1264/Partners and Explanations

Partners and Explanations
Date of Scene:	03 July 2017
Location:	Gotham
Synopsis:	Karrin wakes up after her ordeal, and finds Renee taking care of her in Dresden's apartment.
Cast of Characters:	Renee Montoya, Karrin Murphy

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Renee Montoya has posed:
    Harry had gone down his trapdoor, telling Renee she was welcome to stay, but not to go fiddling around with things. Apparently he had Secret Wizard Shit <tm> to do, or whatever. Renee really didn't care. She was more concerned with Karrin. She'd checked in with the department, telling them she was following a lead on a case, and would contact them back in a few hours again.
    For now, she just sips a coke, eyeing the place where the talking skull had been, and eyeing the very sleep Karrin. Waiting for her to wake up.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
    Like that whimper that came before, eventually, the whimpers return. And then worse. The fitfullness of not just a nightmare, but night terror. The sort of thing trapped in one's own mind, seeing demons that are not there, fighting against the darkness. Karrin's body shifts on the couch, but then tosses almost more violently, to the point that she might almost throw herself off the couch, if Mouse didn't jerk up off the floor and leap ontop of her, pressing her to the couch. He whimpers as well, worried, looking between Renee and Karrin, those big doggie eyes almost begging Renee to help.
    Karrin looks almost like she's in the throws of a seizure, twitching there, her skin ashen, whole body covered in cold swear as she drags in a few gasping breaths of panicked air.

Renee Montoya has posed:
    "Karrin," Renee is on her feet, moving to the other woman. She's not stupid enough to pin Karrin's shoulders down, instead she takes Karrin's hand. Squeezes it. "You're in Dresden's place. It's me. Renee. You're safe."
    "Get off her," she tells Mouse, though not unkindly.
    She looks back to Karrin, "Deep breaths. Relax." She says nothing else, allowing Karrin to come to her senses, in her own time.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
    Mouse gives a little whimpering, low howl of a sound but he backs off of Karrin at those words almost immediately. It's like quite sharply understands. He does, however, start lapping at Karrin's foot in some efforts to tickle and wake her up. How can licking a foot be considered threatening?

Karrin is trapped in it, whatever, it is, for a good few minutes. She fights against Renee's hand, eyes fluttering open but not seeing. She's not seeing the woman at all, not seeing the room, not seeing Mouse. Whatever she is seeing is awful and violent, her breath coming in ragged gulps, and it's only by Renee's training that she manages to duck the swing that comes almost violently in her direction, "YOU AREN'T REAL!" Karrin's voice raggedly screeches into the darkness of the basement apartment. The swing is finally enough to toss her off the couch too, though. She hits the rug below fairly hard, jarring body and head. It's enough to jerk her into some sense of consciousness. That, and Renee's shoes. She recognizes Renee's shoes. She lays there, panting hard, moisture in her eyes. "...Montoya?" She finally, raggedly breathes out.

Renee Montoya has posed:
    "Welcome back," Renee says, calmly, leaning down, this time offering her hand to Karrin instead of taking the other woman's. "You've been out, hard, for the last eight hours. Dresden's been in his bunker for the last few hours, said he had some things to take care of." She is not making any move to go call Harry, or let him know that Karrin's awake. "Let's get you back up on the couch."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
    Another few moments pass, Karrin's fingertips stretching out on the old, mismatched rug on Dresden's floor. Harry's rug. Safety. It's like that rug is a life boat for a few moments, but Renee's voice helps as well. She slowly rolls over, reaching up her arm that should still be heavily bandaged and just getting out of traction, but is clearly in perfect form now. She accepts the hand and half drags herself back up onto the couch. She's still covered in that cold sweat and her pulse gallops in her throat like she'd been running a marathon. She watches Renee with bloodshot, haunted eyes.
    "...Sorry. I... told him to call you. Did he call you? I... shit. I'm sorry... Really sorry." Karrin rasps out, half embarrassed, half still trying to pull herself together.

Renee Montoya has posed:
    "Figured you'd be asleep for awhile. I went over to your place, grabbed a few things. You look like you could really use a shower. Get cleaned up. Get some clean clothes on," Renee suggests, her tone gentle. Quiet. Caring. And eschewing the worry from her voice. "You want some help?"
    Renee's offer is sincere, willing to do as little, or as much, that Karrin might want. She doesn't mention yet, how worried she was. How worried the department was. What's important is getting Karrin's mind back to normalcy. The thought that Karrin might not be mentally fit to remain on the force - knowing she'll probably have to pass a psychological test - those are in the back of Renee's mind at present.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
    The voice helps. They'd not been partners long, but Karrin knew Renee's work. She trusted the woman to her core. But she also knew that technique -- get someone to think about the small things. The practical things. Not the big horrors looming over both of them or all the consequences. It's a technique that she's used before. Her bloodshot blues shift to the side, looking Renee up and down with a bit of a smirk, "I...am not going to fall apart again." She doesn't think, "Ask your questions. I... know a shower is the last thing on your mind, really." Karrin states gruffly, but the tone is far more like her old self. It's a step in the right direction.

    Her other hand comes over, burying itself in Mouse's fur, finding clear protection and support there. If Karrin is at all worried about where she is, she doesn't show it. And she is wearing Dresden's shirt, clearly, the thing far too big on her.

Renee Montoya has posed:
    The more stable inflection of Karrin's tone gives Renee cause to smile. Just a little bit. As do her words. "Alright. You could still use a shower, anyways," she says with a small amount of humor. "They tried to keep me from investigating your case. Said I'd be too personally invested." Karrin can deduce how well -that- went.
    She asks, then, "Dresden didn't have anything to do with any of this, did he?" That's her first question. A road Murphy has been down, herself. Renee doesn't seem to think so, but she's asking for that final affirmation.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
    A slight shake to Murphy's head and those words gain her eyes entirely. She wants Renee to completely see how dead serious she is about this, "No. Harry Dresden didn't have a single thing to do with this other than the fact that he came after me as soon as he could and... I'd already managed to get out. But I don't know that I'd have been able to get anywhere safe or sane if he wasn't there... He probably saved my life. And... this..." Karrin breathes out raggedly for a moment, "This is the one place in the world I feel safe right now. I know how idiotic that sounds." She gives a bittersweet laugh, but her hand buries a bit deeper into Mouse's fur.

    "And yeah... I could probably use a shower. I don't know how... how many days it's been. God, Harvey really went off the deep end this time." Karrin shakes her head quietly, in a bit of stunned shock over it all. Now that she's reigned in the panic attack, she can half see just how bad this has gone and look at it a bit more... neutrally.

Renee Montoya has posed:
    "We need to get this reported, Karrin. I can't keep this hidden forever. The only reason I haven't reported it yet is because I -did- believe Dresden that you asked for his help. And he didn't seem to hide anything on me." Renee is pretty good at reading people, for the most part. Following her gut is what gets her in trouble. And, leads her on the right path. Ironically, a two-sided coin.
    She exhales, some, "You can't stay here forever. So. Until you're ready to go? What do you want me to report back?" Her question a sincere one, her face mostly neutral, but with a committment to her partner that suggests that Karrin is more important to her than some cold hard words in a book about policy procedure and policy.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
    A deep breath and Karrin drags one hand across her face, trying to reset her mind and her heart. She was stable for the moment. There was so much work to do. "No...I don't want to get you in trouble. Or him. I... I'll get in the shower and we'll go down to the precinct. Give... a full report. See about getting back on duty. It'll be fine. I just needed to sleep a few hours. It'll be fine." Karrin repeats, trying to convince herself as much as she is Renee.

    Then she slowly gets up, definitely a bit shaky for as physically fit as she's looking. She may have, strangely, gained a bit of muscle over this. Or maybe she'd just looked so frail in the hospital it was hard to tell. But now she's standing, still looking weirdly numb, skin glistening with that lingering sweat. "...give me ten minutes and we'll...go?"

Renee Montoya has posed:
    "Go take a shower. Then, we'll talk. And then we'll go to the precint. I'll cobble together a sandwhich or something. You need to eat, too." Renee rises, and hands Karen the pair of clean underwear, bra, jeans, and shirt she'd picked up at Karrin's place, and a pair of what looked like Karrin's favorite shoes by the way they looked used.
    "I'm glad you're okay," Renee says, clasping Karrin's arm, and squeezing tenderly. "I need a good partner."
    With that, she moves into the kitchen, to see exactly what Harry has in the kitchen to use. To eat. She has a feeling it's -not- going to be much.