"Draco!" Blaise shouted, rising quickly from his lounger to greet his guest. Dark eyes carefully watched Draco as he sauntered into the garden, noticing that something seemed a little off with his stride.

"Blaise!" Draco called back happily, his arms thrown open as he paused, taking in the lush green grass that surrounded them. "I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get over here, the place looks great."

"That's what you get when you sell your business at the right time," Blaise chuckled, retaking his seat and pulling a chilled beer from the cooler beside him. He held one out for Draco as he dropped down next to him. "Want a beer whilst you explain to me why it's taken three months for you to come visit?"

"I think that'll take more than one beer," Draco joked, pushing his sunglasses back to the top of his head. Now that he was out of the blistering sunshine, he didn't have a need for them, plus, he had a lot to fill Blaise in on.

"Oh, yeah?" Blaise smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Your crush on Granger kept you busy?"

Draco shifted uncomfortably. Blaise was the only one Draco had told about his crush on Hermione, and Blaise had teased him about it at every opportunity. Taking a swig of his beer, Draco replied, "She's pregnant, Blaise."

"Whoa," Blaise breathed, his mouth hanging open in shock. That certainly explained why Draco wasn't his usual self. "Well, I guess that's the end of that." Blaise finished somewhat lamely, what exactly were you supposed to say when the married woman your mate was lusting after got knocked up by her husband?

"Hang on a minute," Blaise shouted, his face splitting into an ear to ear grin. "We can go out tonight! I know this great little club." His excitement was palpable as he swept up his beer and took another sip.

Draco peered at Blaise over his bottle, his eyes were glinting with mischief, something Draco hadn't seen there for a while. Pulling the bottle away from his lips, Draco watched his friend's face carefully, wanting to study the reaction to his next words. "It might be mine, Blaise."

The mouthful of beer Blaise had just taken exploded from his mouth. "WHAT?" he spluttered, using his wand to dry off his now wet clothes.

"Hermione is pregnant, and there's a chance it's mine," Draco spoke slowly, rising to his feet so he could pace around the patio. Saying the words out loud gave them a whole new meaning. Tearing his eyes away from the glorious views Blaise's new French château offered, he met the concerned gaze of his best friend, holding it until he spoke.

"What's been happening these last few months?" Blaise questioned gently, really looking at Draco now. There were the telltale signs of stress etched around Draco's eyes, which had originally been hidden behind his sunglasses. Blaise had the feeling Draco had a lot he needed to get off his chest.

"Hermione and I slept together about six weeks ago," Draco began, his voice calm but his fingers pulling at the paper label on his beer bottle as he spoke. "Her and Weasley had this massive argument, and Hermione suggested a trial separation - basically giving them both a break. The separation started in February when she moved into that ancient cave. I think I told you about it, the Unspeakable department had me go check it with some of the Aurors for anything potentially dark."

Blaise nodded, sitting forward on his lounger and motioning for Draco to continue. "I decided I wouldn't tell her how I felt, I didn't want to make her separation any more complicated. If she had chosen to break it off with Ron, I would have told her then."

"How very un-Slytherin of you," Blaise teased light-heartedly, earning himself one of Draco's trademark smirks from where he rested against the patio railings.

"I've turned over a new leaf, haven't I, Blaise?" Draco joked casually, even though the small smile on his face didn't reach his eyes. Aside from Hermione and his Mother, Blaise was the only other person who knew about his therapy. He'd been the one to drag Draco there kicking and screaming on that very grim night.

"Very true," Blaise replied, lifting his bottle in a mini toast to Draco. It wasn't often Draco discussed his therapy so whenever he did Blaise made a point to acknowledge how far Draco had come. "So, if you weren't going to tell her, how did you end up sleeping with her?"

Sighing loudly, Draco took a sip of his beer and pushed himself away from the railing, sitting back down next to Blaise and placing the half-empty bottle on the table between them. He leaned back and closed his eyes, pondering how to explain it to Blaise. It was so simple and yet so complicated at the same time. "We were hanging out - like we always do - and Hermione decided to go for a swim. I followed her down to join her and when we got down there, the cave looked amazing. There were all these little glow worms on the ceiling, lighting the whole place up in this kind of, muted neon, blue, and we just floated there in the water for ages, looking up at them. It was so peaceful."

Blaise quirked his eyebrow up in curiosity when a genuine smile crossed Draco's features. Not that Draco could see, he was too busy recalling the absolute look of indignation on Hermione's face after he had dunked her, before continuing softly, "Hermione had zoned out, and I got bored and snuck up on her. After I dunked her, she came to get me, splashed a load of water in my face before trying to swim off. Naturally, I caught her. Then, when she was trying to get her revenge, she slipped whilst trying to dunk me and I just held her. She was just so enticing, I couldn't put her down."

Draco paused as his heart pounded loudly in his ears, the vision of Hermione standing in front of him shimmered before his eyes, his body remembering how delectable she felt wrapped around him. "I don't know what happened," Draco admitted slowly, trying to ease his racing heart as he sat back up to look at Blaise. "One minute I was looking at her - she looked fucking fantastic, Blaise. Eyes wide and excited, wet hair trailing down her back, full lips smiling at me in this tiny bikini." Draco almost had to bite down on his knuckle to stop a groan of longing escaping his lips as he remembered that particular bikini. "The next minute, there was just this energy, wrapping around us, tingling, and I know she felt it too. I couldn't help myself, I didn't want to. All thoughts of holding back vanished and I kissed her."

Blaise looked over at his friend. Draco had picked up the beer bottle again, taken three long gulps and completely shredded the label. The stress of the situation had evidently been playing on his mind for far too long. "What happened then?" Blaise probed, hoping to keep Draco talking.

"We fucked," Draco said simply, throwing the statement out into the world as if it was nothing whilst tapping the ring on his finger against his now empty bottle. "Right there in the water, it was… incredible. I've never experienced anything like that before, I doubt I will ever again. We just came alive together."

Draco closed his eyes and let his head droop, willing the sting behind his eyes to fade as he laced his fingers together around his bottle and gripped it hard. Cutting any emotion out of his voice, Draco finished his story, "Then we went upstairs, ready for more and she stopped. Looking at the spot where her blasted wedding photo used to be. I knew it was over as soon as she looked back at me."

"Draco," Blaise said sincerely, waiting for his friend to look at him. The fact that Draco had just willingly divulged so much, was a true testament to how far the man had come in a relatively short space of time. But, that didn't mean Draco wasn't struggling, the way he had collapsed in on himself spoke volumes of how he truly felt about Hermione. How it physically pained him to have walked away after sharing what appeared to be, quite a significant experience.

"Draco," he said again, more commanding this time as Draco started tapping his ring faster and faster against the bottle. "Look at me."

Reluctantly, Draco opened his eyes and looked at Blaise, surprised at the look of concern on his friend's face which mirrored the concern in his voice, "I'm fine," Draco lied, not realising his eyes were red-rimmed. "Honestly, Blaise."

"Don't bullshit me, Draco, you know it's a waste of time," Blaise replied earnestly, swinging his legs off his sun lounger so he could mimic Draco's posture. "I know you well enough to know you're struggling with this, so talk to me. You sound like you're in love with the girl!"

"What does it matter if I am?" Draco replied testily, the muscles in his shoulders tightening uncomfortably as he tensed up, his head snapping up so he could look Blaise in the eye. "She might go back to Ron!"

"Mate," Blaise said calmly, far too used to Draco's mood swings to be intimidated by them anymore. Holding Draco's gaze, he passed him another beer. "You've got to speak to her. Hermione could be carrying your child. She needs to know how you feel. Plus, you can't bottle this all up inside, it won't do you any good."

"Aargh," Draco groaned, taking the offered beer and slugging it back. He knew Blaise was right, he was always bloody right, but he just couldn't accept it. The thought of bearing his soul to Hermione, knowing she had the power to destroy him with a few simple words scared him to death. "I don't want to ruin what we've got, what if I scare her away? She might never speak to me again! Besides, she's still married."

"When can you find out if it's yours?" Blaise asked seriously as Draco slumped back in his lounger, his arm flung dramatically across his face.

"Not until she's ten to twelve weeks," Draco mumbled, rubbing his hand across his face trying to smooth out the tension in his head. He had thought of little else since their chat with the Healer, as much as he was disappointed they couldn't find out sooner, the promise of knowing, soon, kept most of his frustrations at bay. "Which won't be for another couple of weeks."

"You sound pretty clued up," Blaise mentioned curiously, noticing how Draco's hand paused it's movements as if he'd said too much. If the roles were reversed, Blaise would be the first to admit he'd not have the slightest clue how to proceed. Nor how to even attempt handling the situation.

"Hermione had a Muggle doctor's appointment and I made a Healer appointment last Friday," Draco responded easily, keeping his eyes closed as he thought back to the last time he saw Hermione and how she'd dozed off in his arms after finishing her tea.

"That's a good sign, right?" Blaise asked eagerly, pulling himself another beer from the charmed ice cooler. After everything Draco had been through, Blaise just wanted to see him happy, even though part of him was mentally preparing for the potential fallout should things head south. "You're going to the appointments with her instead of Ron?"

Draco remained silent for a moment, his brain puzzling over just how much he could share. Whilst he trusted Blaise, Draco was reluctant to tell him about Hermione's relationship - or lack of - with Ron. Settling on a slither of truth, Draco answered with a shrug of his shoulders, "Aurors are away a lot. Besides, Ron's not overly pleased she slept with me in the first place."

Blaise perked up at Draco's none too subtle avoidance of the question and how he picked his words carefully. Sensing there was more to the story, Blaise enquired gently, "What happened when Weasley found out about you and Hermione?" Not because he wanted to know all the sordid details, but because he needed to understand the scenario. If things got bad for Draco, and there was a good chance they would, he wanted to be able to have his back.

Cursing inwardly at Blaise's perceptiveness, Draco opened his eyes and looked at him before biting out his words. "Obviously he was pissed," Draco answered, pausing to fight back the memory of Hermione shaking in his arms as she had told him what Ron did. "I want to tell you everything, but it's not my place to. I'll tell you this though, Weasley is lucky I'm a changed person."

Instantly, Blaise understood the hidden meaning behind Draco's words and realised just how much pressure Draco was putting himself under. "Draco," Blaise said seriously, needing to convey just how important this was to his continued recovery, "I'm proud of you. You nearly killed yourself trying to protect your Mother. The fact that you can put this into perspective, and not act, shows how far you've come."

Draco scoffed, appreciating the sentiment but not entirely convinced how long his good-guy attitude would last when confronted with Ron bloody Weasley. "There is still every possibility Weasley's luck will run out," he said darkly, sitting up to drink some more of his beer. "But, I can't do that to Hermione. She's more important, no matter how much I want to hex Weasley into oblivion."

"You know where I am if the desire becomes too much," Blaise said steadily, hoping Draco would come to him if required. As much as Draco had changed for the better, Blaise understood the constant effort he put into every day and how hard the transition had been for him. "Just remember what your therapist taught you and you'll be fine."

Nodding at Blaise, Draco sat for a moment, carefully thinking back on his words and what he had been taught. "Thanks, mate," Draco said gratefully, his mind automatically latching back to the words of Ernest Hemingway.

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self."

A/N: Just one day late! This would have been updated yesterday but I got distracted writing my other fic - whoops!

As always, many thanks to the supreme Alpha reader tectonictigress who helped me when I first had the idea and read all seventeen of the chapters I'd pre-written and many thanks to my new Alpha TriDogMum, for the fresh set of ideas and lengthy discussions about the parts you guys haven't seen yet :D Although this chapter is slightly shorter, it marks the end of the first quarter!