((Contains reference to adult situations.))

Morning dawned, casting a warm golden glow across Ian's bedroom to caress the cheek of the woman that lay sleeping alone on the bed. The pillow beside her was rumpled, as were the blankets, but the place where he'd rested beside her was cold, as if he'd not been there for some time. Unbeknownst to her, he'd had a restless night and had risen early, too much on his mind to lie there anymore.

As the dawn warmed her cheek, Aurelia stirred, reaching out for Ian, only to encounter cool sheets. She came awake almost immediately, concern coloring her sleepy expression as she looked around the bedroom. She didn't think she could recall waking up without him there if they had fallen into bed together the night before. Concerned, she brushed her hair back out of her face, sliding from the bed and making use of his shirt to cover herself as she padded from the room. "Ian?"

She didn't have to go very far or look very hard, as his voice was heard answering from somewhere in the general direction of the kitchen. "I'll be right there!" he called, his voice slightly muffled by the walls that separated them. Whatever he was doing, it seemed he intended to join her in the bedroom momentarily.

Pausing just inside the door, Aurelia couldn't help smiling a little, stretching where she stood. "Should I get back into bed and pretend to be asleep?" she called to him curiously. She couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling that if he was promising to join her from the kitchen, they might be having breakfast in bed.

It was probably a pretty safe bet, though she had no way of knowing that he had another little surprise planned in conjunction with breakfast. "Just wait for me there!" he called back, not saying either way, though he already knew she was awake so it was probably unnecessary to pretend she was asleep.

"As you wish," she called back with a quiet laugh, turning to quickly drag her comb out of her bag and put her hair to rights before crawling back into the bed and arranging herself artfully. Between his shirt and the covers, there was nothing indecent showing, but an awful lot was suggested. This was why Ian often left the bed with his eyes tightly closed when they first woke up, unless he had nothing else to do in a day.

It wasn't more than a few minutes - just enough time for her to get herself situated - that the door was pushed open and he stepped back inside, predictably carrying a tray laden with foodstuffs. "Morning, Princess," he greeted her with a smile, though he looked like he hadn't gotten a very good night's sleep.

"Good morning, mon c"ur," she smiled in answer, intelligent eyes noticing the subtle signs of a restless night in him. "How are you this morning?" she asked him softly, sitting up comfortably.

"Couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd make myself useful," he explained moving over to the bed and very carefully setting the tray down in front of her on which was a covered plate, a cup of fresh, hot coffee, just the way she liked it, a glass of orange juice, napkin, utensils, and a single white rose. Where he got that from was anyone's guess.

"You should have woken me up," she told him, leaning close to kiss him tenderly before letting her eyes wander down to the tray. A sweet smile touched her lips as she noted the rose, curiosity rising in her expression as she lifted it to her nose, dark eyes meeting his with fond affection. "Beautiful, mon c"ur."

He smiled into her kiss and touched her cheek. "You looked too peaceful," he told her, settling himself on the bed beside her. He'd already eaten; this was for her.

"What of you?" she asked softly, curling her hand about the coffee cup to take a sip. She let out a low groan of delight - he knew exactly how she liked it these days, the only person she had ever met who could make a cup of coffee she would enjoy. "I hope you have eaten, Ian, or I may have to feed you some of this."

"I ate a little earlier," he assured her, smiling at her appreciation of the coffee. Like most of his countrymen, he preferred tea himself, though he didn't mind a cup of coffee now and then, and had memorized how she liked it.

"How long have you been up?" she asked, loving concern in her eyes as she set the coffee cup down and lifted the cover over the plate on the tray. "I do not like that you have been restless and I could not help you, mon c"ur."

"A few hours," he replied, glancing a little nervously at the contents of the tray. It wasn't a complete lie. He had only gotten out of bed a few hours ago, though he'd tossed and turned half the night. He leaned close to brush a kiss against her lips as she lifted the cover from the plate, reaching over to slip a small blue box onto the tray while he had her distracted.

She smiled into his kiss, wondering not for the first time how it was that such a romantic, loving man had managed to stay single long enough for her to meet him in the first place. Setting the cover aside, she looked down at the tray, and blinked in surprise. Not only had he put together the kind of breakfast she truly enjoyed, but there was an unexpected little blue box on there now, too. Her smile turned faintly suspicious as she picked it up, looking over at him in quiet amusement. "Not such an unexpected proposal as you would have me believe, hmm?"

He shrugged, doing his best to hide a sly smirk. "I've just been waiting for the right moment." That, and until he had enough money to buy a halfway decent ring. Universities didn't pay their professors as much as one might think.

She giggled softly, leaning in to kiss the corner of his mouth affectionately. "You are quite the dark horse, my love," she murmured to him, finally opening the little box to find out what he had decided was the perfect ring to confirm their commitment to one another.

He smiled nervously into her kiss, more worried about the ring than the meal. It wasn't the fanciest or most expensive ring he'd seen, but for some reason, he thought it seemed to fit her in its simplicity, grace, and beauty. The ring itself was made of white gold, a diamond offset by a trio of blue sapphires on each side. "If you don't like it, we can exchange it for another," he told her uncertainly.

"Perhaps," he replied. It troubled him that he couldn't tell her more, but he couldn't risk the demon side of her finding out. Not about this. "Aurelia," he said, cupping her face with a hand. "If I told you I might know of a way to get rid of the demon forever, would you be willing to try?"

"Of course." She nodded, without needing to think it over. "I trust you, Ian, and I know you have greater knowledge than I. I have already told you, I would sacrifice all magic, just to be free of the demon. It is my greatest fear, that she will break free and harm you."

"I would never ask you to sacrifice your magic, but I don't think you'll have to. I'm not afraid of the demon, Aurelia. I'm only afraid of losing you," he told her in a quiet voice, all the love he felt for her reflected in his eyes as he regarded her softly.

She curled into his arms, nestling close. She had lived all her life with the oppressing awareness of the demon she carried in the back of her mind, uncertain how it would be to live life without it there. "I would risk much to keep you safe, Ian," she murmured to him. "If you say there may be a way, I will try it. I will try anything to be free of her."

"I would do the same for you, love," he assured her, brushing her hair back from her face with a large but gentle hand. He was a gentle giant, after all. "Let me talk to Rhys and Natalya. Maybe they can make some sense of things."

"Maybe they can," she agreed softly, sighing with contentment as his hand passed over her hair. If nothing else, Rhys would at least be able to reassure Ian that she had the demon under control - if a hunter could learn to tolerate her half and half nature, then Ian should have no difficulties in coming to terms with it.

In all truth, Ian wasn't overly worried about her demonic side, except where Avalon was concerned. He'd never seen that side of her, but maybe that was a good thing. Rhys had asked him to keep an eye on her for a reason, and he was pretty sure the demon was part of it. Why him' That, he wasn't quite sure of. "So, I suppose you should get dressed so we can be on our way," he suggested mildly, though now that he was lounging in bed again, he seemed in no big hurry to be on his way.

She smirked playfully, adjusting herself until she was leaning over him once again. "Are you so very certain of that desire?" she asked innocently, delicately wriggling her newly adorned hand in front of his face. "You have no desire to have me wear this and only this?"

"Ummm..." he stammered, a little taken off guard. "I have no objections," he replied with a smile, though he was already fully dressed.

Aurelia grinned, leaning down to let the tip of her nose circle his teasingly, distracting him from the hands that were undoing her buttons. "So passionate, mon c"ur," she teased him, teeth nipping gently at his lips. "I am quite overcome." The shirt she had been wearing slid off, one brow raised in a challenge to see if he could look and not touch.

He smirked, teasing her a little. "Well, I am English." And she was French. No, Belgian. Was there a difference really' He leaned back against the pillow, tilting his head a little so he could watch her, keeping his hands to himself for the moment and just enjoying the show.

She laughed, shifting until she was straddling him, kneeling up to stretch with feline grace. She was, after all, very good at teasing him. "How do I look?" she asked impishly, deliberately running her left hand over the skin he knew intimately.

She was definitely having an effect on him, even if he was doing his best not to show it. He arched a brow up at her, knowing her well enough to know she what she was trying to do. "Are you trying to seduce me, Miss Dupuis?" he asked, in his raspy English accent.

"That all depends upon if it is working, Monsieur Evans," she countered in a sweet tone, easing her hand down from her thigh to draw her thumbnail up along the zipper of his pants. Just enough pressure to make absolutely certain that he was definitely going to respond.

When she touched him, she'd be able to tell that his body was already responding to her touch, though that little bit of teasing only made it all the more agonizing. Without any warning, he flipped her onto her back, trading places with her, pinning her wrists to the bed and growling down at her before attacking her neck with his lips.

She gasped, startled by his sudden motion, her laugh at finding herself pinned down fading quickly as he attacked her senses. Unable to move her hands, she resorted to moaning tenderly, hooking her knee against his hip as her body arched beneath him, already begging without words.

He didn't focus only on her neck, his lips traveling downward, letting go of her hands at last so that his hands could join in the fun. He knew her body well by now, and yet, each time they made love, he seemed to learn something new - some nuance of her, some spot that was sensitive or touch she seemed to particularly enjoy. He enjoyed exploring her as much as she seemed to enjoy his exploration, and he took his time at it, proving that he wasn't so boring or such a slouch in bed as he claimed.

For all her teasing, he was a passionate man, and his passion fed hers. The moment her hands were free, she began to strip him - not out of any sense of fair play but out of her own selfish desire to touch and taste him before he managed to reduce her to simply lying back, helpless beneath his attentions. Ian took love-making to a new level for her each time they were close. Was it any wonder he almost constantly had to keep an eye on his zipper while she was around"

He took his time with her, but not so much so that it was agony for either of them, pulling away just long enough to help her get his clothes off. When he took her at last, he took his time as much as he could there, too. It was no hormonal teenager who made love to her, but a man with enough experience to know how to make her feel like a woman over and over again.

At some point, the tray that had held her breakfast slid off the bed entirely, but it went unnoticed as they moved together in one another's arms. Tender and loving, there was nothing else in the world in those few moments but each other, and even when the passion had subsided, they lingered close, still touching, still trading kisses. Aurelia smiled as she brushed the tip of her nose to his in the stillness they had created. "Did I make us very late in starting the day, mon c"ur?"

She had already found a few clues, but she seemed to lack the knowledge to put the puzzle together. He wondered if she knew anything of Avalon at all or, like most people, simply thought it a myth. "I wish I could tell you," he said with a frown. "I don't like keeping secrets from you."

"It is a necessary secret, Ian," she tried to reassure him. "Perhaps, if someday the demon can be made to leave me, perhaps then it will be safe for me to know. I do not mind you keeping this secret. I understand why."

"That doesn't make it any easier," he told her rolling off the bed before he fell asleep to collect his clothes, frowning a little at the scattered contents of the breakfast tray. Well, at least, nothing had broken. Next time, he'd have to remember to actually move the thing out of the way before they got carried away.

"I know," she told him. And she did know - magic was a secret she had been keeping from the mundane world at large for the entirety of her lifetime, from friends and lovers alike. Ian was the only one she had shown her abilities to within days of meeting him.

"We'll sort it out," he promised her as he climbed back into his pants. It would have been tempting to take the day off and spend it lounging in bed with her, but there were things they needed to do. Important things, and it wasn't getting any earlier. "Where would you like to go for a honeymoon?" he asked, now that they were engaged.

Hopping to get into a pair of jeans, Aurelia bounced off the windowsill and juddered to a stop as she looked up at him curiously. "I ....I do not know," she confessed mildly. "I must admit, I am a little wary of traveling at all. I am afraid that this Earth will somehow be different to the Earth I knew, though we have already proved that England is not."

He chuckled at her, wondering why she didn't just sit down so she could pull her jeans on without ending up on her derriere. "All right," he started as he tugged his zipper shut. "We've been to Paris and Belgium. What do you think about Monaco?"

Tugging her jeans about her hips, she paused to do them up before she met his gaze, her smile warm and curious. "I have never been to Monaco," she mused thoughtfully. "Is it a place that holds a special intrigue for you?"

There was only one place that really held any intrigue for him and Monaco wasn't it. "Not particularly, but it's Vegas with a beach and without all the tackiness. It could be fun." His gaze lingered on her a moment longer than necessary before he bent over to pluck his shirt off the floor and slide it over his shoulders. "Unless you have something else in mind," he added.

She chuckled, shaking out her hair as she turned to face him, now fully dressed and hopefully not as distracting as she had been cavorting around on his lap absolutely starkers. "I have heard it is a beautiful place," she agreed with a warm smile. "Just when were you considering having this honeymoon, mon c"ur" You have only just returned to work after a sabbatical."

"There are a few holidays coming up in the fall, and if you shimmer us there, we'll save two days' travel time." It seemed he had thought this all out, but then, he hadn't slept much that night and had had time to think.

"This is true," she smiled, gathering together the contents of the tray to set them right once again as he finished dressing for the second time that day. "This honeymoon will be before you find out a way to exorcise the demon from me, then?"

"I suppose it will," he replied, remembering that she told him that her power would be somewhat diminished if and when they exorcised the demon. It seemed a small price to pay to make sure the demon could never take control of her again. "I'll wager it'll take some time to sort that out."

"I imagine it will," she nodded, careful not to let her smile slip. As much as she loved the idea of being demon-free, it would be a big adjustment for her. Shimmering was a large part of her life, and though it was a demonic ability, it didn't seem to wake the demon up from her enforced slumber.

He seemed to sense her uncertainty, even though she tried to hide it. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to, Aurelia. It is your decision, not mine," he told, assuring her that he would not force this change on her, unless it was what she wanted.

Her smile relaxed as she regarded him. "It is a big decision," she agreed quietly. "But the choice itself is already made. It is simply the changes it will bring that make me a little uncertain. I have never been without the ability to shimmer. I have never tried to live without it. It will be frustrating for a while."

"It will be more an inconvenience than anything, I think." He smiled reassuringly, though there was some hint of amusement in his green eyes. "You'll have to get used to traveling like the rest of us poor mortals."

She stuck her tongue out at him, bending to pick up the tray. "Shall we go, then, mon c"ur" I believe someone said something about visiting city hall on the way to the cabin, so I assume we are driving."

He laughed, wondering if she'd been thinking about shimmering them to the cabin, when it was less than an hour's drive from there. "I think that might be best. Are you sure you can sit still long enough?" he teased, unable to hide the amused smirk from his face.

"I can behave myself," she promised with a smirk of her own. "I make no promises about continuing to behave once we are there, should you continue to tease me while looking so very desirable." Aurelia winked at him, turning to make her way from the room. At least she'd promised not to feel him up in public today.

He laughed again, proving he did not always have to as serious as he seemed. He was definitely laughing and smiling more these days now that Aurelia was part of his life. "If you say so," he told her, moving to follow her from the bedroom. He didn't believe himself to be anything special, but he was glad she thought differently.

"Ian ..." she began as they entered the kitchen, her expression thoughtful. "I am going to ask to something, but please, do not feel you must answer simply because I have asked. Yesterday, when you looked at the shield, you said Avalon. I am not familiar with the word. What is Avalon?"