Dangerous Dining

"Thank you, Steven," Khaat said, rattled--not because of fear for herself but rather because of fear for Abbey. She reached down and petted the wolf. "Thank you, Cara." Instinctively, shie picked up Abbey and held her close.

"Khaat," Brian soothed Khaat gently, his hand on her shoulder supportively, "Abbey's fine. Nothing's happened. She's alright."

"Let's keep it that way, okay? I don't care what happens to me. Just, both of you--well, all of you, make sure he doesn't hurt Abbey."

"Well," Brian said, "I don't have it in my plans for him to hurt either of you, and I'm positive Steven and Cara don't plan on that either. You know, if you really wanted to short circuit this creep, all you'd need to do is have lunch with Narcissa and tell her about him. He either doesn't know he is trying to off a friend of a Malfoy, or he's incredibly stupid. If he happens to see you at lunch with her, or if she has a small chat with him. that would take care of it in a hurry."

"Hmm," Khaat said, thoughtfully, "He obviously doesn't know that Narcissa is a good friend or he would never try something like this. You might be right, Brian. It might be time for her and I to have lunch and for her to meet Abbey. What do you think, Steven?"

"I'm glad you were here, Cara," Khaat said quietly, petting her. "I'm glad you ran him off. Feel free to bite him next time. Steven, just so you know, Narcissa knows full well what side of the law I stand on, and vice versa. She and I have the ability to not let that interfere with our friendship. Narcissa has a lot of good in her. I think, if she hadn't been forced by her father to marry Lucius, she might have ended up in a totally different situation with her life. But she values friends and family beyond all else. She has a very passionate side when it comes to the people that she cares about, and she'll fight for those people with all she's got. She has far more influence with the Death Eaters than most people know about. Well, lets be honest. Most people in the wizarding world know better than to mess with Lucius or Narcissa Malfoy. I know this will rub your ranger ethics the wrong way, but over the years, I have managed to accumulate friends on both sides of the law. We just have agreed to not push each other into a conflict. My guess is that even as a ranger you had informants that you trusted to a given point and about certain things. Well, this isn't that much different." Khaat saw Cara's interest in Abbey and she gently laid Abbey on her arm so that if Cara wanted to sniff Abbey or check in her herself, she could do so. She was learning, from her mother, that wolves were very maternal and protective over their cubs and that Cara was feeling the same way over Abbey.

"Abbey," Brian laughed, now smelling what Cara smelled. "I'll get it, Khaat. I don't mind." He took Abbey from her and took her into the restroom and made quick work of changing her. He did appreciate that Sparks had thought to put nice sturdy, antique wooden changing tables in both restrooms, along with some changing necessities in case of emergency. It was something that hadn't crossed Khaat's mind until she became pregnant and then she had gladly added the changing tables, and the customers had delighted that Khaat was thinking of every family member. Further, she had clearly made sure to add a children's menu, along with making children's portions available at half the price of the adult sized entree. It had been another welcome change for wizarding parents. And since then, Sparks had hosted several children's birthdays. The servers were becoming masters of conjuring the magical sparkling creatures that had given the bistro its name. They could now conjure just about anything a customer could ask for. A couple had even made a creature sit on their shoulders and actually interact with the customers.

Brian brought Abbey back, and she smelled like a baby was supposed to smell again. He replaced her back in Khaat's arms. "Back to Mom, safe and sound," he said. "She's very good at this whole 'eat, sleep, and diaper' thing." He laughed.

"She certainly is," Khaat said. "And I truly do not see a problem with our account with the coffee supplier. I have been over the books a couple of times now, and I just don't see it. " She began to smell Lizzie's beef stroganoff special. It was what she had ordered for lunch for herself, and she knew that Lizzie was holding back some of the beef tips and a bit of the rich brown flavorful gravy for Cara. "I think lunch is going to be ready very soon. I can smell it," Khaat said.

Khaat laughed. "Well, there aren't many wizards around here who wear a Stetson, Steven. Once we graduate from Hogwarts we rarely wear a hat at all, in fact, except if its the hood of our cloaks. Between that and the boots, well, you don't look like the typical British wizard. My guess is that they think it makes you look distinctive. I think I will send a letter to the coffee supplier asking him to detail his records of my account so that I can compare them and see where we do not agree. That may be the best course of action right now. But in the meantime, I think I'll refill my cup." She left her office and went out to the dining room to refill her large coffee mug, carrying Abbey in one hand and the mug in the other.

Khaat looked at Brian, confused. Steven seemed to be taking everything personally again. She knew full well that a cowboy hat and boots were standard attire in Texas. Just like any other sort of regional dress, but they were out of place here, and if he intended to stick to what was common in Texas in the middle of Diagon Alley, then he truly was liable to get some looks, just as wizarding wear would not be common in any muggle city anywhere in the world. She had no idea what had gotten into him, but she was getting sick and tired of him being so bloody moody. "Just let him be, Brian," she sighed. "I'm hurrying. I'm trying to get done so we can leave. I really am."

"I know," he said quietly. "I've tried to help him, but his moods make me crazy. Its starting to wear thin with me too. You take your time. He's not the cllient. You are. We're protecting you--not the other way around."

"Brian," Khaat said gently, "I'm trying not to make things worse."

"You and I are fine. He has to make his own choices. His mood is his choice. Not ours. You do what you came here to do." He heard Abbey start to coo and make little baby noises, and he picked her up, talking to her softly. It made Khaat smile. Brian just had a genuine love for kids, and he was good with them.