1

James carefully lifted the papers off of his sleeping beauty, and stacked them neatly on the desk in the adjoining office. Looking down at her, he felt a wave of love and an intense desire to hold her. But the fear of waking her stopped him. Although he had caught the hidden message behind her sleeping arrangement, he wanted her to get her sleep, and he was tired also.

He walked around the bed and climbed in as quietly and unobtrusively as possible. She remained asleep, so James pushed his luck a step further and wrapped a protective arm around her, pulling her into his body. She pleasantly sighed, and he tightened his grip, nestling his head further into her hair, and rubbing his lips against the back of her neck.

James loved having Lily as his own, and took advantage of his unique situation and studied her sleeping form. Her breathing was unusually deep after his subdued commotion of getting into bed, and James found himself worried that she might be working herself too hard. Or perhaps she was taking this Snape thing harder than she thought.

But a nagging voice in the back of his head told him that her need for sleep was brought on by himself and his selfish act of keeping her up late most nights. She wasn't as accustomed to late nights as he was.

At this thought, James became more proud of his decision not to wake his wife, and was just settling himself in for a night of sweet dreams when he was jerked awake by the need to sneeze.

James sprung from the bed in an effort to get away from Lily and shelter her from the oncoming explosion. But the surprising action awoke Lily, and James' plans of rest for her were spoiled.

"Bless you," she sleepily mumbled.

James exhaled loudly, saddened by the awareness she was beginning to gain and sorry that she wouldn't have a full night of uninterrupted sleep. But just as he was about to apologize, he noticed the clock by the side of the bed.

"I guess I'll just go ahead and wake up," Lily announced. "The alarm clock is about to go off anyways."

"I had no idea it was already morning," James gasped.

"Still tired?"Lily asked innocently through a yawn. "I didn't even hear you come in. How much sleep did you get?"

James smiled. "None. I was just getting in. I considered waking you, but changed my mind...You are so beautiful."

"And you are so dead," she retorted. "You've got practice today."

"Not 'til afternoon," he said. "I'll take a nap after I go see Dumbledore."

She ran a hand through her haphazard hair and pushed the covers off of her. She turned the alarm clock off, and stood up.

"You'd better try and get at least an hour of sleep," she suggested as she leaned into her husband for a hug. Then she led him towards the bed and tucked him in.

"Wait," James urged, "lay down with me, Lily."

She smiled. "Just for a minute, baby," and she climbed over the top of James and underneath the overstuffed comforter.

She snuggled close to her husband, burying her face into his neck and pressing his body into his own. She was surprised and began to giggle as he chewed on her ear.

"What are you doing?" she asked into his bare shoulder.

Her muffled question mixed with his gentle laugh; the laugh that could melt the heart of every girl.

"I can't sleep unless I've had a bedtime snack," he quipped softly. "And this is my favorite kind."

She pulled away for a moment in amusement, but he aggressively followed her body. He pressed down on top of her and began to roughly kiss her mouth.

Her hands ran through his hair as his weight fell on top of her. That combined with her fast heart rate and his incessant hold on her lips, mad it increasingly hard for Lily to breathe properly. Her chest began to heave as he pulled away, resting on his back with his hands underneath his head.

He had a contented look on his smug face as she recovered from the sporadic whim of her husband.

"Bedtime's fun," he sighed as his eyelids drooped and his breathing became regular.

She hurriedly grabbed a towel and jumped in the shower. She would need to leave for work in an hour.

After showering and preparing for school, she gently nudged James awake.