Wistful longing, sheer pain

Betta cringed away from her husband, unable to look him in the eye. "I'm sorry, Severus...I..." she was about to say, when she was interrupted by his "I'll deal with you later, Betta". She made her way over to a nearby corner and huddled there nervously, wiping her mouth fruitlessly. Betta took several deep breaths to calm herself down so that she could at least try to explain what happened with Antonin. A nearby healer, having seen how upset she was, walked over to her and asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing." she lied. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just waiting for my husband, that's all. Everything's fine. Severus and I just have some things to talk about." Betta forced a smile on her face. "We have a baby on the way...I think he just wants to see how best to help me take care of myself during this time."

Furrowing my brows a bit, " Uh...I think Mcnair...uh...a few others but I can't remember...Dolohov possibly..." I said shrugging. Not 100 % sure as to what was going on. Putting a hand on my stomach, knowing that I was going to join the order made things a lot easier on me. I felt less stressed. " I hope I enjoy it as well.." I said with a laugh..." Could always use a healer. "

"MacNair and Dolohov? Idiots!" Severus exclaimed, sighing in exasperation. "Well, no one ever said they were the sharpest tools in the shed. This proves it." He looked over at Betta, whose head had perked up at the names as well. "Betts, come over here. Now." he said sharply, perhaps more sharply than he normally would have had he not already been angry with her. Once she had walked over to them, still hesitant, still cringing, he grabbed her and put his mouth to her ear. "Did Dolohov mention anything about running into an auror?"

" Severus, keep your voice down...this is a hospital..." I said urging him to keep quiet not really hearing what he had asked her. If Betta knew that I had to fix James because of the man she had just locked lips with pregnant or not I will not stand for this....hormones or not.

Betta returned the whisper. "He said that's why he was here...a friend had been injured by an auror or something like that--ow, Severus, you're hurting my arm!" she exclaimed, as his hand gripped her upper arm tightly. She continued a moment later. "That's all he told me, I swear it."

She looked at Lily apologetically. "I'm sorry. Severus does tend to get uptight with things sometimes. It's just that he knew the two of them at school...well, both of us did, and--" she stopped when her husband clamped a hand over her mouth and resigned herself to the fact that she was going to be in for a very long day that day. Her hand went over her belly while at the same time her eyes pleaded with Lily, trying to tell her silently what was really going on in her marriage to Severus...and why Severus was truly upset about the MacNair and Dolohov incident.

" What's going on?" I asked the pair. " Sev, you're acting very weird...well more than usual..." I said as cautiously as I could. I looked to Betta and yet the pair in front of me I spoke with them at schoold and knew Severus before I started at Hogwarts and yet the pair standing in front of me I wasn't sure if I could trust them. " He said they fought hard..and they were the ones who brought him here..." I told them. They are going to be the ones to take him in to get enrolled for Akaban as far as I know...or just intense questioning...or something I'm not sure really...I'm not told much until I join the Order. " As if I am going to open up what the order does.

Elisabetta managed to sigh, then pull herself away from Severus. "Lily, if you want your first Death Eater in hand--" she was about to say, when her husband, black eyes flashing, pulled his wand out and held it to her head.

"Severus...no...I didn't mean that, it just came out, I swear I didn't mean it, please don't do this now..." she begged, seeing a crowd of healers gathering round just then. "Please not now, love...not now...wait until we get home at least..."

"One more word out of you, Betta, and baby or not, they'll be wiping the floor clean of your body parts." Severus growled. A cruel smile crossed his face a second later. "I think it's time to do what we originally came here to do, darling. We have to go see a healer to make sure the child is okay, don't we?" He grabbed her hair and yanked her head back, pointing his wand to her throat. "Dear, dear...Dolohov didn't bother leaving any marks on your skin, did he? That's most unlike him. It goes against the reputation he held so dearly at school. What, you didn't know about his reputation? I find that hard to believe, considering the kind of girl you were and apparently still are!"

"But I love you, Severus!" Betta moaned, her head aching and throbbing from where her hair was being yanked. "Dolohov kissed me, not the other way around! I told him not to, but he didn't listen! NO!" she exclaimed, as he pressed his wand deeper into her neck. "Believe me, Severus, you're the only one I've wanted, ever since first year! Even now! Yes, even now I love you! I'm carrying your son!" Betta added desperately. "I found out when I came here the other day, when you were out doing...er, what you were doing. If you don't believe me, then give me Veritaserum again and find out for yourself! I'll gladly drink it! We have a son! You have a son! We're going to name him Dominic, remember?" she begged. "If you kill me now, your name dies with you! Don't you want it to live on?" she said weakly. "That's what you told me one time in sixth year...you wanted your name to live on after you. I'm giving you the chance, love. We have a son. Dominic Severus Snape. He's due sometime in summer. You have a chance to get everything you've ever wanted! Please, love. I love you. I love you more than life itself. Please believe me. Please."

Severus froze as his wife spoke. A son. He was going to have a son. He knew Betta had no reason to lie to him at that moment; she was a horrible liar to begin with, but with a wand pointed at her neck? No, she was telling him the truth. He slowly put his wand down and pocketed it again, feeling his anger subside. He sized up the situation. It was his son Betta was carrying, not Antonin's. As flirtatious as Betta might have been at school, yet she had never let things cross that point-of-no-return. She had waited for him. He, Severus, had been the only one she had allowed herself to get truly intimate with.

He turned her around to look at her. Though she had her head hanging down, he could still see her red, puffy eyes and tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked quite defeated and diminished, nothing at all like the spirited girl he had forgotten about Lily Evans for. Was it his fault? Had he been trying to force love out where it was already being freely given to him? To make matters even worse for him, Betta was now explaining to Lily that no, he wasn't a Death Eater, that it had been a momentary flash of anger on her part to make her start to say something like that.

"Elisabetta." he said quietly, gathering her into his arms and holding her tightly. "Elisabetta, please look at me. Please. Look at me." When she did: "I...nothing I'll say is going to convince any of them that I'm not one of the Death Eaters, and more than likely, you won't convince them, either. It's us against the world, love." he added, wiping her tears from her eyes. "I know you love me. I've always known. Forgive me, sweetheart. Please.You mean everything to me, Betts, and if I lost you now..." He trailed off as she cringed away from him. "Betta, please don't do that. I love you, more than you'll ever know." A minute passed, then she looked at him and walked into his arms again, much to the disgust of the other healers. "Come on. That's it. Stay with me, my girl.Let's get you in to see one of the Healers now. Come on, Betts. That's my girl."

I can't believe this happened, James ever said anything like that to me...i'd knock him out so fast it'd make his head spin. I shook my head as she was telling me he wasn't a death eater I nodded my head, Yeah right...I'm going to have James check out there file. To take a look at it, just in case. I mean I know that they both have interest so it's not going to be shocking. But, when he can change so drastically. " Severus why did you want to know who they ran into?" I asked him. " As for the healer I can get her set up with anna as well, or better yet Lucy." I said with a smile. I could get Betta a good healer.

"Why did I want to know? As I said...morbid curiosity." Severus replied. "I just wanted to know what idiots managed to get tangled up with Aurors." He scratched his arm, but Betta quickly put a hand on his to make him stop. "I've heard of the Death Eaters...nasty lot they are. Much nastier than a lot of people give them credit for being." he added, a vacant look coming into his eyes. "They don't like Muggle-borns very much. Please be careful, Lily."

He shook himself out of his reverie a moment after saying this. "Anyway, yeah. Bad group. The leader is much, much worse; I wish the Aurors luck trying to catch him."

I nodded, " So I've heard..." I said looking onto the situation. " I hear many things... people are people severus...as to the not liking Muggleborns I am very much used to that Severus. But I appreciate the concern. Also, yes the idiots that got caught are here apparently and more than likely going to get taken to Azkaban from here..." I said with a shrug. " Lucy is a good healer Betta. I could get her to become yours. I work here now...so I see which people come in and partner women up with healers. " I explained.

"I'm sure whichever healer you put me with will be a good one. Severus has no need to worry." Betta replied. "Love, I'd like to speak to Lily alone. Can you give us a couple of minutes?" she asked. When Severus nodded, she took Lily by the arm and led her over to a nearby corner, where she swallowed hard, then sighed.

"I know we weren't friends in school, and that was my fault." she began. "All of that pureblood nonsense...it's so stupid. It's not all fun and games, coming from old pureblood families. Mum and Dad just about disowned me when I told them I was marrying Severus, but then they realized--I mean they eventually came round to the idea. They're thrilled with the fact that they're going to be grandparents." Betta laughed slightly, then grew serious again. "There are so many things going on out there these days, Lily. You've heard about a lot of them...you know about James' run-in with Dolohov and Mulciber, obviously." She turned around to make sure Severus wasn't listening; he wasn't. He'd started talking to Lucius Malfoy, who was also there.

"Oh, no." she murmured, when she'd spotted Malfoy. She looked at Lily again. "I could tell you so many things...I could tell James and the Ministry so many things, but I took a vow when I married Severus; it was more than the ordinary wedding vow. I vowed myself to more than one person, if that tells you anything." Betta said softly. "But I don't want to go around doing...I mean...things have changed since Hogwarts days. I just want to be normal, like everyone else."

She lifted up her left sleeve, exposing her Dark Mark. "I got this in sixth year, Lily. It was the worst decision I've ever made, but I can't get out of it now. As for Severus..." Betta added, feeling tears roll down her face. "I'm his wife...my son needs a father." She turned round to see Severus now looking at her with an inquisitive look on his face. "I could be killed for telling you all of this, but I...I just felt you needed to know after all of these years. I'm telling you because...because James and Sirius are the only Aurors I know, and if I need to be brought to justice, then so be it. I'll give myself up willingly. All I ask is that neither my child nor my husband be harmed."