i can't really remember leaving, but to be honest i can't really remember much of last night.
my head was pounding i guess that's what i get for being a lightweight and drinking half my body weight in alcohol.
'Drink this you'll feel better' Cedric pushes a glass of water and a paracetamol into my hands. i shove them in my mouth and gulp down the water and almost instantly my headache eases.
Gratefully i look up and whisper 'my saviour' to him, my headache still not completely cleared, i notice him still wearing his sleepwear so i know we have some time until we have to be at work. i grin and pull him down onto me, rolling over so i'm on top of him.
'Haley!', he laughs 'we can't we have work'. he protests though he makes no effort to move me.
'mhm, because they're going to fire us', i sit up on my elbows and pull his shirt off of him. "i'm sure that they can spare us for a few hours."
"oh, only a few hours?" His voice light as he teases me. i can feel him stir with interest beneath my hips. 'i think we can do better than that."
"oh yeah?" i say, i bend down to kiss him. "prove it." It's a playful challenge, but Cedric can never turn a challenge down.
cedric shoves me off him, climbing on top of me, I spread my legs so he can he can settle between them easier. he pins my hands above my head, kissing me. we never did make it to work that day.
~~~~~~~~~~
much later when we're both tired i turn to face him, my head still on his chest. 'do you think it's working?'
he looks me in the eyes and says 'i hope so'.
we have been trying for a baby for a long time, a couple years actually, but we haven't had any look yet.
Countless doctors and appointments have told us not to get our hopes up but also not to give up entirely, we're just praying for a miracle. knowing the chances are low we haven't told anyone yet ,but it doesn't hide the fact how much we want a baby. something just feels like it's missing.
~~~~~~~~~
i stare down at my paperwork and barely stifle a yawn, my bones are heavy, i feel my eyelids threatening to close, letting my head drop to the table i glance at the clock and see i've got 6 hours left, until i can go home, change into some baggy clothes and sleep.
this is ridiculous, its only tuesday and already i felt like i had been awake for a week. i had even been of on monday, which wasn't my fault! Unwillingly, i lift my head up and rub at my eyes. apart from my sudden need to sleep, i felt well enough. maybe I was coming down with something? Cedric had noticed a change in my health as well and had suggested i go and see a doctor, i picked up a pen and carelessly scribbled on the page. my mind wasn't on work, my brain was foggy and urging me to rest. if only i could just go home and listen to my body.
'Haley', Ginny appears around the door. 'are you ready for tomorrow it's our favourite day again' she says, voice dripping with sarcasm.
oh yes. the busiest day of the year. where every pub and club owner comes to get their liquor license renewed, and lucky me i'm the one who gets to do it!!!
'don't remind me'.
ginny looked at me with concern in her eyes. "are you OK?" she asked.
'yeah i'm fine', i dropped my pen onto the desk, screwing on the paper i had been doodling on and throwing into the bin in the corner of my office. the action seemed to jog something in my foggy brain. waste, it was ringing a bell.
'well, ok if you're sure.' she still had that concerned look on her face. "You've seemed pretty out of it for a couple of days now."
'yeah i'll be fine by the morning, you know how much of a lightweight i am'.
she gives me a doubtful look but turns away and leave. but by friday cedric has booked me an appointment to see our doctor. he ignores all my protests and assurances that i'm actually fine, thank you very much.
~~~~~~~~
*friday*
I shuffle into the doctors room, excuses ready on my lips.
'hello miss potter, i'm dr Klein', he turns out to be a fairly handsome redhead man with a well-trimmed beard, an easy smile and kind eyes.
'hello,'i say disgruntled. 'this isn't necessary, i just have an overprotective boyfriend.'
'hm,' he says but takes out his notes anyway,'just sit on the bed and we'll see how it goes.' no, i want to say, but I do as I'm told always to one to avoid social confrontations when unnecessary. Klein takes a couple of tests and asks me a couple of questions.
a frown begins to form between his eyes and I sigh inwardly.
'may i call you Haley?" he asks.
"Sure."
"Haley, i have some... delicate questions to ask if that's ok?"
i pause, feeling nervous for what's to come. i lick my dry lips,'sure'.
'Haley,' dr Klein looks at me with a sudden sternness that takes my breath away. 'are you using protection?'
"From what?" i ask scared of what the answer could be.
"Sex," he says patiently.
"Oh!" I blush. "No - well-" Oh Merlin. 'Cedric - my boyfriend and I have been talking about maybe, you know, trying for kids, but we haven't had great news and told that we had a really low change of it actually happening.' i manage to stutter out.
Klein nods and writes something else down. "Have you been sexually active in the last eight weeks?"
"Yes." I can feel my blush deepening and spreading down my neck.
"How have you been feeling lately? Your notes say you've been fatigued?"
I scratch the back of my neck. "Well yeah - I mean, I've had a couple of headaches, but nothing I would be worried about."
"Hm," he says again and picks up a calendar of the small desk in the corner of the room. "Were you having sex around late February, early March?"
A hazy image of me, pinned against a bathroom wall, my legs wrapped around a strangers waist as he pumps into me fills my mind. I instantly pale. "Yes."
Oh no. Oh no . hermione's birthday. That hot guy at the bar. Cedric. My head swims and for a moment I feel dizzy. Shit. Shit. Shit .
"Haley,' Klein looks concerned. "Lie down a minute."
I'm not sure how lying down is supposed to make me feel better, but OK. I lie down on the hard leather and feel, well, less dizzy.
"Want to explain what happened there?" Klein asks. No, is the honest answer.
"I - I, had unprotected sex with someone that wasn't my boyfriend."
"Ah." Klein sounds like he's heard this all before, and maybe he has. Fabulous, I've become a statistic. "That would complicate matters."
"So, I am -?" I let the question hang, afraid to say it out loud until he confirms it.
"Congratulations Miss Potter, you are about nine weeks pregnant," he says gently. "I would say - and this is an early estimate - that the baby is due between early November to early December. I can't give you anything more than that at this stage."
"How soon can you tell who the father is?" I ask. "It has to be Cedric, right?" My mouth is very dry right now. "You can't get pregnant by having sex one time."
dr Klein looks at me with pity in his blue eyes, "I'm sorry to tell you, but yes, you can get pregnant by having sex just once, If you're having sex without protection, you risk becoming pregnant." He looks stern again.
"Fuck."
"As for your first question, it's too early to tell. Right now the baby is the size of a raspberry. As the baby develops we'll be able to do more."
I stare numbly at the off white ceiling. I swallow past the lump in my throat. "W-what do I have to do now? I mean-"
Klein smiles kindly at me. "The next step is a visit with the midwife and setting up antenatal visits."
I breathe out slowly. "OK."
"You can sit up now," Klein says moving towards the desk. I sit up, swinging my legs back and forth idly.
"Is there anything else I need to know? I can still work right?"
"Right, you should be able to work for another few months yet. Have you felt sick at all?"
I shake my head.
"Hm, that's good. Not everyone gets morning sickness, but be aware - just because you haven't felt sick yet doesn't mean you won't ."
He hands me a leaflet. "I suggest you tell your boyfriend at least, and if you know - the other man who may be the father. Other than that, I'd advise against telling anyone else until you're 12 weeks."
"Thank you." I slip the leaflet into my jean pocket.
"And listen to your body." He tells me sharply. "If you need to sleep - sleep . Your body knows what it needs to do to keep you and that baby healthy."
"Right." I run my hand through my already messy red hair. "Thanks again." I promise to come back in two weeks so dr Klein can see how I'm doing and leave.
I drag my feet out of the hospital slowly. The idea of going home and facing Cedric chills me to my core. I know one thing - there is no way I am telling him what happened at the bar. Nope. The baby has to be Cedric's, it just has to.