10pm

’’Miss St.James, Edward Pratt is here and he says that he wants to come in.”

The Healer looked a little awkward, shifting from one foot to another as his eyes darted back and forth between the woman lying on the bed in front of him and the closed door that led out into the corridor. He was a slightly older man, probably around late-forties to early-fifties. Though tall and broad in stature, it was clear that his confidence was lacking, and he didn’t like to deal with confrontations. His face was slightly red, as though he had been rushing around the ward for a while. The sweat that was forming on his forehead and sliding down his nose caused his spectacles to make their way slowly down the bridge of his nose. Pushing them up with his forefinger only added to the self-conscious image he was projecting. Why on earth he was a Healer, Quincy didn’t know – the whole job was about dealing with the kind of situations that only certain people could deal with. That was why she was a Healer-in-Training. And that was probably why he was so embarrassed about having to deal with her, when he knew who she was and how she could come across sometimes.

“I said no! I can do this without him!” Just as the words left her lips, she doubled over in agony and a low groan escaped her throat, like a parched Chinese Fireball calling out for the sweet taste of distant water. “Send...Him...Away...” she added between pants, gasping for the relief of the pain, and pockets of oxygen in between.

The Healer once again shifted, and opened his mouth as though to protest, but one no-nonsense look from Quincy instructed him that it was more than his life was worth to even think about speaking again. He nodded shortly and tiptoed out of the room as quietly as he could, as though making noise would rouse the fire-breathing monster from its momentary submissive state. 

“Miss St.James doesn’t want you in there, Sir.” The older bushy haired man in lime green robes cautiously told the lightly shorter blond auror. Ed was still slightly out of breath. He’d flooed here and run through several corridors in search of his ex-wife only to be told that she didn’t want him there for the birth of his own child? He shook his head, standing up straight. Ed may have lost his wife twice already but she was about to have his child. He would be damned if this nervous looking wizard in snot coloured robes stop him going into that room.

“Mrs Pratt doesn’t have a choice, healer.” The auror stated sternly as he pushed past the older wizard and entered the room.

And boy had he wished he hadn’t. Well, that he hadn’t entered from this angle. The man’s eyes expanded to resemble galleons as he took in the sight that no man should have to witness unless they were gay, blind or both. Ed was neither. Ed felt his stomach turn and his face pale. It was so... he finally managed to tug his green eyes away to instead fall onto the red and panting face of his ex-wife. Hair was sweatily plastered to her cheeks and forehead and she gripped the handles of the bed hard enough to no doubt leave grooves in the metal. She looked mad, in agony, but more mad. The dark look in the woman’s eyes said ‘if you come anywhere near me I will bite your head off and chew it until it is the consistency of soup before I will digest it thoroughly and chew it again’. Most men wouldn’t have approached a woman with that look in their eyes for fear of their lives, or their heads.

Ed took several steps closer.

“That Miss St James bullshit is ridiculous. Do you have a problem with yer own name as well?” The auror questioned as he came up to the head of the bed, leaving enough room between him and his ex-wife so she couldn’t reach him and strangle him in her anger. Ed wasn’t stupid. She had been murderously angry every time she’d gone into labour and he had a distinct feeling this time was going to be far worse. This time she most certainly hated him and she didn’t even know what he’d been up to the last few weeks! If she did know Ed had no doubt she would have easily closed the gap between how far her arm could reach and Ed’s present position.

“I’ve been here to piss you off with every birth yet Quince. Our divorce ‘ent stopping me, woman. I’m grand at making ye angry.”

“Mrs Pratt doesn’t have a choice, healer.”

Quincy had heard it through the closed door – apparently St Mungo’s hadn’t thought it important to perform noise-reducing spells on the rooms in which women went through the excruciating pain of labour. At another more convenient time, Quincy would have to point this fact out to them. Her eyes narrowed as the door flew open and Eddie stormed in purposefully, though she had a fleeting wave of amusement as she saw the colour drain from his face. Three births had happened before this one, and far from get used to them, Eddie seemed to be worse every time.

“Edward Pratt, I swear to Merlin if you come anywhere near me I will bite your head off and chew it until it is the consistency of soup before I will digest it thoroughly and chew it again!” The momentary lapse in contractions helped her to get the point across quite thoroughly, she thought. That was, until, he moved cautiously closer. Quincy considered gnashing her teeth together at him, but decided that in her current predicament (and position) it would be wise to save her energy for the inevitable pushing that was to come.

“That Miss St James bullshit is ridiculous. Do you have a problem with yer own name as well?”

Quincy snorted, not caring less whether it was an attractive thing for a young woman to do. She was currently in the middle of performing one of the most unattractive tasks known to man and wizard – looking good for her ex-ex-husband was the least of her worries.

“No,” she hissed, leaning as far forward as she possibly could with the enormous bump that was jiggling to erupt, “No, I do not have a problem with my name, because my name is Quincy St.James. It was Quincy Pratt at one time, but I have lately come to realise that the only person in this whole universe who is worthy of the name Pratt is you!”

“I’ve been here to piss you off with every birth yet Quince. Our divorce ‘ent stopping me, woman. I’m grand at making ye angry.”

“Ha! And don’t I just know it!” She flung herself back on the bed as dramatically as she could, looking rather like a giant flobberworm stuck on its back. Tired of their little charade, she turned her head to look out of the window into the dark, lamp lit streets of London. A defeated look crossed her face and the lilt of her voice conveyed that she wasn’t in the mood for playing games. “I’m tired, Edward. I don’t want to argue, I don’t want to hear your insults. I feel exhausted, like I don’t want to carry on.” The tears started to form in her eyes before she could even tell them not to bother. She wasn’t sure whether it was the hormones, the pain, the tiredness or just her own self pity that was making her cry. She didn’t normally back down from an argument so easily, even less-so with Eddie. “If you’re here to cause trouble, then just go now – I don’t want you here.”

“Says the woman who doesn’t want her own kids’ father there for its birth!” Ed retorted quickly. He was tired and stressed and this was only making him more so. To have Quincy tell a healer not to let him in was hurtful. But Ed crossed his arms over his chest, showing that he was staying exactly where he was regardless of whether she wanted him there or not. Ed was an auror. They would have fun dragging him out of the ward. “No, I think I know one other person that deserves the name Pratt.”

The auror looked pointedly at his panting ex-wife. “She’s a bit shorter than me, brunette and about to squeeze a pumpkin sized object out of a very small hole.” Quincy could change her name a million times to all sorts of pretentious pureblood ones but she was always, to Ed, going to be Quincy Pratt. She’d joined his family 11 years ago and they’d made a family together. Their kids were Pratts. This newborn child would be a Pratt. She didn’t have to be married to Eddie anymore but she was always going to be reminded of him and his surname. Her surname.

With one pregnant woman flinging herself back onto the bed with all the elegance of a 1 legged intoxicated and blind platypus and a tall healer cautiously approaching her legs, Ed wondered why he’d been so quick to barge into the room. He had been much happily sat on the sofa earlier that evening demonstrating his vibrating foam to Frizzy. Now he was wondering if the dramatic pregnant woman was going to take his hand or his entire arm as a sacrifice and destroy it if he made the attempt to comfort her and help her through something he had somewhat had a hand in causing.

“I’m as likely to leave this room right now as you are to pop a hippogriff out of that womb of yours.” Pratt stated plainly before taking one step closer to his ex wife. Her was now stood at the head of the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it.

“I’m here to help ye, Quince. I even bought yer a present.” And this was when the man fished into the robe pocket with his spare hand and pulled out a large purple and green stuffed flobberworm toy.

Quincy shot him a look that dared him to say anything else. “This has nothing to do with the kids! I don’t want you here, because I don’t want you here! This  little one,” she massaged her tummy, “Won’t have any idea if you’re here or not. He or she won’t care about daddy.” Her tone of voice was the kind that one uses when speaking to a small child, almost as though she was talking to the baby and just letting Eddie overhear.

Perhaps she was being cruel and selfish, but hadn’t he been so in the last few months? “I was never a Pratt. Not really. I was too good for you. You had your chance, and now you’ve blown it well and truly – for the second time, no less. I’m officially getting my name changed back to St.James. You want this marriage to be over? Then consider it over.” Perhaps it was a bit harsh breaking the news to him when she was about to spit out his child, but he was acting so arrogant that she couldn’t help herself. She had needed something to burst his overly large bubble, and that had been the perfect bit of information.

Another contraction came, and as the pain consumed her, Quincy focussed on pushing Eddie out of her life completely. Similar to the way in which she was pushing this baby out. But if it was Eddie, she wouldn’t be pushing him out of...where she was pushing this baby out of.

Still no baby. Quincy groaned. “Why won’t this baby come out?” she wailed just as Eddie was producing a flobberworm toy to cheer her up. Her eyes narrowed at him. “You think I want a stupid flobberworm?? I want this baby out!” She sighed. “This is all your fault you know. If it hadn’t been for you and your- your-” Did she really want to go there with Eddie? His head was probably already inflated to its fullest; Quincy didn’t want to be the one to make it explode with elation at knowing she hadn’t been able to resist him, even on that night when he had a pair of shorts and a hoody on, and he’d thrown her in his parents’ pond. “If it hadn’t been for you and your insatiable appetite for me!”

Edward Pratt knew his ex-wife could be vicious. He’d had twenty years of it. In fact, in Ed’s opinion, Quincy spent 50 percent of their time together putting the auror down so she could then look good by bringing him back up again. Ed was now convinced of this now he had been given the chance to take a step back and look at their destroyed marriage from a different perspective. Quincy seemed to feel miles better after insulting Ed dealt with that for years. His frequent manner in dealing with her had been only to throw insults back, starting a fiery and explosive argument. Arguments were part of the foundations of the Pratt household.

But Quincy was even vicious when they were divorced. She plainly and simply told Ed that his own kid wasn’t going to care about him. Ed grit his teeth, glaring at his ex-wife. “Yer a bitch.” Her words hurt, Ed wasn’t going to lie to himself about that. He loved his kids and even though him and Quincy were no longer together he hadn’t stopped loving them and he damn well hadn’t stopped seeing them.

Right now Quincy was being as pleasant as an injured hag on ice. The vicious tongue just continued to stab Ed in his chest and he visibly straightened, standing taller with his arms crossed over his chest. She was in pain, she was about to squeeze a baby out, he could ignore her for now. He could hope that it would improve when this was finally done and he could tell her that she had to leave the country very soon. They weren’t staying in the hospital. Not after MacDuff’s presentation of the photograph. But one step at a time. Quincy still had a baby inside her itching to get out.

“Insat-?” The auror snorted and took a step closer. He proceeded to drop the flobberworm over her shoulders and wrap it around comfortably. “You turned up drunk at my house beggin’ me to drag you upstairs and it’s my appetite that’s the cause of this?” Deciding to ignore the horrible words from before and the worry of the threat and informing Quincy she had to leave, Ed continued to do what he was best at. Annoying his ex wife had been proven to help her labour before. She was too focused on strangling him to worry too much about the pain. It was as easy as childbirth!

“You’ve never been able to resist me in me canons jumper, Quince.” After flashing the witch a grin, the auror glanced at the healer. "What's the estimated time of explosion?"

“Yer a bitch.”

"That's The Bitch to you! You ungrateful sod!"

Eddie was really tugging on her last nerve - well, not so much tugging, as swinging from it like an imp on a chocolate-frog-induced-sugar-rush. She hadn't meant to be so harsh. It just- came out. He'd probed in the places that he knew bothered her, knew which spells to cast to wind her up. And then she'd snapped. She'd bitten the bait he dangled in front of her face. And he acted like she was the bad one? He drove her to treating him like this! It was a defense mechanism. She didn't want to get hurt. Again.

Quincy cast an apologetic glance at the healer who looked extremely awkward as Eddie started splaying their conceiving-encounter for the whole ward to hear. She couldn't go any redder than she already was, which was both lucky and insanely sad as well.

“You’ve never been able to resist me in me canons jumper, Quince.”

A contraction was coming along. Quincy felt her heart rate increase and a tightening in her stomach. "You're...so...arrogant...Edward...Pratt..." she panted, trying her hardest to concentrate on getting the baby out once and for all.

"What's the estimated time of explosion?"


The Healer crouched down and lifted the blanket that covered Quincy's delicate areas. He stood up once more, checked his healer-watch and for the first time since Quincy had arrived, cracked a smile of knowing. "Well, right about now, Mr Pratt. I can see the head." Quincy's eyes widened as she realised that in a matter of maybe minutes, another Pratt baby would be brought into the world. "One last push and we'll be there." The Healer gave a reassuring smile, but Quincy wasn't reassured. "Wha- Now?!" The healer simply nodded and lifted up the blanket once more. "Eddie!" Her hand grasped blindly for his. "Eddie, I'm not ready to do this on my own." She gave a sob. "Don't let me do this on my own!"

To be perfectly honest, what happened next was quite spectacularly gory, painful (for Ed’s hand) and yet fantastic all in one. Quincy screamed, Eddie growled as she squeezed his hand like a dragon locking its teeth around its prey and their fourth and final child was born. This particular moment marked an era. It was the end of Edward and Quincy Pratt. They’d been married for a decade and had a lot to show for it. But alas, things tended to come to an end. This particular end had involved crying, howling in pain and panting.

But now the healer was gone, and Ed was stood beside his ex-wife’s bed as he held their new born daughter. Bright green eyes stared down into the tiny beautiful face and he couldn’t help but smile. Her eyes were closed, miniature, small creases in an immaculate face. The little girl’s nose resembled a small pink button sewed onto a perfect doll and the lips trembled as the small newborn slept. Pratt felt consumed with love, with a calm peacefulness he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

The peacefulness didn’t last very long. Especially when reality hit him and he knew he couldn’t stand here forever with his baby girl. Her, Quincy and the kids needed to go. They weren’t safe.

“It’s big enough for the five of you, this place.” The auror said calmly, his eyes still not moving from the tiny child in his arms. “I’m not taking no for an answer, Quincy.” Finally Ed pulled his gaze away from the infant and it fell intensely on his ex-wife in the bed.
“ These aren’t the kind of people to make empty threats. If you don’t leave or I don’t quit he will kill you all.”

Eddie had always been the perfect father, even if he didn't yet know how to be the perfect husband. There was nothing Quincy could have wished for more in life, than for her children to have a dad who doted on them as much as Eddie did - who would do anything for them. He would die for them. She knew that.

The little girl was like a porcelain doll, made in an image of perfection. "She looks like you." Quincy mused, a soft, serene smile on her face. Quincy had washed her face and changed into some clean bedclothes as Eddie got to know his daughter a little more. It was obvious that it was going to hurt - this was the first time that he wouldn't have been going home with his family.

Sitting back on the bed carefully, she sighed, content that for the moment things were calm, and she was enjoying watching Edward piece together the jigsaw puzzle of his little girl's face. He was mesmirised by her. Strange that something so small could have such a hold over you.

“It’s big enough for the five of you, this place.”

Quincy's smile fell. That was right - even she wasn't going home with her family. Eddie was sending them straight into hiding. The threats had been getting darker and more frequent, and Quincy could tell that Eddie was genuinely scared. She had seldom seen such a look on his face, and she knew not to argue.

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Quincy.”

She nodded morosely, not happy about the situation, but agreeing that there was no other option. Her priority was her family - including Eddie, as he would always be part of her family no matter what she said otherwise - and she wouldn't be able to live with herself if something happened to one of them because of her stubborn stupidity. Eddie had often said she was as stubborn as a flobberworm, and she had to agree - but not this time.

His next words cut through her like a knife. “ These aren’t the kind of people to make empty threats. If you don’t leave or I don’t quit he will kill you all.” She winced clearly, and her eyes went straight to the sleeping baby with the mop of dark hair, then up to her ex-husband's eyes as he watched her with intent. "Eddie," she started, a look of dread finally enveloping her face, "Please, whatever you do, don't let them hurt the children. I don't care about me, but make sure they are always safe. Promise me."

Quincy wasn’t happy about what had to happen. Ed was well aware of that. It didn’t take a genius to realise his ex-wife wouldn’t be jumping off the walls to go and live in a secret location with four children just to remain alive. It was unfortunately necessary. Eddie was not going to let her refuse because if he had to, he would drag her there himself. Quincy was independent and stubborn. He’d always loved her for that. But right now those qualities were not going to keep her and his children alive. She knew that.

"Eddie,"

The intensity of Edward’s gaze softened as he looked at his ex-wife. She was worried. She understood the danger. Ed had told her very little, probably a very frustrating thing. But Quincy knew what would happen if she stayed. It broke Ed’s heart to send his kids away but he had to.

Taking a step closer to the woman in the bed, Ed gripped his newborn daughter tighter. Green eyes remained focused on Quincy’s as a few tears formed in them. This was like a nightmare. He couldn’t quit his job. He couldn’t abandon them and damn well wasn’t going to let these disgusting wizards win this sick and twisted game. If he backed down as Fox had, more would and the ministry and their society would crumble. He wasn’t going to lie down and let that happen.

“I can’t promise, Quincy.” The man said slowly, calmly as he felt his voice waver. He blinked, washing the tears away but a couple more formed in the corners of his eyes. “I can lock them underground in Trinidad and they could still be in danger.” The weakness he was suddenly showing made Ed feel exceptionally exposed. He looked down to his newborn and took a deep breath. “I’ll do every damn thing I can to make sure they’re safe. I always have.”

A large finger took the tiny hand and Pratt closed his eyes for a moment. “This one’s got her mam’s strength. She’ll be fine.”

After a moment’s pause, Ed looked back at Quincy. “Raynor promises this place is completely unknown. She and I are the only people to know its location. Ye’ll be safer there than anywhere, Quince.”

She knew he couldn't promise that. Eddie wasn't the type of person to promise something that he couldn't follow through with, and she knew that if he had promised and things hadn't gone as he had planned, he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself. She nodded quietly, defeated. He would do whatever he could, and she knew he would be trying his hardest every moment of every day to make sure his kids stayed out of harms way.

She watched as - for the first time since she'd known Eddie - tears formed in his eyes. Her mouth fell open slightly, unsure of how to react with this new emotion. Did he want her to comfort him? She felt an overwhelming need to wrap her arms around him and tell him it would be okay, but she didn't know whether that would be crossing the line. They were, after all, broken up now, and though she had just had his baby, she couldn't face being rejected by him. Her fragile state wouldn't allow it.

She had to do something. The mothering instinct in her took over, and it seemed only natural that they share some affection while they were there together with the new daughter, before the family was torn apart. Who knew what was about to happen. They may not see each other again. She squeezed her eyes shut as though the thought caused a pain that she was trying to shut out.

Eddie was standing right next to the bed, and slowly, Quincy let her head fall slightly to the side, so that it was resting on Eddie's chest. She heaved a deep sigh of momentary content, content to be close to the man she loved, her ex-husband, her best friend.

“Raynor promises this place is completely unknown. She and I are the only people to know its location. Ye’ll be safer there than anywhere, Quince.”

"Just don't forget about us," she choked, trying to bury her head deeper into his chest. "Don't forget about me." It was a barely audible whisper, but it left a resounding echo in her ear.

Since Edward Pratt was a kid he hadn’t been known for showing his emotions. After tripping over and landing on his face and grazing his knee at the age of two, he had screamed and cried and yelled. And what had his older brother done to him? He had kicked him in the side, told him to stop wailing like a stupid girl and stamped on the bag of bertie bott’s jelly beans that had landed on the floor. Since then, Eddie hadn’t cried in front of anyone. In fact, it was doubtful he had ever cried. Emotions were a stupid thing to have because they showed how vulnerable a person was.

Therefore it was quite unbelievable that any tears at all had appeared in the eyes of the auror as he held his tiny daughter. He hadn’t cried at the birth of the rest of them. Immense pride had always swelled inside him combined with love. But he never cried.

This time was different. Things had always been dangerous. Ed had a job that put his family in danger. But he’d always been careful. Never before had there been such a direct, cocksure threat against his family. This was one that had to be taken seriously. Ed could lose his family and if he did, it was his fault. He would never be able to forgive himself if anything ever happened. Quincy would never forgive him.

As he held the child, a surprise came for Ed in the form of his ex-wife resting her head against his chest and asking him not to forget her or his family. Tears began to fall more freely down the man’s cheeks as she struggled to fight them. They didn’t stop and he felt his whole body wanting to shake. Edward Pratt was terrified. Seeing his baby girl had just confirmed that for him. Before he’d been able to ignore it. To focus on work, finding somewhere for Quincy and the kids to be safe and distract himself with pretty women and dates. Now he was facing losing them because he had picked such a stupid career.

“I’m so....so sorry.”

“I’m so....so sorry.”

She hadn't noticed the falling tears until now. One landed on her hand as it clutched Eddie's top, hugging herself closer to his chest. A moment of confusion ensued as she dumbly tried to work out what the droplet was and where it had come from. She followed it in a straight line up, and saw that Eddie was hugging the baby girl closer to him than before, and his face was flooded with tears,

This shocked Quincy more than anything. He didn't look scared, he looked petrified. Suddenly her own fears and worst nightmares started flying through her head. She had to stay strong - for her kids, and for Eddie. She wanted to show him that although she may not have been the dutiful wife he had dreamed of, she could make him proud at least this once. She could do as she was told, go into hiding, she'd stay in there for the rest of her life if it meant that Eddie and the kids were safe.

"No," she shook her head fervently as she tried to stand up. She ached everywhere, she was sore and felt like she'd been fighting against twenty suits or armour at once. But she stood. "No, don't you dare apologise!" She was facing him, one hand on his upper arm, the other cupping her daughter's tiny head. "Never apologise for being you, because you are the best thing that could have ever happened to our children, Edward Pratt!" Her own eyes filled with tears, and - especially considering the situation - she had no desire to stop them from going about their business.

To an outsider, it may have looked like a happy scene: mother and father, enjoying a precious moment with their baby and allowing the emotions that come with parenthood to envelope them. This was far from happy. In a matter of weeks, Quincy had lost her husband, her freedom and the knowledge that her children were safe. It was the worst possible thing the young mother could have gone through.

Quincy's hand moved from his arm up to behind his head, and she gently guided it towards her own so that their foreheads met. Though smaller than him, his defeated stature made this a lot easier. Her other arm moved around, almost like a cocoon around the baby, and met with his shoulder. "None of this is your fault," she pressed. A hiccup of grief followed as she sobbed against him. "I don't know what we'd do without you."

Ed had been terrified before. The second war had terrified him. The attack on his older brother and seeing the change had terrified him. But he’d always been strong. He had never shown real fear. Edward Pratt had become an expert at brushing it off and moving on with things. He ignored the terrible things, put them in a box and ignored them and put on a very excellent front. He was a joker, a prankster and always saw the light in situations.

There was no light in this situation. There was no funny side to joke about.

Quincy’s movement to get up went relatively unnoticed to Edward. He finally allowed the emotion to take over his body, not ever considering the prospect of anyone seeing. He was there with his baby girl and his ex wife, his best friend.

"No, don't you dare apologise!"

Red eyes looked up from the baby girl to her mother. She was crying. Less so than him, but she was crying. Ed took a deep breath, trying to steady himself and calm the tears but it did little to help. And when she came in closer and pressed her forehead to his he choked back a sob and closed his eyes tightly.

“Without me ye wouldn’t have to leave.” The man finally responded, his voice steadier as he focused on fighting back the tears. “I’ve put ye all in danger.” Once again Ed failed in calming himself and rested his head atop of hers. “I’ve put my own children in danger, Quince.” Grief twisted his voice, making it breathy, struggled. “What kind of a father does that to his own kids?”

“Without me ye wouldn’t have to leave.”

He was distraught, and it killed Quincy to see him like this. He had always been such a joker, even when he knew he was in grave danger, he could always act as though it wasn’t a big deal – just part of the job. It was a job he loved so much.

“Without you,” Quincy reasoned, “We wouldn’t have four wonderful children We wouldn’t have our life.” Her hand gently rested on his soaked cheek, her thumb absently wiping away some of the tears under his eye. “They know that everything you do is for them. Even this little one can tell.” She looked down at the baby girl, whose hand was clenching and unclenching as she slept soundly, searching for the finger of her father.


“What kind of a father does that to his own kids?”

“The kind of father,” she pressed on him, “That would do anything for his kids. The kind of father that wouldn’t let his kids come to any harm. The kind of father that I wanted for my kids, and the kind of father that I got for my kids! Look at me,” She cupped his chin with her hand and forced him to look at her. “Look at me, Eddie! None of this is your fault. I would never ever blame you for any of this. Just remember that.” She paused and bit her lip. “And remember that I love you. Always have, always will.”