"On the night you were born, Harry James Severus Potter, I was a newly certified Healer, on call at St. Mungos," I began the story the same way I always had, with myself in the hospital, having just taken over call from Matthew at five o'clock.

It was the first time I had ever been on call alone, that is without another more experienced physician there beside me. But Healer Avela had told me that day that I was officially past my internship now and could handle being in charge of the fourth floor spell damage ward as well as any cases that came in the ER. Of course, if I needed advice or a consult I could always call the Healer on second call and ask her, but I'd been made a certified Healer, and sworn Healer's Oath two weeks ago, so it was assumed I could do what I'd been trained to.

I was a bit nervous, but I knew that once I was faced with a patient, it would go away and I could concentrate on diagnosis and treatment, two things which I seemed to have an instinctive knack for, or so said my teachers during medical school and my internship here. And I was not really alone, there were other Healers on call as well and interns and medi-witches and such down in the ER and on the other floors, the hospital was never under-staffed and there was always someone coming or going.

I took care of a few routine cases of flus and a child with a bad earache before my personal magic mirror that I kept in my pocket began vibrating frantically. I pulled it out and said, "Healer Snape. Who's calling?"

The mirror flickered, then James's face appeared in it, his perpetually messy hair sticking up even more than usual, his hazel eyes frantic. "Oy, Sev! Thank Merlin! I think Lily's in labor, she woke up complaining of really bad pains in her lower back."

"Has her water broken, James?"

"Say what?"

I bit back a groan. James was not one to attend childbirth classes, unfortunately, and he was clueless. "Ask Lily if her water broke."

His face disappeared from the mirror and then returned after a minute. "She says, yes, she thinks so. Does that mean it's the real thing?"

"Yes. Tell her to Floo here immediately. Your child is about to be born sometime tonight." I announced.

James let out a whoop. "Lil, did you hear? I'm gonna be a father tonight! Oww! What was that for? . . . Okay, okay, I'm getting your bag. Merlin, you're in a fine mood. . . . Ouch! Damn it, that slipper really stings . . .!"

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Lily was in no mood to put up with James's procrastination tonight. "See you in a few minutes, Potter. I need to go and set up the delivery room." I turned the mirror upside down, breaking the magical connection between my mirror and James's. Then I went to call an intern to help me ready the delivery room for my friend and his wife, praying everything went well, since this was my first unsupervised delivery.

"Intern McNally! I need a labor and delivery cart stat! Brought up to Delivery Room #2 quick as you can. Meet me up there," I ordered, then I Apparated up the three floors to the delivery room that was currently being readied for Lily. I cast a swift disinfecting and sterilizing charm over myself and pulled on my sterile gloves and spoke a word that opened the door to the delivery room. Touching the doorknob would cancel my sterile field, and it was necessary I maintain one when I was examining Lily.

Inside the delivery room was a large comfortable bed with clean sheets and a chair for the husband to sit in, so he didn't faint on the floor and get in my way. I wasn't sure if James would be a fainter or not. He was an Auror, which meant he dealt with criminals on a daily basis and had seen some pretty gruesome sights, but even the bravest soldier can be a big baby when it comes to his wife having his child. I'd seen men who'd fought Death Eaters without blinking an eye pass right out when their wife was in labor.

Also in the room was an odd contraption that looked like a extra large stool with long metal legs and a hole in the bottom and a short sturdy back. This was a birthing stool, and we at St. Mungos had pioneered it in our obstetrics department. Over three hundred women had used it when delivering and claimed it made it ten times easier than trying to deliver lying flat, the vertical position made it easier to bear down and gravity did the rest. I had assisted in ten deliveries so far and all of the mothers had agreed to use the stool and it apparently made the delivery faster, at least that's what Healer Avela told me.

Lily arrived then, leaning heavily on James's arm, escorted by Miss McNally, my newest intern, a fresh-faced brunette just graduated from medical school. "Right through here, Mrs. Potter. Healer Snape, here's your patient, sir."

"Thank you, Miss MacNally. Could you fetch me Mrs. Potter's chart, please? It's on the desk in my office."

"Right away, sir." She scurried away, and I turned back to Lily, who was gasping and panting, her green eyes wide with pain as the contractions built.

"Hey, Lil. When did your pains start?" I asked, laying a hand gently on her distended belly, counting the minutes inbetween the contractions silently.

"About . . .half an hour ago . . .Sev." She gritted her teeth. "Is it supposed to hurt this damn much, Healer?"

"Yes, at least that's what all my labor patients tell me. I'm sorry, I can't give you a pain block spell until I perform several diagnostics on you. Come on over here, and let's get you on the bed first," I urged, gently drawing her towards the bed. Sweat was beading her forehead and running down her face, which was pale and strained. Her beautiful fiery hair was limp and straggling about her shoulders. She was wearing only a cotton nightdress beneath her robe.

I assisted James in getting Lily on the bed, he was quiet, not making any of his stupid jokes or remarks about Healers getting all the hot women. He kept biting his lower lip nervously.

"Okay, Lil. I'm going to vanish your clothes for a bit and give you one of our hospital robes," I told her, suiting action to words a moment later. "Now, let's see where the baby is. Hopefully he or she should be ready to make an entrance before too much longer."

I cast a standard obstetric diagnostic, designed to reveal to me the position and health of the infant inside Lily's womb. It showed me that the baby (a boy, though I didn't tell Lily or James that, since they wanted to be surprised) was positioned correctly, head down, all vital signs normal. The infant's heartbeat echoed through the room and both expectant parents smiled.

"Sounds like a real winner there, eh, Sev?" asked James, grinning like he'd just won the lottery. "I'll bet he'll be a great Quidditch player, like his dad."

"Or she could be an amazing tennis player, like her mum," countered Lily. Then her face screwed up and she whimpered in the throes of yet another contraction.

"Breathe, Lily," I instructed, gently massaging her belly. "Breathe like I taught you."

"I'm trying . . .Merlin, Sev! This really . . .hurts!" she panted and breathed the way I had taught her, trying to focus on each breath and not the labor pains.

"I know, dearheart," I murmured. I hated seeing her this way, but she was a fighter and she was not giving into the pain like some I had seen deliver. "Let's see how much you've dilated." I performed a quick diagnostic on Lily this time, and found she was dilated eight centimeters and heart, blood pressure, and pulse were all relivingly normal. "You're doing very well, Lil. And you were afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it," I said, teasing her gently. "The baby's in position and you're progressing nicely. But I need you to walk around for at least ten minutes, it'll make the labor go faster."

"Okay, Sev. You're the boss," Lily agreed, and slid off the bed.

"How long will this take, Sev?" asked James, his hazel eyes brimming with affection and worry. "I thought it'd be over and done with by now."

"Over and done with! Over and done with!" snarled his wife. I couldn't blame her. "What planet are you from, James? It'd be over and done with if I was a cat, you bloody great idiot!"

James gave her an injured look. "Give me a break, Lil! How am I supposed to know? I'm not a Healer like Sev."

"You'd know, Potter, if you ever bothered to read the pamphlets I sent home with you during the pregnancy," I reminded him sternly. Merlin's starry robe, but sometimes James was such a dunderhead, he made me want to smack him upside the head.

"Oh. Well, I've never really liked reading, y'know," he said lamely, and I just rolled my eyes. "Besides, I remember my Gran saying she had my mum in about two hours right at home in her own bed. So how come Lily can't do that?"

His wife shot him a glare that should have roasted him. "Because .. .I am not your bloody grandmother, James!" She grabbed his wrist so hard he yelped, the big baby. She was gripping mine so tightly I thought I'd lost all circulation in it, but you didn't hear me yelling. "The woman probably had hips like a cow . . .ahh . . .!"

"No, I think she was pretty skinny." James remarked unwisely.

"Shut up, James! I don't . . .want . . .to hear another bloody . . .word . . .about your gran and how . . .she had a baby in eight seconds . . .got me? Or else I' ll . . .hex your penis off, you bloody rutting bastard!"

James looked like he was going to bolt for the door, for Lily was giving him the mother of all Snape glares, and it was a good thing she didn't have her wand. Patients surrendered their wands when they checked in for treatment, it was to prevent them from trying to heal themselves too soon or hex their physician if they didn't care for their diagnosis.

"See what I have to deal with, Sev? She's freaking out."

"You try having a baby next time, James bloody Potter and see how you like it! I'll bet you won't be all sunshine and laughter!" Lily snapped. Then she gasped and bent nearly double. "Sev . . .help me . . .please!"

"Lily . . .breathe through it, come on sweetheart . . .There you go . . .in and out . . .Good job!" I coached, rubbing her back encouragingly, praying that she was fully dilated now, because seeing her in such awful pain was beginning to make me lightheaded. You will NOT pass out, Severus! That would be the blunder of the century, the doctor fainting on his patient, and you're not even the father. Now pull yourself together Snape, and act like a Healer, you bloody stupid arse!

After that blistering scolding to myself, I made myself take several deep calming breaths, then I recast the diagnostic. "Ten centimeters, okay, Lily, I'm going to give you that pain block now," I announced, and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank Merlin!" Lily groaned, tears standing in her eyes.

"About time, Snape!" James snorted. "My hand's about to fall off, she's squeezing it so hard. Is it really that bad, Lil?"

Wrong question, Potter. Never ask a woman in labor if it really does hurt that much.

SMACK!

James yelped as a livid red mark bloomed on his cheek.

Lily smiled up at him sweetly and said, "Why yes, James honey . . .it REALLY IS THAT BAD!"

"Idiot," I muttered, then said, "Lily, here's the pain block, love." I placed the tip of my wand at her lower back, just above her tailbone and chanted the strongest pain block spell I knew of. A bluish-white glow enveloped Lily and then she nearly went to her knees in relief.

"Sev, I could kiss you!" she cried.

"Please do," I replied and I was only half joking. I had always had a thing for Lily.

To my astonishment, she took my face in her hands and kissed me gently on the lips.

"Hey!" her husband cried indignantly. "What's this? He gets a kiss and I get smacked? How fair is that?"

"Very fair, considering he's helping me and all you're doing is being a dumbass," Lily told him. "What now, Sev?"

"Well, you're about ready to start pushing, so let's get you to the birthing stool."

We levitated Lily onto it and then I turned to my intern, who'd been observing all of this in wide-eyed wonder, and said, "Okay, Miss McNally, I need you to start monitoring the baby's vital signs while I monitor Lily's."

We chanted the diagnostics practically in one breath, I think she was just as nervous as I was. I sure hoped she didn't pass out, because I needed her to assist me once the baby was born and all.

Everything checked out all right and I said, "Lil, when you feel a sort of pressure down there, it's time to push."

"Okay, Sev. I just hope this baby comes out nice and easy and doesn't get stuck or anything."

"Stuck??" James cried. "Is that possible?"

Both of us ignored him, waiting for the next big contraction.

When it came, I told Lily to start pushing.

"I don't think it's working, Severus!" she gasped.

"Yes it is, Lily. You're doing great! Right, James?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," he replied uncertainly.

Now I wanted to smack him. "What the hell kind of encouragement is that, James? I've heard more encouragement from a little kid trying to housebreak a puppy. She's your star Seeker, James, you ought to be shouting her name from the Astronomy Tower, so to speak."

"Sorry. But I'm not at my best at twelve in the morning, Severus," he groused. Then he turned to Lily and said, "C'mon, Lil, I know you can do it! I can't wait till we hold our baby! He's going to be the most beautiful baby in the history of the world, I'll bet. I love you, Lily." Then he bent down and kissed her.

I looked away, partially because I felt awkward witnessing this private moment, but also because I was jealous that he had the right to kiss her and I didn't. Get your head back down to earth where it belongs, Snape! You've got a baby to deliver.

"Miss McNally, run a diagnostic. What's the baby's position?"

"Halfway down the birth canal, Healer," she answered, her wand trained on Lily.

"Wonderful! Almost there, Lily. Now give me another push on the count of three."

Together we counted and she pushed.

I was sweating now, it was blazingly hot in here all of a sudden. I could feel the edges of the room start to blur.

"Healer Snape, are you all right?" asked my intern worriedly.

"Yeah, Sev, you look kind of pale. I mean, paler than normal," James stated, eyeing me.

"I'm fine,"I said quickly. I had nearly passed out. Merlin's bloody arse! That would've been one for the record books all right. Doctor Faints During Delivery. Husband Delivers Own Baby. I could just see the headlines in the Prophet now. Lily would kill me, for it was she who insisted upon me delivering her. "You're the best, Sev. And I want you and nobody else."

So now she had me and I nearly passed out cold on her. Some Healer I was! Disgusted at myself, I concentrated on monitoring the baby's vitals. Focusing on that prevented me from empathizing too much with Lily, and thus I was able to maintain a professional demeanor at last. I thanked God my mentor, Healer Avela, hadn't been here to witness my near debacle, I never would've lived it down. Now I understood better why it was that most physicians preferred someone else to treat family members or close friends, because your objectivity went straight out the window.

But now I resolved to do better and I managed to get through the rest of the delivery without falling down on the floor. James went white when he saw the baby's head emerge from the birth canal.

"Uh . . . Sev? You sure that's a baby?"

"Well, it's not a bloody kitten or a hydra, Potter!" I snapped.

"Why's it got blood all over it? I really don't like blood."

I glanced up and saw that he was swaying on his feet. "Sit down, James! Now! Put your head between your knees."

He obeyed and I murmured more encouragement to Lily, and then the baby was in my hands and crying loudly. I was so startled that I almost dropped him. Then I cradled him against me, not caring that I was getting my hospital white robe all wet and stained with birthing fluids.

"There, there, little one," I crooned, grinning from ear to ear. "You've got a good set of lungs on you, all right." I quickly clamped and cut the cord and tied it, then I spoke several freshen up charms, so the baby was cleaned of the worst of the birth fluids. "Congratulations, Lily and James! You've got yourself a beautiful baby boy."

"May I hold him, Sev?" asked Lily and I handed the baby to his exhausted yet proud and deliriously joyful mother. "Oh, he's perfect!"

"Just like his mother," I said, looking down at the tiny baby, my first successful delivery, my best friends' firstborn, and feeling a wave of utter joy and love flow through me. "He's going to be a very special boy, you know."

James was also smiling down at his son, gazing at the baby in awe. "He's so little! I can't believe he's mine. Merlin bless!" he reached out a finger to stroke the little one's cheek.

"Have you thought of a name for him?" I asked, once I'd finished taking his measurements and cleaning him up with a warm bath and swaddling him in the tradiitonal blue blanket.

"We have," Lily answered. "His name is Harry, after my dad. James, after his own, and Severus, after you, because you brought him into the world."

"Thank you. I . . .I'm honored." I stammered, touched that they would give my name to their son.

Then I looked down at the sleeping baby and I smiled and said, "Welcome to the world, Harry James Severus Potter. May you be healthy and blessed forever." Then I waved my wand and the blessing took hold.

"And that is what happened on the night you were born, son," I finished my story.

He was nearly asleep. "I think someone needs a nap." I whispered, tucking him into bed. He was worn out.

"Can we still go to a Quidditch game?"

"Tell you what, scamp. We'll go to a Quidditch game, just you and I, on Monday, when I'm off. And from now on I'll make a day just for you and I and we'll do whatever you want on it. It'll be our own special day. How about that, Harry?"

"Sounds great, Dad. But I'm sleepy." He yawned.

I kissed him on the forehead. "Have a good nap, little one."

I remained with him, stroking his hair gently, until he drifted off into slumber. Then I rose and went to call Alaina and tell her I had to cancel our outing today, that Harry wasn't feeling too well. I decided that it was best if we spent the rest of the day together, that way he could see that I wanted to spend time with him alone and it might help him get over his jealousy and fear that he would be replaced by my girlfriend and her daughter, who had stolen my heart just like her mother.

When I returned to check on him an hour later, he was still asleep, and Inky was stretched out on the floor next to him, guarding him like a black sphinx. I smiled and shut the door halfway, then went to find the novel I had started last week.