Nothing to Lose (Ted)

Meet me at the Black Lake an hour before the first task.

Anita had hardly written anything when she had decided that she would go to the school a few hours before the first task would begin with the hopes of seeing Ted while she had the chance. Knowing that she hadn't even given a name, she hoped that he would actually show up as she sat on the ground next the lake that she had spent so many days next to over a decade ago. It had taken her weeks to decide whether to attend the tournament at all, but she knew that she couldn't face the alternative that she had given herself.

Ted had just finished cuffing the sleeved of his white button-down shirt and buttoning his black vest that was his more casual Auror uniform, when a white and tan owl arrived with a note for him. Giving the bird a treat he opened the parchment to find handwriting that he knew, but no name that he knew went with it. Flipping the parchment over to see if there was more then just this simple line, Ted's brow furrowed slightly. Tucking it inside his inner vest pocket, Ted clipped his badge to his belt and tucked his wand into the specialized pocket in his trousers and headed out to the Black Lake as requested. It was more like a few hours before the First Task was to start, but he didn't care. His hands tucked in his pockets, his icy eyes spotted a blonde figure he knew all too well. "Well, well... Now this is a surprise that I didn't expect at all," he said happily as he neared her. "What brings you here, Anita?" he asked as he smiled his crooked smile down at her, contemplating if he wanted to sit or not.

Anita had expected to be waiting for a few more hours for her request to be answered, and she was okay with that. A few times she had considered just leaving, because she didn't know what to say. Changing everything was always hard, but she had had time to accept the news that she'd been given when she became too sick to go to work until later in the day. The woman had expected almost every diagnosis around, but when the healer had smiled as she gave reason for her sickness, Anita had been shocked. Yes, changing everything in her life was hard, but she was about to change the lives of two others and she didn't know if she could stomach it.

Deciding that she couldn't do it, she had been about to stand when an all too familiar voice interrupted her. Swallowing the nausea that swept her, the blonde turned her head and offered the smallest of smiles. "The tournament, of course," she replied, her voice more quiet than she'd hoped.

Ted's smile faltered slightly at the small smile and soft response from the woman sitting before him. Pulling his brow together, Ted crouched down in front of Anita and brushed a few stray locks of her blonde hair from her face, tucking them behind her ear. "The tournament, huh? I didn't know you were interested in such things," he said softly, looking into her eyes, his own shining with happiness at seeing her here, and while he was on duty. Resting his elbows on his knees, his hands folded loosely, he took a moment to simply take her in. "Everything alright?" Ted asked, his concern over the odd reaction she had only a moment ago.

"I'm not," she answered as the ghost of a genuine smile flitted across her pale face, "but occasionally one must conform to social expectations. Besides, I need- wanted to see you, and this is my chance." Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, Anita blinked back the tears that seemed to want to fall at every chance they had. She had spent weeks considering how the conversation was going to go. The only conclusion that she'd made was that she had to tell Ted. It had been eating at her mind for long enough, that she had no right to sweep in and ruin the life that he had made for him an his daughter.

Forcing her eyes to look into his, rather than at his hands, she smiled. Say yes. Simple. You don't want to face it anyway- "Not really, Ted," she replied, pushing the tiny voice in her head that had been offering every bad reaction for weeks away.

The echo of a faint smile across her features helped Ted to notice that, while Anite was fair skinned already, she seemed a touch paler then usual. Or was he seeing things? Her explanation as to why she was actually there, a chance to see him, made him smile. However, the concern never left his eyes as she corrected herself. "I guess getting to see you, whether you are all for this tournament or not is a nice bonus to come and see it," he mused with a wink.

Bringing his hand up to cup her jaw, Ted stroked her cheek with his thumb as he watched her eyes fill with tears that she fought to keep from falling. Drawing a slow breath, Ted's heart sank at hearing that something was wrong, and he could only hope that it wasn't that she didn't want to see him any more. "What's the matter, Anita?" he asked tenderly.

This man was always so sweet to her, despite the things that he saw doing his job every day. Perhaps she was over reacting, and everything would be fine? She wasn't prone to dramatics, but maybe her fears were caused by being completely irrational half of the time. Letting out a long sigh, the blonde's gaze flicked to the ground as she opened her mouth to speak.

"I didn't plan for this to happen.. I swear that I'm not asking anything of you. I just want to tell you, and then I can go, if you want me to. That's okay, and-" Anita stopped what she was sure would become confused rambling before raising her eyes again, moistening her lips and saying in a whisper, "I'm pregnant."

As she looked away from him and began to speak, faster and faster, before stopping herself, Ted gently put his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, hey, hey... Calm down..." he cooed to her. He would never send her away after she told him something that was upsetting her so much. That's not him. When she looked up at him, Ted's brow was pulled together tightly, his eyes filled with worry as he waited for her to tell him. When her whisper registered in his mind, Ted's jaw went slack. His face relaxed as his eyes grew slightly wider. "Preg- You're pregnant?" Ted asked as his crooked smile touched his lips and reached all the way into his icy eyes, "Really?" He didn't know what else to say in that moment, but his heart was nearly bursting with happiness.

At least she had managed to get the words out without her voice breaking, and for that she was thankful. Anita watched carefully to gauge Ted's reaction, and unsurprisingly he didn't seem to have been expecting such a revelation. She blinked a few times as a genuine smile spread over her face, something that she hadn't thought he would be doing. By the time he spoke an almost amusing question, she had convinced herself that he was honestly happy. "Yes, really," she answered, wiping a stray tear away with her fingertips, "you're not mad?"

Her answer of confirmation only made Ted smile all the brighter. Wiping a tear from her cheek with his thumb, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "No.... Merlin, no, I'm not mad!" he said happily, getting on his knees and pulling her into a tight and yet gentle hug, resting his head on top of hers. "Of course I'm not mad, Anita. You thought I would be?" he asked her softly, kissing the crown of her head. The woman he loved was pregnant... Pregnant with his child... There was no way he would be unhappy in this moment, not ever.

Anita was flooded with relief as she looked into the man's eyes. They told her that his smile was genuine, and it felt as though her fears had been driven away in a mere moment. Part of her scolded herself for not telling him sooner, but she was glad that she hadn't. Anita was certain that she would never forget the look on his face at that moment. Bringing her arms up to wrap around Ted's waist, the awkwardly positioned making her feel even more relaxed. "I have been worried that you would be for weeks now..." she answered honestly, pulling back to look at his face again as though to make sure. She let out a soft laugh through yet another wave of tears, this time happy rather than afraid. "They just don't stop," she added as she wiped them away.

Feeling her arms wrap around him, however awkwardly, made Ted smile and beam with a sense of pride that impending fatherhood brings. Actually taking a seat on the grass, he chuckled and simply held Anita close. "I can't be mad about something like this, Sweetheart. Not at all," he cooed to her as she pulled back to look at him. As a new wave of tears began to fall from her eyes, regardless of the smile on her face, Ted chuckled and helped wipe her tears away. "It's alright," he said happily, kissing her gently. "Anita, when is the baby due?" Ted asked, not really sure when she found out or how along she was. Seeing as there wasn't any visual sign of her expecting, he was certain she wasn't overly far along, but that meant nothing.

Anita had never been a particularly outgoing woman. She was career focused and reserved, preferring to work at home when she wasn’t in the office. As such, dating had never been a large part of her life, with only the occasional outing when her work load was low. She wondered how, when she had chosen to give a relationship a chance, had she been so lucky to literally fall onto someone who seemed so perfect. The woman took a few deep breaths to calm the remainder of her nerves, ones that had taken weeks to build and all for nothing. Bringing a small hand to rest on Ted’s cheek, she returned the soft kiss, her face dry of any salty tears. Thinking to the visit to the healer, moistened her lips and tried to remember what she had been told. “May nineteenth, they said,” she replied after a moment, “but it could be anywhere around then.”

Looking up at the passing clouds, Ted smiled as he milled the date over in his mind. "May... That's a good month..." he mused with a soft laugh, looking back at Anita. She was so lovely, even more so now that she was carrying his child. "I'm going to take care of you, both of you," he whispered to her, kissing her forehead, "I'm stationed here for the duration of the school year, but I'm going to do my best." Thinking for a moment, he was struck with an idea. Bending one leg so she could lean against it as he kept his arm around her, Ted reached inside the collar of his shirt and pulled on the beaded chain that hung around his neck bringing his Auror tags out from where they were tucked safely away. Taking them off, he looped the chain over her head and placed the silver tags, edged in rubber to silence them, in her hand. "So I can be with you, tangibly, in some small way," he told her softly. It was corney as hell, but he wanted to do it, give her something she could hang on to when he wasn't there due to being here.

Anita watched at Ted looked to the sky, a look of amused confusion washing over her face. At his gentle laugh, she could not help joining him with one of her own, "yes, I thought so, too." At the mention of him being stationed at the school for the year of the tournament, the blonde felt her stomach turn. She knew it already, but for just a short moment she had managed to forget. She made an attempt to stop yet another wave to tears, and this time succeeded. She wasn't one to cry over almost anything, but it seemed that the tiny being inside of her was already in control of her emotions. Anita would not allow Ted to see how afraid she was of going through most, if not all of her pregnancy alone. Guilt wasn't something that she wanted to place on him, and so she answered as simply as she could. "I know you will, Ted."

Blue eyes watched as he toyed with something under his collar, pulling the chain over is head and placing it around her own neck. With a sharp intake of breath, she gently lifted the silver tags into the light and examined them. She knew what they were, of course, just as she'd recognised the badge that he wore on his belt all of those months ago. "Thank you," she whispered, "that means so much to me.." She thought about a set of tags that looked very similar, hanging safely in her jewellery box at home. "They gave me my Dad's.. I wore them until I finished school, because they made me feel like he was there with me. Thank you." Smiling softly, she leaned her face against his and kissed his cheek. "I love you," she whispered into his ear, letting the tags fall from her fingers so that she could place a hand on his cheek, "I've wanted to tell you that I do for a long while now."

Ted watched silently as Anita examined the tags he had given her. He knew that she knew what they were since her father had been an Auror, so there was no need to explain them to her. In a way, he just claimed her as his, in a way that was more physical then their word. Smiling softly, he tipped his head slightly, "It's the best I can do, for now. I don't want you to feel like you're alone in this, Anita. I'm going to come home as often as I can." Ted was sure that Remus and the others would understand, after all, many of them were fathers. He was glad that his small token meant so much to her. Leaning into the gentle kiss she placed on his cheek, he put his warm hand over hers. I love you... The whisper in his ear made him pause, his icy eyes widening ever so slightly. Looking into her eyes, he brought his free hand to cup her jaw and kissed her lips. "I love you, too," he answered with a wink. He didn't know what to say in response to her wanting to tell him she felt this way for a while now. Simple was best, he reasoned. "Me, too... How have you been fairing so far?" he asked, knowing that the first few months were often the worst. "We gotta tell Nymph... You'll tell her with me?" he asked with a playful grin. His daughter adored Anita, and news like this was likely to set fireworks off, perhaps literally, for his daughter.

Anita couldn’t help but wonder what had caused her to become so afraid of Ted’s reaction. Of course he didn’t hate her, but after weeks of believing that he would it seemed odd that those fears were completely extinguished in a matter of a few minutes. “I'll be fine,” she said, her smile remaining on her face, “I know that you are needed here, of course. I had prepared myself to be completely alone, so any time or even none is better than that.” She was telling the truth, as she knew that she’d be okay even if she didn’t get to see him at all, because at least she knew that he was there, even if not physically. At his response to her admittance of feelings, she laughed softly. Their relationship had moved so slowly, that for one day it seemed that they’d taken so many steps into something of a more serious type. In reality, not a lot had really changed except of course that they were now going to have a baby.

“Sick and very emotional, but otherwise just fine,” she answered easily, “everything seems to be doing well at the moment according to the healer.” Anita’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of Ted’s daughter. She hadn’t even considered that she would be there to tell Nymphadora that she would be gaining a sibling reasonably soon. “Of course I will,” she answered, despite the worry that she felt. Quickly, however, she pushed that worry away. Why be worried yet again when for all she knew, everything would be just fine.

Ted's mind was all a buzz with the news that was still sinking in. It seemed like only yesterday he had saved her from a fall on the slick walks outside one of the many shops in Diagon Alley. Now, he was going to be a father, again. In only a few short moments everything had changed, and, dare he say, changed for the better? He cared for Anita, very deeply, and with the news of the child that grew within her, thanks to him, his feelings for her only climbed to new heights. Hearing that she loved him and had actually been trying to tell him so for some time, much like him, only helped to keep his feelings just as they were.

Ted couldn't help but chuckle as Anita told him just how she was doing so early in the pregnancy, and he wasn't at all surprised. Pulling her in, so she could lean against his chest, he rested his head on top on hers. "I wish I could have gone with you to that appointment. But, I'm happy that everything is going well and according to how it should. Hopefully you aren't, too sick when you are," he mused, placing a kiss on her crown. Rubbing her upper arm as he held her, he smiled when she affirmed that she would be there to tell his daughter about her coming sibling. "I'm glad. Nymph is sure to be more then exstatic at the news. Perhaps, if you can stay... I can treat all three of us to dinner tonight after the first round of the tournament. What do you think?" Ted asked, leaning back and looking down at her, his eyes filled with a touch of warmth that normally didn't linger there but was always present on his face.

Anita couldn’t stop thinking about how wrong she had been. Ted was far from mad, and even further from leaving her. He just seemed so.. happy. It was a pleasant reaction that she hadn’t expected, or even allowed herself to hope for. How was it that even after knowing him for as long as she had, and never once seeing him truly angry, she had come to believe that something that had otherwise made her so excited would have caused him to become unhappy with her. She knew now that she had been stupid, but she’d grown to not expect anything good from anybody, and perhaps she should change that ideal.

“I didn’t want to tell you about it, since I knew that you were needed here and wouldn’t be able to come. Hopefully the next one will fall on the Christmas holidays,” she spoke quietly, purely because the early morning that surrounded them was also so quiet. It was peaceful and relaxing, and she knew that if she were to allow herself to, she’d easily fall asleep. “As for being too sick,” she added, a small smirk appearing as she did, “usually it passes quickly enough now, but at first I couldn’t eat anything at all. Otherwise I would see it again no more than twenty minutes later. You should count yourself lucky that you missed that.”

Looking over the lake once more, she thought about what Ted’s daughter would have to say about their news. Ted seemed sure that she would be as happy as he was, but she still wondered.. “If I’m allowed to stay, then that would be lovely,” she said, resting her temple on his shoulder, her eyes still lingering on the subtle shine of the Black Lake.

Bringing his hand to her cheek, Ted looked lovingly into Anita's eyes. He understood fully why she hadn't told him, other then her being worried that he would not be happy about her having a baby. "I would have found a way..." he whispered to her and smiled his classic Ted smile. Thinking about the Christmas holiday, he nodded, his thumb stroking her cheek. "Hopfully. I'd like to go with you when I can, Anita," he told her, kissing her forehead.

Letting his hand fall to take hers as she told him about her morning sickness and how miserable she had been, and thankfully, it was getting better. Giving her a small shrug he chuckled, "I guess I will count myself lucky that I missed it. I would have taken care of you, regardless. No different then taking care of Nymph when she was sick. I'd do the same for you." Adding a wink at the end of his statement, Ted sighed happily. His family was going to get bigger, and he couldn't be happier.

Seeing her look out over the lake, Ted asked her, "Why wouldn't you be allowed to stay? Nothing says that people can't come to watch the tournament. Granted, not a lot do, but that's beside the point." Lightly kissing the crown of her head, Ted said softly, "Stay? Stay and watch with me. Even if I'm on duty, please stay." He wished he could have her stay with him after the task was complete, but he couldn't. Anita had her own work to tend to, and he knew that. But, knowing now that she carried his child, he wanted to be there to care for them both. He would do what he could, that much was certain, and he knew that should something come up where he needed to go, Remus and the others would be willing to let him go.

Anita couldn’t help the feeling that seeped into her, realising that she had made Ted miss some of the things that she hadn’t imagined he would have like to be involved in. All because she was irrational and slightly stubborn. Of course, it would have been difficult to tell in a letter, but that would have been better than nothing, she was sure. With a sigh, she said quietly, “I’m sorry.. I didn’t think that you’d want to.. But I really would love for you to come next time, if you can. It’s the strangest thing, really.”

Chewing on her lip for a moment, her expression showing her to be deep in thought, Anita reached into the inside pocket of her coat and pulled a small, disk shaped thing. Having seen the muggle version of it before, Anita had been slightly shocked when at the end of her appointment she had been handed this item that looked like a coin or charm. Flipping it in her fingers, she held it out to Ted and smile sheepishly, “would you like to see?” She wondered if he knew what it was, and if he knew that he needed to turn the tiny disk on top of it to have a moving ultrasound-type image of their baby, like a muggle hologram, appear above it. “If I’m honest, that thing kind of weirds me out, though,” she added with a quiet laugh.

“I managed okay, I promise,” she said playfully, “I was more worried about what on earth I had eaten to cause such a commotion in my stomach for so long. Of course, when I finally relented and went to the Healer, I was given things to help. Stubborn Anita, see.” Anita had never been a fan of going to the Healer, or muggle doctor for that matter, even as a child. Her father used to tease her, saying that she was far too stubborn for her own good. A small smile at the memory appeared on her cold-flushed face.

The woman grinned, and with a nod said, “okay then. I’ll stay. But I’m going to sit in the back, because who knows what kind of dangerous things they are going to be having the champions doing. I don’t think I’ll manage without having some kind of panic attack if I’m too close, and can’t do anything to help.” The words were only partially a joke, because she remembered stories from previous tournaments and couldn’t be sure that she’s be able to manage. “But yes, I’ll stay,” she added, “and dinner really does sound lovely.”

Shaking his head, Ted lightly put his hands on Anita's face. "Shhhh... It's alright. I will come to the next one. I'll tell Lupin he's got to let me go. Being a dad himself, I'm sure he'll be more then understanding," he told her with a wink.

Letting his hands fall lightly, he watched as she pulled out a small disk from her inner coat pocket. He had seen these kinds of things before, but never used one. When Anita held it out to him, Ted took it in his hand, carefully, and looked it over. Looking at her, he grinned his classic grin and nodded. "I'd love to, but, I don't know how it works," he told her honestly, looking at one side and then the other. Chuckling, he remembered what it was like when he saw Nymphadora when she was growing inside Andromeda, and he understood completely what Anita was saying. "It's weird and amazing... Will you show me?" he asked, holding the disk flat in his open palm.

"I trust you," he told her, nuzzling her cheek. "I'm just glad you went. If it was me, pretty sure I'd need to be ordered to go to see a Healer. You didn't see Morgan Lupin, did you?" he asked. Ted wasn't sure when Anita went to see the Healer and didn't know if she would have been able to see Morgan. As he thought about it, even if Morgan could have told him about Anita, she wouldn't have as it was her news to tell. So, really, Anita could have seen the Head Healer when she went.

When she told him that she would stay, Ted's face lit up and he leaned in, brushing a tender, sweet kiss against her lips. "I don't know where they are going to have me for the task, but if you need anything, you send someone to find me," he told her with a wink, "I have faith that you'll be fine. It's just dragons this time around..." Chuckling lightly to help ease her worry that he saw creeping into her eyes. "The champions might have to face them alone, but they have the best healer on hand to take care of any mishaps that might happen. We will just hope none do," Ted told her. He knew the stories around this tournament. Heck, when he was in school, one champion was murdered brutally during one of the challenges. "I will make reservations as soon as I can get a hold of an owl to send. It will be a night to remember," he told her.

Nudging her arm lightly with his open hand, he let his icy eyes fall to the disk in his hand. "Let's see..." Ted said with a proud smile.

Anita didn’t know Remus Lupin, though they were at Hogwarts around the same time, and the only knowledge that she did have was from around her workplace. None the less, she could tell that Ted seemed to hold a lot of respect for the man, and as such she smiled and nodded in agreement. “Good,” she said quietly, “I’m really happy to hear that..”

When Ted mentioned not knowing what to do with the item she’d given him, she couldn’t help but breath out a laugh. “I’m surprised that such an admired Auror doesn’t know how to work a simple internal-check disk. I mean.. surely they would have taught you all about them in between the weeks of being trained to apprehend dangerous people, right?” Anita joked, toying with a stray thread of her jacket as she shook her head. “Yes, quite amazing,” she replied, “but still really weird.”

“Oh, er no,” she said, shaking her head quickly, “I wanted to, but apparently she has gone away from the hospital for a while. I saw., umm.. I think it was Greengrass? She said that she was filling in because of a high demand for Healers, and not so many of them to cover it on the day. I went to emergency, since I thought I was getting sick. So I have no idea who I’ll be seeing next time..” In fact, the thought that she wouldn’t be able to see the same healer again had kind of made her disappointed. She had a hard enough time persuading herself to go as it was, let alone if it was going to be a stranger every time. Anita made sure to wipe the look of concern of that from her face as soon as she realised that it was there.

The woman’s blue eyes widened at the mention of dragons, and she bit her lip before smiling, “so you can’t sit with me.. even if there are dragons? How will I cope?” She was joking of course.. kind of. “Yes,” she added, “I hope everyone ends up fine by the end of it all.” The blonde grinned when Ted said he was going to make reservations for that night. “Oh, I’m sure it will be,” she said, her smile growing even more, “Nymphadora makes everything memorable.”

Taking the item from him, she licked her lip before using her fingertip to turn the slim disk twice. Pulling her hand back, she watched as the familiar image appeared above it and held it at eye level. The thing in the image looked like a person, but not nearly big enough. “I have no idea what it was doing,” she explained as she watched as baby seemed to throw its legs around in slow motion, as it had been doing when she had been examined by Alexis.

Ted chuckled brightly. "They might have taught us, but it was a long time ago. Internal-check disks are more for the Healers," he teased back, giving Anita a playful nudge. When she mentioned not being able to see Morgan, he smiled. "Ah... She's here at Hogwarts this year. Morgan was requested special to head up healing for the tournament. Greengrass is an excellent healer, though. Hopefully, you will be able to keep a pretty constant record of who you see," he told her with a wink.

Pulling Anita in for a hug, Ted kissed the crown of her head. "I think you will manage. The stands are protected against the beasts, so there is no need to worry about whether or not you will be fine. As for the champions... Well... We can only hope that they will all come out in as good a condition as they went in. If not, Morgan is on the case, as well as several of us that have some healing training," Ted reassured her. He knew she was joking, but he could also sense some reservation in what she said, showing that having him sit with her would actually make her feel more comfortable.

As Anita activated the disk, showing the baby within her moving about, Ted smiled. Sitting in silence as he watched the baby, their baby, he felt a knot start to form in his throat as he was filled with pure happiness. Nuzzling her cheek he mused, "Perhaps, he or she is practicing to be a Quidditch player... Keeping itself all limber and flexible..." The sight was truly amazing, weird, but amazing. "I couldn't be happier, Anita. I love you so much," he whispered, kissing her cheek and holding her tight against his chest as they watched their baby...

Anita smirked slightly at Ted’s statement, having not doubted that such a device was pretty irrelevant to his line of work. It was unimportant in hers as well, and Healer Greengrass had spent about five entire minutes explaining how it worked to her at the end of her appointment. There was no need for her to admit that to Ted, of course, and so she simply smiled and nodded at the revelation as to where the Head Healer had been. “I’m not surprised. I’ve heard that she’d one of the best, so it’s no doubt that she’s here,” Anita said, “considering it isn’t uncommon for serious injuries at such events.”

The woman laughed for a few moments, considering she should not be so worried about how safe she was going to be during the tournament. The stands were indeed safe from the tasks, and so her concern was ill-placed. “Oh, I’m sure you’re right. It’s just watching that has me worried. It’s pretty nerve wracking, even from the safely of my seat,” Anita admitted, “but I’m certain that Healer Lupin will have everything under control if any of the champions come out injured.”

Anita smiled unconsciously as she watched their child moving around. It was difficult to imagine that it would be out of her and in her arms within half a year. She laughed at Ted’s joke before groaning quietly and burying her face in Ted’s shirt, “there is going to be so much to do, isn’t there?” Leaning against him, she grinned and whispered, “I love you, too. I’m so glad that you’re happy with this.. Since you came early, I thinking I’ll try and find David. Visit with him for a little while.”