"Do you want an apple"
Bill nodded and Molly got up, with some difficultly, as she was now almost eight months pregnant, and got an apple for her son out of the pantry. She chopped it into small bits, and pulled Bill into her lap when she had sat down again.
"Mumma, when's dad back?"
"I don't know, Billy." Arthur had gone to pick her up some sweets, in Diagon Alley, as he had started paternity leave the day before, August 21, and he had offered to run errands for her.
"Mumma, do you want some?" Bill asked, offering her a bit of apple.
"No, Billy. I'm not hungry. Is Charlie still in bed?" Bill nodded and Molly hugged him fiercely. There were days when she still couldn't believe that the small child in front of her was her son. Bill was a handsome boy, so much like his father, and he seemed to have inherited Arthur's sweet side. Charlie however, was the total opposite of Bill. He was much more suited to outdoors than in, and it drove Molly crazy. Charlie was a curious child, fascinated with why things are the way they are. No matter what Molly told him, he always had to ask 'why?', looking for a more elaborate answer.
"Mol, I'm home." Arthur said as he Apparated into the kitchen behind her, handing her a package of Chocolate Frogs.
"Hello, Arthur."
"How are you feeling?"
"Extremely tired, but I'm fine."
"Good. How's my Billy-boy?" Arthur asked, turning to his son.
"Dad, can you take me up on your broom?"
"'Course I can. Where's your brother?"
"Charlie's still sleeping, dear."
"Come on Bill, I'll take you for a ride"
Molly watched with deep affection as her husband picked up their son, carrying him toward the broomshed. Molly got up and decided to start dinner, she knew Arthur was probably starving. As Molly began chopping vegetables for stew, a sharp pain coursed through her midsection. She immediately whipped out her wand, performing a messenger spell to notify Arthur and threw some floo powder into the fireplace to contact her mother-in-law.
"What is it, Molly?" Arthur asked as he came running through the back door, Bill in tow.
"Arthur I think I'm going into labor."
"Mol, you aren't due for another five weeks. You can't possibly-"
Molly quickly cut him off.
"Arthur Weasley, listen to me! I'm going into labor, yes, I know I'm not due for another five weeks, you know that, I know that, but this baby is coming now"
Mrs. Weasley flooed in behind them as Molly finished her sentance.
"Molly, are you for sure? I know Charlie came early, but something can go terribly wrong this early." Mum Weasley stated, quickly catching onto the situation.
"I know. Look, Mum Weasley, we need you to stay here with Billy and Charlie. I started chopping vegetables for stew, Bill ate an apple about an hour ago, Charlie is still napping and they both need to have a bath before bed." Molly said, gesturing towards the vegetables and ticking off the things that needed to be done on her fingers.
"I've got it covered."
Molly doubled up in pain and Arthur quickly held out his arms to hold her up, offering her one of his hands in the process. When the contraction subsided, Arthur gently guided her to fireplace, and moments later they were standing in the Maternity Ward of St. Mungo's. Arthur quickly got her checked in, and the receptionist quickly paged Healer Sedgewick, who came running. He quickly checked her over, and told them that every thing looked fine. He led them to a labor and delivery room, and Arthur helped her change into a hospital gown. He began walking with her around the room, but within an hour, she was tired. He guided her back to the bed, and she sat down on the edge.
"Arthur, I'm frightened."
"Hon, why are you frightened?" He asked gently, rubbing her back.
"Arthur, these contractions are intense. With Bill and Charlie, I didn't have contractions like this until after about five hours of labor. Something's not right."
"Will you be okay if I leave you to go get Healer Sedgewick so you can tell him what you just told me?" She nodded as another contraction took her breath away, and she squeezed his hand. When the contraction had passed, Arthur left, and quickly found the healer. Before another contraction hit her, Molly was able to him what she had told Arthur. Healer Sedgewick made the decision to connect her to a fetal monitor, so they could monitor how well the baby was handling the labor.
"Mrs. Weasley, this monitor is showing that the baby's heartbeat is low, and he's not handling the labor process well." Healer Sedgewick announced as he studied a sheet of parchment coming from the machine.
"Is there anything we can do?" Arthur asked, as Molly was currently out of commission, another contraction had just started.
"No, all we can do is wait. But I will warn you though, this baby is going to small, he hasn't had enough time to gain the weight we like to see in newborns."
"Will he live?" Molly asked.
"Mrs. Weasley, we won't know until he's born. He may also have to be hospitalized for a period of time, at this point, the baby's lungs may not be fully developed, and he may not be able to breathe on his own." Molly inhaled sharply at this news, and doubled up in pain as another contraction wracked her body.
"Mrs. Weasley, I'm going to give you a potion to speed up the labor process, we need to birth the baby as quickly as possible." He left the room and minutes later a medi-witch came in, holding a glass of potion. Molly quickly drank it down, grimacing at the taste. Almost immediately, Molly felt the effects and she clutched her swollen belly with one hand and squeezed Arthur's as hard as she could with the other. Arthur helped her lay down and Healer Sedgewick checked the monitor again, shaking his head.
"What is it?"
"Mrs. Weasley, you need to start pushing now. I hoped that potion would help return the baby's heartbeat to normal, as well as speed up the process, but it didn't work." Healer Sedgewick said as he pushed Molly's feet up on the bed so her knees were bent and got into position himself. Arthur had a look of sheer horror on his face as he looked from Molly to the healer and back again repeatedly, as Molly howled in pain.
"Mrs. Weasley, you're bleeding heavily down here, the baby must have torn the lining of your uterus, or part of the birth canal." Arthur's face went pale at this news, everything was going wrong, and all he could do was sit and watch, there was nothing he could do.
"Arthur, I'm tired, I can't do this anymore."
"Mol, you have to."
"I can't."
"Mrs. Weasley, I know you're tired, and you're losing a lot of blood, but we need you to push." Molly squeezed Arthur's hand harder, as another contraction wracked her body. Finally, Molly heard a cry. and the last thing she heard before she passed out from fatigue and lack of blood was "it's a boy".