Epilogue

December 25, 2004

I rolled over once again trying to ignore the stabbing pain in my lower back. Charlie's old bed at The Burrow really had been small before, but with the two of us sharing and my added weight, there was just no getting comfortable. My tossing and turning must have woken my now husband.

"Are you ok love? You seemed fine here last night."

Now that he mentioned it, I had slept like a baby last night. No easy feat when one is nine months pregnant. I was trying to remember if I had slept funny when the pain hit again and before I could stop it a hiss escaped through my teeth.

Charlie's expression changed and the pieces fell into place. "Mione love, its only 2am and everyone is still sleeping. I'll write a quick note and we can escape to St. Mungo's before they wake."

It took me a second to catch on. "I don't know. They could just be Braxton hicks again. I'd hate to be sent home again."

Just last week we had arrived at the hospital, bag in tow and ready to have this baby only to be sent home disappointed. At this point in the pregnancy, I don't think I could handle a repeat of that night.

"I've been awake longer than you realize. You're contractions have been coming every five minutes for the last half hour. It's time to go."

I hadn't realized I had been that obvious about the discomfort or that the sharp pain had been happening so frequently. Slumping my shoulders at his information I had no choice but to agree it was time to go.

We quietly made out way down the stairs after Charlie left a note on the desk in our room. Stopping to pause only once as another contraction hit, we left through the floo as I desperately hoped we would not be returning with empty arms.

Our experience this time was much different than the first. Apparently my labor had progressed quite a bit in the few hours' sleep I had been able to get and by the time we were meeting with a healer, I began to push. The experience was far from easy, but hey, I tame dragons for a living. What's pushing a child out in comparison? Ok, just kidding. My body was on fire as I screamed and sweat while I pushed, clenching Charlie's hand for support.

It seemed like the pain would be never ending, when finally there was relief followed by the soft sweet sound of our baby girl's first cry. They placed our little curly haired red head on my chest and the tears flowed. Charlie was by my side the entire time whispering words of love and encouragement and staring in awe at our new little bundle.

When the nurses left and it was just the three of us, Charlie finally spoke. "She's perfect in every way, just like her mum. It's kind of fitting though, isn't it?" I looked at him quizzically as I willed my exhausted brain to work. "December 25th is kind of our day."

A smile instantly broke free on my face. There was so much truth in that statement. Three years ago, I said yes to Charlie's proposal to join his team at the reserve. Two years ago, I said yes to his proposal of a different kind as he asked me to marry him. And just one year ago, I said yes to ministry official when I was asked if I agreed to our vows for the binding ceremony in the quiet garden of the Burrow. Today, I was saying yes to another adventure. Parenthood.

It was hard to wrap my head around this moment. Years ago I was fighting a war. I wanted a life where my blood status didn't matter. Where I wouldn't have to hide in fear of being tortured and killed. I fought for a future where I could be happy. When that didn't happen after the war and everyone else was moving on I had started to lose hope. Now, this room was overflowing with love and happiness. It brought tears to my eyes.

"I suppose you're right. I still can't believe she is here. She's even more prefect than I could have ever imagined."

"Yes, she is. She's going to grow up strong and smart like her mother and fearless like her father. She will be unstoppable. Welcome to the world Amelia Jade."

A/N: And they all lived happily ever after! Thank you to everyone who has followed along. This is the fastest I have ever written a story start to finish. I usually write it, rewrite, leave it for a bit, then come back to it, change a bunch of stuff and repeat. It was kind of nice to be publishing daily to keep from over thinking things. I hope you all enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it!