Chapter 6 – 20 weeks
"Pssst Lily."
"Hmmmm."
"Mummy? Wakey wakey."
"Go away," Lily murmured as she pulled the blankets up higher, getting a soft chuckle in return as she swatted at the voice.
"Ah, but then your breakfast will get cold," came the cheeky reply.
"Breakfast?" blearily Lily opened her eyes enough to peek out from underneath the blankets.
"In bed?" she continued curiously as she spotted a tray on the nightstand.
"Yup, so sit up so that I can serve it to you."
"I'm not exactly dressed," Lily protested as she became more aware of her surroundings.
"Not even a nightshirt?" Although she couldn't see him she just knew he was grinning at her.
"I'm wearing panties?" she couldn't help but grin back at him, not the least bit uncomfortable at the topic.
"... Here," his dark form disappeared from her limited view for a few moments before he dropped a piece of clothing into her awaiting hands.
"That isn't mine," she laughed as she identified the shirt he had given her.
"Who cares?"
"James might?"
"Oh please, I'm always wearing his clothing so you as his wife certainly are entitled to wear his clothing now and then," Sirius shot at her bemused as he turned his back to her so that she could slip into the shirt before sitting up.
"How come you are serving breakfast in bed?" she asked as she eyed the tray again.
"It is Mother's Day and James is passed out on the couch so I thought I'd serve it to you instead."
"Mother's day? But the baby isn't born yet."
"So? Doesn't mean that you aren't a mother yet," Sirius shrugged before he picked up the tray and placed it on her lap.
"You know...technically you are a mother too, you know?" Lily teased him as she looked at the display of food before glancing at him with twinkling eyes.
Sirius stared at her speechless for a long moment before he managed to recover.
"Well...I guess I will just have to steal a piece of toast from you then," he finally said and Lily laughed.
"Hmm... and crawl in beside me or it is not a true breakfast in bed," she answered as she pulled back the sheets on the other side of the bed, inviting him in.
"I'm not going to say no to that. It's rather cold out here," Sirius grinned as he moved around the bed and crawled in beside her with some difficulties.
"Soon you won't be able to get into bed anymore," Lily told him with a glance at his swollen abdomen.
"James already lowered my bed last night when he noticed I couldn't get inside effortless
anymore," Sirius admitted as he tucked the blankets around him.
"He's truly taking his orders very seriously."
"Pretty much, yeah. I only have to think about something and he's already arranging for me to get it. I have to admit it is rather endearing."
Lily laughed. "Hard to get mad when he's so enthusiastic, huh?"
"Not mad, just drives me crazy sometimes," he paused before a small smile spread over his lips. "But I much rather have him behave like this than that he wouldn't care."
"True. And his doting on you tells me he will make a fantastic father."
"Oh he will. You both will. This baby will be lucky with such loving parents."
"And with such an amazing godfather," Lily added as she smiled at him.
Sirius hesitated before he looked at his hands.
"Do you really think I'd be a good godfather? Cause you know...it is not too late to change to someone more capable like Remus."
Lily stared at him for a long moment flabbergasted before she realised he was actually serious. She picked up the half eaten tray from her lap and placed it back onto the nightstand before she turned to face him.
"Do you truly still doubt yourself? Despite all that you have already done?" she asked.
Sirius glanced at her for a brief moment before he looked back to his hands.
"I know next to nothing about children. The only child I know is Andromeda's and I only truly saw Dora a handful of times. What if I drop the baby when you let me hold him or I don't know what to do and accidentally hurt him?" He rambled, his voice lowering more and more until it was barely above a whisper.
Lily sighed with a fond smile.
"You won't drop the baby. If anything you will wrap him up in bubble wrap in your attempt to keep him safe."
Sirius let out a choked laugh, his lower lip trembling slightly.
"I'm being ridiculous aren't I?"
"No, just hormonal. It is rather adorable to be honest and quite frankly you aren't half as bad as the books claim pregnant people are."
"Those pregnant people don't have you guys at their side. I'm pretty content most of the time," he frowned. "Except for the times when I feel like a cat that just ate a bowl of milk. Then I am just plainly terrified of myself."
Lily laughed before she snuck an arm around his shoulder.
"Come here."
Sirius leaned against her for a long moment before he sighed.
"That's not very comfortable."
He shifted so that he was more comfortable as he leaned his head against her shoulder.
"Have you slept?" Lily asked as she could clearly see the tiredness in his eyes. She glanced at the clock to see it was close to six in the morning and suddenly wondered if he had slept at all.
She felt Sirius shrug. "A bit."
Lily sighed. "Lay down."
"What?" Sirius looked at her confused.
"Lay down with your head resting on my lap," Lily ordered.
Sirius gave her a bemused look before he complied and did as she had told him to do, curling slightly up against her legs while facing away from her.
"Now, I want you to try and relax," she spoke softly before she started to brush her index finger over his right eyebrow slowly, starting at his eye and moving outward.
Sirius stiffened at her action.
"Shhh, just close your eyes and relax," she ordered, smiling when she felt him try to relax.
"My mother used to do this any time I couldn't sleep and it always helped."
"It is rather nice," Sirius admitted softly, his voice tired and soft as he yawned and relaxed completely against her.
Lily only smiled, knowing that if she kept silent he would fall asleep in no time.
She was proven right when his breathing evened out fairly quickly and her smile widened slightly as she looked at his relaxed form.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"He's finally asleep?" She opened her eyes startled, realising that she had dozed off.
"Hey...yeah," she replied softly as she yawned before she glanced at the clock.
"Is it already that late?" she asked as she realised almost six hours had passed and it was close to noon.
"Hmm, I thought I'd let you both sleep. He hasn't really slept well last night."
"He mentioned it, though he didn't say why."
"First another nightmare woke him, then he threw up and finally stomach aches kept him awake. It was horrible."
James moved into the bedroom and sat on the bed edge.
"Has he managed to eat anything?" he asked even softer as he noticed the tray.
"A bit of toast and a sip from my tea. He looked so tired I was more concerned with getting him to sleep than to have him eat."
She glanced at Sirius before looking back to James. "Do you think it will help if I made some soup?"
"It might. If it is light enough there is a chance it might stay in."
"I'll make some chicken soup then," Lily decided before she and James carefully switched places.
"Shhh, it's all right, just sleep some more," Lily whispered as Sirius shifted when James moved his head onto his legs and wrapped an arm around his waist loosely.
"Brush your finger over his eyebrow."
James followed her advice with his free hand and Sirius settled again.
"I'd forgotten that trick. Mum used it to try and soot me whenever I felt sick."
"Mine too, but Sirius wasn't familiar with it."
"His parents would never have used a loving gesture like that on him," James' tone held an angry note to it, though he managed to keep it low enough not to wake his friend.
"I know, we'll just have to show him all the love we can now to make up for his lousy relatives," Lily said determinedly before she glanced at Sirius' sleeping form.
"What was the nightmare about this time?"
"Him failing to keep the baby safe. He dreamed that Voldemort showed up and that he was unable to stop the bastard from hurting the baby. He has been having that nightmare a lot." James answered softly as he caressed Sirius' hair a bit.
"I had hoped that he would skip that phase of the pregnancy," Lily sighed.
"Not likely. He´s been having nightmares for as long as I have known him. Life wouldn't be fair to him and give him a break just because of this," James sighed too before he looked down at his best friend again.
"I just wish I could do something to ..." he trailed off as he frowned and shifted his attention to his arm.
Suddenly his eyes widened in shock as Sirius shifted underneath his arm a bit.
"Oh...OH! Siri...Sirius, wake up," he shook him lightly with his free hand.
"James?" Sirius asked tiredly before he yawned and shifted so that he was lying on his back.
"You know those stomach aches you've been having, Siri?"
"Yeah?"
"Those aren't stomach aches," James laughed suddenly.
"What?" Sirius and Lily both looked at him confused.
"That's the baby kicking...I felt him move just now."
Both Sirius and Lily stared at him for a long moment as his words got through to them before Sirius looked down and Lily sat back down on the bed immediately.
"Can I?" she hesitated as she reached her hand out but Sirius pulled his nightshirt up immediately with a nod.
All three of them placed a hand on his bare abdomen.
"I don't feel anything," Lily said softly after several moments had passed.
"Just wait...I know what I felt," James looked down at his hand in concentration.
They all waited in silence for another few moments before they all felt it.
"That...wow...that's..." Lily exclaimed excitedly as she felt light taps against her palm.
"Amazing, but...does that mean he's been kicking for hours already?" Sirius asked confused once the tapping stopped completely again.
"I think so...I only noticed because my arm was around your waist when he kicked."
"His first kicks..." Lily looked at his abdomen in awe as she carefully rubbed her thumb over the skin in a caressing movement despite the baby having settled again.
"If I had realised it before I would have called you immediately," Sirius apologised as he looked at her.
Lily shrugged. "I'm actually surprised we can already feel him. The books said that you would probably be able to feel the baby between week twenty and twenty-two, long before we would be able to feel him."
Sirius bit his lip as he sat up, letting his shirt fall down again. "I know...but I wanted to let you know the moment I'd first feel him and I failed."
His voice was regretful and his expression so sad that Lily couldn't help but to lean forward and pull him into a hug.
"Thank you," she whispered into his ear as he returned it and tears filled her eyes. He had included her into every little thing that had happened so far. Every change, no matter how small, he had told her about. Every phase he had included her in so that she was a part of this as much as she could be.
He didn't want her to feel left out and it had helped her enormously at the moments she missed her baby the most. To know he was still there and she hadn't lost him at all. That just because she herself wasn't pregnant anymore didn't mean she wouldn't be a mother.
Every little thing Sirius did, like breakfast on bed today because it was Mother's Day, made her feel happier than anything. He was just so sweet and thoughtful to her all the time.
Despite what his own feelings must be about all this, he always put her feelings before his own. And she would never truly be able to thank him for that. She would never be able to show him how much she appreciated what he was doing for her.
A growling sound made her pull back surprised while Sirius laughed.
"Sorry, I'm a bit hungry."
"I suppose we should feed you something then," she laughed too as she ruffled his hair.
"What is it with you two and treating me like a puppy? He asked as he swatted at her hand playfully.
"But Padfoot...you are a dog," Lily laughed.
"Am I now?" he poked her into the side, making Lily yelp in surprise before Sirius pulled her down onto the bed and started to tickle her merciless while James hurriedly got out of the way.
Lily squealed as she tried to wiggle out from under his tickling fingers.
"I give in...I give in!" she eventually managed to get out breathlessly and Sirius leaned over her, his eyes twinkling in laugher.
"Are you going to feed me before I bite then?" he asked before he leaned down and pressed his cold nose against hers for a moment, making her laugh again.
"All right, I'll feed you," she pushed him away lightly and he sat back onto his knees as he laughed, too.
"Is there any chance I'll be fed, too?" James asked teasingly as he looked at the two from his safe spot at the wall.
Lily gave him a calculating look. "That depends on what you have to offer for that food."
"A kiss?" James offered immediately.
"That's not really an offering for me though," Sirius pouted as Lily laughed.
"I could give you a kiss, too," James grinned as he moved towards them.
Sirius snorted. "Not good enough."
"All right, then what would you want as an offering?" James asked as he sat back down onto the bed and wrapped his arms around Sirius from behind.
Sirius automatically leaned back against him as he looked thoughtful.
"I guess this will have to do as I can't think of anything else," he decided eventually.
"No cravings?" Lily asked.
"Hmmmm, not really no." Sirius shook his head lightly before he yawned.
"I'll make some soup then," she said as she moved from the bed.
"I'll help," Sirius said immediately as he moved out of James' hold and slid off the bed.
"Aren't the two of you forgetting something?" James asked with a chuckle.
"Like what?" Lily asked as she turned to him.
"Putting on some clothes? You are both rather underdressed," James answered cheekily. "If fact, if you two had been anyone else I'd have been worried over your intentions with each other."
Lily and Sirius glanced at each other's clothing to realise they were both only dressed in their underwear and a long shirt belonging to James.
Sirius grinned. "It truly is a nice shirt on you."
Lily maturely stuck out her tongue at him before she moved to the closet to grab some proper clothes and tossed a pair of pants at Sirius.
"Soon James' clothes won't fit me anymore either," he complained as he slipped into the pair of pants and took off the belt because he didn't need it anymore.
"Dad gave me some robes of his that you can wear once my clothes don't fit you anymore. And else if you prefer to keep wearing Muggle clothes I could always ask Tiffy to pick something up for you."
"It would be kind of a waste of money to buy new clothes for a temporary situation wouldn't it be?" Sirius asked.
"Not if it makes you feel more comfortable. You hate robes and you should dress as comfortable as you can right now," Lily answered as she had dressed in the meantime, too.
"And after the baby is born we could always donate the clothes to charity or so," she continued.
"I don't want to be a bother," Sirius sighed.
"You're not a bother. Though it might be wiser to get pants made especially for pregnant women. It might be a bit undignified but if you have to buy pants that fit your belly properly, then your pant legs will be enormous. Especially since outside the pregnant belly you are skinny as hell," James said as he looked at his form. "And it's not like anyone outside us and mum and dad will see you."
"I don't feel skinny," Sirius laughed before he shrugged. "Now is not the time to be worried about appearances so maternity pants would be a wise idea. Though if you could ask Tiffy to get a neutral colour I'd be grateful."
"And if they are a bit girly we could always transfigure them a bit," Lily said.
"Mum said a bit of our magic probably wouldn't hurt, but do we really want to take the chance after what happened last time?" James asked and Lily and Sirius both winced as they remembered last time.
"To be fair...that wasn't truly Tiffy's fault." Sirius immediately defended the Potter's oldest House Elf.
"It wasn't. There was no way any of us could have predicted you would react so violently to magic. You have no problem with mum using magic for the magical ultrasounds so there was no indication magic would hurt you like Tiffy's did," James reassured him he wasn't blaming the House Elf.
"I still wonder why that is though. We can't use any magic even when you are on the other side of the house or you'll at least get a severe headache, but James' mother's magic doesn't hurt you at all," Lily frowned.
"I don't know. I'm not about to experiment with it to find out though. One round of passing out for three days before waking up with every muscle in my body on fire is enough for me if you don't mind."
"Yeah...let's just ask Tiffy to buy neutral colours," James winced as he remembered how terrified he had been when Sirius had suddenly collapsed in the middle of the kitchen upon the arrival of the old trusty house-elf.
Even now, two months later he could still feel cold sweat run down his spine at the memory of his best friend, his brother, collapsing like that without a warning.
He shook his head to pull himself out of his thoughts before sliding off the bed and moving over to Lily and Sirius.
"I'll ask Tiffy if she'll pick up the clothes while you guys make soup. Anything else you'd want her to pick up?"
"Not right now. Right now I just want soup," Sirius answered.
"Let's make you some soup then," Lily smiled before she and Sirius walked to the kitchen and James left to the garden so that he could contact Tiffy without causing Sirius discomfort.