...Nourished with Loving Tears

Disclaimer: The characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling and her assigns.

She was back in the cottage where she and Ted had made love. For some reason, she had to find him, to warn him about something. Then she realized it was burning down and Ted was trapped inside. She had to get to him... to warn him. Something was pulling on her, keeping her from finding him...

She woke up to a sharp knocking on the door. "Come along, it's time to fix breakfast."

Swallowing the wave of nausea that rose to the surface, she answered, "I'll be right there."

What followed was more cooking, followed by more dishes. After that, it seemed that they cleaned for hours. Andromeda had never spent so much time on her knees as she did washing floors and cleaning the toilets and tubs. She resolved that she would never take house-elves for granted again. Then she realized she would probably never have house-elves again. Ted was neither wealthy nor well-established in pureblood circles.

She had plenty of time to think about her situation with Tonks. She scolded herself for continuing to nurture dreams of a pureblood marriage with a handsome prince who would cherish and love her. That prince didn't exist, and she'd known that for several years. Her least offensive potential mate had been Crabbe, and that only because he was incapable of speech. He and all the others had seen fit to put their lips and hands all over her at one time or another, just because they had been considered as her potential husbands at those times.

Ted...the Mudblood, she reminded herself...loved her and would cherish her. He was a Mudblood, she told herself, and the child within her was half Mudblood. A wave of nausea came over her at that thought. Could she be the mother of a half-blood? Could she love and nurture this child the way she'd seen Molly care for her little one? A small voice in the back of her mind pointed out that Molly's child was pureblood. It was easy for her.

She lay in bed that night and felt the hard knot low in her tummy. She wondered if Ted...the Mudblood...thought about it at all. He didn't have to worry about losing his blood status, if he cared at all about it. How had that small bump gotten there, anyway? Did that day in the cottage really happen? Her aching body answered that it had. Ted...just Ted...had loved and cherished her, and she had cherished him in return. He had shown her affection, and she had soaked it in like a sponge. This was the child they had conceived, if not in love, then in something very close to it. Yes, she could love this child.

Ted deserved a wife who could properly keep his house and feed him. Maybe some day she would be able to get into the Healer training program. If that happened, she had no doubt that Ted would share the tasks that were required to keep the household running. He had already shouldered every single one of her burdens while his own increased as well. In the mean time, she would do her share.

As the days went by, Molly showed her more of the spells for housework and cooking. It turned out that she was right to make her do it all the Muggle way first. When Andromeda could picture exactly how it felt to do the work by hand, the spell was fairly easy to perform.

One morning, she awoke with renewed purpose. She would become the wife that Ted Tonks should have. Things went beautifully that day, and Molly even complimented her progress. Then Molly showed her how to make a pie. Andromeda did as she was told and then felt how to do it. Within minutes, she settled the crust into the tin, added the filling, and then the top crust. As she stretched the top of the crust to the edges and pinched them together, it just felt right. Molly sniffed and showed her that she needed to make some small openings for the steam to escape.

"I have no idea how it's going to taste, of course, but it looks all right."

That night, Arthur brought home a surprise. Andromeda was helping to lay the dishes on the table when she was pulled into a close embrace. "My angel, I missed you so."

"Oh, Ted."

He pulled away and looked into her eyes. "When did you start calling me that?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

She bit her lip. "I just...just hold me, Mudblood."

He smiled. "That's my plan."

Dinner was much more cheerful than with just the Weasleys. Ted, in that wonderful way of his, kept the conversation going and made everyone laugh. Molly was happy to brag about her teaching skills until the pie was cut and eaten. At that point Arthur raved a little too much about it, and Molly left the kitchen. Arthur ran after her.

Andromeda looked at Ted in dismay and then stood up, gathering the dishes to start washing them.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I've put my foot in it again. Every time I think I'm doing well, I manage to upset her. I just can't ever get on the right side of things."

"You're perfect to me."

Seeing that the sink was attending things properly, she turned to him. "Please don't lie to me; what happened to your family? And what did my father do about your job?"

He looked away from her.

"They were right," she said. "It's all my fault. I'm not worth it. And I was right. My family is doing everything they can to kill you."

"Stop," he said, shaking her gently. "Nothing terrible has happened. Yes, my family's house was burned down, but they and all their important things had already been moved out. Your father did pull strings to get me out of the Aurors, but Magical Law Enforcement took me, and I'll be out of training and earning full pay that much sooner. He wasn't able to get me kicked out of there. Scrimgeour wouldn't have it. We're fine. We'll be fine."

The words were important, but the way he held her, and the comfort that always washed into her was more so. "All right," she answered.

"I thought we could have a little time together here tonight. Would you like that?"

"With Arthur and Molly?"

"Arrangements have been made for them to go out and enjoy themselves for a while. Do you think we can handle their son?"

Bill and Andromeda had become friends of a sort. "Yes, I think we can."

Arthur and Molly came into the kitchen, dressed for an evening out. Molly spouted directions to Andromeda the whole time Arthur steered her toward the door. Andromeda and Ted stared at the closed door and then each other.

"Why don't you play with Bill while I finish cleaning up?" she asked. "Molly keeps some toys for him in that corner over there."

After a couple of false starts, Bill decided he liked Ted. Andromeda would have been surprised if he hadn't. She was coming to understand that it was impossible to dislike Ted Tonks. In her case, it was becoming impossible not to love him. She watched them play with glowing eyes as she put dishes away and set the kitchen to rights. They had so much fun that she almost hated it when it was time to give the toddler his bath.

It was not a process that the child was fond of, but Ted made it fun for him, and Andromeda got him clean. It wasn't quite to Molly's standard, but Andromeda thought to herself that it was probably better that way. She reflected that the pie might have been too big an accomplishment and that perhaps it was as well not to succeed in everything.

When the child was asleep, they went downstairs and turned on the wireless. Ted pulled Andromeda close, with one arm around her and their other hands clasped between them. As they swayed to the music, he kissed her hair and whispered to her, "I always dreamed it would be like this," he said.

"It's like a dream," she answered.

"It's going to come true, now. The license came through today and the wedding is set for tomorrow."

She looked up at him. "It's really happening?"

"Yes." His lips came down to hers for a long kiss.

She kissed back eagerly, and they stopped dancing as the kiss grew more intense. Her arms slid around his neck as his hands slid around her waist and up her back.

"Ah, love, I've missed you," he whispered.

"I dream of this," she answered.

She developed a dire need to feel his bare skin under her fingertips. She unfastened his robe and shirt and pushed them away from his chest. She hummed happily and settled her head against him, all the while continuing to unfasten things and slide her arms around his bare torso.

He lifted her chin up for a kiss again and started working at the fastenings of her dress and then her bra. She shimmied so that it fell around her hips. Holding her hands to the side, he stepped back from her and looked at her. He pointed to the bulge in her lower abdomen. "Is that..."

"Yes," she answered, "that's the baby."

He knelt down, pressing first his hand and then his lips over the spot. Andromeda wasn't sure what happened next, but she was soon aware of his hands caressing and massaging her breasts. Then they were kissing again, and Andromeda was pushing Ted's robe and shirt over his shoulders. She sat and then slid back on the couch, pulling him with her. Her arms and legs pulled him close, and then they were joined together.

"Oh, Ted... Teddy," she whispered. "I've missed you so much."

"My love," he groaned.

The rhythm increased, and very little was heard beyond sighs and groans until a moment when they held each other very tightly, scarcely breathing. Andromeda thought she would never know such bliss again. Ted groaned and grunted until he collapsed. He rolled and readjusted their positions so that he was on her side. They lay close together, with her head on his shoulder.

"I didn't intend for that to happen," he said.

"I don't care. I'm glad," she responded.

"I thought we should wait until our wedding night."

"I'll take you any time I can get you."

"Is it like that?" he asked with a smile.

"You're the center of my life, Mudblood," she answered. "You're all I think about, I only feel right when I'm with you, and I want to be a better person for you."

He didn't speak for a few minutes. She wondered if she'd said something wrong or if she had managed to offend him. Had she bored him to sleep? "Ted?"

He took a deep breath, as though he were choking on something. "Why is it," he asked, "that you only use my given name when you're worried or passionate?"

"I'll be using it tomorrow in our vows."

"Are you sure you'll remember?"

For a minute she panicked. What if she did forget? Would it invalidate the marriage? Then she remembered something from the weddings she had attended. "The officiator will tell me what to say."

It started as a rumble, deep in his tummy, but it quickly burst out. "Oh, Andromeda," he said as he laughed, "you're amazing."

"What did I say?"

He tipped her head up. "You said that you love me in the same ways I love you. You're the center of my life too, Andromeda Black."

"Soon to be Tonks."

"Soon to be whatever you choose as your last name. As long as I have you, I don't need anything that you'd rather not do."

They lay companionably together. "Is it love? It seems more like insanity, all the things we're doing just to be together."

"We'll be quietly mad together, then," he whispered, shifting his own head so that their lips could meet.

Soon she was whispering his name again. "Ted... Ted... Ted-dy!"

He laughed in triumph and joy as once again they came together.

The clock wound around to the morning, and there was some commotion downstairs. Andromeda ignored it in her much-needed sleep until it knocked on her own door. She pulled herself out of bed and tied a wrapper on. Then she opened the door and bestowed a sleepy smile...upon a frantic-looking Arthur.

"Andromeda, I don't know how to tell you this." He ran his fingers through his hair. He must have been doing it a lot, since it stood on end.

She was suddenly alert and completely awake. "What is it?"

"Ted's been staying in a safe house, and various members of the Order...well, a group of our friends...have been checking in on him in the mornings, just to make sure your family hasn't done anything. Today he didn't answer the door, so they went inside, but he hadn't been in since he was here yesterday. They've checked with his job, his old apartment, some other places... Andromeda, I'm sorry, but we can't find him."

"Oh," she said, looking over at her bed with a very pink face.

"If the worst has happened, we'll find some way to protect you and the baby."

"But, Arthur..."

"There are places you can go and people who will help you."

"We were dancing last night."

"It's good that you two had a happy evening together. I'm glad we were able to give that to the two of you. Don't worry, one way or another we'll find him, or at least find out what happened."

"Arthur, listen. We couldn't help ourselves, and well..." she pulled the door completely open and let her host see the bed. Ted had that look of mischief on his face that had always endeared Andromeda to him.

"Here? He's been here the whole time?" Arthur looked in amazement.

"It was after we put Bill down to sleep, and we couldn't seem to help ourselves..."

"Tonks! What the hell is the matter with you! Half the order has been frantic when you didn't check in. McKinnon is in hysterics." Arthur looked like he didn't know whether to be angry or relieved.

Ted quickly got up out of the bed, causing Arthur to turn away quickly. "Gads, man, cover yourself up. There's a lady present."

"If you'll give me a minute, I will." He reached for his clothing, which was draped over a chair. "What exactly is the fuss?"

"McKinnon went looking for you at the house and when she didn't find you, she went straight to Scrimgeour, and the whole thing was let out."

"Shouldn't she have checked back here, first?"

"Yes," said Arthur impatiently, "but she didn't. So now you'll have to straighten all of that out with the Order, then straighten it out with the boss, face your future in-laws, and be ready to get married in," he looked at his watch, "ninety minutes."

Andromeda squeaked. "Our wedding is in an hour and a half?"

Ted flashed a smile at her. "Can you wait that long?"

"Get out!" She threw a pillow at him. "I have to get ready!"

"I'll take you as you are."

"Gah! Men!" she shouted. "Maybe I need to practice saying your name! 'Mudblood' seems to roll off the tongue easier than 'Theodore' sometimes."

Ted's laughter lingered in the upstairs hall after he followed Arthur to the tasks outlined for that morning.

An hour later, Andromeda looked at herself in a full-length mirror she had brought from her parents' home. It had always been kind. It wasn't the first time she had thanked Uncle Alphard's carpet bag, but she was most grateful now.

"You look lovely, dear. He'll want to marry you," said the mirror.

"That's the intent," Andromeda said as she tried yet again to put her hair up. It was useless to try. She'd never managed anything other than brushed straight or a braid down her back.

"It's a very pretty dress," said a new voice. She looked up and saw Molly standing in the doorway.

"I was supposed to wear it next week to the Wizengamot. It wasn't supposed to look like this." Andromeda had tried to will more fabric into the bodice, which couldn't hide the generous cleavage she now had, but Gamp's law was against her. This dress wouldn't hide the pregnancy bump that seemed to be more obvious every day, either.

"He won't be able to take his eyes off you."

"Do you think so?"

"If he's like my Arthur, and I'm fairly certain he is, he will love you in whatever you're wearing."

"I want him to have a pretty bride."

Molly came into the room and stood behind Andromeda. "I think we can do something a little different with your hair." She Summoned brush, comb, pins, and a spray bottle. She spent a few minutes brushing until Andromeda's hair shone. "I suppose I was unkind when you first came here."

"I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble."

"I've been so tired with Bill and the one on the way. Worst of all, Arthur just agreed to your staying with us without asking me first. He seems to think I can handle anything that happens."

"He seems to worship you."

"I suppose," Molly said as she sprayed and brushed Andromeda's hair. "You've worked hard, learning how to do things in the house. Now that it's all been done, you really haven't been a bother at all, and it's been nice to have another witch around."

Andromeda smiled at that. "I'm grateful for everything you've taught me. I want Ted to have a comfortable home. He deserves to be happy. He's gone to so much trouble to make this work."

"I think you'll both be." Molly combed, twisted, and pinned for a few minutes. "You seem to have that thing that happy couples have."

Andromeda realized she was becoming part of a couple and suddenly felt nervous. "Do you ever regret it?"

"Regret what?"

"Marriage, motherhood, any of it."

Molly paused with pins in her mouth and a brush in one hand. Finally she nodded. "On a great many days, I do, especially when Arthur says I'll do things without asking me first." Both witches giggled. "But every day I also find some reason to be glad that sweeps any regret away."

"There are moments when I don't think I can do this, but then there are moments when I know that if I don't do this, I'll simply die."

"You love him; that's obvious."

Did she love him? It was the most incredible feeling she'd ever had, but she wasn't sure if what she felt qualified. Andromeda bit her lip, but then she looked in the mirror and saw herself. "Oh, it's amazing, Molly!"

"I was always pretty good with hair. With any luck this new one will be a girl and I'll get to do hers."

A/N: Thank you to Kyria of Delphi and Pennfana for beta reading!