"Oh shit," James muttered as they drove down the — admittedly longer than Lily had expected — driveway to his parents house, though house seemed to be underselling it. It, for the first time, really hit Lily just how wealthy his family was, how wealthy James was just from being their son. She'd known since that night in Mykonos that his parents owned and ran SleekEazy's but knowing it and seeing it were two very different things. James had never felt like a rich person. Then again she'd never met a rich person so she supposed she wouldn't know what it would feel like to meet one but James, her eyes glanced over to him now and her face immediately softened. James had always just been James to her. James, the fit-half-Greek-DJ who she'd followed across Europe.

Now he was the fit-half-Greek-DJ who she followed across Europe who was now her boyfriend and the father of her child. Her child. Their child. He'd said something about kids when he'd found her at her sister's wedding in Paris. Think of the story we'll get to tell our kids one day. It had been a passing comment and 'one day' certainly hadn't meant three months into their whirlwind romance. And now, now it was hitting her as she stared up at the three-story Queen Anne mansion that he was rich rich.

"I — fuck, I told them to make sure—"

"What?" Lily asked, his tone finally pulling her away from the reconciliations her head was trying to make.

"My uncles are here."

"Uncles," Lily repeated. Would Vernon count as an uncle, she wondered. She almost cringed at the thought.

"And my mum's best friend, Lilika — my godmother." James groaned. They'd have to pick out godparents. "I'm sorry. This probably wasn't planned. They always just pop in unannounced. Though there is always the chance they popped in on purpose if mum spilled the beans that you were coming."

"Right," Lily said.

"And Sirius is here. Though he definitely planned it. Git."

"Sirius," Lily repeated, not able to tear her eyes away from the huge house in front of her. James' other half. His travelling bud— oh, God, travelling. James travelled so much during summer right around when she'd be due. She'd calculated that in her head on the twenty-five minute drive to his parents house. She'd also been trying to figure out which deed was the deed. There were a few viable options really but Lily suspected one more than the rest.

Jesus, were her hands clammy again? She wiped them on her jeans as casually as she could.

"This is exactly what I was scared of," James sighed. "If this is too much, we can go. I'll make up some excuse and we can turn around." She still stared at the house. "Lily?"

"Hmm?"

"Love, are you sure you're okay?" She finally turned to face him, noted the furrow in his brows. She'd been too in her own head. "You've been quiet the whole way up. You barely even sang along when Cornelia Street came on."

A tell tale sign something was wrong when she didn't sing along to Taylor Swift apparently. She wished he would stop asking her how she was though. It made it all that much harder to pretend everything was normal. Though that wasn't his fault. She was the one deciding to keep this from him until an unspecified later date — was it even fair that Mary and Marlene knew before him? No, no, no. Not now. Tomorrow's problem, she told herself firmly, though the very thought of tomorrow arriving and having to tell him made her queasy. She pressed her hand against his cheek and let out a sigh, smiling softly.

Smile. Parents — ahem, family. Lunch. She could do this. She had to do this.

"I'm sorry, I know I've been quiet but I'm fine," she told him and at his dubious look, she insisted, "I'm fine. I promise. Let's go meet your parents, your uncles, and your mother's best friend. I'm sure Sirius is dying to embarrass us in front of them."

"Believe me, they're all dying to embarrass me in front of you. We could still turn around," James offered her the out one last time.

But they'd come all this way. The car was already parked next to Sirius' motorbike. His parents would have prepared lunch by now. And if they didn't do this, Lily was out of excuses not to tell James about the baby and she wasn't ready for that. Lily looked at the house once more. What if they tried to take control of the baby? She shook her head of that outrageous — almost offensive — thought as soon as it popped into her head. The people who raised James would not be those kind of people, besides, James would never allow it. If she knew anything, she knew that.

"Lil, I'm serious, we can go and next time we attempt you meeting them, I'll book it at a restaurant where you won't be ambushed by half my family."

"Are you trying to hide me away from them?" she teased softly.

"More like trying to save you from them." He considered her again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," she smiled, leaning forward to kiss him. "Let's go."

"All right," he relented. "But before we do … oodie."

"Er, what?"

"Oodie. Mayday call for today. You know the drill, if you want out just work it into a sentence."

It wasn't uncommon for them to do this but…

"Why 'oodie'?"

"Honestly?" he grinned sheepishly. "I'm still thinking about the other night when I fucked you in yours." That got an honest laugh out of her. She tilted her head back slightly as she laughed and he watched her. Covered her hand on his cheek with his own. "Mm, there you are." He kissed the inside of her palm.

"James," she said softly, "I love you."

"I love—"

"OI! Are you two just going to sit out there all day?"

They both turned to see Sirius clad in his staple leather jacket at the front door.

"Prat," James grumbled. He leaned in to kiss Lily one last time. "I love you. Don't let them turn you against me."

Lily laughed at that. "Oh, I hope they tell me loads and loads of embarrassing stories," she teased as she opened her car door.

"Just remember, we're having dinner with your sister next week. Any torture inflicted on me here, I'll make sure you receive in kind," he threatened as he also got out of the car.

"Oh, babe, my sister will tear you to shreds before you even open your mouth. You're going to feel like you're auditioning on the X-Factor in front of Simon Cowell doing a pitchy version of I Will Always Love You."

"That's a very specific feeling."

"Hmm, I feel it every time I'm with my sister. Hello, Sirius." And probable future godfather to my child.

"Hello, I see Marlene talked you into the navy."

"That was your idea?" Lily accused.

"Duh. Are you also wearing the kinky lingerie underneath?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "James can fill you in later."

James squeezed her hand, letting out a soft groan — "I'm not gonna be able to stop thinking about that" — as they walked through the held open door by Sirius into a large foyer featuring a magnificent curved staircase. Along the staircase were beautiful landscape portraits of beaches and cliffs and idyllic stone houses.

"They're of Crete," James told her. "The island my mum is from."

"You two sure took your time," Sirius stated. "Heard you pull up almost five minutes ago. By the way, mate, your parents have got a full blown feast going. Fleamont, Thio Aristiedis and Uncle Isiah are smoking out the garage."

"So I take it everyone's staying," James grimaced.

"Lilika's helping your mum in the kitchen."

"Uh-huh, and what's your excuse?"

"Here for the feed and the entertainment," Sirius admitted. His eyes fell on Lily. "You ready to meet everyone, Micky?"

"God, you better not call me that in front of them," Lily warned, flushing at the stupid nickname he'd given her. He'd taken to calling her Mykonos and then it evolved to Micky pretty quickly and then it stuck — at least for Sirius. No one else had taken to calling her that, thank god.

Sirius only laughed and said, "I make no promises but they are dying to hear the whole story about the two of you since James has been so cagey."

"All they know is that we met in Europe," James explained. "Come on, we'll start off in the kitchen with mum and Lilika," James pulled Lily's hand gently and she followed, her eyes casting around the rooms — dining rooms and drawing rooms and, Jesus Christ, a library — he led her through.

"Did you really grow up here?" Lily murmured. This was a far cry from the three bedroom semi-detached house she grew up in.

"Kicked a ball through that window once with my dad. Mum was livid," James said and Lily smiled at the normalcy of that statement.

Then they were walking through a door and into a large kitchen. The first thing that hit Lily was the smell. It was positively mouthwatering. The next thing she noticed were the two women leaning against the counter, large glasses of red wine in their hands.

"They're here!" a woman that simply had to be James' mother exclaimed.

James was the splitting image of his mother. The same hazel eyes. The same crinkles when she smiled. The same plump lips. The same straight nose. Her hair was mostly silver now but a few black strands still stood out and her skin was permanently tanned. She wore an apron over her sweater and trousers combo and she appraised Lily head to toe.

"Ah ptou sou, ptou sou, you're even prettier than James described!"

"Hi mum," James grinned, hugging his mum and then he was back next to Lily, his hand on her lower back. "Lily, this is my mum, Euphemia. Mum, this is my girlfriend, Lily."

He pronounced her name with a notable Greek pronounciation so it came out 'ef-feh-mi-a'. Lily was sure she would butcher the pronunciation and so decided on:

"Mrs Potter! I'm so glad to finally meet you," Lily smiled warmly. "James has told me so much about you and Sirius says your cooking is to die for."

The woman laughed, "ela, kopela, it is 'Effie', yes?" She grabbed Lily's hands and leaned in to kiss Lily on each of her cheeks. "O James mou has told me so much about you! I was telling him to bring you around from the instant the two of you got back from Tokyo."

Lily was slightly surprised at the, no doubt, Greek accent to Euphemia's speech though she didn't know why. James had told her his mother had grown up in Greece until she moved to England when she was eighteen.

"He's told me a lot about you as well. You have such a lovely home."

"Eh, a house is a house," she waved off warmly.

"Ela re, Dimitri, kai poios eimai ego? Systise me stin koritsi sou!" the other woman said to James in fast, what Lily assumed was, Greek. She was short and plump with deep brown eyes and deep brown hair to match.

"Ela, Nouna, she just walked through the door," James chided back. "Lily, this is Lilika, my mum's best friend and my godmother, 'nouna', in Greek."

"So lovely to meet you," Lily smiled at James' godmother. Lily had heard a few stories about James' godmother too and was actually a little excited to be meeting her.

"Likewise," a mirth passed over her features, "I have to say you are doing a lot better than James' last girlfriend-"

"Oh, nouna!" James whined as Lily spared a smirk in his direction.

"Would you like a glass of wine, Lily?" Euphemia asked. "Lilika and I have opened a bottle of shiraz but I can send the boys to the cellar to fetch you something else."

"A shiraz is perfect," Lily smiled and Euphemia busied herself with grabbing a glass and the bottle. "Thank you."

"So, Lily, James tells us you are a lawyer," Lilika started.

"A barrister, yes," Lily eased. This was easy and familiar territory. Small talk. She could handle small talk. She told Euphemia and Lilika about her job and her time in university. Euphemia handed Lily her glass of wine and Lily laughed when they weren't ashamed to ask what Lily's juiciest case had been thus far and suddenly they were enraptured in Lily detailing various ludicrous lawsuits she'd had to counsel over her two years as a lawyer.

"Oh, you haven't had a chance to even take a sip yet," Euphemia noticed. "Look at us gas-bagging away. Why don't we toast?"

"Ya mas," Lilika waved her glass up and everyone followed suit.

Lily took a sip and then another and then froze. She was pregnant. How could she have forgotten? Oh Jesus, if this was a sign about how motherhood was going to play out for her, she really didn't like her chances of keeping a child alive. In her defence, she'd only known a total of one hour and seven minutes.

What the hell was she supposed to do with a full glass of red wine though? She couldn't drink it. She certainly couldn't give it back. They'd think she was insane. And it's not like a party. She couldn't slip away to the bathroom and take her glass with her unnoticed to tip down the sink. Oh god. Why couldn't she have thought of this seven minutes earlier? She could've made up a weak excuse like 'not in the mood for alcohol' and asked after a juice or a soft drink instead. But no. She was an idiot and now she was in a situation.

The oven dinged.

"Oh," Euphemia set her glass down, "that'll be the kaltsounia! That's the last thing I was waiting on. The boys should be done meh to meat soon. Lilika borise…?"

"Tha pao." She whisked herself away, her glass of wine abandoned on the kitchen counter.

This was also Lily's first taste into just how Greek James' family was. He'd never mentioned how often the language must be spoken in these walls.

"Get ready for your one-oh-one to Greek food," Sirius nudged Lily. "When I first came to the Potters', an innocent five year old boy, I was given more greek food than I could reasonably eat."

"Not like you complained," James snorted. "You took half of it home with you and we haven't been able to get rid of you since."

Euphemia busied herself at the other end of the kitchen, transferring whatever she had just pulled out of the oven onto a plate. Lily took her chance. She whirled to James.

"Love, I, uh, I need you to finish my wine."

"Do you not like it?" he frowned, but took the glass from her.

"No, it's lovely, I just, um, wasn't feeling very well last night so not sure alcohol is for the best on an empty stomach. I think I'm just going to stick with juice or soft drink for the rest of the day to be safe."

Sirius raised a brow at her but James shrugged and took a few large sips but she didn't notice the crease in his forehead and before he could ask, his mother announced they should move into the dining room.

Lily's jaw dropped at the sight of the dining table. It was absolutely covered in dishes of food and it all smelt wonderful. James pulled a chair out for Lily and she sat, still looking at the food and then noticed that Euphemia was struggling to find a place to fit in the kaltsounia she'd just taken out of the oven. Lily spurred into action, moving some dishes around until the plate finally fit.

"Here come the rest," Sirius warned a moment before a file of people bustled into the room.

Three men, with Lilika at the helm holding a massive platter of meats and Lily was up again being introduced to Fleamont, and James' uncles, Aristiedis and Isiah. It was obvious Aristiedis was Euphemia's brother. He had the same tanned skin, same hazel eyes, and the same Greek accent which was a bit stronger than Euphemia's. Fleamont stood out with his very posh British accent and the way he seemed to bastardise Greek words compared to how the others spoke them.

"Married forty years and he still can't roll an 'r' properly," Euphemia sighed endearingly.

They all welcomed Lily warmly, Fleamont commenting, "we've been dying to meet the girl that James hasn't stopped talking about since he met you and, you know, I don't think he's ever brought a ginger home," he told Lily conspiringly.

"Is that so?" Lily smirked and James just shook his head at her in defeat, accepting he wasn't coming out of this embarrassment free.

"You act like I've brought home hundreds of women," James shook his head.

"Everyone, sit, sit. Let's eat before the meat gets cold," Lilika requested.

Then Euphemia promptly began pointing out and naming various dishes to Lily. Dolmades. Saganaki. Lemon chicken wings. A greek salad. Spanikopita. Pilafi. Haloumi. Lemon potatoes. Pastitsio. And then the platter of meat which had lamb cutlets, lamb and chicken souvlakia, lamb chops, beeftekia, and sausages. Lily stared at it all, so overwhelmed and wondered if any other family members were due to arrive because she was sure the feast in front of them couldn't be for only eight people.

Instead of trying to figure out herself where to start, she gave her plate to James and said, "fill it up with your favourites. I don't even know where to start, it all looks amazing! Mrs. Potter, this must have taken hours!"

"Just 'Effie', lovely."

"Mum loves cooking," James supplied, heaping some of the rice — what Euphemia had called 'pilafi' — onto her plate.

"Couldn't pry her away from the kitchen yesterday," Fleamont confirmed.

"There'll be plenty of leftovers so Lily, keep an eye out for anything particular you like and I will make sure to pack some up for you before you leave."

"Oh, that's so kind of you!" Lily gushed.

And lunch kicked off into a steady stream of conversations flowing one into the other. They told all sorts of stories that had Lily in stitches. Some were about James. Some about James and Sirius. Some about Euphemia and Fleamont. Some about James' uncles. Some about Lilika. One that had Lily in stitches was about Aristiedis — pronounced 'a-rri-sti-this'— involving a bus conductor who thought his name was—

"'Mister Bus'," Aristiedis shrugged. "I did not know why he was calling me Mister Bus so I, pos ta lemme, ah, ignore him. Ala, pali to epomeni mera-"

"'The next day'," James translated for Lily.

"He sees me kai leei, 'Mister Bus'! Ante pali me auton to malaka!"

"'Here we go again with this asshole'," Sirius supplied, laughter shaking him slightly.

"Ela, Thio, English," James prodded.

"Ah, ah, sorry, xechasa, xechasa," he waved his hand. "So, Lily, I finally told to malaka 'I am not Mister Bus! I am Aristiedis.'"

"And what did he say?" Lily grinned.

"He said, 'no, you missed the bus'."

Lily laughed so hard she was almost crying and she continued on laughing as Euphemia started on a triage of shenanigans James got up to growing up. Her favourite was—

"So we'd just come back from the shops kai xeries pos einai, bags everywhere, kai general chaos," Euphemia told Lily, "to make matters worse I desperately needed to go to the loo."

"Though, while mum was in the loo," James picked up the story, "I decided to, erm, get the coke bottle and shake it. And I don't just mean one or two shakes. I mean like I shook this thing like it needed enough juice to get to space and back and I put it back on the counter-"

"And I get back from the loo, kai he asks me to anixe — open — the coke."

"Meanwhile, I am a terrified five year old watching all of this go down," Sirius interjected.

"So she opens it," James grinned, "and it went everywhere. The coke shot straight out, hit the ceiling, the floor, the counter, the walls. My mum's dress was soaked."

"I thought the sod was done for," Sirius declared. "I was so nervous for him, I was sitting on my hands. Then he points to me!"

"Oh, you didn't!" Lily laughed. "Such a meanie! Did you yell at James something awful, Effie?"

"She laughed!" James grinned. "She was a stunned mullet for a good few seconds and then she just burst out laughing."

"Oh, well, it was hilarious! I couldn't help myself! Of course, it meant to skato got away with it."

"Skato?" Lily dared ask.

"Shit," James supplied.

And the conversation flowed and flowed. A bit of a debate springing up on one-bedroom versus two-bedroom flats when James had mentioned he and Lily had decided to go with a one-bedroom in Kensington.

"Well, actually we haven't signed anything yet but we're planning to call the agent on Monday. It's close to Lily's work and we like the area and-"

"Actually, I was having second thoughts about that one last night," Lily said. White lie. She hadn't reconsidered it until right this moment. "I'm not sure it's right for us."

James frowned. "You were all for it after the inspection."

"Yeah, I know but is it really smart to move into just a one-bedder? What if we need to host guests or something?" she said lamely. Host guests. That was a weak excuse but she couldn't exactly say we need another bedroom for the baby. The baby he thought would look like an alien.

Euphemia hadn't been shy about mentioning the possibility though.

"A spare bedroom never hurts. What if you have a baby down the line? Where would you put it?"

James had spluttered into his glass of wine and given Lily a 'see what I mean' look.

"Jesus, mum, we've only been together three months."

Lily felt her stomach twist and trip. How was she supposed to tell him she was pregnant? Tomorrow's problem, she reminded herself.

The conversation moved on as swiftly and easily as everyone ate and eat they did. They all but shoved food down Lily's throat, offering seconds and thirds and 'oh! You must try this'. Lily was so thoroughly fit to burst that she was honestly considering unbuttoning her jeans to give herself space to breathe. It wasn't an uncommon feeling across the table.

"This is almost worse than Easter," Sirius groaned. "I think I'm going to be in a food coma later."

"A what?" Lily laughed.

"A food coma," Sirius said.

"It's when you eat so much you need to sleep it off," James said. "Common occurrence here."

"Eitan, ti? Three years ago? James slept through half of Christmas Day," Lilika told Lily.

Lily had something she was going to say, she really did, except she felt a lurch in her stomach. The same one she'd had this morning when…

"James, bathroom?"

"I'll show you," he said, getting up. Oh, god, he was going to hear her throw up but now wasn't the time to argue about it unless she wanted to vomit in front of everyone. When they were out of the dining room James went to say something, walking slowly.

"James, bathroom," Lily demanded cutting off whatever he was about to say, her fist to her mouth as she tried to hold back a gag.

"Lil?" he questioned, noticing her pale face and, "shit, okay."

He grabbed her elbow and pulled her through the house quickly, opening a door. She barrelled into the bathroom and collapsed in front of the toilet, throwing up. James knelt beside her, pulling her hair away from her face and rubbed her back soothingly. He waited until she was finished, flushed the toilet and handed her a wad of toilet paper.

"You okay?"

"Mmm," she grimaced. "Is it weird that I still feel full?"

He laughed at that. "You never leave a Greek lady's house without having been fed enough to last a week."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time." Lily lifted herself off the floor, sticking her head under the tap to wash her mouth out. "You better not dare mention this out there. I don't want your parents thinking I hated their food or something."

"Was it something with the food? I know Greek food is maybe a bit heavier than stuff you normally-"

"No, no! The food was fantastic," Lily reassured. "I just, I told you I wasn't feeling well. I vomited this morning as well."

"You did?" his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Yeah," she shrugged, trying to sound casual but through the mirror she caught James' face. The cogs were whirring behind his eyes. He was putting it together. Oh God. Not here. Not now.

"Wait … first no alcohol and- and changing your mind about the flat and weren't you — you were complaining about being a week late the other day and now," James looked at her. "Lily…?"

"Not now," she said determinedly. They really couldn't do this now. Shouldn't do this now. His parents and a good chunk of his family were a few rooms over waiting for them.

"But are you-?"

"Not now," Lily pleaded but that was confirmation enough combined with the look on her face.

"Oh, sweet Jesus," James' face paled.

Great. James was her about two hours and forty-three minutes ago.

I hope you guys enjoyed!

I also hope you liked the couple of stories I weaved in that have actually happened in my family lol

Hopefully the Greek I included wasn't too much that you couldn't get the gist or vibes or whatever - everything is Google translatable anyways but yeah

Let me know what you guys thought in the comments or on tumblr: inthe-afterglows

xxx