Rain

Khaat was thoroughly delighted with the lunch Jess and Angus had fixed. And the girls ate more macaroni than she anticipated they would. Khaat and Brian fed them ample amounts of the homemade applesauce. Abbey loved the applesauce.

"I don't ever have to cook again, do I?" Khaat asked. "This is wonderful. And the girls love it. I don't know when they've eaten so well. Than you so much, Jess and Angus...."

"Wait. Wait," Brian frowned. "What's this? You're never cooking again? Who said?"

"Why do I need to cook if we have them?" Khaat asked.

"I think he'll miss it," Robert said, laughing. "You do still have a few recipes you haven't passed on to Angus and Jess."

"Well, shoot. That's easy enough to fix," she said.

"No, you still have to cook," Brian said. "At least once in awhile."

"Its okay, Khaat," Angus laughed. "I'll share the kitchen. Khaat, your plate is empty. Can I get you more of something?"

"Um...mac and cheese? Dakota got some of mine," she confessed.

"No sharing. Eat your own,' Robert reprimanded. She knew he was keeping a close eye on her eating habits.

"So, wait...Are we really going to Tuscany?" Kieran asked.

"Yes. Right after lunch," Brian said. He looked at his brother who seemed to be having trouble wrapping his brain around the whole idea that Brian was so wealthy.

'Thanks, Jess," Khaat smiled. "You really do have a knack with a camera. You should take more pictures. It would be a great hobby for you."

"Indeed. They're well done," Robert agreed. When lunch was finished, Angus cleared the table quickly with his wand and had the kitchen start to clean up the mess while he brought in the fresh sorbet he made, along with dessert plates. He cut the cake and put the very first piece on a plastic plate on Abbey's tray on her high chair. Khaat was hoping that Jess had her camera handy. Angus served the other pieces of cake while Abbey started to try to figure out what cake was. Khaat took a little bit of the cake in her fingers and put it into Abbey's mouth. Abbey instantly squealed with delight and got excited. She began to try to feed herself. Khaat just sat back to let Abbey dig into her piece of cake all by herself. As long as Abbey was having a good time, she didn't care how big of a mess she made.

"Wonderful cake, Jess," Kieran said. "It tastes like it has a cheesecake flavor to it. I've never had cheesecake flavored cake."

"Neither have I," Khaat agreed, "But I spent most of my pregnancy with Abbey eating nothing but cheesecake and coffee."

"That girl should have turned out to be a cheesecake," Robert agreed.

"It's great, Jess," Brian laughed. "You lot will fix this flavor on my birthday, right?"

"Any flavor you want, my dear," Khaat smiled.

"Can I have more than one cake?"

"As many as you like."

"You are just making this much too easy," he laughed.

"I just want you happy."

"I have two daughters, a huge family, and I have two more kids on the way. What's not to like?" He said.

"Uh..four kids in diapers all at the same time?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Not a problem," Brian said. "Either we'll all grab a kid, or we'll teach Max how to do it." Angus burst out laughing.

"You have no idea," Angus said. "Thats about the only thing that cat doesn't do. I took the girls into Diagon Alley with me the day before yesterday, and when I got back, Max wouldn't have anything to do with me for at least an hour."

"He talked to me about that last night," Kate said. "You took his babies. He was very upset with you. He takes his job of taking care of those girls very seriously. And he thinks Dakota needs more watching than Abbey."

"He's probably right," Khaat laughed.

"He is right," Brian laughed.

"Is everyone good with some of the best seafood in the world for dinner tonight?" Angus asked.

"Count me in!" Brian said. "A simple Italian seafood dinner in a villa on the beach? What could be better?"

"A sexy girl and a fast car to go with it," Kieran laughed.

"I can supply you the car," Brian said. "But you have to get your own girl. And not mine."

"I never flirt with a pregnant woman," Kieran said. "Its in the bachelor's code."

"I know that code," Michael said. "That rule is purely for self preservation, Lad." Robert laughed.

"That's because you, Michael Tremaine, are a complete chicken," Robert said. "Jess, did you and Angus make the sorbet? Its great. You two need to make more ice creams and sorbets and sherbets. Especially as we get farther into summer."

Khaat frowned slightly. That wasn't like Steven to be so overly emotional. Robert used his napkin and laid it aside without saying a word or showing any emotion.

"Excuse me," he said quietly. He rose and went into the kitchen. He saw the fracture of the small wrist bone, and since he knew what Steven had been doing he could only conjecture what had happened. "You know, there are spells to put fences to rights, Steven," he said quietly. He checked the break carefully. "Its only this one bone. It will set relatively quickly. "Brian," he called, "Give me a hand here please?"

Brian excused himself and went into the kitchen. "How can I help?" he asked Robert.

"Keep hold of him so he doesn't slip out of his chair while I have him asleep to set this," Robert said. He didn't wait for Steven's permission. He just cast a deep sleep spell and set the little wrist bone easily and healed the wound where it had broken through the skin. The skin opening healed completely with just a simple episkey. Brian was able to keep Steven from moving simply by keeping a hand on his shoulder. He watched Robert doublecheck the fracture and then wrap him in a cast that would keep it still for a few days. He cast a pain relief spell to take away the pain, and he set healing spells in place on the small bone. He didn't wake Steven until it was all done.

"You will be fine in just a few days. That bone is actually smaller in thickness than a fingerbone. It should heal in just a couple of days, really, but we'll keep an eye on it just to be certain. If you're up to it, you should eat. There is still a place set at the table for you. I don't think you'll need a sling for it because the other bones in your wrist should support your hand and your arm. The pain relief spells should hold until bedtime. Any questions?" Robert asked Steven.

"Thank you, Steven," Khaat said, taking the gift. She watched her father return to the table.

"Its a small break," Robert said. "He'll be fine in a couple of days. He probably will feel better by bedtime. Steven, its up to you if you want to go to Tuscany with us or if you want to go home for the weekend. My guess is that we'll be able to remove the cast by Monday, if you don't misbehave. But that depends on you entirely." He watched Khaat as she opened the gift and looked over the jewelry box.

"Its lovely, Steven. Thank you. It will be a piece Abbey will treasure for a very long time." She understood what her father was saying and doing. He was giving Steven the chance to be with his family for a couple of days since he had been hurt. It was standard to allow people to spend some time at home, especially when they were hurt. And since they were going to Tuscany after lunch, it would give Steven almost a three day weekend at home if he so chose. Robert wasn't sending him home but he was merely offering it to him.

"Would you like me to stay and handle the chores over the weekend?" Kieran offered.

"No," Brian said quickly. "There is no need for that. We can have people from Paris come and handle it for that long."

"How big is your organization?" Kieran frowned.

"BIg enough," Brian answered, not one to give away classified details like that.