Draco anxiously awaited his parents return on the couch. When they appeared in the room he visibly relaxed. Lucius stepped out from behind his wife and nodded at his son. For Narcissa, the room was spinning dangerously and before she understood what was happening, she fainted dead away. Lucius scrambled to catch her and just barely caught her before her head hit the wood floor.

"Cissy?!" His tone was frantic.

"Mum?!" Draco rushed to help his mother up. With Draco's help Lucius was able to carry and lay his wife on the couch. He impatiently snapped his fingers and a house elf popped up in front of the small family.

"Yes master?" Asked the older elf.

"Iolas, get a cold compress for my wife." He snapped.

He poofed away and was back within two minutes. Lucius snatched it from the elf's hands, not looking at him.

"You may leave now."

"Thank you, master."

In contrast to his callous demeanor with the elf, he used all of the tenderness in his body to lay the compress on his wife's forehead. Narcissa's eyes fluttered open and she moaned quietly.

"Cissy, are you alright?" He asked softly.

She nodded, even though her head was pounding. "I'm fine."

Draco wrung his hands nervously beside his father. "What did the healer say?" He asked, voice riddled with anxiety. Narcissa and Lucius shared a look, unsure of how to proceed. She squeezed his hand before turning her attention to her son.

"First of all, I want to reassure you that it's not a disease or anything terminal." Draco's tensed shoulders relaxed a bit. "I don't quite know how to say this, so I'm just going to be blunt: Draco, we're having a baby."

Of all the things he thought he might hear, that was the last thing he expected. Quite honestly he was more prepared to deal with a divorce announcement than with the idea of having a sibling. A million thoughts raced through his mind at once. Why would they want another child? Was he not good enough? Did he do something wrong? Had he failed them in some way? Despite all the thoughts running through his mind, all he could make come out was a shocked "Oh."

Narcissa's maternal instincts went into overdrive. A subtle red flag was raised in her mind. Draco needed her. She took her son's hand delicately.

"Sweetheart, no matter what happens with this baby you know that we will always love you longer. You are the greatest son I could ever have asked for. I'm so proud of you, darling."

Draco smiled, a true, genuine smile at her words. She squeezed his hand.

Lucius looked on at his wife and son, unsure of what to feel. Finding out that Narcissa was pregnant had caused him to numb out all of his feelings until he could really deal with them privately. All he could feel was indifference. He loved his family more than anything, but still felt unprepared as an onslaught of emotion attacked him at once. Without saying a word, he went upstairs to the master bedroom to sort out everything before it became too much.

Draco watched his father leave with a feeling of uncertainty lodged deep in his stomach. If he felt unready for a new baby, he could only imagine what his father must have been feeling. As a Malfoy, he'd been brought up to compartmentalize his emotions. He imagined that's what Father was doing. He sat at the end of the couch with his mother, wondering about what the future would bring for him.

Narcissa worried at her son's silence. She knew Draco was not a fan of change. This sort of massive life change was sure to prove no different. She carefully sat up and wrapped an arm around her son. He hugged her robotically, just repeating the motion with no feeling behind it. Finally, the silence proved too much for her.

"Dragon, what is it?"

Draco sighed at the inevitable question. He couldn't look his mother in the eye.

"Did I do something wrong?"

He said it with such a heavy heart that it smashed her own to pieces.

"Oh darling, of course not. We didn't even expect this would happen. You've been a perfect son. We don't want to replace you or anything like that. This is just the card we were dealt in life, and we have to make peace with it. Okay?"

He nodded. She gently kissed his blonde locks. "I'll be around if you want to talk, alright?"

"Okay."

With one last kiss, she went off to find her husband.

Lucius lay on his back, blonde hair splayed out to all over the emerald green pillowcase that contrasted with the silver comforter. His emotions were flying as freely as a kite. Happiness, confusion, excitement, and fear mingled together to create the strangest combinations of feelings he had ever felt. He heard the door open and knew it was his wife. Narcissa laid down next to him and held his hand. They sat in silence for what seemed like hours, but were only minutes.

"Are you afraid?" She asked, turning to him. He looked at her, his grey eyes piercing her soul.

"Parenthood is always a terrifying prospect." He commented blithely.

"I know. I'm scared too." Her hand ran over her still flat stomach.

"Do you think we're ready to go through all of this again?" He asked her earnestly.

"We don't have much of a choice now, do we?" Her sarcasm was dry and on point. It made him chuckle slightly.

"I suppose not." He turned over onto his side and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "You're going to be a great mother, you know."

She shut her eyes at his closeness. "Do you really think so?"

"I know so. Just look at Draco. He wouldn't be who he is today of it weren't for you."

She smiled and kissed him. "You're already a great father. The turn around you made with our son in these past few weeks is amazing. I couldn't be more proud."

He smiled, white teeth aglitter. He took her other hand in his free one and snuggled up to her. Holding one another tightly, they fell asleep, hoping to give their unborn child all of the things that they had never had.