Disclaimer: I just play (often somewhat sadistically) in J.K.'s world.

"It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Creswell."

The master bedroom at Sleepy Cottage was a sunny space with two large windows facing east and west, allowing for awe inspiring sunrises and somewhat romantic sunsets. The walls were painted a pale yellow as though to enhance this feature. It was a room in which it was damn near impossible to feel hopeless.

However, it was neither when Remus Lupin returned home. Indeed, it was half past two in the morning and so dark that he could barely see his wand in front of him. Content that if Death Eaters had surrounded him, they would not have allowed him five minutes to find the key hook, he lit the end of his wand and set about his usual evening routine, praying to every God he knew of that he would not wake his wife.

Once he was sure that not only were the array of protective charms in place, but all the doors and windows were locked, he allowed himself a cup of tea and a somewhat indulgent biscuit, most of which was eaten by the ancient and extremely persistent cat.

He sat opposite the sofa, sizing it up. There was no bed in the spare room that had been turned into the baby's nursery and painted the same lemon yellow colour as its parents' room. Lupin didn't much fancy his chances of sleeping soundly in neither the Moses basket nor the creaking rocking chair his mother had bought when he was weeks old.

He sighed. The sofa would have to suffice. It was small, granted, but it was soft. With a flick of his wand, the spare pillow and several spare blankets (two of them moth-eaten) drifted across the hallway and set about making up a bed for him while the cat waited for him to lie in it so she could disturb him all night.

Three minutes later, Lupin was lying under four blankets and watching cat's yellow eyes widen in glee. He felt her land on his stomach and kneed it until she settled.

"You realise," he whispered to her, "that I will be turning over in five minutes and you'll be thrown off the pile."

Her eyes narrowed, presumably meaning 'You dare, Sunshine,' and Lupin immediately came to the conclusion that he didn't dare. Indeed, he would have lain there, cold and severely uncomfortable all night if he had not heard the screams upstairs.

He shoved the cat off him and threw back the blankets. His body heat had just warmed them and standing in only a thin t-shirt and his boxer shorts was like plunging his body into liquid nitrogen. He sucked in a breath and shivered. More agonising screams followed and he Apparated upstairs.

The room was completely black but the screams were ear piercing now. He stepped forwards, unable to revel in the warmth of the carpet curling round his toes. He felt physically sick. He had hoped he would not have to deal with her grief until the morning when he hoped he would be emotionally equipped to do so.

"Dora?"

The screams became a gasp of horror and hiccoughs. Tonks shifted slightly and her husband sat on the edge of her side of their bed, his eyes becoming accustomed to the darkness. He could make out the indent where she had buried her face in her pillow and see the damp patch on it where it had tried in vain to absorb her tears.

She looked up at him and he could smell the salt of her tears. She remembered that Lupin had been blessed with impeccable sight and hid her face in her hands, desperately trying to morph away the blotches on her skin and tears in her eyes. She could not and merely sat up in bed, her face hidden, and rocked back and forth, weeping.

Lupin wrapped his arms around her and held her still. He made soothing noises and stroked her mousy brown hair as though she were a small child, until only her hiccoughs broke the silence.

Eventually, she took a deep breath and said in a small and trembling voice that sounded nothing like Tonks, "He's dead, Remus."

Tonks felt him nod. "Darling, I don't know what I can say." She buried her face further into his chest and Lupin felt the damp patch of salty tears spread across his t-shirt. He pushed her away slightly, still keeping her firmly tucked between his chest and his left arm. He tilted her chin so that she was forced to meet his eyes. "When I lost my father, I thought there was no greater injustice in this world. I have wanted to hurt people who have hurt me before, we all have, but never before had I actually fantasised about killing a man. Believe me, Dora, I know how much you're hurting. I really do understand." Tonks nodded mutely. "But, my father told me something that has stood me in good stead. He used to say that he would rather die standing than live on his knees. He did and that is how he wanted to be remembered. Your father, Dora, made the same choice. He could have registered and sat it out until the end, but he didn't. He made a stand and he survived for a remarkably long time when you think about just how many people were looking for him. And, Dora, he was killed resisting capture. He died standing. He wasn't humiliated. He didn't have his wand snatched from him and he wasn't paraded through Ministry courts. Be comforted by that at least. I know it doesn't help now but it will help eventually, when the pain starts to ebb." She sniffled and nodded. "And it will ebb. I won't tell you that the pain leaves you because it doesn't, not ever."

Tonks let out a strangled sob but would not summon more tears. There was little point and she had not the energy. She threw her arms around Lupin and held him so tightly that for a moment, she feared that her twig-like husband would snap at the strength of her embrace.

Lupin felt the air rush out of his lungs at the feel of her bump pressed against him. He heard her say his name and made an almost inaudible sound at the back of his throat. Immediately, Tonks released him and shuffled backwards, onto her pillow.

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

Lupin shook his head. "Don't be. Really, don't be."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," she croaked.

His expression softened further and he shifted so that he sat beside her, on his own side of the bed. He pulled her into a softer embrace, one arm around her shoulders and the other between them. His hand rested on her stomach as he felt the kick of their child and despite himself, grinned broadly. "I'm not going anywhere," he assured her.

"You are if I suffocate you," she said, smiling weakly.

Lupin chuckled softly. "I'll just have to be on my guard then, won't I?" He relaxed his hold on her and pulled up the bed covers. He collapsed against his pillow. "You really cannot possibly know how good this feels," he told her. "I feel completely free without a cat trying to sleep on me."

Tonks laughed despite herself and allowed Lupin to pull her down gently so her head rested beside his, sharing a pillow. He smiled at her. "Get over your own side, Mrs. Lupin." When she refused, he blew gently in her face.

"Remus, that only works on dogs." She wiped her bloodshot eyes, drying them one last time. "I can divorce you, you know." She turned over, using her own pillow and her husband shuffled closer, dragging his pillow alongside him until he was pressed against her back.

He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and whispered, "But you wouldn't," into it.

Tonks sniffled and shivered in the January cold. "Why not?"

"You need me for this." He wrapped an arm around her, allowing her to share his body heat and kissed his way down her neck and along her shoulder. His fingers trailed slowly down her arm, inducing a sharp intake of breath and delightful little trembles. Finally, his hand came to rest once more on her bump, massaging until he felt it kick back. "I've got a name," he murmured. "Let's call him Ted."

For what seemed like hours, Tonks was absolutely silent. In the same weak voice, she asked, "Can we?"

"Ted Lupin," he said, testing it. "Unfortunately, it doesn't end with a vowel so when I shout at him, his name won't carry."

"Teddy," said Tonks, the smile returning. "Teddy would carry."

Lupin laughed softly. "I like it." He kissed the sensitive spot on her neck. "Go to sleep."

Slowly, her breathing regulated and the sniffling stopped. Satisfied she was getting her rest, Lupin returned to his new hobby; antagonising the baby. He nudged the bump slightly and waited with baited breath for Teddy to kick back at him. He beamed and gasped for breath when he felt it.

"Remus, stop it."

"Sorry."