The Eighth Year Universe
Love Wins
You're Gonna Save Me From Myself
The chapter title comes from the song:
Save Me From Myself - Great Big World.
REMINDER...
Many moons ago in 'Brave New World', we found out that Rob met a squib called Gaia Cornfoot in the Closes and took in her son, Nicholas (Nick) after she died of an overdose...
Hermione got home early in the morning. She stalked through the quiet castle in her high heels, bypassing the kitchen because, of course, it would be empty at 6am. She really needed to change her clothes and have a hot bath before she felt ready to go into the ministry without shouting at someone anyway.
She stepped into her and Draco's bedroom, which was empty. She wasn't surprised; Draco usually slept with Sadie and Theo when she was away. He got lonely, and having company took the edge off the nightmares.
Sighing and shoving her cloak into the wardrobe, then kicking off her heels, Hermione stepped through the connecting door into the bedroom where the other three were still out for the count. Theo was in the middle, with his arm over Sadie's stomach, and Draco was pressed up against his back. They were all naked, so there was no guessing what they had been up to the night before.
She wasn't annoyed about it, but it did seem like a good time to poke a little fun at them.
"Honestly!" She snapped, jerking Draco awake first.
He moved away from Theo and looked up at her, while Theo groaned and Sadie opened her eyes blearily.
Hermione shimmied out of her skirt and began to unbutton her blouse.
"I leave for a couple of weeks to secure our country's future," Hermione continued, discarding her blouse on the floor and taking a step towards the bed.
"I let old, fat men kiss my hand. I flirt with Russian bastards just to get things done. I have to endure two of the most boring dinners of my life, and all the while, you three are going at it?"
"Sucks to be the Queen," Theo said, grinning in his sleep.
Hermione chuckled and dropped onto the bed, "Ugh, I missed you guys."
Theo pulled her down to his level, where she landed ungracefully on top of him.
"Missed you too, princess."
Hermione kissed him lightly, then shuffled into the space between him and Draco.
"Did you save the world?"
"Maybe," Hermione said, trying to fight a yawn, "I struck a deal with the Russians and Merlin; they are a hard people to bargain with."
Draco smiled and placed a kiss against her shoulder blade.
"We have permission to fight on foreign soil, though," Hermione told him, "Given that we were the ones who caught the Statute Saboteurs and have the lead on this Lazarus guy."
"Hm," Draco mumbled, "You're not going to let me go to Europe, are you?"
"Absolutely not," Hermione said, reaching behind her to take his hand, "After what happened to Harry, there's no way I'm letting either of you out of the country."
Theo smiled sleepily and kissed her, "You're sweet."
"Does that mean I get to leave the country?" Sadie joked sleepily.
Hermione chuckled, "No. it just means you don't have the same reasons as these two. You're not a Reserve Auror."
"No, just a brilliant Unspeakable who may have a way to wake Harry up," Sadie said, which jerked the others into a more alert state.
"What?"
"Why didn't you mention that last night?" Draco asked.
Sadie chuckled, "You two were a little preoccupied when I came up. I got distracted."
Draco ran his finger up Hermione's cheek, then murmured, "Legilimens," when he reached her forehead. She got flashes of the night before, and her cheeks flushed.
"Fuck," She muttered.
"Sorry you missed it. We'll apologise later," Theo promised.
Hermione knew they would. She turned her amused gaze from Theo to his wife, who was watching her carefully.
"What do you need from me, Sade?"
"Honestly, Mione," Sadie began. She bit her lip and then just said it how it was, "No judgement and permission to take civilians into the Department of Mysteries."
Hermione nodded, "If it's to help Harry, you know there's very little I'll refuse."
Sadie reached over and grabbed Hermione's hand, "I don't know if they will be okay with it. It's not conventional, and it's not without risk either. I know doing this will get me voted out of the DoM by the other Unspeakables, but…this life isn't for me. I don't want to keep secrets from the people I love anymore."
Hermione smiled at her, "I understand that."
"And, whatever it is, do you really think they won't do it?" Theo asked, "Daphne would do anything to get Harry back."
"I know Daphne will," Sadie said, "But for this to work, it's going to take all three of them."
"Anyone with eyes knows that Neville and Lilly would move the earth for Harry too," Hermione said, fighting back a yawn.
"Neville's his brother," Theo murmured, "He'd do anything, just like I would for Lace."
"And Lilly's had Harry's back through so much. They've been to hell together and fought their way out," Draco added.
"It wasn't hell; it was Cardiff," Theo teased.
"They spent two days locked in a magic proof cell together; they bonded," Draco said, giving Theo an amused look.
"And I don't know, I'd argue that Cardiff is hell," Hermione joked, "But getting them to help won't be a problem, so what's the real stumbling block?"
"It's dark magic," Sadie admitted, "Old magic, blood magic. It…requires a sacrifice, and that's not a modernised 'oh we can kill a baby rabbit' kind of thing. It's…"
"Do they have to kill a virgin?" Draco asked.
Hermione snorted, "Is that what the old blood rituals used to do?"
"Yeah," Theo and Draco echoed.
"No, they don't have to kill a virgin," Sadie said, "But they do need to give something up to get him back."
"What kind of sacrifice?"
"It's complicated," Sadie said with a sigh, "And it involves the merging of magical cores, which is so intimate and personal that…well it can go wrong easily."
"They'll do it," Draco promised Sadie.
Hermione nodded, "Just make sure it happens quickly. We don't know how long Harry has left."
"I'll get on it as soon as I can," Sadie promised.
Teddy felt like the world's worst boyfriend, mainly because he was, even if everyone else was telling him that he wasn't. He had been exhausted after everything with his dad. It had been a week and a half since the incident since his dad came home.
And Teddy had barely slept. He had kept going for Nick. He had run around in his animagus form with Nick to keep an eye on Rob during the full moon.
He was just so tired when Nick told him to go home and sleep it off.
"But the funeral - " He'd tried to object.
Nick had brushed him off, saying it was fine; they had done most of the prep anyway, and it was just a case of making sure Rob didn't do anything stupid.
And Teddy, stupidly, had listened to him.
When he woke up the following morning, it hit him like a ton of bricks. He'd been an idiot, and he instinctively knew that something was wrong. He opened his eyes and saw the silver wolf perched at the end of his bed.
"It's my dad. I need you, Teddy."
Teddy didn't even think about it. He got dressed and apparated to Nick's house, where he was met outside by his panicked boyfriend.
"What happened?" Teddy asked, panic entering his voice.
"He stunned me," Nick said, throwing his hands up to grab at his head, "Fuck, Teddy, he stunned me, and he said he loved me, he said goodbye."
Teddy's eyes widened, "Where did he…."
"I don't know, a pub, probably," Nick said, his eyes wide with panic.
"Nick, calm down," Teddy said, grabbing his arms to anchor him.
Nick took a breath.
"What pub?" Teddy asked calmly.
"Uh, the Irish one he always goes to," Nick said as he tried to focus, "O'Malley's."
Teddy nodded and grabbed his hand, "Let's go."
They apparated into a nearby alley together and walked over to the pub. Teddy saw the tell-tale signs before Nick did, a spot of blood by the door and a few more leading into the alley where the rubbish bins were.
"Nick…"
"Dad!" Nick yelled when he saw the blood. He bolted across the street in a hurry, and Teddy followed him at a jog.
When the trail of blood finally ended, they found Rob curled up in the foetal position with several open wounds. He was lying in a puddle of blood between the back door and the garbage bins.
Nick yelled in anger, or sorrow and then he turned around. Teddy could tell from the retching that he was throwing up, so he remained calm and sent an emergency Patronus. Then he put up anti-muggle and silencing wards before hunching down by Rob to feel for a pulse.
"He's alive, Nick!" He called, "His pulse is weak, but it's there."
Nick shook his head, he couldn't bring himself to turn around and look at his dad, and Teddy didn't blame him.
A loud crack sounded, and two Trauma Healers appeared at the other end of the alley. Teddy could have breathed a sigh of relief when he realised that it was Clara and Nevaeh; there weren't much better hands to be in, really.
"We just found him like this," Teddy said, motioning to Rob's body, "But we have no idea how long he's been here."
"Oh my god, Wolfie, these are stab wounds," Clara said in a pained whisper, "Why would you do this?"
"Because he lost his daughter, that's why!" Nick yelled, "His precious fucking daughter is gone, so he decides to top himself too! Never mind the son he's got left!"
"Teddy, could you - " Nevaeh nudged her head in Nicks' direction, "Give us some space to help Rob?"
Teddy nodded and got to his feet. He wrapped his arms around Nick then led him a few paces down the alley, away from Rob.
"Well handled," Clara said in a whisper.
"I dated Teddy Potter for a while, long enough to know that anything he felt for me was never going to compare to the way he felt about Nick Wolfe." Nevaeh returned as they waited for their diagnostic spell to finish, having already performed charms that slowed Robs' blood loss.
"Ah," Clara said with a nod of realisation.
The diagnostic charm came in, and Clara shook her head, "That's too much blood."
"We can give him a transfusion at the hospital," Nevaeh suggested.
"He's already in Hypovolemic Shock; his heart would give out before we got there," Clara returned in a whisper.
"Damnit, Rob," she added irritably.
"What about an in-field transfusion?" Nevaeh whispered.
"Risky, and someone here would have to be able to give him the blood," Clara replied quickly.
"Not any riskier than doing nothing and letting him die," Nevaeh said.
Clara nodded and called, "Anyone know what blood type Rob is?"
Nick turned around, "Yeah, AB neg."
"Damnit," Clara said with a shake of her head, "Are either of you O neg? Because I doubt we're going to find another AB neg in a hurry, it's the rarest blood type."
"I'm AB neg," Nick said, "He's my dad, so," he shrugged.
"Not by blood, though," Teddy said with a frown, "You're adopted."
Nick shook his head and sighed, "No, I'm not. Can I help?"
Clara ignored the comment and nodded, "Alright, Nevaeh, we're doing an infield transfusion. You gotta have my back if this goes bad. The line of defence is that we made this decision together because the only other option was admitting defeat, okay?"
Nevaeh nodded, "I've got your back."
Clara nodded once more, "Nick, sit down and roll up your sleeve. Nevee, find a vein in Rob."
Nick sat down on an upturned barrel, Nevaeh nodded, and the two Healers got to work. Nevee found a vein and hooked a bag up to it. Clara pricked Nick's arm and hooked a bag up to it, then she connected them and murmured a spell to start the transfusion.
Nick and Teddy both watched Nick's blood transfer to Rob. Nevee kept an eye on the blood. Clara gave Rob an adrenaline shot to trick his werewolf genetics into healing himself faster. She applied dittany to his wounds to hurry up the process and avoid infections, and slowly, it began to work.
"Blood pressure's rising, Clara," Nevaeh said.
Clara breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "We're getting some colour back in those cheeks. How much blood has Nick given?"
Nevaeh checked the bag, "270ml."
"How you feeling, Nick?" Clara asked, looking at him closely.
"Fine," Nick replied, "Is it working?"
"It's working. Sure you're not feeling dizzy or nauseous?"
"No, I'm fine, really," Nick promised.
Teddy knelt by Nick's side, his hand on the other man's knee. The two women didn't question it, and Teddy didn't care much if they did anyway.
"Blood pressure still rising," Nevaeh said.
"Heart rates almost normal now," Clara said. She sounded brighter than she had five minutes ago.
"Cap that at 400ml, Nevee. We don't want to save one patient only to have another pass out on us," Clara said, giving Nick an amused look.
Nevaeh chuckled but did as she was asked, "We're at just over 300ml now," she informed her boss.
"And I'm still feeling fine before you ask," Nick said.
Clara nodded and checked on Rob's wounds, "Healing time has returned to normal, Merlin; the scarring is going to be awful, though."
Nick looked at Rob scornfully, "That's kind of what he deserves."
"Hey, don't say that," Teddy said quietly, "He's in pain - "
"We all are," Nick muttered, "Doesn't mean we go out and get in a bar fight on purpose though, does it? Doesn't mean we try to fucking end it."
"My dad did," Teddy blurted out, and he knew he shouldn't have said it – not in front of Nevaeh and Clara, but he did.
Nick looked at him in surprise, "What?"
"When I was a kid, my dad tried to kill himself," Teddy said quietly, "Thea was a baby, I was maybe 8…he was an alcoholic and….he was in a bad place, he was in a lot of pain. I never punished him for it. I don't hate him because of it."
Nick looked away from Teddy and swallowed, "I'm sorry, I never knew that."
"Yeah, it was kept quiet," Teddy said, glancing at Clara and Nevaeh, "For obvious reasons."
"Patient confidentiality," Nevaeh said, holding up her free hand, "We won't tell a soul."
"Even with our…history?"
Nevaeh shot Teddy a smile, "Hey, if it wasn't for our history, I wouldn't have worked out I like girls as well as guys, so thank you for the amazing shower sex I had with the best girl a couple of days ago."
Teddy grinned at that, "You're very welcome. Glad to be of service."
Clara laughed, "Which girl was this?"
"No one you knew," Nevaeh said.
Clara snorted, "Yeah, right. We'll be getting to the bottom of that one later."
Nevaeh gave her a look that said, 'Oh no, we won't,' then she ended the blood transfusion with a spell.
"That's you all done, Nicky," She said with a note of familiarity. They had all grown up together, after all.
Clara unhooked him, and Nick leant back against Teddy; he looked a little pale.
"Dizzy?" Clara asked.
"A little," Nick admitted, "But not nauseous."
"Alright," Clara said, she shoved herself to her feet, "Teddy, I want you to side-apparate him to St Mungo's for me. That was a big transfusion, and we did it in the field, so I'd like to monitor him for any signs of infection."
Teddy nodded and helped Nick to his feet. He pulled a half-eaten bar of Honeydukes chocolate out of his pocket and handed a chunk to Nick, "Eat, it helps."
"Swear that's your catchphrase," Nick said, giving him a fond smile and taking the piece of chocolate.
"I could be meaner if you want? I'd tell you to shut up and eat it, you asshole."
Nick snorted and popped the chocolate into his mouth.
Clara patted him on the shoulder and said, "You're a good kid, Nick. What you just did saved your dad's life."
"Yeah, well, that's good," Nick said, "Cause now when he wakes up, I can kick his arse."
"Yeah, maybe after some more chocolate and a lie-down, Rocky Balboa," Teddy teased.
"Stop quoting that crap Muggle film you made me watch," Nick muttered.
Nevaeh smiled at their interaction, "Get your boyfriend to the hospital in one piece, and we'll keep an eye on him. You know where the Trauma Ward is, right?"
"Course I do," Teddy said. He gave her a mock salute, "I'll get him there, Hall. You can count on it."
Nevaeh rolled her eyes at him and helped Clara get Rob onto a stretcher. They levitated it and placed a portkey on Rob, then the three of them disappeared.
"Hold onto me," Teddy said to Nick, who was flagging now.
Nick did it without question, and Teddy apparated them to St. Mungos. When they reached the apparition point, Nick took a step then nearly fell over, so Teddy put an arm around his waist and said, "I've got you."
"I know," Nick murmured.
It wasn't until they were sitting in the waiting room together that Teddy broached the subject.
"So… he's your dad," Teddy said, "For real?"
Nick nodded.
"When did he tell you?"
"He didn't," Nick replied.
Teddy looked over in surprise, "What?"
Nick sighed and looked straight ahead, "He's never told me anything, but I'm not stupid, Ted. I look like him, everyone notices it, and I didn't get how I wasn't his son, so I got a swab of DNA from the house, and I had it tested a year ago. It came back saying what I'd expected it to, I'm his son."
"Fuck," Teddy breathed, "Why wouldn't he tell you that?"
"I dunno, but when he wakes up, I'm gonna kick his arse," Nick muttered under his breath.
"Do you think they've contacted Jen yet?" Teddy asked.
Nick shook his head, "Jen isn't his emergency contact."
"Who is?" Teddy asked with a frown.
The door up ahead opened, and Nick pointed to the man who had just walked in, "He is."
John Sheppard had just stepped into the waiting room, and Teddy snorted, "Is that because Jen's out of the country a lot?"
"No, it's because he's shit-scared of her, and he knew if he ended up in the hospital, it would probably be because he did something stupid, and Jen would, you know, kick his arse," Nick returned.
With a chuckle, Teddy waved to John as he approached them.
"Hey, Uncle John," Nick greeted him.
"Hey, kid," John said, sitting down next to Nick, "You okay?"
"Yeah," Nick lied.
"He just gave a ton of blood to save his dad's life, so okay is a relative term, I guess," Teddy said sarcastically.
Nick gave him a long-suffering look, and Teddy lowered his voice, "I'm sorry, Nick. This is all my fault. If I'd just been a better boyfriend and refused to leave you, then he wouldn't have stunned you and disappeared."
With a shake of his head, Nick reached over for Teddy's hand, "You're not a shit boyfriend. You couldn't have known that my dad was going to act like a suicidal dickhead, could you? And you've got your own problems to worry about. Your dad's in a fucking coma."
"Yeah, and yours nearly died," Teddy said, squeezing his hand, "So right now, you've got me, and I've got you."
John smiled and patted Nick on the back, "You're lucky, you know? To have a guy who's got your back on and off the field."
"Yeah, I know," Nick admitted.
Before any more could be said, a door swung open, and Nevaeh waved at Nick, "If you're feeling up for it, he's asking for you."
Nick got to his feet and dragged Teddy to his too.
"He just asked for you, Nick," Nevaeh added.
"I don't care," Nick said fiercely, "I'm fucking sick of pretending, so Teddy's coming in with me."
"I wouldn't argue with him if I were you," John remarked.
Nevaeh held up her hands and motioned to the door. The two men stepped inside, and she rolled her eyes at John, "Aurors, stubborn bastards, aren't they?"
John chuckled and nodded, "Yes, we are. Don't suppose you could direct me to the nearest coffee station?"
"Just down the hall," Nevaeh said with a polite smile.
John nodded and disappeared, then Nevaeh leant against the wall, taking the brief moment that she had to herself to take a breather.
"Hey, you."
Nevaeh opened her eyes and smiled, "Hey," she said when she saw Edith's smiling face in front of her.
"Don't suppose your due a break?" Edith asked.
Nevaeh bit her lip, "I…am, actually."
"Great, so am I," Edith said, glancing around, taking Nevaeh's hand and pulling her into a break room.
Rob looked like complete and utter shit. That was the first thing that both Teddy and Nick realised when they walked into his hospital room. He was awake, but he looked hopped up on pain potions. His eyes were heavily lidded, and he was still pale.
He noticed Teddy's presence straight away. He saw that Nick's fingers were intertwined with the other man's, but he didn't say anything.
"Hear you saved my life?" Rob asked weakly.
Nick let go of Teddy's hand, "Yeah, I did. It was pretty easy, us having the same blood type and all."
Rob managed a slight nod, "Thanks, kid."
Nick swallowed hard, "You can call me 'son' you know since that's what I am."
"Nicky…"
"Nah," Nick said hotly, "Don't try and bullshit your way out of this one, Dad. I know you're my birth father. I've known for a year, so I guess I'm just wondering if you were ever gonna tell me?"
"I couldn't," Rob said. He groaned and pushed himself up the bed slightly.
Teddy stepped forward and handed him a glass of water.
Rob sighed and took a sip, giving Teddy an appreciative nod.
"You couldn't? Or you just didn't want to?" Nick asked quietly, "Didn't want to admit that you slept with a cheap hooker from the Closes?"
Rob cleared his throat, "You can say whatever the fuck you want about me, son. But if you ever call your mum a cheap hooker again, I'll curse you."
Nick froze and looked at his dad in disbelief, "You loved her."
Rob sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Yeah, I loved her. But you're right, I did fall in love with a bloody hooker, and I was working in Domestics. My job was to look out for people like that, not to fucking sleep with them. If anyone found out that you were my real kid, I'd have been fired on the spot, I'd have lost the job that let me provide for you."
Nick didn't say anything for a moment. Then he sat down by his dad's bed, "You…."
Rob looked at Nick, "I didn't know you were mine when she was pregnant, but god, I hoped you were. Either way, I told your mum that I'd give you a good life, whether you were or weren't mine by blood. I'd have taken you in, no matter who your father had turned out to be, but when you were born, and it was me, I'm not ashamed to say I cried my bloody eyes out, Nick."
Nick swallowed and nodded, looking down at the ground.
"I wanted to take her away from all of it," Rob said quietly, "I wanted us to bring you up, to raise you differently from the way she'd been raised and the way I'd been raised. I met her just after I started in Domestics, it was one of my first cases, actually, and there was just this instant connection there."
Teddy sat down next to Nick and placed a comforting hand on his knee. Nick reached over and grabbed Teddy's hand in response.
"We were on the cusp of doing it, getting her out of the Closes," Rob said quietly, "Then she lost it. I don't know what triggered it, but she overdosed on sleeping potions when you were 4 months old."
Rob shook his head, "It was the middle of the war, and I was on my own. I muddled through, knew I could never tell you the truth while I was an active Auror, especially not when I was leading Domestics, so we all fell into the lie, and it just never came up."
"But it's true," Nick said, "I'm your son."
Rob smiled crookedly, "Flesh and blood."
Nick nodded and let out a sigh, "Thank you for not lying to me again."
"I'm sorry I kept it from you for so long," Rob said. He pushed himself up a little, "But it seems right to retire now, anyway."
"After you've seen a Mental Health Healer," Nick added.
Rob scoffed, "What? Why?"
"You tried to kill yourself, Dad," Nick said testily.
"Nah, I just got a bit mouthy," Rob said offhandedly.
"And let some Muggle stab you half to death?" Nick retorted furiously. He looked his dad in the eye, "I'm fucking torn apart by what happened to Nat. I want her back more than anything. I look around every corner and expect to see her, but she's gone, Dad and if you had died…."
Nick swallowed, "Nat was your miracle kid with Jen, I get that. But…why wasn't I enough for you?"
Rob's eyes softened, "Nick….hey, Nicky…you are enough for me. I didn't…I didn't mean to…."
He shook his head, "I did get mouthy with the wrong guy, but I didn't do it on purpose. I just wanted to get out the house, Nick, and yeah, I got blind drunk."
"You said goodbye to me," Nick said quietly, "So don't try and pretend you had no idea you might get yourself in trouble."
Rob sighed and looked at Nick, "Yeah, I knew I might get in a bit of trouble, but I didn't go out there to die, Nicky, I swear. I just wanted to…."
"…feel something."
They all looked up to the doorway, where Caroline was standing.
Rob rolled his eyes, "Great. I'm on your books now, am I?"
"I'm the one they call when Aurors get suicidal, Robert," Caroline said with a smile, "So you and I are going to be chatting every Monday morning from now on."
"Great," Rob muttered.
Caroline shot him another smile then slipped out of the room.
"And you need to stop drinking," Nick said, turning his glare on his dad, "Cause you can't pull another stunt like that. You've got to get sober cause you're all I've got, Dad."
Rob smiled sadly, "I love you too, kiddo, but that ain't entirely true, is it?"
He motioned to Nick and Teddy's joined hands.
"Yeah, look, I decided it was time to stop lying about this too," Nick admitted. "Teddy's my boyfriend, Nina's my girlfriend, Mina's his girlfriend, and we're buying a penthouse in London together."
"Fucking hell, that's a lot for a guy who's just seen the fucking light," Rob joked.
Nick gave him an exasperated look.
"It's alright, really," Rob said with a nod, "I didn't…I loved Natasha, god I loved her so much. I didn't care she liked girls, and I don't care that you like guys either."
"I don't, really," Nick said with a shrug, "Teddy's bisexual, but I'm Demisexual."
"What's that mean, you get a hard-on for Demi Moore or something?"
"Who the fuck is Demi Moore?" Nick asked while Teddy sniggered by his side.
Rob grinned and said, "I don't have a clue what that means. The whole BLT rights thing just reminds me of a fucking sandwich. Don't mean I'm against it, just don't understand it."
"LGBT," Teddy said with a grin, "BLT is a sandwich, Wolfie. And for your reference, Demisexual is being attracted to someone based on their personality, not their gender."
"It also helps that Teddy is genderfluid," Nick added.
"I don't…I don't want to ask any questions about that, do I?" Rob asked, looking between them.
Nick shook his head, and Teddy fought back an amused grin, "Probably not."
"Right," Rob said awkwardly, "Are you guys happy? All four of you?"
"Yeah," Nick said, smiling at Teddy, "We are, actually."
With a nod, Rob said, "Then fine. Fuck it, do what you want. Have a fucking joint wedding. Get at least one of those girls knocked up so I can have grandkids. I don't give a shit. I just want you to live your life and be happy…happy is good…you know, like happiness is a rainbow with a pot and gold, and there's a leprechaun in this fuckin' story somewhere I think…."
With that, he passed out, and Teddy let out a reluctant laugh, "Reckon he's gonna remember any of that when he next comes to?"
"I hope so. I don't want to have that chat again," Nick said, grinning at his boyfriend.
"BLT rights," Teddy cackled, "Classic Wolfie. I can't wait to tell Dad that-"
He cut himself off, his face paling and Nick realised straight away why. For one brief moment, he had forgotten.
"Ted," Nick said, getting to his feet to pull the other man into a hug.
But Teddy shook his head and pulled his hand out of Nick's, "I'm fine…I'm fine, okay. You just stay here with your dad."
"Teddy!" Nick called, but it was too late; Teddy was already out of the door.
With a sigh, Nick ran a hand through his hair. Then he pulled his wand out of his pocket and murmured.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A silver wolf knelt in front of him, and Nick spoke to it, "Take a message to Almina Nott. Tell her – it's finally hit Teddy about his dad. He's freaking out, and I don't think it's me he needs to help him. I'm at the hospital with my dad, who nearly died in a barfight like a dumbass. I'm going to floo Nina and tell her, but don't worry about visiting. Just look after Teddy."
The wolf jumped out of the window, and Nick sighed, looking at his dad wistfully before getting to his feet to floo Nina.
- TBC -
