A/N: Oh, sorry for the gaps. I got sick and then drowned in make-up work, and then theatre is killing me too. We have to learn a ton of dances for a musical and a bunch of songs and I'm also in a play so I have to learn my lines for that because I am like the freaking lead in it. Gah! It's frustrating. So, we're skipping a ton of time again, don't worry, I'll catch you up with flashbacks.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, it's all JK's.

As a year passed and the grieving period came to a close, something very important happened in Lily's life. James had asked her to marry him. Not in the romantic way, but in a typical James way. She woke up one morning with an engagement ring on her finger and a post-it stuck to her head telling her to follow the arrows. Red arrows which alternated with gold arrows, Gryffindor's colors, led her to the kitchen where the room was filled with Lilies of every kind and a huge sign in the middle of the kitchen asking Lily to marry him. James appeared behind her, kissing her on the cheek as tears flooded down her face and she jumped into his arms, screaming yes at the top of her lungs. Remus, Tanya, and Sirius were in the next room, watching the entire thing.

"You're just too cute for your own good," Lily had said with a smile.

"I know," James had replied, kissing her passionately before grabbing her hand and examining the ring. "But, I have to go to work, babe," he had replied sadly. She kissed him again and he apparated out of there. She sighed, going to get ready for work herself when an owl fluttered through the window. She grabbed the letter from it's beak with a curious expression.

Lily Evans,

We are sorry to inform you that due to your recent promotion your hours have been changed to those of the nighttime shift. You will report into work by seven in the evening and will clock out at seven in the morning.

We are sorry for causing any inconvenience to you or your family. We know that this is the worst time for everyone to work, but it seems that is when the attacks happen most often and we need you at those times. Please, do not hold it against us; we need your expertise. We will see you tonight, Ms. Evans.

Diane Morgan

Secretary

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Lily sighed slowly, throwing the letter in the trash. She was not going to like this. She quickly pulled out a piece of paper and wrote a letter to James, explaining why she would not be home when he got home. She gave the letter to the owl, who flew off.

A few minutes later, the same owl flew into her window with a letter in his beak.

Lils,

You can't let this happen, you need to deny this promotion or quit. We already barely see each other, and now we won't see each other at all. We're engaged now, babe, remember? I know you want to tie the knot quickly and so do I, but if you work like this we'll never have tome to plan the most amazing wedding of our lives. I know you love that job, and you're doing what Claire would have wanted, but this is getting too hard. Maybe I should quit my job…however hard it is to get, an ex-auror can always find a good job somewhere. I just hope that there's some way for us to work this out. I'll talk to you later, and I hope we'll get a chance to see each other when you get home. I'll talk to the minister about getting my hours changed to match yours, but I can't make any promises.

Alright Lils, I love you, never forget that, my flower.

Love you,

James.

Lily sighed and read through the letter again to make sure she had read correctly. Quit? No, she couldn't do that, never, it was out of the question. James get his hours changed? That could work, but the minister was a strict old man who hated change. He was impressed with James though, so perhaps it could work. She wrote back a short reply that consisted of her refusing to quit and refusing the denial of a promotion when they were getting to the point that they needed the money. She also told him that asking the boss for different hours was a good idea, but to present it well or he'd be in trouble.

After sending the owl off again, she grabbed the remote for the television and flipped it on, watching some sappy drama and not really paying attention. The day was passing slowly and at six-thirty, James apparated into the room.

"Hey babe," he said, walking over behind the couch and kissing her on the top of the head. Bending over the back of the couch, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her cheek before she turned her head and kissed him on the lips, her tongue darting inside his mouth for s split second before she let go and got up, walking around and leaning against his muscled chest.

"How was work?" she asked sadly, knowing she had to get ready soon.

"Long, tiring. The boss said he'd consider letting my hours change a bit, which is promising, I think," James said warily.

"Well, good news is always welcome," Lily said with a smile, looking up at him.

"Yeah," he said with a laugh. "You need to get ready to go save people, though," he said, a smile creasing his lips as he smacked her bum. She laughed, hitting him playfully on the arm before walking to the bedroom and emerging in her healer's clothes. She sighed, looking at the clock. She had to be there in fifteen minutes.

"I'm gonna get a snack and then I have to go," she sighed, yawning.

"Will you be able to stay awake at work?" James asked with a laugh.

"I can try," she mused, walking into the kitchen. He followed her, smiling.

"Why are you so happy?" she asked, seeing his goofy expression.

"Because, once we get married, we can have kids, and you know how kids are made," he said with a laugh.

"You didn't ask me for that, did you?" she joked.

"No, I asked because I love you," he said wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her towards him. "That other part is just a plus, and I want kids, at least four."

"Four? You'd feel differently if you were the one who went through labor," she said, spinning out of his arms towards the counter and walking to the fridge. She pulled out some of the leftover salad and grabbed a fork, eating it.

"Want some coffee?" he asked, walking towards the pot.

"Please, I may need it," she said gratefully. "You're still smiling, that isn't the real reason is it?" Lily asked curiously.

"Not really. I'm so excited that we're finally getting married. It's a great thing for us. I mean I can see Sirius as someone who will never get married, and the same with Remus maybe, unless some really weird girl comes along who can respect his secret and doesn't care about it, but what are the odds of that?" he asked with a smile. "I'm just so happy for us."

"Me too," said Lily with a laugh, taking another bite of salad. "Why would Sirius not get married though?"

"Sirius has been one of those guys who, if he gives his heart away to someone, no one else is ever going to get the same amount as that first girl. I mean Claire was the perfect girl for Sirius, and he gave her his whole heart. When she died, it killed him inside and he never really got his whole heart back."

"Yeah, that's true. Tanya wasn't much for commitment either, I knew she and Remus wouldn't last, it was obvious knowing those two as well as I do," Lily laughed. She smiled, realizing how talking about Claire didn't hurt her as much. She looked up at the clock. She had five minutes before she needed to clock in.

"Babe, I need to go," she said with a smile, going up on her tiptoes to kiss him before apparating with a loud crack. She clocked in and went to the ward she was in charge of. Her promotion made her head night healer, which was always good. She wasn't really working on people though, just teaching trainees, overseeing, and saving lives. It was a full job.

"Lily, there's a snake bite in ward two, needs special attention, we think it's You-Know-Who's snake," said a passing healer.

"Got it," said Lily, taking a sip of her coffee and walking to the second ward. She opened the door and a man was covered in snake bites form head to toe. She cringed, but grabbed her potions and got to work on healing him. It was going to be a long night.

A/N: Once again, I am so sorry for this humongous gap, it's unacceptable I know. Please don't abandon me though. I promise, I will be better about this. Please review and I know this chapter is pretty short, but good things come in small packages, remember?