How Severus Spends His Summer Hols

AN: Wow! Chapter 100. I can’t believe it’s still going and people are still reading. Not even half the story’s been told… just simply amazes me that something which started out at a one shot has developed into… this. I have to give my thanks to golden_snitch and unbroken_halo for listening to me plot, plan, bitch, moan and whine so far. Unbroken_halo is an excellent writing partner and has been good for me. Without her I can safely say I would have stopped writing by now, but it’s fresh and fun once more.

This chapter has a bit of everything in it. Hurt/comfort, humor, angst, family… you name it. You’ll see that Harry is slowly getting stronger, he can take a reprimand and not go to pieces. I am just going to hush now and let you read.

BTW…. If anyone is interested, there is a yahoo group for this story and the side stories on the lj community Stirs_of_Echo. If you might be interested, just go here and click the join now link http://community.livejournal.com/stirs_of_echo/profile

Chapter 100: These Dreams


Grant woke up and stretched catlike in the bed he shared with his husband, realizing at once that his husband wasn\'t in it. Frowning to himself, he rolled over and picked up the small alarm clock on his nightstand and peered myopically at it. Huh... it was seven thirty on a Sunday morning and Damon was not in bed hibernating like a bear. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, standing and padding into the bathroom to do his morning routine, still wondering where on earth Damon had gotten to so early. As he came out of the bathroom clad only in a pair of loose fitting jeans, he called out and listened for an answer.

Damon had woken early after an odd dream that couldn\'t be called a nightmare really, just something strange about it bothered him. He flicked the Dreamcatcher over their bed and kissed his husband softly before climbing from the bed so as not to disturb the other man. He pulled on a pair of sweats and padded down to the kitchen. He flicked on the coffee pot and waited impatiently for at least one cup to brew before he interrupted the cycle to partake in a cup of the dark fragrant brew. He watched the sun come up over the mountain and drank the coffee trying to get the disturbing images out of his head. Sighing, he placed the empty cup in the sink and ran water into it.

He headed out the back door to the barn hoping maybe tinkering with the Road King or maybe Grant\'s Sportster, hell any one of the cycles in the barn would snap him from the funk. After fifteen minutes or so he threw the wrench down in disgust and sighed again. It wasn\'t working and nor was it helping to take him mind off the image of Grant\'s bowed form and Harry standing over him, rubbing his back as the first man shook with some emotion.

Damon growled and shook his head. Looked like the damn Dreamcatcher needed to be replaced. He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension from his back and neck. He looked around the barn and walked over to where they kept a cross set up. He stood on the platform and reached for a support beam in the barn and hauled himself up, doing chin ups, trying reason out his dream and feelings of sick anticipation.

Not getting a response, Grant frowned and bit his lower lip, looking towards their bed for some clue as to where his husband had gone. His eyes settled on the large Dreamcatcher that hung over there pillows, the early morning sunlight glinting off of the beads woven into the web, the beads that were clear the day Grant worked them into the weave only to darken to the colour of smoke as each one captured its capacity of bad dreams.

The child of the Medicine Woman was careful to make sure there were always clear beads available on the web before he would let he and his husband sleep beneath it, otherwise the bad dreams could slip through. Grant stepped closer to the bed and frowned as he noted the last clear bead was now smoky black. Reaching up he grasped the hoop and quickly flipped it off of the hook in the ceiling. He\'d have to burn this one and make a new one before nightfall. Holding the willow and sinew circle in his hand gingerly, he slipped his feet into a pair of clogs and made his way to the kitchen.

The coffee pot was on and the aroma thick in the air. So Damon couldn\'t be too far away. He pushed open the back door and stepped out in time to hear the sound of metal clanging against metal. \"Damon?\" he called out again as he walked towards the barn, holding the Dreamcatcher out from his body and shooing the clucking chickens from under his feet. \"Damon, is that you?\"

Damon had moved from the chin ups to sit ups and then to the weight bench, starting off with a low weight and working his way up to the ninety pounds he was now benching. He huffed out a breath and stopped his reps to sit up and began changing the steel weights to move up to one hundred pounds. He sat on the end of the bench and mopped his face. \"In here, Grant.\" He chalked his hands and leaned back to settle himself under the bar and took a deep breath. He lifted the weights and blew out the breath as he hefted them up and down, relishing in the burn of his muscles.

Grant pushed open the stall door and watched as Damon lay back on the bench and pressed the weights. He didn\'t say anything until his husband settled the bar back on the supports, then he moved forward, straddling the man\'s body and sitting lightly on his thighs, the Dreamcatcher propped up against the wall, all but forgotten. \"You know you promised me you wouldn\'t lift while you were alone,\" the little man chided gently and ran his fingers over his mate\'s sweaty abdomen. \"You are up early, baby. What\'s wrong?”

Damon sighed. \"It\'s daylight, time to get up, Injun.\" He said softly and searched his husband\'s face. \"I stayed well within the boundaries of safety, Pet. Nothing I can\'t handle at any other time.\" He smirked. “No more than chucking a few cases of Bud down at Cutty\'s.\" Goose flesh popped up where Grant\'s fingers slid over his stomach and he shivered. \"And what are you up to this morning?\"

Grant leaned forward and lay his arms over Damon\'s chest, propping himself up as he looked down into his lover\'s face. \"It\'s not yet eight o\'clock on a Sunday morning and I know we didn\'t go to bed until after two. You shouldn\'t be moving before ten,\" he said and leaned down to press a kiss to the corner of the man\'s mouth. \"The Dreamcatcher is full. I have to make a new one today.\" Grant rose back up to a sitting position and cocked his head as he looked at Damon closely. \"You had a bad dream, didn\'t you? What was it?\"

Damon closed his blue eyes and shook his head. He returned Grant\'s kissed and sighed. \"I wondered if that thing was going haywire.\" He opened his eyes and searched Grant\'s face once again. \"Do you have everything to make the new one? Do I need to go get anything for you?\" He held his tongue about the dream, not certain what he had actually seen and if it was really going to happen or not. Grant\'s sobs and Harry\'s platitudes though echoed in his ears and he swallowed wondering why it was Harry and not himself that had been trying to calm the distraught man.

Grant frowned for a moment as he thought. \"I can get the willow down at the creek, but I\'ll need something for the web. Leather will work I think, it isn\'t deer season, so I can\'t use sinew this time. I have more beads that Grandmother sent me,\" he said and looked down at his husband.

\"Damon, what was it? I can see it\'s making you sick,\" he said as he climbed off his husband\'s lap and offered him his hand. \"Walk with me to the creek? We can talk along the way.\" He was worried at the way Damon was acting; he had no idea what could be upsetting him so badly.

Damon sat up. \"There\'s some leather strips in our box in a bag from last year\'s deer if you want to use them I haven\'t down anything with them except bag them with the rest of the leavings from when we made toys last.\" He took Grant\'s hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the tanned skin and rubbed his face against his palm before standing.

\"It was just a bad dream, Pet.\" He led them out of the barn and across their property to the creek that ran through it. He looked at the cool water and wondered, really, if it was too cold to take a flying leap into the running water. He eyed Grant and knew the other man would hurt him if he jumped with Grant in his arms but he had the need to just do something to dispel the feeling still lodged in his chest.

Grant fished the pocket-knife out of his back pocket and quickly cut a few thin branches from one of the willows, laying them on the ground before he went back to Damon. \"I love you,\" he murmured as he put his arms around his man\'s waist and pressed his bare chest and cheek against his husband. He shook his head as the breeze caught at his hair, whipping it around his face lazily. He\'d not bothered with putting it up in a braid yet this morning and it simply hung loose over his bronzed shoulders. \"Love me?\"

\"Always, my Injun. Have I ever let you doubt it?\" Damon tipped the younger man\'s face up and smiled down into the chocolate brown eyes he loved so much. He ran his hands through the blowing strands and captured it. \"I love you with all that I am, my Grant.\"

\"Tell me what is hurting you,\" he whispered softly as he searched the tanned face of his husband of so many years, the blue eyes still clear, but troubled this morning.

Damon sighed and closed his eyes. \"I had... this dream, I think it was. I am still not certain, it seemed so real to life.\" His brow wrinkled trying to bring back the details he had worked so hard to suppress this morning. \"I don\'t know where I was but it was like I was watching from above or something.\" He frowned and shook his head. \"Here at the farm. There was laughter and sounds of people eating, merry making...\" He concentrated more seeing it come back as if an instant replay.

\"Bit and Sev, Lucius and the boy, the redhead friend, Ron, Max and his girls, almost like a Sunday dinner night. Even them damn dogs were running around.\" He snorted and took a deep breath. \"And it was loud, with laughter and everyone was having a really good time.\" He let go of Grant\'s hair and stroked the strands running the dark locks through his fingers almost as if they were a lifeline to reality. \"Then it was silent and there was a loud almost too loud ringing. It echoed and echoed and never seemed to quit. And then finally Harry turned around and called out Gracie\'s name.\"

He opened his eyes and looked down at his husband. \"Everyone stared at him for a moment then all of the sudden he had a phone receiver in his hand, an old timey one, big and clunky. You stepped forward and shouted and then fell to the ground as one by one the other people popped away almost like they were firecrackers going off until it was just you and Harry.\" Damon cupped Grant\'s face and searched his eyes. \"And you were crying these heart breaking sobs and I couldn\'t do anything but stand there and watch as Harry tried to console you and nothing he said was working.\" He shivered and captured Grant\'s mouth gently and stroked his thumbs on the other man\'s cheeks.

Grant rose up on his tiptoes and pressed against his husband, trying to take the bad dream from him. He hated seeing him upset like this. \"It\'s just a dream baby, just a dream,\" he whispered against the blonde’s lips and then opened his mouth to him again. He let his hands moved over the small of Damon\'s back and over the nearly non existent curve of his ass, pushing his own body against him harder, firmer as he sought to chase the memory of the bad dream away. He pulled away just enough to tug at the sweats Damon was wearing with nimble fingers, then pushing the man to the ground on his back.

He stood above him, the sunlight bright around him like a halo as he shucked his own jeans and then straddled his husband\'s waist, sitting on his upper thighs. \"Shhhh....\" he murmured and stroked Damon to a fully aroused state before he rose up on his knees and then sank down onto his man. He sought to reassure him that he was there and he was alright, safe within the ex Marine\'s arms as he rocked his hips and rode him slowly.

Damon sighed as Grant pressed against him and he held tighter to the other man. He raised an arm to cushion himself as Grant toppled him onto the grass. He looked up and gasped at his husband, looking all at once like he did when they were young as the sun cast the aura around him making him the young brave he never really was. He held up his arms to Grant and it seemed like the other man moved in slow motion and then his eyes were sliding shut as the Indian worked his mojo on his body.

He gave up and let Grant send him to heights they hadn\'t explored in some time and he could smell the grass and the morning dew surround them, nature and the wildness of the mountain filling him. The climax came as Grant sank down on him with contrasting heat and solidarity that grounded him and he looked up at his husband, their magic seeming to swirl on the breeze that blew past sending Grant\'s long hair flying out from his frame. Damon gripped the slim hips and thrust up into that heat, Grant\'s scent surrounding him and cleansing him like the manual labour couldn\'t. He groaned. \"My Injun.\" he whispered softly and trailed a hand across the other man\'s front to fist the little cock in front of him.

Grant laid a finger over his husband\'s lips to hush him and then reached down to move Damon\'s hand from his cock, moving it back to rest on his hip. He continued to rock and bounce silently, his eyes locked with his husband\'s as he felt Damon\'s length thrust into him deeply. He put his hands over Damon\'s and laced their fingers together, the early morning air filled with birdsong, sighs, and soft grunts.

Soon it was over and Grant felt Damon stiffen and then throbbing inside of him told him that his husband had come to completion and he stilled on top of him. Careful to keep Damon\'s softening cock within him, he laid forward until he was nestled against his husband\'s chest. Then he spoke. \"It\'s just a dream baby, just a dream. Harry\'s friend left yesterday and the Malfoys are leaving this afternoon.\"

Damon closed his eyes and nodded. \"I know, Pet but there was something else I didn\'t get to tell you.\" He ran his hands over Grant\'s back in circles along the tanned skin. \"There was someone else in the dream I didn\'t recognize. He was just standing there, was staring at you, and although I could have sworn that I had never seen him before he felt very familiar.\" He swallowed and tightened his arms around his husband.

\"He was blond, tall and slender built but he looked muscular. He stared at you and I saw he had some of your features. He had your brown eyes and the hair was long and braided like your cousins.\"

He raised Grant\'s face up to meet his eyes. \"The man held out his hand, it seemed, to me and a young woman appeared and took it.\" He stopped and closed his eyes again. \"Grant she looked just like Magpie and Gracie did except she had blue eyes.\"

Grant listened and he closed his eyes, that was how he\'d pictured Joshua and Amelia if they\'d ever had a chance to grow up. \"You were dreaming of the babies, weren\'t you?\" he asked softly and laid his head back down over Damon\'s hear, needing to hear the steady beating to calm himself down.

He wasn\'t surprised Damon had dreamed of them, he knew he had been as well the past few nights after everything that had happened the other morning with Harry. He raised his hand up and wiped a stray tear from his eyes and sighed softly. His man had promised to bring Amelia home and they would bury her next to her brother in the Wolffe family plot.

Grant stayed straddled on his man\'s body for a few more long moments before he pushed himself up to look down at him. \"The web is full baby, that\'s why you had the dreams. We need to burn it together to make sure the ones within it stay trapped before I make the new one, alright?\" he said softly and then got to his feet slowly, pulling his baggie jeans back on and slipping his feet back into his shoes before holding a hand out to Damon.

Damon took his husband\'s hand, stood then turned and ran into the babbling creek. He ducked his head under and sat there for a moment before surfacing then stalked out of the cold, cold water. He shook his head and sighed. \"Thank you.\" He walked over to Grant and pulled him close for a kiss then bent and pulled on his sweats. \"Let\'s go do that now, knowing Harry, the boy will be here at noon wanting Sunday dinner and we\'ve got to go to Clangman\'s before it closes for chops. Will you make the glazed ones?\"

Grant tried hard not to laugh as his husband came out of the cold water tinged bluish and shook like a mangy stray mutt, only putting on a show of trying to keep the wet man off of him as he was pressed against his dripping chest.

\"I told Sev when he called last night to give us some time today since you closed the bar last night. I figured you might like to sleep in, but you are most likely right. Harry and his stomach will be here soon enough,\" he laughed as he bent to pick up the willow branches he\'d collected and held his hand out for his husband to take.

\"You want the bourbon glazed ones or the apple glazed, baby?\" he asked as they set off towards the house, the sun warming them and trying to chase away the feelings of foreboding over both of the men.

He snorted and nodded. \"Let\'s go with the apple, Pet because I don\'t want to bring alcohol in the house. Not tonight, I don\'t need the temptation.\" Damon brought their twined hands to his mouth and kissed the tanned fingers. \"Remind me to take extra special care of you later, baby. I realize that you were giving comfort yet you took none for yourself.\"

\"Apple it is then,\" Grant said as he gave the larger hand a squeeze. They came up behind the barn and the small man turned to his husband. \"You don\'t worry about me, alright, old man? I\'m fine.\" He handed the willow branches to Damon so he could carry the full Dreamcatcher and not turn loose of the other man’s hand.

Grant stepped inside the barn and picked up the Dreamcatcher, careful to hold it by the rim and keep it away from his body as he carried it. \"Where do you want to burn this, Damon? I want to get rid of it quickly, alright?\"

Damon sighed. \"We\'ll see. I\'ve never disposed of one with you, baby so you\'ll have to guide me through it.\" He held out a hand to his husband again and smiled. \"It\'s nice having you home more. After this, would you like to do something, anything, together? I feel the need to keep you close today, my Grant.\"

Grant took his husband\'s hand with his free one and smiled up at him. \"Over by the burn barrel will work, that\'s where I burnt the last one,\" he said as he tugged his husband over to the fifty five gallon oil drum they used to dispose of some of their rubbish.

\"You say you like me home now, give it a month though,\" the smaller man laughed as he waited for Damon to scrape a spot on the ground to lay the web and then set fire to it. \"You\'ll be so sick of me being in your hair, you\'ll put me back to work.\"

Damon smiled. \"I know how to handle you if you start to get on my nerves.\" His grinned curved into a wicked smile and he pulled the other man to him. \"I\'ll just tie you up and gag you for a while then we\'ll see how you are behaving then.\"

As soon as he could, he dropped the Dreamcatcher to the ground and stood back as Damon shot a spark at it with his wand. He grasped his husband\'s hand tightly. \"Don\'t think of bad things, just good ones as it burns, Damon,\" he whispered. The Dreamcatcher caught and flared quickly, burning hot and the beads popping one by one and little clouds of sparks were sent up into the morning air as the bad dreams were trapped and destroyed.

Grant nodded as the web became nothing but smoking ash and he turned to Damon and smiled. \"See, that didn\'t take long at all. Are you going to sit with me while I make a new one?\"

Despite all that Grant had done, the uneasy feeling was still eating away at his heart. Part of him wanted to believe that it was just a dream but there was another part of him that had awakened when he had become Grant\'s lover so many years ago. Every now and again he could hear those drums and see the costumed Indians in the back of his mind. It unsettled him sometimes but he had learn over the years to heed whatever was trying to be gotten across to him. \"I most certainly will, my Own. I\'ll even try to help if you like.\"

\"Are you hungry, Damon?\" he asked as he pulled his husband towards the house, he wanted to get the new Dreamcatcher made before he did anything else that day. He wouldn\'t sleep that night without it hanging over him. \"I think there are still some cinnamon rolls from yesterday if you\'d like those, or I can make you something.\"

Once in the back door, Grant turned his husband\'s hand loose and put the willow branches on the table before he went into the laundry room and pulled his sewing basket off of one of the shelves. He took it to the table and found his husband looking at him in amusement.

\"What?\" he asked as he sat down in his chair. \"Where are the leather scraps you said we have? I\'d like to use those. It\'s better to have something from your kill.\"

\"Nothing, Injun, nothing.\" Damon realized he was suddenly famished. \"The cinnamon rolls are fine. Would you like me to heat them for us while you start? I think I can manage some sausages or bacon as well if you like, without burning down the house.\" He turned to the fridge and got out the gooey sticky buns he loved.

\"The leather is upstairs in our toy chest that Max gave us.\" He sighed, feeling suddenly sentimental and wondered if once again he was having some kind of sympathy symptoms as he had while they were in Japan and Grant was pregnant with Amelia. \"Remember the fun we had making the doeskin floggers.\" He smiled at his husband.

Grant chuckled and remembered the night he\'d ended up more tangled than helping as his husband was carefully braiding the new floggers. They had given one to Max and one to Severus that year for Christmas. He looked at his husband and grinned.

\"You know what sounds so good... ham. I think I\'d like some ham and eggs,\" he said as he quickly finished stripping the bark from the branch he was preparing. When he was finished, it would end up being a hoop nearly three foot across and wrapped in leather.

\"Would you mind getting the leather for me and I\'ll put some ham on to cook for us?\" he asked as he laid the branch to the side and stood up to wash his hands. He could tell Damon was still upset by his dreams, and truth be told, he was a little unnerved as well to hear his husband describe their children as he could see them in his mind\'s eye. He just wanted the day to go smoothly with no problems. It was Sunday and he was making dinner for his family.

Damon nodded and kissed the top of Grant\'s head as he stood at the sink, rinsing his hands. The older man left the kitchen and propped the swinging door open on his way out then quickly went down the hall to their room and sank to his knees to retrieve the bag of leather hides. Once finished he replaced the other items in the trunk and then returned to the kitchen. \"Apple glazed chops and what else would you like, my Grant? We can take the cycle to the store for one last ride before the winds are too cold, yeah?\"

Grant looked up from where he was turning the slices of ham and smiled. \"I\'d love a ride on the bike Damon. I think it\'s going to warm up nicely and it won\'t take me long to do this once I start.\" He laid the fork on the spoon rest and went back to the table.

\"Can you watch that?\" he asked as he pulled out a fair sized piece of hide and his sharpest scissors. He began to cut a narrow spiral strip an eighth of an inch wide that would hopefully be enough to weave the entire web when he finished it. \"What else would you like to have? I think there may be a few green tomatoes left on the vine if you\'d like those fried up.\"

Damon picked up the fork and stabbed at the slices of ham, moving them around in the hot skillet so they wouldn\'t stick. \"That sounds good and how about some stuffing to go with the chops? Got to have a vegetable for Bit and Bump, too.\" He turned the slices and then set down the fork and retrieved the butter and eggs from the fridge. \"You want scrambled or fried?\"

\"I don\'t care,\" Grant murmured as he sliced his way through the leather, his brow wrinkled in concentration so he didn\'t cut too thin and break the piece.

\"Damon, did you call about bringing her home?\" The words were spoken softly, barely above a whisper, but it could have just as easily been shouted in the spacious kitchen. Grant looked up from what he was doing for a moment and saw Damon standing with the fork poised over the skillet, a look of pain on his face.

\"I\'m sorry baby, I shouldn\'t have asked,\" he said softly, he hated seeing Damon looking as if he were haunted by something and in this case, they were both haunted by memories of what their children might have grown up to become.

Damon stabbed the slices and transferred them from the pan to a platter and then stuck it in the microwave. \"I did, that same afternoon and they are trying to locate the necessary parties I need to speak with.\" He cleared his throat and then removed the pan from the burner. He ran water over the surface and then dried it with a paper towel.

He placed it back on the burner and slapped a large pat of butter into the center. Turning the fire low, he then pulled down two bowls. He cracked the first egg into one bowl made certain there were no feathers or blood in the egg and then poured it into the other bowl. Years of watching, first his mother then Grant in the kitchen had taught him a thing or two but it was mostly the simple food he could make without poisoning them.

He continued to crack and check the eggs as he talked. \"It\'s alright, Pet. You have every right to ask and know the answer.\"

Grant didn\'t say anything more, he just pulled out another piece of leather and began cutting a wider strip in the same manner as he\'d done the last one. As soon as he had it finished, he picked up the willow branch and bent it around into a hoop, securing it with one end of the wider strip of leather.

Singing softly to himself in Lakhota, he began to wrap the branch in leather as he wove the spells of protection, love, and safety over and over again.

His small hands and narrow fingers soon had the willow covered and he looked up to see Damon staring at him as he ate, Grant\'s own food sitting in front of him growing colder by the moment. \"I\'m sorry,\" he whispered, \"I can\'t stop, I have to finish now that I\'ve started.\"

He picked up the narrow strip and placed the first knot of the web, his voice once more singing softly and growing in volume and intensity. Every so often he would pick up one of the clear glass beads his Grandmother had sent him and string it onto the leather before he tied it into place.

Nearly forty five minutes later, his voice cracked and parched sounding, he laid the completed Dreamcatcher on the table and sat back in his chair with his eyes closed, breathing heavily through his nose. \"It\'s ready.\"

Damon had finished eating and sat quietly while Grant had woven the web. The soft almost guttural singing almost worked as a balm to his soul and he felt a little bit better for hearing it and watching Grant work. He pulled the younger man into his lap and held him, rocking him in his arms. \"What can I get you?\" He asked softly as he placed a kiss to his husband\'s sweating brow.

Grant\'s Indian magic was strong in its own right but left him worn out after a singing spell since he rarely used the native magicks. Damon couldn\'t remember the last time he had heard Grant put such force behind a song.

He picked up his wand and first opened the fridge door then summoned the water pitcher that was kept next to the ever full tea jug. He filled the juice glass and held it up for his Own to drink. \"You need to eat as well, Injun. That was some powerful singing you did.\"

The smaller man simply nodded and drank deeply until it was empty and motioned for more. \"Thank you Damon, I\'ll heat my plate and eat in a moment. I just really wanted to finish and make sure it wouldn\'t let anymore bad dreams in.\"

He looked at his plate and picked up the piece of ham, bringing it up to take a bite as he ignored the congealed eggs for the moment. \"Would you summon the bread and I\'ll just make a sandwich?\" he asked as he leaned back against Damon\'s chest and took another bite of the salty meat before he drank more water.

Damon nodded and was grateful for his husband\'s talent in this type of magic. He understood the words and spoke fluently but the singing had never worked for him. Only through Grant could he touch that Power.

The whole wheat and three grain bread floated softly to the table as well as the rest of the left over ham slices. \"Would you like some cheese and fruit with that, Pet?\" He raised his wand ready to summon whatever the younger man wanted to consume and pressed a kiss to the man\'s hair.

Grant just shook his head and opened the bag to get a slice that he wrapped around the rest of the ham and stuffed in his mouth as fast as he could chew.

He looked up at Damon and laughed. \"I\'m being a pig,\" he said as he took another slice of bread and forked his eggs onto it before taking a huge bite. \"Merlin, that takes it out of a person.\"

After the little man finished his food and what had been left on Damon\'s plate, more water, juice and milk, he rubbed his belly and belched behind his hand. \"Excuse me,\" he laughed and got off of his husband\'s lap to take his dishes to the sink and rinse everything before it went into the dishwasher.

\"Damon, could you hang that over the bed for me?\" he asked as he dried his hands and sat back down. \"I\'ll make out the shopping list and be ready in a few minutes.\"

Damon nodded and stood then once again wrapped his arms around the younger man and kissed the top of his head. He knew he was being a worrywort and was most likely upsetting Grant as well but even after all the magicks, his unease took hold once again and he would rather be annoyingly clingy to the other man that take the chance of not being there when something finally did happen.

He grabbed the Dreamcatcher off the table and turned to look back at his husband. \"Want to shower with me before we go? The dip in the creek was fun but I need a shower now.\"

Grant turned his large, doe like eyes on Damon and regarded him silently for a moment. He set aside the pad and pen he\'d picked up and nodded. \"Sure babe, I\'d like that.\"

He stood and just on a whim, he took hold of the back of Damon\'s waistband and smiled at him. \"I\'m right here baby, not going anywhere without me,\" he said gently and tugged on the elastic. He could tell Damon was still off kilter from his dream and he\'d begun having a sense of unease worming in his gut. He followed along a step behind Damon to their bedroom.

Damon nodded as he led them up the stairs to their room. He hung the new Dreamcatcher on the hook and watched it spin in the morning light for a moment and then looked down at his husband. He gave the other man a weak smile. \"Set out some clothes for us, Pet then we can leave.\"

Keeping a close eye on his husband, Grant quickly pulled out clothing for them both and joined Damon for a quick shower. After they dried and dressed quickly, he followed Damon into the kitchen, his fingers tucked in the man\'s waistband once more.

He tugged Damon to a stop at the hall closet where he was getting their jackets. \"Damon, would you feel better if the kids didn\'t come over today?\" he asked worriedly, he wondered if he shouldn\'t just take the man back upstairs and put him back to bed with as distracted as he was acting.

While they had been in the house, the sky had clouded and now a light rain was falling, normally not enough to keep the men off the bike, but the wind was chilly. Grant looked at Damon and then at the rain. \"We could take the car.\"

\"No, Grant. I know you like having them here and maybe my mood will improve having little Sarah here.\" Damon looked out at the front yard and shook his head. \"I think you are right, we\'d better take the car.” I\'ll drive so you can make your list. Grab your pad cause I know it\'s driving you insane not to have made the thing out yet.\" Sighing, he smirked and shook his head. \"I am sorry, Pet. I have made you worry and I didn\'t want to do that today.\"

Grant took the keys to his little Mustang from the hook and handed them to the other man. \"I\'m worried about you,\" he said softly as his fingers curled around those of his man\'s and he looked up at him thoughtfully.

He opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch as a flash of lightening lit up the darkened skies. \"You know, they may not show up in this weather baby, do you think we should call before we buy all this food?\" He wasn\'t worried about a notepad, Merlin knew he had a supply in his glove box just for note taking and list making emergencies.

\"I know, baby.\" He squeezed Grant\'s hand then let the smaller hand fall from his as Grant opened the door. He looked out at the weather and wrinkled his nose. It hadn’t been raining in the dream.

The thunder rumbled and the phone rang as he turned back to look at Damon. \"Hold on, I\'ll get that.\"

Damon stiffened for a moment and couldn\'t move as Grant walked past him to answer the phone. He waited, holding his breath to see who the caller was, eyes focused on the young man.

Grant answered as he kept an eye on Damon and then started laughing. \"Yes Harry, I\'m cooking today. You don\'t have to worry, you aren\'t going to starve,\" he laughed and listened to the young man on the other end of the line.

\"I think we\'ll be eating around three, so come over whenever you are ready. We are going to the market now and should be back in about an hour or so, so if you want to come over about twelve thirty that would be fine.\" He listened for a few more minutes and then hung up after saying goodbye.

He walked back to Damon, laughing softly as he leaned up on his tiptoes and kissed the other man. \"That was Bit, apparently he\'s starving since Severus wouldn\'t make breakfast and he was out of cereal.\"

Harry, not the mystery caller. Damon sagged for a moment and then shook his head. \"That boy needs an ass whooping. He knows Harry\'s got to gain weight. They can\'t go around eating fast food and junk anymore.\" He sighed and then slapped his forehead. \"Merlin, I\'m starting to sound like you.\" He grinned at his husband.

Grant flashed him a grin and pinched his butt as he walked past him out onto the porch. \"Are you ready to make a run for it?\" he asked as he eyed the rain and turned the collar up on his jacket.

Laughing as Damon grabbed his hand and tugged him out into the rain, he ran with his husband to where his little car was parked and quickly got into the passenger seat as Damon held the door for him.

\"Come on baby,\" he laughed as Damon got into the car and shook his wet head. \"Let\'s get this done and get home so I can feed the horde.\" He pulled out one of his note pads and began to write, lifting his arms enough to let Damon pull his seat belt around and buckle it in place. \"Thank you, love.\"

Damon nodded and kissed Grant hard on the mouth then pulled his wand and charmed them dry before starting up the car and turning on the defrosters. He let the car warm for a few moments, watching the rain fall in hard sheets then it eased some. He flipped on the wipers and turned the car around and headed out of their drive to town.

\"So apple glazed pork chops, stuffing and fried green tomatoes, is that everything we are having? What are we doing about dessert because you know max and Sev will have to have their sweets.\" He eyed Grant with a smirk on his face.

Grant thoughtfully sucked the tip of his pen as he planned the meal in his head. \"I think a salad would be nice, maybe some peas?\" he asked as he wrote items down on his list. \"Damn, I forgot my glasses and I can\'t see squat. Would you like chocolate cake for dessert?\"

He squinted and held the pad out, making out what he\'d written and then muttered some more and wrote bigger. \"I swear I need to have the things tied to me. I had them in the kitchen while I was doing the web, they must still be on the table,\" he sighed and gave up. He\'d just have to remember what he needed.

Damon just shook his head and concentrated on driving. \"You\'d look like a little old lady with them on a chain, I think.\" He snorted and chuckled.

\"Rabbit food is fine, I guess. But I think the peas would be better. Creamed?\" he asked hopefully.

Thinking with his eyes closed, Grant smirked and held up one hand and extended his index finger at his husband. \"I will never look like an old lady, thank you very much. I\'ll do the salad and the peas and just for you, I\'ll cream them,\" he said and dropped his hand down to rest on his husband\'s leg as they pulled into a parking slot in front of the market.

\"Let\'s get what we need and get home. Harry and Sev will be there in a little bit and I want to have the hard stuff done before Harry wants to help,\" the small man laughed as he opened his door and then ran for the doors of the market.

Damon chuckled. \"He just wants to learn, Pet. It\'s good for him to want to do something like that; it will build his confidence back up.\"

It seemed to the older man that their shopping had gone quicker than any other time he had gone to help Grant. Now whether that was because he was actually being distracted enough to leave behind the morning\'s events or what, he didn’t know, but they soon had all the groceries packed in Grant\'s trunk and were heading home.

Once back at the farmhouse, he backed up the classic convertible to the kitchen door as close as he could and then looked up as Sev and Harry pulled up in the big truck. Through the windshield and slowly, stopping rain he could see they boy was turned in the seat and talking to his friend.

Damon swallowed. \"Pet, I think that they\'ll be one more for dinner. The redhead is still here.\"

\"What?\" Grant asked as he twisted around in his seat and looked at Damon, he couldn\'t see much without his glasses. \"He was supposed to be gone already. Well... I\'ll make something work for the chops. There aren\'t any Malfoys in there, are there?\" He added as an afterthought.

He undid his belt and got out of the car as Severus walked up to him and embraced him gently. \"Hello baby. Why don\'t you help Damon carry the food in and I\'ll get Harry settled, his friend can help in the kitchen or putter around with you all in the barn,\" he said as he kissed his boy\'s cheek. \"Max and Allie will be here in a little while.\"

Severus nodded. “I am sorry I didn’t even think to inform you we still had Ron. Harry convinced him last night that one of your Sunday dinners was not to be missed. Is there anything I need to go to the store for to make certain there is enough for everyone? Clangman‘s is still open for a bit longer.”

Harry looked up at the older Dom and smiled a huge grin at him. \"Hello sir. Do you know if Grant is making biscuits?\" he asked and then laughed as Ron poked him from behind.

Damon grinned and looked down at Harry. “No, Bit I don’t think he is but then again I think he is planning on making cornbread for this evening. So if you want the biscuits you need to ply him your plea and see if he will cave.” He reached out and stroked the boy’s hair. “Can I try again?” and he pointed to Harry’s belly.

Ron made a face. “Help in the kitchen? I didn’t know I was going to be put to work for my meals. It’s almost like being at home. Please tell me we can use magic?” He laughed and picked up some bags out of the trunk.

Harry smiled shyly and pulled his jumper up a bit for Damon to lay his hand on his bared tummy. \"She\'s been pretty active, she\'s up around my ribs now,\" he said as the older man\'s large, warm hand was pressed to his skin. He was hoping Reganne would let her Pop Pop feel her move today. \"I don\'t care really what Grant makes, I\'m just hungry.\"

Grant smiled at Severus and patted his arm. \"It\'s alright, I\'d bought a couple of extra chops for Damon\'s lunch tomorrow, there should be plenty. The Malfoys coming as well?\" he asked as he looked over at where Damon was feeling Harry’s tummy and then down their long driveway expectantly. He turned to look at the red head that was lifting out sacks of groceries and smiled.

\"Magic is not allowed in my kitchen while we are cooking young man, you can go out and spend the time with Damon and Severus in the barn or whatever it is they are going to be doing,\" he said as he went up the steps to the back door and pushed it open. It was nice living in the country, most of the time they never bothered to lock their doors.

Ron nodded and followed the older man into the kitchen and sighed. It reminded him of his mother\'s place and he felt glad once again that Harry was happy here; he could return tonight and report happily to his wife that Harry indeed had come to the best place for him. \"Thank you for the explanation the other day and for accepting Harry and me, by extension, into your home and lives.\"

Damon smiled and nodded. Harry’s smooth skin was warm and he waited for the child to move and when she didn\'t, he shook his head. \"Stubborn brat, just like her other father.\" He moved his hand and pulled the jumper back down and patted the protruding belly. He frowned and then looked at Harry\'s eyes. \"You\'ll keep an eye on Grant for me while I entertain your friend and Severus this afternoon?\" He searched the young man\'s face to see if he understood what he was asking and requesting of him.

Severus shook his head and followed Ron into the kitchen. \"Little Evette fire called last night and worked her charms on her father and grandfather and of course you know they went running to appease the young lady.\"

Grant looked at Severus and laughed, he could tell that the younger blond was desperately missing his child and it didn\'t surprise him in the least that all it had taken was a firecall to get him home. Patting Ron\'s arm, he turned to open the bags from the grocer, Severus picking up items and putting them where he knew the older man kept things. \"It\'s good to have company, Ron and our home is always big enough for family.\"

Outside Harry looked up into Damon\'s worried blue eyes and bit his lower lip; of course he\'d watch Grant. \"Sir, is something wrong with him? Is he sick?\" he asked softly and looked worriedly toward the back door.

Damon sighed. \"No, I don\'t think so but I have an uneasy feeling and I\'ve worried him enough this morning.\" He swallowed and turned Harry\'s face back to him. \"I trust you with him; Harry and I don\'t often do something like that. I know you can protect him if something were to happen.\" He shook his head. \"I\'m not saying it\'s going to and I don\'t want to scare you as well, but indulge an old man if you would? One warrior to another, yeah?\"

Harry looked solemnly at Damon, he understood and no harm would come to Grant while he was looking over him. \"You know I\'ll stop anything at the door sir, he\'ll be safe with me. I\'m honoured that you trust me, thank you. I shan\'t let you down,\" he said strongly and reached to feel his wand in his back pocket. He\'d learn to respect the feelings people had when they told him something didn\'t feel right to them. It had save his life a time or three.

Damon nodded and clasped his shoulder squeezing it gently. \"Thank you, I know you won\'t. You are a good man, Harry and Sev is damn lucky to have you.\" He smiled and nodded towards the kitchen. \"Go on in there and send them boys out here. There are some of Grant\'s cinnamon rolls in the fridge as well. If he gives you grief about it tell him I said you could eat them all if you wanted.\"

\"Thank you Damon,\" Harry said and with a grin, he was up the back steps and in the kitchen. \"Sev, Damon said for you and Ron to go on out.\" He stopped to give Grant a hug before he zeroed in on the refrigerator and found the cinnamon rolls.

Grant only laughed as he watched Harry hug them protectively to his chest as his friend made a grab for one. He shooed Severus and Ron out of his kitchen and waved his wand over Harry\'s rolls to warm them before he found his glasses where he\'d left them on the kitchen table. Glancing at the clock over the sink, he judged his time and sat down at the table with one of his cookbooks.

\"We\'ll get started after you eat, Bit,\" he said as he put markers between the pages of each recipe he\'d be using and got up to pour himself a glass of tea, pouring milk for Harry.

Outside, Severus followed a quiet Damon out to the barn with Ron in tow. \"Da, are you alright today?\" he asked softly as he came abreast of him and turned on the light in the old building as the older man opened the door for them.

Damon nodded. \"I\'ll live, just leave the barn door open so we can hear if Harry and Grant need us. i want to get Grant\'s cycle back up to speed. I picked up the part he need for the carburetor and then we\'ll need to take it for a test ride.\" He looked back at Ron. \"You wanna learn to ride, young man?\"

In the kitchen Harry watched Grant as he devoured the rolls. The other man flipped through the pages and marked certain ones and he swallowed a piece of the roll and then took a long swallow of the milk before asking about dinner and what Damon had asked him, as subtly as possible. \"What are we making today? It\'s it easy? Why is Damon worried about you? Will I be able to do it by myself later?\"

Grant looked up at the boy and smiled at his curiosity. \"We\'re going to make glazed pork chops with stuffing, fried green tomatoes, creamed peas, a salad, some sort of bread, and a chocolate cake. No, none of it is hard Harry,\" he replied as he took off his glasses and sucked thoughtfully on one ear piece. Damon was still worried. \"Damon had an odd dream last night and it\'s bothering him, but I don\'t think it\'s anything to worry about Harry.\"

He rose and began to take the ingredients he needed for the cake out of the cupboards. \"You\'ll be able to do all of this, like I said, it\'s fairly easy. If you are finished, we\'ll start the cake.\"

Harry grinned at him. \"That was pretty good I normally confuse Severus some when I do that and he spills something he was hiding from me in the first place. Thank you for answering about Damon though when you didn\'t have to.\" He couldn\'t lie to the other man. \"He asked me to watch over you while he was out of the house. One soldier to another.\"

He bit into another cinnamon roll and moaned. Merlin, he loved the sticky buns. Grant\'s were better than Sev\'s, he thought, but then again Sev had used Grant\'s recipe. He wondered if Grant did like Sev when he shared a potions recipe. He had heard some chefs left out one small ingredient so that it never quite tasted like the original. He drank down the rest of his milk. \"If it\'s not too much to ask, what was it like being in the service with him? How did you manage to keep it a secret that you were lovers? Sev and I had a hard enough time in the present.\"

Grant sucked his breath in at Harry\'s question; of course the boy didn\'t know about Gracie, no one had had reason to ever tell him. Calmly, he measured out the flour he needed as he replied. \"We were married while Damon was in the service Harry. I went with him to Japan for four years right before he got out. We had our ways that no one knew.\" He measured out his baking soda and waited to see if the boy would press the issue.

Harry\'s eyes widened. \"You did? How? Severus never let it be known in the public halls of Hogwarts that we were together for fear of getting us both fired. He wouldn\'t even sit with me at the Head Table.\" He finished off the last cinnamon rolls on the plate and placed the plate in the sink and ran water over it. He placed it in the dishwasher and refilled his glass of milk then while he was at it he added some tea to Grant\'s glass, as well. He sat back down and drank deeply before continuing. \"I\'m sorry, I shouldn\'t pry.\"

\"No one could know Damon was gay, Harry,\" Grant said as he set the mixing bowl to one side and turned to face him. \"Hold on a moment, alright? I\'ll be right back.\"

He left the kitchen and went into their bedroom, stooping to take one of the many photo albums from bottom shelf of the bookcase against the wall. On the front it was marked simply \'Japan\', he ran his fingers over it lovingly and took it into the kitchen. \"Look through this Harry,\" he said as he laid the leather covered album in front of him and turned back to the batter he was making.

Harry wiped his hands on a napkin as Grant went back to making the cake. He flipped open the cover and smiled at the picture of Damon in his uniform. \"Whoa! Damon looks good in his uniform. What is it about a man in uniform? Merlin, it was the uniform that made you choose him, wasn\'t it?\" He chuckled and turned the page.

Several pictures of the exotic looking island and its people and places graced the next few pages and then there was some of Damon and Grant. He looked up at the other man before turning back to flip through the pages again seeing the pictures but not really looking at them. \"It looks like it was beautiful there.\"

\"It was Harry, very pretty and Merlin it was hot,\" Grant laughed, surprised the boy hadn\'t said anything yet. \"The other couple in the pictures were the couple that lived next door to us. A Captain and his wife, very nice people, from Iowa I think it was.\" He added the eggs and sugar and let Harry keep looking.

Harry nodded and stopped at one particular picture of Damon and Grant, it looked like. The couple was caught, frozen in time, dancing. The woman\'s skirt was flared out and Damon had a grin on his face. The look on the woman\'s face was pure Grant but the lipstick and make up couldn\'t be right. He bent closer to the picture. \"Who is this woman Damon is dancing with? Did Magpie come and visit with you?\"

Grant closed his eyes. \"No Harry, my family wasn\'t speaking with me during that time. Just keep looking alright,\" he said as he opened his eyes and poured the batter into a non-stick pan, thumping it against the countertop to knock out the air bubbles. He had no idea how Harry was going to react to the lengths he\'d gone to, to keep Damon\'s secret safe while he was in the service.

\"I\'m sorry, are you alright? I didn’t meant to bring back bad memories.\" Harry\'s brow crinkled and he turned the page and found one of Grant, pregnant. The younger man had on a robe of some kind and Damon was standing behind him, his hands splayed over the big belly. \"Oh, Grant you were pregnant in this one. Look at you.\" He said softly. He quickly flipped the page to the next set and looked up at Grant. “Do you want me to put this away? I am so sorry, Grant. I\'ll belt up about the questions.\"

Letting out a short laugh, Grant smiled at Harry and came to sit next to him. \"No Harry, it\'s alright,\" he said gently as he put one hand over the younger man\'s. \"I was certainly as big as a house, wasn\'t I?\" He turned the page for Harry and let him look, wondering if the boy had figured it out yet, or if his mind was refusing to see the obvious.

\"It always amazes me just how ugly the clothes were back then,\" he laughed as he saw a picture of himself in what he knew had been a polyester dress in a sick lime colour that had been all the rage.

Harry looked down at the page and then back at Grant. \"Who\'s that?\" He looked again and picked the book up to inspect it closer and then dropped it back on the table. \"That\'s you! Oh gods, why are you dressed like that?!?\" He stared at Grant in wonder and confusion.

Grant pulled the photo album to himself and looked down at the picture, running his fingers over it. He wasn\'t ashamed of what he\'d done; it was simply part of who he was in this world. \"I did what I had to do to be with my husband, Harry. On the Marine Corps records, Damon is listed as being married to his wife, Grace. That\'s me,\" he said by way of explanation. \"I lived as a female the entire time I was in Japan and any time I had to be on base or around Damon\'s friends while he was in the service.\"

Harry stared at Grant. \"Wait… you and I are alike…. Merlin. I am a woman.\" He said softly and jumped up from the table and ran out the back door. \"Severus! Severus! Where are you?!?\"

Damon looked up at Harry\'s shout and ran out the barn door.

Severus dropped the wrench he was holding and ran past Damon to get to Harry. \"What? Are you alright?\" he demanded as he grabbed the young man and held him at arm\'s length to look at him for injury.

Grant quickly came out the backdoor after him, a look of embarrassment on his face as he saw how the younger man had reacted to the fact he\'d cross dressed for several years. \"I... oh Damon,\" he sighed softly and just stood on the top step and looked on at Harry and Severus.

Damon ran up to Grant and grabbed him, folding him into his arms. \"What happened, are you alright?\" He rubbed Grant\'s back and stared at him, concern and fear written on his face.

Harry looked at him, like he had lost his mind then smirked. “I am fine however I am not dressing in drag for you for any reason.\" He slapped the other man on the shoulder. \"Why didn\'t you tell me about Grant? I wouldn\'t have acted like such an arse they last time we were here.\"

Ron stared at the two couples wand drawn and at the ready. \"What\'s going on?\"

Grant took comfort from his man\'s strong arms and turned his face to press it against his husband\'s broad chest. \"Harry\'d asked me how we managed to be together while you were still in the service,\" he said softly. \"I showed him some of our pictures. I think I\'d like to go back inside now please.\" He turned to the door and let Damon usher him in to where he felt safe again.

Severus looked at Harry like he\'d lost his mind for a moment and then laughed gently. \"No love, you\'ll never have to dress in anything you don\'t have to.\" He pulled Harry to him and rubbed his back gently. \"I\'m sorry, I never even thought about telling you about that, to me Grant and Gracie are the same person. I don\'t make a distinction.\"

Harry looked at Ron and laughed. \"Put your wand away Ron, its okay, Grant\'s just a cross dresser.\"

The words were heard clearly through the open window of the kitchen and Grant stiffened in Damon\'s arms. \"I\'m going to the bedroom, please don\'t let them bother me Damon,\" he said and left the kitchen, the sound of the bedroom door closing coming a moment later.

Damon nodded and shook his head. He walked out to the yard. \"Harry, could I have a word with you please.\"

\"Yes sir,\" he said and turned away from Severus with a grin on his face, following the older man.

Damon went back into the kitchen and sat at the table. \"Have a seat young man. I want you to tell me what happened because Grant\'s upset again.\" he said sternly.

Harry sat down and looked worriedly at the door leading out of the kitchen. \"I just asked how you two had managed while you were in the service and he showed me pictures of him in drag Damon. I wasn\'t expecting that,\" he said as he toyed with the corner of the photo album. \"Where is he?\"

Damon closed his eyes. \"Harry, he\'s gone to our room.\" He rubbed his temples. \"He heard what you said about bring a cross dresser and I don\'t think that\'s something you should have blurted out there in front of your friend. You already know how he feels about your lifestyle. How would you like it if Grant had said something along the lines of your service to Sev in front of the Headmaster at that school of yours?\" He told Harry gently.

\"I\'m sorry, Damon. I guess I was just so relieved to know I didn\'t have to do that that I didn\'t watch what I said,\" the younger man said the regret clear in his voice. He looked up at Damon, he just didn\'t understand how they could have lived like that. \"How could you stand it? I\'m sorry, I just really don\'t understand, having that between my legs is one thing, but to dress like a bloody girl?\"

Damon sighed. \"It\'s not really my place to tell you this but you need to understand something. Think back to the time we were all on the res. Do you remember how they treated you when they found out you were winkte? Now put yourself in Grant\'s place and think about being raised that way being told you weren\'t really a boy even though you had yet to grow the parts you have now.\"

He looked at Harry. \"He did what he had to so we could be together. Did you not do the same when Dumbledore was in the fire at Sturgis? Oh yes, I heard about that as well.\"

Harry was quiet for a moment as he realized that he\'d been treated the same as Allie and Hermione had been treated, he\'d been seen as a woman. \"I was a woman to them, wasn\'t I?\" he asked softly. \"They don\'t see Grant as a man, do they?\" Merlin, how could someone put up with that and not go insane?

He was quiet for a few more moments and then something occurred to him and he opened his mouth once more without thinking. \"He doesn\'t still run around like a drag queen does he?\" he asked a bit uneasily at the thought of maybe having Grant answer the door one day made up like Dame Edna.

\"Yes you are and always will be Sev\'s little woman. No, they don\'t see him as a grown man. But he is a man regardless.\" Damon closed his eyes. \"What the hell is wrong with you? Of course not, when have you ever seen him like that?\" He got up and went to the door.

\"Sev! Get in here and deal with your husband. I can\'t. I am going to smack him with the stupid stick and hope it reverses some of his brain damage.\"

Sev looked up from where he was dealing with a very sheepish looking Ron and nodded. \"What did he do, Da?\" he asked as he climbed the four steps onto the back porch and looked in the back door to where Harry was sitting and looking contrite.

Damon sighed. \"Gracie.\" It was all he said and left the room to see to Grant.

Severus entered the kitchen and sat down at the table. Silent, he just looked at Harry and waited for him to speak. He was already irritated by how Ron had behaved at Harry\'s callous remark about Grant and he knew he\'d have to curb his tongue with his husband.

Harry looked at his husband. \"Why is everyone so sensitive about Gracie... Grant... whatever? Why did Damon make him dress like that?\"

Severus raised an eye brow and looked at Harry. \"Damon didn\'t make him dress like that. He did it of his own free choice so he could be with his husband. Grant isn\'t a drag queen, this isn\'t a fetish for them in the least,\" he attempted to explain and then stopped. \"Grant was just raised a lot differently than you, alright Harry? Dressing as Grace was nothing to him, nothing at all for him to be ashamed of and he got to stay with Damon while he was still in the Marines. What you said was derogatory and crass Harry.\"

Harry cringed and looked at the floor and began playing with his jumper. \"I guess Ron said something as well?\" He still didn\'t look at Severus. \"I am sorry Sir. I didn\'t think.\"

Severus snorted angrily. \"Weasley has had a hey day out there mincing around like a total git making fun of someone who\'s opened their home to him, Harry. How could you think that I would require you to dress as a woman? Have I ever given you indication that I wished to see you in a frock?\" The older wizard pushed his chair from the table and stood up to pace the open space of the kitchen.

Harry swallowed and sniffled. \"No Sir. This boy apologizes again, sir.\" He wiped his face as tears began to run down his cheeks.

Severus paused and looked down at his young husband. \"No Harry, you didn\'t think, but I know you didn\'t mean to say anything to hurt Grant\'s feelings,\" he said as he dropped one hand to the younger man\'s shoulder. \"Now, dry your tears, there\'s no need for them. We will discuss this further when we get home, you will be punished for your behaviour, but not here. We are here to have a good meal with our family. I\'d like you to apologize to Grant and help him prepare the meal, do you understand?\" He waited for the younger man\'s response.

Harry stared up at his husband and wiped his face. \"Yes sir.\" He slid out of the chair and to his knees then bent forward and placed a kiss on Severus\' boot then lay his head on the leather. \"This boy will do as you have asked.\" He sat back up when Reganne kicked him and smiled weakly. \"Sorry, she doesn\'t like it when I bend over that way.\" He resumed his position on his knees with his legs spread a bit wider to accommodate his enlarged belly and framed himself for his Dom.

Severus allowed him to pay his respect and then placed his hands under the smaller man\'s arms and gently lifted him to his feet. \"Don\'t be putting yourself in positions that cause discomfort Harry, I mean it,\" he said gently as he stroked one thumb over his wet cheek. He tilted his husband\'s face up and gave him a gentle kiss. \"Learn from Grant, little one, I am not going to eat noodles with cheese sauce for the rest of my life.\"

He turned Harry loose and looked out of the kitchen door. \"Damon, I am going back out to the barn,\" he called out and stepped back out the back door.

Harry went to the sink and washed his face. He then turned and made his way back to the other couple\'s bedroom. He peered in the door way to find Damon rocking Grant in his arms and running his fingers through the other man\'s hair. He felt really bad now and didn\'t know how he was going to make it up to the other men. He knocked softly on the door.

Damon looked up and nodded at Harry then motioned him in with the other hand that wasn\'t tangled in Grant\'s hair.

Biting his lower lip in shame, Harry slowly walked into the bedroom and dropped to his knees in front of the other men. He spread his knees further apart to allow for his belly and then bowed forward, resting his forehead on the rug, waiting for permission to move and speak.

Damon\'s eyes widened. \"Get up Harry, Grant will kick my ass if I let you stay like that. Go sit in the chair, boy and let us hear you voice.\"

\"Thank you sir,\" the young man said as he rose to his feet and sat in the chair beside the bed. \"I... I don\'t have words to tell you how sorry I am, Grant.\" He stared down at his feet and then looked up to see that the man he was trying to speak to was asleep in his husband\'s arms.

Harry was miserable as he looked up into Damon\'s face, not sure what to expect, he was remembering the words he\'d spoken and regretting each one. \"I\'m so sorry Damon, I never meant to hurt him.\"

Damon nodded. \"There are lots of things we say and never mean, Harry. I am going to assume that Severus sent you up here to apologize. Do you know why?\" he continued to rock the other man, knowing that moments before Grant had just been whispering dirty limericks to him and telling him what he wanted Damon to do to him that night after they had all gone from the house.

\"Because I didn\'t understand the situation and said things before thinking of how they would sound or affect Grant\'s feelings, sir,\" he said, pausing for a moment. \"I reacted badly and caused him pain.\" Merlin knew he was dreading what was to come later, but he knew he deserved to be punished for the things he\'d said.

Damon nodded. \"Did you know and do you mean that or are you just spouting platitudes? I asked you to help me watch over him, Harry. It\'s not something I give to just anyone.\"

\"I mean what I am saying sir, I am truly sorry for what I said,\" Harry whispered, his face colouring in shame as he realized that he\'d also broken the trust Damon had placed in him to look over his husband. \"I understand if you would like me to leave.\"

Damon nodded. \"I see it\'s finally hit home what has happened. I accept your apology. No, Harry I don\'t want you to leave. However I do think you need to have a talk with Grant.\" He jostled the Indian in his arms. \"Wake up Grant and put the boy out of his misery.” He laid the other man on the bed and scooted to the edge. \"I\'ll leave it up to you to talk to him as I am certain I need to go and rescue Harry\'s friend from Severus.\" He kissed the other man and nodded to Harry. \"One more time, Harry.\" He met the young man\'s eyes and waited.

Harry slid out of the chair and to his knees in front of Damon, dropping down to rest his forehead on the rug once more. \"I\'ll protect him with my life, sir,\" he said quietly and then rose back up to look at Grant.

\"I never meant to hurt you, Grant. I wasn\'t thinking and I didn\'t understand when I said those things. I have no idea what you\'ve gone through in your life and will never again attempt to assume I know the whys and wherefores of a situation before it is explained to me. I hope you can forgive me,\" he said and waited.

Grant listened and then reached out to rub Harry\'s shoulder. \"I forgive you, baby. There are just some things you don\'t understand, but you can always ask me questions, alright?\" he said and then looked up at Damon. \"Please help him up and then we\'ll go finish cooking, love.\"

Damon chuckled and bent to pick up Harry in his arms then set him on his feet. \"You did good, Bit. Next time just engage your brain and not your mouth.\" He turned to Grant. \"You go easy on him now, Pet. I know how harsh you can be.\" He grinned at his husband.

Grant swatted at his husband and smiled at Harry. \"I don\'t know about you lot, but I\'m getting hungry and I know Max will be here with his appetite soon,\" he chuckled and stood up from the bed. \"Harry, are you ready to learn how do this?\" He held his hand out to the younger man and tipped his face up to kiss Damon before he left the room.

Damon kissed his husband hard on the mouth and then winked at Harry when he pulled away. \"Behave you two.\"

Harry looked at Grant. \"I\'m sorry again, Grant. I would love to learn if you still want to show me.\" He said softly and took the older man\'s hand.

Grant led him into the kitchen and put him to work dicing vegetables for the stuffing while he prepared the bread, the entire time he was talking and explaining why he did things and when.

\"It won\'t be long Harry, before you are fixing Sunday dinner at your house for us,\" Grant said encouragingly as he showed the younger man how to carefully cut a pocket into the chops for stuffing. He moved to the side and let the younger man take his place.

He knew Harry was doing everything he could not to bring up the other subject. \"You can ask questions Bit, as long as they are intelligent ones. I don\'t mind.\"

Harry bit his lip. \"You looked very nice as a woman, Grant.\" He said softly. He wasn\'t certain what he should ask. He didn\'t want to upset the other man. \"Will I look like that someday?\"

Grant smiled at the younger man gently. \"No Harry, you won\'t have the bone structure I do even if you have ten children. I got pregnant too young while my body was still developing and my hips never went back,\" he chuckled and then remembered that in the pictures he had the top half as well. \"The rest was courtesy of an amulet Damon\'s father had made for me so I didn\'t have to try to hold a glamour continuously. I still have it tucked away, would you like to see it?\"

\"Oh... um I\'m sorry.\" Harry stared at him after he mentioned the amulet. \"Does it still work?\"

The older man shrugged. \"I don\'t know Harry. Hold on a moment, I\'ll be right back,\" said with a laugh and went back into the bedroom. He rummaged through his bedside table until he came upon the little wooden box that held his amulet. Opening it, he could feel the tingle of magic that was still in place after all these years. With a slightly amused grin, he lifted it out and looped it over his head, nearly giggling as the front of his shirt swelled.

\"Well Harry, what do you think?\" he asked as he walked back into the kitchen and stood in front of the boy.

Harry turned and stared at the other man. Oh whoa. \"Um... Grant has Severus ever seen you like that?\" Curious, he cocked his head. \"Would it work on me?\"

Grant\'s face lit up in laughter and he shook his head. \"I\'ve not worn this in a very long time Harry,\" said as he ran his hands over the long forgotten figure. \"Its person specific sweetie, I don\'t think it would do anything for you other than be a pretty bauble. Do you want to see if anyone notices?\" He smirked and waggled his eyebrows at his son-in-law.

Harry\'s eyes widened. He continued to stare at Grant and then laughed out loud. \"Merlin, Grant are you certain you want to do that? Damon will not get angry at you?\"

About that time they heard Allie\'s car pull up and doors slamming. Grant turned and winked at Harry, holding a finger to his lips as Max came in and put the dish Allie had made in the refrigerator. The big red head gave Harry a hug and then crushed Grant to his chest before kissing his wife and heading for the barn.

Grant just shook his head and laughed thinking the healer was oblivious to everything and pulled the amulet from around his neck, taking it back in the bed room to put away. He wasn\'t yet out of the kitchen when he heard a surprised yell from the back yard.

\"Damon, dude...!\"

Grant dissolved in laughter and he could hear Harry had too. He dropped the amulet back in its box and came back into the kitchen to finish cooking.
Harry smiled at Grant as the other man came back into the kitchen. \"That was brill.\" He turned to Allie and smiled. \"I\'m learning the pork chops, can you do them?\"

Allie nodded her head and took Sarah\'s jacket off and then her own, taking them in and laying them on the sofa. \"I learned how to do those a couple of years ago, but I swear, when you are feeding Max, you\'d be better off just doing a whole hog that way,\" she laughed as she came back into the kitchen and kissed Harry\'s cheek. She kissed Grant next and began to cut up the vegetables for the salad that he handed her.

Harry stuck his tongue out at her and went back to the chops. He finished slicing the pockets like Grant had showed him and turned to the older man. \"All done with the cutting. What\'s next?\"

Grant watched them from where he was sitting at the kitchen table with Sarah in his arms. \"Just brown them in the pan Harry, then take them out and fill the pockets we cut into them with stuffing. Allie, why don\'t you get the baking dishes ready?\"

The young woman grinned at Harry and reached under the cabinet to get two of the big baking dishes Grant kept under there. She lined them both with foil and then moved to help Harry stuff the chops before laying them in the dishes. \"Any stuffing that\'s left over just gets put between them,\" she said as she nodded her approval at how Harry was doing. \"You are really learning quick, Sev is going to be so pleased.\"

Harry nodded and watched her load up the pan then shook his head. \"Hold the phone. Grant said to brown the chops first.\" He turned to the older man. \"Can you still do that once they are stuffed?\"

Grant sighed and glared at Allie\'s back for a moment; he\'d forgotten he had to watch the girl in the kitchen. She tended to jump the gun and take over. He stood with Sarah in his arms and looked between the other two.

\"You can Harry, but be careful not to dump the stuffing. Use the wire turner there, it\'s a scoop and it\'ll help you turn them. Allie, you need to take your time and remember the steps.\"

Allie grinned sheepishly and stepped out of the way. \"Sorry Harry, sorry Grant,\" she said and took her daughter from the older man. She stepped out of the way and let Grant in to help her friend cook.

It was like being the star pupil. He grinned and moved to do what Grant had told him. Harry placed Grant\'s big iron skillet on the hob and turned on the gas. He grabbed the olive oil and looked to Grant and held it up. \"Sear them right?\"

Grant nodded and just stood back, letting the boy do the work. He was very pleased in how attentive to detail the young man was and how eager he seemed to be to please him. He looked over to where Allie was singing a little rhyme to Sarah and smiled. He loved Sundays.

\"Just get some color on them Harry and transfer them to the baking dishes. I\'m going to get the glaze ready,\" he said as he picked up the small ceramic dish and dumped applesauce, brown sugar, and few other things in it as well.

Harry nodded and poured a few tablespoons of oil in the now hot pan. Carefully he transferred a few chops to the pan and watched them, moving them side to side so they didn\'t stick. He wanted to watch the glaze being made but he didn\'t want to burn the chops. \"Will you tell me what you are doing while you make the glaze?\"

He lifted the first chop and looked at the golden brown and white that the flesh had turned and he gently flipped the meat then checked the rest of them.

\"I\'m just mixing up applesauce, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and a little bit of nutmeg. That\'s all there is to it Harry,\" he said as he set the bowl to the side and checked the progress the young man was making. \"When you have that done, you\'ll put a spoonful of the mixture on each chop and spread it around.

Easy as pie, isn\'t it Allie?\" He turned and gave the girl a smile as Sarah slipped from her arms and ran into the living room and to the box of toys Damon had put in there for her visits.

\"It sure is Grant,\" she laughed as she followed her daughter into the other room, leaving the two men to make dinner.

Harry nodded. \"Do we need to fix up a new pan since the other one had the raw meat in it first?\" Contamination was something he was a bit afraid of after Grant had told him Damon had tried to cook and nearly killed them one Thanksgiving with a bad turkey. \"These are ready to go in the baking pan but I just wanted to check first.\" He listened to Sarah and Allie\'s laughter and smiled. He was cooking Sunday dinner at the Wolffes.

Grant nodded and pulled the soiled foil from the baking dishes and replaced it with fresh. \"There Harry. Always remember to have plenty of foil in your kitchen, it saves so much on clean up time,\" he said as he looked at the first pieces of meat the other man laid in the dish. \"Those look really good Bit, you\'re doing an excellent job. It looks to me as if you are making most of the meal today.\"

He stepped away to the pantry and pulled out a couple cans of peas, letting Harry finish up on his own, he knew the young man had it well in hand. \"I\'m going to start Damon\'s creamed peas while you finish that up, alright?\"

Harry nodded and smiled. \"Thank you, Grant. I had an excellent instructor.” He lined the first pan with the browned chops and then filled in the spaces with the extra stuffing. Stirring the sauce Grant made, Harry ladled it over each one of the chops and smoothed it out over the whole surface of the meat until it was covered. \"Alright there\'s one pan.\" He pushed it to the side and set the other one in its place then began to brown the next set. \"Now what all goes in the creamed peas? I love buttered baby peas.\"

Grant watched him as he opened the cans and went back for one of baby potatoes. \"They are easy Harry. It\'s just peas, new potatoes, a bit of ham if you like, milk and a bit of flour to thicken it all,\" he answered as he dumped everything in a saucepan and set it on a burner over low heat, seasoning it with salt and pepper.

He shooed Harry back for a moment and opened the preheated oven, sliding the cake he\'d made up earlier onto one of the racks. \"There, that will be dessert, just need fudge frosting for it.\"

He looked out the window at the barn and noticed Damon staring at the house. \"Harry, if you have everything under control, I\'ll be right back, alright?\" he said as he smiled at his companion and opened the back door to go see his husband.

Harry nodded and carefully flipped the meat in the pan and eyed the peas Grant had started.

Damon smiled at his husband and shook his head. \"What\'s the matter Injun?\"

Grant hurried the last ten or so feet to his husband and looked up at him. \"You looked worried about something, is everything alright?\" he asked he put a hand to either side of the man\'s waist. \"Are the boy\'s driving you nuts in there?\"

Damon shook his head. \"No, we are fine. I have them putting your cycle back together. We are going to teach Ron some of the basics. It seems Hermione has decided she wants one and picked out a Vincent.\" He bent and kissed the smaller man. \"And you, how\'s dinner coming?\"

Grant leaned back, holding onto his man\'s waist band and smiled up at him. \"Harry\'s cooking most of it and doing a good job of it as well,\" he said and then laughed as he remembered something. \"What was wrong with Max earlier?\"

Damon smirked. \"It seems my Injun had grown some excess body parts. Max thought he had done something to you when he had given you your new potion and asked Sev the side effects of it. What was going on in there?\"

Grant laughed and brought his hand up to cover his mouth. \"Harry was asking me if my amulet still worked, so I tried it on,\" he said and then leaned in to press next to Damon. He could tell something was still wrong, but he figured that his husband would tell him in time.

He started to ask him something else when the sound of the house phone ringing cut through the afternoon, he turned to go answer it and found Damon holding his hand, pulling him back.

Damon went white with shock. \"No.\" he said softly. \"Let it ring.\"

Harry moved the pans off the burners and wiped his hands on the dish towel. He looked out the kitchen window and saw Grant and Damon talking. He picked up the receiver. \"Wolffe residence.\"

A deep masculine voice came across the wires. \"Lt Col. Damon Wolffe or Mrs. Gracie please. This is Captain Richards from Records, calling in regards to Amelia Ann Wolffe.\"

Grant turned and looked at his husband. \"What\'s wrong with you? I\'ll be right back baby,\" he said and turned back to the house.

Damon grabbed his arm again. \"No. Please Grant, don\'t.\" He begged his husband. \"The dream, Grant. Please.\"

Harry nodded and then realized they couldn\'t see him. \"Umm just a moment. They are outside. If you can hold on for just a bit I\'ll go get them. The voice answered in the affirmative and Harry went to stand in the doorway. He looked out at Damon and Grant.

\"It\'s a Captain Richards and he is asking for Damon or Gracie.\" He eyed Grant. \"About Amelia.\" He said softly.

Damon closed his eyes and suddenly everything made sense. \"I\'ll get it.\" He let go of Grant and started for the house. He turned and held out a hand to his husband. “Come on Pet, we’ll see to this together.”