Severus had arrived shortly after, breezing into Grimald place in his usual dramatic manner, cloak billowing behind. Whatever curse Remus had been hit with was nasty, causing both internal and external bleeding. He'd gotten to work immediately chanting incantations calmly but quickly over the suffering man.

Through it all, the hours Snape spent working over Remus, one thing never changed, Caelen. Her tiny voice wafted through the closed door of the sitting room they'd brought Remus too. She was sobbing softly pleading every few sobs, "please let me see my daddy, please?"

Snape sighed as he closed up the final bleeding wound before thrusting a potion into Lupin's face. "Here blood replenishing." He growled out before heading swiftly towards the door. In one swift motioned he swept up the small crying girl carrying her to her father's side, he'd never have admitted it aloud but the sound of her begging broken voice had wrenched painfully at his emotions. He prided himself on his ability to distance his emotions and his focus but Caelen's cries agitated him beyond anything else, "there, he's going to be fine Caelen," he growled briskly. With that statement, the dark man swept from the house as if he hadn't been there to begin with.

Caelen's hands ghosted over Remus' chest inspecting his newly acquired scars. His shirt lay tattered and bloody where it had been discarded in the rush to stop the bleeding. "I told you you should have brought me," she whispered a trembling smile gracing her lips, "look at you couple months without me and you nearly...you n-nearly d-d-die." She stammered out the last before bursting into tears.

Remus pulled his daughter to him holding her gently against him as she sobbed. "It's ok cub, it's ok." He soothed gently whispering reassurances. "Shhhhh shhhh I'm here I'm right here it's ok."

That's where they stayed, Remus resting on the couch, Caelen plastered against him sniffling softly even in sleep. "Gave us quite a scare mate," Sirius' voice whispered from the doorway, careful not to wake the sleeping child.

"Sorry bout that, got through to most of the younger werewolves though." He said it triumphantly, grinning as if his current state were unimportant.

"Remus you bloody well almost got yourself killed!" Sirius snapped frustrated at his friend's brash actions.

Remus glanced down, he wasn't ashamed, not really, he stood by his actions. He'd accomplished the task given to him and, thankfully, managed to live through it. Still, he wasn't in the habit of worrying those he loved and Sirius' scowl pared with Caelen's continued sniffles did make him feel sort of awful. "I'm sorry I worried you." He apologized quietly.

Sirius sighed as he sat in a chair near the sofa, he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees head in his hands. "Listen mate promise me something ok? You're my best friend, my family, nearly all I have left. You've got a little girl depending on you and, whether you want to accept it or not, a woman who adores you. Next time Dumbledore wants to send you on a suicide mission tell him to stuff it!"

Remus laughed, the kind of laugh you respond with when someone tells you to do something that in your mind seems all but impossible, "I'm just doing what's required of me to end this war Sirius, you'd do the same. James and Lily did the same."

"That's where your wrong mate," Sirius disagreed quietly, "no one believed in the cause more than James and Lily, but, when Voldemort threatened their lives, threatened their family, they didn't go out looking for him. They hid, Remus, they took precautions!"

"Lot of good it did them!" Remus snapped angrily.

"Yeah well they trusted the wrong person!" Sirius responded equally as frustrated. "Point is don't abandon the people that need and love you because you don't value yourself!"

Remus sat stunned, his jaw working but no sound coming out at first. "I w-wouldn't...I'm I'm not..." He stammered out at last.

Sirius eyes his friend sternly, " lYes well see that you don't! I love that little girl I swear I do but if I have to spend another month holding a sobbing child you better be dead or it better be my own kid got it?"

__________________________

In the weeks that followed Caelen was never far from her father's side. She clung in a way she hadn't since their first few weeks together two years ago. Remus, for his part, decided to embrace the clinginess knowing full well his little girl wouldn't be little much longer. For a moment the thought had welled up deep feelings of resentment in him. He'd been cheated, that's all there was to it. Cheated out of rocking her as a baby, cheated out of first smiles and steps and words, cheated out of her first achievements.

As usual Caelen had picked up on his tension. Large brown eyes glanced up questioningly from her place in her father's lap before she'd tucked her head under his chin whispering a soft, "love you daddy."

They'd been sitting there for an hour now Caelen's sleepy breaths warming Remus' throat. "She sure does love you," a soft feminine voice observed from the doorway.

Remus shifted uncomfortably, his last conversation with Tonks still fresh in his mind. "I'm all she has," he replied quietly kissing the sleeping girl's head.

"Well that's not quite true," the woman argued quietly, "she's got the Weasleys, my nutter cousin, I'd like to think me, even Snape though I'm not sure how that came to be. She adores you because you're her father and you're the most important person to her, not because you're the only option."

Remus sighed shifting ever so slightly over on the sofa and patting the spot next to him in invitation. "I'm sorry, about before I was harsh."

The pink haired woman walked forward with a grin. She sat quietly next to the man she'd come to adore and grasped his hand tightly in both of her smaller ones. "It's ok Remus, I understand. I think you're completely and totally wrong, but I get it, really. Just, if you just tell me you feel nothing for me, that I'm crazy and misread everything, I'll go. I'll go Remus, I'll walk away and leave you alone and never bring it up again. But, if you feel anything for me at all, please give us a chance Remus!"

"Dora, it's not that simple. I'm dangerous, I could hurt you!" Lupin argued.

Unnoticed by the two adults Caelen's brown eyes inched open. She glared in horror and frustration at the woman inching into her father's side. In some ways she liked Tonks, she was funny for sure, the things she could do as a metamorphagus were awesome but her interest in Caelen's father scared the girl. Perhaps that fear, her lingering fear of most women and the terror of someone taking the only person she was certain would protect and love her regardless of anything she did or didn't do, was responsible for her next actions.

Tonks leaned into Remus her voice going soft and gentle. "Remus have you killed or maimed any of your friends yet? Have your hurt Caelen? Don't you think we could take precautions? Isn't that what you're fighting for, aworld where you, Caelen, and people like you can live without the hate and prejudice that people like Voldemort encourage? Remus your self loathing is just as bad in the end, would you let Caelen push away someone she loved because of who she is?"

Remus visibly paled a combination of thinking of boys chasing his little girl and the horror of her thinking as he did, hating who and what she was.

Tonks seemed to take this as a chink in the chain that was his argument and leaned forward her lips inches away from his own. "I just want a chance Remus," she whispered gently.

The moment would have ended in a sweet, gentle kiss had a wave of unintentional magic not sent the metamorphagus flying across the room. Caelen sat up shaking as she glared at the stunned woman who was stumbling to her feet in surprise. The air crackled with the little girl's untamed uncontrolled magic causing the two adults to stare in shock. "Caelen," Remus' quiet voice whispered.

The girl froze in his arms seeming to realize what she'd done at his tone. His voice was stern, a warning tone that she's never heard before. Throughout her pranks with the twins, her unauthorized wandering through the castle, even the time she'd visited Severus without permission, Remus' voice had never sounded so disappointed, so close to punishment. Without a second thought the little girl leapt from his lap racing from the room as if she were being chased.

"Caelen!" Remus called after her frustration and disbelief coloring his words.

"It's ok Remus," Tonks, who had brushed herself off and crossed to stand next to him once more, reassured him. "She didn't do it intentionally, poor thing was asleep for all you know she could have woken up and been frightened."

Remus stared at the now empty doorway. He knew better, he knew how his daughter reacted to things, the stuff shaking form was not her fear. When Caelen was afraid she cowered, she clung and begged forgiveness. That was anger, she'd sat straight, shoulders squared defiantly and glared at Tonks. In the two years he'd known his little girl he'd never seen a hint of her temper and the raw force of it now rendered the man speechless.

_________________________

Caelen raced from the sitting room in horror. She hadn't meant it, not really, she'd wanted Tonks to get away, she hadn't intended to blast her away like that though. She couldn't say she regretted it overly much, the woman was after her father after all, but she hoped she hadn't been hurt.

A week ago if she'd been this upset she'd have headed straight for her room and clung to her father's pillow. This was different though, she wasn't upset because she missed her father, she was scared he was angry. Caelen launched herself through Sirius' bedroom door, sprinted to his wardrobe and climbed inside.

Sitting in the dark, her ragged breaths the only noise in the room, Caelen wandered just how angry he was. Was Tonks angry? There'd been one time, when she'd lived with her mother, that Gena had brought a man home. He'd seemed nice at first until Gena had encouraged him to help control her freakish child. Would Tonks be like that? Would she influence her dad to hate her, hurt her? She shivered at the horrible thought.

A part of her knew better, her daddy had never once hit her, to be honest he'd rarely disciplined her at all, not that she'd really earned any anyway. Still, the part of her that vividly recalled days with Gena wasn't willing to chance it. Sure Tonks seemed nice now but so had some of Gena's friends, no it wasn't worth it. With that thought the girl dozed off in the dark corner of her godfather's wardrobe, snuggled into the soft pile of tshirts he kept inside, unaware of the panic taking hold in her father's chest as he searched the old Black home for his child.

__________________________

Hello hello, I'm back peoples!!! Sorry I found an absolutely amazing mauraders era fanfic on fanfiction.net and got a bit distracted lol there's like 84 chapter but it's unfinished if you're into that sort of thing I highly highly recommend "casting moonshadows" it's just wow! Love it! Anywho I'm to the end of it so you've got me back lol hope you enjoy this story and thanks so much for all the comments they make me sooo happy I'd love more later