I'm in Love and it's a Sunny Day

[GuestGuest]

Gerard had made sure that he had everything he needed the night before so things would not be so hectic and frazzled during the party. Plus, he wanted to be sure that he was free to spend as much time with Tiffany and their guests as he could. The grill would not take long to heat up and the food was all set and just had to be brought out from the refrigerator when it was time to barbecue the meats and vegetables or serve the salads. Tiffany's cake was being brought by Mel and Ethan so that Gerard had not had to worry about hiding it before the party. He had given Marcus the money to pick up the beer and bring that with him and Rowan. The patio was decorated with balloons and streamers and all as set for a fun day of birthday celebrations involving bbq, exploding golf and surprises for the Birthday Girl.

So why was he nervous? He didn't really know except that he was worried something would not go as planned or expected. Gerard just pushed it down and tried to relax as the first of their guests arrived.

[Meliae Ashton]

It was hard to believe that Mel had survived a entire three months without a car to call her own, had it not been for the distraction of Ashleigh and having Ethan and good friends willing to lend (read as not struggle too much when she stole) their keys it would have been a wonder that she'd managed to get anything done. It was a beautiful day today, the kind of day that a Aldi Convertible would have come into it's own. But Mel wasn't too sad, with the sunroof open her Golf GTI was certainly a better ride and more importantly had the room needed to fit three adults, one child, a invisible dog a cake and a baby. The invisible dog Mel had to admit was a bit of a surprise and almost marked the end of the cake (have you ever tried getting a dog you cannot see into a car? No, me neither) but eventually all was organised and they had plenty of time thanks to the 'plan to leave a hour before hand and you might just arrive on time form of organising she'd gotten into the habit of ever since Ashleigh had learnt how to plan her nappy changes to exactly when they where about to leave so that they either a: had to redo the entire process or b: got to enjoy the scene of le'stinkybaby all the way to where they where going.

Arriving at Gerard's required a bit of creative parking knowing that Marcus was going to be arriving with 'The Beast' at any time and no doubt there would be others needing parking spaces as well.. and goat knew she did not want Marcus hitting anything. With Becca taking charge of Abby and the invisible Mr Otis Sprinke (Abby had enjoyed a wonderful time explaining how they had snuck Mr Otis on the train because Dogs weren't allowed on public transport) Mel decided it was Ethan's turn to take charge of freeing Ashleigh from her constraints while she grabbed the cake and lead around back to where Gerard was sure to be waiting.. because of course Mel had no suspicions about what he was up to, nor had Marcus blabbed about the Beer Day Intervention nor had it seemed all rather suspicious that Gerard would go to so much effort for a mere 37th Birthday Party. Oh yes one Meliae Ashton was on the case! "GERARD!" she called out looking around for him.. though it was Miss Moneypenny who found her first! "Yes Hello Miss Fusspot... look at you!" The Terrier let out a happy bark before zooming off to greet the others. To think a little over a year ago Mel was ready to murder the dog, amazing what a bunch of rouge hormones could do to a otherwise sensible person.

[Abigail Wright]

Abby couldn't help but giggle at Otis Sprinkle, Mummy had put a invisibility charm on him because they had to take the train and no way was dogs allowed to go on the trains. It was unfair Abby thought, Otis was a well behaved dog and it wasn't like he'd get into trouble! Anyway the other people on the train where not nearly as nice while Otis sat tapping his tail to the confusion of the poor Muggles who where on the train and wondering where the smell of dog was coming from. "HAIIIII MEL HAIIIII MR ETHAN!" the moment Abby saw Mel and Ethan it was all but guaranteed that she'd do her usual 'attack' though she was good enough to slow down and just give Auntie Mel a light hug since she had a baby. "Guess what!" Abby said too excited to keep a secret more then a second "Mummy's having a baby and so we could apprate so Mummy said we had to take the train only Otis can't go on the train so Mummy made him invisible.."
"Shh... Abigail quiet down.. you know the rules.." Rebecca broke in as she glanced each way to make sure none of the train staff where looking. Rebecca was apologetic once in the car and explained that it had been too far to drive and with her current condition public transport seemed the only way to get to Drouin.. even if it meant sneaking the dog on board.

"It was really funny, 'specially when the train conductor came by and Mr Otis sniffed his leg.. he got sooo scared". It was rather cramped in the back of the car with Mum and baby Ashleigh and Mr Otis but really good fun too.. even if Mum was telling Otis off for moving and she couldn't really pat him that well because he was hard to see. "Mum can't we take the invisrable charm off now?" Abby asked only to pout that the answer was no. "Mr Ethan don'tca think it's unfair that Dogs can't go on the train? I mean what if you where a dog and they said no you couldn't go on a bus just because of that?!" Yes, all of a sudden it was Abigail Wright.. defender of species rights.. or well at least the rights of dogs to travel on public transport if they wanted.. only nice dogs mind you!
"If I had of known it would be all this fuss I'd certainly have called Emma.." Rebecca admitted with a slight blush at the late onset of common sense. Funny how you came to rely on apparating so much that your mind just did not tend to process so well when the ability was taken away.. or at least became highly uncomfortable. Rebecca had learnt quite early of in her pregnancy with Abigail purely because it was hard to miss the fact that she couldn't apparate without feeling like she was going to lose all her lunch and yesterdays meals as well!

It had been a long time since Abby had visited Mr Gerard, he held a position of respect for saying 'no' to her and sticking to it. As soon as the car pulled up she was undoing her seatbelt and urging her Mum to let them out but before Rebecca took out her wand and tried to the charm so that Mr Sprinkle faded into view, a rather excitable four year old golden retriever leaving Abby torn between watching Mr Ethan take Ashleigh or following her dog, though on the other hand if she stayed too long no doubt her Mum would force her to 'Make Herself Useful' "Is Auntie Rowan coming today?" Abby asked Mr Ethan as she climbed out of the car and turned around to look at everything. Of course it didn't take much to guess that the real reason why Abby was asking about Rowan was to know if Lady Macbeth would be coming today. Abby thought Lady Macbeth was the coolest pet ever.. well next to Otis Sprinkle of course!

[GuestGuest]

It was all fun and games until the invisible dog almost sat on the cake but even that got worked out without too much trouble and they were on their way to Gerard's as Abigail narrated the adventure of the train ride with an invisible dog. Ashleigh couldn't see Mr. Sprinkles but she could reach out and feel him and she kept herself amused by reaching out from her car seat, feeling his fur, pulling her hand back and giggling as a background music to Abby's tale. Once at Gerard's, Ethan turned his attention to getting the said cake out of car safely and onto the card table Gerard had set up for it, decorated of course, and then greeting Miss Moneypenny who then went off in search of the arrival of her "cousin", Mr. Sprinkles. It was amusing as she could smell the other dog, sense he was there but not see him, at least until she ran right into the side of Mr. Sprinkles and bounced off, rolling backwards for a bit.

Joining Mel, Ethan found her already in search of and confronting Gerard. Ethan had not had a chance to tell his cousin that somewhere between the beer festival and today, Marcus had spilled the entire story to Mel about the 'intervention'. Of course, none of that had anything to do with the tshirt that Ethan went out and bought specifically to wear to the party. Nope, no tacky hint dropping to Gerard going on here.

Gerard had heard Mel's shout and came out not far behind Miss Moneypenny to greet the first arrivals. "Mel!" he half shouted in return before greeting Ethan and raising an eyebrow at the tshirt. "Was just checking into getting the rabbits brought to the shed. Making sure it was a good lock on there too." Nope, he wasn't unsure at all was he?

Fortunately, the next arrivals were hailed by the diving and loops of a certain fire lizard who greeted the three with a flyby before heading off to find her pals, Otis Sprinkles and Miss Moneypenny.

[GuestGuest]

Rowan's first reaction when Marcus had divulged the news of the intervention at the beer festival was a sort of 'oh my goats you didn't' reaction, sure that he had done the opposite of his intention.. But then when the invitation arrived, she realized it may have just worked after all. When she had asked Gerard about the idea of a big shindig for a 37th, he replied that he was fairly sure Tiffany had not had a lot of birthday parties and it was time she did. Okay, so that did make sense to Rowan since she couldn't remember Tiffany having one since she had come to Australia and met the girl. So it was she gave up wondering/worrying about what Marcus might have done/accomplished with his intervention and made sure they had the coolers ready and the beer to put in them and then loaded on the back of the Ute. The weather was nice and she was looking forward to the day.

So was Lady Macbeth who announced their arrival with some aerobatic antics before playing 'hunt the invisible dog' with Miss Moneypenny. Levitating the coolers, she followed Marcus over to where their host and Mel and Ethan were already. "Hi all!" she greeted them as the guys went about setting the beer where it needed to go.

[Marcus Hobson]

Marcus had been feeling pretty smug ever since the beer festivities he was sure that it was only a matter of time before Gman would be calling his bluff. So it was that when the invitation arrived for a birthday party well.. he was rather pleased that maybe, just maybe he'd be able to show Rowan that it hadn't been a utterly horrible idea to stage a intervention on the subject of Gerard and Tiffany. He'd put in the last of his schoolwork for the year in the quiet weeks after the majority of students had gone home for the year and found himself in the bliss of spare time. Time that was well wasted making a trip out to the Grand Ridge Brewery to pick up some cellar door priced booze for the day. That wasn't the only thing he'd put in the eskie though, while he'd been waiting for his potions to cure Marcus had finally gotten around to using up that make-your-own-beer kit he'd gotten as a gift a while ago. Yep, carefully wedged in between the Ravens and the Guinness was four bottles of Marcus' experimental home brew. Because beer was only one step from potions right and hopefully the information he'd rung out of the stallholders at the Microbrewery showcase had been enough to turn disaster into something that might not lead to instant death once swallowed.

Loading up the ute with the eskies, cricket bat, bucket of exploding golf balls/tennis balls Marcus couldn't help but feel a bit nervous at the fact that Chloe had said she'd take the Vespa today. While when it had come to her birthday Marcus had been excited at the gift the cold logic of time had started to bring to the fore the risks that giving his sister a motorbike could lead to.. even if it wasn't a particularly powerful bike and when put up against some of the biggest hills in Warragul or Drouin tended to require a good bit of pushing to get it to go forward. Either way it was a good drive to Gerard's and on bush roads where anything could happen.. not like the long, straight boring roads up north or on the highway. Of course to admit that he was worried was on the same level as admitting defeat and so Marcus was quiet as he checked that they had everything before farewelling Kat and Sam who had as usual gotten staff duty.. it sure was handy having a teacher who was downright allergic to everything on the outside. With a roar of the engine (Marcus always revved the motor too hard Mel said) they where off to Gmans House! Marcus enjoying the drive though the scenic countryside with just him and Rowan..and of course Lady Macbeth. Cue sigh of what would otherwise be a romantic drive being ruined by a constant string of interruptions of 'what was that?' 'do you think so and so will be there?' 'I hope so and so will be there'. Marcus had read up about Firelizards one boring afternoon, what he found hadn't been good in that he had a long, long life ahead of him with Lady M never growing up much at all.

At least kids tended to get tired of those kind of questions after awhile. Marcus was musing on it as he did a wide arc in parking.. remembering slightly too late that he had explosives in the back so there was a few tense seconds of hoping that the whole car wasn't about to lift up in one big explosion. With Rowan taking charge of the eskies Marcus grabbed the plastic bucket containing the explosives and started off to the back yard in order to say G'day to Gman and the others before stowing the explosives in the shed where they'd be out of the way.

A pity nobody had warned him of the 'evils' that lurked within with their black beady eyes and SHARP POINTY TEETH.

Finding the shed locked he could hear a odd scratching noise within that Marcus just shrugged off as he wandered back over to where the others where "Hey Gman.. got the balls but the shed's locked..whats the go man?" Because he wasn't Marcus Hobson if a lock didn't lead to immediate curiosity.

[GuestGuest]

At Marcus' shout, Gerard looked over at the shed and looked up with an expression on his face that was not commonly found on the usually placid and calm barrister's countenance. It was a combination of expected yet panic rolled into one. Marcus' question about getting into the shed sounded like a death knell to the plans he had for the afternoon. "Shed? You're trying to go in there now?" Gerard asked, trying to sound casual but panic edging near despite his best efforts. "You know something? Talked to anyone?" he asked his best friend, sure that Marcus had heard from Tiffany that she wanted no part of anything permanent. Of course, by the time he got that all out, his mind finally clicked to what Marcus actually said and Gerard relaxed a bit. "Oh, never mind. Yeah, it's locked. You don't want to go in, yet," Gerard said leaving an almost ominous edge to things. "It's ready for later. In case....." No, he wasn't nervous at all. Definitely assured that all would go as planned. That's why he went hunting rabbits for the days prior to the party. For when Marcus had to pay up his guarantee.

[Ianto Parker]

Ianto Parker was running late for the 37th Birthday party for tiff. Ianto had been spending a lot of time at the Bluebird Cafe of late. since his 'beloved' sister had come to stay with him. Tamika was the resin he was running late she had asked andy question about were he was going what he was doing.
Ianto had even dress for what they called a BBQ what ever that was he was warring Black dress Pants and a Black tee shirt and had decided to leave his leather jacket at home.
Ianto had even taken the time to get a personal give for the birthday lady and wrapped it in Pink paper with Happy Birthday on it. The present had in side it a grommet coffee set and a $2000 dollar gift card for his favourite shop Harvey normal Ianto who had no understanding of Muggle money the price for thing seamed to be around that amount and s to ianto it seamed like and appropriate gift for a friend.
Ianto arrived at the address he had been given and walked toward the door only to notice that the gates seamed to be open and that it seamed to be back there so he walked thro the open gates and around to see many people were already there including his favourite Fire dragon Lady M Ianto had taken to stocking his pockets with only the best of the best chocolate since Lady M had attacked his sister when she first arrived to 'take him home' as his way of thanking the dragon for that
"Hello" Ianto said as he approached Marcus and G'man " Thank you for inviting me, where should i place the gift for tiff" Ianto never went to a party were there was not a gift table were al the wizards would place there gift so the host could present them to the person for whom that were address.

[GuestGuest]

Storm was spending the weekend at Oli's and since it was just her by herself, she and Oli decided to just go to Tiffany's party together which included Peter which meant riding together in his Toyota. Storm would have driven if he wanted but this was good as she and Oli got to ride in the back seat together and talk which couldn't have happened if Storm drove. Storm was relaxed now that her N.E.W.T.s were over and done with. Peter had been really good about helping her with study drills and they made a difference in how much she remembered the day of the test. It was all over but waiting on the grades to come in but that was fine. She really could relax now and was doing so.

She was also more relaxed about continuing on to Uni after having gone and filled out the applications Peter had told her about, asking him questions when she wasn't quite sure what they were asking. Things were in process and it was all a bit brighter than it had been a few days ago. Arriving, she waved to everyone, greeting them.

[Katelyn Davis]

Kat felt like a fool as leant against the fence waiting for Anton to arrive, her hair wet and dripping down her back from the quick shower she'd managed to have after getting back from the beach. She knew it had been a dumb idea to go surfing today when Anton was coming to pick her up for Tiffany's birthday party at Gerard's House but the moment she walked outside to see the sun shining and wind blowing well there was only so much willpower she had against the irresistible drawing power of surfing. She'd felt so cooped up of lately, waiting for the results from her exams was nerve racking. Worse for the fact that she was sure she'd fail, her mind had drawn so much of a blank when she'd been doing the test so it was a wonder that she'd been able to answer any questions at all. At least Anton was home, Kat couldn't wait to see him even if she worried that he'd be upset that she hadn't studied as much as she'd promised she would, but books just where not her life and spending time inside felt like a crime when it was such good weather. Either way it wasn't soon enough before Anton's car pulled up the driveway and she let out a yell of joy at seeing him. While neither of them had new or fancy cars Kat was just happy to be able to climb into the front seat beside him, tossing her possessions in the back and giving him a kiss, everything was wonderful when he was around and maybe now she could put aside her worries about school and they could get onto thinking about the important things like what to do for the holidays.

For today though it was going to be fun, Kat really liked Anton's Dad, he was cool and it meant getting to hang out with her friends from school for what might just be the last time. Kat didn't know if she was going to stay in Australia or go home to England after Christmas, maybe she'd go on assignment for the few months and see where Wizards Without Borders would send her instead. The only thing that was able to make her feel a bit uncomfortable was the way her brother had been going on about exploding something and some bet, Kat didn't know what that all was about, she'd been too busy making the most of the good weather to catch up with Bruce and the guys down at the Surf Shack now that she didn't have study or classes to worry about. "I'm okay" she promised despite the bandage on her foot "I surfed too far up the beach and wiped out, didn't even see the rock.." Kat explained as she put on her seatbelt "it should heal up just fine" she promised before settling in to listen to everything Anton had been up to since they had last had a chance to see each other. Now hopefully they would be able to make up for the time apart. "This is all very fancy isn't it?" Kat said when they arrived at Gerard's House, Kat of course loved the open space, even if it was far too far away from the beach for her opinions. "Do you think your Dad and Tiffany are going to get married?" Kat of course was a keen ear for gossip and that at least she had been able to make some sense of from what could have been overheard of others. It was a exciting idea to Kat, they made such a good couple. Looking to Anton she hoped she hadn't offended him, she forgot that maybe he didn't like the idea of the women marrying his Dad. Oddly enough Kat had not really thought about marriage, she felt far too young for that, maybe one day they could and that would be lovely, for the moment though she was glad to be Anton's girlfriend, it was enough for her to know that he loved her and she loved him to not need any fancy paperwork or big celebration of it, but of course that wouldn't stop her being excited for others.

[Chloe Hobson1]

Chloe didn't entirely remember why everyone was going off to Gerard's house. At least not all of it. But she knew there was something about a party and well, who would say no to a party. There'd be cake and if there was one thing Chloe Hobson had a weakness for, it was cake. Before she'd gotten her present, she'd have expected to ride with her brother. And for a second, she'd almost just agreed. But then... the young lady remembered. She had a Vespa!

So of course, she kindly declined riding with her brother and prepared to give it a go. Ethan had been such an awesome teacher. She took a bit of extra time to get ready. Because this would mostly be the first time she'd ridden her Vespa anywhere that was far. And she was a bit nervous. But she'd keep that to herself. It'd just be with Marcus needed to hear her acting like a big chicken.

It was about 10 minutes or so after Marcus left that Chloe finally hopped onto her Vespa with Bertrand along for the ride of course and took off.

Naturally, nothing is ever uneventful with a Hobson. But it wasn't dangerous, at least. It just took bloody forever to move. Because almost immediately, Chloe kept running into hills. And it was exhausting to push the motorbike, especially with Bertrand inside. Then there were bumps and all of that. She bet if she'd been talking, she'd have bitten her tongue.

But in the end, Chloe finally arrived at Gerard's place. A little achey and sweaty but otherwise, none the worse for wear. Whew! "Come on, Bertrand." Chloe said enthusiastically, opening up the little door for him. "Let's go see who else is there. And whether we can get some cake."

[GuestGuest]

Anton was looking forward to his dad's party for Tiffany for a lot of reasons. The topmost being time with Kat and with family and friends. It also was the end of the school year for both of them and he was ready for a break from it all. He had not minded helping Kat with her studying at all as it helped him too and seemed to make it more enjoyable, well at least when they could remained focused on the studying part. He could see her waiting by the fence as he pulled up and smiled as he heard her shout over the music on the radio. His smile disappeared, however, as he also noticed the bandaged foot. Between that and the wet hair, he could take a lucky guess at what happened. He said nothing though as she got in and got settled and returned her kiss before he headed back out towards the road from the school.

Kat brought up the foot and assured him it would be fine. Anton simply nodded and made himself a promise to watch her to make sure it was not bothering her at the party at all. He did tease her thought about going without him and then they spent a good portion of the drive catching up on how their exams went until he made the turn onto the road that led up to the parking area along side his father's home. "Well, its roomy more than fancy. Dad never was into fancy. He prefers comfortable," Anton told her and smiled at her next question. "Hope so. Don't tell him I told you but he wants to. Has been afraid she'll say no," Anton shared, grinning as he added, "Matter of fact, Marcus has made a bet with him of some kind he's so sure Tiffany would say yes to Dad. I think we'll find out soon, though."

[Olivia Watson]

Olivia was rather dawdling today, it was that woman from works birthday or something and Dad had been invited so they had got to go as well. Normally of course this would be a instant 'yeah right no thanks' but with Storm wanting to go well that made it a whole other matter. In a way Olivia had been sad to see Storm do her exams, hers of course had only been practice exams and not nearly as important, though she guessed thanks to Storm she was in a good position to at least get a half decent grade for the start of next year. Right now though it was holidays, blessed holidays and Olivia was doing her best to put out of her mind the fact that Dad wanted them to go to New Zealand to visit her grandmother for Christmas or something. She didn't know why she felt so much dread about going back. Maybe it was the Earthquake last year or the fact that she'd spent most of her time there feeling like a freak.

Whatever it was they arrived at somebodies home, had Olivia been paying more attention she'd have known it was Mr Hunter's house but she'd been busy 'chatting' to Storm about the upcoming trip and how much it sucked to have to wait so long for results from the exams. Olivia didn't know why Storm had to worry, she was sure to do well for all the studying and everything. It was all a bit surprising to Olivia that there was so many people around, now she felt her crappy card that she'd grabbed at the last minute was a bit inadequate but at least there was familiar faces from school.. even if that annoying red haired girl was there she could just ignore her.. that was made easier by the sight of a weird looking motorbike.. walking towards it she only then noticed who was on it and came to a stop at the odd sight of a goat in a sidecar. Wow Olivia didn't know that Chloe had a motorbike, that was cool. Waving hello she pointed at the goat offering to help before shrugging and wondering where Storm had gotten to. She hadn't realized at first how big the property was but there seemed to be trees all around the place, it was almost out in the bush? Or at least in the citycentric view of the world she'd grown up with.

[Meliae Ashton]

"Rabbits?" Mel was asking when there was a flyby by a certain lizard, her eyes narrowed in suspicion "you're kidding right?" Gerard wouldn't have suddenly got the urge to stockpile rabbits.. why that was re........ Mel facepalmed as the she remembered her Dad mentioning in a off comment that he was off to Gerard's to help him deal with a rabbit problem. But surely her Dad knew as well as she did that Rabbits where pests and had to be dealt with quickly and as humanly as possible... of course she could have asked him herself as her Dad's van was one of the next to pull up outside the house. Glancing over at Ethan with the cake she had to laugh "Didn't you forget something!?" She called out, shaking her head she smiled and said hi to Rowan before running back to the car to rescue their daughter, poor mite had been stuck trying to reach for a dog who was no longer there and it was only the prompt arrival of 'Mum' that saved them from the crying. "There you go.. no I don't know where the doggie has gone.." Mel said to Ashleigh as she held her close and softly kicked the door shut behind her.

It seemed they had company, Mel smiled "Hi Storm, Hi Olivia" giving Pete a wave she followed the girls to see that Chloe had arrived on her Vespa. "Hey Chloe! How'd it go? I think we could get a bit more oomph out of it with some tuning but youknow Marcus would probably have a fit" Mel said with a conspiring glance back towards the rest of the party guests.
"Ga ga!" Ashleigh said squirming at the sight of Bertrand the goat.
"Yes.. Goat.. " Mel said with a smile, much as she enjoyed teaching she'd always been the kind to prefer to 'hang' with her students between classes when there was none of the stuffy 'yes miss' and near fear lest she tell a joke.
Of course any kind of person who looked slightly out of the ordinary was nothing more then bait for one Abigail Wright who just had to come over to say HAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII (at full volume with maximum hand waving). It was going to be one long afternoon.

[GuestGuest]

As Mel repeated the answer as a question, Gerard tried to look around for an escape route. There was none. "Uhm... yeah... rabbits... It was Marcus' idea" he managed to answer. Though saved by his cousin, Ethan, who was just getting the cake settled as Mel realized Ashleigh was still in the car looking for the invisible Mr. Sprinkles who was now playing with Miss Moneypenny and both were running off to find their friend Bertrand, who was arriving in style in his sidecar with Chloe. Gerard waved to the new arrivals as it seemed everyone was there. Going in the house, he brought out the gift box that he had packed, unpacked, packed, unpacked and packed again for the birthday girl. Gerard had redone the package so many times that the clerk in the shop usually already had the packages of paper ready for him when he walked in. Setting it next to the cake, Gerard looked around to see if Tiffany had arrived yet.

[Ianto Parker]

Ianto simply watched as more people arrived at the garden party but did not that tiff hereof had yet to show up.
He laugh at the mention of rabbits knowing that marcus hated them and that if they got loose it would be funny to watch marcus get away from them.
Ianto also noted there was talk about the bet the men had mad re the marriage thing almost everyone seamed to know. it also made cents now way gerard was ... well nerves Guess the wedding proposal was on and on today it would seam Ianto made a note to find out what type of gifts were appropriate for wedding since pure blood wedding gift were not going to go over well with this group.
Ianto began standing to the back just observing the goings on as this was a far more Muggle affare than he was used to and he wanted to get the feel of it.
Ianto felt out of the loop and decided to say nothing.

[Marcus Hobson]

There was something weird going on, Marcus had a sixth sense for weird (being a pretty weird individual himself) as he just answered Gerard's question in the slow 'what's wrong with you' tone of someone who wasn't quite getting why it was such a big deal "Yeah.. wanted to chuck the balls in the shed so the dogs don't get to them" Marcus explained, he didn't even want to think of what might happen if Mr Sprinkle or Miss Moneypenny got to one of those golf balls and bit down too hard on them. The answer would no doubt be rather messy. "You alright mate? Yeah okay I talked to Mel but it's cool man and Rowan knows but I mean it's not like they'd tell Tiff or anything.." Yes ignorant of the doom hidden away in the shed his mind went straight back to topic number one of the day - The Bet!..just not quite in the way that Gerard's mind had been thinking of it.

"G'day Ianto, I think Gman's organizing that right man?" he answered looking to Gerard who had disappeared (without the puff of smoke) into the house. Wimp, Marcus shrugged and got busy himself with bringing the rest of the gear in, saying Hi to Storm and Olivia, Mel and Ethan and feeling relieved to see Chloe and Bertrand had made it. Waving a hello to Anton and Kat it was funny to think that the girl who had been thrust upon his family last year would soon be gone. Marcus wasn't sure how he felt about that, there was a lot of baggage from finding out that his mother had valued his sister over himself. The end of year had always been a hard time for him, it was tough to see faces you'd come to be familiar with over the years disappear as they went off into their own lives only to run into them many years later when you least expected it.

Grabbing drinks for himself and Rowan he gave Mel's Dad a thumbs up, assured that this was to be the day. "Hey Anton!" Marcus called out to wave the others over, everyone was starting to gather around the back which was good since it meant plenty of witnesses to the proof that he was right... and bad because in the amazingly unlikely event that Tiffany did say no Gerard would both have utter humiliation to deal with.. though at least he'd have plenty of people to hide behind when it came to retribution? Either way with everyone here and surely it was time to get the show on the road? Well okay everyone but Tiff, but there was nothing quite like the awkward that came from attending a birthday party where the key focus of it was nowhere to be seen. Glancing at Ethan Marcus looked around in confusion at the sound of a bark that didn't seem to come from anywhere, but before he had a chance to investigate there was the sound of tires and rushed breathing.. it seemed the birthday girl had arrived!

[Tiffany Fumberger]

Tiffany was having a rotten day, it was her birthday, normally a event that passed by with minor curiosity amogst the family when nobody could be bothered to put together the organizing for a celebration that was often worse for the number of drunks and old aunts reminding her forever that she was never going to be as young, youthful, trim or lucky with every passing year. Not that she was any of these things. Now she was thirty-seven. It was a ugly number worthy of a little cry which was exactly what she did, the cordless phone in her hand as she sat on her bed and cried. Nobody was coming, it was her birthday and Gerard had been so kind to organize a party and yet not a single member of her family would be there. Her Mum of course had promised that they would, even as she heard her Dad shouting in the background about fuel prices and 'if she wanted to live all the way down there well what did she expect?' Nothing in her life had changed, yes she had her own car and her own badge that stated 'Manager' she was dating a man who was everything she had ever dreamed of and yet it took only a instant for her to be transported back to crying to herself in the knowledge that nobody cared nor ever would. She was only a Fumberger after all, nothing good ever happened to a Fumberger.

The weight of the day was settling down on her, maybe she should call Gerard and let him know that she didn't feel like coming? Instead she could curl up on the couch and watch Muriel's Wedding again and cry. But then if she did that what would Gerard think? Why that would be worse then that episode of Sex and the City. No she couldn't do it. Much as the temptation was there to stay at home Tiffany got up, showered with a outfit organized and her face done up she found herself behind the wheel of her Holden Barina, she wasn't late but time marched on and she had to hurry to make it up the driveway on time, her breath already hitched at the sight of so many cars at Gerard's home, she hadn't realised just how many people where coming today. Had she known Tiffany might well have chosen a more fancy dress but it was already too late. Tiffany couldn't believe how many people where there, my there was Chloe and Anton and Kat and little Abigail, Mel and Ethan with Ashleigh of course (and my wasn't she the sweetest little thing?) and Peter along with his daughter and Storm. Tiffany felt the blush rise at the knowledge that they where all here for her, or at least her and a BBQ and whatever it was that Gerard and that Hobson had arranged. "Oh hello Ianto" Tiffany said embarrassed a little at how familiar it seemed people had become. Of course the most breathless and emotional greeting was for one Gerard Hunter.. Q.C (for yes her mind would never forget such a title) "Oh Gerard, you really didn't have to do all this" spying the cake and the box that contained a gift Tiffany couldn't belive that all this was for her, Tiffany Fumberger who never went anywhere or did anything interesting at all, little did she know that peoples attention was focused on more then the fact that she was another year older, because Tiffany would never assume anything in her life would be like the movies and romantic stories in the magazines she so craved. That was all for young people with perfect skin and hourglass figures, not dumpy old women with fat ankles and a size 18 Millers receipt shoved in her purse. She knew that her 'prime' had passed with barely a mention and was quietly content (aside from the odd passing daydream of fancy) to the life she led now. It was the only one she was ever going to get after all.

[GuestGuest]

Emma had picked up Polly on her way in from Melbourne and they pulled in the drive right behind Tiffany. With those three, it looked like everyone was there for the big day and the next few minutes was an informal flurry of everyone greeting everyone else with birthday wishes for the guest of honor. Emma kept waiting for Gerard to get Tiffany over to open her gifts and noticed he kept waiting. Heading back over to Polly, she whispered to her and the pair went over to their friend, hauling her over to the stack of gifts and proceeded to get the rest of the guests chanting for Tiffany to open them.

[Tamika Parker]

Tamika had been pacing the house ever since Ianto had left to go to a party. Ha! A party and no doubt there would be Muggles there doing..well whatever it was that Muggles did. This left Tamika alone, she had finished her morning shift and felt rather proud of herself, Ianto had thought her a fool to get a job and now here she was with money of her own and making something of herself. It was that last thought that set her to motion, she was her own person so if Ianto was invited to some woman's party why she would go as well and see what it was that Muggles did. For Research of course, purely for research.

After all she knew exactly how Wizards where to celebrate, her time at home was intersected by the familiar dinners and balls that where held to celebrate each passing year just as much to try and outdo each other for who could spent the most on such frivolities. Unfortunately when she checked her purse the stock of galleons she had collected since arriving had quickly dwindled and her own salary did not seem to match that of her brothers, how he managed to afford so much with such a remedial job Tamika did not know.. maybe it was just that Muggle things where so bad that they did give them away? Yes that would make some level of sense. Either way she felt it was her duty to at least try and understand what it was that had driven her brother to such insanity. She knew it was dangerous to meddle with Muggles yet on the same hand what harm could it be?

Gathering up what coins she could find in her purse she decided that it would be most rude to arrive without a gift and so she made a brief stop at Matacore, quickly striding to the enchanted starcase to the second floor. Showing her wand she waved to the one or two who recognized her before quickly selecting a gift and feeling rather smug at her fancy as it was giftwrapped and handed back to her. If only getting to said party was so simple. Tamika had heard word of a Muggle term called 'Taxi' but of course Wizards where wiser and so she caught a carrage to the address she had managed to get from her brother. Somewhere called 'Strawberry Fields' but it was the name Gerard Hunter that had gotten the drivers attention. Disgusted to find herself being driven by a Squib Tamika didn't care for politics except to get out the moment they arrived, no tip that was for sure! Ignoring the rude words said towards herself she allowed some indulgence to look at all the varieties of Muggle devices positioned in front of the house, how many kinds there where, walking around the back she spied her brother immediately and went to stand beside him "Is that the woman?" she asked pointing to a fat woman currently opening gifts and gushing in a most undignified way. Clearly she was a Muggle for no properly bred person would ever act in such a way. Then again Tamika had to hold back a groan as she eyed her way over the others, There was that man with the car, some girl who looked like a Weasley by the hair and freckles. Oh Merlin just what had Ianto gotten her into?

[GuestGuest]

Gerard wasn't quite sure how they had somehow gotten from everyone arriving and getting things set up to Tiffany opening her gifts but they had. Somehow, she had not only began opening her gifts but had gotten to the very last package, the one from him. He smiled and nodded, acting as cool as he could but his stomach was doing flip flops. Gerard could not remember ever being this nervous before. She liked each of the aprons, he had been fairly sure she would since she wore them at work all the time and always tried to find one to fit the occasion. The perfume she had really like and it had sort of become a standing gift between them. Gerard always included some in every gift.

Soon, however, she had run out of packages to unwrap and all that remained was the small velvet box. By the time Tiffany had finished unwrapping it, Gerard had managed to get on one knee and reach for her hand. "TIffany, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" he asked, wondering how his throat could feel so dry and yet he could still talk. It seemed like forever that he waited for her to answer him.

It was during the resulting to-do that a certain fire lizard went to settle on Ianto's shoulder while Miss Moneypenny rounded up Mr Sprinkles and Bertrand to back the little lady up. Sure female dogs don't have to lift their leg, but she got better aim when she did.................

[Chloe Hobson1]

Chloe was waiting patiently for Bertrand to exit the Vespa. He seemed rather enthused about sitting in the seat still which was a bit surprising but what could she do? She wasn't about to drag him out. That never went well. Trust her. As she waited, she looked around a bit to see what was going on and spotted Olivia who was waving at her. Beaming at the sight of her friend, she waved back enthusiastically then looked to Bertrand, quite ready to use all the help she could. When the goat just sauntered out of the seat car and walked off. Chloe stared, shook her head, smiled and looked back at Olivia, shrugging her own shoulders.

Then she set off to make sure he didn't go too far and ran into Mel rather quick. "Hey, Mel! It wasn't bad. Fun! Except when I got to the hill. I hate hills now." She laughed at the mention of Marcus. "Yeah... but I bet if it had a bit more oomph I'd have made it up the hill without slowing down."

Baby Ashleigh then interjected by focusing on Bertrand which then made Chloe focus on her. Because she was so cute! Of course, all babies were. When they were being held by other people. In her hands, they were fragile, sensitive beings that may or may not freak her out. And then a very shrill greeting reached her ears, prompting Chloe to finch and smile. Abby!

Fast forward a bit and Tiffany arrived. And now Chloe remembered. It was Tiffany's birthday party. Duh. Chloe just hung around for a bit in the background as everyone went to see the birthday girl. As if she was fighting through that crowd. Bertrand would disappear on her if she took her eyes off him for a moment. In the hustle and bustle, Tiff sat at a table and opened her presents and Chloe hastily looked for the cake hoping they hadn't cut it while she wasn't looking. But fortunately, it was safe. Chloe turned back to the group wondering if Tiffany enjoyed all of the presents... when Gerard got down on one knee...

Omigoat, he was proposing! And then he proposed. He proposed!!!! She didn't expect this! That was... this was... Why did her eyes sting? Something must be in them. Yes! Rub. Rub, rub, rub. What an immensely sappy thing going on. Sappy and cheesy and why would her eyes hurting? Must have been open for longer than she thought.

[Olivia Watson]

This had 'school event' written all over it Olivia thought as she went over to help get Bertrand out of the Vespa, only to have the goat change his mind. While Olivia couldn't talk she did cover her mouth to hide a voiceless laugh at Chloe's face. At least she had friends to hang out with Olivia thought as she fell into step with Chloe and giving Miss Ashton a little wave in hello, it was always a bit weird seeing teachers outside of the school but working at a videoshop meant she saw a lot of Mrs Ashton and other people around town. Olivia even gestured to give Ianto a small wave, she owed him bigtime for buying up all the used stock and making her boss seriously impressed. Tucking her hands in her pockets she ignored the baby and instead went to give Bertrand a good scratch, eying around as she did to find Storm or her Dad. Little did she know that instead she'd been targeted by Abigail Wright. So when a Shrill HAI rung out Olivia cringed on sighting the kid moved behind Chloe hoping for a distraction. Instead she wound up being trailed by a girl yammering at her. UGh, why her? All Olivia could do was point the girl towards Chloe and make a hasty escape in the confusion to find her Dad who was busy talking with Mr Ashton.. hopefully not about her.

Goats this is boring! Olivia thought to herself, finding a can of drink she slipped her card onto the gift table before making her way out of the press of people to where some girl was screeching and trying to kick one of the dogs. Now what was that all about? Olivia didn't know and just stared at the getup, she'd never seen a dress like that, it looked like it was out of a movie or something. At least now there was some entertainment and Olivia smirked as the girl went over to complain to Ianto at length. So they where related? Man she didn't know. Olivia was starting to wonder why they'd even been invited when all of a sudden her Dad put his hand on her shoulder, looking back towards where their hosts where Olivia couldn't quite tell what was going on but looking around at everyone else told her that this was a big deal, so she had to keep polite and be good as the birthday Party seemed to turn in a second to a engagement party? So that's why everyone had made such a big fuss? Thinking back to when she had seen Mr Hunter and the waitress at the cafe Olivia wondered just how long they had been together and would she have to go to the wedding? Probably, her Dad wasn't about to let her out of something like that.

[Meliae Ashton]

Mel was still mulling over the meaning of Gerard's non-reply to her Rabbit question but it was clear she wasn't about to get a straight answer out of him, better to let him be for the moment and see about other things, Ashleigh for one was getting bigger every day, Mel couldn't believe how fast she was growing, when she'd been pregnant it had felt like forever and yet the months after just seemed to fly by. "Humm... " Mel pondered as Chloe explained about the hill issue before laughing, "Yeah I can understand that, tell you what if your not doing anything tomorrow come by the house and I'll see if we can get a bit more horsepower out of it" she offered before a LOUD greeting marked the arrival of Abby. Mel couldn't help but feel sympathetic for Olivia under such attention "Abigail Wright!" Mel shouted doing her best 'Mum Voice' oh goat and right as her parents arrived. It was a facepalm moment if ever there was one.

Still shaking her head Mel handed Ashleigh over to her Mum for a moment so she could give Emma and Polly some backup if needed when Tiff arrived... although instead she ended up almost being tripped over by a stray invisible dog. "Oh this is ridiculous!" grabbing a hold of the dog she held him for Rebecca to undo the invisibility charm for once and all. This meant that she was late to see the start of the gifts being unwrapped. Damn, Mel quickly wiped her hands off on her jeans before rescuing Ashleigh from her Mum who had as usual gone completely dopy at the sight of the youngest Ashton..since her Mum had seemed to decide on life-long denial of Ashleigh's last name. Mel was rather touched by Gerard's efforts, She'd known Tiff for years and how different her friend had become since first meeting the 'ever so handsome Gerard Hunter Q.C.' and while it had come as a surprise to see Gerard and Tiff hook up it did make her feel better for her own situation, the guilt for going out with Ethan and breaking the 'Rules of Mateship' as Marcus always called them.

Call her immature but Mel always loved parties, at least ones with friends since family gatherings in her family tended to involve far too much gossip, cups of tea and Aunt Urma. Ever since she was a child it was something to get excited about and so she grinned up at Ethan as Tiff opened their gifts before watching with curiosity to see what everyone else had bought.. not that it was a competition more amusing. Interesting as it was though Ashleigh was starting to grizzle and Mel knew that meant feeding time, but there was one gift to go and .. OMGZ! He wasn't? Mel instinctively grabbed hold of Ethan's hand and was bouncing on her toes of her feet in excitement.. he was! omg! (Yes Chloe wasn't the only one for the immature reactions). With Ethan's hand in hers Mel took a deep breath to try and calm down as she watched Tiff and Gerard, later she'd give Marcus a good punch for egging Gerard with that stupid bet, but for the moment she was just glad to see Gerard finally happy and coupled up with someone who'd make him happy...even if it most likely meant her having to play bridesmaid again.. okay so she was getting ahead of herself, but it was exciting! and she was sure Tiffany would say yes, after all hadn't she already gone on once before about how Tiffany Hunter sounded a whole lot more respectable then Fumberger? This was going to be brilliant!

[Ianto Parker]

Ianto Parker was standing to one side of the large group at the party when he replied to the many greetings from the menu people he now knew at the party and as tiff was opening the presents the most unthinkable thing happened the most annoying and self centred person in the universe came and stood next to him and made the most inappropriate comment about tiff.
"Tamika what are you doing here" ianto asked in a low voice to his sister thro clenched teeth. Ianto hoped that he could keep his voice low and not drew attention to his Muggle hating sibling at a party full of normal well adjusted people.
as he spoke the most important thing happen Gerard Hunter got down on one knee and asked tiff to marry him.
Why was it that muggles or any one would do that in his family no one did that they just walked in to a rom and said this is you future wife to husband lets make the announcement and it was done but this was just strange Ianto reindex himself to ask someone about that.
It was at this moment that Lady M came and sat on Ianto shoulder and as always Ianto automatically reached in to his pocket and pulled out the best chocolate in all the land and offered it to the Fire lizard
"and how is my favourite lady today" Ianto asked the Lizard on his shoulder and waited for the fall out that was sure to come of his sister being here and the Happy people when tiff said yea to the handsome Barrister as Marriage with out condition and knowing that he would not be asked to forget there names and never speck with them again as was so often the case when his family had marriages of love and not of Blood.

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