Lily awoke seemingly hours later. Her body ached, though not severely. There was a pleasant haze over her vision, as though someone had fed her a Calming Draught while she slept. "Umm, Jamie, put the kettle on would ya? Want to sleep a bit more before Harry gets up."

A deep male chuckle made her smile. The voice, however, did not belong to her husband and had her eyes fighting to open. "You must know my wife. I swear I heard the same thing over and over in the early stages of our marriage. Though they were usually accompanied with a, 'baby, do you love me?' Never could tell her no."

Finally winning the battle, Lily opened her eyes and stared at the man before her. Medium height and build, dark hair, glasses. Right overall description, wrong person. He turned his head and offered her a quick smile before turning back to the machines she was currently hooked up to and jotting a few more notes in the file he was holding. Right. Not her husband, her Jamie. A stranger. A doctor. Because Jamie was… and she…

"Hey now." The man by her bedside frowned, putting the file down on a rolling table and pulling his stethoscope from around his neck. He pushed a button above her head and started talking to her in calm tones. "Your blood pressure just jumped right on up there. You relax, Mrs. Dursley, we're taking good care of you, I promise."

Lily couldn't relax, her breathing becoming increasingly labored as her eyes darted frantically around the room. "My baby, please? Is he…" The medication was making her head swim. Grief and fear warring inside her as she fought the gentle ministrations and searched for her child. Her reason for continuing on.

A nurse entered the room, followed by two more individuals. The woman had her hair pulled up in a bun, practical leather shoes making no noise on the linoleum as she rushed to Lily's side. "There now, Duckie, calm yourself. Your babies are just fine."

Looking up into a pair of twinkling blue eyes, Lily felt herself begin to relax. But, wait, these weren't the usual sparkling eyes. Though she did say… "Harry? My baby? He's ok?"

"Course they are, love. Both went home with your husband shortly after you were moved from recovery."

"My husband?" Confused, Lily let herself be gently pushed back into the pillow as her drugged mind fought to keep up. James was dead. She had heard him fall. Harry had heard him fall. "Wait," she wanted to gag. "Vernon Dursley took my baby home?" That was too much. Taking the gentleman at her bedside by surprise, Lily swung her leg over the bed and kicked him. She gritted her teeth against the pain, trying to rise as her body protested the movement. Nothing hurt worse than the Cruciatus curse, and she had survived several battles. She could survive this too. But this body was frailer than her body, and her foot didn't even connect with the floor before one of the other gentlemen caught her and pushed her back.

"Mrs. Dursley, I'm afraid I can't let you do that. My name is Dr. Stevens. I cut you open and put you back together. I insist you remain in this bed until I have a chance to check you out."

"Please." Hating this feeling of helplessness, Lily choked as a sob seemed to lodge itself in her throat. "I have to, I can't. You can't keep me here – I know my rights! He can't have my baby! He'll hurt him!"

The doctors exchanged looks over her head. "Mrs. Dursley," he continued on calmly. "I can't stop you from getting up, but let me tell you why you are still in bed. OK?" Lily gave a grudging nod. There was little she could do with three people surrounding her. Though if her brain wasn't so foggy from Muggle medication, she would be long gone by now. "There were just a few complications with your surgery." He held up a placating hand as she jerked in response. "We got you taken care of, but during your surgery we discovered you had a less common symptom. Your intestines were blocked, your abdomen just beginning to distend. Luckily, when your appendix ruptured you were in the examining room. We were able to get you into surgery, insert a tube, and drain your intestines. Unfortunately, you showed signs of sepsis, blood poisoning, that is, and technically you died for a few seconds. Now, you get out of that bed and you'll undo all of my hard work in making you healthy." He regarded her calmly. "Stay in bed and heal until I release you, or get up and potentially never see your child again. Your choice."

Lily glared at the man, hating that his manner was just enough like a mixture of Remus and Severus to calm her down. Judging from the look of shock on her original doctor's face, Dr. Stevens probably was not meant to be as candid with her as he had been. She could appreciate people who were straight with her, though, and grudgingly nodded, relaxing back onto the bed and ceasing her struggles.

"Good girl." Dr. Stevens nodded in approval and kicked over a stool before grabbing her file. "Now, you've obviously been feeling poorly for awhile, yes?" Lily remembered the sounds of her sister retching and nodded mutely. "Fever is very common with appendicitis, and due to the severity of your condition, it came as absolutely no surprise to me that you had a moderate reaction."

"A moderate reaction?" she repeated. She thought of Severus, in his first year of teaching, and smiled softly. "Is that your way of saying I'm a dunderhead for not coming in sooner?"

"Correct, though I am legally barred from name calling." He grinned at his patient briefly before returning to his notes. "Occasionally, the inflammation and infection of appendicitis are so severe that the decision is made to not close the incision at the end of the surgery because of concern that the wound is already infected. Instead, the surgical closing is postponed for several days to allow the infection to subside with antibiotic therapy and make it less likely for infection to occur within the incision. You with me so far?"

She blinked, processing this. "Wait, so…"

"You've been in and out of consciousness for three days," Dr. Stevens patiently explained. "You came to, briefly, in recovery, but we put you back under almost immediately. Vernon Dursley had informed us your blood type was O positive. However, when we tested you the results came back AB negative, and that was the blood type we gave you. Your file was corrected and updated before any harm could come about, your incision was closed last night, you are responding favorably to the antibiotics, and if you continue to stay in bed you can be released by tomorrow morning."

"My blood type's always been AB negative," she muttered absently. But he was right. Petunia had a different biological father than she did. Everything about the two sisters had been physically different. If her blood type was now her own, what else was changed? "I need a mirror."

"You need cranberry juice," the nurse corrected, already filling a water bottle with a mixture of cranberry juice and Sprite and passing it to her with a straw. "We need to get you hydrated, rested, fed, and walking around the room before you even think about anything else."

"But he's had my baby for three days now!" Desperation made Lily's voice hitch. "I need to see him!"

"One more day," the nurse spoke mildly.

One more day. Lily repeated the words to herself as she let them fuss and fiddle with her. One more day and then Vernon would come to collect her and take her home. One more day and she could be with her son. "Where's…" bile rose in her throat. She could not refer to him as her husband. "Where's Vernon?"

The pause did not go unnoticed by the doctors. "At work, if the contact information is anything to go by." Dr. Stevens spoke mildly, making a notation on the chart. Seeing Lily's rising distress, as evidenced by the increased beeping of the machines, he flipped to a new page in her chart. "We have listed as emergency contacts a Miss Arabella Figg and Mrs. Eugenia Polkiss, respectively."

Polkiss? Who the hell was that? No matter, Lily remembered dotty old Miss Figg from her work with the Order. Chances were she had her baby. "I need her number." The nurse frowned. "Their numbers," she corrected herself immediately. "I need to call and check on the children." The doctors still looked slightly dubious, whether over her mental health or physical well-being she was uncertain. Come on Lils, she silently chanted to herself, you lied to Death Eaters. You can evade a few Muggle doctors. Summoning a weak smile, she let herself fall back on the pillows. "I'm really quite tired, but I simply cannot rest until I have assured myself of my babies' safety."

It worked. Ten minutes later the room was empty, she was sipping her Sprite and cranberry juice mix, had a brief conversation with Mrs, Polkiss, who turned out to be her, Petunia's, best friend, and was anxiously twisting the phone cord between her fingers as she listened to the endless ringing. "Hello?"

The old voice was so familiar Lily nearly burst into tears then and there. "Hello, Miss Figg," she politely replied. "This is Li… Petunia Dursley. May I speak to Harry for a moment?"

Silence. Oh crap, that was far too polite for her wasn't it? "What do you want to speak to the boy about?"

The Boy. Right. The Dursley's never did anything to make Harry's transitions easier. Genuine fear made her voice wobble. "Please, Miss Figg. I've been in hospital the last couple days. I just want to make sure he's all right." And Vernon didn't hurt him, she silently finished. She could hear Miss Figg breathing and pressed her advantage. "He's the only thing I have left of my sister."

"Aw, there now, Pet." Miss Figg had softened utterly at the indirect reference of Lily. "The little one's resting. But I'll be sure to tell him you called. He's been in a right state since Vernon dropped him off."

"Dropped him off?"

"Umm. About four days ago. Said he couldn't handle having two wee ones running about. But don't you worry, I've had young Molly Prewett helping me out."

Molly Prewett? "Molly Weasley?"

"That's right, keep forgetting she's married. I remember when she was just a freckle faced little girl. Now she's all grown with babies of her own. Did you know your sister's friend then?"

"Er… no, not really. Lily talked about her from time to time." Her mind raced for a way to quell the sudden suspicion in the lady's voice. "Once we, they, went into hiding, Lily sent me letters. And pictures. So I could, umm, know who to contact if something went wrong."

"Always such a thoughtful child." Miss Figg's voice cracked with emotion. "Such a shame about her and James."

"Yes." Her voice broke thinking about her husband. Late husband. "It really is."

"Well, I need to be going now, Petunia. Need to feed the cats before Harry wakes up. Mr. Tibbles and Tufty are getting quite the workout running away from the curious toddler."

"He loves animals." Lily's eyes were damp with emotion. "We're thinking of getting a dog."

"Well, that would be special, wouldn't it? You get better now, dearie. We'll see you soon."

"Yes, Miss Figg. And, thank you. For taking care of Harry. And please tell him I love him."

"Always, dear. He's an absolute love."

Lily sat there in silence for a long time, clutching the phone in her hands. Harry was safe. And fine. By some blessing of God, Vernon had taken him to Miss Figg and forgotten about him rather than locking him in the cupboard. The relief warred with the grief inside her and made her head spin. She wanted her baby. Wanted to hold him and cry with him over the loss of his, their, family. She did not want to be in the hospital anymore. And she certainly did not want to go home with Vernon Dursley. But… she had a role to play now. Petunia had died on the operating table, and Lily had taken over her sister's body. She couldn't bring herself to feel badly about that fact. Petunia had the chance to be a mother to the two innocent children that needed her, and she had dropped the ball. Lily picked the ball up on the rebound and ran with it. Comforting herself with the knowledge that she would be "home" soon, Lily closed her eyes and slept. Still clutching the telephone like a lifeline.

HPHPHP

When she awoke this time, she was instantly aware she was not alone in the room. Years of living in paranoia, constantly watching the shifting shadows all around her, hell, being married to a prankster with an Invisibility Cloak, had taught her to maintain a high level of awareness for her surroundings. Keeping her breathing carefully modulated, Lily cautiously cracked open an eye, and received her first vision of Vernon Dursley through her sister's eyes. The man was sitting in a chair by her bedside, flipping restlessly through a magazine. Occasionally glancing at the watch on his wrist and making a disparaging face. He looked awful in the suit he was wearing. Face pink and shiny with sweat from the summer sun, shirt dampened about his arms and chest, girth spilling over his belt and forming unflattering ripples.

She wanted to kick herself for her innate disgust. She, of all people, knew better than to judge someone by their appearance. Often times the most unassuming person was the strongest witch or wizard, after all. But the character of Vernon Dursley seemed to hang about him like an oily blanket. Why had her sister married this man? Lily studied him in surreptitious silence. Had she felt so isolated from her family that she married the first man who paid attention to her and offered her an escape? Had she so desperately wanted to be first for once… first daughter married, first grandchild born, that she had overlooked the sheer meanness of the man? There was no way Petunia had been happy in her marriage. No one would ignore severe pain and constant nausea for so long if not slightly afraid of the retribution received for going to hospital. And in the nine months she'd spent drifting around the Dursley household, she had rarely seen her sister smile at anyone or anything besides her mean-spirited child.

The nurse standing by her bedside and inserting a clear liquid into her IV that spread a wash of cold through Lily's body, smiled at her conspiratorially. Guess you couldn't fool someone who was trained to watch heart monitors into thinking you were asleep, after all. "Mr. Dursley?" The nurse spoke quietly, respectful of her "sleeping" patient. "I believe Mrs. Dursley will remain asleep for awhile yet. Sleeping off the anesthesia is an important part of recovery. Perhaps you would like to go get a cup of coffee and return in a bit?"

"No." Gods, even his voice seemed to ooze with self-righteous anger. Lily tensed at the sound. "I would not like coffee in this ruddy heat. If you think she'll be sleeping awhile yet, I'll head on home. You say she'll be out tomorrow, yes?"

"Yes, Sir. She's healing nicely and responding well to medication. Mrs. Dursley will need to take it easy for a bit," there was a note of censorship in the nurse's tone that made it clear she was talking to the patient as well as the husband, "but she'll be perfectly fine in a few days."

"Good. Won't pay the bloody bills for this hospital a minute longer than necessary. It's a crime, truly, how much you charge here. This isn't a four-star resort, you know."

"No, Sir."

"Right, well. I see she's capable of using the telephone. Have her buzz me if she'd like Marge to come stay and visit for awhile. Help her out about the house." Not bloody likely, Lily thought fervently. "Can't get away from the office till after lunch, so try not to discharge her too early now."

"No, Sir." Lily had to suppress a smile at the nurse's carefully modulated tone.

"See that you don't." A wet kiss was placed sloppily on her cheek. Lily nearly gagged, and had to fight to keep her body's reaction suppressed. No one but her husband was allowed to kiss her. Except, Vernon was her husband now. Dear lord, what had she gotten herself into? But it was worth whatever mental pain she had to go through. Harry was worth everything. She had to protect her son. And if that meant suffering through a few kisses until she could get Vernon sorted out, well – she was a strong woman.

"You can wake up now, Sleeping Beauty. He's gone."

Opening her eyes, she gave the nurse a grateful smile. "Thanks. I'm just not up to dealing with him right now."

"I can imagine." The nurse smiled back before settling herself into the chair Dr. Stevens had recently vacated. "My name's Catherine, by the way, and I will be your night nurse. My replacement, Kris, will relieve me at six A.M., and if you're awake I will introduce you to him before I go." She paused slightly, tapping the file in her hand against the palm of her other hand. "I do have a few questions to ask you, if you think you are up to them?"

Lily sighed, wincing slightly as she adjusted into a sitting position. "Go for it, Catherine. The sooner we get done here the sooner I can get home to my son… kids." She smiled brightly to overcome her lapse. "I miss my babies."

Catherine smiled back. "Yes, I heard you were asking for them straight out of surgery." She set the file in her lap, uncapping a pen and poising it over a clean sheet expectantly. "Now, Petunia, some of these questions are rather personal. I apologize if I offend you, but some serious concerns have been raised, and we here at The Royal Surrey County Hospital are committed to providing the best care for our patients we can."

"OK?" Lily was confused by the topic of conversation. What had she done to warrant awkward questions?

"OK," Catherine agreed, smiling sweetly. "Petunia, has your husband, or anyone in your home, hurt or threatened you?"

Lily blinked. "What? No, my husband would never dare raise his hand to me!"

The nurse kept her face blank and made a small notation on the paper. "Have you ever felt controlled, unsafe, or overtly criticized in your home?"

And Lily got it. The doctors from earlier had picked up on her distress over Vernon having Harry and thought she was a victim of domestic abuse. True, Vernon had a nasty temper, but had he ever done anything to warrant this level of attention from authority? Lily's mind was racing. It would be duplicitous to use this situation to her advantage, but what if something happened in the future and they had her on record as adamantly refusing their care?

"Ma'am? Petunia?"

Right. The nurse was pursing her lip, a knowing look in her eye, as Lily sat there in silence. "My... Vernon, has a right temper. At times." She paused, choosing her words with care. "At present, though, he has never harmed me."

"I see." Another notation joined the page. "Have you ever been asked to do something sexual that you did not want to do?"

"No." Her answer was firm. Petunia and Vernon were as contrived physically as they were conversationally. They had sex once a week and that was that. And you could bet your ass that Lily would be turning the lump down well into the foreseeable future.

"Good. One last question, if I may?" She waited for Lily's nod before continuing. "What about your children, ma'am?"

Lily shut her eyes in denial of the compassion on the nurse's face. She averted her face, addressing her answer to the bed sheets. "Vernon resents Harry," she said softly.

"Harry?" The sound of rustling paper. "That would be your nephew you maintain primary custody of? Added to your insurance in February of this year?"

A pause. "Yes." Denying her relation to her son was the hardest thing she had ever done. "In Vernon's eyes, Harry pales in comparison to his son Dudley."

"His son?" The nurse's face was once again carefully neutral. "Are you feeling dissociative towards Dudley?"

"Am I feeling…" Lily trailed off, realization hitting her hard right then. For all accounts and purposes, she was Petunia Dursley. She was Dudley's mother now. "I'm his mother." She was numb. It was one thing to talk about being someone's mother, another to actually become someone's mother. She had done to him what Harry had gone through. His mother was gone, and his aunt was stepping in to fulfill the role.

"I see." The nurse smiled gently, writing something down on the paper before setting the entire file aside. "Should anything change in the foreseeable future, we are always here to help you in any way."

HPHPHP

Lily took a fortifying breath as she signed her discharge papers before weakly walking to the bathroom. Her hands were shaking by the time she finished her business, and she braced herself heavily on the sink as she gazed at her reflection for the first time. It just seemed so intrinsically wrong to see Petunia's features staring back at her. She wondered if she would ever get used to it. Though it was obvious, to her, that she had changed. The contours of her face were softer, looking less pinched and tight. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, but the eyes themselves were brighter, warmer, flecked with green where before they were strictly brown. Even her hair had hints of red in it, looking more strawberry blonde. There was something else… Lily tilted her head curiously, watching in morbid fascination as the mirror image of Petunia mimicked her. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Shrugging it off, and vowing to pay more attention to her body when she had the time, Lily returned to her room and reluctantly climbed into the wheelchair that would take her out of the hospital and towards the car. This was it. She had successfully taken possession of Petunia's body and was now going to see her baby. Be able to hold him, comfort him. And there was Vernon Dursley, waiting for her by the front doors with the car. Shakily getting into the passenger side, she thanked the orderly, ignored Vernon's start of surprise over such common behavior, and buckled up; shutting her eyes with a weary sigh. Vernon gave her a searching look before starting the car. "All right, Pet?"

"Just fine, Vernon." She wanted to hit him, urge him to drive faster through the afternoon congestion. Her hand fairly tingled with the knowledge she would have her child in her arms soon. "Bit tired still. Shaky."

He nodded, absently reaching out a hand to pat her knee as he weaved from lane to lane. "I have to head back to the office, but should be able to knock off early tonight. Perhaps pick up a pizza so you don't have to cook, hmm? Eugenia has Dudders, and will bring him round after dinner. Old Miss Figg said she would be willing to keep the boy overnight again if you needed a break."

She nodded when she realized he was waiting for a response. "Thoughtful of her. But Harry is little trouble. I'll give her a ring once I get settled, have her bring him round."

Vernon gave her another odd look. "If you say so, Pet."

Her breath quickened when they pulled into the driveway. She had grown to hate this house in the nine months she'd been drifting about and watching Harry. There was so much anger here, so many artificial emotions and conversations, so much obliviousness as to what was really important. But now it was her home. Her life. She had to make this work. It was still awkward walking in Petunia's taller, weaker, thinner body, and Lily leaned on Vernon gratefully as he helped her up the walk and into the living room. She accepted another sloppy kiss on the cheek, and was reaching for the telephone before his car had even backed out of the driveway. When the doorbell rang moments later, she was trembling too much to leave the couch, and had to clear her throat twice before murmuring a breathy, "come in!"

Miss Figg entered the room carrying a sleeping toddler with messy dark hair and a bulging sack of clothing. Lily smiled weakly, her attention focused solely on her baby. His little lips were pursed in sleep, his cheeks flushed, one hand trustingly wrapped around the trim of old Miss Figg's sweater vest. "You," she paused, clearing her throat. "You can set Harry here on the couch, by me." Her hands shook with the need to smooth his hair, count his fingers and toes, kiss his rosy cheeks. There would be plenty of time to reassure herself of her son's health.

"How are you feeling, Pet?"

Again with the hated nickname. Why did seemingly everyone call her that? "Bit shaky, really." It was ridiculous how stilted the conversation was becoming. Why couldn't she just leave and let her have time with her son before the Dursley's came back!

"Begging your pardon, Mrs. Dursley." Miss Figg looked nervous. She gestured to the baby. "It's important that you stay healthy, and Poppy was concerned when I told the Headmaster you'd been admitted to the hospital. She came over to check little Harry's health, and see if she could do anything to help you."

"Poppy?" Lily was proud of the note of confusion she interjected in her tone. No one would suspect she was talking about the lady who had helped deliver her child.

"Madame Pomona Pomfrey," Miss Figg twisted her purse strap as she explained. "She's a Healer, specializing in Pediatric medicine. Molly was up at the school when I was talking to her, as the twins accidentally got into their father's tool shed and managed to set it on fire. It was quicker and cheaper to take them to Poppy than St. Mungo's." She leaned forward confidentially. "Poppy is better than half the Healer's at Mungo's anyway." Gesturing to the bag at her feet she continued on. "Molly went through the clothes the twins and little Ronnie have outgrown. Finally got herself a girl babe, she did, and won't need them anymore. Wanted to pass them on to Harry as his were a little… big, for him."

"Oh, yes." Lily smiled weakly, inching her hand closer to Harry's ankle. It was killing her to make polite conversation just then. Let's see, the last time she saw Molly was when she was pregnant. She'd heard about them having a girl sometime in the summer but hadn't had time to visit. "Thank you for checking Harry out. And please pass on my thanks to Molly for the clothes."

"It was no trouble," the old lady hastened to reassure. She paused, trying to politely phrase what she wanted to say. "He's a dear child."

"Yes." Lily couldn't help it. She turned and studied the sleeping baby, one hand moving of its own accord to smooth the wayward hair. "He's very precious to me."

"That's good." Miss FIgg seemed satisfied by the genuine emotion in Lily's eyes. "We were a bit alarmed at how peaky he was, but I presume it was residual shock from losing his parents and adjusting to a new environment. Now, Poppy left some medication for you. Nothing complex," she babbled upon seeing lily's surprised expression. "Just some muscle relaxers, pain reducers, and something to help you heal a bit easier." She eyed Lily's too thin body warily. "I told her you weren't in the best of health."

"I see." Lily paused, chewing on her bottom lip nervously. Miss Figg looked startled at the familiar nervous reaction and Lily immediately quit. Right. Petunia would never drop her social manners and relax around the neighbors. She smiled weakly. Not even discharged from the hospital for a day and she was making mistakes. Who knew it would be that difficult to impersonate her sister? But she wanted those medications. She knew from personal experience that Poppy stocked nothing but the best supplies, and she would need her wits about her in order to take care of two toddlers. "Please pass on my appreciation to Madam Pomfrey."

"Oh yes, yes of course." Miss Figg was looking at her oddly again, but shook it off as she leaned over to pat Harry gently on the head. "I'll be off then, let you get some rest before the wee one wakes up." She hesitated, giving Lily an open and earnest expression. "Please, if Harry gets to be a bit too much trouble, you just give me a ring and I'll be over quick enough to collect him from you. And Molly has loads of kids he can play with if you need a break."

Lily suppressed her initial rush of fury. Miss Figg was implying that Petunia was unable to properly care for Harry, not Lily. "Right. Thank you."

Five minutes later Lily was alone with her son. Carefully stretching out, she moved until she was lying next to him, and simply gazed at him. She counted his breaths, marveling at the detail in his face and how much it had changed since the last time she had seen him in such contrast. While drifting, things often appeared hazy and unobtainable. Even when she pet her son's hair she couldn't feel the baby soft strands the way she could now. She couldn't smell the Johnson and Johnson lotion on his skin, feel the silky warmth of his skin, or hear the little noises he made as dreamed. Tears dripped from her eyes and leaked onto the hideous floral couch. James would never get to see him like this again. Wouldn't get good-night kisses and hugs, get to hear that bright bubbly laughter, wouldn't get to watch their baby grow up into a man.

"I'm sorry, Jamie." She was whispering, emotion making her throat tight. "I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me, I had to stay. I'm his mother. It's my job to protect him."

Harry shifted, frowning, as her voice invaded his sleep. He opened his eyes, green eyes dulled and hazy with sleep, and blinked at her before smiling and shifting closer. "Mama." He sighed contentedly, one hand reaching for her hair, already asleep again as Lily curled an arm around him and pulled his little body close.

"Yes baby, Mama's here." As she cuddled her son on the couch while he slept, Lily realized there was absolutely nothing in the world she would not sacrifice to keep him safe. She was here now. She would protect him. Though she would be busy with her new extended family, it was time to stop wallowing and start working on securing a future. For all of them.