Lupin didn't come see him before he went to the hospital wing on the night of the full moon. Severus didn't care. He was hardly thinking about the wolf as he waddled into the private room and set up for the night. The labor potion was put with the other supplies, and the lavender put in a conjured vase. He'd considered going without it, but in the end he'd decided a mild calming effect was better than none. After he had the baby, however, he was determined to become an animagus and stay with his child himself. He would make sure his child didn't have to depend on Lupin any more than necessary. Or at all.

Pomfrey did a preliminary exam first, once he was in bed.

"Their vitals look good. They're a little over 8 pounds by now, and likely more by next month - you're having a big one."

"Wonderful." He certainly felt every ounce. "If it goes well enough this time, will we still induce later?"

"I think so. Depending on how it goes tonight, I believe we'll induce labor a day or so before the next full moon. You only have a few weeks left at the most before you'll be meeting your baby face to face."

Severus figured he was as ready as he would ever be. The baby things were set up and waiting, and he was uncomfortable enough to look forward to holding his child in his arms instead of his belly.

He fell asleep feeling relatively good, but he dreamed about wolves and blood.

He woke up after dark with a jolt. The baby was thrashing hard, attacking everything in reach. He grit his teeth as he winced in pain; Pomfrey was already monitoring them, watching the wolf cub in his womb.

"It's as I feared. It looks worse."

"It feels worse! Ouch!" Severus leaned over and deeply inhaled the lavender's scent. But it only had a minimal effect. The cub slowed slightly as they kept kicking and nipping and writhing. It was so intense Pomfrey couldn't help wincing in sympathy as she saw lumps appearing in Severus' twitching belly from the ruckus within.

It continued through most of the night without letting up. Then one of Severus' deep breaths was cut off by a gasp. He'd felt a pop. The cub kept thrashing as a puddle formed in his bed.

"Poppy…!"

Her eyes were wide. "They broke your water!"

"Yes, I can tell!" he snapped, feeling the cub's writhing even more acutely without the cushion of water.

"So much for inducing labor! Whatever happens tonight, you're having a baby!"

Severus tried to keep calm, but his heart was racing from pain and worry. This was it. Weeks earlier than even their early date, almost a month from their due date, his baby was coming.

Something went off in Pomfrey's monitoring spells, and she frowned. The cub's thrashing increased for a second, then slowed to a sluggish rate, which worried him even more.

"Oh dear," Pomfrey murmured.

"What?! What's happening?!"

"Their vital signs are dropping! No, crashing! They're in distress!"

Severus' heart leaped into his throat. His baby was in danger! "Poppy, do something!"

She was already making hasty preparations. "There's no time for you to give birth naturally. If I don't deliver them now, they won't make it." She shoved a potion at him. "Drink this, it'll numb you."

Severus gulped it, already feeling numb with fear. He knew what she was doing - she was about to cut him open. He lay down and shut his eyes, not feeling her hand on his belly, or even the cub who had slowed to stillness. It frightened him to suddenly not feel them at all, as if they had vanished, but it would be far worse if they died inside him.

He didn't feel Pomfrey make the incision, but he felt faint tugging as she pulled the cub free. He heard her talking softly.

"Oh my…"

"Poppy, are they alright?" He wanted to open his eyes and see his baby, but he wasn't sure he wanted to see himself sliced open.

"I'm doing all I can to stabilize them. Don't bleed out on me."

"I will do my best."

A minute later, he felt tugging as she closed the incision.

"Take this."

He opened his eyes to see her holding out a vial of blood replenisher. He gulped it down quickly before demanding, "Where's my child?"

Pomfrey handed him a little bundle. "I'm afraid they're rather weak, but they're holding on like a trooper."

Severus looked at his newborn in his arms, a white wolf cub wrapped in a blue blanket with their eyes closed, occasionally squirming in a weak manner.

"Shhh. I have you. It's alright." He held his cub close to his chest, against his wildly beating heart. His cub whimpered, then settled a little.

"Shhh. You're with me. You're safe." He tried petting their head, furry and soft. They wiggled closer, whimpering.

"We've had it rough, haven't we. I know. We'll make it together. I just need you to hold on. You can do this. I've got you."

Severus held them close all night, murmuring and shushing, willing them to hold on. Now that he finally had his cub in his arms, he didn't want to let go, fearing they might give up if they left his embrace for even a moment. He couldn't give up on this cub he'd worked so hard to have.

When the moon went down, bringing the morning, his cub was still alive. Severus watched in fascination as his newborn cub morphed in his arms into a newborn baby. He took a quick peek under the blanket.

"I have a daughter."

Pomfrey was smiling. "Congratulations. She made it through the night, I think she has a good chance."

"Of course she does. She's mine. We're survivors." He kissed her head. Her birth had been a hectic, scary experience, like her conception, but now she was in his arms for him to hold, and he realized he was smiling. A proud, happy smile.

She blinked her eyes open, and he saw clear, bright eyes looking up at him, light blue.

"Well. And how are we feeling?"

She was making little noises as she pressed against him, mouth open. Pomfrey helped him position her so she could get her first milk.

"She's lovely, Severus."

He was beaming as he watched his baby girl nurse. "She is."

When she broke off, he smiled as she yawned, stretching tiny fingers. He let her wrap them around his finger, feeling reassured by her grip.

"Sleep, child. We've been through an ordeal. You will have to face the wolf the rest of your life, but I will be here to help you. Always."

She kept her tiny hand around his finger as she dozed off. He thought he wouldn't be able to sleep, unable to stop watching her, until he dozed off as well from exhaustion, still holding her.

That evening, Lupin timidly knocked at the door before peeking his head in. "Severus? I know you probably still want to kill me, but I wanted to make sure you were…"

He stopped as he saw Severus sitting in bed, holding a blanketed bundle in his arms. The quiet smile on Severus' face fell into a frown as he looked up at his visitor.

"Oh, it's you."

"Severus… You had the baby early?"

"Obviously." He held his newborn closer as Lupin came up to the bed. "She went into distress during the full moon. Poppy had to deliver her right away."

"But she's okay now?"

"Yes. She's sleeping it off."

Lupin looked at the tiny, sleeping face and smiled. "She's adorable, Severus." He blinked back tears.

"Alright, don't get mawkish. You've seen her, now get out."

"Severus, I know I messed up-"

"That is putting it mildly."

"I've given it a lot of thought, and you were right. I had no business protecting a dangerous felon for the sake of an old friendship, instead of protecting my own cub. I put her in danger, I put you in danger, and I put the rest of the school in danger. Just as I did when I forgot to take the wolfsbane you generously brewed for me. I didn't tell you about the others being animagi for the same reason - I wanted to protect old friendships and memories, but that's not as important as helping the cub, and I am ashamed to say I didn't see that until recently. I can't say I regret this little one," he gestured to the baby, "but you are right that it can't happen again. I haven't exactly been very trustworthy, so I'm in no place to make demands. I would still like to help her during full moons, but if you want to revoke that too, I'll understand."

Severus listened with his eyes narrowed in distrust. "I don't need your help. You have done nothing to prove I can rely on you, even for the child's sake. Saving your own hide is clearly more important to you, and your carelessness is just as bad. I won't have my daughter hurt from being let down by someone she cannot depend on."

Lupin nodded sadly. "I understand. At least I know you're putting her first, since I can't. She's in good hands with you."

Severus watched without regret as Lupin headed for the door, then paused.

"Just one thing - May I at least know her name?"

Severus hesitated before deciding it would be harmless.

"This is Chiara."

Lupin smiled sadly. "That's a pretty name. Thank you."

Then he left.

The next day, Lupin was gone. He didn't show up for meals or classes, and Pomfrey didn't know where he was. No one knew. His quarters were empty, his office packed up. There was only a note on the desk saying that he resigned, that he was grateful for the opportunity but it was time for him to move on.

Severus felt no remorse or astonishment at the news. Let the cowardly wolf run away like he always did. It didn't matter.

"We don't need him, do we?" he said to his baby girl who was looking up at him as she lay on his chest, more awake in her second day of life outside the womb. He would spend the next few days in bed recuperating from surgery, holding his baby and feeding her and talking to her. "We will get on just fine without him. You'll see. Father will keep you safe." He kissed her. "It's just you and me."

A/N: If you know, you know, LOL…