Author's Notes: Thank you Arnel for beta'ing!
Please consider following me on Face book (Sarah Jaune) or (same name) since the story is rapidly coming to a close. I'm likely not going to pick up another fanfic for a long time (if ever).
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
James didn't leave Caroline's side until she was fully asleep, the dog in the bed next to her. He'd told her he'd stay with her, but she'd insisted he go down and take care of the kids.
They had over two dozen adults downstairs, all of whom could keep Alex and Asher safe, but she'd insisted. It only took her five minutes before the potion Audrey gave her kicked in and he bent to lay his lips on her cheek as her breath puffed out softly, her hand on the dog's side as he snored quietly. He hadn't even needed two minutes to pass out.
James straightened and studied the love of his life… who was pregnant. He was so glad that they had an explanation for the dreams and her weird symptoms, but he didn't like that she hadn't been given a choice. She'd chosen to adopt Alex and raise him. She'd chosen to get pregnant with Asher. He knew she'd come to love this baby with her whole heart. That was how she was made. But keeping control over her body was part of what kept Caroline's mental health stable. This might be a setback. Or it might not be… after she'd had several hours of sleep, she might be okay.
It worried him. He wasn't worried about being a dad again, although it was going to be a crazy ride for the next several months. England was, for the first time in years, favored to win the World Cup and despite the last five days of Caroline's very poor sleep, James was playing extremely well.
He'd have to let his coach know about the baby. They might want to knock him back to the reserves for the season and while he'd be sad for it, he'd also understand. It was a team sport.
The baby… Merlin, he was already in love all over again. James ran his hand over his heart at the ache in his chest and continued to gaze down at her, her blonde hair spilling around her shoulders.
No, he was worried for his wife. He'd contact her therapist as soon as they were home and get her in just as quickly as he could because he wasn't going to take any chances with her or the baby. He thought about the path he'd been on before Caroline and before he'd been in love with her. He'd taken all of this for granted. He'd just assumed his family would always love him and stand by him, no matter how he treated them.
If he was still that same person today that he'd been back then, he wouldn't have a wife and he wouldn't have two children with another on the way. He wouldn't deserve any of this, so he was going to do whatever it took to protect this life they were building.
He cast the monitoring charm on her, so he'd hear when she woke, and silently left the bedroom.
He was absolutely amazed by the level of noise he could hear from downstairs. He jogged down quickly and found both Harry and Ron in a heap on the floor with almost all of the kids jumping on them to be tossed about and tickled.
The only one not in the game was, unsurprisingly, Olivia, who was in Bill's arms, her fingers in her mouth, and her head on her papa's shoulder.
James skirted the chaos and went to the family kitchen to grab a glass of water, which he chugged quickly. He turned and nearly jumped, not having heard Al come up behind in. "Hey," he said to his brother, still a little dazed. He focused on his nephew, who was somehow sleeping through the racket, in Al's arms.
"Hey," Al said studying him carefully. "I was coming to fetch Nat some food. She's hungry and needed to sit. You okay?"
"I have no idea," James told him as he carefully reached out to take his nephew. "I'll hold him, you get the food while I tell you about it."
Before he'd even said a word, Teddy was there with a beer in one hand and a crisp in the other. "Is Caroline okay?"
"She's pregnant," James told his brothers as he rocked Wyatt, almost out of habit. Two sets of eyes, one green, one hazel, stared at him.
"Wow," Al said as then he grinned. "Congratulations, then! I didn't know you were trying."
"They weren't," Teddy said with half a grin and a raised beer in salute. "I know that feeling all too well." Then his expression sobered. "Is she okay?"
James looked down at Wyatt's tiny face, at the small whisps of downy hair that were starting to come in and felt something inside him loosen up. "She wasn't sleeping well."
"Give me a moment," Al told them as he quickly assembled a plate and strode off. He was back a moment later, fishing out a beer. He held it up for James. "Want one?"
James shook his head, and for a moment it was just the three of them in the family kitchen.
Lily's house had two kitchens, the family kitchen, which was smaller, and the professional one for hosting parties. Everyone had thought Lily's idea to put the professional kitchen in was overkill, but it was already coming in handy.
Al opened his beer and took a pull before focusing on James. "She's not sleeping well."
"No, she's had really bad dreams for a few days now," James told them the story of how she'd hit him in her sleep. "She feels terrible about it."
Teddy shrugged unsympathetically. "It's just payback for all the times we all wanted to hit you when you were younger, but didn't."
"Roxy and Dom hit me all the time," James said as a small smile played over his mouth. "I used to wonder why."
"But you don't now," Teddy laughed and took another drink. "Merlin's beard, you were a pain in the arse."
"But you're not now," Al added quietly as he studied James.
"Agreed," Teddy told him. "You're a good man, James. I am proud to call you my brother."
"Same," Al agreed and James felt that clench in his chest again. "If the sleeping potion from Aunt Audrey doesn't help, you need to tell us. Polly can help you out."
James raised Wyatt up and kissed the crown of his head. "We will ask for help if we need it. I'm not going to shy away from that. Her emotional health is critical, but I will wait to see what happens when she's slept well for a few nights."
"We have Teeny constantly," Teddy reminded him. "Ginny can be with you and you know Fleur is always happy to help."
"Angelina just retired," Al reminded them. "She told Uncle George he could keep his own damn books from now on."
The three brothers broke out in a laugh. "I don't know if she's completely retired," James said fairly. "I think she was just mad at him over lighting her office on fire and Honor wanted to switch out of her job at the Ministry so it worked out that she would take over."
"Honor will have more patience for George and his haphazard record keeping," Al observed as Lily's cat, Ducky, wandered into the kitchen and wound around Teddy's legs.
"I am not so sure on that," James told them as he let out a long sigh. "But she doesn't have to live with him, so that helps."
"What's happening in here?" Fred asked as he strolled in with Jonah on his hip. His son's brown eyes were focused on them, a Fred in miniature.
"Hey," Teddy held out a hand for Fred and then smiled at the baby who would be one shortly. "Hi Jonah."
Jonah grinned and lunged for Teddy who swung him up high. It was a favorite game all the kids had with Teddy.
"Already abandoned," Fred said with a grin. Then he glanced to James. "You okay?"
"I'm going to be a dad again," James told him as he shifted Wyatt, who was starting to wake. "Just found out."
"Seriously?" Fred let out a big laugh. "Well, congratulations! Three under four years old…"
James hadn't considered that part of it. He shot Teddy a glance.
Teddy blew a raspberry into Jonah's cheek and shook his head. "At least it isn't twins for the second time. We will have six kids six years and under."
That was even more of a daunting thought.
James finally retrieved Asher from Louis and managed to get both boys fed while conversations rolled around him. He didn't exactly announce the pregnancy, but by the end of the meal everyone knew. It was probably easier that way, and no one would make a big fuss.
Caroline finally woke just after everyone was done eating. He heard the dog first and went to fix a plate after asking Honor, Louis, and Lena to keep an eye on Alex and Asher. He took it up and found her just exiting the attached loo as he came into the room.
"Here," he said as he set it on the side table and flipped on one of the lamps. He studied her face as she sat down and didn't know what he saw there. "Tell me what you need."
Caroline's mouth and nose twisted a bit as Rufus nosed up to her back, but she reached over for the glass he'd brough up and took a long gulp and then ate a few bites of food. It was a good sign. In the past, when she'd been very depressed, she would stop eating. But she ate most of the plate before she said anything. "Tell me it'll be okay."
If it was anyone else, it would have been an odd thing to ask, but James understood completely. He cupped her cheek and lightly pressed his mouth to hers. "It's going to be brilliant. You're going to be amazing." He pulled back and studied her and saw the doubts there. He gently moved her hair back to her ear. "Tell me what's wrong."
Her blue eyes filled as her lip trembled. "I… I kinda did it on purpose."
"Did what?" James asked, but then he knew and he couldn't help but laugh because he knew. "Oh, luv…" he kissed her as he continued to chuckle, actually relieved. This was something easy to deal with. "That's okay."
"It's not okay!" she told him. "I should have told you! I knew I was supposed to take it on time and then… well I did take it and I convinced myself it would be fine. I'd taken it a little late before and I didn't get pregnant…"
He put his thumbs on her lips, stopping the apology he didn't need or want. He looked into her eyes, remembered her from when she was twelve and so thankful he was sitting here with her a decade later. "Were you thinking you wanted a baby?"
She raised her hands and let them drop. "I don't know… sometimes yes and sometimes no, but Asher is still just a baby and you're heading for the World Cup and—"
"That's a big maybe," James reminded her. "We have months of play yet before I know if I'm going to the World Cup."
She let out a long sigh and sucked in her bottom lip for a moment. "I really did think I was going crazy. I was so scared to sleep."
"Did you have any dreams?" he asked and was relieved at the shake of her head. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm thrilled about the baby," he assured her and he really meant it. "If you're thinking these thoughts, you can always tell me. You can tell me anything."
"You'd say yes to make me happy. You always do."
He considered her for a moment and realized that yes, he probably would because he was so grateful to have her healing and with him that he wanted to give her everything. "Well," he said as he caressed her face and tried to think of something to say. "I guess I'm making up for the first half of your life."
Her eyes dropped and she leaned forward to rest her head on his chest. "That's not your job."
"Of course it is," he told her firmly. "I'm your husband, it's definitely my job." When she didn't say anything, he finally said, "How about this… you can't have a cat."
"But I want a cat."
He heard the humor in her voice and grinned and pulled her in as close as he could. "You can probably talk me into it."
She poked him in the side. "Jamie…" Caroline pulled back and then reached up to touch the bruise on his cheek. "I'm sorry about this." When he would have protested, she shook her head so he waited. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I was feeling… and about not taking the potion on time."
"You're the one who has to take it, not me," he reminded her. "If I were a girl, I'd never remember, and I'd be pregnant a lot. You'd have a right to be mad at me."
"But I wouldn't be," she said quietly, looking into his eyes. "You're really happy?"
He knew his grin must have looked ridiculous, based on the expression on her face, but he didn't care. "Yes. I'm really, really happy."
"Okay," she said and moved forward to kiss him. "Then I'm good too. I want to eat something, talk to family a bit, then go home, take a long bath, and go back to sleep. That potion Audrey gave me was magical."
"That's a plan."