While the others were otherwise engaged, the greasy man holding Elora hostage decided to make his move. Hoping to catch Frank off guard, the man shoved Elora to the floor in front of Frank’s feet as he fired a shot directly at Frank’s chest. Moving faster than human eyes could see, Frank’s blade was withdrawn and deflected the bullet into one of the strong timbers that supported the roof of the tavern. Frank’s eyes glowed with anger and disgust, “No honor, no courage, no clan” he muttered as he held his blade high, walking toward the man with a undisguised purpose in his stride. “No mercy, no forgiveness, no prisoners” he added as he kicked the gun out of the man’s hand, barely breaking his stride. The man’s eyes grew wide as they fixated upon the shining blade, the man began to scurry backwards, hoping for a chance to escape, but finding only a cold, hard, stone wall blocking his way. Speaking in a booming voice Frank proclaimed “You were given a choice when we entered, you chose to attack the innocent, to show no kindness, no mercy. You have no honor to protect yourselves, and no clan to stand for you. You were nothing in life, and will be even less in death.” As the words left Frank’s mouth, his sword began to glow with the living fire of Brighid. The flames danced across the blade as he narrowed his eyes and swung a strong, clean blow to the villain, neatly severing him.

The tavern fell into an eerie stillness as the people inside stared uneasily at each other. Finally one old woman stood up and timidly spoke. “Is what you say true? Has Clan MacLeod returned from the dead? Have they returned to our land?”

Frank knitted his brow as he walked to the bar and picked up a towel. Casually wiping the blood from his blade, he strolled back to the old woman. “Why do you think we were dead old mother? We are Clan MacLeod, we are of the Sidhe and the Dannan, our clan cannot die, only be forgotten.” he explained as he tossed the towel over the man’s decapitated head. “Surely one as old as yourself must know this, you still remember the ways of your mothers. Or have you forgotten the bounty the goddess once provided your people, just as you have forgotten the protection we once offered you.”

Before the old woman could answer, Elora had stepped in front of her and wrapping her arms around Frank’s neck, hugged him tightly. “Thank you” she whispered softly, before running outside to check on her children.

“Well. . .that was a pleasant surprise” Frank grinned as he smiled at his companions, who were busy restraining what was left of the band of criminals. . . . . .

Catri and Severus walked arm in arm to the train station, fortunately Severus had their bags taken to his home earlier as they were dancing. “Are you ready Catri” he asked softly as he wrapped his cloak around her “perhaps you should have changed first, you seem chilled” Sev felt himself trembled as she pressed herself against him, cuddling against his warmth. He gently placed his arms around her, as he pulled her against his chest.

“I’ll be fine Severus, honestly” she cooed “I can change when we arrive at your home. I just don’t want you to catch a cold” she added as she motioned to his cloak that was swaddled around her.

“To be perfectly honest Catri” he whispered as he kissed her sweetly “I do not recall ever feeling so warm in my life.” Sev wrapped his strong arms around her tiny waist and quickly cast the apparation spell. Before long they felt the familiar pulling sensation that told them they were on their way. . . .

Dimitri nodded at Frank and Padriac as he took a few semi conscious criminal outside, he intended to feed gluttonously, he had starved himself for far too long to even pretend he didn’t need the blood. He hardly even flinched when he heard the sickening crunch as he snapped their necks brutally, draining every last bit of blood from them that he could. Dimitri listened the whole time he fed to the thoughts of those inside the tavern. He felt a huge wave of relief wash over him when he realized that Clan MacLeod was immediately concerning themselves with tending to the children. He had to smile when he heard Frank, their apparent leader, fretting over the frail condition of Elora’s children as Padriac, Toby and the others played and fed the children of the Roma.

Dimitri smiled deeply as he heard Frank take control of the tavern, ordering the barkeep to bring food and warm blankets for the children as he himself stripped off his own warm cape and wrapped it around Elora’s daughter to stop her shivering. As soon as the children were tended to, Frank immediately turned his attention to the women, cupping Elora’s face in his hands, he frowned as he saw how sallow her complexion was. “How long has it been since your clan has eaten properly m’lady?”

Elora shook her head “Not since we left Lille” she sighed “Leumadair made sure we had plenty to eat and drink on his ship, but since we’ve landed on these shores . . “ she shook her head, unable to finish her sentence.

Turning to Fallon who had just sat down next to Elora, Frank questioned her “Why did you wait so long to call on us? Surely you knew we would come when you called, you are traveling under my sister’s protection after all.”

“No, to be honest, I didn’t know” Fallon sighed as she felt she could finally relax “I had hoped, but I didn’t know.”

When Dimitri had finished feeding and disposing of the bodies, he returned to the tavern and introduced himself to Frank MacLeod, who immediately jumped to his feet and growled at him “You’re no Gangrel. . . .what do you have to do with my Clan?”

Dimitri balked for a moment, he had never expected such a hostile reaction from any of them “Cash has sent me to escort the Roma to himself and the Angel. I and Bean MacLeod’s husband were sent as emissaries to . . .”

Frank’s eyes grew wide “Whoa…..stop right there. Husband? What husband? My sister isn’t married.” turning to Padriac, Frank whispered “is she? There would have been a huge wedding, I’m sure I would have remembered it, been years since I‘ve been That drunk…” Padriac and the others shook their heads. Frank turned back to Dimitri and glared at him. “She has no husband.”

Dimitri shrugged innocently “Cash calls him her husband..”

Frank sighed and shook his head, “This is like pulling teeth. . .Cash calls ‘who’ her husband?” he asked slowly, as if talking to a small child.

Dimitri rolled his eyes at Frank’s behavior “The wizard Sirius of course” he explained “He is deeply in love with her, if you could see his eyes when he talks of her and their son” he grinned as he thought of the besotted look in his friends eyes.

Toby and Padriac joined Frank and Dimitri’s conversation, “We know all about her son, but no one told us about a husband either.” Toby said. “You said Cash called him her husband?” Padriac asked.

Dimitri nodded “Yes, on several occasions. Fallon has met him as well.” Dimitri added, nodding towards Fallon who was helping Elora feed her children. “Sirius lives and breathes for them, at times they seem to be the only things he thinks of. He and Cash are close friends, Cash refers to him as kine.”

Frank’s eyebrows shot up the moment he heard the word kine. “Cash? Our Cash calls him kine. Why is it we’ve never met this man, this supposed husband of hers?”

Padriac chimed in “Perhaps Cash has married them, he is the incarnation of the Greenman, he is well within his rights to bind them to each other if he feels its appropriate.”

“Oh sure, and Maharet is well within her rights to beat him senseless for messing with her plans and the bloodlines.” Frank added, shaking his head sadly “For Cash’s sake, and for this so-called husband of hers, I sincerely hope he fits into that damn prophecy Maharet is always going on about.”

“You’ve heard of the prophecy, the lineage?” Dimitri asked as Fallon joined them.

“If you’re talking about that wretched prediction about the ages of man - the one that has ruined the lives of my sisters, yes, I’ve heard of it” Frank growled “Though I’d just as soon burn it to ashes as allow it to harm Kitty. It destroyed Wanda and her children, I refuse to see my last sister sacrificed.” he added as his face grew dark with anger and pain. “Fallon, is it true? Have you met this man who calls himself my sister’s husband>“

Fallon smiled “Sirius, yes, I have met him, as has the rest of my clan. Bean. . .I’m sorry, I mean Cat sent he and Dimitri to my clan. He left suddenly when he felt his wife and son were in danger.”

Frank stroked his goatee as he looked back and forth at Dimitri and Fallon “You seem certain he loves her.” seeing their bright smiles, Frank nodded “I see, you are certain he loves her. Is he strong, honorable, intelligent?”

Dimitri laughed “Yes, all that and more. I don’t know if it makes a difference to you” Dimitri added, grinning knowingly as Padriac and Toby joined Frank “but Sirius is anxious to add to their family, he seems to think it is unhealthy for Harry to be an only child.”

Padriac snorted loudly “Well he’ll sure get Aunt Orpha’s approval, and a few other’s I’m sure. We all know how much the ladies adore children” . . . .

As the night went on, more and more inhabitants of the village approached Clan MacLeod, some curious as to who or what they were, some thanking them for deliverance from the villains that had been terrorizing their village, and others still, who wanted to know if the old ways were still practiced

Frank shook his head sadly as he listened to the voices in the tavern “They actually thought we were dead and gone” he sighed “do people really have so little faith today?” he asked Erich as they carried the sleeping and now well-fed children back to the caravan.

“I’m afraid so” Erich replied, casting a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw Dimitri gently cradling one of the children “and they have grown terribly cruel as well. Dimitri is living proof of the cruelty one man can visit on another.”

Frank nodded “You all seem to be very fond of him, does he travel with you?”

“Yes, ever since your sister sent him to aid us, if it weren’t for him. . .” Erich shook his head sadly. . Frank gave a quick nod, signifying his understanding to Erich. Turning back to his own clan, Frank shouted “Move them out lads, we’ll be traveling with them a good portion of the way. No more unexplained problems for this group.” . . .

Cat gasped when she saw the room Severus had prepared for her, it was beyond gorgeous. She was almost afraid to walk into the room, it was so perfect, he had obviously thought of everything. There were beautiful bouquets of flowers throughout the room; delicate, exotic flowers peeked out from every corner, scenting the air with their perfume. Walking towards the bed, Cat stared in amazement at the delicate tea roses that had twined their way around the posters of the bed, creating a living canopy above her. She brushed her fingers along the lace duvet of the bed, as she sighed softly, wondering if this is where it would finally happen. Shaking the thought from her head, she quickly chose her clothes for dinner, Sev had told her something casual, something about a picnic. . . .

Severus could hardly contain himself, finally, after all these years she was here with him, in his house, with no one to disturb them. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, he had to calm down, he wanted tonight to be perfect. It had to be the most romantic, most wonderful night of her life. Sev sat on the edge of his bed as he unbuttoned his jacket and shirt, he laughed nervously when he realized how much his hands were trembling, he felt just like a teenager again. He thought back to the first time he had seen her, the day she had walked into Dumbledore’s class, she was indescribably beautiful even then. Her long fiery hair, shimmering with every movement she made as it grazed the back of her thighs, her brilliant green eyes, both penetrating and amazingly soft at the same time. Sev could hardly believe his luck when Dumbledore had asked him to escort her to his office after class. He had spent the entire time looking into her eyes and listening to her soft, lilting laughter. He had lost his heart to her even then.

Untying his shoes, Severus wondered if Catri was pleased with her room, he had tried to think of everything and he was especially proud of the canopy he had conjured for the bed. He had been half tempted to walk her into the bedroom, just to see the look on her face when she saw it, but he didn’t want her to feel as if he were pressuring her. After all, he had waited so long to be with her, he could not risk losing her over a foolish misunderstanding like that. Severus walked across his bedroom and placed his shoes in the wardrobe as he took out his clothes for the evening. It had been years since he had worn anything other than black or red, he felt his stomach twinge as he looked at the deep green shirt he had bought for tonight. He had picked the color because it reminded him of her eyes, but he suddenly felt very self conscious about putting it on. Shaking himself physically, Severus chastised himself, he knew he had to make a break from his past, he and Catri had discussed it several times, and she was correct; his past was slowly killing him.

Feeling rather silly for having such hesitations over the color of a shirt, Severus quickly grabbed it and put it on. He grimaced into the wardrobe’s mirror as the shock of his marble white skin set against the vivid green hit him. “Phoenix tears” he muttered as he shook his head “am I really that pale?” he shook his head again, wondering if he should really make such a dramatic change tonight. He unbuckled his trousers as he walked back towards his bed, setting his wand on the nightstand, he went to pull off his trousers, only to feel a sharp pinch as he attempted to step out of them. Sitting on his bed, he tried to pull his leg out of his trousers again, yelping loudly as he felt the skin and hair on his legs being tugged roughly.

Severus knitted his brow as he reached into his trouser legs. His jaw immediately clenched and his lip curled in a silent snarl as he realized exactly what was causing his discomfort, or more precisely ‘who’ had caused it. “Black” Severus growled as he reached for his wand, hoping to be able to undo the superglue before Catri came looking for him. . . . .

Cat took one last look in the mirror, she had chosen a sapphire blue silk blouse, and a long, full, black skirt. She had used matching hair sticks to twist her hair up, giving it a loose, informal effect that she knew Sev adored. She straightened her skirt and took a long look around the room, wondering if she would ever look at it quite the same way again. She felt a pang of guilt hit her as she once again wondered if it had been a good idea for her to leave without saying goodbye to Harry. But she knew it would only lead to an argument, “Oh Harry, I know you don’t care much for Sev, but trust me, he’s a far better option than a stranger.” she whispered as she hoped Hermione would be able to explain her actions to Harry.

Making her way to the living room, Cat wondered what this ‘big surprise’ Severus kept hinting about was going to be. She hoped he wasn’t going to do anything dramatic, like ask her to marry him, she just didn’t know what she would do if he popped the question. She certainly couldn’t accept; her clan would never allow it- a fact Cash had made very, very clear prior to her leaving. Shaking the thought from her mind, Cat opened the pocket doors to the living room and immediately began to smile and blush. “Merciful goddess” Cat sighed “I don’t know who your florist is Sev, but he must love you.” she giggled as she stared at the dozens upon dozens of roses filling the room, she paused to inhale the fragrance from one of the bouquets, only to freeze when she heard what sounded like a scream of pain. . .