He was a wizard after all, and Emily was a witch. One simple, painless spell would take care of the problem and they could go back to the way things were. He hated to take such a drastic measure, but he needed his sleep and he wanted to go back to the easy companionship of only a month ago. Their weekly dinners had been fine, but he wanted to be able to look across the table at her without thinking about what she looked like under her robe.

By that time Emily Smith wasn't sleeping very well, either. As a Healer-in-training she should have foreseen the effects of certain actions, but in her life she had not accounted for them. She realized she needed to be sure of the situation before her next dinner with Severus and found a moment when the hospital was quiet to ask a favor of another Healer-in-training.

When it was over, Emily found herself sitting on the side of an exam table, trembling, next to Lily Potter, who was hugging and congratulating her.

“I know James will get such a kick out of this. Fancy Sirius being a father before him!”

“Um, Lily? Sirius isn't the father of this baby.”

“But you said it would have been the night before our wedding and that day. If it wasn't Sirius, it couldn't have been--” A look of dismay started to come over Lily's face.

“Oh, no, NO! Lily, it wasn't any of them. For the short time when I was in the room, James couldn't stop talking about you, how happy you were making him, and his plans for your life together. And Remus was exhausted from the full moon that week and Peter...does he actually do anything or does he just watch?”

“So who was it, and how did you manage it with that lot in your apartment?”

“I'd rather not say until I can talk to him about this. We had gone for dinner and got back after they were all sleeping it off.”

“Are you happy?”

“I have to get used to the idea, but at the same time, there's a touch of delight mixed in. Now that it's happened, I can't imagine not being pregnant. Please, Lily, don't say anything to anyone about this. Sirius doesn't have a right to be jealous, but I don't want to go out of my way to hurt him, either.”

They cleaned up the exam room and gathered their things together. Lily grabbed Emily's hand. “Has Sirius been unkind to you?”

Emily thought for a moment because she didn't want to cause a problem. “No. The only time I ever did anything like that with a man was that one day that this happened,” she put her hand on her tummy, “so he never affected me like that. I could always kind of see that Sirius will always be shallow with girls. I gather he didn't get much out of living with his family and maybe that's why he doesn't want to have one of his own.”

Seeing Lily's frown, she hastened to add, “He's tremendously loyal to his friends, especially James and now you. I just don't think he wants what you two have.”

Their shift was ending so they walked toward the employee entrance. Lily saw someone waiting there for Emily and did a calculation.

“Emily, it's Severus!” Emily looked distressed and Lily knew she was right. Lily ran up to Severus and gave him a big hug, leaving him looking dumbfounded. “Oh, Severus, I'm so happy for you! I can't tell you how happy!” She kissed him on the cheek and all but danced out the door, where she saw her husband waiting for her.

Emily made her way to Severus as he watched after the Potters. “To what do I owe the honor?”

“Hm?” He turned and saw Emily and then frowned slightly. “Oh. I thought we should get an early start this evening. There was something I want to talk about and I thought I could walk you home.”

“That sounds fine,” said Emily. There was something she needed to tell him, too.

As they walked, Emily realized they were making their way to the park where they had sat several weeks before.

“Emily, I think we should Obliviate ourselves. I don't think it's wise to remember the night we spent together.”

This was the last thing Emily expected. “Why would you suggest such a thing?”

“It doesn't seem healthy to keep thinking of it.”

“Does it really trouble you so much?” Emily thought he had different feelings about what they were doing at the time.

“You cannot imagine, Emily.” His eyes were guarded and she couldn't tell exactly what he meant.

Her lips started to quiver. “If you really feel you need to forget, I still hold you to our pact, Severus, but you should do as you see fit.”

“So you're willing?”

She shook her head. “No, I cannot. At least I don't want to. I want to remember where the baby came from.”

“The what?” Emily suddenly realized she hadn't told him yet. She shook her head again.

“I'm sorry, I'm out of order. I just had it confirmed this afternoon.” She looked right into his eyes. “Severus, I'm going to have your baby. I'm pregnant.”

Severus stared at her a long minute. Then he sat her down on a park bench and looked after her comfort before sitting next to her. “Are you all right? Are you healthy?”

“As far as we can tell this early, I am.”

“Have you made any plans?”

“Nothing firm, but I'm sure the baby and I will be fine. I'm sorry for this; it wasn't part of our arrangement. I should have thought of it and prepared.”

“Emily, I'm not mad or upset or anything, it's just that I don't--”

“I know, Severus.”

“And I can't--”

“I know that, too.” Emily kept her voice quiet and calm. “I don't want you to feel as though you owe me anything or need to do anything. I just wanted you to know about it.

“You would go on without me, then, even let me Obliviate myself?”

She nodded, but wouldn't look him in the eye. He stared at the birds pestering the women with bags of feed, and the couples walking their dogs. He avoided looking at the playground where children were laughing and shrieking with delight.

His own childhood wasn't that easy. His father had died in what was tactfully referred to as an “industrial accident” so that Mother could collect the widow's pension, but the truth was that he had shown up at work drunk one day and gotten himself caught in some machinery. The Snape marriage had not been a happy one.

Severus realized that he had a sudden rush feelings for this child and didn't want him or her to grow up in the sort of home he had known, with the violent arguments and occasional beatings. Of course, both of his parents were very strong willed people with a tendency to lash out. Emily was so calm and soothing. There could be no thought of such a life in whatever home she lived. Moreover, he wanted his child to have both parents and the peaceful family life he had not known. Emily would be a wonderful mother—and wife.

He finally spoke. “No, we cannot forget, under the circumstances. Emily, there's only one choice left. We have to get married.”

“Do you really want to?” She wondered if pregnant lightheadedness was causing her to misunderstand what he was saying.

“No, but I haven't properly slept in three weeks for lack of you in my bed. I don't know why one night should undo the conditioning of nineteen and a half years, but there it is. If I can't forget you, then I need you with me every night. I don't love you, Emily, you know that, but I feel the deepest affection for you. If there's a baby, I want to be a real father to him or her.”

He looked at the streets of houses and cars around the park. “This has got to be the worst marriage proposal ever. Emily, please marry me. I can't promise to be the happiest of men, or make you the happiest of women, but I think we can be happy enough.”

Emily smiled and looked at Severus. He was so forthright and earnest and dear. She looked at his face and wondered what their baby would look like. She looked into her own heart and discovered that she wanted to be married to this man more than anything, at any cost.

“I'll do it. When should we plan it?”

“Haven't you been listening? I can't sleep! How about tonight?”

“That might be difficult to line up, with a license and everything else we need.”

“Your mother knows people. Let's go to her.”

Emily knew a sudden fear. “Severus, what about your mother? Will she approve?”

“She won't look any further than your grandparents and she'll be delighted with them.”

Emily looked at her new fiancé and asked, “What kind of marriage is this going to be?”

He bent down and said, “This kind,” before kissing her longingly. He lifted his head back up. “This is much better than forgetting.”

He stood up, pulling her with him. After the recent conversation and his kisses, she was a bit dizzy. She stumbled. “I'm sorry,” he said, “I need to be more careful of you. Where is your mother right now?”

“At the hospital.”

“Does she know about the baby?”

Emily shook her head. “I asked a fellow trainee to do the exam. It's a fairly simple one.”

“It was Lily.” His face took on a hard look.

“Yes.”

“That's what caused her to embrace me like that and say that she was happy for me.”

“She assumed the father was Sirius and I had to tell her it wasn't him. I didn't tell her it was you but she guessed when she saw you standing there. For what it's worth, she hugged me, too.”

“She'll tell everyone.”

“I begged her not to.”

“It's no matter. Everyone will know soon enough.” He put his arm around her to steady her and led her back to the hospital.