After several requests and much procrastination, I am finally reformatting the first few chapters of this story. I am mostly just fixing paragraphs and any other mistakes I notice (I am so bad at proofreading my own work!). There won't be any major changes to plot, but if I come across a detail that I want to tweak, I am going to take this opportunity to do it. I don't even think I am going to change the Author's Notes.

I just reread this and realized how absolutely horrible it was to read before. Thank you to everyone who didn't give up after one chapter!

Since I forgot to do this the first time around... I don't own Harry Potter.

"Do you really have to go?" Tonks sighed, her face buried in Remus' fuzzy woolen jumper.

"I will be back before you know it, Dora. I am the only one who can do this."

She had no choice but to agree. He was going to live with Greyback's pack in the wilderness. Only a fellow werewolf would be accepted. That fact alone did not ease Tonk's nerves.

"It is three months. That is three full moons with no wolfsbane. Are you sure you will be okay?"

Remus paled a bit at the reminder, but he reassured her just the same. "I will be fine. Moony will have other wolves to play with."

Tonks did not say anything in response to his weak attempt at a joke, but she was worried about what the other wolves' idea of "play" would be. After all, he was not like them. What if they did more damage to him than he would have done to himself?

"Come now, I am a grown man. You forget that for many years I transformed without wolfsbane and with no one to take care of me in the morning. I will, however, miss your TLC on the mornings after. You have made me quite spoiled."

Tonks stared him in the eye for a long moment, and then a little smile played across her lips. "Good. Remember that. Make sure you come back to me so I can patch you up when this is all over."

He smiled in return and pressed his lips to hers. "Don't worry; I will."

Remus turned to see the sun sinking over the horizon. "I had better go if I want to make it before night fall. Keep yourself safe. I love you." He pulled her close, burying his face in her spiky pink hair.

"I love you, too. I am going to miss you so much." She almost regretted saying it; she did not want to give him a guilt trip, but she wanted him to remember she would be waiting.

"Me too. Look on the bright side. When I get back, we have a wedding to plan. Our future is just starting, Dora, and I wouldn't miss that for the world." Remus kissed the ring on her finger- a moonstone flanked by two pink stones- and then kissed her lips. He began pulling away, but Tonks pulled him back for one more gentle, lingering kiss. He released her and grabbed his rucksack filled with his shabbiest clothes. With one last longing glace over his shoulder, he was gone. Tonks stared at the place he had disappeared for a long moment, and then turned back to the door of headquarters.

A month later, Tonks was a nervous wreck. The weeks had been dragging toward this point; her stress levels were approaching a fever pitch. Her distractions, provided by a busy schedule of Auror and Order work, were losing their effectiveness. Lately, she had been spending the bulk of her free time with Sirius in the basement kitchen of headquarters. She had promised Remus she would babysit Sirius while he was away, but she often felt as if it was Molly babysitting both of them. She bustled about the kitchen, forcing them to eat, whether they wanted to or not. Tonks had not felt much like eating as of late, what with anxiety beating her from the inside out.

Tonight Molly was tutting in disapproval as Sirius reached for the firewhiskey, pouring himself and Tonks each a generous glass. They both glared at the motherly witch. She was no lush, but Tonks was really stressed. If she had a glass or two to unwind, why was that any of Molly's business? She was a responsible adult; she wasn't even getting drunk. No, her night cap was none of Molly Weasley's business. At least she was keeping Sirius from drinking himself into oblivion. She wasn't completely failing in her babysitting duties.

The full moon was tonight- the first since he left- and Tonks could not shake the feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong. Her hair had not been the right shade of pink for a week now; the best she could do was a dusty rose. She understood that it was imperative that he not be found out, but surely they should have heard something? What if something had gone wrong? What if… No she would not think of that. She grabbed her glass and knocked back a large gulp. The firewhiskey's warmth filled her with a kind of false peace. She and Sirius held their vigil in the kitchen all night, silently praying for their friend all alone in the wilderness.

The next morning dawned to find Tonks asleep with her head on the scrubbed wood table top. Last night's tension was still unresolved. Somewhere out there, Remus was in worse pain than he had been in a long while and there was nothing she could do about it. She rubbed her hands through her hair, wondering what color it was. She sighed deeply, trying to ignore the flips in her stomach.

"Shouldn't you be going to work? I am not going to catch myself you know." Sirius' voice startled her; she hadn't realized he was awake. Tonks smiled at his weak attempt at a joke and stumbled up the stairs to the shower. The warm water soothed her aching back from the awkward sleeping postion. She felt a bit more awake afterwards, but no sleep and firewhiskey made for a bad combination. She morphed her features to look a bit more presentable and brightened her hair as much as she could manage. If he was hurt, he would have come home by now, she assured her reflection, This is a major landmark- the first full moon- two more and he will be home. She didn't let herself doubt this, even though a tiny voice in the back of her head whispered, He won't give up that easily. You know him, he will stay until the bitter end. She squelched the nagging voice, she had to hold on to some kind of hope to keep going. She felt considerably better after convincing herself that no news was good news. She tripped down the stairs to the kitchen, smiling at Molly who had laid out toast and a pepper-up potion for her. She muttered her thanks and then stumbled out the door to work.