YOU to PotionChemist and SmithAndBarrowman for coming in on this chapter and Alpha-ing the rest of the story! They are the only reason I finished it.
Hermione woke on the morning of the thirteenth of January with a migraine, back pain, and a foot in the right side of her ribcage. As much as she pushed on his foot, the baby wouldn't move, just continued to step on her organs.
"Fuck." She gritted her teeth.
She'd had Braxton Hicks for the last few weeks, but nothing had hurt as bad as this. Going through the mental list of labour signs, she didn't think the baby was coming today. Opening her eyes, the room was blurry from the pain in her head and she waved her hand to close the curtains around the bed. The lack of light lessened the pain, but only slightly. She would kill for a headache potion right now, but like most potions, she knew it wouldn't help.
"Are you okay?" Lucius' voice came through the darkness from where he was lying beside her and she was glad he was clever enough to whisper.
"My headache is worse than yesterday, and your little man is pressing against my ribs for the third day in a row."
"Is there anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable?"
"Can you rub my lower back? It's killing me."
Hermione sighed as Lucius' large, warm hands started to push against her back and her pain seemed to fade.
"Where's Draco?" she asked, noticing her other husband wasn't beside her.
"He left about an hour ago, he didn't want to wake you. The Minister called him into work for a bit. Evidently budget emergencies still happen on weekends."
"Hopefully he's home soon. I have to pee. Stupid small bladder."
"Hold on, let me help you," Lucius said.
Hermione watched as he pulled his wand from under his pillow and stuck it out between the bed curtains. When he opened the curtains, she could see that he had closed the heavy drapery around the windows so the room was dark. She was married to an angel. Taking his hands, she heaved herself out of bed and held on to him.
Sitting on the toilet, Hermione moaned in pleasure as she started to pee. She didn't care what anyone said, peeing when your bladder was full was one of the best feelings in the world. Reaching for the toilet paper, she stopped and noticed how swollen her fingers looked. Like someone had replaced them with Vienna sausages. Glancing down, she noticed her toes were no better and her ankles had changed to cankles overnight.
Wiping, she checked to see if her mucus plug had come loose before tossing the paper in the toilet, flushing and asking Lucius to come and help her get up.
"Having a baby is stupid," she complained to him. "I have to look for gross things being discharged. I can't walk. And I've swelled up like a blimp."
"You look beautiful, as always," Lucius assured her.
"You say that now, but wait until you see a human try to claw their way out of my vagina. I bet you won't think I'm beautiful then."
"I'll find you beautiful no matter what, love." Lucius kissed the top of her head. "Do you want to take a hot shower? It might help with your back pain."
"Maybe it will get Brutus to remove himself from my rib cage?"
"Brutus?" he asked, turning on the water before helping her remove her clothes.
"I was looking at your family tree last night." She shrugged. "I don't think I like it though."
"I know Draco would like to use a celestial name."
"Keep doing that," she begged as Lucius rubbed her back, using soap like massage oil. "I have a few names I like. I was thinking about Scorpius."
"Scorpius is a good constellation name. I think Draco will like it. Any others?"
"I like Hyperion as well. One of Saturn's moons."
"Both are fine names. Would you like me to wash your hair?"
At her nod, Lucius conjured a chair for her to sit on and started to shampoo her hair. Hermione was thankful that, due to pregnancy hormones, her hair was thick again. Lucius massaged her scalp as he worked the soap into her curls and she couldn't help the loud moans that left her.
"You sound like you're about to come baby girl. Is daddy making you feel good?"
"No offense, but this is better than sex."
She laughed as Lucius' hands stilled and he glared at her over her shoulder. He rinsed the shampoo out and started to massage the conditioner through her thick hair.
"It's been too long if you think this is better than sex."
"It's been two nights Lucius. I'm just saying that your hands, while wonderful when stroking my pussy, also feel amazing in my hair right now. And I would rather do this than have sex at the moment."
"As long as you feel better, that is all that matters I suppose ."
"You are one of the best husbands in the world. I'm lucky to have you and Draco."
Hermione moaned as Lucius washed the rest of the conditioner out of her hair.
"And we are lucky to have you. We love you."
"I love you too—"
"Hermione?" Lucius said in a panic as Hermione went limp before him.
He was able to grasp hold of her, wrapping her in his arms, before she fell from the chair. Without warning, her body went stiff and started to shake. It was like the deep tremors one gets when they have been standing in the cold for too long.
"Ditty! Ditty!" Lucius screamed for his elf.
Ditty popped into the shower, startled at the water cascading over her, before snapping her fingers. Without warning, the water was off and both Lucius and Hermione were dry; she was wrapped in her cotton dressing gown, and Lucius was fully dressed. A second snap was followed by a loud crack, and Ditty was gone. Before Lucius could even yell her name again, the elf was back with Healer Shafiq, who was holding a slice of toast in hand, standing beside them.
"What happened?" the healer asked, discarding his half eaten breakfast and waving his wand over Hermione.
"I was washing her hair. Then she went limp before going rigid and starting to shake ."
"She has severe preeclampsia and is having a seizure. We need to get her to St. Mungo's and deliver the baby right away. Any delay can cause lasting damage to her and your son."
"I's be taking you, then getting Master Draco," Ditty stated, reaching for them. "Yous hold my Mistress tight."
Gripping Hermione as tight as he could, Lucius allowed his elf to transport the four of them to the hospital.
They landed in front of the medi-witch station and Healer Shafiq jumped to his feet, yelling instructions to everyone around them. Lucius tried to focus on Hermione, who was limp in his arms again as it seemed her seizure had passed. It felt like it had gone on for hours, but he knew it had been less than two minutes since she had told him she loved him.
"Father?" Draco gasped as he appeared next to them, Ditty on his arm.
"Mr Malfoy, bring her in here," a witch called to him, indicating to the open door of a private room behind her.
Lucius clutched Hermione to him as he entered the room and explained what happened to Draco.
"What in the fuck is preeclampsia and how did she get it?" Draco asked.
"It's a condition caused by high blood pressure in pregnant women. It affects the kidneys and liver mostly," the nurse explained as she helped Lucius undress Hermione and place her on the bed. "Has she been complaining of headaches, lower back pain, or pain in her upper right stomach? I can see that her hands, feet, and face are swollen, another common sign."
"She has been complaining for a few days, but told us it was normal pregnancy pains," Lucius told the nurse, praying she understood that he hadn't neglected his wife. "Today she said she had a migraine when she woke up and that the baby had a foot in her ribs."
"This isn't your fault, Mr Malfoy. Or hers. A lot of women miss the signs because they already feel swollen, miserable, and have pain all over their body."
"Will she be okay?" Draco asked as Healer Shafiq and two other nurses entered the room.
"Normally we would give her a potion and she would be perfect," the healer explained, "but since nothing has been working on her, we need to deliver your son as soon as possible. Once he is safe, she should start to stabilise and we can try therapies that are fine for her, but not for unborn children."
"Whatever you need to do so they both live," Draco said.
Lucius nodded beside his son, thankful he was there. Draco took his father's hand as if he knew Lucuis needed the strength. Or maybe it was Draco that needed Lucius at that moment.
They watched in silence as the nurses prepped the room for delivery, casting sterilising spells on all of them and everything in the room. Within moments, Healer Shafiq turned to them.
"We are going to do an emergency cesarean section. Are you familiar with the procedure?"
Lucius nodded. He and Hermione had just read over the delivery section of her pregnancy book yesterday. The process seemed barbaric to Lucius, but with magic, she would heal within seconds. Normally the Healer would stun the mother, cut through her uterus, remove the baby, heal the cut, and revive the patient. The total process took about three minutes.
"Do it, Healer," Draco said, his fingers tightening around his father's.
Lucius flinched as the red stunner left the healer's wand and Hermione's body went stiff again. He closed his eyes and heard the cutting spell murmured from the healer's lips. He was willing to watch his son be born, but he knew he couldn't stand watching his wife be cut open.
"Hmm," the healer muttered, causing Lucius to open his eyes. Healer Shafiq's body language didn't change, but Lucius could see the concern etched on his face.
"What?" Lucius and Draco snapped at the same time.
"I can't touch her. Any fears that your son isn't magical can be put to rest. He is casting a protective spell around his mother's stomach and I can't touch her. My spell is being repelled and my scalpel won't break the skin."
"What can you do?" Lucius asked, his voice thick with tears.
"There is something that has been tried once in America. It was successful, but it's dangerous. It could injure or kill Hermione, but it shouldn't cause any lasting damage to the child. Maybe a broken bone that we can instantly fix."
"Is there a less dangerous option?" Draco asked.
"Wait and hope your son lets us perform the surgery. But who knows how long that will last, and the longer he is in there, the bigger the risk."
"What's the American thing?"
"I force her cervix to dilate if it hasn't already, then puncture the amniotic sac, sever the umbilical cord, and place a Portkey on your son. Once I remove my hands, I activate the Portkey and he will arrive in my arms.
"Your son will be jolted around and not happy but he will be safe. After he is removed, I can do the cesarean to remove the placenta and make sure there is no permanent damage to her uterus."
"But this could kill her?" Lucius asked.
"When the portkey activates, the baby will spin around in her uterus. There is no telling what damage that could cause. Nothing happened to the mother in America, but we don't know if that was luck, or if it was because the procedure is relatively safe."
"And there's no other option?" Draco pleaded.
His tone matched the pain in Lucius' heart. Would they have gone through all of this just for Hermione to die as she gave life to their son?
"The only other option I can think of, and this has never been tested that I know of, is to open her cervix and try to stun your baby. If he can't do magic, then I can proceed with the Cesarean. I have no idea what casting a spell like that would do to Hermione though. Or if it would even work. If he is shielding her, he will most likely shield himself as well."
Lucius turned to Draco. "What do you think we should do?"
"What would Hermione want?" Draco asked.
"She would tell you to save your son, even if it meant she died," Narcissa said from the doorway. "Ditty brought me."
"I can't lose her, mum," Draco said, tears running down his face as Narcissa wrapped them both in her arms.
"She is strong. We have to have faith that she will survive." She looked up at Lucius. "But you know she would want you to save your son."
"You're right." Lucius' eyes met Draco's and saw that they were in agreement before turning to the Healer. "Do the Portkey."
Narcissa moved them to the head of the bed and guided their hands until he and Draco both had a hand on their wife's shoulder. Lucius felt the strength radiating off his ex-wife as she gripped both of their hands in hers.
"No matter what, we face this as a family," Narcissa said, leaning down to kiss Hermione's head. "Be strong, Hermione. We're with you."
Lucius closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of love that surrounded him as he heard the sound of liquid hitting the floor. He knew Healer Shafiq had broken Hermione's waters, but couldn't bring himself to watch. A quiet 'Portus' was whispered before the sound of a drain being unplugged filled the room followed by a splat. There was an agonising silence before the screams of their baby filled the room.
"He's alive," Draco called and Lucius opened his eyes to see his son, bloody and screaming, being handed from the Healer to a medi-witch, who had a blanket in her arms. Lucius breathed a sigh of relief before focusing back on Hermione. He watched as the slicing spell hit her lower stomach and blood started to bloom around the cut before he averted his eyes again.
"Stay strong, Lucius. She'll be okay," Narcissa whispered in his ear.
Lucius blocked out the world around him as he watched the rise and fall of Hermione's chest. His thoughts were full of the last ten months they spent together. The way she smiled at him when he woke beside her, the way she'd looked on their wedding day, that small sound she made right before she came, the feel of her lips on his, the way she loved him.
Because he was watching her so closely, Lucius was the first to notice something was wrong.
She's not breathing.
"She's not breathing," Lucius said out loud. When no one responded, he said it louder. "She's not breathing!"
"Get them out of here," Healer Shafiq yelled at a mediwitch and Lucius watched as he sent a bolt of energy towards Hermione's chest. "Now!"
Lucius tried to fight, but he was pulled from the room by Narcissa, at the same time as two hands on his back pushed him out. As soon as he was out of the door he tried to go back in. Hermione needed him. He couldn't… wouldn't leave her. A strong ward blocked his way and the windowless door slammed in his face. He whipped his wand out, trying to find a way to take the wards down.
"Lucius," Narcissa said, pulling on his arm. "You have to let them work."
"No, she needs me!" Lucius cried, raising his wand again.
"Father, we need you. Your sons need you. Both of us," Draco spoke softly and Lucius stopped his attempt to break down the door.
"My sons?" What sons? He only had Draco.
"Yes. He has Hermione's curls already."
Lucius looked from Draco's face to the bundle in his arms. In all the confusion of Hermione not breathing he had forgotten why they were there. Why Hermione was not breathing. There, looking so much like Draco had the day he was born, but with a head of thick platinum curls, was his other son.
"Scorpius," Lucius breathed, running his finger down the small nose.
"Scorpius?" Draco asked.
"This morning, Hermione told me she liked the names Scorpius and Hyperion."
"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," Draco whispered, smiling at the baby in his arms. "It fits him well."
"He is beautiful," Narcissa said, looking at the baby.
"Scorpius," Lucius murmured, taking the baby and showing him to his ex-wife. "Meet your grandmother, Narcissa."
Lucius was staring at the face of his new son so intently, he almost missed the question Draco asked Narcissa.
"Mum, what do I do if she doesn't make it?"
Lucius felt his heart break at that moment. Not just for himself, but for the pain Draco was feeling. Tears dripped down his face, landing on the soft blue blanket wrapped around Scorpius. Suddenly, the door behind him opened and he turned to see the Healer, with blood on his robes, walking out of the room with a grim look on his face.
A/N: Let me know what you thought! Drop a comment or reach out to me on Tumblr!