Rest and Relaxation ( Khaat )

Khaat understood, and she wasn't sure she wanted to be seen anywhere with the scars she had. Her father had promised to remove them from her but he still hadn't had time to do it. And time on the beach, as she looked, wasn't something she was sure she could face. She glanced at Brian, who nodded at her. It sounded like a great idea to him.

Her father looked directly into her face. "Did you think I forgot?" he asked.

"No," she said.

"Liar," he replied. "Are you less of a woman because you're scarred? Maybe you really should go do this, just as you are, and come to terms with who you really are. Just as Jess and Jack need to do. Maybe you need to do the same thing.

"I'll get to this, but I really think I need to do it when you get back. First of all, its going to take time, and you know it. Getting rid of scar tissue and regenerating healthy tissue takes time," he continued. "You just stepped down from the Wizengamot, and Brian's no longer working--except for the organization. You don't need the money. You have more ability now to step away for time off. And you need to come to terms with the fact that Brian married you. Not your face, not your shoulder, not your arm. I agree with Jess and Jack. I think you should go."

She looked at him, not pleased he'd cut immediately to the core of her insecurities. She wanted to speak but he wasn't finished. "Besides, I have something else for Marcus to do for a few days. I'm sure the four of you can manage just fine on your own. Go pack. It'll do you all good."

"Okay," she shrugged. She knew Jess would understand it wasn't the offer that bothered her. The sound of sun and sand was wonderful. She went upstairs to pack.

"You know she's going to pack a big stack of veils," Robert said to Brian.

"I'm a wizard. You'd be amazed at what I can do to those," Brian grinned. "I'm not worried about those."

"I get the impression she's going to be buying a new wardrobe before you get home," Robert laughed.

"Depends on what she packs for us," Brian said confidently.

"You'll manage," Robert said. "I don't think you're the one she's concerned about now, honestly. I"m sure she misses you. But I think all the recent business with James and Gideon and all of that have had her thoughts elsewhere."

"Well, it was why she and I left the Ministry," Brian said. "I need to be more available for the kids and the organization. She wanted to be home more and not working two jobs. And we wanted more time for those we love and to do the things we like. We're very blessed to not need to work. We should work if we want to, and not lose our focus on what's really important."

"I think you made the right choice," Robert said. "People are always more important than things. And it sounds like you have your villa sufficiently equipped for privacy. You've learned pretty well from the safehouses, it seems. I think when she sees that there is that sort of privacy, Khaat will be alright with it. Sounds like there's no reason for you all to have a great time."

Khaat came downstairs with an oversized messenger bag. Brian took it from her, opened it, peered inside and closed it. He sent a sly smile to Robert. Robert tried to keep a straight face, but he had a feeling that there were going to be a lot of sarongs not returning--at least not in their original form.

"Jamaica is five hours behind--in the same time zone as New York and the eastern United States," Robert said.

Brian and Khaat ported with Jess to the villa. It was so different from the fierce winter England was having.

"Its beautiful," Brian said.

"Yes," Khaat said. "It certainly is. Lovely. And so nice to not see snow." She looked outside but didn't go out. Brian looked at her and took her good hand and walked out to the pool. He looked around, seeing how well the place was landscaped to provide privacy without disturbing the peaceful feel.

"I'll check it, but it looks like we'll be safe. It looks good," he said to her gently. "And, if we use a minimum of magic, no one will track our magical signatures easily."

"I'm sure you're right," she said.

"Come walk with me to at least see the view of the beach," he said. "We won't be gone a moment.'

"They might think we're rude if we port in and simply walk off."

"We're hardly walking off," he laughed. "Sixty seconds to go a few steps beyond the pool is hardly walking off. Come on." He walked her down to the beach just so they could see the view, not far enough to go down to the sand or the water. Just enough to get oriented with their surroundings.

There was a peace here that she hadn't realized she'd missed that she often got from the sand and the sound of the sea. It was nice after all the drama of James, and Gideon, and the destruction of the Ministry....it had all been a lot. It had been part of why she had pulled away to not be the Wizengamot, not wanting to be in public so much anymore. She was tired of the spectacle of it.

She yawned. It dawned on her that it hadn't even been quite breakfast time back home, and it was even earlier here. She needed coffee.

"I bet they have a kettle or a coffeepot," Brian laughed. "lets go find it." She agreed, as they headed back inside.

"The room is lovely," Khaat said. "Its nice to not see a snowflake anywhere."

"With your permission," Brian said to them, "I'm going to make some coffee. Khaat missed breakfast this morning because we left before she got any. I think if she doesn't get her morning fix of french roast, she'll be napping out on those loungers. And the last time she did that, she got a heck of a sunburn."

"Well, if I'd had coffee, that wouldnt have happened," Khaat said, remembering.

"I'll make coffee," Brian said to her. "You unpack. That will give Jack and Jess time to get that lovely barbeque together. The last time we had food cooked in banana leaves, it was in Hawaii when Abbey was a newborn. And she'll be five this spring."

"I dont want to think about her being five already," Khaat yawned, picking up the bag and taking it to their room to unpack.

"You know I'm probably going to have to take her shopping for something other than veils and sarongs," Brian jokingly said to Jess and Jack after Khaat had gone to unpack.

"I know," Brian said. "I'm hoping it wears off if we give her a bit. I haven't looked in the bag, but I have a feeling she packed more cover-ups than useful clothes. I think Robert is starting to feel a bit guilty for not starting to work on healing her scars and the paralysis in her arm. I think he deliberately didn't start things now because I think he wants her to be able to remember that around family she doesn't have to hide. It'll be okay once she's been here a bit. And the fire pit is a nice touch."

He found a bowl of fresh fruit on the kitchen counter. "Good. If somebody had ever told me that I'd have eight kids and that they'd all prefer fruit to cookies, I'd have told them to have their heads examined. But here we are, and I'm really pleased that Khaat's stuck to her guns about that. When Dakota was little I was sure we were going to have one that was going to live behind the couch and eat cat kibbles."

He picked up a couple of the different sorts of pears that were native to Jamaica and cut them into thin slices. "Those look nice and ripe. I think that's what I like best about travelling is all the local fresh foods that you can't get anywhere else. I'm going to take her a few slices while she unpacks." He put some of the slices on a plate and floated them back to her in the bedroom.