AN: Many thanks to the betas Pel and Gryff. Pel actually worked on the fic on the plane while on her way to come visit me! LOL! It was nice to chat one on one – face to face with someone who knows where I'm going with the story. Anyway. I'm sorry for the delay in getting this posted, and I'm afraid it may be a while again before I am ready with the next bit. It's the holidays and life is getting crazy. I hope this will hold you over until the next update. Thanks ever so much for the reviews. You all ROX!

Chapter 9

22 March 4:12 pm

"I am finished with you," the feminine voice announced. "You may dress now."

Tonks sat up slowly, holding her robe over her chest protectively. "When will you know the results?"

"There is much to examine, but worst is over." Venoma glanced over her shoulder at Tonks. "It will take some time. What you give me is not easy task." Her voice was thick with a foreign accent, and her grammar proved that English wasn't her native tongue, but Tonks hadn't managed to ask where she was from.

"Can I wait here?"

"Yes," her voice hissed, "if you wish." She pointed a long, elegant finger at the front of the establishment. "But please, in other room. I need quiet."

Tonks nodded, slipping her robe around her shoulders and fastening it closed.

Tonks made her way through the beaded doorway, which served as the only barrier between Venoma's lab and the waiting room – if you could call it that. At first glance, Tonks believed the place to be more of a shop than a medical establishment. In the corner sat a large, over stuffed sofa covered in red velvet as well as many decorative pillows. Books, candles, and all sorts of unusual artifacts filled every nook and cranny of the place. Most of the items were for sale and had some sort of medicinal purpose attached to it. The room was heavily scented in potent fragrances ranging from wild flowers to garlic cloves. Soaps, perfume, and lotions were offered, much to Tonks' surprise, and made such promises as wrinkle free skin and an eternal youthful glow.

No wonder Petra Venoma looked the way she did.

When she had first arrived, Tonks was prepared to meet a ragged looking witch with frazzled gray hair, bony hands, and warts. What she found was quite the opposite. Petra Venoma had skin as milky white and smooth as a newborn baby. It was flawless, with just the perfect amount of color at her cheeks. Her chocolate brown hair, which Tonks imagined to be at least waist length, was styled neatly in an elegant twist around her head. Her robes were made of a fine fabric, and jewels and spangles of all sorts covered her neck and wrists. Two long earrings dangled from each ear lobe, giving the illusion that her neck was longer and more slender than it really was. She was quite simply a stunner. Certainly not what Tonks had expected a witch doctor to look like.

She didn't behave the way Tonks had expected either. She was very gentle and had an ease about her that seemed to calm some of Tonks' initial fears. Filled with worry over the possible out come of the situation, Tonks very nearly pretended to need some sort of skin remedy and tried to leave before the witch grew suspicious. However, Venoma saw right though the act and brought Tonks into the back room for an examination. Venoma insisted that it would be simple, but Tonks had a phobia of medical personnel, mostly due to how often she had visited a Healer in her youth due to her clumsiness.

"Paternity is not difficult to determine," Venoma insisted. "If you have blood of the father, it will go quickly."

"I don't have any blood," explained Tonks. "I only have this," she said offering up the vial that contained the bit of hair from LaMont.

"Hum, that is difficult."

"Why?"

"Hair does not make good source for the life line."

"The what?"

The beautiful witch looked deeply into Tonks' eyes. "Within our blood is the life line that determines who we are. It is a combination of two lines – a father and a mother. The line is found in every part of our body; our skin, our bone, and yes, even our hair. But it is easiest to examine the line within the blood." She held up the vial. "Hair is very difficult to work with. Very few lines in the hair."

"But it can be done?" Tonks asked uneasily.

"Certainly. Paternity is not difficult to prove."

Tonks' face flushed slightly. "Actually…er…what if I want to prove that this man isn't the father?"

"Not the father?" Venoma repeated, twisting the tube that Tonks had given her in her fingers.

"Well, it might be. That is…I hope it isn't. I need to know, though, before I tell my…my…Well see, there is someone else that I'm hoping is the father and I don't want to say anything to him until I know the truth. That's why I came to you for help."

Venoma squinted at Tonks. "So you like me to prove that this hair is not of the father?"

"Yes."

Venoma nodded, looking skeptically at the vial in her hand. "It would be easier if I had a line from man you wish to be father. You have nothing from this other man?"

Tonks scowled, suddenly angry with herself for not stopping at home first and getting a hair from Remus' hairbrush. Why hadn't she thought of that? "No, I'm sorry. I don't have anything else."

Venoma wet her full lips with her tongue. "Then my job will be harder. Just know that I may not provide you with definite answers."

Tonks nodded, hopeful that whatever answers Venoma could provide would be enough.

"Now, disrobe and lie on the table," the foreign witch instructed.

The nervous knot inside Tonks' stomach tightened as she obeyed the direction she was given. Venoma explained how she would retrieve a line from the baby growing within Tonks' womb and assured her that it would be painless, but for some reason Tonks couldn't help but fear for something to go wrong.

She closed her eyes tight and listened to the melodic words chanted by the witch doctor. They were foreign words – a language that sounded mid-eastern in origin. A warm, tingling sensation tickled at Tonks' midsection just below her navel. Her instinct was to cover her stomach with her hand, but Venoma had warned against this, and so Tonks held her hands in tight fists against her sides. It only lasted a moment, but to Tonks it felt like an eternity.

When she opened her eyes, Venoma was holding a small vial of blood. She informed Tonks that everything went well and she could get dressed again. Now all that was left was to wait.

Tonks sat on the squishy sofa with her knees tucked up under her chin like a little child and wrapped her arms around her legs. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, wishing with all her might that things would work out for the best. She wished for Remus to understand one way or the other. She wished he were here with her right now so that she wouldn't feel so small and alone.

The chime on the door sounded as someone entered the shop. Tonks squeezed her eyes shut tightly, ignoring whoever it was, and buried her face into the crook of her knees. She heard footsteps coming close to her followed by light chuckle.

"You look like a little girl when you sit like that."

Tonks' attention was immediately drawn to the familiar voice. She looked up at him in total surprise, speechless at the sight of him.

"It makes me feel old when you manage to look so young, you know."

"What are you doing here?" she asked tentatively.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that question?"

She wet her lips and looked away from him, not knowing exactly how to tell him…not sure if she was ready to tell him just yet. However, with him being here…did that mean that he knew? "How did you know I was here?" she asked in a small voice.

Remus took a deep breath and sat down next to her on the sofa. "It seems to me that we are both asking questions that neither one wants to answer." He paused long enough for Tonks to look over at him with a worried expression. "Garcia told me where you were." Her mouth went open in obvious shock. "And before you become angry with him for filling in some of the details, I think you should know that I gave him very little choice in the matter."

"What do you mean?"

"I…well…" Remus ran a nervous hand through his hair. "I overheard your conversation with him at the Leaky Cauldron today. I was in the booth behind yours."

Tonks bit at a fingernail. "So then…you know…I mean…?"

"Yes, I know."

Her chin quivered as she fought back tears. "Oh, God. This wasn't how you were supposed to find out."

"Believe me, Tonks, I would have much rather heard it from you directly. Instead, I overheard parts of a conversation that I didn't fully understand, and because of that I drew some rather upsetting conclusions."

"I don't understand. You heard me say that I was – that I'm – pregnant." It was still difficult to get the word out.

"Yes, I did," he confirmed, his eyes drifting unknowingly to her abdomen. "I also heard you say that it wasn't mine. From the way the rest of the conversation was worded, I made a terrible mistake and assumed that you…and Garcia…"

Tonks frowned at him. "You thought I had an affair?"

Remus nodded solemnly.

Letting her feet fall to the floor in an angry thump, Tonks shifted to face him. "Remus! How could you think that? I would never - "

Remus held up a hand in his defense. "I didn't know about LaMont. You never told me everything that happened that night. With you admitting that it couldn't be mine, I had to assume someone fathered the baby."

"But Zach?" she said incredulously. "How could you ever think that I would do something like that?"

"I heard him say that you two spent a night together. I even heard him admit that this was as much his fault as it was yours. And Tonks, I refuse to believe that you are unaware of his feelings towards you."

"What feelings?"

"Oh come now, Nym, the man is in love with you!"

Tonks gave a gasp of surprise. "He is my friend!"

"He may be just a friend now, but if I weren't in the picture then I'm certain he would be much more."

"But he isn't!" she insisted.

"Yes, I know that now. I readily admit that I made a terrible mistake. However, I would have never jumped to such a conclusion had you told me about LaMont in the first place."

"I didn't think there was anything to worry about! Honest!"

Remus paused a moment. "Still, you should have told me."

"And you should have said something at the Leaky Cauldron today. You should have told me you heard us talking."

"We were both in the wrong," he said softly, taking her hand. "Forgive me. I will never doubt you again."

She met his eyes and tears started to fall down her cheeks. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to know. I was so embarrassed." She curled up next to him, resting her head against his shoulder and tucking her feet under her legs.

Remus wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him and planting kisses into her hair. "I love you, Nymphadora Tonks. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life. That will never change, no matter how badly a mission goes – how severely you're injured. I think what hurt me the most through all of this was discovering that you had been through something so distressing and traumatic – and you didn't feel comfortable coming to me."

"I'm sorry," she groaned into his shoulder. "I didn't want you to judge me or feel sorry or…any of that. I don't know what I was thinking. I just didn't want you to know I had failed so miserably."

Remus stroked her hair lovingly. "Darling, this wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was. I should have known better. I should have never allowed him to drug me. I was so stupid!" She was crying fully now, which only spurred her anger at herself. She hated crying, and here she was bawling like a baby. "What kind of an Auror am I, anyway? Clumsy is one thing, but this was plain carelessness. I should have gone to a Healer. I should have taken care of things."

"What things?" Remus asked with a hint of worry to his voice.

"I should have found out right then and there if I was pregnant. I swear to you Remus," she said looking up at him with fierce eyes. "I didn't think it happened. I would know, wouldn't I? I would have felt something. I would have noticed something."

"Garcia said the same thing. He told me you were convinced LaMont didn't rape you."

Tonks inhaled sharply upon hearing the word. "Two weeks ago I would have told you he didn't…but now…" her arms wrapped around her middle. "It's possible he did. And then when Zach said that he thought it could be yours…" She paused here, wondering if Remus knew about that part. "He did tell you about that, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did. I must say that I'm totally dumbfounded by the very idea."

"But it could be?" she said optimistically

"I don't know," he replied honestly.

Remus watched her closely as she tried to figure out how to put into words what she was feeling. She found herself at a loss. Her emotions were in such a jumbled state of confusion and panic that it was difficult to hold onto what little hope she had that the baby was Remus'. Explaining all of that to him in a way he could understand seemed impossible.

"I don't know what to do," she admitted at last. "I'm so confused by all of this. What I want…and even what I don't want…"

"Meaning the baby?" Remus asked.

More tears fell down her cheek making it nearly impossible for her to hide her desires from him any longer. She felt guilty for even having such thoughts, but they were real and she couldn't deny it any longer. "Yes," she whispered. "I don't know if I can…I can't…"

"Tonks," Remus' voice said in an attempt to lure her out of her thoughts. When she didn't look up at him, he placed a finger under her chin and gently lifted her face. "Nymphadora." She met his eyes and was surprised to be granted with a small smile. "Before we go any further here, there is something that I need you to know."

She swallowed, fearing the worst. The reason she had waited to tell Remus any of this was so that she would be more prepared to face him. If the baby were his, then there would be no cause for alarm. However, there was a great chance that it wasn't his. How would he handle that knowledge? How would their relationship change if Remus weren't the father of the baby she carried? Tonks had imagined several scenarios, all of which ended badly. She even put herself in his shoes. If he had fathered a child with another woman, how would she feel about that?

But this is different. I didn't do this on purpose.

She wet her lips and bravely looked into his eyes, waiting for him to explain what was in his heart.

"It worries me to hear you say that you would have taken care of things," Remus said, his voice very low. "The implication there…frightens me. You have every right, of course. If that's what you want, especially once we have all the facts, then I will stand by your decision. However, I need you to know that I love you…and I love everything that comes with you. It's the same way you love me – lycanthropy and all."

Tonks pursed her lips, not daring to believe what he was trying to tell her. "I do love you. I do. But this is different."

"No, just listen. I need to say this, and I think you need to hear it." He took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts. "You've been mulling this around in your mind for a good while now, I'm sure. Whereas I've only had a short time to consider what's happened, but I'm already feeling some sort of a…I don't even know how to word it. A connection? All I know is that I want a family with you, Nym. Regardless of what these tests prove today, I hope…with all my heart…that you will allow me to be a father to this child."

More tears fell upon hearing this. "That's what I want, too" she cried. "But what if it's not yours?"

"It is mine," he said, taking her hands in his. "It is mine."

Tonks bit her lip. "But LaMont - "

"I don't care." He leaned forward. "How many times have you told me that you don't care about the lycanthropy? Well, I don't care about these test results. It's the same thing, Nym."

"Don't you at least want to know the truth?"

Remus smiled. "I admit to having more than a passing curiosity, yes. However, whatever the results, it won't change how I feel right now. I love you," he said, pulling her closer to him. "I want a family. I want to be a father. And I love this child."

She fell against him in a sob. He drew her into his arms, holding her tightly. He kissed her hair near her temple, kissed her cheek, and then found her lips with his. She kissed him back with all the emotion she had inside. It wasn't a fiercely passionate kiss, but it was deep and full of meaning that only they could understand. They stayed there for what seemed like an eternity, pressed together in an embrace.

"I don't mean to interrupt," came the sultry voice of Petra Venoma.

They broke apart, slowly, catching their breath before turning to look at the witch doctor. "Are you finished?" Tonks asked, wiping away a tear from her cheek.

Venoma nodded and gracefully crossed the room. "Unfortunately, I do not have the answers you wish."

Tonks felt her stomach plummet to the floor.

"The sample you give me is not good. There was no root."

"What does that mean?"

Venoma plucked a hair from her own head and signaled for Tonks to take a look at it. "You see the root, that is where I find a life line. The hair you give me had no root. So I could not get a life line for you."

"Oh, I see." Tonks said disappointedly. She looked over at Remus who smiled sadly back at her.

"However the sample I took from your womb," continued Venoma, "I found very interesting."

Both Remus and Tonks turned their attention back to the witch doctor. "Interesting in what way?" asked Remus.

"Tell me, this man you think fathered the child, is he a shifter? Not an animagus. More like a…a…"

"Metamorphmagus?" Tonks finished.

"Yes," Venoma said with an elegant smile.

"No, that would be me. I'm a metamorph."

Venoma laughed. "You should tell me such things before I examine for you. I was confused from what I saw. Now I understand."

"Does that mean the baby is a metamorph?" voiced Remus.

"From what I see, I believe so. Yes." The witch doctor turned away slightly before adding, "I still do not understand sensitivity to moonlight, but no cause for alarm."

An amazed look passed between Remus and Tonks. "Excuse me," Remus said, standing up. "Sensitivity to moonlight…what do you mean by that?"

Venoma seemed confused by the question. "I mean there is sensitivity to moonlight. How else should I say?"

"Is it lycanthropic in nature?"

Venoma shifted her gaze to Tonks. "Are you a werewolf, too?"

"No," Remus said taking a step forward. "But I am."

The witch doctor's blue eyes darted from Tonks back to Remus. "A metamorph and werewolf…now that is interesting." Her eyes narrowed on Remus. "Was it your hair?"

"No, but I'll gladly give you some."

"Blood would be better," she said casually.

Without a moment's pause, Remus pulled up his sleeve and held out his arm to her. Tonks stood up in amazement. Remus seldom showed his skin to anyone, let alone a stranger. His body was scratched and scarred from years of transforming without the aid of Wolfsbane potion. Though his arm wasn't badly injured, the marks on his skin were still obvious.

That wasn't the only reason Remus' reaction had been so surprising to Tonks. Werewolf blood, like that of any dark creature, was considered a precious commodity among those that dealt in the dark arts. There were several dangerous and lethal potions that called for the blood of a werewolf. It was for that reason, as well as some personal ones, that Remus had always been careful with his identity. Yet here he was, freely offering up his blood to a witch doctor who knew the truth about his curse.

"Your hand is all I need," Venoma said with a small laugh. Taking Remus hand, Venoma sliced his palm and let the blood begin to pool.

"Only enough for the test," Remus interjected.

Venoma gave a twisted smile as she turned his hand over and carefully drained it into a vial. With a tap of her wand she sealed the vial and then turned her attention back to the cut on Remus' hand, which she healed quickly and effortlessly. Nodding gratefully at him, Venoma turned on her heal and passed back through the veil of beads that led into her lab.

"You didn't have to do that," Tonks said, taking his hand and tracing a line through his palm.

Remus stared at her. "Yes, I did."

Tonks smiled knowingly and hugged him. "I thought you said you didn't care about the results."

She felt Remus shrug his shoulders, "I lied."