Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other character created by J.K. Rowling. This is fun, not profit, and any copyright infringement is purely unintentional.
Harry could tell that Ginny's patience was wearing very thin when the mediwitch asked her for the fifth time in as many minutes if she could get her anything.
Just as Ginny was about to round on the unsuspecting witch with a Weasley wisecrack, another pain hit her. "Oh! This is all your fault, Potter! And don't give me that 'I'd trade places with you if I could' speech! Every woman knows that's a stupid line for gits to say when they're really thanking the heavens above that they are not the ones in labour."
Harry smiled at Ginny and gave her a quick kiss. "I would never dream of insulting you by saying such a thing. Besides, you'd just hex me into the next century if I did." He leaned a little closer as the mediwitch slipped out of the room and said in a sticky sweet voice, "Can I get you anything, Mrs. Potter?"
Ginny glared at him. "You know, I never annoyed patients this much when I was here. I knew better. You ask one time, and when they say 'no,' you leave them alone for awhile. This place is falling apart without me!" Ginny shifted in the bed for the fifth time in as many minutes trying to find a comfortable position. "My back is killing me! Harry, would you please rub it for me?"
Harry leaned over and began massaging her back. "Not everyone can be as talented as you, my love. I'm still not sure why you left. You were so good at what you did."
Ginny sighed. "Once Jamie arrived, I really lost all interest in being away from home. I always thought when I was growing up that Mum was crazy for not going out to work, but being a mother myself has changed my perspective. I guess I'm becoming more and more like her everyday. One day, you're going to wake up and find that you're married to a slightly younger version of my mother," she said, shrugging her shoulders.
"There is only one person that I respect more than your mother, and that's you. She has been there for me so many times in my life, and I couldn't love her more if she were my own mother. Thank Merlin she's not, though. Then I couldn't have married you!" Harry ducked as Ginny teasingly swung at him.
"You great prat! I do miss working here sometimes. Maybe once the kids are all off at school I will come back. However, that's a long way off. Right now, I need to concentrate on making it through this pain." Her words trailed off as the next contraction gripped her.
He grimaced as her nails dug in, wishing that he could take the pain away from her. There were ways, both Muggle and magical to ease her pain, but she had insisted from her first labour pain with Jamie that she would do it naturally, just as her mother and grandmother had done before her.
After the pain passed, Ginny slid her hand down into Harry's. He toyed with her rings, and remembered the day that he had given her the first of those rings . . .
Harry and Ginny had just finished lunch in the kitchen of the Burrow, and he was helping her clean up. As they moved around each other, Ginny decided her nerves could take no more.
"Harry, are you feeling okay? You haven't been acting like yourself today, and you were so quiet during lunch. Come to think of it, you've been a little off for the last week or so. Is there something on your mind?" Ginny asked.
Harry turned slowly to look at her. "Actually, there is something on my mind. Would you like to go for a walk? I need some fresh air," he said, taking her hand. She smiled up at him, hoping that everything was okay. She wondered what he was going to tell her that had been keeping him so preoccupied. She knew that his job had been quite stressful lately, and he had been worried that he would be sent out of the country on a long assignment. She hoped that he didn't have bad news for her.
They walked out of the house, and he led her towards the orchard. He wanted to take her back to this particular spot because it had been special to them in the past. It was the location of their Quidditch matches with her brothers. It was the spot where he had first asked her out and they had shared their first kiss. It was also where they had first told each other that they loved each other. It seemed appropriate that Harry bring her here now. He hoped that the orchard would soon be special to them for another reason.
They sat down under one of the many trees, and Harry searched his mind for the speech that he had been mentally preparing for the last few days. Suddenly, he couldn't remember his speech or anything else other than the fact that he loved Ginny and that he had a small gift for her in the pocket of his jeans. He held onto Ginny's hand as she ran the fingers of her other hand through his hair. Harry leaned his head into her hand and sighed.
"Gin, I need to talk to you about something," he began, and she ceased her movements, her earlier fears returning.
"Harry, is everything okay? Did Kingsley tell you that you had to transfer? I know that you'd only be a fireplace away, but the thought of you being away from me, even for a few months is more than I could bear. I've got so used to so used to being with you everyday, and I don't want to give that up. Of course, you have to work. Well, not really, but I know how much your job means to you, and …," Harry put his finger on Ginny's lips to stop her ramble.
"No, it's not work. Work is the last thing on my mind right now. You are my only focus. We've been through so much together, especially in the last couple of years. You know that I love you more than life itself, and I want to spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you have made me."
Ginny gasped as Harry shifted to kneel before her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. Ginny's eyes opened widely as he opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring with a small emerald on either side of the diamond.
He looked up at her hopefully and half-whispered, "Ginevra Molly Weasley, will you make me the happiest man in the world by agreeing to be my wife?"
For the first time in her life, Ginny was speechless. A silent tear fell down her cheek as she looked into Harry's eyes. A second later, she let out a squeal, and pushed him onto his back, covering his face in kisses.
"Is that a 'yes?'" he asked.
"It is a definite 'yes,' Harry. I love you!" she cried as she kissed him soundly on the lips.
A cry of a different kind brought Harry back to the present as he heard Ginny call out his name. He turned quickly to see Ginny screaming in agony.
"Harry! Something's not right. I can feel it. Go get someone!" Ginny yelled as he sprinted from the room, silently praying that his wife and children would be okay.
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Author's Note: Thanks to those of you who have read and reviewed so far!