I've not updated in forever. I know. I apologize. If you're still here, I hope you love this update!
Chapter Twenty-Five
Adair walked back in through the door to the flat after getting lunch with her sister-in-law. Charlie was lying on the couch, soaking in his last few days of his holiday break.
"What did Katie say?" Charlie asked as Adair lifted his feet off the sofa and sat beneath them.
"She agreed," Adair said with a smile.
Since Adair had found out she was pregnant, she had avoided going to St. Mungo's for her prenatal care. She didn't trust her privacy to anyone and so Charlie had suggested that she ask Katie to provide private care.
"It took some convincing," Adair said. "She hasn't done much pre- or post-natal care and has only done a handful of deliveries, but I figure if I'm not a healthy pregnancy then no one is."
Charlie nodded, though he figured he would have to talk to Katie without Adair present. He knew that Adair could be stubborn, but Charlie had been prioritizing her health when she wouldn't for years. And now it was not only her health he had to worry about, but their child's as well. He knew Katie was more than a capable Healer, but if there were an emergency it would be up to him to get Adair to relent and to go to St. Mungo's.
"She asked if we wanted her to come over and tell us the sex of the baby," Adair said, not looking at Charlie.
"What did you say?"
"That we hadn't talked about it yet and I would let her know."
Charlie sat up. "Well that's true." He watched Adair before he spoke again. "Do you want to know?"
Truthfully, she didn't. Adair wanted to put off knowing until it was impossible to do so any longer. While she had been extremely excited to find out she was pregnant, she had grown more and more uneasy as time went on. She had come to terms with having to break generational chains, but she wondered more and more if it would be harder to do if they had a daughter.
"Do you?" Adair returned, finally looking over at Charlie.
"Everything with you has been a surprise up until now. I'm not sure why we would change that," Charlie replied, taking Adair's hand and giving it a squeeze.
Adair nodded.
Charlie studied her for a moment before he pulled her over and held her to his chest. They didn't speak as he ran his fingers through her long blonde hair.
They dozed on and off throughout the afternoon and when they both woke again, Charlie shifted under Adair. "I made a dinner reservation. We should get ready."
"Cancel it," Adair said drowsily. "I'd rather stay in."
"Are you sure?"
Adair nodded and burrowed closer to Charlie under the blanket she had pulled over them for their nap. "It's too cold to go out."
"Well why don't we go warm up?" Charlie suggested, running his hand under Adair's shirt.
Adair laughed against Charlie's lips as she leaned up to kiss him.
Charlie maneuvered out from under her and scooped her up, taking her to their bedroom.
While Adair had felt poorly during the first few months of her pregnancy, her energy levels had risen once more and she was feeling back to herself.
Charlie peeled her sweater and jeans off. To anyone that didn't know Adair as intimately as he did, it would be hard to tell that she was pregnant. There was perhaps a little less definition around her middle, but there was not yet a discernible bump.
As she had begun to feel better, Adair had gone back to a fairly demanding training routine. So far, there had been no adverse effects, but Charlie was going to add it to his list of things to speak about privately with Katie.
In that moment, though, with Adair mostly naked before him, he wouldn't worry about it. Adair looked like the picture of health. Charlie kissed the color that was rising from the tops of her breasts to her neck. Certain parts of her had begun to slightly fill out and he couldn't resist.
Her hands traveled under his jumper and wrapped around his back, pulling Charlie close to her.
Within a matter of seconds, she was ready for him. Her body was incredibly sensitive, causing her hips to buck into Charlie as his mouth closed around her full breast, tongue swirling until she was moaning into his hair.
In a flash, Charlie had pushed his pants down, not bothering to kick them all the way off or pull his sweater off. He moved Adair's underwear aside and sank into her, groaning against her throat.
"Charlie," Adair breathed, trying to pull him deeper within her than was possible, wanting to consume him.
"Bloody hell, Adair," Charlie growled. "I can't handle this."
Adair was lost in the sensations crashing over her body to notice as Charlie bit her shoulder and stuttered to a stop.
"That was embarrassing," he mumbled against her neck, hiding his face. "You were too much."
"It was perfect," she laughed, stroking his fiery hair.
He rested a large hand over her still flat stomach, trying to catch his breath.
"I'm going to take a shower," she said after a moment, moving away from his side.
"I'm going to lay here in shame," he replied, grinning despite himself.
Adair took her time in the shower, letting the warm water calm her pounding heart. She smiled to herself as she cradled her stomach.
As she dried off, Charlie passed her, kissing her soundly on the mouth before stepping into the shower.
After changing into her sweatpants and jumper, she made her way to the kitchen to get a glass of water and see what they had to eat for dinner.
While staring into the refrigerator absently, she heard the door to the flat bang open and she hurried to see who was there, knowing there was only one person it could be.
"Oliver?"
Her brother had not spoken to her since she had disclosed to him that she was expecting.
"How could you?" he demanded, storming into the living room.
Adair shook her head. "What are you talking about?"
"Is it not enough that you've wrecked the team after the best season any of us have ever had, but now you have to drag my wife into it?"
"Adair!" Charlie came hustling down the hallway, coming to a halt when he saw Oliver. They had been on superficially friendly terms since he and Adair had gotten back together and he knew he stood on thin ice with Adair's brother.
"Drag Katie into it?" Adair repeated. "She could've said no."
"She's not like that. She has a heart even though you've stepped all over it."
"Oliver, what are you talking about? I haven't done anything to Katie."
Charlie moved so he was standing close behind her, watching her cagey brother over her head.
"You are so self-absorbed, it's unreal."
"Oliver," Charlie said, a warning note in his voice, placing a large hand on Adair's shoulder.
"Now you care, do you?" Oliver shot at Charlie. "Some of us don't pick and choose when we stand behind our partners," he spat. "The pair of you are absolutely disgusting!"
Adair had never seen her brother in such a state and she had seen him angry her entire life. "What's going on?" she asked quietly, wondering if it wasn't her he was mad at.
His brown eyes were full of rage when he turned his gaze back to Adair.
And then he crumpled. "We can' have a baby," he said rawly, a sob bursting forth from his chest.
Adair stood frozen to the spot, watching her brother cover his face with his hands and cry. Emotion tugged at her own heart. She turned to Charlie and gave his hand a squeeze. "Could you put some tea on?"
"Of course," he murmured, not taking his eyes off of Oliver, pausing a moment before he went into the kitchen to put the kettle on.
Adair slowly approached her brother, taking his upper arms in her hands.
Finally, he looked up at her, eyes bloodshot and sniffling.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered, smoothing his hair where he had messed it up. "Why didn't you tell me when I came to you in the first place? I would have never asked Katie if I'd known."
"Because it's my fault," he replied, beginning to cry all over again, collapsing against his sister, sobbing into her neck. "It's my fault and I'm ashamed and humiliated."
"You can't know that," Adair said gently. She held him at arm's length and then took one of his rough hands, pulling him to sit on the sofa with her.
"I do know that," he replied. "We've had all of the tests done and it's my fault." He took a deep breath. "I make more money than a man could spend in a lifetime and I can't give her the one thing she wants."
Adair remained silent.
"And I don't want to be angry with you, but you've gotten pregnant twice and once by accident!" The anger came back into Oliver's voice and Adair winced.
She had nothing to say in response to that.
As the siblings sat in silence, Charlie came into the sitting room with two mugs of tea. He handed them to Adair and Oliver and then sat in an armchair without a word.
"I'll tell Katie that I don't need her,"Adair finally said quietly.
Charlie's eyes flashed to Adair. He knew that she detested the thought of going to St. Mungo's; wanted to preserve her privacy and that of their baby for as long as she could.
"No," Oliver said. "Katie doesn't know I'm here. She'd be furious if she did. She wants to do this for you. It's me who's struggling with it."
Adair nodded. "I'm so sorry, Oliver."
Charlie watched the siblings and though he knew that they had struggled individually, had butted heads relentlessly and would likely continue to do so, he smiled as Adair took her brother's hand in hers.
ooooOoooo
Charlie came home one evening, early in the second term of the year, to find Adair sitting on the sofa looking through a Seeker Weekly, a fire going to warm the room.
"Professor McGonagall asked me something today," Charlie said as he peeled his coat off and kicked out of his boots. He pressed a kiss to her cheek as he walked past her to warm his hands before the fire.
"And what was that?" Adair asked, turning the page.
"Well she thinks the students need more 'programming' as she put it, so they're throwing a Valentine's dance."
"Well that sounds like fun."
"I'm glad you think so. She asked if we'd chaperone." Charlie was grinning as he sat next to her.
"You and I? She really asked if I would chaperone the dance?" Adair raised an eyebrow. She had never been a participant in much of the school's programming while she had been there, most of her time being taken up with Quidditch.
Charlie nodded. "She really asked for you. She's worried about what you might doing with all of this free time." Charlie hurried on when he saw the look on her face. "No one at school knows we're having a baby."
"I don't think that's a great idea," Adair said quietly.
"You've hardly left the flat in months, Adair. It would be good for you."
Without thinking about it, her hands went to the small bump that had only just begun to appear despite being nearly four months along.
"You could wear something to hide the baby," Charlie said. "No one would know."
"There would be so many questions about not playing this season."
"I don't know," Charlie replied. "These kids are pretty self-absorbed. You could just tell them you needed a break. They'd believe it."
Adair gave him a long look, realizing that in that situation Charlie would be the more stubborn of the two of them.. "Fine."
oooOooo
Two weeks later, Adair found herself walking through the doors of the Great Hall on Charlie's arm.
"It's not the pre-celebration for the World Cup, but it'll do," Charlie said with a laugh.
Adair smiled. The Great Hall was decked in pink and red banners, there were huge bouquets of red roses on the smaller tables that had replaced the long house tables, and confetti hearts floated from the ceiling, disappearing before they hit the floor.
Loud music was pumping through the hall already and the students were pouring in down the staircase.
Adair was adjusting the black dress she wore. Compared to what she had worn to every formal occasion in her career, she looked absolutely matronly. The dress was not tight, it was not low cut in the front or back, and there were no slits in the skirt.
"You look beautiful," Charlie whispered, nodding at a few of his students as they passed them.
"I look as big as this castle," she replied.
Charlie brushed her long, wavy ponytail aside and rested a heavy, reassuring hand on the back of her neck.
"Professor Weasley, Miss Wood."
They both turned to see Professor McGonagall heading their way in her signature emerald ensemble despite the theme of the evening.
Adair was taken aback at being addressed so formally. "Professor," she said in greeting. "This is quite the event."
"So it is," Professor Mcgonagall looked around without smiling. "The students have truly outdone themselves; a bit overdone in my opinion."
Charlie stifled back laughter.
"Perhaps next year I will put you in charge, Professor Weasley."
It was Adair's turn to bite back laughter. "You would be very good at that," she said as sweetly as she could manage.
Professor McGonagall turned her attention to Adair. "I am glad you agreed to be a chaperone. I was wondering what you were getting up to without playing this season."
Adair shifted back and forth, but Charlie put his hand back on her neck to stop her nervous movement.
"What are you doing with your time off? I'm surprised your brother didn't drag you back to the pitch by that ponytail."
"Well, he certainly tried," Adair responded. "But it was a grueling few seasons and I just felt the need to take some time to recuperate and rest."
"I see," Professor McGonagall replied, looking the young woman critically up and down. Her attention was distracted and her head snapped automatically to find the trouble. "Gallagher! I can see you and that flask!" McGonagall turned back to Adair once more before moving on.
"Why do I feel as though I've done something wrong?" Adair asked, looking up at Charlie. "I was a good kid."
"Well it might be the baby out of wedlock," Charlie murmured.
"A bit soon after your mum, don't you think?" Adair returned.
Charlie laughed, unfazed by his mom's behavior. "She'll come around. Now let's scope out this party to see if we can find the real troublemakers."
"I bet there weren't events like this when I was in school because of Fred and George," Adair laughed. "I'm not sure they make troublemakers like that anymore."
"Thank goodness for that or I wouldn't have made it this long teaching," Charlie replied, offering Adair his arm.
"It's Adair Wood!" They both heard someone exclaim and then there was a stampede of students.
Some of them brandished cocktail napkins at her and one conjured a quill for her autograph.
"Are you ever going back to playing?" An older boy demanded.
"I think so," Adair replied, trying to smile. "I just needed a break."
"Well I hope you take us back to the World Cup!"
"Me too."
Charlie's hand was on her lower back. "Alright, let her breathe. Go back to your party!"
Once the crowd had dispersed, Charlie and Adair continued to walk the perimeter of the room. "Are you having an alright time?"
"I would be having a better time if we snuck away to your office," Adair murmured, glancing at Charlie out of the corner of her eye.
"Snuck away to my office?"
"I'm having a certain craving." Since Adair had begun to feel better and was working out once more, her body craved certain things Charlie cooked, but also her boyfriend himself.
"I see." Charlie glanced around. "Well I would be a terrible partner if I didn't help to satiate those cravings." He took her hand and pulled her along the exterior wall of the Great Hall until they were out the door and running down the corridor toward his office.
They hurried up a staircase and ran down another corridor before they got to Charlie's office. He was hastily shrugging out of his dress robes and undoing his tie.
"Colloportus!" Adair said, flicking her wand at the door before Charlie was upon her, both of his huge hands on her face, kissing her hungrily.
"I thought you said you were a good kid," Charlie said, between kissing down her neck and bunching the skirt of her dress around her waist.
"In most ways," Adair laughed.
Charlie's hand trailed up her thigh and into her underwear. "Bloody hell, that didn't take long."
Adair pushed her underwear aside as Charlie undid his trousers and hiked one of her legs around his hip, burying himself in her.
"Oh!" Adair cried out.
Charlie clamped his other hand over her mouth and backed them up until she bumped into the desk.
Adair's arms looped around his shoulders as Charlie pounded in and out of her, but once more it wasn't to last long.
Adair bit Charlie's palm and shuddered around him, going practically limp on the desk as Charlie finished with a stuttering breath.
"What has gotten into you?" Charlie asked, bracing himself on the desk, hands on either side of Adair's hips, as she laid on her back.
"You. In every possible way," Adair replied with a laugh.
Charlie pushed her dress up a little further so he could kiss the slight swelling between her hips. He straightened and began to adjust his clothes again. He pulled Adair to her feet and helped her brush her hair back into its neat ponytail.
"Alright, you've distracted me from the very important job of chaperoning underage witches and wizards. We should get back."
Adair conceded. "I could use some punch."
They made their way back to the Great Hall and Charlie sent her to get them both to a glass. "Make sure it's not from the spiked bowl."
Adair nodded and headed for the table away from the rogue Irish student who had gotten in trouble earlier.
She ladeled the pink punch out, but turned when someone touched her shoulder. Adair turned to see Madame Pomfrey.
"I just wanted to wish you congratulations, dear," she said with a kind smile.
Adair felt the color drain from her face. "Congratulations?"
"On the baby, course!"
"Oh…right…thank you."
ooooOoooo
"Do you think we should go to one of your brother's matches?" Charlie asked Adair, one evening as they were sitting down to dinner.
Adair pressed a hand into her lower back. While it had taken her a while to show, the baby had certainly popped as spring rolled around and her due date got closer.
"This," she replied, waving her hand over her stomach. "Is not for public consumption."
"I understand, but you have been photographed. The world over knows you're pregnant even if you don't go out very often." Charlie didn't look at Adair as he speared vegetables on his fork. "And we should support Oliver."
"I'm not traveling and my parents are in his suite at every home match," Adair said.
"Could we not afford seats? Or even, I don't know, a different suite."
"Why are you pushing this? Oliver hasn't said anything to me about it."
"Oliver has hardly said a word to you since fall," Charlie said. "With everything going on between the two of you, it might be nice to show up for him. And the rest of your teammates."
"Why are you always such a bloody good person?" Adair asked, glaring at him from across the dining room table. "It's absolutely maddening."
ooooOoooo
Three days later, Adair and Charlie were in one of the smaller suites on the Quidditch pitch.
"Why are they taking my photo?" Adair demanded, flashing bulbs continuously going off in their direction. "The players are on the pitch."
"You knew this would happen," Charlie reminded her, pouring himself a Firewhiskey from the bar in the back of the suite.
"I should've demanded that you stop drinking as well," Adair said, rolling her eyes.
"That would have gone over well," Charlie chuckled, stepping up next to her at the window, draping an arm over her shoulders.
Adair was in an oversized England jumper and black leggings. At that point she was dressing completely for comfort.
Charlie glanced down as Adair sucked in a breath and cradled beneath her stomach. "Everything alright? Do you want to sit down?" He asked her, pressing his own hand to her stomach. "They're active, aren't they? Do we have a Quidditch player on our hands?"
Adair didn't respond, just rubbed soothing circles over her belly while Charlie continued to stare down at her.
ooooOoooo
"I need a favor," Adair said, flooing Ginny one afternoon.
"Oh bloody hell, what?" Ginny responded, wrangling Albus who was crawling away from her.
"The Seeker Weekly wants to do a story on me and the pregnancy and your brother and my career," Adair replied. "But they have this awful reporter on the hook to do it. He's the one who termed me the "Ice Queen" when I came back to England. I said I'd only do it if you wrote it."
"You what?" Ginny sighed. "I haven't written anything in years. You don't need the money from this story."
"I didn't want to do it at first," Adair said. "But I…I don't know, Gin. I rarely get to give my perspective or my story in this sport."
"Shit," Ginny shook her head. "Fine."
"Can you choose a nice photographer? Charlie and I are thinking we'll do it at the flat."
"You owe me."
ooooOoooo
"You are glowing," Ginny said, entering the bathroom when the hair and makeup artist was done with Adair. Her long, blonde hair looked thick and shiny and hung in gorgeous waves around her shoulders.
Adair stuck a hand out so her friend could pull her to her feet from the vanity stool. "Well thank goodness for that because I feel like hot rubbish otherwise."
"Really? Charlie says you're still working out."
"I am, but I'm getting uncomfortable anyway."
Ginny nodded. "I have questions about your pregnancy regimen for the interview." They walked to the living room where they were going to take the photos and record the interview. "Where is Charlie?"
"Right here," he said, joining them and kissing his sister on the cheek.
Charlie and Adair settled themselves on the sofa and Ginny sat in the armchair across from them.
"How am I supposed to do this interview if I'm crying?" Ginny asked, smiling warmly at her brother and best friend. "I knew this would happen and no one believed me."
"Get a grip," Adair said, smoothing her black sweater and folding her legs at the ankles, one hand resting on Charlie's thigh as he rested an arm across the back of the sofa, his other resting on the bump of his baby.
"Smile at Ginny," the photographer said, snapping away. "Now at each other. Beautiful. And cover his hand with yours, Adair and look down at the hands."
Charlie snickered and Adair couldn't look at him, but then they both burst into laughter.
"Alright, let's run through some questions before you ruin all of the photos," Ginny said.
They spent the next two hours talking to Ginny about how being parents would fit into Adair's Quidditch career, how she was training so she would be in the best shape possible post-partem, and what gender they were hoping for, which they both replied 'healthy and happy' to.
"Now I think a lot of people are wondering why you chose to do this before you were married," Ginny said. "Are you planning on getting married after the baby?"
"My life has been far from traditional," Adair began. "I didn't feel the need to fit into anyone else's timeline. After winning the World Cup last season, it just really felt like the right time and I didn't want to postpone that because we needed a wedding."
"You could have just gone to the Ministry," Ginny replied.
"We could have, but I didn't think that would change anything between Charlie and I. It wouldn't change how much we love this baby or each other."
"And will you get married later?"
"We certainly can't tell the future," Charlie chimed in. "I never say never, but like Adair said, we are extremely happy right now and I can't imagine anything making our situation any better."
"We've only gotten real push back from Charlie's mother," Adair said, laughing.
"That's off the record!" Charlie exclaimed, clamping a hand on Adair's knee and then nibbling at her neck.
Ginny laughed. "Alright you two, last question: There's been talk that your baby has already been drafted to a National team. It will have you for a mother and Oliver Wood for an uncle. Playing runs in your family. And mine, I should add. In all seriousness, how would you feel about your child following in your footsteps, Adair?"
Adair paused for a moment. "If that's what they really wanted to do, I would support them every step of the way, but you have to love what you do. There wouldn't be any pressure from me to play Quidditch professionally or even when they're at school." Adair took a deep breath. "I know how that pressure can shape every aspect of your life, with mostly negative consequences, and I wouldn't want that for my child."
Charlie squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.
"This baby could be a Quidditch player, a dragonologist, a Healer, a journalist," she winked at Ginny. "A teacher, an Auror, an entrepreneur, or anything else they want to be. It will be surrounded by people who have followed their dreams in a thousand different ways. They don't have to do what I did. I wouldn't want them to if it wasn't their calling."
I'm not sure I nailed this update. There's always so much going on with these two. I hope to narrow in on the pregnancy and our favorite couple in the next update. Let me know what you thought! And per usual send any ideas for this fic!
Happy reading,
Avonmora