A Birth day

Ruby heard Angus and looked to Nigel as he too spoke she nodded and stepped back letting him do his work. she was stood by the doorway when she heard Angus and looked to Marcus not worried but more understanding that is was the muggle drugs making him think that way. She waited until Nigel left to fetch food before she followed him seeing Rosaria take the plate from him and shred the chicken " is that what he really thinks?" she asked Nigel "or is that the drugs?" she asked wanting to know.

Aria sat at the table eating as she saw Nigel walk in and get food " foods good" she said and smiled as she saw Rosaria take the plate and start grumbling making her chuckle more. Looking up as she heard Ruby talk she frowned at her words but said nothing , picking up her plate she spoke again " I'll take this outside, holler if you need me" she said to Nigel as she made a quick exit to the out side porch are and sat down.

"I haven't had any food yet today, but I plan to get some shortly," Nigel told Aria. "New York is seven hours behind this place, so I had just gotten to bed and had been asleep about ten minutes when you summoned me," Nigel said. "I'm going to have to start leaving a bag packed like the rest of you do, aren't I? Except if I did, I'd have a bag with thermal underwear and parkas, and you'd bring me to the damned tropics.
 
"I wouldn't read into it," Nigel told Ruby. "It's probably a bit of both the drugs and the fact that he's just plain out of sorts not being in his own room. I'm getting the impression that it's important to him not to put Edward and Simone out of their room. I can see his point about that. As for whether he thinks he's somehow damaged you, if you haven't been yourself lately, then he probably wonders what that's all about, and the drugs absolutely could be taking him into some decidedly darker places. I have often thought that wizards should never ever be given muggle drugs unless the circumstances are absolutely dire, as they were today. Robert made the only choice he could, but for some wizards, they can have all sorts of strange, unpredictable side effects because muggle drugs don't just affect muggle bodily systems. They also enter the magical system as well, and, of course, they weren't designed for that. So, could that have him in a much more pessimistic mood? Of course it could. My best recommendation right now is to just take it with a grain of salt, let me try to get some food down his gullet, and get him to sleep. This is not the time for him to be having a conversation about anything."

Ruby listened to Nigel and nodded " I agree and as for him harming me in any way , he did not, I guess I slipped back because everything was out of control" she said than chuckled " I felt useless again so I slipped back, now I'm here and home I don't , but I will be talking to Jeffery again so it doesn't happen again in any situation" she said but, yes your right now isn't the time nor place" she said then chuckled " I'll let Aria know its safe for her to eat in the kitchen before I retire to the reading room but please get it threw his thick skull he did nothing to me, except love me for who I am." she said and shook her head as she left the kitchen heading to the reading room where she found the book she had left earlier. Picking it up she sat down and let out a deep breath.

Aria finished her meal and walked back into the kitchen " all clear?" she asked jokingly as she them placed her dish in the sink " perfect Rosaria thank you" she said smiling then looked at Nigel " I've sent a note to Jeffery already about Ruby, just waiting now, I know he's busy so could be morning before he responds." she picked up a soda and pored it into a glass then plated up some food for Marcus and caried it over to where she knew him to be " here eat , you need this as much as he does, Nigel's bringing food for the patient" she said " oh and I sent a note to Jeffery about Ruby, just waiting" she placed the food down next to him and turned to leave the room.

"Well, so, he did notice something different in you, then. That would certainly be enough, under the circumstances to rattle his cage," Nigel said. "Consider one more thing. He's a trained sea captain, and as such, from what Lee tells me, maritime training often stresses to their students that they are responsible for the crew and passengers of their vessels. Angus seems to already tend to be ultra responsible for the lives of those around him, but your little pleasure cruise went completely off the rails, and the sailor in him might well be a little rattled today with the loss of the ship and the fact that you lot were stranded for several hours. Lee and I were talking earlier, and he said to me that he found what you lot did to be most unusual. He said that, typically, the cases where some of his agents were stranded in any situation, those who were stranded tend to sit around and wait to be rescued for a bit before they start to try to forage about for their basic need provisions. But is that what you lot did? Of course not. Angus was dragging you three to shore and salvaging what he could from the wreckage and foraging for resources straight off. That's someone who is pretty damned missions driven. Those sorts of guys don't let go of the task at hand when they're told by someone like me that they have to quit for a bit. Not all soldiers turn it off so quickly or easily, and he strikes me as having a bit of a soldier mentality. Perhaps that's why Marcus can get through to him so easily. I see Marcus as a soldier through and through, and I think that's why he understands Angus so well. I'll mention this conversation to him, and I'm sure Marcus will try to settle him. Might take a little, though, so be patient."

"Thanks," Marcus said when Aria put food down in front of him. "Just so you know, he's really restless, so I'll be staying closer for a bit. I'm sure he still feels like he has things to do, and he has no patience for being restricted like this. Robert and Nigel are probably going to need me to try to get him to cool his jets just a little. I'll probably go snag a shower when I'm done eating because I'm still covered in sand and shipwreck, and then I'll head straight back to him. I'm sure Jeffrey will be along as soon as he can be, but I'm glad you contacted him already."

Aria listened to Marcus and nodded " I can stay with him while you take that quick shower, your starting to smell like the wrong end of a wet dog" she said with a cheeky grin. She looked over at Angus and chuckled " he's all about the mission, isn't he?" she looked back at Marcus " something Nigel said to Ruby a few minuets ago that Angus didn't sit around to be rescued , he gathered resources as if still on a mission, that I would agree" she chuckled and looked down at Marcus " okay solider boy , shower , please, before Rosaria chases you up those stairs or I make you sleep on the couch, not that you'll be doing much of that while Angus is incapacitated."

Ruby finished her book and placed it down only to find another on the table and she chuckled " okay Caprice I know, stop worrying and let them do their job" she said to nobody in particular. It was now she thought she heard a disembodied chuckle and looked around but saw nobody.

"Of course he is. I can tell you exactly what he's thinking. Priscilla and Suzanne haven't quit hunting him and trying to kill him," Marcus said. "Realistically, he's right. They haven't, and it's very likely that this whole thing today was orchestrated to try to take him out, and it dragged us right along with it, as collateral damage. If I were him right now. I would be resisting Robert and Nigel with every cell of my body to try to protect the ones I love, and I think that's exactly what he's thinking. Especially if, on the hind side of it, he sees Ruby coming apart. He does not believe it's safe for Ruby to be around him. He thinks everyone is at risk just being near him, and he believes the cost is way too high for her. I'm not saying he's 100 percent right, but I do understand him. And its all the more reason I have to stay close. I won't put it past him to try to haul himself up to try to go find Suzanne and Priscilla, and I can't let that happen. If you go up there, whatever you do, don't hover. I'm hoping that when his stomach gets full, he'll be sleepy and he'll doze off again. I won't be long."

He headed upstairs to shower, and as he was just about at his room, he saw Carlo coming out of Angus's room with a large basin covered with a towel.

"Carlo, va tutto bene? (is everything alright?)"

"Oh, si. Si, Signore. Il signor Lupin lo aiutò con un bagno a letto, uno shampoo e gli procurò dei pantaloni del pigiama. Gli portarono da mangiare, ma non aveva molta fame. Rosaria non sarà contenta che non abbia mangiato molto. Penso che ora sia molto stanco e sperano che dorma. Oh, ed Edward dice che passerà la notte con lui in modo che tu possa riposarti un po'. (Mr. Lupin helped him with a bed bath, and a shampoo, and got him some pajama pants. They took him food but he wasn't very hungry. Rosaria will not be pleased that he didn't eat much. I think he's very tired now, and they hope he sleeps. Oh, and Edward says he will stay with him overnight so you can get some rest.)"

"Grazie, Carlo," Marcus said. "Per favore, di' a Edward che sarebbe bello. (Please tell Edward that would be nice0."

"Si, Signore," Carlo nodded, and he left.

Marcus showered and got clean clothes and went back into the room. Angus was in a very light doze. Robert was organizing some clean towels and other things into meticulous stacks on the top of Edward's dresser.

"I thought maybe you were Nigel. He went to see if he could get Rosaria would brew some Italian roast coffee. I prefer French roast to Italian roast, but when in Rome, you know. I plan on being nearby tonight. Nigel has been up longer than I have, so I expect him to go to bed tonight and spell me in the morning," Robert said. "I think Edward and I will work out something about the overnight. It isn't necessary for us both to stay, so we'll figure out who's going to stay and when, and you'll relieve us in the morning, right?"

"Certainly," Marcus nodded. They both heard the crackle of wand fire, someone apparating. They glanced out the windows and saw Jeffrey arriving in the side yard. Marcus glanced towards the back yard and then went over to the windows that looked over the back yard. "Robert. There. Look. Right there." Robert went over and looked out the back windows and saw a rather distorted column of what he could only describe as smoke. And Kate was walking towards it.

"What the hell..." Robert began.

"Caprice. It's her. I've seen that now several times before."

"You think she's still here for Angus?"

"I do," Marcus said. "I think she's trying to watch over him. I don't know what she knows that maybe we don't, but she certainly isn't going far from him right now."

"Well, at this point, I won't object to any assistance she can give us," Robert said.

Aria listened to Marcus and nodded " well its not goanna happen, not if we have anything to do with it." she said then smiled at Marcus " don't worry I'm within ear shot so if I'm needed I'll be there in a flash, now shower mister." she told him as she watched him go for his shower with a smirk.

Ruby heard the sound of porting and looked out the window to see Jeffery also Kate walking somewhere or as if towards some one. Closing the book she walked to the main door and watched from it now wanting to interfere as she was not a seer and knew if it was anybody it would be Caprice talking to Kate. "Good to se you, there's hot food and drink in the kitchen Jeffery" she said smiling at him as she walked over to where he was stood.

"Nice to see you," Jeffrey said. "Thanks, but Sarah and I had dinner before I came. Sarah is working on opening a boutique in the village, and she's had me painting and deep cleaning the flagstone floor in the old building we're renovating, and...well, you can imagine. But she and I actually took the time to go a few doors down to a little bistro for dinner tonight before I heard from you. Say, who's the blonde woman over there? I recognize Kate, of course, but who's the blonde woman? I've not met her before, I don't think. She must be a seer like Kate. I recognize the dress she's wearing--it's the gown of a Celtic seer woman."

"Where'd this come from?" Robert and Marcus both heard Nigel coming in behind them with a couple mugs of coffee. He had set down one of the mugs, but now, in one hand, he held the large cloak pin that Angus had found outside.

"Where was it?" Marcus asked. "I thought we left that thing on Angus's dresser."

"I just picked it up off his pillow, right next to his face," Nigel frowned. Marcus went over and took the pin.

"Its' the same one alright," he said. "She must be moving things."

"Perhaps. Kate has always thought that it was as normal for a spirit to move things as it is for us to move things," Robert said. "I've always thought it was a bit out of the norm, but she disagrees with me."

Ruby looked where Jeffery was looking and saw nobody but Kate "oh okay, um... I don't see any one, unless? That's Caprice, Angus's grandmother, she's been making her self known " Ruby paused " she died when Angus was young, but lately since we've been here she's shown herself to a select few and moved things, I know she's likes to give me books to read in her old reading rom, I find one there every time I go in, a different one and Angus found her cloak pin that she was buried with when she drew him out side one time" she said

Aria stayed by the room where Angus was sleeping knowing everyone was outside she wanted to stay close if he tried to leave or anything else that would harm him.

"She must have been a seer," Jeffrey said. "I was told I have some seers abilities, but I tend to only see those who have passed on. Not very useful in my position. But I've never seen a spirit before who looks as real and as solid as we are. Interesting, but I presume you didn't call me here to go ghost hunting, so why don't we find someplace private where we can talk?"

Edward saw Kate walking outside, and he was seeing something but he wasn't sure what. It drew him outside, and then he smelled it--Caprice's perfume. Since those flowers didnt bloom in January, he knew she had to be here, and Kate seemed to see something he wasn't seeing. he walked across the yard towards Kate, and then, finally--he saw her. She was, to him, faint, but he could definitely see her.

Caprice looked at him and simply waited, and to Edward, she was as beautiful as ever. When he reached her, she reached up and brushed his cheek lovingly, as she had done ten thousand times before.

"Do you hear her, Edward?" Kate asked.

"I'm afraid I don't," Edward said, entirely too caught up in seeing her again after all these decades.

"She wants you to know how pleased she is with the man you raised Angus to be. She's only here to help Angus gain a few more skills in dealing with Priscilla. Right now, she's here because the fight isn't over, and Angus isn't able to fight right now. She's drawn to him. Oh, and--she likes Simone, incidentally."

"I'm glad she's here," Edward said.

"She's never far away from you or from this place..." Kate was saying, when Caprice seemed to rise up in the air and float towards the house. Kate and Edward watched as she disappeared through the wall of the house.

"That's the room Angus is in," Edward said. "I guess she's keeping an eye on him."

"I would say so," Kate smiled.