Forever and Always Yours, SS [Book 3]

Chapter 60

A healer escorted Severus to the sixth floor; she stood outside the private room as Severus entered.

Amilia lay on the bed, appearing to be asleep. As he walked closer, he could hear her soft snores, so he set down the crate and pulled up a chair. He held her hand gently and closed his eyes, drifting off to a dreamless sleep.

Severus woke up to gentle shaking; Healer Pearson stood next to him. "What is wrong?" Severus asked immediately, looking over at Amilia.

"As of right now, nothing."

A sigh of relief escaped his lips.

"We gave her a sedative to allow her to sleep while the potion to stop the contractions got to work. While it is effective, some patients do feel some discomfort and with how much pain she was in when I first saw her, I thought this was the best course of action."

"So...the baby is not coming right now?"

Pearson conjured another chair, looking Severus in the eye, "That is up in the air at the moment. She has not dilated further and the contractions are slowing but we want to keep your wife for further monitoring."

Severus looked at his wife; worry etched its way into his forehead. "What happens if they do not stop?"

"Well, then the baby will come early." Pearson sighed, "She also broke her tailbone, which we believe is what started all of this."

"Broke her tailbone?" Severus scowled, thinking of the swamp that was still in a corridor. "Can that be fixed?"

"Yes, but we would rather wait until the contractions stop. Besides, the tailbone is not necessary. Amilia could go without it being repaired."

"Will that cause problems with delivery?"

Pearson laughed, "No, it will not."

Severus sighed, "Then let's not worry about that bone. What more monitoring needs to be done?"

"Well, this is the hard part. We need to make sure that the contractions fully stop and that the baby is not in distress. If the baby were to come under great distress, we would induce labor or perform a cesarean."

Severus brought his fingers to his lips, scraping his nails across his skin to keep away the worry and vomit growing. "When will she wake up?"

"Not until tomorrow, most likely the afternoon. We will tell her you came by. Of course, all of this will be told to her as well."

Severus nodded as the healer got up, "Thank you." He took Amilia's hand, rubbing his thumb against her knuckles.

"You are welcome. I know this is difficult for you, we have staff on hand to help with situations like this. Do not hesitate to reach out should you need any assistance."

Severus did not take his eyes off his wife, but he knew the healer had left. They were alone in the room now, and he finally opened the floodgates.

Severus entered the common room later that night, expecting all students to be in bed; however, cots and sleeping bags were scattered around. "What in the world?"

A blonde-haired boy stood, "Is she alright?"

Severus squinted in the dim light, "Draco?"

"Yes, sir. All of us actually."

Severus crossed his arms, "Why are they not in bed?"

"We wanted to know if Professor Hubbard and the baby are alright?" A little girl lifted her head, yawning sleepily.

Severus scanned the room; he spied a couple of students emerging from the dormitories. Others woke those still sleeping. "You did all of this for her?"

Draco looked at the other Prefects, "Actually we did all of this for you too."

Severus could feel the heat of tears forcing their way to the corner of his eyes. He bit his tongue to keep from letting them fall. "Professor Hubbard is fine. She is at St. Mungo's and will be for some time."

"What about the baby?"

"The baby is where it should be."

An audible sound of relief filled the room, almost relaxing Severus. Even if he could not show it outside of this room, he was happy to know that the students cared so much for Amilia.

"What now?"

"I do not know." Severus clasped his hands behind his back, "Since you all have taken the time to get set up in here, you may stay the night. However, this should not happen again without prior authorization."

The Prefects nodded quickly and got to work, getting the rest of the students back into their cots and bedrolls. Severus took the chance to enter his office, where he kicked off his shoes and threw his cloak to the side.

Severus opened his chamber door to an empty bed, again feeling guilty. Why? Even he did not know. Maybe it was because he was not there when it happened, or he could not do anything for her when she was in pain at his feet. "How will I be able to help you when the time really comes?"

He threw himself on his bed; the sheets were cold and unwelcoming. Generally, Amilia would be here or in her bed by this time of the night, but even when he slept alone, it was never like this.

Slowly, he drifted off to sleep, but he was bothered by images of horror and grief. A wife holding her knees to her chest, staring out the window, refusing to eat most days. Severus tossed and turned all night.