Rating: M

Warnings: Slash, Mpreg, OOC

Pairings: SS/HP and SB/RL

Genres: Romance, Drama, Angst

Summary: Sequel to 'Chasing Perfection.' Unable to have children, Sirius and Remus ask Harry to become their surrogate, much to the displeasure of Harry's lover, Severus. Can the two of them hold their relationship together when Severus's plans to propose are put to the test? SLASH, MPREG, SSHP, SBRL

The Hardest Thing of All

Chapter One: Animal Noises

If it hadn't have been for the cooling charm that had been placed about the room, the glaring heat shining through the window would have been unbearable. As it was, Harry was able to sit quite comfortably in the large squishy armchair, baby in lap and book in hand. Birds were singing in the trees outside and children were nattering to each other as they made their way home from school, but Harry's attention was solely focused on his son as he flicked through his favourite picture book.

"And this is a picture of a moo-moo cow," said Harry, turning the page. "And what do moo-moo cows say? They say mooooo."

Tristan's face lit up and he giggled. "Mu!"

Harry smiled to himself and pointed to the next picture.

"And this little one here is a cat," he said. "And what do cats say? They say meow! Meow!"

"Mow!" he squealed excitedly, hitting the book with his tiny hands. "Mow!"

"That's right," he chuckled, turning the page again. "And this fluffy white one here" he said, "is a sheep. And we all know what sheep say, don't we? Sheep say Baa! Baaaa!"

"Ba!"

"Yes, that's right," Harry encouraged. "Baaa!"

"Ba!"

He turned the page one last time and pointed to the picture there. "I wonder what this one is," he said against Tristan's ear. "I think this must be a ducky duck. And ducky ducks say…quack! Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack!"

Tristan squealed with joy as Harry inundatedhim with kissing and quacking and he broke into laughter when the tickling began. Only when the door opened did his father let up the attack.

"Are you entertaining the baby or yourself?"

Harry pulled away from his son and looked up with a grin.

"Severus," he smiled, "I didn't hear you come in. What time did you get back?"

"Just now," he said, coming into the room. He watched fondly as his giggling son calmed down and Harry shifted him in his lap.

"So how did the meeting with the publisher go?"

"Fine," he said. "I should have the book finished within the next couple of months, giving the editors more than enough time to go through it. It's scheduled to be released next summer and it's already been given a place on the Hogwarts reading list."

"Oh Severus, that's fantastic!"

"Yes, well," he crossed him arms, "It's not really all that surprising, given how good my knowledge of Defence Against the Dark Arts is."

Harry rolled his eyes with a smile. "I love that you're so modest."

"Speaking of books…" he said, ignoring Harry and nodding towards the book on the arm of the chair; "Do you have to read him that?"

Harry shrugged, puzzled. "Why shouldn't I? He loves it when I make the funny noises."

"Exactly," Severus said. He sighed when Harry continued to look confused. "The only thing my son can say is the noises animals make! Don't you think it's about time he learnt some real words? I don't want him to go through life 'baa-ing' and 'mooing' you know."

"Mu!" Tristan chipped in.

Harry laughed.

"Oh, Sev, lighten up. He's five months old! To say the things he does at his age is pretty good in itself! You can't seriously expect him to start throwing out words like 'aconite' and 'wolfsbane' can you?"

"All I'm saying is that it wouldn't hurt for him to learn how to say 'daddy' or 'father' like any other normal child."

Harry looked up at him as if he'd gone mad. "You want our five month old son to say 'father'? He's not a Malfoy you know."

"No," Severus agreed. "But he is a Snape and as such he will learn to be a well-spoken young man."

"Well thank the Lord he has the Potter genes to contradict that."

"We'll see about that," huffed Severus. He held out his arms. "Give him here then. I'll put him down for his nap whilst you get the tea on. We'll have to go shopping tomorrow but there should be some pasta in the cupboard."

"Can't we just order in a pizza or something?" Harry suggested.

Severus gave him a stern look. "Or you could just get off your arse and actually do something for once."

"Hey!" Harry complained. "I do stuff! I've been looking after Tristan all afternoon."

"If, by 'looking after' you mean 'singing, reading, and feeding' then yes, I suppose you have. But who's the one who gets up in the middle of the night to see to him? Who's the one who bathes him and changes his dirty nappies?"

Harry frowned and crossed his arms. "You like doing that," he said defensively. "And…poo is disgusting and it smells," he added to his case.

"Kitchen. Pasta. Now."

As Harry stomped out of the room muttering irritably to himself about slave drivers, Severus headed into the hall and up the stairs, safe in the knowledge that Harry wouldn't take any of what he had said personally.

Shortly after Tristan had been born, Harry and Severus had quickly settled into a routine. At first, that routine had been all about taking turns with each and every task. They would take turns getting up in the night just as they would take turns with the bathing and feeding of the baby. They would take turns changing nappies, take turns putting him down for his naps, and take turns getting him dressed for his pram walks. But two months in, the routine had slipped and each had just embraced it.

Whereas Harry enjoyed his sleep and hated being interrupted, Severus actually liked being needed by his son. In some ways, he felt like he was coming to the rescue – Tristan, late at night, crying his eyes out because he wanted his feed or he simply wanted a cuddle, and Severus would be there to make sure he was alright. He felt so much pride in being there for him.

That wasn't to say that Harry did nothing. In fact, he did a lot more that just the singing, reading, and feeding that Severus had just accused him of. Since Severus was the one up all night, Harry was usually in charge during the mornings when Tristan was hungry and playful and Harry definitely had a knack for putting a smile on their son's face. Not that it took much – that kid smiled at anything.

He reached the nursery and strolled over to the wooden cot in the middle of the room. Sunlight was falling through the large window and the yellow and green room was bathed in warmth. He took out his wand and cast a cooling charm before flicking it in the direction of the curtains. Judging by the weather, no one would ever think it was October.

"We'll have to get daddy a Christmas present soon," Severus said to Tristan, rocking him gently in his arms. "What do you think he'll like, hmm? An engagement ring maybe? Would you like that? For your daddy and father to be married?"

Severus sighed and walked idly about the room. He still couldn't quite believe the irony of it sometimes. During that time when Harry had wanted marriage more than anything, Severus had been dead set against it. But then Tristan had been born and Severus had been so full of happiness that he'd changed his mind. Unfortunately though, so had Harry. Whereas having a baby had shown Severus that he wasn't as afraid of commitment as he had originally thought, it had shown Harry that as long as they were together nothing else mattered.

Neither of them had brought the subject up again and Severus was prepared to bet that Harry had forgotten all about it.

He'd been tempted, on Harry's 19th Birthday, to just get out the ring and ask him – deep down, Severus knew that Harry would say 'yes' to marrying him, despite what he had said after the baby had been born, but working up the courage had proved to be a nightmare. After all, he'd been about to propose when Harry had said he didn't want to get married. Even though Harry was oblivious to that little fact, it had still felt like a rejection.

Shaking his head at his predicament, he approached the cot and lay Tristan down. He straightened up and took a few moments to just admire his son. Naturally, he had grown a lot since his birth and his skin had lost that wrinkled red look. He was so light and smooth and fair, with his soft rose lips and short dark hair. He had Harry's cheeks and nose. He still had Severus's eyes.

"Mu!" he said happily when he noticed Severus watching him.

Severus groaned.

"Father," he said. "Say 'father'. Fath…er. Far – Va. Far…"

"Ba!"

"No, not 'baa'," Severus reprimanded, "You are not a sheep. Say 'far'…far…"

"Fa," squeaked Tristan, shoving his fist in his mouth.

"Good. Now say 'va'. Far…va. Va"

"Va!"

"Clever boy," Severus beamed. "That's right. Va!"

"Va!"

"Now say them together. Far…va. Far…va. Father."

"Mu mu."

"No," he moaned. "No Tristan, you are not a cow, nor are you any other sort of farm animal. You are a human being and human beings say 'father'. I am your father and you will address me as such."

"Mu mu!" he said stubbornly.

Severus clenched his teeth. Could babies even say things stubbornly?

"I blame Potter for this, I really do," he muttered. Sighing, he gave in and kissed his son on the head. "Love you."

"Wuv!"

"No, you are not a dog, you – " he began to correct, but he stopped and looked down.

"Love," he said, slowly and clearly.

"Wuv," said Tristan.

"Love," he said again, and he couldn't help the proud smile that broke out across his face.

"Wuv!"

Maybe the smart Snape genes would dominate after all.

A/N: Woo! I'm back! Sorry about that wait but thinking up a title for this story has been a bloody challenge! I had no idea at all and I usually like to name it something that hasn't been used on this website before, but after a month had gone by and I still hadn't thought of anything, I gave up! This chapter has been sitting here for God knows how long, all because I couldn't think of a title! I'm still not happy with the one I chose but whatever lol.

Anyways, yes I know that was a short chapter but for some reason my first chapters are usually just short introductions. I'll update as soon as I can!

Also, Alisevv has been kind enough to offer to translate 'Life, Love, and Everything in Between' into Spanish! Thanks again for that! The links are in my profile.

Thank you all for your reviews on my last story and I hope you stick with me on this one! I've done quite a bit of research for this (I've read leaflets and everything!) so I hope I get all the facts right when the time comes.

Please Review! xx