Marriage is Murder

"She'll be fine," Robert said. "She's a soldier. She's been trained for this her entire life. But it is a bit different if it comes down to doing it. I'll stay with her til Brian comes. Jess can keep Michael stable. He's not in the danger he was in before, but I just dont want him alone for awhile."

"Did I hear you were looking for me?" Brian asked, coming in. He studied the situation. "What's happened?"

"Much," Robert said. He brushed Khaat's hair reassuringly. "Jack and Cassidy, you two stay for a moment. I need to fill Brian in a bit. Please." He looked at Brian. "Come with me. You've missed a couple chapters."

"I wasn't gone more than an hour," Brian frowned.

"It doesn't take long," Robert said, leading him out to Khaat's office.

Robert briefed Brian, and after a brief conversation, Brian apparated out quickly, like a man posessed. Robert came back.

"Brian had a good thought," Robert told them. "He is going to take Kate to Michael's to see if Kate can see anything with her abilities that might give us answers until Michael or Khaat are with us again to talk. Its not like a witch or a wizard to resort to a blade as a first choice, though. Not if they're in their right minds. Magic is so much quicker and cleaner. My best guess is that Alette was truly ill. The Alette that Michael and I knew wasn't capable of this. I'm guessing she was either bewitched or ill. And if she was able to do that to someone as experienced as Michael is, then Khaat is lucky to be alive at all. Speaking of which, did you lot take care of the dogs? And that hatrack? Michael is rather fond of them. He'd be upset if anything happened to them."

Kate and Brian went to Hogsmeade, to Michael's. Lee was there with a crew. Comparatively there was very little blood left. Even so, Kate was stunned.

"Maybe we should wait," Brian suggested gently to her.

"No," Kate said, regathering herself. "I'm alright. I need to see." She went in and browsed through the house. She went through the downstairs and then through the upstairs, finding Snidely hiding, shivering in fear, in the closet in Khaat's old bedroom. Kate let the frightened hat rack out and reassured it that Michael was going to be fine and that Alette was gone and never coming back.

Kate walked through the upstairs and came back down quietly.

"I think I've seen enough," she said softly.

"Care to share?" Lee asked. Kate gave a report of what she saw. It added up with the evidence Lee had found that was, mostly, cleaned up now. Kate and Brian took the dogs and Snidely back to Brian's place and then went back to St. Mungos to find Robert, who was still with Khaat.

"What did you find out?" Robert asked.

"It started upstairs. Alette was--not right. She was bitter and angry. She blamed Michael for saving her life after she tried to hang herself. She told him she had waited until the right time. She was going to make sure it was final this time, and she was taking him along--sending him to Hell for torturing her. Michael...was stunned. He didn't expect her to turn on him. He thought he could handle it...But she already had his butcher knife from the kitchen He managed to get downstairs, but she followed where the stabbings began. He used his wand instead to defend himself with sectumsempras. But he was already so wounded...." She paused. "The last I hear is apparently what he heard. The dogs howling outside. They were mourning the horrors that were happening in the house.

"Khaat went to see if she could find out what happened. She found Alette laying on the kitchen floor and made a mistake. She thought they'd been attacked by a third party. Alette had a chef knife hidden underneath her. She hated Khaat because of how much Michael loves her. Alette went after her because by then, I think, she'd lost her mind. Khaat picked up another chef knife to defend herself. It...it was Khaat who killed Alette. She had no choice. Alette had her cornered and was trying to stab her over and over. I see that in sort of slow motion. She was looking for her wand and couldn't see it. Alette attempted to make a fatal wound, and Khaat struck to keep herself safe. Alette uttered some sort of dark arts curse over Khaat as she was dying. I'm not sure Khaat even heard her. Khaat was just sort of sitting on the floor in all that blood."

"Is that how you found it, Jack?" Robert asked.

"Thank you," Kate said, taking the mug.

"Thank you, Kate," Robert said, grateful for her information.

"I want to see my daughter," Kate said. "She was wounded too."

"Yes. She was," Robert said. "She took a number of defensive wounds, her forearms, her shoulders, her midsection..."

"Are they deep?"

"Some, yes," Robert said. "She feels nothing right now. Between the shock and the pain meds, she feels nothing."

"How was it she wasnt' killed?"

"Because she was well trained," Robert said. "She did exactly what we taught her to do. She got to her attacker before her attacker got her."

"Why isn't she admitted, then, with multiple wounds?"

"Because," Robert said softly to Kate. "she needs to be with us far more than she needs to be in bed. If I had my way, yes, she'd be admitted. She's far too injured. But--emotionally, right now, she's not able to deal with that. We'll get her to rest. I promise. I've got this, Kate. I really do."

Robert knew Kate was angry. Angry about all of it. He didn't blame her a bit. He let her in to Khaat's rooms to let her see her. Khaat was sitting, not moving. Brian was just sitting with her, slowly feeding her tea. Kate couldn't honestly tell if Khaat really was aware if anyone was there or not. She looked at Brian, who merely shrugged. He didn't know either.

Down the hall, Michael finally stirred and woke. It didn't take him long to figure out where he was. He sighed, frustrated.

"You all brought me back for this mess?" he groaned.

"Do you need more pain potion, Mr. Tremaine?" Hannah asked him.

"Where the hell is Robert?" Michael growled.

"Welcome back to you, too," she said. "I'll tell him you're awake. I take it your answer to the pain potion is a no?"

"No," his voice was firm and definitive.