Chapter 28
Sunday, Nov. 22 – 11:17 am
Katie Lupin sat alone in her living room and looked down at her watch expectantly. It wasn't like Roarke to be late, and yet eleven o'clock had come and gone. But then, it wasn't like Roarke to avoid her father either. Katie knew the two of them weren't seeing eye to eye right now, but purposefully waiting until Remus was out of the house to schedule a mother/daughter chat was a bit much.
A soft pop sounded in the hall alerting Katie that Roarke had finally arrived. The young woman rounded the corner with an apology already on her lips. "I'm so sorry, but I completely lost track of time. We had just finished breakfast and the next thing I knew it was after eleven!"
Katie gave her a wry smile. "You're lucky I didn't have anything pressing today."
"That's why I waited to talk to you on Sunday. I knew you wouldn't have any deliveries or potions to make today." Roarke glanced around the room. "Is dad home?"
"No," Katie said slowly. "As you requested. He's off doing heaven knows what with Sirius and Malcolm, but Roarke, don't ask me to do this for you again."
Roarke sat down with a puzzled look on her face. "What do you mean?"
"I don't like keeping secrets from your father. It's not the way we do things in this house and you know it."
"I'm not asking you to keep a secret, mum. I just wanted to talk to you alone, without any possible distractions."
Katie surmised that the statement was only partially true. "This is about Liam, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Then I suspect that you didn't want your father here because you don't want him to know anything more about your relationship with Liam."
"No," Roarke said shaking her head. "That's not true. I don't want to be lectured about what Dad feels is the best course of action for my life."
"And what makes you think I won't lecture you?"
Roarke sat back. She obviously hadn't expected her mother to be upset. "Hang on. I thought you liked Liam."
"I do, but I don't like what is happening between you and your father. I agreed to this chat with the intention of making it clear to you that from now on everything will be on the table. I didn't tell your father about the morning you came over for the potion, and he was quite upset when he found out I knew more about your relationship than he did. I'm not going to let this drive a wedge into my marriage when there is no need for it. So please, don't expect me to keep things from your father anymore. After all, honesty is the only way to build and keep anything worthwhile."
Roarke rolled her eyes. "And here I thought I at least had one ally."
"You make it sound as if your father and I are opponents in some game, and that's not the case. Yes, it's true, I happen to find Liam more charming than your father does; however, we both want what is best for you. We both want you to be happy."
"Liam makes me happy, mum!"
"And," Katie said ignoring the interruption, "your father and I both understand the issues and concerns that are involved in a relationship such as the one you have with Liam. I like Liam, but I know that there are risks you need to consider – things you probably haven't even begun to think about. You have to be very careful and stay cautious. Your father understands this, too. He is just concerned for you."
"That's why I wanted to talk to you."
Katie sighed, uncertain that she had made her point clearly. "All right. What did you want to talk about then?"
Roarke's face flushed a bit. Her eyes suddenly went down to her hands, which were now fidgeting with a pillow. "Well...I just...er..." She looked back up. "Those concerns you mentioned. I thought you could answer a few questions."
Katie's eyebrows went up in suspicion. "I have several concerns, as I'm sure you do. So where would you like to start?" Roarke bit her bottom lip and blushed even more, giving Katie a pretty good idea as to the direction this conversation was heading. "Would this have anything to do with being alone with Liam?"
"Mum," Roarke sighed.
"You're the one that wanted to talk about it. Don't be upset with me." Roarke looked away again, totally embarrassed. "Does that mean I'm right?" Katie asked. "You said you had breakfast with him so...is this about sex?"
"MUM!" Again the cry came and was followed by a very red face.
"Oh, Roarke. I don't believe this. You and I talked about sex years ago."
"But this is different."
"How so?
"Because – "she started and immediately stopped, unable to fully express her reasons. She shifted in her seat, collecting her thoughts. "It's not specifically about sex, but it has to do with it. It's incredibly embarrassing to have to ask my mother about it, but you're the only person I can ask about this because you're the only one I know of that has been in a similar situation. We looked in all the books and there's nothing about it! And we can't figure out why." It all came out very fast.
"All right," Katie nodded, encouraging her daughter to continue.
Roarke took a deep breath. "Something...happened...the other night."
Katie frowned. "Something related to the lycanthropy?" Roarke nodded, a worried expression on her face. "Did you...make love?" Katie asked, trying to sound calm and collected. Knowing your children have adult lives is one thing, but talking about it so openly is quite another.
"No, no we didn't. We wanted to, but something happened."
"Can you be a little more specific?" Katie asked with an amused smile.
"Well," Roarke looked thoroughly upset. "It wasn't anything bad, really, but we weren't sure. Liam thinks something is wrong with him in fact. We weren't even expecting it. I'd never heard of it before."
Thinking she understood what the problem was. Katie put a finger to her lips, contemplating how to best approach the subject. "Well, Roarke, every man at some point experiences...stress"
"Stress?"
"Liam has had a rough time these last few months."
"He's had a rough year."
"Exactly. So it's no surprise that the stress level is effecting...personal aspects of his life."
"Well of course, but I don't see how that..."
"Roarke, he's a man, he's not a machine. Every man has...problems...now and then."
Mouth agape, Roarke stared dumbfounded at her mother. "What are you talking about?"
"Liam's...problem." When Roarke made no response, Katie offered up some advice. "Sometimes a nice backrub will sooth the spirit, or maybe even some tea. Just relax and come back to things at a later time."
"MOTHER!"
"What?"
"Liam isn't impotent! My stars!"
"But you said you two couldn't make love."
"I said we didn't, not that we couldn't." Roarke gave her mother a look of mortification.
"Then what is it? Did he hurt you?" Katie said in concern, voicing the next thing that came into her mind.
"No, that's why we stopped. We didn't know what was going on, and Liam refused to...do...anything until we found out why it happened. I went to the library and read everything I could find on werewolves and mating and this isn't mentioned anywhere."
Katie closed her eyes for a moment and thought that perhaps this mother/daughter chat wasn't going as well as she would have liked. It was neither easy for Roarke, at nineteen, to ask her mother about intimate details, nor was Katie willing to assume again she knew what her daughter was hinting at. Katie thought for a moment about what it could be. It puzzled her further as to why Roarke hadn't just come out and said what happened. Why play this guessing game? If it wasn't mentioned in any book, then it would have to be something rather personal. But what could it be? Then, quite suddenly, it came to her.
"Was it his eyes?" Katie asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Roarke's own eyes went wide in surprise. "Yes!"
"Were they golden?"
"You know about it, then?" Roarke said in relief. "Please tell me it's normal."
Katie smiled. "If I told you it wasn't normal, what would you do?"
"I think we'd both die of total frustration." Roarke admitted.
Katie chuckled. "Yes, it's normal."
Roarke gave a sigh of relief. "Then why isn't it mentioned in any book?"
"I don't know. That's a good question. It might be because it only happens at an extremely personal moment that no one who has experienced it wants to explain the phenomena."
Roarke gave Katie a puzzled look. "There are some fairly personal things mentioned in some of those books, mum. Even Dad gets pretty personal in his explanations. And can I just say how uncomfortable it is to read something your own parent has written about making love, especially knowing the information you just told me!"
"It can't be much more uncomfortable than talking to your daughter about it," Katie pointed out, getting a smirk from Roarke.
"Mum, come on. Why wouldn't Dad mention this is his book?"
Katie shrugged. "Probably because he doesn't realize it happens."
Roarke looked at her mother in total shock. "Are you kidding me?"
"He might, but we've never spoken about it."
Roarke sat dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open. "How...why...I don't understand. Didn't it startle you when you saw it happen?"
"Yes, but I didn't say anything. I take it you did."
Roarke nodded slightly. "I guess you could say that."
"What happened?" Katie asked hesitantly.
Roarke grimaced. "I sort of, well, screamed."
"Really?"
"Really."
Katie nodded in understanding. "I almost did, too, that first time."
"So why didn't you? How were you able to keep quite about it for so long?"
"To be honest, Firecracker, I didn't say anything that first time because I didn't want Remus to push me away again." At the puzzled look on her daughter's face, Katie continued. "It had taken me so very long to hear your father say he loved me that I wasn't about to do anything that might jeopardize our relationship. He was so convinced he would hurt me. So when I saw the change in his eyes, I forced myself to not react. If I had, it would have only given him another excuse as to why we shouldn't be together."
Roarke looked even more confused. "Daddy didn't want to be with you?"
"Why do you think it took us so long to get together. I was in love with him for several years. It took the threat of him leaving me forever to get me to actually put my feelings into words. I knew that my heart would break if he left me. I had to convince him that he would never physically hurt me, and once he was able to realize that himself, then our relationship went forward."
Roarke looked down at her hands. "Like Will."
"Who?"
"Liam." A lopsided grin appeared on Roarke's face. "I call him Will as a nickname." She paused and took a deep breath. "That's why he left me. He said I was better off without him. But I disagree."
Katie sighed and leaned back against the couch. It amazed her at how very similar and yet totally different Remus and Liam were turning out to be. If only Remus and Liam could see the similarities instead of focusing on the differences, things might be smoother between them.
"Then there isn't anything to worry about with the whole eye situation?"
Roarke's question snapped Katie out of her thoughts. "Depends on how you look at it," she said after a moment's consideration.
"What do you mean?"
"The eyes turning golden isn't a signal that Liam is transforming. No, he won't physically harm you or pass on the curse or whatever else you might have thought. However, you do need to be cautious. That change is a signal proving how committed to you Liam is becoming. He is mating with you, Roarke. He will be...joined to you...in a very special way. That's why your father and I are concerned."
"I know," Roarke said softly. "I understand."
Katie took her daughter's hands and gave a small smile. "No you don't. But you will."
They sat in silence for a moment only to be interrupted by a voice coming from upstairs. "Katie, do you know what I did with that Talisman Malcolm gave me? I thought I put it in the trunk up stairs but I can't find it." Remus, who had been walking down the steps, stopped short of the last step when he saw Roarke. "I didn't know you were here."
"She just came over for a chat," Katie explained.
"I'm sorry I interrupted you then. Or," Remus said, changing his thought process, "is this about Liam?"
Roarke closed her eyes with a sigh.
"I see I am correct," Remus said. "That would explain why you haven't spoken to me in weeks."
"I don't want to fight about it."
"And why you haven't even come over here."
"Daddy."
"You don't want me to know anything that's going on with you two."
"Because you make such an issue out of everything."
"Only because you refuse to use any common sense when it comes to Liam."
Roarke narrowed her eyes in anger. "I love Liam and he's going to be in my life," she said, rising to her feet. "I just wish you would stop trying to pull me away from him. What is it going to take to make you leave us alone? What will it take to make you realize that this is for real?"
Remus looked at her, startled. He opened his mouth to say something, but Roarke stopped him. "Never mind. I think I know what it will take." She turned to her mother. "Thanks for the chat, mum." She looked back at her father. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to Liam's." She Disapparated, leaving Remus and Katie alone and more than a bit shocked.
"What just happened?" Remus asked.
"I think you just officially pushed her over the edge."
"Oh come now. I was teasing."
"You were not, Remus. You've been angry with her for weeks. You blame her for not sorting things out with you, but have you made any effort yourself? She came over here for advice, and I was able to have a very nice talk with her about some very personal things. We made some progress, but Remus, you have to stop being so negative about this."
"Katie, you can not tell me that Liam is the man you want for Roarke."
"No, he isn't exactly the kind of man I thought she would end up with, but then it isn't my decision. It's Roarke's. And it's time you realized that. Besides, neither one of us is what anyone would call perfect: a werewolf and a healer raised without a magical education." She paused and inhaled deeply, calming herself down. Remus stood quietly at the foot of the steps.
"It's in your office."
"Pardon?"
"The Talisman. It's in your office."
"Oh, right. Thank you."
Feeling flustered and disappointed, Katie stood up and headed into the kitchen.
"Katie-love," Remus called to her. "I know this is Roarke's decision, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."
"No, but can't you at least find a way to live with it?" She waited for an answer, but none came.
11:48am that same morning
In a haze of unconsciousness, Liam was vaguely aware that the covers of the bed were being pulled off of him. He felt the bed sink next to him, but it wasn't until a set of lips pressed firmly against his mouth that he opened is eyes.
"Roarke? Is that you?"
She began kissing his neck. "Of course it's me." Her eyes met his. "No one else had better be waking you up like this."
Liam chuckled and was promptly kissed again.
"I see it took you all of two seconds to go back to bed," Roarke scolded, her hands working their way down his chest to his stomach. The sensation was enough to fully wake him up.
"What are you doing?" he mumbled into her mouth as her finger tips played with the elastic of his boxers.
She sat up, straddling his legs. "If you don't know what I'm doing, then we have a real problem." Her mouth met his again in demand.
"I take it," Liam said though the kisses, "that your mother had good news."
Roarke pressed her body against his. "Great news."
Wrapping his arms around her tightly, Liam pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. She kneaded his shoulders and pressed against him once more, bringing a moan up from his throat. His hands found her waist where he tugged her shirt out from her pants, giving him access to the skin beneath. "So we're okay?"
"Better than okay." Proving her point, she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up over her head.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Will, stop asking me that."
Liam gazed up at her in amazement. "You are bloody gorgeous, you know." He squeezed her waist and leaned up just enough to capture her lips with his. With a gentle, but needful tug, Liam pulled Roarke down on top of him and began to rein kisses on her smooth neck.
"I want you," she whispered in his ear, dragging her fingernails along his side.
"Oh, God," he moaned and flipped her over, reversing their positions. His hands needed to touch her. He couldn't touch enough of her. Her skin was soft and warm and irresistible. Her scent filled his senses and he was lost.
To Liam's delight, Roarke arched against the bed, pulling her arms up over her head, giving him full access to whatever he wanted to touch. His mouth eagerly sought out the places his hands had been. The sigh that escaped Roarke's mouth encouraged him further. He kissed his way down her stomach, lingering at her belly button. Roarke ran her fingers through his hair, using her nails once again to send a shiver through Liam's body.
"Tell me now if I need to stop," he panted through the kisses.
"I have no intention of stopping you."
He looked up at her to see her smiling. "And the eyes?"
"Perfectly natural."
"I love you."
"And I love you."
With another kiss on her stomach, he unbuttoned her pants. "So then," he said breathlessly, "your mum didn't get angry with you?"
"Why would she?"
Liam stretched out next to her, draping his leg over one of hers, and resumed his assault of kisses on her neck. "I dunno." He unzipped her pants. "Talking to your mum about..." His hand found its way under the waistband of her pants, and suddenly he realized that he didn't care what Roarke's mother thought. He didn't want to think about anyone but Roarke and the fact that she had far too much clothing on. "Never mind," he said, and pushed against her knee to mover her leg.
Roarke laughed and kissed him hard. "I don't want to talk about my mum either!" She wrapped her leg around his, bringing him completely against her. "Or my dad!"
Liam groaned, "No, no talking about your dad. Please!" He squeezed her bottom.
"Right," she said, kissing Liam feverishly. "Just make love to me."
Liam didn't need her to tell him that. He was busy trying to free her from her clothing so that he could fulfill the request. His mind was focused so intensely on Roarke and the sensations building in his own body that he almost didn't register her next comment.
"And then this will be over."
"What will be over?" Liam asked, nibbling at her earlobe.
"This thing with my father."
That caught Liam's attention. He stopped cold. "What?"
Roarke looked at him in bewilderment. "Why did you stop?"
"What do you mean by 'this thing' with your father?"
Roarke wet her lips. "Oh, I er..."
"Did you see him this morning?"
Roarke swallowed. "Yes."
"And you two fought again?"
"Forget about it, Will." She tried to kiss him, but Liam pulled away and sat up.
"You need to explain something to me first. Did you come back over here just to win a fight with your father?"
"What?" Roarke sat up, obviously angry. "How can you ask me that?"
"Because you just said, 'make love to me and this will be over'." Liam paused, looking directly into Roarke's eyes.
"It would be," she said. "My father keeps arguing with me about you, saying that I don't know what I'm doing or that I don't really love you. Well, as I see it, this would put a stop to all that."
Liam racked a hand through his hair and groaned. "God, Rory, no it won't! I can't believe you would even suggest such a thing. Making love to me against your father's wishes would only anger him more!"
"That didn't seem to bother you a moment ago."
"A moment ago I didn't know you were only here to get back at your father."
"That's not why I'm here."
"Then why did you say 'make love to me and this will be over'?"
Roarke thought for a moment, opening her mouth to say something, only to shut it again. Her eyes darted away from Liam's face as she searched for an explanation. "I just..." Her eyes began to swell with tears. "I just love you both, and you hate each other."
Liam slumped against the headboard of the bed, feeling badly that she was crying, but not knowing what to do about it. "I don't hate your father," he said after a long pause. "We just don't have much in common."
Roarke nodded. "I thought that maybe...if you and I were really officially together that he would try harder to get along with you – that he would accept you."
"Rory, honey, your father didn't like the idea of me drawing a picture of you. He certainly isn't going to like the idea of me making love to you."
"But you're okay with it."
Liam wasn't quite sure what she meant. "I'm okay with what? Making love to you? Because yes, I am definitely in favor of that."
"No, I mean," Roarke cracked a smile. "I know you're in favor of that. What I meant to say was that you are willing to work something out with my father."
Liam still didn't understand. He had never said anything of the sort to Roarke.
"You want to be with me," Roarke continued. "Seeing as how my family comes with me and my father is part of my family, I assumed that you would eventually work things out with him. That you would...oh...I don't know." Her face fell into her hands with a sob.
It tore Liam apart to see her like this. Roarke was right. It was time for someone to do something about this mess. "Roarke," he said softly, rubbing his hand on her back. "I know what it feels like to have a family member turn his back on you and abandon you. I don't want that to happen to you, and I am not going to be the reason for it."
"My dad would never turn his back on me."
"Do you know that for certain? Because I would have said the same thing about my brother, and yet looked with happened with him. I am not going to be the person that tears you away from your father."
Roarke glanced over at him with a vicious look in her eyes. "Don't you dare say that you want to leave again!"
"That isn't what I was going to say. God, Rory," he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I'm kind of past the point of being able to leave you. Haven't you figured that out yet?"
Roarke blushed. "Then what did you mean?"
"I'll go and talk to your father. I'll put it all out in front of him – how I feel, how you feel, what we want – and I'll find out exactly what it is that I need to do to make things right."
Roarke sniffed. "And if he still doesn't come around?" What then?"
"That's his problem then. I don't want you to look at me ten years down the line and feel angry with me for causing a rift in your family. I'll do everything I can, and then we'll see what happens."
She sniffed again and nodded. Liam tugged on her arm, pulling her close enough to him so that he could wrap his arms around her. She snuggled against him, her head in the crook of his neck.
He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, you know. And I swear to Merlin that I will make love to you." Roarke laughed against his shoulder. "But I want it to happen because we love each other and that's it. I don't want it to be for any other reason."
He felt her nod in agreement. "I do love you. Please don't think I don't love you."
"I know," he said honestly. "I reckon the only reason you're still with me after everything we've been through is that you love me. It's that or you're just plain insane."
Roarke chuckled. "A little of both, most likely."
Their eyes met and Liam kissed her gently.
"When will you talk to him?" she asked.
"The full moon is in a week. I should probably wait until it's waning again. He might not be so short tempered then."
Roarke couldn't help but agree.
