A/N: Please go to Chapter 22 because that is where the update starts... Also many thank yous for the reviews as they make me smile :-)

Chapter 23

"Tell me you have placed a bid on it. I've seen your eyes lingering on the Kimono" Maura said in regards to the Kimono that hung on the fall wall. It was a magicked replication of an 8 foot tall Art Kimono by the Japanese Artist Itchiko Kubota. It was titled 'San' as it was inspired by the Siberian sunsets the artist witnessed when he was in a P.O.W. Camp. The original Kimono was hand dyed beautiful and the replication was just as beautiful but well out of Alicia's price range.

"No, I couldn't" Alicia said shaking her head feeling her cheeks warm up from embarassment, she could dress and act as rich and polite as the others in the room but her pockets were considerably shallow compared to those in the room. In fact everything besides her underwear was bought for her like the coral mermaid dress and her hair and make up done by a stylist that Maura paid for or lent to her like the cascading drop necklace with multiple diamonds that she wore around her neck. It was a family heirloom from Maura's family. Maura had insisted on doting on Alicia as she always wanted to have a daughter to dote on.

"Why not? It's beautiful" Maura told her.

"Because I have nowhere to put it" Alicia said hoping the excuse would fly as she also didn't have anywhere near the asking amount for the piece of art. She also didn't feel right asking for something so extravagant or placing a bid thinking just because she and Warrington loved each other and shared a bed he'd just cough up the galleons.

"Make the space, it's time you put your own touch into the house" Maura told her as she gave a flick of her hair, she wore her hair out in loose chignon style and looked stunning in a navy long sleeve gown with a deep v-neck line,cutout back, and a silver sequin deco pattern going around the entire waist.

"I and even so it's incredibly expensive" Alicia said in a low voice as she was sure it would be a faux pas to say it loudly as it seemed to be a competition with who could spend the most.

"You are entirely too frugal think of all the unfortunate- who are we supporting with our frivolous spending tonight Cassius?" Maura asked as Warrington came towards them with refreshments. Alicia felt her heart do flip flops at how handsome Warrington looked in a tux, he and Maura just had a gift for looking like they stepped out of a magazine advertisement for a haute couture company with little no effort.

"Apparently Orphaned children" Warrington supplied as he joined the ladies, he handed two glasses of champagne to the women. Maura accepted the glass with a thanks as did Alicia before he picked up his own off the server's tray that passed by them. They had split up to cover more ground and because Warrington got caught up talking to other men about business.

"Exactly, orphaned children just think of how poor they shall be because you want to keep your purse strings tight" Maura cooed at Alicia in a mocking manner. Alicia shook her head as she pretended to take a sip of her champagne, Warrington moved to her side and slid his hand around her lower back before resting his hand on her hip.

"What are you guilted Alicia into, mother?" Warrington asked before he took a sip of his own champagne.

"The Kimono over there, it's not an original but a beautifully magicked replica but your future wife refuses to donate money" Maura teased. Warrington looked to Alicia with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't refuse to donate money, I bid on a lovely pocket watch" Alicia said, she left out the part where she was heartily relieved when some older wizard outbid her five minutes later as she would have cried giving up her life savings even if it was to orphan children. There was just no way of competing when it came to money.

"So what is wrong with the Kimono?" Warrington asked as he looked over at the Kimono in question. He had seen Alicia eyeballing the piece ever since they walked into the Charity event hence why he had placed a bid on it. He was looking forward to surprising her with it. But now he just had to keep up the facade that he didn't care if she bid on it or not, so she wouldn't catch on that he was buying it for her.

"We don't have anywhere to put it" Alicia told him.

"I'm sure we could put it up in the library with a few extensions made to the room" Warrington said.

"Problem solved" Maura said excitedly.

"I'll bid on later" Alicia said in a tone that said she was going to anything but bid on it. She looked up at Warrington "I noticed you walking around before. What did you bid on?" she asked him.

"12 bottles of 200 year old La Motte Cab Sav. It's a good vintage" Warrington remarked with a smug smile.

"Funny, that's what Maura said" Alicia said. Warrington looked to his mother and they both locked eyes for a moment as if sizing one another up. Alicia watched on with amusement as Maura broke their eye lock first and put on a face.

"You wouldn't compete your mother now would you darling?" Maura asked him in a mockingly sweet and motherly manner. Alicia smothered her smile as she looked to Warrington to see his reaction and how he would reply. He of course smiled smugly at his mother.

"For the sake of the orphan children I think a little healthy competition wouldn't hurt you Mother" Warrington drawled.

The Charity Auction Event finished with Warrington losing the wine to his mother but winning the Kimono and a couple of other pieces he had bid on. They returned home and after a light supper and tea before they retired to their rooms.

"Are you going to tell them you are pregnant?" Warrington asked Alicia hours later as he traced his fingers slowly up and down Alicia's naked back as she half laid on top of him with her head on his chest. Their legs were tangled as the bed sheet draped across their hips and the lower half of their bodies as they cooled down from a slow session of love making.

"No, let them figure it out on their own or at least until there's something to show off. I told George I was pregnant but he thought it was just a joke and laughed" Alicia said with a smile, entirely too sated to move a muscle and enjoying the intimacy they were sharing in just lying in bed together naked.

"Did you try to correct him?" Warrington asked with a smile as only her friends would laugh off her news of being pregnant than take her secretly.

"No, my grandfather showed up and we'll he hasn't gotten bored of Potions again to bug me to do them so yeah" She said with a exhausted sigh.

"You ok?" Warrington asked her.

"Tired"

"Then sleep"

"Not yet" She told him, she didn't want to sleep in case she slipped into her nightmares again. She knew it would happen but wanted to prolong it and just enjoy the sense of relaxation she had now.

"Do you want to talk about your nightmares?" He asked Alicia stiffened slightly at his words as Warringtonhad an uncanny way of knowing what was going on in her mind and always asking.

"No, but you do" She told him.

"Of course I do, you cry out in your sleep-" Warrington started but Alicia cut him off only because she knew he would not give up asking until he knew and because she knew it was better he knew now and got it out of the way. She also felt he deserved to know why he was being woken up with a start.

"I don't remember how long I was imprisoned. There weren't any windows and the candles were always lit. I just keep dreaming I'm there hanging in chains, the pain as my back oozed blood and -" she gave a sharp inhale as she tried to remain calm but it all felt so fresh and raw even after four years. Warrington could feel her heart racing and he knew she remembered everything with clarity but would never admit to him or anyone, he knew it was better to accept what she told him. "No matter how little I moved or breathed my body just burned with pain I can't describe." she told him, he listened as she continued to tell him not in a graphic manner but just peppered details of what she remembered.

All the while he kept trailing his fingers up and down her back in a gentle motion. He knew what she told him were just cold notes but still chilled him to the bone that he associated with people who allowed this to happen. It was completely medieval in his opinion but he knew better than to say so. A silence lapsed between them and he felt her hot tears against his shoulder and looked down saw she was keeping it together.

He slipped down on the bed so they were face to face. He cupped her face and wiped the tears away with his thumbs.

"Don't" she told him as she move her hands to wipe the tears and his hands away but he didn't budge. "I can't have your pity" she told him as she tried to push him away but her movements were sluggish from fatigue but he held strong. He knew she was proud, sometimes too proud for her own good. After a few seconds she gave up her fight but didn't look at him.

"Do I look like I pity you?" he asked as he looked at her in the low lighting. She bit her quivering bottom lip and looked anywhere but at him. "It would help if you looked at me" he teased her lightly.

She took a shaky breath and looked him in the eyes. He gave her a smile and kept his quips that Gryffindors are supposed to be brave to himself as he could see Alicia was tender emotionally.

"I thank you for telling me, I know it's not easy for you to share it. So I won't lie and say what you told me doesn't affect me. If anything it makes me angry that you had to endure it but I do not pity you." he told her as he wiped the tears that continued to fall.

"How can you not?" She told him in a low and accusatory tone as she never had to tell her friends what happened and they looked at her with pity.

"Because you don't ask me to. You never once wanted me to look at you for anything than what you are and you are not a victim or a pithy survivor claiming rewards for your sufferance. I treat you as you ask me to and more so" He told her with a quirk of the lips, not even she could resist smiling as he spoiled her, something she had to admit wasn't hard.

"Like the Kimono" She said dryly as he had bid on it at the auction and paid a small fortune for just because she showed interest in it. In fact she loved it but she had learned from a young age that one didn't get everything they wanted and there was no shame in not possessing a lot of possession so it had been something special for him to buy it. To be gifted with something of such luxury was overwhelming to her.

"You love it and it will look beautiful in the library unless you want it in here" he said feeling the tension in the room from the previous conversation evaporate as the conversation was going to slightly safer waters.

"No the library, I like this room the way it is" Alicia told him.

"Perhaps you could add something to this room so it is ours" he suggested he didn't want to come out and say it but he felt like she was just a guest in his house when he wanted her to make a mark in his house as she did in his life. Making it all feel more real and grounded than transient.

"I don't have anything to add" she said with a shrug as Warrington moved in closer.

"Then we shall buy something. I can't believe I'll have to teach a woman how to spend money frivolously. I thought you were all born with a genetic disposition for it" he told her as he pressed his lips to her forehead and then making a trail down the side of her face.

"Mmm I'll try but I can't make any promises" Alicia said closing her eyes as Warrington continued to pepper her jaw line with kisses.

"Well then perhaps I should be the frivolous one while you spend you days trying to curb my spending" he teased as he kissed the sweet spot below her ear.

"You already are the frivolous one. That necklace was extravagant" She told him.

"Technically I didn't buy that. It was a family heirloom from my mother's side of the family. Anyway you think everything I buy you is extravagant" he said as he lifted his head and propped it up with his elbow to look down at her.

"You know my background and I've learned to live without such extravagance. You don't have to show me affection with jewellery and expensive gifts. Just spoil me with your time and this" Alicia said as she wrapped her arms around his torso and snaked a leg around his hips to pull him on top of her.

"Sex?" he asked innocently, he rolled on top of her careful to keep most of his weight off her as he used his arms to keep his upper body off her.

"Affection" She told him as she wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled his hips flush against hers.

"So time, affection and sex" he said with a satisfied smile as he could feel she was as hot and ready for him as he was for her.

"and lots of it" Alicia told him.

"That I can do, but don't expect me to stop lavishing you with extravagant gifts" he told her before he lowered his head and kissed her deeply.

"Hey Boy-o, what you doing in my neck of the woods without my granddaughter?" Cillian called out from behind his bar a few days later when Warrington walked in. He finished polishing the glass he had in his hand when Warrington sidled up to the bar next to him.

"I was wondering if we could have a quiet word." Warrington said. Cillian inclined his head and pointed to an empty table in the corner. Warrington nodded and moved to the table. Once Cillian handed the bar over to his employee before moving to the table and having a seat opposite the man. He couldn't help but notice the man looked like the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"She tell you about the visions" Cillian said taking a punt. Warrington nodded as he leaned back in the chair and looked at Cillian. He had been thinking of nothing else the last few days when he was by himself but couldn't share his concerns with Montague or his mother as he already knew what they would say. Maura would want him to pack up Alicia and take her to Ireland while Montague would tell him to put no stock in a seer's visions even though the literature and research about the validity of a seer's were conflicted.

"Yes, but I feel she is withholding information I'd like to meet with the seer and hear about the vision myself but I have no person of contact except you" Warrington told him. Cillian quirked an eyebrow but show no significant reaction to his words.

"I can arrange a meet between you two. Tell me, did you know you and Alicia are being watched?" Cillian asked casually. He had put out feelers to find out who was after his Granddaughter and the reasons behind him. He even put out feelers to find out who she was involved with during the war and her imprisonment. He wanted to know every gruesome detail and who touched her life as he knew it would lead to whoever wanted her dead. So far no one had come back to him yet but he wasn't concerned as it took time to find people willing to talk let alone make them talk. His contacts would turn up something soon.

"No" Warrington said.

"I didn't think so. Apparently some toff, the little git took an oath protecting the man's identity. I do know he's one of your folk but I'm waiting for confirmation" Cillian said.

"I believe I already know who it is" Warrington said as he knew it was Theodore Nott. It looked like his warning had been forgotten which meant Warrington would have to find something to hold above the man's head to make him leave the country.

"Who?" Cillian demanded.

"I will deal with the matter myself, I brought Alicia into my world unknowingly putting her at risk. I will protect her." Warrington said he didn't have to know what Cillian would do but the thing was that the laws were stricter and it was safer for him to deal with Theodore than have Cillian deal with it. He was sure Cillian's way would be far more deserving for Theo but it would also mean Cillian being thrown in Azkaban which would Warrington did not want for Alicia's sake.

"Even protecting her means returning Alicia to her home country and into in my care?" Cillian asked in a light tone. Warrington knew this question would come up he just wished Cillian didn't make it sound like he just wanted to dump Alicia and run back to his life. He wondered how low Cillian thought of him but then didn't in case his vie for Cillian's blessing for marriage went from being possible to impossible.

"I will go where Alicia goes. I would prefer to remain in London as it's convenient for my business dealings but I'm willing to live here temporarily until the danger has past. I do not shirk my responsibilities" Warrington told the man.

"What if she wants to stay permanently?" Cillian asked sitting back in his chair folding his arms.

"Then Alicia and I will discuss it together when it arises until then its speculation. Respectfully do not push it further" Warrington said with a warning edge to his tone. "Tell me, where were you during the war? I'm not accusing you of anything I'm just curious" Warrington said as he did wonder how a heavy handed old man missed four years of Alicia scraping by.

"I was fighting here, for my brethren. I repeatedly tried to make her come home but she refused to, told me her home was in Britain and so I foolishly allowed her to stay and be her own woman. I should have pried more into her life" Cillian confessed, Warrington could see where Alicia got her pride from as he could see it pained Cillian to admit what he had.

"I don't pretend to know Alicia as you do but I know she does not like be weak or be perceived as weak." Warrington said carefully as he didn't want to offend Cillian.

"Aye she gets that from me" Cillian said with a soft smile.

"Along with her stubbornness to accept gifts?" Warrington asked dryly. Cillian smiled.

"You have to earn your way and she won't be coerced with sparkling jewels and money. She knows they only make life comfortable but won't make her happy" Cillian said proudly.

"I can't argue that logic" Warrington said as he felt the same.

"So you want to meet with ol' Callaghan. Does Alicia know you're here?"

"No, she doesn't and I will tell her I was here I just didn't want to hear her arguments about-"

"How he is a crazy old coot?" Cillian supplied.

"Yes I prefer to know for myself" Warrington said.

"Well it won't be today, but I'll send word and arrange the meeting and then let you know"

"Ok" Warrington said as he had expected as much but knew Cillian would have been insulted if he wrote a letter instead of coming in person. Silence lapsed between them before Cillian became uncomfortable.

"Well you got more to say or would you like a pint?" he asked.

"I was going to ask if I could help with the restoration of the cottage" Warrington said.

"Really? A toff like you knows hard work?" Cillian said before laughing, he was pretty sure Warrington wouldn't know the first thing about restoring an old house as it required more than wand waving.

"I can learn" Warrington said annoyed that Cillian was not giving him any ground as he kept assuming Warrington was a 'silverspoon' kid who didn't know his ass from his elbow. While yes Warrington did have a relatively luxurious upbringing it didn't mean he had to live that way or didn't want to roll up his sleeves and do some hard labour.

"Why would you care?" Cillian asked him.

"I'm thinking of Alicia and my child's future, if these visions are telling and she would be safer here then I want to know she will be safe and in the best of comforts. We will also need a place to stay when we visit from time to time" Warrington said, he was hoping the old man would warm up to him even if it was by one degree.

"I ain't as grand as your house" Cillian told him frankly.

"Do not assume to know me. I may come from money but that does not mean I want the same for my child. I know the difference between opulent living and living comfortably but also modestly. I honestly prefer to live modestly" Warrington told him.

"You call your London home living modestly?" Cillian asked mockingly.

"No, I think of them as bachelor living quarters for a Gentleman of my standing. I'm trying to convince Alicia that I would like to downsize it and change the interiors to make it more of a family home but she tells me she likes it the way it is or perhaps she expects me to not commit to her and thus does not want to leave her mark" Warrington remarked thoughtfully.

Cillian looked the man over actually feeling sorry for the man as it was clear Warrington was in love with his granddaughter and that he was doing his best to woo Alicia. But even when she was being handed the world on a platter she was still scared of losing it what little she had instead of seeing the gains.

"If you want the changes then make 'em yourself and as for the cottage leave your mother and I to do that. I want to know the woman who raised you without you around to censure her" Cillian told him. Warrington chuckled.

"Trying to censure my mother is impossible she only pauses in her words briefly and then says what is on her mind which you'll find out" Warrington told him.

"You're home early, I thought we were meeting at the pub" Alicia said with a smile as she finished brushing her hair in front of the mirror in the bathroom, she was already changed mocha brown skinny jeans with welt zipper pockets tucked into black baggy calf high boots. She had a white v neck t-shirt with a pocket and a green motorcycle style jacket in silk cupro with 3/4 sleeves. She left her hair loose around her shoulders.

"I had a meeting finish early so I thought I would come home and we could walk together" Warrington said with a smile as he had put aside more than than he thought he needed to see Cillian and the travel to and from Ireland.

"Do you want to get changed?" Alicia asked as she walked to where he stood in the doorway and stood in front of him.

"No, I'm fine" Warrington told her, Alicia smiled as pulled him by the tie down to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her close, enjoying the kiss. Alicia undid his tie and pulled it off throwing it over her shoulder. He broke the kiss and looked at her as she undid the top two buttons of his shirt.

"Better" she told him with a smile.

"Really?" He asked her in a mocking manner.

"Yes, you look incredibly sexy" she drawled in husky tone as she moved her hands up and down the front of his shirt and taking a deep inhale enjoying the scent of his cologne and his own scent of sweat and masculinity. She was ready to strip him naked and have her way but restrained herself as they still have to go out and she needed all the energy she had to deal with her friends who she knew were going to drive her crazy.

"I'd say let's cancel and stay in but I would rather we get this over with" he told her as he moved his hands down to her ass holding her close letting her know he was not averse to where her current thoughts were but also knew he'd rather get the first meeting of Alicia's friends as the 'new' boyfriend out of the way.

"How open minded of you" Alicia drawled sarcastically.

"I'm a snake soon to be surrounded by a bunch of fluffy little lion cubs nipping my ankles wanting attention" he said baiting her, she shot him a censuring look.

"You'll keep" she told him.

TBC- Cya all soon :-)