A Birth day

Aria heard Marcus and then Robert with a quiet nod she smiled as Robert picked up a cookie and bit into it. She picked one up and broker a piece off , handing it to Caprice who started chewing it into a soggy soft mess that she could eat it. Ruby chuckled and passed Amari a piece to do the same .

" Roberts right these are delicious, I got to have the recipe so I make these at home or do you already have it ,Angus?" she asked as Amari looked to Angus still chewing the piece of cookie she had been given drool running down her chin that Ruby wiped away with a napkin

"I don't have that recipe, actually," Angus said.

"I'll give it to you before you leave, Ruby," Sarah smiled.

When lunch was over, Sarah gave Ruby a copy of her Christmas cookie recipes and then packed a tin of cookies for Kate. After they all said their goodbyes and wished each other a Merry Christmas, Robert ported them all home.

Angus couldn't remember being more relieved to get home. He thanked Robert for his help in making sure they survived the mission, and then Robert headed for the main house. When Angus went in, he didn't see anyone anywhere. The house was silent. He looked over at Edward's, and their side was empty too. He went downstairs and found the girls' room empty, and then, going upstairs, the boys' room and Elwood's room were all empty.

Marcus came inside and took off his winter things, saw Angus looking around and finding the place looking abandoned. Marcus finally found a note on the kitchen table.

"Went out for Christmas Eve lunch. We'll be back eventually. You know how it is when Rosaria cooks. E."

"Angus, Edward left a note," Marcus called. "They've all gone for a holiday lunch. He says Rosaria is cooking."

"That means lunch will be two hours at least," Angus said. "She pulls out the stops at Christmas. I'll take the gift bag upstairs." He took Tom's shopping bag upstairs and tucked it in the closet in case Ruby honestly didn't want to see it.

Marcus went to the kitchen, found a tin of Robert's Christmas tea, and he brewed a pot of it so everyone could enjoy it.

Ruby smiled at Angus as he said he didn't have that recipe " well you will now, I'll add it to the file we have" she said as she was handed the recipe by Sarah " thank you so much" she said and tucked it into her pocket as she held Amari in her arms now fighting sleep as she lay her head on Ruby's shoulder. Aria cleaned and picked up Caprice who was rubbing her eyes sleepily .

"some one is ready for bed" she said smiling as Caprice yawned and lay her head against her. Now with Roberts help they ported to the duplex, while Ruby changed and put Amari down for a sleep Aria placed Caprice in the play pen for a moment while she went and lit the fire to warm the house of the cold she felt lingering. Ruby returned and took Caprice up to the nursery, Aria looked at Marcus as she placed a log on the fire and stood up.

"well that was ..interesting to say the least" she said as she then went and put the kettle on for fresh coffee and tea.

Marcus found a note on the kitchen counter near the owl treats. He recognized his dad's handwriting, so he opened the note. It said that Jonathan and Claire and the kids were arriving at supper time to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas. Marcus realized he hadn't bought a single present, hadn't gotten a tree, and hadn't gotten out the stash of brand new holiday decorations that they'd bought when they'd moved in to the cottage. He had laid the note back on the counter to get out tea mugs.

"Tea will be ready in a moment," Marcus said. "I already put a pot of Robert's Christmas tea on. I hadn't gotten to making any coffee yet."

While Marcus was talking about the tea, Angus transfigured his clothes into running clothes, and he went over to Marcus and handed him the pack of cigarettes that Sarah had given him, deliberately showing him the pack was unopened and the book of matches hadn't been touched.

"Keep these for me, please," Angus said quietly. Then he told Marcus pointedly. "They're unopened."

"Yes. I see that. I'll come with you."

"Its just a run...." Angus said.

"Then you won't mind me coming with," Marcus said. "We won't be long, Ruby. You know, blowing off steam is sometimes a good thing." Angus left the duplex, and Marcus transfigured his clothes to running clothes quickly and followed Angus out to the track. Angus was running hard and fast, pushing himself for all he was worth. As they were running, Marcus noticed there were more footprints in the snow on the track. Someone else had either been running or was running still. That wasn't unusual, though. Marcus was running right alongside Angus, step for step.

They had gotten halfway around the short track and were headed to make it all the way around the long track when Angus suddenly stopped short, clutching his head, his headache really escalating. Marcus clutched at him.

"Run's over," Marcus told him quietly. "We need to..." He had been in the process of telling him he thought they needed to consult Robert, but at that moment he caught a glimpse of Michael through the trees. Michael had just reached a switchback on the track. "Michael, is Robert in the main house?" Marcus called. "Angus's headache is out of control."

"He's right here. He's with me," Michael said. "We're on our way." Robert and Michael dashed through the brush to where Marcus and Angus were.

"It's okay. Don't fuss," Angus was telling Marcus in an edgy tone when Robert and Michael got there.

"Let me see," Robert said quietly, laying his hands on Angus's head. "You were not up to a hard run today, not with that hit to the head. And there's more since I checked this last. There is a huge new tension component. What are you so stressed about...."

"Nothing! It's fine!" Angus fairly exploded at Robert, but that only made the pain worse.

"Stop," Robert said quietly. "That isn't going to help. Nothing or not, tell me anyway..."

"They don't bloody trust me. Neither of them..." Angus said.

"Who doesn't?" Robert frowned.

"Is this about the cigarettes?" Marcus asked.

"It was just a bloody pack of cigarettes--an unopened pack that, incidentally, I did not ask for. And she didn't trust me to know whether Amari was safe, despite the fact that I was right with Amari. Didn't trust I'd recognize a tainted baby gift. When I wanted to take just the two of us on a weekend alone, she didn't want to go--not with me, anyway. She openly said she preferred to take a muggle helicopter as opposed to traveling with me, despite my abilities as a captain.  She bloody doesn't trust me. I won't embarrass either of us by asking her to travel with me again. Not to mention that not long ago, I was holding Amari, and Aria took her right out of my arms as if I could not be trusted with her. The same woman that didn't trust me with a simple bloody pack of cigarettes...."

"Angus," Marcus said gently. "Now, listen. This isn't about them not trusting you...."

"The hell it isn't..."

"No, now listen. You know Ruby has always had issues with anxiety, and it has nothing to do with you...."

"It does. The more she's with me, the worse her world becomes for her. And Aria--she used to be as tough as nails. Now she's as nervous around me as Ruby is."

"I still don't think you should take it personally because I truly believe it isn't intended to be personal against you. If I had thought that for one moment, I'd have certainly clued you in."

"Now listen just one minute," Robert said calmly and quietly to Angus. "This isn't going to do you any good at all. So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to draw off all this tension and stop the headache pain temporarily. That'll help you feel worlds better, at least for awhile. You're going to go home, get a little pain potion and rest your head a little. If I stop your pain, and if you go home and give it a rest, you'll feel a lot more in the holiday spirit than you do at this moment. I don't want you taking all this out on your family because this still could very well be due to the hit to the head you took. They don't deserve that from you. If you still aren't happy, then we can discuss it further after Christmas." He drew off the pain and the tension from Angus. Angus hadn't actually realized how severe the pain had become until Robert drew it off.

"Better?" Robert asked him, and Angus nodded. "Excellent. Marcus, take him home. Get him an additional dose of pain potion, and get him to have a lie down for awhile. He'll feel better, but if it flares up again, you send for me. Let's stay ahead of it, shall we?"

"Will do," Marcus said. "Look, Angus, my kids and my parents are arriving near supper time to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas. And I haven't done one damned thing about it. I mean, we bought decorations when we moved in, but they've never been opened. How about you come with me, find a quiet place in the cottage to rest while I take a little and put some decorating spells in place. Shouldn't take me all that long."

"Did you even remember to buy gifts?" Angus asked.

"Um. Well,..."

"That would mean no," Robert sighed. "Do you at least have a shopping list, Marcus?"

"Um...yes. I do. It's in the drawer in my desk."

"So, its out of sight and out of mind. Figures," Robert sighed. "Look. You take care of Mr. Tired-and-Cranky here, and Kate and I will see to the decorations and the shopping at your place. Who's cooking?"

"Mom is bringing supper, or so she said," Marcus said. "She knew Aria and I were both working today."

"Fine. Let us handle it. You just keep this one out of trouble for a little. Did you get a tree?"

"Not yet."

"Lord, we have our work cut out for us," Michael said. "We've got about five hours to get it all done. I'll go get a saw and get looking for a tree. You and Kate get on the rest."

"Go home, Angus," Robert said. He turned and headed for the cottage, and Marcus insisted on taking Angus home.

Marcus took Angus inside quietly.

"Short run," he said, as a quick explanation. "His headache was really getting to him. He does not need to be running."

"You need to go home," Angus told Marcus.

"No. I don't. They know I'm working, and they all have keys. Its fine," Marcus said quietly. "Besides, I've never had a place to decorate for Christmas, so they're not expecting a damned thing. If it was decorated, they'd all have heart attacks. Go get comfortable. I'll bring you some tea."

Ruby looked at Mar4cus and Angus and nodded as Aria made some coffee for when they returned placing down the pot she made thee pot placing it on the counter for any one who wanted a cup next to the tea Marcus had made. Aria looked out to wards the trac and saw them running but then stop she frowned and looked to Ruby . She was going to say something but chose not to seeing her playing with the two toddlers happily now she looked back seeing Robert with them.

" have you decorated the cottage yet?" Ruby asked Aria who sighed and shook her head " maybe take tonight and do that with Marcus?" she suggested but Aria shook her head .

"nope, not getting rid of me that easily" she said smiling " I'll surprise Marcus when we gat home" she added but was surprised when she saw them both walk in the door. Standing she walked to the kitchen and pored a dose of pain potion as she heard Marcus say their run was short because of the pain Angus was in. Walking back out she heard Marcus mention that his family were coming for Christmas and smiled " that will be great" she said " be good to spend time with the kids" she added happy to see them again after a long time not.

Ruby left the toddlers playing and walked over to Angus as Marcus explained " maybe you should lay down for a bit to let the potion start working" she suggested " the toddlers will be taking their nap soon and I can start supper so don't worry about that." she added

"We ran into Robert and Michael on the trail, and Robert's drawn off a lot of the pain for now," Marcus said. "Still, he recommended Angus to follow up with a dose of pain potion and some rest. I think Robert's thought is to get ahead of the pain because the more it builds and is left untreated, the harder it is for Robert to get ahead of it and get it reduced." Marcus went to the counter and saw the dose of pain potion and picked it up and handed it to Angus. "No jazz about it, now. Just take it," he told Angus. Angus didn't reply. He just took it. Marcus took the potions cup and took it to the sink.

"I presume you two might have seen the message from my dad," Marcus said, as Angus headed upstairs to the bedroom. "Look, I know we haven't decorated. I haven't shopped either. However, I was mentioning that to Angus when Robert found us. He is mobilizing himself and Kate and Michael and whoever else he can get to resolve our Christmas issues. Kate will take charge of the decorating, I'm sure, since that's right up her alley. Michael was going to either get a tree or get one himself for us. I'm sure they'll mobilize more people to help with decorating and shopping. And if they don't shop, the kids will get a bank check that they can spend however they like, like I've had to do every bloody year because I have never had time to shop. Nor have I ever had a place anyone wanted to come for Christmas. We've always gone to Mom and Dad's. So this was my first year to host Christmas, and of course, its Christmas Eve, and I haven't done one damned thing. Well, I take that back. We have decorations that are still in the boxes from when we bought them after the holidays last year. If our house was actually decorated, they'd all have a heart attack, I think. If I know my mom, she'll have a lovely dinner already cooked that she'll bring, and everyone else will be dragging their overnight bags and some bags of groceries to cook Christmas breakfast and Christmas dinner and a 110 presents because that's just what they do. And yes, they know we're working because they know that's just waht the job demands. They'll just make themselves at home, and you and I will get there whenever we get there."

Aria and Ruby listened and nodded as Marcus spoke " good idea" Ruby said as Marcus suggested Angus go sleep and both saw Angus down the pain potion then head up to their room. Ruby settled back with the babies as Marcus spoke of his parents coming for Christmas Aria looked at him and smiled.

"don't worry I can pop back over while you look after Ruby since Angus has gone for a rest, we'll get Joseph and Jack to help decorate" Aria said knowing exactly where the boxes he spoke of ere located. " I'm sure we're not the only ones that haven't had chance to decorate yet" she added " oh I do remember Jack mentioning a tree he had in the barn I'll ask if he can bring it to ours" she added as she wrote a note and sent it out. Five minuets later Jack appeared with a tree on his shoulder walking to the cottage with Joseph beside him.

Aria looked at Marcus and smiled making some tea for them all before sitting down to drink it.

"Just so you both know, Robert believes that this hit to the head is making Angus edgy," Marcus told them, setting the pack of cigarettes and the matches that Angus had passed to him on the coffee table. "Robert is on it, and so am I. If you see him being quieter or perhaps pulling away a bit, don't take it seriously. Robert has asked him to try not to take that irritability out on the rest of the family, and Robert's set some spells in place to try to speed up some healing. Personally, I'm hoping its only another day or so before he starts to feel better, but I saw how hard he was hit, and it wasn't a love tap by any means. I'm going to do my best to stay close to him. He wants us to take today and tomorrow off, but I honestly don't want to do that. Ruby, you have more right to have input on this. What would you like to do about our schedules today and tomorrow? I could ask Minos if the Fae could stay closer because I don't think they celebrate Christmas. I have a lot of ideas about others that might pitch in, I would like to make sure its the right choice."

Ruby listened to Marcus and nodded as did Aria both women could tell something was bugging Angus and now they understood what it was. Ruby heard Marcus and looked to Aria too " well I think your idea is a good one, you need to spend time with your kids too, but I leave the final choice to you" she said " we'll be fine for one day" she added with a smile " besides we'll have the kids here too and Roberts not that far away if needed"

Aria glance around Marcus and saw Jack and Joseph walking back Jack gave her a thumbs up[ and she smiled before looking back to Marcus as he continued talking. " we could use the morning to be with the family and pop over tomorrow after noon " she suggested to him.

"Well, I shouldn't say it, probably, but I will," Marcus said. "If I tell you, though, you both have to shut it for awhile. This is not the time to confront him on it. But this has been bothering him for several months now. He sees the anxiety that you both have carried from time to time, but he sees it differently than I think either of you intend it. He believes neither of you honestly trust him as an effective protector for the family. I've told him I don't think the anxiety he sees in both of you as anything that is personal about him and his skills. He might need to get past the worst of this head injury thing before he's able to reason that out, but I'll keep talking to him as he's able to hear it. I think the best we do for now is to take our cues from Robert on how hard we confront Angus.

"The other choice I had about Christmas is that perhaps Evan might like to spend some time with him. They seem to be good for each other," Marcus suggested. "What I've noticed about Angus's relationship with Evan is that they seem to have a good time together even if nobody says anything at all. Its just about being together. That could be a good thing. And if Evie and Faith come, that will be like the whole gang is together. The kids would love it. You could send all your kids over to hang with my kids. That would be an even dozen, and they could just make mayhem in our rec room. It needs to be properly partied in anyway."