A/N: Hello, loves! Thanks so much for all the lovely comments - I'm glad you're enjoying this series. Sorry it's been a bit since my last update. I've got this one and another is nearly done. Enjoy! Please read and review.

xoxoxo

Lying awake in bed at night was the absolute worst. There were times when she hated her hyper-concern for the safety and well-being of her friends and right now, at nearly three in the bloody morning, was one of those times.

She had known this worry-induced insomnia was coming, so she had initiated her "keep myself occupied" plan as soon as the workday ended. It began with not ending her workday - she stayed at the office for nearly two hours after almost everyone in the Ministry had gone home. After finishing reviewing some research for an upcoming case, she tidied her desk, leaving ample time to completely reorganize her entire filing system.

Once her stomach's growling became unbearable, she headed home. Of course she had forgotten to eat dinner - keeping herself busy did not always allow for meal breaks. The Chinese takeaway place just down the block from her flat was the perfect solution for her current condition - hungry with near-empty cupboards; a woman as career driven as she does not always take time for grocery shopping.

As she stumbled through the door, locking it behind her, she glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece - 7:26. Ok...you can do this. Keep busy.

Steering herself toward the kitchen, she arranged her sesame chicken and rice (on a real plate, thank you very much) before pouring herself a glass of cabernet. She may be bad at keeping her cupboards stocked, but she would be damned if she ever ran out of wine. Her thoughts wandered for a moment as she sipped…..

A select group of aurors left yesterday afternoon on a mission to some obscure village in the north. She could normally find out at least some details of these raids beforehand - certainly being the "golden girl" and Harry Potter's best friend had some benefits - but this one was kept very hush hush. She didn't know who the target was, where exactly they were going, or what the objective of this mission really was….and it was driving her batty.

Harry was not on this trip - he and Ginny were still gone on their honeymoon and the mission had only been rushed together in the last 48 hours.

But Draco was going.

Normally when he and Harry were off on assignment together, she would go and stay with Ginny. But this time, she was completely alone. With her worry.

Busy. Stay busy.

Opting to eat her dinner in front of a movie, she managed to distract herself for another two hours with a good gut-busting comedy - after all, it wouldn't do to end up crying, scared, or edgy before trying to go to bed.

Stretching to stand, she cleaned up her mess to head back to the kitchen and got herself good and distracted by the condition of her oven. It was amazing that someone who cooked so little could have such a filthy oven.

One more hour gone.

Now that her oven (and the rest of the kitchen) was spotless, it was time to force herself to relax.

A bath. That will settle my nerves.

Muscles limber, cheeks flushed, and flannel jammies on, she really did feel relaxed - at least physically.

Another thirty minutes gone.

She climbed into bed with one of her favorite novels and hoped to drift off, but her brain. Her brain would not be quiet.

The worst part about these auror missions was the not knowing. After spending several of her teenage years running around fighting all the forces of evil of the wizarding world, she knew there was plenty out there that didn't just give in once Voldemort was gone. There were still lots of his supporters and dark magic to keep the aurors busy - they just weren't out in the open anymore. They had to go find them.

More specifically, Draco had to go find them. And that was thirty-two hours ago - not that she was counting.

Tea...that's what I need.

Climbing out of her warm bed and padding down the hall, she thought about him - the tall (and ridiculously handsome) blond auror who had become her friend. She had convinced herself - almost successfully - that the worry she now felt was exactly the same as when Harry first started going on these raids. But it was different. Vastly different.

Certainly when it had been Harry who was leaving, her thoughts were not on the feel of his strong arms around her when he hugged her goodbye. Or that the clean musky smell in the crook of his neck made her want to close her eyes and inhale deeply. No. This was definitely different - but...mustn't think about that now.

Chamomile ingested. Back to bed.

Another thirty minutes gone.

She always made them promise to send an owl letting her know that they had made it safely home - no matter the time. She had half expected to hear from him sometime before midnight since these trips didn't usually last more than twenty-four hours.

Which led her to this moment. Lying here. Wide awake. In the middle of the night. Worrying.

.

.

.

.

The knocking on her door nearly sent her flying. Stumbling out of bed, wand in hand, she headed for the door with cautious haste.

Taking a quick calming breath, she opened the door just a crack so she could peer out and let out a gasp when her eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the hallway.

"Draco!" His smirking face was more pale than normal, his uniform was filthy, and there was dried blood matted in his hair - but he was there.

"Granger, I..." He was cut off by the force of her throwing herself at him with her arms around his neck. Wrapping his arms around her with a sigh, he lifted her off her feet and walked them back inside, shutting the door behind him with his foot.

"My goodness, Draco...I was so worried." He squeezed her gently before setting her on her feet again. "When did you get back?" She leaned back to face him, but couldn't bring herself to let go of his forearms.

"Only just. I was going to send you an owl, but…I had to see you." His cheeks colored and his voice was low - she thought there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"What….what happened?" She stammered as she tried to distract herself from the familiar feeling of butterflies in her chest by helping him out of his dirty overcoat. His wince as he removed his right arm did not go unnoticed. "You're hurt…"

He shook his head. "I'm not permitted to give you any details, of course, but…" He swallowed and looked away uncomfortably. "There was an attack… it was a...a muggle family." Her eyes went wide and when he ventured to face her again, a look of understanding passed between them. "I just….I really needed to see your face."

As she reached out to hold him again, he bent his tall form all the way down to rest his head on her shoulder and groaned softly while she rubbed his back. They passed a few quiet minutes standing in her hall before he stood smiling weakly at her. "I'm sorry I woke you."

She laughed him off. "I wasn't sleeping." Taking in his appearance again, she asked with concern, "Do you need a healer?"

He shook his head but he brought a hand to his side and she tilted her head, eyeing him skeptically. "Come on. Let me have a look, at least."

Recognizing his defeat, he followed her into the kitchen where she turned on the bright overhead light and gestured for him to lean forward on the counter as she raised his shirt. She inhaled sharply through her teeth at the sight of the angry red and purple blotches. "Oh, Draco...I think you have some broken ribs."

"Well it certainly feels like it." He attempted a smile as she raised her wand to his side and he could feel the warmth of her magic surging through his side. It hurt like hell, but her warm hands on his bare skin made him blush.

"That's the best I can do for now." She knitted her brows as the angry color of his skin faded before looking up at him. "Promise me you'll get it looked at in the morning."

He stood, touching the area gingerly before rolling his shoulder and facing her fully. "I promise I will. It feels better already - well done, Granger."

She smiled back at him for only a moment before scowling again, glancing up at the gash on his forehead. "Come over here."

She turned to the corner cupboard and pulled out her first aid kit before pulling a chair near the sink and told him to sit.

"I think magic will only do so much for this cut." She eyed it warily as she rummaged through the box on the counter and pulled out a pair of tweezers. "Is this glass?"

He smiled up at her sheepishly. "Got thrown through a window." Her jaw dropped and he added with a wink, "You should see the other guy."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she continued picking glass shards from his scalp and dropping them into the sink - but couldn't stop the blush in her cheeks. Damn him and his winking...he must do that on purpose.

"Did everyone make it out ok?"

Malfoy relaxed his features and closed his eyes as he leaned his head against the counter so she could see better. "Thankfully, yes." He sighed. "A few injuries, but we caught them all and every one of us got out alive." He opened one eye slightly so he could peek at her as she worked. She bit her lip in concentration and scrunched her eyebrows as she struggled to remove all of the glass without causing him pain. He loved to watch her concentrate. But her position standing over him meant he was eye level with her breasts, which made him suddenly uncomfortable so he shut his eyes tight again.

"So Granger, why weren't you sleeping?" He queried with a smirk. "Was it driving you crazy not having all the juicy details?"

She smiled as she made to swat at his chest, but he laughed heartily and caught her by the wrist. "Prat! I was worried about you!" She paused. "Of course the lack of information was definitely not helping." She admitted quietly.

Their eyes met and her heart was instantly racing when he didn't release her from his firm grip. When he spoke, his voice was low and his eyes were smoldering as he looked up at her.

"Why do you worry about me?" His long fingers were still around her wrist but his grip was gentle enough that she could've broken free if she wanted - but she didn't. She definitely didn't want to, either.

Trying hard not to think about the heat that was building where their skin was touching, she responded with a question of her own - she had only just thought about it as she examined his beautiful face. "Why did you come here?" She smiled and tried for banter, but what came out was a breathy whisper.

She watched his throat as he swallowed silently and couldn't stop herself from reaching up with her other hand to brush the loose hair from his forehead. His eyes closed as he leaned into her touch and began pulling her closer - ever so slightly - by her wrist until she found herself seated on his lap with her arms draped around his neck.

"I came here because…." She watched as his eyes swam with an emotion she couldn't place just before he looked down between them and muttered. "I'm sorry, Granger." He pushed her gently from his lap and stood, giving her a weak smile. "I should go."

"Draco..." She felt embarrassed and wasn't sure why. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not, Granger, you're wonderful...I just…. It's late and I'm so..." He seemed at a loss for words. "Thank you for patching me up. I should let you get back to bed."

Her brain whirled with a thousand thoughts. She felt like something was about to happen until all of a sudden he was standing and apologizing and heading for the door. She had to do something.

"I care about you." The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could form a plan - which was something she was not accustomed to. "I worry when you're gone….because I care about you." She added quietly, "a lot."

He stood there in the doorway of the kitchen with heavy, tired eyes just blinking at her in shock.

With a deep breath, she continued. "I know that you think you're expendable and you don't much care what happens to you when you're out there, but I do." Her cheeks colored as she pressed on, forcing herself to look him in the eye. "If something happened to you, I….I just don't know what I would do." Hot tears ran down her cheeks as the thought actually struck her fully.

In two strides he was standing before her, wrapping his arms around her as she cried and whispering words of comfort as he stroked her curls. He pulled back to face her, gently brushing her tears away with his knuckles. "Granger, I…" He smiled weakly at her. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

She smiled back at him a moment longer before realizing she was in his arms standing in her kitchen in the middle of the night. "Why did you come here tonight?" She whispered.

His eyes darted briefly to her lips before locking eyes with her again. "Granger, I had to see you... After what I saw tonight…" He swallowed and his arms tightened around her. "I couldn't go out there again without you knowing…"

"Knowing what?"

"...without knowing how very much you mean to me." His face flushed with emotion as he spoke.

"When I'm not with you, you're the only thing on my mind." He smiled as he watched the blush rise in her cheeks. "And when I'm with you, I can't seem to think about anything else."

Her breath caught in her throat and she felt herself staring at his parted lips and leaning toward him ever so slowly.

"Is that so?" She whispered as she rested her hands on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist as his other hand reached up to cradle her head - fingers deep in the curls at the nape of her neck. She felt his breath warm on her face as she raised up on her toes and closed her eyes….

.

.

.

The owl pecking on her window woke her with a start. She sat straight up panting for a moment before she realized where she was and what was happening.

Tamping down the memories of the intimate dream she had just been having about her friend - not to mention her disappointment that it had not progressed any further - she reached for the window and let in the regal looking owl that belonged to said friend.

"Hello there, Edwin." She stroked his tawny feathers and handed him a bowl of treats before removing the note tied to his clawed foot. Recognizing the familiar script, she breathed a sigh of relief knowing this was what she had been waiting for - the assurance that he was safe.

Granger - I'm sorry to send this so late, but we've only just now gotten back and I'm fairly certain you weren't sleeping anyway. If I'm wrong, I do apologize. I just wanted to let you know (as requested) that I am back and in one piece.

I saw some really dreadful things that, of course, I'm not able to tell you about, but I will tell you that I was so deeply affected that I very nearly came by your flat tonight just to see your face. I didn't think that would be appreciated due to both the late (or very early) hour and my current state of cleanliness, so I thought better of it. I would like to see you tomorrow (today?) if you're free.

Back to bed, darling.

DM

Taking a deep breath, she smiled and held the note to her chest before sitting down to pen a brief response.

Draco -

I'm so glad you're safe - you know the hour doesn't matter. Come by whenever you're up and about - I'm free all day and would love to see you.

G

After securing the parchment and sending the owl back out the window, she took a deep breath and tried to settle herself back in bed. Now her mind was racing for an entirely different reason.

For the record….

When they met for coffee the following afternoon, Draco was completely rattled by what he had witnessed on his mission - the brutal attack of a muggle family. Hermione also couldn't help but be a little intrigued by his injuries - broken ribs and a gash on his forehead from being thrown through a window.

That's it! I sincerely hope you enjoyed this one. I have to tell you, this very nearly became a separate one shot and not included in this series at all because I desperately wanted them to get it on in her kitchen! Forgive me….

I thought the dream would be a perfect opportunity to get a little spark going without spoiling what I've got going in this series. I hope you enjoyed it! Make sure to follow - this is an ongoing work and I'd hate for you to miss any upcoming chapters!