A/N: Oh. The next couple of chapters are possibly going to bother some people, just be forewarned. This chapter is much shorter, but I am trying to make sure that everything is in place. Also, so you all know, I am NOT a fan of Lily over the next two chapters. I think she is being cruel, stubborn, and stupid. Damn her and her stubborn ways. (sighs)

Disc.: Standard "I didn't create it" blanket statement.

Two Lines

Lily frowned as she looked at the calendar. She groaned and shook her head, burying her face into her hands. She had no doubt in her mind. It was perfectly ill timing for Lily, no matter how she worked it. It was still a bit of time before Marshall came and relieved her. She had done her paperwork and rounds, glancing at the calendar from time to time, the numbers glaring at her as if mocking her. She felt a bit of dread and panic welling up inside her. She took a deep breath.

"Easy, Lily," Lily said aloud to herself. "You don't know anything."

"I don't think I can agree with that, Lils," Marshall said as he leaned against the desk. Lily looked up from her hands. "I think you know plenty."

"Thanks, Marshall," Lily said smiling slightly. His words were eerily true. She frowned slightly at the thought. He didn't know it, but he was positively right.

"So, are you and Scorpius hanging out this weekend?" Marshall asked.

"No, he's off on some training thing," Lily said crossing her arms. "Supposedly."

"You act like you don't believe him," Marshall said. Lily sighed.

"I believe him, it's just…" Lily said. She leaned back further, looking at her coworker. "Everyone keeps pressuring me, wanting to know why I've not accepted his proposal."

"For marriage?" Marshall said in surprise.

"Yeah," Lily said.

"And you keep telling him no?" Marshall asked.

"Yeah," Lily said.

"Well, it works out better for me that you say no," Marshall said grinning. "Means I still have a chance."

"Please, you don't have a chance," Lily laughed. Marshall laughed with her.

"Well, know I am waiting if you decide to ditch the Auror," Marshall teased as Lily gathered her things.

"I don't see me ditching the Auror," Lily said. Marshall shrugged.

"Well, then, if he ditches you," Marshall said. Lily stuck her tongue out at him.

"Very funny. Good bye, Marsh," Lily said as she glanced at the calendar one last time before she left St. Mungo's. Lily walked along the street, her face cold as she looked into the muggle shops until she came to the pharmacy. She hesitated before she pushed her way into the store. She grabbed a hand basket and walked along the aisles, picking up a few things here or there. She stopped and looked at the shelf, her eyes traveling along all of the similar looking boxes, the pictures serene. She supposed for some, the idea was serene, but Lily saw it with dread. Her cell phone rang.

"Lily, hey! You and I are still going shopping, right?" Rose asked. Lily laughed.

"Yeah, you near the apartment?" Lily asked.

"Nah, Rose said. "Morning sickness has kept me close to home for breakfast, but I am feeling so much better. I'll be there in about ten or so minutes."

"I'll be there," Lily said.

"You're not at home?" Rose asked.

"I had to stop off on my way. I'll be there in a bit," Lily assured her as she grabbed one of the boxes off the shelf and shoved it in her basket.

"Ooh, are you at a store? What are you getting?" Rose asked excitedly.

"Oh, just the usual, shampoo and what not," Lily said as the cashier began to ring up her purchases. Lily swiped her muggle ATM card and gathered her purchases.

"Good luck, hope you get the results you want," the clerk said as Lily took her receipt.

"Well, I'll meet you at your apartment there in a minute or two, then," Rose said. Lily grabbed her bag and rushed back home. She dumped the bag on the counter in her bathroom at home, not even bothering to close the bathroom door. She ripped open the box. She hesitated. She paused. She followed the directions to the T. She waited the requested three minutes. Lily struggled the 'fight or flight' feeling and peeked, clear as day it stared at her in the face.

The results seized her around the heart, threatening to consume her.

"Lily? Are you home yet?" Rose called as she used her key to get into Lily's apartment. Lily looked up at the sound of her name, unable to speak. Rose headed towards the bathroom. "Lily?"

"Y-yeah," Lily breathed. She forced her voice to be a little louder. "I'll be out in just a moment."

"Ready to go shopping?" Rose asked cheerfully as Lily tucked something in her purse.

"Sure," Lily said as the two women left the house. "So, what are you in the market for?"

"Oh, I want to go ahead and register for my baby shower," Rose said. "Being four months along, my mum says it's safe to now."

"B-baby shopping?" Lily stammered.

"Yeah, you don't mind do you?" Rose asked for a moment. Lily shook her head.

"It's fine. You've got to be easier to shop with than Kate," Lily said. Rose laughed.

"I can't guarantee that," Rose smirked as they entered a children's store. Lily looked around wide eyed.

"Wow," Lily said.

"Babies are big business," Rose said. Lily nodded. "Oh! Look at this little sailor suit!"

"I thought that you recently found out that you were having a girl," Lily said. Rose nodded.

"I am," Rose said as she squealed as she grabbed a lacy, ruffle-trimmed pink and white dress. "Look at this."

"It's pretty," Lily admitted.

"Awe, look at these itty, bitty socks!" Rose said after an hour or two of shopping and registering for her baby shower. Lily forced a smile.

"They are small," Lily admitted.

"I'm sorry that this isn't more fun for you," Rose said. Lily shook her head.

"No, this is fine. It's enlightening, really," Lily said quietly as she focused on an insanely small shirt. "Babies really come this small?"

"Smaller," Rose laughed as she took her younger cousin by the hand and lead her to the preemie section. "See, these are preemie clothes. Look how small this shirt is. Looks like it should fit on a doll. Or a cat."

"Could you imagine me putting this on Skye?" Lily asked thinking about her cat.

"You and your cat," Rose laughed.

"So, have you thought of a name for the baby?" Lily asked.

"Billy thinks Tabitha, I want Grace," Rose said. Lily grinned.

"Tabitha Grace, it's beautiful," Lily offered. Rose smiled back.

"Like that, it's great," Rose said. "Kind of sucks that they've put me on a desk job while I'm pregnant, but it's not like I can go on miss- er, well. I don't like a desk job."

"Understandable," Lily said nodding as she ignored Rose's slip up. Rose paid for her few purchases, shrugging, before the two headed to a coffee shop.

"Can I ask you something?" Rose asked quietly. Lily looked up at her, sipping her double espresso.

"Sure," Lily said.

"What is the deal with you and Scorpius? I know you say you love him, and lord knows we know he loves you the way he goes on and on about you when you two go more than a few days seeing each other, but you have been proposed to about a million times and still, you insist on remaining nothing more than you are," Rose said carefully. "Aren't you afraid that he's going to get tired of waiting for you to say yes to marry him?"

"If he does, then we weren't meant to get married," Lily said. "I'm not even twenty one."

"I agree, there is no rush, but it's kind of unheard of to be his age and an Auror, and not be married," Rose said quietly. "In our line of work, there is a big risk of there not being a tomorrow."

"Shh," Lily hushed her in a teasing manner. "You know, you guys have a code of silence. Thanks to the new Ministry."

"It used to be more lax, Lily, but then a lot of people died because secrets were leaked," Rose said quietly.

"I know," Lily murmured. She touched the zipper of her purse, thinking.

"You seem distracted today," Rose said.

"I just don't want to rush things," Lily said as she sipped her drink again.

"There's no rush, soon," Rose promised. Lily looked up, her head cocked to the side.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked. Rose shook her head and Lily knew that Rose could say no more.

"Look, Lily. No one is going to force you to do anything you don't want to do, but married life isn't that bad. Your parents had a wonderful marriage, as do my parents, sort of," Rose said smirking.

"If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone? Not even Billy?" Lily asked hesitantly. Rose frowned.

"I can't keep secrets from Billy, Lily," Rose said. "Husbands and wives shouldn't have secrets, and I can't keep a secret from him."

"Ok, can you have him not mention it then?" Lily asked. Rose nodded.

"Sure," Rose said.

"I took a test today," Lily said quietly as her fingers traced the zipper. "I think I failed."

"Well, there's always next time," Rose said reassuring. Lily shook her head, her hands trembling as she pulled a stick from her purse. She squeezed it tightly in her hand before she pushed it across the table toward Rose.

"It has two lines," Lily said. "I don't think I'll get another chance."

"Oh," Rose said making a face as she looked at it. Her eyes got wide. "You?"

"Yeah," Lily said closing her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Did you tell Scorpius?" Rose asked. Lily looked up at her skeptically.

"I just took the test today. I picked it up on my way home," Lily said making a face.

"Wow," Rose said as she stared at the spot the test had been. She hadn't even been aware of Lily removing it and placing it back in her purse.

"Yeah," Lily mumbled as she refused to look up.

"You know, it's not going to be so bad," Rose promised. Lily looked up, her eyes glistening with tears.

"What's not?" Lily asked.

"This whole thing," Rose said as she patted Lily's hand.

"This is not what I want," Lily cried. Rose glanced around as a few people looked their way.

"Shh, honey, it's going to be ok," Rose said. "You're going to make a great mother. You and Scorpius will get married and have this baby and raise it."

"It's not what I want," Lily begged. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I read about this place, a muggle medical clinic, back when I was doing my studies. I think… I think I want to go there."

"No, Lily," Rose breathed as her own tears spilled over her cheeks. She knew exactly what Lily was planning, what she was mentioning and it made her hurt to even think about her cousin doing that.

"I never wanted to be a mother, Rose," Lily said quietly.

"There has to be another way," Rose begged Lily.

"Yeah, let me go back a few weeks and abstain," Lily growled. Rose shook her head.

"I can't keep something like that a secret," Rose said. Her voice turned pleading as she grabbed Lily's hand tightly. "My morals alone won't let me. Please, talk to Scorpius about it. Think about it. Sleep on it. Please, Lily, there has to be another way."

"Rose," Lily said shaking her head as she stood up. Her tears blurred her vision.

"I will tell," Rose threatened with her own tears. "You can't do this."

"It's my body, my life," Lily snapped in a sob. Lily jerked away, gathering her purse.

"Your body, but it's not your life, Lily. It's not yours to decide," Rose wailed. Lily turned and fled the coffee shop. She wandered around a bit in the cold, deep in her thoughts. She stopped and dialed her cell phone voicemail. She had a few random messages; none of them sounding like it was out of the ordinary. Lily headed home, half expecting Rose to be there to berate her for her decision.

"Lily, hey," Scorpius said casually as Lily walked in the front door of the apartment. She jumped, surprised.

"Oh, hey," Lily said as she placed her keys and her purse on the table.

"How was shopping with Rose?" he asked. Lily shrugged.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," she said. "Lots of really small clothes."

"I'd imagine so," Scorpius said laughing. He nodded to a covered plate. "I made your favorite: baked chicken and green beans."

"Thanks," Lily said. She walked across the room, tired. Flopping down on the couch, she took the top off and took a few bites before pushing the plate away.

"You ok?" he asked quietly. Lily nodded then shook her head.

"I'm tired," Lily said. Scorpius pulled her up off the couch and led her to the bedroom.

"Do you have to work tonight?" he asked. Lily laughed.

"You know I don't," Lily said as she took off her clothes and pulled on her night shirt. She climbed into the bed with him. She was suddenly exhausted.

"I have three days off, too," Scorpius whispered in her ear as his hand touched her hip. "How about we stay in bed all three days?"

"Hmm," Lily murmured. She felt his hands on her body and she fought not to tense.

"Something wrong?" Scorpius asked.

"No," Lily lied. "I'm just really tired."

"You don't have to do anything," he promised and she laughed. "I'll just rub your back and pamper you."

"Yeah," Lily laughed. "I bet nothing will happen."

"Oh, I can't promise that," he teased. He pressed his mouth to her ear. "I love you with every breath I take."

"I know," Lily said.

"I never want to lose you," he said. He didn't let her reply, instead he kissed her deeply.

The phone annoyingly woke Lily, her hand closed on the receiver and she put the ear piece to her ear. She mumbled a greeting, not caring that she sounded half asleep. She hadn't checked the caller ID, but she had a good idea who it was. The same person called her every morning since she had shared her test results and her plan.

"Lily," Rose said stuffily into the phone. "I want to talk to you some more. You've not done anything yet, have you?"

"No," Lily said quietly as she felt Scorpius stirring behind her. His arms were wrapped around her, his hands crossed over body. "Look, Rose, now's not a good time."

"Is Scorpius there?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes," Lily said.

"Have you told him yet?" Rose said even more hopefully.

"No, and I don't plan on it," Lily yawned into the phone.

"Lily, before you do anything, let me take you somewhere," Rose pleaded quietly. "Give me a weekend, this weekend, and if you still want to I'll drive you there myself."

"Sounds like a plan," Lily said brightly as Scorpius palm pressed against her flesh.

"You really want to end this? It would kill Scorpius if he knew," Rose said sadly. Lily paused and she could practically hear Rose's smile of victory. "I just need to you to pause and think."

"Pause and think, got it," Lily said. "See you on Friday."

"Friday," Rose said quietly.

"Shopping with Rose on Friday?" Scorpius murmured.

"Yeah, something like that," Lily mumbled as she hung up the phone. She looked at him, his eyes were warm as he gazed at her. She felt a stab of guilt in her chest. She took a deep breath, clearing her mind. "I love you, Score."

"I love you too, Lils," Scorpius said.