Shooting the French

"Are you finished?" he asked, waiting until she had asked a flourish of questions. Typical Jen. Needing to do things in a flourish, connected to Rob no matter what. It wasn't an accusatory observation he was feeling, merely fact. He sat calmly, and spoke calmly. He had found that it was best not to panic once one had chosen to open the proverbial can of worms. Panic might be appropriate beforehand, but it was useless once the deed was done. And he rarely panicked anyway.

"First of all, please stop trying to analyze the Lupin family. Not everything someone does is genetic. But I will answer your first question, at least. Rob's anger was fairly fierce and cutting when he realized he was bonded to her. In case you haven't noticed, he can get that way, as can we all. Your family is more accustomed to bickering and arguing and things not going well than it ever was in Khaat's life. When he became so angry, honestly, he frightened her--badly, in fact. She felt that he was feeling as though he wasn't with her because he wanted to be but rather was there because he had to be. She doesn't want anyone to be with her because of that, and I don't blame her for that. She wants whoever shares her life or Abbeys' to be there because they truly want to be there. Her goal was to give him the free and clear choice of being there with her. Not due to a bonding. As far as she knows, the bond has been dissolved.

"However, the truth is, and has always been, that since I did not create the bond, I cannot dissolve it or undo it. The most I could do was block it to try to help her. Rob created the bond himself . I honestly do not know if it can be undone. If I knew that, don't you think I would have undone her bond to Remus decades ago? Perhaps, just perhaps, deep down, she wasn't protecting Rob alone. Perhaps she was also feeling insecure enough that she wanted to protect herself too from a life of being unhappy with someone who didn't want her. Newlyweds are insecure about a lot of things. It takes time to work out. But it seems, that Rob has been far more away from her than with her. Just exactly how is she supposed to feel about someone who would rather be elsewhere than with you? She interprets that as his choice to not be involved in the marriage. She has given him the option of going, free and clear, but yet he stays. That serves to be not only confusing but hurtful. She didn't marry Rob to continue to be alone. Actually, its just as well with me, if Rob does not want to be a husband or a father, if he just comes out and says it. I can very well manage to take care of my family. I will make sure that Abbey becomes a Lupin by name, write Rob out of the picture, and he can pretend he and Khaat do not exist. Contrary to your opinion, life is not entirely about Rob. Khaat has feelings too, and his actions have been just as hurtful as what he thinks she's done to him. My interest is in my daughter and my granddaughter. As Rob and you so clearly said, he can take care of himself."

It seemed as if the Whitlock blood was actually still running through his friend’s veins. Pierre didn’t think that Rob still had the irrational streak that he’d gotten from his mother’s side of the family. It appeared as if he did though and as Pierre thought, Rob walked out. He was glad that Rob didn’t resolve to the physical way of dealing with things like Jenifer did. He preferred to think things through before facing them or choosing not to in some instances. Pierre wasn’t sure if he wanted to stick around to see Jen battle it out with Robert Lupin. He didn’t particularly want any bloodshed because Chris would probably go into tilt far quicker than David would over the whole ordeal. Although, Pete was fairly sure Chris would be unhappy because Robert would get blood on the rug or something stupid like that. Pete got up and smiled sheepishly at Chris who was shaking his head at Jen. She looked as if she wanted to put Robert’s head on a pike.

“Well, my interest is in the wellbeing of my brother. Write Rob out of your granddaughter’s life by all means but just remember you bloody prick that Whitlock blood is a lot stronger than the Lupin stuff will ever be.” Jen hissed. “Rob will still be there whether you like it or not and who knows maybe she’ll even cause you as much ‘trouble’ as we have.”

Pierre shook his head. He murmured to Chris, telling him that he was leaving and opened the door of the apartment. He closed the door quietly behind him and walked down the hallway. He jogged down the stairs into the lobby and wished the woman at the desk a good afternoon. She brightened at this; clearly Rob’s foul mood had affected her as he’d walked through. Once Pete got outside he realised just how temperamental Rob’s mood must have been. The sky which was a brilliant blue when he’d been walking through the city had now gone black as torrents of rain began to fall. Pete sighed and pulled up the hood of the zip up jumper that had been sewed into his leather jacket.

He began to walk the streets, wondering where Rob could have been. Then, he spotted him. Sitting alone outside the café across from the park where all of the artist’s models waited to be picked up. Pete smiled and walked over. He sat down opposite and noticed Rob had ordered a cup of coffee that had spilled over the top of the mug because of the water and a foot long roll with a tuna filling that had been covered by the plastic it had been put in. It was fresh, Pierre could tell. Rob lifted his head and met Pete’s eyes. He smiled sheepishly and looked up at the sky.

“French weather, completely unreliable eh?” He said good-naturedly as he poured the contents of his coffee mug onto the floor. “I never really liked coffee anyway.”
“Are you okay?” Pierre asked, looking at Rob seriously. He was wet through. The races would no doubt still go on but Rob would catch a cold if he was out any longer.
“M’fine.” He shrugged, picking up the sandwich. He opened it up and pulled half of it off. He handed the other half to Pierre and bit into his own.
“Do you want to come home with me and warm up? You’ll catch your death of cold if you don’t go somewhere warm.”
“Can I?” Rob asked after he swallowed. “As awful as it sounds, I don’t want to see Robert at the moment.”

Pierre nodded and jumped up. He chucked his roll into the basket of cutlery and Rob did the same to his. Pierre noticed him beginning to shiver and he wrapped an arm around his friend’s waist. He pulled Rob to him and tried to warm him up to no avail. Pierre then Apparated them back to his old flat, the one he hadn’t told Melissa about. He unlocked the door and walked inside. He let Rob drop to the couch and he lit the fire with a wave of his wand. He pulled his jacket off and threw it into the washing hamper before walking to the kitchen area. He flipped the kettle on and looked at Rob pointedly.

“Clothes off.” He instructed before walking into his bedroom. He pulled a pair of jogging bottoms out of a drawer as well as a t-shirt. He also took a pair of Tigger socks that he’d gotten from Chris for Christmas a year ago from the drawer.
“You what?” Rob asked wryly as Pete walked back into the room. “C’mon I’m fine.”
“Rob please, just let me look after you.” Pierre murmured, running a hand through his friend’s soaked hair. “If you’re going to let anyone then let it be me, okay? I know you. I won’t judge you.”
“But-”
“Please?”

Rob sighed but nodded. Pierre heard the kettle come to a boil and he left the clothes on the couch for him to change into. Pete walked back over to the couch and set about making him and Rob some tea. He got a couple of packets of noodles out of the cupboard and put them into a large bowl. He poured some water over them and put the bowl in the microwave. He looked over his shoulder at Rob and caught sight of the famed tattoo that seemed to mesmerise everyone; even David. It was said that one of his cousins had done it when he’d woken up after passing out at home after waking up in his underwear in a dressing room of Madam Malkin’s. Pete suspected that David and Chris had broken in there with Rob while they were drunk and just left him there. Why he didn’t have any real clothes on was a mystery but that didn’t matter too much.

The microwave beeped and Pierre pressed the button. Steam came from inside and he shook his head. He took the cups of tea over to the couch and put them down on the table before returning to the microwave. He took the bowl from inside and shut the door. He took two forks from the drawer and walked over to the couch. He flopped down beside Rob and put the bowl of noodles on the table. He handed a fork to Rob and the man took it before putting it down on the table.

“How do you break bonds?” he asked suddenly, causing Pete to look over at him.
“Come again?”
“How do you get rid of them? Flush them out? Anything. I....I don’t want this.” He whispered the last part and Pierre sighed.
“Rob are you sure?” He asked. “Once these things go... the love tends to die. I mean, bonds are made up of love and are in essence love. Love is unbreakable in so many ways which makes the bonds so hard to be rid of. Look at Chris and David for instance. They’ve been bonded since they were kids and that was through just caring about each other. That bond evolved of course and turned to romantic love. It took its natural course. Are you willing to end what you created?” Rob nodded without looking at him. “I don’t believe you but if you really want to then I can help. I’d like to meet her first though.”
“What, why? Do you need to? T-to get rid of it?”
“Yeah.” Pete lied smoothly. “I’ve got to know her to be able to do it.”

“I’m not good for them Pete.” Rob whispered. “I can’t be a father to that kid.”
“That kid is your daughter, Rob. Are you sure you’re not just getting cold feet? It’s perfectly natural for fathers to-”
“No. I’m no good for her. I can see the hurt in her eyes. I don’t want to do that anymore. I can’t create the happiness that seemed to fill our house anymore. It’s all been snuffed out.”
Pete shook his head and his friend got up, mumbling something about going to bed. Pete sighed and ran a hand through his hair, wondering what he’d gotten himself into. A part of him wanted to have Rob to himself but that was natural. But there was the more rational part of him. If you love someone you’ve got to let them go. Pete wanted Rob to be happy. He wanted Rob to have his shot at true love and happiness even if he could have his own.

"I am not debating Whitlock, Dent or Lupin blood with you," Robert sighed tiredly. " You still want to make everything about 'you versus us.' The longer you hang onto that silly notion, the farther you're going to be from solving any of this. When you do that, you create more division than mending fences. You obviously haven't watched men bleed and die nearly as much as you say you have. Perhaps not nearly enough for the fighter you are. The last I knew, blood was blood. And I haven't been able to look at the color a man bleeds and determine his family or origin. We're all the same, Jenifer. If you had listened for one single moment to what I said instead of what you thought I said, you'll realize I didn't say anything about Rob that merited your need to protect him. I did not say anything that was untrue, much as it might not be so complimentary. I am sorry, but sometimes the truth does hurt. And, as he and you both said, the last he needs or wants is protection from a woman--or from anyone else for that matter. I do believe, the last I knew, you fell under that female gender as well. Why don't you ever let him fight his own battles?Do you not realize that is exactly what I did? Returned him to who he truly is so that he can fight his own battles? Or do you truly not believe he's capable of taking care of himself either?

"I really don't care that you don't care for Khaat, and I doubt she looses sleep over it either. And you do seem to be missing the entire point. The point is that your brother has no interest whatsoever in being a husband or a father and has done little other than lipservice about it. I don't give one jot about protecting your brother. I do, however, care about protecting my very pregnant daughter and my granddaughter, since Rob is the cause of most of her current pain--and he knows it and does nothing to fix it or stop it. He simply allows it to continue, and in my book thats just cruelty for the sake of it, or for the sake of his own insensitivity. Don't give me empty promises on whether or not Rob will be there for Abbey when he can't or won't make that promise to himself and then make any effort to follow it through . You have no ability whatsoever to get Rob to actually follow through and do what part of him clearly wants desperately to do.

" I know he had a shitty childhood. Anyone who suffered living with Charlotte didn't really have much of a chance to turn out much of any other way, including you. God knows. But at some point,Rob has the right to choose whether he is still going to be a victim of hers or whether he's going to choose to take a chance on following his heart and doing what he wants, instead of listening to all that shit from his past that says he's never going to be bloody good enough. The only one who believes for half a tic that he isn't good enough is himself. Khaat might have put up with his bullshit forever, except that we do have now, Abbey, to consider. Khaat and Abbey both deserve someone who will honestly love them enough to be there, consistently, through the good and the bad, and not just enough that its handy to go home and shag Abbey's mom when he feels a biological need and then run off again to a pub or some other such place when things get sticky or when he feels a need to be twelve years old again.

"You and I neither one have any control over Robert Andrew Dent. Khaat doesn't want control over him. Never has. That's really how this got started. When he walked out, she didn't put up a fight, When both of you let her think he was twotiming her, neither one of you stood up and told her the truth. That was just plain cruel on both your parts and completely unnecessary. She dealt with it on her own because neither of you gave a damn about what you had done to her. She didn't ask for anyone's help. She had the right to expect her husband to care enough to not let that charade go on. Khaat didn't beg him on her knees for him to come back. She wants him to have all the control over his life.

" That's why she asked me to put the bloody block into place to being with. It appears she did know Rob after all. She said it tied him to her when he didn't want to ever really have to make a commitment--not to her, and not to Abbey. No doubt he's gone off, partly, to see if he can escape who he has chosen to become. Well, good luck to him on that. As far as I know, there is no reversal for it. And I've spent decades looking for a cure for it. Once its done, its done. What is it that you and he neither one can make a bloody commitment and stick to it? Its not good enough for him to blow in and out of her life like a seasonal hurricane, uproot her heart and run out until the same time the next season. Its not good enough for Khaat and bloody well not good enough for Abbey. Khaat doesn't want that for herself, and she surely does not want that for Abbey. And if you were in her shoes, as much as you crave love, real love, you would not be feeling very much different.

"I don't want to hear any more meaningless words from you or him about what Rob will or won't do. You know nothing. You don't know what he will do. None of us do, not even him. You know what you want him to do or what you believe he should do, but you don't know he'll do that. All his words and yours are meaningless without any action to support it. At this point, Abbey is Khaat's. She's the one who has her. I don't see Rob stepping up to do crap. And Rob has run away from both of them and himself about as far as he can go for the moment, at least emotionally, rather than going home and actually talking to his wife and solving this. Khaat does not have to let him back into her life whatsoever. And she does not have to let him around Abbey at all, whether he was the sperm donator that created Abbey or not. And at this point, that is about all he has been--the spern donor that helped create Abbey. I don't think there's going to be any fight over Abbey, because I honestly don't see him choosing to go back to Khaat at all. And the only time I am going to give him is between now and when Abbey is actually born. If he's not back by then, he's not getting any place around either one of them. I will make sure this entire farce ends by the time Abbey is born, if it hasn't gotten any better. And that is the real bottom line here. I can and will make sure that she is raised as a Lupin, without any trace of her paternal heritage, so that no Whitlock or Dent has to be bothered by them again. This is one issue you don't want to push me on Jen. Its one you cannot win. The only one who can change how this plays out simply isn't here."

Pierre sighed. Something needed to be done. He didn’t want Rob’s marriage to fail like his had. Despite the fact that both Rob and Jen believed in the curse of Whitlock blood, Pierre wondered if that was just an excuse; something to keep them from being happy with their respective partners. Rob wasn’t the type to get married so perhaps he’d not thought things through but bonds weren’t made on whims. Something must have happened to really ignite the love between them. Pete was envious of course for a number of reasons. Khaat was lucky. Perhaps she wasn’t always but 40% of the time she was a very lucky woman. For the other 60%, however, she was stupid for even marrying Rob, the one that walked away from everything. Or maybe, this woman was crazy, clingy and not as perfect as her father made out. In which case Rob was doing the right thing. Pete doubted it though, he wouldn’t marry insane women like he did.


He got up off of the couch, forgetting about the food and tea, and ran into the bedroom as Rob got into bed. Pierre jumped onto the bed and bounced a few times before dropping down onto his front. He put his elbows. Rob glared at him and Pete looked back innocently. He pushed himself up and jumped onto Rob, sitting on his chest in a very Chris-like way. Rob continued sending him death glares and Pete sat there, leaning back against Rob’s legs. “Come on, Pete. Get off of me, I want to sleep.” Rob groaned. Pete shrugged and gave Rob a cigarette. The man relented and let Pete light the thing before taking long drags. “There’s clearly something wrong with her then.” Pete said thoughtfully, getting Rob’s attention. “Khaat I mean. She must be incredibly unattractive. No let me guess, she’s part giant. No? Okay, uneven breasts. One bigger than the other? Kind of disturbing and scary don’t you think? Tell her she needs a boob job, that’ll bring the passion right back. Wait... two left feet? Falling all over the show. A crazy fetish for plants. Or she’s a kleptomaniac and is forever stealing your things? Pyro then? Fire ... whoosh! Was she not as good as guys then? Not as good as Chris or David ... or me?”

The last bit was overkill but it needed to be done although, it got a response out of Rob that Pete never set out to receive but he couldn’t complain. Pete leaned down and blew warm air across Rob’s face, causing him to shiver beneath him. “Or is she some slut you fell in love with? A whore that got herself knocked up by some other guy.” Pierre felt Rob stiffen under him and in the blink of an eye he was the one below. He heard the sound of the safety click off of a gun and he felt the cold metal against his jaw. Pete sucked in a breath, wondering if he’d gone too far. When did Rob ever carry a gun? He must of done but Pete didn’t remember him ever letting on. Pete sighed mentally. This was why Rob was far more dangerous than Jen. Even though she didn’t tell many about the locals of her guns and other weaponry they all knew that she had them. Rob was the innocent one, the one that appeared to be an adult one minute and nine the next.

“Say it again, Pete.” Rob hissed dangerously. “Go on. I dare you. Say it again. Say the words again. Put whore, slut and knocked up in the same sentence with Khaat’s name in it. You’re talking utter bullshit you know what? There is nothing wrong with her. She’s beautiful. She’s a little on the short side but that’s fine. Her.... I’m not even going to discuss that. She’s not exactly clumsy and no she doesn’t have a F*** plant obsession. You’re.... you’re....” Rob blanched and sighed. “Don’t make me kill you Pete.”
“Mon amour, you’re crazy!” Pierre grinned, kissing Rob on each cheek. “You’re in love with her again.”
“I never stopped loving her you stupid prick.” Rob growled, flicking the safety off and rolling off of Pete. “It’s just... things are....complicated.”
“Nothing is ever simple, Rob.” Pete sighed. “If it was then life wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.”

Rob snorted. “Fun. Yeah right.”
“I’m serious, Rob. Everything, good or bad happens for a reason. I know its cliché but it does and it’s up to you to set things right.”
“What about you then? I mean, you’re married to the wicked witch of the west and I’ve got Dorothy minus those trashy shoes. What’re you gonna do?”
“This isn’t about me but if you could ask little Miss Dorothy to pour some water over her then I’m sure Chris will give her some better shoes.” Pete shrugged.
“Uh huh. You should really practice what you preach mate. What are you anyway, one of those flying monkeys?”
Pete chuckled. “Yeah, sounds ‘bout right. Do you reckon I’m ugly enough?”
“Nah, you’re far too pretty.” Rob smirked. “Fancy a bite to eat?”

Pete raised an eyebrow, wondering if everything he’d just done was a waste of time. Rob smirked and got up. He stretched and with a flick of his wand, changed into something that Chris would deem boring. Jeans and a white t-shirt – simplicity at its very best. Pete frowned and flicked his wand at himself, changing into some dark jeans and a red top. Rob grabbed his wrist and Apparated out of the flat. Pete landed in a chair and he looked around disorientated.

“ROBERT!” the scream from a cockney woman came and Pete looked up to see Rob trying to sweet talk her out of yelling at him. Pete smiled as she began to beat him with a breadstick and he got up out of the chair he had been sat in. “How. Dare. You. Bugger. Off. To. France. And. Not. Invite. Me. Do. You. Think. Of. No. One. But. Yourself!?”Ah... breadstick beatings. It reminded Pete of Rob’s grandmother when she’d beat him with anything she could get her hands on. She wouldn’t hurt him of course, otherwise she’d hit him around the back of the head if she wanted him hurt. She’d often do it to Chris. It would really explain the brain damage. Rob ducked under the woman’s arm and the two of them walked out into the main restaurant area. Rob closed the door behind them and Pete grabbed a stool. He stuck the back of it underneath the handle and the two of them grinned at each other.

“Another reason why women scare me.” Pierre grinned. “Londoners are absolutely nuts.”
“I don’t think that counts as a Londoner. Angry sewer rat, yeah but not London human.”
“Damn. Chris is gonna be so jealous when he finds out I got to come here first.” He smirked, looking around. “Then again, I’m sure he and David will come back with Jen to give the body of your father-in-law back to Miss Dorothy. Your sister looked as if she wanted to murder Robert.”
Rob groaned. “Why was I cursed with such a crazy sister... what have I done to piss Merlin off so bad eh?”
“Well.... you’re a bit of a twat.”
“Beside the point. I’m an attractive twat.” Rob grinned.
Pete exaggerated giving Rob the once over and shook his head. “Nah.... I bet Dorothy will agree with me too. You’re an unattractive bullshitter that does nothing but spout bullshit for the rest of us to listen to. Don’t say I’m wrong because I’m right and you’re wrong.”

Khaat was completely exhausted in every sense of the word. She had worked so hard to look classy that morning, and her own fatigue now made her look like hell. The damage a few hours could do had served to rattle her a bit today. Now she felt like she resembled the living dead a little. And, while she knew it was a muggle saying, Khaat had actually seen some of those. The living dead did exist, and she had thought she had seen a couple parallels in her face when she had cleaned up before leaving St. Mungos. She knew she could be hypercritical of herself, though, and sometimes she just wasn't a good judge for how she honestly looked to others. And she had worn a dress that, had Rob been here, she felt he really would have approved of. Despite it being a maternity dress. It was sharp. Expensive. Classy, Tailored about as much as any maternity dress could be. She hadn't taken completely to her flat shoes yet, and she still had high heels on, but her feet ached miserably for standing for hours. She'd made sure her hair and makeup looked flawless, but that was as far as she could go at the moment. The rest was just pure fatigue--fatigue deep enough that she feared this time for herself and Abbey. She was not an alarmist, and part of her could hear her father, had he been here, simply relieving her of duty for the day and sending her home to sleep. But she still had work to do. Vital work.

She'd been held hostage by Emof for literally hours, forced into doing extremely delicate surgery that had taken hours, in order to keep everyone from being destroyed by a very real, active bomb. And now she was responsible for putting him back in business. The guilt about that was overwhelming. But she had had no choice. And Jess, her only backup, had been her witness to that if it were ever questioned. She couldn't remember when she had spent so much time and detail on a magical surgery. And for who? Emof. And she carried that damned insufferable bomb, now supposedly deactivated, in her black shoulder bag in order to get it out of the hospital, but now she wasn't sure what to do with it.

She had done her best to check herself in the mirror and refresh herself, but she truly felt sick. She had done too much in too short a time. She went to Sparks, to get away. To get out of St. Mungos and to try to relax and to settle her upset stomach and maybe put Abbey a bit at ease, if that was what it was. She honestly was too tired to know. If that didn't work, she decided she would just have to go home. She didn't have much of a choice. She just couldn't do any more.

As she came in, she did notice that, curiously, Rob was back, and she didn't understand why. He was with a man she'd never seen. But she was ugly at the moment--at least she felt really ugly, and she didn't want to interrupt him, especially not to present herself like that. She never wanted Rob to ever see her ugly. Never. Him seeing her ugly and rejecting her was a fear that she had thought she put to rest, but there it was. Triggered. Brought back and resurrected. And she knew what it was and where it came from for her. If he thought she was ugly and rejected her for it, then she wasn't worthy to be with anyone. And maybe Abbey would be hideous. She knew it wasn't the least bit logical, but it was how she felt. Maybe it was just the fatigue talking, bringing that old balderdash to life in her mind again. She hoped it would just pass.

She went behind the counter and poured herself some peppermint tea. Not her usual french roast. She felt so nauseated, she just wanted a quiet cup of tea. She usually hated peppermint tea--thought it was vile and medicinal, but unless she resorted to a potion, the tea was the next best thing for her stomach. It was odd even to her. As much as she hated peppermint tea normally, she couldn't remember ever passing up french roast voluntarily for some stinking tea, especially her least favorite flavor.

The last she knew Rob was going to France, but he was here? She had no idea what was going on. Maybe he just needed space. It had caused her to freeze in place when she saw him there, her eyes glued on him. She could not remember when she had felt so much gladness and love and relief to see any one person in her entire life. If it had been her way, she would have been in his arms, curled against his chest, in a fraction of a second. But Rob looked a bit like he'd been hit by a bus of some nature or another. He didn't look bad physically, but something was definately different. He was going through some sort of really hard time. She wanted to be there for him, but didn't know how when he was so distant. It made her shift her thinking. Decide to at least speak, not necessarily interrupt, but at least greet him and then shift again out of his way, give him his free choice by not being there unless he wanted her there.

"Rob?" she said softly, unable to hide the deep love for him in her voice, the aroma of the peppermint tea wafting around her like her signature french roast usually did, "Is everything alright? I thought you were in France. If...If I can help with anything, you'll let me know?" She looked at his friend and smiled and said in a rather soft and welcoming tone, "Welcome to Sparks. I'm sorry for interrupting. I'm Khaat." She looked back at Rob, "Sorry--I don't want to intrude. I just came for a bit of a break from the office."

She walked away and slipped into a booth near the fireplace, her favorite spot in the whole place, trying to just be out of the way. She was far too nauseated and tired. She knew the farther she got in her pregnancy, the more this was apt to happen. She just really wanted to be left alone until she figured out a way to dispose of this bomb. And she did not want any repeat of the last time she'd tried to do something like that. That was far too traumatic for everyone--especially Rob. She wished her father were here. He would know what to do--both about the bomb and about her own less that desired appearance. She would definately have taken Rob into her confidence if he hadn't been busy. If Rob had been alone, she have shown him the bomb in her leather totebag and would have asked him about helping her dispose of the deadly device. Now she didn't know what Rob wanted of her. She felt lost. Rare for her, but she was. Completely lost. She felt chilled. She conjured a large matching shawl for herself and wrapped up in it, kicked off the offending high heels off her mildly swelling feet, and curled her legs beneath her in order to curl closer to the fireplace. She leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes, smelling peppermint. She needed to push Ne'Os out of her mind and what today had held for her.

She had almost fallen asleep instantly and uncontrollably, when she heard banging and cursing coming from the kitchen. She sat up, frowning. Someone had pinned Lizzie into the kitchen by shoving a chair under the doorknob. She sighed heavily. Rob. He'd most likely ticked her off, and he had probably deserved whatever she'd wanted to do to him, for something or another. Khaat liked Lizzie, and she didn't know why Rob and Lizzie clashed sometimes, but they really did. Khaat got up and walked, without her shoes, across the floor towards the kitchen door. "You can't hold her hostage, Rob," she sighed, "We need her." She waved her hand and magically moved the chair out of the way. Lizzie came bursting out of the kitchen like a tsunami, all set to wreek havoc on Rob when she saw Khaat and simply stopped in her tracks. Khaat made a "Come here" motion with her index finger, and it brought her shoes through the air from her booth. She took them in her right hand, and wrapped her left arm around Lizzie's shoulder. She looked at Rob, and then whispered something in Lizzie's ear that immediately got Lizzie laughing. All appeared to be forgiven, and Lizzie returned to the kitchen, still laughing. Khaat slipped on her shoes and returned to her booth, kicked her shoes off again, and curled back up as she had been,with her large shawl, sipping on her tea.

Rob frowned and looked through the window at the angry cockney woman. Why he was still stood by the door he had no idea but with a glance in the direction of his friend it seemed as if Pierre had already begun to tinker with some of the bits and bobs in the place. He rolled his eyes and pulled a couple of sickles out of his pocket. He wandered over to the Juke Box and put the sickles in the slot. He flipped the pages of songs across until he found a song by Augustana, one that Chris would kill him for putting it on. Nether less, Rob chose that song and the Juke Box began to play it. Pierre looked up and smirked at Rob before shaking his head. “If Chris apparates here then he’s going to murder you; you do know that right?” Pierre said taking a bolt out of the back of the appliance he was tinkering with.

Rob noted his wife leave the booth she had retreated to and he made to stop her from letting Lizzie out but paused, deciding to act nonchalant instead. He raised an eyebrow at the girls and idly wondered what they were whispering about. Pete moved to stand beside him and wiped some oil on Rob’s shirt. Rob frowned at the Frenchman who smiled innocently. Rob ruffled Pete’s hair who let out a small moan of protest. Rob smirked and watched Khaat disappear back to her booth. He motioned for Pete to follow him and slipped into the seat opposite his wife.

“Love, meet Pierre Benoit.” Rob introduced. Pete smiled and nodded in Khaat’s direction. “I’ve known him since .... university.” He said, missing out the part about the guns and such. Well, it was university but not the normal type of uni. “Pierre, meet Khaat.”
“Bonjour, Madame.” Pierre said happily.

"Bonjoir, Pierre," Khaat smiled. "It's wonderful to meet one of Rob's friends. I thought the two of you were in Paris. What happened? Rob, you look like you've had a tough day, dear. Are you sure you're alright? Really?" She liked his hair in just a bit of a sexy mess. It looked good on him. "Oh, in case you're wondering, I told Lizzie if you locked her in the kitchen again, I'd just change you into a labrador shaped tea mug. At least it kept her from smacking you with another skillet. I don't know that I'd actually change you, but it made her laugh and got her to forget about being ticked with you."

She paused and said cautiously, "I have a couiple things to ask you, Rob First, are you going back to France? If so, would you take something to my father for me? And second, what would you think about me taking a leave of absence from St. Mungos temporarily to go work again for a bit at Hogwarts? I'd really like to do it."

“Oh um... things got a bit out of hand. Jen and your father are fighting....again.” He added as an afterthought. Rob blanched at the thought of being a Labrador mug and shuddered a little. “Um, thanks but no thanks. I quite like my overall body shape, height and other such things as they are. Although being a dog isn’t that bad I don’t want to be a tea cup dog. I mean.... someone would break me. Fauve and Eli are stupidly clumsy sometimes and no doubt they’d be the cause of my death.”
“Wild beast?” Pete asked, his head pricking up at the sound of Fauve’s name.
“I think Eli prefers ‘beautiful’ wild beast.” Rob shrugged. “He said it was in a movie about a painter or something. He thought it was fitting.”
“Yes, I know it. The name escapes me but yes, if he is an artist then it is very fitting indeed.”

Rob turned back to Khaat and frowned a little. “Probably not and even if I did I’m not taking Robert or Jen. They’re annoying on their own in their own way but together they’re even worse.” Rob paused a little and looked at Khaat in confusion. Pete thankfully jumped in and took over.
“What’s with the sudden career change? If I was you I’d work at Beauxbatons, at least there you won’t get attacked by a Death Eater. Maybe a half-giant or two but no Death Eaters.”
“Agreed. Work there.” Rob said seriously. “Majere is just.... yuck.”

"Vincent has offered me a temporary position, and after today, I guess, I'd really like to take the job. Its only temporary. It certainly is safer for me there than at St. Mungos at the moment. Rob, just where is my father/ I really do need to get this to him. I cannot keep it. He'll know what to do with it. It's important. " She motioned subtley to her usual black leather shoulder tote. "I have to get this to him. " She looked at him and sighed heavily. She was changing subjects back and forth and no doubt was going to confuse him. "I am sorry. I don't mean to confuse either of you. And stop dissing Vincent, please." She resisted adding the statement that he was her friend. Well, he wasn't actually a friend, but he wasn't an enemy anymore either.

Robert had been feeling like something was off with Khaat for several hours now. He just could not ignore it anymore, mission or not. He used a spell to apparate to wherever she was and was quite surprised to find himself back at Sparks. Sitting in her favorite booth with Rob and Pierre. Had he been wrong? She appeared to be quite safe at the moment.

Robert walked over to the booth. "Khaat?" He passed her a look that he knew she would recognize well. It was that, "where have you been and what's going on?" look.

"Daddy," she sighed, relieved. Maybe she could give him her bag now. And she definately needed more security at St. Mungos if she stayed there. Maybe a bodyguard of her own.