LONDON CALLING

Jessie looked at the sleeping Angus and chuckled " yeah I understad" he said smiling "and so does my sister, trust me " he said listening more he nodded " just like him to care for others before himself but , its not selfish to think of your self once in a while." he said and looked at Ana " if there one thing I know about my sis , she loves him to his bones , she would do anything for him and to keep him safe too, so rest asured she won't hurt him, she's seen that already in him and she isnt one to do that." Jessie said softlyas he took a blanket and covering Angus gently.

Jessie opened the book and began reading once more about the history of Romania and its culture's he found it facinating but after awhile he had to stand to strech his muscles from all the sitting he had been doing.

"I'm glad," Ana said. "He deserves a good woman in his life. Maybe a home, maybe children. Something that unwinds all the ugliness that Benjamin and Eileen tries to fill his head with."

"How long were you two together?" Brian asked.

"Almost ten years," she said. "I was with him as long as I've been with Sergio. It really isn't easy being in a relationship with men who aren't afraid of anything. Angus's only fears really are of himself in one form or another. Sergio? He isn't afraid of anything. At least nothing I've found."

"I can tell you what men like him are afraid of," Brian said. "They're afraid of losing the one woman that has enough strength to be with them. My wife is a lot like you. So is Robert's wife. And they would agree with you."

"It is good to know I have some kindred sisters somewhere."

"Then you need to come to England and meet them. Robert and his family would welcome you and Sergio with open arms. They would like you, I'm sure."

Sergio came back from town with his arms full of baskets and cloth sacks, loaded down with the shopping she'd sent him for.

"I wondered where you got off to," she frowned.

"It takes time to buy out the entire inventory of every merchant in town and haul it all back," he said.

"My poor overworked baby," she said, with mock pity.

"See? This is the reception I get after my mission with you up the mountain and back. I get henpecked." Brian and Michael laughed.

"Welcome to marriage," Brian told him. "It's the way it goes."

"I'll help you put the food away," Michael told her, "and then I'll start on dessert so it has time to bake."

"Are you going to tell me what you're cooking?"

"Well, I'm only doing dessert. Angus has insisted that he is going to do the main course himself. He has something specific in mind. I'll help him if he gets tired, though, so I guess supper is going to be a surprise. Brian is right, though. You and Sergio should come to England."

"It would be hard to leave the children that long," she sighed.

"Bring them," Brian said. "I'm sorry. I should have clarified. I have more than enough room. By all means, I meant you should bring them along."

"Then we just might do that," she smiled. "I want to meet this famous man for myself. I want to see if he is all that the stories say about him. And Sergio wants to see if England is all that we have heard it is. My children want to see it all. We have told them all the stories we know, so now, of course, they want to see all of it."

"If we can bring them, then we will surely come and visit," Sergio said. And soon, because if we wait til winter sets in, we will probably not get back here until the spring thaw. Winters here can be most fierce. Besides, I am most anxious to meet our new employer." He flashed a bright smile, glad to be associated with the people that the locals here called the child finders.

Jessie nodded at Ana " I agree he need to start thinking about the good not the bad." he said then heard how long they were together he was suprised " ten years " he said " thats along time." he listened more and nodded thinking if he had feelings for her for ten years, could he have the same for Ruby only after a few months. Jessie pushed that away and carried on reading but chukaled as sergio returned with almost all of every ones stock of food and was met by Ana" want a hand putting it away and I would gladly be henpecked by Kaden" he said smiling as he moved to help put the food stuffs away.

Once done he sat back down, looking over at Angus he studied his face for any signs he was unwell again or having a fitful sleep.

Angus woke not long after and saw Sergio was back. He had had a thought about a side dish for supper, but he didn't have everything he needed. He pulled Sergio aside and told him what he needed and Sergio motioned to him. The two of them went outside together.

"Now what are those two up to?" Ana scowled. "I don't trust them when they whisper." Michael knew she had them pegged for getting into some sort of mischief. She watched them as they went across the back of the property and into a thick grove of trees. They were gone for about half an hour, but when they returned, Sergio had a about a pound's worth of wild mushrooms tied up in his bandana. Angus thanked him and then set about fixing supper.

Sergio and Ana took the kids outside under a tree in the backyard to help them with their homework. That left Jessie and Brian and Michael in the living room by themselves.

It wasn't long until Michael picked up some very distinct aromas that gave him a general idea of what Angus was cooking. He tried to go out to the kitchen to help but was quickly chased out again.

"He says he's doing this himself," Michael laughed. "He did agree to call me if he starts feeling like he can't finish."

"Then leave him alone. He's in his element in the kitchen. Let the man cook," Brian smiled. He was glad Angus was out in the kitchen because it gave him a moment. "Jessie, I don't mean to be critical, but can I ask--what's your problem with Angus? What has he done to create such a high need for you to try to be so distrustful where Angus is concerned? Since we've got here, you don't seem to trust him any farther than you can spit him. His relationship with Ana was ten years ago. When you love someone that long, your feelings don't entirely evaporate. But he isn't interested in rekindling anything either. Neither is Ana. They're both happy where they are. And forgive me, but Ruby doesn't seem to be nearly as fragile as you seem to think she is. What am I missing? Either Angus is a prick, or Ruby is far more fragile and in need of your protection. Is that it? I really don't get it."

Jessie looked at Brian and shook his head " no its not her , I guess im like him , I don't want her hurt, I know he wouldn't he's been hurt himself and yeah I know it was over years ago with Ana, I get that." he marked his page and closed the book " I guess being here and seeing him with his old flame and hearing her story, as a brother makes me worry, but I know if Ruby were here she's kick my ass for worrying like this and tell me to knock it off, hes a good guy whose had a lot of bad dealings in his love life." he aid knowing it might upset the balance but it was how he felt.

" Here he seems comfortable sure of himself , but with Ruby he seems unsure. aprihensive to take it to the next level, always talking about maybe's and what ifs." Jessie said " Look, I think of him as a brother, Hell if he finally manages to prepose to my sis then he'll be my brother in law, which Im happy about and I trust him with my life."

"Wait a minute. He was with her for ten years, and he didn't propose to her, didn't make any commitment. They didn't get engaged, didn't live together, didn't make any plans to have kids, didn't get married. Ruby came into his life last month, at the beginning of June. And you're comparing the two? You don't think he's happy because he hasn't taken it to the next level? They've known each other for just about seven weeks, and you're wondering why he hasn't...i don't know...what is it you expect him to do? Get married? Have kids? All of it all at once? For goodness' sakes, they're building a house together. They're basically living together. And that isn't good enough for you.

"You know why he's comfortable around Ana? Because there are no expectations being made of him to make a permanent relationship with her. They're friends. That's all. They haven't kissed, haven't made any passes at each other. Haven't done anything that would be any sort of betrayal to their partners. Right now, I feel for him. No matter what he does, somebody is always irked with him because it isn't enough or isn't good enough. Frankly, if I were in his shoes, I'd have told you to butt out a long time ago."

Jessie sat and listened taking what Brian said in, but he was her big brother but all Brian was saying made sence Ruby had already told him they were taking it slow and he'd guessed foolishly it would go faster. " your right, she has her life and I have mine never the twain shall meet." he said " but if she said she felt Kaden hurt me in any way she'd be the same but probably be more vocal about it." he placed the book down and stood up " Im gonna step out foir a bit of fresh air." he said and moved to the back door and out side.

He stat on the steps of the porch watching the stars shot above them , now he wished he had a smoke to calm his nerves down. seeing a packet he retched over and almost took one but at the last minuet changed his mind. He gave a smile as he knew if Ruby was there with them he would be battere black and blue by her for saying what he did. He hung his head feeling like things were on a slope.

Michael got up and went out to the kitchen to see if Angus needed help, and he found Angus with a glass of Sergio's firewhiskey. It appeared that Angus was still working on supper but he was self medicating. Michael didn't blame him one bit and wasn't about to criticize him. So far as Michael was concerned, if all Angus did was pour himself a firewhiskey, he was entitled.

"How much did you hear?" Michael asked very quietly.

"Doesn't matter," Angus said, continuing to work. "Didn't intend to hear anything. Let it go. He has a right to his opinion. I'm only here for the sake of the mission anyway. We're on our way home in the morning, so I'll manage til I get home. I'm making a mess out of the Tyler family, and I won't do this to them. I won't..."

"Stop," Michael said very quietly but with an iron firmness. Michael had lost a great deal of respect for Jessie. This had been a repeated no-bones-about-it issue for Jessie, and it wasn't an off the cuff opinion because he had made similar statements numerous times in one form or another. This was a locked-in belief that Jessie had about Angus, and Michael  had had enough of it and wasn't about to let him continue to take more cheap shots at Angus. Michael was angry, and he wasn't having an easy time restraining it. "Look at me for one moment." Angus didn't reply. He just kept working. "Angus. Look at me." Angus looked at him. "First of all, you didn't pick Sergio and Ana as your contacts for this mission. That was Edward. It's on the itinerary in his handwriting, and he chose it because they were the right locals for the job. You aren't the one stirring up the conflict. That's Jessie's doing. You do not owe him a bloody thing. He wants to be accepted completely for his choices of a partner and how he wants to manage his life but he isn't extending you the same courtesy. He's made it abundantly clear he doesn't want people to be judgmental of him, but he isn't capable of extending you the same consideration. It's rude and hypocritical.

"Here's the thing. You need to look at it because it really is relevant. For some reason, society seems to believe that in gay relationships, once someone makes a commitment and starts to live with a partner that its all good and that's all they seem to expect. Society, by and large, hasn't come yet to expect gay couples to get married and is largely good with them just living together. Nobody holds their feet to the fire and gets pissy with them if they don't decide to marry and have kids. They don't have the long list of old school societal expectations that straights are expected to abide by. And I'm sure I don't have a very generous opinion here and some folks would surely be offended by it, but it's my opinion and I'm entitled to it. It sounds to me like a bunch of reverse discrimination on his part, and it pisses me off. Why the hell is it that even though you and Ruby are living together--the exact same way he's living with Kaden--that, because you're straight and you haven't proposed or leaped into starting a family that he thinks you're a player? Why does he think that you can't have a friendship with a woman without putting the make on her simply because she's someone you used to be involved with? I don't hear anyone getting all bent out of shape because Jessie's in the same room with another man and is comfortable doing so. Nobody is up in Jessie's business because they expect him to put the make on every guy he sees.  No, we haven't given him that judgmental claptrap. He's behaving like a complete jackass. And what gives him the right to think you have to toe the line with all the rest of the traditional trappings of marriage and kids with someone you've known less than two months? It doesn't make you one bit less committed to her. You're building a bloody house with her. That sounds pretty darned committed to me. So, apparently he thinks he gets to decide to make a commitment to just live with Kaden and it makes him successful at adulting. He doesn't want us to judge him on that choice. But, when you make the same exact choice, all of a sudden you're a dangerous tosser and you're only in it to hurt fragile little Ruby so much so that he has to protect her from you? That's complete shit, Angus. Flat out, and it pisses me off.

"You are not in a triangle with Ruby and him, despite what he wants you to think. Your relationship is with Ruby--just Ruby, and the two of you do not have a problem. Your relationship with her is solid. She's not fragile, contrary to what Jessie might want to think. She's a strong, independent woman who can think for herself and is not going to be threatened by your old relationship with Ana that ended a decade ago, before you even met Ruby. Do you think for one single moment that Ruby is going to be okay with Jessie's meddling? I'll tell you what's going to happen. She's going to climb so far up his ass that he's going to need surgical intervention. You don't owe him one single thing. You do owe her something, though. You need to tell her the truth about what's going on between you and her brother."

"Now, that is not something I will do," Angus looked fiercely at Michael. "I know better than to come between family members. I refuse to be a wedge between her and her brother."

"Angus..." Michael tried to reason with him.

"Absolutely not. The subject is closed." Angus said with finality. Michael tried to get Angus to talk, but Angus was done. Period. Michael was livid with the damage Jessie was causing in Angus's life and by the fact that it was all about Ruby and yet no one was even letting her in on the fact that there was a snag that was only getting bigger. They were still two days from home, and Michael didn't believe it could or should wait. He took it upon himself, then, to take matters into his own hands, trusting Ruby would make the right choice for her and Angus. He believed strongly that her commitment to Angus was solid as a rock and that she was not going to see Angus as being any sort of wedge between Jessie and her. If there was a wedge at all, Jessie was clearly trying to be the wedge between her and Angus, and he didn't think Ruby was going to tolerate it. Michael's bedroom upstairs had a small fireplace in it. He left Angus to work on supper and he went upstairs to his room and opened the floo. It was Edward that answered it.

"I can get Robert if you want," Edward said. "What's up?"

"Where's Ruby? It's time she and I had a little talk," Michael said, trying to minimize his anger.

"What's going on with my grandson? If you're asking to talk to Ruby, then this is about Angus."

"He's alright. He's just angry. He's not talking to us at the moment, but he'll get past that."

"That tells me far more than you know," Edward said. "You make sure you get him by himself to a floo later where I can talk to him and where the others aren't going to be privy to it."

"I'll try," Michael said.

"Ruby," Edward called. "Floo for you."

Ruby was humming and making some flat bread for the next days dinner but hearing michael she walked over frowning and concerned since she could hear something in michelas tone that told her he wasn't happy about something. "Im here Michael, whats up?" she asked drying her hands on a towel as she stood wondering what was going on. " please don't tell me something happened to Angus." she said " or Jessie?" she folded her arms across her chest as she waited for what was to come .

"No, not like you're thinking but you need to know that there's a problem with your brother's attitudes and behaviors that are creating some issues here on the mission. The mine is located here at the foot of a mountain, and the Donohues have been coming here for decades to hunt werewolves that were causing issues and rendering what help they could. They've made friends. There is a family here that has operated a waystation in their home to aid people like Edward and Angus. When Angus was a lad, he made friends with the girl in the family. Her name is Ana. When they two of them were teens, they did have a relationship. But--here's the important thing. The relationship ended amicably. They were able to remain platonic friends. Angus even purposely introduced her to the man that she later married, Sergio. They have been married for 8 or 9 years, they have three children, and Sergio and Ana refer to Angus as their brother. There is absolutely no romantic interest between Ana and Angus in any way. That ship sailed ten years ago, long before he met you.

"I know you've known that Jessie has been acting like a git where Angus is concerned because he has this notion that Angus should have married you and gotten you pregnant by now. And because that hasn't happened, and now because we're staying in the waystation at Sergios and Ana's, Jessie has it in his head that Angus is basically a player and is only looking to hurt you. Jessie thinks he has to step in and protect you from Angus's dangerous influences. Frankly, if I were Angus, I'd have beat the everloving daylights out of Jessie by now, but Angus has said he is not going to do anything because he is not going to allow himself to be a wedge between you and Jessie. I'm telling you that Jessie is completely and totally out of line here. Brian has tried to talk to him, but it sounded to me like it fell on deaf ears. You and Angus don't have a problem--except that Jessie is trying to put one there. I have no doubt whatsoever that Angus would stop anyone from meddling in his relationship with you--except, apparently, where Jessie is concerned. Angus isn't going to tell you because he doesn't believe he should because he doesn't want to come between you and Jessie. But Jessie's the one that is doing that, not Angus."

He laid out all the details for Ruby so that she had the full picture. As much as Angus had said he wasn't going to talk to Ruby about it, Michael told her absolutely everything.