Harry and Gaia walked away from the fairy oak hand in hand. Gaia shivered, the night air cool against her bare arms.

"Where did I leave my coat?" She wasn't at all sure.

"Give me a moment. I think I know where it is, and I'll bring it to you," Harry replied.

Rubbing his hands together, he came to a stop. Turning back toward the fairy hill, he pulled a wand out of a pocket inside his own jacket. A pale lime green aura formed at its tip, and Harry spoke.

"Hold out your arms, sweetheart."

Gaia did as he told her, and her blue coat appeared with a soft pop. She jammed an arm into one sleeve and swung it around her shoulders, snuggling into the thick camel wool garment.

"It's warm? Where was it? And thank you!" She pulled her hair out from under it and let it fall down her back.

"In your room in the fairy realm. It was an easy retrieval." Harry shrugged his shoulders.

They continued toward the parking lot, in a companionable silence. 

"It appears we're back almost to the minute of when I followed Oberon and Pippin into the door under the tree. I'm still trying to figure out they make it bigger so us normal folk can fit through." Harry paused to point up into the starry night sky. "Look!"

"Shooting stars, three of them. If I were superstitious, I'd say something wonderful was going to happen to us. Oberon came to visit me at the stones it was only just after sunset. The stars weren't even out yet. Do you know what the time is?"

Harry stopped again, and pulled a pocket watch out of another hidden pocket. "Half eleven."

"How did you know you were back to the right time? I just asked you what the time was, you didn't look at your watch before that." Gaia wanted to know what gave him such a precise sense of when he was.

"The moon, sweetheart. It's still in almost the exact spot in the heavens. And a crescent at that, so it's easy to tell which stars were close to the points," Harry explained.

"Well we're back to the stones. It's a climb from here to the village. I find I don't want to hurry."

Harry swung himself up on the altar, and Gaia turned to face him. Standing there his face was above hers and her breath caught in her throat. She conjured a glow, and tossed the pale luminescent orb into the air above them, noting his uneven cheekbones and his strong stubborn jaw.

"Your face has become dear to me, Harry. Thank you for coming to look for me. I would have be lost with out you. Quite possibly dead. Draoi was the most frightening thing I've ever dealt with." She reached up and placed her hands on his shoulders, watching his sparkling green eyes.

"Your courage, facing him down gave me a fright to be sure." Harry's hands came up to either side of her face, and his fingers traced their way down her jaw. "You're still the most perfect woman I've ever seen." His face moved closer to hers and her heart skipped a beat. "You're eyes are the blue of autumn skies and they go black when you fly."

Gaia stretched up on her toes and brushed her lips against his. A tentative taste of firm lips, and the thrill of her first kiss. His hands tightened in her hair and her eyes closed in anticipation.

"Mine, mo gra," his voice was rough, and his lips captured hers, nibbling and pulling at them until she opened to him and his tongue chased hers in a dance as ancient as the druid stone he stood on.

Gaia forgot to breathe. The sensations chasing through her body were electric, and all she could think was more. Her hands linked behind his head, and she pressed herself against him, feeling his response to her. When she finally drew away to gasp for air, her center ached.

"Sweet. Ambrosh doesn't hold a candle to you," Harry whispered. "I've waited for you, for such a long time."

"I wish I was older; we'll have to part. I'm still in school and I can't...." Harry's mouth came down on her lips once more and all thought fled as she tasted the fury of his feelings. His need brought answering thunder as his hands roamed down between them and unbuttoned her coat to find their way inside. Clever fingers brushed the sensitive tips of her breasts, and her knees weakened.

When his hands returned to her face and he pulled her against him, she felt his arousal. A frisson of nerves made her step back a little, "I can't, I've never," she gasped.

"And neither have I, sweetheart. And we'll wait." Harry released his hold on her. He jumped down and held out his hand.

Gaia slipped hers into his and the unbidden thought of safety scurried through her mind. "Why do I always feel like you will protect me? Like you will shield me no matter the cost?"

"Because I love you. Your heart knows it now, and your mind will catch up."

Gaia nodded slowly, "Let's get going. I promised I would be home before the new day. Papa will be furious with us."

"Will he believe you if you tell him the fairies took you?"

"Aye. I'm not sure how Aumia remembered where she came from, but she is my Grammie's sister. Her disappearance is a family legend. I wonder if Oberon would let her visit. Or perhaps he'll let Aumia come home."

"Whatever Aumia's decision is, we'll honor it," Harry said as the reached the wall leading up the hill. "Grandda Robbie and I are going to bring our magic to Murphy's pub. T'was why I was here in the first place. Then I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. I asked your Aunt Ceili where you were."

"Does that mean you'll be moving into our village? What about Erin? Everyone knows about your success in Dublin." Gaia found herself curious. What had Harry been up to since she first met him? And since Samhain at the castle?

They continued, walking swiftly. Gaia's long legs eating up the distance as Harry jogged along behind her. Their questions answered and new respect for each other forming quickly as they explored the time between then and now.

When they arrived behind the pub, Gaia turned to Harry, "You'll be here then? You know I want to travel to explore the world. Are you sure you want to leave everything behind, because the trunk I found the tiara in, is ready to be used as soon as I finish school in the spring."

"I'll be there love."

"And I'll hold you to it." She bent down and brushed a kiss across his lips. "I want more of this."

"Get in here, you two!"

Gaia jumped back like a mouse escaping a cat's paw.

"Papa!"

"You'll be helping to close up. If you're up this late, you might as well be useful. Come along. Harry, you too. We need to have words."

Gaia tugged Harry's hand, leaned down, and whispered, "He doesn't bite. At least not too hard."