On Wednesday, I will post the Epilogue. That's my plan, anyhow, along with leave work early and bake. I have this feeling that only one of those things will actually happen.

Chapter 22
Hermione was seated on the living room floor with Jo in her lap and Scorpius by her side as they read a book. Rain slammed against the windows as she attempted to distract the children from a loud clap of thunder.

"Mummy, I don't like this," Scorpius stated as he stared out the living room window. "What if Daddy can't get home?"

"He'll be able to get home just fine, baby," she promised. "Why don't we continue reading until he gets back? Can you tell me what this word is? This one here." She pointed to a word in the book and waited for the little boy to make sense of it.

Scorpius studied the text intently, looking to Hermione as he sounded out the letters. "C-ca-cat. Cat? Is that right, Mummy?" he asked, suppressing his excitement until he knew he was correct.

The fireplace roared to life, and out stepped Draco. "Is that my boy reading?" he asked, smiling as he sat down on the floor with his family. Joanna climbed off of Hermione's lap and into his.

"Dada," she murmured, resting her head against his chest. Draco glanced questioningly at his wife. She replied with an encouraging smile before returning her attention to Scorpius.

"Good job, buddy," Hermione whispered, kissing the side of his head as he took the book from her lap. She listened as he continued to sound out the words until he finished the sentence.

Scorpius smiled proudly when he finished, looking to his parents for some assurance that he'd done a job well done. "I read, Daddy," he exclaimed. "Did you hear me? I read the whole sentence by myself!"

Draco smiled at his son. Oftentimes, he was amazed at how well the little boy had turned out. Scorpius was nothing like he'd been as a child - spoiled, rude, cold. He was proud of the child he raised, and looked forward to the lives he and Hermione would create in the future. But, in the present, there was a more pressing matter at hand. "You're a very good reader," Draco commented. "Didn't I tell you your mum would be the best teacher? Now, I need you to do me a favor. Do you think you could help your sister set up a picnic on the kitchen floor?"

"You're going to let them eat pasta on the floor?" Hermione queried as she gathered the books. She got to her feet and magicked the them back onto the bookshelf. Draco nodded, but said nothing else until Scorpius led Jo to the kitchen. Rising from the floor, he pulled a thick wad of parchment from his blazer's inner pocket and took a seat on the sofa. "What's going on? What is all that?"

He laid the documents out on the coffee table before speaking. "There's nothing to worry about," he stated, reading the worry on her face. "At least, I don't think there is. These were dropped off at my office today. My father's legal team looked them over, and everything is above board."

"What are they?" she interrupted.

He picked up the first stack and handed it to her. "This one grants you full custody of Jo," he explained. She looked through each page, noticing Ron's messy signature scrawled in several places. Draco handed her the next stack. "These are more for the both of us, I guess. Adoption papers. And finally a name change form, to change her name from Weasley to Malfoy."

Hermione placed the dockets back on the table and rose from her seat on the sofa. Stoically, she padded to the kitchen to check on dinner. Draco followed nervously, smiling hesitantly at the children when he entered only seconds later. Neither spoke as they doled out two small portions of ziti and marinara sauce. Hermione moved to the refrigerator and pulled out a bag of cut vegetables that she set down on the picnic blanket.

"Can we talk about this?" Draco murmured when they joined the kids.

"Can we talk about it later?" she replied, cutting her gaze to Scorpius who watched them intently. She smiled at him before returning her attention to her husband. "I'm not mad. At least not at you."

He nodded, momentarily appeased by her response. Dinner was a silent affair, and as Hermione cleaned up the kitchen, Draco took care of bath and bed time. When she finished with the kitchen, she joined him upstairs as he struggled to put a squirming Joanna into her pajamas.

"I'll do it," she offered, smiling when Draco breathed a sigh of relief and tossed the one piece pajama set to her.

"Good catch," he remarked when she joined him at the changing table. Before relinquishing control, he kissed Joanna's forehead. "Love you, little girl."

Joanna smiled, revealing a small row of teeth. "Dada," she replied, clapping her hands together. Draco took a step back and allowed Hermione the room to dress her daughter.

"All done," Hermione announced. She held Jo close and kissed her rounded cheek. "Can you say mama? What's my name?" she asked.

Jo smiled again and replied, "Dada," as she pointed to Draco.

"I think she likes you better," Hermione teased.

Draco took her from his wife's arms and placed her in the crib. "I happen to be a great father," he replied, sounding as haughty as he could. "I've got good references if you don't believe me."

Rising up on her toes, she pressed a kiss to Draco's soft cheek. "I've never doubted it," she responded. After putting Jo to bed, then checking on Scorpius, they entered their bedroom and shut the door. "So, let's talk," she murmured, sitting at the foot of their bed.

"Hermione," he sighed, "I've loved your daughter since, hell, since before she was even born. The moment you came into my life, I mean really came into my life after your divorce, all I wanted to do was help you and be with you. Even if the papers hadn't been sent by Ron, I always would have seen Joey as my daughter. I love her as much as I love Scor, and that will never stop."

Tears shimmered in her eyes as she thought about the last two years of her life. Draco Malfoy wasn't supposed to be the man who loved her unconditionally; that was supposed to have been Ron's job. But when Ron checked out, Draco had chivalrously taken his place. She was unsure if she could have made it through that time without him.

"I knew, from the beginning really, that Ron wasn't all that invested in being a father," she said, turning her head so he wouldn't see her cry. "We'd talked about it a couple of times when we were married, and he was...okay with the idea of having children. I knew from the beginning that I would be doing most of the work, and that was fine. But now to just..." Draco wrapped his arms around her and held Hermione close as she cried. He didn't speak, choosing instead to allow her tears to exhaust themselves. When her sobs subsided, she looked up at him and smiled. "I wanted you to be her father the moment I saw you with Scor the first time. Will you sign the papers? Will you make her a Malfoy?"

"I had every intention of doing so," he replied.