Harry/Karrin shipping time… fanfic (15-6-3)

Because I like to torture my readers sometimes, here’s part 1 of chapter 3, this one with content that you haven’t seen before in the fragments. Oh! And some of this comes from your ideas guys, so thank you for that!

Part 2 coming soon.

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 3 - Part 1

We were getting ready to go to Evie’s medical consult, I was getting her bag ready and Harry was attempting to dress her. She was still a little stuffy and not as energetic as usual, but she hadn’t gotten worse over the past couple of days.

Harry was doing a mostly okay job, and he had almost finished when I heard my daughter say, alarmed, “No, daddy, no.”

I turned in time to see the surprise on Harry’s face. He was holding on a shoe in one hand and one little foot in the other.

“What is it, my love? We have to get your shoes on.”

She shook her head emphatically. “No, daddy, foot.”

“Yes, darling, we need to put the shoes on your foot.” He said, completely at a loss on what the problem was.

“Daddy, shoe.” She insisted, holding her right foot up to him.

He looked even more lost. “Yes, but this is for your other foot.” He told her, holding up the left of the pair.

Evie shook her head again. Harry looked up at me.

I had to hold back a smile. “I usually put on her right shoe first.” I told him.

“Why?”

“No reason, it’s just how I usually do it.”

“She can’t be fixated on that, it doesn’t make any sense.” He protested while he put the shoe he was holding down and picked up the right one and put it on Evie. She didn’t protest this time. He looked amused. “Oh, so I wasn’t doing things like mommy does them, was that it?”

Evie just smiled at him. “Absolutely, no sense at all.” He said as he chuckled. Then he kissed her head and started brushing her hair. And he was doing it wrong too. So, I just waited.

“No, daddy.” My daughter said as she shook her head. Harry stopped mid-stroke.

“You’re liking that word lately, my love. Tell me, what did I do wrong now, hum?” He questioned gently.

“This, daddy.” She told him as she pushed her hair to the other side. He was brushing her hair in a different direction than she used it. That one was all on her.

“She likes it brushed to the left.” I clarified for him.

He chuckled again, and instead of complying, he pushed his hands into her curls and completely messed them up. Evie screamed and protested, “Daddy, no, daddy!”

“Oh, that’s wrong too?” She looked at him as furious as she could be, while he looked back feigning innocence. He laughed again then and pulled her into his arms. “God, you’re so stubborn, just like mommy.” He rained kisses on her cheek. “I love you so much.”

Evie smiled a little at that and then he picked up the brush again and did her hair right. And off we went to her appointment.

It was weird to drive through the city as it was, there were some neighborhoods that were just gone completely. It was heartbreaking. It also made me feel very angry and impotent, knowing that so many people were probably suffering because of everything that had happened that night. But it made my resolve stronger about wanting to do something, take Harry up on his word and use the castle for the refugees. And to make him help more too if it was possible. He was a powerful man, he could be doing more.

He waited for me and Evie in the parking lot of the hospital, he said he couldn’t afford to wear the iron manacles, it wasn’t safe. But it also wasn’t safe that he go inside. So, it was just me and my daughter. It didn’t take us long.

When we went back to Harry, we found him speaking with someone, a woman I didn’t recognize. She left as we got closer. And Harry didn’t say anything about it.

As I was securing Evie to the carseat, Harry asked, “So, what did the doctor say?”

“It’s a cold, and she’ll be fine. She prescribed something to help along.”

“Okay, we’ll stop by the pharmacy on our way home then.” It sounded weird and also nice the way he’d said it, “home”. Like it was “our” home.

The only place that we could find on the way was a mall that somehow hadn’t suffered much damage and was operational again.

We walked through the mall and it was a weird experience too, the place wasn’t empty, but it wasn’t full either, specially not the fancy stores, which made sense. In the state of things, there wasn’t much place for indulging, just the essentials needs, so, the pharmacy, the food court and a few general stores had clients. The exception being a section of the mall that had arcades, where some children were playing under the watchful eyes of their parents or tutors, happy to provide them with some entertainment, some joy in the middle of so much hardship. Evie’s eyes had gotten huge and her expression excited when she saw the neon lights and heard the bells and whistles of the games, the music and the voices of the other children.

“Mommy! Mommy! That!” She called from her perch on Harry’s arms. “Daddy!”

“Oh, my love, no. You’re too young for that.” Said Harry before I could say anything. He was right, but I felt a bit bad for shutting down her curiosity.

“Daddy! They are songs! Daddy! Pretty colors, daddy, letz go!” She insisted, placing her hands on Harry’s cheek, trying to make him look.

“Not now, love, we have other things to do.” She didn’t like his answer, and she frowned, looking a lot like him when something bothered him. “Besides, those things won’t last around daddy.” He mumbled, before kissing her frown.

“Well, that’s not her fault.” I told him and he gave me an annoyed look as we reached the pharmacy. “You’ll wait here, right?”

“Yeah, sure. You need money?”

“No, I’ve got it. I’ll be right back.” I said and Harry leaned down a bit as I stretched up to give Evie a kiss, and for a split second, Harry looked at me like he was expecting one too. And I found myself tempted to give in. But I was stronger than that, I told myself, and I went into the store.

I had medicine to buy for Evie and for myself, plus a couple of things more. It took me a little while to finish and once I was done, I went out to find Harry and Evie again.

I found Harry at a coffee stand nearby, getting a couple of cups. But he was alone. My brain absolutely froze every thought, maybe in an attempt to not panic yet, and I asked him, very slowly, because he surely had an explanation for this, he must have, “Harry?” He turned to look at me, cups of coffee in his hands, “Evie, where’s Evie?” He turned pale. He looked down at his feet, and then back at me. And I could see a million thoughts pass in his eyes in a fraction of a second that still felt like an eternity. And then his eyes widened, and he dropped the cups and started running.

I don’t know how I did it, in that moment I didn’t feel my leg hurt at all, but I followed him, running after him through the mall. When I caught up to him, he was kneeling in front of Evie, having grabbed her around her arms, as she stood in front of the arcades.

“No! Evie, I told you no! Why did you run like that?” He told her harshly, as he grabbed her hard and actually shook her a little. And Evie’s face just crumpled, and she started crying. He hauled her up and she started wriggling against him, upset and wailing.

“Mommy! Mommy!” She screamed for me and I lunged forward, taking her from Harry’s grip.

“You’re scaring her!” I told him, while I hugged my child to me and she continued to cry.

“She ran off, she just ran off.” Harry told me, angrily.

“Well, you’re not fixing anything by scaring her!”

“Fuck!” He cursed.

“Ma'am? Everything okay ma'am?” Someone asked me. I turned in the direction of the voice. A security guard had approached us and was looking at me with worried eyes. “Is this man bothering you, ma'am?” He continued. And for a moment I couldn’t process what he was really asking, Evie’s cries taking all my attention.

“Yes, they’re fine!” Harry told the man. And I think he continued by saying something about his wife and child.

But the guard asked me again, ignoring Harry, “Ma'am?”

And it finally registered on me what the guard was seeing, why he had come to check on us. There I was, a small little woman by all standards, obviously injured, with an even smaller, upset and scared child in her arms, with a towering man who had just manhandled said child and was obviously furious. The guard had assumed this to be an unhealthy relationship, that I might be in danger. I think Harry noticed before I did, and it only made him more tense. And then I got afraid he’d do something about it, like the last time.

I reached for Harry, grabbing him by the front of his shirt, as if I could stop him with that if he wanted to do something that he should regret. And then I turned to the kind man and told him, trying to show myself calm and in control.

“Yes. Yes, everything is alright.” I could see the doubt in his eyes. “We’re fine.” He took one last look at Harry and questioned me with his eyes once more. I had to admire his courage, he had done what so many people don’t, he had tried to intervene. “Thank you.” I told him finally and meant it. And he left.

I turned back to Harry, my hand still holding onto his shirt. “Get a grip, Harry.” The lights flickered above us. My daughter kept crying. I noticed him taking a deep breath and then reach for Evie, but she turned away from him. The lights flickered again.

I found a bench and sat down. And Harry went to get the bags that I had dropped in my haste to run after him. Luckily the kid from the coffee stand had picked them up and kept them safe for us.

Evie subsided finally while Harry came back and sat next to me, with a somber look in his eyes.

“It was only one second.” He told me.

“Okay.” I told him, mostly because I didn’t want to talk about it. I was fighting the scare of what had just happened. I didn’t need to hear excuses or reasons or anything, not yet. “I want to go now.” I told him.

So, he helped me up, picked up our stuff and silently we walked to the car. I rode in the backseat with Evie this time.

When we made it home, Harry tried to help me by taking Evie from my arms so I could go up the stairs more comfortably. But she flinched away from him again, and I wouldn’t have let her go either, to be honest. So, I sucked it up and despite the pain that was finally making itself known, I went up to our rooms with my baby safely in my embrace. After that, Harry left us alone; I didn’t know where he went but I didn’t see him again until later that night.

It had only lasted a couple of minutes, but the feeling of not knowing where my child was, thinking her lost for just a tiny fraction of time, was absolutely terrifying. And the whole thing made me angry too, because up until that point, it had been a good day, and because it had been Harry who had caused this scare, and mostly, because of the way he’d reacted with Evie. He’d never had that kind of reaction; he was always the most gentle and loving father with her. He had lost it. I wouldn’t think he’d be capable of hurting her, he was capable of many things but never that. But when I added that to other things I’d seen from him ever since that night of the battle with the Titan, I could see that there was something maybe darker simmering there inside of him, right under the surface. And I feared for him.

To be continued…

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

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… drabble

Just a short little something that had to get out of my head.

Title:The Victor

Set sometime in the future.

Harry’s POV

The Victor

The blast threw me back several feet, the brick wall I landed against hurt my back, really bad. I heard bones cracking. I couldn’t breath.

I had weakened my opponent, but the Outsider was still standing, while I desperately tried to draw oxygen in my lungs and every muscle in my body felt like it was burning up.

But I had to stand up again. Too much depended on it, on me.

I stood up, barely. I had to, soon the gates would open completely and all would be lost, forever. I wouldn’t have any more chances, this was the last one. I had to make it count. I gathered what was last of my power, I focused. And I saw the other Outsider coming at me from the side, he’d reach me before I could finish casting my spell, and in the middle of it there wasn’t much I could do to defend myself. I would fail.

Then, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. A flash of golden light blinded me for what felt an eternity and when I could see again, I saw her by my side; small, beautiful and fierce, Karrin. When my attacker reached us, he didn’t stand a chance, it seemed to cost her no effort to deal with him.

And after, she remained at my side, actually stepping closer to me, I felt her hand slipping into mine, the one that wasn’t busy with the spell.

“What-? Murph?” I said, my voice hoarse.

“I’m here.” She said and gripped my fingers harder.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

I felt her stand on her tiptoes, her lips coming close to my ear and she whispered, “I’m choosing the victor.”

A surge of energy went through me in that moment, of strength that I thought I didn’t have. I held on tighter. I focused all the energy left in me and the renewed vigor I had found, and I threw my spell. And for a while after, there was nothing.

When I opened my eyes again, my vision filled with her, her blue eyes, her golden hair, she was cradling my upper body in her arms, wherever she was touching me, I was warm.

I lifted a hand to her rosy cheek, and touched her with weak fingers.

“Did it work?” I asked.

“Yes. You won.” She replied, her voice soft.

“You’re here.” In awe.

“I am.” She said with a smile.

“Are you taking me with you?” I asked her, hopeful.

“No.” She said, and the word hurt. “It’s not time yet.”

I closed my eyes again. And I went back to the dark.

When I woke up again, I was in my bed, in my castle. I felt terrible, but I was breathing, I was alive. I was also alone. For a moment, I feared it had all been a dream, but the ache in my body told me that, at least a big part of it, hadn’t been.

I slowly got out of the bed, got dressed in some clean sweatpants and a t-shirt, and went outside the bedroom. I could hear voices, I followed them, on weak legs, holding onto the stone walls. When I arrived at my destination, what I found was a wonderful sight, my friends, my family, all gathered together, looking a bit worse for wear, but overall safe and well.

And among them, she was there, Karrin. She hadn’t been a dream either.

I don’t know where I got the strength to walk as fast as I did to meet her, but I managed. I said no words, because there weren’t any that could express everything I felt. All that I could do was to show her. So, there, in front of all gathered, I took her in my arms, and she let me. And I kissed her, and she kissed me with equal passion.

And she never left after that.

And there was never another battle that I couldn’t win.

The End.

@anguisette90@aurelianpen@xserpx@over-a-rainbow@21incognito@anotherramblingfangirl@harry-so-scary@knightoflight57

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

Harry/Karrin shipping time… fanfic (15-6-4)

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 4 - Part 1

Jared and I talked for a long time on the phone that night. He told me about him and Ivy, they were doing fine but they’d wanted to be extra careful for a while. He showed a lot of interest in knowing how Evie and I were doing, which was very sweet. He had been a little worried about us; he considered Harry to be unpredictable. He’d told me he missed me. I had missed him too. Things with him were uncomplicated, genuine, fun even. I could always relax around him. I knew that he wasn’t an ordinary man, I wasn’t a fool. And he’d told me. But I believed him when he’d say his past was that, the past. I hadn’t seen anything from him to prove otherwise. He had taken on the role of a father for Ivy and that had changed his life. There were moments when I had wondered what it’d be like if him and I decided to take things to the next level, would he be a good dad for Evie too? Maybe he would. How would I do that to Harry though?

Jared and I talked several more times over the following weeks, and it was really nice. It made things a bit awkward with Harry though. When it came to Evie, he was behaving like the perfect dad, he doted on her. If your only character reference for him was his attitude toward his daughter, you’d never believe he could be a really dangerous man. We didn’t have another incident like the one at the mall. And we shared a lot of time together as a family now. It was wonderful sometimes. But also, more than once I’d notice him giving me looks, longing looks that had nothing to do with Evie, he’d caress my hand or back very gently, his touch lingering. He’d never say anything, never insisted again, but I knew, he wanted more. Sometimes, I had to admit, I’d catch myself doing the same. But Jared would call, and Harry would look awkward and sometimes even upset, and he’d leave the room without a word.

In any case, it wasn’t like we could focus on any of that, there were more pressing problems.

…

Waldo and I stood together in the big hall of the castle after we finished the meeting that we held every few days with the members of the Paranet. Sanya had been called to someplace in South America while Butters had remained in town and he was helping me organize our little band of allies. We were mixed bunch, people with little talent, not enough to be a real wizard; some friends from the White Council that cared about the people in Chicago, like Molly and Carlos Ramirez; Marcone. We had joined a few years ago, after Harry turned his back to the Council and disappeared for months, leaving Chicago without protection. We didn’t know it at the time, but what happened with the Titan had been a culmination of what started at that time, incursions of Fomor that we’d had to fight, and we had allied because somehow we were better fighting together than each alone. Later when Harry came back, we’d had to work against him a few times too.

In the aftermath of the battle with the Titan, the big powers were doing something finally, at Harry’s insistence now that he was a member of the supernatural alliance, but the big powers only meddle so much, and there was just too much damage, too many victims.

Harry had conceded most of the first floor of the castle to us, and we were able to accommodate a lot of people. It was mostly families staying with us, or what was left of them in some cases. Their stories were devastating. Volunteers from the Paranet took turns staying at the castle too, to care for these families with me. The people we couldn’t take, Marcone would try to.

“How are you doing, Karrin?” Waldo asked.

“I’m fine.” I replied.

“How’s therapy?”

“Frustrating.” I grumbled.

“I know, but you have to give it time.”

“Yeah, I know. But… I feel so unlike myself, so… useless.”

“Oh, Karrin. Look around you.”

I did. We had managed to arrange the different rooms on the first floor into areas for sleeping, eating, recreation for the people we had taken in. We couldn’t give them everything they needed, but we could keep them safe for a while, until they could get in contact with other members of their families or arrange something else for themselves. We could give them a little break.

My eyes fell onto a group of small kids that were playing together and a couple of women who were watching over them; the kids were orphans; as far as we knew, we were desperately trying to reach any family they had left; the women were mothers who had lost their own children. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once to watch them. They had remained together since they had arrived. It made me think of myself and my daughter, I was so thankful that neither of us had ended up in that group.

“These people are getting help because of you.” He continued saying. “I don’t know how you convinced Harry to help, but you did. And I don’t know if anyone else would have suceeded in that or if he would have done it by himself.”

“He helped with the Titan, that was all him.” I clarified. “He wasn’t always so… cold, you know.”

“Yeah. I never imagined I’d see that, to be honest. I didn’t know him before like you did, except for the rumors. And we’ve all been afraid for years that he’d completely snap one day, and he’d be the one we’d have to fight come the apocalypse. Well, to be fair, we have fought him before. But in the end, we were on the same side, somehow. And now he’s helping. I dunno how you did it, but it seems like you finally got through to him.”

“I don’t know, Waldo. But yeah, for now at least, he’s helping. I’m taking it one day at a time, really. I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

Butters looked at me and smiled. “How is he with you and Evie? Are you two doing okay with him?”

“Yeah, he’s wonderful with her.”

His smile widened. “And with you?”

“He’s good.”

“Well, it’s hard times, we need the allies we can get. Let’s enjoy that we have help now. And be proud of what you’re doing here, Karrin. Maybe it’s not all that you want, but it means a lot to all of these people.” He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “You’re anything but useless.”

…

I finished my last repetition, finally! Fuck, I hated physical therapy.

“Good job, Karrin. You did well.” Said Maureen. She was the specialist that came several times a week to help me get my knee back into shape. She was a small woman, like myself, redhead, pretty. She had lost her husband the night of the Titan; he had been a police officer. It was only her and her little girl now. Harry had been more than willing to pay her an extra fee so that she’d come to the castle and work with me on my injury. She was nice.

“But not great.” I said, feeling like crap really. I’d had a difficult time doing the exercises, things weren’t going exactly as I had hoped. I’d have to ask the doctor next time, but I wasn’t feeling like I was doing much progress.

“I’m not going to lie, I can tell that you’re having difficulty still with some exercises.”

“I should be better by now.”

“Don’t beat yourself about it, these things take time. We just have to keep working.” She finished cheerfully. I appreciated that, somehow, she always managed to stay positive.

“Thank you.” I told her and tried my best smile. I laid back down on the mat.

“You’re okay?” She asked me, a bit worried.

“Yeah, just want to stay horizontal for a while.”

She chuckled. “Alright. See you in a couple of days then.” She picked up her things and left. I heard her saying “bye bye sweetie, Sir,” as she went. I turned my head to look at the door. Harry stood there with a very exhausted looking Evie in his arms. He approached me and sat down next to me on the mat and Evie used the chance to come and lay down on my chest and snuggle up to me.

“Miss you, mommy.”

I hugged her and kissed her. “Miss you too, baby girl.”

“Are you okay?” Harry asked.

I sighed. “Yeah. I guess.”

“You’re upset.” He countered.

“I’m frustrated.”

He laid down next to me too, and we stayed silent for a while, just being there.

“I can help.” Harry said. “Maybe. If you want to.”

“How?”

He turned on his side so he could look at me. “I’ve been learning a few things, in that place I took Maggie to.”

“Healing magic? You told me that’s very delicate work.”

“It is, especially the kind that Maggie needed, the kind that is all internal, psychological. Yours is a different thing, it’s about the physical, is less complex, though it’s not exactly easy. But on every visit I’ve made there, they’ve also taught me a few things that I can use.”

“Have you tried before?”

“Only with them.”

I thought about it for a moment. Harry always told me that his kind of magic wasn’t the subtle kind, and that healing magic was one of the most delicate types, that most wizards couldn’t do it actually.

“And what– How does it work? Do you have to put a spell on me again?” I asked without hiding my apprehension about the whole thing. He’d used a spell on me on the night of the Titan, tried to force me to stay behind and not get involved. I’d known why he’d done it, but it didn’t make it right that he’d force his will on mine like that.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Murph. I wasn’t trying to hurt you back then either, I was trying to protect you because you were being stubborn. It didn’t even work, you got out of it.”

“So maybe you didn’t do it right. That’s not tilting the scale in your favor exactly.”

He looked at me, offended that I even suggested such a thing. “I did it perfectly well. Someone else intervened and you know it.”

“I’m not sure about that.”

“Come on. You were meant to use one of the Holy Swords that night. Anyway, I wouldn’t be even be telling you about it if I didn’t think I could do it well.”

“So, you’ll just heal me with magic and that’s it?”

“No. It’s not that simple. I can’t just heal you one hundred percent and be done. But I can help the process of healing your body has to do. It’s something like giving your cells a boost of energy so that they can do their job properly, better sometimes. It could make the healing go faster. Give it a thought okay?”

I did. Honestly, it didn’t sound bad. Especially considering that I was struggling. I’d been feeling that something wasn’t completely right, I wasn’t healing as I used to do. Maybe it was just age, I wasn’t in my twenties anymore, as much as I took care of myself, bodies change with time and age. And kids sucked the life out of you during pregnancy. It was worth it, but it was a fact. I was afraid. The doctor had said that if everything went right and if I did the therapy, that I would get full mobility back, but what if I didn’t. It couldn’t be bad to try everything, right?

“Okay.” I found myself saying.

He looked surprised for a second, obviously. And then, a little pleased. “Okay, good.”

“When can you do it?”

“Actually, now would be a good time. Right after your therapy, when your body is already working toward improving.”

“Don’t you need ingredients and stuff?”

“No, it’s not that kind of spell, it’s more of an energy thing.”

“Alright. What do I do?”

“Just stay where you are, you don’t have to do anything. Um, well, probably keep Evie from interrupting.”

“Okay.” Evie was very calmly just snuggling up to me, playing with my hair. It was obvious that she had a tiring afternoon too.

Then Harry sat up and put his hands on the sides of my knee, touching very gently. He closed his eyes, concentration all over his face. I stayed still, just hugging Evie. And then I started to feel it, a warmth on my skin where his fingers touched, and then deeper, and then warmth became heat, intense heat. I gasped.

Harry opened his eyes and looked at me. “Just a bit more.”

The heat was right on the edge of turning into pain when he stopped. His hands stopped glowing. And I realized I was breathing hard, so was him. But I wasn’t in pain.

“Mommy, mommy, you hurt mommy?” Evie said, alarmed, her hands on my cheeks drawing me to look at her.

It took me a moment to reply, but that was enough to send her into a spiral.

“Daddy, daddy, mommy is hurt! Daddy!”

“Shush, shush, honey, I’m okay.” I told her, trying to reassure her.

“No, mommy, you hurt. Daddy!” She called to Harry again.

“It’s okay, my love, mommy is fine.” He said, getting closer to us.

I sat up, trying to show my baby that I was fine.

“No, daddy. You have to kiss.”

“What?”

“You have to kiss mommy.” Evie said, worry on her face. “Make the booboo go. Need a kiss.” Of course, children. We’re always kissing the little scrapes and scratches away. It’s only logical that she’d think that that’s how every wound gets better, with a kiss. If only. I chuckled and reached to run my fingers through her curls. I heard Harry give out a little laugh too.

“You hear that, Murph?” He said, laughter still in his voice. I turned to look at him again. He had a smirk on. “Our daughter demands that I kiss you.”

“Don’t start.” I told him. And he knew that I knew that he was talking about more than what Evie was thinking about with her demand.

“She’s just worried about you, Murph. What kind of father would I be if I didn’t put my daughter’s mind at ease?”

“Daddy, help mommy, pwease.”

“Of course I will help mommy, my love.” He said.

And then, without taking his eyes off me, he leaned down and placed one, two, three, four, little kisses all over my knee, his lips touching my skin very tenderly. Warmth spread from that spot to every other part of my body.

“Yay! Good daddy.” My daughter’s voice interrupted my accelerated heartbeats. She drew me to her again, hands on my cheek. “You better mommy?” She asked with innocent eyes on me.

I smiled at her. “I am, baby girl.” And kissed her little nose. She giggled. “I am.”

And the three of us went to get ready for dinner.

To be continued…

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

Harry/Karrin shipping time… fanfic (15-6-3)

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 3 - Part 2

Evie and I stayed together the rest of the afternoon, just trying to relax and leave what happened behind; all the crying she had done had made the coughing return, so I paid extra attention to her as she napped. In general, she had looked a little sad the rest of the day, and it broke my heart. Harry brought us dinner while I was giving her a bath, and he didn’t stay to share it with us. He only showed up again when I was getting her into bed for the night.

Harry knocked on the door and stepped through it slowly. He was wearing sweats and a tshirt, socks and slippers, his hair was wet, as he’d just come out of the shower. I could smell the scent of the citrus-y soap he used as he came close and sat on the edge of the bed, on Evie’s side.

“I’m sorry.” He said, just a bit louder than a whisper. “It was just a second.” He continued. “I’m too tall and she’s tiny, I can’t hold her hand while we’re standing up together. I needed to use my hands. I put her down just for a second, told her to hold onto my leg.” His frown deepened. “It was just a second. I didn’t mean…”

“Of course you didn’t, no parent would. I know.” I told him. Of course I knew he was full of guilt and regret. Who wouldn’t? “It’s over now.”

He nodded.

“But… Harry, what happened after, the way you talked to her…”

“I was scared, I lost it. I know.” He said and then reached for Evie’s little foot over the covers, he squeezed, she stared at him, with big blue eyes, as if expecting something, but she didn’t pull away this time.

Relief washed over his face at that, and he reached further, to take her small hand in his, and he bent over it and gently kissed every little finger in her tiny hand.

“I’m sorry, my love. I’m so sorry.” He told her, raw and honest.

Evie giggled. “Tickles, daddy.”

Harry let out a breath and smiled, and then rubbed his face on her hand, letting her feel more of the stubble of beard that had tickled her.

“Aaaah, dadddy!” Evie said in a fit of giggles.

And then he basically threw himself next to her on the bed, gathering her in his arms, hugging and kissing her all over, she laughed loud and full of joy. After a while of that, they settled down on their sides, staring at one another, he hugged her gently, his forehead resting against hers.

“I love you so much.” He whispered.

“Wove you, daddy.” She replied.

I watched them as they fell asleep, and joined them, settling at Evie’s back, my face buried in her golden curls, so that I could take in the scent of her baby shampoo. As I dozed off, I thought I felt Harry stretching one long arm over Evie and wrapping it around my waist, pulling me closer against our daughter and him.

I woke up the next day, warm in my bed, with my little girl in my arms. I opened my eyes and found strands of her golden hair in front of me and a couple of brown eyes staring back at me across from them.

“Good morning.” Harry said.

“Good morning.” I replied. He looked like he’d been awake for a while.

“Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Yeah. God, yes.” He sighed. “I’ll get breakfast ready.”

“Alright.”

Then he leaned in and kissed our daughter’s forehead, but his eyes didn’t leave mine as he did it.

I was waiting for Evie to wake up on her own, she looked so peaceful I didn’t want to wake her up before it was necessary, but in that time, I must have fallen asleep again, because the next time I opened my eyes I was alone in the bed.

I got out of bed and I listened to the sound of soft voices outside, Harry and Evie. It sounded like everything was under control, so I went to the bathroom, freshened up and changed out of my pajamas before heading out into the living room.

Harry was sitting at the table with Evie on his knee. He was feeding her something.

“Mommy!” Said my little girl. “Mommy you awake!”

“Good morning baby girl.” I told her, smiling at her as I approached the table.

“Yeah, mommy is awake.” Said Harry, and he leaned down to whispered something in her ear as he looked at me.

Evie attempted to reply to him in the same secrecy, but she’s a toddler, she sucks at subtlety.

“Oh, yes, pretty.” She said and giggled. I raised an eyebrow at Harry and he just sat there with a smile on his face.

“Look, mommy, fuffles.” Evie said picking up a piece of waffle in her little hand and shoving it into her mouth and chewing happily. “Mmm, mmm.” She was back to herself, and that was wonderful to see.

“Oh, yum, waffles. Are they good?” I asked her when I had sat down in front of my own plate of waffles with cream and strawberry jam.

Evie nodded enthusiastically. “Mmm, yes mommy, good fuffles.” She said around a mouthful. “You want my fuffles mommy?” She offered.

“No, baby girl, I have mine right here.” I said and started eating. Indeed, they were good waffles. “Mmm, delicious. Did you make the waffles?”

She gasped, shaking her head, “Oh, no mommy. Daddy make fuffles.”

“Oh, your daddy made them?”

“Yeah! For me. Righ, daddy?”

“Yes, my love, for you and mommy.” He kissed her hair before looking at me again. “Thought you deserved something special today.”

“Thank you.”

We finished our food and then Harry and Evie moved to her corner of the room, where she had her toys, and they played there for a bit. I gave her the medicine that the doctor ordered, took mine as well, and just watched them play together. I was glad that they had made up, what happened at the mall had been a really bad experience for both of them.

Finally, Harry told us that he had some things he needed to do, and he left. I busied myself the rest of the day with taking care of Evie and talking to Butters so we could finish coordinating things in order to start using the castle as a refugee center of sorts.

I also called mom.

“So, tell me dear, how are you and Harry doing?”

“We’re doing fine mom, but there’s no me and Harry, you know that.”

“Oh, right, because of that nice boy, Jared.”

“Yeah, Jared.”

“And how is he doing?”

“Um… Well, I haven’t been able to talk to him in a while, there’s the time zone difference and a lot of work, and… But he was fine the last time I talked to him; we are fine.”

“Oh, that’s good dear.”

“Yeah… It’s not just that, mom.”

“What, dear?”

“You make it sound like Jared is in the way, it’s not that. Harry and I tried it, you know it, we just don’t work.”

“Right, right. Of course.” She said, condescendingly. “But it’s nice right? To have Evie’s father around? And he adores her, that’s always been obvious.”

“Yes, he does.”

“You know, once things have calmed down some more, you should all come one afternoon, we’ll have coffee and cakes, Evie can play with Tommy and Annie.”

“Um… sure, sure.”

“I’d also like to see that castle, one day.” She said, and I could almost see her smile as she kept going. “It sounds like a true fairy tale, he has you living in a real castle!” Oh dear god, mom would always come back to this.

“Well, it’s too big and too cold.” I protested.

“Maybe, but how many women can say that the father of their child has provided them with their own castle.”

“It’s not mine, it’s his. We’re guests.”

“Oh, dear, it’s the same. And it’s only right for him to provide for his family.”

“He’s doing alright, yes, mom.” I said, rolling my eyes to the sky and hoping she’d stop torturing me. Someone up there must have taken pity on me, and the conversation didn’t last much longer.

My mom was terrible about this, she had forgiven me for many of our disagreements when Evie was born, except this one, me not staying with Harry. She was sure we were meant to be together, and she let me know, constantly, in one way or another. It wasn’t that I didn’t want it to be true, but I had enough proof of the contrary already.

In the evening, Harry came back with some take out, and we had a little dinner, read Evie some stories and got her into bed. And after, we sat down with some tea.

“How are you?” He asked me suddenly. “Your leg? I mean, I noticed that you wincing a lot when walking.

"Um… It was a bit more painful than usual today.”

“You strained yourself yesterday.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

“When are you starting your physical therapy?”

“Oh, well…” I said and stumbled on my words a bit. “With Evie being sick and coordinating the refugee thing, I haven’t really looked up a specialist.”

“You should.”

“I know, Harry.”

He moved to the couch and sat next to me.

“If you want, we can get someone that comes here, that way you don’t have to do any trips. I can take care of that.”

“Oh. Well, you don’t have to Harry, I can take care of that.”

“I know you do. But it’s fine, I can afford it. I can help.”

I looked up at him, there was hope in his eyes. I felt terrible about crushing it.

“Harry, you and I–”

“This isn’t about that. You’re the mother of my child. I left you on your own for too long.”

“We’ve been fine.”

“I know. And I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself and Evie. But Evie is my responsibility too. Regardless of our relationship, you’ll always be the mother of my child, and taking care of you is taking care of her. Let me do what I can.” And he took my hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

I contemplated that for a second. Harry looked so sincere, and he probably was. My conversation with mom came back to me.

“I’ll make some calls tomorrow, see if I can find somebody, and I’ll let you know.”

He nodded. “Good.”

We sipped on our teas for a while.

“Who was that woman yesterday?” I asked him finally, I hadn’t forgotten about that.

“Oh, someone who wanted to give me some information.”

“About what?”

“Some shady things that are happening in the city. People taking advantage of the situation. Bad people.”

“Why telling you?”

“So that I could stop it, of course.”

“Did you? Is that where you went?” I asked, really curious for the answer. Asking Harry to fix something like that could lead to so many things, at least half of them bad.

“No, not yet. I need more information.”

“Oh. And when you get it, what would you do?”

“What’s necessary.”

“Don’t do anything evil, please.” I blurted out before I realized it.

He gave me a small smile and told me, “Well, Murph, you have your projects, I have mine.”

“Harry…”

“I’m going to help, relax.”

I frowned at him.

“You know, our daughter does it exactly like that too.” He said before reaching with one hand and gently tracing his fingers over my brow, until I relaxed. Then he cupped my cheek. He stared at me with very soft eyes and I could tell that he was about to say something.

And the phone rang, startling us both. He was the closest to it, so he picked it up; he did it annoyed.

“Hello. Yes? Yes, she’s here.” He said on the line and then passed me the phone. “It’s Kincaid.” He announced.

I took the phone from him.

“Hey, Jared. Hi.” I said. He was calling finally, after so many tries. That was good. Kincaid started talking, telling me about what’s been going on for him over in Switzerland. But I had a hard time concentrating for a while after Harry leaned in and kissed my cheek sweetly before leaving me alone with my boyfriend.

To be continued…

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