Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Katie Bell has been alone for the last four years. After the wedding of her best friend, she heads to the Leakey Cauldron. After she gets drunk, will she make some mistakes that she'll regret later? Oliver Wood/Katie Bell

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own anything

Chapter Thirteen: Oliver's Return

I raced around my house, feeling my heart pound. "Where in Gaia's name is my wand?" I screamed in frustration, my voice echoing all around me as I ran down the staircase, feeling off balance and clumsy. I ran through the living room and searched frantically. Where did I put it yesterday? I couldn't remember! I couldn't think of anything but Oliver. His last letter was so happy. They had just won against New Zealand's best team, and they were about to go celebrate. No indication to the terrible things going to happen. I could almost remember by memory for heaven's sake!

I spotted my wand in the kitchen next to my unfinished breakfast that I hadn't been able to finish when I had come up with the idea to paint the baby's room. I hurried to the fireplace, and started a small fire with my wand and grabbed some Floo Powder in my hand. I threw it onto the fire, causing it to became emerald green and rise, crackling evilly. I stepped into the fire and yelled loudly, "St. Mungos!"

I landed unceremoniously in the extra large fireplace at St. Munogs and was promptly lead out of it by a plump witch that had blonde hair. "There's a lot of people coming today, ma'am." She said apologetically to me.

I nodded courteously to her, not really paying attention to her, my mind solely focused on Oliver and my stomach was in knots. I ran to the desk that read, "INQUIRIES." Breathless, I barely noticed the witch sitting behind the desk, looking in her mid-thirties, reading the latest copy of Witch Weekly. "Excuse me," I asked politely, trying to ignore the fact that my heart was trying beat its way out of my heart, "could you point me to Oliver Wood's room?"

"No." The witch said curtly, not even looking up from her magazine.

Anger flooded through my veins, replacing the hysteria that had only been there a moment before. "Excuse me?" I asked, blinking my eyes dangerously at her.

"I said, no." The witch repeated to me. She turned a page in the magazine. I vaguely noticed that the Puddlemere United team photo was the cover of Witch Weekly and Oliver's cheeky wink stopped me cold for a minute.

"I don't think you understand." I stated calmly, pulling myself away from photo-Oliver's gaze. I struggled to reign in my temper. "I'm here to see Oliver Wood."

"Yeah?" The witch asked, finally snapping her head up to look at me, with the most icy blue eyes that I had ever seen, contrasting greatly to her jet-black hair that was cut short around her ears. "You and the rest of the Oliver Wood Fan Club." She waved her arm to the rest of the waiting area behind me. I turned to look over my shoulder and my mouth hung open.

Nearly seventy-five teenage girls of all shapes and sizes were sitting or standing in the waiting room. I looked like they had run out of places to sit a long time ago. Most of them clutched at flowers, or get-well-soon cards, and I spotted some teddy bears or stuffed animals among the endless bodies. Nearly all of them were looking like they wanted to cry or were doing so alreay. One girl was rocking back and forth, sobbing her eyes out, her breath coming in gasps and her nose was red and puffy. Her friend was trying to console the hysterical girl next to her by hugging her and laying a head on her shoulder.

I turned back to the witch. "You think..." I exclaimed, but stopped myself from losing my cool with her. I took a couple of deep breaths, centering myself. "Look, I'm Oliver's..." I hesitated to say, 'girlfriend' to a woman that could easily run with that information to the Daily Prophet. "...friend." I finished hastily. "If he knew I was here, he'd be very upset that you kept me out here without provocation." I said truthfully.

The witch a perfectly plucked eyebrow. I wondered how long it took her in the morning to make it like that. She picked up a clipboard with several sheets of parchment on it. "What's your name?"

"Katie...Katherine Bell." I said.

She frowned, looking a the sheet, scanning it. "Alright." She said, sullenly. "Alyssa!" She called over her shoulder. At the confused look on my face, she announced, "It's a list of all the people Mr. Wood has approved to see. Lucky for you, you're on it."

"What, Jade?" Another witch walked up with mousy brown hair pulled back in a ponytail that hung half-way down her back. Beneath a smallish forehead were honey colored eyes that looked very cross at the moment.

"Could you please show Ms. Bell to O.W.'s room?" Jade asked in a low voice. "Before the mob gets wind of it."

Alyssa nodded. "Come with me." She said sternly, taking my hand in a death grip and leading me along a corridor I had never been before. That's saying a lot, considering when I was growing up, I had lost count of the times I had been forced to St. Mungo's because of my innate sense of getting in trouble with magical things. Once I had even tried to bring home a hippogriff as a pet. That did not end well.

"He's alone in this room." Alyssa said in a hushed tone. "We usually place Muggles in these rooms after they've had a run in with dangerous magic. We'd put him in a regular room, but that would caused a riot."

"Thank you." I said softly and I turned to open the door while Alyssa disappeared down another corridor.

It was a small room, smaller than the ones I had been in when I was younger, but then again, those rooms were designed for three people. This one only had one occupant. Flowers were everywhere, as were stuffed animals and over large cards. In the middle of all this folly was a single bed. Oliver was laying on it, seemingly asleep. I moved around the maze of teddy bears and roses until I was next to his bed. I nearly started crying. I sunk slowly on the bed, careful not to crush any of his body parts as I did so. His head was completely bandaged up with gauze. A purple-yellowish bruise covered his left eye and cheekbone. My eyes scanned every part of his face, hoping for some sign of life on him. Except for the shallow rising and falling of his chest, there was not movement from him. "Oh, Oliver," I breathed and reached out and caressed his un-bruised cheek.

Oliver moaned and reached up to take my hand in his. I gasped audibly. "Oliver!" I exclaimed, my eyes going wide.

Oliver moved my hand from his face and his eyes opened, showing me the gorgeous brown eyes that easily slipped their way into my daydreams during the last couple of months. But he still clutched at my hand tightly. His left eye couldn't open all the way, even so, he stared at me with the same intensity he had when he had left. "Your hands are cold." He said, slurring his words slightly. He took a deep breath. "I hoped when they told me I was being transferred to St. Mungos that you'd come."

"When did this happen?" I asked, gently touching the bandaging around his head, tears coming to my eyes. I couldn't see one bit of his hair.

"Two days after my last letter." Oliver said, struggling to sit up. I helped him, but that moment, Lady Luck decided to leave me again because Oliver accidentally put a hand on my stomach, through the over-large football shirt that had hidden it so well. But if that wasn't enough, one of the twins kicked sharply against the intruding hand. I winced at both the strength of the kick, and knowing what was coming.

Oliver's one good eye went wide, and he pulled his hand away from my stomach as if it was on fire. "Kates..." He said softly. "What was that?"

"Depends..." I said, weakly trying an attempt at humor. "What do you think it was?"

"Katie." Oliver said sternly.

I sighed. The moment of truth had arrived after more than five months of avoiding it. I looked down at my hands, twisted around each other, and I whispered. "I'm pregnant."

There was a paused that seemed to stretch for years. "What?" Oliver asked in a deadly low voice.

I looked up, tears welling in my blue-gray eyes. "I'm pregnant." I said in a clear voice. "Almost eight months pregnant."

Oliver's mouth was gapping open at me. It opened and closed several times before he thought of something to say. "Is it..." He took a gulp and tired again. "Is it..."

"They're yours, Oliver." I said softly, but firmly. "You know I haven't a boyfriend since seventh year of Hogwarts before you, and I certainly didn't have one while you were away."

"They?"

I looked into his face. It was clearly shocked by this news, but I didn't blame him one bit. "They." I repeated. "They're twins."

"Twins." Oliver repeated, disbelieving.

I nodded again, looking down. Wait for it, its coming. I heard my thoughts going off on their own.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Oliver asked in that same low voice.

I looked down for a moment. Months of excuses flew my heard, things I had made up solely for this moment. But all of them flew straight out the window as I looked up, determination clear in my face and the truth came tumbling out of my moth before I could stop myself.

"I was scared, Oliver." I said, feeling a lone tear leak out of the corner of my eye and slip down my face. "Scared that you'd either give up your absolute dream of playing Quidditch for a living because of me, or you'd leave all together and I'd never see you again. Oh Oliver, I was going to tell you when you got back! Please believe me."

Oliver's facial expression had gone cold. "They were going to be five months old when I got back from the World Tour!" He shouted, startling me and I jumped slightly. "You were planning to keep out children away from during that time?"

"Yes." I said, getting over my initial shock of Oliver yelling at me. "I didn't want you to give up a dream that you've had for as long I've I known you. Possibly longer! I would have told you sooner, but knowing you, you'd come back as soon as possible from where ever you were the moment you found out, damn the consequences!"

Oliver looked taken aback. "Katie, they are my flesh and blood too. You're right. I would have found my way home if you told me sooner, because that how important you and now, they are to me. I can't believe you kept this from me!"

I let him yell. He had every right to yell. I had done the worst thing to him and I knew it. He continued to rant at me for a minute while I stayed quiet, tears leaking down my face. He paused for a minute and stared at the clear tears coming down my face. "Say something, damnit!" He exclaimed loudly at me. His eyes searched for some reaction on my face.

The door opened and a Healer walked in the room. "Excuse me..." He said, looking surprised at the sight of me. "I hope I'm not interupting anything."

"No, you're not." I said, before Oliver could even open his mouth. "I was just about to leave anyways." I wiped the tears off my face hurriedly and walked out the door swiftly, avoiding any of the questions that the Healer might ask me. I tried to stop the tears and I scolded myself for crying. It wasn't like I hadn't expected this. I knew he was going to be angry with me, but the tears kept flowing.

After I finished crying, I knew I looked terribly beyond reasoning. I walked down the \corridor again, winding my way back to the waiting room, unfeeling, as if all emotions had been drained from me in that room. I could hear the whimpering from the girls in the waiting room, but I ignored it. I started to walk to the fireplace, but my way was blocked by a woman.

"Hello. My name is Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet." She said cheerfully to me, holding out a talon-like hand with deep crimson long nails. When I didn't respond, she pulled the hand back. "I couldn't help noticing that you were only person that requested to see Oliver Wood and actually got through. Care to comment?" She waved her want and a green quill and parchemtn appeared out of mid-air. Rita looked expectantly at me.

I wondered why Ginny hadn't floored this reporter when she had the chance. Ginny does not like dealing with these kind of people.

"Stuff it." I said coolly, and I moved to go around her, continuing to the fireplace.

Rita moved in my way again. "Don't be like that." She said in a sickly sweet voice. Does she know what she sounds like? "So how do you know Mr. Wood? Friend? Relative? Girlfriend?" She smiled wickedly and I was reminded strongly of a hyena right before it was going to strike on its prey, grinning at the excitement of the kill. I saw her eyes flick down to my stomach so quickly that I almost didn't notice.

I scowled at her, wishing her tightly wound blonde curls cluster around her face would catch fire. "I fail to see why that information is any of your business. Thought I've heard that you have a knack for sticking your overlarge nose where it doesn't belong, so I'll forgive you... this time." I went around her and this time she didn't try to stop me. I took some Floo Powder from a large pot next to the fireplace and threw it into the fire. I stepped into it. "Bell Haven!" I cried out.

I landed back in my kitchen, feeling weak at the knees. I barely had the strength to drag myself up to my bedroom and collapsed on the bed, sobbing, tears coming down my face in rivers, my hands on my budging stomach, wondering why they didn't want to kick anymore.

Author's Note: Just a little fact. I am not immune to human emotion, I was crying during this part, trying to write it. And as one of my friends knows, I had to type this up twice, because my computer sucks and decides to shut down occasionally on me, so it was twice as hard to make that scene work. I have to say that I love you all. I read every single one of your reviews, and they kick me in the arse when I have writers block, so thank you. You don't have a clue on how much they mean to me. A special thanks goes out to Dwimmerlaik. I was having a very bad day, and your review made me laugh my head off. Thank you.