The Ties That Bind

"Daddy said he was coming back to see Kieran through the night," Khaat said. "If Kieran gets too surly, he'll spend the rest of his detox in one of Daddy's bug jars. I've seen him do it before. He won't hesitate to do it again. You know, I really do need to take some French Roast over there and brew a pot of it for Brian. That would perk him up. It can get really long and lonely seeing someone go through that, no matter if you love them or not. Cassidy, would you put some French Roast in a plastic bag for me, and I'll go over and brew it for him? Maybe a few pieces of fresh fruit too? Something for him to perk himself up with?"

"Good idea," Angus said. "Oh, and I plan to do some baking as soon as I get the steaks ready to go."

"Extra lean, please?" she asked.

"I'm already on it," he laughed. "I remember all about how you like your steaks." He looked at Cassidy. "Look here. See the marbleing through the steaks? That will dissolve as the steaks grill and it will give a lot of flavor without her or anyone else biting into fat they dont' want. These are going to be really great steaks. And, yes, a big salad is perfect for going alongside a steak. Good thought. There is some fresh feta cheese. Try that with some greens, maybe some tomatos, and whatever else you think will work."

Cassidy looked at Khaat and smiled moving to the kettle she brought out a flask " already did some its hot and ready to drink " she said placing it on the table " I took the inishative and used one of the flasks he ahd in one of the cuboards "she looked at her " ow i cleaned it thouraly first so don't worry " she said and moved back to Angus nodding when he sujested things for the salad . Quickly she ingrediants including the fata chese witch she cut into cubes then went to preper the rest of the salad in a big bowl.

Steven looke dat Khaat and smiled as he sighed " sleep does sound good but i'll give it a few more hours yet" he said and glanced at Jess " your quiet ?" he asked her and saw her smile .

Jess looked up at steven as he spoke to her " ow im fine just enjoying the banter " she said smiling as she to stood and walked over to the sink . Placing her cup in it she looked at Khaat " if its ok with you I'll grab some sleep early" she said moving back into the living room with Jack . She said her good nig hts and headed for a spare room.

"Thank you," Khaat said. She picked up one of the plastic grocery bags and put several pieces of the fresh fruit for Brian. That would work for now. He most likely wasn't hungry. She picked up the thermos and a clean coffee cup, took the bag and apparated over. Brian was making himself useful cleaning Kierans little used apartment and setting it to rights. She could tell it was more out of a need to stay busy.

"How's it going?" she asked him.

"He's sleeping," Brian said.

"That's the best thing for him right now. Coffee?" she asked softly. He looked at her and smiled.

"Yeah. Thanks. That would be nice," he said. She poured a cup from the flask for him and handed it to him.

"So, what'd he say?" Brian asked.

"Who?"

"Your father."

"He's coming back. He's staying the night."

"Its not good, Khaat."

"No, its not. But it'll be alright."

"He has to live--so I can kill him myself," Brian said, his stress betraying him. She stood behind him and kneaded his knotted up shoulders. He sighed heavily, trying to unwind. She was detecting a severe headache as she touched him.

"Stop this," she told him. "Go rest. We might need you tonight." She moved her hands to his head and drew off his headache.

"I can't leave you alone with him."

"He's asleep. Send Steven or Jack if you like. Either one. Kieran is asleep. I'll be good for 30 seconds. I promise."



While Khaat and Brian tried to decide if Brian needed a break, Angus finished trimming out the steaks and set them into a shallow dish to marinate in some sort of secret recipe manrinade. He put the steaks in the refridgerator. "We could use a couple of side dishes. Over here, it is traditional to put some sort of potato with a steak. Maybe a vegetable. Maybe I could just grill some fresh vegetables. What do you think, Cassidy? And then, certainly, we need a good dessert. Any ideas?"

Cassidy watched her pick a few peices of fruit then leave to be with Brian . turning back to Angus she finished off her salad and covered it for later . " ow sounds good, umm... what about Strawberry Angel Food Dessert we can use those strawberrys we got at the market ?" she said opening the fridge to take them out placing them on one of the counters as she loked at him questioningly .

Steven chuckled as he watched " ok thats my cue im going over to see if brian needs me " he said and aperated into the aprtment smiling as he saw Khaat with Brian " every all quiet here?" he asked standing with his arms folded as he looked at them both he could tell brian was stressed " why don't you go I'll cover it few hours then jack can tke over " he said .

"Certainly," Angus said. "Lets use them while they're fresh. Strawberries are best used the same day. Especially these little wild strawberries. Go ahead. Use whatever you like. I think I'll do potatoes on the grill. I'll wrap them in foil roast them on the grill. They'll be great. Maybe I'll grill some of the asparagus I bought. FOlks round here seem to love fresh, in season asparagus--especially when its grilled."

Khaat was glad that Steven had thought of stopping in. "You're a mind reader, Steven," Khaat said. "I was just trying to talk Brian into the same thing. He really does need to give it a rest. He's been up all night as it is."

"So have you," Brian said.

"I'm fine," she said. "When I need a break, I'll tell you. I promise."

"Will you, though?"

"Do you really think the people around here will let me go indefinitely without sleep?" she laughed. She kissed his cheek. "Thank you for caring, but I'm fine. Really. Now go. Take your coffee mug and go. Steven and I will handle it."

"Don't turn your back on him," Brian looked at Steven. He apparated to the house, to the master bedroom.

"Don't worry," Khaat told Steven. "He's out of his mind hallucinating. He's too sick to go anywhere right now. I think we're safe for a few hours."

Cassidy smiled gathering he things she needed to make the desert, She Crumbled the cake into a 9x13 inch dish.
Then beat the cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl until light and fluffy and fold in whipped topping. she Mash the cake down with her clean hands and spread the cream cheese mixture over the cake. Then in a bowl she combined strawberries and glaze until strawberries were evenly coated and spread it over the cream cheese layer. Moving to the fridge she sliped it in a space she found " there it should be ready for when we are" he said smiling .

Steven chuckled " me no thought it was about time you had a rest " he said and nodded with Khaat " go I got it covered and certainly will not " he was pleased to see him leave and chuckled " finally " he said softly " good thing too he looked beat" he said looking around the apartment not impressed with his lack of objects.

"Looks good," Angus smiled. "Nice work." He drew out several Yukon Gold baking potatoes, scrubbed them, poked some holes in them with a fork, slathered them in extra virgin olive oil,and wrapped each one in foil. He put them in a bowl and set the bowl in the refridgerator to await grilling. He prepped the asparagus and put it in the fridge too. "Well," he said, "I think we're ready. I'll start the grill in a couple of hours. We'll put the potatoes on first because they will take the longest to cook. Oh, you might want to make a large pitcher of some sort of iced tea. People might enjoy it with dinner. What do you think?"

Khaat said, "Me too. He's exhausted, and we haven't even gotten to the real battle of all of this yet." Khaat heard Kieran start to shout something unintelligible and heard the distinct sounds of him battling some unseen monster of his own design. She went to the bedroom door and saw he had gotten himself all tangled up in the sheets and was hopelessly tangled up in them. She sighed heavily. She hated this part of withdrawal. "Steven," she called. "Just make sure he doesn't knock me into a wall or something? I'm going to try to stop the hallucinations for awhile for him." She moved in cautiously and dodged his thrashing arms and legs and laid her hand on his forehead. "He's strong," she told Steven. "He's so geared into fear that he's resisting my spell. This might take little bit. Watch out. He's liable to punch or kick one of us by mistake."

cassidy smiled and gathered the tea bags " all ready started " she said and continuded till she ahd a large pitcher made up she placed several pecesng it mext to the steaks of lemon into the pitcher and then carried it to the fridge placing it in the fridge nexr to her desert .

Steven heard her call out and moved to restrain Keiran his arms moving him only slightly " yeah he is better make it quick " he said looking up at her . This was his mistake as kirans fist flew up and hit his lip hard he cursed but didn't let go he could feel the blood trickaling down his chin and the throb from the cut he wanted to wipe it and loked at Khaat hoping she wouldn't be much longer.

"Sorry about that," she told Steven. She cast the spell again, using more force. It required her to simply overpower her strength with her magic. She knew it would have been a simple matter for her father, but then again, he was more powerful than she was anyway. But Kieran soon stopped fighting and fell limp, slipping back into an undisturbed sleep.

"Thank you," she told Steven softly. She very gently untangled Kieran and covered him again. She checked him again, and sure that he would sleep awhile, she walked to the bedroom doorway to have Steven follow her. As she passed him she reached up and simply touched where Kieran had accidently hit Steven and stopped the bleeding. "I don't know if that will bruise or not," she told him. "Its too early to tell. Keep an ear open for him. I'm going to work a bit on Brian's cleaning project. I will be surprised if he let's Kieran live here at all when this is all overwith. I think I am going to be glad that Daddy's coming back tonight."

Seven ignored the coppery taste that filled his mouth wanting to spit it out but he found his manners prevented him doing so. Soon he felt Kerian relax in his arms and he looked at Khaat who said he would sleep , letting go he wiped his mouth and saw the blood, red on his sleeve. He staid close by incase but was glad when Khaat stopped the blood , he ran his tounge over his lip and sighed " it will I can feel it already, one more reason not to like that man" he moved and sat down in the lounge still feeling the slight swelling in his lower lip. " so will everyone I think" he siad and sighed picking up a magazine to read as he tried to keep himself awake till Robert came back .

He moved to look in a mirror and sighed he saw the redness start and shok his head chukaling " well Delilah will have a reason fuss now " he siad softly wincing slightly " hopfuly it will be gone before i go home " he siad not saying when he'd be doing that as he'd told her he'd be away and he would be back.