Marriage is Murder

Jim listened and sighed and nodded " hum I see " he said and continued to drink his tea. Jack listened to Angus and nodded " ah special cookies for Khaat that's ok " Jack said and moved to wash his hands in the kitchen. Steven came in several minuets later carrying a small fox.

" Kate need your healer powers , hes hurt , the storm trapped him under a tree" he said walking over to Kate " He says his leg is broken " he he held the small fox wrapped in a blanket and showed her his leg hoping she would be able to fix it.

"I'm not a healer," Kate said. "I can talk to him, but I can't heal him. Brian?" Kate moved over to the fox and stroked his head. "Hm...He's full grown. He's just unusually small. Probably the runt of the litter."

Brian went over to the fox. He stroked it and as he petted it, he cast a sleep spell on it so he could set the leg. He wrapped his hand around the leg and cast the spell to set the leg. Hemade sure it was as well aligned as he knew how to make it. He summoned splints and bandages and bandaged up the leg.

"He can stay in the barn," Brian said, "so long as he doesn't eat the other animals. Make sure you feed him well. It should mend fully in a week. He might be able to be up on it in a couple of days. There is pain potion for both large animals and small ones in separate bottles in the barn. Don't get them mixed up. Just a teaspoon full in his water bowl will keep him comfortable until evening. Or it should."

"Well done, Brian," Kate smiled. "And the sleep will do him good."

"It shouldn't last long. Maybe another hour. Someone will need to talk to him when he wakes."

Steven chuckled " ow right sorry " he said and turned to Brian holding the fox while he worked " yeah I know them and the right one" he said " I'll stay with him and talk with him I'm sure he won't eat any of the others." he said and carried the fox back out to the barn settling it in a stall that was away from the other animals, Cassidy followed Steven and sighed standing in the doorway of the barn.

" hum spacious" she said and Steven chuckled " you fixed it very well Steven" again he chuckled.

" nope just for the animals they tell me what they need and I try my best" he moved to hold her feeling how hot she felt to the touch. " I'm fine" she told him knowing his next words. Jim sighed and chuckled as he sat watching Jess with Andrew who seem not so affected and sat drawing.

When Khaat was finished with her tea and her cookies, she caught sight of the clock. "I have to go," she said, standing up. She was about to simply apparate back when Brian stopped her.

"Stop," he told her. "Your magic isn't worth crap. I dont' want to have to scour the rest of the planet looking for little bits of you. You'll splinch yourself into pieces. I'll take you. thank you for a wonderful lunch, everyone. We'll be back home on time. Wont' we?" he deliberately looked at her, insisting on commitment from her about coming home on time.

"I'll do my best, Brian," she said. "I really will." It softened him.

"Alright," he agreed.

"Take care of Abbey?" she asked the others. Brian already knew they would so he just apparated her back to work.

"She'll be alright," Michael told the others about Khaat. "Robert really is trying to keep an eye on her. How can I help with dinner, Angus?"

"How are you at roast duck?" Angus asked.

"So-so," Michael replied.

"Liar," Angus said. "I bet its bloody brilliant. Come on. Your duck against my duck. Lose buys the firewhiskey."

"You're on," Michael laughed.

Jack chuckled " awe don't duck sounds wonderful " he said and his tummy rumbled loudly much to Jess's amusement " oops sorry " he said and chuckled seeing Jess smiling at him as he sat watching her. Jim looked at Michael and Angus.

" Hay who eats the loser?" he asked looking from one to the other and chuckled knowing both will be tasty and they would get to eat them both. " I mean the losing duck, not the loser?" he paused " ok going to refill cup and sit back down, that so sounded wrong" he moved to the tea pot and pored a fresh cup.

"I'm sure they will both be brilliant," Kate said. "I know how they cook. Jess, do you know if we got any of those beautiful bedlinens that I ordered that are trimmed with Irish lace? Khaat and Robert are going to need some bedlinens available to them. I have already placed twin sized beds in their quarters, and I've given each of them a heavy blanket and a light weight hand woven Native American one from Brian's collections. They're just the right weight unless it gets cold or they get feverish. I need at least two sets of twin sized sheets for each of them.

Kate had conjured comfortable efficiency apartments out of broom closets in both the potions lab and in Khaat's office. She had furnished Robert's with elegant medieval tapestries on the walls, comfortable burgundy velvet furniture, oak tables and end tables, a warm magical fireplace for heat, beautifully elegant lamps, and a kitchenette for him to fix his own food and a full bathroom. She had stocked it well with everything he could possibly need or want..

For Khaat, she had done a single sized sleigh style bed with a quilt Kate had made year ago and had given Khaat for her birthday. The design mimicked an incredible stained glass window Khaat had loved, one that looked like a fantasy garden. She had done her quarters as a sanctuary. Beautifully done. Floor lamps that looked like bronze trees with stained glass shades to look like the leaves of trees that had either fruit or beautiful blooming flowers. The sofa looked like a garden bench but was beautifully upholstered and graceful and as comfortable as a cloud. A magical fireplace. A fully equipped and stocked kitchenette and a bathroom. Wing chairs with garden prints, a glass covered koi pond built into the floor that was lit with magical lights, and she had given her a companion. A trained, tortoiseshell coored cat with a very gentle, loving personality, named Irena. Kate had put a great deal of love into Khaat's quarters because Khaat was already sick and knew how that could play upon someone's mind and make them more lonely.

One of the last things she did was to stock plenty of clothing for them. Some of their favorites for comfort, some professional work clothes, some casual clothes for after hours, some workout clothes for them to sleep in rather than nightwear.

She had made a list as she had done her work and had taken a whole portfolio of wizarding photos to doublecheck her work . Now she sat with a cup of tea and sighed heavily. "I hope I didn' forget something. You all are welcome to look at my work to see if you can think of something I didn't.

Jess smiled and accioed the very bedding sending it up to the room. Following Kate she stood and smiled at how magical the room felt " she'll love it " Jess said " there is one thing " she said and accioed three picture frames placing them on the fireplace each had a magic picture of her children and Brian in it the last held the picture of Remus. "Now that will make her feel happy knowing hes watching her, when she feels down he can remind her she is so much stronger than she shows" she said and smiled at Kate " now if I could get Jack to make my room like this I will be very happy." Jess grinned and looked around the room " Roberts will have the bedding on as well.

"Thank you, Jess, "Kate said. "Nice touch. Khaat will get rather lonely quickly without Brian and without her kids..."

"What makes you think he'll leave her there all night unguarded?" Michael asked, taking a break after putting his duck in the oven. "You might have to change that to thei nomal queen sized bed."

"I don't know that he'll want to leave the kids," Kate said.

"We're right here. If Khaat is there alone and night and is already sick, do you honestly believe Brian will leave her?" Michael asked her again. Michael didn't believe for one moment Brian would leave her. Robert has a crew working in the lab with him around the clock. He won't be entirely alone. They'll be just in the next room. But he's in the subbasement--6 floors away from Khaat. He wont' hear if she's in trouble. Brian knows that. That floor will be abandoned after working hours. He's not going to leave her. He'll make sure he spends time with the kids when the foor is busy during business hours. But then after that, my money is on him going back to her."

Jess smiled and looked at Kate but looked at Michael as he walked into the room listening to the banter between the two people. " he has a point , I know Jack would never leave me alone if I was as ill as Khaat " she said looking at Kate. " I think he would want to spend as much time with her and be as close to her" Jack walked past the room and whistled his approval.

" nice room Kate" he said and smiled " I think Khaat will be comfortable in it" He continued to head to a spare room to shower and change.

"Alright, so I need to make accomodations for Brian then too. But is it inappropriate to have hiim sleeping with her there? At the hospital?" Kate asked.

"I don't see why not," Michael said. "They do know how to behave themselves. And it is in her personal quarters. Its not like its on her office sofa or in one of the patient rooms. If they want twin beds instead, they can change that themselves. I'd just simply make the bed bigger and include some of Brian's things and call it done."

"Alright," Kate said. She got up and went upstairs to pack some of Brian's things for their quarters. When she had them packed, she took them to St. Mungos with the sheets and finished the rooms for Khaat and for Robert both. She found the cat curled up on the floor in Khaat's office in front of the floor to ceiling window, watching the birds that were congregating on the muggle powerlines down below.