Month 5: Summer Dreams…Torn at the Seems

"And we shouldn't be seeing rain for the next five days!" The weatherman was saying as Ron clicked off the television and took a gulp of pumpkin juice. Hermione wasn't home yet and he was taking the time to just kick back and relax. Hermione had been keeping him up all day and all night. If he slept during the day, he got yelled at for being lazy and neglecting her, his job, and his chores. If he slept during the night, he got woken up by vomiting, crying, or water being gulped down in ungodly amounts. These moments when he was alone and relaxed were as rare as they were precious.

Ron groaned as his mobile phone, which Hermione insisted he carry ever since she announced the pregnancy, rang shrilly. He contemplated not answering, except that the last time he had gone through with that plan he'd almost got locked out of the house.

"WHAT IF I HAD BEEN GOING INTO LABOR AND YOU DIDN'T ANSWER THE PHONE?"

"But Hermione, you're two months pregnant, I knew you weren't going into labo—"

"BUT WHAT IF?"

She hadn't been going into labor, she was barely even pregnant then! He thought back to that awful day as he clicked the green button. It had taken about two weeks to learn how the damn thing worked. "Hi sweetie."

"Hi, Ron. Where are you?"

"Home."

"Doing what?"

"Um…I don't know, should I be doing anything?"

"RON! You were supposed to finish filling out those St. Mungo's papers, remember? What if I go into labor and they say—"

"Hermione! STOP stressing about you going into labor just yet, alright? That's four months away, so what if I decide I'd like to relax for one night?"

"Uchhh, fine, Ron."

"Where are you?"

"I'm just walking down the street. When I ring the doorbell do you think you could open it? I've got a bunch of heavy bags."

"Sure, honey. See you soon." He hung up and rested his head on the pillow, trying to enjoy the last few minutes of unperturbed silence before—

CRASH!

"SHOOT!" Hermione let out a string of curse words from outside the door. Run rushed to the door, yanking it open to find Hermione smack on her rear end, surrounded by broken glass. She was biting her lip in pain and looking around, trying to figure out how to get around the shattered bits.

"I thought I was the clumsy one in this family." Ron joked, looking down at her.

She glared balefully up at him with big brown eyes. "Haha, very funny Ronald. Help me up you useless git!"

Crunching over the glass with his shoes, he bent down. "What happened exactly?"

"I tripped over that damn stair!" She exclaimed. "And this was a vase I got for Helen in the office…what am I going to do?"

"Get another vase?" Ron suggested. "Now come on." He placed one arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders. With a great heave he lifted her into his arms. He knew she had always felt secure in that position, and usually he liked the feeling of holding her close to him in that way, but she was getting so heavy it almost hurt. Her belly reached to his upper chest. He let out an unintentional grunt.

"What is it? Am I too heavy?" She asked immediately.

"No, no it's fine." Trying to position her more securely and comfortably, he shifted his arms and tried opening the front screen door. Moving among the glass bits, he maneuvered his way past the minefield. But as he stepped towards the house while holding Hermione and trying to hold the door open, Hermione's head was knocked into a brick. For the second time that evening, she let out a stream of foul language.

"I also thought I was the dirty-talker around here."

"SHUT UP, RON!" She yelled. "Put me down this instant!"

Caught between obeying her orders and holding her closer, Ron took a few seconds too long to answer and received a blow to the chest. Hermione obviously thought that would make him let go, but she was wrong. He had barely even felt it. He wasn't doubting Hermione's strength, she could hit him hard when she wanted to, but he had gone through Auror training and was practically immune to weak punches.

He wasn't disobeying her because he wanted to start fights. Well, maybe he should change that. He had never told her this because she would've had a fit, but he found her incredibly sexy when she was mad at him. Which, come to think of it, was quite often. But he found it adorable how her face flushed and her chest heaved.

"Ronald Weasley you let me go or I will not make dinner!"

Ouch. "But Hermione, aren't you supposed to eat well for the baby?" He found an easy way around her threat. She reevaluated.

"Fine then. Let me go this instant or no sex all week." She knew exactly where to hit him hardest. He let her legs fall to the ground. She shook herself off, not looking at her husband. Gathering up the remaining bags, she made her way into the house.

No sex all week? He may not be overjoyed with her larger state, but still…that was a low blow. He followed her inside.

"So…how was your day?" He asked rather awkwardly as she assembled the components for beef stew.

"It was fine, I guess. Yours?" She asked, still not making eye contact.

"It was actually great. But Hermione, I need to talk to you about something."

"Ok. Talk." She replied, chopping up the meat.

"No, not right now, I need your attention. Take a break from cooking."

"I never thought I'd live to see the day those words left your mouth. Fine."

He led her to the couch and sat her down next to him.

"You're scaring me. What is it?"

"Hermione, I need you to relax a bit more, ok? You know I understand. You have a tough job with a bunch of old-fashioned elderly men, you're carrying a child and you have to deal with your slob of a husband." She cracked a small smile and he continued. "But you're not the only one under stress, okay? I'm going to be a father! You think that's set in yet? You barely tell me anything about your St. Mungo's visits, you rarely let me come with you to them, and then you yell at me every day! You know how much sleep I've gotten this week? Like five hours! I'm literally exhausted, Hermione! Please, I'd really like it if you could just calm down a little."

He hadn't looked at her through his entire monologue. He'd been too afraid of her expression. But when Hermione didn't respond, he looked up. She was laying back against the cushions, her eyes glistening with tears.

Oh no. "Hermione, see this is what I was talking ab—"

"No, no it's not that Ron. I'm just—" she hiccupped. "So, so sorry. I've been making everything about me, haven't I? I haven't given a thought to all of your problems. I'm sorry." She leaned against his shoulder and felt a jolt of relief when his arms encased her. She snuggled into the warmth of his large body, curling up and resting her head on his chest. He stroked her hair, kissing her head.

"I 'm so sorry." She repeated, even though her voice was muffled.

"You're forgiven." He kissed her shoulder, making his way up to her neck. She struggled slightly.

"Ron, if you're trying to do anything, I said no."

He pretended not to hear her, pulling her on top of him as he rolled onto his back. He kissed her deeply. Her struggles were fruitless, and she gave in. His hands crept up her shirt, moving quickly and awkwardly over the bulge in her midsection. He cupped her breasts in his large hands. Her usually slightly-smaller-than-perhaps-what-could've-been breasts were filling out with this pregnancy, and if he was honest this was the only change he liked. He toyed a bit with them before moving one hand down the other side of her body.

She finally pulled away. "I said no sex right now, Ron."

"But this strictly speaking is not sex. It's intimacy."

"Technicalities."

"Maybe so, but I don't care."

She rolled her eyes. "Right, of course. When have you ever cared about others wishes?"

"Hey! I most definitely have before. Hermione, come on, it's been a long day…" His hands slid around her expanding waist.

"No." She stood up. "I'm not hungry anymore. If you want food then make it yourself. You know Ron, I'm perfectly willing to comply with your wishes regarding sensitivity and caring, but I'm not going to bother if you never return the favor!" Her voice was rising in pitch. "I just won't even try! Then you can see how it feels to have your wants and needs pushed to the side!"

"Oh, right, your wants and needs have gone totally unfulfilled this past month!" He stood up, his voice rising as well. "Have you forgotten who went out to buy you orange juice at two in the morning four nights ago, because you had a craving? Or who gets woken up every damn night? Or who works extra hours to bring home more money to support a family?"

He had crossed a line and they both knew it.

"Screw it Ron. Sleep by yourself tonight. Get a good night's sleep. ENJOY yourself. I won't bother you anymore." She stormed out of the room. He heard her clomping down to the basement, where there was only a small futon.

Ron spent the rest of the evening trying to assemble a beef stew. He failed miserably, and the stew looked more like a wet sock in mud. He instead shoved some bread and butter into his mouth before going to bed.

Finally. An undisturbed evening. He wondered what Hermione was doing downstairs but stopped himself. Relax, tonight you get to relax.

After about an hour of tossing and turning, the guilt finally set in. Hermione was probably freezing her bum off down there. Grabbing the duvet, he tiptoed downstairs to the basement. Hermione was curled up on the bed/couch, with no pillows or blankets. She was snoring very slightly.

Slipping his jacket off, he balled it up and laid it under Hermione's head before covering her with the blanket. He gave her a light kiss on the cheek before tiptoeing back up to bed, where he spent a relaxed night albeit with no source of warmth.

Two weeks later, two things had fluctuated upward: the temperature, which was now at a record-setting eighty five degrees, and Hermione's pant size. Her belly was growing quickly.

"Eet must be a boy." Fleur had pronounced. "If eet iz zat big, eet has to be a boy."

Ron had planned a surprise for Hermione and for once it had gone perfectly. He'd booked them rooms at the Grand Dolphin Resort. They had arrived two days previously and immediately hit the beach. Located in the south of Spain, the weather was even hotter, but the breezes, the sands, and coolers kept them comfortable. They had spent the first day swimming, kissing, and eating, and the second day swimming, eating, kissing, and trying to learn how to surf. Ron's athletic training allowed him to easily grasp it, but Hermione had a harder time, especially with the unbalanced weight on her torso. Falling off the board however, did let Ron catch her, which usually led them right back to kissing. They were staying at the resort for three weeks, but after two days Ron had decided to splurge and instead of staying in a hotel, rented out a beach house.

The beach house was the most gorgeous place Hermione had ever been. The floors were either light wood or white carpet. The walls were painted green and blue, and seashells and paintings of the beach lined the walls.

Hermione, now over halfway through her pregnancy, was starting to feel the achiness. She and Ron were sitting in the living room of the beach house, her in only a pale cotton dress and him in just shorts. They were sweating like crazy.

"Oh, damn you Ron. You just had to get me pregnant in the middle of summer."

"Hey! There is no way you can blame that on me!"

"I know…I'm sorry…I just—OH MY GOD!"

"What? What is it?" Ron demanded.

She looked excited. "I felt it! I felt the baby kick!"

"What?" Ron leapt to her side.

"It's kicking!" She gave a giddy squeal.

"Can I feel it?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded.

Ron splayed his fingers across her belly. "Nothing's happening."

"Just wait a moment." As the words left her mouth, Ron gasped as he felt a tiny foot push against its area of confinement.

"Feel it?"

Ron nodded."Oh my gosh, Hermione…this is amazing!"

"Ron are you crying?"

"No…no…" He tried to sniff it back. "Of course not."

She smiled happily. She knew that he was showing a rare sign of weepy emotion and it overjoyed her.

"Does it hurt?" Ron asked.

"Not particularly. A little bit, I guess, but not too much."

"Ok good, you tell me if it ever hurts okay?"

"So you can do what?"

"I don't know…help?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You are so adorably clueless sometimes, Ron."

He gave a goofy smile.

A few days passed after the first kick. They had spent those days doing beach-y things, spending the entire day in the sand and water sometimes.

Hermione had gotten used to her larger size slightly. It still felt rather awkward at points, but she reminded herself, I'm carrying a baby…and that's beautiful.

She had also been surprisingly happy when the no sex ban had been lifted, although they hadn't had much action in the past two weeks. Maybe it's about time…

"My hormones are going crazy right now Ron."

She rolled over so she was straddling Ron. He looked up at her. Her hair was wildly curly and her lips were in a mischievous smile. He rarely saw her this way, and usually he took advantage of it. She leaned into him, kissing him. He could deal with this. He kissed her back but refrained from pulling her closer.

She didn't notice what he was omitting, and kept getting more intense. She ripped her dress off, running her hands down Ron's chest. When she started struggling with his pants zipper however, he broke away suddenly, scooting down the couch.

"What? What is it?" She asked, shocked. She folded her arms over her chest, her bare belly prominent.

"Nothing, nothing, it's just…" His face turned crimson.

"Just what?" She asked. "You're usually the one trying to initiate these sorts of things."

"It's just…you're getting really….big."

Hermione recoiled as if he had slapped her. Slipping her dress back on, she turned to him with tear filled eyes. "Fine then. I'll cover up if you don't want to see your pregnant wife. Ron, I'm carrying your baby!" She started to sob.

"No, Hermione listen," Ron started, standing up and moved towards her with his arms out. She didn't let him finish though.

"Ron I can't believe you'd say something like that!" She yelled, her voice breaking. "I'm PREGNANT, for Merlin's sake! I'm carrying your damn child! And now you're going against everything you said a month ago by saying I'm fat! Ron I'm not fat I'm PREGNANT!"

"I know that, but sex just isn't the same when you're so big!" Ron had to dodge suddenly after these words when a porcelain teacup came soaring towards his head. "What the hell was that?" He yelled.

"I'M OUT OF HERE, RON!" Hermione screamed hysterically. "IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO LOOKAT ME THEN YOU WON'T HAVE TO!" She hurled a plate at him, and this time he wasn't so lucky. It smashed into his right ear.

"ENJOY THE REST OF THIS VACATION, YOU SELFISH BASTERD! Maybe you'll find some skinny woman to hook up with while I'm gone, because I'm not coming back! GOODYBE." And with that, she Disapparated.

A/N: A little more dramatic, a little steamier, a little more language. If you don't like, don't read. Well there's a little bit of a cliffhanger there at the end! What do y'all think? Problem issss….I'm going to need 20 more reviews for you to find out! I'm terribly sorry, but with a huge workload it's getting a little hard to write but I know if you reach this number I'll find it in me to make time and write the next chapter! I think this chapter was a bit longer than the others, did you guys like that or do you like the shorter ones? Let me know!

XOXO, Love always,

Sparkshine