Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!

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Draco knew as soon as he woke that chilly morning.

His gray eyes widened as he slowly sat up in bed and breathed in the near tangible sweetness that permeated the air.

If he hadn't known better, he could easily have mistaken it for sweets in the oven at Honeydukes' bakery.

The aroma was so pleasant and innocently sweet, but………as he looked over at his heavily pregnant omega, his eyes softened.

His heart clenched in his chest as he carefully slipped a hand under the covers and spread his fingers over what his large hand could cover of her massive belly.

The day had come when they would meet their baby.

Draco's mouth went dry as he silently recalled all of the midwife's instructions and each book he had read on labor and childbirth.

The idea of witnessing the event didn't frighten him in the least, although the terror of his own potential inadequacies horrified him.

What if he failed to support his mate during the moment she needed him most?

What if he-

"...Draco?" A groggy voice asked.

Draco blinked as he pulled himself out of his own musings to gaze down into Hermione's eyes.

"Good morning, love." He smiled down at his darling.

Hermione's cheeks flushed the slightest shade of pink.

Love.

She still hadn't grown accustomed to Draco calling her by that affectionate pet name.

He had first addressed her by that sweet sentiment during a particularly difficult bout of back pain she had endured a few weeks earlier.

Hermione hadn't failed to notice that he had seemed to enjoy using her new moniker.

"Good morning." She sighed as she let her head roll back against the mound of pillows she rested on.

"How are you feeling today?" Draco asked, determined to keep his voice calm even while his heart raced with anxiety.

All she would have to do would be to mention the slightest hint of pain and he would be on his feet, wand in hand, ready to send for-

"-Like I haven't slept at all." Hermione said as she yawned and stretched what she could of herself.

Draco blinked as a worried frown crossed his pale features as he watched her settle against the pillows to slip back into slumber.

"Then rest, love." He whispered as he gently pulled the covers up to her shoulders to ward off the morning chill, "Rest as long as you need."

As Hermione's breathing grew steady and deep, Draco silently stood to his feet and padded out of the room.

While he had the chance, he took the opportunity to make certain everything was in place.

He moved from one closet to another while he checked that all the necessary supplies had been gathered and stored.

He swallowed dryly as he held his wand and practiced the summoning charm he would use to send for the midwife.

The notion that he had prepared as well as could be expected for the birth of his first child brought his troubled heart little comfort, though it did help ease the anxieties that rushed through his mind.

He wished his mate would have agreed to travel to St. Mungo's for the delivery, but the midwife had assured him most omegas preferred to remain in their nests.

As Draco padded back down the hallway and peered at his sleeping lover through his cracked bedroom door, he frowned as he imagined the trials she would soon endure.

He could forgive Hermione for being obstinate about the birth's location, as long as she was safe and comfortable, that's all that mattered.

A soft groan widened his eyes and sent fear shooting through his heart.

Before Hermione could whimper, he slipped through the door like a gliding snake and slithered over to crouch by her side on the bed.

"Mmm…….Draco?" Hermione asked drowsily.

"What's the matter?" He snapped with an unfriendly sense of emergency in his voice, "What's wrong? Are you hurting? Where is the pain?"

Hermione huffed as she rustled around in the covers and slowly cracked her eyes open, "...I woke up and…..now I can't find a comfortably place to lay."

"Are you hurting?" Draco repeated, desperate for an answer.

"I'm always hurting now." Hermione pouted as she subconsciously slipped a hand behind herself to rub at her lower back.

"I'm here, love, I'm here." Draco whispered as he gently pushed her hands out of the way to use his large palms.

The pleased exhale that left her lips as his skillful hands began to knead away the tension inflicted upon her by her tensing muscles brought a soft smile to Draco's lips.

Although anticipative terror coursed through his heart, it bolstered his pride to know he could be useful to his mate.

He watched Hermione sigh as the pain passed as she blinked her drowsy eyes open a bit more.

"...Love?" Draco frowned, "What can I do to help you?"

"Nothing, Draco. Don't be so worried!" She chided him with a teasing smile, "I'm only waking up, that's all. Nothing's the matter. I'm certain today will be as uneventful as any other day."

Draco bit his lip as she shrugged aside the very real, gnawing feeling of impending doom that pulled at the fibers of his soul.

For the first time in a long time, Hermiome Granger had been wrong.

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Both Reigna, the pamphlets, and every book Draco had read on the subject had promised him it would be long and slow, that the process would take hours of specialized care and coaxing.

Immediately after lunch, fluid had gushed from between Hermione's legs, sending her forward in a doubled-up heap.

Draco had followed the directions she had hissed between long, loud wails and placed her in the tub, which he had filled with warm water, and then called her midwife to come at once.

Hermione had her eyes closed and her hands gripping the side of the tub with white knuckles once he barged back into the bathroom.

He fell to his knees next to the tub as he caught her biting her lip.

Gently but firmly, without yelling or betraying his own rising panic, Draco gently stroked the back of her hand as he whispered, "Breathe, love, breathe……Remember your breath."

As Hermione flinched under his touch, her lips parted ever so slightly to let out a low, rumbling moan as she gnashed her teeth.

"Love?" Draco asked as he watched his mate. His gray eyes softened as he wished for something, anything, to aid her, "She'll be here soon, alright? I called her a moment ago. We'll hear a pop and she'll be here with us…..Just hold on!"

Hermione stilled for just a minute as she sank back against the bathtub, gasping for air, her eyes still closed.

As her body relaxed, Draco realized to his own horror, that she began to shake violently seconds before her amber eyes opened to stare into his.

"Love?" He asked as he sat up and clutched her hand, "Has the water gone cold already? The pamphlets said you wouldn't tremble until-"

"-I'm going to be sick, Draco." Hermione warned in a dry gasp as she struggled to pull herself over the porcelain edge of the tub.

He barely had enough time to remove his wand once more and turn a cologne bottle that stood on the bathroom vanity into a wastebasket before Hermiome heaved up what little contents had laid in her stomach.

Draco tried to stay calm while he held her hair away from her face and frowned in sympathy at the heavy breathing that mixed with her groans as her retching finally ended.

As Hermione raised herself out of the water, Draco noticed the sound of wet splashing.

"...Love?" He asked as Hermione dared raise her eyes to meet his, "Is that……?"

Draco's eyes widened as he watched her features contort in agony as a pain unlike any other as it gripped her midsection and started across her back.

While she groaned through the overwhelming sensation, Draco hurriedly looked down and realized during the last few drips that the gushing sound had not in fact been an error with his wandless convenience.

"Hermione….." Draco whispered at the second gush.

If she had been able to hear him, her eyes would have widened at hearing her first name fall from his lips for the very first time.

"I think it's…." He began to say before he was cut off by a loud wail.

"NNNNGGGGHHHHH!"

The pain that erupted through her body twisted her to the point of exhaustion.

Her heart pounded in her ears as her teeth gnashed against each other while her body as a whole was thrust downward from the inside out.

A pop rang out.

Footsteps rushed towards the bathroom.

In one moment of swirling terror, the storm suddenly ended as the midwife crouched next to Draco and guided him as he pulled their new baby into the world.

Shaking with recovery, Hermione opened her eyes as she heard Draco's hoarse cry mingle with a small, high-pitched whimper.

"She's perfect!"

A gasp left her throat as she looked from the tears that ran down her mate's cheeks to the dirty newborn girl that he and the midwife placed on her chest.

Everyone blinked in surprise when another spasm, scream, and push later brought forth a squirming, squealing baby boy to join his sister.