Anna's point of view:

"Karina, please hold still," I said, as I tried to wrangle my daughter's unruly hair with a brush.

"Mummy, I want to go see Daddy," Karina wined.

"We can't tonight, sweetie. We're going to have dinner with Grandma and Grandpa. Won't that be fun?" I asked, knowing in truth, it wouldn't.

Alex's parents didn't approve of me, but I tolerated them because I wanted Karina to know her grandparents, and I couldn't deny that they loved her.

"Why can't Daddy come with us?" Karina asked.

Because I doubt they'd be open to the thought of Severus being your father, I thought.

"He's busy tonight," I said.

"I miss him," she said.

"You'll see him tomorrow." I sighed.

I swear, lately she was more of his daughter than mine. Not that I minded, they loved each other, and I enjoyed spending time with Severus. Truth be told, I couldn't wait to see him again so he could open the gift I got him; a rare potions book that took me hours to hunt down.

Face it, I thought. You have other reasons for wanting to see him.

A blushed filled my cheeks as I thought of the feelings that'd been growing for him. I could no longer deny that I was falling in love with him. Part of me felt so alive when I was around him. I loved being able to open up to another adult again after the agony of being alone with a young child for so long. I loved that Karina loved him too, and him her. Part of me felt sad, as if I was betraying Alex. How could I go back on my word to love him forever, but he'd left us here alone, and it was unrealistic to expect me to be single forever. I was sure that he wanted to see me happy, even if it was with another man.

Just as I finished Karina's hair, there was a knock on our doors. My little girl squealed as she ran toward the door. I sighed, preparing myself mentally for my in-laws, rather my mother-in-law

"Daddy?" Karina asked, as she opened the door.

Karina squealed as my father-in-law, David, picked up my daughter and swung her around. I smiled as she hugged his neck.

"David, put her down this instant. It's not becoming to swing a young lady around like that," my mother-in-law, Margret, snapped.

My smile faded. Her idea of a good quality time was trying to teach my daughter and me to behave as 'proper young women.

"Thank you for coming," I said, stepping forward. "May I take your coats?"

"That'd be great." David said, handing his to me.

"Certainly not. It's freezing. How you can raise a daughter in this drafty castle is beyond me," Margret said.

It's not like you sent your son here for seven years, I thought.

We settled on the couch to talk, and luckily, Karina played quietly with her toys and didn't bring up Severus again. I'd hate to see what Margret thought of his role in our lives. Karina opened her presents from her grandparents, which happened to be toys, much to my relief. I half expects dresses that were frilly, ugly, and something that I wouldn't dress my daughter in. When David offered to put Karina to bed after dinner, Margret brought up the one topic that I'd been dreading.

"My dear friend, Minerva, tells me that Severus Snape has been caring for Karina," she said, looking down at me from her nose.

"Yes, tea?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"No, thank you. Do you think it's wise, given his past?"

"He's great with her, Margret. Minerva wouldn't have set this up arrangement if she thought he wouldn't take care of her." I poured tea, taking deep breaths and choosing my words carefully.

"I don't like it," she said. "You must end it."

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. Karina loves working with him, and he's become a dear friend." I looked up to meet her eyes.

They narrowed and hardened. "You've fallen for him, haven't you?"

"He's a good man." Despite my best efforts, I turned red.

"If you think I can stand by and watch his nonsense, you've got another think coming," she said, fuming and quickly stood. "David, come we're leaving."

I stared at her with an open mouth.

"If you wish for us to see our granddaughter again, I expect you will find someone more suitable to watch her." At that moment, David entered the room tentatively. "Come, David, we're leaving."

His mouth had been hanging open, but it slammed shut as his eyes narrowed.

"No, I won't let you do this," he said in a low voice; I'd never seen him get angry before.

It was his wife's turn to look surprised.

"My son is gone, and I won't lose my granddaughter, too," he said. "I'm tired of you controlling myself and others. When you are ready to reconsider everything, you'll know where to find me."

Margret didn't say anything as she turned on her heel, stormed out of the room, and slammed the door. I winced, afraid that she'd woken Karina.

"I'm sorry, Anna," David said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I didn't know she'd go this far."

"Thank you for standing up for us," I said, touching his arm.

"It's the least I can do." David sighed. "You're Karina's mother, and you'll do what's best for her."

"I'm sorry I ruined your Christmas," I said, hugging him.

"You didn't, my dear." He hugged me back. "She's had that coming for a while."

We pulled away and I let a tear escape.

"You love him, don't you?" David asked.

My head snapped up in surprised. I hadn't even come to that conclusion yet.

"You're surprisingly easy to read, my dear. When you talk about him, you have the same look that you have when you talk about my son," David explained.

I bit my lip. After I lost Alex, I never imagined I could connect with someone else like I had with him. Did I really love Severus though? If so, could I go through with a relationship with him? I knew that he'd be great for Karina already, so I didn't have to worry about that, but …

"Karina's asleep," David said, breaking my train of thought. "I'll be going home now."

"Thank you for coming tonight," I said as we walked toward the door.

I received one last hug before he left. I shut the door after him and sighed. I checked on my daughter. I sat on the edge of her bed as I watched her sleep. Who was I kidding? These feelings had been here for a while now. I just didn't want to rush into anything though, and I doubted that Severus would feel the same for me. Sighing, I stood and walked into my room, my mind still full of torment. I didn't sleep well.

The next morning came too quickly, and since I hadn't fallen asleep, I woke up at the crack of dawn to my daughter yells.

"Mummy, mummy, wake up!" Karina said, jumping onto me. "It's Christmas."

My eyes cracked open to see her hair sticking up in every direction and she hugged my tight.

"All right, Karina. I'm up," I groaned.

"Can we get Sev-us Daddy?" she asked while pulling on my hand.

"We need to get dressed first," I explained. "Then we can go see him."

I quickly got my excited daughter ready before setting off toward Severus' rooms. He opened the door quickly, ducking to pick up Karina.

"Merry Christmas!" she said loudly.
"Merry Christmas," he replied to her.

"Merry Christmas, Severus," I said.

Severus shot me dirty look, but softened as she carried Karina into the room. I stood blinking for a moment. What happened? Did I do something wrong? Karina chatted away as I walked in to the room. I moved around so I could try to catch his eye, but he refused to look at me. A loud squeal from my daughter broke my train of thoughts. I smiled as she started gibbering to a small, white cat that was cradled in her arms. I glanced at Severus as he watched Karina, and my heart warmed at the sight. His eyes held warmth that wasn't there when I met him months ago. I wanted him to look at me like that.

"Mummy, look at my kitty!" Karina shrieked.

I held out my hands to take the cat. The little kitten purred against my hand as I stroked its ear.

"You've found the most perfect cat, Severus," I said, smiling at him.

He nodded at me, giving me an unreadable look. My heart sank. Something was very, very wrong.

"What are you going to name her?" I asked, turning toward my daughter.

"Snow White," Karina exclaimed after thinking for a moment. "Just like the story, Daddy."

"It's a perfect name," I said, setting the cat down on the floor.

Karina quickly found the cat toys, and Severus had to show her how to use them without hitting or scaring the poor cat. I smiled at the two. A pang of sadness ran through me. This should've been Alex playing with our daughter. Guilt ran through me suddenly. It was as if I would've been taking Severus' daughter away from him.

As they played, I noticed that he still held a cold indifference toward me. It broke my heart. We let Karina play with Snow White before having her open a few more presents. After presents, we ate a light lunch from the house elves. Soon after, Karina fell asleep. I put her onto the bed in the spare bedroom. When I came out into the living room, Severus stood by the fire with a scowl on his face. I stopped in my tracks when he gave me a thunderous look.

"I got an interesting letter early this morning," Severus said. "You don't want me to be a part of Karina's life anymore?"

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