Whose Universe Are We In?

24

July 25th

They had stayed out of sight the day following Dan’s birthday, both waking with hangovers, quickly assuaged by Alan’s potions. They had spent the day working out, resting and eating, chiefly, leavened with the odd good book and the more frequent good fuck. They stayed out of sight but not out of mind the whole day and didn’t emerge for as much as a piece of toast. In the Great Hall, no-one expected them and they were plentifully gossiped about in their absence.

Both Dan and Alan were aware of the glances shot their way the morning after as they entered the Great Hall hand in hand, grinning and looking just fine and dandy, thanks all the same. Although their honeymoon had been short, everyone seemed to agree that it had been fierce and beautiful, judging from the way the newly-bonded couple clung to each other, shamelessly using their telepathic skills before company, and generally making everyone dewy-eyed and murmuring, “Aw”,’s.

Where Severus Snape may have blown a stack at such an outpouring, however discreet, Alan seemed not fazed in the slightest, in fact turned and grinned at a few folk as he hugged Harry tight, murmuring, “Excuse me, the bond, you know”, to hear Dan mutter in his mind as he laughed, {You fucking fraud, you just want to molest me in public and have an excuse}.

Alan chuckled low in Dan’s ear, making Dan groan quietly. {You are so right}, Alan purred, grinning as he made a mess of his lover, starting on his ears and neck. Amongst murmurs of ‘Get a room’ and associated howls and catcalls, Alan kissed Dan thoroughly. {We have to show them the passion of the bond}, the dark voice Dan heard in his head made him grin around his Alan’s tongue, {Yeah}, his mind gasped as his body was hefted flush with his beloved’s. They had to excuse themselves from the morning meeting.

No-one minded. There was a general feeling that this vital bond was being nurtured even while the participants were barely known to them. At that point, neither of them cared as they rushed from the hall with embarrassing haste, meeting warm glances, along with thumbs-up and other encouraging gestures, fired after them as they fled.

As Alan pressed Dan into a cold stone wall, he murmured, {We are being spoiled, you know that, don’t you?} Dan had to rise onto his toes in order to kiss his bonded, {Yeah. ‘Course we are. We’re being feted.....indulged....our every whim granted to us within reason. We are the hope, where Severus and Harry weren’t.....or couldn’t be. Actually, I don’t blame them in some way....}, Dan’s ‘send’ trailed off.

Alan disengaged himself from Dan’s mouth and backed his head up without relinquishing his tight hold on his husband, {Dan, love, we were picked out, deliberately brought here, to act out their grand plan and you don’t blame them?}, the end of Alan’s send was angry and hissed into Dan’s mind.

Gazing back into that troubled face, Dan tried to send as much soothing as he could across their link until he saw Alan’s expression soften, then he said, “No. Not really. After all, if you saw the salvation of your world but a heartbeat away, wouldn’t you want to try and grab it, by fair means or foul? Let’s face it, we aren’t lacking for anything here, are we, and we have each other in a way we never thought possible, don’t we? I love being with you; married to you. It makes me feel so strong. I love you}.

Alan had to capitulate and kiss his lover. When he withdrew, he laughed softly, {Aye, there’s something about this wizarding lark that brings out the old-fashioned chivalric ways, isn’t there? You have the Knight and his Second appearing out of nowhere, nay, swapped for the ones in their world, who, while brave, are no match for the Big Man. But here come the arrivistes, swaggering, with not even the clothes on their backs, and save the world}. Dan shrugged in Alan’s arms and kissed his cheek, {Yeah. That’s our job now}. Alan gazing down into Dan’s eyes, and realised that they weren’t playing at this any more. How the fuck had he got into this?

Later, Alan was the first to wake after their light doze. He was still mainly dressed and slapped at his forearm distractedly, scratching the itch through the cloth of his shirt as he sat up. He itched again and muttered, ‘Damn midges, get everywhere’, as he scratched. Dan was soon awake beside him and Alan was distracted for a while as Dan rose to the surface.

They kissed and fooled about until Dan sat upright, slapping at his forehead. “Fuck! Midges! I hate them. They love me. Aaargh!”, and proceeded to scratch until Alan intervened, seeing blood, “Whoa, love, let me see. You shouldn’t scratch the tops off, it can lead to infection. Here, let me see”, and with this, Alan raised his still-itchy arm and hand to Dan’s head, pushing back the shock of thick hair and gasped.

“Dan”, he said aloud, “You haven’t been bitten, love, it’s your scar”.

Then a thought struck him and he rolled back the loose sleeve of his shirt. Damn, not a bite. His Dark Mark showed red and puffy on his skin. {We need to see Dumbledore. Now}, his mind urged, and Dan turned at the concern, nay, fear, that transmitted itself with these simple words. Dan merely nodded, {He’s close, isn’t he? That’s why we can finally feel him, isn’t it? Poor Tom, I wonder how he’s bearing up? C’mon, let’s firecall the headmaster}, and they rolled off their bed simultaneously, rushing into the lounge.

With his head in the Floo, Dan looked around the headmaster’s office and called several times to hear no reply, save the odd chirrup from Fawkes, sitting preening his new gleaming feathers on his perch. Huffing in disappointment, Dan suddenly felt himself being pulled backwards out of the fireplace, and as he emerged, it was to the sound of knocking.

Looking up once he was back in their quarters, it was to see Alan race to the door and yank it open to admit a harried headmaster with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks in tow. The Aurors were here, this couldn’t be good, a fact confirmed with the first words from the headmaster’s mouth.

There was no twinkling, no bonhomie, and the man looked every year of his venerable age as he dashed in with his robes flying behind him and announced, “Voldemort and his troops have just been spotted from the east tower, they are at the gates. Gentlemen, the hour is at hand. Bloody hell, Daniel, you’re bleeding, son, are you all right?”

Dan wiped the trickle away with the back of his hand, looking dazedly at the smear of blood, “Yeah, it just started itching like buggery....thought we’d been bitten by midges!”, he huffed out a shaky laugh. Dumbledore looked askance at Alan, who revealed his Mark to the scrutiny of the Aurors, “Yes. I also itch and the Mark is sore”. Albus inclined his head, “But the pain is bearable, yes?” Alan nodded, “Barely hurts, just itches like the blazes”. Dumbledore nodded then whirled on his heel, making to depart. As he did, he called over his shoulder, “Come, then, we are all assembling in the Great Hall. Oh, and I advise you to dress...er....appropriately”. With a chuckle, he and the Aurors left at a run.

Seeing the shocked look on Dan’s face, Alan pushed the door shut, went to him and took him into his arms, just holding him tight, {Are you frightened?}, he ventured, cautiously, and felt Dan’s head move against his shoulder as he nodded, {Yeah, fucking petrified. I don’t wanna die, Alan}, came across small and scared. Holding tighter, Alan kissed Dan’s hair, {So don’t. Stick together like glue, let the others watch our backs and seek out the main prize in short order, don’t waste time on others if we can avoid it, our magic still drains faster than those trained over many years. We’ll have to trust them, Dan, it’s what you blood-bonded to them all for. Come on, kiss me, know that I’ll always love you, then let’s go}. Smiling now, Dan obeyed and they lost themselves in each other, pouring out all the love and connectedness they felt mind-to-mind; tongue-to-tongue, in ways far beyond words. Thus fortified, they dressed down in workmanlike robes, tucked their wands carelessly into the ropes around their waists and thus attired and booted, they left the dungeons for the Hall, both hoping fervently that they would be sleeping once more in that bed come the night.

Neither felt like eating but they both gagged food down. An exhausted looking Remus Lupin sat opposite them and regarded them blearily, “Poor Tom’s doped up to the eyeballs, this is so hard on him. I had to give him triple the dose of potion and revive him when his lips started to turn blue. He needs to go back to his world, he’s in so much pain he can barely stand it but I finally got him to sleep. I pray Merlin that this is over soon, I change in three days”. Looking up from his food, there wasn’t much Dan could say to this so he just nodded and carried on eating. Alan made a terse gesture with his fork, “Come on, Lupin, he’s safe for now, eat, man, you’ll need your energy and we need you out there”. At this, Remus smiled and pulled a plate towards him.

The meal almost over, the huge double doors burst open and Luna Lovegood flew in, “Jaysis, sir, but there’s over five hundred of ‘em out there, sir, and there’s trolls and spiders an’ all sorts, sir”, she came to a breathless halt in front of the table. All eyes were on Dumbledore. He nodded slowly, “Very well, Miss Lovegood, please sit and eat. Has the guard changed?” She sat hastily and snagged a plate, quickly filling it, nodding as she talked round her food, “Yes. Blaise is on duty with Ron. The death eaters are right under the walls and they’ve got some sort of weapon with them in their midst but it’s hard to make out, it’s under layers of spells too dense to read through. ‘S pretty big though and it’s long and it takes up about twenty men’s worth of space in a line, if that makes sense, stood up not laid down, other than that, can’t tell”, she stuffed a chicken leg in her mouth and chewed heartily.

Albus looked thoughtful, “Perhaps a field weapon of some sort, a battering ram, perhaps to breach the walls, some sort of cannon, maybe? Hmmm, this bears thinking about though I fear our time runs thin. Excuse me a moment, ladies and gentlemen, for I have to go and strengthen the wards. If you, Kingsley and you, Arthur would like to accompany me?”, it wasn’t really a question and the two men rose instantly.

Voices were low and concern lay thick in the air in the Hall, they were all waiting. Dan finally pushed away his plate and looked around him. About half of the overall numbers were there and he presumed the rest to be on sentry detail around the castle. As they waited, several folk came and went, relieving those on watch so everyone was able to eat. There were small groups and cliques murmuring together but everyone ingested hearty meals. Dan had to smirk, they sure liked their food in this world and he had been quite surprised at his own capacity in the face of such an impending crisis.

Still, after a couple of hours, the gathered company were starting to become restless and the voices grew louder, some demanding to know what in Merlin’s name they were all waiting for. They were just becoming restive and downright impatient when Dumbledore came bursting in, his beard and robes flapping, “Come, one and all, we are joined in battle this day”, then turned and ran back the way he had come. As he spun, Dan noticed the heavy scabbard hanging at the old man’s side and right then, would have bet a Galleon to a Knut that it was the Sword of Gryffindor that the wizard wore. Somehow the thought calmed him and he rose along with the others.

How did one ‘go to war’? Alan found himself wondering as they sauntered along the corridor in the wake of the others, none of whom seemed to want to rush anywhere. Did one walk, stalk, march, run, crouch? How did one ‘go to war’? He picked broccoli surreptitiously from his teeth and almost sniggered at the absurdity of it all. Here he was, possibly about to die and worrying about green teeth. Life was just too damned strange sometimes. His feet felt like lead and he felt as if he were wading through treacle, the fear no doubt, then all of a sudden they were outside and the sun nearly blinded them.

He glanced at Dan, who did the quick ‘blink-and-open’ technique common amongst actors coming out onto stage in very bright lights. He smiled and did the same, there, that was better, he could see again. He felt a trembling hand in his and he gripped slightly, he and Dan exchanging a look and a small smile, then they were down the steps and in the field before the castle’s main entrance.

The party stopped. There was a pall of smoke directly in front of them at the other side of the school gates, they knew the enemy waited without but Albus held up a hand for them all to stop, “We will engage them on the grounds. We have many more protections inside Hogwarts perimeter than outside. Yes, they will smash down either the gates or a portion of wall. Let them have this small victory, let them in then annihilate them. Give no quarter for none shall be given unto you. From now on our esteemed guests are Harry and Severus. Now let us take up our positions and be ready to fight”.

In the heat of the afternoon, Dan found his mind wandering, was this what it was like to be at war? This stillness, the tension, the hum of insects in the grass? They should be out at the lake sunning themselves on a day like this, not standing around waiting to be killed. They were vastly outnumbered. Dan smiled as he felt Alan’s arm go around his shoulder as they stood, and he let himself relax into the hold for a moment.

Ginny Weasley came among them with flagons of cool water and slices of orange to fortify them during the wait. They all jumped and exclaimed, water spilling everywhere as with a loud bang and a cloud of dust, a section of the stone wall fell into the grounds, the snout of the battering ram following afterwards. There were shouts and there were death eaters swarming through the breech with wands raised and curses rolling off their tongues.

The force stood still at the base of the steps until, on a word from Dumbledore, they all charged into the fray.

There were hexes and curses flung hither and yon. There were no ‘jelly-legs’, or ‘bat-bogeys’. This was bloody serious. There were leg-lockers and ‘petrificus totalus’ flung about, and as Dan ducked a stream of red light, he could have sworn he heard an Unforgivable Cruciatus cast from the forces of Light behind him. It seemed even the white knights weren’t above fighting dirty. He smiled grimly as the dust cleared and he could get a proper look at the battlefield.

There were white masks everywhere and their owners’ bodies slung around on the ground like puppets with their strings cut, limbs arranged in obscene and twisted arrays and with a hissed in breath, Dan saw one or two of their own side: a woman lying face-down in the dusty grass, blood matting the hair at the back of her head, she was obviously dead: a man lying on his back, his wide eyes stared at the sky, directly into the sun, seeing nothing, his wand still grasped in his hand.

Alan nudged Dan from his reverie, pointing at a thick knot of deatheaters fighting off what looked like most of the DA. “I think they’re his guard”, Alan muttered as he fired off yet another hex, sectumsempra, and the man running towards them was unmasked and fell at their feet, his chest and belly a mass of flayed welts, blood spurting freely. With a shaking voice, Dan cast his first ‘Avada’, and the eyes glazed over, remaining open. In a swift move, Dan knelt and closed them then stood before he and Alan melted into the edges of the melee, heading for the thick knot of the enemy.

****
From a vantage point high up in the Gryffindor tower, they were observed. Their watcher cheered them on in a slurred voice, sitting in his window seat with this commanding view of all below him. He read both sides’ tactics and had to applaud the Light side, they definitely had their game heads on. Then his attention was caught by the two skulking around at the edge of the small brake of trees, making for the thick of the battle, and he cheered aloud again. He watched as the two skulkers quietly felled any and all outriders at the edges of the battle then disappear amongst the trees. What the hell were they up to? They had to get in there and kill this Voldemort geezer. What the fuck were they doing going into the woods alone?

****

Dan leaned against a skinny tree and allowed himself to slide down it until he was sitting on the ground, his knees raised before him. He looked up at his lover and transmitted, {I’m spent. I have very little magic left. Damn. We had to kill too many. I’m bloody knackered}. Alan crouched down, putting his long hands on Dan’s knees, {You use my magic, lover, you use mine}. Dan breathed in deep then smiled and nodded, {Thanks, love, I know, but I’m so wrecked, at this moment, I doubt I’d even be able to open the conduit between us to receive it}.

Oh. This was bad.

And the only thing that seemed to swiftly restore their magic levels? Unthinkable out here on a battlefield with folk dying all around them. Besides who was in the mood for ‘that’, right now? Alan sighed, like it or not, it was a part of the bond and Dan had to adjust his magic levels and quickly. With a small groan he rounded on Dan and kissed him. Dan, quite taken aback, tried to wriggle away but something in Alan’s kiss started to trickle much-needed magic into his system and instead, he hung on tighter.

Alan read all this quickly and strengthened his kiss, feeling his bonded move closer as he spread himself on the leafy woodland floor. The noise of the battle was distant and with a wave of his hand, Dan made it disappear for a short while. The actual sex was short and a little brutal, leaving them both sweaty under their clothes, layers having been pushed roughly away for access only. Alan pulled out of Dan and Dan fell to the ground, grinning, {Wow, babe, you are an amazing fuck. Now clean me up. I’ve a battle to fight and a Dark Lord to kill}. Alan slapped his bare arse, {Cover that up or he’ll want that, too}, before casting an industrial strength cleaning charm over them both. The silencing charm wore off and the noises of the battle intruded once again.

Full again with magic, Dan kissed his beloved, wrapped his arms around him and together they strolled from the trees into the maelstrom of battle.

****

Tom actually laughed when he saw the obviously sated pair emerge from between the thin trees, their arms wrapped around each other. From up here he could almost see the blush that he new Dan would be sporting after a quick and satisfying encounter. His chest felt tight. These two belonged together and he didn’t belong here. He was sad as he watched them emerge, now all caution but still in close contact and watched as they silently and wandlessly scythed down the enemy’s forces from the rear, catching them unawares.

****

This way they managed to dispatch most of the trolls and sent the spiders running for cover. All of this magic, they joint-cast, to save Dan for the big event, but as that approached, Dan had to take Alan out of the frenzy to a quieter place a moment.

There was blood on Alan’s face and under it he was so pale. Dan kissed him and stroked his blood-streaked hair. Alan slumped in Dan’s arms, {I’m tiring fast, Dan. I have almost no magic left. Please, lover, don’t let me die. I want to spend a long life with you} Dan grinned a little ferally, {Then I have to fuck the magic back into you, just like you did for me}. Alan’s eyes cast around the site, they were considerably more exposed than before.

Dan waved his hand and cast a cast-iron ‘Imperturbable’ around them then took his beloved into his arms. Once again there was no problem with the sex and Alan smiled, even laughed as he felt his magic returned to him. They exchanged soft laughter as they adjusted their clothes, stood once more, had a last kiss and Dan dismantled the spell, to see the battle still raging, a pall of smoke hanging over the whole place. Far from exhausted, the pair slunk back to the edges of the battle. They had only one objective in mind: find Voldemort and kill him.

Gradually the force protecting Voldemort was thinned. Dan saw Ron fight valiantly. His breath caught as Ron was hit by a Stunning hex that threw him backwards until the stalwart lad shook his head, winced painfully, rose to his feet and dashed off to continue fighting. They now could see glimpses of their target as the forces were further felled.

Dan cried out and had to turn away as he saw one of the Patil twins fall, but Alan’s steadying hand in his back reminded him that they needed to stay in the background, not rush forwards too soon, although with Parvarti’s death, Dan felt tempted. He breathed heavily as Alan restrained him, {No, Danny. Not yet. We need to wait. I know it’s hard, love, but we need to still operate from the shadows, conserve our energy. Can you not feel it? The way it thrums through our veins? All the more reason to save it for the final showdown. I think we will need all of it, but right now, lover, husband, we have it all. Can you not feel it in your balls? Your heart?}

Sagging against his beloved, Dan nodded. He could feel all the power coiled at the base of his spine, itching for release. He loved the way Alan took care of him, simply loved him and was there in what he needed to do. In that instant, Dan saw that whatever he did next, Alan would always be there for him in a way no-one in his life had ever quite been, except one, and she was the other side of this weird curtain between worlds.

With a pang and a murmured, “This is for you, Chrissie”, he turned and straightened in his lover’s arms. {Let’s do this fucking thing}, he ‘sent’, and was briefly rendered senseless with one of his bonded’s exuberant kisses. There was a polite cough that brought them round.

They unhanded each other but were still touching to see Hermione before them, grinning her head off. She had to shake her head and cough past a lump in her throat before she eventually said, “We’ve cleared a path through the jungle, guys. All you have to do is the...erm...final bit. Look, it can never be painless, but we’ve done all we can. It’s down to you, Dan, now”.

Squaring his shoulders, Dan followed her, Alan right behind him with a hand on his shoulder, keeping the two in constant touch.

{Keep your eyes front}, Alan warned as his own eyes scanned the carnage all around them. Dan trusted Alan and Hermione to keep him safe and he obeyed without question. Time enough to do that later, he thought.

He knew he was being guided down an aisle composed of piles of bodies on both sides. The stench of blood was strong in his nostrils and he fought down nausea as he walked purposefully, Hermione’s guiding hand in his back and his lover right beside him, their fingers entwined. There was a pool of darkness ahead of them and this is where they were going.

The Dark Lord was showing both his displeasure and his colours by such a display on such a sunny day, but by now he cared not as one after another, his cohorts fell. His repeated requests to ‘bring me Potter’, had fallen on deaf ears as his army strove merely to stay alive in the face of this tiny well-trained army who had almost as much darkness up their sleeves as did the opposition but they tired and they let them in and were bested by them and were held at bay while their master writhed in a bind on the ground.

It was thus that Dan and Alan found him. On the grassy floor, somehow diminished by the ropes that bound him and the multitude of spells that held him, their dozen or so casters concentrating their powers on this single spot. Dan sighed, what else could he do? He had already killed several times tonight. He was now blooded. In his indecision he hesitated until he felt Alan’s arms around him, {We do this together, Potter, or not at all}, was transmitted to him strongly enough to make him come back with a start and face the shrivelled wreck of a wizard before them.

They didn’t even use their wands. Afterwards, all who had witnessed it said it was the most.....beautiful...use of magic that they had ever seen. The two had come together, as if to kiss or dance. They extended their arms as if hearing the beginnings of the tango in their heads and pressed together cheek to cheek, then, with cheeky smiles, mouth to mouth. Dan smiled against the hard lips, {Love you, Alan}. To feel Alan’s lips curve against his and open slightly, the surprisingly soft tongue emerging, {Love you too, my Danny. Now let’s finish him off as per that thrice-damned prophecy. I want to live in peace with you}, and that was all the spur Dan needed.

Their hands extended even while they joined, meshing most of their fingers together whilst leaving the middle to point at their target, still huddled under his battery of spells. Dan didn’t care, this was the work of all those on the right side, all those who just wanted to get on with their lives and with all the build-up of passion, hatred and mission, he finally willed both his and Alan’s magic along their pointing fingers and aimed it straight at the heart of the cowering man.

He took a while to die but eventually the lights went out and his head lolled. An evil stinking cloud rose above him and was quickly dispelled by the Weasley twins. No-one wanted Voldemort’s lingering bit of soul transplanting itself. There were no cheers as the last of the smoke dissipated. They had all expected more of a bang but instead had a whimper.

Still, the bastard was dead.

Judging from the loud wails and moans coming from the injured on the battlefield, the demise of Voldemort was having an effect on the majority of his followers, who writhed and screeched and contorted in agony until several of them just disappeared amidst agonised howls, leaving their shells of bodies behind.

Amidst the smoke and ashes of the battlefield, Alan smiled. They had done it. They had done what they came for and they were still alive. He turned and gathered an exhausted Dan into his arms, pressing kisses into his beloved’s hair and murmuring nonsense into his mind.

They both stiffened at the sizzle of a curse behind them and still, battle-honed, they spun round as a unit, arms out but Dean Thomas grinned and brought the curse to a halt, dissipating it with a flick of his wand then he and another of the DA turned and promptly dispatched the caster who had chanced a last one in his death throes.

There was no mercy shown to surviving death eaters felled in the battle but still alive. A squad went out from the rearguard forces and did what they had to. The sounds of the dying reached the survivors on the light side and all of a sudden, Dan didn’t feel so light any more. He held up a hand and a white light shot from it, making all pause in their actions.

“Stop the killings. Take the rest in. Make the buggers stand trial but stop killing them. They were once like we are, forces for the Light until they were turned. Let’s try and understand them, guys, not kill them”. It was with this last command, that Dan’s body gave out and he folded gracefully to the floor with Alan’s weakening arms trying to cushion his descent. It was only with Dan safe from falling any further that Alan finally allowed himself to black out, sinking to his knees before falling behind his lover, the force of his fall flinging his arm out, that landed in the dip in Dan’s waist. His last conscious thought was of pulling Dan towards him.

****

On his window seat high up in the tower, Tom laughed as he held his left arm at the elbow, watching the silver cuff disintegrate before his eyes. Voldemort really was dead. He should really exult but he was too stoned to do more than hold his arm and watch his Dark Mark fade.

From his high eyrie he watched as the battlefield was cleaned up, as the scorched grass was restored after the bodies had been removed. Dan and Alan had been amazing and he watched them both being stretchered off the field, still holding hands, their bearers having to march beside each other in order that this might be so. To see this cheered Tom more that he was prepared to admit. He missed Remus but he still wanted to go home. He sighed then drew away from the window. He needed to break this drug habit too. Why was his life so shite?

****

This time when they awoke in the hospital wing, it was in a bed spelled big enough for two. Dan delighted in the feeling of his Alan spooned behind him and snuggled shamelessly backwards feeling a nascent erection pressing into his arse through several layers of regulation-issue pyjamas. Glancing down at himself, Dan saw that once again, he wore the red and yellow stripe. The arm snaked around him, clamping him to the strong body at his back wore the green and grey. Dan smiled and fell asleep again, knowing that he was both safe and loved.

Alan surfaced briefly in order to hold his beloved to him, {You are alive, Danny, you are safe and you are with me and you are loved beyond reason. Please do not stay asleep too long. I know you need to reconnect your magical core. Feed off me, lover, that’s what I’m here for}, and Dan heard all this in his mind and wriggled deeper into his lover’s arms, yawning and unable to stay awake a moment longer. In Alan’s arms he collapsed, a dead weight against his chest. After the medi-witch had visited, read him and clucked over him, she soothed him with a wand-pass over him. “Dan is all right, Alan, he’s just suffering another major strain on his magic. You two were magnificent out there in the field and you have saved our sorry arses”.

She slipped from the room and quietly closed the door, shutting out the sounds and yells and groans and howls of pain from the main hospital wing. Alan could hear her voice raised outside the door, issuing orders then it faded into the background hubbub as he closed his eyes, tightened his arms around the form of his husband and let sleep take him from it all for a while.