AN: Okay - overwhelming requests have pointed towards this fic being a happy fic with them finding their footing through a relationship together. I can do that. =0) As we've had five chapters of December, it's time to move onto January because even at only five chapters a month, we're looking at seventy-two chapters for this story...

January 12th

I'm nervous. Today I received notification from the prosecutor's office that tomorrow will be a preliminary hearing for Peter's case. The purpose; to determine if he will be granted his request of bail or if he will spend the time between now and his trial in prison. Personally I'm hoping that he'll stay in prison indefinitely but his counsel is arguing that he's being treated unjustly due to my being a government employee. The last time I checked; while important to those I work with in Section D; no one else in the Government is aware of my name. But it doesn't matter. Their request for this preliminary hearing was granted. The only consolation is I do not have to be present. Or at least that's what the woman I've been seeing at the prosecutor's office has said. There's a part of me that wishes I had let Harry deal with this in his own way.

But I'm nervous that he's going to be released. They're only holding him on abduction in the first degree and arson in the first degree; the charges concerning the stalking and physical altercation have yet to be brought against him. While I know that both the abduction and arson charges are major, the information I've been reading are pointing to him being released with the issuances of a non-molestation order to keep him away from me. Little good that does. The combined forces of my colleagues was not enough to keep him from coming after me; a piece of papers issued by the courts is unlikely to have a greater effect. I've not told Harry this yet. I know I have to; we've agreed not to keep things from the other in terms of our personal relationship; but he's not come home yet and it just doesn't seem like something one rings someone up about. 'Hi Harry. I know you're on your way home from a JIC meeting; do you think you could pick up a gallon of milk. Oh and by the way, Peter's got a hearing tomorrow, they're telling me he may be getting out on bail and good behavior.'.

Harry's not going to be too happy with that. On top of that, I received a summons today that I'll need to attend a deposition at the firm that Peter's worked at to provide a detailed statement of not only our relationship but also everything that's happened. Harry's received one too as has Adam and Fiona though Harry doesn't know yet. He was at the aforementioned meeting when the summons were delivered today. As it was Adam almost threw the court appointed messenger off the Grid and threatened to have someone's job for allowing him up to our floor. Apparently everyone is taking security very personal as of late and especially when it has anything to do with Peter. I'm tired of thinking about Peter.

The sessions with the therapist at work are going lovely. Thanks to them everyone knows that Harry and I are seeing one another even if it wasn't that big of a secret. Last Sunday I'd burned myself while making dinner; Harry can be a bit of a distraction what with his wandering lips and hands; and as such, I'd wound up burning my arm on a pan. During our session, the sleeve of my shirt rode up and the therapist spotted the large covering that Harry had so carefully applied the night before after tending to the reddened skin with water, aloe, and a few well placed kisses. When I tried to explain that I'd burned myself while cooking dinner, the therapist doubted me and started questioning if I was in fact harming myself either by intentionally burning myself or by cutting. It doesn't speak well for the trust in our sessions when I had to call Harry in to explain exactly what had happened in order to be believed. Harry had insisted on staying the rest of the session; not because he thought he'd learn something I've been keeping from him but because he wasn't very appreciative of my being doubted. When we'd left the session he had mumbled something about finding a new therapist once he'd had our current one sent to Tajikistan. I'm looking forward to this coming Monday's session.

Next week will be Harry's and my one month anniversary. Normally this isn't something that I celebrate but Harry is insisting that we do something to recognize this special occasion. And I found out that it'd be bad form to question why we're celebrating something that only teenagers find reason to. Yes, after he'd pinned me to the door of my library, he explained the importance of celebrating each of the 680 anniversaries we would be celebrating together and that if I had a problem with it, I could bloody well get over it, he'd kissed me until I forgot my name. No, literally, I forgot my name. If that's any indication of what's to come when we progress to the next step in our relationship, I've got to start printing my name on my hand. It'll be the only way that I can remember. He's planning something to mark the evening; perhaps our first date since the evening of ice skating? I'm not sure but I hear the water for the tea so I'll leave this for now.