Marriage is Murder

Brian finished his shower and saw that Khaat was safe enough with Marcus and Escobar. He went to the nursery and checked on the kids, who were all sleeping peacefully.

He checked the windows and then went downstairs, heading for the kitchen.

"Did you not eat dinner?" Angus asked.

"I did," Brian said. "I just have the munchies."

"That's not like you. What would you like?"

"Honestly? Pizza," Brian replied. Angus frowned. "What? Pizza is beyond you?" Brian asked.

"You know it's not," Angus said. "Oh, alright. We'll make some pizzas. Give me twenty minutes. What do you want on it?"

"I don't care," Brian said.

"Anybody else into pizza?" Angus asked, hoping that if others wanted late night pizza, he'd get some help in the kitchen to assemble and bake them.

Alright, if we're doing pizza, I expect some of you to put some toppings on them at least," Angus said. "I'll get the dough ready, but some of you need to help top them. Oh, and, if you all haven't noticed, I added a Tuscan wood fired oven. I eliminated two of the wall ovens. It still leaves us two ovens but the wood fired flavor will be well worth it."

He got out a large plastic container of dough, and tossed a handful of bench flour onto his work table. "There's sauce in the fridge on the second shelf. And there are precut veggies in the crisper drawer. Cheese in the dairy drawer, and if you want pineapple...." he started to point to a bowl of fresh fruit, including a lovely large fresh pineapple.

"If you want pineapple, you'd best let me cut it," Michael said, coming in. "There's also alfredo sauce if you want to try something more gourmet. The oven should hold about three large pizzas at once. You lot pick your toppings. I'll cut the pineapple, and Angus will toss the crusts out.

"My grandfather tosses the best thin crusts," Angus said. "Always did."

"Perhaps we can talk him into making us a couple thin ones," Michael said..


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Angus frowned at Brant.  "You cannot possibly be related to me," he sighed. "No one in Italy eats deep dish pizza.  That's purely an American concept. Italians fold their pizza over like flatbread.  That's why pizza is thin there.  I invited people to make their own the way they like because I cannot possibly make them to suit everyone completely. You're welcome to make your own. Help yourself. Here."  He took his bench scraper and cut off enough dough for Brant to make his own. He laid it on the counter close to Brant.  

"The alfredo sauce is awesome with grilled chicken, fresh baby spinach leaves and pinenuts," Michael said. "Its one of Kate's favorites."

Angus listened to Jacks' question about the dough.  "The key is in not using too much flour and not overmixing it. Pizza dough takes a gentle hand.  After a bit, you learn to feel when its right and when it isn't."

He spun several thin crusts in just a few minutes and put them in oiled pizza pans for everyone to top they way they'd like.  

He made one with classic supreme style toppings on one half and on the other half he added hot peppers.

"And who are you splitting that one with?" Michael laughed.

"Not me.  Khaat. She likes traditional pizza. Marcus will be the one choosing the hot peppers."

"And how do you know that?" Michael asked.

"You can learn a lot about a man when you know how he likes his pizza," Angus said, sliding that pizza into the wood oven.

Angus didn't respond to Brant. Angus was strongly bound to family. It was a strong part of his being. So far as Angus knew, Brant had never been turned away from Edward's compound, and he couldn't respond for how Brant's father had treated Brant. As for himself, though, Angus had found his grandparents always there for him, and always willing to try to mend his childhood wounds. It was what bonded him so tightly now to Edward. And now, it was what made him so loyal to Robert and his family.

He put together several pizzas and made sure everyone's got into and out of the oven safely without burning. He cut the pizzas into wedges and set them on the counter. He cut the pizza for Khaat and Marcus and put it on a tray, with sodas and plenty of napkins. He floated it upstairs to them while Brian took a plate and put three completely different slices on it, and grabbed a soda from the fridge.

"Now that's more like it," Brian smiled.

Upstairs, Marcus was delightfully surprised to see the pizza arrive. The smell woke Khaat from a light doze.

"I have to admit, it looks great," Marcus grinned. "Hot peppers? Or no?"

"Without, please," she said.

"My pleasure," he said, serving her.

Edward had heard all of the discussion. He merely hadn't interfered. Of all his grandchildren, he was, perhaps closest to Angus, and that had been because Angus's aunts and uncles and his own mother hadn't favored Angus's love of the sea. It wasn't "wizardly" enough for them. It had caused Angus, as a child, many many tears.

Edward understood a love of nature. He believed the love had somehow been passed down from himself to Angus. He had been the one that had refused to let his young grandson be isolated. He had been the one to make sure that Angus felt protected and loved. To an extent, he had had mixed feelings when Angus had wanted to learn to do what Edward did, but he understood it. He hadn't discouraged him but he had, instead, strongly encouraged fishing and sailing. He had been pleased when Angus had decided to work for the Lupins' organization as a fighter.

Angus had never been permitted to tell anyone of the righteous work he had done to save the lives of children. It had been necessary to keep the organization secret. And because of it, his mother and aunts and uncles only further isolated him. His father had had to become, on the outside, uncaring, to preserve his marriage.

Angus had been seen, through the eyes of the Donohue family, as the worthless, no count child who would never make anything of himself, and Edward was the only one who had known it was farthest from the truth. Brant only knew now because he had found Angus by finding Edward, but Edward still didn't believe Brant knew it all.

"Brant," he said quietly, putting two slices of pizza on a plate, "you must stop making excuses for not liking people in the past, and decide if you want to like them in your present." He went over and got a bottle of beer to go with his pizza. "And you," he patted Angus on the shoulder, "you don't need to work so hard to be a part. You already are. It doesn't matter if anyone else ever knows the truth. I know, Brian knows, Robert knows--and you know. Someday, you really do need to tell Brant the truth if you're going to live under the same roof."

Escobar came in, and seeing the somewhat deep discussion, he said nothing. He went to the fridge and didn't find the blood supply that Khaat had said she had provided for him. He frowned.

"As you said," Angus said coldly, not wanting to talk about his childhood to anyone--not just Brant, "it doesn't matter." Angus saw the vampire frowning as he looked in the fridge. The last thing Angus wanted was a grouchy vampire in the house. "Its not in there?" Angus frowned. "I'll find it for you."

"Do not make me go hunting," Escobar said sternly.

"You will not need to hunt," Edward promised. If the test tubes of blood could not be found, Edward would gladly donate to the vampire so that he could avoid unwillingly harming anyone and could continue to protect the people in the house.