I apologize for the long delay. This chapter should have been two but I combined them since I haven't posted in awhile. Thanks as always for all the wonderful support and positive feedback you have all given me. It means a lot to know that people are reading and liking what you are writing. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

The next couple of days were a readjustment period for all of them. Ron was as much of a slob now as he had been before. For Hermione three years of a neat and orderly home were all gone now. He was worse than the children. A trail of his "stuff" was a map of everywhere he had been.

The children were starting to warm to him. She wasn't surprised by this. Rose had always been a very outgoing and sociable girl so unlike Hermione. And Hugo, much more shy, trusted his sister's judgment. If she was accepting of Ron then he would be too.

Ron was still moody especially whenever the children mentioned Viktor which was quite often. They couldn't understand why he was suddenly absent from their lives. Sunday afternoon Rose had innocently asked if Viktor would be coming over after Sunday dinner. This was an understandable question because Viktor would normally stop by after their Sunday dinners.

Hermione glanced at Ron who was sitting across from Rose at the chess table. He had been teaching her for the past thirty minutes and he had been elated but now he looked like he wanted to hex someone.

He pushed his chair back. "Rose," he said angrily, "you are not going to see Viktor anymore. Do you understand?"

Tears had started to well up in her big brown eyes. "What? Why not?"

Hugo who had been sitting on the couch reading with Hermione suddenly started to cry. "I want to see Viktor."

Ron started to put the chess pieces back in their case. "You both stop this. We are a family and Viktor is not a part of it."

Rose looked questioningly at her mother. "Mummy, we are still going to the match on Tuesday right?"

Hermione started to answer when Ron interrupted her. "What match?" Then he realized. "No one is going anywhere on Tuesday." He slammed the chess case onto the table.

Hermione stood up holding a still crying Hugo in her arms. "Ron could we please go talk about this in the other room?"

He glared at her and then left the room without a word. Hermione knelt down next to Rose setting Hugo on his feet. "Listen to me you two. I'm going to talk to Daddy and everything will be fine."

Rose sniffed. "We can still go right Mummy?"

Hermione smiled indulgently at her daughter. "Yes we can still go. Don't worry." She kissed them both on the top of their heads. "Now you two play for a bit while I talk to Daddy."

Rose took her brother's hand and they sat down together on the floor and began to build a tower out of blocks.

Hermione took a deep breath opening the door that led to the kitchen. Ron was leaning against the counter a glass of Firewhiskey clutched in his hand. Hermione glanced at the newly opened bottle and guessed he had had at least two glasses already.

"Ron…" she started.

He drained the glass in one swallow and felt the liquid burn through him. "You are not going to that match."

Hermione could hear the edge in his voice and it angered her. "How dare you tell me what I can and can not do?"

He slammed the glass down on the counter and grabbed her by her upper arms. "You are my fucking wife!" He was shouting at her. "And those are my fucking children! How dare you decide where they are going without consulting me?"

Tears were filling her eyes. "Ron please, you're hurting me."

He realized he was squeezing her harder than he intended to. He let go of her and picked up the bottle pouring himself another drink. "They are not going to that game on Tuesday."

She rubbed the spot where he had been holding her. "Ron, we can't do that to them." She was trying to choose her words carefully. "They have been looking forward to this for over a week now."

He finished his drink and leaned against the counter again taking a deep breath. He seemed dejected. "I don't want them around Viktor anymore. We have to make a fresh start."

She took a step towards him. "I agree with you Ron but we can't just cut them off like that. Viktor has been a part of their lives for the past nine months. I very carefully integrated them and we can't just rip them away from him. No more than we could do that with Harry."

"There's a huge difference. Harry's family Viktor was your boyfriend. Those two thing are not the same." He sneered at her.

"I was going to marry him Ron. He was like family." She started to cry. "We can't do this to Rose and Hugo."

He took another drink. "Fuck it go." He glanced at her. "How much of this is for Rose and Hugo and how much of it is for you?"

She wiped her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Aren't you the one missing Vicky? Isn't that the real reason you want to go to the match?" He glared at her.

"You're being ridiculous. I love you although at the moment I don't like you very much." She turned around and walked out of the kitchen.

Ron finished his fifth drink and turned on the spot Disapparating.

Ron knocked hard on the front door of Harry and Ginny's house. He heard the patter of feet and then a pair of green eyes identical to his best friend's peering through the window. He then heard Albus shout. "It's Uncle Ron!"

Harry pulled the door open and Albus rushed out hugging him. Ron looked down at his nephew. "Hey buddy. You have gotten so big."

Albus splayed the fingers of his right had holding them out to Ron. "I'm five now Uncle Ron."

Ron smiled ruffling his hair. "I know. I can't believe it."

Harry picked up his son. "Alright Al let Uncle Ron through the door."

As Ron walked past Harry caught a whiff of Firewhiskey. He shut the door and set Albus down. "Al why don't you go in the kitchen and help your Mum with dinner. I need to talk to Uncle Ron for a minute."

Albus hugged Ron quickly and then ran off towards the kitchen. Ron watched him go. "I really can not believe how big he's gotten. It feels like yesterday and we were holding him in our arms."

Harry put a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Let's go in here." He led Ron into the front room. Shutting the door he watched as Ron collapsed in a chair. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong mate?"

Ron laid his head back onto the overstuffed cushion. "I feel like I've lost her Harry."

Harry sat across from him. "What's this about?"

Ron looked at his best friend. "We had an argument about the children this afternoon."

"Is that all? Ron, you and Hermione have been fighting since that first day on the Hogwart's Express. This is nothing new."

Ron shook his head. "This time was different. I was so angry. I grabbed her and it was all I could do to stop myself from slapping her."

Harry leaned forward a look of complete disbelief on his face. "Ron, you don't mean that."

Ron nodded. "I do. I had to leave. I was actually frightened of what I might do." Ron bent over holding his head in his hands. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm so angry all the time." He stood up and started pacing. "It's this whole Viktor Krum thing. It has me going mental. All I can picture in my head is the two of them fucking each other. I can't stand it Harry."

Harry had never seen Ron like this he was literally crazed. It was even worse then time with the locket in the Forest of Dean. "Ron take a deep breath." He stood up and poured two glasses of Brandy. He needed it more than Ron at the moment. He handed a glass to Ron who thanked him with a nod. Harry took a sip and felt the liquor burn a path to his stomach. "Ron, you have to let it go. If there is one thing I'm sure of it's that Hermione loves you. She never felt for Viktor what she does for you. If you don't get over this you are going to destroy your marriage."

"Don't you think I know that Harry." He drained his glass. "I just don't know how to start putting it in the past."

Harry sighed. "You start by leaving here and going home to your wife."

Ron set his empty glass down shaking his head. "I can't right now. I need to go to the Leaky Cauldron or somewhere. Get out. I feel like I'm suffocating."

"Ron you can't go out. The story of your return home doesn't come out in the Prophet until tomorrow. If you go out now you'll scare the hell out of a lot of people."

Ron looked dejected. "I forgot." He picked up his wand.

Harry walked over to him. "Go home. You'll feel better once you've talked to Hermione."

Ron smiled sadly and turned on the spot Disapparating.

Ginny must have heard the "pop" because a second later she opened the door and walked in. "Is he okay?" She stood in front of Harry her hands on her hips.

Harry shook his head and finished his drink. "No." He set his glass down and wrapped his arms around her pulling her into a hug. "I don't know how to help him."

Ginny rubbed his back. "I don't think we can. I think he has to help himself." She took a deep breath taking in the scent of his clean shirt and soap. "Unfortunately Ron has never been very good at that. He's his own worst enemy."

Harry kissed the side of her neck. "We just need to keep reminding him of all that he has and what he has to potentially lose if he doesn't pull it together."

She nodded as she pulled reluctantly away. She gave him a kiss. "I better go check on your children. I left them stirring the batter. I have a feeling I'm going to find a mess."

He smiled at her lifting his eyebrows. "Now they're my children?"

She stopped at the door pushing her long red hair back. "Only when they're naughty." She smiled and walked out.

Hermione couldn't sleep every sound she heard she hoped was Ron coming home. But it wasn't. She glanced at the clock. One-thirty. Where was he at one-thirty in the morning? She had called Ginny and Harry after dinner. Ginny had said that he had left a couple of hours before. She had told Hermione not to worry and that he would probably be home shortly. That was six hours ago.

As she laid there she felt a familiar cramping and knew it was the beginning of her menstrual cycle. She went into the bathroom and when she came out Ron was entering the room.

He looked at her with slightly unfocused eyes. "Hey."

She glared at him as she crawled into bed pulling the sheet and comforter over herself. Ron shut the door and started to undress. "So what now, you're going to give me the silent treatment?

She rolled onto her side turning her back on him. "Where were you?"

He slipped into his pajama bottoms. "With George."

"Well thanks for letting me know you were okay. I haven't been able to sleep because I was worried and I have a huge amount of work to do tomorrow at the office. I'm sure this whole incident will help me concentrate. So thanks for that." She punched her pillow.

"Incident? That's what this is? An incident." He glared at her back. "I am so sorry to have returned at such an inconvenient time for you." With that he strode into the bathroom slamming the door.

Hermione felt the tears slide down her cheeks dampening her pillow. Why did she say that? Inside she was so happy to have him home with her. Why couldn't she express it properly? Why did they always do this to each other? She felt like she was back in sixth year. Fighting with him when what she really wanted was to be wrapped in his arms.

A few minutes later she heard him re-enter the bedroom. She felt the mattress dip as he sat on the edge. She sat up. "Ron I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It came out wrong." She reached her hand out towards his back and then let it drop.

His head was bowed. "I don't know how to fix this Hermione." He sounded close to tears.

She knelt behind him wrapping her arms around him. "You have to give it time. We all do. You've only been home for a couple of days." She kissed his bare shoulder. "After tomorrow things will be better. You'll be able to go out and everyone will know you're back."

He nodded. "Yeah you're right."

She placed her cheek next to his. "I started tonight."

He smiled slightly, a sense of relief flowing through him. "Great." He turned to face her. "We'll be able to make love properly by the weekend." He kissed her gently.

"I'd like that very much." She blushed kissing him again. "I think we should get some sleep." She kissed him a bit more deeply this time. He pushed her back onto the pillows. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

He kissed her one last time then laying back he pulled her to himself and they were asleep within five minutes.

Hermione was exhausted. Rose had tiptoed into their room at six. She had taken her downstairs immediately so they wouldn't wake Ron. She had somehow gotten herself and the children ready by eight, dropped Rose and Hugo at the Burrow and was now fighting to stay awake at her desk while reading legal briefs.

Her partner Ned Whitley stepped into her office carrying a steaming cup of tea. "Thought you might need a break."

She reached up for the cup and saucer he was holding out to her. "Ned you are a lifesaver."

He smiled at her. "I try. You look exhausted."

She took a sip of the hot liquid. "Didn't get much sleep last night."

He nodded. "Yeah I saw the Prophet this morning. It's unbelievable Hermione."

"I still feel like I'm dreaming. It's definitely a miracle."

"I hope I'll be able to meet the miraculous Ronald Weasley soon." He sat on the edge of her desk. "The Ferguson case just came across my desk this morning. I passed it onto Michaels."

Hermione sat back in her chair. "Why would you do that?"

He sighed. "You're too personally involved Hermione. He left your husband for dead. He is responsible for the last three years of your life. There is no way you can be objective in this case."

"I can be very objective. I objectively believe that he should rot in Azkaban for what he did." She ran her finger around the rim of her tea cup. "I want to assist on the case."

Ned sighed. "I really don't think that's a wise decision."

She smiled at him. "I know you're trying to protect me Ned, but I'm a big girl and I am extremely professional. I will handle this case just the same as I would any other."

He sighed. "I know there's no way of talking you out of something once you've made your mind up but I wish you'd reconsider."

There was a knock on her door. "Come in." She patted Ned's knee. "Thanks for your concern. I do appreciate it."

Ron opened the door just then stepping into her office. She pulled her hand back and set her cup and saucer on her desk getting up. "Ron, what are you doing here?"

Ned stood up as well. Ron looked between the two of them. Hermione remembered herself then. "Ron this is Ned Whitley my partner. Ned this is my husband Ron Weasley."

Ned rushed around the desk and shook Ron's hand. "Mr. Weasley it's an honor to meet you." He continued to shake his hand, admiration filling his eyes. "I've heard so much about you. Welcome back sir."

Ron smiled. "Thank you Ned." He pulled his hand from Ned's grip. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by."

She approached him giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you did."

Ned cleared his throat. "I've got some briefs to go over." He shook Ron's hand again. "It really is an honor to meet you Mr. Weasley."

"Please call me Ron." Ron was amused by Ned's obvious idolatry.

Ned turned to Hermione eyes slightly glazed. "Hermione we'll meet after lunch to talk about the case."

She nodded as she gripped Ron's arm. As Ned shut the door she wrapped her arms around Ron's neck. "I think you have a new fan." She smiled as she kissed his lips. "This is such a nice surprise."

He rested his hands on her hips. "You left without saying goodbye this morning."

"You were sound asleep and I thought you needed your rest."

He leaned down and kissed her again. "Next time wake me."

She smiled. "What really brings you down here?"

He separated from her and started to walk around her office. "I met with Harry to discuss getting back to work." He picked up a picture of Rose and Hugo from her desk. They were both laughing.

"You're not thinking about going back already are you?"

He smiled as he put the picture back down on her desk. "They look so happy here. When was it taken?"

She sighed. "Teddy's birthday party last year. Ron answer my question."

He sat down in her chair his blue eyes meeting her brown ones reluctantly. "I need to get back out there. The sooner the better."

She crossed her arms as she felt tears fill her eyes. "We just got you back. You spent three years in hell. I think you need some time."

Ron rubbed his hands over the leather that covered the arms of the chair. "Hermione I'm an Auror and the best way to get back on form is to be out in the field. You know that. Besides I can't just sit home everyday and do nothing. I'll go crazy."

She walked around the desk leaning against it. "Ron, I'm not ready to have you leave me. Please give it a month or two and see how you feel." She looked down at the carpet. She was desperate to keep him with her. "Maybe you'll decide to do something completely different. George would love to have you back at the company."

He pulled her between his legs. "I'm not going back to the shop Hermione."

She wiped the tear that had slid down her cheek. "Please Ron." She whispered.

He leaned forward catching her lips in a kiss. He ran his hands up her back and down resting them on her lower back. He sighed. "Look I'll give it a week or two but then I have to get out there." He kissed her again. "I have retraining to go through first anyway." He pushed the chair back and stood up. "How about I take you to lunch?"

She forced a smile. "I'd love that." She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him to her tightly. She couldn't even begin to think about him out on some mission. It scared her to death.