Marriage is Murder

It took a few more minutes and then Jeffrey and Robert looked at each other. Robert nodded.

"I've done all I can, Jess," Jeffrey said. "Robert needs to finish the spells he's working on, but I can spare you from the life supports, or I can see to Khaat, but she might be more comfortable with a more familiar face. And that's not mine."

"Just take care of her for now," Robert said. "She's not going to want to be out of eyesight of him until I can tell her something, and I can't blame her."

"How did she break her arm?" Michael asked Marcus quietly. Marcus looked at him and merely shook his head no. That wasn't something that he felt should be discussed now in front of her. That was a detail that he'd talk about later.

Jess looked at Jeffery and nodded "Please see to Khaat, I can hold him for now." she said softly and gave a small short lived smile. She kept her focus while Robert worked on Brian knowing one slip and he would turn the other way. Jack stayed behind her as if on watch over them all.

Cassidy looked at Marcus a little worried he had never kept any information back before but she said nothing. Steven walked up and looked at them all.

"The spare room's ready for Brian when you feel he can be moved, I took the liberty of readying Khaats room as well, I know she'll want to sleep after all the excitement." he told them looking at Brian longer still laid on the deck as he was.

"That's fine," Jeffrey said. He got up and went over and pulled up a chair to sit right across from Khaat. "Khaat, are you hurt? Can I see?" he asked gently. She automatically curled into Michael a bit tighter. Michael whispered a few soft reassurances to her, understanding she was just plain upset.

Jeffrey went to touch her forehead, and she jumped. He paused and tried again. She never moved. He checked her for any other injuries and found, outside of her arm, she was unharmed. He added a calming spell. She grew quieter and heavier against Michael's chest.

He checked her arm, frowning. It was a nasty twist fracture, and he found heavy bruising--a clear hand print. It had been deliberate. He glanced up and looked at the old man and the bodyguard and saw the bodyguard knew far more than he was saying. Jeffrey's mind became immediately suspicious.

Jeffrey knew this fracture wasn't going to be easy to set. He numbed the arm completely and then set it very carefully and set healing spells in place. He splinted it from her fingers to her elbow and put it in the sling. He went to check her other arm for comparative swelling and movement.

"Its paralyzed," Marcus told him. "It's not going to move." Jeffrey sighed, not saying a word. This just wasn't going to be any sort of easy. He frowned deeper. What was she doing trying to dive? She couldn't swim, let alone dive. Marcus cast a strong dirty look at him to warn him off from asking any questions. "Are you finished?" Marcus asked finally.

"Yes," Jeffrey said. "For now." He had far more questions than answers.

"I think I've done all I can for now," Robert sighed, frustrated at all of it. "I don't want to jar him, though. Let's levitate him to move him. Jess, please help them move him and then stay with him. Someone needs to talk to Khaat. I'll be down as soon as I can."

Jess listened to Robert and nodded " Of course , jack and I will see to that" she said and closing her eyes she gently levitated Brian up off the deck " please make sure all deck hands stay out of our way, please" she said Jack nodded and moved to the hall way leaving the door open. Gently she moved him with out letting go down into the ship and to his room Jack held back several man but they stayed once seeing what was happening.

Jack quickly pulled back the sheets and transfigured Brian's wet suit into a set of pajamas. Jess lay him down as if it was a cloud he had been riding on. She checked him again and made a chair move itself to beside the bed, where she sat down. " that you Jack" she said softly.

Robert merely nodded, letting Jess and Jack take Brian.

"Angus, please find Jeffrey a cabin for the night," Robert said.

"Of course," Angus said. He looked at Jeffrey who spoke to Robert momentarily, glancing back at Khaat.

"Let me know if you need me," Jeffrey said.

"I will," Robert said. Jeffrey followed Angus to find a cabin. Robert went over to Khaat. He sat down where Jeffrey had been.

"Sweetheart," he called her gently. "Look at me." She couldn't move, afraid to look at him afraid of what she'd see. He laid his hand on her cheek affectionately. "He's still with us, Khaat. He's unconscious, but he's definitely alive." He waited. She wanted to reach for Michael's hand, but her arm wouldn't move. Robert merely waited, giving her a moment. Then he spoke very softly to her. "I promise you. I am not going to let him die." As soon as the words left his lips, he realized he had just made a promise he might not be able to keep. "Khaat,..." he began. She nodded slightly.

"I'm not going to know anything for hours," he said. "There's nothing to see right now. I want you to rest. We'll be with him every moment, I swear." He looked at Michael and Marcus, and he saw Marcus was holding some sort of information. "I'm going to have Michael stay with you. Marcus--a word, please."

"Of course," Marcus said. He got up and walked out of her earshot with Robert.

"Alright. What am I missing?"

"I was there," Marcus said. "She was completely hysterical. She wasn't going to leave him, and he knew. They both knew he was going to die, and he knew she wasn't going to let him go. He broke her arm. He did it deliberately. It was the last thing he did."

"He was saving her," Robert breathed.

"Yes," Marcus said. Robert took a moment and looked at Marcus. This was going to take time for anyone to get over. Robert could see himself being in Brian's place and choosing the same thing to save Kate if he had to. But, for the life of him, he could not imagine being in hers.

He merely turned and walked away, not saying a word.

Jess kept an eye on Brian even with Jack glaring at her from across the room. She gave a sigh " jack I can not focus while your standing there glaring, now, speak or leave?" she said softly to him her head tipping ever so slightly but her focus on Brian.

" we need to talk once this is over" he said and she nodded her head.

"of course Jack," she said softly to him." But please stop frowning it's giving you wrinkles and gray hairs." She said a warm smile crossed her lips as she looked over at him. Jack smiled back at her and chuckled shaking his head. After all she had put him through he still felt that warm tingling feeling around her

Both of them could hear Marcus and Michael in the second room talking but chose not to listen in as it was none of there business. Steven and cassidy began to tidy up the deck Steven being extra careful with the trap he had it taken to the hold so if Robert wanted to study it more he could.

Marcus returned to Khaat, picking up a bottle of firewhiskey from under the bar on the deck, along with a glass and a straw. He sat down with her and poured a glass of whiskey.

"Your father wouldn't agree with this, but you're entitled," he said, pouring her a glass and putting the bright little red and white straw in the glass. "Here. Try this." He fed her some of the whiskey through the straw. She was grateful. He noticed she was just silent now, and he knew that was the severe upset and shock.

Robert took his usual, business-like, strong strides as he headed towards Brian's cabin. He passed Angus in the hallway.

"Angus," he ordered. "Find me a damned pack of cigarettes. Now."

"Yes, Sir," Angus said, knowing that Robert's smoking was even more rare than Brian's. It took him a lot more to reach that edge. "Consider it done."

"I'll consider it done when I have them," he said.

"Lighter?"

"Matches," he clarified.

"Matches. Roger." Angus headed to get them for him--before Robert got seriously cranky.

Jess heard Roberts voice out side the cabin door before it opened and she just sat one hand on Brian's shoulder skin to skin so she could keep better control. " vitals are remaining steady" she told him Jack stood back in a corner and folded his arms across his chest as he stood waiting to see what Robert was going to do.

Jess had heard him call for cigars and she had never head or seen him smoke. This was a first for her and she just looked into his eyes and nodded. He needed it. Jack moved closer to Robert as he spoke.

"How long do you think he'll be like this?" Jack asked as he saw Jess shift in her seat at the question.

Angus went quickly to the ship stores but didn't find any cigarettes. He remembered his brother smoked. He had seen his brother put a new pack of unopened cigarettes in his pocket that morning. He went up to the deck and saw Evan putting away some of the dive gear.

"Evan," Angus said. "Give me your cigarettes--before Robert comes unhinged."

"My...oh. Sure." Evan fished the generic, cheap off brand cigarettes out of his pocket an handed them to Angus. Michael happened to glance up and see the brand Evan was giving Angus.

"Oh, lord, don't give him those," Michael scowled. "He'll do worse than come unhinged. Here." He fished out his silver cigarette case with his hand rolled Italian cigarettes. "Give him those. I've got more. And here. In his mood, he's not gonna like a lighter. He'll want old fashioned matches." He handed him a book of matches.

"I'm not going to ask you how you know that," Angus said with a slight frown. "If he's smoking, what do I need to know about that?"

"Oh, that's simple. Don't piss him off," Michael said.

"Can we do anything for her?"

"Don't run out of whiskey," Michael replied.

"Are you ever serious?"

"Oh, I'm perfectly serious."


Downstairs, Robert listened to their question about Brian. "I would guess we might not know much until tonight or tomorrow. The next two or three hours will be the toughest until the spells get a good grip on the repairs to his systems failures. If he lasts the next six hours, we might be able to breathe a bit easier."

Angus brought Michael's cigarettes and matches to Robert. Robert took the case and the matches and put them into his pocket.

Jess stayed quiet monitoring Brain and nodding at Roberts words. " hes steady still , thats a good sign" she told him as she moved to place her hand on Brian's abdomen to remove some trapped air she had found. Sitting she looked at Robert. Jack ed the door for Angus and the cigarettes and matches he could see by the look on Roberts Face he was not happy at all and he stayed quietly stood near by.

Steven and Cassidy sat out on the now clean deck and watched he sun. To them it was now warm and he sat with his arm around Cassidys waist. " I do hope Brian is okay" Cassidy said softly Steven pulled her against him as he sighed.

"me too, I hope both of them will be okay after this" he said Cassidy nodded and let her self lay against his shoulder.