Chapter 23

The weeks passed more quickly than Cait had expected them to and still she and Draco were no closer to removing the ring than they had been on the first night. The only thing that was getting closer seemed to be the impending wedding.

Narcissa had brought them samples of color swatches and flowers while she planned things for the ceremony. She always took Cait's thoughts into account with everything that she showed them. If Cait looked like she wasn't thrilled with something, Narcissa made sure to throw out several other suggestions.

Cait knew that the wedding was all just a sham, but she couldn't resist Narcissa. The way her face would light up when she would talk about the plans. Cait could tell, that even if this was being forced upon them, it was still very real to the older woman and she was in no way wanting to spoil that for her. This would probably be the only time that she got to see her son get married. She could tell that even though Draco wasn't enthusiastic with going through with the wedding, seeing his mother happy made him happy as well.

It made Cait wish her own mother were there to help with the plans.

Draco and Cait had finished breakfast and then curled up on the small settee to read through a few of the books on dark artifacts that Narcissa had smuggled them. A few hours into their research, the woman had arrived with two large carts being pushed by house elves. Once the carts were locked into place, the house elves left and Narcissa turned to smile at the couple.

"I have something that I think you guys will enjoy," She told them, a smile flashing across her features. She pushed back the cover on one of the carts with a flourish to reveal plate upon plate of cakes of all different flavors and decorations.

One look at the plates of cake gave Cait a sudden queasy feeling in her stomach. Standing abruptly, she darted into the loo and retched up the breakfast that she had eaten only a few hours before. Once that had been expelled, her body continued to heave, bringing up nothing but stomach acid.

"Caity?" She heard Draco question from the doorway. When she made no movements, he crept forward, slowly making his way towards where she was leaning against the toilet bowl. "Caity, what's wrong?"

"I...I'm not sure," she answered meekly.

Draco grabbed a hand towel and ran one end of it under the cool water from the faucet before wringing it out and using it to wipe the sweat from her forehead. They both turned at the sound of a soft knock. Narcissa poked her head in and evaluated the situation. Grimly, she nodded once and motioned Draco out of the bathroom.

"Could you bring Caitlyn a fresh change of clothes?" She asked her son before helping Cait up off the floor and leading her towards the shower.

When Draco had returned with the clothing Narcissa had kicked him out and then proceeded to help Cait slip from her soiled clothing. She helped the girl into the shower and lowered her carefully to the seat within and then turned the warm water on to rain down soothingly upon the girl.

"Caitlyn," she questioned quietly. Once she had the girl's attention she asked, "When was your last cycle, dear?"

Cait's eyes widened.

"I'm not… I can't be… oh god…" she lowered her head into her hands and thought. When had her last cycle been? Surely it had been recently… But try as she might she couldn't remember having one since she had arrived at the manor...not since before her birthday-which was nearly three months ago now. "Oh god."

"How long, Caity?" Narcissa asked softly.

"Nearly three months as far as I can remember," she nearly sobbed.

"Oh, Caity." Cait could see the question forming in her eyes, but knew that the female Malfoy would be too polite to ask it.

"It happened after my birthday, when he came to give me the necklace he had bought me," she told Narcissa. "It was our first… my first...oh my god, what am I going to do?"

It was then that Cait fully broke down and began to sob. Narcissa hugged the girl tightly. As soon as Draco heard her sobs, he instantly pushed his way into the bathroom, taking in the scene before him. He saw his mother, leaning into the shower and holding a wet Cait who still sat under the running water of the shower, sobs wracking her body.

Quickly, Draco turned off the water and grabbed several towels. He draped one over his mother's shoulders before he stepped around her and wrapped Cait in a plush towel. He smoothed the hair back from her face as he held her to himself. He had never seen her like this before and it unnerved him. When she finally started to quiet, he turned his head towards his mother.

"What happened?" He asked, still rubbing circles on Cait's back.

"Draco… oh, Draco," Cait whispered, new tears running down her face as she buried it against his shoulder.

"We think that Caity might be pregnant," Narcissa murmured quietly as if she were afraid that someone might swallowed thickly, squeezing his arms more securely around Cait.

"Are you sure?" he asked almost timidly. He barely even recognized his own voice. Fear was radiating in his gut.

"There is one way to be completely sure," Narcissa told them both. "I will get my hands on a muggle testing kit when I go out this afternoon. You won't be able to hide this for long," she warned.

"Narcissa, you have to move up the wedding," Caity croaked. "It has to be done before I start to show. The wedding should buy us a bit of freedom."

"Lucius and I have spoken about sending you on a honeymoon. I can make sure that the wards become faulty, allowing you to slip out and run. That is the most that I will be able to do though. I can't do anything that will cause him to start thinking that I helped in some way." She murmured, still gazing at the children in front of her. In that moment, her eyes held as much fear as theirs.

"Please don't risk yourself more than absolutely necessary. After everything you have done, I couldn't bare it if something happened to you," Cait all but whispered to Narcissa before embracing her in a hug. The older woman returned the embrace before stepping back.

"I will send a house elf with the test tonight. Tomorrow I should have some dress samples that you can choose from. Depending on the results, we should be able to have the wedding by the end week." She detailed, all business. She gave them one last look before nodding again and striding from the room.

Now that Draco and Cait were alone, neither knew what to say. Finally, Draco seemed to come to his senses and realize that Cait was standing in the middle of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel.

"Let's get you dressed," he told her softly and she nodded numbly.

As promised, Narcissa had sent a muggle pregnancy test via one of the house elves.

With shaking hands, Cait had taken the necessary steps to use the test and then she and Draco sat on the edge of the claw-footed tub awaiting the results.

Draco's leg bounced as he stared at the small white stick on the counter top. After Cait had done what she needed to, she had rested the stick on folded up toilet paper and then opened the door to allow him entrance. Now he wasn't sure if he would have been better off not sitting in the room with her while they awaited the results.

He was having some seriously mixed emotions about the whole situation. On the one hand, he knew that he and Caity were by no means ready to bring a child into the world. They were both just barely eighteen. They hadn't even graduated from school and that didn't even begin to gloss over what life at home was like these days. He knew that with the ring on her finger, the baby was destined to be the next dark lord.

On the other hand, he couldn't help but feel a little exhilarated. He had already admitted to himself a long time ago that he was in love with Caity. He knew that the timing was bad, but he felt almost proud that they had created a life-that she was carrying his child within her. A paternal instinct kicked in and he wanted nothing more than to run away with her and their child and start a life a million miles away from all the darkness and evil that he had grown up around. He didn't want that for his child. He didn't want his child's innocence to be ripped away like his was.

Above all else, an almost overwhelming wave of fear washed over him. He had so much to be afraid of that he couldn't even begin to list the fears.

"I think it's time," Caity whispered, her eyes big and round, her skin just a touch too pale.

Draco grasped her hand tightly and together they stood, walking to the counter top.

Two solid pink lines stared back at them.

Pregnant.