Marriage is Murder

Edward had only been a widower for three, almost four, years. The fourth anniversary of his wife's passing was coming up soon. He didn't like to think about it. He didn't look at Brant when Brant asked about whether Edward had ever felt love.

"I was married to your aunt for over 50 years," he replied. "Nobody stays married that long unless there is something there." He didn't mind thinking about Caprise, but he certainly didn't like to think about her death, nor about being without her.

Edward wasn't going to give an opinion about Brant's meeting a woman in a bistro. He wasn't going to judge whether Brant was feeling love or whether he was just on the rebound. Amelia hadn't been gone that long from, more or less, leaving Brant just before their forced marriage. Only Brant could answer that question.

Upstairs, in Khaat's room, Marcus read a letter from Poppy. He could hear, in her words, her hunger to get to know her real father. Marcus had inadvertently made a strong impression upon her. His introduction to her had been saving her from James Blood. His second meeting with her was saving her from not merely the submerged Hogwart's express but then, moments later, James' attempt to kill her again.

For Poppy, she saw Marcus as a hero. A man who had rescued her, within days, multiple times. And a man who was promising, with all genuine intent, that he was going to be the father she'd had a right to have and never had, and that, no matter what, he would always, always come for her if she needed him.

This letter talked about her insecurities in being a first year, her doubts about being at Hogwarts at all, and her wish that she could be with him instead, getting to know him. And, frankly, if James could enter the school grounds so easily, Marcus didn't want his children at the school at all right now.

He read the letter over and over, wanting to find the words to reply to her in a way that gave her hope and comfort. As a very protective father over his tiniest child, he was finding the words just weren't going to come easily today.

Brant stood and listened he sighed and nodded. "I remember her vaguely" he said softly "Father told me she passed over, sorry about that." He said and he looked at his feet " I'll ....I'll figure this out, I'm...I'm not rushing it. we're just friends with a lot in common for now and I'm not on a rebound before you think that, there was never anything between Amelia and I, it.." He chuckled softly " I guess it never got a chance." He stopped talking and stepped back a little his hand throbbed a little reminding him he had to apply his lotion to his hand again. He raised his hand and moved his fingers they felt a little stiff.

He accepted Brant's condolences, but didnt' really reply. He listened to Brant defending himself before it was necessary.

"I'm not making judgments," Edward said. "You're a big boy. Your life is certainly your own. I didn't know Cooper except for a couple of times when I'd fought alongside her. So, I can't comment on your relationship with her. And I don't know this new woman at all, so I can't comment on her either. Nor is it my right to do so.

"Nor am I saying that you should be alone all your life either. Not at all. I'm not making any opinion because I don't know enough.

"What I do know is that we have fields to harvest, and I'd better lend a hand. They need the help, and its good for my muscles and joints to keep them in shape." As he spoke the other Donohues arrived, and Edward assigned them, at least temporarily to some of the different fields. He headed to the fields himself and then looked back at Brant.

"Coming?" he asked.

Brant stopped talking and looked at Edward, he took a deep breath in " sorry I tend to over think and over talk when I'm nervous and I found it therapeutic, gave me time to think while keeping my hands busy." he said chuckling then smiling as he saw he others arrive. He watched as Edward walked towards them and he stayed stood still for a moment, then he heard Edward ask if he was going with him and smiled nodding.

"sure, yea, I'm coming." He said and moved to Edwards side , he was still not sure of the reception he'd get but he wanted to show he was now stronger to the family. He walked next to him and smiled at his relatives leaving Edward to explain

"I try not to overthink," Edward said. "'Gets me in trouble. I most often get to the wrong conclusion that way. For me, gardening helps me to get perspective. You need to find what does that for you. Now--I'm going to go back and pick a few bushels of perspective. I don't know about you."

He motioned his family members into the fields, wanting them to work first and have family reunions later.

Marcus finally put pen to paper and wrote his new daughter. He tried to write a letter to introduce himself a bit better--a bit about himself and her new siblings, and what they were all like. He was hoping to perhaps introduce her to them at Christmas, and, he hoped to have an apartment by then--at least to give Poppy some sense of permanency with him. Even if all he ever used the place for was for weekends and breaks when he got to spend time with her. It was something, though. And he already had talked with his parents, who were busy adding room for her at their place so she could freely visit them too and her other brothers and her sister.

Khaat woke, and yawned sleepily. "Well?" she asked him.

"Huh? Well what?" he asked, clueless.

"When are we going apartment hunting?"

"How do you know about that?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "First, I"m not stupid. I know you. Second, you're a good dad. I know what a good dad in your situation would normally want to do. And, third, I am a seer, for Pete's sake. When are we going, then?"

"I've got no idea," he shrugged. "What's up with your father? He's very, very preoccupied."

"He's aggravated," she said. "I can feel it. Its the same feeling I get when he feels he needs to bring some difficult chess game to an end so he can get on with something else."

"He's not got a game going right now."

"Maybe he does. Maybe this is about Gideon Pierce."

"Ah. Well, now, that could be well be," Marcus nodded. "So, how do we help."

"We just be ready to follow down whatever bizarre path he's ready to take," she sighed.

Brant listened and sighed nodding as Edward spoke. and smiled " I'll join you, it did help" he said and followed him back to the fields to continue picking tomatoes. As he picked he thought long and hard about Chocola, he could not stop smiling.

Jack saw the other Donahue members arrived and walked out waving to them as he returned to picking Pumpkins. " hey Edward you seen the announcement, Gideon's called a press conference, its in the paper." He said reaching down to pull out another pumpkin and placed it in the cart nodding to a young man next to him as he grasped two together and pulled , his muscles strained but he found the work out a good release, he always liked a work out.

"You and Steven haven't read the new laws, then, Jack," Edward said. "One of the new ones affect both of you--significantly. Gideon has reclassified anyone who has any sort of non-human element to their blood as being subject to the Department of Magical Creatures. In short, Mr. Pierce has caused you both to be reclassified from human beings to animals. You, because you're a werewolf, and Steven because he is part veela. I would certainly think you would both be interested in whatever atrocity he's going to commit next before it affects you and your families even further. You might indeed want to consider going to that Press Conference. Especially since Robert does seem to be working extraordinarily hard on something. That usually means he's up to something."

Both Jack and Steven chuckled and nodded " yeah we have and we both think its stupid, we are human not animals we don't walk on all fours well not all the time in Jacks case, I never do that" Steven said " why can't he just leave things alone, this isn't gonna go down well with the others I'm expecting trouble at that press conference.

Jack gave a low growl and shook his head as he listened and sighed " yeah, we have families, I haven't hurt any one that didn't deserve it and Robert didn't tell me to, no innocents have died by my hand." He said as his arms folded across his chest. " I was told by Robert years ago, I am not an animal I'm a human." Jack spoke the pain and being classed as an animal opening old deep wounds. As much as he hated this he was not going to let the beast inside him show its ugly head, he had promised Robert and he would keep it to the day he died.

"You're both unnecessarily defending yourselves," Edward said. "You are both remarkably protected here on the estate. Its unplottable and covered by one of the heaviest protection grids I've seen."

Edward didn't know if Jack had read on the "Dead or Alive" warrant for the capture and/or killing of all werewolves that Gideon had issued, but Edward wasn't going to add fuel to that fire unnecessarily.

"Even if Gideon wanted to come here, he would have to find it first and then find a way in. And, unless he's found a way to do that, I suspect you're safe. After all, these many crops you're supposed to be harvesting are part of Brian's self sufficiency efforts--so that the estate doesn't depend on anyone or anything and can run indefinitely without anyone leaving its protection if need be.

"So, if you want to be safe, I suggest you pick those pumpkins a little faster," he teased.

Brant stood and listened to Edward knowing he was right. Jack relaxed and nodded he understood." that dead or alive order is a joke, it means I can't show my face outside here, even Steven whose half veela is in the same boat. " he said softly as he tugged another pumpkin from the ground.

Steven just chuckled and pulled one free of the ground. " Doesn't bother me one bit Jack, Cassidy knows the law as much as I do, I am worried for John being in Hogwarts, what will they do but not much I can do but wait it out." He looked at Edward " Laws come and go and this one... will surly go." He added