“….Healer Diggle?

Dedalus grunted as a way of recognizing that someone was calling to him from the doorway of the on call room, though he couldn’t place who it belonged to. He was half asleep, with his arms folded over his eyes to keep out the minimal amount of light that had entered the room when the door had opened, turning over onto his side to face the wall a bit. He had a pounding migraine that he had only just taken something for, seeing how he had been suffering through it for the last couple of hours while with a patient. He didn’t like becoming dependant on them, and because he was a healer, he thought it was irresponsible of him to not practice what he preached to those he prescribed things for.

These late nights were taking their toll on him though, and having people’s thoughts floating around his head all day in addition to his own never helped keep his stress level low. Thankfully things were much better now than they were back in Hogwarts, when he had no idea what he could do, or how to control it after he did. He had gotten a much better grasp on it since then, though when he was extremely tired he often times caught a snippet of someone’s thoughts in passing.

“Um…I know you told me not to disturb you sir, but you have someone here to see you.”

A visitor? He furrowed his brows, and dropped his arms to look towards the door, though he immediately regretted it when he was blinded by light, since his eyes had never adjusted and his head was still pounding.

Katerina let out a long, bored breath. It seemed like the Ministry had been holding an extravagant event every other weekend, as if they had nothing better to do. Of course there was so much to be done every day of every week, but with You-Know-Who gone and most of the death eaters either dead or behind bars, it seemed like the events committee had way too much time on their hands.

At least she got to go dress shopping. As Katerina declined a dance from a fellow in her department, she wondered if she actually had to wait for the Minister to blow out the candles of her cake before she could leave. It was supposed to be such an honor to be invited to these events, but when everyone was invited it took away the glamor, and then you were expected to sit around for a good two hours so that your department head could make sure you were making him look good.

She really needed a drink, or a hot bloke to start talking to her. On days like this Katerina envied her older sister, whose sole purpose in life was to marry rich, pureblooded men. It only took her a few moments to recall that her sister had seven dead husbands to deal with, and now a son for the rest of her life. Yes---Katerina would much rather be forced to mingle at these events than carry those sort of stories on her shoulders.

But, at the moment, she was bored, and let out a sigh in hopes that some handsome bloke would become concerned.

Death eaters in Hyde Park! We have children with us!

WHO: Eliza Diggle and Zach Sloper
WHAT: Death eater attack in the park! WITH THE BABIES D:
WHERE: A PARK
WHEN: RIGHT NOW

( There were wards and boundaries, what if the death eaters got to Eric before she could--- )

Eliza was finding it much easier to stay silent and let Dedalus do all the talking. She had never had a baby before, so why should she have anything to say to the healers, who obviously knew what they were doing? Nope, she was going to keep her mouth tightly shut, no matter how much she wanted to let out moans of pain. Moans of consistent pain, as her contractions were growing closer and closer. This was good, though, because that meant Eric would be here soon, and she wouldn't be a whale anymore, and they would have their baby boy. This was good, and she wanted nothing else than for it to go as smoothly as possible, so she would remain calm.

Her hand's grip on her husband's hand was telling another story, however. Eliza hadn't let go of Dedalus' hand since he appeared in their flat hours before. She refused to let go of him and even if she had to only hold onto a finger, she was not letting go. They could allow her that, right? She was about to have a baby, she should be able to hold her husband's hand.

Right now her hand was clenching Dedalus' in pain as another contraction hit. Her healer had told her she wouldn't be able to start pushing for just a bit more and right now it was just her and Dedalus in the delivery room, biding their time.

Dedalus really didn’t understand when it had happened…but after the initial panic that came from Eliza being pregnant, and them being so incredibly nervous and scared about it…they were now rather excited about Eliza being with child. Or, Dedalus was at least. Sure, he was still nervous and scared, but that was a natural reaction for anyone to have, when they knew that they were about to become parents.

Parents. Oy.

That was really the only time Dedalus would have his internal freak outs; when he thought about the fact that this kid would be calling him ‘Dad’, and that he would actually have a son. He was going to have a son! How bizarre was that? He went from thinking that he could never even get a girl to like him, to dating, to falling in love with a girl who was probably way too good for him, and now he was having a baby with said girl. It seemed as though everything happened very quickly, and there were still times when he was petrified about whether or not they were really doing the right thing, but…as soon as he saw Eliza, he was reassured that they were. No matter what happened, they would be going through it together. He had her to keep him stable, and sane, and she had him to do the same. They could get through anything, as long as they were together.

Pushing open the door to their flat, Dedalus placed down the bag that he had been holding, and greeted the dog that was currently bouncing around, jumping on his legs. Crouching down, he picked up the black and white pup, and scratched him behind his ears, walking through the rooms to look for Eliza. Once he spotted her, he smiled, the puppy squirming around in his arms, trying to lick at his face. “So…rumor has it that you were spotted roaming around the gift shop again today.” He chuckled, the dog once again trying to get to his face. “If you keep shopping from now until January, we’re not going to have any room to store everything. Our entire apartment is going to be filled with blue teddy bears and blankets.”

Having been sitting in an empty room the entire time, Dedalus closed his journal after he confirmed that he would go to Eliza, instead of her coming to him. He leaned over, resting his head in his hands as he let out a long breath, trying to compose himself. This wasn’t going to be easy, what he was about to do; walk into a closet to talk to his girlfriend about whether or not they were ready to have a kid or not. He didn’t want to think about the consequences that could come from whatever option they chose, or whatever decision they came to…but he knew there would definitely be repercussions either way. People spent months, years even, planning for a baby…didn’t they? People were always trying to get pregnant, they went off their birth control and were constantly trying to create a child…but these two, these…kids, were able to get pregnant without even meaning to. How was that right? Why did things always work out like that?

Rising to his feet, he hid away his journal in the room. It was where he came to think sometimes, so he knew no one would be going in there, and no patient would be admitted into it. Opening the door, he stepped out into the hallway, his hands slipping into his pockets as he made his way through the hallways. Everything was different, now that he was an official healer…but the journey through those halls were still the same. It still took forever to get where he needed to go…especially when he was going towards something he was a little bit afraid of; that conversation that Eliza had been so scared of having herself.

Stopping in front of what seemed to be an ordinary closet, Dedalus quietly sighed before he reached out to turn the doorknob, using his other hand to knock gently. “…Eliza?” He murmured quietly, pulling the door open to see her sitting there pathetically with her journal. He knew where she was not because he had read her mind, but because someone had noticed her slipping in there every now and then, and thought he had a right to know that his girlfriend was hiding around in a broom closet. His side leaned against the door, and he just watched her for a moment before stepping forward, closing the door behind him.

“…I feel like we’re back in Hogwarts…”

He gave the most pathetic attempt at smirking, before looking down at the floor between them. He was trying to lighten the mood…maybe focus on something else, but it wasn’t working. His hand rose up to rub at the back of his neck, gnawing at the corner of his bottom lip.



Now what?

Who: Eliza Alderton and Dedalus Diggle
What: A not so smooth reveal
When: This afternoon?

( It wasn't until she found out she was pregnant that she realized she had never thought about having children )

She wanted to throw up because she was throwing up.

Eliza walked as quickly as she could through the corridors of St. Mungo's, attempting to look busy or in a hurry. Which she technically was. She and Brianna only had a short amount of time with the free examination room, and Eliza wasn't sure if she could trust anyone else in the hospital to not tell Dedalus (or the healers she'd been seeing since the attack) that she was getting ill. Brianna would definitely be able to figure out what was wrong, and if she couldn't then she would approach other people. There was no reason to get anyone upset or worried when it was just a bug, or a poor reaction to something.

A lurch in her stomach made her skid to a halt, and Eliza looked frantically around the empty corridor for a place to get sick. Oh bother.

After a few nauseating minutes in a broom closet, Eliza disposed of the bag she'd managed to latch onto, and pulled herself into the examination room, ready to topple over from the sickness and the exertion of nearly sprinting across the hospital.

"We need to figure this out," she groaned, slumping into a chair beside the examination table; she definitely did not feel like she could push herself up on it.

Who: Eliza Alderton, Dedalus Diggle, annnd some death eaters
What: Attack on their flat!
When: Today

( 'Holy shit' was her last thought before her eyes rolled into the back of her head )

It was a rare, boring Monday. Eliza hadn't had a quiet, nothing-to-do Monday in what felt like months, and she was spending it alone. Which, really, made sense, because the reason she hadn't had a Monday to herself was because of St. Mungo's, and her boyfriend was a healer intern at St. Mungo's, so of course he was busy. They were always busy. How did people at the hospital have relationships? How could they make relationships that didn't get exhausted and tiring when they dealt with that hospital all the time?

Oh, right--they weren't members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Eliza had accepted the fact that Dedalus was going to have to put the Order before some things, before a lot of things, and she did admire him for it. She didn't think she'd be able to fight like he did, and someone had to, so---it might as well be the smartest wizard of their year, right? Right. She had to support him for the greater good, but she sure as hell wished he could take a day off (especially with all the mess going on right now. She wanted to move to Antarctica, or something).

"C'mon," she said to their dog, patting her thigh. Spunky trailed along behind her and dragged the rope she'd tied the small bundle of laundry to. See, pets were completely useful around the house, and came especially in handy when there was a ton of housework to be done. Maybe she could get another load or two done before dinner.