AN - I own nothing! I'm just borrowing from J.K. Rowling!

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Chapter 20

Severus continued to hold Hermione as minutes passed for she was still crying on him. He tried to comfort her as best as he could, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Still, he wasn't all too comfortable. Though it felt very good to hold her, her tears were a different story.

"Hermione, please stop crying," he said in a slight plea when he had enough of them. He wasn't annoyed. The combination of women and their tears was never a mix that he liked.

Hermione pulled away, and through her tears, she looked up at him angrily. "I am pregnant, with my hormones out of control, which makes me very emotional," she argued. "Don't tell me not to cry. I can cry all I want!"

With a sigh, and feeling guilty, Severus pulled Hermione to himself once again, and let her cry all she wanted. He reminded himself that he did love her, and that he would do anything for her. He then thought about what Lucius said, and asked himself if she loved him in return. He wasn't ready to say those three words that he knew were true yet.

"I'm sorry," Hermione hiccupped after her cries had ended. She relished the feel of his arms around him. They kept her warm as the cool night breeze blew, and most of all, they made her feel safe. "I should've listened to you."

"I'm the one who's sorry," Severus said softly. "I should've been there for you. Forgive me."

Hermione looked up at him and for the first time since he had walked into the room, she smiled.

"Just promise me that you will listen to me next time," Severus said firmly.

"I promise," she said ever so softly.

"I swear Hermione, I'll kill him if you ask me to," Severus growled, remembering the anger that he had for Adam. He would kill him in a heartbeat.

Again, Hermione placed her head on his chest, and this time, she inhaled his scent deeply. How she had missed it so, and everything else about him.

Severus frowned when he saw the tag of Hermione's shirt pop out slightly, revealing double S's on it. "Isn't this my shirt?" he asked examining the tag more closely along with the shirt. It looked all too familiar with his embroidered initials.

Hermione bit her lip, and had a guilty look on her face when she looked up at him and saw his brow arch up. "Umm…"

"Yes?"

"I went to your chambers one night and got it. I can't sleep well without you," Hermione confessed.

"No more sleepless nights, I promise," Severus said as he looked in her eyes, as he ran a hand through her hair. When his eyes traveled lower, he saw her round tummy touching his flat one. He couldn't resist as his other hand slid down, and stopped firmly in the middle of it.

The feeling of Severus touching her like that made Hermione's stomach flutter and her heart swell with joy. "The doctors in New York told me that it's a miracle I didn't have a miscarriage," she informed him. "And, it's a girl."

"We're having a girl?" Severus asked in awe.

"We are," Hermione reassured him as she placed her hand atop his, slightly pressing it. "Do you feel her?"

"I do." Severus felt the slightest movement beneath his hand. It was then he felt a firm and abrupt kick.

"Oh my God!" Hermione gasped in shock. Never had she felt the baby move like that. "She kicked for the first time!" she said happily, a very wide smile had graced upon her face.

"There she goes again," Severus said, not noticing that he was smiling.

"Oh… Sev…" Hermione saw the widest smile that she had ever seen on his face. In fact, she couldn't remember when she actually saw him smile. Sneer or smirk, yes. Smile, no. Something so simple, took her breath away.

"What?" he asked in confusion, his smile somewhat faded. He was pleased to share such an important moment with Hermione.

"You-you smiled," Hermione answered as she brought a hand up to his cheek.

"Don't get used to it witch," he said with a smirk as he lowered his lips to hers.

"Kiss me," she murmured against his lips.

Without another word, Severus softly and slowly captured Hermione's lips with his. Soon, their tongues danced as they tasted each other. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist. They took their time, kissing each other passionately, with no rush.

When Severus broke the kiss, he heard Hermione whimper in disappointment. He planted several small kisses on her lips before he pulled away. "I must feed you," he told her. "The both of you," he corrected himself when he placed a hand on her stomach.

"I'm not hungry," Hermione said. When she was depressed, she would lose her appetite. But there were times during her pregnancy where she would eat almost anything and everything.

"Come," Severus said as he led her towards the table. "It's not good for you or the baby. And since when have you ever objected to food?" Whenever they ate together before, he noticed that Hermione was quite a hearty eater. Not like many other females that barely ate anything, and called a salad a complete meal.

Hermione sat down and watched Severus open the take away packages. The sight of the various Chinese foods had tickled her smelling senses and made her mouth start to slightly water. She smiled at the thought that Severus had brought all of her favorite foods from the restaurant near her place where they had always ordered from.

"And of course," he said as he started to open the last package. "I could never forget our fried Twinkies." He pulled the other chair, moving it closer to Hermione and sat himself down. He took a piece of a fried shrimp puff in his hand, dipping it into the sauce, and moved it towards Hermione's mouth.

Hermione took a bite out of it, and chewed happily on her food. Maybe she was hungry after all. "You can be sweet at times, you know that?"

"Me, sweet? Never thought I'd hear someone associating me with that word. People may think you've gone mad," he said as he too started to feed himself.

"Sev?" Hermione called with uneasiness. "I know that you didn't plan on coming back here ever. I'm sorry for Lucius dragging you here. But what about when other people find out about you? About us?"

"You're right, I thought that I would never return to this world. But you're wrong as well. Lucius never dragged me here. I am here because of you," he told her, taking her hand in his. "And if Lucius didn't tell me, I would've found out sooner or later, and would have still come here. Do you understand?"

Hermione nodded. His words had given her assurance, erasing her doubts.

"And you know that I don't give a damn about other peoples' opinion. I am here for you, and for no other reason. Why do you ask? Are you ashamed of being with me?"

"What? No!" Hermione replied. She kissed him on his cheek and then continued to speak. "I happy with you. I don't care about what other people say either as long as I have you in my life."

"Then there is nothing that you should worry about. We are together. Not fuck buddies," he stated. Those were his words to her before, and wanted them to be clearly forgotten. "And you are mine." He pulled her close to him and kissed her cheek.

Hermione didn't say a word and placed her head on his shoulder. Him calling her his made her feel giddy inside. He finally admitted that they were an item like she had dreamed of months ago.

They both continued to eat, with Severus continuing to feed her and force her to eat some more. Hermione knew that he cared for her in ways, though he didn't showed it a lot. But did he love her like she did him? Whatever the answer was, she knew that she must have meant something to him for him to come back to the wizarding world just for her.

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After relieving her bladder in the bathroom, and brushing her teeth, Hermione walked out and saw Severus lying down in bed with just his boxers. For the first time, she saw him look at her, instead of having to read some book of his. She made her way towards the bed, and crawled towards him. Without saying another word, she ungraciously made herself lay down on top of him.

"When will I ever get some decent bed space?" Severus grumbled into her hair.

"Never," Hermione sighed as she traced his Dark Mark and kissed it like so many times before.

"Sooner or later woman, you'll be as big as a whale and I'll probably die beneath you," he said sarcastically. It was just a joke though.

"And you will die a happy death," Hermione said sleepily. "Sev…"

"Hmm?" he asked pulling the blankets over them.

"Adam…" Hermione said.

"He can't get to you Hermione. No more sleepless nights," he promised as he held her tight. He looked down and noticed that she had fallen asleep. His fingers brushed though her hair as he kept on inhaling the sweet scent of it before he too fell asleep.

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AN – Will they ever admit that they love each other? Review!