A Birth day

Ruby smiled as everyone went out side she sat down next to Anise as she spoke to Angus " thats what makes them different to pancakes, its a french thing" she added and chuckled as Jessie now changed and with wet hair walked out with a plate and sat down to eat. Hearing that Evan had Caprice Ruby smiled knowing Caprice was safe with him.

Jessie ate three Creps and then sat back to sip some orange juice " those we wonderful Angus thank you" he said patting his stomach as he sat back in his chair.

"I'm glad you liked them," Angus said. "I thought it was time that Rosaria knew I know my way around a stove."

"And a fine way to show her," Robert agreed. "As fine a breakfast as I ever saw in Paris. Well done."

"We have about thirty minutes before we need to be at the chapel," Angus said. "I need to finish dressing."

"I'll give the girls a hand," Simone said. "It won't take us long. Shall we meet back here in fifteen minutes or so?"

"That's fine," Angus said. He went upstairs, and Marcus helped him with his cufflinks and with his black tie, his waistcoat, and his suit jacket. Marcus knew how to insure that Angus was perfectly turned out. When Angus got downstairs, Edward and Carlo were there, and Carlo was adjusting something on Edward's lapel.

"There are boutonnieres in the basket right behind me," Edward told Angus. "Make sure that you and Marcus get one. There are enough for all the gents. Simone has some little corsages for the women. It was just a little thing Simone and I thought might show a little respect towards Phoebe's hatred of all black, and how much she hoped there would be color at her own funeral. There should be enough not only for us but for Dennis and all his guests if they want on."

"That's a really nice gesture," Angus said.

"Well, they're really small. Even the ones for the women are really small, to be tasteful," Edward said. Marcus picked one out for Angus. It was white and lavender. The one Marcus picked for himself was a pale yellow. They were just a little sprig of a snapdragon bloom, nothing more. Marcus put the boutonniere on Angus's lapel and then added his own as Michael and Robert came downstairs. Marcus offered them a boutonniere as well.

Upstairs, Simone showed the girls the coursages she had had made. Anise picked out a peach colored snapdragon to go with her dress, and Ginger chose a bright purple one. Simone had chosen a bright fushia one for herself. She had some more, so that Ruby could pick one and so could the women who had come with Dennis.

"Ready?" Simone asked.

"Not really," Anise said quietly. Simone gave her a hug.

"We'll walk it out together," Simone told her gently. They walked downstairs together, and Angus knew that the closer they got to doing this, the harder it was going to be for the girls.

Ruby heard Angus say he needed to finish getting dressed and Ruby nodded " me too" she said folloewing them up stairs to the bed room taking her dres from the wardrobe she headed to the bathroom to change stepping out not more than a few minets later in a White and red dress along with matching court shoes and the jewlery Angus had chosen for her to wear. " will I do?" she asked walking over to Marcus and Angus as she fixed Angus tie that was slightly off to one side.

Jessie apeared in a dark suit with a red tie as he entered he saw Ginger and Anise and walked over to Ginger giving her a hug as Simone had spoken to Anise. " Anise your not alone, you have your dad and Angus and me and everyone here" he said softly to her as he moved from Ginger and hugged her too." your mom raised two fantstic young women." he told her

"Very nice," Angus told her. "I like the dress a lot. Did you get your corsage from Simone? She has a basket of them. They're just small ones, but they thought it would be a nice gesture to add a little bit of color for Phoebe. There are lots of different colors. Pick what you like." He gestured to Simone who had a basket of little corsages for the women. The girls already had theirs.

"Jessie," Marcus said. "Edward got boutonnieres for the gents. Come pick one. They're in all kinds of colors. Take whatever color you like."

Ginger and Anise were glad to give Jessie a hug, and they appreciated all the support they were getting

"I hope she would be proud of us today," Ginger told Jessie. Angus felt Anise drawing tight against him. He wasn't surprised. Ginger had always been drawn more to Ruby, and Anise had always been drawn more to him. Angus understood it. Ginger and Ruby were somewhat the same in personality, and Angus had more in common with Anise, quite honestly. It was a good thing today that they each had someone they were going to be drawn to.

"I don't want to do this," Anise said very softly to Angus. He reached his hand to her.

"Then I'll do it for you. You just walk beside me, alright?" he asked. She took his hand tightly, frightened, pressed tight against him. Ginger found herself taking a step or two closer to Ruby because she didn't want to do this any more than Anise did. And she certainly didn't want to do it alone. Angus knew that when Ruby finished getting her corsage, she would step in to make sure Ginger didn't feel alone.

Ruby walked over to simone and looked in the basket she chose one with the colors of snapdragons in it and put it on her dress as Jessie put his on. Now she moved to Ginger and took her hand in her own " I'll be at your side, and Jessie right she's proud of you, both of you." she said smiling as she brushed her hand over Gingers cheek gently. Now with Gingers hand in her own they moved to stand with Angus leting Ginger go to him if she needed him.

Jessie moved to Marcus and stood with him there was not anything he could say since it was a slolm day for the girls. " I'll go and see if Dennise is ready " he said and headed out the door and across to the tents where he saw them all stood waiting " I came to see if your ready." he said

"We're coming," Marcus told Jessie. "We'll meet you there since its on the way."

"Come with me," Angus told Anise gently. He glanced at Ruby to signal her that it was time. He walked out of the house, holding Anise's hand.

"She'd have liked those peach things you made," Anise told him softly, barely above a whisper. "And she'd have liked all the sunshine here."

"I think she'd have been far happier with you and Ginger and how beautiful you two look today."

"I hope," Anise said. They walked to the little handful of tents, and Dennis was ready, dressed in an old but impeccably clean charcoal colored suit with a white shirt and a thin black tie. Simone took the coursages to the women who appeared pleased to get them, and Edward offered Dennis a boutonniere and then helped him put one on made from a red snapdragon. Edward had a moment of soft conversation with Dennis, and then he looked at Marcus.

"Marcus," Edward called, "could you lend a hand for one moment?"

"Certainly," Marcus said. He went to Edward and Dennis, and they spoke with Marcus. Marcus cast some spells to tailor the old suit and to sharpen up Dennis's appearance. Now, Anise could see how very handsome her own father actually was. She'd never seen him looking so good. Simone helped the women who wanted to polish up a bit more, and when they all felt like they were ready, they all walked together to the chapel.

When they went in, the casket was open to allow everyone to have one more chance to see Phoebe and to say goodbye. The girls had not seen her since her death. Dennis was allowed to go first, and Edward and Simone stayed right with him, along with a man from the pack who had always been Dennis's best mate. Angus could hear Dennis's soft crying in the silence of the chapel. Anise had stiffened beside Angus. She clearly wasn't sure if she wanted to go see her mother or not.

When Dennis walked away from the casket, Angus walked slowly with Anise, and Sam came up on the other side of Anise and took her other hand. The three of them walked up together.

As a trained fighter, Angus knew well where werewolves attacked for a kill. He could see where the spells had been cast to try to reassemble Phoebe's remains. And he knew how hideous it all had to have been. He was glad that the girls were not experienced enough to recognize the charms to be able to see the clear signs of James's mauling that lay beneath it all. Angus saw it clearly. James had mauled Phoebe to death in a purely 100% animalistic attack. Phoebe had never had a chance.

Anise turned to Angus, hid her face in his chest and cried, wrapping her arms around his waist. For the moment, all he could do was just hold her.

"She was the one who always fought for us," Anise told Angus in a whisper. "Who's going to do that now?" Angus leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"I will," he promised her. "Always." She clung to him a moment longer, and then Angus decided she had had enough. He walked her away from the casket so that Ginger could have a moment with her mother. He took Anise to sit down, with Sam still right beside her.

Ruby followed Angus with Ginger to the tents her hand never leaving Gingers as they walked. She stayed by Gingers side as they readied them selves then walked to the chapel. Ruby walked with Ginger behind Angus and Anise. As they saw Anise and Angus leave she looekd at Ginger " you want to go up?" she asked "I'll understand if you don't" she spoke softly to her her arm now around her holding her close to her as then moved closer. Ruby looked into the casket and smiled " rest well Pheobe." Ruby said then psused to let ginger said a few words.

Once done Ruby held Ginger closse and moved to let her sit next to Anise while she sat with her.

As they sat together, letting everyone else see Phoebe, Anise was thinking of her life without Phoebe, without ever seeing her again, and in her flood of memories of all the closeness she had with Phoebe, she began to panic that she wasn't going to be able to do this whole life thing without her.

"I don't know how," she told Angus softly. "How do I do this without her?"

"We'll do it together, one day at a time," he told her. As Robert finished paying his respects to Phoebe, he walked past the pew where Angus and Ruby were sitting with the kids. He put a little foil wrapped chocolate into Angus's hand and pointed to Anise. Then he put one in Ruby's hand and pointed to Ginger. He had formulated these little chocolates with a calming potion in case the girls had needed it today. He figured that if he simply handed them to Angus and Ruby and pointed to the girls, Angus and Ruby would figure it out. Angus nodded.

Angus unwrapped the little chocolate and handed it to Anise who simply ate it automatically, not even thinking about it and with no clue there was anything in it. Angus had no issue with her having some calming potion right now. They hadn't even gotten to the funeral service or the graveyard service. They had quite a lot to go, and he knew Anise wanted to bear up and just didn't know how. If this gave her a little help, he wasn't opposed. Angus looked at Ginger, and it looked like Ruby was doing fine with her.

Ruby watched Robert then saw him hand her a chocolate and nod to Ginger she returned it to show she understood and unwrapped it placing it in Gingers hand and smiled letting her take it from her she saw Angus looking at her and smiled to him knowing he had Anise and was comforting her as she was with Ginger. Pulling Ginger against her shehugged her giving her comfort to let her know she was there for her no matter what. Jessie sat behind Anise and placed his hand on her shoulder. He smiled at her to reasure her she was not alone.

When the calming potion took effect, Anise was better. She was able to dry her eyes and sit and watch people paying their respects to Phoebe. She saw one of the pack women pass something wrapped in paper to Edward, and when Edward went up to the casket, he unwrapped the paper and laid a big sprig of blooming wolfsbane and he laid it on Phoebe's hands. It seemed to be a most unusual gesture.

"Fenrir does that," Anise told Angus softly. "He must have sent it along. He says that wolfsbane, in it's flowering form, is highly poisonous and that it takes a potions expert to brew wolfsbane potion so that it has any benefit. He says that by sending a big sprig of wolfsbane flowers, it is a symbolic gesture of the pack's continued protection, even after...after this."

"It's a nice gesture," Angus replied. "I'm glad he continues to think of you and your mom." She nodded. The girls made it through the service, and it did help Anise to know that not only did she have Angus and Ruby and Sam, she had Jessie too, and she knew there were more than that. They were here, not because they had to be, but because they wanted to be. And they weren't going anywhere. She knew that.

"We don't have to go to the graveyard service if you don't want to," Angus told her as the funeral service ended in the chapel.

"I'm...okay," she said, not understanding why she was okay, but she knew she would be okay to go to the cemetery.

"Okay," Angus said. He looked at Ginger. "You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I want to see where she's going to be," Ginger said. "I need to know she'll be at peace."

"She will be," Angus told her. As they filed out of the chapel, Angus glanced back towards the house, towards the spot in the yard he'd chosen for the luncheon. Carlo and Rosaria were outside and they were starting to set up the food and the plates and silverware and glasses. Things were going like clockwork, and that was the least he could do on a day like today--to make sure that the rest of the family didn't have to think about those details.

Sam took Anise's hand, and Angus was satisfied that she felt steady enough to walk with Sam and didn't have to be holding Angus's hand right at the moment. For the moment, he figured he would be walking alone so Ruby could tend to Ginger if she needed it.