A/N: Yes I do realise that it's Friday and not Monday like I said! I got a little preoccupied – it was my 18th birthday on Tuesday so everything else just went out the window for a few days! Now the recovery period is over (it was needed!) I've written some more! It should be coming more frequently as well now fingers crossed!

Anyway thanks to everyone who has reviewed – it means a lot! Hope you enjoy this chapter and please review again:-D

4: St Mungo's

At James's words Lily pulled her head up and stepped out of his arms, suddenly very embarrassed by the position. She turned her head away, trying to wipe her eyes discreetly while under the pretence that she was seeing where they were.

"You didn't have to bring me here." She muttered, avoiding his eyes.

"I wanted to." James replied simply, "Come on; let's find out where your parents are."

After some mild protesting from Lily, during which she demanded that he leave her now and that she would be just fine, James steered her towards the reception desk and she enquired after her parents.

They began climbing the heavily worn marble stairs in silence, Lily thinking about how she normally wouldn't stand to be in James's presence for more than thirty seconds and simultaneously getting annoyed at how he kept ordering her about. Just when she opened her mouth, about to firmly demand that he leave now, he put an arm to stop her careering along down the corridor and gestured towards the ward door to their right.

Lily swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked through the door before turning back to James.

"You can go now, it's fine, I'm fine, you can go, I'll be fine." She practically stammered, falling over the words in her haste to speak them.

James raised one eyebrow, a feat that impressed and even slightly amused Lily for a split second before she realised who was performing it.

"I don't mind staying with you, Lily."

"I mind though."

Without allowing him to respond she promptly turned her back and pushed through the ward door trying to look confident and purposeful.

"Erm, excuse me." She tentatively asked a very busy looking Healer who was attempting to read about five sheaf's of parchment at the same time.

"Yes?" she said, looking up at Lily.

"Erm. I was told my parents were on this ward – they're Muggles…"

"Oh, the Evanses?"

"Yes," replied Lily, nodding at the same time to emphasise her answer, "Can I see them? Are they okay?"

"I'm afraid you can't see them right now, there are Healers trying to sort them out. I tell you what; go back out there," she indicated the door to the corridor, "and take a seat, as soon as you can see them I'll come and get you."

"Okay." Said Lily resignedly.

With one last glance at the Healer Lily moved away, pushing the door to the ward open and stepping back out into the corridor.

She blinked; after the harsh lights in the ward, the corridor seemed very dim and she found that she couldn't see very well. Looking to her right she saw what seemed to be a chair moving - that couldn't be right - she rubbed her eyes and suppressed a groan as what appeared to be a moving chair was in fact James Potter getting up from a chair and coming towards her.

"Why are you still here?" She asked of him as he reached her.

"I figured you might want some support."

"Well you figured wrong, Potter." Lily could make out James frowning slightly at her and that irked her, "What are you frowning at?" She half snapped.

James regarded her for a moment before asking, "Why have they sent you back out here?"

Despite her brain telling her not to talk to this idiot she found the words coming out of her mouth before she could stop them, "the Healer said I had to wait out here until they'd finished 'working' on them."

"Oh." Said James, "Do you want to sit down?" he gestured towards the seats.

"No, I bloody well don't want to sit down!" She retorted, losing her temper again, "I want to see my parents!"

"I know." Replied James gently and the obvious sincerity in his voice made her look at him, "I can understand you're worried, I would be exactly the same in your position… but there's nothing you can do…"James held up his hand at this point because Lily opened her mouth as if to retort angrily again. Surprising both herself and James, she closed it again to listen to him, "…except wait for the Healers to finish doing their job. So why don't you sit down?"

Lily stared at him for a moment, fully ready to respond angrily when she realised that she had neither the energy nor the reason so instead she gave a half shrug and slumped down onto a seat. James hid a small grin and positioned himself on the chair next to Lily without a word.

They both fell into a silence that was uncomfortable for Lily but it seemed, as she kept stealing glances at James, perfectly comfortable for him. Lily stretched out her legs and curled them back under her seat again before stretching them out again a split second later and swinging them to and fro. She could feel James's eyes on her but chose to keep her gaze focused on her swinging feet, backwards and forwards, occasionally hitting the sides of the chair by accident.

Shadows were creeping down the long corridor, invading the small spaces under the chairs, in corners and invariably darkening the hospital. Lily jerked her head up at the sound of footsteps echoing in the gloom but soon cast her eyes downwards again as she saw it was simply a hospital worker lighting various floating candles. They cast an eerie glow around and made Lily close her eyes and wish desperately that she were at home with her parents rather than in the darkened corridor of a hospital with James Potter of all people. She sighed, rather more loudly than she intended and James looked across at her again.

"How are you doing, Lily?" He asked her in a soft voice.

"I'm extremely frustrated and anxious which I'm sure you could have figured out for yourself." She snapped.

A silence fell once again and Lily wriggled uncomfortably in her seat before muttering disjointedly, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to snap… I'm just worried…"

She looked up from her hands and found that James was staring at her again, the intensity of his eyes was quite overpowering and Lily found she couldn't look away.

"Don't worry about it." He replied and looked away down the corridor while Lily shook her head slightly to rid herself of James Potter thoughts and wriggled down in her seat again, trying to get comfortable.

Lily had just pushed herself back up in her seat again, in her established fidgeting to find the best position ritual she had adopted, when she felt James's arm snaking across her shoulders. She froze for a moment prepared to throw his arm away and yell at him for touching her when she realised she didn't really want to. Resigned to his presence and strangely comforted by it she relaxed and allowed herself to lean into James and rest her head on his shoulder.