"What's that got to do with anything?"

"A hell of a lot more than you may think!"

She was positively fuming by now, and Scorpius was trying to sort out how it had all escalated so quickly. Less than a week ago, they'd been having a quiet breakfast on a peaceful Sunday morning, talking about the store opening that had just happened the day before. They didn't normally fight about business related topics. He was almost positive they never had. But she'd suddenly grown angry and started lecturing him on his priorities. To him, it seemed like it came out of nowhere. She'd abruptly ended the argument by telling him she'd taken the week off to go visit with her sister in France and that, hopefully, he would have come to his senses by the time she returned. He was hoping she'd do the same. But now it was Friday and she was back and it was the same fight again. And as they stood on opposite sides of his living room yelling at each other, he was having a hard time seeing what Rose Weasley had to do with any of it.

"You talk about her all the time, Scorpius," Melinda whined. "Maybe not in a positive way, but you do! It's infuriating the amount of time and energy you put into thinking about how your life affects hers and vise versa. I'm sick of playing second fiddle."

"You're my girlfriend!" he exclaimed, exasperated and confused by the turn of the conversation. "How is that playing second fiddle to someone I hardly know and barely talk to?"

"Really? What did you do all week while I was gone?" she challenged, crossing her arms in a defensive stance.

That momentarily shut him up. He'd actually gone back to playing reconnaissance on Rose's shop. He'd really only gone in when she wasn't around, but they'd bumped into each other once, and she'd promptly told him to leave. That was the only interaction they'd had all week. But he realized that Melinda still might have a bit of a point. Between strategizing about the new shop every day at work and doing his on the ground research, he hadn't thought about much else. And he'd let Rose Weasley seep in and play a role in how he was choosing to spend his time and conduct his business. But he didn't think he was becoming obsessive, that was certain.

"I worked, Melinda," he said with finality. "And sure, maybe that has something to do with Rose Weasley right now, but you're being ridiculous if you think my interest in her stems beyond how her business affects mine."

"Don't call me ridiculous, Scorpius." She pointed accusingly at him with a hard look in her eyes.

"I know what I'm talking about, and this whole has gone on long enough."

"Nothing's going on!"

"I meant this!"

She had gestured between them and there was a beat of silence as what she said sunk in. She seemed to have momentarily surprised herself with her words, but the look of shock on her face changed to resolve in a flash. He swallowed nervously.

"You mean the argument? Or you mean-"

The Floo burst into green flames and Al's head appeared, looking panicked. He glanced around for a moment before his eyes landed on Scorpius.

"Mate! Glad you're here. Any chance you can come to Mungo's?"

"What happened?" Scorpius asked, feeling a rise of panic himself as he moved to grab his coat from the rack by the door.

"Don't need your coat. I've asked them to let you floo straight in." And with that, he disappear. Scorpius rushed towards the fire and had almost stepped into the flames before he remembered what Al had interrupted. He glanced back at Melinda, who looked resigned and still slightly put out.

"We'll finish this later?" he asked tentatively. She gave him a sad and disappointed smile with a shake of her head.

"Isn't it finished already?"

He could only stare at her for a moment, unsure of what to do next. He'd been trying to figure out how to end things for a while, but it wasn't like he didn't care about her. And he'd wanted things to end on good terms.

"Maybe," he said with a shrug. "But I think I owe you an explanation. We'll talk later?"

He wasn't even sure what that explanation would be, but she thought it over a moment before nodding. He returned her nod quickly before moving to the floo and disappearing from his flat.

He showed up in what looked like a waiting room for one of the wards. There were a few anxious looking groups of people clumped together in various places around the large room, but the most noticeable one was the giant family in the middle of it that was comprised mostly of redheads. Bracing himself, Scorpius quickly made his way over to one of the only people in the group with black hair.

"James, what's going on?" he asked once he reached his friend's older brother. Lily was standing with him and moved forward to hug Scorpius in greeting, a huge smile on her face.

"Abigail's in labor. She's having the baby!"

A smile broke out on Scorpius's face and he sighed in relief at her words.

"That prat. He had me panicking," he said with a chuckle.

"He didn't tell you? Typical," James said with a scoff. "The man's an auror but the miracle of life happens and he completely loses his shit."

James and Scorpius shared a laugh at Al's expense. Lily was trying to convince them to go easy on him just as Archie showed up.

"What the bloody hell is going on? Al showed up in my Floo in a panic and wouldn't tell me what's happening. Is someone dying?"

James and Scorpius only laughed harder at Archie's indignation. It probably didn't help that he was dressed in his bathrobe.

"Mate," Scorpius said through his laughter as he tried to compose himself. "It's barely six o'clock on a Friday. Why aren't you dressed?"

Archie looked at him in astonishment.

"Why are you laughing at a time like this? He said to come right away and I didn't think I had time to change! Now will one of you please tell me what's going on?"

"I think the laughing had more to do with why you're in your bathrobe in the first place. Didn't the work day just end?" James said with a chuckle. Archie scowled and braced himself to yell again.

"Abigail is in labor. Don't mind these idiots."

Hugo had approached Archie with two cups of hot tea in his hand, one of which he handed to Lily. Archie visibly relaxed at Hugo's words before glaring at the other two young men, who were still chuckling slightly.

"You're both hilarious. I'm going home to change. Tell Al I'll be back in a bit."

As he left, Scorpius glanced around the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of Al.

"Where is the father-to-be?"

"With the mother-to-be," Hugo told him. "He's been in and out so you might see him soon. I've never seen him like this. He's quite worked up."

"How long have you all been here?" Scorpius asked.

"A little less than an hour," James said, checking his watch. "It's supposed to take forever though. So it'll be a while."

Scorpius nodded and looked around the room as Lily started going on about the first Potter to be born in the new generation. He saw Al's parents talking to Hugo's across the room and was surprised to see the normally immaculately dressed Hermione Weasley, clothed casually in a pair of Muggle jeans and a bright orange hooded sweatshirt that was obviously a few sizes too big. He assumed it belonged to her husband, who stood next to her and was also in jeans, but only wore a T-shirt.

His gaze continued to move across the room and he spotted Louise and Lucy talking with Fred and his wife Dani. Percy and Audrey were with George and Angelina as Roxanne talked animatedly with her Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur. Almost everyone who lived nearby seemed to be there. Molly was still abroad and Teddy and Victoire, who lived in France, were planning to come a week after the baby's due date, according to Al.

"I guess you could sort of say that Teddy had the first, but he's technically a Lupin even though he is practically our brother. And it's not the first from the Weasley side because of Victoire, of course. But the first Potter!"

Lily's excitement had grown as she talked and she could barely stay still from excitement. If possible, her eyes lit up even more when two more family members showed up.

"Did we miss it? Where's Al?"

Rose sounded out of breath as she slid to a halt in front of Lily, Dom coming up right behind her.

"He's with Abigail and no, nothings happened yet," Hugo informed them. Scorpius let out a slight chuckle at Hugo's bored town. No longer needing to panic, Rose let out a heavy breath and smiled, looking around the group she'd approached. Her grin faltered slightly as her gaze landed on Scorpius, but she recovered quickly.

"Have any of you been back to see her?" she asked.

"No. Only Al and her mother are allowed in there right now," Lily moped. "He said he'd be back in a few minutes, but that was twenty minutes ago."

"So, we're just waiting?" Dom asked Lily, sounding slightly annoyed. But it was James who responded.

"Yeah, and while we've got the time…"

He reached forward and grabbed Dominique by the arm. Her demeanor made a rather comedic change from startled to stubbornly angry as she tried desperately to stop him from dragging her out of the room and into the hallway outside of the maternity ward. She threw a pleading look at Rose who merely shrugged in shock and surprise as her cousin was pulled through the door. They could immediately hear raised voices as the two cousins started having a go at each other.

"I'm not sure if this is going to help or hurt things," Lily said, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to alleviate the numerous stresses of life.

"He's been livid with her since she ignored him at Lily's party," Hugo informed Rose. "Ben's not doing too well."

Rose nodded in contemplation, and a somewhat uncomfortable silence fell on the group as they could still hear Dom arguing with her cousin, who also happened to be one of her husband's best friends. Scorpius, beginning to feel uncomfortable and agitated, excused himself to track down something to drink, grateful for an excuse to escape.

He'd immediately tensed up when Rose had arrived. Usually, the tense feeling that came with her presence didn't cause him to grow angry, but rather made him desire to prove himself and, dare he say, impress her? But this was different. A slow building rage had ignited in the pit of his stomach as soon as she'd entered the room and it had only begun to grow as she remained in his presence. A quick getaway seemed to be the only thing stopping him from doing something he'd regret. He tried to still his shaking hands as he poured hot water over his tee bag and began to stir in a cube of sugar.

"I much prefer loose leaf to be honest, but I suppose shoddy hospital tea bags will have to do."

So lost in his thoughts, Scorpius nearly scorched his hand with his hot tea as he jumped when the voice appeared at his elbow. He glanced to the side and immediately scowled when he saw Rose preparing her own beverage.

"Are you following me now?" he asked harshly. She seemed surprised at his tone but continued to prepare her tea in a rather nonchalant way.

"No, we just happen to have similar goals. For once."

"And dare I ask what that's supposed to mean, exactly?"

She took her time brewing her tea. Her calm manner only served to agitate him more. He gripped his tea in his hand, the steam rising up to hit his face and doing nothing to help calm his temper that was inexplicably rising. Once her tea was made to her satisfaction, she turned to him and finally responded, a smug look on her face.

"Just that you might be playing around on my turf, Malfoy, but you'll never have what it takes to want this enough to succeed."

He glared at the witch in front of him as she wore a look of superiority. So, she thought she had the upper hand, did she?

"Using any opportunity you can to take a dig at me then? That was a bit of a stretch and a rather lame attempt, Weasley. You can surely do better than that."

Her brow rose at his challenge.

"How about a jab about the uncanny resemblance these pitiful hospital tea bags have to your attempt at potions, compared to my rather brilliant work in the area resembling the real thing. Will that do?"

What right had she to say any of this? She knew nothing about the work he did, how it was done, or even the quality of it. She only knew things she'd heard through the grapevine and taken them as irrefutable truth. Not only was she doing everything she could to devalue the work he did, but she was now in his head so much that any chance he'd had of salvaging his relationship had been sabotaged by her. And all the anger and frustration about the whole thing was coming to a head right now as he prepared to retort, holding nothing back.

"Maybe my business runs differently than yours," he said with a scowl. "Maybe we charge less and maybe we don't make it as customer service oriented as you do. It might surprise you to learn, but some people prefer it that way. Not everyone demands high-end options provided by stuck up business people. But that is no grounds for you to act like a complete shrew and do everything you can to drag my name through the mud. That's been done enough to my family, as far as I'm concerned, and you can't pull your head out of your privileged ass long enough to realize that you actually have an effect on people's lives. Grow up, Weasley. Just because you hate me, doesn't mean I deserve it."

She just stared at him as he scowled at her, her mouth opening and closing as her brain tried to come up with a way to rebuttal. Her cheeks were tinged pink, either from embarrassment or anger, he wasn't sure which. Satisfied by her silence he moved to walk away, but he couldn't help but get in one last dig for good measure.

"That's a charming little shop you have, Weasley. But I wouldn't be too confident about running me into the ground. Sales are booming already. You never know what could happen."

Turning to walk away, he'd only gotten in a few steps when she hollered after him.

"Is that a threat, Malfoy?"

There was a subtle shake in her voice and he stopped to turn and look at her once more.

"You find me threatening, Weasley? And here I thought we were finally getting along."

She was saved the humility of being unable to respond by Al finally entering the room. The whole family swarmed around him to hear whatever updates he brought as they pelted him with questions.

"Could everyone, please, SHUT UP!" he yelled over his relatives. They all immediately obeyed and allowed Al to speak.

"I'm afraid it's been a false alarm. It was false labor. She stopped contracting about half an hour ago and they've been running tests to make sure. So you can all go home. No baby today."

There was a general sound of dismay throughout the room and those closest to Al and Abigail stayed put as everyone else gave their goodbyes and left the hospital.

"Are you going home, then?" Ginny was asking as Scorpius made his way closer to the Potter family. Ron and Hermione and Hugo had stayed behind as well as Al's parents and siblings. Scorpius felt slightly out of place but didn't want to abruptly leave. He hadn't even spoken with Al since he got there.

"They want to watch her for another hour, just in case," Al told his mother. "Then we'll go back to ours. Her mother is coming with us, so if you'd like to stay for awhile-"

Ginny didn't need telling twice. She quickly kissed Harry on the cheek before briefly waving at everyone else and heading towards Abigail's room. It was then that Al noticed Scorpius and walked around his family as they were now talking amongst themselves and preparing to leave.

"Sorry for pulling you away from whatever you were in the middle of, but I appreciate you coming."

Scorpius gripped his friend's hand in a firm shake.

"No worries. How are you holding up?"

"I'm guessing I don't look as exhausted as I feel," Al said with a chuckle. "If this is what an hour and a half of false labor is like, I'm not sure I'm ready for the real thing."

Scorpius clapped him on the shoulder in support.

"I can't say I envy you, mate."

Al grinned at his friend.

"Maybe not now, but it'll be all worth it in the end."

Scorpius was saved the responsibility of responding by Rose finally joining them. Had she been back by the tea cart this whole time? She didn't even look at him as she went to hug her cousin. Feeling it was best to leave before things had the chance to escalate again, Scorpius quickly sent Al a wave, which his friend returned with one of his own while still embracing his cousin. He made to head back towards the floo as regret started to creep up on him. It lit up green and someone stumbled through as he approached it.

"Did I miss anything?" Archie asked as he straightened himself out and searched the room. He did a rather comical double take when he realized there were far fewer Weasleys in the room. Scorpius grabbed him by the shoulder when he reached him and directed him back towards the floo.

"False alarm. No baby today. Let's go. I need a drink."

Dear Daisy,

Do you ever feel like you've become the most horrid version of yourself? I actually thought things would get better in regards to a certain situation, but then I go and shove my giant foot in my mouth and simultaneously slap people I care about across the face. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

I don't want to be that person. I know I'm not. But if I insist on being an arse to certain people whenever I have the opportunity, they have every right to assume that's the kind of person I am. I seem to have no problem being honest in the harshest way possible. I do value honesty, but I don't want to come across as a brute. And it's not always honest either. Sometime I just say things because I know they'll get to people.

There are just certain people that I can't seem to help myself around. And one in particular, I suppose. No matter where we are or what we are talking about, I can be cold and mean-spirited in the worst way possible. I guess I see it as the worst way possible because the most recent time, it was directed at someone who didn't deserve it. It wasn't someone I wanted to offend. I let my temper get away with me and I've regretted it ever since. You probably have no clue what I'm talking about. I doubt you've ever spoken a harsh word to someone in your life.

Hope all is well and you don't think too badly of me now you know my true colors.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Leo

Dear Leo,

If you're talking about comebacks, I'm insanely jealous. I wish I had the ability to just speak my mind and let people have it. Especially when said piece of scum has recently used every possible means at his disposal to insult me. I completely clam up in those situations. My mind goes blank in the moment, but I wish I had the words to tear him to shreds. I wish I had your skills. Would you mind lending me those for a moment?

To be honest, I'm a little more stressed than usual. Maybe that's why I'm having trouble forming intelligent sentences. On top of everything else I've written to you about, I'm a little worried about my business. Without going into what all that entails, I'll just say that competition is a bitch. I've never had much to worry about in terms of stability. I don't mean to sound spoiled, but I always did well in school and got a job right away and my career just kept progressing. I don't know much about what it feels like to have a setback, and one might be just around the corner. I'm trying not to overreact, especially when nothing's happened yet, but I can't stop thinking about the what ifs.

In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away and hoping for the best, while trying to do everything I can to derail the competition and smite them with my words.

Is that a little too harsh?

Daisy

He could hear his friend hollering from inside after he knocked on the door. When it opened, a rather haggard looking Al stood on the other side.

"Hey, Scorpius," he greeted, moving aside to let him in and not even batting an eye at his friend's random visit.

Scorpius took in the pristine looking living room of the Potter's flat as he entered. He could hear someone banging around in the back bedroom as Al flopped down on the couch.

"Is this a bad time?"

Al shook his head from where it lay on the back of the couch, his eyes closed.

"You being here might make her stop."

Scorpius sat himself on the chair across from Al, who stretched and let out a yawn. Sitting up, he rubbed his hands over his face before blinking widely and focusing in on his friend.

"Abigail is in extreme nesting mode. Not to mention it's more comfortable for her to be standing instead of sitting right now."

There was a sound of quick footsteps coming down the hardwood hallway and Abigail made her appearance as Al finished his explanation.

"Love, where'd you put the collection of old Beedle books?" she asked Al. He looked like he was thinking hard for a moment before responding uncertainly.

"I think it's in my school trunk? Under the bed? We put all those other books in there."

She nodded and finally noticed they had company.

"Hey, Scorp. Sorry I can't stay and chat. Lots to get done before the baby comes."

Neither of them had an opportunity to say a thing before Abigail moved back down the hall.

"She's been decorating and redecorating like mad. She's had me do every chore in the house at least twice, and she was convinced she found a screw that went with the crib, so she made me take it all apart, only to find that we'd done it correctly the first time around. I think the screw fell out of her head."

Scorpius chuckled. "That was a pain the first time we put it together."

"Tell me about it," Al said with a sigh. "At this point, I think it'll be easier when the baby actually gets here. Enough about that, though." He leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees, looking pleased to have some company. "What's up with you? I feel like I've been cooped up for ages and have no idea what's actually going on in the world."

A grimace grew on Scorpius's face. It had been quite the week, which was one of the reasons he'd come to see Al. He hadn't prepared what he was going to say or how much he was going to reveal, but he knew he needed to talk to someone, and Al tended to be wiser than Archie.

He began tentatively.

"It's been interesting, actually. When you showed up in my floo asking me to come to Mungo's last weekend, Mel and I were sort of breaking up."

Al's green eyes widened to a comical size.

"What? Why?"

Scorpius gave him a questioning look. "You can't say you're surprised, right? We haven't exactly been doing all that well. And she's in no place to settle down. She doesn't want to."

"True, but I sort of figured you'd just coast for a little while longer. Things didn't seem all that bad and let's face it, you're not big on difficult decisions."

"What? Says who?"

"Says most people who know you," Al said with a smirk. "You're normally pretty good at the difficult conversations, but the actual decision making isn't your strong suite."

"I guess that's true," Scorpius conceded. "Anyway, that's not really what I wanted to talk to you about, although it's part of it."

An intrigued expression crossed Al's face. "Do we need drinks for this?" he asked. Scorpius didn't have much time to agree before Al was off the couch and heading towards the kitchen.

"You just using me as an excuse to have one yourself?" Scorpius hollered after him. Al came back in the room and handed Scorpius a glass of firewhiskey, a slightly guilty look on his face.

"I try not to drink in the house since Abigail can't. Solidarity or whatever." He slumped back into the couch and propped his feet up.

"Ok, so what's up? You have my full attention."

Scorpius took a sip of his drink, rubbed the back of his neck, and tried to collect his thoughts.

"I don't really know where to begin."

"How about at the beginning?"

Scorpius gave his friend an annoyed look. Al merely grinned at him.

"This isn't the easiest thing for me to talk about and like you said, I'm normally good at difficult conversations. I guess this is just really complicated."

Al seemed very intrigued now as he sat forward and downed his drink before summoning the bottle from the kitchen.

"Start with easy stuff first then. Why exactly did you two break up?"

Scorpius felt a flush start to rise on his face. He wasn't here to talk about that. Admitting to Al that he and his ex had ultimately fallen out over his cousin was not a priority. Maybe a half truth to start out.

"I guess I'd been distancing myself for a while. It wasn't that hard to do. She's so independent, which isn't bad at all, but I almost felt like I was an add on, you know? Anyway, a while ago, I kind of, sort of, started talking to somebody else."

Al's eyes bugged out and he nearly choked on his drink.

"You what?"

"I know what you're thinking and I didn't cheat, ok? It's not like that."

"Then what is it like?"

Scorpius sighed. He wasn't embarrassed about his relationship with Daisy, but it was going to be hard to explain.

"I've been writing someone."

Al's eyebrows rose.

"Writing someone?"

Scorpius nodded. "Yep. And that's not all."

There was a beat of silence.

"I've never actually met her."

Another beat of silence and then, much to Scorpius's surprise, Al started to chuckle.

"You're serious?" he asked. Scorpius just nodded and Al started to laugh harder.

"I get that it's a little different but it's not that funny," Scorpius grumbled as Al managed to pull himself together.

"Sorry, it's not. It's just-"

Al stopped suddenly, an odd look on his face. He studied Scorpius for a moment.

"Wait. How did this all start, exactly?" he asked.

Scorpius launched into the whole story. About how he'd read the anonymous article in the magazine and he'd reached out to the editor, and about how he and Daisy had been in touch ever since.

"I haven't told anyone about this yet, except Mel. We met up for coffee earlier today just to talk things out since we'd been interrupted before. I figured she deserved to know because even though it was all business at first, recently, it's changed."

Al had been listening intently the entire time, and he now looked at him expectantly, encouraging him to continue.

"I don't know, Al." He stood and began to pace around the room, running his hands through his hair. "It's like I don't even actually know this person, but I know her better than I know anyone, you know? We talk about everything. Relationships, work, family, hopes, dreams. As cliche as it all sounds. Is it so ridiculous that I'm falling for someone I've never even properly met?"

Al's eyes were lit with life and he grinned at his friend before standing and walking towards him. He clapped him on both shoulders, leaving Scorpius no choice but to look curiously into his mischievous face.

"It is ridiculous. So barking ridiculous that I think you ought to have your head examined. But," he continued as Scorpius frowned at him. "It might be worth a shot to see where it goes, yeah?"

He clapped him on the shoulders once more before moving to grab his drink off the coffee table and resume his place on the couch. Scorpius sat down as well, grabbing his firewhiskey and downing it in one go.

"Have you thought about meeting her?" Al asked.

Scorpius nodded. "I've sort of suggested it a few times, but she's not keen on it yet. A lot going on in life apparently. Not to mention she's seeing someone and the selfish side of me would rather she wasn't when we meet. Maybe that's stupid."

Al nodded in understanding.

"Does she know you broke up with Mel?"

Scorpius shook his head. He'd refrained from mentioning that in his last letter, more focused on the interaction he'd had with Rose Weasley than anything else at the time he'd written her.

"I'm due to write her another letter this weekend. Maybe I'll tell her then. And screw it," he said, standing up as courage and determination soared through him. "I'll tell her I want to meet her as well. She doesn't seem super invested in this relationship of hers. Maybe-"

"Whoa, slow down there, mate," Al said, rising to his feet and looking at his best friend in worry. "Are you sure that's the right call?"

"Of course! Why-"

"AL! Al, Al, Al!"

They both jumped in surprise as Abigail came barreling down the hallway, her hand cradling her belly as she breathed heavily. Her husband stared at her in shock as she grinned at him through her pain.

"Is it time?" Al asked in awe.

His wife nodded. "It's time."

A/N: Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! Keep those coming! They inspire me :)

AND IT'S BABY TIME! I have a lot of the next chapter written, but actually haven't been able to decide if it will be a boy or a girl, so cast your vote!

Happy Reading!