Rain

"That's fine," Robert said. "Take him home." Robert didn't say a word and didn't display one ounce of emotion, but he really hadn't used that much of a sleep spell. He didn't understand why Steven was so groggy. It didn't make much medical sense to him. "We'll send an owl when we get back, Steven," Robert said. "But you have time off coming. If you need more, just say so."

At that point, Abbey let out an impatient, loud, little noise. It got Brian and Khaat's attention at once. Abbey was one solid mess of cake and frosting, and was trying to lick it all off her hands. She was such a mess that it made Khaat break out into uncontrollable laughter. And she was far more amused that Abbey was not satisfied yet. She wanted more cake.

"What do you think?" she asked Brian.

"Oh let her have a little more," Brian said, trying to talk through his laughter. "How many first birthdays do we have? And she's wearing far more than she could possibly have eaten. I'll help her this time so she actually gets some in her mouth. Jess, can we have another piece over here please? I'll take it or we'll have to take her outside and run the garden hose over her."

"You probably deserved it," Khaat teased. She watched Brian take the piece of cake from Jess and feed her little bits of cake with his fingers. Khaat watched how she opened her mouth for him greedily like a little baby bird to get the cake. "You're spoiling her," Khaat told him.

"I"m her dad. I can do that," he laughed. "Besides, she ate a good lunch. And once we get her cleaned up, she is going to sleep for hours. She is too stuffed not to."

"I'd suggest you put her to sleep in Tuscany, then," Robert said. "She's liable to sleep for hours. Khaat did on her first birthday."

"You remember my birthday?"

"Of course I do," Robert frowned. "How could I forget? You ate just like she did, and you slept like a rock for hours."

"And your father fed you as much cake as you wanted, too," Kate said. "You had him and Remus wrapped around your little finger from the moment you were conceived. Alright, Jack. Take Steven home. By the looks of these little girls, they aren't going to stay awake very long after lunch either. Robert's right. Porkeying them to Tuscany isn't easy to do while they're asleep. I suggest we do that before we put them down for their naps. Robert, are you going to give them a bit of motion sickness potion so they don'[t get sick on their full tummies?" Kate was busy feeding Dakota little bites of cake just like Brian was feeding Abbey. And Dakota was being just as good as gold for Kate.

"Yes," Robert said. "I have a motion sickness potion for infants just for that purpose. It will go very easily into their bottles or their sippy cups."

"In a few moments," Robert said. "I think the girls need to wash up first. I really don't want to scatter cake and frosting from here to Tuscany."

"We'll have it taken care of in no time," Kate said.She took Abbey, and Brian picked up Dakota. They whisked the girls upstairs for a quick bath and a change of clothes. They dressed them a little warmer and put blankets around them because portkeying could be breezy and chilly business.

"Here they are," Brian announced. "Clean and free of all that gooey mess."

"Excellent," Robert said. "I've decided to do away with the bottles. One moment." He used an eyedropper and dropped a couple of drops of a ruby red potion into each baby's mouth. Khaat watched and decided the girls liked the taste because they seemed to be looking for more.

"What?" Robert frowned, looking at Khaat. "Do you think I want them to be repulsed by every potion they see after this? No. Its cherry flavored. Its sweet." Abbey cuddled into Brian already sleepy, and Dakota cuddled into Kate, dropping off into a sound sleep. "Now I think we're ready, Do we all have our bags?" Angus was about to speak when two men arrived from the Paris office. "You're just in time. We're ready to go," Robert said.

"Have a good trip," Owens smiled. "Don't worry about a thing."

"Chill, Jess," Angus laughed. "I just the instant got here, just like you did. I'll check it out and send for what we need. My family will already know where to find the best produce and proteins. Why are you thinking of breakfast when we haven't even gotten to dinner yet?" He didn't understand Jess's sudden urgency. They'd never gone without food before. He had sent a list of the most likely things that they would need and sent it ahead. But he knew he would want to double check it himself.

"Brian," Robert said, "Why don't you and Khaat go get that bathing suit she needs and we'll watch the girls. They should wake up within the hour, unless they just decide to go ahead and nap."

"I hope they nap, personally," Brian laughed. "You in the mood to go out with me, Khaat?"

"I don't know if I should," she said.

"Absolutely," Brian said. "Khaat and I have to go into the village and go pick up a swimsuit for her quickly. I don't see her putting a great deal of effort into it, so I don't think we'll be gone long. Come on, Khaat." He grabbed the keys to the red Lamborghini. "You want to drive?" he asked her.

"Sure," she grinned, always enjoying a chance to hot rod a little. They went down to the garage and Brian let her drive into the village. He had to laugh at her. She enjoyed driving way too fast, way too much. They went to her favorite shop in the village, and the shopkeeper remembered her well because of how much she bought there and ordered. Khaat told the shopkeeper what she wanted and the clerk took her to section of maternity clothes that were absolutely gorgeous. Brian had to redirect her several times to get her to actually try a swimsuit. She picked her favorite and found it fit her like a dream. It was a print that included pink, light turquoise blue, and brown on a light background. It had a beautiful little pink sarong and another cover up that was more like a pink gauze dress. Then Brian let her browse. She found a lot of lovely things. She even bought two little baby swimsuits for the girls.