Marriage is Murder

"I am," MIchael said. "You lot just stay out of my kitchen."

"My pleasure," Khaat said.

"You," he said to her, "can help me all you like in a few days."

"No thank you. You cook better than I do," she said.

"Not by much. You're a good cook. Dont slight yourself."

"You know, we dont' have any treats for Enzo," she said, petting the dog.

"I didn't forget," Michael said. "I thought of him. Don't worry."

"Thank you," she said. Michael turned the rest of the empty cups to the waitress and left a tip.

"Shall we go?" he asked. "We'll see if that odd little portkey works."

"Lets just hope he didn't make it in the bathroom," Khaat said.

"Funny," Brian rolled his eyes. In short order they were all ported back into the living room of the hotel suite.

"Oh, nicely done, Junior," Michael said. He put his bags on the floor and resized them. "Unpack!" he ordered. The groceries flew to unpack. Brian took the harness off Enzo, and the dog made himself comfortable on the floor. Brian took Khaat's arm.

"Where to?" he asked.

"Just someplace to sit," she said. He took her to a comfortable chair and helped make her comfortable.

Brian sat down beside Khaat in another chair, and before he realized it, he'd uncharacteristcally dozed off. Khaat heard his even breathing and knew he'd fallen asleep. He was tired, she knew.

The next thing she saw was herself. Outside herself. In water. Surrounded by water. She was struggling to find the surface. In her vision, there was light, but because her figure in the water was blind, she couldn't see it. She could not find her way to the surface even though it would have been clear to her if she had had her sight. She saw herself struggling hopelessly. And then...she was waking again to darkness.

"You didn't sleep long," she heard Michael's voice as she heard the comforting sound of his chef's knife chopping rapidly against the cutting board. "I made a pot of hazelnut coffee while you slept. Would you like some?"

"Um...sure. That would be nice. Michael, what's the weather like?"

"Sunny. Like it was a few minutes ago. "

"Any clouds?"

"No. Don't think so," He said, bringing her the coffee mug. "Here. Right beside you. Did you have a nightmare or something?"

"A bit," she told him.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"That's what I'm depending on you all for," she said. Enzo seemed to have shifted while she slept, MIchael noticed. He was now laying on her feet. Odd. He'd not seen the dog do that before. Not unless she was in bed.

"You're an odd dog," He said, petting Enzo and then returning to the kitchen to wash his hands and continue cooking.

"Of course," Michael said. He filled a mug and floated it over to Jim. Michael drew out a bone from the butcher and floated it over to Enzo and laid it in front of hiim, but Enzo didn't touch it. MIchael frowned. The dog believed he was working. Clearly. A service dog never touched food if it thought it was working except if the one it served gave it permission. Michael decided to simply watch.

"Just water," she said. "It was...just water. Lots of it. Funny, I enjoy swimming. Brian made sure I did. Not sure why it was a bit unsettling. Oh well. Its a lovely day and we're not planning on swimming, so I shall not give it thought any longer. My mother sometimes has lots of odd dreams too. Most of them never take place. Its just another thing I inherited from her."

Michael didn't speak. He just kept working, but something seemed to niggle at the back of his brain. Something uneasy.

"Khaat, lobster and fresh pasta for dinner?" he asked. "With a carrot and pear salad?"

"Sounds wonderful," she smiled. "And what delicacy are you making for dessert?"

"Now, that is something you will just have to wait for, my dear," he smiled. "Its a surprise."

"And how will you surprise me a couple days from now.?"

"When have I not been able to surprise you?" He laughed. "Your problem is that I have such an easy time of it."

"That and I like the surprises."

"You're more like your mother than you think" Michael said, smiling. He only half meant his words to be lighthearted. The other part of him was learning, the more he was with her, just how much of Kate's own abilities Khaat had seemed to inherit. She was an odd blend of her mother and her father and her uncle, all three. And that, in itself was unsettling. If she was 'off' because of a 'dream', then, Michael wondered, was it a dream?

It wasn't that much later that Enzo stood up and nudged her. Khaat petted him. When that didn't suit him, he nudged Brian, who woke. Brian looked down at the dog and yawned.

"Why didn't you do that when we were out?" He said.

"Because he was working," MIchael laughed.

"Okay, okay," Brian said, reaching for the leash. "Let's go."

"You wont' need that," Michael said. "He'll stay right with you."

"He's my dog. I should take him," Khaat said.

"I'll take him, but you're welcome to come with me," Brian said. She agreed to go with him. They went downstairs and took a walk around the hotel and down the block. They were about a block away from the hotel when Khaat heard a crash. Like the sound of a bottle breaking, and Enzo starting to growl and bark, and then a thud. The next thing she knew she was being shoved and going down deep into...water. It took her a second for it to register. She'd been shoved into the canal. She had no idea what happened to Brian. And...just as in her dream, she couldn't find her way up. In the dark, it all looked the same. She was completely disorriented. She struggled, and felt herself sinking. Then, something grabbed ahold of her shirt and began to pull. That was the last she knew.

"Hell," Michael cussed, wiping his hands quickly on a kitchen towel. "Its getting damned hard to even let a dog pee." He went over to Khaat and checked her quickly. "I knew it. I knew when she said she'd had that dream that she knew it was more than a dream. She lied to me deliberately and I knew it. I should have been more watchful. She'll be alright." He flicked his wand and dried her clothes--just in case. He looked at the dog. "Did you get to pee at least? Or did you pee in the canal?" Enzo just cocked his head to the side, looking at him.

He went over to Brian. "Well, looks like I'll be getting glass out of the back of his head for a bit. I'm not a healer. Unless Khaat can do it by touch when she wakes. Maybe that will work. Looks like they'll live." He accio'd a clean kitchen towel and mopped at the blood on the back of Brian's head. "Wait..." he said with a new thought. He went over to the fireplace and opened the floo.

"Edward! Got a healer there?" he called. A moment later, Edward apparated in, in a puff of curling smoke.

"What's the problem?" Edward asked.

"Lad took a bottle to his head," Michael pointed. Edward went over to him and looked.

"Painful but not deadly," Edward said. He saw Khaat. "Is she okay?"

"She should be." Michael said, but as he spoke he saw Edward frown.

"Did he have any wizard cash?"

"Yes. Robert brought him id's and cash."

"Oh bloody hell. I need to call Daniella. Looks like they got his muggle wallet, his id's and not only the muggle cash but the wizard cash. Bloody muggles probably think they have spanish galleons from some seawreck. On the upside, they missed his wand," Edward said, tending to Brian's head.