Harry/Karrin shipping time… fanfic (15-6-2)

Title:Broken Mirror Series - The Lord (Part 6)

Pairing: Harry Dresden / Karrin Murphy

Timeline: A year + after Battle Ground (for references to the books, though it takes place in an alternative universe where things happen in a different order)

Rating: M (for s*xual situations and violence)

Summary: It’s been a bit more than two weeks since a Titan attacked Chicago and Harry joined forces with the Accorded Nations to defeat her. The city and its people suffered a lot of damage as a result though, and that included Murphy’s house. In order to provide a house for his daughter, Harry offered Murphy to live in his castle, and accepted. Now, will Murphy be comfortable with the situation, watching Harry’s activities from up close? Will they be able to live under the same roof in harmony for Evie’s sake? Or is the situation a ticking bomb?

Disclaimer: All belongs to Jim Butcher, I’m just playing around in his sandbox.

Murphy’s POV

Chapter 2

Evie and I had started out our morning as usual, having breakfast with Harry. He had left right after. Fortunately, Evie was becoming more accepting of new routines and didn’t throw a fit. But I could imagine why it could be hard for her sometimes, she hadn’t had her father around for big parts of her life, and now that she had the chance to be with him, she’d obviously want his attention all the time.

Anyway, Harry had left with a kiss on his daughter’s forehead and a promise to be back in time for lunch. Since the day after he’d come back home with a bruised cheek, he’d started going to his study early in the morning and coming back just for meals. He didn’t say what that was about. I was trying to not get too worried about it, when Harry got fixated on something in that way, it could lead to dangerous things. I’d seen it happen before.

But Evie helped me distract my mind from that; in the course of the morning, she started coughing, and would only get worse as we approached lunch time. Of course, with the hospitals still full and overwhelmed, taking her for a consultation would be a mess. It was a good thing I could reach her doctor on the phone. She gave me the necessary instructions; told me it was probably a common cold. But I sat with my child, keeping a watchful eye on her. Poor little thing, it was obvious she wasn’t feeling good, her usual energy gone.

Around midday, Harry showed up. There was alarm in his eyes as he entered the room; he had probably noticed her coughing then.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, there was worry in his voice too.

“I think she caught a bit of a cold.” I told him.

In the blink of an eye, he was sitting beside us on the bed, as I cleaned Evie’s nose and gave her some water.

“Let’s go to the doctor then. I’ll get the car.” He proposed.

“She doesn’t have a fever or anything, Harry. She’d be alright at home for now.” Hospitals were full still, and probably weren’t the best place for a small child. I didn’t want to expose Evie to that if I could help it.

“No, what if it’s something serious?” He questioned.

“I already called her pediatrician; we have an appointment for the day after tomorrow.” I replied, hoping for him to calm down about the matter.

“Why? She’s sick now.” He said, annoyed.

“It’s a cold, most likely. It’s not an emergency.” I explained, trying to reassure him. He’d rarely dealt with a sick child before, it was normal that he’d be alarmed, but he wasn’t listening.

“She’s sick.” He insisted.

“And I spoke with her doctor.” I told him, maybe more sternly than I should have, but I really didn’t need him making a big deal of things, I was worried enough as it was. “She will see Evie in a couple of days and will check on how things are evolving. But it should run its course.”

His frown deepened, his voice turned harsh. “So, what? We’re supposed to wait until she gets worse to do something?”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “Yes, and no. We keep Evie hydrated, clean, comfortable, try to not get her upset and let her rest a lot.”

“And wait until she gets worse and–” He started to say through clenched teeth. And I’d had it.

“Then the doctor will prescribe something if it’s necessary.” I interrupted him. I understood his worry, I shared it, but getting all riled up about it wasn’t helpful. He’d been around for these types of things just one or two times. I knew what I was doing, I needed him to trust me.

Evie coughed again. It was an ugly sound. I could see her little chest shaking with the effort, her sweet voice turning hoarse, I gave her some water. Evie entrusted her doll to Harry so she could hold onto the cup as she drank lazily.

“How are you so calm?” He asked me and it pissed me off. How dare he? He couldn’t know how I felt. He thought I wasn’t worried enough for my own child? I’ve been taking care of her by myself for all her life. Where had he been? I ignored the little voice that told me that he had tried to be, and that I had pushed him away; I heard instead to the other voice that argued that he hadn’t tried hard enough.

I looked back at him and told him, my voice sharp, “I’m not. But my panicking doesn’t help her.”

He was silent for a moment after that.

“So… what do we do?” He asked, his voice going softer.

“We keep checking for a fever or serious distress breathing.”

Evie decided that she was done with the water and handed me her cup again with a stuffy-nosed “thank you”. My little angel was so polite and sweet. Then she turned to her father, asking for his embrace.

“Daddy.” She said.

Of course, he took her in his arms immediately, with such care and gentleness. I let her go.

I took the chance to finally go to the bathroom. I’d been caring for Evie the whole morning and I hadn’t wanted to leave her alone even for a moment. I slowly made my way to the bathroom, my injured leg was still healing, so I couldn’t do better than limp.

“I keep telling you we should have someone to help.” He said.

Of course, Harry chose the opportunity to remind me again that I was being stubborn about that. So, I chose the opportunity to make him notice that he hadn’t been around lately. Two can play this game, “Or maybe you could be around more.” I told him.

Then I closed the door behind me and took care of myself for just a moment. I took deep breaths and tried to calm myself. Harry had really gotten on my nerves when I was on edge already, questioning every little thing, but specially my worrying or not. Of course I was worried for my baby, he didn’t have the right to question that! I’ve been the only caretaker of my child for her whole life, just because he was around now, it didn’t mean– He was just a couple of weeks in to the whole full-time dad thing, he didn’t have the right. And he had been busy a lot lately, his full attention hadn’t lasted very long either!

Again, I took deep breaths. But I wouldn’t question his worry, I’d question his lack of trust in my judgement. I could understand his worry. My heart broke a little bit about it, if I was being honest, it all seemed so new to him, having to worry about something that he couldn’t just fix with a spell or his sheer will or power; his child was sick and there was no magical solution. His expression had been almost as worried as I’d seen him when things had been about Maggie. But he didn’t have the right to question the decisions I made about my daughter, I knew her, I took care of her, he’d been the one that hadn’t wanted to be around to make decisions with me before.

I splashed some cold water on my face and took a few more deep breaths. I reminded myself that in spite of all of that, I needed to make this work, for Evie. I got out of the bathroom, trying to stay calm but really waiting to find him ready for another argument. Instead, I just found him by the window, with Evie secure in his arms; she slept peacefully.

“I think she really likes that.” I offered as an olive branch.

“What?” He asked absently.

“Sleeping in your arms like that.”

He smiled warmly, “Yeah, seems so.”

“Must be that she likes heights or something.” I joked.

Harry chuckled. I started organizing the bedside table, trying to find a distraction from the sweet image in front of me. I didn’t want to get too caught up in it, it wouldn’t be good long-term. I needed to keep my distance, It shouldn’t matter how beautiful it was to see my baby in her father’s arms, with him caring so gently for her, how right that image looked.

“I mean, from her point of view, she must be looking down on the world from the tallest tower.” I teased. “Safe and protected.” I added more seriously, realizing it was probably true, if there was one thing that he had tried to do for her, was to protect her.

I felt his eyes on me a second later, but I didn’t look back.

“She is.” He said and the tone in his voice made the words sound like a vow. It made a chill run down my spine, that I tried to hide as I kept myself busy.

—-

Harry declared to have cancelled his plans for the day to stay with me and Evie. And he did. He spent the rest of the day with us, playing with Evie, keeping her entertained, helping me take care of her. The look of concern had returned to his face more than once throughout the day, whenever she coughed. But he held back from panicking, at least externally. And, at some moments, what the look on his face showed was what I could only describe as longing when he looked at Evie and me together. I tried not to dwell too much on that.

I kept checking on Evie’s vitals and making sure that we were under the limits the doctor had instructed to keep in mind before any panic attacks. And Harry had made himself useful, and it was nice to have him close for this. I had always tried not to think too much about the fact that I was doing everything alone, not to hurt so much for it, but I had. There had been many nights when I longed to have him back, and the few times that I did have him, I had wanted to cling to him, and it hurt all over again when he left, when he wouldn’t give up the dark for me, for Evie.

“Are you okay?” Harry asked, taking me out of my thoughts, I felt him touch me very gently with the back of his fingers in a soothing gesture.

“Yeah, just tired, I think.” I lied.

“Well, we should eat something too… Pizza?” He offered.

“Sure.”

He ordered the food, and soon, we were sitting together on the couch, enjoying the meal. I was starving, and I was tired, and I hadn’t even realized it. He didn’t look any better.

Most of the time we’d shared, now living together, had revolved around Evie, she was the center of our interactions, as she should be. We rarely were alone together, actually, just the two of us. It felt kind of nice to share this quiet moment though, even if it was still in worry over our daughter. We hadn’t had many chances to talk about what he did when he went outside, to help the city, so I thought, maybe it was a chance to find out more.

“How’s everything outside?” I asked him. With my injured knee, I hadn’t been able to go out much in general, except for a doctor’s appointment, and a couple of funerals. I kept in touch with the guys in the alliance, but I hadn’t been out there on the field, or what’s left of it. I felt terrible about it, to be honest. I had always been there, looking out for the people of the city, my city. I’d never gotten injured like this though, enough that I was better out of the field than in it. I tried to help by coordinating things, but it felt weird.

There was another part of me that couldn’t forget that I could have died that night. My actions, though they were to save my city, my people, my family, could have easily made my daughter an orphan. That part of me screamed that I should feel guilty about it, I could have hurt her so much, that I almost abandoned her. It wasn’t completely rational, after all, I had done it to protect her and her father. Still, it hurt to think that I could have hurt her so. And part of me made me want to stay now, just be by her side, just take care of her now. Maybe it was selfish ultimately, but for once, I needed to be here with her instead of outside, the world would have to wait a little, be contempt with what I could offer for now. So, I had stayed put.

“Everything is still a mess. A lot of property damage, you know. There’s no way to rebuild fast enough. A lot of neighborhoods are lost. A lot of people are still missing.” Harry replied.

Missing people always meant one thing, “Orphans?” I asked him.

He visibly swallowed. “Yeah.”

I looked at him for a moment, and wondered, did he care? He knew too well what being an orphan meant. He had said that night that he would fight for the city. If the city fell, the rest of the world would follow. He did it to keep Evie safe, his daughters safe. And he had won and saved us. But in the past, he’d been so… cruel, sometimes, so cold when it came to others. He’d killed and maimed, imparting his own justice, shown little respect for others lives. I remembered Rudolph, suddenly, and it almost made me sick. I pushed the thought away. But I wondered, what about now, what about all the other innocents? Did he care? “You should do something about it. I mean, that’s why you wanted all that power, right?”

He frowned.

“That’s what you kept telling me. That it wasn’t to take over the city, but to protect it. So, maybe you should do something now too.”

“I just saved the city from a titan.” He said drily.

“I know. But you know what they say, “the reward for good work, is more work.” I insisted.

He looked at me with narrowing eyes, annoyed that I was putting him on the spot.

“How many rooms do you have in this castle?” I pushed.

“I can’t fit the whole city in here.”

“No, but some, even if temporarily. You could give them some relief.” The castle was big, while it had been in possession of Marcone it had been a base of operations and a refuge for people already. I knew it was doable.

“It’s dangerous.”

“It’s people. People that are helpless now.”

He studied me for a moment.

“You do it.” He said, finally.

“What?” I asked, surprised.

“You do it. It’s your idea. I’ll open the castle to the people, I’ll provide security. You coordinate with your people the rest, if that’s what you want.”

I was not expecting him to throw the ball back in my court. I was expecting him to just say no, frankly. I was expecting I’d have to fight to convince him. Instead, I thought he was proposing we worked together, sort of. It was… interesting. It was also a challenge; I could see it in his eyes.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” He replied.

“Okay. I’ll call Butters in the morning.” I said, still kind of waiting for him to backtrack, but he didn’t.

“Alright.”

We finished with the dinner, and after, he accompanied me to my room, where we checked on Evie again and made sure she was sleeping well.

We stood for a while there just staring at our baby girl. Evie wasn’t a child that got sick often, so thankfully I hadn’t been in this situation too many times, because I fucking hated it. Evie was my only child, the most beautiful thing that’d come out of what Harry and I once had. I had never imagined this kind of love was possible. I had loved Harry so intensely, but even that paled in comparison to how much I loved this beautiful, sweet, little girl. She was everything.

“What is it?” I heard Harry ask.

And I told him, for some reason, “I worry. Of course, I worry, Harry.” I suddenly felt cold. “She’s my baby.”

And then I felt Harry come behind me and hug me gently, hunching over me until his mouth was close to my ear. “I know. But you do well, you know how to handle things calmly, and it’s proven to be the best way. You haven’t been wrong often when it comes to her. If you left things to me, I’d probably blow everything out of proportion, and it’d all be a mess.”

I snorted. It was funny because it was true. Harry had a tendency to be dramatic, more so, I’d discovered, when it came to his daughters. I didn’t think myself better, to be honest, but I tried to keep a cool head, tried to do my best, to keep Evie safe and healthy. I wanted her to grow strong and confident, and I always thought you teach by example. So, it felt nice that he was acknowledging that. It made me feel warm inside, and it was sweet of him. It reminded me of other times, long ago. I felt him hugging me a bit tighter for a moment. That was nice too. As it was to know that he was here, with us, finally, I wasn’t doing things alone. And maybe it was greedy of me, but I needed even more. I knew what I wanted to say, I knew what I felt, but I wasn’t sure how he’d take it, if it was worth even asking him. But I told him anyway.

“You gotta learn too, Harry.“ I searched for words for a second. "Sometimes I don’t want be the one with the cool head.” I confessed. “Sometimes, I need to be able to… To be the one who gets to panic.” I admitted, and I hated to do that, to show him that I was weaker than I let on.

He was quiet for a moment and then said, “You need me to be the strong one.”

I nodded slowly.

I felt him reach with the fingers of one hand and touch my chin and I let him turn my face toward his. And then he kissed me, and it was a long, sweet, good kiss that warmed me up all over. I kissed him back and didn’t pull away until the kiss naturally came to its end. I had a brief second where I just enjoyed the tingling sensation, the electricity lingering on my skin from his touch, before I remembered Jared, and how I was still committed to that relationship, how this was not supposed to be happening. I was about to say something about it, but he beat me to it.

“Yeah, I know, we can’t, we shouldn’t. You’re seeing someone else. I’m evil. I know.” He said with small laugh, like this was no important matter at all, which kind of pissed me off.

“You’re a jerk.” I said almost on reflex.

“That too.” He agreed, but then put both of his gigantic hands on the sides of my face and leaned down again this time to kiss my forehead. “Rest. It was a long day.” He said, very sweetly.

And a part of me just… melted, and I just wanted to not be alone, to keep him here, to have his presence, his support, just a little longer. “Stay.”

“Huh?” He looked surprised.

“Stay with us tonight, it’s better if we’re both around to keep an eye on her.” I said in justification.

He thought about it for a second before saying, “Okay,” He said.

And so we settled on the bed, each of us on opposite sides of Evie’s sleeping form, and we fell asleep, the three of us, together, like a family.

To be continued…

@anguisette90@aurelianpen@xserpx@over-a-rainbow@phygers@21incognito@anotherramblingfangirl@patrickdiomedes

Harry/Karrin shipping time… fanfic (15-6-1)

So, not much new here, because of the fragments being posted before, but here it is, officially, we being Broken Mirror Part 6.

(also, let me know if you wanna get tagged on these updates)

.

Title:Broken Mirror Series - The Lord (Part 6)

Pairing: Harry Dresden / Karrin Murphy

Timeline: A year + after Battle Ground (for references to the books, though it takes place in an alternative universe where things happen in a different order)

Rating: M (for s*xual situations and violence)

Summary: It’s been a bit more than two weeks since a Titan attacked Chicago and Harry joined forces with the Accorded Nations to defeat her. The city and its people suffered a lot of damage as a result though, and that included Murphy’s house. In order to provide a house for his daughter, Harry offered Murphy to live in his castle, and she accepted. Now, will Murphy be comfortable with the situation, watching Harry’s activities from up close? Will they be able to live under the same roof in harmony for Evie’s sake? Or is the situation a ticking bomb?

Disclaimer: All belongs to Jim Butcher, I’m just playing around in his sandbox.

Murphy’s POV

Total chapters: probably 6

Chapter 1

Broken Mirror Series - The Lord (Part 6)

Chapter 1

I was sitting at the small table next to the window, eating a few pieces of fruit, pears. Harry had learned that they were Evie’s favorite, and now there were always some in the kitchen. I was indulging while trying to read a book. I kept getting distracted by the image in front of me though. Harry was laying on the couch, asleep, with Evie on his chest, her little head tucked underneath his chin, his arms wrapped around her tiny form, holding her gently. They were napping, with peaceful looks on their faces. It was such a beautiful image. An image that represented something I’d craved to see for so long, my child and her father together, sharing everyday life.

Before, Harry had been in and out of our lives, sharing just a few moments. When he was around, he was always good with Evie, but that was never as often as it should have been. Now, for the past week and a half that we’ve been living together under the same roof, things have changed. Every day, we would wake up, have breakfast, lunch and dinner together. I would stay with Evie, in the castle, because there wasn’t much I could do with my busted knee; Harry would sometimes go out, to take care of things around the city, whatever that meant, but he was always back as soon as possible, to be here with us, to spend time with her, more than he ever did. My daughter now knew what it was like to wake up and go to sleep with both parents around. Sometimes, it even felt like we were a family.

The battle with the Titan had left a big mess; so many had died, so much was destroyed. The Accorded Nations had agreed to help, Molly told me, at the insistence of Harry, its newest member. He had gained a lot that night, the respect of some and the fear of others. If he was known before as someone to be mindful of, now there was no doubt that he was a real force. After all, it was he who defeated the Titan.

After my moving into the castle, I communicated with Butters mostly through radio or phone, the castle had a couple of working landlines, and we’d talk about what could be done, coordinate with the people in the Paranet, see if there were ways that we could help; and sometimes to update the list of our people that were missing. Molly came to visit me a couple of times too, to tell me about what the Council was doing, tell me whatever she knew that Harry was not telling me. Surprisingly, Harry didn’t protest having a member of the White Council in the premises of his new home. But then, he wouldn’t, and he shouldn’t. We had worked out a deal before I came to live with him.

I would only do it for Evie. Our house had been one of the casualties of the night we fought the Titan, there had been damage to my room and hers. Harry had promised to take care of it, he had the money to do it. I had never asked child support from him or anything else, he never offered, probably because he knew what my answer would be. But this time, for once, for Evie’s sake, I was willing to accept what he had to offer. So, he’d helped me salvage what we could from the house, promised to deal with the damage and took Evie and me and our stuff to his brand-new castle. We’d stay until we had our house ready again. It had started to look like it’d be a while though, there was so much property damage in the city, so much to rebuild, workers and materials were scarce.

Harry and I were not a couple, wouldn’t be one. This wasn’t us giving the relationship a try again because of Evie. No, I was still with Kincaid, even if long distance now, since he’d gone back to Switzerland with Ivy. Harry and I would just try to live under the same roof and co-parent, and give Evie some stability and a place to live safe from whatever dangers were still out there. It was a temporary thing. And it all had started just a week and a half ago, yet, it felt longer somehow, and images like the one in front of me, made it feel like I could get used to the arrangement. My daughter and her father, they both looked so sweet.

I noticed my baby girl stirring suddenly, looking around with sleepy eyes until she found me. She started wiggling, wanting to come to me. I saw Harry’s arms tightening around her, instinctively, holding her in place, so she couldn’t escape him.

“Mommy.” She whined.

It hurt to stand up, but I had to go and rescue my child. I made it to the couch and Evie extended her little arms to me, wiggling desperately, with impatience of a child. I chuckled as I got my hands around her and tried to pick her up, I couldn’t. Harry’s arms had tightened around her for a moment before he jerked awake, his eyes alert, his posture almost aggressive.

“Harry… Harry, it’s me.” I told him gently. “Harry.”

“Mommy.” Evie repeated, wiggling some more.

Maybe it was Evie’s voice what broke through Harry’s confusion, but he finally relaxed his hands, letting her go. I took Evie and smoothed her hair and kissed her soft cheek.

“You’re done sleeping baby girl?” She nodded. “You want to eat something?”

“Yes! Eat!” She said, enthusiastically, and I had to smile about it.

I limped back to the table and sat down, a considerably harder task now with a child in my arms. But I managed.

“Do you want some pears, honey?” I asked her, knowing full well the answer.

“Peeer!” She practically screamed. And I heard Harry groan from his perch on the couch, as he tried to wake up fully. Evie bounced on my lap.

“What do we say?” I asked her. She was still very young, but she was at the age where she was a sponge, ready to learn everything, so it was important to start imparting good manners on her. She looked up at me and said while smiling the sweetest smile ever, “Pweese.”

I leaned down to kiss her hair and passed her a piece of fruit and she started munching happily on it, making sounds of complete delight as only an infant can make. I turned my gaze to Harry, now sitting on the couch, looking intently at her, he had a gentle smile on his face. Then his eyes moved to mine and stayed for a dangerous second. I looked back to my child again.

I heard him take a deep breath and I saw him stand up in the periphery of my vision as I gave Evie more fruit.

“I have to go. I have a… business meeting.” Harry said. Harry would usually leave the castle for some time, supposedly to go and join the other forces that were helping the city. He was acting like one of the good guys. He never offered much information though, and I didn’t ask much. I had to admit, I didn’t want to know details of such things yet, in case I didn’t like them. Maybe it was a bit naive, but I wanted to give things a chance to work out. Harry had never talked about “business meetings” though, so that was new.

“Ah.” I didn’t say more.

“I should be back in time for her dinner and to get her in bed.” He told me as he walked to us and knelt down in front of us.

“Daddy! Peer!” Evie told him and practically shoved the half-chewed piece of fruit in his mouth. Harry hated pears, always had, but god bless him, he opened his mouth and took the fruit from her with a smile. In the brief time we’d been living together recently, I had discovered that he had a terrible time refusing her anything. If it was up to him, he’d probably spoil her.

He swallowed the offending piece of fruit, with a difficulty that Evie was too young to notice, and then told her, “I have to go now, my love. See you soon, okay?” He tucked a curl behind her little ear.

“No!” Evie replied in a firm, almost upset tone, surprising us both. Harry actually did a double take.

“No?” He asked her, his voice soft as it only was with her.

“Daddy, no go.” She said, even more sternly than before.

“Oh, baby, daddy has to go now.” I intervened. “But he will come back, right?”

“Yeah.” He said, and I noticed that he barely got the word out.

“No, daddy stay.” Evie insisted. Oh, boy, this could get ugly.

“No, daddy goes. But daddy comes back, later.” I told her.

“No!” She said again, a frown marring her face. I could see Harry’s face transforming too, getting visibly upset, the frown on his brow deepening too. So, I hauled my daughter off my lap, sat her on the table in front of me, and started tickling her until she was giggling madly.

I rained kisses on her pretty face and told her, “Look, baby girl, we have so many pears to eat.” I held one to her and she took it. “And we’ll play with mister bunny, yes? And with your blocks? We could build a tree, or a house? How about that?”

Bright blue eyes stared back at me, not entirely convinced of my argument.

“A house is nice.” Harry chimed in. And she looked at him, her eyes curious.

“Oh, we can build daddy a house!” I said to her in a conspiratory tone.

She seemed to think about it for a second, and she repeated, “A house”.

“A house for daddy, yes?” I told her.

She nodded slowly, still not entirely convinced, but at least the crying had been averted for the moment.

I looked at Harry pointedly, hoping that he would get the hint and use the chance to go. It took him a second or two to react, but instead of going immediately, he got closer and asked her, “Make me a house, my love?”

Brown and blue eyes met for a moment, and it was like watching two people fall in love, he smiled, and she smiled around the piece of fruit in her mouth. And finally, she seemed to settle, nodding in agreement.

He took a deep breath and then leaned in, put a gigantic hand on her tiny head and kissed her forehead. I noticed him inhaling deeply, taking in the baby smell.

“Okay, goodbye, my love. Be back soon.”

For a moment, I saw him hesitate, move as if he was about to do to me what he just did to Evie. And if he had, I wasn’t sure if I would have pulled away or let him. Before I could decide, though, he straightened, stood up and walked out of the room. Evie and I watched him go, and it felt a bit strange, a bit… bitter.

“Bye, daddy.” Evie said.

I turned to look at her again, and kissed her forehead too, and we sat there and finished the pears together. We spent the rest of the day just hanging out, playing. I managed to read some, and I talked to Butters; the list of the missing grew five more names long.

—

Harry was late. He was supposed to come back for Evie’s dinner time; he didn’t. I had waited for a while, played with Evie a little longer, buying him time. It was unusual for him. He wouldn’t leave the castle for long, and when he did, he was always back in time for meals. After all, he was the one preparing most of them.

Our rooms were on the first floor. Three contiguous rooms, his in one extreme, mine that I shared with Evie on the other, joined by a room in the middle that functioned as a living room, dining room, playroom and everything in between. He hadn’t wanted us to stay on the ground floor for some reason. I wasn’t in a position to argue much. But the kitchen was in the basement. With my busted knee, I couldn’t come and go as I pleased, so he had taken on the duty of cook for all of us. And as such, he always made sure to be around for that. Something must have happened. I’d tried very hard not to start worrying and instead I had occupied myself with making dinner for my child.

It had been a bitch to get down the stairs of two full floors and minding a toddler at the same time, but somehow, I’d managed. I’d gathered the ingredients and got some chicken and vegetables ready, a good dinner for her and for me, and Harry if he arrived for it. I was about to start feeding Evie when I heard him coming down the stairs. When he entered the kitchen, I noticed he had a bruise on his cheek, and a somber look in his eyes. So, yeah, something had happened during his… meeting.

Evie hadn’t noticed any of that, of course, all that she knew was that her father was home. She practically screamed her little lungs out in sheer joy, calling out to him, and when he looked at her, his face transformed. He smiled and quickened his steps to reach her, taking her out of her chair and hugging her tight against his shoulder. She hugged him back with as much strength as her tiny arms allowed her.

They had always shared a bond, regardless of him not being around much for big chunks of her life so far, but since living under the same roof and spending much more time together, that bond had grown stronger. They were absolutely smitten with one another. I imagined it was like that for every little girl and her father, at least for a little while, where they were each other’s favorite person. I’d had that with my dad once, a very long time ago, before I lost him. It was really heartwarming to see my daughter enjoy that too, even when a part of me was afraid that one day she’d lose it as well.

“Sorry, the meeting got… complicated.” Harry said to me.

I looked pointedly at his cheek. “So I see.” I served the food on three plates and pass him two of them. He set one for himself and the other in front of Evie. “Everything alright, though?”

“Yeah.” He said and started feeding Evie. Maybe at lunch time he would have let her try to use the spoon, but that usually ended up with a bigger mess to clean up. It seemed like he wasn’t in the mood for that.

We ate in silence for a while, and then he broke it by saying, “I’m going to hire someone.”

“What?”

“Someone to help around with cleaning and meals and stuff. When I’m not around I don’t want you straining yourself. You should be focusing on recovering, not doing any hard labor.”

“It’s just dinner.” I protested.

“Yeah, but you have to come down two floors, with our child to care for too. It’s not good for your knee.”

“I–”

“I know, you don’t want a stranger. Don’t worry, she won’t be. I have someone in mind already.”

I was stunned for another second before my mouth finally decided to form words. “No.”

He sighed. “Why not?”

“I don’t even know this person.”

“It’s someone reliable.” He countered.

“You don’t just take those kinds of decision unilaterally.” I said, maybe more harshly than I intended.

“We’re not married, remember?” He said, casually. “This my house, I say I want to hire someone to take care of things when I’m not around. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“It is a problem if they’re going to be close to my daughter.”

“Our daughter.” He said emphasized. “Again, is someone I trust.”

“Well, I don’t know them. And I’m Evie’s mother, I get a say in this. Don’t start pulling shit like this on me.”

He snorted and then said in an acidic tone, “What shit? Wanting to take care of things?”

“Yeah. Like you did when you put a freaking spell on me.” I said, without caring at all for my tone either. That shut him up though, and he averted his gaze, going back to feeding Evie, who was looking at us with very big, innocent, blue eyes. I sighed. “Please, Harry, don’t just make decisions that could potentially affect Evie without telling me first. That wasn’t the deal.” I said in a much more even, gentle tone.

He sighed too. “I just don’t want you to have to worry about things if I’m not around. You need to rest and recover now.”

“I know.”

He was silent for a moment and then continued, “And as much as I want to just stay here with you, I can’t, there are things that need to be done. Tell you what, let’s give it a try, a test run. If you don’t like the person, then we think about someone else, or something else, okay?”

He wasn’t exactly wrong in what he wanted. I really couldn’t do much on my own yet, and if he wasn’t around to help and take care of some things, I’d be forced to strain myself constantly, looking after everyday things that weren’t much but added up when one was seriously injured, and caring for a very young child at the same time. I had reservations about including some stranger into our lives, but Harry was trying to do what he thought was right. It wasn’t a bad thing. So, I nodded “yes.” And he did the same in return.

We finished the rest of the meal in silence. And after, he took care of the dishes while I slowly marched upstairs again with Evie. At least she was having fun climbing the stairs one by one with me, while she sang a song that only she knew the lyrics to; I was pretty sure she had made them up. Of course, it was taking forever, and it wasn’t her fault exactly.

It was taking us so long, actually, that Harry had finished in the kitchen and was climbing up behind us before I realized it. As we started the second flight of stairs to the first floor, he told me, “Wait.”

“Hm?”

He came closer and picked Evie in his arms but passed her to me. “Hold her.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.” He said, with a look on his face that said, “please don’t fight me on this too.” For once, I didn’t want to, I just wanted to be in my bed. So, when I had Evie secure in my arms, Harry got his hands around my waist and underneath my thighs, being very careful to support my knee and he lifted me up, cradling me in his arms while I cradled Evie. I let out a little yelp, Evie giggled.

“Harry!”

“Shush.”

“Harry, but–”

“You weight nothing. Shush… Let me do it.” He said it so very gently that I stopped protesting. He carried Evie and me back to our living quarters. There, he set me down very carefully on the couch, and started fussing about with the pillows, putting one underneath my knee, another at my back. And for a moment, while he did that, his eyes met mine. I noticed the bruise on his cheek again.

“What happened to you?” I asked him.

He gave me a half smile. “Nothing important now.”

I was about to insist, but Evie started squirming around, trying to get off my lap and the couch.

“Daddy! Daddy!” She said, reaching up for him.

He turned his attention to her and took her off my arms and set her on the ground, in front of him. “What is it, my love?” He asked as he combed his fingers through her curls.

“House, daddy, house!” She said, taking his hand and pulling him along to the corner of the room where she had her tiny table with her tiny chairs, and the plastic containers full of toys, a few old ones that we could rescue from home and some new Harry had gotten her.

In the damage to our house, we lost a lot of clothes and furniture. Fortunately, Evie always carried with her Mister Bunny, her favorite rag doll, one Harry had gotten her when she was just a baby, so he had been safe. But a lot of other toys were gone. Harry had tried to compensate for that loss, of course. He got her three more of those rag dolls, so now she had a whole family of bunnies, a new tea set and the fake food that went with it, a couple of alphabet and numerals puzzles, lots of building blocks, coloring books and crayons, and at least a dozen storybooks. It was enough to keep a young child sufficiently entertained. 

The house we had built with the blocks sat on the little table, ready for when her dad came home so that she could show him. He had asked her for it, and she being his dutiful daughter had been excited to comply to his request. It was adorable. As it was adorable to watch Harry bent down in half holding onto her little hand as she pulled him along with her. She was so tiny compared to him.

I could hear them talking softly to each other. “Look, daddy!”

“Oh, that’s so pretty, my love. So pretty, thank you.”

And she continued explaining to him how she made the house, I suppose. Half of her words were still baby gibberish, but he understood her, or at least was very good at faking it. I smiled and decided to close my eyes for a moment, listening to them talking in the background.

I fell asleep at some point; I had been more tired than I had realized, and I didn’t even feel it when Harry had picked me up and carried me to my bed. But he must have, because when I opened my eyes again, I was in it, with Evie soundly asleep beside me, like every night. Harry was sitting on the edge of the bed, next to me. He was holding a glass of water and a bottle of medication that I needed for my knee.

“You forgot.”

“Right.” I said as I sat up and took the bottle, grabbed a pill and then drank the water, before passing them all to him again. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

He stayed sitting there for a moment, studying me. “Are you going to remain mad at me about the spell?” He asked finally.

“You shouldn’t have done it. So, maybe I will.”

He pressed his lips together and shook his head as he left the glass and the pills on the nightstand.

“I will not apologize again.”

I shrugged. “That’s your prerogative.”

He chuckled, then surprised me by putting his hands on each side of my face and leaning in, resting his forehead against mine. “I was trying to protect you. You and her, I will always do anything to protect you.” He whispered, with an edge in his voice, hard and uncompromising.

“Anything is such a dangerous word.” I replied, in a whisper too.

“Maybe, but I don’t care.”

“That’s just as dangerous.” I said, a bit overwhelmed by his intensity.

“Maybe too, but when it comes to you, I rather be wrong than sorry.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I moved one hand over one of his.

“Harry, where did you go today? Why did you come back hurt?”

He shook his head against mine. “To fix some things.”

“What kind of things?”

“I don’t think you want to know.”

“Harry…” I warned.

“Karrin…” He mirrored my tone.

I groaned. “You’re so frustrating sometimes.”

“Says the woman who contradicts me even when I’m trying to be nice.”

“Jesus, define nice Harry.”

He chuckled again. Then he tilted my face up to him, and we were so close, and his lips were so close and for a second he leaned in, and I thought I’d get to feel them on my lips in the next breath. But instead, he kissed my forehead, very gently, his lips soft but pressing firmly against my skin. And then he let me go, grabbed the pills and the water, and headed for the door.

“Goodnight, Murph.” He said giving me one last look.

“Goodnight, Harry.” I replied. And then I lay down on the bed again, my heart going a bit too fast, my skin feeling a bit too hot. In the fog before sleep took over again, thanks to the pills, I thought that I should really call Jared soon.

The next day, I did try to get in touch with Jared, but I had no luck. We’d last spoken a couple of days after I’d moved into the castle. He’d called, wanting to check that the telephone number I’d given him was real and working, and that Evie and I were doing okay with Harry. After that though, we hadn’t had many chances to talk, different time zones, busy schedules, we were all settling into our new realities. I tried again for a couple of days but still couldn’t reach him. And a couple of days later, whatever concerns I might have about him and Ivy got replaced by another more urgent worry, Evie got sick.

To be continued…

@anguisette90@aurelianpen@anotherramblingfangirl@21incognito@phygers@over-a-rainbow@xserpx@harry-so-scary@patrickdiomedes

So, this is a level of intense research (or unhealthy obsession). Evie’s corner of the castle…