Marriage is Murder

Steven cried out as he was laying the table as several forks and knifes " hey watch it Angus " he called out " I was putting down knives and forks." he said and walked back in he smiled at the house elves "Tables ready" he said and washed his hands as he had to take a vase of old flowers and palce dthem in the bin and the vase in the sink. " its okay Suki we'll get them, Cassidy you and I will help me get the kids?" he said and Cassidy stood up togther they headed up to the nursary.

They returned several minites later they returned with a line of kids behind them each one went to their chair and stood waiting to be lifted into it , Jack and Jess helped lift them into it and hand to them some drink then they went to sit down.

"That wasn't Angus," Michael said. "It was me. I set the spells in place because I didn't think anyone heard me." He watched Dottie and Suki go upstairs.

"Minister?" Suki called, from Robert's doorway. "Would you like a tray for dinner tonight?" Robert looked up. He shook his head. He preferred to eat with his family instead. He got up, put his books aside and went downstairs.

Brian finished changing Khaat's dressings and immobilizing her shoulder just as Suki got to their door.

"Master?" Suki said to Brian. "Dinner is served. Will you be eating with your children or your wife?" Brian looked at Khaat, feeling like he missed spending time with her.

"Go," she told him quietly. "You need to be with the kids. Marcus will be here. Its okay. I understand."

"Please just send a tray for the two of us," Marcus motioned to Khaat and himself.

"Yes, Sir," Suki said. "Right away."

"Thank you, Suki," Brian said. "I'm coming." He went downstairs, followed by Suki. Angus and Michael finished assembling a tray for Khaat and Marcus, and they turned it over to Suki to take upstairs before joining the others at the dinner table.

"Lovely lamb," Kate said. "We really should have lamb more often. Very nice."

Brant chuckled at Steven who frowned then looekd to Michael " nice shot though " he said and finished lifing the last child into her chair and giving her the cup. Brant just sighed and moved to the table with them and sat down next to Cassidy who grinned at him.

" what?" he asked and she lent against him.

" I can't help thinking about all those little Brants running around " she said and Brant roleld her eyes.

"Aint gonna happen" he told her slowly as he took some food " it smells wonderful Angus but saw Cassidy still with her smile. "Cassidy even if Im matched theres no garentee we'll evern get along that well we'd ever have kids" he told her and began eating.

The others let Cassidy and Brant continue to discuss Brant's dislike of the marriage law. Brian had no trouble believing that Brant could just walk away from a wife and kids to go do whatever he wanted and abandoning them completely. Brian saw Brant as very capable of it, and Brian did not intend to comment anymore on it. Instead, Brian concentrated on helping his kids with their food. He said very little.

Edward looked up at Brian. He could understand Brian's thoughts. Brian was, ultimately, responsible for making sure that everyone under his roof was safe and provided for, and Edward knew Brian took that job very seriously. Edward was in much the same position in his own compound. He knew Brian never turned away anyone in need, and he sensed Brian starting to dislike Brant because of what was sounding to Brian like a selfish attitude.

"Brian," Angus said, sensing his friend's anger with Brant, "let's go for a nighttime run after we get the kids in bed tonight. What do you say?" Angus was hoping to get Brian out of the house a bit and get some distance between him and Brant before things really blew up.

"You need to go, Mate," Michael said to Brian quietly.

"Perhaps you're right," Brian said, giving some berries to Abbey and a slice of buttered bread to Julia. He glanced up at Robert. Robert nodded. He would do his best to look after things so that Brian could get some air.

Cassidy sighed and shook her head " your a self centered uncareing....." she was so angry all she could dow was slap him across his face " ever concidered she might not like it ether and she wants nothing to do with you, when that day comes and she slaps you i will aplaude her or if she sends you on your ass... "  Jess looekd at Cassidy and touched her hand. " ooow Brant Crawford your impossible " she said and stormed off. Jack looked at eveery one as Jess spoke.

" Brant, you'd better grow up fast this law is threw" she told him " if Jack and I weren't married we'd be in the same boat , but unlike you we'd welcome it" she said " I think its best you just thank your lucky stars that you don't have to search" she finished the feeding and went to find Cassidy.

"Brant, your a jack ass, all you have said is bull" Steven said softly and glared at him.

"A word of caution," Edward told Brant. "If you want to be part of this crew, then you need to figure out soon that the people in this house come together in a spirit of unity. Of helping each other and supporting each other. For the most part, no one here lives or acts alone. If you truly want to be part of this crew, then you need to consider that there is a world beyond yourself. This house works as a team."

"Let it go, Edward," Brian said quietly. Brian didn't see how Brant could have spent so much time in Edward's family loving environment and have come out of it with such a deep hatred of people. Instead, he saw his boys were done eating. The girls were still eating. "Come on, Boys, lets get your baths done." Brian's boys bounced off their chairs.

"Boats, Daddy?" one of them asked.

"Okay," Brian smiled. "We can play with your boats. You can each have one. Go get them." They ran off, and he stood up and laid his napkin aside and went upstairs.

Brant looked at Edward and listened to him as he spoke "Its not that I don't want to, but it feels like were being forced into it." he said and stood up moving back to his lab to mix quietly as he sat thinking about this new law. The more he thought about it the more his mind said it was a good thing and all he was doing was trying to reshanalize why he should not marry but it shifted to why he should and he sat back in his chair thinking about what Edward has said had he realy spent too much time alone that he was no longer a people person. He lent forward and wrote a letter to Jeffery asking for his help. Jess helped the kids finish their food and sighed as she saw Brant leave.

" he realy dosn't know how to interact does he Edward?" she asked feeling his shutting away wasn't helping. " I think he sould be banned from that lab for a week and made to stay out here and help." she looekd at Edward and smirked thinking it was not such a bad idea " he seem to be at first coming out of his shell now I think he slipepd abck into it hard."

"The fact is that you are being forced," Edward said. "Along with everyone else that isn't married. But, Brant, you aren't the only one this effects. Michael and Angus are right in there with you. They're not happy either. I'm sure there aren't a lot of people who are happy with it. So what do you intend to do? Gripe about it for the rest of your life? Sit in a cell in Azkaban? Or marry and then buggar off so someone else can support your wife and kids? Or do you have some other solution that I haven't thought of? All you're doing is giving people here, the same people who really have thought well of you, some reason to dislike you. And that really isn't what you want."

He watched Brant leave.

"He knows how to socialize and interact," Edward told Jess. "He wasn't raised in a vacuum. He didn't get any less love and attention than anyone else. At least not when he was with me." He looked at Angus. "When you go running with Brian, do impress upon him that I will not let a member of my family go without. If Brant does make some poor choices, I will not let his wife and kids go without what they need. Brian Quinn does not need to support us all. I will take care of my family."

"Understood," Angus said. "And agreed. No one is going without." Angus would also help if that day came. It would not be up to Edward to cover Brant's bills.

"I don't know if locking him out of the lab is the answer," Kate said. "It isn't going to make him like people any more if we force him to be with us. My own thought is that if he wants to be by himself, then so be it. I don't know of anything else we can do to make him a part of us. He has to choose to want to be with us. That's not to say he couldn't be a bigger part of the chores. But that won't make him care."

Brant mulled over Edwards words then walked back out to them he wanted to talk but he looked at every one " no.." he said to edward " I won't walk out on the woman, its not her fault." he said and looked to Kate he opened his mouth once more but paused and scratched the back of his neck as he paced. Jess looekd at him and smiled .

" Brant just say whats on your mind" she said softly He stoped and looked at Jess then to Kate and finally Edward. Jess could see on his face the look of an inocent boy and chuckled. " ow... I think that is something you need to talk to Edward and the other guys about " she said and lead the girls and boys from the room while Brant looked at them all. Again he opened his mouth but his word refused to leave his mind. Jack roleld his eyes and stood up.

" Don't worry, you've been around women?" he said but saw the raised eye brows on Brant and he could not help but step back " ow my... " he said and looked at edward " hes...um never....um" he glanced at Kate.

"Its not something you need a manual for," Kate said. "As I see it, one of two things will probably happen. One--you will figure it out together, or, two, she'll teach you."

"Don't read the books," Michael said. "They're largely full of crap."

Robert accio'd a book and flipped it open. Kate looked over to see what he was looking for. She snatched up the book quickly and closed it.

"Stop that," Kate scowled at him. Edward was tempted to laugh out loud. He knew the book very well.

"Let's not even suggest he do that," Edward laughed. "He already thinks potions are the answer to everything. Let him not even know that potion exists." Robert shrugged.

"Robert, you have a strange sense of humor," Kate scowled. Robert frowned. He had only partly been kidding.