Olivia watched the dark man scowl.

A Leave of Absence-

All disclaimers are in place.

Snape flicked his wrist while jabbing savagely with his thumb. No beam of light sprang from the end of the slender black remote control, but the television released an electronic hiccup before the audio and video flipped to a different channel. Olivia barely registered the new program, before Snape repeated his motion and the channel changed again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

"Why Muggles waste so much of their time with this foolish box is beyond understanding." The potions master snarled in a superior tone. The images and sounds coming from the television continued to flicker and shift, Snape's wrist and thumb moving faster.

"Severus, you do not need to hurl the beam across the room. It can travel quite nicely on its own. You look like you are dueling with the T.V.." Olivia chided. The furious flick and jab carried on, unabated. Reaching across his naked torso, Olivia made a grab for the remote. "Give that to me!" She demanded as Snape raised his wand arm high above his head, well out of her reach. "Severus, you aren't even watching. You're just…just GRAZING!" She latched on to his toned forearm and strained for his hand.

"Woman!" Snape groused. "I had this first. Now, you will leave off or I shall wax dangerous!" Keeping the loaded hand overhead, Snape pushed hard at Olivia's back, forcing her down over his silk clad thighs. He ran his hand firmly, possessively over her derriere, holding her in place, his eyes still fastened to the flickering screen.

Olivia sighed, resigned to her fate but not complaining, definitely not complaining about her current situation. She propped her cheek on one hand, enjoying the feel of his warm hand through the thin material of her slacks.

The air of contentment was broken by the sound of wings beating frantically against the sliding glass doors. Olivia pushed her self up, exchanging a startled look with Snape. "Who would be sending an owl at this time?" She asked as she crossed the room and flipped the latch that unlocked the door. A small white object hurled its self into the living room to rocket several times about the dangling light fixture. The tiny projectile buzzed a crouching Snape twice before landing in a grand fashion upon Olivia's shoulder.

"What in the name of Merlin is THAT?" The fiery-eyed wizard barked as he conjured a black silk top to match the bottoms he wore. He stuffed his arms into the shimmering sleeves as Olivia struggled to free a bit of parchment from the hopping, chirruping ball of feathers.

"Flick, settle down. You are a very good boy to bring this to me, but you must stand still." She grasped the little owl by the claws and finally succeeded in releasing the message.

"Well, who is it from." Snape demanded impatiently.

"Severus, please. I haven't even opened it yet." Olivia sighed, breaking the emerald green wax seal. Unrolling the page, she began to read.

"Oh dear…" Olivia murmured.

"Could you please elaborate for those of us who currently in the dark concerning the contents of the message?" Came a sneering voice from the sofa.

Olivia rolled her eyes before answering. "It's from gotsnape."

"Really?" Snape responded his interest piqued.

"Yes. It seems the poor dear is in a bit of a bind, Severus." Olivia continued to read. She gasped, causing the potions instructor to come striding quickly to her side.

"What? Has something happened?" He asked, disturbed and concerned by Olivia's reaction to the message.

"Oh Severus. The director has moved gotsnape to the high school for next term. She has NEVER taught outside the elementary level before! She is so upset." Olivia's green eyes were filled with compassion for what the writer was going through.

"Yes," Snape agreed, laying his hand on the nape of Olivia's neck, drawing her close. "It is hard enough attempting to stuff knowledge into young dunderheads, much less their older counterparts. They have a much larger space to fill."

"Let me finish, dearest." Olivia sighed, returning to the letter.

"It seems that gotsnape just wants us and the readers to know she will be taking a break from the story for a bit."

The man snarled and whirled away from her as she continued reading.

"It's not her fault, Severus! She not only has to close down her room for the year but has to transfer to the high school as well. Then she says there are several shawls she has to complete for customers, then her OWN children will be getting out of school so there will be end of the year parties and …. " Olivia ran fingers through her hair. " She is under a great deal of pressure right now, Severus."

The brooding wizard was angrily pacing the room, his lips white and tight. "She is going to leave us here, dammit!" He snapped, flinging his arms out wide. "She is tired of us and is just dropping the story." He ground his teeth in impotent fury. " How like her!" He snarled.

Olivia placed balled fists on her hips, matching the snarling wizard glare for glare. "You know that is not true! How dare you talk about gotsnape that way? Think of what she has done for you, for both of us."

Snape froze. He nodded, contrite. "You are right. For some reason she actually harbors a fondness for us." He made it sound like a flesh eating disease.

"I know you don't like to admit this, Severus, but she actually loves you. She pours so much of herself into the story. She will not abandon us. Listen, she even tells when she will return." Olivia pointed to a spot on the parchment and read aloud." I hate to leave you hanging like this, y'all. I have so many irons in the fire right now. If I could quit my job, farm out my kids, bury my husband under the running butterbeans and still manage to pay the bills, I would spend all my time writing. I promise you two and my readers to post chapter 21 on the first weekend in June. By then I will have everything squared away. Please understand and forgive me. And Severus, you are a darling when you pout." Olivia laughed as she rolled the parchment.

Snape had been standing with his arms folded over his chest, a slight smile curled his lip. "She said I am darling?" He inquired.

"Yes, a darling." Olivia placed the tiny owl on the chair arm and moved to lace her hands through the black silk of Snape's hair.

"Nearly two weeks." Snape mused. "What shall we do to fill our time?"

Olivia's lips hovered above his, her voice a whisper.

"I am sure we will think of something."

*************************************************************

Yes dears, I have to take a break. I have so many things to contend with in the next two weeks… I just wanted you to know I am not abandoning you or our two heroes. I will be back in a few weeks. I hope you will all be patient and wait for me. I will have so much to tell you then.

Oh, you can still leave a review.

Love you all!!

gotsnape