Author's Note: This is a sequel to my other work Orchestrated Coincidences. I am still amazed a found enough inspo to get a sequel out. It's going to be at least three chapters.

Hope you enjoy!

Lily was dressed in her meet-the-parents outfit. It was more on the conservative side, jeans — no rips in them — with a deep blue sweater tucked in and a light grey coat on top to keep out the early December chill. Lily had enlisted Marlene and Mary's help in picking it out and it had taken them almost an hour to decide on the — relatively simple — outfit but Lily wanted it to be perfect. It was James' parents after all.

Lily had heard all sorts of praise come out of James' mouth about his parents and he was sure they would love Lily. Hell, even Sirius had said they would love her. Yet she could still tell James was nervous about it in the way that most people were nervous about their partners meeting their parents. Lily had been mostly calm about the whole thing until today. Parents loved Lily. She was well-mannered, charming, a successful lawyer, funny, and vivacious if her favourite professor from university was to be believed.

But that was all before this morning. Actually, it was precisely before she thew up this morning and so now she found herself standing in front of the mirror but the last thing she was assessing was her outfit. Instead, she was staring at her stomach. It was just as flat as always and yet…

Marlene's timer buzzed and Lily flinched. She'd blanched when Marlene had waved the pregnancy test in front of her in suggestion after she'd thrown up.

"That's —no," Lily said firmly. "I can't be."

"Are you late?"

Lily furrowed her brows. The problem was, she was late but it was only a week and a half and it's not like she'd never been late before — the curse of an irregular cycle —so she deflected.

"Why do you even have a stash of pregnancy tests?"

Marlene didn't bite the bait though and promptly shoved Lily into the bathroom — turning all the taps on after Lily's insistence that she didn't need to pee — and forced her to pee on the stupid stick. And now, now Lily was staring at her stomach in the mirror feeling like Kristen Stewart in Breaking Dawn Part 1 because she couldn't be and Marlene's timer was going off and James was due to pick her up at any minute.

"Well?" Lily asked Mary impatiently.

"It's positive," she announced, handing it over to Marlene.

"WHAT?" Lily shouted, rushing over to Marlene and snatching it out of her hands. It couldn't be. No. No. No. No. No. But there it was. Two lines. "Are — are we sure two line means p-pregnant?"

"Lily," Mary said calmly, "you're pregnant."

"Oh god," Lily sunk onto the bed. She didn't even know where to start. "Oh god!"

"It's going to be okay," Marlene soothed.

"Okay?" she echoed, disbelief soaking her tone. "I'm pregnant! And — I — we — only been together for like three months — I haven't even met his parents — and oh, Jesus, what if they think I'm after their money? I — I can't be — we just decided to move in together — Petunia doesn't even know I'm dating him, I mean — only three months!"

"Well, it's not like you and James ever understood the concept of slow," Mary pointed out. "You met and like three seconds later you had your first couple trip."

"But this is a baby! Eighteen year commitment!" Lily cried. "Oh, god, I cannot — I can't think — today was supposed to be meeting his parents not — not this! Are we sure the test is right?"

"It's one of the most reliable brands," Marlene told her. "Honey, you need to breathe — in and out. I think you're in shock."

"Bloody oath I'm in shock!"

A series of two sharp car beeps sounded from the street and Lily stood, panicked. Her hands were clammy and sticky. She couldn't meet his parents with clammy hands. God, it felt like a jackhammer was on high power in her stomach. She couldn't let him see her like this.

"He's outside."

"Just tell him," Mary advised.

"I can't tell him now! We're meeting his parents! What am I supposed to say? 'Hi, lovely to meet you, I'm pregnant with your grandchild'?"

"I said tell him, James, your boyfriend. Not his parents."

"Right and then he can introduce me as his pregnant girlfriend of all of three months," Lily said hysterically, shaking her head. This could not be happening. She closed her eyes to stop the tears from falling. She wouldn't have time to redo her makeup and she couldn't exactly explain to James why her eyes were black if she started crying. "Besides, he's been nervous about this. I can't give him something else to worry over."

"Why would he worry about having a baby?" Mary asked. "You're the one who's got to push it out."

Lily glared at her. "Do you think this looks very planned?"

"It's not like you're sixteen and pregnant," Marlene chimed in.

"We haven't even discussed kids! I meant he's nervous about me meeting his parents."

"He literally has nothing to worry about. All parents love you," Mary soothed and it would've worked — maybe — if Lily had felt anything resembling her normal self but all Lily could think about were her clammy hands. "So that leaves the little human inside of you."

"Oh, God, please don't call it that."

"Because 'it' is so much better," Mary snorted.

The room was too hot. She kicked off her boots and shrugged off her coat before lifting her hair off her neck.

"Why are you undressing?" Mary asked.

"Because, Mary, the goddamned room is fucking hot, okay?"

"Jesus, crack the window, before she starts hyperventilating," Marlene told Mary before turning back to Lily. "Is there even anything to worry over? This may be off-base but is it possible you're overreacting just slightly?"

"I'm pregnant!" Lily protested, moving over to the cool air blowing through the now opened window.

"Yeah, and I'm not saying it's not a shock but since you came back from Tokyo, the two of you have been inseparable. I mean, you're already looking for places to live together—"

"A direct breach of our no one moves out with their boyfriends unless they've been dating for a year rule," Mary added, "which we waived because the two of you are too nauseating to be around."

"Nonetheless, my point is," Marlene strode on, "is there really anything to be worried about?"

"Yes!" Lily shouted the same time Mary said, "no."

Her phone started buzzing. "Lord have mercy, he's still outside."

"Well, he wasn't going to go anywhere, love. What were you hoping, if you made him wait long enough he'd say 'fuck Lily meeting my parents' and leave?"

"More like I was hoping the world would swallow me whole and I'd just cease to exist."

"That can't be good for the baby."

"Oh, god. I can't do this," she said, tossing her phone onto the bed as though expelling poison out of her system. "One of you text him and say there's been an emergency and I can't."

"What do you want us to say?"

"I don't really care!" Lily exploded, running both her hands through her hair. "Tell him I've contracted fucking malaria for all I care! Anything to make him not be outside! I just can't do this. I can't!"

"Lily, you know if we text him that you're not feeling well, he's going to come up here anyway and he won't leave until he sees you."

Curse him for being the type of boyfriend who'll sit with her in bed all day when she's sick and cook her that heavenly Greek chicken soup that he only cooks when someone is sick. She knew he'd do it too. He had done it only two weeks after they'd come back from Tokyo — Lily had assumed all the travelling had caught up to her — and they'd sat in her room and binged the entirety of Dead To Me and it was Lily's first introduction to the heavenly Greek soup. So she knew the girls were right.

Lily's head was whirring. She didn't know what to do. Her phone was buzzing on the bed again. He was waiting downstairs for her. Was probably stopped in a no parking zone. He could get a ticket.

For some reason, that was what snapped her back to reason which was ridiculous because, yeah, he could get a ticket but he could also afford it. Bloke had more money than he knew what to do with — literally, he donated five thousand dollars to Mary's birthday donation drive on Facebook and he looked through Go-Fund-Me's like other people his age would go through Tinder. Except for the fact that every 'swipe right' took a couple of grand out of his account. It was one of the things Lily loved about him.

So she dug her feet back into her boots, slung her coat over her arm because godforbid he get a ticket because of her. She grabbed her phone and texted James she'd be down in a minute.

"What are you going to do?" Marlene asked.

"Smile. Parents. Lunch," Lily decided. "The … other thing is tomorrow's problem."

"Smile. Parents. Lunch," Marlene nodded, hands on Lily's shoulders. "You got this."

Lily grabbed her comb off the dresser to fix her hair. "Just don't tell anyone, yeah?"

"There goes my plans to announce I'm going to be a godmother on all my socials," Mary huffed.

"And who says you'd be godmother?" Marlene raised her brow at Mary.

"I'm clearly the better option."

"Based on what?"

Lily tuned out their bickering and grabbed her bag, rushing for the door which spurred Marlene and Mary to shout advice — that she probably wouldn't take — after her. In the stairwell, she was alone for the first time since she found out. Her hand, instinctively, went to her stomach. A person was in there. A twinge of anxiety nipped at her threatening to grab hold and consume her but she pushed on. Tomorrow's problem, she told herself. Today was all about getting through meeting James' parents. Smile. Parents. Lunch.

She stepped out onto the pavement and saw James leaning against his car. He smiled brightly, pushing off to greet her and she didn't know how he still, even when she was in crisis mode, managed to take her breath away. He wasn't even doing anything exceptional. He was dressed in jeans, a grey sweater that he probably stole from Sirius, and a black coat. And yet with just one happy grin from him and she felt gut punched on a morning where she wasn't sure she could handle anymore gut punches. At least this was the good kind. The butterflies kind and how nice was it that even after three months it still felt like this?

"Hey! What took so long? Mary hog the bathroom again?" he asked, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips.

"S-something like that," Lily smiled timidly, letting her hand rest on his chest, her fist curling around his coat collar. He was going to be a father. She was going to be a mother. "Ready?"

"Ready for my mother to stop harassing me about when they can meet you? Absolutely."

He grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly and then, for good measure, leaned in to kiss her again. His other hand came up to her chin, as he deepened the kiss and she sunk into it. This was something she'd known she'd never be sick of since the very first time they kissed. He rested his forehead against hers.

"All right, Evans?" he murmured and they were still so close she could feel the words against her lips.

"Yeah," she said, tilting her head up to kiss him again because kissing James was the only thing that allowed her to forget everything else. "Just nervous."

A squeeze of her hand. Another kiss on the lips. Another to her forehead.

"Don't be. They'll lo-"

"Lily? Lily is that you?" a shrill voice called out and there it was. A gut punch. The very, very bad kind.

"Oh, god," Lily sent a panic stare at James who was equally puzzled as the petite blonde and her overly round husband approached them.

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend!"

Lily turned to face her sister, "Petunia!" she greeted trying to put as much pep into it as possible. "Vernon. What a surprise!"

Yes, a surprise indeed. Petunia had only visited Lily's flat a grand total of once — which was definitely spurred on by guilt — and even then it was all very planned. Lily had had to slave in the kitchen for half the day to make sure she could serve the snobby couple a homemade dinner because pizza apparently wasn't good enough. James had helped. Not that Petunia had known that. Lily had taken all the credit on the account that Petunia didn't know about James.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Petunia asked expectantly.

"Oh, er, this is James, my boyfriend," Lily explained. No point lying about it now, firstly, because she was pretty sure Petunia had already seen them kissing from down the street and, secondly, because Lily was pregnant. "James, my sister, Petunia and her husband, Vernon."

"Ah," James said, understanding in his voice, "you're Lily's infamous sister. I was at your wedding, you know."

Oh, Jesus. Lily wanted to die.

"You were?" Vernon asked, a raised brow.

"So what brings you two all the way out here?" Lily interrupted loudly.

"Oh, well, why don't you invite us inside and we can chat," Petunia suggested.

"Oh, actually, we're on our way out," Lily said, "to, uh, to meet James' parents. You know, Tuney, I was actually going to call you this week to see if you were free for dinner next weekend to meet James properly."

Petunia's eyes flashed to James. "Must be serious if you're going to meet his parents. How long have you been together again?"

"A little over three months," James supplied.

"Three months?" Petunia all but gasped. "You never even mentioned you were seeing somebody!"

Wait until they found out she was pregnant. The idea of that conversation was enough to spur a headache.

"Something must be wrong with him if she kept this all to herself," Vernon mused.

"I — there's nothing wrong with him," Lily defended in a fluster. "James is perfectly lovely."

"Then why didn't you tell me you were seeing someone?" Petunia sniffed. "I really thought we were starting to turn a corner."

Oh God. What was she supposed to say? Yes, it is serious but I didn't want to tell you about the greatest man I've ever dated because you'd have a million and one negative opinions about it and it was just easier not to except now I'm pregnant and not telling you is no longer feasible. Lily almost snorted to herself. That would go down well.

"Oh, well," James started, "we decided not to tell our families for a bit. We just wanted a chance to get to know each other without the stress of meeting families-"

"Yes," Lily jumped on his excuse, "but we've very recently decided to move in together so the plan is for me to meet James' parents this week and then, like I mentioned, I was going to call you about dinner for next weekend."

"Moving in together? Already?" Vernon bristled. "That's very … modern of you. You hardly know each other."

"Time is but a construct," James countered.

Oh, that was not a road she wanted to go down.

"Tuney, you never mentioned why you were here!" On today of all the days.

"Oh, well, I suppose I can make this quick and we can celebrate properly next weekend with dinner — of course, I was hoping we could have gone for lunch and told you then but," her eyes glanced at James, "no matter."

"Celebrate?" Lily pressed.

And the second gut punch.

"Vernon and I are having a baby!" Petunia glowed, a radiant smile on her face. "It's still very early, Lily, and we really shouldn't even be telling you. I'm only nine weeks but we just came out of a doctor's appointment and I just thought it'd be so nice to tell you in person that you're going to be an aunt!"

An aunt and a mother, all in one day. Jesus Christ.

"You're pregnant," Lily repeated stunned and then a smile slowly overtook her face as she gave in to an appropriate sisterly response. "Oh my God! Congratulations!" Now Lily was the loud and shrill one. She pulled Petunia into a hug and even patted Vernon on the arm. "That's fantastic! I'm so happy for the both of you!" She nudged James. "Did you hear? I'm going to be an auntie!"

"I heard, and it sounds like you're already perfecting that proud auntie voice," he teased lightly and she stuck her tongue out at him. "Congratulations," he said to Petunia and Vernon. "That's really wonderful news and definitely a cause for celebration at dinner next weekend."

"Lily, I'll call you and we can make plans for Saturday night?" Petunia said, still glowing.

"Yes, absolutely. I want to hear all about my niece or nephew to-be but," Lily glanced at her watch, "oh shoot, we really should be going."

They gave hastened goodbyes and final congratulations before Lily and James climbed into his car.

"So I see what you mean about her husband. He really does look like a walrus."

Lily snorted. "Jesus, I can't believe you just met them. This day is …" she didn't know what this day was but A Lot would be an apt descriptor.

"Hey," James clicked his fingers in front of her face and she snapped out of the apparent daze she'd been in. "You okay?"

"Mmhmm, just frazzled and, uh, nervous, I guess."

He squeezed her thigh. "No need. They'll love you. And if you ever get stuck for conversation just mention your sister's pregnant and mum will talk your ear off. She absolutely loves babies."

"Oh," Lily said. Smile. Parents. Lunch. Tomorrow's problem. Tomorrow's problem. "And what about you? Do you like babies?" she tried to play it off as teasing.

James shrugged. "They only get cute at like two years old before that they look like little aliens and they cry, poop, and spit up. Not sure babies live up to their hype, to be honest." Her expression must have dipped because he went into salvage mode, "of course though, your niece or nephew will be the best and cutest baby to ever exist."

Smile. She feigned one and nodded, kept her tone light, "maybe I will bring it up with your mum. Try to see if we can convert you."

"Good luck," he snorted and Lily felt another punch in her gut. Smile. Smile. Smile. She just had to make it through today.