Snowflakes and Shopping Bags

Robert apparated them into an alley next to a muggle restaurant. Khaat could smell the distinct aroma of marinara and oregano. It made her stomach growl loudly enough that her father heard it. "Food is coming, Dear," he said, laughing. "This way."

He led them around the corner and into the foyer of the restaurant. The inside looked like an outdoor Italian street cafe. It was gorgeous. There were beautiful plants, even real trees that seemed to be just growing up from the floor. The ceiling was painted to look like a lovely sky, and at night they changed the lights to look like a starry night. The walls had pictures of buildings, people going about their daily life, and they were computerized so that llife kept moving all around them. They had gone to great expense to fill the air with sights and sounds of life in a stereotypical Italian village. It was beyond Khaat's wildest dreams. It took her right back to her summer in Tuscany. She stood looking in utter amazement that muggles could manage such a thing.

"If you think this is nice, you really ought to check out Disney," Robert laughed.

"Who?" Khaat asked.

Robert laughed out loud. "You've been in our own little 'neighborhood' much too long, my dear." The host took them to a table, and handed them all menus. Robert ordered an Italian sparkling water, and it sounded good to Khaat so she ordered one for herself.

"I'll be right back," Khaat said, excusing herself for the ladies' room. She rose and went to the back of the restaurant while the rest were looking over their menus.

But the moment she walked into the ladies room, she was followed inside. The next she knew she felt sharp pain in her back. It stunned her, paralyzed her for a moment.


"You're going to die, Khaat Lupin," a familiar voice said from behind her. "Even now, your life force is racing out of your body. You have only seconds left. Savor them while you can. By the time your famous father finds you, you'll be watching him from the other side of the veil." She felt herself fall to her knees. Her vision spun. Things felt faint. She reached back and felt the handle of a blade protruding from her back. Her blood ran cold, and she felt it hard to catch her breath. She pulled back her hand and saw it was covered in blood. She wrapped her hand around the green stone in her necklace, concentrating on her father.

Meanwhile, Robert had begun to read through the list of appetizers. He was beginning to settle on calamari, when he all of a sudden felt Khaat summoning him. Something was terribly wrong. He rose from his seat and took huge, powerful strides towards the back of the restaurant, not saying anything to anyone. The closer he got to her, the more he felt her alarm. Something was drastically wrong.

Khaat felt her father's hands on her shoulders. She felt him begin working steadily, silently. She felt amazingly little pain. She felt her head spin, and she didn't know if it was his work or the blade's. She felt herself falling a bit limp on her father's arm.

"It's alright," she heard him finally reassure her. "He missed what he was aiming for. He's either very inept or he got in a hurry. Either way, you're very lucky." He stopped the wound from bleeding and sat her up slowly. "Slowly, Khaat. Very slowly," he said gently. She was beginning to feel pain now. She groaned softlly. "Easy," he said, "I've got it." He cast a pain spell on her.

"Thank you," she said softly. She clung to him for a moment trying to regain herself.

"It was mainly shoulder muscle, but it was awfully close to your lung. I want to get a really good look at it back at St. Mungos."

"Can I sit please first?" she asked.

"Of course," he said to her. He got up and got her very slowly to her feet. She leaned heavily on him. "Tell them she's got really low bloodsugar, Jess. Go order her some orange juice or something, please." He cast a spell to clean up all the blood on the floor and on Khaat and he wrapped the dagger in his handkerchief and put it in his pocket.

"I want to make this work."

"We'll try, but you have to let me check you at St. Mungos after lunch, Dear. I don't want to take any chances. " She nodded in agreement with him. "And then you can tell us what you know."

"I will," she said. She let him lead her back towards the table.

"They were," Angus said. "I saw him too. And I know exactly who that was. I'll fill you in. But let's just say Brian is going to be seriously pissed. And if we don't want him to be really outraged, we'll delay lunch until after we get her back to St. Mungos and be sure she's alright."

Khaat was not feeling well. She was feeling more faint the more she leaned on her father. She had wanted to pass off that she was feeling alright, but the truth was that she really wasn't. Robert took the glass from Jess and fed it to her. "This will help," he told her quietly. "We can't do this, Khaat. We do have to get you back to St. Mungos for now. If you start to feel better we'll just come back. Lunch is not that important. I'm taking her there now. Angus and Steven. Go cover the house. Protect the kids and send Brian. Jess, you come with me." He led Khaat out of the restaurant back to the alley and apparated her to the emergency room of St. Mungos.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Brian frowned. "Where is Khaat and why the deuce are you back without her. Where the hell is she? You weren't supposed to leave her...."

"Robert is with her," Angus said gently. "Brian, Khaat was attacked. She's taken a deep flesh wound from a dagger. She's going to be fine, but Robert took her back to St. Mungos to do a proper job of healing it."

"Well, I would certainly think so! Who did it? Did you see him?"

"I certainly did. It was Luther Burke. He obviously doesn't trust Barker to do the job anymore. She's fine," he said as Brian got to his feet and accio'd his winter jacket. "You don't let my girls out of your sight. You got that? Nobody touches my daughters!" He apparated out to St. Mungos.

Angus sighed heavily. "I hope that coffee is ready soon. I could use some," he said.

"Ah, 'tis an old story, me boy," Angus sighed with an imitation Irish accent. "Coffee first." He went out to the kitchen and poured the pot into a thermal carafe and brought in a stack of mugs along with the carafe. He poured coffee for them all and sat down with them, glancing over at the babies who were babbling happily in their playpen.

"Robert has been battling this human trafficking thing for decades. It seems as he ended up fighting the fathers of Gelding, Burke and Barker, all three. Separately, but those men lost their lives to the business end of Robert's wand. And the sons are all out for revenge. Gelding hired Burke, and it seems that Burke hired Barker. They all want Robert to hurt and suffer like they believe they have. They want him to see Khaat suffer because that would be more
painful than anything they could ever do to him. And it is painful for him. He takes it generally pretty stoically, but it is painful. The more she suffers, the more he does. That's what this whole thing has been about. Thats why he deliberately hid her in Tuscany all summer."

Meanwhile, Robert arrived in St. Mungos, with Khaat more laying on his chest than standing. Once they were safe, he picked her up and carried her into a treatment room and laid her on the bed. It was the last she knew. She fainted, just as he laid her on the bed. Robert checked her.

"She's fine, Jess. Its just shock from the loss of blood. She's alright. Give me a few minutes to really check this, "Robert said to Jess.

The next Khaat knew, she was waking. She didn't remember beign brought here, but after a moment, she recognized where she was. Her father was still in the room, and was formulating some sort of potion.

"Daddy?" she asked groggily.

"Welcome back," he said, pouring the potion into a glass before turning and coming back to her. "You fainted from the loss of blood. It was deep, but he wasn't very efficient. He missed your heart and your lung, but I'm not sure how. That space is very, very small indeed. You're going to be fine, but Brian is a bit nuts. He's been completely beside himself. I'm hoping Jess is managing to keep him from doing something stupid. Here. Drink this. It will help temporarily restore your energy level. You realize you're done shopping for today, right?"

"I guess," she said softly, drinking the potion. He sat down on the bed, took the glass from her and set it aside.

"Khaat," Robert said. "This is adding up, my dear. Your fatigue is showing. You've lost weight steadily since the beginning of the summer. You cannot afford to lose anymore. I want Brian to take you home. I want you to rest. And I mean really rest. Not entertaining your bodyguards. Rest. You let them take care of you. That's what they get paid for." She stifled a yawn as he spoke. "And see? This is with an energy potion. Without it, you'd be here for a couple days. Don't make me give you an ultimatum."

"No," she said quietly. "Home is fine. I'm sorry I messed up lunch."

"They will be serving lunch another day," Robert smiled, stroking her cheek. "Besides, I doubt very much if Brian or Jess will let you go back out today. I just don't see either of them allowing it. But I do know they'd like to see you. They can come in while I send to the lab for a couple potions for you."

He stepped out and told Brian and Jess they could go in while he sent for potions for her.