AN: I am loving the attention guys! It's almost as good as chocolate cheesecake! (my favorite btw) It's like having air to breathe! Everytime I check online and see a new review or several hundred more viewers, I feel like my heart is going to burst! Please keep it up because it makes me so damn happy!

"Hermione, look at me! Sweetheart, please!"

Severus couldn't help the panicked edge that had crept into his voice. It was too soon. Much too soon. They were supposed to have weeks left before this! Jacquline had been perfectly normal! Never gave them the slightest bit of trouble, even during pregnancy.

Luna had already escorted the first year out of the room. Her whiskey-colored eyes flashed back to her mother as if to ask permission.

But her mother was in no state to answer the unspoken question. She was busy trying to bring new life into the world.

The first half of the decade after their marriage had been hard. They'd easily gotten pregnant with Jacky, but after that their world had turned dark. Oh, they were very happy together in their remodeled cabin, no mistake about that.

It was the losses that threw a shade over every happy moment. If she lost this one? That would make four in the last eight years. After they'd lost the third, they had given up trying. Hermione was inconsolable and had to resort to Dreamless Sleep Potion just for the nightmares to abate.

So when they'd discovered that she'd gotten pregnant again seven and a half months ago, they'd tried to hold their enthusiasm. There was just so much that could go wrong. When she'd reached her sixth month of pregnancy, and she was out of foreseen danger, they'd finally begun to hope for the future.

"Not now, not after all we've gone through! Hermione, please!"

Her heart rate was spiking, but they were losing the baby's. She couldn't keep her eyes open for more than a few seconds; she was exhausted.

The Healers were nervous. They couldn't explain why this was happening; their scans had all come back normal until the couple had rushed into the Emergency Department in obvious panic. Hermione's water had broke.

She'd been following Healer's orders and had done nothing strenuous throughout her pregnancy. Hell, they hadn't even had sex since they found out for Merlin's sake! But today was the day it seemed. Nothing had been going right, the family owl, Ginko, had bitten Jacquline; the bills had come in higher than expected; and then, minutes before their dramatic entrance to the hospital, Hermione had reached for a fallen book...

Oh, if only she'd let Severus handle it! They wouldn't be in this mess!

She'd been laboring for over 18 hours now, and she just couldn't anymore. It was too much.

Severus fell to his knees beside the hospital bed. Clutching Hermione's nearly lifeless hand, he wept; great wracking sobs tore from his throat, his vision clouded by the tears welling from his eyes. "Please, Hermione. You've got to fight it. Just stay with me. We'll get through this like we always do."

The monitors showed a spike in activity from the child and Hermione's eyes fluttered. Lifting her head, she braced her arms against the bed and gave a grunting heave. The Healers and her husband had looks of equal hope and fear. Healer Greenfield rushed forward into a ready position.

Suddenly she gave a cry of joy. "She's crowning!"

Severus wiped his eyes and squeezed his wife's hand tighter. "Not much more, honey! Almost there!"

Out of nowhere there was a hoarse cry as Greenfield lifted a pink bundle in triumph.

"It's a girl!"

Hermione's head flopped back into the pillows as she smiled weakly. "Joshephine-" A shudder ran through her and she grimaced.

"What's happening? Healer Greenfield, what's wrong with her?" Severus's eyes were wild with worry.

Glancing down, the Healer hurried to pass off her bundle to an associate and ducked back down into position. She was just in time catch another baby.

"A boy-"

The Healers were beside themselves with excitement; the normally quiet Maternity Ward was filled with whoops of joy and high-fives all around.

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"Jack! Stop teasing your sisters!"

"But Mooooom! They started it!" the seven-year-old couldn't keep the whine out of his voice.

"I don't care who started it, I'm finishing it!" Hermione held her hands on her hips and scowled down at her raven-haired offspring.

Unlike his caramel-haired sisters, who were the spitting image of their mother, little Jack so closely resembled his father in both looks and demeanor that Hermione was sure he would be a terror to his classmates when school started.

And she wasn't wrong.

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Applause broke out in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Another school year had successfully commenced with very little visitation to the Hospital Wing for the twins. This would be their last time walking through the halls and corridors of Hogwarts.

Severus and Hermione sat near the front of the Hall. Hermione dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief while Severus couldn't have sat straighter, the pride in his eyes shining out where everyone could see.

"Snape, Jack!"

Jack strutted across the stage and accepted his certificate from Headmistress McGonagall. The look in her eyes was that of a very proud Aunt. After a few whispered words and a cocky wave to the crowd, he made his way back to his seat.

"Snape, Josephine!"

Josephine had a more dignified stroll across stage but did manage to blow a kiss to her parents before settling back in her seat.

The after-party was just a rowdy as the ceremony had been sedate. The punch was spiked and groups of graduates kept sneaking off to indulge in a little celebratory smoke in the courtyard. As all the underage students had already left or been put to bed, the adults tended to look the other way.

The elder Snapes had left the crowd behind them and stood on the lawn looking out toward the sunset.

"Did you ever imagine that life could be this good?" Hermione asked quietly.

Looking down at her sun-kissed face, Severus smiled. "No, never this good."

AN: Sorry I haven't updated lately. My family and I moved across town and internet is a pain to get where I'm at right now. Cost of living, ya know?