How Severus Spends His Summer Hols

DISCLAIMER: JKR owns everything that is in reference to the Harry Potter world if it is in one of my works of fiction. If it is not found in one of her creations, then it is mine unless otherwise stated. I am not making any profit from the writing of this story.


A/N~ Yes, I know this chapter has taken me forever to get out and for that I apologize. Not only does having TSS down mess with my muse, but a cold snap decided to play havoc with my hands. I hope you take this offering and enjoy. It is not the dreamwalk sequence, that is coming up, this is the preparation for Harry and Severus. It is a very long chapter and I think it shows some needed aspects to their relationship.



Severus woke up early the next morning with a smile on his face, he stretched, licking his lips and savouring the lingering taste of his husband. Turning, he watched as Harry snuggled further down into the bed clothes, a beatific little smile on his peaceful face. He wished that he could bottle the innocence that Harry found at times in his dreams so that he could have it on hand again when terror struck him in his waking hours.

He brushed tendrils of hair from the younger man’s forehead and smiled as he listened to the little sighs Harry made as he felt the long fingers touch his skin. His eyes moved past his husband’s face and to the alarm clock that sat on the nightstand next to the bed to check the time. Not quite eight yet. Quietly, he slipped out of their bed and padded across the hall to the bathroom to perform his morning rituals. Tossing on a pair of old shorts and a tee shirt, he headed downstairs to leave his Harry to rest peacefully.

He found Damon at the kitchen table reading his morning newspapers and drinking what had to be his third pot of coffee that morning. Shaking his head at the older man, Severus helped himself to a cup and sat down at the table while eyeing the basket of fresh muffins setting in the center of it.

“You are not going to have a stomach lining left by the time you are ninety Damon if you keep drinking coffee like that,” he mused as he took his first sip of the strong black brew. The other man raised one eyebrow and snorted at Severus, passing him one of the newspapers he’d already finished, before he spoke.

“That shows what you know, boy. Grant’s had me on decaf now for the past five years. I get one leaded cup a morning, after that, it’s this….crap,” he said as he raised his cup with a grimace. Severus smirked at him and opened the local Echo paper.

“Is there a reason? For the decaf I mean?” he asked as he looked at local news that meant little to him, although he did recognize some of the names.

“He and Max are in cahoots. They seem to think if I’m not careful I’m going to keel over on them,” he groused as he glared at the sports page. Severus stopped chewing and simply stared at the man who was a father to him. He’d had no idea that Damon had been having health problems.

“Why didn’t you say anything to me?” he asked, hating that he sounded like a petulant little boy who had lost his favourite toy. His long fingers traced the unseen words on the newsprint as he thought back over his visit and tried to remember any changes he’d seen in Damon or Grant’s behaviour. Yes there had been a few, especially in Damon’s diet, but Severus hadn’t thought anything of it at the time. Now it seemed all important that he had the answers. The man sitting before him was never supposed to fall.

Damon folded down one corner of his paper and gave the stricken looking man a long look before he spoke. “Sev, I am not dying, so get that fool notion out of your head. I have high blood pressure, that’s all. Max and Grant got together and decided that my diet and a few other things had to be changed for my own good.”

Severus looked at the man in the eye for a moment, “Would you tell me if it were something else?”

“Yes boy, I would tell you if it were something serious. In fact, I’ll have Grant show you the potions Max would rather have me on instead of the muggle medicines. Now that you are here, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be taking the right thing, now is there?” Damon said, noticing that his words were having the desired effect and Severus seemed to be a little more at ease. It really wasn’t that much to worry about, the old man thought. Merlin knew that Grant worried enough for the both of them, just one more reason for him to love the old man.

“Where is Harry this morning?”

“I left him in bed,” Severus replied as he refilled his coffee cup and turned the pages of the newspaper. “I thought he could probably use the rest with everything going to happen this evening.” Damon nodded his agreement and then chuckled.

“Speak of the devil, and the green eyed monster appears,” he laughed. Severus turned in his chair and smiled to his little tousle haired spouse who was standing the doorway of the kitchen. He held his hand out to Harry, drawing him to his lap after Harry laid his hand into Severus’ own.

“Good morning Husband,” Harry said with a sleepy little smile as he reached for Severus’ coffee cup for a small sip, only to have it taken away from him. Damon summoned a glass from the cupboard and the milk from the refrigerator with a couple of flicks of his wand. Pouring the young pregnant wizard a tall glass, he shrugged his shoulders at Severus’ snicker.

“Shut up, I felt lazy.”

“Thank you Damon,” Harry said as he took the glass and drank deeply, not stopping until it was empty. Damon refilled the glass and smirked at the couple.

“Looks like we need to go shopping for a good milk cow for the boy.”

Harry’s eyes lit up at the thought, and he turned to look into his husband’s eyes. “May we have a cow, please? Or a goat?”

Severus looked at him like he’d lost the plot and then glowered briefly at Damon for planting the idea in his brain. “What do you want a cow for? You don’t know how to milk one.”

“So I can pet it,” Harry said, making it sound like the most reasonable thing in the world. He wanted a large bovine pet or caprine, he didn’t really care which. Severus just shook his head and chuckled, it looked as though the outbuildings were going to be occupied after all.

“Harry, would you like to eat and then go into town and pick out paint and wallpaper for the house?” Severus asked as he placed a muffin in front of his husband while Damon refilled his glass of milk. Harry nodded while he munched his way through two muffins and another glass of milk.

The couple went upstairs to quickly change, coming back down to promise Damon that they would be home no later than two to get ready for the ceremony that would be taking place. Once in the truck and headed into town, Harry began thumbing through Severus’ notebook and looking at all the colour decisions that had been made.

“White for all the bedrooms upstairs?” he asked as he looked at pages and then up at his husband. He stretched in his seatbelt and smiled as Severus reached over and rubbed his tummy.

“I thought white would work for now, and then we would allow each child to pick the colour they would prefer as they grew older,” he replied, his fingers splayed over the child growing within his husband’s young body. He couldn’t wait until he could feel their child kick and move beneath the stretched skin of his Harry. Harry smiled at his attentions and shifted so that he could lean against his husband comfortably as they drove to their destination.

They visited the local hardware shop, where Harry showed the salesgirl exactly the shades of cream he wanted and they waited as they were mixed. Severus picking up the brushes and other sundry items they’d need for the huge project ahead. As they were paying for everything at the register, Harry suddenly turned and hurried down an aisle only to return with a mailbox to set on top of everything else. Severus looked at him with a little smile on his face.

“There’s a mailbox at the end of the road Harry,” he gently reminded him. Harry only smiled and left his acquisition where he’d placed it.

“I know Husband, but it isn’t ours. I would like one that starts out as ours.”

The young girl working behind the register smiled at the romantic notion while she rang up the order, she couldn’t wait to tell her friends of the new couple that had moved into town.

“Very well Harry, I’ll take the old one down when we take all of this out today.” Severus said as he cast a quick feather light charm on the gallons of paint and stacked the boxes atop on another. Harry shook his head.

“Not yet, it won’t be ready, I have to paint it first.” Harry said as he started to pick up one of the boxes and was quickly stopped by both the girl and his husband.

“I’ll get that sir, you don’t need to be lifting,” she said as she came around the end of the counter and picked up the lightened box while Severus gave him a hard look that clearly asked him if he were insane. Out of defiance, Harry clutched his little aluminum mailbox to his chest, he was going to carry something if he had to toss a wobbly to get his way. He was pregnant, not dying after all.

The salesgirl followed Severus out to the truck and was sliding the box of paint into the bed when he just had to ask.

“Why did you stop him from picking up the box?”

“I’m sorry, I probably over stepped there, but my brother is expecting and about as far along as your husband, I recognized the little bulge under the tee shirt when he moved. Jason is real skinny like your man, so it’s easy to tell,” she said with a blush and a shrug. Severus straightened up and looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Your brother lives here in Echo?”

“No, he lives about four miles out by himself. His boyfriend left as soon as he found out he was pregnant. Jason is too proud to come home though,” she said with a shrug. Severus simply shook his head; he couldn’t imagine someone not being happy about being a parent. At that point Harry joined them at the truck, setting his mailbox in next to the paint and other supplies and was now leaning against Severus.

“We wish him the best,” Severus said with a small sigh as he turned to his husband who had begun to fidget, “Thank you for your help this morning Miss, have a good day.”

“You too, come back if you need anything,” she called as she walked back into the store. Severus helped Harry up into the truck and buckled him in and got in himself before asking him what was wrong.

“I’m hungry Husband,” Harry said in a quiet embarrassed voice as he looked down at his hands and picked at his nails. He was a little worried about getting fat and Severus not wanting him any more, but he was more worried about the health of his baby. After all, there were always ways to get rid of weight that he’d learned over the years.

“What are you hungry for, little one?” Severus asked as he draped one arm around his husband’s shoulders and pulled him close to kiss the top of his head. Harry shrugged, he didn’t really know what sounded good, he was just hungry. Severus smiled to himself, he liked hearing Harry saying he was hungry, he wanted to see him gain weight, he’d been far too thin for too long.

“Why don’t we stop at the market again and just look around for something that looks good? We need to make sure we keep a good supply of healthy things for you to snack on out at the house while we are working,” Severus said as he steered toward the market. Harry bit his lip and looked up at him.

“Does everything have to be healthy?”

“No, not everything, but a lot of it does,” his husband answered with a smile. He really couldn’t begrudge Harry a sweet or a crisp if he wanted it. He knew the man had been starved as a child and as a result had rarely fussed about what he’d eaten as long as it was fairly balanced. As an afterthought he pulled out his mobile and rang Max, he needed to make sure if Harry needed to avoid any certain foods before he was sedated this evening. After a quick conversation he hung up and parked the truck.

“No citrus Harry, sorry, Max says it will react to the potion he has to give you later,” he said as he gave his hand to the smaller man to help him out of the vehicle. Harry nodded, that was fine with him, juice really didn’t sound appetizing right now anyhow.

This time instead of a basket, the couple ended up with a trolley with Severus pushing while Harry wandered along following what might look good to him later. Several times Severus noticed his young husband start to reach for something only to pull his hand back and pick up something of lesser quality. Each time, the older man would take the item out of their trolley and replace it with the original. He was going to have to talk to Harry about this, he was going to have to learn that he deserved to have the best of things. Finally the short shopping trip was over and Severus carried the bags out to the truck while Harry climbed into the cab with his carton of chocolate milk and deli sandwich.

“Harry we need to put the utilities in our names and then we will be able to go look at furniture. How are you holding up?” Severus asked as he drove towards the City Hall where he could take care of the utility transfer. Harry looked up at him with very sleepy green eyes and yawned quietly behind his hand.

“Do you need me for the utilities, Husband?” he asked as he finished his milk off. All he wanted now was a short nap before he started shopping for furniture. This whole baby business was definitely taking it out of him.

“No, I can take care of it. Why don’t you stay in the truck and rest, I’ll be a half hour or so,” his husband replied as he leaned down to kiss his husband’s forehead. Harry smiled gratefully and closed his eyes, within minutes he was snoring lightly. Severus parked the big truck and carefully got out, quietly shutting the door so as not to wake him, then running in to take care of business.

Coming back out forty-five minutes later, he found Harry sound asleep, deciding not to wake him up to go shopping, he instead headed out to their house to unload their supplies and clean it good so the remodeling could begin as soon as possible. During the twenty minute drive to Copperhead Road, Harry never woke and Severus cast several nervous glances at him, hoping it was nothing more than simple tiredness bothering him. He pulled up into their front yard and shut the engine off and Harry simply sighed and shifted in his sleep, the older wizard shook his head worriedly and determined to do this as quick as possible so he could get the younger man back to the Wolffe’s.

Getting out of the truck, he waved his wand over the supplies in the back of the truck and floated them along behind him to the front porch where he settled them against the front wall. Placing his hand on the doorknob, the wards recognized him and allowed him entry immediately. Going in, he quickly started casting cleaning charms on the floors and walls of each room, going into the kitchen, he chanted a number of specific spells to clean certain things and got all of that in motion before tackling the floo.

He stood in front of the grand fireplace for a moment, debating on starting a fire to test it and in the end simply deciding to ring the floo repair service there in Echo and setting up an appointment for them to come out to make sure it was in good repair. Checking the kitchen, he found it to be sparkling, so he went out and retrieved the groceries they had bought and quickly put them all away. He’d let Harry sort them as to where he wanted them later on when he felt up to it.

Moving back to the front porch, he looked out to where his husband was still curled up asleep in the front seat of their truck and shook his head, this was so different from Harry’s normal behaviour. Now he quickly levitated the paint and other items into the front hall along the wall. Satisfied that the house was now clean and ready to paint and furnish, he smiled, they’d be moving in soon.

Harry finally opened his eyes as Severus got back behind the wheel and started the truck, he blinked owlishly and looked around as he rubbed his eyes.

“Where are we Sir?” he mumbled as he tried to sit up straighter, wincing at a couple of sore muscles.

“Just leaving our house baby, I dropped off the groceries and paint. Did the cleaning while I was here as well, the house is ready for painting and furniture now,” Severus said as he hugged the sleepy man gently. Harry immediately sat up straight with a look that was akin to horror on his face.

“Why didn’t you wake me up, Husband?” he asked, still somewhat disoriented as he began to twist his fingers together in his lap. He should have been there to help his husband with the work instead of being a lazy sot and sleeping the day away. Severus quickly placed his hand over Harry’s hands to stop him and to quiet him.

“Listen to me Harry, listen. Didn’t I tell you to rest?” his husband asked as he looked into the panicked green eyes. Harry started to open his mouth to protest when Severus laid one finger across his lips to quiet him. “Didn’t I tell you to rest?”

“Yes Sir,” Harry said softly and felt his husband’s hand squeeze his own in a gesture of comfort. Warm obsidian eyes looked down at him and his husband smiled gently.

“Then you were doing exactly what I told you to do, beloved.” Severus said gently, waiting as Harry woke up completely and realized everything was okay in his world. Harry blinked a few more times and looked out the windows, putting the pieces together as he woke up more and left the dream state he had been in.

“Wow, I really slept,” he said softly as he looked at the time displayed on the stereo, nearly two hours had passed. Severus only chuckled and guided the truck down their driveway to the main road.

“I think we need to plan on you sleeping a lot more in the future Harry, I think Bump is siphoning off all of your energy,” he said as they headed back into town. Harry agreed with that as he closed his eyes and rested his head against his husband’s shoulder again. He almost felt like he could sleep another two or three hours if given the chance, but he was afraid if he did he wouldn’t sleep at all that night.

“What about furniture, Sev?” he asked as he recognized the road that led back to the Wolffe farm.

“How do you feel about shopping online or by catalogue for a lot of it? I am concerned that doing this by going to shops may be too much on you,” Severus answered as they parked and got out of the truck. It made good sense to Harry, after all, he’d have more to chose from online, wouldn’t he?

Walking in the house they discovered that both the Wolffe’s were home and in the living room. Grant had a sleeping Bezoar in his lap, while Damon was busy tormenting Asphodel with a squeaky mouse. Severus stood in the doorway smirking for a moment before he spoke.

“So I trust when we leave the kids with you two, we’ll get them back neurotic as the dogs?”

Harry only sniggered and ducked under his husband’s arm where it was propped against the door jamb so he could enter the living room and sit comfortably on the floor in front of the chair Severus normally claimed.

Grant only laughed at Severus and replied, “Grandparents right, we get to spoil them rotten, feed them loads of sugar and then send them home to you.” Damon nodded in agreement with his husband; they were good at spoiling all the children that they claimed as grandbabies, they enjoyed every minute of it. Severus crossed the room and sat down in the chair his husband was plopped in front of and began to absentmindedly stroke his long dark hair as Harry rested his head against his knee.

“Is there anything special we need to do before this?” Severus asked as he twined his fingers in and out of his husband’s long tresses. Damon watched the two, smiling, he liked seeing how well they fit together. The only thing was Harry was going to have to learn to not sit on the floor once the baby was born, at least not around the kids. That was just not done.

“Did you both sleep well last night?” Grant asked as he continued to pet the puppy in his lap. Both men nodded their heads in reply and Severus added.

“Harry napped for nearly two hours this morning while we were out running errands as well, so I don’t know if you want him to sleep any more before this.” Harry blushed as he realized that he was going to be doing a lot of things much differently now that he was carrying their little girl, things like dozing off at a moment’s notice and eating at all different hours.

“Well then looks like sedating him won’t be a problem,” Grant chuckled as Harry grinned sheepishly.

“No, I feel like I could lie down and sleep for another few hours actually,” he said as he closed his eyes and simply enjoyed Severus playing in his hair.

“Try to stay awake if you can honey.” Grant said as he picked up a piece of note paper from the coffee table in front of him and went over the list silently. There were things he had to do himself and some things the married couple would need to do. “Severus, you and Harry will need to take a purifying bath shortly. I laid the robes you both will be wearing on your bed. Use only the soaps and oils that are on the counter in the bathroom, nothing else.”

“Yes sir,” Harry said as he opened his eyes and watched Grant. “Do we take the bath together or separately? Or does it matter to the ritual?”

“You may take it together, but no sex boys. Kissing is alright, but nothing else. If you become aroused, you have to leave it alone.” Both men nodded. They understood, in some rituals the tiniest of things could alter the outcomes with disastrous results. It was always best to be certain of all rules rather than guess and make a costly or deadly mistake.

“What about eating? If I know Harry, he is going to need to eat before we do this.” Severus said as he undid Harry’s braid and worked his hair loose.

“He can eat up to an hour before we start, the same for you, but keep it light for you, Sev, the peyote may not sit well on your stomach.” Grant replied as he glanced up at the clock. “There really isn’t much more in preparation for the two of you to do. I need to have Damon move the furniture before I purify the house while you are bathing, then I’ll bathe.”

The others nodded and then noted the time, Damon sighed and put aside the toy he had been tormenting Asphodel with and stood up.

“Severus, would you help me push the sofa out of the way, Grant has said no magic is to be used in here until the ceremony later.”

Harry moved out of the way as his husband stood and went to help his ‘father’ move the sofa to sit along the wall, then move the coffee table to sit in front of it.

“Thanks, I can get the rest. The two of you probably ought to go on up and start your cleansing now,” Damon said as he stooped down to roll the woven rug so he could easier drag it out of the room. Grant was helping by pushing the armchairs out of the way and going into the kitchen for a broom and damp mop.

Harry and Severus went upstairs as they had been told and decided to go ahead and bathe together to give themselves a little more time to talk about what was going to happen later on. Severus was still worried that Harry was feeling like he was giving up too much control in this and he had been trying to come up with a plan to allow the younger man to still feel like he had the right to set guidelines on what his husband was allowed to see in his memories.

He watched as Harry quietly slipped out of his clothes and waited to take the clothes as Severus stepped out of them, folding them as he placed them into the hamper. The bathroom was filling with a sweet scented steam from the bath as it slowly filled with hot water infused with the rosemary and lavender oils that Grant had left for them to use.

Severus stopped Harry from stepping in first; he didn’t want to risk the younger man slipping on the porcelain bottom. Severus stepped in and then offered his hands to his husband for support, guiding him as the both sank down into the fragrant water.

“Is it too hot, Harry?” he asked as he watched the younger man’s skin redden almost immediately from the heat. His husband shook his head and gave him one of his crooked little grins as he picked up the loofah that had been set out for their use.

“No Husband, it feels good. Is it okay for you?” he asked as he picked up the bar of goat milk soap and began to soap up the sponge and set to work on his husband’s legs. In response, Severus just grunted, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the tub rim. Harry smiled and got on with bathing his husband’s front side, careful to switch to a flannel to wash carefully between his legs. He kept his actions as clinical as he could, he didn’t want to cause Severus any discomfort from an erection that he would not be able to take care of for him. Severus just smiled lazily at his husband and covered his smaller hand with his larger one, making the broad washing swipes together and then pulling Harry close for a deep kiss.

Severus then picked up the sponge and began to wash Harry in much the same way he had been washed. Pulling the younger man to sit between his legs so he could wash his back as well, taking a clean flannel, he soaped it and gently washed Harry’s non-functioning penis and scrotum, moving down to tenderly wash the thin folds of skin that lay nestled beyond and further still to wash his tiny pucker. Soon Harry was sighing softly as Severus finished cleaning him, he wasn’t actually aroused, but he did feel very very cherished.

Severus hooked the drain plug with one toe and pulled, while they waited for the water to swirl away, Harry lay nestled against his husband’s chest, his ear pressed tight to listen to his heart beating. With the same foot, Severus replugged the tub and turned the taps back on to refill the tub with clean water so they could soak a bit longer.

“Harry,” he began, he knew he had to let the younger man know it was alright to set limits for him to respect during this. Harry looked up at him with a little smile on his face and waited. “you know that you have the right to shut me out of any part of your mind that you don’t want me to see, don’t you?”

“I didn’t know that,” he replied as he reached one hand up and wrapped his fingers in a few tendrils of Severus’ raven black hair, twisting it almost as a security blanket. “I thought you would be able to see everything.”

“No precious, it is your life and your memories. I will only be allowed to see what you allow, at least that is how I understand this from Grant, you will be able to shut me out from areas you wish to remain private,” Severus explained as he cuddled his lover in the cooling water, wishing for a moment he could cast a rewarming charm on it but knowing it would be detrimental to the ceremony ahead. Harry sighed as he listened to Severus. What his husband said did take some of the dread he had been feeling away. He really had not been looking forward to having his husband seeing the way his aunt and uncle had raised him, nor every last detail of his life spent with Morgan. There were even times spent at Hogwarts with his best friends that he would prefer to keep to himself if he were given the choice.

“Thank you, that does make me feel better Husband. It isn’t that I don’t want to share my life with you, but there are just some things that I want to keep as mine,” he said softly as he shifted in the tub and let Severus help him stand and then step out to be wrapped in a bath towel. “Does that make me a selfish person Husband?” he asked as he kept his eyes lowered so that he was looking more at the floor than at Severus.

Severus continued to towel him dry gently as he carefully considered his words. On one hand he didn’t want Harry to think he was dismissing his concerns as if they were nothing, but on the other, he didn’t want Harry to fret and open himself up to more that what he was comfortable doing so.

“Beloved, there are things that everyone wishes to keep private in their own lives. I have them, Damon has them, and Grant has them. There is absolutely no reason why you should not be allowed to have that same right. I will ask Grant to set a time limit on the dream walk this evening so that you will feel comfortable in knowing I am not simply running amok among your private memories,” he said as he turned his husband and combed his hair out quickly and then taking a towel to dry himself off as well. Harry smiled as he was given the reassurances and he turned and embraced his husband warmly, nuzzling his face against Severus’ chest, pressing his lips to his still damp skin for a kiss.

“I’ll show you what makes me scared the most Severus,” he murmured as he broke from their embrace and picked up the plain cotton robe that was lying on his side of the bed. He held it up to look at briefly before pulling it on over his head. Severus nodded as he did the same with his own unbleached natural cotton robe, feeling it fall gracefully around his shins.

“Will you show me anything that may have happened in the past that could make bearing children difficult for you?” Severus asked as he pulled his own hair back into a loose ponytail, tying it with a cotton strip. Harry nodded in agreement as he did the same with his own hair.

Severus glanced at the clock on the wall and then at Harry and figured if his husband was hungry, now was as good as time as any to make sure he had something in his stomach to help cushion the draught he’d be taking soon.

“Harry would you like to go down to the kitchen and have a sandwich or a bowl of soup?” he asked as he watched his younger husband just stand and stare out the window. As if transfixed, Harry didn’t answer, he just stared out over the fields and woods and into his own soul and wondered if his husband was ready for the things he was about to learn of his life. Severus stepped forward and laid a hand gently on his shoulder and felt the tremble running through Harry’s body. He pulled him back against him and pressed his lips against the back of his neck before whispering.

“No fears my angel. I am always going to be here to walk beside you and carry you if you need me to,” he said softly before Harry turned his face to him, giving him the patented crooked little Potter grin that Severus so hoped every one of their children inherited.

“I love you Severus,” Harry said quietly as he leaned up on his tip toes and kissed his man thoroughly. Severus leaned into the kiss and returned it with all the passion and love of the ages, nothing nor no one would separate him from him from this man.

“I love you too, bratling, now I think Grant is right, we need to go feed you before this starts,” he said as he led Harry to the door and into the hallway. The strong scent of burning sage and cedar was permeating the air even upstairs and Severus checked to see if it was going to affect his mate’s sense of smell and upset his stomach.

“I’m fine Sev, just need to eat,” Harry said as he wiggled under his husband’s outstretched arm and headed down the stairs. Shaking his head, he followed with a laugh. He had a feeling that the next several months were going to be ruled by Harry’s stomach.

Once downstairs, they discovered that Grant was in the bath, Damon was in the kitchen fixing himself a snack and the Sorens had just arrived. Harry looked at Severus with huge emerald eyes and took a deep breath, things were going to be very interesting for a few hours, he just hoped he still had a marriage after all was said and done.