FORTY NINE

RORY SAT IN ANDREW'S living room, her arms crossed and her leg anxiously bouncing. It had been months since she read his article in The Quibbler. He didn't have much to say to Rory about it, and then in early March, she saw he had published another one. She went to his house immediately after she read it. Now, he was sitting across from her, silent. Andrew was not a silent man. He was the loudest man Rory had ever met. That was the one thing she always knew about him.

However, he had nothing to say. But Rory did.

"You're going to get yourself killed," she said coolly.

"No I'm not, Aurora," he said with firmness. The firmness most fathers spoke with, but not Andrew, at least not most of the time.

Rory shook her head, "Don't call me that. Dad, I'm worried about you. What if someone finds out you wrote them? What if the next one doesn't print as anonymous? You know how powerful the Ministry is. You could lose your job!"

"This isn't something I've never done before. During the first war and even afterwards —"

"You had nothing to lose," she finished, "But now you do. You have me, you have Aaron, Cory... even Remus and Tonks! We all care about you, and we don't want you losing your life over a bloody article!"

He ran a hand through his slightly unkept dark hair and travelled on to his face. He then buried his face in his hands and took a deep breath, "I'm just... I'm standing up for what I believe in. If I get killed for it then so be it. There are things worth dying for."

Rory narrowed her gaze, "But what about everyone you'd leave behind? Are we not worth living for?"

Silence. Rory knew Andrew was admitting defeat. However, he was stubborn. Prideful and stubborn.

Rory and Andrew had never fought before. Nothing they discussed ever escalated to the point of a proper argument. She didn't like it. It made her feel like her mother.

"You're getting married in what? Two weeks? If you keep putting a target on your back you won't be the only one affected," she continued, "There is a time and a place for stating your opinion and right now in the bloody Quibbler is not it."

"You're right," he said quietly, "I guess I'm just so used to being alone... I forget I have people to take care of now. If anything happened to any of you, I don't think I'd ever forgive myself."

"I know you wouldn't," Rory said. Just then, they heard the front door open and Cory stepped inside. She was not alone though. With her, was a pink haired Nymphadora Tonks. Andrew got up and assisted them with the shopping bags in their arms, at least, he attempted to.

"We're alright," Cory smiled, "You can take this one into the kitchen. Is that Rory? Hello, sweetheart! It's good to see you! What brings you over?"

Rory stood up and smiled softly, "Just over for a chat. Hi, Tonks!"

"Rory!" The woman beamed, nearly dropping her bags as she tightly hugged Rory.

"Did you get what you needed at the supermarket? And you did okay with the muggle money and all? Tomorrow at work I can get the Pepperup potion for you but sometimes Muggle medicine does the trick better." Andrew spoke, his voice which was cold and aggressive just minutes before was now laced heavily with concern.

"Is everything alright?" Rory asked, "Are you sick, Cory?"

Cory waved a limp hand in front of her and shook her head softly, "Just feeling a bit under the weather. Pre-wedding jitters I assume. Are you staying for dinner? Tonks is!"

"Yeah, Rory. Don't make me third wheel!" Tonks mumbled, nudging the girl. Rory nodded in agreement to accept the dinner invitation.

"Wonderful! We'll be upstairs, shout if you need us," Cory smiled and ran up the steps with Tonks, still holding a shopping bag. Andrew put the contents of the bag he was handed away and sat back down. Rory sat down across from him and tilted her head.

"Is Cory alright?" She asked.

Andrew shrugged, "Yeah. Nothing to fret over. Just a bit of fatigue, she had a bug the other day but I just assume it's nerves."

Rory stared at her dad, her mouth slightly agape, "Dad... are you not like, the best Healer in Great Britain?"

The man smirked and shrugged, "I mean I guess you could say that."

Rory sighed and moved her seat so she was now next to Andrew and said, "D'you think she could be... you know..."

He didn't seem to understand what Rory was getting at.

"Pregnant, Andrew. Do you think Cory could be pregnant?" Rory said in almost a whisper. She saw realization hit him. His brown eyes widened and his whole body went stiff. The gears turning in his head were almost visible.

"Holy shit... But, no. She can't be," He shook his head.

Rory took a deep breath, knowing she would immediately regret her next words, "Do you... use the Protection spell?"

He stood up abruptly, "Rory, I invented the Protection spell!"

"You invented the Protection spell?" Rory asked, standing up as well.

Andrew began pacing the room, "I spent one of my first years at St. Mungo's researching magical contraceptives... no offense Rory I'm glad you're here now but you weren't exactly a planned pregnancy."

Rory knew it was true, but the fact her Father went and created an entire spell because of her birth was not the confidence booster she needed. She shrugged it off though, focusing on the matter at hand, "Is the spell not... is it not always effective?" She asked with a small tinge of worry.

The color was now fully drained from Andrew's face as he continued pacing, "Why are you — Oh? Oh! Well... that's good. Good that you're using it, I mean... I mean that's why I created it, for people to use. I'd prefer you did use it. Not that I'm saying you should be — well, you are nineteen and —"

"Dad!" Rory said, the heat of embarrassment rising to her face and turning her ears pink, "Can we focus on the issue here? Remember, your fiancé could be pregnant! The woman you're marrying at the end of the month could very well be carrying your child."

He nodded, "Right, right. Well, only one way to know for sure!"

"Right, just go and ask her!" Rory suggested.

Andrew sat back down and nervously ran his now sweaty palms down his thighs, "No... I don't want to seem invasive... if it's true she'll tell me when she's ready and when she knows for sure."

Rory sighed, "Alright, why don't you start dinner. I'll see what they're up to upstairs." Andrew nodded and began setting out ingredients for dinner. Rory carefully went up the steps and stood outside Cory and Andrew's bedroom, where she assumed the two women were. However, when she slowly pushed the already ajar door open, it was empty. Instead, the bathroom light was on and she heard whispers from inside.

"Shit," she whispered to herself. The girl wasn't sure what to do, "Cory! Tonks! Are you in there?" Of course they were in there!

Tonks peaked her head out of the bathroom, "Yeah... we're just... hanging out in here."

Rory lowered her voice and leaned in, "Is Cory taking a pregnancy test?"

"Maybe," Tonks shrugged, "Not really sure how these things work, seems fairly simple I suppose... Cory's sister is married to a Muggle and suggested the idea. It's pretty neat, peeing on a stick and then somehow it knows if you're pregnant! Two lines for positive, one for negative!"

"Tonks! Please!" Cory scolded from inside the bathroom. "You can come in, Rory."

Rory stepped into the bathroom which was a tight fit for three women. The white stick sat on the sink, Cory was sitting on the edge of the tub with her hand anxiously placed in her lap. She looked pale, paler than she normally was.

"Cory, are you alright?" Rory sat on the bathtub next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"He's going to be so upset," she spoke, Rory could hear a sob in her throat.

"Why would you think that?" Rory asked gently.

Cory shook her head, "He's almost forty, he's always so busy with work, he already has kids! I don't think he wants to start a family again."

"That's absurd!" Tonks said fiercely, "You can't be serious. Cory, if this test is positive, you're giving him everything he's ever wanted. You're giving him a second chance at being a father."

Rory nodded in agreement. She knew although Andrew seemed worried, he wanted more than anything to truly be a father, to raise a family. To see his kids grow up instead of being separated from them for over a decade. There was a reason he was marrying Cordelia. He wanted to start a life with her.

"How much longer?" Cory asked, "Is it done?"

Tonks peered over to the stick on the sink and looked at Cory with a small smile, "It's done. It's positive." Instead of celebrating like most women do, she began crying into her hands. Rory had never seen that side of Cordelia. The woman was always smiling, always cheerful. She wasn't sure why Cory was even so upset. Had Andrew put her under the impression he didn't want any more children?

"Cory," Rory hugged the woman tightly, "He isn't going to be angry... don't worry about that. D'you want me to go get him? So you two can talk?"

Cordelia nodded through sniffles and Rory followed Tonks out of the bathroom. They walked down the steps in silence and into the kitchen (which now smelled phenomenal).

"Cory's in the bathroom, she wants to talk to you," Rory said. Andrew took a deep breath and nodded.

"Can you just take the chicken out when the oven goes off?" He asked Rory. She nodded, and before he left, she gave him a tight hug.

[][][][][]

IT SEEMED AS IF A MILLION years had passed as Andrew travelled from the bottom of the steps to the top. He knew exactly what Cory was going to tell him. He had had the same conversation twice before with Christine. Both times he had the same reaction: completely over the moon enthusiastic. He wanted to be a father his whole life in the same way little girls dream of becoming mothers one day. His father was wonderful. A Muggle music teacher with a heart of gold. However, his father had died when Andrew was a teenager. All he wanted was to be just like him, to be a great father and a great man.

He knocked softly on the bathroom door.

"Come in," a muffled voice said. Andrew opened it and saw Cordelia quickly wiping away tears and sniffling, a white stick in her hand.

"Andy please don't be mad," the woman said weakly, "If this isn't what you want I understand. I'm... I'm pregnant. I'm sorry, we were so careful -"

"What are you apologizing for? Did you really think I was going to be angry with you? Last time I checked it takes two people to make a child... this isn't your fault. I'm so happy, truly. My Cordelia is pregnant! I get to be a dad, I get to raise a child with the woman I love." He beamed, feeling suddenly emotional himself.

"R-Really?" Cory asked, a tear trickling down her porcelain skin, "You want this? The timing is awful I mean... are you sure?"

Andrew nodded, "I've wanted this for as long as I can remember. Do you want this, though?"

A smile spread across her beautiful face and she nodded enthusiastically. She flung her arms around Andrew and began crying into his shoulder, happy tears now. He loved Cordelia more than anything, raising a family with her seemed like a dream. She was a dream. He knew then, he could never risk putting his family in danger. He would rather die than lose anyone he loved as dearly as Cordelia and his children.

A/N:

andrew is my fave character in this series hands down i am so in love with him he's literally one of my comfort characters and i created him lmao