Trapped In Time: Love's Secrets (Adult)

Chapter Twenty Nine

“Who was it?” Alissa called from the front room and turned to watch Lyla leading in the tall, shabby looking man who she placed immediately.

“Lupin?” She asked with interest. It was her third time meeting anyone from the story other than Sirius and Severus of course and she could see how the description given fit almost perfectly but lacked the finer details which had since been filled in by Shannon through her letters.

Remus nodded politely; extremely uncomfortable and awkward in the spotlight. The woman he had heard so much about was examining him like he was an interesting new specimen while her kids peered around doorways or turned in their seats to stare at him wide eyed and curious.

“Where’s Sirius?” Alissa felt a jolt of panic when she realized that if Remus was here, Sirius should have been as well.

“He ran upstairs mom” Lyla replied as she plopped down on the couch by the TV.

Caught between the urge to be polite and remain with their unexpected guest and the need to run to Sirius, Alissa frowned and glanced around wondering what to do.

“Who‘re you?” Daniel asked boldly from his spot beside Lyla.

“He is one of my best friends, be polite Daniel.” Sirius smiled from the doorway, eyes sparkling with love as he took in his family.

“Dad!” Three little voices rang out and there was a mini stampede as the younger kids ran at Sirius who knelt down to embrace them all, hugging and kissing and loving them each in turn. “Come Lyla, I’ve missed you!” he called out.

Extremely embarrassed but pleased at the same time, Lyla got up and went to him, joining in the big group hug. Alissa watched with tears in her eyes, desperate to get to her man but touched by the scene all the same. When it was finally her turn, Sirius strode across the room to her and pulled her into a suffocating embrace, lifting her off the ground and burying his face in her neck. “My Alissa” he whispered, “my beauty.” There was so much more he wanted to do and say but he had to keep Remus’s presence in mind.

“We have much to discuss, I’ve missed you all so dearly but first we must make our guest comfortable.” Sirius pulled away unwillingly and moved to stand with his friend who was wearing his new go to expression of abject misery. “Everyone, this is Remus, I have known him since I was almost as small as you!” Sirius smoothed Cory’s dark wavy hair and introduced everyone in turn.

Remus said hello quietly to everyone but his heart wasn’t in it. The shock of discovering that Alissa was in fact the fiancé of Sirius Black and mother to his children had hit him very hard. The checklist of things Shannon had lied about just kept growing and while he tried to use it to hate her, all the hints she had dropped through the year sprang to mind and just made him feel her loss more acutely. She had done what she had to do to protect his friend, proved him right when he said she could and would do anything.

“It has been quite a long trip, I had to slow my pace considerably for the lagging human” Sirius grinned while Aquila and Cory giggled. “I think we should make him up a room don’t you?”

“Not having mine!” Danny proclaimed and stuck out his bottom lip.

“Come now Daniel is that any way to treat our guest?” Sirius said sternly while Alissa groaned in embarrassment.

“He can have mine daddy” the small sweet voice of Aquila said from below where she had stood quietly holding Sirius’s hand.

“Aquila my angel” Sirius swooped her up into his arms “Lyla do you mind sharing a room with your sister?”

“No it’s fine” Lyla said honestly, Aquila couldn’t bother anyone if she tried.

“Wonderful girls” Sirius beamed “Daniel you should try to be more like your sisters.” Daniel stubbornly retained his pouty expression while Cory who was shyly sticking close to Alissa hid a smirk.