This is it, the final installment of Before We Fall.

Firstly, a response to the guest reviewers (Nala, Silver stars) thank you for reviewing and C. Misty, thank you for spreading the word!

And now, hundred million thank you's to every single one of you who stuck with me through it all! It has really been an emotional and incredibly cathartic experience.

Especially to those who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story as I was writing it, you are the ones that truly inspired and challenged me to write better. I cannot stress enough how much your words and support meant to me. So here's to you!

- Cat

Epilogue

With This, We Live Undaunted (Ensemble)

-All Hallow's Eve, 1982-

The day was like any other. Except that it wasn't.

His students were too quiet. They laughed and conversed softly, took their seats without prompting, did not complain when he could not summon the energy to do a hands on lesson. His lectures were a blur.

He was fine.

He was distracted.

Through the glass windows, the Forbidden Forest was mottled green and ochre and brilliant orange. He could smell the musty decay from here, as well as the sharp smell of the approaching winter. Autumn was at peace with its final breaths, with the weight of summer's death on its shoulders.

Remus envied it. He had gotten better at staying grounded, at keeping all of the pieces of himself on the earth and in the present. But it was harder than usual right now.

He told himself he was fine. He was being ridiculous. Today was like any other.

"Except that it's not."

Sirius' words echoed again in his head as he wrapped up the last lecture. Sixth years, Gryffindors and Slytherins. Both houses listened solemnly, respectfully. Almost as if they could hear the mental battle Remus was having with himself. Remus appreciated it.

"That's all for today," his lips recited. "Enjoy your Halloween. Don't overdose on sugar!"

Trite words fell on the class as they packed their things, throwing tiny glances in his direction. He was touched by their concern. But mostly, he just felt naked. Exposed. Still, the professor part of him wondered at the lack of animosity between the two groups in the face of his own debilitating distraction.

Was vulnerability the key to bridging their differences?

He tucked the idea away for later. He was too mentally and emotionally strung out right now.

He could not fall apart today. Not when he was doing so well. He felt fine yesterday, content and happy. Anniversaries were stupidly off-balancing. He should have expected it. It was the same with the day he was bitten for years. But that date had eventually been eclipsed by his friendships.

I should have expected this.

He sighed and quickly gathered his things.

I should be handling this better.

Lily's patronus was short and to the point.

"James, I need you right now. It's an emergency."

James hid a grin. His wife was amazing. Perfect lilt to her voice, with just a hint of panic and a dryness that only he would detect. They should have included her in their pranks sooner.

The rest of the departmental liaisons in the room just looked stunned, watching the beautiful silver doe fade away, its plea still bouncing through the boardroom. They blinked away the soporific effect of the update on the Department of Magical Transportation and straightened.

"Um… so sorry Minister, I should probably go," he said, adding a little waver for affect. Thank Merlin, he added silently.

"Very well, James," Edgar Bones said smartly. "As you've already delivered your reports, you may go. Everything okay?"

"Probably. Thank you, Minister," James replied brightly. "Dahlia, can you have the minutes sent to my office to review in the morning?"

The secretary nodded.

The remaining attendees watched James go with betrayed expressions. The weekly meetings with the Minister were one of the most boring necessities James had endured. But rebuilding the Ministry was a slow and arduous process. In the beginning, the meetings had been stimulating discussions of policy and reformation, but lately they had dwindled into boring reports on progress. James prayed that they would soon become obsolete.

He skipped down the hallways to the elevator that would take him to the auror department. One crazy ride later and he was in his office, gathering his things for the day and locking the door behind him.

"Hey, wait! You can't leave early!"

"Sure can," James said. "The Minister himself gave me permission."

"Not fair," pouted Sirius. "I have like… a hundred more meetings. And then a training session with the probies. And I'm on call tonight!"

"That's what you get for being Head Auror. With great power comes great responsibility and all that," James quipped cheekily.

"Damn you."

"Stop by after training," James suggested, taking pity on his friend. "Harry wants to show you his costume. And Moony will be there… hopefully."

"I was going to come anyway," Sirius grumbled. "But yeah, see you then."

James chuckled, but sobered quickly. The hall was empty, except for the brand-new interdepartmental memos: colorful paper airplanes that zoomed along the ceiling and without leaving a trail of feathers.

"Talk to Moony today?"

"Briefly," Sirius sighed. "I stopped by Hogwarts early this morning. He was in denial."

"Okay," James replied morosely. "I'm stopping by later so…" He hoped Remus would accept his invitation to dinner tonight. If anything, he at least needed friends nearby.

Lily was exhausted. Her stomach seemed to be rejecting her late lunch and expressed its opinion with loud gurgles. Her limbs felt bloated. And on top of it all, Harry was zooming around the house in excitement, asking every five minutes if he could put on his costume. But nothing could quench the buoyant warmth enveloping her heart.

"Dwessed now, mum! Wan' dwessed!"

"Not yet, sweetheart," she replied for the seventh time in the hour. "Not until you've eaten dinner."

Harry pouted and stomped into the backyard where his toy broom was parked by the elm tree. She smiled slightly. He was already blowing off steam like his father: with his feet off the ground and the wind in his hair.

Keeping one eye glued on the little boy in the backyard and a hand absently across her abdomen, she went back to her current research into lycanthropy cures. There was a man-Damocles Belby-whose current experiments were beginning to look promising. And wickedly tricky to brew. She was scanning the most recent prototype's instructions and marveling at the complexity when there was a faint crack outside the front gate.

She quickly covered Damocles' notes with a book on rare potions ingredients and hurried into the foyer. She consciously stopped her hand from reaching for her wand. Old habits were hard to break. But the man walking down the pathway had the familiar shock of spiky hair and carefree stride of her husband.

She relaxed and threw open the door.

"How'd the patronus work?" she asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Like a charm," James responded, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I thought I was going to die of boredom, and our Halloween get-together would have to be my funeral. You are amazing, Lils. I'm yours for the next hour. What do you need?"

"Sleep," she said immediately. "But not right now. I need you to watch Harry for half an hour so I can run to Mungo's. Then I can start on dinner and you can go fetch Remus."

"Sounds good," he replied. He closed the door behind them and unceremoniously tossed his warmer things onto the coat hanger. "Seriously though, thanks. He won't admit he needs company until I drag him over here."

"I know."

Together they re-entered the kitchen. Harry was still zipping around the yard on his broom, his Halloween costume forgotten for now. James meandered over to the table where Lily's workplace was currently located.

"How's the research coming?"

"There's a talented potioner up north who looks promising. I was actually going to write him tomorrow with a few suggestions. He's seems close James."

"Still not telling Moony?" he asked.

She nodded. "I just… don't want to get his hopes up until I have a good reason to."

"Yeah," James sighed.

"Da!"

The back door slammed open and Harry came rushing in. James caught him mid-stride and through him up into the air.

"Hi there kiddo!" he laughed. Harry shrieked with exhilaration as he was thrown into the air a second time. Then he squirmed to get down.

"Da, wan' dwessed!" he announced. James rolled his eyes.

"You are driving your mother crazy," he scolded gently.

"He'll drive you crazy before long," Lily chuckled. The buoyancy grew irrepressible, spreading through her chest. It was impossible to stop the smile splitting her cheeks.

James kept a tight hold on Harry and studied her with narrowed eyes. "You're glowing," he stated. His head tilted slightly to the side.

"Am I?" she asked faintly.

"Yeah. There's something… I dunno… you seem…" He gestured vaguely with his hand, looking nonplussed. "Okay I give up. What's going on?"

The smile was hurting her cheeks now, but she could not stop it. "Well… I was going to plan something more elaborate to tell you, but…" She trailed away, enjoying the way James' jaw was dropping.

"No-you're not-are you?"

"I am," she laughed. Her eyes were actually watering with how hard she was smiling. "We're having another baby."

"Merlin's beard," he breathed. His soft hazel eyes traveled to her stomach with awe. "We're having another baby!" The volume of his voice went up with excitement. With a shout he swept Lily into a huge embrace, Harry smashed between them. James planted an enthusiastic kiss on both of her cheeks.

Harry clapped and giggled.

"He has no idea what's about to happen to him," James snickered softly. He laid his palm gently on her stomach. His eyes were moist. "Merlin. Our baby's in there."

Contentment flooded Lily. Her child-her children-were safe in the world they had fought for. Life was continuing, messy and unplanned and wonderful. When she smiled up at her husband, she said, "I hope the baby has your eyes."

"As long as it isn't stuck with my hair," James groaned.

Sirius was dead-tired. His philosophy of training new aurors is never ask them to do something that he himself would not do. Therefore, he did most of the courses with them. He cleaned off the sweat as best he could with magic as he tramped back to his office, dogged by at least five colorful memos and humming tunelessly.

He entered his office, holding the door for the memos, then collapsed in his seat. Even though his Head Auror office was bigger than the last, it was no less cluttered. The clutter had simply expanded to fit its new container. Sighing, Sirius opened the memos. The first three informed him of minor incidents in the field that would need his attention the next day. The last two, however, were different. The first was from James:

Successfully dragged Moony away from work. Come on over to the cottage when you're done. - Prongs.

Sirius' lips twitched in triumph. He was happy for Remus. The man was finally doing something that he loved and worth his talents. But today, it was also a great way to bury whatever he was feeling.

The second was from Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Black- Snape's evaluation cleared. 7-month probationary period complete, need to re-visit tomorrow morning and come to a decision. - A. Bones.

Sirius exhaled through his nose, surprised by the relief at the message. Severus Snape had been a difficult case following the end of Voldemort's reign. He was known to most of the wizarding world as a Death Eater, and only the Order of the Phoenix knew that his loyalties had changed near the end of the war. It was a month-long process of arguing and court dates. Remus, Lily, and Dumbledore had testified for Snape, James and Sirius choosing to remain neutral. But the Wizengamot was stubborn and the press liked to exaggerate, feeding public opinion. In the end, the compromise was that Snape would be a free citizen of the wizarding community, but had to submit to monthly evaluations.

Frankly, it was humiliating for Snape and awkward for Sirius, who, as Head Auror, had to ensure that the wizard attended the meetings. For a long time, Snape was jobless, until Dumbledore asked him to join the Hogwarts staff as the Potions Master. And somehow, during the meetings and periodic contact, Sirius' dislike had eventually faded.

They were by no means friends. But there was a mutual agreement to be polite. Sirius stared down and the memo, contemplating his relief that the whole process was finally over. Maybe one day, he would actually forgive the greasy git.

With a wave of his wand, a slip of memo paper zoomed towards him from the haphazard pile on his desk. He scrawled a quick response to Amelia Bones with a meeting time, then watched with satisfaction (and a twinge of sadness) as the blue square folded itself into a muggle paper-airplane. The memos were his invention, a private memorial to his brother and his little paper creations.

Once the airplane had rocketed away, he stood and stretched his already aching muscles. One hand subconsciously rubbed the scar on his neck. It felt a little tight, but it no longer twinged constantly. Then he shook himself, the weariness creeping back. As he headed to Kent Cottage, he contemplated how grateful he was that his fatigue was simply a need for sleep, not a need for peace.

He was half-way up the path, when a ball of black fur came barreling out the front door and collided with Sirius' legs.

"Whoa!"

"Pafoot! Lookie! Arf, arf!"

Sirius threw back his head and roared with laughter. Harry scampered circles around him on his hands and knees to impersonate a dog. Sirius transformed into Padfoot, barking delightedly and wagging his tail. Dead leaves scattered around his paws, throwing up hundreds of interesting smells. The cool air felt good in his fur.

"That has got to be the cutest thing I've seen in a long time." James' voice, heavy with hilarity and sarcasm. "If only I had a camera." Padfoot yipped and jumped up on him, licking his face.

"Oh, gross! Come one Pads, cut it out!"

"Pads kiss da! Pads kiss da!" chanted Harry. He stood, leaves stuck in his fur, false ears flopping.

"I don't know, Prongs, that's pretty cute too," said a dry voice. Padfoot's ears twitched and he bounded towards Remus, whose eyes widened in alarm. "Oh no you don't!" he yelped, scrambling backwards into the house and hiding behind Lily. Her emerald eyes sparkled in amusement.

"You hungry, Padfoot?" she asked. "We've finished eating, but there's leftovers."

Padfoot transitioned smoothly to Sirius. "Starved," he panted. "Love the costume, by the way."

"Harry's idea," Lily shrugged. "Personally, I was worried it would inflate your head to bursting."

"Well, as far as I know, my head is intact."

"That's what you think," James snarked. Sirius swung a fist at his head, but James ducked, sniggering.

"How is he?" Sirius whispered to James when Remus went ahead with Harry.

"He's been… going wherever he goes a little more often. You know… spacing out. But he seems okay."

They gathered in the kitchen where a plate of chicken and potatoes was waiting for Sirius. As he scarfed them down, he listened to James grill Remus about his week, Lily occasionally cutting into to ask about his students. Remus spoke softly, but animatedly, clearly happy to discuss mundane things like academics and student behavior. If it weren't for the slump in his shoulders and the lessened frequency in his smiles, Sirius would not have guessed that this day was any different from other days.

Pushing his empty plate away, he waited for a lull in the conversation, then asked boldly, "How are you doing?"

Remus glared at him balefully, walls coming up. "Fine."

"Yeah, yeah, we know what that stands for. Fucked-up, insecure, neurotic, and effing not okay."

"Sirius!" Lily exclaimed, putting her hands over Harry's ears.

"Not funny," Remus said.

"Not trying to be," Sirius retorted.

They stared at each other. Finally, Remus gave in and sighed.

"Okay, so maybe not so fine," he muttered. "I just… I really wanted to be. I thought I could handle it."

"You are," Sirius said, firmly, but allowing some softness into his voice. "But you can't expect to… you aren't perfect, Rem. We all know you're strong, it's just… this isn't…"

"This isn't something you have to handle alone," James cut in. Sirius nodded gratefully. "That's all we wanted you to know."

"Thanks," Remus breathed. He met each of their gazes, eyes amber in the lamplight. They said no more on the subject, but Remus' allowed his tight walls to loosen.

Despite the exhaustion pulling at Sirius, he was happy to trot alongside Harry as Padfoot while they Trick-or-Treated in the nearby muggle neighborhood. He delightedly sniffed at the muggle candies and pranced around the other children. When the dusk turned velvety amethyst, Harry began to yawn and rub his eyes. Sirius transformed behind a few bushes and offered to carry him home.

The four of them walked in a line, Sirius with Harry's head against his shoulder, James and Lily hand-in-hand, and Remus, hands deep in his pocket and mind… elsewhere, again. None of them were quite at peace, but the shelter of their company was enough for now. Sirius wondered if Peter was watching, seeing his last hope realized.

They reached the little cottage under the stars and Sirius passed Harry onto James. Harry wrapped his arms sleepily around his father's neck and burrowed into his chest.

"Thanks, Pads," he whispered.

"What are godfathers for?" Sirius replied.

Harry was taken up to his nursery with the glowing yellow stars. He fell asleep, halfway out of his Padfoot costume. Then the adults went downstairs. Sirius conjured four crystal glasses and pulled some firewhiskey from the shelf. The cinnamon-colored liquid looked warm and inviting after the chilly evening.

"None for me, please, Sirius," Lily said as she settled at the table.

"Sure?" he asked, bottle hovering over her glass.

"Positive. In fact," she continued, a small smile lighting on her face. "Remus, Sirius reminded me earlier that James and I have a question for you."

"Yeah?" Remus asked. He sipped on the firewhiskey, re-focusing on the conversation.

"I'm pregnant. And we want you to be the godfather."

There was a small explosion in Sirius' chest. "What?!"

Remus looked stunned, the firewhiskey halfway down to the table. All of his conflicting emotions seemed to have evaporated, replaced by a growing lightness. "Seriously?" he whispered.

"Never been more confident about a decision in my life," James answered, his expression sincere.

The lightness in Remus was transforming into a smile, big and genuine. "Okay. Of course. Congratulations!"

"I love you all!" Sirius burst out, exhausted mind completely overcome. He held up his glass. "To the Potters, may they be ever fruitful!"

"That's weird, Pads," James teased. But he held out his glass as well. "To good friends. And to the love of my life."

"To family and new beginnings," Lily smiled, clear water swirling in her hand.

"Come on, Rem, you have to toast something," Sirius prompted. "Don't make it sappy like the rest of us."

Remus rolled his eyes, but he took a few moments to think. Then he deliberately lifted his glass. "To rising up again."

To rising, Sirius repeated in his head, his grip tightening on his cool glass. One year later. November was beginning again. The moon was a sliver of waxing pearl, slipping low in the west.

The glasses met in the center of the table with a chink and a glint of the last light.

Sirius welcomed the burning sensation of the firewhiskey rushing down his throat and the way it mixed and muddled with his emotions. Ecstatic joy for the new life Lily carried. Ache of loss. Anticipation.

He felt whole.

And sometimes their scars still ached. Their minds still hurt. And sleep was distant. But even then, there was some comfort in waiting for the sun to rise. And all was well when daylight came.

The End.

a/n: Before I bid you farewell for the last time, thank you again. Learning to understand the Marauders through this story gave me so many insights and ideas I would have never had otherwise. I'm not going to stop writing, so keep your eyes peeled for more stories (not right away, of course. I need a break and grad school starts up in a couple weeks, so my free time is going to take a dive).

I love hearing from you guys, so any final comments would be wonderful (even if its been like... a hundred years since this story was posted). Tell me all of your thoughts! I will do my best to respond when I can.

Mischief managed.

-Cat

Edit: If you enjoyed this story and are looking for more Marauders AU, check out my story The Lost Ones, or my profile for anything new :)

To the one who never stopped looking for me. To the people who healed me. To light in dark places.