Moving Forward

"What do you mean what about Cassidy?" Brian frowned. "She's part of the team. If we go to Tuscany, we go to Tuscany. We don't leave people behind. I dont' work that way." He was a bit confused that they'd even thought he was the sort of commander who would leave a team member behind.

"As for testing her, that's planned, but not today. That's already scheduled. Cassidy and I have that already worked out. She's already had a bit of a test already today. I don't need her to jump through every hoop in one day."

Angus came in after making a large pot of coffee. He was glad to see the gang all here again. "Coffee's on, All. Cassidy, while they're all getting briefed on what's going on, how about I take you on a short tour and show you to a room at least for now?"

Jessica nodded and looked sheepish at Brian. "I just mean you might have checked her out but I'm getting the feeling you already did " she said and nodded "I guess its welcome then cassidy " she said and smiled to her turning back she gave a sorry look at Brian but jack voiced it first "sorry Brian Jess here sometimes speaks before she actually thinks" he said and felt a hit on his chest from Jessica. "I'm just a little weary after Ronata" she said but moved to stand with him.

Cassidy nodded to Jessica and moved to Angus as he offered to show her around , her mind reeled but she kept calm , Tuscany and a job in one day this had turned out to be her lucky day. "thanks I'd like to freshen up a little" she said accioing a small over night bag to her hand.

"my things , you can check them if you want I know how tight you are on security but i can vouch that nothing in this bag is harmful well maybe a pair of unwashed socks but that's it, I travel light." she said and opened the bag to show him and the others. Closing it again she looked at the stairs "how many ro0ms has this place got ?" she asked rubbing the back of her neck.

"Ten bedrooms at least six baths upstairs, living room, kitchen and dining room and office downstairs, and in the basement is a wine room, a gym, a family room, a pool, and a laundry room. There's a stables on the grounds and a 4 bedroom guest house." He took her on a tour of the house and showed her a bedroom next to his. It was a bit farther down the hall from Khaat and Brian, but it was spacious and light and airy. And actually, it was just a tad bit too feminine for Angus's own tastes, which was why he had not chosen it for himself. However, it was comforting and inviting nonetheless.

He went through Khaat and Brian's routine with her so she knew. Brian and Khaat generally rose at 5 am and went down to the gym to work out. They returned an hour or 90 minutes later and showered and dressed for the day. Breakfast was at 7. Brian usually took Khaat in to Sparks at 8 to check on things there and dropped her off at St. Mungos at 9. Brian split his time between the Ministry and St. Mungos during the week, and so did Khaat. He tried to pick her up no later than 6 pm and come home for dinner. The evening was usually spent with the girls--the light of their lives. After the girls went to bed, they either read, talked, swam in the pool, or did something fun. They tried to be in bed by eleven. Weekends had a similar structure.

Angus himself followed a similar schedule, but he usually rose an hour earlier so he could tend to the stables and them come inside and fix breakfast. After breakfast was prepared, he got the babies up and fed and dressed and brought them down so that Khaat and Brian could see them before they went to work.

His duties included anything and everything around the estate that needed doing. Cooking, cleaning, caring and bodyguarding the babies--which was the most important, tending the stables and caring for the animals, caring for the massive grounds, doing the laundry, and anything else on the massive estate that needed taking care of. And when Khaat needed it, he was another bodyguard for Khaat. But his priorities were clear. Nothing was more important than Khaat and the babies. Nothing.

Cassidy placed the bag over her shoulder as she followed him, She wondered at the size of the house and grounds and now understood why Khaat needed so many people around just to keep safe that and the fact Burke was persistent. She saw the room he suggested for her and nodded "nice" she said as she placed the bag on the bed before listening to him talk again.

"well, I'm usually up at 3am ,I take a 15 minuet run witch i try and add to my patrolling so I don't loose any time , then I try and swim if I can but I don't eat junk food " she said " I don't drink ether so i keep a clear head for my job, I can cook a little and ride , I also practice my wand control when ever I can. " she stopped and looked at him as she "ow i have one confession I can't make coffee to save my life, but something tells me I'm gonna have to learn, right?" she said now with a small smile.

She thought about the babies thing and frowned a little wondering if Burke would stoop so low as to take one of them. She faced Angus as she spoke softly to him. "Has he ever tried anything with the babies, Burke i mean?" she asked as she took out a black cardigan and slipped it on over her top , she'd felt a little chill as she walked in the room.

"The coffee is pretty self explanatory. There's a scoop in the coffee canister. You use 2 to make it to Khaat's strength. If you don't drink coffee or like it strong enough to curl your hair, then I suggest you pour half a cup and water it down by half with hot water. They like French Roast, and they like it black and strong. Khaat is not your typical Brit. She's a dyed in the wool coffee addict. So is Brian. I dont' know how they got that way since Kate and Robert are tea drinkers. Some day I'm going to ask them. But we always have coffee and tea brewing, almost around the clock.

"As for the girls, well, yes and no. Burke didn't have them. His boss, Tom Gelding, did. Gelding took them and auctioned them off in Paris. Khaat's husband was fortunate enough to be tipped off by friends in Paris who saw Gelding carrying them, and that enabled Rob to be there to, literally, buy them back--right off the auction block. So you know, Khaat's still legally married, but legally separated. She has two daughters and a granddaughter. Her oldest daughter is adopted and is a student in Hogwarts. That daughter had a baby this past summer, just a month or so after Khaat had her own baby. And since Mis can't have a baby at Hogwarts, well, Khaat has custody of her granddaughter. I don't think Brian dreamed about being a father, but he really is a great dad. The girls are crawling, eating finger foods, starting to say words, and they see Brian as dad. He promised Khaat when Rob decided he apparently just didn't have it in him to be married and be a father, that Khaat and her children would never want for anything. And so far, he's measured up. He gave Khaat a massive engagement ring after Barker took her the first time. He knows she might never really divorce Rob, but he wanted her to know that she won't ever be alone ever again. It's nice to see her happy again, and if taking her for a couple days in Tuscany will bring that back for her, then I say we go."

Cassidy listened as he spoke about how to do the coffee making a note how to make it, she listened again as he spoke of Khaat and nodded. She straightened up when he told her that Burks boss took the babies, she never liked Gelding and sighed.

"Never liked that man, half the kids I saved came from one of his houses" she said and looked at him "yeah by the sounds of she could use some time away " she said and turned to face him "so how long you been working for them sounds along time buy how well you know Miss Lupin and Mr Quinn" she said placing her bag on the floor next to her. "me personally never been a coffee drinker , tea earl grays my preferred cup" she as she loked at him.

She could see but his fave he was a man who had seen a lot of action in his life , she saw it deeper in his eyes a hatred for Gelding and Burke . "you've seen a lot your self ?" she sort of asked but sort of said it was away of telling hims he too had seen the look he had in his eyes. "Mr Walker has the same look , you all do , its one of hate and yet protection, I've seen it a lot"

"Gelding's a dirtbag," Angus snarled. "Here's what you may or may not know. Robert runs the biggest underground organization worldwide dedicated to rescuing children from wizarding child trafficking. His time is very divided now with his multiple duties, so Brian runs it entirely. Gelding and Brian Quinn have been archenemies for years now. Those two remind me a lot of Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty. Always chasing each other, pretty much being neck and neck. Robert ran the organization when Barker's, Burke's, and Gelding's fathers all worked for the other side. Tom Gelding's father ran the thing then. One by one, Robert had no choice but to end their lives in duels, in self defense. Now the boys have all come gunning for Robert, and they've teamed up, deciding to make Robert suffer. They aren't looking to kill him. They're looking to take out his daughter first. And they'll use whoever they can to draw her out in the open to get a good clean kill.

"I've been working for Brian a long time, and I've seen him come within a hair of killing Gelding off for good. I see how frustrating he gets when he misses. And I've fought along side him in active dueling. He's the most relentless warrior I've ever seen. I hadn't seen Khaat in years until this summer, but it didn't take me long to get to know her again. And I saw how hard she fought to survive then. Gelding and Burke just kept coming, rapid fire, all summer long. She rarely complained. She's a fighter, and a lady." He paused and smiled, "And I think its the first time I''ve ever seen Brian genuinely in love. Khaat and Brian grew up together. It was really pretty funny watching them deny all summer that it was anything more than friendship. I think it finally just overwhelmed them, and I'm glad they're happy. They deserve it. But Brian takes protecting her and those babies more serious than anything else he's ever done in his life."

Cassidy sat down on the bed as he continued to tell her about Khaat and Brian as she now knew there names to be , her respect for them grew with each word he said she nodded "He's a formidable man " she said and stood up "well since I'm on night duty i should head back down to the main room " she said knowing she would remember the way back . She looked at him "don't worry I'm not a Burke or gelding spy if anything I'll cut off there balls if i come across them and hand them to her on a silver tray" she said her eyes telling him she too held the same anger "he took some one i cared for many years ago when i found her she wasn't the same girl " she said her body slightly turned to face him. "He'd taken her and used her , raped, beaten and broken " the fire in her eyes flaring as she took a deep breath "sorry I know you all have a story a bout Burke and gelding , well that's mine "

She moved into the hall way then down it to the stairs showing hims he remembered, smiling as she walked down the stairs to the main room. She glanced back to see if Angus was following her witch to her relief he was . "I'm guessing since I'm the newbie your my boss" she said to him.

"No," Brian said, as Angus and Cassidy re-entered the room. "That would be me. Alright, Jack and Jess, you know the drill. You two have the rest of the day shift. You know how its done. Steven, you partner with Cassidy. She's brand new, so you'll need to show her the ropes. Burke scared the daylights out of her, so lets not let him breech the house. If we can keep him off the grounds too, so much the better. Robert and Kate will be here to help over the night shift. Not because they doubt you, but because of how badly this shook Khaat. Robert is hoping that his presence here tonight will help her rest.

"Here's the bottom line, and I know this won't strike you as news. This is wearing on her--badly. I caxn't let her come apart. She has to deal with Barker's trial before we can do anything to even let her out of this for a bit. So, we have to do whatever it takes to hold her together for awhile. If that means just keeping warm bodies around her so she doesn't feel alone. Barker's conviction may very well depend solely on her. Sophia Lestrange is missing--again. And Barker's only other known kidnap victim has switched sides and is now his girlfriend by Ministry intell reports. Barker's also killed three ministry aurors. So, Khaat is the only surviving victim of Barker that we can get our hands on right now. We have to keep her alive and well, or Barker is going to walk. No chances with this, new screw ups. And, for God's sake, don't let anything happen to her children, or Khaat is going to go stark raving bananas. Any questions?"

Cassidy turned to see Brian who had spoken she stiffened up and nodded "yes sir" she said moving to stand facing him and next to Angus as she listened to him she glanced at Steven who nodded at her and turned back to face Brian she did the same listening as he spoke orders to them all. She actually felt like she was part of something and she looke forward to being with it along time.

Once he had stopped talking she moved to the patio doors and waiting for Steven who joined her as they headed out to patrol. As they walked Cassidy looked around not really knowing what to say to him.

"so how long you been with the Lupins ?" she asked seeing him look at her as they walked .

"Long enough to know to patrol, not concentrate " he said scanning as he walked soon they returned to the main house and stepped inside again "now i have been with then several months now" he said finally answering her question "when on patrol keep your mind on the job " he reminded her she nodded realizing she had a lot to learn , where she thought she was good these guys were a lot better.