A Birth day

Aria sat back and listened to him talk and smiled "Bet the kids thought what your wife did was not fun, poor things. " she said softly so only he could hear " know how they feel" she added then pulled herself back from a memory "I'll tell you to abut it another time" she added and listened to him talk of Charlie Weasley's dragons. " why, their magnificent, especialy when the light catches their scales at the right time of day, I could stand and watch them fly all day, so you should take them its a once in a life time expiriance to see them and the babys are so cute too" she looked at him " yes I've been and yes I have been to a few balls, not many but some, mostly undercover with dignitaries for the ministry, as for my hobbies I've had a few Bad Beat Jackpots in my time and won a fair share too, my last was a Belly Buster, never done sports unless ice skating is one and as for camping in a tent I can give and take it if its with the right people or person." she said smirking as if waiting to see if he would recognise the slag in her words.

Ruby chuckled as they drove back to the house when Angus stopped the car she looked where he saw the light " I thought you turned it off too" she said and watched as he slipped out of the truck slipping out her self she gathered the bags as he recognised Roberts voice to Angus from inside. " evening Robert" she said carrying the bags " I'll put these in the kitchen for now." she said but stopped taking Angus hand she turned his wand around before carrying on into the kitchen. " evening Iya and Beau " she said with a smile,

"I stayed a lot of years with her for two reasons. First, she needed a keeper, and it was just less legal paperwork if I did it, even if we didn't live together. And second, I honestly believed the kids were better off if they learned that mums and dads don't just chuck it out if things get tough. The kids, though, have been quite firm with me about it. They've had enough, and they're done with her. And they want me to have some semblance of a life of my own choosing. As I said, they're good kids.

"So you skate. Well, that's a start. I try to start every morning with a run, but here, if we start with a run, we might be busy running from the alligators. I suppose that's probably off our list for now. And, well, you might enjoy camping a little better with the right person. There are a lot of ways to spice up a camping trip. Not to change subjects, but what are you ordering for your entree? I think I'm going to try to the Taste of New Orleans platter. it looks like a nicely planned sampler platter. And, if I still have room, I might get the chocolate Kahlua mousse--unless maybe you have an idea about something sweeter later on."

"Don't worry, Piti," Iya laughed, following behind Robert. She patted his cheek affectionately. "We have the advantage now. Hello, Ruby. Did you find someplace nice for dinner tonight?"

"But we're on her home court," Angus said.

"No, no, Piti," she said. "We don't actually know where her home court is yet. But--we do know, for certain--that we're on my home court. And because we won last night, as I see it, the score is" Us-2. Old crone-Absolutely zero. We can't get cocky, but we're not in a bad position either."

Aria listened and smiled "Yeah well they have a great dad, who raised them well, not like some fathers I know who would just run at the sight of someone like her and leave the kid to deal with it all." she said laughing as he spoke of running from alligators "Yeah, either that or spiders or venomous moths basically, let's say all wildlife here wants us dead." she said then chuckled at his next words " oh camping with the right person would definatly spice things up, last time I camped I was scoping out a sight for a possible child abduction warehouse" she said " you tried to not get poison ivy in certain places? trust me it's impossible," she said smiling "sampler platter sounds good and that drink, as for something sweeter for desert? you'll have to wait and see Mr James" she said smirking as she looked up from the menu.

Ruby smiled at lya and nodded " nice place not far from a lake, exsquisit food and live band, the gumbo was heavenly" she said smiling as she moved to slip off her shoes. " Angus found some spices and were planning on looking for some recipy books to take back to add to the chickory tea we got." she added " which Im about to brew up for our night cap." she smiled as she put the kettle on.

"I must admit I have not had the pleasure of poison ivy where it shouldn't be," Marcus laughed. "I do remember a night time mission I was on with a partner of mine years ago, and we had to go diving. That was all well and good until my partner got stung in a damned inconvenient place by a coupe of jellyfish. So much for our intention to sneak in anywhere. His screaming could have been heard by any living creature within about five nautical miles. He transferred to a desk job after that. Decided midnight swims were no longer for him."

The waitress came over, and Marcus placed their order for supper, and she disappeared again.

"I know a few places like that around here," Iya said. "And they're all good. If you want some good Creole cookbooks, I can give you a few. At my age, I don't need them anymore. The best recipes are in my head. I'll root them out and bring them for you. You'll find my notes, my mother's and Grann's notes all in the margins. Pay attention to them. Those are the corrections to the recipes in the book."

"I'd be honored," Angus said.

"Honored," she waved that away. "It's passing on my culture to someone who really wants to know it. That's an honor to me. So, I'll do you one better. Before you go home, I'll cook you a real Creole meal. The real thing."

"I can hardly wait,' Angus smiled.

"Oh, by the way, Grann," Beau said. "We need to take them out tomorrow and show them how to identify a gator slide so they know what to look for."

"Oh, yes. We'll do that in the daylight," she nodded.

"What's that?" Angus asked.

"It's a telltale mark in the mud along the shore that tells you where a gator has gone either down into the water or come back out again. It'll give you an idea about what to look out for, and how to keep yourself safe," she said.

"If I dream about alligators tonight..." Angus scowled at her.

"If you dream about gators, get one of those suckers to eat her, would you?" she teased him.

Aria sat and listened then burst out laughing at his story "Ouch, that's just as bad if not worse, but shame for him best part is getting back in the water, it's like going into another world and putting the finger up at what every scared you." she said and smiled at the waitress as Marcus gave their order " Im glad you didn't get put on a desk job, can't see that for you." she said and sipped her drink " wow, this is divine" she said not even giving a hint it had firewhisky in it.

Ruby smiled at Ily " I would love that, thank you" she said making a pot of tea for everyone. She listened to them talking and chuckled when she mentioned feeding the Creole woman to the gators. then remembered about them showing them Gator slides so they would know where not to stand or to go. " I think that would be great and helpful for us to not be eaten too" she said chukaling.

"I broke my leg once on a mission and they thought they were going to put me on desk job while I mended," he laughed. "Idjits. That lasted all of an hour and a half, and they sent me home. They decided right quick that I was not the sort of bloke they wanted answering their phones. Well, I suppose it didn't help that I was deliberately obnoxious because I had absolutely no desire to do a desk job. They knew it was deliberate too, but they couldn't prove it."

The server brought their meals, and Marcus looked at it. It was picture perfect.

"Suppose that 'Martin' and 'Pippa' found something decent?" Marcus asked. "Or did 'Martin' make them grilled cheese?" He tucked into his meal. He tasted it and looked up at her and smiled. "This is awesome. Good choice, 'Libby,' " he said.

Aria burst out laughing" Oh that was you, I heard about some desk jock being rather rude to people, nice work though some of those callers were not nice themselves, that was smooth, very smooth.." she said and smiled " I hope your partner got better from his jellyfish sting." she asked then moved the strap of her dress to show a scar just down off her shoulder " Monkey strike while in Borneo, we were sent in to find a dictator I was climbing a tree to get a better lay of the land when a male took exception to my presence and lashed out with a branch, almost sent me crashing down to the bottom of the tree if I wasn't hanging on for dear life." she said chuckling " I have other scars I could show you but I'd need at least a few more of these." she said and chuckled then heard him talk of Angus and Ruby again and chuckled.

"who knows Im sure Pippa can find her way to a restaurant or'Martin' and cook up something, besides Im liking the company and atmosphere right now" she sat back as the waitress brought their food and she saw what it had and looked to Marcus. " it looks delicious and thank you Mr James" she said chukaling as she started to eat.

"Happily, yes. Guilty as charged, and I do not regret it for one moment," Marcus laughed. "It was 100% purposeful." He saw the scar when she showed it to him. "Well, monkeys can be vicious when they have a mind. You're lucky it wasn't worse. You let me know if you're in the mood to compare notes later. I have a few battle wounds of my own you could explore if you chose. No pressure, no obligation, no expectations. It's completely your call." He smiled when she said she liked the company.

"You should see the view from this side," Marcus told her. "It's pretty exceptional from where I sit too. You know, all the toughness, the fighting, the resilience. Its necessary, I know. Its how we survive the job. And long term partners for people in our line of work? They're hard to find. Rarer than diamonds. But--consider this. What if? What if we didn't have to be alone all the time, 24/7, for our entire lives? What if, we had someone else in our lives, someone to take a holiday with, someone to go see a symphony with, or just grab a bite or a coffee,...or spend the night with to chase away some of the demons that sometimes hide in the shadows for people like you and me. There might be some value in that--for both of us." He finished his Sazerac and motioned to the server to bring another round.

"It's just something to give some thought to," he said, not wanting to push her one way or another, but wanting to make sure she knew the door was clearly open either way. And he was entirely giving her the choice to walk through it or not

He smiled when she said Pippa or Martin could cook something.

"You haven't had the pleasure of Martin's cooking. He does alright in the kitchen. I'm sure you'll get the chance before we head home," Marcus said.

Back at the house, Robert left the sleeping potion with Angus, took a fig cookie and left and returned to the house he and Kate and Michael were in, in the garden district. Angus sat and enjoyed a cup of chicory coffee and a fig cookie and then headed to the shower. He was tiring. By now, at home, they'd have been to bed and up again. And here, it was just getting to be bedtime.

"You'll like the shower," Angus told Ruby, coming back down in some pajama shorts. They were tee shirt fabric but they were loose fitting pajama bottoms that were shorts. Good for sleeping in hot weather. These were just a plain gray. "The shower looks really rustic but it's really great. You're going to love it. Take your time and enjoy it."

Aria chuckled and nodded listening to his words " I agree in our line of work it's a hard thing to find" she said then heard more of what he said looking up at him she tipped her head as she listened to him "You proposing a long term trial relashanship?" she thought about it then looked at him again " Im not saying no but let's see how tonight ends or rather the morning begins" she told him as she continued to eat. " but I do agree we both fight the same demon but in our own way, teaming up might be a pleasure and symphonies are amazing if the acoustics are just right, I believe they call it the ..sweet spot" she said finishing her food and sipping her drink.

She smiled hearing about Angus cooking and she smiled "Only if I sample your breakfast skills first" she said finishing her glass and motioning for a refill " Mr James you trying to get me drunk?" she said smirking at him.

Ruby saw Angus return from showering and changing and she smiled " sounds just what I neeed" she said and heard him dicribe the shower " wow sounds apsolutly amazing" she said and headed to th bedroom to change and shower to see if it was as good as he had told her leaving them to talk.

"I think a no commitment, casual thing might be far more to both of our liking," Marcus told her. "And I agree. Let's see what the world looks like in the morning. Fair enough." He soon finished his supper and laid is fork aside and his napkin. "That was lovely. And I don't think I need dessert. I think I have all that I want right here."

When Ruby went to get in the shower, Iya looked at Angus.

"You look anxious," she said gently. "Afraid of sleeping?"

"Not afraid, but not looking forward to it" either. It isn't restful. It used to be relaxing and healing. Now its about gearing up to fight with an army of dark arts wizards in the dark."

"I learned some things today," she said. "Your boss. Robert. He's a likeable fellow, you know?"

"Yes. He is," Angus agreed.

"And you know what I like about him the most? He sees each one of you as much his child as if you were biologically his. He and Kate love each one of you fully, deeply, unconditionally. And he is not just an employer to you all. He's a healer, a coach, a trainer, a mentor, a father. He's been researching this old bat and her ability to go after you in your sleep. That potion he left for you is a bit of a different formulation. I think you may find it is more restful for you and it does not force you to stay trapped if it gets ugly. If you have trouble, I think I will be able to bring you out. I think its worth a try. You're not alone. I think you should go to sleep, confident in the warrior that you are, and confident that you're not alone. I have all sorts of tricks you haven't seen and that she has no clue of. We haven't begun to fight. I know you're tired. Trust me. Go to bed soon and get some sleep."

"Perhaps you're right,' Angus replied.