A/N: This starts a 4 part collection. I hope everyone stays with it for the following chapters. - DG

"Ron, where are you going? I thought we were spending the day together?"

Ron collected his grubby shirt along with spare trainers and headed for the Floo. "I forgot, love. Mum asked last week if I'd come over and replace some of the shingles up on top of the roof. You remember that storm that blew through a week ago? Anyway, I gotta go. I'll see you tonight."

"Ron Weasley – "

He didn't hear the rest of her pregnancy diatribe since he disappeared through the Floo to his parent's residence in Devon.

"Ron!" Hermione yelled in frustration in the small den of their flat.

Ron stepped into the den of his parent's residence in relief. He needed a day away from his five month pregnant wife. She'd been on bed rest for the past three weeks on Healer's orders because she was a high risk pregnancy, whatever that meant. He only knew that Hermione came home in a huff, changed her clothes to work attire, spent the day in meetings with the Directors at MLS before returning home and crying the rest of the night. The next day, she was propped up in bed, writing away on the project she was in the middle of at work.

"Why are you lounging in bed, working on paperwork? Shouldn't you be, I dunno, at work, doing that?"

Hermione shoved a lock of hair out of her face and gave him a harsh look. "I would be at work, slaving away at this legislation that is due next week, if my Healer hadn't said that I was to be on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. I'm supposed to spend the bulk of my day in the bed resting, whatever that means. I can take a shower, get something to eat, use the loo, whatever. But the bulk of my time is supposed to be in bed. That's what the Healer said, and it's completely rubbish. I feel fine."

Ron stood in the doorway regarding his wife. She wasn't showing that much with her pregnancy but her morning sickness went past twelve weeks, and neither Mum was being helpful, according to Hermione. Molly was telling her as soon as she announced that she was pregnant that she needed to take a couple of years off from work, to raise their child at home. She also asked if she was eating right, avoiding too many fried foods and sleeping the requisite ten hours a night.

That didn't go over very well.

And then there was Jean Granger. Ron tried not to think on that too much either. Hermione coming home in a temper and taking it out on him told him all he needed to know, at least with his Mother-in-law.

Hermione hated being bored more than she hated being still. Instead of resting or doing nothing important, she was working from home, researching cases while propped in the bed every single day. The only downside to Hermione in bed most of the day was that she was preternaturally randy.

Of course he was more than happy to oblige his wife when it came to affairs of the bedroom. And it wasn't their normal Sunday morning shag either. No, this was the stuff that fueled his teenage fantasies growing up. Who knew that Hermione had that side to her, even as debauched as their sexual escapades have been these last few years? Broom closets and in the scullery at the Burrow were tame for some of the things she wanted to do, now that she was pregnant.

At least he was until he heard a groan of pain. From that moment on, Ron Weasley had turned into a monk.

Hermione tried to talk her way out of it, saying she had a cramp in her hip. But Ron knew better. They had been intimate for years, doing things that blew his fantasies out of the water. But the yelp of pain from her that morning put him off wanting a leg over for the last 10 days.

Some days it was easy to put her off, like the days where she spent an hour in front of the toilet fighting the morning sickness that was an all-day affair. Others had been easy too, with him pulling extra shifts with the Aurors or helping George on the weekends. He'd come home exhausted and have just enough to eat dinner and go right to bed.

She cornered him in the shower one morning earlier this week and while that was most pleasant, the niggling guilt he had, hearing her yelp of pain, kept him from enjoying the knob polishing he got from his drenched wife.

At least here, at his parent's residence, he could get some time away. The boiling cauldron in his head was befuddling him in all sorts of way.

What if I'm hurting her every time I get a leg over? Could I hurt the baby pounding into her like a twat? Merlin's pants, I can't hurt them, not after everything she's gone through!

Ron put his parcel down and went to the kitchen. Ron talked with Molly yesterday and she mentioned to him that her and Dad were going down to the coast to visit Fleur and the girls today. It was a brilliant idea on his part, having run of the house and some time to himself. He needed to clear his head and figure out how he was going to tug on his tadger without upsetting his wife. She'd have a litter of kneazles if she –

"Ron? What are you doing here?"

Ron turned from the stove and saw his Dad standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He looked slightly sunburnt and more than a little windburned. "Hi. I was here getting a cuppa. Want one?"

"Sure, I'll take one. There's some biscuits up in cabinet. Get me the packet of Jammie Dodgers and you can have the chocolate ones."

Ron finished with the pot of tea and procured the biscuits for his dad. They ate in silence for a second before Arthur put his cup down. "Now tell me why you're really here. Did you and Hermione get into a row and you needed some time to calm down? That's understandable at this stage of her pregnancy."

"Well, no, it's not like that." Ron ran his hand over his head and down his neck. He knew he couldn't hide from Dad no matter how he tried. "It's Hermione. You know she's on bed rest the rest of her pregnancy, right?"

"I do. I remember your Mum going around like a dragon with a sore tooth for much of the twin's pregnancy and she was no better with your or Ginny, for that matter." Arthur took a slow sip of his tea. "But there's more that you might not fathom. Each pregnancy was harder on your Mum's body. She wasn't always so… soft. Before she got pregnant with Bill, she was an hourglass and quite a looker."

"Uh, Dad, it's actually nothing like that." Ron paused to shove a chocolate biscuit in his mouth. "I dunno who to mention this to, 'cause not like most of my brothers would talk about it, not with me, but,…"

Arthur sat quietly drinking his tea while waiting for his youngest son to cobble together his thoughts that might come close to making sense. He knew his son as well as his wife did, if not better. Ron was just like him, in so many ways, but also like Molly too: headstrong with a temper, so much like Molly, but occasionally lost for words and those he had stayed jumbled in his head. He needed time to work things out, on his own, before he'd understand.

Ron looked up and was bright red, much like the tomatoes in the garden. "If Hermione finds out I told you this, she'll have my bits."

"I doubt it but if that'll help, I won't mention it to her."

Ron shoved another biscuit in his mouth. Seconds passed while he struggled. "It's Hermione. We were having a leg over, and it was nothing short of amazing, and she cried out in pain. Right then, I thought I'd hurt her." Ron put his head in his hands. "Hermione, my wife, and I hurt her."

"What did she say?"

"She said it was a cramp in her hip and she was fine, but it was like being doused in cold water."

Arthur looked at the last biscuit in his hand and put it back in the packet. "So let me get this straight. You've been with Hermione since the war ended, and more after that. You've been together with her, intimately, for years, and this time you think you hurt her and it's got you guilt ridden?" Arthur looked at his son looking retched across the dining room table. "Do you really think you hurt her while you were intimate with her?"

"Well, yea, since she's pregnant and all. She said it was a cramp in her hip but I can't help think that it was more than that. She's been sick, sicker longer than Ginny ever was, according to Harry. And it's nothing like what Audrey and Fleur went through." Ron changed color, from bright red to a slight shade of green. "What if something's wrong and she's hiding it from me? She's been through so much and I can't stand the thought of her hurting, especially like that."

Arthur finished with his second cup of tea and put the cup down. "You really think that your other sisters in law had easier pregnancies? Well, aside from Ginny, you're probably right. But then they haven't gone through what Hermione did. Sure, Angelina had it rough the year she was abroad, hiding from the Snatcher 'til she got out of the country. And Audrey was in training at St. Mungo's but was tormented by the other Purebloods in the hospital for treating Muggleborns on her own time and knut. Fleur was confined to home most of that year since she was targeted for being mixed heritage. I won't bring up your sister."

"Hermione had it rough, but there's something you need to know. Hermione wasn't the only one who had a rough pregnancy. Your Mum did too. That's the reason why Ginny was the last."

"But I heard Mum and Aunt Muriel talking and she said – "

"I know. But that's rubbish. Muriel was being nasty, that day. She's never been that fond me, I reckon. She's told me plenty of times I should quit living hand to mouth and take a real position at the ministry, to take care of my family." Arthur got up to make another pot of tea. "We had you and you were such a good baby, at least until the twins started tormenting you when you were about a year old. There were days I wanted to lock those boys in the attic but Molly wouldn't hear of it. She said you'd grow into it, and fight back. But that was the thing: you never did. You're just as kind now as you were then. Oh, I know, you've got a temper to match Ginny, and you're less cautious than Charlie is, with his devil may care attitude. And you do laugh, but it's not malicious like Fred and George. No, in that respect, you take after me. You only hurt someone as a last resort, and only in defense. You never hurt Fred or George, or even Ginny, unless they hurt you first. They only tattled more to get you in trouble. I knew but your Mum wouldn't have a word on it."

Arthur took the kettle from the cook top and poured a second cup for himself and one for his son. He watched in fascination at the three lumps of sugar and milk for his tea. Once Ron was taken care of, he sat back down opposite his youngest son.

"But the thing is that when your uncles were killed, it broke your Mum. She appeared to take it well, but she was hiding her pain. Even I didn't know how bad it was 'til she yelled for me from the bathroom. I raced upstairs and she had collapsed in the bathtub. She looked at me, crying her eyes out, telling me that she thought she was losing the baby. I panicked and picked her up and apparated us to St. Mungo's, leaving you in the bassinet in our room and the rest of the kids playing, completely unaware what was going on.

"They took her back and I raced home, to collect you boys. Bill and Charlie were a help, and so was Percy. You were in a sling on my back but the twins were being uncooperative, as usual. Bill used magic on them, to hold them in place until I could put a hand on each of them." Arthur chuckled at the image. "You'd think I had hurt them, the way they were howling. But they were just upset 'cause they were playing and got interrupted. Silly boys, those two were."

Arthur saw Ron's cup was empty and poured another one for him.

"I sat in that waiting room with those rambunctious kids for hours, just waiting to hear about Molly and Ginny. It was a huge relief when Fred fell asleep and George followed him. You though? You cried until they fell asleep and then you were just fine. But while everyone was behaving as expected, I was a total mess. I was a mess because I had never contemplated losing Molly in childbirth. It happens, sometimes, with witches, but Magical medicine has made huge breakthroughs in the last fifty years."

"That was the worst day of my life, at that time. You might not remember it, since you were so little, but Molly barely took care of you. She had her hands full, with keeping the twins from tearing the house down, or nursing Ginny often to get her healthy. You were shoved aside, unfortunately, left in the care of Bill, Charlie, and even Percy. You took it hardest of all, and none of us were wise to it until later."

Arthur shook his head in consternation. "All I'm saying is that any time a woman's pregnant is difficult, whether she's healthy as a hippogriff 'til the day her water breaks, or she might be as weak as a flobberworm, confined to a bed for the entire pregnancy. But hurting her by getting a leg over? Rubbish to that."

"But she cried out in pain!" Guilt rolled across his son's face. "If making love to my wife is going to hurt her, I might as well tug on my tadger in the shower until after she has our daughter."

Arthur smiled slightly. "Have you discussed this grand plan with your wife yet?"

"Well, no. I've been avoiding the issue the last few days since she's been home. She wants me but all I can think about is that I hurt her and I lose any stiffy I've had."

"You might want to talk with her before making a hasty decision. Pregnant women are notoriously hormonal and making a decision like that, without consulting her, might be a really unwise idea. I know 'cause I did that with Molly, when she was pregnant with Percy, and I think I slept on the couch for a week after that row."

"You slept on the couch? Why? Was it to get away from Mum?"

"Oh, no, it wasn't that. It was that she was crushed by it, thinking that I had abandoned her. See, pregnant women get those urges and the best thing is to indulge them. Whether it's a making up for a row, or for just showing your wife you love them, regardless of how they think they look, you don't abandon your wife."

"But, Dad, I hurt her, while we were shagging. That's not right."

Arthur gave his son a peculiar look. "You can't tell me that, as long you've been with her, that you've not hurt her while doing those things. I've heard both of you, and I know better."

Ron put his head in his hands, to hide his eternal mortification. "You've heard us? I thought only Harry and Ginny heard us. Bloody hell!"

"If you think we're that naive, I've got some news for you. You're not the first one, nor will you be the last one, to do those things under our roof. You were just the only one who wasn't as cautious with silencing charms, or being very discrete."

"Dad!"

"Anyway, to tell you the truth, if you're worried about hurting Hermione while she's pregnant, you can forget that. A woman's body can go through way much more than a man's can, especially when it comes to things like childbirth. Their bodies are a miracle, what they can do, and accommodate. They'll also fight toe to toe when it comes to their kids. In a fight between you and the kids, at least when they're younger, you'll lose, every single time. And that's how it should be. I'd be disappointed if Hermione was any less."

Ron looked everywhere but face to face. "You think that we'll still have fun, even if she's on bed rest the remainder of her pregnancy? I do want to show her how much I love her but not hurt her, especially that way."

Arthur chuckled. "Just because you get a chubby and think it's painful doesn't mean that she thinks the same thing. Women are soft in just the right ways, so men can have their fun too. And if you think you're going to hurt the baby, you're wrong. Just don't get terribly enthusiastic, if you get my drift, and there shouldn't be any further problems or issues."

Ron fiddled with the packet on the table.

"Now, go on, go home and have that talk with her. She's probably missing you today."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'd not want you to have dishes thrown at you like Molly did when she was pregnant with Charlie. That was a disaster."

"Why did she do that?"

"It doesn't matter. She was mad at me and started throwing dishes when I came home late. I don't want you having to put up with it. So go on, get your things and head back home to your wife. If she's in the mood, do whatever she asks. It's better for her, and you, that way."

"And I won't hurt the baby?"

"No, you won't. That baby is well protected from anything you can do to your wife. So, spend the day with her. I don't want to see you 'til tomorrow."

Ron stood up from the bench and made his way to the Floo in the parlor. Arthur clapped his son on the shoulder, almost shoving him towards the fireplace. "One last thing."

Ron turned and saw his dad give him a cheeky grin. "Do you really think Hermione would let you hurt her, if she didn't want that? So if she told you it was a cramp, take it for what she said."

Ron hung his head. "No. She'd have my bits hung on the mirror if I did anything she didn't want or agree to."

"Exactly. So go home, and if she wants a leg over, don't argue. Just do it and appreciate her while she still wants to do those things. It'll make a good memory when she's yelling at you in the middle of the delivery a few months from now, or when she's been up three straight days with a sick toddler."

Ron picked up a handful of Floo powder and threw it into the fireplace, yelling the name of their cottage outside Cardiff. He stepped out and saw the familiar parlor, comfortable couch, and his wife sitting on it. "Hermione, what are you doing out here? You're supposed to be resting in the bed."

She looked up from the tome in her lap and put a finger in between the pages. "I got bored sitting in the bed without you home so I decided to come out here and read a spell. I thought you weren't going to be home for a few more hours. Is everything OK?"

Ron put his things down on the table by the fireplace and sat down next to his wife. "Yeah, I reckon it's fine. Dad was there and we talked a bit. Mum wasn't home so after we talked, I came back."

Hermione put her hand on Ron's leg and saw him flinch. "Something's bothering you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but Dad helped quite a bit. I was just worried and he talked some sense into me, 'bout you and being pregnant and stuff."

Hermione snorted. "I knew that's what had your pants in a press. You've been avoiding me for days. I told you I had a cramp while we were making love but you thought the worst thing."

Ron threw his head back and thumped his head against the back of the couch. "I know; I'm a git. But you've been through so much already that the thought of you hurting while we're shagging just makes me sick."

Hermione rolled over onto her husband and straddled his lap. He looked at her salacious wink. "And what was your father's advice?"

Ron looked at the wanton witch on his lap. "He said that I should indulge you now, for when you're breaking my hands and cursing me in the delivery room."

Hermione toyed with the hair along his collar. "Wise man, your father is."

"But Hermione, you're on bed rest. That means that getting a leg over should be the last thing on your mind."

"You seem to think that we can do everything we normally do, right? Is that what is confusing you right now, that what we normally do is off-limits?"

"Well, yeah, I reckon that most of what we like is out."

"But it doesn't mean that everything is out. I've been reading – "

"What else is new?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and continued. "I've been reading that there are other ways for our activities, ways that we've not tried in a good long while. We can do that, if you want a leg over." Hermione thrust her hips in a debauched way. "And just because I'm on bed rest doesn't mean that I don't desire you. I do, I mean, really do. My Healer said that it's not an issue of pelvis problems, but more neurological than anything else.

She leaned forward and kissed her husband, gently at first before turning up the heat.

Ron broke apart when he felt lightheaded. "Are you sure about this? I don't want to hurt you, or Rose, for that matter. It might be too hard on your body, love."

Hermione reached her hand down between their bodies and squeezed the bulge in his trousers. "Hard.. is a relative term, love." She winked again. "But you're not going to hurt Rose, or me, if you get a leg over. I might be frustrated some but I don't want you to think anything except that I love you dearly and I cherish this life we're bringing into this world."

Hermione shifted off Ron's lap and stood up, reaching her hands out to her husband. Ron stood up from the couch and found his wife in his arms. "Now, take me to bed and we'll see what I can do for you."

Ron stopped her after a step and they turned around.

"What?"

Ron brought his face down to hers and kissed his wife. "I love you."

"I love you too. Shall we?"

They made their way to the bedroom and closed it behind them.

A/N2: In terms of pregnancy, this is a work of fiction. Any woman who finds they are pregnant needs to consult their doctor about the facts regarding pregnancy and healthy relations during that pregnancy. Each pregnancy is different, with different circumstances and situations and health issues. Consult your medical professional if you have any further questions. - DG