A/N: Suspense! Cliffhangers! And Stuff!
"What?! Now? You're not due for another three or four weeks!"
"Yes, Arthur, I know that. . . and you know that. . . but the baby obviously hasn't been informed of this fact!" Molly took a deep breath and tried, gingerly, to straighten up to a standing position. "Now, please help me upstairs to the bedroom and call the Mediwitch."
Arthur stared at his wife for a few moments, obviously caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events. "Of. . .of course, Molly. But why. . .never mind. Here, grab my arm. . . "
The two lumbered up the stairs towards the small bedroom, stopping intermittently as another contraction coursed through her body. After what seemed like an eternity, Molly sank gratefully down onto the bed with a sigh.
"Don't worry about a thing, Love. I'm sure everything is fine. Just try to relax and I'll go floo the Mediwitch. " Arthur smoothed the hair back from her face and kissed her forehead tenderly. "Just remember to breath. I'll be back in a few moments. "
"Arthur!" she clutched his hand, "Arthur, what about the children? Mum is still away on Holiday, and I don't know who else we could get to watch them. . ."
"Don't worry about a thing. I'll ask Bill to mind the younger ones, and I'll pop in occasionally to make sure everything is in order. You just rest and think about the job you have to do."
Kissing his wife one more time, Arthur sprinted down the steps and over to the floo, hurling flames into the hearth with his wand in one hand and throwing Floo Powder into the flames with the other. "St. Mungo's Maternity Ward!" he shouted, thrusting his head into the inferno.
It was very sterile, as most hospitals are. Sterile and seemingly bereft of any type of life. "Hello? Hello?! "
"This is a recording. All of our medical staff is busy at the moment, but if you would like to leave your name, Floo location, and a brief message, someone will return to your fire a quickly as we are able. If this is an emergency, please stay in the fire, keep yelling, and someone will arrive shortly. "
"Hello?!! HELLO?!" Arthur was trying, and failing, to keep the panic from his voice now. "MY WIFE IS IN LABOR!!! HELLOO?!"
"Dad! What's going on?" Bill's voice came from the doorway. "We can hear you bellowing all the way down by the tree!"
"It's your mother. She's gone into labor, and I can't find the Mediwitch. Here, stick your head in the fire, keep yelling until someone answers, I'll go tell Charlie to keep an eye on your brothers, and then I have to check on your mother"
An ear-splitting shriek wracked the house as the two looked at each other.
"Maybe I should check on your mother first. . . you just keep yelling for the Mediwitch, and make sure to have them alert Healer Hardwick. She had agreed to come out for the birth. . . I hope she doesn't mind coming early!"
Bill nodded a bit before shoving his head back into the fire and shouting for Healer Hardwick. Arthur barely heard him as he jumped up the stairs two at a time.
"Molly, I am calling. . . what the hell?!" a large book on the herbology of Ireland came sailing past his head, another on arithmancy followed close behind it. He doubled over as a third pummeled his stomach.
"This is all your fault, Arthur Weasley! You were laughing at me, and NOW she's trying to prove you wrong! You couldn't just wait a few more weeks, you HAD to start saying she was going to be a boy. . ."
"Molly, take it easy! I'm calling for Healer Hardwick to come, but we have to find her first. Please stop throwing things at me. Knocking me unconscious isn't going to help anything!"
"IT'LL MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!"
"Molly, calm down. I'm going back downstairs to check on the boys. Now, remember to breathe!"
"Oh, I'm breathing alright, you. . . " Arthur shut the door on the tirade he knew was happening behind him. "Healer Hardwick had better get here soon."
"Dad! Dad, I found someone!" Bill's shouts came ringing from the kitchen and Arthur dashed back down the stairs.
"Go check on the others and make sure they're eating something. Don't let Fred or George start a food fight! Hello? Hello?! Where are you?"
He looked frantically around the room before seeing the girl come from behind the desk again. She looked very young, though she was wearing the robes of a certified Mediwitch.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Weasley. Your son says your wife is having a baby?"
"Yes, yes, that's correct. She's gone into labor about 3 weeks early, and it's come on very quickly. Is Healer Hardwick there? She was scheduled to help with the delivery later. . ." Arthur tried not t worry. Everything was going to be fine.
"No, she's out on another call at the moment. . . I can come if you like, or if you would rather wait until she returned?"
Arthur could hear the muffled shouts Molly was giving from upstairs. "No, I think you should come. Immediately, if possible. We're here at the Burrow, Weasley's the name."
"Certainly, Mr. Weasley. Give me a few moments to get situated and I'll Apparate in. Can you disable the wards around your house?"
"Sure! Sure, come on in the house. I'll meet you here." He said, relief flooding him like a tide. "I'll see you in a few minutes." Arthur ran outside to disable the wards he had placed around the house, then raced back upstairs to his moaning wife.
"Molly?" he asked hesitantly from the hallway. "Molly, the Mediwitch is on her way. If I open the door are you going to throw anything at me?"
He heard a muffled sob and a muted "no" before walking into the disaster area that was their room.
Everything that had been within her reach had been thrown at the door and windows. Books and papers littered the small room, as well as the remains of a picture of his mother (who was looking indignantly out of the frame) and a small potted plant who had been smashed to bits.
With a few careless flicks of his wand, he straightened the room up and knelt down on the floor next to the bed. "Molly, the Mediwitch should be here any minute now. It'll all be okay, just hang on for a bit."
"I'm sorry, Arthur. I know I shouldn't have thrown everything. I'm sorry I hit you. . . " Molly whimpered, and then squeezed his hand as another contraction hit her.
"Don't worry about a thing, Love, I understand. After five kids, I am used to this. The Mediwitch will be here soon, and everything will be alright." He kissed the palm of her hand lovingly before placing it back on the bed. "I have to go back downstairs and wait for her. Will you be okay until I get back?"
"I'll be fine, Arthur." she replied with a half hearted grin. "It's not as if I can go anywhere."
"Okay. I love you. I'll be back soon."
Arthur sprinted back down the stairs, thinking in the back of his mind that he was getting a better work out than the National Quidditch Team and stopped, panting at the door. The Mediwitch was nowhere in sight.
What was taking her so long?