James Potter X You - Tumblr Posts - Page 2

[6] You Get A Visitor in the ER

Summary: You're working overtime when you get a visit from an unexpected someone who makes your shift just a bit less excruciating.

Notes: Marauders modern elementary school AU, kindergarten teacher!James Potter x nurse!single mom!reader.

A/N (26/7/2024): this is edited but still kinda short so I may come back to it at some point and add some things ... second to last chapter yay!

Previous Part: James Takes Liam to School Next Part: Kindergarten Graduation Series Masterlist here

About two weeks ago, you woke up in the middle of the night to a hard thump from Liam’s room

You were in his doorway in a flash, of course, because what if he’s dying

And tbh you were kinda close

Turns out he fell out of his bed and the lower right side of his abdomen was hurting really bad

You figured out pretty quick that he probably had appendicitis, which is definitely not ideal

So one rather tense ambulance ride and night in the ER and OR later, you wheeled Liam out of the hospital in a wheelchair so he wouldn't mess up his stitches too much after literally getting an organ removed

You texted James to let him know what happened and that Liam would be staying hope from school for a week to recover

(James had managed to give you his number under the guise of offering to drive Liam to and from school in the future and although you haven't had to ask or even use his number at all, he still has you as one of his pinned contacts)

(Sirius and Remus make fun of him for it)

(Your contact photo is actually a photo of Liam where he's smiling really big while mixing cookie dough for your birthday, which was about three months ago)

As always, James was totally sympathetic and understanding and even dropped by your apartment after school with work for Laim so he wouldn't fall too far behind

You took the week off from work to watch Liam, of course

But you're paying for it now bc your CNO super sucks and isn't understanding at all when it comes to your kid

So now he has you working a fucking double to make up for your missed days

Two 12-hour shifts in a row, 6AM to 6AM

Not fucking fun, dude

(Your CNO is the absolute worst—this is the one that James is pretty sure violates labor laws pretty consistently)

He actually wanted you to do three doubles over the next two weeks but Poppy (not the CNO, but she’s been a nurse at this hospital for time immemorial) told him off, so you only have to do the one today

And at the very least, it’s in the ER

Which isn’t terrible

Definitely not as bad as med-surg

I mean yeah, it can be stressful but it’s nowhere near as bad as medical dramas make it out to be, and it’s pretty rewarding most of the time

It’s a Friday, so Tonks watched Liam in the morning and took him to school, where Ms. Hope picked him up and held onto him for a couple hours until it was time for Ron's sleepover, which she then dropped him off at

So he’s safe and taken care of

And it’s been a pretty quiet night tbh

There was a big car crash during rush hour in the morning but beyond that, nothing super crazy or out of the ordinary

So now you’re on triage duty with Poppy (which just means you and her are hanging out and talking while waiting for something—anything—to happen)

Lily, one of the administrative aides that checks people into the ER, finally pokes her head into the ER at half past ten at night, and it’s rather urgent

Apparently someone’s cut their had pretty badly

You lose a rapid-fire game of rock paper scissors against Poppy, so it’s you that goes to evaluate the patient

But when you enter the ER fast track, you’re really quite surprised

"James?"

To be fair, James is also quite surprised to see you, it's just that he's more smiley and pleased than distressed

He’s hovering near one of the beds and has what seems to be a kitchen towel wrapped around his palm, which you now see has been bleeding quite profusely

You’re at his side embarrassingly quickly and asking him standard questions as he stares at you with a rather glassy look on his face

What happened? Cut my hand while cooking. Can you feel your hand? Um, yeah, it … it hurts pretty bad. Can you tell if it’s still bleeding? I can’t really, no. Do you feel lightheaded at all? Mm, yeah, just … just a bit. Did someone drive you here? Yeah, um, Sirius did … they told him to wait in the lobby.

James is in shock, that much is clear

You ease him to take a seat on the bed and quickly grab a couple forms, which you fill out as you continue asking him questions

Poor boy gets really concerned when you make for the door to the ER proper but ofc you reassure him you’ll be back in a second

You ask Poppy to get Dr. Longbottom before quickly returning to James

And James—Sweet Summer Child James—he's just asking you what you’re doing here so late, if Liam is at Ms. Hope’s, just random questions that aren’t super related to one another

He’s super out of it but you entertain his thoughts and answer whatever questions come to his mind as you ensure that his kitchen towel is applying a decent enough amount of pressure

Alice shows up pretty quickly with a suture tray and asks you to clean James’ cut as she gets ready, which you readily do

You also let her know that James isn’t exactly all there, to which she smiles amusedly and says she can see that lmao

James is kinda confused at first when Alice tries to take away the towel around his hand, but you gently explain what's happening and he understands pretty quick

He looks down at his hand when you finally uncover the cut (it’s long but clean—easy to stitch right up) and poor boy gets a little too light headed at the sight of all the blood that’s covering his hands and the kitchen towel and your latex-gloved hands

James just about falls over onto your shoulder lmaooooo

He doesn’t quite pass out, just like a severe wave of lightheadedness

You quickly encourage him off of your shoulder and you and Alice manage to lay him down on the hospital bed just so he won’t fall off of it and hurt himself if he does decide to pass out

The cut is easy to clean despite how bloody it is, and you round the bed to James’ opposite side as Alice prepares to administer the anesthetic and sew James’ hand up

This entire time, James has just been following your around with his eyes

He’s never gotten to see you work before and it’s really quite interesting to him

And he loves that you’re taking care of him (Such Gentle! Yay!)

Alice asks you to keep James talking and distracted while she sews him up and you happily obliged

It’s kinda hard to keep James talking though because he just keeps asking you questions

By the time Alice is finished with James’ hand, you’ve told him about Liam’s recovery, your shift so far, and how shitty your CNO is for making you work a double

James is much more lucid by the time his stitches are finished which is great because he was sort of starting to worry you

But he’s pretty much all there now :)

He’s also disclosed to you that he cut his hand while trying to take the pit out of an avocado, which you find absolutely hilarious even though you couldn’t really laugh at your own patient

Alice leaves you to wrap James’ hand in protective gauze and give him post-op care instructions

And James is honestly thrilled that your shift has been a quiet one

Because he’s sure that if anyone beyond you two were in the fast track, they would have seen clear as day how he looked at you while you wrapped some soft gauze firmly around his palm

He’s lucky though because you’re tired after working for about sixteen hours with eight still to go, so you don’t really notice the look in his eyes

You give him the normal spiel—wash around the area of the stitches with soap and water not hydrogen peroxide, put vaseline over it, wrap in a non-stick bandage, the works

By the time you’re done, James is just kinda staring at you

You tack on at the end that he can always text you or drop by your apartment to make sure he’s taking care of them correctly

Sirius leaps up from his chair in the lobby when he sees James finally come out of the ER

He was lowkey super worried bc he knows James is the slightest bit squeamish around blood

But now he’s also like super confused bc James is looking at his newly bandaged hand like it had the best compliment ever written on the palm

It’s only on the car ride home that Sirius finally weasels it out of James

Apparently Liam’s mom was working in the ER and she was the one who bandaged up his hand for him after he got stitched up

And apparently, when James was complaining lightly that his palm still hurt right as he was about to leave, she brushed a light kiss against his palm and whispered something to him about how kisses make everything better

Sirius practically has to pick his jaw up off the floor as he and James walked into the latter’s apartment, where Remus had apparently finished their rather bloody attempt at guacamole

And then of course he made James explain what happened to Remus, who just laughs and shakes his head

James’ only regret is that he was too stunned to do anything except wave goodbye as you left

Next Part: Kindergarten Graduation

[7] Kindergarten Graduation

Summary: Liam graduates from kindergarten, and another thing changes in your life.

Notes: Marauders modern elementary school AU, kindergarten teacher!James Potter x nurse!single mom!reader.

A/N(18/8/2024): GUYS I FINALLY FINISHED IT!!!!! ok maybe not really finished, I think I may continue to add to this au as I think of ideas and please please please send me ideas/requests if you have any and I'll do my best to write them :) thank you all so much for reading my silly little story, I really appreciate all the love and support you've given me, even when I take months and months to update (sorry) all my love to each and every one of you <3<3<3<3

Previous Part: You Get A Visitor in the ER This is the last one as of right now! Click here for the series masterlist

Alright it’s taken a hot second

But we’re here guys

The end of the year!! *jazz hands*

The school year, that is

Liam has been getting more and more excited for summer break as the weeks pass by

You promised him that you’d visit your dad, whom Liam hasn’t seen since he was two because he lives so far away

You and your dad aren’t exactly the closest but you get along well and your son thinks grandpa’s the funniest thing since sliced bread

And it’s about time that you visit him anyway

But first, Liam needs to get to the end of the school year

And he has! Yay!

The administration at Liam’s school likes to put on a little graduation ceremony for the kindergarteners and the departing fifth graders, and that ceremony happens to be today

And it’s as if your car knows that you have something important to do today

Because she’s just refusing to start up

The engine makes a horrid whining-grinding sound when you turn the key in the ignition, and it makes you a little nervous that the whole thing is gonna blow

So you’ve resigned yourself to finding a different way to get to Liam’s school

Side note: you have the misfortune of being very anxious to get to events quite early in an effort to make sure you aren’t late, and you’ve definitely imparted that worry onto your son

Which means you have a nervous six-year-old switching between pacing back and forth beside your useless car and wrapping his arms around your thigh in an anxious iron grip

At least you’d left your apartment early, so there’s still some time to figure out a solution

You run through the list in your head: the school is close enough to walk to but it would take too much time, Tonks and her parents are at her own high school graduation so that’s obviously not an option, Poppy is working today so she can’t pick you up, and you absolutely refuse to ask anything more of Ms. Hope since she already does so much for you with Liam

The idea dawns on you to take an Uber just as the front door to your apartment building opens

And of course, a solution on legs walks into the parking lot

(Even if you don’t like burdening him by asking for his help)

James smiles as soon as he sees you and Liam

Liam’s face also lights up like a Christmas tree as he waves enthusiastically from his spot attached to your leg

You shouldn’t be surprised when James saunters over to you both to say good morning

And you especially shouldn’t be surprised when he offers help with your car troubles

(You were terrified slightly worried when James had left the ER that you’d crossed a line when you kissed his bandaged palm, and maybe you did, but James didn’t let it change your dynamic—if anything, he was just more and more happy-looking to see you every morning, and it was hard not to let his happiness spread to you too)

You refuse James’ help at first under the guise that his hand was still healing from that cut, but he just laughed and reminded you that he’d cut himself a month ago and his hand is perfectly fine

Which is how you’ve ended up here

The hood of your car propped up, Liam peering eagerly at the engine, James in a very nice-fitting crewneck t-shirt and formal slacks poking around inside the car, and you holding the suit jacket he’s planning on wearing to shake his kids’ hands as they walk across the gymnasium floor and blushing furiously as you try not to stare at the way the short sleeves of James’ shirt fit so nicely around his biceps

You’re plenty familiar with human anatomy, being a nurse and all, but jesus christ—

After a minute or two, James hums in understanding and Liam replicates the sound, trying to look where James is looking

You do your best to school your face, and you succeed for the most part even if you can’t really get rid of your blush

James explains to you and Liam that the bearings in your alternator have broken down and you sigh deeply

He says he’d offer to fix it but—he laughs a little sheepishly—he’s not the best with cars

Still, his friend Sirius, an administrative aide at Liam’s school, is pretty good at car mechanic stuff and James could probably ask him to do it

You aren’t super keen on agreeing (again with the asking for help thing) but either way, getting your alternator fixed right now isn’t a possibility because all three of us have a kindergarten graduation to get to, Mr. Potter

James’ eyes go wiiiiide lmao but you reassure him that you have enough time to get to the school just in time if you leave now

And of course he offers to drive you both there

You accept (not like you have much of a choice) and quickly find yourself on the way to Liam’s school with Liam in the back, sitting in James’ “emergency car seat”

(He explains that he keeps a kids’ car seat in his trunk in case he ever needs to drive a kid anywhere and that this is the car seat he used to drive Liam to and from school that one time)

(You feel alarmed and then thankful and then terribly guilty when you realize you’d never even thought about if Liam was sitting in a car seat that day)

After all that hassle, you, James, and Liam finally arrive at the school building and hurry to the gym, where the ceremony will be taking place

You send Liam down the hall with James with a kiss on the forehead (James thinks about asking for a kiss himself but thinks better of it) before going to sit in the rows of folding chairs set out for parents and family members

You sit with Molly and Arthur, the parents of Liam’s good friend Ron

Arthur is very jolly and cheery at all times and Molly, while occasionally judgemental, is usually quite kind

This graduation ceremony is very abbreviated just because six-year-olds can’t sit still for four hours like they would have to if this was a real graduation

The event starts with a few quick words from Principal McGonagall about how hard the kids have worked this year and how they deserve to enjoy their time off from school

Then it’s time for the kids to walk across the “stage”, which is really just a mobile raised platform

The principal calls a name, hands the child their very own kindergarten diploma, and sends them to have their photo taken with their respective teacher

James (now with his suit jacket back on) has a wide smile on his face as he stands with the other three kindergarten teachers

You cheer for Ron with Molly and Arthur as he walks across the stage to take a photo with his teacher, and when it’s Liam’s turn, Molly and Arthur (and Ron from the side of the stage) cheer with you

When the ceremony is over, Ron and Liam come running to you, Molly, and Arthur asking if they can go to the playground across the street to play for a while

Molly and Arthur agree to take Liam and Ron while you go let James know where you’re going and that you and Liam can walk home if he has somewhere he needs to be

It’s pretty clear from the look on James’ face that he thinks that even just the idea of leaving you and Liam without a ride is atrocious lmao

He just shakes his head like it’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard and promises to meet you at the playground once he’s done dealing with Draco’s overbearing parents

You laugh and nod in agreement

The playground across from Liam’s school is really fancy

The city built it pretty recently, so it’s tall with a merry-go-round and a tire-swing and metal slides that you’re sure sear children’s skin off on hot days

Liam and Ron are having the time of their lives already, and you sit with Molly and Arthur on a nearby bench under a tree

It’s easy to talk with them because they ask the same questions whenever you talk

How are you? Oh I’m good. How’s Liam doing? He’s good too. Everything good at the hospital? As good as it can be, yeah.

They’re easy to talk to but it’s difficult to relate to them sometimes

Molly and Arthur are so old they could be your parents, and they have seven kids, the oldest of which is only a couple years younger than you

But at the same time, they’re really rather cute

They’ve been married for who knows how long and they’re still so in love (even when Molly threatens to decapitate her husband)

It’s sort of inspirational in a way

Liam and Ron call over to the three of you saying they’ve found a frog under one of the slides

You sigh and get up, knowing Molly doesn’t want to see any sort of amphibian and Arthur has some back problems so he probably couldn’t bend down to see the frog anyway

By the time you reach Ron and Liam, Ron’s got the poor frog cupped in his hands, and you tell him he may want to put it down since it’s scared

Ron understands and finds a puddle to release the frog into

Molly, Arthur, and Ron end up having to leave pretty quickly

Their oldest is graduating today too and they need to make it to his ceremony, so you and Liam bid them farewell and promise to make plans to hang out over the summer sometime

James sees you being dragged by Liam towards the swings as he crosses the street towards the park

Neither you nor Liam realizes he’s there until he sits in the swing next to you

But Liam’s flying into James’ gut with the tightest hug ever as soon as he sees him

You laugh and James hugs Liam back and thinks to himself that this is just the best thing ever

He couldn’t be happier in any other place with any other people

Liam tells James about the frog and that somehow evolves into thanking him for being "the best teacher ever, not the bestest because of grammar"

(James thanks Liam for being such a good student, and Liam has the biggest smile after that)

Watching Liam talk to James makes a warm fuzz rise up in your chest

They’re just so sweet with each other :(

James is so attentive with Liam and Liam talks to James like they’re both adults and it’s just the cutest sweetest nicest thing ever

Liam decides to go searching for more frogs in the wooded park near the playground, and you and James are left watching him from the swings

It’s quiet for a little while between you and James, and James suddenly becomes starkly aware that this is the first time you’ve been alone together in the month since his ER visit

Usually you have Liam or maybe Remus, Sirius, or Ms. Hope as a buffer, but now?

Now it’s just him and you

But if there’s one thing James is good at, it’s making people feel comfortable in sorta uncomfortable situations

So he makes some cheesy joke about you being the parent of a kindergarten graduate, and you laugh along and say you couldn’t be more proud of your little boy

And just like that you two are talking like best friends again

You thank him for the kind note he wrote about Liam’s performance in school that he included in the report card from the most recent parent-teacher conference

He recommends a new kind of breakfast cereal you’d seen him buy at the grocery store a couple weeks ago

You update him on the gossip and drama between Poppy and your CNO at work

He thanks you for the black-and-white cookies you made for him as a thank-you for the oatmeal raisin cookies several months ago

You tell him about a large black dog you’d seen waltzing about in Ms. Hope’s front yard once

He asks you to check on the very-much healed scar on his palm (just to be 100% sure it’s not infected, you know?)

You laugh at his jokes and he smiles at your laugh, and eventually, you fall into a silence more comfortable than the last

Eventually, James speaks up

“Hey, um …” He sighs, unsure of how he wants to go about this. I mean, it’s fine now, isn’t it? He’s no longer Liam’s teacher; you’re no longer his student’s mom because Liam isn’t his student anymore. So it’s fine. Right?

“You alright?” you ask, brows pulled just slightly together in concern. James takes a long look into your eyes before turning and setting his gaze on Liam. Your son is crouched under a wide tree, eyes trained on the dirt and mud underneath in search of frogs.

“I … yeah, I’m alright,” James says. “I, uh … I … god, this is so much more difficult than I thought it would be.” He laughs quietly at himself in a way that’s a little too self-deprecating for you to approve of, but he starts talking again before you can comment.

“Okay.” James is firm in his resolve, but he refuses to meet your eyes as he speaks. “I—I’m gonna say something, and I’m not one hundred percent sure how you’ll react, so if I say something wrong or make you uncomfortable in any way, please—please—just tell me and I’ll never bring it up again, but I wanted to tell you how—how I’ve been feeling these past couple months and I hope you feel the same way—I think you do, but maybe I’m just reading into things—but I just wanted to say that, you know, I started to think of you as my friend when we started talking in the mornings, but as soon as I saw you at parent-teacher conferences I knew you were just the kindest, most hard-working, most beautiful person I’d ever had the honor of meeting and—and over the past year, I’ve begun to have these feelings that—but it’s been so hard because I would never ever voice them while Liam is in my class because that would be terribly unprofessional and completely unfair to you, and I just—” James heaves a breath, suddenly sharply aware of the fact that he hadn’t been breathing enough, and gasped for several deep breaths.

He looked into his lap with a self-pitying laugh. “I … sorry, I’m rambling.”

James dug the toe of his shoe into the wood chips, pushing his swing lightly. Why had he done this again? Liam was barely out of his class and he was already hounding after you. God, how desperate and creepy was that? He hadn’t even truly confessed and he was sure he’d already ruined every chance of you even talking to him again, let alone—

The crunch of wood chips made James wince. He closed his eyes, certain you would simply leave him on the swings without so much as a goodbye, until he heard your steps stop abruptly somewhere in front of him. Carefully, one eye peeked open, and he saw your ballet flats standing directly in front of his seat on the swings, facing him. He looked up.

James felt like he knew you pretty well at this point, but the face you were making was one he wasn’t familiar with at all. One moment he thought it was hope, but it would switch and look like fear next, then reluctance, then … was that excitement? Happiness? Eventually, you took a deep breath, shoulders squared and ready to speak.

“Do you like coffee?”

There was a moment of silence before James very eloquently responded, “What?”

You smiled—genuine this time, if awkward.

“I mean, if you don’t, that’s totally fine, I just … figured we could go somewhere to get coffee or—or tea, or a muffin or something before I go to work rather than just, you know, talking by the mailboxes.” You let out a meek laugh, and James feels his shoulders melt away from his ears.

“Do you like coffee?” he asks back.

“I’m a nurse—coffee is the only thing keeping me from falling apart at the seams,” you quip. James outright laughs, which makes you smile, which makes him smile.

“We can go for coffee,” he agrees. “I know a café that has muffins and stuff that’s pretty close to the hospital if you’d like to go there. The Leaky Cauldron. Have you been?”

“Oh, yeah,” you say with a nod of recognition. “Me and Poppy went there for lunch once. They have a rather nice quiche.”

“Alright, it’s a date—”

James’ eyes widen as soon as the words are out of his mouth, and he looks at you like he’s in trouble. The same look of reluctance and a drop of fear clouds your eyes once more, and James finds he loathes it. He prepares himself for the worst.

“I want to say, before we … before we move forward, there are some ground rules.”

James nods quickly, eyes wide as he peered up at you. “Anything.”

You try to strangle the blush that creeps up your neck at that.

“Well, really only one ground rule,” you amend. “No matter what, I’m Liam’s mother first. Always. He already likes you, which is part of the reason I offered to get coffee—I would never go out with someone he didn’t approve of—but when it comes down to it, he’s always going to be my top priority. No matter what.”

James’ eyes soften, and he nods, reassured.

“That was one of the first things I liked about you,” he admits. “Liam is your son—your world—and I completely understand that. I would never ask you to change that, or to think of me before him. Never in a million years.”

James watches your shoulders relax, and you take a small, relieved breath before nodding.

“Thank you,” you say quietly. James just smiles up at you, eyes adoring. You finally allow your own gaze to roam freely over his features, to take in his nose, his eyes, his lips.

You take a step closer, knees brushing lightly against James’ where he sits. Ever so gently, you reach a hand out of your pocket to brush a stray curl behind James’ ear, and your hand lingers there, fingertips brushing against his jaw. James is about even with your sternum, and he can’t help but love with all his heart how pretty you look from this angle.

Slowly, leaving plenty of time for him to pull back, you bend at the waist towards him. You don’t stop until his lips are on yours in a small, tentative kiss. It's gentle and the two of you scarcely move. Just a simple press lasting a handful of seconds before you pull back just enough to look into James’ eyes.

It takes a second for him to come back down to Earth, but you can see the moment when he realizes what just happened because his eyes seem to glow with a radiant sort of joy that has you wanting to kiss him again just so that look never goes away. He smiles broadly, and it must be contagious because you end up smiling slightly too as you slide your palm against his cheek and he reaches a hand up to cup the back of your neck. He simply holds you there for a moment before laughing disbelievingly and bringing your lips to his again.

This is the last one as of right now! Click here for the series masterlist