Chapter 2

Hermione was no stranger to long days. But she thought this one probably took the cake. And that was really saying something. Scorpius was the light of her life. But at the moment he was also the bane of her existence.

"Scorp, please love," she begged. "I know you miss Daddy but we can manage without him for a few days, right?" Hermione was beyond dignity as she attempted to spoon some cereal into the little boy's mouth. He steadfastly refused to eat anything by himself.

Draco was out of town for the week, he had been more than reluctant to leave Scorpius for so long, but she had assured him that she had it covered.

What a fool she was.

Hermione took a deep breath. She had done this plenty of times with the children of her friends. She could handle her own child.

Except that, apparently, she couldn't.

Draco had been gone for four days on a business trip, it was the longest she'd ever been left alone with Scorpius. In fact, it had never before been longer than overnight. She had brushed Draco off when he'd brought it up, unconcerned, stating that she could handle a few days alone with her child. She was laughing at herself now that she was completely messing it up. Why had she been so blase?

Still, she didn't know what she'd done. She'd kept to their normal routine, she'd even made sure to lavish extra affection on the little boy to make up for the absence of his father. But it made no difference. In fact, with every passing hour things seemed to get worse.

The nanny reported that he was listless and didn't have any interest in eating. He'd kept this up for days. And so, with tears welling in her eyes she called in reinforcements.

It was all she could do not to throw herself at either George or Angelina when they appeared on her doorstep, their own two children at their sides. George gave her a kiss on the cheek, raided their pantry for snacks, and then quickly retreated with Fred and Roxie to the cinema room. Angelina followed Hermione to the kitchen.

"Hi Scorpius!" Angelina greeted him, clapping her hands together.

He immediately brightened. "Hi!"

As far as Hermione was aware it was the first word he'd said in days, it was certainly the first one he'd said in her presence.

"Aren't you hungry, Bug?" Angelina asked, using Hermione's preferred pet name for him.

He made a 'gimme' motion with both hands.

Angelina looked at Hermione and she pointed to the makings of Scorpius' meal which were resting on the kitchen worktops.

"I've got you then," Angelina virtually sang as she started to feed him his dinner.

But when she motioned to Hermione to take her place and they attempted to- unobtrusively- switch places, it was like everything came to a halt. Scorpius did everything he could within the restraints of his high chair to turn away from her.

They struggled for a few minutes longer; the baby wriggled this way and that with especially vigorous ferocity when Angelina slipped out to check on her own family, before Hermione heard the other woman return and then felt her hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. Kids have irrational tantrums. It even makes sense that he's freaking out that Draco's gone, that's a big change for him. And he seems okay to let me feed him, so let me do it while you go relax for a few minutes, take a shower, and then come back."

Hermione nodded, her breath catching. "Thank you."

Angelina's hand clenched on her shoulder. "This is not a favor, this is just what friends do for each other and I'd like to think that's why you called us."

She nodded.

"Also, apparently, I'm going to need to use that cinema room when I'm having a bad day myself, because it seems to be some kind of muggle magic, they're all asleep, even George!"

That startled a laugh out of Hermione, though she knew Angelina was well versed enough in muggle technology to know what a movie was, and had actually seen a few, the concept of being able to screen them in one's own home was still foreign to her.

Scorpius went to bed easily that night and the George Weasley family slept over. George and the kids where they'd fallen asleep in the cinema room. Angelina took a guest room, waving off Hermione's thanks for her assistance with the offhand comment: 'are you kidding me? You basically invited me to a luxury hotel and then took my husband and kids off my hands for the night.'

But the next day was more of the same. And the next. By the end of the week Hermione was also officially at the end of her rope.

She suppressed a sob as she made sure Scorpius was secure in his play area. She nodded to Effie who had discreetly, and without needing to be asked, positioned herself at the corner of the living room to keep an eye on the toddler. Then she sprinted for the master bedroom. She barely resisted the urge to slam the door, but as soon as it was closed she collapsed onto the bed in tears.

Hermione couldn't get him to sleep for the life of her and she had lost track of how many cups of coffee she'd consumed in just the last twenty four hours. The only conclusion she could come to was that she was doing something wrong. Scorpius could sometimes be moody, but when Draco was around he always came back to his usual happy self within a few hours.

She was a terrible mother, that's all there was to it.

She had been laying there for a few minutes staring at the ceiling and trying to gather herself- because she could only make things worse by allowing Scorpius to see her when she was so upset- when the door to the bedroom opened.

"Hermione?" An all too familiar voice asked.

Her eyes closed in mortification. Fabulous, her fiance was home early. Normally she would have been thrilled, but at the moment she just felt inadequate and humiliated.

"Ma-MA," Scorpius squealed.

Hermione looked up to see that he was perched on Draco's hip. She was alternatively thrilled and despaired. Thrilled to hear him call for her again. He'd gone almost non-verbal since Draco had gone out of town. At just over a year old he didn't have a lot of words, but he'd always been very expressive. She was glad for this proof that he was back to himself, but it crushed her heart that he hadn't seemed to feel that same freedom with just her.

"Hi," she breathed, her eyes flicking between the two of them before settling on Draco. "I didn't expect you until tomorrow."

He smiled at her but his eyes were troubled, clearly taking in her disheveled state and probably contemplating her uncharacteristic use of Effie as a babysitter. "I didn't expect to be here until tomorrow but we wrapped up at the end of the day and then I got offered a last minute portkey, I thought I'd grab it. Is that a problem?"

"Of course not!"

"Well then can I ask why you're holed up in here acting like the world has ended?"

Hermione bit her lip, viciously suppressing more tears and let her head fall back onto the mattress. "He hates me."

"Who?"

Hermione craned her neck and gazed at the little boy who was just looking on impassively. "Your son," she whispered.

She recoiled and squeezed her eyes shut when Draco let out a long, loud laugh and was only brought back to the present when she felt the mattress dip next to her. She peeked out from beneath her eyelids but only let out another sob at the sight of Scorpius happily settled on his father's lap.

"Sweetness, he doesn't." He placed his free hand on her thigh. "Of course he doesn't."

"You haven't been here! He's been miserable the whole time you were gone! I did everything I could think of but he didn't want me, he wanted you!"

She watched the conflict flit over his face. He sighed. "I'm not going to pretend I'm not pleased that he missed me. I'm sorry that your feelings are hurt. But you need to cut this out."

Her mouth fell open. She couldn't believe his audacity. Wasn't he meant to be comforting her? "What?"

"I'm sorry that you had a rough week, I really am. But the Hermione Granger I know is made of tougher stuff than this."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"That this kid," he tilted his head in Scorpius' direction, "adores you. And you know better than to let a tough few days rattle that. You're always telling me to be confident in my abilities as a father. It's time for you to practice what you preach."

Hermione wasn't sure if she felt stupid or reassured. "It's just-" she hiccuped, "it was like the moment you left he started acting up."

"Of course he did, his routine was thrown off kilter and-" he smirked at her and made a big display of covering Scorpius' ears, "he's smart, he knew you didn't have reinforcements, he was looking for attention."

"So," she chuckled, trying to blink away her tears, "what you're saying is that he's your child and he was just acting as I should have expected?"

"And look at you, wanting another one," he teased in return. "I think that says more about you than it does me."

Scorpius huffed, he wasn't used to being in a room with both of his parents and being, for all intents and purposes, ignored.

Hermione laughed and reached out her arms. "Welcome home."

Draco awkwardly lay down beside her, given the way that Scorpius was latched onto him, gave her a kiss and settled next to her. "It seems like coming back early was an even better idea than I anticipated."

She sighed. "I can take care of him by myself."

"Of course you can. But he's obviously decided to be difficult."

"Like I said, his father's son." She watched in amusement as the child in question draped himself over both of their laps.

"Hi," Draco breathed, leaning in for another kiss.

"I've never been so happy to see you and your annoyingly handsome face," she murmured against his lips.

"I don't know if I'm complimented or insulted."

"Be complimented," she chuckled and leaned into him when he reached an arm around her. Scorpius stretched like a contented cat on top of them, and Hermione wiped her face in frustration.

"What's been going on?" Draco asked. "When we spoke you made it sound like everything was going well- normally."

"I wanted you to think I could handle it," she confessed, "that if you need to go away we would be okay." She looked away. "Scorpius apparently disagrees."

"I think you're being hard on yourself, but tell me what's happened."

"He screamed, the first night you were gone. I was actually worried that he would hurt himself, he was thrashing around so much. So, I let him sleep in our bed, I thought that might help and I guess it did, a little, but he never really settled down."

"Why didn't you tell me this, we spoke that next morning?"

"And what, have you come running back home? I should be able to handle our children on my own."

"You could have had my support though. I have faith in you, I wouldn't have run home, I know you would have figured it out, but I could have helped."

"I guess," she wiped her eyes again, the tears wouldn't seem to stop coming. "I wanted to prove it to you, or maybe to myself," she admitted.

"You don't have anything to prove to me, you know that right?" He asked, kissing her forehead.

"Have to and want to are two different things," she murmured.

"Damn stubborn witch," he murmured in return. "Okay. Go take a bath, I'll put Scorp to bed."

"You just got home," she protested, "you should be the one relaxing."

"I missed him too, it's no chore."

"Okay," she nodded in acquiescence, then she gave Scorpius a kiss. "I love you sweet boy, I'm sorry if I've been cranky." He was silent but let her cover his face with several more kisses, then she turned to Draco. "Love you too."

She was in the shower when he found her. It was not a coincidence that she'd chosen a shower instead of a bath. Draco loved to make love to her in the shower. And she didn't hate it either.

He moved loudly enough as he entered the bathroom to alert her to his presence, but Hermione was certain she would have known he was there regardless. She continued to stand under the spray of the showerhead, relishing in the hot water. She heard the shower door open but she didn't turn around, but soon his body was encapsulating her and she let out a long breath as she slumped back against his chest..

"Hi," she said.

"Hello to you too."

"Scorpius went down okay?" She checked before she could allow herself to fully relax.

"Yeah, no problem. I think he exhausted himself torturing you. He practically threw himself into his cot. I actually think I might be a little insulted." He ran his fingertips over her slick skin, from her hips to her breasts. She shuddered in his arms. "This is a very nice thing to come home to."

She snorted "Me having a virtual nervous breakdown in the bedroom while Scorp is downstairs in Effie's care? Yes, I can see how you would love that."

"Don't do that."

She sighed. "Yeah okay," she agreed, understanding his meaning without needing to be told, and sank further into his embrace as he lapped at the column of her neck with his tongue. "I love you, did I mention that? And I'm glad you're home."

"You did," he chuckled. "But you can say it as often as you like. And I'm glad that I'm home too."

Something in his voice had her spinning in his arms and it felt like her heart stopped for a moment when she caught the expression on his face, because he was looking at her like she was everything he'd ever wanted.

"Draco-" he cut her off with a hard kiss.

"Hush now, I've missed you," he brushed his nose against hers and then he kissed her deeply again before she could begin to reply. She moaned happily into his mouth.

"Draco," she whispered, a needy little whimper.

She felt him smile against her lips.

"Did you miss me?" He asked on a sing-song, between kisses, even as he backed her against the wall of the shower.

She reached up to cup the back of his head. "I really did, and not just for Scorpius' sake."

He chuckled, the sound vibrating pleasantly against her lips. "I'd hope not."

He hitched one of her legs up and over his hip which, given their height difference, shouldn't have been the most comfortable thing in the world, but the contrast of his hard chest against hers and the cool marble at her back, along with the feel of him hard, and ready and right there was incredibly erotic.

"It's been too long. Are you ready? You feel ready." He slanted his mouth over hers and all she could do was hold on tight.

She nodded vigorously. It was a little absurd. It had only been a week, but she had missed him, in every way. He sunk into her slowly and she could feel his smile against her cheek as she gasped. As he began to move within her she marveled, as she always did, at the pleasure she felt with him, how much she trusted that he would bring it to her. Before Draco she'd had no idea she could find so much fulfillment in physical intimacy.

It was not slow and sweet by any stretch of the imagination and before long she was clenching around him, her cries echoing off the shower walls. After she stopped moaning, Hermione started giggling at the way he was languidly caressing her sensitive skin following his own release.

"Feel better now? More relaxed?" He teased.

She arched her back in his arms, pressing her chest against his, making her shudder anew. "Oh yes."

He smirked at her, in that way that he did, but his eyes were soft, and he then maneuvered them both back under the spray, rinsing them off.

"How was your week?" She asked, running her fingers up his arms and across his shoulders.

"It went to plan."

"That's good."

He drew her further into his embrace and kissed her head. "Let's finish here and go to bed."

"Sounds perfect."

Author's Note: This chapter is brought to you Weestarmeggie's request for something that addressed the not-so-fun side of parenting. It feels even more apropos given the current circumstances. For those of you at home all day, everyday with your kids in the middle of this crisis, you have my respect. Also, I just wanted to say that updates for this story will probably be sporadic. My other two WIPs are my priority, but they both involve teenage Dramione and I needed at least a little of the adult versions of them back in my life. Thanks for reading!