Second chapter, hope you like it. :)

PixiePatronus13675: Thank you for your reviews, on my other stories as well! Your suggestions are always welcome! As for Tonks focusing on her conflicting emotions... well, she won't have a lot of time to do that, as you'll see :)

Chapter 2

"Check".

"Bloody hell, not again. Wait, I'll move my castle. Can't have you win the second game as well." Tonks moved her piece and rubbed her back for maybe the tenth time that evening, wincing slightly.

"We could also quit playing? If your back is bothering you and you want to go home?"

"No, I'd rather keep playing. Gives me some distraction. The last thing I need is to go home and focus on every little twinge."

"Okay. In that case, I move my knight."

Tonks stared at the chessboard while her back ached again. She found it hard to focus on their game but was determined not to let Arthur win again. She really didn't want to go home, where it was cold and she had to wait for Remus all by herself. The kitchen of the Burrow and Arthurs presence made her feel comfortable and secure. But at the same time she was becoming oddly restless. Her back kept hurting and the apple pie she'd had was not sitting well in her stomach, making her a bit queasy.

She adjusted the position of her pillows again, turning slightly in her chair. She saw Arthur glance at her again, he had offered to move to the couch to be more comfortably half a dozen times already. But it wasn't the chair that was bothering her, it was something else, though she wasn't sure what is was.

Tonks decided to ignore the restless feeling and did her best to ignore the next twinge in her back. Peering at the chessboard she tried to figure out her next move.

Suddenly a wave of nausea rose up inside her stomach. Tonks knew immediately that this feeling couldn't be ignored as she felt the bile rise in her throat.

Frantically pushing her chair back she decided she'd never make it to the toilet in the hallway. She thus made a beeline for the kitchen sink where she retched up the apple pie, her dinner and seemingly everything else that she ate the past week. Between bouts of vomiting she felt Arthur holding her hair back, which made her feel very embarrassed and grateful at the same time. When her stomach finally stopped heaving and she had a chance to catch her breath, her back hurt again.

But this time the sensation wasn't only in her back. Her whole belly cramped and became rock-hard while Tonks felt something that she could only describe as a period-pain times thousand. She bent double on the spot, clutching her stomach and holding her breath while the pain rolled over her like a monstrous wave. After some twenty seconds, the wave gradually subsided, leaving Tonks gasping for air and shaking on her feet.

"Are you ok?" Arthur had his arm around her shoulders to steady her.

It took a moment before Tonks could catch her breath, straighten up and respond.

"That bloody hurt!" Still feeling shaky, she leaned on the countertop for support, grimacing at the sight and smell of a sink full of her own vomit.

"Do you feel like you're gonna be sick again?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Then have a seat, you're shaking."

Arthur gently led her back to her chair and their abandoned game of chess, then took out his wand to clean the sink.

Tonks was starting to feel more embarrassed by the minute.

"I'm really sorry! I have no idea where that came from. One minute I felt fine and the next… and that weird cramp. Maybe I ate something wrong."

Arthur turned to look at her with disbelief showing on his face.

"Nymphadora, I really don't think that it was something you ate…"

A blush crept up Tonks' cheeks. First she barfed in the poor man's kitchen sink while he gallantly held her hair back and then she almost accused him of giving her food poisoning.

"Oh, but I didn't mean anything that I ate here for dinner! I know you or Molly would never cook anything that would make people sick. I just probably ate some spoiled yoghurt from my own fridge earlier today. I didn't mean to offend you!"

To her surprise Arthur chuckled quietly.

"You didn't offend me, dear. But frankly, I think there is something else going on here…"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, Nymphadora, I think you're in labor."

Now it was Tonks turn to stare in disbelief. No, she couldn't… Could she? Really?

"You think that cramp was a… a contraction?"

"I'm quite sure. And the fact that you just threw up also is a sign of being in labor."

And as if on cue she felt the cramping pain start in her back again and spread out over her abdomen, like a huge iron fist squeezing her whole body. Blimey, Arthur was right, this had to be a contraction. And it freaking HURT! She was going to give birth. Remus had to come back and help her. She would have to endure this for Merlin-knows how long, this was just the beginning.

All this thoughts and then some tumbled through Tonks' mind as the pain seared through her. She found herself holding her breath and gasping for air while the contraction slowly subsided.

"Easy there, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth."

Tonks did as told and after a few breaths her mind cleared considerably.

"Okay. Wow. I'm in labor. But this is just the beginning, right? Do you think I should already contact Hestia and Molly or should I wait a while? Maybe I should go home and wait for Remus. Because the first stages of labor can take hours, said Hestia."

She had barely said her last words when another contraction began to build. It was even more painful than the previous ones. Tonks eyes started to water from the pain and she found herself clutching the table and hyperventilating.

"Breathe, Nymphadora. Short puffs blowing out, come on." Arthur knelt in front of her and grabbed one of her hands. She squeezed it until her knuckles where white, while he took a deep breath and blew it out in short bursts, showing her what to do. The pain gripped her harder still and she struggled to follow his example.

Like it? Hate it? Comments? Please let me know!

love, Zimra