LONDON CALLING

Kate and Simone headed outside and set up dining outside on the patio near the large grill where Michael and Andrew were cooking. Kate and Simone took out plates, cutlery, glasses, napkins and serving utensils. They used a folding table as a sideboard and set out trivets for the hot food. Then they brought out citronella candles to keep the insects away, and they brought pitchers of more of Michael's raspberry tea.

Kate brought out an enamel coffee pot and an enamel tea pot to brew coffee and tea on the grill, and Michael took care of putting them on the heat. Michael set out the honey garlic pork tenderloin on the sideboard, the roasted root vegetables, and the cheesy polenta. He got out some of Ruby's coconut cream pie and cut it and set it out on the sideboard along with some of the other desserts. There was enough for everyone to have a piece of something with their meal.

Robert sent a paper bird to catch up with Jess to ask her when she was heading home. He didn't know what she had decided, but he was perfectly willing to stay all night so she could go home.

Jess saw the paper bird and looked at the clock seeing the time she returned it saying she'd be back with in the hour. Ruby cleaned the kitchen and placed the pans in the washer before following Simone outside where everything was set up for supper. It was then there was the sound of porting and Jess walked in shoes in her hands.

"Gods give me strength" she said droping them at the back door and sitting down at the table "I got everything moving smoothly for now." she said and lent on the table.

"Come eat, All," Michael called. "Such as it is, it's ready." Andrew went back inside, and he apparated Angus outside. He went over to the duplex and got Angus's all terrain chair and brought it over. Angus was now able to stand and take one or two steps to get from one chair to the other. Andrew folded up Angus's regular chair and set it aside for now.

"Angus, it certainly is good to see you able to stand and take a step or two," Kate said.

"Thanks, Kate," Angus smiled. "Feels good, too."

Abbey walked up to the table and saw that it was still too high for her sit at the table without her chair, and Angus was quick to respond.

"Abs," Angus called. "Come here." She went over to him, and he motioned for her to climb up on his lap. "You can sit with me."

"I can get her chair," Andrew said.

"Nope. We're good," Angus smiled. "She's always alright with me. I've missed it." Andrew rolled him up to the end of the table where his chair would fit easily and then went and fixed a plate for Angus and one for Abbey. "Thanks, Andrew," Angus said, grateful.

"Yeah! Tanks!" Abbey said happily. "Aggie, wassit?" She pointed to the meat.

"Pork," Angus said.

"Is cow?"

"No, not cow, it's from pig. You like pork."

"Oh. Okay," she said, just accepting it. She remembered she'd had this discussion before. He cut her meat for her, and she tucked into her food, as he tucked into his own.

"Michael are you sure you don't want this kitchen job full time? This pork is spectacular," Angus said.

"Heck, no," Michael said quickly. "That's all yours, Lad. I don't want it full time. No way."

"So how are the repairs going, Jess?" Kate asked, fixing a supper box to send to Robert before she sat down to her own supper.

Jess and Ruby smiled seeing Angus on his feet even for just two steps to move from his wheelchair to his normal one. jess heard Kate and smiled "we're getting there, slowly," she said " Roan is a big help he's organised the security for the night," she said wiggling her toes under the table. " paperwork is the major bane in my life." Jack lent over and picked up one of Jess's feet, massaging it she sighed in contentment at the feeling of his fingers against her sore foot. 

Ruby smiled seeing every one she smiled at Angus and at how he happily accepted Abby on his knee. " you know you'll have to have room for two on your knee eventually." she said smiling as she ate some pork tenderloin and the roasted root vegetables, and the cheesy polenta.

"Good," Kate said, glad that Jess had found someone to take on the lion's share of the repairs. It was certainly going to require some sort of community effort to get things back up and running quickly, and it seemed like they were well organized. "I'm glad Robert has competent people working with him. That hasn't always been the case, but I guess I just don't think that, after a point, Robert should have to run quite as hard at that hospital as I know he does sometimes. Hopefully, when you go in, in the morning, he can come home."

"He loves the work, Kate," Michael said. "Speaking of work, I bet he's completely forgotten about that little bloke in Paris that he went to see this morning. He told me it was a six year old little kid that had some sort of stomach bug. I think I know which kid he was talking about. He was a little ginger haired kid with a thick head full of natural curly hair. Entirely too bright for his own good--named Toby. Robert said the little fellow was running a high fever of 40C. Robert worked quite a bit to try to get it down, and he had it down to 38.5. He had intended to go back later to check on him, but he isn't going to get back."

"I suppose Jess or I could go and check him," Nigel said. "If I go, someone will have to go with me to port me there since I don't have one of your fancy portkeys. Besides that, they know Jess, but if you're knackered, Jess, I'll see if someone can take me. With a high fever like that in a little kid, it isn't something we should neglect."

"You could bring him here, but I don't know if its contagious," Kate said. "And we don't need it going through our crew. If it isn't contagious, we should just bring him here temporarily."

"A puking kid. Oh, what fun," Michael said sarcastically.

"Aggie," Abbey said softly, tugging on his shirt, not wanting to interrupt the adult conversation

"What do you need?" he asked quietly.

"If you have your own little girl, you no have time for me no more. Or room," she said, thinking already that these special moments on his lap were going to be all gone forever. He put down his fork and wrapped his arms around her and drew her back against him, where she cuddled into him as if she were especially made to fit against him.

"That is not something you'll ever have to worry about," he told her. "I will always, always make time for you. I might just get a bigger chair so there will be plenty of room. You know how to share, so I'm sure there will be times that you and I get by ourselves and time when we share, but you're good at that, so you can show our little boy or girl how its done. Until the day comes when you're grown enough that you aren't going to want to sit with me anymore." Her head quickly snapped up to look at him in the face, a deep scowl on her face as if had suddenly grown three heads.

"Nuh uh, Aggie! Nope. I never gonna not want to sit wich you. I gonna sit wich you forever."

"What about if your mommy or daddy want you to sit with them? Or Gam or Papa?"

"I do that anyway," she shrugged as if she weren't worried about having to split her time. Kate laughed out loud.

"She's got you dead to rights, Angus," Kate said. "She's right. She does do that as it is. She makes time for it. And I can't imagine who she learned that from" Kate said, hinting that Angus set a lot of good examples for Abbey.

"Aggie," Abbey said, motioning him to lean down so she could whisper in his ear. He listened for a moment and then burst out laughing.

"You need pie, do you?" he laughed. "What kind?"

"All of them!" she nodded.

Ruby smiled at Angus as Abby spoke she didn't mind her asking Angus about things she ws always understanding about her suriosity. " oh I can take you nigel, I know the paris house ." she said to Nigel Jess looked over at her and nodded

"Thank you so much" she said to Ruby " my feet are killing me" she said and Ruby chuckled as she looked at Jack then to Angus.

"you'll be okay if I take Nigel?" she asked him as she finished her food finding it quite delishious. Then she ahd some of her pie smilike as she ate.

"Of course," Angus said. "I think that's a great idea. Michael, is Toby the little kid that tried to nick that granola bar out of your pocket?"

"Try? He nicked it fair and square," Michael laughed. "Little buggar. He's six going on about ten. Watch your pockets and your jewelry, you two, and your underwear. If he can pick my pockets, he could probably swipe your underwear straight off you before you knew it was gone."

"Hear that, Ruby? Leave your underwear at home," Angus teased. They laughed.

"Oh, please," Nigel laughed. "Ruby, I think our underwear is a risk worth taking."

"Oh, Ruby, I completely forgot!" Angus said. "When Andrew and I went out yesterday, we went to Honeydukes and I bought a big bunch of rock candy sticks in all kinds of different flavors. That's one of the top treats for kids over there. I got them to send with the next person going. Would you mind taking them with you? There's on the kitchen counter in one of Honeydukes pink tins. There should be enough to hold them for awhile."

"I wondered what you were going to do with all that," Michael laughed. "We saw you come back with about thirty pounds of candy."

"I did," Angus said. "I've given half of it away already, and I have more to give to other people--all except for a few things I kept for us."

"Okay. I'll serve pie if you lot can tell me what kind you want," Michael said.

"And I'll serve tea or coffee," Kate said.

"Pie. Lots of pie, Unca Mikey," Abbey said.

"Well, you'll have to tell me what kind," he said.

"You wanted banoffee pie earlier," Angus said.

"Oh. Yeah. I forgotted. Naner, Unca Mikey," she said.

"How do you ask?" Angus reminded her.

"Pweeze?" Abbey asked Michael.

Ruby smiled and nodded " of course " then she laughed at how they talked about the boy and his stealing but also blushed at Angus's teasing. She looked to Nigel and chuckled when Angus asked if she could take some of the candy to the paris head quaters she nodded her head . " of course " she said and chuckled when Abby asked for banoffe pie. " So when do you want to go?" she asked Nigel " after we eat?" she enquired.

Jess was in heaven with Jack massaging her feet but she ate her food and drank her drink " I realy should shower and change" she said " if you need anything Nigel message Rowan he'll send it ASAP to you" she said and sighed as Jack hit a paticulerly bad spot.

"Yes, please," Nigel said. "As soon as dessert is overwith, I think. I'd like to go and get back. Thanks, Jess. I'll remember."

"Michael, let's get Nigel a medallion, shall we?" Angus asked.

"Yes. I think its high time we did," Michael said. "I'll get him one as soon as I finish serving the pie." Angus chose sticky toffee pudding for himself, and Abbey had the banoffee pie. She wanted to taste Angus's pudding, so he gave her a bite. Her eyes lit up like it was the best thing she'd ever had.

"Why you no make this, Aggie?" she asked.

"Because Simone makes it better," Angus smiled.

"Don't you fib to that child," Simone laughed. "I'm sure yours is very good." Marcus walked in by himself, and he started to fix two plates.

"Where's Khaat?" Angus asked.

"She's up hitting the shower. She's been running herself ragged today with the fire. I told her I would fix us a couple plates and bring them up so she could eat before she dozes off in her food."

"Hi, Marky!" Abbey piped up.

"Well, hi, Abbey," Marcus laughed. "Your mama brought you home a chocolate frog, but we'll give it to you tomorrow. How about that?"

"Okay. You read to me tonight?"

"Your bedtime story?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Can you pick out a book?"

"The big green one."

"No, no, no. I know that trick, Little Miss. You only want that book because its 400 pages. I am not reading 400 pages tonight. You pick a storybook," he laughed. "I have to watch you like a hawk, don't I?" She cast him a mischievous grin.

"Who are you learning all these things from?" Angus asked Abbey. She hadn't known these things when he had taken care of her all day. Now, she was learning to be sneaky.

"It's in the toddler code," Marcus laughed. "They all do it. Just wait til yours does it."

"Oh, no, on. I'm not teaching ours to do that," Angus said.

"You won't have to," Kate laughed. "They get a download of Toddler Behavior from Mother Nature about the time they turn three, and then it's game on."

Ruby chuckled as Simone and Kate talked about toddler behaviour and how they just seem to become mischievous at the age of three years old. She could not help but rest her hand on her tummy , right now it all felt like just a happy dream to her but as she looekd at Angus she knew it was readl and she was happy. Jesie arrived and washed his hands before he sat down and ate his food.

"the barn is all clened out and all animals including the baby door mice are settled for the night" he said " oh and I started painting something too" he said asn loked at Kate " its in the studio on the easel " he smiled as he ate his pork.