Work Text:
2010
Severus lays in bed awoken in the dead of night by a reason unknown at the moment. He stays still with his eyes closed, while he listens for any noise that might have woken him. His hand under the pillow slowly reaches for his wand, kept there after a lifetime of paranoia which comes from surviving not one but two wars. He keeps his breathing even and his eyes closed while he continues to listen. As he lets his senses expand outward he can tell all of his carely laid wards are still standing and not broken, he can hear the sound of his wife breathing deeply and softly signaling she is still deeply asleep beside him. Suddenly he hears a soft noise and at first he dismisses it as a shift in the wind, or even the noise of Hermione’s elder beast of a cat. Then he hears it again, and suddenly realizes it's the soft pitter patter of tiny feet walking down the hall.
He smiles softly as he knows that noise is of his stepdaughter *His Stepdaughter!* little Rose, he wonders why she is up at this hour for he can tell it can't be much past 2am. He hears the sound get closer and closer until the door to their bedroom is quietly opened. He stays still so as to not scare her and thus waking up Hermione, who at this moment was just over three months pregnant with their baby. He listens to her just stand there for a moment before she enters the room fully, he yet again wonders what the reason for her late night visit is. So lost in his mind he is genuinely startled when he feels a tiny hand rest on his shoulder and shake tentatively.
“Severus…Severus.” Rose quietly said as she shook his shoulder once more, her voice still low but with an edge of urgency to it. He is momentarily confused because she typically doesn’t go to him for any issues preferring Hermione to help her if she needs it. The confusion quickly becomes the feeling of being overjoyed that she has chosen to seek him out. Their relationship has slowly grown more familial since the marriage and she has been able to see firsthand how happy he makes her mother. They have always had a tentative relationship since him and Hermione have been coworkers for years even before she was born and afterwards Hermione brought her to work often seeing as her swine of a father couldn't be bothered to help with any aspect of taking care of their daughter.
That exact reason was the cause of their subsequent divorce and how Hermione was able to gain full custody of Rose in the end. She now only saw him every other weekend during his visitation days which had to be at the Burrow since he couldn't be bothered to get a proper place to live instead choosing to live with his parents. Since Hermione is the one who bought and paid for the house he had absolutely no choice but to leave since she got the house after the whole thing was said and done. But due to them having lived in the house together she decided to sell the house and move into a new one in a completely muggle area.
Severus once again was shaken from his thoughts as she yet again shakes his arm. He slowly turns his head and smiles softly at the little girl before him, her strawberry blonde hair in complete disarray. She is clutching a stuffed cow in her hands now and her pajamas are of course matching the stuffed animal she so loves. She looks nervous and he can see the dry tear tracks on her face, her teeth biting her lip, a habit she must have picked up from her mother, and sniffles a bit as he looks at her. He slowly turns himself around and sits up swinging his legs to the floor, feeling around for his slippers that always seem to move on their own accord (though he strongly suspects it's Crookshanks moving them.)
After tucking his wand into his pocket he looks at her and gently pulls her into a hug, at first she stiffens before sinking into his strong hold, her face burrowed against his chest. “What's the matter Rosie?” he whispers as he begins to slowly rub her back in soothing circles knowing from watching Hermione that the action seems to help calm the girl down. She sniffles once before lifting her head and peering up at him, her big blue eyes red rimmed from her obvious crying. “I had an accident, Severus, I'm sorry for waking you up.” She looks like she is about to start crying again so he gently shushes her and picks her up. Her arms wrap around his neck while her legs wrap around his hips, he gently moves her cow to the side so he can hold her better.
“Lets go get you taken care of hmm? You are alright now Rosie, accidents happen and I will help you get back to bed in no time.” He speaks to her softly while he walks out of the room and down the hall to her bedroom, her head resting on his shoulder while he continues to rub her back gently. He uses his foot to push the door open and immediately sees a small wet spot in the center of her bed. Gently setting her down he feels her hand grab his and they move towards the bed. “Let’s do some foolish wand waving and get this taken care of then we will take care of your pajamas ok Rosie?” She nods her head and smiles softly up at him, while he smiles back and pulls out his wand casting *Tergeo* at the wet spot making it disappear instantly and then a gentle *Scourgify* to the little girl to clean her clothes and make her more comfortable. She giggles and smiles, “Thank you Severus you're the best!” He can't help himself when his grin gets a little bigger, his heart full of joy that makes him ridiculously happy and just a bit proud of himself that she came to him for help. “You’re very welcome sweetheart, I will always help you when you need it I promise you. In the morning I will have your mother help you take a shower but for now let’s get you tucked back into bed since its still very early and I’m sure you're still really sleepy”
“Can I have a glass of milk please?” Rose bashfully asked as she looked up at him, her arms still clutching her stuffed animal.
“Of course, we have to be quiet though.” He put his finger to his lips and smiled as she giggled and nodded her head, her curls much like her mother bouncing in her excitement.
He chuckled softly and held out his hand, happiness bubbled inside him yet again when she happily put her hand in his and gently tugged on it leading back out of her bedroom and down the hall which lead to the large open kitchen decked out in all manner of things that would make a chef green with envy. They walked toward the refrigerator and he lifted her up and gently sat her on the island.
“Stay right there and don't move around too much or you will get hurt, ok Rosie?” He said to her as he turned around to get her a cup from the cabinet next to the refrigerator. She happily nodded her head while her little legs swung back and forth, he grabbed one of her favorite cups which of course was covered in little red cows like her stuffed animal. He turned back to her and sat the cup down before turning yet again to grab the 1L of chocolate milk from the fridge. He shakes it gently to make sure it's mixed up well and then pours a small amount into the cup. He hands it to her and she breaks out in a huge smile before happily drinking it down in big gulps.
As she is finishing the drink he quickly puts the milk away so he can make sure she doesn't make a mess. After she is done he takes the cup to the sink to rinse it out and leave it to wash with the dishes from breakfast in a few hours. He takes her in his arms once more and she wraps her arms around his neck and they leave the kitchen to get her tucked back into bed. Even with his slow pace not wanting to shake her too much as she is starting to drift off they get back to her room in a few seconds. He gently pulls her arms from his neck and settles her back into bed, laying her faithful cow in her arms and the blankets back around her.
After a moment’s hesitation he gives her a gentle kiss on the forehead and soothes her curls back while whispering good night before standing up. He is shocked when her little hand shoots out to grab his hand once again stopping him from leaving. “What's the matter Rosie? Are you alright?” He asks with worry in his voice, his eyes going over her form to make sure nothing was amiss. “Thank you again and night night daddy.” She softly whispers back and he has to close his eyes momentarily because that is the first time she has called him anything other than Severus, he is deeply moved and on the verge of tears. He has to take a deep breath to keep from showing her just how affected he is, he squeezes her hand before leaning down to once again press a kiss to her head.
“Good night sweetheart, sleep well and i'll see you again when you wake up, i'll make us some pancakes for breakfast.” She smiles and nods her agreement before snuggling up with her cow and quickly falling back asleep. He just stands there for a while in the doorway watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. He has to count his lucky stars for bringing him here in this moment this time, for having Hermione in his life and this precious little girl, and his amazing wife is giving him what he has always wanted. A family of his own.
As he lays back down and turns toward his love he pulls her into his arms and just breathes in her lovely scent of almonds and cherries. He feels her hand squeeze his arm as she moves towards his chest getting even closer to him. He closes his eyes and once more drifts off to sleep content with the life he is living, a perfect wife, stepdaughter, and his unborn still growing child. Yes, life was indeed good and he was happy with it and can’t wait to see what the future brings him.