Marriage is Murder

Jess sat with her tea and jack with his coffee smiling as she caught his slight of hand when he added the potion but said nothing about it knowing it would make Khaat feel better, Jack slid his arm around her waist as they sat drinking , jack chose two muffins and Jess ate hers. " not as good as Angus's " she whispered to Khaat " I should bring some cookies for the kids though " she said and chose a mix of white chocolate and milk chocolate for them.

"Nothing is quite as good as Angus's," Khaat smiled. "I know he gets a bit frustrated at taking care of us all, and not seeing much action, but really, I don't know who else I would really want doing that long term."

"He's not going anywhere," Brian said. "He does really like the butler/chef stuff almost as much as he likes the action. Its all good. Although, I am expecting him to, most likely be in the third workout shifts. I think breakfast will probably be over for the most part, enough that the rest of the staff can be without him for a few minutes."

"And how is Daddy going to prepare for this sudden decision to do a dinner and a dance?"

"I dont think I want to know," Brian laughed. "My guess is that Angus and Fi and Kieran are pulling out their hair right about now."

"Maybe I'll try to help."

"You'll help by not falling on your face," Brian said. "How about you stay out of the way unless there is something you can do sitting down?" She rolled her eyes at him and decided to ignore him.

Jack laughed " ow I can't see Angus bald " he said and chuckled but settled down as he herd Brian talking about Robert and the ball " wasn't it his decision to hold the ball , ah but you think it was Angus, Fiona and Kieran that persuaded him to hold it , that would not surprise me in the least " jack said and sat back " but it is a good idea " he said Jess sighed.

" be better if we hadn't just had cassidy and Stevens wedding, since every ones going to be still exhausted from that, but in relaxing people and getting their mind off the current situation then yeah I guess it is. " Jess said looking at them as she drank her tea leaning against Jack.

"No," Khaat said, "It was definitely Daddy's doing. I think he probably just told them we were doing it just before he told all of us. And that gives them about 2 days to prepare for a massive formal dinner and a formal ball."

"Well, Khaat if you want to help, then..." He stopped short and saw she wasn't listening. "Khaat?" He looked into her face and looked at where she was looking. He saw she was looking at a blond haired man with spiked hair. He was wearing well worn jeans and a black leather jacket. "Khaat?" He saw she had her hand wrapped around the green stone on her necklace. But he could see already that it was glowing in her hand. He could see the light through her fingers. And in a muggle coffee shop in a major city in a foreign country. Great. Just great. He tapped her fingers on her other hand as it laid on the table. "Look at me," he commanded very quietly. She pulled herself away from staring at the young man, shivering hard.

"What?" she was irritated. He frowned. She was never irritated with him. Just never. This was her seer's powers at work, he guessed.

"What do you know?" he asked.

"I want to go home. Right now," she said.

Jess saw Khaat and looked at the man just as jack did he stood up as if checking something between them his hands reaching down for his wand though he would not risk using it in a muggle coffee shop. " let go" Jess said to Khaat then looked at Brian " I think we should go" she picked up the carrier with her dress in while jack grabbed the rest and looked at the man as if studying the board behind him , he'd already felt the necklace's effects against himself and knew what it meant.

"I'll go first," Brian said, "Khaat, stay on the other side of me. Jess, come right behind me and Jack you follow right behind Khaat. Nice and natural now, no arousing suspicion of the muggles. Smiles, all. Relax. Make it look easy. Here we go. Smooth and graceful." He and Khaat stood up. Brian passed a generous tip to the barrista behind the coffee counter and picked out a dozen cookies and bought them, taking his time. He handed the box to Khaat and then took her hand in his left one so that his right had was free for his wand if he needed it.

He headed straight for the door. The blond man deliberately banged his shoulder into Khaat's, knocking the box of cookies out of her hand. Brian reached for the box and caught it with his wand hand and handed the box to Jess automatically and quickly.

"Sorry, Mate," the man said. Brian heard the telltale lingering of a British accent that he could not hide. "Accidents do happen."

"Yes," Brian said. "All sorts of them." The man shifted his eyes to Brian, clearly getting Brian's message.

"Don't get to used to that gold band on your hand, Quinn. You wont need it long," he said. "Oh, and practice up on being a single father temporarily."

"Temporarily?" Brian echoed.

"And then I'd go hunting for a studio apartment. You wont need that big compound as a widower." Brian was stone faced. He felt Khaat wanting to reach for her wand, and he tightened the grip on her hand like iron. He wasn't letting her fire here. He pulled her forward, past the blond man and out into the street. He knew very well that Jack and Jess would be watching their backs. Brian forced Khaat to walk--right into the busy crowded street, to hopefully get lost in the crowd. He knew Jess and Jack would not get lost, but hopefully their enemy would be. At least long enough for them to slip away and to a safe place to apparate home from.

Jack moved with Jess between the man and Brian " ow excuse us" he said but stayed facing him as he waited for Jess who deliberately went slow then walked beside Jack out the door he felt the man following behind them once they were some place secluded he quickly turned and pinned him to a wall Jess looked out for any one tat might interrupt. " you tell your boss to stay away from Khaat and Brian, or he'll have this rather pissed off and angry wear on his back and I warn you ..." his voice lowered as his eyes changed as he looked him in the eyes " I will rip out your heart and wrap your intestines around your neck before you even know I have done it , now run along little boy " he said and let his nails dig into the mans neck as a reminder before he moved to Jess his eyes still looking at him as he aperated then ported away

The man turned on Jack and picked him up with one hand, with strength that dwarfed Jacks and threw him down the alleyat least 20 feet into a pile of cardboard boxes. He turned and fired on Jess to stun her with a blast that would easily blow through a normal protego shield. He turned his wand on Brian, but Khaat's wand was faster.

"Come on!" she shouted. "Its me you want. Come and get me, James, if you're man enough." She conjured a large raw leg of beef and hurled it down the alley partway towards Jack. The smell of blood made him turn his head towards the meat. Khaat laughed bitterly. "Once an animal, always an animal," she said. "Tell your boss I WILL kill him."

"You'll never manage that," he laughed, amused. "Fenrir is twice the person you Lupins will ever be."

"No, Greyback might be twice the monster, but definitely no sort of man."

A sparkling white swirling cloud began to rise up from the pavement in front of Khaat and Brian, and from the cloud apparated Robert. He was dressed in black from head to toe. His wand was drawn and leveled.

"The rest of you get out of here," Robert told those behind him, never taking his eyes off James.. He knew Jack too well and knew Jack would stay. But he wanted Jess and Khaat out of here, and he needed Brian to take them. Unless they went on their own. He figured by what he was seeing in James eyes and by the looks of his skin, the polyjjuice was going to wear off any moment now. That might well present them with an advantage if they used it well.

Jack felt the hit of the wall and he lay stunned for a moment but he saw Jess go down and he let out a cry and stood up just as Robert spoke he growled at Grayback's name knowing it was the wear that had made him. Jess recovered and quickly moved to Khaat aperating her out of the alley and back to eh safe house. " I warned you " he said his nails growing as he moved to Roberts side his eyes never leaving the mans face as he did so he wanted the man gone so they could get back to the festivities " what are your orders " he asked arching his back slightly.

Brian breathed a sigh of relief now that Khaat and Jess were safely gone.

"You and your boss are idiots," Brian said. "If my wife says she'll kill Greyback, then she undoubtedly will, and if you stand in her way, she won't hesitate to kill you either."

"Oh, I'm shaking in my boots," James laughed. "Can't you tell?"

Robert sighed, tired of messing with him. He fired a stunning spell at James, and it was powerful enough that James fell limp to the pavement, not seeing it coming. He drew a very large bottle of wolfsbane potion from his coat.

"Jack," Robert said, "Make sure he doesn't move. I plan on inconveniencing him for at least a month. We need a break from his lunacy." He fully intended on giving James enough werewolf potion while James was stunned, if Jack would bodyguard Robert long enough, so that with the potion in James' system, he would not be able to transfigure even if he wanted to for at least 2 weeks, maybe as long as 4 weeks.