AN: This chapter gets a bit dark. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THERE IS DESCRIPTION OF PHYSICAL ABUSE. I have experienced emotional manipulation so I'm basing a lot of the information of research and applying my experience. If you feel like those details will trigger or make you uncomfortable, I will do a quick summary of what you need to know and star (***) when the descriptive scenes begin.

James paced the penthouse for hours before he got a text from Crouch with a hotel address and room number. Crouch was a good PI for many reasons. One being that he knew how to get results, and he knew who the true customer was. Sirius called and technically requested the information, but James had shortly called after and demanded that Crouch give him the information first. He had also told Crouch to wait off on sending Sirius the information until he was ready for him. James asked for Crouch to send a picture to identify the scum of the earth he was looking for.

After talking with Lily about her past he wanted to kill Severus. Someone who was so manipulative taking advantage of his soulmate ripped his heart open. Hearing that Lily was missing, and Sirius suspected she had willingly gone back to her ex was terrifying. She had said that she had left her house keys. A sign that she didn't think she would need them, which was also odd because she had also said Remus always kept the door locked. All the signs pointed to her going back willingly.

James pulled up to the hotel. A business event was finishing up and there were people chatting in the hall. James walked up to the reception desk and handed the woman a hundred-dollar bill.

"I need a copy of the key for 261."

The woman simply stared at him. James didn't want to wait for a police warrant to get a key or sit in the lobby all night for Lily or Severus to come out. He folded another four and placed it in her hand. The woman quickly turned to the computer and handed him a key.

James knew from Crouch that Severus was at this event for his work. If he hadn't already gone back to the room, James didn't have much time to get Lily. He rapped his knuckles against the door. No answer, no movement that he could hear. He slipped the door open. The room was dark and the bed creaked as someone moved.

As he turned the corner, Lily was perched on the edge of the bed. Obviously surprised to see him. Even in the dark, he could see the handprint on her cheek and split lip she was sporting. "Get whatever bag you came with and leave with me now, please."

"I'm not going to leave with you. I'm with Severus now. He'd be really upset if he saw me with someone else, even if we are just friends."

James wanted to scream and pull out his hair. There were two sort of options he could go with, he could reason to her sensible side if she wasn't too far gone, or if she was to far in the delusion, he would need to play within the boundaries of that delusion to get her somewhere safe. There was one way to test if that sensibility was at the surface right now.

"Lily, was he the one to split you lip?"

"It's not what you think. You don't know what happened before that. I had said something…"

Ok, rational was gone. She was a danger to herself and he knew that she had played into Severus' lies for whatever reason. James went for a half lie that might pull her out of it.

"Remus really needs you. He went into a full panic and no one can pull him out of it. He's just outside. I'll bring you back before Severus even knows your gone."

Lily's eyes glazed over. "He and Sirius seemed to have connected, I'm sure he can pull him out."

James made a note of that. One of the triggers to send her back seemed to be Sirius' relationship with Remus. "For my sanity, please. Sirius isn't helping much, and he's just been asking for you."

Her face turned into a sad smile and tears rolled down her chin. "Severus asked me not to see him anymore. He's part of the reason we broke up last time. If I want to be with Severus, I need to stop seeing Remus."

James was running out of ideas and time. He quickly pulled out his phone and sent Crouch the 'ok' message he had saved to signal to send the information to Sirius. All his ideas were to high probability of failing in his mind. He didn't love the idea. Especially with her lip looking like it did, but he was stronger than her. If he needed to carry her fireman style, kicking and screaming, he could.

James grabbed her upper arm and panic hit her body. She froze and kept eye contact with him the entire time. He wanted to throw-up at the look she gave him. At the fear evident in her body language, but this was important. Her safety was in jeopardy. He knew it was wrong but getting her out was the only thing on his mind. Now that she was off the bed and the light from the bathroom lit the rest of her, he could see at the hem of her shirt there was the start of a pretty bad bruises across her stomach.

He did what he thought would best. He got angry at her. He went to use her fear against her. He was so desperate, and it was the only thing he could think of. "You are going to leave with me now and you have no option. It would be a mistake to stay here. I'll carry you out on my shoulder if I have to."

Lily started to shake with tears and nodded her head moving to grab her bag. They had run out of time though. A slender man with short hair and a hooked nose stood in the doorway. An abuser wasn't going to give up his toy so easily. There was no rationale or fear tactic James could use on him that would allow Lily to leave with him now.

Severus remained calm. He simply walked into the room sizing James up. He held out his arm to Lily who looked between the two men. James regretted making her fear him for this 'rescue' attempt. She slowly walked forward skirting as far from James as she could and helped Severus with his cuff links.

"Is this the man you've been talking about all night? After you flirted with my boss all evening of course."

Lily's voice came out small. James could hardly hear her. "Yes."

"This was your replacement for me the past few weeks? Sold your body out for some help on the bills?"

She just nodded this time. The situation was so much worse than James anticipated. Lily would do anything to placate this man's wrath and then tell herself she deserved it when he couldn't hold it back. Severus had a hook in deep.

"You got tired of her that fast?" He directed the question at James this time. James remained quiet. He wouldn't play into this game anymore. "Did the bills overwhelm you? She is in quite the amount of debt. Petunia wasn't much help being absorbed in her new union."

Severus was trying to get a rise out of James. He was trying to 'alpha' male James. Showing him that he was in charge of the situation. He wasn't though. James knew that he had help on the way and that Remus would stop at nothing to make sure Lily came with him. He would demand justice and make sure that Severus only left the hotel in a cop car.

"Did James share you too? With his art friend? Did you give into that demand for him too? Did you bargain for extra, or did you do it just to try to keep him?"

Screw waiting. Severus looked fit enough, but James wrestled in high school and college. He pinned Severus into a position he wouldn't get out of easily on the ground. Every time Severus tried to move James hit him, but the man did not learn to stay down. Lily was frozen in the corner curled into a ball, her hands on her head.

Severus took advantage of James' distracted state and got into a more even position. The two were going at it. James gained control and pinned him against the wall.

Severus moved his eyes to Lily. "He won't love you, you know. He doesn't know you. I'm sure he'll leave as soon as he finds out all about you. I on the other hand have the patience to put up with it at least."

James saw red. He wanted to put Severus' head through the wall. He wanted to snap his neck off. The only thing in that moment that stopped him was the sound of the door unlocking.

Police ran into the room. They pulled the two men off each other and handcuffed them both. One of them attempted to pull Lily up, but she just screamed. It was a knife to his heart. James wanted to run over and comfort her, but the current situation didn't call for it. Thankfully, he saw Sirius escorted in and pull Lily into his arms. He cradled her in his arms and gave a brief look to James.

She was ok. She would be fine with time. That was what mattered right now.