Author's Note: A BIG humongous thanks to the lovely Greacely for the title of this chapter. This chapter is quite… er... fluffy to say the least. I think I lost Draco into OOC-ness now. But I really shouldn't care. I mean fanfiction In other words; I can do whatever I like with the characters. =P As always, thankls to EVERYONE who reviewed… because you make me feel special and loved. –blush- Thank you! And cookies for everyone! –hands 'em out-

Chapter Fourteen

~New Expectations~

She was pregnant.

He had achieved what he wanted to do ever since he married her. Well, rather, what he had to do ever since he married her. He was going to be a father now, and he liked that thought very much. He had it all; money, a wife, and an heir in the way. It's curious how sometimes we seem to have everything we've ever wanted, but deep down, we know it is not enough.

And that was exactly what he felt: empty.

Now, it wasn't a matter of life or death—, who knows, it could be— but still, he didn't like to feel that way. And besides, was he right or not, Malfoys are simply not supposed to feel. Period.

It was all her fault, really. From the moment he'd seen her walk down that aisle, her face set in anger, he knew the hell that awaited him at the other line. However, the hell he had been expecting was one of arguing and anger. He did not expect, nevertheless, that the so-called hell he thought would be in store for him was himself.

Simple as that.

Now, now, of course those were indeed confusing thoughts. But they were the only things that kept him sane during their short marriage. Why was this? He feared that he may have indeed begun to feel something for the woman that now bore his child. What he didn't even suspect, however, and what he simply did not know, is that she had the same exact thoughts as he did. But let's not go into that right now.

She had come into his life unpredictably. When he left Hogwarts, he thought he would be seeing the last of her and her family at last, at least on a daily basis. But then, that summer, while Potter and his squad played the little heroes as always, in came Brother Weasel without any memory. And Draco's mother, Narcissa, had done everything she could to get him to react again. She even made Lucius send them alimony! An unthinkable thing. Lucius must've really loved Narcissa if he did something like that. And that was what had precisely scared Draco; that his father could love.

That meant, now, that Draco was capable of doing so as well. He never thought it would be possible, and at that time, he had been repulsed by the thought. And when he thought things could not get any worse, his father came with the news that he had to marry either Millicent Bullstrode, the closest to a human troll, mind you, or the littlest Weaselette herself. Needless to say, it hadn't been a hard choice.

Some may have called him shallow, but if he went deeper… let's just say Millicent was troll out… troll in.

Not that Ginny was an angel herself… but consider the other option, he had said to himself. He was also rewarded by the thought that at least she was pureblood It was not as if he had to marry Granger... he had shuddered at the thought, and let's be honest, he still did.

Now it would be nine months of hell, really. He had to aid and be on hand and foot of this woman who was going to become a screaming, wailing, and mood-swing machine. And for what really? So another screaming, wailing, mood-swing machine came out of her! Scary, no?

At least other husbands had to look forward to more intimacy with their wives, but he didn't. Well, they only needed one heir, and that was the excuse for making love in the first place. Now that the child was on the way, there was no excuse.

True, the long months of trying had not bothered him at the least. If only a little, because almost every time she had never responded physically to his actions. Well, some times she did respond physically and he could tell, obviously. He had enjoyed that time, though, when she had herself started it and finished it. It was one of the few times, counting those afterwards, of course, that she actually fore played with him and kissed him back and they really had a true love-making experience.

It had been the most fulfilling one.

Now, while there may seem to be a fine line between love-making and sex, there really isn't. Love-making involves actions and reactions; in layman's terms, it's all about foreplay. While sex… well, sex is just something done to get out of it quickly, there are almost no feelings involved, except that one of lust, which is always there; no matter how much we try to hide it.

He enjoyed having her beneath him, writhing and calling out his name; pleading him. And the best of all, it was on her own will. He took those moments to memorize every corner of her body, for if they were not to be anymore intimate, then he would remember that he had once had her for him. He had never possessed her, for you cannot possess anyone, really, but he had had her there, with him—for him—loving him in her own way. Even if it wasn't real love and just a bit of lust combined with deep affection.

It wasn't that he was upset with her being pregnant; the thought just opened a million of new possibilities he'd rather not think about at the moment. It was just so simple to let his mind carry out his thoughts.

He watched her now; she was frowning and looking down at her lap. He wondered if perhaps she wasn't pleased that she was pregnant or if something was bothering her. He voiced his thoughts. "No, it's not that," she answered him after a long pause. "I'm just a bit nervous. And I didn't know how you would react." He smiled at her and kissed her brow briefly, and she understood what he wanted to say.

He was happy with it.

But the no-sex thought did indeed bother him a bit yet. He decided to experiment with it. "I guess that means no sex from now on," he said with the air of someone careless and joking about something like that. She looked up at him and tilted her head, her face becoming sarcastic all of a sudden.

"I'm pregnant, Draco, I don't have a venereal disease."

He wasn't sure what she meant by that so he didn't pursue the subject.

***

It was night, the house was as cold as always and they were now in the living room, each doing a particular thing in front of the fire. She was drawing on her drawing notebook, doing lines here and there, scribbling from time to time; the firelight illuminating her features, making her brown eyes seem much brighter and her flaming hair seem as if it belonged to the flames.

He had been writing some financial reports, but he had tired of it and let it aside. He now looked at her; she had stopped drawing and had closed her notebook. She then looked up at him, gave him a small smile and moved over to where he was.

They remained in a comfortable silence for a long time, each looking as the fire gave cracks now and then. She was the one to break the silence first.

"Can you believe it? I'm… pregnant with your child." He looked at her; she was looking down at her lap, her hands twined. He merely raised his eyebrows and gave a small nod, which she saw by the corner of her eye.

After a few seconds, she stood up and brushed her nightgown gingerly, taking far too much time in doing so. He stood up as well and looked down at her. She didn't look at his face, it was getting slightly annoying. He tilted her head up with his hand and raised an eyebrow. "You are too odd, Virginia, what is happening?"

She lowered her gaze. "Nothing," she said, shrugging.

"There you go again, not looking at me," Draco sighed, Ginny darted her eyes up to him again; he could read confusion in her eyes, and perhaps a bit of fear. Two things he'd never seen before in them. He tilted his head at her and questioned her with his eyes.

"Sorry," she muttered, staring at him. "I feel… too confused at the moment." She wrapped her arms around him. He was slightly taken aback and did not reply her embrace. She pulled back, confusion in her face and stared up at him.

In one swift movement, he cupped her face and kissed her. She gave a low moan and kissed him back, equaling his own kiss. His other hand snaked around her waist as her hands wrapped around his shoulders.

This time, it was she who backed him up against a wall. He smirked against her lips and she gave a small giggle. He then shifted until she was the one pressed between the wall and his body. He nibbled her lower lip.

"Draco," she breathed, almost smiling and enjoying the sensation of both his mouth on her lip and his body pressed against her own. He smirked once more and stopped to look at her. "Don't stop," she said, pulling him to her once more.

He made a mumbled sound and nodded very slightly, closing his eyes.

Clothing was discarded quickly, absentmindedly. Letting themselves be guided by instinct, they forgot all about everything else that surrounded them. They forgot every warning that their brains shot out. It was euphoria, their bodies melting together once more. Out of pure lust, pure need, and pure want.

Indescribable.

***

They lay on the cold stone floor, still feeling the dried sweat clinging to every limb. She cradled his head and caressed his damp tresses of silvery hair, stroking her fingers through each strand slowly. Her other hand was upon his bare translucent back, sliding from time to time because of the sweat.

Their breathing was ragged, they were calming down after one instant of pleasure, and then another, and then another even.

It had been endless this time; their bodies had fused as they never had done before. Perhaps it was because she now carried life inside her womb. Perhaps it had just been lust. Who knows? All they knew right now is that there was silence.

He could only hear the beat of her heart; he wanted to hear that sound again and again. He would soon hear two different beatings in her. And if he was lucky, perhaps they would be going at the same rhythm as his. Hers was now, but the child that was growing inside of her had not yet a heart, he had not anything yet. He would soon.

It would be a boy, Draco was certain of it. There was a spell placed upon every Malfoy boy, the ability to only be able to make boys inside their respective wife's womb. He would need to decide a strong name for him, but that would be later.

He felt her sigh and he took the hand that had been on his back and laced his fingers with hers. He saw her smile out of the corner of his eyes and she gave him a kiss on top of his head.

Both of them were too comfortable to break the silence, or even move rather. If someone were to walk into the living room, so be it.

Author's Note: Liked it? Hated it? I hope you liked it. o.o For those wondering, yes, you can have sex while you're pregnant. I did extensive research on that before putting it there. Should I beg? Can I beg? Oh… I don't want to sound desperate… but you can leave a tiny measly review can't you? –grins- Thanks!

~Blue