A Birth day

Ruby heard Angus talk to Jack and she smiled " its delicious " she said and Jack chuckled as he spoke about his left shoulder being the bad one " yeah, would suck big time" he said as he looked over at Joseph " wouldn't be a bad thing, he doesn't make friends well that one, but hes a good egg, now" he said with a chuckle as he watched Joseph stand up and brush down his trousers again.

Joseph walked over to Sam and Victor "so how was it today?" he asked as Thimble poked out his pocket looking at them both before he looked around at the braziers around the grounds and the barrier before returning to the babies. and making sure they were safe. Jack walked over to Joseph and sat down with the babies.

"go get some food" he said motioning to some ribs sat on a plate. Joseph looked at them and stood up picking up a plate he placed some salad on it and two ribs before sitting down again. next to Jack and carefully eating the ribs " these are really good lots of flavour and taste." he said making sure not to get any sauce on his clothing.

"It was fine," Sam said. "Pulled off several fields today. Garlic, onions, and nigh onto about four tons of courgettes, I think."

"Don't exaggerate," Victor rolled his eyes. "We did get about four times the courgettes that Angus planned for, though. And in our house, that means lots and lots and lots of Italian cooking. I'm not complaining, though, because I really do like our dad's ratatouille."

"What's in your pocket? Just a word from the wise, that better not be a bowtruckle," Sam told Joseph. "Robert's granddaughter considers them members of the family--especially Fudge."  

As people were finishing, Abbey came over to Angus, and he scooped her up on his lap.

"Aggie, why are we putting corns in a hole?" she asked.

"Corns in a...Oh! Cornhole. It's just the name of the game. It's a game about throwing beanbags into the holes in those boards over there. See? Your daddy is going to give it a go....Well, not like that, he isn't. He's supposed to get it in the hole. Suppose your mom will do better? Let's watch. Ah! See? That's how its done."

"Then why is it not beans in the hole?" she asked

"Good question. I agree. It should be beans in the hole," he laughed. "How was your ice cream sandwich."

"I want more," she told him. 

"I'll split one with you, okay?" he asked, not thinking she should have two. She nodded. He accio'd one as Zoe was taking the tray to put it in Angus's freezer. It made Zoe laugh. Angus cut the ice cream sandwich in half. "Which half do you want?"

"The chocolate one," she said.

"They're both chocolate. Here. Pick one," he said. She pointed to the half that had pink sprinkles. "I should have guess that. Here." He gave her half, and he took the other.

"Aggie, we need berry sammiches," she told him. "You need to make berry ones."

"Hm. I haven't heard of berry ones."

"Yeah, but you can do anything. Make berry ones."

"I'll try to figure that out just for you, if you help me make them. Deal?"

"Deal," she nodded firmly. "Aggie, who is the naughty lady?

"What naughty lady?"

"She comes in the dark. She naughty."

"Does she have a name?"


"Um..." she thought. "Yeah. I think."

"What's her name?"

"Pew."

"Pew?" he frowned.

"Pew," she nodded.

"Pearl?"

"That's what I said. Pew."

"If she comes, you hide. Don't talk to her. Don't let her see you or hear you. I will get rid of Pearl as soon as I can. I promise."

"Ree Ree telled me the same thing."

"Ree Ree is right," Angus said.

Joseph chuckled and nodded " sounds like a good balanced meal" he said then heard Sam and chuckled " no its not a bow truckle its thimble a foo stool shes so small as shes the runt, I'm looking after her" he said and took her out to show them. " once shes old enough she can stay with me in my room at the grounds mans tower, keep me company " he said patting her gently and letting her go back in his pocket.

Jack watched Abby with Angus and Joseph as he walke3d around the outside of the area that everyone was playing in. He kept an eye out for trouble. He paused and picked up a bean bag then threw it , it landed right in the hole and he chuckled continuing to walk around the perimeter his hands behind his back as he walked.

Aria chuckled and finished her ribs placing the rubbish in the bin and the plate in the was area.She returned to Sit down and watched Jack and the new guy " so whose that?" she asked Angus " I've seen him around but never this close" she added.

"Abigail," Kate said, relieved. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you. Sorry, Angus, I should have known she'd be with you. It's your bath time. Come on. Let's go." She picked up Abbey from his lap.

"She's no trouble, Kate," Angus said. "I don't get to see her very often anymore."

"Well, if you have time tomorrow that would be much appreciated. Molly has to have an appointment with the d-e-n-t-i-s-t tomorrow morning, and it isn't going to be pleasant.  She has to have a bit of surgery, and she's a-f-r-a-i-d." Angus understood why Kate was spelling. Kate didn't want Abbey to be afraid. 

"Hey, Abs, I'm going to make pink kitty pancakes for breakfast at my house tomorrow. Wanna come?" Abbey nodded enthusiastically.

"I come now!" she said.

"He isn't making them til morning, Abbey," Kate laughed. "I'll bring her over in plenty of time. Thank you."

"No problem at all," Angus laughed. "She can help us in the kitchen."

"She will love that," Kate smiled. She took Abbey and headed to the house.

"God, she really is teensy tiny," Sam said. "Its a good thing she's in your pocket. She'd disappear in the grass. You know, you should get one of the old fish tanks from the barn, clean it up and make her little safe space there with a miniature dog house and a bed and some toys and such. At least you'd know she'd be safe while you were at work."

"What?" Victor looked at him frowning.

"What's wrong with my idea?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Victor said. "It's just that you actually had a good idea for once. I'm surprised you had it in you."

"Idjit," Sam scowled at Victor. 

"Name's Joseph," Angus said. "Don't know much about him. He's a new hire for the grounds crew. Been hanging around with Jack while he learns the ropes. Ru, I guess I'm making pink kitty pancakes for Abbey in the morning. I probably need to mention to Robert that Abbey's been seeing Pearl in her sleep too. That does not make me happy. She needs to leave Abbey alone."

Joseph smiled and chuckled as they spoke about Thimble he listened to Sam and nodded " that is a good idea" then he chuckled as Victor ribbed Sam for having it. " I think there's a large fish tank in the basement of the grounds mans tower, I'll take a look tomorrow and clean it out, if Orin says its okay for me to look after her" he said " she is still small to be away from her mother for too long" He watched ass Kate moved to Angus and took Abby from him talking about the dentist and he chuckled when she spelt two words he knew would scare her.

Ruby smiled to Abby and nodded " I'll make sure he does make the pancakes but not before you get to ours" she said smiling at her as Kate took her for her bath. Listening to Angus she sighed " so shes not just going for you, but any seer of any age, that's just wrong" she said " oh I have a recipe for strawberry ice cream could make some and do the same on them to make them pink for Abby" she suggested.

"I probably will have to be up early to make some strawberry puree to put in the pancakes," he told her. "You could use some in your ice cream if you want. I'd make the puree tonight, but..."

"Here," Marcus said, setting a clear glass coffee mug in front of Angus. Angus knew Marcus's tricks well. The different mug had not been an accident on Marcus's part. "Fresh brewed. Ruby, if you hand me your cup, I'll go put some fresh hot coffee in it for you." That was purposeful too. Ruby had the same white mugs as everyone else. I told my clan I'd stay for a little bit with you lot to make sure you're all safe for the night and that Minos has things well in hand. If things go well, I'll go home. If not, then I'll just sleep over at your place tonight. Unless you've farmed my room out already?"

"Of course not. You're welcome any time," Angus said, sipping on the coffee Marcus had given him.

"I'm not going to tell you that you've obviously overdone it today," Marcus told him.

"Yes, well, sometimes that's the job," Angus replied.

"And, just so you know, my family ate their share and somebody elses in ribs. They went crazy for them. I'm probably never going to get them back home," Marcus teased. "My house is going to be as crazy as your house. Thanks a lot." He pretended to be sarcastic. "In all seriousness. Thank you, you and Ruby both. They appreciated how much you all did to help them, and they're feeling much better than when they arrived."

"Any time. Always glad to help," Angus said.

"Simone and Edward are getting along with my parents like they've known them all their lives, and apparently Simone and my mum are cooking breakfast at my place tomorrow."

"Good for them. We're going to be making pink kitty pancakes," Angus said.

"What?" Marcus frowned. "Why? Oh, wait. You're Abbey-sitting, arent' you?"

"We are," Angus laughed.

"I think I'll stick to the adult breakfast at my place, thanks," Marcus laughed.

Ruby sat and watched the girls as they started to get sleepy " I think the babies are done" she said chuckling as Caprice could not keep her head up and lay down " oh that would be wonderful Marcus thank you" she said handing him her cup to refill. she chuckled and smiled to Marcus " as Angus said Our pleasure" she said smiling to him.

Aria walked out the cottage over to the area where now only adults sat and older kids. she walked over to Marcus " I put poppy and in her room she looked exhausted but happy" she said smiling " Daria and Ezra seem to like their rooms too" she said " I put your parents in the guest room."Zane and Kai are in one room, and Zane is in his own room, I think last I saw him he was there." she said and chuckled softly to him.

Joseph walked around gathering the games and putting them back where they should be for others to play should they want but he had noticed the sun was setting and the stars were coming out. Now he walked over to Orin " Orin, when could I take Thimble home?" he asked " Sam made a suggestion as to where she could stay while I am at work" he said as he lifted Thimble out of his pocket and held her.

"I think they're probably all tired tonight," Marcus said to Aria. "A fire like that can certainly take its toll. A good night's sleep will do them all good. If I decide to stay at the duplex, I'll let you know. It just depends how it goes. But don't wait up. They're early rises like we are, so you should get some sleep yourself."

"Well, they're not my dogs, so I can't tell you exactly," Orin said. "They're Michael's. He's the one who owns Otto and Faline. I thought you two discussed that earlier today, didn't you? I'm not a dog expert but I think, for ordinary dogs, they need to be with their mums at least til they're at least about six weeks, and usually 8 weeks is preferable. Two weeks is just entirely too soon, but you knew that already, I'm sure. Michael says he spends most of his time here, and he prefers to have the dogs here because they get too lonely at home. If that's the case, maybe you can work something out with him. I know this case Michael's working on is exceptionally dangerous, so perhaps you could dog sit all the dogs a good portion of the time, and if you did, that would give you time with Thimble." Orin glanced at Michael who was helping with the food cleanup. "He's busy right now, but maybe you could catch him in the morning and talk to him."

Aria listened to Marcus and nodded to him " okay, makes sense I guess that would enable me to get up early and make breakfast for them" she said smiling as she moved to kiss his cheek " see you tomorrow" she said and walked back to the cottage.

Joseph listened to Orin and nodded " yeah we did" he said and looked to where Michael was busy cleaning up " that actually might work" he said looking at the now sleeping puppy foot stools. He gathered them up and chuckled as they cosied into his arms " okay, I'll ask him in the morning" he said then placed Thimble in Orin hands h gave her a last head pat and then smiled turning he walked back to the tower and entered taking the stairs to the basement. Unlocking the door he stepped inside there he found a very large fish tank he carried it up to his room and placed it next to his bed, all that sat in his room was a table chair , lamp and the bed the addition of the fish tank made the room feel less empty.

He added a soft cushion and shrink it to fit like a dog bed then added a small bowl for food and one for water and several small items he thought she could play with . Satisfied he lay on the bed , his arm behind his head.

Ruby thanked Marcus as he handed her her now full cup of coffee " going to need this to get the syrup done for the pancakes tomorrow morning" she said and chuckled smiling as she watched Joseph hand the pups to Orin then walk to the grounds men's tower., his gate and stance seemed oddly familiar. " does Joseph remind you of any one particular, or is it just me?" she asked Angus as she stared to sip her coffee again.

"Well, don't forget that Simone and my mother are fixing breakfast tomorrow," Marcus told her. "They're looking forward to some time in the kitchen together. I think it's something about having some time with someone in their own age group. My advice is that if you're up before them, which seems unlikely, knowing those two, I would just make a pot of coffee and a pot of tea and stay out of their way."

"Maybe," Angus said quietly, not wanting others to overhear, when Ruby asked if Joseph reminded him of anyone in particular because he honestly didn't want to offend anyone. "In some ways, he sort of reminds me of Michael, but I hesitate to say that too quickly because I don't know if its that they do have some personality things in common or whether its because they have the same last name. Michaels' been fooled before with people just randomly showing up and saying they're a Tremaine. But, that's up to them to figure out if they choose to do that." He finished his coffee and realized Marcus had put a substantial dose of pain potion in the coffee.. It did help reduce the pain but it wasn't going to do anything for the fatigue he was feeling.

"I think I'm going inside," he told her. "I should get some things done before morning, I suppose. Take your time and enjoy the evening if you like. Don't hurry inside on my account."  He got up and went inside, got the strawberries out of the fridge, washed the berries and then sat down at the table with a paring knife and a couple bowls and started stemming and cutting the strawberries to make it easier to cook them down into a puree.