Remus Lupin (nihowlist) wrote in disorderic, @ 2018-04-19 21:40:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | jessamine spinnet, leon stebbins, remus lupin |
WHO: Leon, Remus & a few cameos by Jess.
WHEN: Directly before and after Teddy is born.
WHERE: Jess' house in Hampstead, Remus & Tonks' safehouse near Hogsmeade
SUMMARY: Leon gets the call, then they have some real dude talk.
WARNINGS: Schmoop and just a little angst.
Free time was hard to come by lately, between their conflicting schedules and his comatose patient. On top of that, Leon constantly worried when the next showdown would happen. Jeremy being off the St. Mungo’s payroll only helped if he didn’t get involved himself, and Leon doubted he’d stay out of it -- for good reason, of course. Nevertheless, it left a heavy weight on his shoulders. All the more reason to truly capitalise on the few fleeting moments he and Jess had, he thought. His girlfriend (girlfriend!) brought more joy to his life than he’d thought was even possible. That, he supposed, was why they held on so tightly. The unexpected delight, the hope for the future. He hadn’t thought it was possible for him to feel hopeful again. Leon leaned in and pressed his lips to where her neck and shoulder met. “What time do you have to be at work again?” he murmured, brushing his lips over the soft skin. “Time?” Jess wondered, arching a brow as she leaned close to Leon, seeing out his warmth. “What’s that …?” The pale light of morning slipped from beneath her shutters but, with a grin, she turned and pressed her lips against his temple. “I only see the moon. I don’t have to be in until morning.” This little dance gave her enough amusement to wait a beat to choke down a laugh before turning to him fully. “Seriously.” She faked a yawn. “So tired. Definitely bed time …” But as she leaned in, arms around his shoulders, she was stilled by a ringtone. Their moment, potentially gone. She sighed, pulling back slightly to reach over his lap and pull the phone from the side table. “That’s yours.” A low growl of disappointment rumbled in his throat, and for a moment, Leon considered not looking at his phone. For one selfish moment, he thought that whoever was on the other end could wait. And then the moment passed and Leon sighed. He had responsibilities -- not just to the hospital, but to the Order, to Joe. Reluctantly, he pulled back enough to reach for his phone, fully expecting to read that someone had been hurt (or worse; it’d been a challenging few weeks). Instead, it was Remus. “Shit.” Abruptly, he scrambled away in search of his shirt. “I gotta go.” Her face went pale. “What is it?” “I gotta --” Leon picked his shirt up and looked at her. Remus and Tonks had been so careful not to tell many people, but looking at the expression on her face now, he couldn’t lie to her. He grinned and leaned back in to wipe the stricken look from her face with a kiss. “I gotta deliver a baby.” “Sit. Please?” With both Tonks and the baby thoroughly looked after and sleeping, Remus showed Leon to the kitchen of their little safehouse and pulled a chair out for him. Thank Godric for magic because, without waiting overlong, he was able to produce two large and steaming mugs of strong coffee. He slid one in front of his friend and wrapped his palms around the ceramic circumference of his own mug. “That was --” Remus’ eyes were wide. Wow. “Something.” Something. Leon laughed and shook his head as he accepted the coffee. “If you could see your face right now -- something. Yeah, mate, that was something.” His friend had a good reason to be shell-shocked, though. The three of them had just been through something incredibly awe-inspiring, and Leon honestly couldn’t say he’d been a part of anything that powerful before. “I should’ve brought something stronger than coffee to celebrate this,” he commented, though if he was going to stay up any longer, he was definitely going to need the coffee. “Feels funny to toast to a new father without a shot of something, but we’ll have to make do.” He held his mug out. “Congratulations, Dad.” “ … I mean, there’s vodka in the freezer?” he said, gesturing behind him with a wave of his hand. But exhausted and a little dazed, he simply brought the mug up to clink gently against Leon’s. After taking a sip, he nodded again. “Thank you.” Remus might not have been interested, but Leon still was, so he wandered over to the freezer in search of the aforementioned vodka. He didn’t plan to have much - that would be later, when he might not need to be called upon for healing - but just enough to take the edge off. It’d been years since he’d been involved in a birth, and none of the books prepared him for the magnitude of the moment the infant cried. “How are you feeling?” he asked his friend as he sat back down at the table, conscious of how heavy this moment might be for Remus. “It’s probably a good thing you’re used to sleepless nights already.” The joke came out sounding more sad than Leon had intended, and he grimaced. “With the war on, I mean.” “ … greater impetus to survive,” he said after a moment, lips creased into a crooked smile as he saw his friend’s objective. He still more or less had winning off the table (depending upon the day), but knew that there was a chance that they could all get out in time. “Oh. You didn’t.” Remus smiled briefly. “Right.” After a moment, he continued. “ … I’m a dad now. I have to hope a little harder.” The fight had taken so much from them so far, and Leon knew it would take more before it was over, but he felt hope again -- for the first time in a while. More pressure, certainly, as well, because now they had another reason to ensure they won. Leon nodded in agreement. “We have to hold onto that. For him.” For Teddy and for all of the other children, who deserved to grow up in a world free from the sort of violence and prejudice that was so prevalent. “He’s going to make everyone smile a little brighter.” Remus’ face softened, thinking about his sleeping son and his resting wife. He looked back up at Leon and nodded. “Yes.” He paused. “And Leon, I can’t thank you enough for stepping in and helping us. Helping Teddy. You didn’t have to but … I’m so glad you did.” “You don’t have to thank me,” Leon said, waving a hand. What else could he have done? He was glad that he was able to be there for Tonks and for Remus, in the aftermath of Ted’s death. None of them had many people they knew they could truly count on and trust anymore. “It’s an honour, really. I only wish Ted could have been here too.” Remus nodded, head bowing slightly as he thought about Ted. She was effervescent and such a rock during … everything. But the connection was there. And it was Leon. He was quiet for a moment. “ … well. Full’s at the end of the month.” The sentence hung in the air between them. Leon knew Remus had been worried about that ever since he found out about the pregnancy, but Leon hadn’t been able to find any research about the subject. Nothing worthwhile, in any case. “I…” Leon offered him a sympathetic smile. “We’ll keep an eye on him. But I think he’ll be fine.” “Hopefully,” a swallow. “Hopefully he gets his Mom’s special genes in that respect.” Leon wished he had something hopeful to give Remus, something that would lift the weight sitting on his friend’s shoulders. This was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of Remus’s life; he shouldn’t have to worry about this on top of everything else. “We’ll figure it out,” he reassured Remus. “He has you. And me. We’ll take care of him, whatever happens.” It wasn’t the same fear that gripped Hope and Lyall - the fear of their boy, in the shed - it was fear for Teddy. And an overwhelming desire to give him something more. After a moment Remus nodded. “No matter what.” Smiling, then, Leon lifted his mug of coffee. “No matter what.” He had no idea what time it was when he got back to his girlfriend’s home. He hadn’t looked at the time before he left Remus and Tonks. He honestly wasn’t even sure what day it was anymore. His adrenaline had worn off, and once he hadn’t needed to keep time of contractions, time seemed to be a little meaningless all of a sudden. He’d kept in touch, at least. He remembered doing that. “Jess?” Instead of Jess voice, Leon got a trill from Toot the budgie. He whistled out a hello. Toot’s charge set the book she was flipping through on the counter, and walked toward the sound of Leon’s voice. Of course the bracelet strapped to Jess’ wrist alerted her of a presence within the house -- keyed to the wards, it meant that it could only be Leon, her sister or her parents -- and she walked into the living room from the kitchen, hands on her hips. “All right, mystery doctor,” she quipped. “How’d the procedure go?” Leon snorted. “Mystery, huh? Good mysterious, at least? Sexy mysterious?” Now that he was back and didn’t have to worry about keeping Tonks and the baby alive through the birth, he felt bone-tired. “It was wonderful, actually. Really good.” “ … so, are you allowed to share?” she asked, now really curious. She gave his bicep a poke. “Because if you are allowed to share then maybe I can fully disclose the level of mysterious. All you said was a baby. Is it a baby person? A baby … crup? What?” “Baby person. For the Order.” He eased his arms around her waist and bent his head towards hers, full of gratitude that Jess was still there and of admiration for what his friend had just gone through. “Their other healer…” He didn’t want to say who, since that might just give it all away. “Couldn’t be there. I said I would be, as back-up.” With palms resting on his shoulders, she nodded. She didn’t want to or need to know more once he said Order. It was for everyone’s safety. Even the brand new little baby. “Well damn. How long has it been since you did your OB rotation?” “Practically forever.” It had been overwhelming, to say the least. If something had gone wrong, Leon hadn’t been completely confident in his abilities to know what to do, at least on his own. They could have brought Jeremy over, but neither of them were experts in neonatal care or obstetrics. “We do what we’ve got to do, though, in times like these. Even if it means we’re a bit in over our heads.” She smiled, offering a kiss to his cheek. “Job well done, big boy. Now, let’s get you somewhere you can sleep it off.” Leon nodded. He thought he might end up sleeping half the next day if she let him. It’d been months since he had last felt this relaxed, and perhaps he should have been worked up with worry for Teddy’s future, but all he felt was peace and hope. The peace wouldn’t last, but the hope? The hope he would hold onto. |