Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or anything remotely involved with it.

Chapter 12: More than Friends Part 2

She watched Sallie and Ron go down the path again and Severus turned to her to offer his arm. There were small tears of happiness and pain in her eyes as she followed him away from the alter.

"She looked so beautiful." Hermione said as they followed the path to the Great Hall for the reception.

"Much like her mother." His tone told Hermione not to ask further on the subject and she didn't. She preferred him to be quiet and content, not obnoxious and uncomfortable. When they reached the table where Hermione was to wit with Henry and some of the Weasley clan, Severus released her from his arm and pulled her chair out. Before he walked away, Hermione thanked him for his chivalry and sat next to Henry who looked extremely pleased with himself.

"Did you enjoy the ceremony?" She asked him as Sallie and Ron passed their table.

"It was fine, but I can't wait for food." Hermione chuckled at him and how much he reminded her of Ron who could never eat enough in school.

"Would you like a wedding like this some day?" She asked, sipping her water.

"Maybe, if I can find the right person. I wouldn't like to be married to a great hag."

"You are impossible." Hermione replied, pinching his sensitive spot beneath his arm.

"Oy! Mum that hurt!" She laughed at him, but thought of her own persistent pain that wouldn't abate. She rubbed her stomach lightly and tried not to show the pain on her face. If she had learned anything from Defence Against the Dark Arts class, it was never to show emotion.

"Please turn your attention to Harry Potter who would like to say a few words." Albus Dumbledore announced, gaining everyone's attention.

"I have know Ron since we were eleven and let me say, things haven't really changed. He was the first person who wanted to befriend me on the train coming here and the first to defend me against anyone who had something to say, well aside from a couple instances that shall remain unsaid. I never felt like a valuable member of society until I met him and Hermione. They made my life whole. Upon the eve of my own wedding, Ron gave me some great advice. He said, 'Run, Run fast, Run like you hairs on fire and don't look back.' At first, I thought he meant away from Susan, bit he didn't; he meant towards her and our new life. This is eternity, true happiness and devotion. My only concern for you now is helping raise Harrison, who for all intensive purposes seems more and more like his dear Uncle Severus everyday. For now, cheers and best wishes for a lifetime of happiness." Harry raised his glass and nodded to Ron who was staring between him and Hermione. He noted instantly that Hermione was forcing herself to look pleased and vowed to talk with her before the night was out.

"Would you care to dance, Madame Stuart?" Harry asked in a mock, upper class tone.

"It would be an honour." She turned away briefly to set her handbag down and close her eyes tightly dulling her pain a bit.

"I love this song." She said taking Harry's hand in her and putting the other on his shoulder.

"You look like this is the last place you want to be, Hermione, what's on your mind?" Harry asked, his eyes searching hers.

"Thank you for listening to me last night, Harry, I really needed to let out all of that anger and despair. And I am quite pleased being here, if a little tired."

"I would do anything to make sure you weren't suffering." He replied, his mouth dangerously close to her ear.

"I know that, and I would for you as well." They remained silent for the rest of their dance and then Hermione returned to her seat when Harrison had decided to join her.

"Your dress is pretty, Hermione." He said, quietly.

"Thank you, Harrison. Have you been having fun?" She asked him, helping him wipe the spilled juice from his sleeve.

"Yes, lots of fun. Daddy Ron thinks you are sad." Harrison said looking towards Ron and Sallie as they sat and talked a few tables away. She couldn't recall being so overwhelmed with emotion at Harry and Susan's wedding, but then it hadn't been at Hogwarts and she hadn't been nearly nine months pregnant. Harrison stood swiftly and ran off towards his Mum as an odd sort of liquid started to trickle between Hermione's legs. Without looking too suspicious, Hermione stood and walked slowly out of the Great Hall towards the loos to make sure it wasn't blood she was feeling. She turned down a corridor or two and walked quickly to a stall.

"Oh, bugger this stupid underwear." She said vehemently to the air. She checked her underwear for spots of blood, but everything seemed clear. She assumed her water had broken and sighed quite heavily realizing that everything she'd tried to stop had happened anyway. Her son or daughter would in fact be born early.

"Madame Stuart, are you ill?" She heard from outside her stall door. How had she not heard someone enter the room?

"No, I just needed to use to loo, Severus." She decided it was not imperative that he know she was in active labour as of yet. The contractions hadn't actually started and the books she'd read said that she shouldn't go the hospital until contractions were five minutes apart.

"We will be returning to your home shortly." He said, moving to the doorway of the restroom.

"I am quite tired, so that will be great." She stepped out of the stall to wash her hands and felt his eyes on her. When she finished drying her hands, a sting like she'd never felt before gripped her abdomen and lower back, but she still didn't want Severus to know, she couldn't ruin Sallie and Ron's wedding. She walked past him to the Great Hall and waited on his word for them to leave.

"Let me gather Atticus and Harrison." Severus turned swiftly from her and left her wondering if her uneasiness was written on her face. She hugged Henry and promised to write him soon. She said her goodbye's to the Weasley's and then to Sallie and Ron.

"We'll see you Friday." Hermione said, her heart heavy with the news of impending birth. She was having a baby, Wallace's baby. The happiness must have shown on her face because Severus smirked a bit towards her as the carriage started away.

"Ahhh...." Hermione sobbed into her pillow. It had been three hours since her arrival home from the wedding. She knew she couldn't wait any longer, so she stood to pack a few things in a suitcase. Contractions were exactly five minutes apart and as she packed, she stood stiffly waiting for them to pass. She wanted to make sure she packed for the hospital stay, but also the infants clothes and blankets. The smile that had graced her lips earlier only disappeared in the worst of contractions, but always found a home again on her face. Once she was finished checking her bags, she went to the bathroom to freshen herself and do something with her sweaty, bushy hair. When she had finished, she walked back into the bedroom to call on Severus who had decided to stay in case she needed anything, but he was already in the doorway.

"Going somewhere?" He asked, a tone close to anger in his voice; as if she was betraying him or something.

"Not immediately." She replied, feeling as though Severus was trying to father or that she's just snuck in after some late night rendezvous with a boyfriend.

"You are in no condition to travel, Hermione. For once, cease acting as though you know everything and get into bed to rest." She'd turned from him to put the bags on the floor when another contraction started and the weight of the bags proved too much and caused her to fall forward releasing them immediately to the floor. Her hands landed on the side of her bed. This pain was intense, far more than the others had been and she felt a great weight on her abdomen that wouldn't subside.

"I have to leave for the hospital. The contractions are getting too close together now." Hermione said, the pressure of the last contraction subsiding a little.

"When did they start?"

"This morning."

"Why did you hide your labour from me? You've put your unborn child at great risk being stubborn." Severus came quickly to her side and grabbed her bags, shrinking them to fit in his pockets.

"Follow me." He called as he walked out of her door and down the hallway, but he soon realized that she hadn't followed him at all.

"I can't walk..." She whispered her eyes glossy and large from crying, yet there was still a smile on her face knowing she would soon have her baby. Before she could take another step, Severus lifted her from the carpet and carried her to the foyer.

"Hold on tight, I am going to apparate us."

"Is this an emergency?" A very-uneducated receptionist asked looking squarely at Severus.

"Of course, you nit wit."

"What is your wife's predicament?" Deciding whether the time it would take to explain to the receptionist that Hermione was not his wife was useful, he ignored her comment and continued.

"She is in labour."

"Her name?"

"Hermione Stuart."

"Yes, we've already an entire file on her. Please take her upstairs to the labour and delivery ward." Severus wasted no time walking the stairs and found the receptionist on the floor to be a bit more helpful.

"She said she'd been in labour since this morning, but I have no idea when labour officially started. Hermione, tell the mediwitch when it started."

"It was this morning, I don't know what time. My water broke around four thirty."

"And when did the contractions become more intense?"

"Right after my water broke, I'd say closer to five. Before we left they were four minutes apart." Hermione stood shakily next to Severus, but followed the mediwitch down the hall with his aide.

"Alright dear, lets change into and get a check up." Hermione looked at the hospital gown and wondered how she would be able to get from her current dress robes into her hospital gown. The mediwitch left the room and Severus wouldn't meet her eye.

"I know that this is awkward and uncomfortable and I am sure there are a million other things you would rather being doing right now than tending to an emotional woman in labour, but I really need your help, please." She reached out to him and searched his face. He did seem quite distressed, but took her gown out of her hands and motioned for her to turn around. He began unbuttoning the long row of buttons that cascaded down her back, his fingers trembled slightly because it had been many years since he'd done something so intimate. Her top dress came off with ease until she had to step out of it and a contraction hit her hard. She reached for his arm and squeezed tightly, her slip barely covering her underclothes. She shuddered and breathed heavily before releasing his arm again.

"I'm sorry." She said, stepping out of the dress robes and turning to face him. She had trouble meeting his eyes as she knew that pain was something he knew, but not something he wanted to share with someone.

"I can get the rest, thank you." He turned from her and waited as she changed out of her slip and underclothes into the scant hospital gown.

"If you would like to get in touch with someone else to relieve you, don't feel obligated to stay. I just want Sallie and Ron to have a proper honeymoon, so don't call on them." Hermione tapped him on the shoulder to let him know he could turn around. Her hair was no bound in one large braid down her back and she nestled herself on the comfy bed.

"I don't feel obligated to stay." He said, coming to the side of her bed and stopping to help her bring her legs around. "But I would like to." He added, taking one of her hands in his.

"Thank you." She said, waiting for the mediwitch to come back and examine her.

"Please step out of the room, sir." Healer Eleanor asked of Severus as she entered the room.

"Just relax, Hermione, this won't hurt." Eleanor examined Hermione and then went to her chart book to write down some information.

"We won't be able to stop it this time, dear. She's just determined to come." Hermione met the healer's eyes quickly. Had she just admitted that Hermione was having a girl? Or maybe she'd heard her wrong.

"How much time do you think we have?" Hermione asked, pulling the blankets up around her stomach.

"Thirty minutes."

"Oh, well...I need to have some people contacted." Hermione said, counting on her hand the people she would need to let know.

"Your friend was contacting people." The healer replied.

"Who did you floo?" Hermione asked Severus as he came back in the room.

"Potter and Ginevra Thomas. Arthur and Molly Weasley. Albus and Minerva. Is there anyone else?" Severus asked, trying to think of anyone else she would want with her.

"Wallace's mum, but she wouldn't come. Umm...I guess that's it, thank you." Her hands shook uncontrollably as she tried to wipe her eyes. The tears were a mixed emotion of joy and terror. She was someone's mother and she didn't know exactly how good of one she would be.

"Are you in pain?"

"Nothing I can't handle. I did survive cruciatus several times." She joked with him, trying to still her hands by her side. She could feel her child moving slowly downward, the pain deadly but still manageable.

"Are you cold?" He asked, as she continued to shudder. She was impressed by his concern.

"Sometimes women experience high blood pressure due to the stress of labour. It is accompanied with dry sweats and uncontrollable shaking. Apparently, that must be why I..." But she stopped talking as another contraction swallowed her and then, before she could react to the pain, she felt the need to push outweigh her pain.

"I need Eleanor." Hermione said through gritted teeth. He stood promptly and walked out into the hall.

"Let's see, Hermione." Healer Eleanor checked Hermione again and smiled sweetly. Hermione was dilated to ten and fully effaced.

"Okay, Hermione, the next time you feel the urge to push, bear down and push." Hermione leaned forward a bit as Eleanor helped her to the edge of the bed. Severus stood, gaping at the doorway afraid to enter and see something so personal and private.

"If you want to make yourself useful, you can move the pillows around her back, if not, please go to the waiting room." Eleanor said blankly to him and watched as he moved to Hermione's side and packed the pillows around her lower back.

"Do you feel it now, dear?" Eleanor asked, watching Hermione's face for a sign of the pain.

"Yes, it's coming." Hermione replied as she leaned forward a bit more and pushed as hard and long as she could. She fell back slightly and wondered if all of this was making Severus uncomfortable. He was standing behind her, so she couldn't see his face or expression. She needed to make sure he wasn't disgusted or embarrassed.

"Can I hold your hand?" Hermione asked, getting him to lean down to hear her light words.

"Yes." He replied, taking her left hand in his right.

"The head is crowning, Hermione, one soft push now." Severus put his free arm around her shoulders and massaged gently as he watched her in so much pain, yet so happy still that a smile was on her face.

"Now we just need to get the shoulders out." Hermione screamed loudly as the shoulders began to pass. Severus' presence eased her mind more than she thought it would and his gentle massage helped the stiffness in her back.

"One more good push, come on Hermione, you can do it." Eleanor said, her hands in Hermione's nether regions, slowly pulling the baby out. Eleanor began suctioning the fluid from the baby's nasal passage and also the throat before helping Hermione remove the baby. Hermione pushed one final time and swore that if it didn't come this time, Eleanor would just have to pull it out because she couldn't push anymore.

"It's a girl, Hermione, a beautiful baby girl." Hermione's eyes looked quickly over her infant who was sticky and slimy in afterbirth. Her eyes filled immediately with tears of such happiness that she couldn't contain herself.

"She's okay?" Hermione asked, hearing her whimpering cry and wondering if she was developed enough to go home soon.

"Let me clean her up and perform some spells and make sure. She looks great, though." Healer Eleanor replied to a distressed Hermione.

"She weighs six pounds even and is nineteen inches long." Eleanor boasted, wrapping her up tight in a lavender blanket and handing her to Hermione. "She is healthy, dear, and has a good set of lungs."

"She is perfect." Hermione said, holding her tight to her breasts and cooing with her. "She is healthy, isn't that wonderful Severus." But when she turned to see his reaction to the baby, she was met with a man who seemed quite distraught.

"Severus, are you alright?" She asked, her free hand coming to meet his arm, but all he did was stare at Hermione's face, not saying a word. Hermione turned her attention back to her daughter and smiled, she had a daughter, her own child.

"Severus, if you don't feel comfortable being here, you don't have to stay, I'll understand. I know the experience of watching a child being birthed is traumatizing to men, so you don't have to act courageous, I'll understand completely." Hermione said, rubbing his sleeve, her eyes on the baby.

"Can I hold her?" She heard groggily from his lips. Hermione focused on him again and scooted over a bit to make room for him to sit next to her as he looked quite peckish.

"Here, watch her head." He sneered at her and took the baby from her grasp and cradled her against his own chest. It had been many years since he'd held a baby. He remembered holding Harrison after his birth, but this was different. He hadn't been in the room with Sarah or witnessed the birth and from what he could see, Hermione was a strong woman.

"She has very dark hair." He stated, looking over at Hermione.

"Yes, she does and eyes too. Hers aren't blue like most baby's." Hermione brought a hand to touch her daughter's hair and saw that it was curly like hers had been.

"Poor thing inherited my curls. I guess she was doomed from the beginning with both of us having curly hair." Hermione said, holding one of the baby's hands in hers.

"Did you want a girl?" She heard Eleanor ask as she scuttled around the room writing things and cleaning Hermione up.

"I didn't until I held her, I mean I didn't have a preference, but a girl is exactly what I wanted." Hermione took the baby from Severus' arms and handed her back to Eleanor.

"We'll just take her to have the rest of the tests run and to give you some rest." Hermione nodded and watched as the healer strolled out of the room and down the long hallway.

"I feel completely exhausted." Hermione said, her hands running down the length of her body, her stomach seemed instantly flatter, yet it was still round. Her thighs ached and her feet were throbbing, but she had a daughter.

"Do you have a name picked out?" He asked her, still next to her on the bed. Of all the things he'd seen in his life, both glorious and horrible, nothing could compare to what he had just witnessed.

"Yes, I picked it out here, the last time." She sighed and shivered against his shoulder.

"Are you cold now?" He asked, but in return all he got was another shiver as she slowly drifted back onto the pillows and then slowly into dreamland.

"Thank you for staying with me, Severus, I needed someone to be with me, I couldn't have done this alone." She whispered, yawning and stretching her arms.

"I don't know what to say, except that I hope she is alright and that you can rest now." He stood swiftly and glanced at the door trying, hoping he could escape before uttering something he couldn't take back.

"If my husband hadn't died, I don't know where we would be right now. Would he have wanted a daughter? Would he have been happy to have another child or would he have changed his mind? Would her dark hair and eyes have made him think she wasn't his child or maybe, would he have loved me less because she wasn't more like Henry. I guess hypothetical questions serve no real purpose and I'll never know how Wallace feels about the daughter we created together, but I know in my heart he would be grateful that I had someone with me to help take care of me and make sure I was feeling well. And I will never forget this day, this last hour being so close to you and knowing that I could trust you with my personal life. I will understand if this all makes you uncomfortable and if you don't want such a close relationship in the future, but for today, I am thankful I had you with me. And I..." She stopped, her yawns becoming more frequent as he stood stiffly at the door. His eyes bore into hers a longing she had never seen from him before.

"You don't have to finish you sentence, Madame Stuart, I understand you wholly." He rolled the doorknob with his palm and opened the door to greet the people in the hallway that wanted to know how she was fairing.

"But I want you to know, Severus, I want you to know how I feel." Hermione pleaded, sleep trying desperately to take over her body.

"Tomorrow, tell me tomorrow when you've rested and had time to think."

"I don't need another day, I don't need another minute. I want you..." Hermione's brain shifted quickly into sleep and a light snore emanated from her body as he waited, wondering what she was going to say.

"I want you too." He said, opening the door and leaving the room.

Author's note: Thanks for everyone who has read my story thus far. I had a bit of a crisis about three weeks ago when my Mother threw out all of my hard disks to clear up space on our desk. Apparently she believes you can only use them once...yadda yadda yadda.

Anyways, I wanted to let everyone know that because of this, I had to rewrite everything that wasn't posted thus far, so it's been a long haul. I wrote nineteen pages in less that two weeks. So, if you like my story, please be patient and know that I have every intention on finishing it, even if it isn't tomorrow. Thanks bunches!