Author's Note: I am going to be going on a very long trip out to the Western half of the United States this Saturday. With that said, I am not going to be able to update during that time because I will not have access to a computer. So this is what I am getting to you before I go off on my trip. Because you guys are just that special. =)
This is the first time that I have done a one-shot so I really hope that you all like it. Once again with James and Lily, because I can do no other couple right now.
Lily and James
"I guess that it is just time to clean up." I said to Beth as I looked at the Christmas Dinner that I had set on the table with a sense of sadness settling in at the pit of my stomach.
"Lily, I am sure that James just had a long day at work. I am sure that James, Sirius, and Remus will all be perfectly fine." Beth assured me as she picked up her plate and walked it over to the sink.
"It is not that, really. I was just really hoping that he was not going to be so late, because then the meal has gotten cold, and Christmas Dinner is never as good reheated ass it is when you first eat it." I said as I followed her from the dining area to the kitchen.
I had spent the entire day cooking and baking for this meal. It was not something that I always did, cooking the Muggle way. But I did engage in the activity whenever I needed to fill my thoughts.
And if I ever needed mindless occupation for a few moments, it would be tonight.
"James will never know the difference, and anyways, I am sure that he will appreciate the meal all the same simply because you made it for him." Beth stated as she stared at the dishwasher with disdain and confusion. "I do not know why Muggles use these infernal machines. If only they realize how much simpler it is to simply whip out your wand and dry your dishes magically."
I smiled at her comment. "Beth, if they could use magic then they would not be Muggles. But do not make fun of my dishwasher, when I was little it was my job to wash the dishes. A dishwasher would have been a gift from a very benevolent god." I replied as I remembered how James and I had had the same discussion when I found it in the local store.
We finished cleaning the dishes in companionable silence. We both knew that I needed time to think, and Beth probably thought that I would not want to just chatter mindlessly about whatever was popping into our minds. If only she knew how much I would welcome the distraction from my current thoughts.
James was still not home from his patrol with Sirius and Remus. I knew that they would keep each other safe, there is no one out there on the planet who cares more about James than those two, myself excluded.
And this is not even the first time that they have been late coming home from patrol. With He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named out there on the loose, all of the Order members have had to take on double shifts to cover the wizarding and muggle worlds.
And that would not bother me, except for the fact that this is Christmas Eve. And James and I have always made a point of spending this holiday together every time that it has rolled around since the time that we have been together.
If my Math is correct, that should be about 5 years. But I could be wrong because Math was never my strong subject when I was going to Muggle School…
However, the point is that James and Lily have always shared this holiday.
Just the two of them.
With lots of snuggling and kissing and just other happily married types of activities.
Not with James out patrolling, possibly getting into duels with Death Eaters, and me, Lily, at home wondering when or if, he will ever walk through the door again.
"Lily, I am going to be going." Beth said as she got up from the sofa that she had been sitting on, drinking hot chocolate.
"Oh, you do not have to go. I know that I have not been one for providing stimulating conversation, but I would really like you to stay." I said quickly getting up so that I could hopefully keep her here.
"I am not leaving because you are boring me. But I have an early patrol tomorrow morning and I really need to make sure that I get at least 5 hours of sleep." She replied as she picked up her cloak from off of the coat tree.
I understood where she was coming from. "But I could always lay out some blankets for you, so that you can sleep here on the couch." I felt horrible for trying to make her stay. But I just needed someone to share my anxiety with. I did not think that I could get through this alone.
She looked at me in the eyes for a couple of moments, and then her face soft. "Okay, I guess that I can stay here a little bit longer until you fall asleep on the couch, but then I have to leave." She decided as she took my hand and walked with me over to the couch.
"Thanks you, Beth." I said as I gave her hand a slight squeeze.
It was not only my apprehensions about James not coming home that I was worried about. I had some really big news that I found out about today, and I really had no clue about how James was going to respond to it.
"James is going to come back alive. Don't worry. He will always come back to you because what you two have is really special. And death is not going to be able to stop that." Beth reassured me quietly.
"Oh," I sighed. "I know that they are going to be all right. It is just that small part of my mind that constantly tells me that this could all go horribly wrong in a few seconds. And that we have been so fortunate that we have not lost each other yet." I finished thinking of how Alice's sister, Rachel, just lost her fiancée.
My throat closed up at the thought of ever having to live without James. I could not, did not want to even imagine such a world. It was hard to think that I used to hate him with every fiber of my being, because he had just changed so much since then. He is intelligent and funny; always there to make me smile and laugh when I am taking myself too seriously. And he is also a shoulder that I can cry on when situations just get more than I can bear.
He is exactly the kind of guy that I would have chosen to fallen in love with if I had known myself enough to know what I was really looking for.
I was 17 again.
It was the first year that James and I were a couple even though we were not official. I had fallen completely for him. But he did not know that yet.
It was Christmas Eve, and we were doing our nightly patrols because we decided to give the other prefects the evening off.
And I had a surprise for James. My only problem was how I was going to get the courage to spring this up upon him.
"James." I said as we turned the corner so that we were walking down the hallway that leads to the Library.
"Yes, Lily." He said with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye as he waited what I was going to tell him.
"Look up." I said averting my eyes so that I would be able to get through this without fainting from lack of breath or too much blood rushing to my face.
I had charmed a little sprig of Mistletoe to hover directly above his head. "Oh, Mistletoe. My parents always hang it around the house during Christmas time. It is a wizarding saying that if you kiss the person that you love under the mistletoe that you are guaranteed to have many happy Christmases to come." He explained.
"Well it has the same sort of tradition in the Muggle world, and you are my first, well whatever you are, that I have had at Christmas. So I kind to, you know, try it out…" I trailed off knowing that I could quite possibly be digging myself into a very deep hole. Because from the look that he was giving me, he must think that I am pretty crazy.
"You do not even need to ask me twice." He whispered as he leaned in to kiss me on the lips.
Almost immediately my arms reached up to wrap around his neck and to weave them into his hair. I was getting very good at this, but then again. I have been practicing this about 15 times a day. Not that I was complaining, mind you. This is definitely the type of thing that a girl would not loathe getting used to.
"Lily, wake up." I heard James say. But wait, that does not make any sense. I was awake, why would he be telling me to wake up?
"Darling, I am home." James said again and my eyelids fluttered open to find his hazel eyes barely centimeters above my own. He was home, and it was Christmas.
So I did the only thing that I could think of doing. I kissed him again.
And it was better than the dream, because this was real; my lips were brushing and moving with his in perfect harmony. And I knew once again that James really was mine; forever and ever. And that no one would ever have the power to separate us from each other.
"Not to say that I would not like to pick this up again in a couple of minutes, but would you mind coming outside because there is something that I want to show you." James said as he pulled back so that I would have room to sit up.
"Fine, it had better be good because I would really much rather go upstairs to our nice warm bed and spend the rest of the night in your arms…" I trailed off, trusting that he would be able to follow where my thoughts were leading.
Without warning his lips crashed down upon my own to capture mine in a kiss that I still could not help but get my breath taken away by. It was as if he needed me to keep living. As if he had been wandering around in the desert for a week and I was the first drink of water that he has had since them. It was a totally consuming feeling, and I felt the excitement shoot straight down my spine and pool like liquid fire in my stomach. Hoping that he would take my suggestion, I pressed my body up against his, savoring the way that we fit together like puzzle pieces specifically designed for one another.
"As appealing as that offer is, I am afraid that I am just going to have to hold off for a little bit longer. What I have to show you cannot wait. But do not worry, my darling wife, I plan on thoroughly enjoying the delights that you are very generously offering." James declared finishing the sentence by giving me one last scorching kiss before pulling away to pull me by the hand to the door.
"I suppose that it cannot hurt to see this amazing site that you want to show me so badly." Even though I would much rather make love to him tonight, because then it would be the perfect time to tell him my great news.
I walked out onto our front walkway, following James, wondering what he could possibly want to show me.
"Look up, darling. I had God put up this starry sky just for you, because I love you so much." He said gently into my ear.
I was about to make a comment that he can forgo with the silly little pick-up lines, that he was so fond of back in 5th year. But I took one look up into the sky, and it took my breath away.
The sky was a clear black with millions of little stars lighting up the sky, dancing in their spots around the crescent shaped moon that shone so majestically in the sky. "James." I breathlessly said. "This is one of the most beautiful skies that I have ever seen."
"Well, I knew that I had to show this too you, after you confided in me and told me that looking up at the stars was one of your favorite things to do as a little girl with your sister." He said as he leaned over to give me a quick kiss on the nose.
"James, I also have something that I want to tell you. I just saw a Muggle doctor today, and he told me that we are going to have a baby." I said with my eyes shining brightly up at him.
All he did was stare at me with huge eyes.
"James, I am pregnant. You are going to be a father." I said once again praying that he would say something, and not just keep staring at me with this stunned look on his face.
"I-I am going to b-be a f-fa-father." James stammered out looking as though he could not believe his ears.
"Yes, you are going to be a father. And I know that when we talked about having children, you said that you wanted to wait until the war was over, but I really…" I started before James cut me off.
"This is the best news that I have ever heard. You are going to be the best mom that any child ever has ever had. This is fantastic. How did it happen?" James asked me all at once.
What a silly question. "Well, James I am sure that you knew that this result was possible with the way that we have been since, oh I don't know, we were married. So this usually happens at some point." I said laughing about the fact that we still could not keep our hands and other various appendages to ourselves after 3 years of marriage.
"Oh, Lily. I love you more than life itself." He said as he pulled me in for a sweet and tender kiss.
"I do not thing that I will ever get over that fluttering feeling in my stomach whenever I hear you said that. But I thought that you did not want a child right now. I thought that you wanted to wait for the war to be over?" I questioned him.
"This is probably the best gift that you could ever have given me, we have started a life, when everything around is being killed by Voldemort. This is a sign of hope, and nothing will taint that." James said puncturing his words with kisses along my hairline.
I could not do anything else but smile in that moment. I was just so full of happiness that I was afraid that I was going to burst. I knew that I had to be glowing with pure elation.
So I leaned up to coax James into another kiss that said everything that I would never be able to say in words. I showed him how complete I felt when I was around him, and how without him the world seemed to hang suspended waiting until we were reunited to start spinning again.
"Darling, do you think that we could go upstairs now so that you can make good on your promise?" He asked as he gently kissed the skin directly beneath my ear.
"I think that that would just be wonderful." Because anything that we did was perfect just because we were together.
Just the three of us.
Author's Note: Well, I hope that you all enjoyed that. If you have not already checked my story out, Charmed Love, please do. As I am hoping to get some more chapters posted on it when I get back from vacation on July 5. And those of you who have already read my James and Lily story, all I have to say is that I have a couple things up my sleeves for you to read about.
And I know that it is general knowledge that James and Lily get married directly after Hogwarts, but I am sorry, but I do not see that happening. So for those of you who did not follow my math, they got married two years after Hogwarts, and now Lily is pregnant three years after that.
As always reviews are very much appreciated.
Love Always, Allison