Marriage is Murder

"Well, maybe a bit. I am a bit nervous about when the house elves get here in the morning. I do hope the house elves can get adjusted to how Khaat demands the food be done around here. She is a very, very protective mother. She refuses to let any food be conjured," Angus said. "And if she had her way, the kids would not ever get any sweets. They'd grow up learning that carrot sticks were desserts."

"House elves live to serve," Edward said. "They'll cook if you tell them to cook. Its very simple. Where do you intend for them to stay?"

"Well, I took the broom closet from next to the pantry and I used an enchantment to make a room for them. It will be warm there in the winter and cool in the summer."

"They will probably like that very much. They like to be close to the kitchen anyway," Edward said. "Or at least any house elf I ever had like being close to the kitchen."

"I was going to do bunk beds to save space, but I didn't know if they climbed or not," Angus said.

"They won't climb if they can use magic," Edward laughed. "Why don't you let them come and get adjusted. Oh, by the way, both of you, a house elf never ever complains. You'll have to take cues about what they need by how they behave."

"That damned elf of Sirius's used to complain incessantly," Angus frowned.

"Kreacher? He was just a foul tempered old fart," Edward said. "He was an exception. And what will you do with all your extra time?"

"All the other duties I dont' have time for now," Angus said. "I hope you all still like Coq au Vin. That's what I'm making for dinner. And Ratatouille. Dessert is an apple tarte tatan."

"It sounds wonderful," Edward said.

"It will be ready in a couple of hours," Angus said. He looked at the clock. "Well, that might be a bit late. I was going to make hot spiced cider and a batch of pumpkin cookies for later this evening, but I'm running behind. And I haven't even set the table for dinner yet tonight. Nor have I gotten a bottle of wine for dinner. I don't have a salad made, and, well, I'm just behind."

"Get Brant to set the table and get the wine. Unless you trust him to make the cookies," Edward said.

"Why do I not believe cookies are your thing?" Angus looked doubtfully at Brant. "I don't know if you even do salads."

"Thank you," Angus said to Brant. "Its okay. I knew cooking wasn't your thing. I was just teasing. Cassidy normally likes to help, though. Maybe, if she's not busy, she can lend a hand. I have the recipes right here, if she wants to use mine. I would ask Michael to help but he's off doing something secretive. He simply said he had something to do for Khaat and wouldn't tell me what it was. I'm betting he did something to lift her spirits a bit."

Angus took a treat for Archangel from the jar and gave it to the bird. "Find Cassidy," he told the bird. "Ask nicely. Mind your manners."

The bird glided off to find Cassidy and soon found her. He landed on the back of a chair and squawked at her. After all, there were only so many ways to squawk.

"Salad for dinner," he said. "Hot spiced cider, for after dinner. And, when we get to it, pumpkin spice cookies for later on. I'll try to get to whatever you can't get to. I'd like to get the salad done in the next 30 minutes so we can eat. The kids are going to be hungry. In fact, we're late. They're probably eating inedible things by now."

"I don't know if anyone has really seen Khaat since sometime yesterday," Edward said. "Except Marcus and Brian and Escobar."

"Damn," Angus sighed. "That reminds me. I do need to make another shake for her. She's not that into food right now, but she will drink the smoothies."

"She needs to be 'into' food," Edward said. "Why don't you let Marcus see what he can talk her into. Send the smoothie, by all means, but I'd end a plate for her on the tray as well. If she eats, wonderful. If not, she'll at least get the nutrition she needs if you send the smoothie as well. At least she has the option. She cannot live on smoothies forever."

"Well, Brian said that all she ate with Abbey was cheesecake--when Rob made it. And I remember how much of an appetite she didn't have with the triplets."

"Maybe its just her pattern," Edward shrugged. "Your grandmother was good at handling pretty much anything until she got pregnant. Then when stress hit, she looked okay on the outside but had no appetite at all. It was the only clue I had that she was feeling stressed. Maybe its just Khaat's way of coping when things feel like more than she can deal with. And besides, it isn't that unusual for someone who is seriously injured or ill to not have any appetite. If it is her way, then bribery is definitely your best friend."

"Your choice," Angus said. "Your cookies, your choice I have no preference. Oh, and there are some other Halloween cookie cutters there in the other tin. I'm getting quite a collection. There's a sorting hat, a ghost, and, I think, maybe a cauldron there. Either that or a broom. Not sure. I found a sale on them so I bought a bunch of different ones for all kinds of different occasions. Mix them up if you want. Whatever you want to do is fine."

He made Khaat's smoothie and sent Cassidy's salad to the table. Then he took the chicken out of the oven and the ratatouille. He cut the chicken into portion sizes and began to make plates.

He sent Archangel back to call everyone for dinner. Then he fixed a tray for Marcus and for Khaat. He sent their tray upstairs and then made sure that the dinner plates got to their proper places. He put the salad into the salad bowls and set out a pitcher of iced tea and a pitcher of lemonade.

"I think we're ready to eat, Cassidy. If you don't have the cookies in the oven, they can wait until we're done eating. I'll put the cider together after dinner," Angus said. "Its more important that we feed the little ones."

"Come eat," Angus said. "And help feed little ones. They're on their way. I hear lots of little feet." Robert and Kate came downstairs, with all the little ones following them.

The kids seemed to get excited when they smelled food. Brian followed the kids, and the adults started to help kids up into their chairs and helped them get started with their meals.

Escobar made his way to the kitchen, filled up an ornate antique goblet with his meal and stepped outside the kitchen door to simply enjoy the dark nighttime sky and enjoy his meal in the quiet.

Upstairs, Marcus gently woke Khaat and gave her tiny forkfuls of the chicken and the vegetables. She had no appetite at all. He didn't push. He merely ate in between giving her tiny bites. He used the smoothie as her drink that went with her dinner.

He finally suggested she talk about what was on her mind. She began to talk about the pressure she was feeling to try to be up on her feet or working towards it, certainly more than she had been doing. He didn't argue with her. He merely talked with her, and in doing it, he took her mind off the fact that he was continuing to offer her forkfuls of chicken and vegetables. She didn't have her mind on what he was doing, and as long as she wasnt' onto what he was doing, he wasn't going to interrupt her.