Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!

Severus sat up in bed while Harriet stared at him from the doorway.

They looked at each other in the darkness for a long moment before Severus replied in his low purr of a voice, "...Is there some way in which I might be of assistance to you, Potter?"

"I can't sleep." Harriet repeated, "I can smell you…. but I'm alone in my room and that's driving me mad."

"I've suffered similarly, for your information." Severus scoffed coldly, "I'll lie here for hours, tossing and turning."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harriet asked.

"I didn't want to disturb you." Severus replied.

Harriet shifted on her feet.

As she crossed her arms, the fabric of her nightgown crinkled just enough to give Severus a glimpse of her belly.

Harriet watched as his dark eyes flickered to her abdomen for a moment before he glanced back up at her and asked, "...If you have any ideas about how we may find a more restful respite, I'm open to hearing them."

"Do you have a spare shirt?" Harriet asked.

Severus narrowed his eyes at her incredulously as he murmured, "No…..I've brought only what I'll use here. I've never been one for excess, in case you haven't noticed."

"Right." Harriet nodded, "You're still committed to helping fledgling though?"

"Of course." Severus scowled.

"...And if I need you to do something…. to help fledgling…... then you'll do what you must?" Harriet pressed.

"Yes…." Severus replied with evident suspicion in his tone.

He watched as Harriet walked over and reached out to him.

With his scowl still firmly on his face, Severus took Harriet's hand and moved with her as she pulled him out of bed to stand on his feet.

His dark eyes were deeply narrowed while he followed her as she led him out of his room and surprisingly, into her own.

Severus was seized by an icy chill of apprehension as Harriet walked him towards her bed and crawled into the mound of soft things that she had positioned there.

He swallowed thickly as he watched Harriet get comfortable and look up at him while he questioned, "Are you…..inviting me….into your nest?"

"I hope it doesn't make you too uncomfortable." Harriet replied, "But I honestly think it may be the only way I,er….we, can get some sleep."

Severus hid his anxiety well as he calmly crawled in beside Harriet while his heart thudded inside his rib cage.

Seveus pulled the blankets over himself.

Harriet rolled over to face the wall and he did the same so that their backs were to each other.

Although they were both much happier with the new closeness, there was a lingering tension that kept them both from sleeping for another hour after they had laid down together in Harriet's bed.

Severus was too frightened to breathe, afraid that if the sound was too loud, Harriet would change her mind and order him to leave.

Father Raven would never verbally admit it, but he thought that being right beside Mother Hen was lovely.

Harriet didn't know what to say.

As much of a comfort as it was to have Father Raven in her nest at last, she was incredibly upset about the fact that he still seemed so terribly distant.

Once Severus and Harriet let go of their tedious qualms about lying next to each other, they both drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When Harriet woke the next day, she found herself alone in her nest again.

She frowned to herself when she reached over and touched the empty spot where Severus had spent the night.

Harriet yawned in the early morning light and rolled over to press her face into Severus's pillow while she closed her eyes again.

The soothing scent of the alpha acted as a sedative to the pregnant omega.

It was close to lunchtime when Harriet finally woke up again.

Severus and Harriet gradually adopted a new sort of accepted, formal routine.

Severus cooked the meals and looked after Harriet morning, noon, and night.

He came to her cottage in the middle of each school day to inquire about her condition and see if she needed anything.

Harriet always insisted that she did not.

As much as she wanted to maintain her independence, the alpha's thoughtful care and disciplined oversight of her diet brought some very healthful changes to Harriet and their unborn.

As the next three weeks passed, Harriet's belly began to grow and her complexion started to glow with the radiance of the new life that she carried.

Severus was present for each of her checkups with the specialist.

He always smirked proudly when the woman examined Harriet and excitedly informed the couple how the omega's condition had improved and how much better their baby was doing.

By the time Harriet entered her next month of pregnancy, she was no longer out of sorts.

She remained on bed rest for the majority of her days and stayed under Severus's influential care, but she was better….indescribably better, as if her body knew that the danger had been alleviated for the time being.

Harriet was quite grateful to Severus for the kindness he had shown her, even if it was only for the baby.

Mother Hen began to look for small ways in which she might repay Father Raven.

That was a more difficult task than Harriet had imagined.

Self-sufficient and reclusive, Severus was not a particularly needy person.

He was also quiet and very reserved.

Harriet had little notion about what Severus was thinking or what he desired.

When Severus came home one evening though, Harriet ventured downstairs and found him sitting at the dining table, fumbling with some thread and a needle while he held three fingers down on his left wrist's sleeve.

"What are you doing?" Harriet asked, choosing to skip their usual, terse greeting.

He was home and she saw him, that was enough of a greeting in itself.

"Why are you out of bed?" Severus snapped.

"I wanted to stretch my legs." Harriet replied as she approached Severus and watched his struggle, "The midwife said I could move around a few times a day."

Severus glared at Harriet for a moment and pondered about the unfortunate truth in her words before he turned back to his task.

Harriet walked over and sat down beside him at the table.

As she stared at his arm, she noticed that his tight, black sleeve had been ripped down the middle.

"How did that happen?" Harriet asked.

"...Unfortunate incident in the courtyard today." Severus replied irritably.

"Why don't you just fix it with magic?" Harriet blinked.

Severus looked up at her as he scowled and hissed, "I had these robes tailor-made years ago to be resistant to such minor spells! Why don't you concern yourself with your own affairs, Potter?"

Harriet stared calmly at Severus and his scowl turned into a frown as a remorseful look spread over his face.

Harriet took the thread and the needle from Severus's hands, moved his arm with the torn sleeve towards her, and replied, "Why don't you let me help you?"

Severus seemed to bristle at her offer and as she prepared to work, he quickly replied, "I can ma-"

"-I know you can. I know, but I'll be faster if I do it. I watched Hermione sew things loads of times. Hold still." Harriet commanded.

Severus shut his mouth for a moment and followed Harriet's order in spite of himself.

His black eyes watched her closely as she neatly repaired his ripped sleeve and tied off her knot to hold her handiwork in place.

Severus's gaze flickered from his wrist to Harriet as she released his arm and smiled at him once she was finished, "There…..all done."

"That was unnecessary, Mother Hen." Severus replied with a scowl.

Harriet grinned at his unwillingness to give her a basic word of thanks.

"You're welcome, Father Raven!" Harriet laughed.

The rest of the evening was quiet but Harriet noticed that at dinner that night, Severus served her two biscuits not one.

Harriet craved biscuits often but Severus usually limited her consumption of them, due to their high sodium content.

Mother Hen supposed that perhaps ravens just expressed their gratitude a bit differently…..

—-

The nightly act of lying side by side had become uncomfortably normal for the two parents-to-be.

Each night they crawled into Harriet's nest together, turned their back towards each other, spoke no words, and went to sleep.

Severus made it a point to rise before Harriet woke each morning and did his best to fall asleep after her.

He had no idea if he snored or not.

Severus had slept alone his entire life so there had been no lovers to complain about any such noises before.

On the night that Harriet had repaired his sleeve, after he was certain that she had fallen asleep, Severus found himself on the wavering edges of unconsciousness when Harriet suddenly called out to him.

"Father Raven!"

Severus jolted awake, unsure if he had really heard her or not until her call came again…..

"Father Raven!"

Severus turned over and sat up in bed as he looked down at Harriet while he asked urgently, "What's the matter?"

"Give me your hand!" Harriet breathed.

Severus narrowed his eyes and reached out to let his hand find hers in the darkness.

He drew in a breath as she guided him to place his palm on her clothed belly and feel the torrent of motion that came from within.

"Do you feel that?!" Harriet asked with a gasp.

"Yes…." Severus replied quickly, "...It's strong."

Harriet pushed herself back before she thought about it.

It was instinctive for Severus as well, but when he laid down again, he curled around her and let his hand splay over her belly.

Severus meant to turn away, to roll over and not overstay his welcome, spooning Harriet like that, so intimately cuddled against her like a proper alpha, but that didn't happen.

Harriet loved the feeling of Severus holding her so much that she sighed and effortlessly went back to sleep once the baby relaxed.

Severus quickly followed her into restfulness.

Snuggled together there in their nest, Father Raven and Mother Hen dreamt of meeting their fledgling.