CHAPTER THIRTY TWO - BABY IN A GOLDEN CARRIAGE 

"You're doing your nails right now?" Ron asked his voice full of confusion as he looked across the console to Claudia. He had been driving using his muggle license for about four months now. And as she shook her hands to try and speed up their drying time he returned his attention back to the road. 

"I will not go in they're not looking like the done up lady I am." Claudia paused turning her full attention back to him "And during the hours we have to wait you're going to do my toenails." She concluded and he knew there was no point in arguing with her. He had after all been painting her toenails for weeks now, since she could no longer see them or move in the ways she needed to do it herself. 

"Okay beautiful, whatever you want." Ron knew better than to argue with Claudia at any point, but now in particular. 

After all, the journey which was occurring at 2:35am in the morning was not a usual one. And they had both been pretty spooked out when she had awoken him to the news of her water breaking. Ron was sure he would have to try harder to be strong for both of them, he knew just how scared Claudia was about this whole process. It hadn't helped knowing that many women of the Parkinson line had lost their lives during childbirth. She seemed fixated on that and so it was Ron's job to keep her distracted from that fact, whilst also not freaking out over the birth of his son. 

It took less than twenty minutes for the couple to be checked in upon arriving at the maternity hospital in the centre of London. And a private room awaited them as Ron helped Claudia to sit down upon the hospital bed. The pair moving quickly to try and mess around with the electric controller to sit Claudia up properly in the bed. The electric bed groaned as they did so and bucked a little as its age clearly showed. 

"Is it plugged in?"

"Seems to be Claude, think the beds just bust." Ron responded having moved to check the cables of the bed, noting the bright orange one plugged into the wall behind them. There was little else he could do in that moment. 

Claudia had to admit labor was not exactly something she could call enjoying. As the hours slipped by and the contractions grew closer and closer together she did ponder why others called it the miracle of childbirth. She wondered how people pushed through the pain, the unease, the discomfort and worst of all the possibility of their partner fainting. Because she was almost certain Ron was seconds away from passing out at all times. But as he had taken the time to not only paint her toenails in a matching shade of baby blue to her fingernails, she wasn't going to comment on it much. 

Rather she allowed him to sit beside her gently reading out children's tales from his own childhood books he had brought along with them. As if it was supposed to calm their baby down, though it seemed to be working best on him. He had recently taken to requiring a pair of low powered glasses to read, and she found the look of him sat there in the uncomfortable chair beside her bed glasses perched upon his face reading to be the most distracting thing. For in the year they had known each other, he had only seemed to become more and more attractive to her. She only seemed to fall deeper and deeper for him. 

As 11:45am hit Claudia had finally received the news she waited so desperately for. The hours of contractions had been worth it, as she had finally reached 10cm dilated and it was nearly go time. She was ready for this all to be over with, this waiting to finally have ended. And her baby to be in her arms. 

"You ready Love?" Ron questioned and Claudia could tell that he was looking almost for encouragement from her. 

"Yes I want to meet our son." Claudia was indeed feeling strongly about her words, sure she had some fear knowing her family history, but that was the reason she had chosen not to go to St. Mungos. Because the NHS had yet to do the same things the Wizarding hospital had and therefore, she trusted them more. Even if she felt that the poor staff were severely over worked and underpaid for the things they did. Ron chose not to respond to her words and rather allowed the midwife to take over with the next steps. Only moving to hold onto Claudia's hand as she prepared to push. 

Claudia held Ron's hand tightly, and whilst there was a small break in between contractions Ron took a second to bring that very left hand up to his mouth to place a kiss on the back of it. His brain was running wild with the overwhelming emotions of the moment, but there was one that he clearly could tell was not just driven by the scenario they were in. He wished to place not just one, not two but three rings upon her left ring finger. Engagement, marriage and eternity. The three things he wanted with her. And he knew that whilst she was off on maternity leave he would present her with at least one of those rings. 

His eyes were torn back to the bottom of the bed when he heard the midwife announce it would only be a few more pushes. And as he heard what he believed to be the first cry of an infant he knew that the baby was not the only one crying in the room. He moved to gently kiss Claudia's forehead.

"Dad do you want to come down here and cut the cord?" And Ron wasn't sure he had ever moved so fast. The second he laid his eyes upon the baby being held by the midwife he believed in love at first sight. With shaky hands he was able to direct the scissors to the spot identified and push through. 

"He's beautiful Claude, you are amazing." He whispered moving back to the woman he loved more than anything. His hands cupped her face gently brushing at her cheeks caring not for the spectators in the room. He only cared for the newly created family and could not wait for their son to be brought back over from having been weighed. Claudia looked a little pale and exhausted but from what was going on around them he was happy to conclude that she was okay. 

"He's okay?"

"He's more than okay." Ron confirmed watching with joy as their son was placed upon his mother's chest. Reaching down with one hand to brush through his hair as the other remained rested above Claudia's head. 

"He's perfect."

"Just like his mummy."