Summary: Lily and James divorced. James never knew Lily was pregnant at that time. Both remarried, but only Lily's marriage survived. And Lily now lives in America, but what happens if both worlds collide?

The Lost Son

Chapter 13: Moving Day

'Are you really sure you're okay with this?' Lily asked once again, placing the last box in the hall.

'Of course, now go see to your children, I'll put these in your rooms,' James answered.

'If you say so,' Lily sighed and walked into the living-room where Harry was entertaining his siblings.

'Hey mom,' Harry greeted.

'Hey sweetheart,' Lily smiled and sat down on one of the couches.

When she looked around the room she noticed almost nothing had changed since the time she lived here. Memories of those days flood back to her mind. She had been happy here. Why did she and James have to start fighting? Why did it all have to end? Why did she marry Steve? That was the only question she could answer. She hadn't wanted to admit until now. She had married Steve so Harry would have a father, if she had known thing would turn out like this she would never have done it, but then she wouldn't have had Rudy, Dante and Britt and she loved them dearly.

Lily looked up when she heard the living-room door open. James came walking in. 'Everything's there, now all you have to do is unpack.'

'Can we unpack now, mommy?' Rudy asked.

'Yeah, can we?' Dante begged.

'Okay, if you want to,' Lilly sighed.

'I'll help Rudy and Dante unpack, mom. You go unpack Britt's things.'

'Thank you, Harry. I don't know what I would do without you,' Lily smiled.

Harry smiled back and took his brothers by the hands. 'Come on you two. Let's get that stuff out of those boxes.'

'I want to help too,' Roy piped up, running after them.

'They share the room through the third door to the right from your room,' James yelled after the four boys.

'Does he understand what room that is, for I have no clue what you just said,' Lily smiled.

'Funny, but yeah, he does. It's next to Roy's room now I think about it.'

'And Roy's room is next to Harry's?'

'Nope, that room is empty. The other room next to Harry's will be yours. I don't even want to know why this house has so many bedrooms, everyone sleeps as close to each other as possible.'

'Then why is that one room next to Harry's empty?'

'I have my reasons.' James replied, a sad look appeared on his face, but disappeared so fast Lily wasn't sure she had seen it.

'Okay, and what room will Britt be in?' Lily asked, glancing over to where her daughter was quietly playing with Esmée.

'Well, I don't know if you mind, but Britt and Esmée seem to get along great together and I thought they might want to share a room. I mean, this is a strange house and…'

'I think that's a wonderful idea, James. Britt loves the attention she gets from her brothers, but she always wanted to have a sister.'

James smiled at that. 'Same goes for Esmée. Roy hasn't really reached that stage of getting annoyed with her yet, though he has a brother, so he shouldn't be complaining too much.'

Lily laughed at that and watched the two young girls for a few more moments. Then she got up from the couch. 'I really should go and unpack Britt's stuff and then I might as well start looking for a new place.'

James felt as if an icy hand wrapped itself around his heart, but he managed to smile a convincing smile anyway. 'You're right. Esmée, go show Britt and Lily the way to your room, Britt will be sharing with you.'

Esmée's whole face light up and she immediately got to her feet, dragging Britt with her. 'Wait till you see my toys,' she was babbling as she all but ran out of the room.

James watched them go and then dropped down on the couch, his head fell into his hands. He didn't know what was wrong with him. Well, he did, he loved Lily, it was as plain and simple as that. But he just couldn't, she didn't love him anymore, he was no more than a distant friend helping her out. He tried to tell himself to close his heart, he had known from the start when he offered she would be moving out again with her children, but still his heart had gathered hope that they could be more, get back what they lost and start over.

He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts, but it was useless. Lily had been the only thing on his mind since the moment he saw her and in 20 year, little had changed. How he was ever going to get though this without losing his sanity (which was already something questionable existed in the first place) was a mystery to him.

A/N: Okay, I know this is a short chapter, but it seems like a good end her and I swear I've been stuck with this for years! I'll try to get another chapter done as soon as possible between school and life, but at the moment both are rather busy. Thank you all for being so patient and the encouraging reviews for me to please continue.

For everyone reading 'Behind the Prankster's Mask'; I'm working on the next chapter whenever I can, but if I manage to take this story back up… I've got 4 running stories I need to write for, so it's kinda hectic finding time to write for all.