A/N: I'm a horrible person for making you guys wait so long.

:]

This is my favorite chapter…gosh, I love it. James is so amazing.

XD

Don't forget to review!

[X]

Lily was sitting in the Common Room, scribbling across her parchment as always. James was out at Quidditch practice but she tried not to think much about it. She glanced up at the clock, frowned, and looked back down. She hated it when his practices ran late, but she knew how bad the House wanted to win the Cup, so she wasn't going to complain too much. It was just it was twenty minutes till midnight…Sighing, she ran her fingers through her long red curls and read over her halfway finished essay.

James came through the portrait hole a few moments later and smiled softly at the girl waiting for him. She was bent over the parchment again, scribbling furiously. He didn't say anything as she stood there and watched her write. She was still in her uniform, he noticed, her Head Girl badge sitting on the table in front of her. The first three buttons of her shirt were undone and he tried to ignore the way the pale skin from her throat went on flawlessly into her shirt. How he wished he could see more of that, but no. Lily wasn't interested in being with him that way…yet. He would make her want him, he knew he would. She crossed her legs and he loved the way her skirt hung just right against them, yet never giving him the satisfaction of getting to see all he wanted.

"Hey there Lil," he finally greeted, walking forward.

"James."

He threw his broom down on the ground and threw himself into the chair across from her. Lily didn't look up from her essay as she said,

"What took so long?"

"We had a lot of new moves to go over. It was hell."

"I'll bet."

"You should have come down."

"I didn't want to bother you."

"You could never do that."

"Right."

"Really, Lil, come down next time."

"Maybe…"

He shrugged and gave up the persuasion as a bad case. Lily could be a right case when she didn't want to do something and he wasn't about to have her yell at him. Not tonight, anyway. Maybe some other time when he wasn't so damn tired and he wasn't happy with just watching her.

He stood up, stretched, and yanked his practice shirt off. It hit the floor with a muted thud and they both gave it a worried look before returning to what they were doing. The only sound in the Common Room was Lily's quill scratching and the slow crackling of the dying fire. James sunk back down in the chair, kicking his shoes off. He threw his head back and closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the fire take over his cold body and listening to the sound of Lily's quill.

He didn't notice when the sound stopped. His eyes snapped open when he felt something flutter across his stomach. He eyed Lily nervously, unsure of what she was doing. She just smiled down at him before returning her attention back to the hand that was running softly across his stomach. He bit back as his shudders as Lily sighed and let her fingertips probe him lightly.

"Damn, Lily, not tonight," he groaned, throwing his head back again.

"Why not?"

"I'm tired baby."

She said nothing but removed her hand. It was a moment later when he heard the sound of her quill scratching again. Sighing, he opened his eyes and looked across at her. She looked up, smiled, and then looked back down. He could see no trace of hurt in her emerald eyes. She looked oddly at peace, and this surprised him. He never denied her. He had been expecting a big blow up for that.

"Something going on?" he asked softly.

"Should there be?" she replied.

He didn't say anything as he watched her curiously. Her hand flitted across the page and he suddenly wished it were his stomach instead. The soft motions had felt nice on his tense, sore, muscles.

"Do me favor and tell Sirius to stay out of my room before I put a full body bind curse on him," Lily suddenly said, looking up.

"He's been in your room?"

"Like you didn't know," she snorted, "I was there when you made that drunken deal. Why would you need to shag his girlfriend anyway?"

"Hey now, we were drunk. We make stupid deals all the time when we're drunk," James warned.

"I know…"

She smiled at him and returned her attention back to the parchment she had been writing on. James watched her closely again, wondering why she was so calm. Usually when she had to do homework this late she was tensed and worried. Or when Quidditch practice ran long overtime like it did tonight, she would be in a right state when he finally came in.

Not tonight. She was calm, happy, and content…he was at loss. What had gone on while he was gone?

"Lily," he whispered, "You've lost me."

"Well that's no shocker," she muttered.

He let out a sigh of relief. There was the Lily he had been expecting. She looked up at him and sighed,

"I've been thinking…you know the last day of term is just in a couple of days and we haven't talked about what its going to be like…after,"

He just nodded. So this was where it was going. They hadn't been talking about what would happen with their relationship after school, but he was going to marry the girl before him. He wasn't ask her--he was telling her. She had no choice in this anymore. There wasn't going to be anyone else for him. She knew that, too.

"What do you want it to be like?" he whispered.

"Well," she said softly, "I'm not sure. We're going two completely different directions here, James. You're going off to the other side of the globe to train to be an Auror and I have to go help Dumbledore and Sirius find a good headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix…what are we going to do? There might not be anyway for us to be like this anymore."

Tears were sparkling in her emerald eyes. James slid out of his chair and got on his knees in front of her. He hated it when she cried and she knew that. Lily looked away and tired to wipe away the tears without him noticing. She couldn't ever do that. He noticed everything there was to notice about her. She was so beautiful. Even when she cried…

"Lily…calm down. Nothing's going to happen. We're going to be okay. We'll--we'll find a way to get out of this. I promise," he whispered, rubbing her knee with his hand.

"But you don't know that, James," she choked, looking back at him.

"Yes. I do," he replied firmly.

A few tears rolled down her cheeks. He reached up and brushed them away. She gave him a watery smile before breaking down completely. James pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back soothingly as she sobbed full out on his shoulder; her hot tears running down his bare skin. A few minutes later she lay against him sniffling.

"Lily," he said softly, "You know we're going to get married."

"Did you just tell me I'm getting married?"

"Yes. I did."

She pulled away from his shoulder and stared at him. Then her face lit up in a breath taking smile. She hugged him close and sniffed again, mostly out of happiness this time…he hoped, anyway.

"Wanna know something else?" he whispered.

"Sure," he could hear the smile in her voice.

"I want to have a baby, too."

She pulled back again and stared at him in astonishment. He gave her a crooked grin but she seemed stuck in the same place. He gave her a little shake, worried now, and she seemed to come to her senses.

"Oh, James--"

What the hell! She was crying again?

James pulled her close and began rubbing her back, wondering what he could have said to make her break down like this all over again. He was going to have to watch what he said more carefully unless he wanted this to happen all the time.

Sniffing, Lily pulled back and sat up in the chair. She wiped her tears off with her shirt sleeve. James was still on his knees in front of her. He reached up and put his hands on her stomach, and smiled. He was ready to feel his baby inside her stomach. He'd give anything in the world just to be able to feel the sense of accomplishment that would come from being an expecting father.

"When did you decide all this?" Lily finally whispered.

"The day I first set eyes on you. It's just taken me a few years to sort it all out," he smiled. She let out a little laugh,

"Seven years…its taken me seven years to realize that you were the one right for me all along. James--I can't believe that this could really be happening. I could spend forever and a day with you."

"All of that feeling took seven years?" he teased softly. She gave him another water smile and nodded.

He pressed his palms gently against her stomach and whispered,

"I want to see you pregnant, Lils. I want to see you happy, round, and completely excited about having him."

"Him?"

"Yes, it's going to be a boy." Lily let out another laugh,

"You don't chose what kind of baby you're going to have."

James merely shrugged and winked up at her.

"I think I just did."

She laughed again. He leaned in and kissed her stomach gently. He rocked back on his heels and stood up. She stood up with him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Good night Lily," he whispered into her hair, "I love you."

"I love you too, James…so much."