A Birth day

Ruby smiled and nodded "agreed, Angus does not do anything without reason" she said to Simone as she heard Anise walk down to them " I feel having a second skill is a good thing, never rely on one alone, as it might fail,and where would you be then" she said watching as the pizzas arrived pipping hot " oh lovely" she said taking her pizza and placing it on her plate she chukled and nodded to Simone seing Anis's eye's light up a the sight of the cheese stretch out before her. " oh its the best" she said bitting into hers after it had cooled a little but she enjoyed it none the less. " it realy is begining to feel like a girls sleep over" she said and chuckled "we should do this more often" She ate a seconds and sat back smiling at how calm she now felt.

Jessie walked to his cabin and sat down on teh couch while Yu made them some supper " gods Im going to feel that run tomorrow " he groaned making Yu laugh.

"maybe ask Kate or Jess for some pain relif" he said " and it serves you right, she's fast and good at that" he said Jessie laughed and nodded.

"yep, love her sass with Marcus and David." he said as Yu handed him some food " love your sass too" he added making Yu laugh.

"I'd like that," Anise said. She heard a noise, like a light tapping on the windows. It alarmed her at first. She jumped.

"It's alright,' Simone said. "Go ahead and look out. It's just a little shower. That's rain against the windows." Anise got up and went to the windows and looked, putting her hand up to the glass.

"I've never heard it from indoors before," she said softly. "It's...amazing. Like music. I heard the furnace turn on last night. I thought it might be a dragon for a moment."

"I used to think that when I was a child," Simone said. "I used to dream about dragons in my sleep, and my dad figured out I was hearing the ruddy furnace. So how did you figure out it wasn't a dragon."

"Felt the heat coming up through that thing in the floor."

"Ah. Depends on where you're from. Some people call them vents, and some call them registers. But I'm glad you figured it out."

"Well, I had help. Finn must have been cold because the big doofus went over and laid on it and blocked my heat," Anise said. Simone laughed. At that moment, David arrived.

"Sorry. Was making a security check. Looks like we're all secure for the night," he said.

"Thank you. Now, grab yourself a soda, a plate, and some pizza. We went to great lengths to make that pizza and put that in that pizza parlor box," Simone teased him.

"And, funny, but it looks just like the real thing," David laughed.

"That's because we're good like that," Simone said. David smiled and got a soda and a plate and a couple slices of pizza.

"So what do you guys do for fun?" Anise asked.

"Sports, cards, games, puzzles," Simone said. "There are a lot of interests. Kate likes a lot of crafts--weaving, sewing, glass making, jewelry making, sculptures. Michael likes reading and listening to music. Robert likes reading. Edward likes star gazing. I like cooking and crocheting and knitting. Everyone likes different things. What do you like?"

"Sports. Running, climbing, wrestling, sparring, hunting, fishing..."

"You're a tomboy, then."

"I'm a what?"

"You like doing what the boys have traditionally done."

"Well, yeah. Mom made me do some of the female's work because she said if I stayed with the pack, I was expected to know those jobs too. Ginger's better at those things, though. She said the pack was more divided by gender than humans are anymore. Maybe that's a good thing."

"I think so," Simone said. "It's a matter of not discriminating against others."

"I get it," she said.

Ruby sat and listened to them tlaking and chuckled " I like the sound of rain too , its calming to be" she said waling over to the window and opening it slightly so they could hear the sound of the rain on the leaves of the trees. I close my eyes and imagine Im stood in a forest and it calms be right down" she said then smiled hearing Anise and Simone " yeah it is good , all of us here don't discriminate, if Caprice wants to run around in the mud , so be it , if she wants to wear dresses and play with dalls its her choice" she said smiling " just as it is your for who and what you will become" she moved to sit back down to finish her pizza.

Once done she looked at them both " if you don't mind I'm beat I'll see you in the morning." she said and moved up the stairs to check on Caprice to find her still sleeping and she smiled closing the dor behind her and moving to their room which now she found to be very empty with out Angus.

At 4:30 am, Anise had gotten up and dressed and had made her way to the running track. She was five minutes early. Robert was already there, dressed and ready to go. When he saw her coming, he checked his watch.

"On time. Good. Now, do you think you can defeat me on a run?" he asked her.

"Well, that depends," she said. "Am I running with you or against you?"

"Excellent. The proper answer. Which would you prefer?"

"Whichever helps us to get to know each other better," she replied.

"Clever girl. Another good answer. Well, we can compete another day since I saw you run yesterday. Why don't we just run together and get to know each other today?"

"I'd like that," she smiled.

"Let's go then," he smiled. "I can't make it a long run this morning, I'm afraid. I have a business meeting at 7, but lets' enjoy it anyway." He set the pace and the stride, and she joined him, stride for stride.

Angus woke, a bit later, on the same morning, feeling like he had no brain left at all. His thoughts were nonfunctioning at first, and what he knew was that his head felt like it had been runover by the night bus. And he felt sick--really sick. He looked around saw a wastebasket and reached for it in a hurry. When he could come up for air, he saw Edward standing in the doorway, leaning on the doorjamb. Edward went over, sat on the edge of the bed, and poured him a hefty dose of hangover potion. When Angus tried to wave it away, Edward just looked at him for a moment.

"You can either choose to be miserable, or you can take this and feel human again," Edward told him.

"Shhh," Angus whispered. "Words...bad."

"Drink," Edward said. Angus reluctantly took the potion and laid back in the bed. Edward got up and opened the curtains letting dazzling Tuscan sunshine stream into the room.

"Jesus!" Angus moaned painfully.

"Give it a moment. You're still so impatient sometimes," Edward said, opening the balcony doors to allow the sound of the birds and the waves into the room. For a brief moment, Angus passively thought of foul things to do to his grandfather.

"What the hell is that?" Angus asked.

"Sunshine. Fresh air. Ocean breezes. Remember those?"

"Where am I?"

"What do you remember?"

"Not an effing thing."

"Just as well. You were a nitwit anyway," Edward said. "Oh, good. Rosa's got your clothes back. I'll get you a towel and your robe. You are definitely going to want to shower."

"Who?"

"Rosa. Remember her? She used to change your diapers. You're home in your old room, where you've been since yesterday afternoon after you consumed a bottle of firewhiskey yourself with almost no help from me at all."

"What? I don't drink that...wait. You were there? That means you egged it on, you old..."

"Now, be nice," Edward cut him off. As the potion set in, Angus began to feel a little more human, and his thoughts began to clear.  

"I remember now," Angus said.

"See? Give it a little longer and you'll feel like a new man."

"Good, because the one I woke up to isn't worth shit. Why are we here?"

"You want me to take you home to Ruby as you were? She wouldn't have had any clue what to do with you. You were talking complete horse manure. Really now. Falling on your sword for Suzanne? What for? Nothing changed yesterday. The situation did absolutely not call for your martyrdom yet. If it honestly calls for it, I'll be there with you every step of the way, Boy, but this contest is the same as it has been. She's a halfbaked dingbat who's irked with you and wants to off you. Not the first time someone wanted your hide, and if you're worth the family name it wont be your last. The only thing that was different was that you made a nearly fatal error, one that I rescued you from. You let James prattle in your ear and get under your skin. I know I taught you far better than to listen to your enemy. And him of all people. The nice werewolf that has committed mass murder and still deludes himself to be the rightful matrimonial companion of your employer's wife. That's your source of truth and information? You deserved to have your brains and your bum dashed about for ever thinking that for a fraction of a moment. Frankly, yesterday both those things looked like they were in the same place."

"You're enjoying this entirely too much," Angus said.

"Oh, immensely," Edward said sarcastically. "Now, go get your bum in the shower, shave yourself, and brush your teeth. Get your wits about you. I'll have Rosa bring you up some coffee. Then make yourself present downstairs. We're not finished yet." Angus was about to protest and Edward gave him as stern a look as he had ever given Angus when Angus had been a boy. "Downstairs. Fifteen minutes. Or I shall magically summon you down here, naked or otherwise. Understand me? You won't get far, by the way, We cleaned out your pockets so Rosa could wash your clothes. I have your portkeys, so you're stuck till I give them back." He left, closing the bedroom door, and Angus laid back down, sighing heavily.

Ruby got up and saw Anise was gone she moved to Caprices room and found her to be awake. Picking her up she changed her diper and clothing them headed down to the kitchen where she smiled seeing Robert with Anise talkign before taking off at a run, she relaxed knowing Anise was safe and began making up a bottle for Caprice who was complaining she was taking too long in feeding her.

Now with bottle in hand she sat down and fed her waiting for the others to wake, it was not long before Jessie walked stiffly in and she chuckled " yeah don't laugh I got it from Yu already, I should not have done that run last night and now Im suffering, hey any coffee in the pot ?" he asked and Ruby pointed to the fresh made pot that sat on the counter.

"I'll start brakfast soon if nobody sends any over " she said smiling as Capice finished every drop of her milk.

When Anise finished her run with Robert, they had talked the entire way, and she was really surprised that he had no trouble finishing the course at all.

"What?" he looked at her. "Did you expect me to peter out before the end?" She hesitated in answering and he laughed out loud. "Yes. You did. Did you learn anything?"

"I learned your a man of surprises--and probably secrets too," she replied.

"My dear, you have no idea just how true that really is," he smiled at her. "Alright. I'm satisfied. i'll set up a schedule for you for some lessons and then also some training. Hopefully Angus and Ruby will be good with it. We will try to keep to school hours.

"And when is that?" she asked.

"Most of the time, school starts in most places here, at 8:30 and runs til about 3:30 with a lunch break around noon. You might well have some homework to do..."

"What's homework?" she asked.

"Projects or lessons to be completed on your own time after school. Some of those might be training lessons, though. And you will study under the people here according to their specializations. You read and write and you can do basic math skills, so those will al help, but there is much more to learn. Alright. Go get yourself cleaned up and get some breakfast. You might offer the crew to help in the barn to take care of the animals. I don't know if Jessie will show up to help with that, and I don't expect Jack to either. And with Angus not here, that leaves Kate to help the crew with that unless you have time to help her."

"I do. That's fine," she said.

"Okay. Well done. I'll talk to you a bit later. I have a meeting to get to." He left her and went into the house. She went home, seeing David coming downstairs too.

"Morning," she called. "I'll shower quickly and be straight back. You don't want me like this."

"Morning, All," David said. "yes, do please shower." He enjoyed teasing her, and she cast him an amused look and went on to shower.

Angus showered and, in his foggy state, he'd left his clothes in his room. He went into the bedroom to dress, and Rosa knocked once and opened the door, seeing far more of Angus than she intended. She set the coffee mug down, averted her eyes, apologized, and left. Angus had put on his jeans and his shirt and was still barefoot. He had had a sip or two of coffee when he heard Edward bellowing for him that he had thirty seconds left. Angus went downstairs, cussing. He stopped when he reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Edward and Robert both standing there. Angus had not expected Robert at all.

"You look surprised to see me," Robert said.

"Well, at least I'm consistent, then," Angus said, feeling as surprised as he was sure he probably looked.

"Let's go outside," Edward said. He picked up a pair of Angus's old aviator sunglasses that Edward had found and had laid on a side table by the patio doors, waved to show Angus that there were sunglasses there to shield his hungover vision from the brilliant morning sun. Edward went outside with Robert, and Angus followed, picking up the sunglasses on the way.

There was a beautiful, covered outdoor living space with a fireplace and comfortable deep furniture. Rosa had set out a coffee tray with a coffee carafe, milk, sugar, and a plate of sweet Italian breakfast pastries, the kind that Angus had loved as a child. His stomach wasn't so sure about them just yet. Angus went out and sat down, feeling a bit like he and his 'father' had been called to the headmaster's office. Edward poured coffee and handed the mugs around.

Ruby and Jessie saw Anise finish her run and Jessie chuckled " she learn the first leson , do not judge Robert by his apearance" Jesie said as Ruby nodded her head. She did smile as Anise walked in " so how was the run?" she asked but heard her say she was going to shower " all right don't be long breakfast will be soon" she said and lay Caprice down once burped to paly a little with her uncle.

Ruby moved to the kitchen and began making brakfast burittos along with some fresh made musili for those who didn't want the buritto's. She also made some fresh fruit salad with natrual yogurt as an extra she took some fruit and yogurt and ate while Caprice played with her over head toy happily. Jessie took a burrito " David help your self " she said as she ate " not sure when or if Angus will be back today, I hope he will be since Im guessing Simone is missing Edwrad just as much as I am Angus.

"Thanks," David said. "He hasn't been gone that long, Ruby. You know he's with Edward at the home that he always felt was safe for him. I'm sure he'll be back once he gets up and gets past some of that hangover. That much firewhiskey can bring the strongest man to his knees. You have to give him a bit to get past that demon, let alone whatever's on his mind. I'm guessing it was some of that bullcrap that James was shouting yesterday, but none of it was news. It was the same old tune, different day. I've seen my share of little squabbles like yesterday, and when I see someone bothered by something they've seen or heard before, its most often not what's said as much as how its said. Sometimes it brings up some sort of really painful memory, and that can take a minute to catch your breath from. I certainly don't know what got to him, but if anyone can help him sort it out, it seems like it will be probably Edward. I would say Robert, but I ran a bit ahead of them this morning, and I heard him tell Anise that he had to limit his time with her because he had an early morning meeting to go to. So I presume he won't catch up with Angus til later. Robert certainly keeps some crazy hours, that's for sure."

Anise came downstairs, in a chipper mood.

"Oh good! Food! I'm so hungry," she said. She took a burrito and a little dish of yogurt with muesli stirred in, and topped with a little dish of fruit. She had never had muesli but she was willing to try it. She sat down and tucked into her plate.

"Do you have anything you need me to do this morning?" she asked Ruby, "because Robert asked if I would help in the barn this morning because she didn't expect either of those big, fragile things to show up for work." She understood Jack was wounded, but she took advantage of tossing a little playful shade at Jessie just for fun.

"Oh, she burned you, Jessie. You might have to brush up on your shade," David laughed.

Simone came in from outside, and she saw everyone else was up.

"Oh, good morning," she said. "I was outside and I watered the garden. I know we had a little shower this morning but it was still pretty dry. So I watered it and the tea garden. Ruby, those burritos smell divine." She fixed a plate and joined everyone. "How was your run, Anise?"

"We got along fine. It wasn't a race. We just ran together. I don't quite have him figured out. He just seems to me like he has far more secrets than he ever tells."

"My girl, that is far more true than you know," David grinned. He knew quite a bit because of his own career with classified information, but he was not in any position to divulge it.

"That's what he said too," Anise frowned.

Ruby listened to David and noded " your right " she said and ate her breakfast " he'll come home when hes ready" she said and smiled as Anise took one of the burritos and sat to eat it with the yogurt and musli " your welcome" she said Jessie fained a faint as Anise said he was soft.

" oh I always get back up" he said and chuckled " but that burn was good" he said and smiled at her ad chukaling as he ate his breakfast. Ruby saw Simone walk in from the garden " here sit and eat" she said motining to the food and a chair " yes it would have been good for the plants if is had staid longer but well we can't control the weather" she said with a chuckle iy was now she notice that Caprice had rolled to her tummy " wow she's rolled over , thats a first for her, hey little one next thing yu'll be crawling." she smiled at her and chuckled.

"Well, now, don't get me wrong. I don't think he wants to be away. You know where his heart is. I don't know for sure why he left. I'm only guessing by what happened yesterday. I don't know if he was just temporarily upset and is trying not to come home with his head in a wastebasket from his hangover or whether he's working on something. Neither of which would surprise me. Has he ever gone from home without a reason, or on a mission overnight perhaps? I don't know that I would doubt him without just cause." David didn't know if he was misreading her words or if Angus had given her reason to doubt or if she just carried some degree of anxiety with her as a constant part of her personality. But she didn't seem like she was dealing well with Angus being away even if it hadn't been near 24 hours and she knew he was safe and the Donohue family homestead. He watched Caprice learning some of her motor skills and was glad to see it but he soon would have to have more eyes all over his head when she learned to scoot.

Angus sipped on his coffee in silence as Edward laid out the facts for Robert, wanting to shortcut the storytelling. Robert listened, periodically looking at Angus, and Robert saw him today as being closed, not open to talking, and he guessed he was feeling pretty lousy.

"Angus," Robert said gently, "I am not here to rake you over the coals. What you experienced yesterday happens to all of us at some point or another, if we're honest about it. The fact is that our loved ones bring us great joy and make us feel whole, but for fighters, they are also our greatest liability if someone uses that love we have for our family or friends against us. And we know James rants nonstop, and most of the time he doesn't think before he speaks. He sees no need to.

"That being said, though, I absolutely can understand that if he got to you, you might have had the thought of trying to end this standoff with Suzanne. I'd like to be done with that dunderhead myself. If we can do that, we absolutely will. I promise you that. She is not yours alone to deal with. You are not alone. You have family and you have a huge organization alongside you. We would be right with you even if Suzanne had not married Tom Gelding, but now that she has, she become right at the top of my priority list, right beside her husband. It is no longer Tom Gelding. It is the Geldings. Understand that..."

"I made a mistake by taking the boys from her," Angus said, thinking out loud.

"Oh, did you now?" Robert understood Angus wasn't regretting the boys. Not really. He loved those boys to pieces. "Is that what you think? Would it have really been better to let her turn them both, as children, to werewolves? Would you have wanted that for them? Would Jessie or Ruby have wanted that for them? At their young age, as inexperienced as they were, they'd have likely died by now. Some young people don't survive the turning, and you know that too. The only choice you had to save them was to take them from Suzanne, and that seemed like the best way to do it since you witnessed what happened and you were the one who rescued them. Your testimony was what set them free. Let's clarify. You don't regret taking the boys. You just hate that Suzanne is just off her rocker entirely, but I really don't think that started with you. I think she was not very well wrapped before you met her.

"So, where does that leave us? I am not against a hunting tactic. I've used it myself. Offering oneself up as bait is very dangerous, though. It's a game I absolutely hate. I hate it with a passion. And I cannot possibly allow you to offer yourself up to her on your own, alone, with no backup. She will not come alone. She will bring a damned army. If you try to do this alone, you throw your entire life away for no good cause. It will not make your family one ounce safer. That, I promise you."

"Not if I take her with me," Angus looked up at him for the first time, fire in his eyes. Robert had realized that was a possible tactic but did not think Angus would choose it. Here it was though. This was his plan. Robert's initial emotional reaction was to want to try to openly forbid him, but Angus was driven, emotional. Robert pulled back from that approach and decided to go the longer route to get him to work with him and not to continue to look for a way to execute a suicide mission to try to bring Ruby some peace. His plan would not make Ruby less anxious. That would not fix anything. Robert needed to go a longer discussion with him about this.

"You might, or might not be able to pull that off. It's a huge gamble. If you lose, you have risked it all for nothing. Let's try to increase the chance of success. Let's leave this on the table and see what else we've got. Fair enough?"

"Depends on what you've got," Angus said, partially conceding. Good. That was a start. Angus was at least now willing to listen.