A Birth day

Ruby moved to help him stand and then followed him back up to the bedroom once he was done in the kitchen, She chuckled at his words about sleeping without a tee shirt as they entered the bedroom " well you'll get no complaints from me" she said smirking as she helped him off with his tee shirt and placed it in the laundry basket.

Moving to the bed she turned down the sheets on his side and her own spotting the small cup of potion. Hearing him she looked at him " Don't you trust Andrew?" she asked " I can wake you when I get up but ultimately its your choice." she said moving to s sit next to him with the cup in hand . Once she had seen him drink it she placed the cup back on the night stand and moved to slip into the bed on her side as he turned out the light " night Angus" she said softly moving to snuggle against his good side.

Tonight when he slept, Suzanne wasn't in his dreams. Reginald was, but he wasn't the git that his widow was. Reginald was calling him a git and saying his plan wouldn't work. He insisted that the way to handle it was to ignore Suzanne's games and to focus on her husband. on either getting him eliminated or getting him to control Suzanne. Well, it wasn't like they weren't already trying to do that. Gelding just kept popping back up again. And then he put a haunting thought into Angus's head. Robert hadn't told him where he was taking him or what they were doing there, and he asserted that Robert could lock him up on St. Mungo's fifth floor, and keep him from casting a spell or ever being a free man again....

Angus sat bolt upright, and in his sleep, he had shouted out, "Stop it!" Now he wasn't able to breathe. The bedroom door flew open and Marcus stood in the doorway. He looked at Angus for a moment, and then he seemed to get the idea that Angus had had another nightmare.

"She's back in your sleep tonight?" he asked. Angus shook his head.

"Just a nightmare," Angus said, lying, not wanting to alarm Ruby, and now, not knowing if Reginald had been right or if if he was just yanking his chain.

Ruby woke and sat up turning to face Angus ready to fight but seeing Marcus rush in she looked at him then looked to Angus " your okay" she said gently rubbing his back to get him to calm down. She looked at the clock and saw it was still early and spoke again " theres still some hours until you need to be up , try and sleep again, I'll fetch you some water" she said softly to him.

Slipping from the bed she headed down to the kitchen and returne with a glass of cold water for him , she set it down beside him on his night stand.

"Yeah," he said, taking a few deep breaths. "I'm fine." When she brought the water, he took a couple sips and set the glass on then night stand. It was nice and cold, so it took his mind off the dream for a bit and he laid back down. "Your dad has some weird ideas sometimes. Remind me to ask you sometime what he was like when he was alive." He yawned, took a few deep breaths and dozed back off.

He did doze, though, now, without Reginald, but in his dream, he was without anyone he loved either. He saw himself alone in a cell, and in a straitjacket, trapped, his magic bound, unable to escape, forgotten and rotting slowly, one day at a time. He woke, but this time he didn't jump, didn't move, actually. He laid awake for quite some time, and woke every few minutes now for the rest of the night, careful to not do anything to disturb Ruby.

When the alarm actually went off, he was relieved actually. He sat up and then he got up and got out a pair of jeans, then sighed. Shirts today sounded like a pain in the arse. He left the jeans laying on the dresser and went downstairs. Screw Robert. Angus needed coffee, and more than a pathetic little half a cup. He had put the coffee on to brew when he heard someone coming down the stairs.

"I brought down your clothes," he said. "I helped myself to your closet last night and got them for you."

"Thanks," Angus said. "I got as far as the jeans and then I had nothing."

"Which is probably why you have me," Marcus said. Since it was early, he just changed into the jeans where he was. Marcus took advantage of magic to help him put his shirt on, and Angus could really have kicked himself for not thinking that certainly if clothes could come off by magic, certainly someone had figured out to reverse the process. His shoes today were just slip on sneakers. "Sit and relax for a bit, and I'll bring your coffee." Angus went outside with his cigarettes to smoke, with the new disturbing thought that hadn't been in his head at all until Ruby's father had brought it up.

Ruby woke at the sound of an alarm and turned to se Angus already up and down stairs by the sound of it. She slipped out of bed and into her work out gear then with her hair tied up in a bow she went to check on Caprice finding her awake and giggling to herself. Picking her up she took her down to feed her.

Entering the living room she saw Marcus and Angus, Angus she saw was holding a mug of coffee and smiled as she moved to make a bottle for Caprice. " would you mind taking Caprice Marcus while I wake Anise whose baby siting this morning" she asked walking over to him.

Walking down to the basment she chuckled as she knocke on the door " morning girls, time to get up" she said " simone will be sending over breakfast soon and I have to head to Paris I shouldn't be too long , an hour or two shes had her first bottle so won't need another until after I return but you know what to do if she does, oh and the diper bag is by the couch" she told both girls before heading abck up the stairs.

Walking up she went to Angus " good luck today with Robert , and my father was never involved in mine or my brothers child hood, just so you know" she smiled making a cup of coffee as carfully as she could with Caprice on her hip but she did it then palced her down on her play mat until the girls appeared.

"Thank you," Angus smiled at her. "I'm always good when I'm with Robert. He always has himself together even if I'm not put together all that well. I expected your dad to be rather an absent father, and I guess I expect that once he settles things with Suzanne, I doubt we'll see him again. I honestly just want Suzanne to get over herself, and I want Reginald to be at peace, whatever that is for him."

He watched Andrew arrive and head straight downstairs.

"Andrew's here. Looks like he's gone to help Ginger dress. He'll carry her up, I'm sure...." There was a knock on the door, and Marcus answered and let Robert in.

"He's here," Angus said, taking one big last drag off his cigarette before snuffing it out. He went inside, leaving his coffee cup on the kitchen counter, and put his pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket. "'Morning, Robert."

"You weren't smoking, were you?" Robert asked, dressed in his suit that he wore to work.

"Just one," Angus shrugged.

"You weren't supposed to smoke..." Robert began.

"Why not? You didn't tell me that," Angus replied, frowning.

"Well, we'll take our chances," Robert said. "Let's go. We might be able to get a bit of an early start."

"Sounds like we're off. I'll see you later, Ru," Angus said. "Enjoy Paris. April in Paris is glorious, and it's supposed to be a beautiful day there today. Take your time. You should take advantage of being there and get a coffee at a street café or something. Caprice really will be alright without you for a little. I'll see you in a couple hours, I guess."

"I'll bring him back in one piece," Marcus said to Ruby with a bit of an amused grin.

Angus and Marcus let Robert apparate them out, and a moment later, Angus found himself standing inside St. Mungo's. The fear of the dream that Reginald had put into his head was now stuck there, and a part of him was filled, most unusually, with massive anxiety, nigh onto a panic attack. His mind started to race at light speed. Surely, Reginald had been right. Well, where was it? Where was...wait. Where, in fact, were they really?" He was looking around for a sign. Robert was speaking to but he hadn't heard a syllable of it. Then someone laid their hand on his good shoulder, and he jumped. Then he realized it was only Marcus.

"I didn't know you were hospital phobic," Marcus said.

"I'm not," Angus said.

"Couldn't blame you if you were, after your last trip here," Robert replied. Oh, that was right. The last time he was here was because he had been told he had had that contagious disease, and then he had been poisoned, damned near killing him and leaving him in a wheelchair for months. Angus didn't reply. A nurse handed Robert a chart, and Robert looked in the chart.

"Room 312," Robert told Marcus and him. Angus still didn't understand why. "You can do the paperwork after you change, and I'll see you shortly." Robert turned and started to walk away.

"Wait," Angus said, and Robert turned back around, waiting for Angus to ask what he wanted. "Why are we here? Really?"

"What?" Robert frowned. "I told you. We're reconstructing your shoulder this morning. I told you..."

"No you didn't," Angus frowned. "You just said I was coming with you..."

"Oh, surely I..." Robert began scowling at Angus and then looking up to Marcus. Marcus shook his head no slowly. Robert hadn't said where they were going or why.

"Oh. My bad. I'm sorry., Well, we're here now, so let's just get on with it..."

"Look," Angus was now angry and anxious both. "Do you know how irked Ruby is going to be that we didn't know, and that she's now buggared off to Paris to train when, I'm sure, she'd rather be here this morning? I'll never hear the end of it. Are you sure that's all you're doing?"

"What the devil is wrong with you?" Robert frowned. "Am I supposed to be doing something else? Is there some other thing you haven't told me about that I should be treating.."

"No," Marcus said quickly. "No, he's fine." Marcus turned Angus and started to march him to room 312. "Just a wee bit of nerves. You know, White Coat Syndrome and all that. He's alright."

"White Coat syndrome? Him? Since when?" Robert frowned. He had been taking care of Angus's battle scrapes for the last twelve years at least, probably more, if he had actually done the math, and Angus had never once had so much as a trace of white coat syndrome.

Marcus led Angus into room 312 where there was a clean gown was laying on the bed and a clipboard full of forms for him to fill out. Angus sat down in the chair and not on the bed.
"Look," Marcus said. "You're here now. By the time Ruby gets back from Paris, you'll probably be out, with your shoulder repaired and you'll be on your way home. Letting her be angry after the fact might be better for her than being afraid. Trust me, Mate. I've got you.. I'm not entirely sure what you dreamed last night but whatever it is, you need to either get ahold of yourself or you need to trust me, one or the other..."

"What if they don't let me go home..." Angus began angrily.

"Well, I don't see why they'd keep you but if, on the outside chance, they think they're going to, I'll get you out. You have my word."

"Answer me one thing. Do they really think the cheese is sliding off my cracker?"

"First of all, no. Second, I don't care what anyone else thinks, and neither should you. And third, they don't think it because it isn't. Your cheese is right where it should be. Something happened to you overnight. That nightmare shook you, and I'm certain we've all had those sorts of nightmares where they just can shake you all day long. It'll pass. Now, you get changed, and I'll work on some of these stupid forms for you."

Ruby smiled as she saw Andrew arrive and head down for Ginger she looked at Angus and smiled but pause seeing Robert arrive at the door and talk to Angus. Leaning closer she kissed him "Good luck" she whispered and moved to Robert seeing the suit she spoke softly to him "Look after him" she said with a smile having a feeling it had something to do with his injury and she trusted Robert.

Seeing Andrew with Ginger she moved back smiling to him " morning Ginger" she said and smiled as the smell of food wafted to her " seems Simone made breakfast" she said then looked at Angus as he spoke with Marcus , who turned to her and said he'd bring him home in one peice " you'd better" she teased to him with a smile then loked to Angus " okay, I guess I could for a while." she said " I'll bring back some real french pastries" she said with a chuckle as she watched them leave.

Turnig back to Ginger she saw Anise walk up looking stull half asleep " morning sleepy" she said chukaling "She's been fed, but theres two more bottles in the warmer in the kitchen." she glanced at the clock and sighed " now I have to go, oh do you want me to bring anything back from Paris?" she asked

"I've never been there so the only thing I could think to ask for is maybe some pictures," Anise said. "Every time anyone mentions Paris, they get so dreamy eyed, as if it is the only romantic place on the planet so surely it must be extraordinarily beautiful. So could you bring some pictures when you go? The good and the not so lovely. I can't judge if it's that wonderful unless I see both sides of it."

"I think that's very wise," Edward said knocking on the door between the houses and then entering. He had a tray in his other hand. "Simone made eggs benedict and Khaat's fruit salad recipe that everyone likes so well with the chiffonade of mint and the champagne dressing. There's plenty so don't be afraid to tuck in. And, I am supposed to ask you if you'd like to join us for a ploughman's for lunch. She says she had a couple charity events she used to do for Maurice when he was an ambassador. and she used to do a very gourmet ploughmans that everyone loved, and she's had a craving for it. So she thought that's what she'd do, and you lot could just pick through and eat what you like."

"Wait," Anise frowned. "It sounds like you're having a farmer for lunch. So are we having a guest? You lot don't actually eat your own kind, do you?" Edward burst out laughing, completely amused.

At St. Mungo's, Marcus had limped Angus through the process of admission and getting changed. A nurse had come and had taken the necessary vitals and had collected the clipboard and left again. It wasn't more than about ten minutes when Robert came back, changed into green surgical scrubs. He came back in and re-checked the vitals himself and then sighed and sat down on the bed and looked at Angus.

"What's going on with you today?" Robert asked. "I have never, in all the years I've seen you, look so panicky, not even when you looked death straight in the face. But yet, here you are, and you're an absolute mess. Your vitals are off the charts. What on earth is going on?"

"Tell him," Marcus said.

"Do you know what it is?" Robert looked at Marcus.

"Only that Reginald was screwing around in his head during the night," Marcus said. He woke Ruby and me both up, shouting in his sleep at Reginald to stop it."

"And what was he saying, exactly?" Robert asked.

"It was just a dream," Angus said. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, it certainly seems like it's rattled you right down to your core, so let me see if I can put you at ease even a little. Here's the plan. Your shoulder is badly damaged. It had the ruptured cartilage and torn ligaments, and now its got a fracture too. We have to fix it. That isn't an option anymore, so we're going to repair it, and then I'm taking you home so you can recover at home--unless you'd rather stay here than to go home..."

"No, I would not," Angus said quickly.

"If it were anybody else, they'd have no choice. They'd be here at least two or three days, but at home, you have me, you have Jess, Khaat, Brian, and Andrew. We should be able to handle anything you need at home, unless something goes sideways. We do need to talk about this dream, but I'll sidestep it for now--if you agree to tell me about it later. I may need to adjust your potion." He reached up and cast an powerful calming spell. It caused Angus to fall back to the pillows, which Robert had expected.

"We'll do this in just a few minutes. Try to sleep if you can til then," Robert said, "Go gown up, Marcus."

"He's going somewhere?" Angus asked, groggy now.

"I'm coming with you," Marcus said. "I always go with my clients wherever they go."

"You don't mind gore..."

"No. I don't. I'll be with you every second. I told you I had you, and I do," Marcus reassured him.

Ruby looked over to Edward and smiled a nervous smile at him "They sound perfect and Anise I will take some photos for you" she said moving to Edward to talk to him quietly " I think Roberts doing something with Angus's shoulder today, he was all business, I'm not worried but yes nervous for Angus" she said taking his hand in her own hoping the contact will calm her down.

Listening to Anice again she chuckled "It's an old meal based around bread, cheese, and fresh or pickled onions. Additional items can be added such things as ham, green salad, hard-boiled eggs, and apples, and usual accompaniments are butter and pickle It's particularly associated with pubs, and often served with beer, it formed the basis of the diet of English rural labourers for centuries, farm labourers usually carried their food with them to eat in the fields, similar food was for a long time served in public houses as a simple, inexpensive meal. In 1815, William Cobbett recalled how farmers going to market in Farnham, forty years earlier, would often add bread and cheese to the pint of beer they drank at the inn, I think it started in 1394." she said then looked at Edward " sorry I like history" she said and chuckled

"Why are you nervous for him?" Edward asked. "Robert has a reputation of being exceptionally meticulous about joints. So, if I had a joint issue, he would be the one I would insist on to handle it, even above Nigel. Nigel's good, but with bones? Robert is better. So what's bothering you about it?"

"We don't eat our own kind, generally speaking," Edward laughed.

"It sounds like it would be a great way to have a lunch," Anise said. "I'd like to try it, and if the weather's good, we should eat out in the gazebo. It would be a perfect way to try it out. Oh, and question for one of you--those little orange fish in the pond out there are quite lovely, but the foxes and the cats think they look delicious. Are they supposed to be food for them?"

"Oh, that's what I forgot to do," Edward said. "Thank you, Anise. I will go put a protection line around the pond so that other animals can't get close to the koi pond."

Andrew brought up Ginger and sat her in one of the deep soft chairs with the matching ottoman and put a blanket nearby. Then he got her a cup of tea.

"She says she's hungry," Andrew said. "That's a first in a very, very long time. Robert will be pleased."

"Excellent," Edward said. "That is a huge improvement. Well, I brought breakfast, and we're having farmers for lunch."

"What?" Ginger frowned. Andrew frowned too. Anise laughed.

"Edward said that Simone is fixing a ploughman, so it sounded to me like they were cooking a farmer for lunch." Ginger burst into laughter.

"It's like a picnic. They're not cooking a farmer, Nitwit," Ginger laughed.

"How did you know what it was?"

"I read," Ginger laughed. "One of my fiction books mentioned going into a pub for a pint and a ploughman's. YOu were probably out hunting instead dof reading."

"Probably," Anise shrugged it off. She had to be in the mood to actually read a book.

When they got Angus into the operating room, not only had Marcus gone with him, but he saw Nigel there, called in by Robert to assist with some of the extremely fine work with the cartilage and the ligaments. Angus looked at Marcus, who merely gave him a very slight nod to reassure him that he still was there to protect him, and that was the last Angus saw before it all went black.