Disclaimer: I don't own the characters used in this fiction. They and anything Harry Potter related belong to JK Rowling.

A/N: I hope this chapter turns out okay. It's been the hardest yet. Thanks for all the lovely reviews! Please keep submitting them!

Hermione would have cried until she could no longer cry except the nurse gave her a dreamless sleep potion to make sure she rested. Since she was indeed forced to take the potion, she, unlike her husband, immediate family, and a contingent of worried classmates and professors back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, actually slept well and felt rested upon waking first thing the next morning. That, on the contrary, did not keep her from proceeding to 'bawl her eyes out,' as the saying goes, shortly thereafter. For all intents and purposes, her life had completely fallen apart in the one moment Severus Snape told her their child was, in fact, dead. At first, only shock had registered, then disappointment, regret, guilt, a mess of other emotions, and finally the intense pain that comes with losing one's child. Emotion after emotion piled up on her and overwhelmed her senses so much so the nurse was forced to return and give the patient a relaxant. This was the state in which Severus found his wife upon arrival. It annoyed him to no end as it meant he could not actually have the conversation with his wife he required, but rather wait it out with everyone else until she was sufficiently unaffected by the medication and calm enough to be rational.

"Severus," Angelina Granger spoke to him in a comforting tone, "please come here and sit. Pacing will certainly do you no good. And, quite frankly, I'm getting dizzy just watching you."

He looked at the (slightly) older woman for a moment and then sat across from her. "Sorry," he apologized quietly. "All this waiting has me at my wit's end."

"As it does all of us, I assure you. However, it's not helping you or Hermione, now is it?"

"No," he responded, sounding a bit like a child who had just been scolded.

David walked into the waiting room and handed his wife and son-in-law each a cup of coffee. "I know it's not much, but it's the best they had. Odd that a bunch of wizards can't seem to make a decent cup of coffee."

"That's because magic is not a substitute for making it the proper way. The more it's rushed, the worse it is unless you're a house elf," Severus quipped as he swallowed the black liquid quickly, trying to taste it as little as possible. "For a wizard's hospital though, they do seem to make you wait for a bloody long time," he growled unhappily.

Angelina reached over and took his hand in hers as a comforting gesture. He did not shake it off, so she took that as a good sign. "In time, Severus, in time."

They sat in silence for what felt like hours but was, of course, merely minutes. Finally, the mediwitch from the day before found them. "Professor, you're wife wishes to see you. She seems to be doing a bit better now. The potions we gave her should not interfere with her judgment in anyway."

They all stood and walked the route they had taken the night before. The mediwitch stopped outside the room. "Thank you," Severus said to her. "David, Angelina, I'll let have your time. I, I don't know how long I'll be and I don't want you to have come all this way for nothing."

"Thank you, Severus," David replied, leading his wife into the room as Severus found a chair across from the room and sat heavily, wringing his hands with nervous energy. David pulled up chairs for himself and his wife while Angelina gave Hermione a hug and kissed her forehead softly. Hermione smiled sadly at her mother. Her parents seated themselves, one on each side and she started to feel like she was a bit protected from the horrors of the world.

"Mum, Dad, thanks for coming. You have no idea what it's like to have you here." They returned her smile weakly. Angelina let a tear fall silently and she squeezed Hermione's hand tightly. "I don't know what's going to, to happen now, but I want you both to know I love you very much."

"Shh, Hermione. We know," David said. He too, like everyone else around him, was starting to lose his composure. "Everything will be fine."

"Promise?" she asked sadly.

"Yes, darling, I promise," he responded, voice cracking.

Hermione closed her eyes and let the feelings come. She did not know what else to do as she lay there between her parents. Having their support meant a lot to her, especially not knowing about Severus. She did not quite know how she felt toward him. He had become important to her, she knew that, but that was still during the time when she was carrying their child. How would he feel now that there was to be no baby in the picture? More tears sprang to her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She reflected on the good times with Severus. He had been so kind to her after the wedding. They had their disagreements and problems like any other couple, but nothing on this scale. Hermione did not know if they could get through it. It seemed too big to fathom, especially since it had been the basis of the marriage in the first place. Realistically, if that were the only reason they were together, then she would lose him. She needed him, but only if he really needed her in return. She knew she could not be with him if he stayed with her out of guilt or pity. Although they would still be legally bound until one of them died, she would not let herself be forced to stay with the man. She would move out after graduation and start life over by herself. She always had her friends. They would certainly help her.

The Granger's stayed for some time before telling their daughter she needed to speak with Severus. They said their teary-eyed good-byes and reassured her they would be back to visit in the evening. Hermione hugged each tightly and once again thanked them whole-heartedly for coming to see her and just being there for her.

: P

Severus watched the Grangers interact with their daughter briefly at the end of their visit and felt a pang in his heart that he could not quite figure out. It seemed to embody all the emotions he was feeling from the loss of his child as well as those for Hermione. When they finally said their goodbyes and left the room, he found himself in the strong grasp of Angelina Granger.

"Take care of her, Severus. She's fragile right now."

He returned the hug, grateful for the affection and comfort in the gesture. "I'll do my best, but I make no guarantees. This is new territory for me."

Angelina pulled back and responded, "Just tell her what's in your heart. If you are persistent, she'll listen eventually."

He nodded and gave David a warm handshake as they left. Severus sighed deeply and gathered himself together before entering the room. Hermione looked at him with a mix of emotions he could not quite place, but he knew well enough what they probably were. The part that caused him to pause briefly was the hint of blame that shone in her eyes. He looked down as he sat in one of the chairs next to her bed. Neither said anything to the other for several moments. Finally, Severus broke the uncomfortable silence. "I'd, uh, I'd hoped that you'd be in the hospital for different reasons."

"As had I," she responded quickly.

"It's just that, I'm, I'm not familiar with these kinds of things, and I want you to know that I'm here for you, no matter what." He finally looked up at her and tried taking her hand in his, but she pulled it away. He shook his head at the motion. "Hermione, I know this is harder for you than for me, but, if you could make me understand . . ."

"Understand!" she inquired angrily. "Severus, I've hardly seen you in the last two days when I've needed you most! Start by understanding that I expect my husband would come rushing to me during these things!"

"I'm sorry, Hermione. It's not much of an excuse, I realize, but I didn't know what was going on until it was too late and then they kept me away from you. There was little I could do. And I feel bad enough letting Parkinson get away!" Both were beginning to get heated so Severus took moved his chair back to calm himself. After several moments he said, "I shouldn't yell at you. I'm sorry." Hermione looked at him with contempt briefly before turning her gaze away and staring at the door instead. "I'm trying to see this from your point of view, but I can't do that without a little help."

"I know. You just can't know exactly what this is like for me though," her tones were less harsh.

Severus moved closer to her again and tried taking her hand in his once more. This time she did not shy away completely, but she only grasped his hand limply. She turned to him and he noted to look of complete and utter defeat that was written on her features. He kissed her forehead lightly, to which she shrunk away from him a bit. Severus sighed heavily and said, "I realize I can only understand so much. It's just something I will have to figure out on my own; however, this was my child as well. I've lost that, and that is something I can understand."

She looked at him sadly and squeezed his hand tightly, finally warming up to him a bit. "I know. It just makes it harder in a way, Severus. I mean, everything we've built this marriage on, and it's gone, just like that. I never thought it would be this fragile, that I would be this fragile."

"I'm not leaving you," he said firmly.

"I cannot holding you to this any longer. I realize I can't. You promised to do what you could in regards to the pregnancy. Since it's, well, I can't hold you to that anymore. Nor do I wish to force either of us into something we can't salvage." She turned away from him indicating she had her say on the matter.

Severus hung his head sadly. She had just told him she had no more need of him in her life. Losing the child hit him hard enough as it was, but this was the coup de grace, the deathblow. He got up decisively and walked to the other side of the bed to which she turned away from him once more. He returned to his original seat and she turned away a final time. "Hermione," he began, using an even more commanding tone than Hermione had actually heard from him even in class, "you are not ending this marriage because we lost this child."

She turned back to him and looked incredulously at him for a moment. "Severus, you can't be serious!" she exclaimed. "This sham of a marriage . . ."

"You will not refer to our marriage as a sham!" he bellowed. In quieter tones he inquired harshly, "Did you not think for a second that I did not consider everything before asking you to marry me? I knew that something equivalent to this tragedy could and probably would occur." She was staring at him with a combined look of shock and curiosity. "I contemplated every angle the moment you told me you were pregnant. From the moment we became man and wife, I have honored our vows and done everything I could to keep you and the child safe. How could I have known Parkinson would pull the stunt she did?" Desperation was quickly creeping into his voice, and this was not lost to Hermione, even in her current emotional state. "I did what I could, and it apparently wasn't my best, I admit. I probably could have done more there, but I will not see all I've worked toward in my relationship with you be thrown out the moment tragedy hits. Every marriage has its problems. Talk to your parents. I'm sure they've had their share of troubles. For the love of God and all that is sacred in this world, Hermione, do not for a moment think that I don't love you!" When he finished, he sat back in his seat, worn and ragged. He did not meet her eyes as she looked over him.

: P

'Do not for a moment think that I don't love you,' rang through her head like a bell. It bounced between her ears and jumped through her brain. After several moments, it finally wormed its way down from her head into her veins and flowed through her heart where she felt something she had never felt before, honest, unabashed love from her husband, the cold hearted bat of the dungeon. She knew that he really was not any of those things, but it still struck her. He had just admitted something she never thought he would or maybe even could admit, that he loved her. It did not, however, mean he was in love with her, which she considered completely different, but it also meant he might just be in love with her. His timing was, if anything, well considered and almost purposeful. She was at her worst with him, she knew, and yet he still told her he loved her. It was, in all honesty, the exact words she needed to hear from him at that moment. What struck her as odd, though, was the fact she did not even question his love for her. He was so desperate that she knew he could tell her nothing except the truth.

: P

He was pretty sure she would reject him on the spot, but instead she sat quietly, looking at her hands. It was, in a way, a small grace. Either she was plotting exactly how to tell him she did not believe him, or, more likely, she was considering his words. God and Merlin strike him down if he had not told her the truth. He hoped she did not reject him after that. It would be the death of him, he was sure. The heartache would certainly do him in; a strange but fitting end to his life as he figured. Love was unfamiliar and unheard of to him until she came along. Dumbledore would see the humor in the situation at least, 'the interfering, crazy, meddling, fool' Severus thought.

"Severus?"

Her voice broke his reverie and his head snapped up. "Yes, Hermione?" he inquired weakly.

"You do mean it, don't you?"

She sounded so weak, so frail to him now. It was like the loss of the child had taken everything out of her and she was held together by a single thread. "Yes, Hermione, I do love you." He clutched his chest as a familiar pang that had baffled and haunted him for weeks crossed his heart again. "I'm completely and full-heartedly in love with you. I don't know how or, or why, but losing you would certainly be the death of me." She became teary-eyed, and she could do nothing but let them fall. He moved closer to her, took her hand in his, and looked her in the eye. "I trust these tears are good?" he inquired, hope thick in his husky voice.

She nodded and smiled to him. Catching her breath, she responded, "Yes, these are good tears." She noticed he, too, had started getting a bit teary-eyed. "Severus, you have no idea how much this means to me. I don't think I can get through this alone."

"I know. You've got me and your parents, and we're willing to do whatever we have to do to make sure we survive this."

"Thank you," she said, crying harder now. Severus moved himself into the bed next to her and hugged her closely to him. He whispered encouraging words in her ear and, eventually, she fell asleep, Severus by her side. He knew they were in for more difficulty, but for now the most pressing issues were past.

End Chapter 21