A Birth day

Jess checked Ruby who was now sleeping deeply she smiled as she moved down the stairs to the living room and saw Edward with Caprice feeding her from a bottle " well thats something beautiful" she said smiling as she saw Simone with a moses basket ready for Caprice, " oh and you too Edward with a baby" she added with a chuckle. " Mother is sleeping and...I see so is father, no suprise there " she said and took a throw to place over Angus.

Jessie walked over to Caprice and smiled " well she definatly looks like Angus, thank goodness" he said and chuckled then smiled " she looks perfect, my little neice" he paused for amoment then groaned " that makes me an uncle" Yu walked in hearing the last part and chuckled as he walked over to Caprice.

"I made this rattle for you little one, may it bring you good fortune and good luck." he said placing it next to her then looking at the others " tradition in my family to welcome a new life to the world, and it wards off evil spirits intent on doing harm." he added the last part quickly.

"Edward and I went back to Tuscany for a couple days after Christmas, and we found some of the old baby things that the family has saved," Simone said. "And I fell in love with this basket. I know how active Angus and Ruby are, so I thought that it might be a big help at least while Caprice is so small, so we bought a new mattress for it and a new liner. There is a second liner for it upstairs that I made out of a soft, pink cotton blanket so that on chilly days, there is something a bit warmer in the basket for her to lay on."

"That's a beautiful rattle, Yu," Edward said, looking at the rattle. "You put some fine craftsmanship into it. I can easily see her passing that down someday to her children. Her parents are going to love it. Thank you."

"May I?" Simone asked. "I have an idea." She took the rattle and a pink ribbon and she tied the rattle to the center of the front of the hood on the basket. "It's perfect. She'll be able to see it whenever she lays in the basket and looks up. Right now, it will be right with her to keep her safe, and it will help her learn to focus her vision and develop her reaching skills as she develops."

"That's a good idea," Edward said. "You know, when I'm back in Tuscany, this is far more the norm for me than not. By my count, between my children, my nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren, I have held, fed, rocked, burped, and changed, as of right now 130 Donohues in my lifetime."

"And I think I have met nearly all of them now," Simone laughed. "Not that I will ever learn to keep names and faces straight. It's overwhelming how many of them there are." She went into the kitchen and set the casserole, the salad, and the rolls on the table with plates and silverware and set out glasses and a pitcher of iced tea.

"Food's ready for anyone who's hungry," she said.

"Jessie, do you want to hold your niece before we put her down to sleep?" Edward asked.

You smiled at Edward " I started carving it when they announced they were expecting" he explained " with Jessie's help" he listened to Edward talk of his family and sat down " one hundred and thirty?" he said some what surprised" my country were limited to one, any more and your banished" he said unable to comprehend the thought of so many children. Jessie smiled and laced his hand on Yu's shoulder as Yu looked up at Jessie.

"it's the norm here," he said as Yu looked up at him. Now composed Yu stood up and looked to Edward " you are a great man to have so many children and grandchildren, and your wife should be honoured and respected." he said then looked to Simone " all women should be respected, they bring life and nurture it, we as men should protect them, though I have learned not all men feel this way" he looked to Jessie who sighed and nodded. "but I digress and we are here to celebrate the birth of Caprice." he added back tracking and moving to stand behind Jessie.

"So I've heard," Edward replied to Yulong as he spoke of the limitations in some Asian countries on birth rates. "If that were true here, I'm sure my family would be a great deal smaller too."

"Well, and he didn't count the children from my first marriage," Simone said. "My husband and I had a son and a daughter, and between them I have five grandchildren. My brother had three children and, between them, I have ten grand nieces and nephews. So, If we added all of those in, that would give us a total of 150."

"I haven't met all of Simone's family yet," Edward said. "We hoped to go to Tuscany over the summer and host a couple family reuniions. One for the Donohues and one for Simone's family. That would be primarily Salazars and Grants. Simone's maiden name was Grant. We thought we would host Donohues on one weekend and the Salazars the next weekend. I've also mentioned to Robert that the Tuscany estate would be a fabulous place to host a long weekend for everyone here, staff included. Few places are lovelier in the summertime than the Tuscan coast."

"He has mentioned it indeed," Robert said. "I'm certainly not opposed to some fun in the Tuscan sun. We frequently do training weekends in the summer, so I don't see why we couldn't do a holiday weekend this year instead of..." As he was speaking, there was a knock on the door. Recognizing Kate's knock, Robert took the liberty of answering the door himself. "Come in, my dear," he told her. "We have two knackered parents, and a surprisingly alert newborn. Edward just fed her."

Edward got up and handed Caprice to Kate.

"What's her name?" Kate asked Edward.

"They named her after her great grandmothers--Caprice Simone Donohue," Edward smiled.

"Oh, my you're a tiny one, aren't you?" Kate said, talking to Caprice. "What's her weight, Robert?"

"Five and a half pounds," Robert said. "She'll pick up in no time."

"And Ruby's doing well?"

"She's just fine," Robert smiled. "She's sleeping, and so is Angus."

"He was lucky he could get back from Paris in time," Kate said. "She's beautiful, Edward. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she was the spitting image of her great grandmother Caprice."

"She is indeed," Edward said. "I'll have to get out Caprice's baby pictures and show them to Angus and Ruby. She looks almost identical to her grandmother Caprice."

Jessie heard Kate knock and moved to stand with Yu leaving a free seat for Kate if she wished to sit. Listening to them talk he chuckled " theres some of Ruby in her too" he said then remeberd some old albums in the basment , taking Yu's hand he walked over to the basment door and opened it. Walking down he looked at the boxes " in one of these boxes should be several albums, one thing mother was good at and that was keeping photos, help me find them, please" he asked Yu smiled and nodded and together they began to open boxes.

Ruby woke feeling much better and not in pain, slipping from the bed she slowly walked to the bathroom and showered , dressing in slacks and a warm jumper she headed down the stairs carfully " ah there she is" she said softly walking over to Kate " I knew she would be in good hands, thank you guys" she moved to the couch and sat down " and thank you all for being there. She smiled seeing Angus sleeping in a chair not far away.

"Nobody doubts that she also resembles Ruby, Jessie," Edward said as Jessie seemed to need to go find pictures of Ruby. "Of course she does."

"Well, at this age, most babies look like little melting pots of facial features that have been handed down to them," Robert said fixing himself a lunch plate, seeing Ruby coming downstairs. "She's fine, Ruby. She's just been meeting some of the family."

"That's very true," Edward laughed. "And they change so much in the first couple years, it's hard to say who she'll resemble as she gets a bit older. As long as she's healthy and happy, that's truly all that matters."

"Would you like me to put her down in the moses basket for her first nap, or would you prefer to hold her?" Kate asked Ruby. "She's been fed, so she probably will want to snooze either way."

"And if you're hungry, lunch is ready," Simone told Ruby.

"Yes, and I'm tucking into it," Robert said. "The chicken casserole smells great."

"I think I'll join you," Edward told Robert, going to fix a plate for himself.

In the basement Yu knew just what Jessie was doing and stopped looking walking over he placed his hand on Jessies " stop, Caprice will look like Caprice, breath deep and focuse your thoughts." he told him Jessie paused and did just that nodding as he sighed " do not let the fear of uncertainty rule your mind, focus on the hear and now, you have a neice, enjoy it" he said now brushing some hair off Jessie face.

"your right" Jessie said and heard Ruby's voice from above them with a quick smile he kised Yu's cheek and together they headed back up stairs. Ruby smiled then chuckled.

"She will be herself" she told them " and yes I'd like to hold her before her father wakes and hoggs her "she said jokingly as she was handed Caprice she smiled down at her aughter knowing nothing and no one would harm her little girl, not even Suzzane. It was now her stomach grumbled and again she chuckled " I am famished , pushing this one out certaily worked up an apitite, Oh..have to agree Robert it smells divine, and thankyou all for your help." She saw Jessie and Yu walk back up and chuckled " couldn't find the photos?" she asked grinning then shook her head " don't worry, oh Robert Angus and I will have to go to the ministry to register her birth some time right?" she asked

"Since I delivered her, I'll take care of registering her," Robert told Ruby. "Not to worry. I have to go into St. Mungo's eventually anyway. We've got plenty of time."

Angus woke while the others were eating, and he went upstairs and showered and changed. He hadn't had time to really clean up after being in Paris, and he just wanted to feel a bit fresher. By the time he finished, Edward was just finishing his lunch.

"I want to go run a quick errand," Angus told Edward, "and I think you should come with me. We won't be gone long."

"Fine by me. It's not like I had other plans. I'm ready whenever you are," Edward said.

"We'll be back shortly," Angus told them, knowing Ruby had an abundance of people there to help her. He and Edward went out for just a short bit, and when they came back, they were accompanied by two professional landscapers, and Angus had bought three trees for the back yard. It was important for him to do this today. He had bought a young weeping cherry tree. This one was an almost fully grown adult tree, and it was profuse with branches that were full of buds that were nearly ready to blossom. Angus had an idea of where he wanted the tree, and he had it placed towards one of the back corners of the yard. With it, he had also bought two large timber bamboo trees and he had those placed slightly behind and on either side of the weeping cherry tree. Once Edward understood what Angus's ideas were and why it felt so important to him, he was fully on board with it. He and Angus had a discussion with the landscapers and put some plans in order.

"What a thoughtful idea," Kate said, looking out the window and watching the landscapers planting the trees. Robert went over to look to see what she was looking at.

"Trees?" Robert asked. "He chose today to do landscaping?"

"You don't get it, do you?" she laughed. "I think it's a sweet gesture. He's planted a weeping cherry tree to commemorate the birth of his daughter in a very quiet way. I think he chose the weeping cherry tree because of how graceful and beautiful all those cascading pink blossoms will be every spring," Kate said. "And I think he's planted the two timber bamboo trees behind her tree are there to honor her brothers, meaning he believes they will always have her back and because bamboo trees are known for strength through flexibility. I think that's what he hopes the boys will be like as adults. He's celebrating his children."

"I'm betting, by the length of the discussion they're having that they're probably going to put some other plants in back there too," Simone said. "When Edward took me to Tuscany to show me the family home there, he showed me a little patch of his garden that Angus designed years ago. It's just a little corner of the garden, right off the morning room. He called it a peace garden. It really is quite a lovely little patch. He put in a winding cobblestone walkway, some magical lights, a koi pond, and a little table and chairs for morning tea and lots of fragrant flowers. It's one of the few spots in Tuscany that Edward truly misses. I wonder if he's going to put a bit of that here. It wouldn't surprise me..."

As she spoke there was another knock on the door, and it raised Robert's curiosity. He went to the door to answer it and saw Abbey there by herself, with a little wrapped present in her hands.

"Abbey?" What brings you here?" Robert asked.

"Mama and Molly and me go'ed shopping," she said. "Mama said she had to go back to work, so she said I could bring it myself. Where's the baby?"

"She's in here," Robert said. "You be gentle now, alright?" She nodded. He let Abbey in, and he looked at Ruby. "I have a tiny person bearing a tiny gift. Do you mind, Ruby?" Abbey took the little package and handed it to Ruby. "Molly and me picked it out all by ourselves." Inside, there was a tiny baby bracelet made of white gold, with real pink pearls, and a tiny dangling pink crystal butterfly charm on it. "She gots a name?" Abbey asked Ruby.

Ruby breathed out as Robert said he would take care of registration for Caprice. "Thats a load off my mind" she said and noticed Angus had woken from his sleep and smiled to him as he pased by and headed up to wash and change into clean clothes. Dinner was finished by the time he returned and spoke to Edward. Standing up with Caprice she heard him talk to Edward and walked over to him . Gently kissing his cheek she nodded to him her hand brushing his cheeks gently as she smiled at him as Caprice cooed in her arms.

Watching him head ut side she watched him walk over to some landscapers and heard Kate and Simone talking she smiled more " I think its perfectly like him." she said Yu watched Angus and Edwrd and smiled moving out the door and over to them quitly.

"shidare zakura, their white blooms make them a symbol of rebirth and the fleeting nature of life, but you plant them for honer, to honer your children."he said once the trees were planted he moved to the shidare zakura and took out a thin roope with silver tags dagling on it tieing it around the tree he stepped back and bowed deeply to it then to each inturn before standing up and looking at Edward and Angus. " a Shinto blessing to ward off evil spirits." he looked at them both " not that she needs it with every one looking out for her." he said and shrugged his shoulder with a smirk.

Angus watched Yulong hang silver tags in the tree. When Yulong explained the tradition, Angus smiled. "It's a nice tradition, Yulong," Angus said. "Thank you for thinking of it. I'm hoping that Caprice and I can make a trip out to this tree on her birthday for some years to come. I'm never opposed to any sort of protection against dark magic. I know muggles think it's all mythology and superstition, but then again, they we don't exist either. They think wizards and magic are all nonsense, so I think they'd see these as just pretty decorations, but, in my experience, traditions do seem to have roots in truth. In the work I've done with the Paris office, I've been all over the world for Robert for one task or another but this is one tradition I've not seen. I like it. Thank you."

"It makes quite a handsome picture, that's for sure," Edward agreed.

"That reminds me," Angus said. "I wonder if Jess got footprints and a newborn photo when she cleaned up the baby earlier. I still need to write to Sam and Victor to tell them the news, and I thought I'd send them each a picture if we have one. If I don't send them word, I'm quite sure my name will be mud with them."

"If not, it's easy enough to take a picture," Edward said. "Do you have a camera?"

"I'm afraid I don't," Angus said. "I haven't actually ever needed one. Brian or Khaat have one--I think, but I wouldn't know how to use one of theirs, I'm sure."

"I bet Jess took a picture. She's too efficient not to. We'll just ask her before she goes back to the main building," Edward said.

Kate saw Abbey with the little gift and saw that Ruby was preoccupied with the new baby and with watching Angus out the window. Kate picked Abbey up and took the little package and put it on the coffee table. She let Abbey take a quick peek at the baby from a bit of a distance, and then she cast Robert a quick smile and headed out the door with her, offering to help her organize a tea party for her and Molly with her toy dishes and some little cookies and some juice. That sounded like a lot of fun to Abbey, and it soon got her attention as Kate talked to her about the tea party as she took her back home.

Simone put the lunch leftovers away and set a washing up spell in place. Then she made a fresh pot of tea for anyone who wanted it before heading back to her own kitchen to make some chocolate chip cookies.

"Well," Robert said," If you don't need me for a bit, I'll go send Michael's potion for his cold to him and get some other things done. I think Jess and Andrew have things well in hand here, and I'm sure they can send for me if they do need me. Otherwise I'll check back in a couple of days to make sure everything is still going well. Keep me posted if there's any change."