Rumor's Confirmed

          When he couldn't seem to bring himself to say anything in answer, Robin sat forward.  "On Aquaria, once we got him into Life Center, we found out, that along with being a bleeder, he was also approximately four secton's pregnant."

          "Oh, baby," he sighed, drawing him into his arms.  "I am so sorry that you had to go through that alone.  I should never have left your side."

          "You had been ordered too, Dolph, and besides, I really wasn't alone.  Harry and Rabastan were with me, once he came in.  Though I really wasn't aware of that."

          "Regardless, darling," he said with a shake of his head.  "I should have just left things well enough alone for the time being.  I should have followed you to the Life Center.  What I was investigating could have been left until you were back on your feet."

          "Hindsight, Rodolphus, is always our best teacher."

          "I am never going to leave you again," he said, his tone holding his promise.

          Roark looked up into his lover's sherry eyes and gave him a warm smile.  "Of course, you won't," he said, leaning up to brush his lips over his jaw.  "And concerning our bond?  That goes double for me."

          "But..." came Adama's voice, "You are cousins, and you simply cannot ignore that fact--"

          "For Kobol's SAKE, Grandfather, will you STOP that!!" Roark suddenly exploded, causing several lights to shatter, and the room began heating marginally as his fire magic responded to his anger, slipping uncontrollably from his control.  "OKAY!  YES! Our blood work shows that we are blood-related!  That relationship is, however, twice removed, and yes, more than a few may say the relationship is still too close for us to be together, but we are lovers, and we love each other.  We tried to ignore how we felt about each other, and that simply did not work, therefore we have decided that the bond between us, and our love for each other is more important.  And yes, if I am lucky to conceive again, it would be nothing short of a miracle."

          "ROARK!"

           "WHAT?!" he all but snarled back defensively as several more lights shattered, his anger growing to a towering fury at his grandfather's continued opposition.  "The small fire that had been burning in the fireplace flared up into a roaring blaze, lighting the room as it went dark beneath the rest of the lights shattering.

          "Roark," Rodolphus said calmly, "darling, calm down before you set the house afire."

           Roark's head turned, looked up into his calm gaze, and slowly, he let the fury go.  "Sorry about the lights, Papa," he said finally after several centon's.

          A shrug as he chuckled.  "Not the first time, and it will not be that last," he said, his tone completely unconcerned.  "Do you think you could dampen the fire a bit, son?  It's a bit too warm to have it continuing to roar like that."

          Roark blinked, looking over at the fireplace in surprise, his face flushing.  "This is happening far too often," he said as the flames dampened.  "I haven't been this out of control since we first learned I had fire magic."

          "It's because your emotions are so out of control, and your psychic gifts are not helping matters, at all," Ethan said, his tone soft, calm.  "Once you are balanced and centered within yourself, your magic will settle itself."

          Roark gave a nod, and catching some of his grandfather's thoughts, turned to him.  "Look, Grandfather, we are not denying we are cousins, we just feel that we would rather continue to be lovers, to allow our bond to develop, to be partners."

          "What we are doing," Rodolphus spoke up, "is to obscure the facts, cover them up."

          "We have discussed this at length between ourselves, with Harry and Rabastan, and with the Durin's.  We have even gone back to look at several records of couples who were related as close as Dolph and I are, that have not only bonded but married.  We found no significant reports of birth defects in the children born.  With those facts in hand, we have decided that our love for each other is more important than the fact that we are cousins.

          "Hell, Grandfather, I stepped in front of a knife thrown at him--" he broke off at the sound of several deep growls of dissatisfaction, the loudest coming from the man at his side, from Harry and Rabastan.  "Yes, yes," he said, hand patting Rodolphus' thigh, still clearly surprised by just how close the four of them had become, "it has been made very clear that it had better not happen again, because if it does, my ass will be kicked to the outer Territories, then back again."

          "Damn straight it will," was growled at him.

          "You had better not EVER be so reckless with your life again, Roark Christopher," came from his cousin Roark, his blue eyes intent, "Because if it does, we will make VERY sure you regret it."

          "Damn straight he'll regret it," Roark Sr. said, a clear warning in his tone, giving his newly found son a glare.

          "That goes for me, too," Thorin grumbled.  "I think it is safe to say the entire family will make you sorry if you ever decide to be so reckless again."