A Birth day

"Then let me treat you to a tasting," Tom suggested. "You'll get plenty of beef, that's for sure."

"That sounds great, Tom. We'll leave it to your judgment," Angus said. When Tom left, Angus took the last dose of energy potion, and it did help him feel better quickly. He was grateful for it. Tom sent a sommelier over with a lovely red wine, and when Angus approved, the sommelier poured them each a glass.

Tom sent out a mini charcuterie board as a starter, and a beetroot salad with goat cheese, candied walnuts, and some baby greens with a balsamic dressing. The entrees were portions of perfectly grilled sirloins, portions of the best chateaubriand that Angus had ever tasted, and a magnificent cumbrian chicken dish. The sides were creamed spinach, a beautiful wellington that was actually stuffed with cheese and wild mushrooms, and one of the most luxurious macaroni and cheese dishes Angus had ever tasted. The dessert flight had affogato, sticky toffee pudding, and a beautiful sampling of three or four perfectly prepared profiteroles, all served with some top notch espresso.

By the time Angus had gotten to the end of his meal, he was completely stuffed. He happened to glance up towards David, and he noticed, for the first time, that Tom had made sure that David had been served the same 5 star meal that they had had.

Angus enjoyed having a quiet meal with just Ruby, no kids, no house guests, no one else but them.

"Somehow, we dont take nearly enough time to do things like this," Angus said. "But when we do, i always ask myself why we don't do them more often. I needed this little break from having so many people around. I like them, but every so often, its great to be without them."

Ruby chuckled and smiled to Tom " that would be wonderful thank you" she said and smiled as she noticed Angus take his potion. Seeing the food she chuckled " I'll have to take a run in the morning to work off all this good food" as he said then heard Angus speak and nodded " sometimes a bit of time alone is like recharging batteries , and yes I love them too but their energy is draining at times, this , just me and you is refreshing" she said smiling as she took his good hand in her own " I love these times just as I love the times with the kids too" she noticed David had the same food and chuckled smiling " that's good , he's a nice guy Tom I'm glad I got to meet and old school buddy" she said

"I think you're right. I do love all of them too, but you're right, every once in awhile we really do need some quiet time. Our lives have changed so much since we met. Its hard to wrap my mind around it all. It hasn't been even quite two years yet, and we have a house and six kids. Wait. Forget I said that. That makes it sound terrifying. I'm not gonna think about it. I'm gonna finish my dessert and enjoy my coffee. We couldn't have done it without all the people we have around us, though. I know they don't expect anything, but maybe, at some point we could do something for them, but I don't know what. Maybe when it warms up we could invite one of my chef buddies to do some sort of outdoor five star meal for them. I do know that the folks back home really dos love to eat, that's for sure, and beef seems to be the favorite of just about everybody at the estate."

He sipped on his coffee, feeling comfortable and relaxed, and before he knew it, a yawn escaped him.

David came over to them.

"I hate to interrupt your evening, but you've got about fifteen minutes left on your potion, Angus," David said. "You should think about heading home soon before Ruby and I have to do all the heavy lifting, and after that magnificent meal, you're going to weigh another five pounds than you did before."

"Damn," Angus sighed, looking at Ruby, disappointed, not ready to go home. "Promise me we will get another chance to go out without all the rest of the herd with us."

Ruby smiled at Angus and nodded as he continued to talk " I agree , maybe a family BBQ when the weather warms " she said smiling as she saw him yawn. When David walked over she nodded " I agree and Angus there will be lots of days we can do this " she said and smiled " we have plenty of time" at David's words she nodded " I think we should say our good nights and thank you to Tom" she said with a smile.

Standing she looked for Tom and walked over to him " thank you for a wonderful meal, it was wonderful but Angus and I appreciate that you took the time to personally serve us." she said to him as she gave him a gentle hug " we're thinking of having a BBQ in the spring it would be wonderful if you could come and cater it since your Angus friend" she asked as they walked back to where Angus and David stood waiting.

"I'm so glad you liked it," Tom smiled. "A barbeque? For Angus? Just name the date and the time, and we'll be there. Sorry you need to rush off, but I hope we'll see you both again soon."

"Let's not waste time," David said quietly to Ruby. "He's tired." David apparated them home, and by then, Angus was feeling exhausted. Edward was just letting Finn back inside on his side of the duplex when he saw them return.

"Let me help," Edward said. "I probably can lift a bit more than you can, Ruby. Could you give Finn a biscuit please?" He helped David get Angus over to his bed and sat Angus down on the bed. "Thank you, David. I think we can get it from here."

"I'll go make a security check, then," David said, heading to check the duplex, starting upstairs in the bedrooms and working downward, the opposite of Marcus's preferences.

"How was the ball? Did you have a good time?" Edward asked.

"It went like it should," Angus said. "How was the symphony?"

"Wonderful. Rosaria and Carlo were tired when we got back, and they went straight to bed. They're used to early mornings, not late nights. But they had a wonderful time."

"Then it was worth it," Angus yawned.

ruby smiled and nodded to Tom " we'll let you know" she said and walked back to David taking hold of Angus and letting him port them home. Once there she saw Edward with Finn and nodded " of course" she said and moved from Angus once Edward had him and walked to the kitchen . Grabbing a dog treat she gave it to Finn praising him for being good while they were out. Ruby looked up and chuckled as she saw Angus yawn " good call there David" she said putting the kettle on for some coffee or tea to end the night " I'll fetch some PJ's for Angus" she said and headed up stairs, while she was there she changed into her own night clothes and walked back down with fresh clean ones for Angus.

Aria chuckled as they finished their dance and she saw the time and that Angus and Ruby had left for the night and chuckled " you think hat will stay any longer I see the paparazzi have trickled down since the Rita incident " she said to Michael as she sat back down and took a sip from her drink.

"Well, I think that they'll stay for the fundraising auction that is supposed to help raise funds for an addition to the pediatric wing," Michael said. "Khaat wants to add a critical care unit to the pediatric department, and I think its an excellent idea. That's what this is all about, actually. Once the auction is over, she'll turn the evening over for dancing for a couple more hours, but she'll leave soon after. She's not required to stay after the auction, and I know how long these days are for her. She's probably not had a chance to sleep much in the last 24 hours because of making sure this is all going to go smoothly. I'm sure she's tired. Marcus knows her pattern for handling these things, so he'll be trying to get her to let it go and go home absolutely as soon as she can leave." He saw Marcus look his way and give a very tiny signal with one finger. Michael nodded.

"Marcus would like us to take a security walk through," he told Aria, standing to his feet. "That surely means she's wanting to start the auction, but she'll want the building to be secure before they start bringing in the wares for auction. Some of them are very expensive. Care to come with? As soon as we finish the check, she'll start the auction if we're clear."

Edward helped Angus out of his tux and into some pajama bottoms, and at Angus's request, he started a low fire in the fireplace and set Caprice's wand aside for him. He took the magic wrap off because it was no longer cold, and he fetched him a dose of pain potion and put it by his bed in case he needed it.

"You need anything else?" Edward asked, covering him.

"No, I dont think so. Just to be out of this bed."

"You' did exceptionally well. You've been out of bed all afternoon getting ready, and all evening at the ball. It's time you were tired. You aren't going to be in this bed much longer. Mark my words. I bet its only another day or so at best before you have your chair back."

"God, I hope so," Angus said.

Aria listened to Michael and nodded she saw the gesture Marcus made and heard Michael nodding " of course" she said as she stood up and smoothed down her dress again.. " I think this is a worthwhile cause" she said smiling as they started their security checks she checked everyone was where they wee meant to be and doors that were not meant to be open were locked along with windows that ere not open.

Ruby chuckled and looked at Angus " when your ready I'll have Jack bring it back up from downstairs" she said smiling " but tonight was wonderful, now you rest " she said gently kissing his cheek as she sat down on the couch.

Aria walked with Michael around the venue watching those around her and greeting some who recognised Michael at her side. She chatted politely but then moved on. " I'm guessing half these people don't actually know you, there just smoozing?" she said with a chuckle.

"I give him about ten minutes and then he's going to be out like a light," Edward laughed. "Wait a minute." Edward stopped and frowned. "It's after curfew. Why aren't the kids home? Curfew ended an hour ago."

"They're mine. All four of 'em. I'm gonna kill 'em," Angus said tiredly.

"Kill 'em in the morning, Boy," Edward said with an amused smile. "You're too tired tonight. You want us to kill 'em for you?"

"Nope. They're mine--all mine," Angus said.

"They are gonna wish we'd killed them instead, I think," Edward told Ruby.

"Well, you're right, of course," Michael laughed. "Anyone who calls me Mike or Mikey doesn't know me. The only person I've ever let call me Mikey is Abbey. Some of these people have seen me with Daniella or Robert, and they figure if I think they're a friend I can do them favors, which, of course, I have no intention of doing. The ones who call me Michael are probably contacts I've made through the ministry. And, for some reason, the ones who have called me Mr. Tremaine have been pretty much contacts through which I've been able to secure certain goods or services. Folks that walk a rather gray line between legal and illegal, if you get my drift."

Ruby looked around the room and sighed nodding to Edward " that's strike two" she said " but Edwards right leave them till the morning " she said softly to Angus " you sleep" she looked towards the door and then to Edward worried about the kids " there at the ball there's plenty there to bring them back right?" she asked.

Aria listened to Michael and nodded " okay so the ones that use a nickname are not friends but gold diggers and the one hat call you Mr Tremaine are contacts, right I got that" she said and smiled as they passed a flamboyant couple calling him Micky this made her cringe at the sound of the woman's voice but she put on a smile ." shouldn't the kids have gone home by now?" Aria asked seeing Sam and Victor with Ginger and Anise still dancing and drinking the mocktails or she hoped that's what they were drinking.