The weeks go by, and I get bigger and bigger.

It makes me want to cry every time I see my reflection. I look and feel like a bloated dead whale washed up on shore.

"You look beautiful," Astoria reassures me as she massages my shoulders after dinner one evening. "And tomorrow we get to see our equally beautiful baby again. And we get to find out the sex! Oh, I do hope it's a girl. Girls are so much better than boys, don't you think? Oh, can you just imagine a mini you? I'm getting goose pimples just thinking about it. Look."

She shoves her arm in my face. It is indeed covered in thousands of tiny bumps.

"Have you told Draco about the scan?" I ask.

"He was so grumpy at the last one, I don't think he deserves to ruin another special moment for us."

"Astoria, it's his moment too." I remind her for the millionth time. "And this is all he gets during the pregnancy. Don't shut him out, please."

"Fine," she grumbles massaging me a little too hard. "But only because you insist. Merlin, what would I do without you guiding me in the right direction."

"I won't be here always," I say quietly, feeling that familiar rise of panic. "When the baby is here, it will be up to you and Draco to raise it together. As a family."

"But you won't be totally absent? I was thinking once the baby is born, you could help me organise the christening, seeing as you will be godmother. Oh, that reminds me! Baby shower! We could do the gender reveal during. Won't that be just too cute?!"

I smile. But the last thing I want to do is organise a fucking party. My ankles are swollen, my muscles constantly ache and the damn so called morning sickness still creeps up on me at the most unexpected times.

"I'm going to take a bath," I say, desperate to relieve the aches.

"Let me run it for you." Astoria gushes. "I can even wash your hair."

"No! It's fine," I say before she can offer to actually join me in the tub. "I just feel like a bit of alone time."

Astoria's face falls. "Oh, alright. I understand. Of course. You must think me a terrible fuss pot."

"No, not at all," I lie, glad she is dropping it.

Once in the bathroom, dressed in my blue silk kimono robe, I lock the door and begin to run the taps. And then I slide my phone out of my pocket and go into my contacts.

Taking a deep breath, I click the name I want and press the phone to my ear.

Draco answers immediately. "Harper? Is everything alright? Do you need me? I can be right there."

"No, no, it's fine," I reassure him, feeling pleasure from simply hearing his voice. "I'm just checking you know about the scan tomorrow? It's the twenty week one."

"No." Draco sounds irritated. "Astoria has failed to tell me about that one, too."

"She promised me she will let you know, but I just want to make sure. I don't want you to miss out."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. When is it?"

"Nine thirty tomorrow morning."

"I'll be there at nine."

I smile. "I look forward to it." I whisper.

"Me too." A pause. "How are things, Harper? How are you feeling?"

"I'm a little achy. A lot, actually. I'm running a bath right now, but I don't think I have the energy to get in the tub. Would you believe Astoria offered to wash my hair for me?"

There's a silence as Draco digests my words. "Sounds like she's really looking after you."

"Yes, she is." I feel desperate to say something, to tell Draco how in truth I find his wife too overbearing at times. But it feels like a betrayal to Astoria and she's only trying to make things easier for me.

"Are you going to find out about the sex?" Draco asks, completely throwing me. "At the scan tomorrow, I mean. The sex of the baby."

Oh. Man, I must still be horny because I was thinking of something else entirely.

"Well, that's entirely up to you and Astoria," I shrug, even though he cannot see me. "Astoria is talking about doing a gender reveal at the baby shower-"

"Baby shower? What baby shower?" Draco seethes. "And she hasn't even discussed with me about the sex. For fuck's sake, this isn't even her baby, it's ours, Harper. Do you even want to know the sex? Has she even asked you? You know, what with you being the actual mother and all."

"Draco, stop." I say crossly. "You know what I'm going to say about that, so don't make our first conversation in months end in anger!"

"It doesn't have to be this way, Harper," he says, "we should be doing this together, me and you, and our baby."

I start crying, I can't help it. "I don't want a baby, Draco," I sob, "please stop with this. I don't want to fight with you, I'm too exhausted and achy and emotional. And Astoria told me you pay strippers to fuck you and I'm so mad with jealousy and angry at you because you went to a strip club the night before we slept together for the last time! And I don't want to feel this way because you are a married man and I have no right. But I can't stop imagining you with all these women and I hate it, Draco. I hate it!"

I am uncontrollable, everything just coming out like word vomit as I sit on the edge of the bath and wail and sob and ugly cry.

"Shit. Harper, calm down. Let me see you, I want to see you. I don't want this conversation over the phone. Not when you're this upset."

"I can't see you," I sob, "because everytime I see you I want to do things with you that I shouldn't and Ginny says it's cheating because you're still married."

"Fuck that right now, you are pregnant with my baby and I want to be there for you."

"Astoria will murder you if you turn up here."

"Which bathroom are you in?"

"Draco, please. I'm so upset I might agree to anything right now."

"Fine. I'll Apparate to every bathroom in the manor until I find you. Let's hope Astoria isn't in one of them-"

"It's the bathroom in guest bedroom number sixty two."

And just like that he appears in front of me. I throw my phone on the ground and jump up, diving into his arms.

"Oh fuck, Harper," he murmurs ardently, pressing his lips against my forehead as he clasps a hand to the back of my head. "I've missed you so much."

I can feel his heart racing beneath his chest as he holds me fiercely tight against him, as though he doesn't want to ever let me go.

"Listen," he says, holding me tighter to him. "I did not do anything with a stripper the night before we slept together. Yes, I went to a strip club, but I didn't even look at anyone. All I could think about, all I could see was you. And it's still like that now. Harper, I don't want anyone else. I love you, it's you I want."

His words soothe me, instantly relaxing my aching body. Was this why I had been aching so much? Not because of the pregnancy but because I felt so upset at the thought that Draco had been with another woman?

"But," he says, letting me go to cup my face in his hands. "In the interest of being honest, yes - I did use to pay strippers for... release. Not sex, but... other things. And I'm not proud of it. I have no excuse other than I was in a loveless, sexless marriage and I was desperate for something, anything."

I feel a slight swoop of sickness low in my stomach at Draco's admission, that he used to pay women for sexual favours even before I came along. But it's not as bad as it has been - when I torture myself with images of Draco fucking other women.

"You shouldn't be here," I whisper shakily, making no attempt to move away from him. "We shouldn't be doing this. And it shouldn't matter to me who you have and haven't seen."

"Yes, I should be here. And yes it should matter if something upsets you. Harper, don't you see? I care about you. I love-"

"Stop!" I interrupt, my voice breaking as tears blur my vision.

"No, I won't stop." He says firmly, but lovingly. "Now, let's get you in the bath and I'll wash your hair for you."

He lets go of me and heads towards the almost overflowing bath.

"Draco, you are not here to bath me. And if Astoria walks in seeing you doing what she wanted to do, then she's going to be very upset."

"And don't you think that's a bit odd?" Draco asks, lifting an eyebrow. "That my wife would be jealous not because she's caught me bathing a woman, but because she caught you being bathed by a man?"

"What are you trying to say, Draco?"

Ignoring me, he rolls his shirt sleeves up to his elbows, turns the bath taps off and checks the temperature by swirling his hand inside the water.

"Come on then, get that robe off, I'll help you in."

"I'm not getting naked in front of you."

He gives me a look. "You're not seriously trying to tell me you're shy now? I've seen every part of you, don't forget. My lips have kissed every single inch of your soft, beautiful skin."

"I wasn't a whale back then, though." I mutter as I tie my kimono tighter around me, self conscious of my shape.

Draco's expression softens. "Harper, you look beautiful. And you look nothing like a whale. I will tell you what you do look like, though."

"Yes?"

"You look like the most beautiful woman in the world, carrying my baby."

My heart flutters as he steps around the bathtub and moves back towards me. He stops in front of me and reaches up to cup my face in his hands. He looks down at me, the love rife in his eyes.

Moving my hands to the front of my kimono, I untie it, my breath quickening as I let it fall down past my shoulders and drop cleanly to the floor.

I am stood in front of him wearing not a single scrap of cloth.

"You're beautiful," Draco whispers, letting go of my face to lightly brush his fingers down my sides, stopping at my growing stomach which he cups in his large hands.

He sighs, closing his eyes, feeling our baby beneath my skin. I lift my hands and press them against the back of his. His eyes fly back open and he looks down at me, the pure tenderness in them taking my breath away.

He lifts a hand and cups my face again, and I automatically tilt my head back as he lowers his lips against mine. The kiss is divine and sends tingles rippling all over my skin. And then the strangest sensation occurs in my belly: a sudden movement.

Draco jumps back, and then looks down at the hand still cupping my belly. "Did that just happen? Did the baby just move?"

"I think it was trying to kick you away." I smirk, trying to disguise how startled I too feel by this new development of the pregnancy.

His eyes twinkle and crease at the corners as he smiles a helpless smile. I have never seen someone so genuinely happy before and it makes my heart expand and floods my body with warmth.

Taking my hand, he leads me back over to the bath and helps me step inside. He doesn't get in with me, but, as promised, washes my hair, his hands making me sigh in pleasure as they expertly massage my scalp.

He asks questions about the pregnancy and I tell him everything I can think of. I can see the pain in his eyes from missing out, but there is also a lot of love contained in them.

His fingers constantly sweep over my belly, his eyes full of wonder every time the baby moves.

I want to tell him he's not missing out, that already he's bonded with the baby more than Astoria has. She is more interested in planning things rather than just enjoying the moment.

And I love watching Draco just enjoy the moment.

Such a perfect moment.

*****