The Dark Depths of Desire
Epilogue
"Bloody Hell!!" Hermione screamed as another contraction ripped through her body with force.
"Concentrate on your breathing, Hermione. Remember to breath." Remus hovered over her as she looked up to him with vengeance in her eyes.
"Fuck my breathing! Why aren't the potions working?" She used one hand to grab Severus's robes in the front and pull him down to her.
Severus gently released her hold on his robes and kissed her hand. "I don't know, Hermione. You'll just have to tough it out."
Hermione screamed out as another contraction hit her unexpectedly. "I swear I will kill you! You will never touch me again!"
Remus and Severus looked at each other as they tried to figure out who she was directing the comment toward. Finally Severus got up the nerve to ask, "Who are you talking to, Hermione?"
"Whichever one of you did this to me."
"That would be you Severus. I'm certain that this child is yours." Remus smiled to his other lover to try and lift all of their spirits amidst this tense time.
"You said that the last two times, Remus, and we now have three little girls that are carbon copies of you." Severus bit out the sarcastic remark in love as he teased his lover.
"I can't help it if my seed is stronger than yours."
"More like your instincts kick in when she's fertile. I never have a chance."
"Oh, give me a break, Severus. Like I have any control over…"
"Hey! Crazy wizards! Focus!" Hermione yelled over their mock bickering to gain their attention. "Remember me? The one having your baby? Pay attention."
"I'm sorry, Hermione." Both of them apologized at the same time and turned back to see if there was anything they could do to help. They watched and felt completely powerless as she screamed again and tears started to streak down her face as a sign of the pain she was enduring.
After a couple of minutes Severus started to mumble to Remus, "We should have just found out the sex of the baby and who the father is at the beginning of the pregnancy."
"We wanted to wait, remember? It's more of a surprise this way." Remus whispered his reply over the bed to Severus.
"Like it wouldn't have been a surprise when we found out at the beginning of her pregnancy."
"Severus, why do you always have to be so…"
"Great Merlin!! I swear if the two of you don't shut up and focus on the task at hand I will have Poppy kick the both of you out of this hospital wing and give birth to this child all on my own." Hermione huffed as she bit down to buffer the pain she was enduring.
"Will one of you please go get Poppy."
At her order Remus quickly jumped up and ran to find Poppy in her office.
"You're doing great, Hermione. You're the strongest woman I know. You can do this…besides you've done it three times before." Severus tried to soothe her and help her through the pain as he used a cool rag to wipe the sweat from her brow.
Not long after Poppy came into the room with a smile on her face.
"Well, well, let's see how far along you are." Poppy waved her wand over Hermione's lower abdomen as the number 9 floated over her stomach. "You are at 9 centimeters. You are close. Let's go ahead and prepare for the delivery."
"I don't understand why this one is taking so long. The others all came so fast that I barely had time to make it to the hospital wing before they were on their way out. I've been at this for ten hours!" Hermione complained to Poppy as she tried to understand what was going on.
"Well, the fast delivery is a symptom of a Lycan birth. Maybe Severus is the father, or there is a complication we are unable to foresee at this time." Poppy got into position at the foot of the bed and prepared Hermione for delivery. Not long after Poppy stuck her head up to instruct Hermione.
"Okay, dear, we are ready to start pushing. I want you to push at the count of three. One….Two….Three! PUUUSSSHHH!!!"
"Awwwwww!!!" All three of the parents screamed in unison as they worked together to get through this delivery.
Hermione stopped as she lost her breath and started to gasp for air.
"Good job, Hermione. We almost have the head out. Give me another big push, and it's all downhill from there. Ready…One…Two…Three! PUUUSSSHHH!!!"
Hermione felt the release as the head came through all the way. She heard Poppy mumble a wandless charm that she always used to ease the child out without causing too much damage to the mother.
"Okay, Hermione, I want you to hang on and give me one final push. Severus, Remus, help her."
"Hermione, you can do this. Take a deep breath and prepare yourself. You're almost through." Remus nervously tried to help as he anticipated the birth of their fourth child.
"Okay, Hermione. Push!" Poppy instructed her as she used the last of her strength to push. Just when she began to get light-headed and feel like she was going to pass out, she felt the familiar release that came when the baby was out.
"Congratulations! You have a beautiful baby boy!" Poppy quickly found her wand as she began her usual ritual to clean and prepare the baby. It was only a few seconds before all three of the parents heard the sound of their baby screaming at the top of his lungs.
Hermione began to cry as the exhaustion took over and she collapsed on the bed. "I want to see him. What does he look like?"
Poppy finished what she was doing and came around the bed to bring a small wrapped bundle over to Hermione. Before Hermione could see what her little boy looked like she heard an audible gasp from Severus when the child came into sight.
"What is it Severus? What's wrong?" Hermione looked confused as went to take the child from Poppy's arms. It was then that she saw what took Severus by surprise. Her little boy had a full head of dark black hair and a nose that could only be described as crooked. Tears began to fall from her eyes in earnest as she realized that Severus finally had a child of his own.
After eight years of living together, three little girls, and the end of the reign of Voldemort; Severus never believed that he would have a child of his own. It never stopped him from loving all of Remus's children as his own. All three of the girls called him Papa-too.
"He's absolutely gorgeous." Hermione looked up at Severus and smiled at him as she grasped his hand to show her love.
"What will you name him, dear?" Poppy asked as she continued to work and finish up all that needed to be done at the end of the delivery.
"I think his name should be William Sebastian Snape." Hermione looked directly at Severus to see if he approved of her choice.
"Snape?" Severus looked at her with uncertainty as he questioned her choice. "All of our children have the name of Lupin, and Remus is the one who claimed the two of us in this little arrangement of ours."
"But he is yours, Severus. He should have your name…to pass it on." Hermione smiled at him to reassure him. "Besides, Remus doesn't mind. Do you?" She looked over to Remus to gain his approval.
"I think it's a fine name, Severus. He is a beautiful boy." Remus accepted the name and Severus's ownership of him without any hesitation.
Hermione watched Severus as he observed his son in her arms. She was moved when she saw, for the first time in her whole knowledge of him, Severus allowed one tear to slide down his cheek.
They were a true family in every sense of the word.
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A/N: I know the epilogue is short…but I hope you enjoyed it. I would love to hear from you all with your comments and reviews. I enjoyed writing this story. Thank you for being faithful readers and waiting for me through my illness and busy time at work.