Marriage is Murder

Jess looekd at Escobar and nodded " of course " she said and watched him draw off more pain " Khaats sleeping herself with the kids snuggled against her." she could not help but chuckle at his fogetting about christmas " its fine Brian I have a feeling you will have plenty under the tree" she told him knowing she ahd her own one for him wrapped and in her closet. " I'll make sure he'll eat " she said and placed the tray down infront of Brian "Might as well start now" she said softly and sat down close by to make sure he ate.

Jack did his work out only noticing out the corner of his eye that Steven had joined him and started his own rutine. " you think this will ease for christmas day?" he asked Steven who looked at him.

"I don't think so , be nice if it did though" he added and continued his work out and moved to the puntch bag.

He did eat, but he wasn't really hungry. He understood the reasons for that. He had hurt for too long and had said nothing about it, and in the time that he had hurt, he hadn't been eating at all--just swilling down potions.

"How did James get to my wife again?" he asked Jess quietly. He hadn't wanted her to try to go anyway. Now he had made up his mind. She wasn't going anywhere. Not unless there was truly no other choice.

He wasn't going to lose her, and he wasn't going to lose his baby. That just wasn't even an option.

"It does no good to tell her, but I'll have to try. I don't want her going out at all unless we have no bloody choice. At least not before the baby is born. Or until James is dead. Whichever comes first."

Jess gave a sigh at his question " they don't know he just showed up at theb department store they were in a shop asistant helped them when he caught up to them in the basement" she said " steven and Jack got the warning signel and went to their help Jack was pissed I can tell you and I think James will be dead before the babys born if Jack had his way, hes some what angry he didn't get him again this time" she told him, " but he knows his time will come." She watched him eat and smiled when he finished "Good , I'll take this to the kitchen, you go to Khaat and sleep" she said softly as she bent down and picked up the tray and turned to walk to the door. " Brian next time come to one of us, were here to help as well , we don't bite." she said and smiled a she headed to the kitchen placing the tray on the conter and pausing to catch her breath a little she was glad he was feeling better.

Brian listened to the briefing Jess gave. How the hell was he catching up with her very single place she went? A department store? Not Diagon Alley? How was he finding her so quickly? He couldn't protect her if he didn't know how he was doing this.

Jess took the tray, reminding him to ask for help. She was right, but he didn't exactly know why he hadn't asked days ago. Except that before, Robert had wrestled the horrid beast that seemed like it was threatening to rip Brian's brains out of his skull when the migraines did come. Robert had always won. But Robert didn't battle the beast this time.

When she left, Brian pulled himself up a moment later and, working to regain his balance, he stepped out into the hallway. He intended to go see Edward, but he met Escobar instead.

"Your bedroom is the opposite direction," Escobar said.

"Uh...yes, I know," Brian said.

"What it is you need to know?" Escobar frowned, feeling Brian's frustrations and his need to know something.

"I need to know what brings him to her so damned fast," Brian said.

"I can answer that," Escobar said. "He's an animal. He knows her. He smells her. He has tasted her blood. He tracks her. He knows her better than any proverbial bloodhound. He is the ultimate bloodhound. Its primitive, but in a magical creature, it is amazingly efficient."

"Could you track her that easily?" he asked

"I am less a beast than he is," Escobar replied. "But, to answer your question, yes. I can. And I have. As for the question you haven't asked, you can not do more than what you're doing. Except perhaps attempt to not ever screw up with what you are doing so that you don't give him an edge. Aside from that, I think you're doing all that is humanly possible. Now--reassure yourself. You'd be amazed at how much comfort you'll find to be able to be in the same room with her. Goodnight."

Escobar pointed Brian towards the bedroom, and then the vampire headed downstairs to go join Robert in going to the greenhouse. Brian sighed and went upstairs to bed.

Jess loked up as she walked out of the kitchen " he finaly went to his room?" she asked knowing by the look on Escobars face it had not been easy to perswade Brian to go sleep. She shook her head and moved to sit down next to Cassidy. " he's not doing himself any favors by not coming to us for help" she said softy as she watched him wait for Robert.

" thats the truth and more" Cassidy said to Escobar with a chuckle " I think he takes after both Kate and Robert for that even though hes not actualy related" she added "Hum..figure that." she said with a soft chuckle. Jess just smiled as she waited for Robert to appear. Jack finished his work out and headed for the pool for a swim. He did six lengths then lent against the side of the pool thinking abouth what had heppened.

"I know very little about him," Escobar said. "Nor do I need to. I think, though, he is fearful that he might lose his wife to James. Perhaps Mr. Quinn has lost someone he loved once before. He seems like he thinks his life is too good to last and that it is all going to slip through his fingers. He behaves as if he's going to lose it and it will be all his fault. He's trying to watch everything all at once. Now, if you'll excuse me. Minister Lupin wanted to go check the greenhouse, I believe."

He went downstairs and found Robert putting on his winter coat.

"Whenever you're ready, Minister," Escobar said. He offered his arm to Robert, who drew back. Escobar frowned. "I am not subject to mortal curses, Minister. Your curse will not affect me." He pointed outside. The wind had kicked up fiercely during dinner. There was very little light outside tonight. The heavy snow storm was blocking the starlight and the moonlight, but even so, Robert could see the damage that was happening to the trees. His best guess was that the wind was over 80 km per hour. They were all fortunate to be in the house.

"You shouldn't risk it for a greenhouse, Robert," Kate said. Robert pointed to the barn, where one of the doors was flapping. It had been damaged. He needed to go secure it before the animals were killed.

"Let us go to the barn and return," Escobar said. He looked at Kate. "He will be safe with me--if he lets me do the apparating. I am capable of this." Robert stood unyielding.

"For God's sake, Robert," Kate snapped angrily. "We need you. Take the help when you can get it, you old fool!"

"You surely can't be that concerned for my wellbeing, now, are you?" Escobar laughed, amused, knowing that, although the patriarch of the Lupin family had no reason to hate him now, Escobar knew there was no love loss there either. Robert scowled at Kate and took Escobar's arm. "I suggest no one go out, and if any of you are capable of adding a shatterproof spell to the windows that you do so as soon as possible."

Escobar apparated himself and Robert out to the barn.

Jack stood drying his hair as he watched out the window he saw Robert and Escobar appear just inside the barn nd sighed feling he should be out there fixing the barn door not Robert. But he knew Robert had his own reasons and didn't question them. He turned and dropped the towel on the end of the bed and walked to his closet taking out several large parcels he made the rest float behind him as he walked down to the large tree in the dinning room and set them down under it one he smiled at it was his gift for Jessica.

" you okay?" he heard Jessicas voice as he then felt her hand on his shoulder, he nodded and took her hand in his own.

" yes I just wish he'd let us do those things" he said and Jess chuckled.

"He wouldn't be Robert if he didn't at least do things himself first. " he dosn't put us in to anything he hasn't done himself remember." she said and Jack stood up and held her close as she held him back. " now let get the rest of those gifts " she siad and they headed back.

"You don't understand him as well as I thought you did, Jack," Kate said, coming in with two mugs of nighttime tea, one for herself and one for Robert. They were very, very hot, bubbling in the cups. She figured he was going to be awhile, and she wanted it hot for him when he came back.

"Jess is right, but that's only part of it," she said, determined to remain calm with him. "Before this, we did live on our own farm, if you remember. And Robert did the farm chores himself. He enjoyed it. It was all he thought he wanted to do with his life. Its how he manages his stress.

"Its just a bloody barn door, Jack. Don't be so critical of him. You have no earthly clue what he lives with, with this curse, how the curse is designed to rip his heart apart. And how he has to keep it inside because he has no voice to speak to utter even the slightest sound of his pain. You have no idea about the torture that is constant in his mind.

"For God's sake," she was frustrated. "The whole wizarding world is counting on him, and he can't help himself. If he feels like he might have some value to us by repairing a barn door, then let him had a moment to work off some of the negativity that he is trapped in. Stop taking everything that does not go your way as a personal attack against you, Jack. Believe it or not, sometimes he has issues of his own."

She sighed, heavily, trying not to be angry with him. It was hard, though. She saw how he was thinning, how he was becoming pale and gray, and how he was losing his physical strength and toning because he was obsessed with research to free himself somehow from the curse.

No one but Kate or Michael understood the deep depression and hopelessness that gripped him, and the dark thoughts that he could not always push aside. It made her sometimes fearful for him, and she had asked Michael to stay closer to him--just in case.

"I'm going to bed," she said abruptly.

She turned and went upstairs, her steps quick on the stairs as she went to her room quickly to avoid become openly angry with Jack. She didn't want to see him anymore tonight or deal with him.

Jess stood frowning at Kate it was not that he didn't understand it was he understood all too well what Robert was feeling being traped in a situation not of his doing and he could find no way out. Jacks situation ate at him day after day with no end insight and he understood all to well that feeling of being stressed to the max. She watched as Kate left thankful she did as she felt the sadness at her words to Jack cut him as if she ahd done it with a knife.

"I..I think I will too." he said and left her side heading to there room to lay down. Jess gave a loud sigh.

" I wish she hadn't said those things to Jack, he was only concerned for his safty nothing more" she said "isn't that our job after all " she said and sat down with Cassidy. " if we can't be worried and protective then why are we here?" she said softly. Cassidy shook her head feeling the tone sudnly go from lightto depressing in one foul swoop.

"God, I hate it when it gets like this," she said laying her head over the back of the couch. " come on...were not prisoners here" she said and looked back up at them "those were her thoughts and opinions and shes welcome to them, I think he just wanted to go out and fix the barn door because he becuse it helps every one including Brian" she added "its human nature, he might be minister but hes still human..I think" she said and chuckled softly.

Robert had managed to fix the barn door and he had returned on his own while Escobar had proceeded to the greenhouse. He had returned just in time to hear them discussing likening their jobs to being prisoners.

Evidently his efforts to go outside had affected everyone. Had irked them. He could say nothing. And even if he could, there was nothing to say. And in listening to them, he had not heard Michael coming back into the kitchen from the pantry.

Robert didn't wait. He merely apparated out.

"No!" Michael jumped, swiping at him to try to catch him, but it was too late. Robert was gone. "Oh, shit," Michael sighed softly.

Upstairs, Khaat hadn't been asleep long when she felt the energy shift. Her father wasn't on the estate. He was suddenly gone. She woke with a start.

"What is it?" Brian woke, laying his hand on her to steady her.

"He's gone," she said, feeling lost.

"Who?"

"Daddy. He's gone."

"No," Brian said. "Not in this weather. He wouldn't do that. And he knows there are very few places he can go in the state he's in."

"I'm telling you he's gone," she said.

"I'll go see," he said, getting up and putting his robe over his pajama pants and his t shirt. He left the bedroom quickly, heading for Robert's bedroom. He knocked lightly and found Kate sitting alone on the bed.

"Where's Robert?" Brian asked.

"He's gone," Kate said. "I just felt him leave."

"He can't go! Not like this!" Brian said. "Where would he go?"

"I have no idea," Kate said quietly, looking up at him.