This was fucking lame. James felt completely discombobulated and unsure about everything. One of the many things he prided himself about was his ability to shrug his shoulders and then act laid back while having as much control over his situation as possible. That wasn't really how things were working. Hell that wasn't how things had worked since the first moment he had been separated from his wife and friends. Sure he had encountered friends in the place where he went but what was the point of a world without Lily?
And in some cruel twist of fate or whatever was fucking with them, he was here now and so was his wife and everything had been turned on its head. A daughter. A daughter that, at least according to all of the information he had encountered was not part of their original history. Of course what did it matter? She was his of course. Just a different his? James took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes, giving a shake of his head.
He finally pushed up to standing, knowing that sitting out here amongst the trees wasn't doing anything but delaying the inevitable. He tried to give himself a pep talk as he walked, assuring himself that everything was okay and that when he saw Lily it would be like all the pieces snapped back into place. His daughter would be...something to get used to. James was never all that keen on having children. He wasn't raised around other kids and at least right now at the age of 19 he was selfish and not interested in sharing his wife with anyone else. When he was first taken he had met the young man who was his son and that had caused a swell of fatherly pride that he hadn't anticipated. James had come to terms with being a dad, less to terms with the fact that he wouldn't be one for long and then finally decided that he looked forward to the birth of Harry. In the future. Future.
James batted large green leaves from a vine out of his face, muttering as he walked. His steps gained speed and purpose. He hadn't seen his wife in so long that he was struggling to even remember how it felt to have her small hand encased in his. What did it matter if there was a baby or even fifty babies? She was still Lily and he was still as in love with her as he had been when he saw that freckled face split into a smile as she was placed in Gryffindor.
He heard his wife before he saw her and just snorted at her rhetorical question. He wasn't impossible! And surely...James' eyes fell on the small person who was currently reaching in vain for whatever Lily had thrown and looking at her mother with a face full of betrayal. James hadn't expected his heart to squeeze so painfully when he saw her or to feel as if he couldn't breathe. He hadn't known if he was ever going to see her again and now here she was; mouthy as usual.
"Sounds like a smart and creative kid," he said after a moment, managing to give her a faint smile. She looked...well she looked like home. James could have cried.