18. Night
He feels her toss and turn in the bed behind him.
She's been doing that a lot lately, and he's trying to be patient.
But she begins to huff and puff as well and it's too hard to ignore.
"Hermione," he says softly as he turns toward her. Then he asks something he fears he's going to regret, "what's wrong?"
She faces him and he snakes his hand underneath her camisole to caress her burgeoning stomach.
"This!" she cries frustratingly pointing down to his hand on her belly.
"What? The baby?"
"Yes! I mean no!" He can almost sense the hormones raging inside her, "I can't sleep on my stomach. It's gotten too big. And I can't sleep on my back either because it's not supposed to be good."
She's crying now and babbling more nonsense about sleeping positions. Again, he is trying to remember to take a deep breath and be understanding, because she's carrying his child, and that thought alone is enough to make his heart implode.
"So sleep on your side."
Uh-oh.
If she had her wand, she'd have hexed him judging by the look she throwing him.
It seemed like a simple and logical solution, a sensible one that she would have normally appreciated from him, but he's finding out every day how the pregnancy can play with her mood and reactions.
"Hear me out before throwing a curse at me okay?" She must have sensed the despair in his voice, because she only nods slowly.
He tells her to lean on him and she does it, sniffling and drying her tears with the back of her hand.
She lays her head on his shoulder, their legs intertwine and she snakes her hand loosely on his right hip.
"Better?"
Hermione is quiet for a minute, and he is pretty sure she's crying again.
"Much. Thank you," she croaks as he caresses her hair and lays a kiss on her forehead.
Hermione stomach rests comfortably against his side and he thinks he just felt his daughter kick against his ribcage.
As he lays wide awake on his back, Hermione's breathing now even and deep as she succumbed to much needed sleep, he feels his heart racing.
This is his life now.
He'll be a dad in a few month, and he finds himself constantly walking a fine line between overjoyed thrill and complete terror.
It'll be okay. Breathe.
