Chapter Four

The light filtering through the drapes could not have been more annoying if it tried. Lily opened her eyes groggily and turned on her side but just doing that made her head feel funny. It was sort of like a rush to her head but it didn't let her think straight. Pushing back the covers slowly she tried to stand up and realized she couldn't stand up straight.

Walking across her room to the drapes she actually stumbled, twice! Steadying herself against the wall she tried to collect her thoughts and make it back across the room in a straight line. Good lord, was she still drunk from last night?

"It was all those damn little blue drinks!" she thought vehemently...well as vehemently as she could while still trying to recover. Back under the covers now, she thought back to last night. She remembered getting...stumbling home, but not getting into bed. She remembered lots of flashy lights at...Somewhere! Yes, the name of the club. Fuckin weird name for a club...

A car horn in the distance made all thoughts about where she was last night disappear, and Lily cradled her head in pain. Cursing the very existence of the modern automobile, she made a move to curl up to sleep again, only to have her clock-radio turn on.

"Oh god!" she shrieked slamming her hand down on her alarm. Going back under the covers she was hit with realization...she was due at work in half an hour! She was a trainee nurse at St Mungos. Going to work with the worst hangover of her life was going to be soooo shitty. She almost cried when she remembered that it wasn't even a 6-hour shift, it was 8! In times like these...look for someone to blame.

James Potter, that rat bastard that got me drunk! That rat bastard that I am pretty sure I danced all night with...Shit

A look of confusion swept across Lily's face, and she brought a hand up to her brow.

Oh, god. What have I done?

She really couldn't remember for the life of her. Her memory of last night was hazy but she did remember some of it.

Everything had started out normal enough when they had entered. Sirius had led us to a booth in the back to meet a whole whack of his friends. Me, being the social retard that I am just sat by James and slowly sipped the drinks Sirius got me, not saying much to Sirius' club friends or anyone for that matter. I guess that's when the drinks kicked in and from then on all I remember is …a steamy club, pulsing music, hitting back shots, flashy lights, thinking James Potter was the hottest thing in a sweater and then ASKING him to dance with me…

She remembered also making a lot of new friends while under the influence and…dancing on tables!

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god..." Ripping the blankets off of her bed, Lily did her best to ignore the blood pounding in her head. She darted for the closet, threw on her work clothes, and ran to the kitchen. Looking around frantically, Lily pushed papers and pens aside, but could not find her wand.

"Where the bloody hell are you when I need you?!"

Jean Bob, who Lily hadn't noticed yet, was sitting in the living room flipping through channels on the television. He glanced briefly over his shoulder, cocked an eyebrow, and sighed. Having the flat to himself last night, Jean Bob had taken the liberty of cleaning up, and reorganizing things. Apparently putting Lily's wand on the front door table was a bad idea, and he should have just left it in the cluttered mess of her room.

"You cleaned up!" she yelled accusingly when she finally took notice of Jean-Bob.

"Oui," he replied, turning back to the television, "your wand is by the front door."

"Damn clean roommate..." Lily grumbled, rushing back to her room, or rather stumbled to get her cloak. She was about to go out the door when Jean Bob yelled at her.

"So, would you like to explain to me why there were two very hunky men dragging your drunk ass in at 3 AM this morning?" Spinning on the spot, Lily turned to Jean Bob, and gave the most evil glare she possibly could while still reeling from her hangover.

"We'll talk about that later. But don't expect to be seeing those bloody wankers around here anymore."

"Oh, but they seemed nice enough. Stuck around to chat for a bit, told me all about what happened, they did." He jumped on the coffee table and started dancing. "Look familiar?"

"Augh! Those insufferable little… they told you??" Lily burst.

"Yes darling and you know, from what they told me, if this nursing gig of yours doesn't work out for you, you should look into a career as an exotic dancer, they swear you made so much money last night you ended up paying for everyone's drinks." Gripping her wand tightly, Lily muttered something under her breath trying to coax her headache away.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that... I'll see you later." Just as she was about to close the front door, he tapped her on the shoulder. Looking around, Jean Bob was behind her holding what looked exactly like --

"The one with the glasses and messy hair left this behind with you. He said you were shivering on the way home, so he let you wear it. The bloke said he expects it back some time this week." Wide eyed, Lily hesitantly reached for the green jacket. She sniffed; it still smelled like chocolate and a musky aroma she had come to know as the essence of James Potter.

"You're smelling it! You like him. Well I don't blame you, he was nice to look at," cooed Jean-Bob. Lily smacked him with the jacket and left it on the table by the door. Catching a glimpse of the jacket again before she closed the door she sighed wistfully.

Walking onto the train platform, Lily began to try and recall what exactly had happened after she had left the club that morning, but the screeching of train brakes alerted her attention. Her red hair was whipped around her face as the train settled into the station. Pushing a few stray bangs out of her eyes, she got on to the crowded train and reached for a bar to hold on to right in front of an occupied seat. She wasn't really paying attention and the person in the seat left and was replaced by someone else. Someone with very familiar looking hair. She closed her eyes and groaned inwardly, 'there is no God', she concluded.

The train began moving again, and Lily tried her best to turn in the opposite direction of James. She heard a shriek by one of the train doors, and looked over to see that a woman's purse was stuck between the doors.

Before she could balance herself, the train came to an abrupt halt, and Lily felt herself falling backwards right into…

"Can't seem to keep your hands off me eh, Lily?" whispered a very happy James Potter into her ear as she felt strong arms snake around her waist. She turned her face towards his and immediately regretted it since it put her even closer to him.

"W-what are you talking about?! Of course I can!" Lily's body language did nothing to prove her statement though. As she had turned around, her hands found themselves atop of a muscled chest, and her face was only a few centimeters away from his. Her breathing got heavier as she looked right into his hazel eyes.

The train lurched forward again, and the shock sent Lily forward. Hoping not to get into an even worse position with him Lily ended up with her lips on his left ear. Oh god, even that smelled sinful. She righted herself in his lap, pulled out of his arms and stood up, straightening her skirt.

"Y-you...should not be doing that to random women on the train. It-it's called assault!" she told him trying to wag her finger at him. He just grabbed her hand, attempting to pull her back into his lap and said cheekily, "It's not assault if she wants it too is it?"

She snatched her hand away. "This is um...my stop. I'll uhh…owl you your jacket later this week, when I have... time," she said flustered and got off the train. Outside on the platform she placed her hand over her face and let out a yell of frustration.

"I hope that was for me Lily, it was quite endearing," said James from behind her. Startled, Lily jumped two feet into the air and yelped.

"What are you doing here?" she almost screamed. He just shrugged, "This is my stop too." Rolling her eyes Lily muttered under her breath.

"Yeah right... probably just gives you an excuse to stalk me."

The two walked silently out of the station, and onto the main road, and no matter how many turns Lily made, it seemed as if James was following her. As it was, St Mungo's was only a few blocks away, and she still hadn't managed to shake James off of her tail. If only there was some way she could just--

"Well, this is my stop. I expect I'll see you on the train tomorrow." Stopping, Lily turned to see James standing in front of a small, quaint looking storefront. She carefully looked through the glass, and completely ignored James until her eyes caught sight of the sign on the front door. Try as she might, Lily felt her control slipping, and broke down into a fit of laughter.

"Oh this is gold. James Potter... works at a Pottery shop?!"

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" he asked, giving her a weird look.

"No, no its just ironic," she managed between giggles, "And so very manly of you."

"Hey it's not easy, you should try it sometime, I teach classes too you know. Maybe we can work out a private lesson eh?" he waggled his eyebrows at her. Lily scoffed.

"Don't push your luck Potter. I've got to get to work."

"Well obviously it wouldn't be right now. What time do you get off work? I'll pick you up from St Mungo's and then I'll show you that pot making is no wingardium leviosa," he said in a matter of fact tone.

"How did you know I work at St Mungo's?" she asked wided eyed.

"Well considering you're wearing a nursing uniform..." he started, looking at her attire pointedly. A car horn spooked Lily, and she jumped. A dusty looking car pulled up beside her and rolled down the window.

"Oy! Lily! We're both late! C'mon, I'll give you a lift, talk to your boyfriend later, eh?"

"Him?!?," spluttered Lily, "No, no no! Cass you've got it all wrong. He's just an…old friend of mine…from school. Yeah from school...ran into him the other day and I've come to realize," she said turning her head towards him and glaring, "He hasn't changed one bit." And with that she got into her friend's car and they drove off leaving James alone.

Lily was distracted all day. She would always start a job, and then leave it half done because she got sidetracked. She was lucky that Cass didn't have a full schedule. The poor girl was running after Lily the entire day, cleaning up whatever mess the red head had created.

"Alright, that's enough! What the hell is the deal with you today?" asked Cass in frustration finally during their coffee break. They were sitting at a secluded table in the corner of the cafeteria catching up on each other's lives.

"It's just so many things right now...meeting James again just put my whole life into a blender... and this hangover doesn't help much either...and then there was the funny business on the train… Cass I really shouldn't be in charge of other people's health right now when I can barely keep my own sanity," Lily blathered.

"Hah, now you see what I'm always complaining about when I come to work with a hangover. Wait so where'd you go last night anyway?"

"Somewhere..." Lily said, but when she saw the expectant look on Cass's face, she realized how stupid that had just sounded. "I mean, the club 'Somewhere'. It was the first time I'd heard of it, so I was just as surprised as you."

Another nurse bustled into the room looking around as if searching for someone, when she caught a glimpse of the two of them in the corner she made a beeline towards their table.

"You have a patient who is refusing treatment from anyone else unless it's you and he's causing quite a ruckus," she said briskly, looking directly at Lily, "I was told to fetch you before this got out of hand." Even though her curiosity was piqued about this strange patient Lily still wanted to finish talking with Cass.

"But I'm still on break…" Lily started but shut up as soon as she saw the look in the eye of the more experienced nurse, "An excellent idea, I'll come with you." Lily got up, shot an apologetic look at Cass for leaving her alone and followed the other nurse, making dirty faces at her back. She followed the nurse down many winding corridors and around many random obstacles in said corridors only to find herself in an unfamiliar ward of the hospital. "Everyday cuts and bruises" read the sign outside the ward. She cocked an eyebrow thinking of who this patient could be. Her insane mother perhaps? No, no she doesn't even know where this place is! Looking around at the weird patients that occupied the ward she really didn't know what to expect of this mystery patient. She was still wondering about it when the nurse she was following stopped walking and Lily walked right into her back and stumbled backwards.

"Oomfh!" she yelled, "A little warning next time please?" she asked.

"A little paying attention next time please?" retorted the nurse, "Well this is him," she said with finality in her voice and bustled off.

Trying her best to keep her temper, Lily shut her eyes and waited for the obese nurse to waddle off somewhere else. Taking a deep breath, the red head opened her eyes, only to shut them just as fast.

'THERE IS NO GOD.'

Daring to open her eyes again, Lily saw none other than a thrilled looking James Potter sitting just across from her.

"Funny," she said through gritted teeth, "I'd never have thought that pottery was a dangerous art to take up." That earned a bark of laughter.

"I was cutting a chunk of the clay, and the wire slipped and nicked my finger. Hasn't stopped bleeding since then, I'm afraid." Lily sighed, remembered why she was a nurse, and moved to pull over a rolling tray of bandage supplies. Looking around for a stool, she found one, and sat down just in front of James.

"Alright Mr. Potter, hold out your right hand please." He did as asked, and Lily took his large hand gently into her own.

"Mr. Potter eh? That sounds kind of kinky," he said teasingly.

"Mcgonagall called you Mr. Potter too you know," she said as she looked over the wound, and saw that he had a deep cut on his pointer finger. Looking as if she were inspecting it more closely, Lily pulled his hand up towards her face.

"Ugh," he said sticking his tongue out in disgust, obviously just having had a bad mental picture, "You're right, but the way you say it adds a nice ring to it."

" Right, anyway, does this hurt?" By this time, James was having a hard time trying to focus. Lily was looking him straight in the eye, and… massaging his hand? Something wasn't right here.

"Yes, a little." He replied softly. "You could kiss it better?" James knew it was a long shot, but he certainly wasn't expecting what happened next.

Lily gave a shy smile, and gently placed a kiss on his finger. Had he not been so amazed, James would've felt her tongue grazing along the cut as well.

"I have to tell you something, James," said Lily as she pulled back slowly. "James… James… Mr. Potter… POTTER!" James pulled out of his dream state, and saw a fiery looking Lily Evans sitting in front of him. He shook his head, and looked down to his hand, only to see that it had been bandaged up. He'd imagined the entire thing. Must be the blood loss.

"You know," she started, "you should really be more careful next time. I don't want to keep hearing about a rowdy patient who refuses to be treated by anyone else but me every other day." Lily stood up, and moved the tray back to its original spot but he caught her hand.

"Thanks," he smiled at her, "You know…the bandage and stuff."

"Hmm, n-no problem. So I hear you caused quite a "ruckus" as nurse fat-ass over there put it, what'd you do?"

"Said I'd slash my wrists if you weren't the one attending over me," he replied nonchalantly.

"You did what???" she exclaimed.

"Joking, only joking," he said raising his hands in defence. Lily groaned, and began to walk out of the ward. "Wait Lily," he said softly and caught her hand before she left. Lily stopped to look over her shoulder.

"Listen, the real reason I'm here was to see if you would like to I don't know...do something tonight. After your shift, maybe we can fit that private lesson in eh?" (a/n: we are too Canadian for our own good…that's like the sixth time we've used "eh") he smiled seductively at her. Or maybe she just thought all his smiles were seductive. Her heart was racing, and her hand was feeling nicely enveloped in his bigger and warmer one. She could still feel the sensation of those hands on her back from when the danced the previous night. She found that looking in his eyes made her breathless and she didn't like it... or did she?

A/N: WE ARE SO SORRY FOR LIKE... THE FIVE MONTH WAIT ON THIS CHAPTER! As it was, Raspberry Polar Bear was suffering from some serious writers block, and the both of us had so many exams in school that we just couldn't find the time.

But if you want the next chapter, then you HAVE TO GIVE US TONS OF REVIEWS! Oh yes folks, that IS a valid threat. D