Author's note: Sometimes I forget how cute these two are. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.
Hogwarts: Assignment #3, Healer Studies Task #1: Murtlap essence vs. painkillers: Prompt: Write a fic with the genre hurt/comfort
Warnings: First Wizarding World; pregnancy anxiety; nightmares
Two Is Better Than One
Lily hadn't even shot up completely before James had woken up and put a hand on the small of her back. He had very quickly become a light sleeper, since these nightmares of hers had started.
"You're okay, you're okay," he said—struggling to both wake himself up fully enough to be useful, and reach for the light on his nightstand without letting go of her. Eventually he managed it, and even got his glasses on his face so he could properly see her as he ran circles on her back.
Lily, on her end, bent forwards to quell the nausea that always rose in her chest after nightmares like these. She wrapped both of her arms around her swollen belly as she took deep, even breaths to calm herself down. James pulled her red hair away from her neck which was covered in a thin sheet of sweat. She'd been overheating so easily in the summer weather that he had gotten into the habit of keeping a hair band around her wrist, so he was able to gently tie it up and away from her face.
"Breathe it out," James said, though the worry leaked into his tone. It did not usually take her this long to ground herself and, after weeks of this now, James had plenty of experience to base his worries on.
"I'm okay," she finally said. "I'm okay."
"Of course you are," he said, kissing her cheek. "You're the strongest woman in the world, Lily. You're okay."
"I'm okay," she repeated, as if she were trying to talk herself into it.
"Come here," he said, opening his arms up to her. She shifted awkwardly to slide closer to him, since the baby bump made almost everything awkward for her this late in her pregnancy. They were only a few weeks out from having a real life baby, after all, which was absolutely mind-boggling to James.
"Is he kicking up a storm?" James asked her when he saw Lily's hands drift back to rest on her belly bump, around where her belly button might be. That seemed to be a particularly kickable spot, from the baby's perspective.
"He always is," Lily said softly.
"He's going to be a Beater, I can feel it," James said to distract her—since she thought his constant predictions were both endearing, silly, stupid, and funny (frankly, a killer combo that James aimed for regularly but achieved rarely).
"You won't pass on all of your Chaser wisdom?" Lily asked with half-hearted mock shock.
"Nah, he'll figure it out himself. I have complete faith," James said. Lily laughed and then winced.
"Ouch! You know, I swear I'm black and blue on the inside. He always manages to find the same spot to kick," she said.
"Huh. Maybe he's a Seeker after all," James said. Lily nuzzled into him some more and he kissed the top of her head.
"Love… I don't want to be pushy, but you need your rest," James said with hesitation. "Were the nightmares… were they the same as..?"
He trailed off and it took a second for Lily to respond, from her spot in the crook of his arms.
"Yes," she said. "They've been the same ever since Dumbledore told us about the prophecy. About how it might be Frank or Alice's baby, or it could be ours."
James nodded. That's what he had been afraid of. He had dedicated his life to making himself, and the world, better for Lily Evans—and now for the baby they were making and putting out into the world. He had made himself less of an idiot. He was working with the Order to make the world safer and more equitable. He'd fixed up their little cottage bit by bit ever since she'd fallen in love with it and they'd moved in. He was perfecting his lamb korma and chocolate chip biscuit recipes so that they would be perfect for her. But fate? Destiny? The stars or God or whatever the fuck was pulling the strings of time, space, and the universe? Those weren't things James could do much about and he hated it. He'd always hated divination in school and he hated it even more now that a prophecy was looming over the three of them.
"It might not be about our baby," James said emptily—because was it really better for the prophecy's to be the Longbottoms' baby? A selfish part of James said yes, but really both outcomes were terrible and he didn't feel good about either of the two possibilities Dumbledore had outlined to them all. Still, he tried to sound cheerful and sure to uplift her. "And Voldemort doesn't know about the prophecy yet, right? He might not find out for… well, ever, but at least not for a long time if we're lucky."
"Right," Lily said, although she didn't sound convinced or convincing. James propped his chin up on top of his hair and tried not to get distracted or stupid over the smell of her flowery shampoo. They'd been married for almost two years now, he should be better than this. And yet he always fell apart a little around her, which didn't bode well for his ability to not be as indulgent as his own parents had been with him.
"I just… It's been hard enough to keep him safe when he's inside of me and I get to carry him around, shield him from things, hide him away. I don't know what I'll do when he's born and the whole world can just… can just reach out and touch him," Lily said in a small voice. "That's why the nightmares don't stop coming. It's a big world and there's so, so much that can go wrong and grab him or take him or hurt him and… there's a new thing to worry about, a new way things could go wrong, every time I close my eyes."
James pondered as his nose focused on differentiating all the different flowers that made up her smell.
"When he's born, I'll be significantly more useful in taking care of him," James promised. "When you're done making him and he's born, I'll be there to hold him and carry him and shield him too. You're going to be the best mum in the world and you already are, but two is always better than one isn't it? I'll try to be a good number two for you. For him."
Lily's arms relaxed, as she kept holding her baby bump and James reached down to rest a hand over her arms.
"You're going to be a good father," she said softly. "I knew that already, but thank you for reminding me. It… it helps."
"And we're going to be a good team, you and I," James went on.
"True," Lily said, leaning against him now as if she was going to fall asleep against his chest—which was just about his favourite thing in the world. "Two really is better than one."
WC: 1169
