Surprised and grateful that neither child was squalling as he neared the lighthouse, and doubly grateful to have arrived, as his sons were no longer what he'd consider an easy carry, Fred shifted the sling supporting Devon from strangling him and made his way up the walk. He'd hardly gotten to visit since Tonks and Bishop had returned to the beach; between his children and her new son, they'd each been buried in work and nappies.

He'd felt the wards pulse to admit him at the property line, and merely grinned at Tonks as she flung the door open before him once he'd reached the step. "Wotcher there, Tonks," he laughed, steadying Devon against his chest to reach out for a hug.

"Careful," he warned. "This one likes hair."


"I know," Tonks said, already in the process of pulling her hair back and off her face. She kissed Fred lightly, returning his embrace before stepping back to waggle her fingers at the twins.

"He especially likes it when it changes to pink at the ends, don't you, little demonspawn?"

"Hey now, he'll start answering to that," Fred chided, letting himself be herded indoors, intent on depositing said demonspawn elsewhere than his person, at least for a few minutes.

Kneeling by Jude's playmat, he maneuvered his sons from their vehicles of parental conveyance and let them inchworm over to their cousin. Corey was, scarily enough, starting to get the coordination together to crawl properly, but at the moment they were both still only somewhat mobile.

"Hello, little Rascal," he greeted, reaching out to ruffle the fuzz on Jude's head affectionately. "I brought you some playmates... though Dev might try to eat you... just sock him one, ey? That'll teach him."

"Jude doesn't do much more than coo and eat and suck on his hands, but I'm sure he'll try," Tonks said fondly, smiling at the three babies on the floor, and Fred with them.

Fred snorted, levering himself to his knees and into a chair, eyes on his sons, though he spared Tonks a glance. "You just wait. He'll get all into rolling over and squiggling about, and then you'll be in for it," he said menacingly, waving his fingers at her.

Clapping a hand to his forehead, he sank into the chair cushions, muttering, "I'm delirious. Don't have twins, all right? I'm only glad Katie hasn't got a twitchy wand hand."

Tonks patted Fred's leg in sympathy. "I'll try not to, but it does run on both sides of my family as well. The thought of any more children right now is horrifying," she said, shuddering at the thought of losing even more sleep. She loved her son, more than she thought it possible to love a person, even one so little, but she dearly missed sleep. "Besides the lack of sleep, I'm finally starting to look like me again, and not a whale. I'm vain enough to enjoy that."

Chuckling in commiseration, all too familiar with sleep deprivation himself, Fred covered Tonks' hand with his own, squeezing her fingers gently. "You're gorgeous, and you were gorgeous when you couldn't see your own toes. Just ask the ogre when he gets home," he insisted.

His smile twisted sideways, and he added ruefully, "Of course, you might end up with another one rather sooner than you'd planned, in that case. He is pulling his weight around here, yeah? I've finally persuaded Katie to stay in bed on occasion, when Dev likes to pretend there's banshee in our bloodline at two in the morning..."

"Oh, is that what that noise is?" Tonks teased, flushing a bit at the compliment. "Bishop doesn't let me get out of bed at night, unless it's to go to the loo. He's a good father. You are too, if looks aren't deceiving."

"I'll never worry he hasn't got a good set of lungs, is all I'm saying," Fred quipped.

He grinned at the praise, glad to hear that Rascaile was taking to fatherhood well. He liked the guy, but he'd know Tonks a lot longer and considered her direct family. Gesturing at the slings he'd dropped at the edge of the mat, he adopted his sales-pitch voice. "Those babies? Fully reversible and maneuverable, with cargo carry pockets, meaning no nappy-bag for dads on the go. Or at least, they were, when the occupants were slightly more svelte than baby seals."

"I have one, remember? In that manly purple that goes so well with Bishop's eyes," she said, laughing at the glare she could feel coming from Bishop, even though he wasn't home. "It's the only way I can get the wiggler to stay still long enough for me to get a run in in the morning, or whatever passes for morning."

Puffing himself up facetiously, Fred intoned, "Yes, but mine are modified." He grinned, explaining, "We've got two sets... singles, so Katie can wear one and I can, and then these, which I tacked together on a yoke, so I can carry both of them and swing them around into reach. Corey's fine riding at my back. Dev has an unerring sense of the location of my kidneys."

"Be glad you don't have breasts; it's a bit worse then," Tonks said dryly. "And no more talk of more children, otherwise your Weasley fertility may spice the air. Isn't it terrifying enough that this lot will be in Hogwarts together?"

Fred blanched at the very idea, shaking his head to dislodge the image Tonks had provided. He started to comment on his 'Weasley fertility', pausing as Devon wriggled his way over to Jude, lifting his head up to look at the younger baby. Straightening, prepared to snag his son if necessary, he blinked as Devon's head knocked against Jude's, and paused mid-reach as Tonks' son made a sound suspiciously like a giggle.

"Terrifying," he agreed, eyes still glued to the children.

"How in the hell did we become parents? Our children just butted heads, and gurgled delight," she said, hand covering her face as she shook in disbelieving laughter. It had already started. Dear Merlin, she wanted a drink. A large one, full of frothy alcohol.

"Well, if you want one scarier, they could be ours, as in, yours and mine together. Though I think the world might have ended already in self defense, at that point..." Corey was merrily watching his fingers scrunch in the air, but Devon and Jude were still eye to eye, and it was sort of making him nervous. "I think they're plotting battle strategy. George and I used to do that..."

"Ahh, but the shagging may have been worth it," Tonks said warily, eyeing her son and Devon. They did look like they were communicating, in some way, and she felt that she should move them farther apart, but didn't want them to fuss. She'd learned quickly that when one of them fussed, the others did, too. Dark and ginger met as the two children bumped heads again, giggling in delight, and Tonks looked at Fred with wide eyes.

Meeting Tonks' expression of mild horror, Fred muttered, "Wasn't it supposed to start with horses, or something? I mean, I'm all right with them making trouble, they're mine, after all, but..."

He shrugged, attempting to relax in his seat. They weren't hurting each other, for the time being, and they were quiet and happy. His mind looped back to Tonks' first comment, and he waggled his eyebrows at her. "You're probably right, but too late now. Your ogre'd kill me."

"And you love Katie too much. I'll have to simply be satisfied with pining for you until the end of our days," Tonks replied, leaning into Fred's side and fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Fred laughed gleefully, grabbing Tonks' chin and laying a giant smacking kiss on her lips. "I think you'll live, my darling," he teased in return. He'd missed his friend; almost another brother for all she was sometimes very female, and hadn't realized how much until just then.

"Probably, unfortunately," she said, before scooping Corey up and blowing raspberries in his stomach and saving him from his brother and partner in crime. "Did you see your Papa? That's the way to win women, not the way Jude there is trying. Keep that in mind, wee Weasley."

"That one's just like his mum," Fred observed, watching Tonks with his son. Corey had more of Katie to him; calmer, easier to please than his fussy brother, and Fred was glad of it. Much as he loved both of his sons, identical Devons seemed a bit much. "And Merlin forbid they both turn out like me... my business would go under from me spending all my working hours in McGonagall's office."

"Mmm. Corey like snuggles with his aunty Dora. Dev has eyes on him already. I'm sure George is proud," Tonks replied, snickering. This was the first time she and Fred had had any time to spend together that wasn't full of making sure the other was all right, or trying to hold a conversation half asleep. Their children, for one, weren't screaming. It was a miracle.

A slow smile bloomed on Fred's face as he shook his head. "Actually, I'm pretty sure George has been laughing at me continuously since we found out Katie was pregnant, but all right. I suppose I owe it to the universe after what we put Mum and Dad through."

He pulled a face at Corey, smirking at the happy little squawk it provoked. "Little ladies' man already, aren't you, boss?" he murmured, reaching out to tickle his son.

"Mmmhmm, there may be a Weasley in my future after all."

Fred snickered. "Let's just keep that quiet around your husband, hmm?"


Summary: Fred and the twins visit Tonks and baby Jude, and the mini-cousins get to know each other. The dawning of the apocalypse is