Cardigan
Sirius hated anybody being injured, but when it was kids, well, that hit different. Especially after Harry was born, so when they got a call that there had been a small explosion and fire in the local infant school l and several children were hurt, his heart was in his throat.
“Parents and guardians have been notified and should be here soon. Edward’s dad is a nurse, so he’ll be in good hands. The others will probably just go straight to the hospital once their adults get here.” The headteacher bustled through the corridor, Sirius and Davey in tow. Marlene and Benjy were checking up on two girls who had caught the worst of it. Upon inspection, the fire had been caused by faulty electrics, and the kids sitting nearest the plug sockets were pretty lucky to get away with a few minor burns. “The whole school will need re-wiring probably.” She sighed, “Anyway, Edward and Victoire, these firefighters just need to check you’re alright and get you bandaged up before you get picked up.”
Sirius knelt down next to them, “Hi, my name’s Sirius. It’s been a bit of a crazy day for you two, huh?” The girl had a burn across her lower left leg, and the boy’s arm and hand were blistering. “Victoire, was it?” The girl nodded, “This is Davey, he’s going to pop a dressing on that burn for you, just to keep it safe until you can get it looked at by a doctor.”
“Or a nurse!” Edward said indignantly. Both he and Victoire looked to be about five or six.
“Or a nurse, yes. Sorry.” Sirius nodded, “And I’ll be doing the same for you. I hear your dad’s a nurse.”
“Yeah, he’s great.” He said, “He’ll know what to do.”
“I’m sure he will. We just need to get this covered until he gets here so no dirt or anything like that gets in.” The little boy nodded, “So the plugs exploded? I bet that was scary.” He asked as he opened the first aid kit.
“Yeah, I was sitting on the floor right by them, well not as close as Parvati and Padma, but still close.” Edward looked warily at the bandage Sirius was holding. “Excuse me? Are you trained to do this?”
Sirius laughed, “Yes, I’m first aid trained. Nowhere near as much training as your dad, but I know what I’m doing, especially when it comes to burns.” He showed Teddy his hand, the blank patch of scarring cutting through his tattoo. “I did this almost two months ago, and I got patched up and now I’m fine.”
“That’s so cool.” His eyes were wide, “I want tattoos but my dad said I’m too little.”
“It’s better to wait anyway. I got a tattoo of Bambi on my shoulder on my eighteenth birthday, and every time I see it, I cringe a little bit.”
Edward laughed, “Can I see?”
“I need to get you fixed up, I’m afraid.” Sirius took a deep breath, “Alright, I need to touch your arm now to wrap this around. It’s going to hurt, but I’ll be as quick as I can.” He tried to remember how Remus had comforted him. As he started to wrap it, the boy whimpered. “That’s it, Edward, you’re doing so well, almost done.”
“’S’not Edward.” He sniffled, “’S Teddy.”
“Oh, I’m sorry Teddy.” Sirius pulled a packet of tissues from the first aid kit and handed him one. “You’re being so brave. I need to do the same to your hand now.”
“No.” Teddy’s bottom lip was trembling. “It’s going to hurt more.”
“What if I show you my Bambi tattoo after it’s done?” Sirius was not above bribery.
Teddy thought on this for a moment, “‘kay.”
Sirius, unwrapping another bandage said. “My nephew Is going to draw something to fill the space on my hand. He’s very excited.”
“That’s so cool!” Teddy smiled, “I wish my dad had tattoos. He used to have a nose ring, in the middle like a bull, but he took it out when my mum died.”
Ah, the honesty of kids. Sirius froze and looked at Teddy, “Sorry to hear about your mum, Teddy. And sorry about your dad’s lack of tattoos, maybe you can convince him one day. When you’re eighteen, take him to go and get matching ones.”
“You’re clever.” Teddy said, narrowing his eyes slightly, “That’s a good idea.”
“Thanks!” Sirius smiled. “All right, this is going to be so fast, ok?” Teddy nodded and then flinched as Sirius gently wrapped his hand. “Almost done, Teddy. You’re doing great, buddy.”
When Teddy could breathe again, he looked expectantly at Sirius. “Well?”
“Well? Oh, Bambi, right!” He shrugged off his jacket and rolled the sleeve of his T-shirt up to show Teddy the tattoo of Bambi with a JLH underneath. The amount of times he'd been asked why he had a Jennifer Love Hewitt tattoo was mind-boggling.
“I like it!” Teddy announced. “You should get more Disney—”
“Ted!” Teddy jumped and looked at the man who burst through the door.
“Dad!” Teddy’s lip was shaking again. “I’m ok!”
Sirius turned to look at Teddy’s dad and blinked. “Moony?”
Remus looked up from Teddy’s face, “London?”
“This is your… son?” Sirius managed to stammer. Remus nodded, his cheeks flushing slightly. Sirius recovered quickly, “He’s been so brave. I’d tell you that he needs to get checked out, but you know better than I do.” He waved his patchy hand vaguely.
“It healed alright?” Remus seemed loathe to take his eyes off Teddy, but when Sirius extended his hand, he held it delicately in his and gave it a once over. “Seems good to me. Must have had a good nurse.”
“I did, maybe you should take Teddy to see the same guy.” Sirius chuckled as Teddy’s eyes flicked between them, a suspicious look on his face. “Probably looking at second-degree, a patch on his hand and across his forearm.” Sirius nodded at Remus. “He’s going to be fine.”
“Yeah, I know. I know.” Remus seemed frazzled. “When you get a call from the school saying there's been an incident and your kid needs to go to hospital and then get here and see all the fire engines.”
“Hey, everyone’s ok. It’s going to be fine.” Sirius crouched next to him, putting a hand on his arm. “Want me to go and grab Teddy’s stuff?”
Remus nodded, “Please.”
Teddy pointed out of the classroom, “Turn right, there’s hooks. Mine says Edward.” He pulled a face. “It’s just my coat and my book bag.”
“Alright, you got it. I’ll try not to get lost” Sirius stood up and headed for the cloakroom.
“Are you alright?” Remus said, pushing Teddy’s hair off his face to get a good look at him. “I was so scared, Ted!”
“It hurts.” Ted frowned, “It hurts quite a bit, really. When I move it, maybe a lot.”
“That’s totally normal, Teddy bach. Let’s go and get Dorcas to have a look at it, then you can have some paracetamol and then I’ll pick us up some lunch, anything you want. Ok?”
Teddy nodded resolutely, looking so much like his Dad, Sirius observed from the doorway. Seeing him with Teddy explained so much about how he knew what to do with Harry. Remus helped Teddy to his feet and then stood up, his knees creaking slightly.
This was the first time Sirius had seen him outside the hospital, and if he thought Remus was attractive in scrubs, seeing him in skinny jeans, a Beatles T-shirt and an oversized dark green cardigan was kind of mind-blowing. His hair was a mess, and it suited him, and Sirius needed to stop. He handed Remus Teddy’s coat and bag and crouched in front of Teddy.
“You’re gonna be just fine, alright?” Teddy nodded, “Alright. It was nice to meet you, Teddy.”
“Yeah, and you.” Teddy smiled shyly as Sirius stood up again.
“Moony, I’d say it’s been a pleasure as always, but our meetings always seem to involve someone in pain.”
Remus rolled his eyes, “It was good to see you too, London. Thanks for looking after him.”
“No problem. I should get back to work, anyway.” He looked across the room where Davey was still sitting with Victoire, the two of them watching the scene in front of them unfold with equally amused faces. “See you.”
“Hwyl am nawr, cariad.” Remus said with a smug little smile as he ushered Teddy out of the door.
“You speak Welsh, Victoire?”
She shook her head, “Maman insisted we learn French first.”
“Ah, oui. Ma mère était pareille. Ce n'est pas très utile lorsque vous vivez au Pays de Galles.”
“Vraiment.” Victoire giggled.
“I speak Welsh.” Davey said, Of course he did. “I suppose you want to know what he said?”
Sirius’ ears were pink, he could tell. “Yeah, I mentioned to him about wanting to learn, and now every time I see him, he says something to me in Welsh and I can never remember what it was when I get home and think about googling it.”
Davey looked at him for a moment, “How often are you in the hospital?”
“When I cut my arm, then my nephew broke his wrist and then when I burnt my tattoo off.” Sirius shrugged. “He’s nice. He's good at his job, too.”
“Hmmm,” Davey said with a grin that unnerved Sirius, “He basically said ‘bye for now, love… or sweetheart.’”
“Well, this is probably a conversation for the journey back to the station.” Sirius glanced at Victoire.
“Oh, we’ll be talking about it on the way back, don’t you worry.” Davey laughed and mouthed ‘Hot Nurse’ at him.
It wasn’t until that evening when he was washing his hair that Sirius remembered what Teddy had said. 'I wish my dad had tattoos. He used to have a nose ring, in the middle like a bull, but he took it out when my mum died.’. No wonder Remus was extra worked up about Teddy being hurt, if he’d lost Teddy’s mum. He wondered how long it had been, and then hated himself a little for even thinking about that. It explained the ring. He wondered if it was hers or his. Fuck, Remus had been married, and then widowed, in his twenties. Remus had a whole ass six-year-old, he shouldn’t be surprised really, but here he was. He suddenly couldn’t remember if he’d already shampooed his hair and scoffed at himself. He was being ridiculous.