Marriage is Murder

"I'll be right back," Michael said. He went back into the treatent room and came back out putting his wallet in his pocket. He hadnt realized it had fallen out of his pocket. He was appreciative that nothing was missing from it. "I think we're ready to go now," Michael said.

"Cake!" Abbey bounced in Jack's arms. "We get cake!"

"You," Michael said to her, "are going to go back and see what Uncle Angus has made for you. I'm sure he's made some sort of a treat. And its soon going to be lunch time. Mama might not let you have cake this close to lunch."

"Mama give me cake," she nodded.

"Abigail, your mama is not that big of a pushover" he laughed.

"What that?" she frowned.

"I'll explain it to you when you're three," he laughed. "Shall we go, Jack?"

Brian was walking across the living room when Jack ported into the same place where he was walking. Michael, however, ported in to the kitchen and poured himself a mug of tea.

"Hey," Brian said. "Watch where you're porting."

"Let's not have any splinching today, shall we?" Robert laughed. "I'm not in the mood to have to reassemble one of you."

"I rather like jigsaw puzzles," Michael teased. "Do you suppose we could sort out Jack's bits from Abbey's?"

"Cake?" Kate looked at Abbey, who nodded excitedly.

"Cake, Gammy!" Abbey bounced up and down.

"Were you a good girl?" Kate asked. Abbey started to nod and then stopped, looking at Kate. "You weren't good?"

"They no let me in Papa's water," she said unhappily.

"What? Why?" Kate asked.

"They tend to not like labradors in the hospital pool and then running amuck in the spa all wet and hairy," Michael laughed.

"She didn't," Brian sighed.

"Abbey," Angus called. "Come look. Just for you." She scampered out to the kitchen and came back with a kitty shaped cookie with pink sanding sugar decorations.

"Tanks!" she said, taking the cookie and running down the hallway to the playroom.

"Nice redirection," Kate laughed.

"I know," Angus said, handing the kids each a cookie as the rest of them came out for cookies too.

"Well," Robert said, "A child animagus isn't something people see everyday. Especially not one that small. They're used to animaguses being older before they develop full body transformation. But her father had powerful animagus genetics. He was like Sirius in that respect. He much preferred being an animagus as to being human. I wasn't surprised that she had those skills eary, but i really was surprised that the instant Rob picked her up she bonded with him and changed into a puppy within moments of her birth. We see it every so often, but not on a daily basis."

Khaat hadn't thought of Rob for a long time. She didn't know if he was even still alive. She had always wondered if he would come back and try to make some sort of claim on Abbey. It was always at the back of her mind. The fact was, though, that Brian had adopted Abbey when it had been legally determined that he had abandoned his duties as a father to his child. Her father had reassured her often that Rob had no more claim. But, someday, Khaat was going to have to tell her who her father was. Just as she would someday have to tell Dakota who both her parents really were. Dismal thoughts. Totally.

"You're right, but I understand Khaat's concerns. Abbey is an animagus, and neither Khaat nor I are animagi. That is going to become painfully obvious. Dakota's flaming red hair doesnt run on either side of our family. Nor does she look like any ouf us. And since Khaat and I aren't werewolves and her own mother is a werewolf, there's an excellent chance she may end up a werewolf. Dakota will ask question at some point. So will Abbey," Brian said.

"Unimportant," Robert said. "You do what you've always done. You be honest with them. You're already raising them to understand that family has very little to do with genetics but more with heart. You raise them to know, early, the truth of who they are and who their biological parents are so that they aren't shellshocked if any of them turn up, and you teach them that where they belong is with you. If you teach them that it won't matter if any of them show up again because those kids will know where home really is."