Marriage is Murder

"I ask him," Abbey said.

"Not now," Khaat said. "He's working. You can ask him when he's out of his room, okay?" She nodded.

In the meantime, Edward was getting frustrated. They were no closer now to a cure than they were over 9 months ago. Edward wasn't sure how much more Robert could take. He was getting so thin, and Edward was starting to wonder if Robert wasn't getting tired a lot quicker. The curse was either taking a deadly toll or Robert was merely working himself almost literally to death.

"More tea?" he asked Robert. Robert nodded, still relentlessly hunkered over his cauldron, working on a different potion. He yawned, sleep deprived and exhausted.

Edward picked up the mugs and went into the kitchen to refill them. He picked up the teapot and as he did, he heard a large explosion. The potions lab.

"Daddy!" Khaat panicked. Marcus flew, knowing they could not lose their Minister.

Jack and Steven heard the explosion and looked at each other and dove to the lab door Brant joined them together they entered. Brant made the smoke disappear while Jack and Steven picked up Robert and carried him into the living room. " Anyone around!" Jack called out hoping some one with medical experience would come to his aid. Now all he could do was sit With Robert as Steven checked his vitals best he could.

"Hes still breathing thats a plus Jack." Steven said still with his hand on Roberts neck feeling the regular pulse under it as he sat next to him. " let Brant sort the lab" he said but he saw Brant walk out of it.

" I set the room to air out not much else I can do until it does" he told them and stood looking at Robert.

Khaat got up off the sofa, intending to go to her father immediately, but Marcus pulled her back away.

"You can't touch him," Marcus said quietly. "Find your vampire, if he's still around."

Khaat apparated out to the treehouse, and found Escobar had modified it, made it dark, made it a place to sleep during the day. She banged on the coffin lid. "Get up, or I'll turn you into dust! You might not hear anyone else, but I know you hear me!"

A moment later and the lid opened.

"You're rude," he said tersely. "How do you know I can hear you?"

"Because my friend broke my attachment to you. He couldn't break your attachment to me. I need your help."

"Hurt himself again, did he?" Escobar got up. He sighed. "Alright, alright. Then can I go back to sleep?"

"We'll see. He's in the living room."

Escobar chose to fly. Khaat apparated back in. The bat flew in the living room door and took form. He sniffed the air as he looked at Robert.

"Well, that's different. Blew himself up, did he? That's a new one," Escobar said, beginning to tend to him.

Jack and Steven both saw Escobar appear and Jack was relived " yes he did were not sure what potion he was working on or the side affects or if he has any injuries hes breathing and has a pulse" Jack told him "other than that were in the dark" he moved to let Escobar have room to take a look at him. Brant coughed as he then saw Escobar appear in the room.

"We can't go in the lab yet, the smokes still clearing." Brant said moving to stand close to Khaat and Marcus watching and hoping Robert would be okay.

"He seems to be, for him, relatively unharmed," Escobar said. "He's in lousy condition to begin with, but he won't let me help him. The best I can do is get him awake and on his feet. Nothing broken, some cuts and bruises. He's going to feel miserable for awhile."

He laid his hand on Robert and awakened him. Robert woke with a jolt. He looked around, disoriented.

"You blew yourself up, Old Man," Escobar said bluntly. That seemed to take Robert as a big lie. He never blew himself up. Never. Ever. He struggled to get to his feet. Escobar stood up and helped him up.
Robert started down the hall to the potions lab in a hurry. "You're welcome," Escobar called after him.

Robert hurried to the lab to see the damage to the lab. He could smell the noxious fumes of the potion. He went to the cauldron and saw his potion looked like road tar and smelled remotely like rat poison.
To him, this looked like the most lethal concoction he'd ever seen. Certainly smelled like it.

His own aching and fatigue was getting to him. He was tired. He didn't feel well, and he was tired of not feeling well. He was tired of living in a house full of loved ones and yet being so desperately alone. Certainly all they would think was that he had made a miscalculation. It would be so easy. They'd never know the difference.

Edward came in from the kitchen with some wet towels to try to help Robert clean off any potion debris but didn't find him in the living room.

"Where'd he go?" Edward frowned.

"Back to the lab," Marcus shrugged.

"No!, No, no, no!" Edward said, dropping the towels. Just then, he heard horrid screaming from the lab. Robert--in intolerable pain. Edward flew, knowing exactly what Robert had done.

In all her life, Khaat had never heard that sound from her father. Never. Khaat and Marcus flew back down the hallway to the lab, followed by Michael and Brian.

They found him. On the floor. Khaat reached him first, and laid her hands on him. He was still breathing. Just unconscious. She detected that there was some massive shifting going on in his bodily systems.

"What did you do, Daddy?" she asked in a whisper.

"He drank whatever it was he blew up," Edward said, looking into the empty cauldron.

"Oh, God," Khaat said. She used a spell to try to revive him, to try to undo the damage. Her father began to wake.

"No,..." he spoke, his voice hoarse. "No, you can't touch me....Don't..."

"Robert," Michael said, "you can speak."

They froze, a bit stunned, unsure what that meant.

Brant ran to the lab but arrived after the others he smiled hearing Robert " There right, you can talk" he said kneeling down beside him He glanced at Jack and Steven as they too arrived at the door.

" ow thats a turn up what ever it was worked " Jack said to Michael.

" Hey, only so far might not last but god I hope it does" he said and looked to Jack " be nice to have the old Robert back." knowing to stand back and watch from the door way of the potions lab.

"We don't know," Robert said, trying to protect Khaat. "You can't touch me...."

"I already have," she said to him, unafraid. "I you live, I live. If you die, I die. Whatever the curse does to us, it is what it is."

"Wait," Edward said. "You're both energy workers. You know how this works. Khaat, do you still feel the curse in him?"

"Its all muddled. I don't know what it is. Systems are changing..." she said.

"Robert, you're an energy worker. She's already touched you. Is the curse in her? Did you pass it on to her?"

Robert touched her, the first that he'd touched her in an eternity. His fingertips lingered, searching, wanting to be sure.

"No," Robert said finally. "Nothing. Nothing whatsoever."

"Robert!" Kate's voice rose from the other end of the house. Brian remembered she was in her studio working. She hurried to the potions lab. She saw him on the floor, his hands on Khaat's face.

"Kate," Robert said, desperately hoping he could touch her too. Kate hadn't heard his voice in months. It brought tears to her eyes.

"What did you do, you old fool?" she asked softly, trying not to cry. She went to him and simply wrapped herself into him. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Kate, I'm so sorry," Robert whispered. "I don't know if it will come back...I don't know if its over...I dont' know anything..."

"I told you months ago I'd rather have the curse with you than to be without you. That's a far greater curse."

"Alright," Escobar yawned. "I'm glad you're all happy, but you're keeping me up. Can we get the old buggar off the floor, please?"

"Watch who you're calling an old buggar," Robert said, feeling like he was never going to let Kate go.

Escobar felt his forehead as well, "Your systems are trying to realign. No wonder your pain. You need to be in bed. Rest. You know how this goes. You also know how ill you are in other ways. We've discussed this. You need some rest."

"Come on," Kate smiled at him. "I'll keep you company."

"Let's get him to his room," Escobar said. "If there is any trace of that potion left, you lot ought to keep it--just in case."

Brant heard the commotion and the sound of Roberts own voice he paused then smiled he knew what he had to do and moved to the potions lab finding the cauldron he started bottling the potion he found inside it labeling it Lupin curse reversal potion and placing them on a shelf before he went to find Robert. "There all labeled, I double checked that I got every last drop and set the cauldron to cleaning its self" he told him. Steven walked over with some tea for Robert.

"Here this should make you feel better, Khaat you should sit down too." he told her then he looked back at Robert "It's good to hear your voice again even if it might be temporary, but I do hope its not" he said smiling Jack nodded to him as well.

Even though Cassidy had heard the explosion she stayed with the children. She found Ben to be upset by it all but Daniel just giggled as he lay in his bassinet playing with his toes the others drew and painted around her or played games. Cassidy knew to keep them calm.

"Allow me," Marcus said, knowing Robert could not stay on the potions lab floor. He went to levitate Robert, but Robert brushed Marcus's wand tip aside.

"I think I can walk," Robert said. "Just help me up." Marcus complied. "Khaat, I need to remove those scars for you while I can," Robert told her.

"Not now," Escobar said. "You can see to her a bit later." Marcus and Michael helped him to his room. Escobar followed, taking the tea along that Steven had brought for Robert. Khaat wanted to follow, and Escobar looked at her.

"You just had twins yesterday," he said. "Rest. I can do this."

"And I can take care of her," Brian said. Brian took her back to the living room, while Michael and Marcus and Escobar helped Robert to his room and helped him clean up and then made him comfortable. Kate hustled them out of the room fairly quickly so she could simply lay close to him and enjoy being able to touch him and hear his voice again.

Brant busied himself cleaning up the potions lab after Robert left. Steven followed close behind while Jack stayed in the Roberts bedroom feeling too many bodies would make the smallish potions lab claustrophobic. He watched pleased as Robert walked in he actually breathed out feeling like some of the weight was clearing around him. He moved and placed a pillow behind Robert as he sat down.

"Its good to hear your voice again" he said smiling at him but he saw a small face peek around the door and motioned " its okay Abby" he said " hes just a little dirty" he told her and moved back to let her in. Steven moved out and headed down to the living room to stay with Khaat. He knew Brian would not let any one hurt her but he remembered that James was still around and able to enter there building.