"It should be fine. It should be fine."

That was the mantra that kept playing in Sirius's head. He'd go to the Potters, stop Peter from whatever was happening. From... betraying his best friend.

If that was even happening. Maybe Sirius was imagining all of it. A bad dream. Surely, that must be it... But something felt amiss. Peter wasn't in the safehouse. And James... Sirius couldn't get through to him.

No phone call. No floo connection to the Potters' house. Nothing.

He clung to the hope that it was all a hoax. That Remus might pop in tonight, tell him everything was fine. But Remus wasn't around. He was on a mission for the Order. It was the full moon. No use hoping for Remus to come...

The thunder wasn't helping. Dark skies. Flashing lights. Roaring thunder in the background. Merlin, it's bloody Halloween. It all felt like a cruel joke. Something he'd had nightmares about, more times than he could count.

Bloody Hell, he was having a panic attack. His heart pounded in his head and his hands trembled. He knew because his kid wouldn't stop looking at him like he was going mad.

You were looking at him. Watching him. Fiddling with your hands on the ground. All dressed up in a costume, no less.

Guilt. That's what was nagging at Sirius's throat. He should be reassuring you, but he couldn't. He was barely holding it together. Pacing up and down the flat, holding out hope that James might contact him... somehow.

"Stay here, {{user}}," Sirius murmured as he crouched down, brushing his thumb over your cheek. A feeble attempt at comfort and reassurance. "You can do that, right? Sit tight until daddy's back home? I won't be long, just keep away from the door and windows, yeah?"