Marriage is Murder

Brian had a remedy for it. He simply levitated the plates of those who were throwing food high above their heads. the kids got instantly upset and started to cry.

"You can have your breakfast back if you dont' throw it," Brian said. "If you do it again, I'll take it again." He set the plates back down in front of them. The 2 year old got the message. He had to repeat himself a second time before they got the message and stopped. Khaat merely watched.

A snowstorm. She wasn't sure how they would manage with a houseful of hooligans. And would her father come back? Or would he be stuck someplace? And where had he put the talking painting?

"You look a bit frustrated," Michael said to Khaat. "Feeling a bit caged in, perhaps?" She shook her head no. To be truthful, she wasn't sure what she was feeling. "Perhaps we should start teaching you how to wield that wand that Remus tempted you to." She looked at him, stunned, blank faced.

"You already knew how to use it," Brian said. "Consider it a frefresher if you like. If you're going to use it, you truly ought to use it wisely rather than on impulse." She wasnt' sure she wanted to use it at all. "You already have agical abilities. The wand does not make the wizard. It is merely a tool. I think its an excellent idea. So long as you follow our directions, you should be safe enough."

"Indeed," Michael agreed. "It certainly does. And if Khaat feels vulnerable, then the way to undo that is to prepare he. She might not remember what she used to do, but we can retrain her. And as for the kids, they are learning. Did you notice that Dakota did not even attempt to throw food until she saw the others getting away with it?"

"I did notice that," Angus said. "She's now generally fairly well behaved."

"I wasn't sure she'd ever get over that," Brian laughed.

They were just finishing when Robert and Kate apparated back in, covered with snow. "Its horrendous out there," Robert said. "I think we should consider ourselves quite snowbound. Reports at the Ministry from France say that they are still in the midst of it and expect it for hours yet. That means we well could be involved in this snowstorm for a couple of days. Or better. If there is anything to be anchored outside, go now. And don't be more than a few minutes or you likely won't get back in. Its already started outside."

Khaat wanted to see the snow. She wanted to get up. she tapped Brian's hand and he looked at her.

"Hm?" he asked.

"I want to see," she signed, pointing outside.

"Oh well done," Robert said, seeing her sign. "How did you go from not knowing it last night to knowing it today?"

"We studied," Brian laughed.

"You must have studied all night to learn it," Robert said.

"We had nothing better to do," Brian shrugged.

"Not even sleeping?"

"Learning appeared to be better last night," Brian said.

"If you want to see," Robert said, "then so be it." He took Khaat's chair to the large floor to ceiling windows to look outside. There was nnothing but white outside. So much snow she could see nothing else. No yard, no trees, no buildings...Nothing but white. She was fearful for the men who had gone outside. "Non't worry. They are wizards. They do have some time. Not long but they know it," Robert said. "They'll be back. They can apparate. If it gets too ba for them to apparate I will bring them back."

"There is bread dough in there to shape into loaves and put out for the second rise," Angus said. "And pasta dough to cut into fettucini for lunch. And salad fixings. Oh, and peaches to make a peach tart. Take your pick." He laughed. He had enough chores to keep most of them busy all day, and he appreciated the help. He still had laundry to do and cleaning spells to set in place to clean the house, beds to make, dishes to do, and a host of other things on his list.

"Can I ask again why you were both studying last night?" Robert asked Brian.

"My wife was polishing her apparating prowess with her wand. I didn't want her splinching herself, so learning how to sign seemed like a better alternative than continuing to bring her back from the dumpster," Brian said.

"Khaat," Robert went over to her and pulled a chair up to sit beside her. "You know, I do know what it feels like to be overwhelmed. And living with no past with people you don't know in a world you don't remember gives you the right to be overwhelmed. But--trust me, you'd be even more frustrated out behind that dumpster again. I think you keep going there because its the oldest memory you have. When the weather clears, would you like to see where you grew up? Some of your favorite places? We could make that happen, you know. And if there is anything you think you need, even if its just a breath of fresh air, all you need to do is to let us know." He brushed her cheek and kissed her forehead softly.

In that instant, she saw him, standing in that dark evil room. He was speaking to her. She could feel his love. She remembered of not being able to touch him, but she heard his words. "Its a choice, Khaat. You have to choose," he had said, lovingly, deliberately.

"Khaat," her mother said, sighing. "I remember that moment. You chose us. You chose life. I'm glad you're remembering a little, but all you really need to know is that you could have made another choice and you chose us." Khaat looked at her father. That memory was stil painful for him, she could see.

For Robert it made sense that she was filling in pieces of that awful day with Barker. It was the first thing she had remembered, after all, but he was going to be glad when the memories began to broaden to better things.

"Very nice," Angus said, "Thank you. I appreciate the help."

Robert saw Jack and Steven come back in. "Consider the house in lockdown. No one goes out now. Not until its safe. Not unless we have no other choice," he ordered.

He had moved Khaat away from the windows because he didn't want the slight draft from the windows due to the high winds making her sick. In her weakness she had dozed off in her chair near the fire. Knowing she was safe inside, he went to Brian's office to work. Brian got led off temporarily by Abbey wanting him to play for a moment.

While the work for lunch went on in the kitchen, she slept. Until she had such a violent clash of memories that it seemed like every horrible thing that could exist in one's imagination and beyond all came flooding forth together in a tangled up blurr. And she clearly remembered being separated from her own body and wanting desperately to stay for a dark haired young man who was chained to a stone wall beside where her body also hung.

She woke with such violent pain in her head that she woke with a hard jolt, clutching both sides of her head with her hands. It doubled her over in her chair.