Teddy stood outside their flat, feeling foolish. He shouldn't have to knock on the door, he was a grown man! This was his home, goddamn it!
He reached out to turn the doorknob, right as it opened and Dom brushed by him.
"Hey," he said, easily. Vic had probably blabbed to her about everything. She probably hated him right now. "How's the baby?" In fact, Dom was so obsessed with her new baby, she insisted the families afternoon at the Burrow was actually a baby shower for Jonathan.
"You're a prick!" she called as she walked down the corridor of their apartment complex. He didn't care, Dom had never really cared for him and he had never really cared for Dom.
"Nice chat!" he replied. He stepped hesitantly into their flat. "Vic?" he called. She was sitting on their couch, clutching a mug of tea. She twisted around and saw him.
"I'm sorry," he said, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. "I panicked yesterday...I didn't mean half of what I said! We need to talk," he finished lamely.
"It's fine," she said, although she still looked slightly hurt. Teddy hopped over the back of the couch and landed next to her. "Look, I didn't mean to tell Dom, I was throwing up in the bathroom and she came in and figured it out."
"Morning sickness. Right. Because you're pregnant," he said to himself. Just another confirmation that this was for real, that this was actually happening.
She nodded. "I think we should let everyone know," she said. "Today, at the Burrow,"
"Are you mad?" he repeated. "I'm having a mental breakdown coming to terms with it myself, there's no way that everyone else-,"
"Look, we're not telling a roomful of paranoid Teddy's we're telling a room full of people who will be delighted, most likely. Why should we keep it a secret?"
"We haven't even seen a Healer yet! We should just be sure that nothing's wrong, that the baby's going to make it-,"
Victoire slammed down her mug of tea on the coffee table, raising her shirt to reveal her stomach. "There! You're a Healer, have you seen everything? Have you figured out what million things can go wrong?"
Teddy found himself trying to shout above her. "You know perfectly well I work in pediatrics and not with expecting mothers!"
"I'm just saying that you don't have to find a negative in everything Teddy if you maybe found one positive that would be nice!"
"I'm sorry if I'm not carefree like some other people who may or may not be sitting next to me on a couch!"
They were yelling worse than last night, screaming foolish, unnecessary phrases at each other until a bang came from the wall connecting their flat and their neighbors, and a shout to keep it down.
Teddy looked away from her guiltily.
"We got some complaints last night," she mentioned.
"Oh," he said.
She nodded and picked up her tea, sipping it. When she set it back down, he leaned forward and kissed her.
"What are you-,"
"Being spontaneous," he said, running a hand through her hair.
She responded in her normal Victoire way, going into the kiss wholeheartedly until she was lying on top of him, beaming down.
"What was that for?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen on his face.
"I figured that if we're going to make this work, I'm going to have to...you know, relax a little more,"
He looked at her, at her perfect lips and body and hair and voice and smile. Merlin, he was turned on.
"We need to talk about the baby," he said, against everything his body was telling him to do, and she sat up. She took a sip of her tea and slowly nodded.
"We need to promise not to argue," she said. "We need to know right now that we are going to disagree, and we need to say right now we will try our best not to shout,"
Teddy nodded.
"Adult conversation,"
He came to the realization that Victoire and him hadn't really ever had a conversation that didn't end with them fighting, laughing, or making out. "Adult conversation." he repeated.
Victoire took his hand and sandwiched it between hers. "Will you do some research on child werewolves at work?"
Those words took an immense weight off of Teddy's shoulders. The fact that she faced the possibility that their child might not be normal comforted him in a million different ways. He wanted to tell her this, but he didn't know how to describe the fact that his heart was swelling without sounding crazy, so he just nodded.
"I need you, Vic," he said. "I need you or I won't be able to make it through this,"
She nodded. She licked her lips, fiddling with her hands in her lap. She took a deep breath.
"I'm scared too," she said. "I don't want to admit it, but I'm terrified. And the fact that you're scared scares me,"
He took her hands again.
"The fact that you're scared scares me less," he said, laughing.
She grinned. "We're a good balance for each other,"
yoyoyoscenebreak
Teddy was seriously contemplating picking up his wand and killing himself as he sat in the Burrow that afternoon. Present after present was brought out, cooed over, and talked over. Teddy was on his third butterbeer, and sat next to James, whose head was in his hands as he muttered to himself.
"End it, Ted," he heard. "Please, Goddammit, end it,"
"She's your best mate, you do something," Teddy whispered back. Even Victoire had made her way wearily back to their couch and slid in next to Teddy, resting her head on his shoulder.
"She's not talking to me since I refused to bring a present to this stupid celebration,"
Teddy laughed.
After the presents were finally done, Harry and Ginny stood up nervously and looked around.
"We-er, we have an announcement and we think the timing is just about perfect," said Harry, smiling uncertainly at his wife.
"We're pregnant," finished Ginny.
Teddy's jaw dropped. Many of the girls squealed, Hermione looked absolutely ecstatic, and Mrs. Weasley looked torn between disgust and excitement.
Al was the first one to speak. "How?"
Teddy piped up with his medical knowledge. "Often, when a woman is going through uh, menopause-there's a sudden burst of fertility. And Harry and Ginny seemed to get uh, lucky,"
"Okay, thank you, Teddy, that was enlightening," said Lily, her face pale and disgusted. James had dropped his head into his hands again, and Al looked as if he was going to faint.
"I know this is probably a shock for some of you, but I think- I think it's a good thing," said Harry. Ginny nodded firmly.
"We'll welcome the baby with open arms," said Mrs. Weasley.
Teddy's head was spinning. Harry and Ginny pregnant? At the same time as Vic? It didn't seem right, them both having babies. They would probably end up being friends and- it was just a little too weird for him. His eyes landed on baby Jonathan. He lay on a blanket on the floor, cooing and gurgling. They were going to have one soon. He was going to be a father soon.
He felt Victoire stand up next to him and clear her throat. He realized what she was going to do a second too late.
"Vic-no! We talked about this!" he hissed, as she beamed around the room.
"We're pregnant, too," she announced.
"Merlin, this family is weird," muttered Hugo.
scenebreaklalala
Teddy silently flipped through the photo album he found in Mrs. Weasley's room. It was weird, like going through a sort of time portal. There he was, falling off his broom, laughing. He turned the page and saw himself cautiously holding newborn baby Lily. There was a knock at the door and eighteen year old Lily poked through.
"Hey," she said quietly. "Thought I'd find you in here."
She perched on the bed next to him. Teddy looked at the baby picture of her, realizing how weird it was that that lump of a baby had turned into a person, with a personality and a story and a reason.
"There's a whole lot of people down there waiting to congratulate you," she said. "And you have to leave sometime."
"Apparation, Lily. Just 'cause you failed your test again doesn't mean the rest of the world can't use it,"
"Don't be rude," she chastised him. "Are you okay, though?"
He paused for a minute, turning the words he wanted to say around in his head. He was confused, tired, and there was a pounding in his head.
"I just don't think I'm as cut out for it as everyone thinks," he muttered. His eyes landed on a picture of him in a tiny red blanket, being held by Harry. It struck him how young Harry looked in this picture, younger than Lily, and how scared he must've felt.
"Do you think my dad had any idea?" Lily said, a tone of confidence in her voice. "Merlin, Ted, he's just a kid there and everyone expected him to know how to raise a kid. He never had a proper father, either, remember. You have the power to turn this kid into anyone you like. It's a responsibility, sure, but I know you can handle it." She looked at him with such assurance he had to believe her.
"Thanks," he said. "Are you okay? You're not gonna be the baby anymore,"
She shuddered. "Thanks for reminding me. Just a lot to take in, you know?"
Teddy did know. It was one of the only things he felt like he knew anymore.