Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the other characters that are in the Harry Potter books. J. K. Rowling does, like everyone already knows.

Author's Note: Thanks to Black's Gurl, lOvEiNhEaVeN, lilynjamesAAF, LeslieGlady, libyanauthor, Niux, degreeofguilt, dee, Eihwaz and Lourdaise, fuzzycat982, britboyzrsexy78, pale pink roses, watervolleyhp, mzeileen, oceanjewel, coco, PammaPotter, InLoVeWiThJaMeS pOtTeR, Hyper-Shaman-Girl, Lauren, moony128, Kimmy, Sara A. Malfoy, x0x-Mystique-x0x, Harry and Ginny 4eva, bluejeanmistress, DarkBird1345, Ashley, Fairy-GYAKUTENNO-MEGAMI, and onelystarz for reviewing! It means the world to me!

Later that day, James was at a local bakery, waiting for Lily. He had received a letter from her earlier that day, and James kept on looking down at it, wondering what she wanted to talk about.

The letter had read:

Dear James,

There is something really important that I need to talk to you about. Please meet me at Roy's Coffee and Bakery, at 4:00 today.

Yours truly,

Lily

James couldn't get the letter out of his mind all day, what could possibly be so urgent? Ideas were running through his mind, had Lily's roommate told Jason? After all, Jason had called in sick today. And yesterday he was feeling just dandy. 'Oh, God, Jason knows, otherwise he would have come into work today.'

However, James was distracted from his thoughts when Lily arrived and took a seat from across him.

"Lils, what's wrong?" James asked.

"Nothing, I just need to talk to," she responded.

"Does Jason know? Because he wasn't at work today," James asked, urgency in his voice.

"No, he doesn't know anything. I haven't told him anything yet," she replied.

"Why wasn't he at work then?" James asked.

"I don't know, but it wasn't because of what happened." Lily answered.

"Thank god," James sighed, but then asked, "Then what's up?"

"Last night, when Carina came in and saw us, and then you left, well, Carina and I were talking. I told her everything, all the lies, how you had Emmy, and how long it had been going. And I realized that I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't keep on lying to everyone just to spend secret time with you. It's not fair to them, or me…Also, I came to the realization that I care about you a lot, more than I ever knew. And well, James, I'm going to call it off with Jason, for you," Lily spilled; her heart was beating fast as the words left her lips.

James couldn't believe what he was hearing; he couldn't even comprehend what she had been saying. So, he just stared at her with a dumbstruck look on his face.

"And James," Lily continued, "I won't let you do it either. So I'm giving you 24 hours to decide if you would rather be with Emmy or with me."

"But, Lily."

"I don't want to hear anything now. If you choose me, then tomorrow you will meet me here at 4:00. If you choose Emmy, don't come at all, and we'll pretend that these past few months never happened. We'll both go back to our normal lives, and not tell anyone about us," Lily told him, her outward appearance was strong and bold, but on the inside she was falling apart. She was worried she would mess up her perfectly planned conversation, or worse, that he wouldn't return her love.

"Lily."

"James, you have 24 hours, if I were you, I would go home and think really hard about this," was all she said before getting up from the table and walking away.

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When James got home that evening, his mind was lost in thought. He had never been faced with such a tough decision in his entire life, and it wasn't fair for Lily to put this much pressure on him. Especially such a life changing event, his entire future could be altered depending on who he picked.

"What am I thinking?" he asked himself aloud. "I can't just think of this like their objects, their people, both beautiful, strong women."

Then he heard a knock on the door, and when he opened it, he found Emmy on the other side. "Jamie, baby, you're home! I wasn't sure if you would be, but I just had to check."

"What is it?" he asked.

"You're never going to believe this," she told him, a huge smile on her face.

"What?"

"Well, you know how I've always loved the clothing store, Jacobin's, well, they had an ad in the paper this morning, saying that they were looking for someone to head their lingerie department. So, I thought, well, why not go down there and try, I mean, why not? So, I get down there, and Jacobin himself was personally doing the interviews, and well, he said I got the job!" Emmy exclaimed, almost screaming with excitement by the end of her tale.

"Emmy, that's amazing, I'm very proud of you," James told her, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"I don't think I've been this thrilled since I met you," Emmy told him, a huge smile still present on her face.

That stung him deeply, her last comment. How could he not be with her when he meant so much to her?

"Congratulations, sweetie," James responded.

"Thanks. And you know, whoever said that a girl who co-managed a simple clothing shop couldn't make it to the top of an industry of clothing, was obviously mistaken," she commented, beaming even more than before.

"Well, if anyone could do it, you could," he told her, only making her bask in happiness even more.

"Well, Jamie, I've got to go and tell my family now. I just wanted to let you know first. I love you sweetie, bye," Emmy said as she left the apartment.

"Bye…I love you too," James said as she left.

He wandered over to the couch, plopping down and propping his feet on the coffee table. He knew it wouldn't be an easy decision to make, choosing between Lily and Emmy. Both women were wonderful, each different, but both wonderful.

He tried to imagine his life with each one of them, trying to think of which he would prefer. He shut his eyes, envisioning his life with Emmy…

James was lying in his king sized bed, a beautiful woman as his side. He glanced over to see Emmy smiling at him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him.

"Nothing, just how much I love you," he answered.

"Mmm, I like that," she replied.

"Good."

"We should probably get up, breakfast is probably ready," Emmy told him. She yawned and got up, pulling on an elegant bathrobe, covering her silky nightdress. James watched her for a second before getting out of the bed himself, also pulling on a fancy robe.

The couple went down the staircase, and found their way to the dining area. There were several other doors though, all leading to different rooms in the mansion sized home. From the ceiling hung a beautiful chandelier, which held at least one hundred candles for décor.

"Father," a little boy said as James sat down. The boy had Emmy's hair and eyes, but was built exactly like James.

"Yes," James replied.

"I was wondering, do you think we could go into town today? I'd love to get a new broom," the boy answered.

"Charlie, what happened to your broom?" Emmy asked.

"It broke."

"How'd it break?" Emmy asked.

"I accidentally ran into a tree," Charlie admitted.

"Okay, James, he's not flying any more. I don't want him getting hurt, especially with Hogwarts being only a month away. He needs to look nice and respectable when he arrives," Emmy told her husband.

"How about we get him flying lessons," James suggested.

"Fine," Emmy agreed, then to the house elf said, "Henry, where's breakfast?"

"Thanks mother, thanks father," Charlie told them both, a satisfied smile on his face.

James opened his eyes, realizing that this lifestyle was so similar to his childhood. Before Hogwarts, and every summer during his teen years, that was his life. An elegant way of living, nothing less than the best money can buy.

He shut his eyes once more, this time dreaming of what living with Lily would be like…

"James, the baby's crying," Lily shouted to him. She, herself, was carrying a small child in her arms, a little girl about three years of age. The little girl had Lily's gorgeous red hair, but James's eyes. Her smile was adorable, and her giggle even cuter.

James went to the other side of the room and picked up a little boy. He appeared to be about one year old, and had jet black hair, just like James's. In fact, his eyes were also James's. He looked just like James did as a boy. As soon as James started to rock the baby, he instantly fell asleep, the crying stopping.

"He's asleep, Lils," James whispered.

"Good, I'm going to put Rachel down for a nap now, she looks a little drowsy," Lily responded.

James looked around the house while Lily went to put the girl to bed. It wasn't large, but wasn't small either. It was comfy, and the things they owned were nothing short of beautiful, but obviously not as rich and elegant as the home where James grew up in.

"She's sleeping," Lily whispered, coming up behind him, running her hands up and down his arms. "How rare is this? Both kids are fast asleep, and I can have you all to myself."

James smiled at her, kissing her lightly on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her petite form, but almost instantly a baby started crying again.

"Well, maybe later," Lily said as she trotted over to the little boy's crib, picking him up and rocking him back to sleep, her emerald eyes dancing with a passion for life as she did so.

He jerked his eyes open, coming to no conclusion at all. Why was it so difficult? Why was he suddenly faced with such a hard choice? He sat up and placed his head in his hands, sighing while rubbing his temples.

Emmy was great for him; everything about her and the lifestyle that they shared and would come to share would be exactly what he dreamed of having. It would be exactly like he was used to. Nothing would bring any great surprises, the two of them and their one kid would live happily together. It would be picture perfect. It would be just like his childhood. His future child would get the best that money could buy, never having to live life being jealous of anyone else. James would be able to provide for his family, and Emmy would have a stable job as well. They would get a house elf, so neither of them would ever have to work at anything regarding chores. It would be the life; the life he knew was expected for him, the life he had expected for himself.

Then again, the image of Lily and himself brought a smile to his face. She made him happy; her dazzling smile, and the way she handled the crying children without complaining. She seemed so relaxed; he seemed so relaxed, even without the help of a house elf. His life would Lily wouldn't be any where close to what was expected. With her, being disoriented came natural. The sparse second that they were able to share a kiss was foreign to him, yet he knew it would make their little time together more enjoyable. James knew that with Lily he wouldn't have the perfect life, at least not the perfect life he had always dreamed of and imagined. Instead he would have surprises, even from the littlest things, things that were supposed to be no big deal.

"What should I do?" he asked himself.

His mind drifted away from its current situation though, bringing him to his friends. He hadn't seen them in a long time. It seemed like ages ago when he last talked to Sirius, his best friend. And Remus and Peter as well, neither of them had been around in several months.

James called his owl over and quickly scribbled down a note to all his close friends, asking them to come over. He knew that they would be able to take his mind off of things, or at least help him sort through it.

About an hour after he sent his owl off, Sirius apparated into the apartment. "How's it going?" he asked.

"Sirius, haven't seen you in a while," James said.

"I know, how've you been?" Sirius asked.

"Alright, you?"

"Great, actually. Especially since I met this one girl, she's great. Best shag I've ever had," Sirius replied.

James smiled, loving that although the two men hadn't talked in a while, things would never change between them. Sirius would always be able to come over and discuss his latest girlfriend, and James would always be interested to know about her.

"Seriously though, she's great. Her name is Maria, and she's Italian. Gorgeous that one is," Sirius told his friend.

"Another girl already?" Remus asked, he and Peter had both stepped into the apartment just in time to hear Sirius say her name.

James looked at his three friends, not believing how long it had been since they had all, as a group, just sat down and talked together. Sirius looked exactly the same as the last time James had seen him. His hair was longer than when they were at Hogwarts, but only slightly. He truly looked happy with where his life was taking him, a factor that was lost sometimes while at school. Of course, James couldn't blame him, having found out that his parents permanently disowned him, his cousin marrying a Malfoy, and the only uncle he ever liked dieing weren't easy to handle. But now, Sirius seemed to accept that, or at least it appeared that he was beyond that and enjoying his life to the fullest.

Remus looked great too, slightly exhausted, but otherwise good. James knew that it was the full moon last week that made him look this way, but all four boys were used to that. A couple days before the full moon and about a week after the full moon, Remus always looked that way.

Peter also looked well. He still had a boyish look to him; one that James assumed would never leave him. It made Peter who he was though. James always considered Peter the baby of their group, although he would never tell Peter this. He wouldn't break the poor kid's heart buy saying that.

James zoned back into the conversation when he heard Sirius say, "What do you mean a new one already? The last time I talked to you was a month ago."

"Exactly," Remus replied, "One month later and you've moved on to another girl. You are unbelievable, just the same as you were in Hogwarts."

"What's that supposed to me?" Sirius questioned.

"It means that you are the luckiest bloody man in all of England," Remus laughed.

"What can I say? My dashing looks and beautiful personality can win any girl's heart," Sirius joked, recalling a joke the four of them shared. Once, a girl that fancied Sirius had told him that the reason she loved him was because of his "dashing looks and beautiful personality." And sadly, she wasn't joking at all when she said that. Ever since then, the Marauders had always jokingly described Sirius like that.

The four men laughed, remembering their days at Hogwarts. Then Sirius said, "Really though, she's great."

"How long have you been together?" Peter asked.

"About three weeks. I know what you're thinking, long time," Sirius joked.

"You really like her?" James asked.

"She's new, and very interesting. I think I'll keep her around for a while," he replied, then asked, "How's your love life treating you?"

"Elisa and I moved in together," Remus told his friends. "I really like her, and she doesn't even care about my, you know, situation."

"That's great," Peter said.

"Moony, we've got to meet this chick sometime, I mean you've been dating her for like five month already," Sirius added.

"Yeah, seriously, it's not every day that you fall for someone like her," James commented, remembering the details that Remus told them after one month of dating her. He already had fallen in love with her, loved the way she smiled at him, loved her southern accent, and loved just hanging out with her.

"I know, I know sometime,' Remus replied, then asked, "What about you, Peter, any ladies?"

Peter sighed, and then replied, "Nope, not since Carla dumped me four months ago."

"Sorry, buddy," Sirius said, slightly patting him on the back.

All their eyes then turned on James, wondering how his love life was going. When James didn't say anything, Remus asked, "James, how's your love life been?"

James sighed, wondering whether he should tell them. As soon as the thought entered his thinking process, James wished he could take them back. Not tell the Marauders? That was unheard of, he told them everything. "Actually, it sucks," he bluntly answered.

"Are you and Emmy having problems?" Remus asked.

"No, well, I don't know. It's a long story," James admitted.

"Well, lucky for you, we've got plenty of time," Sirius replied, a comforting smile on his face.

James spilled the entire story, from the very beginning, finishing with the decision Lily forced him to make. They all intently listened the entire time, laughing when appropriate, and giving his condolences when needed.

"I just, I really don't know what to do," James admitted.

"James, that Lily girl, is that Lily Evans?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"As in the Lily Evans that left you broken hearted in seventh year?" Sirius questioned.

"The one and only," James replied, and then adding, "She's changed though. She's a lot different then before. She's fun to be with, gorgeous, a good shag, and an all around good person. She makes me laugh, and I do have fun when I'm with her. Even when we were just talking, I enjoyed her company. And sometimes I would wake up and see her asleep, and she looked beautiful, I felt like all I wanted was to hold her in my arms."

"James, honestly, you know she and I don't get along. We never have, and never will. I don't trust her, I think she's a liar, and not to mention acts like she's got a stick up her ass," Sirius told his friend.

"She's changed though, she really has. She's never lied to me before and I would trust her with my life. And she's not mean or unkind at all. She's just the opposite, she sweet, loving, and kind," James replied.

"I highly doubt that," Sirius commented.

"Sirius, you're only saying that because you don't like her," Peter said, trying to give James some help with the situation.

"Yeah, and the only reason you don't like her is because she doesn't like you," Remus added. "Which, by the way is really childish."

"She's a cold-hearted bitch," Sirius simply stated.

"You only say that because she told you off for sleeping with one of her best friends and then ignoring her completely the next day. And all because James and Lily broke up," Remus told him.

"That's completely unreasonable. I didn't talk to her the ext day because I didn't like her, it and nothing to do with James and her breaking up," Sirius responded.

"You know what, let's just forget about why Sirius hates Lily, we just all know he does. Besides, I think James has got bigger problems to deal with," Peter said, coming up and taking the plate to silence his friends and end an argument.

"Alright," both boys said at the same time.

"Look James, do you really want to be in a relationship with someone who cheated on her boyfriend? I mean, who's to say she won't do it again to you?" Sirius asked a few minutes later.

"She wouldn't," James insisted.

"How do you know that? How do you know that one day she won't meet some guy, get drunk, and shag him? How do you know that she won't do the same to you as she did to that other guy?" Sirius asked, his voice rising every moment.

"She just wouldn't," James shouted.

"You don't know that," Sirius answered.

"She wouldn't do that to me," James softly said.

"Why not? Do you think she likes you more than this Jason fellow? From what I heard from you, she cared a lot about this guy, but still slept with you anyways," Sirius informed his friend.

James didn't say anything; he didn't want Sirius to be right. But in all honesty, James thought, he really could be. It was possible for Lily to cheat on him, just as she had cheated on Jason. It really was possible. Was this a risk he was willing to take?

Author's Note 2: Hope you guys all liked chapter 17! I'm not sure if guys would actually talk like that and bout love lives with each other, but they are in this story. And once again, sorry for the cliffy! I just couldn't resist putting it in there! So, it looks like you'll have to find out who James chooses in the next chapter! Well, I hope you all liked it, and please remember to review!