LONDON CALLING

Jess chuckled at Roberts comment and Kates reply and watched them leave. At Abbys responce she accioed a bowl of popcorn for Mia and berrys for Abby. " at least she eats healthily most kids nowerdays just want chocolate or junk food, is nice to see her eat good food, check the highest cupboard Gabe." Jess said just as Jack walked back in.

" ah movie night." he said " oh not see this movie." he chuckled seeing the cover " a red panda?" he asked and Jess shook her head at him.

"just watch the movie" she said and he scooted closer to her his arm drapped over her shoulder.

"yes dear" he said softly as he let Jess lean her head against him.

Gabe did indeed find Robert's junk food stash.

"Good lord," Gabe laughed. "He's got enough to feed all of us--for a week. Let's see what he's got. Didn't know they made a Quality Street box this darned big. I'm snatching it. Oh, and hey, look at all this Cadbury chocolate. I've hit the motherlode, I think. And look here, a big bag of cheese crisps. This might do us for now, if we can find some fizzy drinks."

He hauled out the crisps and the candy, and brought them into the living room and put them on the coffee table, and then he checked the fridge for fizzy drinks.

"What's he doing with beer in the fridge? Oh, wait. This explains it. It's American beer. American beer served warm is utter crap. That stuff needs to be icy cold. Ah ha! Fizzy drinks! We're set. Mira?"

"Cola for me if there is any," she said.

"Yep. Anybody else?" Gabe asked.

"Beer!" Abbey piped up. Mira laughed.

"You just heard us talking about beer," she said, tickling Abbey til Abbey giggled. "Your gran would have our heads if we gave you beer. You're a little ornery, aren't you? Is she allowed to have part of my cola, Jess?"

In the meantime, Robert ported Kate to a quiet little sidewalk cafe in Paris for a lovely candlelit bistro dinner, served with a bottle of French champagne just because it seemed to go with the dinner. He hoped they could take a leisurely walk on the champs elysees after dinner before they had to head home. And--he seriously hoped that Tom Gelding was still stuck to his ceiling enough that he would not interfere with their evening out.

Jess looked at Mia and nodded " Cola is fine but not too much, a child her age should not have a suger rush at her age." Jess said Jack looked where Gabe wqas looking and laughed at the size of the containers.

"wow those must be a months supply," he said walking over and helping Gabe with some of the containers and drinks. " oh I'll try a beer" he said and took one" but only one" he added seeing Jess's face as she looked back at him s her took a bottle and popped it open.

Returning to the sofa he sat doan again as Jess pored evry one a drink of cola including Abby in her sippy cup.

Jessie sat on his bed reading as he looked up at the picture on the mantal " so any advice?" he asked it not sure if it would actually reply or just ignor him. He finished one page then turned another. He ehard the TV in the living room and wondered if he should join them, he decided not to letting them have there fun.

"My best advice? Don't be a slave to it," Remus said. "Don't stop living. That's the thing I would do differently if I had the ability to do it all over again. The curse doesn't make you less of a man. You become less of a man if you surrender your humanity to it, if you continue to think that the curse defines you and puts limits on your life. Stop thinking of life in the framework of only what you can no longer do. It isn't going to matter if you can't ever take a walk in the moonlight with your partner. If you have a partner that only wants you for walks in the moonlight, then you need to get a partner that isn't so shallow. Frame your life in terms of all the things you can do, and then start doing them."

Abbey was glued to the movie, as much as any three year old could be, but then, part way through, she lost interest and went into the kitchen. Mira could still see her from where she was sitting. There was a loud noise in the movie, and it distracted Mira for only a moment, but then she was alerted back by the sound of a barking dog. A little barking dog. The kitchen door was open. and Mira didn't see Abbey anymore.

"Oh, no!" Mira panicked, getting up and racing out to the kitchen. "She's gone! Auntie Kate is going to kill me. I looked away only for a moment, and she's gone! I bet she went after that dog..." She ran outside but she didn't see Abbey. All she saw was a little beige dog dashing off into the darkness.

Jessie listened and nodded " but how do I tell them, him, what I am, can't just casualy drop it in, 'oh hey by the way Im a werewolf' " he said closing the book and placing it by the bed. Sliding down he rested his arm over his face. " guess Im going to stay singel for the rest of my life," he said softly with a chuckle.

Jess started the movie and the music started " all right settle and enjoy" she said leaning comfortably against Jack. Jack picked up his bottle and took a drink while Jess ate some popcorn.

"This reminds me of our first date" Jack said to Jess who laughed and shook her head.

"nope it was way worse, Remeber the fireworkd and the out door music." Jess said " or the fight you got into before the concert and I had to patch you up after." she chuckled as did Jack.

"yeah, well this makes up for it, big time" Jack said smiling as he lent down and gave Jess a kiss then watched the movie again.

"Don't be a dolt," Remus said. "Better than your potential partner find out before they wake up next to Big Nasty & Hairy. If your partner can't accept that you have a condition that needs medical management, then your partner needs to move on until they find somebody perfect. And that's the whole point, isn't it? Nobody's perfect. If your partner isn't ready to accept that, they might not be ready for a relationship...." Remus paused, listening. He pointed to the figure of Mira dashing out alone into the pitch black night to try to find Abbey.

"Hold up," Remus said sharply. "Listen! Mira's in trouble, and Jack and Jess aren't paying attention. Mira is shouting about Abbey getting outside to chase a dog. Abbey is a metamorph, and Mira doesn't know that. You don't know if Abbey is running out into the dark to chase a dog or if Abbey IS the dog. Jack's not on it, so you have to be. Somebody has to find that three year old. Robert's farm is a big place with its own set of dangerous things and places, and it isn't lit like Brian's farm is. Quickly! Go! Find my great niece!"

Jessie sighed and looked at Remus " so your saying I should just tell him..um I mean my partner?" He looked out the window and saw Mia run out. Slipping from the bed he pulled back the curtain and quickly headed to the kitchen door and out side. " Mia where are you, you shouldn't be out side, Abby inside nows not the time to play." he called out heading in the direction of Mia. Taking out his Bo he enlarged it and held it as he moved " I have berries Abby" he called hoping to bring her running back for them.

Jack heard Jessie and moved quickly out the door to stand with Jessie " go left I'll check the barn and veg patch." he told him Jessie moved into the night his eyes seeming to adjust by them selves to the dim light as he called for both Mia and Abby. He caught scents on the wind but none Abby or Mia, He moved around to the pool feeling if she was any where she might be in the water since she changed into a lab, they love water.

"I don't see her anywhere!" Mira shouted, panicking.

"Mira!" Gabe came outside, his wand lit. "Robert said Abbey is a metamorph. What sort of dog did you see?"

"A little one, like a pup. Sort of sandy colored," Mira said. "What if we don't find her? What if something happens to her?"

"We'll find her. Which way did she go?"

"That way," Mira pointed towards the woods.

"Go inside in case she comes back. I'll go check the woods," Gabe said. "Jack! Jessie! Mira said the pup headed into the woods! I'm headed that way now!"

Gabe headed into the woods, doing his best to try to spot some sort of a tan colored puppy as he went, calling for Abbey. The further he headed into the woods, he started to hear the sounds of a small barking dog, a little dog trying to sound big and fierce. Somehow, that wasn't reassuring. It told him that maybe the little dog was in trouble.

"I hear her!" Gabe shouted. He came upon a clearing, and what he saw made his blood run cold. Even in the starlight, he saw a black cloud that seemed to block out anything behind it, and it was oozing over the ground slowly, like a moving puddle of sorts--and it was heading right for a little labrador pup that was standing in front of it, growling and barking and trying to take a stand against it. He had never seen such a black cloud, and never one that could be even darker than night. Clearly, this was not good at all. How did one battle a cloud, for heaven's sake?

Jessie heard Gabe and ran back to where he knew the woods were. " thats not good the wolves are out there." Jessie said as Jack joined them and together they walked to where the little dog was barking. Jack moved quickly and picked up Abby.

"its okay Abby we got it now." He told her gently as he held her gently but tightly so to hold her. He loked over at Gage and nodded " you got any gadgets?" he asked watching this thing move as he tried to keep it away from Abby.

Jessie moved infront of Jack and spun his bo in a cercle causing a blast of wind " might keep it away for a short time." he making it spin faster and faster in the hopes the movment of air would push it back away from them all.

In his own way, Gabe was impressed by the bravery of the little pup. He didn't know of any three year olds that would go dashing off into the dark, but, truth be told, he didn't know of a three year old metamorph either. And maybe it was just in the Lupin bloodline that they ran towards the monsters and not away from them. Was it a Gryffindor thing? Or maybe Lupins were just crazier than most. Still, the little pup hadn't quit wiggling to try to get away from Jack, and she kept barking, snapping, baring her teeth, and growling at the black cloud, as if the cloud should be deathly afraid of it.

"Not on me, but I do have a wand," Gabe said. "Let's try this. Vento Duo!" he cast the hurricane force wind spell at the cloud to add it to Jack's spell, and between the two, It caused the cloud to lose its strength, causing it to dispel. "Protego Maxima!" He cast the first of three protection spells. "Fianto Duri!" he followed the first with the second. Then he looked at Jessie and Jack and Mira. "Now, with me, cast the spell I cast next, and fire your wands in the same place I fire mine. We're going to cover the farm with a protection net." He looked at them to be sure they understood. "Repello Inimicum!" He watched the sparkling protection net start to form in the night sky over the farm. Mira fired the Repello Inimicum spell and joined hers with Gabe's, and it started to make the grid bigger over the farm.

"Hold it there, Mira, until Jessie and Jack cast theirs. When the grid covers the farm, we'll know. Then we can stop firing the spell," Gabe said.


"For a little squirt, she sure means business," Gabe couldn't help but laugh. "I should be angry with her, but, honestly, she impresses the daylights out of me. I don't know of any other kids her age that would try to go out and deal with something like that. Heck, I don't know of a lot of grownups that would willingly do it either except for crazy blokes like us."

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