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It had been four months since we broke the news to my family. And Teddy and I were beyond strong. We were even talking about the prospect of marriage. But today wasn’t about marriage. Today was about the baby. My baby shower. Have I ever mentioned that I hate parties? Especially ones where I’m the center of it. I’d much rather go to a pub with the guys. Not that I’d be able to drink, but still. This was not my ideal day.

Victoire and, begrudgingly, Dominique planned my baby shower with Rose, Caroline, and my Mum. The only thing I was looking forward to was the fact that James and Fred promised me that it would not be boring for long. That was something to look forward to, at least. It kept me smiling through all of the Muggle games dealing with how big I was. I did not appreciate that game.

Especially when Uncle George made the ribbon twice as big as I actually was. Not funny. At all.

I made Teddy stay with me, along with the rest of the guys, rather than let them go to the backyard and have a beer. If I had to suffer, so did they. It was only fair.

We all gathered around for presents, about halfway through the party. After presents came dinner. Which is why I wanted to rip through the presents in a jiffy. I was hungry. And Grandmum cooked. And. She made her treacle tart. Teddy didn’t know it yet, but he was giving me his piece of treacle tart. Whether he wanted to or not.

I opened a lot of presents that day, ranging from blankets and clothes to cribs, diapers, and bassinets. But one present stood out amongst the others. And it actually caused those fated hormones to kick in and me to cry. Even Teddy was speechless.

“Whose is this one?” I asked chirpily. Dominique raised her hand timidly and I smiled slightly at her. We weren’t the best of friends, but we were better. Victoire made us get together once a week and talk through things. It was annoying, but effective.

I bit my lip as Teddy helped me untie the bow. He was very strict with letting me near something that could hurt me. Evidently the bow could give me a paper cut, which led to blood loss. He was way overprotective. I’m sure our daughter will want to strangle him ten minutes after birth.

After pushing his hands away from the box, after he unwrapped the entire thing, I might add, I lifted the lid and pulled out a turquoise scrapbook. On the front of the cover, it was titled: Mrs. Theodore Lupin & Mr. Abigail Weasley. I grinned as my fingers drifted over the script and I heard Teddy laugh from beside me.

The next sound that came out of my mouth was a gasp, as was Teddy’s. I’m not sure how, but Dominique had a picture of the day I proposed to Teddy. The picture started with James and me soaring up into the air, and then Teddy coming to my rescue. And finally me proposing to Teddy and he laughing as he called me Mrs. Theodore Lupin. It was my favorite present. The rest of the scrapbook had pictures of the two of us together, now mainly and the few of us when we were younger and happened to have been photographed together. But my favorite picture was the one from two weeks ago, where I was lying on the couch and Teddy was in between my legs with one hand on my belly and the other holding Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump as he read to Nymphadora. Victoire and Dominique had come over that night to discuss last minute details of the shower with us.

That’s the picture that made me cry. Waking up that day, I never thought I’d do what I was about to do. But I did.

I handed the scrapbook to Teddy while I hauled myself off the couch and hugged Dominique tightly. She beamed at me when I pulled away and whispered my thank you. She kissed both of my cheeks before I returned to my seat. It’s safe to say that Dominique and I are doing much, much better these days.

The next month went by quickly for Teddy and me. He was busy with work and I was busy with shopping for Nymphadora. Not really. I was bored out of my mind and really wanted to play Quidditch. But I wasn’t allowed. Ordered by my boyfriend, father, and Healer. So, instead I watched chick flicks on TV. Having a Muggleborn mother and aunt was a blessing. I haven’t a clue as to what I’d do if I didn’t have this TV right now. There wasn’t much drama in my life, per se, except of course when it happened. Though that’s not really drama, just craziness.

Teddy had to work, so James and Fred came over and we watched some action movies and played a few board games. The boys still refused to talk to Alfie, as did I. So, the pack was down to just the three of us. And on guy’s night, we refused to let Teddy join us. He understood though, so it was okay.

“And, I win again!” James exclaimed with a punch in the air for effect. I pouted as we flipped the Rummikub tiles back over. And then I let out a little shriek as my hand flew to my stomach. The boys just stared at me in horror and concern.

I groaned and started breathing heavily. This was not happening. It was too soon. I still had a couple of weeks left, for Merlin’s sake.

“Are you going to sit there and stare at me all day or are you going to take me to the hospital and go get Teddy?” I growled at them. They both got up in a flurry as they yelled at each other for coats and overnight bags. I heard the front door slam and I growled in frustration before Fred reappeared with an apologetic smile on his face.

“Forgot something, have you?” I asked sarcastically and he laughed loudly as he helped me stand. Flooing and Apparating are very dangerous when you’re pregnant, so the Healer gave us a legal Portkey at our last visit. All we had to do was activate it and we’d land in the waiting room at the hospital.

The next hour was a blur that included a lot of pain and screaming and squeezing fingers painfully. Teddy arrived around an hour and a half after Fred and I had gotten there. Evidently he had been on a mission, and Uncle Harry had to go find him and then find a replacement for him. Needless to say, Fred and I were happy to see him.

“You idiot! Where have you been?” I wailed as Teddy appeared beside me. I barely noticed the sympathetic expression that Fred sent to Teddy when he left his post by my bed.

“I know! I’m sorry. I was on a mission,” Teddy explained as he sat beside me and smoothed back my hair. He kissed me softly on the forehead and I sighed before clenching my teeth in pain. Contractions were not pleasant. At all. We were not friends.

I remember the exact moment Nymphadora was placed into my and Teddy’s arms. She was tiny, with a tiny button nose, though I could have sworn it kept going from larger to smaller each minute. It wasn’t until her Weasley red hair morphed into a bright green that I realized I wasn’t hallucinating and her nose really was getting bigger and smaller in turns.

I remember when I was seven and I proposed to Teddy that I wondered what color hair our children would have—Weasley red or his Metamorphmagus abilities. Now, we have the answer. And she was absolutely precious.

I leaned my head back against Teddy’s shoulder tiredly as Teddy’s pointer finger got swallowed up by our daughter’s little fist.

“Abi?” Teddy whispered and I hummed my reply. “Will you marry me?”

“Nope,” I said with a yawn.

“Why not? We’ve been talking about it,” he replied and I could almost see the lines between his eyebrows scrunch up.

“I’m too tired,” I mumbled and before I could fall into dreamland, I heard Teddy’s chuckles fill the room as he kissed my forehead.

“I’ll ask you again when you’re more alive,” he murmured as he pulled Nymphadora from my arms and tucked me into bed.

Teddy never did ask me to marry him again.


:evillaugh What do you think?