Disclaimer: I don't own Severus, I don't own Draco, and I don't own Paige. I also don't own a car, or a house, or an emerald. I don't own a cat, or a chinchilla, or a rabbit. I don't own a motorcycle, or a top hat, or a two hundred dollar article of clothing. I own other things, but none of the above. I'd really like a top hat though.

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& Severus

She had green eyes, but her red hair was obviously a fake, and not a very well done fake at that. There was some slight resemblance to his Lily, a certain fire in the eyes. Severus assumed he was trapped in some horrible nightmare or hex.

The assumption was proven when she spoke.

"Let me go."

American.

Releasing her hand, he struggled upright. There was no specific pain, just a consistent and unpleasantly familiar ache. The last thing he remembered was being back at Hogwarts in his laboratory on the verge of explosion.

As he moved he felt the soft brush of the blanket against his skin, taking a moment to peer under the green fuzzy thing, he could feel a hot flush flood his cheeks. They'd stripped him.

He was naked and trapped in a strange room with an American woman who looked like Lily.

If this was Draco's idea of a joke, it wasn't funny. Reaching out, Severus found his wand where he would have left it, on the bedside table, and pointed it at the stranger, at least three very painful hexes fighting for space on his tongue.

She held her hands up, facing him. She wasn't holding a wand, and in the light tank top and shorts she was wearing she would have to be very creative to hide it, so he bit back the curses, took a deep breath, and tugged the blanket a little further up across his chest.

Calmly, he asked, "Who are you and where am I?"

Still watching him warily, she spoke, "My name is Paige Matthews and you're in sunny San Francisco. Your godson brought you here, you got burned or something when a potion exploded."

Severus vaguely remembered Draco, but he knew the last thing he saw was teary brown eyes.

"…Blaise?"

The woman, Paige, smiled, "He's okay. My sister Piper practically adopted him."

"And the baby?"

"Is fine. You however, are not. You could have died. If Draco wasn't there, you wouldn't be here."

Severus snorted, "My godson is always around. In my entire life I have only known one other child more likely to be found innocent on the site of an accident. I think he must attract bad luck."

Paige smiled again and nodded agreement.

Severus began to feel tired, though in truth the fatigue had been present all along, and there was a strange floral taste in his mouth. He felt cool hands gently guide him back to the mattress, and his eyes drifted closed.

& Still Severus

When he awoke, the curtains over the small window were closed, but the amber glow of a streetlight bled through.

A head of platinum blond hair rested on the mattress next to him, and Severus patted the bed next to Draco lightly to see if he would wake.

The blond snorted lightly, and shifted, but didn't wake.

Severus tried again, this time gently patting Draco's head.

A louder snort followed, but still his godson didn't wake.

Severus knew Draco could sleep through anything, but this was getting a bit ridiculous. He cleared his throat as loudly as he could, and then looked around for his wand. Perhaps some ice water would rouse the boy.

Light spilled across the room as the door opened, and a shadowy figure said in a strangely familiar voice, "What do you think you're doing?"

The woman, as the silhouette made abundantly clear, walked in and as Severus's eyes adjusted to the light he saw that it was Paige.

She walked around the bed and rubbed Draco's shoulder lightly, leaning in to whisper something in his ear.

Rubbing at his eyes blearily, the boy looked up, then again as he took in what he saw, his godfather, alive and awake.

Only the witch's restraining hand seemed to be enough to keep the boy back from the exuberant hug he wanted to give to Severus, and for that the older man was thankful. He was feeling better, but he didn't think he was up to a glomping just yet.

Still, as he saw tears well up in Draco's eyes, he almost wished for the hug.

"Draco, don't cr—"

"Severus? You're awake?"

"No, Dragon, it's just an exceptionally detailed and realistic dream." Severus saw the woman, Paige, smile slightly, and Draco seemed calmed.

Sniffling slightly, the boy spoke, "I suppose you must be all right if you're sarcastic." Tears threatened again. "We—I though you were dead. I thought you would die."

"Rest assured I have no intention of dying." Severus rested his hand on Draco's shoulder, "At least, not any time soon."

Draco smiled at that, and covered his godfather's hand with his own. Behind him, Paige smiled, wider this time.

Clearing his throat roughly to chase back the show of emotion, Severus gently took his hand back, and used it to adjust his blankets again before turning to Paige with the best sneer in his arsenal.

"May I have my clothes now?"

She blushed a light pink and backed out of the room, muttering something about someone named 'Chris' who was apparently just Severus's size.

When she left, closing the door behind her, Severus looked at Draco again, "What happened?"

"Short version," the blond offered with a smile, "Ron got bitten by a wolf, Blaise tried to make the antidote, managed to make a mess, and you got caught in the explosion. The Fearless Malfoy swooped in and saved the day for the not-so-maidenly man with child in distress, and then had to watch the only family he cared to credit with the name almost die."

The smile wobbled and fell away, and Severus saw tears build in the depths of the silver eyes.

"Dragon? I know you're upset, but I'm all right now, or will be once that wench gets back with my trousers."

Draco smiled at this.

"Now, what happened after that?"

This time it was Draco's turn to clear his throat and his eyes slowly regained their former clarity, "We were in the Infirmary, and I was upset. Paige and Chris heard me and came. They couldn't help you at Hogwarts, so we brought you to San Francisco. Blaise insisted on coming along and he was so upset I didn't want to leave him behind.

And by the way, Godfather," Draco said with a smirk, "You will be explaining to me why you're complicit in the creation of a new generation of Weasleys."

"Anyway," he went on, "We got here, and the sisters helped patch you up."

"And the potion," Severus asked.

"Was completed and sent off to the team. We cut it a little close, but it was still safely inside the window. I haven't heard anything, so he must be fine."

Severus closed his eyes and nodded. Ron wasn't his favorite former student, but he had grown up well and Severus knew too well what being a werewolf could do to a family, especially under the Ministry's strict non-human guidelines.

Then something occurred to him and he opened his eyes, "How did you know where to find them? Their location was kept secret, even from me."

Draco turned away, staring at the embroidery on the quilt in his lap. "… I still have a link to Potter. I should have severed it when my assignment ended, but I—I wanted to be sure he was okay."

Severus reached out to his god son and grabbed the twitching fingers, "Draco?"

The boy turned to face him.

"I understand." Severus said.

And it was true, he did. Draco and Harry had been bound together for years before Harry had become his 'assignment.' And over those years Severus had watched their relationship turn from vicious rivals, to friends, to the tentative glances and 'accidental' touches that had started a few months before Draco revealed what he was and left.

Draco gave him a watery smile, before clambering onto the bed to lie next to his godfather, resting his head on the other man's chest. It had been a very long time since Severus shared a bed with anyone, but he thought in this case he could make an exception.

He heard a quiet creaking, and the door swung open. Severus saw Paige walk in, her eyes widening when she took in the scene, then softening as she nodded gently before she set some clothes on the chair in the corner of the room and left as silently as she had entered.

"You know, Dragon, you are very lucky. You're the only person I have in my life, but you seem to attract caretakers and friends wherever you go. In Hogwarts you were surrounded, though I would call your peer group at the time more 'lackeys' or 'minions' than friends, and now you have a new family. I am so happy for you, and so proud of the man you're becoming, and I'd like to get to know him."

"That was really sappy, Godfather," Draco muttered into the blankets.

Severus smiled gently, "I know. I must be over tired."

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Note: So here we have another chapter. I know Rose McGowan's eyes are not green, but I'm using a bit of dramatic license here.

I hope you enjoyed it and please review.