believing (until the end)

Ginny was awake. And had been for the last 30 minutes.

By now it was nothing new that she woke up several times during the night to go to the toilet, because the baby liked to lie directly on her bladder. She had also woken up during the night because of this. Five minutes later, when she was lying in bed again and had closed her eyes, she felt the pain for the first time. It was an unpleasant twitching sensation that started in her lower abdomen and went all the way down her back. It was strange to feel this pain again after more than nine months, yet it was different somehow. Sure, she had felt braxton-hicks contractions in the last few days, even weeks, but they hadn't been that painful.

She had tried to sleep again. But in vain.

Silently, she lay on her left side, half on her nursing pillow, watching Harry sleep. His features were completely relaxed and without his glasses he didn't look like a twenty-three year old, but more like an eighteen year old.

Ginny watched him stir slowly and a short time later green eyes blinked sleepily at her.

"Hey," he whispered as Ginny ran a hand through his hair.

"Hey," she returned the greeting, resting her other hand on her stomach.

"What time is it?" mumbled Harry sleepily.

"Half past four," she replied.

"What are you doing up already?"

Ginny smiled slightly. "I went to the bathroom and then I was intending going back to sleep."

"But?" he echoed, wrapping an arm around her.

"But I had a contraction and haven't been able to get back to sleep since," she replied quietly.

Harry's eyes widened. "You're having contractions?"

"I said I had one single contraction." She squinted her eyes and her body tensed. "Though I am just having the second one."

"When did you have the first one?" asked Harry, stroking Ginny's arm reassuringly as she breathed in and out deeply.

"About three quarters of an hour ago." The contraction slowly subsided and she opened her eyes again. "I think Baby wants out. But we still have a long time before we have to go to the hospital."

Harry sat up slowly and reached for his glasses on his bedside table. "Shall we go down to the living room? I'll make us something to eat and we can lie on the couch and watch movies in a very relaxed way until it's time."

Ginny also straightened up with some effort and nodded. "That sounds good."

For a week now, Harry had been taking time off work so that he could be with Ginny from the beginning when things started. It was October and his paternity leave would continue until march. How things went after that, Harry and Ginny would decide then. It depended on when Ginny returned to the Harpies. They had a plan, but they had to see how quickly Ginny would recover after the birth and when she would feel ready to go back to playing Quidditch. But Harry was more than happy to be home. Sure he loved his job, but he loved his family a thousand times more.

~

"Do you need anything else?" asked Harry, looking down at his wife who was lying in a blanket on the sofa, her feet up and a plate of breakfast resting on her stomach.

She shook her head. "I just need you here beside me," she replied with a smile.

No sooner had Harry sat down beside her and pulled her to him than she tensed again and exhaled haltingly.

"Another contraction?" asked Harry.

"Hmmm," grumbled Ginny. "How long has it been since the last one?"

"Three quarters of an hour again," he replied.

Her body relaxed again and she looked at Harry. "So what are we going to do now?"

"Do you want to watch a movie? Maybe you'll fall asleep again during it," Harry suggested.

"I don't think I've ever watched a movie at five in the morning," she replied with a grin.

Harry returned her smile. "Sometime is always the first time. It will probably be the last time, too, until our baby goes to Hogwarts. Or until his or her siblings go to Hogwarts."

"Siblings?! I'm still pregnant with our first child and you're already talking about siblings?", Ginny asked her husband, amused.

"Is the thought of that so bad then?"

"No. But I don't want to say anything yet until I have squeezed this child out of me."

~

"What time is it?" groaned Ginny, propping her forearms on the back of the sofa.

Harry took his left hand from her lower back and looked at his watch. "Eleven o'clock at night." He drew his eyebrows together in concern.

"Harry, I know exactly how you're looking at me right now," his wife returned strained.

"Are you sure you don't want us to go to St Mungos already?"

Ginny's body slowly relaxed again and she sat back down. "The contractions are still every fifteen minutes. We still have time. I'd rather be here at home where I'm comfortable than in hospital where they're sticking needles up my arm."

"Sooner or later, though, that's going to happen."

"Then later rather than sooner." Ginny put one hand on her stomach and held the other out to Harry. "Can you help me up, I need to go to the bathroom!"

Harry reached his hand to her and pulled her up. He watched her go into the small bathroom on the ground floor.

For over eighteen hours now they had done nothing more than lie on the sofa and somehow pass the time around until it was time to go to the hospital. In between, they had wandered around the house or eaten, but not much else.

He was lost in thought and didn't really notice Ginny opening the bathroom door again and leaning in the doorway.

"Harry?"

Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked to her.

"Are you all right?" he asked, walking towards her.

"Yeah, I just think you can go ahead and get our bag."

"What, why?" he asked, confused, looking down at her.

Ginny sighed, "Because my water just broke and it's time to go to St Mungos."

Harry inhaled sharply. "Okay," he breathed. "Okay."

~

It wasn't five minutes before Harry had packed up the last of their things and was back downstairs in the living room. Ginny was waiting for him in front of the fireplace, one hand resting on her stomach.

She smiled. "We're having a baby," she said softly, her smile widening.

Her husband returned her smile nervously, "We're having a baby."

Harry reached a hand out and helped her into the fireplace and a few seconds and lots of soot later they were climbing out of the fireplace in the reception area of St Mungo's. Ginny pulled the hood of her hoodie down low on her face, because the last thing she needed right now was to be recognised. With brisk steps, she and Harry walked towards the reception counter.

"Good evening, what can I do for you?" the witch at the reception asked, smiling at them both. If she had noticed who was standing there in front of her, she didn't let on.

"Hello, I'm Ginny Potter. I went into labour this morning and my water just broke," Ginny replied patiently.

"All right. Have you had your check-ups here?"

Ginny nodded.

"Who was your accompanying healer?"

"Healer Wilson," Ginny replied, bracing herself against the counter as pain washed over her body.

"You can go to room 308 and wait for Healer Wilson there," the reception witch said, addressing Harry and handing him a clipboard. "But first, please fill out this document."

~

"Ugh, I'm never doing that again!" grumbled Ginny, leaning against Harry. "Never again!"

Harry raised a hand and ran it through her hair. "I wish there was something I could do to help you."

After ten hours in the hospital, Ginny hadn't felt like just lying around in her room waiting for Baby Potter to finally make his move. That was why she and Harry were pacing up and down the corridor outside her room. Not many more options left to them as neither of them were very keen on being recognised by anyone.

"I just want it to be over and for us to have our baby," Ginny whined, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her stomach touched his and he could feel a kick from the baby.

"You heard the healers. You could take a potion for the pain, or you could choose to have a c-section," Harry said, putting his hands on her hips.

Ginny shook her head vigorously. "No, that's not an option."

He sighed. "Gin, you've been in labour for twenty-nine hours now."

"No, I don't want them to cut my belly open and then patch it back up if I can help it. I don't fancy another scar, tremendous pain and a longer recovery time."

"And the potion?" tried Harry.

Another shake of the head. "I don't want to be confined to bed for the next few hours and only remember two per cent of the birth later."

"And how about some company?" he suggested.

Ginny lifted her head and looked at him curiously. "Speak your mind, Potter!"

~

"Oh Ginny!" a voice sounded at the door and a glance over her shoulder told her that her youngest brother and her sister-in-law had entered the room.

"Hey," she replied wearily.

"How are you?" asked Hermione, sitting down in a chair opposite her. Ron followed her.

"Better," the redhead replied.

"She agreed to take something light for the pain," Harry explained, sitting on the bed next to his wife.

"What's in your hand?" asked Ron suspiciously of his sister, pointing to her left hand.

"That's an access point to give me the potions I need through my blood in an emergency. They also gave me the potion that dulls the pain a bit over that," she returned, looking up from her hand again.

"Does Mum know you're here yet?"

"No, or she'd show up here right away," Ginny replied. "We don't get her to join us until just before the pushing out process."

She propped herself up with both hands and rose from the bed with some difficulty. Harry didn't dare help her at first, as she wasn't very responsive to such acts towards the end of her pregnancy.

"It's funny to think about not having such a big belly soon. I've had a visible belly for around six months now," she said, stroking her belly with one hand.

"Are you nervous?", Hermione wanted to know.

"Nervous about being a mother or nervous that the actual birth is still to come for me?"

Hermione smiled slightly. "That you still have the actual birth to come."

Ginny shrugged. "I'll just be glad when it's over. Besides, there's no going back anyway."