Author's Note: First let me thank everyone who had reviewed, alerted, or put this story on their favorites it means a lot to me. Well I had not intended to post two chapters a day but the writing has been going well and I'm anxious to get them out there for you all.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do I really need to say that I don't own them? I'm just playing with someone else's toys and do return them in the same shape I have found them (well that may not always be the case).

Hermione made herself busy making coffee as she wondered just what in the hell she was thinking even letting him stay, let alone tell her what he thought of how he was wronged by Kaseload and more than likely her also. She would listen then tell him of the one thing that irked her most in their marriage. She hoped that once she was done he would just honor her wishes and leave. Of course he never honored her before so she didn't think he would now.

Severus watched her as she worked around her kitchen making coffee, he knew she was stalling. He even allowed her that, though he didn't mind so much the longer she took the longer he got to watch her. He tried to compare her now to the woman that walked out the door telling him that she never loved him.

She looked tired to him, like she hadn't slept well in a long time. He knew the look well, it was one he had carried for more than half his life. He would never wish it on her though, she looked too thin also and he caught himself wondering if she ate well or nibbled as she had done through most of their marriage.

He watched as she turned looking over her shoulder at him asking,

"Milk, sugar?"

Severus was so lost in his thoughts at that moment of how stupid he had been to let her walk away without a fight, she really was a beautiful woman.

"Both." He finally answered when she cleared her throat.

Hermione wondered why he was looking at her like that, it was the way she had wished he would have looked at her when they were married.

Finally she sat across from him saying,

"Let's hear it." She knew she sounded snappish but she just wanted this over with, in the back of her mind she was wondering if Julie would take her shift in the morning if she called her tonight she didn't think she would be up for working tomorrow.

"In a conversation that I had with Draco he told me something that I was not aware of, though maybe I should have been. He relayed a tale of how Kaseload approached you when the marriage law was enacted about an intent of bonding with me."

"Yes he did."

"When he approached me about it he told me it was your idea, he also led me to believe that the bonding intent was already filed."

"What! I didn't file them until….."

Severus raised his hand to stop her words then said,

"Hermione I know what date I talked to him on and what date the papers were filed with the ministry. I know now that you didn't file them until after he led me to believe that I had no choice in the matter."

Hermione was stunned, he didn't think he had a choice.

"What do you mean you had no choice? I wouldn't have done it if you had not agreed."

"I know that now."

"What's that mean?"

"I didn't know then, Kaseload led me to believe that it was already done."

Hermione stared at him, then it came around to her. She had to know,

"What excately did Kaseload tell you?"

"That being a prisoner afforded me no rights, no choice in the matter."

"But…. I would have never agreed….. Oh God." Hermione laid her head down on the table.

"Hermione….. are you okay?" he wanted to reach out and touch her, smooth her hair down. Her very short hair that still shocked him.

"No," she raised her head, he saw the tears in her eyes before she said, "he told me you agreed, something told me not to believe it. I couldn't see you agreeing so quickly to marrying me but when I asked to talk to you he told me that you said you didn't want to see me until the day we married."

Severus watched as she swiped at her face as tears over spilled her eyes, without thinking he reached across the table to lay his hand on hers. When his fingers barley touched the back of her hand she jerked it back saying,

"Don't touch me." Hermione knew that if he touched her she would be lost, nothing he did to her would matter. It was frustrating, knowing that in a heartbeat she would agree to anything if he touched her.

Severus drew his hand back, he wanted to comfort her. It was a strange feeling, he hadn't wanted to be near anyone until the day she left and now all he had thought about for the last four years was being near to her. Finally he said to her,

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"A little late for that don't you think?"

He took a deep breath, he had known this wasn't going to be easy. He didn't even know if he'd ever gain her trust back, but he knew he would do whatever it took to get it back. Finally he said,

"I know my actions were not the best, I did them with intent and for that I apologize. But I did try to change eventually.

"Too little, too late."

"Perhaps you are right, no I know you are right. This all would have came out years ago if I had saw past my anger at being forced into another situation that I was at someone else's whims….."

"I'm not Dumbledore, I would never keep someone alive to send them to die. I would never use a choice, a rash choice, you made in your youth to keep you subservient to me. I had no visions of a true marriage, all I wanted was for you to be able to be free. At the time I felt that you didn't deserve to be in Azakban, I still don't. But I never wanted to control you or be your master, hell I thought the best I would get out of the deal would at least be an equal partnership. Boy was I ever wrong, you made sure that I knew you hated me for saving you from that awful place you also made damn sure that I would feel…. Less like a person all for wanting to help you. Maybe life isn't fair, maybe I did something in a former life to deserve what you did to me."

"No." Severus broke in on her tirade, "I've had time to think about my behavior, a lot of time…."

"I don't care, you still acted that way." She stood, sitting still was just not something she could do right now.

She took a deep breath before saying,

"This is going to take a while, I need to make a phone call to get someone to cover my shift in the morning."

He flicked his wand at the phone, at least she was now willing to listen to him. He heard her talking to some telling them that she wasn't feeling well, he heard her thank them then nothing for a long time.

Hermione hung up the phone standing there she tried to collect herself, she needed to get all of her emotions under her control. There was a problem to be dealt with, Kaseload had lied. But to what end? To make himself look better? That was the question that needed answered, she would help file the papers but there were going to have to be ground rules. Yes she would help him this last time, her sense of fairness was too strong to just tell him to go.

She walked back into the kitchen asking,

"Okay, what do I need to do?"

Author's Note: Comments really do make me smile and brighten my day.

Also I wanted to let you know that I have a couple of Severus/Hermione videos on youtube, the link is in my profile.