Harry Potter, and everything related does not belong to me.

Italics=Flashback

Sirius lay on his bed whimpering as yet another wave of pain ripped through his abdomen. Clutching at his stomach he found it surprisingly hard. He was scared. He was alone. He wasn't sure what was happening to his body. He didn't know if anything was wrong with the baby.

He lay there for hours, belly hard, waves of pain coming more frequently until he felt a gush between his legs. Struggling for his wand Sirius found his pants covered in an odd fluid that was mixed with blood. Sirius took off his pants, they were ruined anyway. He had just lain back down when the next wave off pain hit, sooner than the rest and a lot worse. Realization came with the pain; he was in labour, his water had broken and his contractions were less than two minutes apart. His precious baby would be here soon. His precious baby…

"Siri, I want kids." Remus told his husband one night as they lay cuddled on the sofa.

Sirius shocked, they were in the middle of a war, it was the least logical time to bring a baby into their lives but he found himself grinning anyway.

"We could adopt if you want. I know how important your work is, you wouldn't have to carry the child. I could stay at home, you could continue to work, assist with the war." Remus continued.

"What if I wanted to carry the child? Our child?"

It had been less than a minute since the last contraction and Sirius felt an instinctual urge to push. Letting the contraction pass Sirius managed to pull himself up on to his knees and awkwardly slipped a hand down between his legs. It was difficult with his belly, large with child in the way, but he managed to get a hand within himself, far enough his fingertips brushed the baby's head…

"Mr. Black you're pregnant." The nurse smiled at him and Sirius felt as if he was floating. A baby, what Remus wanted, maybe now he'd stay home for more than a couple hours. Hold Sirius in the way he hasn't in months. Hold Sirius with love and affection the way he used to before he stopped. Stopped coming home, stopped writing, and stopped telling Sirius he loved him. If they had a baby they'd be a real family, not just two old friends still caught up in their old school days. A family. For the first time in months Sirius Orion Lupin-Black smiled as his right hand pressed gently across his belly. He was happy.

Sirius was pushing with all the strength he had left in him. He was tired, it hurt so bad. He wanted to curl up and sleep but with the last of his energy and a shred of will power Sirius felt the baby's head land in his waiting hand. One more push and he would be done…

"Where were you?" Remus screamed as Sirius walked through the door still feeling weightless. He'd been at '; he'd heard the baby's heartbeat. "Never mind I don't care. I can't do this anymore Sirius. I come home after months of being away and you're nowhere to be found. I needed you and you were gone. We're over."

Sirius' eyes instantly welled. "What about me Remus? Has it ever occurred to you that I need you too, now more than ever but you're never here. You're always gone doing one thing or another and when you get home you just pound me into the mattress and leave. I miss you so much but you're never here. I apologize for having prior arrangements. I totally would have cancelled my doctor's appointment if I knew my ghost of a husband was making an appearance."

Remus' face softened and he looked guilty. "You were at the doctor's? Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"That's no longer you're concern. You said you were leaving so leave. Get the fuck out my house!"

"'I'm-"

"Get out! Get out! Get Out!"

As soon as the door shut behind Remus Sirius fell to his knees, grabbed at the slight swell of his belly and began to sob.

The shoulders were out and the baby was cradled in Sirius' hand. Using magic to cut the umbilical cord Sirius brought the crying baby to his chest and wrapped it an old pillow case, a pillow case that still smelled of Remus. To do exhausted to do much else Sirius lay them back on sweat drenched pillows and nasty bedding and there they slept, father and son, one with dark curls and one with cinnamon tinted wisps and both with the same gray eyes.

A little more than a year after that night Professor Severus Snape awoke to frantic knocking on his door at three o'clock in the morning.

He opened the door to find a terrified young man holding a bundle in his arms. "Black?"

The man nodded wildly and held what he carried in his arms tighter to his body.

"What are you doing here?"

"James, Lily, dead. Rat framed me. Caelum." The man gasped.

"Sirius you're not making sense. Come in have a cuppa. Explain it to me."

So there in a small kitchen with faded yellow blinds and chipping paint the two assumed enemies sat; one waiting impatiently for the kettle, the other shaking and holding a bundle wrapped in blankets.

"What happened Sirius?" The professor finally asked.

"James and Lily are dead, Voldemort killed them. Everyone thinks I was their secret keeper, that's not true. Peter was but the Rat framed me. I chased him, was gonna kill him but out smarted me the bastard; killed some muggles, cut off his fingers and disappeared so the blame fell on me, not only for the muggles' deaths but his as well. The Aurors are after me as speak but none of that's relevant. Do you remember that time I saved your life and you said you were in my debt?"

"I highly doubt falling out of a tree would have killed me but yes. What do you need Sirius?"

" I need you to raise my son."

Severus froze. His eyes were twice their normal size, his mouth was open and he was making odd gasping noises.

"When, not if when the Aurors catch me I will never see this side of Azkaban again. I need somebody to take care of my child. My family is dead, my friends are dead, you're the only one left, please Severus."

"What about the boy's other parent Sirius? Surely they can raise a child."

"No he doesn't know, he can't know. He'll never be able to raise Cay on his own please Severus? I beg of you."

Snape pondered for a long time, eyes never leaving the bundle Sirius held in his arms. Snape weighed the pros and cons, coming up with many more cons than pros Severus found himself reaching towards Sirius though he was not sure why. Perhaps it was the sheer desperation on the man's face or the tears in his eyes. "Ok. But you'll have to tell me what to do and I'll need a name."

"Caelum. His name is Caelum. Caelum Orion James Lupin-Black. His birthday is September 1st. He'll be sixteen months old tomorrow."

This is intended to be a prequel to a fic that's been rolling around my head for some time. If you want me to write the longer fic please tell me.

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~ ListeningtoGrace