Lily Potter checked on her son for the fourth time in the past twenty minutes. The three-month-old boy lay quietly in his crib, sleeping soundly. This was a miracle, according to other parents. So why was Lily less than thrilled? Why was it she found herself constantly hanging over the railing of the crib, just watching her new born baby?

She was restless. She would have preferred Harry screaming all night as opposed to this sound sleeping. Then at least it would give her something to do while she waited for James to return from work. Perhaps it would distract her from all her worrying.

Upon graduating from Hogwarts, Lily and James both went into Auror training, along with James' best friend from school, Sirius Black. Then all three began work, together. With the uprising of the Dark Wizard, Lord Voldemort, work had become fast paced and dangerous.

Then Lily became pregnant. She had worked as long as she could. But eventually, James had to make the journey to work on his own. And after the birth of Harry Potter, Lily and James had had a long talk about what to do. Eventually they decided that it would be best for Lily to stay at home with the baby. It was hard to trust people nowadays, and Lily didn't want to just dump Harry somewhere.

Lily sighed, then reached down and gently adjusted the dark blue blanket to cover Harry better. After one last long gaze on her child, she turned and quietly crept from the nursery, closing the door behind her.

The house was horribly quiet. Lily hummed quietly to herself – anything to break the silence – as she descended back down the stairs, where she could know exactly when her husband got home. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall in the sitting room as she entered. James should have been home an hour and a half ago. It certainly wasn't uncommon for him to run late. But that knowledge didn't ease her at all. She sighed as she heavily fell on the couch. She strained her ears, listening for approaching footsteps. One window in the sitting room was open, bringing in the chilled night air. But Lily didn't dare close it. If an owl came, bringing news of James, she wanted it to be able to get in right away.

Finally a familiar sound met Lily's ears. The gate to the garden opening, then falling shut again. Lily jumped to her feet, her heart jumping along with her. As she hurried toward the door, low voices drifted in through the open window. James apparently wasn't alone.

"You're going to have to put that out, mate. You know how Lily feels about you smoking in the house."

Lily rolled her eyes a bit, knowing who had apparently followed him home. She was prepared with a "stray dog" remark as she pulled open the door, but the joke died on her lips as she took in the scene she revealed.

The light from the house poured out onto the front walk. She immediately took in the sight of her husband, the familiar wave of relief to see him come home from work unharmed washing over her. Then she took in his companion, Sirius Black. He had a cigarette in his lips and the end glowed as he took a drag. Then he tossed it to the ground and stepped on it. Lily's eyes wandered back up to his face. Half his face was hidden by darkness, though not due to the lack of light. As the pair of Aurors came closer, Lily could see that Sirius was limping, with one arm around James' shoulders to keep himself steady. And the darkness on his face was blood.

"Oh no," Lily breathed. She stood to the side, beckoning her husband and his best friend inside. "What happened?"

"Death Eaters," James muttered as he pulled Sirius into the house.

Lily closed and locked the door, then followed James, still supporting Sirius, into the sitting room. As she passed, she closed the open window as well.

"Really James, Death Eaters?" Lily asked sarcastically. "I had no idea that being an Auror would mean you worked with Death Eaters." She walked over and watched as James lowered Sirius onto the couch, and the injured Auror let out a low moan. "How about a few more details?"

James took a deep breath and wiped sweat from his brow. "We were out making a few rounds in Diagon Alley. Sirius was just outside Knockturn Alley, and four came out and ambushed him. He held his own really well, all things considered."

"Alright, so why isn't he in St. Mungo's?" Lily questioned, moving closer to get a better look at Sirius. He had a cut across his forehead, sending blood dripping down the side of his face.

"You know how stubborn he is," James pointed out.

"I don't need to take up a bed there," Sirius croaked. "It's not that bad."

"Anyway, I figured since it was just a cut, my beautiful wife could just take a look at it," James reasoned, with a hint of reluctant pleading in his voice. "If you wouldn't mind, of course, honey." He sent her a sheepish smile.

Lily sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms on her chest. She looked down at Sirius, who mirrored James' smile. They looked like small children who had just asked their mother for some candy.

"Okay, fine," Lily gave in, though a smile played on her lips. "I suppose I can't just leave him here to bleed on the sofa."

Sirius grinned. "You're an angel, Lily, you know that?"

Lily smiled warmly. "I know, Sirius." She threw up her hands in exasperation as she turned from the room. "Why I still take care of you Marauders is beyond me."

She went into the kitchen and filled a pan with some cool water. She pulled open a nearby drawer and pulled out a few dishtowels and tossed them over her shoulder, then closed the drawer again with her hip. Then she reentered the sitting room, approaching Sirius, who had not moved.

"James, pull that chair over here," Lily instructed. "Sirius, lay down."

"Woof," Sirius muttered with a goofy smile as he complied.

Lily shook her head with a laugh. Then she sat in the overstuffed chair James had brought her, leaning over Sirius' bloodied head. The pan of water rested at her feet. She pulled one of the dishtowels from her shoulder and soaked it in the water for a moment. Then she began wiping the blood from Sirius' face, starting as far away from the cut on his forehead as possible, working her way up toward his forehead. After a minute of cleaning, Lily noticed that Sirius' eyes had closed at some point.

"Now don't go passing out on me Sirius," she implored.

Sirius made a noise close to a laugh, then opened one eye slightly. "Wouldn't dream of it, Lily," he murmured. "You know me, I don't want to be a burden."

"Of course not," Lily chuckled. "That's why you're always over here."

"Now come on Lily," James chided lightly. "I couldn't just send him back to that ratty, old, falling down flat of his all by himself."

As her cloth approached Sirius' cut, she simply smiled. She wasn't actually angry. She cared for Sirius. She cared for all the Marauders. She and James had often joked that when she had married him, she had married all of the Marauders.

"Well, it doesn't look too terrible," Lily informed them as she cleaned the cut. "I'm thinking I'll just put a bandage on it. I'm no Healer, I don't want to make it worse with a spell."

"A bandage would be just grand, Lily," Sirius spoke up.

Lily quietly finished cleaning the cut, noting Sirius wincing. She took another moment to study his forehead. It was purpling around the edges, but the bleeding had stopped. However it worried her to just leave it like this. Infection crossed her mind. She had grown up as a Muggle, but over the years she had grown used to magical healing. She had watched the matron at Hogwarts make cuts disappear almost instantly with a potion and a wave of her wand.

"Well, you know, I bet Remus would have something for this," Lily mentioned. "Just to be on the safe side."

Sirius shook his head slightly. "No, there's no need to conjure an entire Marauder gathering over this little cut," he insisted. "Really, Lily, all I need is a bandage and I'll be on my way. I don't mean to bother anyone anymore than that."

"Don't be silly Sirius, you're not bothering anybody," Lily corrected gently. "I was just joking before, I'm happy to help you, you know that."

Sirius chuckled and then slowly sat up. "That's sweet, Lily," he remarked. "But really, all I need is a bandage."

Lily sighed. "Fine," she gave in. "James, would you go grab a bandage from the medicine cabinet?"

"Sure Lily," James said. He had been watching the scene a few steps away, his arms crossed over his chest and an amused smile on his face. He disappeared from the room and returned a moment later with a box of gauze pads. He pulled out one of the pads and handed it to his wife. She pulled out her wand, then placed the pad over the wound as gently as she could, though Sirius still winced slightly. She waved her wand, muttering a sticking spell to keep the bandage in place. She let it go and studied it for a moment.

"That should do it," she said.

"Thanks Lily," Sirius smiled. "What what I do without you?"

"Hey, back off Padfoot," James joked. "She's mine."

Sirius laughed, then slowly rose to his feet. Lily quickly stood up and grabbed his arm as he swayed a bit unsteadily.

"I should probably be heading home to my lady," Sirius stated, chuckling softly to himself. "You know how Kira worries when I'm late."

James laughed as well. "Yes, that owl of yours is rather attached to you, isn't she?"

Lily smiled lightly. "Or you could just stay here tonight Sirius," she offered. As much as she claimed the Marauders annoyed her, Lily still couldn't help caring for all of them.

"Thanks, Lily, but I really should get back to my flat," Sirius calmly replied.

"I'll walk you back," James announced. "I don't want you getting home and then just passing out on the floor again. You're getting all the way to your bed this time." He smirked and chuckled.

Sirius laughed along with him. "Whatever you say, Prongs."

Lily rolled her eyes as she walked to the fireplace, picking up the bag of floo powder resting on the mantle. "Aren't you ever going to outgrow those silly nicknames of yours?" she asked, only to receive matching laughs from Sirius and James in return as she tossed a pinch of powder into the fireplace, causing the flames to turn emerald and shoot up.

"I'll go first," James volunteered, as he stepped forward, sending an amused glance over his shoulder at Sirius. "Just in case you fall out the other side."

"Ha ha," Sirius shot sarcastically as James stepped into the fireplace, stating Sirius' address and disappearing.

"I want you to have Remus take a look at that cut tomorrow," Lily instructed as Sirius stepped closer to the fire. "He's more knowledgeable about injuries than I am." Lily didn't like to admit this, because it hinted at Remus' condition, which had always been a touchy topic. Remus had become skilled when it came to treating injuries because he was a werewolf, and spent a lot of time with Madam Pomfrey while he attended Hogwarts because of it.

"Yes ma'am," Sirius said, giving her a lazy salute. He was obviously waiting for Lily to toss the floo powder in, but she hesitated.

"You... you guys need to be careful," Lily murmured, her eyes wandering down to study the bag in her hands.

Sirius sighed. "Oh Lily," he said sympathetically. "You know how dangerous it can be to be an Auror these days." He reached out and embraced her shoulder with one hand. "But rest assured, me and James are as careful as we can be in this line of work. And I do everything I can to bring James home to you each night."

Lily gave Sirius a weak smile. "Thank you, Sirius," she said. She reached up and gave Sirius a gentle hug. "You're a good friend."

Sirius laughed lightly. "I do what I can, Lily," he said, hugging her back.

Then she pulled away and pulled out a pinch of floo powder. "Oh, and cut back on your smoking," she lectured as she always did. "It's a disgusting habit."

Sirius laughed again. "You know I try, Lily," he said.

"Yeah," Lily admitted as she tossed the pinch of powder into the fireplace. "And get some sleep, okay?" she added as the flames jumped.

"As you wish," Sirius agreed with a slight bow. Then he stepped into the fire, with a smile he stated his address and with a flash he was gone.

Lily sighed, watching the flames calm back to their normal orange for a moment. Then, abruptly she heard something coming from upstairs. She smiled to herself and turned to hurry back up the stairs.

In the nursery she found that Harry had woken and had begun to cry.

"Sh, it's okay honey," she cooed. After a few minutes of comforting her child, Lily was aware of another presence in the room, one that she was very familiar with. "Did he get back alright?"

James approached his wife and his son, resting his hand lightly on the small of Lily's back. "He took a bit of a stumble getting out of the fireplace, but no real harm done," he answered softly, so as not to disturb Harry's calming atmosphere. "But he made it to bed. I'll take Remus and check in on him in the morning."

"That's a good idea," she answered quietly, still rocking the baby in her arms as she leaned back into her husband's sturdy form. There were a few moments of silence. "That could have been a lot worse."

James nodded, leaning down and placing a light kiss on the top of Lily's head. "It can always be worse," he said. "But it wasn't."

"What if you hadn't gotten there in time," Lily continued, feeling a sinking in his stomach. "He could have been hurt a lot worse. He could have died. Those Death Eaters are relentless… heartless. Killing Sirius would have meant nothing to them. I'm sure he has some family members under some of those mask who would take pleasure in it."

"Sirius is fine," James assured her. "I was there in time, there was no real harm done."

"What if it had been you?" Lily asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she held her baby closer to her chest.

James wrapped his arms around Lily's waist as she tried to melt into him.

"You know Sirius and I are as careful as we can be," he told her. "I know it's not easy for you to stay here all day while we're out there. But we agreed that this was the best arrangement for Harry."

Lily sighed, almost cursing how well James knew her and was able to pinpoint what was really bothering her. "I just feel so helpless sitting around the house all day while you two are out on the frontlines risking your necks every day."

James gave Lily a light squeeze. "You have the more important job though," he insisted. "You are Harry's protector." His voice was light, almost joking, but still holding a serious tone.

"I can't stop worrying," Lily admitted. "While you're away, all I do is worry."

"I worry as well," James said. "I worry about you and Harry while I'm gone. But we're both doing important work." He paused. "One day, this will all be over. It won't last forever. Then we can stop worrying. Things will get better, I promise you."

Lily sighed. "I know," she confessed. "Just… be careful."

"I always am," James said. "I do everything I can to come back to you two every night."

"Yes, that's what Sirius said too," Lily said. "But, James… I don't know what I'd do without you." Reluctantly she pulled away from James and leaned back over the crib, placing Harry back among his blankets as gently as she could. When she was satisfied that Harry was sound asleep again, she turned and put her arms around James' neck, feeling his arms snake back around her waist. She laid her head down on James' chest, listening to the comforting sound of James' steady, sturdy heartbeat.

"We'll get through this, Lily."