Chapter 17- …and Baby Makes Three

Hermione felt another great twinge of pain growing inside her. She braced herself- she was getting really fed up of these contractions. She had already done eight hours worth of them! Surely she was almost there?

She let out a gasp. Ginny squeezed her hand reassuringly. She and Harry had arrived three hours ago, bearing gifts- a baby name book and a bag full of assorted baby garments. Ron and Harry had disappeared a few minutes ago in search of coffee- Ron was exhausted, having been woken at 2 o clock, and caffeine appeared to be the only solution. Hermione felt a surge of anger- how dare he complain of being tired! All he had to do was sit around and wait!

"Still here?" a voice sneered from the doorway. Hermione looked up- it was Naimh Barnegat, one of the Assistant Healers and possibly the most irritatingly smug people Hermione had ever had the misfortune to come across.

"Well, obviously!" Ginny replied, bristling- she disliked Naimh just as much as Hermione did.

"Are you sure you don't want a PPP?" Naimh continued, smirking. "Once you start delivering, it's too late to change your mind!"

"I'm fine, thank you!" Hermione snapped.

"Okay-dokay! Your choice!" Naimh sang, before jumping slightly. "Oh, hi, Ron! I didn't see you there!" she said, her voice suddenly turning sickly sweet. "Well, I'm just heading off, now- I'll leave you with your delightful wife! Bye!"

"Oh… bye!" Ron waved, looking somewhat bemused. "What was that all about?" he said, closing the door behind him.

"I hate her!" Hermione spat.

"Calm down, dear," Ron said, pulling up a chair next to her, placing his mug of coffee on the sidetable and taking her hand. "You're not thinking straight at the moment-"

"I don't want that cow delivering our baby!" Hermione continued, before letting out a loud cry of pain.

"Is everything okay?" Harry said, popping his head around the doorway. "I could hear you out here!"

"Could you get one of the Healers please, Harry?" Hermione said, looking slightly nervous. "I think it's time…"

"Okay- everyone out apart from the father!" Healer Gretchen Hopesmith called, pointing firmly at the door. Harry and Ginny both hugged Hermione, wished her luck and left the room, closing the door behind them. Ron felt a very large pang of nerves- apparently he had elephants tap-dancing in his small intestine.

"Mr Weasley, could you hold your wife's hand, please?" one of the Assistant Healers asked. Ron nodded mutely, walked over to Hermione and took her hand. She grasped it very tightly, causing Ron to wince- never mind her, he might well need a PPP by the end of this…

Hermione let out a howl of pain- Ron pulled his hand out of her grip, deciding that it was probably safer if he held her arm or something…

"Could you try pushing, please, Hermione?" Gretchen called. Hermione let out another, louder, bellow, and tensed up completely, squashing Ron's hand with her elbow. He decided that it would be better to simply move away and shout encouragement from the sidelines…

"I want the Potion!" Hermione gasped. "I want the Potion!"

"But sweetie," Ron protested, "it's too late now! Don't you want to have a natural birth-"

"Screw the natural birth!" she roared. "I want the POTION!"

"I'm afraid we can't do that now," Healer Hopesmith piped up. "But it's all right, just keep pushing, you're doing great!"

"I HATE you, Ronald Weasley! Why did I ever let you talk me into this?"

"Calm down, dear," one of the assistants said, rather unwisely in Ron's opinion…

Hermione let out another squeal of agony, before explaining to the assistant exactly what she thought of her advice, using a set of very un-Hermioneish phrases.

"Come on, now, Hermione! Just a few more pushes! We can see the head!"

So could Ron, and he could also see a lot of blood… his head spun, but he was determined to stay conscious- he wasn't going to miss his first child's birth just because blood freaked him out! "One last push… you're almost there!"

Hermione gave one more almighty holler, before relaxing completely. Ron could see Healer Hopesmith holding something tiny, red and wailing…

"Congratulations! You have a beautiful baby daughter!"

Hermione's head spun as though she had been hit with a mallet. She had a daughter… a little girl…

"Where are you taking her?" she cried, as one of the assistants took the wailing baby over to the other side of the room. "What's wrong?"

"It's okay, sweetheart- they're just washing her…" Ron said, hovering around the assistant in an attempt to get a better look at his daughter. The assistant walked back over to Hermione and handed her the baby, wrapped up in a pink blanket.

"She's so tiny…" Hermione whispered, gazing at the little child lovingly with tears rolling down her cheeks. Ron put his arms around Hermione's shoulders, hugging her gently, and stroked his daughter's head tenderly.

"Don't cry," he whispered softly, hugging her harder. "Please stop crying…"

"Who are you talking to- me or her?" Hermione smiled, kissing him on the cheek. Ron didn't appear to have heard her.

"I have a daughter," he said, swallowing hard. "My little girl…"

Healer Hopesmith cleared her throat. "Do we have a name?" she asked with a smile.

"Agnes-Jeanette," Ron muttered, still transfixed by the baby in his wife's arms.

Hermione looked at the Healer.

"No."

Ginny and Harry came in just as Molly and Arthur were leaving. They had proclaimed that "Baby" looked exactly like Ron had when he was first born. It had taken a great effort to calm Molly down- she had burst into tears after she had held her grand-daughter for the first time. Even Arthur, who had considerably more emotional restraint, had still became slightly teary-eyed. They were also full of apologies for having missed all of the first eight hours at the hospital- they had arrived too late and the Healers wouldn't let them in, despite (or possibly because of) Molly's threats.

Ron handed the baby to Ginny, who was thrilled at the prospect of being an aunt. Harry hovered behind her, his face a mixture of delight and panic- Ron got the impression that he was worried about Ginny getting any ideas…

Hermione lay in the bed, much more awake now that the labour was over. It was as though the previous nine hours had never happened… she had a little baby girl, as yet un-named…

She turned to Ron, who was simultaneously gazing at his daughter in admiration and passing Ginny a tissue. "About the names… I like both of the choices- why don't you make the final decision?"

Ron swallowed nervously, slightly worried about the responsibility being placed on him- what if he picked the wrong one, causing his daughter to hate him for all of her adult life? He himself knew the stigma of a potentially hideous name- if it hadn't been for some swift intervention from his mother he would have been called Montgomery!

He looked between his daughter and his wife, before saying slowly, "Okay, everyone- say hello to Evelyn Weasley!"

Ginny gave him an odd look.

"What?" he replied disconcertedly.

"I dunno- it just doesn't… feel right," she replied, waving her hand vaguely. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Okay," Hermione said resolutely, "we'll go with the other choice. Our daughter is Daisy."

There was a few seconds silence, before Harry replied slowly, "Daisy? Daisy Weasley?"

Ron let out a groan. "We didn't really think about that, did we?" he sighed, before turning to Harry and saying "Thanks for that, mate."

"So now what?" Ginny shrugged. "You still don't have a name… guess you'll just have to stay as Baby for a bit longer, huh, sweetheart?" she cooed, rocking her niece gently in her arms.

"How about Kyla?" Harry suggested.

"Too weird," Hermione replied.

"I like Margaret," Ginny put in.

"Too old fashioned!"

"I still like Agnes-Jeanette!"

"NO!"

"Zoë…Yolanda…Vicki…Tasha…Rachel…Rabia…Paisley…" Harry read, flipping through the name book.

"That's it!" Hermione yelled suddenly, sitting upright.

"Paisley Weasley?" Ginny said, confused.

"I don't think that'll work either, 'Mione..." Ron said with a smile.

"Not Paisley- Rachel!"

That evening led to an almost constant string of visitors, all eager to congratulate the new parents and to share their views on the child's resemblance. Mr and Mrs Granger arrived at about five o clock with several expensive gifts and the opinion that their granddaughter was the spitting image of Hermione. Percy, Bill, Charlie and assorted spouses all arrived at 6:21 on the dot, and proclaimed that, from what they could recall from their distant childhood memories the child was just like a little Ron, only without the red hair. A number of the Healers from Hermione's department popped in on their way home from work, filled with cooing and baby-talk and opinions over whether the poor darling was going to be cursed with Weasley hair, and the twins appeared at a ridiculously late hour with a rather dubious-looking teddy bear and declarations that their niece looked "just like our dear old Uncle Demetrius after his unfortunate outbreak of Snaggleworts". Ron did not take lightly, however, to his baby daughter being insulted, making Fred and George's visit rather brief. Hermione disposed of the teddy bear once they had left- she had given up all pretence of trusting their gifts.

"I'm exhausted," Ron said, looking into the darkened room- he had to go home for the night, and he was just dropping in to say goodbye before leaving. He waited for Hermione to reply, but she was fast asleep, her head drooped forward and her blankets rolled back. "I guess you are, too," he said, walking over towards her. He laid her head back against the pillows and pulled up her blankets, tucking them in around her. He watched her lying there, her eyelids flickering gently as she slept. "I'm so proud of you," he whispered under his breath as he leant in to kiss her on the cheek. "I couldn't do half of the things that you've done. I mean, I got freaked out just watching the birth… you actually had to go through it! But it was worth it, wasn't it? Now we have a daughter! Our little Rachel..."

He walked over to the crib where his daughter lay, sleeping like… well, like a baby. He reached out his hand, wondering whether or not he should touch her- he didn't want to wake her, after all…

Slowly he bent forward and touched her cheek silently, brushing a wisp of hair away from her eyes. She really did look like Hermione, Ron thought to himself. They have the same face- the same shape of eyes, the same fuzzy brown hair… he could have sworn that Rachel had given him Hermione's disapproving glare that afternoon when he had made a stupid joke!

Ron gently kissed Rachel on the cheek, before tiptoeing back towards the door. He felt as though he would never stop smiling. He had everything he wanted. A decent job, a nice flat, and the two people he loved more than anything else in the world- his daughter and his wife. He had a family.

The End

A/N- Okies, people- now that this is done, if you're looking for something else to read, hop on over and read my other fic, "Love, Or Something Like It", in which Ron visits Hermione in the summer and their relationship takes various twists and turns. It's better than this, I promise, and it's only two chapters in, so you haven't missed too much...go over and read it!

R&R and let me know how you liked this fic overall...there's a brief sequel to this which I can post if anyone's interested?