LONDON CALLING

Jessie nodded as Robert aproved of his talking with Kaden in Sparks he knew things with Kaden were in a good place right now and he'd continue. Jessie followed Rober to the room he was using and listened as Robert spoke to Remus even he was perplexed as to what the moster in Abbys drawing could be. He gone over all the possibilitys. Vampire, nope, werewolf wrong shape from what Robert had said, A Dementor? na again not black or floaty enough.

Now Jessie had a head ache just as bad as Roberts and sighed " I think the only person who knows what it is is Abby herself." Jessie said " unless..do you have any books she could look threw and point it out, some non scary ones?" Jessie thought that if she saw an image in a book they then could understand what it was and prepare for its arival. Or so he hoped.

"I don't have any books like that," Robert said. "I can always try Flourish and Blotts the next time I get into London and see if they have something like it, but I would doubt it. The incidents of a toddler having such abilities are rare enough that monster books are relatively rare. Maybe Kate has some ideas about how we might get some better ideas. I had hoped my brother would be helpful, but evidently not so much."

He went to the kitchen and found Kate pouring herself a fresh mug of tea.

"Kate," Robert said, "have you seen these?" he handed the drawings to her.

"No," she frowned. "What the devil are those?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"No clue," she said. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

"Please."

"Alright," she said. "Give me a little. I'm in the midst of fixing lunch. I'll talk to her after we eat, fair enough?"

"That's fine. I just don't want her knowing something we don't."

"Agreed. That tends to not work out so well when we simply ignore it," she said.

She made one enormous, beautiful chef salad with plenty of fresh greens and vegetables, and she added some grilled shrimp, some fresh crab, some slices of hardboiled eggs, cheese, toasted nuts, and some homemade garlic croutons. She made three fresh homemade salad dressings for people to choose from, and set out a basket of slices of warm, crusty homemade bread, a tureen of beer cheese soup, pitchers of iced tea and cola, and a big plateful of freshly baked lemon bars. She set it all out buffet style in the dining room, and then called everyone for lunch.

Jessie listened to Robert and nodded " I could go now and see?" he said but when he saw Kate had made dinner he chuckled " or after we eat?" Jack walked back in and cursed softly.

"one of the young wolves took it upon himself to try and assert his dominance with the alpha now hes a rouge, so could have been him who attacked Archangel." Jack went and washed up and to find Jess.

"It sounds like Jack has his hands full right now with the wolves." Jessie said " may I help Ma'am?" he asked Kate if she needed an extra pair of hands to set the table or bring food into the dinning room.

Jess walked out her hands holding several books " well we can rule out these " she said placing them back on the book shelf. " she didn't pay an attenshion to any pictured in them." Jessie moved to help her place them back one he picked up he paused and looked at it.

"What about a beastury for children of magic..um Kaden's mother has one, He told me, I could fetch it, she used it for him when his magic started to show." Jessie chuckled " It helped him understand who was good and who he had to stay away from."

"Thank you, Jessie," Kate said. "If you just make sure there are enough plates and silverware and glasses, that would be lovely."

"Abbey does have some basic knowledge just by what she's seen already here and at her own home. She's seen werewolves, ghosts, wolves, vampires, boggarts, our hippogryff, the unicorns. So she's not completely ill equipped," Robert said. "Whatever she's seen, it doesn't seem to measure up to anything she's seen before. It could be just some of her own imagination. I'm not ruling that out. I'll stop at Flourish and Blotts and see if I can find a book that might be helpful. I know they make bestiaries for children, but to my knowledge, they're for children that are primary school age, not for toddlers. If this isn't her imagination, then I'm thinking its something completely out of the norm."

"She still might be able to understand something if it is depicted simply enough," Kate said. "I could go this afternoon, after lunch. You should rest, Robert. You know that running about with a concussion isn't a good thing. Maybe Jess and Mira and I could go and have a ladies' afternoon out, if you lot think you could manage to put Abbey down for her nap and not set the house on fire while we're gone. What do you think, Jess? Can we trust them? Come and eat, All! Lunch is ready!"

"Chef salad for an army," Robert laughed. "It looks delicious. Thank you, Kate." He picked up a plate and helped himself to a helping of the salad and added some of Kate's homemade raspberry vinaigrette to his salad, and took a piece of the warm, crusty bread and then sat down at the table.

Jesie nodded " I forget that shes that way" he said and went to help Kate with glasses and silver wear for the table. " if you wish I could go with them, like a body guard" he offered " you never know who you might come across." He added as he placed some salad on his plate and added the vinaigrette to it.

Sitting down Jack and Jess entered the room and sat next to each other. "ug rabit food" Jack said but Jess just handed him a plate anyway.

"Its good for you." Jess said but Jack grumbled that he liked steak and chicken practicaly all meats. Jessie could understand but he also knew greens and veg held vitamins they all needed.

Jess heard Kate talk of a girls day out and nodded " it would be good to get out and do some shopping, like a brath of fresh air." she said " Maybe we'll run into Kaden" she said making Jessies cheeks turn a light pink at the mere mention of the his name.

"Maybe, hes on another night shift tonight." Jessie said " but I think right now he's sleeping." Jack looked up at Jessie and grinned like he knew a secret.

Kate bristled when Jack complained about what she had fixed for lunch. She wanted to tell him he was welcome to fix his own food, but she resisted the urge to smart off at him. Besides, there was actually a lot of seafood on the salad, and while it wasn't red meat, it was meat, after all.

"No offense, Jessie," Kate said, "but this should be girls only. Besides, Jess and I are experienced fighters when we have to be..."

"I can hold my own, too," Mira said. "No offense, Tyler, but you look too much like a guy to pass as a girl on a girls' afternoon out."

"Besides, you'd be bored at the salon, I'm sure," Kate added.

Kate saw the grin Jack cast at Jessie. It wasn't such a big secret, not so far as Kate was concerned. Jessie and Kaden seemed to have a crush on each other. She didn't really care what two consenting adults did in private on their own time. That was their own business.

Jessie looked at Mia and chuckled softly as he spoke. "I guess I do, but Ma'am, skin care isn't just for women these days, men, including myself mosterise their skin and get manacures too, but I understand, women only." he spoke softly then looked at Jack " and Jack if you look, there is meat, White meat, you meat head" Jessie said making Jack burst out laughing.

"Yeah I see that now, Kate no offence, the meals realy good." he said to her and ate more " Might have seconds or thirds" Jess slapped his arm and chuckled as she shook her head.

"You realy are a meat head Jack dear" Jess said then kissed Jack cheek before finishing her own food which was some of the beer cheese soup adn fresh baked bread.

" Hey Jessie why don't you run the Assault course after lunch?" Jack sugested " I'l run it with you." Jessie nodded and ate his food silently.

"Its okay, I'm just going to do some more reading." he told Jack thiking of the werewolf book he'd seen in the library. " then I will do a patrol around the farm" he added knowing that would be enough to keep his mind sharp.

"Aunt Kate, is there someplace to find some clothes? I could use some things. My clothes were more suited for desert weather, not so much for England. It's cold here, compared to what I was used to."

"Of course, my dear," Kate smiled. "Gabe, can we pick you up a few things?"

"A sweater and a jacket, perhaps, if you see anything," Gabe said. "I can't tell you how much I like getting some seafood again. Vegas is completely landlocked, you know. They get seafood, but most of it comes frozen. Fresh seafood is a real treat for me. Thank you, Kate."

"My pleasure. Anything else?"

"Don't forget you mentioned to me you're almost out of pipe tobacco, Gabe," Robert said. "Stop at the tobacconist if you can, Kate, and get him a decent pipe tobacco. He's been buying cheap, weedy smelling muggle crap. Get him something worth the effort of smoking it."

"I'll do my best," she said.

"Oh, and incidently, you lot," Robert told them. "You're on your own for dinner tonight. We're dropping Abbey back off to her parents, and I'm taking Kate out."

"You are?" Kate asked. "How nice." She smiled. "Should I wear my evening gown and diamonds?"

"Um, no. More like your jeans and your sneakers," he laughed.

"You're a cheap date, you know," she teased him. "He took us to a chippy on our first date. And that's probably where he's taking me tonight."

Jess, Jack and Jessie chuckled and nodded " Yes Sir, um would you mind if I went to Diagon alley?" Jessie asked " there are some things I would like to Pick up."He asked Robert " Im not intruding on the girls day out, but I realy do need to find an apartment, no offence but I can't live here for the rest of my life." he told them " Plus Kaden said he'd show me the sites, around the alley , kinda orient myself for if I have to go there again."

Jack chuckled as Jess smacked his arm. "There just freinds Jack" Jess said, its good he's got freinds other than work colleages." she told Jack who looked shocked at her.

"wasn't going to say anything" he said "besides I got to sort out that...wolf." he said as he took a third helping of the salad.

"I for one think Abby might let Khaat or Brian know what those pictures are easier than telling us." Jess spoke as she cleared her plate and Jessies from the table. She smiled when he thanked her as he drank his tea. "Ow stay out of Knockturn alley, it dosn't have a good reputation, Its considered disreputable and dodgy, though you can get some uique items there at an exoberent price." Jess said turning back to Jessie

"That's fine," Robert told Jessie. Abbey scowled when Jack said he was going to sort out the wolf.

"Monster," she corrected Jack firmly.

"Abbey," Robert said, "What color is the monster."

"Dark. All dark," she said.

"Big or small?" he asked. She motioned a big, tall, wide space, as big and tall and wide as her little arms would go.  "That big, huh?" he looked at her. She nodded. Gabe finished his salad and stood up to go across the room to light his pipe. Kate noticed this really was cheap tobacco because it caused a rather unappealing cloud of black smoke when it was first lit.

"Like that!" she said, pointing to Gabe.

"Like Uncle Gabe?" Robert frowned.  

"Noooo," she scowled at Robert, looking at him as if she wondered how he could be so dimwitted.

"Oh, like the smoke?" Kate asked. She nodded.

"Well, no wonder she had trouble telling us," Robert said.

"That's not likely to be in your bestiary," Gabe said.