Pacing, he relied on the methods Afjc had taught him to settle him. Deep breathes. In. Out. Find the calm. Center yourself. As he found the inner balance he needed, Greg sat in the center of is bedroom floor and crossed his legs, laying his hands, palm up, on his knees. The soft drums, coming from the CD player, centered him further. He drew from his inner strength, his mind skipping from one memory to the next, reminding him just how much mental and spiritual strength he had at his disposal. tipping his head back, with his eyes closed, he pictured the pride he'd felt the day he'd been officially adopted into Afjc's family. He bore the raven, symbol of the tribe, the clan, the people who had accepted him as he was without reservation.

Greg wasn't sure how long he drifted. All he knew was that when he slowly opened his eyes everything felt better. Smiling, he got to his feet and flipped off the CD before retrieving his water drum. He'd forgotten the deep-seeded contentment that came with being centered. He began randomly, knowing that the chants and rhythms would come naturally, now that he wasn't being stupid or forgetting everything he learned in the years he was away from Britain.

"Master Val?" Luthien whispered.

He looked over, setting the drum aside with a smile. "What do you need, Luthien?"

Luthien ducked her head. "I shouldn't have disturbed you." Then she looked up, the look on her face full of approval. "You...you are better."

Greg chuckled. "No, not yet. I am getting there though. Don't worry about disturbing me. I was nearly done."

Luthien was definitely relieved. "Your lunch is ready."

Greg got to his feet, returning the drum to the shelf. He should eat before he went to visit Katie. Sighing, he turned back to Luthien. "Thanks, Luthien. I'll be there in a minute."

Luthien nodded and left silently.

He wasn't sure how his meeting with Katie would go. He'd fucked up royally. Being a weak-willed coward wasn't the best way to go about showing her he deserved her or Fred. With a heavy sigh, he made his way through the flat and sat at the table. Inner strength will get you through, my son. He couldn't help but grin at Afjc's voice in his head. "I can do this," he muttered.


----------------


An hour later, Greg ran a hand through his hair; stepping inside The Broom Shed. His eyes raked the room, finding Katie easily. He smiled and wound through the tables. He wasn't sure she'd like it but he was hard pressed not to do it. "Pixie?"

Katie was just finishing cleaning up one of the tables when she heard a familiar voice. Turning around, she wasn't surprised to see Greg. She hadn't seen or heard from him in weeks and had been a a little surprised when he'd owled her over the weekend and asked to see her.

"Hallo," she replied after a few moments, offering a small smile.

Greg smiled softly, resisting the urge to tug at his shirt, hair, or anything that would show just how nervous he was. He knew she'd see it, he just didn't want the entire pub to know as well. "Thanks for seeing me," he murmured. "Is there someplace we can sit and talk?"

He stomped down the urge to shift from foot to foot. So much for being a badass, he thought wryly. He would be patient. It was the least she deserved from him after what he'd done. He ducked his head and tucked his hands in his pockets. He chanced a quick look at her through his hair.

Katie's eyes ran over him, looking for some sign of injury and not really seeing anything but a slight paleness to his skin. She was glad that he seemed to be better as Fred had indicated that it had been a slow recovery from whatever had ailed him. When he ducked his head, eyes darting to her from behind his hair, Katie realized that Greg was nervous. He was nervous because of her? That didn't happen often, and she wasn't quite sure what to think.

Deciding to ignore it for now as he probably didn't want it broadcast, she gave him a little nod at his question, small smile still pulling at her lips in effort to set him at ease. "Sure. Why don't you grab one of the back booths while I finish cleaning this table, yeah?"

His first instinct was to help her. He looked down and nearly blushed when he realized he was already reaching out to take the dirty glasses from her. Seeing as that only got him in trouble with Maeve and he'd not been around lately, he shoved his hands back into his pockets and nodded. "Don't rush on my account," he offered.

She was amused watching Greg reach out and then put his hands away where they'd not get him into trouble. Katie just nodded towards one of the corner booths. "I'll just be a moment," she said before transferring both empty mugs to one hand and wiping off the table.

Katie took care of the dirty glasses and wiped her hands off with a clean towel behind the counter of the bar. She took a little breath to steady herself. She wasn't sure what Greg wanted, what she wanted from him either. Their acquaintance had been nothing but rocky.

She glanced down the counter to where Aiden was chatting with some regulars. As if sensing her eyes on him, he turned and winked at her before going back to talking. Katie smiled. Her Papa always seemed to know when she needed that little bit of encouragement.

Katie headed back across the pub with a little spring in her step and slid into the booth across from Greg. She folded her hands in front of her and gave him another small smile. "Hallo Greg. How are you?"

"Better now." He was being completely honest and would continue to do so. He wasn't about to do or say anything that would damage their...Friendship? Relationship? Whatever they had been building before he mucked up. "How are you?"

"I've been doing good." Despite the nightmares and bad memories. "I'm glad you're doing better." Katie glanced down then, not quite sure if she should ask, but curious despite herself. "What ... what exactly are you better from?"

He shoved a hand through his hair and looked her in the eyes. "I was incredibly stupid. I drank too much vodka and added two illicit potions on top of it. Pans found me and hauled me off to Ginny Weasley." He stopped, hating the look in her eyes but knowing he had to get it all out. "I nearly died, idiot that I am. I'm just now getting close to normal again." He leaned over the table and dropped his voice to a whisper, "I'm also going to talk to someone about it so I don't ever do it again. I promised Fred."

Katie's eyes widened as he talked, her breath catching when he admitted to nearly dying. Her first reaction was to ask if he was okay, but it was obvious with him sitting here in front of her healthy and talking, that he was. All the things he was telling her had her thoughts muddled as she thought back. He was broken. She knew that, had seen it when he'd fallen apart all over her, had seen it when he'd left her. She hadn't known that it was this bad.

Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, Katie brought herself back to the present. She laid a hand on top of of one of his as she said, "Fred's right. He'd know about this kind of thing more than anybody. I'm glad you're going to talk to someone about it. It'd be sad if you weren't here, and I'm sure there's others that need you and would be lost without you if you were gone."

Her eyes became a bit unfocused as she thought back to when George had died, when Fred had been empty and she had been lost. There seemed to be an awful lot of reminders, of late, of bad memories. "Especially think of those that would need you. Sometimes when you feel like you can't keep going for yourself, it's easier to keep going for others."

He ducked his head. "I know, I just forgot it for a minute." He raised his head and set his other hand on the table, fiddling with the ring he'd worn for years and years. It was another nervous habit, but hell, at least he wasn't tapping his foot too. He liked her touching him, it made him feel worthy of her friendship. Maybe, one day, she would forgive him. "You'd be sad, really?"

A soft smile tugged at Katie's lips. "Of course I'd be sad." Her eyes flicked to him fiddling with the lone piece of jewelry he was wearing, a plain dark band, and she gave his hand a light squeeze before continuing. "I may not have known you for very long, but you've a good heart and I like being around you."

Her words healed him a bit more. She hadn't given up on him. At least, not completely. Not sure what to say, he slid one of his hands from underneath hers reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Nearly wincing, he dropped his hand. She'd not said he was forgiven completely and here he was acting like nothing had changed. All he wanted was a chance to get to know her...to fix what he'd nearly ruined. "I like being around you too." Oh hell, might as well try. "Will you go to dinner with me sometime?"

As Greg tucked her hair behind her ear, Katie was torn between wanting to lean into his touch and leaning away. She didn't know what they were and that made her cautious, but for some reason, she felt drawn to him despite all the time away, all the words and lack thereof in between.

At his question, she was stunned from her confused thoughts, eyes going wide in surprise. "Dinner?" she echoed softly. Her mind quickly flicked to Fred, but he was okay with Greg. "I'd ... yeah, that would be ... sure," she finally got out after a few babbled moments, her cheeks tinting pink at her inability to speak, yet again, around Gregory Goyle. She'd not been on a real date in longer than she could remember.

Greg liked that she blushed. He didn't know many women who did. It was nice on Katie though. "When are you free?"

He kept surprising her with the questions. Katie hadn't been sure when she would hear from Greg again, if at all, and now he was asking her to dinner. "I ... I just have a game on Saturday. That's all."

"Good luck." He looked the pub over and noticed the crowd growing slowly. He didn't want to be in a big crowd, but he wasn't about to push Katie further. "Do you need help?" he cocked his head towards the crowd with a wry smile. "I can pitch in if you need."

"Thanks," she answered softly, distracted, as she followed his gaze out over the pub. The quiet lunch hour was definitely over and they were getting the first wave of the after-work crowd. She glanced back at him when he spoke again, her eyes lighting on his smile, her own lips quirking in response. "Don't worry 'bout it, really. We've got everything covered, though I should probably get back soon."

"All right. Is Monday evening okay with you?" He didn't want her to go. But, they hadn't argued and she hadn't sent him away. It was a start.

Katie had thought he'd passed over the date thing, but apparently it wasn't forgotten. Her face was warm as she nodded. "Monday's great." She dropped her eyes then, looking at her hand that was still covering his. Taking a small, steadying breath, she gave his larger hand another squeeze before lifting her eyes back to his with a small smile. "Thanks for coming Greg. It's really good to see you, and I'm glad you're alright."

As she slid out of the booth, he followed suit. She looked up at him, surprised all over again at how much taller he was than her. "You'll owl me or something, yeah?"

Greg nodded, leaning over to brush a kiss on her brow. "Thanks, Pixie."

His actions and words both indicated that he still cared about her, in some form or the other. She would just have to see how things worked out. Katie was glad that he'd come to see her though, that he'd told her what had happened. She didn't think he was lying, hadn't seen it in his eyes or his body.

She gave him a small smile as he pulled away. "Yeah, no problem. Have a good night. I'll ... I'll see you, yeah?"

He grinned now. "Can I come by again?"

At that, she gave him a full smile. "Any time."

SUMMARY: Greg goes to visit Katie at The Broom Shed. They feel each other out after not seeing each other for weeks. Greg asks Katie to dinner, and she accepts.