The Forgotten Man (mature content )

Robert had left Khaat and Abbey in Brian's very capable hands, and he went home to shower and freshen up and perhaps get a homecooked meal. Katherine was glad to see him take time for it. It was, to her, a sign that Khaat was out of enough immediate danger that he could leave her for a few moments now. She fixed him a hearty breakfast while he showered and changed into a different business suit.

He sat at the kitchen table, eating breakfast, drinking a cup of tea for a change and reading the Prophet, when he felt Steven's presence relatively nearby again. He waited purposely. He wanted to go over and make sure Brian had not mauled him, but he wasn't going the moment Steven apparently had arrived home. Brian mentioned the concern for perhaps Steven's jaw and his ribs--not to mention a hangover. He finished his breakfast calmly, enjoying being home for a moment. He was considering a lot of things where Khaat's care was concerned and debating on whether or not he and Brian had infused enough energy back into her that she could even partly regain herself now. He would have to spend some time with her to see.

After he ate, he got up, kissed Kate and said, "I need to go over next door and check on Steven. He and Brian had a bit of a fistfight last night, and I know Brian got the upper hand. I need to go over and count broken bones, I think." "Okay," Kate smiled. "Please--let me know about Khaat and Abbey when you know." "I will, Dear. Thank you. I needed some homecooking. I really do have to reform the food system there. It stinks," he laughed.

He apparated over to the Walker farm and knocked on the door.

Steven sat on the shower room floor the water running over his bruised body as he tried to wash way the smell of cigarettes and cheap perfume from him, his tears now running down his face , once a strong man now there he sat feeling broken and alone . He held his chest as he sat back letting the warm water wash away his tears as finally they stopped. He lent forward resting his arms over his legs and his head hung low as he sighed.

After a moment longer he finished carefully washing himself and wrapped a towel around him turning off the shower just as he heard a knock at his door. Not sure if he wanted to see anybody he went to a window and looked out, seeing Robert he unlatched the door and let it swing open. He kept one around his chest as he moved to sit in the living room in a chair beside the fireplace “you can come in” he said softly but loud enouph Robert should have been able to hear.

Robert could see and feel Steven's humiliation. It was a strong energy around him. It hung thick in the house. He went in and closed the door behind him. "I know you had a small brawl with Brian last night. I wanted to check on the damage. I know what he can do. I've seen it before. Looks like he got your jaw and your ribs. We can fix that. I do, however, want to know what lowered your pride. I know it wasn't a few punches with Brian. What else happened? What's really the casualty in this whole thing from last night?"

He looked at Robert as he stood up and lent on the fire place. “I don’t remember much of what happened after Brian’s, next thing I wake in the cauldron in another woman’s bed, I can only guess what happened as we were both… “He turned to face him clearly feeling humiliated “she said, I said I’d stay with her, I could never ...” he sat back down his head in his hands repeating his words. Slowly he looked at Robert “she’s not been gone that long and I feel like I cheated on Janet, I let you all down god knows what I have done that I don’t remember” he sighed and sat back in the chair his face pale but for the dark bruise that sat on his jaw and on his chest, he coughed holding his chest as he did pain shot threw it “Brian sure know how to throw a punch “

"Yes. He does," Robert said quietly. He went over to Steven and laid his hand lightly on Steven's ribs. Two cracked ribs. He sent healing energies into the sore spot as well as a pain spell. "That will help. By tomorrow, that will be good as new." He laid his hand on Steven's jaw. No breaks there. Just a bruised jaw bone. He sent healing energies into that, removed the bruising, and sent pain spells into that. He went one step further and resolved some of his headache. He did not remove it entirely, but he did remove most of it.

"Better?" he asked. "Steven, you know as well as I do that alcohol loosens one's inhibitions. I am not so certain you were trying to cheat on Janet as much as you were working out your own lonliness and your own grief. As Janet herself said to you, she told you to move on. I don't think she would believe you cheated. I think she would understand your pain of having to be separated from her and she would interpret the fact that you ended up with a Knockturn woman clearly as part of that desperation to resolve that. Steven, as your friend, I have to ask you again to take the time to resolve that grief before you try to work. I don't think you will be as effective as you should be until you do."

Steven listened to what Robert said as he watched Robert walk over to him with his hands on his chest he felt the pressure and pain leave him the same with his jaw, when Robert asked if he felt better he nodded “yea, thanks” He sighed at Roberts last words “its ok Robert, last night gave me a wake up call “he said looking up at him from the chair “erm… Can ask you for one more favor?” he asked standing up turning his back to Robert he pulled back the towel “can you get rid of this for me,please ?” he asked looking at Robert. He knew Robert would probablylet it stay making him wear it till he had realized this was his life and he could do nothing but move on, which Steven now realized. He could no longer pine for Janet if he wanted companionship he could always find it in the woman of the alley for a fee, as all single men could till the right woman came along.

"Certainly," Robert said, professional enough not to snicker at him for an unplanned tattoo in an unplanned location. He removed it easily. "There. Just the way you were born--again,' Robert said. "You realize, don't you, that Brian did what he did deliberately to bring out in you the better man that he knew you were, right? Brian and Jack both knew, as I did, that there was a better man laying beneath all of the negativity you've been wrapping yourself in. Brian needed you to be able to see what you were doing to yourself and the people around you that love you. He needed you to return to being the man of quality that he knows that you are in order for you to be of use to him or anybody else. He did not set you up to be hurt or for any sort of malicious joke. That's not Brian's way. Brian is far more wise than a lot of people give him credit for, and I know he didn't like what he felt he had to do in order to, as you put it, wake you up a bit."

Steven sighed as he removed the tattoo. “Don’t be surprised if an angry cockney woman with the most annoying voice, comes to the hospital wanting hers removed “he said with a soft smile and a chuckle as he covered himself back up. “Thank you Robert. Erm ... Can this tat thing stay just between us, and yes, I know Brian did what he had to, well the clock has wrung “he rubbed his chin “well... Bell, big and loud” he sat back down motioning for Robert to sit for a moment “this has made me realize how close I could have come to tipping the scales over to the other side, I could have woke as a dark wizard, or I could have killed an innocent and I would have never known.” He looked at Robert with a smile “I asked you once if you could help me forget Janet… I take that back, I don’t need you to any more” he stood up and moved to his kitchen pouring a coffee he walked back “I think last night I did that my self “

"I am a healer first beyond anything else," Robert said, "I prefer to heal wounds not to cause them. If you decide to tell your tatoo story, that's for you to tell, not me. I am not going to say anything. I am glad you are a wiser man today than you were yesterday. I have wanted that for you for a long time. However, I am not sure you need to forget Janet. That's why I did not remove her from your memory yesterday. You have a whole treasurehouse full of wonderful, priceless things between the two of you that I would not want to rob from you, no matter what you had asked me, any more than I would want to remove Kate from my own mind, or Khaat. Or allow Khaat to remove Rob from hers, much as it causes her pain now. She still loves him. There is nothing wrong with having memories. Its what we do with them that makes it right or wrong. And besides, had I done that, I would have robbed John of heritage he deserves to know and does not know enough yet in his young life to ask the proper questions now. Someday when he's older, maybe not until he's ready to give you grandchildren, will he ask the questions that you will need those memories of Janet for. I won't rob either of you of that.

"I do, though, think that if you can shed the heartache enough to keep in perspective that no proper mother would want both parents taken from her child, if the parents are both appropriate. Janet's first wish, as an auror, would be that if one of you had to be taken, that it would be her and not you. You owe it to her to honor her life by savoring every moment, enjoying every spark of sunlight and starlight, every laugh, every tear. Its all part of our short journey on this little planet. I am quite sure, from what you have told me about her, that Janet would be telling you that what she meant was for you to not stop living because she's not here. Personally, I have seen enough of the afterlife to know that this is merely a temporary separation for the two of you, and that you will see her again at some point. Stop thinking about it as permanent and think of it as temporary. Enjoy your life.

"I have to, as Khaat's father first and foremost, ask you, can you straigten out your feelings for her and put them where they properly belong? She would deeply grieve losing you too, but if you are not ready to put them into the proper perspective, I would ask you, as my friend and hers, to keep your distance until you can do that. My apologies if that sounds too rude or abrupt. But if we are friends, then we can certainly be honest with one another."

Steven listened as he spoke, he understood ever word and agreed, he smiled when he mentioned about memories both good and bad they shared and nodded when he said to think of it as a temporary separation from her. He listened more when he spoke of Khaat feeling like Robert was a father passing on his wisdom to him and he accepted it “Robert … I’m sorry for all that’s happened the last few days” he said looking at Him “Khaat is a good friend nothing more, I know that now “ he drank his coffee “That was something else I woke up to this morning “ he cupped his mug and chuckled “I did a lot of thinking in the shower before you came and I realize that I was acting like a prat “ he looked into the warm coffee as it swirled in his cup.” If Janet was here she’d have boxed my ears and I think in her own way she did “ he let his shoulders drop and he spoke one last time “ can you forgive me? “