A Birth day

Before long, Kate arrived, knocked and went in.

"They're on their way," she said, going over and turning down the sheets on the bed. "He's still under sedation and probably will be for quite awhile, but Robert's taken care of the broken bones and all the cuts and bruises."

"We should get out of their way," Elwood told Victor and Anise, who gladly got up and moved Elwood's chair to the kitchen to get him out of the way. Ginger was putting her improvised fruit tart into the oven.

"You're baking? At this hour?" Victor asked.

"Never you mind," Ginger said. A couple minutes later, Kate heard apparating, and she opened the door. Marcus and Robert were levitating Angus, and they brought him in and lowered him to the bed. Robert adjusted Angus's position, covered him and then double checked his vitals just out of habit.

"His shoulder is not in a cast because I wanted it set properly," Robert told Ruby. "I opened up the shoulder and set it myself internally. It's been stitched shut and dressed. That shoulder has been buggared too many times to not do it right. Besides, we know how he is about voluntary surgeries. I decided I might as well do it while he couldn't be a butthead about it. There is a cast on his arm because I didn't need to open that up to set it. And, I did put a rib brace on his broken ribs because we're going to be probably rolling him all around, and I really don't want to screw those up now that they're back where they should be. I've closed the small cuts, but you know bruises just need to heal on their own. I'm not going to be going far for awhile until I see how he is when he wakes. Right now, he's exhausted and he needs to heal from the traumatic shock. So I'll be hanging around for a bit. If it goes well, Andrew can take over for me in the morning. Any questions?"

"And I'm not going anywhere," Marcus said. "I will go and get my go back out of the closet though and get a shower if no one minds."

"Go ahead while its quiet," Robert said.

"He's going to be alright, though, right?" Anise asked.

"He's going to be fine," Robert said. "Might take a little, but its going to help him to be home with you lot. You should get some sleep while he's sleeping."

"I'll go when my tart comes out of the oven," Ginger said.

"We'll go so we can keep an eye on the babies. Feel free to wake us if you need us," Simone said.

"Marcus, could you help me to my room while you're going upstairs, please?" Elwood asked.

"Of course," Marcus said. "I'll be happy to."

"Ruby," Elwood said, "he's going to need you far more when he wakes. You need to recharge your energies while you can. You should try to get a little sleep. You should all get a little."

"We'll go too, then, if you tell us if there's any change." Victor said, gesturing to Anise. He and Anise headed to their rooms. Robert got out the chart to document everything accordingly, including making notations of what medications he wanted used and the doses.

Ruby heard Kate say they were coming and she stood up but oved out of the way once she saw Angus she felt relived , now she listened to Robert and nodded at each word he said then shook her head when asked if they had any questions " I'm just glad hes home" she said walking to the kitchen and placing down her mug.

Aria heard Marcus and nodded " I'll remain too" she said and glanced at Ruby as she heard Elwood and nodded when he said about sleep. Ruby now headed up to their room and lay down on the bed letting her eyes close she fell asleep quickly. Aria followed her up once she knew Ruby was sleeping she placed a blanket over her and returned down stairs.

"shes fast asleep" she said and watched Robert write down things that she took to be notations of what medications he wanted used and the doses he was to have. " Do you know how long until he wakes?" she asked Robert softly.

"He'll wake only when I let him wake," Robert said very quietly to Aria.

"Aria will be alright with the facts," Marcus told Robert quietly. "We're going to need her help."

"Frankly speaking, then, if you'll indulge me for a moment," Robert said to Aria, "If Angus wakes in the state he's in, while Ruby's in the state she's in, she'll lose her mind. At this point, as a healer, I have to try to do what is in both their best interests, and that's a fine line tonight. Letting them both sleep is what they both need, so that's what I think we need to do. And, honestly, it's what the rest of us need too. We're all spent after this weekend. Between the tournament yesterday and this nonsense today, we all could use a few hours of sleep."

"We had a small issue in the midst of tending Angus at St. Mungo's, Aria," Marcus said. "And this is not something we can tell Ruby right now. Angus somehow woke up in the middle of the surgery on his shoulder, and he was extremely upset. Robert had to hit him hard with a very strong anesthesia spell so he could finish the surgery and so Angus didn't hurt himself while Robert had his shoulder wide open. What we were able to understand from Angus was that this weirdo woman somehow elaborately staged things to make him think that not only were several of us dead but that we were dead because she had cursed him with the imperious curse and made him actually do the deeds."

"His body is coursing on mammoth amounts of adrenalin. It showed up in my assessment of him," Robert said. "That's his own natural state as a fighter that helps him to defend himself or us in times of danger. His waking during surgery was directly caused by his extreme fear and adrenalin, and it made me take a much closer assessment. The deeper I looked, the more I found traces of numerous dark potions and spells--hard evidence that horrible woman used spells and potions to cause him to have gaps in his memory, and then, using even more dark spells and potions, she implanted entirely false memories so that she actually made him believe he remembers being forced to kill several of us against his will. He was made to believe he was killing every one of us, one by one. This was very carefully and deliberately planned. Every move was designed to hurt and was painstakingly deliberate. This was attempted murder on her part, flat out. And for a man like Angus, so dedicated to family, that is causing him horrendous, unconscionable emotional suffering. I am convinced some of the screaming Ruby said she heard was not just his physical suffering but the emotional anguish of believing he killed the people he loves the most. He believed I was already dead, so imagine his surprise when he woke to see me, with a scalpel in my hand, standing over him. It flipped him out, and understandably so. He apparently hadn't killed Marcus yet, though, so we used that to anchor him long enough that I could sedate him again. He will be alright, but it may take us a bit for us to untangle all of this twisted thinking she's caused him. And that is a portion of why I have him so sedated right now. He needs the physical and emotional rest. Ruby should not know this until she's had time to gather herself, and she needs time to do that. This is not about keeping her in the dark so much as it is adjusting things to their pace to give them time and space to heal. She's not ready at all to hear any more."

"I have to agree," Marcus said. "She has seemed to me as if she's fallen back again into sort of that fragile state she gets into when she's gone too long without touching base with Jeffrey, but now this on top of it makes me agree with Robert. I think we can safely tell her when she's feeling better, and, by all means, should. Hopefully, by then, Angus will be rested, and he'll be feeling better too. Or at least that's the hope. I think he'll listen to me since he doesn't have any reason apparently to think I died. If I get some private, quiet time with him, I think I can start to straighten it out for him. He does generally listen to me. I'll try to get him to tell me who he thinks he killed, and then, one by one, we'll try to unwind the lies and re-introduce them to him."

"We might want to consider asking Jeffrey to come and just have some coffee with Ruby and give him some space just to have a conversation with him in private," Robert said. "She gets on with him, so she might find it helpful--if she'll see him, that is."

"Do you think that might be worth a try, Aria? Or would you rather try to talk to her yourself first?" Marcus asked her. "She depends on you for a lot, so I think she'll trust whatever you say."

Aria stood and listened to Robert and Marcus as they explained what had happened she took in every word that was said and weighed up the pros and cons to each situation now when Marcus asked her what she thought she looked at them both " well after that witch used my likeness shes not going to trust me as much so my choice would be Nigel, hes the one person she does trust fully and he can help her realize Angus being hurt was the best option and that's what Angus was thinking, so yes I agree in asking Nigel to come see her." she said to them.

As Jack sat on the boat to Azkaban two Aurors ported to the dock and walked on one he recognised " hey Jack " Lucian said and chuckled " you know you can't take her to Azkaban without two Aurors at your side" he said motioning to the second to bind the woman" do you know who she is?" he asked " I know shes not Jess Darkheart, but looks like her" Jack shook his head.

"Nope, shes not even told us her name, though she did do a good job on Angus , I don't know how hes doing but will once I get home." he said the second Aurors took her finger prints and sent it to the ministry to search. "But i'm guessing you'll find out soon though, when you do let Robert know. ." he said as Lucian nodded and chuckled as he sat down as the boat took off.

"Nigel?" Marcus frowned. "Nigel doesn't know squat about fighting."

"If she needs to talk to Nigel, we'll send her to Nigel," Robert shrugged. "I am going to try to ignore your assessment, though, that Nigel is the only one she trusts. We have surrounded her with her friends and all of her biological family except her crazy mother, and the only one she trusts is none of us here? A bloke in New York? Lovely. I'll have someone deliver her to New York in the morning. Pack a bag for her in case she wants to stay with him awhile." He got up and went to the kitchen to refill his coffee. He set the mug on the counter. "I'll be back. I need to go fetch the potions Angus is going to need. Don't wake them up, either of you, or you'll end up as a teacup in my lab quicker than you can blink."

Robert apparated out. Knowing Robert was not happy, Marcus got up and headed upstairs to silently pack a bag for Ruby so it would be ready when she woke. Sometimes it was just easier to follow orders when Robert was irked, and Marcus was very experienced at packing a bag without making a single sound. He had done it often enough. It reminded him that he actually needed to go pack a few changes of clothing and bring it over because he didn't see any chance of him getting back to the cottage for at least a few days. Angus needed him right here.

It didn't take Marcus long to pack four or five outfits, some toiletries and some pajamas for Ruby. He also got Angus's robe and a clean pair of pajama trousers so he could help him freshen up whenevere he woke. He brought Angus's clothes and Ruby's bag downstairs and tucked the on the floor in the downstairs closet so it was out of the way and not in any place that Ruby was likely to look in the morning. He saw no sense in rattling her unnecessarily. He put Angus's trousers on the med supply cart, and he draped Angus's robe over the footboard of the bed.

Then, feeling the house was chilly, he put some wood in the fireplace and started a fire to warm up the room. He decided he would turn up the heat when it got closer to the time that the others would wake. He knew that sleeping was easier if the bedrooms were cooler. Then he went out very briefly, just long enough to bring some more firewood into the house and put it into the cast iron firewood basket by the fireplace. He heard a tapping on the kitchen window and saw a long eared owl there. he opened the window and took the message the bird held and then gave the owl a treat and closed the window. He opened it.

"Beauxbatons. The head of house on duty overnight has excused the girls from classes today because of last night's events," Marcus said. "I'll send a message to Evan closer to morning. No point in waking him in the middle of the night for it."

Aria looked at Robert as he spoke then she realised her mistake and shook her head " I'm sorry I meant Jeffery not Nigel I get those two mixed up, shouldn't though one deals with the mind and one with the body" she said but saw Robert who was a little annoyed aperate out. She looked at Marcus and spoke again " my mistake, I was agreeing with you both about Jeffery, she does need to talk to him." she said as she saw Marcus with Ruby's bag.

Sh moved to the kitchen and began making a simple breakfast for every one it was now she saw Marcus with a note and heard him read it out loud. " that's good " she said as she placed some granola on the side board along with fresh yogurt should any one want some then she went and cooked up eggs, both scrambled and fried, bacon, has browns , beans and all the rest for an English breakfast seeing that was the only breakfast she knew how to make. Making up two pots of coffee and ta she pored one for herself and one for Marcus, carefully she carried it over to him " here , its going to be a long day" she said placing it next to him.

"We'll work it out when he gets back," Marcus said. "He's truly completely livid about this woman's attempt to kill Angus in the way she did. He's not going to let go of this. As long as you're making breakfast, don't forget the fruit tart that Ginger made for breakfast last night. I think it was a really creative idea. She took Angus' fruit salad and put it in one of Angus's shortbread pie crust. It looked pretty amazing when she took it out of the oven. I presume she put it in the fridge, but I don't know. I wasn't looking for it."

"Thanks," Marcus said when she brought him a plate. "I didn't think I was hungry until you started cooking. It's been a long time since we ate that darned chicken. It is indeed going to be a very long day. You do know I'm going to have to be here 24/7 for the next couple of days or until he's through the worst of this, right? I'm going to have to find time somehow to go over to the cottage and pack some jeans and some sweaters and such. The weather's definitely getting colder, so I want some pullover sweaters, maybe a sweatshirt or two. And probably a pair of pajamas. Oh, and by the way, I think I know who broke into our cottage and why. It makes sense in my head, anyway. I think it had to have been the woman who took Angus and Ruby, and I think I know what she wanted. She wanted the hair from your hairbrush for her polyjuice potion. I think that's why we didn't see anything taken or missing."

The girls came up from downstairs, dressed in jeans and sweatshirts, and Victor came downstairs dressed for work, and Finn was right on his heels. Marcus was going to get up to go tend to Finn, and Victor motioned to him to stay seated.

"I'll get it," Victor yawned tiredly. "God I need coffee. Short night." He let the dog out and put fresh food and clean water in Finn's bowls.

"Your reply from the school came," Marcus told the girls. "You're off the hook for today, but I haven't written to Evan yet."

"I'll do it if you send it," Anise said.

"I'll do you one better. I'll teach you how to send floo notes," Marcus said.

"Nice," she grinned, going to fix her plate.

"Has he been awake at all?" Ginger asked.

"No, not yet. Robert has him sedated for now," Marcus said. "Robert's fetching some potions for him. He's been gone for a bit so he's either showering or he's having to brew something."

"Finn, you little knob," Victor cussed softly, heading for the door.

"What's he doing?"

"Where's Jack when you need him? He's caught another bullfrog," Victor said, dashing out the door.

When Captain Cutter's ship landed in Azkaban, a guard met Lucian at the dock.

"Message for you from the office. Seems you're in demand," the guard said, passing the note to Lucian. It was a note from Robert.

"L., Come see me at Angus's immediately when you get back from Azkaban. R."

Aria nodded at his suggestion of why their cottage was broken into and she made a note to clean her brush every time she used it so nothing would be left, " hum I need to step up my cleaning routine" she said and smiled. Aria returned to the kitchen where she found the tart Ginger had made. she lifted it out of the fridge and placed it with a knife on the side board "It looks fantastic" she said then saw the teens come down the stairs " morning" she said " breakfast is made help your selves" she added but saw they already were.

Lucian felt the boat dock and saw a guard walk over with a note " for me?" he asked as he took it and read it " hum looks like I'm coming back with you Jack, Robert requested me." he said as they handed over their prisoner the second Auror stepped off onto the dock. Jack looked at Lucian as he stepped off the boat.

"good , its probably about what happened " Jack said and Lucian nodded.

"well if its Robert requesting then I am there" he said and Jack nodded as the Auror and prisoner disappeared inside Azkaban leaving the two men on the dock. Once the paper work was done Jack and Lucian stepped on the boat followed by the second Auror and it took them back to the mainland. Once there Lucian and Jack ported back to the grounds and both walked over to the duplex .

"knock knock" Lucian sad as he opened the back door.

Victor had caught Finn but Finn was absolutely not giving up the bullfrog. As for the bullfrog, it was screaming in sheer terror, and Finn was growling at Victor. Victor had Finn tucked under his arm and when he saw Jack, he called to him.

"Jack! Little help please? We're apparently herding bullfrogs again today," Victor called as he walked over from the pond. Finn saw Jack and growled even louder, wanting to keep his bullfrog.

"Lucian," Marcus said. "Come in. Can't honestly say I'm surprised to see you. Coffee's hot if you want some, and breakfast is ready if you're hungry. I think Robert will be back any moment now. We had a very serious incident last night, and Robert is a notch or two beyond livid about it. It's been years since he's been this angry. While we wait, how about I give you the facts in as much of a chronological order as we have them? Aria, you might want to get ready to go out because I am 100% positive he intends to send you with Lucian to make doubly sure that nothing is missed down there."

Robert made it back to the duplex about five minutes later. He had showered and shaved and changed, and he had put several new potions in his bag.

"Morning, Lucian," Robert said. "Thanks for coming. One moment. I know you're going to need to talk to Angus. Have you briefed Lucian, Marcus?"

"Just finishing. Haven't gotten to Angus's current condition yet," Marcus said.

"In a few words, she busted him up pretty thoroughly. In addition to the psychological damage, he's rebroken that bad shoulder, including the left arm too this time. three ribs, and he's got wall to wall bruises and cuts. I've also been treating him for some significant traumatic shock. I had him in surgery in the middle of the night to do some repairs, and he's been under sedation basically since we found him. He's horribly confused, and it's going to be awhile before we can unwind all the damage. Not to mention that Ruby has not really ever been strong enough to withstand a situation like that. Not to mention this woman is solely responsible for untold thousands of galleons of damage to Diagon Alley by trying to contain a troll in the catacombs in the first place, and the list of crimes goes on and on and on. Look, Lucian, this harlot tried to kill two of my own, and I don't know how long its going to take them to recover. Nor do I want some of the usual nincompoops on this investigation. Would you please, please, take over this investigation, go process the catacombs, process the woods here if you think it will help, double check Diagon Alley if you need to, and dig under any damned rock you need to, to find out everything about this woman. If you need to go any place else, you let me know, and I'll get you clearance."

"St Mungos," Marcus said. "Jess's hair, remember?"

"Oh yes. That's right. She polyjuiced Jess and Aria both, so you might want to process Marcus's cottage and Jess's office," Robert said. "I'd like Aria to go with you once Ruby's gotten up and gotten her eyes open so Aria can make sure she's going to be alright. I presume you'd like to try to talk to Angus. I can't promise you he'll be calm enough, but I can try if you want. If it doesn't work, I'll have to put him back to sleep."

Jack saw Finn and shook his head hearing the growl he growled back to Finn and moved to stand slightly over him " drop the frog" he said and growled a second time this time Finn whinnied and dropped the frog that Jack caught and took to the pond , letting it go the frog looked back ribbited and popped into the water.

Lucian saw Marcus and Angus wrapped up and in his hospital bed. He heard Marcus mention Coffee as Aria handed him a cup. " no thanks on the breakfast , wife made a big breakfast for me this morning " he said with a smile as he patted his tummy. Now as he sipped his coffee he listened as Marcus filled him in. " hum, thanks for the info" he said then turned to see Robert enter. Taking out a small note book Lucian began to make notes and send them off " will be done asap" he said " I have my team , and they are not nincompoops, I don't have them on my team, they will be discreet and professional" he added then looked to Marcus. " Jess , Office , I'll handle that and the cottage." he added glancing over at it across the yard. Looking back to Marcus he smiled " I'll make sure not to disturb anything inside." he added " but I assume you did your own sweep, and found nothing?" he asked Marcus.