A/N: Thank you so much Claribel for pointing out that my story was set only to accept signed reviews. I'm not going to lie to you, I feel kind of doofy for not noticing it before.

Disclaimer: Don't own them. Never will.

Severus Snape was in a particularly vile mood. The fury and irritation he had experienced so far this year were nothing compared to the rage he was experiencing now As a result of his, altercation with Rosemarie the night before, he had gotten little sleep. Her words continued to revolve around in his head, mocking him. "I found out the truth about you, Severus. How you betrayed everyone on our side." He could hear her voice chanting in his head, as he dragged himself to the potions dungeon. The woman he had cared about most in the world had cheated on him She had said she loved him, but those were just words. People can be easily deceived by the things they want to hear, and as a result, the truth becomes unimportant. Somehow, he managed to get through the day, at least until he had his class of first year Gryffindors.

For some sick and twisted reason, the Slytherins and Gryffindors always had potions at the same time. It still puzzled Snape that the two houses, which had such a vehement rivalry, were always placed in classes together. He had been priding himself on how well he was getting through the day, when Simon walked into class. Snape felt his eyes narrow as soon as he spotted the boy. If Simon noticed the change in his Potions Professor's expression, he made no sign; by now he had grown accustomed to the fact that he was far from Professor Snape's favorite student. Snape gave the students their instructions, then settled down to watch the proceedings. His attention insisted on focusing on Simon Bacall. Snape was determined to examine the boy's features in the hopes that it would give him some kind of clue as to who his father was. "Dark hair and eyes, pallid skin," Snape observed to himself "if it wasn't for the dark hair, I would say Lucius Malfoy." But there was something about Simon's face that seemed oddly familiar to him. "It can't be Lupin. His eyes are hazel. Though there are recessive genes and all that." He paused to consider this. "Rosie's eyes are blue, but Simon's eyes are deep brown, almost black really."

"I loved you Severus." Rosemarie's words kept running through his head. "I never had a fucking affair, as you so eloquently put it." Where had he seen those eyes before? They were so familiar, almost as though they had been his own...

Snape sat up in his chair suddenly. He narrowed his eyes, and examined Simon more closely. That's why the face was so familiar. Staring back at him, was the face of an eleven year old Severus Snape, minus the lank, black hair. Snape felt himself stand, and speak to his class. "Excuse me please. I just remembered an important message for the Headmaster. Excuse me." It was as though some alien force was controlling his body, making him speak and move. As soon as he had made his way out of the classroom, he leaned against the wall for support. Simon was his son. He had a son! And Emma! Emma was his sister, so he had a daughter too! Severus Snape was a father! Rosie hadn't been lying when she said she was faithful to him. As his initial shock over discovering he was a father began to wear off, anger slowly began to seep into his consciousness. How dare Rosemarie keep his children from him! He was their father, and for all he knew, they could think he was dead or wanted nothing to do with them.

He suddenly knew what he had to do. He set his face, and began striding angrily toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Rosemarie was having trouble getting the attention of her class of seventh year Ravenclaws. Cho Chang seemed to be completely engrossed in the surface of her desk, and Nigel Waterford was staring blankly in front of him. Rosemarie slammed her book down on the desk, and the entire class jumped. "Honestly! What is wrong with you all today? You're as energetic as a bunch of flobberworms."

Before her class had a chance to reply, the door to the classroom swung open and crashed against the wall. "Professor. Might I have a word?" Snape's voice was tight, and he looked furious.

Rosemarie smiled sweetly at him. "I'm terribly sorry Professor Snape, but I have a class at the moment. And, come to think of it, you do to. Shouldn't you be tormenting some first years right now?"

"I've had enough of this, Rosemarie." He shouted. "Outside. Right. Now." He dragged her from the classroom, and into a deserted room nearby. "You...you...lying, cheating, charlatan!" He spluttered, enraged.

"You just said three things that mean the same thing, Severus." Rosemarie regarded him calmly. "Would you mind telling me why you disrupted my class and frog-marched me in here?"

"They're my children!" He exploded. "I am a father and you didn't even tell me!"

Rosemarie was silent for a minute. "What made you finally realize it?"

"Simon. He looks exactly like me. I don't know why I didn't notice it before." He paced back and forth. "Why didn't you tell me Rosemarie? Was it some kind of revenge for the conversation you overheard? You knew how much I wanted children!"

"I didn't know I was pregnant when I left Severus, I swear to you." Rosemarie's voice was barely audible. "I found out about a month after I left."

"And you didn't even have the decency to send me an owl to let me know I was about to be a father." He said sarcastically. "Did you forget the address of the apartment where we had lived together for the last three years? Did it slip your mind in a moment of sheer madness?"

"Severus, you have no idea what it was like for me then. I was still madly in love with you, and I thought you cared more about...dirt than you did about me."

"Nothing you can say to me right now is going to make me feel sorry for you. You took my children away from me, and now they probably hate me. What did you tell them about me, anyway? That I was worthless? Good for nothing? I cared nothing for them? Tell me Rosemarie? How did you make my children hate me?"

"I never said anything bad about you to them. I told them we just couldn't get along. They know we were never married."

"Did you tell them who I was?"

Rosemarie couldn't look him in the eyes. "No, I didn't."

"But I suppose I should be grateful that you didn't say I was worthless?" His sardonic tones made Rosemarie flinch. He paused for a moment, and his tone suddenly changed. "What are their names anyway? Their full names, the ones on their birth certificates."

"Emma's older by five minutes." Rosemarie made an effort to keep her voice calm. "I didn't know I was expecting twins, though I should have considering I was as big as a house." She smiled wanly at her weak joke. "Their full names are Simon Julius and Emma Calliope." She hesitated. "I...I named them after their grandparents."

"So I see. Typical that you would put your parents names as their first names." Before Rosemarie had a chance to retort, he asked another question, his voice straining. "And their last names? Are they Bacall?"

Rosemarie could feel her eyes filling with tears. "The Bacall was just for school. I gave them your name, Severus."

"How touching." His voice turned cold again. "Well the Snape name lives on, doesn't it? And that's supposed to make me feel all better, isn't it Rosemarie? I'm supposed to walk away from this thinking to myself: 'Alas! If only I had not wronged her, then we could be a happy family!' and kick myself for being a prat. Well I did nothing wrong, Rosemarie. If you hadn't been so completely obtuse in believing me that day, I might have a family. But thanks to the fact that I chose to fall in love with a dithering imbecile, I have now lost the chance at whatever family I might have had. Thank you so much, Rosemarie. I really can't thank you enough." This time, it was Rosemarie who was left standing, as Snape made a sweeping exit from the room.

Rosemarie could barely concentrate for the rest of the day. All she could think about was Severus and his reaction; she realized that he would be upset when he eventually discovered the truth about the children's paternity, but she had been surprised at the strength of his emotion. In spite of Severus' protests to the contrary, Rosemarie had no idea that he wanted children as much as he claimed. In fact, she had assumed he was averse to the idea of children. The question remained, what did she want to do about the situation? Did she want Severus to be a part of the children's lives now? If yes, how would she tell them that the professor they loathed was actually the father they had longed to meet since they were babies? Did Severus even want to be a part of the children's lives? Would the children even want contact with a father who was unknown to them for the first 11 years of their lives? It was all too confusing, and Rosemarie only succeeded in giving herself a headache. She briefly considered skipping dinner in order to avoid further confrontations with Severus, but her grumbling stomach finally convinced her that food was absolutely necessary.

Rosemarie managed to sneak into the Great Hall without drawing attention to her presence, and she slid quietly into her seat at the end of the table. Snape had already arrived, and his sharp eyes had not missed her arrival. He stood, and walked over to her seat. "Don't worry. I'm not going to cause a scene in front of the entire school." He said, observing her horrified expression. "Just be in your room at eleven tonight. We need to have a talk, Rosie. Whether you like it or not." Damn it, she hated it when he decided to act masterful. His voice always had the most unpleasant effect on her. Well, unpleasant if you were trying to maintain an icy composure, and not fall into bed with him.

Rosemarie barely got through the meal. She kept fiddling nervously with her silverware, and wondering what Severus was going to say to her. There was no question that she would be in her room--Severus would track her down if she wasn't, and the result would be even more unpleasant than if she had just stayed in her room. At five minutes to eleven, Rosemarie was pacing back and forth in her room, waiting for him. Much to her great annoyance, some mysterious imp in the back of her mind insisted on her tidying up her appearance before he arrived. She didn't go so far as to change clothes, but she did take off her teaching robes, fix her hair and reapply her makeup.

Snape was one minute late. He knocked sharply, then let himself into the room. Rosemarie was indignant. "How dare you enter without my permission! I could have been naked!"

He looked at her as though she was standing completely naked before him, and Rosemarie felt her insides melt. "There are worse things." His expression changed from lust, and became more serious. "I'm still furious with you Rosemarie, but I think we need to discuss this like rational adults."

"Since when have we been rational adults?" Rosemarie scoffed.

"Be that as it may, you have intentionally hidden my children from me, and I deserve to know why." Rosemarie got the impression that he was barely controlling his emotions.

"I told you why, Severus." She sighed. "There's no point in my going over it again. The question that remains is whether or not you want to be involved."

"Well of course I bloody well want to be involved! Honestly, woman! We just have to decide how this is going to work."

"I think, then, that the first step should be my breaking the news to the children gently at first. They'll probably be very upset." Rosemarie realized this had to be the greatest understatement ever made. The children would be enraged, and that was if things went well. Rosemarie knew that this was something she had to do herself; she couldn't have the children finding out from some stranger, or even worse, Severus. "After they get a bit used to the idea, then you can come and get to know them. Hopefully, the three of you will be able to..."

"...live happily ever after?" Snape's voice was sardonic. "Well I suppose it's the best we can do for now." He narrowed his eyes at her. "What did you really tell the children about me?"

Rosemarie consciously ignored the fact that when Severus narrowed his eyes, he looked completely sexy. "The truth: that their father is a complete wanker, who liked to screw anything with two legs, a short skit and a brain the size of a pea."

He moved closer to her, his eyes still narrowed. "You had better be joking, Rosemarie Bacall. Besides, you really shouldn't sell yourself so short." He grinned evilly at her.

She gave him an innocent look that sent shivers down his spine. "Why would I joke about that? Simon thinks its cool to have a father that's gone down on everything except the Titanic."

His nose was practically touching hers now. "Oh he does, does he? Do you kiss our children goodnight with that perfectly disgusting mouth of yours?"

Our children. Rosemarie felt her knees weaken, but somehow she managed to keep her composure. "There was a time, Severus, when you didn't mind my perfectly disgusting mouth." She whispered his own words back at him. She heard him give a sort of strangled moan, and the next thing Rosemarie knew, he was snogging her brains out.

"Virago." He muttered, as his hands ran up her back.

"Prat." She retorted, her hands sliding up his chest.

"Shrew." He was kissing her neck now.

"Bastard" Rosemarie ran her hands through his hair.

"Hellion." His hands were sliding up underneath her blouse, and had begun caressing her breasts.

"Wanker." She fiddled with his belt buckle.

He pulled away for a second, and grinned. "Only when you don't want to fuck me." Rosemarie pulled his mouth back to hers, and lifted her effortlessly and carried her to the bed. He paused to look at Rosemarie for a moment, and smiled down at her. "I've missed this."

"Me too." For the first time in a long time, Rosemarie smiled back, before allowing Severus to lead her where she was only too willing to go.

Afterwards, Rosemarie lay with her head resting on Snape's chest, his arm encircling her. She luxuriated in the feeling of warmth and protection that his arm gave her. She shifted herself to get a better look at his face, only to discover he was frowning. "Severus? Is something wrong?"

He sat up, displacing Rosemarie from his chest. "Of course there's something bloody well wrong! Shit, Rosie, you kept my children from me!"

Rosemarie felt her post-coital glow slowly being replaced by anger. "That didn't stop you when you had a giant erection, and needed to get off just now."

"That's not the point." Snape got up out of the bed, and began searching for his clothes. "Yes, I admit I'm still attracted to you, Rosemarie, but you lied to me."

Rosemarie clutched the sheet to her chest. "Oh, so it's ok for you to use me for sex, even though you can't be bothered to carry on a civilized conversation with me?"

He turned around to face her, clad only in his trousers, and Rosemarie felt her stomach turn somersaults at the sight of his bare chest. "What do you want me to do, Severus? I've apologized over and over, and I've asked your opinion on how to reconcile the children to your existence."

"That's just it!" He exploded. "They shouldn't have to be 'reconciled to my existence'! I'm their father! I should have been a part of their lives!"

"Mum? What the hell is going on?" Simon had entered the room via the secret passage, and now had a confused expression on his face. His expression quickly changed to an expression of horror, when he saw Professor Snape clad only in his pants, and his mother wrapped in a sheet. "Mum! You're fucking Professor Snape?"

"Watch your mouth Simon!" Rosemarie snapped at him. "Where you get that mouth of yours from, I'll never know."

Snape had used Simon's entrance to hurriedly throw the rest of his clothes on, and his expression had turned cruel. "Oh I'm not just Professor Snape, Simon. Hasn't your mother told you?" He mocked Simon's hateful glare. "I'm your father."

The color drained out of Simon's face, and he turned, horrified, to his mother. "Mum. It's not true, is it? He's just lying, right?"

Rosemarie's eyes filled with tears. "Simon, sweetheart, I'm so sorry..."

"Mum, how could you ever let that disgusting piece of shit touch you?" Simon shouted in disbelief. He turned disgustedly to his Potions Professor. "And how could you leave your family?"

Snape smiled his vindictive smile again. "I think if you ask your mother, she'll tell you that she actually left me."

Simon just looked at his mother, who could only nod. "I don't fucking believe this!" He shouted. "Professor Snape is my father? So that's why you wanted Emma and I to call you Aunt Rosemarie. And you lied about him leaving us! All this time I thought that he had deserted us. Thanks a lot, Mum"

"Simon, I'm so sorry..." Rosemarie reached for her son.

"You lied to me, mum. I'd rather you didn't hug me just now." Rosemarie was struck, suddenly by how old her son looked. "I...I need to go now." He turned and quietly left the room the way she came in.

Rosemarie was openly crying now. "I knew you were a cruel bastard, Severus. I just didn't know how cruel." She buried her head in her hands, and when she looked up again five minutes later, he was gone.