Bridging the Generation Gap

Robert was critical. Kate couldnt stay away entirely. She had packed a bag and moved, for now, with Abbey and Dakota, to the Paris headquarters. All was good there, but she was far far much too intune with Khaat and Robert both and they were both in extreme distress. She couldn't stay away.

She apparated back to St. Mungos. She found Steven and Ronata guarding Robert. "Any sign of Khaat yet?" she asked. "And any change in Robert?" She walked in and laid her hand on his forehead. He was still so very weak. He would live, thanks to Khaat, but he was very, very weak. He stirred slowly at her touch.

"Kate," Robert frowned. "You shouldn't be here. Where...where's Khaat?...She's in danger...."

"Robert," Katherine sat very gingerly on the very edge of Robert's bed and took his hand. She looked at him, unsure how to speak to him. She saw him looking back at her, studying her face. He frowned. "Kate?" he asked slowly. "Just tell me. What's happened? Where's my daughter?"

"We don't know, Robert," she said very softly. "She's missing."

Robert shut his eyes tightly in a grimace. His mind instantly knew. It had come to him in a nanosecond. "Burke," he said.

"Burke," Katherine nodded, "We think. Yes."

"He's toying with me, Kate. This is revenge. Entirely....."

"Robert, now listen to me," Katherine said. "We're on it. We have a virtual army of well, skilled operatives. We'll get her back...."

"Brian...."

"Brian is on it. And Michael is helping him. Along with all your other friends and operatives, including Rob and Jen. We'll get her back. Robert, I can feel her. She's alive. She's stressed, but she's alive. If I know her, she's worried about you more than herself. "

He thought for a long moment. A long moment. "Kate. The pensieve. Dumbledore was invited to Selby's wedding, remember?"

"Yes, but I fail to see how that helps."

"Wasn't there some little argument between Selby's uncle and he Minister at the reception?"

"Oh! Yes, there was! You think it might be helpful?"

"Its worth a try. But don't go back there alone. Take someone with you."

"To my own home?" she frowned at him. "That will be the day! You behave yourself while I"m gone or I'll put you in one of your own bug jars!" She looked at Steven and Ronata. "Either of you let him get up and I'll put you in bug jars too!" She apparated out. He looked at Steven and Ronata and sighed heavily.

Steven moved to look at Robert "sorry boss but shes more fomidable than you, besides she's scary like this" he said Ronata hit his arm and smiled. "grow up " she said with a smirk, Steven backed away and ronata looked down at Robert "you need rest I sugest you sleep now " she said and sat back down on the chair waiting Steven looked out into the hall again " they will find her I sure of it" she said and smiled taking his hand in hers she for the first time actualy prayed for Khaat to be safe.

Ronata stood up and moved to Steven and held him tight she sighed for amoment then after areasuring kiss sat back down "Brian and michael will find her and bring her back safe to use know they will" she said her heart now going out to khaat and the men who she worked with she hoped that she was not hurt for she herself would harm the man if he had they ahd done so much for her and she owed them this. She realised after amoment she was drifting off to sleep she knew she shouldn't have but she lay her head down on the bed and closed her eyes drifting off for a few minets.

Steven saw this and placed a spare blanket over her kissing her cheek gently then returning to the door way he could see one man at the bottom of the corridor each end nd another standing talking to a nurse at the nurses station and nodded his recognition of them.

Katherine went home and spent a considerably long time combing through Dumbledore's memories he'd stored so many years ago in the pensieve. It was not a quick or easy process. There were a great many thoughts stored there. It felt to her like she had gone through nearly every memory the great man had, and some she'd revisited twice.

When she got to the one Robert had mentioned, she viewed it over and over, trying to observe every little bit of it, learn every little part of it, sifting it for clues. She felt helpless. Robert would have known precisely what he was looking for. She felt like she had come up empty.

She returned to Robert and found Ronata asleep with her head on Robert's bed. Robert was awake, barely. He'd been dozing off and on.

"Find it?" he asked her.

"Yes," she said. "The arguement was about Shelby's position at the British government. He kept claiming his was a high level person, and the wizard he was arguing with said he was merely a file clerk. Is that important? I tried to look for other threads, but,..."

"No, thats the one. I think Selby was both. Think about it. What if Selby were a clerk that was involved in the storage of classified documents? That would have made him valuable."

"Oh. It would indeed. So what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that if you get that information to Michael he might find it useful in finding Khaat."

"I'll get it to him. I promise," she said, kissing him.

"Then get yourself back to the safehouse. Promise me."

"I promise." She smiled and apparated out.

Steven watched as Katherine aperated in and spoke softly to Robert he watched her closely and was a little suprised as Robert replied Ronata still alseep on the bed , he moved over to stand at his side listening to what was said but he kept quiet as it was none of his business but he wanted to know he heard Robert tell Kathrine that she had to get to the safe house.

" Sir I can get one of the men to acompany her to make sure " he said looking down at him hoping that the sujestion would not go a miss "I would go myself but im under orders to remain at your side " he stood upright his hand finding Ronatas shoulder.

"No," Robert said. "My family is far more important. Make sure my wife is safe. Please. Go with her and then return. I'll be safe that long. My guess is that Burke is too busy with Khaat to be worried much about coming back here for me. If what Kate told me is correct, I don't believe he will be coming back for me except to tell me what we need to do to get Khaat back. Just make sure I have my wand, just in case, and then go. Nothing is more important than my wife and my daughter. And my orders supercede anyone else's. I'll be fien for the short time you'll be gone."

He looked over tosee his wand laying on the night stand. He tried to reach over to get it for himself, but he was just far too weak. "He sighed heavily, frustrated. "A hand, please? I think I can handle it from there while you're gone. Let her sleep. She's had to adjust to a lot just by being back so soon. Jeffrey let her go a lot sooner than I thought he would. I hope he wasn't premature. We'll just ahve to see."

Steven nodded looking at the wand he reatched over and picked it up placing it in his hand he pused "I won't let you down sir " he said leaning down he kissed ronata " I'll be back" he moved to kate and walked with her out the room as he passed the nurses station he motioned for the man to go to the door which he did standing right in the door way " I hate to leave her so soon but she seems stronger " he said to kate "so does Robert though he still has along way to go till recoverd" she moved to place his hand on Kate and apreated her to Khaats cottage.

"Michael Rbert asked me to bring kate she has some information" he said walking to open the main door for her to enter.

"Kate," Michael smiled, lighting his pipe. "How nice to see you again, my dear!" he got up and went over to her and wrapped her in a warm strong hug. "Don't worry, Dear. We'll get your family back to you, I promise. Tea?"

"If it isn't too much trouble," Katherine said.

"Not at all. Steven? Tea?" he asked. He glanced down at Otto who had gotten all excited and was running in circles around Kate and yapping at her. She laughed and petted the footstool.

"You really are the best behave ottoman I've ever seen," she laughed, petting it.

"So," Michael called from the kitchen, "I take it that if Robert sent you here, you must have information for me, am I correct?"

"Well, Robert seemed to think I did," She called back. He brought in three tea mugs full of steaming hot tea. "I was just about to go get myself a cup. "So, sit, both of you. And tell me what Robert sent you here for, Kate."

Kate took the teacup from Michael and sat down and recounted the arguement Robert had sent her to review in the pensieve.

"Oh, I had forgotten all about that," Michael frowned deeply, new revelations coming to life in his eyes. "I do understand, of course why this was so important. Think. If you're hiding classified secrets, what sort of place are you most likely to store them in?" He paused before answering. "In a room with absolutely a minimum number of ways into or out of. Meaning no windows or doors. And--if it were me, it would be entirely underground and under the most strict security I could get it...unless, of course, they were older documents. Some documents become less classified as they age and eventually become released to the public. Nonetheless. If our Burke uncle was a file clerk, he would have worked in the classified documents section. That does help immensely. That reduces our search and narrows it in quite a bit. Well done, dear! "

Steven shook his head when asked if it wanted tea "no thank you " he said but sat down and listened he wondered what sort of information they could fined " maybe he has some land some where , that he could be holding her in" he asked "land resisters arn't confidetiol we couldsend men to all the places he has , though that could be a lot " he sighed thinking his idea was just shot down as his own idea.

she sat abck thinking about kates information it rattles his cage he could not find an aqwnser but he knew it would come in time "Robert asked Kate be taken to a safe house I have to return to the hospital but i could drop her be3fore i go" he said and stood up anctiose to return to his post.

"Not to worry, Steven," Michael said. He respected Steven's devotion to Robert. "I'll hand deliver Kate to Paris myself as soon as we're done with our tea. You know how us old folk are. We like to linger over our tea. Besides, Kate and I haven't had time to reminisce in a long time. I promise to take good care of her.

"Actually, Steven, my concerns are far more about Robert. I have a lot more fears that Robert will mess things up. He's going to do one of about three things if I know him. One--he's either going to be turning this over and over in his mind and not be able to rest. Or--second---he's going to try to run this from his hospital bed. Or--three--he'll try to set himself up as bait for Burke to come right after him in order to try to find out where Khaat is. And I don't see any of those coming out well for him as badly injured as he is. As long as Burke believes Robert is too critical to appreciate whatever he has in mind for Khaat, Burke has to keep her alive. Maybe not in the finest of circumstances, but he can't kill her. Not yet. I'm sending you back to him to keep him on ice. Don't you dare let him mess this up. He needs to appear critical until we can find Khaat. Does that make sense? It buys us time."

"Don't worry, Steven," Kate smiled, settling in with her tea mug. "I trust Michael with my life--and Roberts and Khaats. I'll be fine. Thank you for getting me here safely. Just take care of Robert now. He's going to be obsessed with getting Khaat back. Michael's right."

steven looked at Michael "my thoughts exactly and the sooner I can get back the easier it will be to stop those things from hapening" he said to machael turning to Kate he smiled "my pleasure kate" she said and turnred to aoreate back to the hospitan and ronata . walking down the corridor the man he ahd left moved back to the desk and started chatting to yhr young nusrsd Steven rolded his eyes and walked in to find Ronata sat up and smiling at him.

"Hi where did you go?" she asked standing to kiss him gently before moving back to the chair "hesa sleep again " she said