A/N- Here's the next chapter. This chapter is somewhat of a transition. Pay attention though, there are some important details.

Chapter Thirteen: Almost Doesn't Count

When Jack woke up again, the sun was already setting. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept through the entire day. Looking around, he saw the door to the room was closed, blocking out the harsh light in the hallway. He could hear people talking near the door as they walked past. The pain in his side and chest was growing the more his body woke up, and he knew the pain potion he'd taken hours ago had worn off.

"Jack," a voice said from a few feet away. He looked over and saw Lily rolled on her side, looking over at him with sleepy eyes.

"Hey," he said huskily.

"Are you in pain?" she asked, noticing his discomfort.

"It's bearable," Jack assured her.

Lily sat up in bed and dangled her legs over the side.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"You need to take some more pain potion," she said, and hopped down to the ground. Her knees buckled in the sudden weight, and she almost fell over again. Luckily, Jack happened to be staring at the ceiling so he didn't catch her little mishap. Walking over to the potions tray, she began looking through the various potions to find what she needed.

"Did Mum and Dad not make it back?" Jack wondered, now studying her carefully.

"They were here for a little while, but you were sound asleep so they only stayed for a little while before they left," she explained.

"Have they calmed down?"

"Jack, they almost lost their son. It makes sense that they're upset. But yes, they were a bit calmer."

Jack looked at her meaningfully before asking, "Are you calmer?"

Lily stopped what she was doing and stepped closer to the bed. "You shouldn't have done what you did."

"What, take a curse for you?" Jack asked innocently.

"This isn't a joke! You almost died!" she reminded him pointedly.

"Almost doesn't count," Jack joked, trying to make her laugh. He could tell that she wasn't in the mood when her face turned red in anger. "Okay okay. Look I'm not going to apologize for what I did. I'd do it again in an instant."

She stepped away from him and put her hands on her hips. "Are you asking me to hex you into next week? Or do you actually think this amuses me?"

"And just what would have happened if I hadn't taken the curse for you?" he challenged. "You would have gotten hurt and then where would we be? I'm no healer, and I know I would have had no idea how to help you. You would have bled to death. We both know that."

"I…hadn't thought about it that way," she admitted, though she was clearly still angry.

He couldn't help but laugh at how much she reminded him of his grandmum. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you angry. Come here," he said, patting his chest and motioning for her lay down with him.

"I don't want to hurt you," she said reluctantly. "You need to take your potion and go back to sleep."

"Lily Potter, didn't you hear me tell the healer that you're good medicine? Now get in this bed with me so I can hold you and take my mind off all this for a little while!" he demanded, opening up the covers for her and carefully moving over to make room. When she finally did crawl into bed with him, she stayed a few inches away. Lying on her side, she rested one hand on his chest and looked up at him with large, sad eyes. Jack sighed and pulled her closer with his arm. Finally, she settled her head on his shoulder and seemed to relax.

"It's going to be alright. We're both fine, that's all that matters," he whispered against her hair, kissing the top of her head.

"This time," she corrected, "We are both fine this time. But what about next time, Jack? How much longer can we keep this up? How many more times can we cheat death?"

"You tell me," he dared.

"It just seems to wrong to leave right now when they need us most. Tonight only proved that more."

"They're always going to need aurors, Lil. But I think you need to accept that it isn't your personal responsibility to take on all the evil in the world. It's okay to admit that there are some things you should just stay out of."

"You sure aren't one to talk," she accused.

He couldn't help but admit that she had a point there. "Okay, I don't want to fight with you. All I want is for you to get some rest. You look beat."

"You didn't take your potion," she remembered, sitting up to get it—only to be pulled back down.

"I don't care about the potion. The pain isn't that bad. Now lie down and close your eyes. Please?"

"Alright."

Jack let go of the breath he didn't know he'd been holding when Lily's breathing stabilized and he knew she'd gone to sleep. He remained awake for only a few lingering seconds before he too joined her in getting some rest.

Jack and Lily were woken up abruptly by an angry voice right outside their door, "You can't go in there!"

"Yes we can," a male voice answered before he barged into the room, causing both the teenagers to jump.

There were three men, all wearing ministry robes and a seal on the front reading "Medical Studies." Healer Dodger was right behind them looking very put out.

"Who are you?" Jack asked, his voice thick with sleep.

All the men ignored his question and looked at Lily.

"Are you Lillian Potter?" one of them asked importantly.

"No, I'm Lily Potter," she corrected smartly.

"You need to come with us," the man who asked the first question told her. He walked over to the bed and yanked Lily up by her arm.

"Wait a minute!" Jack said heatedly. He sat up despite the pain. "Where are you taking her?"

"That's none of your business," the man said, turning up his nose.

"I'm afraid it is my business! She's my fiancée and I want to know where you're taking her!"

"We have a warrant to take her and observe some of her symptoms." The man tightened his grip on Lily's arm and pulled her towards the door.

The healer stepped to block their way. "You have no authority to do this. This girl has been through quite a lot in the past few days and she is in my care. I've been cleared by the auror department to look after her and Jack and I intend to do just that. I believe an order from the auror department trumps something from Medical Studies."

Another of the mysterious men spoke up. "We have ministry approval. She'll be returned in the morning."

"You can't do this!" the healer said loudly, but not moving.

Jack somehow managed to stand up only to fall back down the ground in a painful heap. Lily tried to go help but the man still had a hold of her arm. Jack found his feet and stood up on his own. "Let her go!"

"Afraid I can't do that," the man said, pushing Healer Dodger out of the way and into the hall. The other two men stayed behind to make sure Jack and the healer didn't try to follow. They stood there with their wands out as if they were holding criminals at bay.

"Jack! Get a hold of my dad!" he heard Lily yell as they pulled her further down the hallway.

Healer Dodger walked over to Jack and helped him sit down on the edge of the bed. "You can go," she told the men. "He sure isn't going anywhere. But make no mistake; I will be filing a formal complaint."

"Do what you want," one of them said before they both walked swiftly out of the door.

"I need to go get her father," Jack said, struggling to get away from the healer.

The healer held on tighter and shook her head, "No, I'll let him know, you have to stay here."

"No way am I staying here! Harry's going to kill me as it is for letting them take her!"

"There was nothing we could do," she said, looking at the warrant the men had left behind. "This is signed by the Minister of Magic."

"I don't care if it's signed by the Pope! I've got to get to Harry!" Jack repeated again, trying to stand and again nearly falling over.

"No, I'll get him. You stay here," the healer said, leaving the room before Jack even had the chance to argue.

"Mr. Potter! Mrs. Potter!"

"What's that noise?" Harry asked, sitting up in bed and causing Ginny to roll off his chest and onto her back.

"It's coming from the fireplace," Ginny said. They both looked at each other before bolting up in bed and running through the hallway, down the stairs, and into the living room. There they found the very disgruntled face of Jack and Lily's healer in their fireplace.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Harry asked, running possible scenarios through his head.

"Mr. Potter, three Medical Studies officials just stormed in here a few minutes ago and took Lily with them with a warrant."

Harry opened his mouth but Ginny beat him to it, "You didn't stop them!"

"There was nothing Jack or I could do. He's in no position to fight them off and they've got a piece of paper signed by the Minister of Magic. They said she'd be released from their custody in the morning. But sir, I've been looking into what cures was possibly used on Lily and if it is what I think it is, she could be in real trouble. If she slips into an attack or has a dream, she might not have the mental or physical strength to fight her way out of it. She needs rest, not questioning."

Harry and Ginny exchanged worried looks before Harry quickly came up with a plan. "Okay, with all due respect I would like to have my godson released into Ginny's care. She'll contact his parents. They wanted him and Lily sent her anyway once the hospital released them. I'll take care of getting my daughter."

"I'm very sorry, sir," Healer Dodger said regretfully.

"Its okay, thank you for coming to tell us so soon," Harry told her reassuringly. "I know Jack's got to be upset. Tell him I'm taking care of it and that his godmother will be there to take him home soon."

"I will," she said determinedly before her head disappeared.

Harry stood up and faced Ginny. "Love, will you please get a hold of Dennis O'Conner and tell him what's going on. Tell him I may need his help to get her out of there."

"Alright."

"Then get Jack out of the hospital and set him up in one of the bedrooms. I know he'll never rest with Lily gone, but at least try to get him to stay calm."

"I'll take care of it, Harry. You just worry about Lily."

Smiling at her in spite of the mounting stress he felt in his chest, he kissed her briefly on the lips and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too, now go!"

He nodded and with a loud POP, he was gone.

"Jack!" Ginny said as she ran in to his hospital room at top speed.

Jack sat up in bed, though he couldn't hide the wince in his face as he did so. "Aunt Gin! Where's Harry?"

"He went to go give those guys that took Lily some hell. I'm here to take you home," she said, pulling his covers back and helping him to turn so his legs were over the side of the bed.

"I need to go help him," Jack protested.

She shook her head and handed him his jumper, "No, you need to come with me back to our house in Hogsmade so I can take care of you. We'll wait for Lily and Harry there."

"She's right," Healer Dodger said as she unexpectedly came trotting into the room. "You need to rest and take these potions. I can tell by looking at your face that you haven't had a pain draught since I made you take it hours ago."

Ginny looked at Jack's face and instantly knew she was right. Jack was ghastly pale and he appeared to be slightly clammy. She walked over to him and felt his forehead to find it feverously warm. "He's warm," she said, looking at the healer.

Healer Dodger stepped forward and touched his forehead with the back of her hand. "You do have a fever."

"What does that mean?" Ginny asked.

"It's not good," the healer said grimly. "It could mean he's getting an infection. He needs to take the potions I'll give you according to the instructions."

"I'm not taking anything until I know she's okay!" Jack half-screamed. "What kind of ministry officials come to collect someone for questioning after the ministry has shut down for the night?"

Looking out the window, Ginny knew he had a point. The sun had gone down long ago and the stars were out twinkling in the sky. "I don't know. But I do know they won't hurt her at the ministry. Not using a document signed by the Minister of Magic."

Jack, however, wasn't going to let this go easily. "How do you know? I never thought the Head of the Auror Department would do what Luis did. I wouldn't put anything past them."

"Please Jack, let me take you home. Lily will be fine!"

"No, she won't! She hasn't been fine in a long time and frankly I'm getting sick of people failing to see how not okay she really is!" Jack shouted. He looked at his Aunt's stunned face and sighed in frustration. He leaned his elbows on his knees and rested his face in his hands.

Ginny turned to the healer. "I think I'll handle things from here. Do you have the potions he needs to take?"

"Yes," she said, stepping forward with an armful of bottles. "Have him take the blue potion once every six hours; it's to continue healing the curse. The green one he needs every eight hours for swelling and to prevent infection. His wound hasn't healed completely because of the curse, so this ointment needs to go on it and the bandages need to be changed twice a day. The wound should be cleaned thoroughly before you reapply the bandages each time. Lily will know how to do it if she…when she gets home," she corrected, quickly looking at Jack who still had his head down.

The healer took a step towards Ginny and spoke this time in a hushed voice. "The purple potion is for pain. Don't let him fool you into thinking that he doesn't need it. I know this curse is particularly painful and he'll need the potion whether he likes to admit it or not. He's too proud for his own good, if you ask me. And finally, the clear potion is a sleeping potion. It's rather strong and it should put him out for several hours. There is enough in here for several doses as well as a few for Lily if you feel she needs it. Don't hesitate to give it to him if he won't rest. It will dissolve tastelessly into any liquid if you need to trick him into taking it."

"Thank you," Ginny said, gratefully taking the potions.

The healer nodded and left.

After putting the bottles down on the nightstand, Ginny walked over to Jack and sat down next to him on the bed. He raised his head up to reveal eyes with unshed angry tears.

"Just keeps coming, doesn't it?" Jack commented darkly.

"I know this has been tough. Sometimes you just need to keep fighting and hope things will work out," Ginny said in what she really hoped was a reassuring tone.

Jack shook his head and wiped away stray tears. "I'm so tired of fighting. It's always been a fight with Lily. In the beginning it was me fighting to get her to understand that I was her friend and she could have faith in me. Then after we got together, it was me trying to convince her that I loved her and that she could trust me with her heart. Now it's me trying to convince her that I love her in spite of everything that's happened, and that I'm not going to abandon her. And what's more, I have to fight with her to get her to understand that she deserves my love."

"She knows you love her," Ginny told him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and wandlessly closing the door to his room, blocking out the noise from the hallway.

"Does she?" Jack asked, looking over at her. "Sometimes I'm not so sure. Sometimes it seems like I'm the only one fighting to keep us together."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, somewhat confused. She knew Jack was frustrated, and he had every right to be. But this ran a little deeper than simple frustration.

"Come on, think about it, Aunt Ginny!" Jack said in exasperation as he laboriously stood up. Ginny tried to help him but he brushed her off. "She's constantly running off trying to save something! She wouldn't have gone to meet Devon if she hadn't been worried that he'd hurt someone else if he wasn't stopped. Allan's death… She was nearly hurt fighting with him. You've never seen her in battle. She takes risks. Big ones. It's like when she's dueling or working, she doesn't think about the people that love her and the people that would miss her if something ever did happen to her. People like me."

"Wanting to save people is in her blood, Jack. It's who she is. You can't expect her to change that. Just because Lily's different now than she was before all this started messing with the both of you doesn't mean she's not the same girl you fell in love with."

"I'm starting to think that Lily hasn't changed at all. Maybe she was never who I thought she was. Maybe I just changed her in my own mind to make it easier to care for her," he said, looking down at his hands and letting go of a breath. "As much as it kills me to admit, sometimes it's really really hard to love her. And I don't know if I can keep fighting for her if she's not willing to fight for me."

Ginny stood up and put her hands on Jack's shoulders. "Jack, this is exhaustion talking, not your heart. This is the woman who you only days ago asked to be your wife! She's the same girl who just saved your life just hours ago!"

Again, Jack shook his head. "What if she saved me because she felt she had to? What if I'm just another innocent soul she's supposed to protect?"

"You're the man she loves!" Ginny said, shaking his shoulders as if to knock some sense into him. Where had all this come from, she wondered?

"I know she loves me. But does she love me because I love her and she feels she has to? Or does she love me because she wants to spend the rest of her life with me?"

"The same can be said for you," Ginny countered. "Do you love her out of obligation?" Jack remained silent after her question, a fact that shocked Ginny immensely. She decided to try a different approach. "Can you imagine a life without her?"

Jack only thought for a second. "No, I really can't, but at the same time, this is the only thing I have ever known. For the most part it's been like something out of a dream. And for a long time it didn't matter whatever life threw our way. As long as I had her, I knew everything would be alright. The good times out weighed the bad."

Sensing his hesitation, Ginny moved her face into his line of vision and gave him a reassuring smile. "Then where is this fear coming from? What's changed?"

"I'm loosing her. I can feel it. She's slipping away from me and I don't know how to stop her."

"You will only loose her if you let her go," Ginny said knowingly. "Look at what I let happen to Harry and me. Don't you think I've asked myself a thousand times what would have happened if I had fought harder to make him understand that we belonged together? I should have followed him and told him everyday how much I love him, but I didn't. I let my own inhibitions cloud my better judgment, and it almost cost me the man I love. Jack, I don't want the same to happen to you. Don't let my mistakes become your own. Keep fighting and I promise it will get better."

"That's just it, what if we were never happy?" Jack asked suddenly. "What if I've just been telling myself we were really happy so that I have something to look forward to in the future?"

"Jack I can't say I have all that much experience with the two of you before Harry came back. I avoided you both, actually because you two remind me so much of Harry and I.

"But I can tell you what I see now," she said knowingly. Jack met her eyes again with such painful desperation that Ginny had to take a minute before she went on. He was looking at her like he somehow needed her to take all his frustration away. "I see two people who have been to hell and back. You're both tired and frustrated and neither of you are quite sure of how to handle all this. But look at all the things you two have overcome. You've grown into adulthood together. You've lost a mutual friend together. You helped Lily deal with being raped and you've stuck by her ever time she's needed you. What's more, Lily's able to show her love for you in spite of what Malfoy did."

Again, Jack shook his head. "You make it sound so simple."

"But it isn't simple. I know that more than anyone because I've been in your shoes. You've got a tough road ahead of you and yes, you're going to have to fight for what you want. But don't people always say the best things in life are worth fighting for?" Ginny let her words sink in for a few minutes before she spoke again. "Now, come on. I need to get you home."

Jack finally nodded. "Sure"

"It will get better. And you know what they say; only the best things in life are worth fighting for."

"Just for the record, I know Lily is worth fighting for. I just don't want to be the only one fighting," Jack said as he helped his aunt gather his potions and his things.

It took fifteen minutes to get Jack checked out of the hospital and another ten minutes to get him in the house. Ginny argued with Jack for twenty minutes before he finally agreed to go upstairs and lay down, instead of waiting for Harry and Lily to come home downstairs in the living room. Jack utterly refused to let her help him up the stairs however, so she walked behind him hoping to break his fall if he were to trip.

"And you say Lily is the stubborn one," Ginny muttered under her breath.

"I heard that," Jack informed her. "Lily doesn't like to admit to people that she needs help when she really does. I, however, am perfectly fine and in no need of help."

"Boy, do I wish I could record this and play it back for you later when Lily's being obstinate and you're trying to convince her to let you help her. I'll have to ask to borrow Harry's pensive."

"I am right here, you know," Jack reminded her, sounding out of breath as he slowly continued to climb the stairs.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they made it to the top of the stairs. Ginny led Jack to the only room on this floor that was furnished. She opened the door to reveal a large cozy room with a king-size canopy bed, large dresser and vanity, sitting area complete with a sofa and overstuffed chair, and an attached bathroom. There was also a small balcony and fireplace on the wall opposite the bed.

"This is really nice," Jack said as he hobbled around.

"You'll have to tell your godfather that you think so. He's the one that decorated in here. There hasn't been anytime for us to finish the other two guest rooms but I'm rather fond of what he did with this one."

"Yeah, it's nice."

Ginny noticed the fatigue in his voice and gently sat him to the bed. "You need to lie down and rest. Harry and Lily should be here any minute. You're parents brought both you and Lily some clothes to wear for the next week or so. They're coming for dinner the day after tomorrow, after they're done at Hogwarts to see you guys and check on how you're doing so I suggest you get some rest—before your mother kills me for not taking care of you."

Jack sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her quizzically. "Can I ask you something?"
"You just did. But I'll allow you to ask me something else," she said jokingly as she leaned against the dresser and faced him.

"You said you knew that Lily and I were able to…you know…show our love in spite of what happened," he said nervously.

"Yes," Ginny nodded.

"I was just wondering how you knew? I mean I don't know if she's talked to you about it or anything, but I do know we don't exactly advertise it all over the place."

"Jack, maybe it's a female thing, but I just knew. She hasn't told me anything in so many words but I just could tell. And then today my suspicions were confirmed when the healer asked her if you and she had been intimate in the last 24 hours when she was questioning her about the dream. She said not since Christmas."

Jack gulped and looked, if at all possible, paler than he had moments before. "Was…um…was Harry there with you?"

Ginny couldn't help but smirk at his apprehensiveness. "Yes, though I'm sure he was more concerned with what happened to her to be upset about that. And frankly if he does get upset over it, then he's a hypocrite."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

This time it was Ginny who turned a true Weasley red. "All that I'm saying is that Harry knows how much you care for her and I'm sure he's glad she's gotten over the rape enough to be with someone in that way."

"Right." Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"Were you and Lily intimate before Malfoy?" she asked, not really sure if she was crossing the line.

"Yes, but only just. It was the night before we went off on those missions. We'd talked about it a while before but she told me she didn't think she was ready and I told her I'd wait as long as she needed. That night she told me the time was right," he said, smiling at the memory. That was quite possibly the best night of his life. He shook his head as he wondered why it couldn't always be like that.

"It's good that you gave her time to work that out. It's a big step in a relationship."

"Really, it's lucky that we did it when we did. She told me that when Malfoy took her the first time that he wanted to force her to bear his children. He told her there was some ancient spell on the Malfoy men that made it impossible for anyone who was unfaithful to her husband to carry a Malfoy child. So she had to have been with Draco and Draco only. Since she and I were together before Malfoy got his hands on her the second time, he couldn't make her do what he wanted in that respect."

Ginny let this information sink in for a second. That certainly made sense with what Harry told her. Malfoy and Melissa's father had wanted her killed because she was no longer any use to them because of the spell. The question was, why didn't they just kill Lily the moment they got a hold of her?

"Have you told Harry this?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so. You know Lily, she usually will avoid talking about Malfoy if she can," Jack reminded her.

"It's understandable that she doesn't like to talk about it. But maybe talking is what she needs. How much have the two of you talked about what happened with Malfoy?"

Jack shifted to lie back on the pillows and stretch his legs out in front of him. Ginny stood up when he winced at the movement, and began to rummage through the bag of potions for what he needed to take.

"We talked that night we brought her home. But other than her dreams, we really haven't talked about it," Jack admitted regretfully. "Do you think I should try to bring it up more?"

"It might help if she knew that you knew about everything that happened. Maybe she's still holding something back. Lily's a hard person to figure out sometimes," Ginny said, turning her back so Jack wouldn't see her mix the pain potion in with some sleeping potion. It wasn't enough to make him fall into a deep sleep but it was just enough to hopefully make him doze off in a few minutes.

"She's hard for me to read sometimes," he admitted. Ginny turned around and handed him the potion and he made a face shockingly similar to a small child not wanting to take cold medicine. "I don't want that."

"Jack, you heard the healer. The pain will only get worse," she scolded.

"I'm not in pain," he lied, straightening up on his pillows.

"You winced just a moment ago," she pointed out. "You can't expect Lily to accept help if you won't accept it yourself. Set a good example."

"Ah, but you see it doesn't count because Lily isn't here," Jack said wagging his finger.

"If you take it I promise to rub it in her face the next time she's hurt and in need of a pain draught," Ginny promised. "Please, Jack, they'll be here any minute. Just take the potion so you're not in pain when Harry comes home. He'll be very unhappy with me if I let our godson be in pain for any length of time."

"Fine," Jack reluctantly conceded. He took the potion from his aunt and downed it all in one large gulp. "That stuff is disgusting," he said, making a face.

"I know. Trust me, Harry and I have spent our fair share in the hospital wing at school."

"You and Harry seem like you're happy," Jack said in a calmer voice than before. His eyes were glossed over as if his concentration was waning.

"We are," Ginny said, taking a seat in the large overstuffed chair after turning it slightly to face him. "For the first time in a long time it feels like I'm actually living."

"What did you do while you were in America?" Jack wondered.

"Mostly I just worked. After Harry left I hung around here for a while until you were born. I saw Harry just after your mum gave birth to you. He seemed different. It's hard to explain really. He wasn't better or worse than he usually was, but it was almost like he was a totally different person from the one I used to know and love. I finally accepted that he wasn't coming back and that he and I just weren't meant to be."

"Did you ever see anyone else?" Jack asked.

"No one serious. Most of the time I was working so there wasn't much free time for me to meet anyone, let alone have a serious relationship. Besides, I knew I'd never love anyone the way I loved Harry."

Jack sighed and looked out the window. His breathing became slow and rhythmic, and within minutes, Ginny watched him fight to keep his eyes open. "Go to sleep, Jack."

"I think you've tricked me," Jack said groggily. Finally, his eyes slipped shut and his godmother could be relieved that at least one of them wouldn't have to worry about what was taking Harry so long.

A/N- Thanks for reading! Please review!