LONDON CALLING

"Of course I remember," he smiled at her. "I'm hoping there are more stars for us in the future." When she remarked about the milky way, he smiled. "And, if you notice, every time you see it, the colors are different. It never looks exactly the same way twice. There's more pink in it tonight than there was a couple weeks ago. There was a lot of purple that night, and there's very little purple tonight." She asked to use his office, and he merely smiled at her. "Any time you like--just help yourself," he told her. "I'll help you, if you like," he volunteered. "There's three mammoth bags to get through, and I'm sure there will be more, so it's going to be a big job."

"I can help too, if you want," Khaat said. "I don't want to butt in if you don't need me, but if I can be a help, I'm happy to lend a hand."

Angus glanced over and saw that Abbey had fallen asleep in her high chair. She had finished an entire piece of chicken herself, and had picked at her potato. but now she as sound asleep and just about ready to get her long blonde hair in the barbeque sauce on her plate.

"Excuse me," Angus said quietly. He got and went over to Abbey and that was when others noticed she was about to get barbeque sauce in her hair. Angus picked her up before that happened. She curled into his shoulder and wrapped her arm around him, completely contented with him.

"I could..." Khaat began.

"Enjoy your supper," Angus said. "I've got her. I'll just go tuck her in and I'll be straight back. Won't take me half a tick."

"She's going to miss your bedtime story tonight, Angus," Brian smiled.

"She'll want me to tell it to her in the morning. Trust me, she does not forget if she thinks we have jipped her out of a bedtime story," Angus said with a smile. He took her upstairs to bed, transfigured her clothes to pajamas and tucked her into bed, checking to make sure her room was safe and secure before he turned down the lights and headed for the door. The last he saw was Fudge climbing up Abbey's sheets and then going over to curl up on Abbey's pillow, right on top of her head, nestling down in her hair to go to sleep.

"'Night, Fudge," Angus told the bowtruckle softly before he left.

"He's always been very good with Abbey," Brian said. "if that's an indicator on how he'll be with his own. And, he's always been a calming presence with the kids that we've rescued. They sometimes are very upset when we get to them, but he's always good about getting them calmed. And I've seen him with more kids than I can count. I don't have any doubts about him as a father. A kid could do far worse than end up with him as a dad, that's for sure."

"Well, certainly," Robert said, answering Ruby's question. "Unless his fails, it should protect you, but I do understand your wanting it to be a joint decision. It just takes a couple minutes. When would you like to do this?"

"I'll go get dessert--unless you'd like to present it yourself, Ruby?" Kate asked, standing up. Michael stood up and cast a spell to clear off the table and put the leftovers in the fridge. "Coffee and tea are ready. We're having pie. Who wants coffee or tea?" Several of them ordered coffee and a couple ordered tea. Kate went into the kitchen to pour coffee and tea and decided to fill the orders and send out one tray with mugs on it.

Angus came back downstairs and saw the table was being cleared. He stepped in to help, but snarky saucer slapped the back of one of his hands.

"Now, now," Michael said to the saucer. "No need to be rude. Just pick yourself up and get the dishwasher, you little ornery buggar."

"If it does it again, I'll just set it outside under one of Kate's plant pots," Angus said threatening the little saucer.

"Fair enough," Michael said.

"They look perfect," Michael told Ruby. "I haven't had ice cream pie in ages. Thank you, Ladies."

Kate served the coffee and tea while everyone else tucked into their pie.

"Very good. So, there's another dish I won't need to make any more because Ruby's got this handled," Angus teased.

"She keeps learning your recipes, you're going to be down to mucking out stalls, Mate," Michael teased.

"That's okay. I like that job too," Angus said.

"Robert, do check the boy's cranium, would you? Not sure his elevator is going all the way up." Michael teased.

"I checked his elevator earlier," Robert said. "And unless it slipped during dinner, the boy's elevator is just fine." Brian burst out laughing.

"And this from the bloke who takes his footstool out for a walk," Angus tossed the teasing right back at Michael.  Kate got up and went upstairs without a word, and Robert noticed. He presumed Kate might just be checking on Abbey, but she had left her pie sitting, and that wasn't like Kate. He decided just to wait a moment.

"There's some sort of energy disturbance, Uncle Robert," Mira told Robert. "I don't have a good fix on it yet.. I just know its nearby."

"Shield yourself if you need to," Robert told her. "Let's not let anything get in the back door for any of us, alright?" She nodded.

"I don't know yet," Mira said. "It feels very serpentine-like. Like a snake slithering in where it doesn't belong."

"Well, let's not let it in," Michael said.

"It's already here somehow," Mira said. "I don't know if there is a being attached to it because I'm not sensing some sort of intruder. But I do feel some sort of negative energy that's winding it's way in here."

"I'm going to go find Kate," Robert said. "Stay together until I get back. If anything gets weird, go in the house. Leave everything else sit, and go inside." He got up and went inside to go find Kate.

He found her in Edward's room, and Edward had been rooted completely out from under Robert's sleep spell. Edward's headache was even worse than before. Medically, it made no sense. He went to touch Edward, and Kate stopped him.

"Don't touch him," Kate told him softly. "He's being attacked, and he knows. He knows you can't touch him."

"Well, I can't just sit by and do nothing."

"You have to. I am going to try to get that thing to come after me instead...."

"What? Are you out of your mind?" Robert was upset.

"No. Edward has some abilities, but that's not his strong suit. I'm the most experienced seer here. I think I can deal with it. I need it to leave Edward and try to come after me. Right now, I'm trying to block off Jess and Mira from it so it can't go after them, and then, I'm going to go get it."

"Well, is it human?" Robert asked.

"I'm not sure if it as never human or if it is a human who wants me to think its a creature. But I'm going to find out."

"Kate, how do I protect you?" Robert was afraid for her. This was out of his purview.

"You don't, my love," she smiled, stroking his cheek. "You trust me." She kissed him slowly. "It'll be alright. Trust me."

"Then why are you kissing me like its the last?"

"Because I like kissing you. And you taste like strawberry ice cream," she smiled.

Downstairs, Mira was getting a clear message from upstairs. She believed it was Edward. She looked at Jess.

"I think you and I are supposed to go upstairs and work together to provide a shield...around...someone. I think, maybe, its Kate? Can that be right?" Mira asked, unsure.

Kate wasn't sure who had wanted them to shield her. She certainly hadn't asked for it, and Robert wasn't a seer. Could Edward have tried to send a message? As much as he was suffering, she wasn't sure he would be capable.

Mira knew how to form a shield, but this was the first time she was shielding someone else. She had to take her own techniques and try to put Kate's energies at the center of it rather than her own.

And as she did, she saw a vision of a shadow of a figure standing not far from her. It was tall and lanky, and it seemed to be trying to give some energies of its own, and then she realized it was Edward's energies she was recognizing. His seer's energies were wrestling with a serpentine creature, the same creature she had felt outside. But now she understood. He had picked this thing up somewhere, and it was now attached to him.

"I see that thing again. It's going after Edward," Mira said.

"Not for long," Kate said, closing her eyes. "See if you both can raise a shield around Edward without catching that thing in it too. Let's see if we can force it to let go of Edward."

Mira did her best, and she was able to squeeze some light energies between the thing and Edward. She was sure her energies weren't anywhere near what Jess's were but maybe every little bit helped.

And then Mira felt the thing let go of Edward completely. She lost it for a moment, not seeing where it went. In her mind she tried to find it, and then she saw it. It had invaded and taken hold of Kate. Mira panicked.

"Calm," Kate said in a calm and steady voice, feeling Mira's panic. "Robert, you should be able to touch Edward now. You'll have to use a dreamless sleep spell so he's sleeping too soundly for this entity to go back after him." Robert didn't need to be told twice. He cast the dreamless sleep spell, and as soon as he did, Mira didn't see Edward's energy signature anymore.

Kate seemed to take several long tense minutes, and she felt her own strength waning. She almost had it, but she needed a bit more time. She decided to try to throw all her energies into one energy blast, and when she did, she felt the serpent-like creature let go of her.

"Now," Kate called them urgently, feeling like she was giving out. "It's letting go. Drive it off me, and it should leave altogether."