Chapter: Our First Child... ren? Character: Terry Boot; Prompt: Final
The Harry Potter franchise belongs to all those involved which include but are not limited to JK Rowling, Warner Bros., Scholastic Books
The Christmas holidays were coming up and two people were giddier than any child around the world. It wasn't actually Christmas they were waiting for, but the two days before it. The extra bedroom they had made was done up in neutral colours of sage green and beige. Two rocking chairs were set out – one for each person. Animals adorned the walls both magical and muggle. Puppies played with unicorns; rabbits were harassed by hippogriffs; and snakes plotted with dragons. It was every child's dream room with toys scattered around the room and a crib was laid out.
At the moment, there were three occupants in this house; Terry Boot, Lisa Turpin, and Anthony Goldstein. The three had been friends since Hogwarts and two of them had been a couple since their seventh year. The three stood in the bedroom and looked around. It had finally been finished and their handiwork was the result. Most of the time, wands were used, but for the painting and added touch of the animals, potions and labour was used. "It's beautiful, you guys. Little Andrew is going to love it." Lisa told each boy with a hand on her protruding stomach. She was nearly nine months pregnant and while neither male would tell her, she looked much too big for only one baby.
"Lisa, go sit in the chair, you've been on your feet all day." Terry told his friend, helping her to one of the chairs. A grateful smile was on her lips the moment she sat down and began to rock. "You're a saint, Lisa. You know that? Tony and I owe you everything." Terry beamed, looking to the one still standing in the doorway. His own smile was radiant as he looked on at the two friends.
"You owe me nothing." Lisa assured. "Just as long as I can be in his life; I could care less if I'm Mummy or Auntie Lisa, just as long as I get to watch my sweet Drew grow up."
"Of course, Lisa." Anthony said as if she had asked for the stupidest thing. "What makes you think you wouldn't be able to see Andrew? He's just as much yours as he is mine. And Terry's." Lisa nodded and looked down at her large belly. "Are you ready for the delivery?" He asked her. Lisa shrugged as well as she possibly could.
"As ready as I'll ever be to push a child out of me." She murmured. "But once it's over, I know he'll be the sweetest baby you both could ask for." She looked up at the happy couple. She truly was happy for these two – they were her best friends. It had been hard on the three of them when Michael died in the war. They had all turned to each other in comfort and had somehow made a type of three-way between them. It was nothing that they spoke of; but the result of their love had been lying in her stomach for almost full-term.
Whoever was the father; it didn't matter – she was doing her friends a favour. Lisa knew that after a while, she would be pushed out of the relationship – as while they loved her to death and back, Terry and Anthony were in love. It was something Lisa had accepted and went on with. She hadn't been a pity fuck – not at all – but there was that lovely old saying of 'two's company, three's a crowd'. She didn't hate them for it and had an understanding of she would find her soul mate someday; and for now? Lisa was content knowing she was getting love from these two – soon to be three – men in her life.
xxx
It was late in the evening one brisk night that found Anthony and Terry in their bedroom. Lisa had given them some space and took the guestroom for the night – with the promise of coming to them if anything was wrong. On this night, however, after an exhilarating round of shagging, Terry was resting in Anthony's arms. He had a lot on him mind lately and couldn't seem to shake his worries. "Tony." Terry spoke up, looking into the soft pools of liquid green. Anthony looked down at his partner, as if waiting for Terry to tell him anything he damn well pleased. "What if Andrew doesn't like me? Or if I'm a bad father."
"You won't be a bad father, Ter." Anthony told his lover. "And I really doubt that Andrew could hate you. He'll just be a tiny baby. He'll love you because you'll be his father."
"What if I'm not his biological father, though?"
"Terry, what in the world does that have to do with anything? Do you think he'll hate you and love Lisa and me because we'd be his biological parents? Like Lisa said herself, she doesn't care if she's Mum or Aunt. If we don't want Andrew to know, then we'll be Dad and Pop." The things that Anthony was saying did sound reasonable. Why should he be afraid that a baby wouldn't like him if he wasn't his real Daddy? But those fears were still with him. "Listen to me, love. Think of this as a final test. You pass if you can get your son to smile at you. Or even just look at you. Terry, things will be fine."
"I still don't know. I'm still scared, Tony."
"I know, love. Trust me, I do know. I've been facing these fears since we found out Lisa was pregnant."
"Really?" Terry's eyes grew wide. Anthony wasn't scared of anything – that he was aware of – and having him share these thoughts with Terry made him feel slightly better.
"Yes, Ter. When Lisa first told us she was pregnant, of course I was elated. But I was terrified too. Would the baby like me? Would I be a good Dad? Will I mess up? But then I thought about how Lisa and you will be there with me every step of the way." Anthony placed a kiss on top of Terry's brunette mop. "I love you, Terry and I want this baby. It's the next step in us truly becoming together. So far, we've passed each test with flying colours."
"What about a bonding?" Anthony was speechless for a moment.
"What do y-you mean?"
"You know, a bonding. Where we can truly becoming one another. We may not have a baby that is both ours, but we'd be able to combine our souls to each other."
"Do you really believe in bonding?" Anthony asked his lover. To be honest, he was quite happy knowing that they had a house together in both of their names, had been together for ten plus years, and were now having a baby together – with the help of Lisa.
"Well, why wouldn't I? We could truly be one."
"Aren't we one now? We have a house, having a family, we've been together for years, not to mention best friends first. Terry, I don't need a piece of paper saying that I'm yours and you're mine."
"That's just it, Tony. I'm not talking about a wedding, I'm talking bonding. Where we truly would be one." Anthony just shook his head. What do they need bonding for? Sure, they were what people called soul mates, but did they need to go one step further? "D-do you not like the idea, Tone?" Anthony looked at his lover of almost twelve years; those beautiful hazel eyes were tearing up and it began tearing at Anthony.
"I don't know, Terry. Maybe after Andrew is born, we can talk about it more."
"But you were talking about Andrew's birth as a final test. Wouldn't the bonding then be my – our final test then?" Anthony remained quiet, trying not to accept or deny his love. "D-don't you want to bond with me, Anthony? Do you?" Terry's eyes were watery as the tears threatened to fall. They were also angry tears. "Tell me… tell me, Anthony. Do you or do you not want to bond with me?"
"Ter, you know I love you. I just don't know if bonding is the right thing to do."
"So you want our Andrew to be a bastard child?" Terry threw his hands up in the air.
"Terry, Andrew is going to be a bastard child whether or not we bond. Neither of us is married to his mother."
"Fine then! Don't bond with me!" With that, Terry stood up to get out of bed.
"Terry, don't be like this. Lisa needs us right now. She's going to have a baby in a matter of weeks."
"We only have weeks to bond?"
"Terry, we are not bonding. That is final." Terry continued to get out of bed, grab some clothes to put on and left the bedroom. What else was Anthony supposed to do? He watched his lover and partner frantically move around till he was all set before opening their bedroom door and slamming it. It was then that Anthony rose out of bed to pull on a dressing gown as he was sure Lisa would be upset. Opening the door, he found Lisa on her way out of the guestroom.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" She asked him, her eyes tired but full of worry. "I heard Terry screaming and it sounded as if he were crying."
"He wants to bond with me, Lisa and I frankly don't want to. Not with a baby on the way. I also told him that the baby was a final test to our relationship and he blew up in my face." Lisa just nodded, seeming to understand like she always did.
"Want me to talk to him?" She offered.
"I don't even know where he went."
"Let me try and find him. Then I'll talk some sense into him." Anthony just nodded, rubbing his head where a migraine was starting to form.
xxx
Snow littered the ground where he sat. It was still falling and his shaggy brown hair was now covered in it. His tears had long subsided and now he was left with hiccups. What did Anthony know? He was just being a git. He didn't really want to bond with him; the one thing that would bring them closer than ever. He looked up at the slab of concrete in front of him. "I just don't understand, Mike. Why wouldn't Tony want to bond with me? We have our baby on the way thanks to Lisa, but this would bring us closer spiritually. The baby will bring us together physically and our relationship has brought us closer together mentally. It just would fit." Terry furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about it. "I wish you were still here, Mike. I miss talking to you. It's easy to talk to Lisa, but I can only talk to her about so many things." He sighed and looked back at the ground. He just didn't understand.
He said this baby would be their final test. Little Andrew would be the last thing they would have to go through together, but that would be a lie; wouldn't it? They have so much more to go through. A kid would help, but it wouldn't placate Terry's feelings on bonding. "I knew I'd find you here." Terry jumped before turning to look at a rather pregnant Lisa.
"You know you shouldn't be apparating."
"Anthony's worried about you, Terry." Lisa said, ignoring his comment on apparating. "He wants you to come home."
"Did you know he doesn't want to bond with me?"
"I heard." Terry blushed faintly at the realisation at how loud he'd been.
"Sorry, Li."
"It's okay, Terry." Lisa moved as much as she possibly could and sat down on one of the stone benches in the cemetery. "Why don't you come over here and talk to me. I can only imagine you've already rattled Mike's ear off in the afterlife." Again, Terry felt the blush creep up onto his cheeks and got up to sit next to his friend. "Why do you want to bond so much?"
Terry looked at her and saw the genuine curiosity on Lisa's face. "It would bring us together spiritually. We're already together mentally and physically." Lisa nodded. "I don't know Li. I just want there to be a part of us that is genuine."
"And your love for one another isn't enough?" There was no malice behind her words, just quiet concern. Terry shrugged his shoulders. "Do you want to know my feelings on it?" Terry didn't say or do anything and so, Lisa just continued talking. "I think you want Tony to bond with you because neither of you know who this baby's father is. And it has given both of you insecurities.
"However, Anthony has come to terms with those insecurities but you haven't. Do I think Andrew will like you? Terry, you're going to be considered part of Andrew's life. He's going to love you no matter what. And that will mostly be because you will be considered his Daddy." Lisa stopped talking to gauge his reaction.
"Is Andrew your biological son or Anthony's biological son? None of us know that far ahead yet, Terry. Does it really matter though? You're still going to be considered Daddy and Anthony is still going to be considered Papa." Again, she stopped to wrap an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Will you be a good father? Of course you are. I've seen you around your cousins and around Tony's nieces and nephews. You're amazing with babies. They love you the moment you play with them. You know how to change a diaper without magic, you know how to feed a baby and a toddler. To know how to hold children; comfort children; and make sure they are safe. Terry, I think you're qualified for fatherhood just like Anthony." With good measure, Lisa placed a sweet kiss to Terry's lips. "I know that Andrew will love you. Call it mother's intuition; call it magic, I don't care what you call it. He will love you and he will love Tony."
Terry nodded slightly and then looked up. The smile on his face was brilliant; he was happy with what Lisa told him. "Promise me you'll be in Drew's life." It was the only thing Terry had said through Lisa's entire soliloquy.
She almost swatted Terry over the head. "You better let me into this little one's life. He's kicked my ribs one too many times to get rid of me that easily." That comment drew a laugh out of Terry which brought a smile to Lisa's face; only to have it turn into a grimace.
This was not missed by Terry. "Li, are you okay?" Tears were forming in the corners of her blue eyes as she doubled over in pain. "Lisa… Lis, are you okay? Is it Andrew?" She just nodded. "Merlin, he's on his way? Really? W-what do I do?"
"G-get An-An-Tony… get me to St. Mungo's… please hurry." Terry nodded – not that Lisa could see – and sent out his patronus for Anthony to find them.
"He's coming, Lisa… he's on his way." Terry was terrified out of his mind. Never did he think he would be alone with Lisa when the baby came. He had had Tony read all the books on delivery and labour while he read most of the parenting books and books on birthing.
"Fuck… fuck… fuck… it hurts." Never had he really heard Lisa swear and it scared Terry slightly. "Terry, hurry and get me to St. Mungo's… please." Her whimpers of pain were enough to set Terry in a larger panic. He pleaded for Anthony to get here soon. He was afraid to apparate with Lisa.
"What?" Anthony showed up with a simple pop to find his lover and best friend standing together. Lisa was hunched over with a painful look on her face.
"The baby…" was all Terry got out before Anthony took hold of Lisa and side-along apparated leaving Terry in the middle of the cemetery.
xxx
Six hours later found the couple in the waiting room of the newly developed maternity ward of Saint Mungo's Hospital. Lisa had been in there since Tony had found them and Lisa had promptly pushed him out of there. He has found Terry on the fifth floor when he went to go grab some tea. "Hey, love." Anthony said softly, sidling up next to his lover. Terry looked up at Anthony with an apologetic face. "There's no need to be sorry for running off. I just wish you'd talked to me and not Lisa." Terry shrugged, looking down into his teacup. Anthony placed an arm around Terry's shoulders much like Lisa had and gave him a one-arm hug. "She told me what you said. How it'd make you feel closer to me spiritually. Why didn't you say that in the bedroom? You were talking all this nonsense about being one and bonding being our last test, but you never told me why you wanted to bond."
Terry looked up into those sparkling green eyes. "Do you want to bond then?" he asked almost carefully.
"While I'm not keen on the idea, maybe someday. Just not right now. Right now, our final test is to bring that baby into this world and give him all the love he could ever want."
"But wouldn't the final test be bonding?"
Anthony shook his head and watched his lover's brows knit together. "Terry, this is our last battle; our last test. We've already got everyone's approval of our relationship. We already have their acceptance. Our bonding – if we have one – would be a continuation onto that. Their approval of our love for each other. So no, this baby is our last test. It's a test to our strength and our willpower to converse and understand one another while trying to take care of another life. And while Lisa will undoubtedly be there for most of it, there is going to be a time when she leaves and we have to fend on our own with this child. Andrew will be our shining star." Anthony softly kissed Terry's lips. It wasn't like the gentle, chaste kiss Lisa had given him earlier as a friend; no, this one was full of the love that Anthony and he shared. It was a declaration of their love and the strength they had already put into this relationship. "I love you, Terry. So very much."
"I love you too, Tony." They smiled at one another before finishing their and heading back to the attached waiting room for the maternity ward. It wasn't until three hours later – a total of nine hours – did the medi-witch and healer come out to speak with the men.
"Mr. Goldstein and Mr. Boot?" Both Terry and Anthony raised and nodded. "Good afternoon; I'm Healer Johnson and to my right is Healer Kane. We did have a couple complications, but the mother is doing perfectly fine. Who exactly is the biological father?" Both boys felt the blush creep up their necks as they tried to answer that they were unaware. "I see. Well, if you may like, one at a time, you can each see the mother. However, I must warn you that the one baby you were expecting did not come." It was at that point Anthony and Terry began to worry. "Instead of one boy, you are now the proud fathers of a baby boy and a baby girl." Both healers left the boys as they soaked in this new information. Two. Two babies; not one. A boy and a girl. Twins.
"T-Tony… did I; did I hear right?"
Anthony turned to Terry. "You mean the fact that we have Andrew and Andrew's sister?" Terry nodded, his face whiter than the ghosts at Hogwarts. "Then yes, I do believe you have heard correctly."
"I see. Um, why don't you go see Lisa first. I just want to wrap my head around two babies." Anthony nodded, placed a kiss to Terry's forehead and left the brunette to contemplate this new revelation. He had two children. A little boy and a little girl. They already knew their son's name, but what were they going to name their daughter? Andrew and who? Andrea? Emmaline? Victoria? Elizabeth? These were all names that Terry had thought of before, when they first found out that Lisa had gotten pregnant; when they still had no idea what gender the baby was. They had settled on Andrew Alexander for their son's name but had never really picked a girl's name as when they chose Andrew's name, they knew it was a boy.
Terry found himself sitting down in one of the chairs, his head in his hands. They didn't have enough supplies for two babies. They had one crib; one changing station; one set of boy clothes. They didn't have the money for two babies. They were living off of Anthony's pay and even then, they were barely scraping by. Lisa had definitely helped but she had to leave Gringots about a month ago on maternity leave and he was between jobs at the moment. He had gone to his old classmate Ron Weasley to ask for just a clerk job at WWW; but he hadn't gotten back to Terry just yet. Maybe after seeing his son and daughter – Merlin, it still sounded odd; he had a daughter! – he would go and plead Ron for a job.
"Ter?" Terry jumped and looked up to see Anthony. "Sorry, love. Didn't mean to frighten you." Terry began shaking his head till he realized that Anthony was done visiting Lisa and the twins.
"How is she?"
"She's fine. Just a bit of blood that they cleared up quickly."
"And Andrew? And… and…"
"Our daughter?" Terry just nodded. "They're both fine. What are we naming her though?"
"Shouldn't Lisa be part of this?"
"I asked her, she said we could name our daughter together."
"I still like Andrea. Or Victoria."
"What about Andrea Vivian? Viv for my mum and Andrea mostly because it just goes so well with Drew's name."
Terry began nodding. Yes, that would be perfect. "Andrea Vivian…" Terry muttered to himself, letting the soft name slip from his tongue. Yes, he could get very used to that. "Andrew and Andrea."
Anthony nodded. "Make sure you tell the Healers."
Terry started to stand and make his way to where his best friend and children were resting before stopping. "Tony… how are we going to afford two babies?"
"We'll think of something, Terry. Weren't you trying for that job at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes?"
"Yeah, but neither Ron nor George have gotten back to me."
"Then go see them after seeing Andy and Drew." Terry nodded; that was what he was planning on doing anyways. He turned his back to his partner and went through the doors to see Lisa and his kids.
"Hey Li." Lisa looked up from holding a bundle wrapped in pink and gave a tired smile to Terry. "You look exhausted."
"I am. Did you and Tony pick a name?"
"Yeah, Andrea Vivian."
"It's beautiful, Terry. Just like your daughter. Do you want to hold her?" Terry found his feet moving him closer to the bed and nodding. Lisa held out his daughter and he took her carefully. With one arm supporting her entire body, Terry used a finger to gently brush her cheek. "I had to explain to Anthony how to hold her. I told you that you'd be a great father."
"Yeah, well I never really expected a daughter."
"None of us did." When Terry looked up from the angel that now resided in his arms, he saw Lisa holding his son. "You're their father." He was stirred from looking at his son to looking fully at Lisa with a dumbfounded face. "I had a paternity test done. You're Andrew and Andrea's biological father."
"Li, it's like it matters." He said, glad that he felt his words ringing true after his conversation with Anthony and then Lisa. "I'm just glad they're healthy and that you're healthy. Tony was telling me that you had some bleeding?"
"I've had a type of blood disorder since I was a baby. Nothing serious and the Healers knew about it. The disorder just popped up because they had mysteriously forgotten about it. Thankfully my chart was right there." Terry nodded and looked back down at his Andrea. His little girl; his baby girl! Merlin, he was as giddy as a first year – not that that was a bad thing.
"Did you pick a name for the girl?" Terry turned to look at Healer Johnson and nodded.
"We did. Andrea Vivian." He told the healer. Shit… whose last name were they taking. "Uh, which surname does Andrew have?"
"Anthony wanted them to have yours. When I told him that you were the father, I said they should have his. You have the joy of being their biological father; I thought it only fair." Terry found himself nodding a lot that day as he did so again. It was fair. He may be their real father, but Anthony got the right to call them his own.
"Andrea Vivian Goldstein and Andrew Alexander Goldstein. I love it. They truly are a part of me and a part of him." Lisa smiled at his revelation. The twins were both Anthony's and Terry's children.
xxx
Later that evening – after leaving Lisa and the twins in the capable hands of both Anthony and the healers – Terry made his way down to the place he had applied to for a job. It looked almost deserted when he entered. "Hello? Ron? George?"
"In the back, mate. Come on through." Ron's voice floated from behind the register and towards the backroom. Following the voice, Terry found both Ron and George stocking and counting.
"Um, hey."
Ron turned around with a smile. "Hey there Boot. Sorry we haven't gotten back to you on that offer. It's been bloody hectic over here."
"Oh, well, I kind of wanted to talk to you about that."
Ron's face fell before he cleared his throat to speak. "You didn't want to back out on us, did you?"
"What? No, no. I was hoping you could give me that job. I mean, I don't want to sound pushy or anything, but Lisa went into labour –"
"Bloody hell, mate. Congrats! When did she have your son?" Ron grinned.
"Well, not that long ago. About three hours ago."
"Well, why are you not there with her and Anthony, mate?" George finally piped in.
"Well, there was a bit of a surprise with the pregnancy. I am now the proud father of twins. Andrew and Andrea."
"Damn."
"Yeah." Terry agreed with Ron. "The thing is, Li is out of work for the next few months and we're already scraping by on Anthony's pay with just the three of us."
"I got ya'." George said. "Say no more, Terry. I remember when my sweet Roxy was born. The pay had been rough when Angie was on leave." Ron bobbed in agreement. It felt good that he wasn't alone in that. "Yer hired, mate."
"You have no idea how grateful I am." George acknowledged Terry's response, but continued counting his stock.
"Now go be with that boy of yours before there's no time to be alone. Trust us when we tell you that once the kids are born, nothing is ever the same." Both Weasleys chuckled and began getting back to work.
"When should I come down?"
"I'll send you an owl with the times. Then after the first week of training, we'll get you on a full schedule." George told him without turning around. Terry nodded, gave his goodbyes and went home to find Anthony already home.
"Got the job."
"Brilliant!" Terry was assaulted with kissed and the wandering hands of his lover before being pushed into their bedroom.
xxx
A loud shriek rang in the middle of the silent night. Then, suddenly, two shrieks pierced the night. "You're turn, love." Terry turned over and groaned before he got out of bed. His feet dragged out of the bedroom and down to the nursery where his two-month-old twins wiggled in their own cribs crying. It had taken two week pay to get the new crib, another set of clothes and rompers, and another pack of nappies before they were set for at least the first few months.
"Shh, Andy, Daddy's here. Darling, you woke Drew." He first picked up Andrea before he picked up Andrew. Terry walked over to one of the rocking chairs before he sat. One baby in each hand, he began rocking, singing a soft lullaby his Mum had sung to him and his own little sister when they were babies. His voice wasn't the best for singing falsetto, but it did the job and soon, two sweet babies were sleeping once again.
"You really are beautiful with those two." Terry looked up to find Anthony. "You look natural. More so than with my nieces and nephews." Terry chuckled softly, letting his baritone voice rumble deep in his chest. Tony took Andrew and held him while moving to the other chair. "They're so little."
"They'll grow up and before you know it, you'll want them this size again." Anthony let out his own chuckle.
"So did you pass this final test, Ter?"
"I think so, Tone. I really think so." The lovers grinned at each other and then at the two babies their best friend had brought into the world for them.
Author's Notes: Well, here's my third installment to the Ten to One Challenge on HPFC. I had so much fun writing this one. I think it's so sweet and I'm honestly tempted to make this a full story that goes through their first year of life. ^_^