SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. ENJOY.
James was awake with the sun. Early morning light flooded through the open window of the small bedroom, and it took him several long moments to realize that he was in the room he had been sharing with Lily at headquarters since the raid on their flat in london. He sat up dizzily, a sudden head rush bringing back memories that he would just as soon have forgotten. Paris, the death eaters and the old man, and blood, so much blood. He found his glasses on the side table and pulled them on, looking down at his bare chest, but the only difference was his newly acquired European tan. He touched his palm to the spot that he remembered and the skin burned hot against his hand. He withdrew it immediately and tried to remember anything after the blood. Where was Lily? He remembered hearing her scream just before everything had gone black. Was she alright?
He pulled himself to his feet and dug through the closet and the piles of junk that had been stored in this room by previous owners of the house. He found a t-shirt, wincing as he pulled it over his head.
He leapt over the luggage that had been brought from the hotel in Paris and now lay abandoned in the doorway and set off down the stairs in search of life. Doors to either side of the hall were open but the rooms were empty and the few beds that he would have expected to be occupied were undisturbed. He was beginning to think he was alone when he reached the bottom floor and the sounds of conversation and an early breakfast could be heard coming from the kitchen.
He pushed the door open and was instantly hailed with cries of welcome. A dozen smiling faces looked up at him from the table. Several people leaped to their feet and surrounded him. He breathed a sigh of relief as Lily came towards him, her face white with the exception of the dark circles under her eyes. He saw her glance out the window as she reached out to him and he could tell that she was surprised to see the daylight. He wondered when she had last slept.
She hugged him gently, as if he was particularly delicate but even the light touch made his chest burn angrily. He grimaced and she pulled away quickly and lead him to a seat across from his friends, who all looked at him with slightly concerned looks on their faces. He looked around the table and noticed that the old man was there, still wearing the electric blue robes that matched the color of the magical eye of the man who sat beside him, taking a swig from his hip flask, the blue eye on James.
Lily had slumped back down in the chair between Padfoot and Moony and he noticed that the others were giving her looks of concern that matched the ones they offered him.
"How long was I asleep?" he asked. Lily sat up straighter and answered, her emerald eyes duller than usual. She didn't seem to be eating anything. He couldn't remember if she had been hurt.
"About seventy two hours." She glanced around at the others at the table and then gestured at the old man.
"This is Dominique. He saved our lives that night. He's an old friend of Dumbledore's and part of the order. He was following us on our honeymoon."
James nodded, she didn't need to spell it out for him. Most of what she said, he had already guessed.
"Thank you."
Dominique smiled and returned to his sausages and James realized suddenly just how hungry he was. He reached for the nearest plate of toast.
"So what's been going on since we left?"
The pleasant atmosphere in the room changed in an instant, sending a chill down his spine. A dozen conversations up and down the table came to an abrupt halt and every head turned towards him. He very slowly lowered the toast he was holding and put it back on it's plate.
"What happened?"
Lily leaned her head against the back of her chair and closed her eyes. Padfoot and Moony both looked at her, the others exchanged glances.
James turned to look at Moody who was staring right back at him with both his magical and normal eyes.
"Dearborn's gone missing" he said.
"What?!"
"We don't know exactly when or where, he wasn't on duty so there's no knowing. His house was undisturbed, but we think they finally got him. No body or nothing, so they could be torturing him."
James felt the blood draining from his face. Caradoc Dearborn was missing.
"When?"
"A week after you left" Moony told him.
Better dead than what Voldemort and the death eaters would do to him.
****
The marauders found Lily spread on the lawn on her back, with her hands behind her neck, her hair spread out around her head like a halo. She stared up into the bright blue sky without blinking and didn't look around as they approached.
"Lily?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you alright?"
She looked around then and gave him a vague smile.
"Don't worry about me, I think I just have a bug or something. How are you doing?" She raised herself onto one elbow.
James was feeling much better than Lily looked. He saw Padfoot and Moony exchanging concerned looks again. It was starting to get on his nerves.
He lowered himself to the ground beside her and the others took up spots around them, leaning back and enjoying the sun that came down, warming them.
"I'm fine. Are you sure your okay?"
"Yes, I'm sure" she replied, sounding annoyed. She sat up abruptly so that he couldn't see her face.
"I've told you, it's just the flu or something."
"I figure she's knocked up" Padfoot said jokingly. Peter elbowed him in the ribs and a long silence fell. James wished that his friends would just give them a minute to themselves.
"Lily?"
He sat up too and put a hand on her arm. A light breeze lifted her hair and it tickled gently at the back of his hand.
"Lily?" he repeated.
She turned towards him slowly, looking freaked and then her face broke into a bright smile, surprising them all.
"What-?"
"Oh my god James. Oh my god."
Lily was on her feet and the others followed suit, utterly confused. She threw her arms around his neck, laughing, and he realized with a start that she was crying too.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" she cried.
James put both hands on her shoulders and held her at arms length, staring into her face. Her eyes shone again. She looked a little insane.
"What's wrong?"
Lily was still grinning. He could see and feel his friends pressed in close beside him on either side and he knew they were equally confused and worried.
"James, I think he's right. Sirius was right."
It took him several long moments to figure out what she was talking about and to bring up the last thing he had heard his friend say.
And then they were all laughing with her. He hugged her tightly, ignoring the pain that burned in his chest. His friends were clapping him on the back and congratulating them. Padfoot gave a whoop of joy, punching the air. Moony was grinning widely, and Wormtail seemed to be bouncing up and down. James felt every bad feeling he had been experiencing melt away, all the pain, anger and concern was gone.
He was going to be a father.
