Tonks wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting on the floor of the nursery. She'd come in just to look around. There were sheets on the crib mattress, even though the baby wouldn't be sleeping alone in the nursery for a while yet. The changing table was loaded up with diapers and other supplies. The dresser drawers were full of tiny sets of clothes.
They were prepared in the ways they could be. Tonks sucked in a sharp breath. There were unseen ways in which she didn't feel prepared at all. As she sat there, Remus was out trying to make the world a better place. Every second he was gone, he was in danger.
Really, they were in danger at home too. Tonks had spoken to Remus about Lily and James on several occasions. They'd been killed in their own home despite heavy protective charms, and she knew that knowledge lived deep inside Remus, never leaving him. It would never leave her again either.
She didn't hear Remus when he came home. One second, she was on the floor of the nursery in darkness, and the next, the door was opening, revealing the light from the hallway. Remus slipped inside, and Tonks let out a sob.
He rushed towards her, kneeling down and wrapping her in his arms.
She wanted to tell him that she hadn't been crying the whole time. She'd merely been thinking, though about upsetting things. She was crying now because she was relieved. He was home, and he was safe. She wasn't upset, at least not any more than she was every day now.
But the words wouldn't come, only more tears.
"It's okay," Remus muttered into her hair. "Everything will be okay."
