At eight months pregnant, Hermione's mood swings were getting worse. Ron felt like he was constantly trying to keep her happy. She would yell at him for very small things and the next minute, she would be in tears in his arms, leaving Ron feeling very bewildered.
George and Angelina had had their baby, a girl named Roxanne. Ginny was now six months pregnant, and Ron noticed that Ginny's moods were no better than Hermione's.
It seemed like the baby would never come, and Ron was getting impatient, especially since he had to deal with the moody Hermione most of the time.
However, one night (when Hermione seemed to be in one of her better moods) Ron found her in the hammock in the backyard, which he had insisted on setting up. He had a tray containing two cups of tea, and he smiled at the sight of Hermione lying in the hammock, staring up at the stars, clearly entranced.
"Hey beautiful," Ron said as he approached her. She jumped and smiled at him. He set the tray on a nearby table. "Mind if I join you?"
Hermione shook her head and moved to make room for him. He crawled onto the hammock next to her and took her into his arms. "I don't think this thing will hold us anymore," Hermione said weakly.
Ron laughed. "What have you been doing?"
"Just watching the stars," Hermione said simply. She drew her attention back to the stars. However, Ron couldn't keep his eyes off her. He slowly kissed the side of her head lovingly.
"Can you believe," Ron said, "that in a month's time, we'll have a real human being that's a piece of you and a piece of me combined into one."
Hermione looked at him and met his eyes. She laughed at the goofy grin on his face. "You've been hanging around women too long, love."
"No, really!" Ron said, a bit more forcefully. "We're going to have a child that's half you and half me! Living proof that we'll always be together." He swept a strand of Hermione's hair out of her face. "And something to keep us together."
"I don't need anything to keep me with you, Ron," Hermione said, stroking his face with her finger. "This child is just something else in my life that I can love more than anything." She smiled. "Along with you."
Ron kissed her forehead and his hands drifted to her baby belly. "I hope it looks like you. Then I have a constant reminder why I love it so much." Ron looked deeply into Hermione's eyes, always hypnotized by the intensity of her soft, brown eyes. "I hope it has your eyes. I hope it drives me mad just like you do."
She laughed softly and he smirked and broke out in laughter too. When their laughter subsided, Hermione turned back to Ron. "What about names? We've barely talked about any."
"That's because it always ends in argument Hermione," Ron said.
"Alright, what do you have in mind?" Hermione asked, her eyes focused on Ron.
"M – me?" Ron stuttered. "I haven't really thought about it…" he trailed off and Hermione's attention turned to her garden nearby. Ron's eyes followed her gaze and he saw it was on the roses that had bloomed earlier that season.
"What about Rose?" Hermione said dreamily. "For all those times you gave me roses on my birthday?"
"Rose," Ron repeated the name. "Rose Weasley. I like it." It was the first time he had approved a name Hermione had suggested, and he felt like they were finally agreeing.
"What about for a boy?" Hermione asked.
"I dunno…" Ron felt himself getting tired lying next to Hermione under the stars.
"How about…Viktor?"
Ron's eyes flew open and he stared at Hermione in horror. "WHAT? No! No way are we naming our child after that – that –"
However, Hermione was laughing. "Relax, love. I was joking. It got you awake though, didn't it?"
Ron grumbled unrepeatable words, and Hermione turned his face towards hers. "I love you," she said before kissing him full on the lips.
"I love you," Ron said with his lips an inch away from Hermione's. He leaned down to her midsection and kissed her big baby belly. "We love you too, baby."
The next morning, Hermione woke with a jolt, waking Ron in the process. "What is it?"
"Ron…I think – I think the baby's coming!"
"WHAT?" Ron felt her belly as if trying to feel the baby coming.
"Ron, you're not going to be able to feel it coming!" Hermione yelled. "We need to get to St. Mungo's now! I'm in labor!"
Ron, not sure how to react to this, helped Hermione out of bed and Flooed them both to the hospital…
An hour later, Ron was sitting by Hermione's bedside, while she looked exhausted with pain. Ron really wished he could take her place; he really hated seeing her in such pain.
The Healer walked in and said to Hermione, "Alright, Mrs. Weasley, we're going to start to push. Mr. Weasley, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave. Standard customary law."
Ron shook his head vigorously. "No, I'm not leaving her."
The Healer looked at him with a deadly expression. "Mr. Weasley, if you don't leave now, I will have you thrown out. It's a customary wizarding law that men are not allowed to witness the birth. It's been like this for centuries."
Ron looked back at Hermione, and thought for a moment, that it would be quite worth it to stay at her side and risking getting thrown out. However, Hermione grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Ron, you have to go. I'll be fine, I promise."
Ron nodded and kissed her lips before being pushed out of the room by the Healer…
Within a few minutes, after pacing the corridor (and listening to a few screams coming from inside the room Hermione was occupying) Ron turned to see the Healer coming out of Hermione's room.
"Mr. Weasley," the Healer said. "Would you like to see your daughter?"
A grin broke onto Ron's face: he had a baby girl.
He followed the Healer into Hermione's room. There was Hermione holding their new baby girl; Ron felt his grin grow bigger, if that was even possible.
Hermione watched him kneel by her bedside and beamed. Ron's eyes travelled to the bundle in her arms. The baby had his hair: Ron could see the faint Weasley red fuzz growing out of her head. Her eyes were open and Ron could see that she had Hermione's beautiful brown eyes. Ron reached out and gently stroked the baby's hair. He couldn't believe it: she was a perfect combination of him and Hermione. A piece of Ron and a piece of Hermione morphed into one.
"Shall we go with Rose?" Hermione asked. Ron tore his eyes from the baby to see Hermione looking at him hopefully. A grin like nothing he had never experienced broke out on his face. He nodded and kissed Hermione softly, then the baby's head. "Rose Hermione Weasley."
