The Addition

Daniella raised the fork to her lips and winced, holding her breath, and closing her eyes.

“Is the arugula salad not to your liking?” Severus drawled, casually leaning forward in his seat to take a sip of rich, red wine.

“It’s fine,” Daniella whispered, slowly returning the full fork to her plate as the spasm subsided.

Trying again as the waiter refilled the water glasses, Daniella gasped and dropped the fork onto the table, closing her eyes, and fisting her hands.

“Is there a problem, Senora Salvatorini?” the startled waiter asked, watching the woman’s face grow scarlet.

“No,” Daniella puffed, panic beginning to rise. “We have to leave.”

“Leave? Cara, you’ve barely touched your dinner.” Severus sat straight in concern.

“Now,” Daniella ordered quietly, her face down but her eyes raised. “We have to leave now,” she whispered firmly.

Severus rose from his seat to assist his wife to her feet, wrapping his arm around her thick waist, and moving her chair back.

“Vito,” she softly called to a young busboy. “Get your mother. Tell her it’s time. We’re going home.”

The boy’s eyes widened as he acknowledged the situation and dashed from the restaurant without a word.

“Senora Salvatorini.” The waiter nervously wrung the towel in his hands while other staff members and patrons looked on. “Is there anything we can do to help? Drive you home, perhaps?”

Daniella froze with another spasm that originated in her lower back rapidly inched its way to her abdomen. As she breathed through it, grasping Severus’ hand, Severus replied, “No… gracias… we can manage.”

With his arm still around her waist, the couple slowly worked their way out of the restaurant and away from curious eyes. Withdrawing his wand from a concealed pocket in the outer seam of his trousers, Severus cast a Strengthening Charm on himself and gathered Daniella into his arms, carrying her into the nearest, dark alley. He could feel the wet cloth of her dress against his arm. Her water had broken. It wouldn’t be long now. Focusing on their mountain retreat, Severus Tandem Apparated them home.

~~~***~~~

“Pinky!” he called as the wards to the villa were lowered. “Prepare the bedroom! The baby is coming!”

Severus’ instructions were instantly met by the small, pink-eared house elf as he carried his wife through the front door and down the narrow hallway while another contraction seized her body.

“What can I do?” he asked as he lay her gently on the light blue covers of the bed, pushing damp strands of hair from her face.

She shook her head as the contraction subsided. They were coming faster than she had anticipated. “A potion? A charm? Anything. Gods, this hurts worse than Crucio,” she whimpered, shifting to a more comfortable position.

“You know I can’t. It’s too late anyway. We’d risk harming the child,” he reminded her.

As he sat on the edge of the bed holding her hand, the sound of a car racing up the gravel mountain road and coming to a rapid halt alerted Severus to the arrival of Senora Venetos, the midwife. Daniella had met the middle-aged, mother of seven when they first arrived in the isolated hamlet in Southwestern Spain. She was a pleasant woman and was concerned for the young couple who secluded themselves from the community. Severus was still wary of many and was still recovering from his battle injuries. His mood was unsociable and sharp, but the patient woman wouldn’t be pushed away. She gently drew them out and introduced them to various members of the small village.

Pinky stood in the doorway of the bedroom wringing her hands. “There’s a Muggle female coming up the path,” she fretted. “Should I let down the wards?”

Severus gave Daniella’s hand a tender squeeze and rose to his feet. They had planned for this to happen. The midwife had never been to their home before…actually, no one from the village had ever been to their home. His eyes narrowed in thought, and a Concealment Charm was cast on anything that was considered magical. Striding to the door as Daniella breathed through another contraction and Pinky blended into a corner of the room, he let the stout woman in.

“It seems this little one is anxious to meet the world,” the midwife began cheerily. “Daniella isn’t due for another two weeks. Have you two been doing something that you shouldn’t be?” She winked at Severus as she was led to the bedroom. Casually putting her bag down and removing her shawl, she glanced around the quaint villa. “Hola, estimado. You have a beautiful home,” she greeted as she sat on the bed beside her patient. Spanning her hands across the extended abdomen, she hummed and hawed for a moment, then began to raise Daniella’s dress to investigate how far along she was. Severus stiffened uncomfortably and turned to leave.

“I don’t think so, Stavros.” The midwife snapped her fingers sharply at him, drawing him back into the room with a raised eyebrow. “You helped create this situation. You can help her through it.”

Severus froze on the spot, his back poker-straight, reverting to his best Snape persona. “Excuse me?” he drawled.

“You heard me,” Senora Venetos said, focusing on reading another contraction. “We’ve talked about this before. Don’t try to escape. She needs you in here, not out there pacing a hole in the floor.”

“What can I do?” He rigidly took two paces into the room to stand beside the efficient woman.

“You do what I tell you,” she ordered, not paying attention to the double eyebrow raise from the stern man.

Daniella’s snicker was cut short by another contraction, and her whimper turned into a pained cry as her knees instinctively rose.

At the midwife’s abrupt point, Severus strode to the other side of the bed and sat near his wife’s head, slipping his arm under her shoulders, and half lifting her into a reclined position. She grasped for his hand and was crushing his fingers before he could cast an Unbreakable Charm to prevent broken digits. He breathed with her to regulate the pace as Daniella groaned.

“Dearest Goddess, Ruler of night,
Protect me and mine ‘til the morning light.”

There was no rest between contractions, and Daniella cried out again. “Dearest Goddess, I know this is part of life’s circle, but I could use a little help. Strength, please. Anything,” she begged.

A soothing, white aura emerged immediately surrounding Daniella with a calming sensation as Severus’ grip on her tightened. Senora Venetos was intent on determining the position of the baby and didn’t notice the sudden glow.

“I can see the head,” she announced from between Daniella’s knees. “With the next contraction, take a deep breath and …”

“Push!” Severus yelled as he felt his wife’s body stiffen. With his arm supporting her rigid form, she groaned to a near-sitting position, straining with all her might. “Breathe!” he ordered. “You have to breathe!”

She puffed as she began to relax, but before she could lay back another one hit, and she gasped for a breath to push again.

“Keep it up, dear. You’re almost there,” the senora encouraged. “One more.”

Daniella doubled as her cry reverberated off the walls of the room, pushing with every ounce of breath she had left.

“You’re not alone, cara,” she heard him whisper in her ear. “The Goddess is with you. I’m with you.”

A laugh and a gasping cry filled the room as Senora Venetos held a slippery, bawling mass in her hands. “A girl!” she beamed placing the wailing child on Daniella’s stomach. “One more push, and it’s all over,” she assured as Severus tightened his grip around his wife’s shoulders one last time.

When all was done, Daniella weakly leaned into her husband’s strong arms, taking his comfort and strength. The midwife examined the baby who seemed to radiate a curious, thin layer of white light. She washed her off, cooing as she bundled the child in a soft blanket. Severus’ thoughts were racing. He had been blessed once before with a loving wife and beautiful child only to have it torn from his grasp.

Never, he thought with determination. Never will it happen again.

Clinging to his wife, he kissed her sweaty, tear-stained, smiling face as Senora Venetos passed the bundle of love into their waiting arms.

“What are you going to name her?” she asked, watching the new family with a proud smile.

They looked at each other, smiling, and giving a silent nod. “Katarina Eilana,” Severus announced. “After our mothers.”