As promised, here's the epilogue! If you've seen The Way We Were, then you'll get the baby's name. If not, then it's just a pretty name. Enjoy!

Epilogue

"So, you want him to be involved in the baby's life, but you won't marry him?" Ginny asked as she and a very pregnant Hermione strolled through Diagon Alley.

Hermione shrugged. "What's the point?" she wondered. "We're both happy with the way things are now. We're friends and roommates, and soon we'll be parents. We both know how quickly a relationship ruined things between us. Honestly, sometimes I think the only reason we stayed friends is the baby."

Ginny shook her head. "I don't believe that for a second," she declared, steering her friend toward her bookstore. "Draco loves you. He's just biding his time until you take him back."

They entered the shop and waved to Mary as she rung up a customer. Passing through the back office, Hermione slowly climbed the stairs behind Ginny. The small flat had been modified to make room for the nursery, a room which Draco declared off limits to her until the baby was born. He had even used magic to ward the room against the curious witch.

The door opened and shut quickly, and Draco emerged with yellow paint on his cheek. "Oh, hi," he said, greeting the newly arrived women. "Hermione, sit."

"I'm not a dog," she replied indignantly, though she did as he said.

"How was your walk?" he asked, filling a glass with water. He took a seat on the sofa and handed it to her. "You look flushed. I thought it was supposed to be cool today."

Hermione drank half of the water and handed the glass back to him. "When you weigh as much as the Hogwarts Express, no temperature is cool enough," she groused.

"Just another couple of weeks," he assured her. "The baby will be here and you'll have a whole host of other things to blame me for."

Ginny gestured for him to join her in the kitchen as Hermione muttered something about him being a masochist. "First, you have a little something," she said, pointing to the paint. "Second, did you get it? I'm still willing to hold it for you."

Glancing back at Hermione, he shook his head. "She doesn't want it," he replied, hopelessly. "I know I messed a lot of things up when we were dating, but I'm the one who wanted to stick with this. I chalked so much of the fighting up to hormones at first, but she's been adamant that the only way for us to work is to just be friends."

"Friends who sleep in the same bed and often see one another naked," Ginny pointed out, one eyebrow raised. "Those kind of friends?"

Draco shrugged and refilled the glass. "What do you want me to say, Ginny?" he wondered. "I'm doing everything I can think of to make her realize that we should be together again. You know how stubborn she is."

It had been the very same night that Draco had returned home that Hermione had decided they should just be friends again. She hadn't yet told him about the pregnancy when she made up her mind. Draco had been upset, but felt reassured that she still wanted him to be a part of her life. He would still have a place to live and he would still have her.

Then, she told him that she was pregnant. Hermione assured him that she wanted nothing from him, and that included marriage. The proper, pureblood gentleman believed in doing the right thing by the family he had helped to create, but Hermione stood firm that they would not marry.

Ginny nodded knowingly. "You know she's just waiting for you to give up," she told him. "I reckon she's hoping the baby will distract you from her."

Draco snorted. "And here I thought I was the crazy one," he muttered.

"She's just afraid of past events happening again," she said, patting his hand.

Draco nodded. "Yeah, I know," he agreed. "I'm never living that down, am I?"

"She's hormonal. Give her a little more time," Ginny advised. When Draco nodded, promising that he would, she smiled. "Good, now go back in there before she get suspicious that we're talking about her."

"She already knows," he predicted.

They turned back to the living room as Hermione stood up. "I'm tired and my stomach hurts," she declared. "I'm going to take a nap."

"Sleep well," Draco replied as Hermione kissed his cheek before passing them to go to the bedroom.

Ginny left soon after and Draco returned to finish painting the nursery. It was well past eight o'clock when he finished and went to check on Hermione. She was fast asleep with the blankets pulled up to her chin. Exhausted, he showered and slipped into bed. She shifted beside him and opened her eyes.

"Hi," she whispered. "Did my water break or are you still wet from the shower?"

He jumped out of bed and pulled back the blankets. "Merlin, Hermione, we have to go," he exclaimed, rushing about the room. "Can you get up or do you need help? Your back is packed. I'll call Ginny when we get to the hospital and have her spread the word to the rest of your friends. Um, what am I forgetting?"

"Me?" she suggested.

"I'm an idiot," he mumbled. "Okay, shoes, then up."

He slipped the nearest pair of shoes onto her feet and helped her up. Wrapping his arms tightly around her, they Apparated to St. Mungo's. Hermione was quickly escorted to a room, while Draco was forced to wait outside while she was examined. He paced nervously outside the door for a few minutes before remembering that he was supposed to contact Ginny. By the time he returned, he was allowed to Hermione.

"It's too soon," she said, tears in her eyes, when she saw him. "There's still two weeks left. I wrote it down on the calendar, and the calendar says I still have two weeks. There's too much that has to be done. The nursery and cleaning all those clothes and, oh my goodness, we never picked out a name. How can I be a parent if I can't even think of a name?"

Draco took a seat beside her bed and held her hand. "We have time," he assured her. "Sure, it's not two weeks, but we've definitely got a few hours. The nursery is done. I wanted it to be a surprise. Um, I was actually going to show you tomorrow, but it looks like you and the baby will have to see it together. I'll ask Ginny to take care of the clothes. I'm sure her mother has a handy laundry spell. As for the name, I know you've got a list. You've done your research. The perfect name will come when we see her."

"Her?"

"Or him," he said quickly.

Hermione frowned. "I hate you that found out," she muttered.

Draco smiled and kissed the back of her hand. "I don't know how you can stand not knowing," he replied.

"Some things should be a surprise," she decided. Draco nodded and held her hand as a contraction hit. "I don't like those," she groused when it passed.

"I know," he said softly. "It'll be over soon though."

Soon would last twelve more hours. By the end of it, Hermione lay in bed, exhausted, with her new daughter cradled in her arms. "Rachel," she whispered.

Draco smiled and kissed the crown of the baby's head. "It's perfect," he replied. "She's perfect."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Thank you for helping me through this," she said to him. "You have no idea how grateful I am that I had you by my side. Even if I might have broken your hand and told you I never wanted to see you again."

"Forget it," he replied with a smile. "I knew you didn't mean it."

She shifted nervously. "About what I said," she started. "You remember, just after they told me it was time? My proposal."

He nodded. "Should I forget that too?" he asked.

Hermione looked down at her sleeping newborn. "Do you want to?" she wondered.

"No," he admitted.

"I've been thinking about it for awhile, even though I've tried to deny it," she confessed. "I don't want to be like Katie and Hubbell. I want us to be a family, a real family. I want you to be a full time part of Rachel's life and mine. I didn't ask you to marry me because of her though. I love you, Draco, and all I can think about is spending the rest of my life with you. You've been so good to me, put up with everything I've thrown at you, but you've stayed. I will always want you to stay."

She finally looked up and he saw tears in her eyes. "Even though we fight?" he asked, to which he received a nod. "It's all I think about too, and I've wanted to ask a million times. I just always thought you'd say no."

"Are you saying no?" she wondered.

Smiling, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. "I'm saying yes."

The End