AN: New chapters of this story will be alternating Tuesdays with my other fic “A Green Flamed Torch,” which is a Sirius/Harry fic.

Sorry for the delay on getting this up on Tuesday. ffnet gives me problems when I try to upload from work, and then I had to fix my connection at home.

Chapter Two

James swore this was the last time he was doing this. Especially since they hadn't even been trying this second time. Another contraction rippled through him.

Severus was definitely going to die. As slowly and painfully as his labor was. Well, maybe he'd just emasculate him instead.

It certainly didn't help that the day was unusually hot for late June - Poppy and the doctors at St. Mungo's had been "a little off in our estimate of your due date," as one had put it. This baby was going to be born at least a day after the official end of school, which was good, since James wanted Poppy to help with the delivery, and to have the baby at Hogwarts like he'd had Harry.

"Push, James," Poppy barked out. The school mediwitch had proved a good choice when he'd needed a midwife to deliver Harry, and she'd learned from his birth how to help James with this one, even as he was screaming bloody murder at his husband. Plus, she wasn't squicked or disgusted like the situation as one of the doctors at St. Mungo's - the poor sap had been obliviated twice to keep his mouth shut.

James wondered for the briefest of moments if Sirius had really taken Harry outside like he'd said he would. Then he remembered he'd forgotten to close the window in the upstairs bathroom. He knew it was going to rain because of that. Another contraction ripped across his stomach, reining in his wandering thoughts.

Sweat poured down James' face an hour later. Midnight had just chimed its coming on the grandmother clock in the infirmary. He had been in labor for a little under four hours, but the baby was already crowning.

"Wait until I say," Poppy said as she directed several towels hovering nearby to move closer.

James could feel Severus' frantic heartbeat against his back as the other man held him up. He had consented to his re-admittance an hour ago when Poppy had discovered that the labor was far more advanced than the doctor they had consulted had said it was. Severus had come in, told the doctor how incompetent he was, and not to expect payment.

That was his Sev - snarky even under stress.

He ground his teeth together, pushing with all his might, feeling the sudden loss of pressure even as Poppy caught the baby coming out of the magically configured birth canal.

"It's a girl!" the mediwitch announced. The baby in her arms began to cry as she cleaned the mucus and amniotic fluid from her mouth.

James sagged gratefully into Severus' arms to rest. He knew there would still be the after birth, but he would take whatever he could at the moment - and that wasn't half as stressful as the baby coming herself. A smile broke over his face as Poppy laid his daughter in his arms. Unfocused blue eyes looked out into the world from underneath a wild mop of wet, black hair. Her nose was small - a sign that she'd inherited it from James - but she had Severus' facial features besides that. He ran a finger along the soft skin of her cheek.

"Beautiful," Severus whispered in his ear, giving him a soft kiss.

"Yes," James breathed. "Beautiful."

Severus was almost afraid he was going to burst. He had a beautiful baby daughter, as well as a bright, curious little boy, who was peering at his sister as she rested in James' arms.

"We gets t’keep ‘er?" Harry asked his Patri for the fifth time in the last half hour.

Severus nodded patiently. Harry had been asking questions all day, but he sometimes forgot which ones he asked in his excitement. His father understood this, so he handled it with an aplomb he was surprised he still possessed. As the due date had gotten closer, Harry had enjoyed watching James' stomach, putting his little hands on it waiting for his now little sister to kick. Now that she was here, he wanted to watch her as much as he could.

"Wow," Sirius breathed, coming up beside Severus. "She's gorgeous!"

Behind him, Remus nodded. "What is her name?"

Severus turned to the little boy in his arms. "What's her name, Harry?" he asked.

Harry giggled as Severus prodded him. "Helena," the little boy answered.

"Helena Lily," Severus seconded, even as James smiled. His husband was tiredly following the conversation and looked content to stay out of it, his daughter clutched gently to him.

"I think Lily would have liked that," Remus said.

Sirius leaned over the side of the bassinet and pulled out Harry's unicorn. "Did you give her this, Harry?"

The green-eyed little boy nodded. "Her birf'day presen."

Sirius laughed delightedly and put the unicorn back. "May I?' he asked, holding his arms out to James. His friend nodded, and they all watched the animagus cradle the newborn in his arms. Severus didn't find it as hard to watch as when the other man had first held Harry, simply because of what he now knew. Still, it was a strange sight.

Even as he thought that, a glow surrounded Sirius and Helena. It was a soft blue, with streaks of pale gold and silver. Then, as soon as it had come, it left, leaving all four men in a state of shock.

"Well," James recovered enough to say. "I guess that means you're Helena's Godfather."

Severus nodded, remembering when Lily and Harry had bonded together - except it had been green, with the same streaks of gold and silver. He wasn't too happy with the situation, but there was nothing he could do to change it. His daughter had chosen her own godparent, even though it was a man that Severus was sure he would never truly like. So be it, then.

******

"Daddy?"

James looked up to find Harry in front of him, holding his little sister's hand. The two small children had red cheeks and smudged noses, indicating they had just come in from the sandbox, the incriminating evidence sticking to their sweaty faces.

"What, baby?"

"When's da baby comin'?" Helena asked before sticking her thumb in her mouth.

James grinned - and quickly hid it - before answering. "A couple more weeks to go. In fact, it will be right between Harry's and Patri's birthdays," he said, just as he had the day before, and the day before that when they had asked.

The two children giggled. Severus had become notorious for trying to avoid his birthday, a fact that even amused his children, young as they were at two and almost four.

James sent them back outside, knowing that Sirius was probably looking for them. They would stop on the way to get something to drink from Maddy, their lone house-elf. Probably sneak a biscuit or two as well.

He sat back in the chair, moving his feet back on their stool. Laying his hands above the round of his stomach, James thought that the day was just perfect.

Sirius had come over to watch Harry and Helena until Severus came back home from the annual teacher's meeting they held in July with the Board of Governors. James appreciated his friends' efforts now that he was in his eighth month of pregnancy with his third child. He'd sworn that they would stop at two when Helena was born, but both Severus and Sirius (Remus hadn't prodded much at all) had persuaded him to have just one more child.

It hadn't taken much to convince James to try again. It certainly had been much more pleasurable than with Harry, who had been conceived on a night when Severus had been summoned after they finished making love, and Helena, who had been the result of a quickie before James underwent the Fidelis Charm. Oh yes, he'd liked trying for this one.

Sirius had been a welcome addition to the household after Easter. Helena's godfather had come to the rescue after Severus had to go back to Hogwarts for the rest of the school year, and James had found it hard to keep up with his two children as his pregnancy advanced. Sirius had graciously volunteered to help his friend with the children until the end of summer, when the baby was due. Then Remus would come and help. At that point, the animagus would return to his department to start teaching. Before he had come to help, Sirius had been working on restructuring the Auror training program. He had been one of the top Aurors during the war and, along with James and Lily, had come up with several life-saving spells.

James had wanted to join his best friend as an Auror, but had found out he - by reason of the inheritance he gained from a father he didn't remember - was pregnant. He and Severus hadn't been married all that long, a fact that hardly anyone had known. In the end, Lily had charmed herself to carry the visible signs of James' pregnancy to further the wizarding world's belief that she was married to James, to cover for him and Severus. It would also keep her close to the only family she had left - James. Her parents had been killed in the Death Eater attack on James' mother and stepfather, who had taken them to Diagon Alley for a treat, the year before James and Severus got married. Petunia had blamed her sister for their deaths because of her freakish behavior, so Lily had cut all ties. She had then moved into the house and engaged the charm that simulated her friend's pregnancy symptoms.

The secrecy had been nothing new to James and Severus. Ever since they had started dating early in their seventh year - after a year of enforced tutoring - the two of them had hid their relationship from the world because of the Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalry, even from their friends for the longest time, a fact that they were glad of with Wormtail's betrayal - he hadn't had the courage to tell Voldemort that Severus and James were married because he still hadn't been sure it was true.

More than that, Severus' father had had big plans for his son. Tilar Snape planned on using his son's talent in potions to gain favor in a rising Voldemort's eyes. He had taken the progress report that his Patri had dutifully sent to a father of whom otherwise ignored his son, and had run it through with several of his friends. The former Tom Riddle - a secret protected by his closest followers and, incidentally, Dumbledore - had been demonstrating his vast powers, attracting many. Severus had been slated for joining the Death Eaters, a fact that had almost torn the two young lovers apart when James had found out.

Finally, Dumbledore had offered them an answer to their problems - Severus would become a Death Eater and would spy for Dumbledore's group. James had been furious with Severus when he accepted. He'd also been frightened to death. He had just found this witty and secretly caring boy he could share his life with, and there was a huge possibility that he would end up dead. It had taken Severus a month before James would listen to his explanation. As a Slytherin, he would be able to walk into the midst of Voldemort's camp and spy - that it would take cunning to pull off something that Gryffindor bravery couldn't. He was already being forced to join, so he may as well do the best he could to prevent the Dark Lord's plans for taking over the world becoming a reality.

James had finally conceded the point, but had told Lily and Sirius of his fears, the two of them being the only ones of his friends that had known about them at the time. Then, and later when Severus joined the Inner Circle of the Death Eaters when they'd learned James was expecting Harry.

All of that had changed when James had watched Voldemort's destruction. Severus' role had been revealed, both of them exposed, really, to the scrutiny of the wizarding world.

After Helena's birth, James and Severus had wrapped everything touching their family tighter. They wanted to protect their children. Several people had attempted breaking into their first house, just before Helena had been born, for a glimpse of Harry. Severus had finally gone to the Ministry with Dumbledore, demanding that they take action or the next person wouldn't survive the new wards the James and Severus had erected.

Their new house, courtesy of Fudge's attempts to placate the father of the wizarding world's hero, was unplottable and undetectable, having been the Minister's official summer residence. It had been signed over just so that Fudge wouldn't have to deal with an enraged father, and it was theirs to keep. The wards would remain as they were, keeping anyone who wasn't invited onto the grounds off of them.

James had made the house a home by filling it with pictures of Harry and Helena, as well as their friends. Everything else had been left to Maddy. The house-elf had also been given to them by Fudge, and had appointed herself as the children's guardian. It had taken James and Severus several months for their new house-elf to realize they wouldn't treat her like Fudge had. The man had only given Maddy to them because he couldn't get her to do anything without her trembling in fear, and so he had decided she was a waste of energy.

Shaking off his heavy thoughts, James looked out the window. He could see Harry running in and out of the gate, a big, black dog chasing him for a bit, before pouncing and slobbering all over him. Toddling behind them was Helena, her little legs trying to catch up to her brother. He smiled at the picture they made, as Sirius returned to his normal form. All three of them had tousled black hair, although the children's hair was naturally that way. He couldn't see their eyes from the window after moving to stand in front of it, but James could picture Harry's green eyes sandwiched between two pairs of pale blue ones, Sirius having Gifted Helena like Lily had Harry.

It did make James wonder about this baby.

Maybe Remus would have a connection with this child. James had a feeling he already did - he had been there when James had found out that he was pregnant. Plus the man would be helping to take care of the newborn after Severus had to return to Hogwarts for the school year. Ever since the baby had started really moving, he - and James knew it had to be a boy - got excited when Remus was around.

Remus would be arriving at their house a few days from now. He had been studying under an Italian wizard in Defense, in the hopes that he would someday be able to teach or write a decent book on the subject. Severus had told James that he wouldn't mind having Remus for a colleague, but it was ultimately up to Dumbledore and the Board. Of course, Severus had also said that anybody would be better than the idiots Dumbledore had hired for both the previous year and the one before.

James looked to the door as he heard the floo activate in the other room, even as he heard Harry yelling, "Patri! Patri!" at the top of his lungs. He stepped away from the window as Severus walked into the room, Harry hugging his leg even as the man dragged him.

"Hi, love," James greeted his husband before giving him a kiss.

Severus ran one hand along James' cheek and smiled. "James."

James gave a crooked grin at the loving tone in Severus' voice. His husband wouldn't admit it, but his voice had power.

Sirius came into the room, Helena tucked against him on one hip. "Severus! Scare the new Defense teacher yet?"

Severus directed a dark look at the man before leaning down to pick up Harry. James just laughed, knowing that both of them had to take shots at each other. That's the way they both were.

******

"I don't care what you think, Severus," James was shouting at him breathlessly. "This is the last one!"

Severus knew enough to keep quiet. Who knew what a man in the middle of labor could do to him - he knew a lot of stories from women giving birth - but that didn't mean he wanted to become the first statistic in being the victim of a male in labor.

Thanks to:

Layce74 – Thanks! I’m really going for a nice, family drama through it all. A small touch of angst, a fair bit of fluffy goodness, and a whole lot of action.

Cheery Wolf – Thanks!

Keitorin – Thanks and here it is! (Cool name, too!)

A Typical Snarry Fan – Ooo! Thanks for the compliment. “Love Bite” was my first true baby in the world of HP slash fanfics, so I love hearing people say they like it, even when they aren’t fans with the ship to begin with.