I'm back! sorry it took so long.. busted hand, graduating from bachelors degree and applying organising masters all just kept me incredibly busy but I'm back...as I really want to continue and finish the story so thank you all for being patient and sticking with me!

Chapter 21

A week later, Warrington woke up with a start when Alicia cried out a bone chilling scream, he was glad for the charms over the room as he was sure the scream would have woken up the whole neighbourhood. He snapped his fingers making the lamps in the room turn on, a soft glow washed over the room. He turned on his side and saw Alicia writhing on the bed next to him. She had rolled away from him in the night and thrown the blanket off at some point but it was still tangled in her legs.

Her skin was covered in a thick sheen of sweat, so much her hair was damp and so was the collar of the pyjama shirt she wore. It was his shirt but it looked a hell of lot better on her. Her head was thrown back, and her neck stretched at an extreme angle, as if she were trying to get away from something.

Horrible, wailing sounds of terror welled from her mouth, and her face was streaked with tears. Warrington sat up quickly and pulled her into his arms, covers and all, trying to wake her. He shook her and called her name, but she was too caught up in the nightmare to hear him. She pushed at him but he held her tight. He was nearly frantic as he tried to drag her back into consciousness, holding her tight while he rocked her in his lap.

"I'm here, you're safe" he murmured as he pressed his lips to her forehead holding her strongly. Something he'd done must have helped, because she started to calm down. Her harsh breathing evened out, and her body relaxed into his arms and she curled against him.

He ran his hands over her arms and down her back, hoping she was dreaming of something better. She was still bathed in sweat, and as she relaxed, he could feel her skin roughen with cold. Warrington didn't even stop to think how she'd react if she were awake. It wasn't the first nightmare she had had sleeping in their bed but was the first time she woke him screaming.

It made him angry, angry because he was helpless in trying to stop the nightmares all he could do was ride them out and hope they dissipated as Alicia recovered her magic and got a wand as she would then be able to pull the memories out and out them into a penseive.

Alicia made a noise that he couldn't discern as good or bad but decided to go with bad just in case and allowed himself to let go of the anger. He relaxed his body and hold on Alicia just enough so he could reach the blankets on her side. He untangled them and arranged them and her on the bed, pulled up the covers to her chest, and moved his body and hers down on the bed so they were lying down.

He held his body against hers to keep her warm and gave a brief smile as she wiggled closer to him, seeking his warmth.

After a few minutes, she was sleeping peacefully again.

Caleb let out a long breath and held her tight. Adrenaline subsided, leaving him shaking harder than he had since he fled the country after his last exchange of words and spells with his father.

Her head was tucked under his chin, and he could feel her breath fanning out across his neck. Her tears left cool, wet spots on his chest. The scent of her skin wafted between them, and Warrington dragged it into his lungs, praying it would calm his

frayed nerves.

She was safe. Plagued with nightmares likely caused by PTSD, but safe.

Warrington cupped the back of her head in his palm while the other hand smoothed down her delicate spine over and over. She fit against him perfectly, and the feel of her soft curves under his hands was like coming home, it made him content a feeling he truly enjoyed. He just wished he could enjoy it under better circumstances than when she was having nightmares.

"Perhaps we should cancel our days and stay in bed" Warrington said late the next morning as he looked down at Alicia. He played with a stray strand of hair by her face. She looked exhausted to the bone even though she had only woken up.

"I have to get a new wand made and my grandfather wouldn't be impressed if I stood him up so don't even think about sexing me into a coma" she told him with a sleepy smile as she turned into his body and draped a leg over his running her foot slowly up and down his calf of his left leg.

"It would be rather entertaining" he told her with a salacious smile on his lips. She returned th smile for a moment before becoming serious. He could see she was saddened by her thoughts as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry I've been keeping you up my nightmares" She said with a sigh as she could see he was just as wrecked as she was from the restless sleeping. It made her feel guilty as he had given her so much and he was not getting a lot of benefits as she kept him up with her nightmares.

"You don't need to apologise for something you have no control of. I'll be fine" he said she gave him a look "Perhaps a little cranky but I promise to be on good behaviour tonight" he said assuring her.

"I'm sure Maura will appreciate it" Alicia said as she ran a hand up the side of his face and through his hair.

"Hmm yes I wonder what extravagant thing she will do next" he said as he caught her hand and turned his head placing a kiss on her palm.

"I don't know about you but I love the baby's room" Alicia told him in all honestly. It was one less thing they had to do and worry about in the next few months.

"And my Banquet room?" Warrington asked her in amusement. He didn't really care what his mother did as long as he didn't touch his bedroom or the study the rest of the house was fair game. He'd mentioned the banquet room to get a reading on how she felt by the fact he hadn't proposed to her yet and was waiting for approval from her Grandfather.

"It's rather lovely" Alicia said with a soft smile.

"It's deciduous and making a mess" he said making a face as he moved his free hand slowly up and down her flank. She arched her back off the bed slightly enjoying the massage of his hand.

"You know it's a charmed illusion the falling leaves disappear in a day" Alicia told him.

"I know but still I have trees in my townhouse" he griped in a playful tone.

"Your charmed townhouse which is really like a mini mansion on the inside" She told him, Warrington stopped his half massage of her as he had never asked her how she felt about his house. She had grown up living in a room above a bar, in boarding school and then into a third bedroom of penthouse it hadn't been luxurious as his place but still he wondered if she found his wealth overwhelming. So many questions they had skipped over that for some reason now felt important as he wanted her to be comfortable.

"If you don't like it we can move or downsize it" he said.

"No, this place is perfect" She said chuckling at him.

"It's more of a bachelor's dwellings" he commented, Alicia's smile grew wide as the conversation was borderline weird.

"I've never been to a bachelor's dwelling before but I'm pretty sure they don't have a baby's room" Alicia told him.

"You make a good point" he said as he leaned down and kissed her jaw and slowly started making his way down her neck.

"Cassius" she sighed, it was like music to his ears.

"Mmm" Warrington said as he continued his assault, attacking the sweet spot on heck below her ear.

"I'm hungry" Alicia said.

"So am I"

"For food" She told him, he raised his head and looked down at the innocent expression.

"Right, I'll call for breakfast" he told her.

"Thank you, I'm going to go to the bathroom while you do that" Alicia said as she wiggled out from under him and disappeared into the bathroom.

"Could you just pretend for a couple of hours that you like being in England for me?" Alicia asked Cillian late that afternoon. The old man had been frowning ever since he stepped through the fireplace at Leaky Cauldron. They had left Ireland only seconds ago and her Grandfather was in already in a foul mood.

Though technically they were both not in the best of moods after their visit with Callaghan who had given a prediction that had Alicia's stomach in knots as she tried to ignore the old man's eerie words as he nearly broke her hand in the process. Even now her hand still ached but it didn't bother her as much as the visions the old man shared with her.

It was bad enough she was having nightmares she didn't need fuel being added to the fire. Nightmares she was sure were keeping Warrington up but he would never admit to it. But she could see he was looking more exhausted than usual and she knew it wasn't from sex as that had taken a slight decline in activity but that was thanks to Master Shikai who had given them a restriction as she needed to recuperate her energy to feed her magical core.

"I don't get why you want to live in a rat's nest near the muggles when you could live in the green and grassy lands of Ireland in a nice large Irish wizarding population. The air is definitely fresher better for the sprog" Cillian commented.

"Oh please stop calling it a sprog" Alicia begged as she really didn't like hearing the word.

"Why it's what the British call their chiselers right?" Cillian said casually.

"No, they call them kids and where I live is not a rat's nest." Alicia clarified for her grandfather.

"You should be in Ireland. It'll be safer for you and the baby" he said in a tone that said 'I know better' as they continued walking.

"I thought you were going to keep an open mind about this and could you not announce to whole of Diagon alley that I'm pregnant." Alicia asked in an exasperated tone.

"Only stuffy-"

"You going to be like this at dinner?" Alicia asked cutting him off.

"Aye, you bet ya. A baby is something to be celebrated not forgotten about until you're about to pop and anyway remember what Ol' Callaghan said. He's not wrong about what he knows" He told her.

"The man is a nutter" Alicia said hoping the words would bring her comfort but they just sounded hollow.

"Hush your tongue, he has never been wrong about his predictions" Cillian said Alicia shot him with a sceptical look. "Ok once he was wrong but all the other times he got it right" Cillian admitted.

"Well I don't believe this prediction" Alicia told him.

"So you're not going to tell your fancy man about Callaghan's predictions?" Cillian asked in a light tone that was rather mocking.

"No and don't you even try to tell him either" Alicia told him as the last thing she needed was Warrington worrying about some prediction Callaghan gave out. Not all predictions came true or so she kept reminding herself as it was common knowledge millions of predictions are made in a seer's lifetime but only a handful became a reality.

"Why you said you didn't believe in it so what's the harm in sharing it?" Cillian said mockingly as he pushed Alicia's buttons further. She knew he was pushing the matter because he cared not because he was trying to be intentionally cruel.

"It's the babblings of an old eccentric man who I am sure was doing you a favour when he spouted all that stuff. He's only trying to scare me into moving back to Ireland" Alicia told him. Cillian grabbed her by the arm and turned her to face him.

"No, he was being serious. Don't be foolish about this. You can't escape your past, it shapes who you are and people who shaped you to it are still out there"

"Dolohov is dead" Alicia said in a low voice. She tried to pull of his hold but held her firmly maintaining eye contact with her.

"He had apprentices, all dark wizards do they like an audience to their work. They would want to finish their master's work" he said in a low voice to her.

"I don't care to talk about it and who I am is not predicated on one incident" Alicia told him as she didn't want to continue discussing something intimately personal about her history on the walk to Warrington's town house.

"That man put a dark insidious curse on you, one that made you suffer for years-"

"That I am free of" Alicia said cutting her Grandfather off.

"You're not free until your magical core has healed completely. Until then you are a fraction of what you are and I wondered how can you know your own mind or heart to make the right decisions when parts of you are barely whole?" he asked her she could seen the concern etched into his expression, the pain that he couldn't help her except support her the best he could.

"I know what I feel" she told him.

"Sometimes it isn't enough" Cillian told her.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to come home, to get away from this place and everything associated with that time"

"You want me to leave my friends, Warrington and my life for what?"

"For some perspective and I'm not asking you to give them up I'm asking for you to take time for yourself and find some peace away from all the noise. Don't you feel raw and overwhelmed by all that has happened?" he asked her, his words cut so close to the truth that tears burned her eyes.

"Yes I do but I don't want to leave. Please will you not push this further?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"I will for now but only if you promise to think it over. I love you" he told her as he pulled her into his arms and held her. He pressed a kiss on the top of her head and Alicia relished the moment as her grandfather always managed to make everything seem alright with a hug.

"I will, now please be on your best behaviour and remember that Maura is Warrington's Mother" Alicia told him after he released her from their embrace.

"How can I forget since you keep reminding me?" he asked, Alicia chuckled as they started walking again.

"I just don't want you doing that thing" she told him.

"What thing?" he asked incredulously as they had reached the house, Alicia walked up the steps to the door and pulled out her key.

"Turning up the Irish charm and making her melt in ways I don't want to know about" Alicia told him as she opened the door. Cillian laughed as he held the door open for Alicia and waited for her to pass through before him.

"I promise to behave myself" he told her as he followed her in.

"Alicia, you're home and this must be your Grandfather Cillian O'Loughlin" Maura said as the woman practically floated towards them in true hostess style. She wore her brown hair in beautiful waves as she wore a red wiggle dress with cap sleeves and a boat neckline the woman looked like she had stepped off a magazine cover. Making Alicia feel incredibly shabby in her black skinny jeans and grey off the shoulder knitted sweater.

"That I am and you are Lady Maura Warring-" Cillian started.

"Please Maura, I don't care for my title or last name" She told him as she held out her hand, Cillian took her hand and turned it palm down and kissed the back of hand. Alicia inwardly groaned as she knew Cillian was going to charm the pants of Maura and have her on his side of any argument for the rest of her life.

"Good, I prefer not bowing to British Gentry when we all come into the world as equals" he said as he released her hand. Maura quirked an eyebrow but her features were otherwise still maintaining a welcoming smile.

"Being a Welshwoman, I completely agree with your sentiments" Maura told him, Alicia gave an inward sigh of relief as she couldn't believe her grandfather's gall but glad that Maura let it slide. Warrington was not going to pleased about her grandfather or his mother finding common ground on embracing their different nationalities but united against the social classes of the British Wizarding World.

"Aye, Alicia told me that you have a cottage in Snowdonia"

"Yes, it's a beautiful place have you ever been there?"

"Aye, but it's been awhile since"

"Not much has change except the slow crawl of muggle development invasion but a few repelling charms have managed to keep them at bay. They have a way of ruining the beauty of the land. Please come through, Cassius is still at the office so I think we can indulge in a glass of wine and some appetizers while we wait or perhaps you'd like a beer?" Maura asked looking to Cillian.

"I'll have a drop of red" he said as they moved into the sitting room of the large townhouse.

"So I think it would do Alicia some good to live in Ireland during her pregnancy and a few months after the birth" Cillian said halfway through dinner. The evening had been going relatively well even after Cillian had the tour of the house. She could see he balked at the Banquet room but then she knew his reasons, he didn't want her to get married because he felt it was too quick and that Alicia didn't know her own mind.

"Wow a whole 3 hours" Alicia drawled as she placed her wine glass of water back on the table.

"Aye it's a record" he said his lips curving into a smile. Alicia darted a look to Warrington who didn't look impressed, in fact he hadn't been impressed all evening. It was probably because Cillian and Maura were getting a long too well.

"I told you not to push this" Alicia told Cillian.

"You're safer on Irish soil than you are here" Cillian told her, he had brought it up in the hopes that Alicia would tell the others of Callaghan's predictions and because he wanted his granddaughter living closer to him.

"Oh Merlin give me a break" Alicia told him.

"Callaghan-" Cillian started only to be cut off by Alicia, Warrington wondered what had happened with the Seer that she would be openly pertinent with her grandfather.

"I said I don't want to talk about it" Alicia told him and the two started arguing. The more heated they started in slipping into Gaelic with thick brogues.

"My, their brogue is rather thick isn't it" Maura commented in an amused tone as she and Warrington had front row seats to Alicia and Cillian's dispute. She couldn't comprehend what the two were saying but knew they were still arguing but surprisingly not shouting and yelling it only made her more curious as to what they were saying.

"Indeed, they are also speaking in Gaelic" Warrington told Maura.

"Really? I hadn't discerned that for myself" Maura said dryly. Warrington gave a slow exhale as he relaxed back in his chair wondering idly how long Alicia and Cillian were going to argue and if they would start picking up cutlery and glassware to throw it at one another. He thought they got along but obviously even they had their arguements. "Do you know what this is about? And who is Callaghan?" Maura asked.

"An old Irish Seer and wand craftsman. Alicia and her grandfather saw him today to get a wand made" Warrington supplied.

"Ahh I assume things did not go well" Maura said.

"I would say so" Warrington said he could see his mother was enjoying herself as she was used to disagreements being had behind closed doors not at the dinner table. That and Alicia and Cillian while didn't shout were rather flamboyant in their facial expressions and dispositions but at least they were back to speaking in English.

"My apologies for our bad table manners. Arguing isn't good for digestion but I feel rather strongly about this. I want her to rear the báibín in my home town than here in the city" Cillian told them.

"Why?" Warrington asked out of curiosity.

"Because the air is more agreeable" Maura told him. Warrington turned to his mother amazed she would agree with Cillian on this instead of being on his side. Not that he had stated his side.

"Aye that it is, you ever been to Ireland?" Cillian asked Maura.

"A few times though I prefer Wales" She told him and they both shared that look they had been sharing of competitiveness. Warrington didn't mind his mother having common ground with Cillian but he did mind if it worked against him like it appeared to be now. He looked over at Alicia who was staring down at her plate trying to reign her temper in.

"You should come to my part of it, most beautiful part of Ireland you'll ever lay eyes on" Cillian told Maura.

"Isn't that what every Irish man says about his stead?" Maura asked him in a lightly mocking manner.

"Possibly I don't speak for every Irishman. Maybe you should visit and prove me wrong though I doubt you will. I'm sure you'll find the air as you say 'quite agreeable'." He told her with a smug smile. There was also something salacious in his tone that made Warrington slightly uncomfortable.

"Hmm I'll consider your roundabout invitation" Maura told him.

"I'm still not going even if the air is 'agreeable'" Alicia said petulantly.

"You're a fireplace stop away from your friends and you'll be able to nest" Cillian told her. Alicia looked at Warrington and gave him an exhausted look, he felt for her but he also knew better than to argue with Cillian or make him agree something he didn't want. It was easier to let the old man think his way and then give a day before finding an amicable solution that made both parties involved happy.

"In the bar? I'm sure the patrons will love me when I go into labour on snooker table" Alicia said in a teasing manner. "Anyway if I'm going to nest it will be here. In this house" she told him, she loved her childhood and her grandfather but she wanted to make her home in London with Warrington. They had a lot of work to do relationship wise before the baby came into the equation.

"No, in the cottage about a ten minute leisurely walk from the pub and if you want to birth the kid on the snooker table just give some warning so the fellas can clear the balls out of the way" he told her, Alicia's jaw dropped not from his snooker table quip but because of the cottage he was talking about.

"You bought the old O'Halloran house" She said in disbelief.

"Aye though now it is just a plain old cottage. I don't like ostentatious names" Cillian said more to Maura than the table. "And I have to admit it needs a little tender loving but nothing that a few good hours of hard work and materials can't fix. I can put the bones back into it and make it liveable but only a woman could make it a home" Cillian said with a smile.

Alicia tried not to gag as her Grandfather was definitely laying it on thick for Maura who was eating it up. Alicia couldn't blame her as she had watched many women fall the charms of her grandfather. She had to keep reminding herself that her grandmother had been gone for many years and while she knew Cillian still loved her, he wasn't dead and deserved to live his life and move on and be happy again.

"Well I could help you with that" Maura offered with a smile.

"Mother" Warrington groaned as he knew Cillian laid out the nice trap of pulling his mother solely onto his side but it would be nice if his mother pretended to be on his side just for one dinner.

"What? I've got time on my hands and I'd like to see the countryside. Also I'm sorry son but I agree London is too hectic for Alicia. She's in a delicate state-"

"I'm right here and being pregnant is not a 'delicate' state millions of women do it" Alicia said in an exasperated tone.

"Oh I know but not all of them are convalescing from years of magic depletion. Your magical core has more holes in it than Swiss cheese" Maura told her.

"How-?" Alicia started but Maura cut her off.

"Did I know? Well first off there is no Gaelic word for Swiss Cheese and I had tea with Aleksandra who decided to lecture me on the unsuitability of Warrington's life choices. It was a rather long winded lecture I felt I was back in school. I of course do not agree with the old hag" Maura said to Cillian. Warrington closed his eyes and tried to find the strength to make it through the meal.

"Who is Aleksandra?" Cillian asked his dislike for anyone who disapproved of Alicia came in through in his tone.

"My Grandmother on my father's side" Warrington supplied.

"I take it she comes from the old aristocratic blood like you lot" Cillian stated, Warrington gave a nod as it was true.

"The oldest of ancient and prestigious lineage in the Wizarding Community. Something Aleksandra wanted to maintain for a few more generations" Warrington said.

"And then I ruined it all" Alicia said, Maura who had been halfway through sipping shook her head and placed her glass on the table.

"Well technically Cassius ruined it all not you" Maura clarified.

"Yes, put the blame solely on me" Warrington said dryly.

"You could have shown some restraint. You know the rules of our social class but you couldn't keep it in your pants-"

"Thank you Mother" Warrington said cutting his mother off before she could finish her sentence.

"You're welcome but really you would have done a lot worse if you married in or above your 'station'. All the pureblood families are practically inbred now. Except the Warringtons, they well Aleksandra is very exacting about whom is allowed to come into the family" Maura told him in a cheerful tone.

"And you want to marry into that?" Cillian asked Alicia incredulously.

"Oh like our family is the picture of perfection in how it conducts itself" Alicia said incredulously. They locked eyes before she gave up and indulged in rolling her eyes "I don't know why we are even arguing about this. Cassius won't propose to me unless you give your blessing to him"

"Aye as at least he respects some traditions" Cillian conceded.

"Yes so can we turn this conversation to a more pleasant topic" Alicia asked.

"I noticed you're having lovely weather here in England" Cillian said making Alicia groan as Cillian always joked about how when people were unpleasant to one another they could always revert to discussing the weather to avoid any major disagreements.

TBC- Hopefully cya all soon :-)