Marriage is Murder

Brian brought Abbey back out, carrying her, and whispering in her ear. She was nodding and smiling. Then Brian began to tickle her with his free hand, and it made Robert smile. Her laughter sounded like pure music in his ears. Robert was pleased at how Brian had risen completely to taking care of this child from before it was even born, just as if she had always been biologically his. And he knew Brian had no intention of telling her any different. He figured Khaat would someday tell her, but it really wasn't important. The fact that she had a daddy that she loved was what was important.

"What we eat?" she asked Brian as he took her to the table and put her in her high chair.

"Meat and potatoes," he told her. She noticed the adults had the asparagus and she did not. "What that?" she asked, pointing."

"Its a vegetable," Brian said. "Its called asparagus. I think Angus thought you might not like it. You want to try a piece?" She nodded. Brian took a piece off his place and went to cut it.

"No! I want a whole tree!" she said. He laughed and put it on her plate.

"Okay. You try it and see," he said. She picked it up in her fingers.

"See? It tree!"

"It does look like a tree," he laughed. She took a bite and seemed to be thinking about whether she liked it or not. "Well?" he asked. She shrugged. To her, it wasn't bad and it wasnt good. It just was. "You don't have to eat it if you dont' want to."

"I know," she said, taking another bite. He just laughed and took his place beside her as the others came to the table.

Jack smiled as Abby tried an asparagus tip Jack ate his own and found them to be not to his liking and he left them to one side on his plate as he ate the rest he was glad Abby wanted to try new things as did his own children. " so Abby do you like asparagus?" he asked her. Jim shook his head as he saw Jacks asparagus on his plate.

"Don;'t you like asparagus Jack" he asked and Jack looked down at it taking some he finally ate it finishing it he realized it wasn't all that bad and he smiled drinking his juice. Jack glanced back at Khaat and Brian's room hoping she would eat something soon as he was growing worried.

Abbey watched Jack not eat his vegetables, but she was rather used to it. Dakota preferred throwing them to eating them. When Jim asked her if she liked it, she just shrugged. She hadn't decided yet.

"Berries better," she said finally.

"I have an idea," Robert said. He added a tiny pinch of salt to the spear of asparagus. "Try it now." She tried it and liked it with the extra salt. She sat eating quietly for awhile then she looked at Robert.

"Papa?" she asked.

"Yes, Sweetheart," he replied, looking at her.

"You go work? You make bad people dead?" she asked. Brian was very surprised she had asked the question at all. Even Robert paused when she asked it.

"Well, sometimes," he said to her. "If I need to."

"Daddy too? And Mama?"

"Sometimes," Brian said. She sat quietly again, thinking a long moment before she responded. Brian and Robert saw she was thinking hard about the concept.

"Good," she finally said, seeming satisfied. The meal continued and then she had another question. "Papa?"

"Yes?" he asked.

"We no visit Unca Re Re. Why? I go visit?" she asked. Robert paused again, thinking before he answered her.

"Abbey," he said. "Where do you see Uncle Re Re?" She pointed to her head. "You can visit him there all you want."

"Unca Re Re dead too?"

"Abbey, do you know what that means?"

"It means he not come back. But I see him. I dead too?"

"No," he smiled, brushing her hair softly. "You are very very much alive. You see Uncle Re Re because he loves you very much. Where Uncle Re Re is, you cannot go. Not for a very, very long time." She got very quiet then. Too quiet. "Abbey?"

"Mama see Unca Re Re too. She dead?"

"No, honey," Robert replied. "She sees him just exactly like you do. She's allive, just like you."

Jim sat listening to Abby wondering if her seers ability had come along with her animus ability. Jim looked at Robert wondering how they were going to get past this. Jack watched quiet as well not sure what to tell her since he was married to a seer and the more hr thought about it the more he knew he too would go through this with his own. " Robert you don't think shes a seer as well ?" he asked as gently as he could " that's unusual in fact I don't thing there ever has been a seer/animus before " he said and sat back as he finished his food " she'd be the first"

"I think it is entirely possible," Robert said. "I am sure that if I did research I'd find a seer animagus someplace in all these thousands of years. But, Rob's line had strong animagus tendencies, and Kate's line of seers is very strong. There is nothing in body chemistry that would forbid it. I know its an odd pairing, but it surely is possible. And actually, Mis is a werewolf, so it is entirely possible that Dakota could develop that. I dont' know about her father, so I cannot honestly tell you. If the triplets follow suit, then their strengths will probably be in healing, I would guess, but we won't know until they grow up.

"But the other thing is that sometimes abilities that seem to show up in these years of accidental magic can fade away as their real strengths develop and come forward. it might be that one of these gifts she has now might fade away altogether as she ages. I have seen that happen many times. We never know until they come into their own," Robert said.

Kate finished eating, leaving some on her plate. She excused herself quietly and got up, wanting to go check on Khaat. She trusted Robert's sleep spell, but she just needed to see for hserself that she was alright.

Jim and Jack listened but Jim saw Kate get up and move to the bedroom where Khaat lay sleeping. Jim moved behind her " everything ok?" he asked her Jack was sat at the table watching Abby and listening to Robert.

" do you think my three will develop any were traits Robert or will they go more seer like Jess?" he asked Robert he knew they could sort it eventually but a teen with were traits would not look good even though he still had years to go yet before that worry would happen but the more he thought about it the more he worried one of them would.

"I presume so," Kate said to Jim. "I just don't like leaving her alone too long, that's all. She's been through this too many times for me to want to go too far."

Robert heard Jack asking the question again. He understood their concern. He and Kate had had it, since Remus had nipped Robert years before, after Remus was first turned. "We didn't know either. For all we know, technically, Khaat could still actually be a werewolf and she knows it. In her case, the stone prevents her from turning even if she is a werewolf. And since she can't take it off, we will never know if she carries the curse. We dont' know if any of her kids will. Presumably, if Abbey is an animagus, she wont' be a werewolf. But we have no clue about the triplets and we wont'.

"So--no, there is no way to know until they get older. I wish I had a better answer for you because then perhaps I would have one for myself."

Jim looked at Kate and nodded " I know how you feel Kate both Jack and I both worry about her " he said and looked at Khaat sleeping. Jack sighed and nodded he understood now he knew both he and Jess would continue to worry though they never saw anything in their kids just yet.

"well maybe nothing will come of it " he said and downed his drink as he looked at Jim and Kate by the bedroom door " guess there worried about Khaat " he said he sat back and thought long and hard about his children knowing this trip would give him opportunity to watch them closely.

Robert got up from the table and picked Abbey up out of her high chair and kissed her affectionately. "How about you and Grandma take your crayons and go color the walls in our room?" he asked her. "And, we have a bathtub big enough to hold ten Abbeys. You can take a bath over there before bed."

"I have bubbles?" she asked

"As many as you want," he laughed. "You want pink bubbles?" She nodded. "Grandma makes great pink bubbles, doesn't she?" Abbey nodded enthusiastically. Kate heard it and came over, laughing.

"And I thought we'd make brown bubbles tonight," she teased Abbey. Abbey scrunched up her nose.

"Mud bubbles?" Abbey asked. "I no want two baths." Robert and Kate both laughed out lout.

"Are you sure?" Kate asked. Abbey nodded. "Okay. Pink bubbles it is." She took Abbey and went over to their room in the other suite.

"She's an amazing child," Angus said, cleaning up dinner dishes. "She's entirely too smart for her age."

"Thats because none of you treat her like she's not capable of it," Robert said. "You treat her like she can understand, and so she does. I'm going to go check on Khaat's wounds and see if I need to wake her for some fluids or anything. Excuse me."

"Should I come?" Brian asked.

"No," Robert said. "I wont' be long. She is sedated enough that even if I wake her enough for some juce or water, she wont' remember it later. Anything you say to her will be gone later when she fully wakes up." He went into the bedroom and closed the door. Brian's thoughts went to Michael. Michael never slept for more than a couple of hours at a time and rarely during the day. Brian had a feeling he wasnt' sleeping. He felt that Michael was haunted by the sight of Khaat's victimization. And it wasnt' something he'd ever been prepared to see. Unfortunately, Brian and Khaat had travelled that road before, and Brian was getting good at picking up the pieces. He did see it as some margin of success when a glass filled itself with ice and some juice and floated into the bedroom. It meant Robert was going to try to get at least some fluid into her. That was good. Better than he had hoped.

"Shall I sit up with you tonight?" Angus offered Brian quietly.

"No," Brian said. "I'd like you all to go to bed. You've all been up a couple of nights in a row and you need to sleep. I couldnt close my eyes if you paid me to do it. And I think I really need to stand watch alone tonight. It'll be good for me." And he was speaking the truth. It wasnt' that he didn't appreciate the company. But he knew he needed to get his confidence back, and, in this case, he was feeling he needed to force himself to do it.

Jim looked at Brian and sighed seeing the fatigue on his face. Jim sighed and shook his head " you have to rest some time do you want Khaat waking to see you all tired and disheveled " he asked as he walked back. Jack nodded he agreed.

"Hes right, Jim and I can stay up, please" He said softer " sleep, a captain isn't a good captain when hes exhausted." Jack said glancing at Jim who now stood with a glass of juice listening both men knew Brian was worried for Khaat but they both knew with Robert tending to her she would recover in time.