Hi there, I'm so sorry for the long wait!

I've been on vacation and been quite sick the past few weeks, hence the delay. In fact, both my husband and I were sick with the stomach flu on our vacation... It was quite an eh.. intense experience, which I'll probably use some time for a story ;)

But for now, here's a new chapter, hope you'll like it.

Warning: From here on and in the chapters to come, there will be some description of the process of childbirth. I'm a midwife, I like to describe this with reality. If you find that offensive or disturbing in any way, just don't read it.

Chapter 4

The rest of his words were lost to her as she was overcome with a pain so intense it made all the previous contractions pale in comparison.

Doubling up, she clung onto Arthur for dear life, wanting to shout but not being able to draw breath as she felt her stomach, no her whole body contract in a way that she would not have thought possible. She felt an unbearable urge to push, so strong that before she knew it, her body was pushing involuntarily and she felt the baby inside her actually shift.

After a minute, the feeling subsided and Tonks came to her senses, panting from the force of the contraction. Arthur was still holding her upright. Tonks noticed that he looked pale, which made his freckles stand out. Hhe looked at her with a smile that was obviously meant to be reassuring but couldn't completely hide his nervousness. Nevertheless, when he spoke, his voice was steady.

"Okay, I think you're going a bit faster than we thought. You just felt the urge to push, right?"

Tonks could only stare at him and nod.

"Well, that's fine. Every baby comes in its own time, yours is just a bit impatient. It will be alright, a quick birth is usually an easy birth. Let me just make some quick arrangements here, we are going to need some towels, cushions for you to lie down on and something to wrap the baby in and keep it warm. I think we best stay in the kitchen, it's nice and warm here, the living is too drafty."

"But we…do you… you mean… I'm going to have the baby here?" Tonks finally found her voice. "But Hestia and Molly are not here yet. And Remus. Can't we just wait for them? I won't push, we can just wait, we have to wait for them!"

"Love, I don't think the baby will wait. There comes a phase when a woman in labor just cannot NOT push, her body will start pushing when its ready. I think you already felt that."

As if on cue, Tonks felt another contraction coming over her, with again the unbearable need to push. She tried, really tried not to give in but again, her body was pushing on its own, her uterus forcing the baby downwards with unimaginable strength.

When the contraction was over Tonks knew beyond a doubt that Arthur was right, this baby was coming and it was coming fast. The realization sent her in a state of sheer panic.

"I can't do this! Not on my own! I don't know anything about giving birth! Hestia and Molly are supposed to be here! They said they would tell me what to do! I don't know what to do! I really don't!" she wailed while waddling back and forth in the kitchen.

Arthur positioned himself in front of her and placed his hands upon her shoulders.

"Nymphdora, listen. You can do this and you will do this. You won't have to do it alone, I am going to help you. I've seen Molly give birth seven times, and actually with both Ron and Ginny it went so fast that they were born without a healer or midwife being present. So I really do have some experience in this field."

"Really?"

"Yes. Ron was born in the front seat of our Ford Anglia just outside St. Mungo's. And with Ginny we didn't even bother to try and reach the hospital. Molly barely laid down on the couch and I was just able to catch Ginny when she came out."

"Wow."

"You can say that again. If there's one thing I learned from those experiences it's that a woman in that situation knows instinctively what to do. And even if she doesn't, her body does. And the baby does too. So really, whether or not Hestia and Molly are going to be here in time, it doesn't matter. Trust me."

Tonks took a deep breath and decided that she indeed had no other choice than to trust him. She felt the next contraction coming on.

"Okay, what do I do?"

"Do what your body tells you to do. If you have to push, you push. Don't be scared."

Tonks closed her eyes as the urge impended upon her and this time she gave in to the feeling and pushed down. Her knees buckled a bit and she felt Arthur supporting some of her weight. She instinctively held her breath and as she ran out of oxygen she exhaled. It felt weirdly good to push, so different than just trying to withstand the pain. It gave her a little bit of confidence. When the contraction was over she looked up at Arthur who was smiling at her.

"Brilliant. That's the spirit! Now let me quickly get things ready. You might want to take off those soaked pants. They can't be comfortable and eh…well, we can't have them blocking the ehm… exit."

He blushed a little, which made Tonks chuckle involuntarily. At any other time, taking her pants of in front of Arthur Weasley would have made her uncomfortable, but at the moment she found that she couldn't care less. Whatever it took to get this baby out, she would do it. So she removed her sodden pants and her knickers as well. Luckily she was wearing a maternity tunic which fell almost to her knees and made her feel less exposed.

Meanwhile Arthur had summoned a mattress and several cushions and with a quick 'impervious' made sure they were protected against any bodily fluids that he knew to be normal during delivery. He then poked up the stove and placed a stack of towels and some cotton cloths beside it to warm them up.

He was just ready when the next contraction came. Tonks this time pushed along with growing confidence, instinctively crouching down on the mattress and opening her legs wide.

"That's it. You're doing great. Don't hold back, you can do this."

When it subsided she laid back on the pile of cushions, panting slightly from the effort.

Arthur summoned a wet washcloth to ran over her sweaty brow. Neither of them said anything until the next contraction came, during which Arthur encouraged her again.

Like it? Hate it? Comments?

Please let me know!

Love, Zimra