Jade woke up to see Draco sleeping uncomfortably on his chair. She watched him breathe evenly and wondered how she would have never in her wildest dreams would imagine herself seeing this moment a few years back. This all felt like a dream, but the pain in fact wasn't. Draco felt like a dream. She reached out and touched him, feeling his warm and smooth hand.
She felt a terrible urge to cry as she took his hand with hers thinking that she would be devastated if she were to part with him for any reason at all. She remembered how it felt to leave Hogwarts and endure those 7 lonely years, but those 7 years didn't even matter at all when she found him again. Now that he became the father of her child, Jade felt a deeper and thicker bond grow between them.
Draco's eyes fluttered open and he raised his head, squeezing Jade's hand. "Hey, when did you wake up?" he asked rubbing his eyes.
"A few minutes ago. Why couldn't you just sleep at home? You didn't have to sleep here." Jade said sliding off the bed.
Draco pulled her on his lap and wrapped his arms around his waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I tried, but I couldn't sleep at all by myself. So I came here." Draco said grazing his nose and lips against her jaw.
Jade smiled as she felt his scratchy unshaven cheek meet her lips. "I wonder why you never keep the beard around." Jade said kissing his neck.
"I can't really walk around with a 5 o clock shadow and just let it grow every day. If I knew you liked it before, I would have taken a week off…or two." Draco said.
"Will you?" Jade asked seeing him run his hands through her hair.
"I'd be crazy to leave you by yourself with our baby. Of course I'll be taking a leave from work to help you with the baby. By that time we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone. We'll look after the baby and I'll grow my beard." Draco said amused by Jade's reaction.
"You know, I'm supposed to be doing the seducing around here, not you." Jade said undoing his buttons slowly.
"Well I'm sorry then." Draco said smiling.
"On the chair or on the hospital bed?" Jade asked as if they were talking about the weather.
Draco's eyes widened and he stared at her wildly. "Are you insane? In the hospital? What if someone catches us?" Draco hissed.
"Again, that was supposed to be my line, the woman's line!" Jade scowled.
"So please do your part and ask me not to have sex in the maternity ward." Draco said.
"Piss off." Jade said pushing him off. She walked off towards the bathroom door and shut it behind her.
Draco grinned and buttoned his shirt back up; thinking of how much he loved to see Jade's many emotions. Anger was the one he mostly dealt with and without a doubt; it was his favorite one…most of the times. The door opened and Nessie peeked in and was relieved to see Draco.
"Where is she?" Nessie squeaked, hugging him tightly.
"In the bathroom, just woke up." Draco said as Nessie kept hugging him.
"Congratulations! I still can't believe you became a father!" Nessie sobbed.
"I know, I know. And now you're a grandmother." Draco said seeing a bittersweet look come about Nessie's face.
"Even though I don't look it." Nessie said with a nod.
"Of course." Draco said.
"So where is the little angel? I want to see her." Nessie said as Draco nodded.
"I'll ask a nurse to bring her." Draco said. He stepped out and called for a nurse to bring his baby. He stepped back in to see Jade and Nessie hugging each other.
"I'm completely fine Nessie. Although I'll never be able to forget what it feels like to give birth to a child without any drugs. It makes me want to die at the thought of it." Jade shuddered.
"A howler monkey, Moaning myrtle and a pack of wolves sound modest compared to her when she was delivering the baby." Draco commented. Jade glared at Draco as Nessie roared in laughter.
"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, your baby daughter." The nurse said wheeling in a hospital bassinette with their daughter in it. "She's ready for breakfast." The nurse said picking up the small bundle. Jade sat comfortably on her bed and watched Nessie hold the baby for a while.
"Does she have a name yet?" Nessie asked softly, her eyes not leaving the baby.
"Crap!" Jade yelled.
Nessie, Draco and the nurse snapped towards Jade with a bewildered look on their faces. "Crap? You named her crap?!" Nessie asked in disbelief.
"No! I meant, crap we didn't give her a name yet!" Jade said. The nurse giggled and left and Nessie turned to Draco and Jade.
"What were you both doing for the past 9 months?" Nessie asked. Seeing the mischievous grins on their faces, Nessie shook her head. "Forget I asked." Nessie said.
"No Nessie, we're joking with you. Honestly I don't think we really gave much thought to naming the baby. I don't know what to name her, do you Jade?" Draco asked turning to Jade who shook her head.
"Do you have a name Nessie?" Jade asked. Nessie looked at the young couple and down to the little baby girl.
"You want me to name the baby?" Nessie asked.
"Well you are her Grandmum. We'd love to have you name the baby." Jade said. Nessie smiled warmly and chuckled.
"Well…what do you both think of Jenita?" Nessie asked.
Jade raised an eyebrow and looked at Draco who was equally curious as well. "Jenita? I've never heard that before." Draco said.
"It sounds simple, even if we'd never heard it before. I like it." Jade said nodding.
"I love it. Where did you find the name Nessie?" Draco asked seeing Nessie blush and look down again.
"It's embarrassing really." Nessie said.
"No it's not. Draco had another name kept by everyone in Hogwarts, now, how he got that name is embarrassing." Jade said ignoring the look that Draco gave her.
"I don't think Slytherin Sex God is embarrassing at all." Draco countered.
"Oh no…I was talking about the Amazing Bouncing Ferret." Jade said lightly, winking at Nessie who sat down, laughing lightly with the child in her arms.
"You know when you were a little girl or little boy, you'd have dreams about what you're going to be, how many children you have and so on?" Nessie asked seeing them nod. "I just picked out 'Jenita' ever since I was a little girl and when I grew up; before I was successful in the fashion industry…it all came to be all too true…too soon." Nessie said.
Jade turned away and looked out of the window. She heard this story before. Nessie had told her years ago and the two never mentioned Nessie's past ever again.
"I was an intern in one of the most successful modeling agencies in America and at the time, I had moved from a small town in Minnesota to a large city in New York. Obviously I wasn't aware how disgusting people would be in this world and unfortunately I was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Nessie recounted. She looked up at Draco who watched her intently, hanging on to her every word. Jade had tuned out. She hated hearing what happened to Nessie and Nessie was grateful for having found Jade before anyone else had found her.
"So I was supposed to meet with the owner of the modeling agency. It was a horrifying experience for me. He didn't hear a single word from me and hired me the second he saw me. A few weeks into the internship, he hovered close by and started to act inappropriately. He didn't have to warn me about the consequences if I ever told anyone or the police. I already knew. It would be my word against his. Him, the biggest entrepreneur in the world, the most respected and most rich against a weak, fragile, moneyless, small town nobody like me." Nessie said.
Jenita squirmed and let out a small cry. Nessie got up and handed Jenita to Jade who wordlessly took Jenita and started breastfeeding her.
"How long did this go on?" Draco asked Nessie who sat back down again.
"Not long. He fired me when I got pregnant. After the inappropriate behavior, the worst started to arrive. He started to order me to perform in sexual acts with him and whenever he'd want, he'd rape me. So I think when I told him I was pregnant, he fired me and threatened to take my life if I didn't get an abortion." Nessie said.
"So I didn't get the abortion. I refused it. I refused to kill a child, even if it was forced upon me. I left the agency and prepared to leave to Minnesota. I called my mother, explaining to her what had happened and she told me to come home, that the family would support me. Just a day later, I received the phone call that no child should get to hear. My parents and my youngest brother were shot dead. I knew who did it, right after they told me that the police dismissed the case and claimed it to be a suicide/murder. The case was dropped and I was completely alone and then he paid me a little visit and told me to change my mind or else I'd be next. What did I have left? If I killed this child, I'd have me and what would I do alone in this world? So either way I was going to die." Nessie said.
"But you didn't." Draco said seeing Nessie nod.
"I didn't, but my baby did. Poor thing. I was 7 months pregnant when I learned it was a girl. I've always wanted a girl since I was a little girl and I was so ecstatic when I knew I was having one. I immediately had her name intact, the name I always wanted for my child since I was little. But that day never came. For fear that I would seek child support and take away his financial assets that his daughter would inherit, he hired men to seek me out and batter me to death and make sure that my child was dead. I'll skip the blood and gore for another day but they left me in a state where the doctors believed that I wouldn't survive. They said I had a 10-12% chance to live…can you believe that?" Nessie asked looking at Draco.
"I still don't understand how I came to be alive and well as I am now. The doctors told me it was a miracle, as if I had healed my injuries just overnight, that my bones were suddenly unbroken. I honestly don't know how it happened, unless someone recognized me as a witch and made me a few potions to heal. It's not promising to remember everything when you're slipping in and out of consciousness, but yes, I survived by some angel that I never got to thank and I vowed soon after that, I would destroy the life of the man who destroyed mine." Nessie said.
"So you have absolutely no idea who saved you at all? What happened after that?" Draco asked.
"It was incredibly hard for me for a couple of months but I was determined. I fought harder than any man, woman or child in this world and I wanted success more than anyone else at that time. I swore off sleep and thickened my skin. You can't stay in a dangerous world if you were as vulnerable as I was. If you walk down that street at midnight, you had better walk with a warning sign on your bloody head. Dangerous streets weren't my concern at the time, developing into Nessie Stewart, the woman who trumped her former boss, the same man who ruined her life; that's what I wanted to be." Nessie said her eyes hardening.
"I only had one chance. That one chance made me where I am today, one of the most successful people in the world…according to Forbes of course." Nessie said with a hint of smugness in her voice.
"So what happened to him?" Draco asked. Nessie shrugged slightly and looked off to space.
"Ran into him just a year after I started, at a party. He knew about the heat I was gathering as a new designer in the fashion world." Nessie said as if it didn't bother her. She looked up and smiled to see Draco's curious expression asking her to go on. "He congratulated me and in return I told him that bad people always got what they deserved in the end. I never saw him after that." Nessie told Draco.
"What happened to him?" Draco asked.
"Some girl squealed to officials, telling her about his inappropriate sexual innuendos. When the officials investigation, not only did they find out about numerous women he had been victimizing and a few bodies that he had murdered. It's a pity really; he took the easiest way out. Stuck a muggle gun in his mouth and well…that was that." Nessie said patting her hands.
Draco felt Jade wrap a hand around his and he turned around to see him give him an encouraging smile.
"Your daughter wants you." Jade said handing him Jenita. Draco carefully took his bundle of joy and held her close.
"But Nessie-" Draco went to say but Nessie cut him off.
"It's quite all right Draco. There's no use trying to go back to piecing things out. I don't know many things in my past myself and I'd rather keep it that way." Nessie said.
Draco took this answer. He didn't want to push her for an explanation. The woman had enough to go through in a single lifetime, there was no use trying to throw her back in to quench his curiosity.
"It's fine. I just wanted to thank you for Jade. I honestly don't know where she would be if she'd never met you." Draco said.
"I can take care of myself just fine you know." Jade said defiantly.
"No, honestly. The things Jade puts herself in, I was worried sick for 7 years because I knew you wouldn't be able to manage unless you had someone there for you." Draco said as Nessie nodded.
"I know exactly what you mean Draco." Nessie said.
"Yes, please talk as if I'm not sitting right here." Jade said irritably.
"You've given me a family Nessie. You've given me Jade and you've given me Jenita. You've also given me you so thank you. I told you this before and I'm not ashamed to tell you that I appreciate everything you have done for Jade." Draco said seeing Nessie smile warmly at him.
"I couldn't let her be me Draco. I saw myself in her. I didn't want what happened to me happen to her." Nessie said. They turned to Jade who looked annoyed and turned over to her side and closed her eyes.
Draco and Nessie chatted for a while. Healers came in and gave Jade a regular check-up and told Jade that she was ready to be discharged. Hermione, Harry, their children and surprisingly, Ron came by to see Jade.
"Ah, what brings you here today?" Jade asked as Hermione tied Jade's hair back.
Ron flushed red and placed a bouquet of flowers on the edge of her bed and quickly stepped back, his hands joined behind the back. "I just wanted to congratulate you about having your daughter." Ron said politely.
"Thank you Ron." Jade said nodding.
"Does the little princess have a name yet?" Hermione asked.
"She absolutely does. Her name will be Jenita Patrice Malfoy." Nessie said proudly.
"JPM." Jade said for short.
"No." Draco disagreed.
"You can't tell me what to do with my child." Jade said hotly.
"Then what's the use of giving her a full name? I'm not calling her JPM like she's some kind of car brand." Draco said.
"Remember when Jade was asked to be called Jay?" Hermione said repressing a laugh when Jade scowled and went to pick up a bag from the floor. Harry stopped her and slung the bag over his shoulder, placing an arm around her.
"Well you never called me Jay. You always used my full name." Jade said hearing Nessie giggle in delight.
"I'm glad someone defied you. I always loved calling her Jade. No matter how many times she tried getting me to call her Jay. I simply wouldn't comply." Nessie said.
Draco turned to Jade and smiled at her, touching her face softly. "I've always had a soft spot for her, that's probably why she got me to call her Jay." Draco said.
"I wish that wasn't the only thing I got you to do." Jade muttered. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her tenderly.
"Ready to go?" the Healer asked walking in. Everyone turned to the Healer who was watching the young parents turn to see him and smile, wrapped up in each other's embrace.
"Yes Healer. I'm ready to go home now with my family." Jade said happily.