Awakening (Fred Weasley)

TWENTY-THREE

After nearly an hour, I had managed to drag Fred out of St. Mungo's.

"Want me to apparate us to the flat?" I asked him as soon as we were a block away from St. Mungo's.

He shook his head. "Can we walk? I've been trapped inside a hospital for seven months," he stated, shoving his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants and looking around.

I could see his breath as he spoke.

I reached out and pulled one of his hands out of his pocket. I kissed his knuckles and blew on his fingers; they were as cold as ice.

"Of course, love," I answered softly, lacing my fingers with his.

He smiled softly at me as he started to lead the way to Diagon Alley.

"Thank Merlin you've caught me up. I'd hate to come home and not know who Callie was. Or to not know that Betty...." he trailed off.

I nodded. "I know what you mean. Teddy and Callie are the best of friends, by the way. They are inseparable. Almost like the five of us were at Hogwarts."

Fred laughed at that. "Of course they are. I mean, Teddy is the child of Messer Moony and Callie is the child of George! They're going to be the biggest pranksters at Hogwarts when they go!"

"Obviously! And then our little girl or boy will come along a couple of years later and there'll be even more havoc at Hogwarts!"

Fred was silent for a couple of minutes. Shit, I shouldn't of said that.

I should not have said that. I can't help imagining kids and a life with Fred! Especially since he proposed a mere hour and a half ago!

"Only one?" he finally asked. He seemed to sense my embarrassment.

I quickly looked up at him. "I... I dunno. How many were you thinking?" I inquired, my cheeks scarlet and my voice shaking.

He smirked and pulled up our interlocked hands and straightened the ring on my finger. "We'll need at least three troublemakers."

I'm sure I resemble a tomato at this point.

"Three?" I squeaked.

Fred shrugged. He looked back at me, still with that smirk on his face. "I mean I could handle more... especially the... the process in which they would be made."

Did he really just say that?

I smacked his arm playfully, looking down to hide my dark red face. "Frederick Gideon Weasley!"

He laughed. "What? I had to lighten the mood! You were all embarrassed!" He shied away from my smack.

I groaned, hiding my face in my hands as we walked.

"I hate you," I told him, though my voice was muffled through my hands.

"You love me."

I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"By the way, I meant what I said."

"About what?"

"I could handle the child making process. I can hardly keep my hands off of you as it is."

I think his hit to the head knocked something out of place. He's different.

"Eh, maybe it did. Maybe it didn't."

"I said that out loud?"

"You do that quite often, love."

"Can you stop embarrassing me?"