A/N: So, yeah. I wasn't a fan of Lily's until she made the right decision for her, and thankful the right decision didn't end her chances at experiencing motherhood first hand. I know it was a sensitive subject, and I don't/didn't mean to offend, but like I have said before, you start writing these characters and they tend to head off in their own direction. The poll is closed, though not officially. If I close it officially, then you'd know what the sex of the baby will be. (insert evil, all-knowing laugh). I assume you guys have since figured out that is what you were naming. If I close the poll, you'll know which name won (and by what percentage). Oh, and trust me on this chapter. It didn't go as I had planned (I blame Scorpius this time) but you know… it will hopefully work out. Oh, and I am trying to reply to everyone, so bear with me. I will get to all of you. Thanks for the reviews!

Disc.: Standard "I didn't create the universe" statement.

Over

Lily stepped into her apartment, struggling with another paper sack full of groceries. She was feeling a bit queasy at the moment but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The past couple of days had been plagued with the icky feelings. It was as if the minute she confirmed it in her mind that she was keeping this child, her child, she had doubled up on the pregnancy symptoms. She had yet to tell Scorpius, but she knew he'd be home tonight, and tonight was as good as night as any.

Still, Lily felt nervous. Insanely nervous, because it was one thing to have him say that he wanted marriage, a completely different thing for her to tell him that he was going to be a father. She groaned. For him to be a father, it meant that she was going to be a mother. She hadn't said it aloud, not once, not even to Rose. To say it aloud made it completely real and undeniable. Everything else, she could ignore. The morning sickness? Bad Chinese the night before. The achy back? Lifting the crates of milk cartons to the top of the cart before handing them out. That bulge that seemed to be making her clothes tighter by leaps and bounds? Just a little bit of water weight, a bit of bloating.

"Lily Luna Potter," Scorpius said coldly as she walked into the kitchen. He was sitting at her dining room table with a few things spread out in front of him. His fingers were in the shape of a triangle. Lily had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed him there. He startled her.

"Hey, Score," Lily said breathlessly as she shifted the bag onto the counter. "I thought that you weren't coming over until later."

"I got off early and let myself in," he said coolly. Lily began unpacking the bag.

"I was thinking I'd order in something," Lily said as she placed the carton of milk in the refrigerator.

"How can you eat?" Scorpius asked in an almost animalistic growl. Lily's head snapped up to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked. He laughed bitterly and gestured to the pile of stuff that she had previously ignored. Random scraps of paper and various other things were ignored. All Lily's eyes could focus on was the pregnancy test she had taken and the ultrasound picture.

"What, did you think I was too stupid to figure it out?" Scorpius said coldly.

"I… I was going to tell you about it tonight," Lily said. He laughed bitterly, almost disbelieving.

"Yeah, and I'm supposed to believe that," Scorpius said. Ice dripped from his every word.

"I was, honest. I didn't think you'd react this way," Lily said. Scorpius slammed his fist down on the table, causing Lily to jump and drop a can of vegetables onto the tile floor.

"You didn't think I'd react this way? How'd you think I'd react, Lily? Surely you can't believe that I'd be ok with it," Scorpius growled. "I loved you. I trusted you."

"I didn't mean…"

"I don't want to hear it anymore, Lily. I'm tired of the excuses, and this is just… inexcusable," Scorpius snarled as he stood. He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and threw it on the table.

"Scorpius," Lily protested.

"Look, that's enough money for you to find a new place and then some," Scorpius said. "It should take care of everything. I'm leaving for a few months. I expect you to be gone. I just can't believe that you'd actually… no, I won't say it. I've had enough, Lily. You went too far this time."

"Scorpius, please, let me explain," Lily begged. He scooped up the things he had laid out in front of him.

"I don't want to hear it, Lily," he snapped.

"You shouldn't have gone through my stuff," Lily snapped back, suddenly very angry. He threw it back on the table angrily. Anger flashed in his eyes and his nose flared as he breathed hard.

"You left it on the table in your front hall," Scorpius roared. "A blind man could have found it."

"I was going to tell you tonight," Lily shrieked at him. "You never gave me a chance."

"Why should I believe a word you say? You said you loved me, and this is what love gets me?" Scorpius hollered. "A positive pregnancy test and some blurry black and white photo. Thanks, Lily. Really. You've absolved any stupid notion that I should ever want to get married. I can never forgive you for this." Scorpius swung the door open to the apartment.

"Where are you going?" Lily cried out.

"It's none of your business anymore. I don't want anything more to do with you," Scorpius shouted at her angrily. He waved the ultrasound picture in the air. "And I'm taking this as a reminder that girls, especially girls like you Lily Potter, are cruel, selfish, hateful bitches."

"Scorpius!" Lily cried out as he apparated. Lily slumped against the door frame, tears stinging in her eyes. She felt like her heart was shattering, breaking into a million pieces. She sobbed loudly, knowing good and well no one would come and wipe her tears. After a few minutes, she gathered herself up off the floor and closed the front door. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, grinding away the tears.

Lily wanted nothing more to do than to crawl into bed and let death come. She had never, not once in a million years, expected Scorpius to react that way. He had always claimed he wanted marriage, she assumed family went along with that, though it was obvious now that wasn't Scorpius' plan. Lily glanced to where he had sat at her table, waiting for her. She jerked the papers up off the table and angrily shoved them into the waste paper basket.

Unloading the rest of her groceries was a nosier than needed event. Lily slammed cabinets, slammed cans, and generally threw a temper tantrum. She glanced at the envelope, angrily snatching it up off the table. She threw it in the waste paper basket, screaming obscenities at it. She kicked it, denting the metal can and stubbing her toe at the same time, making her even angrier.

"I knew I shouldn't have believed him! Counted on him!" Lily shrieked at the empty paper sack. She balled the paper up and threw it in the now dented metal can. She forced some more of her tears from her eyes. She sighed and picked the envelope out of the trash, tossing it back on the counter. She heard a knock on her door and for a moment, she her heart was thrumming in her chest. Hope welled up but was quickly dashed when she opened the door to see Rose standing there with a wheeled suitcase.

"Lily, don't look so disappointed to see me," Rose teased. Lily's lip quivered and she burst into tears. Rose tossed the suitcase aside as she threw her arms around Lily. "Oh, Lily! What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"No!" Lily sobbed. "Scorpius found out that… I… and he-he ended it with me. He wants me to move out."

"Oh, honey," Rose said. "Maybe he was just in shock?"

"No," Lily said as she shook her head. "He was very calm and then very pissed. It's over."

"You can stay with me," Rose told Lily. Lily shook her head. "Well, your dad's place is full. Where will you go?"

"I don't know," Lily moaned as she sat down on the couch. She covered her face with her hands. "I have a month or so. He'll be back from whatever he's going off to do in a month or so."

"You don't have to leave," Rose told her.

"Yeah, I do," Lily said. "I know he gave this place to me, but maybe we were fooling ourselves thinking that Malfoys and Potters can really be friends, forget lovers."

"Lily," Rose said. Lily looked up from her hands.

"I'll be ok, Rose, eventually," Lily said. She looked to the suitcase that Rose had brought with her. "What's in the suitcase?" Rose sensed that Lily was done talking about it, and eagerly allowed Lily to change the subject.

"Business attire. I'm a little taller than you, but you should still be able to fit these maternity clothes," Rose said. Lily raised an eyebrow at Rose. Rose chuckled. "You're barely fitting into your clothes. I don't think I've seen you wear as many stretchy dresses as I have recently. And it's starting to get cooler, so I know you'll want to wear pants when the snow comes."

"The damn BALL!" Lily howled all of a sudden.

"What of it?" Rose asked.

"Who am I going to go with now? I just always assumed that Scorpius and I would go together. I can't go alone. Not like this," Lily cried.

"I'd loan you out Billy, but I doubt he'd want to go," Rose offered. Lily shook her head.

"I'll think of something," Lily groaned. She grabbed a tissue and blotted at her face. "I should have known that Scorpius wouldn't want to start a family with me. I should have gone ahead and ignored you. Instead it's too late. I am in love with my child and now get to raise it all on my own."

"Please, Lily," Rose said. "When have you ever been all on your own? You have your dad, and brothers, and us, and everyone! So Scorpius is a prick and dumped you. Yeah, you're having his child without him. But don't think for a moment that you are alone in this."

"I just don't understand," Lily confessed as she covered her eyes again with her hands. "I thought I was doing the right thing, keeping my baby."

"You are," Rose assured Lily as she patted her shoulder.

"I just wish it was easier," Lily said as she looked at her very round cousin.

"When has life ever been easy for you?" Rose said comfortingly. "Now, let see how you look in real maternity clothes."

"Ugh, I am not your Pregnant Time Barbie, Rose," Lily protested.

"Very funny," Rose said sarcastically smiling. "If I hadn't seen for myself the ultrasound, I'd swear you were having twins. You're awfully showy."

"Great, now not only am I have the bastard child of Malfoy, it's a giant," Lily said rolling her eyes. Rose laughed and nodded to the bedroom.

"So, Lily? When are you going to tell your dad?" Rose asked casually as Lily tried on one of the many cute maternity outfits Rose had already outgrown.

"Ah… soon?" Lily said uncertainly as she stepped out of the bedroom wearing a top and bottom set. Rose grinned.

"Wow, you're really showing," Rose commented. Lily rolled her eyes and headed back to the room. "So, how soon were you thinking?"

"I was actually never planning on telling him," Lily called as she undressed and redressed.

"Really, I think he'd notice when he suddenly had a new grandchild," Rose said.

"Yeah, well," Lily said as she exited the room in jeans and a tee shirt. "I was going to see how far along I could get until he noticed."

"Ah," Rose said. She glanced away quickly.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," Rose replied. Lily put her hands on her hips and glared at Rose.

"What did you say?" Lily demanded.

"Well, I kind of told my mum," Rose said. Lily's mouth fell open. "No, don't worry. Mum's not going to say anything to Uncle Harry or my dad, mainly because Mum doesn't want to catch the wrath of Harry and everyone knows my dad has a hard time keeping a secret."

"Super," Lily groaned. "Aunt Hermione knows."

"It's not all bad," Rose promised. "Mum's been there. Been pregnant. She knows how it can be and since Aunt Ginny isn't alive anymore to be there for you, I know Mum would be. She said she would be."

"That's swell," Lily said as she headed back to try on some more outfits.

"She says for me to tell you 'congratulations' from her," Rose called out.

"Thanks, Rose. And that to your mum, too," Lily said as she settled on wearing her sweats again, and ignoring the maternity clothes for the moment.

"I will," Rose replied as she looked at Lily. "Do you want to feel Tabby move? She started getting a little wilder a few days ago."

"Sure," Lily said as she reached and placed her hand on Rose's expanding stomach. Sure enough, Tabby danced below Lily's hand and she couldn't help but smile at her cousin.

"It feels so different when you feel it from the inside out," Rose said. She grinned. "You'll be half way or so at Christmas, won't you? I bet you won't be able to hide it until then. Not with the way you're growing."

"Twenty two weeks to the day, actually. As for hiding it? Maybe not from work, no, but family? Easy," Lily said smugly. "Especially since I will continue to avoid them like the plague."

"Who wants to bet that Kate doesn't notice," Rose said. "Even with you seeing her several times a week with Tina."

"Yeah, I doubt that Kate will," Lily said shaking her head. "That poor girl is scatterbrained more and more when I see her."

"It's these pregnancy hormones," Rose assured Lily. "You'll see towards the end, you'd forget your own head if it wasn't attached."

"Super," Lily said smartly. "I'll be alone and headless."

"Maybe Nearly Headless Nick will visit you, and then you'd not be alone," Rose laughed. Lily giggled at the thought.

"So, really, when do you think I should tell my dad?" Lily asked. "What should I tell him?"

"Um, well," Rose said. "You're about to start your second trimester soon, right?"

"Yeah," Lily said as she glanced to the calendar.

"Tell him on Halloween," Rose said.

"You think that is wise? The day of Grandpa James and Granny Lily's passing?" Lily asked as she looked at the calendar. "I'll be like fourteen weeks then or something."

"Two weeks will give you plenty of time to get a new place, settle in, and then drop the bombshell on your father," Rose said knowingly. "Do it like a Bandaid. Just rip it all off in one quick motion."

"Oh, so say to my dad… Dad, I'm pregnant with the bastard son of Malfoy, and the git dumped me, so I live in the slums of Brenshire?" Lily asked skeptically.

"Brenshire, really? That's where you're thinking of looking?" Rose said wrinkling her nose.

"I am going to be raising it on a Healer's salary, Rose," Lily said shaking her head.

"But Brenshire? If I'm not mistaken, there's a really great apartment opening up in Albus' building. It's in Avondale, but the nice part," Rose said as she wrote down the address. "And anyways, whether he likes it or not, Scorpius is Bean's father and responsible for providing."

"Bean is it?" Lily smirked. "I'm not asking him for a damn thing. He made his intentions clear and pretty much made me hate him for the rest of his life, at least."

"Anger is better than sadness," Rose said as she stood. "Tabby gets heavier every single time I stand."

"I'd imagine so," Lily said. Rose winked at her.

"I was dying to show," Rose murmured as she looked at her cousin. "You're just so damn tiny. That's why you're showing quicker. It's a good look for you."

"Well, look as much as you can now, Rose, because after Bean is born, I'm done," Lily said. Rose grinned.

"Babies are addictive, Lily," Rose warned. Lily rolled her eyes and glanced at the piano.

"I'll miss this place," Lily said as her cousin walked to the door.

"Sometimes, it's for the best," Rose said. "I can't believe that he's being such a jerk about it. I should whip him good for it."

"No, Rose," Lily sighed. "He has a right to be mad. After all, I spewed to him that I never wanted marriage or a kid for years. He probably feels like I tricked him. This time, I'm not going to fight it. We're too different. We're better off."

"Oh, honey, don't cry," Rose said. Lily smiled through her tears.

"Damn hormones," Lily said. Rose wiped away tears that had sprung from her own eyes and nodded.

"Told you," Rose said as she exited. "See you at the Halloween party."

"See you then," Lily assured her as she shut the door behind Rose. Lily headed straight to the piano, sitting on the bench. She sighed sadly, playing for a moment the song from the locket. Every memory good and pure of Scorpius played before her mind's eye as she played. She loved him so completely. She couldn't imagine life without him. Not that she had much of a choice. Scorpius wanted her out of his life for good.

Lily continued to play as she ignored the tears that slipped down her cheeks. She would allow herself this one night of self loathing, tears, and sadness. She was allowed that much. Her life was up in the air at the moment. She knew she'd probably go ahead and take the apartment in Albus' building, just to pretend to be closer to family. Honestly she knew she'd hope to hear about Scorpius and wondered if that would be more torturous. She slammed her hands down on the piano, the discordant sound echoing in the apartment.

Lily pushed away from the piano and started pacing, unable to calm down. Panic and pain clenched at her heart as she thought about her child growing up without a father. She sunk onto the sofa, wrapping her arms around herself in a one person hug, trying to hold herself together. She didn't want to do this alone. She knew that she wanted her child to have both a mother and a father.

"Fine!" Lily shouted aloud to the empty apartment. "FINE!"

Lily decided not to tell her coworkers until she had a chance to tell her father, but Marshall had already picked up on the fact that Lily was pregnant. He made it hard to ignore, his knowledge, when the two of them did a shift together. Lily had gone to lift the crate of milk cartons and he barked at her to let him. She had looked at him, surprised and he sighed.

"Look, Lily, I know," Marshall said quietly.

"You know?" Lily asked.

"Yeah," Marshall said. "It obvious that you don't plan on saying anything to me or Shanna, but I just wanted to let you know that I know."

"It's nothing against you two, I just haven't told my family yet," Lily said. Marshall looked at her warily.

"You're pretty far along though, huh?" Marshall asked.

"Thirteen weeks today," Lily said. Marshall examined her shape with his eye, almost critically.

"When do you plan on telling them?" Marshall asked in shock.

"Next week," Lily said. "On Halloween."

"Well, wow," Marshall said quietly. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Lily said.

"Have you seen a midwife?" Marshall asked. Lily nodded.

"I'm seeing a muggle one," Lily said. Marshall grinned.

"You and your muggle quacks."

"Hey," Lily laughed.

"So, how's Scorpius' taking it?" Marshall asked.

"Oh, um. Well… we, he and I, b-broke up," Lily said nervously.

"Oh," Marshall said. He hesitated. "That must make living in the same apartment building interesting."

"I moved out last weekend," Lily said.

"To where?" Marshall asked.

"Blevins," Lily said. Marshall laughed.

"What's in Blevins?" Marshall asked.

"Well, me and eventually Baby Bean," Lily said as she touched her stomach lightly. Marshall laughed louder as the two of them continued to walk along passing out the milk cartons and checking on their patients.

"Did he break up with you because of this?" Marshall asked as he pointed to the small round mound that used to be Lily's flat abs. Lily shook her head.

"Oh, no, we just kind of grew apart," Lily lied. Marshall raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Well, hell, congratulations anyways, Lils, and if you ever need someone to run out at three in the morning for pickles and ice cream, you can call me," Marshall said winking at her. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I think I can manage just fine on my own, Marshall," Lily told him. Marshall laughed again.

"I don't doubt it," Marshall said. The two of them continued to walk along together, silent. Marshall looked at Lily. "Damn, you're going to be a mum. That's cool and scary, all wrapped up in one."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Lily said. "The part that sucks the most? I had to pay some guy to help me put together my futon so I could have some where to sit and sleep."

"That's all you have in your apartment?" Marshall asked.

"For the moment," Lily said as she glanced at the chart she had open in front of her.

"I have a basement full of stuff, if you want to come by after our shift here. You're welcome to it all," Marshall said grinning. Lily smiled.

"That'd be awesome, but I'm on a tight budget," Lily told him. Marshall laughed.

"Silly, you can have it. It's older stuff, nothing spectacular really," Marshall said. "It's collecting dust and some of it might need to be recovered, but you are welcome to it."

"Lily's welcome to what?" Shanna asked.

"Oh, just a piece of furniture for her new apartment," Marshall said dismissively as he finished up his last chart.

"You moved Lily?" Shanna asked in surprise as the new Healer approached. Lily nodded casually.

"Things just weren't working out at the other place, so I found a great little one bedroom place not too far from here," Lily said as she snapped her last chart closed. She smiled at Shanna and stood, whipping her coat on around her before Shanna could really get a good look at her.

"Sorry to hear that things weren't working out for you," Shanna said. She looked at Lily. "Are you sleeping well, you look tired and a bit thin in the face."

"I'm fine," Lily said. "And don't tell me to go see my father, I'm going to see him on Halloween."

"You've always been such a good girl," Shanna laughed as Lily grabbed her purse and started to walk away. "If you need anything, Lily, let me know."

"I will, Shanna," Lily called back to her as Lily left St. Mungo's with Marshall. The two walked along in silence as the hustle and bustle of early morning patrons bumped by them on the sidewalk.

"Here we are," Marshall said as he looked up at the house.

"Wow, you live here?" Lily asked. Marshall nodded.

"Yup, I inherited it a few years ago when my uncle died," Marshall said. He unlocked the doors and pushed his way in. "Follow me, unless you'd want some breakfast first."

"I'm fine," Lily assured him as she pulled off her coat and hung it up. Marshall's eyes landed on her stomach. Lily laughed. "It's only going to get bigger, or so I am told."

"Yeah," Marshall swallowed as he pulled his gaze away and headed down the stairs. "So, why didn't you get anything in the apartment?"

"It came furnished. I didn't own any of it," Lily said dismissively. She stopped at the bottom step and looked around. "Wow."

"Yeah," Marshall grinned. "It's a whole lot of stuff."

"Are you sure, Marsh?" Lily asked.

"Take what you need, Lils," Marshall said grinning. "I know a great shrinking spell so we can shrink it all down and enlarge it to fit your apartment."

"This is fantastic stuff," Lily said as her fingers touched the different surfaces. She looked at Marshall and hugged him, crying.

"Don't cry over it," Marshall said uncomfortably as he patted her shoulder. "Uncle Miller would be thrilled that someone was using it."

"You're just such a good friend," Lily said sniffling. "I mean, when all my friends decided to go Auror, it was as if a rift developed and it only got bigger and bigger. Now I can't relate to my best friend Shale, my now ex-boyfriend Scorpius wants me completely gone from his life, and my other best friend Kate is a complete idiot."

"Ah, that happens," Marshall assured her. "Sometimes, Aurors are people of their own breed and have a hard time understanding what it's like to be someone on the outside, such as a Healer, looking in."

"Thank you," Lily said as he handed her a handkerchief.

"I enjoy being your friend, Lily," Marshall assured her as he looked away and back at the furniture. "So, let see. What will you need for your new place?"

Marshall and Lily spent three hours going over the furniture he had in his basement, selecting various things and shrinking them down to fit in a single burlap sack. Marshall carried it while Lily led to Blevins, a small neighborhood not too far away from Marshall's own residence. Marshall glanced around the clean and bright, though bare apartment and began placing and enlarging the furniture. By noon, the two were sitting on the couch eating pizza and laughing.

"So, I'd better head home," Marshall said as he finished washing the dishes for Lily. She sat at the bar, perched on one of the two barstools, across from him at the sink.

"Thanks for all this really neat stuff," Lily said as she gestured to the room. "It beats what was in here before."

"Something is always more than nothing," Marshall said as he dried his hands and put his coat on. He hugged Lily lightly. "I was serious. If you ever need anything, even if that means just someone to work the opposite shift to save on daycare when your baby is born, I'm here for you."

"Oh, wow," Lily said as the two separated. "That's a really big offer, Marshall, really."

"That's what friends are for, Lils. You'd do the same for me," Marshall said shrugging slightly. Lily grinned as he opened the door. "Seriously, call me if you need pickles and ice cream or anything."

"Have a good night at work," Lily said waving.

"Enjoy your night off, Lily," Marshall said grinning as he waved and headed down the stairs. Lily closed and bolted the door before looking around her apartment. The furniture was old, but it suited her. It was warm, homely which honestly reflected Lily's personality. She dreaded the future, just slightly, but shrugged. The future would come one way or another. By this time next week, she'd be out about her pregnancy to her family. There was no turning back. She was hopelessly in love with her child.