“She’s fine,” Molly murmured, painfully aware of how pitiful a lie that was. She wasn’t fine, who would be? The look on Minerva’s face– utter anguish painted on every inch– was enough to tell her that. It wasn’t until Molly and the others got Minerva back on friendly soil that she started breathing evenly again; even if there were only two Death Eaters on sentry at the stronghold, the encounters always ripped Molly’s breath clean away. Dangerous missions, especially, made it hard for Molly to cope with all of it. When she was younger, and Bill was still little, she’d come home from missions, drag Arthur to lie in bed with her, and curl up in her husband’s arms, cradling their infant son. It was their little version of paradise; a port in the storm for two young parents trying desperately to make a difference and keep each other, and the tiny baby in their arms, safe.
“She will be fine,” Molly amended, taking the tea on instinct more than true desire. The warmth radiated through her fingers, a tingling, prickling sensation that was bringing her back to herself. With a conscious wave of her head, she tried to shake herself back. She’d made a promise, after all. When she was here, with Arthur and the boys, she was theirs. And she refused to let these ghosts haunt her. “I’m sure the boys were happy to have gotten out, though, weren’t they?” With no small degree of effort, Molly reached across the table, taking her husband’s hand, anchoring her to her home. “Sure it wasn’t your fault; since Charlie learned to walk he’s been running away and hiding, you know that. I like to do a headcount, personally. Did the boys have a good time with grandma during the day?
Molly felt a swell in her chest at her husband’s mention of the children. She knew five children were never part of their plan, and she knew although he’d never complain– that wasn’t the sort of person Arthur was– raising a family of five during a war, on a Ministry salary, weighed heavily on his mind. They were practically children themselves when they’d had Bill, and Charlie followed suit so soon after. It had been a blur, they’d had Percy and Fred and George in a moment, and Arthur had always been by her side, holding her hair during the morning sickness, changing the babies’ diapers when Molly herself was far too exhausted to do it. When she left on a mission, he’d wait up, for hours, after her, even when his hours at the Ministry were torturous, and when she came home, he took her into his arms, and made her feel human again. She couldn’t have dreamed of a better partner in this world.
“Just glad I didn’t miss it. If the two of them started walking while you were here alone, you’d never have the two of them in hand again,” Molly replied, a hint of mirth returning to her tired eyes. When they were young, and it was just her and Bill and Arthur, their tiny port in the storm had seemed so small, so fragile. Like one breath would batter it to pieces. Yet, as their family grew, and the number of little ones that found their way into the family bed to cuddle grew in tandem, the sense of relief Molly felt when she returned home was multiplied; so too did her anxiety at leaving. Even now, all she wanted was to reach out, wrap her arms around her husband and sons and never let go, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t let them see her in such a state. “Can’t wait to see the cards, love. I’m sure they’re beautiful,” A sob threatened to wrack through Molly’s chest, just barely contained by pure willpower. It had been three days of sleepless nights, and muttered curses, and tightly held hopes, and now that she was home, she wouldn’t let them worry. “You need to sleep, love,” she squeezed his hand tight, and moved her chair closer. “You’re exhausted.”
It wasn't a lie, Arthur was exhausted. Exhausted physically from the lack of sleep. Exhausted emotionally from having his wife gone for some time. Exhausted from this war. Yet the last thing Arthur Weasley wanted to do at this time was to go to sleep. "No, I'm fine" he told Molly, shrugging off her suggestion to go sleep. "I have to get up soon anyway for work, and you just got home. I'm not sleeping right now" it wasn't even on the table for question. There was no way Arthur would even be able to sleep right now knowing that Molly was home. It was a mix of anxiety relieved and pure happiness to have his wife back, much like the kids on Christmas refusing to sleep because it was all too much. He could sleep later, tomorrow when he got home and Molly was there safe and sound. For now he just wanted to be with her.
It was a strange sensation living for three days with the reality your wife may never come home. It was something that Arthur had swore he would never feel. When they were just kids he had sworn to her that he would never let anything harm her, that he would always keep her safe. Sure some of that promise was to relax Molly, but it had been selfish all the same as if his words could really assure him that he could keep Molly completely unharmed. There were so many dangerous things in the world, that was the reality. It was dangerous to be a part of this war, yes, but it was also horribly dangerous to give birth and that had happened to her now 5 times over. The reality of the situation was that has much as Arthur wanted to protect his wife it was almost impossible to do so. So instead he had to settled for protecting her when she was in arm's reach, like right now, and celebrate when she was with him safe and sound.
"Besides we need to get you cleaned up. I actually did the wash while you were gone and I'm not letting you get into my clean sheets to dirty them up" Arthur teased, shooting Molly a light hearted smile. "C'mon, let's get you a bath and then we can talk about bed" Arthur told her noticing her lack of interest in her tea. Standing up Arthur held out a hand for Molly to take, grasping her little hand in his and giving it a squeeze. As he led her to the stairs Arthur paused, suddenly turning around and wrapping an arm around Molly's waist-pulling her into him. Arthur wasn't a romantic man but in this moment he needed his wife; he craved Molly. Pressing a warm kiss to her lips Arthur lingered, his hand freeing hers only to tangle in her red hair pushing himself deeply into the kiss releasing her only when he was red in face and breathless.
It was hard with kids to remember how to be married. Sometimes Arthur forgot he was a husband in exchange for being a father. He knew Molly didn't mind, and encouraged it in fact, however Arthur was painfully aware there was sometimes he needed to shed the role of father and be the husband Molly needed. This was one of those times. Before they had kids life was easier. Molly was his priority and whether that included lazy sex in the middle of the afternoon, or just talking about her dreams until the sun rose Arthur was ready to make her feel wanted. Now with kids it was harder to express that want, harder to show Molly that she was still the girl he had gladly married and would do so a hundred times over as long as it meant ending up with her. She was not just the mother of his children, but the girl of his dreams and sometimes he ignored the latter in favor of the more conservative role.
"I love you" the words fell breathlessly from his mouth as Arthur took a moment just to stare at Molly, "I missed you. " It was important that Molly realized that he had missed her as well, not just the kids but him. Gazing at her for one more beat Arthur turned and began up the stairs making sure to be quiet as they snuck past all the kids' rooms, praying to Merlin that they did not wake. The last thing Molly needed right now was to have to deal with the kids on top of everything she had just experienced. He supposed he should owl his mum and tell her not to come in the morning but with one look at his wife Arthur knew that it was probably better for poor Molly to have an extra set of hands. Maybe she would get some sleep, probably not, but Arthur could hope for the best.
