Chapter 32

Cait reached out and gently ran her finger along the bruise that was on Draco's left cheek. His breath caught at the feathery touch of her fingers and she silently cursed the hands of the Death Eaters for marring his face.

"I had to see you for myself. I was so worried that they were going to kill you," she whispered before she leaned up and pressed her lips against his.

Draco kissed her back, letting his raw emotions pour into her. She welcomed the onslaught of feelings and offered her own in return. She kissed him to show how worried she had been. When she felt him stiffen at her touch on his abdomen she pulled back. He refused to meet her questioning eyes, insisting that he was fine.

Sighing, she moved her hands to the buttons that ran in a line down the center of his shirt and began to unbutton them. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the bruises that bloomed across his torso and rib cage.

She moaned before resting her head on his chest. She knew that the reason that he was injured was her fault. He had risked too much for her. Draco pulled her more firmly against himself, holding her tightly.

"I'm fine," he assured her, "I'll heal. I'm glad to see you, Caity, but you can't stay here. If someone sees you here…"

"I just wanted to see you before I went home," she admitted, feeling him tense beneath her. Abruptly, he jerked away from her as if her skin had burned him.

"You can't go home, Cait! Why would you even possibly consider doing that?" he asked, looking at her like she had lost her mind.

"Harry mentioned an object that he needed, something that would be important to Voldemort," she informed him reluctantly. He winced at the use of the dark lord's true name.

"If it is that important, Potter can get it himself."

"He can't, Draco, because I think that I know where it is. And, if I'm right, well, I'm really not sure what will happen. But I need to go to the manor," she told him, willing him to understand.

"Please don't go, Cait," he whispered, the vulnerability in his gaze nearly broke her heart.

"Please don't go…"

Cait blinked open her eyes, the room slowly coming into focus. The remnants of her dream still lingered in the recesses of her mind causing her to briefly wonder what had happened. Draco's voice echoed in her mind, begging her not to leave him. Briefly she she thought that maybe it hadn't only been in her dream that he had been uttering those words. She wondered if he had been uttering them as they pulled the baby from her.

And then Draco was stepped into her line of vision holding a small white bundle as he smiled down at her peacefully, love shining in his eyes. Gone were the lines of worry and the whispered pleas, the memory of the dream vanished and the only thing that she could focus on was the little bundle.

"There is someone here who has been waiting to meet you," Draco murmured as Cait struggled to sit up against the pillows. With his free hand he helped to prop Cait up on her pillows before he rested a sleeping, pink skinned bundle into her waiting arms.

"Meet our son," Draco smiled down at her, his eyes soft and full of adoration.

"A boy?" Cait asked, a smile of wonderment coming over her features as she gazed down at the baby. She hadn't known that she had a preference over the gender of the babe, but now that she was staring down at him she couldn't imagine it not being a boy.

"Yes, a boy." Draco smiled back. "Now, everyone keeps asking but I told them that they had to wait for you to wake up before a decision was made. What shall we name him?"

"Scorpius Narcisse," Cait told him with no hesitation. She glanced up to see her husband's reaction and saw that his eyes were shining with unshed tears at the ode to his mother.

"I think that is perfect," he muttered, sitting on the edge of the bed and slipping an arm around Cait's shoulders and pulling her tightly against him as he rested his cheek against the top of her head.

As Cait glanced back down at Scorpius, his tiny little eyes opened and peered up at her-eyes the same stormy shade as his father's. She smiled down at her son before placing a soft kiss on his forehead. She had only been holding him for mere moments, but already she was completely in love with Scorpius.

Nothing would ever take her child from her.

A soft knock at the door awoke Cait, whom had fallen asleep nestle against Draco's chest with Scorpius still tucked into her arms. Draco had also awoken at the sound of the percussion against the door, but he made no move to rise. Instead he remained cuddled with Cait as he waited for the door to creak open.

After a few beats, Theo walked into the room, his eyes drifting over the small family of three. His face was unreadable, even for Cait-which worried her. Slowly, he made his way to the bed and then settled himself into the chair beside it. He blew out a long breath before meeting his sister's eyes and giving her a small smile.

"The curse breaker was finally located," he told her in a quiet voice.

"What aren't you saying?" Cait asked, panic starting to rise up within her.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt is demanding to be present during the curse breaking," he admitted, knowing that his sister nor Draco would like this bit of information.

"Absolutely not," Draco replied cooly. "I told him that he is not welcome in this house and the statement still stands."

"Unfortunately, Molly and Lupin think that it might be a good idea for him to be present while the curse-breaker examines Cait and the baby," Theo told the pair.

"Scorpius," Cait told him softly, "His name is Scorpius."

Theo gave her a soft smile before he looked down at the now awake and blinking form of Scorpius.

"He's perfect, Caity," Theo told her truthfully. The fact was, Theo was already enamored with the babe and felt a protectiveness over him as well.

"Let's not get off topic," Draco responded, pulling himself into a sitting position and facing Theo head on. "I do not want Shacklebolt near Cait or Scorpius. I don't trust him."

"I know," Theo sighed. "I tried to explain that to them and that Caity wouldn't be comfortable with it either. They didn't want to listen though."

"Draco, it's fine. I have no doubt in my mind that, between the three of us, we can protect Scorpius. Shacklebolt doesn't stand a chance against us." Cait assured her husband, offering him a smile as she rested her hand on his wrist.

Draco sighed roughly as he ran his hand through his hair. He was not happy about Cait's agreeance. He didn't trust Shacklebolt, the man just rubbed him the wrong way. It didn't help that he had been one of the few that had wished for Cait to miscarry his son. He looked down at his wife and child and felt an overwhelming urge to protect them both at all costs. If Shacklebolt so much as looked at them wrong he would hex him.

"The curse-breaker is going to be here within the hour, according to Charlie," Theo told his sister who nodded. "If you want to get cleaned up, I can watch Scorpius for you."

"I can take him," Draco countered, stepping back towards the bed. Cait chuckled before handing Scorpius to her brother.

"I'm afraid I may need your help more than Scorpius does right now," she smiled. Draco gave her a sheepish look.

"Of course," he told her as he stood and made to help her out of the bed. "Sorry."

"Hey," she said to gain his attention. Once he was looking at her she continued, "We are going to make it through this."

He gave her a nod as he placed a hand on her back and slowly guided her to the attached bathroom. The en-suite was smaller than he was used to. It was barely large enough to hold the commode, pedestal sink and shower stall that it housed, let alone the two of them. But despite its small size, the room was clean and would serve the purpose for which it was intended.

Draco turned on the water to begin warming before he helped Cait strip off her clothes. She gave him a grateful look as she rested against the counter to catch her breath. As she rested, he stripped his own clothing off.

"I guess all that bed rest has gotten the better of me," she joked.

"I suppose it has," he responded, giving her a small smile. "What do you say we get you cleaned up?"

At her nod, Draco transfigured the empty waste basket into a chair and helped her into the meager shower. The water cascaded over their bodies, filling the air with a steamy mist. Draco pulled the shower handle from its holder and began the task of saturating Cait's thick hair before he replaced it and worked shampoo through her locks.

Once that was complete he shampooed his own hair and then rinsed both of their heads before applying conditioner. Delicately, he wet a washcloth and applied soap, forming a rich lather in the material. He then set to washing Cait's pale skin. The intimateness of bathing his wife made him feel more in control of himself-like he was finally doing something that helped. They hadn't had any intimate moments since they had left their honeymoon island, and Draco found that a part of him had been craving even this most basic of intimacies. Being able to do even this small thing for Caity made him feel more sure of himself.

When they were both finally clean and rinsed, Draco turned off the water and then reached for a plush towel to wrap around Cait. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his own nude form.

"I'm nervous," Cait whispered as she stood beside Draco, staring at their reflections in the mirror as he carefully brushed her hair.

"I am too," he admitted. "I don't know what it will take for us to break this curse, but I promise you that I will do anything for our son."

"Oh, I have no doubt of that," she assured him with a fierce smile.