A Birth day

Ruby smiled and chuckled hearing Jessie but she also heard Angus and turned to look at him " your right as much as I love being here with you, time does fly and we should get home before dark" she said softly as she picked up the remaining food and placed it into the basket befor shrinking the umberella and placing it too back in the basket. " so whose arring the wet dog?" she asked smirking a she glanced to Jessie.

He saw her look and chuckled " okay I will, as long as I can wash and change at yours" he said and Ruby nodded.

"of course you can" she said watching him shake his towl clear of sand and fold it. Taking it she shrunk it down and placed it and the toys into the bag " it will save space." she said now stood up and re dressing in her jeans and tee shirt , she left off her shoes in favor of her flip flops. Now done she looked to Angus " shall we?" she asked holding out her hand.

"Yes," Angus said, taking Ruby's hand. When everyone was ready, Angus ported them back home. "Here--let me take Abbey. I need to go take her to either Robert or Nigel to get her changed back, and it looks like Nigel's outside on the patio with Michael. Might as well catch him while I can." He took Abbey from Nigel and walked across the yard to Nigel. Nigel looked up to see Angus in his swimsuit, carrying a wet puppy.

"You let the girl out near a pool, and now she's stuck again, isn't she?" Nigel asked.

"Beach," Angus corrected.

"Well, give her here," Nigel said, taking the puppy from Angus. He made quick work of changing her back. "You know, Abbey, you can have just as much fun at the beach on two legs as you can on four."

"I go faster on four," she told Nigel. That made Michael and Angus laugh out loud.

"She's got you there, Sigworth," Michael said. "You leaving here with us, Angus?"

"Nah, she's fine with us. Oh, and tell Brian that we're doing s'mores tonight outside and if Abbey falls asleep at our house, I'm not going to uproot her to bring her home. She can sleep at our place."

"I'm sure he's fine with that," Michael said. "He'd be the first to tell you to let sleeping toddlers lie."

"How's Robert?"

"Back in bed," Nigel said. "His head injury just isn't going to let him tolerate light or noise yet, so he's best off in his room in the quiet. He'll start to feel better by this time tomorrow, I think. he's a fast healer, so actually, the fewer little people in the main house for the next day or so, the better he'll feel. In fact, Nicky and Shannon have hired a sitter to be able to keep Molly at home too now that they have their own cabin."

"Then Abbey's good with us. I might just need to get some fresh clothes for her."

"I'll ask Kate to get some for her and send them over," Michael said.

"And BooBoo Kitty?" Angus asked.

"Oh. Yeah. I forgot. That's important. Well, Kate will know how to pack for her."

"Thank you, Michael."

"Aggie, I hungee," Abbey tugged at Angus's hand.

"Okay. Come on. I think Simone probably has supper ready by now," Angus told her. He gave a quick wave to Nigel and Michael and brought Abbey back to the duplex with him. "Maybe Ruby's had her shower and can help you clean up before supper," Angus told Abbey, as they went inside.

Ruby smiled at Angus as he ported everyone back to the duplex both Yu and Jessie went to shower taking Chris with them so he too could wash and change. But not before handing over Abby to Angus and watched as he walked to the main house with her. Ruby chuckled and headed inside to shower and change herself. Half an hour later she walked downstairs to the smell of cooking " smells wonderful Simone" she said smiling as she glanced at a now sleeping Caprice on her floor pillow. " hope she has not been too much trouble" she said walking and sitting on a stool to watch her as she cooked.

Now clean and changed Jessie, Yu and Chris returned all smiling and hungry for food. Once Jessie placed Chris down he pointed to some paper and pencils and Chris ran over to them making him smile.

Angus saw that it was going to be on him to give Abbey a bath, so he just picked her up, took her upstairs and gave her a bath and shampooed her long blonde hair and helped her in a clean pair of pink shorts and a tee shirt that was covered in butterflies. He took her to Caprice's room and handed her a storybook to read while he showered and changed to a pair of cutoff jeans and just a plain tank top. When he finished and he headed downstairs, Abbey followed him like a little shadow. Marcus was already cleaned up, and he put a fresh dressing on Angus' shoulder.

"It's just a simple vegetable lasagna in an alfredo sauce," Simone said. "I've got garlic toast in the oven, and I've made a caesar salad and a Bakewell tart for dessert. The lasagna and the garlic toast should be ready in just a few minutes. I thought I'd just set things out on our sideboard and let people take however much they want. I've got iced tea and sodas and ice water, so people can pick what they want." She set up her sideboard. "I think people should feel free to take their plates and eat wherever they want. We certainly don't have to eat at the table. Sometimes just being casual is a good thing."

Ruby saw Angus take Abby up to bathe her and then return with her following behind him and she chuckled. " sound fantastic" she said to Simone as Yu and Jessie with Chris entered and smiled. Picking up plates they took some food and moved to sit on the sofa to eat. While Ruby got three plates one for herself, one for Angus and one for Abby. Walking over she handed Angus his and placed Abbys down in front of her. " enjoy Abby." she said and sat down to eat her own.

Jessie looked at Angus and then out at where the sky was darkening to night. " after we eat I'll go and light the campfire" he said smiling " Angus you bringing the smores?" he asked chuckling as he took a bite of his food . " foods really good thanks Simone" he said and Yu nodded his agreement.

"Thanks," Angus told Ruby. "Great supper, Simone. What a great thought. It's been a long time since we had a good vegetable lasagna."

"I think lasagna is a great thing when cooking for a group," she said, "and this was a bigger favorite with my kids than a regular tomato based one."

"I can see why. It's delicious. Thanks for cooking tonight."

"it's my pleasure," she smiled. "Believe me, I'd much rather cook for a hundred family members than to ever cook one night for just myself again."

"Yeah. I do understand that," Angus said. When Jessie asked if he was bringing s'mores, Angus nodded. "Yeah. I have some American cinnamon graham crackers and some Hobnobs so people can take their choice. And I have some squares of chocolate to put on those, and some homemade marshmallows that the kids helped me make--I have vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. And I also have some fresh made peanut butter that I bought recently. If you've never tried adding peanut butter to your s'more, you've really missed out."

"Peanut butter?" Simone frowned. "On a s'more?"

"Yeah. It goes like this. Graham cracker, chocolate, marshmallow, peanut butter, and graham cracker. Abbey's had them with peanut butter before, haven't you, Abs?" Abbey nodded enthusiastically, putting a big bite of lasagna in her mouth.

"You like them with peanut butter?" Edward asked her.

"Yummy good," Abbey nodded.

"Alright, I'll try it just to say I tried it," Edward said.

"You like peanut butter cups candy. It tastes very much like that, only with some marshmallow added," Angus said.

"I might like it, then," Edward conceded. He asked Cris, in Romanian, if he had ever had peanut butter at home and Cris nodded, telling him that they had peanut butter at home on a regular basis, and he told him about learning about having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from an American boy that was on a summer holiday there a year or so ago, and Cris had gotten quite fond of them, especially when they were toasted in the same way that a toasted cheese sandwich would be because it made the peanut butter and jelly warm and sweet and gooey.

Jessie smiled and looked at Angus "Sounds full of sticky goodness" he said and Yu laughed making Ruby smile as she ate her food next to Angus as he spoke to Edward " you'll love it" Jessie said smiling as he finished his food and stood to place his plate in the kitchen before he returned and sat back down smiling at Chris as he spoke to Angus. " good thing Yu knows how to make them then" he said as Yu took his hand in his own.

"theres not realy anything to smores" Yu said listening to Angus " ah its the swet mixed with the savory that stimulates the taste buds." he said sitting back on the couch.

"Oh, I know how to make a normal s'more," Edward said. "I just can't quite wrap my brain around why I'd want to ruin it with peanut butter." That made Angus laugh. He translated it for Cris, and that made Cris laugh hysterically.

"E prea bătrân ca să știe ce e bine," ["He's too old to know what's good,"] Cris told Angus. Angus and Edward and Marcus all three burst into laughter.

"El vorbește românește, știi," Angus said. ["He speaks Romanian, you know."]

"Știu. De aceea am spus-o," Cris replied. ["I know. That's why I said it."]

"Cheeky little buggar," Edward laughed, flicking his fingers at Cris to cast a tickling jinx on him. He let Cris giggle for a long moment before ending the jinx for him. Cris just shook a finger at Edward as if to warn him that he would find a way to get him for it. Simone got up and cut the bakewell tart and set out a thermal carafe of coffee and one of tea for anyone who wanted a hot beverage with dessert.

"Help yourselves to the dessert and coffee or tea," she told them.

"She makes one of the best Bakewells I've ever had," Edward said.

Jessie and Yu both laughed when Chris laughed at Edwards words . Ruby smiled and moved to gather plates as Simone cut the tart, she again took three plates and placed one down in front of Chris and Angus before sitting with her own and smiling as she ate " perfect" she said to Simone as she also took a cup of tea to go with the tart.

Jesie and Yu got some and sat down " I'll have to do a double work out tomorrow to work off all this good food" Jessie said and looked to Yu who chuckled at his words " all right start a double work out" he said and Yu chuckled and noded.

"better since you have nevr done a double , ever" he said making Jessie chuckle too. " Im sure all the fresh air and salt ocean water will make you slep well tonight." he said looking down at Chris with a , he hoped comforting smile to him.

Angus had a slice of tart and a mug of coffee to finish his supper, feeling contented that, for now, life was going well. He had no idea how long it would last, but, for now, he had just about everything he could ask for. As the sun set and the stars began to come out, Angus got up, leaving the washing up to the others, and he felt that he needed to set up things for the evening around the fire. He didn't expect that this would necessarily go well, but because Cris had asked for support, he would do his best to try to help provide it, of course.

He got out the supplies for s'mores and put them in a basket, along with a couple thermal pitchers of hot homemade butterbeer for anyone who wanted a warming drink out by the fire. He first took out a stack of blankets and put them on the ground near the fire ring and then he took out a small folding table to hold the beverages, mugs, and supplies for s'mores, along with a couple of lanterns just in case they were needed.

He was just laying the wood in the fire ring when he looked up to see Cris had slipped out of the house, by himself, clearly wanting a moment alone before the moon came out. He saw Cris flatten himself against the front of the house, as if by flattening himself there the moon surely would not find him there and wouldn't rob him of the new life he had. Angus straightened himself up.

"Cris," Angus called quietly and gently. Cris didn't move. Angus walked up to him and opened his arms, and finally Cris folded himself tightly against Angus. "Cris," he said softly, knowing Jessie and Yulong had said some of these same words to him already, but Cris still needed to hear them. "toți vom fi încă chiar aici, toată noaptea și mâine și în fiecare zi după. Și la fel vei face și tu. Nimeni nu te părăsește. Iţi promit." Cris wiped a couple tears away on his sleeve, and Angus stroked his cheek affectionately and hugged him.

Then he invited Cris to come help him make the fire and got him to pitch in to help. He wasn't entirely surprised that Cris already knew how to lay a good fire. He wasn't sure how long Cris had been on his own before they found him but he had probably watched his dad or his granddad make a fire, and he certainly had probably made a fire or two himself while he had been on his own.

Then he had Cris help him pick some long twigs and gave him a pocketknife and had him help carve points on some of the twigs to make marshmallow roasting sticks. Cris was quite good with his pocketknife, and they had enough sticks in no time at all.

Angus got up to go put the sticks on the table with the s'more supplies, and when he had his back turned for only a moment, he heard a shriek from Cris that sounded to him like anguish deep from the very root of the boy's soul, combined with sheer terror. Angus wheeled around to see the boy looking at his first glimpse of the full moon since Cris had arrived here, and Cris was racing, as fast as he could go, for the woods.

Angus raced as fast as his legs could carry him. He knew he was bigger and a good deal quicker than Cris, and he caught up with him just a few paces into the edge of the woods. He fell to his knees and wrapped himself around Cris from behind to stop the lad from trying to run away from the one place in the world he wanted to be. Cris was hysterical, sure that he had already turned into the monster within.

Angus spun Cris around and tried to talk to him, but Cris wasn't able to listen in that moment. Angus took hold of Cris's tee shirt and peeled it off of him, dropping the tee shirt on the ground, and peeled his trousers off too, leaving him in his underwear for a moment. Then he forced Cris to look at him and commanded that Cris show him his fur.

"Unde este blana ta? Arată-mi blana ta!" he commanded Cris firmly, forcing him to stop his hysterics and listen to him, demanding Cris show him the fur. Angus showed Cris his own arm and his own leg to show him he had no fur tonight. No fur at all. He forced Cris to look now fully at the moon for a long moment. Then he had Cris look at his skin again. No fur. None on his arms, none on his legs. None. None at all. He looked at Angus blankly, confused. He asked Angus how long it would stay gone, and Angus reassured him it would stay gone for as long as he continued to take his potion. He gave Cris a moment to try to take it all in, brushing away Cris's tears. Then he picked up Cris's trousers and his shirt and helped him dress again. Finally, he reached for Cris's hand, suggesting that they go light the fire so everyone could make a s'more.