Marriage is Murder

Jim chuckled and watched them all talking " whats an aniversry wih out the ones you love close to you, you should know that" he said smiling " besides they will be in school when I take her away" he said and smiled at them all " Im not that daft " he laughed seeing andrew with a stufffed bunny on his head and running around its ears flapping as he ran around. Cassidy chuckled and nodded as sh watched them playing knowing it would only be few years and thy ould be going off to school. John stood nex to Steven quietly he knew after this day he not see Steven or Cassidy again for several months but he also knew he would do his penance, he did the crime hewould do what ever it took to put things right.

"I will not be taking the children on our anniversary," Brian promised her. The main Christmas dinner had been exceptional, one that Khaat and Brian knew they'd remember for a very long time.

Angus invited the men to join him in the home theater for a televised championship game of American football. Most of the men took him up on it--so long as there was plenty of popcorn and beer and soda.

"Go ahead if you want," Khaat signed to Brian as Kate and some of the women took the kids for afternoon naps.

"Nah. I've seen all kinds of football, but I never get tired of seeing you," he said. She looked at him.

"I'm not going anywhere. Go. Have fun."

"You sure?" he asked. She nodded and pointed to the photo album.

"Okay," he said. He headed for the home theater with the others, and she went to find a smaller sitting room for a couple of hours.

Jess and Cassidy sat with Kate and Khaat " sorry but tats not my iea of peacful " Jess said cassidy just chukled as she sa beside the fire atcing the flames dance infrnt of her.

" its been a magical christmas for us and the kids and Im glad Khaat is here to see it even if she ca't rember any of the others we have had" she said and Jess agreed.

" do you rember any of the other chrismasses?" Jess asked her gentl as if probing what she did rember bt not pushing her too much.

Khaat looked up at Jess when she asked if she remembered. Khaat shook her head. She truly didn't remember. She wanted to, but she didnt. Not Christmas, anyway. She was getting some tiny fragments about Rob and some about Brian, but not much else. And none of them seemed to be related to anything. They seemed to be just random.

She knew why Brian was giving her more pictures. She had gone through the album they had until she had every detail of just about every photograph memorized. It was getting to the point where what she memorized was so strong that she couldn't tell if it was a memory or just some picture she'd memorized. He was giving her something different to focus on. And she knew he was also working harder at diverting her attentions to other things so that she wouldn't get tunnel visioned into feeling that remembering was all she had.

Robert diverted himself away from the football game and brought her up one more package. "I missed one," he told her, handing it to her. She frowned and opened it. It was a beautiful etched large bowl of clear blue glass. She looked at him. "Do you know what it is?" he asked. She shook her head. "It's your great grandmother's pensieve. Your mother and I found it as we were going through things at the farm when we remodeled. And we thought you'd like to have it. You knew how to use one once. You can learn again how to use it. As a seer, it might be helpful for you. Do try not to break it. It is a one of a kind piece of Venician glass."

"Thank you," she signed.

"You're welcome," he signed back, with a smile. "Now, I'm going to get back to my game. Brian's team is losing. I enjoy watching him squirm." He turned and went back downstairs.

Cassidy and Jess both nodded then smiled as Robert handed Khaat another gift Jess oowed at it and smiled " its beautiful " she said ad looked at Kate " forgive me Kste but what does a pancive do?" she asked not quite sure of its intent herself. Cassidy nodded and moved to look at it closer.

" it is beautiful I had heard of glass like this but wow its, as Jess said beautiful" she moved back to her seat and drank the last of her drink placing the empty cup on the table next to her as she watched the glass catch the light in the room and sparkle.

"A pensieve is a tool that seers use to help them revisit memories, either theirs or others," Robert said. "i can do the basics but Kate is better at it. It works like this." He accio'd a pitcher of water and poured some into the bowl and chose a memory thread of his own and dropped it into the bowl. The thread swirled around and dissolved and then, as he stirred the water, a memory formed. One of his favorites. The instant that he first held Abbey in his hands when she was born, too premature and fragile to survive except by magical means, and except by his skill. But even then, even before Abbey took her first breath, Robert thought she was the most beautiful child he'd ever seen. The memory went from there until Abbey was placed in Rob's hands when Abbey turned into a puppy at Rob's very touch, and Rob fainted flat on the delivery room floor.

"He fainted?" Khaat asked.

"Straight away," Robert laughed. "The pensieve does not lie--not unless one has lied to himself about his own memories."

Jess aw the memorie and chuckled at the sight of Rob fainting flat out on the floor Cassidy sat with her a gap. " I have never seen a man faint " she said and chuckled too trying not to laugh as she watched . " he truly was not the man for Khaat " Cassidy said having now seen what Rob looked like in the pencive. Jess watched and smiled as sh saw baby Abby.

" she was tiny wasn't she "she said smiling as she watched it further " that was bfore Ihad the healing or I would have helped too" she said and looked at Robert then Khaat.

Khaat watched her father's memory of holding her daughter at the very instant of her birth. She got a vague feeling it had been intensively difficult.

"Was that difficult?" she signed.

"Very," he replied. "And I know you'd have helped, Jess. Rob was just surprised. No one expected his animagus genetics to be that strong. They had some sort of magic connection. Every time he picked her up, she turned into a newborn puppy."

"Does that mean she's more bonded to him than to me?" Khaat signed.

"No," her father said. "Certainly not. It's a magic thing. Nothing more. You're the one she goes to. She's not seen him at all since she was a newborn. She wouldn't even know him. Brian is her father. In her mind and on paper, both. Brian was there when she was born. Not Rob. Rob wouldnt even come in to be with you."

"You don't like him much, do you?" she asked.

"No. I don't," Robert said.

Jess nodded and smiled knowing that everything would have been alright anyway as Robert had been there. Cassidy listened in wonder at what Robert told Khaat " wow I thought Bian was Abbys father all this time, well I guess all tht matters is he raised her " she said " like steven is doing with Fallon and myself with the twins" she sai " its amixed up world " she said and chuckled seeing the look Jess gave her.

" what matters is that he loves both of them through think and thin where Rob left her at her most vunrable both of them , hes no man in my eyes , to me hes a coward"she siad and folded her arm across her chest scowling a little at the thought of his actions and what could hve happened.

"Where is Rob now?" Khaat signed.

"No clue," Robert said. "He hasn' been seen much since shortly affter Abbey was born. He just basically disappeared. I don't think you felt really any animosity towards him but you didn't really want him back either. Better to direct your attentions to the present, my dear. The pensieve is a useful tool when you have something in the past to look back on for a reason." She scowled at him. She didn't remember anything. Maybe he didn't have purpose on it, but she could think of a few. "That's not what its for. It still won't give you genuine memories of your own. Let it come back in its own time,"he told her. "Why don't you come join us in watching the game? It will give you something constructive to think about."

"Did I like football before?" she signed.

"Not particularly," he laughed. "You didn't dislike it, but it wasn't your favorite either."

"Then I doubt I'm going to like it any more now," she signed back.