Kate poured fresh tea for them. "Thanks, Jack. The kitchen looks great. I think Robert found it welcoming tonight too. I'm sure he and I will be up tonight so if anyone needs something, just call." She went over to the edge of the living room opening to the back yard and looked up at the stars just as the clock chimed 1. 1 am. Where the heck had the time gone? "I want you all to sleep in tomorrow. I'm going to make a simple breakfast that we all can just grab whenever we get up. Robert and I need you fresh. I need you all to get a good night's sleep. At some point, I have to get Robert to take some of his own advice and get some sleep himself. I cannot tell you when he slept a full night last. He cannot do this forever. If we can get you all up to full staff, maybe I can get him to ggive up the need for control for just one night." She looked at them, not wanting to show them how concerned for Robert she was becoming. "I hate to ask for your help, but if he sees that we're all up to full power again, he might actually give in and rest."
Meanwhile, Brian had apparated back into the restaurant. He had gotten into employee records. He had found the records of the people who had worked at the bistro, how long they had each worked there, and clearly by their employment records, who the owner trusted the most and who she did not. He got addresses and phone numbers.
He apparated into the apartment of the owner and found the boy in a sound sleep on the sofa with an action movie playing on the tv. He merely walked over to the boy and touched him, sending him into a deep sleep spell. He used the phone at the owner's apartment to call the normal head waitress--her top employee. He woke her out of a dead sleep. When he explained what had happened, the waitress panicked about the owner, the boy and the bistro. Brian promised that he and Khaat would see to making sure the bistro stayed open so people could keep their jobs. She breathed a sigh of relief. She immediately promised that she would take in the boy, but she didn't have a way to come and get him. Brian promised to bring him to her. He hung up the phone. He picked up the boy and apparated him to an alley a few doors down from the waitresses apartment. He sat him down on the ground and then woke him. He cast a very slight obliviate on the boy to cause him to only be confused about how he got here with a man he didn't know. Brian sheathed his wand and took the boy to the waitress's apartment, explaining that he'd woken the boy out of a dead sleep, to explain the confusion. She took the sleepy, confused lad inside, thanking Brian profusely. She promised to call the staff together for a meeting tomorrow while the bistro was closed in order to try to make a plan on how to move forward. She promised to call when they had their plan and to update Brian.
When she closed the door, Brian walked back to the alley and apparated home. He was greeted with the smell of warm gentle exotic spices of the tea. "God that smells good," he said tiredly.
"I'll get you a cup," she said. "The boy's alright?"
"Yes. He's with one of the bistro waitresses. He's fine," Brian said as Kate handed him the tea. He suddenly felt an urge to go check on his children.
"Go on," Kate smiled gently at him. "Go see them for yourself. They're fine, but sometimes as parents we just need to see it for ourselves."
"How'd you know?" he asked.
"Robert and I have had that same look ourselves a million times, but it was always because we wanted to check on you two," she said. He took a sip of his tea, put down the mug and went down the hall.
by 
