A/N: In case you were wondering, Remus and Tonks postponed their August wedding and will marry quite quietly in this chapter, which takes place in October. Tonks is 4 months pregnant now, and due in March. A/N 2: This is going to be a really REALLY long chapter spanning from October-mid-February. Prepare for some shock lol. A/N 3: in case you hadn't figured it out, when I refer to Remus in the 3rd person, it's a flashback.

We married in October of 1997 in a quiet ceremony. We were extremely busy getting ready for our child to worry too much about having an extravagant ceremony, and it seemed to be what she wanted.

She stopped working right after our wedding because it was too dangerous for the baby, and I loved having her home with me at all times. I worked from home then, and she and I spent a lot of time together, enjoying our last months as a couple rather than a family.

We had briefly discussed names, but the only thing we could seem to agree on was Sirius for a boy. I questioned if Sirius would appreciate having a namesake, and decided that he would be flattered, and we settled on Sirius James Lupin.

We had no idea what to call a little girl, and we agreed that if we had a little girl, we would indefinitely look at her, and then name her.

As November and December, the 'Christmas Months' as she called them, drew nearer; I missed Sirius more and more. It was foolish to miss him so much, but I knew he would delight in watching his cousin's tummy grow, and he would delight in the fact that I was finally completely happy.

One day in late November, during one of our many cuddling sessions, the telephone (a gift from her mother) rang, and I got up to answer it, and when I did, there was no sound but ragged breathing. After a few attempts at speaking to the person on the other end, I hung up and returned to her. "Who was it, love?" she asked me, kissing my nose.

"Oh, you know. Just some teen-ager trying to pull a prank."

"We have been getting a lot of those lately, haven't we?"

And we had. In the past week, at least twice a day, the phone rang and there was nothing there, just someone breathing. While it didn't seem to faze her, it bothered me to no end.

By Christmas 1997, I was so fed up with the phone calls that I disconnected the telephone, much to the dismay of Nymphadora's mother. She clucked at me that her daughter was 6 months pregnant and she needed to call every day to make sure she was all right. I had Nymphadora speak to her and tell her that she was fine, that she would send an owl or have the next-doors call her if there was an emergency.

On December 20th, Hogwarts broke for school holiday and once again, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the entire Weasley brood was in our house. Nymphadora loved Ginny's company and interest in her growing belly, and she thought it was so sweet that Hermione and Ron seemed so in love with each other. I was excited too, but there was the hole again, the hole that could only be filled by Sirius.



Christmas Morning 1997 I awoke before everyone else in the house and crept outside. It was still dark, yet the neighborhood was filled with light-up houses with children with delighted laughing faces opening gifts. I walked through the snow and thought of the last Christmas we spent at the Potter's house.



"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Sirius Black yelled.

"Sirius!" chided Lily. "You'll wake Harry." Harry was 5 months old, and just sleeping through the night, to the relief of his exhausted parents.

"And rightly so," grinned Sirius, "after all, it is the little bugger's first Christmas!"

Just then, Remus Lupin appeared in the front room, cradling a sleeping baby in a red-and-green knitted blanket. "Someone might want his mummy in a moment, he's beginning to smell." Lily smiled lovingly at the bundle and took him gingerly from Remus. "Thank you," she whispered, stroking the infant's cheek. "Merry Christmas, Remus."

Remus smiled and blushed, and James Potter, Lily's husband of nearly 18 months, came down the stairs and joined the foursome in the front room, in front of the twinkling Christmas tree. He kissed Lily and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, smiling adoringly at his son. Remus felt a twinge of jealousy then. He wondered if he would ever find someone who he totally adored, someone who could bear his children, someone who he could spend the rest of his life with. He doubted it, in his condition.

He was snapped out of his reverie by Lily's voice. "Remus? Are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine, honey. Just thinking."

"Okay. Well, I'm going to change Harry's nappy and then we're going to open gifts, all right?"

"Okay." Remus took a seat on the floor next to Sirius, who was wearing a Santa hat decorated with several punk-rock band names. The morning was perfect, and little did Remus and Sirius know, it would be one of the last perfect moments they would get to spend with the Potters.

When it began to snow at around 7:00 am, I headed back to the house. Nymphadora and Ginny were already awake, and they were wrapped in an afghan, talking. I smiled, said hello to Ginny, kissed Nymphadora and headed into the kitchen to fix us some tea.

Christmas day went by pretty standard, there was much excitement and laughter and I was glad to sit back and watch and imagine what it would be like next Christmas, with my own child opening his or her gifts.

After Christmas dinner, Hermione and Ron excused themselves upstairs to the chagrin of Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny and Harry were perched together in the squishy leather reading chair, snuggling together. I truly saw Lily and James in Harry and Ginny, and it filled my heart with happiness, and sorrow mixed together as one. I really missed Lily and James, Lily especially. They would be proud of their son. I sighed and went over to Nymphadora, who was sound asleep curled in the corner of the couch. I went over and lay my head on her belly, and before I knew it, I was sound asleep as well.

"He's gone." Remus could hear himself say the words but he couldn't quite believe them. "I'm so sorry, Harry." While Harry screamed, and knelt over Sirius's dead body, Remus briskly walked over to the steps where Nymphadora Tonks's body lay, silently praying that she was still alive. He knelt down, then finally sat, pulling her tiny body into his arms. "Nymphadora, please wake up," he whispered, stroking her short purple hair. "Please. I can't lose you, too." When there was no answer, he began to silently weep, holding her close until the MediWizard rushed her away.

He visited her in St. Mungo's after he was allowed, and when he had entered the room, she was sleeping. She appeared to be in what he referred to as her 'natural' state, long thick chestnut brown hair nearly to her waist splayed all over the pillow and her pale hands up tangled in it. She looked nearly the way she did asleep at home, but for the bandage above her left eye. He sat in the chair conveniently located at her bedside and took her hand, watching her chest silently rise and fall, watching her eyes flutter with a dream.

It took her about 2 hours to awaken, and when she did; she smiled and then winced from the pain. "Hey," she whispered, barely audible.

"Hey," he whispered back. "How ya feeling?"

"Like crap," she said. "Where's Sirius?"

Remus sighed. "Oh Nymphadora, didn't anyone tell you?"

Nymphadora shook her head. "What? Tell me what?"

He squeezed her hand a little tighter. "Oh Nymphadora... I'm sorry. Sirius died."


She was gone when I awoke, and I immediately panicked. "Nymphadora?"

"In the bedroom with Ginny, m'love."

I padded up the stairs. "Have a nice sleep?" I asked, joining them on the bed and wrapping my arms around her.

"I should ask the same of you," she said, bending back to kiss me. "Mine was good...Gin and I are just talking about some things that are on her mind right now."

"Oh. I'm not interrupting, am I?" I questioned. Ginny seemed mildly annoyed, but shook her head no. "Okay, because I can leave," I assured them. Nymphadora glanced at Ginny then looked back at me. "Could you, love? This is really quite personal." I nodded, and got up to leave, wondering what Ginny and Nymphadora were talking about. Ginny seemed genuinely upset, and I wondered if it didn't have something to do with Harry. Shaking my head, I walked downstairs and into the front room, where Harry sat, alone, staring into the Christmas tree with a blank expression on his face. I sat down next to him.

"Harry?"

He looked up at me, as if shocked to see me. "Oh, hi, Remus."

"Is there something up with you and Ginny?"

"Ginny...?"

I smiled. "You know, your girlfriend?"

"No... Just daydreaming."

"Okay. Don't think too hard, your hair'll turn gray."

He smiled and I took it as him being fine, so I wandered upstairs and into the nursery.

It was quite exquisitely done. It was painted to look like the sky on a sunny day and Nymphadora had stamped Quidditch players randomly. The roof was painted likewise to look like the sun, with some of the exposed part blue. The crib was round with a blue canopy, and there was a rocking chair in the corner. I couldn't wait for my child, whether it was a boy or a girl. I secretly wanted a little girl, one I could call Lily. Nymphadora, I knew, wanted a boy, but would be happy with either. I would be too, but a girl would be best. In any case, I just couldn't wait. As I came downstairs from the nursery, I thought I spotted something darting across the back lawn but since it was dark, I assumed I was just imagining things and went to join the others in the sitting room.

In February, the month before the baby was due, I re-connected the telephone, just in case we needed it. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as we found out.

It was near the end of February, the 20th or so, when the 'phone rang and I rose to answer it. "Hello?" I said.

"Remus?" replied the rasping voice on the other end.

"Yes, this is... May I ask who I am speaking to?"

There was a pause, and then, "This is Sirius."

I nearly dropped the telephone in shock. "Sirius Black?" At the mention of her cousin's name, Nymphadora looked up questioningly, but I ignored her.

"None other than," replied the voice, and I could hear the grin in it.

"B-but... But... Si.. Sirius... You're supposed to b-be dead!" with that, Nymphadora's eyes grew big and she gestured to me as if to say 'Remus, let me talk!'

"So it seems. Is Tonks there?"

"She is, but she's Mrs. Lupin now."

"Hell! Really? When? Congratulations, you old bugger!"

"She's pregnant too... She's due next month."

"Lemme talk to her."

I handed the phone to Nymphadora, who looked like she was about to either cry or laugh.

"Is it really Sirius?" she demanded. I could hear Sirius on the other end, laughing. Then he said something, and she began to enthusiastically chatter about her pregnancy. I quietly excused myself outside.

Once outside, a million things began rushing through my mind. Sirius was back. I couldn't believe it. Where had he been for the whole time? I walked briskly to the park where I sat on a swing and began to swing slowly. A little girl of about 5 approached me and asked if I was too big to be on a swing, and I replied no. She said how old are you and I said, "I'm five, I just look big." She looked scared and ran away, and I laughed. I was so happy about everything.

After about an hour, I started my walk back home. When I returned home, there was Sirius in all his straggly glory, sitting at our kitchen table. He turned around when I came in, and then stood up and hugged me tight. "Mate, I missed you," he whispered. "I can't believe you got bloody married. And I can't believe how PREGNANT she is!" Nymphadora looked insulted so I shushed Sirius and instructed him to sit down. He did, and I got him to explain everything. As it was, when he was struck, he did not die, but since he was presumed dead, he was left. When he came to, he simply got up and left. Then he had hidden for nearly 2 years. All those mysterious phone calls had been from him, but he had not known what to say. When he finally worked up the courage to speak, he telephoned us, and that was how he wound up in our kitchen.

We allowed him to stay with us for as long as he needed. Soon, February fell into March, and all 3 of us spent most of our time preparing for the baby. It was due on March 15th, but both of us had a feeling it would come late. Sirius was so excited, he wanted a boy so he could have a namesake, and as the date grew nearer, we all hoped for another little Sirius.

March 15th rolled around, and, though VERY pregnant, Nymphadora was showing no signs of going into labour any time soon, so we were all getting extremely anxious and excited.

On the afternoon of March 20th, Nymphadora decided to go for a walk, and Sirius and I stayed at home. After about 15 minutes, the telephone rang and Sirius and I raced to answer it, but I beat him.

"Hello?"

"Remus?"

"Nymphadora? Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I... I... I'm at the library... Remus? Can you come get me? I think I'm in labour."

A/N 3: I think I'm going to leave it there. Haha a cliffhanger. I had a ton of fun writing this, and I hope you like it, everyone. It's really, really long!!!