IT'S ALIVE! I felt the desire to revisit the story and thought I'd give you a little update. I am cruel for leaving you on such a cliff hanger.

I apologize for leaving this story sitting here untouched for so long. When I started this story, I planned to keep this short and fluffy but saw an opportunity to tell a larger, more interesting tale. I contemplated taking it down, doing a spelling and grammar scrub and re-posting but have decided to go the hard road and write the more complex piece. I may post the more simplistic version of the story separately. Only time will tell.

So without further ado, here is the update! Enjoy and review!

Time seemed to stop. He could hear the blood rushing in his head. It was so loud he couldn't hear the cries of his colleagues, the pops of the death eaters apparating away around the corner, the pounding of running feet as the Order sprinted after the remaining death eaters. All he could hear, think, feel was "how."

He was moving without telling his body to. Running. Kneeling at her side. He selfishly hoped for it to be another young woman with brilliantly red hair. He flipped over her body, gently brushing her mess of formerly blonde hair away from her face to confirm his fears. This morning, he was so afraid he would never see her again. Now he realized that this was a far worse – the gods were cruel for granting his dearest wish to see her again in this way. As he held her head gently, the warmth of sticky blood began covering his hands.

All at once, the situation hit him full force. He glanced around quickly and spotted Sirius. He shouted his name before turning his attention back to Lily. He checked her pulse and let out a wet gasp of relief to find it still pulsing strong. In the mess of spells, he was sure he had seen a green streak. He started waving his wand over her to detect the damage and repair what we could safely.

He felt rather than saw Sirius kneel beside him. "Is she alive?"

"Yes, but barely. She's bleeding heavily. We need to get her to the medics fast. There is only so much I can do from the field," James said in a low, controlled voice. "What was she even doing here?"

"I met up with her in Cardiff," started Sirius.

James, who had been shifting Lily into a flat position for levitation froze and faced his friend, jealousy shining his eyes. "What?!" he said, his voice deep and rough with anger, the control vanished from his voice.

"Slow your roll Prongs. It was an accident. I just bumped into her at a café. She was blonde and I didn't know." James still looked livid. There was a pause before Sirius continued. "I guess I should also mention that she's an undercover agent for the Order."

James eyes softened. "Dumbledore sent her, not me," finished Sirius.

James pushed a hand through his hair. "Okay, so the woman I'm in love with is in the Order risking her life. Brilliant."

"Woah mate, did you just say love?"

"Yeah," said James standing up. "I guess I did." With that, James pointed his wand at Lily's body and performed a silent 'Wingardium Leviosa.'

"Round up the Order members for a debrief at Hogwarts in an hour. I'll pop over once she's with the medi-wizards in stable condition and the death eaters processed." Sirius nodded and ran down the alleyway.

James carefully navigated Lily from the shopping square towards the town hall. At this point, the auror team still had the area on lock down so it was near deserted. "Hang with me Lily," James whispered, careful to keep his hand steady. "You fight with me regularly. This fight should be cake."

Everything hurt. Her body felt heavy as a stone. She could feel the soft cushion of a bed beneath her back but the rest of her ached like she had never experienced before. Her lungs burned as she breathed. A stabbing pain ripped through her stomach every few seconds and she was pretty sure someone was using her head as a snare drum.

Carefully, she opened her eyes. She didn't have many occasions to visit the hospital wing in her time at Hogwarts but after a trip or two, you recognize the beautiful vaulted ceilings.

Too sore to sit up, Lily let a whisper escape into the air. "Hello?" The sound echoed around the space. "Anyone there?"

A shuffle sounded from her left, the scrapping of a chair against the floor. "Lily?" cried a male voice. The face of James Potter came into view. The look of relief made her want to cry. Upon seeing her eyes open, James cried to the room at large. "She's awake. Get your arse over here stat Davenport."

A man of about 30 rounded the corner. "Watch your mouth Potter. I'll report to your supervisor."

"A lot of good it will do you," James muttered. "Mad Eye's cursing would make Grindewald blush."

The young man scowled at James before turning to the bed. "How are you feeling Miss Evans? I was told you were caught in the cross fire during the attack in Liverpool. The aurors," Daveport shot another dirty look at James, "were supposed to clear the area of civilians following the initiation of the attack."

"No, I was…"

"We were able to retrieve your shopping," James interrupted. "It would be a shame for you to lose your COVERalls."

Lily snapped her mouth closed. Was there any chance that her cover could survive this? It was worth the lie for now. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"Are you feeling any pain?" Continued Davenport.

"Yes," Lily whispered, letting herself sink deeper into the mattress.

"Anywhere in particular?"

"Somewhere in the vicinity of my body," she said closing her eyes. She heard James snicker at her left, making her smile in spite of herself.

"Somewhat to be expected. You took six spells full force to the chest. Your youth definitely helped you there and should make the recovery easier. Your broken bones were mended on site by Mr. Potter and we were able to repair the rupture in your intestines within minutes of the battle's conclusion," Davenport explained calmly. "We aren't exactly sure which spells hit you so we'd like to keep you under surveillance for another day or two."

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"About 14 hours," said James quickly.

"And how long have you been here Mr. Potter?" said Lily quietly.

"About 12."

Davenport cleared his throat to shift the focus. "I'll get you some calming and pain draught Miss Evans. You should get as much rest as possible."

Davenport disappeared around the curtain leaving James and Lily alone.

Lily let her head fall to the left as James retook his seat in the wooden chair by her bedside. He looked as if he'd showered but the bags beneath his eyes showed he had likely not slept.

"Did you make it through okay?" she asked quietly.

James laughed. "After all you'd gone through you ask about me?" He shook his head with a soft smile before answering. "Yeah," he said, scratching behind his ear. "A scratch or two but nothing too serious. They injured a few of our guys but they're in stable condition. No hostages and minor damage to the shops. We were able to get six of the death eaters to the ministry. Unfortunately, at least half look to be legitimate Imperius cases and the other half are claiming to be. It's going to be rough locking them up."

Lily's mind flew back to the fight and froze on a particular face. "Did you get Stuart Younge?"

"Yes," James said, eyeing her cautiously. "How did you…?"

"I took him out right before getting blasted. He was… well… I knew him. Through a mutual acquaintance."

"Through your work as the Flame?"

Lily closed her eyes. "Not exactly." She opened her mouth to continue but stopped at the sound of footsteps.

Moments later, Davenport appeared with the draughts. "These should help Miss Evans." Allowing James to help her to a seated position, she downed the potions quickly, not quite avoiding the awful taste. Immediately, the pain lessened and her head went fuzzy.

"She should be out shortly Mr. Potter," Davenport said quietly to James, just loud enough to Lily to catch. "You should get some rest."

"I'll snag one of the other beds, I promise."

Davenport nodded and then left them alone once more.

Lily felt the drugs taking affect as James once again resumed his position in the chair at her side. "You should rest," she said in a slurred voice. "Order work and auror work… ya know… rough stuff."

James chuckled lightly. "I will soon." James let silence fall between them.

Lily felt sleep creeping up on her but also felt more interested in talking than ever before. She worked to get out, "Glad you got Stuart. Definitely not an Imperius case. Get him to Azkaban."

James' eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Why do you say that?"

With a last effort before sleep took her, Lily said, "I'm sure his brother could use some company."

Thoughts? Feelings? Glad it's back? Let me know!

I enjoyed writing this very much. It was interesting to revisit these characters after such a long break – funny how much I still understand my vision of them. I am unsure when I will post again but it's your support that brought this piece back to life in the first place.

Best Wishes,

Melissa