A/N: I have surpassed 100 reviews and I would like to thank everyone who has taken time to write me a review! I read all of them and I appreciate every one.

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Severus woke to the unaccustomed feeling of a warm body in his bed. He carefully moved away from where he had been wrapped around Katrina. They had gone to sleep in their own, separate beds, but it appeared that at some point Katrina had moved into his. He carefully rolled to his back and stared up at the ceiling for long minutes. A glance at the window told him it was nearing dawn and while he would normally be out of bed already, this morning he had no desire to move.

Deciding he wasn't going to get up for anything short of an emergency, he began to roll back to his side when the sound of his floo roaring to life had him sitting up. There was only one person who could activate his floo, and that was Albus.

"Severus?" the voice was hoarse and sounded weak.

The fact that the headmaster's voice wasn't its bright, chipper self had him shooting from the bed and to the fireplace. "Albus, I'm here."

"Ah, Severus, my boy. I need your immediate assistance."

"I'll come right through," he said, standing and grabbing his wand and a robe from his wardrobe to throw over his nightshirt. He glanced at the bed and was glad to see Katrina still asleep. Grabbing floo powder, he threw it into the fireplace, calling "Albus Dumbledore's office, Hogwarts." He stepped into the green flames and stepped out into his employer's office.

The older man was seated behind his desk, one of his hands flat on his desk, the tips of his fingers black. "I hope I didn't wake you, Severus."

Snape gaped at the older man. Here the man was, obviously suffering from some curse, and he was concerned that he might have woken him! "Albus, what happened?" he asked, quickly approaching the desk and bending to examine the cursed hand. A strange ring with a large broken stone sat on one finger.

"It seems I was a bit careless, Severus…"

Severus ran his wand over Albus' hand, trying to discover what he had been inflicted with. He recognized the curse as being one with no known cure. There was a potion he believed could slow the progression of it, but inevitably… He released his breath in a long sigh.

"Yes, I know," Albus said softly. "You can brew the potion to slow its progression, though?"

"Yes, of course," he responded quickly. "I have all of the ingredients I need in stock here and it is a quick potion to brew. If you'll excuse me, I will get it started immediately."

"Of course, Severus. I knew I could count on you."

"Does anyone else know?" Severus asked before he exited the office.

"No, nor can they. This must remain between us, Severus."

"As you wish, Headmaster." He turned to leave but stopped when Albus spoke again.

"Severus."

He turned to face his friend and saw him holding up a pair of black house slippers. He was about to refuse when he remembered how cold the floors of the dungeon were. He tipped his head in thanks as he accepted them and put them on, grateful that they weren't some hideous color.

He quickly retreated to his dungeons, glad that none of the other professors were in residence as he was barely dressed and in slippers. He methodically collected his ingredients and the action of preparing them helped to distract him from the frightening revelation that his mentor and protector was dying.

His hands shook slightly as he slowly stirred in the ingredients and he forced himself to breathe slowly, trying to calm himself. Albus was so much more than his employer. The older wizard was also his protector. He was well aware that, without Albus' help after the first fall of Voldemort, he would have rotted away in Azkaban or worse. He could have received the Dementor's kiss as his parents-in-law had.

But even beyond that, Albus was one of the very few people Severus Snape would even consider labeling 'friend'. Albus Dumbledore had been the one constant in his life since he began his schooling at Hogwarts. To lose that now was unthinkable.

Clearing his thoughts for the moment, he managed to brew the potion within half an hour and he bottled it and hurried up to the Headmaster's office.

"You must consume five drops every eight hours," he instructed, handing the bottle over. "When you begin running low, tell me and I'll brew more." Somehow, he managed to keep the fear from his voice.

"We need to discuss this," Albus said after he had taken the first dose.

"There is nothing to discuss, Albus," he said stubbornly.

"Severus, you're like a son to me."

"Albus, please…" he tried to interrupt his mentor, not caring that his own tone was pleading. He couldn't deal with this – not now.

"Perhaps I haven't told you that often enough how important you are to me, but nevertheless it is true," Albus continued as if Severus hadn't spoken at all. "If the opportunity comes that you can make use of my death-"

"No!" Severus shouted, not caring that he sounded like a petulant child. "We will not discuss this right now!"

"My boy," Albus tried again.

"No. I have to go. Katrina is alone with Pettigrew. I have been forced to give the rat shelter and I have no wish to leave the two of them alone together."

"We will have to discuss this eventually, Severus, even if you don't wish it," Albus said gently.

"Perhaps, but not today," he said, grabbing floo powder from the mantle and calling out, "Spinner's End."

Stepping out into his bedroom, he took a deep breath. Glancing at the bed, it appeared that Katrina was still asleep. 'Merlin, help me,' he silently pleaded. The emotional rollercoaster of the past month was fast catching up with him.

The rediscovery of his wife, learning he had a daughter, the loss of his wife, getting her back along with a forced bond, and now the impending death of his friend and mentor. He released his breath in a silent sob. He wasn't sure how much more he could take.

The form on the bed rolled over and was now facing him. Her hazel eyes blinked up at him, "Sev?"

He silently nodded, not trusting his own voice at the moment.

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The satin nightgown they purchased swished around her ankles as she rose and approached him. "What's wrong, Severus? You look so tired."

"It's nothing. I'm fine," he lied, moving to step away from her.

She grabbed his arm and gently held him in place, "Please don't lie to me, Sev. For a spy, you really don't lie very well…" her gentle smile showed she forgave his lies.

He scowled at her, but before he could retort, one of her hands was on his cheek, her fingers smoothing the angry lines from his face. He couldn't continue scowling at her with her smiling at him like that.

"Come back to bed, Sev." She gently tugged his arm, leading him to the bed. Once there, she carefully removed his robe and laid it over the back of a chair and gently pushed him to sit on the edge of the bed. Smiling at him, she leaned down and initiated a kiss.

This kiss began chaste, but unlike yesterday's kiss, this one quickly became heated. She moved her body, never losing contact with his lips, and was soon seated next to him on the bed. Her hands made their way into his hair, rubbing his scalp, and he melted into them.

She pulled away a fraction of an inch to whisper, "I know you don't want to – or can't – tell me what is wrong, but let me help you forget about it for a little while."

"I wish I could tell you, Kat," he said, not even noticing he had slipped into using her nickname.

"Shh," she said, raising a finger to his lips, "I understand." She rose to her feet and drew him to his. Confused for a moment, he let her guide him up. His confusion melted away a moment later when she removed her nightgown and then began working on removing his.

He cooperated with her, but part of him was hesitant. Everything was so chaotic right now. Surely it would be best to wait? "Maybe we shouldn't do this…"

She froze in the act of removing her panties and gazed up at him. "Do you want to stop?" He didn't respond immediately and she continued, "Because if you want to stop, we will. But I want this. I want you."

Gazing on the lovely woman standing mostly naked before him, he stopped thinking and followed his heart. Diving in for a kiss, he breathlessly whispered, "I want this as well."

It only took seconds for their undergarments to be removed, and then it was all hot naked skin on skin. He kissed and nipped her everywhere he could reach as he maneuvered them both back to his bed.

Lying there, stroking each other gently, lips mapping bodies, he wondered how he had survived without her for so long. His long fingers stroked up her sides, trying to erase the memory of their last joining. Their kisses were long and deep, as if they were trying to crawl inside each other.

They went slowly, driving the memory of loneliness from each other. When they finally joined, it was as if they'd never been separated. When they peaked, it was with the other's name on their lips.

They were slow to separate, and when they finally did, he lay on his side, facing her. He snaked out a hand to gently rest upon her stomach where their children were growing. One of her hands moved to cover his and her other hand moved to stroke his hair.

"We've survived so much while we were apart, we will survive anything now that we're together again," she said quietly.

He leaned over and kissed her, "I hope you're right, Kat, I truly do."