(More M in this chapter- this is the last one for a bit. Skip if it isn't for you...carrytheotter)

Chapter 28: Vacation Continues

Monday morning found Hermione back at her desk, distractedly trying to concentrate on her case files when she heard a knock at her office door.

"Care to explain who might be sending you this incredible arrangement?" Nicola asked with an arched eyebrow and knowing smile as she walked in carrying a gorgeous vase of flowers.

Hermione felt herself blush immediately as she stood up to read the card. "Maybe it's from a grateful client or something," she stammered.

"Right, Hermione. Uh, last I checked we defended poor, stateless refugees who usually aren't the types to spend a fortune on floral bouquets. So, I think you need to come up with a better line. Or you could just fess up about you and Ron."

Hermione read the card, "Just trying to get your smile as big as mine. Thank you for the best weekend of my life. Looking forward to the adventures ahead. Love always, Ron". Blushing more, Hermione looked up at an amused Nicola who was clearly not going to leave without at least an attempt at an explanation.

"Well, you see," she sputtered, "Ugh. Oh, alright. Ron and I are trying it give it a go, and this," she said holding up the card, "is just his way of being sweet."

"You finally shagged him didn't you?"

"Nicola! I'm not answering that question!"

"You don't have to, dear, the blush creeping up your neck and face already did. Anyway, I am so happy for you. It's about bloody time! He is perfect for you – smart, funny, fantastically good looking, and seems mad for you. Not to mention he's the guardian of the boy who is basically your second child."

"He is rather perfect for me," Hermione confessed shyly.

"John's never sent me flowers like this," laughed Nicola. "So either you are a bloody fantastic shag or that bloke is in love with you."

Laughing, Hermione teased, "Who says it can't be both?"

"Well, God save the Queen, look who is suddenly a witty tart?"

Hermione gave a funny curtsey and placed the flowers on her desk. "Ron is perfect. We are still trying to figure out how to tell the kids, and where we go from there, you know?"

"Complicated situations are just par for the course for you, Love. You'll figure it out."

"I'm trying not to get ahead of myself. I have a bad habit of complicating things in my own mind and worrying about things 10 steps ahead instead of enjoying where I am."

"Well, from the looks of your face, you are in a damn good place, so keep enjoying it."

"It is rather fantastic," admitted Hermione as she covered her blushing face with her hands.

"And if memory serves, is this the week your parents took the kids on holiday?"

Hermione just blushed and nodded.

"Makes legal rhetoric a little challenging to focus on, eh?"

"Bit of an understatement," agreed Hermione.

"Well, take off early the days you can make it work. You two deserve it."

"Thanks, Nicola. I have two cases coming to court in the next month, so I need to get my head back in the game to focus on those. One of them is just odd, so I can't quite figure out the best angle. But, I promise, I am going to make the most of this week – personally and professionally."

"Oh I have no doubt," smiled Nicola. "Alright, I'll let you get back to work so you can get out of here this afternoon."

Hermione smiled, watching her leave and then returning her gaze to the flowers and Ron's card. Still smiling, she sent him a quick text of thanks with a selfie of her in front of the flowers. Taking a deep breath she was determined to focus on her work. She returned to the case file in front of her shaking her head. This client's case was just different than all of the others. He'd been referred to her practice by a local refugee group when he was unable to qualify for a work visa. In talking with him, he'd kept insisting that "a big minister" had assured him he would be given legal status very soon. She couldn't seem to get him to understand that the judge would not be interested in whatever lore he had heard back in Africa, but would instead be focused on his eligibility for political asylum. She was concerned this man would not qualify, as she wasn't sure she could prove he was at risk back in Uganda. He was from a rural village where he had been a relatively successful subsistence farmer. Yes he could have access to a higher standard of living here in England, but that would not make him eligible. Each of her meetings with him had been odd. He was absolutely convinced that some "big minister" or "important man" would make it ok. After spending the morning reviewing every note she had, she shook her head and closed the folder. She would have to meet with him again to be sure they had covered every possible angle.

Ron was sitting at his desk when his phone buzzed with Hermione's thank you text. Clicking on the picture she had sent, he broke into a wide grin. He was so happy with how things were going, he really couldn't believe it. He stared back at Fi's desk and sighed. "Fi, you would be so caught up in taking the mickey out of me for this. But bloody hell, is she worth it."

Returning his attention to the board on his office wall, he tried to lay out how we wanted to continue to work on the smuggling case. On one side of the board he had outlined all of the healers and apothecaries that had been found to have substituted plants and remedies. Then he had traced those back to a handful of potion distributers. But that was where his trail had dried up. He'd followed all of his possible leads from the muggle plant shop in Surrey and even attended the plant swap meet with Neville, but couldn't find anyone who had a supply of these plants large enough to generate the volumes that would have been needed. But, he'd kept the names of all those people at the plant swap meet to potentially follow up later. Putting the idea of tracing the producers on hold for now, he went back to trying to track down the various characters in the distributing companies. Ron made a list of the various companies and umbrella ownership structures and decided he would need to spend the next few days researching who owned what and who worked for who.

With his rolled up parchment listing who and what needed to be researched, he headed to the library in the basement of the Ministry. As he got on the lift, he ran into his dad.

"Ron!"

"Morning, Dad."

"We missed you at supper yesterday."

"Oh," said Ron realizing he'd been so caught up in having Hermione to himself that he'd forgotten to let his family know they wouldn't be able to attend that week. "I'm sorry, Dad. I forgot to let you and Mum know we wouldn't be there yesterday. But we will all definitely be there for Easter."

"No worries, son. It isn't a command performance. I just miss getting to see you, and I still want to ask Hermione about some of the new things I have in my shed. Are things still, uh, going well?"

Ron beamed, "Yeah, Dad. Things are going really, really well."

"Splendid."

"This is my floor. Headed to do research. But, we'll see you Sunday, right?"

"Look forward to it, son."

When Ron arrived at the restaurant where he and Hermione had planned to meet for dinner, he was relieved to realize she was running as late as he was. He'd spent the entire day buried in the library, trying to map out ownership structures and employee records for the various potion suppliers. He hadn't realized how late it was until the librarian announced they would be closing the research department for the evening. He'd rushed back to his office to stash away his notes and quickly headed out.

Similarly, Hermione had spent the day buried in work. She had been crafting her legal briefs when Nicola had poked her head in her office and said, "I thought you were going to try to leave early today? Get out of here – it is after 6."

"Seriously?" gasped Hermione looking at her clock. "Shite," she declared as she jumped up. She ran her fingers through her hair and threw on some lipstick as she grabbed her jacket and purse and headed out the door. She was rushing from the Tube station towards the restaurant where they had planned to meet when she saw him about half a block ahead of her. His tall stature and shocking red hair made him easy to spot, and seeing him made her break into a grin. Relieved that he had been running late as well, she stopped rushing and slowed down so she wouldn't be out of breath when she arrived. He was standing just inside the restaurant door when she came in.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized as she walked in the door.

"I just got here myself," he said. Then he leaned to kiss her, making them both smile. "Hi," he said with smiling eyes.

"Those flowers were incredible, Ron," she gushed.

"I'm glad," he said as the hostess showed them to a table. Soon they had wine and menus and settled in for a nice dinner.

"How was your day? Did you get held up at work?"

"It was alright. I got lost in research, actually. I spent almost the entire day in the library at the Ministry and didn't realize what time it was until the research librarian kicked me out."

"There's a library there?"

"Oh yes. The Ministry library is probably the second largest in the country, second only to Hogwarts. They specialize in different things. Today I was focused on tracking some corporate structures and business relationships. Tedious but necessary."

"How very Perry Mason of you."

"Who?"

"He was an old defense attorney on an American television show from the 60s. He's known for his investigative research in getting his clients off after being falsely accused with his clever mind tracking everything down. Trust me. It was meant as a compliment."

"Alright. Thanks, I guess. How about you? How was your day?"

"Well, the flowers were the highlight to be sure. But then mine was much like yours, except without the library. I was buried in work and writing up briefs on my computer when Nicola popped in and asked me why I hadn't left yet. She saw the flowers and decided you were brilliant, by the way."

"Well, you should listen to everything she says," teased Ron.

"I'll keep that in mind," laughed Hermione. "So – do you enjoy the research part of your work?"

"It's not my favorite," admitted Ron. I was never good at sitting at a desk and reading, which is what is required for careful, detailed research. Fi was better at it, and frankly made it more fun when we would attack it together. But, it has to be done, and I have to figure this stuff out. So, at the very least I am properly motivated to do it right and get it finished. But I prefer the work where I am out talking to different people and working leads on foot. Their words, their body language, their environments, it all tells me so much more than I can get out of books and old parchment."

"I can see that. You are much too extroverted to be happy buried in a library."

"But it would be right up your alley, wouldn't it?"

"Yes," she admitted. "I love libraries. There is just something energizing about being surrounded by knowledge and having the time and opportunity to learn it. I love the quiet of a library. It's like a reverence for curiosity or something."

"Maybe we wouldn't have been friends in school," laughed Ron. "I was always too loud in the library and repeatedly got in trouble for being disruptive. But, I have to admit- without that library we would have missed a lot of important things. So, I do find them valuable, even if it's not my favorite way to spend a day."

"Well, I'm glad you appreciate them at least. I would hate to have our relationship end on account of you being a library hater."

"Yeah. Me too," he smiled. "Oh, I ran into my dad in the lift at work. I realized I hadn't remembered to tell them we wouldn't be at dinner yesterday."

"Ron," she gasped. "Oh no! That's awful. Was your mum terribly upset?"

"No, no – it was fine. Dad just said he missed dragging you out to his shed to have you explain some muggle junk he's acquired. I promised we'd be there Sunday."

"Oh my. Well, oops, I guess."

They spent the evening talking and enjoying each other's company. But, when the waitress asked if they wanted dessert, Hermione quickly said, "No thank you," as she slid her hand up his leg. He smiled, and they soon left for her house. As soon as they were in the door, their passion flared and they were shedding their layers of clothes as they headed up the stairs. But just before they made it to her room, her phone buzzed indicating the kids calling. Groaning, Hermione sighed as she took a deep breath and answered the phone. Ron's phone buzzed a moment later, and he stepped into the hallway to chat with Hugo without the sound of Hermione in the background.

When they had both hung up, Ron walked back into the bedroom. "Rose doing well?"

"Oh yes. She is having a grand time. Mum hasn't made them take a bath at all yet, apparently. Rather disgusting, but as long as I don't have to smell it, I guess it's fine."

"I'm sure the dirt will come off eventually. Hugo raved about some river your dad took him to. They wanted to try fly fishing I believe, but I think it the pretty much turned into Hugo throwing in rocks and collecting rocks to paint later."

"He does love art, doesn't he?"

"Yeah. His eye reminds me of Collin's actually. He just sees things in a unique way. I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes some sort of artist when he's older."

"He would be brilliant at it."

"Did you chat with your parents at all?"

"Not really, I heard Mum tell Rose to say that she would call me tomorrow. I got the sense Dad was taking them to a golf course or something, which Mum has no interest in, so I am sure I will get the really funny stories when they are out of earshot."

"Can't wait to hear those."

"Me either. But, I'm sorry we were interrupted. Such is the reality of parenthood, huh?"

"Just postponed. Not cancelled," he teased as he reached tenderly for her face. Soon his lips were on hers, and they had returned to their earlier heat.

Hermione was delighted to realize that the incredible sensation of his lips on her skin had not diminished the more she experienced it. Instead, she realized he was learning how her body responded to his different touches, and he was carefully plotting his kisses and hands to build her pleasure to higher and higher levels of intensity. And she kept replaying his words about how attracted he was to her, and willing herself to believe him. Soon, she was writhing on the bed beneath him as he brought her closer and closer to release. Her moans and whimpers were building with the tension within her and each time she was close, he backed off slightly leaving her just short of climax, only to return moments later to build her higher and higher up. Finally his tongue and hands brought her over the edge as she screamed out in ecstasy.

Once she had regained her breath, she soon began working him in a similar fashion, and she continued to bring him close only to then move her attention to another part of him. Soon she was straddling him, facing away from him, focused on his throbbing erection. Ron was overcome with the love and lust coursing through him as he saw her creamy bum in front of him. Running his hands over her cheeks and hips, he held them in front of him as he sat up behind her. Rubbing his hands over her breasts from behind and kissing her neck he was so turned on by the look and feel of the back of her body against him.

"Do you want to try this way?" Hermione asked suggestively between heavy breaths.

"Fuck, yeah," he gasped as he moved her to her knees and lined up behind her.

He was soon inside her, slamming into her as she moaned in pleasure with each thrust. Both surprised by the sensations of this new position, they were quickly overcome by the primal experience. When they had both climaxed they collapsed in each other's arms, breathing rapidly and slick with sweat and each other.

"Holy shit, that was incredible," Ron finally exclaimed.

"Precisely what I was thinking," she agreed.

"You're amazing, Hermione. I would never have thought to even ask you to try that. You are like this secret hidden sex goddess in the body of a solicitor. That was bloody brilliant."

"Ron," she said as she ran her hands slowly over him. "I may not have had much experience in all of this. But I have had a long, long time to fantasize about things. And a sex deprived mind can imagine many, many things. I could only take care of so much, uh, on my own, you know? I would think I am open to trying many more things than you would suspect. I want us both to have an amazing sex life. So don't be shy, love. If I am uncomfortable with something I'll let you know. But, let's try things. We both deserve to feel incredible. And I really, really want to be the one who does that for you."

"Bloody hell, woman," he exclaimed as he kissed her again. "I am the luckiest fucking bloke on the planet."

She smiled as she watched his reaction. "Not just you, love," she said. "I waited a long time to find someone to make me feel like this."

The week flew by in a mix of dragging themselves through work, spending long dinners learning more about the other, and passionate nights of love making that had quickly brought their relationship to an entirely new level. Saturday morning arrived with them awaking slowly, still naked and entwined from their previous night.

Ron remained still until her heard her sniffle.

"Are you crying?"

She simply sniffed again, and he quickly wiped her tears away.

"What's wrong, Love? I am really shite at knowing what to do when you cry."

"It's just I'm going to miss this, that's all. I am excited to see the kids again. I've missed them terribly. But, this week has been unbelievable. I am not ready to go a day without making love with you. I am not ready to not wake up in your arms. I know it will just be temporary, but I'm just sad, is all. Even once we tell them, we know we're not ready to move everyone in together yet, so when am I going to get this chance again? I'm going to miss your strong arms and your light snore. I feel so safe and so loved. I'm not looking forward to having to put all of that aside for a while."

"Oh, Hermione. It will be ok. Trust me, I am not going to be able to stay away from you either. I promise you, we will find time where we can be alone together. I'm not sure exactly how yet, but trust me to handle that, ok? I will absolutely figure something out. And then it will get better once we tell them about us in a week or two. It will work out. I just know it."

She nodded and held him a little tighter. Soon his comforting touches turned into more passionate moments. After making love again, they finally got up to face the day. They packed up Ron's things and moved him back into the other house before the kids were due to arrive. Then they headed to the market to buy food to cook for dinner. By the time they'd unpacked the groceries and gotten dinner started, they heard her parents pull in the driveway. Ron put his arms around her, drawing her into one last passionate kiss before their week ended, grasping her thigh and pulling her leg up around his waist.

Breathless, they pulled apart as he said, "I promise. We will make this work." And then they heard the front door banging open followed by the thunder of running footsteps as the kids ran into the kitchen looking for them.

"Mum!" Rose yelled.

"Oh I missed you, darling," Hermione said as she engulfed Rose in a tight hug, shaking herself from the emotion of the kiss moments before.

"I missed you, buddy," Ron said, crouching down to Hugo's height as he was caught in Hugo's arms.

"I had a great week, Ron. But I missed you too," he said as he hugged Ron tightly.

Once everyone had hugged everyone, and they'd thanked Hermione's now exhausted parents before they headed home to sleep for a week, Ron and Hermione set the table, and soon all four of them were sitting down for dinner. The kids entertained them with stories from their trip, and Ron and Hermione loved watching the two laughing over inside jokes and finishing each other's stories.

"Next time you both have to come," Rose said. "You would have loved the streams we played in. And it would be a great place to go for a fly, Ron."

"Oh definitely," agreed Hugo. "We'll have to all go together. The house was big enough that the whole family could go. We'd have a great time," he said as he continued to natter on about the trip.

Ron caught Hermione's eye at Hugo's mention of them being a family. She just grinned at him while she felt herself relax, realizing that the kids already felt that the four of them were a family. Ron beamed as well, finally saying, "That would be brilliant, Hugo. I think going on a family vacation like that sounds like a grand idea."

Soon the kids had jumped topics and were discussing all of the fun they would have the next day at The Burrow with all of Ron's nieces and nephews. As the evening wound down, the kids were clearly starting to fade and Ron announced he and Hugo needed to head home. Rose was helping Hugo separate her stuff from hers in the hall as Ron popped back into the kitchen.

He walked up behind Hermione, sliding his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

She nodded, trying not to cry.

"No tears, love," he said as he turned her around to face him. "I'm just going down the street and I will see you in the morning, right?"

"I know. Sorry. I don't know why I am so emotional. It's ridiculous really." She took a deep breath and regained her composure. "I love you," she said trying to stay positive.

"I love you to," he said as he stole a longer kiss. She smiled, and they headed off to find the kids.

Later that night as Hermione was tossing and turning on her bed, trying to get comfortable without Ron beside her she heard her phone buzz. Reaching for it, she saw it was Ron calling.

"Hi," she said quietly. "Are you guys ok?"

"We're fine. Did I wake you?"

"No. I haven't been able to fall asleep without you."

"Me either. So I thought I'd gamble that you were in the same boat and call."

"I love that you did."

"It will be worth it in the long run, you know."

"I know," she sighed. "Doesn't make tonight any easier."

"No. But, I do know I am looking forward to sweet dreams of you."

"Mmm. That's nice. Maybe we'll just meet in our dreams tonight."

"That's a plan, then. Good night, love."

"Good night, Ron."

(Author's Note: I had been nervous about how graphic to make these M scenes. I tried glossing over things, but addressing the body confidence issues and relationship background seemed important to work through for Hermione's self doubt, and the more graphic components seemed a necessary piece of that. Sorry if it was too much, and I really hope I didn't overdo it. But, now it returns to the rest of the broader story. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated...carrytheotter)