Thad was the kind of young man who treasured the moments of peace where he felt loved and treasured. The rare moments where he wasn't treated as though he was a second class citizen. These moments had grown rarer as he'd aged. As a child he'd barely understood the concepts. It wasn't until Catherine had been considered a young adult that things had changed so drastically. Their time together become limited and restricted. Their contact and interactions extremely monitored. It was why these rare moments of simply being alone together were so rare and treasured. They were so amazing. They made him feel as though he belonged to her.<br/><br/>His eyes were closed as he danced and listened to her words.<span style="color: #FFFF80">"We'll change the world one heartbeat at a time,"</span>he whispered the soft words into her ear after she told him she would teach their children or child to love him. To respect him. It was a line from an old poem. Something he'd overheard mentioned from someone, probably his mother, which he had always treasured and loved. He held this line as the very thing they were doing by loving each other even though society said it was taboo. Thad couldn't help the wide smile that spread over his features at her caresses.<br/><br/>Talking about the children that he fathered with her if such a thing came to pass made him think of the children that she would bear for her husband. How would he feel about them when he saw them. He wondered if he'd love them as much as his own. He doubted he would, but he also doubted he hate them for not being his. No he was fairly sure he would love them, simply for being hers. It was the same line of reasoning he accepted that she had to marry someone who was not him.<br/><br/>There was another edge to this. He would love the children, because they were innocent of it. Ever since he had lived his life in the shadow of his mother's choices and his father's stupidity. Thad having grown up without a father couldn't hold it against a child who their parents were. How vastly different his mother's life would have been had she not had him. Had his father been half the man he should have been their lives would have been so different. The resentment he bore for his father and the pain he saw in his mother's eyes every day made him unable to hurt a child in any way. He would be the father his father had never been. Even if the children he cared for were not his own. He would show them the same love and affection he would his own children, because they were just that innocent children. Innocent of the parent's crimes. Innocent of the parents social obligations. It was after all not their fault that they would be conceived of a man that Catherine did not love. It would not be the children's fault that they were not his own as both he and Catherine wished them to be. No he would love them. He knew that in the depths of his soul.<br/><br/>Thad was aware on some level that this moment was ending. That her family had returned and he could not be caught with her. He nodded slowly as he saw her gaze. As he heard her words. His eyes locked upon hers and he was about to speak when he felt her gentle touch. He froze lost in her eyes. Lost in her touch. And then she kissed him. Her lips gently brushing against his like the lightest touch of a rose petal. Gently stoking a fire in his body that burned with intense desire. He kissed her just as lightly knowing that to do more wouldn't be allowed. Not yet. He knew one day they would share more. But for now he simply enjoyed the gentleness of that kiss. He held her tightly and for a long moment just stood in the center of the room kissing the woman he wanted to be his above all else.<br/><br/>Then the moment ended and he slowly and reluctantly let her go. Stepping back he gave her a gentle smile before he headed out of the room. Back towards the garden just as the front door to the house began to open.