The sounds of women's voices 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over the adorable little clothes, goodies, and stories being told drifted around the Weasley house on the beautiful Sunday morning of Millicent's baby shower. May had been a lot warmer than usual, the temperature hovering in the mid eighties and making it far too hot for the young mothers and wives to be out in the sunshine for too long. Especially poor Millicent, she was sweating profusely sitting inside with cooling charms and light summer robes on. Being pregnant was taking its toll on her physically and emotionally; and yet, she wouldn't want it any other way. It was a small price to pay for carrying twins.

A wide variety of decorations in pink, blue, yellow, and green had been set up all over the house; a menagerie of streamers, confetti, and charmed crepe paper that looked like tiny baby shoes, bottles and bibs were hung from door to door and back again. Tables were set up with multicolored tablecloths, one for the appetizers, another one for the mountainous piles of presents, and another that was empty to be used for dinner later on in the afternoon.

Millicent was placed in a specially designated seat. It was decorated by Mother Weasley herself, a chair fit for a mother, she had said. It was made more comfortable for her as well to help accommodate for her large form. Her belly was large, stretched out in front of her as if she were smuggling a watermelon. The two babies inside of her promised to be strong and healthy though, and for that she didn't mind too much her large size. Besides, Fred had been nothing but loving and supportive throughout the pregnancy. Despite his earlier hesitations, he had grown into a very supportive, loving father and husband.

Placed strategically around Millicent were Molly, Ginny, Fleur, Bridget, Lilliane, Pansy, Florie, Penelope, Angelina Johnson, and a couple of other women from the Prophet. All of them laughed as they chatted and munched on the wonderful food.

Grabbing several tissues, Millicent sniffled and blew her nose again. Ruddy hormones had her bawling the whole afternoon, she could barely contain herself. Dabbing her eyes, she chuckled softly, "I'm sorry, I can't seem to stop leaking!" The gaggle of girls laughed. "I want to thank you all for coming, I appreciate it."

Fleur chuckled, "Zees is ze rules, Millie! We must initiate you into ze club!" She raised her glass of chardonnay, enjoying the fact that she could let loose for an afternoon. As was also the tradition, the husbands were left with the kids all afternoon to entertain and to keep out of their mothers' hair.

Molly nodded in agreement, "Yes, Millicent, you are going to be a mother now! This will change your life forever! And for the better I hope," She wiped a tear of her own away. Since this morning, she'd been almost as weepy as Millicent was. To know that Fred had finally been settled and that all of her children were happy made her feel like the luckiest mother in the world. Finally she had accomplished it and she could relax and enjoy being a grandmother.

Lilliane leaned back in her seat with a bored sigh, "Can we open presents?" She asked; eyeing the stack of presents lined up on the table. Fleur had been told that the girls could come, although she had been slightly reluctant. However, both Bridget and Lilliane had been on their best behavior.

"Presents sound great," Millicent said with a laugh. She had noticed the two girls growing bored as time progressed. "Can you help me by bringing some presents over Lilliane? Merlin knows I'm far too big to get in and out of my seat!"

Excited to have a job, Lilliane jumped up and grabbed a large package off the edge. Bridget was already there though; ready to help her carry it. She gave Millicent a wink as they set the present at her feet, "This one is from Charlie and his wife."

There was no tag on the gift but Millicent didn't doubt Bridget was right. With a little (okay, a lot) of help from Lilliane, the gift was divested of its shiny pink wrapping paper to reveal a diaper disposal. Ingenious, really, the diaper was put into the receptacle and it destroyed all the odors before sending it to a waste removal site; Fred and Millie wouldn't have to worry about disposing of their children's dirty diapers at all! "This was very thoughtful," Millicent laughed, "I'll have to send Charlie an owl. This will come in handy!"

Present after present was unwrapped and laughed over. Molly had given Millicent bagfuls of clothes from all of her children, enough to sustain her for years and years to come, and also a very generous sum of money in a fund at Gringotts for the twins' educational expenses; Molly had very high hopes that these twins would be the very best and brightest and would someday attend university and beyond.

Angelina and the Prophet Girls had all chipped in and bought Millie the double high chair she had wanted. Florie, while certainly not very wealthy, had bought a very fashionable diaper bag and had given Millicent a painting of Millie and Fred together at Christmas, cuddling on the couch.

Penelope had paid for a very expensive spa package that would allow Millie to relax before the babies were born. Pansy had more than outdone herself and bought Millie what looked like the entire baby section at Gladrags and a double baby swing that she swore had worked wonders in getting Sylvia to go to sleep as a baby. Last, but certainly not least, Ginny's present—while not actually at the Burrow—had been the twin crib Millicent had wanted; still, she still gave mother to be a gift certificate to Madame Malkin's for new robes once the babies were born.

However, Fleur's present was the one that got Millicent weepy again. She had hand sewn two of the most beautiful baby blankets Millie had ever seen. One was a burgundy with little snitches on it, the other an evergreen with tiny quills. For the union of a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, brains and brawn, she had said with a sly wink.

Even though all the gifts from the women were opened, there was still a tiny package sitting on the table. Lilliane brought it over and handed it to Millicent, "I don't know who this one is from." It was so tiny it fit in the palm of her hand.

Looking around, none of the women seemed to recognize the present. Shrugging, Millicent opened it and gasped as she pulled out an exquisite diamond pendant on a silver chain. "Merlin," She gasped, fingering over the chain. "This is so beautiful, who is this from?"

A voice from the doorway broke through the silent awe of the group. Clearing his throat, Fred smiled, "That one's from me." He blushed deeply as a chorus of 'awws' went through the group. Walking over to her, he gently kissed her lips, "I thought that if all of these women were going to be getting my wonderful wife presents, I ought to top them all." Kneeling down beside her, he took her hand, "No one deserves beautiful things more than you, Millie. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, I've ever met…and I wanted to show you with this." He took the diamond necklace from her and slowly clasped it around her neck, "I'm just sorry that it isn't as beautiful as you."

Sniffling and crying, she pulled Fred to her and held him tightly, "You are so sickly sweet I could vomit on your shoes again." Laughing, she let her tears mingle with the kiss she planted on him. She barely heard the cheers from the other women around her, "I love you too." She whispered, wiping her face. "You're a brave man coming here to endure a timeless female ritual…"

"I really just wanted some snacks," He joked, picking at a torte that Millicent had nibbled at and hadn't liked. He popped it into his mouth and winked at her. "I'll let you ladies have your fun now, I'll see you later." Leaning down once more, he gave his wife another soft kiss, "Especially you." He added before he left.

Molly wiped tears from her eyes, "I never thought I'd see the day." She sniffled and blew her nose on the tissues that were being passed about. "I had always hoped he'd find the witch who would bring out the man in him." Standing up, she gave Millicent a fierce hug, "You've made a wonderful man of my son."

"No Molly," Millicent said firmly, "You made a wonderful man out of him. I may have helped him realize it but it was you who raised such a fine boy." Dabbing her eyes, she found herself suddenly feeling like everything was right in the world, that nothing could go wrong. She had a wonderful supportive family, a husband who loved her, two children growing within her (who were even more eager to get out every day), a job she could depend on, and best of all, there was nothing stopping her from enjoying it all.

It seemed that her story would have a happy ending after all.

Later that evening, Millicent was sitting on the couch reading a book on what to expect after having twins while Fred tinkered with the newest joke. Fred had told his wife that the trick would simulate the effects of pregnancy in men. It would be a new venture for Zonko's who, up until now, had been selling jokes expressly for children. Now they'd have an entirely new venue: pissed off pregnant witches!

Looking up from the ugly grey lump that would hopefully shape into a wonderful prank, Fred peered over at his wife. He gave a quirky smile, "Enjoying your book, love?"

At the sound of his voice she smiled wickedly and set her book aside. "Oh, very much, it seems we're in for quite a ride with the twins." Patting the wide girth of her belly, she laughed, "But I think we can handle it."

"I'm sure we can," Fred answered and set aside his tools to make his way over to her. Slipping in behind her, he pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to her neck. "Did you have fun today? I know my mum can be a little…overwhelming at times."

Leaning back against him, she smiled, "I had a wonderful time. Although, if I had managed to not cry through the entire thing, that would've made it better." Chuckling lightly, she expelled a heavy sigh, "It was truly a wonderful time. And I believe now that we're all set for the babies to arrive." They had diapers, crib, baby swing, clothes, dresser, changing station; the nursery had been set up by the men after dinner. Pansy, newly licensed as an interior decorator, had charmed the walls a beautiful yellow color with tiny owls of varying colors zooming around. "But my favorite present of all was this beautiful necklace," She fingered the chain around her neck. "You really didn't have to…"

Pressing his hands against the wide expanse of her belly where his children squirmed beneath her skin, he closed his eyes. "I wanted to, Millicent. You've made me the happiest man alive…" He said softly. "I know that at first I wasn't very…supportive. But I want you to know that it wasn't you, Millicent, I never doubted you. And those things I said when I was in shock…I didn't mean them." He and Millicent had never really talked about that night she told him she was pregnant. They had made up, yes, but he'd never explained himself.

"Shh, Fred, you don't have to do this," Millicent said softly.

"I want to, Millie… I have to," He said firmly. "Ever since Percy died I've been…" He swallowed hard, "afraid of everything that happened to him, happening to me." He held her tighter, calmed by the steady beat of her heart and the fluttering movements of his children within her. "Percy was so happy, he had everything: a good job, a wonderful woman, a baby on the way…and then, just like that, he was dead. His death shattered Penelope and our whole family, especially George and I. In one day I lost two brothers, a couple of weeks later Penelope lost the baby…" Trying to swallow past the lump in his throat, he breathed deeply. "After that I promised that I'd never open myself up for pain like that again. That I'd never do it to myself, that I'd never do it to anyone I loved." Jamming one of his hands through his red hair, he sighed, "And that meant not falling in love, it meant pushing everyone away. But somehow you weaseled your way into my heart, you changed how I feel, Millicent…you changed me. You made me realize that Percy wouldn't have wanted me to live in fear. I know now that despite the way things ended, he wouldn't have taken back one minute of the time spent with Penelope…and she wouldn't have traded it for anything either."

That he was opening himself to her this way made her want to hold him, cry, and laugh all at the same time. Fred, despite how much he loved her, had always been reserved in talking about things like 'feelings'. Sure, he told her that he loved her; he showed her how much he loved her in the bedroom. But for him to lay his heart out on line like this was the ultimate act of love in her eyes. He was revealing to her that she owned the heart within him, just as he owned hers.

Swallowing hard, he sighed, "And when you told me that you were pregnant…Millicent, I was so happy. But I didn't want to be happy! I wanted to be angry or disgusted so it would be easy to break ties, to save you from the heartache that would come with bearing my child. That way, if you hated me…if I died or something awful happened, you could move on and not feel anything." A single tear slipped down his cheek, "But when I thought about how losing you would make me feel, I couldn't bear it. The look on your face when I tried to hurt you…it hurt me ten times worse than going through the pain of losing Percy. I wanted to tear my heart out and hurl it out the window it ached so badly." Tears were falling with increasing frequency as he gasped for air, "I knew then how much I loved you and I couldn't bear losing you. I'd already broken the promise that I'd never fall in love or have children or get married…I knew I had lost everything to you."

Hearing her husband's tale of woe shook something vital in her, even more so when he began to cry. Turning as much as she could in her heavily pregnant state, she gathered her into her arms, holding him tightly. "I love you, Fred, no matter what you've been through, no matter what's to come…I have never and will never regret loving you." Rocking him soothingly, she pressed soft kisses to his temple and cheeks. "Shh, I'm here, love, don't worry about a thing."

Pressed to her chest, her hands acting as a balm as they rubbed his back and smoothed his hair, he'd never felt safer or more loved. "I bought you that necklace because I read somewhere that diamonds are almost impossible to destroy. They're very tough and they don't crack under pressure…just like our love. I wanted to get you something that shows I plan on being around no matter how hard things get, no matter how bleak the times seem, we'll get through it."

Sniffling along with him, she closed her eyes, "I believe it, Fred, and I know we will."

And so, the vows they had made in the presence of their family and friends were renewed once again. Life had dealt the wizarding world a tough blow with the rise of Voldemort and the death of so many innocent people, but finally, years later, they were starting to heal. The long awaited cycle of rebirth had begun.

Thanks for the reviews! We're very, very close to the end my friends! The next chapter I'll upload is out final one!!! Wow, it's been such a wonderful experiance!

Keep reading and reviewing!

Marina