A Birth day

"You do realize you only need two little candles, right?" Edward laughed. "One for each baby. Honestly, I think you really should put one candle each in two of the cupcakes that you iced, and I think it's important that the ones they get to have all sorts of fun with should be the ones that you made for them. So, I think you should decide where their candles go on their cupcakes."

The afternoon ticked by slowly not only for them but also for Robert and Nigel and Marcus, but it was almost exactly half past four when Robert finished. He was tired, and he had a severe headache from eye strain and a neck ache from standing in one place, looking down, for so long. 

"That really was brilliant work," Nigel told Robert, closing the incision for Robert.

"But you aren't going to use that approach, are you?"

"Unlikely, but only because I rarely have that sort of time to give to it," Nigel said. "So, let's let the staff move him into recovery, and while he rests, let's go clean up and change, and I'll get you a wee touch of pain potion for being hunched over him in one position for nigh onto six solid hours."

"Normally, I'd refuse you but right now, that sounds lovely," Robert said. "Marcus, do your best to keep him from thinking he's bouncing straight up to port home before he's even dressed, won't you?"

"Don't worry. I've got him," Marcus laughed."

"If you use the floo right across the hall from the recovery ward, you can still see him from there, and you're only a few steps away," Nigel told him.

"Thank you. Ruby's probably worn a hole in the kitchen floor by now from pacing," Marcus said.

Marcus did not leave Angus until he was safely moved into the recovery ward, and he wanted to e sure that the healers understood that they were not to go anywhere near him while Marcus was out of the room. He wanted no one touching him for any reason while he was not right beside him. 

Then Marcus went out, opened the floo, and called for Edward or Ruby.

"We're here," Edward said. "What's the word?"

"Robert just finished..."

"What? Just finished? It's been almost six hours."

"Yes, I know, but when he gets into surgery, he insists on repairing as much as possible while he's in there, even if he finds a good deal more than what he bargained for. Honestly, every other surgeon I've seen takes shortcuts and gets in and gets out. Robert doesn't work that way. He repaired the bleeding issue but he also saw a lot of damage from a lot of skirmishes in the last couple years, and he did a huge amount of repairs. I'm not going to say he might not have to do more down the road, but it would certainly help if Suzanne and Priscilla would stop pummeling him. Anyway, he's fine, it went long but it went well, and he's still out. I wanted to let you know as soon as Robert was finished. I'm sure we'll be bringing him home sometime in the next hour."

Ruby chuckled and nodded to Edward about letting the babies have the cup cakes she had made and smiled " I'll put a C on Caprices and a D on Dimond's" she said remembering Angus kept edible glitter that she could use on the letters to make them stand out. Now with the glitter and the candle with her letter on she stepped back and placed them in front of the cake the Fae had made " what do you think?" she asked Simone.

Hearing the floo crackle into life and Marcus voice come from it she turned and walked over to stand with Edward she looked at Edward when Marcus said they had just finished and she breathed out in relief. " always the perfectionist" she said and smiled " and that's a good thing for Angus" she listened more when he said they said they would be bringing him home sometime in the next hour. and she spoke again " we have everything set up thanks to Edward and Andrew." she said " you know I won't fully relax until he's back here, till your both back here" she said and smiled glad now Angus was recovering.

"I know, and I know Robert knows too," Marcus said. "We're going to let him wake up and get his wits about him first. He's had a lot of spells and potions because it's been such a long process, so all he's likely going to feel up to doing is just sitting and maybe dozing off and on when he gets home, but that's fine."

"And, can you finish the tale about Priscilla?" Edward asked. "Is she or is she not in a cell in Paris?"

"She is, by all anyone can assess. We already know, though, that there may be followers of hers that we do not know about and so they're not in custody. That's how, we think, this photo was arranged, with some of Priscilla's polyjuice. As far as we know, though, Suzanne and Elliot and Priscilla and her husband are all still in custody, so we should be able to relax a little tonight. Ruby, I'm sure you lot have more than adequately prepared, and if there's anything we're missing, we'll figure it out then. I'm going to get back to him. I can see him from here, but I'd feel a lot better if I were with him. We'll see you shortly."

"Thank you, Marcus. We'll see you then," Edward said, and Marcus closed the floo. "Feel better?" Edward asked Ruby.

Ruby listened to Marcus and smiled " that's all I'll let him do too" she said chuckling she listened to Edward talk to Marcus and was happy about Pricilla and the others still in prison. " yes, I am thank you Edward" she said smiling as she sat down to catch her self and relax she saw Caprice looking up at her and smiled to both Simone and Edward.

" okay I should clean up the kitchen before Angus gets back " she said standing up and heading to the kitchen to put the things she used into the washer and wipe down the surfaces then placing down some paper plates and cups for drinks that she made , fresh pink lemonade. " oh could we , no Abby and Molly being here might be too much for Angus while he recovers" she said and looked at Simone and Edward

"Before you clean up the kitchen," Simone said, "let me whip out the salmon and the polenta and the asparagus. Give me twenty minutes unless you want to help me. Can you clean the asparagus and then wrap them in the prosciutto, please? I want to put them on a sheet pan and drizzle them wiht some olive oil and then add some salt and pepper. We'll just wap them in the oven instead of grilling. We'll roast them instead. It won't take me three minutes to put the salmon fillets on a sheet pan, and then I can get the polenta into a pot. You know, if Marcus is right, that will put them home just about right at our usual supper time. Perfect timing."

She pulled out the salmon fillets, checked them for pin bones, made the pistachio crust and applied it to the salmon and put it all on a sheet pan and put them in the oven, leaving room for the asparagus. Then she got out a big pot, and put on some salted water to boil for the polenta and while she was waiting for the water to boil, she grated three different kinds of cheese to go into the polenta.

"Ruby, do you want to use the sideboard or do you want to set the table? Either is fine with me, but now might be a good time to do that. I think the Fae's cakes and your cupcakes are a perfect centerpiece for tonight," she suggested.

Ruby heard Simone and nodded to her " sure I can do that" she said taking out the asparagus and washing it before snapping it and wrapping them in the prosciutto before placing them onto the tray with the Salmon to go into the oven with it to cook.

She heard Simone and looked at her " um.. side board that way every one can help them selves " she said smiling as she looked over to Caprice and Dimond. She let Simone take over the kitchen and just cleaned up behind her so everything would be good for when Angus and Marcus came home.

Marcus was sitting beside Angus's bed when Nigel came in. 

"Still out?" Nigel asked.

"Yes," Marcus said, watching Nigel go over and start to check vital signs.

"Well, vital signs are all excellent. Actually, I'm not surprised he's not come around yet. Two things about that. First, he was clearly not taking the pain potion as consistently as Robert advised, so the pain was wearing on him. And second, in order to keep him comfortable for so many hours, we had to give him a good deal more spells and potions than we had anticipated."

"He isn't going to necessarily be upset with that," Marcus said. "He's had Suzanne and her hired thugs trying to kill him at every turn, and when they're not going after him, they're going after someone he loves. He hasn't honestly been able to comply as well as Robert would like because he hasn't been able to afford the luxury of being groggy and sleepy if someone's trying to murder him."

"Understandable, but, Belby, you do understand that the last thing we're going to want him to try for awhile is active combat. We presumed we were just repairing a bleeder, but Robert has done hours and hours of microsurgery to repair soft tissue and cartilage that we didn't anticipate needing to do when we started it. He's going to have some time at home babying that shoulder and doing some physical therapy. The good side to it is that if he does it correctly, his shoulder might regain quite a lot of strength and movement in that, more than he's had in a long time."

Angus began to wake. He heard voices, and it took them a moment to not sound miles away. And then he felt pain, quite a lot of it. Nigel flicked his wand and eased the discomfort for him. 

"Better now?" Nigel asked him. Angus nodded. "Good. I'm sure Robert will be along in a moment or two. Give yourself a few minutes to get your eyes open and get your wits about you, and if you're doing well, then, we'll get you up and dressed and work on getting you home. I've already told Marcus that you're not going to feel like doing much of anything for the next 24 to 48 hours. Don't push it. And no sparring or dueling or fighting of any kind. Absolutely none at all."

"I presume that also means no hauling around stacks of landscaping bricks, climbing cliffs or any other shenanigans," Marcus teased.

"God, he's incorrigible, isn't he?" Nigel shook his head. 

"Not all the time," Angus replied sleepily. Nigel and Marcus laughed.

"Sounds like he's awake," Robert said, coming in. He was changed out of his surgical scrubs and back into his suit. 

"He is indeed," Nigel said. "I've just told him I do not want him on combat duty for awhile."

"Of course not," Robert said. "Angus, we'll do whatever we need to do to keep you and your family safe, but you really are going to have to delegate that for awhile. Marcus, Lee is going to send someone to Paris to assist with the cleanup at the ministry there so we can bring Aria home. I want the extra wand power at the duplex right now because we do have to take him off fighting for awhile. Nor do I want him lifting 20 pound toddlers, so I think the extra hand will be helpful--if she wants to turn over the Paris assignment to Lee's person and come home. Can you reach her and see what she wants to do?"

"I'll give it a try," Marcus said.

"So here's what I want you to do for the rest of the day" Robert told Angus. "First of all, you were in surgery longer than you know. Your shoulder is going to need to be immobilized for a little. The repair was very extensive, and we were in there almost six hours. It's just about five o'clock at home...."  Angus frowned deeply. He had figured this would be a quick in and out. His first thought was that Ruby was surely a complete mess by now.

"I can't do this. I have to get home," Angus said, throwing back the covers. 

"Calm," Marcus soothed, stepping in and replacing the covers. "Things are fine. I just talked to Ruby a few minutes ago. She's not having a meltdown. She's taking it alot better than you think. She's fine."

"Angus," Robert sighed, sitting down in the other chair, "far be it for me to meddle in another man's marriage, however, you need to stop reacting to whether or not something might upset Ruby. She isn't as fragile as she was, and she knows that you're a fighter and that you have a rather chronic shoulder problem. She knows this sort of thing is just a part of the job and very likely will come up from time to time, and I already told her that this repair was going to need done sooner or later. We didn't expect it today, but the fact that it's completed should actually take anxiety off her plate for her. Besides, you can't protect her from herself and her own nerves. She's a big girl. She'll be fine. Now, just take a breath and calm yourself. You're not going to be able to bounce right up and dash off home. 

"And," Robert continued, "you're just now conscious, with a huge amount of heavy potions and spells in your system. Not to mention that before that, you lost a lot of blood in the skirmish in Lee's office, which is why we got into all of this in New York and not at home. You aren't going to have the strength or the balance to go anywhere by yourself today, and perhaps for another day or two after that."

"How about I have them bring you at least a cup of tea," Nigel suggested, "and then we'll see how you do at getting dressed. If you can manage that without falling on your face, then I think you'll be good for Robert and Marcus to get you home. Oh, and I'll get you a scrub jacket. Your shirt is a ripped up mess. You might as well toss that one."

Nigel had the nurse bring Angus and Marcus some tea, and she brought in a charcoal gray zip up jacket that looked every bit like something Angus could wear just about any place. While they were drinking their tea, Marcus bagged up Angus's ruined shirt and sent a text to Aria, knowing that, with the time change, it was 6 pm in Paris.

"Hey," Marcus's long text to Aria said, "I don't mean to disturb you if you're working late, but Angus and I are in New York, and Angus has just come out of surgery at Nigel's for another big repair on his shoulder. We're going to be heading home in the next 30 minutes or so probably. Because Robert says Angus can't do any fighting right now, he is offering you the chance to ditch your current assignment to help provide some additional security at the duplex. He thinks the extra wand would be a huge help. I think Robert will be good whether you decide to come home or whether you'd rather stay on with the ministry cleanup. Just let me know your thoughts. M."

Aria had just finished her tenth interview when her phone that she kept with her pinged, smiling she opened it and looked at it .

"oh that's from Marcus" Lucian said teasing her " I can tell by the smile " he paused and looked at her " okay so what it say if you don't mind me asking. Aria looked at Lucian and showed him the message " so what you going to do?" he asked.

"family comes first I'm going home once the position can be filled " she said and quickly sent a message back to Marcus.

"Marcus , please ask Robert to send some one over as I will be returning, Family comes first and he's right an extra wand is essential right now what with Tom gelding and his bunch still lose and after Angus, also I mis you and our extended family, Aria."

Closing her phone she packed up and headed over to the hotel room packing her belongings and double checking she had everything from the draws and under the bed . Walking into the living area she placed her bag down and smiled to Lucian as she saw the replacement arrive quickly. " make sure the replacement double checks everything" she told him and he nodded as he walked over to her.

"its been fun working with you Aria, keep that man and his family safe" she nodded " we'll work together again Lucian" she said and with a hug she stepped back picked up her bag and headed back to the duplex porting out. Arriving she walked up to the door and opened it to see Ruby and Simone " you know you really should keep this locked " she said smiling.

Ruby heard Aria s voice and smiled " Ari , your back" she said giving her a hug as Aria moved to sir down.

"yeah got a message from Marcus , Angus will be home soon, real soon" she said " and Robert thought that I would me of more use here than in Paris, though we were about two thirds threw it so not many left or Lucian and Brian to work three." she added with a smile " oh I did bring gifts" she took out her bag some chocolates and French lace along with .Paris Skyline Shadow Play Lantern " I thought the babies would like it as it spins the Paris skyline." she said placing them on the table along with some small soaps and hand lotions " hotel said we could take those, haven't touched them" It was now Ruby handed her a cup of Coffee " oh yay nice proper coffee, French roast it okay but this is way better" she chuckled

Marcus got Aria's text, and he relayed to Robert that Aria was indeed going back to the duplex. Robert merely nodded. That was one less problem.

"So onto the next. We need to see if we can get him dressed without an issue," Robert said.

"I can do that," Marcus said. "No problem."

"Well, then, I'll go hustle the nurses with his discharge papers," Robert said.

"Good idea," Marcus replied. It didn't take Marcus very long to get Angus back into his jeans and his canvas slip ons, with the gray scrub jacket. Marcus was actually glad that he didn't have to get Angus's shoulder in the tee shirt he'd been wearing. Nor had they brought him a scrub shirt that would have gone over his head. He was just straightening out Angus's hair with his fingers when Robert came back with the discharge papers. Robert attempted to go over the paperwork with Angus, but Angus wasn't absorbing one moment of it, so Robert stopped reading. 

"Just sign it," Robert said to Angus. "It isn't like I won't see you." Angus signed the paperwork that Robert slid under his nose, and Robert tucked the papers into his own jacket pocket for now. He had also brought Angus a shoulder strap to immobilize his shoulder.  "Look, I know this isn't your favorite, but your shoulder is going to hurt like the very devil for a few days. Much as it is a pain in the bum, it really will help to reduce the pain if we take away the weight of your arm from your shoulder for a few days."

"I don't care," Angus shrugged. Robert understood that this was largely all the medications and spells Angus still had in his system. Robert and Marcus put the strap on and adjusted it so that it would ease the discomfort. 

"I think we're good," Marcus said.

"Let's get him home, then," Robert said. Marcus checked his watch. It was 5:40, ten minutes past when he'd estimated they'd be home. Hopefully, people were calm at home. Marcus and Robert got Angus up on his feet, and they ported home.

They landed in the yard almost right at the front steps, and they helped him up the steps. Robert flicked his fingers at the door to open it, and they went in.

"We're back," Marcus said. "And not all that far off when I thought we'd be."

"Give us a moment, if you would," Robert told them. They helped him to his chair and helped him to sit. Marcus already knew how Andrew organized a supply cart, so he got the insulated mug for cold drinks. 

"Soda? Lemonade? Water?" Marcus asked Angus.

"Beer?" Angus teased. Marcus laughed. "Water's fine," Angus said. Marcus filled the mug with ice, added water and put the lid on it, taking it over to his side table.

"Now, Angus," Robert said, "I want you to get something to eat soon. I know you're not going to feel like it, but you need some food. You're going to need it because of all the blood loss and because of all the heavy pain potions you're going to need over the next two or three days."

"Fine," Angus said, not interested in food, but not intending to give him static either. 

"Clearly, he has felt better," Marcus laughed.

"Ruby," Robert said. "I expect he's going to doze quite a lot for the next 24 hours. I'm going to send over a much heavier pain potion than what he has here. What you have here isn't going to hold him for awhile. I did rile things up in his shoulder, so its properly pissed off right now, but it will get better. I'm not going to start any physical therapy quite yet, but I will start that as soon as I can. Any questions for me?"

Ruby heard the sound of porting and the back door open by its self she smiled but moved out of the way so they could bring Angus in " Andrew has it all set up" she said moving to make fresh coffee and tea for every one who wanted it . Aria had taken her bag up to their room and was returning with the dirty clothing to wash.

" okay this is all my washing" she said pausing when she saw Marcus with Angus walking him to his chair. Placing the washing in the basket she moved to move the blanket away from Angus feet so he could sit properly. Ruby heard Robert and nodded " yes just one , how much and when" she asked meaning hoe mush potion should she give him and how often should she give him it, " oh and do I have scolding rights if he won't take it" she said teasingly to Angus.

Aria picked up her cup and looked at Marcus " fill me in nonce Angus is settled" she said softly to him. " Robert the Paris interviews was about thee quarters done but I can debrief you tomorrow" she said " now seeing Angus with the shoulder sling on as he sat in his recliner.