What's in a name?

A/N: Even more fluff. It never stops!

Snape's arm was resting on Aurora's shoulder while his hand was playing idly with a strand of her hair. Despite his relaxed facade, she knew that something was bothering him and so she straightened up and turned her head to face him. As if on its own accord, her hand came up to cup his cheek. She found his eyes flicker towards the entrance to the small walled-in rose garden they had sought refuge in.

"No one comes here at this time of day. The students are all in class," she said softly.

"Not if they put the Skiving Snack Boxes to use," Snape objected. "I cannot believe they are still legal."

Aurora knew that he would come around eventually and so she decided not to probe him. Instead, she watched a small bird hop around the rose bushes and then take one tentative step onto the gravel. The clouds shifted and a beam of sunlight lit up the far wall that was entirely covered in rich green ivy and rambler roses that had been bewitched to stay in bloom for most of the year.

She felt Snape's fingers on her elbow and found trouble shining from his black eyes.

"I am sorry," he said. "for ignoring you on our day off."

"You make it sound as if Aurelia was a job rather than a gift," she said and failed to suppress an amused smile.

"Don't play dumb, Aurora. You know she is! Cleaning up after her spontaneous eruptions of magic turns out to be quite tiresome!" He turned serious again and took her hand.

"Promise me to tell me whenever you need a rest. After all," he reached out to place his hand onto her swollen abdomen. "I would not want your second pregnancy to be even half as strenuous as the first."

She patted his hand and shook her head. "No worries, Severus. As far as I know I am not the target of a conspiracy this time."

He remained somber. "You know what I mean, Aurora. Madame Pomfrey told you to be careful."

"And I will be. But that is not what troubles you, isn't it, Severus?"

He averted his eyes and stared at the mountains looming in the distance.

"Severus, don't do that," she said softly.

She was surprised to see pain in his eyes and when he opened his mouth to speak, she felt a cold sensation trickle down her back. What was he about to reveal to her? How bad could it be? He had been his normal grumpy but tender self when they had placed Aurelia with a beaming Minerva McGonagall and had set off to the hospital wing for a routine check-up just an hour ago. Everything had been fine and despite the usual - and quite unnecessary - warnings to take it easy, nothing unusual had come off of it.

"It is your due date," he finally relented.

"Our baby's birthday?" she asked, incredulously. "What about it?"

"January 30th," Snape said gravely. "It was Lily's birthday."

Aurora's face must have fallen because he squeezed her hand that was still in his reassuringly as if to apologize for the fact that he still felt for a woman other than her.

"It's just... of all the other possible dates why did it have to be this one?"

Aurora felt the "I am sorry" dying on her lips as she realized that she had absolutely nothing to apologize for. She then settled for kissing him softly on the lips instead.

"Maybe it will be a day early or late," she tried to comfort him and he attempted a smile. "Is it stupid of me to feel like this?"

She smiled. "A little. But not much."

She could not stand the troubled look in his eyes and reached out to pull him against her, well-aware of the fact that she could say nothing to give him comfort. After all, if Lily had still been with them, she would have never married Snape. They remained in each others' arms until the sun vanished behind a dark cloud but neither felt the sudden cold.

Aurora looked positively drained but a tender smile was playing at her lips when Snape hurried in.

"I can't believe I allowed you to do this to me again and you were not even present to witness my agony," she said in a playful tone. Snape shook his head apologetically.

"Little did I know there would be a snow storm of epic proportions. If I had known, I would have surely never left your side."

He had got rid of his drenched cloak by the door but the rest of his clothes was nearly as wet and his hair was dripping as he had not wanted to waste a second when he had been informed of the birth of his second child upon his arrival. Despite that, Aurora beckoned him to sit next to her on the bed.

"You'll get wet," he said breathlessly and she shrugged. "I don't suppose there is a drying spell that is powerful enough to rid me of this mess," he added.

"I don't care," Aurora smiled. "Just you look at her."

"A girl?" Snape could not help but smile widely at the red-faced infant in Aurora's arms. He reached out and ran his thumb across her delicate forehead, awed by the wonder that was his newborn daughter. If he had expected to be any more eloquent the second time around, he had been wrong. "She's beautiful," he stated, wondering why the English language did not seem to have a more powerful word. One that could adequately describe what his daughter was to him.

"She needs a name," Aurora reminded him softly.

He nodded, still too taken aback to properly react to anything.

"And as you suggested the name last time, I demand to be the one this time."

He nodded numbly. "Yes?"

"How about Suzanna?" she asked.

Snape liked the slightly foreign ring to it and nodded his approval.

A few minutes later, he stood by the window, oblivious to the raging storm outside, his eyes focused onto his sleeping daughter. He glanced over at his wife who had fallen asleep, her features relaxed and happy. Maybe he had expected the snowstorm after all and had hoped that if he was away, Aurora would not go into labor on Lily's birthday. How stupid and childish that had been! It had not been a conscious thought, however. He realized it just now. Despite his happiness at the comforting weight of the babys in his arms, he felt sadness at the thought of Lily.

Headmistress McGonagall had entered the room and her soft footfall made him turn around. He responded to the wide grin on her face with a small smile.

"How are they?" McGonagall whispered.

"Good, both of them. Aurora has been exhausted, though."

"Small wonder," McGonagall said. "Have you decided on a name, yet?"

"Suzanna," Snape said simply. "It does suit her, doesn't it?"

McGonagall nodded and stroked the baby's cheek with her forefinger. "Absolutely. She does look like a little flower."

"Flower?" Snape asked. "What flower?"

McGonagall looked up at him and her bright smile died on her lips. "Oh, you did not know?"

"I don't."

Snape frowned, unsure what to make of her curious behavior.

"Suzanna means..." she paused involuntarily, then cleared her throat. "Lily."

Surprised, Snape turned towards his sleeping wife. After their morning in the garden, they had not touched on the subject of her due date again and somehow he had been convinced that she had forgotten. Handing the baby to Minerva, he walked towards the bed and arranged the covers around Aurora's shoulders. He then leaned over her and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Thank you," he whispered.