Left Unsaid

"Excuse me, Mr. Weasley?" called the doctor.

"Yes?" George looked up from consoling Angelina. Her contractions were getting closer together.

"Are you the child's father?" he inquired bluntly.

"Er..." George swallowed hard. "The father was my brother. He died a few months ago."

"Oh," frowned the doctor. He looked down, as if afraid to look George in the eyes. "I'm so sorry to hear that, but I'm afraid this may make the situation worse."
"What? What situation?" George said rather loudly. He corrected himself quickly, for Angelina had looked up. "We have a situation?" he hissed.

"Well, yes. You see, normally this--or they--may be a blessing, but in these circumstances, I'm not so--" Dr. Goldberg was staring at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.

"They? They? You don't mean--But hasn't she? --never got checked--" George seemed to be at a loss for words, and only at his comprehension did Goldberg's eyes slowly slide off the floor.

"Twins," said the physician, and George's thoughts were confirmed. "I've no idea why she hasn't gotten checked when she was pregnant, I don't assume she knows--"

"No, of course, she doesn't know." George's frustration was now on the doctor; Angelina had been depressed, couldn't he lay off her for two seconds? "I'll go tell her."

He nodded. "I think it's best."

The walk back to Angelina seemed much farther than it should've been. He saw her brow furrow; she could sense something was wrong. "Is everything all right? Is something wrong with us?" "Us" referred to Angelina and her baby.

"No, Ang, nothing is wrong with you, or your--offspring. But something has happened," he said seriously. "Angie, you didn't get checked while you were pregnant, did you?" She looked at the ground like a guilty six-year-old.

"No," she whispered finally. "I didn't. I know I should've. But what's going on?"

"Well..." George hesitated. "The doctor said...there's a possibility that...there may be, well...more than one...child...in your belly."

Angelina's eyes widened, and when she spoke again, her voice was hoarse. "Oh...well...all right--" but again, her shock was cut off by another contraction. The nurse bolted over and rushed her into the maternity ward.

"Finally," Katie muttered to Alicia under her breath. "The service around here." Alicia rolled her eyes, but she could've sworn she saw the nurse give her a dirty look as if Alicia had said it.

"Aahhhh!" Angelina shrieked, and her friends' hands turned white in her grip. The pain pumped through her veins, and she heaved breaths as it finally subsided. "Whew," she breathed. "This is gonna be tougher than I thought," she whined. "I was worried about delivering one baby."

"Shh, it's okay," George soothed. "You're going to be fine, and once it's done, you're gonna be the happiest woman alive."

"A-and we'll help you out with whatever you need," Alicia chimed in. "We're the aunt and uncle, and we'll help you raise this--uh, these babies." Angelina nodded. She believed Alicia.

"Ughhh!" Angelina screamed. The nurse bustled back in the room; it was clearly a very busy day in the hospital.

"Oh," said she, "I think it's about that time." Angelina's eyes widened. Am I ready for this?

"Well, you're going to have to be," smiled the elderly nurse, and Angelina realized she had been thinking out loud. "Yep, you're dilated. Are you ready, Miss Johnson?"

Tap. Tap. Tap. Lee was impatient. George and he were squashed in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. Usually, only the child's father was allowed in with the mother. But in this case, as there was none, the nurse permitted only two people. Lee had asked if he could leave (much to Katie's chagrin; she had wanted him to view the birth. She too wanted to have kids someday), he considered it too "gross. No offense, Angie." At which point George had offered to go with him. "It's better with just women in there anyway," he had said. "And besides, Lee can't be out here alone."
The two of them had been friends long enough to be able to be comfortable with silence. Neither felt the need to talk, neither could think of anything to say. Just when Lee felt his head begin to droop onto the awful chair, the door burst open, and they had an excited Katie on their hands.

"The first one! The first one!" she squealed, running to Lee. He twirled her around in a huge hug.

"What is it?" George asked.

"A boy! It's a boy!" Katie said breathlessly. "It's a boy!" She pecked Lee and George on the cheek, and bolted back through the wooden door.

George was overcome with shock, so he didn't see it, only felt it when Lee grabbed him in what was probably supposed to be a bear hug. Finally George clapped him on the back like a real hugger would do.

"Can't believe it," Lee choked, after both had sat down, and George was surprised to see tears in his eyes. "I want kids!" George laughed, and Lee joined in, blinking back the tears of joy.

"You do?" George said when he was done holding his sides. "You want Katie's kids? But you're not even married!"

"So? You and Alicia are, and you've not even thought about having kids."

"Yes we have!" George said indignantly. "I want them too, she just refuses to have them until she gets a proper job. She says she wants to be able to provide for them."

"Huh," Lee muttered. "But your shop makes a ton of gold."

"I know. But she's got this whole 'Independent Woman' thing going on."

"Oh, she's always had that," Lee grinned.

"Of course. It's Alicia Spinnet."

And it was. She was at the door now, her expression identical to Katie's. "It's a girl!" she cried. "The second one is here, come see, come see!" And she literally hauled her husband and friend as best she could to the scene, like a young girl showing her parents her latest drawing.

Angelina was holding one, and Katie was holding the other. Angelina looked wiped; her usually gorgeous curly hair was stuck to her forehead. But her face was aglow with her little baby.

"Ang, they're gorgeous," remarked Lee, looking over his girlfriend's shoulder. He whispered something in her ear, and she giggled.

"Have you got names yet?" asked George.

"Well," Angelina began. Angelina Johnson could scream when she wanted to; her voice was now hoarse. She cleared her throat. "Fred told me once he loved the name Jonah. So back when I thought there was only one baby, I said to myself, Jonah if it's a boy, Erika if it's a girl."

"Weasley?" George whispered. Angelina nodded. She only let the slightest hesitation seep through her indifferent front, George thought.

But she proved him wrong when she finally looked up at him and said, with tears in her eyes, "Of course Weasley."