4th January 1973

"Where are we going, Ted?" Andromeda asked again insistently.

"I told you, wait and see!" he answered determinedly. They were in the seaside hotel where they had spent their honeymoon, but their stay had come to an end. It had been a lovely, lovely week, despite the fact that Andromeda was now thirty weeks pregnant and not very mobile. Now Ted had packed up their things and they were ready to leave. He had told Andromeda that he was taking her by side-along-Apparition; he wanted to keep their destination secret.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't like surprises," she moaned.

"Yes, you do," he contradicted her. "You just don't like the thought of them. And I can guarantee you will like this one."

Andromeda sighed. "Okay then. Let's go."

He took her hand lovingly, and she felt the horrible squeezing feeling (which was even worse during pregnancy) and heard the loud crack as they Apparated to their destination.

It was an ordinary suburban street, nothing special. You could hear the sound of traffic not too far away; the houses were fairly small and the front gardens were certainly not as well kept as those where Andromeda had grown up, although it didn't necessarily look like a rough area. Andromeda was curious.

"What are we doing here, Ted?" she enquired, more intrigued than frustrated, as she was earlier.

"We're just here to pay someone a visit," he said, although he had mischievous look on his face.

"Who? Who lives here?" she demanded.

"Guess!" he said. There was a look on his face that suggested... but surely not... surely he would have told her if he'd found somewhere?

"I can't guess," she said, not wanting to risk it.

"Us!" he exclaimed, beaming.

"No!" she laughed. "Us? You're having me on."

"I'm not," Ted promised. He withdrew a key from his pocket and waved it at her. She snatched it from him. "Number sixteen," he told her.

She fumbled with the key in the lock, hardly daring to believe it. She opened the door and entered their new house. The furniture was already perfectly set up, and the house was spotless. It wasn't huge - a living room, dining room, kitchen and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. But it was home.

"How did you manage it?" Andromeda breathed. "You bought a house?"

"Well, I didn't actually buy it," Ted admitted, as they settled down onto the new sofa. "It's only rented. But it's a home."

"It's a home," Andromeda agreed joyfully. "Oh, thank you so much, Ted. You're amazing, did you know that? What a wonderful surprise!"

"I told you you would love it," Ted said teasingly, which earned him a playful shove in return.

"Shush, you! And you can't push me back, because I'm pregnant," Andromeda pointed out, sticking her tongue out.

"Maybe not," he agreed. "But I can do this," he said, with a glint in his eye, and he started a tickling war, which lasted for a good few minutes until both of them had tears of laughter streaming down their faces.

"Seriously, though," Andromeda continued, once they had recovered, "thank you. I guess I was kind of homeless before this."

"You weren't," Ted argued. "You would always be welcome at my parents', you know that."

"I know," she acknowledged, "and I'm grateful for that, really. But it wasn't mine. It's not the same as having your own place. I already feel like I belong here."

"I'm so glad you like it," said Ted, beaming.

Andromeda beamed back. "And I'm so glad you found this place! Seriously, I thought we'd be living in a one-roomed flat or something."

"Of course not!" Ted exclaimed. "What do you take me for, a commoner?" Andromeda laughed. "Besides," Ted continued, "we need the extra space for the baby."

Andromeda was silent for a moment. "Ted, our child will grow up in this house. Our little boy or girl." She caressed her stomach lovingly. "How amazing is that?"

"Pretty amazing," Ted agreed. Andromeda was silent again for a minute. "What are you thinking?" Ted asked her.

"Nothing," she said quickly, but Ted saw the look of pain that briefly flashed across her face.

"You're thinking about your family, aren't you?" Ted asked, but he already knew that she was.

Andromeda hesitated. She felt so guilty saying all this to Ted; she was worried that he would think she regretted choosing him. "I... sometimes I forget. Sometimes I just think everything's normal, and that I can go home and tell them all about my day. I just asked myself when I thought my parents would be free to come over and see this. And then I remembered. I remembered they don't give a toss about me any more. This is so awful, Ted, but sometimes I wish I could go back in time, to before the baby, when everything was so simple, when I could have the best of both worlds, when any decisions I would have to make were hazy in the distant future. Not that I regret any of my choices, not for a second, and I know that I will love this baby with all of my heart, but sometimes I just wish I could have everything. It's so selfish."

Ted wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, hey," he soothed, cradling her as the tears began to flow. "It's not selfish, Dromeda. You're one of the least selfish people I know. It's just natural. Of course you miss your family. Of course you want them in your life. I'd be selfish, and naive, if I thought that wasn't true. It's not as simple as choosing between them and me. I understand that. So if you ever need to talk about it, don't hold back on my account. I'll be here to listen."

"Thank you, Ted," she whispered. "I don't deserve you."

"Yes, you do," he contradicted her. "You deserve everything the world can give you, because you're an amazing, strong woman and I love you."

"I love you too."

A/N: So I was just going to write you a nice little fluffy chapter, but that bit near the end just crept in, haha. Hope you liked it, reviews would be much appreciated! I think I only got one for the last chapter :'(

Thank you again to kci47 and I still don't own Harry Potter.

Btw, in case you were wondering I missed the deadline for the competition, but never fear - I will definitely be finishing this! 3 chapters to go, one is already written and waiting!