Chapter 20
The potion was ready.

And so was the baby.

Early that morning, he had awoken to the feel of something warm and wet against his legs. Jumping out of bed, he had startled Hermione awake. Not a word passed between them, but she knew something was amiss. Slowly, she moved away from the wet spot and climbed out of bed. She calmly went about stripping the sheets from the bed while Draco stood a few feet away.

"Should we be getting to the hospital?" he asked in a panic stricken voice.

"We have time," she replied. "Ana should be up now. Why don't you get her ready for the day."

"But...you...your water," he stuttered.

She laughed softly and placed a kiss on his cheek as she passed with the dirty laundry. "We have time," she said again. "The contractions are still far enough apart. Isn't today the day your memory potion should be ready? You should give Harry a call."

He stilled her with a hand on her arm. "How can you be so calm about this?" he wondered.

"Because I know what to expect this time around," was her reply.

Letting go of her, Draco sighed and sat down on the mattress. "We panicked when you were pregnant with Ana and your water broke," he remembered. "The second it happened, we rushed to St. Mungo's. It was a long labor, thirteen hours or so. I was afraid that something was wrong, like she was stuck, and that's why she wasn't coming out. But really we just got there too early."

Putting the laundry down by the door, she joined him at the foot of the bed and took his hand. "Nothing will go wrong," she told him.

Draco shook his head as he recalled another moment from their past. "There was another baby," he said thoughtfully. "After Ana. You...we lost it."

Hermione nodded, confirming his suspicion as she blinked away the tears that clouded her vision. She placed his hand on her stomach and replied, "This one is a keeper though. He's not going anywhere, and he's all ours."

"So, then, how long are we going to sit here and wait?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her.

"Soon," she promised, resting her head on his shoulder as the bedroom door opened.

Ana timidly approached and stood in front of her father. "You had an accident too?" she asked sheepishly, looking at the unmade bed. Draco chuckled while Hermione groaned, and he let go of his wife to tend to their daughter.

"I'm cleaning her up, getting her dressed, and then we're going to the hospital," he informed her, his tone making it clear that he was not joking.

"Mama sick?" Ana asked worriedly as she was carried from the master bedroom.

Draco smiled and shook his head. "No, but I think your little brother will be coming today," he replied.

"No brother, Daddy. Sister," the little girl stated emphatically.

Hermione laughed as the conversation continued. Gathering up the laundry once more, she took it downstairs to wash. Two contractions had hit as she made her way from the bedroom to the laundry room and set the machine to wash. Draco had hurriedly cleaned and dressed Ana, anxious to be by his wife's side. She managed to make a small breakfast for the little girl. All the while, Draco hounded her to sit, let him help, or go to the hospital. She refused him at every turn, insisting that they still had plenty of time.

But as the contractions came closer and closer together, Draco decided they could wait no longer. Holding Ana with one arm, he wrapped the other around Hermione and Apparated his small family to St. Mungo's. Letting go of his wife, he hurried to the nearest reception desk to check her in, and soon they were in a private labor room.

"You never called Harry," Hermione said, frowning as she was forced into the bed before another contraction hit.

"That's really not important right now," Draco said with a chuckle. "Though someone should look after Ana." He left Ana in the room, giving the little girl instructions not to let her mother leave.

"Mama, you scared?" Ana asked, seated on the bed by her mother's legs.

Hermione offered her a brave smile and shook her head. "No, but I am excited," she replied. "Are you?"

The little girl shrugged, eyes focused on the door as she awaited her father's return. "No like this place," she said softly. "This where Daddy lived?"

"Same place, different floor," she was told. "You know Daddy's okay, right?"

Ana nodded halfheartedly. "Him still love us," she said resolutely.

"Absolutely, he does," Hermione replied with a wide smile as the door opened.

Draco strode in and stood beside the bed. "Mrs. Weasley said she'll take Ana," he announced. "And she said she'd send Harry over as soon as she got a hold of him."

Hermione nodded and they sat in silence until Molly Weasley arrived to pick up Ana. The older woman wept openly, wishing the young couple luck, and promised to take good care of their little girl. Despite attempts to stay longer, a Healer quickly ushered them from the room to attend to her patient. Determining it would still be some time before Hermione delivered, she promised to come back in half an hour, leaving the couple alone.

"Harry dropped off the potion while the healer was in with you," Draco told her as he held her hand. When she said nothing, he asked, "Are you alright?"

Tears clouded her eyes as she looked up at her husband. "I can't do this," she whispered.

"What?" Draco asked with a small laugh. She gripped his hand tightly as panic set in. "Of course you can do this, love. You've done it once already, and look at how wonderfully that turned out. There's no doubt in my mind that you can do this, Hermione."

"What if the potion doesn't work?" she asked. "After the accident, I resigned myself to raising them alone. I thought you'd either never wake up, or when you did and couldn't remember us, that you'd leave. Even with some of your memories returning, I couldn't help but think that you might..."

Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers. "Hermione, I'm not going anywhere," he vowed. "I love you too much."

She pulled him close again and kissed him with all the love and passion she could muster. "I love you," she replied through her tears.

Draco handed her the vial that contained a purple liquid. "Hermione, I remember," he said. "I remember it all."