To Hell and Back

Jess shok her head she had to agree with Kate, it was frustrating more than cute "I have to agree with kate , your both not 100% yet and I understand your need to get back to normality Khaat " she said she loked at Robert then back to Khaat "sorry if this is out of turn but you bot need to just chill enjoy the fact your both still breathing and here " she said leaning back on Jack "some times slowing down helps speed things up " she said with a grin.

Khaat knew that Jess was right. Well, she could clearly see that her father needed to slow down in order to be able to regain himself. But did shee need to slow down too? Did she? Really? She wasn't sure. Part of her felt that Jess was right that she needed to stop too for awhile, but she also felt a real push to try to go back.

She wanted to be what she had been before. Or better. She saw a battle in front of her. She decided to go back and work on the puzzle again. She got up and went back over to the table and started to turn pieces around and around again.

"Robert," Kate said, "Go get some sleep so that you can help tonight if Khaat needs you. Please."

"Oh, alright," Robert said. He got up and went upstairs. "You'll all if you need me, right?"

"Yes," Brian promised.

Jess smiled looking at jack behind her and at his worried look "don't worry they both will be fine " she said and brushed his cheek with her hand "now mr black heart puzzle Andrew will be disapointed that is daddy can't do a simple jigsaw puzzle" she siad and stod up to fetch another cup of hot coffee both for her, jack and kate knowing kate will be needing it. Though in the end decided that she choose tea for kate.

She handed Kate her herbal tea and sat down with jack handing him his coffee as she blew over hers and sighed as she sat back resting against his chest and feeling safe again.

Khaat dedicated herself for quite a long while in doing the jigsaw puzzle. It gave her something to do. And then she decided she really wanted to be active again. She wrote Jack a very quick, "Excuse me for a few minutes" on a piece of paper and went into the kitchen.

She made quick work of preparing a Coq Au Vin and a slow cooking roaster full of root vegetables. She put them into the oven. She scribbled a note to Jack and asked him to go to Sparks. She had a long list of things she wanted. It included a family sized Asian Chicken Salad for lunch, fresh cheddar cheese stuffed croissants, a fresh baguette, 4 liters of hot spiced cider, 2 dozen pumpkin cutout cookies, and a whole pumpkin cheesecake. She also asked Jack to stop and buy two very special bottles of wine for dinner. That would take care of the food for the rest of the day. It would take all day for the Coq Au Vin and her root vegetable casserole to slow cook. She loved to cook some of the finer things. She wrote out a check for the expenses at Sparks and put down several sickles for the bottles of wine from the wine merchant. It was sure to be enough to cover everything.

Then she wrote another note to Jack. "You don't mind going, do you? And do you know if Steven and Ronata will be here for dinner?" She had made and ordered plenty so that if Jack and Jess wanted to bring the kids or if Steven and Ronata came, there would be more than enough food to go around.

Jack saw her move to the kitchen and decided just to follow but stay at a distance that was till she gave him the note "sure , jess can stay here and Im not sure about steven its possible " he said as he finished a voice called out from the living room and he smiled .

"ok that awnsered your question yes he and Ronata are here " he said and grinned as Steven walked in to the kitchen and straight to the coffee pot "hey stranger visiting?" he asked steven smiled and slapped his shoulder smiling as he spoke.

"yeap, Ronata wanted out of the farm for a couple of hours and my shift started so" Steven said with a sip of his coffee "god nobody makes coffee like kate" he said and smiled bowing "I bow to the coffee master"

Kate laughed. "Thank you," she said. "Always glad to be of service. I think you're just in time. It looks like Khaat is sending Jack into London for something or another. And she's been in the kitchen cooking something. I think...I think I'm smelling chicken of some sort. Am I right, Khaat?"

Khaat nodded. She took another piece of paper and wrote down "Coq Au Vin and a root vegetable casserole--for dinner." She folded a paper airplane and flew it into Steven and Ronata's direction.

"Whatever it is, it's making me hungry already," Brian laughed. Khaat rolled her eyes at Brian. He was always hungry. That made Kate laugh, watching Khaat's amusement with Brian's appetite. Kate reached into a fruit bowl and tossed him an enormous apple. She had found some apples that were double their normal sized in a London muggle market and decided to try them. They were crisp and sweet and extra juicy.

"Try these, Brian," she said. "I think you'll all like them. Robert and I really like them for snacking. Help yourselves, All. While they're nice and fresh."

Ronata caught the paper and read it smiling "sounds wonderfull" she said "do you need any help I could help" she said lking at khaat then clasoping her hands together in a please help me sign.

"I think she has enouph help " steven said as he watched Jack chuckle as he aperated away to fetch the things she had requested him to collect . Steven looked obliviouse to ronata's actions behind him, or so he wanted her to think and shook his head brushing his brown hair from his face.

Khaat nodded at Ronata that, yes, she did have something for her to do, if she wanted. She picked up the paper and wrote again. "We have a whole drawer full of fresh fruit in the refrigerator that Mom brought. There is a recipe for the champagne dressing posted on the refrigerator door with a magnet. Would you please make a mixed fruit salad with champagne dressing, enough for everyone? The colder the salad is and the longer it marinates in the champagne dressing, the better it tastes. You'll find a bottle of unopened champagne in Brian's wine cellar. Maybe Steven would go get it for you and open it. There are some lesser expensive ones that are in the rack to the right of the Dom Perignon bottles. I think we should use the cheaper stuff for the fruit salad so we can pour every little drop of the expensive stuff into glasses, don't you?"

Ronata smiled and nodded "ok I think I can handel that " she said and moved into the kitchen to take out all the fruit and a knife to prep it breathing out a sigh to Khaat as she began to prep the fruit.

Steven nodded "sure, beside the expensive champagne right " he said and headed down to the cellar and looking at all the bottles whistled , as he moved dcown the rows of bottles.

"thanks" Ronata said and smiled "Hes been so clingly since i got back " she said smiling at her "it was nice to start but now , now its just...just clingy" she said as she finished the lasy of the fruit and turned to start the champagne dressing.

Khaat nodded. She hadn't experienced that with Rob or Brian either one. In fact, she had always wanted Rob to be closer than he was. She did wonder if perhaps she was too clingy with Brian. Personally, she enjoyed Brian's closeness. Always had. But right now, she found herself always wanting Brian to be a few steps closer to her than he was.

She scribbled a note to her. "Does it sound weird if I say that I want Brian to be clingy right now?" she asked. "I'm a lot happier when I know he's right here and not more than an arm's reach away. I hired him on at St. Mungos so that he has a right to be closer. I don't know if he'll keep it, but the closer he is, the better I feel. I sound like a wimp, don't I?"