Clueless

"If I get tied up here and I can't go with you, you can certainly take one of the other guards to go with you. They make great pack mules," he said. "You can do the buying and they can carry it back for you. Besides, its good for them to get out and have something else to do besides estate security. Believe it or not, it can get stressful to have to be that alert all the time.

"But, for now, there are plenty of crib sheets and baby blankets in the nonmagical storeroom. Its the door at the very end of this hall on the left." He dug in his pocket and gave her the key. "Here. The magical things are kept elsewhere because we want those things farther away from the kids. But, you'll find bedding, and perhaps some bumper pads and other baby things. I doubt they match anything anymore, but it will serve for tonight. If I were you, I'd draw a fresh age line across the doorway as you go in so that the little ones don't try to follow you. We've learned that one just by experience. Having this many little ones at one time sometimes feels to me like herding cats. I think I'll leave you to it, because I think it would probably be a good idea if I found where the devil I stored all the baby bottles. You know, I'm forgetting something, aren't I?"

She laughed softly at his words and said, "Well I'll make sure if you can't go I take one of the guards. Most of it will be small stuff so there won't be a lot to carry but then again there might be." She thought of the last time she went to the store for decorations, it was a nightmare. "Well you or the guards will have to get the material for the ship, stage, and beds. I don't know where the best place for that stuff is, I'll handle the craft supplies." She nodded at the fact that security sometimes needs a break from constantly being on alert.

"Ok I'll get that sorted out with the bedding for the babies." She looked down the hall towards where the closet would be. She took the key from him and placed it in her pocket. "That makes sense to keep the magical things from the kids. It won't matter much with matching things for now, we'll just get it to where they can sleep in the cribs. The matching can come later. I'll draw one, yeah I kinda remember that from when Rose was smaller. She was almost as bad as the twins if not more so when it came to getting into things. Well herding cats or chasing them either way it's not a fun job to do. If you can't find them I'll see about heading out and getting some for the boys." She thought about what he may be forgetting but came up with nothing. "I don't know honestly, we have everything arranged up here I think. Is it rearranging the bedrooms?"

"Probably," he said. "I'll think of it when it's too late. I can handle the things for the big stuff. That's not a problem. I'll contact the shipbuilders in Italy that we use. They do lovely work, and they like do to original projects. They'll jump at this one."  

As he spoke, he heard the sound of little angry voice. Squabbling. It seemed like that was a frequent thing. Toddlers didn't always share well. He recognized on angry little voice as Abbey's.

"I'll bet you this has Dakota written all over it," he sighed. "It's always Dakota."

"Aggie!" Abbey's little voice started shouting. Her little feet were running down the hallway.

"In here," Angus called. Abbey ran in, fairly flinging herself at him, and he simply picked her up.  He brushed her long blonde hair out of her face and saw she was furious. "What's the matter, Sweetie?"

"'Kota throwed all the berries out!" she blurted out.

"'Kota didn't throw them out," he said, hearing Dakota coming down the hall behind Abbey. "'Kota's not allowed in the refrigerator." He looked at the little fiery red head that was now standing in the doorway. "You didn't get into the fridge, did you?"  

"Yep," the mischevious Dakota replied smugly. Angus narrowed his eyes at her.

"Told you! She's bad!" Abbey charged. Well, Angus understood what the issue was. Abbey liked berries better than anything. Better than candy. There were always berries in the house. If Dakota had been naughty enough to get into the kitchen and throw out the berries, that could rightfully classify as a crisis.  

"You better not have," Angus told her seriously.  "You'll have to deal with me."

"So?" Dakota replied, full of attitude and cheek.

"And then you'll have to deal with Papa," he said.

"I don't care," she huffed.

"Okay," Angus said.  The child could say that now. However, she had never come up yet against her grandfather and won. He looked at Bella. "This should be interesting. Her grandfather doesn't like cheek. I think I'd better go find the berries. Or I'm going to have to make a quick trip to get more." The little girls began to swat at each other, and he reached out to separate them. "And how many do we want?" He asked Bella.

"Isn't that how it always happens? You think of it when it's too late? That's wonderful, I would love to see what they can do." Bella said as she heard an small angry voice like Angus did.

"She's definitely got some fire in her. I think it's cause of her red hair." She said with a small smile. "They always tend to be the cheeky ones."

She looked at at Abbey and was surprised that Dakota threw away the berries from the fridge. She listened to the conversation between the three of them but didn't say anything at the moment. She was surprised even more by Dakota's attitude towards getting punished by either Angus or her grandpa.

"Yes it will definitely be interesting how that one will go. If you can't find them I have some in the cottage that will hopefully suffice for now." Bella saw the swatting beginning and took Abbey and picked her up. She laughed at Angus' question knowing what it was he was thinking. "Well I want at least two, I don't remember how many you said you wanted." She giggled as she made sure to keep Dakota and Abbey separate from one another.

"I don't like her no more," Abbey said to Bella, already sulking. Angus was tempted to want to soothe Abbey, but he resisted. He knew how it always went. Well, almost always. The two girls couldn't be more different. Abbey was all about cuddling with her Papa, reading storybooks, and watching what the grownups did. She was the quieter of the two, but she was also almost always the target.

Dakota was all fire and mischief and action. Pure adrenalin with red hair, energy set to "Zoom" the moment she opened her eyes. As a baby, she was a champion food thrower at every meal. She still resorted to it from time to time. And, without enough activity to keep her redirected, she typically took it out on Abbey.

"Well, she does get it honestly," Angus said. Dakota was technically the daughter of Khaat's adopted daughter Miseria, who had gotten pregnant while she was a 5th year at Hogwarts. Too young to care for the child, she had no choice but to let Khaat raise the child. Khaat and Brian were the only parents the child knew, but Dakota's tireless energy was honestly of her biological mother's.

He thought about answering Bella's question as he reached out to take Dakota's hand. The child drew back one foot, ready to kick him. He stopped short and silently pointed one finger at her in warning, glaring sternly at her. She attempted to stare him down, but in a moment or two, when she figured out he wasn't going to budge, that she needed to back down. She put her foot back on the floor.

He reached his hand back out to her. "We're going downstairs, and you're going to show me exactly what you did, young lady." She reluctantly took his hand. He looked back at Bella. "Before I give you a number, just know that all depends on what they're like." He liked kids, but he had no desire to have a little herd of monsters either.

"Abbey, give Bella a hand in getting some beds ready for the babies that are visiting," Angus suggested. Abbey sighed like she was overwhelmed.

"Did Mama bring us some more?" she sighed, exasperated.

"No," Angus laughed. "Mama didn't bring these. Uncle Mikey is they're daddy. They're just visiting." He looked at Bella. "Okay, I'm going to go hunt berries." He kissed her. "Abbey's good help. She knows where most of the baby things are up here." He took Dakota and went downstairs.

Bella looked at Abbey when the little girl said she didn't like Dakota anymore. "How about you help me up here with a few things? Maybe you'll change your mind after you've calmed down some and had a little break. How's that sound?" She asked her trying to compromise with her to see if she would change her mind a little bit later.

She nodded at Angus' words as she looked over at Dakota and tried not to smile. She knew of a little girl once who was just as much spitfire as the one standing there next to Angus. Seeing Dakota draw back her foot surprised her but then again when a child sometimes was angry they would do that. She had to turn away to keep from laughing at their stare down otherwise she would bust out in laughter.

She watched their interaction and smiled at how well Angus dealt with things. "Yeah at least I got lucky with Rose, who is really sweet and kind. When you figure out that number let me know." She teased him chuckling softly.

She laughed when Abbey asked if her mom brought more to the house. She waited for Angus to respond to her about the boys. "Okay have fun hunting for berries," She said kissing him back nodding at the fact that Abbey was a good helper. "Remember Angus no fear they can sense it." She gave him a wicked grin as she set Abbey down taking her hand.

After Angus went downstairs she led Abbey towards the closet at the end of the hall. Taking the key out of her pocket she unlocked it seeing how neat and tidy it was in the closet. "Alright we have to find little boy clothes and some bed sheets as well as bumpers." She said half to herself half to Abbey as she walked into the closet and looked around trying to find everything she needed.

"Over here," Abbey said, going to a large wicker hamper. "Aggie put some toys for little kids in a box over there." She pointed to a large cardboard box in a corner of the room. Abbey had been in that box before when she'd snuck in here to play. Next to the box was a blanket fort Abbey had made. Inside the blanket fort were a few telltale teddies and duckies yet on the floor where she forgot to pick them up. Around the outside of the fort were the bumper pads, neatly arranged like a fence around her fort.

She opened the hamper, and showed her a large supply of cleanly laundered and neatly folded baby clothes. "'Kota takes keys sometimes. Its a good place to hide when it storms. Or when doggies get in the yard. I don't like them. They're really bad. You need those?" she pointed to a shelf too high for her to reach where crib sheets and baby blankets were kept. "I can get 'em." She knew how to climb up the shelves and pulled some off and handed them down to Bella. "Sometimes they come off the shelves by themselves if I want 'em bad enough. They're not gonna do it today, though."

Bella followed Abbey to a wicker hamper and smiled when she saw a blanket fort. "Ok I'll grab those ones later. First we will need sheets and blankets, I also may need to take those bumper pads unless there's some more hanging around." She said as she looked in the box of toys for little kids and smiled recognizing most of them. Then looked around at the rest of the things before peaking to look inside the blanket fort seeing the ducks and teddies on the floor. "Abbey do you like coming in here?" She asked curiously and thinking of something at the same time. She only hoped Angus wouldn't look at her like she was nuts when she would suggest something to him soon.

Bella looked in the hamper seeing all the clean baby clothes knowing she'd probably have to sort the girl clothes from the boys. She listened when Abbey talked about hiding in here when there was a storm or dogs in the yard. She looked up when she pointed to the sheets and baby blankets, "Yes I do need those." She put her hands out in case Abbey fell scared that she might. She realized that she must have done it a million times. Still she kept her hands out until she was back on the ground. "What do you mean come of the shelf by themselves? You mean when you think about them coming off the shelf they fall off for you?" She asked wondering if Angus knew about it so she thought she might mention it to him.

"Yeah, sometimes there's too many kids," Abbey said. "I like 'em, but sometimes I like it by myself. I miss Papa when he's working. 'Kota's naughty, and Julia is too little. She's just three. I'm almost five. I'm four and a half. But it's a good place for books. See?" She pointed to the fort and the stacks of storybooks she had inside.

She climbed down from the shelf. "The blankets? Yeah. If I want 'em bad enough, they fall down off the shelf. I don't know how they know. But sometimes the cookies know too if I want 'em and they come off the counter. 'Kota can't do it. The cookies don't come for her. Maybe they know she's bad. I dunno. They don't come for her. Then she gets mad and yells and kicks things. Then she get in trouble."

Downstairs, Angus had taken Dakota to the kitchen and saw the large walk-in fridge no longer had berries. He found them, crushed and mashed, in the trash. He scowled at her. He sat her on a chair in the corner of the kitchen for a time out. He was certainly going to have to take Bella up on her offer to help provide berries for Abbey for dinner tonight.

"Would you like somewhere better than this closet to go when you wanna be by yourself?" She asked looking at her wondering if they could come up with a way to get it so Abbey had her own space. She nodded and smiled a little bit at the books stacked in the corner. "How often do you come in here Abbey?" She wondered how much she came in here. If she was in here often Bella knew she would have to find a better place than a closet for her to go.

"Well those must be some really smart blankets if they know you want them." She said as she knew now what it was that was happening. She knew she would need to discuss it with either Angus or Khaat about it, make sure they know about it if they don't already. She gave Abbey a small smile as she leaned down towards her. "I think Dakota just get frustrated a lot and doesn't know how to show she is without kicking or yelling. I think she just doesn't know how to communicate to well with others that why she gets frustrated."


She grabbed everything she would need for the cribs and the boys placing them outside the closet. "Ok let's go get these sheets on and make sure that everything is where it needs to be ok?" She said with a smile. She waited for Abbey to walk out of the closet before shutting and locking the door. She picked up everything and walked down the hall to the nursery to see where the guards put the cribs at. Seeing them she walked over placing the sheets all in one crib. She put the hamper down by the door as she tried to make sure the cribs wouldn't be in the sunlight so the babies wouldn't get blinded in the morning or when the sun would set.