Sand and Snow

steven looked at Khaat and listened his mind cleared in relif at her leting him go " thank you Khaat it means alot for me to be with her especialy now , my mothers down but its not the same " he said and smiled walking over he huged her " I'll be back tomorrow bright and early and ready to work " he said now smiling as she stepped back and aperated out of the ranch.

Jess walked down all dressed in a short cream dress and sandels Jack followed in a pair of slacks and shirt both smiling " where did steven go to, he looked like the cat that got the cream" she said smiling back at them as she sat with jack feeling his arms around her waist and his lips against her neck as he gently kissed her " sorry about before sometimes things slip threw, but that place does sound perfect to relax in" she said smiling

"I wouldn't have any idea," Khaat said, "I haven't been there. It sounds good--if Brian can get along with his brother Kieran for that long."

"Aside from keeping the place afloat, Kieran is useless," Brian said coldly. Khaat understood his pain. When he needed his brother and sister the most after their parents were killed, his siblings had abandoned him. Brian had been alone and angry and hurting. He hadn't been easy to live with in those first few weeks after his parents were killed. Brian had been 8, and he had felt alone and scared, amongst other things. Kate had brought him a sense of nurturing with that beloved cocoa recipe of hers at bedtime. It was one of the few things that had made it bearable for Brian to think about closing his eyes at night.

Remus had brought him diversion--adventure, joy, laughter, excitement. And Robert, well, Robert had taken ahold of Brian's anger and his bitterness and had wrestled it from the young boy and had taken the brunt of everything Brian had had to dish out back then. It had created, for Brian, a sense of permanency when the Lupins had taken anything and everything he could dish out as a child and had loved him anyway. But since then, Brian had no love loss for his brother Kieran or his sister Fiona. He had had almost no contact with them at all anymore. Ever.

Jess sat and closed her eyes and just shut out thought that seem to scream at her and it went quiet and she sighed " sorry some one was thinking of family felt like they were screaming it at me i had to block it out " she said now smiling " Kieran your brother whats he like apart from usless" she asked hukaling slightly " im guess int theres no love loss between the two of you " she asked .

Jack puleld her closer " Shush thats none of our busniness " he said softly to her his hands caressing her shoulders ashe felt her relax in his arms as they sat together .

"Kieran?" Brian asked. "Its no secret. I don't mind. He and Fiona piss me off. Neither one of them gave a damn when our folks died. They were off at school and they didn't care that I was alone. They didn't send an owl, didn't speak, nothing. Hell, they didn't even speak to me at the funerals. Robert and Kate took guardianship of us because there was no one else. If it hadn't been for the fact that I had run into Khaat on the beach a week or so before, I'd have been on the streets.

"Our family had gone to the village near the farm for a holiday. Robert was working in the local muggle chemist's there, and I had run into Khaat by accident on the beach one morning. She had managed to get some candy from the chemists, from her father, and we just sat and talk and she shared the candy with me. That's how we met. A few days later, when my parents were killed, Khaat heard about the accident because it was the talk of the town. She made Robert come to the hospital to see if I was okay. Well, I remember I was sitting there by myself when Robert got there. No one seemed to quite know what to do with me since I had no one left. Robert took me home. It was pretty ugly for awhile. Robert was the only one who wasn't afraid of my anger. Kate, well, she made sure I didn't feel lost and alone, and Remus? Remus showed me how to live again. That's about how it all started. I haven't seen my brother or sister more than a couple times since my parents died. Not really," Brian said. "Sorry if you felt my anger."

jess smiled and nodded " its ok you have every right to be with them , the are your family who did nothing for you , i'd be the same " she said jack kissed her again her hand caressing his cheek gently " sounds like you and khaat were destined to meet and fall in love " she said smiling at them " well you can show them both you made something of your life, as a respected well loved man with two children. " she said jack held her tighter knowing she was getting tired . " ok jess enouph talk rest " he said and felt her relax against him again.

"Brian," Khaat asked. "Do Kieran and Fiona know about me and the girls?"

"Uh..." he hesitated. Khaat felt like there was something he wasn't saying.

"What are you not telling me, Brian Quinn?" she frowned.

"Well,..." he hedged.

"Spit it out," she said.

"I told Kieran a bit of a ruse," he admitted.

"About me?" she asked, frowning.

"He had it coming!" Brian retorted.

"What happened?"

"He doesnt' think I"ve ever worked a day in my life. I'm not sure where he thinks I got all my money at, but well, I told him I worked for the Minister of Magic....?

"Which is true," Khaat admitted. "So where is the lie?"

"I told him that you and I were married and that the girls are mine. I told him they were twins and that they're mine."

"Is that all?" she laughed, finding it hilarious. "Okay, so before we go to Colorado, you'd better buy me a wedding band to go with the engagement ring, then, hadn't you?"

"You'll go along with it?"

"Kieran never did anything for me," Khaat shrugged. "Why not? But you owe me diamonds in that wedding band, Dude."

"You've got it," he smiled. "You want to pick it out?"

"No. Surprise me."

"Don't women generally want to pick out their wedding bands?" he asked.

"This isn't a real one. Its just going to be a very expensive fake one," she said. "You can pick this one out."

jack loked at Brian and chuckled " dude i choose jess's " he said smiling as he showed him hers a saphire surounded in dimonds and he beamed at him " the first one went missing so i bought this one for her , your praticly a couple any way who needs the pice of paper" he said and chuckled again " the girls call you dad any way " he loked down at Jess" Im just happy shes back again and she can put it all behind her finally after all these years " he said kissing the now dozing jess .

"I'll find you one," Brian told Khaat. "We have some time before we go. Actually, picking it out might be fun." Khaat looked at him. She had a feeling that he wasn't going to buy some cubic zirconia in a gold plated setting. She had the feeling he had something specific in mind.

"What are you planning?" she frowned.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," He waved her thoughts away. "And Jack is right. We are a couple anyway."

"You should be ashamed of yourself for giving him ideas, Jack," Khaat said.

Brian was thinking of ideas on exactly what he wanted her to have. He wanted to take every chance to stake a claim on Khaat, to call her his. And he had some very specific ideas about what he wanted.

"Um, Brian, how are you going to explain that Dakota and Abbey look nothing alike?" Khaat asked.

"They're babies. How hard can it be? I'm going to just tell him its recessed genes. Besides, he's not the brightest man anyway. He wont' figure it out. Relax," Brian smiled. Then she could see a new thought hit him. He looked at her. "By the way, in no way whatsoever are you to encourage him to consider himself Uncle Kieran."

"You know he will if he thinks we're married," Khaat laughed. "Because he would be."

"That really is aa completely sour thought, Khaat," Brian sighed.

jack chuckled as he listened feling jess drift into a deeper much needed sleep " shes not sleeping too goo she has night mares " he said softly " and just tell him there ferturnal twins they don't look a like but yet are still twins " he sugested shifting slightly where he sat and hearing jess groan slightly to his movement under her. he sighed and holding her closer kissed her cheek gsntly and smiled at them " ow you know us men too well Khaat "

"Was she having nightmares before she left Jeffrey?" Khaat asked.

"You," Brian said to Khaat, "are working again."

"Once a healer, always a healer," Khaat said. "Answer the question, Jack. Ignore Brian. And frathernal twins would work. After all, they're only a month apart anyway. I doubt that Kieran will know the difference."

"Kieran will be lucky if he can tell they're girls," Brian grumbled.

"Brian, can I ask? Is Kieran dangerous?"

"Kieran? Dangerous? I doubt he'd know how. He's just stupid," Brian said.

"But didn't you say he and your sister were both Gryffindors?"

"They were. Kieran was just a stupid one. Fiona, well, she wasn't stupid. She was just sex crazy. She was far more interested in hookups than grades. "

"Whatever happened to her? You never talk about her."

"She got married and moved to Ireland someplace. Kieran stays in touch with her, I guess."

"So do I have nieces and nephews?"

"Stop that!" he said. The thought of getting close to either of his siblings made Brian visibly uncomfortable.

"So why are we going to Colorado then?" Khaat laughed.

"I am not avoiding a whole state because Kieran is an idiot," Brian replied.