Meant to Be

Chapter Nineteen



‘Oh my god! Congratulations, Remus!’ Molly squealed, hugging him tight. Arthur also added his good wishes, shaking Remus’ hand.

‘Thank you,’ Remus said, grinning.

He’d just broken the news that Jess had accepted his proposal, and was pleased that his friends were happy about it. He would need to hang onto that happiness when he made his next stop - Tonks’ mother, Andromeda. The woman hadn’t seen a lot of Teddy over the past few weeks, but his transformation was tonight, and his grandmother usually took him for a couple of nights. He hadn’t told her about Jess yet, and wasn’t looking forward to it.



‘Remus,’ she greeted him a little coolly an hour later, reaching out for Teddy with a warmer smile. ‘How is my wonderful boy?’ she cooed, taking him out of Remus’ arms. Teddy was pleased to see her and grinned.

‘Come in, Remus,’ she said formally, before turning and chatting with Teddy as they walked down the hall.

Remus took a deep breath as they entered the living room and sat down when she indicated he should.

‘I hear you have a new job,’ Andromeda said, putting Teddy on the floor in front of her. Remus nodded.

‘Yes, at the Ministry,’ he confirmed. ‘Teddy is going to nursery there as well. He loves it.’

Andromeda smiled stiffly, and said, ‘You must be wanting to go and prepare for the night. Don’t let me keep you.’

Remus bit his lip to stop a retort and tried to smile. ‘Andromeda, I need to talk to you about something,’ he said, seeing her taken aback expression.



They rarely spoke about anything except Teddy. Tonks’ mother never approved of their marriage - not surprisingly. Not many parents would support their daughter marrying a destitute werewolf who was closer to their age than hers. And when Tonks died, Andromeda had been heartbroken - wishing aloud it had been Remus that was taken instead of her only child. She also lost her husband, Ted, in the war - Teddy was all she lived for.



‘Is Teddy alright?’ she asked now and Remus nodded.

‘He is,’ he said. ‘He did have a stomach bug but he’s fine now. It’s not really Teddy I need to talk to you about.’

He took a deep breath. ‘Four years before I married Tonks, I was engaged to another woman,’ he began, seeing her surprise. ‘She left me because I had some…trust issues. Her name was Jess.’

Teddy looked up at the sound of her name and said, ‘Dess!’

Remus looked at him as did Andromeda. ‘Jess works at the Ministry now,’ he continued. ‘She’s my boss actually. We’ve decided to give our relationship another chance, and we‘ve been seeing each other for a little while. I’ve asked her to marry me, and she accepted. Again.’



Andromeda looked as if her face was carved from stone as she stared at him. ‘We are moving into Jess’ house next weekend, and Teddy will be able to stay with her during my transformations after this month. Andromeda, he…loves her. He lights up when he’s with her…’

‘No,’ she said suddenly and Remus frowned. ‘I don’t know this woman. She is not looking after my grandson.’

Taking a slow breath through his nose, Remus tried to keep hold of his temper.

‘Come and meet her then,’ he offered. ‘She is going to be a part of Teddy’s life. You are part of Teddy’s life. You should meet her.’



‘If this woman wants to marry you, I couldn‘t care less,’ Andromeda said. ‘But she will not replace my daughter. She will not ever be Teddy’s mother.’

Remus stood up, staring down at her. ‘No one will replace Tonks, Andromeda,’ he said. ‘Teddy will always know who his mother is, but that doesn’t mean he can’t love someone else.’

Her face didn’t soften at all and his temper began to get the best of him. ‘He’s my son, Andromeda, and I will decide who looks after him.’

‘Then maybe living with you and your mistress is not the best environment for Teddy,’ she said softly, her eyes boring into his. ‘Perhaps he would be better off living elsewhere.’



Remus felt as if his insides were frozen and he couldn’t move for a few moments. ‘Don’t you dare threaten me,’ he whispered, anger lacing his words. ‘He is my son, and you will not take him away from me. Tonks wouldn’t have wanted it - you know that.’ ‘Nymphadora would not have wanted her son left in a strange woman’s care - particularly one who has been carrying on some kind of affair with her husband…’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Remus said loudly, startling Teddy. He saw his son’s confusion and forced his voice lower.

‘I haven’t seen Jess for five years,’ he said. ‘And Tonks knew all about her. She would have liked her and she would have been happy that Teddy has someone who loves him as much as she did.’

‘No one would love him like my Dora!’ she exclaimed loudly, standing up. She had tears in her eyes now, and Remus felt his anger melting.



‘You’re right, Andromeda,’ he said softly, tears rising in his own eyes as well. ‘No one will ever love Teddy like Tonks did. She was his mother - nothing will ever change that, and I will never let him forget it. But he needs someone who can give him that kind of love now as well. He needs a woman who is there every day to hug him, and kiss him and tell him that she loves him. I wish Tonks was here to do that for him, but she‘s not.’

He wiped a tear off his cheek and saw Andromeda‘s tears flowing freely down her face as she sank back down onto the chair. ‘Jess is here, and she wants to do those things for him. She loves him and he adores her. So do I.’



Teddy had picked up on the tension and was looking at his father worriedly.

‘Dess?’ he said and Remus smiled at him, blinking his tears away.

‘Yes, Ted,’ he said. ‘We’re going to go and see Jess.’ Andromeda looked up as he picked up Teddy. ‘I think it might be best if Molly or Jess take Teddy tonight…’

‘No,’ she said, a little panicked. ‘No, Remus. Please. I…I’m sorry for saying I’d take him away. I’d never do that. I know how much you love him. I…I don’t want to lose him as well. If you remarry, I’ll see less of him than I do now. He’s all I’ve got left of her.’



Remus moved closer to her and put his hand on her arm. ‘I’d never stop you from seeing him, Andromeda,’ he said gently. ‘You’re his grandmother; you can tell him things about his mother that I can’t. He needs you, but he also needs Jess.’

She tried to smile and he tried again. ‘Tomorrow afternoon. Instead of me picking Teddy up, why don’t you drop him off and meet Jess? You can see for yourself how she and Teddy get along.’

She stared at him then nodded. ‘I’ll do that,’ she said quietly. ‘I think I should meet the woman who will be helping you raise my grandson.’

Remus smiled and kissed Teddy on the head, then handed him to the woman. ‘Have fun with grandma tonight, Teddy.’ His son smiled and so did Andromeda.

‘Thank you, Remus,’ she said.



He warned Jess about the woman’s attitude, then left reluctantly for his transformation. The next afternoon when he woke, he apparated to Jess’ house, surprised to see Andromeda was already there, and obviously had been for some time. She and Jess were sitting at the kitchen table, Jess helping Teddy eat a slice of cake when she saw Remus.

‘Uh oh, Teddy,’ she said, smiling at Remus. ‘We’re busted.’

‘DaDa!’ Teddy called, and quickly shoved the last of the cake in his mouth.



Remus laughed and kissed Teddy on the head, trying to avoid the smears of icing on his face and hands. ‘Smart move, buddy,’ he said, then looked at Jess, who lifted her face to his.

‘Hi, sweetheart,’ he said softly, kissing her softly on the lips, noticing the icing all over her shirt from Teddy‘s hands. She really did let herself go with Teddy, not caring that he often smeared food or paint all over her, accepting his cuddles regardless of the mess.

‘Everything alright?’ she asked as he sat down with a grateful sigh. He smiled and nodded, turning to greet Andromeda. She smiled at him and stood up.



‘I’m going to leave you to it, I think,’ she said. ‘You’re obviously tired and will want to spend some time with Jess and Teddy.’

Jess stood up, Teddy on her hip. ‘I’ll clean him up, Andromeda, so you can say good bye without ruining your shirt,’ she said, moving to the sink. ’Too late for mine, I think.’

Remus stood up and looked at the older woman, who nodded. ‘You were right,’ she admitted. ‘She has a wonderful rapport with him, and she handles him well. She…she seems like a lovely woman, Remus.’

‘She is,’ he replied with a glance at Jess, who was wiping Teddy’s face. ‘I would never have allowed her into our lives if she didn’t love him, Andromeda.’

She nodded and Jess returned, handing Teddy over for a hug. ‘It was lovely to meet you, Andromeda,’ she said.

‘You too, Jess,’ Andromeda replied with a smile. She said goodbye to Remus and handed Teddy back to Jess. ‘I’ll see myself out.’



When the door closed behind her, Jess let out a long breath and Remus laughed. ‘Are you alright?’ he asked, putting his arms around her, feeling her nod.

‘She’s just looking out for Teddy,’ she said. ‘And she was nice enough.’

Remus pulled away and kissed her on the lips, avoiding Teddy’s fist. They said their own good byes and Remus Flooed back to his house, feeding Teddy then spending some time packing their meagre belongings. There wasn’t much and soon Remus was tired, leaving the rest until tomorrow.



They worked the rest of the week, leaving each day for Remus’ house to pack. ‘You should get rid of some of these old clothes of Teddy’s,’ she said, holding up a too small shirt. ‘He’s not going to be able to wear them again.’

‘Mmm,’ replied Remus, looking over at her. ‘We’ll have to do that. Pack them for now, honey, and we can sort it out once we’ve settled in to your place.’

‘Our place,’ she corrected and he smiled.

‘Our place,’ he repeated, grinning.

He looked down into the drawer and his smile faded as he pulled out a photo. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, seeing his frown.

He held out the photograph silently, and she took it. A pink haired woman holding a baby waved at the camera.



‘Tonks,’ said Jess, looking up at Remus. He nodded and she looked back down.

‘She was really pretty, Remus. You’ve got good taste,’ she said with a small smile. He chuckled softly and stood up.

‘Teddy has her nose,’ she said softly, feeling Remus sit down next to her, his arm moving around her. They gazed at the picture for a few minutes in silence.

‘If she was still alive, I wouldn’t be here with you,’ she said quietly.

‘Maybe not,’ he said, then looked at her. ‘But we would have found each other again eventually. I told you, Jess. We were meant to be together. It would have happened somehow.’

Jess stared at him, speechless for a moment then leaned over to kiss him. ‘Would she approve of me?’ she whispered, looking down at the photo.



Remus smiled. ‘She knew you were the love of my life. She never tried to replace you, which is probably why I did love her,’ he said. ‘She’d approve. She would have liked you, Jess, and I think she’d be happy that you were going to be looking after Teddy.’

Jess smiled and handed the photo back. ‘Put it with Teddy’s stuff,’ she said, reaching for another shirt. ‘I’ll put a shelf up in his new bedroom and put his photos there.’

Remus stilled her hands and leaned over to kiss her.

‘You are wonderful,’ he murmured, then they deepened the kiss, completely forgetting about the packing for several minutes.







‘Right, that’s the last of it,’ Harry said that following Saturday afternoon, throwing himself down on the couch. Bill Weasley sat heavily down next to him.

‘How could one small child have so much stuff?’ he complained and Remus laughed.

‘I think Jess said those exact words when we were packing all that stuff,’ he said, handing them each a Butterbeer. ‘Some of it is about two sizes too small for Teddy, so if you know anyone with a baby boy, let us know. We’ve got about three boxes of clothing we can donate.’

Bill laughed and stood up with a groan. ‘You should keep it,’ he said, smiling at Remus. ‘You and Jess might decide to give Teddy a brother or sister.’

Remus looked up at him, a strange look on his face as Bill said, ‘Come on, Harry. Lets get this new cot together.’



They disappeared into Teddy’s room, leaving Remus on his own, staring off into space. Ever since that day at Molly’s when she’d asked Jess about having children, he’d been thinking about it. Although he’d been upset at first when Tonks fell pregnant with Teddy, his son had fulfilled him in a way he never dreamed possible, and to have a child with the woman he considered his soul mate…. It would be a fantasy come true. But Jess was still pretty young, only twenty six, she’d just started at the Ministry, and there was the possibility of him passing on his lycanthropy. A small possibility but still a chance. Remus sighed and stood up, finishing his drink. Jess was gaining confidence each day she spent with Teddy and she was so wonderful with him, but she had said she’d never really considered having children. Would she be willing to give up the career she’d worked so hard to achieve to have children she wasn’t even sure she wanted? He threw his bottle into a box filled with rubbish and walked towards Teddy’s bedroom to help Harry and Bill with Teddy’s bed.



An hour later, he was trying to figure out if he should put his framed photos on the shelving or put it away when Jess arrived back from The Burrow.

‘Wow,’ she exclaimed, looking around the living room as she put a pie dish down on the table. ‘It didn’t look like this much at your place.’

Remus looked up from his seat on the floor and smiled. ‘Couldn’t get away?’ he asked and Jess laughed, coming over to stand next to him.

‘Molly loves a chat,’ she told him, crouching and taking one of the photos off him and looking at it as she spoke. ‘She kept me so long Teddy fell asleep, so she said to leave him for the night. Probably a good idea, by the looks of this.’



She took both frames off him and stood up again, moving over to the shelving and pushed a vase aside to make room for them. Standing back, she smiled at him.

‘Do they look alright there?’ she asked, and he smiled back, nodding.

She turned back to look at them again and said with a little giggle,’ You know, if Sirius had looked like this that day at your place, I may not have been so pissed about him seeing me naked. He was gorgeous before Azkaban.’

Remus made a growling sound and she laughed.

He stood up and stretched, sniffing. ‘Is that chicken pie?’ he asked hopefully and Jess nodded.

‘I couldn’t come home empty handed,’ she said. ‘I left your son behind, but I bought food.’ Remus laughed and kissed her as he walked past.

‘I’ll have a shower first then we’ll eat,’ he said, disappearing into the bathroom.



Their new house had been renovated recently, and was much bigger than his old house. Remus still wasn’t completely happy that Jess’ money had paid for the place, but she was blasé about it.

‘My parent’s money, Remus,’ she said. ‘I considered giving it away but…then I thought - they screwed up my past, the least they can do is provide me with a future. Provide us with a future.’

She’d insisted on buying a new cot for Teddy, one that turned into a bed for when he got older. And they had chosen a new bed for themselves as well as Jess‘ was a single, having fun trying out the mattresses in the shop.

‘Please let me do this,’ she’d said when it came time to pay and he frowned. ‘Remus, why can’t I use this money for us? I didn’t do anything to earn it and I’m tired of saving it for a rainy day. Look, wouldn’t you tell me how ridiculous I was being if I refused to let you buy us a bed if you had the money lying around?’

He saw her point, and relented, toning down his refusals to accept her money.



They ate then looked at the mess. ‘I really don’t want to unpack any of this tonight,’ Jess said, seeing Remus grin.

‘Thank God,’ he groaned. ‘I am really not in the mood for this either.’

Jess stood up and moved to sit on his lap. ‘If it’s alright with you, I think it’s time to review the line,’ she said softly.

Remus smiled broadly and said, ‘I thought this day would never come.’ Jess giggled and stood up, leading him by the hand to their bedroom.



‘So,’ Remus said, hands coming around her waist as he leaned into her back. ‘Do we get to be naked?’

Jess nodded, turning in his arms and grabbing the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. He laughed and did the same to her, reaching around her back to undo her bra and remove it.

‘Do I get to use my mouth?’ he asked quietly, as her hands shifted to unzip his fly.

‘I demand you use your mouth,’ she whispered, kissing his chest. Her hands brushed over him as she pulled down his pants and underwear. He stepped out of them and pulled down her shorts and knickers.

‘Can I be inside you?’ he said into her ear.

‘As soon as you can possibly arrange it, please,’ she said in a strangled voice, and Remus moaned as she touched him lightly.

‘I could probably manage some foreplay,’ he suggested but Jess shook her head, gasping as his hands found her heat.

‘Really not necessary,’ she moaned, then giggled as his arms encircled her, moving quickly to the bed.



They kissed heatedly as they fell onto the bed, hands running quickly over each other.

‘I wanted our first time back together to be slower,’ Remus muttered, his mouth on her breast. She flicked his nipple as his mouth found hers, and they both groaned.

‘Maybe our second time could be slow,’ she suggested, and he lifted his head with a smile.

‘Good idea,’ he whispered, before kissing her again. But he seemed hesitant.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, seeing him pause.

‘We’ve waited so long to be with each other again. I…I just want this to be perfect, Jess,’ he said softly, stroking her face.

She smiled and cupped his face, saying, ‘Anytime we’re together it’s perfect, Remus.’



He gave her a smile then kissed her slowly, letting it grow until Jess thought she might actually climax just from the touch of his mouth.

‘Please?’ she mouthed against his lips, and she felt him press against her.

He pulled his mouth away from hers and watched her face as he entered her. His head fell to rest on hers when he was fully inside her and they took a moment to enjoy the sensation of being back where they belonged. Trembling, they began to move, slowly at first then faster as their need took over.

‘Remus,’ she gasped, pushing up to him and he kissed her hard, feeling her body tightening around him as she found her release.

‘Jess,’ he said against her lips as he also let go, their cries mingling.



As they began to come down from their high, Remus kissed her, feeling her damp face and knowing he was also just as emotional.

‘I love you, Jess,’ he whispered. ‘I’ve never loved anyone like I love you.’

‘Neither have I,’ she said softly, kissing his cheek, then his jaw. ‘I love you so very much.’

The second time was slower, sensual as they tasted every part of each other before Remus slid inside her and they moved fluidly until they found release together again.



They talked quietly then as they were relaxing and sleepy, Jess stirred.

‘My wand’s in the kitchen, can I use yours?’ she asked, kissing his chest.

Remus frowned and shifted, moving so Jess rolled onto her back and he lay on his side next to her.

‘Jess?’ he murmured, kissing her softly and running his hand over her ribs.

‘Mmm,’ she replied, eyes closing as his hand stroked over her stomach.

‘I want us to have a baby,’ he whispered.

Her eyes shot open again and she looked at him, obviously startled. ‘What?’ she said, not sure she’d heard him correctly.

Remus moved closer, leaning across her. ‘I want to have a baby with you,’ he said, trying to work out what she was thinking. ‘I know we’ve never talked about this, but…I want to have a child with you. I want to give Teddy a brother or sister. And I’m not getting any younger, Jess. I don’t want to wait to have children until I’m fifty and can’t enjoy them.’



‘Ok,’ she said softly, but he didn’t hear her, trying hard to convince her this was a good idea.

‘I’ve been reading more about lycanthropy, and the chances it’ll be passed on are so slim if I take the potion,’ he continued, not seeing her smile as he concentrated on all the reasons this would work. ‘I know you’ve just started work, but Kingsley loves you - he’d give you as much maternity leave as you want….’

‘I said ok,’ she said again, and he stopped talking.

‘What?’ he said. Jess grinned and kissed him

‘I said ok,’ she repeated, seeing his smile begin to spread over his face. ‘I’d love to have a baby with you.’

Remus laughed and kissed her hard. ‘You will?’ he asked and when he saw her nod, he kissed her again, pulling her over so she was lying across him. ‘We’re going to have a baby?’

‘Well, I have to get pregnant first,’ she said with a grin, all tiredness gone as she shifted to straddle him. ‘And I think we should start trying immediately.’

‘Oh, I agree,’ he said with a smile. ‘The sooner the better.’