Title: Breaking Her Façade
Challenge: Never Before Seen Pairing Challenge by Wotcher-Tonks on HPFC Forum.
Pairing: Dean/Romilda (I've only seen one!)
Length: Four-shot.
Rating: T, to be safe.
Word Count: 1,049
Summary: 2 years after the events of Chapter Twenty-Four – Sectumsempra. After getting their hearts, somewhat, broken by Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, 7th year Dean Thomas, back to Hogwarts from hiding, spots 6th year Romilda Vane, and wonders why he's never spoken to her before. They were, after all, in nearly the same boat. Once he elicits a small smile from her, he finds that the only thing he wants to do is break her nearly invincible facade, knowing there was a fun-loving woman somewhere in her tough exterior.
Author's Notes: This four-shot is for the Never Before Seen Pairing Challenge by Wotcher-Tonks on the HPFC. Here's the fourth – and last – part of this four-shot. (Oh, and the excerpts from HBP don't have anything to do with the story, except for the fact that Romilda and Dean are mentioned in them. Sometimes it signifies what POV I'll be using.) Sorry it's so short!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. JKR owns everything.

Dean left, looking as though he was not sorry to depart the scene.

-- From Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Page 287 (US Version)

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Birth

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1 year and 8 months and a half later…

August 13th, 2005

"Dean," Romilda Thomas wakes up, trying to sit, but it takes a while because of the fact that there's a big bump right in front of her, lessening her agile skills.

She pokes her husband, who is snoring away happily, several times.

Eventually giving up, she reaches over to grab her wand from her nightstand.

"Aguamenti," she says simply, watching with a smirk as the arch of cold water erupting from her wand hits her husband squarely on the back of his neck.

He wakes up, spluttering, but when he looks over and sees his wife, playfully smirking, he smiles at her. "Hullo love. Is there anything wrong?"

"I-I think the baby's coming," she finally says softly.

"Oh. Oh." He immediately jumps out of the bed, pacing blindly in his place for a few moments, before Romilda, with a small laugh in her voice, says, "I think you should get the bag." She points at the pre-packed bag near the bedroom door.

"Oh," he repeats, his eyes dazed.

"Yes. Oh, and, love, can you please help me up?" She reaches out for his hands, strangely calm for a soon-to-be-mother in labor.

(I expect she'll be anything but calm when this labor's farther along.)

He grins nervously. "Of course." He grabs her hands, pulling her up as gently as he can.

"Oh! Wait," she breathes through her nose, her eyes closing. He winces once he feels the pressure of her hands against his.

When she stands upright, looking moody, he wisely stays silent.

He opens his mouth. "Do you think we should Floo or Apparate?"

"Floo. It's safest for the baby."

"Okay." They head towards the fireplace in the living room. He grabs powder, throwing it into the already-burning flames.

He looks worriedly at his wife. "I-I'll meet you on the other side, okay, love?"

She smiles at him, her smile a bit pained. "I'll be waiting."

He releases her hands reluctantly. "Just wait at least one minute."

Dean, along with the overnight bag, enters the flames, calling out, "St. Mungo's!" He leaves in a swirl of green flames.

Nearly stumbling into the lobby of St. Mungo's, he immediately turns around.

A few seconds later, he sees his radiantly glowing, slightly pale, wife appear, immediately catching her in his arms.

"You okay, love?" He asks gently.

"Peachy."

(Thought so. Now, she's being sarcastic.)

Gently, he leads her to the receptionist's desk.

The blue eyes of the receptionist scan over the two of them. Her eyes brighten in recognition when she realizes that the woman currently breathing erratically is Romilda Thomas, one of the Healers in the Potions Gone Awry ward.

She immediately summons a wheelchair, a nurse coming along right behind it.

With an 'oomph' Romilda settles into the wheelchair with a slightly pained expression on her face.

She crushes his hands in a matter of moments, getting settled into a room in the Mother and Child Ward.

"You okay, love?" he asks gently, peering into her eyes with his own anxious ones.

"I'm fine, honey." Her face scrunches as she closes her eyes, breathing heavily through her nose.

It's going to be a long morning, runs through both of their minds at the same time.

--

"WE ARE NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN, DO YOU HEAR ME?" A few hours later, and Dean is cringing almost every minute at his oh-so-lovely wife's threats.

Wisely, he stays quiet, instead biting his lip to the point of breaking skin when she squeezes it enough to break the few remaining bones in his right hand.

The left one had been damaged a while ago.

Skele-Gro is going to be inevitable in this case.

"One more push, Mrs. Thomas!" The perky Healer calls out, not even flinching when Romilda snaps at her.

She bears down on the next contraction, a low, keening wail breaking from her lips as she finally leans back, a high-pitched cry breaking the room's tense air.

After cleaning the little baby ("It's a girl!" the Healer cried), they place her into the tired mother's waiting arms, cleaning up their stations, and then leaving the room.

Dean moves forward tentatively, looking at his wife. She notices, smiles at him, and he quickly peers over at the adorable, red, scrunched-up face of his daughter.

"Merlin, she's beautiful," he breathes, kissing his wife's forehead gently, but his eyes never leave his daughter's face.

And, he knows in a matter of seconds, that he's already wrapped around her little finger.

"What should we name her?" His wife suddenly asks, her eyes glistening as they look at her daughter with pure, unadulterated love shining through.

"Dayna," Dean says immediately, finally breaking his gaze away from his daughter to stare at his wife.

She's never looked more beautiful, he thinks, taking in the sight of her dark hair plastered to her forehead, her eyes showing exhaustion but love for her husband and their baby daughter.

"I love it. What about Alexandra for the middle name?"

"Perfect." He kisses her on the lips, his nose brushing hers when he pulls away. "Just like you are." He gently places a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, kissing her forehead again.

She smiles, not even bothering to retort, reaching up to kiss him again for a blissful amount of time. Dayna's wail makes them pull away, smiling dazedly at each other as they look at their daughter again.

"I think you're hungry," Romilda croons, watching Dean with an amused glint in her eyes as she nurses Dayna.

"What?" he asks innocently, his eyes playful.

"Nothing," she laughs, her eyes still trained on him.

"I love you," he says once Dayna's burped and asleep.

"I love you too," she replies, giving him a kiss before she gives the sleeping baby to him, nestling back in her bed as her eyelids flutter.

She smiles, though, pulling back the covers as a clear invitation. Placing Dayna back in her bassinette with a soft kiss on her small forehead, he slides onto the narrow hospital bed, placing his wife in between his legs, as she rests her head on his chest.

"I love you," he repeats, but the two recipients of his words are already asleep, a smile on Romilda's face, and a coo coming from Dayna.

He takes those gestures to mean, I love you too.

He watches his girls with a loving expression on his face.

We are so doing this again, he thinks, because it is so worth it.

And, he adds, glancing at his sleeping wife's face - enladened with a content smile, I really have broken her facade.

-

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The End

A/N: I'm so very sad that this is over, but I'm already finished with Dayna's Tale's Prologue, and that'll be going up very soon.

Thanks for sticking through all four parts of this!

Review if you can, please. I'd love the feedback!

Love,

Strawberry xx