A/N: I just want to give a quick thank you to those readers who shot me some ideas about what they would like to see next! Some of the things suggested were already in the works… as you will see in this chapter and a few others have definitely given me some ideas for some filler chapters.

Previously…..

"No. I could have at least texted you back. I was so scared everything we had done had been some kind of ruse to get close to me so that you could hurt me, but at the same time I was a wreck without you. I'm so glad that Grant stopped to talk to me today."

Draco's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. It was then that he remembered their conversation had started out with a question about his best friend.

"Grant talked to you today?"

Catelyn looked down, embarrassed.

"Ya he came to the restaurant and made up some story to get me out of work. He made me realize that maybe I was being a bit ridiculous. I hadn't even given you time to explain," she said. "You know, he really is a great friend. I honestly think that the whole sarcastic ass side of him is just an act."

"I don't know. He can be an asshole," Draco laughed. "But I guess I'll have to thank him for this one."

Catelyn smiled across the table and Draco knew that despite the rocky weekend that they had and the unknown places this might take their relationship, things were headed back into the right direction.

Chapter 15

Draco lay beneath the covers of his California King bed holding Catelyn tight against his right side. He still felt like the last week had been a dream. Catelyn had told him that she loved him, saw the Dark Mark and fled from his apartment, and revealed that she had connections to his world that he never would have imagined. The next few days, they had taken things slowly again, working trust back into their relationship. She told him stories of growing up with a muggle mother and a wizard father and he told her bits and pieces from his childhood, focusing mainly on the happy memories with his mother, but touching briefly on his father as well.

Now they lay in bed together. Catelyn laid her head on his bare chest and traced the contours of the Dark Mark with her nimble index finger, something that he never imagined letting anyone do.

"Did it hurt," she asked suddenly.

Catelyn's question caught Draco off guard. He still was not used to openly talking about the things he had experienced in his past. However over the past couple of days, he had found that telling Catelyn, someone he trusted, about parts of his past had been more therapeutic than years of repressing the memories.

Draco nodded and proceeded to answer her question.

"Ya, but it was quick. One spell and it was on my arm forever. Then it just hurt when he would summon us to him. It would burn like hell. Sometimes I can still feel it. I wake up thinking it's happening all over again."

Draco felt a shiver run through Catelyn's body and he held her closer.

"There isn't anyway to get rid of it?"

"No," he hesitated before continuing, wondering if she was ready to hear some of the stories he had to tell. "I tried once though."

She looked up at him then, a question in her eyes.

Draco still recalled the dream that he woke from the night that Catelyn had run frightened from his apartment. Dreams like those had haunted him most of his short adult life, reminding him of the mistakes he had made.

"I was drunk and had just fought with my mother," Draco explained. "Those fights were becoming a more common occurrence every day, and I hated myself for them. She basically told me that I was going to have to stop blaming my father for everything that was wrong in my life, that at some point I was going to have to take responsibility for what my life was becoming. In the state I was in, I decided that meant removing the mark that my father had been so proud of."

"How did you-"

"I tried to cut it out. My mother walked in and found me barely conscious and got help immediately. If she hadn't heard the thud from me hitting the floor and came to investigate I would probably be dead."

"Oh Draco!" A pained expression passed over her features.

"The Healers were able to able to correct the damage I'd done to my arm, but the Dark Mark remained as dark as ever. It was stupid of me to think that I could get rid of it. It was magically branded. Voldemort made sure when he created the spell that it was a permanent decision. After my arm had healed and I realized what I'd almost done, I knew I had to find another way to change who I had become. Giving up magic and coming here seems to be the better of the two decisions that I made."

"But why give up magic? Why not just leave?"

"Because magic represented everything that was wrong with my life. It represented my pure blood family that was obviously psychotic and the expectations they had of me."

"What about your mother? Did she have those same ideals?"

"Yes and no," said Draco. "She had grown up in the same sort of family that was created for me. It was all she knew. Pure blood supremacy and all that bullshit. She was also raised to believe that the husband made all important decisions for the family. By the time the war was in full swing, she was scared but couldn't start openly defying her husband and all that he stood for. Despite that she made some very hard and life altering decisions near the end."

Catelyn looked deep in thought as she took in Draco's explanations. She shifted slightly, snuggling up closer to him.

"Do you see your mother often?"

"This last time was the first in a while. I don't make a habit of returning home. Every time I do I end up coming home feeling worse than when I left. She came to visit me once. It was hard for her. She felt out of place and uncomfortable. She doesn't go out of her way to mingle with muggles at home, so it was almost as if she were visiting a country where no one spoke her language. Plus, it can be hard to shed the prejudices of others that you have been taught to believe your whole life."

"You did it."

"Ya I did." There was some pride in his voice. "But I changed because I saw something inherently wrong with what was happening. She changed because she was scared for me and my father. It's still a good reason, but not as life altering."

"Does she know about us?" Catelyn asked hesitantly.

"No," Draco replied slowly. He felt bad. It wasn't like he was hiding his relationship from her. It just hadn't come up. Catelyn didn't seem upset by this fact.

"I would really like to meet her someday."

"I think she would like that."

"Promise?"

"Of course," Draco said bending to kiss her gently as he slid his fingers slowly down her stomach and between her legs. "But we have all the time in the world."

Catelyn's request to meet his mother crept into Draco's thoughts the rest of the week. He wondered how Narcissa would react to him dating a wizard-born, or dating at all. He hadn't had someone he could consider a girlfriend since Hogwarts and his mother knew how hard it had been to be close to anyone after the war.

When Friday came around and Grant sat across from him for lunch, Draco thought he would get his best friend's opinion.

"So, Grant, do you-ahh- do you think you have a good relationship with your parents?"

Grant raised one eyebrow suspiciously at Draco's question that, although not crossing the line by any means, was much more personal than anything the man had ever brought up with him.

"Uh. Yeah I guess so. My pop's idea of family affection is bitching about the Red Sox's recent loses and my mother is constantly pestering me to give her grandkids since my brother's life partner isn't growing a uterus anytime soon, but they're tolerable," he said with a laugh.

"On average, how long do you think you wait until you introduce them to someone you're dating?"

Grant almost choked on the turkey sandwich he was eating. When he recovered he responded with a smile.

"As much experience as I have with getting a woman to come home with me at the end of the night, I can't say I have any bringing them over to meet my parents. God, I think if I did my poor momma would have a heart attack from the shock." Despite his joking manner, Draco could see a hint of regret in Grant's eyes. He quickly moved the topic of conversation away from himself. "So you thinking about introducing Cat to your mom?"

"Yeah. She's been asking about my family, and I feel like it's getting serious enough to start thinking about it."

"Thanks to me," Grant interrupted.

Draco rolled his eyes and took a bite of his chicken salad sandwich.

"Don't deny it!" Grant continued. "If it wasn't for me and my mad skills you would still be moping around and Catelyn would be with some other lucky son-of-a-bitch."

Draco got an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach when he thought about Catelyn with any other man, especially the way he left her this morning-naked in a tangle of sheets in the middle of his California King.

"I've told you how grateful I am for that," Draco said.

"Damn right you are," Grant joked. "But seriously.. Good luck with the whole parental introduction thing. I'm sure it will be fine."

Two days later Draco found himself sitting on the edge of his couch, phone in hand. Catelyn was working a late shift so he decided to contact his mother and have the conversation he had been dreading for a while now. As the phone rang to FaceTime his mother, Draco sat the scotch glass just out of sight.

When Narcissa's face filled Draco's screen, she looked somewhat flustered and appeared to fumble the device in her hand.

"Damn these muggle contraptions," he heard her mutter under her breath. Draco couldn't help but smile at her difficulty.

"Hi mom," he greeted, pulling her focus to his face on the screen. A bright smile that he realized he had missed looked back at him.

"Draco darling!" She almost squealed. "I'm so happy you face-videoed me!"

"FaceTime, mom."

"That's what I meant sweetheart! This is such a rare treat. I've missed you."

Guilt swirled in the pit of Draco's stomach.

"I know mom. I'm sorry. But listen I have something to talk to you about. I've sorta met someone. We've been seeing each other for a while now." Draco watched as a slideshow of emotions crossed her face. The most prominent one being shock. "She's asked to meet you and I would really like it if she could. The only thing is I can't take a lot of time off after already taking vacation for Rowle's trial, so I was wondering if if you could come here. I know that the last time-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Narcissa had interrupted him.

"Of course, my dragon. I would love to meet her," she hesitated for a moment as if contemplating how to best word her question. "Does she know about our situation?"

"Uh ya... That's another thing I wanted to talk to you about-" Draco didn't know how to continue. In his hesitation, his mother made assumptions.

"Draco," she said slowly. "I knew when you left that the people you would meet and associate with would be muggles. I understand if I have to keep certain things secret, but if you insist on having a relationship with one of them you need to be honest about who you are."

Draco cringed at Narcissa's "maternal advice". It was obvious that she was doing her best to be accepting of something that she was taught all her life was wrong, but her underlying prejudice was evidence in her use of "one of them" when she referred to the muggles Draco had willingly chosen to live with.

"No, she knows. I told her everything," Draco started to explain. "And she isn't a muggle."

Draco watched as Narcissa tried to hide the relief that flooded her face and then the shock that took its place when he continued his explanation.

"Her father was a wizard. Her mother was a muggle," he said. "She's wizard-born."

The smile that graced his mother's aging but still beautiful face was obviously a struggle for her. She probably would have been more accepting had he fallen for someone completely unconnected with their world- but a woman with "tainted blood" and a squib on top of that? Narcissa's trip was going to be interesting to say the least.

"Mom?" Draco broke her from her thoughts.

"Like I said, son, I would love to meet her. You know that this is all just taking a little adjusting for me."

"I know mom," he responded. He knew how hard this was for her and didn't want to even think how different his father's reaction would have been. "Thank you for trying."

"Anything for you, my love. Now when can I come meet the girl who has so obviously stolen my dear son's heart?"

"How about next week?" He asked.

As Draco and Narcissa sat discussing plans, Draco hoped to Merlin that Catelyn would be as ok with this surprise as he thought she would.