Prompt Thirteen
Title: Their Toughest Mission Yet
Author:
gijane7702
Format & Word Count: Ficlet 1146 words
Rating: PG
Prompt: # 13: "But worlds are made of hello and goodbye." - E.E. Cummings
Warning: fluff/swearing/cuteness
Summary: A mission that neither Tonks nor Remus will soon forget. Set post-HBP
Author’s Notes: Once again, this prompt came to me at work. Many thanks to
Krumfan for giving it a once (actually, twice over).
Sorry its late!
For reuniting with old friends-Carissa, this one’s for you
Nymphadora Tonks was positive the most terrifying word in the English language was "Goodbye". She watched, completely horrified, as the door closed on her former Hogwarts dorm mate and her husband. As if on cue, their seven month year old daughter, Carissa, burst out crying.
"Bloody hell, Remus! What do we do now?!" Tonks asked, looking over at her boyfriend who was lounging on the back of the couch.
"I don’t think you should be swearing in front of the baby, Dora," he replied, amused. Straightening, he placed his book on the table next to Tonks.
"You’re the ex-professor! You know children!" Her voice, she noted much to her dismay, was shrill. "We don’t cover babies in Auror Training!"
"Dora love, I taught teenagers. I have no idea what to do with babies. Though I don’t think you should be holding her like that."
Tonks paused in the middle of a reply to see how she was holding Carissa: arms straight out, holding the baby under her armpits, jiggling her every now and then. She gently bought the baby closer to her, resting the baby’s bum on her hip. Carissa immediately ceased crying and rested her head on Tonks’ shoulder.
Tonks grinned over at Remus, who smiled back. Her grin faded as Carissa began to grab at her breasts. "What the hell!?" she yelped.
"I’d say she’s hungry," Remus told her, amusement laced in his voice.
"You think!" Tonks huffed over to the counter where Melinda had laid out all of Carissa’s things. "I have no idea what I was thinking when I told Melinda I’d baby-sit! Even if it is only for two hours!" Grabbing a bottle, Tonks stuck it in Carissa’s mouth. She was shocked when the baby glared at her, but thankfully, she began to suckle.
"You’re helping an old schoolmate out, Dora," Remus reminded her. "You’re bumping into Melinda at Flourish and Blotts was fate."
"Don’t tell me that you believe in all that Divination crap, Remus!"
"No, I have this…aversion to crystal balls." He grinned at her snort. "Melinda was desperate for someone to watch Carissa and there you were."
"I haven’t see Melinda in close to a year with work, the Order, the war…you. Her baby shower was the last time! I feel terrible; we were great mates at school. So, I said yes." Tonks frowned as Carissa finished her bottle and then looked expectantly at her. "Now what do you usually do," she asked her.
"You’re expecting her to answer you?" Remus chuckled.
Tonks glared over at him, and then smiled as Carissa yawned. "Do you want to take a nap, sweets?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Forty-five minutes later, Carissa still hadn’t fallen asleep. In fact, she was screaming at the top of her lungs. Tonks was at her wit’s end and she could tell Remus was getting there.
"Why isn’t she sleeping?" he yelled over the baby’s cries as he consulted Melinda’s list in the kitchen.
Tonks, who was pacing up and down in front of the fireplace rocking Carissa, called back, "I have no idea!"
He stalked back into the lounge, waving the list. "There’s nothing on here." He paused. "Dora, can’t you smell her? Her nappy needs changing."
Tonks looked down at the hysterical baby. "Nappy? Oh, here," she thrust Carissa at Remus. "You do it." Once Carissa was in his arms, it was like someone had cast a Silencing Charm. The baby instantly stopped crying. Carissa even smiled at him. "I think she likes you, Remus. Smart girl."
He glared at her and headed towards the baby’s nursery. Placing the baby down on her changing table, Remus glanced over at Tonks and asked, "Have you ever changed a nappy before?"
"Nope."
"Great. Last nappy I changed was Harry’s. Dora," he said in a warning tone at the grin that spread across her face. "Don’t say anything to him!"
"I’d never!" She pretended to look offended but knew he didn’t believe her. "You changed Harry’s nappies!" she giggled. Remus ignored her.
As he removed Carissa’s dirty nappy, Tonks exclaimed, "How does something that small make such a mess?!" She glared at the baby as she cooed happily. "I swear she understands me."
"She’s seven months old, Dora!" For a man that hadn’t changed a nappy in 15 years, Remus did a quick job of cleaning up and redressing Carissa.
"Well, that wasn’t so hard now was it?" Tonks said. Remus gave her a look, and then picked the baby up. Carissa cooed at him then laid her head on his shoulder. "You certainly know how to charm the women in this family, darling. I thought Melinda was going to faint when I introduced you. But you had her won over in five minutes."
They left the nursery and headed back to the lounge. Remus placed Carissa in her playpen while Tonks collapsed on the couch and watched as he played with the baby. She said softy, "You’ll make a fantastic father one day, Remus."
He glanced around her, smiling slightly. "You think so?" he asked in a quite tone.
"Absolutely. Now I, on the other hand, will be a horrid mother."
"You’ll be a wonderful mother, Dora. You just haven’t had any exposure to babies."
"Er, the last baby you were exposed to was Harry; you don’t have much more experience than I do!" she sighed. "When we have our kids someday, I’ll have you to help me, so I think I’ll be able to muddle through it."
"And your mother…and Molly. Between the two of us we’ll do fine." Leaving Carissa chewing on a teething ring, Remus stood up, wincing as his knee cracked. He collapsed down next to Tonks on the couch, wrapping her in his arms.
"Yeah, we will be fine," Tonks said in a soft voice. Their eyes locked and they smiled at one another. "Hey, she’s asleep."
"How much longer until Melinda comes home?"
"About an hour. They only went for dinner."
"Fantastic." Removing his wand from his robes, Remus Summoned his book from the kitchen, he began to read aloud to her in a quiet voice that would not disturb the sleeping baby.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hello?" called Melinda’s voice 50 minutes later. "Tonks…Remus?"
"That is the most beautiful word I’ve ever heard," Tonks sighed as she got up to greet her friend.
"What…hello? Yes it is," Remus agreed. With a twinkle in his eye, he asked, "Even more beautiful that ‘I love you’?" He started to laugh as she pretended to think about it.
"Hello!" Melinda said as she entered the lounge. She saw Carissa sucking her thumb in the playpen, and said to Tonks, "Oh, she’s asleep. Job well done! I told you that you could handle her!" Tonks smiled sheepishly. "You’re an Auror for goodness sake! Can you baby-sit next week?"
Melinda looked perplexed as Tonks and Remus exchanged glances and groaned.