Ch. 2 Unexpected
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
A/n: I know this chapter is really short. But it needed to end where it did. Much thanks as always to all my readers and reviewers. And always my wonderful beta icebabesfire.
I'm up long before the sun the day of my appointment. I make my way down the stairs careful not to trip in the darkness. Once in the living room, I flip a switch on the wall and the room is flooded with light.
All of the furniture is push against the wall or stacked in a corner with boxes covering almost everything. Clearly we need to unpack before going back to work.
I make my way through all the stacks until I come across the one I'm looking for. I take out my wand and wave it so the tape just disappears. I bend over the box and rummage until I come across what I am looking for.
I have no idea how long I am sitting on the floor flipping through the pages when I hear footsteps on the stairs and turn around to face Draco as he comes into the room.
"Gin?" He sits on the floor next to me. "You should have woken me when you got up."
"You looked so peaceful; I didn't want to disturb you. What time is it anyway?"
"Seven thirty. Do you want me to make you some coffee or breakfast?"
"I can't eat before going in. I think I'm going to go take a shower." I stand stretching out my limbs.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" His eyes are hurt and I know he wants to come with me, but I just can't handle him being there.
"I'm sure. Maybe you can make lunch when I get back though." I smile trying to lighten the mood. A smile makes its way to his face but I know it's forced. There is nothing I can do now. Nothing will ever make today okay for either of us.
After my shower, I dry off and begin rummaging through the little clothes I have bothered to unpack for a pair of comfortable sweatpants and one of Draco's old shirts. There is no use trying to dress up for this.
As I make my way back downstairs and into the kitchen, I hear the sound of dishes stacking in a cabinet and I know Draco is unpacking the kitchen to keep himself busy.
"You all set?" He doesn't even look in my direction and I try not to cry.
"Yep, I'll see you in a little while." I hold my voice even. I am far too good at hiding pain. "I love you." I add, as an afterthought. He knows and so do I that this day could tear us apart. We have discussed it and agreed, but he doesn't want it. And I know. And I'm afraid. There is a good chance he may resent me for this and that will be the end of us. I have no choice though; I refuse to let myself feel that kind of loss again.
So when he doesn't answer, I turn and leave. I duck my head as I enter the clinic where the procedure will be done. The healer has done me a huge favor by doing this here instead of at St. Mungo's which is where it is normally done. It is one of the things that make me grateful for the money Draco's last name brought me and the fear. People tend to go out of their way to accommodate me and for the most part I don't allow it. But here, I welcome it.
It isn't long before I am sitting in an exam room wearing a hospital gown and nothing else. I wait only a few minutes before the healer walks in.
"Morning" He greets me and I notice he has left out the good that usually begins the statement. I am grateful. He knows why I'm here. He knows I wish there was another way.
"Healer Ginger" I nod my head at him in acknowledgment.
"Before I begin the procedure, I'm going to do an ultrasound on you and make sure that everything is normal. Have you ever had an ultrasound before?"
I nod my head. Suddenly, my throat has closed. It's impossible to speak and hard to breathe. The only thing I can do to keep myself from crying when he turns on the machine and puts the gel on my stomach is to shut my eyes. I expect there to be a long silence but instead there is something else. I'm sure I am losing my mind and I have to know so I open my eyes to be sure.
On the screen in front on me where there should be emptiness there is something else. An almost baby like figure and I'm sure I am no longer breathing. The sound coming from the machine is a heartbeat.
"Mrs. Malfoy, you're pregnant. And by the looks of it you're about thirteen weeks." He keeps one hand on the part of the machine touching my stomach and the other begins to flip through my file. "None of your past pregnancies have made it to this point. Not since your first pregnancy. What do you want to do?"
"I.. I need to talk to my husband." I am sure that I am still not breathing. Hell, I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming at this point or perhaps dead. That must be it. I stopped breathing and am now dead. I dig my nails into my palm and there is pain. Nope, I'm not dead. This is real. This is happening.
He nods his head knowingly and presses a button on the machine. After cleaning the gel off my stomach he hands me a little picture. A picture of the child inside me and leaves the room wishing me luck.
Before getting dresses I place a hand on my stomach. I'm sure there hadn't been the almost invisible bump there only yesterday.
"Just hold on little one. Please. I need you to just hang in there." I whisper. Damn, I'm hopeful again.
When I get home, I notice immediately that all of the boxes are gone. Draco has been very busy. I was only gone for a couple hours. I head for the kitchen when I hear noises from that general direction. He's cooking what looks like pasta and hasn't even noticed my return. I sit down on a chair at the table and just watch him for a moment before he looks up and sees me, almost jumping out of his skin.
"Bloody hell, Ginny!" He waves his wand over the pot and the pasta starts cooking itself. "How long have you been there?"
"Only a minute or so. I didn't want to disturb you."
"You're supposed to stay in bed for two days after the procedure. Come on, up to bed with you." He holds his hand out for mine but I don't take it. I do however; stand up to look him in the eyes.
"I'm pregnant." It's barely a whisper. There are tears in my eyes. I'm so confused, by everything.
I swear we are standing there just staring at each other for the longest time before the smoke alarm starts to beep alerting us that lunch is now burning. Draco turns off the stove and moves the pot to another burner to cool. His face is hardened almost angrily when he speaks again.
"Here we go again." He swallows hard and I can tell he is holding back tears. He thinks this is just like every other time.
"I'm thirteen weeks." My voice is stronger this time. Thirteen weeks is a fighting chance for us. I wait for him to say something, to find the hope I've found but it doesn't come. He walks out of the room somewhere upstairs a door slams a few minutes later. I cringe and take a deep breath.
Once I've settled myself into the sofa in our living room, I pull out my cell phone and make a call.
"Ginny, my darling, how was the beach?" The cheerful voice answers the phone.
"Calvin, do you have any opening tomorrow?" Calvin worked in the office next to mine at St. Mungo's. I took patients with normal, uncomplicated pregnancies. Calvin was the expert on complicated and high risk pregnancies. And after several miscarriages, that was exactly what this was.
"I'm booked all day, who needs the appointment?"
"I do" My stomach does a weird knot and I don't know why. Without even thinking, I place a hand on my stomach and have a moment of déjà vu.
"If you keep rubbing your stomach like that, you might rub all the skin off." Pansy laughs looking up from her homework.
"Ha Ha Ha, I think it relaxes her so if my skin comes off at least Merci will be happy." I smile. I hadn't even realized I was doing it.
"And that is all that matters." Draco is sitting on the floor and as he speaks he turns up to look at me. In this moment I am happy.
"Ginny? Are you still there?" Calvin's voice brings me back to the present.
"Yes, I'm sorry. What did you say?"
"You're pregnant?" He was sliding into Healer mode and I understood. He knew about my history and he understood what me coming to him with this news meant.
"Yes, about thirteen weeks."
"Come in at four-thirty tomorrow. I'll just see you after my regular hours."
"Are you sure? I don't want to make your day longer than it needs to be."
"Ginny, I know how much this pregnancy matters to you, so I am going to do everything I can to get you a baby. So I will see you and Draco tomorrow at four-thirty."
"Alright, I'll see you then. Thanks Calvin."
"Anytime love"
After hanging up the phone I take a deep breath and make my way upstairs. Draco is sitting on the floor of one of the empty bedrooms up stairs.
"Draco" I shut the door and stand against the wall for a moment until he stands and walks over to me.
"All I can think of is the look you had on your face when Merci died. Then I relive how close you came to dying before we left school, and, finally, all the miscarriages. I was ready for it to be over. We were going to adopt. No more would I have to watch you suffer; which was why I agreed to this to begin with. But here we are. And I'm terrified."
"I am too. But I am going to do whatever I can to have this baby. I feel like this is a sign. And we can't ignore it." It's not even noon and I am emotionally and physically drained.
"What do we do now?" He runs a hand through his hair. Having a baby was long ago written out of our plans so we are unprepared.
"I called Calvin. He wants me to come in at four-thirty. We'll see what he says and then go from there." I lean into his chest and yawn. "I forgot how exhausting pregnancy was. But I'm terrified to enjoy it. I'm terrified to even tell anyone."
"Then we won't tell anyone. Not until we know the baby can survive if you have to deliver early. And you need to enjoy it. Because being stressed out all the time won't help. Go take a nap and I'll start lunch over again."
We leave the empty room together and just before we split up so he can go downstairs and I can go to our bedroom, I turn to him again.
"What if we have a baby?"
"Then I will have fulfilled my promise to you."
"What promise?"
"The promise that one day you would be back at St. Mungo's delivering a baby on your terms; a baby that will get to grow up with us." He kissed the top of my head before descending the stairs.
And I am left to nap and dream of a baby that is mine.