A/N: Well, you all seemed to like last chapter! I am sorry about the wait, school/sports/homework/everything has been pretty much clustered together making it near impossible to find time to write. As requested, I will include some Remus/Katy time. I have other plans as well. Actually, my mind has been scheming for the past couple of days in order to make the plot a bit more elaborate. This will be happening in about four or five chapters. I have decided to make this fic a bit longer. As long as it needs to be, actually. I want to do it justice. A character from L/J: Their Story of Love will be returning (briefly) in order to fill out this plot. None of you will remember who it is, I am pretty much guaranteeing that. It's not a big one, and it is not Venus or Cole. Just so you know..

Well, on with the story. Please review.

Catch My Fall

Chapter 12-Ties That Bind

The next couple of weeks were spent trying to make Lily as comfortable as possible. She had grown only slightly irritable, mainly due to the morning sickness and lack of sleep. She did her best to make it to work every day, giving Auror work her all. Katy was extremely proud of her best friend. If the situation had been reversed, she wouldn't know what to do with herself. Yet, Lily was staying strong.

Even after all the prophecy information came their way, James and Lily did their best to act as normal as possible. James made Lily dinner a few times, shocking the both of them. The kitchen still had yet to spontaneously combust while he was cooking.

Katy found working as an escape. Even if her friends weren't worried, she was. She didn't like the fact that Voldemort could be putting her friends and their future baby at risk. The entire business was very shady. As a release, she worked her heart and soul off, trying to keep her mind elsewhere. Some nights she cried herself to sleep, missing Halle and worrying for Lily and James' safety.

She didn't know if she could take another loss. The past years had been hard for her, training to be an Auror and the death of one of her best friends. Everything following Halle's time in St. Mungos had been escalading into an inescapable torment. The attacks, Venus Adams, the fire, Cole Jacobs, Grace Adams, Halle's pregnancy, the wedding, and the deaths of Halle and Cherish. Now add a prophecy to the mess and you found an emotional roller coaster.

As she climbed into bed that night, she felt for Remus beside her. Instead, the cool sheets grazed her fingers. The two of them had recently moved in together, hoping to improve their hardly-existent relationship.

She switched the bedside light on and found that Remus Lupin was not where he was supposed to be. She rubbed her eyes and hopped out of bed as quickly as she had hopped in. As she made her way down the hall, she saw the light in the kitchen on. How had she missed that on her way in?

Remus was standing over the island, his hands folded and his eyes low and sad. Scars of his last transformation still lingered upon his face. Katy walked over to him and brushed her fingers across those scars, hoping to heal them the best she could. She looked over at Remus, meeting his eye.

"Why aren't you in bed?" she asked him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm worried, Kate," he confessed, breaking the eye contact the two of them held.

"What for? If it's about Lily and James…" Katy started, resting her hand on her forehead. He shook his head.

"Don't get me wrong, they're in my thoughts. I just need to talk to you," he said, turning to face her.

"What's wrong?" she questioned. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Not at all," he insisted. "It's more of the fact that I never see you."

"You know I can't do a damn thing about my hours," she protested. "Being an Auror involves making sacrifices on behalf of the safety of the magical community."

"Every night? Seven days a week? Fourteen hours a day? When you're not at work, you're sleeping. Don't get me wrong, I love that you're an Auror. Since the day I met you, back in first year, I've known you were going to do great things. It's the fact that I don't understand why you're drowning yourself in your job," he said. Katy's eyes sparkled lightly with tears, hearing his words and comprehending their meaning. "Is it something I've done? Have I driven you away? How did it feel to know that I wasn't there tonight? To feel the empty spot in bed beside you? I feel that every night. It makes me wonder if you're falling out of love with me."

"Remy," she whispered. She tried to take his hand, but he gently declined the offer.

"Lily doesn't work seven days a week," Remus pointed out.

"She's pregnant," Katy proclaimed. "Ever heard of maternity leave?"

"She's only three weeks along," Remus said. "Aside from that, I see James more than I see you. He's an Auror. Shouldn't he have the same hours?"

"Yes," Katy said quietly. "He should."

"I just want to know if you're ok," he assured her. "I love you, Katy. I always have. You're it for me. We've talked about marriage, but you seem uninterested in it right now. I respect that. You've finally managed to become an Auror, marriage is the furthest thing from your mind. I just don't want to lose what we have."

Katy stared at the floor, leaving a silence hanging between the two of them. They stood like that for several minutes. Finally, she lightly kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "You did nothing wrong."

She left him standing there, still confused as ever.

.X.

Sirius Black sat in the Hogs Head, downing as many shots of fire whiskey as he could. The bartender knew him by now, had known him for years. Sirius spent a lot of time thinking and drinking away his problems in that pub.

The night was young, a slightly gleaming moon visible from his seat at the bar. Normally, it would be closed, but the bartender knew Sirius had a lot on his mind that night. Only a mumbling witch in the distance remained, calling her shot glass "Scruffy" and scraping her shoe along the floor.

Sirius was used to those kind of people. He feared that some day, he would turn out just as that mumbling witch had. Yet, temptation was reaching out for him, begging for him to take another shot. So, he did. Life without a family was hard. He had no one to turn to, nowhere to go. Lily and James were the closest thing to family he'd had in awhile.

The news of Lily's pregnancy had overwhelmed him. He was very happy for his friends, wishing them the best of luck. That much hadn't been a lie. He kept some thoughts hidden within, knowing he would only bring their happiness down by announcing them. The news of the prophecy had shaken him, making him fearful for them and their child. He didn't wish what had happened to him upon anyone.

The sound of the bell jingling and footsteps made him turn his head. What he saw was an angry redhead, a very familiar redhead. He knew her of course, everyone knew her. Lily Potter had come right up to him and hit him on the head with her purse.

"Sirius Black, what are you doing in this pub?" she demanded, her voice intimidating to him.

"I was-er-um," he managed to slur out.

Lily swished her wand, muttering an incantation, and automatically, Sirius felt his head start to pound and his vision start to clear.

"Had to sober me up, didn't you, Lily?" he asked, his voice now manageable.

"I refuse to talk to a drunk," Lily explained. "Another little reminder, you are not a drunk."

"How do you know?" he asked, his voice holding onto it's bitterness.

"Let me ask you again, what are you doing in this pub?" she questioned. She was in her plaid pajamas, a cloak messily over them. It seemed as if she had literally hopped out of bed to fetch him.

"A better question, what are you doing in this pub?" he retorted, concerned. "Lily, you have to work in the morning. James would kill me if he knew you were here."

"You're right," she assured him. "He would. He thinks I'm over at your house brining you leftover soup. When you weren't there, I came here."

He cast his head down in shame. He knew he should have been at home, not at the pub drinking.

"You don't understand, Lils," Sirius said. "It's been so hard. I didn't have anywhere else to go."

"That is a lie," she said. "You could have come to me or James. What about Remus or Katy? Peter? We're all here for you."

"It's not the same and you know it," he mumbled. "I miss her so bad. I sometimes wonder if I'd have been a good husband, a good father. It haunts me."

"You were a good husband," Lily said, sitting down at the stool beside him. "She loved you so much. I'd never seen her as happy during the time the two of you spent together. Halle was one of my best friends. It was hard on all of us."

"I don't want anything to happen to you, James, or the baby. I don't know if I could take it," he said, his voice cracking slightly.

Lily sighed. She hadn't realized that only she and James were effected by the news of the prophecy. It had obviously frightened all their friends.

"When I heard you were pregnant, the first thing I thought of was Cherish. I'd only wished she could have lived. I know she and your baby would have been friends. I could feel it. Now, we'll never know," he whispered.

"It's ok, Sirius," Lily said, patting him on the shoulder. "You can always come to us. James and I love you. You're our best friend. You don't know how much you mean to us. I was worried when you weren't at your house."

"That house brings back memories," Sirius explained. "I can't stand being there alone. So, I came here. I've come here almost once a week since she's died."

"There are other ways of living," Lily insisted. "She wouldn't want you to mourn the rest of your life. You're free, Sirius. You've never been one to mope. Where is the Sirius Black I know?"

"He died with Halle and Cherish," Sirius quietly informed her. Lily nodded, giving him one last hug. She only hoped he would go home and move on. Things were just not that simple.

.X.

As Sirius stumbled into the graveyard, he stopped at two tombstones. One was smaller than the other, but then again, it had been for a baby.

He had promised Lily he would go home, but he felt the need to visit his family first. Tears stroked his eyes as they did every time he came to that place.

"I miss you, Halle," he cried. "I miss you so bad. Please look out for Lily and James. They need us more than ever."

With that, he broke down before her grave and sobbed.

.X.

"Was he not at his house?" James asked, seeing Lily apparate into the house. She shook her head no.

"He was at that bar, wasn't he?" James demanded. Lily nodded. "He's so irresponsible. I don't see when he'll ever grow up."

Lily placed a finger to James' lips.

"He's a lot more grown up than we'll ever know. He's our best friend. There are just some things he'll never get over."

The two of them fell asleep upon their couch, hands intertwined, prayers on Sirius, and dreams unnerved about the future.

A/N: Sorry if you thought that was short. I did the best I could about the length. Please review.