Hey guys! I can't believe I actually finished this in time. o.O I cut it pretty close hahah (just finished yesterday). I apologize that the beginning is a bit rushed, but I hope you like it. I added this in as an extra chapter and it wasn't in the originial draft. That's okay though. =] Let me know what you think! Love you all!

~Ouaysis.


Our next stop was the French Riviera, much to Emilia's pleasure. Bret and Stanley decided to stay in the hotel room when Emmy asked who wanted to go to the beach. Bret claimed he had a business meeting and Stan was talking to his mother on his mobile.

"Will you come, Grandma? Please?" Emilia begged Sally. Danielle's mother laughed and nodded.

"Sure I will, dear. Let me go change."

Danielle came out wearing a solid blue bikini. I couldn't help from staring a moment, but then I caught myself and forced my gaze away. Once everyone was dressed the four of us went down to the beach. Emmy dragged me forward into the water.

"C'mon, Daddy," she insisted.

"I never said I was getting in the water!" I protested, but Emmy would have none of it.

She pulled on my arm, trying to pull me forward into the surf. I sighed and rolled my eyes before stepping forward. Emilia tumbled backwards into the water, but she didn't seem to mind. Danielle laughed and I turned to see her coming up behind me.

"Yeah, Sirius, you can't go to the beach and not go swimming."

"Is that a challenge?" I asked. Dani shook her head, her eyes shining as she smiled.

"Just come on," she said, putting her hands on my back and pushing me forward. I did my best to ignore the way I was hyper-aware of her skin on mine. With Emilia and Danielle teamed up against me I had no choice but to go into the water.

"If that's the way you want to be!" I said, picking up Emilia and then tossing her back into the water. Her screams quickly turned into laughter.

For a brief time it felt like we were a family, Danielle, Emilia, and I. After about an hour in the water Emmy decided to make a castle on the beach. Sally helped her while Danielle and I sat down on the blanket Sally had stretched out on the sand.

"Mummy, Daddy, look what I found!" Emilia said, running up with something clutched in her fist. She squatted in front of us and extended her hand to display her shell. Danielle smiled and took it.

"It's beautiful, Emmy." She handed it back to Emilia. "You can decorate your castle with it."

"Will you help me?"

Dani offered Emmy her hand and stood up.

"Of course I will. We can look for more and use those, too."

I watched as my daughter and her mother walked toward the water, stopping just beyond where the waves washed up onto the shore. A smile came to my lips as I watched them construct a castle in the sand. Once they were finished they came back to the blanket so that we could eat the picnic lunch Sally had brought.

"I'm going for a walk," Sally announced after we'd eaten and everything had been cleaned up. "Would anyone care to join me?"

"I'll go!" Emmy said, bouncing up.

"Hold on," Danielle said as she reached for the sunscreen. "You need some more of this first."

Emilia made a face, but allowed Dani to apply the lotion before skipping after Sally.

"What?" Danielle asked, looking back and seeing my amused smile. I shook my head.

"Nothing."

It made me happy to see the joy in her eyes when she mothered Emilia. Little moments like these almost made the trip worth all the pain. For a long moment we sat silently on the beach together, soaking in the sun.

"How did you stand it?" I wondered aloud. I looked over at her and knew that she understood my question.

"It was hard sometimes… But knowing she was with you, and that you would take good care of her, made it easier."

"You actually thought that?" I asked in surprise.

Danielle nodded. "Yes. You were always so negative about your parents—and with good reason—I wasn't sure how you would take being one yourself. I know I was wrong to keep her from you the time I did."

"Then why did you?"

Dani bit her bottom lip, staring out at the waves a long moment. It seemed I couldn't keep my eyes from her face. I watched, holding my breath as I silently willed her to reply.

"I was scared…" she admitted finally. "And confused….and, so many other things."

"What do you mean?" I asked, furrowing my brow at her. She took in a deep breath and fiddled with the sand, drawing in it absently with her index finger.

"Danielle?"

She looked up at me reluctantly.

"To be honest, I was in kind of a dark place when Emilia was first born. Hardly anyone knew about her, and my internship at the Ministry was coming to an end. I had been offered a position at the American Ministry, but I didn't know what I was going to do with her. I didn't want to give her up….but I also didn't want to disappoint my father. I knew that if I returned home Dad would have a fit. I would never have been able to stand up to him; Emilia would have ended up with adoptive parents. At the same time, adoption would have been complicated so much more by the fact that you didn't even know about her and she's an English citizen."

Danielle sighed and shifted her position. I had a feeling that she hadn't told many people how she felt all those years ago. Had she and precious Stanley talked about this?

"My friend Josephine was the only other person who knew about Emilia, but she still doesn't know who the father is. I refused to tell her. I don't know if you know about this….But the last few weeks, before I broke up with you on the night before graduation… There were some rumors going around school about me. That I was unfaithful."

I swallowed hard as I stared at her. Was she admitting that they were true? I still remembered quite clearly those rumors; I'd never addressed them, but after Danielle broke up with me, especially during the train ride home, I couldn't help but wonder if they had been true.

"What are you saying?" I asked dubiously.

Danielle's laugh was void of all humor. "They weren't true, Sirius. What I'm saying is that I started them. If people were uncertain about my faithfulness to you, then if news of my pregnancy somehow got out, they couldn't immediately connect the baby to you."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I didn't want to do that to you," she said simply. "You wanted so badly to be an Auror… I would have never forgiven myself if you gave up everything for Emilia."

"What?" I demanded, "Danielle, how could y—?"

"Sirius," Danielle said firmly, meeting my eyes. "If I had told you that night, can you honestly tell me that you would have continued on to be an Auror?"

"No," I admitted. "But you can't say for certain that I wouldn't have."

"Sirius..." she said again, more gently. I was surprised when she reached out and placed her hand briefly over mine. "You're a good man. You've always been a good man. Why do you think I fell in love with you?"

"My good looks and charm," I said with a grin. Danielle rolled her eyes and tossed a handful of sand at me.

"Not even close."

We laughed, and for a moment it felt like we were teenagers again. This was the first time Danielle and I had got along for more than five minutes. Her story made me realize that maybe I had been a little harsh on her the past few weeks. I had always assumed that Danielle had given Emilia to me simply because Bret wouldn't have approved. But now I knew that there was more to it than that. After a long moment of silence Danielle looked up again.

"It tore me apart inside to give her up, but I knew that you could give her so much more than me. It wasn't really 'giving her up', anyways, as you're her father. When I got home everyone assumed that I was still broken up about you. You don't know how many times I was so close to telling my mother…. But I never did, because I knew if I did she would have to tell Dad."

I shook my head. "What is it with you, Danielle? You let him control your life."

Dani scowled at me. "No I don't."

Raising my eyebrows in a challenge, I met her eyes. She sighed deeply.

"Alright, maybe a little. But that's just the way things are."

"They weren't always," I reminded her, thinking of the times in school when Danielle quietly rebelled against her father.

Danielle sighed once more and shook her head. "Can we not talk about this?"

I shrugged and stretched my arms out behind me. Sally and Emilia came back from their walk several moments later.

"Did you have fun, love?" I asked with a smile as Emmy bounded up to me. She nodded and wrapped her arms around me briefly.

"Such a beautiful day," Sally commented. "Too bad your father and Stan are being anti-social. Sometimes they're so much alike it's scary."

Danielle laughed and I caught her as she sent me a side-long glance. I smirked but didn't say anything.


Dani insisted on helping me with Emmy that night. I tried to convince her that Emilia practically took care of herself, but she wouldn't listen. So we supervised together as Emilia went around the suite preparing for bed. She hummed absently, and that, paired with the vision of her stuffed dog tucked under her arm, made me smile. At last she was ready, her teeth brushed and her hair combed. Emmy crawled into the large bed and I stepped forward to tuck her in.

"Goodnight, Emmy-Bear." I said, leaning down and kissing her forehead.

"Night, Daddy," she said with a smile. She kissed my cheek, encircling her small arms around my neck for a moment.

"Ready for your story?"

Emilia smiled and nodded vigorously.

"Mummy?" She asked sleepily.

"Yes?"

"Will you stay here? At least until I fall asleep?"

"Of course I will, baby."

Danielle began just as Emmy stifled a large yawn. I listened absently as Dani recited a story I recognized as a Muggle fairy tale. It felt odd, having someone beside me to help when it came to Emilia. And not just anyone, but the mother of my daughter and the woman I loved. As I watched and felt the softening of my heart I knew I was in for it. This trip was going to be harder than I thought.