LONDON CALLING

Jessie listened but didn't move from the step giving Angus space and time, as he didn't want to cause any more issues he just wanted to go home and recover his mind. He sifted hearing others moving around but only stood up and moved to the end of the path pacing wanting to head out and home. He moved back into the house and picked up his backpack slinging it over his shoulder as he waited for the others to appear.

Brian knew what Jessie was doing. He did understand it, but on the other hand, when one was a guest in someone else's home, the least he could do was to put a good foot forward and at least be civil. Michael wanted to box Jessie's ears just about now, but he restrained himself, deciding to defer it to Brian to handle. Brian had known Michael for too many years to know that at this point, there was nothing that Jessie could do to get back into Michael's good graces and probably not Angus's either. Not unless some sort of dramatic change happened.

Brian and Michael said their goodbyes to Sergio and Ana, and they both went outside, hoping Jessie would get the hint and just go outside and give Angus a moment with his friends.

Sergio and Ana each gave Angus a warm hug, and Ana gave Angus a platonic kiss. Angus saw that Sergio already had a medallion, so he took off his own, reduced the size of the doubloon so it didn't look so masculine and then fastened it around Ana's neck.

"Now you're both official. Welcome aboard," Angus told them.

"We are so sorry that you encountered so much trouble on this trip," Sergio said, feeling obligated in his own way to apologize for the chaos with Jessie that had stirred up because of Angus's long friendship with Ana. "I hope the next time we meet it is far more pleasant."

"The three of us did not have a problem," Angus said. "Thank you for knowing and standing with the truth, Serge."

"Always," Sergio frowned, as if doing anything else but to believe in the truth was ludicrous. "You are my brother, just as you are Ana's brother. And don't forget, you are the godfather to our children. Who else would we choose but a man of honor, the man that introduced us and made those children possible."

"I haven't forgotten," Angus smiled. "And they're gorgeous and brilliant. All three of them. They do you credit."

"Meh, sometimes," Sergio teased. "Sometimes not so much."

"Come visit soon, would you?"

"We will," he promised. "Besides, we want to meet this woman that has captured your heart. After all, it isn't like others haven't tried, but you didn't even notice 90 percent of them. She must be special to have gotten through your thick skull. Take good care of her."

"I do," Angus said. "Always." They said their goodbyes, and Angus stepped outside.

"Alright," Angus told them. "Let's get this show on the road." Michael took one arm, and Brian took the other. When Jessie had grabbed on, Angus started the apparating. They had six stops in Romania to go back through and five in Hungary before they reached Budapest. Angus was going to simply go straight through, one after the other, until they found themselves back in Budapest.

"

Jessie saw the others walk out and watched Angus with Sergio and Ana once he moved away he walked over to them "Im sorry about everything, thank you for having us and Im sorry for my behaviour." He told them with his head hung low as he then moved to Michael. Taking hold he was ported away for the six ports to budapest and then to the train station for the last leg of the journey home.

Ruby had busied herself that morning with Abby making buscuits in the new kitchen laughing as they made shapes with the cookie dough and then once baked added there finishing touches. Ruby made a cat with a pink bow. " okay the cooker works fantasticly" she said opening the fridge " and Edward did a great job with the supiles, now do you want some milk to go with those cookies?" she asked Abby.

"Apology accepted. We part as friends," Sergio said to Jessie with a smile.

When they reached Budapest, they had plenty of time to get to the station and to get to the proper platform and to find their compartments on the train. Brian was not surprised that the compartments were in separate cars. The train was full, which was rather unusual, but the move had not been entirely Edward's doing. They had had to shuffle passengers to accommodate some of the special needs of some of the other passengers.

Michael didn't say much of anything. He wasn't going to open it for discussion about how accommodations would be paired up. He just steered Angus to the farthest car and the farthest compartment, leaving Brian and Jessie to the car that was closest to the dining car. Angus, for his part, had honestly not paid much attention to how Michael deliberately preoccupied him with conversation and with a search for a stack of morning newspapers written in English to take on the train. By the time they had made it through the train station and through the platform, they had quite a stack of papers to take along.

"Did you see where the others went?" Angus asked.

"Nope," Michael lied. "Lost track of them in the crowd. They'll catch up, I'm sure."

Brian bought a couple English newspapers, but not nearly the stack of them that Michael and Angus had. When they found their car and went to board, the porter apologized that they had been separated from their companions. The porter had remembered them from their trip here from Calais and knew that there had been two others. He had seen Michael and Angus going to another car. This porter apologized to Brian and Jessie and explained that shuffling compartments had been necessary because of some of the needs of a couple of disabled passengers. Brian graciously told the porter it wasn't any problem, and the porter showed them to their compartment.

Jessie followed Michael as he picked up the papers he even offered to carry them for him as they moved back to the train. Finding the compartments seperated he felt partly glad but also he understood the need to be seperated as that was the only cabins avalible to them. walking in he waited for Michael to chose his bunk before he would. Now feeling some what of a child who'd done wrong and was now with a supirior, which Michael was to him. Placing his bag in the closet he sat on a seat looking out the window as he waited for the train to start moving. He took out the guide Michael had given him and opened it to finish reading about the country having not done so in a while. As he turned a page he cut his finger on the papers edge and something inside him made him throw the book against the wall. He paused one hand on the wall the other covering his face.

"I guess you and I are bunking together for the trip home, Jessie," Brian said, coming into the compartment with him. "Its fine with me if it's alright with you. Are you a top bunk man or a bottom bunk man? I can do either." He said absolutely nothing to Jessie about hurling a book that didn't even belong to him, although he really did feel it was just one more bit of rudeness for Jessie to damage something that wasn't his. Brian tucked his bag away in the overhead compartment and went to the other part of the compartment and sat down with one of the morning papers, clearly getting the impression that Jessie must want to be left alone.

Michael and Angus neither one said much at first. They tucked away their bags in the overhead, and sat down on the bench seats. Angus finally looked up at Michael.

"Thank you," Angus said. "I could have probably been alright bunking with Brian."

"Yeah but I wasn't going to be alright bunking with Jessie. By the time we'd pull into Victoria Station tomorrow evening, I'd be facing a prison term in Azkaban, and Jessie's crispy remains would be swept up into a matchbox. So I should be thanking you. I meant every word I said to you back at Sergios."

"Yeah. I know," Angus said. "If he ever, ever tries one more time to take charge of Ruby, I will kill him." He looked at Michael, and Michael knew Angus was serious. "What he's doing to her is abusive, and if he tries it once more, we won't even need a matchbox, I promise you. If he wants to live, he'll get over himself."

Jessie saw brian enter and silently picked up the book placing it back in his pack. sitting down he rapped a napkin around his finger. " you can choose first , I'll take what left." he said softly. he turned and looked out the window at the people rushning to board but soon it pulled out of the station and he knew this was going to be a long ride back. After a moment he climbed up on to the top bunk and pulled the curtain across him. He wasn't shutting out teh people but the bad thoughts he was having. Taking out his flask he took a drink then put it back in his pocket.

Now he closed his eyes and drifted he hoped into a long rest one he hoped would take up some of the time they would spend on the train together.

Brian watched Jessie take the top bunk and then shut the curtain, separating himself from Brian. Well, fine, Brian sighed. When the train left the station, he went down to the dining car alone for brunch, taking one of the newspapers with him. There was no point in sitting in the compartment when Jessie clearly didn't want to be bothered. The finest train in the world, five star luxury, and Jessie was being an asshat--still. His lousy attitude was ruining the five star trip for him and everyone else. Part of Brian wanted to go back in, rip back the curtain and slap the shit out of him. He wanted to shout at him and ask Jessie if he had any clue that a round trip ticket with twin suite accommodations was over seven thousand pounds per ticket? Almost 30 thousand pounds when meals, gratuities, etc. were added, and Jessie was ruining it for everyone.

The other part of him just didn't see the sense in trying. Still, it was better that he room with Jessie on the way back than to allow Michael or Angus either one do it. The brunch was lovely, though, and he thought of Angus and Michael and the likelihood that they were missing it because they didn't want to run into jessie.

They weren't missing it, though. Michael had it delivered to the cabin, and they enjoyed it in peace. They both felt sorry for Brian, though, because it was going to be a long and completely miserable trip back to London for him. Angus suggested that Michael take Brian down to the bar car after brunch and have a civilized drink with him to get him out of that compartment.

Jesie heard Brian leave, opening the curtain he dropped down and took out his packet of cards. Laying them out he began playing a game of solitaire. Slipping off his boots he slid them into the closet and sat down cross legged on the seat. He just enjoyed the quiet it gave him time to think and sort his thoughts but each card turned he used as a way to distract himself from thinking about the pst few days. Now he thought about where he'd gone wrong, he knew Angus was a good man but his thoughts had turned dark once Angus been left with Ana.

He turned over a card and placed it on the jack for hearts, then he had a nine of spades that he placed there too. The smell of food made his stomach growl but he didn't know if he was alowed to leave of he should just stay in the car.

Brian had gone to the first seating for brunch, so he had to vacate his seat in the dining car for the second seating. He ordered a large coffee to take back with him, expecting it to be served in a large Styrofoam cup but the porter agreed to bring him a coffee tray instead. Brian returned to the room and, seeing Jessie using the seat to play solitaire, he went to the bunks and picked up his newspaper again. He answered the door once the porter arrived and took the coffee tray.

It was the porter who asked Jessie if he was coming for brunch or if he should deliver him a brunch tray. Brian, for his part, had taken the coffee tray to the sleeping area of the compartment and had poured himself coffee and had settled in on the lower bunk with coffee and a paper.

Abbey, meanwhile, had had a great morning making cookies with Ruby. She had had a cookie with a glass of milk and, as she looked out the window, she saw the figure of a man arrive, carrying a valise. He was about Papa's height, and he had sandy brown hair, a mustache and a beard. He was standing in the back yard, outside the main house. He seemed to be looking around, unsure of where he was supposed to go.

"ROOby," Abbey called. "Somebody here. I no know him."