"I called an obstetrician today," Lily said casually, tapping their front door with her wand to unlock it. She pushed it open and walked into the entranceway.

James' eyebrows furrowed and he blinked a few times before hurrying in behind Lily just as the front door swung shut. "An… an obster-trish-an?"

Lily smiled slightly. "An obstetrician. You know, a doctor for pregnancy and childbirth?"

"You mean… a muggle doctor?" James asked tentatively, dropping their shopping bags onto the kitchen counter.

Lily smiled patiently and reached blindly into the bag, starting to put their groceries away into cupboards. "Yes, James. A muggle doctor."

James crossed his arms and leaned against the stove, his eyes full of bewilderment. "Why?"

"Well, because I'm pregnant James," Lily said with her same patiently amused smile.

"Yes, I know that," James rolled his eyes. "But why a muggle doctor?"

Lily bit the corner of her lip and shut the cupboard in front of her. "I don't know, it just… feels right."

"But why not a healer at St. Mungo's? They're the best!" James insisted.

"There are plenty of good muggle doctors too."

"Sure, but you're not a muggle."

"I am a muggle-born though. My Mum had me and my sister the muggle way," Lily averted her eyes from James and reached back into the bag, grabbing a carton of milk.

"But our baby girl is definitely magic. Wouldn't a magic professional just make more sense?"

Lily said nothing, focusing instead on finding the milk's rightful spot in their kitchen.

"Plus, don't muggle doctors to a bunch of creepy tests and stick things inside of you?" He shivered at the mere thought of it. "Healers can just wave their wand and tell you everything you need to know!"

Lily stayed silent, refusing to meet James' gaze and kept furiously putting away groceries. James watched her frantic movements for a few moments before closing the bag shut right before her hands dove into it again. She sighed and let her hands fall on top of the closed bag. Her head hung so that her long hair swung in front of her face, blocking it from James' view and he tried to peer around it.

"Lils?" he asked tentatively. He reached out and placed a hand on top of hers. "What's up?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and when they opened, the previous patient amusement was replaced by painful frustration. "What do you mean 'what's up'!? I just told you! I'm going to my appointment with my new obstetrician with or without you and I don't need your permission to do so!" she snapped.

James' eyes widened dramatically from behind his glasses. He lifted his hands up in the sign of surrender and took a step backwards. "Okay, okay. Sorry."

Lily huffed and reached into the bag again, returning to reaching blindly for groceries. James followed suit and silently handed her a few cans as she turned back towards the counter.

"I hope you know that I'll go to whatever doctor you want to go to, Lily. That's never a question," he said softly. When Lily didn't snap at him, he pressed on. "And of course you don't need my permission to do anything. I was just… curious for the reasoning, I guess."

Lily gave him a wan smile and shut the last cupboard definitively, leaving James to put their bags away. She marched through the doorway to the living room and collapsed onto their couch, scooping up her newest book from the table nearby. He could have sworn a cold blast brushed across his skin when she passed him. James watched her from the kitchen, her eyes scanning the lines furiously and he bit his lip anxiously, not knowing how to interpret her bout of anger.

Half an hour later and Lily had not moved an inch from her spot on the couch, one hand holding up her book, the other resting on her still flat stomach. Her feet were crossed over the armrest and her head leaned against the other armrest.

"Hey Lils?" he asked softly.

"Hmm?" she responded, not dropping her book.

"I'm going to go now. I'm meeting the others in the forest before the full moon."

Now her book fell to her side and she pushed herself up to a seated position. "Oh! I totally forgot the full moon is tonight!"

"Yeah… well, don't wait up for me. I'll be home late."

"Okay. Stay safe. And keep Remus safe."

James smiled coyly. "I will," he promised and leaned over the back of the couch to kiss the top of her head. The door opened and closed with a soft click and Lily could make out the soft pop of him disapparating just outside their cottage boundaries.

BREAKKKKKKKKKK

James jogged into the typical forest that the Marauders had met at during every full moon since graduating, ignoring the beautiful dusk scenery, the leaves that were crunching satisfyingly underfoot, and the rustling leaves overhead.

"REMUS!" James shouted into the silent evening. Birds shot out of a nearby tree, fluttering angrily before flying off to a new perch. "REMUS! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"Merlin's beard! I'm right here, Prongs!" a hoarse voice called back through the graying woods.

James turned towards the voice and raced forward. He grabbed onto a tree as he skidded to a stop in front of Remus sitting on the forest floor, his back against a fallen log and his legs outstretched wearily in front of him. Sirius was sitting on top of the log beside him, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Good to see you too, mate," Sirius commented dryly.

"Yeah, yeah, I saw you yesterday," James responded with a wave of his hand. "Hang on… where's Wormtail?"

"Couldn't come today," Sirius shrugged. "Said he was busy with something."

"But… it's the full moon! How can he miss it? I thought we all promised-"

"It's fine, James," Remus said wearily.

James sunk to the ground obediently and sat across from them both on the leaf-strewn forest floor, his back resting against a tree trunk.

"So, what's up? Why are you of all people so on edge?" Remus asked. His eyes were barely open and his scars seemed to stand out more than usual against his pale skin.

Guilt instantly flooded through James as he was reminded of how exhausting and painful this monthly process was for his friend. In a much softer voice, he said, "Sorry, I just… need some advice, that's all. It can wait though."

Remus forced his eyes open more and sat with a slightly straighter back. "No, no. Go ahead. We still have some time before the moon comes out."

"You sure? Really, it's not that big a-"

"Yes, I'm sure. It'll distract me anyways so out with it!" Remus insisted.

"Hang on, how come you don't want my advice?" Sirius asked, sticking out his bottom lip.

"Shut it, Padfoot," Remus instantly said, waving James on.

"Okay, okay." James ran a careless hand through his hair and adjusted his glasses before staring sheepishly at his hands and repeating Lily's outburst to his two friends. After years of pining, there was very little that he could be embarrassed about in front of these two.

"So what did I do? And why does she want to go to a muggle doctor?" James asked when he finished his story. His gaze switched between his two friends, searching for a reasonable explanation.

"She specifically mentioned her Mum having her the muggle way?" Remus clarified with a thoughtful, far away look on his face.

"Yeah. Right after she said that she was a muggle-born, as if that explains it," said James with a huff.

"Hmm…," was all that Remus said.

"Maybe it's the hormones?" Sirius put in.

James rolled his eyes. "She's only been pregnant for a few weeks, Padfoot. I don't think the hormones are getting to her yet."

Sirius shrugged unhelpfully. "You never know."

"This is why I specifically wanted to ask Moony, y'know."

"Fine. What does the great, all-knowing Remus Lupin have to say?" Sirius asked, turning pointedly towards him.

"Well… it could be some leftover guilt," Remus suggested, then fell silent again.

"Care to elaborate?" James urged with a pointedly cocked eyebrow.

"Remember when her mother died a few years ago?"

"Yeah..."

"She felt really guilty after because she wasn't there when she died and even though there was nothing she could have done, she felt like if she was there, she could have used her magic to save her. Plus, with her off at Hogwarts for most of the year, she always felt guilty of missing out and abandoning her family. She felt like she was being selfish for leaving them for a world they could never truly be a part of… Petunia never really helped with that," Remus explained, his hands carefully folded in his lap.

James stared at Remus flabbergasted. "Huh," was all he could manage.

"So this is probably a way for her to stay connected to her family. If she goes about this pregnancy the muggle way, it's keeping her mom close to her and gets rid of some of the guilt that she still feels for being a witch."

The three friends were silent for a minute while James and Sirius processed his analysis.

"That and the hormones, right?" Sirius finally asked.

Remus rolled his eyes, but otherwise tactfully ignored him.

"So what should I do?" James asked.

Remus shrugged. "Just support her decision and go to the obstetrician with her. You could always read a muggle parenting book or get some muggle toys or baby books or something too. I'm guessing she just doesn't want to feel like she's forgetting about her family and where she came from, which is the muggle world."

James nodded silently, rolling this over in his mind. "Right. Thanks, Moony," he finally said once he was sure it was all locked away in his memory.

He refocused his gaze on Remus and saw that his eyes were squeezed shut in pain. "No problem," he groaned.

James instantly jumped to his feet cursing. "How is it so late already! You alright?"

Remus moaned in response and pulled his legs under him so that he was kneeling with one hand on the log to steady him.

"You should change forms. It's coming," he said in short gasps.

James and Sirius locked eyes and instantly shifted into a large stag and dog, forced to watch as their best friend twisted in agony and morphed into a towering werewolf. It thrust its nose into the air, smelling for human blood, but as planned, they were so deep into the forest that it found nothing.

The werewolf howled up into the moon in frustration and ran its own claw down its arm before baring its fangs at the stag and dog that blocked its way from running to find a nearby town.

The stag stepped forward and cocked its head curiously. It locked eyes with the werewolf who was panting heavily and turned instead to the dog, who locked gazes too. The werewolf flicked its head between the two creatures with a growl and swiped at the stag who was closer. Slowly, James and Sirius began the painstaking process of gaining Remus's trust to keep all three of them out of harm's way. It was going to be a long night.