Disclaimer: I own nothing dealing with Harry Potter.

A/N: Well, thank you so very much for the reviews you all have been leaving in my little box. It means a whole lot to me. Here is the next chapter, as I promised I would post. And, here are your personal reviews.

TartanLioness: Well, I know how you feel. But now you can see what happens. And don't worry, they won't loose their baby… Or will they?

Lenora: I haven't forgotten about your baby, don't worry. Freak!

Esb: Well, I am glad that you like this chapter, even though I felt it did need that little bit of melodramatic pause.

Lou McGonagall: Hehehe. I'm glad that you've been following this story and I hope you don't hate me forever for doing what I'm about to do to poor Minerva.

Emutet: Hey, no need to be name calling. Hehehe, LOL! I knew that would get to people, but I never expected you, or anyone else for that matter, to just hate me for the cliffhanger. LOL! Thanks for the review, it really brightened my day.

Am4ever Thank you for the compliment on the cliffhanger. And here is that update you wanted.

Quill of Minerva: Yeah, I've been getting that a lot. People have been telling me how much they hate me for that cliffhanger. But if I wanted to keep the faithful and most favorite reviewers, such as yourself, then I need to stop right at the most dramatic parts. Am I right?

Chapter Thirteen: Babies, Babies, Babies…

The next morning, when Minerva awoke to find Albus sitting beside her, asleep in the same chair he had sat in the night before. She smiled and, sitting up, gently shook his shoulder. He woke with a start.

"Hello, Albus," she smiled. He smiled tiredly, rubbed his eyes, and, picking up his glasses from where they lay on a side table, placed them back on his nose.

"Good morning, Minerva," he smiled. He reached for her hand and held it. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she sighed. "I think I am well enough to get out of this bed." Albus smiled.

"That's good to hear," he smiled.

"Erm, Minerva? Albus?" The both of them looked up to see Poppy, standing at the end of the hospital bed. "There is something I need to tell the both of you, and I don't think it can wait." Minerva and Albus tensed at the mention of their baby.

"Is something wrong, Poppy?" Minerva asked. She shifted uncomfortably on her bed. Poppy came around and sat on the bed next to her, on the other side of Albus. She took Minerva's left hand as Albus held tightly to her right one.

"Do you remember when you were first pregnant, when I told you that there could be some complications along the way?" Minerva's breathing became short as she prepared for the worst.

"Please tell me that I haven't lost the baby," she whispered, shaking her head. Poppy smiled awkwardly.

"No, nothing like that," she said. Then, she frowned. "At least, not yet." Albus sat forward in his chair.

"Poppy, what do you mean yet?" he asked. Poppy took a deep breath and decided to go in for the plunge.

"Due to the cancer, I have found that the baby might not be born as healthy as we would have hoped. You see, though it has only been a little under a month since we found out about the pregnancy, I can see that the lungs will not fully be developed when the baby is born, which can cause great medical problem for him or her as he or she grows up. That is, if the baby grows up. With the kind of lungs the baby will have, it shall be lucky to make it past its first year of life."

Minerva didn't even try to hold back the tears as she took her hand from Poppy's and hugged Albus, who was also crying at this point. Their baby might not even survive the first year of its life, and he could not stand it. Not only would he be losing his wife and the most valuable person in his life, but he might also lose the only child he had a chance of having. And the child would be the only link he could have to his wife, and now all hopes of even having that were being dashed. The chances of the baby surviving were slim, and it was going to take a miracle for that to happen.

"Oh, Albus," Minerva sobbed as she clung to him. He held her tightly. "This is so horrible, I can't believe it." Albus just did not know what to say. He was at a loss of words, which just didn't happen to him. He had always known what to say, but now he couldn't.

"But there is still a chance, though a very small one, that the baby will be fine," said Poppy. "We don't know for sure. But there is one more thing that I must tell you two." Minerva pulled back slightly from Albus, fear in her eyes. What more could there be? "And yes, it is bad news, I am afraid." She looked down at her fingernails, tears also formulating in her eyes.

"What could be worse than our child having a chance of being born weak, and an even slighter chance of it living longer than a year?" asked Albus, not imagining what could surpass such an announcement for being worse. Poppy looked sorrowfully at the both of them.

"Even if the child is born healthy, Minerva's time to live will be seriously depleted. Instead of the nine or ten months she would have had afterward would be brought down to maybe only about two months, three at the most. I am so sorry."

Now, both Albus and Minerva felt as if the ground beneath them was just crumbling. Minerva's time on the earth had been cut not in half, but was now down to about a third of the time. Albus stood up and sat on the cot next to his wife and pulled her into his embrace.

"What is to be done?" he asked, looking as best he could through his tears at the medi witch.

"Well, there is one option, though I do not know what you two might think of it."

"I would never do that," she said flatly. "Abortion is murder." She looked at Albus solemnly. "Besides, there is a slight chance that everything will turn out alright. You even said so yourself." Poppy nodded.

"Yes, that I did," she said. Minerva continued to stare at her husband.

"What do you think, Albus?" she whispered. Albus was silent for a moment before answering.

"I honestly do not know, Minerva," he said. "I can't decide. I don't like the sound of either one of those choices, and each sounds worse than the other." Minerva looked at him sorrowfully. "I want this baby so badly, Minerva, and you know that. But I also don't want to lose you so quickly. I already feel cheated with my time for you, but now this baby could lesson you time even more." Minerva shook her head stubbornly.

"I will not kill our baby, though it may kill me," she frowned. "This baby means the world to me, and I want to at least try and carry it to full term." Albus sighed, but did not have time to reply. For just then, the doors burst open and T'ari ran through the double doors, frantic and excited at the same time.

"Poppy, Poppy, hurry," she called, calling the medi-witch by her first name. "Crystal is having her baby. It's time, it's time!" Behind her, Snape was following behind her, his wife leaning on him for support.

"Goodness, Severus, bring her over here," Poppy called, walking over to another bed with new sheets. Severus brought Crystal over there as quickly as he could, considering the pregnant woman was having contractions so close together.

For the next forty-five minutes, Crystal went through intense child labor, the entire time Severus was holding her hand, T'ari grasping the other one, and Poppy coaching her. Minerva and Albus just stood nearby, calling out different comforting phrases. Then, at precisely nine fifty-three in the evening, a loud wail could be heard coming from the infirmary of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The nurse could be heard comforting the now exhausted woman.

"Very well done, Crystal," she said, handing over the baby to the mother. "You now have a wonderful baby boy." Crystal smiled as she looked down at her newborn child. This was indeed a wonderful feeling for both her and her husband, Severus. She looked up at him.

"What do you think, Severus?" she asked, smiling wearily. "Did we do good?" Severus then did something that few had ever seen him do. He offered the first genuine smile that had been seen on his face in who knew how long? It just didn't seem to fit his normal personage, and so set Poppy and Minerva in a rather unsettling mood for a few moments.

"Yes, but you did extremely well," he replied, kissing Crystal on her head. He then looked down at his son. "Welcome to the world, my Tobias."

Ooooooooooo

Minerva and Albus stepped just outside the infirmary and looked at each other. Albus could see what Minerva wasn't saying, for it was all in her eyes. She did not need to say a word, and he nodded. He had felt that tug at his heart as well. The scene inside was, indeed, a most touching one.

"Yes, Minerva," he whispered. "We shall keep this baby." Minerva threw her arms around his neck, thrilled to hear the words.

"Thank you, Albus," she breathed into his ear. "I know how hard this is on you, but you must also realize that this is just as hard on me." She pulled back and looked into his eyes. His whole soul could be seen in his eyes, if one knew how to look. And Albus could read depths into Minerva's thoughts when he looked hard enough into her eyes.

"I know that, Minerva," he smiled, placing a hand on her cheek. "Besides, I'd rather try with this baby and have the chance of keeping a part of you than to lose both of you and be left wondering, 'what if?'." Minerva nodded and kissed him on the cheek.

A/N2: Well, there you go. I hope you guys didn't cry too much when reading this chapter. That is, if I DID manage to get a few tears. Please R&R! Always Hopeful