Posted: Dec. 15, 2004

Chapter Eleven: Something Real

As Angelina's eyes slowly fluttered open she became aware that she wasn't at home, but rather in a hospital bed. Soon a nurse came in on her daily rounds. "Well, good morning, Mrs. Malfoy," she said cheerfully, as she went about her business. "So glad to see you up this morning."

"Morning." Angelina sat up and cleared her throat. "How long have I been here?" she asked.

"Nine days."

"Nine days!" she shouted.

"Yes," the nurse confirmed. "Your husband, bless his soul, barely left your side. Nearly ran me crazy, he did, asking for all kinds of silly things for you."

"That's a joke right?" Angelina refused to believe that Draco was caring enough to do such a thing.

"No, not at all." The nurse shook her head. "In fact, he only just left this morning. He got an owl and I guess it was pretty urgent, because he left soon after reading it." She looked up at the clock on the wall. "Well, I better be on my way. I'll be sure to tell the Healer of your improvement." And she was gone.

Angelina wrapped her arms around her stomach. "No doubt he already knows," she said and looked carefully around the room. She started to get out of bed. "Ow, ow, ow," she cried as she noticed the needle from the I.V. in her hand, she looked at it curiously. The nurse did say Healer, right? So I must be in a Wizarding hospital, she thought as she slowly pulled the I.V. out.

She was heading towards the bathroom, which was located in the room, when all of sudden she dropped to her knees and started coughing; blood came out of her mouth and splattered on the floor. As she sat on her legs, one hand wiped away the blood around her mouth and the other rested on her stomach. She sighed and picked herself up. She searched for her wand and found it resting on a chair with the rest of her belongings and cleaned the blood off the floor.

Angelina once again headed towards the bathroom where she started the water and took a long shower. When she was finished she came out and saw Draco sitting on the bed with his head down. "Hi," she said quietly.

He rose his head. "Hey." Was his response. Angelina noticed he looked tired, as if he hadn't slept in days. Draco then got up and reached for a white paper bag on the stand next to the bed. "When I first came in you were in the shower, so I figured you might me hungry and I went and got you some lunch."

"Thank you." She reached for the bag shyly, not really sure how to act; their last argument was still fresh on her mind.

Draco then asked carefully as he helped her back in bed. "When were you planning on telling me. . . about the baby that is?"

"When was I supposed to? You didn't want to hear anything I had to say." She was right and he knew it. He was so caught up and how she had made him feel, that he never took the time to realize how his actions were affecting her. "What?" Angelina heard him murmur something.

"I'm sorry," he said a bit louder.

Angelina couldn't believe her ears. It was the first time that she had ever heard him apologize to anyone, nevertheless her. "Are you playing with me, Draco? Because I'm letting you know right now, I am sick and tired of it," she started to become defensive.

"No, no games." He shook his head. "I just don't want to fight anymore. Everything I told you the other day- I shouldn't have told you that, I was angry and. . . and I'm sorry."

"So it's true then? Montague killed George?" she asked in a hushed tone. Draco nodded as he noticed she had finally stopped calling Montague by his first name.

Angelina sighed heavily and they sat in silence for awhile. "Draco," she finally spoke. "I want to know something. I know it's probably irrelevant now, but what did you guys have on each other?"

"You're right, it's irrelevant." He took a harder tone then he meant to.

But if Angelina was afraid of anything, it was surely not his bark. "You hold your secrets so close, Draco. You and Montague were very alike in that way. I asked him plenty of times what he had on you and he never said a word about it."

"That's because he knew if he did that he would only be exposing himself."

"What was it, Draco? Do you trust me enough to tell me your secrets?"

Draco finally took a seat in the chair beside the bed. "You should eat. We can't afford you losing anymore weight."

"Don't change the subject," she said, as she uncovered the plate of food Draco had brought her. For some strange reason she wasn't hungry, but she forced herself to eat anyway.

"I don't want you look at me differently," he told her after awhile.

"Then I won't."

"You can't promise that."

"Was it really that bad?"

"No, just something I didn't want known," he said as he watched Angelina eat.

"Fine, I don't need to know then."

Draco shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "It was fifth year," he finally began. "And I guess I went into it trying to figure out who I was, you know, minus the Malfoy." He then lowered his head as he continued, "I was with Parkinson then, but being with her, I knew something was missing, I just didn't know what it was. At the time it wasn't her -she didn't show her true colors until seventh year- so I had figured the problem was with me." He shrugged.

"Anyway, it was right after the first Quidditch practice and I was alone in the locker room, or so I thought. I was coming out of one of the showers when I noticed Montague at his locker, I guess he had just taken one too," Draco's voice became quieter. "He didn't see me and I kind of found myself staring at him as he dressed. I then realized I had never looked at a guy like that before."

Angelina dropped her fork as she realized where Draco's story was headed. Draco continued as if he didn't notice her reaction. "When he did see me, he had this smile on his face and he asked me if I liked what I saw. I was a little dumbfounded, but I told him I did. I started to approach him and I don't know what came over me. . . I just wanted to know what his lips felt like and-"

"Draco you can stop, I get the picture," Angelina told him quickly, not wanting the image in her mind.

With his head still down, he told her one last thing. "You should also know, we were together more than once." He then looked up to face her, ready for her judgment. "Well?" he said after a moment.

"Nothing," she shook her head. "Wait, I do have a question. When did you guys end?"

Draco thought for a moment. "We didn't," he answered. "We just stopped."

"Okay, then when did it stop?" she asked as she put her plate on the stand next to the bed.

Draco then said in a monotone voice. "When I had him killed," Angelina was speechless. "You would think one of us would have noticed we were sleeping with the same man." A smile toyed at his lips as he lowered his head.

Angelina looked at him very carefully and then all of sudden yelled. "You sick bastard! Now I know you're playing with me," she said angrily.

Draco lifted his head back up. "Of course I am," he started laughing. "Come on now, do I really seem the type?"

Angelina hit him across the arm and spat. "You're a moron, you know that?"

"Yeah," he laid his head on her legs. "But I'm your moron," he said sweetly, and though Angelina was still quite angry, she couldn't help but laugh at him. A moment later Draco stood up. "It's good to hear you laugh." He told her as he bent down and kissed her forehead. "I'm going to go find the Healer and see how soon I can get you home."

After he left the room it came to Angelina what had just happened, because she still had no idea what Draco and Montague had on each other, and she was quite certain, she never would.

OoOoO

It had been a few weeks since Angelina's discharge from the hospital. She had talked to the Healer alone about her coughing up blood and how she didn't want Draco to know. The Healer told her that was unwise, but she told him she just didn't want to worry her husband.

So after being discharged, she waited until Draco was at work and went back to the hospital where they ran more tests, but they still found nothing wrong with her and couldn't explain her recovery.

The Healer could do nothing more than tell her to get plenty of rest and give her some supplementary vitamins along with some other medication to take during the course of her pregnancy so she could build back up her strength after losing so much weight.

Angelina was now at home looking at the freshly fallen snow and marveling at the simple beauty of it all. For a moment it felt as if nothing else existed outside the house. "I can give you the world you know," Angelina felt the breath of Draco on her neck before he kissed her.

The last few weeks had been wonderful in Angelina's opinion. Draco had never been so attentive of her before, not even when they were on the best of terms. She also had to acknowledge that she loved how safe and secure she felt when Draco's arms were around her, because within those moments she knew there was no other place she would rather be.

But then those thoughts would be replaced with troublesome ones because she couldn't help but think that maybe Draco was just tip-toeing around her because he didn't want to upset her and, in that, endanger the baby. That's all I'm good for right, she had thought one night, to give him an heir?

But she wasn't thinking about that right now, because right now all she wanted was to stay in the illusion as long as she could. "I don't need the world," she replied.

"Really now?" He took her by the hand and led her to the couch, where he took a seat and pulled Angelina to sit on his lap. "I want you to know something." He wrapped one of his arms around her midsection and rested the other on her knee.

"Know what?"

"First off, let me have your ring," he told her.

"Why?" She looked at him curiously.

"Please." He held out his hand. Angelina took her wedding band off her finger and placed it in the palm of Draco's. Draco then tossed the ring into the fireplace. Angelina was very uncertain where Draco was going with this, but she decided to wait it out. "When you were in the hospital, the Healers had no idea what was wrong with you, and they didn't know how to help. I honestly thought I was going to lose you and that scared me." He held her closer. "So I prayed to God," he continued. "And I asked him not to take you away from me. I told him, that if he saw it fit to keep you here on this earth that I would do right by you." He then said softly, "So I'm going to give you the choice you never had."

"Draco wait, I don't understand."

"If you make the choice to leave, I won't stop you," he told her. "I'll get you set up wherever you want to live. And I'll take care of all the money matters; you would never have to worry about a thing. I'll even deal with my father and allow you equal time with our child. But-" He snapped his fingers and a little red ring box appeared and Draco took a hold of it. "-If you decide to stay, it will be because you want to and not because you have to." He handed her the box. "Open it."

Angelina took a breath as she opened the box and her eyes laid upon a new wedding band and the 1.5ct Princess Cut diamond set in white gold. Angelina's dream ring. "Draco, it's beautiful." She looked into Draco's warming eyes.

"I'm offering you something real," he told her. "So if you decide to stay- no more affairs, no more sleeping in separate bedrooms, no more-" He paused. "Okay, I can't promise you no more arguments, but I promise less of them." He smiled, but only for a moment. "I should let you know that. . . I can tell you Fred where is, if you want."

"Fred?" she said, almost in a whisper, she had to admit, it had been awhile since she had thought about him, but the possibility of being with him again excited her. "Why tell me something like that?" she asked.

"Because I need to know where you stand, when it comes to us. I can offer you many things you know that, but if what you need is somewhere else out there in the world, take it and take it now." He explained softly.

Angelina looked down as she seriously debated the matter at hand. Something real. This was not the illusion that she had convinced herself that it was. And then she realized that she had never thought about it before, because it was too much of a depressing thought then, but could she really see herself growing old. . . with Draco? Or should she just take him up on his offer and run while she still had the chance? Go and find Fred and finally have the happy ending she had always dreamed.

After much thought, Angelina nodded to herself and looked back at her husband. "Like I told you before, Draco." And she slipped the rings onto her finger. "I don't need the world."

"Are you sure?" He didn't want to get his hopes up too soon.

"Yes," she replied with only a slight hesitation. Angelina then watched as Draco began to stare into the fireplace and his facial features harden. She watched as the reflection of the flames danced in his ice like eyes.

"Angelina?" His voice was serious as he continued to stare into the fire.

"Yes?" she asked shyly.

His gray eyes then stared pensively into hers. "Tulip, there's something else I've been meaning to say. . ." Angelina felt his body become stiff as his breathing became labored. He stared at her for a long time, before he just put his head down and shook his head. As he tilted his head back up a small grin appeared across his face and he put his hand on her stomach. "What do you think of the name, Damien?"

"Damien?" She smiled politely and then arched an eyebrow. "What makes you so certain it'll be a boy?"

The smile on Draco's face faded. "Malfoys have always had a male as a firstborn."

"Always? How is that possible?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said softly. "And also, that firstborn is usually the only child."

"Well," Angelina wrapped her arms around Draco's neck as she straddled him. She then kissed him before saying. "I think we may be able to do something about that one."

A devilish look came over Draco's features. "Yeah?" he asked, looking up at her as he rubbed her thighs.

"Yeah," she confirmed, and kissed him again.

"Angelina?" he managed to say in between kisses.

"Hmm?"

"I'd die for you," she barely heard him say. She then pulled away and looked into his fear ridden eyes; uncertainty plastered all over his face.

Angelina couldn't do anything but stare at him for a moment. The significance of his words, stopped her breath in her throat, but then slowly a smile appeared on her lips as she deciphered his words, and she told him, "Likewise."

Draco then laughed joyously in relief as he pulled Angelina closer and hugged her. He knew they were now embarking on something new, on something real, but no matter how happy he wanted to feel, he couldn't ignore that nagging thought in the back of his mind asking, How long can this last?

To Be Continued. . .

Preview of Next Chapter:

He shook his head slightly. "You mean this baby isn't mine?"

"Not yours?" Angelina was a bit confused. "Of course this baby is yours don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous," his voice became cold and flat. "So who does this child belong to?" Noting to himself he would kill any man who touched his wife. "I assure you, I'm not angry," but his tone begged to differ. "I know you had lovers after Montague."

A/N: I would like to confirm that David Montague is dead. Yes, I did think about bring him back, like with a whole faked his death kind of scenario, but no. But I will give you this clue, someone you thought was dead, is alive and if you have paid attention, you may already know who it is.