When We Were Younger

The Doppelganger: Part 1

This chapter is rather M for references to suicide and attempted suicide.

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"Alright, Patrick," Lilly sighed as she walked down the hallway stairs, her hand clasping her swollen belly.  "This had better be good."

Patrick chuckled up at her as he leaned on the railing, gazing up at her.  "I promise ya, lass, yer going tah wantah see this."

Lilly nodded with a smirk.  "Right, lad."  She creaked down the steps and oofed, pressing a palm to the side of her pregnant belly.  "Good lord, the wee chiselers are kickin' up a mighty fuckin' fuss," she hissed through her teeth.

Patrick frowned at her and moved to the bottom of the stairs, his green eyes filled with concern.  "Are ya alright, Lilly?" he asked.

The redhead waved him off.  "Yeah, just...the kids keep kickin' me ribs and it's soooooooo uncomfortable!" Lilly growled, stretching her fingers out as she rolled her eyes up.

Patrick burst out laughing and covered his mouth with the back of his hand.  "Ho ho ho, I'm so glad I'm not a woman."

Lilly snarled and pointed a finger at him.  "You'd be damn lucky to be a woman, Patrick!"

The Earl of Galway laughed even harder.  "Oh, I bet!"  Patrick's laughter died down and he held out his hand to the countess.  "C'mon, let's go.  Everyone is outside waiting fer ya and it's bloody cold out."

Lilly rolled her eyes and a smirk shined through, but only just.  She grasped his hand and he led her to the doorway before grabbing her winter coat and, as a gentleman should, helped Lilly into the coat.  As they made their way outside, she took note of a light snow falling from the cloudy night sky.  The ground was covered in white, sparkling snow and Lilly almost smiled at how her wolf brothers blended in as they chased each other around.  People were gathered around as if waiting for an important event, their breaths visible as Lilly and Patrick approached.

"Well, look who decided to come out," Dutch said with a smile, holding onto a mug of what she assumed was hot cocoa.

Lilly growled a little.  "Don't push it, Da."

A rough chuckle escaped Dutch's lips.  "Still a little spit fire, though.  At least there's that," he muttered as he took a sip of his hot beverage.  "Mmmm, I'll tell you what, Miss Harington sure knows how to make a good cup of cocoa.  I should ask her about the recipe."

Lilly looked around at the others.  Jack, Tilly and Abigail were putting together a snowman. Hosea and John were engaged in a snowball fight with Breena's siblings while the wolves were still chasing each other around and play fighting.  Charles and Sadie were off to the side engaging each other in conversation.  This put a smile on Lilly's face until she spotted Karen and Sean.  They were standing close to each other while Sean had a hand on Karen's pregnant belly.  Lilly's face dropped as she looked down at her own protruding stomach. 

She was happy for the couple, she really was, but whenever Lilly saw them being affectionate with one another, it only reminded her of Arthur.