Chapter Sixteen: Answers

Moving carefully so as not to damage his precious cargo, Remus carried an armload of canvases out of the cottage and around to the back for Evangeline.  When he found her pawing around in the back of an old blue truck, he asked.  "Where do you want these, Angel?"

She lifted her head from whatever she was doing and pulled back to look over at him.  "Over here, Remus."  She motioned for him to join her at the back of the truck.  Inside, sitting on the truck bed was a wooden box with slatted compartments.  Eyeing the box with interest, Remus carefully set down the pile of paintings on the open tailgate, and Evangeline took them one by one and slid them easily into the box.

Once she was finished, she swung the gate up and slammed it tightly shut.  Then she stepped back and dusted her hands off on the sides of her jeans.  "Okay.  That's all of them.  Thanks for bringing the rest of them out for me.  Would you like to take a ride?"  Her eyes gleamed as she addressed her companion.

Remus eyed the truck uncertainly.  "In that?  It looks like it's ready for the junkyard.  Can you really drive that thing, Angel?"

She raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.  "Of course I can drive it.  What good would it do me if I couldn't?  The truck's fine, Remus.  It's in better shape than it looks, and we aren't going very far anyway.  The shop is just a few miles down the road.  We could walk if we didn't have to take all the paintings, but since they're the reason we're going it makes more sense to drive."

He still looked doubtful.

"If you don't trust me.  You can stay here.  I won't be gone for very long."  She crossed her arms and smirked teasingly at him.

He looked sheepish and attempted to rescue the situation.  "It's not a matter of trust…honest.  Actually I have some work that I brought with me that I really should do.  I foolishly had my 5th year class turn in an essay right before the holidays, which means that I have to grade them over the holidays.  You'd think I'd have a better hang of this teaching business than that by now wouldn't you? Anyway, I really do need to grade the papers.  Would you mind terribly if I waited here for you?"

She laughed and slipped her arms around him.  "No, of course not.  You don't have to come with me, and you don't need to make excuses, either. You take care of your work, and I'll take care of mine.   I won't be long."

Glad that his reluctance to accompany her hadn't offended her, he bent down and kissed her passionately, letting his tongue explore the inside of her mouth as his lips moved possessively over her own.    Without realizing it he pulled her in closer to him and began to run his hands down her body ending up caressing her derriere suggestively. 

Reluctantly she pulled back away from him with a laugh sparkling in her voice. "That's going to have to wait.  I want to get these to Mrs. Trevalleyn before she closes up for the day.  I'll be back soon.  Wait for me by the fire.  I'm sure I'll need some warming up when I get back."

Smiling in happy anticipation, he leaned in and gave her one more quick kiss.  "I will.  Hurry back."

With a bright smile, she assured him once again that it wouldn't take very long.   Then she climbed into the cab of the truck and with a slam of the door and a toot of the horn, she took off down the gravel driveway, heading for town.  Remus stood there and watched her drive away and missed her already.  Life was infinitely more lonely when she wasn't there next to him.  In just a short couple of days, he'd gotten so used to her being with him all the time, that he felt bereft when she left his side.  How had he ever gotten through all the endless days of his past without her?  Being with her certainly made the future look brighter.  The only good thing about being away from her was being able to look forward to her return to his arms.  With a final look down the road at the speck in the distance, he turned around with a smile on his face and went back into the cottage to await her return.

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With a fluid motion, Evangeline shouldered open the door to the crowded gift shop and lugged her box of paintings inside.  As she set them down on the floor with a sigh of relief, Mrs. Trevalleyn came out from behind the counter and bustled over to her.  "Mrs. Severe, it's so nice to see you again.  Do you have more paintings for me then?"

Evangeline straightened up and smiled at the energetic shopkeeper.  "Yes, I do, Mrs. Trevalleyn.  Where would you like me to put them?"

The woman waved a dismissing hand.  "Oh, leave them there, Miss.  You shouldn't have to go lugging them all over creation.  I'll get Steven to move them later."

"Steven?  Have you finally hired yourself some help?"  Evangeline inquired with mild interest.

Mrs. Trevalleyn nodded happily, eager to impart her recent good fortune.  "Oh my, yes.  Steven.  A lovely man.  Wandered in here a couple of weeks ago looking for work.  He's been a tremendous help to me.  I'd introduce you, but he seems to have disappeared at the moment.  He's probably out in back fixing something or cleaning up.  Things haven't been so well organized around here in years.  He really likes your paintings.  Quite taken with them, indeed."

Evangeline smiled again.  "That's always nice to hear."

"Well, everyone seems to love them.  I've only got two left from the last batch you left with me, and Anna Lukey from the other side of town has been in eyeing one of those so I imagine I'll be down to one pretty fast.  These new ones come just in time.  Come over to the counter, and I'll settle up what I owe you.  I hope you've brought me plenty.  I get calls about them almost everyday.  You're really leaving a mark around here, let me tell you."

As she chattered on, Mrs. Trevalleyn took Evangeline by the arm and drew her over to the counter so they could finish up their business.

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Steven stood in his room and buttoned up his shirt.  His nimble fingers slipped easily from one button to the next as he momentarily lost himself in the soothing rhythm of the simple and familiar task. A slightly annoyed expression flickered across his face.  How could he have been so careless as to rip a hole in his shirt?  He didn't exactly have an unlimited supply of clothing.  He needed to be more careful.  At least it hadn't been the new shirt that Mrs. Trevalleyn had given him for Christmas.  It wouldn't do to upset her unnecessarily by not taking good care of her present. 

As he was buttoning the last button, his eyes strayed to the window, and he froze with his fingers at his throat.  The woman standing next to the truck and talking to his employer…it was her…the face from his dreams.  Angel.  Mesmerized by this vision yet not sure if he was hallucinating or not, he moved closer to the window to stare openly down at her.  As he avidly watched, unsure just what to do, she smiled and waved goodbye to Mrs. Trevalleyn.  Then she flipped her lovely hair over her shoulder and got into the truck.  With a toot of her horn, she drove out of the yard and off down the street.

Anxious not to let her escape from him now that he'd actually seen her and knew her to be real, he turned abruptly away from the window intending to run down the stairs and catch up to her, when he was overcome with a wave of pain.  A headache of blinding intensity hit him like a sledgehammer.  Unable to handle the severity and suddenness of the pain, he fell to his knees and remained on all fours until the overwhelming pain began to pass.  As if her appearance had been the trigger his blocked mind had needed, sharp strong memories seemed to burst from everywhere at once and jumble up on each other in his mind until he thought it would explode.  Suddenly it all seemed to be too much…his mind appeared to reach the limits of sensory overload, and it simply shut down, leaving him unconscious on the floor of his room.

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When Steven awoke it was dark outside.  He sat up in confusion.  What happened?  Why was he on the floor?  He got stiffly to his feet, pulled on the light cord, and sat heavily down in the chair at his small table and tried to remember what had happened to him.  What was the last thing he could remember doing?  He'd been changing his shirt because he'd torn his other one.  He'd looked out the window and…and…that was it!  He'd seen her, and he'd remembered.  Why couldn't he remember now?  His head still ached faintly.  Everything seemed fuzzy.  The memories…the memories that had all been there such a short while ago were now gone once more.  Frustration flooded through him.  Damn it!  He'd known it all…he'd understood it all, and now he was right back where he'd started!

Anxious to get some answers, he got up from the table and left the room in search of Mrs. Trevalleyn.  Maybe she could tell him something.  She obviously knew this woman…his Angel.  Maybe talking to her would help him to remember again.  At the very least, she could tell him who Angel was…her name…how she knew her…and most importantly, where to find her.

As quickly as he could, he ran down the stairs from his room and crossed the yard to the house.  When he entered the warm fragrant kitchen, Mrs. Trevalleyn was just dishing up dinner and putting it on the table.

"Well, there you are, Steven.  I'd been wondering where you'd gotten to.  It's time to eat."  She straightened up, really looked at him, and frowned in concern at what she saw.   "Are you all right?  You look like you've seen a ghost."

He licked his dry lips and frowned back at her.  "I might have.  You were talking to a young woman earlier…beside a blue truck in the yard.  She drove off in the truck.  Who was she?"

Startled by the intensity in his voice, Mrs. Trevalleyn motioned for him to sit as she did herself.  "That was Evelyn Severe, the artist who painted those wonderful seascapes that you like so much.  She just dropped off another box of paintings.  As a matter of fact, I'll need you to move them into the back for me after dinner.  Why do you ask?  Did you recognize her?"  She watched him sharply.

He sank into his chair at the table and continued to look blankly at her.  "I think so."  He clutched his head and hissed in frustration.  "When I saw her, just for a moment I seemed to remember everything, but now it's all gone again.  I do know that she is the woman whose face I've been seeing, though.  I have no doubt about that.  Somehow I know her…very well.  I just can't remember how."

Mrs. Trevalleyn watched him speculatively.  "She told me that she was a widow.  That her husband died suddenly last year…think that perhaps you could be that husband, and maybe some sort of mistake was made?"

He swallowed hard and stared down at his plate.  Could he possibly be her husband…that lovely woman?  Hard to believe.

Painfully he shook his head.  "I don't know.  It's all gone again.  Where does she live?"  He asked as he picked up his fork.

"A couple miles outside of town on the cliff road.  Overlook Cottage, I think the place is called.  A rather lonely spot.  Good for a painter, though.  Lovely scenery up there.  Perhaps what you need to do is go to see her tomorrow.  Maybe talking to her would bring things back.  Maybe she'll recognize you."

As he began to eat, he mulled over her words.  They made a lot of sense.  "Maybe you're right.  It couldn't hurt after all.  The worst that could happen would be that I was wrong, and we don't know each other after all."

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Steven tossed and turned all night.  His nightmares were more vivid and disturbing than ever.  Over and over in his mind, images of his past played themselves out, one after the other.  Painful images, happy images, terrifying and contented images.  People's faces appeared and spoke to him, but this time it was different.  This time he could hear them and understand.  When she came to him this time and whispered his name, he heard her and remembered.  Severus, she said.  Severus.  I love you, Severus.  Please, come back to me, Severus.

He awoke with a start with her name on his lips.  Evangeline!  Gods.  He remembered, finally he remembered!  He was Severus Snape; Potions Master at Hogwarts School and Evangeline Winthrop-Snape was his wife.  His wife!

Filled with determination and energy, he threw off the covers and leaped out of bed.  It was barely light outside, but he could hardly contain himself.  He had to see her, right away.  He couldn't wait.  They'd been apart for so long.  His fingers were clumsy on the buttons as he tried to dress hurriedly.

Once he'd finally finished, he grabbed up his cloak and ran out of the apartment.  Swiftly he crossed the yard and knocked on Mrs. Trevalleyn's back door.  Hopefully she was awake and up.  He'd hate to leave her without saying good-bye, but now that he finally knew the truth he knew that he couldn't stay here any longer.

Impatiently he knocked again.  Finally the door opened and Mrs. Trevalleyn stood there in a bathrobe and fuzzy slippers blinking sleep from her eyes.  "Good heavens, Steven.  It's barely six o'clock.  I was hoping for a bit of a lie in, it is Saturday after all.  What's wrong?"

He smiled down at her full of suppressed excitement.  "I'm sorry, Mrs. Trevalleyn, but I need to say good-bye."

Her eyebrows shot up.  "Good-bye?"  She studied his face.  It was different somehow…more confident, happier…stronger in a way.  She nodded in satisfaction.  "You remembered, didn't you?"

His black eyes sparkled as he nodded.  "Yes."

She held open the door.  "Come in."

He walked inside and let her close the door behind him.  "Are you Evelyn Severe's husband?"  She asked curiously.

He nodded confidently.  "Yes, I am."

"What happened to you?  Do you remember that?"

Once again he nodded.  "Yes, I…"  He hesitated.  What should he tell her?  He could hardly explain about Voldemort, after all.  She'd think him mad.  Knowing too much could put her in danger, too.  She'd been so kind to him, he couldn't chance anything happening to her because of him.

"I received a beating that resulted in some fairly severe injuries and my memory loss.  But, it's all come back to me now, and I need to go home.  I really can't go into details.  There are some very bad people who are probably still after me, and they could possibly hurt you if you know too much about me.  I need to leave as soon as possible…to stay here could put you in danger, and I wouldn't want to do that.  I want to thank you for your kindness to me.  I don't think I'd still be alive if you hadn't taken me in and let me stay here.  I owe you my life."

Tears sparkled in her eyes.  "Oh, I didn't do anything special.  I'm glad I could help you.  You've been a big help to me, you know.  I certainly got my money's worth out of you.  Oh, land's sake, I almost forgot.  I owe you your wages."  She turned to go into the next room, but he put out a hand and stopped her.

"There's no need.  I don't need to take any money from you.  I've…enjoyed… the time I spent here.  I'm glad that I was able to help you, in payment for your helping me."

She stared up into the piercing dark eyes and nodded.  "If you're sure.  I'll miss your help around here, Steven.  You'll be tough to replace."  She smiled in realization.  "Steven isn't your name, is it?  What should I call you?"

A faint smile tugged at his lips.  "Apparently, my name is Severe.  Actually, it's probably best if you don't know my real name.  Just continue to think of me as Steven Severe.  You won't be far wrong."

She nodded again and sniffled back some tears.  "Okay, Steven.  Good luck with Evelyn.  I hope everything works out for you both."  Impulsively she threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug.  Surprised, he stiffened at first then unbent enough to embrace her back.

"Thank you, Mrs. Trevalleyn.  I hope so, too."  He murmured fervently.

Then he opened the door and walked out, heading up the road toward Evangeline and home.

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Author's Notes:  Next chapter is the big one folks…"Be Careful What You Wish For"…hang on tight.

Lina Lupin:  Well, he's got his memory back now.  What did you think of how he got it back?  Was it a disappointment?

P. Veronica Tyler:  Thanks.  Magic is a natural and important part of Severus so it's going to have to find its way to the surface somehow.  They're all face to face next chapter. :)  I must say that I am incredibly impressed with your English.  If you are this good picking it up on your own, you'd be fantastic with a very little study.  Please, don't apologize.  I never have any trouble understanding what you're trying to say. :)

SevyHero:  Fireworks next chapter!

Spookycat:  Yes, he has his memory back as you can see, but not his wife…not yet.  Evangeline was the click. :)

Persephone:  Thanks.  I'm sorry, but if you sent an e-mail to me it never arrived.

Elbereth94:  Remus has waited a long time to have an intimate relationship with Evangeline…so yes, he's a bit obsessed. :)  The stories can certainly blur together after awhile, especially in the details.  No, in this story Sirius is still being hunted.  He's doing most of his work for Dumbledore undercover and in disguise.

Sage and Snape:  Remus is in love.  His mind remembers his promises, but his heart and his libido want more.  I'm glad you think "Steven" has maintained Severus' character.  That's been really tough to show with no one for him to interact with but himself and a kind old lady whom he doesn't want to offend.  Well, now they've almost run into each other…next chapter, face to face. :)