Shadow & Love

25* The Final Battle Begins

"Keep him warm, all he needs is body heat and if he calms down a bath, nice warm water," spluttered Caryn wrapping the baby in a second blanket before putting a thumb into the bath.

"The water is too cold — well it took long — born right before midnight — tough little boy — still a bit blue around the nose," she stammered hastily.

Caryn wiped vernix from the tiny face and pressed the bundle with the crying boy in Severus arms.

"Take him and remember — an early baby needs warmth. Come upstairs if he looks clean and rosy."

"How's Leonor ...," whispered Severus having only eyes for the little face and the quivering fists of his son.

"I patch her up," called Caryn and hurried again to the upper floor. Then she turned and uttered, "She named him Marcus Severus."

Severus was thrilled, a strong name although he liked of course to discuss 'Severus' doubting that Leonor gave it up. It didn't matter in that beautiful moment when he stood in the potion kitchen next to the baby bathtub and held the new-born in the crook of the arm, touching the black hair and the soft cheeks gently with a finger, swaying back and forth and whispering gentle words. It took a while until the baby stopped crying from the effort coming to this world; two very small hands ceased shaking. The birds closed in nudging the blanket in greeting and the Phoenix began a low musical melody.

When the little one opened the eyes looking at his father, Severus said with deep lines in the worn face, "It's time to prepare for your mother. She'll love you as much as I do."

XXX

When the room divider finally dropped, Marcus sucked his fingers feeling well while pressed to Severus' chest. Caryn collected a heap of used bedsheets and carried them away.

"Are you satisfied with your little boy?" she called over her shoulder to Severus. "He's about twenty inches and seven pounds, more than his sister and that three weeks early."

Severus didn't listen, he just wanted to know if his love was alright too. "Can I see Leonor?" asked Severus at once.

"She's asleep, be quiet."

The new mother slept in the middle of the bed under a thin blanket, the room again overheated like the cottage last year. Severus sat carefully down, talking to the awake little boy and moving some sticky strands of hair from his love's face. Leonor looked worn out, a little better than he expected in his worst thoughts. The skin was warm and sweaty like fading fever. Caryn bustled in and out checking pulse and temperature. She looked stern and brought eventually a little bottle with baby food.

"Do you want to feed little Marcus?"

Severus nodded and took it asking nervously, "How's Leonor?"

"Not bad, considering the circumstances. I gave her a sleeping potion; she'll wake up, no worries, and then we know more." Caryn patted Severus' shoulder. "I make us something hot, and then we grab a bit of sleep."

She returned a bit later with a bowl of steaming hot soup and took the baby boy who drank slowly and with frequent pauses.

"You need patience with the early babies. They need to learn everything also how to drink. He tries hard emptying that bottle," smiled Caryn and put the bundle back in Severus arms when he finished eating.

"I leave you alone and have a nap in the armchair downstairs. You'll know where to find me. Go to rest; it's been a long day."

When the footsteps of the midwife died away, the silence closed in. Severus watched Leonor's steady breathing. His yawing son fell asleep. Severus' lids closed too, and he sat against the headboard of the bed, willing to last out, the baby in his right arm and Leonor's fingers in his left hand. He kissed them both on the top of the heads and spoke in an overwhelmed whisper, "I love you."