Marriage is Murder

Cassidy sat and and listened she looked to lee as he spoke " Hey Im here too. " she said and folded her arms across her chest. But she could not argue with lee they were stretched thin what with Jess dealing with Jack and her kids, Steven trying to keep some sort of security around the house and grounds leaving her to make sure the kids were okay. She watched as Lee spoke to Robert and noted his wand in his pocket. Steven walked in and saw Lee smiling a little.

" Thought you'd like to know Lee, your men have arrived. " he said looking at Robert then cassidy. " I put them in the spare door beside the green house" he added. " there breifed but if you want to do so your self there waiting out side on the lawn" he said stifling a yawn as he reatched to Cassidy and took her hand in his as she smiled up at him.

"I haven't forgotten, Cassidy," Lee said, "but you're one of the few that are left standing, right now. I'm going to depend on you being able to rally the quickest if we need you for something. I know you're not necessarily feeling that you need a rest, but I don't know how anyone in this house will be by morning--except you. I'm going to count on you in case I need someone either during the night or in the morning."

"I think Lee is right," Michael said to Cassidy. "We need to try to keep the house in a normal routine if possible or we will have a dozen little kids all weirded out, and that's never pretty when that happens. You know their routines better than Lee's men, and if one of the kids gets a bit freaky during the night, you're going to hear them and know how to reassure them...."

He was cut off by the sound of little feet on the stone floor, running little feet. It perked up Robert's attention immediately. He knew that sound intimately. He was about to get up when Abbey ran into the room, calling for Papa, and in her hand was a little brown paper sack.

"Unca Lee!!!" she was delighted to see him again so soon. She got so excited she made a flying leap p towards his lap. He laughed and picked her up. She hugged him tightly around his neck.

"I wasn't gone that long," he laughed. "Did you miss me?" She nodded.

"You say you come back, and you do," she nodded. She showed him the sack. "You wanna see?"

"Of course I do," he laughed. She sat down on his lap and opened the bag and got out some pumpkin shaped sugar cookies that she clearly had decorated herself.

"They're beautiful," he said. "Did Uncle Angus help you with those?" She nodded. She gave everyone in the room a cookie and had just one left for herself.

"Any time you find yourself with one extra kid," Lee smiled at Robert. Lee was totally taken with Abbey, and if he had ever had a child of his own, he decided he wanted it to be like her.

Cassidy motioned for steven to go sleep then looked back at Lee and nodded " I know seems strange " she said " and don't worry about..." she paused seeing Abby runn in with the bag in her hand she smiled seeing Abby and Lee togther. " awe " was all she said and chuckled " I thought I could smell cookies best keep Jack away from them." she told Abby then looked to Lee. "Don't worry the kids will be well looked after" she said smiling. she ahd spent long nights as a girl not sleeping so this was nothing new she knew as long as the house kept an even rythm them everything would follow.

Cassidy heard a second call out and stood up " if you'll excuse me sound like some one wanted to follow Abby and got lost " she said and left the men. Finding Jaylen she picked her up and smiled walking her back to the nursary she found several extra women in it and started to explain the childrens routine once done she settled Jaylen and walked back to the cellar. " your extra women have arrived and been brifed though I think one is kinda green shes loking a bit lost with the children." she said and chuckled feeling abit sory for her having been thrown in the deep end " she'll catch on quick enough."

"That would be Ellen," Lee laughed. "My second probably assigned her inside because she was a woman. Not a choice I'd made for her. She's better as a fighter than a bodyguard for children. I'll reassign her outside. I'll work inside tonight so she is more in her comfort zone."

"Unca Lee! You read stories tonight again?" Abbey bounced up and down on his lap, excited. Lee looked up at Robert. Robert nodded, feeling helpless that he couldn't even read with Abbey anymore, one of the largest joys in his life as a grandparent. If Lee could do that and bring some joy to the children, Robert had no desire to strip that from them.

"Alright," Lee said. "I'll read. You stay with Papa while I go outside for a minute..."

"No!!!" she immediately became upset. "No go!..."

"Abbey..." he began. She leaped off his lap and ran out of the room in a panic. Robert got up and went after her. He knew she was panicking that the 'doggies' might be outside and might hurt her new friend.

Cassidy nodded and was glad he knew of her and that she would be better outside. She saw Abby run off and moved to see if she could find her " Abby?" she called out but could follow the cookie crumbs she had left behind " Abby their are no doggies out side, I promis would uncle Lee be here if there were " she said softly and held out her hand to her." hes looking for you" she said " hes worried, let me take you to him" she said smiling as the other women seem to gather aorund her she turned and frowned at them " go look after the other kids" she said strongly. Cassidy turned and looked at the door hoping that Lee would reashure Abby what she had said was right.

Robert went upstairs in pursuit of Abbey and found Cassidy had stopped her. Abbey was clearly upset. He saw Cassidy reassuring her, but he knew Abbey's fear was new and raw.

He went up to Abbey and touched her. Abbey turned and saw her papa there. He reached out to her. She wrapped herself around his legs, starting to cry. He picked her up, and she curled into his neck.

"Doggie killed my mama, and he gonna kill Unca Lee too," she said, sobbing into Robert's neck. "No go! Unca Lee no go!" He wanted to reassure her that neither was true, but he had no words. All he could do was hold her. He had the feeling it might be a very long night if Abbey were too frightened to sleep.

Cassidy looekd to see not lee but Robert he too was just as good and she saw Abby go to him she smiled at him " I'll get the blanket and kitty" she said softly and moved to Raberts room to fetch it returning she wrapped Abby in it and let her snuggle the pink kitty. "Abby papa won't let anything happen to you or your mama" she said softly as she brushed some hair out of Abby's face as she looked at Robert trusting him in every way as she felt she could. " I'll bring up some hot cocolate and or Abby and tea for you or are you returning to the cellar?" she asked just so she would know where to send Abbys tray.

Robert nodded to Cassidy, thinking that the blanket and the kitty and the cocoa was a good idea for her. He was glad Cassidy had thought of it.

He would normally have taken Abbey to her room or to his, but he felt that she needed to see that Lee was still in good shape and safe. He considered it a moment and then pointed downstairs. He thought he would take her back downstairs and she could simply ride the night out with them there.

He took her downstairs, letting her just cling to him and cry. Lee was grateful that Robert had somehow gotten ahold of her.

"Can I help somehow?" Lee asked. Robert handed Abbey to him, and Lee had not see that coming. Abbey clung to Lee like a magnet.

"Hey," he frowned, holding her. "What's the matter?"

"Doggie ate my mama," she sobbed. "You no go. He eat you too...."

"Abs," Lee said softly into her ear, "He didn't eat your mama. He scratched her, but he didn't eat her. She's asleep in her room upstairs, and your daddy and your gram are with her. And if you really, really don't want me to go outside, I won't. I'll stay with you."

"All night? You promise?"

"All night," he said softly, petting her hair, "I promise. Okay?"

"We sleep in your chair again?"

"No, but we'll find one," he laughed softly. "It'll be alright. Your house has lots of chairs."

Cassidy moved to the kitchen and looked at Angus "hot chocolate and cookies for abby" she said looking in teh cookie jar " you got any of those home made ones?" she asked "was going to add some pink icing and make them into kittys for her, shes scared that the weres will get any one who goes out side" she told him placing Abbys cup on the tray, she turned it pink with a cat face and smiled feeling it was perfect for her to go with thekitty cookiesCassidy lent against the table as he looked at Angus with deep sigh.

Now with the tray done she headed down to the cellar and smiled seing Abby with Lee now and she chuckled " theres a nice soft one in the den I could accio it down here, its not pink" she said and looked at Abby winking " it can be fixed though" she said and brought out her wand.

"Well done," Angus said, approving of Cassidy's efforts. "She'll appreciate that. You know Khaat would say we were spoiling Abbey, but under the circumstances, I think its alright."

When Cassidy brought the tray downstairs, and Robert covered Abbey with the blanket and handed her the stuffed kitty. Lee picked up the cocoa mug and fed her sips of it.

"What she's talking about is my recliner in my flat," he said. "Its where we slept last night. She fell asleep while we were reading stories there last night, and I didn't have the heart to wake her up to take her to bed. So we just slept in my chair."

"If you're going to make a chair for them," Michael said to Cassidy, perhaps you should make a recliner for them close to the fireplace in the bedroom Lee uses upstairs. The cellar can get a bit damp and cold here at night. It would be drier and warmer upstairs in one of the guest rooms, I think."