Marriage is Murder

"Well, if someone wants to make a fresh tossed salad for lunch and put it in the refrigerator that would be a help," Angus said. "And would one of you please get that odd white gown that Escobar had given to Khaat and get it out of the house? She does not need any reminders of that when she comes back. I sent for a large delivery of fresh cut flowers. I know Brian prefers to surround her in flowers as much as he can. When they arrive, would you mind arranging them in vases and putting them around the house? There are supposed to be some peach colored roses specifically for their bedroom. The rest is supposed to be a mix of different types of flowers and different colors. We have a great many vases in the cabinet above the refrigerator. I had to shrink them to fit them in. Use whatever you like."

"I want to go through the kids' closets and drawers today. They're growing so fast, They've outgrown most of their clothes. Khaat has enough clothes for them until they go to Hogwarts, though, I think. There is a large wooden chest in her closet that is full of all sorts of kids clothes in all sizes and for all seasons. I need to get that taken care of. Robert can't fit into his shoes anymore, and he's poked his feet out of his pajamas, and Michael's pants are all too short for him. The girls are in much the same predicament, I think...." He glanced down at the floor and saw stuffing scattered about the kitchen. "Well, and you may find that some toy has bitten the dust. It seems that there are bits of it all over the house. Hopefully nobody has eaten a button."

Jess looked at Jack and smiled as she motioned for him to follow her “ we'll deal with the flowers and that dress Angus and that was a wonderful idea.” She said as Cassidy chuckled from the kitchen door way she had over heard all Angus had asked.

“ I'll do the fresh tossed salad “ Cassidy said an moved into the kitchen to start it. Soon everything was in a large bowl and she carried it to the fridge. Walking back she paused by Angus. “That everything or is there anything else I can help with?” she asked as Jess returned with the white dress walking out side she placed it in the fire pit and watched it burn.

“That's that” she said watching it turn to nothing but a pile of ash. Jack move around the building checking for anything out of place, finding nothing he returned moving next to Jess.

"I think that's all for now," Angus said. "The pasta has to dry before I can cook it for lunch, and the sauce takes no time at all. Lizzie was sending something she called a 5 layer brownie for us to try. It sounded to me like each glance it them were worth at least 500 calories. I have no idea how many calories it costs to actually eat one. But I thought I would serve them at lunch for dessert while they're still so fresh. Thank you for all your help.

"Oh, the staff put in an enormous sandbox for the kids outside," Angus added. "It's a huge octagonal shape with a handcarved stone basin and bordern. Its not far from the kitchen door, between the kitchen and the barn. There is a hidden compartment in the oak tree closest to it. The compartment is a cabinet that holds more toys for the sandbox than most kids ever get in their entire lives. I know the kids haven't had a chance to play in it yet. If they get too bored, you might try it. They knew well enough what to do with the sand at the beach. I should think they'd know what to do with this. It looks big enough to hold about 25 kids comfortably."

Jess chuckled at Angus description of the sand box and nodded “ I'm sure sooner or later they will want to play in it” she said and no sooner she'd said it Abby ran up and smiled repeating sand over and over again “ sure come on” she said and took her hand leading her out side the others ran out happily Jack and jess stood watching as Cassidy and Jim got the sand toys out for them to play with. Cassidy sat on a stone bench that was not far from them watching Fallon and the twins play with Andrew and the others she was happy they were getting along so well. Jess walked over and sat with Cassidy.

“At that age,they don't know what evil is, all they want is to play and be happy” she told her Cassidy nodded she understood and smiled again watching as they all built a sand castle in it.

Kate looked up from her gardening and smiled. Those kids weren't going to want for anything. She had seen Brian's drafts for a huge swingset and a slide and a treehouse. Half the treehouse was a playhouse for the girls and the other half was a pirate ship for the boys. When it came to making sure the kids were provided for, Brian didn't spare anything. Never. None of the kids had the slightest idea what unhappiness was. She and Robert wanted it to stay that way, but she knew that wasn't realistic.

The work crew that had been elsewhere on the estate caught up with Kate and told her they would finish all the flower and herb beds today. Kate knew that Khaat's gardens were too large for one person to manage by hand so she smiled and turned the job over to them. She dusted herself off and went over to the sandbox to join the others.

"Khaat and Brian will be surprised when they see this," Kate said. "But if Brian ever gets them to build the swingset and treehouse and slide, we'll never get the kids inside ever again. He hasn't shown the drawing to anyone, but I caught him working on it in one of his all-nighters. He just keeps dreaming and drawing. He has a sketchbook of things he wants to build for them, and thats just on two facing pages. I know he has a lot more drawings. I just don't want to intrude on him by taking a peak at them. Some things should remain sacred, I think. Especially one's dreams."

Jess looked at Kate and smiled “ yes its good to have dreams “ she said glancing back at the sand box. “ well maybe jack and Jim could help finish the tree house I know Jacks good with his hands “ she suggested looking at the stunned look on Jacks face. Jack chuckled and looked at Kate then at Jim.

“ ow I see I'm drafted into this” he said and chuckled as Jim walked over looking at them all as he brushed off some sand from his hands.

“ ok what's and whose been drafted?” he asked as Jack explained and he laughed “ of course we will Kate do you have his drawing by chance or can you draft a copy for us to follow?” he wanted to make it a surprise for when Brian and Khaat returned.

"I'm afraid I don't," Kate said. "But, I do know something you could work on. Brian has been wanting to redo the nursery. He wants to do proper bedrooms for them. He wants a boys bedroom for Robert and Michael, and a proper girls bedroom for Dakota, Julia, and Abbey. I know he wants to decorate the boys' room either in castles and knights, or in pirates. Something fun.

"He wants to decorate the girl's room in either a fairy garden. With a lot of flowers and butterflies. You know, the tea tables that look like stumps with toadstool seats...that sort of thing. And all the rooms need to be magical and big enough to share.

"If you want to surprise them, do away with the nursery and make proper bedrooms for the kids," she said. "The triplets will likely still need their cribs for awhile yet, but sleeping in the same room with the babies is now uprooting Abbey and Dakota. Julia isn't usually any problem.

"I know he was just starting a sketch to redecorate the playroom but I think most of it is still in his head and not down on paper yet. If you want magical murals for the walls, I think we could conjure some until I had time to paint them properly. Even so, redecorating two bedrooms for toddlers is a huge job. Do you think you can manage in time?"

Jack and Jim listened and nodded together “ ok we can do that, give us couple of hours.“ they both said and walked inside talking together about what they were going to do for the children. Jess sat and watched smiling.

“It won't take them too long to do the rooms Jack did ours in about two hours , the kids loved it” she said and watched as Cassidy helped build another sand castle sitting with Fallon on her knee as she cuddled against Cassidy like a true mother, she watched Cassidy wrap her arm protectively around her. “Strange to think Cassidy was worried about if she'd be a good mother and yet there she sits with her daughter a loving, caring mother” she said and chuckled as Abby placed some sand on Andrew.

"I'm sure Khaat and Brian will appreciate it," Kate said. She watched the kids playing and then she saw Dakota try to grab a toy from Abbey. Abbey imediately got angry and transfigured to her puppy form and began yanking on the toy with her teeth.

"Abbey! Mine!!" Dakota scowled, seeming to take it for granted that the human was now a labrador. The puppy merely bit down harder on the toy and dug its little feet into the sand and growled, tugging harder on the toy.

"They just take magic for granted," Kate laughed. "They don't care whether she's human or not. She's just Abbey to them. You know, I am going to have to get Robert to come back and change her back. Khaat said Rob got stuck a couple of times, so it may be that she knows something of the spell. My understanding is that some of its effectiveness has something to do with how much the animagus wants to change back. I am presuming the reason Robert's spell works better is because his is simply stronger than hers. For him, it doesn't really matter if Abbey wants to be human or not. He simply overpowers her."

Jess nodded and watched the kids in the box when Dakota tugged on the toy she sighed and was about to intervene but she staid sat down " yes he will she hasn't figured out how to turn back. " I agree he is stronger in the magic department than Rob ever was." she said as she saw Jack and Jim pause to talk over something both seem to agree on that ever it was and continue inside. Cassidy moved and took the toy off both of them.

“We'll let papa decide who get it once he is home” she said softly and shrunk it to slip into her pocket to await Roberts final decision when he made Abby a girl again and not a Labrador puppy.