Prologue
A tall, redheaded, twenty-seven-year-old man stood, waiting anxiously in a long, bare hallway. One foot tapped subconsciously on the white tile floor. The dim lighting provided a dismal atmosphere, which didn’t help his mood. Holding tight to the man’s hand was a three-year-old boy with his thumb in his mouth. The little boy’s wavy brown hair was tousled, and his big blue eyes wide under dark lashes.
A man in a white coat walked out of the room in front of the pair. Without acknowledging the man in front of him, he squatted to the boy’s level.
“James,” he smiled, “Are you ready to see your new baby sister?”
James nodded shyly. As the man in the white coat stood up, he said, “Everything’s fine, Mr. Weasley. Your wife gave birth to a healthy, seven-pound girl. Right on time too. She’s wanted to see you for quite some time now. I’ve had quite a few jinx threats.” The doctor chuckled. “Holler if you need anything,” And he walked off.
Ron Weasley hurried into the hospital room, his son trotting by his side. The light was dim in here too, except for one bedside lamp. The shades on the window were drawn, as was the curtain hiding the other bed in the room, although it was unoccupied.
There, on the visible bed, her brown eyes tired, yet happy and her bushy hair askew, sat his wife, holding her new daughter in her arms.
“Oh, Hermione,” whispered Ron, rushing to her side. He felt tears come to his eyes. “She’s beautiful,”
“And I think she has your hair,” Hermione smiled. It was true. The little tuft of hair sprouting from the soft scalp, even though it was slightly dark, was still distinctly ginger.
“We still haven’t decided on a name yet,” Hermione said, handing the baby to him to hold.
Ron didn’t answer; he simply stared at the sleeping girl in his arms. Her chest moved up and down in a steady rhythm as she inhaled and exhaled. Then, without warning, she yawned and her eyes opened. Two sapphires seemed to stare back at him.
“Oh, another one with your eyes,” Hermione said, almost ruefully, “It seems my genes won’t prevail in the eye department. Now all we need is a name.”
They sat in silence for a moment, thinking.
“Kaylei,” Ron said suddenly, looking up. Hermione saw his eyes still looked wet. “It was my cousin’s name. I always liked it. But what about her middle name?”
Hermione thought a moment. “Well,” she said slowly, “How about Grace? It was my grandmother’s name, and when I was young, I wished it could be mine.”
“Kaylei Grace Weasley,” they said thoughtfully. Then, as though they remembered there was another boy in the room, they looked over at James.
“Would you like to hold Kaylei, James?” Hermione asked.
James nodded, removing his thumb from his mouth. Hermione told him to sit in the only other chair in the room. He wiggled a little as he got used to the hard, molded plastic. But he stopped when his mom handed him the little baby. She showed him how to hold her, with her head in the crook of his elbow. He stared down at the smooth skin, the tuft of soft hair, the tiny fist poking from the blanket, despite the tightness of it. Two pairs of blue eyes met.
“Hi. I’m James. I’m your big brother. I’m gonna take care of you.”
Looking For A Reason by RonIsMyHomeboy
Chapter Notes: The lyrics in the summary are from a song by Michael W. Smith and are what inspired the title.