The Things That Happen In The Night - Wolfstar

Chapter Thirty-Two: Where is the Baby?

"Marlene! Where's our son?" I asked again. I had asked this a dozen times, but still, I didn't receive an answer. Lily and James had left the room, leaving Marlene and I to talk. I sat on the side of Marlene's hospital bed as I waited for an answer. I couldn't see her face as she had it burrowed into the pillow.

I heard the door open and saw a healer come in. "I'm just here to check on her," the healer directed her statement to me before nearing Marlene. "Is she asleep," I shook my head at the healer before getting off the bed and sitting in a chair. "What happened?" I hesitantly looked to the healer, wanting, but scared, to know.

"Well, she did quite a bit of damage to her stomach. Putting charms on and off her stomach like that all the time is very harmful." The healer left me confused. Did Marlene not have the baby? What if she lost the baby? "What about the baby?" I leaned forward in my chair, requesting to know what's going on with my son.

"Pardon?" The healer appeared confused and slightly concerned. "The baby,"I repeated,"she's pregnant. I thought she was going into labor. Did she lose the baby?" I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear what happened. Over the past few months I had gotten excited to have a son. What if he didn't make it? Whatever damage Marlene did to her body might have killed him. Was that my fault though? I was the one who always asked her to see him. But were those the charms the healer was talking about?

"She's pregnant?" The healer raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I can assure you that she's not pregnant, we did a thorough examination."

The healer left soon after as I was left bewildered at what just occurred. I stood up from my chair and neared Marlene. I shook her, making her face me. "Marlene! What's going on? What's the healer on about?!" I could hear Marlene start to cry, but I wasn't about to stop until I had an answer. "Marlene! Talk to me, now!" I shouted angrily, hoping no doctors would come in.

Marlene lifted her face from the pillows and I could see her face was red. "Tell me." Marlene stayed quiet as I stared her down. "I...I just.." the reality of what the healer said hit me as Marlene confirmed it with her silence. "It's true isn't it. You're not pregnant, you have been lying to me all this time," I stared at her, unable to believe it. After five and a half months of thinking I was going to have a son, ruining my friendship with Remus and tearing away any chance of a relationship with him, she finally wants to admit the truth when she's been caught.

"Why?" I demand to know. Although I know at least part of the truth. Marlene didn't answer me but looked down at the sheets.

Knowing that I wasn't going to get any answers soon, I left the hospital.

~*~

"Sirius! What happened?" Lily's voice rang up the spiral staircase as we ascended Gryffindor tower. After leaving Marlene, I had only said a few words to James and Lily, leaving them utterly baffled. "Sirius, wait up!" I pushed open the door to my dormitory and went to sit on my bed.

"What's going on? Where have you been?" Peter asked looking around at me and the couple coming in the room behind me. I saw Remus sitting on his trunk, scribbling words onto a piece of parchment. He looked up at me but didn't make eye contact.

"Sirius, what's going on?" Lily asked as she took a seat next to me, James not being far behind. "Wheres the baby?" I shook my head, not particularly feeling up to talking. "There's no baby," I reply to Lily as Remus looks up.

"What?" He asks as he furrows his eyebrows. "There's no baby, Remus. She's been lying this whole time," I respond, a bit too harshly. I soften my tone once I see Remus' face. "There's no baby, she's in the hospital for something else." I get up to leave the room, but Lily pulls me into a hug before I go. "I'm so sorry, Sirius." I nod my head as she releases me and turn to the boys.

None of them say anything to me but their faces reveal exactly what they're thinking. Sympathy, pity and confusion are the main things I see and I'm glad they don't say anything. I quickly leave before that changes.

I head out of Gryffindor Tower and find myself aimlessly wandering the corridors. "Sirius!" I hear someone yell for me as I wander the fourth floor corridor. I turn to find Remus hesitantly jogging to keep up with me. I don't know what to say so I end up not saying anything at all. Nevertheless, I wait for Remus to catch up to me.

"How are you doing?" I shrug my shoulders at his question. I'm not really sure how to answer. I felt so excited, yet nervous, to be a dad. And now that I know I'm not going to be one, I'm disappointed, but at the same time relieved. I wasn't ready to be a dad, and having a baby with Marlene would have been disastrous, but that still doesn't lessen the hurt I feel.

"I'm doing okay, I guess," I sigh as Remus and I slowly walk along the corridor. "Well, on the bright side, I guess this means you're free from Marlene." I smile at Remus' words. I hadn't thought of that yet, but the thought made me happy. But what would this mean for Remus and I? Our relationship had suffered so much because of this.

Remus smiled back at me, making me focus on right now. As Remus and I continued to make small talk, I mentally made plans for tomorrow. Tomorrow, I decided, I'm going to break things off with Marlene and, most importantly, get some answers.

A/N:

Only 2 more chapters and an epilogue until this story is finished!