Elephant in the Living Room

"Yeah," Brian said. "Its okay. And the minister was here. Khaat surrendered all her stash to her father. He's gone to get it and return it to Rob. We know there isn't any more in the house. So, at least for here, she's safe. She knows we aren't going to let her continue this, although right now, I know the potion seems easier for her. But we're going to get through it."

Angus went to the kitchen and pitched all the potions that were in the kitchen cabinets and then threw away all the rest of the potions in the house. He used a spell for any potion in the house to reveal itself, and he pitched it--all of it. He would go into St. Mungos later and get some basics, fresh ones, from Robert later. Once Robert had had a chance to get rid of her stash.

"Can I go upstairs?" she asked Brian, really wanting to hide away, to be alone.

"No," Brian said. "Not for a couple of days. You're not getting rid of us that easily."

"I wasn't going to do anything. You have it all."

"I don't care. You've had your chance at managing this by yourself. Its our turn now. You're going to have to just put up with us being here. The negative feelings are just going to be part of it. Get used to it at least for now."

She got up and took a blanket off the back of the sofa and sat down on the floor by the fire, wrapping the blanket around herself.

"I'll get you some coffee. You might as well enjoy it before your stomach starts to get upset," he said, going to the kitchen.

OOC: there is a time lapse here for convenience sake.

It had been 4 nights since Brian had slept. It had been a long journey for Khaat away from the potion that she had used to numb away all the horrors that still dwelt in her mind. It wasn't that Brian didn't understand her need to numb herself. He did. He got that part. He did not understand the part about her distance from him in the process or the secrecy.

And even when the detox set in, she hadn't made a sound. Not a a syllable, not a groan. Nothing. From what he knew he could tell she knew what she had done and was either facing the consequences as stoically as she knew how, or she had shut down and didn't feel anything. She hadn't asked for a thing. Hadn't accepted anything. Had stayed entirely silent, and the deeper the detox had gotten, the more distant she had become. When the fever raged its worst, he wasn't sure she was connecting with him at all. She didn't seem phased by the stomach problems or the congestion or the sneezing, or the rest of it. For Brian, her behavior had been keen insight on just how she had managed to survive Barker. He had witnessed something he did not think he would ever see--and now he wasn't sure he would have ever wanted to see it, given the choice. But he understood her and the very secret of her strength in a whole new way. The odd thing about it was that the very secret of her vulnerability lay right up against that.

When she slept, he often had had to check her breathing and her pulse to be sure she was still alive. And while it all played out, he didn't sleep, didn't eat, didn't leave her--except if Robert shoved him out to shower. Robert had moved in temporarily to help. He forced Brian every so often to shower. Brian hadn't taken the time to shave. He hadn't been able to leave her.

And he had just checked on her again. There was still a pulse, but he couldn't see if she was breathing or not unless he laid his hand on her chest. He had gotten a cup of coffee and had gone back to the sitting area in the bedroom. His eyes burned from exhaustion. He sat down on the sofa, sipped the extra strong coffee and looked out over the estate, watching the sun start to creep above the eastward horizon. Another day was dawning. His eyes fluttered shut without his knowledge.

And then a hand very gently touched his forehead while another took the cup from his hand. He woke to see Robert there. Robert sat beside him on the sofa. "Brian," Robert said, clearly a man with something on his mind. "She's asleep. You can't go forever without sleep."

"I can't leave her. She needs to know I"m still here," Brian said.

"She does. She will. It may take her awhile to make peace with herself, and she's going to want you to be there. I want you to be ready and up for it."

"I am."

"No. You're not." He gently brushed Brian's hair, a gesture he hadn't done since Brian had been a small boy. "Son," his voice was gentle. "I'm right here. Let go. Let go of her and give her to me. I won't let anything happen to her if you sleep. I swear. She's mine too." Brian was silent for a long moment, overwhelmed. Robert folded him into him in a warm, comforting embrace. Brian could again feel Robert's immense strength and for right now it felt so different from his own. "Go to bed, Brian. Get some sleep. Then do us all a favor, would you?"

"What's that?" Brian frowned.

"Shave," Robert smiled. That made Brian smile.

"You won't leave her?"

"You have my word," Robert said seriously.

"Alright," Brian said, getting up. He got a change of clothes and went to a guest room and allowed himself to go to bed, and finally, to sleep.