Disc.: My plot, the world is not.

Chapter Thirty Four

Lily made sure that Gentry was well fed, changed, and in an adorable outfit before placing him in the pram and walking over to West Manor. The house elves graciously fell over themselves to help carry the carriage up the stairs, not even remotely rocking it to the left or right a hair as they did so. Lily sat in the same drawing room she'd been in before, when Mrs. West had her melt down and sent Lily running.

The drawing room doors opened slowly and Agatha West entered, less enthusiastic than her previous entrance. Her eyes swept the room, landing on Lily near the pram. Lily rose as she approached, the woman's face weary. She peered at the pram but didn't move toward it.

"Narcissa has appealed to my better nature," Mrs. West started after the tea had arrived, Lily sipping the hot liquid.

"Has she?" Lily replied, not knowing what else to say to that.

"I love my son, and he had this boy with you, my grandson, and while it might not have been like I'd imagined it, a daughter in law of my own to share with or to bring more grandchildren in my life, I am grateful for Gentry," Mrs. West replied.

"Okay," Lily nodded once.

"And I'm sorry I reacted so harshly before," Mrs. West traced the rim of her delicate tea cup once before she placed it on its saucer. "You have sons, you know. I had dreams for my son. He'd settled down, he'd marry. He and my daughter in law would bring forth sons and daughters for me to dote on. I never dreamed that a grandchild would come with such impossible strings attached."

"Believe me, Mrs. West, my intention was never to have such a complicated situation, myself," Lily admitted. "I love your son, please never doubt that. I love our child. Damon and I, though, we're just not meant to be."

"I see that now," Mrs. West nodded once.

"I would like to have you be in Gentry's life, though, Mrs. West," Lily shared as she scooped the blissfully quiet infant up. "My parents are both dead, and while Draco's a great substituted grandfather, I know it would mean the world to Damon to have you in our little boy's life."

Lily held Gentry out, waiting. Mrs. West looked at the little boy who was reaching for her, clapping his chubby hands and reaching with all his might. She put her hands out, taking the baby who erupted into laughter, causing both Lily and Mrs. West to laugh along with him.

"He reminds me so much of Damon when he was this age," Mrs. West commented. "I know you were married before he was born, but does he have my son's last name?"

"Of course," Lily nodded. "Gentry West."

"You opted not to give him your married name, then?" Mrs. West asked.

"It never occurred to me to," Lily confessed. "He was always going to be Damon and my child. It never occurred to me to claim him as Scorpius'. I doubt he'd have passed. He looks too much like Damon to be anything but Damon's son."

"I will have to agree with that," Mrs. West agreed.

Lily stayed for a few hours before she gathered her son, and promised to visit again soon. Lily hoped that she'd get the chance to visit with Damon by her side. She wondered what they were doing, if they were safe, if they'd come home. Lily walked, pushing the pram along as she went, heading back to Malfoy Manor when she got the weird prickly feeling of being watched. She stopped, under the guise of messing with Gentry , who had long fed and passed out asleep. Lily didn't see anyone and she shrugged, continuing on while trying to ignore the feeling of being watched.

She pushed the pram to the steps, surprised to see Elena Goyle waiting for her. The woman had grown into her own, swooping down to help carry the pram carefully up the steps. The women didn't speak as they made their way into the house. They went into the drawing room.

"Elena, you look amazing," Lily embraced the witch she'd not seen since her failed nuptials.

"You do, too, Lily, you do too," Elena nodded as they pulled apart.

"So, what brings you by?" Lily asked curiously. Elena glanced at the carriage. "Gentry?"

"I was just curious," Elena shrugged. Lily lifted the sleeping baby in her arms.

"About?" Lily asked uncomfortably.

"Damon. Damon as a father. He didn't strike me as the type who would be... I don't know... good at it," Elena replied dismissively. She touched his cheek.

"Would you like to hold him?" Lily asked.

"No, no thank you," Elena shook her head.

"To answer your question," Lily placed the baby against her shoulder. "Damon is an excellent father. Very hands on."

"Hm," Elena grunted with a shrug. "I guess you got it all. Both Scorpius and Damon."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily held the crossness back, but only just so.

"Nothing, only, you had Scorpius," Elena pointed out. "I don't understand why you took Damon, too."

"I didn't take Damon anywhere, Elena," Lily protested. "I'm confused, why do you care anyways?"

"He always had eyes for you!" Elena hissed. "When we were together, it was always YOU and Scorpius, and him. Like one big, painful triangle, one where I didn't exist except in the moment."

"I don't... I don't get what you're talking about," Lily pressed.

"Scorpius left you, pregnant, and I just knew then that Damon and I would never be!" Elena gasped. "He never wanted a family. Never wanted marriage. The same story you were telling."

"Elena-" Lily hesitated. "Is... is... is Damon Caroline's father?" Lily whispered the last bit.

"Merlin, Lily, I loved him, love him-" Elena creaked out through fresh tears. "We had started dating again when you returned from Paris. He didn't tell you about that, huh? All of a sudden, you're back and I'm kicked to the curb. I almost told him about our child, had him meet her."

"Oh, Elena," Lily placed Gentry in the carriage and went to her, wrapping her arms around the other woman. "If I had know there was even a possibility. I didn't even know about Caroline until recently."

"The proper Slytherin thing to do is to keep babies of the unmarried on the down low," Elena cried angrily. "You had to parade about with Damon's child, and you got both of them!"

"Elena, I promise you, I didn't know. I wouldn't have pursued Damon if-"

"Why not? Is he not good enough for you?" Elena challenged.

"That's not what I meant," Lily protested.

"I'd have pursued Scorpius if the tables were turned. Do you know how much ridicule I got for not naming the father?" Elena gasped.

"No, I don't," Lily rubbed her face wearily.

"A lot," Elena snapped. "And that's another thing! How is it we BOTH have a baby out of wedlock, and I'm the only once ostracized?"

"Oh, don't you think for a moment I don't know what that feels like," Lily snapped at the other woman. "I listened to the gossip and saw the dirty looks Theron and I used to get. It used to make me so mad, but I'm not going to hide away, letting it fester."

"Caroline deserves a father, and I was this close to giving her one before you came up with Damon's child growing inside you," Elena wept.

"What's stopping you, Elena?" Lily demanded. "I'm not getting together with Damon. I'm married to Scorpius, I love Scorpius. I want to have more children with Scorpius. Am I grateful that Gentry is Damon's? You'd better believe it. Damon's a wonderful man and terrific father, and I bet if you'd quit being afraid and let him try with Caroline, you'd see."

"I can't even find him!" Elena snapped at her. "He fell off the face of the world a few days ago, and the last person he was seen with was your husband."

"Oh," Lily gusted.

"He's with your husband, isn't he? In some awful place all in search of vengeance for you," Elena scoffed.

"He's ... Elena, I don't know what to tell you. I don't really know where they are," Lily sighed. She grabbed the other woman by the shoulders. "You have to tell him about Caroline. They deserve to know. He had to have cared for you at one time or another. He's not one to just fall into a bed."

"Maybe not your bed, but plenty of others, surely," Elena grumbled.

"I remember how you were all friends in school. That surely meant something to him to cross from friends to more with you, Elena. You have a child together, a teenager, that you deserve to share with him," Lily breathed softly. "I think I must have known. She looks like a perfect blend of all of both of your greatest traits."

"She is a beauty, and smart, too," Elena sniffled after a moment. She nodded toward the baby. "I had to see for myself. There's no denying he's a West. He and Caroline could have been one in the same. I was so nervous people would look at her and see him, see Damon."

"Maybe," Lily patted her arm.

"You won't say anything, will you?" Elena asked. Lily shook her head.

"No, but you do need to tell him..." Lily murmured. Elena nodded.

"I will, at some point, I think," Elena shared. She looked to the big clock. "I should be going. Caroline is probably looking for me."

"Elena, if you ever need anything, want anything-" Lily offered. Elena looked at her meaningfully.

"I know, thank you," Elena nodded heading toward the door. "And please, if you see Caroline, don't mention it to her. I've not told her that Damon is her father."

"Okay, Elena," Lily agreed, standing at the door. She watched the woman walk down the steps, her head hung slightly. Lily felt horrible for her, for Elena, but understood. If anyone could understand raising a child on her own, no true claim to a father, it was Lily.

Lily was closing the door to the house when the hair on the back of her neck rose again, making her shiver. She stopped, scanning the yard for anyone who might be there. She had that horrible feeling that someone was watching her again, and it chilled her to the bone. She hesitated, fixated on the privet hedge across the cobble street, but didn't see anything. Shrugging, she closed the door just as Gentry woke for a meal.

"Coming baby!" Lily called, though she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling of eyes on her.