Finding Femininity

Angus looked at Cassidy. He could almost hear her thoughts. "Stop it," Angus said to her. "That's not why we need them back and you know it. We need Brian to help Robert do completely new spells in order to hide the house. The protection spells are put on in layers. Both Brian's and Robert's together. This has nothing to do with our abilities as guards. We did exactly what we were hired to do. Go change your shirt before Khaat gets here. We are very competent and capable. Khaat needs to see that."

"Agreed. Freshen up, you lot,' Robert said. "Smooth. Make it look smooth like business as usual. Brian will have a hard enough time bringing her back under these circumstances. Go clean up. I'll stay with the girls. And you, Donohue--you need a freaking bath."

"Yeah, I figured that out all by myself," Angus sighed. He got up, his head spinning. "I'll be back." He apparated upstairs.

"Cassidy, if you hear him fall on his ass, you'll either have to risk seeing him naked or you'll have to call me," Robert told her.


Brian had told Khaat about the breech at the house, and that the girls were fine. He said they needed to go back in order to redo the protection spells. He had no intention of checking out of the hotel yet. He apologized to her. She looked utterly amazing, in a little tiny red sequined cocktail dress. For him, she just got more beautiful every day. He apologized, kissing her.

"Take me home," she told him softly.

"Get your coat," he said to her gently. He regretted that here they were, both dressed to go out, her in her red dress and him in his black suit, and all they were doing now was getting ready to go back home. There was never an end to it for her. But she seemed to be surprisingly calm and steady as she went to get her coat from the bedroom.

Cassidy looked at Angus and nodded he was right damn her thoughts the girls were safe ans they had done all they could also nobody didn't get hurt in anyway that could not be fixed " your right ...again " she said and smiled down at him she looked at Robert as he spoke " yes sir " she said then as she saw Angus wobble as he aperated up stairs she raised an eye brow to Robert and nodded " I think i could risk it sir " she said and chuckled as she headed up the stairs to her room slipping off her tee shirt and lay on the bed she saw the other clothes Angus had chosen and smiled all were exactly her style she was supried that he paid that much atenshion to her to notice. Pulling out a blue and white long sleeved shirt she she placed it on a chair at the end of her bed and lay down for a moment .

Angus laid out clean clothes on the bed, and managed the shower, but he felt himself getting weaker by the moment. He just had not been well enough for all the activity. He began to feel really sick and weak. His head spun. He turned off the water in the shower and opened the shower door and reached for a towel. The room spun, his vision went to black, and he felt himself falling. He couldn't stop it. Couldn't prevent it. He felt his forehead strike something sharp, and everything went black. He had tried, but he had ended up falling face first on the wet shower floor, in a limp heap.

Cassidy heard a thump from next door sitting up she rembered Roberts words moving to her door she headed for Angus's shower room door " Angus?" she said knocking getting no awnser she with out s second thought pushed it open and saw him laid there out cold she paused for a slipt second realizing he was naked but she pushed it asside, he was her freind and he was hurt . Moving to him she wrapped her arms around him slowly roling him over , she saw the cut on his head and grabbed a face cloth " ok I got to get you on the bed " she said trying not to look below his waist. Slowly she managed to lift him her white bra turned transparet with the water that still clung to him as she lifted him with her arms under his. Not wanting him to be found naked she grabbed a towel, but she realised she would have to look down to wrap it around him. " Please god, don't let any one come in right this minet" she said softly as her hands moved around his waist, her head now pressed against his wet bare chest as she lent him on her to leave her hands free.

Brian and Khaat apparated home and saw the house looking better than either of them had expected. Khaat took off her coat and laid it across the chair. She went over to Jess who still had the babies. "Thank you," she said to Jess and Jack both. Both the babies were clearly alright. Unharmed. Nothing else mattered. She kissed both of the babies and stroked their hair. "I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you for keeping them safe."

She looked at Steven. "Thank you." Then she looked at her father. "Who was it"

He took a deep breath before speaking. "Luther Burke," he said gently.

"We'll burn the whole place to the ground before we let them have the girls," she said fiercely.

"It hasn't come to that," he said to her. He walked over to her. "I've got this, Khaat. Really. Relax."

"Where are Angus and Cassidy?" she frowned.

"They went up to change. Should have been back by now," Robert frowned. Brian didn't hesitate. He went upstairs quickly, his wand drawn. He saw both Cassidy's room door open and so was Angus's. He poked his head into Cassidy's room and didn't see her. He went across the hall and heard movement. He went inside noiselessly. When he got to the bathroom, he found Cassidy trying to take care of a clearly unconscious Angus.

"Allow me," he said to her. He flicked his wand at Angus and levitated him. He floated him over to the bed and laid him there. He sat down on the bed with Angus and laid his hand on Angus's forehead. He laid his fingertips on the cut and healed it. He detected Angus had taken a hit to the head. That was gonna hurt. And he was detecting some of Robert's healing spells at work on Angus's respiratory system. He laid his hands on Angus's chest, checking his lungs and his heart. He pushed Angus's clothes up from the bottom of the bed onto the floor and pulled up the spare blanket and covered him. "He's going to be alright. He just doesn't have any energy left. He needs to rest. I'll get him into bed, but you all will have to do without him until morning." He looked at her. It didn't bother him that she wasn't wearing a shirt. He only had eyes for Khaat anyway. And bathing suits covered far less. "Go get changed," he told her. "I'll be here with him for a bit."

As Cassidy heard the voice she almost dropped Angus her instinct was to drop the towel and grab something to suport him which was unfortunaly Angus bottom, her cheeks went red as she felt his skin against her hands. " Please " she said a little relived when angus became light in her arms and she let him go still not looking but she was human and female and it was getting harder for her. With him finally in bed and covered she looked at Brian. " I can prepare something for evening meal , he has shown me enouph that i could make a decent meal if thats ok ?" she asked then looked at Angus still feeling her cheek hot with her blush. " yes sir " she said and moved to the door pausing she turned to face him " ow, welcome home sir " she said and moved to her bed room and her bathroom where she soaked a face cloth in cold water and pressed it against her face as she saw the state of her bra.

after cooling down she headed to the kitchen and stood looking around , " ok what to do , quick light and simple , humm salad with a cheese cake for after , maybe " she said to her self as she quickly moved around gathering things for the salad deciding on a potato salad with smoked salmon and horseradish crème fraiche salad . Pick out the larger potatoes and halve them, making them roughly the same size as the smaller ones. she put the potatoes into a pan of boiling salted water until the potatoes were just cooked, and drain in a colander.

Then she put the lemon zest and half the lemon juice into a bowl and add the vinegar. She thought the vinegar and lemon juice together would give the dish a lovely zinginess. Pour in three times as much olive oil as vinegar he then added the capers. Tasting it she Seasoned the dressing with salt and pepperand mix everything well, then add the warm potatoes and toss around until they were all well coated.

Finely she grate the horseradish into a bowl mixing it into the crème fraîche with the remaining lemon juice and some salt and pepper. She then chose her herb choosing to sprinkle most of the dill she had chosen over the cooked potatoes and then she toss it again.

Carfully she laid the smoked salmon out on a big platter they had. she made it look rustic so it looked wavy and pile the dressed potatoes on top. wth a dollop of the horseradish crème fraîche,then with a drizzle of some olive oil and sprinkle of the rest of the dill she was done .

Brian made sure Angus was safe and was in bed. Once he was sure Angus was going to be alright, he came back downstairs. He went over to Robert. "Looks like Angus took a bit of a header in the shower. He just completely overdid it. He has almost not one ounce of energy left."

"I"m not surprised," Robert said. "But I really did hope he would make it through the shower at least. Alright. I'm going out to start to layer the spells. You follow me when you can,"

"I'm coming now. Khaat, you're in charge," Brian said. "I'll be back. Keep the house locked down. Nobody in or out."

"Got it," Khaat replied. She saw Cassidy putting dinner together. That would give Brian and her father enough time to redo the spells protecting the house.

It took nearly 30 minutes for them to change the spells to hide the house and to seal it and the grounds. Khaat could feel the strength of the safety net surrounding the house. It was stronger than it had been in a very long time. She was feeling more secure the more layers they made. Burke might have gotten in tonight, but he wasn't getting in again. Not for a long time. This was going to be almost impossible to crack. She was starting to feel relieved again. Abbey interrupted her thoughts by starting to get fussy. Khaat looked at the clock. It was past the girls' feeding time. Abbey was hungry.

Khaat went into the ktichen and got a bottle for each of the girls and brought them in and took Abbey and handed a bottle to Jess for Dakota. Abbey took the bottle eagerly and began to drink it quickly and eagerly. Khaat was glad that everyone was safe, but a part of her really did miss the wonderful evening that Brian had planned.

Cassidy moved to do the cheese cake she had found a recipy for a White chocolate and raspberry cheesecake she combine the biscuits and butter and press onto the base of a springform tin. For the filling she placed the chocolate, butter and vanilla pod in a heatproof bowl and set it over a pan of simmering water until she saw it was melted she she let it cool slightly. In another bowl she mixed together the cream cheese, sugar and whipping cream to a smooth consistency. Then she Removed the vanilla pod from the melted chocolate mixture and stir ed into the cream mixture. she then gently stired in the raspberries, being careful not to release the juice.Then she Spooned the mixture on top of the biscuit base and place in the fridge smiling as she saw Khaat " khaat could we talk later?" she asked softly knowing she had to tell her what had happened to her.



Jess took the bottle that Khaat gave to her for Dakota who had not let go of her since the fight , jess smiled and held it out " its ok hun its your food , nummies" she said and two small hands reateched out taking it but she remained rsting against her.

"So what's on your mind?" Khaat said, going into the kitchen with Cassidy. She felt herself shifting gears--back to business. Away from happiness and romance. Away from the world that Brian had surrounded her with where she was safe and happy and where there was nothing to think about but to hang on every word or touch he gave her. She was being forced back into the brutal reality that was life for a Lupin. She went over to the teapot and poured herself a mugful of her father's cinnamon tea. She leaned up against the counter and slipped off her tall red sparkling stilettos. If there was to be no dancing tonight, she didn't need the dazzling shoes.

Cassidy looked at her and sighed her head hung down as she started to talk " I mean this guy, I thought he was the one ..you know, but i found out several days ago he was just useing me and didn't want me he told his freinds i was ugly and no good trash. I ran and came here, Angus was kind enouph to let me borow some of your clothes as i left everything behind, Khaat i felt so used that he could do that to me of all people" she sighed as she looked up at her " Im here with nothing no clothes, my money is in the bank but my id and everything i left behind , Angus has helped by keeping me busy , he took me to the farmers market and I tasted the best fruit and he toughtme about the subtle diferances in fire whisky " she smiled and blushed a little.