LONDON CALLING

Marcus was making sense, but it was hard for Angus to let go of his rage.

"He doesn't deserve one more night of oxygen," Angus said softly, staring into his glass.

"Granted," Marcus replied, "but, frankly, I'd rather see him wither away for the next seventy years in a very dark cell in Azkaban. He deserves to get back a little of the darkness he's sown. Killing him is entirely too good for him and allows him to escape any sort of punishment. Men like him need to pay their price. I want to see him in shackles for the rest of his life."

"Is my mother involved?" Angus asked him.

"I don't know yet. I'm looking into that because I want to know the same thing, but I will get you answers. I give you my word," Marcus promised.

"I need to know how deep this goes," Angus said. Marcus gestured for Angus to drink his whiskey, and Angus swallowed the second glass as quickly as the first. Marcus was tempted to scowl a little because he had now had the equivalent of 5 or 6 shots of firewhiskey, and he had no real idea how well Angus did or didn't hold his booze. He had a feeling they were about to find out. He had technically now already had enough to be well on his way to being sozzled.

Marcus cast a look at Jack as if to tell him that if he poured him a third glass, Angus would very likely be completely trashed and probably would just sleep. And right now, that didn't seem like a bad thing. He figured, if necessary, he and Jack could get him to bed and keep an eye out for him. Between sleeping off the booze and then struggling with the hangover, it could possibly buy them several hours until, hopefully, Edward was back.

Jack looked over at Marcus and just nodded for him to do it but Ruby beat both of them refilling Angus's glass quickly and glanced to them both biting her lip like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar. " I know" she said softly as she saw the look Jack gave her. Jack smirked watching all of them and looked abck to marcus and shrugged. " and we'll find that out, and like the rats they are we'll weasle them all out one by one" Ruby told Angus.

"I'll stay close" Jack said and chuckled looking to Marcus knowing all to well the hangover Angus was going to have when he woke hopfully the next day when Edward was home and they could properly talk. Jess from the kitchen took out pain potion and asprin placing them next to a glass of water.

"well looks like Marcus has found a way to keep him here." she said to Michael " and he's not going to want to eat supper tonight." she chuckled" not ocne that firewhiskey hits."

"The Donohues have some very long Irish roots," Michael said with an amused grin. "They're known to be able to be quite fond of copious amounts of good whiskey. I wonder if I should get out another bottle."

"No, one should do it,' Nigel said, coming into the kitchen and seeing the gathering at the firepit. Nigel walked outside and came up behind Angus without Angus having any idea Nigel was there.

"Sleep," Nigel commanded, laying his hand on Angus's forehead, and sending him instantly into a deep sleep that he never saw coming. Nigel took the glass from Angus's hand before Angus could spill it and handed it to Ruby. "It saves me from undoing so much hangover in the morning. He isn't going anywhere anymore tonight. He won't wake for another 10 or 12 hours at least, I promise you because I zapped him pretty hard. I trust you boys can get him up to his bed?"

"Did you need to knock the hell out of him?" Robert came out and looked at Nigel, scowling.

"I wanted him to sleep until at least 8 in the morning," Nigel said. "It was effective, and it won't hurt him. What's the problem?"

"A little less zap..."

"A little less zap, and he'd wake up puking. This should bypass some of that."

"You could have cut that with a hangover relief spell."

"I didn't know there was one," Nigel looked at him.

"You clearly don't do much emergency medicine anymore. You're a bit out of touch, Nigel."

"It worked, didn't it?" Nigel responded, a trifle snarky now.

"If we need to, I'll teach the old man here the hangover spell so he can undo some of the sleep spell if it lingers in Angus's system too long," Robert told Jack and Marcus and Ruby. "In the meantime, he's right. You should just tuck him in for the night if you can manage him."

Jack stood up and moved slowly around behind Angus. As Nigel knocke him out Jack ran behind Angus and grabbed him lifting him into his arms. " all right off to bed." he said and paused looking at Robert and Nigel he sighed ansd shook his head as he walked past. Ruby had been taken off guard when Nigel sudenly put Angus out cold she stood up seeing him fall back but was relived Jack was ther eto catch him as the rwas no way she could have held him up.

"Marcus, thank you." she said and smiled at him thn glared at Nigel before folloeing him into the house. Reaching the room she turned down the bed " I'll take it from here." she told Jack who chuckled and nodded before he left.

Ruby changed Angus into a pair of PJs leaving off his top half before covering him with the sheet and blankets. " sleep well, love" she said softly and kissed his forhead before leaving and heading back down to the kitchen. She wasn't happy but had heard Robert tell Nigel off and that was good enough for her at that moment.

Michael and Kate had stepped in to set up the dining room and to put the spinach salad with the hot bacon dressing into side salad bowls for everyone, and Kate had taken some homemade dinner rolls from the freezer, unthawed them and warmed them, adding a homemade garlic butter and a touch of salt to them. Michael had put his Victoria sponge on the table, and Kate put out a large pitcher of lemonade and one of iced tea.

"We're ready except for your casserole, Jess," Michael said. "I can take it out of the oven if it's ready. "I think everyone is hungry and ready to eat."

Abbey seemed to have a need to visit Fudge regularly, especially at mealtime, to make sure he had food too.

"Stickee! You need noonoo's?" She ran up to the tree and started to chatter at Fudge. Fudge seemed genuinely confused by her asking him if he wanted noo noo's. It made Robert laugh, and he went over to Abbey and Fudge.

"Fudge, she wants to know if you want noodles for supper," Robert told the little bowtruckle. Fudge made a face and blew raspberries at the idea of noodles. "Fudge doesn't like noodles, Abbey," Robert laughed.

"What Stickees eat, Papa?"

"He eats bugs," Robert replied.

"Blech! Yuck!" Abbey said. Robert laughed.

"I don't like them either, but he thinks your noodles are blech. Come with me, and let's see if someone can put you in your chair."

Jess looekd at Michael " that would be good thank you." she said placing the last bread roll on the tray and slipped it into the oven then chuckled " agreed after everything thats happened tonight." she said sending a basket of fresh baked bread rolls to the table." She watched Abby walk over and talk to Fudge she could not help but chuckle as he blew razberrys at her in regards noodles.

"well, we dont all like to eat the same things, Jack likes a lot of meat, where as I like vegtables with a bit of meat, even Ruby probably likes diferent foods to Angus." she explained. Jack walked over and took a bread roll eating it without butter. "and thats something else he likes. " she said smiling as she watched him eat. Ruby walked down to the dinning room and sat down.

"Hes in bed and settled" she said looking at Nigel not glaring she still didn't aprove of his methods to get the desired outcome. " Nigel, do that to him again and I will have you on the deck and possibly under it," she told him " am I understood?" she folded her arms over her chest. " Robert you can stop the nausier and headache tomorrow right?" she asked her tone softler than she had spoken to Nigel.

Michael took the casserole out of the oven and put it on the table.

"Come on, Half Pint," Marcus picked up Abbey. "I bet you're hungry." She nodded.

"We gots noo noos," she told him.

"And how do you know that?" Marcus asked. She touched her nose to tell him she had smelled it.

"Good girl. You're getting smarter every day," he told her. He took her into the dining room and put her in her chair and then fixed her a little plate. "Be careful. The noodles are very hot. Eat your salad and your roll first." She nodded.

Nigel stood and listened to Ruby blasting him about his choices with Angus, and not one that usually favored being undiplomatic, he was one who could make exceptions.

"Well, inasmuch as you feel comfortable in speaking plainly with me, I will respond in kind and respond plainly to you..." Nigel began.

"Oh, no," Robert mumbled quietly, knowing what was about to follow.

"First," Nigel said, "when you have completed your medical treatment and obtained your license to practice, then you have the right to contradict my methods, is that clear? Second, you might be sleeping with him but you are not related, so therefore I do not have to consider your recommendations. I listened to you out of respect but I do not have to follow your wishes. His next of kin happens to be out of the house tonight, so that leaves him in my care until his next of kin reappears. And third, even if Robert knows the spell, he cannot help Angus tonight or tomorrow either one, or have you forgotten? His magic does not work..."

"Nigel," Robert said quietly.

"That's alright," Nigel said, unruffled. "I've said enough of my piece for now anyway.

Ruby looked at Nigel and stood up taking her plate she looked at nigel " I might not be related or married to him and as you oh so rudely put it .. just sleeping with him, but I care about him greatly and there are other healers in this house besides Robert, theres Kate, Jess, Khaat and Kaden, all compitant healers that work for St Mungos, all that can cast the spell under Roberts guidance, Jess has worked with him for years and has on many occashion before you came followed his guidance, so don't come with the high and mighty with me, Robert AIm sorry but Im eating in Angus and I's room ." she grabbed her plate and headed up the stairs and sat down in a chair to eat.

Jack and Jess looked at Robert and Kate " I think we all need to calm down." Jess said softly Jack agreed and ate quietly. Jessie ported in and looked at every one at the table.

"Wow, should I come back?" he said slowly backing out of the room in reverse at the tenshion he felt.

"I think the only one who was angry just left the room," Nigel said. "Come in. You're fine."

"He's right," Robert said. "You're fine. Just a momentary spat between Nigel and Ruby. It's over for the moment."

"It's over because I'm a much bigger prick than she is," Nigel said unapologetically. "Lovely gnocci bake, by the way. I do enjoy the variety you lot enjoy. The food is always plentiful and always first rate."

"Why did you hit him with such a strong spell?" Marcus asked Nigel.

"A reasonable question. In my brief assessments of him since the other night, he is has a lot that he's dealing with. Being attacked and mauled by a wolf certainly was frightening, and its damaged his shoulder. Now, that's isn't to say he isn't mending from that because he is, and right on schedule. However, the other night really was traumatizing for him, as you all have seen firsthand. And now, to find out that everything he thought he knew about his parents was a mammoth lie and his father is not just any criminal but someone relatively worth being afraid of, how bloody much more do you lot expect him to shoulder? And how much less guilt will he feel in the morning if he wakes up violently ill from a hangover if I could prevent that and provide him deep enough of a dreamless sleep and long enough that he would bypass the worst of the hangover? As far as he will know, he'll likely have a headache, maybe an upset stomach but that's a far sight better from what it could have been. To him, its going to be rather like having a lie in after a night too long spent at the pub. So, I prefer not to do things Ruby's way and have him wake up violently ill and then try to undo it. He's got enough on his plate right now without one more thing to feel bad about."

"You do have a point," Khaat sighed.

Jessie walked in and sat down to eat. Jess and Jack staid quiet at the table but Jess spoke up " Rubys just dealing with things her own way right now, almost loing the one good...well second good thing in her life, thats stabalized her" Jess glanced at her and chuckled " not saying your not Jessie. Jessie just shrugged his shoulders.

"Dosn't worry me shes her own person" he said as he bite into a bread roll and groaned. " oh, these are devine" he said and Jess chuckled at his childish tone.

"Thank you Jessie, and Ruby was just as afraid as Angus that she would never see him again after that night" Jess took some of her bake and placed it on Nigels plate then Kate and Roberts beore her own. " she'll come around, I think she handeled it well , if it had been me I would have gone in and kicked his butt for doing soemthig so stupid." Jack looked up and nodded furiusly.

" oh she would have, then she would have healed me and kicked my..butt all over again" he chuckled pulling a face to Abby as he spoke.