6 months:

"'Mione?"

Hermione looked up, startled to see the last person she ever expected to randomly drop by her desk while she was chewing on the end of a Muggle ballpoint pen.

"What are you doing here, Ron?" she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral. The sight of those familiar blue eyes looking simultaneously guilty and hopeful was like a punch to the gut; how many times had he looked at her like that?

"I was hoping that you might agree to have lunch with me," he said softly, unable to keep eye contact. "I...I need to talk to you...about everything, you know."

"Is this about the fact that you screamed profanity at me in front of my son?" she said, watching his eyes dart to where Sebastian sat in a Muggle baby walker. He couldn't walk with it yet but he enjoyed it nonetheless. "Or is it about the fact that, instead of acting like the adult you're supposed to be, you pitched a fit at me because of something that has absolutely nothing to do with you or your life?"

"Er...both," Ron said, having the grace to look a bit ashamed.

"Give me one good reason to say yes," Hermione asked coolly, drawing out the syllables and creating the effect of someone who really didn't give a shit. A distant part of her brain perked up and pointed out that she was picking up mannerisms from Severus; based on the look that came over Ron's face, the same thought had occurred to him as well.

"Because you've been my best friend since we were eleven years old and managed to knock out a mountain troll together in the girl's toilets," Ron looked her square in the eye, his voice even, if quiet.

"Best friend's don't say the kind of things that you did," Hermione said, her tone still distant as her stomach flipped and knotted. "Even in anger.

"I know," he whispered. "I just...I lost my cool, 'Mione, I know. It's no excuse but I was just so...so angry. I...," he looked up as Joseph, one of the other Aurors, walked by her desk and nodded to them. "Listen, can we please just have lunch? Talk somewhere private? Please, Hermione?"

She looked up at him and his earnest face. She had known Ron for fourteen years; the first seven of those had been spent going through hell and back to come out on the other side still standing. His actions were, undoubtedly, inexcusable but there was too much history there to toss aside simply because he had wounded her with his words. It seemed to be in his nature to act first and think second, something that had been exemplified when he had walked out on her and Harry during their trek across the UK. It wasn't an excuse but it was a part of who he was; thankfully, his better qualities tended to outweigh the lesser ones.

"Fine," she said, sitting up and moving the papers around on her desk simply to have something to do with her hands. "I'm not promising anything, but I'll hear you out."

It simply came down to the fact that she wasn't willing to give up on one of her oldest friends.

"Thank you," Ron whispered, closing his eyes briefly, and Hermione could hear the sincerity in his voice. It went a long way to assuage her wounds and she felt a brief flicker of hope. "I'll come pick you up before your lunch break?"

"Do you not want me to meet you somewhere? You probably shouldn't be away from Azkaban for too long," Hermione said.

"I'm here for meetings all morning anyway," Ron said. "Jenkins has things under control."

"You left Jenkins in charge of all of Azkaban?" Hermione arched a disbelieving eyebrow. The man was worse than Neville in Potions with Severus breathing down his neck. Incompetence didn't even begin to cover it.

"He'll be fine," Ron assured her. "Magical Law Enforcement lent me a few guys for the week, anyway, so all will be fine. Don't try to change the subject, Hermione...can I pick you up for lunch?"

"Yes, Ron," she sighed. "You'll find me here."

"Perfect," he grinned at her, his face suddenly morphing into that boyish happiness of their youth. She could almost forget the ugly look that had taken over him in Severus' shop. "I'll see you then."

He left with a spring in his step and Hermione sighed again, turning to look at her son who was happily chewing on his toy keys and felt torn about the whole idea.

"Did I just make a mistake?" she asked her son quietly. He didn't pay her any mind; he was busy drooling on the blue key and currently unable to indulge her. She shook her head with a soft smile as she watched him make an impressively close sound to 'omnomnom'.

Sebastian had an assortment of Muggle and magical toys but Hermione tended to only bring Muggle ones to work because there was little chance of those getting away from her and out of hand. His father's teddy bear was the only exception to the rule, it went with him everywhere.

Turning back to her desk, Hermione grabbed a sheet of lilac paper embossed with the Ministry logo at the top.

Lavender,

Ron came by and asked me to lunch, he wants to talk. Could you take Sebastian for your lunch break? He's rather taken with mashed carrots right now so he shouldn't be a problem to feed, and if all else fails, he has a couple bottles. I'd owe you big time.

Hermione, xxx

Tapping the note with her wand it folded itself into a paper airplane and shot off her desk, winging its way down the hall towards the lifts. Sebastian let out a happy cry as it went by and lifted his hands up as if to catch it.

"Oh, Uncle Harry will make a Seeker out of you, yet," Hermione murmured, not completely thrilled with the idea considering how many times Harry got hurt.

It didn't take long for Lavender's purple memo to zoom past Hermione's head, startling her out of her reading, and land in front of her. With another tap of her wand, the message unfolded and Lavender's loopy writing appeared as if it was being written by an invisible hand.

Hermione,

Of course I'll take the little monster off your hands. Are you sure about meeting Ron, though?

Lavender, xxx

Ps- I claim no responsibility if that carrot mush you claim he likes so much is replaced by ice cream. Just saying.

She snorted and picked up her quill to quickly pen back. She enjoyed these little messages between her and Lavender, sometimes it was what got her through the day. She wouldn't be surprised if the pair of them went through more memo pads than anyone else in their respective departments.

Lavender,

I'm not sure but I'm going to do it, anyway.

If you take my son anywhere near Fortescue's I will tell all and sundry what happened in the bathroom last time you were over. You revealed just who you'd like to see in all his naked glory, remember? Don't think I won't, woman.

Hermione, xxx

She had barely returned to her work before another little memo zipped by and landed in front of her. This one was bright purple, which meant it was urgent. She tapped her wand and laughed as the message materialized.

You play dirty.

Fine. Carrots it is, then.

Hermione snorted and chucked the note in the bin, which promptly ate it and caused Sebastian to make a sound of surprise. She checked the time and picked him up to give him a bottle, that way ensuring that he would probably pick the carrots for lunch. Using a clever charm she levitated the book she was reading in front of her while a Quick Quote's Quill took down her dictated notes so that she could feed Sebastian at the same time. She smiled as her son made clumsy attempts to hold up the bottle on his own and wondered how on earth Muggle women managed to raise children and have a career without magic.

She tried to concentrate on her work as the last few hours of the morning passed but by the time Lavender came by to pick Sebastian up for lunch, Hermione's nerves were wound tight over Ron's impending arrival.

"Are you sure about this?" Lavender asked again, picking up a smiling Sebastian who immediately grabbed fistfuls of her curling blonde hair.

"No," Hermione admitted. "But I want to hear him out, we've been friends for too long not to."

"That's true."

Hermione had just finished handing over a baby bag full of whatever Sebastian might need when Ron came into sight, walking down the hallway from the lifts. He awkwardly shoved his hands in his pockets as he reached them and eyed Lavender with a peculiar look as she stood there holding Sebastian. Hermione didn't know what to make of it but she didn't have a chance to think too hard about it because he was in a rush to have them off. She said her goodbyes, kissing Sebastian on the cheek before she left. He began to cry as she left and Hermione heard Lavender coo, "Mummy will be back, little man, don't worry," right before her Silencing Charm went up.

"He's not too happy to be with her, huh?" Ron observed as they walked towards the lifts.

"He's not used to being left alone with people other than Severus and I," Hermione said, pressing the lift button. "Or Harry, he loves Harry."

"Everyone loves Harry," Ron grinned at her as they stepped into the crowded elevator. She smiled back but didn't respond as she was getting rather intimately acquainted with the armpit of a man from Magical Sports and Regulation and didn't want to open her mouth.

"Will he calm down though?" Ron asked, as they left the lifts. Hermione hid her surprise at him continuing their conversation; she hadn't expected him to show so much interest in her son considering how much Ron hated his father.

"He will eventually," she said, walking through the atrium. "He loves Lavender but I probably should have had her distract him before I slipped away. It's harder when he sees you leaving."

"Ah, that makes sense," Ron agreed.

They walked on in an awkward silence as they wove through the people in the Atrium. Hermone hadn't been down to the lobby in a long time, she had forgotten how busy it got at lunch time. Looking around, she spotted a few reporters but none of them seemed to be paying attention. They were easily identified by their large, glittering press badges, and the fact that they carried cameras around their necks. The three that she spotted were talking to Ministry employees and Hermione figured that she was safe if she ducked her head and walked quickly.

Making it to the Floos without issue, Hermione followed Ron's direction as he called out 'The Leaky Cauldron' and stepped into the green flame. They appeared in the dingy pub and quickly got themselves a seat near the back.

"So, you walked to talk," Hermione said, fiddling with the small candle that sat on the table between them. Ron reached over and covered her hand with his.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," he said. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but I'm here to beg for it, anyway. I can't—can't lose you...not over this."

"What can I get for you?" a nasally voice announced the appearance of what might pass for a waitress by Leaky standards. Hermione pulled her hand out from under Ron's and smiled at the woman. She was old with wrinkly, mottled skin, and a large, dark birth mark on her chin. She did not smile back.

"Fish and chips for me, please," Hermione said. "And a glass of water with lemon?"

The woman grunted and rolled her eyes before turning to Ron. "And you?"

"The steak and kidney pie, if you would," he said. "Nothing to drink, thanks."

The witch shuffled off, hollered their order at the cook behind Tom's bar and disappeared into the back.

"Geez," Ron laughed awkwardly. "You'd think old Tom would hire some new help around here, no?"

"I think they're related, to be honest," Hermione said, eyeing the wizened old man wiping glasses behind the bar with a dirty rag. "Besides, when did looks decide whether someone should be employed or not?"

"What about temperament?" Ron countered, grinning easily. Hermione was not grinning. This banter felt forced and her leg jiggled under the table with nervousness.

"She works in the Leaky Cauldron, can you blame her?" she countered, eyeing the other patrons to avoid looking at Ron. The Floo flared off to her left, catching her attention, and she recognized a couple Ministry employees stepping through, one of them being the chap that she saw a reporter talking to.

An awkward silence descended upon them and Hermione fiddled with the hem of her Ministry standard robes. She started in surprise when the waitress they had been discussing slammed down her water in front of her.

"With lemon," she growled. Hermione smiled her thanks but eyed the drink, wondering if the hag had spit in it.

"Here," Ron said, interpreting her look properly and waving his wand over the glass. A short charm later and he grinned, pushing it towards her. "It's safe. No poison or bodily fluids."

"Thank you," she said, sipping the water. "But you didn't have to do that."

"I know," he said softly, slipping his wand up his sleeve and looking down. "I want to, though. I want to...to be there for you, 'Mione."

A very uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she watched Ron; his words, while innocent, made her think that he was trying to speak between the lines.

"Being there for me doesn't mean acting the way you did," she said softly, watching him.

"I know that," he sighed and looked up at her. "I was just so...so angry. That's—that's what I wanted with you, Hermione. A family. Kids."

"Ron," she reached out to him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. She felt the guilt wash over her as he covered her hand with his. "I know that you wanted kids, but you wanted a lot of kids. You wanted a big family like the one you grew up in, that's not something that I wanted."

"We could have compromised, 'Mione," he said and his voice took on a distinctly pleading note. "We could have had fewer children."

"No, Ron," she said, pulling her hand from between his. "I'm sorry, but children isn't the only reason why we split and you know it. I mean, we fought all the time! It was fine in school, gentle, easy bickering but it became more than that when we moved in together. We're too different."

"How?" he demanded softly. "How are we different 'Mione? We've been friends since we were kids! You said yourself that friendship is the basis for a good relationship."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that every person you're friends with is someone you can have a relationship with, Ronald," Hermione said, slightly exasperated.

"I know that!" he bit out, getting frustrated himself. "I'm not saying that Hermione, I'm just saying that we have a good thing between us as friends. I know we went a bit pear shaped but we've grown since then, you know? We could be good again, if you gave us the chance."

Hermione stared at him, flabbergasted. "Ron, I...I'm sorry but I—"

"No, Hermione," he held a hand up. "I know what you're going to say, the same thing you said before. We fight too much, we have different goals, our wants are not reconcilable; I know, but just hear me out!" Ron ran his hands through his hair quickly before leaning forward in his seat as if eager. "I'd take care of your son. I would. He'd be like my own, Hermione. We could get married and have a few more kids, he'd never know the difference, 'Mione I swear. I would never talk about Snape or—"

"Are you insane?" Hermione nearly shouted. "You can't just pretend that he hasn't got a father, Ron!"

"You were going to!" he yelled back. "Mum told me!"

Hermione shook her head and briefly wondered how Molly had found out about that. Had Ginny told her? Or Harry?

"That doesn't matter now!" she exclaimed. "Severus is his father and everyone knows it! You can't just take that away from him. Besides, do you honestly think he would let you?"

"He wouldn't fight us, Hermione!" Ron countered. "Not if you asked him! The boy could have a better life with you and I, he'd have siblings and parents who love each other!"

"Ron, I don't—"

She didn't get to finish her sentence because at that moment Ron lunged forward, knocking the lit candle off the table with one hand and reaching for her with the other. Catching her off guard, he pulled her forward and planted a kiss squarely on her lips. Hermione froze, startled beyond reason, and felt Ron's lips moving over hers, spreading spit against her closed mouth as the sound of a shutter releasing reached her ears. She wrenched herself back and shoved at Ron's shoulders.

"Ron! How dare you?" she yelled.

"Kiss her again!" a voice called from somewhere in the pub.

Ron's eyes briefly flickered over towards it before centering on her again. His face split into a grin and he made to do just that when Hermione reared back and slapped him across the face.

The sound echoed throughout the pub, silent except for the obnoxious clicking of a camera shutter. Hermione roughly wiped her mouth on her sleeve and felt tears spring to her eyes as she realized that this was soon going to be splashed all over the papers.

"How dare you?" she yelled again, shooting to her feet. Her hands shook as she watched him straighten, his jaw set and his eyes hard. "You know I'm with Severus, Ron! Why would you do this? Especially here?" She swept her arm in a gesture to encompass the entire pub, no longer caring that they were essentially putting on a show. She felt hot tears slip down her cheeks and as she watched him something seemed to slide into place in her brain.

"Did you arrange this?" she demanded suddenly, her eyes seeking out the reporter who was still snapping away. "Did you know that he would be here?" her voice rose to nearly a shriek.

"No!" Ron yelled. "I just want you to see reason, Hermione!"

"You are unbelievable," she spat, grabbing her purse and pushing her chair away roughly. It clattered and hit the ground. "I'm not doing this anymore," she pointed at him. "You stay away from me Ronald Weasley."

Without another word she stalked through the pub, keeping her head down and out of view of the reporter. She hurried through the back door that led to the small courtyard and the entrance to Diagon Alley. Rounding a few corners quickly, she found herself a small, isolated corner to cry in. Humiliation warred with anger and betrayal in her breast as she stood there, her arms wrapped around her chest.

If she was completely honest with herself, she wasn't surprised that Ron had tried that tactic with her. He had always been so...so stubborn; he just couldn't accept that she was with someone else and that she was happy. It was part of the reason why they broke up—they were both stubborn as mules. Then again, so was Severus. Did that mean that her relationship with him would never work? Hermione sniffed wetly and wiped her face with her hands, trying to clear away the evidence before she set off through the crowded streets.

She made it to the Ministry's entrance and quickly cast a few charms on her face to clean herself up before she made her way back upstairs. She didn't want to go back to work, but what else could she do? It was no reason to go home and cry, even though she wanted to, and she would merely drive herself mental going over it in her head if she went home now. She needed time to bury herself in her research and calm down. She needed to tend to her son to distract herself from the fact that one of her oldest friendships had just crashed and burned—publicly.

Hermione stepped off the lift on her floor and made her way down the hall towards her desk. She found Lavender sitting on the floor in front of Sebastian in his walker and spooning orange mush into his mouth. He kept pushing it back out and giggling when Lavender caught it with his spoon and told him he was a silly boy. There was probably more of it on his cheeks and his clothes than in his stomach but Hermione didn't really care at that moment. She watched without announcing her presence and felt her tears well up again. What the heck is wrong with you? she chided herself. Stop blubbering, right now.

Sucking in a deep breath, Hermione put on a happy face and walked into Sebastian's line of sight. Instantly, he greeted her with a big, messy smile and happy cries.

"You're back early!" Lavender exclaimed from her place on the floor behind Hermione's chair.

"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "It didn't go very well."

"Want to talk about it?" Lavender asked softly, spoon balanced in her hand. Hermione reached out to take it from her and settled down beside the other witch.

"Not right now. I'll tell you later, okay?" Hermione smiled weakly at her friend and turned her focus on her son. His obvious happiness at her arrival seemed to chase away some of the gloom and she basked in his smile.

xXx

By the time she felt that leaving work would be justified, Hermione was seething mad.

How dare he? How dare he publicly humiliate her like that? Was he deaf, or dumb? Or both? How could he have taken her explanations of how they would never work as a couple, because experience had taught them that already, and interpreted it as 'I want you to kiss me'.

Was he that thick? Or was it desperation?

She didn't know. All she knew was that if she ever saw Ron Weasley again, she wouldn't stop at smacking him. She'd hex his bollocks to his face for him, or Vanish them all together since he seemed to do his thinking with them instead of his brain.

Hermione quickly packed up Sebastian's things, shrinking them down and tucking them away, as soon as three in the afternoon rolled around. It was early for quitting, but she just couldn't stay anymore. She wasn't really getting any work done anyway, she had re-read the same page twice before she realized and then stared off into space, fantasizing about stringing Ron up by his unmentionables. In public. For once, burying herself in work didn't make her feel any better.

Picking up her son, Hermione made her way to Kingsley's office, afraid of going down to the Atrium to find more reporters around. She was sure rumours had made it around, news spread fast in the Wizarding world, and she didn't want to take the chance that there would be others around looking to catch a shot of her with Sebastian—or worse, with Ron. She only hoped that no one had mentioned it to Severus yet, not before she could tell him herself. She hadn't thought that it was something to talk about via owl letters and leaving work to make a social call seemed like a bad idea, especially when it could wait.

She knocked twice on Kingsley's door, just in case he was busy, and waited until she heard his voice beckoning her to come in. With Sebastian on her hip and his fist in his mouth, she walked into the office and stopped dead at the look on Kingsley's face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, instantly thinking that something had happened to someone she knew. "What happened?"

"This happened," Kingsley said softly, walking around his desk with a shiny magazine in his hand, the cover facing her.

She felt her heart stop in her chest at the sight of Magical Mag: Special Edition with a full page, colour photo of Ron kissing her on the cover. Her stomach plummeted and she squeezed Sebastian so hard that he let out a little cry of discomfort before she realized what she was doing.

"Wh-what the heck is that?" she demanded, even though she knew exactly what it was. "That's—that's not what it looks like, Kingsley!"

"Hermione, I know," he said softly, tossing the magazine on his desk, face down. "I know...but others...they don't."

"Oh god," Hermione choked, tears beginning to fall. "What does it say?"

"You don't want to—"

"Show me!" she demanded, stepping forward and holding her hand out.

With a sigh, Kingsley handed over the magazine, flipping it open for her as she still held Sebastian with one arm. She stared at the double spread article that included more pictures than anything. There were shots of her and Ron talking at the table, their words obviously heated, and a caption that read "The lovers have a public row" underneath. There was another shot of Hermione slapping Ron across the face but she didn't catch the caption on that because the words of the interviewed waitress were written in large, colourful letters and they grabbed hold of her eyes.

"They were holding hands over the table when I came to take their order. I saw them smiling and laughing at something...They're obviously a couple."

"Oh god," Hermione repeated, her voice soft as the words swam before her eyes. She clenched the magazine in her hand as Sebastian began to make gentle sounds of distress, obviously picking up on her mood. He looked around, confused, and reached out to touch her face with his small hand.

Startled at the feel of his sticky palm, she was brought back to reality hard and fast. Looking at her son, with his dark curly hair and eyes browner than hers ever were, she realized that she had to get to Severus.

Hermione dashed over to the fireplace and, shifting the magazine to her other hand, reached into the Floo pot for the powder. She had barely thrown it in before she was calling out 'Moste Potente Potions, Diagon Alley' and stepping into the flame. The world swirled around her for a heartbeat of time before all of a sudden she slammed into what felt like a brick wall. Green flame still surrounded her and Sebastian who, upon the jarring stop, began to cry. Confused, Hermione called out the address to her flat instead.

She stepped out into her sitting room, her mind whirling like the flame. Why would Severus' wards be up? He never closed that early unless—

Her heart picked up and she felt like she might vomit.

"Severus?" she called, turning and dashing from the room as quickly as she could with Sebastian in her arms. "Severus? Are you home? Severus?"

She heard noises coming from their bedroom and quickly made her way down the hall, finding the door ajar and pushing it fully open.

"Severus?" she asked, walking in to find him furiously throwing his clothing into what looked like a magically enlarged rucksack.

He looked up and the expression on his face froze her crazed heart once more. There was nothing but cold fury in his eyes. Eyes that darted down to the magazine still clutched in the hand that balanced Sebastian on her hip.

"Going to frame it, are we?" he sneered at her, his face the ugly mask of days when he would make Neville Longbottom cry.

"Severus, this is not true!" she said, walking forward slowly. "You have to believe me. Ron kissed me! Not the other way around!"

"You say that as if I give a shit," he growled, going back to his packing. He moved about the room swiftly, picking items up and throwing them into his bag. He knocked over several bottles of her perfume as he reached for his cologne but he didn't seem to care.

"Severus, please," she begged, taking another step. "Just let me explain! It's not—"

"I don't want to hear your explanations," he spat, turning away from her to rummage through the dresser. "I'll not be made a fool of."

Hermione reached out, laying her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to get through to him. He yanked away from her, spinning around and knocking her hand as he moved. She drew back and clutched a softly whimpering Sebastian to her chest. He was clearly upset by their voices, even though they weren't shouting. "Don't touch me!" Severus hissed. "Don't you ever touch me!"

"Severus," she cried, tears flowing freely down her face, "please! Just let me explain! I can tell you everything tha—"

"A picture is worth a thousand words, as the Muggles would say," his lip curled in disgust as he looked down at her. "Look at how many pictures you have, Hermione."

"Did you even look at the other picture?" she demanded, throwing the magazine down on the bed and opening it. "Did you see the one where I slapped him for trying to force a kiss on me, or were you too busy focusing on the first one?"

"Actually," his voice was almost conversational as he dropped a book that had been on the nightstand into his bag and shrunk it down, "I was rather riveted by the text to pay much attention to the other pictures. A lover's quarrel already, Hermione? Hmm, doesn't show much promise does it?" His words were scathing and it felt as if they slapped her in the face, each and every syllable.

"What do I have to do to prove to you that this isn't real?" she cried, gesturing to the magazine as her voice broke. "What do I have to do to prove that it's you I love?" Her words seemed to have absolutely no effect on him as he continued to stare at her. "What, Severus? Just fucking tell me and by God, I'll do it! Just tell me!" she shrieked.

Sebastian began to cry at that, his pitiful wails filling the room as they stared at each other. Her heart banged almost painfully against her chest as she waited for him to say something, anything. She searched his eyes for any sign that he might believe her but found only cold disinterest. Breaking eye contact first, Hermione turned her attention to the baby in her arms. She cuddled him close and murmured soothing words and sounds to him, apologising for upsetting him and rocking him back and forth. He continued to cry despite her attempts and she knew that if she were going to talk to Severus she would have to take Sebastian to the nursery. With one more look at the man in question, who was still watching them with narrowed eyes, she walked out of the bedroom and down the hall

"Shh, sweetheart. I'm sorry that I scared you. It's going to be okay," she cooed to him, not sure if she believed it herself. She didn't know why people always felt the need to lie to children about whether it was going to be okay or not, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him, even if he couldn't understand her, that it was all falling apart.

"Shhh, Sebastian," she murmured, rocking him back and forth in her arms as she paced.

She heard the tell tale sound of footsteps in the hall and for a heartbeat she thought that Severus might come into the nursery. She looked over her shoulder and saw him walk past, his dark robes billowing out behind him much like they had always done at Hogwarts, only the effect wasn't the same in her small hallway. He didn't stop, and he didn't look at her, as he continued down the hall towards the kitchen and sitting room. The sound of the Floo fire activating, the rushing, crackling sound, reached her ears before the inevitable whoosh of his departure. She hadn't heard his destination. He must have whispered it.

He didn't want her to know.

Hermione stopped her pacing and slowly, as if her feet were made of led, walked back to the bedroom with Sebastian. The door was wide open and even though she knew he wasn't in there, she still looked for evidence of him. Her eyes swept through the entire room, just to be sure. There was nothing left except her own belongings strewn about and carelessly tossed aside.

Her eyes blurred and her breathing hitched as she crawled into bed, lying in the center of the mattress, and curled around her son.

He was gone.