LONDON CALLING

"I actually don't know if it's wise or if it just makes me an abject coward," he sighed. "Either way, I really believed our time was completely gone before we even got started good, and I don't want to risk that again, at least not for awhile. Marcus told me he's been through similar things and says he gets it, says he understands what it can do, and said that when I'm able to run again, he thinks he and I should do some long runs together to sort it out. I don't want to take advantage of him though." He yawned, sleep now hammering at his brain.

"Two hot things..." he shook his head, with a sleepy little laugh. "You and the casserole? You can't be talking about me. I think his potion must be working. Either that or I'm too far gone to feel much of anything anymore. 'Night, Ru." His eyes fluttered shut, and he slipped quickly into sleep.

Michael and Kate got up early and fixed breakfast. They wanted to do something healthy, so they made a huge pot of Irish steel cut oats and set it out with a huge buffet of all sorts of fruit, chocolate chips, jams, honey, cinnamon, sugars, and various things to people to choose to stir into their oatmeal.

Michael had also taken great pains to make fresh, homemade Greek style yogurt, and knew that they could use the oatmeal fixings in their yogurt. Kate made some fresh granola in case someone wanted something crunchy in the yogurt.

And, as a last thought, Michael had made a couple of some cinnamon scones and a couple different frittatas in case someone really was going to kick up a fuss about having something healthy for breakfast.

They set up the sideboard and set out tea, coffee, and orange juice for those who wanted it. Then, once it was all set up, they each fixed themselves a a bowl of yogurt, a bowl of oatmeal, stirred in a bunch of toppings, and sat down at the dining table to enjoy it.

"I'm glad," Robert told Ruby, hearing the positive report. "He needed the rest, so I'm also glad you let him sleep. Going to Paris, this morning, huh? Good. I may be there myself sometime this morning. I've sent messages to Daphne and to Lee. If they can make it, I'll host a meeting with them at the Paris office. Neither one has actually been in our headquarters there, and if I want them to take us seriously, they have to see that we are very serious. I do believe they know that, but I really do want them to see our operation. So maybe I'll be there."

"You'll be where?" Nigel asked, coming in.

"Paris," Robert said.

"Taking a muggle plane, are you?" Nigel asked.

"What?" Robert asked, lost. Nigel took a raisin out of one of the oatmeal toppings bowls and set it on the table in front of Robert.

"Levitate that. Give it a go, then. Let's see what you've got," Nigel said. Robert tried and had nothing at all. "Precisely. So unless you sprout wings, you'll be flying muggle airlines, then. And they're a huge pain in the bum. How a muggle can take something so joyous and foul it up so completely is beyond me but they can manage to make an all day affair out of what should be a one hour flight even by their standards. Idjits--all of them."

"I told him I'd take him," Michael said to Nigel.

"How does that teach him how to take care of himself? You aren't helping, Tremaine."

"He's not using magic or his hands, so as I see it, I'm helping. Eat something. You're cranky when you're hungry, and the fiber would do a man of your age some good."

"Evil," Nigel shook his finger at Michael. "That's what you are." Edward had been standing in the dining room doorway and he burst into laughter, seeing Michael get in some good digs with Nigel.

"That was worth getting up for," Edward teased, fixing himself a bowl of oatmeal with a healthy large spoonful of chocolate chips stirred in and a couple spoonfuls of muscovado sugar.

"You're going to put yourself in a diabetic coma with that," Nigel frowned.

"I'm an old man. At my age, I can eat whatever I want. Buggar off, Nigel," Edward said with a grin.

"Good morning, Ruby," Edward smiled. "Would you please leave out that letter from Tyler to Angus and I'll give it to Angus this morning? I'll tell him you'll be back. I'm glad he's sleeping in a little. The times he hasn't been disciplined enough to get up early I could count on one hand. Did your potion do that, Robert?"

"Unlikely. About the most it could do is to relax him. The sleeping business is all his own," Robert said. "He could still have enough noise going on in his head that it just wore him straight out."

"Not uncommon though after a major surgery," Nigel said. "Some people have reported some pretty serious lingering fatigue after a major surgery like his. I can't say that's what's going on. All I'm saying is that it isn't impossible. Either way, letting him sleep is a good thing. We'll see to him when he wakes."

There was a knock on the kitchen door, and Kate looked to see it was one of the outside workers. Kate went and opened the door and spoke with him for a moment.

"Edward," she called. He got up and went to the door.

"He says there's a man at our front gate looking for you," she told him. "He says he's your grandson."

"Which one?" Edward asked.

"Tyler."

"I'd better go see him. Can we let him in?"

"Certainly," Kate said. She nodded to the worker, who said he would send Tyler to the house. Edward poured himself some fresh coffee and went out on the back porch to wait.

"Yes," Edward replied to Jess. "He is. He's been concerned for Angus, so I'm guessing that's what brought him here."

"You can invite him in if you like," Kate told Edward.

"I don't know if I'll do that. We'll see. I might take him a mug of coffee, though."

"Absolutely," Kate said. "I'll get it for you. Milk or sugar?"

"Black," he told her. She poured a second mug and handed it to Edward, who went out on the back porch and sat down. It wasn't more than a few minutes when the worker brought Tyler up to the house and onto the porch.

"What brings you all the way here?" Edward asked. "You'd better not be here because Benjamin thinks its time I came home."

"He's just concerned for your health," Tyler said.

"If that's why you came, you can just go straight back," Edward said coldly.

"He worried about you," Tyler said.

"Manure," Edward replied. "Pure manure. Don't try to cover for him. The only one Benjamin worries about is Benjamin. Is that the only reason you're here?"

"No. I also want to see Angus."

"I know, but he's sleeping in this morning. Your timing is off."

"There's a rumor going 'round about him and the other night."

"What sort of a rumor would that be?"

"That he bollocksed things up and almost got himself killed," Tyler said.

"It wasn't from any sort of bolllocksing," Edward said tersely. "He made a choice to put himself at risk to protect the kids and the members of his team. But, he's fine."

"He had his arm in a sling..."

"If your memory served you correctly, you'd remember he arrived that way and left without his sling," Edward said. "He took it off during the mission."

Angus had gotten up and had put on a pair of jeans and a black tee shirt and a pair of slip on canvas shoes because he didn't have to tie those particular shoes. He read Tyler's letter, requesting an opportunity just to come and visit. He wasn't sure why Tyler wanted to. Sighing, he decided he wanted coffee. and he decided he didn't want to mess with the sling, despite the discomfort he had without it, so he made his way downstairs and was going to go to the dining room when he saw Tyler on the back porch. He stopped in his tracks.

"You don't have to see him if you don't want to, Mate," Marcus told him, pouring Angus a mug of coffee.

"Thank you," Angus said quietly, taking the mug. "I'd better go see what's on his mind."

"You don't owe him anything," Marcus said. "Remember that." Angus nodded and went out on the porch.