Hiding Under the Ninth Earth
{Book 02 : A Bit Of All Right}
by [I Got Tired of Waiting]

Edited for FF.net--just a little--524 sexy words were sacrificed on the altar of the rating gods.

I apologise if this "feels" choppy, but coitus writus interruptus is never a pretty thing. Remember, if you are of age, the full version is available at my site.

Part IV : Resolution
Chapter Forty Four : Ua Ola Loko i Ke Aloha.

31 July 2003

Harry woke up slowly, his name a whisper from the moist warm lips nuzzling his neck from behind. He found himself twisted in the sheets, his legs entwined with his lover's, knees bent. Severus' one arm was curled over his head on the pillow, the hand running through his hair. His other was curved around his waist, the hand, splayed on his lower abdomen, pulling him closer to him. The possessiveness of that hand, the pressured intimacy of it took his breath away even as it held him firmly against his body.

Severus was close behind him, moulded to him. His lips traveled along Harry's neck, ghosting open mouth kisses along the sensitive skin, his tongue leaving wet spots of pleasure as each exhalation of breath wafted across them, making him shiver. Oh so close, he could feel his chest tight against his back, the muscles shifting as Severus moved his head and pulled Harry into him.

Severus shifted closer to Harry; he had not thought it was possible, but the hand inexorably drew him more firmly into him, so tight. Severus' heart beat steadily, strongly against his back. With the unusual silence, Harry realised his lover was still asleep, his body, his response a part of a dream. A most pleasant dream it seemed.

Severus' hand moved away to cup the sweet place where Harry's hip curved before smoothing into his stomach. He had loosened his hold a bit with the move; Harry released his breath slowly only to catch it again as he felt Severus moving behind him, closing the short space between them. Severus made a growling noise of frustration in his throat and his hand once again traveled back to where it had been.

Severus shifted yet again, his lips travelling less and kissing more, almost suckling the sensitive skin there. He heard the sharp hiss of breath on his back as Severus' forehead finally rested there, his back now arched slightly away from his as Severus pleasured them both, bringing them to the edge and over.

Afterwards, Severus was never really sure what one thing woke him up. It didn't matter with the shock waves still pulsing through him. Harry's body sagged against him, his breathing heavy and languid, the aftershocks shuddering through him at odd intervals. When Severus pulled back to move away, Harry grasped his hand and pulled it back around him, holding it and him captive. Harry sighed deeply and brought his hand to his mouth, his fingers tangled on top with his and kissed the palm. When Severus felt the kisses to the tips of his fingers, he relaxed a bit and held Harry as he obviously wanted.

Severus raised up on his elbow and ghosted his lips over the bruises he'd left. "Good morning, love, and Happy Birthday," he breathed into Harry's neck, his tongue following his lips in short nips along the column up to his ear.

Harry sighed as he turned over to face Severus, who took one look at the cat-like contentment on his face and knew Harry had been well pleased. Harry curled into his chest, his hands sweeping Severus' waist as his lover folded him into his arms. "Thank you. That was, as always, a bit of all right," he said as he did every time they loved. "I see now why you like being awakened this way."

Severus smiled; it was indeed the first time he'd roused Harry this way and he chuckled. "Does this mean you'd rather have this instead of my normal way of waking you?" he asked, running his hand leisurely up Harry's back.

"Hmmmm. It does require some thought, doesn't it? I'm not sure I have enough evidence to make a proper decision, though; I believe it bears further study." Severus could feel his laughter run through his chest. "Although I have to admit, had I known how much more intense it could be to make you wait until I pleasured you, I would've tried it long ago."

Severus growled, "Don't you dare. I'm older, remember? It takes me longer to get there. You're the greyhound, not me."

"Oh right. A regular tortoise you are." He snorted. "Actually, that's not a bad analogy, although hedgehog comes more easily to mind, but I'll save that discussion when my mind is more on philosophy and less on phal--"

They both stiffened with the sound of the front door to the cottage opening and slamming shut. Harry was already sitting up in the bed, his wand drawn, Severus beside the door when Kahealani ran into the room, out of breath, her face flushed from running.

She stopped at the foot of the bed, her words tripping over themselves to get out, "Master Potter, Master Potter, mom needs you. Kalani has been hurt badly, he needs your help. Please come now. She says to Apparate or Floo to her office. Aunty's coming too, but you're closer." Harry held up a hand to stop the flow of words.

"Kahealani, could you please turn around a second?" he asked, not wanting to embarrass her when he got out of bed.

She obligingly turned her back to him. He sprang out of the bed and scooping a pair of shorts out of the drawer, he soon had them on along with a vest. He turned to look at Severus who was likewise dressed. He was about to Floo when it dawned on him why Kahealani had run all the way; she couldn't transport herself. "Kehea'?" She turned around. "Give me one hand and Severus the other. We'll get you there faster."

Severus had already made it over to them and, taking Kahealani's hand, put his arm around Harry's shoulders. "I'll do it, you'll need all your strength when you get there; Malia would not have called you were it not serious." Harry nodded gratefully and with a surge of power at the spoken spell, they Apparated and were standing in Malia's office. There was a large group of people milling about in the outer office who gaped at their sudden loud appearance but, after recovering, didn't look all that surprised, either.

They parted for Harry, who went through the door and stepped into the kitchen of Malia's house, Severus and Kahealani right behind him. "That's a neat trick," Harry said as he made his way to the long table where Malia was standing, dozens of blood soaked, hotel towels lying on the tile floor. Another Medi-witch was standing across the table from her, helping Malia staunch the flow of blood that was everywhere.

To say Kalani was a mess was akin to saying the bombing of London was a fireworks show. Half his head was caved in as was his chest in several places, his breathing shallow, wet and sucking. He could hear Severus behind him audibly pull in his breath and Kahealani cry out, her tears muffled as a relative took her in her arms and led her away.

"Severus, please clear everyone out of the room, except the four of us. Malia, tell me what happened," Harry heard himself say, even as he sank into the state of mind he needed to heal.

"He was out net fishing this morning for the hotel's dinner when a wave caught him and dashed him into the rocks. His friend, he always goes with a friend, tried to get him out, but the surf was too rough. Even with magic, it took a while to get him to shore. They Apparated here and then I sent Kahealani to you." She was trying hard to remain calm. He would have liked to remove her, but knew he couldn't.

"How long?" he asked, his voice getting dreamy and far away.

"Since the accident, Malia, he needs to know how long he's been like this," Severus prodded when she didn't immediately reply.

"I don't know, no more than an hour?" she replied, panicked.

He nodded in acknowledgment. Eyeing the other woman, Harry asked, "Your name?" .

"Gretchen, sir," the Medi-witch said.

"Ever worked with a Healer before?" He was almost where he needed to be, his voice low and melodious, soothing.

"No, sir," she replied, nervous. "I'm a midwife, sir."

He sighed. 'Hurry Poppy, I need you!' To Gretchen, he said without rancor, "Please, don't touch me or the patient unless I tell you to. And please, stop calling me sir."

"OK, sir."

He waited until her hands and Malia's withdrew, the blood pulsing up weakly from a severed artery in Kalani's arm. He moved there first, his hands moulding directly over the spot, the blood warm on his hands. With a whisper, it stopped, the gash closing, the skin barely healed. He cast a warming spell to help with the shock and blood loss. It would hold and he could finish it later. Right now he had worse things to contend with.

How worse it was became evident after the first pass of his hands, his diagnostic spells painting a picture of internal bleeding, broken bones, a lung in peril, and a brain under building pressure from several ruptured blood vessels, the skull crushed on one side.

"Is Poppy coming? he asked, triaging as he spoke.

"She should be here any minute now," Malia said, looking over at the fireplace, willing her sister to hurry.

"Good, I'll need her help." 'That's an understatement. We'll be lucky to heal him in time.' He suppressed the negative thoughts.

He'd started on the lungs as the most immediate threat when Poppy stepped out of the fireplace. She no more nodded at everyone than she was standing opposite him, gauging his progress. Her no-nonsense voice cut gently across his concentration, her timing perfect. "Where do you need me, Harry?"

"I am almost done with his breathing. I need to work on his head injury; I leave you the rest. I partially healed a bleeder on his left arm, it won't hold much longer."

"All right. Any Sanos yet?" She waved her wand over the arm and the already leaking wound, healing it the rest of the way.

"Not now, maybe later after I can assess the pathways. There's so much damage here. If you get tired, have Gretchen help."

"Harry, let me finish the lungs. His head is getting critical," she observed urgently, noting the paling of her nephew's face.

"You're right. Thank you, Poppy, it's good to have you here." He gave her a sweet smile before turning his attention to the head injury.

'What a bloody mess.' Harry pulled his magic into a ball inside him, the better to conserve it and distribute it evenly. He sank deep into the pathways and started following them, repairing bits of damage as he went, stopping more and more frequently as the damage became denser. The bones on the face were the least of his efforts and with a sharp sucking sound, they pulled out of their resting place to form back into the shape they'd held before the accident. Weaving in and out of his magic when expended, he could feel Poppy doing her work, her timing such that she was never doing magic while he was. Since hers was becoming less critical as his became more so, their timing was easy.

The cranial pressure in Kalani's head was building; he released some of the fluid through the skin of Kalani's neck. A thick river of dark blood and fluid ran down the table and onto the floor. He vaguely heard someone, female, gasp and Severus' soothing tones telling her it was all right, it was a good sign. He took his own heart from the dulcet voice of his lover, aware on another level that this was the first time Severus had been present while he healed.

After he'd repaired all the physical damage he could, including the four bleeders he found, he started hunting the links. He sighed when he found the first broken connection. 'I hate this part, but there's no getting around it. And it won't be the last either.' Refocussing on the scene around him, he asked, "Malia, does he have a wife or a lover?"

She raised frightened eyes to him, "He's Mahu. He has a husband."

"Good, you won't have to decide alone. I need you both and hurry." While he waited, dormant, Poppy went on a healing frenzy, finishing up all the remaining superficial repairs. She started washing Kalani. Each pass of the cloth, dipped in a disinfecting potion Severus made for her by the gallon, cleaned the blood and the grime off until all that was left was his head to clean. She gently wiped Kalani's face and got most of it. It would help Harry to be better able to see.

She then told Harry to hold out his arms and she scrubbed Kalani's blood off of them and his hands. A few thorough swipes across his cheeks and chin took care of some splatters of which he'd not even been aware, the cloth rasping on his unshaved stubble. Something about it triggered a memory and he smiled to himself at the sudden image of Horatio's hissing fit the first time Cally had tried to bathe his face--he suspected the cloth Poppy had just used was as rough as Cally's tongue.

She handed him a fresh vest, from where he hadn't a clue and, frankly, didn't care. He took it gratefully; the one he'd thrown on--was it really only this morning?--was crusted with bits he really didn't want to identify. He quickly stripped off the old shirt, which Poppy wordlessly took from him, and just as quickly put on the new one, which was a little big. "Oh, that is ever so much better," Harry exclaimed softly. "Thank you, Poppy." She patted his cheek with affection and bustled about cleaning everything up.

He was about to turn to Severus when Malia came back into the room accompanied by Kalani's husband, limping, and heavily leaning on Malia for support.

"Harry, this is Ben," Malia said by way of introduction, standing just off the end of the table. "Ben, Harry is a kahuna lapa'au."

Harry found himself looking at a local man a few years older than Severus. Tall and lean, elegant in the same manner as Severus, Ben held his gaze steadily, calmly. 'Good taste, Kalani.' His shorts and shirt were torn in places, the exposed bits of him, from head to toe, covered in minor cuts and huge purpling bruises with a few nasty gashes on his forearms and shins.

"You're the one who pulled him out?" Harry asked, regretting the brusqueness. At his nod, he turned to Poppy, "I need him whole."

While Poppy set to work, Harry took the opportunity to move to the head of the table. At first he simply touched Kalani's face, neck, and arms, feeling for the pulses, which were weak but steady beneath his fingers. However, his body was too cool, so Harry adjusted the warming spells, testing the skin at intervals. Within a few moments, Kalani's body temperature was where it should be and Harry was relieved--Kalani had lost so much fluid and was too weak to use the blood building spells on him.

Harry next placed his hands lightly on Kalani's face, the heels of his hands near the temples, the fingers curling slightly at the chin while he murmured a few diagnostic spells. Satisfied that his initial repairs had held, he finally allowed himself to return Severus' concerned stare with one of his own. When Harry gave him a weary smile, Severus nodded, the tautness of his mouth easing, his warm regard never wavering. Harry basked in the unexpectedly bracing communication between them, held only with their eyes.

Their silent communion was broken when Poppy moved back to stand with Severus. Looking much more comfortable, Ben's cuts and bruises were gone. Measuring their readiness from across the table, Harry noted Malia's fear was palpable, her brow puckered and drawn. Ben was obviously worried but quiet, his eyes fixed intently, not on Harry, but on his husband lying so still and pale on the table. Harry cleared his mind of their influence with some difficulty.

Clearing his throat to gather their attention, Harry said quietly, "Malia, Ben--I've come to some areas where you're going to have make some difficult choices for me--and Kalani. They'll need to be one or the other, I won't be able to repair both. I am sorry; however, the damage is extensive. I regret the decisions will have to be made swiftly, almost on a gut level, if we are to finish in time. You're to tell me what to keep. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Harry, we understand," Malia's light voice was echoed by a strong soft baritone.

'I don't think you do, but you will soon enough.' Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and sank back into the pathways, travelling them swiftly until he found the first broken connection. "All right, eyesight or line of sight magic?" Malia gasped; he'd expected the reaction.

"Sight," they answered as one. Malia leaned over and murmured to Ben, "You speak, you'll have to live with the choices." He nodded and they waited.

He replaced the damage with a new connection, the Sanos singing sharply. He moved on. A few minutes later, "Voice or compulsion?"

"Voice." Ben was very unruffled; Harry found it soothing.

On it went. "He can throw nets or quick-cast spells?"

Ben hesitated slightly. "Throw nets."

As the litany continued, one life-altering decision after another, Harry could feel the drain on his energy as he expended the Sanos magic miserly, the conservation necessary with the extent of the injuries repaired. His eyes still closed, he could hear Severus rustling, shifting feet the way he was himself. He appreciated that Severus was standing, still supporting him, keeping himself as open as Harry was; he felt Severus sharing the pain of the decisions with him and drew much-needed strength from Severus' open respect of his skills. Harry never questioned how he could feel his lover this way through the Sanos magic, it was rather like Severus sensing him under the invisibility cloak; it just was.

On and on it went, choice after choice. By the time Harry was done, hours later, Kalani had marginal magic but all of his culture. He would lose nothing his family considered essential, although Harry had seen their pain and tears as magical skills were discarded one after another.

"We're almost done," Harry said, the exhaustion clear in his voice and in his pale face. He struggled to stay upright as he checked Kalani over one more time, the stiffness in his joints a separate pain. "Ben, I need to speak to you, alone."

"Can we leave him?" he asked, concerned, weary beyond anything he'd ever known.

Harry offered what reassurance he could. "He's stable for the moment and Poppy's here."

"Then let's go outside in the sun." Ben opened the screen door to the lanai.

"I'd like that, thank you." He followed Ben outside, stopping briefly when he reached Severus, their eyes exchanging messages of love and encouragement, their hands brushing. Severus stayed in the kitchen, his arm around Malia, trying to help her sort through it all.

"I thought he could heal him," she said bitterly, angrily.

"He is healing him, but sometimes things don't always work out the way we want them. Understand, Malia, had he been Muggle, he would be dead--or worse," Severus told her gently.

The conversation faded the farther from the door Ben and Harry went. They sat on a bench in the backyard; Harry was afraid he would never stand again. He stretched his legs. Ben started off, "I'm sorry, she loves him and is worried." He hesitated before he said, "It's not good, is it?"

"No, Ben, it's not. He's healed physically, but we took away so many bits of him as we went, he's not quite 'in' there anymore." They were silent for a few minutes. "You're a Wizard?"

"Yes, a fairly strong one," he replied with no pride; it was a statement of fact.

Harry nodded, considering. "Good. We've some time, maybe an hour or two before we lose him. How long have the two of you been together?"

"We've been together for 15 years. We made vows eight years ago," Ben replied.

"Closed Form vows? You're bound?" Harry was starting to feel an edge of hope.

"Yes. Albus Dumbledore bound us." Ben smiled to himself at the memory.

Harry chuckled, "Seems he gets around."

Ben laughed as well. "Aunty Poppy insisted. They're--close friends--and Malia knows him as well; she brings him haupia. Aunty said there was no one more powerful." He eyed Harry. "I think, perhaps, she was wrong."

Harry shrugged. "Who knows. Albus is powerful, so is Severus, so am I, for that matter. It's our skills that are different and unique. Albus is, well, Albus," he grinned, "Severus is a Potions Master, one of the best, and I'm a Healer, my skills--different," he said with no pride. "By the way, what's a kahuna lapa'au?

"What you are, a doctor or a Master Healer."

Harry nodded. "Ah, thank you." He thought hard a few moments, and asked slowly, "Tell me Ben, with all the honesty in your heart--do you love Kalani?"

Ben stared at him only for a second and quietly said, "Yes, I love him."

"Would you die for him?" The question took Ben by surprise. "Let me explain. There may be a way to possibly restore him, Ben. It's very risky and is an all or nothing proposition. We either all succeed and live, or we all fail and die; either way we're in it together. Think carefully about this. If we're successful, you'll be bonded to him for life, deeper than your marriage vows. Part of you will complete him; it will be up to me to bind it. It's a forever thing and he might not be happy with it at first; it's very intimate--to some frightening. If you don't love him or if there is any doubt, this won't work and we'll all lose."

"Even you? You would die as well?" At Harry's nod, Ben shook his head. "You would risk your life on my word?"

"No, I would stake my life on your truth, on the depth of your love for him. Did you meet Severus?" At Ben's nod, he said, "He's my lover. We've dared much for each other before, even our lives. I can easily believe there are others who feel the same way we do. That's what I risk, what he risks. Our faith in your love for Kalani. Do you understand?"

"Why?" Ben had to know his motives.

"It's who we are." He shrugged. "I'm sorry, I can explain it no better."

He took Harry's measure and found nothing wanting. "I would die for him," Ben stated simply.

Harry lightly laughed. "Somehow, I thought you would." He put his hand on Ben's shoulder. "Come, let's go in and bring him back."

Harry stood but before he could turn, Ben took him in an embrace, saying "Aloha" and laid his cheek on Harry's. Releasing him, he placed his hands on Harry's shoulders and said, his eyes intense, "Aloha is a versatile word. It embodies a concept well beyond 'hello', 'goodbye', or 'I love you'. It can mean 'Sharing the Breath of Life', meaning you are family, worthy of sharing breath with me and I with you. In another way it also means, 'Joyfully Sharing Life'. If I understood what you said, this is what you intend for us to do with Kalani. I have faith in you. I don't know why, but I do."

Harry was humbled. This one simple gesture gave him renewed hope and energy. He kissed Ben softly on the cheek and said, "Aloha and thank you."

They went back into the kitchen. The force of Malia's anger and panic, almost physical, battered him as he entered the small room. He knew he couldn't work with it there hanging over them. He stood in front of Severus and held his calm gaze. "Severus, I would ask only you and Poppy remain for what we have to do next." He moved his eyes to the woman next to him. "I'm very sorry, Malia, but your doubt could hurt us."

She started to protest, but Severus' eyes held hers. Nodding, she acknowledged he was right. She walked over to Kalani and kissed him, embraced Ben, and walked out of the room. The others who had come in while they were outside also left until only the four of them were remaining. Silently, Harry leaned in and, cupping his cheek, kissed Severus full on the lips, their eyes holding for an eternity. Then he was gone and Severus was afraid.

"Ben, stand at Kalani's head, please," Harry said softly as Ben moved into place. His next words could only be heard by the two of them. "Close your eyes. When we're ready I'm going to touch you. Do not move or speak, please, no matter what happens or how you feel. And whatever you do, don't touch Kalani. It's important you stay still. All right?"

"I'm ready," Ben replied, his eyes closing. Harry believed him.

"I want you to think of a time, one time the two of you were perfect. A time that if you could have it forever, you would keep it with you always." He waited a moment, watching him closely. He saw a peaceful, happy look cross Ben's face and settle there. "Good, now hold onto that time, don't let it go, think on it always, keep the feeling. It's good isn't it? A little bit of all right?" Ben nodded and smiled but said nothing.

Harry dropped back to where he needed to be, deep within himself and pulled in his own memories--the cottage last week--the lovely, quivery feeling inside him when Severus had told him how much he loved him. A beatific smile lit his face. He opened his eyes a moment and whispered, "Severus?"

"Yes, Harry?" he said quietly, coming into his line of sight. His eyes widened slightly in wonder; he gave Harry an almost shy smile in return.

Harry placed his right hand on Kalani's chest, his left hovering over Ben's. "I love you, Severus," he said, his eyes never leaving him as he placed his hand flat on Ben's chest.

"I love you, Harry," Severus whispered, not sure Harry heard him, but it didn't matter. He knew.

The connection was made, Ben to Harry to Kalani. Harry's hands started to glow. The clear tones of the Sanos started, low, extended, the magic of the deep healing ringing through their heads. It was a new Schema, Harry's Schema, one he created within himself to weave the two men into one whole. The noises in the room beyond ceased as well. Harry fell deep into the spell, controlling it as he spread it throughout Kalani, trying to keep it even. It was a struggle, Ben's magic was strong indeed, but fortunately as calm as its owner. It was only a matter now of keeping his own to himself, to use it only to guide, not supplant.

Severus all at once understood what he was doing. 'NO! Gods no, Harry. Don't! You could lose yourself. Do you know what--' He stopped his ranting thoughts, suddenly realising that they, and the frantic energy they contained, could disturb Harry's concentration. And he understood deeply, in one clear moment, all of what Dumbledore had been trying to tell him. Yes, Harry knew. He knew the risks and he chose to take them. The knowledge was devastating. Every time Harry went out to practice this art, he could lose him. Every single time. 'That's why he said it, because it might be goodbye.'

The light had spread from Harry's hand to diffuse in ripples across Kalani's body. Ben looked strained, but it was Harry who held Poppy and Severus' attention. He was sweating with the effort, paler, almost translucent, each second as he poured Ben's life into Kalani. The Sanos rang a new song with each passing moment, now two notes weaving in and out of each other as Ben's magic melded with Kalani's, Harry's the glue holding it together until theirs could join permanently.

'Don't leave me, Harry, not now. I finally understand. Hold onto yourself. I'm waiting.' Severus felt his eyes tear. And then he was not alone. Poppy took his hand, holding tight, and her words floated through his head once again, "Don't miss even one day with someone you love." He fully understood and knew he would accept it, even if it was just one more day. He willed Harry to succeed, to give him at least this one more time, the opportunity to let him know he'd finally comprehended it was their risk--one he was willing to give as freely as Harry did himself.

Kalani took a deep shuddering breath and another, crying out, his body arching, whether in pain or ecstasy, was unclear. It didn't matter, they were just two sides of the same coin. "Almost there," they could hear Harry utter through gritted teeth. "Hold on, Ben, only--a--few--more--"

He broke contact.

Kalani, breathing heavily, his eyes wide open, stared wildly around him. Ben immediately took his face in his hands, giving him something to focus on. "Ah, love, you're back." He quickly moved to the side and kissed him lightly. "Don't talk. It'll be all right in a moment." He looked up at Harry to thank him and cried out. Severus was already moving and caught his swaying lover, cradling him gently to the floor.

"Ah Sev, that was a bit of all right," he breathed into the pressing darkness.

Ua Ola Loko i Ke Aloha.
Love gives life within.

TBC