CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
xxxxxxxxxx
June 20th 2006
xxxxxxxxxx
The twelve week point of her pregnancy found Hermione sitting beside Charlie in the waiting room of St Mungo's Maternity ward, his knee bouncing up and down as he fidgeted relentlessly in his seat. As his shoulder knocked into hers yet again, Hermione growled and turned to face him, slapping her hand down on his thigh and pressing down.
"Will you please stop fidgeting!" She exclaimed and Charlie groaned, rubbing a hand over his chin.
"I can't help it," he explained, sighing, "I don't know whether I feel more nervous or more excited! How are you so calm?"
"I've done all of this once before," She shrugged, gesturing around them, "I know what to expect, more or less."
"More or less?"
"Well, you never know, we could be having twins," she said and chuckled when Charlie gasped, "or more. Maybe it's triplets."
"Oh gods," Charlie rasped, "is that likely?!"
"Well there is a history of twins in your family, so there's always a possibility," she shrugged, grinning and taking his hand, "relax, I'm sure I would be bigger if I were pregnant with twins."
She laughed as he warily eyed her slightly rounded stomach, shaking her head as he turned to look at the many posters and informational leaflets that were attached to the walls. If she were totally honest, she probably would be a lot more nervous if she wasn't so preoccupied worrying about telling Arty their news after the scan. It wasn't that she thought he might take the news badly, not initially at least, but he had been through so many changes lately and this was just another one to add to it, probably the biggest and most drastic, too.
Arty had been used to having Hermione completely to himself for five years, never having to share her attention or her heart with anyone before Charlie came into their lives. Having his dad around had been nothing short of an amazing change for Arty, but he hadn't been back even a year and now they were about to introduce a new member of the family, one that would mean Arty suddenly wouldn't always be the center of attention any more. She never wanted him to feel that they loved him less and she knew that they would need to have a serious discussion about making sure that Arty never felt left out or neglected when his little brother or sister arrived.
Perhaps, she thought, she was underestimating her son. He had always been absolutely wonderful with his younger cousins, taking them under his wing so to speak and never growing tired of their presence or, as they got older, their questions or requests of him. Maybe he would accept his new status as big brother and protector the same way that he had taken to all of the other changes, completely nonplussed and unfazed. Then again, he might be incredibly excited until the idea became a reality and there was a screaming baby around that took up a lot of his parents time, previously dedicated to only him. She sighed and felt Charlie squeeze her hand.
"What's wrong?" He asked, frowning concernedly and Hermione shrugged turning to face him.
"I'm worried about telling Arty," she sighed as she watched him nod understandingly, "what if he gets jealous of the baby?"
"He won't have any reason to be jealous, Hermione," Charlie reassured, putting his arm around her shoulders and rubbing her arm, "you know just as well as I do that Arty is going to be an amazing big brother."
"I know, I just…" she sighed, shrugging, "so much has changed for him lately, I don't want him to react badly."
"Whatever happens, Arty will love this baby as much as we do," he smiled, reaching his other hand to her stomach and rubbing his thumb over it, "he is amazing with all of the other kids and he will be more amazing with his own sibling."
"I hope so," she nodded, smiling sadly, "I just don't want him to resent having to share us with someone else."
"So we involve him every step of the way," Charlie shrugged, "I remember when Mum was pregnant with Ron, she always made sure that Bill, Percy and I, and the twins to some extent, were always involved and it helped a lot in making sure that we didn't feel pushed away or left out."
"That's a good idea," Hermione nodded, frowning thoughtfully, "we could ask him for name suggestions and stuff like that, I suppose."
"Exactly," Charlie smiled, "and he can help when the baby arrives, too, with the small stuff like feeding or playing with them when we need to do something else."
"I guess you're right," Hermione nodded, smiling up at the healer as she called for Hermione, standing up and dragging Charlie with her, "let's go see how many babies we're having."
"One is enough, thanks!" Charlie groaned as they passed the healer, who snorted as she ushered them into the seats in front of the desk and walked around to her own chair.
"I'm afraid you don't get much of a choice," she grinned, sticking her hand out for them both to shake, "I'm Healer Stanwick, I'll be your Healer in charge for the pregnancy and birth."
"Nice to meet you," Hermione smiled, shaking her hand and instantly feeling at ease with Healer Stanwick, "I'm Hermione and this is Charlie, my partner."
"And the father?" The woman asked, turning to Charlie, who nodded.
"I am." He nodded happily, smiling at Hermione as he took her hand.
"And this is not your first child, Miss Granger?" The healer asked and Hermione shook her head.
"No, we already have one child together, he's almost six." Hermione said and Healer Stanwick frowned.
"I can see from the notes of your last pregnancy that the father of the child was absent?" She asked and both Hermione and Charlie sighed.
"I didn't know," Charlie shrugged sadly, "I only found out that I had a son in September last year."
"It's a rather long and complicated story," Hermione said when the healers frown deepened, "I'm sure that I will have the time to explain at another time."
"Of course," Healer Stanwick nodded, smiling, "how about you hop up on the bed over there, Hermione, and we'll have a look at the baby."
Hermione nodded, smiling and gesturing for Charlie to follow her over. He sat in the chair that was at the head of the bed, clutching her hand tightly when she offered it once she was situated and laying down. They both watched as the healer began to wave her wand over Hermione's abdomen, soon hearing a whoosing sound that Hermione knew to be the amplified heartbeat of their child. She turned to Charlie, smiling as he frowned and she pointed to his own heart, nodding when his eyes widened. She turned back to see a moving, almost holographic, image of the baby growing inside of her and a grin lit up her face as Charlie coughed roughly.
"Everything seems fine," the healer smiled, once she had finished waving her wand, "would you like a copy of the images?"
"Yes, please." Hermione nodded, smiling as she felt Charlie lean his forehead against her temple and heard him sniffle.
"I love you." He whispered and Hermione smiled as she reached her hand up to hold his head.
"I love you too."