A Priceless Gift

Chapter 20

Blaise sat next to Draco on his and Harry's bed as Draco vomited into a plastic bowl in his lap. He held a cold cloth to Draco's forehead with one hand and gently massaged the nape of his neck with the other.

It was six weeks after the fateful night of their anniversary, and things had gone rather smoothly since then. Draco fell into a pattern with his new responsibilities at work, and Harry had been busy and distracted studying for, and completing, his final exams. Both had been too busy to stew over their relationship issues, and Harry hadn't expressed any further concern about Draco's new job.

Draco knew better than to accept things as resolved just yet. He was working more hours, but Harry had been too busy himself to notice. Now that the exams were over, Draco suspected the issue would rear its ugly head again eventually. He, himself, was now having serious thoughts of reneging on the promotion. His mother's words rang in his head every time he came home to find Harry already sleeping and he found himself often pacing in the 'executive' corridor of the office (where is own office was now situated) contemplating the announcement of his desire to return to mere junior solicitor.

It was now also the sixth week of Blaise's extended stay with Harry and Draco, and they were entering the sixth month of the pregnancy. The Minister of Magic had called Harry personally and unexpectedly via the Floo requesting an urgent meeting with him immediately, but had failed to mention the exact reason for the meeting. Harry hadn't had obligations to the Ministry of Magic in a very long time and he was a little worried why the Minister herself would be personally requesting a meeting with him. She had made it extremely difficult for Harry to decline the meeting, so Harry had asked if Blaise would mind keeping an eye on Draco because Draco had been feeling off colour that morning, more so than usual, and Harry had barely been able to rouse him. Harry had called Draco's work and informed them Draco wouldn't be in before disappearing in the Floo.

Harry had been gone for almost four hours and Blaise was getting a bit concerned. Draco appeared to be ill with something other than morning sickness. He was not only vomiting once again - something he hadn't done in about four weeks - but he had a raging fever, a blinding headache, and was complaining of bad pains in the stomach.

Blaise had tried contacting Harry at the Minister of Magic's office, but was informed that the Minister was out of the office. The receptionist could not reveal if she was with Harry or not. Blaise then tried calling Hermione at work, but she was unable to be disturbed, so as a last resort, Blaise reluctantly called Ron in his office to see if he could try and locate Harry, but Ron had had no luck.

Blaise was anxious about Draco's health and needed to get Harry home. He had even considered Flooing Draco's mother at Hogwarts to get her to come to her son, but thought that was a bit drastic, considering Draco probably only had the flu or something.

The neck massaging was doing nothing, despite the fact that Harry had assured him that it usually cut Draco's vomiting bouts to about ten minutes each.

Draco stopped being sick then hunched over and clutched his stomach. "You need to call Hermione. It's something wrong with the baby, I just know it!"

"I can't get hold of her, Draco. Both of her answering services keep telling me she's unavailable and not to be disturbed," Blaise explained.

Draco screwed his face up and made a pained noise. "It hurts," he whispered.

"Aw, mate, I wish there was something more I could do for you," Blaise said gently and patted Draco's back. "I'll try and get in touch with Harry again. Do you want me to get you a hot water bottle or something?"

"Yes please," Draco croaked. "Keep trying to call Hermione." Blaise took the bowl and vanished the contents and placed it on the bed next to Draco once he lay back down again. Draco curled up into a tiny ball on his side and closed his eyes.

Blaise hurried downstairs and prepared a hot water bottle for Draco as quickly as he could. "Here you go. Put it on your stomach, it should soothe the pain a little. Have some more water for me, Draco. I don't want you to dehydrate." Blaise helped Draco have a drink but didn't push the issue when he only took a mere sip. Draco curled back up and clutched the hot water bottle to his stomach.

A few moments later, Blaise heard the Floo roar downstairs followed by some heavy stomping up the stairs. "Oh thank fucking god!" Blaise swore to himself.

Harry burst into the room with a huge grin on his face. "GUESS WHAT!" he cried but then his face fell when his eyes landed on Draco. "Baby, what's wrong?! You look awful!" Draco closed his eyes and whimpered.

"Shit Harry, I've been trying to locate you all through the Ministry! He's been really ill for since he woke up. He's been throwing up constantly about every fifteen to twenty minutes, he's running a temperature and complaining of bad stomach pains. He thinks something might be wrong with Hermione or the baby and that's why he's in pain." Blaise bit his lip as he watched Harry approach Draco.

"Where in your stomach is the pain, baby?" Harry asked softly and placed his hand on Draco's forehead. Draco pulled the covers down and shifted the hot water bottle out of the way.

"Here mostly. It hurts all the time but the bad pain comes in waves." Draco indicated to just below his belly button.

"Is it a sharp or dull pain?" Harry asked as he pulled his wand out.

"Dull, but then gets sharp when it gets bad," Draco answered.

"When was the last time you did a number two, Draco?" Harry asked. "Are you constipated?

"No, I went this morning," Draco muttered. "You have to speak to Hermione, Harry!"

"Oh god, do you really think it's something wrong with the baby?" Harry gasped, and Draco made a strangled noise at the back of his throat.

"Call Hermione," Draco said hoarsely.

Harry grabbed the phone next to their bed and dialled Hermione's mobile number. He was met with a tinny recorded message saying Hermione was unavailable and to leave a message. "FUCK!" Harry swore viciously. "Hermione, if you don't ring me back in less than five fucking minutes, I'm Flooing to St Mungo's and storming in on whatever the hell you doing! Ring me. It's urgent!" Harry tossed the phoned angrily on the bed.

Draco put a tentative hand over his mouth and closed his eyes. Harry grabbed the bowl quickly but Draco eventually shook his head and sighed. "False alarm," he said weakly. "Oh god, it's getting worse again..." He emitted a disjointed moan, curling up into a ball again with his head in Harry's lap. Harry looked worriedly at Blaise and then rubbed Draco's back.

The mobile buzzed and Harry had it to his ear in a flash. "Hermione?" he asked, desperation dripping in his voice.

"Yes, it's me. What's with the fifty thousand messages haunting me? Have you and Draco argued again?" Hermione answered.

"Hermione! Are you ok? Is the baby ok? Are you in pain?" Harry asked frantically.

"Harry, Harry! Calm down, honey! What's going on? I'm fine! Why would I be in pain?" Hermione cried.

"Are you sure? Not even the slightest bit of pain?"

"No! Harry! Tell me what's the matter!" Hermione demanded.

"Draco's in agony. He's got terrible stomach pains. We thought it might mean something was wrong with the baby," Harry explained quickly. "Promise nothing is wrong!"

"Nothing is wrong! Baby and I have both been fine all day," Hermione assured him. "Is it just stomach pains?"

"I'm not sure..." Harry glanced down at Draco, whose face was screwed up in pain again.

"Then get off the phone and get him checked out! Don't immediately think everything is going to be the Couvade. Make sure you call me back to tell me how he is. You've got me worried," Hermione fretted. "I'm hanging up now. Call a Healer or St Mungo's!" The line went dead.

"It's not the baby, love. Hermione's fine." Harry touched his wand to Draco's temple and said a spell. "Fucking hell, your temperature is 40.8 degrees!" he swore. Draco groaned then and curled up again.

"Harry, it hurts!" Draco cried as tears sprung in his eyes. Harry pressed his hand lightly to Draco's stomach where the pain was and Draco gasped. "Please don't! It hurts to touch!"

"Shhh, it's ok. I'm sorry, baby," Harry murmured and turned to look at Blaise. "I have to get him to St Mungo's."

"No!" Draco sobbed. "Please no! They'll give me needles!"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I don't know what's the matter with you! Your temperature is very high, and the stomach pains could be caused by a number of serious things," Harry said apologetically as Draco started sobbing harder.

"Fuck," Harry swore softly to himself, and Blaise could see he was clearly torn. "I'm so sorry, baby, but I have to take you and I have to get you there quick. We're going to have to go by Floo."

"Fuck you!" Draco wailed from where his head was buried in his pillow. Harry swallowed back his own tears; he hated the thought of intentionally inflicting terror in Draco but he couldn't do anything about it.

"Blaise, can you go ahead and warn them we are coming? Go to Emergency and explain Draco's symptoms," Harry asked and Blaise rushed out of the room. "Come on, sweetheart..." Harry urged Draco. Draco pulled himself up in bed, still crying steadily. He winced in pain and then sent Harry the most miserable look Harry had ever seen and his heart broke.

"Please don't take me to the hospital, Harry," Draco choked out.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered back. He quickly grabbed the box of tissues and Draco's sick bowl and helped Draco stand up. Draco immediately doubled over in pain and gasped for breath. Harry helped him stand back up slowly, and they made their way down the stairs gradually with Harry supporting Draco around his waist.

They stepped into the Floo together, and Harry thanked the person who finally invented multiple person Floo travel. He grabbed the Floo powder and steadied Draco against him. "St Mungo's Emergency Room!" Harry shouted.

They stumbled out of the Floo at the other end, and Draco immediately starting throwing up again. Harry held the bowl under his mouth and ignored all the curious stares of the people in the crowded waiting room. Draco doubled over once more, and Harry had to get him to squat down to prevent him from falling flat on his face.

Harry looked up and shot a nasty glare at everyone who was staring at them. He knew they were staring for the fact that they recognised him and also because he was kneeling next to a stunning looking blond who was heaving into a plastic bowl. "Haven't any of you seen vomit before?" Harry snapped and all eyes abruptly averted from the couple.

Two mediwitches came bustling around the corner then followed by Blaise. "Mr Potter, this is Mr Malfoy, I believe?" the mediwitch with red hair asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry but he's not in much of a fit state to walk far. Can you get him a wheelchair?" Harry asked. The redhead nodded and retreated in the direction they came from.

Draco stopped vomiting and leaned in to Harry. The other mediwitch took care of the sick bowl as Harry helped Draco stand and take a drink from the water fountain a few steps away from them.

Draco took a few sips and hunched over again. "It just hurts bad all the time now," he grunted. Harry realised that Draco was sweating heavily, so he brushed his blond hair away from his forehead. The mediwitch returned with the wheelchair and helped Draco sit down.

"The Healer is waiting for Draco. Mr Zabini explained about the Couvade Syndrome so the Healer is eager to rectify the situation as soon as possible to avoid any further discomfort for Draco," the mediwitch said to Harry.

"DISCOMFORT?!" Draco screeched as he clutched his abdomen. "IT'S FUCKING AGONY YOU GREAT, OVERGROWN FUCKING COW!" He abruptly started crying again, and Harry took his hand as they hurried along the corridor.

"I'm sorry," Harry said in a low voice to the mediwitch beside him so Draco wouldn't hear. "He's been very emotional lately."

"That's perfectly understandable, Mr Potter. But trust me, we get patients who are in pain saying far worse than Draco just did," she answered with a wry smile.

"Please call me Harry. And um, well, he may get worse. He's very, um, creative with his insults when he's irritable." Harry giggled nervously.

"I'm sure we've heard it all before," she assured him. I doubt it, Harry thought as he shared a knowing look with Blaise.

They entered a small, bleak-looking, stark white examination room with an examination table that had a curtain hanging around it and a cabinet with various instruments on it. "Ok, Harry do you want to help Draco into this gown and up on to the table? I'll alert the Healer that you are ready," mediwitch one said.

"I'll wait back in the waiting room, Harry. Feel better, mate." Blaise patted Draco's arm.

"Blaise, can you contact Hermione in the Research Department here and tell her what's going on?" Harry asked and Blaise nodded and left.

Harry helped Draco ease out of his clothes and into the light blue hospital gown. Draco was hardly able to straighten up without gasping in pain. Harry held Draco's hand while he climbed up onto the table and lay down. Draco was now shivering lightly, and Harry looked around the room and located a white hospital blanket on the visitor's seat, so he placed it over Draco up to his waist.

Draco grabbed Harry's wrist and looked pleadingly up into Harry's eyes. "I'm scared, Harry," he whispered.

"I know, baby, but I'll be right here the whole time, ok?" Harry soothed tucked Draco's hair back behind his ears. Draco nodded and gulped deeply. He looked a wreck.

A middle-aged female Healer entered the room then and smiled at the couple. Harry was starting to wonder if there were any male employees at St Mungo's. "Good afternoon Draco, Harry. I'm Healer Francis but you're welcome to call me Maggie." Maggie went over to the cabinet and slipped on a pair of latex gloves. "Ok, Draco, they tell me you've been having some severe stomach pains that are different to your usual Couvade symptoms. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Draco croaked.

"What do you think it might be, Maggie?" Harry asked anxiously.

"I suspect maybe a bowel blockage, a kidney infection or appendicitis. But I won't know until I examine him properly," Maggie said and Draco whimpered and gripped Harry's hand tighter.

"It's nothing to do with the Couvade Syndrome?"

"No, Harry. Couvade symptoms have always been considered passive and not serious. They can be bad for the one suffering it, but never actually really serious. The pain Draco is in is certainly not from the sympathetic pregnancy," Maggie confirmed. Draco coughed and made an upset noise.

"Don't be frightened, dear. I'll do all I can to make this as comfortable as possible for you. I'll just do a brief diagnostic spell to tell me your temperature and blood pressure and such, then I need some answers to a few questions, Draco, but I can see you are in a lot of pain. Do you want Harry to answer what he can for you?" Maggie asked gently, and Draco nodded weakly.

Maggie withdrew her wand and performed the spell. She tutted softly as she read the results. "Ok Harry, do you know when Draco's last bowel movement was?"

"This morning he said," Harry answered.

"Was it normal, Draco?"

"Yes," Draco whispered and reached up to brush some tears away.

"Any recent diarrhoea or constipation?" Maggie asked as she continued to take notes in Draco's file.

"I'm not sure..." Harry looked down at Draco, who shook his head.

"What is the frequency of the vomiting?"

"About every fifteen to twenty minutes." Harry bit his lip and smiled comfortingly down at Draco.

"Any known allergies?"

"He's allergic to that orange pain potion; I can't remember the name of it."

"I'm going to be sick again," Draco moaned. Maggie quickly grabbed a small stainless steel basin and handed it to Draco, who rolled on his side and threw up again. Thankfully, he didn't have much left in his stomach and the sickness passed quickly. However, the heaving made the pain worse leaving him coughing and gasping for breath by the time he finished.

Maggie set her clipboard aside and came over to Draco. "I'm just going to examine you now, Draco. You can stay there and hold his hand, Harry. In fact, I recommend it. Lie on your back for me, Draco." Harry helped Draco to move onto his back again.

Maggie felt Draco's glands in his throat and then under his arms. She checked inside his mouth and ears. Then she moved to press gently around his upper stomach. "Tell me if it hurts, Draco." Draco whimpered and nodded when she examined his upper stomach, but the minute she pressed her fingers to the lower right side of his abdomen Draco let out a horrible scream.

Maggie pulled back quickly, and Harry leant over and gave Draco a hug to try and calm him. "Appendicitis," Maggie said immediately. "And quite severe at that. I suspect the appendix is not far from rupturing. We need to get him into surgery immediately."

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" Draco cried, his eyes wide with fear. He started to hyperventilate, and Maggie had to end up putting him on oxygen.

"He's absolutely petrified of needles," Harry explained anxiously. Draco appeared to be in shock and was lying rigid and silent.

"I'll have to give him one to sedate him. Once he's asleep, he won't be aware," Maggie sighed. Draco snapped out of it and started shaking his head furiously.

"NO! HARRY PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T LET THEM GIVE ME NEEDLES!" Draco screamed and started sobbing.

"Can you hold him still? I'll get this over with as quick as possible," Maggie said as she started to gather what she needed. Draco was hysterical, his fear was enough to make him forget the agony in his stomach, and Harry felt his own tears spill from his eyes. He leant over Draco and held one of his arms down firmly against the bed and used his other hand to cradle Draco's face to his stomach to hide his view of the injection.

Maggie helped Harry hold Draco steady and quickly sterilised a small patch on Draco's upper arm and Draco screamed again. She quickly pierced the skin with the needle and before she had even injected the entire contents of the syringe, Draco had passed out.

Harry pulled back and dropped into the chair next to the examination table and was shaking from head to toe. "I've never had to do anything like that to him before," Harry whimpered.

"It had to be done, Harry. We need to get his appendix out straight away. He'll sleep right through now. I'll make sure he doesn't wake until he is well in Recovery and on his way to his hospital room," Maggie assured Harry.

"But he'll have an IV in when he wakes up, and it will send him off again." Harry sighed deeply and ran his hand through his hair. "It's not pretty. He knocked his godfather out once when he was trying to take a blood sample."

"We'll bandage it extensively so he won't be able to see the needle in his hand and we'll put a numbing potion on it so he won't be able to feel it. I'll also ensure he's given a calming draught so even if he does react to it in his arm, he won't have the capacity to become hysterical like he did just now. I'm so sorry you had to do that to him, Harry," Maggie apologised.

"It's ok, I understand. I'm studying Muggle medicine and I know how urgent an appendectomy is. How will he be when he wakes up?" Harry asked in concern.

"He'll be very sore from the surgery, obviously, and the Couvade Syndrome may just make him more miserable, but we'll do what we can to help him recover with the least discomfort as possible," Maggie said and Harry nodded. Two young male mediwizards came through then pushing a gurney, and Harry realised one of them was his old dorm mate, Seamus Finnegan.

"Seamus!" Harry cried.

"Harry? Well, I'll be damned. An' Malfoy? I had heard you guys were still together!" Seamus asked with a grin as his eyes travelled to the unconscious blond.

"I see you guys know each other." Maggie chuckled. "Can you reminisce while you work, please, Seamus? We need to get Draco to surgery immediately."

"Aye Maggie. What needs doin'?" Seamus asked in his Irish lilt.

"IV him with the appendectomy potion and general anaesthetic, then prep him for surgery. Mark him with an allergy to intramuscular pain-reducing potion. We'll also need a calming draft and local numbing potion post-operative as the patient has a phobia of needles," Maggie said swiftly as Seamus and his colleague transferred Draco onto the gurney. Seamus raised his eyebrows at Harry, but Maggie kept talking. "Patient currently has Couvade Syndrome and potions will need to be administered accordingly. Mark, can you Apparate over to surgery and advise them of our impending arrival?" The other mediwizard nodded and disappeared with a crack.

"Couvade?" Seamus asked Harry curiously.

"Long story; I'll catch up with you later." Harry waved dismissively. "Seamus..." Harry grabbed Seamus's arm and looked imploringly at him. "Please take care of him. He's everything to me." Seamus smiled at Harry and nodded.

"Aye, that I will, Harry. That I will," Seamus promised as he pushed Draco out of the room.