Aaaaand cue epilogue with super cheesy title :)

After the Storm

"Ron!" Cathy exclaimed as she entered the joke shop after closing time. She ran up to him as he moved in her direction to lock up shop.

"Cathy! You're back? Weren't you here just two months ago?" Ron asked, hugging her back.

"I stayed just long enough to finish my work for Richard. He'll survive without me," Cathy replied, rolling her eyes. Two years after the war, she'd found work as a naturalist's intern and began travelling the world helping him finish his study on the migratory patterns of North American Thunderbirds and its effect on the ecology of the places the giant birds would visit. It had been two years, so far, since she'd started working with him, though she'd come home for a week every so often.

"He's in the cellar. I wouldn't go in there if I were you," said Ron.

"I'll take my chances," replied Cathy, "Can I leave my bags here for now?"

Cathy cautiously entered the workspace in the cellar, choking on the putrid smell. Beneath the shop was George's work area for particularly troublesome merchandise. Cathy saw him look up from one of the work tables, looking ridiculous with the massive gas mask over his mouth and nose.

"Cathy!" he exclaimed, the mask muffling his voice. He climbed the cellar steps in leaps and enveloped her in a warm embrace.

"George," Cathy choked, trying to hold her breath, "You smell like a bag of farts in a tub of sewer sludge."

"Is that anyway to greet me after being gone for so long?" he teased, then close the cellar door behind them and whipped off the gas mask. "Oh, yeah, you're right. I stink."

"George, Cathy, I'll be off, then. Hermione'll be coming home soon," said Ron, waving at them as he left through the shop's back exit.

"Bye, Ron," said Cathy.

"Thanks for helping me close up," said George, waving goodbye. "Now…" he began when Ron was gone, waggling his eyebrows.

"George, I have news," Cathy said, wasting no time. "I'm taking the ministry job."

"What? But I thought you loved the travelling?"

"Yeah, well, I think two years' worth will be enough for now. Besides, maybe this time I could travel for fun, instead of work," Cathy watched him carefully.

"You can stay here?" he asked, expectantly. Cathy let go of his hands, not aware that she'd held them in the first place.

"I think it's better to raise a child in a stable environment. Don't you?" she asked, looking away at the last second.

"What?"

"George," she looked back up at him, "Remember when I was here just two months ago…?" He simply stared in shock.

"We were careful! I mean most of the time…" he said after a while.

"Well, once is enough…" Cathy said, looking away again. He finally noticed her trepidation, and his mouth melted into a smirk.

"I was going to wait until you got back for Christmas, but…I guess you beat me to it," he said, "Hold on", and he ran up to his flat above the shop. Cathy waited awkwardly, moving to sit on the stool by the register.

"Here!" he exclaimed as he reemerged, out of breath. He was brandishing a small black box. "I know we said we'd wait until you were done travelling, but I wanted to…I mean it doesn't matter now, just-", he paused and shook his head, laughing at how tongue-tied he was.

"Cathy…" he opened the box to reveal a sparkling engagement ring. Cathy gasped, mouth and eyes wide open as her gaze flicked from the ring to George and back.

"Oh, wait," said George as he hurriedly got on one knee. "Marry me? Please?"

A while later…

"Oh, and you'll never believe who else is pregnant," said George as they got ready for bed.

"Who? How far along are they?"

"Ginny's a few weeks along," he said bluntly, grinning at Cathy's stunned expression. Sunday family gatherings at the Burrow were going to be even livelier than usual.

This epilogue just opened a whole new can of worms for me. Now, I'm daydreaming about all these cute little scenes, like Sundays at the Burrow, and their kids growing up together, and ugh D: