Tuscany Trip

Khaat called for her father quickly, and he apparated back, frustrated. He saw her covered in blood.

"Its not mine! Brian!" she said desperately. "Please..." Her father raced up the stairs and into the bedroom.

"Let me work," he said quietly. He began to work on Brian. "Go see to Khaat. Make sure she hasn't started bleeding again." He ordered very quietly. "If I need you, I'll call. Brian and I have done this many, many times. It'll be alright."

Meanwhile, Khaat's mind was running a million miles an hour. Brian wasn't defeated easily. Never, ever. And this time he had taken more hits than she'd ever seen him take. He had surely been outnumbered. Both of them? Had he faced them both? Alone? Her mind nearly froze entirely with fear for him. She had always been in control before when Brian had been wounded, and vice versa. But somehow, something inside was threatening to run away with her heart.

Time seemed to stop completely. She finished more than a couple of cups of coffee when her father finally came back down. He saw how frightened she had become. That was a new thing for her. She and Brian had always rolled with those sorts of things before. The fear in her eyes was a new thing, well, when it came to Brian, anyway.

"Hey," Robert laid his hand on Khaat's shoulder, "He's fine. He's asleep. He'll be alright. Relax. I never lose a family member--you know that. How are you? Any bleeding?"

"No. I'm fine," she said softly, struggling to get her nerves reeled in. "How close was it?"

"You know that never counts. It only matters if he's going to be alright."

"Translation--he was almost killed. He nearly died," she said sharply, angry now.

"He's going to be fine. He's going to heal faster than you, most likely. His wounds were not enchanted. Just wand wounds. Let it go. He's seen worse. Do not let this whole business go to your head." He lifted her chin to look in his eyes. "Stop. Don't lose your head." She knew he knew all about her and Brian, and he was trying to get her to refocus and not get so caught up it some new infatuation that she couldnt' be herself anymore.

"You're right," she sighed.

"So?" Khaat looked at her father. "What's the damage?"

"Multiple wounds to his torso. He lost a lot of blood very quickly. He was going into traumatic shock. He evidently held them off for some time. And yes, he managed to tell me that he was attacked by both of them. He didn't get to see the man's face, though. It was deliberately hidden. He was trapped with one in front and one behind. He managed to get it shifted to one on either side. Actually, I think he did exceptionally well, given all he was up against.

"I've healed the wounds and I've set spells in motion to replace the blood loss and to reverse the massive shock to his system. My guess is that if you give him a couple of days just to rest up, he'll be back on duty. Unlike you, my dear." He kissed her cheek. "He's not going to bleed anymore. The worst he'll do at this point is perhaps fall on his face if he gets up too fast. Or without help today. By tomorrow, he might be able to be up, in very slow motion. My guess is that he'll be himself, or nearly so, by the day after that. You, Dear Heart, are hooked on Brian."

"I am not," she frowned.

"Would that really be so bad? Its a cinch Rob isn't coming back. Nor do you need someone like him back in your life. Brian is good for you, and you are very, very good for him. Enjoy it. It doesn't have to be a lifetime commitment. Just enjoy a bit of happiness for what it is. Khaat, we aren't given everlasting doses of happiness in this life. We're only given one little smidgen after another. Don't waste a one of those moments. Capture every one and savor it for all its worth."

She smiled. He always made so much sense. "Alright."

"Jack and Jess," Robert said. "Brian just needs rest now. I left a couple of well labled potions for him. Khaat needs rest , and watch the bleeding. Call if you need me. Otherwise, I'll do my level best to get back tonight . If not, I'll come back in the morning. If you need something from town from now on, make a list. I'll send an operative to apparate in, get your list, go shopping and bring it back. It wil be safer that way. We need to take the heat out of this for awhile. Let's try to keep this low key and let them recover a bit. Any questions?"

"The operative will be part of the organization and will have a medallion," Robert said. "I may be sending a variety of operatives to see to your needs. I don't know yet. And I apologize, Jess. I did forget you do know potions. Brian's potions are mainly for pain, and for sleep. Khaat's are for the reduction of bleeding and for pain. Brian is a terrible insomniac, so he will most likely need the sleep potion. Khaat is not an insomniac unless she has something on her mind.

"Brian could handle the woman, had she been all he had to contend with. But the man is very good. I've seen his work before. He is swift and deadly. And when he takes aim, he rarely misses. When Brian had both of them to contend with, as far as I'm concerned, it shows his skills that he escaped alive at all. My best guess is that whoever is paying them doesn't think Tasha is good enough to do the job, so they're trying to speed this up. Perhaps the longer that this goes on, the more expensive it gets. I don't know.

"Oh, and I will make sure that you get more of the supplies you will need to take care of them. I'll send those with my operative. Take no chances, either of you," he warned them. He looked back at Khaat. "You--behave! Let's do something different this time, shall we? I think its time you learned how to practice what you preach. Try being a halfways decently behaved patient this time, please." He apparated out.

"Yes," Khaat said, as she watched her father disappear, "He still has his. We'll be fine. And you are correct, Jess, with the dosages of the potion. That's what he wants." Khaat sighed heavily. "I am sorry I dragged you two into this. Brian and I have never been out of action at the same time before. This is going to be...uncomfortable...for both of us. And I know it will be for you too. If I know Brian at all, he's going to have a need to push to be on his feet, the same way I feel it. It would make things infinitely easier, though, if we were all four in the same room. We might need to transfigure part of this furniture so it can accomodate us both down here for a couple of days. It puts far too much stress on us individually and as a group if we're separated. I just know how Brian and I both think. What do you two think? "