I want to say thank-you for all the support. This story kept me from losing my mind while I was moving, and gave me a reason to write as soon as the flu receded. So thank you to everyone who has stuck with me on this.

The New Year is upon us…I hope that each of you have 365 days of blessings and that each year after this one holds more joy than the last!

Without further ado, the final chapter of Chimes:

It should have been a bit clichéd. The parents of young children were notorious for removing to a hotel room for a bit of alone time…not to mention the prospect of an uninterrupted bath and the prospect of sleeping past seven am.

But as Severus rushed his wife inside the room and closed the door firmly, he didn't find it cliché.

He pulled her close and she met his lips with a slight smile.

She ran her fingers lightly over the old scar on his neck (it grew less sensitive with every passing year, but it still did interesting things to his nerve endings when the scar tissue was stroked…)

He vanished her hair pins with wordless magic as he kissed her.

She pulled away, laughing.

"Severus!"

He grinned as he re-captured her lips. It was an ongoing battle between them. He put up with hair pins in their proper place (in the apothecary, around dangerous potions) but when they were alone, he loved her hair falling all around them. It reached her hips unbound. In her Grecian-inspired evening gown, she looked like some ancient goddess with her curls tumbling down.

Severus was convinced that the sensation of those silken locks moving over his body was the most decadent feeling in the world.

He buried his fingers in her hair as he lingered at her lips, allowing the kisses to move unhurriedly to an exploration of her soft neck, enjoying the heady scent of her skin as much as her little gasps and sighs.

She was unbuttoning his outer robes slowly, caressing his chest through the thick layers, teasing.

His hands ghosted along her shoulders, her exposed back, skimming the silken fabric of her dress, dipping under the fabric with just the tips of his calloused fingers.

She stepped out of her heels and pulled him toward the bed. He tore off his outer robes and tossed them aside, longing for more contact with her.

He traced the neckline of her dress with his tongue languidly, then tugged the garment over her head in one quick motion.

Her breasts were a constant source of fascination for Severus. They were larger after three children, soft, with a lingering scent of milk. He used feathery touches and kissed his way down her body as she traced light circles along his skin.

He parted her thighs with his large hands and positioned himself between them. He'd never get enough of her, not if he lived to be a thousand. She giggled when he used another burst of wandless magic to vanish her knickers.

"I liked those!"

He chuckled as he tasted her. He looked up into her deep brown eyes.

"I couldn't wait."

She caressed his black hair.

"You always say that."

"I love being responsible for your missing knickers." He waggled his brows at his giggling wife and lowered his head back to the juncture of her thighs.

Her giggles turned into mewling pleas eventually as he watched her back arch completely off the bed.

He smirked at her as he slid into her feverishly hot body. Her inner walls were still fluttering from his attentions, and if he found exactly the right angle…her breathless gasp announced his success. He lifted her hips slightly and ran himself over that single inch…that tiny bundle of nerves inside her. She hooked her feet behind him and met each thrust. She came again, screaming.

He grinned as he realized they hadn't set a silencing charm. Too late for that.

He didn't wait for her to recover. His wife was capable of coming for hours if he didn't let up. He flipped over and put his hands on her hips to guide her. She was grinning down at him as she moved, breasts peeking out of the curtain of hair.

She started sweating as she picked up speed; she pushed the hair behind her.

He felt his balls tighten almost painfully as the silken strands caressed his thighs and fell between his legs.

"Merlin, Hermione!"

She traced his lips with one finger. He pulled her palm close enough to kiss.

He rolled over without warning and plundered her lips. There was nothing better than her mouth. He took his time, mimicking the motion of his cock, thrusting into her mouth as he thrust between her legs.

She pulled away from the kiss as he sped toward the inevitable conclusion and sucked his scar into her mouth. His vision went white and he emptied himself into her with a gasp.

He panted over his smug wife as his vision cleared.

"Merlin's beard woman! One night you're going to do that and it's going to kill me."

She just gave him that same Cheshire-cat grin and sat up to kiss him again. "I love you too."

"Hummmph. You'll be the death of me." He pulled her up to his chest and kissed the top of her head. "But what a way to go."

SSssSSssSSssSSssSSssSSssSSss SSssSSssSSssSS

Tink was quite willing to pop over to the hotel with fresh clothing the next morning as the couple snuggled in hotel-provided robes eating room service. The elf smiled broadly at them and left quickly, knowing they didn't want or need anything but time together.

Severus was playing with his wife's hair, pretending to read the paper while she drank a cup of revitalizing tea (they still had several hours before they had to be home, and he was quite looking forward to running her a hot bath…and shagging her in the warm water.) A short article on the society page caught his eye.

Former War Hero sued a third time for paternity…

The picture showed three irritated witches and a very dejected Ronald B. Weasley. Apparently, the Quidditch star was fighting the international courts to avoid having his remaining assets seized to pay back child-support in three different countries. Severus squinted at the fuzzy picture. The Australian child was almost as big as the twins…

Hermione ran a large juicy strawberry across his lips.

"Anything important in the newspaper?"

Severus folded it and tossed it off the bed before catching her wrist and biting the fruit. He nuzzled her neck as he chewed, then kissed her lovingly.

"Nothing is important when I have my wife alone and naked in my bed."

Severus Snape grinned as he pinned her to the sheets and began to kiss her with intent. Some days he was still shocked that this was his life…and to think the catalyst was something as simple as chimes….