Please leave a review :)

...

"Bloody hell Harry when did you get here? You look like shite mate." Harry laughed, some things never change.

"I have no idea mate. I couldn't go home before I saw you both but made the mistake of sitting down…and I haven't slept since Monday night."

"Shit…that's fair. Tell me you got him." Ron looked at him, tense. Harry realised Ron looked exhausted himself.

"We got him." The men grinned at each other.

"Congratulations Auror. Nice one! You've no idea how much of a relief it is to hear it."

"Oh I do…that's why I came straight here."

"And the team?" Ron raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"All fine." Harry confirmed.

"Thanks mate. You know I've been sitting here half expecting him to blast in and try to finish off what he started." Ron returned his gaze longingly to Hermione. "If he could get into the Ministry, I figured nowhere was safe."

"Knew you'd be on edge. Take it that's why you're sleeping on this chair directly opposite the door rather than on that proper bed?"

"You know me too well…wanted to be ready if something went off. You'll have to fill me in on everything. I'm going crazy here being out of the loop."

"I will but it's not important right now." Harry replied gently. "I want to hear what's been going on here. Can't wait to congratulate my best friends on their baby news" he paused, grinning and looking at Hermione. "It's not like her to be last up in the morning." he teased, assuming she must be on some heavy potions making her groggy.

"I know mate, she's not gonna be awake for a while. Friday afternoon at the earliest. She's in suspension."

"Merlin…I've never seen anyone in suspension. Sorry Ron, I'd no idea."

"Ah don't worry about it. I'm only just getting my own head around it."

"She is going to be alright…isn't she?"

"Yeah" Ron nodded and gave a weak smile.

"And the baby?"

"Yeah" he croaked his voice full of emotion.

Harry sensed Ron couldn't talk much more at the moment so he just sat watching Hermione with him. "Well congratulations to you anyway. Glad I'll not be the only one up to my elbows in dirty nappies." he said eventually, trying to lighten the mood.

"You're getting a good head start though, make sure to make loads of mistakes and tell me what not to do" Ron chuckled.

"Course mate." Harry laughed. He shifted in his chair and Ron noticed him wince.

"Harry, you really do look like shit, what've you injured?" He never could hide anything from Ron.

"Think I've cracked a few ribs, no big deal. I've Skelegro at home will sort it."

Ron nodded knowingly. A few broken bones, gashes here and there, all part of the daily grind for them.

"Have you been home yet, Ron?"

"Nah, I'm not leaving her."

Harry nodded. "I sent an Alpha over to reinforce the wards at Willow Cottage and check it over."

"Cheers mate. You've got everything covered these days."

"No worries. Hasn't anyone visited to let you get home?" Harry queried trying to suss Ron out.

"Yeah Ginny was here yesterday and my parents are coming this morning. But I'm not leaving her…I've been thinking all night…even with Guther captured he could be part of a larger ring. We could have missed something. I know there's an Alpha on the door but I don't feel comfortable leaving her here." Harry nodded, he understood where Ron's anxiety was coming from. His friend had always had a sixth sense for these things and no amount of reassurance would satisfy him. Harry wasn't entirely sure he could even offer any reassurance what with apprehending a person unknown with Guther and overhearing the conversation about Gnat. But Ron was doing everything right and being suitably cautious, there was no point in scaring him further, that would wait until they were back at work together.

"What if it was me?" Harry offered.

"Huh?"

"Would you feel comfortable if I sat with her while you got yourself sorted? Surely you need a bit of a kip and a shower."

"Umm yeah mate I guess I would."

"Go on then." Harry said matter of factly.

Ron laughed, "I meant in theory, I'm not leaving you on duty with broken ribs, no sleep and looking like you've been trailed through a bush backwards! Bloody hell Harry what are you thinking…out of the two of us it's you that needs some time at home."

Harry laughed "You're probably right, how about tomorrow? I'll go in, file my mission log and come straight over. Let you have a few hours?" Ron seemed to consider the offer.

"Ok deal, there is something I want to do…thanks mate."

"No worries mate." They fell into another comfortable silence. "You said you saw Ginny?" Harry asked after a while.

"Yeah she nearly hexed the bollocks off Everly when he wouldn't let her through." Ron laughed.

"That's my girl." Harry grinned.

"She's bloody massive, how she's waddling around is a wonder."

"Hey!" Harry swotted Ron's arm then winced and resumed holding his ribs.

Ron had to stop laughing before he could go on. "Nah she's great, she was glowing. Super proud of you chasing down the bad guys. She sussed out about the baby, given we're in the family wing and I…umm…talked to her a bit…about it all. It felt good." Ron's voice trailed off and he broke eye contact with Harry.

"Yeah about that…do you want to talk to me about it? I was doing some thinking myself last night. You know how it is on a stake out. Nothing to do but think."

"I know we're overdue a conversation. I'm as ready as I'll ever be but don't you think you ought to get home to my sister." Ron asked trying to avoid the subject for a little longer.

"I think this is important and she'll understand." Harry encouraged.

"Hermione wanted to be here for this talk."

"And I'll make sure to speak to her when she's ready." He persisted.

Ron didn't say anything so Harry thought he'd better make a start, right back to the beginning was probably the best place for that. "You'd said you'd been trying for years…you...you mentioned Malfoy Manor." he had to summon Gryffindor courage to get the words out. They hadn't spoken about Malfoy Manor in so long, he was surprised to find it was still difficult. The time which had passed had helped them all to move on and live their lives but there was pain from the war still buried deep inside many witches and wizards. With the help of mind healers, the trio had processed the difficult things to prevent the darkness from overtaking their lives. The Harry at Hogwarts age would likely have avoided these sorts of conversations with Ron, with anyone, but he'd since learned it was good to talk.

Ron took a deep breath and readied himself. "I'm sorry Harry, I shouldn't have blurted it out like that, at The Burrow. I know I probably wasn't making much sense. I've never felt so overwhelmed in my whole life…and some of the shit we've been through…that's saying something." he chuckled. "I honestly thought I was losing them both and I'd only found out about the baby a few days ago. Thank you for pulling me out of it. I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

"Merlin Ron, wise up. You'd do the same for me. You've done the same for me. I'm glad you messaged me. Always message me. Now get on with telling me what's happened over the last 9 years."

"I owe you that". Ron said, nodding. "It was the week after the war. I remember feeling so conflicted, happiness to finally be with her but utterly devastated at losing Fred and massively guilty anytime I felt that happiness while my family and friends were in so much pain." Harry nodded in agreement, he completely understood. "Look, we all went to mind healers right? We all had shit and trauma to deal with." Ron waved a hand between himself, Harry and Hermione." I don't think any of us three could get through a night without a nightmare, it was fucking horrible, I still dunno how we got through it."

"She was there for me through the funerals, especially at Fred's, you were too mate obviously, but she wasn't just there for me as a friend…no offence. There was something deep there, I knew when she kissed me in the room of requirement that it was really going to happen, that she was mine forever. I'd realised at the Yule Ball that I fancied her, those first pangs of jealousy over Victor…that took me a while to twig onto. I realised on the hunt that I was in love with her, still not sure if it was the moment when I left yous or if it was listening to her being tortured but by the battle I knew it. When she kissed me something inside me clicked into place. She felt like home and I knew she was my person, you know?" Ron was leaning forward on his knees looking at his clasped hands, his ears were bright red. Harry knew talking about his deepest feelings was awkward for him but it was good to finally hear. It was a testament to how much they'd all grown.

Harry didn't interrupt so Ron continued. "The day after Fred's funeral we went to our healer assessments, the physical ones. Remember Hermione was kept in? She told us it was because she was malnourished and needed strong potions so had to stay overnight. We headed back to The Burrow none the wiser. Well they were actually running tests on her core systems. You remember Neville's parents and how they ended up after the crucio, healers wanted to thoroughly check her out." Harry nodded thoughtfully even though Ron wasn't looking his way.

"They umm…told her she was very unlikely to conceive a baby…ever. There is dark magic scarring in her insides since then…and…yeah…I won't go into the details of a witch's anatomy but having a baby wasn't likely to happen. She didn't tell me Harry. She came home from St Mungo's and locked herself in Ginny's room for days. Told mum she needed to rest, take potions. She wouldn't speak to me, wouldn't let me in, wouldn't look at me. I was so confused, we'd had the kiss, we'd comforted each other the following days, I thought we were gearing up to start a relationship but she just went cold on me. Shut me out."

"I…I didn't notice. I'm so sorry." Harry spoke for the first time.

"Don't be silly mate, I'm sure you just thought I was upset about Fred…which I was, of course! You had enough going on. Anyway, eventually she told me she hadn't meant to kiss me, that it had been the heat of the moment in the battle and that I needed to leave her alone. She wanted to leave The Burrow but she'd nowhere to go, I think that hurt the most. I thought she'd regretted kissing me so much she couldn't even stand to be in the same house as me, I thought I'd fucked it so badly that I was going to lose her as a friend never mind anything else. The thought of screwing up our friendship was what stopped me kissing her for bloody years." Ron sighed sadly.

"Her parents were still in Australia, her own home was a wreck from death eaters' searches. She seemed so isolated and afraid. I tried to give her space, I backed off for a couple of days but I just couldn't leave it alone, I was going crazy. Do you remember I asked if I could take her to Grimmauld place? I couldn't think what else to do. I needed to talk to her properly, or vent or scream or fight, I just needed privacy for that conversation however it might have gone."

"Yeah, I didn't think much of it. Honestly thought you were looking somewhere to snog, tried not to think too much about what you guys would be getting up to." Harry teased.

Ron chuckled. "I wish! Anyway…told mum we'd a healer's appointment…since that was the only bloody time we got out of the house…fucking on the run death eaters. Floo'd to St Mungo's then straight back into the floo to Grimmauld place. Hermione wasn't best pleased but she agreed to it. I told her if she didn't talk to me I was going to talk to you and get you to ask her what the problem was. Figured you were still her best mate, she might tell you what terrible thing I'd done. She didn't seem to want that so she agreed to go with me."

"Cheers mate." Harry couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"Sorry I was at my wits end. It went terribly. The first hour she spent shouting that she wanted nothing to do with me…but I couldn't let it go until she told me why. She couldn't come up with anything, I at least wanted to hear it was for some valid reason. Like my bad language, or table manners or because I'd left on the hunt. That would have been fair enough. I'd have given up if I'd truly believed she didn't want me but she wouldn't tell me why so I kept on. Well after us screaming the place down at each other she finally broke down. Told me she couldn't be with me because 'she was defective, she couldn't have a baby and she wouldn't let me choose to be in a relationship with no future of a family'." Ron ran his hair through his hair, clearly distressed remembering the fight.

"I'm not going to lie I was devastated, I know we were only young but I always thought I'd have a family. Even before that kiss, since bloody 6th year, I'd wanted to see her in a white dress and thought about little ginger babies with her. That's pretty much why I chucked Lavender, Hermione had been properly on my mind since way back then. My initial reaction was grief at what we'd lost…not 'shit better find a witch who can make me a dad'. I dunno what she was thinking but it took me a long time to make her realise she was being bloody mental and I wanted her, regardless of a future without kids. She could have turned purple but fuck…she was still going to be my person. Plus, I'm a Weasley. I knew there would be plenty of ginger nieces and nephews running about to keep us more than entertained. She said some horrible stuff about herself, it blew my mind she could think those things about herself. I guess she was still in a very low place, we all were. I now know when you're that down you really can't think straight or make the right choices."

"Once she finally accepted I wasn't going to leave her alone with this she agreed to be my girlfriend. Merlin it took a long time to convince her, days or weeks I can't remember. She flipped between being ecstatic and snogging my face off to barely speaking and pushing me away again. We got through it, there were a few more visits to Grimmauld Place while we got ourselves sorted but eventually she agreed to be my girlfriend and it was the best thing ever." He smiled over at Harry.

"She was poked and prodded and tested for months. Nothing changed the status of her infertility. Eventually the healers said there is nothing that can be done to 'fix' it but they did have various things they could attempt when she wanted to try for a family. We put it behind us, with the help of mind healers and stuff we all slowly seemed to move on. Then after I proposed we made a plan to try straight after the wedding. And we did. We tried a lot." Ron blushed and smirked at Harry."

"Getting close to too much info here Ron…"

"Yeah yeah, we went through it all, tests, potions, charms, appointments. Every confirmation test was negative, I watched her sadness grow. Every new thing we tried started with new hope and then this horrible empty feeling of nothingness when the confirmation charm didn't find a heartbeat. This went on and on and on. It got exhausting. Finally, we said it was too much and stopped trying last year." Ron finished solemnly.

"What happened last year?" Harry asked.

"Honestly?" Ron looked to Harry who nodded.

"You and Ginny got pregnant." Harry grimaced. He'd no idea their news affected his friends so much but was starting to understand. "We are so happy for you both, of course we are. We just simply decided we had had enough. We have a lot of family and we wanted to be the fun Aunt and Uncle while focusing on other things. Wo took the promotions at work, made plans to travel. Us three have always been so close, we know we'll be close with a little Potter niece or nephew…fuck that sounds like we were planning on abducting your baby…sorry this isn't coming out right…is any of this making sense?"

"Yeah it's making sense. I know exactly what you're trying to say." Harry confirmed. Ron sighed in relief.

"We were happy not trying. We had more time, those appointments and treatments really took up a lot of us. We relaxed a lot and enjoyed being together again, not counting days, tracking cycles, taking potions being monitored or observed. Sex was just sex again and it was fun. It was fun before, don't get me wrong but there was no pressure. We weren't counting hours until we could do a confirmation charm. We were just a married couple and the shagging was great. Fuck sorry…too much information?"

"A bit yeah but I get it." Harry blushed.

"So I get home from the mission last Saturday…crawl into bed beside her…and she says 'we've missed you'. Obviously I thought Ginny or someone was staying over but then she pulls her wand from under the pillow and does the confirmation charm. There was a third light, a third heartbeat. Fuck Harry I couldn't believe my eyes. It was the most incredible…beautiful thing I've ever seen. The she said 'Welcome home Daddy'...fuck I cried…I couldn't believe it."

"Wow" Harry whispered, feeling emotional himself.

"Apparently she'd been really sick that morning we left…"

"Oh yeah she didn't walk us to the office that morning…went home to get something?" Harry said thoughtfully.

"Yeah that's what she told us. But she went to The Burrow and threw up in the kitchen sink straight away. Mum took one look at her and knew she was pregnant. When she spoke to her about it Hermione fell to pieces apparently…we've both been doing that a lot recently…she told Mum everything we'd been through but agreed to do a test. Mum took her to St Mungo's while we were away and they had it all confirmed. They told her she was really high risk and had to be careful, cut back on work etc. You'll have to get her to tell you the proper name and explain it, but it's something to do with magic finding a way…from what I understand our magical cores and marriage bond have been so strong it's found a way to make this happen. Must be pretty incredible magic, it's the same thing that's protected the baby during the attack. But the effort of protecting the baby has drained Hermione and that's why she's been placed on suspension."

"Bloody hell mate. That's a lot to take in."

"I know. Sorry about that."

"Shit Ron I'm sorry for ever joking…about…you know."

"Nah stop, you weren't to know. That's how she wanted it to be."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry asked.

"I had to agree with her…you…umm…you were in a bad way yourself back then. We didn't want you to worry. Hermione didn't want to be judged. I know that's ridiculous but that's how she felt. Didn't want to be judged or pitied." Ron rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"Or for you feeling guilty…you thought everything that happened in the war was on you. But that was never how it was." Ron smiled at his best friend.

"I know that now. Thank you for telling me. I can't really believe you guys kept this to yourselves all this time. I wish I'd been there for you both." Harry said sadly.

"Harry…you've been there…in so many ways... for both of us."

"Ron…" Harry started but didn't get to finish the thought as there was a knock at the door and Mrs Weasley appeared.

"Good morning, oh Harry you're here, how wonderful! Ron dear, will you please go speak to your Auror and let your father in to visit please?

"Morning Mum" Ron said brightly. He gave Harry a meaningful smile indicating the conversation was over and jumped to his feet to leave the room.

"Morning" said Harry gingerly rising from the chair. Molly pulled him into a hug making him wince and gasp.

"Harry, what have you done to yourself?" she exclaimed and pulled back to look at him properly.

"Nothing much, a few sore ribs but I'm heading home right now to see Gin and get myself sorted."

"I take it that dreadful man is caught?" Molly beamed at him, not letting him go of his shoulders.

"He is." Harry smiled back at her.

"And everyone else is ok?"

"Yes, the teams accounted for."

"Well done dear! Such a relief. You look dreadful though. I've brought breakfast, won't you have something to eat with us before you go?"

"Thanks Molly but I've got to get home. I just wanted to let Ron know so he could rest a bit easier."

"Ah you're wonderful Harry. What would we do without you? Go on, get home to our poor Ginny. She'll be ever so glad to have you back." Harry nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait" Molly pulled him very gently in for another hug. "Thank you for coming on Tuesday Harry, I've never seen him like that before…I didn't know what to do."

"I don't think he wanted you to see him like that…but yeah…I'll always be there. He'd do the same for me." he shrugged.

"You're a good boy."

The door opened and Ron returned with Mr Weasley. "Eh Mum, let the man breathe, he's broken a few ribs." He turned to Harry "Alright mate are you off? You don't need to."

"Yes, good to see you all, I'm heading home for a dose of Skelegro and sleep. Bye everyone. See you tomorrow Ron." He reached out and clasped Ron's shoulder. There was a chorus of "Bye Harry" as he took one last look at Hermione and slipped out of the room, leaving Ron to be fussed over by his parents.

Harry couldn't help feeling happy. Despite the tiredness, broken bones and Hermione in hospital he was smiling. His best friends were going to be ok, they were going to have a baby and he was going to be an uncle again. He'd done a good job today apprehending a dangerous death eater. Lastly and most importantly he was heading home to see his beautiful pregnant wife, looking forward to being a father himself. His life had always been full of difficulty but ultimately, as Ron would put it, he was one sodding lucky git.