Marriage is Murder

Jack smiled as Andrew moved to sit on the floor between Jess and himself he patted Andrew who growled and shrugged him off. Jack took some fruit and ate it feeling some what better after it and smiled. Cassidy sat next to Steven and ate a bowl of fresh fruit wile Steven ate some popcorn scones " these are good " he said to Angus " be good to take on a picnic some day " he looked at Cassidy and back to Angus hoping he got the hint. Finishing Cassidy rolled her eyes and headed for the kitchen to place her bowl in the sink and walked out side with a hot cup of tea, she had found she liked tea since going to Paris.

When breakfast was done, Khaat wanted to go out to the pool. Brian wasn't sure she had that much energy. He actively discouraged her from swimming or working out at all today. He truthfully wanted her to rest today. Khaat felt an uneasiness. She didn't know why. Her father hadn't said much, but she noticed he hadn't turned the page in his newspaper for well over an hour.

"Boring paper today?" she finally asked.

"No," he said. "Can't focus on it, for some odd reason."

"Its bugging me too," she told him.

"Its bugging you that I haven't turned the page in my paper?"

"No, there's something bugging you and me both."

"Khaat, you and I were bonded to Remus last night. My guess is that we're just unsettled because of how strong his presence was last night," her father said.

"Maybe," she said, not sure he was right this time. She looked at her mother. She could tell that Kate wasn't any more at ease.

"I suggest we stay on our toes," Khaat said to Brian.

"Then we're staying," Lee said. "I have part of my crew resting now, and I'll have fresh recruits here by noon." Khaat had mixed feelings about having to stay at a safehouse at all, much less having it being turned into a barracks for a wizarding army.

Cassidy listened and looked at Lee knowing it was his decision if she was to stay after everything was done. Steven stood up and moved out side to double check the perimeter. Jess looked at Robert and Khaat and sighed " do you think he will come back any time soon?" she asked as Andrew stood up and moved to Abby sitting with her. He held out a popcorn scone to her and smiled. Jack chuckled seeing the two of them together, Jess lent against jack more hoping James would not be back soon to give him a chance to heal.

Abbey took the little scone and ate it, glad to find Angus had tucked a little piece of chocolate inside a few of them. Khaat watched the kids, seemingly carefree and she was glad they were young enough that the horrors of life didn't bother them like it did now for the adults. She as glad the kids could still believe in magical things that just simply were all blissful and good with no negative consequences. They would learn the truth soon enough.

"I can't just sit here," she sighed, saying to Brian.

"What do you suggest we do?" he asked, sighing.

"Take it to him," she said boldly.

"Not now. Not until we're all 100% or close to it," Brian said firmly.

"And it would certainly help if we knew where the hell we were taking it to," Lee said.

"We're working on that," Owens said. "I've had the crew back in Paris working on trying to uncover anything at all."

Khaat got up, frustrated and accio'd a bunch of toys for the kids while her parents fed the triplets. She went into her mother's room and got out her mother's scrying crystal and a large atlas full of parchment maps. She decided to go into her own room and see if she could find where the hell James had gone."

Jack heard Khaat and sighed he saw her leave and stood up following her a little. " You know as soon as he sees you he'll kill you. " he said at the bedroom door with his arms folded " Hes the as bad as Robert says he is totally lost in blood lust and anger" he said his voice sounding out the hurt he felt having to say that about his own flesh and blood. "You can't just go to him khaat " he said again. He wanted to walk in but knew that the barrier spell would not allow him to enter. " I stand some chance against him but it would be a slaughter for the rest of you at least here we stand some sort of chance." he shifted on his spot looking directly at her. " Khaat, I want my shot at him as much as you do, more even." his voice was low but determined.

"Lets be honest with each other, Jack," she said. "You want your shot at James but your real anger is at your mother for all of the crap she's pulled. You want James more so you can use him to get to her now that she's finally revealed herself. The same way I want Fenrir Greyback so badly I can taste it." This was about justice. For Jack's past, and for Remus's death and for the last year or two that had robbed away the freedom and love of life that everyone had suffered because of Gelding and that whole mess.

She took the scrying crystal and began twirling it over a global map. "Jack," she said. "the age line is outside, not inside. There's nothing keeping you from coming in here but you." The crystal seemed to just spin and not land anywhere. She tossed it down the the atlas eventually. "Bastard is using an unplottable spell of his own," she muttered.

Jack listened to Khaat " am I that readable " he said moving into the room with her " yes, yes I want revenge for being left to nearly die out in the woods if it hadn't been for a farmer and his wife I would have died out there" he said his voice holding hate now for his past and his mother. " She let him do that to me , I still have the scars across my back from his claws I still feel his touch at night in my sleep khaat, yes I want revenge for all that, for her making me think all these years I was alone the last black heart, when I wasn't anything like that, I was just the runt of the litter that she...wanted to make stronger " he said using his mothers own words " Robert did that not with physical strength but mental and I think he knew it would come to this one day." he looked at her

"You aren't the runt. You do have 2 sisters that you tower over. Just because James is bigger than you? It means nothing. Your mother has fallen for a lot of bullcrap for a lot of years from Fenrir's demented brain. Its not the first time that someone has fallen for his salespitch. He's demented a lot of people by making them feel inferior because they were human, like the only acceptable race was werewolf. Remus knew better. Nothing that causes that much suffering, not just in the transformation itself, but by the inability to control oneself and to truly come in touch with those very vulnerable soft, human places because someone wants to hunt you because of your illness....No...that's not necessarily superior.

"My uncle and my father understood that brawn doesn't make you better. it only makes you bigger. What makes you better is heart. Intelligence. Choice. Doing the right thing. Love. That's the most powerful magic of all, and thats the piece that James doesn't know about. I saw it all to clearly last night through Remus's eyes. Your mother and your siblings think they get it. But they don't. They think they understand love, but in fact, they don't have a clue. You et it. You've seen it, you've experienced it. They haven't. And that will be what we will use, in some form or another to undo them. Its the biggest thing we've got."

Jack stood listening to her he could not help but agree when she mentioned love his thoughts flashed to Jess, his children and everyone he knew and he nodded again relaxing his shoulders. " we will use it" he said and smiled at her "I...I guess I'm..." he paused again in his words then looked at her then took a deep breath." I'm scared that I will falter at the last minuet costing one or all of you your lives " he said sitting facing her as he waited for her words. He lent forward and rested his head in his hands even though his shoulder hurt he hid it.

"Jack, do you really understand what happened to Daddy last night? When things got really tough? Daddy used my necklace to hold James off, and then Remus used my energy and Daddy's to take over. There is something that is binding him here to Daddy and me, something bringing him back right now."

"Its you, Khaat," Brian said, coming in from the outside after making a perimeter check. "He comes back for you. He loves you. Its what brings him back. He's not going to let anyone hurt you. And I don't believe he or Flamel had any idea that stone would connect him to you from even beyond the veil. I honestly think the secret is in combining the fact that James hasn't figured out he's dealing with the ghost of one of the most powerful werewolves of all time, in addition to us. He clearly still was dense enough to think he was dealing with your father last night. I think we can use that. Along with all the rest of our combined skills. I believe he's beatable."