The Ties That Bind

Kieran was angry at Cassidy's dissing him. He watched her leave. He looked at Khaat and said, "She's an ass."

"Why?" Khaat asked.

"I don't HAVE any magic!" he spouted. "I'm, as you all so graciously said, a squib! I haven't had any magic or used any for years!..."

"Kieran," Khaat said softly,"I'll tell them to lay off. It'll be alright."

"I'm sick of all of you looking down at me because I don't measure up to your expectations!" he exploded and went upstairs. Khaat sighed heavily. Angus reached over and laid his hand on hers for a moment.

"He'll be alright. Its a lot of adjust to for him. He messed up and he knows it, and for some reason, he's more human around you than he is with anyone else," Angus said. "That's a huge adjustment too." He looked up at Jess. "Yes, I do have a recipe for saffron rice. It's easier than people think. They think there's some big trick to it. It just takes a bit of timing, that's all." He looked at Khaat. "Hang in, Babe. I'll be back," he smiled at her and went to the kitchen to make rice.

Steven sighed and sat down in he chair that sat next toKhaat his mind now thinking back to when the arived h stil thought kerian a squib but now he had a bit of himility and it was showing . When he called Cassidy an ass he shook his head and sighed heavaly " well he hasn't changed much " he said siting back in he chair he sat in watching every one as they moved around , He could hear Jess in the other room as jack walked in and comnted on the rice he smirked and stood up desiding he would shower before lunch and headedto his room to shower.

Cassidy rolled her eyes as she over heard Keiran talking about her " he still a jerk " she said and moved to stand with jess as Angus moved into the room showing jess howto make jasmine rice to go wth her chicken in a ho sin sauce . She said down and puhed a peice of bread back and forth feeling a little usless since Jess took over in the kitchen . she found her self yawning again as she rested her head on her arm.

"She was a little rude to him," Khaat said, not trying to defend Kieran but not finding that Cassidy had been very nice either. "If that had been us, we might have been a bit sensitive about losing our magic permanently too. Not that we really would have gotten into that mess, but he thinks we look down at him. Truth be toldd, there is a good side to Kieran, I think. I think he just hasn't had a reason to show it at least since his parents died."

"As I said," Robert said, "Hang with him, Khaat. You might bring out the best in him yet." He smiled and laid another bunch of checks aside. "Steven, we will be getting a huge delivery, by truck, this afternoon of all new supplies for the stables. I'd like you to supervise getting all the old feed and supplies out and disposed of and getting the new put in and organized. If you need a hand, take Jack with you. I'm sure Brian will try to help out. But he needs to see that some fresh food and good care on those horses will turn things around. He needs to see it isn't hopeless. And keep an eye on that mare. I'll go out to check her in a bit. As it gets closer, we will want to be sure that she isnt' left alone. It's been awhile since I delivered a horse. Unicorns? Centaurs? Yeah, I've done that. They aren't that different."

Angus in the meantime, went out to the kitchen, and he put on a pot of carefully measured water to boil. While he waited for that to heat, he got out a bag of jasmine rice, a little plastic box of saffron, a bunch of scallions, garlic, and a few selectly chosen fresh herbs. He minced the garlic and sliced the scallions, and sauteed them in extra virgin olive oil with a bit of salt and pepper. He set them aside. He waited until the rice was aldente and then added the scallions, garlic and herbs. The last thing he added was the precious threads of saffron and allowed them to add their beautiful aromatic scent and unique flavor to the rice. The saffron lent a trademark yellow color to the rice, and the exotic aroma filled the air. He sampled it and smiled. "Perfect," he said. "Its ready."

Cassidy didn't look at him she had fallen asleep on her arm on the table her breathing gentel a if she had not slept all night the warmth of the cooker. Jess sighed and chuckled seing Cassidy asleep she took a blanket she ahd freshly washed and place it over her soulders. " she is strange lately " she said and turned back to the rice " smels wonderfull " she took a fork and tasted it smiling a she tasted the delcate flavor of the jasmine in the rice " perfect , ths will go well with the chicken she said and slid it out for Angus to inspect its dark brown crispy skin coate with a rich dark coating of ho sin sauce in the roasting tray .

"I'm not commenting," Angus replied to Jess. "Its not my place. I know better than to do that." He was glad when she said she approved of the rice, though. "I haven't made that rice for a long time, and I think it will go well with the chicken. I have an idea. Give me five minutes. While I do this, how about you set the table and pour some drinks for everyone?"

He got out a number of fresh vegetables and prepped them in record time. He crushed up several cloves of garlic and got out a wok. He added peanut oil into the wok and the crushed garlic and then tossed in his large bowl bite sized assorted vegetables and stir fried them in a few short moments. He poured them into a large serving bowl and poured the rice into another. He lifted the chicken onto a serving platter and carved it quickly but expertly into manageable servings. "I think the food is ready. How about the table?"

Khaat could smell all the fresh herbs and spices in the kitchen. It brought Brian out of wherever he had wandered off to. That made her smile. "Hungry?" she asked.

"Well, I didn't think so, until I started to smell it. Now it smells good," he confessed.

"Alright, I'm not too proud to say it--I'm hungry," Robert said. "And I pronounce your bills paid and your bank accounts sorted. The crisis is, officially, averted."

"Thank you," Brian said, grateful.

"You are very, very welcome," Robert said, with a smile. "Now, we just need to put these checks into the muggle mail."

"I'll drive them to the post office myself. That way I know they go out."

"Well, maybe somebody else might like to drive one of those snazzy cars in the garage," Khaat suggested.

"Maybe," Brian shrugged. "If not, I'll do it."

jess did lay the table after rosing Cassidy from her sleep she rubbed her eyes before heading back into the living room to lay down on one of the couches wrapped in the blanket Jess had given her. Jess laid the table and set he drinks in the middle of he table in jugs along with the knives and forks and several plates then turned to wath Angus " hows the ankle ?" she asked seeing him perched on his crutch working the vegtables.

Jack wked in from here ever he ahd been hiding and shook his head " who sturred him up again all I can hearing my room his him mumbling about the fact shes an ass ?" he said lookng around " ow if you want those posting I coul do it Im not realy doing any thing right now, house is secure as its going to be, jess is busy cooking " he said and looked at brian " unless I can come with you that is?" he asked hoping he would say yes .

"I'm good," Angus said. "Feels good to be back in the kitchen. I wasn't sure I would really miss it, but I guess I'm used to it. I surprised myself. Alright. I think we should eat." He flicked his wand at the finished dishes and floated the food out to the table. "Go sit, Jess," Angus said. "I'll call the others."

"Kieran just isn't overly happy right now," Khaat said to Steven, not wanting to put Cassidy on the spot. "He'll be alright. He's had a lot of changes in the last day or two. Its a lot to get used to. And we all need to get used to him. It'll be alright."

"Well, yeah," Brian said. "If you want to drive to the post office, the GPS in the caxr can tell you the way to the post office. You're welcome to take whatever vehicle you want. I know, if it were just me, by myself, I'd be in that big truck. If it were Khaat, we'd have to take the sportscar. Kieran? He'd probably pick the big suv. And Robert? He'd freaking apparate into the alley beside the post office and walk. He can drive, but he'd rather walk and use magic than to drive."

"Come and eat," Angus called from the living room doorway.

Jess chuckled and smilede " its good to see you back in the kitchen , you seem happier here creating things for every one to eat " she said and when he said for her to sit she poured a cup of coffee and headed to the table her smile clear on her face as she saw Jack and sat with him leaning against him as he slid he arm around her. " sure Brian i'll use the pick up , I feel more comfortable in one of those" he said and lent doewn to jess " wanna come with ?" he looked at Brian " if thats ok with you ?" he asked.

Steven shook his head and moved to thet able smelling the sweet aroma that came from the kitchen his stomach giveing a loud growl as he walked over sitting down next to keiran he didn't like him but didn't want him next to jess or cassidy where he could annoy her or both. " I don';t think any of us are but if he proves himself we might treat him with respect when he gives some" he said looking at him as he pored a cup of coffee and sipped it slowly as he sat back.


Cassidy opened her eyes and smelt the dinner , sitting up she moved to the table leaving the blanket behind as she did she sat on the other side of steven glaring at Kerian as she pored her self some orange juice and sioghed waiting for the food witch she saw flaoting out to place in front of her on the table she smiled and took some passing it down the line " this is good , the rice realy goes well with it" she said and felt a little less sleepy.

Khaat and Robert joined the others at the table. Khaat somehow ended up between Brian and Robert, directly across from Kieran. She had not thought she was hungry until she actually tasted it. It really was very good. She didn't know which she liked better--the chicken or the rice.

"Can I help you in the barn this afternoon?" Khaat asked Brian.

"If you want," he said. "But don't do it if you don't want to. I can get it."

"No. I want to."

"I'd like that, then," he smiled at her.

"I'll change after lunch and come join you."

"Good."

She did just that. When lunch was over, she found a pair of work jeans and a red and white plaid shirt. She rolled up her sleeves and put on a pair of workboots and tied her hair back. She found a pair of workgloves that she tucked into her belt and put her wand in her boot. Once she was changed, she went out to the barn. Brian was unloading bag after bag of new fresh feed. "These are too heavy for you," he told her. "Would you get those boxes of new medicines and new tack and unpack them and organize them?"

"I can pull my own weight, Brian," she frowned. "We can unpack boxes later. First things first." She put on her workgloves and grabbed a huge bale of fresh hay and carried it to where it needed to be stored and tossed it into place. She heard Brian sigh, but he didn't say a word. Khaat was not afraid of hard work, and she didn't want to be treated less because she was a woman. Before long, she heard a voice behind her.

"Need a hand?" She looked behind her and saw Kieran putting on his work gloves. "That's a lot of hay to store."

"Yes. It is," she said.

"Let me help. Those are heavy." He pitched in beside her to pick up and toss bales of hay into place. He looked up and found he'd earned a smile from her. He looked back at her as if to ask what the big deal was, laughed and kept working.

Once eaten jack lead jess to the pick up where together they headed out to post the checkes along with some alone time for themselves. Steven headed down to the barn finding Khaat and Brian already there " don't mind me im here to check on the mare " he said and moved to her and sighed " ok this is not good , shes saying shes birthing " he said and moved into the stall and sure enouph he saw two hooves sticking out " brian she is birthing , we have to help her" he said and taking down some rope he wrapped it around the foals legs gently as heach contration happened he pulled, slowly the foal apeared first its head then its waist . Steven moved to hold the foal as the mare gave one last push. He laid it down on the ground and rubbed io with straw gently till he felt it move kicking out its legs and he smiled. " he's fine " he said and moved the foal to the mare and left his shirt now covered in blood and gunk.

Leaning on the stable door he watched as she nuzzled the foal who strugled to stand up falling back down in the hay " well thats one foal whos going to be better looked after than his mother was ," he said " best leave them alone she said she was tired " he looked at them both " erm...did I interupt something?" he asked loking from khaat to brian and back.