"Julie?" Harry called as he walked into the house two days later with his mum. "Mum's here." He figured she knew since he was home after going to the airport to pick his mum up, but he wanted Julie to be prepared if she happened to not be feeling well. He set his mum's bags by the bottom, and watched as Julie started down, the stairs. It looked like she had taken a shower. He took her hand and helped her down the last couple of steps. "How are you feeling?"

Julie shrugged her shoulders slightly and gave Harry the 'I'm still not sure this is a good idea' look, as she descended the final stair.

"It's going to be fine, love." Harry leaned down and kissed her getting the fresh taste of the minty mouth wash she used after she got sick, so it answered the question she never directly answered. The medication had helped some. She was able to drink more and eat a little, but it didn't take the sickness away completely. "Did you put it on?" He asked looking down into her eyes.

Julie sighed heavily. "Yes. But I still think it's...."

"It's not." Harry interrupted. "It's cute, and she's going to love it." He said sticking his chest out triumphantly.

"You would think that." Julie shook her head as she heard Anne coming towards her. She plastered a smile on her face and prepared herself for the hug she was about to get hoping and praying the squeeze didn't cause her to become nauseous.

"Julie!" Anne exclaimed excitedly. "It's so good to see you, love." She squeezed Julie tightly and then pulled back and looked at her face. "Oh, Harry was right; you really aren't feeling well. Come, love. Let's get you settled on the couch."

"Yeah, it's been a bit of a rough time. Sorry Harry thought you needed to come all of this way, though." Julie glanced at Harry as Anne helped her sit on the couch.

"Nonsense." Anne sat beside Julie and pulled the blanket over Julie's lap. "I enjoy being needed. It doesn't happen much anymore. Harry says he doesn't want to leave you alone while he's in meetings, so here I am."

"You're always needed, Mum. Don't talk like that. Do you want something to drink? I'm going to grab Julie a cold ginger ale." Harry asked walking towards the kitchen.

"A tea would be great, love. Thank you." Anne smiled at Harry and then turned back to Julie and reached up to feel her forehead. "Doesn't seem you have a fever, so that's good."

"No. No fever. I don't have an infection." Julie stated. She would forever wonder why she couldn't ever react like a normal woman in love. Harry was excited. She loved him. He wanted to tell his mom, and she was scared to death. "I think Harry overreacts just a little. I probably would have been just fine."

"Probably. But he loves you. And wants you comfortable. And I really don't mind being here. So, use me." Anne smiled and rubbed Julie's knee.

Harry brought in tea for his mum and handed Julie her glass of cold ginger ale. "I'm not overreacting." He sat on the arm of the couch next to Julie and rested his hand on her shoulder, looking down at her. "I'll feel better with you having someone here if you don't feel comfortable with me canceling my meetings for now." Harry looked reassuringly into Julie's eyes. He then looked at his mum. "But, that's not the only reason I had you come right away, Mum."

Anne looked at Harry confused before glancing at Julie who was looking at the glass of ginger ale set in her lap. "What's going on? Things have felt a little off since I got here." She reached over and took one of Julie's hands. She was concerned, more then ever now, about Julie's health. Julie seemed to have have lost color since she'd arrived. "Are you ok, love? Did something happen?"

Julie closed her eyes and let out a breath. Emotions catching in her throat as she heard the words, "sort of", come from her own mouth.

"What does that mean, 'sort of'?" Anne asked a bit more panicked now.

"Mum?" Harry reached over and squeezed his mum's hand reassuringly. "It's ok." When he let go of his mum's hand he reached for Julie's and pulled her gently to her feet. "You ready?"

"No. We aren't really going to do it this way, are we?" Julie whispered to him.

"Yes. It's cute. Trust me. It's a good idea." Harry stuck his chest out in pride.

"Of course you think so. You thought of it. I, however, disagree." Julie unzipped her light hooded sweater and watched Harry unbutton his short sleeve button down covering his t-shirt.

"Don't be a spoil sport. It's fun." The smile never left Harry's face as he turned around slowly with Julie so they faced his mum. His head was held high, grin planted on his face; while Julie's face was now fully flushed, and she was staring at her feet. He was proud of their matching t-shirts. His said 'She's having my baby' and hers 'I'm having his baby' with arrows pointing to each other. Below the arrows in smaller print it said 'It's none of your business'. He watched his mum's reaction. It took her a minute as they watched the recognition wash over her face.

"Oh, my god!" Anne exclaimed as her hands covered her mouth as quickly as she stood. "You're, you're, not sick. You're, you're pregnant!!" She stood there shocked. This was not something she'd expected. Not from Julie. Not from Harry really, but especially not from Julie.

"Well, I mean, I feel pretty sick." Julie rationalized. "So, I mean, I guess I would classify myself as sick."

"Oh, you know what I mean." Anne quickly stepped forward and grabbed Julie in her arms tightly. "You're having my grand-baby. You're going to make me a Grandmum."

"Uh, Mum, I mean, I did have something to do with it, too." Harry pouted. "I always feel so left out."

"Oh, for crying out loud." Anne sniffled and let go of Julie to turn and hug Harry. "I just can't believe this. I don't even know what to say."

Harry smirked and hugged his mum tightly practically lifting her feet from the floor. "It's so much better than her being sick, right?"

"Um, excuse me, still feel pretty damn sick, here." Julie zipper her sweater back up and climbed onto the couch, curling up in her corner.

Harry chuckled as he loosened his grip on his mum. "Yes, love, but for a good reason."

Julie looked up and shook her head. "Maybe, but right now it doesn't feel like it." She turned to look at Anne. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I was as shocked as anyone."

Anne looked at Harry and then went and sat by Julie. "If you couldn't tell by my reaction, love, I'm happy." She took Julie's hands and held them. "And trust me, I would never completely blame you for anything Harry helped with."

Harry wanted to play hurt and shocked, but he just laughed. "She would probably blame me completely." He leaned down and kissed Julie. "I'm going to make some dinner. I'll make you some scrambled eggs and toast." He walked into the kitchen. He hoped his mum would have better luck convincing Julie that it wasn't her fault.

He looked up about 30 minutes later when his mum walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Mum, didn't trust me to finish dinner?"

"Julie is taking a nap. Seems her nausea medication makes her sleepy." Anne smiled back at Harry when she saw the huge smile on his face. "A baby? I have to say, I'm still not quite sure I'm not dreaming."

"Yeah, I know. When I first heard the doctor say it, I think I may have lost consciousness for a bit." Harry checked the oven and then started cracking the eggs into a bowl for Julie's scrambled eggs. "But Julie, she was even more shocked."

"Yeah, I can see that. She still seems to believe it was her fault only and keeps apologizing for it happening at the wrong time." Anne grabbed a water for Harry and herself and then handed him one.

"You didn't have any luck either?" Harry asked taking a drink of his water and setting it down.

"We talked. I listened. She's concerned she's going to get blamed." Anne watched Harry. "Are you sure I can't help?"

"I've got it, Mum." Harry smiled. "Really, it's not much. I put a pre-made lasagna in the oven, and I'm making Julie scrambled eggs and toast. It's what she seems to keep down best, and she hasn't eaten well for a couple of meals now. Who does she think is going to blame her?"

"Alright, love, if you need my help, let me know." Anne sat down at the counter. "Everyone. She thought I would blame her for it being unplanned, she thinks your management will blame her for trying to tie you down and take your money, and she thinks your fans will blame her for purposely getting pregnant in order to hold onto you."

Harry shook his head. "Sometimes, I wonder where she gets all these crazy thoughts from. Like we've known less than a week, and she's worried about all of it. As soon as she heard she was pregnant, every single one of those thoughts hit her."

"She's used to being blamed, love. You've changed her a lot. By being patient and kind. By loving her through her doubts and her growth. But when something this unexpected happens. Something you and she haven't planned, her first instinct is going to be to protect herself from the blame. To make sure you knew she didn't do it on purpose. To make sure you don't leave."

Harry mixed the eggs and poured them into the hot pan. "I get it, I do, but I still wish her first thought wasn't to go there."

"I know, love." Anne watched Harry's back as he stirred the scrambled eggs. She could tell he was worried about how this new endeavor was going to affect Julie and also their relationship. "Let me tell you though. There was also something else I saw, or heard, when I was speaking to her."

Harry sighed and turned around. "What's wrong, now?"

Anne couldn't help but laugh. "Well, now who's being a pessimist?"

"I know." Harry grinned and then shrugged. "Sorry. Guess I've learned from the best. So, what did you hear?"

"Hope, maybe? Acceptance?" Anne watched as Harry raised his eyes to hers.

"What?" Harry asked his mum a bit confused by her words.

"Yeah. She seemed, almost happy. But reluctant. Like she wanted to smile, like she wanted to share my excitement. But she wasn't quite ready to show it just yet." Anne shook her head. "I'm not sure if I quite know how to explain it."

Harry nodded. Somehow he knew exactly what his mum was talking about. "Yeah, I think I saw it, too. There's just a little bit of a twinkle in her eye when I show excitement or examine every inch of her belly to see if there is any sign of a baby in there yet. It's like for a second she seems happy and excited, and then she reigns herself back in."

"Like she's always done." Anne watched Harry take the lasagna out of the oven and set it on top of the stove to cool a little. He came back and placed the eggs onto a plate and pulled the toast out of the toaster and buttered it lightly. "You know how she feels about letting herself be too content, too happy."

"That once she lets her guard down and starts to enjoy it, something goes terribly wrong." Harry interjected as he cut the lasagna and dished some onto plates for him and his mum.

"Yeah, so, she is in love with you, moved in with you, and is having a baby with you. That's like the happiness trifecta. It's just a guess, but I think she's afraid something will go wrong if she allows herself to be happy, because since it wasn't planned and wasn't supposed to happen, that means she's not supposed to be happy about it." Anne shrugged and chuckled. "Yeah, it must be so hard to live in her head."

Harry couldn't help but smile and laugh. "Yeah, even she thinks so. I know we all usually eat at the dining room table, but since Julie's been fighting this morning sickness we've just been eating in the living room, letting her pick as she can. Hope you don't mind if she doesn't join us at the table."

"Of course, not. She's really had it pretty rough, hasn't she?" Anne asked walking towards the dining room with her plate and her glass of tea.

"Yeah, she scared me. The medication has helped, but she still struggles. I'm going to wake her to try and eat. The longer she sleeps the worse it gets. I want her to try and eat some." Harry took the eggs and toast and walked towards the living room.

Anne couldn't stop smiling. She was going to be a Grandmum. But not only that, her son was always showing signs of a wonderful caretaker. She had been concerned when he called and asked her to come sit with Julie while she was ill. She wondered after everything Julie had gone through already, and what their family had recently gone through, what else could possibly go wrong. But this wasn't wrong, this was a blessing, and Harry had stepped up. She saw it in his face as soon as she'd read the t-shirt. As soon as she had seen him look at Julie. She had always known that he would make a great father one day, maybe not quite this soon, but it would happen. What a blessing for their growing family.

"Mum?" Harry asked sitting down in the chair next to her at the table. "Are you, ok?"

Anne blushed a little getting caught in her thoughts. "Yes, of course, I'm sorry." She put her napkin in her lap and took a sip of her tea. "Just a lot to process, a lot to think about."

Harry nodded and glanced towards Julie on the couch. "We understand that."

"She ok?" Anne asked following Harry's gaze.

"Yeah, stomach just isn't settling. Typical day for her. But she's trying." Harry picked his fork up and took a bite but stopped when he noticed his mum staring at him. "What?"

"It's just, I don't know, I'm just proud, to see my baby boy being such a good man. Such a kind, nurturing boyfriend. Maybe you were shocked at first, but it's something you obviously came to terms with very quickly." Anne couldn't help but continue to smile at him. "You're a good man."

"Thanks, Mum." Harry blushed at the compliment. "It's not hard. I wasn't ready for her either." Harry gestured towards Julie. "I definitely wasn't ready to fall in love. Yet, she became the best thing to happen to me. I have no doubt that this baby will be the same."

"You already have shown such a nurturing way. The way you just naturally take care of Julie. It's going to be the same way with your baby." Anne smiled taking another bite of her dinner.

"Oh!" Harry exclaimed jumping up from his chair. "I can't believe I forgot."

"What? You scared me." Anne's eyes widened in fright.

"Sorry. You'll forgive me when you see these. In fact, I think I'll be using the baby as an excuse to get you to forgive me from now on." Harry chuckled as he walked to the envelope on the counter. He pulled out the ultrasound pictures and handed them to his mum.

Anne took the pictures and looked over them. She couldn't help it and put one hand over her heart as tears formed in her eyes. "Oh, my. That's your baby. Harry, it's just so incredible. I can't believe this is why I came here."

Harry reached over and put his hand on his mum's wrist. "I know, but I had to tell you in person."

"With those corny t-shirts?" Anne laughed and sniffled wiping at her tears.

"Now you sound like Julie. I liked the idea, thank you." Harry grimaced a bit and shook his head but his eyes were twinkling.

"I bet you did." Anne smiled. She handed the pictures back to Harry.

"I'll cut you one to keep after dinner. But you can't tell anyone yet." Harry said looking at them one more time before putting them away.

"Anyone? So, not even your sister?" Anne raised an eyebrow. "Harry, how am I supposed to keep it from Gemma?"

"You should have seen how long it took to convince Julie to tell you and her mum." Harry laughed. "Just give it a little time. I'm sure Gemma won't be kept in the dark for long. You already know how afraid Julie is about what people are going to think."

"Yes. But me? Your sister?" Anne asked him. "We wouldn't judge her like that."

"Which is why you're here." Harry pointed out. "We just found out, and she's pretty sick. She only told Amanda and Niall because of the medication fiasco she created in her head. Trust me mum, I'm just trying to do this the easiest way possible. I want to keep the chaos in her head to a minimum."

Anne nodded. "Ok, I understand. We'll talk about telling your sister when Julie seems ready. It's going to be hard to keep this exciting news to myself though."

"I know. But soon enough you'll be able to share with all your friends that you're gonna be a Grandmum. So, just enjoy the fact you get to keep it to yourself for now." Harry smiled at his mum's enthusiasm.

"I'm so excited." Anne picked up her fork again. "So, boy, or girl?"

"Mum?!" Harry laughed. "Really? I've only known not quite a week."

"But, I know you've thought about it." Anne smiled as she took another bite. "Come on, it's just me and you. I know it doesn't really matter. But it's fun to talk about."

Harry glanced at the couch to see Julie still picking at her plate and watching Harry Potter. "Ok, fine, I've thought about it." He took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm going to say this out loud." He looked up at his mum. "A little girl. I want a dark, curly haired, blue eyed, sassy mouthed, stubborn little girl who gives me a run for my money just like her mum." He would be in so much trouble if that's what he got, but it was still exactly what he wanted. He couldn't help the smile on his face as he looked from his mum over to Julie and back again. "And I will love every second of it."

I'm sorry it's been SO LONG since the last update...
I hope it was worth it!
Hopefully I can get back on a more favorable schedule!
Thank you all so so much for your patience!
😘😘😘