In Pursuit of Unfinished Business

***************

Heavy breathing.

Wet lips, moistened by cum.

Astoria had slowly released Lucius' cock from her mouth. Sitting up, she raised her head and, dazed, scooted away, unable to look at him. I swallowed... everything happened so fast... what have I done? What have we done?

Suddenly, she felt his fingertips firmly on her waist, tugging and nudging to pull her back.

She leapt up and fled out of the room. Not looking back.

**************

Astoria could barely concentrate to Floo to the Ministry. Even more difficult was chatting lightly with Ginevra Potter.

"Mum's watching little James for us. You'll find you'll have less time with each other when children come along. And now that we'll have another..."

"Oh, yes! Congratulations!" Astoria was trying to keep her chin up about it all. Focusing on Ginny being pregnant, yet again, at least kept her mind off of dwelling on having just given her father-in-law, Lucius, a blow job. Unintentionally. At least, at first...

Unsuccessful with not dwelling on Lucius, every second her thoughts lapsed from listening to Ginny's small-talk about domestic things to secretly brooding about the Malfoy patriarch; she mulled silently, What is wrong with me? I swallowed! No semen sample... What am I going to do?

Astoria's temples began to pound, and she let slip, "I wonder what's keeping our husbands? Ah, there they are!"

Ginny followed Astoria's gaze. Draco and Harry had walked into the waiting area of the Auror's department.

Draco crossed over and, quickly greeting Ginny, gave Astoria an ardent kiss. "Everything all right?" Keeping a brave face, she smiled and nodded assuringly.

"We've a great idea," broke in Harry. "How about lunch together? The four of us?"

Before either could respond, all heads turned toward another figure who had just entered the foyer.

"Father?" No one was more surprised than Draco to see Lucius standing there. In the bowels of the Ministry. In the vestibule of the Auror's department of all places.

Only Astoria was equally daunted. What is he doing here?

After a curt address to Lucius, Harry and Ginny briskly excused themselves.

As they left the area, Lucius sniffed and observed, "It's come to this, has it? My own son having made a career of kowtowing to Potter?"

"Father..." Draco couldn't find words for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

Lucius raised an eyebrow, coolly, before answering. "You've been implying it was due time to show my face in public. I agree. I've served my time. I've nothing to be ashamed of." His heavy-lidded gaze fell on his daughter-in-law. "I felt inspired today to venture back out into the cold, cruel world."

Savouring her wide-eyed reaction, he addressed Draco directly again. "What's more natural than for a father and his son to dine together? Of course with our Astoria to grace us with her lovely presence."

For different reasons, Draco and Astoria were dumbstruck.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Draco involuntarily rubbed the back of his neck. A wave of anxiety rolled over him. "I can't, Father. I have... I have a previously unscheduled meeting with Shacklebolt. An unexpected, private briefing."

Draco looked at Astoria. "I was just going to see if you could wait for me or go on with Ginny to Diagon Alley, if you'd like."

"I actually need to go to my office and check on a few things; I can wait for you, Draco."

"I don't know how long I'll be."

They fell silent. Uncomfortable stillness filled the room.

It was Lucius who broke the awkward tension. "A certain old acquaintance is expecting me for a little rendezvous; he's also been rehabilitated and graciously reinstated here in the Ministry: Albert Runcorn. Surely you remember him, Draco?"

"Yes," hissed Draco softly; a sharp pang stabbed through his head, causing him to slightly grimace.

"Well, then, perhaps Astoria could give me a brief tour of her area of specialty? And if you're still burdened with Shacklebolt, I could take her on to dine with Albert and me. Runcorn and I have a lot to catch up on, but Astoria gracing us with her lovely presense would make it all the more pleasant. We'll send word to you where to join us?"

"Never!"

The response was curt and tart, surprising Lucius, who gave a challenging look to Draco, demanding him to elaborate on his adamant refusal.

Draco flushed, biting his inner cheeks to control himself. In a terse monotone voice, he informed, "You will never subject Astoria to endure helping you entertain any of your old cronies."

Irefully, the insults spilled forth from the patriarch. "You little upstart! Working with Potter – ingrate! little parvenu..."

"It is you who is known as the unscrupulous arriviste, Father...my advice: stop before you even start again. There is a new wizarding order, and it doesn't centre around you, nor will it ever again!"

Lucius' face blanched in anger.

"Draco!" whispered Astoria, her heart heavy with dread. The truth was out, but she felt extremely uncomfortable, knowing this was not the time or place for such a direct dissension with Lucius; they had all been so very careful this last month, treading lightly around topics of the past, an understood silent agreement to not directly confront or blame Lucius.

This was a blatant slap in the face.

Lucius' facial muscles clenched, constrained and livid; Draco and Astoria waited with bated breath for how he would respond further.

But Lucius' seething anger visibly changed to a hard, cool glare of disdain as he reached into his inner cloak's pocket and pulled out a laboratory phial. Choosing, for now, to ignore Draco, he turned and spoke calmly to his daughter-in-law. "I almost forgot, Astoria – I found this empty ampoule on the drawing room sidetable. I presume it's yours?"

Astoria paled, silently taking the empty phial from him.

"I wasn't sure if it was significant or not, if you needed it, my dear; but it seemed out of place in the drawing room. Was it left there for some special reason?"

Both Lucius and Draco waited for her answer.

Her heart racing, Astoria thought quickly. "Yes! Yes, I went to check for any posts and must have left it there... I carried it with me to actually remind myself to restock my supplies at home... to pick up some extract of Runespoor eggs for my Potions research work I'm conducting. Highly classified material, very rare ingredients from my laboratory storage here in my office..." She momentarily faltered in elaborating further, but seeing an odd expression on Draco's face, she continued, "No post today... Aren't I so silly, forgetting to remember something so vital?" She smiled graciously to his father. "Thank you, Lucius. I shan't forget now."

"So glad I brought it along then, Astoria. So glad to help you in any small way I can."

This abrupt change of topic seemed to momentarily dispell the tense atmosphere between father and son, and Astoria plunged ahead to utterly dissipate any allusive apprehension that could be lingering for Draco.

Flustered at the reminder of her true need, her dire need of what only Lucius could help her with, give her, she heard herself utter, "Draco, why don't I show your father around the Properties Department a bit? We can bide some time together, and I'll check back later to see if you're free?"

"Astoria, no."

"It's all right," she soothed, touching his arm gently. "If you're still in a meeting, Lucius can go on to his appointment, and I have the endless paper work in my office always waiting for me to catch up on."

It discomfited Draco highly what she was proposing. Astoria having to be responsible for Lucius? The thought of her being forced to be with Lucius for any reason unsettled Draco to no end. His eyelids twitched in tension; conflicted, he also felt the urgent need to check on Albert Runcorn's status in the Ministry; if his father was reuniting with former Death Eaters, he would make it his private business to be one step ahead of them. Draco was not going to allow history to repeat itself in any form or level. Not if he could help it.

Donning her best smile, she addressed Lucius with a light air. "I'm sure after five minutes in the lab, you'll be so bored you'll be running, quite understandably, to Disapparate as fast as you can." She turned to Draco, squeezing his arm reassuringly. "Darling, no need letting us delay you further."

Knowing he was running very late to meet with Shacklebolt, and not wanting anyone to come looking for him and having to explain Lucius' being there so appropros, but against his better judgement, Draco gave in. "Very well."

Draco and Lucius shot daggers at each other.

"Until later, Father."

"Yes," hissed Lucius softly, undaunted. "Until later, son."

You little prick... lex talionis will be mine in the end... fumed the elder Malfoy, silently.

As he followed Astoria, taking in his daughter-in-law's curves and movement, Lucius truly smiled. For by the hardening of his cock, he knew his vengeance against Draco would be very sweet indeed.

*********

Neither spoke as Astoria steered Lucius towards her office doorway in the dark, innocuous but nevertheless foul-smelling Properties department. Unwarding it, the door swung open, and she ushered the blond wizard in. As soon as the door swung closed, she whipped around and demanded, "What do you mean by coming here? With this? What are you playing at?" She held the phial up.

With potent calmness, Lucius slowly eyed his son's curvaceous wife up and down.

She saw immediately by his prurient scowl Lucius' resolute intent as he walked towards her, stealthily backing her around to the other side of the desk.

Feeling keenly still an unbearable humiliation and fuming from Draco's disloyal audacity to him, Lucius needed relief. His hand clenched slowly into a tight fist and out as he calmly reminded, "You left before we truly got started." He watched as Astoria's back made contact with the wall, and a smug smile crept upon his face as he enjoyed her realisation that she was blocked on one side by the heavy desk chair against the wall and on the other side by him. Just where I want her.

"I'm here for you. I'm here because of you. The phial is empty, and we need it full, don't we?"

Finding she was trapped, Astoria lashed out, "This is not a game!"

"Don't you like games?" purred Lucius, slowly pulling his wand out.

Astoria's mouth opened, unable to answer, as she clumsily groped for her pocketed wand, lost in the folds of her long flowing skirt.

In a blink, Lucius swiftly flicked his wand, warding the entrance locked. Harshly, he uttered, "Muffliato!"

She watched him take the phial from her hands and deliberately place it, along with his wand, down on her desk. Unable to move, as if Petrified, Astoria felt Lucius gently tug her wand from her grip, and looking up, she saw his glance combing quickly around the small space before he placed her wand down beside his. Then, the blond wizard's hawk-like gaze bored through her as he asked, "Shall we? An encore of such a lovely performance this morning, my dear. This time, I'll be prepared. This time, I'll pull out before that lovely eager little mouth of yours makes me utter putty."

His pride had been hurt, cumming so quickly. But it had been so long... so long since someone had touched me like that... sucked me like that...

Moreover, something else burned achingly deep within him: Draco's traitorous allegiance and publicly cutting Lucius' comb. The whoreson little wanker... It is... unforgiveable...but I'll get my revenge!

His eyes glinted coolly at the wide-eyed hazel ones before him. The belittlement of him by his son in front of Astoria, along with her intimate witnessing and experiencing of his lack of control, his internments in Azkaban, his shunned company by former grovellers...suddenly everything Lucius had recently been subjected to accumulated and echoed in his mind, incensing his ego.

Sensing his cool fury, Astoria couldn't hold his searing gaze. Looking down, she whispered, "I... I don't know what happened. I don't know why..."

"You swallowed me down... pleasurably swallowed me, my dear." The blond wizard's look hardened even more shrewdly, as he pressed one arm against the wall, and then the other, not touching but trapping her between them; their bodies so close he could feel their heat. "We both know what that means."

Astoria's heart began to thump so hard, and she couldn't take in this information fast enough to formulate a defensive retort and, instead, could only weakly utter, "Nothing. It meant nothing."

"Au contraire, mon cherie." Lucius then moved yet closer, almost touching her.

Still, Astoria could not look at him; she could only feel his virile heat and breath, and heard herself whisper, "It all happened so quickly. I ... I lost my control."

"You're quite beautiful when you lose control, my dear. You were gorgeous sucking my cock," he huskily whispered in her ear. "That sweet tongue of yours, working its magic."

His heated whisperings circled around, then abruptly ceased. In a flash, he angled down to taste her lips.

Astoria pulled her mouth away before he made contact and snapped, "Don't!"

He slowly raised his head, tracing her soft cheek with his nosetip. Reaching her ears, he whispered, "So cruel." Lucius smiled, satisfied. "I like it." Knew I could bring it out of her.

"Shall we play a game?" he purred.

Her heart was now pounding in her chest. Speechless, Astoria eyed him suspiciously.

"Surely you and Draco play games?"

She was bemused, not knowing how to answer him.

"Don't tell me that that little prick of a..."

"Don't! Don't talk about Draco like that..."

"What? He doesn't even know how to play games with you? After all this time?"

"We don't need games; we have an honest, real...when we make love, we don't need..."

"And when you fuck?" cut in Lucius, his lips grazing her cheek.

"You...you're...you're vile!" she spat, growing more and more flustered by the moment by his provocative precense as well as by her body betraying her: for her vaginal muscles had clenched at his utterance of 'fuck', tightening with a dull aching and anticipation.

Lucius' head suddenly swooped downwards, and she felt his burning lips plant themselves on the sensitive skin of her neck, sucking hard, expertly swivelling, causing shivers to run down her spine. With all her will, she jerked away, shoving against Lucius. To no avail.

Just as quickly and forcefully astute, his body pressed against her, pinning her into place. His mouth continued to swirl circularly, his teeth and tongue lightly nipping and grazing her softness, causing her to squirm. With all rationalness speedily dissipating, Astoria was melting before him; with each touch, each suck and nip, she was uncontrollably aroused.

"Don't!" Anxious, she fiercely whispered, "Don't mark me!"

His breathing had become more laborious. His needs exigent, pressing him to be impulsive, feral.

"Stop kissing me!"

"Again, so cruel."

Lucius had had enough of her perceived coyness and grabbed her chin to force her to look at him. Keeping his burning, unrelentless gaze, he pointed out, "See? See you do know how to play games, my dear. You've just made up our first excruciatingly exquisite rule: no kissing. No kissing these luscious lips of yours." His thumb pad began to trace her bottom lip. "I agree. Too intimate, yes? Intimacy involves 'making love', and we won't be intimate 'that' way, Astoria; we'll just fuck, shall we?"

His blunt words reverberated in her mind, as Astoria wavered under his bodyheat. Concupiscent and volatile. She felt his warm breath against her neck and inhaled his masculine scent mixed with a sweet muskiness of his cologne; his scent filled her. She became utterly lost. ...fuck hard and deep, deep within you. My seed deep within you... A whirling confusion surrounded her and she knew not whether she had wished these words or if Lucius had indeed spoken them: for his virile energy had struck an unknown chord of excitement, an uncontrollable welling surged in her; her breasts pleasantly ached underneath his fingertips as he lightly caressed her; her nipples tingled, hardening, along with a dull burning between her legs, her muscles sporadically contracting in yearning.

"I ... I just need..." She was stopped by Lucius' persistent touching, again, of her lips.

"What you need..." Ever so gently, he inserted his thumb tip into her parted lips, tracing lightly her front teeth, her shallow panting increasing in tempo. Hmm... so ripe for the taking...

Abruptly, he broke away from her and stepped back.

"I'm going to teach you..." Pausing, he gazed in pleasure at her aroused state: her scarlet blush on her cheeks, her heavy breathing, her raw undisguised need, "how to play games, Astoria, fully... I'm going to teach you how to appreciate all the things I can do for you..." His eyes glinted with inspiration. "And what you can do for me..."

Her dilated orbs told Lucius everything she couldn't.

"Close your eyes," he heatedly whispered.

Not knowing why she was unable to refuse, Astoria complied. Pressing her eyes shut tightly, the trembling, dark-haired witch felt his touch.

"I understand more than you what you need... all your needs." His hands had caressed lower, resting on her womb.

As he pressed gently, Astoria's eyelids shot open, wide-eyed.

"I just need..." Her eyes darted desperately to the phial.

"For St Mungo's, yes, but first..." Astoria felt her skirt being raised, being draped loosely over his arms which then braced themselves around her hips; his fingertips discovering where her thigh-high stockings ended and her bare skin began.

She impulsively grabbed and pressed his hands to stop them from going further. With his hawk-like gaze and steadfast poise, Lucius patiently waited. Deadlocked. They had both frozen in place. The waves of tension swelling between them.

"Look at me!" he whispered fiercely. She refused.

"Just let go. Please, Lucius." The sensation of his fingertips was replaced by his full muscular hands firmly pressing her hips against the wall, causing her to gasp as he squeezed tightly.

Abruptly, he let go. Stepping back, Lucius then sat in front of her on the edge of the desk.

The blond wizard sardonically sneered at her. Force you? No, my little prickteaser – never! I'll have you begging me on your hands and knees, very soon, witch!

With a hardened tone, he commented, "Very well. Do you remember my rule?" Lucius tersely unbuttoned his trousers, watching her with every jerk of his hooks. Once he had finished, he waited.

Remembering that Lucius had caustically implied he'd never masturbate for her to fill the phial, that she must jerk him off if she wanted a semen sample, Astoria crossed over to him. With each step, her guilty anxiety and growing queasy feeling was seeking some release. I must do this and get it over with, before... I can't think straight...

This morning had been a spontaneous, unforseen happening between them. Lucius caught her with her guard down; becoming aroused so quickly, she surprised herself. But now? Torn between a barely controllable aroused state of being and desperately clinging to, but losing her grip on, any decent rationality, she felt lost as if in a dream and wildly detached from the concrete reality of the Ministry walls that surrounded them: only aware of the vulgar ruttishness overtaking her as she neared her elder Malfoy's body seeping with steamy raw sexuality.

Neither spoke as she placed herself in front of him.

Neither spoke as her fingers tentatively inched their way through and under his crotch opening of his underpants.

Astoria felt the burning heat of his stiffened cock. She gingerly strummed its length up and down, slowly increasing her pressure.

Lucius leaned back on the desk top, bracing his torso up, his head slowly arched back, his hips clenched tightly. Astoria kept her hold firm and tight as her rhythm of stroking his staff increased in pressure and speed.

Abruptly, he grabbed her hand, stopping her stroking. "Turn around."

She froze, not complying.

He grabbed the phial and shoved it in her hand. "It's going to take more than a hand job, my dear." Lucius stood up, his rock hard cock pressing against her, and he whispered huskily in her ear, "Don't worry; I'll withdraw before ejaculating; so if you wish this filled...turn around!"

She acquiesced, lost in the moment, everything blurring as she turned around and felt her skirt being raised again, the cool air hitting her exposed skin. Her buttocks being felt appreciatively, being massaged apart. Then, Astoria felt Lucius pressing and moulding his full body against hers.

"Spread your legs," he whispered hotly, reinforced by his knee wedging in between the back of her thighs. With one hand pulling her knickers' crotch fabric aside, he began to finger not only her pussy and clit expertly, but his quickly lubricated thumb pad slowly entered and began probing her anal orifice. Encircling her with one arm, pressing against her womb, he guided her to lean back, melding into his chest, her head nestled against his.

Astoria sharply felt his erection burning against her buttocks, seeking an entrance, even as he kept his rhythmic in-and-out fingering. "So tense. Relax. Give over to me. Let me pleasure you. No one will know. Just you and I." His other hand wandered decisively from her womb down into her silk-laced knickers to press and probe her clitoris from her frontal side.

As he alternated rhythmically inserting his forefingers with astute skill and precision, whilst massaging deeper into her anus with his thumb, Astoria began to sway back and forth with him, giving over to undulating as he guided her to do. Her moans were soft and supressed. Neither knew when it happened, but she twisted her head upwards finding Lucius' bent downwards, and their mouths met. Their tongues caught each other's, and they began to mirror the lunging and plunging of his fingerfucking her other orifices until Lucius could deny his burning cock no more. He grabbed and placed his tip in the centre of her wet heat, first rubbing it teasingly around her labial folds, poking and pressing against her clit until gradually guiding it back to her vaginal entrance.

Mastering his control, Lucius spread her buttocks and abruptly rammed the head inside her cunt, sheathing half his cock within her tight, wet heat. He couldn't help himself...she is so bloody tight!...and bit down on her shoulder. Astoria jerked, arching back in a cry, thrusting, jamming herself backwards, sheathing his entire thick cock deep inside her, causing Lucius to simultaneously groan and curse in pleasure.

She cried out in ecstasy. Her body had been so manually aroused, and now his thick cock was pounding into her. Wildly. So deep she could feel the soft slapping of his balls against her labia.

In their coital raptus and frenzy, Lucius bent her over the cushioned desk chair and gave over to the exquisite tightness and searing heat of her cunt, fucking her pussy as if he'd never fucked one before. Making up for lost time from that forsaken, hellish quod of Azkaban. The maddening loneliness and celibate fortitude, the vitriolic resentment rushed through him, venting itself through his pounding madly into Astoria's delicious sex.

She grabbed and clawed the chair, grasping where she could to brace herself as he fucked her left and right, around and around; the sounds of flesh slapping flesh, his grunts and huffs mixed with her mewling and delirious cries of carnal delight resounding in the stone chamber.

Lucius started to feel his balls tightening and groaned angrily. With a loud huff, he masterfully pulled out of her cunt, ignoring the high-pitched, broken moan which escaped from Astoria.

"Accio!" he hissed.

The phial flew into his hand.

"Sit," he gasped, strained.

Breathing heavily, Astoria plopped into the cushioned desk chair.

"Your skirt. Raise it."

As she slowly raised the satin material higher, Lucius slowly began to stroke himself. "Higher," he urged softly.

She complied.

"Open your legs." he rasped out, "Wider!"

She draped one leg over the cushioned arm of the deskchair.

"Now, touch yourself."

Frustrated, Astoria complied. They held each other's gaze. Lucius' stroking quickened pace as her fingers strummed herself up and down. "Insert your fingers," he instructed, huffing heavily, his voice straining from the onanistic exertion. Attempting to forestall his brimming ejaculation a few seconds longer, he watched as her fingers entered her cunt.

Lucius inhaled. "Pleasure yourself. Fuck yourself."

As he watched Astoria close her eyes in lascivious abandonment, probing her sex, in and out, her undulating body and soft, shy grunts of erotic pleasure, the blond wizard increased the friction of his tight stroking of his cock's tip, and in a gruff, released cry, he at last came into the phial.

Expediently, he quickly put a stopper on the full phial and placed it carefully down again beside his wand, but then Lucius swiftly swirled and knelt down in front of Astoria.

Her eyes flew open as she felt his hands, still sticky wet from his own cum, spreading her thighs wider, his fingers hooking and pulling her knicker's crotch aside again, and his head lunged between her legs. She felt his sharp, searching tongue entering her and his hot mouth sucking her wetness down. Her vaginal muscles began contracting madly, clenching hard, yearning for release. Lucius raised his head only to insert first two fingers, pumping her rhythmically, then three. As she mewled and gasped, he felt her muscles contracting tightly, and he spread her labia wider with his other fingers to tease her aroused clit with the tip of his tongue. Determinedly fingerfucking her along, he sucked and swirled her swollen clitoris until he had her in tears of ecstacy and trembling, orgasming. He swallowed her gushing cum down while placing his thumb pad firmly on her pulsing clitoris. He was determined to eat her raw, until she could gather voice enough and beg him otherwise. If she'd be able to under his hungry salacious administrations.

Yes, I'll make you beg me to stop... So he sucked and sucked her. Her growing cries of released pleasure reverberating in the stony caverned office. Lucius relished her fingers grasping and clawing at his shoulders, pulling his hair, her body undulating, squirming; but he kept her pressed and pinned down, burrowing and drinking her in as she came yet again.

He paused to catch his breath and was caught off guard as he felt Astoria's hands pull at him.

Grey eyes met hazel ones.

In the heat of the moment, she beckoned him upwards as she lowered her head to meet his lips, both hungrily desiring to taste each other.

Their lips met, and tongues lunged, tasting her essence mixed with his saliva, savouring each other's blended fluids.

Lost in their spontaneous exploration, Lucius' arms went up around and pulled her fiercely to him; her legs instinctively wrapped around his torso.

Suddenly, he froze. Lucius felt something. Something he had felt only once in his life. And that was long ago. Not since Narcissa and I had...

Astoria had gently placed her hands on him, cupping his face gently as a true lover would.

Abruptly, he broke off the kiss.

Slowly unwrapping himself from Astoria, he momentarily lowered his eyes, and then, reticently, Lucius moved back, while reservedly placing her skirt down.

Only one person had ever touched him like that; only one person in very similar circumstances to whom he had permitted himself to be vulnerable to, who had awakened something even remotely tender inside him, so long ago: Narcissa.

Lucius snapped up.

Looking down at Astoria, he blinked hard. She will bear my child...

Shoving this thought aside, he brusquely turned away and briskly dressed himself. When he had finished, the blond wizard took his wand and, unwarding the room, paused a second longer to preen himself.

Then, without looking back at her, Lucius crossed to the door to leave and curtly remarked, "Your phial is ready, filled as ordered, for you to take to St Mungo's."

He exited, leaving Astoria who was now standing, shakily. Leaving her feeling used and so very alone.

Perplexed, a seizure of doubt and guilty panic overtook her. She doubted herself...what she should do next.

Taking and holding the full ampoule in her hand, the great terret of what was to be done hit Astoria hard.

Unwilling or unable to formulate what this interaction with Lucius had deeply, truly done to her, Astoria blinked back the tears as she slowly redoubled her will to carry through with her plan. At that moment, her inner-strength pulsated up and through her. The dark-haired witch determined to accomplish her goal. At any cost.

I will protect Draco, at any cost. I will do this for us, at any cost. Lucius will not get the better of me... at any cost...

Astoria could not foresee the near future, what this meant, how she would be changed. What the true price would be. For all of them.

Lucius...

The only thing Astoria knew at that exact moment in time was that she was holding the direction of all of their futures in her hand.

Draco...

Astoria proceeded onward.

*******************************

A/N: The greatest gratitude to star_girl, the grande Muse and mentor, nudging me into this and graciously giving me support and encouragement, and also, to the one and only emdramaqueen for another thorough grammar betaing and a 'knob-less' text!