AN: So so so so SO sorry this has taken longer than normal. Tiny Tot has been sick and then he managed to give it to me, our toilet and dishwasher both decided to go KA-BOOM at the same time and I have been swamped with work. So needless to say I have been a little overwhelmed.

There is a POLL on my profile- please go and vote for which character you would like to see appear in the next two chapters!

Severus hated hospitals. The smell alone was horrid- bleach and disinfectant and medical ointment, which didn't seem to be different from Muggle hospitals, and oatmeal.

Wait.

Oatmeal. With a trace of orange and vanilla. Severus tried to fight the bright light that was shining into his eyes as he blinked them open, looking for the source of that delicious smell that he had tasted what felt like only a few hours before.

Severus had to stifle back a chuckle at the sight- Hermione was curled up into a chair with her hand around a book and her head tilted forward as she snored softly. His smile faded as he took note of the dark circles below her eyes and the red puffiness that stood in contrast from her tears.

Severus wished he could stroke her hair, even in a high ponytail a few errant strands escaped and twisted around her temples. As he tried to turn his head toward his wand-hand a sharp pain blazed through his body and the shock made him cry out in pain. Hermione was on her feet in a second and the book clattered to the floor. "Severus thank god you are awake," as she prattled on about how worried she had been and how she had to rush them to St. Mugo's and what the healers had been worried about and how he had been dealing with a underlying infection that no one would have been able to catch if he hadn't collapsed. "-And they said that the infection had reached your heart and it actually made it stop and-" God she was beautiful, Severus thought whimsically. Whimsy? Good Merlin was he drugged?

"Hermione," he reached his hand out to her gently and grabbed a belt-loop on her jeans, tugging her roughly to his side and as she lost balance when she hit the bed he quickly brought her head down for a kiss. "Shut up woman," he growled. "I'm breathing and my neck feels on fire and my knee aches from where you obviously banged it somehow," he continued quickly as tears formed into her eyes once more. "But you are getting quite good at this 'saving my life' thing," he smirked. Before Hermione could reply, footsteps were coming down the hallway and paused outside his room and as the door opened she jumped back.

Andrew Loxley was a smug, blond, blue-eyed, tan, tall and very sculpted bugger.

Severus hated him immediately.

"Ah Mister Snape," he said with a too-bright and too-wide smile. "Welcome back to the land of the living. You are quite lucky to have had such a competent healer at your house at the time of this attack!" While pausing for a breath Loxley turned to Hermione and gave her a dazzling smile before turning back to Severus, his smile automatically turning off. "The infection you had was quite difficult to treat, as it is you have been here for a week and," checking the chart in his hands, Severus noted he also had perfect nails as well. What kind of real Healer had perfect nails? "You will need to be here for another week, possibly two."

Severus growled low in his throat, startling Hermione and making her finally turn her attention back to him. "First of all you pompous, arrogant little urchin, it is Professor Snape to you. Secondly, I don't give a bloody fuck if you have held me here for a week. I have no intention on staying here in this incompetent hospital with incompetent healers who would rather spend their time looking in the mirror and flirting with my healer!" As Severus ended with a shout, he realize exactly how that would sound, but at the moment seemed to not give a damn. The dark and angry stare penetrated the young man who seemed quite startled. He smirked as Loxley called a nurse in to get started on the paperwork and to start getting Severus dressed for discharge before Hermione interrupted him- "I'll do I thanks, I would rather not leave another healer in tears for doing his buttons wrong."

As Loxley tripped over his feet to leave the room Severus smirked before glancing at Hermione. Her eyes were hard and every muscle in her body was tense. "'My healer?' Severus?" There was a dangerous glint to her eyes, almost like a spark, ran through her eyes almost as a warning. "I thought I made it clear Granger," Severus' tone took a soft and dangerous undertone. "I have no intention on letting that bugger or anyone else near you. Ever."

Hermione turned and grabbed a shirt from a tartan-bag he hadn't noticed at the foot of his bed, he hadn't noticed? Oh my he was slipping. And gently tugged the green t-shirt over his head before a black button-up over that.

After slipping the first half of the buttons through the holes, Hermione began to speak quietly: "I am not a possession Severus. I will not be used or controlled or let you dictate my life. I have no desire to have this be a one night stand but I refuse to enter any sort of relationship with you if you think you can control everything I do. We will fight and we will be snarky to each other, although you have much more practice than I do, and I do want something with you but not like this. We will do this properly or not at all."

While he finished dressing in silence, Severus opened and closed his mouth like a fish several times like a fool before just simply giving up.

It wasn't until the car ride, apparently Hermione was having no sort of argument about their mode of transportation since he was "breaking out early", that Severus realized just how much he had sounded like Tobias earlier. Controlling every single movement of his mother and not letting anyone near her. "I am sorry," he murmured softly as the city lights gave way to the swaying grasses, light glinting golden off of the sunset. Rain must have come through earlier he thought as he rolled the window down. It had been years since he had been in a proper car, a potions conference in Madrid.

Severus leaned his face against the door frame, the cool air blowing softly into his face. The scent of rain was untouched by any pollution and as he turned to Hermione he took the opportunity to just stare at this little wicked woman who had abruptly taken over his life.

Her hands on the wheel were white-knuckled, her hair was slightly greasy from obviously never leaving his side, there was a small freckle on her left shoulder he could see through her thin gray shirt, her breathing was as tight as her hands seemed to be. "Hermione," he said as gently as he could, which wasn't much admittedly. "Stop the car." Her face had PANIC in bright red letters across her face, which made him chuckle- a low and scratchy sound. Severus smiled at her with obvious exhaustion and he more than likely looked worse than he realized.

As she pulled the car off to the side of the road near a blank field, only a few inches of grass marred it, Severus got out of the car and he walked for a few moments as he turned to her. His inner voice chucked as he noticed her breasts perked up in the cold air but her face held no warmth for him. Hermione walked halfway to him before stopping, her arms folded. Severus sighed and walked back over to her before rising his hands up and rubbing her arms over and over and then finally resting on both sides of her neck.

"I don't deserve you," he said firmly. "Your friends and family will despise me, your, our, world will shun you. You are the brightest witch of your age and you will do incredible things but that will be hindered by your relationship with me." Severus paused, letting the words sink into her. Oh how he wished she would look at him rather than over his shoulder, his next words however made her stare wide-eyed and filled with tears. "If you don't want me witch, tell me now, because I do have no intention on letting you go if I have the choice. I will fight for you and die for you. You are not, and will never be a replacement for Lily. You have ensnared me witch," Severus brought his lips right above hers, his warm breath warming her lips. "Will you keep me? Will you let me, in time, love you? Will you let me kiss you whenever you or I desire? Will you let me snark at you when I am in a mood and apologize with flowers?" Severus kissed her forehead and down to her chin before drawing back as his voice finally cracked.

"Will you keep my broken and battered soul?" Severus moved his hands to wrap his hands around his hips and brought his gaze to meet hers.

"Keep me."