Longest update time ever - I know. And I'd apologize, but I'm sitting on a beach in Ft. Myers where happy hour has no end time. It's rather magical, if I do say so myself :P I'm almost finished with chapter 16 if that's any consolation to you all! Enjoy!

Draco was in a horrendous mood the entire week. He figured his mother would have caved on day three and he would have had an apology and the two of them would have finally had an understanding when it came to who he was, what his future would be, and who he'd be spending it with. By Wednesday, Draco managed to pick up some of his habits from the old days - which included snapping any anything with a pulse. He managed to make his secretary cry twice on Thursday, and Friday, he berated the check out girl for not scanning groceries fast enough while he and Hermione were at the store. She was ready to choke him, completely mortified by his behavior.

He'd been short with Hermione most of the week, but she'd been blowing it off. She was pretty sure that while Draco may have been fine with the threat of making a choice, he'd never have to actually do it. But reducing a teenage girl to sobs because she wasn't scanning groceries at lightning speed was the last straw. Once they were home, Draco dropped off the groceries he was carrying in the kitchen and marched upstairs, viciously yanking at his tie. By the time he retreated back downstairs, Hermione had the groceries put away, and was loading the dishwasher with last night's dishes. She said nothing as she watched him wrench the fridge door open, swiping a beer from the shelf before slamming it shut. He caught her staring at him as he turned around, her arms resting across her chest as she leaned against the countertop.

"What?" he barked.

She went to snark something back at him, but instead bit her tongue and shook her head. "Nothing," she replied, a twinge in her tone that took some of the tension out of Draco's shoulders.

He placed his beer on the island with a thud. Dragging his hands through his hair, he dropped his head and sighed before looking at her again. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not sure I'm the one who needs an apology from you this week," Hermione said, a bite in her tone. "But certainly don't start passing them out unless you mean it."

Draco's nostrils flared for a moment before another sigh escaped his body. "I'm just so bloody frustrated," he admitted. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, I can't tell you what to do," Hermione said. "But I also cannot deal with this. If choosing me is going to turn you into the old you - I don't want any part of it."

"Hermione - "

"You made a bloody girl cry, Draco!" Hermione shrieked. "Trust me when I say she doesn't make enough an hour to put up with you screaming at her like a bloody lunatic regarding the way she does her job!"

Draco pounded the butt of his fist into the kitchen island, causing everything to shake. "You think I don't fucking know that! We've been engaged for a bloody week and it's been nothing but miserable!"

Hermione knew what he meant by miserable, but it didn't cut the sting from his words. Swallowing hard, she blinked her eyes a few times to dry the tears threatening to form. "It's not been a picnic for me either."

The two of them locked eyes. They hadn't been in a state like this since she first moved into his house. He watched as her left thumb fiddled nervously with the ring on her finger. "Hermione…"

She held up a hand, silencing him. "Just…don't. I'm going upstairs to take a shower."

"Hermione please - "

Hermione walked over to him and kissed cheek before going upstairs. Her eyes said everything her mouth couldn't speak as they looked at each other for a second. She dragged a hand from his shoulder down his arm as made her way towards the stairs. Draco watched her disappear, a migraine forming between his temples. This was not how this week was supposed to go, and he was mentally kicking himself for letting it go to hell. Maybe his gut was right. Maybe proposing to her wasn't a good idea - maybe he was right in that it was too soon. He took a large swig from his beer before plopping it back down on the counter. Swearing, he walked over to the floo, clad in a white t-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms. He knew what he had to do to fix this.

Popping into his mother's living room, he found her sitting on her sofa, looking through an old photo album. "Mother - I know what I said," he began. "But we need to talk."

Narcissa removed her glasses from her face and let them hang around her neck with her silver chain. "Ok."

He began to pace in front of the fireplace, his heart racing as fast as his mind was reeling. "Our relationship is complicated. It probably always will be. But am I asking too much of you to find a way to love the one person that has, for the first time in my life, made me genuinely happy?"

Narcissa patted the empty seat next to her, and Draco obliged. Sitting next to her, she opened up the photo album, sifting through the memories of Draco's childhood. "I realized today," she said, her voice uncharacteristically soft, "that it wasn't just your attitude that was different. You look different, as if the weight of the world was lifted somehow from your shoulders."

He nodded, his eyes catching pictures of his first day of school at Hogwarts. It was the only picture in that album where he had something on his face resembling a smile. "Mother…I need you to understand why I didn't give her the family ring."

Narcissa shook her head. "I understand," she stated. "I just…I feel like everything I hoped for you is dissolving. I like Hermione. I truly do. I don't know how one person is able to be so forgiving." She looked at Draco, frowning at the worry lines she saw reappearing on his face. She brushed his cheek with her hand. "I will apologize to Hermione," she said. "I want to be a part of your life. You're just…you're the only family I have. I know the life you want is better than the life I had planned. I promise I will work on being more supportive and less…well…me."

Draco grabbed his mother's hand with both of his hands. "Mother, I need you," he said. "We hardly understand each other some days, and I know our relationship isn't the best, but you're the only mother I'm ever going to get. You're the only grandparent my children will ever get to know."

Narcissa sniffled. "Draco, I'm so sorry for how I reacted. I meant what I told Hermione the other day - she was never my first choice for you, but she's my final choice."

He threw his arms around his mother before she could protest. Draco couldn't remember the last time he embraced his mother. After a moment, he felt her thin arms embrace him, and his body relaxed. "Be a part of our new traditions," he whispered in her ear. "Let Hermione and I restore honor to the family with our actions, with the love we have for each other and others. Be a part of this with us," he pleaded as he pulled away from her.

Nodding, Narcissa wiped her tears away with a tissue she pulled from her pocket. "I promise I will make things right with Hermione."

"Well, I have to figure out how to do that with myself first," Draco said through a bitter laugh. "She's pretty furious with me at the moment."

"She'll get over it," Narcissa reassured her son. "You'll have fights and problems bigger than this in your life together."

"I've been awful all week," he admitted. "I didn't know how to fix this and I took it out on everyone."

Narcissa sat and listened patiently as Draco spent the next twenty minutes going through his entire week, and all the awful things he did. Finally, when he was done explaining, she pat his hand gently. "Go home and fix it. She loves you - she'll forgive you."

"You think so?" Draco asked.

Laughing, she stood up and Draco followed suit. "I forgave your father for far worse." She kissed him on the cheek and gave his hand a squeeze. "I love you, dear."

He returned the kiss. "I love you too, Mother."

"I'll talk to Hermione later this week, and I'll make this right." Narcissa promised.

Draco nodded. Grabbing a fist full of floo powder, he tossed it and returned home.

Hermione removed her charcoal grey dress and black tights, tossing them in the hamper. She collected Draco's clothing as well, rolling her eyes at how he managed to throw his clothes near the actual vicinity of the hamper, yet never actually inside the plastic container. Slipping out of her undergarments, she grabbed her robe and wrapped it around her as she walked into the bathroom. She wrenched the handle of the shower to her usual spot midway between lukewarm and hot and let the shower steam for a few minutes. It was barely eight o'clock but she was exhausted. Hesitating for a moment, she pulled her ring off of her finger and placed it on top of her jewelry box before discarding her robe and allowing the shower to embrace her with its warmth.

Squeezing a dollop of face wash in her hands, she lathered up the soap before scrubbing her face, washing away her makeup that remained from the day as she stood under the steady stream of water. As she went to shampoo her hair and lather her body with her soap, she felt herself taking out her frustration of the week on her skin and scalp, nearly scrubbing both raw as the week played on repeat in her head. She loved Draco. That wasn't going to change. While he wasn't perfect - far from it - this was also not how she envisioned life the week after being proposed to. Washing the soap away from her hair and skin, she consistently pushed the water away from her face. If spending her life ignoring Narcissa because despite her best efforts, she would never be able to completely reel in her backhanded comments, it would be the best thing for Draco, she'd find a way to deal with it. She loved him for thinking he could choose between her and his mother, but right now that choice was making him miserable.

Hermione didn't know how long she stood under the shower, letting the steam absorb the obnoxious stress of the week. But as her fingers began to prune, a hand found the shower knob and turned the water off. Opening the glass door, she grabbed a plush towel hanging on the rack outside of the shower and wrapped herself up in it. Toweling her hair as vigorously as she scrubbed it earlier before drying off the rest of her body, she hung it back up on the rack and walked over to the closet. She pulled one of Draco's white undershirts out of his top drawer. Hermione was practically swimming in the shirt, but she didn't care. Slipping into a pair of underwear and pink fleece bottoms, she walked back to the sink to brush her teeth. Everything about her evening routine was like going through the motions. She and Draco always got ready for bed together, their routine consisting of stares, winks, and hip nudges as they talked about anything that crossed their minds, sneaking in a kiss or two when their paths crossed. Putting her toothbrush away, she opened the mirror and pulled out her nightly contraception potion and swallowed it in a single gulp, her tongue immune to the bitter taste.

This version of her routine was reminiscent of the isolation she felt when in New York, a fleeting thought as she grabbed a bottle of lotion and walked into the bedroom, pulling back the covers on her side of the bed and sitting on the edge. Squeezing a little lotion into her hands, she lathered the vanilla scent into her fingers, rubbing up her arms until greasy feeling she hated was absorbed enough into her skin for her to ignore. Glancing at the clock, she sighed. It was a quarter 'til nine, and she felt as if she could sleep until noon - which wasn't an option. James' birthday party was tomorrow, and she promised Ginny she'd come over around noon to help set up before family arrived. Her eyes closed the moment her head hit the pillow.

Draco popped back home a little after ten, and found Hermione asleep. Quietly, he tiptoed through the bedroom, cracking up the bathroom door and shutting it behind him before flickering on the light. Brushing his teeth before bed, he noticed the ring sitting on top of her jewelry box, and his heart sank a little bit. He finished up, rinsing his mouth out quickly before drying his mouth with a hand towel. Grabbing her ring, he carried it back into the bedroom and walked over to her side of the bed. Kneeling down, he brushed her hair away from her eyes. Hermione stirred a little bit, cracking an eye open. "Where were you," she asked, not even bothering to move as she closed her eyes.

He held up her ring between his thumb and forefinger. "You forgot this in the bathroom."

She cracked her eye open again and saw the ring. "I took it off before I got in the shower," she said through a yawn. She moved her left hand towards him and let him slide it back on her finger. "Sorry."

"I'm sorry," Draco said, kissing her hand. "I've been unbearable all week."

"We all have them," she mumbled.

"Yes, but I was out of line…with everyone. I'll fix it next week."

Hermione's eyes were still closed. "Fine."

"I um, I also fixed everything with Mother."

Hermione rolled onto her back and let out a yawn. "Ok."

"Ok?" he questioned. "I know you're upset with me, but - "

"Draco, I'm exhausted," she interrupted, talking through another yawn. "But I'm glad you fixed things," she said, rolling back over onto her side, her eyes both open now. "I had half a mind to take a bottle of tequila to her house with two shot glasses…figuring if we both got drunk, we could just get it all out of our system at once."

Genuinely laughing, Draco stood to his feet and leaned over Hermione, planting a kiss on her forehead. "The only thing that scares me about your plan is that I know you're serious." He walked around the bed and over to his side, pulling his wand from his pajama pants pocket and placing it next to his alarm clock. He crawled into bed and instantly disliked the amount of space between himself and Hermione. Draco hesitated for a moment before he rolled to his side, an arm reaching out to touch her shoulder. "Hermione…"

"What?" she mumbled.

"Nothing," he said quickly, his hand retreating from her. "Go back to sleep." Rolling onto his back, he dragged his hands down his face and sighed. "I love you," he whispered.

Hermione rolled over as she heard his whisper. Shifting, she moved towards him and dropped her head in the middle of his chest. She managed to stay on her side of the bed all week, and she was tired of it. "I love you," she whispered back. "Even when you're being a complete ass."

He slipped a hand up his shirt she was wearing, his palm rubbing her bare back. "Good night, dear."

"Good night," she repeated, yawning a final time before succumbing to sleep.

Breakfast the next morning was a bit more demure than usual. It wasn't as hostile as it had been all week, but it was still a bit off. They sat next to each other, quietly sipping coffee at the kitchen table - Draco eating a bagel with cream cheese while Hermione ate a blueberry muffin sliced in half, drenched in melted butter as she completed the crossword puzzle in the newspaper. Every time Draco went to say something, he stopped himself. He knew if he managed to say sorry one more time she'd probably snap at him, but he felt like he needed to keep saying it. Part of him was embarrassed he wasn't as strong as he thought he was. He was for sure he could cut his mother out of his life if he needed to and he didn't last a week. Of course, they made up, and Draco hoped it would be the final time as the actual results of their conversation had yet to be seen, but he wasn't aware of the effect it would have on him. Then again, the two of them had always had a complicated relationship, so seeing complicated eliminated from the picture completely may always be a pipe dream that he would just have to accept.

He watched her as she scrunched up her face, tapping her pen to the tip of her nose a few times before figuring out the word she was looking for and scribbling the letters into the boxes. It was funny, how as a child in school he used to watch her sometimes as she concentrated, finding it incredibly irritating. Now, it was endearing, and he couldn't help but laugh as she'd quietly congratulate herself with a subtle, satisfied shoulder shift when the word fit.

"Stop staring," she said, not looking up from her puzzle.

He chuckled. "I can't help it."

Hermione looked up and gave him a small smile. "Of course."

"Are you still upset with me? Is that why you forgot your ring last night?" Draco's mouth spilled with words before he had a chance to sensor and not to ask the question at all.

She arched an eyebrow as his face went as remorseful as Hermione had ever seen him. "It was an honest mistake," Hermione reassured him. "I always take it off when I put lotion on. I just took it off this time before I got into the shower last night and I spaced it. I haven't been wearing it long…it's not like it's a reflex to put it back on yet."

"Right," Draco said, trying his best not to sound defeated. "I know this past week hasn't been what either of us thought it would be, but I thought maybe we could discuss a wedding date later?"

Hermione scribbled another word into her puzzle. "I'm sure we could," she mused.

"…Did you have any in mind?" he carefully asked a few moments later.

She put her pen down again. Apparently, when Draco said later, he meant now. "Honestly…I don't. I do think we should have a long engagement, a year at least."

Draco nearly choked on his coffee. "A year?"

"You're already taking this the wrong way," Hermione stated. "I love you. I want to marry you. You being a prat all week doesn't change that. But we are also still getting to know each other. This whole thing has been fast, and I think it's only practical to have at least a year long engagement so that we are absolutely ready."

"Ok…" he said, taking another sip of his coffee. "So…a year long wedding would make it a winter wedding."

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe. Or...we could have an early spring wedding."

"A spring wedding would be nice," Draco said.

"I think so," Hermione agreed. "We can maybe look at dates in March or April of next year."

"Ok," Draco said, finishing his coffee.

Hermione could sense he was still uneasy. She reached her left hand across the table and grabbed his, giving it a squeeze. "I honestly didn't even think about the ring," she reassured him. "I grabbed my lotion like I've done a thousand times and it didn't even register. I was just tired - promise."

He squeezed her hand back, holding it for a minute. "I wouldn't have blamed you. If you'd changed your mind, that is."

"You can't get rid of me that easy," Hermione said with a laugh. "I'm not going anywhere. Are you?"

"Not without you," he promised.

"Well, there you go," she said, squeezing his hand one more time before retreating back to her puzzle.

Draco watched her, sipping his coffee. "Also I uh," he started to stammer. "Mother wants to formally apologize to you. I though maybe after the party today we could - "

"Draco?"

"Yeah?"

She gave him a half hearted smile. "I know you want all of this," she motioned between the two of them with her pen, "better - but I'm not ready to talk to your mother. When I am - I will."

Draco nodded, and Hermione went back to her puzzle. He didn't think she'd cave that easily - and if she had, she wouldn't have been the girl he fell in love with in the first place.