Rob + Khaat=Abbey

Charlotte’s face darkened and she muttered something under her breath about hiring a team of healers to get that stick out of Robert’s arse. Jen snickered a little and Amika grinned. Charlotte had gotten the response she wanted out of him but he still pissed her off. She couldn’t believe it. After all of these years the Gryffindor twat still had an ego the size of Russia and Canada put together. She poked her tongue out at Robert childishly and Jen only just managed the hold back laughter. Charlotte nudged Rob forward and looked at him pointedly when he glanced at them. They wanted him to go and see her. It was no secret that neither Dent woman liked the Lupin but they weren’t going to make any scenes today. Khaat was obviously in pain and although the two women revelled in it they knew Rob didn’t and Rob was their number one priority.

“Rob just go in for goodness sake.” Charlotte said, her eyes drifting back to Robert. She scowled at him and looked back at her son. “We’re not going anywhere. I’ll send Farah off soon and that should, in theory, clear up the hallway a little. They can go and get food.” Amika’s eyes lit up at the promise of food and Jen missed her hair up a little, causing the girl to scowl at her cousin. The four of them looked round at the sound of a voice and even Miami perked up a little just to be nosy. She struggled into a sitting position and Jen rested her on her hip. Jen smiled at Matt and glanced at Rob. He seemed to have no intention of replying and was still opening his mouth and closing it like a fish. Charlotte slapped him again but that seemed to have minimal effect. She huffed and walked back over to the crowd so she could send off Farah’s lot to get some food.

“Rob?” Jen said hesitantly. Trust him to be completely unreliable even in times of emotional turmoil. She could have probably held it together if she was in his position but then again, she never opened her heart to anyone so she wouldn’t have found herself in that position anyway. Miami giggled and Jen raised an eyebrow at Rob. She turned to Matt and tried to beat down the flush of colour that had flooded to her cheeks when she had begun to feel incredibly embarrassed. “Khaat is in, uh, labour and things aren’t going as planned.” She chose her words carefully and couldn’t believe she was treading eggshells around her brother over some woman he married and got pregnant. Once again she cursed him for being such a twat. Although he could never really out-twat Robert. “Rob just do yourself a favour, and me, and go and see her. You’re embarrassing.”

Rob nodded after a few moments and glanced at Robert. Jen frowned. He was out of his tree. She’d never seen him that incoherent while sober. She knew he probably would have given anything for a vial of numbing solution. She figured she’d have to have Katrina run back down to Knockturn Alley and pick up a vial because he sure looked like he needed it and Jen was just about ready to do anything for him except come up with some kind of cure for Khaat’s...well, whatever issue she was having. She watched him wander into the room Khaat was in and shook her head. “I’m sorry about him.” The colour was still in her cheeks and she was still feeling incredibly embarrassed. “Although understandable....he’s not exactly being rational.”

Khaat could not sleep well. She slept for only a couple moments at a time. She felt her father's spell impeding her thinking. She didn't like it. If she only had a little time left, she wanted to be lucid, but she understood why he had done it. Her mother was sponging her forehead and her face. The symptoms had caused her to spike a fever, and she had heard Katherine muttering something about her "burning up" a bit earlier.

She was more relieved than she could ever define or express when she saw Rob finally come in. She reached for his hand. She just wanted him here, wanted him close. She had a million things she needed to say, but none of them were forming clearly in her magically muddled brain. "Make him take the spell off," Khaat looked at her mother.

"Khaat, you know he isn't going to do that. He wants you to rest," Katherine responded very softly, still tending her. She looked at Rob, who clearly was beside himself. "Rob, she's alright for now. Really. She's just resting between contractions, that's all. That's exactly what she should be doing right now. And Robert has her a little sedated to keep her quiet. If you need to panic, I'll let you know. "

"Rob," Khaat said, trying to fight to organize her thoughts, trying to make sense to him. "I made so many mistakes. I am so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Promise me--promise you'll take care of Abbey..."

"Stop that," Katheine silenced her daughter. "You'll be taking care of Abbey yourself. Stop that morbid talk right now. You know better. Nobody is better at this than your father. You'll be fine. " Khaat felt a contraction hit, and Katherine talked her through it smoothly as a slow ocean wave, and with nothing but peace in her voice. It ended in seconds. "Better," she told Khaat, continuing to be peaceful, "Much better. Your breathing is better. Good job. Before morning, we're going to get to see Abbey. The contractions are getting a bit faster." She looked at Rob, "The contractions are about 10 minutes apart now. Come sit." She more or less pushed him into the chair beside the bed, and Katherine took her bowl of water to the bathroom to put cooler water in it for Khaat, leaving Rob with her.

"Good to see you again, Matt," Robert said. "Khaat's stable for now, but I'm sure you know this all takes time. So far, she and Abbey are as well as can be expected, but any time you have labor this early into the pregnancy, there is lifethreatening risk to both mother and child. As I told Rob, I have no intention of losing either of them. I know she'll be glad you were here. She considers you family. It will mean a lot to her. "

One of the healers stopped Robert and asked him something very softly, "Not unless I have to," Robert said, "Just keep it on standby. Let's not rush it. Make sure the NICU is ready. Abbey will be here by morning, unless I miss my guess."

He looked back at Matt, "You're welcome to wait if you like. But the coffee is much better in the healer's lounge on the fifth floor. I'm sure no one would notice if you slipped in there for some decent coffee if you want some. It seems Rob's friends have sidelined the vending machine, so the fifth floor coffee might be the only coffee you get."

Miseria ran trough the corridors just to make it all in time. She got the letter from Robert Lupin who expalined her that Khaat was going to give baby a birth. That scared her, though, she was going to be at the same position as Khaat was soon. However, her stomach wasn't that huge as it was supposed to be on the sixth month. Instead, it was almost like a little pillow on her stomach. When she finally made her way, she stoped there to take some breathes. She was totally surprised when she saw Matt there. Alright, she was used to Garulia already, but what was the Minister doing here? Not that she really had something against him, she was just speechless for a moment.
"How is she?" she finally asked, without any greetments. Her worry about her mother was visible from her eyes when she looked around.

"So far, she's alright and so is Abbey," Robert said, hugging her. "She's gone into premature labor. We're going to do everything we can to make sure they both come out of this okay. She's way too early, but Abbey is evidently very impatient. So, we'll do our best. Most of the people here so far are Rob's family, but you're welcome to wait with Gar and anybody else you see that you know. Rob and Katherine are with Khaat right now. I don't want her left alone. Sit down and rest. I don't need two of you to deal with tonight. Khaat is very early into labor. We have hours to go yet."

He noticed the waiting room was already overcrowded with Whitcombs and Dents. That would not do at all. There needed to be room for everyone. He raised his wand and tripled the size of the room. He conjured comfortable furniture because it looked like the wait might be long indeed. "There. That should help for now," he said. He ordered a healer to make sure the visitors had plenty of coffee or snacks or whatever they needed.

Rob swallowed. He didn’t want to promise her anything he knew he couldn’t keep. He could see a few weeks into the future – he knew what would happen. He’d end up drunk in a gutter somewhere waiting for Jen to come and find him. He knew what would happen and he had every opportunity to be able to prevent it yet he wouldn’t and he knew he wouldn’t. He’d probably disappear for a few weeks, wind up somewhere and no doubt end up on Jen’s couch. She’d be incredibly annoyed with him and Charlotte would probably try to knock some sense into him. It would all no doubt fail in the end but eventually he’d go back to work or do something with himself.

Rob landed awkwardly in the chair and pressed his lips together. He should have been excited but he was dreading it. What happened to his fear of commitment? How had everything gotten this out of hand? Rob mentally cursed himself and made a note to ask Jen to just sever his balls off because clearly they were having a negative effect on two lives. A time turner would have been handy. If he could have just turned the clock back then none of this would be happening. If he could change what had happened... If he hadn’t gone outside for some air. If he hadn’t taken the job at Hogwarts. None of this would be his reality.

Rob exhaled and glanced down at Khaat. He closed his eyes, willing the picture to disappear. Why couldn’t he just be elsewhere? Why couldn’t he be at home in his little flat laying on the couch watching movies in black and white? Why wasn’t he at work? Why? That was the question. Why? “I....” he bit his lip and opened his eyes only to clamp them shut once more. “I can’t. I’m not good at doing the whole everything is going to be alright thing. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I just-”

He got up from where he was sat and shakily made his way to the door. He couldn’t do this, no way. Rob opened the door and stepped back out into the corridor. He pushed past Jen and moved through the crowd of his family members which were all trying to keep in high spirits. He heard Jen call to him but he couldn’t. He needed to do something with his hands. He needed a cigarette first and foremost. He walked down to the end of the hallway and charmed one of the windows to jut out so there was a balcony. He walked outside and sat on the railing. His mother walked out and held up a packet of cigarettes. She threw them to him before walking back inside. Rob shook his head and took one out of the packet before slipping it into the pocket of his jeans. He put the cigarette between his lips and lit it. He was desperate for something to distract him – anything.

Khaat was devastated when Rob left her when she needed him most. She wasn't surprised. He was always doing that and then apologizing and making empty promises not to do it again. She turned into her pillow and sobbed. Her mother comforted and made more excuses for him, in order to keep Khaat from losing more ground.

Khaat didn't want to be here. Didn't want to do this. Didn't have a choice now. It was a lot too late for regrets. Rob didn't want her. That was all she knew. Her mother kept telling her that wasn't true, and Khaat did not believe her. Rob didn't want her, didn't want Abbey--just wanted out of all of it. Katherine told her Rob had been told of the dangers and was just scared out of his mind. Khaat wasn't able to hear her words, to absorb what she was telling her.

As the labor progressed into hours, inching by achingly slowly, moment by moment, without him coming back, she was losing hope fast. She was tiring. Her father had been in and out, and being with her was becoming more frequent now.

"Robert," Katherine said, "You can't let this go on forever. She's getting too weak."

"Patience, Kate. Not yet," he said calmly.

"Robert Lupin! They're mine too!" Katherine reprimanded him. "You can stop this and you know it. You do something! Right now! Don't you dare risk them another moment!"

He sighed and went over and laid his hands on Khaat--one on her forehead to numb her thinking even more and her sense of pain, and one to speed up the labor. "We're getting on with this, Khaat," He said quietly, "I won't risk your strength much more. I promise."

"You have to save Abbey," Khaat said, breathless.

"Dont talk. Save your strength. You're both going to get through this, if I have anything to say about it," Robert said. "Rest while you can. We won't be much longer."

Brian had heard from Robert about Khaat, and he had left for St. Mungos at once. He arrived at the OB unit and found Robert, just coming out of a room. They embraced each other warmly in a masculine hug. "You know I wouldn't miss this," Brian said. "You need an extra healer?"

"It's not good,"Robert said very softly to Brian. "I think I'm going to need every healer I can get. I'm glad you're here."

"Then I'll wait until you need me, but I won't leave. I promise."

"Thank you. I need to get back with Khaat," Robert said, excusing himself to go back to her.

The children’s ward was a little bit quieter than usual and Phaedra was the only healer there. She did feel a little put out but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. She put her book down when another small family came in through the door looking as if they were ready to fall to pieces. Phaedra straightened the silky, blue material of the St. Mungo’s uniform and walked out from behind the desk to great them. She took the child from them and led them into a room where she could check him for any external injuries. His mother explained he’d fallen off of a climbing frame and landed awkwardly. Phae deduced immediately that he’d probably just twisted his ankle and did a few tests. He’d sprained his wrists and his ankle and Phaedra supplied the parents with some pain relieving potions before bandaging his wrists up so he didn’t irritate the muscles. She did the same to his ankle and told them to make sure he kept off of it.

Phaedra wished them a good day left the children’s ward. She hugged her book to her chest and began to walk down the corridor. She looked up when she realised it had widened and narrowed her eyes a little before seeing just how many people were in the corridor. She looked over and saw a man looking fairly out of place and bit her lip. She walked over and stood beside him. She glanced up and smiled shyly. “Is everything alright, sir?” she asked.

Brian looked up when he heard the voice speaking to him. She was a beautiful young healer--and the color of her uniform indicated to him that she was from pediatrics. Robert was going to need that--very, very soon now. "Um...waiting," he said a bit awkwardly. "My friend has gone into premature labor and Robert--um. Mr. Lupin...asked me to wait to see if I could assist with the delivery. It's his daughter.. Director Dent. She's having a really difficult time. Robert's in there with Khaat,' he motioned. "I don't know if he'lll need you or not, but he's feeling a bit short of healers right now. By the way, I'm Brian. Brian Quinn--Lupin family friend and substitute healer for the evening, I guess. You're with pediatrics, aren't you? If I know Robert, he'll be asking you for a NICU unit any time now. This little girl is going to need every chance she can get. "