𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐔𝐋 || 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐔𝐋𝐔𝐒 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊✔️

XXXVIII• It's Time

As the days wore into weeks, and weeks into a month, neither Cecilia nor Regulus were feeling too great. Cecilia was sick with a high temperature and Regulus was sick with worry. Cecilia was becoming more and more irritable and on edge as the baby's due date approached. She wasn't sleep very well, and Regulus knew this because he wasn't sleeping very well either.

Regulus lay awake for hours at night, his ears perking up with each cough, sniffle or shuffle from Cecilia. He had suggested a doctors visit on a few occasions, not even for the baby but for Cecilia, but she wouldn't give in. She knew what she was doing, that was her excuse.

Regulus crawled into bed beside Cecilia one Saturday night. Kristen had just left and Regulus had been cleaning up the kitchen. At first, the presence of her best friend eased Cecilia, and the young girl found herself grinning like she did back in Hogwarts. But soon, Kristen received the same attitude from Cecilia as Regulus did.

Cecilia was lying on her back, her closed eyes looking towards the ceiling. Regulus took a quick glance over her body, hidden by a grey blanket. Although her eyes were closed and her round stomach lifting and falling slowly, Regulus knew she wasn't asleep; her eyelashes were flickering. Regulus places a chaste kiss to her cheek before turning and closing his eyes.

Regulus stayed awake for hours, occasionally turning to see if Cecilia was asleep, but not making it obvious he was checking on her. Cecilia hated feeling weak and vulnerable, so Regulus made sure to never let her know he was worried.

It was nearing midnight when Regulus heard Cecilia sigh heavily and push herself off the bed and into their adjoining bathroom. Regulus stayed as still as a statue, not saying a word.

The toilet flushed and Regulus heard the door handle twist and the door open, but Cecilia didn't come out of the bathroom. Regulus slowly lifted his head to see the slither of light coming from the bathroom.

"Cecilia?" he whispered into the darkness. "Everything okay?"

She didn't respond. The door handle twisted back to its original position and a soft thud sounded.

Regulus left the bed and opened the bathroom door. Cecilia was seated on the ground next to the sink, her head thrown back onto the drawers as her eyes screwed shut.

"Lia," Regulus said hurriedly. "What's wrong? Are you ok-"

"Reg," Cecilia said hoarsely, slowly opening her eyes. In the bright lights of the bathroom, Regulus could see a thin layer of sweat coating Cecilia's forehead and she was pale. Very pale.

"I think-" she continued in a whisper. "I think the baby's-"

Cecilia's words were cut short as she gripped her stomach, screwing her eyes shut once again. Regulus' breath caught in his throat as he watched a contraction ripple through Cecilia. He threw himself onto the cold floor, wrapping an arm around her tense shoulders.

Once the pain had passed, Cecilia let out a deep breath and relaxed into Regulus' side. Regulus stayed still, completely unsure as to what to do.

"Why don't we get you back into bed?" Regulus decided. "It's more comfortable than the bathroom floor."

Cecilia nodded and allowed Regulus to help her off the tiled floor and over to their bed, which she relaxed into. Regulus excused himself to call a healer, and returned to their bedroom with two cups of tea as quickly as he could.

"I can't believe this is happening," Cecilia panicked. "I'm not ready-"

"You are," Regulus grinned. "I know you are. Now, what names are you thinking?"

Cecilia smiled shyly. "We don't know the gender, but I've always liked Casper for a boy."

Regulus nodded. "That's a nice one. What about Oliver?"

"Ollie for short," Cecilia hummed. "I love nicknames. But what if it's a girl?"

Regulus bit his bottom lip, studying the ceiling as he thought. "What about Willow? Or Kayla?"

"They're cute," Cecilia laughed before scrunching her nose up. Regulus took her tea from her and rubbed her back while another contraction took over. "I like Dove too," Cecilia breathed once the pain subsided.

"Dove?" Regulus raised an eyebrow. "Like the bird?"

Cecilia shoved his cheeky face away from her, rolling her eyes playfully. "Yes. Like the bird," she pressed. "What about godparents? They should be family, your family. I've nobody I'd like to be the baby's ones."

Regulus took in this information slowly. "You want me to choose?"

Cecilia smiled. "Yep," she said, popping the p.

"I've always been close with Narcissa," Regulus said. "She's more of a sister than a cousin."

"I'm not a big fan of her boyfriend, Lucius," Cecilia said, almost disgusted.

"Fiancé," Regulus corrected. "I don't like him either."

Cecilia moved herself to sit on top of the blanket, smoothening out her nightdress. "What about godfather?"

Regulus went silent, biting the inside of his cheek. Cecilia watched him carefully as his mind worked overtime. Even in the dark she could see the bags under his eyes; she hated herself for causing him so much worry, even though he did a fairly good job at hiding his worry.

"I'd like to ask Sirius," he muttered. "But he'd probably just laugh in my face."

Cecilia frowned. "Why don't you two get on?"

"He left home and I stayed," Regulus said briefly. "That forced us to grow apart, I guess."

Cecilia opened her mouth to respond, but a loud knock on the wooden door echoed through the house.

"The healer," Regulus announced as he sprung from the bed.

"It's time," Cecilia said wearily. She rubbed her stomach slowly, fear clear in her eyes.

"You got this," Regulus said as he moved towards the bedroom door. Cecilia only smiled weakly as Regulus dashed to greet their visitor.

A/N
It's happening! What names are you guys thinking for the baby?

On another note, sorry I've gone kind of MIA. I know how this story ends; I've had it planned since the start and I've always been pretty excited to get to the end. But now, as it gets closer, I really don't want this to end so I've been avoiding writing. Sorry, I'm determined to finish this soon.